Qass Book- COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT LIVES OF THt PRESIDENTS IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE 'f^^ a " J ! Ml »'% 1 1 1 r r iCi ,' ^^--^aj^yiB' THE WHITE HOUSE. BY HARRIET PUTNAM McLOUGHLIN BROTHERS NEW YORK HE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON. Cnpyrighl, 1903. Bv McT.OUGHUN liROTHERS CONTENTS. PACK GEORGE WASHINGTON y JOHN ADAMS 20 THOMAS JEFFERSON' 26 JAM1-:S MADISON ^ 33 JAMES MONROE . . . . ^ 40 JOHN QULXCY ADAMS 44 ANDREW JACKSON 49 MARTIN VAN BUREN 54 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 56 JOHN TYLER 58 JAMES KNON POLK 61 ZACHARY TAYLOR 65 MILLARD FILLMORE 68 FRANKLIN PIERCE 7' JAMES BUCHANAN 74 CONTENTS. ABRAHAM LINCOLN 79 ANDREW JOHNSON 93 ULYSSES 5. GRANT 97 RUTHERFORD H HAVES 108 JAMES AbRAM GARPTELD . . . • 112 CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR 116 GROVER CLEVELAND . . .119 BENJAMIN HARRISON . 123 GROVER CLEVELAND 128 WILLIAM McKINLEY 132 THEODORE ROOSEVELT . 140 GEORGE WASHINGTON. THE King of Eno-land, "George the Third," had made hard rules and had laws for those who had left his land and come to A-mer-i-ca. The folks bore these as well as they could but things grew worse and worse. At last the men said ; " We will die or be free." Then came a war. There were but few, at first, to fight 6 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. a great host. The few knew their cause was just and this gave them great zeal. Their trust was in God. They met on Cam-bridge Com-mon to ask God to bless them and the plan they had made. God heard them, told them what to do, and sent one to lead them. The name of that lead-er was George Wash-ing-ton. In Virginia, Feb. 22, 1732, at Brid-ges' Creek, George Wash-ing-ton was born. His house had but four rooms. At each end, on the out side, the flue went up to the top. He was born at 10 A. M. His folks were plain in their ways. The boy's dark blue eyes first saw such scenes as would be found in an-y farm house in the land. He saw a low room ; a great, wide, brick fire-place ; a well kept rug ; a few chairs with straw seats ; and a tall bed-stead with posts like masts, the same sort as Wash-ing-ton slept in all his life. Hung up high on the walls were prints of men who had been brave on sea and land. Back of the door a tall clock went tick, tick, and this might have been the first sound the babe heard. The plain way in which Wash-ing-ton was bred made him like plain things aJl his days. His clothes were plain — spun, wove, and made at home. Out door life had a charm for him. A-mer-i-cans bless the plain old farm house where this child, who did so much for them, was born. Now all that marks its site is a slab of free-stone. The trees that grew near that house were figs, pines, and some sorts which would keep green all the year. The boy was fond of them. The fields and woods, too, held things dear to him. His young life was full of cheer. The words that he wrote in those days tell us so. Each word seems as if a boy with a bright, frank face had put it down. GICORCK WASIIIXGTOM. 7 The ta-thcr of this honic bred hoy was a help to hlin. He taught him much h'om ncar-hy htc. A talc is told that one day the fa-ther made a small bed in the <^round, with rich earth, and then wrote on it, with his cane, George's full name in large size. The next thing he did was to strew in some seeds and smooth it all with care. When some da\s had gone b\', the small boy came in haste and said, " O, Pa, come here ! Come here ! " "Well, my son, what is it?" "O, it is a great sight! My own name grows green in the orround ! How could it come there?" They both went to look at the strange sight. At hrst the fa-ther thought to make his son think it came there by its self. Young as the boy was he knew this could not be so. A great truth was taught from this. It told that Chance could not be the cause of the great things in life. Chance could not make the moth-er sing ; Chance could not give sleep from which the boy would jump up strong as any young deer ; Chance would not make the sweet light which would be there to greet him. Fish in TELLING THE TRUTH. ( P. B. ) 8 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the ponds, fruit on the trees, cows to gWc milk, lambs to give wool to make clothes would not come by chance. The boy of five kept in mind that which his fa-ther had taught him. From the first George had a strong love of truth. He thought it mean to tell a lie. He would say true things at all tmies. I here was land near his home where fruit trees grew. Some trees bore well and some did not do so. Care and work would help all the trees and this the small boy's fa-ther was o;lad to o-ive. A tale is told that one tree w^as so choice that the fa-ther would walk to it day by day and watch it grow. Once he found a deep cut in the bark of that tree. It was cut so that fruit might not come to it for years. Then the fa-ther said, "Who has done this?" George knew quite well that he had done that thing with a small axe. He did not think it would do so much harm at the time, but when he found how sad his fa-ther felt, and saw, too, his rage at the act, he was full of pain. It is said that for one short bit of time he hung back in shame. Then he made up his mind that the right thing to do was to speak the truth at once. So he said, " I can not tell a lie. I did it." The tale goes on to say that the fa-ther's rage left him when he found that his boy could and would say what was true, though it brought pain with it. The moth-er of Wash-ing-ton was one score and eight )'ears old when her son was born. She had fine looks, a strong mind, and a kind heart. A wise man has said, "The strong are born of the strong and the good of the r.i':0R(;K \v.\siii.\(.roN. 9 (rood." This was true in W'ash-ino-ton's case. His moth-cr knew him to be a line child and had great pride ui the wise things he chd. She "kept all these things m her heart." From the i)lain larm house George went to the " field school " kept by Mr. Hob-by. Here he had to learn " a, b, abs," as was the st\'le m those days. He rode off on his horse and was gone all day, for the school was live miles from home. He ijave time and love to his books, but he was fond, too, of play and sports of all kinds. He would drill a band of gjyjQll bo\'S march theni Washington's narrow escape from drowning, ip . io.) down the road and lead them at all times, l^olks large and small would like to see the brave, good child, and they said of him that when he grew up there was a high place for him in the world. It came to pass just as thev said it would. When but four years in his teens, Wash-ing-ton went to the home of the red men with chain and rule and found the length and breadth of the land. In four years more he had charge of troops sent to save his State from fierce In-di-ans iO LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and French who would steal land. More work soon came and the young man had to start out and see if it were true that forts were to be built on the O-hi-o. The roads were bad and the woods were dark, but Wash-ing-ton, with four men and a guide who spoke French, went through mire and swamp, till they came to the fort of which they were in search. The chief of the MOUNT VERNON, THE HOME OF WASHINGTON. French troops had a long talk but he would not give up. He sent a note back, and with this Wash-ing-ton set out for home. Snow and ice were on land and stream. There was one bad place on the way where they had to stop and make a raft so that they could cross a stream. The logs they had to use were damp, and from these Wash-ing-ton made a slip which might have been the cause of his death if the man who vvas with him had not drawn him out from the cold stream. Wash-ing-ton did his work so well that at the end of five years he was at the head of the forces of his own State. C.KORGli WASHINGTON. 11 In the FrL-nch wars of 1754 it was W'ash-in^-ton who led at Great Mead-ows, and whose brave acts made Brad- dock's loss far less than it niioht have been. Wash -1 ng- ton knew what w'as strong" and what was w^eak in men. He knew how to guide them and he knew how to save them. He could judge \\-ith great gootl sense. He had all the gifts which, in years to come, made the world call him, the " Great Com-mand-er. " In Jan-u-a-ry, 1759, W ash-ing-ton found a good w^ife in Mrs. Mar-tha Cus-tis, a young wid-ow, and went first to li\'e at New Kent, and then to Mount Vcr-non, where he had care of his farm. While here he kept watch of all that went on m the land for which he had so much love. Eng-land's rule grew^ more and more hard to bear. The laws made by the King were not just. Each thing had a ta.\ j)ut on it which it was hard to pay. The King did not ask his folks in A-mer-i-ca how he could help them. His chief thought was how he could treat them as slaves and orrind them down to do his will. The "Stamp Act" was a thing which made folks mad. MARTHA WASHINGTON 12 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Free born men did not like it. They said they would no more stand it. One Sun-day some ships with tea on board came up the bay at Bos-ton. A man stood up in church and told all there that if they would be free, and give up the King, that was the time to strike the blow. Then they went to the ships and threw the tea all in the sea. Then the King sent word that no more goods should be sent to Bos-ton. This was mean, and the folks then knew that they had got to fight. In the spring of 1775 came the first fight at Lex-ing-ton. Brave things were done and men made good work for the Cause so near their hearts. They found that they could stand their ground, though the Brit-ish troops had had years in which to learn the art of war. The cry of "To arms! To arms!" was in the land. Then came the strife on Bun-ker Hill, where Pres-cott, Put-nam and more he-roes did acts and made names that will live. While there were brave men to fight, still one to lead them must be found. At Phil-a-del-phia, May 10, 1775, wqse heads chose Wash-ing-ton as chief of all the troops, for lie was known to be the man for the times. On July 3, 1775, Wash-ing-ton took com-mand of the " A-mer-i-can Ar-my." The place where he stood is still dear to all in this land. It was on the same place, "Cam- bridge Com-mon, Mass.," where those men met to pray and ask God to bless them and their plan ere they made their start to be free. The raw troops which Wash-ing-ton found were full of fire, zeal and love for their land, but thev had need of one GKORGK WASHINGTON. 13 to train and lead them. Some folks thought it would be best to rush on the foe at once. That was not done. A wisL i)lm was found. The Biit-isli were kept close m tow n cUid just viadc to sta) fcU more months than they rs^ AC ^ They had to ask Wash-ing-ton to let them leave Bos-ton, which he was glad to do. So m March, 1776, they set sail for Hal-i-fax, and that was the last of them in this part of the land. There w^ere three places in our land where the war then 14 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. went on. There was strife for the Hud-son, for the Del-a- ware, and for the Car-o-li-nas. Great cheer came to Wash-ing-ton and his troops when they heard that a move had been made in Con-gress that our land should say that it ''would be free from Eng-lish rule." This was a great act, and has the name of " The Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pen-dence." As it was made on the Fourth of Ju-ly, that day has been kept as a feast by us since that time. Dark days came as the small band fought three times more men than they had. The Chief sent up his call to his Friend on high. Fie must wait, and work, and pray. Those were times " to try men's souls." The cause was lost at Brook-lyn for want of more troops. Then the A-mer-i-cans fled to Har-lem, nine miles from New York. The Eng-lish swept up the Hud-son and took Fort Wash-ing-ton, which was a sad loss to Wash-ing-ton's ar-my. The Brit-ish then went to New Jer-sey, at Tren-ton, and Wash-ing-ton, who now had more troops, made a plan to cross the Del-a-ware and find them when they did not know it. This was a great task, for the stream was full of ice. The Brit-ish had to give up a large part of New Jer-sey at the close of the year, and arms and large guns fell to the A-mer-i-cans, who had great need of them. A poor camp at Val-ley Forge, when the cold, dark days came, in the year of 1777, was the best that Wash-ing-ton could then give his men. More and more strong faith had to fill all hearts or the cause would not be won. Just at the time when there was the most need of help GKORGl': WASHINGTON'. 15 ct one of her best youni^- men, La-fa ay- it came. France ette, cross the sea and fight for our cause. This man stood hio-h at home. He left" all, his wife and friends, and cast his lot with ours. A-mer-i-ca will love France to the end of time for what she did for us in our hour of need. CROSSING THE DELAWARE The forts on the shores of the Hud-son were what the F.ng-lish then went to fight for. They got two of them, hut W^ash-ing-ton was In time to save the rest. A new and most sad thing came then to make poor Wash-ing-ton's heart bleed, and the hearts of all in the land. A man whose name was Ben-e-dict Ar-nold, was the cause of it. The Chief had put him in charge of the fort at West Point and the places on the line that the Brit-ish l(j LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. knew, and had made up their minds to get. This Ar-nold was not true to his trust. He sold his right to watch and guard our cause for a large sum of gold, and meant to give up all to the foe. To do this he must get word to the man at the head of the Eng-lish troops. A Brit-ish spy, by the name of An-dre, was sent, with a note, to Clin-ton. The spy was caught and had to go to the A-mer-i-can camp. He was put to death for what he had done, though Wash- ing-ton was sad that it must be so. Ben-e-dict Ar-nold, the bad man who made the start in this mean work, set off in haste and fled for his life to a Brit-ish ship which took him to Eng-land. To the end of his days that man had no friends. Next came a thinjr which made all the folks in A-mer-i- ca glad. With La-fay-ette, and a large force of French troops on land to help, and French ships of war to shut up the way so that the Eng-lish could not get out to sea, a big- fight took place at York-town, in Vir-gin-i-a, which did not stop for more than ten days. Then Corn-wal-lis, the man m charge of the foe, gave up their arms to Wash-ing-ton. The whole land was full of ioy at the great and good news. The war had not come to an end as soon as the folks had thought it would. It was fight, fight, inch by inch, from the time the first blood was spilt at Lex-ing-ton, in A-pril, 1775, when the men of the land "fired the shot heard round the world," till Oc-to-ber, 1781. It took all that time for the King of Eng-land to give in. He did not want to do it then. This land then had a great and new name. It was a " Na-tion." In France, on the third of Sep-tem-ber, i 783, a " Trea-ty of Peace " was signed. (;i;oRGi': Washington. 17 In less than three niontlis from then, the Brit-ish tr()()i)s left New York. We had won. The time came, when the war was at an end, for W'ash- THE BRITISH CIVE UP AT VORKTOWN— SIGNING THE TERMS Ing-ton to leave his troops. It was a hard thing to do. Tears came to his eyes. He said that each man must come to him and grasp his hand. The whole land had great pride in Wash-ing-ton and great love for him, too. But peace had come and home 18 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and rest sent a call for him. So he went to his farm at Mount Ver-non where he had work to do. Wash-ing-ton was made the first Pres-i-dent of the " U-ni-ted States of A-mer-i-ca," and took his place on April 30, 1789. This post he kept for two terms of four years each. He did so well that it was said of him, " He was the first in war, the first in peace, the first in the hearts of his coun-try-men." When Wash-ing-ton was on his way to his new place, the church bells rang peals of joy in all the towns which he went through, and young folks spread buds and blooms in his path. Flags and wreaths were in sight while the air was full of cheers and bands played tunes which made all glad. With a firm hand Wash-ing-ton stood at the helm of the Ship of State and was her guide through rough seas. There were threats of wars here and there and spite, rage, debts, and hard things came up from time to time, but the great man at the head knew just what to do. The A-mer-i-can flag went to far off seas. In 1790, the good ship Co-lum-bi-a, of Bos-ton, Capt. Gray in charge, took the Stars and Stripes round the world with him. The good work and pluck of the men of the sea in the cause of A-mer-i-ca, and their wish to free her from the yoke of Eng-land, have won high praise for them. They were as true as steel for the riorht. With hearts of oak and arms of strength they met the foe and made them their own. The fame of the Yan-kee tars will not die while the world lasts ! Wash-ing-ton felt great pride in the sea forces, and they in turn, felt pride in him and had love for him. Gi:ORGK WASHINGTON. 19 All in the land had the wish that George Wash-ing-ton should ser\'e as Pres-i-dent for a thnxl term of four years, but the great man thought it best not to do so. In 1796 he wrote his " bare-well Ad.-dress to the A-mer-i-can Peo- ple." The words there found move all hearts now, though, more than li\'e scores of )'ears have gone by. ^\^ash-ing-ton ga\'e his strength and arm to save in the dark hours ere the dawn came. Then he lelt the time for rest had come to him so he went back to his home at Mount Ver-non. One day a shock came to the whole land. I he sad news went forth that a great man had gone. Wash-mg-ton was dead. This was in the last month of the yean 799. Eng-land put her flag at half-mast. Prance wore the black cloth of grief on her shield and staft. A-mer-i-ca, from north to south was full of woe for the loss of the man so dear to her heart, the wise, great, good, true, just, bra\'e, calm " Pa-ther of his country." With brain, aiul arm, and heart he came To sa\e his peo-ple from the shame Of Brit-ish rule. A. no-ble peo-ple, strong and brave. He res-cued from the name of slave To ty-rant's greed. Like him, the Fa-ther of this land. For Frec-dom may we e\-er stand, For God and Ri-jht. ^^^^^^^^^^^HK^^^ *^^^^^B ^ T'" ^ .