iiiiiiiiiiy j«c^Skiil«»HtiU}rt=^ 'I AMERICAN HISTORY BY GRADES ''iui'llill'li-' IP filass zm Rnnk Gopyrijihrr 1 pO ■ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY BY a E ABES THE STORY OF THE NATION BY EVERETT BARNES Part II. BOSTON, U.S.A. D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 1908 ■ n- - TwoCoplM Hect^ owned by private persons instead of by a nation. Such vessels are called privateers. 20. The Minute-men The people of Massachusetts and other parts of New England were ready for war, but they thought it wise to wait for England to strike the first blow. They meant that the world should see that they were forced to fight to defend themselves. They wanted the good will of the nations of the earth in the war that they knew was coming. While waiting, they made good use of the time. Men in all the towns formed companies that met, nightly, for drill. Each man held himself ready to rush to the field as a soldier, at a minutc^s notice. Thus, while there was no camp of soldiers, there was ABUSE OF THE COLONIES 25 a patriot army of several thousand men, ready for instant service. Those who belonged to this force were called Minute-men. To build up such an army was eas}^, for there was, and had been from the days of danger from Indians, a law, that every man must keep on hand a musket and a fair supply of powder and ball. Game was plentiful in those days, and through practice in hunting, nearly every man was a good shot. There were many veterans of the French wars still living, and they taught mihtary drill to those younger men who had never been soldiers. Like Massachusetts, other colonies prepared for war. SUMMARY. 1. After the French and Indian War, England began to oppress her colonies in America. 2. The colonists claimed the right to buy goods wherever they pleased. 3. To escape severe taxation, the colonists practiced smug- gling. 4. Under "Writs of Assistance," houses were searched by tax officers for smuggled goods. 5. The "Stamp Act." Anger of the colonists. 6. Massachusetts takes a firm stand. The king orders troops from New York to Boston to overawe the people. 7. First Continental Congress, 1774. The colonists say that they will buy no more goods from England. S. The " Minute-men." 26 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 1. How (lid luiglaiul proposo to muko money from her Amer- ican colonies? 2. What was "smus2;.e;lins?"' Why was it practiced? 3. For what purpose were " Writs of Assistance" issued? 4. What was meant l)y "Taxation without Representation"? 5. What was the purpose of the "Stamp Act"? 6. What colony was most active in opposing the measures of Pai'liament? 7. When did the first Continental Congress meet? Where? What was the purpose? What did England do in return for some of the measures passed by this Congress? * S. What were privateers? 9. To what place did the king order regiments of British soldiers? Why? 10. Who were the "Minute-men?" Why were they so called? Chapter IT. THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 21. The Rebellion against the King. Things went on from bad to worse, and in the early part of 1775, Parliament declared that there was rebelhon in Massachusetts. To put it down, a fleet was sent to Boston, with thousands of soldiers. General Gage had now a good sized army of regular troops in Boston, and was getting ready to crush the rebellion. Yet so far as could be seen, there was no army for him to fight. Those, whom his troops were 3^et to meet, were quietly working in their shops, or on their farms. A good old " Queens '-Arm" musket hung over nearly every fire-place, and beside it was a full powder-horn and a bag of bullets. Many patriots had left Boston for safety from the Tories, as indeed many Tories had gone into Boston, for safety from the patriots. Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two leaders against the king, were wanted by General Gage, and had he caught them, their fate would have been a sad one. They had left Boston, though, and he could not catch them. 22. Lexington and Concord. Word was sent often from Tory spies outside the city to Tories inside, so that Gage knew of much that 27 2S SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY was going on in the country. He thus learned, one day, that by a quick dash to Lexington and Concord, SAMIEL ADAMS. After the painting by Johnston. he might not only capture Adams and Hancock, but could destroy a lot of arms and supplies, stored at those points for use against the king. REVOLUTIONARY WAR 29 "I will catch these upstart traitors," said Gage, " and, while I am doing that, I will burn the stores of supplies that their friends have gathered." At midnight of April 18, 1775, he sent out a force from Boston toward Lexington, very secretly, as he thought. But, if Tories outside could send word in, patriots inside could send word out. Paul Revere saw what was being done, and made that ride of which Longfellow tells in the poem. The Minute-men were roused, and they began to gather. When the British column reached Lexing- ton, in the gray of the dawn, there was a group of armed Minute-men on the village green. The king's troops fired on them, killing and wounding several. That for which the patriots had waited had come to pass. The British had shed the blood of the colonists. The British had begun the war. The war was on. Those few shots at Lexington changed the course of history for the world. Warned by Revere, Adams and Hancock had fled. The soldiers then marched toward Concord, a few miles farther on. But so many Minute-men were in sight, that the British colonel prudently sent back from Lexington to Boston, a call for more troops. He was wise, for before night he was to need them badly. At Concord, were more Minute-men. They were coming from all directions. They swarmed. At Concord Bridge, they attacked two hundred "red- 30 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY coats," as the British in their scarlet uniforms were called, and drove back such as they did not kill. The British were in trouble. They fell back toward Lexington, and as the}^ retreated, their troii]:)les grew. From villages and farms, outlying all around, the Minute-men came in little squads, and they gathered along the road that ran from Lexington to Boston. They had no general in command. Every man was his own officer. Word was passed along, "Worry them. Sneak along around hillocks, through woods, behind stone walls. Keep even with the red-coat column and shoot at it as it retreats. Keep scattered. If they leave the road to fight you, fall l^ack into the fields, and let them tire themselves out in chasing you. Then, when they go back to the road, follow them. Whenever you see a group of them, sight at the middle one, and fire. If you miss him you will hit one of his mates." It was after leaving Lexington that the British fared the worst. They had marched since midnight and had fought for hours. The day was hot. The soldiers were hungry, thirsty. They dared not stop to rest. They sweltered in their thick uniforms and began to throw away their knapsacks. They ceased to fight. Their only thought was to get away. They longed for Boston and safety. One after another they fell. Some gave out, exhausted. It seemed that those not killed must surrender. Few, if any, would have reached Boston, had not the REVOLUTIONARY WAR 31 troops, that had been sent for, come out to meet them and helped them to find safety, at a point where the man-hunters from the country could not follow. The Minute-men camped that night at Cambridge, just out of range of the guns of the British war-ships, and that camp remained until, at a later time, the British army was driven out of Boston. Thus began the great war of The American Revolu- tio7i. The Americans had won the first battle. They had shown that they could attack and defeat a body of the best troops of England, whose troops were called the best in the world. It was a fight of Briton against Briton; on one side, Britons fighting for liberty; on the other, Britons fighting because ordered to by their king. Man for man, he who fights against injustice, will outfight him who fights because he is ordered to. This had been shown in England, when Cromwell's rugged commoners de- feated the flower of England's army. It was now shown again. The loss of the Minute-men was about a third as great as that of the king's troops. The day brought sorrow to many households of Massachusetts. New graves were dug in many churchyards, and in many little farm-burying- grounds. The story went forth. Many a horseman set out with news that? the war had begun, and begun gloriously for the cause of freedom. It was not Boston's war; it was not the war of Massachusetts; 32 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY it was Pennsylvania's war; it was Virginia's war; it was the war of all the colonies united, as one, and into one. For ten years, a portion, perhaps half, of the Americans, had sought in peaceful ways, and some- times in ways that were hardly peaceful, to get their just rights. Now they were to fight for them, and fight hard. The king had struck the first blow, had killed the first men, and the blow had been paid back quickl}' with the killing of man}^ men. The patriots were to fight now, single-handed, against the soldiers of the king, and against the Tories who were rallying to the royal flag. Israel Putnam was a veteran of the French and Indian War. He had fought for his king and he was a brave and skillful leader. He was now a Minute-man. Quietly plowing on his farm in Con- necticut, one day, he heard a shout from the road, as a mounted messenger dashed by, "The War has begun; Minute-men to the Front." Unhitching one of his horses he threw off all the harness ]jut the l^ridle, mounted, and in one minute was on his way to Cambridge. From all New England and from far beyond New England, the}^ came. The Minute-men gathered l)y thousands, and, ten days from the time of the first shot of the war. Gage found himself l)esieged in Boston ])y an army much greater than his own. lie dared not send a man outside of his fortified lines. REVOLUTIONARY WAR 33 23. England and the Colonies at the Beginning of the Revolution. The colonies were poor. They had lost men and money in the late French and Indian War, and lacked the means to carry on a new war. They were far apart, so that it was hard to bring together the men who were willing to fight. There was, as yet, not such a strong feeling of union among them, as was needed at the beginning of a war. They had yet much to do to overcome the feeling, that each colony was for itself and none for all. Many of the people in each colony sided with the king, and were ready to fight their neighbors at his command. The colonies had no war-ships with which to fight upon the sea, except the little vessels that were being armed as privateers. They had no cannon; they had no arms of any kind, nor any powder and ball, except what the Minute-men owned, each for himself. England was as strong as the colonies were weak, — the strongest nation in the world. She had three times as many people as the colonies had, and was the richest of nations. Her merchant-ships were the best; her navy ruled the sea; and she had a large army that had lately won great victories in Europe, over three great nations. It seemed foolhardy for the weak colonies to brave the anger of England's king. Yet, England could not afford a war. The long and costly struggle that had left her great, had left 34 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY her tired out and in debt. She needed long years of peace in which to grow strong. To fight the colonies would be costly. To do so, she must move her troops, and all that was to supply them, thousands of miles across the sea. It would cost a thousand times as much to put down the colonies, as it woidd to grant their just demands. Her wisest statesmen saw what folly it was for the three-fourths of England in the British Isles, to make war on the one-fourth of England in America. But the king would have his way. 24. The Second Continental Congress. In May, 1775, the Continental Congress came together at Philadelphia, for its second session, no one knowing how long the session was to be. John Hancock of Massachusetts, one of the men Gage tried to capture at Concord, was president. Great events were following each other, and it was to be years before the labors of that session were to end. In the first Congress, there had been a hope that fair treatment might l^e gained b}^ w^iys of peace; now there was a state of war. The time for pleading had passed. The duty of this Congress was to carry on the war. It was hard for the colonists to learn that in union there is strength. From its }:)eginning in doubt and fear, to its ending in victory, all through the six years of its course, the Congress was a scene of petty REVOLUTIONARY WAR 35 bickerings and schemings, through which single col- onies sought to make gains for themselves. The little colonies wanted to have as much power as the INDEPENDENCE HALL, Philadelphia. ])ig ones, and the big ones wanted to control the little ones. There was a scramble for honors and offices. In that Congress were selfish, unworthy, short- 36 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY sighted, narrow-minded, office-seeking, and office- trading plotters, just as there have been in every Congress, ever since. So many petty wranghngs stood in the way of wise measures to help the army, that it suffered much and the cause was set back for years. Such union as there was among the colonies, during the war, came from the outside pressure of a . great common danger, more than from a brotherly spirit within. They were united because they dared not be other- wise. For a time, it was left for each colony to do what it pleased in fighting the king; but at length. Congress acted as though there was a union, and voted to raise an army of 20,000 men, to be paid ])y the United Colonies, and to be called the Continental Army. Thus began the first real National Army. A National Navy was provided for. It was ordered that thirteen war-ships l:»e ])uilt. A National Commander- in-Chief was appointed, and National Money was ordered, called Continental Currency. The word "Continental," was used in the sense of National. There was the Continental Congress, army, navy, and currency. 25. The Siege of Boston. Within a few days after the Battle of Lexington, the little camp of soldier-chasers at Caml)ridge grew to ])e an army of 15,000 men. This army laid siege to Boston. The patriots meant to capture, drive REVOLUTIONARY WAR 37 out, or destroy the British army. The king's troops, that had come to put down the rebeUion, had all they could do, to save themselves. Men were com- ing on foot, from colonies hundreds of miles away, to join the Cambridge army. Earth- works were being built around Boston from which to fight Gage's men, should they come forth to attack. Said the Tories, "What folly! What if the mis- guided rebels did drive back the king's troops from Lexington? That is nothing. The British nation has a great army ; it has able generals ; it has bound- less wealth; it has muskets, cannon, ammunition, clothing; it has factories to make more; it has ships to bring armies and supplies to America. The colo- nies; what have they? Why, they have not powder and ball enough for one good battle. They have no money ; they have no cannon ; the}^ have no shops to make any of the things that are needed in a war. Besides, they are divided. There are about as many colonists in favor of the king as there are against him. These hot-heads will fail. Many will be killed ; more will be hanged for treason." Answering the Tories, the patriots said, "We are at home. The king must send his men and all they need to use, thousands of miles to fight us. It will be very costly. It will cost England more to fight us a year than all the taxes she strives for would amount to in a century. Besides, every time she strikes us, she wounds herself. Are we not a part 38 SHORT AMP]RICAN HISTORY of England? Is all England so insane as to harm herself; or will wise counsels prevail? As to gen- erals, have we not Washington, Montgomery, Arnold, Wayne? Have we not a host of lesser officers, who showed greater skill in fighting the French, than any of those that were sent from England?" Boston in those days was on a peninsula. A little strip of land joined it with the mainland. The water on either side has been filled so much in later years, that Boston now seems to be a part of the main land, itself. This Httle strip was fortified by the British at one end, to keep the Continentals out, and at the other by the Continentals to keep the British in. There were various hills on the mainland around the city which was then very small, from which cannon might send shot to reach the troops within. If the Continentals had plenty of cannon they could batter the British in the city, at long range, until they would be glad to take their ships and get away. Two of these hills were higher than the others. One, in Charlestown, near Bunker Hill, was called Breed's Hill, and the other, on the other side to the south of Boston, in Dorchester, was called Dorchester Heights. By the middle of June, Gage's forces numbered about ten thousand men and he began to think of acting. As a good general, he saw that the first thing to do, was to seize Breed's Hill and Dorchester Heights, and build forts upon them, for it was plain that if he did not do this the Continentals would, and REVOLUTIONARY WAR 39 would then compel him to retreat.* While he was getting ready the Continentals went to Breed's Hill in the night and, by working until morning, built some fairly good breast-works. At sunrise, next morning, June 17, 1775, the British saw what was going on and opened fire on the hill from their war-ships. 26. The Battle of Bunker Hill. Colonel Prescott's thousand Minute-men kept digging. The Colonel walked carelessly up and down the line, telling the men that there was much more room for the cannon balls to miss, than there was for them to hit. The men kept cool and dug with a will, and Gage soon saw that something more than long range cannon fire was needed to drive them away. He said he would drive them out with cold steel. More than a third of Gage's men moved over to Charlestown to take the hill. It was noon, by the time they got over and ate their noon ration, and formed for the advance. Meanwhile the Continen- tals had been working like beavers, not only in strengthening their works, but in getting more men into them. The British were preparing an attack which the Continental officers saw was to be an un- skillful one. In their American fighting, British officers were always slow to see what were the right things to be 40 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY done. They were used to European ways of l^attle, and did not know the American style, which had grown up largely through practice in fighting with the Indians. The English thought that a heavy body of men should move on the enem}^ with crushing force. The American idea was, that each man shoidd, while working with the body to which he belonged, yet fight largely as though he himself was expected to use judgment and skill. Said Gage, "When those rustics see our solid hues, the men shoulder to shoulder, with ba3^onets set, no more to be withstood than a great billow coming to overwhelm them, they will lose heart and run like rabbits. The3^ will not stand a line of advancing steel." He was mistaken. As the line of red-coats came on, some of the Conti- nentals wanted to begin firing. " No ;" said Prescott, "we have no shots to waste. Let every bullet find its man." "Don't fire until they are so near that you can see the whites of their eyes," said Putnam, he who had so hastily quit his plowing at the call of war. On came the British. All was silent behind the breast-works. A thousand eyes were sighting the barrels, each with its man picked out, as doomed to die. A thousand fingers pressed the firelocks ready to pull at the word. The courage shown on both sides was wonderful. To march, as those British soldiers did, straight up to the works, so near that REVOLUTIONARY WAR 41 each one felt that the man who was aiming at him, could not miss, required a nerve as steady, as was ever shown on battlefield since men began to kill each other. The word was given, "Fire!" There were a few seconds of the rattle of musketry; a cloud of smoke floated back; powder-horns were lifted; bullets were rammed home. This was inside the works. Out- side, lay the harvest rows of death. The advancing line had melted. It was broken as a wave is broken when it strikes the rocks. Those that were left of the soldiers who had come on in martial pride, fell back in terror. Again, urged on, threatened, beaten with flats of swords, the British soldiers formed and charged. Again the cool marksmen behind the breast-works swept them out of life. Again they fell back. Now came a time of danger to the Minute-men. Their powder was gone. If the British charged again, they would win. More troops came from Boston, and the third charge was made. It swept the patriots from the hill, and they fell back to escape capture. It was a victory for the British; but it was so costly as to make them tremble. Said one of the patriots, "Great Britain has not soldiers enough to buy our New England hills at such a price." The British lost eleven hundred and fifty-four; the Continentals four hundred and forty-nine. Among 42 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY the patriots who died that day was General Warren who, had he hved, might have become as famous as Washington. Among the British dead, lay Major Pitcairn, who had ordered his men to fire on the Minute-men at Lexington. The battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill proved, what the world had refused to believe, that the Continental soldiers, both in attack and in defense, could stand against any troops in the world. The art of war as followed in Indian fighting, and in the struggle against the French, had been well learned by the hardy New Englanders, and they had become better soldiers than they knew. Thus, in a few weeks, the despised "peasantry" jis the British were pleased to call them, had outfought the veteran troops of the king at Lexington and Bunker Hill. It was shown, and the showing has been many times repeated, that, as a fighter, the American soldier has no superior. 27. Washington, Commander-in-Chief. Two days before this battle, John Adams of Massa- chusetts, he who was yet to l)e President of the United States, rose in Congress and said, "]\Ir. President: We need a Commander-in-Chief, to plan our campaigns and direct our armies, in the great war upon which we are entering. WTio is better fitted to be our chief than George Washington of Virginia?" Washington was appointed General- REVOLUTIONARY WAR 43 in-Chief of the Continental Army, June 15, 1775, and he at once went to Cambridge, and took command. The Congress had made a wise choice. GKORGE WASHINGTON. After a painting by Gilbert Stuart. By order of Congress, troops were sent to Cam- bridge from the colonies of the far South, so that it 44 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY should m11 the more appear, that the army there was truly a Continental one, and not a body of New England troops alone. Washington's task was not a light one. There was but little discipline among the Continentals. The jealous}^ of each other, felt by the colonies, showed itself in camp. Each soldier seemed to think first of his colony, and then of the cause. Desire for pro- motion is natural to soldiers, no matter what they fight for. There w^ere wranglings for rank, and bickerings for preferment, among the volunteer troops, and there was but little firm authority to rule the men. Winter came. There were hardships, of course. " Fight ! fight ! Why don't you fight?" was the cry to Washington. But what had he to fight with? Muskets cannot be loaded and fired with sand. Can- non were needed, and powder and ball, to load them with; and nothing could be done toward driving the British from Boston until these could be had. 28. Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Meantime, others than the troops before Boston were busy. There were cannon, plenty of them, in old forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point, taken from the French in the war a few years before. These forts had been taken by hard}^ farmers led by Allen and Stark, in ^lay, and by the time the snows of winter came, rude sleds had been made and hun- REVOLUTIONARY WAR 45 dreds of oxen were slowly dragging precious loads of cannon, powder and ball from Vermont toward Cam- bridge. Stores of powder were also coming from far- away Georgia. Not only were these things being done ; privateers were scouring the sea in search of British ships, on their way to Boston with stores of war supplies. Thus, were the fishermen of New England taking their revenge for being robbed by the king, of their rights to fish. " If we are not allowed to fish we will not be idle," they said. One of these privateers captured a British brig loaded with powder and it was very welcome. Answering the Tories, who had asked them where they were to get war- stores, the patriots said: "We will help ourselves to the stores of the enemy." When the great guns came, and powder and l^all with w^hich to load them, Washington was ready to attack Howe, who had taken Gage's place in com- mand of Boston. 29. The Attempt to take Montreal and Quebec. It was planned by the British, that while the Conti- nental army was busy in besieging Gage in Boston, a British force should come south from Canada into the colony of New York. Washington learned of this, and decided that the best way to upset the plan, was to attack Montreal and Quebec. He sent General Montgomery with a small force by way of Lake Champlain to take jMontreal. Montgomery 46 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY took the city. At the same time, Benedict Arnold, who had shown that he was skillful and brave, was sent with a still smaller force, through the woods of Maine, to take Quebec. Montgomery was to join him after taking jMontreal. Arnold's men suffered dreadfully on the way and were much delayed in reaching Quebec. A little more than half of them got there, at length, and were joined by Montgomery's force. The attack was made on the last day of the year 1775, and it failed. JMontgomery was killed and Arnold badly wounded. Montgomery was a young Irishman who had fought bravely in the French and Indian War. His monument stands in St. Paul's churchyard. New York City. 30. Dorchester Heights. For some reason. General Gage, after taking Breed's Hill, neglected to take Dorchester Heights, the other hill that commanded the city. General Howe, who followed him in command, was equally neglectful. Howe woke up one morning, to see that his neglect was to cost him dearly. Washington, now supi)li(Ml with heavy cannon, was ready to move. He had been firing on the cit}' all night, from various works around it, all of which was very puzzling to the British officers. "What does it mean?" said one to another. While the British, bewildered by the firing, kept marching about all night, from point to point, to REVOLUTIONARY WAR 47 meet possible attacks from Washington's forces, he was busy moving two thousand men to Dorchester Heights, which he fortified and planted with cannon. When day broke, Howe saw that he must attack the Continentals on the hill, or stand a terrible cannonade from it, or move his army from the city. The British had taken one New England hill. They had learned in sorrow what such hills cost. Howe thought that, rather than attack Dorchester Heights, it would be better to give up the city. It was arranged between Howe and Washington, that if Howe would withdraw from Boston, doing no harm to the city, and leaving his war-stores, and would move quickly, Washington would withhold his fire and let him go. The British troops went aboard ship, together with a great many Tories of the city, and sailed for Halifax, March 17, 1776. Next day the city was entered b}^ Washington and his troops. No armed enemy has ever set foot in Boston since. 31. War in the Carolinas. Baffled in New England, where his troops dared not come out of Boston to fight, the king decided to wage war in the colonies far distant. Before Washington took Boston, a fleet bearing an army was sent from that port to meet another from England, under Sir Peter Parker. These were to move against the Carolinas. • The descendants of those Scotch High- 48 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY landers who, long ago, had settled in North Carolina, were mostly Tories who might be depended on to fight for the king. It was the plan that an armed force of these was to march to the coast and join the British troops landing from the fleet. But something happened. A body of patriot troops fell upon the Tory force and destroyed it, capturing all its stores and a great sum of gold. Learning of this, Sir Peter kept on with the fleet and tried to take Charleston, South Carolina. But, no enemy has ever been able to take Charleston by attack from sea. Both fleet and army were soundly whipped, and the}^ went away discouraged. This happened late in June, 1776. 32. The War in New York and New Jersey. Hardly had the last sail of the British ships passed from sight, bearing troops from Boston to Halifax, when Washington made ready to move his army to New York. He knew that the British generals would probably try to capture and control the Hud- son River, and thus separate New England from the rest of the colonies. He saw that the next fighting was to be in or about the city of New York, and he meant to be there with his men. While the Americans were fighting for their rights, they did not cease trying to obtain them by milder measures. As late as in August, 1775, the Congress sent a messenger to plead with the king and Parlia- REVOLUTIONARY WAR 49 ment for consideration. The king would not even read the petition. "These Americans are rebels," he said, "and I will whip them first and talk with them afterwards. I will keep sending troops until I have force enough in America to conquer those who dare to take up arms against me." He would send troops ! But where was he to get them? England had not yet ceased to feel the strain of the long war she had made against France and the other nations, by which she won Canada. Many of the people of England were opposed to the wicked war he was making against Englishmen in America. He could not get English troops enough for his purpose. Englishmen would not enlist. Many of his officers refused to serve in such a war. He begged kings and emperors and princes of other nations, to let him have their soldiers for hire, to go to America and fight his battles for him. 33. The Hessians. At last he succeeded. Some unfit men, whom fate had made rulers over petty provinces, in Germany, were short of money to carry on their wicked ways of life. Among their unfortunate subjects were soldiers. They ordered their regiments to go to America to fight for the British king, in a quarrel which was not theirs. Thus, for money, they sent thousands of Hessian soldiers away to be killed, much as a farmer might send away his pigs to be butchered. 50 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 34. Independence. The coming of the Hessians made the Americans angrier than ever. They had been fighting for their rights under the king. Now they began to talk of cutting loose from England foreyer. They began to declare for Independejice. They would haye nothing to do with such a king, but would start the colonies as a new nation, or a number of new nations. " We must fight it through," said a patriot to Benjamin Franklin, as together they signed the Declaration of Independence. "We must hang together." "If we do not hang together, "said Frankhn, " we shall surely hang separately." In the early part of the year 1776, there was much talk of making the struggle a war for independence. Wise men among the patriots saw that this was the proper thing to do. England had her foes. There was joy in France, oyer the trouble England was haying with her colonies, and a hope that she would be humbled. The French had not forgotten their defeat by England. They were not idle. French spies were in America; French money had been sent to keep up the rebeUion. It was understood that, at the proper time, France might openl}^ help the Americans, eyen though such help might mean a war with England. But to openty fight for the colonies against their home goyernment, was a thing the French nation did not w^ish to do. If the colonies were a nation, REVOLUTIONARY WAR 51 fighting another nation, France might feel free to take sides with it, and leading Americans were not slow to say that the colonies ought to declare them- selves free from English control forever, and set up a new nation. ' ^In this way," they said, 'Sve may get aid from France." By the middle of the j^ear, it was seen that the time had come to act, and, in June, a committee was ap- pointed to prepare a Declaration of Independence, and another to prepare a series of laws for the government of the nation, to be called "Articles of Confederation." Thomas Jefferson was a member of the committee, and he wrote the Declaration. It was adopted by Congress in 1776, July 4, the day we now celebrate every year as our greatest holiday. 35. Declaration of Independence. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. A Declaration hy thpj Representatives of the Uniieu States of America, in Congress Assembled. When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have con- nected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requiresthat they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident — that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with cer- 52 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY tain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, govern- ments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that, whenever any form of govern- ment becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to sutler, while evils are suffer- able, than to right themselves by aI)olishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of alnises and usurpations, pin-suing invarial)ly the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to pro- vide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of govern- ment. The history of the present king of (Ireat liritain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. 1. He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. 2. He has for])idden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, imless suspended in their operations till his assent should be obtained and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. 3. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the Legislature — a right inesti- mable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. REVOLUTIONARY WAR 53 4. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortal)le, and distant from the repository of their pul)lic records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 5. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 6. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incap- able of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the State remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all the dangers of invasions from without, and convulsions within. 7. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturaliza- tion of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropria- tions of lands. 8. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refus- ing his assent to laws for estal)lishing judiciary powers. 9. He has made judges dejoendent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 10. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their sub- stance. 1 1 . He has kept among us in t imes of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our Legislatures. 12. He has affected to render the militar}- independent of, and superior to, the civil power. 13. He has combined with others to subject us to a juris- diction foreign to our constitutions, and unacknowledged l)y our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation; 14. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; 15. For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment 54 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY for any murders which they .shoukl commit on the inhabitants of these States; 16. For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; 17. For imposing taxes on us without our consent ; 18. For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of a trial by jury; 19. For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried forpretended offenses; 20. For abolishing the free s^-tem of English laws in a neigh- boring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an exam- ple and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies; 21. For taking away our charters, aboIisluDg our most valu- able laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our govern- ments; 22. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 23. He has abdicated government here, ])y declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. 24. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 25. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most l)arbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 26. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall them- selves by their hands. 27. He has excited domestic insurrection among us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merci- REVOLUTIONARY WAR 55 less Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undis- tinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have l)een answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose char- acter is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting in oiu* attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislatures to extend an unwarrantal)!e jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and corre- spondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind — enemies in war; in peace, friends. We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Su- preme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection betweenthem and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved, and that, as free and independent States, they have full power to levy war, con- clude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 56 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY The act of Congress in thus declaring the colonies to be a nation among nations, was hailed with great rejoicing in all the land. The Continental soldiers in New York City, were formed in parade and the Declaration was read to them. The people were wild with joyous excitement. There was no need for a king ; people could govern themselves. They declared that George III of England was a foreigner and a stranger. The king's statue, made of lead, stood on Bowling Green. "That lead is wasted as a statue of the King of England," said the crowd, "we will make it useful." So they pulled it down, chopped it up, and cast the metal into bullets to be fired at the king's soldiers. There were now no British colonies in America. They had l)ecome States. They were united to defend themselves. They were the United States of America. So said the patriots : but the King and the Tories were not ready to admit this. 36. Washington's Movements. While Congress was giving its time to the making of a nation, Washington and his men were struggling at New York against a powerful English army helped by a strong British war fleet. Washington had arrived in April, and in June, Howe had come from Halifax with the troops that Washington had driven out of Boston, and had encamped on Staten Island. REVOLUTIONARY WAR 57 A little later still, Howe's brother, Admiral Howe, had come to New York with the British fleet. Washington saw that the plan of the British was to hold the Hudson River from New York, and to control the Lake Champlain valley from Canada, and thus fence off rebellious New England from the rest of the king's colonies. 'The rebels are not so stub- born outside of New England," said the king. "We will bring them to terms and then go back and have a reckoning with those fellows who have fought us in Massachusetts." Upon a number of hills southwest of Brooklyn, over which the city has since spread, Washington built earth-works in which to fight when the British attack should come. He also built works above New York, and in a general way prepared for defen- sive fighting for the Hudson River, should he be driven back from Long Island. 37. The Battle of Long Island. Late in August, Howe crossed to Long Island from Staten Island, and badly defeating the Americans, drove them back into their works on Brooklyn Heights. Dreading to attack the entrenchments, Howe sought to surround the Americans with his greater force, and lay siege to their works. In Washington's arm}^, there were many men from along-shore in New England, who were skillful boat- men. To them was given the task of rowing the 58 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY troops across the East River from Brooklyn to New York. On August 29, 1776, a foggy night, such as is still common in New York Harbor, they performed their task and the American army was moved to Manhattan Island, escaping capture. 38. Retreat to Harlem. Pressed now by a force much stronger than his own, Washington, checking his pursuers A\ith great skill, fell slowly back. Against the British army he might have held his own. But the army and the fleet together were too strong for him. British troops were sent by ship up the East River, where they landed behind his force, and he had to retreat again. He had built a fort on Harlem Heights called Fort Washington. Seeing that he could not hold it, he ordered his troops to leave it, but his orders were not obeyed. The fort was taken by the British and a large part of the garrison was captured. It was now the middle of November. For weeks, Washington had held the enemy in check, some severe fighting being done at White Plains. Fort Washington on one side of the Hudson, and Fort Lee on the other, had been built to keep the British fleet from going up the river. Soon after the fall of Fort Washington, Fort Lee, on the New Jersey side, was abandoned. The loss of these forts gave control of the lower Hudson to the British for some distance, but works REVOLUTIONARY WAR 59 had been built at West Point, so strong that the fleet could not pass them, and so the Hudson, as a whole, was still held l^y the .Americans. Though driven away from New York City, with heavy loss, Washington still held what he had been fighting for. The fort at West Point was now the key to the Hudson River, and was the most important point in the whole country. To lose it, would ruin the patriot cause. 39. Washington Enters New Jersey. Washington crossed the Hudson into New Jersey, with a portion of his army. His plan was to escape the enemy on the New York side, and, at the same time, be ready to check General C'ornwallis, in New Jersey, whose force threatened Philadelphia. He ordered his second in command. General Charles Lee, to l3ring over the rest of the army to help him. Unknown to Washington, or to an}^ others of the patriots, Lee was a traitor. He was an adventurer? a soldier of fortune, ready to fight in any cause where rank and profit could l^e gained. He was engaged in the war through selfish ambition and not through patriotism. He had sought the chief command, and was jealous of Washington to whom it had been given. He had hopes that Washington might fail so that he could take his place, and he meant to make him fail, if he could. He did not come on with his command, and so Washington was forced to give 60 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY up his plan of fighting CornwaUis. Instead of winning a victory as he had hoped, Washington with his part GENERAL CORNWALLIS. of the army fell back across New Jersey, pressed ])y the British troops. He crossed the Delaware Kiver into Pennsylvania. Lee's command crossed into REVOLUTIONARY WAR 61 New Jersey and remained in the northern part of the State to defend the Hudson. Lee himself was taken prisoner by the British, very soon after this, and it was a long time before he was exchanged. The King seemed to be gaining against the patriots. Cornwallis's army was driving Washington's. People in New Jersey were giving up to the king; men were deserting by hundreds from Washington's army, because they were worn out and discouraged. Con- gress, fearful of capture, moved from Philadelphia to Baltimore. At the end of the year, the time for which many of the soldiers had enlisted would have passed, and many who would not desert, could then feel free to go to their homes. Thus Washington's army became small and weak and would soon be still smaller and weaker. Something must be done, and done quickly, or the Rebellion would be crushed, and the Declaration of Independence be made a by-word. It was now December, and very near to Christmas time. Washington's little force was on the Pennsyl- vania side of the Delaware River in one body, while the troops of Cornwallis were in several bodies on the New Jersey side. A force of Hessians was at Trenton. 