mmmmmmmmmmmsmmt mummm mmvimm iiimmmmmmm RCTT pi IN AMERI I STO -^^ 'x.r fmKmmmm m m m^mmm mslmmmm mmmmm \uu \l ajJl Class __ Book ^-&^x Copyright N" COFU^iGHT DEPosrr. The UNrri 1^ oi>3i^ ^ ) i' —J ^^— ""rs \.i\>"l'~""I,,.iyii>""M / I ill V i« *■ •' * " I /^ ^jr» ' - - ■^r^ jkbburg \ I ( j I ^ V \ KatuiNRougeTI IL-^,'' f -it (_ .»see ••?^-l? M e'x r U » States in 1920 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY © Brown Bros., New York. Independence Hall, Philadelphia A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY BY CHARLES A/^BEARD AND ^^^ WILLIAM Cr^BAGLEY N£to gork THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1920 A// rights reserved Copyright, 1920, Bv THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1920. iCl 2^ fc^'^ NorbjooD ^res8 J. S. Gushing Vo. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. g)C!.A601281 'Vi ^ was over. There was no 32 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY longer doubt that the world was round. Eighteen men had been around it. There was also no doubt that a great ocean lay between the lands Columbus had discovered and the Asia which he had sought. III. The King of France Sends Out Explorers The Voyage of Verrazano. The King of France looked with wonder and envy on the deeds of the Spanish and the Portuguese explorers. According to a story that has come down to us, he wrote to the King of Spain a saucy letter. He asked him by what right he and the King of Portugal were trying to get and hold the earth- He asked him whether Adam, the first man, had given them this right. If Adam had done this, said the French King, then the will left by Adam should be somewhere and ought to be shown to the world. Until it was shown, he went on, he would pay no attention to their claims. Even if he did not write this letter, he at least carried out the threat in it. He challenged them, .first on the sea. He had in his employ an Italian by the name of John Verrazano, who had come from Florence. In 1524 this sailor, in a ship flying the French flag, seized a Spanish ship on its way home from America. This bold deed pleased the French, for the ship carried a rich cargo, including gold and silver from the mines that the Spaniards had found in the New World. The next year Verra- zano crossed the Atlantic and reached the coast some- EXPLORING UNKNOWN SEAS 33 where near the CaroHnas, it appears. From there he sailed northward as far as Cape Cod. Cartier and the St. Lawrence. In 1494 there was born in the French seaport of St. Malo a boy, Jacques Cartier, who was, in after years, to open the way for French pioneers in the St. Lawrence Valley. St. Malo was a busy place when Jacques was a youth. Out of the harbor, hardy mariners sailed to the coast of Newfoundland to catch fish. Back home they came with their ships loaded. Through the town there flew all sorts of stories about the New World. Jacques must have heard hundreds of them as he played along the wharves or watched the sailors unload their ships. Young Cartier early took to the sea himself, and when he was grown he planned voyages across the Atlantic. In 1534 he sailed for the coast of North Ameriqa and explored the Gulf at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, hunting for a water route to China.' The next year he was at the Gulf again. This time he pushed his way far up the river. There he found Indian villages, but no rich cities. One of these villages, which stood on a hillside, he named Montreal, or Mount Royal, in honor of the King. Cartier was not discouraged by the outcome, but went back a third time and planted a colony. Though this colony failed, Cartier had revealed to the French a fertile land and had given to the King a sure claim to a wonder- ful valley. 34 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY EXPLORING UNKNOWN SEAS 35 Questions and Exercises Of what continent did Columbus believe the new lands that he had discovered to be a part ? What reasons can you give ex- plaining why he made this mistake ? I. Why was the voyage of John Cabot important for England ? Why did not England make use of Cabot's discoveries as soon as they had been made ? Locate Bristol in England, Labrador, Cape Cod. IL What plan did Magellan make for solving the problem that ColumSus had left unsolved ? Trace on a large map or on a globe the route that Magellan followed. Think of the difficulties Magellan had to meet in addition to those that beset Columbus; how much longer did it take to make the voyage .'* How much farther did the men who lived to reach home travel ? Locate the Guadalquiver River, Brazil, the Straits of Magellan, the Ladrone Islands, the Philippines. What did the voyage prove ? Give as many reasons as you can for calling this the "greatest voyage in all history." III. Why did the King of France send Verrazano on a voyage of discovery .'* Trace his route. What did Cartier do that makes him better remembered than Verrazano ^ What was his object in making his voyage ? What did he accomplish ? Locate St. Malo in France, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the St. Lawrence River, and Montreal. Suggestions for Reading Hart's Source Readers in American History, No. I, Colonial Children, pp. 7-8 (Cabot) ; Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 14-24 (Magellan) ; McMurry's Pioneers on Land and Sea, pp. 161- 185 (Magellan) ; Guerber's Story of the Thirteen Colonies, pp. 70-73 (Verrazano and Cartier) ; Southworth's Builders of Our Country, pp. 37-40 (Cabot), pp. 142-148 (Verrazano and Cartier). 36 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Problems for Further Study To what country do the Philippine Islands now belong ? Could Magellan have sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific in any other way except through the Straits of Magellan ? How do most vessels now pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific ? CHAPTER III BREAKING INTO THE SPANISH TREASURE HOUSE Spain's Problem : How to Hold the Fruits of Con- quest. In 1556 King Philip II came to the throne of Spain. His empire stretched around the world. Thirty years after Columbus' first voyage, Mexico had been conquered by the Spaniard, Cortes. About ten years later Pizarro, also a Spanish soldier, had won Peru. In both these countries there were many gold and silver mines which had been opened by the natives long be- fore, so the Spanish dream of treasure in the New World had at last come true. In addition to these rich countries, the King of Spain and the King of Portugal claimed the New World, the Far East, and the oceans. In 1580 even Portugal came under Spanish rule, thus apparently completing the triumph of Spain. King Philip claimed the sole right to trade with all his possessions. Gold and silver from Mexico and Peru filled his treasury to bursting. To all outward appearances, Spain was the richest and most powerful nation on the globe. There was, however, a serious problem before the Spanish King. Like a tiny cloud, a danger had appeared on the horizon. It grew bigger year by year. A 37 38 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY mighty rival, England, was coming on the scene. King Philip watched the rising power of that country with growing anxiety. Two questions troubled him : " Would England ever become strong enough to challenge his empire and seize his trade ? What was to be the outcome of the desperate rivalry of nations over the New World ? " British Rivals of Spain. The answer to these ques- tions was soon to come. Two years after Philip ascended the Spanish throne, Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England in London. England was a Protest- ant country and a deadly foe of Catholic Spain. She was already developing seamen prepared to challenge the Spanish navy. One of these sailors, Sir Martin Frobisher, beginning in 1576 made three voyages to the New World in search of a way to China. Another navigator, Sir John Hawkins, openly defied the Spanish King's decree excluding foreign sailors from Spanish colonies, and, in spite of it, traded with the West Indies. A third captain. Sir Walter Raleigh, was venturesome enough to send colonists in 1587 to settle on the shores of North America. The effort came to nothing, but it was a sharp warning to the King of Spain. I. The Deeds of Sir Francis Drake The Youth of Drake. Among the sea captains of the time of Elizabeth none was more daring than Sir Francis Drake. His whole life was a storv of the BREAKING INTO THE SPANISH TREASURE HOUSE 39 ocean. His early boyhood was spent at seaports. According to history, the first sounds that he heard were the clatter of shipwrights' hammers and the songs of sailors as they polished their guns. The wind whistling in the rigging was his first lullaby. Having to earn his own living, Drake got a post as cabin boy on a trading vessel plying between England, The Spaniards used huge ships with three or four decks to bring their treasure from America. These ships are often called galleons. Holland, and France. His captain grew fond of the boy, and when he died left him the ship on which they had sailed together. While just a youth, Drake thus became a ship owner and trader. He was engaged in shipping when, in 1564, King Philip, angry at English seamen for seizing 40 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY his treasure vessels on their way home from Mexico and Peru, closed the Spanish ports to Englishmen. This ruined Drake's business and gave him a lasting grudge against Spain. Drake Learns about Spanish America. At the first opportunity Drake joined the English captains who defied Spain's order and sailed to the West Indies. In 1567 he was a pilot for John Hawkins, on one of his slave-trading voyages. In 1570 he was back in the West Indies on a scouting expedition. He became convinced that a fearless and dashing raider could rob Spanish towns in America at will. The Famous Raid on Nombre de Dios. In 1572, with two small but swift ships, Drake sailed out of Plymouth for the Caribbean Sea, the southern part of which was then called the Spanish Main. His crew of seventy-three men were all, save one, under thirty years of age. They were bound for the Spanish town of Nombre de Dios on the Isthmus of Panama. That post was the center through which flowed the rich booty from Peru and the Pacific coast towns on its way to Spain. For many weeks Drake and his men scoured land and sea in the neighborhood of this settlement. They lay in wait for Spanish mule trains bringing in gold and silver and rushed upon them from the bushes. They robbed vessels bound to and from the Spanish shores laden with supplies and precious metals. With their ships filled to bursting, Drake and his BREAKING INTO THE SPANISH TREASURE HOUSE 41 men sailed home. On a Sunday in August, 1573, when the good people of Plymouth were at church, they heard in the harbor the thunder of Drake's guns. To the dismay of the preachers the congregations rushed out to learn what had happened. Drake was back with such spoils as Englishmen had never seen before. All the while England was, in theory at least, at peace with Spain. No wonder that Drake was called the Queen's " little pirate." Drake Sails around the World. Not long after- ward, Drake was summoned before Elizabeth. To her he unfolded an astounding plan. He wanted to sail into the Pacific, " the Golden Sea," and seize more Spanish gold and silver. The Queen was pleased, and gave him money for the venture. However, she told him to keep it a secret. Overjoyed, Drake went to work to collect his ships. When people asked him where he was going, he re- plied : "To Egypt." In November, 1577, all was ready, and at the head of a fleet he rode out of the harbor of Plymouth. Down the coast of Africa he sailed, capturing half a dozen Spanish and Portu- guese merchant ships on the way, stripping them of silks, spices, and stores. Well stocked, Drake then sailed westward. On April 5, 1578, he was off the coast of Brazil struggling southward toward the Straits of Magellan. A terrible voyage it was, according to a journal kept by one of Drake's men. First one storm and then 42 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY another burst upon them. It was August before they came to the Straits. In a fortnight Drake and his men were in the waters of the Pacific. A dreadful gale struck them, and in an uncharted sea they were driven to and fro day and night, with no rest. The winds blew such a blast that they had to keep their sails furled. The towering waves broke over their decks in endless streams. After three weeks of this, one of the ships foundered, carrying to the bottom of the sea every soul on board. In another week, the captain of the second ship gave up the struggle and turned back to England. Drake was left with one ship, the Golden Hind. On the fifty-third day of the storm, he found himself driven far south among the islands at the very end of South America. He landed on the last island and saw before him the Atlantic and the Pacific rolling together as one flood. He walked alone to the southern tip of the continent and lay down upon the ground to em- brace with his own arms the southernmost point of the known world. After this ceremony, Drake turned northward to raid the Pacific shores of South America. Up the Spanish Coast. With only one ship, but triumphant, the captain of the Golden Hind sailed up the coast of Chile, plundering as he went. Day after day, Drake kept on up the coast, overhauling ships and taking off their treasure. When he reached the Isthmus of Panama, the Golden Hind was ballasted with silver instead of the heavy stones with which he BREAKING INTO THE, SPANISH TREASURE HOUSE 43 had started out, and her cabin was full of gold and jewels. By this time the Spanish settlements had all heard of the dreadful raider. Church bells were m hR» ""^ ^' '^S i^^^^^^" " "■~^- ^H^ \.j -'" Drake's Ship, the Golden Hind, in Which He Sailed around the World The picture is taken from an old book published in 1588. melted down to make guns and ships were fitted out to catch him. Drake knew well that he would soon be attacked by a large force. So he began to search for another way into the Atlantic. Higher and higher up the coast he went. Colder and colder became the weather. Instead of the torrid heat of the equator he had the 44 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY chilly winds of the North Pacific. When he reached the latitude of the island now called Vancouver, he gave up the search for a northern passage to the Atlantic and turned back upon his path, having resolved to return to England by the long westward route by the Cape of Good Hope. The Pacific Voyage. Somewhere near the site of San Francisco, Drake put in to shore to fit his ship for the desperate work of sailing home. On July 25, 1579, he started westward across the Pacific. For sixty- eight days he plowed the deep until he came to the Caroline Islands. Thence he turned to the Philippines and finally to the Moluccas. Home with the Plunder. Drake had had enough. He made for a southern port on the island of Java, where he refitted and collected stores for the last lap in the world voyage. Around the Cape of Good Hope he went and, in the autumn of 1580, slipped quietly into the harbor of Plymouth. With " the cream of his plunder," Drake went to London. Lavishly he gave gold and silver to the Queen's ministers. The Queen herself he surprised with gifts of such jewels as she had never before seen. He told her of still greater riches to be gathered in " the garden of the King of Spain." The Spanish ambassador fumed and raged because Drake was not jailed as a pirate. The Queen smiled and, after a grand banquet on board his ship, she knighted Drake — " the master thief of the unknown world." BREAKING INTO THE SPANISH TREASURE HOUSE 45 II. The Battle with the Grand Armada England was in fact, without declaring it, waging war on Spain. Drake continued his plundering. Once he ran right into the harbor of Cadiz, robbed and sank ships to his heart's content, and sailed out Queen Elizabeth Knighting Drake on the Golden Hind at Deptford, April 4, 1581 again. This time, it was said, he " singed the Span- iard's beard." Spain Prepares to Fight. The King of Spain was filled with rage. He prepared to put down the English pirates by force of arms. He collected the mightiest 46 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY fleet yet brought together on European waters. There were in all more than one hundred twenty vessels, commanded by his greatest captains. Nearly thirty thousand men and many heavy guns were put on board. In August, 1588, the Armada, as this fleet was called, swept up to the English Channel. The English knew that it was coming. Drake had wanted to strike at the Spaniards while they were getting ready, but in this he was overruled. So the English prepared to meet the Armada in their own waters. Eighty ships were brought together under Admiral Howard, with Drake, Hawkins, and the best English captains to aid him. The Battle. It is said that Drake and the English officers were playing a game of bowls when the news came that the Spanish fleet was riding up in battle array in the form of a crescent. Drake and Howard at once leaped into the fray. For more than a week there was scattered fighting without important results. Then came a general action which lasted for six terrible hours. The Spaniards fought bravely, but the English guns were well aimed and smashed the wooden hulks of their ships as sails are riddled in a gale. Ship after ship, the flower of the Spanish navy, careened and went down, carrying captains and crews to a watery grave. As things turned out, ill luck pursued the Spanish to the end. A storm came up and drove the ships that escaped northward through the Straits of Dover along BREAKING INTO THE SPANISH TREASURE HOUSE 47 the coast of the Netherlands. They ran far north around Scotland and then southward down the coast of Ireland, leaving wrecked hulks along the way. It was a sad and battered remnant that returned at last to Spain to confess a dreadful defeat at the hands of the English. The King of Spain now knew how grave his problem was. >^ III. The Way Prepared for English Settlements Drake Finishes His Work. Drake was soon back at his old tricks, raiding Spanish trading posts in the New World. In January, 1596, while he was riding the waves of the Caribbean off the coast of Panama, a terrible fever seized him and he died in his cabin. His men sorrowfully wrapped his body in a leaden shroud. Amid the thunders of cannon Sir Francis Drake found his last home in the sea. As seemed fitting, his men sank as monuments by his watery grave two Spanish galleons that had just been captured. The bold sea captain had done his work. England was mistress of the seas. English settlers could sail safely to North America and count on the protection of the British navy. Sir Walter Raleigh. Among Drake's friends was one of the cleverest men in England, Sir Walter Raleigh. Unlike Drake, he was born in a well-to-do family, and was sent to college at Oxford. While he was still young he came to see more in the New World than mere plunder. His mind turned to planting colonies 48 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY of English citizens there. He saw, as in a vision, a new England beyond the sea. In 1584, when he was only thirty-two years old, he secured permission from Queen Elizabeth to explore in the New World. That year and the next he dispatched fleets to America, The Colony at Roa- noke. In 1587 he sent over a colony of emi- grants, who settled on Roanoke Island. This was an unhappy venture. Every soul was lost. No one knows to this day what actually befell the colony. Though defeated in his plans, Sir Walter Raleigh never gave up his idea. To the end of his life he dreamed of the new England that was to be established across the sea. As so often happens. Sir Walter's work was done by other hands. To this day, however, he is counted among the far-sighted men of the age of Elizabeth who prepared the way for English triumph in North America. Sir Walter Raleigh, One of the Pioneers IN Founding English Settlements in America BREAKING INTO THE SPANISH TREASURE HOUSE 49 Questions and Exercises What rich countries in the New World had Spain conquered ? Locate them on the map. What effect did Spain's good fortune have upon other countries in Europe ? Why did Spain forbid ■ships of other nations to trade with her American colonies and to make settlements in the New World ? Why are the names of Frobisher, Hawkins, and Sir Walter Raleigh remembered ? I. Why did Drake dislike the Spaniards ? What did he do to injure the Spanish trade with America ? Locate the Isthmus of Panama. Why was this isthmus important to Spain ? Trace the course along which the treasure from the mines of Peru would be carried in those days to Spain. Find on the map Nombre de Dios. Near what modern town is it located ? What is a pirate and why was Drake called a pirate for taking the Spanish treasure ? Why did Queen Elizabeth tell Drake to keep as a secret the fact that she helped him fit out his ships .? How did Drake get his ships to the Pacific ? How long was this after Magellan's voyage ? How did Drake happen to make the voyage around the world ? Trace his route, locating Chile, San Francisco, Vancouver Island, the Caroline Islands, the Molucca Islands. II. What was the "Spanish Armada".'' The defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English ships is looked upon as one of the most important battles ever fowght; why do you think it was important .'' Locate the English Channel and the Straits of Dover. III. How did Raleigh's work for England differ from that of Drake ? Locate Roanoke Island. Suggestions for Reading Hart's Source Readers in American History, No. i. Colonial Children, pp. 12-16 (Pizarro) ; Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book I, pp. 43-50 (Cortes and Pizarro), pp. 54-72 (Haw- kins, Drake, and Raleigh) ; Marguerite Stockman Dickson's Camp £ 50 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY and Trail in Early American History, pp. 19-35 (Cortes) ; pp. 50-68 (Drake) ; pp. 69-85 (Raleigh) ; Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 24-37 (Drake) ; McMurry's Pioneers on Land and Sea, pp. 186- 221 (Cortes), pp. 47-67 (Raleigh); Guerber's Story of the Thirteen Colonies, pp. 83-86 (Raleigh) ; George Cary Eggleston's Our First Century, pp. 1-20 (Columbus, Mexico and Peru, the Spanish Armada, Raleigh) ; James Barnes' Drake and His Yeomen. Problems for Further Study Why would no sailor to-day dare to raid and rob the towns of a friendly nation ^ Spain was the most important European country at the time of which we are studying; what are the most important European countries to-day ? CHAPTER IV WESTWARD, HO! The Problem : Finding Settlers for the New World. Spanish sea power was broken with the defeat of the Armada. The way to America was open to the EngHsh. But who would go there to Hve ? That was the question. Why should any one leave a home in England to brave the terrors of the deep and a wilder- ness three thousand miles away ? To conquer was one thing. To settle was another. Conquest oflFered riches and enjoyment on the return home. Settlement of- fered the hardest of work and no promise of a home- ward voyage. Nevertheless, settlers did follow the conquerors to the New World. The truth is, not all the people of England were happy and well-to-do. Some of them were ill-treated because their religious opinions did not agree with those that the rulers favored. Others were poor, and anxious to find better homes for themselves and their children. Others were venturesome, and ready to try anything that offered excitement, as well as a chance to improve their lot. I. Founding Virginia John Smith, the Adventurer. Among the many English soldiers of that day was a remarkable man 51 52 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY by the name of Captain John Smith. He was born In the days of Queen Ehzabeth, the son of a poor farmer. The Southern Colonies At free schools near his home he learned to read and write. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to a trade. This was too dull for his fierce spirit. If we WESTWARD, HO! 53 may believe all the tales about him, he early began a stormy career — a career as strange as any man ever had. Before Smith was twenty he was fighting against the Spaniards in the Netherlands. Anxious to see the world, he cruised about in the Mediterranean. He saw the Pope at Rome. He fought against the Turks and was taken prisoner and sold as a slave. He was so cruelly treated that he could not bear it, and by good luck managed to escape. The Virginia Company. Shortly after Smith's return to England, some London merchants formed a company for the purpose of founding a colony in Virginia. In 1606 they obtained a charter from King James I. They col- lected a number of settlers and were only too glad to have Captain John Smith go with them. In 1607 the colonists landed in Virginia and planted a post at Jamestown. Smith was a man of action and rendered great services to the struggling colony. He explored the neighboring country. He visited the Indians and bought supplies from them. According to one of Captain John Smith, a Leader AMONG THE SeTTLERS WhO Founded Jamestown, Virginia, IN 1607 54 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY his stories he was captured by an Indian chief, Powhatan, and was about to be killed when the chief's daughter, Pocahontas, rushed forward and saved his life. No doubt there was an Indian princess who The Homestead on a Virginia Plantation Built in the Early Days of the Colony often visited the English camp and finally married one of the settlers, John Rolfe. That she saved Smith's life is thought to be an imaginary tale. Smith did not need this story to make him famous. He was a skillful man in dealing with the Indians. WESTWARD, HO! 55 He worked hard himself in the colony and had plenty of common sense. It was a sad day, indeed, for the colony when he was badly burnt by an explosion of gunpowder and had to go back to England in 1609. Other leaders came, and Virginia, after many trying years, began to flourish. More and more settlers appeared. Tobacco planting was introduced and proved to be a profitable business. African slaves were brought into the colony in 1619. Since they hac an abundance of cheap labor at hand, the Virginians quickly spread in every direction, laying out their huge plantations. In 1624 the Virginia Company was broken up, and the King took over the government of Virginia. From that time until the American Revolution it was a royal province. The King, however, did not intrust all power to his governor in Virginia. The voters in the colony were allowed to choose representatives for an assembly. This assembly, or House of Burgesses, as it was called, joined with the governor and his council in making laws and laying taxes. II. Virginia's Neighbors Lord Baltimore and Maryland. Among the close friends of King James I was a young Oxford grad- uate, by the name of George Calvert. Though he was a Catholic in his religious faith and James I was a Protestant, the King was very fond of him and made him a nobleman, with the title of Lord Baltimore. 56 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY At that time all Catholics were forbidden to worship God in their own w^ay in England. Lord Baltimore was therefore anxious to find a place for them to en- joy religious liberty in the New World. He visited Virginia and was so pleased with the climate and the soil that he asked the King for a grant of land in that neighborhood. The King consented and the charter was all made out when, in 1632, Lord Baltimore died. His son, Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, took up the work which the father had planned. He sent out settlers who planted the colony of Maryland. Freedom of worship was soon granted to all Christians, and the colony prospered. Except for a short time, it remained under the mild rule of the Baltimore family until the eve of American independence. The town of Baltimore became one of the leading cities of colo- nial times. The Carolinas. From Virginia, adventurous pioneers went south to the frontier and opened up new lands. The English King, Charles H, hearing of the fine country south of Virginia, granted it to eight noble- men, all good and faithful friends. Under these " pro- prietors," colonies were planted at Albemarle and at Charleston. The mild climate of Carolina, as the colony was called, attracted people who wanted to escape from the rigors of the colder North. Trade with England flourished. The cultivation of rice and tobacco as well as Lidian corn and wheat made hun- dreds of planters and farmers prosperous. WESTWARD, HO! 57 Prosperity, however, brought troubles for the pro- prietors. The people showed an independent spirit. They objected to paying taxes. They protested against the governors who were sent over from England. In- deed, the citizens of Albemarle drove out one governor who had the habit of taking, for his own use, pigs and cows and pewter cups or anything else he liked. At length the proprietors, weary of governing unruly subjects, were glad to sell out to the King at a moderate price in 1729. Carolina was divided into two sections, North and South Carolina. Royal colonies they re- mained until they became independent American states. III. The New England Colonies The Pilgrims. On a cheerless winter day in Decem- ber, 1620, one of the most striking scenes in American history occurred on the barren shores of Massachu- setts. A little ship, the Mayflower, celebrated for all time, anchored off the coast near the present site of Plymouth. On board was a small company of men and women, Pilgrims from old England to new Eng- land. They had fled from their homes because they were persecuted for their religious opinions. They had come to found a colony where they could worship God in a way that was not approved by the government and Church of England. The Mayflower Compact. Before the men went ashore they met in the cabin and agreed to form a government of their own. All promised to abide by the rules. 58 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY The paper which they signed is known as the Mayflower Compact — the first written plan for self-government made in America. The Terrible Winter. At Plymouth Rock the Pilgrims landed. With might and main they set to Early New England Settlements WESTWARD, HO! 59 work to cut trees and build a large log house. It was slow work and the winter was bitterly cold. When the spring sun came again, half the little com- pany had died. The rest kept their courage in spite of their terrible troubles. Pilgrim Leaders. They had among them several men of great ability who were given leadership. One was Captain Miles Standish. He led an exploring party that first searched the wild country for game and food. He built a fort for defense against the Indians. Another leader was Governor Bradford, who wrote a wonderful story about the early days of the Pilgrim colony. Pilgrims and Indians. Fortunately the Pilgrims had little trouble with the natives. Two Indians, Samoset and Squanto, visited them and helped them to plant corn and make snowshoes and moccasins. They brought other Indians, who were pleased to see the many curious things owned by the white strangers. One day a great Indian chief, Massasoit, came to the colony and held a council with the Pilgrim fathers. They all agreed to be friends and keep the peace. Had the Indians been hostile and warlike, they might easily have destroyed the tiny colony while it was very weak. John Winthrop and the Puritans. Several miles up the Massachusetts coast at Boston and Salem, two other English colonies were founded about ten years after the landing of the Pilgrims. The newcomers 6o A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY :: o :i S WESTWARD, HO! 6i were also seeking a place to worship God in their own way. They were called Puritans on account of their religious views. Their leader was Governor John Winthrop. The Puritans were more numerous than the Pilgrims. They had eleven ships and a company of a thousand people. They also had great stores of supplies, grain, and cattle. Their voy- age across the ocean was a stormy one. Their cattle were badly bruised by the rolling of the little ships. Only by good management were they able to get safely ashore. The Puritans at Work. The Puri- tans selected the port of Boston as their chief center. With great energy they went to work to clear the land and build houses, churches, and schools. Governor Winthrcp himself worked with ax and hammer. John Winthrop, One of the Founders of Massachusetts and First Governor of the Colony 62 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Steadily the Puritans pushed inland, building their towns as they went. More settlers came from Eng- land. Baptists, Quakers, and other religious sects appeared. These new sects disturbed the peace of the Puritans, who wanted to be let alone in their new home. The Massachusetts people had many quarrels among themselves, and there were some dreadful wars with the Indians, in spite of early friendships. All together the days of the colony were full of trouble. Roger Williams and the Puritans. In the winter of 163 1 there appeared in Boston a young preacher by the name of Roger Williams. He had ideas of his own. For instance, he believed that the government and the church should not be united at all. As things were then managed in Massachusetts, the men in the church congregation also governed the town. No one who was not a church member could vote. Williams thought this all wrong and said so. Owing to his views, he made many enemies and was driven from town to town. He lived for a while in Plymouth. There he got into difficulty because he said that lands should be bought from the Indians and paid for. This angered the Pilgrims and Williams had to leave. He then tried preaching in Salem. Soon he was in trouble again, and finally he was banished from Massachusetts in 1636. The Founding of Providence. Williams fled into the wilderness to the southwest and founded the WESTWARD, HO! 63 colony of Providence. He was kind to the Indians and paid them for the lands he occupied. He invited all those who were poor or were persecuted in the other New England towns to come and find peace with him. Many came. A compact or plan of government was drawn up and signed. Five of the signers were poor and uneducated men who could not write. They could only make their marks. Anne Hutchinson. Not long afterward, Anne Hutchinson, a prominent woman of Massachusetts, with her followers, settled in the region opened up by Williams. Her diffi- culty in Massachusetts The Church in Which Roger Williams Preached at Salem, Massachusetts had also arisen on account of her opinions. She insisted that women had a right to hold meetings of their own to discuss the sermons and criticize the town officers just as men did. This shocked the Puritan fathers. They declared that her meetings were " disorderly and without rule " ; and they banished her and many of her friends. Others who shared her views went out with her to seek homes at Newport. At a later time the new towns on Narragansett Bay were united in the colony of Rhode Island. 64 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Thomas Hooker and Connecticut. Another dispute over reHgious matters led to the founding of the colony of Connecticut. At Newton, near Boston, there lived an able clergyman, Thomas Hooker, whose opinions also disturbed some of the Massachu- setts people. He was not banished, however. He sim- ply decided to seek a distant place where he and his congregation could have more freedom. The Three Towns. With a goodly company, Hooker migrated westward and set- tled in the valley of the Connecticut River. Three tiny towns were built at Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. Religious and political matters were not so closely united there as in Boston. In 1639 the voters drew up a compact of government. Other towns were founded along the shore, and all of them were, in after The Pilgrims Had to Be on Their Guard Against the Indians Even When Going to AND FROM Church From a painting by Boughton WESTWARD, HO! 65 years, united by the King of England into a single colony — Connecticut. Thus it is seen that Rhode Island and Connecticut were offshoots of the colony at Massachusetts Bay. New Hampshire likewise sprang from the same center. Life in New England. All the New England colonies were very much alike. The settlers did not spread out on great plantations as in Virginia. They dwelt close together in towns with their farm lands round about them. The winters were long and cold. The summers were short. The fields were stony and hilly and only by very hard work could crops be grown. Slavery was introduced but did not flourish. The white men and women had to do their own work indoors and in the fields. There were many waterfalls, and the settlers soon had water wheels turning sawmills and gristmills. The New Englanders had fine timber, and they built ships for fishing and for trade with all parts of Europe and the West Indies. IV. Henry Hudson and the Hudson Valley Hudson and Russia. Among the English friends of Captain John Smith was a navigator by the name of Henry Hudson. Who Hudson's parents were and where he was born we do not know. He first appears clearly in history as the navigator for an English Company trading with Russia. In 1607 and 1608 he made two voyages to the far Northeast, and tried to reach the ports of eastern Asia by way of the 66 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Arctic regions. He failed in this, but he proved him- self a brave and able seaman. In Dutch Service. The Dutch East India Company heard of him and employed him to make a voyage in its service. With two ships he sailed again in search of a northeast passage to Asia. The crew of one of the ships mutinied and returned home, and Hudson had to give up that plan. Still he was not a man to be daunted by such a misadventure. The Hudson River. If he could not find a passage to Asia by one way, he would try another. In the ship Half Moon, he sailed across the Atlantic to the coast of Nova Scotia. He searched the Atlantic shores for a northwest passage. On September 3, 1609, he was at the mouth of the river that bears his name, somewhere near Staten Island. The broad expanse of water reaching inland seemed to promise the long-sought northwest passage. Full of hope, the captain of the Half Moon sailed up the river. The Indians were glad to see the white men. They brought green tobacco to trade for knives and beads. In the journal kept on the ship it is re- corded of the natives : " They go in deer skins, loose, well dressed. They have yellow copper. They desire clothes and are very civil. They have great store of maize or Indian wheat, whereof they make good bread." Before he had gone far, however, Hudson had some trouble with the Indians. One of them tried to steal a pillow and some shirts, and a fight followed. WESTWARD, HO! ^-J Leaving the island of Manhattan, Hudson sailed steadily up the river until, by the 22d of September, he was somewhere above the present site of the city of Albany. The sounding line showed only about seven feet of water. It was evident that the river was no northwest passage to the Pacific. So Hudson turned his ship back upon her course. On October 4 he bade farewell to the shores which the natives called Manna-hatta, and sailed away for the Netherlands. He put in at an English port, where he received an order from the King of England for- bidding him to serve the Dutch any longer. The Sad Fate of Hudson. The next year he sailed again for the English company which he had served before. He found his way into the great bay now called Hudson Bay, and searched far and wide for the long-sought passage to the Pacific. His men clamored to go home. He refused point-blank. Then they mutinied, and turned him, with his little son and several sick men, adrift in an open boat. Somewhere in the wild waste of waters they all perished miserably. An expedition, sent out from England to search for them, could find no trace of men or boat. The Dutch Settle at Manhattan. Though Henry Hudson did not return to Holland, the Dutch laid claim to the country he had explored. Within three years they had built four log houses on Manhattan island and had started a profitable fur trade with the Indians. They explored Long Island Sound and rounded Cape Cod. 68 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY In 1623 the Dutch West India Company was per- mitted to trade and to plant settlements in the valley of the " North River," as the Hudson was then called. In that year a party of permanent settlers arrived at Manhattan. One post was established on the island, another on the shore of Long Island near Brooklyn, and still another far up the river at Fort Orange, on the site of the present city of Albany. New Amsterdam. In 1626 Governor Peter Minuit came to Man- hattan and bought the whole island from the Indians for sixty guil- ders, worth fifty or sixty dollars in our money to-day. A fort was built at the lower end of the island. The town that grew near the fort was known as New Amsterdam and the region claimed by the Dutch was called New Netherland. Some time later the West India Company granted immense estates on the east and west banks of the Hudson to " patroons," or rich men, who undertook to bring over bands of settlers. Each successful patroon was the lord of an estate with a large num- ATLANTIC OCEAN Early Dutch Settlements near the Mouth of the Hudson River WESTWARD, HO! 69 ber of tenants. Sturdy Dutch farmers and merchants came in increasing numbers and the colony flourished. Governor Peter Stuyvesant. In the summer of 1647 the last of a long line of Dutch governors arrived in the New Netherland, — Peter Stuyvesant, He was " a val- iant, weather-beaten, mettlesome, obstinate, leathern- sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited " old fellow, who An Interior View of an Old Dutch Farmhouse Built When New York Was New Netherland had lost one leg in battle. When he stepped ashore he made a brief speech, saying, " I shall govern you as a father his children, for the advantage of the chartered West India Company, and these burghers, and this land." He proved to be a stern father. When some men threatened to appeal over his head to the govern- 70 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY ment at home, the irate Peter blurted out, " If any man tries to appeal from me to the States General, I will make him a foot shorter." The English Seize New Amsterdam. The English had from the first objected to the Dutch claims to American terri- tory, and claimed the whole coast as their own. In 1664 KingCharlescoolly granted New Neth- erland to his brother, the Duke of York and Al- bany. Late in the summer of that year Governor Stuyvesant saw sailing into his har- bor a fleet of English warships. The English com- mander summoned him to surrender. Stuyvesant fumed, tore up the letter, and ordered his men to prepare to fight. That was sheer folly, for, as one of them said to him, " Of what avail are our poor guns against that broadside Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch Governor of New- York, Flew into a Rage When the English Called on Him to Surrender in 1664 WESTWARD, HO! 71 of more than sixty ? It is wrong to shed blood to no purpose." Forced to obey his own people, the angry Dutch governor gave up, crying out, " I had rather be carried to my grave." The white flag was raised over Fort Amsterdam. New Netherland passed under English rule, and there it remained, save for a short period, until the American Revolution. A \ lEw OF New York City in 1746 New York. The colony took an English name. It was called New York in honor of its proprietor, the Duke of York. New Amsterdam became New York City. Fort Orange became Albany. All about, how- ever, remained signs of the old Dutch days. The names of villages and streets told of their work. To this day many an ancient Dutch farmhouse with its great kitchen and oven reminds us of the time of Peter 72 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Stuyvesant. Indeed the Dutch settlers went on calmly with their farming and trading as the stream of English settlers poured into the colony. They learned the English tongue and most of them took the part of the English settlers in their later quarrels with the Eng- lish government. When the Duke of York became King James II in 1685, the colony of New York was made a royal province. In time, an assembly elected by the voters was created, so that the colonists might have a voice in managing their affairs. Missionaries came out to es- tablish the Church of England in the province. King's College was founded in 1754, to train the youth in that faith to keep them from being influenced by the be- liefs of Puritan New England. New Jersey. In the year that the Duke of York took possession of New Netherland, he granted to two friends, Carteret and Berkeley, all the land between the Hudson and the Delaware rivers. This province was called New Jersey, because Carteret had once been governor of the island of Jersey, the home of his family, in the English Channel. In 1665 Carteret sent over a band of settlers and founded a post at Elizabethtown, named after his wife. The following year some Puritans from Connecticut built a town on the Passaic, calling it first Milford and then Newark. Later, Quakers from England and many Scotch-Irish sought homes in the new colony. In 1702 New Jersey became a royal WESTWARD, HO! 73 province attached to New York. Thirty-six years later it was separated from its neighbor across the river and given a royal governor of its own. V. William Penn — Pennsylvania and Delaware William Penn at College. In the year 1660 there entered Christ Church, one of the colleges of old Oxford, a tall, dark-haired youth by the name of William Penn. His father was a man of great wealth and high position — an Admiral in the English navy and a member of Parliament. The youth plunged into the life of Oxford with zeal. He was both a scholar and an athlete. He was good at the oars on the Thames River and equally good at Greek, Latin, French, Ger- man, and Dutch. The Quakers. Penn seemed on the highroad to fame and honor, when suddenly he gave up the re- ligious faith of his fathers and joined a sect known as the Quakers, or Friends. They disliked most of the ceremonies of the Church of England and thought the important thing was to live a kindly Christian life. Indeed their very name, " Friends," indicated their spirit. They were firmly opposed to all wars and per- secution. They believed in conquering enemies by gentleness and good will. When Penn took up this faith he got into trouble with his college and his father. He was eitherexpelled or taken out of school. At last he landed in prison, where he was kept for many months among the common criminals. 74 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Penn Interested in America. In the course of time Penn grew interested in America, to which many Quakers were turning for relief from persecution. It so happened that on the death of his father he fell heir to a claim of many thousand pounds against the King. After some discussion he offered to accept as payment a grant of land in America. The King yielded and gave him a charter to a tract named Pennsylvania, or Penn's Woods, in honor of Admiral Penn. Of this tract William Penn was made the proprietor. Late in the summer of 1682 Penn sailed for the New World. Already hundreds of Quakers had found homes on the banks of the Delaware, After cruising about for a while and visiting many places, Penn finally settled on a spot where the Schuylkill and the Delaware rivers flowed together. There he founded Philadelphia, *' the city of brotherly love." At the end of 1683 there were more than 350 houses, some of them built of brick. Penn built a brick house for himself, and the work was so well done that it stands to this day. Penn Seeks Settlers. In accordance with his liberal ideas Penn granted liberty of worship to all who be- heved in God. He gave the voters a share in the government by allowing them to elect an assembly. He invited the poor and oppressed from all parts of Europe to come and settle upon his lands. His call was soon heard. From Holland, France, and Ger- many, as well as England and Wales, settlers poured into Pennsylvania. WESTWARD, HO! 75 76 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Thousands of them were too poor to pay their passage over. To meet this difficulty, they bound themselves to labor for a term of years, after their arrival, in return for passage money or the passage itself. Those who did this were called " bond serv- ants" or " indentured servants." They were not slaves, because at the end of the term they were free to go where they wished and make homes for them- selves. About two thirds of those who migrated to Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century were bond servants. Such immigrants were found in other colonies also. Pennsylvania and Delaware. As things stood when Penn obtained his charter, his great domain was cut oflF from the sea by New Jersey on the east and by Delaware on the south. Delaware was first settled by the Swedes. Their leader, strange to say, was Peter Minuit, who had been the first governor of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, and who had been dismissed, as he thought, very unjustly. Minuit had then entered the service of Sweden, and in 1638 brought colonists over to the west bank of the Delaware. From the natives he bought land near the sites of the present cities of Newcastle and Wilmington. He built a blockhouse which he named Fort Christina in honor of the Queen of Sweden. For several years the tiny colony lived in peace, planting and trading with the Indians. All together, there were about 500 people in "New Sweden" in 1655. WESTWARD, HO! ^-J In the summer of that year Governor Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland swept up the Delaware River and called upon the Swedes to surrender. They yielded to the superior force and raised the Dutch flag. It did not fly very long, for In a few years the English in turn ousted the Dutch. ' In 1682 Delaware was granted to Penn, and until the War of American Independence it had the same governor as Pennsylvania, a member of the Penn family. In 1703, however, it was given a separate assembly of its own. VI. James Oglethorpe and Georgia Oglethorpe, the Soldier. A few days before Christ- mas, in 1696, there was born in London a child who was to win " a very high place among the heroes of American history," James Oglethorpe. In his youth he served in the army. In his manhood he became the founder of the colony of Georgia. A story of his soldier days illustrates both his courage and his quick wit. While he was in Europe, an insolent prince tossed a few drops of wine from a glass into Oglethorpe's face. This put the young soldier in a difficult situation. If he challenged the prince to a duel, he would be called quarrelsome. If he paid no attention, he would be called a coward. Oglethorpe smiled and said : " That is a good joke, but we do it much better in England." Thereupon he threw a whole glass of wine into the prince's face. An old 78 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY general sitting by laughed heartily and said : " He is right, my prince ; you commenced it." State of Prisoners in England. Though a seasoned soldier, Oglethorpe was a kind-hearted man and grieved at the misery in the world. He was specially moved by religious persecution and by Imprisonment for debt. According to the law in England in those days, any unfortunate man who could not pay his debts was put into jail. In hard times, the jails were filled with poor men whose sole crime was their inability to pay their creditors. Georgia Founded. Oglethorpe decided to found a colony for the poor and unfortunate. In 1732 he obtained from George II a charter to lands south of the Savannah River. He brought soldiers and debtors with him. In honor of the King, the new colony was called Georgia. Still more settlers came, and a pros- perous colony grew up under genial southern skies. In 1752 Georgia became a royal province. Questions and Exercises In what ways does the work of settlers differ from the work of treasure-seekers or fighters ? Why was it easier to find men to search for gold in the New World and to conquer the natives than to find men to go out with their families to make homes and to tin the soil ? I. To which group of men do you think that John Smith belonged, — the fighters and treasure-seekers or the settlers ? Among all the Englishmen who came to America In his time, why is his name remembered so well ? Find on the map Virginia and WESTWARD, HO! 79 Jamestown. What is meant by a plantation ? What is meant by representatives in a government ? Whom did the members of the House of Burgesses in Virginia represent ? Who are the people that now represent you in the government of the United States ? II. Locate Maryland and Baltimore. For whom was the city of Baltimore named ^ W'hat is meant by religious liberty ? There are in our country two great branches of the Christian religion, — the Catholics and the Protestants ; name some branches of the Protestant faith. Locate North Carolina, South Carolina, Albemarle, Charleston. The text states that the king of England granted the Carolinas to noblemen ; what is meant by this word ^ W^hat is the difference between a proprietary colony and a royal colony .'' III. Find on the map Massachusetts and Plymouth. Why was it more difficult to settle on the coast of Massachusetts than in Virginia or the Carolinas .'' What are some of the difficulties that the Pilgrims met during their first winter in Plymouth ^ How did their government at first differ from that of the settlers in \'irginia ^ Locate Boston and Salem. In what ways were the Puritan settlers at these places like the Pilgrim settlers at Plym- outh ? In what ways were they different ^ What is meant by a religious sect f Name some religious sects that you know about. How did the people of Alassachusetts treat newcomers who did not believe as they did in matters of religion ^ In what colony that we have studied about did the people welcome new- comers of different religious beliefs ^ What colonies were first settled by people who left Massachusetts because of the in- tolerance of the Puritans .? W^hy are the names of Roger W^il- liams and Anne Hutchinson remembered } Give as many reasons as you can think of to explain why the settlers in New England gave more attention to manufacturing, shipbuilding, and fishing than did the people of Virginia and the Carolinas. Locate Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Providence, Hartford, W^ethersfield, and Windsor. 8o A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY IV. What country is the home of the Dutch people ? Find this country on the map of Europe. In what direction and through what waters had Vasco da Gama and other Portuguese sailors reached the Far East ? In what direction and through what waters had Magellan and Drake sailed in going from the Atlantic to the Pacific ? In what direction and through what waters did Henry Hudson first try to reach eastern Asia .'' Study a large map showing Europe and Asia and find whether it would be possible to make a water trip from Europe to the Pacific Ocean by the route that Hudson first tried. He finally attempted to find a "Northwest Passage" to the Pacific; study a large map of North America and find whether this would have been possible. Why can we say that discovery of the Hudson River was really the result of an accident .'' Find on the map the Hudson River, Staten Island, Manhattan Island. What city is now located in part on these islands ^ What name was first given to this settle- ment by the Dutch ? Locate Albany. How did the English come into possession of the Dutch settlements ^ Find New Jersey on the map. Between what great rivers does the northern part of New Jersey lie ^ Locate Elizabeth, Newark. V. In what ways do the Quakers difi'er from other Protestant sects ? What other sects that we have studied about were per- secuted in England at this time and what colonies were founded in America as a refuge from the persecutions ^ How did the Quakers happen to settle in Philadelphia and the country round about ? How did the Quakers treat people who did not agree with them in religion? In what other colonies have we found a similar treatment ? Locate on the map Pennsylvania, the Delaware River, the Schuylkill River, Philadelphia. From what country did the first settlers in Delaware come ? Find this country on a map of Europe. Locate Delaware and Wilmington. VI. Locate Georgia. What is meant by imprisonment for debt ? Can you think of any reasons why it is unwise as well as WESTWARD, HO! 8 1 unjust to send men to prison for not paying their debts r Georgia was at first a refuge for debtors ; what other colonies had been founded as places of refuge for people who were ill-treated in England ? In what ways do you think that the early settlers in Georgia differed from the settlers in these other "refuge" colonies ? Suggestions for Reading Hart's Source Readers in American History, No. i, Colonial Children, pp. 133-152, 165-182 (describes life in the various colo- nies) ; Helen A. Smith and S. T. Button's The Colonies (treats of all the colonies) ; Gertrude L. Stone and M. Grace Pickett's Everyday Life in the Colonies (information in story form on colonial life in New England, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and Georgia) ; James Johonnot's Stories of Our Country, pp. 15-23 (John Smith), pp. 24-29 (Henry Hudson), pp. 32-37 (Roger Williams), pp. 72-77 (Wm. Penn) ; Eggleston's Our First Century, pp. 21-60 (Vir- ginia), pp. 61-100 (New England), pp. 106-110 (Maryland), pp. 1 15-128 (the Carolinas), pp. 129-138 (New Jersey and Pennsyl- vania) ; Roland G. Usher's The Story of the Pilgrims for Children; Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 38-48 (John Smith), pp. 59-72 (Miles Standish), pp. 73-84 (Peter Stuyvesant), pp. 108- 117 (Wm. Penn); Southworth's Builders of Our Country, pp. 73- 88 (John Smith), pp. 89-100 (Miles Standish), pp. 101-109 (John Winthrop), pp. 110-114 (Roger Williams), pp. 123-129 (Henry Hudson), pp. 1 30-141 (Peter Minuit and Peter Stuyvesant) ; pp. 179-186 (Lord Baltimore), pp. 187-196 (Wm. Penn), pp. 197-200 (James Oglethorpe) ; McMurry's Pioneers on Land and Sea, pp. 68-102, 108-121 (John Smith), pp. 35-46 (Henry Hudson) ; Dick- son's Camp and Trail iji Early American History, pp. 129-148 (Peter Stuyvesant) ; Rossiter Johnson's Captain John Smith and R. S. Holland's William Penn in True Stories of Great Americans. 