^a f M^^r "^^B^^^^K^^/m ^a^^^l l^ wm^M ■1 JOHN ADAMS. AS far back as 1629, a grant of land was made to Thom-as Ad-ams, at a place which is now Brain-tree, in Mass- a-chu-setts. This man did not go there to live but Hen-ry Ad-ams did. A grand-son of Hen-ry, by the name of John, had a wife whose name was Boyls-ton of the near-by town of Brook- line. This pair gav^e the name of John to their first child. He was born in Brain-tree in the fall of 1735. That John Ad-ams was the man who took the place of George Wash-ing-ton, as Pres-i-dent. In that part of the land, in 1647, a law was made in each town of fif-ty homes, that the young should be taught to write and read. When the town was twice as large a JOHN ADAMS. 21 school of hioh grade had to be set up in which Lat-in should be taught. John Ad-ams had a hne chance to know all that the schools taught, lie was fond, too, of games and sports. He could swim, skate, ride, drive, and hunt, and had much fun with his mates. Still, books were dear to him, and as soon as he could he went to Har-vard Col-lecre. When, in 1755, the day came for John Ad-ams to leave coldege, he went to W^orces-ter and taught school. All the land then thought of war. French and Brit-ish ships-of-w^ar were near the coasts. More for-ces came from Eng-land. A-mer-i-ca raised troops too, and with Brad- dock in charge, they went to the O-hi-o woods to drive out the French. John Ad-ams taught his school and was well at work when the dark news came that Brad-dock was dead with half of his men. It was said, too, that it was young Ma-jor Wash-ing-ton who had saved the rest. This made the name of Wash-ing-ton sink deep in the minds of men. John Ad-ams thought hard as to how he could help in these bad times. He knew that with him the pen would be of more strength than the sword. He could talk and write in a clear, bright wa\'. He had a fine, strong \'oice, and could make a good speech, and folks were glad to hear him, for he knew^ much of what was good for the land. It had been the wish of his heart that he might preach the W ord ol God. He would have done so if he could ha\-e taught the thoughts that were in his mind, but there were, in those days, creeds which he did not like and would not help the folks to learn, so he gave uj) his plan of life work and took up the law. 22 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. He went to Bos-ton, where he could make the sum on which he might hve. He had all the law work he could do, for there were hard cas-es to solve. Some of these were of things which meant much for the weal or woe of this land. John Ad-ams was in court when James O-tis made a speech which dealt with the whole theme of Eng-land and A-mer-i-ca, and the rights of each. He and the crowds who heard these words, felt that it was a great day in their lives. It is said that the "Child of In-de-pcn-dence was born then and there," and that when " three times five years had gone by that child had grown to be a man and was/zr^." In 1764 John Ad-ams found a fine wife by the name of Smith, whose fa-ther's work was to preach the Word of God. She stood high with all. So bright a man as John Ad-ams could not fail to be known by the Brit-ish. They laid a trap for him. They sent a friend of his to him and had him say that they would give him a rich bribe if he would come to their side and serve them. A prompt, strong " No" went from Ad-ams to those who would tempt him. In the year 1768 Brit-ish troops were sent to Bos-ton to brmo; fear to the folks and make them do what Encj-land said they must. These for-ces were put up in the town- house, Fan-eu-il Hall, and had tents, too, on the Com-mon. John Ad-ams felt that he must stand up for the right and for the land, and with this high aim in mind he was firm to do all thing-s for the orood of the orreat Cause, though he and his law work must lose by it. There were those who said " s^rin and bear it" would be JOHN ADAMS. 23 a good plan. Some did so, hut the time came at last when King- George the Third hurt the pride of the folks far too much to bear. A mob at Bos-ton had the fire of the Brit-ish on them in 1770, and then John Ad-ams knew well what to do. He took his stand to help the folks who were then so blmd with rage that they could not judge in a cool way. All knew that they could look to him to lead them and aid them in war tmie. He made law plain so that they might know what it was safe to do. Thouijh in need of what he could earn for his wife '~°""denceh.ll, wmercconcresssat.nph.laoelph,*. and the young in his home, yet, when the time came for him to give up all, he was prompt to do so for the good of his land. His wife was brave and had no fear, but said he was right and that she would share in all that was to come and place her trust in God. She kept her word, and when the fight was on and troops near she gave all the aid she could. With four more men John Ad-ams was sent from his State to Phil-a-del-phi-a, where the first Con-gress was to sit and form plans which were for the good of all. It is said that his thoughts were so clear, and his words so '2i LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS Strong, that folks gave in to him at once. He would write, write, and send what he had to say to the press, and all came to know that he was a man of strength in the land. John Ad-ams was the first man to ask that Wash-ing-ton be put at the head of our troops, and he was, too, one of the first to help get up the Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence. John Ad-ams was sent to France to ask the French to make a law so that their ports and Eng-land's ports might be free for our goods. He had hard work but what he went for he sfot. Ad-ams was chief aid, or Vice-Pres-i-dent, when W'ash- ing-ton was made Pres-i-dent, and was with him all the eight years he had to serve. Then, when those years of help were past, the aid, him-self, was made Pres-i-dent, in 1796, with Jef-fer-son for the next post. Pres-i-dent Ad-ams kept all the aids that Wash-ing-ton had, though some of them did not suit him. Do w^hat he might it was hard to please folks when the times were so bad and rules so new. There were those who rose up and said this thing should not ])e done and that thing should not be done, and there was much bad talk. But John Ad-ams did what his head and heart told him to do. As late as 1 8 1 5 he wrote to a friend of one thing he had done that made him glad and he said that if it were on his tomb-stone it would suit him. These are the words; "Here lies John Ad-ams, who took it on himself to make peace with France in the year 1800." It was the wish of John Ad-ams to serve his land well and he did for her the best that could be done at that time. When his work as Chief came to an end, w^hich it did in JOHN ADAMS. -25 1801, he had then done quite e-noiigh to make one Wfc great. Death took the good wile of John Ad-ams in 18 18, and it was a sad loss, for she had been a great help to him for long years. But there were eight more years for him on earth, and he staul at his Ouin-cy home and read and wrote much of the time. One book was most dear to him, for it held the " Ser-mon on the Mount," which he said was the best code a man could have. When his son, John Ouin-cy Ad-ams, was made Pres- i-dent, in 1825, the heart of the a-ged fa-ther was glad. Notes of praise came to him then from far off lands. One was from La-fay-ette, and more were from men who, in times past, had not been the friends thev should have been. At last the end drew near. Five days ere he died, a man who was to speak on the Fourth of Ju-ly, went to John Ad-ams' house to ask that he might ha\'e a toast to gi\'e as from the old man's lips. "I will give you," said Ad-ams, " In-de-pen-dence for- e\-er ! " When the Fourth came it was known that but few hours were left on earth for the man who had done so much for this land. Ere the sun had sunk in the west,John Ad-ams, at the good old age of 91, had gone to his long home. All the land rose up to j)i"aise him then. THOMAS JEFFERSON. THE third Pres-i-dent of the U-ni-ted States was Thom- as Jef-fer-son. He was born at Shad-well, Vir-gin-ia, in 1743. His fa- ther, Pe-ter Jef-fer-son, was a great strong man, with a fine mind, who owned a big wheat farm. Thom-as was the third child and there were ten in all. Thom-as, like his fa-ther, had health and strength and soon could swim, run fast, ride all steeds, and swim them, too, through streams. The woods near by were rich in large and small game. Red men could be seen from time to time. Once the boy went to an In-di-an camp. The chief of the tribe was soon to go to Eng-land to talk to the King 26 THOMAS JI:FFHRS0X. 27 for the good of those in his care. Wliile l1iom-as was there the last s])eech was made ere the chief left his home. The white boy could not make out the words hut he saw that the red man felt what he said, and made those who heard him know what he meant they should. From the time when the child hrst heard the birds sing In the woods he would tr\' to mock them. He had a love for their sweet songs and soon could make his own. His kind fi-ther, who saw his taste, bought him a \'i-o-lin and glad hours were spent with it. Not far from the farm house at Shad-well, was a small school, and here Thom-as Jef-fer-son, who one day would write the " Decda-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence," went, at the age of fi\'e. \\ hen the boy was nine years old he went to live with a wise, good man, Rev. Wm. Dougdass, who could preach as well as teach. Here the lad took up Lat-in, Greek, and French. All were good for him, but the last he had cause to use much in those davs to come when he must speak in France for the good of his own land. Though five years in this home, he oft saw his own folks, for Shad-well was near. One day there came a sad blow at the farm-house. The irood fa-ther was dead. No one thouQ^ht death would come so soon to a man so strong and well. Thom-as was then half a score and four vears old. The home farm was left to him. The last words of the fa-ther were that the boy should go on with his book work. So then he went nine miles off from his home to the school of Rev. James Mau- ry, who made him fit f)r col-lege. In two years more Thom-as Jef-fer-son took uj) his life at Will-iams-burg, \^a., 28 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. in Will-iam and Ma-ry Col-lege, which had then been built 68 years. At that time, though the young man knew the wood roads and paths well, he had not seen a town or street. Jef-fer-son kept his hor-ses near by, and at first he used to take ' 'i'l' of a few miles each day, but in a while he gave such long hours to his books that all the time he thought he could spare then was just a short walk or a brisk run at night. He had a strong, tough young frame, and took good care of it. Though he grew to-bac-co on his farm, still he did not use that weed. Folks in those da)'s, all through the land, drank too much, but Jef-fer-son said he "would not cloud his brain" in that way. He stuck to his good plan. He had made up his mind to climb high in the world, and he did it. Jef-fer-son had a five years course of law and then was at the Bar. He made hosts of friends and had large fees. He heard his friend Pat-rick Hen-ry give his great speech on the " Stamp Act." He stood in the door-way and saw the thought of A-mer-i-can In-de-pend-ence take form in the minds of men as the words came from his friend's mouth. He heard the cries of " Trea-son ! Trea-son ! " He heard, too, the brave re-ply; " If this be trea-son, make the most of it ! " Jef-fer-son had much to do. His law work was large. His farm took what he thought he could spare, but with all his cares his mind had a dream of a home. PATRICK HENRY THOMAS JEFFKRSOX. '29 He chose a site at Mon-ti-cel-lo, which means Lit-tle JMoun-taln, near a i^reat oak where his tonil) was yet to be. Me made his own phin for the house m 1769. He had the land made clear and one wing oi the new house was ii|). His law books and briefs w^ere in the old farmdiouse at Shad-w^ell. While Thom-as Jef-fer-son and his moth-er had o"one to make a call at the home of a friend, a slave ran to tell him that their old house had caught fire and was quite oone. 1 he first thing Jef-fer-son said was " Did \()U sa\-e m\' books?" The black man said he had not done so but that " the Jid-dlc was safe ! " They all went, then, to li\e m the "wing" at Mon-ti-cel-lo. To this place, m two years more, when the house had grown to a fine size, a sw^eet bride came. The young pair had a cold trip. The drifts of snow grew so high that the young folks had to leave their chaise, mount the horses, and go on. At last they came to their hill road, wound up it, but it was quite late ere they got to the top. They found the house dark and all the help gone to their beds. But though the first night was dark and cold, the house w^as soon a bright one and all went well with the young pair. Fine trees were bought, with vines, shrubs, and plants such as could lixe m the cold months, and all the grounds near the house were made fair to the sight. A score of kith and kin soon came to live with the Jef- fer-sons for the rest of their lives, and friends and guests were there so much that a whole ox and a ton of hay would go in a day. A sweet child of their own came to bless this home the next }ear. The fa-ther of the young wife died then and :W I.IVKS OF THE PRESIDENTS. left a vast sum, \avo;e tracts of land, and two hun-dred bond folks, or slaves, to the young- mother and child, the two Mar-thas. I hom-as Jef-fer-son was sent to Con-o^ress and soon SIGNING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. came to be a great man. The " Dec-la-ra-tlon of In-de- pen-dence" was, for the most part, his work. This sole thing would have brought fame to him if that had been all that he did for his land. Soon he had work to do for his own State, and it was his strong wish that her laws and rules should be such as would help folks in all ways. So THOMAS JKFFKRSON. 31 much did the men of Vir-gin-ia prize this work tiiat they Th th( made Jef-fer-son their Gov-ern-or m 1779. 1 nrouon me dark days of the war he held his post and oave great help in time of need. His hands w^ere lull ot work. He had to watch the men of his State who had gone to the war. He must, too, keep hark the red men, who might do harm at the vih^c ot the State. In 1782 the good wife ot Jet-ter-son died, d his worked a great change in the man. The )'oung chil-drcn then left to his charge were more and more dear, and all was done for them that could he done. Twice Jef-fer-son was sent to France. It was his work to trv to make terms of peace with Engdand and this came at last. Jef-fer-son w^as made Pres-i-dent in 1801 and had two terms, which made his work in this way end m i S09. While Jef-fer-son was Pres-i- dent, a boat to go 1)\' steam was huilt I)\' R()l)ert hul-ton. Fun was made ot it, and it was thought not to he of much worth. Soon it was found out that a great thing h;id been done, and that steam would more and more come in use. From a boy Jef-ter-son had seen the slaves toil at their tasks hours and hours each day, and he had slaves more than a few of his own, but still he did not like sla-ver-y, and when he was head of the State he tried to do all he could to put an end to the slave trade. The first law to stop it was passed 111 1807. THE FfRST STEAM-BOAT. 32 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. In 1801, Jef-fer-son sent a fleet to the Med-I-ter-ra-ne-an Sea to try to put a stop to the acts of pi-rate ships that were sent out by the Bar-ba-ry States to prey on those that sailed near their coasts. Our brave tars had man-y fights with the pi-rates, and in the end whipped them so well that the Bar-ba-ry States were glad to make peace and agree not to seize A-mer-i-can ships from that on. In 1803 there was a chance to buy from France a vast tract of land which lay to the south-west of the then U-ni- ted States. Jef-fer-son thought it a wise thing to do, and it was bought for $15,000,000. It made our land more than twice as great in size as it had been, and out of it twelve states have since been formed. This is known as the Lou-is-i-an-a Pur-chase, and was the thing of most weight that took place while Jef-fer-son was in the chair. Jef-fer-son did not like pomp or show. This was seen on the day when he was made Pres-i-dent. He rode to the Cap-i-tol on horse-back, tied his horse to a post, and then went in and took the oath. All thought well of the speech he made at that time. He was a good man and did what his head and heart told him to do. He gave the best he had to his friends, and, though much wealth came to him from his wife, still, at the last, he was poor. His health held out so well that, when four scores of years old he could ride ten miles at a time. When the day came for him to leave this world he said to one near, " Is this the Fourth?" When he found that it was, a bright look of joy came to his face and he went to his rest, that Fourth of July, 1825. JAMES MADISON. AT Mont-pel-ier, in 1751, James Mad-i-son was born. His folks were well-to-do plant-ers and had slaves. The boy was not broug-ht-up to farm work for this was all done by the blacks in that part of the land at that time. James felt, from the first, that he was born to lead and he did so all his life. The fa-ther of James Mad-i-son was a man of worth, but m his day there were no schools in all Vir-gin-ia, and he felt the loss of this to him, so he made up his mind that his own son should learn all he could and as soon as he could. The moth-er of young James was a great help to hini at the start. She led him in the first steps, and the lo\'e of these two was sweet to see. 33 34 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. At his first school the lad had Greek, French, and two or three more tongues. Then a wise man, who could both preach and teach. Rev. Thom-as Mar-tin, went to live at the Mad-i-sons' home and be with the boy all the time. Days, months, and years, books held sway. Then young James was fit for col-lege and went to Prince-ton in 1769. From the first, the young man had a love for hard work. He could heap toil on toil with ease, and this he did with much zeal till his health broke down. Ere Mad-i-son went to col-lege he knew Jef-fer-son, whose home, Shad-well, was but a fair day's ride from Mont-pel-ier. Notes went from the school, back and forth, and what went on in the the world was well known. At the hour when James left home the Col-o-nies thought they would soon be States. A tale is told of one night at col-lege when young men in black robes w^ent out on the green and made a bon-fire. The toll of a bell was heard. From the ranks came two lads, one of whom held in his hand a news-pa-per which he shook with rage, and then threw on the flames, as he said, m a loud voice, " So die all foes to Free-dom." The words which the lads did not like in that sheet were from some folks who would hurt the Great Cause ; folks whose " knees were weak, " and who were not " true- blue pa-tri-ots." One of the boys who took part in this work was James Mad-i-son. Notes to boy friends have been kept which tell how deep were the thoughts of this lad of the work in which he was to bear a part in times to come. He was too weak to go to the field of war and fight with the troops. Words have been found which he then wrote to a friend. J.A.MICS MADISON. 