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Title: History of the United States

Author: John Clark Ridpath

Release Date: September 9, 2016 [EBook #53019]

Language: English

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THE POPULAR SERIES

HISTORY

OF THE

UNITED STATES

NEW YORK  CINCINNATI  CHICAGO 
AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY

1891

Copyright, 1891, by American Book Company.

[Pg 3]

PREFACE.

To the American youth the history of our country is more important than any other branch of education. A fair degree of knowledge respecting the progress of the American people from the discovery of the New World to the present is almost essential to that citizenship into which our youth are soon expected to enter. In a government of the people, for the people and by the people, a familiar acquaintance with the course of events, with the movements of society in peace and war, is the great prerequisite to the exercise of those rights and duties which the American citizen must assume if he would hold his true place in the Nation.

Fortunately, the means for studying the history of our country are abundant and easy. American boys and girls have little cause any longer to complain that the writers and teachers have put beyond their reach the story of their native land. Great pains have been taken, on the contrary, to gather out of our annals as a people and nation the most important and romantic parts, and to recite in pleasing style, and with the aid of happy illustrations, the lessons of the past.

The author of the present volume has tried in every particular to put himself in the place of the student. He has endeavored to bring to the pupils of our great Common Schools a brief and easy narrative of all the better parts of our country's history. It has been his aim to tell the story as a lover of his native land should recite for others that which is dearest and best to memory and affection. He has sought to bring the careful results of historical research into the schoolroom without any of the superfluous rubbish and scaffolding of obtrusive scholarship and erudition.

Another aim in the present text-book for our youth has been to consider the events of our country's history somewhat from[Pg 4] our own point of view—not to despise the history of civilization in the Mississippi Valley, or to seek wholly for examples of heroism and greatness in the older States of the Union. Perhaps no part of our country is more favorably situated for taking such a view of our progress as a nation than is that magnificent region, constituting as it does the most fertile and populous portion of the continent. In the present History of the United States the author has not hesitated to make emphatic those paragraphs which relate to the development and progress of this region.

For the rest the author has followed the usual channel of narration from the aboriginal times to the colonization of our Atlantic coast by the peoples of Western Europe; from that event by way of the Old Thirteen Colonies to Independence; from Independence to regeneration by war; and from our second birth to the present epoch of greatness and promise. He cherishes the hope that his work in the hands of the boys and girls of our public schools may pass into their memories and hearts; that its lessons may enter into union with their lives, and conduce in some measure to their development into men and women worthy of their age and country.

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CONTENTS.

MAPS AND PORTRAITS.

COLORED MAPS.

OUTLINE MAPS.

PORTRAITS.

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INTRODUCTION.

THERE are several Periods in the history of the United States. It is important for the student to understand these at the beginning. Without such an understanding his notion of our country's history will be confused and his study rendered difficult.

2. First of all, there was a time when the Western continent was under the dominion of the Red men. The savage races possessed the soil, hunted in the forests, roamed over the prairies. This is the Primitive Period in American history.

3. After the discovery of America, the people of Europe were for a long time engaged in exploring the New World and in becoming familiar with its shape and character. For more than a hundred years, curiosity was the leading passion with the adventurers who came to our shores. Their disposition was to go everywhere and settle nowhere. These early times may be called the Period of Voyage and Discovery.

4. Next came the time of planting colonies. The adventurers, tired of wandering about, became anxious to found new States in the wilderness. Kings and queens turned their attention to the work of colonizing the New World. Thus arose a third period—the Period of Colonial History.

5. The colonies grew strong and multiplied. There were thirteen little seashore republics. The rulers of the mother-country began a system of oppression and tyranny. The colonies revolted, fought side by side, and won their freedom.[Pg 9] Not satisfied with mere independence, they formed a Union destined to become strong and great. This is the Period of Revolution and Confederation.

6. Then the United States of America entered upon its career as a nation. Emigrants flocked to the Land of the Free. New States were formed and added to the Union in rapid succession. To protect itself from jealous neighbors, the nation pushed her boundaries across the continent. This Period may be called the Growth of the Union.

7. But the nation was not truly free. Human slavery existed in the South. This institution engendered sectional hatred and desires for disunion which finally developed into the dark and bloody Period of the Civil War.

8. Then the reunited nation laid aside its arms and entered upon a period of prosperity and material development which has not yet reached its culmination and with which History affords no parallel.

9. We thus find seven periods in the history of our country:

1. Primitive America; prior to the coming of white men.
2. Voyage and Discovery; A. D. 986-1607.
3. The Colonies; A. D. 1607-1775.
4. Revolution and Confederation; A. D. 1775-1789.
5. The Growth of the Union; A. D. 1789-1861.
6. The Civil War; A. D. 1861-1865.
7. The Reunited Nation; A. D. 1865-1891.

In this order the History of the United States will be presented in the following pages.

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HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.

Part I.

PRIMITIVE AMERICA.

An Ancient Mound

CHAPTER I.

The Aborigines.

BEFORE the times of the Red men, North America was inhabited by other races, of whom we know but little. Of these primitive peoples the Indians preserved many traditions. Vague stories of the wars, migrations, and cities of the nations that preceded them were recited by the red hunters at their camp-fires, and were repeated from generation to generation.

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2. Other evidences, more trustworthy than legend and story, exist of the presence of aboriginal peoples in our country. The traces of a rude civilization are found in almost every part of the present United States. It is certain that the relics left behind by the prehistoric peoples are not the work of the Indian races, but of peoples who preceded them in the occupation of this continent. That class of scholars called antiquarians, or archæologists, have taken great pains to restore for us an outline of the life and character of the nations who first dwelt in the great countries between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

3. These primitive peoples are known to us by the name of Mound-builders. The building of mounds seems to have been one of their chief forms of activity. The traveler of to-day, in passing across our country, will ever and anon discover one of those primitive works of a race which has left to us no other monuments. As the ancient people of Egypt built pyramids of stone for their memorials, so the unknown peoples of the New World raised huge mounds of earth as the tokens of their presence, the evidences of their work in ancient America.

4. The mounds referred to are found in many parts of the United States, but are most abundant in the Mississippi Valley. Here also they are of greatest extent and variety. Some of them are as much as ninety feet in height, and one has been estimated to contain twenty million cubic feet of earth. It is evident that they were formed before the present forest growth of the United States sprang into existence. The mounds are covered with trees, some of them several feet in diameter; and the surface has the same appearance as that of the surrounding country.

5. As we have said, we know but little of the people by whom the mounds and earthworks of primitive America were constructed. Some of the works in question are of a military character. One of these, called Fort Hill, near the mouth of the Little Miami River, has a circumference of nearly four[Pg 13] miles. It is certain that great nations, frequently at war with each other, dwelt in our country between the Northern Lakes and the Southern Gulf; but who those peoples were we have no method of ascertaining. Their language has perished with the people who spoke it. Only a few of the relics and implements of the primitive races remain to inform us of the men by whom they were made.

6. In many parts of the Mississippi Valley, particularly in the States of Ohio and Indiana, the ancient mounds may be seen as they were at the time of the discovery of America. One of the greatest is situated in Illinois, opposite the city of St. Louis. It is elliptical in form, being about seven hundred feet in length by five hundred feet in breadth. It rises to a height of ninety feet. Another of much interest is at Grave Creek, near Wheeling, in West Virginia. A mound at Miamisburg, Ohio, is nearly seventy feet in height. One of the finest of all is the conical mound at Marietta, Ohio. Some of the mounds, as those of Wisconsin, are shaped like animals. One of the most peculiar and interesting is the great serpent mound in Adams County, Ohio. The work has the shape of a serpent more than a thousand feet in length, the body being about thirty feet broad at the surface. The mouth of the serpent is opened wide, and an object resembling a great egg lies partly within the jaws.

7. The use of the mounds has not been ascertained. Some have supposed that they were tombs in which the slain of great armies were buried, but on opening them, human remains are rarely found. Others have believed that the mounds were true memorials, intended by their magnitude to impress the beholder and transmit a memory. Still others have thought the elevations were intended for watch-towers from which the movements of the enemy might be watched and thwarted.

8. What we know of the prehistoric races has been mostly gained from an examination of their implements and utensils.

[Pg 14]

Relics from the Mounds.

These were of either stone or copper. It appears that the more advanced of the peoples, especially the nations living on the borders of the Great Lakes, were able to manufacture utensils of copper. In other parts of the country, the weapons and implements were made of flint and other varieties of stone, by chipping or polishing. The range of tools and implements was extensive, including axes, spear-heads, arrow-points, knives, chisels, hammers, rude millstones, and many varieties of earthen ware. Besides these, there were articles of ornamentation and personal use, such as pipes, bracelets, ear-rings, and beads. The common belief that the articles here referred to were the product of Indian workmanship is held by many antiquarians to be wholly erroneous. These antiquarians think that the Indians knew nothing more of the origin and production of such implements as the arrow-points, spear-heads, and stone axes than we know ourselves.

9. In many parts of Indiana the mounds of the ancient races are plentifully distributed. Almost every county has some relics of this kind within its borders. But the most interesting remains of the primitive races are those discovered in the ancient cemeteries scattered between Lake Michigan and the Tennessee River. In many places the aboriginal tombs still yield the relics of this people of whom we know so little.[Pg 15] In recent years a burial ground near Bedford, Indiana, has been opened, from which have been taken primitive skulls and other parts of human skeletons, belonging possibly to some unknown race long preceding the Indians in our country.

10. With the Mound-builders, history can be but little concerned; but with the Red men, or Indians, who succeeded them, the white race was destined to have many relations of peace and war. On the first arrival of Europeans on the Atlantic coast, the country was found in possession of wild tribes living in the woods and on the river banks, in rude villages from which they went forth to hunt or to make war on other tribes. Their manners and customs were fixed by usage and law, and there was at least the beginning of civil government among them.

11. To these tribes the name Indian was given from their supposed identity with the people of India. Columbus and his followers believed that they had reached the islands of the far East, and that the natives were of the same race as the inhabitants of the Indies. The mistake of the Spaniards was soon discovered; but the name Indian has ever since remained to designate the native tribes of the Western continent.

12. The origin of the Indians is involved in obscurity. At what date or by what route they came to the New World is unknown. The notion that the Red men are the descendants of the Israelites is absurd. That Europeans or Africans, at some early period, crossed the Atlantic by sailing from island to island, seems improbable. That the people of Kamchatka came by way of Bering Strait into the northwestern parts of America, has little evidence to support it. Perhaps a more thorough knowledge of the Indian languages may yet throw some light on the origin of the race.

13. The Indians belong to the Bow-and-Arrow family of men. To the Red man the chase was everything. Without the chase he languished and died. To smite the deer and the[Pg 16] bear was his chief delight and profit. Such a race could live only in a country of woods and wild animals.

14. The northern parts of America were inhabited by the Esquimos. The name means the eaters of raw meat. They lived in snow huts or hovels. Their manner of life was that of fishermen and hunters. They clad themselves in winter with the skins of seals, and in summer with those of reindeer.

15. The greater portion of the United States east of the Mississippi was peopled by the family of the Algonquins. They were divided into many tribes, each having its local name and tradition. Agriculture was but little practiced by them. They roamed about from one hunting-ground and river to another. When the White men came, the Algonquin nations were already declining in numbers and influence. Only a few thousands now remain.

16. Around the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario lived the Huron-Iroquois. At the time of their greatest power, they embraced no fewer than nine nations. The warriors of this confederacy presented the Indian character in its best aspect. They were brave, patriotic, and eloquent; faithful as friends, but terrible as enemies.

17. South of the Algonquins were the Cherokees and the Mobilian Nations. The former were highly civilized for a primitive people. The principal tribes of the Mobilians were the Yamassees and Creeks of Georgia, the Seminoles of Florida, and the Choctaws and Chickasaws of Mississippi. These displayed the usual disposition and habits of the Red men.

18. West of the Mississippi was the family of the Dakotas. South of these, in a district nearly corresponding with the State of Texas, lived the wild Comanches. Beyond the Rocky Mountains were the Indian nations of the Plains; the great families of the Shoshones, the Selish, the Klamaths, and the Californians. On the Pacific slope, farther southward, dwelt in former times the civilized but feeble race of Aztecs.

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INDIAN LIFE

19. The Red men had a great passion for war. Their wars were undertaken for revenge rather than conquest. To forgive an injury was considered a shame. Revenge was the noblest of the virtues. The open battle of the field was unknown in Indian warfare. Fighting was limited to the ambuscade and the massacre. Quarter was rarely asked, and never granted.

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20. In times of peace the Indian character appeared to a better advantage. But the Red man was always unsocial and solitary. He sat by himself in the woods. The forest was better than a wigwam, and a wigwam better than a village. The Indian woman was a degraded creature—a mere drudge and beast of burden.

21. In the matter of the arts the Indian was a barbarian. His house was a hovel, built of poles set up in a circle, and covered with skins and the branches of trees. Household utensils were few and rude. Earthen pots, bags, and pouches for carrying provisions, and stone hammers for pounding corn, were the stock and store. His weapons of offense and defense were the hatchet and the bow and arrow. In times of war the Red man painted his face and body with all manner of glaring colors. The fine arts were wanting. Indian writing consisted of half-intelligible hieroglyphics scratched on the face of rocks or cut in the bark of trees.

22. The Indian languages bear little resemblance to those of other races. The Red man's vocabulary was very limited. The principal objects of nature had special names, but abstract ideas could hardly be expressed. Indian words had a very intense meaning. There was, for instance, no word signifying to hunt or to fish; but one word signified "to-kill-a-deer-with-an-arrow"; another, "to-take-fish-by-striking-the-ice." Among some of the tribes, the meaning of words was so restricted that the warrior would use one term and the squaw another to express the same idea.

23. The Indians were generally serious in manners and behavior. Sometimes, however, they gave themselves up to merry-making and hilarity. The dance was universal—not the social dance of civilized nations, but the solemn dance of religion and of war. Gaming was much practiced among all the tribes. Other amusements were common, such as running, wrestling, shooting at a mark, and racing in canoes.

[Pg 19]

24. In personal appearance the Indians were strongly marked. In stature they were below the average of Europeans. The Esquimos are rarely five feet high. The Algonquins are taller and lighter in build; straight and agile; lean and swift of foot. The eyes are jet-black and sunken; hair black and straight; skin copper-colored or brown; hands and feet small; body lithe, but not strong; expression sinister, or sometimes dignified and noble.

25. The best hopes of the Indian race seem now to center in the Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, and Chickasaws of the Indian Territory. These nations have attained a considerable degree of civilization. Most of the other tribes are declining in numbers and influence. Whether the Indians have been justly deprived of the New World will remain a subject of debate. That they have been deprived of it can not be questioned. The white races have taken possession of the vast domain. To the prairies and forests, the hunting-grounds of his fathers, the Red man says farewell.

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Review Questions.—Part I.

1. What is meant by the Aborigines?
2. What evidences indicate an earlier race than the Indians?
3. What is known of the Mound-builders?
4. What are the most notable mounds?
5. Where are they located?
6. Describe the shapes of the mounds.
7. For what supposed purposes were they built?
8. What are sometimes found in the mounds?
9. Why were the native races of America called Indians?
10. What is said of the origin of these races?
11. To what family of men do the Indians belong?
12. Name the principal Indian nations in America.
13. What regions did the Algonquins inhabit?
14. Where did the Huron-Iroquois live?
15. What were the characteristics of this nation?
16. Where did the Cherokees and Mobilian nations live?
17. What were the principal tribes of the Mobilians?
18. What regions did the Dakotas inhabit?
19. Give the names of other Indian nations.
20. What regions did they inhabit?
21. What were the leading characteristics of the Indians?
22. What can you tell of the Indian languages?
23. Describe the personal appearance of the Indians.
24. What tribes of Indians are now the most civilized?
25. Give some account of the Esquimos.
26. What does the name Esquimo mean?

[Pg 21]

Part II.

VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY.

CHAPTER II.

The Norsemen in America.

THE western continent was first seen by white men in A. D. 986. A Norse navigator by the name of Herjulfson, sailing from Iceland to Greenland, was caught in a storm and driven westward to Newfoundland or Labrador. Two or three times the shores were seen, but no landing was attempted. The coast was so different from the well-known cliffs of Greenland as to make it certain that another shore, hitherto unknown, was in sight. On reaching Greenland, Herjulfson and his companions told wonderful stories of the new land seen in the west.

2. Fourteen years later, the actual discovery of America was made by Leif, a son of Eric. Resolving to know the truth about the country which Herjulfson had seen, he sailed westward from Greenland, and in the spring of the year 1001 reached Labrador. Landing with his companions, he made explorations for a considerable distance along the coast. The country was milder and more attractive than his own, and he was in no haste to return. Southward he went as far as Massachusetts, where the company remained for more than a year. Rhode Island was also visited; and it is alleged that the adventurers found their way into New York harbor.

[Pg 22]

3. In the years that followed Leif's discovery, other bands of Norsemen came to the shores of America. Thorwald, Leif's brother, made a voyage to Maine and Massachusetts in 1002, and is said to have died at Fall River in the latter State. Then another brother, Thorstein by name, arrived with a band of followers in 1005; and in the year 1007, Thorfinn Karlsefne, the most distinguished mariner of his day, came with a crew of a hundred and fifty men, and made explorations along the coast of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and perhaps as far south as the capes of Virginia.

Norsemen in America.

4. Other companies of Icelanders and Norwegians visited the countries farther north, and planted colonies in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Little, however, was known or imagined by these rude sailors of the extent of the country which they had discovered. They[Pg 23] supposed that it was only a portion of Western Greenland, which, bending to the north around an arm of the ocean, had reappeared in the west. Their settlements were feeble and were soon broken up. Commerce was an impossibility in a country where there were only a few wretched savages with no disposition to buy and nothing at all to sell. The spirit of adventure was soon appeased, and the restless Norsemen returned to their own country. To this undefined line of coast, now vaguely known to them, the Norse sailors gave the name of Vinland.

5. During the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries occasional voyages were made; and as late as A. D. 1347, a Norwegian ship visited Labrador and the northeastern parts of the United States. In 1350 Greenland and Vinland were depopulated by a great plague which had spread thither from Norway. From that time forth communication with the New World ceased, and the history of the Northmen in America was at an end. The Norse remains, which have been found at Newport, at Fall River, and several other places, point clearly to the events here narrated; and the Icelandic historians give a consistent account of these early exploits of their countrymen. When the word America is mentioned in the hearing of the schoolboys of Iceland, they will at once answer, with enthusiasm, "Oh, yes; Leif Ericsson discovered that country in the year 1001."

6. An event is to be weighed by its consequences. From the discovery of America by the Norsemen, nothing whatever resulted. The world was neither wiser nor better. Among the Icelanders themselves the place and the very name of Vinland were forgotten. Europe never heard of such a country or such a discovery. Historians have until late years been incredulous on the subject, and the fact is as though it had never been. The curtain which had been lifted for a moment was stretched again from sky to sea, and the New World still lay hidden in the shadows.

[Pg 24]

The New World, with Routes of Discoveries

CHAPTER III.

Spanish Discoveries in America.

IT was reserved for the people of a sunnier clime than Iceland first to make known to the European nations the existence of a Western continent. Spain was the happy country under whose patronage a new world was to be added to the old; but the man who was destined to make the revelation was not himself a Spaniard: he was to come from Italy, the land of valor and the home of greatness. Christopher Columbus was the name of that man whom after ages have rewarded with imperishable fame.

2. The idea that the world is round was not original with Columbus. The English traveler, Sir John Mandeville, had declared in the first English book ever written (A. D. 1356) that the world is a sphere, and that it was practicable for a man to sail around the world and return to the place of starting. But Columbus was the first practical believer in the theory of circumnavigation.

3. The great mistake with Columbus was not concerning the figure of the earth, but in regard to its size. He believed the world to be no more than ten thousand or twelve thousand miles in circumference. He therefore confidently expected that, after sailing about three thousand miles to the westward, he should arrive at the East Indies.

4. Christopher Columbus was born at Genoa, Italy, in A. D. 1435. He was carefully educated, and then devoted himself to the sea. For twenty years he traversed the parts of the Atlantic adjacent to Europe; he visited Iceland; then went to Portugal, and finally to Spain. He spent ten years in trying [Pg 25]to explain to dull monarchs the figure of the earth and the ease with which the rich islands of the East might be reached by sailing westward. He found one appreciative listener, the noble and sympathetic Isabella, Queen of Castile. To the faith, insight, and decision of a woman the final success of Columbus must be attributed.

SHIPS OF COLUMBUS

5. On the morning of the 3d day of August, 1492, Columbus, with three ships, left the harbor of Palos. After seventy-one days of sailing, in the early dawn of October 12, Rodrigo Triana, a sailor on the Pinta, set up a shout of "Land!" A gun was[Pg 26] fired as the signal. The ships lay to. Just at sunrise Columbus stepped ashore, set up the banner of Castile in the presence of the natives, and named the island San Salvador. During the three remaining months of this first voyage, the islands of Concepcion, Cuba, and San Domingo were added to the list of discoveries; and in the last-named island was erected a fort, the first structure built by Europeans in the New World. In January, 1493, Columbus sailed for Spain, where he arrived in March, and was greeted with rejoicings and applause.

6. In the following autumn, Columbus sailed on his second voyage, which resulted in the discovery of the Windward group and the islands of Jamaica and Porto Rico. It was at this time, and in San Domingo, that the first colony was established. Columbus's brother was appointed governor. After an absence of nearly three years, Columbus returned to Spain. The rest of his life was clouded with persecutions and misfortunes.

7. In 1498, during a third voyage, Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad and the mainland of South America. Thence he sailed back to San Domingo, where he found his colony disorganized; and here, while attempting to restore order, he was seized by an agent of the Spanish government, put in chains, and carried to Spain. After much disgraceful treatment, he was sent out on a fourth and last voyage, in search of the Indies; but the expedition accomplished little, and Columbus returned to his ungrateful country. The good Isabella was dead, and the great discoverer, a friendless and neglected old man, sank into the grave.

8. Columbus was even robbed of the name of the new continent. In the year 1499, Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator, reached the eastern coast of South America. Two years later he made a second voyage, and then gave to Europe the first published account of the Western World. In his narrative all reference to Columbus was omitted; and thus the name of Vespucci, rather than that of the true discoverer, was given to the New World.

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9. The discovery of America produced great excitement in Europe. Within ten years after the death of Columbus, the principal islands of the West Indies were explored and colonized. In the year 1510 the Spaniards planted on the Isthmus of Darien their first continental colony. Three years later, De Balboa, the governor of the colony, crossed the isthmus, and from an eminence looked down upon the Pacific. Not satisfied with merely seeing the great water, he waded in a short distance, and, drawing his sword, took possession of the ocean in the name of the king of Spain.

10. Meanwhile, Ponce de Leon, who had been a companion of Columbus, fitted out an expedition of discovery. He had grown rich as governor of Porto Rico, and had also grown old. But there was a Fountain of Perpetual Youth somewhere in the Bahamas—so said a tradition in Spain—and in that fountain the old soldier would bathe and be young again. So in the year 1512 he set sail from Porto Rico; and on Easter Sunday came in sight of an unknown shore. There were waving forests, green leaves, and birds of song. In honor of the day, called Pascua Florida, he named the new shore Florida—the Land of Flowers.

11. A landing was made near where St. Augustine was afterwards founded. The country was claimed for the king of Spain, and the search was continued for the Fountain of Youth. The adventurer turned southward, discovered the Tortugas, and then sailed back to Porto Rico, no younger than when he started.

12. The king of Spain gave Ponce the governorship of his Land of Flowers, and sent him thither to establish a colony. He reached his province in the year 1521, and found the Indians hostile. Scarcely had he landed when they fell upon him in battle; many of the Spaniards were killed, and the rest had to fly to the ships for safety. Ponce de Leon himself was wounded, and carried back to Cuba to die.

[Pg 28]

CHAPTER IV.

Spanish Discoveries in America.—(Continued.)

THE year 1517 was marked by the discovery of Yucatan by Fernandez de Cordova. While exploring the northern coast of the country, he was attacked by the natives, and mortally wounded. During the next year the coast of Mexico was explored for a great distance by Grijalva, assisted by Cordova's pilot. In the year 1519 Fernando Cortez landed with his fleet at Tabasco, and, in two years, conquered the Aztec empire of Mexico.

2. Among the daring enterprises at the beginning of the sixteenth century was that of Ferdinand Magellan. A Portuguese by birth, this bold man determined to discover a southwest passage to Asia. He appealed to the king of Portugal for ships and men; but the monarch gave no encouragement. Magellan then went to Spain, and laid his plans before Charles V., who ordered a fleet of five ships to be fitted out at the public expense.

3. The voyage was begun from Seville in August of 1519. Magellan soon reached the shores of South America, and passed the winter on the coast of Brazil. Renewing his voyage southward, he came to that strait which still bears his name, and passing through, found himself in the open and boundless ocean which he called the Pacific.

4. Magellan held on his course for nearly four months, suffering much for water and provisions. In March of 1520 he came to the islands called the Ladrones. Afterwards he reached the Philippine group, where he was killed in battle with the natives. But a new captain was chosen, and the voyage was[Pg 29] continued to the Moluccas. Only a single ship remained; but in this vessel the crews embarked, and, returning by way of the Cape of Good Hope, arrived in Spain in September, 1522. The first circumnavigation of the globe had been accomplished.

5. The next important voyage to America was in the year 1520. De Ayllon, a judge in St. Domingo, and six other wealthy men, determined to stock their plantations with slaves, by kidnapping natives from the Bahamas. Two vessels reached the coast of South Carolina. The name of Chicora was given to the country, and the River Combahee was called the Jordan. The natives made presents to the strangers and treated them with great cordiality. They flocked on board the ships; and when the decks were crowded De Ayllon weighed anchor and sailed away. A few days afterwards a storm wrecked one of the ships; while most of the poor wretches who were in the other ship died of suffocation.

6. In 1526 Charles V. appointed De Narvaez governor of Florida. His territory extended from Cape Sable three fifths of the way around the Gulf of Mexico. De Narvaez arrived at Tampa Bay with two hundred and sixty soldiers and forty horsemen. The natives treated them with suspicion, and holding up their gold trinkets, pointed to the north. The Spaniards, whose imaginations were fired with the sight of the precious metal, struck into the forests, expecting to find cities and empires, and found instead swamps and savages. They finally came to Appalachee, a squalid village of forty cabins.

7. Oppressed with fatigue and hunger, they wandered on, until they reached the harbor of St. Mark's. Here they constructed some brigantines, and put to sea in hope of reaching Mexico. After shipwrecks and almost endless wanderings, four men only of all the company, under the leadership of the heroic De Vaca, reached the village of San Miguel, on the Pacific coast, and were conducted to the city of Mexico.

[Pg 30]

8. In the year 1537 Ferdinand de Soto was appointed governor of Cuba and Florida, with the privilege of exploring and conquering the latter country. He selected six hundred of the most gallant and daring young Spaniards, and great preparations were made for the conquest. Arms and stores were provided; shackles were wrought for the slaves; tools for the forge and workshop were supplied; twelve priests were chosen to conduct religious ceremonies; and a herd of swine was driven on board to fatten on the maize and mast of the country.

9. The fleet first touched at Havana, where De Soto left his wife to govern Cuba during his absence. After a voyage of two weeks, the ships cast anchor in Tampa Bay. Some of the Cubans who had joined the expedition were terrified and sailed back to the security of home; but De Soto and his cavaliers began their march into the interior. In October of 1539 they arrived at the country of the Appalachians, where they spent the winter. For four months they remained in this locality, sending out exploring parties in various directions. One of these companies reached Pensacola, and made arrangements that supplies should be sent out from Cuba to that place in the following summer.

10. In the early spring the Spaniards continued their march to the north and east. An Indian guide told them of a populous empire in that direction; a woman was empress, and the land was full of gold. De Soto and the freebooters pressed on through the swamps and woods, and in April, 1540, came upon the Ogeechee River. Here the Indian guide went mad, and lost the whole company in the forest. By the 1st of May they reached South Carolina, near where De Ayllon had lost his ships.

11. From this place the wanderers passed across Northern Georgia from the Chattahoochee to the Coosa; thence down that river to Lower Alabama. Here they came upon the[Pg 31] Indian town of Mauville, or Mobile, where a battle was fought with the natives. The town was set on fire, and two thousand five hundred of the Indians were killed or burned to death. Eighteen of De Soto's men were killed and a hundred and fifty wounded. The Spaniards also lost most of their horses and baggage.

De Soto Reaches the Mississippi.

12. De Soto and his men next turned to the north, and by the middle of December reached the country of the Chickasaws. They crossed the Yazoo, and found an Indian village, which promised them shelter for the winter. Here, in February, 1541, they were attacked by the Indians, who set the town on fire, but Spanish weapons and discipline again saved De Soto and his men.

13. The Spaniards next set out to journey farther westward, and the guides brought them to the Mississippi. The point where the Father of Waters was first seen[Pg 32] by White men was a little north of the thirty-fourth parallel of latitude; the day of the discovery can not certainly be known. The Indians came down the river in a fleet of canoes, and offered to carry the Spaniards over; but a crossing was not effected until the latter part of May.

14. De Soto's men now found themselves in the land of the Dakotas. The natives at one place were going to worship the Spaniards, but De Soto would not permit such idolatry. They continued their march to the St. Francis River; thence westward for about two hundred miles; thence southward to the tributaries of the Washita River. On the banks of this stream they passed the winter of 1541-42.

15. De Soto now turned toward the sea, and came upon the Mississippi in the neighborhood of Natchez. His spirit was completely broken. A fever seized upon his emaciated frame, and death shortly ensued. The priests chanted a requiem, and in the middle of the night his companions put his body into a rustic coffin and sunk it in the Mississippi.

16. Before his death, De Soto had named Moscoso as his successor. Under his leadership, the half-starved adventurers next crossed the country to the upper waters of the Red River, and then ranged the hunting-grounds of the Pawnees and the Comanches. In December of 1542 they came again to the Mississippi, where they built seven boats, and on the 2d of July, 1543, set sail for the sea. The distance was almost five hundred miles, and seventeen days were required to make the descent. On reaching the Gulf of Mexico, they steered to the southwest, and finally reached the settlement at the mouth of the River of Palms.

17. The next attempt to colonize Florida was in the year 1565. The enterprise was intrusted to Pedro Menendez, a Spanish soldier. He was commissioned by Philip II. to plant in some favorable district of Florida a colony of not less than five hundred persons, and was to receive two hundred and[Pg 33] twenty-five square miles of land adjacent to the settlement. Twenty-five hundred persons joined the expedition.

Pedro Menendez.

18. The real object of Menendez was to destroy a colony of French Protestants, called Huguenots, who had made a settlement near the mouth of the St. John's River. This was within the limits of the territory claimed by Spain. The Catholic party of the French court had communicated with the Spanish court as to the whereabouts and intentions of the Huguenots, so that Menendez knew where to find and how to destroy them.

19. It was St. Augustine's day when the Spaniards came in sight of the shore, and the harbor and river which enters it were named in honor of the saint. On the 8th day of September, Philip II. was proclaimed monarch of North America; a solemn mass was said by the priests; and the foundations of the oldest town in the United States were laid. This was seventeen years before the founding of Santa Fé, and forty-two years before the settlement at Jamestown.