82 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Problems for Further Study Compare the way that immigrants come to our country to-day with the way that they came in colonial times. Do immigrants have the same reasons for coming to-day ? Why did the colonists usually settle either on the seacoast or along the banks of the rivers ? Give as many facts as you can showing that the people of this country to-day enjoy religious liberty. CHAPTER V THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA The Problem : Two Ambitious Nations and a Rich Territory. North and west of the English colonies stretched a vast domain of fertile lands, embracing the Mississippi Valley and the region of the Great Lakes. From their outposts in Canada the French looked upon this territory and longed to possess it. The English too became more and more interested as their frontier line moved inland from the seaboard. Both peoples were energetic and ambitious. Neither was willing to see the other gain any great advantage in the race for the possession of new territory. Thus a grave problem arose for the statesmen of both countries. It was, in brief, this : " How can we occupy and hold securely the western country ? " The solution of the problem called for explorers, hunters, soldiers, and settlers. Finally the efforts of the two nations ended in a clash of arms which de- cided the fate of North America. I. French Ambitions and La Salle The Grand Monarch. In 1643 a boy of five was proclaimed King of France. He was called Louis XIV 83 84 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY and he is known to history as " The Grand Monarch." For seventy-two years he ruled France, and during The Parts of America Which Were Claimed by England, France, and Spain his long reign his armies were fighting on the continent of Europe to win more territory and more glory. The fame of his generals spread throughout all Europe. THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA 85 While they were extending the power of France on the European continent, Louis' ministers and sub- jects decided to build a New France in Canada. Already a French explorer, Champlain, had ranged far and wide in the St. Lawrence region and had founded a post at Quebec (1608). A year before Louis came to the throne a fort had been built at Montreal. These, however, were but small be- ginnings. Something more would have to be done if France was to become a mighty power in America. New and daring pio- neer work was needed to carry the banner of Louis XIV west and Louis XIV, the Proud King of France, south from the posts on the St. Lawrence. La Salle. In the year that Louis XIV was crowned there was born at Rouen, an old town to the northwest of Paris, a boy who was to plant the French flag in the Mississippi Valley. The name of this child was Whose Name La Salle Gave to the Lou- isiana Territory 86 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Robert Chevalier, Sieur de la Salle. His father was a wealthy merchant and able to give Robert an excellent education. At one time the youth thought of becom- ing a priest in the Catholic church. But when his father died, he received a small sum of money from the estate and sailed away to Canada to seek his fortune. He was then twenty-three years old, — proud, ambitious, and headstrong. He did not care for games and pleas- ures, but longed to do something unusual in the world. La Salle and the Ohio River. As soon as La Salle reached Montreal, he began to study Indian languages and did not stop until he had mastered seven or eight of them. From the Indians he learned of a great river, the Ohio, that rose in the land of the Seneca- Iroquois Indians. This river, it was said, flowed south and west into the ocean. At once La Salle was fired with an idea. This, he thought, must be a water- way into the Pacific Ocean ! If so, it would be possible to reach China and Japan by water and win for France some of the trade that had enriched Spain and England. La Salle was a man of action. He hurried at once to the governor at Quebec and obtained the right to explore at his own expense. He sold some of his land and bought canoes. With a small party he paddled away from his post southwest of Montreal in the summer of 1669. Of his journey we know little. It appears that he went overland from Lake Erie until he reached a branch of the Ohio. Down THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA 87 that river he floated as far, certainly, as the falls of the Ohio near the present site of Louisville, Kentucky. It may be that he went as far as the Mississippi. His men, worn out and afraid of the Indians, deserted and left him to find his way home alone as best he could through the forests. Exploring the Lake Region. The next year La Salle made another expedition into the West. He journeyed along the shores of Lake Ontario, carried his canoes around the falls of Niagara, and, launching them above the falls, paddled to Lake Erie. Follow- ing the shore of this lake he reached the Detroit River. Thence he proceeded northward through Lake Huron, and southward along the shores of Lake Michigan. Thence he crossed to a river flowing west- ward, the Illinois, and floated for a long distance on the current of that stream. It has been claimed that he even went down the Mississippi River; but this claim has not been proved. The honor of discovering the upper waters of that great river, in 1673, be- longs to two other Frenchmen, Father Marquette, a Catholic missionary, and Joliet, a ranger of the forests. La Salle's Plan. La Salle had seen the rich valley of the Ohio and the fertile prairies of the Illinois. Compared with Canada, that distant country seemed like a paradise. Through his earlier journeys. La Salle had learned the true course of the Ohio River, and had come to suspect that, through the Mississippi, its waters 88 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY flowed southward into the Gulf of Mexico. He, there- fore, formed a plan to secure this river for his King against the advancing English. France already held the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes. If the French had a fort at the mouth of the Mississippi and posts along the rivers flowing into it, they could possess the great West forever. So thought La Salle. After the idea came to him, he could not rest. He hastened to France to secure the approval of the King for his plans. In 1678 he obtained from Louis XIV permission " to labor at the discovery of the western parts of New France." He was also given the right to build forts at such places as he thought necessary. La Salle then borrowed money wherever he could get it. On a part of it he paid as high as forty per cent interest. He gathered a company of men about him and sailed for Canada. Down the Mississippi (1682). Early in August, 1679, La Salle and his men started out upon Lake Erie. Keeping to the water route, they sailed and paddled until they reached the southern end of Lake Michigan. There they left the lake country for the Illinois River. After many wanderings (including a trip all the way back to Montreal) La Salle was at last out on the waters of the Mississippi in February, 1682. Once on the Mississippi, La Salle and his men found travel easy as compared with what they had suffered for three long years. Day after day they floated down the roUine flood. THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA 89 Meetings with Indians. They often met friendly Indians. Near the Arkansas they had a jolly time with a tribe that bore the name of that river. " The whole village," wrote one of the voyagers afterwards, " came down to the shore to meet us, except the women, who had run off." For several days in March, they feasted and smoked with the Arkansas natives. A good priest preached to the savages, and La Salle got them to take an oath of loyalty to King Louis XIV. Still farther down, La Salle met the Natchez Indians. In their country also he erected a cross and proclaimed the rule of the King of France. Taking Possession of Louisiana. In a few more days he was at the mouth of the Mississippi, gazing upon the lonely waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The great deed was done. He had traversed the wilderness between Canada and the Gulf. Gathering his men around him. La Salle planted a column on which was written in French : " Louis the Great, King of France and Navarre, reigns ; April 9, 1682." The priests chanted their grandest hymns. The soldiers fired volleys from their muskets. Then, amid deep silence, La Salle strode to a place near the column and in a loud voice took possession of the land, " in the name of the most high, mighty, invincible, and victorious prince, Louis the Great." In honor of the King, he named the new country " Louisiana." His words were greeted with the rattle of musketry and cries of " Long live the King ! " 90 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA 91 A cross was placed beside the column and a leaden plate was buried near it bearing the arms of France. Then the company joined in the ancient hymn : "The banners of Heaven's King advance, The mystery of the Cross shines forth." As a result of La Salle's work the King of France laid claim to the whole of the Mississippi basin from the Allegheny Mountains to the Rocky Mountains, from the Rio Grande River to the Great Lakes. Verily it was a glorious day for the tireless voyager. The End of La Salle. La Salle was wise enough to know, however, that high-sounding words could not hold a country. He therefore went back to France to start another expedition. Again he was successful in finding men and money. In July, 1684, with four ships and a party of soldiers, mechanics, and their wives, he sailed for the mouth of the Mississippi to establish a fort and a settlement. In skirting along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, he missed his goal and drifted to the coast of Texas. There his men grew im- patient and mutinous and one of them, hidden in the long grass, shot him dead. Thus perished La Salle, in 1687. As one of his friends wrote, he was "one of the greatest men of this time." French Forts in the Ohio Country. The task so well begun by this bold explorer was carried forward by hundreds who came after him. All through the valleys of the Mississippi and the Ohio and around the 92 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Great Lakes French forts were built to hold the Louisiana territory. From New Orleans to Quebec these forts flew the flag of France. Finally, in 1753, a fort was built at Venango on a little stream that forms one of the upper branches of the Ohio. The French had now openly challenged the English. The governor of Virginia, heeding the challenge, sent young George Washington to warn them against violating English rights. II. George Washington and the French and Indian War The Virginia Youth. It was fitting that Washington should be chosen for this task. He had spent a long time on the frontier as a surveyor. He knew the wilderness and was deeply interested in the Ohio country. From early boyhood he had led an active life in the open air and was hardened for any task calling for bravery and endurance. Though the son of a well-to-do Virginia planter, Washington had never enjoyed the sheltered and soft life of luxury. His father died in 1743 when George was only eleven years old, and it was mainly to his elder brothers that he owed his early training. From one of them he inherited the fine old estate at Mt. Vernon. His Education. Only a few scraps of information about his education have come down to us. It is supposed that he attended school for a short time at Wakefield. We know that, while living at his mother's THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA 93 house, he was a pupil in a school kept by a clergyman in Fredericksburg, His school days, it seems, were brief. That he was a diligent pupil is shown by the copybooks which he wrote while a little boy. That he was a real boy is proved by the funny pictures of Mount Vernon, Washington's Home in Virginia birds and faces found scattered among his arithmetic problems. It is related that he was " good at figures," but his spelling and grammar were bad. His early education was limited mainly to reading, writing, and common arithmetic. To these he later added the art of sur- veying lands. Long after he was grown up he im- proved his style of writing by studying the best authors. 94 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY His Appearance. When he reached manhood, Wash- ington was six feet two inches tall in his stocking feet. His frame was large and muscular. One who knew him well wrote of him : " His features are manly and bold, his eyes of a bluish cast and very lively ; his hair a deep brown, his face rather long and marked with smallpox ; his complexion sunburnt and without much color; and his countenance sensible, composed, and thoughtful ; there is a remarkable air of dignity about him." Washington Becomes a Pioneer. At the early age of sixteen, Washington was engaged by an English nobleman. Lord Fairfax, to survey his estate in western Virginia. This expedition carried him out to the frontier and gave him the first touch of rude life in the forests. Pleased with the work of the youth. Lord Fairfax secured for him the office of public surveyor. This post Washington filled with credit to himself for three years. Perhaps no one in Virginia was better fitted than he to carry a message from the Governor of Virginia to the French in the western wilderness. Washington Sent to Warn the French. With a small company of frontiersrrlen, Washington set out for the Ohio country to warn the French to keep off English territory. They pushed on through underbrush, for- est, and swamp until they reached the French post at Venango. In that region they found the French com- mander. They delivered the letter from the governor of Virginia and received a polite reply. On the way THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA 95 back, Washington had only one companion. He fell from a raft into a deep river, and in the night his clothes froze on his body. Indians waylaid the two men and tried to murder them. Wild beasts dogged their tracks, George Washington with His Companion Returning through the Wilder- ness FROM His Journey to Warn the French to Keep out of English Territory but they finally arrived safely at Williamsburg, the little capital of Virginia. Fighting in the West. In 1754 Washington was sent out with troops to the western part of Pennsylvania to repel the French, who had advanced in spite of his warning and had built Fort Duquesne at the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers unite to 96 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY form the Ohio, and where the city of Pittsburgh now stands. His troops soon clashed with the French and there was a sharp exchange of blows. This was the first blood shed in the French and Indian War that put an end to the rule of France in America. The French, roused by Washington's stroke, rallied new forces and attacked him at Fort Necessity. He was outnumbered and compelled to surrender. The French, however, let him return home. Braddock's Defeat. The next year the real struggle began. In 1755 an experienced English commander. General Braddock, arrived in Virginia with two regiments of picked men. All the people in the country about Alexandria came to see "the pomp and glitter." Washington looked on with eager eyes. Braddock heard of him and gave him a post on his staff. Braddock was narrow-minded and proud. When he moved his troops out into the wilderness against the French, he marched FEATED IN THE French AND them in full array with banners Indian War ^ . itt i • • i n nymg. Washmgton tried to tell him how frontiersmen fought behind trees and rocks. The haughty general refused to listen and ordered his men forward. Just after they crossed the Monongahela River, the Indians and French lired on them from Western Pennsylvania WHERE Braddock Was De- THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA 97 bushes and behind trees. The forest rang with the war cries of savages who could not be seen, and bullets fiew thick and fast. As Washington had expected, the English troops were baffled. They were brave, but they had never seen fighting like this in a dense forest. They fled like deer. The few Virginia militiamen, trained in Indian warfare, could not rally them. Washington dashed into the midst of the fray. He tried to bring up the cannon, but the artillerymen would not fight. He ran hither and thither attempting to stay the rout. Two horses were shot down under him. Four bullets went through his coat. Braddock was mortally wounded and carried from the field dying. Washington came out of the terrible affair the one hero. Every- body knew that he was a real soldier, cool and brave under fire. He had seen British regulars beaten on American soil. He never forgot that July day in 1755. His countrymen never forgot it either. III. William Pitt, the Great Empire-Builder Pitt, the Statesman. Two years after the disaster to Braddock, a masterful man came to the head of affairs in England. This was William Pitt, a states- man of high renown. He was bom in November, 1708, and was educated at the University of Oxford. He had entered Parliament while a young man and had spent his days in public life. When he became the King's high minister in 1757, 98 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Pitt saw that the British empire was in danger. He set vigorously to work to raise men and money to save it. The Prussians were fighting the French on the continent, so he helped them with money. He told his countrymen that he would conquer America for them in Germany. That was not quite true, for he sent fleets and armies to America to fight also. Pitt Sends General Wolfe to America. Seeing that things were not going well in America, Pitt looked about for a commander who could turn the tide of ill fortune. He found him in James Wolfe, then thirty-two years old. Wolfe's father was a soldier, and he had heard of arms and wars from his earliest childhood. At the age of sixteen he was fighting in great battles on the continent of Europe. At the age of twenty-three he was in command of a regiment. " My utmost desire and ambition," he wrote to his mother, " is to look steadily upon danger." This was the man that Pitt chose to overthrow French rule in North America. When the news got abroad that Wolfe was selected for the task, some one complained to the King, saying that the young general was mad. " Mad, is he ? " retorted the King. " Then I hope he will bite some others of my generals." In the winter of 1759 the " madman " sailed away with an army and a fleet for the St. Lawrence. The Capture of Quebec. In September of that year, after much fighting with no important results, Wolfe was on the St. Lawrence near Quebec. He de- THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA 99 cided to take his men on a dark night up the high river bank to the plains near the city and attack the French. A friend who was with him that night tells us that the young general, as they rowed along with muffled oars, recited his favorite poem, Gray's " Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard." In it there is a line that proved to be a prophecy for him : "The paths of glory lead but to the grave." Silently Wolfe's men crept up to the plains near Quebec. Early in the morning the French General Montcalm was astonished to see them ready to at- tack. Wolfe led his men to the fray. A shot shattered his wrist. A second staggered him. A third brought him to earth, just as the cry rose that the French were running. Wolfe then gave his last orders and turned over on his side. " Now," he said, " God be praised, I shall die in peace." A little later the French com- mander, Montcalm, was mortally wounded also. In a few hours Quebec was surrendered to the British. For another year the contest between the English and the French went on. The colonial troops fought bravely on the frontiers. The French garrison at Montreal surrendered in 1760. Canada and the terri- tory as far west as the Mississippi, except New Orleans, passed under the British flag. New Orleans and Louisiana beyond the Mississippi were transferred to Spain by treaty. All through the English colonies there was great lOO A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY rejoicing. " God has given us to sing this day the downfall of New France . . . New England's rival ! " exclaimed a Puritan preacher when he heard the news. Another preacher predicted that the America now won for the British colonies would have sixty The Death of General Wolfe From a painting by Benjamin West million souls within a hundred and fifty years. " Let us fear God," he "said, " and honor the King and be peaceable subjects of an easy and happy government." The prophecy came true. There were many more than sixty million people in the United States in 1910. The prayer, however, was not fulfilled. The colonists THE CLASH OF EMPIRES IN AMERICA loi were not to be peaceable and happy subjects of an easy government. Within a few years they were to clash with the King of England and overthrow his armies on the field of battle. Questions and Exercises About what explorers sent out by the French have we already learned ? What parts of the New World did they visit ? I. The text states that Louis XIV was made King of France in 1643 ; does France have a king to-day ? Locate Quebec. What lake was named after the man who founded Quebec .'' Why did La Salle study the languages of the Indians ? Study a map of Ohio and find how La Salle might have passed with his canoes from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Trace on a map the route that La Salle probably took in his later voyage when he reached the Mississippi. Trace the route that he took when he succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Mississippi. W^hat is meant by the Mississippi basin I Find on the map the states that now lie wholly or partly within the Mississippi basin. II. Find Mount Vernon on a map of Virginia. Near what city is it located } Thousands of people visit Mount Vernon every year; why .^ In what ways do you think that young George Washington was well fitted to carry the message from the Governor of Virginia to the French ? Why was this a difficult and danger- ous task .'' Trace the route that Washington and Gist took in traveling from Virginia to the French fort at Venango. Locate Fort Duquesne. Trace Braddock's march, and find on the map the point where he was defeated. III. What did William Pitt mean when he told the English people that he "would conquer America for them in Germany".'* Give as many reasons as you can to show why it was so important for the English to capture Quebec. Study the pictures showing I02 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY the fortress at Quebec and tell why it would be difficult to capture such a stronghold. Suggestions for Reading Guerber's Story of the Thirteen Colonies, pp. 174-183 (Cham- plain, Joliet, La Salle), pp. 191-199 (Washington's early life), pp. 206-209 (Braddock's defeat) ; Dickson's Camp and Trail in Early American History, pp. 1 10-128 (La Salle); Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 96-107 (Marquette, La Salle), pp. 11 7-1 25 (Washington), pp. 126-135 (Wolfe); Edward Channing and Marion Florence Lansing's The Story of the Great Lakes, pp. 49-72 (La Salle) ; Southworth's Builders of Our Country, pp. 153-160 (Champlain), pp. 226-243 (Montcalm and Wolfe) ; McMurry's Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley, pp. 16-53 (La Salle) ; Mc- Murry's Pioneers on Land and Sea, pp. 227-261 (Washington's early life) ; Louise S. Hasbrouck's La Salle, in True Stories of Great Americans ; Johonnot's Stories of Our Country, pp. 81-85 (French and Indian War), pp. 85-94 (Washington). Problems for Further Study Make a careful study of the map of North America and find why the French settlers at Quebec and Montreal were able to go to the region of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River more easily than the English settlers in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England. England has owned Canada since 1760; how many years have passed since that time } If you were to visit Quebec and Montreal, you would find a large number of people who do not speak English ; what language do you think they use and why } CHAPTER VI THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE The Problem : British Restrictions and American Energy. In 1763 war between England and France was brought to a close by a treaty of peace. The w^ar with France had been costly and the Eng- lish national debt was very large. English statesmen thought that the American colonists ought to help bear the expense. To the English this seemed just. Aioreover, it would reduce taxes at home. English leaders also thought that American trade and industry should be controlled in such a way as to benefit English merchants and manufacturers. The King of England, George III, was a very stubborn man, who had a high notion about his own rights and was bent on having his own way. He approved every plan brought up in Parliament to tax and control American colonies. The Americans, however, were sturdy, self-reliant, and independent in spirit. They had helped with men and money in the war with France. They were unwilling to be taxed by the British government three thousand miles away. They declared that they would only pay taxes which they voted themselves. They were also very enterprising in matters of trade. They 103 I04 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY could build ships as swift and strong as any that sailed the sea. They had iron and other natural resources. They wanted to manufacture for themselves. The Dutch and French were anxious to trade freely with them. The English government, however, would not let the Americans trade freely with other coun- tries. It also discour- aged manufacturing in the American colonies. The Americans, how- ever, were ready to defend their rights against all outside in- terference. Thus was created a grave problem both for the English gov- ernment and the American colonies. The English King and his supporters clung stoutly to their views. The Americans clung just as firmly to theirs. A clash of opinion could not be avoided. The King of England had his spokesmen. In the colonies many able men came forward to state the principles of American George III in Full Regalia Felt Himself Every Inch a King This is from a painting made while he was ruler of the American colonies THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 105 liberty. Two of them, Samuel Adams of Massachusetts and Patrick Henry of Virginia, stood out above all others. In the story of their lives may be read the open- ing scenes of the struggle for American independence. I. Samuel Adams : The Man of the Town Meeting The Stamp Tax Opposed in Boston. In 1765 the news reached Boston that the British government had laid a stamp tax on papers, books, and docu- ments used in America. The money from the tax was to support British soldiers and officers in the colonies. Samuel Adams to the Front. People everywhere were indignant. In Bos- ton they found a spokes- man in Samuel Adams. No one understood his fel- low-citizens better. He was born in Boston in 1722. He had attended narvara V^OUege. /\Iter Samuel Adams, the Leader of the finishing his college course, American Revolution in Massa- A 1 Til mi CHUSETTS Adams studied law. Then he worked as a merchant's helper. Later he became his father's partner in the brewing business. On his io6 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY father's death he inherited the brewery, but could not make a success of it. Adams in Town Politics. Adams served for nine years as a tax collector in Boston, but he was so lenient with the taxpayers that they would not pay promptly. He was the ruling spirit in political clubs and in local affairs. He attended town meetings regularly and was often chosen chairman. He wrote political articles for the Boston newspapers and was a deep student of books on government. Adams became a popular figure, and his friends included mechanics, merchants, and sailors, — -many of whom he knew by their first names. He was not an orator, but a manager of men. The Stamp Act Congress. When Adams heard of the British Stamp Act, he aroused the people of Boston to protest against it. This tax, he said, was only a beginning. " Why not tax our lands and everything we possess or make use of ^ " he asked at a public meeting. The townspeople, pleased with his speech, elected him to the Massa- chusetts legislature. He immediately induced it to pass a resolution calling on all the colonies to send delegates to a Stamp Act Con- gress in New York. Several colonies answered the call. The Congress drew up a protest against the stamp tax and drafted a declaration of the rights of the colonies. ^«SHILlL!OJ(Br; Stamp Act Stamps THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 107 Other Oppressive Laws. The hated Stamp Act was repealed by the British government, but in a Httle while another tax was laid on glass, lead, paper, tea, and a few other commodities. These things were not produced in America, but were brought in ships from other countries, and especially from England. The taxes, then, would have to be paid before the ships could send the goods ashore, or the colonists would be forced to do without the goods. Somewhat later Par- liament favored the British East India Company and made it possible for it to sell tea at a lower rate than the Boston merchants could sell it. They were indig- nant at the unfair advantage given the India Company, and prepared to resist the sale ot the tea. The Massachusetts Circular. These and other meas- ures once more stirred Samuel Adams to action. For the Massachusetts legislature he wrote, in 1768, a " Circular Letter " to the other colonists, setting forth American rights: (i) First among them was the right to be taxed only by their own legislatures elected by the voters. (2) The Parliament of Great Britain could not " grant their property without their con- sent." It was impossible for the colonists to send representatives three thousand miles to London. (3) Therefore, they must have the right to tax them- selves. (4) Royal officers in the colonies should be paid only out of taxes the people themselves voted. The Americans were not " disloyal." They " re- spectfully " laid their rights before the King and i08 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY petitioned for relief. For this frank declaration, the royal governor ordered the members of the Massa- chusetts assembly to go home and stay there. Adams and the Boston Massacre. In 1770, some of the King's soldiers in Boston quarreled with the people on the streets and fired upon them, killing three Northern Colonies on the Eve of the Revolution and wounding several. Quick as a flash, Samuel Adams and his friends called a meeting in Faneuil Hall to protest against the presence of royal troops in the town. In the name of the people, Adams went straight to the royal governor and told him that the soldiers would have to go. The governor at first refused. THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 109 Then he consented to send one of the regiments away. " Both regiments," said Adams, " or none." It was dangerous business to talk this way to the King's high officer; but Adams won by his firmness. Adams and the Committees of Correspondence. Although Boston was the center of opposition to the British in New England, Adams stirred up the smaller towns throughout that region. He wrote hundreds of letters telling the friends of the American cause to form town committees. Each committee selected a secretary, who wrote to the neighboring towns and so kept the news going. Faded copies of the replies received by Adams from his " correspondents " are still in existence. One letter is signed in the rough handwriting of a fisher- man. Another is signed by a blacksmith who turned aside from his flaming forge to tell Adams how thi'ngs were going in his town. A supporter of the British saw in these committees of humble folk the germs of trouble for the King. " I saw the seed," he wrote, " when it was planted ; it was a grain of mustard. I have watched the plant until it has become a great tree." Samuel Adams planted the seed, watered it, and tended the growing plant. Adams and the "Boston Tea Party." In 1773 the cheap tea of the British East India Company arrived in the harbor of Boston. The whole town was agog and a meeting was held in the Old South Church. The speakers demanded that the owner of the tea ships take the vessels away. The governor would not permit no A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY this. Then Samuel Adams boldly told the crowd that talking in meetings would do nothing to save the country. That was a clear hint. In a few minutes an Indian whoop was heard in the street. A band of Boston men, disguised as " Mohawks," ^ rushed down to the wharf and tossed the tea overboard into the sea. This was a serious outbreak. Great Britain answered by closing the port of Boston and forbidding all further town meetings, Adams and the Continental Congress. As In 1765 when the Stamp Act was passed, another assembly of delegates from the colonies was called in the new crisis. Massachusetts, again under the influence of Adams, took the lead in calling it. So it came about that in 1774 the first Continental Congress was as- sembled in Philadelphia. Samuel Adams and his cousin, John Adams, were among the men selected by Massachusetts to represent that colony. Unhappily Samuel was so poor that he had no " fine clothes " to wear. His neighbors knew his plight and bought him a complete outfit, not overlooking silver buckles for his shoes and a gold-headed cane. All the people had heard of him and at every large town on the way to Philadelphia he was cheered and honored at public banquets. ^The Mohawks were a famous tribe of Indians that lived in central and north- ern New York. THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE III II. Patrick Henry, the Orator of the Revolution A Son of Old Virginia. While at Philadelphia, Samuel Adams met many of the first men of America. Among them was a delegate from Virginia, Patrick Henry, as famous in America to-day as Adams himself. Henry, like Adams, was not rich in this world's goods. He was born in Virginia in 1736, one among nine children. His early life was spent on a farm not far from Richmond. He at- tended the common school until he was ten years old, learning reading, writing, and arithmetic. The rest of his education he re- ceived from his father. By the age of fifteen he knew Latin, some Greek, and a great deal of history. He learned to play the violin and flute. He played, hunted, read, and was a dutiful son. When Henrv was fifteen vears old, he and his brother 'aTRIi. K Ill-.XRY, THE Ll.ADF.R OF THE American Revolution in Virginia rt2 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY were set up in business in a country store. This ven- ture proved unfortunate. The Henry Brothers failed because, it is said, they were too generous in giving credit to their customers. Patrick married the daughter of a neighbor, who brought him some slaves and a few hundred acres of land. He was not very successful as a farmer. Neither did he prosper in an effort to com- bine farming with storekeeping. Then he tried a new line. He took up the study and practice of law. A Famous Case. In making his plea to the jury at a certain trial, in which he took the side of the taxpayers against the King, Henry took the ground that the King had no right to annul a law made by Virginia. In doing this, he declared, the King had become a ty- rant, and forfeited all rights to obedience. This was defiant talk. Some bystanders thought it treasonable to speak in such a way about the King. The taxpayers won their case. In a riotous outburst of joy, the people lifted Henry to their shoulders and carried him about the streets. By their action they declared, in effect. If not in so many words : " Virginia will govern herself, make her own laws, and lay her own taxes. She will not allow a king three thousand miles away to dictate to her." Henry and the Stamp Act. In the very year that England passed the Stamp Act, Patrick Henry entered the Virginia legislature. He soon made himself the leader of the sturdy farmers of the western frontier. Opposed to him were " the aristocrats," as the royalist THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 113 planters on the seaboard were styled. He offered a set of resolutions against the stamp tax. Then fol- lowed one of the greatest debates in American history. Henry made a fiery speech. As he denounced the Stamp Act and George HI, friends of the King cried out: "Treason! treason!" With the help of the Scotch-Irish and Huguenot farmers from the inland Southern Colonies on the Eve of the Revolution counties he carried the resolutions. Patrick Henry was now the leading spirit of the Revolution in Virginia. Patrick Henry Calls upon Virginia to Take Up Arms. When the quarrel with England was renewed in 1774, Virginia naturally elected Patrick Henry to the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia. While he was there he became convinced that a break with England 114 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY was sure to come. After his return home a convention was called to meet at Richmond and decide upon the future course of Virginia. Henry at once proposed resolutions in fa- vor of taking up arms in defense of American rights. This was a danger- ous step, and it was stoutly op- posed by able men. They warned him against hasty ac- tion. They ad- vised peaceful negotiations with Great Britain — petitions, argu- ments, and remon- strances against British policies in America. Henry's Rousing Oration (1775). Patrick Henry rose to his full height and delivered an oration that will never perish from American memory. He had, he The Middle Colonies on the Eve of the Revolution THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 115 said, but one lamp to guide him, the lamp of experi- ence. Judging the future by the past, he believed that no trust could be placed in the promises of the King's ministers. The American people had petitioned and been spurned. Now the time had come for action. With intense feeling Henry swept forward with his argument and plea while men sat breathless under his spell. Then he came to the end : " If we wish to be free . . . we must fight. . . . An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left to us. . . . There is no retreat but in submission and slavery ! Our chains are forged ! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston ! The war is inevitable — and let it come ! I repeat, sir, let it come ! . . . The next gale that sweeps from the North will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms ! Our brethren are already in the field ! Why stand we here idle ? What is it that gentlemen wish ? What would they have ? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery ? Forbid it, Almighty God ! I know not what course others may take ; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death ! " The orator closed. The die was cast. Virginia prepared for the armed conflict. The Second Continental Congress. In the year 1775 the second Continental Congress assembled in Phila- delphia. Henry was there with Thomas Jefferson. He was also among the first to urge a declaration of independence in 1776. When Virginia became a state. ii6 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Henry was chosen first governor and served for four terms in succession. He lived through the great struggle and saw his country free and independent. The Tomb of Patrick Henry Which Is Marked by a Simple Marble Slab In 1799 he died, and his grave was marked by a plain marble slab, bearing this inscription : " His name is his best epitaph." III. Edmund Burke, the British Friend of America English Sympathy with Americans. By no means all King George's subjects in Great Britain favored the policy of taxing the colonists and interfering with their trade. The great William Pitt, who sent General Wolfe to conquer Canada, was opposed to the Stamp Act. So was an able orator, Edmund Burke, born and educated in Ireland. THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 117 Burke's Knowledge of American Affairs. Burke was accustomed to look on things with independent eyes. He was elected to Parliament in the year of the Stamp Act, 1765, at the age of thirty-six. Among his first speeches was a plea for the repeal of the law that had made so much trouble in America. He be- came acquainted with Benjamin Franklin, who was the agent of Pennsylvania in England nearly all the time from 1757 to 1775. Burke acted as the agent of New York in London, looking after the affairs of that colony. He was a close student besides. Accord- ingly he was unusually well informed about America. Burke on Taxation. When King George and Parlia- ment seemed bent upon raising money in America, Burke made a famous speech on American questions (1774). He urged the repeal of all taxes. He said that it would be much better to lose the money than to take it by methods that all true Englishmen felt to be unjust, — that is by taxing people without permitting them to be represented in the body that levies the taxes. He urged Parliament to retrace its steps to the older days when no taxes had been laid on the colonists. " Until you come back to that system," he exclaimed with true insight, " there will be no peace for England." Burke on Conciliation. The next year, 1775, Burke made a still more noted speech on friendly dealings with the colonies. He cited facts and figures on colonial life and trade, which showed that he understood his sub- ject. He gave six important reasons why conciliation Il8 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY was better than harsh measures : (i) The colonists were descendants of the EngHsh who had always been a Hberty-loving people. (2) They had their local assemblies, elected by the voters ; so they knew a great deal about managing their own affairs. (3) In the northern colonies, the spirit of religious freedom was strong and opposition to the King and bishops very marked. (4) The planters of the South were proud and independent and resented interference from Eng- land. (5) Education was widespread and the colo- nists had leaders, especially lawyers, who could speak and act for them. (6) The colonies were far across the sea and not easily curbed by the British government. Hence, he argued, " a fierce spirit of liberty has grown up." In Burke's opinion there were three things that England might do. She might try to change the spirit of the colonists, but in that she would fail. She might prosecute the colonists as criminals, but that, he thought, was not wise. The third and right thing to do, declared Burke, was to repeal the hated laws and bind the colonists to England by bonds of friend- ship and trade — the way of peace and conciliation. His plea fell on deaf ears. Parliament would not heed it. The King and his high advisers laughed at it. In a few years they learned to their sorrow that Burke was right. It was then too late to act on his advice. THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 119 Questions and Exercises What is meant by a tax ? What things that are done for you are paid for by taxes ? In what other ways is the money raised by taxation spent ? Why did the rulers of England think that the colonists in America should be taxed to pay some of the expenses of the war between England and France ? Why did the Americans dislike to pay such taxes ? Why did the English Government refuse to let the Americans trade freely with other countries ? What is meant by manufacturing ? Why did the Government discourage manufacturing in the colonies ? How would the people of your town or city feel if a far-off government in which they had no share laid taxes upon them without their consent ? How would they feel if such a government refused to let them trade freely or to engage in manufacturing ? . I. What is meant by a stamp tax ? Do you know of any stamp taxes that our Government now levies ? Are postage stamps a form of taxation ? Why or why not ? Locate Boston. What people had settled Boston ? How long had Boston been settled when the trouble about taxes began ? Why is it easy to lay taxes on goods shipped into a country ? Why did the people of Boston destroy the tea that came in the ships of the East India Company ? Give as many reasons as you can showing why Samuel Adams is remembered as one of the great American leaders. II. What people had settled in Virginia ? How long before the trouble over taxes .'' How did they differ from the settlers of Massachusetts ? When the tax trouble came, what group of Virginians was foremost in protesting against what they thought to be the injustice of the English Government? How did the position of Patrick Henry and his followers in Virginia differ from the positiofi of Samuel Adams and his followers in Massachusetts ? What is meant by an oration ^ Study the sentences from Patrick Henry's oration as given on page 115; what did he mean when he said, "Our chains are forged"? What, in his opinion, was I20 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY dearer even than life itself ? The name of Patrick Henry is one of the best remembered in the history of our country ; why ? III. What is the English Parliament? To what law-making body in our country is it similar ? If many people in England were opposed to taxing the colonists without their consent, how did it happen that the English government kept on levying the taxes ? What is meant by conciliation ? Why did Burke believe that the English government should try to conciliate the colonies instead of further angering them ? Suggestions for Reading Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book II, pp. i-8 (Pat- rick Henry), pp. 9-23 (Samuel Adams) ; Guerber's Story of the Thirteen Colonies, pp. 214-228 (tax-troubles); Johonnot's Stories of Our Country, pp. 94-98 (Patrick Henry) ; E. A. Brooks's Stories of the Old Bay State, pp. 109-126 (James Otis, Samuel Adams, the Boston Massacre); To be read to the pupils: Hart's Source Readers in American History, No. 2, Camps and Firesides of the Revolution, pp. 153-169 (tax troubles, the Boston Tea Party) ; Eva March Tappan's England's Story, pp. 306-309 (English attitude toward colonists). Problems for Further Study Find out the different ways in which money is now raised by taxation to pay the expenses of government (i) for your own city, town, or school district, (2) for your state, (3) for the United States. Why did the defeat of France in the French and Indian war help to bring about the independence of our country .'' In what way do your fathers and mothers help to make the laws of your state r Of the United States ? CHAPTER VII THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION The Problem Confronting the Colonies : How to Win Independence against Great Odds. " The next gale that sweeps from the North will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms." Thus spoke Patrick Henry in his moving speech before the Virginia convention in the spring of 1775. His prophecy came true. In April, British regulars were sent from Boston to Con- cord to capture powder and provisions collected by the Americans. Paul Revere made his famous ride to warn the farmers on the way. The shock of a battle at Lexington and at Concord aroused the whole country- side. Then came the running light all the way back to Boston as the British retreated. The " clash of re- sounding arms " was indeed heard throughout America. The thirteen colonies were at war with a great em- pire. Though the American people were brave enough, they were not well trained in military affairs. Great work was before them. Armies had to be raised and led to battle. War vessels had to be built and com- manded by skillful captains. Such civil matters as raising money, making laws, and conducting the gov- ernment called for high ability. Relations had to be 122 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY established with foreign countries to secure their friendship and help. This required that able ministers and diplomats be sent abroad. Could competent leaders in all these lines be found in such a new coun- try ^ They could. From every walk of life came warriors, statesmen, and dip- lomats. Some were already famous. Others had hitherto been unknown. I, The Great Mili- tary Leader Washington as Commander in Chief. In the spring of 1775, the Con- The Old North Church in Boston, Massa- ^. .1 /^ cHusETTs tinental^ Congress The night before the battle of Lexington lanterns, hung met again tO UUlte in this tower gave the signal to Paul Revere to ride || ^^ ColonicS iu into the country to warn the farmers that the British soldiers were coming. dcfcnscof American rights. Among the delegates from Virginia was the hero of Braddock's ill-fated battle, Washington, wearing the THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 123 blue and buff uniform of a Virginia colonel. He learned that the men assembled in Philadelphia were, like him- self, in grim earnest. They were prepared to fight to the last ditch in defense of American principles. In June, John Adams rose upon the floor and said that the time had come to choose a head for the army. There was, he went on, but one man for the place. That man already commanded the confidence of America be- cause of his character, fortune, and great talents. He was George Washington. At the mention of his name Washington left the room. The next day he was elected Commander in Chief. On June 21 he left for Cam- bridge, Alassachusetts, to assume his perilous post. Washington Hears of Bunker Hill. While on the way, Washington met a courier bearing news from Boston. On June 17 the British had taken Bunker Hill after disastrous losses. " Did the militia fight ? ", Washington anxiously inquired. " They did," he was told. On hearing that, he exclaimed : " Then the lib- erties of our countr}^ are safe ! " On July 2 booming cannon announced the arrival of the illustrious Vir- ginian. The next day, in the presence of the multi- tude, he drew his sword under the Elm at Cambridge and took command of the army. One who saw him there wrote : " His Excellency was on horseback with several military gentlemen. It was not difficult to distinguish him from all others. He is tall and well proportioned and his personal appearance truly noble and majestic." 124 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Washington at Work. The new commander went to work with a will. He forced the British out of Boston and' freed the city in 1776. Then he went to New York to challenge the British. Here he met discouragements as trying as any man ever faced. His troops were raw and untrained. Their terms of service were short, and large numbers were continually leaving for home. In spite of his efforts he was forced off Long Is- land, driven north- ward to White Plains and across the Hudson, and pursued through New Jersey. On December 2 he was at Princeton with the British pressing close behind. Only by the barest luck did his footsore and weary army reach the other side of the Delaware in safety. The British gen- eral thought that Washington was at the end of his resources and withdrew to New York, leaving strong The Famous Elm at Cambridge, Mass., Under Which Washington Drew His Sword and Took Command of the Continental Troops THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 125 bodies of troops to watch the Continentals, as the American soldiers had come to be called. Washington at Trenton. In this dark hour, Washing- ton put new life into the American cause by a bold stroke at Trenton. On Christmas night (1776), he pushed his way across the icy waters of the Delaware. The next day he swept down upon the British commander, who was stationed at Trenton with a strong force of Hes- sians — German troops hired by King George to sub- due his subjects in America. One of Washington's officers hesitated and sent word that his guns were' wet. " Tell your general," said Washington, " to use the bayonet, for the town must be taken." It was taken, and with it a large number of prisoners. Wheel- ing then upon Princeton, he gave the British another heavy blow. The American cause was saved from immediate ruin. Seeing It Through. Washington's work was just begun. Before him lay many trials. The British marched on Philadelphia and he was unable to prevent them from taking it. He was beaten at Brandywine Creek, south of the city. Then came the frightful winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge, when he and his poor soldiers nearly froze and starved to death. This terrible experience was followed by more fighting w^ithout def- inite result. To lack of success on the battle field was added the treason of one of Washington's trusted officers, Benedict Arnold. This soldier secretly planned to 126 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY surrender West Point to the British, but the spy, Major Andre, who made the arrangement, was caught and executed. " Whom can we trust now ? " was the A Painting of Washington at Valley Forge The winter which he spent here has been called "the darkest hour in the War for Independence." cry that ran through the army. Washington bore the fearful aifair with his usual calm. That was not all that Washington had to endure. Some Pennsylvania troops mutinied and had to be re- strained with a strong hand. Generals were jealous of one another and quarreled over honors. Congress delayed and paltered with its work of supplying men, money, and provisions. Everything fell upon Wash- ington's shoulders until he was driven to exclaim THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 127 bitterly : " The history of the war is a history of false hopes and temporary expedients," The Tide Turns. At this very time, however, the tide was turning. Indeed a number of events had pointed to the final triumph of the United States. In 1777 the British general, Burgoyne, had attempted to cut off New England from the other colonies by taking an army from Canada to New York City by way of Lake Champlain, Lake George, and the Hudson River. But the Americans placed an army in his path which defeated him so badly at Saratoga that he was forced to surrender all his troops. The next year the French had joined the American cause and begun to send troops and supplies. In the South, Generals Morgan and Greene, by victories at Cowpens and Guilford in 1781, had forced the British General, Cornwallis, to give up the plan of conquering the Carolinas. Valuable aid had been received from foreign soldiers. A French officer, Lafayette, a German officer, Baron Steuben, and two young Poles, Kosciusko and Pulaski, had come over to help. The Last Battle. In 1781 the French admiral, De Grasse, had arrived and strong French forces under Count Rochambeau were ready for service. The British general, Cornwallis, having burnt and harried his way with heavy losses up through the Carolinas, was at Yorktown, Virginia. Here he was hemmed in by Washington and the French fleet and forced to surrender. This was the last blow to 128 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY the hopes of George III. The colonies were lost to him forever. II. Heroes of the Navy Beginnings of the American Navy. In 1775 Con- gress at Philadelphia received the news that two British transports laden with supplies had sailed for America. This meant two things. The supplies would have to be cut off from the British army in the colonies ; and Americans could supplement their scanty stocks by capturing the goods of the enemy. Congress there- upon authorized the capture of any vessel bringing stores to the British army. Two months later it ordered the building of five ships of war. The Ameri- can navy, thus begun, was powerfully supplemented by the French navy after France joined the American cause. Early in January, 1776, Captain Esek Hopkins stepped on board his flagship, Alfred, one of eight American vessels collected in the river at Philadelphia. As he reached the deck a young lieutenant raised a yellow silk flag, bearing the device of a pine tree and a rattlesnake, with the motto, " Don't tread on me." The American navy was beginning its career. '•John Paul Jones. The young lieutenant was John Paul Jones, a Scotchman, then twenty-eight years old. As soon as he was old enough to help with boats, he had begun a life on the water. At the age of twelve he was as hardy and strong as most boys of sixteen^ THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 129 and he begged his father to let him go into regular service on the high seas. At the age of seventeen he was second mate on a ship trading with America, In 1773, after many experiences on the sea, Jones settled in Virginia. There he witnessed stirring events. He listened to the elo- quence of Patrick Henry and the ar- guments of Thomas Jefferson. He made up his mind to join heart and soul in theAmerican cause. His Exploits. Jones entered the service of the navy as a first lieutenant. The next year he was in command of a new irigate 01 niS ^j^ Imaginary Sketch of John Paul Jones own the RcinPCT Standing on the Deck of His Ship in the ' 1-1 Midst of Battle With this ship he cruised in the Irish Sea and captured the Drake^ a British sloop of war. " The moral effect of this," said he, " was very great, as it taught the English that the fancied security of their coasts was a myth. . . . It doubled or more the rates of insurance, which 13© A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY in the long run proved the most grievous damage of all." In 1778, when France entered the war against Eng- land, Jones was put in command of a French vessel, the Bonhomme Richard. It was in this ship that he fought a famous battle with the British vessel, the Serapis. After a desperate fight the English commander was forced to surrender, but Jones' ship was battered to pieces and went down shortly after the crew was taken off. In his journal Jones described the last scene : " No one was now left aboard the Richard but our dead. To them I gave the good old ship for their coffin and in her they found a sublime sepulchre. She rolled heavily in the long swell. ... As she plunged down by the head . . . the very last vestige mortal eyes ever saw of the Bonhomme Richard was the defiant waving of her unconquered and unstricken fiag." Jones afterward entered the French navy and finally the Russian service. He died in Paris in 1792. John Barry. Services no less important were ren- dered to the American cause in naval battles by an Irishman, John Barry. He had come to Philadelphia about 1760 when a youth of fifteen. Like Jones, he went early to sea. When the Revolution broke out, he was the captain of a merchant vessel. It was his ship, the Black Prince, that was made over into the American war vessel, Alfred, the flagship on which John Paul Jones raised the sign " Don't tread on me." THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION I31 In 1776 Captain Barry was made commander of the Lexington, and in a few weeks showed his fighting mettle by capturing the Edward, an armed tender of the English warship, Liverpool. In 1778 Barry was in command of the Raleigh. In an encounter with two British frigates, he was beaten. Though he lost his ship, he managed to escape with his men. Barry then tried his fortunes in the army, but in 1781 was back again on the sea, in command of the Alliance. He fought two British brigs and captured them both. It fell to his lot to fight in the last naval action of the war, while on a cruise to Havana. After the Revolution he settled once more in Philadelphia, where he died in 1803. Grateful citizens of that city have built a monument to his memory. III. The Author of the Declaration of Independence Civil Leaders. While the soldiers were fighting in the field and the sailors on the sea, capable men were at work carrying on the civil government. Not even their names can all be recorded here. They include Christopher Gadsden, an ardent patriot of South Carolina ; Robert Morris, the Pennsylvania financier who labored night and day to raise money for supplies and troops ; Roger Sherman, the stanch advocate of independence from Connecticut ; and General Philip Schuyler, of New York, in command of the forces in the North and delegate to the Continental Congress. 132 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Thomas Jefferson. High in this roll of great mea must be placed the name of Thomas Jefferson, of Vir- ginia, the author of the Declaration of Independence. By education and spirit, he was well fitted for public life. Jefferson's father was not one of the great planters of that colony, but a frontier farmer in the foot- WlLLIAM AND MaRY CoLLEGE, WhICH WAS FoUNDED AT WlLLIAMSBURG, Va., IN 1693 hills of the Blue Ridge. His mother, however, came from one of " the first families " of the colony. Thomas was born in 1743. His father was fairly successful and owned a large farm with many slaves. Though he had not had much education himself, he wanted Thomas to have the best Virginia could give THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 133 him. He loved to gather his family around him and read aloud from the English classical writers, especially Shakespeare and Addison. At the age of seventeen, young Thomas entered William and Mary College at Williamsburg, next to Harvard the oldest college in the colonies. After graduation he studied law, but he did not devote him- self to its practice. His father was dead and the bur- den of managing the estate fell upon his shoulders. In the Service of the Revolution. While Jefferson was still a student of law, he heard Patrick Henry deliver his impassioned speech against the stamp tax. He was delighted with the orator and said that he agreed with him " on all points." Some ten years later, when the storm broke over the tea riot in Boston, Jefferson was old enough to take part in public affairs. In 1774 he wrote a pamphlet in which he set forth the " Rights of British America " in strong and vigorous language. This marked him for leadership in Virginia. The next year he became a member of the Vir- ginia convention in which Patrick Henry called upon his hearers to choose between liberty and death. Jefferson's views were well known. The Virginians had faith in his ability and made him one of the dele- gates to the second Continental Congress at Philadel- phia. He arrived just in time to see George Wash- ington set out for New England to take command of the army of the United States. 134 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY The Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was neither an orator nor a debater. He could, however, write with skill and force. For that reason he was made a member of the committee appointed by Congress to draw up the Declaration of Independence. The work of drafting that document was nearly all his. IjL^ ^. H. .,..., „ .; <,... .,...,./.,//. T 1 . ^- '. .4..y„.'„... fC f.^M.-^O l.„„.'^j i/i'..K 1 . /'.- . '.,,„'' -. ,,,,//.;,^...,...//;': .„.(/ U. ,,, ' {' '-..'> ' '' .:::■"/''■ ...v- /c.y,^ .ri /.,,-»> L> L^cj /A^a< A^//, L L j,ty^,..u>,~- li^j .;/,<: ■>,-. ,v u,,^ .,,,--^..:-^.,.... .r'u,., \Li I i-L^; a V .• , ,. v^r^.v (Uj ffL.^ i^.-.j,^ ^M , ;^ ; . . -,>..,.'.,...,,■ ,, ./.. ■■,'>'■: il.,i „ ...^.^ /;'-,.. ., ., i.A, f-r.-J-i V/L r....^'- 1 1 1 J"-: — -■».IU^„,'" "[',': - .-■■"r+-- .iU«. .,.■■,■:•..; The Opening Words of the Declaration of Independence from Jefferson's Own Draft The other members of the committee made a few sug- gestions, but not many. When the draft was read to Congress, there was a sharp debate and some changes were made. Nevertheless the language and thought of the Declaration of Independence are, in the main, the language and thought of Thomas Jefferson. In it he stated a few grand and simple principles : All men are created equal. Their Creator has endowed them with certain rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 135 ?!