40. Battle of Trenton. Washington had been wise enough to seize all the boats that were to be had along the Delaware, for 62 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY many miles. Thus he could cross the river at will, while the British could not cross for want of boats. He could go over and attack them, much more easily than they could come over and attack him. The British, by a long run of success, had come to think that the war was nearly over. "In a few BATTLE OF TRENTON. days," they said, "the rebel army will melt away. There will not be much more fighting." They did not yet know Washington's wonderful genius and skill as a general. He had his mind on those Hes- sians at Trenton. It was the custom of the Hessian people both at home and abroad, to have a good time at Christmas, with much eating and much drinking. Christmas REVOLUTIONARY WAR 63 night this year, was bitter cold, with snow and sleet. The Delaware was full of floating ice. "There is no danger," said the Hessians. "Washington and his men are on the other side of the river, far away, shivering and starving. We will eat, drink, and be merry." That night a Tory spy came across the river to Trenton and sought the commander of the troops. He found him, at last, at a party, half-drunk and very merry. "Here!" said the spy as he handed him a paper, "here is important news." The com- mander took the paper and put it in his pocket with- out reading it, and, muddled with drink as he was, forgot it. Next day, the paper was found on his dead body, unopened. It was a warning, that Wash- ington's army was crossing the river to attack Tren- ton. There was no Christmas cheer that night in Wash- ington's camp. His men, half-shod, half-clothed, half-fed, were plodding along through snow and sleet, over frozen ground, to the river and across. All suffered much, and some perished from the cold. On the morning after Christmas, they were at Tren- ton and rushed to the attack. The Hessians, unfit to fight, quickly gave up. More than a thousand prisoners were taken and what was more important, a wealth of war supphes, worth more to the patriots than gold. In this battle, General Greene, of Rhode Island, 64 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY was very helpful, foreshowing the skill that was yet to make him famous as Washington's right arm, in the fighting that was to come. There was a young soldier there, James Monroe, who was one day to be President of the nation he was fighting for. Moving quickly, for he knew it was dangerous to remain on the same side of the river with the rest of Cornwallis's army, Washington recrossed the river with the captured Hessians and the spoils of war. It was a wonderful victory. It put new hope into the hearts of the patriot soldiers. "We will stay," they cried, "even though our time of service ends at New Year's Day. We will stay. Get for us a little of the money that is due and we will stand by the general that can work wonders with us." In Philadelphia, lived a very wealthy man named Robert Morris. His heart was in the cause. Wash- ington begged him to raise some money for the soldiers. With what he gave himself and what he got from his friends, Morris raised $50,000 and sent it to Washington who paid it to his men. By this time, Washington had come back to Trenton and encamped. The loss of the Hessians made Cornwallis active. He began to close in on Washington with his troops and at length fronted him with a much greater force at Trenton. One night, January 2, 1777, when he had his arrangements all made, he saw Washington's camp-fires twinkling in the darkness, and he said, REVOLUTIONARY WAR 65 " I will bag the old fox in the morning." That night his watchful men saw the patriot camp-fires burning all night long. They could hear sounds, as of men digging to make earth-works, and so they reported to Cornwallis. "Earth-works will not save them," said he. "In a few hours they will all be dead or prisoners." With the coming of daylight the British advanced in battle lines, to take an easy victory. But, the "old fox" and his men had vanished, even as they had vanished before from Brooklyn Heights. 41. Battle of Princeton. Where were they? The dull booming of distant cannon, that the wind brought, told Cornwallis only too well where they were. They were at Princeton, where they had surprised and defeated the British force that was encamped there. Leaving a few men to keep up the camp fires, and a few to make a noise as of digging, to deceive the enemy, Washington had moved away early in the night, and at daybreak had fallen upon the troops at Princeton. He had fooled Cornwallis. Instead of fighting a hopeless battle at Trenton, he was win- ning a brilliant victory at Princeton and capturing a great number of prisoners. Washington's second victory forced the British to give up their purpose of taking Philadelphia, and made them fall back to New York. He had regained 66 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY New Jersey, and he now threatened the British at New York. The Hudson River was now, more than ever, safely in the hands of the Americans. If the kite weeks in 1776 had been gloomy, the earlv ones of 1777 were glorious, and all through the wonderful genius of Washington. 42. Benjamin Franklin. Soon after the Declaration of Independence, Franklin went to France, to plead for help for the new nation. It was a hard task. France hated England and was ready to fight her, but would not engage in the war, initil it could be shown that the Americans could do their part. While CornwaUis was chasing Washington, and the Americans seemed ready to give up the struggle, France was not inclined to give open aid. But now the victories of Trenton and Princeton showed that the Americans could do their part. Franklin began to make headway in his work. There was much sympathy for the patriots in Europe. Officers skilled in the art of war l)egan coming to America, to serve under Washington. Lafayette was one; so were Baron De Kalb, Baron Steuben, Kosciusko, and others less famous. Money was loaned freely in France and in Holland, to Con- gress, and Franklin was promisecLfar greater help, if the patriots could but hold out a Uttle longer. 68 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 43. The Campaign in New York State in 1777. So far in the war, the king had failed. His troops had been driven from New England; he had failed to take the Hudson; he had failed to take Phila- delphia; he had failed to get a foothold in the South. His force was on the defensive in and about New York Cit}^, with Washington threatening it. For 1777, the king's war managers planned a great threefold movement; which was to gain control of the Hudson and to carry the war into New Eng- land. They had ceased to consider the rebels a weak enemy, and they prepared to make their mightiest effort to put them down. They would take the Hudson, cont^uer New England, and then work south from New York. It was all planned in England, and the orders were sent to the generals in America. This was the plan: One army, under General Burgoyne, was to make its way south from Canada, by Lake Champlain to Albany, at the head of navigation on the Hudson. Another army, under Col. St. Leger, was to go, by vessel, up the St. Lawrence and into Lake Ontario; and from there was to make its way eastward through the Mohawk Valley to Albany. Yet another army, under General Wilham Howe, was to move from New York City, and make its way north to Albany. The Iro(|uois Indians were on the English side, and it was expected that many of them would join Bur- RE\'()LUTIONARY WAR 69 goyne and St. Leger as they advanced. Many of them did join. Indeed, St. Leger's force wds very largely made up of Tories and Indians. 44. Employment of Savages. This employment of savages to fight for the king's cause was as foolish as it was cruel. The Americans fought the more furiously, against an enemy that would employ blood-thirsty savages. The Indians themselves, angered at the attempts to stop them from murdering women and children, (|uit the king's troops at the first sign of real fighting and disappeared. The three armies were to join at Albany as a center, each having won its victorious way, punishing the rebels as it came. The whole, united as one grand army, was then to be free to move where it could do most harm to the rebel cause. Burgoyne's army was the best armed force the English had ever put in the field. The muskets, cannon, wagons, tents and all other things needful, were of the very latest and best patterns, far better than any that the Americans had. He started with eight thousand men, and was joined on the way by a body of several hundred Indians. He landed and easily took Fort Ticonderoga. He went on through the woods, trying to overtake the Americans, who had retreated to Fort George. General Schuyler was in his front with a small army of Americans, 70 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY striving not so much to tight him, as to dela}^ his march nnd wear out his men. The Americans GENERAL BURGOYNE. l)unie(l l)ri(lges, felled great trees across the roads, filled the fords in the streams and flooded the valleys, and in every way hindered the advance of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR ' 71 British. There was but little food to be had lor man or beast, and Burgoyiie with great alarm saw his supplies decrease. So well did the Americans do their work, that for three weeks, the British gained scarcely a mile a day. At length Fort Edward was reached, but the men were suffering for food and the horses were used up. It was a bad beginning of the great threefold movement. As it happened, there was, over in Vermont at Bennington not far away, large stores of supplies gathered Ijv the Americans for their troops. Tory spies told Burgoyne about them and he was greatly pleased. "I wdll send a force right over there and get them," he said. "They are just w^hat we need. The rebels are very kind to get them together, where we can so easily capture them." He sent a thousand of his Hessian troops under Col. Baum to Bennington to get the supplies, and at the same time to stir up the Tories around there, and get them to join his force. 45. Bennington. It was the same old British mistake over again. He underrated the New England farmer, as a fighting man. The farmers, under Stark, met the Hessians at Bennington, and killed or captured about all of them, August 16, 1777. Instead of the Tories join- ing Burgoyne, many of them, maddened by the stories they had heard of the dreadful deeds of his 72 SllolM' \MI INt \\ Hlsroin liuliaiis. (unu'tl [>;ilru>ts .iiul joiiu-d I lie AuuMir.iii .Mrmy lo liiiln lum. I-'rum (IkmI inoiiuMit Sc1hi\ Km-'s 46. St. Leger. \\ luM't^ \\;is Si. L(\U(M"'s ;ii-m\? It hnil slnrti^l, .'U'l'orilini;- lo tlu> plnn, tVoin (>s\v(\i;o imi iho Inkc. It n\:\dv its wny down tlu' Moh.-iwk \';ill(\\ until it iwu'IuhI {\\v \Hnu{ wUcw lunv stniuls tlu^ ('it v ot' l\o!iu\ Xow \"ofk. Thon* it ciiiuv to ,1 Un-i caWvil Vovi SrluixltM-. wlucli was l:it(M- i'mIUhI I'oii St;m\vix. St. l.(\i;iM' sIoj>{hh1 \\v\v to \:\kc t ho loiM . Miulinu- it too stroiiii' to ho oniTicHi with ;i rush, hi^ took tinio to surrouuii it nnd try to stni-\o out its tl(M\Mul(M-s. This iinvo \\\c pntrit^s of tlinl j>Mrt of lh(^ ccnnitry ;i ch.Miu't^ to iiatluM-. .-nul 'A iow'c undor (ItMUM'.-d lUM'kinuM' ni;iri'ht>l to ;itt.U'k St. L<\i;vr. Ilu^ Indians loanioil of llorkinuM's :ulvniu'(\ and witli a part t>f St. Loi^er's white tn>ops tliey attacked him. at a plaee called (^riskany. TIum'i^ was a \hm'v tiiM\'e lvitll(\ in which llcM-kinuM- was mortally wi)undeil. I'lu^ hulians wen^ driven olT, hut IhM'ki- n\er's force was {00 weak to [nirsiu^ them. \\'hile tlu^ hesieiiiui!; fc^-ci^ was weaktMuni 1\\' the absenci^ o( {\\osc who h;id i^om^ to tiiiht lTerkimei\ the Amei'ii'ans in tlu^ fc^rt rushiul out and ovtMTan St. l.eii"tM"'s camp, cari'yiu!;- hack into the fcH't much plundiM-. Schu\ Um\ facine; HuriioxMU^ heard o\' the daui^tu" to REVOLCTlONAIiY WAR T', I'oH, S(;hijyl('r, ;ifid s<'nt '.i .small \(}\va- \u\(\(\v (\('A\(',r.i\ Arnold to lir-lp Wcrk'Mucr aud tho ganisrjD. Arr)r>ld by a Hhrowd trick, causfid St. Ij'f^ar to think that ho waH about to ix; r>vf;rwholrnr;rl by a ^n^^it army. Hi.s InrliariH nm ;i,way, /irjd \i(t with Jjis troops fol- lowed, nr)t stoppinj^ urjtil all wr^rr; .safe in C'ana,d;i. So r^ndod tluit pnrt of tho groat throe-fold rnovomrjrjt. 47. Howe's Army. \\ horo w'.iH thf: thirrl 'irrny, Hr>wo'H 'irmy, that waH to oomo from \ow York (.'ity up th(^ HudHon, tho groatx^st amriy of tho throo? It wa« noodod now, for St. I/;^or'H forw! had v;i.ni.shod, arjd H\it%()ytut^H whh \u fircAii troublo, and yot vory far from Albany, whoro tho n.rmir;H wf;ro to mof;t. T\i(', third army, had it ^ono forwarrl as waH ox[x;ot/;d, would \\:iv('. holf>orJ tho rjthor twr> ^roatly, for it would hju'f kopi tljo Amorioans buHy and thuH might have saved Hurgoyno. nnd St. I/'gr-r from attaok. Hut it nf^vor ntarlod. Thf; troaohe^rrjUH Gr;nr;ral (.'hark^s \jte, ho who had fofu.s^Hl to holp Washington, and who had lx?on takon by thf British, wa« a prlsonor in \ow York. Not Husjx^otxfd of Ix'ing a traitor, by thr* Amorioans, he was busy tellirjg tho British general, all ho know about tho Amorioan army, and a^Jvising him what to do to rlofoat it. "Take Philadelphia," he Haid U) Howe. "Wash- ington hfis sr^rjt so many rrjon jigainst liurgoyno that ho has weakened his fora^. You can rnakf' a da«h and 74 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY take Philadelpiiia, and l)e back suuii enough to go up the Hudson, according to the plan, and join St. Leger and Burgoyne at Albany." By a blunder in England, Howe had not received his orders to go up the Hudson, and thus there was an excuse for his not going, so he decided to try the Philadelphia move- ment. 48. Howe Moves Against Philadelphia. Howe set out ])y land, but Washington })locked his way, and made him give up the land route and go l)y water. The war-ships carried his force of 18,000 men up Chesapeake Bay to Maryland and from there he marched on Philadelphia. But Wash- ington had been ]:)usy. He had moved from New York, and his army stood between Howe and Phila- delphia. Now, in the summer of 1777, there was active work going on in two widely distant fields. Schuyler, near Saratoga, was facing Burgoyne, while Washington challenged Howe's army to battle near Philadelphia. The British had, as yet gained nothing. France was watching, hoping that the Americims would win such a victory as would make it safe for her to openly join in the war against her old enemy, England. Howe advanced, and was checked by Washington at the Brandywine River, at a crossing place called Chad's Ford. After a severe battle, in whicli the British suffered most, their stronger force compelled REVOLUTIONARY WAR 75 Washington to fall back, and Howe entered Phila- delphia in September. Washington saw to it that Howe could not get back to New York, to send a force up the Hudson to help Burgoyne. He attacked Howe at German- town just outside of Philadelphia, October 4, and though he did not win a victory, he taught Howe that he could spare no troops for New York, or the Hudson River. It was far better for the patriot cause, for Howe's army to be in Philadelphia, than in New York. Howe's failure to go to the help of Burgoyne, sealed the fate of Burgoyne's army, for it was now l)eset so strongly that, not daring to advance, it stood at bay, hard pressed by Schujder's forces. 49. Burgoyne at Saratoga. On September 19, Burgoyne made a desperate attempt to fight his w^ay clear, in a battle near Sara- toga. Neither army gained a victory. On October 7, he tried it again, with no better success. He fell back to Saratoga and there, on the 17th, he sur- rendered his army. General Gates, a political plotter, had caused Congress to put him in command in place of Schuyler, so the surrender was made to him. The credit of the victory was really due to Schuyler, with Arnold and ]\Iorgan who served under him. Thus far, 1777 had been a glorious year for the Americans. The)" had won several victories and had captured an entire British army. Franklin, still 76 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY working in France, asked the French how much more the Americans must do, to show that they could per- form their part in a joint war against England. So much was promised Franklin, that he sent word to Congress that very soon France would cease to give stealthy help, and would become the open ally of the United States. 50. Valley Forge. It mattered little where the British army was, Washington's part was to hover near it, threatening it all the time, thus keeping it from l)eing active. The British gained nothing in taking Philadelphia; they would have been better off at New York. Con- gress could work as well in another city as it could in Philadelphia. Winter was coming, and Washington went into winter quarters with his men, at a place about twenty miles from Philadelphia, called Valley Forge. From there he could watch Howe and attack him if he moved. It was a hard winter. While the British troops were well clad and well housed in Philadelphia, Washington's men, living in huts, and onlv half supplied with food and clothes, suffered terribly. There are worse things to bear in army life, than fighting. The heroism of the Continental soldiers was more severely tested by that dreadful winter, than by all the fighting of the war. The winter was not wasted. Among the skillful REVOLUTIONARY WAR 77 officers that had come from Europe to help the Americans, was Baron Steuben. All winter, when- ever the weather was mild enough to permit it, he taught the soldiers the drill of the Prussian army. When spring came, every man was a far better and more skillful soldier, than he was when he went into camp the fall before. The British learned this, to their cost, on more than one field during the year that followed. 51. The Treaty with France. 1775, 1776, 1777 had passed and 1778 opened full of promise to the Americans. Spring came, and no movements of importance took place. Franklin had succeeded, and a treaty had been made, in February, between France and the United States, under which the two nations were to fight England together. France loaned great sums of money to the Nation, and sent a naval fleet and a small army to America, to fight under the command of Washington. More than this: — France caused Spain to declare war against England. Thus, England was now fighting, single- handed, against three nations. There was sorrow in England and joy in America. Then it was that our first national song was heard and, "Yankee Doodle" was sung in every village and in every camp. The king ceased to he arrogant. He pleaded for peace. He would forgive the rebels. He would grant all that the colonies wanted. He 78 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY would show them favoivs fur greater tliaii they had ever sought. He would do anything for the sake of peace with his dear colonies He was told that he had no colonies; that what had been his colonies, he had driven from him; and that they were now a nation among nations, at war with him. He was told that he would be fought in America, until he had withdrawn his last soldier, British and Hessian. 52. English Leave Philadelphia Monmouth. By this time, General ('linton had taken the place of General Howe in command at Phila(lelj)hia, and Clinton was alarmed. He knew that if his army remained there until the French arrived, Washington would attack him, and that with a French fleet in the Delaware, he would he forced to surrender, as Burgoyne had been. In Juno, 1778, he started with his 17,000 men for New York. Washington caught his retreating army at Monmouth, New Jersey, and gave battle. But for one misfortune, he would have ruinously defeated Clinton. That misfortune was that General Charles I^e was again his second in command. Lee had been exchanged, and Washing- ton, not knowing of his treachery, had given him his old place. At Monmouth, Lee purposely spoiled the attack so that Clinton's army escaped, though it suffered seriously. With what was left of his force, Clinton reached New York. For his crime, Lee was REVOLUTIONARY WAR 79 driven out of the ariuy. Not until many years after peace was declared, was it known what a wicked traitor Lee had been. Monmouth was the last im- portant battle that took place in the North. Washington followed Clinton and, unable to bring him to battle, crossed the Hudson and encamped at White Plains. Thus he continued to watch and to threaten the British army, at New York as he had at Philadelphia. For nearly two years, he held the English army idle, at New York, while the war went on at other points. 53. The Iroquois Indians. From early settlement days, the Iroquois, other- wise called 'The Six Nations," were the friends of the English as against the French, and in the great rebellion, they fought with the English and Tories, against the patriots. They had fought with St. Leger and Burgoyne, and in 1778, in parts of New York State and Pennsylvania, they and the Tories fought together against the patriots with horrible savagery. In 1779, . Washington sent an army to punish these Tories and Indians; and their ])ands were ])roken up. Then a raid was made on the homes of the Six Nations. Their farms, orchards and houses were destroyed. This left the Indians exposed to a severe winter and they fled to Canada. Their hardships and sickness were so severe that their so SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY power was broken forever. The Great Six Nations ceased to exist. 54. The West. Virginia, as a colony, had claimed a great extent of land beyond the mountains in the West. Foresee- ing that England was to be beaten in the war, Patrick Hem-y, who was governor of Virginia, sent a force to hold the lands, so that they might be claimed from England, when peace should be declared. This was in 1778, and the small force was commanded by George Rogers Clarke of Kentucky, which was then a part of Virginia. He captured some of the forts in the West that had been taken from the French, years before, and that were now held by a few British troops. After dreadful winter hardships, the brave Virginians captured and held Fort Vincennes in what is now Indiana, and the fort at Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River. Thus the Northwest was won ; for as Governor Henry had foreseen, it came to the young nation when peace was declared, because it was held by the Americans. The Mississippi River, instead of the Alleghany Mountains, became the western bound- ary of the early United Stntes, because of the capture of those forts. The British, as they saw the war going against them, lost courage and were filled with hatred for the rebels. As their hopes grew less, there came a desire to annoy, where they could not conquer. From REVOLUTIONARY WAR 81 New York, parties were sent out to rob people, bum dwellings, and destroy property. Parts of New England, New Jersey and Virginia suffered from these raids of malice. 55. Arnold's Treason. The worst traitor of the war was Charles Lee, l^ut his treason was not well known until years later. Next to him, as a base betrayer of his country, was a man who, in the early part of the war, was one of its greatest heroes. General Benedict Arnold. He was the hero of Quebec, and he did more than any other to drive St. Leger back to Canada. He, more than any other, brought about the surrender of Burgoyne. He carried scars that were badges of honor, and he was admired and loved by Washington. Yet the day came, when he shamefully tried to ruin the cause for which he had so bravely fought. When appointed by Congress to take command of Schuyler's army at Saratoga, Gates became the com- mander of Arnold, who had been a general under Schuyler. Gates disliked Arnold and treated him badly, because Arnold knew how unfairly he had dealt with Schuyler. Washington, knowing Arnold's w^orth, and know- ing, too, how unjustly Gates had treated him, placed him in command of Philadelphia, when the city came back to the Americans, after Clinton ran away from it. It was a position of honor. While in command 82 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY of the (nty, Arnold iiiel and iiiairi(>d a l)eautiful young lady belonging to a prominent Tory family. Still brooding over his wrongs, and thus brought under Tory influence, his ardor for his country cooled. He was naturally a spendthrift and he soon found himself in need of money. There were charges made that his accounts with the Government were not correct. After trial by court-martial, he was sentenced to be reprimanded by Washington. The Commander-in-Chief, mindful of Arnold's past services to the country, performed this unpleasant task as gentl}' as possible. Congress also had not treated Arnold fairly, placing men ahead of him in rank, and at one time withholding his pay for a year. Arnold, who was angry at this treatment, became bitter in his feelings towards his country. At length he turned traitor and sought revenge. He longed for a chance to strike a deadly blow to the patriot cause. Through his Torv friends, his desire was soon made known to the British, and they decided to use him. Of all things, the British most wanted to control the Hudson. To gain that control, they must hold the fort at West Point, but they dared not attack it. It was too strong to be taken. Arnold promised to get command of it and contrive that they should capture it. He asked Washington to give him conmiand of West Point, and Washington, glad to please him, granted his request. "I esteem you highly," said REVOLUTIONARY WAR 83 the great chieftain, "and 1 will du all that I can tu advance you." Arnold took connnand of West Point and, according to the bargain he had made with them, straightway arranged for its capture by the British. For his treachery he was to receive a large sum of money and was to be made a colonel in the British army. A young British officer, Major Andre, was sent by the English general to arrange for the taking of the fort. He was arrested near Tarrytown, on his way back to New York after a talk with Arnold, and papers concerning the plot were found upon him. Arnold, discovering that his treason was known, fled from the fort to a British ship in the river, and escaped. During the rest of the war he fought on the British side. After the war, the unfortunate man spent the rest of his life in loneliness, sorrow and remorse, and died in London without friends. Andre was hanged as a spy. 56. John Paul Jones. But little fighting was done by the rebels on the ocean in the early years of the war. The thirteen vessels ordered by Congress, in 1775, were built; but so strong was the British nav}' that they never accomplished much. The most noted naval officer that the Americans had, was John Paid Jones, of Scottish birth, wJio commanded one of the thirteen vessels. The citizens of New Hampshire furnished a ship called " The Ranger" which, under his command, 84 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY did much damage to England's shipping. Jones was a friend of Frankhn, and after France joined the United States in the war. Jones went to France in ■p W V M ^H wsi ^ •> ^^i|H ■^^1 ^^Hj ^'''»i HpR »y Ips B|\^H ^^^ fW ^^^>,^ 1 ^K ''Jl 'H Ik g^^ 1 1 ^^^^^^ i?| ~ ^ lj HP >j^ ml H^H ^S^^l BXo ^H ^^1 ^^4 J ,p ^^^H H^^H ^^^MMf;^^ 1 ^^^^^H ^^^^^^^H n ^p 1 ^/i^^^l ■ JOHN PAUL JONES. "The Ranger." The French fitted up and armed a siout merchant vessel which they named ''The Bon Homme Richard." They thus named the ship in REVOLUTIONARY WAR 85 compliment to Franklin, for the name is French for ''Good Man Richard/' a character in Franklin's writ- ings. Jones was made captain of this war- vessel. "The Bon Homme Richard" was not a strong fighting craft, but what she lacked in strength, was more than made up by the stout-heartedness of her commander. Cruising off the coast east of England, "The Bon Homme Richard" fell in with a British war-ship, the "Scrap is," and Jones put his ship into the fight with a will. "The Richard" was over- matched by the stronger "Serapis," but that made no difference to Jones. To make the fight more equal he ran his ship alongside the "Serapis" and lashed the two together. Thus the battle became a hand-to-hand fight. "Do you surrender?" shouted the English captain. "I have not yet begun to fight," answered Jones, though his rigging was in tatters, his timbers shat- tered, and his decks covered with the dead. The "Serapis" had the better of the fight, and would have won, had not a sailor of "The Richard" happened to throw a hand-grenade down a hatchway of the "Serapis," where, in exploding, it fired a large lot of powder, which blew up the ship and killed many of her men. So badly was "The Richard" damaged, that next day Jones abandoned her, and went aboard the "Serapis" and "The Richard" sank to the bottom of the sea. 86 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 57. The War in the South. Baffled in the North, the British sought to tr}' the fortunes of war in the Soutli. The Tories were stronger there than in the North, and the king counted on great help from those who were, as he called it, loyal. "Establish my authority in Georgia" he said, "and the mass of the people will rally to the support of the British flag." So, in the fall of 1778, the British landed in Georgia, and soon they held Savannah and some smaller towns. There were not many people in Georgia, and in a short time the whole of it was under the king's control. Then the British set out to gain South Carolina. In 1780, a large part of the British army of the North, was sent south, by sea, under Clinton and Cornwallis, and landed at Savannah. Thence the army moved to Charleston and laid siege to it on the land side. The city was soon taken with three thousand prison- ers. This was the first important success, that had come to the British for a long time. It seemed thai the king had indeed won back Georgia and South Carolina. Feeling secure in holding the ground, Clinton now went back to New York, leaving Corn- wallis in command. But the Americans did not give up those States. They began a new style of fighting which puzzled and plagued the British. Small bands of native patriots under native officers were formed. The men knew every inch of the forest, field and swamp of REVOLUTIONARY WAR 87 that wild country, and, supplied with good horses, as they were, they moved from point to point very rapidly. Commanded by Marion, Sumter, Pickens and other leaders equally daring and skillful, these bands constantly annoyed the British. They fought no battle; they simply skirmished, way-laying wagon trains, cutting off small parties, breaking up camps at night, and otherwise harassing their foe. Unable at first to get weapons, many of them made swords from the steel saws that they found in saw-mills, and these had to serve, until better ones were taken from the enemy. The work of these roving bands was important, not only because of the trouble they made for the enemy, but also on account of the spirit which they stirred up in the people. This prevented them from giving up and swearing allegiance to the king. They kept these states from becoming loyal to the king until help came from General Washington. Washington knew how needful it was that some- thing should be done to help the patriots in South Carolina and Georgia. And he wished to send one of his best generals there with troops from the North. He chose General Greene for this purpose, but Gen- eral Gates wanted the honor. As Gates had done before, when he wanted to crowd out Schuyler from the command of the patriot soldiers at Saratoga, he went to Congress, and schemed to get himself ap- pointed in place of Greene. 88 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY The Congress was weak, made up largely at this time of men of little ability, who were much more given to petty pohtics than to true statesmanship. "Did I not capture Burgoyne's army?" said Gates. " Did I not win a great victory? Send me south, and see what^ will do to CornwalUs and his forces." As it had done before, in a way to bring disaster more than once, Congress overi-uled Washington. It made him send the braggart Gates to the South, instead of Greene. 58. Battle of Camden. Gates went south with an army, and, as soon as he got there, he began a coiu-se of ])lunders that brought sorrow to the Americans. CornwalHs ])rought him to battle at Camden, South Carolinii, in August, 1780, and defeated his army. He and a part of his troops ran away clear across the State of North Carolina, himself far ahead of his men. Baron De Kalb witli his troops stayed and fought gallantly, while Gates was running, but they were at length forced from the field. De Kalb received eleven wounds and died three daj^s later. The boastful, tricky, unskillful Gates had brought upon the Americans one of the worst defeats that they ever suffered. Encouraged ])y this victory, the British forced the fighting in this State, and by early fall had subdued South Carolina more fully than ever. The Tories REVOLUTIONARY WAR 89 had indeed rallied for the king and there was bitter strife between them and the patriots of the State. 59. Battle of King's Mountain. ''Now/' said Cornwallis, "we hold the whip over Georgia and South Carolina, and we will capture North Carolina." Moving to North Carolina, he raised a force of about twelve hundred men, mostly Tories. Arming them well, he sent them up into the mountainous parts of South Carolina and North Carolina to rally the Tories there. It is a remarkable thing, well shown in history, that dwellers in the mountains, are lovers of lil)erty. There were more patriots than Tories among the mountains that cross the Carolinas. The backwoods hunters and the farmers, entirely without military skill or form, rallied, even from as far south as Georgia. On October 7, the}^ attacked the British force at King's Mountain, in South Carolina, near the boundary line of North Carolina. The patriots killed or captured the whole force, losing very lightly them- selves. On hearing of this defeat, Cornwallis moved back into South Carolina. Taught a lesson by the defeat of Gates, Congress now allowed Washington to have his way, and he sent General Nathanael Greene to the South. At last Cornwallis had his match. With (General Morgan of Virginia for his right hand man, and with Light Horse Harry Lee for his next best helper, 90 SHOHT A.MKRICAN HISTORY and with A\'illiam Washington, cousin of the great Washington, for another, Greene did not lack officers; hut where were the men? There were only aljout ■ Hi0HH% ^ n K^m 1 .^^^^^H^<. Valley Forge. 24. France aids the colonies. 25. The British give up Bhiladelphin. 2(i. (leorge Rogers Clarke occupies the Noi-thwest Territory. 27. John Paul Jones defeats the British on the sea. 2S. ( Jeneral Arnold turns traitor and tries to deliver West Point to the liritish. 2!l. The P>i'itish victory over General dates at ('amden. ,■)(). British defeats in South Carolina. :U. Greene and Cornwallis battle at (iuilfoid Coui't Hou.se. ('Ornwallis retreats. '.V2. Greene drives the British out of tiie Cnrolinas. 83. Cornwallis i-etires to Yorktowu. 34. Surrender of Cornwallis. 35. Treaty of Peace. End of the War. A new Nation. (QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 1. Why was General Gage sent to occupy Boston with Biitish troops? WJiy did he send some of his force to Lexington and Concord? REVOLUTIONARY WAR 101 2. How did the Minute-men fight the British reguhirs in their retreat to Boston? 3. Where, during this retreat, did the severest fighting take place? 4. What two forts were taken by the patriot soldiers in the northern part of New York State, shortly after the fight at Concord and Lexington? In what war had those forts l)een taken before? 5. Why was the capture of these forts important to the patriots? 6. When did the second Continental ('ongress meet? Where? What was done by this congress? 7. Give an account of the first great battle of the war. 8. Give an account of the movement against Quebec and ^Montreal. 9. When were the British driven out of Boston? How did they go and to what place? 10. Who were the Hessians? 11. What two battles were won in the winter of 177(5-1777 by the Americans? Why were these victories important? 12. What leading American citizen was in France, trying to get aid for his country? 13. What was the British plan of campaign for 1777? Name three British generals who were to take part in the cam- paign? What was each to do? What was the result of this British campaign ? What American generals were opposed to the British during this campaign? Where did the principal fighting occur? 14. Why did Howe fail to do his part in the campaign? Where did he go? Who opposed him? What battle was fought? 15. Where was Washington's army encamped during the win- ter of 1777-1778? Who did valuable work in drilling Washington's soldiers during that winter? 102 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 16. What was the Northwest Territory? Why did George Rogers Clarke go there with troops? Did he succeed? 17. What prominent American general became a traitor to his country? When? What fort did he try tosurrender to the Britisii? Wliy was the position of that fort im- portant? 18. Give an account of John Paul Jones's greatest sea fight. 19. What American general was first sent to the CaroUnas to drive out the British? Was he successful? Who was put in his phu-e? 20. Name two important Wattles occurring in South Cai-olina. One in North Carolina. 21. When did Cornwallis surrender? Where? To whom? Whattreaty was signed ending the war? When? Where? What was settled by this treaty? What territory went to Spain by this treaty? What nation held the land west of the Mississippi River at the close of the war? Chapter III. ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION — THE CONSTITUTION. 65. The States, after the War for Independence to the War of i8i2. Where there had been thirteen colonies, each one independent of the others, there were now now thir- teen States, almost as independent of each other as they had been before. From the time of the Dec- laration of Independence to about the close of the war the States, in so far as they formed a nation, were goverened by the Continental Congress. The Congress had been simply meetings of men, sent by the several States to speak for them. There were no strong laws by which it could control. No State could be made to obey Congress against its will. As the war went on, it began to appear that there was need of a stronger union, to prevent the States from drifting apart. Without stronger bonds, there could be no such United States as the Declaration of Independence named. 66. Articles of Confederation. As early as 1776, a committee of Congress drew up a plan of a Union of the States which should last for- ever. From this action came The Articles of Con- jederation. But they lacked strength. Under them 103 104 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Congress had not much more power over llie States than it had before. It could declare war, but it could not raise troops. It could declare a tax, but could not collect it. As one great statesman said, "Congress could declare everything, but could do nothing." During the war, the States had held together. After the war, when Congress wanted money with which to pay the troops, it had no power to compel the States to furnish it. Neither before nor after the adoption of the Articles of Confederation did Congress have more than a very slight command over the States. And yet the Articles liad l)een framed to make a "perpetual union" of the States. Most of the suffering of the troops during the war was due to the refusal of the States to supply money, when it was called for by Congress. The United States, as far as they were united, had no President nor any officer to serve as a general governor of the nation. 67. Hard Times. Money w^as scarce; hard times came. State after State went into the lousiness of printing and paying out paper money, as they had done during the war. The national money had become worthless, and the money of the States was not much better. Eng- land placed heav>^ taxes on all goods from the United States, thus injuring American commerce, while, under the Ai'ticles of Confederation, the United States FORMlXd A GOVERNMENT 105 Congress luul no powx^' unless l)y consent of all the States, to tax English goods coming to this countiy . The Nation was deeply in debt, and so was each State. So also were nearly all the business men. Worthless money made things worse. There were law-suits without end. The taxes laid by the States were heavy, and people were too poor to pay them. Hundreds of houses and farms were seized by the sheriffs and sold for taxes or for debts, and so worthy people, for no fault of their own, lost their property. There was such a strong feeling against high taxes and worthless money that riots occurred in some }).'irts of the coimtry. 68. Shays's Rebellion. Daniel Shays of Massachusetts, who had been a captain in the Continentat Army, went so far as to raise a force of about a thousand men to fight the government. He went with his little army to Spring- field, Mass., and tried to seize the arms and ammu- nition at the national armory. This showed that the people were ready to fight the new government, against distressful taxes, even as they had fought the old one. Those who had been Tories during the war now began to taunt the patriots. '^See what you have brought yourselves to, by fighting against 3'our king! The worst he ever did, or could do, would not have put you in so l)ad a plight as you are now in." It 106 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY seemed to many that the people, no longer governed by the king, could not govern themselves. Washington was as free with his advice, as a citizen, as he had been with his services as a soldier. People began to see that he was as great, as a statesman, as he had been as a general. As he had been first in war, he was now first in peace, and more than ever he had come to stand first in the hearts of his country- men. He declared at all times, and with all his might, that only a strong central, or national govern- ment could save the country. For three or four years after the war, things in the new, half-formed nation went on from bad to worse. People began to sa}^, "We need a king over us to govern and control all the States." They asked Washington to become king. He had fought for a united country, free from {he rule of kings, and, great man that he was, he refused. There were others than Washington, who were great men. Alexander Hamilton, of New York was one; James Madison, of Virginia and Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania were others. John Jay was another; Thomas Jefferson, he who wrote the Declaration of Independence, was yet another. 69. The Ordinance of 1787. One great question before Congress was: What shall be done with the great country west of the mountains, stretching away to the Mississippi? By FORMING A GOVERNMENT 107 the treaty of peace, England had given up her claim to this vast reach of land. It had not been given to any particular State, nor to the Nation as a whole. Some of the States now remembered that, as colonies, they had owned lands beyond the mountains. The people of Virginia said that their State reached to the Mississippi River, and a like claim was made by the people of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Connecticut claimed a wide strip west of Pennsyl- vania, reaching to the great river, and Massachusetts claimed another lying north of that of Connecticut. New York also had claims to western lands. The States with no claims said to the others, " We helped to win that land from England; we have an interest in it. It is not fair that you should have it all." Maryland, that would not sign the Articles of Confederation until the land question had been settled, said, " If we are all to Hve as a Union of States, let those States that own this land give it up to the Nation. Let this land be owned by the United States." One by one, the States gave up their land to the Nation, until nearly all the country west of the Alleghanies, east of the Mississippi, and north of the Ohio, belonged to the United States as a nation. The next question before Congress was, "What shall we do with all this land?" Some said, "Divide it up, giving each State a share." Others said, "Let it be used to pay the war debt. Sell the land from 108 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY time to time, and usv the money to pay to France and Holland and other creditors, the amounts loaned us during the war when we needed it." There were people who wanted to go out into that good country, and make homes. They wanted to know how they would be treated. Congress decided that if any of the land were sold, it should be sold for the good of the United States. It also decided that the territory, as it filled with people, should be cut up and ])e made into new States from time to time. Much of this great extent of land was the richest and most fertile soil in the world. Many people, espe- cially old Revolutionary soldiers, decided to go and settle there with their families. They urged Con.- gress to make laws for that country, antl in 1787, Congress passed the set of laws known in history, as the Ordinance of 1 787 for the Government of the North- west Territory. What was then the Northwest Terri- tory is now the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It was settled among other things : That there should be no slavery in that territory; that all living there should enjoy absolute freedom of religion; that pu])lic schools should l)e built and means found for keeping tnem up; that when there were people enough there, the territory should be divided into States, which should be admitted into the Union of the United States. This was the wisest and the greatest law that the old Confederation ('ongress, 1781 to 1789, passed. FORMING A GOVERNMENT 109 The Congress was not to last much longer. Arrange- ments were being made for a better form of govern- ment. 70. Constitution of the United States. In the latter part of May, 1787, men sent by their States, came together at Philadelphia to plan for improvements to the Articles of Confederation, and Washington was chosen president of the meeting. Instead of changing the Articles, the convention framed a body of laws which was to take the place of them. This new l)ody of laws was called The Constitution of the United States. Congress declared on September 13, 1788, that the Constitution was in force. Later all the States agreed to it, Rhode Island and North Carolina ]:)eing the last. 71. Slavery. There were many in the United States who had long ])elieved that slavery was an evil, and in some States it had been declared unlawful. In 1780, Massachusetts took such action, and the freeing of the slaves was begun in Pennsylvania. Soon after, New Hampshire forbade slavery, and so did Rhode Island and Connecticut. The feeling against slavery was strong in all the States. The law that forbade slavery in the Northwest Territory was voted for by members of Congress from the Southern States, as no SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY well as by those from the States that had taken action against slavery. Some of the makers of the Constitution wanted the bringing of slaves to this country forbidden, but others objected to this. So it was agreed that the Constitution should not prohibit the slave trade until 1808. But it was not stated that even then it should be forbidden. 