20. Menendez soon turned his attention to the Huguenots. He collected his forces at St. Augustine, stole through the woods, and falling on the defenseless colony, utterly destroyed it. Men, women, and children were alike given up to butchery. Two hundred were massacred. A few escaped into the forest, Laudonniere, the Huguenot leader, among the number, and were picked up by two French ships.

[Pg 34]

21. The crews of the vessels were the next object of vengeance. Menendez discovered them, and deceiving them with treacherous promises, induced them to surrender. As they approached the Spanish fort a signal was given, and seven hundred defenceless victims were slain. Only a few mechanics and Catholic servants were left alive.

22. The Spaniards had now explored the coast from the Isthmus of Darien to Port Royal in South Carolina. They were acquainted with the country west of the Mississippi as far north as New Mexico and Missouri, and east of that river they had traversed the Gulf States as far as the mountain ranges of Tennessee and North Carolina. With the establishment of their first permanent colony on the coast of Florida, the period of Spanish voyage and discovery may be said to end.

23. A brief account of the only important voyages of the Portuguese to America will here be given. In 1495, John II., king of Portugal, was succeeded by his cousin Manuel, who, in order to secure some of the benefits which yet remained to discoverers, fitted out two vessels, and in the summer of 1501 sent Gaspar Cortereal to make a voyage to America.

24. The Portuguese ships reached Maine in July, and explored the coast for nearly seven hundred miles. Little attention was paid by Cortereal to the great forests of pine which stood along the shore, promising ship-yards and cities. He satisfied his rapacity by kidnapping fifty Indians, whom, on his return to Portugal, he sold as slaves. A new voyage was then undertaken, with the purpose of capturing another cargo of natives; but a year went by, and no tidings arrived from the fleet. The brother of the Portuguese captain sailed in hope of finding the missing vessels. He also was lost, but in what manner is not known. The fate of the Cortereals and their slave-ships has remained a mystery of the sea.

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CHAPTER V.

The French in America.

FRANCE was not slow to profit by the discoveries of Columbus. As early as 1504 the fishermen of Normandy and Brittany reached the banks of Newfoundland. A map of the Gulf of St. Lawrence was drawn by a Frenchman in the year 1506. Two years later some Indians were taken to France; and in 1518 the attention of Francis I. was turned to the New World. In 1523 John Verrazano, of Florence, was commissioned to conduct an expedition for the discovery of a northwest passage to the East Indies.

2. In January, 1524, Verrazano left the shores of Europe, with a single ship, called the Dolphin. After fifty days he discovered the mainland in the latitude of Wilmington. He sailed southward and northward along the coast and began a traffic with the natives. The Indians were found to be a timid race, unsuspicious and confiding. A half-drowned sailor, washed ashore by the surf, was treated with kindness, and permitted to return to the ship.

3. The voyage was continued toward the north. The coast of New Jersey was explored, and the hills marked as containing minerals. The harbor of New York was entered, and at Newport Verrazano anchored for fifteen days. Here the French sailors repaid the confidence of the natives by kidnapping a child and attempting to steal an Indian girl.

4. From Newport, Verrazano continued his explorations northward. The long line of the New England coast was traced with care. The Indians of the north would buy no toys, but were eager to purchase knives and weapons of iron. In the[Pg 36] latter part of May, Verrazano reached Newfoundland. In July he returned to France and published an account of his great discoveries. The name of New France was given to the country.

5. In 1534, James Cartier, a seaman of St. Malo, made a voyage to America. His two ships, after twenty days of sailing, anchored on the 10th day of May off the coast of Newfoundland. Cartier circumnavigated the island, crossed the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and ascended the estuary until the narrowing banks made him aware that he was in the mouth of a river. Cartier, thinking it impracticable to pass the winter in the New World, set sail for France, and in thirty days reached St. Malo.

6. Another voyage was planned immediately. Three ships were provided; a number of young noblemen joined the expedition, and on the 19th of May the voyage was begun. The passage to Newfoundland was made by the 10th of August. It was the day of St. Lawrence, and the name of that martyr was given to the gulf and to the stream which enters it from the west. The expedition proceeded to the island of Orleans, where the ships were moored. Two Indians, whom Cartier had taken with him to France, gave information that there was an important town higher up the river. Proceeding thither, the French captain found a village at the foot of a high hill in the middle of an island. Cartier named the island and town Mont Real, and the country was declared to belong to the king of France. During this winter twenty-five of Cartier's men were swept off by the scurvy.

7. With the opening of spring, a cross was planted on the shore, and the homeward voyage began. The good king of the Hurons was decoyed on board and carried off to die. On the 6th of July the fleet reached St. Malo; but the accounts which Cartier published greatly discouraged the[Pg 37] French; for neither silver nor gold had been found in New France.

8. Francis of Roberval was next commissioned by the court of France to plant a colony on the St. Lawrence. The man who was chiefly relied on to give character to the proposed colony was James Cartier. His name was accordingly added to the list, and he was honored with the office of chief pilot and captain-general.

9. It was difficult to find material for the colony. The French peasants were not eager to embark, and the work of enlisting volunteers went on slowly, until the government opened the prisons of the kingdom, giving freedom to whoever would join the expedition. There was a rush of robbers and swindlers, and the lists were immediately filled. Only counterfeiters and traitors were denied the privilege of gaining their liberty in the New World.

10. In May of 1541, five ships, under command of Cartier, left France, reached the St. Lawrence, and ascended the river to the site of Quebec, where a fort was erected and named Charlesbourg. Here the colonists passed the winter. Cartier soon sailed away with his part of the squadron, and returned to Europe. Roberval was left in New France with three shiploads of criminals who could be restrained only by whipping and hanging. The winter was long and severe, and spring was welcomed for the opportunity which it gave of returning to France.

11. About the middle of the sixteenth century Admiral Coligny, of France, formed the design of establishing in America a refuge for the Huguenots of his own country. In 1562 John Ribault, of Dieppe, was selected to lead the Huguenots to the land of promise. In February the colony reached the coast of Florida near the site of St. Augustine. The River St. John's was entered and named the River of May. The vessel then sailed to the entrance of Port Royal; here it was deter[Pg 38]mined to make the settlement. The colonists were landed on an island, and a stone was set up to mark the place. A fort was erected and named Carolina. In this fort Ribault left twenty-six men, and then sailed back to France. In the following spring the men in the fort mutinied and killed their leader. Then they built a rude brig and put to sea. They were at last picked up by an English ship and carried to France.

12. Two years later another colony was planned, and Laudonniere chosen leader. The character, however, of this second Protestant company was very bad. A point on the River St. John's was selected for the settlement. A fort was built here, but a part of the colonists contrived to get away with two of the ships. The rest of the settlers were on the eve of departure when Ribault arrived with supplies and restored order. It was at this time that Menendez discovered the Huguenots and murdered them.

13. But Dominic de Gourgues, of Gascony, visited the Spaniards with signal vengeance. This man fitted out three ships, and with only fifty seamen arrived on the coast of Florida. He surprised three Spanish forts on the St. John's, and made prisoners of the inmates. Unable to hold his position, he hanged the leading captives to the trees, and put up this inscription to explain what he had done: "Not as Spaniards, but as murderers."

14. In the year 1598 the Marquis of La Roche was commissioned to found a colony in the New World. The prisons of France were again opened to furnish the emigrants. The vessels reached Sable Island, a dismal place off Nova Scotia, where forty men were left to form a settlement. La Roche returned to France and died, and for seven years the forty criminals languished on Sable Island. Then they were picked up and carried back to France, but were never remanded to prison.

15. In the year 1603 the country, from the latitude of Philadelphia to that of Quebec, was granted to De Monts. The[Pg 39] chief provisions of his patent were a monopoly of the fur-trade, and religious freedom for the Huguenots. With two shiploads of colonists De Monts left France in March of 1604, and reached the Bay of Fundy. Poutrincourt, the captain of one of the ships, asked and obtained a grant of some beautiful lands in Nova Scotia, and with a part of the crew went on shore. De Monts began to build a fort at the mouth of the St. Croix. But in the following spring they abandoned this place and joined Poutrincourt. Here, on the 14th of November, 1605, the foundations of the first permanent French settlement in America were laid. The name of Port Royal was given to the fort, and the country was called Acadia.

Samuel Champlain.

16. In 1603 Samuel Champlain, the most soldierly man of his times, was commissioned by Rouen merchants to establish a trading-post on the St. Lawrence. The traders saw that a traffic in furs was a surer road to riches than the search for gold and diamonds. Champlain crossed the ocean, sailed up the river, and selected the spot on which Quebec now stands as the site for a fort. In the autumn he returned to France.

17. In 1608 Champlain again visited America, and on the 3d of July in that year the foundations of Quebec were laid. The next year he and two other Frenchmen joined a company of Huron and Algonquin Indians who were at war with[Pg 40] the Iroquois of New York. With this band he ascended the Sorel River until he came to the long, narrow lake, which has ever since borne the name of its discoverer.

18. In 1612 Champlain came to New France for the third time, and the success of the colony at Quebec was assured. Franciscan monks came over and began to preach among the Indians. Champlain again went with a war-party against the Iroquois. His company was defeated, he himself wounded and obliged to remain all winter among the Hurons. In 1617 he returned to the colony, and in 1620 began to build the fortress of St. Louis. Champlain became governor of New France, and died in 1635. To him, more than to any other man, the success of the French colonies in North America must be attributed.

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CHAPTER VI.

English Discoveries and Settlements.

ON the 5th of May, 1496, Henry VII., king of England, commissioned John Cabot, of Venice, to make discoveries in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and to take possession of all countries which he might discover. Cabot was a brave, adventurous man, who had been a sailor from his boyhood, and was now a wealthy merchant of Bristol. Five ships were fitted out, and in April, 1497, the fleet left Bristol. On the morning of the 24th of June, the gloomy shore of Labrador was seen. This was the real discovery of the American continent. Fourteen months elapsed before Columbus reached the coast of Guiana, and more than two years before Vespucci saw the main land of South America.

2. Cabot explored the coast of the country for several hundred miles. He supposed that the land was a part of the dominions of the Khan of Tartary; but finding no inhabitants, he went on shore and took possession in the name of the English king. No man forgets his native land; by the side of the flag of his adopted country Cabot set up the banner of the republic of Venice—emblem of another republic which should one day rule from sea to sea.

3. As soon as he had satisfied himself of the extent of the country, Cabot sailed for England. On the voyage he twice saw the coast of Newfoundland. After an absence of three months he reached Bristol, and was greeted with enthusiasm. The town had holiday, and the people were wild about the great discovery. The king gave him money; new ships were fitted out, and a new commission was signed in February,[Pg 42] 1498. But after the date of this patent the name of John Cabot disappears from history.

Sebastian Cabot.

4. Sebastian, son of John Cabot, inherited his father's genius. He had already been to the New World on the first voyage, and now he took up his father's work with all the fervor of youth. The very fleet which had been equipped for John Cabot was intrusted to Sebastian. The object in view was the discovery of a northwest passage to the Indies.

5. The voyage was made in the spring of 1498. Far to the north the icebergs compelled Sebastian to change his course. It was July, and the sun scarcely set at midnight. Seals were seen, and the ships plowed through such shoals of codfish as had never before been heard of. Labrador was again seen. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Maine were next explored. The whole coast of New England and of the Middle States was now, for the first time since the days of the Norsemen, traced by Europeans. Nor did Cabot desist from this work, which was bestowing the title of discovery on the crown of England, until he reached Cape Hatteras.

6. The future career of Cabot was a strange one. Henry VII. was slow to reward the discoverer. When that monarch died, the king of Spain enticed Cabot away from England and made him pilot-major of the Spanish navy. He lived to be very old, but the place and circumstances of his death are unknown.

7. The year 1498 is the most marked in the whole history of discovery. In the month of May, Vasco da Gama, of Portugal, doubled the Cape of Good Hope and succeeded in reaching Hindostan. During the summer, the younger Cabot traced the eastern coast of North America through more than twenty[Pg 43] degrees of latitude. In August, Columbus himself reached the mouth of the Orinoco. Of the three great discoveries, that of Cabot has proved to be by far the most important.

8. In 1493 Pope Alexander drew an imaginary line three hundred miles west of the Azores, and gave all countries west of that line to Spain. Henry VII. was a Catholic and did not care to have a conflict with his Church by claiming the New World. Henry VIII. adopted the same policy, and it was not until after the Reformation in England that the decision of the pope was disregarded.

9. During the reign of Edward VI. the spirit of adventure was again aroused. In 1548 the old admiral Sebastian Cabot quitted Seville and once more sailed under the English flag. In the reign of Queen Mary the power of England on the sea was not materially extended, but with the accession of Elizabeth a new impulse was given to voyage and adventure.

10. Martin Frobisher began anew the work of discovery. Three small vessels were fitted out to sail in search of a northwest passage to Asia. One ship was lost on the voyage, another returned to England, but the third sailed on as far north as Hudson Strait. A large island lying northward was named Meta Incognita. Frobisher entered the strait which has ever since borne his name, and then sailed for England, carrying with him an Esquimo and a stone said to contain gold.

11. London was greatly excited. In May, 1577, a new fleet departed for Meta Incognita to gather the precious metal. But the vessels did not sail as far as Frobisher had done on a previous voyage. The mariners sought the first opportunity to get out of these dangerous seas and return to England.

12. The English gold-hunters were not yet satisfied. Fifteen new vessels were fitted out, and in 1578 a third voyage was begun. Three of the ships, loaded with emigrants, were to remain in the promised land. The vessels, struggling through the icebergs, finally reached Meta Incognita and took on[Pg 44] cargoes of dirt. With several tons of the supposed ore under the hatches, the ships set sail for home. The El Dorado of the Esquimos had proved a failure.

13. In 1577 Sir Francis Drake, following Magellan, became a terror to the Spanish vessels in the Pacific. He hoped to find a northwest passage, and thence sail eastward around the continent. He proceeded northward as far as Oregon, when his sailors began to shiver with the cold, and the enterprise was given up. Drake passed the winter of 1579-80 in a harbor on the coast of Mexico.

Sir Walter Raleigh.

14. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was perhaps the first to form a rational plan of colonization in America. His idea was to plant an agricultural and commercial state. Assisted by his illustrious half-brother, Walter Raleigh, Gilbert prepared five vessels, and in June of 1583 sailed for the west. In August Gilbert reached Newfoundland, and took possession of the country. Soon the sailors discovered some scales of mica, and went to digging the supposed silver, while others attacked the Spanish fishing-ships in the neighboring harbors.

15. One of Gilbert's vessels became worthless, and was abandoned. With the rest he sailed toward the south. Off the coast of Massachusetts the largest of the ships was wrecked, and a hundred sailors were drowned. Gilbert determined to return to England. The weather was stormy, and the two ships now remaining were unfit for the sea. The captain[Pg 45] remained in the weaker vessel, called the Squirrel. As the ships were struggling through the sea at midnight, the Squirrel was suddenly engulfed; not a man of the crew was saved. The other vessel finally reached Falmouth in safety.

16. The project of colonization was renewed by Raleigh. In the spring of 1584 he obtained a new patent for a tract in America extending from the thirty-third to the fortieth parallel of latitude. This territory was to be peopled and organized into a state. Two ships were fitted out, and the command given to Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow.

17. In July the vessels reached Carolina. The woods were full of beauty and song. The natives were generous and hospitable. The shores of Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds were explored, and a landing effected on Roanoke Island, where the English were entertained by the Indian queen. But after a stay of two months Amidas and Barlow returned to England, praising the beauties of the new land. Queen Elizabeth gave to her delightful country in the New World the name of Virginia, for she was called the Virgin Queen.

18. In December, 1584, Sir Walter fitted out a second expedition, and appointed Ralph Lane governor of the colony. Sir Richard Grenville commanded the fleet, and a company, partly composed of young nobles, made up the crew. The fleet of seven vessels reached Roanoke on the 26th of June.

Here Lane was left with a hundred and ten of the immigrants to form a settlement. But hostilities soon broke out between the English and the Indians; and when Sir Francis Drake came with a fleet, the colonists prevailed on him to carry them back to England.

19. Soon Sir Richard Grenville came to Roanoke with three well-laden ships, and made a fruitless search for the colonists. Not to lose possession of the country, he left fifteen men on the[Pg 46] island, and set sail for home. Another colony was easily made up, and in July the emigrants arrived in Carolina. A search for the fifteen men who had been left on Roanoke revealed the fact, that the natives had murdered them. Nevertheless, the northern extremity of the island was chosen as the site for a city.

20. Disaster attended the enterprise. The Indians were hostile, and the fear of starvation soon compelled Governor White to return to England for supplies. The 18th of August was the birthday of Virginia Dare, the first-born of English children in the New World. Raleigh returned in 1590 to search for the unfortunate colonists. No soul remained to tell their story. Sir Walter, after spending two hundred thousand dollars, gave up the enterprise, and assigned his rights to an association of London merchants.

21. The next English expedition was that of Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602. Thus far all the voyages to America had been by way of the Canary Islands and the West Indies. Abandoning this path, Gosnold, in a small vessel called the Concord, sailed directly across the Atlantic, and in seven weeks reached Maine. He explored the coast and went on shore at Cape Cod. It was the first landing of Englishmen within the limits of New England. He loaded the Concord with sassafras root, and reached home in safety.

22. Another expedition to America was soon planned, with Martin Pring for commander. In April, 1603, his vessels came safely to Penobscot Bay, and spent some time in exploring the harbors of Maine. He loaded his vessels with sassafras at Martha's Vineyard, and returned to England, after an absence of six months.

23. Two years later, George Waymouth made a voyage to America. He reached the coast of Maine, and explored a harbor. Trade was opened with the Indians, some of whom returned with Waymouth to England. This was the last English expedition before the actual establishment of a colony in America.

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CHAPTER VII.

English Discoveries and Settlements.—(Continued.)

ON the 10th of April, 1606, King James I. issued two patents to men of his kingdom, authorizing them to colonize all that portion of North America lying between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth parallels of latitude. The immense tract extended from the mouth of Cape Fear River to Passamaquoddy Bay, and westward to the Pacific Ocean.

2. The first patent was to an association of nobles, gentlemen and merchants called the London Company; and the second to a similar body bearing the name of the Plymouth Company. To the former corporation was given the region between the thirty-fourth and the thirty-eighth degrees of latitude, and to the latter the tract from the forty-first to the forty-fifth degree. The belt of three degrees between the thirty-eighth and forty-first parallels was to be open to colonies of either company, but no settlement of one party was to be made within less than a hundred miles of the nearest settlement of the other.

3. The leading man in the London Company was Bartholomew Gosnold. His principal associates were Edward Wingfield, a rich merchant, Robert Hunt, a clergyman, and John Smith, an adventurer. The affairs of the company were to be administered by a Superior Council in England, and an Inferior Council in the colony. All legislative authority was vested in the king. A provision in the patent required the colony to hold all property in common for five years. The best law of the charter allowed the emigrants to retain in the New World all the rights of Englishmen.

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4. In 1606 the Plymouth Company sent two ships to America, and in the summer of 1607 dispatched a colony of one hundred persons. A settlement was begun at the mouth of the Kennebec. The ships returned to England, leaving a colony of forty-five persons; but in the winter of 1607-8, some of the settlers were starved and some frozen; the storehouse was burned, and the remnant escaped to England.

The First English Settlements.

5. The London Company had better fortune. A fleet of three vessels was fitted out under command of Christopher Newport. In December the ships, having on board a hundred and five colonists, among whom were Wingfield and Smith, left England. Entering Chesapeake Bay, the vessels came to the mouth of a beautiful river, which was named in honor of King James. Proceeding up stream about fifty miles, Newport found on the northern bank a peninsula noted for its beauty; the ships were moored and the emigrants went on shore. Here, on the 13th of May (Old Style), 1607, were laid the foundations of Jamestown, the oldest English settlement in America.

6. Meanwhile Captain John Smith, in 1609, left Jamestown and returned to England. There he formed a partnership with[Pg 49] four wealthy merchants of London to trade in furs and establish a colony within the limits of the Plymouth grant. Two ships were freighted with goods and put under Smith's command. The summer of 1614 was spent on the coast of Maine, where a traffic was carried on with the Indians. But Smith himself explored the country, and drew a map of the whole coast from the Penobscot to Cape Cod. In this map, the country was called New England.

7. In 1615 a small colony of sixteen persons, led by Smith, was sent out in a single ship. When nearing the American coast, they encountered a storm and were obliged to return to England. The leader renewed the enterprise, and raised another company. Part of his crew mutinied in mid-ocean. His own ship was captured by a band of French pirates, and himself imprisoned. But he escaped and made his way to London. The years 1617-18 were spent in making plans of colonization, until finally the Plymouth Company was superseded by a new corporation called the Council of Plymouth. On this body were conferred almost unlimited powers and privileges. All that part of America lying between the fortieth and the forty-eighth parallels of north latitude, and extending from ocean to ocean, was given to forty men.

8. John Smith was now appointed admiral of New England. The king issued a proclamation enforcing the charter, and everything gave promise of the early settlement of America. Meanwhile the time had come when, without the knowledge or consent of James I. or the Council of Plymouth, a permanent settlement should be made on the shores of New England.

9. About the close of the sixteenth century, a number of poor Puritans in the north of England joined together for free religious worship. They believed that every man has a right to know the truth of the Scriptures for himself. Such a doctrine was repugnant to the Church of England. Queen Eliza[Pg 50]beth declared such teaching to be subversive of the monarchy. King James was also intolerant; and violent persecutions broke out against the sect.

10. Many of the Puritans went into exile in Holland. They took the name of Pilgrims, and grew content to have no home or resting-place. But they did not forget their native land. They pined with unrest, and were anxious to do something to convince King James of their patriotism.

11. In 1617 the Puritans began to meditate a removal to the New World. John Carver and Robert Cushman were dispatched to England to ask permission to settle in America. The agents of the Council of Plymouth favored the request, but the king refused. The most that he would do was to make a promise to let the Pilgrims alone in America.

12. The Puritans were not discouraged. The Speedwell, a small vessel, was purchased at Amsterdam, and the Mayflower, a larger ship, was hired for the voyage. The former was to carry the emigrants to Southampton, where they were to be joined by the Mayflower from London. Assembling at the harbor of Delft, as many of the Pilgrims as could be accommodated went on board the Speedwell. The whole congregation accompanied them to the shore, where their pastor gave them a farewell address, and the prayers of those who were left behind followed the vessel out of sight.

13. On the 5th of August, 1620, the vessels left Southampton; but the Speedwell was unable to breast the ocean, and put back to Plymouth. The Pilgrims were encouraged by the citizens, and the more zealous went on board the Mayflower for a final effort. On the 6th of September the first colony of New England, numbering one hundred and two souls, saw the shores of Old England sink behind the sea.

14. For sixty-three days the ship was buffeted by storms. On the 9th of November the vessel was anchored in the bay off Cape Cod; a meeting was held and the colony organized under a solemn compact. In the charter which they made for[Pg 51] themselves the emigrants declared their loyalty to the English king, and agreed to live in peace and harmony. Such was the simple constitution of the oldest New England State. To this instrument all the heads of families, forty-one in number, set their names. An election was held, and John Carver was chosen governor.

The Landing of the Pilgrims.

15. Miles Standish, John Bradford, and a few others, went on shore and explored the country; nothing was found but a heap of Indian corn under the snow. On the 6th of December the governor landed with fifteen companions. The weather was dreadful. Snow-storms covered the clothes of the Pilgrims with ice. They were attacked by the Indians, but escaped to the ship with their lives. The vessel was at last driven by accident into a haven on the west side of the bay. The next day, being the Sabbath, was spent in religious services, and on Monday, the 11th of December (Old Style), 1620, the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock.

16. It was the dead of winter. The houseless immigrants fell a-dying of hunger and cold. But a site was selected near[Pg 52] the first landing, and, on the 9th of January, the toilers began to build New Plymouth. Every man took on himself the work of making his own house; but the ravages of disease grew daily worse. At one time only seven men were able to work on the sheds which were built for protection. If an early spring had not brought relief, the colony must have perished. Such were the sufferings of the winter when New England began its being.

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CHAPTER VIII.

Voyages and Settlements of the Dutch.

The Half Moon on Hudson River.

THE first Dutch settlement in America was made on Manhattan Island. The colony resulted from the voyages of Sir Henry Hudson. In the year 1607 this great sailor was employed by a company of London merchants to discover a new route to the Indies. He first made two unsuccessful voyages into the North Atlantic, and his employers gave up the enterprise. In 1609 the Dutch East India Company furnished him with a ship called the Half Moon, and in April he set out for the Indies. Again he ran among the icebergs, and further sailing was impossible. But not discouraged, he immediately set sail for America.

2. In July Hudson reached the coast of Maine; and in August, the Chesapeake. On the 28th of the month he an[Pg 54]chored in Delaware Bay, and on the 3d of September the Half Moon came to Sandy Hook. Two days later a landing was effected. The natives came with gifts of corn, wild fruit, and oysters. On the 10th the vessel passed the Narrows, and entered the noble river which bears the name of Hudson.

3. For eight days the Half Moon sailed up the river. Such beautiful forests and valleys, the Dutch had never seen before. On the 19th of September the vessel was moored at Kinderhook; but an exploring party rowed up stream beyond the site of Albany. The vessel then dropped down the river, and on the 4th of October the sails were spread for Holland. But the Half Moon was detained in England.

4. In the summer of 1610 a ship, called the Discovery, was given to Hudson, who sailed in the track which Frobisher had taken, and on the 2d day of August entered the strait which bears the name of its discoverer. The great captain believed that the route to China was at last discovered; but he soon found himself environed in the frozen gulf of the North. With great courage he bore up until his provisions were almost exhausted. Then the crew broke out in mutiny. They seized Hudson and his only son, with seven other faithful sailors, and cast them off among the icebergs. The fate of the illustrious mariner has never been ascertained.

5. In 1610 the Half Moon was liberated and returned to Amsterdam. In the same year several ships owned by Dutch merchants sailed to the banks of the Hudson and engaged in the fur-trade. In 1614 an act was passed by the States-General of Holland, giving to merchants of Amsterdam the right to trade and establish settlements in the country explored by Hudson. A fleet of five trading-vessels arrived in the summer of the same year at Manhattan Island. Here some rude huts had already been built by former traders, and the settlement was named New Amsterdam.

[Pg 55]

6. In the fall of 1614 Adrian Block sailed into Long Island Sound, and made explorations as far as Cape Cod. Christianson, another Dutch commander, sailed up the river from Manhattan to Castle Island, and erected a block-house, which was named Fort Nassau. Cornelius May, the captain of a small vessel called the Fortune, sailed from New Amsterdam and explored the Jersey coast as far as the Bay of Delaware. Upon these two voyages Holland set up a claim to the country, which was now named New Netherlands, extending from Cape Henlopen to Cape Cod. Such were the feeble beginnings of the Dutch colonies in New York and Jersey.

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Review Questions.—Part II.

CHAPTER II.

• 1. Tell about the Icelanders and Norwegians in America.

CHAPTER III.

• 2. Give an account of Columbus, and of his discoveries and explorations in the New World.
• 3. Give an account of the voyage of Amerigo Vespucci, and of how this Continent came to be known by his name.
• 4. What were the services of Balboa, and of Ponce de Leon?

CHAPTER IV.

• 5. Sketch the later discoveries by the Spaniards in America.
• 6. Tell of the coming of the Portuguese.

CHAPTER V.

• 7. Trace the progress of the French discoverers and explorers on the new Continent.

CHAPTER VI.

• 8. Give an account of the commission, and of the explorations of John and Sebastian Cabot.
• 9. What work of discovery was attempted by Martin Frobisher, and with what result?
• 10. Outline the colonization schemes of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh.
• 11. What change of plan for colonization was adopted by Gosnold, and with what success?

CHAPTER VII.

• 12. Tell of the Royal Patents to the London and Plymouth Companies.
• 13. Sketch the efforts of the Plymouth Company toward colonization, and the coming of the Puritans.

CHAPTER VIII.

• 14. Give an account of the voyages and final successes of Sir Henry Hudson.
• 15. On what did the Dutch base their early claim to lands in America?

[Pg 57]

Part III.

COLONIAL HISTORY.

CHAPTER IX.

Virginia—The First Charter.

THE first settlers at Jamestown were idle and improvident. Only twelve of those who came in 1607 were common laborers. There were four carpenters in the company, six or eight masons and blacksmiths, and a long list of gentlemen. The few married men had left their families in England.

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2. The affairs of the colony were badly managed. Captain John Smith, the best man in the colony, was suspected of making a plot to murder the council and to make himself king of Virginia. He was arrested and confined until the end of the voyage. When the colonists reached their destination, the king's instructions were unsealed and the names of the Inferior Council made known. A meeting was held and Edward Wingfield elected first governor.

3. As soon as the settlement was well begun, Smith and Newport, with twenty others, explored James River for forty-five miles. Just below the falls, the explorers found the capital of Powhatan, the Indian king. But the "city" was only a squalid village of twelve wigwams. The monarch received the foreigners with courtesy and showed no dislike at the intrusion.

4. The colonists now began to realize their situation. They were alone in the New World. Winter was approaching. Dreadful diseases broke out, and the colony was brought almost to ruin. At one time only five men were able to go on duty as sentinels, and before the middle of September one half of the colonists died. But the frosts came, and disease was checked.

5. Civil dissension arose. President Wingfield and George Kendall were detected in embezzling the stores, and were removed from office. Ratcliffe was then chosen president, but was found incompetent. Only Martin and Smith now remained in the council, and the latter took charge of the colony. Under his administration the new settlement soon began to show signs of progress. His first care was to improve the buildings of the plantation; then to secure a supply of provisions. There had been a plentiful harvest among the Indians; but the work of procuring corn was not an easy task. Descending James River to Hampton Roads, Smith landed with five companions and offered the natives hatchets and copper coins in exchange for corn.

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6. But the Indians only laughed at the proposal. The English then charged on the wigwams, and the warriors were obliged to purchase peace by loading the boats of the English with corn. Soon the Indians in the neighborhood began to come with voluntary contributions. The fear of famine passed away. The woods were full of wild turkeys. Good discipline was maintained in the colony, and friendly relations were established with the natives. The colonists became cheerful and happy.

7. As soon as winter set in, the president, with six Englishmen and two Indian guides, began to explore along the Chickahominy. It was believed by the people of Jamestown that by going up this stream they could reach the Pacific Ocean! Smith knew the absurdity of such an opinion, but humored it because of the opportunity it gave him to see the country and make maps.

8. The president and his companions ascended the river until it dwindled to a mere creek. The men who were left to protect the boats were attacked by Indians, and several of the English were killed. Smith was wounded with an arrow, and chased through the woods. He fought, ran, and fired by turns, but was finally overtaken.

9. Smith demanded to see the Indian chief, and excited his curiosity by showing him a pocket-compass and a watch. These instruments struck the Indians with awe; but the savages bound their captive to a tree, and prepared to shoot him, but he flourished his compass in the air and the Indians were afraid to fire.