-»S> ■u,. ji^- t)^ j»i/ 3 ill* > ^ A Reproduction of a Page from the Records of the Continental Congress Showing the Resolution Declaring Independence It was agreed to on July 2, 1776, two days before the Declaration of Independence was formally proclaimed. 136 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY He enumerated the evils from which the colonists had suffered at the hands of Great Britain. On account of these evils the Americans, he said, were justified in throwing off the rule of the British King and in taking their place among the independent nations of the earth. On July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration. The president of Congress, John Hancock, of Massa- chusetts, signed it, in bold letters " which George HI could read without his spectacles." It was then pub- lished to the world. IV. An American Hero Abroad — Benjamin Franklin The Youth of Franklin. — When independence was declared there were two necessary things to be done abroad. The first was to secure from friendly countries the recognition of the United States as one of the independent nations of the earth. The second was to obtain help — money, perhaps an alliance with some foreign power, and soldiers. The good will of France was especially desired. So Congress, in the autumn of 1776, selected one of the most distinguished citizens of our country, Benjamin Franklin, a man of threescore years and ten, to go as minister to Paris. What wonderful experiences this old man had passed through ! In 1716, at the age of ten, he was at work with his father making soap and candles. He was next apprenticed as a printer to his brother, who THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 137 was high-tempered and beat him when angry. Be- fore he was seventeen Benjamin fled from his home in Boston to find employment as a printer in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin 138 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY His Education. Though his school days were short, he educated himself, proving that any one with the mind and the will can overcome heavy obstacles. First of all Franklin wanted to write pure and simple Eng- lish. He learned by studying the best English books, particularly the writings of the famous essayist, Ad- dison. He copied page after page and then rewrote each one from memory. In time he was a master of our tongue. At the age of twenty-six he took up the study of foreign languages. He worked by himself until he attained a reading knowledge of French, Italian, and Spanish. Then he began the serious study of Latin, one year of Vv^hich he had taken in school. He used a copy of the New Testament written in Latin and applied himself until he could read it easily. Franklin's Many Activities. At length Franklin went into the printing business on his own account, and started an almanac under the name of " Richard Saunders." This pamphlet he issued for about twenty-five years. It was known throughout America as " Poor Richard's Almanac." In addition to In- formation about the weather and the seasons. It con- tained many droll stories and witty sayings. All through It were sprinkled wise proverbs, such as : " God helps them that help themselves " ; " He that by the plow would thrive, himself must either hold or drive." Every year Franklin sold ten thousand copies of his Almanac. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 139 M.T.CICERO's CATO MAJOR, OR HIS DISCOURSE OLD-AGE: With Explanatory NOTES F HILADELPHIA Printed and Sold by B. FRANKLIN, MDCCXLIV. The Title-page of a Book Which was Published by Benjamin Franklin 14© A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Besides the Almanac, Franklin published a news- paper. Public libraries were unknown in those days and books were costly ; Franklin knew how important it is for people to read good books, so he founded a circulating library from which even poor people could rent books for a small sum. He helped to establish the Academy of Pennsylvania, which has since become the University of Pennsylvania. He discovered by sending up a kite during a thunder storm that lightning and electricity were the same. This won fame for him abroad as a great man of science. He aided in improv- ing the city government of Philadelphia by helping to introduce street paving and cleaning, a regular com- pany to fight fires, and a better police force. Franklin in England. In 1757 Franklin was sent to London as the agent of Pennsylvania ; there he re- mained for five years. In 1765 he was sent back to Eng- land and for ten years he was really the spokesman of America in London. It was then that he came to know mam^ famous Englishmen, among them Edmund Burke. During the Stamp Act quarrel, Franklin was called before the House of Commons to tell English law- makers how the Americans felt about the taxes. He was asked whether the colonists would submit to the stamp tax if some of the worst parts of the law were repealed. To this he replied simply, " No, they will never submit to it." In Congress. When Franklin arrived home in the spring of 1775 he was elected a delegate for Penn- THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 141 sylvania to the Continental Congress then in session at Philadelphia. In that Congress he did important work. He brought forward a plan tor union among all the colonies — a plan which finally took the form of the Articles of Confederation. He was on the com- mittee charged with the duty of drafting the Declara- tion of Independence. He signed that great docu- ment, saying, " We must indeed all hang together, or assuredly we shall hang separately." American Envoy to France. It was on account of his talents and experience that Franklin was sent on the mission to Paris. Already an American agent in France had secured from the King secret aid for the Ameri- can Revolution. Franklin wanted more than secret aid. He desired an alliance. He wanted France openly to join in the war against Great Britain, That was dangerous business for the French King. France had been badly beaten only a little more than ten years before and shrank from another contest with England. For many months Franklin could make no head- way with his plans. Then, very suddenly, the help came. One night early in December, 1777, a carriage dashed into Franklin's yard in Paris. A young Ameri- can sprang out all flushed with excitement. He was the bearer of good news from America — that the English general, Burgoyne, and his entire army had surrendered to the Americans at Saratoga. Bur- goyne, you will remember, had been sent down from 142 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Canada to split the colonies into two parts by a drive through New York, but had failed and had been cap- tured by American forces. The French Alliance (1778). Franklin was over- come with joy. Soon the glad tidings spread all over Paris. Bells were rung and bonfires built. A French minister, on hearing the news, rushed off to the King in such a hurry that he upset his carriage and dislo- cated his arm. Franklin got the help he sought. He obtained a treaty of alliance with France and brought that country into war on the American side. Franklin remained in Paris, borrowing money and col- lecting supplies for the American army. This " begging and borrowing " was distasteful to him, but he went through with it to the bitter end — until the war was won. The Peace Treaty. Franklin's last work in Europe was to help in negotiating the treaty of peace with England, signed in 1783. By clever arts he won for his country all the territory" below the Great Lakes west to the Mississippi River, except Florida and New Orleans. A patriot soldier, George Rogers Clark, by an expedition to the West in 1778-79, had captured Kaskaskia in Illinois and Vincennes in Indiana. Franklin clinched the hold of the Americans on the Northwest Territory. In the summer of 1785 he left France amid the tears and cheers of thousands. On September 12 he saw his "dear Philadelphia" once more. The Constitutional Convention (1787). His work was not yet done. At the age of eighty-one he was THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1 43 chosen by Pennsylvania to serve as a delegate in the national convention at Philadelphia. There he helped to draft the Constitution of the United States. He lived to see General Washington inaugurated first President of the new Union. In the spring of 1790 Franklin died in the city of Philadelphia, where, start- ing as a poor and unknown boy, he had made his way up to riches and lasting fame. Washington's Character. When full tribute is paid to the other heroes of the time, all must agree that it was Washington who made the Revolution a success. He was unselfish. He did not take a penny for his long years of service as commander in chief, thus setting a noble example to those about him. He was brave. He did not stay safely far behind the lines, but too often exposed himself at the front with his men. He was generous. When others were quarreling about honors he bade them think only of their countr}^ and its cause. He was industrious. He did more than plan and wage battles. He wrote hundreds of letters to men all over the country stirring them to bend every energy in the American cause. He was constantly urging Congress to take action to secure soldiers and supplies. When men did wrong, he was stern, but quick to forgive. For all these reasons, he was beloved by the soldiers. They had many grievances, but he urged them to take no rash steps against the Con- gress for its delays in paying them. 144 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY George Washington Painting by THIbert Stuart, an American artist (1755-1828) THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 145 Farewell to the Officers. It. was a sad day for them all when on December 4, 1783, Washington bade his officers farewell at Fraunces' Tavern in New York. Tears came to his eyes and his voice faltered as he drank a toast to them. When the hour of parting arrived, he said simply, " I cannot come to each of you and take my leave, but shall be obliged if you will come and take me by the hand." After he had shaken hands with them, they walked in si- lence to Whitehall Ferry, where he gave them the last salute. On his way south, he stopped at Annapolis, where Congress was in session. In a brief and simple speech, he surrendered his commission as commander in chief. He then left for Mt. Vernon, a private citizen of the new republic. © Brown Bros. Fraunces' Tavern in New York City as it Appears To-day In this building General Washington bade his officers farewell at the close of the Revolutionary War. 146 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Questions and Exercises How did it happen that the first fighting of the Revolution took place near Boston ? What is meant by " British regulars " ? What kind of men do you think made up the American forces that fought the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill ? Trace on a map the route that Paul Revere took. I. What experiences had George Washington had to fit him for commanding the American armies ? He was appointed to this post by the Continental Congress ; where did the men come from who made up this Congress ? Why would the people be likely to support them in what they did ? Trace on the map Washington's movements from the time the British troops left Boston to the time when he went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. Locate Long Island, White Plains, Princeton, Trenton, Brandywine Creek. Trace the route of Burgoyne's expedition. Why was the defeat of Burgoyne so important for the Americans ? Locate Saratoga. Locate Valley Forge. Why is Valley Forge so well remembered in our history ^ Find West Point on the map. What event of the Revolution is connected with West Point .'* If you were to visit West Point to-day what would you find there .'* Locate Cowpens, Guilford, Yorktown. II. What is a navy.'' Why did the Americans need a navy.'' How could they have shortened the war if they had been able to build a very strong navy ? The principal naval battles of the war were fought far from American shores ; find on the map the places where they were fought; how did it happen that the American ships were so far from home ^ III. Thomas Jefferson has a place among the very greatest men in American history; why .^ When was the Declaration of Independence signed ? How long was this after the war had actually begun ^ Why did the Americans delay so long after the fighting started before they declared themselves free from Eng- lish rule .'' THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 147 IV. What did Benjamin Franklin mean when, on signing the Declaration of Independence, he said, "We must indeed all hang together or assuredly we shall hang separately"? How old was Franklin when he was sent by the Americans to France to secure help for them against the English ? Why was he a good man to send on a mission of this sort ? What is meant by an alliance between two nations ? Why should the news of the American victory at Saratoga have influenced the French King in deciding to help the Americans ? What is meant by a treaty of peace ? England by the treaty that ended the Revolution acknowledged the independence of the original thirteen states ; name these states. The English also admitted that the new nation should own all the land that England had formerly held lying between the Appa- lachian Mountains and the Mississippi River south of the Great Lakes ; what right did the Americans have to claim that this land had been conquered by them during the Revolution .'' Suggestions for Reading Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book I, pp. 208-225 (Benjamin Franklin), Book II, pp. 44-62 (Washington in the Revolution), pp. 63-74 (Schuyler and Burgoyne's invasion), pp. 75-83 (Nathanael Greene), pp. 84-92 (John Paul Jones), PP- 93^96 (Lafayette), pp. 109-111 (Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence) ; Johonnot's Stories of Our Country, pp. 91-94 (Washington in early Revolution), pp. 98-107 (Israel Putnam), pp. 1 15-122 (John Paul Jones), pp. 126-130 (Marion), pp. 131-135, 140-145, 170-177 (Washington at Trenton, Valley Forge, and Yorktown), pp. 135-140 (Ethan Allen), pp. 146-150 (Burgoyne's invasion), pp. 155-160 (Arnold); Guerber's Story of the Thirteen Colonies, pp. 228-245 (events around Boston), pp. 248-253 (the Declaration of Independence), pp. 258-262 (Trenton), pp. 262-271 (Burgoyne's invasion), pp. 271-275 (Valley Forge), pp. 293-297 (John Paul Jones), pp. 304-312 (Arnold), pp. 315-326 (Yorktown 148 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY and peace); Brooks's Stories of the Old Bay State, pp. 127-156; Dickson's Pioneers and Patriots in Early American History (de- voted entirely to the Revolutionary heroes) ; L. Frank Tooker's John Paul Jones, E. L. Dudley's Benjamin Franklin, and Martha Foote Crow's Lafayette in True Stories of Great Americans ; Jean Christie Root's Nathan Hale; C. C. Coffin's Boys of Seventy-six ; Hart's Source Readers in American History, No. 2, Camps and Firesides of the Revolution, pp. 257-266 (events around Boston), pp. 283-285 (Stony Point), pp. 285-289 (John Paul Jones), pp. 244-252 (Washington as commander). Problems for Further Study Make a list of all of the American patriots mentioned in this chapter, placing first the name of the man who in your judgment did most for his country, placing next the one whom you believe to rank second in this respect, and so on through the list. Be ready to give reasons for arranging the names as you do. How many years have passed since the Dec- laration of Independence? How many years passed between the first English settlement at Jamestown and the Declaration of Independence ? When our country sent soldiers to help France fight Germany in 1917 and 1918, Americans said that we were repaying an old debt to France; what did they mean by this ? CHAPTER VIII THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW GOVERNMENT The Problem : Union or Quarreling States? Wash- ington was glad to lay aside the sword in 1783 and retire to his home at Mt. Vernon to enjoy a long needed and well-earned rest. Nevertheless his heart was still heavy. America was independent. A union had been formed under the Articles of Confederation adopted in 1781, but the states were quarreling among themselves. Their angry disputes made Washington anxious about the future of his country. Were the quarrelsome states soon to be at war with one another ? Were they to break up into two or more sections ^ Were the commercial states of the North and the planting states of the South to be united against each other ? What was to be done with the Western lands over which some states were disput- ing so bitterly ^ How were the bonds sold to meet the expenses of the Revolution to be paid ^ Was it right for New York to lay a tax on goods coming in from Connecticut ? How were American merchants and manufacturers to be protected against the compe- tition of English manufactures ^ In short, could the Union under the Articles of Confederation last or would 149 ISO A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY it break up ? That was the vital problem which Washington faced. He wrote letters to his friends about it. He urged the Americans to stand together and to make their Union stronger. Could they make it stronger ? I. The New Constitution Alexander Hamilton and His Answer. Washing- ton's anxiety was shared by many men. Among those equally con- cerned about the fate of the Union was one of his former officers, Alexander Hamilton,, a brilliant and dashing soldier. He had left King's College (now Columbia University) to join " the rebels " at the age of nineteen, first as an artillery officer and then as Washington's aide. Though he was born in the West Indies, Hamilton's loyalty to America was not exceeded by that of any other leader. Hamilton at Annapolis. This American by adop- tion proved to be one of the most forceful men in the $ ^^^^^K^ WM ^^Hk> ^ --^^^1 ^^^■r 't^^^^B ^^1 u^M H^^^mKL . ^^mI^^I ^^^^^^^^^j&^Hd^ ' ■i^^'^^^i^^^H ^^^^HHii^9r ^^'"^ J -'^^^^^^H ^^^^^^Hh^l^. '^I^^B jj^lB kh^^m^^^^ Alexander Hamilton, One of the Leaders IN THE Formation of the Constitution of THE United States and First Secretary of the Treasury under Washington THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW GOVERNMENT 151 new nation. He was among the first to advocate a stronger union. He early came to two main con- clusions. First, the United States ought to have a new constitution in place of the Articles of Confedera- tion. Secondly, a national convention ought to be summoned to draft the constitution. Fortunately for Hamilton's plans, it happened that in 1786 a convention of delegates from some of the states met at Annapolis to consider matters of trade and commerce among the states. James Madison, of Virginia, was one of the leaders in bringing about this convention. Hamilton appeared at Annapolis as a delegate from New York. He soon saw that the conference could not do much because so few delegates were present. However, he persuaded them to adopt a resolution calling on Congress to summon a national convention. Congress yielded, to the request. The states chose delegates. In the spring of 1787 the na- tional convention met in Philadelphia to " revise the Articles of Confederation." Adany of the greatest men in America were delegates. Washington was chosen chairman. Hamilton's Plan for a Strong Government. Hamil- ton did not have much confidence in popular elec- tions. He thought the people were fitful and change- able in their opinions. He proposed, therefore, that there should be a president elected for a life term, unless removed for misconduct. Since there had to be 152 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY a body to make laws, he planned a Congress of two houses — -a senate and an assembly. He argued that there should be a senate to consist of persons elected to serve during good behavior ; that is, for life, unless removed. He suggested that there should be an as- sembly of delegates chosen for a term of three years. He proposed to give Congress large powers over all national affairs. For his " high-toned " ideas, Hamil- ton was accused of being at heart a man who believed in the rule of kings. Other Plans before the Convention. Other plans were laid before the convention. Madison prepared one which was presented as the Virginia plan. Pater- son, of New Jersey, presented another. The debates over these plans were long and spirited. More than once it seemed that the convention would break up without accomplishing anything. Hamilton grew dis- gusted and went home for a while. Benjamin Franklin suggested that the delegates join in prayer for divine help. All moderate men insisted on seeing the work through to a finish. They urged the hot-heads to make com- promises. By dint of hard labor the convention in September was able to announce an agreement. The delegates had not revised the Articles of Confederation. They had drafted a new Constitution which included parts of all the plans presented to the convention. They asked each state to elect delegates to a state convention to ratify or approve their new plan. THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW GOVERNMENT 153 The New Constitution. The Constitution of the United States, thus prepared at Philadelphia in 1787, provided for : 1. A Congress to make laws. This Congress was to be made up of two houses : a Senate of two members from each state, and a House of Representatives. The members of the House were to be apportioned among the states mainly according to population. 2. A President to enforce the laws. This chief of- ficer of the government was to be elected for a term of four years. 3. A Supreme Court and other courts to be created by Congress. All judges were to be appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate, and hold office during good behavior. Hamilton and the Ratification of the Constitution. There had been much trouble in drafting the Con- stitution. It rep- resented the best thought of thirt}' or forty able men. It took still harder work to Induce the states to approve It. Washington spent days and nights writing letters to his friends all over the country, urging them to support the Constitution. Hamilton labored zealously in New York, where there was much opposi- The Ninth PILLAR erected I Th« Ratification of the Convrnlionj of nine Stales, (hall befuffiticnt forihe eltabUK. ment of this ConllituUon, between the Sutcs lo ratifying the fame." Art \ii. INCIPIENT MAGNI PROCEDEUE MENSES. From a cartoon oi the time showing that nine states had ratified the Constitution, that Virginia was on the way, and that New York was to be drawn into the new union 154 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY tion to the new plan. He led the debates in the New York state convention and had the satisfaction of se- curing a favorable vote at last. In Virginia, Madison took the lead. After about a year of vigorous efforts, the supporters of the new Constitution had won eleven states. The new government was set up in 1789 with North Carolina and Rhode Island " still out in the cold." II. The New Government of the United States Washington, the First President. Who shall be our first President ? There was no doubt about the answer. Washing- ton's name was on every tongue. He was looked upon as " the savior of our country." Hamilton wrote him long letters telling him that his help was still needed. Washing- ton wanted peace at his beautiful home on the Po- '^ New- York, April a 4..' Yeflerday afternoon, about 3 o'CIock, ar- rived in this City> amid the acclamations of a great body of Citizens, His Excellency the President of the United States. — The Particulars will be given in to-morrow's paper. On the evening Ms Excellency takes his feat at the head of the government of the United States, there will be the mofl brilliant exhibi- tion of FIRE WORKS ever exhibited in this city, now preparing, under the furperintendance of Col. Bauman, commander of the city regi- ment of artillery. A reproduction of an extract from a New York news- paper, dated April 24, 1789, announcing the arrival of Washington in the city for his inauguration as Presi- dent tomac ; but he had to accept the call. In the spring of 1789 he made his way northward again. What thoughts must have THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW GOVERNMENT 155 passed through his mind as he made this journey once more! At every town he found a triumphal arch and the people all dressed in their best clothes to greet him. Flowers were strewn in his path. Little boys and girls crowded the wayside to catch a glimpse of the great general now entering on a new work for his country. When he came to New York the entire city was given over to rejoicing. Cannon were fired and bells were rung. On April 30, dressed plainly in brown, he took the oath of "office as first President of the United States. " Long live George Washington ! " rang out upon the air as he kissed the Bible. The cry was taken up and ran quickly through the streets. The Union had been saved. After a while Rhode Island and North Carolina accepted the Constitution. That celebrated document, with later changes called amendments, remains still the American plan of gov- ernment. Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. No one in New York was happier on that day than Wash- ington's former aide and companion-in-arms, Alex- ander Hamilton. Though a young man of thirty-two, he was chosen first Secretary of the Treasury and soon prepared his plans for the new government. He put forward four definite recommendations : First, that the bonds sold to meet the Revolutionary debt should all be paid in full. Secondly, that there should be a United States bank, 156 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY with branches in each large city, to enable men to transact business easily in all parts of the country. Dressed in a plain brown suit, George Washington took the oath of office as first President of the United States on April 30, 1789. Thirdly, that a tax called a tariff should be laid on goods coming into the United States from foreign THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW GOVERNMENT 157 countries. This was to protect American manufac- turers against European competitors. Fourthly, that there should be a strong army and navy. Hamilton and Jefferson Clash. All Hamilton's plans were approved by President Washington. Some Federal Hall, in New York, as It Appeared in 1789 It was from the balcony of this building Washington took the oath of office. of them, however, were heartily disliked by Jeffer- son, who was a member of the cabinet as Secretary of State. In fact the two men were opposed in sympa- thies and ideas. Hamilton was for a strong national government and wanted America to become a manu- facturing nation. Jefferson feared a strong federal government. He trusted the states more. He dis- liked manufacturing, moreover, and wished to keep America a nation of farmers. Hamilton had misgiv- 158 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY ings about government by the people. Jefferson de- clared that he had faith in the people. Day after day, the two men disputed over their views. Washington tried in vain to make peace be- tween them. Finally he had to let Jefferson give up his office. In a little while Hamilton resigned also. Jefferson soon had many followers who shared his ideas. They formed themselves into a political party later known as the Republicans. Hamilton became the leader of another party known as the Federalists. The country, like these two men, was divided in opinion about the policies of the government. Washington Retires to Private Life. At the end of his second term Washington was tired of office. The wrangling of party _ leaders had wearied his ?^^.^^^^^^.;^^^ soul. Though urged to / ^-^ serve a third term, he Washington's Signature to the would UOt listen tO the Farewell Address 1 ^t 1 i* 1 proposal. He delivered to his countrymen a Farewell Address and at the end of his second term he retired to his home at Mt. Vernon. Two years later, in 1799, he died. Never was a man more- generally mourned in America. North and South joined in paying tribute to his leadership. Federalists and Republicans laid aside their disputes long enough to do honor to his memory. John Adams as Second President. The next Presi- dent was John Adams of Massachusetts. He had THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW GOVERNMENT 159 rendered many great services to his country at home and abroad. Like Hamilton he feared too much " gov- ernment by the people," and was not very popular on that account. Moreover, he approved two very un- popular laws passed by Congress. One of them was the Alien Act, empowering the President to expel a foreigner who did not behave properly in America. Another was the Sedition Act which ordered the im- prisonment of people who criticized the government. The Federalists Frightened by Revolution in France. At the time these laws were passed, a revolution was going on in France. The King had been executed, and a long period of disorder opened. There were many Americans who sympathized with the French revolu- tionists. These Americans belonged to the Jeffersonian party and were naturally opposed to the Adams admin- istration. Their opposition frightened Adams and the Federalists, who spoke as if uprisings in the United States wxre to be seriously feared. Jefferson Attacks the Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson declared, without any reserve, that he was a friend of France. He opposed the imprisonment of men for criticizing the government of the United States. He drafted a set of resolutions protesting against the Alien and Sedition Laws. These reso- lutions were adopted by the legislature of Kentucky. They declared that the objectionable laws violated the Constitution of the United States, were null and void, and would not be obeyed by the people of Ken- l6o A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY tucky. This was the doctrine of " nuUiiication " of which the country was to hear a great deal during the next half century. Jefferson also accused Hamilton and Adams of favoring monarchy. He denounced them both as the enemies of liberty in America and called upon his countrymen to turn the Federalists out of office. The people approved Jefferson's ideas and elected him President of the United States in 1800. Jefferson and Adams. John Adams thought that Jefferson had been unfair to him and for a long time the two men were bitter enemies. In their last years, however, they forgot their quarrels, forgave each other, and exchanged many friendly letters. By a strange coincidence, they both died on the same day, July 4, 1826. In his dying hours, Adams remembered his old friend in Virginia and spoke of him. Questions and Exercises The thirteen states had been able to work fairly well together as long as the fighting lasted ; why should they quarrel among themselves less at that time than when the fighting was over and they had won the victory ? How had the new nation come into possession of the Western lands ? Find these lands on the map. Can you think of any reason why the lands should have caused quarrels among the states ? The Continental Congress raised money to carry on the war by selling bonds ; what are bonds } Why did the bonds sold during the Revolution cause quarrels among the states after the war was over .'' THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW GOVERNMENT i6i I. How many years passed between the peace treaty that ended the Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution ? How was the country governed during these years ? What do you think of Hamilton's proposals for the new government ? How did the Con- stitution as finally adopted differ from what he first proposed ? How many years have elapsed between the adoption of the Con- stitution and the present time ? What is meant by ratifying a constitution ? II. What city was the capital of the United States when Wash- ington was made President ? What city is now our capital ? How old was Washington when he became President ? What rea- sons would he have for not wishing to undertake the duties of this office ? What is meant by the President's cabinet ? With what part of the government's business is the Secretary of the Treasury concerned ? What three important measures did Hamilton put forward as Secretary of the Treasury ? What is meant by a tariff ? How does a tariff on imported goods protect American manufac- turers ? Do we have a United States Bank to-day ? Why, do you think, did Jefferson wish to see the country a "nation of farmers" rather than a manufacturing nation ? Is our country to-day chieHy a nation of farmers or a manufacturing nation ? The chief political parties of our early history were the Republicans and the Federalists ; what views did each hold ? What are the leading political parties to-day? The French Revolution began in 1789; how long was this after the beginning of the American Revolution : Have you any reason for believing that the success of the Ameri- can people in their struggle with the English King may have influenced the common people of France in deciding to revolt against their King and his government ? Which of the two American parties in our early history distrusted the common people ? How did the members of this party feel toward the French revolutionists ? How did the members of the opposing party feel ? l62 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Suggestions for Reading Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book II, pp. 97-107 (Hamilton), pp. 108-115 (Jefferson); Stone and Fickett's Days and Deeds a Hundred Years Ago, pp. 36-52 (Washington's in- auguration) ; F. S. Dellenbaugh's George Washington in True Stories of Great Americans ; Brooks's Stories of the Old Bay State, pp. 157-173 (troublous days before the adoption of the Constitu- tion) ; Guerber's Story of Modern France, pp. 53-123 (the French Revolution) ; Anna Elizabeth Foote and Avery Warner Skinner's Makers and Defenders of America, pp. 111-116 (period after the Revolution), pp. 129-139 (Alexander Hamilton); C. C. Coffin's Building the Nation, pp. 13-41 (years immediately following the Revolution), pp. 42-62 (the French Revolution and its influence upon America). — Problems for Further Study Imagine yourself living in the time of which this chapter treats ; which of the two political parties would you have favored .'' Why ? Give as many reasons as you can for the fact that Washington is known as the "Father of his Country." Before the Constitution was adopted one state could lay a tariff on goods brought in from another state ; the Constitution forbade the laying of such tariffs ; why would it not be a good thing for the states to "protect" their own manufacturers in this way ? CHAPTER IX PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC The Problem : A Small Country or a Great One ? On March 4, 1801, when Jefferson took the oath of office as President, a great majority of the American people lived within fifty miles of the coast. Behind this line of seaboard towns and states, however, lived a sturdy pioneer people that had crossed the mountains, pene- trated the wilderness, staked out farms, built little towns, and opened trade down the Mississippi Valley. There were, in fact, by this time two states beyond the mountains, Kentucky and Tennessee. Ohio was filling up so fast that it was certain to be admitted to the Union very soon. The government of the region now em- braced in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and nearly all of Wisconsin had been provided for by Congress in the famous Northwest Ordinance of 1787; and home- makers were turning to the Northwest Territory, as this region was called, as the land of promise. Those who lived on the frontier saw a great future in the West. Three things, they thought, were neces- sary for its development : (i) the free and permanent use of the Mississippi River for shipping ; (2) explora- 163 164 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY tion • and a study of the resources; and (3) orderly government under the American system. It followed that they must persuade the self-satisfied Easterners to appreciate the importance of the West. The next thing was to get control of New Orleans and the west bank of the Mississippi River. So a very important problem was raised. Were the people of the United States to be satisfied with a small part of the continent facing Europe ? Or were they to look both ways, develop the wilderness, win a continent, and become a mighty nation ? The Northwest Territory Jefferson's Answer. Washington had fully appreci- ated the West. Neither was there anv doubt about the PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC 165 views of Thomas Jefferson on these points. He believed in farms rather than in cities. He knew the frontier and loved it. He knew hunters and explorers and trusted them. He was interested in the country west to the Pacific and wanted to learn all he could about it. He could even imagine that the Americans would sometime spread to the Pacific coast. His Secre- tary of State, James Madison, wrote that the Mississippi was " the Hudson, the Delaware, the Po- tomac, and all the navigable rivers of the Atlantic states rolled into one." Jefferson under- stood the mean- ing of that state- ment. He had a vision that the future of America would be in the West. A little seaboard country must grow to a continental nation. That was his answer. Thomas Jefferson, Who Wrote the First Draft OF the Declaration of Independence, was Secretary of State under Washington, and Became the Third President of the United States l66 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY ' . I. The Louisiana Purchase Jefferson's Interest in the West. There were many- ways in which Jefferson showed his keen interest in the West. He was a man of science. He sought all the information he could get on the plant and animal life and the mineral deposits of that region. When he heard MoNTicELLO, Jefferson's Home in Virgtnia of the bones of gigantic animals found near the Ohio River, he tried to obtain some of them for his collec- tion. He had learned of a river that ran " westwardly " beyond the Missouri River into the Pacific, and was curious to know whether the rumor was true. The Louisiana Territory. — There was a still more im- portant reason for Jefferson's concern in Western affairs ; PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC 167 namely, the demand of the West for a free outlet to the Gulf of Mexico. The population in the Ohio and Mississippi valley was growing. The lower part of the Northwest Territory was being settled by pioneer farmers. The Louisiana territory, west of the Mississippi .River, was in the hands of Spain. It had been given to that country by the treaty of 1763 after France had been so badly beaten in the war with England. Spain also had possession of New Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi ; and all the corn, bacon, and other produce of the Western farms had to pass through a foreign port on the way to shipment by sea. The Spanish officers did everything they could to hamper American business in New Orleans and in 1802 with- drew American privileges to trade at that port. About the same time came the news that Napoleon Bonaparte, the ruler of France, had secretly forced the Spanish King to give the Louisiana terrltor}^ back to France in the year 1800. Jefferson was thoroughly alarmed. He did not fear Spain very much. That country, he said, was now in " a feeble state." France was different. Napoleon was a victorious warrior and was bent on building up an empire in America. Jeffer- son could not endure the thought of this. " It is New Orleans," he wrote, " through which the produce of three-eighths of our territory must pass to market." Jefferson Tries to Buy Territory. No time was to be lost. Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris to aid l68 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY our minister, Robert R. Livingston, in an effort to pur- chase New Orleans from France and the Floridas from Spain. " The future destinies of our country hang on the event of this negotiation," wrote Jefferson to Liv- ingston. That was true. Livingston knew it very well. He anxiously offered to buy the territory of New Orleans, only to be coldly brushed aside by France. He kept up his efforts in spite of continued discouragements. The Louisiana Purchase. Suddenly the luck of Na- poleon changed. War broke out between France and England. England had a great navy. Napoleon had no warships that could cope with it. Therefore he could not hope to hold Louisiana. Suddenly he ordered his minister to sell all the territory to the United States at a price fixed at fifteen million dollars. Living- ston and Aionroe, who had not been instructed to buy so much land, were staggered for a moment. Na- poleon wanted immediate action. There was no time to write home for orders. So they bought Louisiana and signed the treaty on April 30, 1803. When the news of this treaty arrived in America, everybody was astounded. Jefferson, though delighted, was in doubt as to whether the Senate would ratify the treaty. Many men of little vision attacked it savagely. They said that America did not need all that wilderness, that the price was too high, that the West would be- come greater than the East. All such objections, how- ever, were overcome. The treaty was ratified. When PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC 169 the Stars and Stripes were hoisted at New Orleans the territor}^ of the United States stretched to the Rocky Mountains. Settlers were to come from the ends of Firing a Salute to the American Flag as It is Hoisted in New Orleans to Announce That Louisiana has Become a Part of the United States the earth. The question was decided as to whether America was to be a little seaboard country or a conti- nental nation. I/O A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY II. The Lewis and Clark Expedition The Pacific Northwest. Beyond the borders of the Louisiana territory lay a great region extending to the Pacific. To whom did it belong ^ Spain laid claim to it as a part of the California country, which it had long possessed. England had strong claims, for Drake had sailed along the coast during his voyage around the world ; and English seamen, Captain Cook and Captain Vancouver, had explored the waters from California to Alaska. The United States had claims, because Cap- tain Gray, of Boston, in 1792 had sailed up the Pacific Coast and discovered a great river to which he gave the name of his ship, Columbia. Probably this was the river running " westwardly " of which Jefferson had already heard. Ever since 1782 he had been trying to get some one to explore this dis- tant land. Nothing had come of his efforts. He had more than once lamented that the Americans were lacking in the spirit of enterprise because they would not raise the money necessary to fit out a party. It was not until he became President that he could act. In January, 1803, even before the Louisiana Pur- chase had been arranged, he asked Congress for the pitiful sum of $2500 to pay the expenses of exploring the Missouri country and the region beyond " even to the Western Ocean." Congress granted his request and, with great enthusiasm, Jefferson organized the ex- pedition. PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC 171 Meriwether Lewis. As first officer and leader of the exploring party, Jefferson chose his young friend, Cap- tain Meriwether Lewis, a Virginia lad, born and brought up in the neighborhood of Monticello, Jeffer- son's home in Vir- ginia. Lewis was then twent y-n i n e years old and a cap- tain in the army. He had been Jefferson's private secretary for two years and knew all the President's plans and hopes. He was, moreover, an J , Meriwether Lewis, Jefferson's Young experiencea nunter Friend, Chosen to Lead the Expedition and woodsman. He from the Mississippi River to the Paci- , ITT ^'^ Ocean in 1804 knew the Indians and the forests. As Jefferson wrote of him, he was " of cour- age undaunted ; possessing a firmness and perseverance of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from its direction ; careful as a father to those com- mitted to his charge, yet steady in the maintenance of order and discipline ; intimate with the Indian charac- ter, customs, and principles . . . honest, disinterested, liberal, of sound understanding, and a fidelity to truth 172 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY so scrupulous that whatever he should report would be as certain as if seen b\" ourselves." Such was the man chosen to lead in a memorable journey to the Pacific. William Clark. As second in rank, there was selected William Clark, a brother of General George Rogers Clark, of Western fame. Clark was a few years older than Lewis, and also a captain in the army. He had seen Indian fighting in the West and was a tireless hunter and ex- plorer. He knew some- thing about the country across the Mississippi, for he had been there more than once. He was a brave and unselfish man, an excellent com- panion to the firm, quiet, and energetic Lewis. Fitting out the Expedition. For the journey, a small number of soldiers from the United States Army, two French watermen or rangers, and one colored man, a servant of Captain Clark, were chosen. To this group were added a few men to help them part way on the voyage up the Missouri. Three boats were fitted out. One of them was a keel boat fifty-five feet long, equipped with both oars and sails and carrying a small William Clark, Second in Command o\ THE Expedition to the Pacific PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC 173 cannon. There were, in addition, two little boats shaped like flatirons, also with oars and sails. A large supply of food, clothing, and arms was collected. In order to trade with the Indians, Lewis and Clark took a great stock of red trousers, medals, flags, paints, beads, look- ing-glasses, and other trinkets. The Task of the Expedition. Jefferson was very careful to give Lewis and Clark full directions as to their duties. They were to explore the country, take full notes for maps, and record the animal, vegetable, and mineral resources of the region. They were to study the trade, customs, manners, languages, monu- ments, and industries of the Indians. They were to report on the opportunities for trade in the West, so that American citizens might know how to engage in it. Above all they were to trace the course of the Missouri River, and discover routes to the Pacific whether by the Columbia, Colorado, or some other river. In short, they were to find the most direct waterway across the Continent. The Great Journey. In May, 1804, Lewis and Clark turned their boats up the Missouri. Many citizens of St. Louis came out to bid them farewell. In a few days they passed the last white settlement, La Charrette. There they saw the pioneer, Daniel Boone, then nearly seventy years old, but still straight, strong, and hardy. Council Bluffs and the Mandan Indians. Near the mouth of the Platte River they held a " powwow " with some Indians and named the spot Council Bluffs. 174 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY By the end of October, they had reached the villages of the Mandan Indians within the boundaries of North Dakota. The cold nights warned them of the coming winter. So they built a rude fort in which they spent that season. They were not idle for a moment. They The Regions Explored by Lewis and Clark in the Great Expedition to THE Pacific Coast made notes, wrote reports, drafted maps, and built new boats. The Land of the Bear and Buffalo. Early in April, 1805, they were off again. In a few weeks they were in the Yellowstone country, where they saw " vast herds of buffalo, deer, elk, and antelope." They were sur- prised to find the animals so tame that they could ap- proach very near without alarming them. Here, too, PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC 175 they found an animal not so tame, the terrible grizzly bear. The Headwaters of the Missouri. Early in August, 1805, Captain Lewis, with one party, saw that he was approaching the headwaters of the Missouri — a narrow brook. One of the men with a foot on each bank gave thanks that he had lived " to bestride the Missouri." On the twelfth the explorers reached '' the hidden sources of that river which had never yet been seen by civilized man." They quenched their thirst in the icy waters and sat down upon the brink of the tiny rivulet, saying .that " they felt rewarded for all their labors and all their difficulties." They were at last high in the mountains, near the dividing line between the waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific. From the Mountains to the Sea. The journey up the Missouri had been comparatively easy. Now they were to descend to the Pacific through deep mountain gorges filled with floods of rushing waters. Storms of sleet and snow burst upon them. Game grew scarce and their food supply ran so low that they faced star- vation. It was not until October, 1805, that they reached the junction of the Lewis and Columbia rivers, where they found fairly easy sailing again. The Breakers Roar! On the seventh of November they heard the breakers roaring on the Pacific coast. The next day Captain Clark set down this record in his journal : " Great joy in camp. We are in view of the Ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we have been so 1/6 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY long anxious to see, and the roaring or noise made by the waves breaking on the rocky shores (as I suppose) may be heard distinctly." A few hours later he adds, " Ocean in view ! Oh ! the joy ! " The Winter at Fort Clatsop. At the mouth of the Columbia, they built Fort Clatsop, named after Indians found in the neighborhood. There they spent a long and trying winter. The men worked hard at hunting, fishing, and salt making. The oiBcers busied themselves with making a great map of the long overland route and writing up their accounts of the trip. The Homeward Journey. In March, 1806, they de- cided to turn their faces homeward. They prepared a list giving the names of the men in the party and a map showing the route they intended to take back to St. Louis. This record they left with the Indians, tell- ing them to give it to the first white man who came to that country. Their journey home was not so difficult as the trip out to the coast. For a part of the way, the group was divided, Lewis taking one company of men and Clark the other. For more than a month each followed his own route, learning all he could about the country. Happily united in August, 1806, the whole party set out rapidly downstream, making eighty-six miles the first day. The swift current of the Missouri bore them quickly to their journey's end. On September 23, they entered in their journal : " Descended to the Missis- sippi and round to St. Louis where we arrived at twelve PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC 177 o'clock, and having fired a salute, went on shore and received the heartiest and most hospitable welcome from the whole village." Their survey was over. On that very day Captain Lewis sent a letter to Presi- dent Jefferson, who was anxiously waiting for news. Early in the next year the two captains presented them- selves in Washington. Congress, delighted with their work, rewarded both the officers and privates with grants of land. Lewis was made governor of the Loui- siana territory ; but was to enjoy his honors for a short time only. While traveling in Tennessee, in 1809, he met a violent death at a wayside log tavern. No- body knows what actually happened. He was buried in Lewis County, Tennessee, and the state built a hand- some monument to mark his resting place. His com- panion. Captain Clark, was appointed to a government post and lived until 1838. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. All during the long journey the two captains kept careful notes of everything important that they saw and heard. These notes were written up in the form of a complete journal giving the stor}' of their adventures. A great map carefully drawn showed the route which they had taken. These documents afford one of the most interesting records of travel in the annals of exploration. What would we not give for such a journal of Drake's trip or the wanderings of La Salle ! The journals of Lewis and Clark were published in reduced form In 1814. Strange to relate, it was not 178 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY until 1905 that a full and exact copy of the complete record was issued. The old edition, however, was printed and reprinted in many forms. It was widely circulated all over the country. Children read it from ^it-^A 7 ^ f//^€.^>0; ^^. a/ £-o~^&y^ tb^^ a C '4/} M'^>-C^yt'>-Jui,jE^ A Page from the Journal Which Clark Kept on the Oregon Expedition He drew the picture to show the head of a fossil monster which was found when he and his companions were exploring the country. PATH BREAKERS TO THE PACIFIC 179 a love of adventure. Their elders read it to find out about the opportunities for trade and settlement in the Pacific Northwest. Five years after Clark's death the first great overland caravan journeyed into the Oregon country to lay the foundations of a new American state. In the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, fur traders, hunters, pioneers, home seekers, and miners made their way to build the Great West. Thus was the faith of Jefferson in the land beyond the Mississippi more than justified. Questions and Exercises What reason can you think of for the fact that the Americans did not settle the region west of the Appalachian Mountains to any great extent until after the Revolution f (Remember that the French had built forts and trading posts along the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River very much earlier.) I. What is meant by a country's resources .'' What were some of the resources of the Western lands that the thirteen states owned west of the mountains ? Why was it difficult to carry the products of these lands to the American towns and cities on the seaboard ? Why was it much easier to send them out through New Orleans .'' How do the farmers of Kentucky and southern Ohio to-day get their products to the eastern cities ^ Give as many reasons as you can showing why, in Jefferson's time, it was necessary for the United States to own and control New Orleans. What region do we now call Louisiana ? What region was called Louisiana in those days ."* What states now occupy this region ? Give as many reasons as you can showing that the Louisana purchase was a good bargain for the United States. i8o A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY II. What states now occupy the region between the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Ocean ? Locate the Columbia River. What large rivers flow into it ^ Trace on the map the route taken by Lewis and Clark on their journey to the mouth of the Colum- bia. What states would you go through if you went over this route to-day ^ W^hat important towns and cities would you pass ^ Name as many ways as you can in which a trip along this route to-day would differ from the trip of Lewis and Clark. Trace the homeward-bound routes of Lewis and Clark. What is meant by the journal of an expedition } Suggestions for Reading Foote and Skinner's Makers and Defenders of America, pp. 117- 128 (Thomas JeflFerson) ; C. A. McMurry's Pioneers of the Rocky Mountains and the West, Ch. i (Lewis and Clark) ; McMurry's Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley, pp. 68-83 (Daniel Boone) ; Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 200-207 (Daniel Boone), pp. 207-217 (Lewis and Clark) ; Southworth's Builders of 0%ir Country pp. 113-115. To BE Read to Pupils Lighton's Lewis and Clark. Problems for Further Study The distance from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River by the route that Lewis and Clark took is about 4000 miles ; they started on May 14, 1804 and reached their destination on November 15, 1805; how many days did the journey take.'' How many miles on the average did they travel each day 1 They left Fort Clatsop on March 23, 1806. How many days did the return journey occupy 1 How long would it take to make a journey of the distance to-day by train, if one traveled day and night at an average of twenty-live miles an hour ? CHAPTER X THE NEW WORLD DEFIES THE OLD The Problem : Shall America Take Part in European Quarrels? Louisiana was bought and the Far West penetrated by Lewis and Clark during a period when aU Europe was involved in a long war. This conflict had begun in a struggle between France and England in 1793. Except for a short lull, it raged for twenty-two years. All Europe, from Paris to Constantinople, from Lisbon to St. Petersburg, finally became involved in it. Blockade and Search. Though far away, this ter- rible conflict soon brought trouble for the United States. England declared the coasts of Europe blockaded, and France answered this by declaring a blockade against Great Britain. American ships sailing to English ports were thus liable to be captured by the French, while American ships sailing for important ports on the con- tinent of Europe were liable to be captured by the Brit- ish. Moreover, the British claimed the right to search American ships anywhere and take from them any British-born sailors found on board. Between France and England there was little to choose, as far as American Interests were concerned. Both countries preyed upon American commerce. 1 82 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Here was a most annoying problem. What should the United States do ? Fight Great Britain ? Fight France ? Fight both countries ? Beg the two coun- tries to be fair and reasonable ? Or what ? I. Diplomacy and the War with England Jefferson's Answer. Jefferson was above all a man of peace. " Peace is our passion ! " he exclaimed. Be- lieving in peace, he had allowed the American navy to shrink in size. Besides, it had never been any match for the British navy. Fighting seemed out of the ques- tion while Jefferson was President, unless, of course, the United States was ready to join England in a war on France. Jefferson's French sympathies were too strong for that. Moreover, the American people were not willing to join with their former foe. Great Britain, so soon after the Revolution. Especially were they un- willing to war against the French, who had helped them so much during their struggle for independence. Jeffer- son was in a terrible dilemma. The Embargo. At last he found what he thought was a remedy. He asked Congress to pass a law for- bidding all American ships to trade with European countries ; that is, to put an embargo on trade with Europe. New England merchants and ship owners thought the remedy worse than the disease. At least a few of their ships had managed to escape the clutches of the French and the English. By Jefferson's plan most of our ships were to be tied up and American foreign THE NEW WORLD DEFIES THE OLD 183 trade practically ruined. Congress, however, accepted Jeiferson's advice and passed the embargo law in 1807. What the critics expected happened. American sea trade was almost destroyed. All New England was A Cartoon of the Time Showing That Some People Thought Jefferson WAS BEING Robbed by Both Great Britain and France aflame with resentment. Jefferson was abused for his " weakness " and " timidity." It was easier to abuse him than to find a better way out of the trouble. He was certainly wear}^ of the strife and was heartily glad when his second term came to an end on March 4, 1809. 