35 who, he sa\'s, lias " hcahh, \oiith, fire, and zeal to bear him on the hi^li track of hfe," while, he him-self was " too dull, too poor in health, to do g-reat things or to live long." Yet that young, frail hoy had a life of three score years more, and a lite, too, lull of all which could make a man [)roud. He had a keen wish, from his first }ears, to serve his own land and he did so, and won high praise. Jef-fer-son was a friend and a guide to young Mad-i-son, who, though he could not go to the front, \et found a high place as a states-man. \\ hen but a score and three years old he was glad that he could join the best men of his state and help to make laws, and to do work that would form the " Bill of Rights." In this bill he said that all men are free to pray to God in the way the)^ see fit. Ere James Mad-i-son was a score and ten years old, he had a call to do some grand w^ork for his State; and this sort of toil, which he was so glad to give, went on for more than two scores of years, and came to an end at the last when he left that post which was the best gift his land could make to him. It was in 1809 that Mad-i-son was made Pres-i-dent, Then he went east, west, north, and south to see what aid he could get in case there might be a war. He well knew that Eng-land was a foe and still did mean things. One of her l)ad tricks was to stop our ships at sea and search them. She had no right to do this. She took men out of our ships 1))' force and made them serve the King and his Hag for which the_\- felt hate. At last, in 1812, war broke out. Our brave tars struck out right and left, and soon had the Brit-ish shij)s in bad shape. 1 here was good luck for our cause on the sea. The 36 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Brit-ish had scores of ships and we but twelve, none of them of large size, and some cheap gun boats. But the pluck of our sea-men is known in all lands and on all seas. In a short time five of those Eng-lish ships of war were ours. The good old ship, Con-sti-hi-tion, which to this day is most dear to all hearts, was the first to win a great fight. She took hold of the Guer-ri-ere^ which flew the red flag of Eng-land at her peak, and did not let go till there was not a spar left. Then she blew the foe up. To make things worse, the Brit-ish got the red men, in the west, on their side, gave them arms and shot, and said they would back all the fights they could put up on the whites who had gone there to live. Te-cum-seh, a great chief, led out his men in i8i i. The Gov-ern-or of In-di-an-a Ter-ri-tory, W. H. Har-ri-son, who by and by was to be Pres-i-dent, brought his troops to meet the red foe and soon put them down. This is known as the fight of " Tip-pe-ca-noe." At sea, then, the Mac-c-do-ni-an and the U-ni-ted States met. The brave De-ca-tur was in charge of our ship and took the Eng-lish-man as a prize. Th^ ship of war, Coii-sti-tu-tion, then caught the yava. The Hoj'-net caught the Pea-cock, put great holes in her hull, and sunk her. Oft Bos-ton there were, in 1813, two Eng-lish ships. Our Ches-a-pcake had been some months in the bay. One of the Eng-lish ships, the Shan-non, sent word to Cap-tain James Law-rence, of our ship, to come out and fight, and stood close in shore to wait for him. He went to meet the foe, and this time, thous^h our men were brave and fouoht .^.. V..W ...^.. ..V^XV. ^XCV»V, C^XXV^ -^"s" JAMES MADISON. 37 well, and Law-rcncc with his last breath said, " Don't oi\c Lij) the ship!" the guns of the Shan-non, at last, made our ship a wreck. But in 1813 on Lake E-rie, with nine ships, Per-ry fought six Brit-ish shi[)s that had more guns and won. In the A FIGHT AT SEA IN 1813. fight he went in a l)()at, mid shot and shell, to a new ship when his own was sunk. He wrote of the fight in these words, " W^e have met the foe and they are ours!" That was glad news, but not all news was glad. The British took Wash-ing-ton, set fire to the W hite House, and much of the rest of the town. Then they went to Bal- 38 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. ti-more, but had to leave with great loss. \\ bile the fight was on there, Fran-cis Scott Key wrote, on board one of the Brit-ish ships to which he had gone for some of our men, that great song, " The Star Span-gled Ban-ner." " Oh, say can )0U see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Oh, say, does the star spangled banner yet wa\'e O'er the land of the free, and the home of the bra\e ? " The Brit-ish then went down to New Or-leans, but they met one there who was more than a match for them. It was Gen. Jackson. He had charge of the town. He had built up miles of breast-works so that they could not get near. His men from Ten-nes-see and Ken-tucky shot ten times as true as the Brit-ish. Jack-son, with his stout heart, quick eye, and cool head, and with just halt the troops of the foe, drove all off in hall an hour's time, with the loss of but eight of his own men, while two score and five hundred of the foe lay dead on the ground. It is said that but few vic-to-ries m all time have been so great. This made up for all loss-es. If our land had known what had been done at Ghent, Bel-gi-um, on Dec. 24, 18 14, this fight might not have come. The treat-y of peace was then signed. News came slow in those days, and we had to wait to hear what, at last, gave great joy to all. Eight years Mad-i-son was at the head of our land, and it was hard to let him go for he was of great help to us ; thouorh there were some who found fault with him, and said it was " Mr. Mad-i-son's War," and that it should not have come. But when the end came Pres-i-dent Mad-i-son's ofood work to heal the wounds was seen and thouc^ht well JAMKS MADISON. :',9 of l)y all. So, when he left the chair and went to his home, the o-reat things he had done for his land were the most m mind. It was known that he did so large and so grand a share of the work by which our Con-sti-tu-tion was made, that he has, to all time, the name of the " Fa-ther of the Con-sti-tii-tion." A wife whoni all could praise, Dol-ly Todd, Mr. Mad-i- son found in 1794. Pres-i-dent and Mrs. Wash-ing-ton were glad for their two friends to wed. For two scores and two years this pair had no cloud m their lives. Mrs. Mad-i-son died in Wash-ing-ton in 1 S49. All who came to Mont-pel-ier had high praise for the wife at the head. The old moth-er of Mr. Mad-i-son would sa\' of her, " Dol-ly is wy moth-er now, and cares for all mv wants." The time came when James Mad-i-son him-self, as old age crept on him, had need of the bright cheer his sweet wife gave. First he kept to the house, then he took to his chair, and near the end, staid in bed, kind to all who saw him, with just the right words to say and the same clear mind. His calm, good sense was with him, and his trust in God was strong. When the time came for him to go, he was read-y, and passed to his home on high. JAMES MONROE. ALL who knew James Mon-roe found him warm and full of hfe. "There was no frost In him," said one. His forte was for brave deeds. He came from a long line of men who fought for church and kinor. He was full of fire for the rioht and could do quick, hot work for a cause dear to him. His fa-ther was Col. Spence Mon-roe, of fine, old Vir-gin-ia stock. His large farm was on the right hank of the Po-to-mac Ri\'-er, up and down the shores of which, for a long ride, were the homes of a grand race of men who were fond of out door life, the fresh air, field sports, and all that made life glad. Near this place, where lour Pres-i-dents had been born, the fifth, James Mon-roe, first saw light, A-pril 28, 1758. JAMICS MONROE. 41 Books were soon in the hands of 3ouno- Mon-roc, hut he was made to grow strono-, too, in all ways, and taught the best rules of life. The lad was but nme years old when his fa-ther and men ot the same sort made it plam 1)\' then* strong- words that they did not like the Stamj) Act. I^oth sides of James Mon-roe's house were stanch for h'ee-dom fi-om Hrit-ish rule. Talk ot this kmd was the hrst that came to the boy's ear. His mind was full of the thoughts this must bring. I lot words of war were on all li})s and it was plain that such a thing must come. At last came the drill, drill of those who would learn arms. James ga\'e his mind to books as much as he could, and when six-teen \ cars old was in col-lege. He staid there but one yenr, went home for the hot months, and was then off to the wars. Soon Mon-roe had a high place m the "Third Yir-gin- ia." He fought at White Plains and Har-lem Heights, and won much praise. When Wash-ing-ton crossed the Del-a-ware and fell on the foe at Tren-ton, Mon-roe was in the fight. Most of the troops at Tren-ton were Hes-sians, from a Ger-man state whose prince for pay had sent them to fight. There was a cr\', "Now, bo\'s ! Down with the blood-}' Hes-sians! We'll show 'em what thev 2fet for pes-ter-ino- A-mer-1-cans. bol-low me. For the guns ! Charge!" A lieu-ten-ant in the "Third Vir-gin-ia," young James Mon-roe, at the head of his own com-pa-ny, took up that cr\', and, with a Hash of his sword made a straight dash at the foe on the stone bridge. These Hes-sians broke and fled at the end of the fierce charge. Mon-roe was struck by a ball, but fiuniz' him-self 42 LIVES OF THE TRESIDENTS. on the bat-ter-y, his men at his heels. The man who led the foe, Rahl, with a shout to his men said, " Don't run from these reb-el dogs ! Back, back with }'ou ! Fight them ! Kill them! Drive them back!" The Hes-sians did the best they could, but from hou-ses and fen-ces there was the crack, crack of Vir-gin-ia's sharp- shoot-ers. Soon Rahl fell with his death wound. It was not long, then, ere the foe gave up, and the day was ours. This gave great hope to Wash-mg-ton and our cause. Mon-roe then rose fast in rank. At Mon-mouth and Bran-dy-wine he was the first man to lead the way to the foe and the last to give up hope when the tide set in the wrong way. Step by step he rose to take the high posts the land had for him. In 1790 James Mon-roe was made a Sen-a-tor and kept that post four years. Then he was sent to France to guard us in our rights there. He it was who bought for us the vast tract of land then all called Lou-is-i-a-na, which Na- pode-on sold for a big sum, though the price was small for so large a piece. Twice Mon-roe was sent to Eng- land and to Spain. What came in his way to do he did well. He was made Gov-ern-or of his own state, then he was first aid to Pres-i dent Mad-i-son. On the fourth of March, 1 8 1 7, James Mon-roe was sworn in as chief of our land. The time w^as known as the " Era of good feel-ing. " Peace was on land and sea. When Mon-roe came to the chair there was a big debt. He soon paid off the whole of it. Then trade sprang up and grew fast. Ships with loads of goods went from land JAMi;S MOXR(31':. 4:5 to land. Wheels in the mills made a start. Then came work for all. Fhere was mucli need of good roads to take orain and all kinds of goods from farms that were lar in-land to the place of sale, and a great start was made at this lime to build them. To serve the same end the E-rie Can-al was dug from P)uf-fa-lo to Al-ha-ny — a great work that hrouglu much wealth to the State of New York. Some red men in the South made war which grew (|uite fierce, but Gen. Jack-son put them down. Alore States were made then. Mis-sou-ri was one of them, and caused a war of words. The South wished that slaves should be held there, while the North wished that it should be a free State. Con-gress at last let it in as a slave State, but passed a law that a line should be drawn through the land, north of w^hich slaves could not be held. In South A-mer-i-ca folks did not want to ha\-e on them the \'oke of strange lands. W^e then ga\'e them hel|) so that they soon were free. Alon-roe then set forth the view that if the kings of Eu- rope should seek to lay once more their yoke on those who had been set free, they must first fight us. This is known as the " Mon-roe Doc-trine," and we stand b\' it to this da)-. James Mon-roe was the last of the Pres-i-dents of the Rev-o-lu-tion. He died like Jef-fer-son and John Ad-ams, on the Fourth of Ju-ly. He had gone to New York to see his child, and there, in 1831, at four score ^•ears of age, the day came when the warm old heart cease to 1)eat. The name he left stands high on the roll of fame, as one who o^ave his best for his land and fouijht for her in her hour of need. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. OUR sixth Pres-i-dent was John Ouln-cy Ad-ams, who was born in Brain-tree, Mass., where the town of Ouin-cy now stands, on Ju-ly i i, 1767. He had a fine start, for his folks, on both sides, were wise and brave, and of the best in the land. The great John Ad-ams, who took the chair next to Wash-ing-ton, was the fa-ther of this child. Though he had deep love for his wife and son, he could not give much time to them, for his land had great need of him, and it was his work to serve it. But his good wife, with her fine mind, wise head and warm heart, was all in all to her boy and could teach him and lead him in the best things. As was the way in those days, the schools which the JOIIX OUIXCV ADAMS. •!•"- wise laws of that part of the land had made, soon found the \'oung' boy in his place, books m hand. It is said that his tiiiick mind did not hnd it hard to grasp facts and hold them with a firm grip. At home he had been taught to lox'e his own land and tliis he did with zeal and all things in it; trees, plants, rocks, hills, birds and beasts. The child felt then, in his heart, the same thoughts which came out, years af-ter, in the sweet words of our " Na-tion-al Hymn," which Rev, S. F. Smith wrote m i8oS: " I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and tcni-plcd hills; My heart with rap-ture thrills Like that al)o\-e." When but 7 years old, John Ouin-cy Ad-ams and his moth-er took a climb up one of the high hills near their home and heard the sounds of the tight on Bun-ker Hill, and saw the flames of the ru-in of Charles-town. This made a mark on the boy, and more and more strong it grew as hours were spent on the same spot when the siege of Bos-ton took place. When John Ad-ams went to Con-gress, at Phil-a-del- phi-a, and left his wife and child for twelve months, he said he felt that they both might meet their death in cold blood at the hands of the foe. This thought gave him great pain, but he knew he must go. When, at last, Wash-ing-ton had let the Brit-ish get out of Bos-ton, young John Ouin- cy Ad-ams, not then quite nine years old, rode as post-boy back and forth, i i miles each way, from Bos-ton to his moth-er at the farm, that she might get all the news. In two years more, when near 1 1 years, John Ouin-cy went to France with his fa-ther, who had been sent to help 46 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. our land. In France he went to school and had a good chance to learn more tono-yes than his own. He was a good, bright lad, and did well in his work. When he came back he was still the sort of boy who had gone off some years since, and his heart beat just as strong for his dear old home and all in it. Then he was made fit for Har-vard Col-le2:e, and crot through there in 1787. He took up law, and at the same time wrote much for the press. It was thought that Mr. Ad-ams would be of use to us in lands o'er the sea, so he was sent to stand for our rights in Hol-land. From there he went to Port-u-gal and Prus-sia. He made much good will twixt this land and those lands, and when it was done he came home and took up law once more. In 1797 John Ouin-cy Ad-ams found a wife in Miss Lou-i-sa C. John-son, whose fa-ther was A-mer-i-can Con- sul at Lon-don. Fie was sent to the Sen-ate in 1802 and did much to help the poor in the land by the stand he took on all bills put up by men who would get rich at the cost of those who could not help them-selves. There were some folks who made it hard for him in those days but he fought them all down. In 181 7 he had a call to be Sec-re-ta-ry of State and went to live in Wash-in s"-ton. It was soon found that he was the right man in the right place and a great help to the new Pres-i-dent, James Mon-roe. In 1825 John Ouin-cy Ad-ams was made Pres-i-dent. Then there were more men from whom to chose, so those who had a right to vote took sides. But the man who got the place did well and his rule was one of peace. JOHN OUIXCY ADAMS. 