10. Smith was next taken to Orapax, a few miles from the site of Richmond. Here he found the Indians making preparations to attack Jamestown. They invited him to become their leader, but he refused and managed to write a warning letter to his countrymen. This letter, because of its mysterious power of carrying intelligence, frightened them more than ever. When the warriors arrived at Jamestown and found[Pg 60] everything as Smith had said, all thought of attacking the colony was given up.

Captain John Smith.

11. The Indians now marched their captive from village to village. Near the fork of York River, at Pamunkey, Smith was turned over to the priests, who assembled in their Long House and for three days danced around him, sang and yelled, to determine by this wild ceremony what his fate should be. The decision was against him, and he was condemned to death.

12. Smith was next taken to a town where Powhatan lived in winter. The savage monarch, now sixty years of age, took his seat in the Long House. His two daughters sat near him, and warriors and women were ranged around the hall. The king reviewed the cause and confirmed the sentence of death. Two large stones were brought, Smith was dragged forth bound, and his head put into position to be crushed with a war-club; but as the executioner raised his club, Matoaka,[A] the eldest daughter of Powhatan, rushed between it and the prostrate prisoner. She clasped his head in her arms and held [Pg 61]on until her father ordered Smith to be unbound. Soon it was agreed that he should return to Jamestown.

13. Only thirty-eight of the settlers were now alive, and these were frost-bitten and half-starved. Their leader had been absent for seven weeks. The old fears of the colonists had revived, and when Smith returned he found all hands preparing to abandon the settlement. He induced the majority to abandon this project, but the rest, burning with resentment, made a conspiracy to kill him.

14. In these days Newport arrived from England, bringing supplies and a hundred and twenty immigrants. But the new-comers were gentlemen, gold-hunters, jewelers, engravers, adventurers, and strollers. Smith was much vexed at this, for he had urged Newport to bring over only a few industrious mechanics and laborers.

15. Soon the new-comers and some of the old settlers began to stroll about the country digging for gold. At the mouth of a small creek some glittering particles were found, and the whole settlement was thrown into excitement. Soon afterwards a company sailed up James River to find the Pacific Ocean! Fourteen weeks were consumed in this nonsense. Even the Indians ridiculed the madness of men who were wasting their chances for a crop of corn.

16. But Smith had formed the design of exploring Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Accompanied by Dr. Russell and thirteen others, he left Jamestown on the 2d day of June. He steered his barge by way of Hampton Roads as far as Smith's Island. Returning thence around Cape Charles, he continued northward as far as the river Wicomico, then crossed over to the Patuxent, and thence northward to the Patapsco. Then steering southward he had the good fortune to enter the mouth of the Potomac and continue the voyage as far as the falls at Georgetown. He then dropped down the river to the bay, and reached Jamestown on the 21st of July.

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17. After three days a second voyage was begun. The expedition reached the head of the bay, and sailed far up the Susquehanna. On the return, Smith explored every sound and inlet of any note as far as the Rappahannock. This stream he ascended to the head of navigation, and then returned to Jamestown. He had been absent a little more than three months, and had explored the coast of the great bay for fully three thousand miles. Now he was come back to the colony with a Map of the Chesapeake, which he sent by Newport to England, and which is still preserved.

18. Smith was now formally elected president. Soon there was a marked change for the better; gold-hunting ceased, and the rest of the year was noted as a time of prosperity. In the autumn Newport arrived with seventy additional immigrants. The health was so good that only seven deaths occurred between September and the following May. Every well man was obliged to work six hours a day. New houses were built, new fields fenced in; and through the winter the sound of ax and hammer gave token of a prosperous and growing village.

19. On the 23d day of May, 1609, King James granted to the London Company a new charter for the government of Virginia. The territory was extended from Cape Fear to Sandy Hook, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. The members of the Superior Council were now to be chosen by the stockholders of the company, vacancies were to be filled by the councilors, who were also to elect a governor. The new council was at once organized, and Lord De La Ware chosen governor for life. Five hundred emigrants were collected, and in June a fleet of nine vessels sailed for America. Lord Delaware did not himself accompany the expedition. In July the ships, then in the West Indies, were scattered by a storm. One vessel was wrecked, and another, having on board the commissioners of Delaware, was driven ashore on one of the Bermudas; the other seven ships came safely to Jamestown.

[Pg 63]

20. Captain Smith continued in authority under the old constitution; but the colony was in an uproar. The president was in daily peril of his life. He put some of the most rebellious brawlers in prison, and planned two new settlements—one, of a hundred and twenty men, at Nansemond; the other, of the same number, at the falls of the James. Both companies behaved badly. In a few days after their departure troubles arose with the Indians. While attempting to quell these difficulties, Smith was wounded, and fearing the imperfect medical treatment which the colony afforded, he decided to return to England. He accordingly delegated his authority to Sir George Percy, and about the middle of September, 1609, left the scene of his toils and sufferings, never to return.

21. A colony of four hundred and ninety persons remained at Jamestown. The settlement was soon brought face to face with starvation. The Indians became hostile; stragglers were murdered; houses were set on fire; disease returned to add to the desolation; and cold and hunger made the winter long remembered as The Starving Time. By the last of March only sixty persons were left alive.

22. Meanwhile, Sir Thomas Gates and his companions, who had been shipwrecked in the Bermudas, constructed two small vessels, and came to Virginia, where a few wan, half-starved wretches crawled out of their cabins to beg for bread! Whatever stores the commissioners had brought with them were distributed, and Gates assumed control of the government. But the colonists had now determined to abandon the place forever. In vain did the commissioners remonstrate. An agreement was made to sail for Newfoundland, and on the 8th of June the colonists, embarking in their four boats, dropped down the river, and Jamestown was abandoned.

23. Lord Delaware was already on his way to America. Before the escaping settlers had reached the sea, the ships of the governor came in sight with additional immigrants, plen[Pg 64]tiful supplies, and promise of better things. The colonists returned, and before nightfall the fires were again kindled at Jamestown. On the next day the governor caused his commission to be read, and entered upon the discharge of his duties. His amiability and virtue, and the wisdom of his administration, endeared him to all and inspired the colony with hope.

24. Lord Delaware was compelled, on account of ill-health, to return to England. His authority was delegated to Percy, the deputy of Captain Smith. The Superior Council had already dispatched new stores and more emigrants, under Sir Thomas Dale. When the vessel arrived at Jamestown, Percy was superseded by Dale, who adopted a system of martial law as the basis of his administration. In the latter part of August, Sir Thomas Gates arrived with six ships, three hundred additional immigrants, and a large quantity of stores.

25. Thus far the property of the settlers at Jamestown had been held in common. Now the right of holding private property was recognized. Governor Gates had the lands divided so that each settler should have three acres of his own; every family might cultivate a garden and plant an orchard, the fruits of which no one but the owner was allowed to gather. The benefits of this system of labor were at once apparent, and the laborers became cheerful and industrious.

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CHAPTER X.

Charter Government.—(Continued.)

IN the year 1612 the London Company obtained from the king a third patent, by which the government was again changed. The Superior Council was abolished, and the stockholders were authorized to elect their own officers and to govern the colony on their own responsibility. The new patent was a great step toward a democratic form of government in Virginia.

2. In 1613 Captain Samuel Argall, on an expedition up the Potomac, learned that Pocahontas was residing in that neighborhood. He enticed the girl on board his vessel and carried her captive to Jamestown. It was decided that Powhatan should pay a heavy ransom for his daughter's liberation. The king refused, and ordered his tribes to prepare for war. Meanwhile, Pocahontas was converted to the Christian faith and became a member of the Episcopal Church.

3. Soon afterwards John Rolfe, of the colony, sought the hand of the princess in marriage. Powhatan gave his consent, and the nuptials were celebrated in the spring of the next year. Three years later, Pocahontas, while visiting in England, fell sick and died. There was left of this marriage a son, who came to Jamestown, and to whom several families of Virginians still trace their origin. John Randolph of Roanoke was a descendant of Pocahontas.

Marriage of Pocahontas.

4. Captain Argall was next sent with an armed vessel to the coast of Maine, to protect the English fishermen, and to destroy the colonies of France, if any should be found within the territory claimed by England. The French authorities of [Pg 66] Acadia were building a village near the mouth of the Penobscot. The settlement was pillaged and the houses burned. The French colony at the mouth of the St. Croix was attacked, and the fort cannonaded and destroyed; the hamlet at Port Royal was burned. By these outrages, the French settlements in America were confined to the banks of the St. Lawrence.

5. In March of 1614 Sir Thomas Gates returned to England, leaving the government with Dale. In these times the laws of the colony were much improved, and the industry took a better form. Hitherto the settlers had engaged in planting vineyards and in the manufacture of soap, glass, and tar. The managers of the company had at last learned that these articles [Pg 67] could be produced more cheaply in Europe than in America, while some products of the New World might be raised and exported with great profit. The chief of these was the tobacco-plant, the use of which had become fashionable in Spain, England, and France. This, then, became the leading staple of the colony, and was even used for money. So entirely did the settlers give themselves to the cultivation of the weed that the streets of Jamestown were plowed up and planted with it.

6. In 1617 the unprincipled Captain Argall was elected governor. When the news of his fraudulent and violent proceedings reached England emigration ceased, and Lord Delaware embarked for Virginia, in the hope of restoring order. But he died on the voyage, and Argall continued in office until 1619, when Sir George Yeardley was appointed to succeed him.

7. Martial law was now abolished. Taxes were repealed, and the people freed from many burdens. Governor Yeardley divided the plantations into eleven boroughs, and ordered the citizens of each to elect two of their number to take part in the government. The elections were duly held, and on the 30th of July, 1619, the Virginia House of Burgesses was organized—the first popular assembly in the New World. In this body there was freedom of debate but very little political power.

8. The year 1619 was also marked by the introduction of slavery. The servants at Jamestown had hitherto been English or Germans, whose term of service had varied from a few months to many years. No perpetual servitude had thus far been recognized. In the month of August a Dutch man-of-war sailed up the river to the plantations, and offered by auction twenty Africans. They were purchased by the wealthier class of planters, and made slaves for life.

9. There were now six hundred men in the colony, for the most part rovers who intended to return to England. Very few [Pg 68] families had emigrated. In this condition of affairs, Sir Thomas Smith was superseded by Sir Edwyn Sandys, a man of prudence and integrity. In the summer of 1620, the new treasurer sent to America a company of twelve hundred and sixty-one persons. Among the number were ninety young women of good breeding and modest manners. In the following spring, sixty others of similar good character came over, and received a hearty welcome.

10. When Sandys sent these women to America, he charged the colonists with the expense of the voyage, as the company was bankrupt. An assessment was made, and the rate fixed at a hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco for each passenger—a sum which the settlers cheerfully paid. There were merry marriages at Jamestown, and the social condition was much improved. When the second shipload came, the cost of transportation was a hundred and fifty pounds for each passenger, which was also paid without complaint.

11. In July of 1621 the London Company gave to Virginia a code of written laws, and in October Sir Francis Wyatt, who had been commissioned as governor, began to administer the new constitution. The colony was found in a flourishing condition. The settlements extended for a hundred and forty miles along the banks of James River, and far into the interior. But the Indians had grown jealous of the colonists. Pocahontas was dead. The peaceable Powhatan had likewise passed away. Opechancanough, who succeeded him in 1618, had long been plotting the destruction of the English, and the time had come for the tragedy.

12. Until the very day of the massacre, the Indians continued on terms of friendship with the colonists. On the 22d of March, at midday, the work of butchery began. Every hamlet in Virginia was attacked. Men, women, and children were[Pg 69] indiscriminately slaughtered, until three hundred and forty-seven had perished under the hatchets of the savages.

13. But Indian treachery was thwarted by Indian faithfulness. A converted Red man, wishing to save an Englishman who had been his friend, went to him on the night before the massacre and revealed the plot. The alarm was spread, and thus the greater part of the colony escaped destruction. But the outer plantations were entirely destroyed. The people crowded together on the larger farms about Jamestown, until of the eighty settlements there were only eight remaining. Still, there were sixteen hundred brave men in the colony; and the next year the population increased to two thousand five hundred.

14. The liberal constitution of Virginia soon proved offensive to King James. A committee was appointed to look into the affairs of the London Company. The commissioners performed their duty, and reported that the company was unsound in its principles, that the treasury was bankrupt, and that the government of Virginia was very bad.

15. Legal proceedings were now instituted against the company, and the judges decided that the patent was null and void. The charter was canceled by the king, and in June of 1624 the London Company ceased to exist. But its work had been well done. A torch of liberty had been lighted on the banks of the James, which all the tyranny of after times could not extinguish.

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CHAPTER XI.

Virginia.—The Royal Government.

A royal government was now established in Virginia consisting of a governor and twelve councilors. The General Assembly of the colony was left undisturbed, and the rights of the colonists remained as before. Governor Wyatt was continued in office. Charles I., the successor of King James, paid but little attention to the affairs of his American colony until the commerce in tobacco attracted his notice, and he then made an unsuccessful attempt to gain a monopoly of the trade.

2. In 1626 Governor Wyatt retired from office, and Yeardley, the old friend of the colonists, was reappointed. The young State was never more prosperous than under this administration, which was ended with the governor's death in 1627. During the preceding summer a thousand new immigrants had come to swell the population of the province.

3. The council of Virginia had the right, in case of an emergency, to elect a governor. In this manner Francis West was chosen by the councilors; but as soon as the death of Yeardley was known in England, King Charles commissioned John Harvey to assume the government. He arrived in the autumn of 1629, and became a most unpopular chief magistrate. He began his administration by taking the part of certain land speculators against the people. The assembly of 1635 passed a resolution that Sir John Harvey be thrust out of office, and Captain West be appointed in his place "until the king's pleasure may be known in this matter." But King Charles treated the whole affair with contempt, and Harvey continued in[Pg 71] power until the year 1639, when he was superseded by Wyatt, who ruled until the spring of 1642.

Life at Old Jamestown.

4. About this time monarchy was abolished in England. Oliver Cromwell was made Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, and this government continued until Charles II., exiled son of Charles I., was restored to the throne of England. Virginia shared in some degree the distractions of the mother-country. In 1642 Sir William Berkeley became governor, and remained in office for ten years. His administration was noted as a time of rapid growth and development. The laws were greatly improved. The old disputes about the lands were satisfactorily settled. Cruel punishments were abolished, and the taxes equalized. The general assembly was regularly convened, and Virginia became a free and prosperous State. In 1646 there were twenty thousand people in the colony.

5. In March of 1643, a law was enacted by the assembly declaring that no person who disbelieved the doctrines of the[Pg 72] English Church should be allowed to teach, or to preach the gospel, within the limits of Virginia. This act was the source of much bitterness among the people. The few Puritans were excluded from places of trust, and some were driven from their homes. Governor Berkeley was a leader in these persecutions, by which all friendly relations with New England were broken off for many years.

6. Next came another war with the Indians. Early in 1644, the natives planned a general massacre. On the 18th of April the savages fell upon the frontier settlements, and murdered three hundred people before assistance could be brought. The warriors then fled, but were closely followed by the English. Opechancanough was captured, and died a prisoner. The tribes were punished without mercy, and were soon glad to buy a peace by the cession of large tracts of land.

7. For a while the colonists conducted their government as they wished. The important matter of choosing a governor was submitted to the House of Burgesses; when so great a power had been once exercised, it was not likely to be relinquished. Three governors were chosen in this way, and the privilege of electing soon became a right. The assembly even declared that such a right existed, and that it should not be taken away.

8. In 1660 Samuel Matthews, the last of the three elected governors, died. The Burgesses were convened and an ordinance passed declaring that the supreme authority of Virginia was in the colony, and would continue there until a delegate should arrive from the British government. The house then elected as governor Sir William Berkeley, who acknowledged the right of the Burgesses to choose.

9. As soon as it was known in Virginia that Charles II. had become king, Governor Berkeley issued writs in the name of the king for the election of a new assembly. The adherents of the Commonwealth were thrust out of office, and royal favorites established in their places. The Virginians soon found[Pg 73] that they had exchanged a republican tyrant with good principles for a monarchial tyrant with bad ones. The former commercial system was reenacted in a worse form than ever. The new law provided that all the colonial commerce should be carried on in English ships; the trade of the colonies was burdened with a heavy tax, and tobacco, the staple of Virginia, could be sold nowhere but in England.

10. King Charles soon began to reward the profligates who thronged his court, by granting them large tracts of land in Virginia. It was no uncommon thing for an American planter to find that his farm had been given away to some flatterer of the royal household, and finally, in 1673, the king set a limit to his own recklessness by giving away the whole province. Lord Culpepper and the Earl of Arlington received a deed by which was granted to them for thirty-one years all the country called Virginia.

11. The colonial legislation of these times was selfish and narrow-minded. The aristocratic party had obtained control of the House of Burgesses. A statute was passed against the Baptists, and the peace-loving Quakers were fined and persecuted. Personal property was heavily taxed, while the large estates were exempt. The salaries of the officers were secured by a duty on tobacco, and the biennial election of Burgesses was abolished.

12. When the people were worn out with the governor's exactions, they availed themselves of a pretext to assert their rights by force of arms. A war with the Susquehanna Indians furnished the occasion for an insurrection. The tribes about the head of Chesapeake Bay fell upon the English settlers of Maryland, and the banks of the Potomac became the scene of a border war. Virginia and Maryland made common cause. John Washington, great-grandfather of the first President, led a company of militia against the Indians, and a devastating warfare raged along the whole frontier.

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13. Governor Berkeley sided with the Indians; but the colonists remembered only the acts of treachery of which the Red men had been guilty, and thirsted for revenge. The aristocratic party took sides with the governor and favored a peace; while the popular party, led by young Nathaniel Bacon, clamored for war.

14. Five hundred men rushed to arms. Berkeley and the aristocratic faction proclaimed Bacon a traitor. Troops were levied to disperse the militia: but scarcely had Berkeley and his forces left Jamestown when another popular uprising compelled him to return. Bacon came home victorious. The old assembly was broken up, and a new one elected on the basis of universal suffrage. Bacon was chosen a member, and made commander of the Virginia army. A force was now stationed on the frontier, and peace returned to all the settlements. But Berkeley repaired to the county of Gloucester, where he summoned a convention of loyalists, and Bacon was again proclaimed a traitor.

15. The governor's forces were collected on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake; the crews of some English ships were joined to his command, and the fleet set sail for Jamestown. The place was taken without much resistance; but when Bacon and the patriots drew near, the loyal forces went over to his standard. Berkeley was again obliged to fly, and the capital was held by the people's party. It was now rumored that an English fleet was approaching for the subjugation of the colonies. The patriot leaders held a council, and it was decided that Jamestown should be burned. Accordingly, in the dusk of the evening the torch was applied, and the only town in Virginia was laid in ashes.

16. In this juncture of affairs Bacon fell sick and died, and the patriot party was easily dispersed. A few feeble efforts were made to revive the cause of the people, but the animating spirit was gone. The royalists found an able captain in Robert Beverly, and the authority of the governor was rapidly[Pg 75] restored. Berkeley's vindictive passions were now let loose upon the defeated insurgents. Twenty-two of the leading patriots were seized and hanged with scarcely time to bid their friends farewell. Nor is it certain when the executions would have ended had not the assembly met and passed an act that no more blood should be spilled for past offenses.

17. The consequences of the rebellion were very disastrous. Berkeley and the aristocratic party had now a good excuse for suppressing all liberal principles. The printing-press was interdicted. Education was forbidden. To speak or to write any thing against the administration or in defense of the late insurrection, was made a crime to be punished by fine or whipping. If the offense should be three times repeated, it was declared to be treason punishable with death. The former methods of taxation were revived, and Virginia was left at the mercy of arbitrary rulers.

18. In 1675 Lord Culpepper, to whom, with Arlington, the province had been granted, obtained the appointment of governor for life, and Virginia became a proprietary government. The new magistrate arrived in 1680 and assumed the duties of his office. His administration was characterized by avarice and dishonesty. Regarding Virginia as his personal estate, he treated the Virginians as his tenants and slaves.

19. In 1683, Arlington surrendered his claim to Culpepper, who thus became sole proprietor as well as governor. Charles II., however, soon found in Culpepper's vices and frauds a sufficient excuse to remove him from office and to revoke his patent. In 1684 Virginia again became a royal province, under the government of Lord Howard, of Effingham. The affairs of the colony during the next fifty years are not of sufficient interest and importance to require extended notice. When the French and Indian War shall come, Virginia will show to the world that the labors of Smith and Gosnold and Bacon were not in vain.

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CHAPTER XII.

Massachusetts.—Settlement and Union.

THE spring of 1621 brought hope to the Pilgrims of New Plymouth. The winter had swept off half the number. The governor himself sickened and died. Now, with the approach of warm weather, the pestilence was checked, the survivors revived with the season, and the Puritans came forth triumphant.

2. In February Miles Standish was sent out with his soldiers to gather information concerning the natives. The army of New England consisted of six men besides the general. Deserted wigwams were found; the smoke of camp-fires arose in the distance; savages were occasionally seen in the forest. These fled at the approach of the English, and Standish returned to Plymouth.

A Puritan.

3. A month later a Wampanoag Indian, named Samoset, ran into the village and bade the strangers welcome; friendly relations were soon established with the Wampanoags. Massasoit, the sachem of the nation, was invited to visit Plymouth. The Pilgrims received him with much ceremony, and then and [Pg 77] there was ratified the first treaty made in New England. This treaty remained inviolate for fifty years. Other chiefs followed the example of Massasoit. Nine of the tribes acknowledged the English king. One chief sent to William Bradford, who succeeded Governor Carver, a bundle of arrows wrapped in the skin of a rattlesnake; but the governor stuffed the skin with powder and balls and sent it back to the chief, who did not dare to accept the challenge.

4. The summer was unfruitful, and the Pilgrims were brought to the point of starvation. New immigrants, without provisions or stores, arrived, and were quartered on the colonists during the winter. For six months the settlers were obliged to subsist on half allowance. At one time only a few grains of corn remained to be distributed, and at another there was absolute want. Then some English fishing-vessels came to Plymouth and charged the colonists two prices for food enough to keep them alive. The new immigrants remained at Plymouth until the summer of 1622, then removed to the south side of Boston harbor and founded Weymouth.

5. The summer of 1623 brought a plentiful harvest, and there was no longer any danger of starvation. The natives became dependent on the settlement for corn, and brought in an abundance of game. At the end of the fourth year, there were a hundred and eighty persons in New England. The managers, who had expended thirty-four thousand dollars on the enterprise, were discouraged, and proposed to sell out their claims to the colonists. The offer was accepted; and, in November of 1627, eight of the leading men of Plymouth purchased from the Londoners their entire interest for nine thousand dollars.

6. Before this transfer, the colony had been much vexed by the attempt to set over them a minister of the English Church. They had come to the New World to avoid this very thing. There was dissension for a while. The English managers with[Pg 78]held support; the stores of the colonists were sold to them at three prices; and they were obliged to borrow money at sixty per cent. But the Pilgrims would not yield, and the conflict ended with the purchase of the proprietors' rights in the colony.

7. In 1624 a settlement was made at Cape Ann, but after two years the cape was abandoned; the company moved farther south and founded Salem. In 1628 a second colony arrived in charge of John Endicott, who was chosen governor. In 1629 Charles I. issued a charter by which the colonists were incorporated under the name of The Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England. In July two hundred immigrants arrived, half of whom settled at Plymouth, while the other half removed to the north side of Boston harbor and founded Charlestown.

Early Settlements in Eastern Massachusetts.

8. In September, 1629, it was decreed that the government of the colony should be transferred from England to America, and that the charter should be intrusted to the colonists themselves. Emigration then began on an extensive scale. In the year 1630 about three hundred of the best Puritan families came to New[Pg 79] England. They were virtuous, well-educated, courageous men and women, who left comfortable homes with no expectation of returning. It was their good fortune to choose a noble leader.

9. The name of John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts, is worthy of lasting remembrance. Born a royalist, he cherished the principles of republicanism. Surrounded with affluence and comfort, he left all to share the destiny of the Pilgrims. Calm, prudent, and peaceful, he joined the zeal of an enthusiast with the faith of a martyr. A part of the new immigrants settled at Salem; others at Cambridge and Watertown, on Charles River; while others founded Roxbury and Dorchester. The governor resided for a while at Charlestown, but soon crossed over to the peninsula of Shawmut and founded Boston, which became henceforth the capital of the colony.

10. In 1631 a law was passed restricting the right of suffrage. It was enacted that none but church members should be permitted to vote at the elections. Nearly three fourths of the people were thus excluded from exercising the rights of freemen. Taxes were levied for the support of the gospel; attendance on public worship was enforced by law; none but members of the church were eligible to office. The very men who had so recently escaped with only their lives to find religious freedom in another continent, began their career in the New World with intolerance.

11. Young Roger Williams, minister of Salem, cried out against these laws. For this he was obliged to quit the ministry of the church at Salem and retire to Plymouth. Finally, in 1634, he wrote a paper in which he declared that grants of land, though given by the king of England, were invalid until the natives were justly paid. When arraigned for these teachings, he told the court that a test of church-membership in a voter was as ridiculous as the selection of a doctor on account of his skill in theology.

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12. After a trial, Williams was condemned for heresy and banished. In mid-winter he left home and became an exile in the forest. For fourteen weeks he wandered through the snow, sleeping on the ground or in a hollow tree, living on parched corn and acorns. He carried with him a private letter from the good Governor Winthrop, and the Indians showed him kindness. Wandering from place to place, in June of 1636 he became the founder of Rhode Island by laying out the city of Providence.

13. In 1634 a representative form of government was established in Massachusetts. The restriction on the right of suffrage was the only remaining bar to free government in New England. During the next year three thousand new immigrants arrived. It was worth while to come to a country where the principles of freedom were recognized.

14. New settlements were now formed at a distance from the bay. One company of twelve families marched through the woods to some open meadows sixteen miles from Boston, and there founded Concord. Another colony of sixty persons pressed their way westward to the Connecticut River, and became the founders of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield.

15. The banishment of Roger Williams created strife among the people of Massachusetts. The ministers were stern and exacting. Still, the advocates of free opinion multiplied. The clergy, notwithstanding their great influence, felt insecure. Religious debates became the order of the day. Every sermon was reviewed and criticised.

16. Prominent among those who were accused of heresy was Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, who desired the privilege of speaking at the weekly debates, and was refused. Indignant at this, she became the champion of her sex, and declared that the ministers were no better than Pharisees. She called meetings of her friends, and pleaded with fervor for the freedom of[Pg 81] conscience. The doctrines of Williams were reaffirmed with more power and eloquence than ever.

17. The synod of New England convened in August of 1637, and Mrs. Hutchinson and her friends were banished from Massachusetts. A large number of the exiles wended their way toward the home of Roger Williams. Miantonomah, a Narragansett chieftain, made them a gift of the island of Rhode Island; there, in 1641, a little republic was established, in which persecution, for opinion's sake, was forbidden.

18. In 1636 the general court of the colony passed an act appropriating between one and two thousand dollars to found a college. Newtown was selected as the site of the proposed school. Plymouth and Salem gave gifts to help the enterprise; and from villages in the Connecticut valley came contributions of corn and wampum. In 1638 John Harvard, a minister of Charlestown, died, bequeathing his library and nearly five thousand dollars to the school. To perpetuate his memory, the new institution was named Harvard College. At the same time the name of Newtown was changed to Cambridge.

19. The PRINTING-PRESS came also. In 1638 Stephen Daye, an English printer, arrived at Boston, and in the following year set up a press at Cambridge. The first American publication was an almanac for New England, bearing date of 1639. During the next year, Thomas Welde and John Eliot, two ministers of Roxbury, and Richard Mather, of Dorchester, translated the Hebrew Psalms into English verse. This was the first book printed in America.

20. New England was fast becoming a nation. Well-nigh fifty villages dotted the face of the country. Enterprises of all kinds were rife. Manufactures, commerce, and the arts were introduced. William Stephens, a shipbuilder of Boston, had already built and launched an American vessel of four hundred tons burden. Twenty-one thousand two hundred people had found a home between Plymouth Rock and the Connecticut.

[Pg 82]

21. Circumstances suggested a union of the colonies. The western frontier was exposed to the hostilities of the Dutch on the Hudson. Similar trouble was apprehended from the French on the north. Indian tribes capable of mustering a thousand warriors were likely at any hour to fall upon the helpless villages. Common interests made a union indispensable.

22. The first effort to consolidate the colonies was ineffectual. But in 1643, a plan of union was adopted, by which Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven were joined in a confederacy, called The United Colonies of New England. The chief authority was conferred upon an assembly composed of two representatives from each colony. These delegates were chosen annually at an election where all the freemen voted by ballot. There was no president other than the speaker of the assembly. Provision was made for the admission of other colonies into the union, but none were ever admitted.

23. At a meeting of the assembly in December, 1641, Nathaniel Ward brought forward a written instrument, which was adopted as the constitution of the State. This statute was called the Body of Liberties, and was ever afterward esteemed as the great charter of colonial freedom.

24. In July of 1656 the Quakers began to arrive at Boston. The first who came were Ann Austin and Mary Fisher. They were caught and searched for marks of witchcraft, and then thrown into prison. After several weeks' confinement they were brought forth and banished. Before the end of the year, eight others were arrested and sent back to England. A law was passed that Quakers who persisted in coming to Massachusetts should have their ears cut off and their tongues bored through with a red-hot iron. In 1657 the assembly of the four colonies convened, and the penalty of death was passed against the Quakers as disturbers of the public peace.

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25. The English Revolution had now run its course. Cromwell was dead. Tidings of the restoration of Charles II. reached Boston on the 27th of July, 1660. On the reestablishment of the English monarchy, a law was passed by which all vessels not bearing the English flag were forbidden to trade in New England. Articles produced in the colonies and demanded in England should be shipped to England only. The products of England should not be manufactured in America, and should be bought from England only; and a duty of five per cent. was put on both exports and imports. This was the beginning of those measures which produced the American Revolution.

26. In 1664 war broke out between England and Holland. It became a part of the English plans to conquer the Dutch settlements on the Hudson. Charles II. was also anxious to obtain control of all the New England colonies. He therefore appointed four commissioners to settle colonial disputes, and to exercise authority in the name of the king. The real object was to get possession of the charter of Massachusetts. In July, 1664, the royal judges arrived at Boston. They were rejected in all the colonies except Rhode Island. Meanwhile, the English monarch, learning how his judges had been received, recalled them, and they left the country. For ten years after this event the colony was very prosperous.

Harvard College in 1770.

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CHAPTER XIII.

Massachusetts.—War and Witchcraft.

THE old king Massasoit died in 1662. His son, Alexander, now became chief of the nation, but died within the year; and the chieftainship descended to the younger brother, Philip of Mount Hope. It was the fate of this brave man to lead his people in a final struggle against the whites. Causes of war already existed, and the time had come for the conflict.