184 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY With joy in his heart he hurried away to Monticello, where he spent the remaining seventeen years of his Hfe with his books and friends. The Views of James Madison. JeiTerson's suc- cessor, James Madison, was a man as peace-loving as himself. Unlike Washington, Hamilton, and many other leaders of the Revolutionary period, Madison had never seen any actual warfare. He was, however, a patriot. At the age of twenty- five he entered the cause of the Revolution as a delegate to the Virginia convention. He helped to frame a con- stitution for his native state and served for a time in the Continental Congress. As a member of the national convention that drafted the Constitution of the United States, Madison took a prominent part in the work. Indeed he earned the title of " the Father of the Constitution." Moreover, the ratification of the Constitution in Virginia was in a large part due to his labors. Madison entered the first Congress under the presi- dency of Washington and under Jefferson served as Secretary of State. On most matters he shared Jeffer- son's views. He was above all a student and had been since his college days at Princeton. He loved books more than the strife of politics or the excitement of the battlefield. It is not surprising that he too desired to keep peace with Europe. Nearly all of his first ad- ministration he spent in negotiations with France and England rather than in getting ready for war with them. THE NEW WORLD DEFIES THE OLD 185 Madison Driven into the War of 1812. Madison might have kept up his negotiations if it had not been for a "war party " in Congress. Two members of this party, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky, were savage in their criticism of England, thereby receiving the name of " War Hawks." Madison believed they were foolish. He wrote bitterly of their action in forcing war without making careful preparations for it. Yet he was com- pelled to bow to their will. When Congress declared war on England, June 18, 1812, he signed the bill. Without adequate forces on land or sea, the United States was again in arms against one of the first powers of the world. It was not long before the unfortunate results of war without preparation were brought home to everybody. An invasion of Canada failed. In August, 18 14, the British captured the Capital of our country, Washing- ton, and burnt many public buildings. President Madison fled in one direction. Mrs. Madison fled in another, carrying with her, in her reticule, all the White House silver she could gather up in her hasty departure. The British soon reached the presidential mansion and ate the dinner that had been prepared for the Madisons. Peace with England — the Battle of New Orleans. A few months after this humiliation, peace was made with England. During these years of conflict, the weary round of fighting was relieved only a few times 1 86 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY by victories. Commodore Perry defeated the British in a memorable battle on Lake Erie, and there were some brilliant exploits on the ocean. A memorable event in American history occurred when the British made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Baltimore. This city was defended by Fort McHenry, which the British fleet bombarded in the hope that they might destroy it. The bombardment lasted far into the night. An American prisoner with the British fleet anxiously watched for the coming of the dawn to learn whether the flag still waved over the ramparts of the fort. While he was watching he composed the song that we now know as the " Star-Spangled Banner." The one consoling victory of the war was won by Gen- eral Andrew Jackson at New Orleans. That terrible battle was fought after peace had been made with Eng- land, just a short time before the good news reached America. Never were people more heartily sick of war than the Americans in January, 1815, when the ringing of bells and firing of cannon announced the end of hostili- ties. We are told that Federalists and Democrats for- got their ancient ill will and wept and laughed and kissed each other in the streets. The treaty itself did not do much for the Americans, but the great European war was over and England no longer had any reason to interfere with our commerce. Madison and Nullification. Like his predecessor, Madison was glad when the end of his term came and THE NEW WORLD DEFIES THE OLD 187 he could retire to his home in Virginia. There he Hved to the ripe old age of eighty-five. His last years were made sorrowful by events in South Carolina. The people of that state denounced in strong language the tariff laws passed by Congress. They called a convention which declared that those laws could not be enforced in the state. The conven- tion asserted that the state was really an independent nation and could lay down the terms on which it would stay in the Union. This action, as we have seen before in the case of Kentucky, was called " nullifying " fed- eral law. Madison saw that nullification might lead to with- drawal from the Union ; that is, to secession. The last important paper which he wrote was a protest against that doctrine. "The Constitution and laws of the United States," he said, " are supreme over the con- stitutions and laws of the several states." He warned his countrymen that nullification might dissolve the Union. He had labored long and faithfully to estab- lish it, and his last thoughts were about maintaining it. Thus in his dying hours, in 1836, the " Father of the American Constitution " was thinking about the safety of the federal government and the American nation. n. Opposition to the War in New England Madison's Opponents. Far away in New England there was another old man, Harrison Gray Otis, who was equally alarmed by nullification in South Carolina. 1 88 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY In earlier days he had been at swords' points with Madison over the war against England in 1812. Otis and the Embargo. When Congress laid an embargo on New England shipping in 1807, Otis was among the men who opposed it. He thought that even a war with England was more desirable than an embargo A Cartoonist Drew this Picture showing New England Jumping into the Hands of George III, the English King, Because the People of New England Opposed Jefferson's Embargo. which destroyed the trade of the commercial states. However, he did not want either. He took a prom- inent part in a special town meeting in Boston called to condemn the embargo. At that meeting the citizens petitioned the President to suspend the embargo in whole or in part. This request was not heeded by Jefferson. THE NEW WORLD DEFIES THE OLD 189 The Hartford Convention. The war against Eng- land, declared by Congress in 18 12, was thought to be sheer madness by Otis and his Federalist friends. The Massachusetts legislature declared that the embargo was an act more odious than the Boston port bill — the bill that had " aroused the colonies into independ- ence." Some extremists talked about withdrawing from the Union and leaving the Southern states to light the war alone. Otis took the lead in condemning the war as bringing humiliation, danger, and distress upon the states. Un- der his influence, the Massachusetts legislature called a convention at Hartford, Connecticut, to consider a revision of the federal Constitution. Connecticut and Rhode Island joined Massachusetts in sending delegates. On December 15, 18 14, the convention met as ar- ranged. - The delegates were accused of trying to break up the Union and form a New England confederation. Both Madison and Jefferson were frightened on hearing the news. Fortunately, their alarms were groundless. The convention did criticize Madison for involving the country in " a ruinous war " ; it did attack the methods used in raising troops ; it also asserted that New England trade had been sacrificed by the war policy 6i the President ; it proposed amendments to the federal Constitution ; but It stopped far short of the " treason " with which it was charged. The close of the war just at that time brought all such proceed- ings on the part of the Federalists to an end. igo A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY The Federal Party Breaks Up. Otis and the members of the Hartford Convention were at once accused by Madison's party, the RepubHcans, of being enemies of their country. This charge was not true ; but many of the Federalists had undoubtedly failed to help the gov- ernment loyally in the war. They had criticized the war instead of supporting it. As a result the Federalists were sadly beaten in the election of 1816 and then disappeared as a political party. Whenever Otis appeared as a candidate for office his record at Hartford was brought up against him. In one election a political writer condemned him in the follow- ing lines of very poor poetry : Who was at Hartford .'' I says Sir Harry. At Hartford did tarry, And I was at Hartford . . . And honest men frown whenever they mention The names of Sir Harry and the Hartford Convention. HI. James Monroe and the Monroe Doctrine The Fourth Virginia President. On March 4, 18 17, it fell to the lot of Otis to witness the inauguration of a stanch Madison man — James Monroe — as President. Monroe was then nearly sixty years old. His birth- place was not far from that of George Washington. He belonged to the generation of men who established the independence of America. His father was a well- to-do planter and, in his youth, young James heard at THE NEW WORLD DEFIES THE OLD 191 the dinner table strong criticism of the Stamp Act. He was at the old college of William and Mary when the Revolutionary War opened and was one of a group of teachers and students who at once went into the army. Monroe in the Revolution. In 1776 Monroe joined Washington's forces near New York. He was in the battle of. White Plains. He was wounded at Trenton when the Hessians were captured. The next yea.T he was again in active service at the battles of Brandy- wine, Germantown, and Monmouth. At the end of the war he was serving as a volunteer in defense of Virginia. Monroe in Politics. Monroe afterward became a member of the Virginia legislature and governor of the state. He had not been in favor of the Constitution be- fore its adoption. When the states had voted for it, however, he accepted it and was ever afterward loyal to the new government. He served as United States senator, commissioner to France, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. The last office he held when elected President. By travel and service abroad he had be- come well acquainted with European affairs. Monroe was, then, well fitted by his long experience to do the difiicult work that falls to the President. Monroe and Florida. One of the most important acts of Monroe's first term was the purchase of Florida from Spain. On taking office he found trouble along the southern border of the United States. At that time both East and West Florida were under Spanish rule. Span- ish settlements were small and widely scattered. The 192 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY two territories were the home of Indians, pirates, and escaped robbers and slaves from the United States. Vexed at the constant troubles on the border, Monroe sent General Andrew Jackson with a small force to put a stop to it in Jan- uary, 181 8. Jack- son thought this was a hint to seize the Floridas, and he proceeded to take immediate posses- sion of them. His somewhat high- handed action al- mostbrought about war between the United States and Spain. It was only by skillful manage- ment that the Spanish king was mollified and in- duced to sell the Floridas to the United States. A treaty providing for the sale was signed at Washington on February 22, 1819. Latin-American Affairs. The trouble with Spain over the Floridas was soon followed by a new difficulty. Shortlv before this time the other Spanish colonies in James Monroe, a Virginia Soldier, President OF THE United States and Author of the Monroe Doctrine THE NEW WORLD DEFIES THE OLD 193 the New World had revolted and declared their inde- pendence. The King of Spain, like George III, tried to hold his rich American provinces. He asked the other kings of Europe to help him. This presented a griev- ous problem to the United States. Should our govern- ment sit idly by and see the rule of a monarch reestab- lished over the Mexican and South American republics — all " Latin America " } If this were permitted the European countries might then attack the republic of the United States. Jefferson's View. In his anxiety, President Mon- roe wrote to his old friend, Thomas Jefferson, at Monticello for his advice on this point. He soon received a clear-cut answer. " Our first and funda- mental maxim should be never to entangle ourselves in the broils of Europe," wrote Jefferson. He added that we should not allow Europe to meddle with our affairs. The Monroe Doctrine. A short time after receiv- ing Jefferson's letter, namely on December 2, 1823, Monroe sent to Congress the message containing the famous " doctrine " that bears his name. He said that any attempt on the part of the kings of Europe to extend their rule or system of government to this hemisphere was dangerous to our peace and safety. He added that if they attempted to oppress or control the new South American republics, such action would be viewed as unfriendly to the United States. A second part of Monroe's message dealt with the 194 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Czar of Russia. That monarch had laid claim to lands in North America from Alaska far down the Pacific coast. President Monroe informed the Czar that this was not approved by the United States. He went on to say that no more American territory was to be colonized in the future by any European power. These statements by Monroe were a fair warning to Europe. The United States condemned restoring the monarchy in the former Spanish colonies. It disap- proved any attempt on the part of European powers to establish new colonies in North or South America, or to control the affairs of the republics of North or South America. Ever since that day, these prin- ciples have been highly esteemed throughout the United States. Questions and Exercises Why should a great war in Europe have caused trouble to the people of the United States at the time of which we are studying .'' What is meant by a blockade ? Why does it hurt a country to have its ports blockaded ? What would be some of the ills that we should suffer if another nation should succeed in blockading our ports to-day ? Why, do you think, did the English wish to take British-born sailors from American ships at a time when the two countries were not at war ? The English said, "Once an Eng- lishman, always an Englishman " ; why would such a ruling affect many sailors on American ships at the time of these early troubles ? I. What is the difference between an embargo and a blockade ^ Why was Jefferson's embargo on American ships unpopular ? How long did the War of 1812 last.? Why is it particularly humiliating for a nation at war to have its capital city captured THE NEW WORLD DEFIES THE OLD 195 by the enemy ? A naval battle was fought on Lake Erie near Sandusky; find these on the map. Where, do you think, did the ships come from that were engaged in the battle of Lake Erie ? Locate New Orleans. Why would the enemy wish especially to capture this city ^ How did it happen that the battle of New Orleans was fought after the peace treaty had been signed ? Why could not such a thing happen to-day ? IL At the time of the W'^ar of 1812, New England sent out more ships than any other part of the country ; can you think of any reasons why New England was well fitted to carry on commerce with countries overseas ^ Why were the people of New England generally opposed to the war f W^h}^ is it important to remember the Hartford Convention ^ 111. Why was Monroe especially well fitted to be President .'' Locate Florida. What American general seized Florida ? In what connection have we heard of him before ^ How was the difficulty with Spain over Florida finally settled .'' What is meant by Latin-America ^ Name some of the Latin-American coun- tries, and find them on the map. Give as many reasons as you can explaining why the Monroe Doctrine has been so important in our history. What European countries still hold possessions on the American continent ^ Locate on the map the most im- portant of these possessions. To what country did Alaska once belong ? What country owns Alaska now ^ Suggestions for Readings Johonnot's Stories of our Country, pp. 177-186 (Perry and Lake Erie), pp. 187-192 (the "Star-Spangled Banner"), pp. 192-198 (New Orleans); Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 218-224 (Perry), pp. 224-230 (Dolly Madison), pp. 231-236 (the' "Star- Spangled Banner") ; Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book n, pp. 108-115 (Jefferson), pp. 140-146 (Perry and Alac- donough), pp. 149-156 (Jackson's early life) ; Coffin's Building 196 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY the Nation, Chs. xi, xii, xiii, xiv, xv (War of 1812), pp. 232-246 (Monroe's administration) ; Guerber's Story of Modern France, pp. 166-218 (events in Europe, 1804-18 14). To BE Read to Pupils Hart's Source Readers in American History, No. 3, Hozv Our Grandfathers Lived, pp. 228-231 (impressment of sailors), pp. 238- 247 ("Constitution" and "Guerriere"), pp. 248-249 (Lake Erie), 249-251 (the "Star-Spangled Banner"), pp. 281-282 (Dolly Madi- son), pp. 291-300 (Battle of the Thames and Niagara campaign) ; Roosevelt and Lodge : Hero Tales from American History, pp. 117- 136 (naval encounters of War of 1812), pp. 139-147 (New Orleans). H. A. Guerber's Story of the Great Republic, pp. 98-101 (purchase of Florida and the Monroe Doctrine). Problems for Further Study Were the Americans victorious in the War of 1812 or were they beaten ? Give reasons for the answer that you make. In what important ways did warfare in 1812-14 differ from warfare to-day t CHAPTER XI THE OLD EAST AND THE NEW WEST The Problem : Shall the Eastern States Control the Nation? When, in 1825, James Monroe turned the presidency over to John Quincy Adams, eleven new states had been added to the original thirteen. Except for Vermont and A'laine, all of them were in the West : Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Missis- sippi, Illinois, Alabama, and Missouri. The Western states were devoted almost entirely to agriculture. They were settled by small farmers and planters. This growing West was just what timid people on the sea- board had long dreaded. Up to this time the East had controlled public af- fairs. All the Presidents had been from the East. Four of them, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, came from Virginia ; two, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, came from Massachusetts. The people on the coast had grown accustomed to governing the countr}^ " What will become of us," they cried, " if frontiersmen, uneducated farmers, hunters, and Indian fighters have a majority of the votes .? What do they know about commerce, cities, foreign affairs, bank- ing, and government .'' " 197 The United States Contained Twenty-four States When John Quincy Adams Became President 198 THE OLD EAST AND THE NEW WEST 199 The people who held these views were seriously worried about the fate of the nation. They found out what would happen when, in 1828, the West sent them a President fresh from the frontier. I. The Man from the West — ^ Andrew Jackson The Early Life of Jackson. This newcomer in politics was a true " son of the soil." His father and mother, immigrants from Ireland, had settled on the border of the two Carolinas, where their son, Andrew, was born in 1767. When the British troops swept into that region during the Revolution they carried off the boy as a prisoner. At the end of the war his father, mother, and brothers were dead and he was alone in the world. How much schooling he received, if any, we do not know. It appears that he tried the saddler's trade first. Then he studied law. According to stories he was " gay, careless, rollicking, fond of horses, rac- ing, cock fighting, and mischief." Jackson of Tennessee. In 1788, the year before Washington was inaugurated as President, Jackson was appointed prosecutor in Tennessee, then a part of North Carolina. At that time Tennessee was a wild frontier country. Jackson early engaged in " backwoods " politics. He was a member of the conyention that drafted the constitution of Tennessee in 1796. The state was ad- mitted to the Union in that vear. He was then elected 200 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY a member of the House of Representatives of the United States, but did not accompHsh anything at the national capital, which was then Philadelphia. One who saw him there described him as " a tall, lank, uncouth-looking personage, with long locks of hair hanging over his face, and a cue down his back tied Battle of New Orleans From De Lami's painting in the Louisiana State Museum in an eelskin ; his dress singular, his manners and de- portment that of a backwoodsman." When he first tried to speak in Congress he choked with rage and had to sit down. The Hero of New Orleans. On his return to Ten- nessee, Jackson tried farming and storekeeping. When the War of 1812 with England broke out, he was forty- THE OLD EAST AND THE NEW WEST 201 five years old and had shown no signs of ever doing anything unusual in the world. That war proved to be his opportunity. He was put at the head of troops sent against the Creek Indians and quickly proved that at all events he could fight. In 1 8 14 he was made a major-general in the Army of the United States and given command of the South- western division. In January of the next year he won his famous victory over the British at New Orleans. This brilliant stroke suddenly lifted him to national fame. The war had brought many humiliations. Jackson's victory was therefore doubly welcome. The lowly and uneducated, but able and courageous, fron- tiersman had become a popular hero. The Florida Affair. Jackson had not yet finished his work. He won more military honors in the Floridas which, as we have seen, he seized in 1818. These ex- ploits made Jackson the idol of the West. Jackson in Politics. Jackson was promptly elected to the Senate and his friends went to work to elect him President. In 1822 the Tennessee legislature nominated him. All over the country hosts of friends hailed the event. In 1824 he received more votes than any other candidate. But the votes of the people do not directly elect a President. In reality the people vote for " presidential electors " and these electors in turn vote for President and Vice President. It happened in this election that no one candidate received a major- ity (that is, more than half) of the " electoral " votes. 202 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY The Constitution provides that when such a thing hap- pens, the House of Representatives shall choose a Pres- ident. In this case, then, the choice was with the House of Representatives and this body did not choose Jackson but gave the majority of their votes to John Quincy Adams. The defeat enraged Jackson and his supporters. The popular vote had been decidedly in his favor and his friends thought that he had really been " cheated " out of the presidency. They grumbled, and prepared to wage a hot campaign during the next election. Fear of Jackson. All over the United States, though more especially in the East, there were men who feared that Jackson would wreck the country if elected. Jefferson wrote of him : " I feel very much alarmed at the prospect of seeing General Jackson President. He is one of the most unfit men I know of for the place. . . . His passions are terrible. . . . He is a dangerous man." Jackson's opponents represented him as a reck- less, lawless, cruel, and evil spirit. Handbills were issued containing the picture of a coffin and a list of Jackson's " terrible deeds." These were known as the " coffin handbills." To the frightened New England Federalists, now few in numbers, it seemed that the world would come to an end if such a man were chosen President. The Election of 1828. The long-dreaded event hap- pened, however, in 1828. The Hero of New Orleans was elected President by a great majority. Jackson's opponent, Adams, did not get a single electoral vote THE OLD EAST AND THE NEW WEST 203 west of the Alleghenies or south of the Potomac. Ac- cording to a story of the time, two men in Tennessee who attempted to vote for Adams were threatened with tar and feathers. Jackson, on the other hand, received only one electoral vote in New England. It was an ominous division of the country. The South was solid and so was New England. Jackson was clearly a spokesmxan of the South and West, although he received a large vote in New York and Pennsylvania. II. Jackson as President The Inauguration. Never had the city of Wash- ington witnessed such a scene as on March 4, 1829, when Jackson was inaugurated. The farmers and me- chanics felt that they had a friend in the President's chair. " Persons have come five hundred miles (with no railways)," wrote Daniel Webster, of Massachu- setts, " to see Jackson and they really seem to think that the country is rescued from some dreadful danger." Men of the older generation with powdered hair, knee breeches, silk stockings, and silver buckles were rudely jostled to one side. The age of the " aristocrat," as Jackson's friends remarked, had come to an end. *' It seemed," related a witness, " as if half the nation had rushed at once into the capital. . . . The West and South seemed to have thrown themselves upon the North and overwhelmed it. . . . Strange faces filled every public place and every face seemed to bear defiance on its brow." 204 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY The Spoils System. As soon as Jackson was safely- installed in office a clamor went up against the clerks and other employees of the government. The Presi- dent's supporters declared that the old officeholders should be turned out to make room for his friends. This was a novel idea at Washington. Up to that time each new President had allowed nearly all the minor officers to keep their places. The " Old Hero " had little respect for such time-honored customs. He loved his friends and hated his enemies. It was only fair play, he thought, to give " jobs " to those who had helped to elect him. The government em- ployees were, many of them, old and faithful servants of the public. Most of them had held their posts for years, and were highly experienced in their work. That did not matter to Jackson. He said any man could learn the duties of public office in a short time. Andrew Jackson, from a Picture Made AT THE Time He was President THE OLD EAST AND THE NEW WEST 205 Jackson men hunting jobs descended upon the Presi- dent like a swarm of locusts. They besieged him in the White House and dogged his steps on the streets. One office-seeker remarked that he was ashamed of him- self because he felt that every one he met knew why he was there. " Don't distress yourself," replied a friend, " for every man you meet is on the same busi- ness." Within a year the President had discharged more than two thousand employees. From Washington's day to Jackson's, only seventy-four had been removed, several of them for misconduct. Now old and tried men were discharged for no cause at all — just to make room for Jackson men. Politicians took up the cry : " To the victor belong the spoils." Thus they spread abroad the evil notion that government offices should be turned over to workers in political parties. Jackson and Nullification in South Carolina. Be- , fore the end of his first term, Jackson was con- fronted with a quarrel between the national govern- ment and South Carolina. It was over the tariff laws passed by Congress to protect American manufacturers by putting a tax on manufactured goods brought in from other countries. South Carolina did not like these measures, especially the act passed in 1828; and, as we have seen (p. 187), the people of the state refused to obey the laws — nullified them, in short. Thus the President and entire government of the United States were defied. 2o6 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY South Carolina was disappointed in Jackson. It should have known, however, where he stood. At a grand banquet in Washington, he had proposed a toast : " Our federal union : it must be preserved." When he heard of " nullification " in South Carolina, he ordered two warships to Charleston and instructed federal troops to prepare for action. Then he made a vigorous proclamation. He told the people of South Carolina that the national government was supreme and that no state had a right to nullify a law. This answer surprised the South Carolinians and aroused Congress to action. In the uproar a com- promise was reached. Steps were taken to reduce the tariif against which such vigorous protests had been made. At the same time, provisions were made to enforce the law against any state that refused to obey It. Thus neither side won a clean victory. Jackson's cry : " Our federal union : It must be preserved ! " rang throughout the countr}^ It was taken up by thousands of his followers. In the time to come men were to die for it on the field of battle. The Business of the United States Bank. In the closing days of Madison's presidency Congress had es- tablished a second United States Bank. The Bank had large powers. It could establish branches In all parts of the country. It could Issue notes to circulate as money. It received huge deposits of United States money collected from taxation. The ofiicers and agents were business men of wide influence In their communities. THE OLD EAST AND THE NEW WEST 207 The Charges against the Bank. Jackson cher- ished a deadly enmity toward the Bank. He said it was a dangerous " money power." He accused the Bank officers of taking part in elections and charged them with opposing the "will of the people." He al- leged that they tried to use the Bank and the federal government for selfish purposes. For these and other reasons he insisted that the charter of the Bank should not be renewed at the end of its term in 1836. This was just what the leading business men in the East feared from the West. The Bank had been very useful to them. Its notes were "sound"; that is, were recognized as " good money " all over the coun- try. The branches of the Bank in different sections made it easy to do business on a national scale. There was no danger that such a bank might fail and defraud depositors. Destroying the Bank. His reelection as President in 1832 convinced Jackson that the people approved his conduct. He decided not to wait until the end of the Bank's charter in 1836 to destroy it. He issued an order that all the government's money should be with- drawn from the bank and its branches. This act was viewed by Jackson's party as a triumph over an " evil money power." The Senate Attacks Jackson. Jackson's old op- ponent, Henry Clay, was at this moment in the Senate. He declared that Jackson had acted without authority in removing the deposits, and called him a " usurper." 2o8 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Clay introduced two resolutions. The first accused Jackson of acting in defiance of the law and the Consti- tution. The second asserted that the reasons given for the removal of the deposits were neither sufficient nor satisfactory. Both resolutions were carried in 1834. The Criticism Withdrawn. The President's wrath knew no bounds. His followers, proudly styling them- selves Jacksonian Democrats, rallied in force to his defense, when at last they had a majority in the Senate. One of the leaders, Thomas H. Benton, of Mis- souri, moved that the resolution of censure be struck from the records of the Senate. In January, 1837, this resolution was adopted. With great ceremony a black line was drawn around the record on the journal where Jackson was censured. Across the page was written " Expunged by order of the Senate." This was a great personal triumph for Jackson. On every point he had humiliated his enemies. He had destroyed the Bank. He had made the Senate " eat its own words " of criticism against him. That was not all. He literally named his successor to the office of President. Jackson and Van Buren. Among his warm supporters was a forceful politician from the state of New York, Martin Van Buren. When the time for his retire- ment approached, Jackson told his advisers that he wanted them to agree on his friend for President. Many of them did not like this order, but they were accustomed to obey the wishes of their chief. THE OLD EAST AND THE NEW WEST 209 So they went to work to win the nomination of Van Buren at the Democratic convention of 1836. By shrewd management they were able to do it. Indeed, as a Baltimore newspaper said, " the whole proceeding of the convention has been management, management, management, manage- ment." It was crowded with Jackson's office holders. At the election of 1836, the voters were told that Van Buren was a friend of Jackson, That was enough for Jackson's supporters. They voted for Van Buren, electing him President by a safe majority. Jackson Retires to Ten- nessee. On March 4, 1837, Jackson witnessed what he called "the glorious scene" of Van Buren's inaugura- tion. Three days later he commenced a triumphal tour to his old home. At Nashville the people fairly went wild with joy at the sight of their " Old Hero." His residence, the Hermitage, near by, became the place to which devoted Jackson men made pilgrimages. Poli- ticians sought his advice and help. He continued to take part in public affairs, indorsing candidates and writing letters in favor of various political schemes. Martin Van Buren 2IO A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY No President, except Washington, had enjoyed such popularity and such triumphs. Certainly no President ever wielded more power in office. Everything favored his fortunes and added to his fame. He overcame all his opponents and attained every honor he sought. He had been the first to make his way upward from poverty and obscurity to the White House. He could, there- fore, with a cheerful heart forgive his enemies in his de- clining years and pass away in peace. In the summer of 1845 he died at his home, surrounded by faithful and loving friends. Questions and Exercises Find on the map the states that were admitted to the Union between 1789 and 1825. How many years did this period cover .^ Name as many ways as you can in which the settlers of the new Western states would be likely to differ from the men and women who lived in the older states. Why should the East have feared the West f I. Give as many reasons as you can to explain why a man like Andrew Jackson would be popular among the settlers of the new Western states. What is the difference between the "popular" vote for president and the "electoral" vote? What is meant by the statement, "The South was solid and so was New England " ^ Why was this an "ominous" division of the country.^ Can you think of any words that mean about the same as "ominous"? II. What is meant by the "spoils system" in politics? Why is it a bad system ? Do you know of any men or women in your locality who are in the employ of the national Government ? How do you think these men and women would like to work for the Gov- ernment under the spoils system ? What part of the country in THE OLD EAST AND THE NEW WEST 211 those days would have been most favorable toward tariffs on manu- factured goods ? Why ? What part of the country would have objected to high tariffs on such goods ? Why ? What did South Carolina mean by "nullifying" the tariff laws ? How did Jackson treat this threat ? What kind of business does a bank do ? Why was Jackson opposed to the United States Bank ? What did Henry Clay mean when he said that Jackson had "usurped" power in order to destroy the bank ? What is meant by a " reso- lution of censure " ? Give as many words as you can telling the kind of man that Jackson was ; for example, "Jackson was brave, obstinate, , " Suggestions for Reading Coffin's Building the Nation, pp. 246-250 (the tariff and nullifica- tion) ; Southworth's Builders of Our Country, pp. 156-157 (Jack- son as President) ; W. F. Gordy's American Leaders and Heroes, pp. 253-262 (Jackson) ; Guerber's Story of the Great Republic, pp. 106-109 (Jackson's Presidency). Problems for Further Study Make a list of the Presidents that we have studied about so far. Of these which ones had been soldiers in the Revolution or in the War of 1812 .f* Why are men who have won fame as soldiers often popular candidates for the presidency ? CHAPTER XII MAKING AN INDUSTRIAL NATION The Problem : How to Obtain a Large Output of Goods and Quick Transportation. Thomas Jefferson wanted America to be an agricultural country. He be- lieved that the life of the free, land-owning farmer was the best life for a citizen of a republic. He wished to keep workshops and cities In Europe. His great rival, Alexander Hamilton, thought differently. He held that industries to supply manufactured goods were necessary to prosperity in peace and to strength and defense In war. In the course of time Hamilton's idea triumphed in America. In order that the country might have prosperous in- dustries, many things were necessary. There had to be capital, or accumulations of money, to start indus- tries. There had to be able managers and skillful working people. There had to be plenty of raw ma- terials of all kinds. That was not all. New and quicker ways of making goods and carrying them to market had to be found. That was a constant problem before industrial leaders. The Inventors. Accordingly there was a call for ingenious persons, called inventors, to help solve the MAKING AN INDUSTRIAL NATION 21 3 problem which confronted business men. Clever per- sons in all parts of the country heard the call for help and began to make new and wonderful machines. Sometimes they thought of original ideas themselves and sometimes they borrowed ideas from other people. Indeed, they depended so much upon one another that it is hardly fair to mention five or six, and say nothing about hundreds of others who did their full share too. Nevertheless, a few do stand out as great leaders. I. The Cotton Gin Eli Whitney. One of the most original of all Ameri- can inventors was the man who made the cotton gin, Eli Whitney. The idea was in the air, but it was he who first used it in making a practical working machine. Cotton was formerly prepared for spinning in a most laborious manner. Every one of the seeds had to be picked out of the fibers by hand. Even a swift worker could prepare only about a pound or two a day. This tedious method of cleaning restricted both the planting and the spinning of cotton. One day, while George Washington was President of the United States, a little group of people, on a plan- tation near Savannah, Georgia, happened to be talking about the slow way of taking seed out of cotton. One of them remarked that a better way ought to be found to do it. Among the group was the widow of General Nathanael Greene, who had settled in the South with 214 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY her husband after the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Greene was impressed by the idea and discussed it with a young man from Massachu- setts who was then living in her home as teacher, or tutor, of her chil- dren. A Yankee Me- chanic. The young man was Eli Whit- ney. His father had been a well-to- do New England farmer who, in ad- dition to tilling the soil, made many useful tools in his little workshop. During the long winter days, the boy played in the shop and learned to make things himself. He was about ten years old when the Revolutionary War brought a big demand for nails, and he set to work with a vim to make them. At Yale College. He might have gone on with me- chanical work and become a prosperous smith, but he Eli Whitm,^, Iwintor of the Cotton Gin and Successful Manufacturer MAKING AN INDUSTRIAL NATION 215 felt that he needed a better education. His father was able to help him to some extent and Eli earned a little money by doing odd jobs ; thus he managed to make his way through Yale College. A Trip to Georgia. On finishing his college work in 1792, Whitney decided to teach. He heard of a posi- tion at Savannah, Georgia, and sailed south to seek it. During the long voyage down the coast he met Mrs, Greene on the boat and she was much pleased with his cheerful ways and eager face. On arriving at Savannah he found the vacancy filled. Mrs. Greene came to his aid by inviting him out to her near-by plantation. Inventing the Cotton Gin. She took him into the family as a tutor. There he was, when the idea of in- venting a cotton cleaner was suggested to him. Quick as a flash he took it up. He fitted teeth into wooden rollers. He made stiff brushes to strip the cotton from the rollers. In a short time he had a machine ready. He fed cotton into it, turned a crank, and, to his delight, the cotton came out at the other side without a seed in it. His contrivance was called a " gin " — an abbrevi- ation of the word " engine." Before Whitney could get a patent on his machine some one broke into his shop and stole the design. It thus became common prop- erty. In a few years gins driven by horse power and then by steam were found all over the cotton districts of the South. Cotton growing extended rapidly through- out the Gulf region. 2l6 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY A Successful Manufacturer. Though Whitney lost his cotton gin, he did not give up inventing. He re- turned North and worked on the improvement of fire- arms. He was successful at this and built a large factory at Whitneyville, near New Haven. At his Eli Whitney's Factory near New Haven, Connecticut death, in 1825, he was one of the wealthiest manufac- turers in the country. The Cotton Gin Makes a Revolution. Whitney's cotton gin really made a revolution in industry. Spin- ning by machinery had already been invented in Eng- land. With a gin, a thousand pounds or more of cot- ton could be cleaned in a day. So the demand for raw cotton was almost without limit. Southern planters went to work with energy to meet the demand. They called for more land and more slaves. Thus the plant- MAKING AN INDUSTRIAL NATION 217 ing system and slavery spread quickly into the South- west. II. The Reaper Cutting Grain by Old Methods. The cotton gin was important for the planters. Another invention, the reaper, was equally important for the farmers of the North and West. In the old days wheat and rye were cut with a sickle, a small curved knife. The harvester took a handful of grain in one hand and cut the straws off with the sickle. This was a slow process. After the sickle came the " scythe and cradle." The scythe was a long knife attached to a handle. Above the blade were fixed long wooden fingers a few inches apart. As the reaper swung the scythe, the grain fell against the fingers and could be laid in long rows upon the ground. This was necessary in order that the stalks might easily be gathered into sheaves with the heads of grain all at one end where they could be pounded out and separated from the straw and the chaif. It took a good " cradler " to cut two acres or more of grain in a day. Obed Hussey. Nobody knows just who first thought of a machine drawn by horses to cut grain. It is cer- tain, however, that Obed Hussey, a Maryland black- smith, invented a successful reaper in 1833. The McCormick Reaper. About the same time a farmer and machinist in Pennsylvania, Cyrus McCor- mick, was working on the same device. His farmer 2l8 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY father was an ingenious man with tools and had in- vented a number of farm implements. Indeed, the elder McCormick made a reaped, but it was not a success. In 1 83 1, when he was twenty-two years old, Cyrus began to work over his father's discarded machine. At the end of three years he had built one that would cut grain and he took out a patent. He then devoted all his time to making reapers, turning them out by hand in his blacksmith shop. After a few years, McCormick moved to Cincinnati. Later he built a shop at Chicago, which grew into one of the greatest factories in the world. From year to year improvements were made in the reaper. When he died, in 1882, his business had spread to the four corners of the earth. III. The Sewing Machine Elias Howe. While Cyrus McCormick was building his shop, another inventor, Elias Howe, far away in New England, patented a sewing machine. Like Whitney and McCormick, Howe had been brought up in the midst of tools and machinery. His father was a farmer and a miller at Spencer, Massachusetts. Young Howe, born in 18 19, began working with his father as soon as he was old enough to swing a hammer. At the age of sixteen, after a few winters at a district school, Howe entered a factory at Lowell as a mechanic. MAKING AN INDUSTRIAL NATION 219 There he became acquainted with the very compHcated machinery for spinning cotton. From Lowell he drifted to Boston, where he experimented with a sewing ma- chine that could be driven by hand or some other kind of power. The Hardships of Howe. In all the annals of hard- ship, poverty, and endless toil, there is no story more pathetic than that of Elias Howe. Day and night in his spare time, he hammered, sawed, and filed in his garret, shaping the pieces of his ma- chine. By 1845 he had succeeded in making a crude affair that would sew. The next year it was patented. Practical men in Boston laughed at his machine and he went to England thinking he might find aid there. Failure dogged his steps, even when he was across the sea, and he returned home poverty- stricken. Elias Howe, Who Persevered through Years OF Failure until He Invented a Practical Sewing Machine 220 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Still no one would help. To make things worse, attempts were made to wrest his patent from him. Hav- ing no money, he was forced to go to work again as a machinist to make a living. Success at Last. Finally, in 1854, his rights as the inventor of the sewing machine were recognized and capital was raised to build a factory in which to manufacture it. Once started on the way, Howe's success was remarkable. His sewing machines were in great demand. He could hardly make them fast enough. The poor inventor, who had spent so many years in a garret, became a rich man. On the opening of the Civil War, Howe, a loyal unionist, joined the army as a private. When money did not arrive on time to pay the men in his regiment, he advanced it out of his own fortune. He died in 1867, one of the leading inventors and business men of the country. The cotton gin, coupled with the spinning machine and the loom, made the great textile industry. The sewing machine revolutionized sewing in the homes and created the clothing industry. The reaper trans- formed the fields of America into a granary for the industrial cities. IV. Steam and Transportation The Steam Engine. While the Revolutionary War was being fought, a young man, James Watt, was be- ginning an Industrial Revolution by the manufacture MAKING AN INDUSTRIAL NATION 221 of steam engines in Birmingham, England. In a few years his giant machines were thundering in the factory towns all over England. A revolution in the ways of working and living had begun. Three Uses for Steam. As soon as ingenious men learned of the steam engine, they thought of three im- portant ways of using it. The first was to use it to turn wheels in factories. The second was to make it drive the paddles of a boat. The third was to employ it in driving the wheels of wagons. The first was easy enough. For a long time machinery had been run by water power ; all that was necessar>^ now was to hitch the steam engine, in place of the water wheel, to ma- chinery^ in mills. John Fitch and the Steamboat. The second task, using steam to drive boats, was more difficult. Men worked at it for a long time. Among them was John Fitch, who made a steamboat that would run and tried It on a pond in New York City. He also launched a steamboat on the Delaware in 1787. He had much trouble in getting help and became so discouraged that he took his own life. Robert Fulton. The honor of making the steam- boat a business success belongs to Robert Fulton. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in the year that Watt began to make steam engines. Though his father died when he was a child, his mother was able to give him a common school education. At the age of seventeen he had to think of taking care of himself 222 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY and his mother too. So he went to Philadelphia, where he made a success in painting miniatures, or small portraits, which were much in demand before the days of the photograph. In a few years he was able to buy a little farm for his mother and went to London to study. Fulton's Friends Abroad. In addition to his love for painting, Fulton had a deep interest in ma- chinery of all kinds. While in England he met the Duke of Bridgewater, a great English engineer and canal builder, and also the Earl of Stanhope, who was at work on a scheme for applying steam to navigation. On visiting the factory of James Watt, who was build- ing engines in Birmingham, his interest in steam power deepened. A new age of engineering was opening and he was inspired to turn from painting to mechanics. Fulton began to study navigation and engines. He made several inventions and went to France to secure help in manufacturing them. He tried to interest Napoleon in some of his ideas and also sought aid from the Dutch and the English. Robert Livingston. Help came at last when Fulton met Robert Livingston, the American ambassador at Paris. Livingston was a man of wealth and influence. It was he who really managed the Louisiana purchase. Always ready to consider new ideas, he listened to Fulton and finally agreed to help him experiment in America. Fulton and the Clermont. As early as 1798 Living- ston had secured from the legislature of New York the MAKING AN INDUSTRIAL NATION 223 right to run steamboats on the Hudson. This shows that he was already interested in the matter. He had agreed to put a twenty-ton boat on the river and to run it four miles an hour by steam. He was glad to have the help of Fulton. © Brown Bros, New York. The "Clermont," First Successful Steamboat From a model built for the Hudson-Fulton celebration in New York in 1909 Fulton's first effort to make his boat run at that speed failed. Finally in 1806 he brought over from England one of the steam engines made in Watt's factory at Birmingham. The next year he launched the Clermont, which ran five miles an hour and made a famous voyage from New York to Albany and back. 224 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Fulton then built bigger and faster boats. In a short time he had them on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. During the war of 1812 he built floating batteries for coast defense and a warship driven by steam. When he died, in 1815, he was at work on a submarine. De Witt Clinton, the Canal Builder. Some of the leaders in American industry have been poor men who worked up through poverty and hardship. Others have been men of wealth and influence who devoted themselves to work rather than to pleasure. Among the latter was De Witt Clinton, the canal builder. He was of Scotch, Irish, French, and Dutch descent. His family had means and he enjoyed exceptional op- portunities for education. He attended an academy at Kingston, New York, and completed his course at Columbia College in 1786, at the age of seventeen. Clinton early took an interest in politics. He served in many public offices as mayor of New York City, state senator, member of the state legislature, and governor of the state. He married Maria Franklin, who brought him a fortune, so that he was able to give his time to public affairs. The Problem of Transportation. Clinton was en- gaged in farming on a large scale and was interested in industry as well. He saw that one of the problems of his age was cheap transportation, especially between the East and the West. "How can we get the wheat and corn of Ohio and Indiana across the vast distance to New York and send back bulky manufactures in MAKING AN INDUSTRIAL NATION 225 exchange ? " This question was on his mind before he was very old. Sometime, we do not know just when, he made a great decision. He decided that a canal must be built from Lake Erie to the Hudson. Men had talked of this for a hundred years. Clinton de- termined to see the work done. The Great Canal. Clinton induced the legislature to vote money for the enterprise. On July 4, 1817, he broke with his own hands the first ground for the canal. A Passenger Boat on the Erie Canal in 1825 For eight years the work went on. It was far more difficult than digging the Panama Canal, but it was carried through. Men laughed at Clinton and called the canal " Clinton's big ditch," and " Clinton's folly." He paid no attention to jeers and lived to laugh at those who had laughed at him. In 1825 the canal was completed, and a triumphal journey was made from Lake Erie to New York City. Passenger as well as freight boats were built. It was slow travel to be sure, but three or four miles an Q 226 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 1ZFHSB8 FAST LZITS. OFFICE. F^r Philadelpha and Pittsburg, tttuntcd ntar Iht Ihpot. Snrtit Queen Sirert. Lancaster, Twu dooTi South of Chamberlin'i Hotel TniS LINK. (» of acknowledged tpeH Be. coninnendalions have been g'ven by «S« most rornpeten« judges, in relation 'o its manj mdvaptxges 1 he extreme neatness of THE BOATS The comfort »nd adaptation of the STAGES »iT not to be surpassed by »n\ ihin;^ on the route. The Fare w^ill Kr as low *> itiii of any of ihe other lines, and (he aprents will he reaily arid willi^ig (c roiirtuce to the comfort of ibc paasen> Bers. sef that their l>aggajre is srnctlv taken care of. and look to every nrr^ngertieni necessary to their accommodation The Porter, who is known It' he obliging, will convey bajjgage 'o anv jiart «f Ihe cily for those who vt^__ ■^Mjz.^ecc ^ _ co£i Mji -/^^^'^ " • ^ Part of a Page from the Journal of One of the Early California Settlers Noting the Discovery of Gold. It is Dated January 24, 1848. years later gold was discovered on Sutter's land, and the rush to California began. California a Free State. So pleased was Fremont with the country, that he finally made up his mind to cast his lot with California. He helped in framing a constitution for the state. He rejoiced that the peo- ple decided to exclude slavery and worked to secure the admission of California to the Union as a free 25© A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY state. When that was accomphshed, in 1850, he be- came the first senator of the state in the Congress at Washington. Fremont received many other public honors. He was nominated by the Repubhcans as their first candi- date for President in 1856, but was defeated. He served as "an officer in the Civil War, and rallied to himself the support of the Far West. He later acted as governor of Arizona for many years. He died in New York in 1890. In the history of Western exploration and settlement, Fremont's name holds a high place. He achieved great things himself and gives us an example of thousands who explored, journeyed, and settled. There is an old saying : " Possession is nine points of the law." It was by taking possession of the South- west that Americans solved the problem of the fron- tier. Houston and Fremont were in the vanguard of the possessors and settlers. Questions and Exercises Point out on the map the parts of the United States that once belonged to Mexico. Name the states that now occupy this region. Find on the map San Antonio, Santa Fe, San Diego, San Francisco. Santa Fe was founded by the Spaniards in 1606; how long was this before the English settled at Jamestown.^ How long before the Plymouth colony was founded .'' I. Why was trouble likely to occur between the Americans in Texas and the Mexican government f Why, after securing its independence from Mexico, did the new republic of Texas wish to WINNING TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA 251 become a part of the United States ? What led to the war with Mexico ? Find on the map the places where the battles mentioned in the text were fought. Locate the states that were later formed from the territory given up by Mexico at the end of the war. How did this war differ from the War of 1812 in the actual fighting.'' In the results to our country .? II. Find on the map the country explored by John C. Fremont, locating the Missouri, Kansas, and Platte rivers, Fremont Peak, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Sacramento Valley. What was Fremont doing in California when the Mexican War broke out f How did California become independent of Mexico ? How did it happen that California, which had only a small population in 1845, had enough people to become a state in 1850 ? Suggestions for Reading Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 237-246 (Davy Crockett and the Alamo); Coffin's Building the Nation, Ch. xx (Texas), Chs. xxiii, xxiv (War with Mexico), Ch. xxv (California) ; W. C. Sprague's Davy Crockett (especially Chs. xiv, xvi) ; G. S. Bryan's Sam Houston. To BE Read to Pupils Roosevelt and Lodge's Hero Tales from American History, pp. 173-181 (the Alamo) ; Whittier's poem, "Angels of Buena Vista." Problems for Further Study Some Americans believe that our country was unjust in going to war with Mexico in 1845 ; what reasons, do you think, would lead them to this conclusion ? In what ways did Fremont's explorations differ from those of Lewis and Clark ? CHAPTER XIV THE OVERLAND TRAIL — OREGON WON The Problem: How Can Oregon Be Won for the United States? In 1817 the New England poet, William Cullen Bryant, wrote of the Pacific North- west : The continuous woods Where rolls the Oregon and hears no sound Save his own dashings. This summed up American thought about that far country. It was merely a distant and lonely land. Though larger than New England, New York, and Pennsylvania combined, only a few men realized its importance as a home for civilized people. England and the United States both laid claim to it on the ground of early explorations. English fur traders knew something of its value. Americans who had built up a profitable fur business looked upon it as a " natural part of the United States " ; but members of Congress and most people in the East were indifferent. Many of them spoke contemptu- ously of "" a northwest iceberg " not worth bother- ing about, just as men a few years before had sneered at the Louisiana purchase. Even the gov- 252 THE OVERLAND TRAIL — OREGON WON 253 eminent of the United States had to be convinced that the Oregon country was worth striving for. How was Oregon to be won ? That was the prob- lem before men who understood the importance of the Northwest. It was answered first by the fur traders, then by the missionaries to the Indians, and finally by the permanent set- tlers who braved the long and wearisome journey overland. The Fur Traders — John Jacob Astor, Merchant and States- man. One of the first men in America to take a practical inter- est in the Oregon country was the great New York merchant, John Jacob Astor. He eagerly grasped at the information which Lewis and Clark brought back because he saw a fine chance for profit in furs. Two years after their return he organized the American Fur Company. At the same time he formed two plans for developing trade with John Jacob Astor, the Great New York Merchant, Who Helped to Open the Oregon Country by Establishing the American Fur Trade on the Pacific Coast 254 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Oregon. One was to establish a post at the mouth of the Columbia River. The other was to build a chain of trading centers along the route of Lewis and Clark from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. In 1810 Astor sent a ship all the way around Cape Horn to the far Northwest country. The next year the vessel arrived safely at the mouth of the Columbia. After many exciting adventures, the company of men built a fort there which they named Astoria. They were delighted with the climate, soil, and foliage. One of them later declared : " We imagined ourselves in the Garden of Eden." Relations with England. They were not long to trade in the new country undisturbed. When war broke out with England, a British war vessel swooped down upon the harbor and Astoria had to surrender. In 1818 it was restored to the American founders. At that time England and the United States came to a temporary arrangement with regard to the whole Oregon country. They agreed that for ten years citizens of both countries should be free to settle and trade there. This was clearly a makeshift, for the question of ownership was left undecided. The agree- ment was renewed ten years later, once more post- poning the solution of the problem. On this occa- sion no term of years was fixed for the arrangement. In a few years American citizens began to pour into the Oregon country. British fur traders also came in large numbers and with them some Canadian settlers. THE OVERLAND TRAIL — OREGON WON 255 In the end the race for possession was won by Americans. The Missionaries. Among the first settlers were the missionaries to the Indians. About 183 1 the Indians on the Columbia River sent four of their chief men all the way to St, Louis to inquire about the Chris- tian faith. Only one of them lived to return and tell the story of the journey. An account of this Indian call for Christian help was soon published all through the East. It made a very strong appeal to all religious bod- ies. The Methodists, two years later, sent out Rev. Jason Lee, who arrived at Vancouver with a little party in the autumn of 1834 to carry on religious work among the Indians. Lee planted the first American colony in Oregon in the Willamette Valley, Soon the American Board of Foreign Missions took up the work. The Oregon Country 256 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY One of their missionaries was Dr. Marcus Whitman, an earnest and pious man, who did much for the up- building of the country. From Canada came Catholic missionaries. So it happened that in a little while the northwestern wilderness beyond the mountains was dotted here and there with missions. Some of the pioneers went from the East by way of Cape Horn in sailing vessels. Others went overland across the plains and mountains. The Pioneer Settlers. The fame of Oregon as a " paradise for settlers " soon spread far and wide. Far- sighted men were making plans for migrations to the Northwest. In 1839 a band of fifty, under the leader- ship of an experienced missionary, went by ship around Cape Horn. Some of them settled near the present city of Salem. Three years later a small company of emigrants went overland. This time, also, a mission- ary guided the party across the mountains from Inde- pendence, Missouri. The First Great Migration. All sections of the country caught " the Oregon fever," as it was styled. In the spring of 1843 small parties of pioneers from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri gathered at Independence for a grand march into the Oregon country. They adopted rules for the management of the army of settlers and selected a pilot to lead them. In the company was Dr. Marcus Whitman, the experienced missionary who knew the way overland. THE OVERLAND TRAIL — OREGON WON 257 258 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY On May 22, 1843, all were ready for the start at Elm Grove, near Independence. " Elm Grove," wrote a member of the company, "stands on a wide, gently undulating prairie. The moon shed her sil- very beams on the white sheets of sixty wagons ; a thousand head of cattle grazed upon the surround- ing plain ; fifty campfires sent up their brilliant flames, and the sound of the sweet violin was heard in the tents. All was stir and excitement." A daily record of the long, weary trip was kept by one of the leaders and has come down to us. This jour- nal tells us how the emigrants broke camp, marched, and made camp day after day. Up for the Day. At four o'clock in the morning the sentinels on duty fire their rifles to arouse the sleepers. In a few minutes the emigrants pour out of tents and wagons. Fires are started to cook the breakfast. Sixty men corral the cattle and drive them together for the march. Some of the cows have wandered as far as two miles, but within an hour or two they are all, a thousand of them, close to the camp. By seven o'clock, breakfast has been eaten. The first platoon takes its place in front and the others fall In as it sweeps forward. In the very front are the pilot and his aids, all seasoned border men. " It is on the stroke of seven," writes our story teller ; " the rush to and fro, the crackling of whips, the loud commands to oxen . . . have ceased. For- tunately every one has been found and every teamster THE OVERLAND TRAIL — OREGON WON 259 is at his post. The clear notes of a trumpet sound in front; the pilot and his guards mount their horses; the leading divisions of the wagons move out of the encampment and take up the line of march. The rest fall into their places with the precision of clock- work." The pilot, familiar with the route, fixes the speed of the wagons and horses. This enables him to ar- rive at the next grass and water place just at noon- time. On the midday stop, the wagons and cattle are kept close together, for the stay is short. The council has to meet to decide a dispute because the owner of a wagon and a young man with him are quar- reling. The owner claims that the young man agreed to do a man's work all the way for his bed and board. The young man objects to this. The council hears w^hat they have to say and decides the case. At one o'clock sharp the caravan crawls forward. The oxen move slowly along. The wagons creek and groan. Some of the drivers grow drowsy and fall asleep on their perches. Others are singing. The children play now in the wagons and now alongside the winding trail, keeping up easily with the drivers. Making the Night Camp. The sun hangs low in the western sky. Soon it will be down. The pilot has gone ahead and found a place for the camp. He marks a great circle and leads the wagons around until the first and the last are come together in a wide ring. So carefully has the pilot estimated the length 26o A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY of the train that the last wagon just completes the circle. The wagons are pushed close to each other and fastened by heavy chains. Within ten minutes the teams and cattle are out at pasture. Fires are lighted within the barricade. Tents are pitched while supper is cooked. After the evening meal, there is some singing and violin music. At eight o'clock comes the command : " To bed." For ninety-eight days this routine goes on. Then the pioneers arrive in eastern Oregon, where the road ends. One-third of the journey is yet before them and it lies over rough pack trails. Undaunted, they send road makers ahead and keep on with the caravan. Dr. Whitman, who knows this part of the way very well, proves to be of great help to them. When they reach the Columbia they take to boats and rafts. By the end of November, they are in the Willamette Val- ley. Surely this is a journey worthy to be recorded in a book of American history that tells of Jamestown and Plymouth. The Oregon Compact. In the summer of 1843, before the great caravan arrived, the pioneers al- ready in the Oregon country met to consider the establishment of a government. A Fourth of July oration was delivered by a missionary. The next day a plan of government was agreed upon. " We, the people of Oregon territory," opens the agreement, " for the purposes of mutual protection and to secure peace and prosperity among ourselves, agree to adopt THE OVERLAND TRAIL — OREGON WON 261 the following laws and regulations until such time as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us." Thus was formed another " compact,'* similar to the famous Mayflower Compact. Self- government had made its way across the Rocky Moun- tains. The Oregon Boundary Question. Other great cara- vans followed in the footsteps of the train of 1843. It was now clear that something would have to be done about the settlement of the line between British North America and the United States. Accordingly the Democrats in the presidential campaign of 1844 claimed all of Oregon far up the Pacific Coast to the parallel of 54° 40' ! They said that this was all American terri- tory and they were prepared to fight for it. Such was the origin of the cry : " Fifty-four-forty or fight ! " President Polk In his inaugural address declared that our title to " the whole of Oregon was clear and un- questionable." Great Britain, on her part, claimed the coast down to the Columbia River. On both sides there was talk of war. The British government proposed a compromise ; namely, to make the forty-ninth parallel, Instead of 54° 40', the boundary all the way to the sea. This would give the British all of Vancouver Island. President Polk was puzzled. He had made strong claims to the whole of Oregon. Now he was called upon to give up a part of It or fight. He submitted the question to the United States Senate and asked its advice. The Senate favored the com- 262 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY ^**^ '■nWilBlSi* .