47 One l)riglit man, whose name was well known at that time, was Ilen-ry Clay. He took charge of the funds. He knew hcnv to make a good speech. He said he first made talks in an off-hand way when he was at work in woods or fields as a bo)\ He came from poor folks and had t(^ work hard, but he got to be a great man. Ad-ams had scores of fine plans to bring out for the good of the land and those m it. He told how to place sums not in use ; he had a scheme for weights and n-ieas-ures ; he made a start for a Na-val School ; he, felt too, that there must be a Na-tion-al School of high grade, and an Ob- ser-va-to-ry, where the stars could be seen throuofh a strong^ alass, and said that sums must be paid to WMse men to do that kind of work. The first rail-road in the U-ni-ted States w^as built in this term. It was but three miles long, and the cars were drawn by a horse. Steam was first used on an A-mer-i- can rail-road in 1829. In those days, there was, as now, much talj: of a tax to ])c put on goods from far lands. Some folks thought it wrong, and some thought it right. Ad-ams was for high tax and this was why he did not hold the chair for more than one term. When he left the chair, in 1829, he went back to his old home in Ouin-cy, where his fa-ther, the second Pres-i- HENRY CLAY. 48 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. dent, still lived.. But in 1830, he was sent once more to Con-gress, and then, too, he did grand work for the land. Hen-ry Clay said to him, "How do you feel to be a boy once more ? You'll find a lot of hard ^work." Ad- ams said " I well know this ; but work I shall do so long as my hands, my eyes, and my brain do not leave me.'' FIRST AMERICAN PASSENGER RAILROAD. He kept his word, year by year, and was, each day, one of the "first to come and the last to go." He took a high stand and kept it in spite of all. On Feb. 21, 1848, John Ouin-cy Ad-ams, while in the "House" fell at his post. He had fought a good fight, won the day, and went home with these words on his lips; " This is the last of earth ; I am content." ANDREW JACKSON. THE fa-ther of our scv-enth Pres-i-dent was a poor man who came from the north of Ire-land. His son, An- (h'ew Jack-son, was born in North Car-o-H-na, March 15, 1767. The fa-ther cHed a few days ere his child saw the light. The moth-er took her young babe from the poor log hut and went with him, in the spring of 1767, to the home of kin in South Car-o-li-na, where he might not starve. It is said that what the boy knew of books he got from the " Old Field School," and that it was naught more than the "Three R's." When but e-lev-en years old, hard war times came, and hordes of Brit-ish troops were in South Car-o-li-na. Food 50 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS was scarce for poor folks, and Jack-son's kin died, and the boy, An-drew, was out in the workl. He was made a cap-tive and had hard kick. An Eng-hsh-man, in a high post, gave cross words to the child, said he was low-bred scum and had no rights. He flung his boots at the child, told him to " clean the beast-ly red mud off of them and be quick ! " The Eng-lish-man had one by him whose work it was to do this. The boy An-drew knew it and said with spunk that it " was not the place of a free A-mer-ican boy to clean Brit-ish boots ! " Then the rude man sprang at the lad, told him he was a cur and spoke vile words. He struck the poor child with his sword and made a deep welt in the wrist, way to the bone. There was a cut far in-to the head, too, and the blood ran in a stream. An- drew Jack-son bore those scars to his grave. They put strength in him when his time came to meet the foe in the field. Through the Bnt-ish, the boy had lost his moth-er, all his kin, and his home, and near-ly lost his own life. He felt that he would like to rid the land of such a foe. The strong Scot-tish blood which ran in An-drew's veins gave him the sort of brain and brawn which was a great help to him and to the land of his birth. He had his way to make and he made it but there was much to bear. Once a man shot him. Then he was thrown in jail with a wound. Next, he had the small pox, and when he got up from it he did not know, for a time, what to do or where to go. But he kept a brave heart and felt that there must be some chance for him in this bigr world. It came to his mind that it would be well to learn a trade. He thought he should like to make such things as reins, straps, and gear of all sorts for hor-ses. This work AXDRiaV JACKSON. 51 he (lid tor a while, then he went to the A-mer-i-can tr()0])s and took iip arms. I^re he was eight-een )'ears old he was at work on law hooks, and he stuck to them till he was at the Bar. In 1796 An-(h"ew Jack-son was sent to Con-i(ress from len-nes-see, where he had oone to live. This was in the last year ol \\ ash-in^-ton's last term. He (hd so well there that the next \ear he was sent to the Sen-ate. Then he was made a Judge. \\ hile in Con-u- j.\Mi:s Kxox roLK, e>^ tlioui^ht, atone time, that IIen-r\' CIa\' would haxe the ehair. All knew \\)\\< to he wise, and sure to speak the truth as he knew it. W hen he made up his mind, naught could turn him. One of the men he chose to help ( han-an, who was to l)e Pres-i- dent in halt a score and two years, (jeoro-e Ban-croft, who wrote hooks of oa'eat worth, was there too. At that time, and lonLi' ere that date, the talk was of the sla\'es and what to do as to the claim to hold them m the new parts of the land. War with ]\Iex-i-C(^ came on. l^roops were sent there. \\ ith them was a ^•ouno- nian whose name was to be much known in Years to come. This was U. S. Grant. In this war, which came to an end m 1 84' (laui^h-ter, Miss Bct-ty, who had great charms, and made hosts of friends. One child, Sa-rah Knox, was, in time, the wife of Jef-fer-son Da-vis. Pres-i-dent Tay-lor was 65 years old when he took the chair. He had great trust in those near him. Still, as one who from his first years had ])een where his work was to watch the state of the times, he held his ear to the ground and heard the tramp, tramp of the sad, sad march of men which was to come. His views, though he held slaves, were, that, come what might, the Un-ion must be kept. Pres-i-dent Tay-lor held his post but six-teen months. His death was a great loss. No man could have had more lo\'e for the Un-ion, and, he, of all men, would have been the one who could so have steered the Ship of State that she might long have kept off the shoals and sands on which she struck. Tay-lor died at Wash-ing-ton, July 9 ,1850. There was woe then through the whole land, for a great man gone, gone, too, just at the time when his help was our keen need. Tay-lor had one son, Rich-ard, born In 1826. This boy had all that schools in this land and oth-ers could give him. Then he went to his fa-ther's camp and saw great fights in the war with Mex-i-co. He took land in the South and had slaves to raise cane. This was his home till i860, when the war broke out twixt the North and South. Then Tay-lor found men to make up troops, led them to the field to fight, and rose fast till he held a high post. At the close of the war, all his funds and land were gone. He died in New York in 1879. MILLARD FILLMORE. MIL- LARD Fill-more, the next to take the chair, was born in New York in 1800. His (jreat erand-fa-ther was born in New Eng-land more than 200 years ago. A few years ere the boy, Mil-lard, who was to take the place of Zach-a-ry Tay-lor, was born, his fa-ther went, with his young wife, Phe-be Mil-lard, to the west part of New York. The fa-ther had a high name for worth, and it is said that his creed was " do rio-ht." The Fill-more house was in the midst of a dense tract of woods. The next house was four miles off There was no school. The two books in the new house were the Word of God and a book of hymns. The lad, Mil-lard, had to go to work as soon as he could. MIF.I.ARl) FILL.MORK. (V.t As his fa-thcr had no chance or means to l)uy books lor hnii it was thought best that he should learn a trade. \\ hen he was a strong- youth of half a score and four years old he made a start to learn to card wool and dress cloth. To do this he was bound out to work for a man with whom he staid h\'e years. Ihat man was harsh to all who were there, but most so to \-oung Fill-more. One day this bad man, who was not just, tried to beat his good bound l)oy, Init the )'outh, through his woods work, was strong, so he took an axe in his hand and told the bad man that if he did so it would cost him his life. The man then thought it would be best not to try to thrash this bra\e lad. When young Fill-more left that work he put up some l)read, dry deer meat, and his few clothes, and set out on foot for his fa-ther's house, which was more than fix'e scores of miles off WHiat he w^ent through at that time made a deep mark on him. It staid by him all his life, and kept him kind to all, but most so to the weak and those with none to help them. In course of time Fill-more had found out a Avay to take up law. Soon he was at the Bar. He won his first case. He was not cjuick, but slow and sure. Fill-more was sent to Con-gress in 1832, and was there six )ears. He held some fine posts, and did so well in all of them that he was put in as Vice Pres-i-dent. Then, when the Pres-i-dent died. Fill-more took his place. Ihe theme of the slaves still kept to the front. Fill- more thought it would be well to send them out of this land. He thought they would be well off in Africa. They would not then be bought and sold. There they could ha\'e their homes and lands, and be free. 70 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Mr. Fill-more did what he could to save his land from the woes of a home war, so that we might have peace and joy, in lieu of that which came, — great loss of life and large debts. While he was Pres-i-dent there was a band of rough men from our land whose wish it was to try to get Cu-ba in their hands. Fill-more soon put a stop to that. Spain then got hold of some of them and shot them. When the chiefs term was up, all who had been in close touch with him while he held the chair wrote to him that they were one with him in all that he had done. They said, too, that they knew he had skill, tact, and good faith ; that he was fair and square at all times, and had great zeal for the weal of his own land and all in it. Mr. Fill-more, aft-er he left the chair, had his home in Buf-fa-lo for more than twen-ty years. All there had pride in him and gave him high praise. His heart was in all good work. In the war with the South he lent his aid in all ways to the cause of the North, and for the help of those in need. He made the start in schemes for the good of those in his midst, and to this day there are those in his town who rise up and bless his name. Fill-more, like Lin-coln, rose from a poor home. It was hard work. He kept his hands clean, his heart pure, and his head cool. It has been said that he was a sound Chris- tian and did not know it. It was but a brief time that ex-Pres-i-dent Fill-more was ill. His death came March 8, 1874. FRANKLIN PIERCE. THE next man to take the chair was Frank-Hn Pierce, who was sworn in as Pres-i-dent in 1853. He was born in Hills-bor-ough, New Hamp-shire in 1804. His fa-ther, Ben-ja-min Pierce, on the cLay of the fight at Lex- ing-ton, took his first step to join the troops. He staid and fought with them till the Rev-o-lu-tion-a-ry War came to an end. He rose high and was, in time, a Gen-er-al. \\1ien the boy Frank-lin was quite young his fa-ther saw in him a love for books. This he made sure should have all the help he could give. He did not stint the sums spent for this cause, but sent his son to the best schools. In 1820 the lad went to Bow-doin Col-lege, at Bruns-wick, Maine. When his time was out he stood third in his class. 72 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. He then took up law, at Ports-mouth. In 1827 he was at the Bar and went to work at the law in his home town. At first he did not do so well as he thought he should. But he did not give up. He said he felt quite sure that he could hold his own in the court house in a way that would please both him and his friends. This came true. He was known as a man of brains. While quite young he had high posts in his state and held them some years. In 1833 Mr. Pierce went to Con-gress In 1842 he gave up his seat in the Senate with the thought that he would keep to his law work and have his own folks with him at Con-cord, N. H. Hosts of posts were held out to him but to all he said " No," and that naught could take him from home save a war. Though shut up in his own town, still, he did not lose touch with what went on in the land. When the talk came of Tex-as and if it were best or not to add that part to our states, he said it was his strong- wish to join Tex-as with us, free if she would be, but slave if she would have it so. Pierce led his side with great skill at all times and held his own. War came in Mex-i-co in 1846, and Pierce joined the troops. Then it was drill, drill and read up on that sort of work. At first he took a low post, but he soon went up till he was the head of the 9th. Pres-i-dent Polk made him a Gen-er-al the next year. Then he set sail from New- port, in the bark Kep-ler with his troops, and in a month's time was in Ver-a Cruz. At last they took up the march to join Gen. Scott who was at Pu-eb-la. There were hard times down there and hard fights. Pierce's horse fell with him and died, while the ri-der was hurt,but with pluck kept at his work till the foe gave up. Pierce was brave and FRANKLIN riKRCIC. 73 won praise for what he tlid. When our side won, and the war was at an end, Pierce had made new friends who were of much use to hini in years to come. His own state made him a gift of a hne sword when he got home from the South. Frank-hn Pierce was made Pres-i-dent and took his seat March 4, 1853. At that time there still was strife as to slaves when each new state came in. When Kan-sas and Ne-bras-ka were to he made ter-ri-to-ries, Con-gress made a law which it was thought would clinch the point. It said that they might be tree or sla\'e just as the folks there might vote. On the da}' the \'otes were cast in the new land much blood w.'is shed from the fijjhts and broils. To burn a town w;is a small thino. It was thouoht the war there mioht spread through the land. Pres-i-dent Pierce sent strong words to Con-gress on this theme in 1856; and said that if there was not a change in the state of things out there, troops would be sent to stop them. Kan-sas at last was free and then peace came there, but it was not till the next Pres-i-dent was near the end of his term. Ere the great war came Pierce did his best to keep the peace, at times in ways in which he may have been at fault. He was a man who had no orreed for self He was true to his land and did what he thought was for its good. PI is kith and kin had done the same, and their views ()n this theme were as his own. . Frank-hn Pierce died in Con-cord, N. H. 1869. JAMES BUCHANAN. THERE had been half a score and four Pres-i-dents ere James Bu-chan-an came in. His name put one more on the Hst. It was in the Spring of 1791, in a wild gorge near one end of the Blue Ridge, at Sto-ny Bat-ter, Penn-syl-va-ni-a, that a son was born to one James Bu-chan-an, a man from the north of Ire-land. He had come to A-mer-i-ca, a poor man, in 1783. His first work was to stake a claim. Soon he built a rude log house where high hills would be on all sides, and a clear stream would flow near his door. When the first James had been five years in that place, and felt that he could care for a wife, he found a good one to share his lot. Her name was Speer and her folks had land near JAMES BUCHANAN. 