2. The natives of New England had sold their lands. The English were the purchasers; the chiefs had signed the deeds; the price had been fairly paid. There were at this time in the country east of the Hudson about twenty-five thousand Indians and fifty thousand English. The young warriors could not understand the validity of land-titles. They sighed for the freedom of their fathers' hunting-grounds. The Wampanoags had nothing left but the peninsulas of Bristol and Tiverton. There were personal grievances also. King Alexander had been arrested, tried by an English jury, and imprisoned. He had caught his death-fever in a Boston jail. On the 24th of June, 1675, the village of Swanzey was attacked, and eight Englishmen were killed.

3. Within a week the militia of Plymouth, joined by volunteers from Boston, entered the enemy's country. A few Indians were overtaken and killed. The troops marched into the peninsula of Bristol, and compelled Philip to fly for his life. A general Indian war broke out. The hatred of the savages was easily kindled into hostility. For a whole year the settlements on the frontier became a scene of burning and massacre.

4. King Canonchet of the Narragansetts first made a treaty of peace with the English, but later violated it and chose to share the fate of Philip. But after much desperate fighting[Pg 85] and heavy losses on both sides, the resources of the savages were exhausted and their numbers daily grew less. In April, 1676, Canonchet was captured on the banks of the Blackstone. Refusing to make a treaty, the haughty chieftain was put to death. Philip's company had dwindled to a handful. His wife and son were made prisoners; the latter was sold as a slave, and ended his life in the Bermudas. The savage monarch cared no longer to live. A company of soldiers surrounded him near his old home at Mount Hope. A treacherous Indian took a deadly aim at the breast of his chieftain. The report of a musket rang through the woods, and the king of the Wampanoags sprang forward and fell dead.

5. New England suffered terribly in this war. The losses of the war amounted to five hundred thousand dollars. Thirteen towns and six hundred dwellings lay in ashes. Six hundred men had fallen in the field. Gray-haired sire, mother and babe had sunk together under the blow of the Red man's tomahawk. Now there was peace again. The Indian race had been swept out of New England. The tribes beyond the Connecticut came and pleaded for their lives. The colonists returned to their farms and villages, to build new homes in the ashes of old ruins.

6. The next trouble was concerning the province of Maine. Sir Ferdinand Gorges, the old proprietor, was now dead; but his heirs still claimed the territory. The people of Maine had put themselves under the authority of Massachusetts; but the heirs of Gorges carried the matter before the English council, and in 1677 a decision was given in their favor. The Boston government then made a proposition to the Gorges family to purchase their claims; this was accepted, and for the sum of twelve hundred and fifty pounds the province was transferred to Massachusetts.

7. A similar difficulty arose in regard to New Hampshire. As early as 1622 the Plymouth council had granted this territory [Pg 86] to Ferdinand Gorges and Captain John Mason. Seven years afterward Gorges surrendered his claim to Mason, who thus became sole proprietor. But this territory was also covered by the charter of Massachusetts. Mason died, and in 1679 his son Robert came forward and claimed the province. This cause was also taken before the ministers, who decided that the title of the younger Mason was valid. To the great disappointment of the people of both provinces the two governments were separated. A royal government, the first in New England, was now established over New Hampshire, and Edward Cranfield became Governor.

8. But the people refused to recognize Cranfield's authority. The king attributed this conduct to the influence of Massachusetts, and directed his judges to make an inquiry as to whether Massachusetts had not forfeited her charter. In 1684 the royal court gave a decision in accordance with the monarch's wishes. But before the charter could be revoked, Charles II. fell sick and died.

9. The new king, James II., adopted his brother's policy, and in 1686 the scheme so long entertained was carried out. The charter of Massachusetts was formally revoked; all the colonies between Nova Scotia and Narragansett Bay were consolidated, and Sir Edmund Andros was appointed royal governor of New England.

10. His despotism was quickly extended from Cape Cod Bay to the Piscataqua. The civil rights of New Hampshire were overthrown. In May of 1686, the charter of Rhode Island was taken away and her constitution subverted. The seal was broken, and a royal council appointed to conduct the government. Andros next proceeded to Connecticut. Arriving at Hartford in October of 1687, he found the assembly in session, and demanded the surrender of the charter. The instrument was brought in and laid upon the table. A debate[Pg 87] ensued, and continued until evening. When it was about to be decided that the charter should be given up, the lamps were dashed out. Other lights were brought in; but the charter had disappeared. Joseph Wadsworth, snatching up the parchment, bore it off through the darkness and concealed it in a hollow tree, ever afterwards remembered as The Charter Oak. But the assembly was overawed, and the authority of Andros established throughout the country.

Andros demanding the Charter of Connecticut.

11. His dominion ended suddenly. The English Revolution of 1688 was at hand. James II. was driven from his throne; the system of arbitrary rule which he had established fell with a crash, and Andros with the rest. The news of the accession of William and Mary reached Boston on the 4th of April, 1689. On the 18th of the month, the citizens of Boston rose in rebellion. Andros was seized and marched to prison.[Pg 88] The insurrection spread; and before the 10th of May, New England had regained her liberties.

12. In 1689 war was declared between France and England. This conflict is known in American history as King William's War. When James II. escaped from his kingdom, he took refuge at the court of Louis XIV. of France. The two monarchs were Catholics, and on this account an alliance was made between them. Louis agreed to support James in his effort to recover the English throne. Parliament, meanwhile, had conferred the crown on King William. Thus the new sovereign was brought into conflict with the exiled James and his ally, the king of France. The war which thus originated in Europe soon extended to the French and English colonies in America.

13. The struggle began on the frontier of New Hampshire in June, 1689. Later in the same year, the English and the Mohawks entered into an alliance, but the latter refused to make war upon their countrymen of Maine. The Dutch settlements of New Netherland made common cause with the English against the French.

14. New England at length became thoroughly aroused. To provide the means of war, a congress was convened at New York. Here it was resolved to attempt the conquest of Canada. At the same time, Massachusetts was to cooperate by sending a fleet up the St. Lawrence against Quebec. Thirty-four vessels, carrying two thousand troops, were fitted out, and the command given to Sir William Phipps. Proceeding first against Port Royal, he compelled a surrender; the whole of Nova Scotia submitted without a struggle. The expedition was foolishly delayed until October; and an Indian carried the news to the governor of Canada. When the fleet came in sight of the town, the castle was so well garrisoned as to bid defiance to the English; and it only remained for Phipps to sail back to Boston. To meet the expenses of this expedition, Massachu[Pg 89]setts issued bills of credit which were made a legal tender. Such was the origin of PAPER MONEY in America.

15. Meanwhile, the land forces had proceeded from Albany to Lake Champlain. Here dissensions arose among the commanders, and the expedition had to be abandoned. The war continued nearly five years longer, but with only here and there a marked event.

16. Early in 1697, commissioners of France and England assembled at the town of Ryswick, in Holland; and, on the 10th of the following September, a treaty of peace was concluded. King William was acknowledged as the rightful sovereign of England, the colonial boundary-lines of the two nations in America were established as before, and King William's war was at an end.

17. The darkest page in the history of New England is that which records the Salem Witchcraft. In February of 1692, in that part of Salem afterwards called Danvers, a daughter and a niece of Samuel Parris, the minister, were attacked with a nervous disorder which rendered them partially insane. Parris pretended to believe the girls were bewitched, and that an Indian maid-servant was the author of the affliction. He accordingly tied the ignorant creature and whipped her until she confessed herself a witch. Here, perhaps, the matter would have ended had not other causes existed for the spread of the delusion.

18. But Parris had a quarrel in his church. A part of the congregation disbelieved in witchcraft, while Parris and the rest thought such disbelief the height of wickedness. The celebrated Cotton Mather, minister of Boston, had recently preached much on the subject of witchcraft, teaching that witches were dangerous and ought to be put to death. Sir William Phipps, the royal governor, was a member of Mather's church.

19. By the laws of England and of Massachusetts, witchcraft was punishable with death. In the early history of the colony,[Pg 90] one person charged with being a wizard had been arrested at Charlestown, convicted and executed. But many people had now grown bold enough to denounce the baleful superstition; and something had to be done to save witchcraft from falling into contempt. A special court was accordingly appointed by Phipps to go to Salem and judge the persons accused.

A Suspected Witch.

20. On the 21st of March the proceedings began. Mary Cory was arrested, brought before the court, convicted, and hurried to prison. Sarah Cloyce and Rebecca Nurse, two innocent sisters, were next apprehended as witches. The only witnesses against them were the foolish Indian woman and the niece of Parris. The victims were sent to prison, protesting their innocence. And so the work went on, until seventy-five innocent people were locked up in dungeons. In hope of saving their lives, some of the prisoners confessed themselves witches. It was soon found that those were to be put to death who denied the reality of witchcraft. Five women were hanged in one day.

21. Between June and September, twenty victims were hurried to their doom. Fifty-five others were tortured into the[Pg 91] confession of falsehoods. A hundred and fifty lay in prison awaiting their fate. Two hundred were accused or suspected, and ruin seemed to impend over New England. But a reaction at last set in among the people. The court which Phipps had appointed to sit at Salem was dismissed. The prisons were opened, and the victims of superstition went forth free. In the beginning of the next year, a few persons were arrested and tried for witchcraft. Some were even convicted; but not another life was sacrificed.

22. Most of those who participated in these terrible scenes confessed the wrong which they had done; but confessions could not restore the dead. Mather, in a vain attempt to justify himself, wrote a book in which he expressed his thankfulness that so many witches had met their just doom; and the hypocritical pamphlet received the approbation of the president of Harvard College.

23. In less than four years after the treaty of Ryswick, France and England were again involved in a war which soon extended to the American colonies. In the year 1700 Charles II., king of Spain, died, having named as his successor Philip of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV. This measure pointed to a union of the crowns of France and Spain. The jealousy of England, Holland, and Austria was aroused; the archduke Charles, of the latter country, was put forward as a candidate for the Spanish throne; and war was declared against Louis XIV. for supporting Philip.

24. In 1701 James II., the exiled king of Great Britain, died at the court of Louis, who now recognized the son of James as sovereign of England. This action was regarded as an insult to English nationality. King William prepared for war, but did not live to carry out his plans. In May of 1702 he died, leaving the crown to his sister-in-law, Anne, daughter of James II. From the fact of her sovereignty, the conflict with France is known in American history as Queen Anne's War; but a[Pg 92] better name is the War of the Spanish Succession. This continued feebly through eleven years, and with many of the horrors incident to Indian warfare, as the Indians were leagued with the French against the English.

25. On the 11th of April, 1713, a treaty was concluded at Utrecht, a town of Holland. By it England obtained control of the fisheries of Newfoundland. Labrador, the Bay of Hudson, and Nova Scotia, were ceded to Great Britain. On the 13th of July a second treaty was concluded with the Indians, by which peace was secured throughout the colonies.

26. In the times that followed Queen Anne's war, the people were greatly dissatisfied with the royal governors. The opposition to those officers took the form of a controversy about their salaries. The royal commissions gave to each officer a fixed salary, which was frequently out of proportion to the services required. The difficulty was finally adjusted by an agreement that the salaries should be allowed annually, and the amount fixed by vote of the assembly.

27. On the death of Charles VI. of Austria, in 1740, there were two claimants to the crown of the empire—Maria Theresa, daughter of the late emperor, and Charles Albert of Bavaria. Each claimant had his party and his army; war followed; and nearly all the nations of Europe were swept into the conflict. England and France were arrayed against each other. The contest that ensued is generally known as the War of the Austrian Succession, but in American history is called King George's War, for George II. was now king of England. In America the only important event of the war was the capture of Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island.

28. In 1748 a treaty of peace was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, a town of western Germany. Nothing was gained but a restoration of conquests. Not a single boundary line was settled by the treaty. The real war between France and England for supremacy in the West was yet to be fought.

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29. The history of Massachusetts has now been traced through a period of one hundred and thirty years. A few words on the Character of the Puritans may be added. They were a vigorous and hardy people, firm-set in the principles of honesty and virtue. They were sober, industrious, frugal; resolute, zealous, and steadfast. They esteemed truth more than riches. Loving home and native land, they left both for the sake of freedom; and finding freedom, they cherished it with the devotion of martyrs. Despised and hated, they rose above their revilers. In the school of evil fortune they gained the discipline of patience. They were the children of adversity and the fathers of renown.

30. The gaze of the Puritan was turned ever to posterity. He believed in the future. For his children he toiled and sacrificed. The system of free schools is the monument of his love. The printing-press is his memorial. Almshouses and asylums are the tokens of his care for the unfortunate. He was the earliest champion of civil rights, and the builder of the Union.

31. In matters of religion, the fathers of New England were sometimes intolerant and superstitious. Their religious faith was gloomy. Human life was deemed a sad, a miserable journey. To be mistaken was to sin. To fail in trifling ceremonies was reckoned a crime. In the shadow of such belief the people became austere and melancholy. They set up a cold and severe form of worship. Dissenters themselves, they could not tolerate the dissent of others. To punish error seemed to the Pilgrims right and necessary. But Puritanism contained within itself the power to correct its own abuses. The evils of the system may well be forgotten in the glory of its achievements. Without the Puritans, America would have been a delusion and liberty only a name.

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CHAPTER XIV.

New York.—Settlement and Administration of Stuyvesant.

New Amsterdam.

THE settlement of New Amsterdam resulted from the voyages of the brave Sir Henry Hudson. For ten years after its founding, the colony was governed by the directors of the Dutch East India Company. In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was organized, and Manhattan Island, with its cluster of huts, passed at once under the control of the new corporation.

2. In April, 1623, the ship New Netherland, with thirty families on board, arrived at New Amsterdam. The colonists, called Walloons, were Dutch Protestant refugees. Cornelius May was the leader of the company. Most of the new immigrants settled with their friends on Manhattan; but the captain, with a party of fifty, made explorations as far as Delaware Bay.

3. In May the island, containing more than twenty thousand acres, was purchased from the natives for twenty-four dollars. A block-house was built and surrounded with a palisade. New Amsterdam was already a town of thirty houses. The Dutch of New Amsterdam and the Pilgrims of New Plymouth were early and fast friends.

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4. In 1628 the population of Manhattan numbered two hundred and seventy. The settlers engaged in the fur-trade. In 1629 the West India Company framed a Charter of Privileges, under which a class of proprietors, called patroons, were authorized to colonize the country. The conditions were that each patroon should purchase his lands of the Indians; and that he should establish a colony of not less than fifty persons. Five estates were immediately laid out. Three of them were on the Hudson; the fourth, on Staten Island; and the fifth, in the southern half of Delaware.

5. In April of 1633 Wouter van Twiller became Governor. Three months previously the Dutch erected a block-house at Hartford. In October an armed vessel from Plymouth sailed up the Connecticut, and defied the Dutch commander. The English proceeded up stream to the mouth of the Farmington, where they built Fort Windsor. Two years later, by the building of Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut, they obtained control of the river above and below the Dutch fort.

6. In 1626 Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant king of Sweden, formed the design of establishing settlements in America. But before his plans could be carried into effect, he was killed in battle. In 1632, the Swedish minister took up the work which his master had left unfinished; and, after four years, the enterprise was brought to a successful issue.

7. Late in 1637 a company of Swedes and Finns left the harbor of Stockholm, and in the following February arrived in Delaware Bay. The name of New Sweden was given to the territory. On the left bank of a small tributary of the Brandywine, a spot was chosen for the settlement. The immigrants soon provided themselves with houses. The creek and the fort were both named Christiana, in honor of the maiden queen of Sweden. In a short time the banks of the bay and river were dotted with pleasant hamlets.

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8. The authorities of New Amsterdam were jealous of the Swedish colony. Sir William Kieft, who had succeeded Van Twiller, warned the settlers of their intrusion on Dutch territory. But the Swedes went on enlarging their borders.

9. In 1640 New Netherland became involved in a war with the Indians. New Amsterdam was soon put in a state of defense, and a company of militia was sent against the savages. On both sides the war degenerated into treachery and murder. Through the mediation of Roger Williams a truce was obtained, but was immediately broken.

10. Soon a party of Mohawks came down the river to enforce their supremacy over the Algonquins in the vicinity of New Amsterdam. The latter begged assistance of the Dutch. Kieft now saw an opportunity for wholesale destruction. A company of soldiers set out from Manhattan, and discovered the camp of the Algonquins. The place was surrounded by night, and nearly a hundred of the poor wretches were killed by those to whom they had appealed for help. When it was known among the tribes that the Dutch, and not the Mohawks, were the authors of this outrage, the war was renewed with fury.

Peter Stuyvesant.

11. In 1643 Captain John Underhill, of Massachusetts, was appointed to command the Dutch forces. He first invaded New Jersey, and brought the Delawares into subjection. A decisive battle was fought on Long Island; and at Greenwich, in western Connecticut, the power of the Indians[Pg 97] was finally broken. On the 30th of August, 1645, a treaty was concluded at Fort Amsterdam.

12. In 1647 the West India Company revoked Governor Kieft's commission, and appointed Peter Stuyvesant to succeed him. Kieft embarked for Europe, but perished during the voyage. Peter Stuyvesant entered upon his duties on the 11th of May, 1647, and continued in office for seventeen years. His first care was to conciliate the Indians. So intimate and cordial became the relations between the natives and the Dutch, that they were suspected of making common cause against the English. Massachusetts was alarmed lest such an alliance should be formed. But the policy of Stuyvesant was based on nobler principles.

13. Until now the West India Company had exclusive control of the commerce of New Netherland. In 1648 this monopoly was abolished, and regular export duties were substituted. The benefit of the change was soon apparent in the improvement of the Dutch province.

14. In a letter written to Stuyvesant by the secretary of the company, the prediction was made that the commerce of New Amsterdam would cover every ocean, and the ships of all nations crowd into her harbor. But for many years the growth of the city was slow. The better parts of Manhattan Island were still divided among the farmers. Central Park was a forest of oaks and chestnuts.

15. In 1650 the boundary was fixed between New England and New Netherland. The line extended across Long Island north and south, passing through Oyster Bay, and thence to Greenwich, on the other side of the Sound. From this point northward the dividing line was nearly identical with the present boundary of Connecticut on the west. This treaty was ratified by the colonies, by the West India Company, and by the States-General of Holland.

[Pg 98]

16. Stuyvesant now determined to subdue the colony of New Sweden. In 1651 an armament left New Amsterdam for the Delaware, and made an unsuccessful expedition. In September of 1655 the old governor again sailed against New Sweden. Before the 25th of the month every fort belonging to the Swedes had been forced to surrender. Honorable terms were granted to all, and in a few days the authority of New Netherland was established. The little State of New Sweden had ceased to exist.

17. While Stuyvesant was absent on his expedition against the Swedes, the Algonquins rose in rebellion. In a fleet of sixty-four canoes, they appeared before New Amsterdam, yelling and discharging arrows, then they went on shore and began to burn and murder. The return of the Dutch from Delaware induced the chiefs to sue for peace, which Stuyvesant granted on better terms than the Indians deserved.

18. In 1663 the town of Kingston was attacked and destroyed by the Indians. Sixty-five of the inhabitants were tomahawked or carried into captivity. To punish this outrage a strong force was sent from New Amsterdam. The Indians fled to the woods; but the Dutch soldiers pursued them to their villages, burned their wigwams, and killed every warrior who could be overtaken. In May of 1664 a treaty of peace was concluded.

19. Governor Stuyvesant had great difficulty in defending his province against the claims of other nations. Discord at home added to his embarrassments. For many years the Dutch had witnessed the growth and prosperity of the English colonies. Boston had outgrown New Amsterdam. The schools of Massachusetts and Connecticut flourished; the academy on Manhattan, after a sickly career of two years, was discontinued. In New Netherland heavy taxes were levied for the support of the poor; New England had no poor. The Dutch attributed their own want of thrift to the mismanagement of the West India Company.

[Pg 99]

20. On the 12th of March, 1664, the duke of York received from Charles II. a patent for the whole country between the Connecticut and the Delaware. The duke made haste to secure his territory. An English squadron was immediately sent to America. On the 28th of August the fleet anchored before New Amsterdam. Governor Stuyvesant convened the Dutch council, and exhorted them to rouse to action and fight. Some one replied that the West India Company was not worth fighting for. The brave old man was forced to sign the capitulation; and on the 8th of September, 1664, New Netherland ceased to exist.

21. The English flag was hoisted over the fort and town, and the name of New York was substituted for New Amsterdam. The remaining Swedish and Dutch settlements soon capitulated. The supremacy of Great Britain in America was finally established. From Maine to Georgia, every mile of the American coast was under the flag of England.

[Pg 100]

CHAPTER XV.

New York Under the English.

THE Dutch had surrendered themselves to the English government in the hope of obtaining civil liberty. But it was a poor sort of liberty that any province was likely to receive from Charles II. The promised rights of the people were evaded and withheld. The old titles by which the Dutch farmers held their lands were annulled. The people were obliged to accept new deeds from the English governor, and to pay him therefor large sums of money.

2. In 1667 Nicolls, the first English governor of New York, was superseded by the tyrannical Lord Lovelace. The people became dissatisfied and gloomy. The discontent was universal. Several towns resisted the tax-gatherers and passed resolutions denouncing the government. The only attention which Lovelace and his council paid to these resolutions was to order them to be burnt before the town-house of New York. When the Swedes, a quiet people, resisted the governor's exactions, he wrote to his deputy: "If there is any more murmuring against the taxes, make them so heavy that the people can do nothing but think how to pay them."

3. In 1672 Charles II. was induced by the king of France to begin a war with Holland. The struggle extended to the colonies, and New York was for a short time revolutionized. But the conquest was only a brief military occupation of the country. The civil authority of the Dutch was never reestablished. In 1674 Charles II. was obliged to conclude a treaty of peace. All conquests made during the war were restored. New York reverted to the English government, and the rights[Pg 101] of the duke of York were again recognized in the province. Sir Edmund Andros was now appointed governor. On the last day of October the Dutch forces were finally withdrawn, and Andros assumed control of the government.

Dutch Costumes and Architecture.

4. It was a sad sort of government for the people. All the abuses of Lovelace's administration were revived. Taxes were levied without authority of law, and the protests of the people were treated with scorn. A popular legislative assembly was demanded, but the duke of York wrote to Andros that popular assemblies were dangerous to the government, and that he did not see any use for them.

5. In July of 1675 Andros made an unsuccessful effort to extend his authority over Connecticut, and later an equally ineffectual attempt to gain control of New Jersey. The representatives of the people at this latter place declared themselves[Pg 102] to be under the protection of the Great Charter, which not even the duke of York could alter or annul. In August of 1682 the "Territories" beyond the Delaware were granted by the Duke of York to William Penn. This little district, first settled by the Swedes, afterwards conquered by the Dutch, then transferred to England, was now finally separated from New York and joined to the new province of Pennsylvania.

6. For thirty years the people had been clamoring for a general assembly. At last the duke of York yielded to the demand. Then, for the first time, the people of the province were permitted to choose their own rulers and to frame their own laws. The new assembly made haste to declare THE PEOPLE to be a part of the government. All freeholders were granted the right of suffrage; trial by jury was established; taxes should not be levied except by the assembly; soldiers should not be quartered on the people; martial law should not exist; no person should be persecuted on account of his religion.

7. In July of 1684 the governors of New York and Virginia were met by the chiefs of the Iroquois at Albany, and the terms of a lasting peace were settled. In 1685 the duke of York became king of England. It was soon found that even a monarch could violate his pledges. King James became the enemy of the government which had been established in his American province. The legislature of New York was dismissed. An odious tax was levied. Printing-presses were forbidden; and the old abuses were revived.

8. When the news of the accession of William of Orange reached New York there was great rejoicing. The people rose in rebellion against deputy-governor Nicholson, who was glad to escape to England. The leader of the insurrection was Captain Jacob Leisler. He was appointed commandant of New York, and afterwards provisional governor. The councilors,[Pg 103] who were friends of the deposed Nicholson, left the city and went to Albany. Here the party opposed to Leisler organized a second provisional government. Both factions began to rule in the name of William and Mary, the new sovereigns of England. Such was the condition of affairs at the beginning of King William's War. In the spring of 1690, the authority of Leisler as governor of New York was recognized throughout the province.

9. In March, 1691, Colonel Sloughter arrived, with appointment as governor; and Leisler, on the same day, tendered his submission. He wrote a letter to Sloughter, expressing a desire to surrender the post to the governor. But Sloughter preferred to treat him as a traitor, and had him seized and sent to prison.

10. As soon as the government was organized the prisoner was brought to trial. It was decided that he had been a usurper. Sentence of death was passed on him, but Sloughter hesitated to put the sentence into execution. In this state of affairs the governor was invited to a banquet by the royal councilors; and when heated with drink, the death-warrant was thrust before him for his signature. He succeeded in signing his name to the parchment; and before his drunken revel had passed away, his victim had met his fate. On the 16th of May Leisler was taken from prison and hanged.

11. In 1696 New York was invaded by the French. But they were soon driven back by the English and Iroquois. Before a second invasion could be undertaken, King William's War was ended. In 1697 the Irish earl of Bellomont became governor. His administration was the happiest in the history of the colony. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were under his jurisdiction, but Connecticut and Rhode Island remained independent.

12. To Bellomont's administration belongs the story of Captain William Kidd, the pirate. A vessel was fitted out by a[Pg 104] company of distinguished Englishmen to protect the commerce of Great Britain and to punish piracy. Governor Bellomont was one of the proprietors, and Kidd received a commission as captain. The ship sailed from England before Bellomont's departure for New York. Soon the news came that Kidd himself had turned pirate and become the terror of the seas. For two years he continued his career, then appeared publicly in the streets of Boston, was seized, sent to England, tried, convicted, and hanged.

13. In May of 1702 Bellomont was superseded by Lord Cornbury. A month previously the proprietors of New Jersey had surrendered their province to the English Crown. All obstacles being thus removed, the two colonies were formally united in one government under Cornbury. For thirty-six years the two provinces continued under the jurisdiction of a single governor.

14. In 1732, New York was troubled with a dispute about the freedom of the press. The liberal party of the province held that a public journal might criticise the acts of the administration. The aristocratic party opposed such liberty as dangerous to good government. Zenger, an editor who published criticisms on the governor, was seized and put in prison. Great excitement ensued. The people praised their champion. Andrew Hamilton, a lawyer of Philadelphia, went to New York to defend Zenger, who was brought to trial in July of 1735. The cause was heard, and the jury brought in a verdict of acquittal. The aldermen of New York, in order to testify their appreciation of Hamilton's services, made him a present of an elegant gold box, and the people were enthusiastic over their victory.

15. In the year 1741 occurred what is known as the Negro Plot. Negroes constituted a large fraction of the people. Several fires occurred, and the slaves were suspected of having kindled them; now they became feared and hated. A rumor[Pg 105] was started that the negroes had made a plot to burn the city, and set up one of their own number as governor. The reward of freedom was offered to any slave who would reveal the plot. Many witnesses rushed forward; the jails were filled with the accused; and more than thirty of the miserable creatures, with hardly the form of a trial, were convicted and then hanged or burned to death. Others were transported and sold as slaves in foreign lands. As soon as the excitement had subsided, it came to be doubted whether the whole affair had not been the result of terror and fanaticism. The verdict of after times has been that there was no plot at all.

16. Such is the history of the little colony planted on Manhattan Island. A hundred and thirty years had passed since the first feeble settlements were made; the valley of the Hudson was filled with farms and villages. The Walloons of Flanders and the Puritans of New England had blended into one people. Discord and contention had only resulted in colonial liberty. There were other struggles through which the sons of New York had to pass before they gained their freedom. But the oldest and greatest of the Middle Colonies had entered upon a glorious career, and the foundations of an Empire State were laid.

[Pg 106]

CHAPTER XVI.

Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

THE history of Connecticut begins with the year 1630. The first grant of the territory was made by the council of Plymouth to the earl of Warwick; and in March, 1631, the claim was transferred by him to Lord Say-and-Seal, Lord Brooke, and John Hampden. Before a colony could be planted, the Dutch of New Netherland reached the Connecticut and built a fort at Hartford. The people of Plymouth immediately sent out a force to counteract this movement of their rivals, for the territorial claim of the Puritans extended over Connecticut and over New Netherland itself.

Early Settlements in Connecticut.

2. In October of 1635 a colony of sixty persons from Boston settled at Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. Earlier[Pg 107] in the same year the younger Winthrop, son of the governor of Massachusetts, arrived in New England. Under his direction a fort was built at the mouth of the Connecticut. Such was the founding of Saybrook, named in honor of Lord Say-and-Seal and Lord Brooke.

3. To the early annals of Connecticut belongs the sad story of the Pequod War. The country west of the Thames was more thickly peopled with savages than any other portion of New England. The warlike Pequods were able to muster seven hundred warriors. The whole force of the English did not amount to two hundred men. But the superior numbers of the savages were more than balanced by the courage and weapons of the English. In the year 1633 the crew of a trading-vessel were murdered on the banks of the Connecticut. An Indian embassy went to Boston to apologize; a treaty was made, and the Pequods acknowledged the king of England. But soon they began to violate the treaty. Outrages were committed, and war began in earnest.

4. In this state of affairs the Pequods attempted to induce the Narragansetts and the Mohegans to join in a war against the English. But Roger Williams, now in Rhode Island, used his endeavors to thwart the alliance. Embarking alone in a canoe, he crossed the bay to the house of Canonicus, king of the Narragansetts. There he found the ambassadors of the Pequods. For three days and nights, at the peril of his life, he pleaded with Canonicus to reject the proposals of the hostile tribe. At last his efforts were successful, and the Narragansetts voted to remain at peace. The Mohegans also rejected the proposed alliance. In the mean time, repeated acts of violence had aroused the colony. On the 1st of May the towns of Connecticut declared war. Sixty volunteers were put under command of Captain John Mason, of Hartford. Seventy Mohegans joined the expedition; and Sir Henry Vane sent Captain Underhill with twenty soldiers from Boston.

[Pg 108]

5. The descent from Hartford to Saybrook occupied one day. On the 20th of the month the expedition passed the mouth of the Thames; here was the principal seat of the Pequod nation. When the savages saw the squadron go by they set up shouts of exultation, and persuaded themselves that the English were afraid to hazard battle. The fleet proceeded quietly into Narragansett Bay. Here the troops landed and began their march into the country of the Pequods.

6. On the 25th of May the troops came within hearing of the Pequod fort. The warriors spent the night in uproar and jubilee. At two o'clock in the morning the English soldiers rose from their places of concealment and rushed forward to the fort. A dog ran howling among the wigwams, and the warriors sprang to arms. The English leaped over the puny palisades and began the work of death. "Burn them!" shouted Mason, seizing a flaming mat, and running among the cabins; and in a few minutes the wigwams were a sheet of flame. The English and Mohegans hastily withdrew.

7. The savages ran round and round like wild beasts in a burning circus. If one of the wretched creatures burst through the flames it was only to meet certain death. The destruction was complete. Only seven warriors escaped; seven others were made prisoners. Six hundred men, women, and children perished, nearly all being burned to death. The remnants of the Pequods were pursued into the swamps west of Saybrook. Every wigwam was burned and every field laid waste. Two hundred fugitives were hunted to death or captivity. The prisoners were distributed as servants among the Narragansetts, or sold as slaves.