^attM?^''; The Last Page of the Treaty Which Closed the Controversy over Oregon BETWEEN Great Britain and the United States It is signed by James Buchanan, for the United States, and by Richard Pakenham, for the British government. promise and in 1846 a. treaty was concluded with Great Britain on that basis. After the settlement, Congress made Oregon a ter- ritory of the United States and the President appointed a governor for it. At Oregon City, on March 3, 1849, the territorial government was proclaimed. Ten years later Oregon was admitted as a state to the Union. THE OVERLAND TRAIL — OREGON WON 263 Washington. While the country to the south of the Columbia River was filling up, pioneers were exploring the lands to the north. Far away, on Puget Sound, a tiny settlement of woodmen and shingle makers had been established as early as 1848. This was the beginning of the great lumber industry of the Northwest. After the discovery of gold in California during the next year, many ships were sent there for boards and shingles. In a little while coal was dis- covered. Farmers began to come to settle in the valleys back from the coast. As soon as a few thousand inhabitants were gathered in the region, they demanded a territorial government. In 1853 Congress granted it, naming the new territory Washington. The Oregon country was saved. The fur traders, the missionaries, and the pioneers had done their work. The Northwest was forever American. Questions and Exercises Find on the map the states of Oregon and Washington. How did it happen that the United States had a claim to this "Oregon country " ? Locate Astoria. Trace the route that Astor's ship took in going from New York to Astoria in 1 8 10. What route would a ship be likely to take to-day in going from New York to the mouth of the Columbia River ? Find from your geographies something about the climate of western Oregon and western Washington. Trace on the map the overland route from St. Louis to Astoria. Why is the name of Marcus Whitman remem- bered ? Find on the map the parallel 54° 40'. What parts of Canada would the United States now possess if this parallel 264 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY had been made the northern boundary ? Find the 49th paralleL What is meant by a compromise ? Locate Vancouver Island and the Willamette Valley Suggestions for Reading Coffin's Building the Natio7i, ch. xxvi (Gray's voyage and Whit- man's journey) ; Hart's Source Readers of American History, No. 3, Hozv Our Grandfathers Lived, pp. 166-168 (incident on the trail)"; Guerber's Story of the Great Republic, pp. 113-117 (Marcus Whit- man) ; Mary Gay Humphrey's Missionary Explorers among Ameri- can Indians, pp. 121-183 (Marcus Whitman) ; Henrietta Christian Wright's Children's Stories of American Progress, pp. 268-278 (the settlement of the Northwest Territory). Problems for Further Study Why did the pioneers on their journey to the Oregon country place their wagons in a circle every night and pitch their tents within the circle .^ In what way, do you think, did these pioneers manage to get their wagons and their cattle across the rivers that they came to .'' CHAPTER XV SLAVERY The Problem : The Clash of Sections. One day, in 1619, the settlers of the Httle colony of Jamestown, in Virginia, saw a strange ship at anchor in the harbor. It flew the Dutch flag and it proved to be a strange ship indeed. Its main cargo was composed of negroes whom the Dutch had bought or caught in Africa. The negroes were brought to land and sold at auction, for the planters were in dire need of help in tilling their broad fields. This was the little beginning of a mighty trafiic in human beings in the English colonies. At that time, slavery was not looked upon as evil. It had been in the world since the dawn of civilization. Indeed, in the earliest days of history slaves were toiling in the fields or building monuments to kings. Slavery did not exist in England in 1619, but English- men could lawfully trade in slaves. Twenty-two years later, the people of Massachusetts expressly declared that the slavery of Indians and negroes and the slave trade were lawful. Hundreds of New England ships entered the trade and helped to supply the colonies with black labor. Slavery Not Suited to Northern Climate. Slavery flourished only in the South, although it was lawful 266 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY all through the North — in some states for a long time after the Declaration of Independence. It simply did not grow rapidly in the North because it was not adapted to small farming in a cold region. Things were different in the South. There the warm climate, to which African negroes were accustomed, and the great plantations made it highly profitable. So it took firm root and grew and grew till it spread from James- town to the waters of the Rio Grande. In the North it was gradually abolished. Slavery Makes Two Sections. Slavery served to make the difference between North and South more marked. The North turned to manufacturing and trade. White immigrants from Europe furnished labor for the mills, mines, and small farms. The South re- mained agricultural, for slaves could not be employed as easily in mechanical pursuits. They were thought useful mainly for housework and on the plantations. So the South produced cotton, tobacco, rice, hemp, sugar, and other products of the soil. Thus each of the two sections went on its way : one industrial ; the other agricultural. The Clash of the Two Sections. The South de- manded two important things. The first was the right to extend slavery into new territories. The second was the right to trade freely with European countries without the interference of tarifi's. The North on its part demanded tariffs to protect its manufacturing in- dustries. It also called for the exclusion of slavery from SLAVERY 267 the territories. Some northerners even proposed that slavery should be abolished altogether and the slaves set free. How was the problem to be solved ? Could a conflict be avoided ? What views should good citizens take of the problem ^ To these perplexing questions, the greatest minds were devoted for many long years. Honestly, sincerely, the statesmen of America searched for the answers. I. Calhoun and the Southern View The Career of Calhoun. A powerful champion of the Southern cause was found in John C. Calhoun. The life of this great leader opened in the western part of South Carolina near the borders of Georgia. His ancestors had come from Ireland and settled on the frontier. His father was a zealous patriot dur- ing the Revolution, and from him young Calhoun acquired a deep devotion to America. The home in which the youth was reared was a comfortable one. His father was not a rich planter, but rather a well-to-do farmer who owned a few slaves. Until his eighteenth year, John spent his days on the farm. Often he worked in the fields with the men. He was prepared for college by a clergyman and entered Yale, graduating in 1804. He then studied law, a part of the time at Litchfield, Connecticut. On his return to South Carolina, Calhoun married a young woman of some fortune and thus did not have 268 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY to earn a livelihood. In 1811 he began his long politi- cal career as a member of the House of Representatives. Nearly all the forty years that remained to him were spent in Washington. He was a leader in the war party that drove President Madison in- to the conflict with Great Britain. He served as Secretary of War under Monroe, as Vice President of the United States for one term and part of an- other, as a member of the Senate, as Secre- tary of State under President Tyler, and gave his last days to the defense of the John C. Calhoun, Statesman from South Carolina, Ardent Champion of the oOUtnem CaUSe aS a Southern Cause, and Defender of gg^ator from his na- Slavery tive state. Calhoun's View of Slavery. For twenty years and more the South Carolina leader wrestled with the slavery problem. In the course of time he came to four leading conclusions : I. That Slavery Was a Positive Good. Many men from the South had said that slavery was an evil. They SLAVERY 269 accepted it as inevitable, but regretted that it existed. Calhoun took the contrary view. He was not prepared to defend an evil on any ground. That, he held, would be impossible. The South must therefore meet the charge that slavery was a sin. It must meet it by denying the truth of the statement. If this was not done, he said, " the ignorant, the weak, the young, and the thoughtless " in the North would in time oppose slavery. In a great speech in the Senate, on February 6, 1837, he set forth his views very clearly. The slave, he said, is better off in America than roaming the wilds of Africa, the prey of beasts and savage men. In every " civilized society . . . one portion of the com- munity . . . must live on the labor of the other." He even argued that the slave was better off than most free workingmen in Europe, for he did not have to work so hard and he was taken care of in his old age. " Com- pare his condition with the tenants of the poorhouses in the more civilized portions of Europe," exclaimed Cal- houn ; "look at the sick and old and infirm slave . . . under the kind, superintending care of his master and mistress ; and compare it with the forlorn and wretched condition of the pauper in the poorhouse ! " Since all this is true, he argued, slavery is not an evil, but "a good — a positive good." On this ground Calhoun believed that the South could stand firm. 2. That Slavery Should Be Extended. Since Calhoun thought that slavery was a positive good, he felt that it 270 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY should be extended. He, therefore, favored the annexa- tion of Texas. The war with Mexico in 1 845 brought new territories to the United States. Calhoun then quickly demanded that slavery should be allowed in them. On this he was firm. He stated four clear principles : a. The territories are the common property of all the states. h. The citizens of all states have an equal right to take their property into any territory. Property includes slaves. c. The Congress of the United States cannot prevent any citizen from taking his property, including slaves, into a territory. d. Congress can admit a state to the Union, but it cannot keep a state out of the Union because it per- mits slavery. 3. Thai the South and North Should Be Balanced. Calhoun was anxious to keep the two sections of the nation evenly balanced. This could be done by having as many slave states as free states. The North thus might have ten times the population of the South and therefore more members in the House of Representa- tives ; but in the Senate the two parts of the Union would still be equal. The North could not then make laws which the South did not approve, because every law that is passed by Congress must have a majority vote of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Only by keeping the balance even, Calhoun declared, could the Union be preserved. SLAVERY 271 4. That a State Had the Right to Withdraw from the Union. On March 4, 1850, the Senate listened to the last speech by Calhoun, who was then near to death's door. His address was read by a friend, for he was too feeble to stand. The Senate chamber was as still as the grave. The dying man sat grim and silent, pale as marble. His well-known views on the nature of the Union were once more expounded : (i) The states were independent. (2) Because they were independent they were " sovereign," — that is, they did not have to obey laws made by anyone except themselves ; they could nullify federal laws if they chose to do so, (3) They could also lawfully withdraw from the Union. His conclusion was perfectly clear : If the trouble over the slavery problem does not stop, " the South will be forced to choose between abolition and seces- sion." The South will not abolish slavery, therefore the continued discussion of slavery will " end in dis- union." This was Calhoun's answer to the great and perplexing question. At the close of the famous speech, two friends led the sick man from the Senate chamber. On the last day of March the electric telegraph carried the news throughout the nation that the great champion from South Carolina had gone to his long home. n. The Answer of the Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. A direct and threatening challenge to Calhoun's doctrines came from a poor New 272 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY England printer's boy, William Lloyd Garrison. De- nied a college education, this youth had been forced, when only fourteen years old, to make his own living as a printer's apprentice. While yet a youngster he became Interested in the slavery question. At the age of twenty-six he got possession of a printing press and some type and started a paper, called the Liberator, to wage war to the bitter end against slavery. With this The Heading of William Lloyd Garrison's Famous Abolition Paper, "The Liberator" paper he " shook the world." His ideas, like those of Calhoun, were clear, positive, and easily understood. No Toleration for Slavery. Garrison declared slavery to be a positive evil, a deadly sin. He de- manded that the slaves should be freed at once. He sharply criticized the Constitution of the United States because It permitted slavery. He exclaimed that It was a " covenant with death." He wanted " no union with slave owners." He denounced in severe language slavery, slave owners, and the defenders of slavery. He would listen to no proposals for delay. To him slavery was wicked and every man who tolerated It was wicked also. " I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single SLAVERY 273 inch — and I will be heard." The opinions of other men, who advised milder methods, he scorned, condemned, and denounced. His motto might have been : " No toleration for slavery or its friends." Agitation Against Slavery. Garrison was careless about the effect of his work upon his own hfe. He be- lieved that he was right. He wanted to arouse the nation and he did not care how he did it. He was not long in gathering some of the fruits of his agitation. In 1835 a Boston mob, composed of some of the first citizens, broke into his office and practically wrecked it. A rope was thrown around Garrison himself, and he was dragged to jail. Perhaps only the prison bars saved him from a violent death. Slowly but surely his views spread. Attacks upon them and upon him did not check the agitation. In- deed, they seemed to be fuel on the fire. How many people ever came to share Garrison's extreme opinions we do not know. Perhaps not very many. A careful historian has declared that what appeared to be the methods of the abolitionists were heartily disliked by *' ninet3^-nine one hundredths of all the people of the North." It is certainly true that there never was an abolitionist party ; but tens of thousands came to be- lieve that slaver}^ was wrong. Harriet Beecher Stowe, in 1852, published her famous story. Uncle TonCs Cabin, which told about every side of slavery, including the worst. This book was read very widely in the North and had a great deal to do with convincing the people 274 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY of the free states that slavery was an evil. John Brown, in 1859, made a raid into Virginia to free the slaves by force, but was caught and hanged. III. The Answer of Henry Clay — Compromises Compromise from a Border State. As was fitting, a man of compromise came from the state of Ken- tucky. This was a border state. It stood midway between the far North and the far South. It was a slave state, but not a cotton-planting state. It was dotted over with small farms tilled by men who owned them. Indeed there were only a few great estates with hundreds of slaves on them. The whole life of the state, therefore, did not depend upon slavery. There were men who sympathized with the free farmers of the North and disliked slavery. There were men who sympathized with the planters of the Gulf states and believed it necessary and good. Where the factions were so evenly balanced, moder- ate men refused to take extreme views. They did not like abolitionists. They did not like the hot advocates of slavery extension. It seemed to them that each side might well give up some of its extreme views and so come to an agreement or compromise which would enable the country to continue in peace. The Training of Henry Clay. It was in Kentucky that Henry Clay began the practice of law in 1797. He had come from Virginia, where he had lived until man- hood. His father, a poor clergyman, had died when SLAVERY 275 he was only four years old. His mother with a family of seven children and very little property gave him a scant education. A few months in each year he spent at a near-by coun- try school. It was a log cabin with a hard earthen floor. When not poring over his school- books, Henry was plowing the fields barefoot, or riding to the mill on his pony with corn to be ground. At the age of fourteen he was a counter boy in a small store in Rich- mond. There he diligently poured out molasses, meas- ured cloth, and ran errands. His spare hours were spent with books. His industr}^ attracted the attention of his neighbors, and soon he was given an opportunity to study law in the office of a distinguished attorney. In his twenty-first year he had his license to practice. Hexry Clay, from Kentucky, One of the Leaders in Arranging Three Historic Com- promises BETWEEN THE SoUTH AND THE NoRTH 276 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY With this precious permit in his pocket, he went over the hills to Kentucky. The Kentucky Lawyer. Clay's rise to local fame was rapid. He was an eloquent and impassioned speaker who could sweep his hearers off their feet. At jury trials he was a great success. In a little while he was able to purchase an estate near Lexington, where he fixed his home for life. His practice was not limited to the rich who could easily aiford to pay for the services of a good lawyer. He had a generous heart. He helped widows and orphans. He aided slaves who sued for their freedom and defended runaway slaves who tried to escape from their masters. He soon learned to dislike slavery and attempted to convert the people of his state to " grad- ual emancipation." To the last, however, he believed that slavery could not be defended on moral grounds. He hoped against hope that it might some time be abolished by peaceful methods. Clay, the "War Hawk." In the closing days of 1806, Clay appeared on the floor of the United States Senate to take the oath of office as senator from Kentucky. He then lacked a few months of being thirty years old — the age required by the Constitution for member- ship in the Senate. From that time until his death, Clay was in Washington almost continuously. When he was not a member of the Senate or House of Repre- sentatives, he was a high officer in the federal govern- ment. SLAVERY 277 Clay was in the House when the quarrel with Great Britain arose and sprang quickly into the fray. He called for war on " the old enemy." He demanded the conquest of Canada. He pictured a victorious army laying siege to Quebec and prophesied that the Americans would lay down terms of peace at Halifax. Though wrong in his prophecy, Clay forged to the front as a national leader during the War of 18 12. Clay's First Great Compromise — Missouri. On March 16, 181 8, the people of the territory of Missouri laid before Congress a petition asking to be admitted to the Union as a state. When Congress began to consider the petition the next year, a representative from New York moved that steps be taken to assure the gradual emancipation of the slaves in Missouri. This was a refusal to admit Missouri with slavery. The Southern View. Then came a heated debate over slavery. The South had anxiously watched the growth of the Northern states in wealth and population. Now the North proposed to exclude a new slave state from the Union. This, the Southern people thought, was the beginning of Northern rule. If Missouri was forced to give up slavery on entering the Union, other territories would be forced to give up slavery. In time the free states would outnumber and outweigh the slave states. This was the danger which Southern leaders saw in the proposal to abolish slavery in Missouri. The Anti-Slavery View. Sincere anti-slavery men saw in the situation a chance to make a beginning of 278 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY emancipation. They thought that slavery could be restricted by this method to the old states where it already existed. The new states would be free states. In time most of the country would be free territory. Then slavery would gradually disappear even in the The Missouri Compromise older states. Such was the hope of men who sought to keep Missouri out of the Union as a slave state. The Compromise of 1820. The debate waxed hot. Angry speeches were made on both sides. The aged Jefferson at Monticello warned his countrymen that the Union was in mortal danger. In the Senate the South and North were equal ; and no state could be admitted without the approval of the Senate. In the House of SLAVERY 279 Representatives, the North had more members ; and no slave state could be admitted without the approval of the House. The Senate would not admit Missouri without slavery and the House would not admit it with slavery. So the deadlock stood while the debate raged. Men talked of breaking up the Union. Just when a crash seemed at hand, a compromise was reached. It was arranged that Missouri should be admitted as a slave state. At the same time Maine was to be ad- mitted as a free state, thus keeping the free states and the slave states equal in number. It was also agreed that all the Louisiana Territory north of a certain line (the line of the southern boundary of Missouri) should be free territory. Clay and the Compromise. This " Missouri Com- promise " was not originally worked out by Henry Clay. He has been called the " father " of it, but he does not deserve the credit for the plan. He did, however, labor hard to get Congress to agree to it. He made eloquent speeches in favor of it. He visited members of Congress, buttonholed them, besieged them, and entreated them. Success at last crowned his efforts. The newspapers praised him as " the great peacemaker." Clay's Second Great Compromise. In 1832 South Carolina, as we have seen (p. 187), objected to the tariff acts passed by Congress. The citizens held a convention and declared that the acts were null and void and should not be obeyed. Thus a state defied 28o A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY the Government of the United States and President Jackson prepared to use the army to enforce the law. The bitter strife distracted the country. Henry Clay once more appeared on the scene as a peacemaker. He disliked and feared President Jack- son. He was afraid of giving more military authority to a " man of his vehement passions." If Jackson was at the head of the troops enforcing the law in South Carolina, there was no telling what he might do. Clay therefore suggested another compromise in 1833. He proposed that the tariff should be gradually reduced over a period of ten years, believing that South Carolina would no longer oppose the law. He then accepted the idea that the federal government should be given the troops and authority necessary to enforce the laws. The bill reducing the tariff and the " force bill" went through Congress at the same time. There was salve for South Carolina and salve for the advo- cates of law enforcement. Both sides, as usual in such cases, claimed the victory. Clay was again hailed as the man who had saved the Union by peaceful means. Long afterward he said that he seriously doubted the wisdom of his course in 1833. He thought it might have been better if he had not interfered. If he had not, the great question over which the Civil War was fought thirty years later might have been settled then and there. Clay's Desire to Become President. For seventeen years Clay continued to be a leader in the Whig or SLAVERY 281 National Republican party. At each presidential election, his name was before the country. He was defeated in 1832. His party passed him by in 1840, and nominated General William Henry Harrison, who was elected. In 1844 Clay was again defeated. With advancing years he saw the great hope fading before his eyes. He was not, after all, to be President of the United States. Every other honor he wished came to him, but not that honor. Breakers Ahead! In Clay's last years, ominous events came thick and fast. Texas was annexed in 1845. War was waged on Mexico and new territories were won. Garrison and his band of agitators were arousing the country by denouncing " the national sin of slavery." The South grew more and more determined in its stand. It defended slaver}^ and demanded equal rights in the territories. It con- tinued to oppose the tariff. Calhoun spoke seriously of disunion. William Seward, Senator from New York, spoke gravely of a conflict that was bound to come. The Crisis of 1850. So things stood in December, 1849, when Henr}" Clay arrived again in Washington to take his seat for the last time in the Senate. He was now seventy- two years old. His great am- bition to be President was laid aside, for there was no possibility of its ever being realized. He only hoped to pour oil on troubled waters and therefore set to work on a plan to please men on both sides. His scheme was simple : 282 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 1. California, which was now asking admission to the Union, should be admitted as a free state. This pleased the North. 2. Territorial government should be set up in Utah and New Mexico, but nothing at all should be said about slavery. This, in effect, opened the region to slavery and seemed to be favorable to the South. 3. The slave trade (not slavery) should be abolished in the District of Columbia. This was favorable to the anti-slavery advocates. 4. A fugitive slave law should be passed. By the terms of this law, the federal government was to aid in catching slaves who had run away from their masters and had reached the free states of the North. This was a favor to the friends of slavery. On February 5, 1850, Clay opened the debate on his compromise plans with a powerful speech. " Will you lend me your arm ? " he said to a friend as he climbed the stairs of the Capitol that morning. " I feel myself quite weak and exhausted." Many times he stopped to catch his breath. When he reached the Senate Chamber, he found the aisles and galleries crowded. People had come from far away to watch his heroic effort. Never had the Senate witnessed a more stirring or pathetic scene. As Clay rose to speak, a deep silence fell upon the crowded chamber. His tall form was bent and his hands trembled with age, but he was still a com- manding figure. All men knew that the Senator's SLAVERY 283 earthly ambitions were put aside. Soon he would be done with the pomp and honors of high office. He had fixed his heart upon saving his country — by com- promise. He began his speech in a low and faltering voice but in the same gentle tone that had so long charmed the Senators about him. Slowly he rose to great heights, sweeping all before him like a storm. Every- thing conspired to make him eloquent. Solemn be- fore him was that " goal of all mortal " — the grave. All round him were his countrymen torn by angry and pitiless strife. The nation seemed to face its doom. In telling words he drew a picture of the civil war that would shake the nation to the very depths, if not averted by reason and compromise. For two days he pleaded and argued. He appealed to the Senators to pause in the presence of disaster. He begged them in the name of all they held dear, their love of liberty, their respect for their ancestors, their regard for their children, their gratitude to God, their duties to mankind. He closed by imploring Heaven that he might not live to see the Union broken up. If that was to come. His prayer that he might not live to see it was granted. Two years later loving friends at Lexington bore to the tomb the body of the great master of com- promise. Old men wept. Young men, heedless of his solemn warnings, went on their way. 284 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY IV. The Answer of Webster — The Union at All Costs A Farmer's Son. In all the North, there was but one man who could stand up against Southern leaders in debate. That was Daniel Webster, the son of a sturdy New Hampshire farmer. Webster's Education. One hot summer day, while the two were laboring together in the hayfield, the father told the son of his plans to send him to school. The next spring the boy entered Exeter Academy. His schoolmates jeered at him on account of his rough clothes and awkward hands, but he went to work at his books with a will. In a little while he was at the head of the class. In 1797 he was a freshman at Dartmouth College, where he became prominent in sports as well as in debating. Webster in Congress. For a time after graduation Webster taught school. Then he began the practice of law in New Hampshire. It was soon evident that he was a leader of men. When the war of 18 12 broke out, he wrote a powerful argument against it. This made him popular with the voters of his state, who were opposed to the war, and he was elected to Con- gress. On taking his seat, in 18 13, he did all he could to embarrass President Madison by making many speeches, especially against the bill " to encourage en- listments in the United States Army." He urged the government to wage merely a defensive war on the sea SLAVERY 285 against the British navy. He did not, however, approve of the Hartford Convention. Webster Moves to Massachusetts. Two years after the close of the war he transferred his law ofhce to Boston, and until his death was a citizen of Massa- chusetts. In 1822 Webster was again elected to Congress and from that time on he was almost continually in the service of the fed- eral government, as member of the House of Repre- sentatives, Sen- ator, or Secretary of State. The Reply to Hayne. He was in the Senate of the United States when Robert Hayne, of South Carolina, delivered a powerful oration favoring the doctrine of nullification. On January 26, 183 1, Webster made his celebrated " reply to Hayne." In this speech he laid down four propositions in defense Daniel Webster, Senator from Massachu- setts, Advocate of the American Union under the constitution 286 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY of the principle that the United States is a perpetual Union and supreme over the states : First, the states are not separate but are parts of one common country, united under the same general government, having common interests. Secondly, the Constitution was made, not by the states, but by the people. The government of the United States is therefore not a government of inde- pendent states but of the American people. Thirdly, no state can refuse to obey a law of Congress and still remain a lawful part of the Union. Nullifica- tion is revolution. Fourthly, any state or person who questions the power of Congress to make any law should appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States instead of re- fusing to obey the law. That court has the power to decide finally all disputes between the states and the federal government. If it decides that a law passed by Congress is not in agreement with the Constitution, it can declare the law null and void. In a burst of impassioned eloquence, Webster closed with the prayer that in his last hours he might behold the flag of his country, floating in full glory in the heavens, bearing that " sentiment, dear to every true American heart — Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." A National Orator. This oration made Webster famous for all time. Never had the country heard such a telling plea for the Union. Thousands of SLAVERY 287 copies were printed, and it was read in every hamlet, from his old home state of New Hampshire to the Mississippi Valley, It is perhaps correct to say that Webster was " the greatest orator this country has ever known." It is also correct to say that he should be ranked among the first orators of all nations and all times. His eloquent speeches led tens of thousands in the North to think of the Union as first and of the states as second. The selfish old sectionalism of New England was laid aside. Men who had talked of dis- union during the war of 18 12 now felt ashamed of them- selves and hailed Webster as their hero. The Seventh of March Speech. Nearly twenty years after the reply to Hayne, namely, in 1850, the country was again distracted with threats of disunion. Once more, Webster, In a speech delivered on March 7, 1850, made an eloquent plea for a united nation. He begged his hearers to place the Union above all other things. He entreated them to forget all minor matters and fix their hearts and minds upon the Constitution and their country. Fortunately for him, too, he did not live to see the nation torn by the terrible Civil War that was so soon to follow. In the autumn of 1852 Webster died at his home In Marshfield, Massachusetts. In his last days Webster was losing popularity at home. The people of New England were turning gradually toward the abolition of slavery. To him abolition was a foolish idea. He believed that it would 288 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY arouse the South to extreme action — perhaps to dis- union. He belonged to a generation that was passing. New men we're coming upon the scene. One of them, then in the prime of his Hfe, Abraham Lincoln, had already taken up the cause of the Union where Webster had laid it down. Questions and Exercises Make a list of the reasons that explain why slavery grew in the Southern states and died out in the Northern states. Why was the South against a tariff on manufactured goods ? Why was the North favorable toward such a tariff ? I. Study the reasons that Calhoun gave for his belief that slavery was a good thing ; can you answer each of these argu- ments ? What are the differences between states and territories f What possessions of our country to-day are territories ? Name some states that were territories or parts of territories in Cal- houn's time. Why did Calhoun wish to have slavery extended to the territories ? How many senators does each state have in Congress ? How is the number of representatives from each state fixed .'' What did Calhoun mean when he said that the North and the South should be balanced ? What is meant by abolition ? What is meant by secession ? II. How did Garrison's views differ from those of Calhoun ? Calhoun had said that the South would secede from the Union if the North insisted on the abolition of slavery; how did Garrison meet this threat .'' Why was Garrison ill treated even in the North for preaching against slavery .^ Why should a story like Uncle Tom's Cabin have had a wider influence in arousing the people against slavery than writings that did not have the form of a story .? III. What did Henry Clay think about slavery ? What did he mean by "gradual emancipation" 1 What is meant by admit- SLAVERY 289 ting a state to the Union ? Why did the North oppose the admis- sion of Missouri as a slave state ? Why did the South oppose its admission as a free state ? Find the southern boundary of Aiissouri and trace the line westward ; the Missouri Compromise forbade the admission of slave states north of this line ; in what region, then, was the extension of slavery prohibited by the Missouri Compromise ? What did Henry Clay hope to do through the Compromise of 1850 ? Locate California, Utah, and New Mexico. What parts of this compromise pleased the North and why ? What was the difference between abolishing the slave trade and abolishing slavery ? What is meant by a fugitive ? Why did the fugitive slave law please the South ? What other parts of the compromise pleased the South ? IV. How did Webster's views differ from those of Garrison r Of Calhoun ? Of Clay ? What is meant by the Union ? What is the difference between a union and an alliance of independent countries ? (Remember our alliance with France during the Revolution ; remember also that England, France, Belgium, Italy, and Russia formed an alliance against Germany at the out- set of the World War.) What are some of the differences between a federation of states and a real union ^ (Remember that the United States formed a federation before the adoption of the Constitution in 17S9.) If your school is made up of several class- rooms, think of some of the ways in which these classrooms could form an alliance, a federation, and a union. Suggestions for Reading Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book II, pp. 158-165 (Clay), pp. 167-175 (Webster); Hart's Source Readers of Ameri- can History, No. 3, How Our Grandfathers Lived, pp. 341-344 (Daniel Webster) ; Gordy's American Leaders and Heroes, pp. 264-271 (Webster, Clay, Calhoun) ; Brooks' Stories of the Old Bay State, pp. 192-199 (Webster) ; Coffin's Building the Nation, 290 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY pp. 285-290 (Garrison), pp. 246-250 (nullification, Calhoun, Web- ster), Ch. xxvii (Compromise of 1850), Ch. xxviii (Fugitive-slave Law); Wright's Children's Stories of American Progress, pp. 159- 178 (slavery and the Missouri Compromise) ; Hart's Source Readers of American History, No. 4, Romance of the Civil War, pp. 51-67 (anecdotes of fugitive slaves). Problems for Further Study Give as many reasons as you can for believing slavery to be wrong. Many people both in the North and in the South held that slavery was a "necessary evil" ; what did they mean by this .'' CHAPTER XVI THE VOICE OF THE NORTH — LINCOLN The Problem : Should Slavery Be Permitted in the Territories? A few years after Clay's death, his grand compromise had broken down. Two stirring events proved that his " union of hearts " was a failure. On May 30, 1854, President Pierce signed the Kansas- Nebraska Act by which these two states were admitted to the Union and permitted to decide each for itself whether it would be a free state or a slave state. Both states lie north of the line that forms the southern boundary of Missouri. Thus the Kansas-Nebraska Act really killed the Missouri Compromise (see p. 279), in which it had been agreed that slavery should not be permitted north of that line. If the people of Kansas and Nebraska could decide for themselves about slavery, all other new states would, of course, have the same right. All the Louisiana country was thus thrown open to slavery. This was a stunning blow to those who thought Clay's compromise had silenced debate on the slavery question. Three years later a still more startling event occurred. The Supreme Court of the United States decided the famous case of Dred Scott, a slave who had sued for 291 292 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY his freedom on the ground that his master had taken him into a territory in which slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise. The Court declared that Congress had no power, under the Constitution, to abolish slavery in the territories. This meant that slavery could spread all through the territories of the great West. These events presented a grave problem to the foes of slavery in the North. If they made no protest, then all their work against slavery would come to naught. Moreover, slavery, once firmly established In the territories, might spread into the free states. Evidently here was a danger that could not be over- looked. Many Northern citizens sprang to the front to offer a solution to the problem. Chief among them was a man of singular power from Illinois — Abraham Lincoln. Fate decreed that he should be President when the perplexing question was settled forever on the field of battle. I. The Making of a Great Statesman In Kentucky. The early life of Lincoln was like that of thousands of boys on the western frontier. His birthplace was a rude log cabin in Washington County, Kentucky. His birthday was February 12, 1809, just a few days before Thomas Jefferson ended his presi- dential career and retired to his home in Virginia. Of Lincoln's ancestors we have a brief account from THE VOICE OF THE NORTH — LINCOLN 293 his own pen. " My parents," he relates, " were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished famihes. . . . My mother was of a family by the name of Hanks. . . . My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, moved from Rockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky about 1781 The Log Cabin in which Lincoln was Born, Partially Restored or 1782 . . . His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania." Be- yond Pennsylvania, the Lincoln family has been traced to New England. In Indiana. The annals of Lincoln's boyhood form the story of a poor, hard-working farmer's lad. 294 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Abraham's father was a shiftless, wandering frontiers- man. He moved his family across the Ohio into Indiana in 1816. There he built a log cabin, open on one side to sun and wind. In that wretched shed, Lincoln's mother died two years later. In a coffin made out of rough boards, the poor woman was buried by the father and son in a forest clearing. It was not until many weeks afterward that a minister could be found to perform a ceremony at her grave. The next year Abraham had a stepmother. She gave her husband no peace until he put a floor, a door, and windows in the cabin, and closed the fourth side which he had left open. Fortunately for the boy, she was kind, thrifty, and industrious. Still, Abraham's life was one of hard work and rough living. He labored on his father's farm at every kind of task. In his *' spare time " he was " hired out " by his father to neighbors in need of help. In Illinois. When Abraham was sixteen years old, his father was struck by the moving fever again. He packed his household goods in a wagon and went West into Illinois with his family. At the end of fourteen days he reached the Sangamon river, where he settled again. He built another cabin and with the help of his stalwart son made a clearing and split rails to fence it in. Lincoln's Education. According to his own account, Lincoln did not go to school more than six months. Like Benjamin Franklin, he was self-educated. He THE VOICE OF THE NORTH — LINCOLN 295 studied English grammar after he was twenty-three years old. He mastered geometry after he had been elected a member of Congress. His Books. The few books which he had in his boyhood included a life of Washington, a small history of the United States, Webster's spelling book and dictionary, the Bible, Robinso7i Crusoe, ^Esop's Fables, Arabian Nights, Pilgrim's Progress, Franklin's Auto- biography, and the speeches of Henry Clay. He read again and again the Bible and the other books. From them he acquired that clear, simple, terse English style which marked his speeches. From them he learned the plain, homely, telling words used by the common people. Having but a few books, he mastered them all. How Lincoln Studied. In the light of the fire blaz- ing upon the hearth during the long winter nights, the boy pored over these books until they became a part of his mind. He has himself told us of one of the means he employed to improve his education. When he heard any one use a sentence or express an idea which he did not understand, he would not rest day or night until he found out what it meant. " I kept at it," he said, " until I had it put in language plain enough, as I thought, for any boy I knew to comprehend. This was a kind of passion with me, and it has stuck by me ; for I am never easy now when I am handling a thought, till I have bounded it north, bounded it south, bounded it east, and bounded it west." 296 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY When he was a candidate for President, he said regarding his education : " Abraham . . . regrets his want of education and does what he can to supply the want." How simple and true was that short sentence ! His Speeches. By studying good books and think- ing hard himself, Lincoln learned how to make speeches on political questions that any one could understand. He did not thunder at people, like Daniel Webster or Henry Clay ; he gripped them by talking in a direct, friendly, and convincing manner. They could under- stand him, and they trusted him. The Young Man. When Abraham reached the age of twenty-one and was free to make his own way in the world, he did not differ much from other farmer boys in the neighborhood. He played with them, told stories, and went to country parties like all the rest. On his coming of age an unusual event happened in his life. He went down the Mississippi River on a flatboat loaded with hogs, pork, and corn. It is re- lated that on this journey he saw, for the first time, slaves at work in the fields and sold on the auction block. The sight continued to torment him in all his later years. According to one story he said to a friend : *' If ever I get a chance to hit that thing, I'll hit it hard." A Village Storekeeper. In the summer of 183 1 Lincoln was engaged as a storekeeper in New Salem, a village of ten or fifteen houses. While employed in THE VOICE OF THE NORTH — LINCOLN 297 this work, he became known in the community for his honesty in deaUng with customers. One day a woman by mistake gave him a few pennies too much for some small purchase. On finding the error, he walked several miles that night to return the money to its rightful owner. After a few months, however, the store failed and the young clerk was out of a position. iV^ Flatboat on the IVlississiPPi River In Military Service. Just at this time a call came for volunteers to help the regular soldiers in a war against some Indians who were shooting and robbing on the Illinois frontier. Lincoln answered the call. His popularity in the region was shown by the fact that he was elected captain of his company. He served with credit and was discharged with honor. By a curious chance his discharge was signed by 298 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Robert Anderson, who was long afterward to command the Union troops at Fort Sumter. On his return from " war," Lincoln had to think seriously about what he was to do in life. He tried clerking in a store again and then decided to study and practice law. For this career he had received little training from teachers. Lincoln's Early Political Career. Soon after his return from the Indian " war," Lincoln was a can- didate for the state legislature. In 1834 he was elected. While in the legislature, in 1837, he was one of two men who favored a protest against slavery — a bold action for that early time. In 1846 Lincoln was chosen a member of Congress by the Whigs. His career at Washington was brief and in no way re- markable. He did not approve of the war with Mexico and on this account lost many friends in his district. He was not reelected. For several years Lincoln quietly practiced law in Springfield, Illinois. The Slavery Question Comes to the Fore. By 1858 the slavery question became a burning issue. The country was all astir. Congress had repealed the Missouri Compromise in 1854, thus opening all the territory to slavery. The Supreme Court of the United States, by the Dred Scott decision in 1857, had de- clared that Congress could not abolish slavery in the territories. Lincoln was opposed to slavery in the territories, and he decided to become the Republican candidate for the United States Senate against Stephen A. Douglas, an eminent Democrat. THE VOICE OF THE NORTH — LINCOLN 299 The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. While campaign- ing for the Senate, Lincoln engaged in a series of debates with his opponent, Douglas. In these debates the two candidates discussed the slavery question from every angle. Douglas held that the people of the territories should be allowed to decide whether they wanted slavery or not. Lincoln replied that Congress governed the territories and should prohibit slavery there. The debates made Lincoln known throughout the country, although he was defeated in the election for the Senate. Early in i860 he made a tour of the East, where he was warmly received. IL Lincoln and the Slavery Question Slavery is a Wrong. There was no doubt about Lincoln's position on the " right and wrong " of slavery. Once, when speaking on the moral side of the question, he summed up his views in this way : " That is the real issue [of slavery]. ... It is the eternal struggle between these two principles — right and wrong — throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time ; and will ever continue to struggle. One is the common right of humanity and the other is the divine right of kings. ... It is the same spirit that says, ' You toil and work and earn bread and I'll eat it.' No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king ... or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another 300 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY race, it is the same tyrannical principle." His opinion, he repeated in his Cooper Union speech of i860, rested on his " conviction that slavery is wrong." No Interference with Slavery in Slave States. Though convinced that slavery was wrong, Lincoln did not propose to interfere with it in the slave states. There it was recognized by the Constitution of the United States. Each state had the right to decide for itself whether it would adopt the system or not. Illinois, under the federal Constitution, could not dictate to Missouri. " I have said a hundred times," Lincoln exclaimed in 1858, " and I have now no inclina- tion to take it back, that I believe there is no right, and ought to be no inclination, in the people of the free states to enter a slave state and interfere with the question at all." Lincoln against Slavery in the Territories. Believ- ing that slavery was wrong, Lincoln was, however, in favor of preventing its spread to the new territories. Congress had the power under the Constitution to govern the territories, and Lincoln insisted that it should abolish or prohibit slavery in them. " Can we, while our votes will prevent it," he asked, " allow it to spread into the national territories and to overrun us here in these free states ? If our sense of duty for- bids this, then let us stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively. . . . Let us have the faith that right makes might and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it." THE VOICE OF THE NORTH — LINCOLN 301 Lincoln's Argument. In taking this ground, Lincoln claimed to be walking in the footsteps of the fathers of our country. Washington and Jefferson, he said, had thought slavery wrong. He simply held their opinion on that point. Congress, in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, had forbidden slavery in the North- west Territory. Lincoln proposed to prohibit it in the Western territories across the Mississippi. He hoped that, encircled by liberty, slavery would die. He did not share the views of those abolitionists who demanded immediate and complete emancipation of the slaves everywhere. HL The Election of i860 The Break-up of the Democratic Party. When the time arrived to elect a new President, in i860, every one knew that a crisis was at hand. Each political party, as usual, held a great meeting called a convention, and selected a candidate for President. In April the Democrats held their convention at Charleston, South Carolina. It was soon evident that they were sharply divided among themselves. After wrangling for more than a week, they adjourned to meet at Baltimore. In the meantime a number of delegates from the " cotton states " withdrew from the convention. Stephen A. Douglas. As a result of their divisions, the Democrats held two conventions and nominated two candidates. One of them was the Northern man with whom Lincoln had debated, Stephen A. Douglas. 302 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY He was regarded as " a moderate man." He did not propose to force slavery on the territories but to permit the people of the territories to decide for themselves. On this account he was accused of " look- ing both ways." He would open the territories to slavery. That, It seemed, would please the South. He would allow the people of a territory to abolish slavery themselves If they wanted to do so. That, it was said, would please the North. John C. Breckinridge. The Democrats who with- drew from the regular convention nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky. This group was composed of men who wanted no compromise with the North on the slavery question. They stood squarely on what they regarded as the rights of the South under the federal Constitution : (l) they declared that slave owners had a right to take slaves Into any territory ; (2) they maintained that Congress had no power to exclude slavery from the territories. This was a bold and positive stand. There could be no doubt about the views of this group of Democrats. A New Moderate Party. Alarmed by the angry feelings stirred up In the county, some moderate men held a convention at Baltimore and formed a new party. They took the name " Constitutional Union " and declared In favor of the Constitution and the Union. They said that saving the Union was the duty of all patriots. They condemned the extremists In the South and the anti-slavery men of the North, THE VOICE OF THE NORTH — LINCOLN 303 and nominated a candidate for President, John Bell, of Tennessee. The Republican Convention at Chicago. In May, i860, Chicago was aroused by a flood of delegates who poured in for the Republican convention. They were all alert for the contest. Now that the Democrats were split, the Republicans were almost sure of winning in the coming election. The choice of candidates was therefore a serious business. On the third ballot Lincoln was nominated. Lincoln Elected. Early in November the nation learned that Lincoln had been elected. He had carried every Northern state except New Jersey. In the states of the far South he had not polled a single vote. In February of the next year, Lincoln bade farewell to his friends in Springfield, and journeyed East to assume the burdens of his high office. Questions and Exercises What is meant by Clay's "union of hearts" to which the text refers ? Do you think that really important questions can ever be settled satisfactorily by compromise ? Give the reasons for your answer. The population of the territories was at this time very small ; why, therefore, were the people of both the Northern and the Southern states so interested in the question as to whether or not slavery should be permitted in the territories ? I. Lincoln's father was what we call a pioneer. How does a pioneer differ from an explorer ? From an emigrant ? Are emi- grants sometimes pioneers ? How do you think that Lincoln's early life helped him to serve well in the office of President in later 304 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY life ? Which kind of oratory do you prefer : that of Webster and Clay, or that of Lincoln ? Why ? What is meant by a debate ? Who was Stephen A. Douglas ? II. What did Lincoln mean when he said that slavery was con- nected in principle with the "divine right of kings"? If Lincoln thought that slavery was wrong, why did he believe that the people in the free states ought not to try to abolish slavery in the slave states ? III. We are told that in i860 the Democrats disagreed with one another and that some of them broke away from the others and held a separate convention. Have you ever heard of other cases where political parties split just before a great election ? Why are new political parties likely to be formed when the mem- bers of the old ones cannot agree with one another ? Why did the Republicans in i860 have an unusually good chance to have their candidate elected ^ Suggestions for Reading Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 254-264 ; McMurry's Pio- neers of the Mississippi Valley, pp. 170-184 ; Gordy's Our Patriots, pp. 163-179; Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Vol. II, pp. 186—217; Foote and Skinner's Makers and Defenders of America, pp. 230-249; Elbridge S. Brooks' True Story of Abraham Lincoln; Helen Nicolay's Boy''s Life of Abraham Lincoln; Daniel E. Wheeler's Abraham Lincoln, in True Stories of Great Americans. Problems for Further Study What is the difference between an educated and an uneducated man ? Was Lincoln educated ? In what ways do children to-day have a better chance to be educated than Lincoln had .