75 by. When a ho)- was born to this pair the name of James came first to the moth-er's Hps. Young James was eight years in that liome. I he next home of the Bu-chan-ans was at Mer-cers-burg, in the same state. Here the boy went to school, soon took up Greek and work which made him fit for col-lege when but four- teen years old. He went through his four years course with ease and came out at the end in 1809. The days of his youth were those of the )'Outh of our land, and young Bu-chan-an was prom{)t to give his aid when and where it would do the most good. So in three years from the time he made his start in life he threw down his law books and went to the front, where there was need of strong arms and stout hearts to meet the new blow that Eng-land struck at us in the war of 181 2. While a young man Bu-chan-an was the choice of his state to help make her laws. Then he was sent to Wash- ing-ton and held his place there for ten years. Pres-i-dent Jack-son sent him to Rus-sia to look out for our rights there. When he came back a place was found for him in the Sen-ate. James Bu-chan-an was made Pres-i-dent in 1857. Wdien he first took the chair the slave theme was once more in the law courts. A black man, whose name was Dred Scott, thought he ought to be free, for his owner had tak-en him to a part of the land where the law of 1820 had said there should be no slaves. When the case came up the court said that those who held slaves had a right to take them through the land with them. Thus the law of 1820 was swept out with one blow, and the folks at the North did not like it. 70 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS There were fiorhts in U-tah, for the Mor-mons would not Hve by our rules and sought to cast off our yoke, but the Pres-i-dent sent troops out to force them to stop their tricks and lay down their arms, which they did. The great Pa-cif-ic Rail-way made a start when Bu-chan- an held the reins. The sole way to cross the plains and the Rock-y Mts. had been by mail coach, which was slow TAKING THE U. S. MAIL ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE 'SOS. and not safe from In-di-an raids. Large sums and great skill were what did the work, which was not brought to an end till 1869. While Bu-chan-an was in the chair, in 1859, a great feat took place. The first wire was laid through the sea. Words were then sent from our land to those in the Old World. A man by the name of John Brown made up his mind JAMES BUCll.W.W. 77 that he would try to do work which would put an end to sla-ver-y, which he thought was a orreat crime in this land. He had sons to hel{) him. All of them would lay down their lives if they could set the slaves free. There were a few more men to work with them and these all went to Har-per's T^er-ry and held a fort for two days. They took all the arms they found in the fort. It was their hope to give these to the slaves m the South so that they might rise and fight to be free. The laws of this land had been set at naught by John Brown, so troops were sent to seize him. There was a hard fight. The sons were shot down, but the brave old man kept up the fire till he fell with six wounds. He was tried and hung. In 1858 Min-ne-so-ta came in as one more state. Or-e- gon came the next year, 1859, and Kan-sas in 1861. At first it was thouQrht that coal could be found in but two or three states, but in the new states there were great beds of it, as much coal, it is said as there was in all the rest of the world. Gold, too, was found m more states than Cal-i-for-ni-a:: — it was seen in Col-o-ra-do in 1858, and in more parts of the Rock-y Mts. Mines were soon brought to light m Ne-va-da which were rich in sil-ver. \\ ells were sunk in Penn-s\l-va-ni-a and vast beds from which oil sprung made a new and large source of wealth. Our land had means in hand fcM" all her needs. It was Pres-i-dent Bu-chan-an's good luck to be in the chair when these new things of worth came in. But there were, too, themes then on hand which were to bring much thiit was sad all through the land. The South said it had a right to keep slaves. The man 78 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. at the North knew not how to deal with this. Bu-chan-an did not know what it was best to do. He saw the fires of war start up. When the time to choose a new Pres-i-dent came, the South said that if the choice fell on Lin-coln they would leave the Un-ion, as they thought he would side too much with the slaves. The vote was for Lin-coln, so they put their threat in force. South Car-o-lin-a was the first to lead. In i860 she said from that time she would not bear the laws of the Un-ion but would make some of her own. Six more states cut loose and set up as free from the laws which bound them to the North. In streets in towns of the J South were heard bells and shouts of joy. These states chose Jef-fer- son Da-vis to be their head. The North thought all the states in this land should be as one, and that those which had gone off should be made to come back. This broufjht a orreat strife and such was the way things stood when Bu-chan-an's term was out. He then went to his home at Wheat-land and met his death in 1868. JEFFERSON DAVIS. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. "N 1638 the first Lin-coln ca-mc to this land hx)m Eng- land and made a home at Hmg-ham, Alas-sa-chu-setts. The son of this man was the oreat-great-grand-fa-ther of A-bra-ham Lin-coln, the 16th Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States, who was born in Ken-tuck-v, bcb. 12, 1809. Though the first of this name had thrift and lands which came down to each in turn, l)v the time Ihom-as, the fa- ther of our Pres-i-dent, wms born there was naught left but strength, health, and a good name. Nan-cy Hanks, the young bride of Thom-as, was born in \ ir-gin-ia, and went to her new home m a poor log hut in 1806. The first child of this pair was a girl, Sa-rah ; the next was A-bra-ham. The brax'e voung wife did all she could t(^ hel|) in that poor 80 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. place. She knew how to use a gun, and would go out and bring down a deer or a bear, and dress and cook it for her own to eat. Then she made clothes, shoes, and head-gear from the skins of beasts. It was hard work, toil, toil, all the time for this sweet kind moth-er, whose heart was so large and love so great for her dear ones. In a new log house not far off the life went on for a short LOG CABIN IN WHICH ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS BORN. time, and then the fa-ther, Thom-as, who was more fond of change than of work, said it would be best to " pull up stakes" and move on to the West, where they would find rich soil and more oame. A frail craft w^as built anel their goods put on it. Then Thom-as went off, but soon ofot on the snao^s, and much of his stuff was lost ; but he went on his way with what was left, while those at home did the best they could. The poor home had but one bed tick, in which were mere corn husks ; on this one bed all slept. There was one i-ron pot AHRAllA.M LINCOLN. 81 to cook food in. 1 here was a l)ook wliicli the moth-er well knew. It was the Wort! of God. She read it and taught them all to read from it. In the cool days of the fall, Thoni-as came home. lie said he had lound a great land, and that the)^ must start for it at once, to get there ere the hard cold ckiys came. So with a cart and a " four yoke," and all the rest of their poor goods, they took up then" Ime of march to the far off land of In-di-an-a. At night they slept on the ground on beds made of leaves and pine twigs. Their food was game which their guns brought down. From tmie to time they had to ford or swim streams. No rain fell on them while on their wav. They led a free, wild life in the woods for weeks. When at last they came to the banks of one stream and could look from there of( to the land where they were to li\e, they saw naught but trees, as far as the eye could look, both down stream and up stream. There was no sound save that of the bu'ds and small game. On a knoll on which the grass grew thick, in the heart of dense woods, they made their camp of three sides and put a roof on it of split slabs. Through the cold months they hung up a screen of pelts or skins of beasts to serve as a door. A fire-place of sticks and clay was on one side. The young lad was then in his eighth year, tall for his age and clad in a home spun garb or part skins of beasts. The cap was made of the skin of a coon with the tail on. While young, the boy knew the use of the axe, the maul, and the wedge, and with these he found out how to split rails from the logs drawn out of the woods. He knew the trees and shrubs by their leaves and bark and he found out what ones were good to heal wounds and stop pain. So 82 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. life went on from day to day till, when " Abe " was ten years old, the dear moth-er, to whom he gave so much love, went to her home on high. The boy thought his heart would break then. He staid by her grave and all the days were dark to him. It was a great grief to the child that the good man of God who spoke in the old home was not there to say some words at that time. Then it was that the boy wrote his first let-ter. The last year of his life in the old place a man had come there who taught both Sa- rah and Abraham and a few more near by. Now the pen could be of use. That poor note was sent to ask the good Par-son El-kin to come and pray at his moth-er's grave. The kind man heard the call, and went five scores of miles to say those words. Books were what the lad thought he must get. They were scarce in that land. One must go miles to find one. There came a chance one day. A man, far off, had Weems' Life of Wash-ing-ton. The boy got the loan of it, and, full of joy, took it home in his shirt. The words found in that book made a stamp on young Lin-coln. It made him think and feel that he, too, iiiight be of use in this world some day if he were brave and sought to do right at all times. As Lin-coln grew up he found work on a flat-boat to trade skins down South. He was glad to go and see the world. This was in 1828. It was then that he first saw a man flog a slave in chains. It was a sight to make him ill, and one which staid by him. The raft work was so well done that a chance soon came for the young man to take charge of a mill and store in the town of New Sa-lem. Here a name for truth was won. All could trust the bright youth. The smart tales he told ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 8:5 made folks laugh. Good books were found at that time and they were read with jo)'. When the Black Hawk war broke out, Lm-coln was quick to meet the call for men, and found all he could and went with them. 1 he charge of these was put in his hands so he took them to the seat of war. Rob-ert An-dcr-son, who in years to come was to hold sway at Fort Sum-ter when the first gun of the civ-il war was heard, met young Lin-coln and his small force. He led them to Col. Zach-a-ry Tay-lor, who went by the pet name of old " Rough and Read-y," and whose war boys and friends thought so much of him that they made him Pres-i-dent in 1848. The Black Hawk war was short and the boys made a start for hon^ie. When Lin-coln was back at his work, the man for whom he kept the store found that he must give up, so the young clerk was out of a job. At that time a man of sense was to be put in a high place. Some friends thought Lin-coln would do well in it. At first he thought it strange that they should want him, but he said they might try to place him there if they would. He lost, by a few votes, but two years from that tune he ran once more and got it. But in the mean while Lin-coln must find work for each day's needs. There came a chance to set up a store with a man. They kept it for a while, but it did not make much, and they had to fail. Lin-coln paid all the debts. He would not let folks lose. Law books then came in the young man's way. A friend, miles off, was glad to lend them. Lin-coln chose queer spots in which to read these books. Some days he would sit down on a wood pile for this work. He would, too, he 84 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. in the shade of a big tree, or, at night, sit by a bright fire in some smith's shop. But in each place it was read, read, work, work, to get hold of all the hard things these books taught. The next work which would earn sums was that done with chain and rule. Lin-coln knew how to tell the length and breadth of the land with these tools. It is said that he took a grape vine for a chain, and with it he could tell folks just what they would like to know. The price paid for this work was a great help. In 1833, An-drew Jack-son, the Pres-i-dent, who was a strong friend of young Lin-coln, made him Post-mas-ter of New Sa-lem, his home town. The work was not hard, for folks did not write much in those days. The mail all went in the good man's hat, and he took it to the right homes on his way to work with chain and rule. Chan-ces came for good deeds. All through his life this man was glad to do kind things. Poor folks went to him for help. He could set them right. The law was a good thing to know, and, as that work went on, the young man found that he was more and more glad to know it, and he was soon at the Bar. Lin-coln knew how to talk. It was a o-rc^t mft and one of his strong points. From a child, he would please his friends in this way when they said " Speech ! Speech ! " As time went on men saw that Lin-coln had great, good sense, and felt that he could win a cause and help them, so they sent him where he could plan laws that would be good for all. It was in 1846 that he took his seat in Con-gress. From the first he ga\'e his voice and vote to help the slave. When Mr. Lin-coln's term in Con-eress came to an end ABRAHAM LINCOLN. S") he went hack to Spnn^-ticld, where he had made a home, and took up his law work once more. I here was a great deal to do, for folks had trust in him though they could not pay him much. I'ees might he small, hut they were not the best thing in the world. The btst was to wish to do what was right and just to all men. At last the time came when men met to plan for a good, true, wise man for the chief seat in the land. A-bra-ham Lin-coln's name came up. The poor boy from the back woods was the one folks said they must have. They made him tell what he thought of things then. Some of the words he said are these ; " I know there is a God, and that he hates in-jus-tice and sla-ver-y ; I see the storm com-ing, and I know that His hand is in it. If he has a place and work for me — and I think he has — I be-lieve I am read-y. / am noth-ing, but truth is ev-er-y-thing. I know I am right, be-cause I know lib-er-ty is right. God teach-es it." There were three more men whose names were brought up for the same post that Lm-coln's was, but he had the most votes. There were hard thoughts, at Hrst, in some places, but, as time went on, it was found, that though there were dark ckus, the ver-v best had been done for the whole land. The time came for Lin-coln to leave Spring-field and start for \\'ash-ing-ton. He made his last speech at home, and told how sad it made him to leave. He said "To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. To-day I leave }'ou." Lm-coln felt that the task that he would meet, as head of the land, was a hard one, more so than that which fell to the hrst great Chief George Wash-mg-ton. But he knew 86 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS that God would be with him and give him strength to do his work. So the boy from the log house in the woods went on his way to the White House. Lin-coln would have been glad to have kept peace with both North and South, and when he made his first speech in Wash-ing-ton he told folks so. But there were those who would not keep the peace. War came, a long, sad FORT SUMTER UNDER FIRE war of four years. Pres-i-dent Lin-coln did all he could to have peace, but six states had left the Un-ion ere he came to be chief One Spring day a bomb shell fell on Fort Sumter. The South sprang to arms. The great heart of the North grew hot with shame and rage. Homes, trades, and dear ones were left and the men of the North were soon on their way to meet the foe. At Bull Run, where the first great fight took place, the A15RA11AM LINCOLN. 87 m 1 ," ' > ,i, ■^'>. / ^^S'li'^^;. Ur->^xp RETREAT OF UNION TROOPS AT BULL HUN North thought they would win, but they did not do so. They found out that it was not a play war, and that they must have more men to helf) them, so Pres-i-dent Lin-coln sent out a call that brought a great host to the field. At the South the slaves thought that the Yan-kees were down there to make them fi'ee, so they did all they could to help them, but they kept still till the time came for them to take their place in the field. Lin-coln said that his prime aim was to save the land and not to fight to free the slaves. These are his words : " If I could save the Un-ion, thouijh I did not free a slave, I would do it. If I must let them go free to save it, I w^ould do it. Still, in my own heart, it is my wish that all men, in all lands, should be free." All through 1 86 1 there were fights big and small, most of which were won by the South. In 1862 war took a start in the West, with the great U. S. Grant at the head 88 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. of the troops. The North won some hard fights. The South had bad times but its folks bore up with brave hearts. They could not get goods, and crops were poor, still they won on the field more than once. It would seem that a flash of luck came to them when, with Gen-er-al Lee at the head, troops from the South went o'er the Po-to-mac to Ma-ry-land. Harm might then come to Wash-ing-ton. It was a dark tmie for the cause of the North. One day in the fall of the year 1862, the Pres-i-dent had the men who were his help in time of need sit still while he read strong words to them. Pie told them that from the first day of the year 1863 the black race should be free. As the South had not quit war when that day came Lin-coln said that m all the States of the South iliat were still at war all the slaves \\ere tree. Two years from then all [lie slaves in the land were made Iree. Plosts of black men took their })lace with Un-ion troops in ships, at forts, on the field, or where there was need for them. They were brave and did good work. In June, 1863, the troops of the South m charge of Gen. Lee came once more o'er the Po- to-mac, but on the first three days of Ju-ly, the troops ot the North drove them back in the fjreat fiijht at Get-tvs- burof This good news spread North on " In-de-pen-dence Dav, ' and at the same time came word that on that same GENERAL ROBERT E LEE. AIM^AIIAM LINCOLN. 89 Fourth ol Jul) \ icks-l)uro- ga\'c uj) to Gen. Cirant, and the whole Mis-sis-sip-pi River was free! A(l-mi-ral Far-ra-gut's fleet from the North hat! o()nc past the forts at the mouth of that riv-er, and up to New Or-leans in the Spring of 1862. This same man went to Mo-l)ile Bay with a large fleet in Au-gust, 1864. Two strong forts were there to keep foes off. In a short time he took both forts and went up to Mo-bile. The North met with great loss in 1864 from gun boats built in I'^ng- land to cruise the seas and seize all ships that bore the stars and stripes. The trade of the North was much hurt by these boats. One that did the most harm was the Al-a-ba-ma. Her ])ad deeds were brought to a stop by the U-ni-ted States man-of-war Kear-sarge which found her ofl the coast of France, and in an hour's hard fioht sent her down to rise no more. The Al-a-ba-ma was l)Uilt in I^.ng-land lor the South. On the At-lan-tic coasts I'n-ion shi[)s of war kej)t oil the crafts of all sorts froni the posts of the South. '1 hose m the ports were made to stay there. The men of the sea did great work for the land and sea was their wish. ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. Un-ion cause. One flag o'er all the Our glo-ri-ous fla;^ of stripes and stars O'er all the land and sea, One Standard may it ev-er be, The ban-ner of the free ! 