8. In the pursuit of the Pequods, the English became acquainted with the coast west of the mouth of the Connecticut. Here some men of Boston tarried over winter, built cabins, and founded New Haven. In June of 1639 the men of New[Pg 109] Haven held a convention in a barn, and adopted the Bible for a constitution. The government was called the House of Wisdom, and none but church members were admitted to citizenship.

9. In 1643 Connecticut became a member of the Union of New England. New Haven was also admitted; and in the next year Saybrook was annexed to Connecticut. In 1650 Governor Stuyvesant met the commissioners of the province at Hartford, and established the western boundary.

10. On the restoration of monarchy in England, Connecticut recognized King Charles as rightful sovereign. The younger Winthrop was sent as ambassador to London to procure a royal patent for the colony. He bore with him a charter which had been prepared by the authorities of Hartford. Lord Say-and-Seal and the earl of Manchester lent their influence to induce the king to sign it. Winthrop showed him a ring which Charles I. had given to Winthrop's grandfather; and the token so moved the monarch's feelings that in a careless moment he signed the colonial charter—the most liberal and ample ever granted by an English king.

11. When Winthrop returned to Connecticut he was chosen governor of the colony, and continued in office for fourteen years. The civil institutions of the province were the best in New England. Peace reigned. During King Philip's War, Connecticut was saved from invasion. Not a hamlet was burned, not a life lost within her borders.

12. In October of 1687 Andros, now governor of all New England, made his famous visit to Hartford. On the day of his arrival he invaded the assembly while in session, seized the book of minutes, and wrote Finis at the bottom of the page. He then demanded the surrender of the colonial charter. Governor Treat pleaded earnestly for the preservation of the document. Andros was inexorable. The shades of evening fell. How Joseph Wadsworth carried away and concealed the pre[Pg 110]cious parchment has been told in the history of Massachusetts. When the government of Andros was overthrown, Connecticut, with the other New England colonies, regained her liberty.

13. "I give these books for the founding of a college in this colony." Such were the words of ten ministers who, in 1700, assembled at Branford, New Haven. Each of them, as he uttered the words, deposited a few volumes on the table where they were sitting; such was the founding of Yale College. In 1702 the school was opened at Saybrook, where it continued for fifteen years, and was then removed to New Haven. One of the most liberal patrons of the college was Elihu Yale, from whom the institution took its name. Common schools already existed in almost every village of Connecticut.

14. The half century preceding the French and Indian war was a time of prosperity in the western parts of New England. Connecticut was especially favored. Peace reigned throughout her borders. The farmer reaped his fields in cheerfulness and hope. The mechanic made glad his dusty shop with anecdote and song. The merchant feared no tariff, the villager no taxes. Want was unknown, and pauperism unheard of. With fewer dark pages in her history, Connecticut had all the lofty purposes and noble virtues of Massachusetts.

15. In June of 1636 the exiled Roger Williams left the country of the Wampanoags, and passed down the Seekonk to Narragansett River. With his five companions he landed on the western bank, purchased the soil of the Narragansetts, and laid the foundations of Providence. Other exiles joined the company. New farms were laid out and new houses built. Here, at last, was found at Providence Plantation a refuge for all the persecuted.

16. The leader of the new colony was a native of Wales; born in 1606; liberally educated at Cambridge. He had been the friend of Milton, and was a great hater of ceremonies. He [Pg 111] had been exiled to Massachusetts, and was now exiled by Massachusetts. He brought to the banks of the Narragansett the great doctrines of religious liberty and the equal rights of men.

A New England Kitchen in the Olden Time.

17. The beginning of civil government in Rhode Island was equally simple. Williams was the natural ruler of the little province, but he reserved for himself no wealth, no privilege. The lands, purchased from Canonicus, were freely distributed among the colonists. Only two small fields were kept by the founder for himself. All the powers of the government were intrusted to the people. A simple agreement was made by the settlers that in matters not affecting the conscience they would yield obedience to such rules as the majority might make for the public good. In questions of religion the conscience should be to every man a guide.

[Pg 112]

18. The new government stood the test of experience. Providence Plantation had peace and quiet. It was found that all religious sects could live together in harmony. Miantonomah, chief of the Narragansetts, loved Roger Williams as a brother. It was his friendship that enabled Williams to notify Massachusetts of the Pequod conspiracy, and to defeat the plans of the hostile nation. This good deed induced his friends at Salem to make an effort to recall him from banishment; but his enemies prevented his return.

Stone Tower at Newport.

19. In 1639 a settlement was made at Portsmouth, in the northern part of the island, and at the same time a party of colonists removed to the southwestern part of the island, and laid the foundations of Newport. In sight of this last-named settlement stood the old stone tower, a monument built by the Norsemen. In March of 1641 a public meeting was convened; the citizens came together on terms of equality, and the task of framing a constitution was undertaken. In three days the instrument was completed. The government was declared to be a "Democracie." The supreme authority was lodged with the freemen of the island. The vote of the majority should always rule. No one should be distressed on account of religious doctrine. The little republic was named the Plantation of Rhode Island.

20. In 1643 Providence and Rhode Island were refused admission into the Union of New England. Soon afterward Roger Williams was sent to London to procure a charter for the new colonies. On the 14th of March in the following[Pg 113] year the patent was granted, and Rhode Island became an independent commonwealth. With but few and brief interruptions it enjoyed peace and prosperity. The principles of the illustrious founder became the principles of the commonwealth. The renown of Rhode Island has not been in vastness of territory, in mighty cities, or in victorious armies, but in devotion to truth, justice, and freedom.

21. In 1622 the territory between the Merrimac and the Kennebec was granted by the council of Plymouth to Sir Ferdinand Gorges and John Mason. The proprietors made haste to secure their new domain by actual settlements. In the spring of 1623 two small companies of colonists were sent out by Mason and Gorges to people their province. One party of immigrants landed at Little Harbor, near Portsmouth, and began to build a village. The other company proceeded up stream and laid the foundations of Dover. With the exception of Plymouth and Weymouth, Portsmouth and Dover are the oldest towns in New England. But the progress of the settlements was slow; for many years the two villages were only fishing stations. In 1629 the name of New Hampshire was given to the province. Very soon Massachusetts began to urge her rights to the district north of the Merrimac.

22. On the 14th of April, 1642, New Hampshire was united with Massachusetts. The law restricting the rights of citizenship to church members was not extended over the new province, for the people of Portsmouth and Dover belonged to the Church of England. New Hampshire was the only colony east of the Hudson not originally founded by the Puritans. The union continued in force until 1679, when New Hampshire was separated from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and organized as a distinct royal province. Edward Cranfield was chosen governor.

23. Before his arrival the sawyers and lumbermen of the Piscataqua convened a general assembly at Portsmouth. A[Pg 114] resolution was passed by the representatives that no act, law, or ordinance should be valid unless made by the assembly and approved by the people. When the king heard of this resolution he declared it to be both wicked and absurd.

24. Of all the colonies, New Hampshire suffered most from the Indian wars. Her settlements were constantly exposed to savage invasion. During King Philip's War the suffering along the frontier was very great. In the wars of William, Anne, and George the province was visited with devastation and ruin. But in the intervals of peace the spirits of the people revived, and the hardy settlers returned to their wasted farms. Out of these conflicts and trials came that sturdy race of pioneers who bore such a heroic part in the contests of after years.

[Pg 115]

CHAPTER XVII.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

THE history of New Jersey begins with the founding of Elizabethtown, in 1664. As early as 1618, a trading-station had been established at Bergen; but forty years passed before permanent dwellings were built in that neighborhood.

2. The territory of New Jersey was included in the grant made to the duke of York. In 1664 that portion of the province lying between the Hudson and the Delaware, extending as far north as forty-one degrees and forty minutes, was assigned to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. Just after the conquest, a company of Puritans received a grant of land on Newark Bay. The Indian titles were purchased; in the following October a village was begun and named Elizabethtown.

3. In August of 1665 Philip Carteret arrived as governor. Elizabethtown was made the capital of the colony; Newark was founded; flourishing hamlets appeared on the shores of the bay as far south as Sandy Hook. In honor of Sir George Carteret, who had been governor of the Isle of Jersey, his American domain was named New Jersey. In 1668 the first assembly convened at Elizabethtown. The representatives were Puritans, and the laws of New England were repeated in the legislation of the colony.

4. After the conquest of New York by the Dutch, and the restoration of the province to England, the duke of York received from the king a second patent for the country between the Connecticut and the Delaware. At the same time he confirmed his former grant of New Jersey to Berkeley and[Pg 116] Carteret. But soon afterwards Sir Edmund Andros was appointed royal governor of the whole country. Carteret defended his claim against Andros; but Berkeley sold his interest in New Jersey to John Fenwick, to be held in trust for Edward Byllinge, who after a time made an assignment of his property to Gawen Laurie, Nicholas Lucas, and William Penn.

5. These men were Quakers. Here, then, was an opportunity to establish an asylum for the persecuted Friends. Penn and his associates applied to Sir George Carteret for a division of the province. It was accordingly agreed to divide New Jersey so that Carteret's district should be separated from that of the Quakers. The line of division was drawn from the southern point of land on the east side of Little Egg Harbor to a point on the Delaware in the latitude of forty-one degrees and forty minutes. The territory lying east of this line remained to Sir George as sole proprietor, and was named East Jersey; while that portion lying between the line and the Delaware was called West Jersey, and passed under the control of Penn.

Middle Colonies.

6. Early in the following March the Quaker proprietors published a code of laws called The Concessions. The constitution rivaled the charter of Connecticut in the liberality of its principles. The authors of the instrument then addressed the Quakers of England, recommending the province and inviting im[Pg 117]migration. Before the end of the year a colony of more than four hundred Friends found homes in West Jersey. An effort was now made by the proprietors of East Jersey to secure a deed of release from the duke of York. The petition was granted, and the whole territory was freed from foreign authority.

7. In November of 1681 Jennings, the deputy-governor of West Jersey, convened the first general assembly. The Quakers now met together to make their own laws. The Concessions were reaffirmed. Men of all races and religions were declared to be equal. Imprisonment for debt was forbidden. The sale of ardent spirits to the Red men was prohibited. Taxes should be voted by the representatives of the people. The lands of the Indians should be acquired by purchase. Finally, a criminal might be pardoned by the person against whom the offense was committed.

8. In 1682 William Penn and eleven other Friends purchased the province of East Jersey. The whole of New Jersey was now held by the Friends. In 1685 James II. appointed Edmund Andros royal governor of the colonies from Maine to Delaware. In 1688 the Jerseys were brought under his jurisdiction. When the news came of the abdication of the English monarch, Andros could do nothing but surrender to the indignant people.

9. But the condition of New Jersey was deplorable. It was almost impossible to tell to whom the territory rightfully belonged. Finally, in April of 1702, all proprietary claims being waived in favor of the king, the territory between the Hudson and the Delaware became a royal province.

10. New Jersey was now attached to the government of Lord Cornbury of New York. But each province retained its own legislative assembly and a distinct organization. This method of government continued for thirty-six years, and was then ended by the action of the people. In 1728 the repre[Pg 118]sentatives of New Jersey sent a petition to George II., praying for a separation of the two colonies. Ten years later the effort was renewed and brought to a successful issue. New Jersey was made independent, and Lewis Morris received a commission as royal governor of the province.

11. The Quakers were greatly encouraged with the success of their colonies in New Jersey. For more than a quarter of a century they had been buffeted with persecutions. But imprisonment and exile had not abated their zeal. The benevolent spirit of Penn urged him to find for his people an asylum in the New World. In June of 1680 he appealed to King Charles for the privilege of founding a Quaker commonwealth in America.

12. The petition was heard with favor. On the 5th of March, 1681, a charter was granted by Charles II., and William Penn became the proprietor of Pennsylvania. The vast domain embraced under the new patent was bounded on the east by the Delaware, extended north and south over three degrees of latitude, and westward through five degrees of longitude. The three counties of Delaware were reserved for the duke of York. Within a month from the date of his charter, Penn published a glowing account of his new country, promising freedom of conscience, and inviting emigration. During the summer three shiploads of Quakers left England for the land of promise.

13. During the winter of 1681-82, Penn drew up a constitution for his people. In the mean time, the duke of York had surrendered his claim to the three counties on the Delaware. The whole country on the west bank of the river, from Cape Henlopen to the forty-third degree of latitude, was now transferred to Penn, who, with a large company of emigrants, landed at New Castle on the 27th of October, 1682.

14. William Penn was born on the 14th of October, 1644. He was the oldest son of Sir William Penn of the British navy. [Pg 119] At the age of twelve he was sent to the University of Oxford, where he distinguished himself as a student until he was expelled on account of his religion. Afterwards he traveled on the Continent, and then became a student of law at London. For a while he was a soldier, and was then converted to the Quaker faith. His father drove him out of doors, but he was not to be turned from his course. He proclaimed the doctrines of the Friends; was arrested and imprisoned, first in the Tower of London, and afterward at Newgate. Despairing of toleration in England, he cast his gaze across the Atlantic. West Jersey was purchased; Pennsylvania was granted by King Charles; and now Penn himself arrived in America to found a government on the basis of peace.

William Penn.

15. The Quaker governor delivered an affectionate address to the crowd of Swedes, Dutch, and English who came to greet him. His pledges of a liberal government were renewed, and the people were exhorted to sobriety and honesty. Friendly relations were established between the Friends and Red men. A great conference, appointed with the sachems of the neighboring tribes, was held on the banks of the Delaware. Penn declared his brotherly affection for the Indians. Standing before them, clad in the simple garb of the Quakers, he said:—"My Friends: We have met on the broad pathway of good faith. We are all one flesh and blood. Being brethren, no[Pg 120] advantage shall be taken on either side. When disputes arise, we will settle them in council. Between us there shall be nothing but openness and love." The chiefs replied: "While the rivers run and the sun shines we will live in peace with the children of William Penn." And the treaty was sacredly kept. The Quaker hat and coat proved to be a better defense than coat-of-mail and musket.

16. In February of 1683 the native chestnuts, walnuts and elms were blazed to indicate the lines of the streets, and Philadelphia was founded. Within a month a general assembly was in session at the new capital. A democratic form of government was adopted. The growth of Philadelphia was astonishing. In 1683 there were only three or four houses. In 1685 the city contained six hundred houses; the schoolmaster had come, and the printing-press had begun its work. In another year Philadelphia had outgrown New York. In August of 1684 Penn took leave of his colony and sailed for England.

17. Nothing occurred to disturb the peace of Pennsylvania until the secession of Delaware in 1691. The three lower counties, which had been united on terms of equality with the six counties of Pennsylvania, became dissatisfied with some acts of the assembly and insisted on a separation. The proprietor gave consent; Delaware withdrew from the union, and received a separate deputy-governor.

18. In December of 1699 Penn visited his American commonwealth, and drew up another constitution, more liberal than the first. But Delaware would not accept the new form of government. In 1702 the assemblies of the two provinces sat apart; and in the following year Delaware and Pennsylvania were finally separated.

19. In July of 1718 the founder of Pennsylvania sank to rest. His estates, vast and valuable, were bequeathed to his three sons, John, Thomas, and Richard. By them, or their deputies, Pennsylvania was governed until the American Revo[Pg 121]lution. In the year 1779 the claims of the Penn family were purchased by the legislature of Pennsylvania for a hundred and thirty thousand pounds.

20. The colonial history of the State founded by Penn is one of special interest and pleasure. It is a narrative of the victories of peace, and of the triumph of peaceful principles over violence and wrong. It is doubtful whether the history of any other colony in the world is touched with so many traits of innocence and truth. "I will found a free colony for all mankind," were the words of William Penn. How well his work was done shall be told when the bells of his capital city shall ring out the glad notes of American Independence.

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CHAPTER XVIII.

Maryland and North Carolina.

CAPTAIN John Smith was the first white man to explore the Chesapeake. In 1621 William Clayborne, an English surveyor, was sent out by the London Company to make a map of the country around the bay. By the second charter of Virginia that province included all of the present State of Maryland. To explore and occupy the country was an enterprise of the highest importance to the Virginians. In May of 1631 Clayborne was authorized to survey the country as far north as the forty-first degree of latitude, and to establish a trade with the Indians. In the spring of 1632 he began his important work.

2. The enterprise was attended with success. A trading-post was established on Kent Island, and another near Havre de Grace. The Chesapeake was explored and a trade opened with the natives. The limits of Virginia were about to be extended to the borders of New Netherland. But, in the mean time, religious persecutions were preparing the way for the foundation of a new State in the wilderness. Sir George Calvert, a Catholic nobleman of Yorkshire, better known by his title of Lord Baltimore, was destined to become the founder.

3. In 1629 he made a visit to Virginia. The general assembly offered him citizenship, but required such an oath of allegiance as no honest Catholic could take. Lord Baltimore thereupon left the narrow-minded legislators; returned to London; drew up a charter for a new State on the Chesapeake, and induced King Charles to sign it.

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4. The provisions of the charter were ample. No preference was given to any particular religion. The lives and property of the colonists were carefully guarded. Arbitrary taxation was forbidden. The power of making the laws was conceded to the freemen of the colony.

5. Before the patent could receive the seal of state, Sir George Calvert died. His title descended to his son Cecil; and the charter was issued to him on the 20th of June, 1632. In honor of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I., the name of Maryland was conferred on the new province. In the fall of 1633 a colony numbering two hundred persons was collected. Leonard Calvert, a brother of Cecil, was appointed to accompany the colonists to America.

Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore.

6. In March of 1634 the immigrants arrived at Old Point Comfort. They proceeded up the bay and ascended the Potomac. Finding a half-deserted Indian village at the mouth of the St. Mary's, the English moved into the vacant huts. The rest of the town was purchased; and the name of St. Mary's was given to the colony. Friendly relations were established with the natives. The Indian women taught the wives of the English how to make cornbread, and the warriors instructed the colonists in the art of hunting. There was neither anxiety nor want in the colony. Within six months the settlement had grown into greater prosperity than Jamestown had reached in as many years.

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7. In 1639 a representative government was established in Maryland. Hitherto a system of democracy had prevailed; each freeman had been allowed a vote in determining the laws. When the new delegates came together, a declaration of rights was adopted. All the liberal principles of the colonial patent were reaffirmed. The rights of citizenship were declared to be the same as those of the people of England.

8. In 1642 Indian hostilities were begun on the Potomac. But the settlements of Maryland were compact, and no great suffering was occasioned. In 1644 the savages agreed to bury the hatchet and to renew the pledges of friendship.

9. In 1650 the legislature of Maryland was divided into two branches. The rights of Lord Baltimore were defined by law. An act was passed declaring that no taxes should be levied without the consent of the assembly. Such was the condition of affairs in the colony of Maryland when the Commonwealth was established in England.

10. In 1651 parliamentary commissioners came to America to assume control of Maryland. Stone, the deputy of Baltimore, was deposed from office; but in the following year he was permitted to resume the government. In April of 1653 he published a proclamation, declaring that the recent interference had been a rebellion. Clayborne thereupon collected a force in Virginia, drove Stone out of office, and directed the government himself.

11. In 1654 a Protestant assembly was convened at Patuxent. The supremacy of Cromwell was acknowledged, and the Catholics were deprived of the protection of the laws. Civil war ensued. Governor Stone armed the militia, and seized the records of the colony. A battle was fought near Annapolis, and the Catholics were defeated, with a loss of fifty men. Stone was taken prisoner, but was saved from death by the friendship of some of the insurgents. Three of the Catholics were tried and executed.

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12. After the death of Cromwell, Maryland was declared independent. On the 12th of March, 1660, the rights of Lord Baltimore were set aside, and the whole power of government was assumed by the House of Burgesses. On the restoration of monarchy the Baltimores were again recognized, and Philip Calvert was sent out as governor. From 1675 to 1691 Charles Calvert was governor of Maryland.

13. On the 1st of June, 1691, the charter of Lord Baltimore was taken away and a royal governor appointed. The Episcopal Church was established by law. Religious toleration was abolished and the government administered on despotic principles. This condition of affairs continued until 1715, when Queen Anne restored the heir of Lord Baltimore to the rights of his family. Maryland remained under the authority of the Calverts until the Revolution.

14. The first effort to colonize North Carolina was made by Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1630 the country was granted to Sir Robert Heath. But, after thirty-three years, the patent was revoked by the English king. The name of Carolina had been given to the country by John Ribault, in 1562. The first actual settlement was made on the Chowan about the year 1651. In 1661 a company of Puritans settled on Oldtown Creek. In 1663 Lord Clarendon, and seven other noblemen, received a grant of all the country between the thirty-sixth parallel and the river St. John's.

15. The work of preparing a frame of government for the new province was assigned to Sir Ashley Cooper. The philosopher John Locke was employed by him and his associates to prepare the constitution. From March until July of 1669, Locke worked away in drawing up a plan which he called The Grand Model. It contained one hundred and twenty articles; and this was but the beginning! The empire of Carolina was divided into districts of four hundred and eighty thousand acres each. The offices were divided between two grand orders of nobility.

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16. All attempts to establish the new government ended in failure. But the settlers had meanwhile learned to govern themselves. They grew prosperous by trading in staves and furs; and when this traffic was exhausted, they began to remove to other settlements.

17. The people of the colony were greatly oppressed with taxes. The trade with New England alone was weighed down with an annual duty of twelve thousand dollars. A gloomy opposition to the government prevailed; and when, in 1676, large numbers of refugees from Virginia arrived in Carolina, the discontent was kindled into an insurrection. The people seized Governor Miller and his council, and established a new government of their own. John Culpepper, the leader of the insurgents, was chosen governor. In 1679 Miller and his associates escaped from confinement and went to London. Governor Culpepper, who followed to defend himself, was seized, indicted for treason, tried, and acquitted. After a time new settlers came from Virginia and Maryland—Quakers from New England, Huguenots from France, and peasants from Switzerland.

18. The Indians of North Carolina gradually wasted away. Some of the nations were already extinct. The lands of the savages had passed to the whites, sometimes by purchase, sometimes by fraud. Of all the tribes of the Carolinas, only the Corees and the Tuscaroras were still formidable. These grew jealous and went to war with the whites.

19. On the night of the 22d of September, 1711, the savages fell upon the scattered settlements and murdered a hundred and thirty persons. Civil dissensions prevented the authorities from adopting vigorous measures of defence. But Colonel Barnwell came from South Carolina with a company of militia and friendly Indians; and the savages were driven into their fort. A treaty of peace was made; but, on their way homeward, Barnwell's men sacked an Indian village, and the war was at once renewed.

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20. In the next year, Colonel Moore of South Carolina arrived with a regiment of whites and Indians, and the Tuscaroras were pursued to their fort, which was carried by assault. Eight hundred warriors were taken prisoners. The power of the hostile nation was broken; and the Tuscaroras, abandoning their hunting-grounds, marched across Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, joined their kinsmen of New York, and became the sixth nation of the Iroquois.

21. In 1729 a separation was effected between the two Carolinas, and a royal governor was appointed over each. In spite of many reverses, the northern colony had greatly prospered. Intellectual development had not been as rapid as the growth in numbers and wealth. Little attention had been given to questions of religion. There was no minister in the province until 1703. Two years later the first church was built. The printing-press did not begin its work until 1754. But the people were brave and patriotic. They loved their country, and called it the Land of Summer.

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CHAPTER XIX.

South Carolina and Georgia.

IN January of 1670 the proprietors of Carolina sent out a colony under command of Joseph West and William Sayle. On the first high land upon the southern bank of the Ashley River were laid the foundations of Old Charleston, named in honor of Charles II. Sayle had been commissioned as governor of the colony, and he at once assumed control.

2. In 1671 he died, and West entered upon the duties of the vacant office. In a few months Sir John Yeamans, who had been governor of the northern province, was commissioned as chief magistrate of the southern colony. He brought with him to Ashley River a cargo of African slaves. Thus the labor of the black man was substituted for the labor of the white man, and in less than two years slavery was firmly established. The importation of negroes went on so rapidly that soon the negroes were twice as numerous as the white men.

3. During the year 1671 the country was rapidly filled with people. Fertile lands were abundant. Wars and pestilence had almost destroyed the native tribes. The proprietors of Carolina sent several ships to New York, loaded them with the discontented people of that province, and brought them to Charleston. Charles II. collected a company of Protestant refugees in Europe, and sent them to Carolina to introduce the silk-worm and to cultivate the grape.

4. In 1680 the present city of Charleston was founded. Thirty dwellings were erected during the first summer. The village immediately became the capital of the colony. The unhealthy climate retarded the progress of the new town, but the people were full of life and enterprise.

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5. England, France, Scotland, and Ireland sent colonies to South Carolina. Especially did the French Huguenots come in great numbers, for they were now persecuted in their own country. They were met by the proprietors with a promise of citizenship; but the promise was not well kept, for the general assembly claimed the right of fixing the conditions of naturalization. Not until 1697 were all discriminations against the French immigrants removed.

6. In April of 1693 the proprietors of Carolina annulled the Grand Model, and Thomas Smith was appointed governor. He was soon superseded by John Archdale, a distinguished Quaker, under whose administration the colony entered upon a new career of prosperity. The quit-rents on lands were remitted for four years. The Indians were conciliated with kindness, and the Huguenots protected in their rights. It was a real misfortune when, in 1698, the good governor was recalled to England.

7. James Moore was next commissioned as chief magistrate. In December of 1705 he led an expedition against the Indians. On the 14th of the month the invaders reached a fortified town near St. Mark's. The place was carried by assault, and more than two hundred prisoners were taken. On the next day Moore's forces defeated a large body of Indians and Spaniards. Five towns were carried in succession, and the English flag was borne to the Gulf of Mexico.

8. In the first year of Governor Johnson's administration, an act was passed disfranchising all dissenters from the English Church, but Parliament voted that the act was contrary to the laws of England. In November of the same year the colonial legislature revoked the law; but Episcopalianism continued to be the established faith of the province.

9. In the spring of 1715 the Yamassees rose upon the frontier settlements and committed an atrocious massacre. The desperate savages came within a short distance of the [Pg 130] capital, and the whole colony was threatened with destruction. But Governor Craven rallied the militia, and the savages were pursued to the banks of the Salkehatchie. Here a decisive battle was fought, and the Indians were completely routed. The Yamassees collected their tribe and retired into Florida.

10. At the close of the war the assembly petitioned the proprietors to bear a portion of the expense. But they refused, and would take no measures for the protection of the colony. The people, greatly burdened with rents and taxes, grew dissatisfied with the proprietary government. In the new election every delegate was chosen by the popular party. When James Moore, the new chief magistrate elected by the people, was to be inaugurated, Governor Johnson tried to prevent the ceremony. But the militia collected in the public square, and before nightfall the government of Carolina was overthrown. Governor Moore, the people's choice, was duly inaugurated in the name of King George I.

11. Still another change in colonial affairs was now at hand. In 1729 seven of the proprietors of Carolina sold their claims in the province to the king. The sum paid by George II. for the two colonies was twenty-two thousand five hundred pounds. Royal governors were appointed, and the affairs of the province were settled on a permanent basis.

12. The people who colonized South Carolina were brave and chivalrous. The Huguenot, the Scotch Presbyterian, the English dissenter, the Irish adventurer, and the Dutch mechanic, composed the material of the Palmetto State. Equally with the Puritans of the North, the South Carolinians were lovers of liberty. The people became the leaders in politeness and honor between man and man.

13. Georgia, the thirteenth American colony, was founded by James Oglethorpe, an English philanthropist. The laws of England permitted imprisonment for debt. Thousands of [Pg 131] English laborers were annually arrested and thrown into jail. In order to provide a refuge for the poor and the distressed, Oglethorpe appealed to George II. for the privilege of planting a colony in America. The petition was favorably heard, and on the 9th of June, 1732, a charter was issued by which the territory between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers, and westward to the Pacific, was granted to a corporation, to be held in trust for the poor. In honor of the king, the new province was named Georgia.

14. Oglethorpe, who was a brave soldier and a member of Parliament, was the principal member of the corporation. To him was entrusted the leadership of the first colony to be planted on the Savannah. By the middle of November a hundred and twenty emigrants were ready to sail for the New World. In January of 1733 the company was welcomed at Charleston. Further south the colonists entered the river, and on the 1st of February laid the foundations of Savannah.

James Oglethorpe.

15. The chief of the Yamacraws came from his cabin to see the new-comers. "Here is a present for you," said he to Oglethorpe. The present was a buffalo robe painted with the head and feathers of an eagle. "The feathers are soft, and signify love; the buffalo skin is the emblem of protection. Therefore love us and protect us," said the old chieftain. Seeing the advantages of peace, Oglethorpe invited a council[Pg 132] at his capital. The conference was held on the 29th of May. Long King, the sachem, spoke for all the tribes. The English were welcomed to the country. Gifts were made, and the governor responded with words of friendship.

Oglethorpe and the Yamacraw Chief.

16. The councilors in England encouraged emigration. Swiss peasants, Scotch Highlanders, and German Protestants all found a home on the Savannah. In April of 1734, Oglethorpe made a visit to England. It was said in London that no colony was ever before founded so wisely as Georgia. The councilors prohibited the importation of rum. Traffic with the Indians was regulated by a license. Slavery was positively forbidden. While the governor was still abroad, a company of Moravians arrived at Savannah.

17. In February of 1736 Oglethorpe came back with a colony of three hundred. These were also Moravians, people of deep piety and fervent spirit. First among them was John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He came to Georgia to[Pg 133] spread the gospel and convert the Indians. But he was doomed to much disappointment in his work; and after a residence of less than two years he left the colony. His brother, Charles Wesley, came also as a secretary to Governor Oglethorpe. In 1738 the famous George Whitefield came, and preached with fiery eloquence through all the colonies.

18. Meanwhile, Oglethorpe, anticipating war with Florida, began to fortify. All of Georgia was embraced in the Spanish claim. But Oglethorpe had a charter for the territory as far south as the Altamaha. In 1736 he ascended the Savannah and built a fort at Augusta. On the north bank of the Altamaha, he built Fort Darien. On St. Simon's Island a fortress was erected and named Frederica. The St. John's was claimed from this time forth as the southern boundary of Georgia. The governor again visited England, and returned with a regiment of troops.

19. In October, 1739, England published a declaration of war against Spain. In the first week of the following January, Oglethorpe invaded Florida, and captured two fortified towns. Soon, with a force of more than a thousand men, he marched against St. Augustine, but after a siege of five weeks was compelled to withdraw.

20. The Spaniards now determined to carry the war into Georgia. In June of 1742 a fleet of thirty-six vessels, carrying more than three thousand troops, sailed from St. Augustine for the reduction of Fort William on Cumberland Island. But Oglethorpe reinforced the garrison, and then fell back to Frederica. The Spanish vessels followed. From the southern point of the island to Frederica, Oglethorpe had cut a road which lay between a morass and a forest. The Spaniards must pass along this path to attack the town.

21. The English general posted his men between the swamp and the forest. On the 7th of July the enemy reached the pass, were fired on from the thicket, and driven back in con[Pg 134]fusion. The main body of the Spanish forces pressed on into the same position, stood firm for a while, but were presently routed with the loss of two hundred men. The name of Bloody Marsh was given to this battlefield. Within a week the whole Spanish force reembarked and sailed for Florida.