72. Industry. Blessed l)y liberty and peace, the people of the United States began to prosper. Farming w(Mit on in all the States, and since the war, manufacturing, no longer kept down by Iilngland, had begun to grow. In 1783, clock-making began in Connecticut where it is still an important industry. In that year, the first woolen-goods factory was built, at Xewl)iiryport, Mass. At the same time the making of cotton sew- ing thread began at Pawtucket, R. I., where it is still carried on. In 1784, an American ship made a voyage to China, which was the beginning of a great American ocean trade. Nothing was known of electricity then, except that it was the cause of lightning, as Franklin, first of all, had shown. Steam for moving machinery had not been used in America, though some trials of it had been made in England. Not much use was made of coal from mines. FORMING A GOVERNMENT 111 73. The First President. Under the Constitution, the Nation must have a President; and who was so good a man to bear the honor and to serve the country, as George Washing- ton? He was elected as President, with John Adams as Vice-President, in February, 1789. New York City was then the capital of the United States, and to New York came Washington to take the office. There were no railroads then; there were very few coach routes. Journeying was slow and toilsome. Washington came in his private coach from his Virginia home. On April 30, 1789, he stood in Federal Hall where now stands the Sub-Treasury building in Wall Street, New York City, and took his oath of office. He solemnly swore that he would "faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and to the best of his ability he would preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." An oath of that kind has been taken by every man, who has ever filled a public office, however small, in our country from that day to this. Those were days of public ceremony. The com- mon people looked upon Washington somewhat as they would look upon a king, for not only was he a great man but he had a noble bearing, and was a man of grave dignity. There was nothing in the Constitution that gave Washington kingly power. He was simply the man 112 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY WASITINCTON TAKES THE OATH AS PliKSlDKNT. FORMING A (lOM^.RNMENT 11)^ chosen b}' his fellow eitizeiis to earn' out llieir trill during a short term, at the end of which they were to select another. The power of the Nation was in the men of the Nation. Population — Character of the Country. When Washington became President there were less than four milhon people living in our country, and of these about one in seven w^ere slaves. All of them, except perhaps a hundred thousand, dwelled east of the Alleghany Mountains. Indians lived in the western region. In all the States, nearly all the land was covered with forests, the home of ])ears, wolves, panthers and other wild animals. Deer, turkeys, geese, ducks and other game were plentiful, also many fur-bearing animals, such as the beaver, tho otter, and the fox. Wild animals were found within what is now the city of New York. The cities were small, Philadelphia being the largest, with forty-five thousand people. The United States started as a new nation in a new country, and wo nation ever had such promise of wealth and great- ness. Here was endless land, never touched by the plow, so rich that it would yield ample harvests for centuries. Here was a coast, hundreds of miles long; with the best harbors in the world. Here were great rivers, on which the riches of the land might be floated to the sea. Here was water power for machinery, that could be made to do as much work 114 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY as could be done by millions of horses. The forests would yield lumber to supply the world, and the hills were filled with the ores of iron, copper, lead, and the precious metals. As the country gave promise of great things, so did the people. They were bred from the best stock of the human race. They were gifted with good (qualities. They were inventive, (luick to see the bounties of nature and skillful in making use of them. 74. Amendments to the Constitution. It could not be expected that the Constitution was to prove perfect and complete, as it was at first drawn. When the people began to try it, and to live under it, they found that there were ways in which it could be made better. During Washington's presidency, ten amendments or additions were made to the Constitution as others have been since. The reasons for this are plain. Some of the States were a great distance from some of the others. There were differences of climate, of living, and of thinking in the different States.. Thus the people could not agree as well about the Constitution as they would have done, had all lived in one State. There were few roads, and travel was mainly l)y water. People who lived far apart, since they saw and knew so little of each other, were more inter- ested, each in his own State and its affairs, than THE YOUNG NATION IW in a plan for the government of all the States. To most dwellers in the United States at that time a man's State was his country. He loved Virginia, or he loved Massachusetts, as the case might be, because the State was his country. Thus, to meet the wants of the different States, five more amendments to the Constitution have been made at later times. 75. Tariff. England meant to prevent the new Nation from succeeding in its manufactures and commerce, be- cause such prosperity would be bad for the English people. The English meant to sell all they could in America, and at the same time keep Americans from selling in England. Wise , far-seeing American states- men declared that the young industries of their coun- try should be helped. They said that taxes should be laid on goods brought from Europe for sale in America, to make those goods more costly. This, they said, would cause buyers in this country to choose American-made goods, as being the cheaper. They said that such a tax, in so far as it kept foreign goods out, would give American manufacturers a better chance to sell their goods. The taxes collected on such goods as came into our country would be useful in pajdng the expenses of the government and in lessen- ing the national debt. At the same time, our manu- facturers would be "protected." It was the purpose to employ the same meins against England, to help 110 SHOUT AMl«:iUCA\ IllsroKY our manufactures and our connnerce, that England liad used against the colonies, to help hers. Such laws were passed in 1789, and thus began the "Pro- tective Tariff" that has been such a matter of dispute in the politics of our country ever since. 76. The Capital. It was thought best that the capital of the Nation should be near the center of the country. The first Congress took up the matter of choosing a place for it. It was decided, after much thought, that Wash- ington should be the capital city, because it was near the middle of the coimtry, and it was thought, always would be. Philadelphia was to be the capi- tal imtil 1800, and after that, Washington. It was not believed that the population would ever extend so far westwardly as it has. No one thought that the United States would ever be more than an Atlantic-slope country, and surely, Washington lay midway between Maine and Georgia, the two ends of it. In our day the center of our coimtry is far out west, in the Mississippi Valley. 77. The Census. According to the Constitution, the number of Representatives in Congress from a State is fixed according to the population of that State. In order to carry out this law, when congressmen are to be elected and sent to Washington, it must be known THE YOUNG NATION 117 what the popuhitioii of each State is. So, what is known as the Census was established. This calls for a counting, once in every ten years, of the people of the entire country. The first census was taken in 1790, and a census has been taken every ten years since. 78. Debts, Coinage, Banking. A war always leaves a nation in debt. The United States was heavily in debt. During the war. Con- gress had borrowed great sums of money in our own country, and had also borrowed heavil}^ in France and Holland. The notes given by the Nation had fallen in value, because there were doubts whether they would ever be paid. But they were the Na- tion's notes, and honor demanded that they should be met to the last penny. The payment of the debt was a great political question. Many said, ''The notes of the govern- ment are now mainly held by speculators, who have bought them for a small part of their face value. In many cases they got them for fifteen per cent of what they call for, and this is all they should receive for them." Others said, "It makes no difference who has them or what they gave for them, those notes are promises to pay. If the Nation is honest it will pay them. Honesty is the best policy. A man who can pay his debts, and will not, is a rogue. A nation that will not pay its debts, is no better." It was finally decided that all the country's debts 118 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY should be paid in full, dollar for dollar, and they were so paid, fully and honestly, as all the debts of the Nation have been ever since The Nation needed a system of coins, and, abandon- ing the English system of pounds, shillings and pence, it established a decimal system, using for its money cents, dimes, dollars and eagles, as we do to-day. In 1792, a inint for the making of coins, was established at Philadelphia. Up to the time of the issue of American coins, the Spanish silver dollar had been in common use as a trading coin. A great national bank was established in 1791, at Philadelphia, with branches in the leading cities of the country. It was called the Bank of the United States. The charter of the bank was to expire in 1811. The question of having a national bank was made a matter of politics, many people believing that the Government ought to have nothing to do with the banking business, and that the Constitution gave the Government no power to found one. 79. New States. During Washington's first term of office, Vermont, which had always been claimed by both New York and New Hampshire, came into the Union as a State. The western part of North Carolina, known as Ten- nessee, and the western part of Virginia, called Ken- tucky, were also joined to the Union. The peopling of the West thus began. THE YOUNG NATION 119 80. Parties. As the people became used to governing themselves differences of opinion formed, and the result was, that those thinking one way, formed one party, and those thinking another way, formed another. So the people were divided into two great parties. One of these, the Federal party, was a national party. It believed that the Nation instead of the States, had great power. From it has come the Republican party of our day. The other was the States Rights, or, as it was then called, the Republican party, believ- ing that the general government, the Nation, had but little authority over State affairs. This party was later called the Democratic-Republican party. From it has come the Democratic party of our day. The first party held that the Nation was an unbreakable union of all the States in one solid Nation. The other party claimed that our Nation was a number of republics bound by an agreement, and that they might fall apart at any time, if one or more of these should decide to break it. This difference of opinion between the two parties never ceased, until, after many years, it was decided by a terrible war that this is a Nation and not a mere partnership of States. 81. The French Republic. In 1789, there was a revolution in France. The people overthrew the kingly government and set up a republic, somewhat like ours. Naturally the 120 SHORT AMI'JMCAX IITSTORV crowned rulers of the countries in Europe opposed the rise of ii kingless nation among them, and the}^ made war on France the Repul)Hc. The States Rights party, then called the Democratic- Republican party, the party of the common people, led by Jefferson, the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, was in full sympathy with the rebels in France, who had overthrown the king. The Jefferson party said that, since the French had helped us in our Revolution, we ought to help them in theirs. "Look!" they said. "See how American ideas of lil^erty have sprung up in Europe! France is a republic! Hurrah for France and liberty!" France was indeed a repubHc. But the common people of France were not always a cool-headed, well- poised people. They ran to excesses. They often mistook lawlessness for liberty. The}^ became wild and did some wicked and disgraceful things. It was not wise for the United States to go very far in sup- port of the French, in all that that people were doing. So thought Washington and Hamilton and their followers, the party in power; for by this time, Washington had been re-elected and was now serving his second term as President. France, the republic, declared war against England and Spain, ancl demanded that the United States should join with her, in fighting those nations. "We helped you," said the French. " It is your turn now; help us." THE YOUNG NATION 121 The Democratic party, led ]:)y Jefferson, favored granting the demands of the French, l)ut the Feder- alists opposed it. "We agreed to help France," said the Democrats, "when France helped us. Now we must keep our word." "JN'o," rephed the Federal- ists, "We made a treaty with the King of France to help him. Now the enemies of the king having overthrown him, ask us to help them. We are not l)ound to do it, and, if we were, we could not, because we are not able." It was a critical time. Our Nation was weak. It was heavily in debt. A war would bring ruin. In 1793, President Washington issued a Proclamation of Neutrality which, in effect, said that the United States as a nation would mind its own business, and would not meddle with the affairs of nations in Europe. This was one of the wisest things ever done by a President of the United States. England at this time would have been glad of a reason for fighting us. 82. The Cotton Gin. There was not much profit in growing cotton in those days. The raising of a crop was easy, but after the cotton bolls were gathered they were worth I nit little, because of the slow and tedious labor of separ- ating the fi]:»re from the seeds. It was a good dav's work for a slave to pick one pound of cotton from the seeds, and make it fit to be carded and spun. It 122 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY did not pay well to own slaves then, for they could hardly earn enough for their masters in raising corn, tobacco, rice, and other crops to pay for their keep. Slavery had ceased in the Northern States, largely because it did not pa}^, and it was likely to be given up in the South for the same reason. In 1793, an ingenious New Englander, named Whitney, was in the South where he saw slaves picking cotton from the seed b}^ hand. He made a machine which he called a cotton-gin, by means of which hundreds of pounds of fibre could be separated from the seeds, each day. This invention made cotton-growing very profitable and thus fixed slav- ery firmly in the South, because larger cotton crops could be profitably raised, and thus more slaves were needed for this work. 83. The National Government uses its Power. The Government needed money, and taxes were laid to get it. Among other taxes, was one on whiske}', much like that which we have in our day. Those who made whiskey had to pay a certain sum to the general government, on every gallon made. This tax bore hard on the farmers of what was then the West, especialty those in the western part of Pennsylvania. These farmers raised large crops of corn, and corn was worth but little to them, because of the great cost of getting it across the mountain range to the THE YOUNG NATION 123 coast where it could be sold. They made a practice of making whiskey from the corn, and sending the much less bulky whiskey to the coast. Raising corn and making it into whiskey was about the only way in which they could make a living. The tax on whiskey ruined their business, and they declared that they would not pay it. It was a matter between men of the State of Penn- sylvania and the general government, the Nation. It was now to be seen whether the Nation could enforce its laws in a State. The Nation's officers were driven away. Others, sent by the President to explain, were not given a hearing. At length, the President sent an army of fifteen thousand men to that part of Pennsylvania, where the trouble was. At this show of force, the farmers gave way. The National Government had shown that it could rule, and not only make a law, but enforce it, in a State. 84. America's Chance for Greater Commerce. The war [between France and England went on. Each nation swept the commerce of the other from the sea. The carrying of goods upon the ocean was done largely ])y American vessels, and they were very l)usy and earning great profits for their owners. Many of them were used to carry food-stuffs to the two nations that were at war. American ship-owners had so much to do, that it was hard to get sailors enough. Wages for seamen were higher than ever 124 SHORT AMERTCAX HISTORY before, much higher than were paid by EngHsh ship- owners. English sailors were tempted l^y the high wages to serve on American vessels. Sailors of the British Navy deserted, whenever they got a chance, and worked on American vessels, and some even enlisted in the American Navy. This made British merchant-ships and even British naval vessels short- handed. 85. Our Vessels Searched for Sailors. England did not like to lose her sailors and she tried to put a stop to their deserting. She did not wish Americans to send ships to sea, and whenever one of her war-ships met an American ship, that might be carrying goods to France, it seized her. English cruisers made a practice of halting all American vessels and searching them, to see if there might he British deserters on board. If there were any sturdy strong-looking sailors on the American vessels the British naval officers were very likely to take them off whether the}' were deserters or not. They would seize an American and drag him away, saying that he was a deserter, and would make him serve on their war-ships, and there was no help for it. The course of England made the followers of Jefferson still more eager for a war in behalf of France. The feeling of anger against England grew so strong that there was danger of war. THE YOUNG NATION 125 86. The Jay Treaty. But Washington knew that war was ruin, and lie proposed a new treaty with England. It was made in 1794, by John Jay, and is known as the "Jay Treaty." It was not a fair settlement, and it left some matters in dispute, but it was the best that could be made. England still held that she had the right to search our ships for supposed English de- serters. Jefferson and his party urged war; but the President was wiser than they, and knew better what would come from it, and war was avoided. It some- times takes more courage to refuse to fight, than it does to fight. Washington had the courage to refuse. 87. The Spanish Treaty. It was not alone with France and England that the weak United States had trouble. Spain had no respect for the young nation. There were Spanish soldiers in forts on United States soil, and Spain would not remove them. The Mississippi River flowed for many miles through the Spanish country, and it was only by means of that river, that the American farmers in its valley could send their prod- ucts to the sea, to be then shipped for sale in other countries. The Spaniards would not let the goods go through, although the right of navigation in that river was given us by the treaty of Paris at the close of the Revolutionary War. But in 1795, a treaty was made with Spain which opened the way for our 126 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY western products to reach the sea by means of the great river. JOHN ADAMS. 88. A New President. Washington could have been chosen President for a third term, had he so wished. But he refused to THE YOUNG NATION 127 hold the office again and retired to private Hfe as he had retired from the army. In the wrangle of poli- tics, he had been abused and shamefully slandered and he was tired of public life. In his farewell address, he charged his countrymen to preserve the Union, to keep it strictly honest in all its dealings, and to keep it clear from the affairs of European nations. Washington was followed, as President, by John Adams, of Massachusetts, a statesman whose ideas of the way the country should be governed, were like those of the great man he succeeded. Thomas Jefferson was the new Vice-President. 89. France. As a republic, France had at the head of the government, not a President, as the United States had, but a committee of five called the Directory. When Adams became President, he found France an enemy to the country. The Directory had ordered the American Minister to leave France. The news of this, coming by sailing-vessel across the sea, did not reach Philadelphia until Adams had been in office some days. There was great anger in the country, and some Americans said that we ought to go to war with France. But it was the part of wisdom for the young nation to hold to peace, and to gain strength, rather than to fight and lose it. President Adams sent Marshall, a strong man, 128 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY yet U) !)(> known us a very great one, with Gerry, to join Pinckney, wlio liad been ordered from France. The three were to meet the Directory and, if possi- ble, arrange for peace. Upon reaching Paris, they were called upon by agents of the Directory, and told that America must loan France a large amount of money and must give bribes to the members of the Directory, or further talk was useless. It now seemed that war with France was near at hand, and the Nation began to prepare for it. Wash- ington was made commander-in-chief. It was then that the Government created what is known as the Navy Department. Naval vessels were built and strong merchant-vessels were ])ought and made into war-ships. As soon as the Americans got ready, and that was very soon, the French began to see that they were likely to have serious troul:)le. After a show of force, the French became reasonable and promised to receive any minister the President might send, and to treat liim with proper respect. 90. Napoleon Bonaparte. By this time, about 1800, the French Repu])lic liad been overthrown and a young man, Napoleon Bona- parte, destined to Ijecome one of the leading men in history, was in power. A treaty of peace was soon made. 91. Death of Washington. In 1799, George Washington passed away. THE YOUNG NATION 129 92. The Census. Ill 1800, the second census was taken. The Nation had a population of nearly five and a half milUons. There had been ten years of prosperity. During this time the town that is now the city of Cincinnati was founded. Carding, spinning, and weaving by machines run l^y water power, had begun, though home weaving was yet to be the method of cloth manufacture in America for many years. In those times, the spinning-wheel and the hand-loom were parts of the furniture of nearly all households of well-to-do people. Farmers raised their own wool and flax, and their wives made the family clothing from them. In 1791, the first American whaling ship entered the Pacific Ocean. She sailed from Nantucket, Mass. In 1792, Captain Gray, of Boston, sailed his good ship, the "Columbia", around South America and into the mouth of a great river of North America, flowing northwesterly into the Pacific. He gave the river the name of his vessel, and it is called the Columbia River to this day. On Gray's voyage, the United States, many years later, based a claim to the great Oregon country which now forms several States. In 1793, at Newburyport, Mass., crackers were first made in this country. Carolina rice was, by this time, beginning to be known as the best in the world, and was sent in large quantities across the sea for 130 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY sale. In 1795, the first gold coins were sent out from the United States Mint, at Philadelphia. In the year following, type-making l^ecame a business in Philadelphia, and Pittsburg began its great glass- making industry. Wooden plows had been used up to this time, but now those made of cast-iron were coming into use. Immigrants began coming to this country in 180U, and they have been coming ever since. In 1800, there were two hundred newspapers and magazines in the country. "Away out West," then, and for many years later, meant western New York State and Ohio. By this time Washington had been laid out as the capital city, but nearly all of what is now known as the city was forest. The Capitol was being built and, during the term of President Adams, Philadelphia ceased to be the Capitol and Congress was held in its new home. But it was fifty years later when men saw the building completed. The City of Washington had about five thousand popu- lation. 93. Election of Thomas Jefferson. In 1800, the presidential election occurred, and Thomas Jefferson was elected. This election was a victory of the common every-day people over those who were incUned to be aristocratic. Jeffer- son was of the common people. He carried on the THE YOUNG NATION 131 affairs of government in a very simple manner. In- stead of riding from the White House, to the Capitol, THOMAS JEFFERSON. in a stately carriage, as Washington and Adams had done, he walked; and perhaps he was liked all the better for it. There was an absence of court form ]:V2 SlIOKT AMKKICAN 1118TORY and ceremony at the White House, while Jefferson A\as President. Jefferson believed in cutting down expenses. He said that a nation, like a business firm, or a man, should save its money and pay its debts, and should practice economy to that end. "What need is there of spending so much on the army and navy?" said he. " We are not at war, and we are not likely to be, if we are peaceable and well-ljehaved as a nation. The trouble with France is over, and we can now do with a very small navy." This was not the spirit that Washington had shown, when he said, " In time of peace, prepare for war." Jefferson made the Nation weak, as a fighting power, but he kept down expenses, and paid off a large })art of the natioiinl debt. It might have been wiser to build up a power- ful navy, for use in case of need. The United States had once been saved from a terrible war with France, and perhaps from destruction, by being prepared to fight, and such a state of things might come again. 94, The African Barbarians. The half-civilized people that live along the African shore of the Mediterranean Sea, in the countries called the Barbary States — Tunis, Algiers, Tripoli and Morocco, — are Mahometans and of a race called Moors. From before the time of Columbus, down to the days of Jefferson, it had been the practice of these Moors to capture the ships of the people of Europe, THE YOUNG NATION 133 and make slaves of the sailors and passengers. So long had these pirates had their way in this, that they began to think that they had a right to such spoils as they could thus gain. So little spirit had some of the nations of Europe, that they regularly paid money every year to the robbers — that their ships might be let alone. Even the United States paid tribute to these pirates, to get them to cease plundering American ships, and murdering and en- slaving their crews. As early as 1785, two American vessels had been taken by the Moors, and twenty-one men of the crews were sold as slaves. Since then, many other American vessels had been taken. Many Americans would have been pining in slavery, in the Barbary States, had not more than a million dollars been paid to buy their freedom. This was worse taxation than any that England had ever laid, and the American Nation was in no mood to bear it. In 1801, Tripoli demanded, in a very insolent manner, that a larger tribute be paid by the United States. This insult was resented, and the Bashaw of Tripoli declared war. A fleet was sent in 1803, under Commodore Edward Preble, to teach the Bashaw of Tripoli what manner of men the Ameri- cans were. There was sharp fighting during the two years following, for the Tripolitans were a sturdy foe to 134 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY deal with. On one occasion, an American frigate, the 'Thiladelphia, " struck a rock in the harbor of STEPHEN DECATUR. Tripoli, and with her officers and crew was taken by the enemy. It was too bad to lose the ship, but it was worse that the Moors now had a vessel, better than they could build, with which to fight us. THE YOUNG NATION 135 Young Stephen Decatur, of Maryland, a naval lieutenant in one of the other ships, set out to destroy the '^Philadelphia," where she lay in the harbor, pro- tected by the guns of the enemy's- forts. With a small vessel that he had captured, he ran into the port one night and, before the Moorish crew of the ^Philadelphia" could stop him, he was on board with his men. After a few minutes of fierce fighting, the crew were all killed, except those who had jumped overboard. Then Decatur set fire to the ship and retreated without losing a man. The ' 'Philadelphia" was completely destroyed. By 1805, the bashaw had had fighting enough and, for the time being, a treaty of peace was made. In 1803, Ohio came into the Union as a State, the first to be made out of the Northwest Territory. 95. The Louisiana Purchase. The Spanish on the south and west were not pleasant neighbors. It was felt that, sooner or later, there might be war with Spain; but the people were not very much worried about that, for the days of Spain's great military strength had passed. The Spanish tried to stop the flow of American commerce from the great Ohio Valley, by way of the Mississippi River, which, near its mouth, ran for a hundred miles through their country. The people of the Mississippi Valley would not allow this, and soon trouble was brewing. The farmers of Kentucky and. Tennessee 136 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY were ready to go down the river, and fight their way through. But, before the time for war came, it so happened that Spain sold -the country west of the great river to France. It was now France, under Napoleon Bonaparte, that was to be dealt with, in the matter of the right of way to the sea. The great country was still called Louisiana, just as it was when La Salle found it and claimed it for France. France had lost it; but now, under the great Bonaparte, she had regained it, and Bonaparte meant that, after all, there should yet be a great New France in America. France was now, under Bonaparte, one of the strongest nations of Europe. There was no reason why the United States should object to a French province as a neighbor, on the far side of the Mississippi, and no objection was made. But Jefferson thought it a good time to try to settle the question of the right of way, down the river, to the sea. He sought to buy the city of New Orleans from France, to settle this question. If the United States could have that cit}^, the Nation would have one bank of the river and France the other, and both could sail their boats upon the waters that flowed between. But if France continued to hold both banks near the sea, she could, in case of war, shut off the Nation's outlet. Jefferson picked out James Monroe who, as a young soldier years before, had helped Washington to capture the Hessians at Tren- THE YOUNG NATION 137 ton, and who was to be President himself one day. He sent him to France to try to buy the City of New Orleans It is doubtful whether Bonaparte, if his plans had carried well, would have sold the city or in any other way have loosened his grip on the mouth of the river. But, as it happened, there was grave danger that France would soon be at war with England; indeed the war soon came. Bonaparte knew that, as soon as war was declared, England might seize the great Louisiana country and that with her command of the sea, she could hold it in spite of all that France could do. He was a far- seeing man, and he knew that France must part with Louisiana, or it was likely to fall into the hands of his enemy, England. Bonaparte, also, for another reason was willing to let the province go. He needed money for the coming war, and he saw a chance to get it by making the sale. So he told his Minister of State to offer to the American Commissioners not the city alone, but the whole territory, and to sell all of it, at a low price. The offer was made, and the American Commis- sioners accepted it, at a price of fifteen millions of dollars. For this sum, the United States thus gained a new country as large as all they had before. Now the domain of the United States was bounded on the west by the Rocky Mountains and the Rio Grande River, and every foot of both banks of the Mississippi River, from its source to its mouth, and of 138 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY all its branches was owned by our Nation. The cost of this land was about two and a half cents an acre. ' '^I have, by this act, made the United States so great, that that Nation will some time humble the pride of England," said Bonaparte. Think of it! From that purchase have sprung Louisiana, Arkan- sas, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, part of Kansas, Montana, Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, and nearly all of Minnesota, and large parts of Wyoming and Colorado. It was a great bargain. 96. The Oregon Country. A vast country, great enough for an empire, lay north and west of the Nation's boundary line, in and beyond the region of the Rocky Mountains. It had never been explored. Indeed, much of the Louisiana Territory, especially in the north, had never been trodden by the feet of white men. Noth- ing was known of it, except what had been told by the Indians. "Let us search out our new country," said Jeffer- son, ''and even that which lies beyond." Parties were sent out to visit the unknown lands and to report. One band of explorers, kno^vn as the I^wis and Clarke party, started from St. Louis, a httle log cabin town, on the Mississippi, lying a short way below the place where that great stream is joined by the Missouri. Setting out in 1804, they made their THE YOUNG NATION 139 way up the Missouri, which had been unexplored ever since it was seen by La Salle. Paddling against its swift and muddy current, they passed a point, on one side of the stream, where there were high bluffs of very fine sand. Here Indians used to meet, to hold their councils. These hills they named Council Bluffs. There is a city there now. On the other side, among hills less high, they found a tribe of Indians, called the Omahas. There is a city there, too, in our day. Between the two there is a great bridge, over which pass countless trains of cars, run- ning to and from the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Not many miles farther up the stream, they came to the lands of the Sioux Indians, where there stands, in our time, another city. Even as Father Marquette, Joliet, and La Salle had toiled up the Mississippi and its eastern branches, returning from their quests for their king : — so Lewis and Clarke and their men worked their way to the north and west against the sturdy flow of soil-bearing water, that came from the mountains, searching for the sea. Three thousand miles from where the river finds the salty tide, these hunters found its rising place, a little brooklet in the Rocky Mountains. They were on the great divide. They were on the ridge of the continent. As they stood facing the north, the streamlets on their right all sought the Gulf of Mexico, through the Missouri. On the left, all wound in and out among the mountains, never 140 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY ceasing their flow, until their fresh current fell into the salt water of the Pacific Ocean, There were Indians in the mountains. There were Indians almost everywhere in North America, in those days. The Indians among the mountains had horses. They told the travelers that horses were new to the country, never known, until, far to the south, they were brought by Spanish soldiers, who years ago conquered the natives of Mexico. " Now," said they, "wild horses are common and we catch them and tame them." All this was true, for then as now, the plains of the great West were roamed by herds of wild horses, descended from the horses of Cortes and his men. The party bought horses from the Indians, and went on down the western slope. At length, they came to a river which, fed by man}^ branches, grew larger as it flowed. Turning their horses loose to become wild again, they floated down the stream in boats that they had made. It was the Columbia River, the same into whose broad mouth Captain Gray of Boston had sailed his ship, years before. Going on with their boats, they found themselves in the Pacific Ocean. After crossing the divide, they were beyond the bounds of the Louisiana Territory, and in a country belonging to no kingdom. It could rightfully be claimed by the United States by right of discovery, even as lands had been so claimed for centuries, by THE YOUNG NATION 141 the exploring nations of Europe. The youngest nation in the world was seeking lands to claim, and was finding them, as England and France had done, so long before. On the voyage of Captain Gray to the Columbia, and on this journey of Lewis and Clarke, were based the claim of the United States, which, in later years, brought the Nation ownership of the great Oregon Country. From it have been made the States of Washington, Idaho and Oregon. The explorers were gone two years and a half, returning with their wonderful story, in 1806. In 1804, Jefferson was elected to serve a second term, as President. The country had prospered and he was greatly liked by the people. 97. Trouble on the Sea. The war with England, that Bonaparte foresaw, came and was waged fiercely. On the land, France gained; on the sea, England, with her great navy, had the advantage. Each nation tried to injure the other b}^ ruining its trade. They took each other's vessels; they declared ports to be closed against each other. Neither England nor France had any respect for such a weak nation as ours. France insulted us and England bullied us, while Spain was insolent. They knew that we were weak. People in the United States now began to doubt the wisdom of being without a navy, that money might be saved, and 142 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY hence of being unable to protect ourselves from ill treatment. Our nation was prospering. If we could remain at peace, we could gain strength and wealth, for the war in Europe gave the commerce of the ocean to our ships. We took no part in the war. As a people we attended strictly to our own affairs, following Washington's advice to keep clear of European quarrels. So well did the shipping business pa}', that American captains gave higher wages to sailors, than they could get for service in an}' other ships. Seamen began to desert from English merchant- ships and even from English war-ships, to engage in American vessels. English sea-faring men were good sailors, and the American captains were glad to get them. They encouraged such desertions. It ' ma}^ not have been neighborly to entice England's naval tars away, but it secured good men, and that was the main thing in the minds of the American skippers. England still complained that Americans were hiring English deserters from her navy, and said that she would take them wherever she found them, even if it were on board American war-ships. Her naval officers kept up their practice of searching American vessels on the sea, and taking by force such deserters as were found aboard. England needed seamen very much; so much so that her officers used to send gangs through the THE YOUNG NATION 143 streets of her cities to kidnap men, to serve on vessels of war. Wanting men so much, the temptation was strong for her officers at sea to claim as deserters, fine-looking men on American ships, who had never served in the English navy and therefore could not be deserters. Hundreds of manly American sailors were thus seized and made to serve in English war- ships against their will, and tortured by the lash if they hung back. But what could the United States do about it? No matter how much they might want to fight, to put a stop to such barbarous and insolent doings, they could not, because they had no strong nav}^ They had been economical, and had saved the money, that should have been spent for war-ships, and now they had to suffer insult and abuse without daring to resent such treatment by fighting. Both England and France, while they fought each other, tried to break up the shipping industry of the United States. The American people took for their motto, "Free trade and sailors' rights." It meant the right to trade freely on the sea, and the right to have their sailors protected from English outrage. One day, in 1807, the frigate "Chesapeake," one of the very few war-ships our Nation had, was met not far from our own shore, by the British war-ship, 'The Leopard." The British captain declared that there were four British deserters on the ''Chesapeake" and said that they must be given up. The captain 144 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY of the ''Chesepeake" refused to give them up, and "The Leopard" opened fire. It was a time of peace for the United States, and the ''Chesapeake" was in no shape to fight. Her captain made no attempt to resist 'The Leopard," and the ship was boarded and the men taken off. This act was one of the worst insults ever offered by one nation to another. But what could our Nation do? It had been economical, and therefore it was unable to fight. Americans from one end of the country to the other were angry. But their anger was like that of a small boy against a strong man. We were helpless. Matters grew worse. American ships were carry- ing goods to England and France alike. France said "You must not send goods to our enemy, England," and England said, "You must not send goods to our enemy, France." Then each nation began to seize such American ships, as it could catch going to the other with goods. Soon the business of carrying goods by sea became very risky and un- profitable. It had to be given up, largely, because our Nation was too weak to fight and protect it. 98. Embargo Act. At this point, Jefferson and some of his advisers, thought of a scheme to bring both France and Eng- land to terms. "They both of them need our products so badly," it was said, " that if we shut them THE YOUNG NATION 145 off from getting them, they will soon be glad to promise us better treatment." So, an act was JAMES MADISON. passed by Congress, called the " Embargo Act," which forbade American vessels to leave our ports. This scheme of shutting off the French and English, 146 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY from needed American supplies, hurt both of those peoples, but it hurt the Americans too. The great business of the New England part of the United States was the shipping trade; and the outlook was very gloomy when all the vessels owned by the New England people lay rotting in idleness at the wharves, with thousands of sailors out of work. Just as New Englanders before the Revolution had disobeyed the laws of England, and had sent out their ships, so they did now, in spite of the law, and of the President, and of the Congress. This course led to more severe laws, and then the New England people, began to talk about taking their States out of the Union. 99. Election of Madison. At the close of Jefferson's second term, he might easily have been elected again. But, hke Washing- ton, he believed that no man ought to hold the office for three terms and, Hke Washington, he retired to private life. James Madison followed Jefferson, as President, beginning his term in 1809. Non-Intercourse Act. Very soon after he took the office, the hated Em- bargo Act was repealed, and a new law took its place. This was called the Non-Intercourse Act. It allowed American vessels to trade with all the world except England and France. Soon our ships were on the THE YOUNG NATION 147 seas, laden with our goods. But both England and France kept seizing the ships of the country that could not defend itself because it had no navy. 100. The Third Census. The census for 1810 showed that the population was about seven and a half millions. By this time, there were half a million people hving west of the Alleghanies. They were but very few compared with the number which that region could support. Jefferson was a wise man, but he was unable to fore- see the greatness of our country. He said that it would be a thousand years, before the country would be well peopled to the Mississippi River., In 1802, a few people began to use steel pens. Up to that time, the writing of the world had been done with pens made from the quills of the wing feathers of geese. That was the year when the Military Acad- emy at West Point was founded. In 1804, some cabins were built on the western shore of Lake Michi- gan, and thus the city of Chicago was founded. In 1805, the first trade-vmion was formed in America. It was started by the tailors of New York City. This year saw the beginning of the great export ice-trade, between Boston and cities in the torrid zone. A great business now began in the way of driving cattle, from beyond the Alleghanies to eastern towns. Thus, the grain and forage of that rich country was marketed. They were turned into beef 148 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY by feeding, and the beef was made to walk to market. In 1806, coal was being mined at Maiich Chunk, Pa., and at Philadelphia a saw factory was started. In 1807, Fulton in his steam-driven boat, made his first trip up the Hudson River to Albany. What would he think of the steam-driven vessels of New York harbor to-day! His invention was one of the most important ever made by man. In 1808, began the steel-making industry of the United States, and during the same year the first Temperance Society of the country was formed. In 1809, there was a steamboat on Lake Champlain and the fii'st machine to turn out screws was work- ing in ]\Iassachusetts. In 1810, King George III of England, he who had driven the colonies into rebellion, became insane and was put under restraint. SUMMARY. 