90 LIVES OK THE PRESIDENTS. The war brought forth a new style of boat, a small, queer craft that did a great work for ships of wood of the North, in Hamp-ton Roads. She drove back from them the great war ship Mer-ri-mac which the South had clad in i-ron. This new craft was the Mon-i-tor. She was sharp at both ends, was set low so that shot did not harm her, and on her THE MERRIMAC SINKING WOODEN SHIPS IN HAMPTON ROADS. deck was a round house with big guns in it. The men on board could make this house with its guns turn which way they chose. Most war ships since then have been built with such a house. When Lin-coln had put Grant in charge of all the men of the North in arms, and saw that he could "fight it out" to the end and knew " no such word as fail," one would think that the Pres-i-dent might rest, but he did not do so. It was his way to think and act, and not leave the work to some one else. He would talk with wise men but his own mind would lead. AliRAllAM LINCOLN. 1)1 The hi^h i^ost Lin-coln held (hd not make him proud. He was true to what was best in the world. He sought wise and great men to learn of them. His heart and hand went out to all in need. His form was tall and gaunt. His strong-, plain face bore deep Imes of thought. A clear light would come to his dark eyes, at times, with some bright thought. A glad smile would break when some dear friend drew near. He stood In' those who did well. He was kind, too, to those who did ill. It was his wish to use all right men and all right means that would serve the cause he had in charge. None had a doubt of him, and in the end he was found to be right. One wrote : " How hum-ble, yet how hopc-ful he could be, How in good for-tune and in ill the same ; Nor bit-ter in suc-cess, nor boast-ful he, Thirst-y for gold, nor fev-er-ish for fame." When the fourth of March, 1865, came, once more A-bra-ham Lin-coln was made Pres-i-dent of the U-ni-ted States. What he said then will not die. As in times past, in the West, 'twas said of one of his speeches then, so it was said at this time, "The world can't beat it ! " It would seem as if such a man as Lin-coln was one whom we could not spare. But God knew best. The end of the war UNION TROOPS MARCHING INTO RICHMOND. 92 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. came. Lin-coln stood in tlic streets of Rich-montl. He heard the cries and thanks from those who once were bought and sold hke beasts. The men of the North had brought the war to a close. Lin-coln's heart was full of love tor those who had to give up. He thought much of how to make both sides friends once more. But soon a dread crime made all the land dark. In the midst of joy a great shock came. Pres-i-dent Lin-coln, with his mind at ease, his heart full of love and peace, with thoughts of how he could best heal the wounds of war, had gone to a play with his wife and two young friends, for it was the wish of men that he should be seen. A bad man, to whom Lin-coln had done no ill, shot down the great and good Pres-i-dent, and in a few hours the end came. Grief was deep in the land. Men wept as they heard the sad news. Plags were at half mast. Each house had a badge of woe. " The old world and the new, from sea to sea, Ut-ter one voice of syni-pa-thy and shame ! Sore heart, so stopped when it at last beat high ; Sad life, cut short just as its tri-umph came." Throuo"h all these vears the name of A-bra-ham Lin- coin has been held dear. No man has found the way to the hearts of all as he did. He had a sound mind, a true, warm heart, and a firm trust in God. His name stands with that of George Wash-ing-ton on the bright roll of fame. ANDREW JOHNSON. THE same morn that Prcs-i-dent Lin-coln died, An-drcw John-son took the chan". John-son was born in a small log house, in Ra-leigh, N. C 1808. His folks were poor. The fa-ther died when the bo\- was four years old. At the age of ten, An-drew was put out for a term of }'ears to work for a nian who made clothes, and to learn that trade. He found a small book in the shop with A B Cs in it. The men at work there told hini what they were and taught him to read. In 1824, when e-lev-en years old, John-son went to the next state, South Car-o-li-na, where he found work at his trade. Two years thence he was once more in Ra-leigh. From there, with his kin, he set out, in a cart with two 94 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. wheels, drawn by a small, blind horse, for Green-ville, Tenn. Here, in a brief time, he wed a bright, young girl who taught him to write, and who read to him each day while he sat at work. The sway in Ten-nes-see in those days Was in the hands of men who held large tracts of land. John-son made up his mind to head a clan of poor folks who thought they would like a share in the rule of their own state. These soon got a small post for him, and in a few years gave him the chief place in Green-ville. He knew how to talk and could make a good speech. In 1843 John-son was sent to Con-gress. He is said to have been proud of his low birth and thought folks should do much for him as he had come up so well. Still, in most things he was thought to have sense and knew how to serve his friends with zeal. Though John-son did not think it wrong to hold slaves yet he did not like the men who held them. All through his life the class thought was in his mind. When the war broke out, he said he should stand by the Un-ion, come what might. In speech he said hard things and told what he would do to those who went out of the Un-ion, it he had the chance. For words of this sort he was set on by mobs, but he drove them all back by arms. In March, 1862, Pres-i-dent Lin-coln gave John-son a high place in Ten-nes-see. His rule there was strict, and he made hosts of foes. When March 4, 1865, came Pres-i-dent Lin-coln took the oath once more as chief On the same day An-drew John-son took Ids oath as Vice Pres-i-dent. At that time he spoke in such a way that he made not a few strong foes. AXl)Ki:\V JOIIXSON. 95 When tlic war was at an end, in May, 1865, the men who hatl lou^ht were paid otf and sent home. J hey w'ent back to then" own work and took it up in a |)romi)t way, with the thought to help them that they had done their best for the Land of the Stars and Stripes. John-son's aims came to l^e far from those which most men thought he held when he was j)ut in the chair. He tried to bring the states of the South back on a i)lan of his own. Con-gress did not like his {)lan, and, m s])ite of him, made laws which it thought would make it safe to let those states come back. By the end of John-son's term 7 states had come in with those laws. John-son did much harm, and said words that were not wise, so that there was fear on the part of some that he would Ijring the wdiole land to shame. A move was made to take him Irom his [)()st. A change ol one vote in the Sen-ate would ha\e ])ut him out of the chair. His self will and rash speech were the prime cause of all this strife. He did not care for the blacks, and he did not see that his |)lan would put the South m the hands of men of the caste he did not like. Con-gress said that all men both black and white must ha\e the same rights, and the plan of Con-gress won at last, though at the end of John- son's term four of the states that had gone out of the Un-ion were still out. But these four came back in 1870. At the end of our war the brench troops held Mex-i-co. The Un-i-ted States made a strong mo\e to ha\e them leave, and at last b ranee said it would be done. The man at the head, Max-i-mil-i-an, w^e said might stay if that were the wish of the Mex-i-cans. When the b^rench troops left, in 1867, this head man would not go with them, so the 96 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Mex-I-cans caught him and shot him. The U-ni-ted States sent a plea to them to spare him, but they would not do it. His wife, Car-lot-ta, then lost her mind through grief. In 1866 the At-lan-tic Tel-e-graph Line, a rope of wires 'neath the sea, was laid. This great work had been tried w/ LAYING THE ATLANTIC CABLE. in tmies past, but things went wrong and the wires broke. Since that time more wires have been put down. The way to do it is so well known now that word will not cease thus to pass from land to land. In 1867 we bought A-las-ka from Rus-sia for what men thought a large sum, but since then they have found A-las- ka to be a land rich in gold, and that the price was small. When John-son's term was out he went back to Ten- nes-see. That state sent him to the Sen-ate in 1875, but he died that same vear. ULYSSES S. GRANT. U-LYS-SES Grant was born In a small house at Point Pleas-ant on the north bank of the O-hi-o Riv-er, a score and five miles east from Cin-cin-na-ti. Back of that house rose high hills where grew ash and oak trees. In front a stream ran past and boats went up and down all the time. In 1820, right at that spot where much tan bark could be found, there was a place to cure hides. The young man in charge of it was Jes-se Grant. He was large and strong, and found all the work he could do at that trade. He was of New Eng-land stock. In 182 I, Jes-se Grant wed a nice girl of fine looks and good blood near Phil-a-del-phi-a. Her name was Han-nah 98 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Simp-son. In 1822 the first son was born. The next year Jes-se Grant set up tan works of his own at George- town, and did well. At first the young pair did not know what to name the babe. At last the fa-ther, who had queer plans, said that a lot of names should be put in a hat, which one might shake, and then draw out for chance. The moth-er's fa- ther wrote on a slip the name of " Hi-ram." His wife, who had just read Fe-ne-lon's " Te-lem-a-chus," and had been proud of the U-lys-ses in it, wrote that word on a slip. When the first two slips were drawn out the names of Hi-ram and U-lys-ses came to light, so the child took the two names. From the first the boy was the pride of his fa-ther's heart and he built his hopes on him. The child was well and strong. At eight the boy drove the team which went round and round to break the bark for the mill. It was his work, too, to break, with a maul, long strips of bark. He did not like this work as well as he did to drive the team from the woods when it brought in the logs, so, as soon as he could, he found out a way to earn sums to pay boys to do this work for him. He drove loads or folks back and forth to near-by towns and so could earn to pay boys who did his work at home. The fa-ther thought this child was born for great things, so he sent him to a fine school that cost him a good deal. In the hours at home the same work went on with the teams and the bark, but some time was left for fun with the boy friends, and U-lys-ses went off to the woods to get grapes and nuts and paw-paws, and to swim in the streams in warm months, and skate and coast on the cold days. ri.VSSES S GRANT. 09 WHlmt half a score and Ji\c \cars old, L -lys-scs was sent to Ma\s-\ ilk\ kcn-tuck-\-, not iar off, to a school of high grade. The man who taught hnii, then, was coMcge bred and made a strong mark on the lad. Notes kept at that time state that " H. V. Grant ranks hidi in all class-es ; de-pc^rt-ment the best." At a club in that town young Grant took part in talk on themes of the day and most tunes was on the side that won. He was but one \ear at this school and then went home to work m the old wav. One day his fa-ther said: " U-lys-ses you'll ha\'e to go to the beam-room and help me to-day." That place was one the boy did not like. He had been kept out of it u\) to this time. There he must scrape and stretch hides, the smell of which made him sick. Then U-lys-ses told his fa-ther that he would work for him till he was of age, but that he did not like the hide trade and did not want to take it lor his own. The good fa-ther at once said : " My son, I don't want you to work at it now, if you don't like it, and don't mean to stick to it. What do you think )-ou would like? " " I could farm, or trade down the stream, or learn from books." Times were "close" just then, and to send the boy to a pay school more was not to be thought of Jes-se Grant kept this in mind and said: "How would you like to go to West Point?" "First-rate " said U-lys-ses. Jes-se Grant had in his veins the blood of kin who fought in the wars of our land, and he felt that West Point LctC. lUO LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. would be just the place for his son, so in 1839 a chance came and H. U. Grant, as he then wrote his name, set out for West Point. The man who got the post for him wrote " U. S."', with the moth-er's name of Simp-son in mind, and so the name was left U. S., though the young ca-det told of the slip. Young Grant got a good name while at West Point, and made strong friends who were his till the day of his death. He was just and true and did right at all times. He did not talk much but he was fond of good fun. He did not swear, and did not like low jokes, but kept a pure mind and a clear head. At the end of his four years course at West Point, Grant was sent to Tex-as to join Gen. Z. Tay-lor, in 1843, and drive out the Mex-i-cans. He took part in fights at Pa-lo Al-to, Re-sa-ca, Mon-te-rey, the siege of Ve-ra Cruz, and more. At Mo-li-na del Rey he was so brave that he was made lieu-ten-ant, and at Cha-pul-te-pec he was made cap-tam. The fights went on till they took the cit-y of Mex-i-co by storm in 1847. The next year Grant wed Miss Ju-lia Dent, who came, as did the wife of Jes-se Grant, from folks of means and worth. In 1854 U. S. Grant left the troops and went to live with his wife and babes near St. Lou-is. Much hard work came to them then, and hard times as well. When Sum-ter had been fired on, Grant took up arms once more, got men to join the ranks, and gave much time to drill them. At the end of five weeks Capt. Grant was, made Col-o-nel Grant, and sent off, at the head of the "Twenty Pirst Il-li-nois," to the seat of war. Ma-jor Gen. Fre-mont had charge of all the troops in n.VSSl'lS S. GRANT. 101 tlic far West at that time. He sent Grant to Cai-ro, at the mouth of the O-hi-o. I lis first work was to block all roads and streams so that arms and iood could not net thi'ouoh the hues to aid the foe. Most of the men with ( I 1" a n t had h e en brought up on farms ;^ and knew not the art of war, thouo'h they were good shots. He did fine work at that post and won praise. Trom Cai-ro Grant went up the Ten-nes- see Ri-ver to Fort Hen-ry. Ere he there a fleet of boats, in charge of Com. Foote, took the fort, though a large part of the foe had left the fort by land and were then at bort Don-el-son. Grant's troops went there and with hard work took it, Feb. i6, 1862. This broke up the whole line of the foe and put it far back in Ten-nes-see. Boats of the North could now sail up three great streams. Prom Co-lum-bus and some points m Ken-tuck-v, the troops of the South went back for fear their posts would be cut ofl by Un-ion troops on their march. More men w^ere then sent on steam boats up the Ten- nes-see to join Grant's force. They made camp at Pitts- burgh Land-ine on the west side of the stream in the south got _-3V GUNBOATS ON THE TENNESSEE 102 LIVES OF THIC PRlvSIDKNTS part ot the state. Bu-ell's troops went clown the cast side of the same stream to join them there. Ere Bu-ell could reach Grant, the men of the South, in charge of John-ston, hurst from the woods on the Un-ion troops and drove them to, and down, the high banks to the stream. Here our gun-boats drove the foe back by a great lire ol shells. '^ K^ N ^ J ■' ...'■ .j^ ^ ^-^- %\ m: -.4 m ^ t^^ ^ U.«IO.J TROOPS CHARGING AT VICKSBURG This gave the Un-ion force time to take post in good form once more. Ere night fell some of Bu-ell's fresh troops come up to Grant. Gen. John-ston, who led the foe, was killed. The next morn the Un-ion troops drove the force of the South off the held. This great fight took the name of Shi-loh from a loe" church near which the worst work was done. All through 1862 the strife went on. The South held ULVSSI'.S S. C.RANT. 103 Its own with a linn L^iip, l)ut the Un-ion men, too, had i^rcat ])hick and zeal. Some iig'hts the Nortli would win, and then the South had its turn. In 1863 the l)eats ot Cirant's drums were heaid neai' V^icksd^ui'o- on the Mis-sis-sij)-])!. 