^ Did Lincoln solve the problem of slavery in the way in which he thought it ought to be solved ? (See Chapter XVIII.) Why must we have political parties ? Make a list of the free states and the slave states in i860. CHAPTER XVII THE SOUTH RESOLUTE — JEFFERSON DAVIS The Southern Problem : How Should Southern Interests Be Protected? Early In November, i860, the news sped over the wires to every part of the country announcing the election of Lincoln. This was a direct challenge to the South. Lincoln was not an abolitionist, but he was firmly opposed to slavery in the territories. He taught that slavery was wrong. If slavery was wrong, then Southern leaders were wrong. That was not all. The exclusion of slavery from the territories meant that, in time, the North would over- balance the South in the Senate. The North would dominate the countr)^ It would elect a majority of Senators and Representatives. It would choose the President. The rights of the South would thus be endangered. Such, at least, was the Southern view. The election of Lincoln put an end to Southern hopes for a vast slave territory in the West. It was clear that the South could not expand and keep up with the growing free states. What were Southern leaders to do now that Lincoln was elected ^ That was the question. Were they to X 305 3o6 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY remain in the Union and risk being outvoted by the North and West on all questions touching the tariff, slavery, and the rights of states ? Were they to hope for some kind of compromise with Lincoln ? Or were they to withdraw from the Union and form self- governing states of their own ? I. Secession and the Leader The South Divided. On the serious problem of the day Southern leaders were at first divided. The states of the far South — South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas, — "the cotton states," were in favor of secession. And they did secede before Lincoln could be inaugurated. The inland and border states, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware — all slave states — were in favor of a compromise. They tried to come to an agreement with Lincoln, but failed. He was as firm as a rock on the question of slavery in the territories. Not until after war opened did Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia decide to withdraw from the Union. The extreme northern tier of slave states, Maryland, Dela- ware, Kentucky, and Missouri, remained in the Union. Some of the western counties of Virginia, in which secession was strongly opposed, were later formed into a separate Union state. West Virginia. The Man and the Hour. On February 17, 1861, the streets of Montgomery, Alabama, were filled with THE SOUTH RESOLUTE — JEFFERSON DAVIS 307 excited throngs. A congress of delegates from the states that had seceded was assembled in that city. The Congress had formed a new union or league, called the Confederate States of America. It had chosen as © Brown Bros., New York. The State Capitol at Montgomery, Alabama, Where the Southern Confederacy was Founded in i86i temporary President a leading figure among the states- men of secession, Jefferson Davis, and he had arrived to take the oath of office. Crowds had come from far and near to see him. He was presented to them on the portico of the Exchange Hotel. Cheer upon cheer rose as he stepped to view. An old friend, a follower of John C. 308 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Calhoun, greeted him in the name of the Southern people, in an eloquent address closing with the thrilling words : " The man and the hour have met." The Training of Jefferson Davis. — Who was this man that he should be chosen to lead the Southern cause? His story is the story of a Southern planter's son. When Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809, there lay in his cradle in another part of Kentucky a little baby only a few months old. That baby was Jefferson Davis, born June 3, 1808. His father was a devoted admirer of Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States. It was for that reason that the child was named " Jefferson." Boyhood of Davis and Lincoln Contrasted. But how great the difference between the homes of the two children ! Abraham Lincoln had for a birthplace a log cabin with a dirt floor, and for parents poverty- stricken pioneers. The other, Jefferson Davis, was born in a comfortable home. Slaves waited on him in his youth. His parents were well-to-do people and were able to give him the advantages of an .education at school. Abraham Lincoln's father moved from Kentucky into the free state of Indiana and then into the free state of Illinois. His youth was therefore spent among people who owned no slaves. Jefferson Davis's father, on the other hand, moved far south, first into Louisiana and then into Mississippi. He became prosperous, though not one of the richest planters. All about him THE SOUTH RESOLUTE— JEFFERSON DAVIS 309 in his youth Davis saw slaves at work in the fields. None of his friends thought that slavery was wrong or criticized the owners of slaves. They all sincerely believed, with Calhoun, that slavery was a positive good, and that the slaves were better off and happier than they would be if turned loose to struggle for themselves. Davis at School. After spending a short time at a school in the neighborhood, young Jeiferson Davis was sent to an academy of excellent reputation in Kentucky. While on the long journey to Kentucky, he stopped at the home of Andrew Jackson, who had recently come back from his famous victory at New Orleans. This visit was a great experience in the life of the youth. After finishing his academic course, Jefferson entered Transylvania University, at Lexington, from which he graduated in 1824. In that year two important inci- dents occurred. His father died, leaving him a modest fortune, which made him independent ; and he entered the United States Militar)^ Academy at West Point, embarking upon a military career. There he met three men who were long afterward to be associated with him in the Civil War. They were students then in training for a military life : Robert E. Lee, Albert Sydney Johnston, . and Joseph E. Johnston. Davis and Military Life. After completing his studies at West Point, Davis became an officer in the 310 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY United States Army. He was stationed in the North- west district, — consisting of northern Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, — then a vast wilderness. Indians claimed the country as a home, and hunters invaded it for precious furs. Years afterward Davis served with distinction in the Mexican War, and won high praise for his courage and ability. II. The Southern Leader at Washington Preparation. A little while after his return from Mexico, Davis entered political life as a Senator from Mississippi. He had already spent a short time in the House of Representatives. It must not be thought that his preparation for politics was purely military. In his early years, Davis had devoted himself to careful studies in the history of our country. He gave special attention to the writings of the famous statesmen who lived in Washington's time. Jeffer- son's works he read with particular care. Then he studied the great English writers — the poets, Byron, Burns, and Shakespeare, and the essayists, Addison, Steele, and Swift. Thus he combined a knowledge of American history with a knowledge of the best English literature. He could write and speak clearly and forcefully. Davis and Nullification. Bearing the great name of Jefferson, and born in Kentucky, Davis early heard of the " doctrine of nullification," Thomas Jefferson's belief that a state could refuse to obey a federal THE SOUTH RESOLUTE— JEFFERSON DAVIS 311 law. He thought that this belief was sound. A great man had taught it and his father had believed it. Jefferson Davis naturally accepted it as true. He was out at the army post in 1832 when he heard of nulli- fication in South Carolina. He then declared that he would leave the army if ordered against a state. to fight sovereign said he He would tear his army commission " to tat- ters " rather than serve in a civil war designed to compel a state to obey a law which it had declared void. Political Views. From 1847 until the election of Lincoln, Jefferson Davis spent most of his time at Washington as a mem- ber either of the Senate or of the President's cabi- net. Those were stormy days. He was there during the memorable debate over the Compromise of 1850. On all the leading questions he stood forth as a champion of the Southern cause. He opposed the tariff bitterly, declaring it to be a tax laid on Jefferson Davis, President of the Con- federate States of America 312 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Southern planters. He favored the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. He held that the Southern people had equal rights with the Northern people in the territories. Therefore, he argued, they had the right to take slaves with them into the territories. Davis Takes a Firm Stand on Slavery. As to slavery itself, Davis took the Calhoun view, which was generally accepted among Southern leaders. Slavery was a good — a positive good. That theory was being taught at Southern colleges. Professor Thomas Dew of William and Mary College was an eloquent and learned teacher of the doctrine. Southern Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians had broken from their Northern brethren on that point and declared in favor of slavery. A Southern writer has said : " The pulpits of all the churches were largely occupied by men who thought negro servitude the basis of the natural and divine order of things." Jefferson Davis accepted the pre- vailing Southern view. He spoke what he believed to be the truth when he said : "African slavery, as it exists in the United States, is a moral, a social, and a political blessing." He thought that it was sanctioned by the Bible and that it had God's approval. Davis and the Coming Conflict. Davis believed in the right of secession. He held that each state was independent, that the Constitution was an agree- ment among free states, and that a state could rightfully and lawfully withdraw from the Union. In this he was as sincere as Lincoln, who held the opposite THE SOUTH RESOLUTE — JEFFERSON DAVIS 313 opinion. But Davis did not wish to see the Union dis- solved. He was not as extreme in his views as many other Southern leaders. He did not welcome the coming conflict cheerfully, as did many of his friends. On the contrary he strove anxiously for some peace- ful way out of the strife which he saw ahead. Only slowly and sorrowfully was he driven to the conclusion that secession was coming. It was not until December, i860, that he joined other Southern Senators in signing a proclamation that the time had come for secession and the establishment of a Southern Confederacy. They did this, they said, because they were convinced that " the Republicans are resolute in the purpose to grant nothing that will or ought to satisfy the South." Davis and Compromise. Even then, Davis did not give up all hope. Senator Crittenden of Kentucky, like Henry Clay before him, tried to save the Union by compromise. He proposed to extend the Missouri Compromise line of 36°3o' all the way to the Pacific Ocean as the line between slavery and freedom. Jef- ferson Davis was willing to accept this compromise. It was presented to Lincoln, who replied : " No com- promise on the question of slavery extension ; on that point hold firm as steel." III. Secession as a Last Resort Davis Bids the Senate Farewell. Jefferson Davis now felt that the end had come. In January, 1861, 314 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY he rose in the Senate to bid his friends farewell for the last time. Not since the crisis of 1850 had the Senate been the scene of such excitement. Mississippi had withdrawn from the Union two days before. Davis was loyal to his state. The time had come to take his own leave of the Union. When he rose a deep and awful silence fell upon the crowded chamber. The orator spoke without bitterness — simply, plainly, and sadly. Tears came to the eyes of men who had opposed him. Sincerity was in his voice and in every word. Men might think him wrong, but none could deny that Jefferson Davis was following the right as he under- stood the right. Davis as President of the Confederacy. About a month later, Davis was elected president of the new league of states — the Southern Confederacy. In his inaugural address, he threw upon the North the responsibility for war if war came. The South sought to leave the Union lawfully and rightfully, he argued, and would not strike unless the North struck first. " Honor and right and liberty and equality," he said, were at stake, and the South stood ready to defend them against a Northern invasion. " Let us invoke," he closed, " the God of our fathers. . . . With the continuance of His favor . . . we may hope- fully look forward to success, to peace, and to pros- perity." Davis at Richmond. When the other states seceded, the capital of the Confederacy was moved to Richmond, THE SOUTH RESOLUTE — JEFFERSON DAVIS 315 Virginia. On May 29, 1861, amid the thunder of cannon, Davis arrived in the city. Confederate flags flew from every mast and delighted crowds thronged the streets. Richmond, with every sign of honor and rejoicing, received its " first and only President." The '"White House ok the Confederacy," the Home of Jefferson Da\is IN Richmond, \a. One of the handsomest houses in the Capital was fitted up as the presidential mansion. There Jefferson Davis made his home through four long and weary years — years as tr\^ing to patience, wisdom, and honor as those endured by that other son of Kentucky at Washington. 3l6 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Jefferson Davis was in the prime of his manhood. His tall, thin form marked him out in every group he entered. Shaggy eyebrows overhung bluish-gray eyes giving signs of grim strength and firm will. A broad, high forehead revealed great mental powers. He was indeed " as handsome as resolute." He im- pressed all who met him as a leader of a high order. As a strong man he made enemies, but he also drew to him the affections of the Southern people. Questions and Exercises Why did the election of Lincoln put an end to the hopes of the South for increasing slave territory in the West ? Besides the question of slavery, what were two other matters regarding which the North and South had often disagreed ? I. Certain states are referred to in the text as the cotton states ; find if the list of cotton states given here agrees with that in your geographies. Why do you suppose that the southern- most states seceded first .'' Would you expect a man who be- lieved in slavery to be the son of a slave-owner ? Where is West Point ? Do you think that it was an advantage to the South that some of its greatest military leaders were trained in the same school as their later opponents .'' II. Make as complete a list as you can of Davis's political beliefs. State what he did to uphold each of these beliefs. How did his beliefs agree with those of most of his fellow citizens in the South } Which of Davis's ideas were new ^ Which had others held before him ? III. Do you think that Davis was the natural choice of the South for president of the Confederacy ? Find out the design of the Confederate flag. Locate the capital of the Confederacy. THE SOUTH RESOLUTE — JEFFERSON DAVIS 317 Suggestions for Reading Guerber's Story of the Great Republic, pp. 167-174; W. P. Trent's Southern Writers, pp. 206-208 (Davis's Farewell Speech to the Senate). Problems for Further Study Compare the views of Jefferson Davis with those of Garrison, Webster, Calhoun, and Lincoln. Why was it natural for states that believed in nullification to believe also in secession } What state that believed in nullification refused to secede ? CHAPTER XVIII SAVING THE UNION The Problem : Will the Union be Maintained ? On March 4, 1861, the day broke fine and clear. The people of Washington were astir early. Lincoln was about to begin his great task. The whole nation waited anxiously for his inaugural address. Every one knew that he must make some answer to the supreme question : " Shall the seceding states be allowed to go out of the Union in peace .? " At the appointed hour Lincoln left his hotel and rode slowly along Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. General Scott, the veteran of the Mexican War, fearing trouble, had carefully stationed regular troops along the way to the Capitol and about the building. The Union Is Perpetual and Must Be Preserved. In the presence of an excited crowd, the tall, wrinkled, and weather-beaten son of the West rose to deliver his epoch-making speech. A breathless throng hung upon his words. In a strong, firm voice, he answered the great question of the hour simply and earnestly. " The union of these states is perpetual. . . . No state upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union. ... I shall take care, as the Constitu- tion itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of 318 SAVING THE UNION 319 Abraham Lincoln Photograph by Brady while Lincoln was President of the United States 320 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY the Union be faithfully executed in all the states. , . . There need to be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government and to collect the duties and imposts." In these unmistakable words he gave the answer to the perplexing question in the mind of every- one. He made no threats. He did not bluster nor brag. He quietly served notice that he would maintain and defend the Union. That was the meaning of his address. No Wrong Will Be Done to the South. Lincoln went on to assure the slave owners that he had no right and no intention to interfere with slavery in the states where it existed. The responsibility for starting a conflict, Lincoln said, rested upon the Southern leaders. " In your hands, my dissatisfied countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war." He pointed out that the Southerners themselves would have to take the first step if war was to come. "You have no oath to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and defend it.' I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies." I. Lincoln's Measures for Saving the Union Sumter and War. For more than a month the nation watched breathlessly every move of the two SAVING THE UNION 321 Presidents, Lincoln and Davis. Perhaps, after all, the dreadful conflict might be avoided. Then suddenly, as in the case of the American Revolution, a single action, like that at Lexington, plunged the North and South into war. On an island in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, stood a United States fort occupied by regular The Bombardment of Fort Sumter troops under the command of Major Anderson. Supplies could reach the fort only by boat. The people of Charleston, of course, looked upon Anderson and his men as enemies and would not permit food to 322 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY be sent to them from that city. The only way to supply the garrison was to send a ship from one of the Northern ports. This, however, would be re- garded by the Confederates in Charleston as an act of war. Nevertheless, Fort Sumter was one of the places belonging to the government which Lincoln had said he would " possess and hold." On April 8, Lincoln, much perplexed, decided he must act. He notified General Beauregard, in command of the Southern troops at Charleston, that he would send provisions but neither arms nor ammunition to Major Anderson. Beauregard a few days later called on Anderson to sur- render. The supplies had not arrived, but Anderson refused, even though starvation stared him in the face. Before sunrise on April 12, 1861, the thunder of a great gun and the crash of a shot announced the opening of the bombardment of Fort Sumter by the Confederates. For two days the battle raged, ending in the surrender of the garrison. The Call to Arms. Like an alarm bell in the dead of night, the news of Sumter aroused the North to arms. The great decision had to be made. In the argument many views could be held and advanced. In the armed conflict, there were only two sides — men had to be for or against the Union. Thousands who had opposed Lincoln and denounced his views rallied to his side. His old opponent, Stephen A. Douglas, called upon him to pledge his help to the bitter end. In every Northern SAVING THE UNION 323 city, village, and hamlet the people gathered to declare their loyalty to the Union. In the South, the same grim determination to " see it through " appeared on the faces of the people. The choice had been made. The war was on. There was The War in the East Wms. Eog. Co., N. Y. no turning back. The roll of drums and the tramp of soldiers told of the coming storm. On April 15, 1861, Lincoln issued his first call for soldiers. He asked for seventy-five thousand volun- teers. Their task was to aid in enforcing the law and retaking forts and places seized from the United States. Their term of service was to be for three 324 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY months only. The North greeted the call by pouring out a flood of marching men. From Virginia to Missouri the two sections soon stood in martial array. In July, 1861, the first serious battle of the war was fought at Bull Run, in Virginia, some thirty miles from Washington. The Union troops were utterly defeated. Many of them fled in terror from the battlefield. Some of them did not stop until they reached Washington. This was a sharp and severe lesson to the North. An end was put to all hopes for a speedy " march on Richmond " and. a short war. Lincoln realized that he had a heavy task before him. He bent every effort to raise the men and the money and the supplies necessary for the great conflict. When enough men could not be secured by the volun- teer system, he resorted to the draft and compelled men to serve. He left no stone unturned in his labors to save the Union. That was the key to all he said and did. On the slavery question and all other questions, men were divided. Around the cry of " Save the Union," the North was rallied. The Blockade of Southern Ports. On April 19, 1861, Lincoln took another important step. He issued an order closing Southern ports to foreign trade. This was a terrible blow to Southern hopes. The South was not a manufacturing section. It had planned to secure guns, ammunition, and other supplies from European countries, especially England, and to pay for them with cotton. SAVING THE UNION 325 The blockade was intended to stop this trade by- preventing vessels from entering or leaving the Southern ports. It could not be strictly enforced at first, because Lincoln did not have enough ships. As the Union navy increased in size, however, the blockade became stricter and stricter. In the end hardly a shipload of cotton could escape from a Southern state. The chief product The Battle between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac" of the South could not be sold and therefore war sup- plies could not be bought. Only a few ships could slip through the net. A brilliant effort to break the blockade was made by the Confederates with an iron-clad ship, named the Merrimac. It was playing havoc with the wooden ships of the North, when another iron-clad, the Monitor, was built for the Union navy. In a famous fight, the 326 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY two ships tried their strength. Neither was destroyed, but the course of the Merrimac came to an end. Some- time afterward it was broken up by its owners. The blockade of Southern ports was kept up steadily until the close of the war. Slavery at Stake. As the war dragged on through the weary months, the abolitionists of the North re- doubled their attacks on slavery itself. Some of them, at first, favored letting the slave states go in peace. Thus they sought to free themselves from all connections with slavery. Failing in this, they turned to criticizing Lincoln for not abolishing it. Lincoln Perplexed. The President was thus be- tween two fires. A great number of Northern people were not opposed to slavery, as long as it was confined to the South. The border states, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri, were slave states and were yet in the Union. To make enemies of these states and of Northern friends of slavery generally was dangerous to the cause Lincoln had at heart — saving the Union. Attacked on the one side by the abolitionists and on the other by pro-slavery men, Lincoln patiently argued with both factions. To the former he replied in the summer of 1862 : " If I could save the Union with- out freeing any slave, I would do it. And if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it. And if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do that. What I do about slavery and SAVING THE UNION 327 the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union." This summed up his firm belief regard- ing this matter. Waiting for the Hour. At the very time, however, when Lincoln wrote these words, there was lying in his desk a rough draft of a proclamation of emancipation. He was quietly awaiting the right moment to act. For more than a year the fortunes of war had run against the North. The South stood strong and triumphant. To free the slaves in such circumstances seemed like an act of despair. How could freedom be enforced while Southern armies seemed invincible ? Lincoln was pray- ing for a victory. It did not come as he hoped, but at Antietam, Maryland, in September, 1862, the Northern army so effectively checked the Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, that he retreated into Virginia to reform his forces. A Solemn Warning. On hearing the news of An- tietam, Lincoln called his cabinet together in Wash- ington. To this small group of advisers, he slowly read a remarkable document — a solemn warning that a Proclamation of Emancipation was coming unless the seceded states returned to the Union. It was a direct and pointed notice to the Secessionists that their slaves would be freed on January i, 1863, if they were still in arms and out of the Union. It left untouched, however, slavery in the border states that had not seceded and in the places occupied by the Union armies. 328 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY On September 22, 1862, the document was published to all the world. The South, still confident that it would be victorious, received the warning with derision. The abolitionists were overjoyed. The Proclamation of Emancipation. January i, 1863, arrived. The Southern states were still in arms against the Union. The time had come to 'Carry the solemn warning into effect. A great reception was held at the White House. At the close of the day, the President took a pen in his " much-shaken hand " and signed the Proclamation of Emancipation. The Abolition of Slavery. The Proclamation of Emancipation did not aboiish slavery. It merely freed the slaves in the districts under the Confederate flag. It was a war order. The President issued it as Commander in Chief of the army. The great work of destroying slavery completely was not yet accom- plished, but it was still on Lincoln's heart. The only way to put an end to it for all time was to amend the Constitution of the United States. Lincoln soon began to urge Congress to pass such an amendment. That required the approval of two thirds of the members of both houses. Only by hard labor was Lincoln able to win enough votes. Not until 1865 did the amend- ment pass Congress and go to the states for ratification. " Now," said Lincoln in his homely way, " the great job is ended." By December of that year three- fourths of the states had approved the Thirteenth Amendment. SAVING THE UNION 329 Lincoln and His Opponents. All during the war Lincoln was worried by Northern sympathizers with the Southern cause. Some of them hoped the South would win — probably not many. Others thought the war unnecessary and foolish. Others disliked Lin- coln's way of waging it. Many such critics were arrested and imprisoned and this aroused their friends to attack the President. One of the bitterest critics of Lincoln's policies was Clement L. Vallandigham, of Ohio. He was out- spoken in his views and had numerous followers. In the spring of 1863, the Union general in charge of the Ohio district arrested him, and after a military trial imprisoned him. Vallandigham protested that he was loyal and that the arrest was unfair and without warrant. Lincoln himself doubted the wisdom of the arrest, but stood by the Union general. With grim humor, however, he banished the prisoner to the Confederacy ! When he was criticized for such actions, Lincoln replied : " Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wily agitator who induces him to desert ? " Bent on saving the Union and the cause for which it stood, he was in no mood to treat tenderly an open friend of the South. In many cases, he was perhaps too severe, but he was also quick to forgive. In December, 1863, he even made a public offer to pardon, with a few exceptions, all those who would take an oath to support, protect, 330 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY and defend the Union. He cherished no grudges. He sought no revenge. II. General Ulysses S. Grant A Commander of the Armies of the United States. Lincoln's great aid in the war was General Ulysses S. Grant. On March 3, 1863, Grant was made chief of all the armies to finish the war on the Confederacy. People who saw him at the time were surprised that Lin- coln should want to trust so much authority to him; he was so plain, simple, and unsoldierly in appearance. The truth is that Grant was as plain a man as Lincoln him- self. The Youth of a Famous General. Grant was of Scotch ancestry. His birthplace was Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, where, on April 27, 1822, he first saw the light of day. His father was a work- man skilled at tanning leather, and was able to give the son an education. From the age of five to the age of seventeen, young Grant spent most of his winters at school, learning reading, writing, and arithmetic. General Ulysses S. Grant SAVING THE UNION 331 Ulysses wrote of himself, " I was not studious in habit and probably did not make progress enough to com- pensate for the outlay for board and tuition." Nevertheless, his father, denied the opportunity of an education himself, was anxious for the boy to go on studying. In 1839 he secured an appointment for him. at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Ulysses did not care for army life. He was not a " born fighter." He did not even look forward to a military career, but he did his work at the Academy. He took the hazings that came along and endured the jokes played on him. The boys, on seeing his initials, "U. S.," called him "United States" Grant, "Uncle Sam," and finally just " Sam " for short. He took little interest in military subjects and thought of becom- ing a school-teacher. Uncertain Years. Fate had other work in store for Grant. When the Mexican War broke out in 1845, he was a lieutenant in the Army. He did not believe the war was just, but he played his part as a loyal soldier. He said that when he first heard the sound of guns he wished that he had not become a soldier. Nevertheless he showed himself a brave man in danger and was promoted for gallantry. After this war was over. Grant had many unhappy years. He was for a time stationed in California. Then he left the army and tried farming, lumber cut- ting, teaming, and odd jobs. He seemed to fail at everything. A friend who met him in the streets of St. 332 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Louis in i860 scarcely recognized him because he was so shabby and discouraged with Hfe. He was " store- keeping " at Galena, Illinois, when the thundering guns of Sumter called him to arms again. Grant in the Civil War. Grant had a hard time finding a place in the army. At last on June 15, 1861, he was appointed colonel of an Illinois regiment. Before the end of the year he was promoted and placed in command of a large body of troops at Cairo at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In the West. Grant was soon in the center of a great movement down the Mississippi Valley — a movement of Federal troops intended to split the Con- federacy all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. This was to go on while the Army of the Potomac in the East was moving on Richmond. In the long campaign southward. Grant rose to fame and rank as a brave, determined soldier. He cap- tured Fort Donelson, fought battle after battle in Tennessee, sometimes with reverses, but, on the whole, moving forward. On July 4, 1863, he captured Vicks- burg after a long and terrible siege. A victory at Chattanooga followed in the autumn. New Orleans had already been captured by Admiral Farragut. Al- though other battles were afterward fought in the West, the work of " splitting the Confederacy " had been accomplished by the close of 1863. In the East. Lincoln had watched the events in the West and he decided that Grant was the man to SAVING THE UNION 333 •i^ o I N I S* N-KtvcT The War in the West Wms.Ei>«.Co.,N.Y. 334 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY do what had not yet been done in the East ; that is, to overcome General Robert E. Lee's gallant Army of Virginia. General after general in charge of Union forces had failed at that task. Lee had been checked at Antietam in 1862 and defeated at Gettysburg the following year, but the Confederate capital was yet safe and his powerful army intact. General Grant had a high opinion of his foeman, but he believed that he could win by driving hard with an overwhelming force of men and supplies. With grim determination he began the drive and kept it up through terrible fighting for more than a year. He had an endless supply of soldiers and guns behind him. There could be but one outcome. Richmond was taken. The Confederate government fled in haste. The Confederate army melted away. On April 7, 1865, General Lee's position was hopeless. Grant called upon him to surrender. An Historic Scene. On the morning of the 9th, Lee, seeing himself hemmed in on all sides, raised a flag of truce to arrange the surrender. Early in the afternoon the two mighty warriors met in a house at Appomattox to agree upon the final terms. Grant had not expected the end so soon and was not dressed for the occasion. He wore a rough and dusty soldier's blouse for a coat, with two plain shoulder straps to indicate his rank. In this simple garb the victor pre- sented a strange contrast to the conquered. General Lee wore a new and full uniform. He was a SAVING THE UNION 335 handsome man, fully six feet tall and faultless in manner. General Grant has given us in simple words an ac- count of their meeting : " What General Lee's feelings were I do not know. As he was a man of much dignity, with an impassive face, it was impossible to say whether he felt inwardly glad that the end had finally come, or felt sad over the result and was too manly to show it. Whatever his feelings, they were entirely con- cealed from my observation ; but my own feelings, which had been jubilant on the receipt of his letter, were sad and depressed. I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly and had suffered so much. . . . We soon fell into a conversation about old army times. He remarked that he remembered me very well in the old army ; and I told him that as a matter of course I remembered him perfectly. . . . Our conversation grew so pleasant that I almost forgot the object of our meeting. After the conversation had run in this style for some time, General Lee called my attention to the object of our meeting." Then they discussed briefly the terms of surrender. In a few moments a short agreement was written out and signed. The two brave foemen gravely shook hands and parted — Lee to end his days in private life; Grant to serve two terms (1869-77) in the high ofl5ce of President of the United States. 336 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY III. General Robert E. Lee Lee a Member of an Old Virginia Family. The tall and handsome soldier in gray uniform who met General Grant on that ever memorable day was a fine repre- sentative of the Southern cause. He was of an old and honorable Virginia family. His father, Henry Lee, nicknamed " Light Horse Harry," was a gallant officer who served bravely under Washington in the Revolution. As a close friend, Henry Lee was chosen to deliver the funeral oration on the death of that great soldier and statesman. It was he who phrased the imperishable senti- ment about Washing- ton : " first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his country- men." A Perfect Gentleman. A son of Light Horse Harry, Robert Edward Lee, born in 1807, was to be the soldier-hero of the Confederate war for independence. Robert E. Lee, the Military Hero of THE Southern Confederacy. "Duty" WAS His Watchword. SAVING THE UNION 337 In his youth he was, for a long time, the sole companion of an invalid mother. At her side he learned habits of gentleness and mercy which he remembered in peace and in war. "Duty" was his watchword. He disliked tobacco, avoided drink, and devoted himself to study with zeal. At the age of twenty-two, he graduated from West Point Military Academy, the second in his class, without a single demerit. Then he stood out above the rank and file as a tall, graceful, clean-cut, well-balanced youth. Two years later he married a granddaughter of Martha Washington and her first husband. She was the heiress of a great estate at Arlington which became the home of the Lees, In the Mexican War. For many years Robert E. Lee served well and faithfully in engineering work under the War Department. The Mexican War tested his courage on the field of battle. He came out with, wounds and honors. His chief, General Scott, de- clared that he had accomplished " the greatest feat of physical and moral courage performed by any in- dividual " during the campaign. Then followed more years of faithful service under the government. Loyal to Virginia. Lee watched with deep sorrow the steady drift of the country toward civil war. As a slaveholder, he was kind and generous to those who labored on his plantation. He hotly resented the assertion of the abolitionists that all slave owners were wicked and cruel. He knew that it was not true. 338 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY He hoped that some way of gradual emancipation might be found, but as a loyal Virginian he waited for the decision of his state in such matters. No one regretted more than he did the crisis which accom- panied secession. Like scores of other Southern men in the United States army, he felt bound, first of all, by his allegiance Arlington, the Home of General Roberi L. hi.E to his native state. When Virginia left the Union in the spring of 1861, he answered the call of duty. Nearly a hundred years before, his ancestor had followed Vir- ginia when she declared her independence from Great Britain. On hearing that Virginia had seceded, Robert SAVING THE UNION 339 E. Lee at once resigned his commission as an officer in the United States Army. He did this with anguish of heart. " Save in defence of my native state," he wrote, " I never desire again to draw my sword." Commanding the Army of Virginia. Virginia soon called him to her defense by offering him command of her armies. With a few simple and modest words, he accepted the trust. Jefferson Davis, a West Point man, had a firm confidence in the ability and char- acter of General Lee. All through the fateful years of war he relied more and more on the advice and support of the great Virginia officer. For four long years, Lee faced powerful Union armies on the Virginia frontier. He won victory after victory, most of them against great odds. The army officers of all nations have studied his operations and are agreed in holding him among the first generals of all time. When he attempted an invasion of the North, he was not as fortunate as in the defense of the South. He was checked at Antietam, Maryland, in 1862, and he was defeated by superior forces at Gettys- burg, Pennsylvania, in 1863. After the disaster at Gettysburg, Lee spent nearly all his strength in defense. He made the Northern armies under Grant pay dearly for every inch of Virginia soil which they took, but he could not stop the pitiless drive of superior forces. The Confederacy behind him was crumbling. The western part was cut off. Supplies and men were steadily dwindling away. He 340 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY was the commander of " a half-naked, half-starved, half-shod, and shrinking army." There was but one end. Lee tried all the desperate plans he could think of to shake off the closing grip. Every effort was vain. He was brave to the last minute and yielded the sword only when there was nothing left to do. IV. The End of Lincoln's Career Lincoln's Plan for Restoring the Union. As the Northern armies advanced slowly to victory, Lincoln turned over in his mind plans for reuniting the dis- tracted country. What was to be done with the South- ern leaders and the Southern states ? Lincoln steadily put away suggestions of hatred and punishment. As he said, he thought of malice toward none and of charity for all. He sought to bind up the nation's wounds and to achieve a just and lasting peace. Some cried out for revenge on Southern leaders who were captured. He refused to listen. Others demanded that the Southern states be treated as " conquered provinces." That, too, he rejected. He proposed to restore them to the Union as rapidly as a small number of " loyal citizens " could be found in each to set up a state government again. He was in the midst of this task when fate took it out of his hands. The Death of Lincoln. On April 9, 1865, General Lee had surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox, Virginia. The long war was virtually at an end. The next day the news ran through the country. Lincoln, SAVING THE UNION 341 on the evening of the fifteenth, decided to seek at a theater some reHef from the heavy strain of care. Shortly after ten o'clock a stranger was seen to enter the President's box. In a moment a shot rang through the house, and Lincoln dropped forward in his seat. The assassin, an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth, sprang upon the stage, waved a dagger, and disappeared. Tenderly, loving friends bore the President to a residence across the street where, in the morning hours of the following day, he quietly passed into his last sleep. The ship of the Union, so the poet Whitman wrote, had come safely into the harbor of peace, and the bells were ringing exultantly, but the great captain had fallen cold and dead upon the deck in that happy hour. Rejoicing over victory was turned to grief over the Lincoln tragedy. The gentle, kindly man who refused to treat his enemies harshly was gone. The work of " binding up the nation's wounds " passed to men less generous and less forgiving — ^men who insisted on keeping the Southern states under the rule of Northern soldiers for a long time. Questions and Exercises What great question was forever settled by the war between the North and the South ? Although he directed the war of the North against the South, it has often been said that Lincohi never thought of the people of the South as enemies. Why, therefore, do you think that the assassination, or murder, of President Lincoln was a misfortune to the South ? 342 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY I. When a war Is begun, what usually happens to the dis- agreements among men on the same side ? Do you know of any cases in the recent World War in which people laid aside their less important quarrels as long as the war lasted, only to renew them when the war was over? Locate the "border states." What reasons would make the people of these slave states hesitate to join the Confederacy ? Locate Charleston, Fort Sumter, Bull Run, Antietam. What caused Lincoln to issue the Procla- mation of Emancipation ? In what states were the slaves de- clared free by this proclamation ? When and how was slavery finally abolished ? II. Would you say that Grant's life up to the time of the Civil War was a success ? What campaign of the British in the Revolutionary War are you reminded of by Grant's attempt to cut the Confederacy in two by a "drive" southward? Locate on the map each battle or siege mentioned in the text. What important Southern cities were captured by Northern forces dur- ing the war ? Which side was usually victorious in the earlier battles of the war ? It is sometimes said that great men often owe their greatness chiefly to their ability to pick able men to per- form important tasks under their direction ; is this illustrated in the case of Lincoln and Grant ? III. What kind of man was General Lee ? Compare Lee's early life with that of Grant, Lincoln, and Davis. Why is Lee considered one of the greatest generals in all history? Why was Lee's task as leader of the Southern armies an impossible one ? IV. What do you think of Lincoln's plan for restoring the Union ? Suggestions for Reading Guerber's Story of the Great Republic, pp. 174-236 (the Civil War) ; Hart's Source Readers of American History, No. 4, Romance of the Civil War, pp. 179-183 (Grant at West Point), pp. 189-191 (Grant as a lieutenant), pp. 192-196 (Lee's letter to his boys). SAVING THE UNION 343 pp. 257-259 (Grant's camp), pp. 266-269 (Stonewall Jackson), pp. 352-358 (the battle between the Monitor and t\\Q Merrimac); Foote and Skinner's Makers and Defenders of America, pp. 249- 257 (Lincoln as President), pp. 258-273 (Grant), pp. 274-278 (Lee) ; Frederick Trevor Hill's On the Trail of Grant and Lee ; Bradley Gilman's Robert E. Lee and Lovell Coombs' U. S. Grant, in True Stories of Great Americans ; J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton and Mary Thompson Hamilton's Life of Robert E. Lee ; Elbridge S. Brook's True Story of U. S. Grant; Nicolay's Boys'' Life of U. S. Grant. Problems for Further Study Compare the difficulties faced by Lincoln with those faced by George Washington ; by President Wilson. Are our greatest presidents always "war presidents"? Make as complete a list as you can of the results of the war between the North and the South. Try to imagine how different our later history would have been if the war had been won by the South. U-t CHAPTER XIX AN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ROMANCE The Problem : How to Use Electricity for Light and Transportation. During the Civil War, the factories and foundries of the North were busy day and night mak- ing supplies for the army. New mills sprang up as if by magic. New railways were built and cities flour- ished as their populations increased and their business grew. The age of great industry had arrived. The minds of men turned as never before to machin- ery and inventions. Restless energy and keen talents were devoted to improvements and discoveries. Among the essential problems of the industrial age was how to use electricity to light homes, offices, fac- tories, streets, and public buildings, and also to carry passengers and freight within and between cities. I. Thomas Edison's Early Career An Early Start. Passengers on the Grand Trunk railroad between Detroit and Port Huron in Michigan were astounded one day to see a weeping boy stand- ing on the platform at Mount Clemens, a halfway station. Tears rolled down the youngster's cheeks and his ears were red from a severe boxing he had just 344 AN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ROMANCE 345 received. Scattered all around him were the ruins of a printing press, glass jars, test tubes, bottles, and chemicals. The name of the youth was Thomas Edison. He was a newsboy on the railway and he had been whiling away his time in the baggage car making chemical experiments and printing a lilttle newspaper. A sud- den jar of the train had spilled some of his chemicals and set the car on fire. The enraged con- ductor put out the flames, boxed the boy's ears so hard that he was ever afterward very deaf, and then dumped him with his "traps" on the platform of the sta- tion. This pitiable lad was, years afterward, to help solve two of the leading problems of the modern industrial age. He was to apply electricity on a large scale to Copyright, iQii, by Harper and Brothers. Thomas Edison, the Newsboy, Printer, and Student of Chemistry From "The Boy's Life of Edison,' Meadowcroft by WiUiam H. 346 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY lighting. He was also to use it in driving street cars and railway trains. He did countless other important things, but these were his principal services to the peo- ple of our time. The Rise of an Inventive Genius. Edison did not obtain his education in any great technical or engineer- Copyright, ion, by Harper and Brothers. The Birthplace of Thomas Edison at Milan, Ohio From "The Boy's Life of Edison," by William H. Meadowcroft ing college. Indeed he had very little schooling. His mother had been a teacher and she gave him his start at home in the town of his birth, Milan, Ohio. His family moved later to Port Huron, where, it seems, he spent just three months in school. AN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ROMANCE 347 Youthful Experiments. Thomas took naturally to the study of serious books by himself and became interested in chemistry. He fixed up a laboratory in the cellar and devoted his spare time to all kinds of experiments. When he was eleven years old he went into business on his own account selling newspapers on the train. A Telegrapher. While playing around the railway station at Mount Clemens one day, he saved the life of the station agent's little boy at the great risk of his own. The grateful father offered to teach Edison the art of telegraphy, and the proposal was eagerly accepted. In this way, Edison turned from chemistry to electricity. He was not content, however, with being an operator. Though he wandered around the country for many years as a telegrapher, he was always trying to " make new things." Improvement of the Telegraph. In 1868 he took out his first patent and for many years gave his at- tention mainly to improvements in the telegraph. After he had made one of his inventions, he took it to a wealthy business man and asked him to buy it. Edison thought he ought to have at least ^3000 for it, but he was afraid to charge so much. When the man asked how much he wanted, he replied : " Well, suppose you make me an offer." Quick as a flash the answer came back : " How would ^40,000 strike you ? " In telling about the affair, Edison said : " This caused me to come as near fainting as I ever got. I was afraid he would hear my heart beat. I managed to say that 348 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY I thought it was fair." Edison was paid the money in cash. Not knowing anything about banks, he carried it over to Newark, New Jersey, and sat up with it all night. The next morning he learned how to open an account and deposited the money in a bank. The Phonograph. After his great success in mak- ing ingenious improvements in the telegraph, Edison turned to other matters. He gave serious attention to the phonograph. Other men had experimented with talking machines and had made all the im- portant parts. Edison and one of his workmen de- veloped the idea and, in 1878, made a phonograph of their own. Edison shouted into it, " Mary had a little lamb." They put on another part, and turned a crank. " Mary had a little lamb," came back from the machine. The invention was a success. II. Electricity for Lighting and Transportation The Incandescent Electric Lamp. The first big work, however, was the invention of the incandescent electric lamp. Benjamin Franklin had learned that the lightning which illuminated the heavens was an electric flash. Other men, having learned how to make electricity by machines, sought a way of changing it into light. They invented the " arc lamp," which made light by " jumping " the electric current across a little space from one piece of carbon to another. Edison himself tried many experiments with " flaming arcs," as he called them. AN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ROMANCE 349 In a little while he became convinced that they were not well fitted for lighting homes and factories. So he turned his attention to making a steadier light by passing electricity through a fine filament enclosed in a glass bulb. For many weary months he and his men worked on the problem. At last on October 21, 1879, he burnt to a coal a piece of ordinary sew- ing cotton thread, bent it into horsehoe shape, and sealed it in a glass globe from which he had pumped These drawings show the improvements which have been made in our methods of light- ing from the time people used candles to the present day. the air. He then turned a weak current of elec- tricity into the lamp and to his great joy it glowed brightly. For forty hours it burned. The victory was won ! The whale oil lamp had driven out the tallow candle. Kerosene oil had driven out whale oil. Gas had taken the place of kerosene for lighting streets and houses in cities. Now the darkness was to be banished and the night turned into day by the incandescent electric lamp. Try to imagine a world with no light but tallow 350 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY candles or even gas, and you will see how great was Edison's service to mankind. A Central Electric Station. The lamp was invented. The next problem before Edison was to put it into stores, factories, and homes. That called for a big central power house to make electricity. It involved many difficult operations connected with putting up wires and sending the current around through hundreds of miles of wire. He mastered them all with the help of able assistants. On September 4, 1882, at three o'clock in the afternoon, he pronounced complete his first central power station in New York City. Steam was turned into the engines which drove the dynamos to make electricity and current was supplied to about four hundred lamps. It was another triumph for the inventor. He had worked night and day on the enterprise, sparing him- self no pains. He got down into the trenches and labored over wires and pipes. All sorts of accidents happened to discourage him, but some amusing in- cidents enlivened the hard struggle against difficulties. A ragman with a dilapidated old horse passed over a spot where there was a leak. As soon as the horse touched the electrified soil, he reared on his hind legs and started to run away. Some wag then suggested that it would be a good plan to buy up old horses, " electrify them," and sell them as racers ! The Electric Railway. It was Edison's special gift to improve the inventions of other men, and to make AN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ROMANCE 351 them work practically. This was as true of the electric railway as of the electric lamp. All his improvements were services of high order. Early Experiments. The first attempt to apply electricity to driving cars seems to have been made in Brandon, Vermont, in 1834. In that year a black- smith of Brandon made a circular electric railway with cars and exhibited them at Springfield, Massachusetts, and other cities. This little model was kept in running order until 1900, when it was lost, with the sinking of a ship, on the way to the Paris exhibition. In 1 85 1 a big electric locomotive was tested on the Washington and Baltimore railway and attained a speed of nineteen miles an hour. So far, inventors had relied on storage batteries carried along with the cars to furnish the driving power. A few years later, a machinist in Kalamazoo, Michigan, devised a plan of furnishing electricity to the cars by means of a wire attached to distant batteries. In 1879 a German firm exhibited in Berlin an electric locomo- tive and a train of cars driven by electricity supplied by a dynamo to a " third rail." Thomas Edison After he had Achieved World-wide Fame for His Inventions 352 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Edison's Triumph. After inventing his incandescent lamp, Edison, at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, devoted his time to building an electric car. In 1880 his car made its first trip on a track about a third of a mile long. The New York Herald, re- porting the successful experiment, declared that at last there was found a locomotive " most pleasing to the average New Yorker, whose head has ached with noise, whose eyes have been filled with dust, or whose clothes have been ruined with oil." The era of electric railways had opened. III. Edison's Methods No Dependence on Luck. The most interesting thing about Edison is his patient work. He did not wait for luck. He was constantly looking for some practical problem already presented by some other invention. He studied the causes of former failures. Having found the causes, he devised the im- provements which were necessary to make successes out of failures. Moreover, after he had made money himself and interested capitalists in his enterprises, he built a great laboratory and put many skilled me- chanics to work on improvements. Edison labored tirelessly with his own hands. He employed men like himself, who devoted their very lives to invention. He was not satisfied with " good enough." He was ever searching for something better. AN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ROMANCE 353 A Long Search for Improvements. For example, a strong substance was needed to make the filament for the incandescent electric lamp. Edison sent one man all the way to Japan to hunt for a special kind of bamboo. It was found and carefully tested. Edison was not satisfied. Another man was sent to explore the wild interior of Brazil for a species of palm that, he thought, might be better. He pene- trated the jungles of the Amazon country and brought back the palm. It was no better than the Japanese bamboo. Then two men were dispatched to explore Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. One of them spent fifteen months in the wilderness "deserted by treacherous guides, twice laid low by fevers, occasionally in peril from Indian attacks, wild animals, and poisonous serpents, tormented by insect pests, endangered by floods, one hundred and nineteen days without meat, ninety-eight days without taking ofT his clothes." The daring adventurer, broken in health, returned to America having faithfully fulfilled his mission. Not yet satisfied, Edison sent a New Jersey school- master to search the tropical jungles of the Far East. Before leaving on his long journey the teacher drew a line on the platform of the railway station. He asked his little pupils to " toe the line." As they stood there, he told them that, starting east, he would go around the world and come to the mark some day from the other direction. A year later the children, who had awaited 354 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY his home coming with eagerness, met him at the station as he returned from the west. A little girl led him up to the " toe line." Edison was there and greeted the traveler simply with the words : " Did you get it ^ " He had it ! After a long, hazardous, and costly search in all parts of the world, Edison was confident that he had the finest possible fiber. Edison's Co-workers. As we think of Edison, we must also remember that hundreds of other men, just as brave and just as patient, were making inventions of equal importance. In his day the typewriter, the airplane, the gas engine, the automobile, the oil engine, the self-binding harvester, and multitudes of other practical machines were brought to a high stage of perfection. To many of them he made contributions himself. Through the work of such men the basis was laid for American triumph in industry. Capitalists raised the money required to build the plants to manufacture the