22. The colony of Georgia was now firmly established. In 1743 Oglethorpe departed for England, after having devoted ten years to the colony. He had never owned a house nor possessed an acre of ground in the province.

23. The regulations which the councilors for Georgia had adopted were poorly suited to the wants of the colony. The settlers had no titles to their lands. Estates could descend only to the oldest sons of families. The colonists charged their poverty to the fact that slave-labor was forbidden in the province. The proprietary laws became unpopular. The statute excluding slavery was not enforced. Slaves began to be hired, first for short terms of service, then for longer periods, then for one hundred years. Finally, slaves were brought directly from Africa and sold to the planters below the Savannah.

24. The new order of things was acknowledged by the councilors; and in June of 1752 they surrendered their patent to the king. A royal government was established over the country, and the people were granted the freedom of Englishmen. For some time the progress of the colony was not equal to the expectations of its founder, but before the Revolution Georgia had become a growing province.

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CHAPTER XX.

French and Indian War.

THE time came when the American colonies began to act together. The final struggle between France and England for colonial supremacy in America was at hand. Necessity compelled the English colonies to join in a common cause against the foe. This is the conflict known as the French and Indian War. Causes of war had existed for many years.

2. The first of these causes was the conflicting territorial claims of the two nations. England had colonized the sea-coast; France had colonized the interior of the continent. The English kings claimed the country from one ocean to the other. The French, however, began to push their way westward and southward along the great lakes to the head-waters of the Wabash, the Illinois, and the St. Croix, then down these streams to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the French was to divide the American continent and take the larger portion.

3. The French soon established military posts at Frontenac, at Niagara, at the Straits of Mackinaw, and on the Illinois. Before 1750, settlements had been made on the Maumee, at Detroit, at Green Bay, at Vincennes, at Kaskaskia, at Natchez, at New Orleans, and on the Bay of Biloxi. At this time the only outposts of the English were a fort at Oswego and a few cabins in West Virginia.

4. The immediate cause of hostilities was a conflict between the frontiersmen of the two nations in the Ohio valley. In order to prevent the intrusion of the French fur-traders into this country, a number of Virginians joined themselves together in a body [Pg 136] called the Ohio Company. In March of 1749, they received from George II. a land-grant of five hundred thousand acres, located between the Kanawha and the Monongahela. But before the company could send out a colony, the governor of Canada dispatched three hundred men to occupy the valley of the Ohio. In the next year, however, the Ohio Company sent out an exploring party under Christopher Gist, who traversed the country and returned to Virginia in 1751.

5. This expedition was followed by vigorous movements of the French. They built a fort called Le Bœuf, on French Creek, and another named Venango, on the Alleghany. About the same time, the country south of the Ohio was again explored by Gist and a party of armed surveyors.

6. The Indians were greatly alarmed at the prospect. They rather favored the English cause, but their allegiance was uncertain. In the spring of 1753, the Miami tribes, under the leadership of the Half-King, met Benjamin Franklin at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and made a treaty with the English.

7. Before proceeding to actual war, Governor Dinwiddie determined to try a final remonstrance with the French. A paper was drawn up setting forth the nature of the English claim to the valley of the Ohio, and warning the authorities of France against further intrusion. A young surveyor, named George Washington, was called upon to carry this paper from Williamsburg, Virginia, to General St. Pierre at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie.

8. On the last day of October, 1753, Washington set out on his journey. He was attended by four comrades besides an interpreter and Christopher Gist, the guide. At Logstown, Washington held a council with the Indians, and then pressed on to Fort Le Bœuf. Here the conference was held with St. Pierre. Washington was received with courtesy, but the gen[Pg 137]eral of the French was acting, he said, under military instructions, and would eject every Englishman from the valley of the Ohio.

Washington's Route to Ft. le Bœuf.

9. Washington soon took leave of the French, and returned to Venango. Then, with Gist as his sole companion, he left the river and struck into the woods. Clad in the robe of an Indian; sleeping with frozen clothes on a bed of pine-brush; guided at night by the North Star; fired at by a prowling savage from his covert; lodging on an island in the Alleghany until the river was frozen over; plunging again into the forest, the young ambassador came back without wound or scar to the capital of Virginia. The answer of St. Pierre was laid before the governor, and the first public service of Washington was ended.

10. In the mean time the Ohio Company had sent thirty-three men, under command of Trent, to erect a fort at the source of the Ohio. In March, 1754, they built the first rude block-house on the site of Pittsburgh. After all the threats of[Pg 138] the French, the English had beaten them in seizing the key to the Ohio valley.

11. Soon, however, French boats came down the river; and Trent was obliged to surrender. Washington was now stationed at Alexandria to enlist recruits. But it was too late to save Trent's men from capture. The French immediately occupied the post, built barracks and laid the foundations of Fort Du Quesne. To retake this place Colonel Washington set out from Will's Creek in May of 1754. The possession of the disputed territory was now to be determined by war.

12. Washington, with his little army of Virginians, was commissioned to build a fort at the source of the Ohio, and to repel all who interrupted the English settlements in that country. In April the young commander left Will's Creek, and on the 26th of May the English reached the Great Meadows. Here Washington was informed that the French were on the march to attack him. A stockade was immediately erected, and named Fort Necessity. Washington determined to strike the first blow. Two Indians followed the trail of the enemy, and discovered their hiding-place. The French were on the alert, and flew to arms. "Fire!" was the command of Washington; and the first volley of a great war went flying through the forest. The engagement was brief and decisive. Jumonville, the leader of the French, and ten of his party, were killed, and twenty-one were made prisoners.

13. Before advancing farther, Washington waited for reinforcements. Only one company of volunteers arrived. His whole force numbered scarcely four hundred. Learning that the French general De Villiers was approaching, Washington deemed it prudent to fall back to Fort Necessity.

14. Scarcely were Washington's forces safe within the stockade, when, on the 3d of July, the regiment of De Villiers came in sight, and surrounded the fort. The French stationed themselves on the eminence, and fired down upon the English with[Pg 139] fatal effect. The Indians climbed into the tree-tops. For nine hours the assailants poured a shower of balls upon Washington's men. At length, seeing that it would be impossible to hold out, he accepted the terms which were offered by the French general. On the 4th of July the English garrison marched out of the fort, and withdrew from the country.

15. Meanwhile, a congress of the American colonies had assembled at Albany. The first object was to renew the treaty with the Iroquois; the second, to unite the colonies in a common government. On the 10th of July, Benjamin Franklin presented the draft of a constitution, which was finally adopted. Philadelphia was to be the capital. The chief executive was to be a governor appointed by the king. Each colony should be represented in congress by not less than two or more than seven representatives.

16. Copies of this constitution were transmitted to the several colonies; but the new scheme of government was everywhere received with disfavor. The English ministers also rejected it, saying that the Americans were trying to make a government of their own. Meanwhile, the French were constantly preparing for war.

17. Early in 1755 General Braddock arrived in America; the plans of four campaigns were agreed on. Lawrence, the governor of Nova Scotia, was to complete the conquest of that province. Governor Johnson, of New York, was to capture Crown Point. Shirley, of Massachusetts, was to take Fort Niagara. Braddock himself was to lead the main army against Fort Du Quesne.

18. In the latter part of April, the British general set out with two thousand veterans, from Alexandria to Fort Cumberland. A few provincial troops joined the expedition. Washington became an aide-de-camp of Braddock, and frequently gave him honest counsel, which the British general rejected.

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19. Braddock marched with the main body. On the 19th of June he put himself at the head of twelve hundred chosen troops, and pressed forward toward Fort Du Quesne. On the 9th of July, when the English were only twelve miles from Fort Du Quesne, they were suddenly fired upon by the French and Indians, who were hidden among the rocks and ravines.

20. The battle began with a panic. The men fired constantly, but could see no enemy. Braddock rushed to the front and rallied his men; but it was all in vain. They stood huddled together like sheep. The forest was strewn with the dead. Out of eighty-two officers, twenty-six were killed. Of the privates seven hundred and fourteen had fallen. A retreat began at once, and Washington, with the Virginians, covered the flight of the army.

21. On the next day the Indians returned to Fort Du Quesne clad in the laced coats of the British officers. The wounded Braddock was borne in the train of the fugitives to Fort Necessity, where he died. When they reached Dunbar's camp the confusion was greater than ever. The artillery, baggage, and public stores were destroyed. Then followed a hasty retreat to Fort Cumberland, and finally to Philadelphia.

22. By the treaty of Utrecht, made in 1713, Acadia, or Nova Scotia, was ceded by France to England. The great majority of the people in that province were French, and the English government was only a military occupation. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War the population amounted to more than sixteen thousand. In a campaign of a month, the English now made themselves masters of the whole country east of the St. Croix.

23. The French inhabitants still outnumbered the English, and Governor Lawrence determined to drive them into banishment. The English officers first demanded an oath of alle[Pg 141]giance, and the surrender of all firearms and boats. The British vessels were then made ready to carry the people into exile.

Embarkation at Acadia.

24. The country about the isthmus was now laid waste, and the peasants driven into the larger towns. Wherever a sufficient number could be got together they were compelled to go on shipboard. At the village of Grand Pré, more than nineteen hundred people were driven into the boats at the point of the bayonet. Wives and children, old men and mothers, the sick and the infirm, all shared the common fate. More than three thousand of the Acadians were carried away and scattered, helpless and half starved, among the English colonies.

25. The third campaign planned by Braddock was to be conducted by Governor Shirley against Fort Niagara. Early in August the attempt was made, but in October had to be abandoned.

26. The fourth expedition was intrusted to General William Johnson. The object was to capture Crown Point, and drive the French from Lake Champlain. Early in August the army proceeded to the Hudson above Albany, and built Fort Edward. Thence Johnson marched to Lake George and laid out a camp.

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27. In the mean time, Dieskau, the French commandant at Crown Point, advanced with fourteen hundred French, Canadians, and Indians to capture Fort Edward. The Canadians and French regulars, unsupported by the Indians, then attacked the English position. For five hours the battle was incessant. Nearly all of Dieskau's men were killed. At last the English troops charged across the field, and completed the rout. Dieskau was mortally wounded. Two hundred and sixteen of the English were killed. General Johnson now constructed Fort William Henry on the site of his camp. Meanwhile, the French had fortified Ticonderoga. Such was the condition of affairs at the close of 1755.

Lake Champlain.

28. In the beginning of the next year the command of the English forces was given to Governor Shirley. Washington, at the head of the Virginia provincials, repelled the French and Indians in the valley of the Shenandoah. The expeditions, which were planned for the year, embraced the conquest of Quebec and the capture of Forts Frontenac, Toronto, Niagara, and Du Quesne.

29. The earl of Loudoun now received the appointment of commander-in-chief of the British forces. On the 17th of May Great Britain, after nearly two years of actual hostilities, made a declaration of war against France. In July Lord Loudoun assumed the command of the colonial army. The French, meanwhile, led by the marquis of Montcalm, who had succeeded Dieskau, besieged and captured Oswego.

30. In the following campaign the daring Montcalm, with more than seven thousand French, Canadians, and Indians, [Pg 143] advanced against Fort William Henry. For six days the French pressed the siege with vigor. The ammunition of the garrison was exhausted, and nothing remained but to surrender. Honorable terms were granted by the French. On the 9th of August the French took possession of the fortress. Unfortunately, the Indians procured a quantity of spirits from the English camp. In spite of the utmost exertions of Montcalm, the savages fell upon the prisoners and massacred thirty of them in cold blood.

31. Such had been the successes of France during the year, that the English had not a single hamlet left in the whole basin of the St. Lawrence. Every cabin where English was spoken had been swept out of the Ohio valley. At the close of the year 1757 France possessed twenty times as much American territory as England, and five times as much as England and Spain together.

32. William Pitt was now placed at the head of the English ministry. Loudoun was deposed from the American army. General Abercrombie was appointed to succeed him. General Amherst was to lead a division, and young Lord Howe was next in rank to Abercrombie. Three expeditions were planned for 1758: one to capture Louisburg; a second, to reduce Crown Point and Ticonderoga; and the third to retake Fort Du Quesne from the French. The first was successful, and on the 28th of July, Louisburg capitulated. Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island were surrendered to Great Britain. The garrison, numbering nearly six thousand men, became prisoners of war.

33. On the 5th of July General Abercrombie, with an army of fifteen thousand men, moved against Ticonderoga. On the morning of the 6th the English fell in with the picket line of the French. A severe skirmish ensued; the French were over[Pg 144]whelmed, but Lord Howe was killed in the onset. On the morning of the 8th, the English divisions were arranged to carry Ticonderoga by assault. A desperate battle of more than four hours followed, until, at six o'clock in the evening, the English were finally repulsed. The loss on the side of the assailants amounted in killed and wounded to nineteen hundred and sixteen. In no battle of the Revolution did the British have so large a force engaged, or meet such terrible loss.

34. The English now retreated to Fort George. Soon afterward three thousand men, under Colonel Bradstreet, were sent against Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, which, after a siege of two days, was compelled to capitulate. The fortress was demolished. Bradstreet's success more than counterbalanced the failure of the English at Ticonderoga.

35. Late in the summer General Forbes, with nine thousand men, advanced against Fort Du Quesne. Washington led the Virginia provincials. On the 24th of November he was within ten miles of Du Quesne. During that night the garrison took the alarm, burned the fortress, and floated down the Ohio. On the 25th the victorious army marched in, raised the English flag, and named the place Pittsburgh.

36. General Amherst was now promoted to the chief command of the American forces. By the beginning of summer, 1759, the British and colonial armies numbered nearly fifty thousand men. The entire French army scarcely exceeded seven thousand. Three campaigns were planned for the year: General Prideaux was to conduct an expedition against Niagara. Amherst was to lead the main division against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. General Wolfe was to proceed up the St. Lawrence and capture Quebec.

37. On the 10th of July, Niagara was invested by Prideaux. Two weeks later the fort capitulated, and the French, to the number of six hundred, became prisoners of war. At the same time Amherst was marching with an army of eleven thousand[Pg 145] men against Ticonderoga. On the 22d of July the English forces landed, and on the 26th the garrison retreated to Crown Point. Five days afterwards they deserted this place also, and withdrew to Isle-aux-Noix, in the river Sorel.

MAP SHOWING THE COLONIES at the time of FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.

38. Early in the spring General Wolfe began the ascent of the St. Lawrence. His force consisted of nearly eight thousand men, and a fleet of forty-four vessels. On the 29th of June General Monckton was sent to seize Point Levi.

39. On the 9th of July, General Wolfe crossed the north channel, and encamped on the east bank of the Montmorenci. This stream was fordable at low water. On the 31st of the month a severe battle was fought at the fords of the river, and the English were repulsed with heavy losses.

40. Exposure and fatigue threw the English general into a fever. It was decided to ascend the St. Lawrence, and gain the Plains of Abraham, in the rear of the city. The lower camp was broken up, and on the 6th of September the troops were conveyed to Point Levi. Wolfe then transferred his army to a point several miles up the river.

QUEBEC IN 1759.

41. On the night of the 12th of September, the English dropped down the river to a place called Wolfs Cove, and in the dawn of morning the general marshaled his army for battle on the Plains of Abraham. Montcalm was in amazement when he heard the news. With great haste the French were brought from the trenches on the Montmorenci, and thrown between Quebec and the English.

[Pg 146]

42. The battle began with an hour's cannonade. The Canadians and Indians were routed. The French regulars wavered and were thrown into confusion. Wolfe, leading the charge, was twice wounded, but pressed on. At the moment of victory a third ball pierced his breast, and he sank to the earth. "They run, they run!" said the attendant who bent over him. "Who run?" was the response. "The French are flying everywhere," replied the officer. "Do they run already? Then I die happy," said the expiring hero.

43. Montcalm, attempting to rally his regiments, was struck by a ball and mortally wounded. "Shall I survive?" said he to his surgeon. "But a few hours at most," answered the attendant. "So much the better," replied the heroic Frenchman; "I shall not live to witness the surrender of Quebec."

44. Five days after the battle, Quebec was surrendered, and an English garrison took possession of the citadel. On the 8th of September, in the same year, Montreal, the last important post of France in the valley of the St. Lawrence, was surrendered to General Amherst.

45. For three years the war between France and England continued on the ocean. The English fleets were everywhere victorious. On the 10th of February, 1763, a treaty of peace was made at Paris. All the French possessions in North America, eastward of the Mississippi from its source to the river Iberville, and thence through Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico, were surrendered to Great Britain. At the same time, Spain, with whom England had been at war, ceded East and West Florida to the English Crown. Thus closed the French and Indian War. By this conflict it was decided that the decaying institutions of the Middle Ages should not prevail in America, and that the powerful language, just laws, and priceless liberties of the English race should be planted forever in the vast domains of the New World.

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Review Questions—Part III.

CHAPTER IX.

• 1. Give an account of the first settlement at Jamestown.
• 2. What troubles arose within the colony itself, and how were these adjusted?
• 3. Trace the course of Captain Smith among the Indians, and in his voyages of discovery.
• 4. Describe the government of Virginia under the First and Second Charters.

CHAPTER X.

• 5. What changes in government were made by the Third Charter?
• 6. Mention the improvement in the colonial industries.
• 7. Describe the hardships and the growth of the Virginia colony.
• 8. Give an account of the Indian massacre of 1622.

CHAPTER XI.

• 9. Tell of the farther changes in the government, first to a Royal, then to a Proprietary.
• 10. Give an account of Bacon's Rebellion, with its causes and results.

CHAPTER XII.

• 11. Give an account of the condition and prospects of the Plymouth colonists.
• 12. What relations existed between these colonists and the Indians?
• 13. Tell about the sectarian troubles and their adjustment.
• 14. Outline the general prosperity of New England.

CHAPTER XIII.

• 15. Follow the farther strife between the colonists and the Indians.
• 16. Trace the changes in government in the New England Colonies from 1622-1689.
• 17. Give an account of King William's War, with the results to New England.
• 18. Tell about Salem Witchcraft.
• 19. Give an account of Queen Anne's and King George's wars, with the causes of each and the final adjustments.
• 20. Sketch the character of the Puritan.

[Pg 148]

CHAPTER XIV.

• 21. Outline the settlements of the Dutch and their conflicts with the English and the Swedes.
• 22. Trace the conflict between the Dutch and the Indians

CHAPTER XV.

• 23. What of the condition, the government, and the progress of New York under the English rule?
• 24. Give an account of the "Negro Plot."

CHAPTER XVI.

• 25. Mention the several claims to the territory of Connecticut.
• 26. Tell the story of the Pequod War.
• 27. Outline the government and the general prosperity of Connecticut.
• 28. Give an account of Roger Williams, and the organization of the "Plantation of Rhode Island."
• 29. Tell of the founding and growth of New Hampshire.

CHAPTER XVII.

• 30. Sketch the history of New Jersey, and its final separation from Pennsylvania.
• 31. Tell the story of William Penn, and his career in Pennsylvania.

CHAPTER XVIII.

• 32. Give an account of the founding and development of Maryland.
• 33. Give an account of the colonization and progress of North Carolina.

CHAPTER XIX.

• 34. Tell of the founding of South Carolina.
• 35. Recite the affairs of Georgia under Oglethorpe.
• 36. Outline the troubles between the English and the Spaniards in Georgia and Florida.

CHAPTER XX.

• 37. What were the leading causes of the French and Indian War?
• 38. Give an account of Washington's expedition to St. Pierre.
• 39. Give an account of the capture of Fort Necessity.
• 40. Give an outline of Braddock's campaign.
• 41. What were the leading events of the campaign of Wolfe?

[Pg 149]

Part IV.

REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION.

CHAPTER XXI.

Causes of the Revolution.

THE American Revolution was an event of vast importance. The question decided by it was whether the English colonies in America should govern themselves, or be ruled by Great Britain. The decision was in favor of independence. The result has been the grandest republican government the world has ever known.

2. The most general cause of the Revolution was THE RIGHT OF ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT, claimed by Great Britain and denied by the colonies. The question began to be discussed about the time of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748; and from that period until 1775, each year witnessed a renewal of the agitation. But there were also many minor causes tending to bring on a conflict with the mother-country.

3. First of these was the influence of France, inciting the colonies to rebel. The French had ceded Canada to Great Britain with the hope of securing American independence. England feared such a result. It was even proposed in Parliament to re-cede Canada to France, in order to check the growth of the American States.

[Pg 150]

4. Another cause was the natural disposition of the colonists. Many of the original settlers came to America to escape the tyranny of kings, and their descendants naturally favored a representative government. The dealings of the colonists with the royal officers had created a dislike for foreign institutions.

5. The growth of public opinion in the colonies tended to independence. The better class of men came to believe that a separation from England was very desirable. As early as 1755, John Adams, then a young school-teacher in Connecticut, wrote in his diary: "In another century all Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only way to keep us from setting up for ourselves is to disunite us."

6. Another cause of the Revolution was the personal character of the king. George III. was one of the worst of rulers, and had no true notion of human rights. His ministers were, for the most part, men like himself.

7. The more immediate cause of the war was the passage by Parliament of a number of laws destructive of colonial liberty. The first of these was the Importation Act of 1733. By this statute exorbitant duties were laid on sugar, molasses, and rum. In 1750 it was enacted that iron-works should not be erected in America. The manufacture of steel was forbidden, and the felling of pines outside of inclosures. These laws were disregarded by the colonists, who considered them unjust and tyrannical. In 1761 the courts were authorized to issue to petty officers search-warrants, called Writs of Assistance, by which constables might enter every place, searching for goods suspected of having evaded the duty. At Salem and Boston the writs were resisted.

8. In 1763, and again in the following year, the English officers were authorized to seize all vessels engaged in unlawful trade. Before this was known at Boston, a great town-meeting was held. Samuel Adams was the orator. A powerful[Pg 151] argument was produced, showing that under the British constitution taxation and representation were inseparable.

9. On the 10th of March, 1764, Mr. Grenville, the prime minister, brought before the House of Commons a resolution that it would be proper to charge certain stamp-duties on the American colonies. The news of the measure was borne to America, producing universal excitement. Resolutions against the acts of the ministers were passed in almost every town. Remonstrances were addressed to the king and the Parliament.

10. Nevertheless, in March of 1765, the English Parliament passed the Stamp Act. In the House of Commons it received a majority of five to one. In the House of Lords the vote was unanimous. On the 22d of the month, the royal assent was given. Benjamin Franklin, then in London, wrote to a friend at home that the sun of American liberty had set.

11. The provisions of the Stamp Act were these: Every legal document required in the colonies should, after the 1st day of the following November, be executed on stamped paper to be furnished by the British government. For each sheet the colonists were required to pay a sum varying from three pence to six pounds sterling. Every pamphlet, almanac, and newspaper was to be printed on paper of the same sort, the value of the stamps ranging from a half-penny to four pence. No contract should be binding unless bearing the stamp.

12. The news of the hateful act created great wrath in America. The bells of Philadelphia and Boston rang a funeral knell. In New York a copy of the Stamp Act was carried through the streets with a death's-head nailed to it, and a placard bearing this inscription: The Folly of England and the Ruin of America. The general assemblies were at first slow to move; there were many old royalists among the members. But the younger representatives did not hesitate to express their sentiments. In the Virginia House of Burgesses there was a memorable scene.

[Pg 152]

13. Patrick Henry, the youngest member of the House, after waiting in vain for some older delegate to lead in opposition to Parliament, snatched a blank leaf out of an old law book and drew up a series of six resolutions, declaring that the Virginians were Englishmen with English rights; that the colonists were not bound to yield obedience to any law imposing taxation on them; and that whoever said the contrary was an enemy to the country.

Patrick Henry.

14. A violent debate ensued. Two future Presidents of the United States were in the audience: Washington as a delegate, and Thomas Jefferson, a young collegian, outside of the railing. The eloquent Henry bore down all opposition. "Cæsar had his Brutus," said the orator; "Charles I. had his Cromwell, and George III.—" "Treason!" shouted the speaker. "Treason! treason!" exclaimed the royalists, springing to their feet. "And George III. may profit by their example," continued Henry; and then added, "If that be treason, make the most of it!" The six resolutions were carried; but on the next day, when Henry was absent, the powerful aristocratic and church party secured the repeal of two of the more violent resolutions.

15. Similar resolutions were adopted by the assemblies of New York and Massachusetts. James Otis proposed an American Congress. The proposition was favorably received by nine of the colonies; and, on the 7th of October, the first colonial[Pg 153] Congress, called the Stamp Act Congress, assembled at New York. Timothy Ruggles, of Massachusetts, was chosen president. A Declaration of Rights was adopted setting forth that the American colonists, as Englishmen, could not consent to be taxed but by their own representatives. Memorials were sent to Parliament and a petition to the king.

16. On the 1st of November the Stamp Act was to take effect. During the summer great quantities of the stamped paper had been sent to America. But everywhere it was rejected or destroyed. The 1st of November was kept as a day of mourning.

17. At first, legal business was suspended. The court-houses were shut up. Not even a marriage license could be legally issued. By and by, the offices were opened, and business went on as before, but not with stamped paper. It was at this time that the patriotic society, known as the Sons of Liberty, was organized. The merchants of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia entered into a compact to purchase no more goods of Great Britain until the Stamp Act should be repealed.

18. The colonists had their friends in England. Eminent statesmen espoused the cause of America. In the House of Commons Mr. Pitt delivered a powerful address. "You have," said he, "no right to tax America. I rejoice that America has resisted." On the 18th of March, 1766, the Stamp Act was formally repealed. But at the same time a resolution was added, declaring that Parliament had the right to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever.

19. The repeal of the Stamp Act produced great joy, both in England and America. But on the 29th of June, 1767, another act was passed imposing a duty on all the glass, paper, painters' colors, and tea which should thereafter be imported into the colonies.

20. The resentment of the Americans burst out anew. Another agreement not to purchase British goods was entered[Pg 154] into by the American merchants. The newspapers were filled with denunciations of Parliament. In the month of June, a sloop, charged with evading the payment of duty, was seized by the custom-house officers of Boston. But the people attacked the houses of the officers, and obliged the occupants to fly to Castle William. General Gage was now ordered to bring from Halifax a regiment of regulars and overawe the people. On the 1st of October the troops, seven hundred strong, marched with fixed bayonets into the capital of Massachusetts.

21. In February of 1769 the people of Massachusetts were declared rebels, and the governor was directed to arrest those deemed guilty and send them to England for trial. The general assembly met this outrage with defiant resolutions. Similar scenes were enacted in Virginia and North Carolina.

22. Early in 1770 the soldiers in New York cut down a liberty pole which stood in the park. A conflict ensued, in which the people won the day. On the 5th of March, a more serious difficulty occurred in Boston. A crowd of people surrounded Captain Preston's company of the city guard, hooted at them, and dared them to fire. At length the soldiers discharged a volley, killing three of the citizens and wounding several others. This outrage, known as the Boston Massacre, created a profound sensation. Captain Preston and his company were arrested and tried for murder. Two of the offenders were convicted of manslaughter.

Fight at the Liberty Pole, New York.

23. Parliament now passed an act repealing all duties on American imports except that on tea. The people, in answer, pledged themselves to use no more tea until the duty should be unconditionally repealed. In 1773 Parliament removed the export duty which had hitherto been charged on tea shipped from England. The price of tea was thus lowered, and the ministers thought that, when the cheaper tea was offered in [Pg 155] America, the colonists would pay the import duty without suspicion. Ships were loaded with tea for the American market. Some of the vessels reached Charleston; but the chests were stored in cellars, and the contents ruined. At New York and Philadelphia the ships were forbidden to enter. At Boston the authorities would not permit the tea to be landed. On the 16th of December there was a great town-meeting, at which seven thousand people were present. Adams and Quincy spoke to the multitudes. Evening came on, and the meeting was about to adjourn, when a war-whoop was heard, and fifty men disguised as Indians marched to the wharf where[Pg 156] the tea-ships were at anchor, boarded the vessels, and emptied three hundred and forty chests of tea into the bay. Such was the Boston Tea Party.

24. Parliament made haste to find revenge. On the last day of March, 1774, the Boston Port Bill was passed. It was enacted that no kind of merchandise should any longer be landed or shipped at the wharves of Boston. The custom-house was removed to Salem, but the people of that town refused to accept it. The inhabitants of Marblehead gave the free use of their warehouses to the merchants of Boston. When the news of the Port Bill reached Virginia, the burgesses entered a protest on their journal. Governor Dunmore ordered the members to their homes; but they met and continued their work in another place. On the 20th of May, the charter of Massachusetts was annulled. The people were declared rebels, and the governor was ordered to send abroad for trial all persons who should resist the officers.

25. In September the First Continental Congress assembled at Philadelphia. Eleven colonies were represented. One address was sent to the king; another to the English nation; and another to the people of Canada. A resolution was adopted to suspend all commercial intercourse with Great Britain. Parliament retaliated by ordering General Gage to reduce the colonists by force. A fleet and ten thousand soldiers were sent to aid him.

26. Boston Neck was seized and fortified by the British. The stores at Cambridge and Charlestown were conveyed to Boston; and the general assembly was ordered to disband. Instead of doing so, the members voted to equip an army of twelve thousand men for defence. There was no longer any hope of a peaceable adjustment. The colonists were few and feeble; but they were men of iron wills who had made up their minds to die for liberty.

[Pg 157]

CHAPTER XXII.

The Beginning of the Revolution.—Events of 1775.

AS soon as the intentions of General Gage were known, the people of Boston, concealing their ammunition in carts, conveyed it to Concord. On the night of the 18th of April, Gage dispatched eight hundred men to destroy the stores. The plan of the British was made with great secrecy; but the patriots discovered the movement. When the regiment, under command of Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, set out for Concord, the people of Boston were roused by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon. William Dawes and Paul Revere rode with all speed to Lexington and spread the alarm through the country.

2. At two o'clock in the morning, a company of one hundred and thirty minute-men assembled on the common at Lexington. No enemy appeared until five o'clock, when the British, under command of Pitcairn, came in sight. The provincials were led by Captain Parker. Pitcairn rode up and exclaimed: "Disperse, ye villains! Throw down your arms!" The minute-men stood still, and Pitcairn cried, "Fire!" The first volley of the Revolution whistled through the air, and sixteen of the patriots fell dead or wounded. The rest fired a few shots and dispersed.

3. The British pressed on to Concord; but the inhabitants had removed the stores to a place of safety, and there was but little destruction. While the British were ransacking the town, the minute-men encountered a company of soldiers who were guarding the North Bridge. Here the Americans fired, and two British soldiers were killed. The rest began a retreat[Pg 158] through the town toward Lexington. For six miles the battle was kept up along the road. Hidden behind trees, fences, and barns, the patriots poured a constant fire upon the ranks of the enemy. The American loss was forty-nine killed, thirty-four wounded, and five missing; that of the enemy was two hundred and seventy-three.

THE FIGHT AT LEXINGTON

4. The battle of Lexington fired the country. Within a few days an army of twenty thousand men gathered about[Pg 159] Boston. A line of intrenchments was drawn from Roxbury to Chelsea. John Stark came down with the New Hampshire militia. Rhode Island sent her men under Nathaniel Greene. Benedict Arnold came with the provincials of New Haven. Ethan Allen, with a company of two hundred and seventy patriots, advanced against Ticonderoga. Benedict Arnold joined the expedition as a private. On the evening of the 9th of May, the force reached the shore of Lake George, opposite Ticonderoga.