'I'o this town he laid close siege tor six weeks and, at last, took it, on Ju-1\- 4, 1863. This gave much jo\' to the • North and U. S. Grant come to he known as one of the best Un-ion Gen-er-als. lie then took charge: ot all the tro()j)s of the West which were east ot the Mis-sis-sip-pi, and drew men trom all of them, as well as from the Ar-my of the Po-to-mac. Sher-man, too, in whom he had great trust he brought with him. rhen (jrant made up his mmd to storm tw^o high hills held b)' the foe. Look-out Moun-tain and Mis-sion-a-r\' Ridge <'"-ive wav to his zeal and were won by the Un-ion troops. The year icS63 was one of great gain to the cause of the U-mt-ed States in the West. A tine new set of (jcn-er- als, Cirant, Sher-man, Sher-i-dan, and more, held sway. In the I^ast less had l)een done, tor the great Lee, head of the force of the South, was more than a match for the men who fought him. But at (jet-tys-burgh Lee's ar-my met such ill luck that it was not (juite uj) to whrt it had been ere this, so he tried no more to come north of the Po-to-mac. In that Ju-ly, 1863, the course of the war took a turn, and the cause of the South ril 9, 1S65, Lcc signed the terms of peace which Cirant had (h"a\vn up. In Ma\- the last ot the foe in the South and West had laid down their arms and war was at an end. More than tour long" \ears it had gone on, and wast hosts ot l)ra\e th men on hotn sides nac gone to their death. Hut F eace nac I come at last! The dear old Hag would now Hoat o'er both North and South, We were one Na-tion once V5^ mi) '. GOING HOME great more ! It was but ti\e days from the time that peace came w^hen Lin-coln w^as shot. An-drew John-son had to take his place, but when his term was out Gen. Grant was made chief of the land. When Grant took the chair he gave his old place at arms to Gen. Sher-man, who had done great work for the Un-ion cause. The march which Sher-man had made through Geor-gi-a, as well as scores more of great deeds, gave him a high name. In 1869 the Pa-cif-ic Rail-road was done. The next year the " Al-a-ba-ma Claims " came up, and Great Brit- ain had to |)ay the U-ni-ted States a \'ast sum for what she did in the war with the South. New words were put with the " Con-sti-tu-tion." They were that all men should have the right to x'ote and no race or hue should be kept out, though they might ha\'e been slax'es ere the war. This was the " 1 :;th A-mend-ment." lot) LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Next year, 187 i, a set of whites, the " Ku Klux Klan," who rode by night, in masks, to kill and maim the blacks, and the whites, too, who did not suit them, were out in force. Pres-i-dent Grant saw that strong laws were to stop make their work. Rings were made at that time to cheat the gov-ern-ment with all sorts of schemes, and Grant's task to put all thinors straiQrht was not one of case. Some men of his own side lound fault, and wished to change M)me of the laws. One of them was a man of note, Hor-ace Greeley. He was the head of a great pa-per in New York, The Trib-tine. When the time came to choose a new Pres- i-dent, in 1872, Gree-ley was put up to run a-gainst Grant. Grant won by a large vote, and Gree-ley was so cast down by the loss of the race that his mind grew weak and he soon died. In 1876 there was a grand show at Phil-a-del-phi-a to keep the day on which the States were made free from Eng-land in 1776. All lands sent their best, and all trades of the world had a place there. The States felt proud at that time and glad that the Na-tion was one, at peace, and that so great a chief as Gen. U. S. Grant was in the chair. When the last term was up, Pres-i-dent Grant set out on a tour round the world. If he had been a king- more could not have been done for him. He made stanch friends in all lands, and brought home hosts of fine gifts. HORACE GREELEY L'LVSSKS S. (iRANT. 107 Soon GcMi. Grant made a home in New \'ork and took up bank work to earn for his dear ones. A cheat got his weahh h^om him, and the: sad news came that he had lost all, was ill, and must soon die. He was brave and calm, and though in great pain, wrote up to a few days of his death that he might make a book of the wars in which he had part, so that his own might ha\'e the means to li\'e and and not come to want. Gen. Grant went to his rest Ju-ly 23, ih lank at once. Me went through all tin? course there in three years. Then he taught school so that he could earn sums to help him take uj) law. In 1854 he was at the bar, and made a start of his own with an old friend in New York. Ar-thur won a suit in New ^^)rk, in 1856, which a-a\-e the blacks the right to ride in street cars with the whites. It was soon plain that there would be need of men of arms once more in the land, and to Chcs-ter A. Ar-thur came the trust of the state troops. He took up this work with zeal and when the call for men came, from Pres-i-dent Lin-coln, the New York troops were in trim to start, thouo^h, in spite of all this, the Mas-sa-chu-setts 6th was the first on the held. Ar-thur then went up from post to post and was of great help to the Un-ion Cause. In 1881 Gen. Ar-thur was made Vice-Pres-i-dent of this land, and Pres-i-dent on the death of Ciar-held. While Pres-i-dent Ar-thur was in the chair there came, at York-town, a glad day to show that 100 \'ears had gone by since Corn-wal-lis, the head of the Brit-ish troops, had held out the white flag as a sign that he and his force would gi\'e in to the A-mer-i-cans and the b^rench who were with them. Good times now came, crops were large, and mines rich. The blacks did far more work now that they were free than they had done when they were slaves. All things went on so well that At-lan-ta gave a fine show that all might see the great gain the South had made since 1865. 1,8 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. The work to pay off the debt had gone on so fast that the debt was now but haff as large as at the end of the war. It was then found that the whole sum could not be paid off so fast as it had been thought it might be. The theme of Free Trade came up and there was much talk pro and con. It was said that a ring of men had made use of some ol our mails to cheat the Gov-ern-ment. This went by the name of the great Star Route Case. It came to a close in 1884 and the men were let off As his term came near its end it was thought that Gen. Ar-thur's name might come up once more, but the great James G. Blaine, who for more than a score of years had held a high place in the rule of the land, was the choice of that side. By some split his chance was lost, and for the first time since 1857 a Dem-o-crat took the chair. Gen. Ar-thur went back to his law work in New York. It was thought that there were long years for him to work and still be of use in the world. But it was not so to be. His life task came to an end Nov. 18, 1886. Men who had been with Pres-i-dent Ar-thur in Wash- ing-ton, and more who thought much of him, came to the last rites, and stood with bare heads by the side of the bier. There were Pres-i-dent Cleve-land, Chief Jus-tice Waite, Gen. Sher-man, Gen. Sher-i-dan, Ex-Pres-i-dent Hayes, James G. Blaine, and a long list of great men. JAMES G. BLAINE. G GROVER CLEVELAND. FIRST TERM. RO-VER CLEVE-LAND was born in New Jer-sey, March i8, 1837. The first Cleve-land in A-mer-i-ca came from Suf-folk, Eng-land, in 1635, ^"<^^ made a home at Wo-burn, Mass. Rich-ard, the fa-ther of Gro-ver, got through his w^ork at Yale \n 1S24, and made it his hfe task to preach the Word of God. In 1S29 Rich-ard Cleve-land wed An-ne Neal, whose fa-ther w^as of I-rish birth. When Gro-ver was four years old he went with his par-ents to live in Fay-ette-ville near Syr-a-cuse, N. Y. There the boy went to school for nine years. Next he was clerk in a store, and in a short tmie his folks went to a new home in On-ei-da Coun-ty, where Gro-ver had more school days. 119 120 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. The fa-ther soon fell ill and died. Young Gro-ver felt then that he must set forth and earn bread for his dear ones. He found work in the " Home for the Blind," in New York Cit-y. While there he made up his mind to learn law, and went to one of his kin in Buf-fa-lo who found him a place where he could do this. At the same time he gave his help on a book at which his uncle. Lew-is F. Al-len, was at work. This was the "A-mer-i-can Herd Book," and the $60. which came to him as pay he sent to his moth-er. Soon he got a place with a law firm and read " Black-stone." In 1859 Gro-ver Cleve-land was at the bar, though he staid three years more with the same firm and had sums from his work there with which he could help his kin. Two of his broth-ers went to the war and it was Gro-ver's wish to help bear arms for the good of his land, but he was the sole son from whom aid could come and he felt that it would not be right to leave those who had need of him. Still he did what he could and found one who would loan him funds by which he could send a man to do what he would like to have done. It was years ere he could pay back the loan, but he did it, at last. As time went on Cleve-land came to be known as a man who knew the law well. He had charge of more than one great case, and won fame. In 1 88 1 he had a high post in Buf-fa-lo. Men of all sides gave him their vote. In 1883 he had one more high post, that of head of his state. His means were still small, and he kept to his plain ways and did not run in debt. He did hard work at all times for the good of the poor as well as for the rich. There were times when he would sit CROVKR CLK\'1-:LA.\'D. 1-21 Up all ni(rht to find out just what it was best to do in some case. He was just and true and made his way ste|) by step. In 1SS5 Ciro-\er C1e\ e-land was made Pres-i-dent. Trom the time of W'ash-m^-ton it had been a rule for the Pres-i-dent, as he took the oath, to kneel and kiss the \\ ord of God, a lar^e Bi-ble, which lay on a stand near by. Gro-\er Cleve-land made a change in this, for it was his wish to kiss a small Bi-ble which had been his moth- er's and had been. kept with him since he was a small boy. The speech which he made at this time was one all were glad to hear. As Pres-i-dent Cleve-land drove back from the Cap-i-tol to the White House, through the long lines of troops and friends, the crowd was glad to see his calm, plain way. Pride and vain thoughts w^ere far from him. Miss Rose Cleve-land, the Pres-i-dent's sis-ter, was the " La-dy of the White House," and made scores of friends and was a great help to her broth-er. One (lav the Pres-i-dent took a friend throug^h the White House. In the room where the chief slept, near his bed, the friend saw a quaint sign or crest. It set forth " Life, Du-ty, and Death." These words, too, were seen on the shield ; " As thy days are, so shall thy strength be." " If I have a coat of arms it is thatl' said Mr. Cleve-land. " I chose it )ears a-go, and keep it by me." The hrst bill for Pres-i-dent Cle\'e-land to sign was one to which he was glad to put his name. It seems that the last Act of the Con-gress which came to an end at noon of March 4, 18S4, had been to pass a bill to place Gen. U. S. Grant on the " Re-tired List of the Ar-mv. ' The 122 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. bill was passed in time for Pres-i-clent Ar-thur to sign it, but through good will for Mr. Cleve-land he left the hon-or to him. This bill gave aid to the great man then in his old age, poor, and in debt; ill, though hard at work to earn bread for those dear to him. Cleve-land's old plan of hard work stood him in good stead in his new post. Hordes of men made a rush for posts which paid large sums. When they did not get these they found fault, but the Pres-i-dent was firm, and kept at his toil, while the whole land was at peace and things went well. In 1886 the great Bar-thol-di stat- ue was set up in New York Bay. It was a gift from France, and shows Lib-er-ty with a torch in her hand, as if to give light with its rays to all the world. On June 2, 1886, Pres-i-dent Cleve- land was wed to a sweet young girl, Miss Fran-ces Fol-som. This took place at the White House, and was the first wed-ding of a Pres-i-dent in that house. O'er all the land was good will and kind thoughts for the young pair. The bride won all hearts. When Cleve-land's first term was out, the friends of James G. Blaine of Maine would have been glad to have made him the next chief, but Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son took the chair, March 4, 1889. BARTHOLDIS STATUE OF LIBERTY. BENJAMIN HARRISON. BEN-JA-MIN HAR-RI-SOiN was the third son of John Scott Har-ri-son and grand son of Will-iam Hen-ry Har-ri-son, the ninth Pres-i-dent of the U-ni-ted States. His km m this land came down m a straight hne from John Rolfe \vho wed Poc-a-hon-tas, child of the red chief Pow-hat-an, at James-town, Vir-gin-ia, A-pril, 1614. Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son's great grand-fa-ther was one of the men sent to the Con-gress which made the " Dec-la-ra- tion of In-de-pen-dence." The Har-ri-sons had large tracts of land on the banks of the O-hi-o. As a young boy Ben-ja-min did work on his fa-ther's farm. Each year the crops were sent in flat boats to New Or-leans, and fa-ther and son, and men to help the work, went with them. 124 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. At first the lad, Ben-ja-min was sent to a log house school. Here he was made fit for Bel-mont col-lege. Two years more saw him at Mi-a-mi U-ni-ver-si-ty, Ox-ford. At this place he met Miss Scott, who, in time, came to be his wife. Har-ri-son took up law but ere he came to the bar he was wed to the girl of his choice when he was but a score of years old. From the first it was plain that he had the gift of speech and a fine voice. These were a great help to him as he made his way m the world. Those for whom he did law work could count on hmi at all times to do his best. In 1855 he was one of a strong law firm and work came in fast. He had all sorts of cases and won name and fame in In-di-an-a, where he had made his home. He did not care how hard his work was, for by it he could earn sums to pay for the neat house where he and his young wife had gone to live. When the war broke out Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son gave his help to raise men for the " 70th In-di-an-a." At first he had a low post with these troops, but he went up so fast that he was soon at their head. He did brave work in all the fights and staid to the end of the war, when he -was Brior-a-dier Gen-er-al. His men thouoht much of him, and, as he was quite small, gave him the pet name of " Lit-de Ben." When he got home from the war. Gen. Har-ri-son took up his law work once more. Soon his state sent him to the Sen-ate, and there he was known as one who was not for " Free Trade." He took hiorh rank as a man who could make a good speech^ and he found scores of friends. As ]!l':\JAiMlX HARRISON. 125 one who had fought all through the war he knew of how uuieh use the " pen-sion " would he to men who had lost health and strength on the held and of its worth to the kin of these men, and he saitl so when in the Sen-ate. It was his wish too that there might he more ships of war, and the na-vy might be made strong, as the lands o'er the seas had made theirs strong. In 1889 Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son was made Pres-i-dent and sworn in, March 4 of that year. James G. Blaine held a high place near his chief, and so did John Wan-a-mak-er. The last two days ol A-pnl, '89 it was thought fit to keep in a way that would mark the great changes that had been made in the land in the 100 years which had gone by since George Wash-ing-ton was the first chief In New York City the " Wash-ing-ton Cen-ten-ni-al" was held. Pres-i-dent Har-ri-son and his friends went to the place w^here Gen-er-al Wash-ing-ton took his oath to serve as Pres-i-dent. Har-ri-son spoke there in his fine, strong \'oice, and said words which brought out cheers from those who heard him. The streets were full of troops and long trains of men took up the march, past hou-ses and stores where flags and wreaths were seen. Young school girls in white spread flow-ers in the path of the Pres-i-dent, as had been done in Wash-ing-ton's time. Fire works at night were sent off at points through the town, and large sums were spent for floats on which men were seen at work at trades. Long lines of men from lands o'er the seas, who had come here to make their homes and help in all our good work, were on the march, side by side, in the garb of the Swiss, the French, the Ger-man. and more. 126 LIVES OF TH'E PRKSIDKNTS. A large tract of land, known as Ok-la-ho-ma, had been bought from the In-di-ans but had not yet been made free to white men. A time was set, A-pril 22, 1889, at noon, when men could go in and take the land. No one v/as to be let m till then, and those who were first there to make claims to farms and lots were to get them. This caused a RUSH OF THE BOOMERS INTO OKLAHOMA. vast crowd of " boom-ers," as they were called, to line up at the bounds of Ok-la-ho-ma, and when the hour was up, there was a great cloud of dust, and a wild rush of hoofs, wheels, and feet. By the time night fell, towns had been laid out, and a start made to build them. In no part of the land up to this time had so swift a growth been seen. In De-cem-ber, 1889, the " McKin-ley Tar-iff Bill" was made a law^ The " Behr-ing Sea Trea-ty " was made a law, too, in Har-ri-son's time. This put a stop to the BENJAMIN HARRISON. 1'27 work done by scores of ships from all lands which were wont to go to the sea and isles near A-las-ka to kill seals. The men ot the North, once the " Boys in Blue," had a strong friend in the Pres-i-dent, and the new " Pen-sion Bill" went through. This had Con-gress pay more sums each month of their lives to those who had l)een hurt m the war. In 1 89 1 two great men of this land went to their last home ; these were Ad-mi-ral Por-ter, and Gen-er-al Sher- man who made that " March to the Sea." In 1892 four hun-dred )'ears had gone by since Chris- to-pher Co-lumd:)us first saw A-mer-i-ca. A great show of all the work of the world was held at Chi-ca-go. Pres- i-dent Har-ri-son went there for the start, and made a fine speech. Wdien his term was out Gen. Har-ri-son went to his home in In-di-an-ap-o-lis and took up law work. Two chil-dren were left him but both had homes of their own. The good wife of Gen. Har-ri-son had died in 1892. In the spring of 1896, he wed his first wife's niece, Ma-ry L. Dim-mock. In 1897 "This Coun-ti')' ot Ours," was brought out, a book on which the ex-Chief had spent much time and thought. Gen. Har-ri-son died March 13, 1901, THE CHICAGO WORLDS FAIR ADMINISTRATION BUILDING GROVER CLEVELAND. SECOND TERM— 1893 TO 1897. ONCE more there was a loud call for Cleve-lantl, and from 1893 to 1897 he held the chair. The orreat Pair at Chi-ca-fjo at that time had a claim on the thoughts of all through the land, and vast throngs went there. Lake Mich-i-gan had boats of all sorts, some of them most strange craft from lands o'er the sea. There were white buildings for miles and miles, full of choice thmgs from all parts of the world. At night bright lights shone out and made a scene of great charm. Queer beasts came from the far East, and some of them ti ROVER CLKVELAND. 129 could do the tricks which those in charge told them to do. Li-ons rode on horse back and could jump ropes. Boys and girls found that they might ha\e rides on backs ot cam-els, and this they did each day of the Tair. They UTW '"^-'^~'^~ THE CHICAGO WORLDS TAIR. MACHINERY BUILDING went, too, where men made goods of all sorts in shops. They saw Turks, Greeks, Chi-nese, In-di-ans, cow-boys, folks from all climes, who spoke all tongues, did fine woA, and sold choice goods. Pres-i-dent Clex'e-land was at the k\air and made a speech in the si)ring of 1893, when the time came to let folks in. 130 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. In the warm months of 1893 "hard times" came. Goods went down to a low price, and scores of shops had to close, while hosts of men were thrown out of work. There were strikes in coal mines, and on one great coal TKE CHICAGO WORLD'S FAJR. GRAND BASIN AND COURT OF HONOR. rail-road. This brought grief to those who had to toil with their hands. Soon all sides came to see that " hon-est money " was best, and that all that took the place of gold should be of the same worth as gold. At At-lan-ta, Geor-gi-a, in 1895, there was a fine show, and it was good to see there proofs of what the South had GROVER CLKV1-:LAM). 