machines. Workmen, skilled and unskilled, were found to operate them. " American ingenuity " placed our country among the first industrial nations of the world. Questions and Exercises How did the Civil War affect industry and invention ? Name the greatest inventions that have been worked out in America; in other countries. Many contrivances that seem simple to us to-day were wonderful inventions in the ages when they occurred. The wheel, the lever, and the bow and arrow are examples of this. AN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ROMANCE 355 What other famiHar objects must have been invented thousands of years ago ? I. How did the youth of Edison prepare him for the career of an inventor ? If a young man is not interested in mechanical contrivances, what are his chances to become an inventor ? II. Make a list of the inventions of Edison that are described in the text. Arrange them in what you consider the order of their usefuhiess, placing first that which you consider most important and last that which you consider least important. How many of these inventions require the use of electricity ^ Which do you think we could get along without more easily, steam or electricity ? III. What do you think the life of Edison tells us about the value of careful work ? Name several machines that were worked out not by one inventor alone, but by many. Why are most inventions the work of many men rather than of one man ? Suggestions for Reading Mowry's American hiventions and Inventors, pp. 85-89 (the electric light) ; Perry's Four American Inventors, pp. 205-260 (Thomas Edison and his inventions) ; Rupert S. Holland's His- toric Inventions, pp. 233-260 (Edison and the electric light) ; William H. Meadowcroft's The Boy^s Life of Edison; Francis Rolt-W' heeler's Tho^nas A. Edison, in True Stories of Great Ameri- cans. Problems for Further Study Try to imagine what life would be like to-day if we were sud- denly deprived of the use of the inventions of the past fifty years. What persons in your neighborhood would be thrown out of work } Of what pleasures and conveniences would you yourself be deprived ? Make a list of possible future inventions. - CHAPTER XX THE NEW SOUTH AND CLEVELAND DEMOCRACY The Problem : Could the Democratic Party Be Restored? While the inventors were busy with ma- chinery, statesmen were busy with the problems of politics. The Democratic party had been shattered in the election of i860, but the members did not forget their old allegiance. Their party had grown up long before slavery became a public question and they wished to keep it alive after slavery had disappeared. They were as anxious as ever to elect a President and to carry out their ideas of government. The task before the leaders in the Democratic party after the war was difficult. The South had always been Democratic, but men who had taken a prominent part in the war were denied the right to vote and were excluded from Congress. In fact the Southern states were for many years governed by a few white men and the former slaves who had been given the right to vot^ and to hold office. It was not until 1870 that all the Southern states were given back their full rights in the Union. Not until 1877 were the last Federal soldiers withdrawn. Accordingly it was uphill work for the Democrats 356 THE NEW SOUTH AND CLEVELAND DEMOCRACY 357 who sought to recover power. They did succeed in electing a majority of the House of Representatives as early as 1874; but they could not capture the presidency. The Republicans continued to hold that office. General Grant served for two terms, Ruther- ford B. Hayes for one term, and James A. Garfield was elected in 1880 but served for only a short time before he was assassinated by a man who had been disappointed in not securing employment by the federal government. Garfield was succeeded by Chester A. Arthur, the Vice President, who was, of course, a Republican. Still the Democrats were not discouraged. Their problem was to find a candidate who could lead them to victory. I. The Rise of Grover Cleveland The Youth of Cleveland. In their search for a winning candidate, the Democrats, in 1884, picked out a Northern man who had been remarkably suc- cessful in carrying Republican districts. He had been mayor of Buffalo and had risen to the office of governor of New York. His name was Grover Cleveland. He was the son of a rural clergyman in New Jersey — an earnest and devout man, not rich in this world's goods. The son, therefore, had to make his own way after he had received an elementary education in the common schools. The first opportunity that came to young Grover was a chance to work in a little store in his native village of 358 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Caldwell. This did not satisfy him very long, and he seems to have drifted aimlessly about until he was over eighteen years old. In 1855 he took up the study of law in Buffalo and began the career that finally brought him to the White House. His genial spirit and his simple habits won for him great popularity in Buffalo. In 1863 he was appointed to a local office. Seven years later, at the age of thirty-three, he was elected sheriff of Erie County. In both of these offices he gained a good name. Men said that he was " honest and fair." Mayor of Buffalo. Another step in his upward way was taken in 1881, when he was chosen mayor of Buffalo. This city was usually Republican and it was a real victory for a Democrat to carry it. Cleve- land took a strong stand on public questions. He gave close attention to his duties. He said that he owed it to the taxpayers to view the city government as a *' business establishment." Accordingly he thought it ought to be conducted on " business principles." Governor of New York. It was not long before Mayor Cleveland, of Buffalo, was known throughout the state of New York and even beyond the borders. In 1882 he was eagerly chosen by the Democrats as their candidate for governor. In the election that followed he was victorious by a large majority. Many men broke away from the Republicans and voted for him. As governor he continued his simple and business- THE NEW SOUTH AND CLEVELAND DEMOCRACY 359 like habits. He attacked those who wanted to waste pubHc money, both in his party and outside. He vetoed bills which he thought extravagant. He stood bravely for what he believed to be the right. Thus he became known all over the country. Cleveland and Roosevelt. One of the striking fea- tures of his administration as governor was a contest over a law to prevent cigar-making in tenements. In the crowded districts of the cities it was a custom for people to make cigars in their homes. They took the tobacco from the warehouses and made it up in their living rooms and bedrooms. A commission which in- vestigated the matter found, in many cases, five or six adults and children living and working in one or two rooms. This was bad in every respect. It was injurious to health, retarded the education of the children, and cut the wages of regular cigar makers. To stop this sort of work, the cigar makers' union had a bill introduced in the state legislature. At that time there was a young man in the assembly deeply interested in such things, Theodore Roosevelt. He favored the bill and worked hard to secure votes enough to carry it. Then he appeared before the Governor to ask him to sign the bill. Cleveland was at first uncertain what to do ; but, after hearing both sides, he put his name to it, and it became a law. On many other occasions Cleveland and Roosevelt worked together. A celebrated cartoonist drew a picture showing the two men in the governor's room 360 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY — Roosevelt holding a bill and Cleveland signing it. The artist entitled his picture " Governor Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt at their work." II. Grover Cleveland as President The Campaign of 1884. As the election of 1884 ap- proached, the eyes of all Democrats were fixed on the governor of New York. There was a man who had worked his way up from humble circumstances. He was simple in his life and plain in his way of doing things. He had been elected governor of a great state by a huge majority, and had served the state with in- dustry and dignity. The New South. By this time the South was re- covering rapidly from the effects of the war. The ruined plantations were largely restored, and cotton was grown once more on a big scale. Former Confederates, with a few exceptions, were no longer excluded from Congress. The Southern whites had again come back to the position of leadership which they had enjoyed in older days. Cities, like Atlanta, were flourishing as centers of business and manufacturing. Cotton mills and iron industries were being started in various sections. Cleveland Elected President. With the South re- covering its former strength and with a forceful North- ern candidate in Cleveland, the Democrats were in a position to win a presidential election for the first time since 1856. Their opponents, the Republicans, selected for their nominee a well-known man, James G. Blaine, THE NEW SOUTH AND CLEVELAND DEMOCRACY 361 of Maine. Blaine was a powerful leader, but he had many critics in his own party. Many of these voted against him. So it turned out that Governor Cleve- land was chosen President by a narrow margin. © Brown Bros., New York. A Glimpse of a Busy Street in Atlanta, Georgia, One of the Great Cities OF "The New South" Cleveland was so popular with his party that he was nominated again in 1888. The Republicans, how- ever, with Benjamin Harrison as their candidate, were victorious. Nevertheless, Cleveland was selected once more in 1892 and sent back to the White House for a second term. 362 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Civil Service Reform. During both his terms, Cleve- land had to wrestle with the " spoils system " that had been introduced by Andrew Jackson (see p. 204). Largely because of President Garfield's death at the hands of a disappointed office-seeker, Congress had passed in 1883 a law which provided that certain ofiices could be filled only by those who passed exam- inations. More- over, these office- holders could not be removed on ac- count of their polit- ical ideas to make room for mere " party workers." This was a begin- ning toward civil service reform. When he was first inaugurated. President Cleveland, like his predecessors, was be- sieged by party friends wanting offices. The Demo- crats had been out of power since 1861 and they were anxious to get the "rewards of victory" by having Democrats appointed to positions in the government service. Cleveland tried to stem the rush, but he was able to do little on account of the pressure. About © Pack, New York. j Grover Cleveland "Public oflBcials," he said, "are the trustees of the people." THE NEW SOUTH AND CLEVELAND DEMOCRACY 363 all he could do was to protest strongly against the worst evils of the spoils system. He declared that " a public office is a public trust." He gave encourage- ment to those working for reform. Hawaii. In January, 1893, a revolution broke out in the Hawaiian Islands, and the Queen was deposed. American residents in Hawaii took part in this affair. The American flag was hoisted and a treaty was drawn up annex- ing the islands to the United States. The treaty had not been approved by the Senate when Cleveland was in- augurated the second time. He sent an agent to the islands to find out what had actually happened. The agent reported that Americans had interfered with the affairs of the Hawaiians. President Cleveland, there- fore, refused to approve annexation. In 1898, however, under President McKinley, the plan was carried out, HAWAIIAN ISLANOe^ (Anntz4d 1898) Wnn.Eag.Co.,N.Y. Alaska was purchased from Russia by the United States in 1867; the Hawaiian Islands were an- nexed in 1808. 364 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY and the Hawaiian Islands became a part of the United States. The Venezuela Affair. In 1895 Great Britain and Venezuela were engaged in a dispute over the western boundary of British Guiana. Venezuela declared that England was attempting to take some of her territory. England replied that she was merely claiming her own. President Cleveland thought the dispute involved the Monroe Doctrine. Monroe had announced to the Old World that the United States could not allow any European country to seize new territory on the Ameri- can continents. Cleveland, therefore, sent to Congress a curt message on the matter. He said it was the duty of the United States to resist the attempt of England to take any territory that did not belong to her. Many people thought this was a " warlike utterance." While it did lead to some talk about war, the dispute was finally settled peaceably. Great Britain and Venezuela agreed to submit their claims to a certain number of eminent people chosen as judges. The judges heard both sides and decided the case, giving Great Britain nearly all she claimed. This method of settling a dispute is called " arbitration." Perhaps Cleveland, in using strong language, did not intend to raise any " war talk." There is a story to this efi'ect. When he finished his famous message of December, 1895, he showed it to his secretary. On looking it over the secretary remarked that it was THE NEW SOUTH AND CLEVELAND DEMOCRACY 365 " pretty strong." To this the President replied, "This does not mean war; it means arbitration." Happily for both countries, it turned out that way. Last Days. When his work as President was finished, in 1897, Cleveland retired to Princeton, New Jersey, where he spent the last years of his life. He took no active part in politics ; but he wrote a great deal on public questions. Cleveland Maxims. In addition to good stories, Cleveland loved short and pithy sayings. He left behind several maxims that have been cherished ever since his day. Chief arnong them may be mentioned the following : " Public officers are the servants and agents of the people to execute the laws which the people have made." '* Your every voter, as surely as your chief magis- trate . . . exercises a public trust." " A true American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil." " I shall be president of the whole country, and not of any set of men or class in it." " Public officials are the trustees of the people." " If you want to catch fish, attend strictly to busi- ness." Questions and Exercises Why was the election of i860 a great blow to the Democratic party ? After the Civil War was over, the white people of the South were only gradually allowed to vote and to hold offices 366 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY under the government; what effect did this have upon the Demo- cratic party ? I. How was Cleveland's earlier political life good training for his duties as President ? What is meant by a progressive govern- ment official ? What reasons have you for thinking that Cleve- land was a progressive mayor and governor ? In what way was Cleveland generous and broad-minded in accepting advice from Theodore Roosevelt ? (Remember that Roosevelt was a member of another political party.) II. How did the election of Cleveland show that if a political party is to be successful its members have to stand together ? What is civil service? The "spoils system"-? Why is the latter bad for the country ? Find Hawaii on the map. What is meant by imperialism .'' Why was Cleveland unwilling to annex Hawaii in 1893 .'' Locate Venezuela and British Guiana. What do you think of Cleveland's course with reference to Venezuela ^ III. Explain the meaning of each of the sayings of Cleveland quoted on page 365. Suggestions for Reading Edward S. Ellis's Lives of the Presidents, pp. 194-202 (life of Cleveland) ; Guerber's Story of the Great Republic, pp. 300-304 (events of Cleveland's administration). Problems for Further Study Review the history of the Monroe Doctrine (pp. 193-194), and show how it applied to the trouble with Great Britain over Ven- ezuela. Find out which political party has usually had the greatest number of voters in your state. State several beliefs or doctrines of that party. Do you yourself believe in these doc- trines .'' Give your reasons. Why should every voter know exactly why he belongs to the political party which he favors ? If we all followed the politicians blindly and allowed them to think for us, should we be a free people .'' CHAPTER XXI THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS The Problem : Can the United States Be an Isolated Nation? One night in 1898, the mantle of darkness had fallen over the harbor of Havana, The lights from the shore shone out across the waters. The old fortress at the gateway loomed up grimly against the sky. A few ships at anchor slowly rose and fell upon the swells. With startling suddenness, the stillness was broken by a terrific explosion, followed in an instant by another. A great battleship riding in the harbor burst wide open and a towering sheet of flame and smoke shot upward. A geyser of water leaped high into the air. The old town of Havana was shaken as by an earth- quake. With a roar and splash the ruins fell back into the deep, and silence reigned again for a moment. The American battleship Maine had been destroyed and two hundred sixty American sailors lay dead in the dark waters. It was February 15, 1898. This terrible explosion was the climax of a long series of events in Cuba. This island had been a Spanish colony since the days of Columbus. In 1895 the people had rebelled against the Spanish governor. A civil war raged, and frightful cruelties were committed by both 367 368 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY sides. As stories of the shocking deeds reached the United States, Americans were deeply moved by the dreadful things happening at the very door of their country. Moreover, American citizens were sometimes mistreated and American property in Cuba destroyed. © Underwood and Underwood, New Y ork. Burial of the "Maine" at Sunset Long after the Spanish War was over, the battleship Maine was raised from the bottom of the harbor at Havana, towed out to sea, and given a watery grave. H&re we see American vessels preparing to sink the hulk of the Maine in deep water. Could the United States refuse to take an interest in Cuban affairs ? Should this country merely look on and say, " What happens in the outside world is none of our affair" ? Should the people of Cuba, struggling to be free, be allowed to fall again under Spanish rule ? These were the questions that arose in the mind of every thoughtful person. Yet few favored rash or THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 369 hasty action. President Cleveland offered to help make peace between Spain and Cuba. He believed that the Cubans should be given complete self- government. He hinted that the time might come when the United States would have to interfere. Nevertheless, when he went out of office on March 4, 1897, the knotty problem was still unsolved. I. William McKinley and the Spanish War An Ohio Statesman. The next President, William McKinley, who took up the Cuban problem in 1897, was a man of wide experience. He had served as an officer in the Civil War ; he had been a member of the House of Representatives ; and he had been governor of Ohio. Ancestry. He was the descendant of a Scotch ances- tor, "David McKinley, the Weaver," a settler in Penn- sylvania nearly two hundred years before. William's father was an iron founder in Ohio, the manager of blast furnaces, a man stout in body and of varied skill. His mother, of Scotch descent too, was a strong and thrifty woman who managed her household well. They were neither rich nor poor. They had had little educa- tion. Their only books were the Bible, Shakespeare, and Dante. Their son William, the seventh of nine children, was born at Niles, Ohio, in 1843. The Youth of McKinley. The youth had unusual educational advantages for a frontier boy. He attended an academy in Ohio, and at the age of seveilteen 370 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY entered Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania. Illness and " hard times " at home soon forced him to leave. He was at work teaching school and helping in a post office in 1861 when Abraham Lincoln called for men to save the Union. Young McKinley answered without delay. At the age of eighteen the frail youth volunteered and for four long years served under the Stars and Stripes. For gallantry he was made a major. In the summer of 1865 he was mustered out to enter civil life again. McKinley first thought of entering the Methodist ministry ; but he gave that up and turned to the prac- tice of law. His fine and commanding presence and his soldierly bearing soon marked him out among men. In 1870 he married the daughter of a leading banker in Canton, Ohio. Soon afterward she became an invalid for life and his tender care of her added to his nature a strain of gentleness. " He was the kindest of men," many a friend has said of him. The Champion of Unpopular Causes. McKinley early took an interest in the public affairs of Ohio. The constitution of the state gave the vote to white men only. He believed that this was unfair to colored men, and he often spoke on the subject. When he thought he was right he faced hostile audiences bravely. In 1876 some miners engaged in a strike were arrested and charged with burning property. No other lawyer was willing to defend them. McKinley was not afraid. He thought that all were entitled to a fair hearing and THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 371 to justice. So he acted as their attorney in the trial and proved that most of them were innocent. For this service he refused to take any pay. In Political Life. A short time afterward he was elected a member of the House of Representatives and served from 1877 to 1891. There he won wide fame as the champion of a high protective tariff. He was the author of the tariff law of 1890 which was long known as the McKinley Act. He believed that Ameri- can industries should be defended against European competitors by high duties on imported goods. On this account Republicans began to think of selecting him as their candidate for President of the United States. His reputation was increased by his election as governor of Ohio. The Campaign of 1896. During his political life in Ohio, McKinley became acquainted with a manu- facturer and business man from Cleveland, Marcus A. Hanna. Between these two men a deep and lasting friendship sprang up. As the campaign of 1896 approached, Hanna decided to do his best to make McKinley President. He wrote letters, traveled about and sent out thousands of circulars showing why McKinley was an excellent man for the high office. Hanna realized his fond hope. The Republicans nominated his friend in 1896. The Democrats chose as their candidate William Jennings Bryan, of Ne- braska. A hard campaign was then waged for the election — the hottest and most exciting since i860. 372 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY When the returns came in, it was found that McKinley had won by a handsome majority. The War with Spain. One of McKinley's first problems was the trouble in Cuba. The Republicans had taken a stand on this question. They de- clared that Spain had lost control of Cuba. They said it was the duty of the United States to use its influ- ence to restore peace and "give independ- ence to the island." For almost a year AdcKinley exchanged notes with Spain. Then came the tragedy of the Maine which brought the United States directly into the dispute. Nearly two William McKinley, President of the months mOrC of UCgO- United States during the War with tiation foUowed. Fi- Spain ^ nally McKmley s pa- tience came to an end. He laid the issue before Congress. War Declared. On April 19, 1898, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, Congress adopted the resolutions that led to war. It declared Cuba free THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 373 and instructed the President to use the forces of the United States to establish that freedom. This meant war. The land operations in Cuba were short and decisive. The foe was weak in numbers and equipment. This was fortunate for the Americans, because our country was utterly unprepared for war. The purchase and shipping of supplies were badly managed. Camps were poorly built. Soldiers died by the thousands of preventable diseases. The war taught severe lessons. Dewey at Manila Bay. The most spectacular events were on the sea. The battleship Oregon, then on the coast of Washington, made a long voyage around South America to join the fleet in Cuban waters, arous- ing the enthusiasm of the country. Admiral Dewey, stationed in Chinese waters, was ordered to proceed with his ships to the Philippine Islands, which had been held by Spain for more than three centuries. At daybreak on April 30 he was in Manila Bay with his fleet in good trim. " You may fire when you're ready, Gridley," coolly remarked Dewey to the captain of his ship. Then the memorable battle opened. In a few hours the Spanish fleet was utterly shattered. A ship was sent post haste to Hong Kong to cable the news home. On May 6 the people of the United States were astounded to learn of a great naval victory on the other side of the world. " Where are the Philippines t " asked many bystanders as they read the news. Some vaguely recalled their lessons in 374 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY geography. Others remembered the marvelous voyage of Magellan. The victory at Manila Bay was followed by another nearer home. In July a Spanish fleet, which tried to escape from a Cuban port, Santiago, was destroyed by Wam. Eng. Co., N.T. The West Indies in the Spanish War American battleships. Every one now knew that the end of the war was near. Peace and New Territories. By midsummer, 1898, the United States was completely victorious. What a strange whirl of events had taken place in the world since Columbus and his little fleet first plowed the waters of the Caribbean ! Spain had lost the last remnants of her once proud empire in America as well as her most important colony in the East Indies. Cuba THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 375 was to become independent ; Porto Rico and the Philippines were held by the United States. Now the question arose : " What shall be done with the territories won from Spain ? " Some American citizens wished to annex Porto Rico and the Philip- © Brown Bros., New Yoi... A Porto Rico Sugar Mill Natives are unloading cane upon a carrier which conveys it into the mill to be ground up. pines to the United States. Others, opposed to this plan, said it was departing from American ideas to hold distant colonies inhabited by other races. In the end, Porto Rico and the Philippines became American terri- tories. The United States had become a world power. 376 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY II. William Jennings Bryan Youth and Education. During these stirring days the leader of the Democratic party was WiUiam Jen- nings Bryan. Like McKinley, he was from the Middle West. He was a native of Illinois, the son of a prominent law^^er and a political leader of high standing in Marion County. The father believed in country life for boys, so he brought his son William up on a farm near Salem. The youth was taught at home by his mother until he reached the age of ten. He was then sent to a public school and after a short time to a neighboring academy. On completing his preparatory work he entered Illinois College, where he took honors in debat- ing and oratory. He chose the law as his profession, and in 1887, at the age of twenty-seven, he began practice at Lincoln, Nebraska. In Congress. Like many young lawyers, Bryan took a lively interest in politics. He was nominated by the Democrats of his district for the House of Representatives and elected in 1890. He served for two terms and made notable speeches on the tariff, the income tax, and other issues. He became con- vinced that there was not enough money in circula- tion, and began to advocate the coinage of more silver dollars. Candidate for President. At the Democratic con- vention in Chicago in 1896, Bryan suddenly sprang. THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 377 into national fame by a powerful speech. He captured the convention by storm. Old men said that never had they heard a man speak as this one spoke. In the excitement of the hour, he was chosen as the Demo- cratic candidate. For more than four months, he carried on a " whirlwind campaign." He toured the country day after day, speaking at crossroad towns as well as in cities. Though defeated, Bryan had become the first leader in his party. He was renominated in 1900 and again defeated by McKinley. He made a third vain contest in 1908. The fates were against him, as they had been against Henry Clay. This, however, did not prevent Bryan from being a great power in his party. He had political opponents, of course, but few leaders had more warm and devoted friends. He reentered official life in 191 3 as Secretary of State under President Wilson. Finally he broke with the President over the controversy with Germany and resigned in 191 5. He retired to private life with- out losing his deep interest in public affairs. The efforts to do away with the evils of the liquor traffic made an especially strong appeal to him and he was a powerful force in securing the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. In the discussion of every great issue and in all elections, he continued to exert an important influence in the councils of his party. 378 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY III. The New Territories and the Far East Independence or Self-Government. The experiment of governing the distant Philippine colonies was begun when peace was concluded with Spain. Over this matter, McKinley and Bryan had great differences of opinion. The whole affair was perplexing because a revolt against the American rule was started by the native Filipinos who claimed independence. Bryan thought it should be granted to them. He denounced our rule in the Philippines as contrary to American ideas. President McKinley opposed independence and favored a progressive and humane management of the islands. McKinley's Plan. His plan was as follows. The revolt should be put down first. Then military govern- ment in the Philippines should be set aside and civil authority established. Gradually the natives should be permitted to share in the government. Education should be introduced. For Porto Rico he had a similar program. His ideas were carried out step by step until, in both colonies, the voters were given the right to elect one house of the legislature. Nevertheless, the " Philippine question " came up at every presidential election. The Democrats con- tinued to favor independence for the Filipinos, though not for the Porto Ricans. In 1916 a step was taken in the direction of independence. Congress made both houses of the Philippine legislature elective by the THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 379 voters. It also declared that " it is, as it always has been, the purpose of the people of the United States " Wms.Eog,C«.,N.l. The Far East 38o A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY to withdraw from the islands " as soon as stable gov- ernment can be established." The next year Congress © Underwood and Underwood, New York. A Philippine Schoolroom Showing Pupils at Work under the Direction OF AN American Teacher gave the voters in Porto Rico the right to elect both houses of the legislature. A Scene in Peking, China. In August, 1900, the people of the ancient Chinese capital, Peking, were startled by the sight of thousands of foreign soldiers pouring through the gates of the city. Banners were flying : Russian, Japanese, British, French, and German. The Stars and Stripes were there also, waving over a long line of American troops. What was the cause of this THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 381 commotion ? Why had the soldiers of so many nations marched upon the capital of the Chinese Empire ? The " Boxers." A few weeks before, some Chinese, known as the " Boxers," had savagely attacked the © Underwood and Underwood, New York. A Picture of a Chinese Watching Foreign Troops as They Marched into Peking, the Capital of His Country, in 1900 foreigners within the city. The Boxers looked upon themselves as patriotic citizens because they wanted to expel all foreigners from their country. They murdered the German ambassador in cold blood. They drove 382 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY all the foreign ministers and their families into the buildings occupied by the English officials, where they besieged them and kept them in peril of their lives. It was to relieve their countrymen that the troops of many nations invaded the city of Peking. The East and West Meet. This was only one dramatic event in the long history of China's relations with the European powers. The Chinese were an ex- clusive people. They had their ways of living and working and they did not care to learn new ways. They had had a civilization of their own for thousands of years before England or France had appeared as nations. They always looked with disdain upon the foreigners who came to trade with them. It was once their practice to compel the Dutch and English mer- chants to admit their inferiority by casting themselves on the ground before the Emperor's ministers. The pride and self-satisfaction of the Chinese made trade with them difficult. It was not until 1844 that the people of the United States obtained official rights to do business in certain Chinese ports. Foreign Powers Take Chinese Territory. The Chinese, however, had good reason to fear the foreigners. They saw the English, French, Germans, Japanese, and Russians encroaching step by step on their territory. They saw vast sections of their empire taken away from them and made colonies of other countries. They feared that the entire nation would fall under foreign rule. THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 383 China in Need of Help. The conduct of the Boxers in 1900 afforded a good excuse to foreign governments for taking more territory by way of collecting " damages." The United States, in this crisis, had an excellent opportunity to help the Chinese people. This was a pleasing service for John Hay, the Secretary of State, in charge of American foreign affairs, under President McKinley. " Nothing but an American." John Hay Is a very interesting figure in American history. In his veins there flowed Scotch, English, French, and German blood. As he humorously remarked once upon a time : " I was born in Indiana, I grew up in Illinois, I was educated in Rhode Island. In this bewilderment of origin and experience, I can only confess . . . that I am nothing but an American." As a young man he helped the President with his daily work and came to know him well. After Lincoln's death he helped to write a history of the great man whom he had loved and re- vered. Later he served as our minister to Austria, to Spain, and to England. The " Open Door " for China. John Hay was, therefore, no novice when President McKinley made him Secretary of State in 1898. As soon as the Chinese quarrel arose he sent a note to the other countries in which he laid down his famous " open door policy." He declared that the " territorial integrity " of China must be preserved. This meant that no more Chinese territory should be divided among the foreign 384 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY powers. Then he said that all countries should enjoy "equal and impartial trade with all parts of China." The idea pleased the Chinese immensely and was finally ac- cepted by the coun- tries involved. Hay was surprised somewhat at the ex- citement caused by his " open door policy." He wrote to a friend in 1900 : "What a business this has been in China ! So far we have got on by being honest. ... I would rather, I think, be the dupe of China than the chum of the Kaiser." In declaring for " the open door," Hay merely pre- sented the popular American view. He frankly said that the " Senate and public opinion " would not approve the old diplomacy of " give and take." The people of the United States did not want to join in a scramble of the European nations to divide China. Hay knew well the feeling and opinion of our country. John Hay, Secretary of State, Advocate OF THE Policy of "The Open Door" in China THE UNITED STATES AMONG THE WORLD POWERS 385 Questions and Exercises Why is the welfare of near-by countries always likely to be important to any nation ? Locate Cuba and Havana. Find from your geographies all that you can about the climate and products of Cuba. What important products do the people of our country get from Cuba ? I. We are told that McKinley served as a soldier in the Civil War. Make a list of the Presidents of the United States that at some time in their careers served as soldiers. Have most of our wars arisen suddenly, or has each been led up to by a long period of parleying or negotiation ? Trace the route of the Oregon in her voyage from Puget Sound to Cuba. How would this trip be made by a steamship to-day ^ Locate the Philippines, Manila, Hong Kong. Locate Santiago. What is a casualty f The American Navy suffered remarkably few casualties in the Spanish W^ar, while the army suffered considerable losses. Can you sug- gest the reason for this ? n. What ideas of William Jennings Bryan have been ac- cepted by the American people ? What rejected ? HL What new responsibilities did the United States under- take as a result of the Spanish War .? How has she discharged these responsibilities ; that is, has she done her duty by the new lands that came under her control ^ In what ways have we shown ourselves to be good friends of China ^ Explain how it happens that China, the most populous country in the world, has been to a great extent at the mercy of the Western nations. Suggestions for Reading Alma Holman Burton's Builders of Our Nation, pp. 236-251 (William McKinley) ; Ellis's Lives of the Presidents, pp. 210-220 (Mc- Kinley) ; Foote and Skinner's Makers and Defenders of America, pp. 323-329 (Admiral Dewey and the Spanish War) ; Gordy's American Leaders and Heroes, pp. 314-326 (leaders in the Spanish 2 c 386 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY War) ; Alexander S. Twombly's Hawaii and Its People, J. F. Seabury's Porto Rico, and Adeline Knapp's The Story of the Philip- pines in the series of The World and Its People. Problems for Further Study Why has a strong navy become more necessary since we ac- quired territory in distant portions of the world ? How during the World War did Cuba show her gratitude to the United States for freeing her from the misrule of the Spanish ? CHAPTER XXII AN AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS— MARK TWAIN The Problem : How to Create an American Spirit. America is a vast country. There are tens of millions of people in it. They represent nearly all the races and nationalities of the earth. They are scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific, across three thousand miles of plain, mountain, valley, and desert. They are engaged in hundreds of occupations. Whole sections are given over almost entirely to manufacturing. Other sections are devoted to farming. Still others are con- cerned mainly with mining. To weld all these peoples and sections into one unified nation with a common spirit was a peculiar problem of the nineteenth century. Many things worked for unity : schools, churches, railroads, magazines, newspapers, and the telegraph. Authors of national reputation feed the national spirit in a very special sense. Writers of local and sectional fame help by portraying to the rest of the country the people of the region in which they live ; but the author who touches the heart of the whole nation makes everybody akin. He speaks a common language. He tells stories which all read, laugh over, or weep over. 387 388 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY He pictures strong and simple characters that inspire us to better deeds. He draws us all together around common humanity and common notions of right and wrong. It is not often that such writers appear. They are born, not made. Happy is the nation that is blessed with one or more in every generation. Mark Twain As a Na- tional Writer. Many things conspired to make Samuel L. Clemens or, as he is popularly known, Mark Twain, a national writer. His life was truly American ; it is the story of the rise of a poor and humble boy to world- wide honor. His educa- tion was purely American. Little of it did he get at school. Most of it he got in " the university of hard knocks," struggling for a living in different parts of the country. Not until he was grown did he travel abroad or learn to use any foreign tongue. In his wanderings he came to know all sections of the United States : South, West, North, and East. The subjects of most of his stories are American © Brown Bros., New York. Mark Twain, Whose Youth is De- scribed IN "Huckleberry Finn" AN AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS — MARK TWAIN 389 boys and girls, men and women. He did not discover them by studying older story books of different times and countries. He found stories all about him in the lives, words, and deeds of plain Americans. The language in which he wrote is the language of the people, — clear, simple, and strong. The proof that Mark Twain is a national writer is found in the fact Mark Twain's Birthplace in Florida that in every part of the country and among all kinds of people his books are read and enjoyed. The Early Training of a National Writer. In the history of Mark Twain's ancestors there is an American story also. They first settled in the colony of Virginia. Some of them later moved over into Kentucky and Tennessee. His father, a lawyer and merchant of little property, migrated from Tennessee into Missouri, 39© A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY settling first in Florida, where Samuel was born in 1835, and then in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal. If any one wishes to know what the life of young Samuel Clemens was he can read about it in the story of Tom Sawyer. That book is an exact picture of Mark Twain's boyhood. There was little of school in it. There was more of hunting, fishing, boating, and rough and tumble play. The free and easy life of Samuel Clemens came suddenly to an end when he was a mere boy. His father died, and it fell to his lot to help to earn a living for the family. At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to a printer for his board and clothes — " more board than clothes " he laughingly remarked long afterward. After working for some time at this, he joined his two brothers in printing a little newspaper in Hannibal. At the age of sixteen he was writing funny stories of life in that neighborhood. "Wandering Years. Soon Samuel grew tired of the little Missouri town and, when only seventeen years old, he began his wanderings. He went to New York in 1853 and worked one hot summer in a printing office. He tried printing in Philadelphia, made a trip to Washington, and some time afterward turned up in Keokuk, Iowa, where his roving brother, Orion, had a print shop. A short stay in Keokuk satisfied Samuel. He next tried Cincinnati, where he worked at his trade for one winter. In the spring the call of the big world brought him out of the print shop. This time AN AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS — MARK TWAIN 391 he was struck with " the South American fever." In April, 1857, he went on a steamboat to New Orleans, where he expected to take a ship. Life on the Mississippi. The trip proved to be a turning point in his life. The Ohio and Mississippi rivers were then fairly alive with steamboats. Be- tween Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, and New Orleans, and other points on this great waterway boats plied to and fro. Great supplies of corn, wheat, bacon, cotton, and other produce were collected on the way down and delivered to the ocean-going ships at New Orleans. With the cargoes went all kinds of passengers. English, Irish, and Germans, as well as people from the Eastern states, all looking for homes in the West and South, went by rail to Pittsburgh and took the water route the rest of the way. Gamblers, robbers, fighting men, and restless vagabonds also sailed down the stream in search of adventure and, perhaps, for- tunes. Gangs of slaves, bought in Kentucky or Ten- nessee, were " sold down to N'Orleans," and carried on the steamers to their distant homes. There were boat races as exciting as pirate tales. Frequently the boilers of steamboats blew up, destroying crew, captain, and passengers. Fires often broke out as the sparks flew from the burning wood in the furnaces. Some- times a big boat struck a "snag," — that is, a log or old tree in the current, — tore a terrible hole in the hull, and sank to the bottom. 392 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY The River Pilot. On his way down the Mississippi, the young Samuel Clemens became fascinated with the excitement. As a boy in Hannibal he had looked with admiring eyes upon the pilots of the " mighty steam- boats." Nothing seemed grander to him than the work of steering one of them up and down the river from River Boat on the Mississippi town to town. Now he was over twenty-one and his own master. The old craving seized him. As the steamer plowed Its way through the turbid waters, he idled around the pilot house and struck up an acquaintance with the pilot. He begged the officer to teach him the trade, and finally with much joy won his consent. Then and there the young man began a life on the AN AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS — MARK TWAIN 393 river that lasted for more than two years. While piloting boats, he met his first great tragedy. His younger brother, whom he loved with all his heart, was killed in a steamboat explosion. For forty-eight hours the frantic Mark labored at the bedside of the poor bruised and burned boy, only to see him sink into death. The sorrow of that hour gave a tinge of sad- ness to his whole nature. The pictures of those exciting adventures were so fixed in his mind that he never forgot them. Many of them are drawn in his Life on the Mississippi. Roughing It in he Far West. When the Civil War commenced, Orion Clemens, the wandering printer, was appointed secretary of the territory of Nevada. He persuaded his younger brother to go West with him. So it happened that the Mississippi pilot saw another part of the great world, the mining camps of the distant West. In a famous book, Roughing It, Samuel has told us, with a touch of fancy, of course, about his journey overland and his experiences as a miner. Life in a mining camp was as exciting as life on the river. Men tramped the country over, they dug deep pits, they washed sand by the rivers. Everywhere they hunted for silver and gold. Some found fortune ; others, poverty and death. They drank hard and quarreled much. Shooting affrays were more common than boiler explosions on the river. Newspaper Writing. When about overcome by poverty, Samuel luckily secured a position as a writer 394 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY on a newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada. It was while he was thus employed that he began to sign his name " Mark Twain." This was a boating term which men used as they sounded the depth of the river, counting the marks as the line and sinker went down toward the bottom. His articles began to attract attention on the Pacific coast. His new name became a household word, and his boyhood name, Samuel Clemens, was almost forgotten. Everybody spoke of him as " Mark Twain." From Virginia City, Samuel went to San Francisco to work on a newspaper. It was while at the Golden Gate that he wrote a story which set all the country laughing. It was the story of " the jumping frog." Two men held a contest to find out which of two frogs could jump the farther. The winner, a shrewd schemer, was successful because he filled the other man's frog with heavy shot. This tale was written up by Mark at length and with a flourish. It was published in New York in 1865 and then reprinted all over the country. As one of Mark's friends wrote, it set " at least a million homes " laughing. Mark Twain in the East. In January, 1867, the author of the jumping frog story appeared in New York to try his luck. First, he announced a lecture in Cooper Union, one of the popular assembly halls of the city. Disaster almost caught him. Only a few tickets were sold ; but a shrewd manager sent out hundreds of free tickets to the school-teachers of the city. The AN AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS — MARK TWAIN 395 house was crowded and Mark Twain kept the people roaring with laughter until " they were too weak to leave their seats." His future as an American humorist was established. Mark Twain's Home in Hartford, Conn. He was soon engaged to make a trip to Europe and write his impressions. His book, The Innocents Abroad, made millions of Americans laugh — and think about Europe. He then entered the newspaper business in Buffalo, lectured at home and abroad, and finally settled 396 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY down at Hartford, Connecticut, in 1874. For many years he was busy with travels, lectures, articles, stories, and books. Honors of every kind were showered upon him. The greatest people in the world were happy to see and hear him. He was able to make even the stern, unbending General Grant shout with laughter at a great banquet in Chicago in 1879. In a joyful letter to his wife, Mark tells of this triumph. " Do you know, General Grant sat through fourteen speeches like a graven image, but I fetched him ! I broke him up utterly ! He told me he laughed till the tears came, and every bone in his body ached. . . . The audience saw that for once in his life he was knocked out of his iron serenity." Universities conferred honorary degrees upon Mark Twain. Even old Oxford, in England, made him a " doctor of letters." When this recognition of his world fame came to him, he replied : " I don't know why they should give me a degree like that. I never doctored any literature. I wouldn't know how." He was received in Oxford by students and teachers with the highest honors. The papers said that no prince or poet or military hero was ever cheered more heartily in that ancient city. Soon afterward he settled in his home near Redding, Connecticut, where he spent his last years. On a spring day in 1910 he died peacefully. The whole world, that had laughed with him, now wept. The AN AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS — MARK TWAIN 397 printer boy from Missouri had captured the heart, not only of America, but of mankind. Some of Mark Twain's Books. Of Mark Twain's many volumes several are known and read the world over, but only a few can be mentioned here. They are, perhaps, the most typically American. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The first of these two famous books was begun some time in 1874 and finished the following year. Mark worked hard at it, for it was the story of his own boyhood — with some lively touches added here and there. He always thought of it as his autobiography. Strange to say, this story, which is read by boys in every clime, was not written especially for them. That, at least, is what Mark Twain himself declared : " It is not a boy's book at all. It will only be read by adults. It is only written for adults." Nevertheless it was sold by the thousands. It was translated into a dozen or more languages. Hungarian and Russian boys read it with as much interest as boys on the Mississippi River. Pleased with the success of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain began another book about a boy, the next year. He spoke of it first as " Huck Finn's autobiography." The story did not come easily into his mind. He would write a bit and lay it aside for a better day. It dragged along until finally, in 1884, he had it ready for the printer. Huckleberry Finn, like the companion volume, Tom Sawyer, had an astounding success. 398 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Curious to relate, a library in New England refused to allow it to be put on the shelves, on the ground that it was " trash." This made Mark laugh heartily, for it advertised the book. Into his ingenious book, A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur, Mark Twain put some of his deepest thinking. It was a " skit " on the English monarchy and upper classes. Underneath, it was a plea for the common people to have a good chance in the world to show what they could do. Some English friends were indignant over the book. In fact, the educated people in England were said to view it as an insult. They accused Mark Twain of a lack of reverence for the upper classes. To this Mark replied : " I have never tried in even one single instance to help cultivate the cultivated classes. I was not equipped for it, either by native gifts or training. And I never had any ambition in that direction, but always hunted for bigger game — the masses." It is impossible to review here all Mark Twain's writings ; but mention must be made of one more book, The Prince and the Pauper. The scene of this tale, too, is laid in England. A pauper boy and the little Prince of Wales were suddenly exchanged, and each lived for a time the life of the other. The Prince experienced the bitter poverty from which the poor boy had suffered and was beaten by cruel officers of the law. Here again Mark Twain had a purpose. His idea was to let the young Prince learn something by having penalties AN AMERICAN MAN OF. LETTERS — MARK TWAIN 399 inflicted upon himself and by seeing others cruelly treated. Though written about boys and for them, it contained wisdom which the great statesman will do well to ponder. Mark took deep pleasure in writing it and was sorry when it had to be finished. Mark Twain As a Philosopher. Most people, per- haps, think of Mark Twain as a writer of funny stories. That does him a deep injustice, though mankind needs laughter as much as sunshine. Mark Twain was more than a story teller. He understood the life of the people in the Middle West, the South, and the Far West — almost everywhere in fact, and he is their historian. Like Benjamin Franklin, he is more ; he is a philosopher, for he deals with the problems of life and helps us to face them bravely. He is a moralist, for he shows how all, great and humble, have endless chances in the world to do good. We must laugh with Mark Twain, but we also must think with him. To the end of his days, he kept alive in his heart a strong sympathy for the sufferings of mankind. He laughed at human follieSj but he always longed to see a happier and better world. The last letter that he ever wrote was about a library which he planned to give to the little Connecticut village in which he died. " Doubt not behind that mask There dwelt the soul of a man Resolute, sorrowing, sage. As sure a champion of good As ever rode forth to the fray." 400 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Questions and Exercises Why do you suppose that the story of Samuel Clemens has been chosen from among the many lives of American writers to be told here ? Few people consider him the greatest American author. What facts in his life and what quality of his writings, then, make the story of "Mark Twain" so interesting? Com- pare the early life of Samuel Clemens with that of Benjamin Franklin and that of Lincoln. Later during your course at school you will learn of the lives of other writers. How many of these can you name now ? What books have you read by American authors ? What other American writers besides Clemens have been named in this history ? Suggestions for Reading F. J. Snell's Boys Who Became Famous, pp. 1 85-191 (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) ; Albert Bigelow Paine's The Boys^ Life of Mark Twain; Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper. CHAPTER XXIII WOMEN AND HUMAN WELFARE The Problem : How Can Women Make Their Hvmianity Count in Public Affairs? "Woman's place is in the home," is an ancient saying. For many centuries she was there — when she was not at work in the field. The care of children and the sick and the feeble called chiefly for qualities of mercy, sympathy, and gentleness. The man as hunter and warrior especially needed quali- ties of prowess and force. Changes in Woman's Work. In the long course of time many changes came about in the work of both man and woman. In the early days of human history man was mainly a warrior and a hunter. In our day he is mainly engaged in industry, business, or farming, and is only occasionally a warrior. The work of woman has changed also. Her labors were once per- formed entirely in and about the home, where she worked hard at spinning, weaving, raising crops, and doing all sorts of chores in addition to taking care of the household. In modern life the labor of millions of women is performed largely outside the home. They are in industry, in business, in banks, in schools, and in other places where the world's work is carried on. 2d 401 402 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Women in History. As history ceases to be a mere record of war and government and becomes a true story of mankind, increasing prominence will be given in its pages to women. Indeed, chapters could have been set aside in this book for the women of America in early days. They would, however, be quite different from the chapters devoted to the work of men. They would deal less with politics and war, and more with industry, education, humane work, and moral conduct. It is well known that the women worked as hard as the men in conquering the great wilderness of North America. Women helped to transform the rough and disorderly frontier into civilized and peaceful communi- ties. In every war they made sacrifices, aided the soldiers, collected supplies, looked after the wounded and sick, and did their full measure of " war work." This is just as true of the American Revolution as of the World War of our own time. When factories were first built, women rendered great service in industry. They produced nearly all the cloth both before, and for a long time after, spinning by machinery was introduced. A list of articles made in the United States in 1832 by women included nails, books, barrels, boats, buttons, brushes, cheese, combs, twine, chairs, clocks, goldleaf, hats, cigars, and many more commodities. Women in Modern Times. As they were drawn more and more into public affairs, women in general began WOMEN AND HUMAN WELFARE 403 to think about public questions which were being dis- cussed : prison reform, education, care of orphans, the management of hospitals and asylums, treatment of persons accused of crimes, and a thousand other matters of a similar character. It was not long before spokes- men for women arose to express their views on all questions of public concern. The history of mankind, as well as of women, entered upon a new phase. I. Binding up the Wounds of War Clara Barton. In olden times the wounded in war- fare received little attention. No regular nursing was furnished. The soldiers took care of one another in a rude fashion. Sometimes, women in the neighbor- hood of battlefields volunteered to help. The wonder- ful work of supplying complete nursing service on a large scale was undertaken in our Civil War by Clara Barton. Youth. This remarkable woman was from Massa- chusetts. In her family there were great traditions of human helpfulness. Her ancestors had been among the first to protest against the torture and hanging of supposed witches at Salem. In her youth she had nursed a sick playmate for two long years. Her gentle hands and soft voice soothed the child and spread com- fort and peace all about her. For eighteen years she taught school and won the hearts of her pupils by her kindly ways. 404 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Ready to Serve. Clara Barton was in Washington in i86i when the Civil War called her to the battlefield. As an abolitionist, she sympathized deeply with the North when she saw that war was bound to come. Hearing that Fort Sumter had been fired upon, she ex- claimed : " I think the city [Washing- ton] will be attacked within the next sixty days. If it must be, let it come, and when there is no longer a soldier's arm to raise the Stars and Stripes above our Capitol, may God give strength to mine." Into the Danger Clara Barton, Friend and Helper of the Zone. it WaS nOt Soldiers in the Civil War and Founder of many months be- THE American Red Cross r i r i lore there was ngnt- ing in the neighborhood of Washington. Wagons and trains bearing the wounded began to stream into the city. Clara Barton pressed to the front to offer her services. At first she was rebuffed. Men did not want women to " mix in such aflFairs," and they thought WOMEN AND HUMAN WELFARE 405 women could not endure the horrors of the battlefield and hospital. Clara Barton was not daunted by the rebuffs. She forced the government and the army officers to recog- nize woman's right to enter the field hospitals. She went to the front near the firing line and helped in collecting the wounded from the field. She dashed back and forth on horseback in the danger zone ministering to her " boys, " as she called the soldiers. She shared the hardships of the march, aided in collecting and bringing up supplies, found nurses and trained them, and hunted through the hospitals for missing men. In her errands of mercy she made no distinction between soldiers of the North and of the South. It was enough for her to know that some one was suffering. Love of Humanity. It was the spirit of mercy that moved her. The thought of war and its horrors brought distress to her soul. Her own comments ex- press her inmost feelings : " The war side of war," she said, "could never have called me to the field. . . . Only the desire to soften some of Its hard- ships and allay some of Its miseries ever induced me ... to dare Its pestilent and unholy breath." Long after the conflict was over she wrote: "If I were to speak of war. It would not be to show you the glories of conquering armies. . . . While they march on with tread of iron and plumes proudly tossing In the breeze some one must follow in their steps, crouching 4o6 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY to the earth, toiHng in the rain and darkness, shelter- less like themselves with no thought of pride or glory, fame or praise or reward ; hearts breaking with pity, faces bathed in tears and hands in blood. This is the side which history never shows." It was to the service of mercy, not of glory, that this brave American woman dedicated her life. Clara Barton and the Red Cross. When the Civil War was over, Clara Barton was worn out by labor and hardships, and she went to Switzerland to recover her health. There she became deeply interested in the Red Cross Society founded, in 1863, by agreement among the nations of Europe. The purpose of the Society was to aid the wounded of all countries alike without any discrimination against enemies. In a word, the idea was to alleviate suffering no matter who was suffering or where. This plan appealed to the heroic nurse from America, and she agreed to form a Red Cross branch in her own country. In order to start the Red Cross in America it was necessary to get our government to sign a treaty with European powers joining in the plans of the Society. For several years leaders at Washington had worked for such a treaty without success. A man engaged in this fruitless task said to Clara Barton : " I advise you to give it up as hopeless." She was not the kind to give up. She had always acted on the theory that where there was a will there was a way. She finally won the approval of President Garfield and WOMEN AND HUMAN WELFARE 407 he was about to help her when he was shot by a mad- man in 1 88 1. His successor, President Arthur, yielded to her arguments, and the next year the treaty was signed. Clara Barton was made first President of the American Red Cross. For twenty-two years she held that office, serving in the Spanish War as zealously as in the Civil War. She also showed how the Red Cross could relieve distress caused by fires, floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and other disasters. At her death in 1912, her name was a household word throughout the country. II. The Struggle Against the Saloon The Saloon. As the western frontier advanced, the saloon and drunkenness followed. As soon as a town with a few houses appeared some one would start a " dramshop." Out of the saloon flowed all kinds of evils — drunkenness, fights, rowdyism, poverty, and crime. Everywhere sober and law-abiding people grew to dislike it. Even many who did not object to moderate drinking came to view the saloon as a troublesome nuisance from which no good thing could come. Others, more determined in their views, decided that the saloon must be abolished. By the middle of the nineteenth century the struggle against it had led to total prohibition of liquor-selling in many places. After 1865 the war on the saloon was renewed with vigor. In 1874 the women of Ohio took the lead, and in a fifty-day campaign abolished " dram-shops " in two 4o8 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY hundred fifty towns. At the same time the movement began in Chicago and spread through the Northwest. Frances Willard. When the woman's temperance movement appeared in lUinois, there was a natural leader for the cause at work in Evanston as the dean of women in the local college, Frances Willard. She had come from a home of sober and industrious people. Though born in New York, she was reared on a farm at Janesville, Wisconsin. Her parents had both been teachers. They were temperate, hard-working, and religious. Even in those early days her mother thought that women should vote and take part in public affairs. Unlike most farmers' daughters, Frances was able to get a college education. She was also fortunate enough to secure an opportunity to travel abroad, where she became even more deeply interested in woman's place and work in the world. By her unusual qualifications she had won a position in her old college at Evanston. In the Cause of Prohibition. With tireless energy Frances Willard threw herself into the prohibition movement. She wrote books, pamphlets, and articles against the saloon. She lectured in all parts of the country. She served for years as head of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, formed in the city of Chicago, with branches in nearly every hamlet, village, town, and city in the land. Other women joined in the work of organization, but no one had such qualities of leadership. Wherever she went Frances Willard aroused the community against the saloon. WOMEN AND HUMAN WELFARE 409 At first Frances Willard thought mainly of persuad- ing people not to drink and not to allow licenses to be granted to liquor dealers. In the course of her work, she became more and more convinced that not until women had the vote could they be victorious. So she added " woman suffrage " to the reform pro- gram of her Temperance Union. By her labors in many fields she rallied thousands of women to her support. Before her death, in 1898, prohibition had made rapid gains. Had she lived twenty-five years longer she would have seen the saloon abolished throughout the United States by an amendment to the federal Constitution which went into eflfect in 1920. She would also have seen woman suffrage practically assured. III. Winning a Voice in Government Women and the Government. As women came to take more and more interest in public affairs, the belief spread among them that they should have a voice in the government — the right to vote. In nearly everything they did, they came into touch with the government. Clara Barton was always dealing with public officials. Frances Willard, in her struggle against the saloon, appealed to the government to abolish it. Both of these women became convinced that they would have more power in their work if they had the vote. The government would pay more attention to them if they had a share in elections. 