1. The Continental Congress lacks authority over the States. 2. A coinniittee appointed to draft laws for a new govern- ment. Articles of Confederation. 3. Defects of the Articles of Confederation. 4. Ordinance of 1787. 5. Constitution of the United States takes place of Articles of Confederation. 6. Slavery. Opposition to it in all the States. 7. The first Pre.sident. 8. Constitution defective. Amendments made. THE YOUNG NATION 149 First tariff law.s. City of Washington, the new Capital. The making of coin liegins. Bank of the United States. The pohtical parties. War of France against England. The United States re- mains neutral. The cotton gin; its effect. Internal revenue, whiskey tax. England searches our ships at sea. A new President, John Adams. Quarrel with France. Napoleon Bonaparte of France. Thomas Jefferson, third President. Economy and sim- plicity. War with Barbary pirates. The Louisiana Purchase. Oregon Country. England still searches our ships. Embargo Act against England. James Madison, fourth President. Non-Intercourse Act. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. Why were the Articles of Confederation passed? Did they give Congress sufficient power? What was done to secure a better form of government and to form a more ''perfect union" of the States. What was the Ordinance of 1787? At the close of the Revolutionary War, what was the feeling with regard to slavery? How many amendments were made to the Constitution during Washington's term? What were the tariff laws of 1 789? Why were they passed ? What were the two early political parties? 150 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 9. What was the Prochimation of Neutrahty? Why was it made? 10. How did the invention of the cotton-gin affect slaveiy? 11. Why did England search our vessels on the high seas? 12. What was the French Directory? How did they treat our minister to France? 13. Who were the Barbary pirates? 14. What was the most important event in Jefferson's first administration? 15. Who explored the Oregon Country? What other country claimed this region by right of discovery? 16. What was the "Embargo"? The Nou-Tntercourse Act"? I Chapter IV. TROUBLE WITH ENGLAND. loi. The War of 1812. England and France held to their evil course toward our country during Madison's first term. England was very abusive. By this time, fully a thousand of our trading vessels had been taken l^y the English navy, and thousands of good American sailors were serving against their will in English war- ships. They were like slaves, compelled to fight for their masters, and flogged if they did not do their work well. Insults and outrages from England could be borne no longer, and, though the United States was in no condition for fighting, war was declared against England, in June, 1812. It was a mistake. It was a case in which righteous anger overcame judgment. Some hot-blooded young statesmen from the Southern States, among whom were Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina', urged that war be declared, and they had their way. Much against his wish, Madison yielded, and the War of 1812 against England began. Had there been less haste it would have been better, for, no doubt a peaceful settlement could have been made. Older men with cooler heads, though angry 151 152 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY with England, felt that it would be wiser to wait, and were much in doubt as to the outcome. In 1812, the State of Louisiana was admitted to the Union. It was only a very small part of the great Province of Louisiana, that had been bought from France. The country was even less prepared for war than had been supposed. It lacked skillful officers to plan and direct the fighting. The great man of America was in his grave, and the countr}' sadly missed his counsel in peace, and his genius in war. The war went much against the Americans at first, and, as failure after failure marked the progress of the earlier campaigns, the Federal, or Republican party, that had opposed it, taunted the Democratic party, that had brought it on. During the war, a presiden- tial election, 1812, took place, and Madison was elected for a second term. Among the army Commanders were a few able men, such as Generals Scott, Harrison, and Andrew Jackson. The army was small and made up largel}' of volunteers. The navy, too, was small, but it was good. Taught by sad experience the need of a nav}'. Congress, since Jefferson's time, had provided for the building of some vessels. We had nearly twenty war- ships now, some of which, if not the best in the world, were as good as anj^ afloat. For sea-fighting com- manders, we had men such as Preble, Rogers, Decatur, Bainbridge and Hull, who had made themselves THE WAR WITH ENGLAND 153 famous in the war with the pirates of the Barbary States, in the Mediterranean Sea. The young statesmen who had so rashly brought on the war were equally rash in causing it to be pushed with vigor. They said, " In setting a navy of twenty vessels to fight one of a thousand we can do but little on the sea, but we can conquer on the land." They made the same mistake that was made by the colonies in the first year of the Revolution. They thought that if Canada was invaded the Cana- dians would join them, and would rebel against England. But the Canadians of 1812 were like those of 1775. They were satisfied with English rule, and they opposed the army that invaded their country. It was quite as hard to raise money for the War of 1812, as it had been, years before, to raise money for the war of the Revolution. 102. Hull's Surrender. On July 12, 1812, the American Army, led by General WilHam Hull, a veteran who had fought under Washington, crossed the Detroit River into Canada. Hull told the people there that he would not harm the Canadians if they remained quiet ; that his fight was against England and not against them. Many of the Canadians soldiers deserted and joined Hull's army. He was about to march against a fort on the Detroit River, when, suddenly changing his mind, he retreated to the American side of the river. 154 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Some one had told him that a large force of British, with many Indians was coming to attack him. He had been tricked by the British by a false story, much as the British general St. Leger was, when Arnold scared him away during the Revolution, by a tale of advancing forces. Not long after this, Hull sur- rendered his entire force to a British army coming to attack him, much to the disgust of his officers and men. For his shortcomings he was tried and sen- tenced to death, but he was not executed. It appeared later that he had not been so watchful as he should have been, and that he acted in good faith but with bad judgment. This was a bad beginning of the war. With Hull's surrender we lost an army, and all the country from Detroit to Fort Dearborn, which stood where now stands Chicago. We also lost control of the great lakes. A second attempt to invade Canada was made during the year and that too was a failure. 103. Our Navy in 1812. The army failed sadly in the first year of the war; but the nnYj made up for it by a season of success. The United States Frigate, ''Constitution" was one of the best vessels in our navy, and one of the very best that sailed the sea. Her commander, Isaac Hull, was a nephew of the General William Hull, who had surrendered at Detroit, and he was as good a fighter as his uncle had been, when under the command of Washington. THE WAR WITH ENGLAND 155 Hull sailed from Chesapeake Bay for New York, with the ship, and on the way, he was chased by a fleet of English war vessels. In war, there is a time to fight, and there is often a time to run away and, like a good commander, Hull knew it. This was a time to run. One vessel, however good, could not stand in a fight with several, so Hull did his best to get away. The British fleet gave chase and were gaining on Hull when the wind went down. It was a trying time for Hull. If the enemy gained on him a little more, their ships would be near enough to riddle his ship with cannon shot, and they would surely sink her; so he tried hard to escape. He put out his boats filled with his strongest oars- men that they might tow the ship along. When the British saw this, they did the same. It was a strange rowing match, and the men pulled for a big prize. The British began to gain, and it seemed that all would soon be over with the good ship "Constitution." But Hull thought of another trick. ''Heave the lead," he shouted. ''See how deep the water is." It was as he hoped ; the water was shallow. Now he put an anchor in a boat at the end of a long cable, and told his men to row the length of the cable. Then they dropped the anchor. As it caught on the bottom the men on the ship began to wind in the cable with the windlass, and thus the ship was pulled ahead to where the anchor lay. Again and again, was this done and steadily the ship gained on her pursuers. 156 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Soon Hull saw a wind-and-rain squall coming, and he saw, too, that it would strike his ship before it did the ships of the foe. Calling in his boats, he spread his sails and when the squall struck them, the noble vessel plunged ahead hke a race-horse. Before the squall reached the British ships, Hull was making good headway. The thick rain hid his ship from the British crews, and when the storm cleared, she was out of sight. Of course the British fleet was searching for him, and it la}^ between him and New York, the port he wished to make. He gave up his purpose of going to New York, and squared away for Boston harbor which he reached safely. 104. The "Constitution" and the "Guerriere." Hull sta5^ed at Boston just long enough to take on some needed supplies. Then, before an order to remain at Boston could reach him from Washington, he set out in hope of catching one of those pursuing ships alone. He wanted to give its crew the chance to fight that they seemed to wish. A few days later, while cruising in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he sighted one of the very ships that had chased him. It was the ^'Guerriere," the largest of all of them. It was a chance for a fair fight, and Hull took it. In thirty minutes, the fire of the "Constitution" had so badly smashed the "Guerriere," and had killed so many of her crew, that she surrendered. She was BATTLE OF "CONSTITUTION-' AND "GUERRIERE. 158 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY SO badly shattered, that she could not be taken to port, so Hull blew her up and sank her. Hull lost seven men in the fight, while the British loss was seventy. The ^'Constitution" was so little damaged that she was ready for another fight. From that day the ' 'Constitution" was known as "Old Ironsides." 105. Other Naval Battles. Captain Hull soon after retired from command of the ''Constitution," and Capt. William Bainbridge, a man well worthy of the honor, took his place. On the last day of the year, 1812, Bainbridge, while cruis- ing near the coast of Brazil, met the British frigate "Java." In two hours, he shot her to pieces so badly that she surrendered. He took off such of her crew as were left and destroyed her. His loss was small. The American war-ship "Wasp/' while sailing toward the West Indies, fell in with the British naval vessel, "Frolic," and gave her battle. Scarcely had the fight begun, when the "Frolic" lay, a shattered hulk, with her crew nearly all killed or disabled. Unfortunately for the "Wasp," however, a big Brit- ish battle-ship came up and took both the "Wasp" and her victim to Bermuda. The "Hornet" under Capt. James Lawrence, while cruising off the coast of South America, met the British brig "Peacock" and sank her. Soon after that, Lawrence, in command of the "Chesapeake," was dared by the commander of the THE WAR WITH ENGLAND 159 British ship ''Shannon/' to sail out from Boston and fight. It was in June, 1813. In the battle that followed, Lawrence was badly wounded and his ship was surrendered after very fierce fighting. Out of eighteen fights the Americans had won fifteen. The world was surprised at the victories won by American vessels over English ships, for England had long been called "The Mistress of the Seas." The sea swarmed with American privateers. Before the war was ended, they had taken twenty- five hundred British vessels. This was paying England for her own evil deeds, for she lost more merchant ships during the war than all she had taken before war was declared. The Americans lost some merchant ships however while the war went on. Before the war was ended, England by massing her navy in American waters, was able to prevent many American merchant ships from leaving port. 1 06. Perry's Victory. There was naval fighting on the lakes, as well as on the high seas. Oliver Hazard Perry, twenty-seven years old, a skillful naval officer, was ordered to go to Lake Erie, to build a fleet of ships with which to fight the British, and to drive them from the lake. This was to regain control of the lakes, that had been lost b}^ Hull's surrender. With a force of workers. Perry went to the shore of the lake, and from trees that 160 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY grew in the forest there he built, in the fall of 1813, a number of small vessels. These, with a ship he took from the British, and three small schooners that he had bought, made a fleet of nine vessels. SaiUng in search of the British fleet in September, he soon found it. After a desperate fight he captured all of the vessels of the enemy, and thus regained the lakes for the United States. Never before in all her history had England lost a whole fleet. This victory made the British quit Detroit, and the entire country along the southern part of the lake. 107. McDonough's Victory on Lake Champlain. A year later, September, 1814, there was another lake victory won by the Americans. A British army marched south from Canada, along the west shore of long and narrow Lake Champlain. With it along the lake, sailed a fleet of Enghsh war- vessels. The Americans had a few war-vessels on the lake under command of Commodore McDonough. He skill- fully arranged his few ships in such a way that when the British fleet came, it would fight at a disadvantage. It came; and in not touch more than two hours it was defeated. Without the fleet, the British army could not go on, so it turned about and made its way back to Canada. McDonough's victory saved New York State from invasion. 162 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 1 08. The British at Washington. The war dragged along, neither side making any- great gain. Late in the summer of 1814, the British landed five thousand men on the shore of Chesapeake Bay, and made a dash for Washington. Six thou- sand Americans, untrained in arms, tried to stay the advance of the British, but they were quickly put to flight by the trained British veteran soldiers. The fight and pursuit became a race. The British entered the city and at once set fire to the Capitol and destroyed it. Then they burned the President's house, the Treasury Building, and other government buildings. The}^ said that they destroyed these gov- ernment buildings to punish the Americans, who had, early in the war, burned some public buildings in Canada. 109. The Star-Spangled Banner. The British soon left Washington, The next move of the enemy was an attempt to take Baltimore. The fleet attacked Fort McHenry which defended the city. Though they bombarded it furiously, they could not take it, and they withdrew with some loss. During the fighting at Baltimore, a patriotic citizen, held as a prisoner on one of the English vessels, wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner," which soon became and has since remained, one of America's favorite patriotic songs. THE WAR WITH ENGLAND 163 no. The Desire for Peace. The war, as it went on, became more and more burdensome. The cost of carrying it on was very great. Many of the American people beheved it to be a needless war, into which the country had been drawn by those who had not had the foresight to count the cost, or judge of the outcome. Many who had been keen for a fight at first, had now tired of the strife, and there was a general desire for peace. England, too, was tired of the war and, with a strong feehng for peace on both sides, there was a good prospect that the nations would come to an under- standing. By this time, England had defeated France, and crushed the power of Bonaparte. She could now turn all her strength against the United States. At once the greater part of her vast navy crossed the sea to the American coast, and her ships prevented American war- vessels fr.om leaving our ports. There was now no chance for ship-to-ship fighting. If an American naval vessel went out, she was sure to meet half a dozen British war-ships. III. Battle of New Orleans. Very bad management, as a rule, had been shown by the leaders of the American armies. Badly commanded, as they were, the American soldiers had been unable to hold their own against the troops of the enemy. In but one instance did the Americans 164 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY win a glorious victory, and that was so late in the war that peace had been concluded before the battle was fought. It was the battle of New Orleans. England was tired out by her great and victorious war with France, and her people wanted peace as much as the people of the United States did. But while arrangements for a treaty of peace were going on, both nations kept up the war. In the fall of 1814, the British sent a very strong fleet, bearing an army, to take New Orleans and to gain command of the Mississippi River. General Andrew Jackson commanded the American forces in the South, and upon him, fell the duty of defending the city. On December 24, 1814, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent, in Belgium, and the report, with orders to stop all fighting, was sent at once to Amer- ica. In our day, such news would cross the sea in a minute, by an ocean cable message; but in those days, news could cross the ocean only so fast as sailing vessels could be moved by the wind. After the treaty of peace, but before word of it reached this country, the battle of New Orleans had been fought, January 8, 1815. The army that came to take New Orleans was twelve' thousand strong, and was made up of some of the very soldiers that had defeated the great Bona- parte's armies in Europe. They were the best sol- diers that England had. The six thousand men com- manded by Jackson were nearly all raw militiamen, THE WAR WITH ENGLAND 165 many of whom had never been in a battle. Man for man they were as good fighters as could be found anywhere, for they were mostly hardy woodsmen and planters, all well used to shooting. They had that kind of courage that would make each man stand and fight, no matter how many others might run away. The land is low and swampy around New Orleans. The only way, by which the British could make the attack, was along a narrow strip by the river. Jack- son posted his men across that narrow strip just back of a small canal. To flank his force, that is, to pass around it, was impossible. The attack must be made in front. In some respects it was such a fight as that of Bunker Hill during the Revolution. The British troops had to attack American raw troops posted behind breast-works. On Jackson's earth-works he had about a dozen cannon. His men were placed behind the breast- works, which were heaps of earth thrown up as high as a man's breast. There, only their heads could be seen as they aimed and fired at the fully exposed bodies of the advancing foe. It was simply a ques- tion whether the green fighters would stay or whether the advancing masses could scare them out. If they stayed and fought, no army on earth could dislodge them, for men could not come within range of their fire and live. There was no danger of running out of powder and ball as the patriots did at Bunker Hill. 166 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY ■ All that it was necessary for the Americans to do, to win a victory, was to hold their ground. For several days the British were busy in getting ready to make their grand attack, and during that time there was more or less firing. At day-break, January 8, 1815, a beautiful Sabbath, while the laggard winds were pushing along the ship that was on her way with tidings of peace, the grand assault was made. The invaders came on like British soldiers, and, like British soldiers, they came again and again, those that were not dead. For three hours they endured that deadly fire, and offered up their Hves for their king. Then they gave up the hopeless task, for they saw that to perform it was beyond the power of man. The British lost twenty-five hundred men and many officers, among whom was the gallant General Pakenham, their commander. The American loss was very small. It was a wasted battle ; it was a needless victory ; it counted for nothing, for the war was over. 112. Close of the War. The war closed without either side being victorious. It left things much as they would have been had there been no fighting. The same result could prob- ably have been reached by peaceful agreement before the war. Under the treaty of peace, England did not agree THE WAR WITH ENGLAND 167 to stop the practice of searching our vessels for deserters. But she did stop it, and never, from that day, has a British Captain stopped an American vessel at sea, for such a purpose. In some ways, the War of 1812 was of great good to the United States. It made our people feel that this Nation was able to take care of itself among nations. It made other nations respect our vessels on the seas. During the war, articles that we needed were made at home, and the Americans turned more than ever before to manufacturing. Our manu- factures have grown rapidly ever since the war of 1812. The greatness of Lowell, Fall River and Lawrence, Mass., as manufacturing cities, had its beginning in that war. 113. Barbary Pirates. The Mahometan pirates of the Barbary States took advantage of us during our war with England, and began again to prey upon our merchant-ships, in the Mediterranean Sea. At the close of the war, when some of our war-vessels could be spared for the purpose, a fleet was sent to the Mediterranean, under Commodore Decatur, to put a stop to this practice. In a very short time these people were brought to terms and they have never troubled us since. 114. The Tariff. Soon after the war, the merchants of Europe began sending cargoes of goods to America for sale. They 168 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY were such goods as the people needed, and they could be supplied to us at lower prices than our own manufacturers could afford to take for similar goods. This was because laboring people in Europe would work for very low wages, and because the mills in Europe were well-established, and their managers knew better than ours how to make the goods. It seemed that our factories would have to stop, because the people would buy cheap foreign goods rather than more costly goods made in our own countr}^ A tariff was laid on these foreign-made goods to protect our home industries. SUMMARY 1. The second war with England. 2. Hull's surrender. •S. The "Constitution" fights the "Guerriere". 4. Other naval battles. 5. Perry's victory. 6. Commodore McDonough's victory. 7. Capture of the city of Washington. 8. Battle of New Orleans. End of the war. 9. New Tariff Law. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW 1. What was the chief cause of the War of 1812? 2. Name and give an account of some of the land battles. Of some of the naval fights. 3. Whatbattleended the war? Give an account of it. 4. Why was a protective tariff passed after the war? Chapter V. FROM THE WAR OF 1812 TO THE MEXICAN WAR. 115. President Monroe. In 1816, James Monroe, of Virginia, who had fought for his country with Washington, and who had done good work for the Nation in the purchase of Louisiana, was elected President. In 1817, he moved into the White House, as the President's mansion at Washington is called, though there was much to be done to it yet, before it would be really finished. The bitter wranglings between parties had now ceased; the country was prosperous; it was a period of good feeling. 116. Florida. Between our country and the sea upon the south, lay what is now the State of Florida, which at that time was owned by Spain. The country was part of that through which early Spanish explorers wandered, and thus in the begin- ning it belonged to Spain. After the French and Indian War, Spain granted it, with other land reaching west to the Mississippi, to England by treaty and, at the close of the Revolutionary War, England gave it back to Spain by treaty. 170 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Spain now held it. It was worth but httle to Spain, for it had no mines, nor were its inhabitants worth JAMES MONROE. plundering. Spain neglected it, and it was very badly governed. There was war between the United States and some GROWTH OF THE NATION 171 of the Indians in the South, and, whenever our sol- diers went after them, these Indians ran across the Une and escaped into Florida. According to the law of nations, the soldiers of the United States could not rightfully pursue these Indians into a country owned by another power. There was so little of law and order in Florida that criminals from all quarters fled there to escape justice, and the country became peopled by a very bad class of inhabitants. Some of the white men there helped the Indians in making up war parties to cross the line into the United States on errands of murder. General Jackson, he who had commanded in the South in the War of 1812, had no love for the people of Florida, for they had helped the English against him in that war. Now, being again in command, in the war with the Indians, he did not hesitate to follow the savage war parties into Florida. He did not care what Spain might say or do about it. He took the town of Pensacola, and caught and hanged two Englishmen who were helping the Indians there. Jackson was not a man to be trifled with. His headstrong course offended Spain, and there was some danger of war. President Monroe and his advisers saw that it would save much trouble if Florida belonged to the United States. It would make things safer for the Southern people, and would round out the country. 172 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY If we could make Florida a part of our country it would cease to be the home of lamaway Indians and slaves as well as of criminal white men. Under good government, Florida would be valuable as one of the United States. If it could be got peacefully, even b}^ paying a large price for it, the purchase might prevent war, which would be much more costly. So, the Government bought Florida from Spain, in 1819, for five million dollars. After this purchase our coast line stretched from the mouth of the Sabine River, along the cost of the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida, and northward to the St. Croix River, at the eastern end of Maine. This was a reach of thousands of miles of coast with many harbors. We now had a longer coast than any nation of Europe. The country was fast recovering from the War of 1812, and many people moved to the West. Before Monroe's term ended, Illinois, Mississippi and Ala- bama were admitted to the Union as States. Illinois was a free State, while IMississippi and Alabama allowed the ownership of slaves. 117. Rise of Slavery Question. There had by this time grown up a great difference of opinion, with regard to slavery. Those who opposed it felt it to be very important whether each new State was to be a slave or a free State. So far, GROWTH OF THE NATION 173 the number of slave States was equal to that of the free States. Power to decide for or against slavery lay in the two branches of Congress. By the call of States in the Senate, slavery and freedom stood evenly matched, two senators to a State. In the House of Representa- tives, however, the free States had many more members than the slave States, for they had grown so fast in population that they had many more congressmen. Wise men saw that there was a struggle coming between those who favored slavery and those who opposed it. Hence there was a desire on the one side, to have new States come into the Union as free States and on the other to have them come in with slavery. In 1818, the people of Missouri Territory asked that a part of the territory, where there were many slaves alread}^, be made a State of the Union. No one, anywhere, had anything to say against making the new State, but there was much said as to whether it should be a slave State or not. Congress was divided and the people took sides. Thus began that contest over slavery, which grew until it ended, nearly half a century later, in a terrible war. The people in the North, generally , opposed slavery, while those of the South were solidly in favor of it. The question was not so much as to whether slavery was good or bad, as it was whether it should be extended into States yet to be. Its enemies hoped, 174 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY and its friends feared, that if it was not allowed to spread, slaver}^ would die. So the stmggle was, as to whether it should spread or not. Unhappily, this difference of purpose set the people of one part of the country, against those of the other. ii8. The Missouri Compromise. After much strife, Missouri was made a State with slavery, and Maine was made a State without slavery. Thus the number of slave States and that of free States remained equal. An agreement was made which became a law, that, forever after, all States made from territory in the Louisiana Purchase lying north of an east-west line across the countiy, even with the southern boundary of Missouri, should be free. The law was called The Missouri Compromise. It was thought now that the slavery question was settled; but it was not. Hatred of slavery grew stronger than ever in the North, while in the South the people became more and more firmly fixed in the belief that slavery was a good thing, both for the black race and the white. Southern statesmen, sure that slavery brought prosperity, made all other ques- tions give way to it, holding it to be the ver}^ life of the welfare of the South. Thinking that the North meant to destroy slavery in the end, the Southern people began to do all that they could to save and strengthen it. After Missoiu'i came in as a slave State, the course GROWTH OF THE NATION 175 of Western settlement changed. Before, many peo- ple of the Southern States had gone to Illinois, a free State. Now, those of the South who went West sought homes in Missouri, where they could keep slaves. 119. The Census. In 1820, the fourth census was taken. It showed that the country held nearly ten millions of people. Since the last census there had been great progress made in the art of navigation by steam. In 1811, men saw the first steamboat on a Western river. It ran between Pittsburg and New Orleans. Soon after that, the first steam ferry-boat in America began running, between New York and Hoboken. In 1819, a steamship, the ^'Savannah," crossed the ocean from Savannah to Liverpool. She made the voyage in twenty-six days, which was then thought to be wonderfully quick time. Her wheels were on the sides of the boat, as were those of Fulton's first steam- boat. Gas had now come into use for lighting purposes, and iron stoves began to be common, taking the place of the old fashioned fire-places. The cloth- making industry was rapidly growing in the New England and Middle States. By this time, the country east of the mountains was becoming well-peopled and the Mississippi Valley was filling with farms and towns. Public lands could 176 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY be bought at a dollar and a quarter an acre. The cheap land drew people from the eastern part of the country, and from Europe. From thirteen States the Nation had now grown to twenty-four. The area of the country was three times as great as it had been at first. The building of wagon roads was going on. On one, running from the Potomac to the Ohio, more than a thousand freight wagons ran to and fro, mainly between Washington, Philadelphia and Pitts- burg. The wagon trains on the rough country roads did in their time, in a feeble way, what the railroad trains are now doing with wonderful results. The cost of moving goods between the Eastern cities and Pitts- burg was sixty from to a hundred dollars a ton. 120. The Growth of National Pride. As the country grew in years and greatness, the people began to take pride in it. At first, patriotism seemed bounded by State lines, but those colony- bred people who had been devoted to their States, more than to their Nation, were passing away. Their children, familiar with the Nation and its great- ness, were taking their places. Men going abroad, especially those from the Northern part of the country, no longer called themselves citizens of Massachusetts, or of New York, or of Pennsylvania, but of the United States. The pride of the people of the new States was in the Nation, as a Union of States, rather than in the State in which they Hved. Emigrants GROWTH OF THE NATION 177 left Europe for The United States, and not for Con- necticut, or New Jersey, or Indiana, or any other mere State. The broad patriotism that loved the great Nation was growing and was strong, especially in the free States. In the Southern States, the people clung to the idea that each State was a little nation. State pride and a firm behef that slavery was a glorious and good system was handed down from father to son. 121. Immigration. Immigrants kept coming to America. They came faster and faster; but they shunned the slave States. They felt that a State wherein labor was thought to degrade a man, was no place for those who had left Europe to raise themselves and their families, by labor, to comfort and prosperity. These new-comers, who had found prosperity and happiness beyond their wildest dreams, loved the young Nation that had welcomed them, and whose laws protected them. They delighted in its growing majesty and power. 122. Monroe Reelected. In 1820, Monroe was elected for a second term as President. 123. The Holy Alliance. It was at about this time that Mexico, and some provinces in South America, broke away from Spain 178 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY and became republics. By 1815, the power of Bona- parte in Europe was gone, and France was again a republic. The idea of self-government was spread- ing. Some of the rulers of nations in Europe became alarmed lest this new idea should weaken their hold upon their thrones. To check government by the people, the kings of Austria, Russia and Prussia l)anded together in defense of kingly power. This union was called The Holy Alliance. It was believed that the Alliance would soon become active, and that it meant to restore to Spain the provinces she had lost in America. It was feared that Russia was to be helped in gaining more hold on North America than she then had. In those days Alaska belonged to Russia and was called Russian America. The Holy Alliance was a danger to the United States. 124. The Monroe Doctrine. President Monroe knew what was going on in Europe, and saw that the scheme of the three monarchs, if it should be carried out, might in the future work great harm to the United States. In his message to Congress in 1823, he stated that our Nation should take no part in the wars of European countries. He said that we would at all times look upon any attempt of European powers, to colonize any part of the Western Hemisphere, as threatening our welfare. He also stated that any such attempt would show an unfriendly feeling to the United States. * GROWTH OF THE NATION 179 He knew that what he said would be known in Europe. This was a quiet way of saying to the nations in the Holy Alliance, and to the other nations of Europe, that they must keep their hands off from the countries of the American Continent, except such as they already controlled. It meant that there was to he no setting up of government by kings in the New Woiid. Such is the famous Monroe Doctrine. No law has ever been passed that states the Monroe Doctrine, but the people of the United States believe in it and stand ready to fight for it. Once, an emperor of France had dared to set up a monarch, in this part of the world, in Mexico. He made haste, however, to give up his scheme, when he saw that the United States was massing an army to drive his forces from Mexico, and that country remained a republic. Once, England moved as though to con- quer Venezuela, in South America, and again the United States were ready to fight. The nations of Europe know that before they can gain provinces in the new world, they must defeat the United States in a war. 125. The Tariff. England always tried to help her own merchants and manufacturers, by means of laws that hindered other nations, and even her own colonies, from get- ting their trade away from them. Her favorite way of holding trade was to tax the goods which came 180 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY into England from otjier countries. A tax on goods brought or imported into a country, is called a tariff. In Monroe's time, England tried to help her colonies in India, in their purpose to raise cotton. So she laid a tariff on American cotton, to keep it out of EngHsh ports. At the same time, she let the cotton from India come into England free from revenue duty, so that it might have a better chance to be sold. This tariff hurt the cotton-growers of the Southern States. They had been raising cotton, sending it to England, to be sold, and then buying in England, the very cloth made from that cotton. Now they had to pay a tax to England, before the}^ could sell their cotton to the English mill owners. They were shrewd enough to see that if factories could be built in America, their cotton could be sent to them to be made into cloth, just as it had been to those in England. They could sell their cotton to American mill owners and . also buy their cloth from them. They would thus escape the high prices they had been paying England for cloth. To keep the English cloth from our market, just as the English kept American cotton from their market, a tariff was laid, higher than before, on cloth brought to this country for sale. Since this tariff was to protect American planters and manufacturers, rather than to raise money, it was called a Protective Tariff. This Nation has always had more or less of a pro- tective tariff. Since ours is such a large country, GROWTH OF THE NATION 181 with such varied interests, it has never had a tariff that has in all respects, pleased all the people. The South at first liked this tariff, for it helped the cotton industry. The North disliked it, because it hindered ocean commerce and hurt the shipping business. The tariff was in one way a good thing however. Soon the ship-owners of New England began to put their money into factories instead of ships, and began to make money from factories, even faster than they had from ships. Both ends of the country were gainers by the protective tariff. The streams of New England that for thousands of years had poured over the rocks in idle play, as they flowed to the sea, were now set at work driving the busy wheels of the spinning-frame and the loom. More than ever before, the forests in the South gave place to cotton fields, and it seemed that at no very distant time the streams of the South, would be made to work, in turning into cloth the cotton that grew on their very banks. People began to say, " WTien we need not buy a yard of cloth in Europe we shall be a stronger people than we were before. Let the Nation learn to support itself within itself. We could live and prosper if there were no Europe." From that time, not only cloth but hardware, and other needful things have been made more and more in this country. Formerly, we bought much more in Europe than we sold there, and we had to pay the 182 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY balance in cash. Now, we sell to Europe much more than we buy, and Europe sends us money. 126. Manufactures — Inventions. As manufacturing has grown, so have towns sprung up and grown. The growth of towns is good for a country. When people come together to live in towns they have improved schools, churches, socie- ties. They have new needs and the}^ make new efforts. Better roads, houses, halls, streets, parks, amuse- ments, and other things to make life better, come with the growth, in a country, of towns and of manufacturing. There was so much work to be done in America, new country that it was, that there were not hands enough to do it. Americans began to invent faster ways than were known before of doing work. They were, as they are now, very intelligent and earnest. In the old world, a man might plod at his trade all his life, as his father and his grandfather had done, without thought as to how the work might be done better or faster. Not so, with the American. He was, and is, always trying to think out a better and a quicker way to do things, as Whitney did in the picking of seeds from the cotton, and as Fulton did in the moving of boats. The inventive ability of the American people has been encouraged by the Government. The giving by the Nation of patents to inventors began as early as 1780. These patents secure to the inventor the GROWTH OF THE NATION 183 profits of his invention. From then till now, our Nation has led the world in great inventions. Under protective tariffs, often changing, sometimes unwisely, the manufacturing interests have grown, until in the making of an endless variety of goods, and in the prosperity that comes from being busy, our country very much excels an}^ other country in the world. 127. Improvements. As a wise farmer tries to make his farm better every year, now by building a barn, now by putting up a wall, now by removing some rocks, now by draining a swamp, now by leveling a road, — so do a wise people improve its country. Under Monroe, the work of building great highways, between cities and across States, went on. The best known means of moving goods in Monroe's time was by boats, and by wagons drawn by horses. Railroads were unknown. Much money was spent by the general government in great highways. More was expended by States and towns, and the beginning then made, has been well followed up, even to our time. Canals were not new. They had been used for centuries in the old world. It was seen that they were needed in the new world. The State of New York had begun work on a great canal that was to run from Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, to the Hudson River. In Monroe's time, this work had been nearly finished. 184 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 128. A New President. In 1824, John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, a former President, was elected to succeed Monroe. JOHN QUINCV ADAMS. General Andrew Jackson was a candidate, and came very near to being elected. Indeed, many of his friends thought that, but for unfair dealings, he would GROWTH OF THE NATION 185 have been elected, and they at once set about prepar- ing to elect him at the end of Adams's term. The time of good feeling in politics was over. Hard feelings had begun in the struggle of the elec- tion, and there was more or less bitterness between the parties all through Adams's term. There was a great difference of opinion as to the tariff. Calhoun of South Carolina, who had favored the protective tariff because he thought it would favor his beloved State, now saw that it would not. He had hoped to see cotton-mills spring up along its many streams, so that much of the white staple need not be carried a mile to be turned into cloth. He had thought to see villages and towns throughout South Carolina. He now saw that slavery killed enterprise and indus- try, and that it was useless for his State to hope to ever be anything but a farming country. He was the great leader of the South, and from the time that he took his stand against a protective tariff, to this da}'', the South has been in favor of free trade; that is, the letting in of foreign goods without a tax, or, at most, the admission of such goods at a low tax, laid only to get money to pay the expenses of govern- ment. . The South was not in power. Though its states- men tried to have the tariff tax made lower, it was made higher. 