181 (lone Miicc the war. Cot-ton was made up in scores of forms ; coal and i-ron from mmes near I)\- told ot wealth. The work of those who were once slaves was shown at this Fair. The states of the South o^ave lar""e sums to train these blacks in schools, and it was plain to see that some of them had made o()()d use of their chance. In 1S96, U-tah came to join the Un-ion and there are now 45 States. In the last ten years there has been great growth m the " New West." Miles and miles of rail-roads now run through there. Grain farms yield food on a big scale. Mines ot gold, sil-\'er, and co})-per gl\'e great wealth. Tons of beef, pork, and mut-ton are sent from the rich grass of the West to all parts of the earth. Gro-ver Cleve-land has l^een a man of clear, brave, strong thought and speech both while in and while out of the chair. He was the sole man to be put up for chief three times right off, and that, too, by men who did not all think as he did. When his last term was out, though some who were his friends at first did not stand by him, still, through the land, there was high praise of him. Cle\e-land was the first Pres-i-dent to be wed in the White House, and was, too, the first wdio had a child born there. No " First La-dy in the Land," save Dol-ly Mad-i- son, had been so young as his w^ife. One of the last acts of Mr. Cleve-land while Pres-i-dent was to speak at the U-ni-ver-si-ty at Prince-ton. The old town had so much charm lor him that, with his owmi, he has made his home there since he left the chair. WILLIAM McKINLEY. A CLEAR trace of the Mc Kin-leys comes all the way down from 1547 m which year they were known in Scot-land. The first of them in this land made a home at York, Penn-syl-va-ni-a, where his son Da-vid, great grand fa-ther of the Pres-i-dent was born in 1755. This Da- vid took part in the "War of In-de-pen-dence." His son James went to O-hi-o in 1809 when Will-iam, fa-ther of the Pres-i-dent was not cjuite two years old. This Will- iam grew up in the West and found a wife in Nan-cy All-i-son, of Scotch-Dutch stock, that came to A-mer-i-ca with Will-iam Penn. The erand fa-ther of this wife was a stern man who thouo^ht we must be free come what might. He took part in the Rev-o-lu-tion. WILLIAM McKIXLLV. 133 The sc\-cnth child ot W'ill-iam and Nan-cy McKin-lcy was l)()rn Jan. 29, 1S43, at Nilcs, O-hi-o. He, too, had the name of \\ ill-iam, and, in time came to be the 25th man who was Pres-i-dent of the U-ni-ted States. Tlie lad, W'ill-iam, went to the free schools of Niles till he was nine years old, then his folks took him to a new- home at Po-land, in the same state, where he found a school ol high oradc, and staid there a few years. When (jLiite young he t(M)k the vows of the Meth-o-chst church and kept them all his life. He taught school as a youth, and was, too, a clerk in the Po-land Post Of-hce. When the war hrokc out, in 1861, 3'oung McKindey, still in his teens, gave up his work and went with the troops, in the " 23d Odii-o," to the seat of war. He was one of the rank and file at first, hut was brave, rose fast, and when the war w^as at an end, came out " Bre-vet Ma- jor." He fought for the old flag with great zeal He felt that he must do this though he did not love war. All tales which are told ol his days on the field go to show the worth of the man and what a help he was to the cause ot right. When peace came, Ma-jor Mc Kin-ley went to Can-ton and took up law. In 1869 he wed Miss I-da Sax-ton of the same town. In 1877 the bright young man-at-law was sent to Con-gress. He thought much on what was best for the land, and when he spoke on a theme he did so in a way to show that he meant what he said. In 1891 he was Gov-ern-or of O-hi-o. Free Trade McKin-ley did not like. He felt that it would be best to keep cheap goods out of our land and so he made a bill which bore his name and it came to be a law. 13i LIVES OF THE I'RESIDENTS. On March 4, 1898, Pres-i-dent McKin-ley took his seat as head of the land. The next year, 1898, came the war with Spain. Cii-ba, an isle near the U-ni-ted States, felt that she must be free from Spain whose yoke had been a hard one for years and years. The Cu-bans had been kept down and large sums ground out of them and sent to Spain while there was great need of funds right in their own isle. The U-ni-ted States thought it a shame for poor Cu-ba to have so hard a time, and some said we ought to make Spain let Cu-ba go free. There was much talk back and forth. Just then a shock came. One of our fine ships ot war, the Maine, which had been sent to Ha-va-na as a guard to A-mer-i-cans who were there, was blown up in the night of Feb. 15, 1898. Of the men on board, 259 lost their lives. To be sure that the ship was not blown up by chance, men were sent to find out, and all went to show that it had been done from the out-side. " This means war ! " was heard on all sides. The Pres- i-dent then made it plain that this land was in no shape to wage war on e'en such a na-tion as Spain was. Then a great sum was put in the Chief's hands. Our whole land stood as one in this. The trust in Will-iam McKin-ley was such that the whole North, South, East and West said, " He knows what to do." "We will do what he asks us to." The Pres-i-dent made a call for troops. They came at his word. Soon it was march, drill, and tram for the work they had to do. WILLIAM McKLXLKV. 1:55 Strange it was that the first orcat fight was miles and miles off both fi'om the U-ni-ted States and Cu-ba. In Chi-na, at Hong Kong, was an A-mer-i-can fieet in charge of Com- mo-(l(M-e Ck-orge Dew-ey who had fought in the Civ-il War and was a man of (|uick thought and deed. DESTRUCTION OF THE He got word that a fleet of Spain was at Ma-nida, the chief town of the Phil-ip-pine Isles. He went there and reached the mouth of the Bay of Ma-nida late on the night of A-pril 30, 1898. He got by the forts and at dawn next day found that fleet of Spain for which he had been sent. 136 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Soon the ships in both fleets went to work. Guns were brought to bear, and the forts gave all the help they could for Spain. Dew-ey kept his ships on the move so that they were not good marks for shots, while they could, at the same time fire at the foe. This went on for two hours, when the day was won. All the ships of that fleet of i Spain were burnt or sunk. On ■ the A-mer-i-can side not a man met death and not a ship was hurt ! This was high praise for Dew-ey and the Stars and Stripes. To lose her fleet was a big blow to Spain, but there was more woe in store for her. While our troops were made fit for war with all speed, the North At-lan-tic Squad- ron, with Com-mo-dore Samp-son at its head, was sent south to shut up Ha-van-a and near by ports. Ships and troops were sent to San-ti-a-go, in Cu-ba, May and June. The last of May our ships found out that a fleet of Spain was in San-ti-a-go Bay. They kept it shut up there more than a month. That it might not come out. Hob-son and his brave men sunk a large coal ship in its way. But on Ju-ly 3, the ships of Spain got out and tried to steam off down the coast. They could not do it. Our fleet sank or drove all of them on shore. Late in June a force of troops lought the foe on land, took their forts, and drew near the old town. At last, with some aid from our fleet, San-ti-ag-o was won, and our troops sent up the Stars and Stripes in the town on Ju-ly i 7. ADMIRAL DEWEY WILLIAM .\kKlNLi;\'. 137 Then Cicn. Miles went to Por-to Ri-co with tr()()i)s and soon that isle ot vSpam was \n our hands. Spam and the I'-ni-tcd States then said they would cease to tight. Five men from each side met at Par-is, and h\' the terms rHE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY of peace which they made Spain let Cudja go free. U-ni-ted States got Por-to Ri-co, Guam, the large the La-drones, and all the Phil-ip-pine Isles. Pres-i-dent McKin-lcy saw that there was much done in the Phil-ip-pines. He sent wise men to M to find out just what it was best to do for the good The isle in to be a-ni-la of all 138 LIVKS OF THE I'RESIDENTS. in those far off isles. But there were some in the Phil-ip- pines who did not wish to yield to these kind plans, and, led by one A-gui-nal-do, they made plots and a long war. The U-ni-ted States had to send a big force to put them down. THE BATTLE WITH THE SPANISH FLEET AT SANTIAGO In the spring of 1900, A-mer-i-can troops had to be sent to Chi-na to help save folks of our own land who might be hurt in the " Box-ers' Up-rise." Pres-i-dent Mc- Kin-ley had his own good sense and did the right thing. While some lands would haxe bro-ken up Chi-na, Mc- Kin-le\' said: " No, this must not be done, \\hile we WILLIAM McKLXLKV. 139 must make Chi-na do her du-ty, \vc must hclj) her as well to hold her own." On March 4, 1901, once more Pres-i-dent McKin-ley, for whom all the world now had praise, took the oath, held the chair, and went on with his work. On Sept. 5, I 90 1, Pres-i-dent and Mrs. McKin-ley went to the Pan-A-mer-i-can Fair at Butda-lo. Crowds came to take the hand ot the ^reat and oood ehief. While he stood, with a hri^ht smile on his face and kind words on his lips for both j)oor and rich, a bad man shot him. At first it was thought the l^res-i-dent would live, and all that skill could do was done for him, but in a week's time it was known that all hope was gone. Pie knew that his end was near, said fare-well to his wife and friends, then, in a faint voice, gave a few words of the hymn, " Near-er m)' God, to Thee." Once more words came from his lips, " Good-by all, good-by. It is God's way. His will be done, not ours." Ere the dawn ot the morn of Sept. 14 came, the pure, great soul of W ill-iam Mckin-ley had gone to the " Home of the Blest." News of this death brought a deep grief to the whole land. When the time came for the sad rites at the last place of rest, the whole Na-tion stood still to weep and pray. All trains, boats, bells, wires, cars, came to a stop, and a deep pall of gloom was o'er the land. Prom o'er the seas came words which told how much the dead chief was thought of, and how well it was known that m him who had gone to his rest the world had lost a great, wise, true, and just man. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. THE first Roose-velt in this land was Claas Mar-ten- sen Van Roose-velt, who came here from Hol-land, with his wife, m 165 i. The Roose-velts who came down from this pair took part in all the wars of the land, from the In-di-an times down to the late war with Spain. They were known as men of worth and stood for all that was best in the land. They were at the head of banks, rail-roads, steam-boat lines, homes for the poor and sick, the " News Boys' Lodg- ing House," "Young Men's Chris-tian As-so-ci-a-tion," " Chil-dren's Aid So-ci-e-ty," " Un-ion League Club,"" Aid ibr Fam-i-lies of Un-ion Sol-diers," and had a hand in most of the eood work in A-mer-i-ca. A street in New York 140 TllKODORK RUOSEVKLT. 1-il Clt-y l)cars the name of Roosc-velt antl runs lli rough what was once the old honic-stcad. Thc-o-dorc Roosc-vclt, who came to be Pres-I-dent when McKindev was shot, was horn in New York, Oct. 27, 1858. Young The-o-dore, as a child was frail but he was brought up by health laws and so from year to year grew strong. He soon could run, ride, swim, and tramj). He was fond, too, of books and made good use of them. When (juite Noung he went with his la-ther to I^u-ro{)e. In 1875 he was in Har-ward CoMege. He stood well there in class and in games, and came out in 1880, lit for the wn)rk he was to do in the world. In 1 88 1 he made his first trip to the Great West. It was his wish to see some of the rude life there ere it should pass by. He was just in time for the last big buf-fado hunt in which the Sioux and whites took part. At a score and three years of age Mr. Roose-velt took up law with his un-cle Rob-ert B. Roose-velt. He then, too, gave much thought to the lues of men who had done good work in the world and he read much of wars, their cause, and how best to plan them. He wrote at this time his " Na-val W^ar of 18 12," and books which could rouse young men to brave deeds. He took part in all that would be a help to his state, for he saw that it had need of good work. He soon knew what men he could trust and whom he must Hght. A high post came to him and he did so well in it that in a }ear's time he was known ail through the land as a strong force for the right and for those who could not help them-selves. Out door life was dear to Mr. Roose-velt. He had, too, a great love for the Far W^est, and so, while in his 14-2 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. third term in the " N. Y. State As-sem-bly," he bought a ranch in North Da-ko-ta where there were all sorts of big (jame. Books went out there with him. Tales of wild beasts, words of Burns, the poet of the soil, Foe and his weird themes, and not a few more. He found joy in ranch life and wrote " Hunt-ing Trips of a Ranch-man," " Ranch Life and the Hunt-ing Trail," "The Wil-der-ness Hun- ters," and more books, which are known on both sides of the At-lan-tic and have brought him much fame. Pres-i-dent Mc Kin-ley sent for The-o-dore Roose-velt to come to Wash-ing-ton in 1897 and be " As-sist-ant Sec-re- ta-ry of the Na-vy." Mr. Roose-velt took the post and at once made it his task to learn just what there was to do. He saw that there was a great lack of ships. He knew, in case of war, the U-ni-ted States could not hold her own with a foe o'er the sea. He did his best to make the new war ships fit for work as soon as they could be, and he had old ships put in good shape. He saw the war with Spain on its way a year ere it broke out. All the year of 1897 the " As-sist-ant Sec-re-ta-ry " was hard at work. He chose the men who were to come to the fore on the ships in that war with Spain. When war was at hand, Mr. Roose-velt could not rest in such a post. " There is more for me to do," he said. " I must go and fight." He was told to stay at Wash-ing-ton, and that he was the man for the place, and if he left he would spoil his chance. Words like these could not stop him. He felt that he had a call to the field and that he could be of use there. He gave up his post, was sworn in as " Lieut. Col. of U. S. Vol-un-teers." Men came to join him from all parts : cow-boys from the plains of the West, THKODORK ROOSEVELT. 143 men from schools and col-lc-gcs, from the i)o-hcc force of New York, from hioh j)osts in hfe, and all were strong, lit for the hard work the}' had to do, and were true " Rough Ri-ders." Ihey were ol great aid as j)art of the force ot (^en. Shal-ter which took the forts near San-ti-a-go. W^hen tliey came home m mid-Au-gust they and their colon-el were the pride and joy of the land. While Roose-velt was still in Cu-ba there rose a boom to make him Gov-ern-or of New York. When but a few weeks back from the war, Mr. De-pew brought up his name in a fine speech which told how true and brave a man he was, and what help it would be to have such a man at the head of the state of New York. While still Gov-ern-or of New York, Roose-velt was put up to be Vice-Pres-i-dent when the votes were to be cast for ]\Ic Kin-ley as Pres-i-dent one more term. Each won the place by a large vote. When they had been at their posts but two days more than six months, a scamp shot Pres-i-dent Mc Kin-ley. Eight da}'s went by, and then McKin-ley died, and all the land was in grief Roose-velt came at once from the North Woods, and, b)' the law, though sad at heart, was sworn in as chief in Mc Kin-ley's place, on Sept. 14, 1901. Since Pres-i-dent Roose-velt came to the chair, Cu-ba has come to her own, has been made free to i)lan her own wa)s. When the end of the war with Spain came, Cu-ba was not at once in its own charge. W^ell nigh four years it was in the hands of the U-ni-ted States, and much good was done there by our men in the wa)' of plans for the 144 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. health of the towns and for good schools. At last, on May 20, 1902, Cii-ba made Es-tra-da Palma its Pres-i-dent, and put men of its own choice in posts to help keep Free Cu- ba sound and strong. Pres-i-dent Roose-velt will help on, as fast as he can, the plan to cut a great way for ships from the At-lan-tic to the Pa-ci-fic which will give a straight line by sea from our east coast to the west coast of both North and South A-mer-i-ca. By Judy 14, 1902, peace was on so firm ground in the Phil-ip-plnes that Pres-i-dent Roose-velt saw that it was safe to bring the rule of our troops there to an end. So on that day he put those isles in charge of men who do not bear arms, but hold posts like the posts of those who rule in our own land. Much, too, has been done in the Phil- ip-pines for health and for schools. The home life of Pres-i-dent Roose-velt at Oy-ster Bay, Long Is-land, is full of glad life. Mrs. Roose-velt is there, and Alice, E-thel, "Tedd-y," Jr., Ker-mit, Ar-chie, Ouin- tin, and scores of pets. Friends come from far and near, and, in the warm months, life goes on in a way to please all. The cool months of the year find the Roose-velts at the White House, Wash-ing-ton, where the Pres-i-dent gives his time and thought to all the needs of the land. Through all the life of The-o-dore Roose-velt naught has been found but good. His aims are high. He stands, talks, and works for what seems to him to be for the best good of this land. VV^^*