5. On the following morning, eighty-three men succeeded in crossing. With this mere handful, Allen made a dash and gained the gateway of the fort. He rushed to the quarters of the commandant, and cried out: "Surrender this fort instantly!" "By what authority?" inquired the officer. "In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," said Allen, flourishing his sword. The garrison were made prisoners and sent to Connecticut, and vast quantities of military stores fell into the hands of the Americans. Two days afterwards Crown Point was also taken.

6. On the 25th of May, Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne arrived at Boston. The British army was augmented to more than ten thousand men. It was now rumored that Gage was about to sally out of Boston to burn the neighboring towns and devastate the country. The Americans determined to anticipate this movement by fortifying Bunker Hill, which commanded the peninsula of Charlestown.

7. On the night of the 16th of June, Colonel Prescott was sent with a thousand men to intrench the hill. The provincials reached the eminence; but Prescott and his engineer, not liking the position, proceeded down the peninsula to Breed's Hill, within cannon range of Boston. Here a redoubt was thrown up during the night. The British ships in the harbor were so near that the Americans could hear the sentinels repeating the night-call, "All is well."

[Pg 160]

8. As soon as it was light, General Gage ordered the ships to cannonade the American position. The British batteries on Copp's Hill also opened fire. Just after noon, three thousand British veterans, commanded by Generals Howe and Pigot, landed at Morton's Point. The Americans numbered about fifteen hundred. Charlestown was burned by the British as they advanced. Thousands of spectators climbed to the house-tops in Boston to watch the battle. On came the British in a stately and imposing column.

VICINITY OF BOSTON.

9. The Americans reserved their fire until the advancing line was within a hundred and fifty feet. Then instantly every gun was discharged. The front rank of the British melted away, and the rest hastily retreated. Howe rallied his men and led the second charge. Again the American fire was withheld until the enemy was but a few rods distant. Then volley after volley was poured upon the column until it was broken and driven into flight.

10. The vessels of the British fleet now changed position until the guns were brought to bear upon the American works. For the third time, the British soldiers charged with fixed bayonets up the hillside. The Americans had but three or four rounds of ammunition remaining. These were expended on the advancing enemy. Then there was a lull. The British clambered over the ramparts. The provincials hurled stones at the assailants. It was in vain; they were driven out of their trenches at the point of the bayonet. The brave Warren gave[Pg 161] his life for freedom. The loss of the British in the engagement was a thousand and fifty-four in killed and wounded. The Americans lost one hundred and fifteen killed, three hundred and five wounded, and thirty-two prisoners. Prescott and Putnam conducted the retreat to Prospect Hill.

11. The battle of Bunker Hill rather inspired than discouraged the colonists. The news was borne to the South, and a spirit of determined opposition was everywhere aroused. The people began to speak of the United Colonies of America. At Charlotte, North Carolina, the citizens came together in convention, and made a declaration of independence.

12. On the day of the capture of Ticonderoga, the Continental Congress assembled at Philadelphia. Washington was there, and John Adams and Samuel Adams, Franklin and Patrick Henry; Jefferson came soon afterwards. A last appeal was addressed to the king; and he was told that the colonists had chosen war in preference to slavery. Early in the session John Adams made an address, in the course of which he noticed the necessity of appointing a commander-in-chief, and the qualities requisite in that high officer. The speaker concluded by putting in nomination George Washington, of Virginia. On the 15th of June, the nomination was confirmed by Congress; and the man who had saved the wreck of Braddock's army was called to build a nation.

13. George Washington was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the 11th of February (Old Style), 1732. At the age of eleven he was left to the sole care of his mother. His education was limited to the common branches of learning. Surveying was his favorite study. At the age of sixteen he was sent by his uncle to survey a tract of land on the South Potomac. The important duties which he performed in the service of the Ohio Company, and his campaign with Braddock have already been narrated. With great dignity[Pg 162] he accepted the appointment of commander-in-chief, and set out to join the army at Cambridge.

14. Congress had voted to equip twenty thousand men, but the means of doing so were not furnished. Washington had a force of fourteen thousand five hundred volunteers, undisciplined and insubordinate. The supplies of war were almost wholly wanting. The army was soon organized in three divisions: the right wing was under General Ward, the left commanded by General Charles Lee, the center under the commander-in-chief. The siege of Boston was pressed with vigor. The king's authority was overthrown in all the colonies.

15. The Americans looked to Canada for aid. In order to encourage the people of that province to take up arms, Generals Schuyler and Montgomery were ordered to proceed against St. John and Montreal, both of which were finally taken. Montgomery next proceeded, with three hundred men, against Quebec. In the mean time, Colonel Arnold had set out with a thousand men from Cambridge. At Point aux Trembles he was joined by Montgomery, who assumed command. For three weeks, with his handful of troops, Montgomery besieged Quebec, and then staked everything on an assault.

16. Before daybreak on the 31st of December, Montgomery attacked the Lower Town. At the first discharge Montgomery fell dead. The men, heartbroken at their loss, retreated above the city. Arnold had meanwhile fought his way into the Lower Town, but was severely wounded and borne to the rear. Captain Morgan led his brave band along the narrow streets until he was overwhelmed and compelled to surrender. Arnold retired to a point three miles above the city. The small-pox broke out in the camp; and in the following June the Americans evacuated Canada.

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CHAPTER XXIII.

The Events of 1776.

AT last came the king's answer to the appeal of Congress. The petition of the colonies was rejected with contempt. By this tyrannical answer the day of independence was brought nearer. Meanwhile, General Howe had succeeded Gage in command of the British troops in Boston.

2. All winter long the city was besieged by Washington. By the first of spring, 1776, it was resolved to seize Dorchester Heights and drive Howe out of Boston. On the night of the 4th of March a detachment under cover of the darkness reached the Heights unperceived. The British noticed nothing unusual; but, when morning dawned, Howe saw at a glance that he must carry the American position or abandon the city. He ordered his men to storm the Heights before nightfall.

3. Washington visited the trenches and exhorted his men. It was the anniversary of the Boston Massacre. A battle was momentarily expected; but while the British delayed, a storm arose and rendered the harbor impassable, and the attack could not be made. Before the following morning the Americans had so strengthened their fortifications that all thoughts of an assault were abandoned. Howe found himself reduced to the extremity of giving up the capital of New England.

4. After some days there was an agreement between Washington and the British general that the latter should retire from Boston unmolested on condition that the city should not be burned. On the 17th of March, the whole British army sailed away. The American advance at once entered the city. On the 20th, Washington made a formal entry at the head of the[Pg 164] triumphant army. The country was wild with delight. Congress ordered a gold medal to be struck in honor of Washington's victory over the enemy.

5. In a short time, the commander-in-chief repaired with the army to New York. General Lee pressed forward with the Connecticut militia, and reached that city just in time to baffle an attempt of Sir Henry Clinton, who next sailed southward, and was joined by Sir Peter Parker and Lord Cornwallis with two thousand five hundred men. The force of the British was deemed sufficient to capture Charleston.

6. The Carolinians, led by General Lee, rose in arms and flocked to Charleston. The city was fortified; and a fort, which commanded the entrance to the harbor, was built on Sullivan's Island. On the 4th of June the British squadron came in sight. On the 28th the British fleet began a bombardment of the fortress, which was commanded by Colonel Moultrie; but the walls, built of palmetto, were little injured. As evening drew on, the British were obliged to retire with a loss of two hundred men. The loss of the garrison amounted to thirty-two.

7. During the summer Washington's forces were increased to twenty-seven thousand men, but the effective force was little more than half that number. Great Britain was making the greatest preparations. By a treaty with some of the German States, seventeen thousand Hessians were hired to fight against America. Twenty-five thousand English troops were levied; and a million dollars were voted for the expenses of the war.

8. Thus far the colonists had claimed to be loyal subjects of Great Britain. Now the case seemed hopeless. The people urged the general assemblies, and the general assemblies urged Congress, to a declaration of independence. Congress responded by recommending the colonies to adopt such governments as might best conduce to the safety of the people.

9. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, offered a resolution in Congress declaring that the United[Pg 165] Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. A long and exciting debate ensued. The final consideration of Lee's resolution was postponed until the 1st of July. On the 11th of June, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston were appointed a committee to prepare a formal declaration.

Jefferson reading the Declaration in Committee.

10. On the 1st of July the committee's report was laid before Congress. On the next day Lee's resolution was adopted. During the 3d the formal declaration was debated with great spirit. The discussion was resumed on the 4th, and at two o'clock in the afternoon the Declaration of American Independence was adopted by a unanimous vote.

11. The old bellman of the State House rang out the note of freedom to the nation. The multitudes caught the signal and[Pg 166] answered with shouts. Everywhere the declaration was received with enthusiastic applause. At Philadelphia the king's arms were torn down and burned in the street. At Williamsburg, Charleston, and Savannah there were bonfires. At Boston the declaration was read in Faneuil Hall. At New York the populace pulled down the statue of George III. and cast it into bullets. Washington ordered that the declaration be read at the head of each brigade.

12. The leading principles of the Declaration of Independence are these: That all men are created equal; that governments are instituted for the welfare of the people; that the people have a right to alter their government; that the government of George III. had become destructive of liberty; that the king's tyranny over his American subjects was no longer endurable; and that, therefore, the United Colonies of America are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.

13. Early in July, General Howe landed a force of nine thousand men on Staten Island. Thither Clinton came from the siege of Charleston, and Admiral Howe from England. The British force in the vicinity of New York amounted to thirty thousand men. Nearly half of them were Hessians. Washington's army was greatly inferior in numbers and discipline.

14. Lord Howe had been instructed to try conciliatory measures with the Americans. First, he sent to the American camp a dispatch directed to George Washington, Esquire. Washington refused to receive a communication which did not recognize his official position. Howe then sent another message, addressed to George Washington, etc., etc., etc.; and the bearer insisted that and-so-forth might mean General of the American Army. But Washington sent the officer away.

15. Lord Howe and his brother at once began hostilities. On the 22d of August, the British, to the number of ten thousand, landed on Long Island. The Americans, about eight[Pg 167] thousand strong, were posted in the vicinity of Brooklyn. On the morning of the 27th of August, Grant's division of the British army was met by General Stirling with fifteen hundred men, and the battle at once began, but there was no decisive result. General Heister advanced beyond Flatbush, and engaged the main body of the Americans, under General Sullivan. Here the Hessians gained little or no ground until Sullivan was alarmed by the noise of battle on his left and rear.

16. During the night General Clinton had occupied the heights above the Jamaica road, and now came down by way of Bedford. Sullivan found himself surrounded and cut off. The men fought bravely, and many broke through the lines of the British. The rest were scattered, killed, or taken prisoners.

17. Cornwallis, attempting to cut off Stirling's retreat, was repulsed. Most of Stirling's men reached the American lines at Brooklyn. Generals Stirling, Sullivan, and Woodhull were taken prisoners. Nearly a thousand patriots were killed or missing. It seemed an easy thing for Clinton and Howe to capture all the rest.

18. Washington resolved to withdraw to New York. The enterprise was extremely hazardous. At eight o'clock in the evening the embarkation of the army began. All night with muffled oars the boatmen rowed silently back and forth. At daylight the movement was discovered by the British. They rushed into the American intrenchments and found nothing but a few worthless guns.

19. The defeat on Long Island was very disastrous to the American cause. Many of the troops returned to their homes. Only by constant exertion did Washington keep his army from disbanding. The British fleet anchored within cannon-shot of New York. Washington retired to the Heights of Harlem. On the 15th of September the British landed three miles above New York. Thence they extended their lines and took possession of the city.

[Pg 168]

20. On the 16th of October, Howe embarked his forces, passed into Long Island Sound, and landed in the vicinity of Westchester. The object was to get upon the American flank and cut off communications with the Eastern States. On the 28th a battle was brought on at White Plains. The Americans were driven from one position, but intrenched themselves in another, then withdrew to the heights of North Castle. Howe remained for a few days at White Plains, and returned to New York.

NEW YORK and VICINITY.

21. Washington now crossed to the west bank of the Hudson and took post at Fort Lee. Four thousand men were left at North Castle under General Lee. Fort Washington, on Manhattan Island, was defended by three thousand men under Colonel Magaw. The skillful construction of this fort had attracted the attention of Washington, and led to an acquaintance with the engineer, Alexander Hamilton, then a stripling but twenty years of age.

22. On the 16th of November, Fort Washington was captured by the British. The garrison were made prisoners of war and crowded into the jails of New York. Two days after the surrender, Fort Lee was taken by Lord Cornwallis. Washington with his army, now reduced to three thousand men, retreated to Trenton on the Delaware. Nothing but the skill of the[Pg 169] commander saved the remnant of his forces from destruction.

23. On the 8th of December, Washington crossed the Delaware. Cornwallis, having no boats, was obliged to wait for the freezing of the river. It was seen that as soon as the river should be frozen the British would march into Philadelphia. Congress accordingly adjourned to Baltimore. During his retreat across New Jersey, Washington sent dispatches to General Lee, at North Castle, to join the main army as soon as possible. That officer took up his quarters at Basking Ridge. On the 13th of December, a squad of British cavalry captured Lee and hurried him off to New York. General Sullivan took command of Lee's division, and hastened to join Washington. The entire American force now amounted to a little more than six thousand.

24. The tide of misfortune turned at last. Washington saw in the disposition of the British forces an opportunity to strike a blow for his country. The leaders of the enemy were off their guard. The Hessians on the east side of the river were spread out from Trenton to Burlington. Washington conceived the design of crossing the Delaware and striking the detachment at Trenton before a concentration of the enemy's forces could be effected. The American army was arranged in three divisions under Generals Cadwallader, Ewing, and Washington himself. Christmas night was selected as the time for the movement.

25. The Delaware was filled with floating ice. Ewing and Cadwallader were both baffled in their efforts to cross the river. Washington, having succeeded in getting over, divided his army of twenty-four hundred men into two columns and pressed forward. At eight o'clock in the morning the Americans came rushing into Trenton from both directions. The Hessians sprang from their quarters and attempted to form in line. Colonel Rall was mortally wounded. Nearly a thou[Pg 170]sand of the Hessians threw down their arms and begged for quarter. Before nightfall Washington, with his army and the whole body of captives, was safe on the other side of the Delaware.

CENTRAL NEW JERSEY 1778.

26. The battle of Trenton roused the nation from despondency. The militia flocked to the general's standard; and fourteen hundred soldiers, whose term of enlistment now expired, reentered the service. Robert Morris, the great financier of the Revolution, came forward with his fortune to the support of his country.

27. Three days after his victory, Washington again crossed the Delaware. Here all the American detachments in the vicinity were ordered to assemble. To General Heath, stationed at Peekskill, Washington sent orders to move into New Jersey. The British fell back from their outposts and concentrated at Princeton. Cornwallis resumed command in person. So closed the year. Ten days previously, Howe only waited for the freezing of the Delaware before taking up his quarters in Philadelphia. Now it was a question whether he would be able to hold a single town in New Jersey.

[Pg 171]

CHAPTER XXIV.

Operations of 1777.

ON the 1st of January, 1777, Washington's army at Trenton numbered about five thousand men. On the next day Cornwallis approached with greatly superior forces. During the afternoon there was severe skirmishing along the roads east of Trenton. During the night Washington called a council of war, and it was determined to leave the camp, pass the British left flank, and strike the enemy at Princeton. The baggage was removed to Burlington. The camp-fires were brightly kindled and kept burning through the night, while the army was in motion toward Princeton. Everything was done in silence. The morning light showed the British sentries a deserted camp.

2. At sunrise Washington was entering Princeton. At the same time the British were marching out to reinforce Cornwallis. The Americans met them in the edge of the village, and the battle at once began. The British charged bayonets, and the militia gave way in confusion. General Mercer received a mortal wound. But the Pennsylvania regulars, led by the commander-in-chief, stood their ground. Washington rallied his men with the greatest bravery; and the British were routed, with a loss of four hundred and thirty men in killed, wounded, and missing.

3. On the night of the 22d of May, Colonel Meigs, of Connecticut, embarked two hundred men in whale-boats, crossed the sound, and attacked Sag Harbor. The British were overpowered; only four of them escaped; five or six were killed, and the remaining ninety were made prisoners. The stores were destroyed by the patriots, who, without the loss of a man,[Pg 172] returned to Guilford. Colonel Meigs was rewarded by Congress with an elegant sword.

4. The patriot forces of the North were now concentrated on the Hudson; and a camp, under Arnold, was laid out on the Delaware. In the latter part of May, Washington broke up his winter-quarters and took an advantageous position only ten miles from the British camp. Howe crossed over from New York and threatened an attack upon the American lines. Finally, the British, on the 30th of June, crossed over to Staten Island. On the 10th of July, General Prescott, of the British army, was captured at a farm-house near Newport. This gave the Americans an officer of equal rank to exchange for General Lee. Congress in the mean time returned to Philadelphia.

5. From the beginning of the war the people of France had been friendly to the American cause. By and by their sympathy became more outspoken. The French ministers would do nothing openly to provoke a war with Great Britain; but secretly they rejoiced at every British misfortune. During the year 1777, the French managed to supply the colonies with twenty thousand muskets and a thousand barrels of powder.

6. At last the republicans of France began to embark for America. Foremost of all came the young Marquis de La Fayette. Fitting a vessel at his own expense, he eluded the officers, and with the brave De Kalb and a small company of followers reached South Carolina in April of 1777. He entered the army as a volunteer, and in the following July was commissioned a major-general.

7. One of the most important events of the war was the campaign of General Burgoyne. In command of the English forces in Canada, he spent the spring of 1777 in organizing an army of ten thousand men for the invasion of New York. The force consisted of British, Hessians, Canadians, and Indians. The plan of the campaign embraced a descent upon Albany[Pg 173] and New York, and the cutting off of New England from the Middle and Southern colonies.

Marquis de La Fayette.

8. On the 1st of June, Burgoyne reached Lake Champlain, and on the 16th proceeded to Crown Point. This place was occupied by the British; and on the 5th of July, Ticonderoga, which was defended by three thousand men under General St. Clair, was captured. Soon afterward the British reached Whitehall and seized a large quantity of stores.

9. At this time the American army of the North was commanded by General Schuyler. His forces, numbering between four and five thousand, were at Fort Edward. This place was captured by Burgoyne on the 30th of July, the Americans retreating down the Hudson. The British general now dispatched Colonels Baum and Breymann to seize the stores at Bennington, Vermont. Colonel John Stark rallied the New Hampshire militia, and on the 15th of August met the British near the village. On the following morning there was a furious battle, in which Baum's force was completely routed. The British lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners more than eight hundred men. The country was thrilled by the victory.

10. A few days after the battle of Bennington, Burgoyne received intelligence of a still greater reverse, at Fort Schuyler, on the Mohawk.

[Pg 174]

Chart of HUDSON RIVER.

11. The British general lost a month in procuring supplies from Canada. He now found himself hemmed in by nine thousand patriot soldiers. General Lincoln arrived with the militia of New England. Washington sent several detachments from the regular army. Morgan came with his riflemen. General Gates superseded Schuyler in command of the northern army. On the 8th of September, the American headquarters were advanced to Stillwater. On the 14th of the month, Burgoyne crossed the Hudson and took post at Saratoga. The two armies now came face to face. On the 19th, a general battle ensued, continuing until nightfall. The conflict, though severe, was indecisive; the Americans retired within their lines, and the British slept on the field. To the patriots the result of the battle was equivalent to a victory.

12. The condition of Burgoyne grew critical. His supplies failed; his Canadian and Indian allies deserted his standard. On the 7th of October, he hazarded another battle, in which he lost his bravest officers and nearly seven hundred privates. The brave General Fraser was killed, and his disheartened men turned and fled from the field. The Americans were completely victorious.

13. Burgoyne now began a retreat, and on the 9th of October reached Saratoga. Here he was intercepted by Gates and Lincoln, and forced to surrender. On the 17th [Pg 175] of October terms of capitulation were agreed on, and the whole army, numbering five thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, became prisoners of war. Among the captives were six members of the British Parliament. Forty-two pieces of brass artillery, five thousand muskets, and an immense quantity of stores were the fruits of the victory.

PHILADELPHIA AND VICINITY.

14. As soon as the invasion was at an end, a large portion of the army was dispatched to aid Washington in a great campaign in progress in the South. On the 23d of July, Howe had sailed from New York, with eighteen thousand men, to attack Philadelphia. Washington advanced his headquarters from Philadelphia to Wilmington. The American army, numbering about eleven thousand men, was concentrated at that place. The forces of Howe were vastly superior, but Washington hoped to beat back the invaders and save the capital.

15. On the 25th of August the British landed at Elk River, in Maryland, and began their march toward Philadelphia. Washington selected the Brandywine as his line of defence. The left wing was stationed at Chad's Ford, while the right, under General Sullivan, was extended up the river. On the 11th of September the British reached the opposite bank and began battle. The Hessians, under Knyphausen, attacked at the ford; but the British, led by Cornwallis and Howe, marched up the Brandywine and crossed[Pg 176] above the American right. Sullivan allowed himself to be outflanked. Washington was misled by false information; the right wing was crushed by Cornwallis, and the day was lost.

16. During the night the patriots retreated to West Chester. The loss of the Americans amounted to a thousand men; that of the British to five hundred and eighty-four. La Fayette was severely wounded. Count Pulaski so distinguished himself in this engagement that Congress honored him with the rank of brigadier. Washington continued his retreat as far as Germantown. On the 15th of the month he recrossed the Schuylkill and met Howe at Warren's Tavern. But just as the conflict was beginning, a violent tempest swept over the field. The combatants were deluged, their cartridges soaked, and fighting made impossible. Howe succeeded in crossing the Schuylkill, and hastened to Philadelphia. On the 26th of September the city was taken, and the main division of the British army encamped at Germantown.

17. Congress adjourned, first to Lancaster, and afterward to York, where they held their sessions until the next summer. On the night of the 3d of October Washington attempted to surprise the British at Germantown. But the roads were rough, and the different columns reached the British outpost at irregular intervals. There was much severe fighting, but the British gained possession of a large stone house and could not be dislodged. The tide turned against the patriots, and the day was lost. On the 22d of October, Fort Mercer, on the Delaware, was taken by Hessians, while the British fleet took Fort Mifflin, on Mud Island. General Howe thus obtained control of the Delaware.

18. After the battle of Germantown, Washington took up his headquarters at White Marsh. The patriots began to suffer for food and clothing. On the evening of the 2d of December, Howe held a council of war at the house of Lydia Darrah in Philadelphia. It was decided to surprise Washington in hi[Pg 177]s camp. But Lydia, who overheard the plans of Howe, left the city on pretence of going to mill, rode to the American lines, and gave the alarm. When the British approached White Marsh, they found the cannons mounted and the patriots in order of battle. The British general maneuvered for four days, and then marched back to Philadelphia.

Valley Forge.

19. On the 11th of December Washington went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, on the right bank of the Schuylkill. Thousands of the soldiers were without shoes, and the frozen ground was marked with bloody footprints. Log cabins were built, and everything was done that could be done to secure the comfort of the suffering patriots. But it was a long and dreary winter. These were the darkest days of Washington's life. Congress in a measure abandoned him. Many men high in military and civil station left the great leader unsupported. But the allegiance of the army remained unshaken, and the nation's confidence in the chieftain became stronger than ever.

[Pg 178]

CHAPTER XXV.

Events of 1778 and 1779.

IN November of 1776 Silas Deane, of Connecticut, was appointed commissioner to France. His first service was to make a secret arrangement to supply the Americans with materials for carrying on the war. In the autumn of 1777 a ship, laden with two hundred thousand dollars' worth of arms, ammunition, and specie, was sent to America.

2. Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin were also appointed by Congress to negotiate a treaty with the French king. In December of 1776 they reached Paris and began their duties. For a long time King Louis and his minister stood aloof from the proposed alliance. They hated Great Britain, and gave secret encouragement to the colonies; but an open treaty with the Americans was equivalent to a war with England, and that the French court dreaded.

3. Now it was, that the genius of Dr. Franklin shone with a peculiar luster. At the gay court of Louis XVI. he stood as the representative of his country. His wit and genial humor made him admired; his talents and courtesy commanded respect; his patience and perseverance gave him final success. During the whole of 1777 he remained at Paris and Versailles. At last came the news of Burgoyne's surrender. A powerful British army had been subdued by the colonists without aid from abroad. This success induced the king to accept the proposed alliance with the colonies. On the 6th of February, 1778, a treaty was concluded; France acknowledged the independence of the United States, and entered into relations of friendship with the new nation.

[Pg 179]

4. Benjamin Franklin, the author of the first treaty between the United States and a foreign nation, was born in Boston, on the 17th of January, 1706. His father was a manufacturer of soap and candles. At the age of twelve, Benjamin was apprenticed to his brother to learn the art of printing. In 1723 he went to Philadelphia, entered a printing-office, and rose to distinction. He visited England; returned; founded the first circulating library in America; edited Poor Richard's Almanac; discovered the identity of electricity and lightning; espoused the patriot cause; and devoted his old age to perfecting the American Union. The name of Franklin is one of the brightest in history.

Benjamin Franklin.

5. In May of 1778 Congress ratified the treaty with France. A month previously a French fleet, under Count d'Estaing, had been sent to America. Both France and Great Britain immediately prepared for war. George III. now became willing to treat with his American subjects. Lord North brought forward two bills in which everything the colonists had claimed was conceded. The bills were passed by Parliament, and the king assented. Commissioners were sent to America; but Congress informed them that nothing but an acknowledg[Pg 180]ment of the independence of the United States would now be accepted.

6. The British army remained at Philadelphia until June of 1778. The fleet of Admiral Howe lay in the Delaware. When the rumor came that the fleet of D'Estaing was approaching, the English admiral set sail for New York. On the 18th of June the British army evacuated Philadelphia and retreated across New Jersey. Washington occupied the city, and followed the retreating foe. At Monmouth the British were overtaken. On the morning of the 28th General Lee was ordered to attack the enemy. The American cavalry under La Fayette was driven back by Cornwallis. Lee ordered his line to retire to a stronger position; but the troops mistook the order and began a retreat. Washington met the fugitives and administered a severe rebuke to Lee. The fight continued until nightfall, and Washington anxiously waited for the morning. During the night, however, Clinton withdrew his forces and escaped.

7. The loss of the Americans was two hundred and twenty-seven. The British left nearly three hundred dead on the field. On the day after the battle Washington received an insulting letter from Lee demanding an apology. Washington replied that his language had been warranted by the circumstances. Lee answered in a still more offensive manner, and was thereupon arrested, tried by a court-martial, and dismissed from his command for twelve months. He never reentered the service, and did not live to see his country's independence. The British forces were now concentrated at New York. Washington took up his headquarters at White Plains. D'Estaing repaired to Boston. Howe returned to New York.

8. The command of the British naval forces was now transferred to Admiral Byron. Early in October a band of incendiaries, led by Colonel Ferguson, burned the American ships at Little Egg Harbor. In the preceding July, Major John [Pg 181] Butler, in command of sixteen hundred royalists, Canadians, and Indians, marched into the valley of Wyoming, Pennsylvania. The settlement was defenceless. On the approach of the tories and savages, a few militia, old men, and boys, rallied to protect their homes. A battle was fought, and the patriots were routed. The fugitives fled to a fort, which was crowded with women and children. Honorable terms were promised by Butler, and the garrison capitulated. On the 5th of July the gates were opened and the barbarians entered. Immediately they began to plunder and butcher. Nearly all the prisoners fell under the hatchet and the scalping-knife.

9. In November there was a similar massacre at Cherry Valley, New York. The invaders were led by Joseph Brandt, chief of the Mohawks, and Walter Butler, a son of Major John Butler. The people of Cherry Valley were driven from their homes; women and children were tomahawked and scalped; and forty prisoners dragged into captivity. To avenge these outrages, an expedition was sent against the savages on the Susquehanna; and they were made to feel the terrors of war.

10. In the spring of 1778, Major George Rogers Clark, who three years previously had descended the Ohio River with a single companion, from Pittsburgh to the Falls of the Ohio, organized an expedition against the British posts on the Wabash and Mississippi rivers. All the country northwest of the river Ohio was at this time under British authority, but the scattered white inhabitants were nearly all French. The most important post was the town of Vincennes, in what was afterwards the Territory of Indiana. Major Clark gathered his forces on Corn Island, in the Ohio, between the present cities of Louisville and Jeffersonville. The regiment was made up of backwoods militiamen and hunters from Kentucky and the Upper Ohio Valley.

[Pg 182]

Attack on Vincennes.

11. Major Clark first descended the Ohio to a suitable point, and landed in what was afterwards the Territory of Illinois. From this point he marched across the country to the mouth of the Kaskaskia River, where, on the 4th of July, 1778, he surprised and captured the town of Kaskaskia from the British. Here he divided his forces, and sent one division against the British post[Pg 183] of Cahokia, opposite St. Louis. This place also was surprised and taken. Soon afterwards the French inhabitants of Vincennes rose against the British garrison, and took possession of the town. But Governor Hamilton, of Detroit, came down later in the year, and the British authority was restored.

12. Hearing of this event, Major Clark collected his forces at Kaskaskia, and in the beginning of 1779 marched against Vincennes. At the same time he sent part of his forces by water, bearing a few small cannon in a boat around by the Ohio and up the Wabash, to a point below Vincennes. At this time the lower Illinois country was covered with water, and Major Clark's campaign was attended with the greatest hardships. On the 18th of February, however, he gained a position on the Indiana side of the Wabash, and made an attack on Vincennes. By skillful maneuvering he deceived the British commander, and on the 24th of the month compelled him to surrender. Thus was the great territory northwest of the River Ohio recovered from the British, and secured for the United States.

13. On the 3d of November, Count d'Estaing's fleet sailed for the West Indies. In December, Admiral Byron left New York to try the fortunes of war on the ocean. Colonel Campbell, with two thousand men, was sent by General Clinton for the conquest of Georgia. On the 29th of December the expedition reached Savannah. The place was defended by General Robert Howe with eight hundred men. A battle was fought, and the Americans were driven out of the city. The patriots crossed into South Carolina and found refuge at Charleston. Such was the only real conquest made by the British during the year 1778.

14. The winter of 1778-79 was passed by the American army at Middlebrook. There was much discouragement among the soldiers, for they were neither paid nor fed. But the influence of Washington prevented a mutiny. In the latter part of May[Pg 184] Clinton sailed with an armament up the Hudson to Stony Point. The garrison, unable to resist, escaped from the fortifications.

15. On the 15th of July General Wayne marched against Stony Point. In the evening he halted near the fort and gave his orders. The British pickets were caught and gagged. Everything was done in silence. Muskets were unloaded and bayonets fixed; not a gun was to be fired. The assault was made a little after midnight. The patriots never wavered in the charge. The ramparts were scaled; and the British, finding themselves between two lines of bayonets, cried out for quarter. Sixty-three of the enemy fell; the remaining five hundred and forty-three were made prisoners. Of the Americans only fifteen were killed and eighty-three wounded. General Wayne secured the ordnance and stores, and then destroyed the fort.