186 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 129. The Erie Canal. In 1825, the Erie Canal, three hundred and sixty miles long, was finished. It had cost a vast sum of money, but it proved to be worth many times its cost. Before the canal was completed, freight on a barrel of flour from Buffalo on Lake Erie, to All^any on the Hudson River, had been ten dollars; after- ward it fell to thirty cents. Every man, woman, and child along the sea-board felt the good effects of the Erie Canal. It added many millions of dollars to the value of the farms along its course, for now the farmers could send their products to market and have something left after paying freight. The Erie Canal was the making of New York City. It was the only way by which the commerce of those great inland seas could reach its port. Goods could now be brought down the lakes, from the country about Lakes Michigan and Superior, to Buffalo. From there, they could be moved by canal to the Hudson, and could be floated down that river to New York. From that city they could be sent to the whole world. New York City began to grow, and soon became the largest city on our continent. It will soon ])e the largest city in the world. Peter Minuit was right when he bought Manhattan Island for twenty-four dollars, and said that it would one day be covered by a great city. A stream of canal boats, drawn by mules and horses, kept pouring the wealth of the West into New York, GROWTH OF THE NATION 187 and a counter stream carried a wealth of manhood to people the great West. Land, the best in the world, was to be had at almost nothing an acre, and from the Eastern States and England poured the home-seekers to the West by way of the Erie Canal. As, in the colonial days, people came from Europe to escape ill-usage ; so, in later days, after our Nation was founded, others kept coming to our land. They wished to escape poverty and to improve their con- dition, and nowhere else on earth, were such chances offered to honest industry, as in the Northern and Western parts of the United States. 130. The Railroads. A new means of movng goods and men, one that was to advance the Nation wonderfully, the railroad, was in use before the close of Adams's term. A road with iron rails was built from Baltimore, thirteen miles westward. From it has grown the great Balti- more and Ohio system. Other railroads were soon to follow, one in New Jersey and one in South Carolina. Early locomotives weighed, some of them, as much as seven tons; a hundred tons is now a common weight for a locom^otive. Steam-cars upon the land and steam-boats on the rivers, were the coming agents of greatness for the country. In colonial days, it took six days to travel from Philadelphia to Boston. Steam has reduced the time to a little more than as many hours. Commerce, in the early days, 188 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY was the exchange of goods across the sea between the American coast region and Europe. Now, an American conamerce, greater than that of all the world then, and greater than all that now crosses the Atlantic, plies shuttle-like, by boat and car, all within the limits of our own country, east and west and north and south. 131. Andrew Jackson. Ours was no longer an Atlantic slope country. A great part of our country lay west of the mountains, and many of our people lived there. Until this time the Presidency had been given to men who lived near the sea. It was now claimed that that great honor should be given to a man of the West. Andrew Jackson was of the West. He lived in Tennessee. Four years before this time, he had barely missed election. This time his friends rallied for him and he became President. The parents of Andrew Jackson had been Irish immigrants. They and their son hved at one time in a log cabin and were of the common people. Jackson had been a rugged backwoodsman, then a soldier, and was now a statesman. What he had done at New Orleans and in Florida, was well known, and the common people liked him. He was stern, simple, rugged, honest and fearless, self-willed and obstinate. People called him "Old Hickory," for they thought he had the strong quahties of the hickory tree. He GROWTH OF THE NATION 189 was a Democrat, voted for by the Democrats of the North and the South. He was against a high tariff. ANDREW JACKSON. He hated many of those who favored a high tariff. He felt that he had been wronged by those who had prevented his election, four years before. He was a 190 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY rude man, raised among rude men, but he was honest and patriotic. If there were those, bred in college and trained among gentry, who thought to use him in their schemes, they were to learn that, like the hickory, he was made of stern unyielding stuff. The Presidents had so far been gentlemen, in the sense that they were of high-bred families and were edu- cated and cultured. Here was a man without the courtly graces of the made-up gentleman. Here was one of Nature's gentlemen, in the highest and most honored office in the country.* During Jackson's term, the question whether the Nation was superior to the State was ])rought to the front by the course of South Carolina. In 1832, a new protective tariff bill was passed, which did not please the people of that State. Calhoun declared that the National Governm.ent had no right to so tax goods coming from Europe to the people of his State. He began to talk about the right of a State to declare laws of the Nation, such as it did not like, to be null, that is, of no effect. This was the Nullifica- tion Doctrine. The people of South Carolina proceeded to put in force the theory of Calhoun, and to carry out the threats they had made. They declared, in conven- tion, that the tariff law as passed by the Congress was of no force in South Carolina; — that it was null and void. They said that no duties laid by that law should be collected on foreign goods coming into GROWTH OF THE NATION 191 the State, and that, if force was used to collect them, the State would leave the Union. JOHN C. CALHOUN. This was the theory of States Rights carried very far. It meant that South Carohna had the right to say what laws of the general government she would obey 192 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY and what ones she would not. The people of all the slave States, followed the lead of South Carolina, more or less, as that State supported the stand of its gifted son. The same old claim that had wrought such mischief when the Nation was forming was now again urged, that this country was a band of nations acting together by mutual consent, instead of a great and solid Nation, one and indivisible. From that day, until war settled it forever. States Rights was a question in politics that went hand-in- hand with the purpose of the slave-holding South, to spread slavery. 132. The Nullification Doctrine. The President is the chief executive officer of the Nation. It is his duty to execute the laws. He makes oath that he will do that, when he takes his office. Jackson was President. He hated such a tariff as South Carolina complained of. He wished it to be done away with. But it was the law. As an honest man, he must keep his oath and execute the law, whether he liked it or not. He publicly declared that South Carolina must obey the law, and he sent troops and naval vessels to that State to compel the people to obey. The duties were collected in Charleston, as in all other seaport cities, and South Carolina did not leave the Union; — at least not then. Many years later South Carolina did leave the Union, GROWTH OF THE NATION 193 or thought she did, but that is a part of a story to be told later. 133- Jackson Reelected. The United States Bank. In 1832, Jackson was elected for a second term. Jackson believed in himself. If he thought that he was right, he cared nothing what others might think. Most people thought the National Bank, which had branch banks in many cities, and in which the Government money was kept, was a good thing. He thought otherwise. He believed that the men controlling the bank might and did use their great power in politics. He even believed they had used the power of the bank to defeat him, when he failed to be elected before, and that they had sought to prevent his last election. He ordered that the Government money be withdrawn from the bank. This was done and the bank afterwards went out of business. 134. The Spoils System. Jackson believed that when a great political party had won an election, so that it controlled the public offices, the men of the other party, who were in office, should be turned out. Only those of the party that had won the election were to enjoy the honors and the profits of holding office. The salaries of offices were, he thought, in a sense, spoils, won by the victorious party, as spoils might be won in war; and he said, as had been said before, "To the victors 194 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY belong the spoils." So he put men of his own party in office, throughout the country. It was a bad thing to do, for it set an example which was followed by all parties for many years. It caused elections to become largely mere scrambles for office, and caused the offices to Ije filled by men who, while shrewd politicians, were unfit for their duties. 135. The United States Bank and the Surplus. In breaking up the Bank of the United States and in causing the Government money in that, and its branches, to be deposited in various State banks, he made another mistake; for some of the money was lost. The Nation was out of debt, and there was a large amount of money in the Treasury, for which there seemed to be no use. Unwisely, this surplus of money was divided among the States, and some of it was wasted. In a very few years the Nation badly needed that money. While Jackson was President, two new States came into the Union, Arkansas, in the South, as a slave State, and Michigan in the North as a free State. The States were still even, thirteen for it to thir- teen against it. 136. Fifth Census. It was about the middle of Jackson's first term, when the census for 1830 was taken. The Nation GROWTH OF THE NATION 195 had then nearly thirteen milHons of people. Steam printing-presses were running at this time and thus the power of steam was in use to spread knowledge. The people were reading more than ever before; therefore they knew more than ever before. The nation had begun the great work of improving the harbors and of putting up light-houses. Charts of the coast were being made, and this work has gone on ever since. The country was still so new that there were plenty of wild animals in the woods. The State of New York was paying thousands of dollars every year, to hunters, for killing wolves. Those were the days of hard work. Fourteen hours was a day's work, but people had begun to think that fewer hours and higher pay would be better. At this time, a lad of sixteen, named Abraham Lin- coln, was working on the Ohio River at six dollars a month. The pay was small, the days were long and the work was hard. What he did, he did well, however, all through his life, whether as boatman or President. Those who were opposed to Andrew Jackson now began to call themselves Whigs. The Whig party was to oppose the Democratic party for many years. A small thing, but a very important one, the match, now came into use. Matches cost at first two cents a dozen. They were whittled out by hand. Circular saws came into use about this time, 196 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY and there were machines for planing boards, one of which could do the work of many men. The making of pen-knives now l:)egan in this country. They were so called because they were used in cutting quills into pens for writing. Up to 1830, the only thing in the way of a pencil, was a strip of lead by which a mark could be made on paper. Hence the name, lead pencil. Now began the making of pencils from plumbago, or, as it was then called, black lead. They were made at Salem. 137. Two Wings of the Democratic Party. Slavery. The Democratic party, Jackson's party, had its great strength in the South, where people believed in slavery and States rights. There were two wings to the part}'. One of these believed with the people of South Carolina, that a State might at any time leave the Union and become an independent repub- lic. The other wing held to the belief of Jackson, that this is a Nation with power greater than that of any State. "The States," said Jackson, '^are in the Union and have no right to withdraw from it." In those times of danger, Jackson also said, "The Union; it must and shall be preserved." Jackson in his time had hanged men for their misdeeds. He once said that had South Carolina made war on the United States troops, sent to that State, at the time her people talked of leaving the Union, he would have hanged some of her leaders. c;howth of the nation 197 During Jackson's two terms, the people of the South and those of the North drifted apart. A bitter feehng sprang up between the people of the two parts of the country. The cause of this feeling was slavery and the difference of opinion about it. There was much talk in the South against the Union. Jackson said that there was treason in the hearts of many in the South. He was also right in saying that the time would come, when the Union would be broken because of slavery. In the South, the citizen was likely to say: "What business is it to a man in the North, whether or not, we have slavery in my State, which is my country?" The Northern man would say: "The whole United States is my country and slavery in any part of it, disgraces me." 138. Election of Van Buren. In 1836, Martin Van Buren, of New York, was elected President. He was descended from one of the old Dutch families, and had been Governor of that State. He had been one of Jackson's officers, and was the first Democrat to be elected from a Northern State. 139. The Panic. In 1837, the results of one of Jackson's mistakes began to appear. The dividing of the Nation's money among the States, and the placing of the 198 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Nation's cash in the banks owned by some of the President's friends, had made money so plentiful MARTIN VAN BUHEN. that people could borrow it easil}^ This had led to unwise dealings, and now, in Van Buren's time, came the panic that such foolishness had been sure GROWTH OF THE NATION 199 to bring. People blamed Van Buren for it, when they should have blamed Jackson. The South Wants Texas. There was a growing demand among the friends of slavery for more territory in the South, from which to make slave States. They meant that, in some way, there should be more slave States than free States. In this way, there would be more sena- tors in Congress for slavery than against it. They wanted the Nation to take Texas as a territory. They knew that when it came into the Union it would be a slave State. Van Buren opposed the taking in of Texas, and the Southern people disliked him for that. But he w^as a good President; such is the judgment of those who have lived in later times. 140. Sixth Census. In 1840, came the year for the sixth counting. Fifty 3^ears had passed since the first was taken, and it had been a half century of advancement. We had now more than seventeen millions of people. No other nation had ever grown so fast. There were now more than four times as many people as the Nation started with, and the people were all much better off. The inventors had been busy. The McCormick Reaper was in use. It saved labor for the farmer in the grain fields, as the cotton-gin had done for the 200 SHOUT AMKRICAN lllS'l'OKV planter, in tlie cotton-fields. Cui'ious machines were now knitting stockings* by water power. The click of the steel knitting needles, in the hands of the busy housewife could still be heard, however, in thousands of homes, just it was were when the grandfathers of 1840 were boyish soldiers in Wash- ington's armies. The makers of iron in Pennsyl- vania had now learned to use hard coal in melting their ores. Charcoal had been in conmion use before this time for that purpose. By 1837, there were two hundred and fifty steam- boats paddhng up and down the jMississippi and its branches. The Cunard Steamship Company was running a great ferry line across the Atlantic Ocean. One of its ships made the passage in the then wonder- fully short time of less than thirteen and a half days. The passage is made in about a third of that time now. Chicago was growing to be a town of some size. It had mail from the East, once a week. A man on horsel)ack brought it. There were no express com- panies in those days; but in 1839, a man went into the business of carrying small articles for pay between Boston and New York. From that has grown the great express systems of our time. Tlie first j)i('ture taken by the action of light, the Daguerreotype, was made in 1839. From that beginning, has grown photography. GROWTH OF THE NATION 201 141. Election of Harrison. In 1840, the Whig party won the Presidency from the Democratic party, and elected WilUam Henry WILLIAM HKNHV HARRISON. Harrison of Ohio- Van Buren had l)een nominated by the Democrntic party Imt was defeated. Perhaps the Democrats would have won, had not the Whigs 202 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY iianiecl for X'ice-Presidcnt , John Tyler of \'irgiiiia, who was really a Democrat. He was named that the party might gain votes from the Democrats. JOHN TYLER. Harrison, like Jackson, was a man of the people, who had shown himself to be a good fighter in war- fare against the Indians. GROWTH OF THE NATION 203 The Whigs had won; but they were soon to lose. After a month of service as President, Harrison died. Tyler then became President; and the country had a Democratic president, after all. Instead of acting as a Whig, Tyler acted as a Democrat, and the victory of the Whigs proved to be a barren one. 142. Public Lands. There were yet lands for many thousands of farms in the West. On this rich soil grew only the trees of the forest, and the grass of the prairies, as they were growing when Columbus set sail on his voyage of discovery. In 1841, Congress passed a law that land might be sold to settlers, at a dollar and a quarter an acre, provided the buyer would live upon the land and raise crops from it. This offer together with the fact that there were hard times in Europe, gave a new start to immigration. Every ocean steamer, and hundreds of sailing vessels, brought stout- hearted men and women to this country. Their sons and grandsons are now prosperous and honored citizens of the Western States that they helped to build. By this time, nearly all the public land east of the Mississippi had been taken, and the Louisiana Purchase region was filling up with people. 143. The Telegraph. For a long time after Franklin told the world that lightning was a result of electricity, people had 204 SHORT AM1<:RICAN HISTORY thought that electricity was a curious thing, and had thought no more about it. But one ingenious man, named Morse, had been trying to make this strange force useful to man. He found a way to send messages by electricity, through long distances, so quickly that their passage would take very little, if any, time. During Tyler's term, Morse went to Congress, and asked the Government to give him money enough to put up a line of wires from Washing- ton to Baltimore. He said that, with such wires, and the instruments he had invented, he could send messages from one city to the other, in a few seconds. So well did he state his case that tlie money was furnished, and he put up the first telegraph line in the world. He did all that he had promised to do, and from that beginning have sprimg the telegraph lines now in use. More than that, messages are now sent through the inv witliout wires, across the ocean. By wireless telegraphy, captains of ships can talk with each other, though they are hundreds of miles apart. 144. Texas. The Republic of Mexico, once a province of Spain, consisted of several states, of which Texas was one. Texas adjoined the United States, and many Ameri- cans went there and settled on lands granted to them by the general government of Mexico. These set- tlers were mainly from the Southern States and they GROWTH OF THE NATION 205 took their skives with them. So well did they pros- per that soon there were! more Americans in Texas than there were Mexicans. At length, Mexico passed a law putting an end to slavery in all the Mexican states. When Mexico sought to put the law in force in Texas, these Ameri- cans would not give up slavery. They rebelled against the Mexican government and, under their control, Texas seceded from Mexico and set up as an independent republic. The Mexicans thought that this was a poor return for their kindness in allowing Americans to settle in their country. Mexico tried to put down this rebellion, but the Americans under General Houston defeated the Mexican troops and, in 1837, Texas was recognized as a nation by the United States. Houston was the first President of the new republic. Other nations of the world had as much right to be friendly with Texas, and to try to direct her affairs, as the United States had. It was feared that Eng- land might try to get control of Texas. The people of the South were alarmed, as England was opposed to slavery and might cause it to be abolished there. Schemes that had already been made to make Texas a part of the United States were kept up. 145. Election of Polk. In 1844, James K. Polk of Tennessee, Democrat, was elected President. The chief question then was 200 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY whether Texas should be annexed to the United States. Texas was annexed and made a State in 1845. J i»"i ^ 1 1 h ■TAMES K. POLK. Now, Mexico had never admitted that Texas was an independent repiibhc, and, as a nation, felt that the United States had acted very unfairly in causing GROWTH OF THE NATION 207 Texas to secede, and in afterward taking it in, as a part of the United States. The Mexicans said that the United States, although a repubhc, was as bad as the robber kingdoms of Europe were. It was the people of the Southern States, rather than those of the North, that had brought about the secession and annexation of Texas. Slavery needed more room in which to spread, and the far-seeing statesmen of the South thought that they could make of Texas several slave States. In this plan, they failed, for the people of Texas refused to have their great republic cut up into small States. Texas came into the Union as one State only. That State is larger than any nation of Europe except Russia. That part of the original territory of Florida, pur- chased during President Monroe's term, was made a State during the same year that Texas came into the Union (1845). Both Texas and Florida were slave States. Soon after, Iowa and Michigan came in as free States, and thus there were still as many free States in the Union, as slave States. Texas was the last slave State that came into the Union. From that time on, freedom gained over slavery. 146. The Oregon Country. During Polk's term, there was a strong desire that the northwestern boundary of the country should be defined. It had not yet been settled where the line between the Oregon Country and the British part of 208 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Xurth America ran. The land lliat lay between latitude 46° north and 54° 40' north was claimed by both England and the United States. There was an agreement of long standing that the people of both nations might live there. This agreement was to end after one year's notice given by either party to the other. By 1845, there were more than seven thousand Americans in this region, and notice was given })y the United States that the agreement was to end in 1846. A settlement was made by which the parallel of 49° north latitude was to become the boundary line. Jefferson, in his day, thought that the Alleghany Mountains would always be the western ])ovuKlary of the United States. Afterward, it was thought that the Rocky Mountains would be our western limit. Now, it was settled that oiu- country extended to the Pacific, and later still, in our own time, we have teri'itory on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. When the territory of Oregon was given a teri-i- torial government, in 1848, the slavery party tried to have it declared open to slavery. Bui Congress declared that there should never be slavery williin the limits of the new territory. 147. The New Tariff. TheDemocratic party, for slavery, for States Rights, for low tariff, was in powei', and in 1846 the tariff was changed. It was no longei- a protective tarifl", GROWTH OK 'J'lll'; NATION 209 l)ul oiu' for revenue only. That is, llie taxes on imported goods were laid for no other purpose than to get money for carrying on the Government. The industries of the country were left to take care of themselves. .Now, if the owner of a factory could not sell his goods here as cheaply as the owner of a factory in England or Germany could, he had to go out of business. This tariff remained in force as long as the Democratic party remained in power. While it was in force, there were few factories run- ning in America, for most of the manufactured goods used in this country came from England. SUMMARY. 1. A new President, James Monroe. 2. Purchase of Florida. 3. Disputes over slavery. 4. The Missouri Compromise. 5. Inimif:;ration increases. 6. The Holy Alliance. 7. The Monroe Doctrine. S. Protective tariff. 9. Growth of manufacturing' and invention. 10. John Quincy Adams, President. 11. Nullification in South Carolina. 12. Completion of the Erie Canal. lo. First railroads. 14. President Andrew Jackson. 15. The Spoils System. 16. Difference on the States Rights question becomes dan- iierous. 210 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 17. Martin Van Buren, of New York, becomes President. 18. Panic of 1837. 19. President Harii.son. 20. The public lands. 21. The telegraph. 22. Texas. 23. President James K. Polk. 24. Fixing the national boiuidaries. 25. New tariff law. QUESTIONS FOP REVIEW. 1 . What territory did the Nation gain under President Monroe? 2. What was the Missouri Conipromise? The Holy Alliance? The Monroe Doctrine? 3. What was the South Carolina Nullification Doctrine? 4. What great public work was completed in New York State in 1S25? When and where were the first railroads built? 5. What was the Spoils System? 6. Name a great invention made dui-ing President Tyler's admiiustration. 7. What Mexican territory l)ecame a republic? When did this republic become a State? Why did the statesmen of the South want several States madefrom thisterritory? 8. When was tlic northern boundary of the United States fixed? Chapter VI. TROUBLE WITH MEXICO. 148. The Mexican War and the Slavery Question. After Texas was made a State of the Union, the United States, controlled by the South, made a claim that the western boundary of the State was the Rio Grande River. Mexico said that the claim was wrong. Mexico declared that it was the State oj Texas, one of the states of Mexico, that had seceded, and that the State of Texas never extended west to the Rio Grande. "The land you claim," said Mexico, " was not a part of Texas. You have rob]:)ed us of Texas ; do not try now to rob a sister republic of any more of its land." Little attention was given by the United States to the complaints of Mexico. President Polk ordered General Taylor to march troops to the land in dis- pute. Taylor obeyed. This was an invasion of Mexico, an act of war. A strong nation was taking by force the land of a weak neighbor nation. Mexico resisted the invaders. There were some slight clashes of small bodies of troops. A small Mexican force defeated a small American force, kill- ing a few men . Now the President, who had long been getting ready for a war and who was waiting for an excuse 211 212 SHORT A.MI;HK'A.\ JIIS'J'OKY to iH'gin it, sent a message to Congress. He said that Mexico had shed the blood of Americans ; and Congress declared war against Mexico. There was a great difference of opinion in the United States concerning the war. It might result in gaining more slave territory. The South fav^ored it. The people of the North were generally opposed to it. Mexico fought l:>ravely and did all she could to oppose the invaders, but she was overmatched. General Taylor, with his stronger arm}", better pre- pared for fighting, was too powerful for the home- defenders of ^Mexico, and he won ever}" l^attle. After the Battle of Buena Vista, he came home with glory enough to gain for himself the Presidency at the next election. While Taylor had been active in ^lexico with one army. General Winfield Scott had been ]:)usy with another, and he too was a victor in every battle. The Americans finally captured the City of Mexico, the capital, in the fall of 1847, and the Avar was ended. For the second time, jMexico had been con- quered by invaders, to whom she had done no harm. By the treaty of peace, 1848, Mexico yielded the strip of land first claimed ; and, partly by conquest and^ partly by purchase, then and later, the United States gained a great country north and west of Texas, extending westward to the Pacifie Ocean and northward to the Oregon Country. The country thus STKUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 213 gained, and some bought later, is now included in California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of New Mexico, ('Olorado and Wyoming. GENERAL SCOTT. 149. The Wilmot Proviso. All the territory that came to the United States from Mexico came as free territory, for Mexico had 214 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY made it so by law. The question now was, whether it should remain free. As early as 1846, when it seemed that much territory would come from Mexico, a member of Congress from Pennsylvania, named Wilmot, proposed a law. It was that the Ordinance of 1787, that made the Northwest Territory free, should apply to any territory, that might come from Mexico. This bill was called "The Wilmot Proviso." The Wilmot Proviso was opposed by the slavery- party, and it failed to become a law. The South meant that new States made from that territory should be slave States. Nearly all the people of the North were strongly in favor of barring slavery from any and all new States that might be admitted. The people of the South, on the other hand, said that slaver}^ should be extended. Talk about the matter divided the people into two parties; — one for slavery in the territories, and the other against it. The ques- tion was now a political one. 150. Election of General Taylor. In the election of 1848, General Zachary Taylor was elected. He was a Democrat ; he was for slavery 151. Admission of California. Of the thirty States, fifteen were in favor of keeping slavery from spreading, and fifteen were for letting it spread into the territories; to remain there when the territories should become States. California wanted STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 215 to come into the Union. All said, " Let her come in. " The question was, whether she should be a slave State PRESIDENT TAYLOR. or a free State. California would turn the scales for or against slavery. The South wanted slavery; the South was in power. The women of the North 216 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY prayed that some Power, greater than that of man, would give the coming Queen State of the great Pacific to human freedom. Their prayers were heard. There were but few people in that part of California which was to become a State; and a vote taken by them would have been for slavery. There was nothing known that would call to California such immigrants as had l)een the making of the new Northern States ; nothing to attract a freedom-loving people. It appeared that slavery was to win. Discovery of Gold. Not very far from that famous San Francisco Bay, into which Drake and other rovers sailed, hundreds of years before, Mr. Sutter had built a mill. His hired men were digging a ditch in the gravelly soil. One of them saw a little lump of something of a dull reddish-yellow color. He picked it up; it was heavy. He pounded it; it was soft. They gathered around him and tested it. It was gold. More gold was found. It was found in other places. The word went forth to the world: — "Cold is nbuu- dant in California.'' Men flocked to California from all parts of the world, but mainly from the Northern States. California was to bo a free State. By 1849, there were a himdred thousand men, mostly from the free States, in that part of California that was to be a State. The Calif ornians wrote a constitution for a State, which shut out slavery; and asked for admis- STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 217 sion to the Union as the State of CaUfornia. There were many debates in Congress as to whether CaH- fornia should be admitted as a free State, or not. Finally, by the Compromise of 1850, it was settled, among other things, that California should come into the Union as a free State. It was also settled that the question of slavery in other parts of the territory acquired from Mexico should be left to the people who might be living there when the territory was made into States. 152. Threats of Secession. Now some of the people of the South began to talk of taking their States out of the Union. Answering them, some of the people of the North said that it would be better for free States to be out of the Union than to continue in the Union with States disgraced ])y the wickedness of slavery. There were foolish people, in both parts of the country, who babbled of secession, whenever they could not have their own way. 153. The Seventh Census. Every year whose number ends with a naught is a census year. The count, in 1850, showed that we had more than twentj^-three millions of people. Harvesting machines had been used then for ten years. In 1841, the first steam fire-engine was louilt and used, in New York. Matches were being made b}^ machinery. The first wire-rope was made. The 218 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY first silk clotli in America was made, at Paterson, N. J., where they are still making it. Men began to dig copper on the shores of Lake Michigan, where it is still mined. Petroleum was found in Pennsylvania, though Ixit little use was made of it for many years. In 1846, Elias Howe invented a machine which would sew cloth. It was thought to be a wonderful invention, and it was. Every garment worn in the civilized parts of the world is cheaper to its wearer because of Howe's invention. Telegraph hues were getting common. In Massachusetts began the mak- ing of watches by machinery. American-made hard- ware was now on the market, and people had their choice between that and the hardware made in England and Germany. In 1850, there were great debates in Congress. The ablest statesmen of the North met the ablest statesmen of the South. Speeches that still stand as models of oratory on the great question of the day, slavery, were made on both sides. Old statesmen passed away and new ones came. Calhoun, the great champion of the South, died and to take his place as leader for the rights of the States, came Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi. President Taylor died, in July, 1850, and thus Millard Fillmore, the Vice-President, became President. During the great debates, Cahfornia became a State ; and now the free States had the lead, never to lose it. STRlKJdLE OVER SLAVERY 219 154. Slave Law. Two important laws were passed in 1850. One was, that in the rest of the territory gained from MILLARD FILLMORE. Mexico, the question of slavery should be decided by the people living there, when new States were ad- 220 SHORT AMERICAX IITSTORY mitted. The other was, that the State government of any State, even a free State, should arrest and return any run-away slaves, that might be found within its bounds. Many of the people of the North, pitying poor black wTetches escaping from slavery, had been in the ha])it of aiding them as they fled through Northern States to Canada. Canada, as English soil, was a land of freedom. It was the proud boast of England, at that time and since, that no slave could live on English soil; for the minute he set foot upon it he became free, and nil of England's power stood by, to keep him free. The slavery-haters of the North, despised the Fugitive Slave Law\ So general was the feeling against it then, that but few^ black fugitives were caught and sent back into slaver}'. Slavery was losing ground. It was likely that other States coming into the Union, as California did, would come in free, as that State did. Those who were for slavery were getting desperate. 155. Immigration. There had been a great famine in Ireland. Irish people came by tens of thousands from that land of want, to this land of plenty. Others came from other parts of Europe. Population was growing very fast. The northwestern part of the Louisiana Pur- chase was filling with people. Few of the new- comers w^ent to the Southern States. Population STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 221 in the South did not grow. It became less; for thou- sands left the South to go to the North and West. The industry of cotton-growing was about all there was in the South to yield wealth and comfort; and only slave owners coidd profit by it. The slave- owners were about one-seventh of the people there- The other six-sevenths could hardly prosper. There was nothing there to attract free men and their families coming from Europe. The slavery-hating North grew in numbers and power; the slavery-loving South stood still. As slavery had been destroyed in all other civilized nations, it was to be destroyed in our own. 156. Steam. By 1852, the use of steam for power was growing general. There were ten thousand miles of railroad, and hundreds of steamboats were busy on the rivers and lakes. There were many great steamships run- ning from our harbors to those of Europe. Business felt the effects of steam and electricity. 157. A President from the North. In 1852, the Democrats elected, as President, a Northern man, Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire. He was opposed by the Whigs, in what proved to be their last contest. Political lines were changing. A new party was coming ; to be the great opponent of the Democratic party. Two great Whig leaders, 222 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, passed away while the contest for the Presidency was going on. FRANKLIN PIERCE. 158. Cuba. The North and the West were gaining on the stag- nant South. They had more States, more people, more wealth, more schools, more factories, more STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 223 roads, more canals, more shipping, greater crops, more of everything that goes to make a great and happy country. Every day the power of the North in the Nation grew. The North was now furnishing the Presidents. Slavery could not spread in the North; the Southern people cast about to see how it could be increased in the South. '^ There must be some more slave States," they said; but from what were they to be made? Several slave States could be made from Cuba, if it could be made part of the United States. Texas had been taken from Mexico for slavery; why could not Cuba be taken from Spain? Such thoughts ran in the minds of the people of the South; and the South controlled the Government, as it did when a quarrel was picked with Mexico, so that Mexican territor}^ could be seized. Schemes were put on foot in the South to have a rising in Cuba against Spain. This, it was hoped, might lead to the United States taking such action as would bring on a war with Spain. It was believed that such a war would give us Cuba, and that island, once gained, could be made to give slavery new power. Parties were sent from Southern ports to help others in Cuba to start a civil war; but they failed, and the Cul^an leaders were shot, by order of the Spanish government. There was a great area, a part of the Louisiana Purchase, lying on both sides of the Platte River, 224 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY cnlkMl tho Platte Teri'itory. It was north of the hiio estabhshed by the Missouri Compromise, and was therefore safe for freedom, when it should be made into States. At least, the people of the North thought so. 159. The Kansas-Nebraska Act. But, in 1854, a law was passed by Congress, con- trolled by the friends of slavery, which divided the Platte Territory into tw^o organized territories, called Kansas and Nebraska This bill repealed the Mis- souri Compromise, and threw all the territory of the United States not already admitted as States, open to slaver3\ It left the people living in such territory free to decide for themselves, when the}- asked for statehood, whether they would have slavery or not. The passage of this part of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, was considered by most of the people of the North, those who were opposed to slavery, as a l)reach of faith, on the part of the Democratic party, the party controlled l)y the South. They were angry. Some Democrats w^ere angr} \ Some Democratic members of Congress declared that their party had violated a sacred pledge. The repeal was a plot, said thousands of clergymen, to put the blight of slavery on one of the fairest parts of God'searth, so that settlers from Europe and the North would shun it. Many Democrats, feeling themselves dishonored l)y the course of their STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 225 party, left it. The Whig party became the Repubh- can party and many Democrats joined it. From this time on, there were two wings to the Democratic })arty. It was a most desperate move on the part of the friends of slaver}^; one that led to others more desperate still; one that led, at last, to their ruin. i6o. Kansas. The next State that was to join the Union was Kansas; ''the garden spot of the world." The people living there, when statehood should be asked for, were to settle for themselves the question of slavery. There ^vas no gold in Kansas to tempt the wealth-seekers of the world, but there was land worth more than gold. The South began to send settlers to Kansas, so that men in favor of slavery might at the proper time out-vote the men who wanted it to be a free State. The North began sending men there to out-vote the slavery men. There was a race between the North and the South, to see which could get the more men into the new territory. As the day drew near for the settlement of the question by vote, there were murders and fighting in Kansas. When election day came, large numbers of slavery men came in from JMissouri and Arkansas, and cast votes for slavery; then they went back home. Their votes made it appear that slavery had won, and that when admitted, Kansas was to be a slave State. The friends of freedom would not yield, however, and, 226 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY at last, after years of violence and murder, slavery was overcome both in Kansas and in Congress. Kan- sas at length became a State of the Union, free from slavery. The Kansas contest made the Republican party stronger, and ver}^ greatly weakened the Demo- cratic party. Thousands of Northern Democrats became Republicans, and thousands more declared that the party should no longer be led by the slavery wing. * i6i. Japan. The Kansas excitement did not prevent the National Government from attending to other things. Japan had always held aloof from all other nations. Its' people would trade with no other people. In those days any article made in Japan was a great curiosity, so few of such ever got out of that covmtry. Our people wanted to trade with Japan; and in 1854, Commodore Perr}^ son of the hero of Lake Erie, was sent to Japan with a fleet to pay a friendly visit. A treaty of commerce was made, and from that day, Japan, copying American ideas and methods, has advanced, until it is now the foremost nation of Asia. 162. Election of Buchanan. In the election of 1856, the new Republican party opposed the Democratic party and was defeated. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, Democrat, was elected. The new party showed great strength. The power of the North began to appear. STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 227 163. The Dred Scott Case. The United States Supreme Court is a very impor- tant part of the National Government. In eases of JAMES BUCHANAN. dispute it declares the law; and its decisions, unless set aside by itself, must stand. The Democrats con- 228 SHORT A.MKHK^AN HLSTORY trolled the Government, and the South, as yet, con- trolled most of the Democrats. The Judges of the Supreme Court were Democrats; all but two of them were Southern men. For some time a case had Ijeen pending in tlie Su- preme Court, concerning a shive named Dred Scott. Very soon after Buchanan became President, the Court decided the case, and in doing so laid down some new points of law. One of these was that a slave could neither sue in the courts, nor he sued. Another was, that a slave was the property of his owner, and that the owner could take him anywhere in the United States, and keep him as a slave. Yet another was, that the Missouri Compromise Law never had any force, even before it was repealed. Of the nine Justices of the Court, the seven from the South made the decision; the two from the North would not agree to it. The Dred Scott decision seemed to put an end to the slavery question by making slavery lawful every- where. The enemies of slavery were shocked. The' friends of slavery declared that now all States and Ter- ritories were open to slavery, and that, by the deci- sion of the highest court, they had won everything. The Supreme Court had spoken. There w^as noth- ing for the enemies of slavery to say, but this : " The Court has the power to make a decision. That deci- sion stands until the same Court reverses it. We will not give up the figlit against the spread of slavery." STRUGGLE OVPJR SLAVERY 229 164. Abraham Lincoln. Stephen A. Douglas, Democrat, Senator from Illi- nois, was the leader of such Democrats as believed STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS. that the Union could not be broken. He was the author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act that repealed the 230 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY JMissouri Compromise. In 1858, he sought a second election to the Senate. Also seeking the office, was a man of the people, a Republican, named Abraham Lincoln. The two men met each other in debate, at various places, in Illinois. They discussed whether the people of a territory should decide for themselves the question of slavery. Douglas wanted to l)e the next President, elected by Democrats, and felt sure that he would be their candidate. In the debate Lincoln put some questions to him. If he answered in one way, he would make friends of the Southern disunion Democrats, but enemies of the Northern union-loving ones, and would lose the senatorship. If he answered the other way, he made enemies of the Southern and friends of the Northern Democrats, and would be elected to the Senate. He favored the Northern Democrats in his answer, and was elected to the Senate. Lincoln was beaten, Init Douglas had made enemies of the Democrats of the slave States, so that they would never vote for him, for President. The wonderful skill and statesmanship shown ])y Lincoln in the debates made him known to the Re- publicans everywhere; and many l)egan to say that he should be their candidate for President in the election of 1860. 