4IO A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY The First Woman's Rights Convention. The idea of votes for women was a very old one both in Europe and America, but nobody paid much attention to it until about 1848. On that date, the first woman's rights convention in the United States was held in the state of New York. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, One of the leaders in calling that conference was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She had been given a good education and, at school, had thought long and hard about opportunities for girls in the world. Her father was a member of Con- gress from a New York district, and she always heard people discussing politics at her home. The slavery question was then at the front, and she became an ardent abolitionist. She married an opponent of slavery and took an active part in the abolition movement. She went with her husband as a delegate to an anti-slavery convention in London and was surprised to find the members shocked at the idea of allowing women to take part in such affairs. She thereupon decided to work for " equal rights for women," and began a long career in that cause. Susan B. Anthony. Among the women converted to the new idea was a school-teacher, Susan B. Anthony, the daughter of a Quaker schoolmaster. Though born in Massachusetts, Susan was reared in New York, and after an education at her father's school she herself chose teaching for her life work. She was, however, WOMEN AND HUMAN WELFARE 411 interested in both prohibition and abohtion, and after meeting Mrs. Stanton she threw herself into the suffrage cause with great zeal. She was a tireless and skillful organizer. She could travel day and night, meeting people, holding confer- ences, and appealing to legislatures. Like Mrs. Stanton, she was a brilliant speaker and a clear and forceful thinker. The two women made a won- derful " team," — striking figures in a group of brilliant leaders. They did not gain much popular support until after 1865, be- cause the country was too badly distracted by the slavery ques- tion and the armed conflict. In 1868 they started a newspaper to champion their cause. Mrs. Stanton was a writer of marked ability and she acted as editor. Miss Anthony, as a capable manager, took charge of the business affairs. The next year they founded the National Woman's Suffrage Association. i£) Underwood and Underwood, New York. Susan B. Anthony, One of the Pioneer Advocates of Woman Suffrage in the United States 412 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY They had introduced in Congress an amendment to the federal Constitution granting votes to women. Year after year they appeared before committees of Congress to argue their cause. At first, they met with scant sympathy. People laughed at them for advocating something new and curious. Opposition gave way slowly. The territory of Wyoming had given the ballot to women in 1867. Thirty years later only three western states had followed this example. Victory seemed far off when Mrs. Stanton died in 1902, and Miss Anthony four years later. Anna Howard Shaw. Before the two veterans in the cause passed from the scene, other leaders ap- peared. One of them Anna Howard Shaw, had come to this country at the age of four, in 1 851, a little immigrant from Scotland. Her father and mother settled far on the frontier of Michigan, where their six children were brought up amid the hardships of the wilderness. The little girl was able to get the elements of an education at a frontier school, and at the age of fifteen was teaching. She was the main support of the family while her father and brothers were away from home fighting for the Union. In a short time she turned from teaching to preaching. The change aroused intense opposition. The idea of women in the pulpit was new and strange. Miss Shaw was much discouraged until she met an ardent advocate of woman's rights, Mary Livermore. This friend said to her : " My dear, if you want to preach, go on and WOMEN AND HUMAN WELFARE 413 preach. Don't let anybody stop you. No matter what people say, don't let them stop you." Thus advised, Miss Shaw at the age of twenty-five entered © Underwood and Underwood, New York, Anna Howard Shaw, One of the Later Champions of Woman Suffrage, Speaking at a Street Meeting the Methodist College at Albion, Michigan, and pre- pared for the ministry. Wherever she could get a chance, she preached the 414 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY gospel, sometimes to Indians, sometimes to lumbermen in the forests. She kept on with her education, enter- ing Boston University in 1876. For seven years she was a pastor at Cape Cod, studying medicine in the meantime. Woman suffrage was now being agitated in Massa- chusetts, and Dr. Shaw warmly joined that movement. Until her death, in 1919, she devoted her life and strength to the suffrage cause, traveling all over the land, lecturing, and organizing. She had the pleasure of seeing state after state adopt woman suffrage. The Federal Suffrage Amendment. During the year in which she died. Congress passed the amendment to the federal Constitution granting the vote to women throughout the entire Union. The long contest was really almost over. In 1920 the amendment was rati- fied by enough states to make it the law of the land. From small beginnings had grown a great movement. Out of discouragement and defeat had come the prom- ise of victory. Questions and Exercises What kinds of work can men do better than women ? What kinds of work can women do better than men ? Name a woman of Colonial times who shocked the men of her day by holding public meetings. I. What organization in which Clara Barton was interested has become very important in recent years ? Are you a member of the Red Cross Society ? Why ought every one to belong to this society ? What is meant by an international organization ? WOMEN AND HUMAN WELFARE 415 II. What is the difference between temperance and prohibi- tion ? Why has prohibition become necessary ? III. What is meant by suffrage ? Why is the right of suffrage important in our country ? State three important arguments for woman's suffrage. What are the arguments of those who oppose woman's suffrage ? Suggestions for Reading Hart's Source Readers of American History, No. 4, Romance of the Civil War, pp. 381-418 (women in the Civil War); Gordy's Our Patriots, pp. 150-153 (Frances E. Willard), pp. 154-162 (Clara Barton) ; Grace Humphrey's Women in American History, pp. 189-205 (Clara Barton); Kate Dickinson Sweetser's Ten American Girls from History, pp. 143-173 (Clara Barton); Elmer C. Adams and Warren Dunham Foster's Heroines of Modern Prog- ress, pp. 58-88 (Elizabeth Cady Stanton), pp. 147-177 (Clara Barton), pp. 215-244 (Frances E. Willard) ; Mary R. Parkman's Heroines of Service, pp. 61-85 (Clara Barton), pp. 89—115 (Frances E. Willard), pp. 151-181 (Anna Howard Shaw). Problems for Further Study Give as complete a list as you can of the women who have been prominent in our history. Compare this list in size with even a partial list of the important men. Why do you suppose that the men are so much more numerous ? Of the three kinds of women's service mentioned in this chapter, which can be per- formed better by women than by men "^ Which could have been performed equally well by men ? Which two are a direct attempt to lessen the suffering in the world .^ Which is a rebellion against injustice ^ CHAPTER XXIV PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS The Problem : Should the President Lead the Coun- try and Congress? The Constitution of the United States gives to Congress the power to make laws. It lays upon the President the duty of seeing that they are obeyed. It also says that he shall give to Congress any information on public affairs which he deems worthy of attention. It is thus evident that the makers of our Constitution intended the President to be in some sense a leader and adviser. From Washington's time to our own, Presidents have laid before Congress and the country new ideas on public questions. To what lengths the President should go as a leader in American affairs, however, has always been an important problem. Some Presidents have been uncertain about it ; but for nearly eight years there was one in the White House — Theodore Roosevelt — who had no doubts about it. Speaking of the Presi- dent's work, he said : "My belief was that it was not only his right but his duty to do anything that the needs of the nation demanded unless such action was forbid- den by the Constitution or by the laws." Such was his way of solving an old but ever present problem. 416 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 417 I. Roosevelt's Training for a " Strenuous Life " "A Typical American." When Theodore Roosevelt became President in 1901, he had already had wide experience in public affairs. He had long been in city, state, and national service. His entire life had been a preparation for leadership in America. Ancestry. The history of the Roosevelt family runs back to the days of New Amsterdam. On his father's side he was of Dutch descent. In his veins there also flowed Welsh, English, Irish, and German blood. His mother, he tells us, was " a sweet, gracious, beautiful Southern woman," a daughter of the state of Georgia. Youth and Educa- tion, Theodore Roose- velt was born in New York City in 1858. He was a sickly and deli- cate child. Most of his early education was given to him by tutors. At the age of ten he made his first journey to Europe. Four years later he was taken on a trip to Egypt, the Holy Land, and Greece, and spent some time in Europe at study. His early (£) Bro-d.')i Bros., New York. Theodore Roosevelt at the Age of Eight 4l8 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY interests were especially in birds and wild animals. In 1876 he entered Harvard College, graduating in 1880. He proved to be what he called " a reasonably good student." He studied law for a while, but he did not practice because he had Inherited a comfortable fortune. He did not have to think of earning a living. He could devote himself to political life. In the State Legislature. Roosevelt became active in the Republican party in 1881, and was elected to the legislature of New York. He served for three terms, winning a wide reputation in the state. He found at Albany a very good friend In the governor, Grover Cleveland, as we have seen. Life in the West. As he was not vigorous enough in body for the severe strain of continuous Indoor work, Roosevelt went out to the Dakota country to build up his strength. There for a time he managed two cattle ranches. " It was," he tells us, " a land of vast silent spaces, of lonely rivers, and of plains where the wild game stared at the passing horseman. ... In that land we lived a free and hardy life, with horse and with rifle." The life was full of excite- ment. Bobcats, stampeding cattle, and prairie fires broke the monotony of hard work on the ranch. The frail young man grew strong and the love of the open country and the people of the Western plains remained with him through the rest of his life. In Public Life Again. In the spring of 1889 Roose- velt was appointed by President Harrison as one of the PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 419 civil service commissioners of the United States. He opposed the gross " spoils system " of the old days and was hailed as a " reformer." Six years later he was appointed police commissioner in New York City. It was his custom to make mid- night trips through the city to learn what the police- men were doing. While he was in this work he came to know, as never before, the life of the people of the great city. From the police department Roosevelt went to Washington in 1897, to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He at once turned his attention to improving the navy, especially to training the gunners. He was not afraid to " waste powder " teaching the men how to shoot straight. Soon the war against Spain began. The gunners of the navy did their work with great skill. Roosevelt himself laid aside his civil office and raised a regiment of " Rough Riders." He and his men distinguished themselves in the service and at- tracted national attention. On his return to New York, Colonel Roosevelt was elected governor of the state. n. President of the United States From Albany to Washington. In the summer of 1900, the Republican national convention assembled to choose candidates for President and Vice President. McKinley was so popular in his party that there was no opposition to his renomination. Roosevelt was likewise popular and his name was immediately men- 420 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY tioned for Vice President. He did not wish the nomination. He said he " greatly disliked the office of Vice President and was very much interested in the governorship of New York." Some of his friends advised against accepting it. They told him that he would be " sidetracked " if he did. So much pressure was brought to bear, however, that finally he yielded and was nominated. Roosevelt had been in his new office only a few months when President McKinley was shot by an anar- chist and died in Buf- falo. In September, 1901, the Vice Presi- dent took the oath of office as chief magis- trate. He announced that he would continue the plans of McKinley and re- tain the members of his cabinet. Some of his friends objected, saying that he would be " a pale copy of McKinley." He answered that he was not concerned © Clinedinst, Washington, D. C. President Roosevelt, the Advocate of "The Strenuous Life," out for a Gal- lop Across Country PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 421 over that, but rather about " facing the new problems that arose." He served out the unexpired term and then was reelected in 1904. Conservation of Natural Resources. Among the first of the new questions which he took up was the proper care of the nation's lands, forests, waterfalls, and minerals ; that is, to conserve our natural re- sources. Early in his term he said : " The forest and water problems are perhaps the most vital internal problems of the United States." Reclamation, All through the Western states there were vast areas of fertile soil on which little rain fell. In many sections there were mountain streams which ran full in the spring but dwindled to rivulets in the summer. For a long time Western men had dammed up many of the streams and distributed the water slowly over the desert land so that it could be cultivated. They wished the government to help in this work so that larger dams could be built and larger tracts of land watered. President Roosevelt approved the idea. In 1902 Congress passed the' Reclamation Act, which set aside money from the sale of public lands to reclaim waste areas by irrigation. Some said that the Constitution did not authorize Congress to do this, but Roosevelt declared that a broad view of the matter must be taken. As soon as the act was passed, surveys of the Western rivers and arid regions were made. Great dams were built to store the winter floods. Canals were dug to 422 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY convey the water among the fields as needed. One project after another was carried out, and by 1920 more than a mlUion acres of desert land had been re- claimed. Care of the National Forests. President Roosevelt was also deeply interested in the vast forest regions owned by the government. He wanted the govern- ment to stop selling the forest lands and to secure the proper care and use of the timber. He made the stock grazers pay for the right to turn cattle into the national forests. He reserved great districts for public purposes, thus discontinuing their sale. He approved plans for preventing fires in forests. Towers were built and watchers kept on the lookout day and night for fires. Telephone lines were built so that as soon as a fire was discovered, word could be sent to the fire fighters. He laid down the principle that " public property should be paid for and should not be per- manently granted away when such permanent grant is avoidable." The Coal Strike and the Labor Problem. In 1902 there was a great coal strike. Thousands of miners quit work and as winter was approaching many people were in danger of freezing. President Roosevelt said that the strike concerned everybody, and he brought the employers and employees together in a conference at the White House. He asked them to lay their dif- ferences before a board of men appointed by himself. They consented and the board decided the points PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 423 in dispute. President Roosevelt thereupon took up a serious study of the problem of strikes. As he said, the anthracite coal strike showed that " the labor problem in this country had entered a new phase." He explained in detail why this was so : "A few generations ago an American workman could have saved money, gone west, and taken up a homestead. Now the free lands are gone. In earlier days a man who began with pick and shovel might have come to own a mine. That outlet too is now closed, as regards the immense majority." So it happened, he said, that miners who wanted to make progress could not do it " by ceasing to be wage earners." They had to do it by " improving the conditions under which all the wage earners in all the industries of the country lived and worked." The Reason for Labor Unions. Then, President Roosevelt went on to show why the men had formed unions in order to improve their conditions. The great coal companies, he pointed out, " could easily dispense with the services of any particular miner. The miner, on the other hand, however expert, could not dispense with the companies. He needed a job ; his wife and children would starve if he did not get one." . . . The miners singly, he said, were helpless. " They could make fair terms only by uniting into trade unions to bargain collectively." Labor leaders who advocated violence he denounced in unsparing terms ; but he took the position that a 424 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY " square deal " must be given to all. He said that " equal and exact justice " must be done to all citizens whether rich or poor. " No straightforward man can believe, no fearless man will assert, that a trade union is always right," he once declared. He condemned those who sought to array capital and labor against each other. He held that it was right for each to consult its own interests, but only in lawful ways and with a due regard to the common interests of all. He sharply reproved labor leaders and rich men for doing things which he thought were against public welfare. In his messages and speeches President Roosevelt kept before the country the question of " fair play " and a " square deal " as between capital and labor. His sympathies, he said, ''within the range of fair play" were "with the men who have nothing but their wages, with the men who are struggling for a decent life." Such were the views of President Roosevelt on one of the great questions of the age. The Panama Canal. For many decades before President Roosevelt came to office, leaders in different nations in the New World and in the Old had talked about a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. A French company had tried to build one and lost millions of dollars and hundreds of lives. The United States was also deeply interested in the matter. Our government said many times that it could not allow any Old World power to build the canal and thus get a foothold on the Isthmus. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 425 The Panama Canal Zone 426 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Revolution in Panama. With his well-known energy, Roosevelt took action in 1903. The Isthmus of Panama was a part of the South American state of Colombia. Permission had to be obtained to build the canal across the territory. Accordingly a treaty was drafted, but the Colombian government would not approve it. A short time afterward a revolution broke out in Panama, and a tiny republic was established. Roosevelt at once recognized its independence and made a treaty with it, which gave the United States the right to occupy a strip of land across the Isthmus, known as the "Canal Zone" and to build the canal. This action was taken by the President on his own authority. He himself said : " I took Panama without consulting the cabinet." The Senate of the United States ratified the treaty with Panama after a long debate. Building the Canal. The big task of building the canal was at hand. It was a dangerous piece of work. The climate was hot and diseases were rife. An American man of science. Dr. Gorgas, studied the causes of the diseases and stamped them out. As Roosevelt remarked, " Gorgas made the Isthmus as safe as a health resort." To marshal a great army of workmen and assign each to his duties Is a difficult undertaking. For this enterprise President Roosevelt selected Colonel G. W. Goethals, an engineer and a leader of men. Goethals began his work in 1907, and seven years later the canal was opened to the world. " A finer body of men have PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 427 never been gathered by any nation than the men who have done the work of building the Panama Canal," wrote President Roosevelt. " They have all felt an eager pride in their work ; they have made not only America but the whole world their debtors." No The First Ship Passing through the Panama Canal Roosevelt lived to see the completion of the great work which he had begun. It wonder that he looked with pride upon the canal was one of his greatest achievements. The Fleet Goes around the World. Second among his achievements, Roosevelt reckoned his sending of a fleet of naval vessels around the world. He had always advocated a strong navy. He insisted on keep- 428 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY ing it in good fighting order and constantly at target practice. As a part of his plan for giving sailors experience, he decided that a fleet of sixteen battleships should en- circle the globe. He did not consult the cabinet. He acted on his own impulse. " A council of war never fights ! " he exclaimed. After he announced his plan, many experts said it was not practical. Nevertheless it was. The fleet steamed through the Straits of Magellan on the way to San Francisco. What if Magellan and Drake could have beheld the great American Armada plowing through the waters of the far South! The ships visited San Francisco, the Philip- pines, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, and sailed home through the Suez Canal. Every ship completed the journey without mishap. Coal and other supplies were furnished so promptly that not an hour's delay occurred anywhere. Scarcely a sailor deserted. Indeed, the men had such a good time that they were worn out with sightseeing. One of them decided to take a nap in a public park in Sydney, Australia. Since he did not want his rest disturbed, he wrote, in big letters, a sign which he placed above the park bench : " I am delighted with the Australian people. I think your harbor the finest in the world. I am very tired and would like to go to sleep." The trip was a successful test of American seaman- ship. The wireless was tested in all kinds of weather. Only for a few hours were the ships out of communi- PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 429 cation with land stations. Every morning certain ships were taken out of Hne and moved off as targets for range measuring. In the afternoons there were maneuvers for battle practice. On February 22, 1907, Mr. Roosevelt greeted the returning fleet, saying to the officers and men : " We are proud of all the ships and all the men in this whole fleet and we welcome you home to the country whose good repute among nations you have raised by what you have done." His main purpose, he afterward wrote, " was to impress the American people ; and this purpose was fully achieved." III. Ten Years as a Private Citizen Roosevelt's Friend, William Howard Taft. Among his cabinet officers Roosevelt had a very trusted friend, William Howard Taft, who had seen long service in the government. He had been a federal judge in Ohio and governor of the Philippines, and was then Secretary of War. Long before the end of his second term, Roosevelt let it be known that he favored Taft as his successor. Some urged him to run again himself, but he refused. He advised his friends to support Secretary Taft as the best candidate in the field. They took his advice, and Taft in 1909 became Presi- dent of the United States. He acknowledged his great debt to his friend, saying : " I can never forget that the power I now exercise was voluntarily trans- ferred from you to me." 430 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY On March 4, 1909, Theodore Roosevelt left Wash- ington a private citizen of the republic. He sought recreation after his labors in a long hunting expedition in Africa. He visited several European capitals on his return home and was received with high honors. © Underwood and Underwood, New York. President Taft, Bowing to the People, on the Day of His Inauguration, March 4, 1909 When he arrived in America again, he found a great dis- pute going on among the Republicans. Many of them did not approve of President Taft's policies. They disagreed with his views on the tariff, the manage- ment of natural resources, and other issues. The PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 431 Republicans had been in power for more than ten years, and the country was slowly turning toward the Democrats again. In fact, in 1910, the Democrats carried the elections to the House of Representatives by a safe majority. For this defeat some Republicans blamed President Taft. They overlooked the good features of his adminis- tration and openly said that it would not do to re- nominate him in 191 2. After a while they turned again to Roosevelt for leadership. At first he put them aside. He hesitated to break with his old friend. Finally he did so, announcing that he would seek the Republican nomination himself at the next convention. A battle royal between the two Republi- can leaders opened. The Progressive Party. When the Republican con- vention met in Chicago, a dispute arose over the admission of delegates. From several states there were two sets of delegates, one for Taft and another for Roosevelt. In this contest Roosevelt lost. Then his friends walked out of the convention. This " bolt " left Taft's supporters in control, and he was selected as the Republican nominee. The Roosevelt delegates declared that the convention had been " stolen " from them. They held a meeting and agreed to come together again to consider forming another party. On August 5 the new convention was held and the National Progressive Party was launched. Not since i860, when Lincoln was nominated at 432 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Chicago, had there been more excitement and enthu- siasm at a national party meeting. Ten thousand people were crowded into the hall. They sang fer- vently the " Battle Hymn of the Republic," and " On- ward, Christian Soldiers." Roosevelt was present, and when he rose to speak the cheering lasted for more than an hour. He spoke eloquently of the labor problem, better conditions for the workers in industries and mines, shorter hours for women and children in factories, pensions for the aged and infirm, living wages, and other pressing questions. Under his leadership the Progressives entered a campaign to make Roosevelt President again. They failed. He polled more votes than Taft, but the Demo- crats carried the day, electing Woodrow Wilson, of New Jersey, This was the first and last presidential campaign waged by the Progressives. In 1916 the old friends, Roosevelt and Taft, shook hands and " buried the hatchet." Taft genially forgave his political opponent and retained an important position in public affairs. He was particularly interested in preventing war by international agreement. Later Years. As a private citizen Roosevelt also was very busy with voice and pen advocating causes which he thought just. Very soon after the World War broke out in Europe, he became convinced that Germany was wrong and must be defeated. He urged upon his countrymen the necessity of preparing the army and navy for a crisis. He saw that this country PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND MODERN QUESTIONS 433 must enter the struggle against a dangerous military power. With all his energy he threw himself into the work of rousing the nation to declare war on Ger- many. When at length war was declared, he offered to raise a force of men and go to the front himself. Though this was denied him, his sons "joined the colors, and one of them, Quentin, died heroically in the service. As soon as the victory was won, Roosevelt turned with his usual enthusiasm to the problems of the new age. His friends looked to him for leadership as of old. They could not realize that the man of " iron constitu- tion " was near the end of his earthly labors. In the midst of busy days in 1919, he died peacefully at his home on Long Island. Questions and Exercises What Presidents do you think have been the greatest leaders of their country ? Why ? What is the difference between a leader and a ruler ? I. Few Presidents have traveled as widely as Roosevelt; in what ways do you think that travel, both in America and in other countries, would help a President to perform his duties well ? Was President Roosevelt better educated than most Presidents ? II. What is meant by conservation ? By natural resources ? Why is the conservation of our natural resources more important to-day than ever before ? Make a list of the valuable things that you have seen wasted which could and ought to have been saved. What national resources are in greatest danger of being destroyed ? Locate the Isthmus of Panama. Locate Colombia. Why did the United States prefer to build a canal across the Isthmus itself 2 F 434 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY rather than to have this work done by a European country ? With what parts of the world is it easier for our country to trade because of the Panama Canal ? Make a list of Roosevelt's acts as President, in the order of their Importance. Give the reasons for your choice. III. What was meant by the Progressive Party? State another case in American history in which a political party be- came divided at election time, and the result. Suggestions for Reading Ellis's Lives of the Presidents, pp. 220-288 (Roosevelt), pp. 229— 236 (Taft) ; Hermann Hagedorn's The Boys' Life of Theodore Roosevelt; James Morgan's Theodore Roosevelt, the Boy and the Man; Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children. Problems for Further Study Trace the water route, through the Panama Canal, from New York to San Francisco. About how great a distance is saved .'' What does "typical" mean? Why is Roosevelt often called a typical American ? CHAPTER XXV PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE WORLD WAR The Problem : What Should Be America's Part in the World War? On August 4, 19 14, the Imperial German army, bent on world conquest, plunged into Belgium. This was the stroke for which the German war party had long been preparing. Its aim was to strike a mortal blow at France. The terrible war of the nations had begun. England, France, Russia, and Serbia were soon in a death grapple with Germany and Austria. The awful conflict seemed far away to the people of the United States, safely go- ing about their affairs in peace. It was not long, however, before it was brought directly home to all those engaged in business with European countries. England established a close blockade on goods bound to Germany and to countries that traded with Germany. The German government protested. Germany declared the English coasts blockaded and announced that submarines would be used for patrol. These blockades threatened to destroy American foreign trade. The government of the United States was again confronted by trying problems like those that had perplexed Jefferson more than a hundred years before. 435 436 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY The Submarine Campaign. To the surprise of the whole world, Germany made it known that, on and after February i8, 191 5, she would destroy all enemy merchant ships found in English waters. This was a distinct violation of the clear rules of war. Merchant ships are not ships of war but of trade. If they are captured, law and humanity decree that the passengers and crew must not be killed or injured but protected. The Germans proposed to send ship, crew, and pas- sengers to the bottom of the sea. They deliberately proposed to set aside the law and to outrage humanity. As it was difficult for submarines to distinguish be- tween enemy vessels and neutral vessels, they also en- dangered American lives and ships. Here was a problem as critical as the Nation had ever faced. It called for patience, wisdom, and firmness. A heavy burden fell upon the President, who is our spokesman in foreign affairs and conducts relations with foreign countries. I. WooDROw Wilson, the Man and Leader Early Life and Training. Woodrow Wilson was the President who had to lead our country in this crisis. Like so many eminent Americans, President Wilson's ancestors were of Scotch-Irish origin. His grand- father and grandmother came from Ireland during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. They stayed a few years in Pennsylvania and then were seized by the " western fever." They made their next home in Europe in 1914 PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE WORLD WAR 437 Steubenville, Ohio, where the grandfather opened a printing office. One of the sons of this Ohio printer, Joseph, after mastering the printing trade added learning to it. He received a sound college education and entered the Presbyterian ministry. While stationed at Staunton, Virginia, in 1856, there was born to him a son, to whom was given the name of Thomas Woodrow. Days at College. The early life of the youth was spent in the South. During the Civil War he lived at Augusta, Georgia. He prepared for college at an academy in Columbia, South Carolina, and entered Davidson College in the neighboring state of North Carolina. After remaining there for one year, he went to Princeton, where he took his degree with honors in 1879. As a student he read widely and deeply, and showed his power as a writer of excellent English. The Young Lawyer. On completing college he sought a legal education at the University of Virginia. He made a special study of public speaking and won a gold medal for oratory. He began the practice of law in Atlanta, but the clients did not come. The College Professor. Wilson thereupon decided to become a teacher and went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to prepare for that work. In 1885 he was called to Bryn Mawr College. His second post as professor was at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Meanwhile he was becoming well known as a writer and lecturer. His success in the new profession was 438 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY unusually brilliant. In 1890 his old college at Princeton gave him a professorship and twelve years later selected him as president. In addition to teaching, he wrote and lectured on problems of government, and became popular as a man of letters. There were many friends who early thought him fitted for political leadership. Governor of New Jersey. Indeed, from his youth he himself had dreamed of a career in molding na- tional opinion. In an address before the Cleveland chamber of commerce in 1907, he said : " Public life does not consist merely of the transaction of public business. It consists of the formation of public opinion, of the guidance of public purpose, of the promoting of progress, and of the criticizing of reme- dies." Members of the Democratic party in New Jersey turned more and more to him for guidance. In 1910 they nominated him for governor and he carried the state. President of the United States. Woodrow Wilson was launched upon his political career. He stood out as a leader of undoubted force. He made a tour of the country and gained admirers by his public ad- dresses. In 191 2, after a hard battle, his supporters won for him the Democratic nomination for President. For this honor he was deeply Indebted to William Jennings Bryan, who worked for him In the conven- tion. The Republican party was divided by the fight with the Progressives, so Wilson's victory was easily secured. PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE WORLD WAR 439 During the first months of his administration he laid before Congress a large program of work. He adopted the old rule of reading his messages to Con- gress instead of sending them. He sought and ob- tained the passage of many important laws. One of them, revising the tariff, was a direct fulfillment of a party pledge. n. President Wilson and German " Fright- fulness " Neutrality at First. When the terrible war opened in Europe in 1914, President Wilson urged his coun- trymen not to take sides, but to be neutral in thought and act. He turned a deaf ear to those who said that the United States should take up arms against Ger- many. In 1916 he was reelected. In his campaign his supporters made much of the fact that he had been able to keep the country out of war. The Clash with Germany. At no time, however, did President Wilson concede the right of Germany to sink peaceful merchant ships and endanger the lives of crew and passengers. In February, 191 5, he plainly told the Kaiser that such acts would violate American rights. He added also that he would hold the German government accountable for wrongs done. The Lusitania. President Wilson's solemn warnings were without avail. On May 7, 191 5, the Germans startled the world by a terrible deed. On that day one of their submarines torpedoed a British steamer, the 440 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Lusitania. The ship was struck without warning, in a calm sea near the Irish coast. In a few min- utes she went down, carrying to death more than fifteen hundred persons. Among them were one hundred — , fourteen American citizens. When the news of this terri- ble deed reached America a thrill of horror ran through the country. Al- most everybody said that it was a cruel and wicked deed. The Lusitania Notes. President Wilson acted quickly. He called on the German government to d\s- © Underwood and Underwood, New York. OWn the aCt aUd tO President Woodrow Wilson, Who Called upon take StcpS tO pre- Our Country to Take up Arms in "a War ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^jg j^^ for Democracy the future. He closed with the warning that the United States would not " omit any word or act " necessary to safeguard American rights. More notes were exchanged and finally an agreement was reached. The Kaiser promised PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE WORLD WAR 441 not to sink any more liners without providing for the safety of passengers and crew. The promise was soon broken. Early the next year the Kaiser sent out to the world another terrible warning : his government would adopt a policy of unrestrained " frightfulness." It began to sink ships everywhere on sight without regard for human life. President Wilson again issued a firm protest. Then he sent the German ambassador back to his own country. Having reached the limit of his endurance, he called Congress to consider taking up arms in de- fense of American rights. III. War against Germany Congress Declares War. Congress responded quickly. With only a few dissenting voices, it de- clared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, and on Austria in December of that year. The conflict in Europe had been raging for more than two years, Italy having joined in the meantime. Germany and Austria, how- ever, were still powerful. It was no light task to face them on the field of battle. Men for the Front. The American people had counted the cost. Under the leadership of President Wilson, they paid the price. The war in Europe was a war of nations, as well as of armies. So the United States adopted universal service. At first all men between twenty-one and thirty-one were made liable to serve. Then the draft was extended to all men 442 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY between eighteen and forty-five. From men between twenty-one and thirty-one so registered were drawn soldiers to serve beside those already in the regular army. "The whole nation," said the President, " is a team, in which each man must play his part." Supplies. Every soldier had to be maintained in the field. That meant from three to twenty persons work- ing to supply him with food, clothing, and arms. So labor had to be enlisted for the war. Labor leaders, © Underwood and Underwood, New York A Liberty Loan Meeting in 1918, Advertising the Sale of United States Bonds to Help Pay for the War against Germany and Austria PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE WORLD WAR 443 like Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor, appealed to workmen for loyal service in mine and at the flaming forge. Women poured from their homes into the stores and factories. Farmers put out larger crops than ever before. The whole nation was enlisted for war. Money. Billions of dollars had to be raised to pay the cost of it. Heavy taxes were laid. Liberty bonds and war savings stamps were sold. " Drives " were made and for the last loan over twenty million sub- scribers were secured. The whole nation was buying bonds and savings stamps. " The supreme test of the nation has come," said President Wilson. "We must all speak, act, and serve together." President Wilson Defines American War Aims. In many speeches, messages, and notes. President Wilson explained to the world the purpose of the United States in entering the war. A War of Self-Defense. He pointed out how Ger- many in effect had begun war by acts of violence and wrong against American citizens and American ships. He revealed how the German government had filled our land with spies and planted bombs in our munition factories. " Much as we had desired peace, it was denied to us and not of our own choice." No Selfish Aims. America had no selfish aims in the war. " The world must be made safe for democ- racy. . . . We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion." Such was the -444 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY burden of President Wilson's message to Congress when he called the nation to arms. The ''Fourteen Points.'' On January 8, 1918, he laid down in " Fourteen Points " the war aims of our country. The chief were as follows : Nations must not make secret treaties with one another. Navigation on the seas must be free in war and peace. National armies must be reduced to the smallest possible numbers. Belgium, which had been invaded and overrun by the Germans, must be freed from their rule and restored to the Belgian people. Russia, likewise invaded by German armies, must also be freed from their control. Alsace and Lorraine, territories taken from France by Ger- many in 1870, must be returned. Poland, once divided among Austria, Germany, and Russia, must be united and made an independent nation. Italian territory, seized long ago by Austria, must be returned to Italy. President Wilson also added on another occasion this principle : No people must be forced to live under a government under which it does not wish to live. This was the " right of self-determination," so much talked about. Each nation, by this right, would be independent and choose its own plan of government. Autocratic government must be overthrown and demo- cratic governments established. Such were the general principles underlying Ameri- can war aims. The League of Nations. Finally President Wilson spoke of seeking some way to prevent wars in the PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE WORLD WAR 445 future. He insisted that there should be formed a " League of Nations." This plan was something like the league of American states under the Articles of Con- federation, but not quite so strong a union. It was his thought that a sort of world government should be created. It should be composed of a president, a council, and an assembly. The council and assembly should be made up of delegates from the various nations in the league. This idea President Wilson saw partly realized, for the treaty of peace that closed the war contained a plan for a League of Nations. The treaty was, however, rejected by the Senate of the United States. America's Part in the Great War. The aid rendered by the United States in winning the war against Germany and Austria cannot be overestimated. Bil- lions of dollars were loaned to the Allies. Supplies in enormous quantities were furnished to them. The American navy joined in the fight against submarines, and helped to keep the sea open for the ships which carried soldiers and supplies to France. In May, 1917, the tramp of American soldiers was heard In France. General John J. Pershing arrived with the vanguard of a vast army that was to follow. In October of that year American soldiers were on the firing line. From that time until November 11, 191 8, when the armistice was signed, American troops did their full part. From day to day the number of our soldiers increased on the front. When the Germans By November, 1918, when the armistice was signed, the German Army had been driven many miles from the Une which they reached in 1914. 446 PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE WORLD WAR 447 surrendered, there were 1,338,169 American fighting men in France. Some of the fiercest and most per- sistent fighting of the war was done by them. Over two hundred thousand of our soldiers were killed or wounded in the terrible battles which overthrew the military" power of the German Empire. Of the heroic deeds of the American soldiers, Gen- eral Pershing said : " I pay the supreme tribute to our officers and soldiers of the line. When I think of their heroism, their patience under hardships, their unflinching spirit of off"ensive action, I am filled with emotion that I am unable to express. Their deeds are immortal, and they have earned the eternal gratitude of our country." The End of the World War. November, 191 8, was a famous month in American history. The German army was driven back in disorder all along the battle line in France and Belgium, and the German govern- ment was compelled to sue for peace. The German Kaiser, who was chiefly responsible for bringing on the terrible war, was forced to give up his crown and flee for safety into Holland. A republic was set up in place of his empire. The military power of Germany which had so long threatened the peace of Europe had been broken on the field of battle. When the war was over, our victorious army was brought safely across the sea to receive the tribute of a grateful nation. Officers and men had served well and faithfully. There were full honors for the 448 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY © Brown Bros., New York. General John J. Pershing, Speaking at the Tomb of Lafayette in France Lafayette helped America in the War for Independence and Pershing aided France in repelling the German invaders. PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE WORLD WAR 449 living and for the silent dead. In helping to make the terms of peace at Paris in 1919, President Wilson de- clared that he had kept faith with them and sought no selfish ends, — no pay in money or territory for the sacrifices they had made. Questions and Exercises Describe the events that occurred just before the United States declared war against Germany. What countries were the allies of Germany in the World War ? What countries were allied against them ? What were the most important neutral nations ? Look up each on a map in your geography. Most of the world was at war at this time ; what effect would you expect this to have upon trade between the nations ? I. Why was President Wilson's problem an unusually difficult one ? II. Many people think that we would have been justified in entering the war when the Lusitania was sunk. Do you agree ? The Kaiser had said that the American citizens of German descent would support Germany rather than America in case of war be- tween the two nations. Was his belief justified 1 III. What did the President mean when he said that the whole nation was a team and that it was necessary for each man to play his part ? What was America fighting for in this war ? What is meant by the League of Nations ? Suggestions for Reading Cora W. Rowell's Leaders of the Great War, pp. 228-255 (Ad- miral Sims), pp. 256-297 (General Pershing), pp. 297-332 (Wood- row Wilson) ; Charles H. L. Johnston's Famous Generals of the Great War, pp. 140-163 (Pershing) ; Ellis's Lives of the Presidents, pp. 236-240 (Woodrow Wilson) ; Eva March Tappan's The Little 450 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY Book of the War ; William H. Allen and Clare Kleiser's Stories of Americans in the World War. Problems for Further Study How are treaties with foreign countries made ? Find on the map the battle line in France about the time the American soldiers entered the war and then the line at the time of peace. What are War Savings Stamps ? Liberty Bonds ? PRONOUNCING INDEX OF NAMES KEY TO PRONUNCIATION (Webster's International Dictionary) ale, senate, care, Jim, account, arm, ask, sofa ; eve, ^vent, end, recent, maker ; ice, ill ; old, 6bey, orb, odd, connect ; use, unite, urn, up, circMS, menii ; food, foot ; out, oil ; chair ; go ; sing, ii]k ; then, thin ; nature, veixlure ; zh = z in azure. The numbers refer to pages. Where several references are given, the pages on which the principal description is to be found are indicated by heavier type. Adams, John (Sd'amz), 110, 123, 158- 160 Adams, John Quincy, 197 Adams, Samuel, 105-110, 111 Africa (af'ri-kd), 3, 4, 20 Alabama (al'a ba'ma), 197, 306 Alamo, the (a'la-mo), 240, 241 Alaska (d-las'kd), 170, 194 Albany (ol'bd-ni), 67, 68, 71 Albany, Duke of, 70 Albemarle (al'be-marl), 56, 57 Alfred, the (al'fred), 128, 130 Alien Act (al'yen), 159 Allegheny Mountains (al'^-ga'ni), 91 Alliance, the (d-li'dns), 131 America (d-mer'i-kd), name of, 21 Anderson, Major (an'der-s6n), 322 Audr^, Major (an'dra), 126 Annapolis (d-nap'o-lis), 145, 150, 151 Anthony, Susan B. (an'tho-ui), 411- 412 Antietam (an-te'tdm), 327, 339 Appomattox (3,p'6-mat'uks), 336 Arabia (d-ra'bi-d), 26 Aristotle (ar'is-tot"l), 5, 6, 7 Arizona (ar'i-zo'nd), added to U.S., 242 Arkansas River (ar'kdn-s6), 236 Armada, Grand (ar-ma'dd), 45, 46, 51 Arnold, Benedict(ar'nuld, ben'e-dikt), 125 Arthur (ar'thwr). Chaster A., 357 Articles of Confederation, 141, 149, 151, 152 Asia (a'shd), 6, 7, 18, 24, 26, 32, 65, 66 Astor, John Jacob (as'ter), 253 Astoria (as-t5'ri-d), 254 Atlanta, Ga. (at-lan'td), 360, 361 Austin, Moses (os'tin), 238 Austin, Stephen, 239 Bahamas (bd-ha'mds), 14 Baltimore (bol'ti-mor), 66, 230 Baltimore, Lord, 55, 56 Barry, John (bar'I), 130, 131 Barton, Clara (bar'tun), 403, 407, 409 451 452 PRONOUNCING INDEX OF NAMES Beauregard, General (bo're-gard), 322 Benton, Thomas H. (ben'tun), 208 Berkeley (burk'li), 72 Birmingham, Eng. (bur'ming-am), 221, 222, 223 Black Prince, the (blak prins), 130 Blaine, James G. (blan), 360, 361 Bonaparte, Napoleon (bo'nd-part, nd- p6'le-un), 167, 168 Bonliomme Richard, the (bo'nom'), 130 Boone, Daniel (boon), 173 Boston (bos'tun), settlement of, 59, 61 ; center of opposition to British, 105-109 Boston Massacre, 108 Boston Tea Party, 109-110 Boxers (bok'serz), 381 Braddock, General (brad'uk), 96, 97 Bradford, Governor (brad'ferd), 59 Brandon, Vermont (bran'diin), 351 Brandy wine Creek (bran'di-win'), 125 Brazil (bra-zil'), 30, 41 Breckinridge, John C. (brek'in-rij), 302 British Guiana (g^-a'nd), 364 Brown, John, 274 Bryan, William Jennings (bri'an), 371, 376-378 Buena Vista (bu'nd vis'td), 242 Bull Run, 324 Bunker Hill (bunk'er hil), 123 Burgoyne, General (bur-goin'), 127, 141 Burke, Edmund (burk), 116-118, 140 Cabot, John (kab'iit), 26-29 Cabot, Sebastian (s$-bas'chdn), 26-28 Cadiz (ka'diz), 18, 19, 45 Calhoun, John C. (kal-hoon'), 185, 267-271 California (kal'i-for'ni-d), claims to, 170 ; added to U. S., 243 ; explora- tion and settlement, 244-248 ; be- comes free state, 249 Calvert, Cecil (kal'vert), 56 Calvert, George, 55 Cambridge, Mass. (kam'brij), 123, 124 Canada (kan'd-dd), early settlements in, 85 ; passes under British flag, 99 ; in War of 1812, 185 Canary Islands (kd-na'ri), 10, 12 Cape Cod, 27, 33, 67 Cape of Good Hope, 3, 20, 29, 31, 44 Caribbean Sea (kar'i-be'dn), 17, 40, 47, 374 Carolinas, the (ka'i-6-le'nas) , reached by Verrazano, 33 ; settlement of, 56-57 Caroline Islands (kar'6-hn), 44 Carteret (kar'teret), 72 Cartier, Jacques (kar'tya', zhak), 26, 33, 34 Caspian Sea (kas'pi-dn), 3 Central America, 19 Champlain (sham-plan'), 85 Charleston (charlz'tiin), colony at, 56 ; at the opening of the Civil War, 321-322 Chattanooga (chat'd-noo'gd), 332. Cherokee (cher'6 ke'), 235, 236 Chile (che'la), 42 China (chi'nd), trade with, 1, 2 ; rela- tions with foreign powers, 380-384 Cincinnati (sin'si-nat'i) , 213 Civil War, 320-340, 344 Clark, George Rogers (klark), 142, 172 Clark, Willliam, 172. See Lewis and Clark Expedition. Clay, Henry (kla), 185, 207, 208, 274- 283, 291 Clemens, Orion (klem'enz), 390, 393 PRONOUNCING INDEX OF NAMES 453 Clemens, Samuel L. See Mark Twain. Clermont, the (kler'mont), 222-223 Cleveland, Grover(klev'land), 357-366 Clinton, De Witt (klin'tt'ai), 224-228 Colorado (kol'o-ra'do), 243 Colorado River, 173 Colombia (ko-lom'be-a), 353 Columbia River (ko-lum'bi-d), 170, 173, 176, 254 Columbia University (u'ni-vur'si-ti), 150 Columbus, Christopher (ko-liim'bus kris'to-fer), 3-21, 24 Columbus, Diego, 8 Comanches (ko-man'chez), 238 Concord (kon'kord), 121 Confederacy, Southern, 314, 332 Confederate States of America, 307 Connecticut (ko-net'i-kut), settlement of, 64-65 Connecticut River, 64 Constantinople (kon-stan'ti-no'p'l), 1, 2 Constitution, the (kon'sti-tu'shiin), 150-154, 155 Constitutional Convention (kon-ven' shun), 142, 152 Continental Congress (kon'ti-nen'tal kon'gres), formation of, 110 ; as- sembly in Philadelphia, 115 ; Dec- laration of Independence adopted by, 136. Continentals (kon'ti-nen'tals), 125 Cook, Captain (kook), 170 Cornwallis, General (kOrn-wol'is), 127 Cortes (kor'tez), 37 Council Bluffs (koun'sil bliifs), 173 Cowpens (kou'penz'), 127 Cuba (kii'bd), exploration of, 17 ; in the Spanish-American War, 367- 369, 372 Davis, Jefferson (da'vis jef'er-sf