165. John Brown. The people of the South were always in more or less fear of a rising of the slaves to fight for freedom. STRUGGLE 0\'ER 8LA\'ERY 231 There were a few people in the North, whose hatred of slavery carried them so far beyond bounds that they favored the idea of slave-risings in the South. Of these few, was John Brown. Brown was first a farmer in New York State. Then he went with his sons to Kansas, to help make that a free State. In Kansas, he and his sons fought those from the South who tiied to carry the territory for slavery by force. It is thought that he became somewhat crazy through brooding over slavery, and through his struggles against it. Brown had an idea that, if he could stir up the slaves of Virginia to fight their masters, the Southern people would ])e so horrified at the thought of further risings that they would be willing to do away with slavery. The old man, with a small party, went to Harper's Ferry, in the fall of 1859, and tried to start an uprising of slaves. He failed ; and was soon after- wards, tried for murder and hanged. Brown's wicked and foolish act made the people of the South furiously angry. Many of them believed that this was only the first of many such attempts, and that a large part of the people of the North, especially the Republicans, believed that such deeds were right. The South began to hate the North, and there was much talk that, unless the South could control the Government as it had been doing, it would break away from the Union and make a nation for itself. Now came a time of misunderstanding and bitterness 232 SHORT AMERlCAxN HISTORY between the two parts of th(^ country. Each part angrily and unjustly accused the other. But Abra- ham Lincoln and the Republicans generally con- demned Brown's act. 1 66. Admission of New States. During Buchanan's term Minnesota, Oregon, and Kansas became States of the Union, without slavery. Even with the Dred Scott decision to help slavery, it could spread no farther. It must sta}' where it was, and if so confined, it must die. The States now stood nineteen to fifteen , against the spread of slavery. 167. The Eighth Census. 1860 was census year. There were then thirty- one and a half millions of people in the United States. In 1851, a steamer crossing the Atlantic made the passage in less than ten days. It could hardly be believed. By 1853, a man might start at New York and ride by rail to Chicago. He might start at Bangor, Me., and go by rail to New Orleans. Ameri- cans began to buy American-made watches, because they were better than those made in Europe. There was a l)ridge built across the ^lississippi from Rock Island, 111., to Davenport, in Iowa. In 1857, a great panic swept the country; many banks failed, and much business was destroyed. A great improvement in the way of pegging shoes by machinery came into use, and the shoe-making busi- STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 233 ness of Massachusetts began. Imports were now nine times as great in the States of the North as in those of the South. By 1859, the shipment of iron-ore from the Lake Superior region, down the Great Lakes, was going on. It now amounts to many milHons of tons a year. The time from New York to Chicago by rail was thirty- eight hours. It is now eighteen. Silver was dis- covered in the Rocky Mountains. Petroleum was found, in Pennsylvania, by drilling wells. Thus began the great petroleum industry. i68. The Election of Abraham Lincoln. The Democratic Convention, to name a man for the Presidency, met at Charleston, S. C. For the first time in a National Democratic Convention, the South- ern States-rights, disunion Democrats found that they were not in control. Northern Democrats no longer did their bidding. The North, in the convention, wanted Douglas for President. The South would not have him. The South broke away and nominated Breckenridge of Kentucky. The Northern Democrats, in convention, nominated Douglas. The party was now split in two, and neither wing could win in the coming election. The Republicans were sure to elect their man. The next President would be an enemy to the spread of slavery. As old members of the National Supreme Court dropped out, by death or otherwise, enemies 284 SHORT AMP:RI0AN HISTORY of skivery would fill llicir places. In liiiic, the court « might reverse the Dred Scott decision. It is likely that had the Democrats named Douglas at first, and all voted for him in the election, he would have been elected. But the Sout^i was now^ at the "rule or ruin" point. It said, "If a Republican is elected, we will break up the Union." The Repu])lican Convention was held at Chicago. Abraham Lincoln was named, and in the election following, he was elected. The Kepublican party, enemy to the spread of slavery, w^as to rule the Nation. 169. Secession. Lincoln w^as elected in November, he was to take the office in March. Until then, Buchanan remained in office. He was a weak man, a Northern Democrat, elected by Southern votes, and fearful of offending the South. Southern Government officers, even those in the Cabinet, at once ])egan measures of disunion, and plotted treason. • The people of the Soutli firmly l)elieved that they had the right to take their States out of the Union. They had Ijcen so taught l)y their statesmen. The people of the North as firmly Ix lieved that no State had a right to leave the Union, and that secession was treason. They had been so taught l)y their states- men. -It has been said that no man is so dangerous, as a good man who is wrong, Imt honestly believes he is right. The people of the South were good men STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 235 who were wrong but believed the}^ were right. Like good men, they were ready to fight and wilHng to die, for the right as they understood it. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. South Carohna took the lead, as she had done before, whenever there liad been talk of disunion. Without waiting to see what the Nation would do 236 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY under its new President, South Carolina declared, in convention, while yet Buchanan was President, that she was out of the Union and was an independ- ent nation. Her people thought they were out of the Union; they spoke of the United States as a foreign country. But they were not out, as future events were to show. 170. Confederate States of America. While Buchanan was yet President the people of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, (iSeorgia, Louisiana, and Texas took action, tluit they thought took their States out of the Union. B}^ the time Lincoln became President, the seceding States had formed a new Union of their own, which they called the Con- federate States of America, and, as they thought, had set up as a nation. They made Jefferson Davis, President, him who, since the death of Calhoun, had ]:)een the great leader of the slavery wing of the Democratic party. They declared that the new Nation was founded on slavery. The people of the South thought that they were acting toward the Nation, much as the colonies had acted toward England, when they broke away and formed a nation. They were rebels in the sam.e sense that the colonists were. The term rebel, is not always one of reproach. Men may rebel in a just cause. Some of the best men who have ever lived have beer rebels. The South was in rebelUon. STRUGGLE OVER SLAVERY 287 Whenever a State seceded, the rebels in that State at once seized all the forts, arsenals, ships, money, and all else that they could find that belonged to JEFFERSON DAVIS. the general government. And there were many such things at hand to seize, for Buchanan's officers, with rebellion in mind, had been busy for months 238 SHORT AMERICAN HISTOKV sending such things south. After the States had seceded, it was found that a large part of the war supplies of the whole Nation was in the hands of the rel^els. SUMMARY. 1. Disputes about the southwest boundary Yme between Texas and Mexico are made the pretext for a war witii Mexico. 2. Two leading American fj;enei-als of the IMexican War were Winfield Scott, and Zachary Taylor. The hitter became President . li. Tlie Nation liains a vast territory- from Mexico as a result of the war. 4. Wihiiot Proviso. 5. Cahfornia becomes a free State. (). Threats of secession. 7. The Fu<>itive Shive Law. S. President Pierce. i). Unhiwful interference with affairs in rul)a. 10. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals the Missouri Compi-o- mise. Kansas admitted as a free State. 1 1. .Japan. 12. President Buchanan. \:\. Th(> Dred Scott Case. 14. The Lincoln-Douiilas debates. b'). .John lirown's Rai(L 1(). Pi-esident Abraham Lincoln. 17. Secession, Confedei'alc States of .\inerica. QUESTIONS FOR RI<:VIEW. 1. What led to the Mexican War? 2. What territory did we gain as a result of this war? 8TKUGGLE OXKli SLAVERY 239 3. What was the Wihnot Proviso? 4. What was the Fugitive Slave Law? 5. How Was it regarded by the people of the North? 6. Why was it desired by the people of the South that Cuba should become a part of the United States? 7. What was the Kansas-Nel)raska Act? To what events did it lead in Kansas? 8. Who went to Japan to open trade with the United States? With what success? 10. What was the effect of the Dred Scott decision? 1 1 . What citizen of Illinois began to oppose the extension of slavery? 1 2. Wliat did John Brown attempt to do? 13. Which was the first State to secede? How many States seceded from the Union? What did they call themselves? Chapter VII . THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 171. Fort Sumter. For the defense of Charleston, S. C, the Nation had, years before, built a fort. It stood upon an island which had been built by the Government in the harl^or. This was Fort Sumter, named after a Revolutionary hero of the State. x\t the time of the secession of South Carolina, a time of peace, the forts of Charleston harbor were manned b}- only a few United States soldiers. As soon as little South Carolina seceded, and set up for a nation, it demanded that the United States give up these forts, including Fort Sumter. When an unarmed vessel, sent ])y the Goveriunent witli food for the soldiers in 1^'ort Sumter, drew near tlie island, she was fired upon by the batteries on the shore. Thus the State had not only set up for a foreign nation, but had begun a war on the United States. Mv. Buchanan, the President, weakly failed to respond to this act of war upon his (,*ountry. 172. President Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln, avoiding those who lay in wait to slay him, at Baltimore, reached Washington and 240 THE GREAT REBELLION 241 became President. In his address, lie said that he had no right to interfere with slavery where it was, directly or indirectly, and that he had no purpose to do so. He said that no State could of itself get out of the Union. He said he would use the power placed in him as President "to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Govern- ment." He told those present who were known to be in favor of secession, that the Government would not assail the South; that there could be no conflict unless it was forced on the Government. There were many in the North who thought it would be wise to let the seceding States go, without trying to hold them in the Union by force. "The}^ are ready to fight,'' said some Northern men, good Repubhcans. " Let them go, for the sake of peace." ''But," said others, "if they go, there can be no peace. Between the two nations wdll rise questions of boundaries, of the navigation of rivers like the Mississippi. There will be quarrels about fugitive slaves, about tariffs, and many other things. The two nations could not long stay at peace. One would have to conquer the other. If there must be war, let it come now, when the world knows the Nation is in the right." Said others, "Two weak nations can- not exist in America. Foreign powers would attack and conquer one, when they would not dare make war on the two, in one. In union, there is strength; in disunion, there is ruin." 242 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY As soon as the President's order to feed the soldiers was made known, the President of the C'onfederate States demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter and, on Major Anderson's refusal, the shore batteries began firing on the fort. Within two days the weak garrison was overcome, and the American flag was hauled down in surrender. The so-cidled new nation had made war on the United States, had invaded its soil, had hauled down its flag. If the Confederate States were really a separate nation, it had wantonly begun a wicked war on a neighboring and friendly nation. If they were not a separate nation, but just a number of States in rebelUon, they had etiually made war. Invasion or rebellion, no matter which, wju- must be met by war; and war it was. Four years, to a day, from the lowering of our national flag at Fort Sumter, the same shot-torn emblem of greatness was raised again in victory. The rash provokers of war, though they had fought as never men fought before, were van- quished and ruined, their States were desolated, the flower of their youth were laid in early graves, and slavery was dead. The South had misunderstood the North. "They are mere money-makers in the North," said Southern orators. "They are not natural fighters there, such as we are. As soon as they see that we mean war the}^ will let us go. Now that we have taken the fort, they wull think twice before t]ic\' dare to fac(^ us in THE GREAT REBELLION 243 the field." They were mistaken. It is one of the lessons of history that, through all time, the rugged, steady enduring courage of the North overcomes in war the fiery valor of the South. 174. Effect of the Capture of Fort Sumter. As the news of the capture of Fort Sumter flashed over the countr}^, North and South, patriotism l)roke into flame. In the South, the 3^oung men rushed to camp. In the North, the President called for seventy- five thousand volunteer soldiers, and he took his pick from ten times that number. From Maine to Texas, men made ready for war. More States went through the form of seceding: Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina declared themselves as out of the old Union and into the new. There w^ere now eleven States in rebellion against the United States Government. Secession could not win the border States of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware. Though these were slave States they did not leave the Union. Richmond, capital of Virginia, became the capital of the Confederate States. Jefferson Davis comforted his followers by, saying that, in the war, the fight- ing would be on Northern soil; and that the South would carry the war, "where food for the sword and torch await our armies in the densely populated cities." He called for volunteers, and proposed that privateers be sent out from Southern ports, to prey on the ocean commerce of the North. 244 SHORT AMiailCAN HISTORY 173. The South Makes War. The North under the insolent threats of the South had been brow-beaten so long that it was now hard for all of its people* to agree and take firm groinid against disunion. ]\Iajor Anderson, commanding Fort Sumter was calling for food for his men, and all but two of the President's cabinet, voted against sending THK SLAVE STATES BEKOK-E THE WAR. it. General Scott, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, advised that the seceding States be allowed to go out of the Union. Then the great President decided for himself that the Nation's soldiers, in the Nation's fort, should have food. He was peaceable, mild, gentle, merciful; but he was also brave. The honor of the Nation was safe in his hands. THE GREAT REBELLION 245 175. Condition of the South. The South was unfit for war. It takes more than men to carry on a war. Those who go to the field to fight, must be armed, clothed and fed, by those who stay at home. The South could raise cotton, and that was about all it could do. It was not a manufac- turing country. It had always depended on trading cotton for all the things that it needed. It had traded with Europe. It meant to trade cotton for arms, clothes, and everything that its soldiers needed in the field. 176. The Blockade. To get supplies and to send out privateers, the South must use its harbors and ports. It must reach the open sea. Lincoln saw that the great Rebellion would be smothered if the ports of the South were closed. So he sent war-ships to block the ports against commerce. No vessel could go into or out of a Southern port, except by running through the fire of the Union war-ships, that kept guard just "out- side. This blockade soon brought the South to severe want for things needful for the war, or for even home comforts. Some vessels got in and some got out; but not many. Many were captured; some were sunk. More than fifteen hundred were taken or sunk during the war. Because it could not be gotten out of the country, cotton, the best sea-island grade, was as cheap as five cents a pound in Charles- 246 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY ton, while English manufacturers were offering two dollars and a half a pound for it in Liverpool, Eng- land. The blockade, begun thus early, was the means that finally broke down the Confederacy and made its war a failure It was not Fort Sumter alone that had been taken. All the Nation's property in the South had been seized. There was no reason why Fort Sumter alone should be recaptured. The war was growing. It was covering a great area, so no move was made for the time against that fort. The plan of the Nation was to surround the Confederacy, great as it was^ and press inward on it and crush it. 177. Preparation. Now came a period of getting ready. Troops were drilhng — North and South. The people on both sides grew restless. "Why do not our sokliers fight the rebels?" asked those of the North. "Why do not our soldiers whip the Yankees?" asked those of the South. "On to Washington!" said one. "On to Richmond!" said the other. Both were over-sure; both had much to learn. 178. Bull Run. July, IcSGl, came. General McDowell witli a Union ami}' was in front of Washington. General Beaure- gard with a much smaller Confederate force stood guard over Richmo.nd, about thirty miles southwest THE GREAT REBELLION 247 of Washington, near a little stream called Bull Run. A small stream, larger than a brook, and less than a river, is called a run in the South. From this point he could defend Richmond, or strike at Washington. McDowell marched against Beauregard and engaged his force at Bull Run. General Johnston came to the aid of Beauregard with his army, and McDowell, badly defeated, fell back on Washington. The battle settled nothing beyond the fact that both armies were made of good fighters; for valor was a quality common to both parts of the great American country. 179. Call for Volunteers. General George B. McClellan. President Lincoln at once called for half a million volunteers. It was clear now that there was to be a great war. In the early days of the war. General Scott, who had won fame in the Mexican War, was in command of the Union armies. But in November, 1861, a younger man, fresh from his studies of war in Europe, General George B. McClellan, was placed in charge of the armies. He, like many others of the soldiers of the Union, was a Northern Dem.ocrat. The men of the Union Army were Republicans and loyal Demo- crats, while those of the Confederate Army, the rebel army as it was called in the North, were all Demo- crats. The Democrats of the Union Arm}^ were such as had voted for Douglas; those of the rebel army 248 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY were such as had voted for Breckenridge. As soon as the war broke out Douglas took a firm stand for GENERAL GEORGE B. McCLELLAN. the Union, while Breckenridge became a general in the Confederate Army. It had been the first care of the President to see THE GREAT REBELLION 249 that the slave States, that had not seceded, were made safe for the Union. They were soon made secure. In each of these States, however, were many who favored secession and from each, many men went to join the Confederate Army. Missouri, for instance, sent men to both armies by thousands. Union con- trol of the border slave States was not gained with- out much fighting. This was very true of Missouri. B}^ the end of 1861, the Confederacy was beset by land and sea and was struggling to defend itself. 1 80. West Virginia. Virginia was tricked into seceding by unfair means. The people of the State as a whole were Union people, but the politicians dragged them into the Confederacy. In the mountainous part of the State, the western part, slavery was not profitable, the climate and soil not being good for such crops as required slave labor. There the people would not be Confederates, so they receded from Virginia after Virginia seceded from the Union. West Virginia was made a State by itself in 1863. 181. Mason and Slidell. The South coidd not get its cotton out of the coun- try to sell it, and thus was crippled for want of means. As the colonies had gained the help of France against England in the Revolution, so now the Confederate States, in their struggle for independence, sought the 250 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY help not only of France, but of England also. They had counted, before the war began, that those nations must have cotton. Their orators said, "Cotton is King." They thought that France and England would want cotton so much that they would be ready to fight the United States to get it; and that they would send their war-ships to break up the blockade. The South sent two of her ablest men to Europe, as the colonies had sent Frankhn during the Revolu- tion, to get help. The men sent were Mason and Slidell. Before these statesmen reached Europe, the Enghsh vessel on which they sailed, was stopped in mid-ocean by an American war-ship. They were taken from the Eng- lish ship and held as prisoners. In thus removing men from a British steamer, the United States did what England had done, before the War of 1812. England was as angry now as America had been years before. Steps were taken in England toward making war on the United States. Mason and Slidell were set free, however, with the understanding that, thereafter, of neither nation was to search the vessels of the other, and the English people became calm. 182. Forts Donelson and Henry. It takes time for a nation like ours to turn from the ways of peace, to those of war. But events were following each other rapidly. In the northwestern part of Tennessee there were two rivers, the Tennessee THE GREAT REBELLION 251 and the Cumberland, which were very important, because they were great routes of steamboat traffic. The Confederates controlled these rivers by means of two strong forts. One, on the Tennessee River, was Fort Henry, and the other, on the Cumberland River, was Fort Donelson. The Union armies, after some severe fighting, drew near to these forts, and took them early in 1S62. They were taken by a general who was beginning to show his fitness. His name was Grant, -U. S. Grant. Much help was given to him by the Union gunboats in the rivers, commanded by Commodore Foote. With the forts, were taken more prisoners than were ever before taken in a battle in America. Great stores of war supplies which the Confederates nmch needed, for such supplies were hard to get, also fell into the hands of our army. Losing these forts m.ade the Confederates give up Colum])us on the ]\Iississippi, not far away. The command of the IMississippi and its branches was as important, in this war, as that of the Hudson had ]:>een in the war of the Revolution. In gaining these two branches the Union Army had won a great vic- tory. The whole of the great river was not won yet, for, farther to the south, was another strong fort known as Island Number Ten. Grant's victories caused the Confederates to quit thousands of square miles of ground which they had hoped to hold. The outside pressure of the Union Armies was forcing the Confederacy back within itself. 252 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 183. Control of the Mississippi. To understand the war, we must keep in mind that it was the purpose of President Lincohi to keep the South from getting materials from the outside. The Confederacy was blockaded along the coast, but '1 AKLNC 1111: KAMPARTS AT FORT DONELSON. there were ways for arms and other war supplies, to be brought in by way of Mexico and from the coun- try to the west, across the Mississippi River. To shut off these supplies, and to shut off cattle from Texas, it was needful that the whole Mississippi should be held by Union soldiers and Union gunboats. As soon THE GREAT REBELLION 253 as the Mississippi could be gained, the Confederac}^ would be cut in two. It would be hard for the Con- federates to move their men and supplies, for there were but few railroads in that region. Whichever party in the war held the Western rivers, had a great advantage over the other. Both parties were there- fore fighting to hold them. 184. Battle of Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing. Corinth. Next to the rivers, in importance, were the rail- roads. To get control of the railroads, was now the purpose of General Grant. Up in the northeast part of the State of Mississippi was Corinth, where several railroads centered. He began to move toward Cor- inth. The Confederates had good generals. They knew what Grant wanted; and they meant to block his movement. When Grant started up the Tennessee toward Corinth, General A. S. Johnston, one of the ablest generals the Confederacy had, started toward Grant's army. As Grant halted to rest his men and wait for General Buell to join him with his army, Johnston, with a greater force, fell upon him with furious attack. Every Confederate soldier knew as well as his great leader did how much depended on victory. Grant's army was driven back, but John- ston, in the moment of apparent victory, was killed. Now Beauregard took command, he who . had whipped the Union Army at Bull Run in the East, — 254 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY and night came. "We will finish our victoiy in the morning" said Beauregard. "Our hardest fighting comes to-morrow" said Grant. That night Buell came up to help Grant, and in the morning, April 7, 1862, the fight went on again. By nightfall the Union Army was victorious. It was the hardest fought battle in the West during the whole war. Next day, seeing that after the defeat at Pittsburg Landing the fort could not be held, the Confederates gave up Island Number Ten. Now, the Mississippi was a loyal river as far south as Vicksburg. Beating the Southern army at Pittsburg Landing made the fall of Corinth sure, and in May it surrendered. 185. The Duel of the Ironclads. In the early days of the war. General Scott took measures of defense against the South. He caused forts to be built around Washington, and he saw to it that Fortress Monroe, in Virginia, was well manned with national troops. He should have taken care of the great National Arsenal at Harper's Ferry and the great Navy Yard at Portsmouth, both in the same State. When Virginia seceded, the State govern- ment seized the Navy Yard and the Arsenal, but not until both had been destroyed as far as could b(^ done, by the national officers in charge. The amount of plunder that fell into the hands of the Virginians at the Navy Yard was very great. Several war-vessels were sunk to prevent their cap- THE GREAT REBELLION 255 ture, among which was the steam frigate " Merrimac," one of the best vessels of the United States Navy. The Confederates afterwards raised the "Merrimac," and made her over into a war-vessel of a new kind, intending to use her to break the blockade, and to destroy Northern cities. Those were the days of wooden ships. "We mil have an iron-plated ship," said the naval men bf the South, "so strong that cannon balls cannot break her sides, and we will give her an iron prow with which she can crush any wooden ship afloat. No vessel ever built can stand against her." Forthwith they built to the "Merrimac," sides of heavy iron, which sloped upward from the water like the roof of a house. No cannon ball could strike them squarely; every shot that might hit would glance off and be harmless. When the craft was done they named her the "Virginia." She was the strongest fighting- vessel in the world. She could work such havoc in a fleet of wooden war-ships as a tiger might work in a flock of sheep. Nothing known could stop her from sailing into the harbor of New York or Philadelphia, or any other seaboard city, and la>dng the town in ashes with her fire-shells. As far as could be seen, the Confederacy, through the "Vir- ginia," had the United States at its merc}^ But the building of the "Virginia" had been no secret. The officers of the national navy knew what was going on, and knew how grave the danger was. 256 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY While the South was huilding an iron monster, the North was building an iron-sheathed dragon of its own, to meet her when she should come forth. There was to be a greater duel than the world had ever seen. i86. The " Monitor." The "Monitor," the invention of Captain John Ericsson, was a vessel lying so low in the water that her flat deck was but two or three feet above the water level. She could not be hit })elow water, and the slight extent of side, that showed above water, was made of timber several feet thick, covered on the outside with heavy .iron plates. No cannon ball could pierce her sides. Her deck was plated with iron. It lay so flat and low that no shot could do more than graze it and shde off. Built upon the deck, was a great round body like a cheese box, made of iron so thick that it could stop the heaviest cannon ball known. Within this turret, as it was called, were two heav}^ guns. The turret could be made to turn, by machinery in the vessel, so that the gims might be pointed in any direction. The revolv- ing tvn^ret was the idea of a skillful inventor, of New York, named Theodore R. Timby, who is still Uving in Brooklyn, 1908. It was known that the " Virginia" was about ready, and that she would make short work of the wooden war-ships lying near Fortress Monroe, when she came THE flREAT REBELLION 257 out of her harbor; so the building of the "Monitor" was pushed with great haste. At length the little craft was finished, and she sailed for Hampton Roads, there to wait for the "Virginia" to come forth from her lair. But she was too late. On March 8, 1862, the "Virginia" came down from Norfolk and fought the wooden ships at Hampton Roads, (,'annon l)alls struck her sides by dozens and rattled off like peas thrown against a stone wall. She struck the noble "Cumberland" with her iron prow, and cut the vessel half-way through. She set the "Congress" on fire and destroyed her. She showed her power; nothing could withstand her. She could take her time and, at her pleasure, follow up her work of ruin. Like a wolf, tired of killing for the time, she ceased to destroy, and went back to Norfolk to rest, intending to come again next day and sink more ships. The "Virginia" came down next da}^, but, during the night the " Monitor^' had arrived. The two vessels met. It was iron against iron, now. The " Virginia" limped back to Norfolk, a whipped monster. She fought no more. Wonderful as had been the skill that had produced her, that skill had been matched by the North, and in the fight of the iron clads the Northern craft had proved the better vessel. The ''Monitor" saved the rest of the navy; saved the cities; saved the blockade; saved the Union. . A little later, when the Union armies marched for Richmond, THE GREAT REBELLION 259 Norfolk was taken ; but before it fell, the Confederates destroyed the "Virginia." The fight at Hampton Roads taught the nations of the world that wooden war-ships were now useless. The day of iron war-ships had come. The fight of the two sea-monsters stands as one of the most important sea battles in history. THE CONFEDERACY AT CLOSE OF 1861. 187. New Orleans. The South still held the lower part of the Mississippi River. With that river lost, the Confederacy would be a cripple. It was now 1862, the second year of the war. Grant, with the armies and the gunboats was gaining the river from the north; another force must enter at its mouth and work up-stream. In the spring a fleet under Commodore Farragut, bearing 260 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY an army, sailed for New Orleans. That city must be taken. The Nation must do what England was unable to do, in the war of 1812. The Confederates knew what was coming. They made skillful plans for defense. They thought that they could hold the river and save the city. So they could, against any such force, and any such means, as had ever been used in war before. But this was a war between Americans, and both sides were giving lessons in warfare, that made the world wonder. After four days of fighting the North prevailed, and after another four days New Orleans surrendered. The loss of the outlet of the Mississippi Valley hurt the Confederacy, not only in America l)ut in Europ(\ France and England would now think twice before siding with the South, while the South was thus losing. When they heard of the terril)le disaster that had fallen on the Confederacy, Mason and Slidell, begging for help in Europe, were almost in despair. Now the South had but two strongholds on the river. Port Hudson and Vicksburg. Farragut moved up the stream with his vessels to attack them, but it was necessary for him to wait for the army. They could be taken only by the navy and the army fight- ing together. 1 88. The Draft in the South. By the spring of 1862, no more volunteers for the Confederate armies were to be had. Now the Con- THE GREAT REBELLION 261 federacy made a law which drew into the army all men between eighteen and thirty-five years of age. By the fall of the same year, all men up to forty-five years of age were made to join the army. 189. The Blockade goes on. The Nation was pressing the blockade. There were not ships enough to properly watch all the ports of the Confederacy. Besides, it was dangerous for vessels to lie outside, on the ocean, exposed to the terrible storms of the Atlantic with no near harbors to run into in case of need. It was thought best to capture some of the seaports along the Southern coast. These might then l^e used by Union vessels as harbors of refuge. The ships blockading them might then be sent to watch other ports. So, one after another, the seaports were taken. 190. Privations of the South. By this time, every Southern seaport except Savan- nah, Charleston, and Wilmington had been taken. The South could have no trade with Europe, but such as might be made by means of steamers, stealing by the watchful Union war-ships, that lay in wait for them off these three ports. The blockade bore heavily upon the Southern people. Tea and coffee and salt were very hard to get. There were but few medicines to be had, either for the armies or for the people. The soldiers had to find themselves clothing, as best they 262 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY could; and thousands of them wore captured Union uniforms. The Southern people gave their carpets to be made into blankets for the soldiers. Coarse homespun cloth, woven on hand-looms as in colonial times, became common ; and so did wooden-soled shoes like those worn in Europe by the peasants. Matches were scarce. Newspapers were printed on wall-paper, and old envelopes were turned inside out and thus used again. Meat became very scarce and costly, especially after the Union armies and gunboats had taken the Mississippi River, so that cattle from Texas could not be had. There were bread riots in some of the South- ern cities which were put do^\^l b}^ militar}^ force. In Richmond, President Davis himself, by threats of having the troops fire on it, scattered a mob which was demanding l)read. The courage of the Southern people during these hard times was marvelous. 191. The North. The North felt no pinch of poverty or famine; times were good there. The North was a land of plenty. Volunteers had been called for, again and again, and they kept coming. Every j^ear brought a new host of youths to the proper age for service, and these took their places willingh^, to fight for the Union. Immigrants kept coming from Europe, and many of them entered the Union armies, to fight for their adopted country. The Nation had many more THE GREAT REBELLION 263 men in the field than the States in rebelHon, as it needed to have. It took more men to surround the Confederacy, and drive it back, than it did to defend it. 192. Richmond. McClellan. The Nation had done well in the West. What had been done in the East? It was time for another move against Richmond. The Confederacy stood at bay; it must be attacked from all sides, from the East as well as from the West. McClellan, with a hundred thousand men, went to Fortress Monroe and from there set out for Richmond. It was this move- ment that made the Confederates abandon Norfolk and destroy the '^Virginia." They tried hard to save the vessel, but she lay so deep in the water that they could not get her to Richmond. The Confederate generals were more active than McClellan. The last day of May and the first day of June, 1862, saw a vigorous attack on his force which had marched toward Richmond. This attack ended much to the advantage of the Confederates. McClellan, cut off from his supplies, now had to fight to get away. For seven days the Confederates kept after him, but they were checked at last at Malvern Hill, July 1, and McClellan's army reached the James River, where the gunboats could help keep back the foe. From there the army was moved to Washington; and thus the second attempt to take 264 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Richmond ended in failure. McClellan had shown that, while weak in attack, he was a genius at defense, for his retreat was masterful. But what the Nation wanted in the East was a general who could make the enemy retreat. "Our Western generals have done well," said the President. " Let us bring some of them East and give them a chance here." So FTalleck, who had been in command over Grant in the West, was called to Washington to be General-in-Chief. General Pope, who had a good record, gained at the taking of Island Number Ten, and elsewhere, was put in command of the army that was to make the third attempt to take Richmond. 193. Second Battle of Bull Run. Pope was as much too rash as McClellan had been too cautious. Long before he could get to Richmond, the Confederate "Stonewall" Jackson slipped in behind him and got his supphes of ammunition and food. The two armies came together very near the old Bull Run battle-ground, and for the third time, the Union Army was defeated, and it fell back to Washington. 194. The Confederate Army Advances. Now the Confederate commander, General Robert E. Lee, son of Light Horse Llarry Lee who fought so well in the Revolution, thought it time for his army THE GREAT REBELLION 265 to advance. ''Maryland is a slave State. There must be many friends of the South there. Perhaps they GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE. are ready to join a Confederate Army, if it comes to them victorious. If we rush through ^Laryland with an army growing stronger every day, and can win, 266 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY a Northern city or two, we may end the war." So said the wdse men of the Confederacy, as Lee set forth with sixty thousand men. 195. Antietam, Fredericksburg. McClellan's army was thrown across Lee's front to check him, and there was a battle at Antietam, Maryland, September 17, 1862. Lee's army was defeated in a terrible fight, and fell back. McClellan failed to follow and complete his victor}^ and Lee's army marched back into Virginia. The President now set McClellan aside, and gave the command to General Burnside. Next began the fourth march on Richmond, and at Fredericksljurg, December 13, the -Union Army was beaten again, as it seemed fated to be whenever it started toward Richmond. 196. Third Year of the War. Eighteen hundred and sixty- three came, with the war still on, and but little done in the East toward putting down the Rebellion. Richmond must be taken; but who was the general that could take it? General Hooker was placed in command in Jaiuiary, and Burnside went back to his corps. Nothing was done now toward attacking Richmond until spring. General Hooker determined to make the attempt to take Richmond by marching up the Rappahanock THE GREAT REBELLION 267 River. He had a much larger army than Lee, and the two forces met at Chancellorsville, a short dis- tance west of the fateful field of Fredericksburg on the south bank of the Rappahanock. The national forces met with another crushing defeat through a masterly attack on their flank by "Stonewall" Jackson, who was himself killed in this fight — a severe loss to the Confederate forces. CONFEDERACY AT END OF 1862. 197. Copperheads. The Union Army was made up of Republicans and War Democrats, as they were called, Democrats of the Douglas kind, who loved the Union. But there were many Democrats of the Southern kind in the North, whose hearts were in the Southern cause. 268 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY They, among the patriots of the North, were Hke the Tories of the Revohitioii. Many of them plotted for the South. They were sad at news of Union victories, and their faces shone with joy when news came of Union defeats. They were called Copperheads, as a name of disgrace, there being a venomous, snake of that name. When Lee made his march into Mary- land it was with a strong hope that the ('opperheads of the North would help him. They were very troublesome to the Union cause, all through the war, and after it. 198. Slavery. The Nation went into the war plainly stating that the war was to save the Union, and not to destroy slavery. ]\Iost of the Democrats of the North who had enhsted as soldiers were believers in slavery, and did not want it disturbed. All through the South, slaves were doing such work as enabled white men to serve as soldiers. They built forts; the}^ did the work of the camps ; they raised the crops at home that fed the Confederate armies; they raised the cot- ton that the South meant to trade for arms and other war supplies. The Rebellion was kept up very largely through what the slaves were made to do. Yet nearly all Democrats in the North, from the vilest Copperhead at home to the gallant soldier in the ranks, said that slavery must not be harmed. In 1862, the President asked Congress to propose THE GREAT REBELLION 269 to pay for the slaves and set them free. By act of Congress, the slaves in the District of Columbia were paid for, and set free. The Republicans in the North begged the President to declare all slaves in the rebel- lious States free. He replied, saying that his great object was to restore the Union, and neither to save nor to destroy slavery. He said that he would save the Union without freeing any slaves if he could ; that if by freeing all the slaves he could save the Union he would do that; or, that if hy freeing some, and leaving others in bondage, he could save the Union, he would do that. The Republicans said, " Southern men are in arms fighting the Nation. Treat all their property alike, slaves and all. Set free the slaves as a blow at the Rebellion. When the slaves are free, the Rebellion will fall, and the cruel slaughter of good men on both sides will cease." "But," said the patient and wise President, "if we free the slaves we may offend the people of the slave States that have not left the Union and may thus strengthen the enemy." WTiat to do with slavery was a grave question. When Lee marched into Maryland, and it seemed that, with the help of the Copperheads, he might succeed in invading the North; when things looked very dark for the Union cause, the President made an important decision. He said that, should the iuA'ader be cast out from fair Maryland, he woidd declare that the slaves in all the rebellious States 270 8H0RT AMERICAN HISTORY were free. Lee was driven back. The President at once proclaimed that, if the people in the rebel States did not la}' down their arms and become good citizens of the Nation, by the first day of the year 1863, he would declare that all their slaves should be forever free. When the old year went out and the new year came in, the South was still in rebellion. 199. Emancipation. On the first day of January, 1863, Lincoln did as he had said, and declared that, in all parts of the country where there was war against the Union, slavery should exist no more. His proclamation was no less a blessing to the white people of the South than to the black. The world took notice now that the North was fighting for humanity, as well as for the Union, while the South was battling in behalf of " the great crime against civilization." 200. Results of Emancipation. The Nation gained friends in Europe; the South lost them. The slaves in the South became restless. As fast as they could, they ran away into the Union lines. Those that were left did not work as well as they had done before. Confederate soldiers now had to do much of the work about the camps, and on the march, and at the breast-works, that before this time had been done by slaves. There were less Confederates THE GREAT REBELLION 271 now on the firing line. In another way emancipa- tion helped the Union cause, for by tens of thousands, the negroes, North and South, became soldiers in the Union Army. While the white soldiers fought for the Union, the black men fought for their race, and for the Nation that had freed them. They fought well. 201. Confederate War-ships on the Sea. It was beyond the power of the South to build ocean war-ships. The Confederacy depended on Eng- land and France for those. Both of those nations took a selfish view of the struggle in America, and both were watching for chances to gain by it. France was controlled by a nephew of the great Bonaparte. He hoped and believed that the Union would be broken up, and he did all he could, in a stealthy way, to help the South. He had a contempt for the Confederacy, but thought to use it as a means to further his plan to again plant the French flag in America. In England two very powerful war-vessels, the "Florida" and the "Alabama," were built for the Confederacy. These were to be used to destroy American merchant ships on the sea. There was a profit for the EngUsh in building them, and a great profit was to come from their work, for the more American ships they burned, the more chance there was for English ships to make money. 272 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 202. England and France. It was against the laws of nations, as it was against the spirit of fair play, for England to allow these QUEEN VICTORIA. vessels to be built and to sail from her ports to prey upon American ships. THE GREAT REBELLION 273 In the fall of 1862, it became known that English statesmen meant to recognize the Confederate States, as France had recognized the United States in the time of the Revolution. The United States began to get ready to fight both England and the South. We should have had a war with England, and then France would have attacked us, had not Queen Victoria, the best ruler England ever had, set her face sternly against any movement that might bring on a war. The ''Alabama" and the "Florida"did great dam- age to our commerce, by destroying our merchant ships. Both avoided our armed vessels, but, in the end, the "Alabama" was sunk by our "Kearsarge" and the "Florida" was captured. Some strong naval vessels were built for the Con- federacy in France; but they never got out of port to do any damage to the ships of the United States. 203. Exchange of Prisoners. The South was angrier now with the North than it had ever been before. " What ! Put arms in the hands of those who have been our slaves, and set them to kill their masters in battle! It will go hard with any such runaway slaves as may be taken prisoners. We will treat them as slaves that have committed crime, not as Union soldiers. Anj^ white man that we take in battle, who has been commanding negro soldiers, will be put to death." 274 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Up to this time, it had been the custom for either party in the war to exchange prisoners taken in battle, man for man. Said the South : " We will not exchange runaway slaves that we have taken prison- ers in Union uniforms, but we Avill hold them as slaves." In the course of the war they took, as prisoners, both negro soldiers and their white officers. But no officers were put to death. The South would not give negro prisoners in exchange for white prisoners. The North said that in the exchange there must be no difference sho\\Ti between negro soldiers and w^hite ones, and that, if there were, there should be no exchanges. For many months, there were no exchanges of pi'isoners. There were great prison camps. North and South, in which thousands of captive soldiers were kept under guard. Soon, another reason appeared why the Nation should not exchange prisoners. Union prisoners, held in Southern prisons and prison pens, were made to suffer from overcrowding and lack of proper food and water. Those that did not die from exposure and other causes soon became mere wrecks of men. They were thus unable to serve as soldiers should they be exchanged. To give to the Confederacy a w^ell-fed, well-kept, rugged, strong soldier, able to take the field and fight at once, in exchange for a famished, sick, half -dead Union soldier, fit only for the hospital, was only to strengthen the enemy. THE GREAT REBELLION 275 204. The Draft. Business was never better in the North than it was in 1863. The government was paying many milHons of dollars every month for war supplies; the factories were busy; property seemed to be rising in value; wages were high. Men were making money so fast that they were not inchned to go into the army, and, as had happened in the South long before, volunteering became slow. Now the Nation and the States began to pay bounties to men who would enlist in the army and navy. The bounties did not bring recruits fast enough; and a draft was made. A draft is the drawing of men into the army by lot, whether the}^ want to be soldiers or not. A list of all able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years was made, and from those so enrolled, men were thus drawn. It made no difference whether a drafted man's heart was for the Union or for the Confederacy; if drafted, he must serve as a soldier, or furnish a man in his place. The draft was carried through, though it was op- posed by those who favored the South, and by those who tried to escape it. There was very serious danger of a civil war in the North. By this time there were secret societies in the North made up of men who favored the South. Their purpose was to aid the South, and they worked to stop enlistments, oppose the draft, and break down the credit of the Nation. 276 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Urged on by the secret agents of the Confederacy, and by members of these secret societies, the ignorant and vicious part of the people of New York City, began rioting against the draft. The mob was guilty of much murderous brutaUty, but was at length put down by the mihtia, after more than a thousand peo- ple had been killed. It was desired by the leaders of the Rebellion that the war should be carried into the North. The Northern friends of the Confederacy reported that the people were tired of the war, and that a great victory won by the South, in the North, would cause the Nation to beg for peace. Then, too, it seemed sure that such a victory would cause England and France to come to the aid of the Confederacy. " We must take a great Northern city, even though in doing so, we lose Rich- mond," said the wise men of the South. So, Lee swomg his army into Pennsylvania, and the hopes of the South ran high. There was now a chance coming to plunder "the land of milk and honey," and to feed with its abundance the famishing South. "Now for Philadelphia or Baltimore," shouted the ragged, gaunt, but eager and fearless Confederates, as they struck their marching gait and left the South behind them. 205. Gettysburg. As soon as the Union commanders could see what Lee's plan was, they moved the Union forces to THE GREAT REBELLION 277 break it up. The two armies came together at Gettysburg, the Union forces under General Meade, the Confederates under General Lee. The battle began on the first day of July, 1863, and lasted for three days. On the third day, the Confederates made one of the most desperate charges known in the history of war. On that charge hung the fate of the Confederacy, and those devoted heroes in gray knew it. It failed. A monument now stands at the foremost point reached by the charging host, which shows the high- water mark of the tide of rebellion. Lee was defeated ; and his shattered army made its way in sorrow back to Virginia. 206. Vicksburg. Gettysburg was a great victory in the East. While Meade was winning it, Grant was also winning in the West. For two weeks he had laid close siege to Vicksburg, which commanded the Mississippi. On July 4, 1863, while Lee was retreating from Gettys- burg, Pemberton, the Confederate commander at Vicksburg, was surrendering to Grant. More pris- oners and war supplies were taken by Grant, at Vicksburg, than were ever before surrendered at one time in any war. Lee lost thirty thousand men, and Pemberton more than that. Four days later, Port Hudson on the Mississippi surrendered to the Union Army and the whole river, from its source to its mouth was now in the hands of the Nation. 278 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 207. Chattanooga and Chickamauga. Next to Richmond, in importance to the South, was the city of Chattanooga, Tenn. It was a rail- way center and the gateway to eastern Tennessee. Rosecrans. with his Union Army took Chattanooga in September, forcing the Confederate Bragg and his army back to Chickamauga, Georgia. There Bragg was joined by another army and, turning on Rose- crans who was pursuing him, he defeated him and drove him back to Chattanooga. Bragg 's victory cheered the Confederates in their season of defeat. 208. Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Bragg besieged Rosecrans in Chattanooga, as Grant had besieged Pemberton in Vicksburg. It seemed that starvation would compel the surrender of the Union Arm}^, as all its supplies were cut off. Thou- sands of horses and mules died for want of food, and there was not enough powder and ball for a day's battle. Up to this time, one general in the Union Army had never failed. \^^atever task had been set for Grant had been carried through. He was now placed in command of all the armies of the West. Hurrjnng to Chattanooga, he very quickly found a way to get supplies to the starving army. Late in November, Bragg's forces were defeated in the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, and THE GREAT REBELLION 279 driven into Georgia. Fate was, indeed, unfriendly to the Southern cause. The Confederacy was doomed. The courage of the Southern soldiers began to fail. The men in the ranks saw, what their leaders well knew, that there was no use in further fighting. They began to desert by thousands. The moun- tains of the South were full of Confederate deserters. CONFEDERACY AT END OF 1863. Before the end of 1864, there were a hundred thou- sand of them. "Whole regiments were sent from the front, back to the States, to hunt deserters and force them back to the field. As the hopes of the South went down, those of the North were raised. Victory was in sight, and now the danger that the peace party in the North would win the fall elections began to pass away. 280 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 209. English and French War- Vessels for the South. In England, more war- vessels were being built for the Confederacy. Our minister in England told the English government that the sailing of those ships meant war for England. Other war-vessels were being built in France, but when the emperor saw that their leaving port meant war, he held them back. Germany and Russia were friendly to the United States all through the War of the RebeUion. 210. Grant in Command. It was now 1864; a President was to be elected. During this year the main issue was, whether the war should go on, or whether the South should be allowed to go out of the Union. The fate of the Nation was at stake. The election was more impor- tant than any battle of the war. To save the Union, Lincoln must be elected again. To elect Lincoln, more victories must be w^on, that the hearts of those who were despondent might be strengthened. Early in the year General Grant was put in command of all the Union armies; and the hopes of the lo3^al people were in the general who never yet had failed. It was now Grant against Lee. 211. Grant's Plans. The Confederacy had now been battered back from the outside until its fighting area was confined to Virginia, the CaroUnas, and Georgia. Said Grant to THE GREAT REBELLION 281 Sherman, " You attend to Johnston and his army in the West, and I will attend to Lee and his army in the East. Each will be kept so bus}^ with his own troubles, that he cannot help the other." Richmond and Atlanta were now the most impor- tant points in the South. Early in May, Grant set out to fight Lee and to capture Richmond. He telegraphed Sherman to go after Johnston's army, and to take Atlanta. 212. The Wilderness. A Fighting General. Both Grant and Sherman were quite successful in finding the enemy. May 6 and 7, 1864, saw Grant's force in a death grapple with Lee's army in the "Wilderness," Grant with nearly twice the force of Lee. There was severe fighting, and Grant did not win. "The Yankees are whipped again," said the Confederates. " They will now fall back to Washing- ton, as they always do." But, to their surprise, the new general did not seem to know when he was whipped. He did not fall back, as McDowell, McClel- lan, Burnside, Hooker and Pope had done, when they were whipped. He swung around to the left and came on again. 213. Spottsylvania. This time the fighting was at Spottsylvania Court House. Lee was waiting for him, and again Grant did not win, though, as before, the fighting was fear- 282 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY ful and the harvest of death was great. Baffled twice, Grant still kept on fighting. He seemed to know that war is fighting; and he kept on fighting. He sent this despatch to President Lincoln: "I pro- pose to fight it out on this Hne if it takes all summer." 214. Cold Harbor. Again he swung to the left and, at Cold Harbor, he again found Lee in his way. A\Tiat was left of tlie two armies again grappled, and again, after fearful slaughter. Grant failed to win. 215. Petersburg. Once more Grant swomg to the left, this time cross- ing the James River. He entrenched before Peters- burg which was the key to Richmond, and here again Lee faced him. In the six weeks of fighting, since Grant started, he had lost fifty thousand men. Lee, having the advantage of fighting behind earth-works, had lost less, but had lost more than he could afford. The two armies were grinding each other do\\Ti ; and now, as they stood face to face at Petersburg, it was a trial of strength, to see which could hold out longer. Grant's army could be kept up by recruits to take the places of the slain; Lee's could not, for the Con- federacy was drained of men, even of those too young to fight and too old to fight. The South was tired out, starved out ; and could not last much longer. THE GREAT REBELLION 283 216. The Shenandoah Valley. Lee's wonderful skill could not make up for the lack of men. He missed "Stonewall" Jackson. For I'lill'iiiriirilir'ifTlJ GENERAL PHILIP H. SHERIDAN. want of him he sent a less able general to try the old trick of threatening Washington by a movement through the Shenandoah Valley. General Early 284 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY went there wdth a force, hoping to draw troops away from Grant. He did draw troops from Grant, and they, under General Sheridan, drove him back, but still Grant kept his pressure on Lee. He was holding Lee's force in check while Sherman was fighting Johnston in the West. Thus, the winter of 1864 went by. Grant's army was in front of Petersburg, threatening Richmond ; Lee's smaller force was in and about Petersburg, defending Richmond. The South, stricken by poverty and want, was robbing its homes to feed and clothe Lee's soldiers, while the North, the home of plenty, was supplying Grant's men, without feeling it. Sooner or later the South must give way. Every night saw deserters coming into Grant's lines. "It is of no use;" they said, "we have fought for the South until hope is gone. Our leaders are now merely wasting our lives in a forlorn hope. We will fight no more." 217. Desperate Measures. The Confederate leaders, baffled at every point, grew desperate. They were ready to tr}^ any scheme, however wild, that gave even a faint hope of success. The}^ sent disguised men to Canada to arrange for raids into the Northern States, where Copperhead secret organizations were to help them. They thought to thus set free many thousands of Confeder- ate prisoners. They sent men to take passage on steamboats on the Great Lakes, and kill the unarmed THE GREAT REBELLION 285 crews and seize the vessels. They sent men to burn Northern cities. An attempt was made, late in the year, to burn New York. The plan was to set fire to about a dozen hotels and theaters, all at once. Had the plan succeeded, hundreds, if not thousands, of women and children would have lost their lives. For- tunately the fires started were all put out. There was a plot to burn Cincinnati and Chicago. 218. The Nation's Credit. The Copperheads talked down the credit of the Nation. The notes of the Government went down in value until it took nearly three dollars of greenbacks to buy as much as could be bought for a dollar in gold. The Copperheads railed at those who bought Government bonds. They said that they were fools who were throwing away their money; and they declared that the bonds would soon be worthless. 219. Taxes in the Confederacy. In the South, the notes of the Confederacy, the States, and the cities, for they all had put out notes, were worthless. The tax-gatherers no longer took such notes in payment of taxes. They went around among the people, seizing one-tenth of all the crops raised. The Governor of Virginia, in his message, asked that something be done to prevent starvation in the State. Many of the soldiers had not been paid in two years. There was danger of war in 286 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY many parts of the South because of the oppression of the people. 220. Atlanta Falls. While Grant was fighting Lee and holding him at baj^, Sherman was busy in the West. Atlanta, cen- ter of railroads, and city of factories, was helpful to the Confederac}^; and it must be taken. Sherman set out to take the city. Johnston wnth his army stood in the way. He was a great general, but his army was weak, too weak to face Sherman's force in a set battle. He fell slowl}^ back, forced by Sher- man from point to point; and Sherman drew nearer and nearer to the city he sought. Said President Davis to the able Johnston, "Why don't j^ou fight? Fight ! Fight !" But Johnston, who knew better than to fight, still fell back. Then Davis displaced Johnston with General Hood, who loved fighting. He was only too willing to fight, and he did fight. As Johnston had foreseen, he w^as defeated in every battle, and Sherman took Atlanta, early in Septem.ber, 1864, after its defenders had set the city on fire. While Sherman was taking Atlanta, Farragut, w4th his fleet, and a force of soldiers took Mobile. Thus, while Grant kept Lee from helping Johnston, Sherman was tearing dovni the Confederacy and destroying railroads that Lee would need, sooner or later, in running away from Grant. 288 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 221. The March to the Sea. After losing Atlanta, Hood made what both Presi- dent Davis and he believed to be a master move. He put his army behind that of Sherman so as to cut off Sherman's supplies from the North. "Now," said Davis, "Sherman will lose his army." But Hood had done just what Sherman and Grant had hoped he would do. The army of General Thomas attended to Hood and his force, while Sher- man cut loose from his line of supplies and, with his sixty thousand men, started on a long march across the enemy's country, "From Atlanta to the sea." His men helped themselves to food as they went, and proved even harder tax-gatherers than those of the Confederacy had been. The Confederacy had been pressed back into a small compass ; it was now to be torn up at its ver}^ heart. Factories and railroads were destroyed throughout a strip sixty miles wide across the State of Georgia. Reaching the sea-coast, Sherman took the city of Savannah about Christmas, 1864. 222. The Elections. It was now the fall of 1864; the election of a Presi- dent was to be held in November. The Peace Demo- crats of the North had nominated General McClellan, long out of army service, and the Repubhcans and War Democrats were going to vote for Lincoln. THE GREAT REBELLION 289 To the long list of Union victories, that had come to cheer the North, more were added by Sheridan who had been sent to sweep the Shenandoah Valley. On the nineteenth of September, 1864, there was a vic- tory at Winchester; on the twenty-second, another at Fisher's Hill; and on October 19, another at Cedar Creek. The Confederates were driven from the val- ley, never to return. In the election, the Nation won the greatest vic- tory of the war, for Lincoln was again made President. Andrew Johnson, a War Democrat, was elected Vice-j, President. Enough Republican Senators and Con- gressmen were elected to pass an amendment to the Constitution that killed slavery, thus making good the President's Proclamation of Emancipation. 223. The South Fights from Pride. The Confederacy lost the war when its great charge at Gettj^sburg failed. From that day, the war went on because the leaders were too proud to yield. The saying was common in the camps of the South, " This is a rich man's war and a poor man's fight." It was now late in 1864; only two ports were left to the Confederacy, and it had but two armies. Lee was still shut up by Grant, while Johnston was beset by Sherman, against whom he could not hold his ground. The Nation had more than a million men in the field ; and it was only a matter of weeks when the Confed- eracv must end from sheer weakness. 290 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 224. Sherman Marches North. Scarcely had the new year, 1865, begun when Wilmington w^as taken. Charleston now remained, and though it had resisted more than one attack by sea, it could not withstand the attack that Sherman was prepared to make l^y land ; as its defenders well knew. On the first of February, 1865, Sherman set era I Territo, CONFEDERACY AT END OF 1804. forth from Savannah to march through the Carolinas, as he had marched through Georgia. On the seven- teenth, he took Columbia, the capital of South Caro- Hna, the birthplace of secession. Now Charleston could be starved out; but without waiting for that, the city surrendered, and Fort Sumter was given up to the Nation, from which it had been withheld four years. THE GREAT REBELLION 291 It was now proposed in the South that negroes should be made to serve as soldiers; but though the GENERAL SHERMAN. proposal met with favor from General Lee, it was not put in force. Sherman went on from Columbia and, by the mid- 292 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY die of March, had reached Raleigh and Goldsboro, N. C. Here he was joined by troops from the coast and, with his hundred thousand men, he rested and waited for what might happen. He was expecting a movement by Lee's army. He waited for news. CONFEDERACY, SPRING OF 1865. 225. Grant and Lee at Petersburg. Grant was watching Lee, ready to spring upon his army at the first sign of a movement. Sheridan, having swept the Shenandoah Valle}^ was now with Grant. On the first day of April, 1865, by Grant's order, he seized the last railroad b}^ which Lee's army could receive supplies. Lee must now attack Grant, and be defeated with dreadful slaughter; or THE GREAT REBELLION 293 retreat from Richmond, which would give his men a chance to desert by thousands ; or stay where he was, and let his men starve. 226. Lee Abandons Richmond. On April 2, Grant pressed Lee all along the line, breaking through and forcing him back toward Rich- mond. By the morning of the third, Richmond had been aloandoned, and Lee's army was in full re- treat toward Lynchburg. The Union Army followed swiftly, to overtake it and bring it to battle, for it was known that Lee hoped to join Johnston and prolong the war. On the sixth of April, the rear part of Lee's army was overtaken, and several thousand prisoners with several miles of wagon train were captured. On the ninth of April, the Union troops under Sheridan blocked the wa}^, and helcRhe Confederate force, what was left of it, until the rest of the Union Army came up. Most of Lee's men had left his columns and started for their homes, feeling that all was lost. 227. Lee's Surrender. To fight was hopeless, and Lee surrendered the weak renmant of his army to General Grant, April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Va. The soldiers in blue and those in gray, who an hour before had sought to kill each other, now mingled in fellowship. The haversacks of the well- 294 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY fed boys in blue were opened freely for the famished bo3"S in gray. A gallant \nctor is alwaj^s generous to a defeated but gallant foe. "Keep your horses," said Grant to the Confederate soldiers, "you will need them in planting 3'our fields." Sherman's army was still resting and waiting for news, in North Carolina, when the soldiers noticed that the people seemed strangely sad. " Have you not heard the news?" said a gentleman to General Howard, "No; what is it?" asked Howard. "Our Armj" of Virginia, Lee's army, has surrendered to your General Grant." Thus the news that Sherman waited for came to him. In a few days Johnston surrendered his army to General Sherman, and the Great Rebellion was over. 228. What the War had Cost. Of those who entered the Union armies, three hundred and sixt}'^ thousand lost their lives. Two- thirds as many died in the Confederate armies. The Nation, from Maine to Texas, was full of men maimed and crippled from wounds or disease; for several times as many were wounded, as were killed. Almost every home in the land was a house of mourning. The loss and waste of property, including the slaves, were more than eight thousand miUions of dollars. Each year of the war had cost the Nation a sum greater than had been spent by it in all the years from the time of Washington dov^n to that of Lincoln. THE GREAT REBELLION 295 229. What the War Did. The South had spent all it had and all it could borrow. Its money, its credit, its property were all gone. The hand of war had lain hea\y on its homes; for they had been ravaged by the march and the battles of contending armies. The war settled the slavery question forever, for it brought al)out the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, forbidding human bondage. It opened up the South to the influence of the white man^s industry. Under free labor, the southern part of our country has made a wonderful advance in prosperity, and has gained vastly more than it lost. It made the United States truly a Nation and finished the work of the men who made the Constitution ; for since the war it has been known by all men, that no State can leave the Union. SUMMARY. 1. The Civil War begins with the bombarding of Fort Sumter. 2. President Lincoln calls for volunteers. 3. The Southern ports are blockaded. 4. The Union forces defeated at Bull Run. 5. General McClellan is given command of the Union armies. 6. Capture of Mason and Slidell. 7. Forts Donelson and Henry are taken. 8. Battle of Shiloh and capture of Corinth. 9. The fight between the "Monitor" and "Virginia." 10. Capture of New Orleans. IL Suffering in the South. 296 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 12. McClellan attempts to capture Richmond. 13. Second Battle of Bull Run. Defeat of the Union forces. 14. Confederate invasion of Maryland. Battle of Antietam. 15. Union forces defeated at Fredericksburg and at Chancellors- ville. 16. Emancipation Proclamation. 17. The "Alabama." 18. Draft Riots in New York City. 19. The Battle of Gettysburg. 20. The capture of Vicksburg. Control of the Mississippi River. 21. Capture of Chattanooga. 22. Battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Re- treat of the Confederates. 23. General Grant placed in full command. 24. Grant against Lee in Virginia, and Sherman against John- ston in the South. 25. Sherman takes Atlanta and " marches to the sea." 26. Lincoln is re-elected President. 26. Lee abandons Richmond and surrenders to Grant at Appo- mattox Court House, Va. 27. General Johnston surrenders his army to Sherman at Raleigh, N. C. 29. The end of the war. Results of the war. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 1. What caused the Rebellion? 2. Where was the first fighting of the war? 3. What was the effect in the North of the bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter. 4. How was the blockade very harmful to the South? 5. When and where did the first Battle of Bull Run occur? Who were the opposing generals? Which side was vic- torious? THE GREAT REBELLION 297 6. Who was first Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces? Who after him? 7. Who were Mason and Slidell? Where and on what errand were they sent? 8. Where were Forts Donelson and Henry? Why was their location important? By whom were they captured? 9. How came the Battle of Shiloh to be fought? Results of Union victory at Shiloh? Where was Corinth? Why was its capture important? 10. What famous sea-fight took place in Hampton Roads? With what results? 11. What important Southern port was taken in 1862? 12. Give an account of General McClellan's movements against Richmond, June, 1862. Were they successful? 13. Who had command of the Union forces at the second Battle of Bull Run? What was the result of this fight? 14. What movement to the north was made by General Lee? What battle did he fight? With what result? 15. Where was General Burnside defeated? Who succeeded General Burnside? 16. What was the Emancipation Proclamation? When was it issued ? 17. For what purpose was the cruiser "Alabama" built? What became of her? 18. Give an account of the Draft Riots? 19. What was the decisive battle of the war? Give an account of it. 20. What important Union victory was won in the South at about the same time? 21. Where was Chattanooga? Chickamauga? Lookout Moun- tain? Missionary Ridge? 22. Who was placed in command of the Union armies in 1864? 23. What was Grant's plan of campaign? 24. What was Sherman ordered to do? What cities did he take? 298 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 25. Give an account of Grant's movements. 26. When did Lee abandon Richmontl ? When did he surrender? Where? 27. To whom did Johnston surrender? Where? 28. What questions did the War of the RebelUon settle forever? Chapter VIII. RECONSTRUCTION, SUBSEQUENT EVENTS. 230. The Death of Lincoln. In the hour of victory the great heart of the Presi- dent was filled with pity for the South. At a cabinet meeting, April 14, which proved to be his last, Mr. Lincoln said : " I hope there will be no persecution, no bloody work, after the war is over. No one need expect me to take any part in hanging or killing these men, even the worst of them. Enough lives have been sacrificed." That night he was murdered. A drunken wretch, in his senseless rage at the defeat of the Rebellion, killed the tender-hearted Lincoln, and thus robbed the South, in its time of need, of the best and most pow- erful friend it had on earth. Two other Presidents have since lost their hves at the hands of assassins: President Garfield (1881) and President McKinley (1901). 231. President Johnson. In a most critical tim.e, the Nation was without a President. For this reason haste was shown, and, three hours after Mr. Lincoln's death, the Vice-Presi- dent took the oath of oflice as President of the United States. Thus, at the close of the war, a man became 299 300 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY President who, more strongly perhaps than any other pubKc man in the North, hated those who had been in rebelKon. PRESIDENT JOHNSON. Now that the RebelHon was cmshed, the States that had tried to leave the Union were \^ithout RESTORING THE NATION 301 governments. To restore them to their proper places and to good government, was a very hard thing to do. Lincoln could have done the work better than any- other man; but Johnson, hating the South, hated by the South, trusted b}^ few, was hardly the proper man for the work. Johnson soon strangely changed his. mind. He gave up his purposes of anger, hate, and vengeance, and became the friend of the South. As extreme in his friendship now, as he had been in his hatred, he sought to restore the States at once to the Union. He intended to do it by himself, as being independent of Congress. 232. Pardons for Rebels. Late in May, President Johnson issued a " Proclam- ation of Amnesty and Pardon" to all persons who had been in rebellion, except a few, on their taking the oath of loyalty to the Constitution. Those who were excepted were invited to apply for special pardon. Never, in all history, had a people defeated in war been given such generous treatment. Johnson seemed to be doing as Lincoln would have done, had he lived. Many of those excepted asked for pardon; and none were refused. Most of these were grateful; but some of them nursed their hatred of the power that had subdued them, regardless of its kindness afterward. During the summer, several of the Southern States set up State governments, which repealed the acts 302 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY by which they had seceded. Each legislature voted that the Confederate war debt should not be paid, and each State ratified the Thirteenth Amendment. Then the President told them that they were regular States of the Union again, just as they were before they seceded. The States elected Senators and Represen- tatives to the National Congress under President Johnson's policy; but when Congress met in the fall, these men were not admitted. Congress said that the President had no right to give the States, lately in rebellion, such standing in the Union as he had assumed to give them. 233. The Condition of the Freedmen. It was a bitter thing to the people of the South that slavery, for which thej^ had fought so desperately, was lost. Since the}" could not restore slavery as it had been, they set about bringing the freed negroes to a condition as near like slavery as might be. This was showTi by the laws passed by the Legislatures of the States. The negroes, as slaves, had never had any rights in the courts ; they had no such rights now that they were free. The Nation having set the negroes free meant that they should have the rights of human beings, even though State laws were passed that they should not. Unless the Nation protected the negroes of the South, they were in a much worse plight now, than they were in before the war. RESTORING THE NATION 303 234. The President's Policy. President Johnson, now the friend of the South, soon became its champion. He was as fully under the influence of the South, as any Democratic Presi- dent ever had been. He had forsaken the Republi- can party, that elected him, as completely as Tyler had, years before, forsaken the Whig party that elected him. Paying no attention to the counsels of those who had put down the rebellion, he went ahead by himself to grant favors to the South, under what he called "My policy." 235. The Civil Rights Bill. In 1865, Congress passed a law called the Civil Rights Bill. Its purpose was to protect the negroes from abuse in the South, and give them the rights of white men, under the United States law. It also pre- vented any Southern man from holding office, until he had taken oath that he had not been engaged in rebellion. 236. The Fourteenth Amendment. In 1866, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amend- ment to the Constitution which was to the effect that no State could take from a citizen any rights given him by the Nation; and that the national debt should be paid; but that no debt incurred for the rebelhon should l3e paid. 304 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Other laws concerning the building up of the Union were passed by Congress. The President, seeming to resent the course of Congress in not leaving all such matters to him, vetoed almost every such law. But the laws were passed over his veto. In 1866, Tennessee came into the Union, after ratifying the Amendment. The other seceded States would not ratif}^, so they were not admitted. In this way the South was waging another war, but of a different kind. 237. The Ku-Klux-Klan. A secret societj^ had sprung up in the South, the purpose of which was to rob the negroes of their rights under the Amendments. At one time it had half a mini on members, a host greater than the Con- federacy ever had in arms. These men made it their business to spread terror among the negroes so that they could control them. They rode at night in armed hands, hideously disguised, and dragged ne- groes from their beds and flogged them. They mur- dered many of them. They murdered Union white men. By members of the Klan, and ])y men who were not members, hundreds of Union men were killed, and thousands were driven from the South. The loyal people of the South, those who had always lived there, and those who had moved there from the North, asked of the Nation that their lives and rights might be protected from the terrible ruffianism of the RESTORING THE NATION 305 Ku-Klux-Klan and others. "Why," said the Union people of the South, white and black, " an American citizen in any foreign country, has a thousand times as much protection and safet}^, as he can have in the Southern part of his own country." 238. Military Government. In response to this appeal Congress passed a law, in 1867, over the President's veto, which divided the still rebellious South into five districts, each of which was placed under military government. This law was known as the "Military Reconstruction Law." It was grounded upon the fact that there were no legal governments in the conquered States, and that peace and good order must be enforced until loyal governments could be set up. The carrying out of this law checked the Ku-Klux outrages somewhat, but they did not end for some years. By 1868, all the States but Virginia, Mississippi and Texas had formed their governments, and rati- fied the Amendment ; and their Senators and Repre- sentatives were in Congress. By 1S70, the last State had taken the required course ; and all the late Con- federate States were in good standing as States of the Union. 239. Enmity Between Congress and the President. The President insisted on being the Government, and on defying Congress, while Congress in many 306 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY ways checked the President. In 1867, it was feared that the President intended to strengthen his power by removing officials and appointing to their places, men friendly to him and his policy. To prevent this, Congress passed a law under which the President coidd not remove any of the higher officials without the consent of the Senate. It was called ''The Tenure of Office Law." In defiance of Congress and of the law it had passed. President Johnson removed the Secretary of War, and appointed another man to the place. The new man remained until Congress met and refused to con- firm the President's appointment. Then the former Secretary of War returned to the office. At this the President ordered his man to hold the office. For thus trying to override an Act of Congress, the Presi- dent was charged with committing a crime and was tried by the Senate, sitting as a court. He was found not guilty by a very close vote, one vote saving him from impeachment. 240. Mexico. AVhen the War of the Rebellion broke out, and the power of the United States to uphold the Monroe Doctrine seemed to be gone, the Emperor of France thought it a good time to start a monarchy in North America. He quarreled with Mexico, and sent troops there. Then he sent more until he had some sixty thousand French troops in Mexico. The Mexican RESTORING THE NATION 307 government was overthrown; and a brother of the Emperor of Austria was made Emperor of Mexico. France was warned by the United States that no monarchy would be allowed to stand in Mexico; but the warnings were not heeded. In 1867, a very pointed request from the United States, that French troops be withdrawn from Mexico, was heeded; and all the troops went back to France, After that, the Mexicans overthrew the Emperor, Maximilian, and he was put to death. Mexico is still a repubhc. In 1867, Nebraska was admitted as a State of the Union. A treaty was made with Russia, during the same year, by which Russian America Vv^as bought by the United States. Its name was changed to Alaska. 241. President Grant. As the end of the Presidential term drew near, the Republicans named for President, General Grant; while the* Democrats named Horatio Seymour, of New York, a man who had been Governor of that State. Grant was elected. 242. The Fifteenth Amendment. "A few days before Grant took office, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The Amendm.ent is a short one, giving to the negroes lately in slavery the right to vote. It was nearly 308 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY two years before the Amendment was ratified and became a part of the Constitution. GENERAL U. S. GRANT. Thus the Thirteenth Amendment gave the slave freedom; the Fourteenth gave him the rights of a citizen; and the Fifteenth protected him as a voter. RESTORING THE NATION 309 The three Amendments settled forever the slavery question. They stand as showing the results of the war. 243. The Pacific Railroad. In 1863, was begun a railroad from the Missouri River to the Pacific coast, railroads having already been l^uilt from the Atlantic coast to the great river. In 1869, the Pacific road was completed so that a train could cross the continent. A train ran from New York to San Francisco. Since then, several other hnes to the Pacific have been built. These roads and their branches have brought into use millions of acres of good land that was worthless until, by these roads, its crops could be sent to market. So great a country as the United States could hardly be held to- gether, as one nation, were it not that railroads make traffic easy between its distant parts. Before the building of the Pacific railroads, it took one hun- dred and ten days to go from Omaha to San Fran- cisco. 244. The Ninth Census. By the census of 1870, the population of the coun- tr}^ appeared to be a little more than thirty-eight and a half millions. The war had not prevented the advance of the Nation, during the ten years between 1860 and 1870. The building of the railroad to the Pacific, and of the ocean telegraph from America to 310 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Europe, were arr.ong the most important things accompHshed. 245. The "Alabama" Claims. The Nation was fast recovering from the war. The fighting was long past, and the settlements that followed the war were finished. Now there was a chance to take up and settle some things that had not yet been attended to. One of these was the mat- ter of the war- vessels allowed by England to go to sea from her ports, to destroy the merchant vessels of our people, during the war. The United States held England to account for the damage that those ves- sels had done, and made claims for pa3^ment. These claims were known as the '^^.labama" Claims because they were based mainly on damages inflicted by that vessel. Just after the war, the United States had asked that the matter be settled by having the case referred to other parties, who were to determine what was a fair settlement of the matter. England had flatly refused. Our Governement wns patient and, after a time, again asked that something be done, and again the request was refused. In 1868, an attempt was made, by Presi- dent Johnson, to settle the matter. This also ended in failure. In 1870, President Grant took the matter in hand. He made no appeal to England, but in his message to Congress he proposed that our Government deter- RESTORING THE NATION 311 mine the claims, which our citizens had against Eng- land, and pay them. Then the claimant against England would be the Government of the United States. He said that notice of this action should be sent to the English government. The President's course showed England that our Government was in earnest. War was raging in Europe, between Germany and France; and it might be that England would be drawn into the contest. She saw that she must settle the claims of the United States, and agree that there should be no more sending out of such ships as the "Alabama," by either nation against the other. She saw that if she did not settle these claims, she might suffer in some future war by having our Nation treat her as she had treated us. The prospect of having her commerce swept from the sea by American-built "Alabamas," whenever she might be at war with any other nation, was not a pleasant one; and England settled the account. She paid many milhons of dollars, and a treaty was made which put a stop forever to the building by either nation of such ships as the "Alabama." 246. Ku-Klux Outrages. Murderous violence still reigned in many parts of the South. The Ku-Klux were still active. In 1871, Congress made a law known as the Enforce- ment Act, under which the President might use the military force, and might take other strong measures 312 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY to secure peace and order. Under this law the Ku- Klux-Klan was broken up, and better conditions in the South prevailed. 247. The Amnesty Act. Election. Panic. In 1872, Congress passed the Amnesty Act which gave to all ex-rebels, except about three hundred of the leaders, all of their political rights. In 1872, General Grant was elected for a second term as President. He was opposed by Horace Greeley, a Repubhcan editor of New York, who was named for the office by the Democratic party, and also by a wing of the Republican party, called the Liberal Republicans. During the following year, a great business panic swept the country. 248. Resumption of Specie Payments. From the early days of the war, coins of silver and gold had been out of circulation. For money, bills were used, ranging from five cents upward. The premium on gold and silver money, that is the value of coin above that of paper money, had steadily grown less, but was still considerable in 1875. At this time Congress passed a law, to take effect in 1879, that the Government would resume payments in coin. It was believed that with the certainty of such payments at a set time, the difference in value RESTORING THE NATION 313 between paper money and coin would gradually dis- appear. In 1876, Colorado came into the Union as a State. 249. A Disputed Presidential Election. In 1876, the Republicans named for President, Rutherford B. Hayes, who had been a general in the Union Army. The Democrats named Samuel J. Tilden, of New York. The election was very close, and the result was for a time in doubt. The Democrats had expected to carry all the Southern States, as they had always done before the war, and they claimed that they had done so in this case. The Republicans claimed to have carried North Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. It was finally decided that the Republicans did carry the three States named, and that thus they carried the election, and elected General Hayes to the Presidency. 250. Specie Payment Resumed. As had been expected, the difference in the pur- chasing power of greenbacks and gold lessened as 1879 drew near; and when the appointed day came, the difference disappeared and paper currency and coin stood, as having the same value. From that time until now, the Government and the banks, when paying money, have given people their choice between paper bills and gold. 314 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 251. Paying the War Debt. So prosperous was the Nation that it began paying the national debt as soon as the war ended. Bv RUTHERFOKD B. HAYES. the beginning of 1879, four hundred milUon dollars had been paid. No other nation has ever paid its public debts as fast as ours has. THE SECOND CENTURY 315 252. Chinese Immigration. The rapid growth of population in California, under the influence of the Pacific Railroad, and the opening up of the many chances for wealth which that State offers, were such that there was great need of laborers there. Labor was very cheap in China, on the other side of the Pacific; and soon Chinese laborers began to cross the ocean in great numbers to work in Cali- fornia. They would work for very low wages, and would yet be getting several times as much pay as they could earn in their own country. Their coming was encouraged by those who employed labor. They came under a treaty between China and the United States, which provided that the citizens of either country might visit the other country, but could not become citizens. These coolies, as they were called, worked at wages much lower than Americans could live upon. The presence in CaH- fornia of the many thousands of coolies that were there, and the likelihood that many more would come were harmful to the State. The matter of the shutting out of Chinese laborers became a question of importance during the term of President Hayes. 253. Tenth Census. The census of 1880, showed that the Nation had a population of more than fifty millions. In 1872, a war broke out with the Modoc Indians who lived along the line between Cahfornia and 316 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Oregon. It lasted about a year and resulted, as wars with the Indians always have, in the defeat of the red men. The tribe was at length removed to the Indian Territory. In 1S76, the telephone came into use and lighting b}^ electricity began. There was trouble with the Sioux Indians this year, caused by their being re- moved, against their will, to places appointed for them in the West. In 1879, a great improvement was made in the way of deepening one of the channels at the mouth of the Mississippi. It enables vessels of great draft to reach the wharves of New Orleans. 254. Election of Garfield. In 1880, James A. Garfield, who had been a general in the Union Army, was elected by the Republican party to the Presidency. General Hancock, another famous Union soldier, was named by the Democrats. Both parties showed by their platform that they op- posed Chinese immigration. During Garfield's term, a treaty was made with China, under which the coming of f'hinese laborers to this country was very much lessened. 255. Death of Garfield. President Garfield was opposed to the theory, that had prevailed ever since the time of Jackson, that to the \4ctors in a political contest belong the spoils of office. He was beset by politicians to appoint their THE SECOND CENTURY 317 friends to office. In many cases he refused to com- ply wdth their wishes. The two Senators from New ■^^^i^v -^T^ m ^ ^ m ^^^^H^^^^^^^v' ^ 1 M ■ttl.^-^^ r^n 1 1 : '1^ 1 1 1 .^^^^^H^^^ <*>^^^^| 1 JAMES A. GARFIELD. York asked that a certain man be given an impor- tant national office, and the President refused to appoint him. Then both Senators resigned. The 318 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY many disputes about appointment to office turned the head of an office-seeker, who had failed to get the place he desired, and he shot the President, at Wash- ington, July 2, 1881. President Garfield lived until September 19, following. 256. President Arthur. The death of the President made the Vice-Presi- dent, Chester A. Arthur, of New York, President of the United States. He served throughout the term for which Garfield had been elected. The death of Garfield drew pul)hc attention strongly to the evils of the office-scrambling, that followed each election, and led to the passage of an Act by Congress, called the Civil Service Act. Under this Act, those who are appointed to office must have first passed an exami- nation as to their fitness. It also protects good men in * office from being discharged, and from being made to pay money for party purposes. The law was passed in 1883. 257. The New Navy. The war closed with the United States possessing the most powerful navy in the world. But by 1883, the war-ships of the Nation had so far decayed, or were so much exceeded in power by the ships built later b}^ other nations, that it was thought wise to begin the building of new vessels of a better type than that of the old ones. From that beginning has grown the great American Nav}^ of to-day. THE SECOND CENTURY 319 258. The Brooklyn Bridge. After sixteen years of JDuilding, the Brookl}^! Bridge, the greatest structure of its kind then known, CHESTER A. ARTHUR. was finished, 1883. It was thought to be ample for traffic between New York and Brooklyn for all time. 320 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY But several other bridges, besides some tunnels under the river, are now in use, and all ai:e taxed to their full capacity. GKOVER CLEVELAND. 259. President Cleveland. In 1884, the Democrats of the country elected their candidate; and Grover Cleveland, of New York, THE SECOND CENTURY 321 became President, the first Democrat since the days of Buchanan, "before the war," to hold that office. In 1885, a law was passed forbidding the making of contracts under which people of other countries might be brought to the United States to work. 260. The Tariff. The high tariff, that had been in force for many years, had 3delded so much money to the Government that all of the national debt that was due had been paid, and there was a great sum in the treasury, for which there was no present use. It could not be used to pay more of the debt because the creditors of the Government, drawing interest on what the Govern- ment owed them, would not take the cash for the bonds they held. Many people thought that the surplus money should be used in works of a national character, especially for education in the South. The Democratic party favored cutting dowTi the tariff so that there would be less money coming to the Government. As Cleveland's term drew near its end, the tariff became a great question between the parties, and on it turned the election of 1888. 261. President Harrison. The Democrats named Grover Cleveland for a second term, while the Republicans put forward Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, grandson of former President Harrison. Harrison was elected. 322 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Elarly in Harrison's term, a Tariff Bill prepared by William Mclvinley of Ohio was passed and became a law. BKNJAMIN HARRISON. 262. Oklahoma. In 1889, the Government l^ought from the Indians a large part of their land in Indian Territory, which THE SECOND CENTURY 323 they called Oklahoma, and opened it for settlement under the homestead law. Multitudes of people rushed to Oklahom.a and took up land. So great has been the growth of population there that Oklahoma including all of the former Indian Territory, is now a State, admitted in 1907. 263. American Republics. During the same year a meeting of representatives of the American Republics, that is, the nations of Mexico, Central America and South America was held. Arrangements were made whereby disputes between those nations could be settled without war. 264. New States. In 1889, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington were admitted to the Union as States. In 1890, Idaho was admitted. Its consti- tution gave to women the right to vote and hold office. Since then, Colorado and Utah have given the same rights to women. 265. Pensions. Old soldiers of the Union had not fared well under Cleveland, who had vetoed many pension bills. In 1890, a new pension bill was passed which largely increased present pensions and gave m.any new ones. 324 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY 266. The People's Party. During Harrison's term, the farmers in all parts of the country formed a political party which, being joined ])y many people, was called The People's Party. The new party demanded that Congress pass a bill for the free coinage of silver, at the ratio of 16 of silver to 1 of gold by weight; that is, that a silver dollar should weigh just 16 times as much as a gold dollar. This would enable the mine owners, and others having silver, to get it coined, by the Government, without expense. The bill failed, but in its stead one was enacted which directed that the Secretary of the Treasury should purchase publicly, each month, four and a half million ounces of silver at the market price, and coin a large part of it into dollars. It was not a sensible bill, and was passed only to prevent the passage of the People's Party Bill which was very much worse. It was assumed by some that this monthly purchase of silver by the Government would advance the price of the metal; but it had no such effect. Silver still declined in value, until at length a silver dollar came to be worth less than half as much as a gold one, reckoned by the market value of the metal in both. 267. Census of 1890. Eleventh Census. The census of 1890 gave, as the population of the United States, 62,623,250, Just a hundred years before, in 1790, the first census showed a population THE SECOND CENTURY 325 of 3,929,000. If the wealth of the Nation had been divided equally in 1890, each man, woman and child would have had a thousand dollars. During the last ten years the wealth of the South had increased four thousand million dollars. This was through the open- ing up of the wealth of the country by free labor. In 1883, — Alaska wasexplored, and the Yukon River was foiuid to l^e two thousand miles long. Brooklyn Bridge was finished. It was of ample capacit}'; but now there are two more, and others projected, besides tunnels under the river, all of which are needed. Letter-postage was reduced from three cents to two. 1884, — Washington Monument at Washington was completed, after thirty-six years of building. Dur- ing this year electric cars began running, experimen- tally. 1885,— the long distance telephone came into use. In the great wheat-fields of the West, machines, drawn by thirty horses, that cut, thresh, clean and bag the wheat at one operation, were working. A law was passed that newspapers and periodicals might be sent by publishers, by mail, at one cent a pound. 1886, — the making of beet sugar began in California. It is now made in other parts of the country in vast quantities. The first wire nails of steel, made in this country, were made in 1886. Nearly all nails are now made of wiret This was the year of the severe earth- quake in Charleston, S. C. 1887, — the graphophone was invented, and the Interstate Commerce Law was passed. 1888, — the Australian System of Voting 326 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY began. A new process of making aluminum was in- vented. It has brought the price of that metal down from sixteen dollars a pound to thirty-five cents. 1889,^ — free delivery of letters, in all cities having five thousand inhabitants or more, began. The first electric street railway was put in operation at Boston. 1890, — the common , low, safety bicycle came into use. So did the typesetting machine. There were, on the Mississippi and its branches, more than seven thousand river craft, and, on the Great Lakes, thirty-seven hundred vessels, some of enormous size. 268. Cleveland Reelected. In 1892, the Republicans named Harrison for a second term as President. The People's Party had a candidate, and the Democrats named Cleveland, who was elected. The election gave complete control of the Presidency, Senate, and House of Representa- tives, to the Democratic party. Fear of what the party now in power might do alarmed business men, and there was a pause in the progress of the Nation. There was fear of a period of hard times. 269. The Tariff. The Democrats now passed a Tariff Bill to their liking, known as the Wilson Bill, to take the place of that which was in force under the McKinley Bill. Under the new tariff the receipts of the Government fell off rapidly, and in a short time the surplus was THE SECOND CENTURY 327 gone and the Nation had to borrow money to pay its way. Up to this time, ever since the war, there had been a rapid payment of the national debt. Now, the debt began to grow, and it did not stop until it had increased two hundred and fifty million dollars. 270. The Panic. The folly of the silver law showed its effects fully in 1893. Foreign holders of national bonds, fearful that the Government would seek to pay them in dis- honest silver dollars, worth only sixty-seven cents each, instead of honest gold dollars, began to sell them. They sold them at low prices, fearing that if they did not they would in the end get less. People who had Government notes, fearful that they would have to take cheap silver dollars in payment, instead of good gold dollars, rushed to get them paid. This took the gold that the Government had, and it began to look as though the Nation would soon have nothing, but its tons of dishonest silver dollars to pay with. There came a terrible panic, and the times were hard. Never in the history of the country has there been such a period of idleness and want as came in 1893. At length the foolish silver law, was repealed. But the hard times lasted through Cleveland's term and a part of that of his successor. 271. The Monroe Doctrine. The United States will not allow territory to be gained in America by any monarch}^ in Europe. That 328 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY is the Monroe Doctrine. In 1895, Great Britain had a dispute with Venezuela over the boundary Hne between that country and some British territory which adjoined it. Weak Venezuela proposed that the question of the boundary be decided by outside parties. Strong Great Britain said, ''No." The United States urged that the matter be settled as Venezuela desired. Great Britahi said, ''No." It soon appeared that, if Great Britain attempted to seize Venezuelan territory, there was likely to be a war between that nation and our own. But wisdom prevailed, and the matter of the boundary line was settled, and the affair ended pleasantly. This settle- ment stands as a notal)le example of the modern method of settling national differences. It shows that nations, as well as men, may come to agreement by ways of peace. 272. President McKinley. In 1896, both the Democratic party, and the Peo- ple's party named Wm. J. Bryan of Nebraska for President. The main demand of both was for free coinage of silver on the basis of fifty or sixty cents worth of silver being made into a coin by the Government, for any citizen who might bring it to the mint. The coin was to be called a dollar and to pass as such. No charge was to be made for the work of coinage. The Republican party named William McKinley of THE SECOND CENTURY 329 Ohio, author of the McKinley Tariff Law, and opposed the free coinage of silver. McKinley was elected. In 1896, Utah became a State of the Union.. In 1897, the Dingley Tariff Bill was passed, so WILLIAM McKINLEY. framed as to make the tariff yield enough money to pay the nmning expenses of the Government, which the tariff, during Cleveland's term, had not done. 330 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY In 1898, the Hawaiian Islands, in the far Pacific, were annexed to the United States. 273. The War with Spain. The people of Cuba were in rebellion against Spain, that for centuries had held the Island as a province. The war was waged savagely by both parties. Naturally the people of the United States felt well disposed toward the native Cubans, and this made Spain feel sullenly angry with us. Early in 1898, an American naval vessel, the '^^laine," was sent to Havana, that there might be a refuge there for such Americans as might have to flee from mob violence. The visit of the ship was a friendly one. While she lay in the harbor, the "Maine" was blown up by an explosion of dynamite under her, and was destroyed, with nearly all her crew. It was believed by the American people that this deed was done by the Spanish officers, and there was a strong feeling against Spain. In April, Congress passed an Act directing the President to compel Spain to give Cuba her independence. Spain re- fused to receive the notice sent by the United States, and Congress declared war, April 19, 1898. The natives in the Philippine Islands, subject to Spain, were at this time in re]:)ellion; so that Spain while engaged in putting down one rebellion in Cuba, and another on the other side of the globe, was now facing a war with the United States. THE SECOND CENTURY 331 At once, the Cuban ports were blockaded by our naval vessels, and Commodore Dewey, commanding our naval squadron in the far Pacific, was ordered to attack the Spanish fleet at Manila, the chief port of the Philippine Islands. Dewey went to Manila and destroyed the Spanish fleet. This victory gave to the United States control of the Spanish possessions in the Pacific Ocean, and made our Nation a power in the Eastern Hemisphere. Troops were sent to hold the islands. Spain sent a large part of her home naval fleet to Cuba, to be in a position to attack the American war-ships or some American seacoast cities, as chance might decide. The vessels entered the Harbor of Santiago, Cuba. As soon as it was known where Spain's war-ships were, the United States naval squadron stood guard over the harbor, so that they could not come out without a battle. Shuttings up the Spanish fleet made the seaport cities of ovu* country safe, and also enabled transport ships to carry soldiers and supplies to Cul)a in safety. The American Army, that had reached Cuba, soon drove the Spanish forces into Santiago and threatened to attack the ships in the harbor with land batteries. Knowing that the ships would be destroyed if they stayed in port, the Spanish made a desperate attempt to escape by running their vessels through the fleet that was watching for them outside. The attempt 332 SHORT AMPJRTCAN HISTORY failed; and, in a three hours' fight, the Spanish war- ships were all destroyed. With her two best naval squadrons lost, Spain saw no chance to succeed by further fighting; so she gave up Santiago and asked for peace. 274. The Treaty of Peace. The treaty of peace was signed in December, 1898. The war had lasted about four months; and the Americans had lost about four hundred men. No American war-ship had been seriously damaged. By the treat}^, Cuba became a free country inde- pendent of Spain, to govern herself under the protec- tion of the United States. Porto Rico, an island of the West Indies, Guam, one of the Ladrone Islands, and the Philippines, all came to the United States. Thus Spain, leader in exploring the western world, and at one time having more land than all other nations, parted with her last western holdings, and with them the Philippines in the Eastern Hemisphere, which she had held ever since Magellan's voyage. Little did men of Washington's time foresee that our country was yet to extend westward, first to the Rocky Mountains; then to the Pacific; then to the far side of that greatest of oceans, even to Asia. 275. American Troops in China. In 1900, a rebellion broke out in China, and many people from Japan, Europe, and the United States THE SECOND CENTURY .388 were murdered. Others were in danger, and troops were sent from Great Britain, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the United States to protect them. The invasion was successful after some fighting. In the settlement, each of the invading nations, except the United States, proposed to take a portion of territory from China. The United States insisted on fair play, and would not take land or money from the unfortunate nation. The stand that our Nation took resulted in an arrangement, under which China kept her territory and the nations are allowed to trade in China. 276. The Standard Dollar. In 1900, an Act was passed by Congress making the gold dollar the standard of value in coinage. This did away with any fixed ratio of value between silver and gold. Under it, all Government payments are to be in gold coin or in silver coin equal in value to gold, dollar for dollar. 277. Second Election of McKinley. In 1900, the Republican party carried the Presi- dential election and elected McKinley for a second term. Theodore Roosevelt of New York was elected Vice-President. During the year, the Hawaiian Islands were given territorial government. In the Philippines, there was trouble with the natives, who fought for independence 334 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY against the United States, as they had done against Spain. In 1901. the Cubans formed a government modeled on that of the United States. It provided for control by the United States, in the future, should such con- trol be necessary. As soon as the government was in force our troops were withdrawn. In the Philippines, the rebel leader, Aguinaldo, was captured. Learning of the good intentions of the United States, he advised his followers to cease fighting and place themselves under the American Government. This ended the war in the Islands, except such fighting as has l)een carried on since by native ])andits and outlaws. 278. Death of President McKinley. In September, 1901, President McKinley was mur- dered. The wretch who committed the deed was a low-bred , ignorant young man, a son of Polish immi- grants who came to America to find freedom. The murderer was arrested at once, and after a trial was put to death. Vice-President Theodore Roose- velt was sworn, as President, immediateh^ after the death of McKinley and at once began his duties. 279. Cuba as a Nation. In 1902, the American flag was withdrawal from Cuba, and that Repubhc took its place among the nations. Its first President was Tomas E. Palma. THE SECOND CENTURY 335 280. The Alaskan Boundary Line. The boundary line between Russian America and the English possessions in North America was estab- COPYRIGHT, PACH BROS. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. hshed by those nations in 1825. The line was not very closely defined, because, in that frozen region, 336 SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY land was thought to have so httle value that it would not pay to take great pains in dividing it- But, after Russian America was bought by the United States and was named Alaska, the Americans found that, in the Yukon and Klondike regions, gold was plentiful. Some of the gold-bearing land was very near the line that divided Alaska from Canada. It was now desired by ])oth governments that the Hne be laid out very carefully, to show which nation owned the gold-fields. The matter was referred to a commission of six men, and in 1903, they gave their decision. It mainly favored the claims of the United States. 281. The Panama Canal. The war with Spain, and its results, made it plain that the United States needs a canal across the isth- mus that connects the two American continents- Such a canal will give our naval vessels a short cut from ocean to ocean in case of war, and will enable our ships of commerce to make quick and safe passage at all times. The great conmierce we are to have in future ages with Asia will make the isthmus-canal the most important water-way in the world. The United States is ])uilding the canal and is to control and defend it; though it is to be open to the ships of all nations. The work is going on at the present time, 1908, very rapidly. THE SECOND CENTURY 337 282. The Election of Roosevelt. In 1904, Theodore Roosevelt was elected President. An important question during Roosevelt's term was the checking of the increasing power of corporations and trusts controlHng immense capital. War began between Russia and Japan, February, 1904. In the following year, President Roosevelt brought about a meeting of commissioners of the two nations, at Portsmouth, N. H. This meeting resulted in a treaty of peace between Russia and Japan. In 1908, it appeared that the interests of the United States in the Pacific Ocean had grown so vast since the Spanish War, as to make it fitting that our Nation should be representedon that ocean,by a powerful fleet. Accordingly one of the strongest fleets of war-ships that ever sailed was sent from our Atlan- tic coast to ou^ Pacific coast, by a voyage around South America. 283. A Forecast. The United States as a nation has done more for the advancement of the world than any other nation in history. Its work has only begun. It is now the leading nation of the world. During the next generation, great world move- ments, that will stand out in history, will take place in Asia. The influence of the United States in these movements will be potent for good, for the United States is now a world force. 33S SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY Boys and girls of the proper age to read this his- tory, are destined to Hve in a period of greater oppor- tunity than any that their forefathers ever knew. More will ])e required of them, when they become men and women, than has l)een required of their fore- fathers. The United States will shape the destiny of the world; and those who are now boys and girls will, in a few years, control the .United States. SUMMARY. 1. The death of Lincohi. 2. President Johnson. His pohcy. •A. The (Uvil Rights Bill. 4. The Fourteenth Amendment. 5. The South under mihtary government. 6. President Johnson impcnchcd. 7. France in Mexico. Maximilian. 8. General Grant elected President. 9. The Fifteenth Amendment. 10. Tlie Pacific Railroad. 11. The "Alabama" Claims. 12. A disputed Presidential election. 13. Chinese immigration. 14. Election of Garfield. His death. 15. President Arthur. 16. The new navy. 17. Grover Cleveland becomes President, 18. The tariff. 19. President Harrison elected. 20. Oklahoma becomes a territory in 1889; a State in 1907. THE SECOND CENTURY 339 21. New States admitted. 22. Cleveland reelected. New Tariff Bill. 23. The Venezuela dispute. 24. William IMcKinley becomes President. 25. The Hawaii Islands annexed. 2(). The war with Spain. 27. The Panama Canal. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 1. Who succeeded Lincoln as President? 2. What was one of Johnson's first official acts? 3. What important laws were passed by Congress during John- son's administration? 4. What was the Ku-Klux-Klan? What was done to sup- press it? • 5. What Federal law did Johnson override? With what result? 6. Who was Maximilian? What did he attempt to do? 7. What was the Fifteenth Amendment? 8. Why was the Pacific Railroad important? 9. How were the "Alabama" claims settled? 10. What was the Enforcement Act? 11. Why were Chinese immigrants undesirable? 12. Who was elected President in 1880? 13. Who succeeded him? 14. Who was the first Democratic President since Buchanan's time? 15. Who was elected President in 1888? 16. When was Oklahoma admitted as a State? 17. Was Cleveland reelected? When? 18. When was McKinley first elected? 19. Give an account of the war with Spain. 20. How will the Panama Canal be useful? APPENDIX. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Preamble. We, the people of the United States; in order to form a more perfect union, estabhsh justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the com- mon defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. ARTICLE I. The Legislative Department. Section I. Congress in General. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representa- tives. Section II. House of Representatives. 1st Clause. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the elec- tors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. 2d Clause. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven j'ears a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 3d Clause. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years-, and, excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of rep- 341 342 APPENDIX resentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massa- chusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six. New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and (Jeorgia three. Jilh Clause. When vacancies haj)p('n in the representation from any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacan- cies. 5th Clause. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. Skction III. The Senate. 1st Clause. The Senate of the Unitetl States shall be composed of two senators from each State, shosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have one vote. 2d Clause. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consecpience of the first election, they shall be divided as eciually as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen eveiy second year; and if vacancies happep by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. Sd Clause. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the Ihiited States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. Jith Clause. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 5th Clause. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a Presi- dent pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States. 6th Clause. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall all be on oath or affirmation. WTien the President of the Ignited States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two- thirds of the members present. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 343 7th Clause. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party con- victed shall nevertheless be liab e and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. Section IV. Both Houses. 1st Clause. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for sen- ators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the legis- lature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 2d Clause. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. Section V. The Houses Separately. 1st Clause. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 2d Clause. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two- thirds, expel a member. 3d Clause. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judg- ment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 4th Clause. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. Section VI. Privileges and Disabilities of Members. 1st Clause. The senators and representatives shall receive a compen- sation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treas- ury of the United States. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from 344 APPENDIX « the same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not -be questioned in any other place. 2d Clause. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emohunents whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no person holding any office under the United States shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office. Section VII. Mode of passing Laws. 1st Clause. AH bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills. M Clause. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representa- tives and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objec- tions, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas anil nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill sliall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner :is if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. Sd Clause. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be nece-ssary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the Uniteil States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be ai)proved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations pre- scribed in the case of a bill. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 345 Section VIII. Potvers granted to Congress. The Congress shall have power — 1st Clause. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; M Clause. To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; Sd Clause. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes; ^h Clause. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 5th Clause. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures; 6th Clause. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States; 7th Clause. To establish post-offices and post-roads; 8th Clause. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by secur- ing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; 9th Clause. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; lOth Clause. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations; 11th Clause. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water; 12th Clause. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years ; ISth Clause. To provide and maintain a navy; 101 Clause. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces ; 15th Clause. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; 16th Clause. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia accord- ing to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 17th Clause. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the Government of the United States; and to exercise like authority over all 346 APPENDIX places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, tlock-yards, and other needful buildings ; — and 18th Clause. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. Section IX. Powers denied to the United States. l.'it Clause. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to adniit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thou.sand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. Sd Clause. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- pended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 3d Clause. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 4.th Clause. No capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in pro- portion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 5th Clause. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 6th Clause. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over tho.se of another; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 7th Clause. No money .shall be drawn from tlie treasury, but in con.se- quence of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all i)ublic money shall be publi.shed from time to time. 8th Clause. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, with- out the con.sent of Congre.'^s, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State. Section X. Pincers denied to the States. 1st Clause. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confetlera- tion; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 347 any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of con- tracts, or grant any title of nobility. 2(1 Clause. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 3(1 Clause. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. ARTICLE II. The Executive Department. Section I. President and Vice-President. 1st Clause. The executive power shall be vested in a Presitlent of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows: 2(1 Clause. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of sen- ators and representatives to which the State maybe entitled in the Congress. But no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. [The 3d clause has been superseded by the 12th article of Amendments. See page xix.] j^h Clause. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the elec- tors, and the day on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be the same throughout the United States. 5th Clause. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 6th Clause. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President; and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, 34S APPENDIX both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, antl svich officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 7th Clause. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 8th Clause. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation: — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, pre- serve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Sectiox II. Powers of the PresUlent. Isi Clause. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and ' navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opin- ion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.' 2d Clause. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, ambassadors, other j)ul)lic ministers and con- suls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the Ihiited States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. Sd Clause. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may hapi)en during the recess of the Senate, by granting conunissions, which shall expire at the end of their next session. Section III. Dulles of the President. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement be- tween them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 349 to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States. Section IV. Impeachment of the President. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. ARTICLE III. The Judicial Department. Section I. The United States Courts. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. Section II. Jurisdiction of the United States Courts. 1st Clause. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to eontroversies between two or more States; between a State and citizens of another State; between citizens of different States; between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. £d Clause. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as tfie Congress shall make. 3d Clawic. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 350 APPENDIX Section III. Treason. 1st Cla'use. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and com- fort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 2d Clause. The Congress shall have jH)wer to declare the punishment of treason, hut no attainder of treason .shall work corruption of blood, or for- feiture except during the life of the person attainted. ARTICLE IV. Miscellaneous Provisions. Section I. State Records. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. Section II. Privileges of Citizens. 1st Clause. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 2d Clause. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and bo found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. Sd Clause. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. Section III. Xeiv Stales ami Territories. 1st Clause. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erecteil within the juristiiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 2d Clause. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of tlie United States or of any partic- ular State. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 351 Section IV. Guarantees to the States. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a repub- lican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legis- lature cannot be convened), against domestic violence. ARTICLE V. Powers of Amendment. The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress: provided that no amendment \^^hich may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. ARTICLE VL Public Debt, Supremacy of the Constitution, Oath OF Office, Religious Test. 1st Clause. All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. 2d Clause. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 3d Clause. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a cjualification to any office or public trust under the United States. 352 APPENDIX ARTICLE VII. Ratification of the Constitution. The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. AMENDMENTS PROPOSED P>Y CONGRESS AND RATIFIED liY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION. Article I. Freedom of Religion. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohiijiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Article IT. Right to hear Arms. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the .security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Article III. Quartering Soldiers on Citizens. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any hou.se without the con.sent of tlie owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Article IV. Search Warrants. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, hou.ses, papers, and effects, against unrea.sonable .searches and seizures, shall not be vio- lated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probal^le cau.se, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly tlescribing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be .seized. Article V. Trial for Crime. No person shall be held lo answer for a capital, or olherwi.se infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the san)e offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be com- pelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himsself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED. STATES 353 Article VI. Rights of Accused Persons. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the aucc- sation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compul- sory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. Article VII. Suits at Common Law. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the common law. Article VIII. Excessive Bail. Excessive bail Shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Article IX. Rights Retained by the People. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be con- strued to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Article X. Reserved Rights of the States. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Article XI. The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit, in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. Article XII. • 1st Clause. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall nt)t be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons 354 APPENDIX voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; the Presiilent of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then lie counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointetl; and if no person have such major- ity, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quoriun for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. Antl if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-Presi- dent shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other consti- tutional disability of the President. 2d Clause. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice- President shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the Vice- President; a (juorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole niuiiber of senators, and a majority of the whole munber shall be necessary to a choice. 3(1 Clause. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of Presi- dent shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the Ihiited States. Article XHI. Section I. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a pimish- ment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Sec. II. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Article XIV. Section I. .Ml persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 355 States; nor t^hall any State deprive any person of life, lilierty, or property, without due process of law, nor tleny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Sec. II. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per- sons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-Presi- dent of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is tienied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representa- tion therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. Sec. III. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or com- fort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. Sec. IV. The validity of the public debt of the United States, author- ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. Sec. V. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legis- lation, the provisions of this article. Article XV. Section I. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Sec. II. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro- priate legislation. APH 14 liiOB