16. In the summer of 1799, four thousand six hundred men, led by Generals Sullivan and James Clinton, were sent against the Indians on the Susquehanna. At Elmira the savages and tories had fortified themselves; but on the 29th of August they were forced from their stronghold and utterly routed. The country between the Susquehanna and the Genesee was wasted by the patriots. Forty Indian villages were destroyed.

17. A little later, the tories, who were advancing to join the British at Augusta, were defeated by the patriots under Captain Anderson. On the 14th of February they were again overtaken and routed by Colonel Pickens. Colonel Boyd, the tory leader, and seventy of his men were killed. Seventy-five others were captured, and five of the ringleaders hanged. The western half of Georgia was quickly recovered by the patriots.

[Pg 185]

18. General Ashe was sent with two thousand men to intercept the enemy. On the 25th of February the Americans crossed the Savannah, and pursued Campbell as far as Brier Creek. Here the patriots came to a halt; and General Prevost, marching from Savannah, surrounded Ashe's command. A battle was fought on the 3d of March; the Americans were totally routed and driven into the swamps. By this defeat Georgia was again prostrated, and a royal government was established over the State.

19. Within a month General Lincoln was again in the field with five thousand men. He advanced up the left bank of the river in the direction of Augusta; but, at the same time, General Prevost, now commanding the British forces in the South, crossed the Savannah and marched against Charleston. General Lincoln turned back to attack him, and the British made a hasty retreat. The Americans overtook the enemy at Stone Ferry, ten miles west of Charleston, but were repulsed with considerable loss. Prevost then fell back to Savannah.

20. In September, Count d'Estaing arrived before Savannah with his fleet. Prevost concentrated his forces for the defence of the city. The French effected a landing, and advanced to the siege. D'Estaing demanded a surrender; but Prevost answered with a message of defiance. The siege was pressed with vigor, and the city constantly bombarded. But the defences remained unshaken. At last D'Estaing notified Lincoln that the city must be stormed. Before sunrise on the 9th of October the allies advanced with great vehemence against the redoubts of the British, but were driven back with fearful losses. Count Pulaski was struck with a grape-shot, and was borne dying from the field. D'Estaing retired on board the fleet, and Lincoln retreated to Charleston.

21. On the 23d of September, Paul Jones, cruising off the coast of Scotland with a fleet of French and American vessels, fell in with a British squadron, and a bloody battle ensued.[Pg 186] The Serapis, a British frigate of forty-four guns, engaged the Poor Richard within musket-shot. At last the vessels were lashed together, and the Serapis struck her colors. Jones transferred his men to the conquered ship, and the Poor Richard went down. Of the three hundred and seventy-five men on board the fleet of Jones, three hundred were either killed or wounded.

Paul Jones.

22. So closed the year 1779. The national treasury was bankrupt. The patriots of the army were poorly fed, and paid only with unkept promises. The disposition of Great Britain was still for war. The levies of sailors and soldiers made by Parliament amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand, while the expenses of the War Office were set at twenty million pounds sterling.

[Pg 187]

CHAPTER XXVI.

Reverses and Treason. Events of 1780.

DURING the year 1780 military operations at the North were suspended. Early in July Admiral De Ternay arrived at Newport with a French squadron, and six thousand land-troops under Count Rochambeau. In September the commander-in-chief held a conference with Rochambeau, and the plans of future campaigns were determined.

2. In the South the patriots suffered many reverses. South Carolina was completely overrun by the enemy. On the 11th of February, Admiral Arbuthnot anchored before Charleston. Sir Henry Clinton and five thousand men were on board the fleet. The city was defended by fourteen hundred men under General Lincoln. The British effected a landing, and advanced up the right bank of Ashley River. On the 7th of April Lincoln was reinforced by seven hundred Virginians. Two days afterwards Arbuthnot succeeded in passing Fort Moultrie, and came within cannon-shot of the city.

3. A siege was at once begun, and prosecuted with vigor. From the beginning the defense was hopeless. The fortifications were beaten down, and Lincoln, dreading an assault, agreed to capitulate. On the 12th of May, Charleston was surrendered to the British, and the garrison became prisoners of war. A few days before the surrender Tarleton surprised and dispersed a body of militia on the Santee. Afterwards three successful expeditions were sent into different sections of the State.

[Pg 188]

4. The authority of Great Britain was reestablished over South Carolina. Clinton and Arbuthnot returned to New York, and Cornwallis was left to hold the conquered territory. In this condition of affairs, Thomas Sumter and Francis Marion appeared as the protectors of the State. They rallied the militia and began an audacious partisan warfare. Detachments of the British were swept off as though an enemy had fallen on them from the skies. It was here that young Andrew Jackson, then but thirteen years of age, began his career as a soldier.

5. Marion's company consisted of twenty men and boys, white and black, half clad and poorly armed. But the number increased, and the "Ragged Regiment" soon became a terror to the enemy. There was no telling when or where the sword of the fearless leader would fall. During the summer and autumn of 1780 he swept around Cornwallis's positions, making incessant onsets.

6. General Gates now advanced into the Carolinas. Lord Rawdon concentrated his forces at Camden. Hither came Cornwallis with reinforcements. The Americans took post at Clermont. Cornwallis and Gates each formed the design of surprising the other in the night. On the evening of the 15th of August they both moved from their camps and met midway on Sander's Creek. After a severe battle the Americans were completely defeated with a loss of more than a thousand men. Baron De Kalb was mortally wounded. The reputation of Gates was blown away like chaff, and he was superseded by General Greene.

7. A few days after the battle, Sumter's corps was overtaken and completely routed. Only Marion remained to harass the enemy. In September the British advanced into North Carolina as far as Charlotte. Colonel Ferguson, with eleven hundred regulars and tories, was sent into the country west of the Catawba to encourage the royalists. On the 7th of October,[Pg 189] while he and his men were encamped on King's Mountain, they were attacked by a thousand riflemen led by Colonel Campbell. A desperate battle ensued; Ferguson was slain, and three hundred of his men were killed or wounded. The remaining eight hundred threw down their arms and begged for quarter. Ten of the leading tory prisoners were condemned by a court-martial and hanged.

MAP OF THE CAROLINAS

8. Meanwhile, the credit of the nation was sinking to the lowest ebb. Congress resorted to paper money. At first the continental bills were received at par; but the value of the notes rapidly diminished, until, by the middle of 1780, they were not worth two cents to the dollar. Business was paralyzed for the want of a currency; but Robert Morris and a few other wealthy patriots came forward with their private fortunes and saved the colonies from ruin. The mothers of America also lent a helping hand; and the patriot soldiers were supplied with food and clothing.

9. In the midst of the gloom, the country was shocked by[Pg 190] the news that Benedict Arnold had turned traitor. After the battle of Bemis's Heights, in the fall of 1777, he had been promoted to the rank of major-general, and made commandant of Philadelphia. Here he married the daughter of a royalist, and entered upon a career of extravagance which overwhelmed him with debt. He then began a system of frauds on the commissary department of the army. Charges were preferred against him by Congress, and he was convicted by a court-martial.

10. Seeming to forget this disgrace, Arnold obtained command of the fortress of West Point, on the Hudson. On the last day of July, 1780, he assumed control of the arsenal and depot of stores at that place. He then entered into a secret correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, and finally offered to betray his country. It was agreed that the British fleet should ascend the Hudson, and that the garrison and fortress should be given up without a struggle.

11. On the 21st of September, Clinton sent Major John André to make arrangements for the surrender. André, who was adjutant-general of the British army, went ashore from the Vulture about midnight, and met Arnold in a thicket. Daydawn approached, and the conspirators entered the American lines. André, disguising himself, assumed the character of a spy.

12. During the next day the business was completed. Arnold agreed to surrender West Point for ten thousand pounds and a commission as brigadier in the British army. André received papers containing a description of West Point, its defences, and the best method of attack. During that day an American battery drove the Vulture down the river, and André was obliged to cross to the other side and return by land. He passed the American outposts in safety; but at Tarrytown he was confronted by three militiamen[A] who stripped him,[Pg 191] found his papers, and delivered him to Colonel Jameson at North Castle. Arnold, on hearing the news, escaped on board the Vulture. André was tried by a court-martial at Tappan, and condemned to death. On the 2d of October he was led to the gallows, and, under the stern code of war, was hanged.

Capture of André.

13. For several years Holland had favored the Americans; now she began negotiations for a treaty similar to that between France and the United States. Great Britain discovered the purposes of the Dutch government, and remonstrated. On the 20th of December an open declaration of war was made. Thus the Netherlands were added to the enemies of England.

[Pg 192]

CHAPTER XXVII.

Events of 1781.

FOR the Americans the year 1781 opened gloomily. The condition of the army was desperate—no food, no pay, no clothing. On the first day of January, the whole Pennsylvania line mutinied and marched on Philadelphia. At Princeton they were met by emissaries from Sir Henry Clinton, and were tempted with offers of money and clothing if they would desert the American standard. The patriots answered by seizing the British agents and delivering them to General Wayne to be hanged. The commissioners of Congress offered the insurgents a large reward, which was refused; and a few liberal concessions on the part of the government quieted the mutiny.

2. About the middle of the month the New Jersey brigade revolted. This movement Washington quelled by force. General Howe marched to the camp with five hundred regulars and compelled the mutineers to execute their own leaders. From that day order was restored. Congress was thoroughly alarmed. An agent was sent to France to obtain a loan of money. Robert Morris was appointed secretary of finance; and the Bank of North America was organized to aid the government.

3. On arriving at New York, Arnold received his commission as brigadier in the British army. In January the traitor began war on his countrymen. His proceedings were marked with much ferocity. In the vicinity of Richmond a vast quantity of property was destroyed. Arnold then took up his headquarters in Portsmouth; and Washington, for the second [Pg 193]time, planned his capture. The French fleet was ordered to cooperate with La Fayette in the attempt. But Admiral Arbuthnot drove the French squadron back to Rhode Island. La Fayette abandoned the undertaking, and Arnold again escaped.

MAP SHOWING THE COLONIES at the time of THE REVOLUTION.

General Greene.

4. In April, General Phillips arrived at Portsmouth and assumed command of the army. In May Phillips died, and for seven days Arnold held the supreme command of the British forces in Virginia. On the 20th of the month Lord Cornwallis arrived and ordered him to be gone. Returning to New York he made an expedition against New London, in his native State. Fort Griswold, which was defended by Colonel Ledyard, was carried by storm. When Ledyard surrendered, seventy-three of the garrison were murdered in cold blood.

5. General Greene was now in command of the American army at Charlotte, North Carolina. Early in January, General Morgan was sent into South Carolina to repress the tories. Colonel Tarleton followed with his cavalry. The Americans took a position at the Cowpens, where, on the 17th of January, they were attacked by the British. Tarleton made the onset with impetuosity; but Morgan's men bravely held their ground. At last the American cavalry, under Colonel William Washington, made a charge and scattered the British dragoons like chaff. Ten British officers and ninety privates were killed.

6. When Cornwallis heard of the battle he marched up the river to cut off Morgan's retreat. But Greene hastened to the[Pg 194] Morgan's camp and took command in person. On the 28th of January, the Americans reached the Catawba and crossed to the northern bank. Within two hours the British arrived at the ford. During the night the rain poured down in torrents; the river was swollen to a flood; and it was many days before the British could cross. Then began a race for the Yadkin.

7. The distance was sixty miles. In two days the Americans reached the river. The crossing was nearly effected when the British appeared in sight. That night the Yadkin was made impassable by rains, and Cornwallis was again delayed. On the 9th of February the British succeeded in crossing. The lines of retreat and pursuit were now nearly parallel. A third time the race began, and again the Americans won it. On the 13th Greene, with the main division, crossed the Dan into Virginia, and on the 22d of February returned into North Carolina.

8. Greene's army now numbered more than four thousand men. Determining to avoid battle no longer, he marched to Guilford Courthouse. Cornwallis moved forward to the attack. On the 15th of March the two armies met, and a severe but indecisive battle was fought. The Americans were driven back for several miles; but in killed and wounded the British loss was greatest.

9. Early in April, Cornwallis retreated to Wilmington, and then proceeded to Virginia. The British forces in the Carolinas remained under Lord Rawdon. On the 10th of May, Lord Rawdon retired to Eutaw Springs. The British posts at Orangeburg and Augusta fell into the hands of the patriots. General Greene passed the sickly months of summer in the hill country of the Santee.

10. Sumter, Lee, and Marion were constantly abroad, smiting the tories right and left. Lord Rawdon now went to Charleston and became a principal actor in one of the most[Pg 195] shameful scenes of the Revolution. Colonel Isaac Hayne, a patriot who had once taken an oath of allegiance to the king, was caught in command of a troop of American cavalry. He was arraigned before Colonel Balfour, the commandant of Charleston, and condemned to death. Rawdon gave his sanction, and Colonel Hayne was hanged.

11. On the 22d of August, General Greene marched toward Orangeburg. The British retired to Eutaw Springs. There the Americans overtook them on the 8th of September. One of the fiercest battles of the war ensued, and General Greene was denied a decisive victory only by the bad conduct of some of his troops. After losing five hundred and fifty-five men, he gave up the struggle. The British lost in killed and wounded nearly seven hundred. Stuart retreated to Monk's Corner; Greene followed; and after two months of maneuvering, the British were driven into Charleston. In the whole South only Charleston and Savannah were now held by the king's army; the latter city was evacuated on the 11th of July, and the former on the 14th of December, 1782. Such was the close of the Revolution in the Carolinas and Georgia.

12. In the beginning of May, 1781, Cornwallis took command of the British army in Virginia. The country was ravaged, and property destroyed to the value of fifteen million dollars. La Fayette, to whom the defence of the State had been intrusted, was unable to meet Cornwallis in the field. While the British were near Richmond, a detachment under Tarleton proceeded to Charlottesville, and captured the town and seven members of the legislature. Governor Jefferson escaped into the mountains. The British marched to Portsmouth; but early in August the army was conveyed to Yorktown, on the southern bank of York River.

13. La Fayette followed and took post eight miles from the British. During July and August, Washington, from his camp [Pg 196] on the Hudson, looked wistfully to the South. Clinton was kept in alarm by false dispatches, indicating that the Americans would immediately besiege New York. When Clinton was informed that Washington was marching toward Virginia, he would not believe it. Washington pressed rapidly forward, and joined La Fayette at Williamsburg. On the 30th of August, a French fleet, with four thousand troops on board, reached the Chesapeake and anchored in the mouth of York River. Cornwallis was blockaded by sea and land.

14. Count de Barras, who commanded the French flotilla at Newport, also arrived. On the 5th of September, Admiral Graves appeared in the bay, and a naval battle ensued, in which the British ships were roughly handled. On the 28th, the allied armies encamped around Yorktown and began their intrenchments. On the night of the 14th, the enemy's outer works were carried by storm. On the 16th the British made a sortie, but were repulsed. The next day Cornwallis proposed a surrender; on the 18th terms of capitulation were signed; and on the afternoon of the 19th the whole British army, consisting of seven thousand two hundred and forty-seven English and Hessian soldiers, laid down their arms and became prisoners of war. This event virtually terminated the war of the Revolution.

15. On the evening of the 23d the news was borne to Congress. On the morning of the 24th, the members went in concourse with the citizens to the Dutch Lutheran church, and turned the afternoon into a thanksgiving. The note of rejoicing sounded throughout the land. In England the king and his ministers heard the tidings with rage; but the English people were secretly pleased. On the 20th of March, 1782, Lord North and his friends resigned their offices. A new ministry was formed, favorable to peace. The command of the British[Pg 197] forces in the United States was transferred to Sir Guy Carleton, a man friendly to American interests.

Surrender of Cornwallis.

16. In the summer of 1782, Richard Oswald was sent by Parliament to Paris, to confer with Franklin and Jay in regard to the terms of peace. John Adams and Henry Laurens also entered into the negotiations. On the 30th of November preliminary articles of peace were signed; and in the following April the terms were ratified by Congress. On the 3d of September, 1783, a final treaty was effected between all the nations that had been at war.

17. The terms of the Treaty of 1783 were these: A complete recognition of the independence of the United States; the cession by Great Britain of Florida to Spain; the surrender of the remaining territory east of the Mississippi to the United[Pg 198] States; the free navigation of the Mississippi and the lakes; and the retention by Great Britain of Canada and Nova Scotia.

18. Early in August Sir Guy Carleton received instructions to evacuate New York City. By the 25th of November everything was in readiness; the British army was embarked; the sails were spread; the ships stood out to sea and disappeared. The Briton was gone. After the struggles of an eight years' war the patriots had achieved their independence.

19. On the 4th of December Washington assembled his officers to bid them a final adieu. When they were met, he spoke a few affectionate words to his comrades, who came forward, and with tears and sobs bade him farewell. Washington then departed to Annapolis, where Congress was in session. At Philadelphia he made a report of his expenses during the war. The account, in his own handwriting, embraced an expenditure of seventy-four thousand four hundred and eighty-five dollars—all correct to a cent.

20. The route of the chief to Annapolis was a continuous triumph. The people by thousands flocked to the roadsides to see him pass. On the 23d of December, Washington was introduced to Congress, and delivered an address full of wisdom and modesty. With great dignity he surrendered his commission as commander-in-chief of the army. General Mifflin, the president of Congress, responded in an eloquent manner, and then the hero retired to his home at Mount Vernon.

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

Confederation and Union.

DURING the progress of the Revolution the civil government of the United States was in a deplorable condition. Nothing but the peril of the country had, in the first place, led to the calling of a Congress. When that body assembled, it had no constitution nor power of efficient action. The two great wants of the country were money to carry on the war, and a central authority to direct the war. Whenever Congress would attempt a firmer government, the movement would be checked by the remonstrance of the colonies.

2. Foremost of those who worked for better government was Benjamin Franklin. In 1775 he laid before Congress the plan of a perpetual confederation of the States. But the attention of that body was occupied with the war, and Franklin's measure received little notice. Congress, without any real authority, began to conduct the government, and its legislation was generally accepted by the States.

3. On the 11th of June, 1776, a committee was appointed by Congress to prepare a plan of confederation. After a month the work was completed and laid before the house. The debates on the subject continued at intervals until the 15th of November, 1777, when a vote was taken in Congress, and the Articles of Confederation were adopted, which were then transmitted to the State legislatures for ratification. By them the new frame of government was returned to Congress with many amendments. These having been considered, the articles were signed by the delegates of eight States on the 9th[Pg 200] of July, 1778. Those of Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Delaware signed before February, of 1779. Maryland did not assent until March of 1781.

4. The government of the United States under the confederation was a loose union of independent commonwealths. The executive and legislative powers were vested in Congress—a body composed of not less than two nor more than seven representatives from each State. The sovereignty was reserved to the States. There was no chief magistrate and no general judiciary. The consent of nine States was necessary to complete an act of legislation. The union was declared to be perpetual.

5. On the 2d of March, 1781, Congress assembled under the new government. From the first, its inadequacy was manifest. Congress had no real authority. The first duty was to provide for the payment of the war debt of thirty-eight million dollars. Congress recommended a general tax. Some of the States made the levy, others refused. Robert Morris was brought to poverty in a vain effort to sustain the government.

6. In this condition of affairs, Washington advised the calling of a convention to meet at Annapolis. In September of 1786 the representatives of five States assembled. The questions of a tariff and a revision of the articles of confederation were discussed. It was finally resolved to adjourn until the following year.

7. Congress invited the legislatures to appoint delegates to the convention. All of the States except Rhode Island responded; and on the second Monday in May, 1787, the representatives assembled at Philadelphia. Washington was chosen president of the convention. On the 29th Edmund Randolph introduced a resolution to adopt a new constitution. A committee was accordingly appointed to revise the articles of confederation. Early in September, the report of the committee was adopted;[Pg 201] and that report was the Constitution of the United States.

8. On the question of adopting the Constitution the people were divided. Those who favored the new government were called Federalists; those who opposed, Anti-Federalists. The leaders of the former were Washington, Jay, Madison, and Hamilton, the latter statesman throwing his whole energies into the controversy. In the papers called The Federalist he and Madison answered every objection of the anti-Federal party. To Hamilton the Republic owes a debt of gratitude for having established on a firm basis the true principles of free government.

9. Under the Constitution the powers of government are arranged under three heads—Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The legislative power is vested in Congress—composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senators are chosen, for a term of six years, by the legislatures of the several States. Each State is represented by two Senators. The Representatives are elected by the people; and each State is entitled to a number of representatives proportionate to its population. The members of this branch are chosen for two years.

10. The executive power of the United States is vested in a President, chosen for four years by the Electoral College. The electors composing the college are chosen by the people; and each State is entitled to a number of electors equal to the number of its representatives and senators in Congress. The duty of the President is to enforce the laws of Congress in accordance with the Constitution. He is also commander-in-chief of the armies and navies. In case of the death or resignation of the President, the Vice-president becomes chief magistrate.

11. The judicial power of the United States is vested in a Supreme Court and in inferior courts established by Congress. The highest judicial officer is the Chief-justice. The judges[Pg 202] hold their offices during life or good behavior. The right of trial by jury is granted in all cases except the impeachment of public officers. Treason against the United States consists in levying war against them, or in giving aid to their enemies.

12. The Constitution provides that new territories maybe organized and new States admitted into the Union; that to every State shall be guaranteed a republican form of government; and that the Constitution may be altered or amended by the consent of two thirds of both houses of Congress and three fourths of the legislatures of the States. In accordance with this provision, fifteen amendments have since been made to the Constitution.

13. Before the end of 1788 eleven States had adopted the Constitution. The new government was to go into operation when nine States should ratify. For a while, North Carolina and Rhode Island hesitated. In accordance with an act of Congress, the first Wednesday of January, 1789, was named as the time for the election of a chief-magistrate. The people had but one voice as to the man who should be honored with that high trust. Early in April, the ballots of the electors were counted, and George Washington was unanimously chosen President and John Adams Vice-president of the United States. On the 14th of the month, Washington received notification of his election, and departed for New York. His route was a constant triumph. With this event the era of nationality in the New Republic is ushered in.

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Review Questions.—Part IV.

CHAPTER XXI.

• 1. Trace the causes, general and special, of the Revolutionary War.
• 2. Give an account of the Stamp Act Congress, and of the important measure adopted by it.
• 3. How did the movements in America affect the British king and parliament?

CHAPTER XXII.

• 4. Give an account of the beginnings of war, and of the engagements at that time about Boston.
• 5. Tell of the condition of the American forces, and of the appointment of a commander-in-chief.
• 6. What were the relations between the American colonies and Canada?

CHAPTER XXIII.

• 7. Describe the military movements of the first half of the year 1776.
• 8. Who were the Hessians, and how were they brought into this war?
• 9. Give an account of the preparation and adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
• 10. Follow the military movements of the latter half of the year 1776.

CHAPTER XXIV.

• 11. What were the military movements of the early part of the year 1777?
• 12. Tell of the attitude of France toward the war, and of the coming over of La Fayette and his followers.
• 13. Give an account of the campaigns under Burgoyne.
• 14. Trace the movements in the south and along the Delaware.

CHAPTER XXV.

• 15. Give an account of the treaty with France, and of the coming over of the French fleet under D'Estaing.
• 16. Tell the story of the massacres at Wyoming and at Cherry Valley.
• 17. Outline the campaigns of 1779.
• 18. What was now the condition of the Americans on the seas?

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CHAPTER XXVI.

• 19. Describe the military movements of 1780.
• 20. Give an account of the treachery of Benedict Arnold.

CHAPTER XXVII.

• 21. Sketch the campaigns of 1781.
• 22. Tell of the surrender of Cornwallis and the British army.
• 23. Give an account of the Treaty of Peace, and of the disbanding of the American army.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

• 24. Tell of the government of America in the early part of the war, and under the Articles of Confederation.
• 25. What led to the adoption of the new constitution, and what are some of its leading provisions?

[Pg 205]

Part V.

GROWTH OF THE UNION.

CHAPTER XXIX.

Washington's Administration, 1789-1797.

ON the 30th of April, 1789, Washington was inaugurated first President of the United States. The ceremony was performed in New York City, on the site of the Custom-house, in Wall Street. Chancellor Livingston, of New York, administered the oath of office. The streets and house-tops were thronged with people; flags fluttered; cannon boomed from the Battery. Washington retired to the Senate chamber and delivered his inaugural address. Congress had already been organized.

2. The new government was embarrassed with many difficulties. By the treaty of 1783 the free navigation of the Mississippi had been guaranteed. Now the Spaniards of New Orleans hindered the passage of American ships. On the frontier the Red men were at war with the settlers. As to financial credit or income, the United States had none.

3. On the 10th of September an act was passed by Congress instituting a department of foreign affairs, a treasury department, and a department of war. Washington nominated Jefferson as Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Knox, Secretary of[Pg 206] War; and Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury. A Supreme Court was also organized, John Jay receiving the appointment of first Chief-justice. Edmund Randolph was chosen Attorney-General. Meanwhile, the objections of North Carolina and Rhode Island were removed, and both States ratified the Constitution, the former in November of 1789, and the latter in the following May.

Inauguration of Washington.

4. The war debt of the United States, including the revolutionary expenses of the several States, amounted to nearly [Pg 207] eighty million dollars. Hamilton adopted a broad and honest policy. His plan proposed that the debt of the United States due to American citizens, as well as the debt of the individual States, should be assumed by the general government, and that all should be fully paid. By this measure the credit of the country was vastly improved. Hamilton's financial schemes were violently opposed by Jefferson and the anti-Federal party. In 1791 the Bank of the United States was established by an act of Congress.

5. The question of fixing the seat of government was discussed; and it was agreed to establish the capital for ten years at Philadelphia, and afterwards at some locality on the Potomac. The next measure was the organization of the territory southwest of the Ohio. On the 4th of March, 1791, Vermont, which had been an independent territory since 1777, was admitted into the Union as the fourteenth State. The census of the United States, for 1790, showed a population of three million nine hundred and twenty-nine thousand.

6. In 1790 a war broke out with the Miami Indians. These tribes went to war to recover the lands which they had ceded to the United States. In September General Harmar, with fourteen hundred men, marched from Fort Washington, on the present site of Cincinnati, to the Maumee. On the 21st of October the army was defeated, with great loss, at a ford of this stream. General Harmar retreated to Fort Washington.

7. After the defeat of Harmar, General St. Clair, with two thousand men, set out from Fort Washington to break the power of the Miamis. On the 4th of November he was attacked in the southwest angle of Mercer County, Ohio, by more than two thousand warriors. After a terrible battle, St. Clair was completely defeated, with a loss of half his men. The fugitives retreated precipitately to Fort Washington. The[Pg 208] news of the disaster spread sorrow throughout the land. St. Clair was superseded by General Wayne, whom the people had named Mad Anthony.

8. The population of Kentucky had now reached seventy-three thousand. Seventeen years before, Daniel Boone, the hardy hunter of North Carolina, had settled at Boonesborough. Harrodsburg and Lexington were founded about the same time. During the Revolution the pioneers were constantly beset by the savages. After the expedition of General Clark, in 1779, thousands of immigrants came annually. On the 1st of June, 1792, Kentucky was admitted into the Union. At the presidential election of 1792, Washington was again unanimously chosen; as Vice-president, John Adams was reelected.

9. Washington's second administration was greatly troubled in its relations with foreign governments. Citizen Genet, who was sent by the French republic as minister to the United States, arrived at Charleston, and was greeted with great enthusiasm. Taking advantage of his popularity, he fitted out privateers to prey on the commerce of Great Britain, and planned an expedition against Louisiana. When Washington refused to enter into an alliance with France, the minister threatened to appeal to the people. But Washington stood unmoved, and demanded the minister's recall. The authorities of France heeded the demand, and Genet was superseded by M. Fouchet.

10. In 1794 the country was disturbed by a difficulty in western Pennsylvania, known as the Whiskey Insurrection. Congress had, three years previously, imposed a tax on all ardent spirits distilled in the United States. Genet and his partisans had incited the people of the distilling regions to resist the tax collectors. The disaffected rose in arms. Washington issued two proclamations, warning the insurgents to disperse; but instead of obeying, they fired upon the officers of the govern[Pg 209]ment. General Henry Lee, with a strong detachment of troops, then marched to the scene of the disturbance and dispersed the rioters.

11. In the fall of 1793 General Wayne entered the Indian country with a force of three thousand men. Near the scene of St. Clair's defeat he built Fort Recovery, and then pressed on to the junction of the Auglaize and the Maumee. Here he built Fort Defiance. On the 20th of August Wayne overtook the savages at the town of Waynesfield, and routed them with terrible losses. The chieftains were obliged to purchase peace by ceding to the United States all the territory east of a line drawn from Fort Recovery to the mouth of the Kentucky River. This was the last service of General Wayne. In December of 1796 he died, and was buried at Presque Isle.

12. In 1793 George III. issued instructions to British privateers to seize all neutral vessels found trading in the French West Indies. The United States had no notification of this measure, and American commerce to the value of many millions of dollars was swept from the sea. Chief-justice Jay was sent to demand redress, and in November of 1794 an honorable treaty was concluded. It was specified in the treaty that Great Britain should make reparation for the injuries done, and surrender to the United States certain Western posts which until now had been held by that country.

13. In 1795 the boundary between the United States and Louisiana was settled. Spain granted to the Americans the free navigation of the Mississippi. About this time a difficulty arose with the dey of Algiers. For many years Algerine pirates had been preying upon the commerce of civilized nations. The dey had agreed with these nations that his pirate ships should not attack their vessels if they would pay him an annual tribute. The Algerine sea-robbers were now turned loose on American commerce, and the government of the United States was also obliged to purchase safety by paying tribute.

[Pg 210]

Algerine Pirates.

14. In 1796 Tennessee, the third new State, was admitted into the Union. The population already numbered more than seventy thousand. The first inhabitants of Tennessee were as hardy a race of pioneers as ever braved the wilderness.

15. Washington was solicited to become a candidate for a third election; but he refused. In September of 1796 he issued to the people of the United States his Farewell Address—a document full of wisdom and patriotism. The political parties at once put forward their candidates—John Adams as the choice of the Federal, and Thomas Jefferson of the anti-Federal party. The chief question between the parties was whether it was the true policy of the United States to enter into intimate relations with France. The anti-Federalists said, Yes! The Federalists said, No! On that issue Mr. Adams was elected, but Mr. Jefferson, having the next highest number of votes, became Vice-president.

[Pg 211]

CHAPTER XXX.

Adams's Administration, 1797-1801.

ON the 4th of March, 1797, President Adams was inaugurated. From the beginning, his administration was embarrassed by political opposition. Adet, the French minister, urged the government to conclude a league with France against Great Britain. When the President and Congress refused, the French Directory began to demand an alliance. On the 10th of March that body issued instructions to French men-of-war to assail the commerce of the United States. Mr. Pinckney, the American minister, was ordered to leave France.

John Adams.

2. These proceedings were equivalent to a declaration of war. The President convened Congress in extraordinary session. Elbridge Gerry and John Marshall were directed to join Mr. Pinckney in a final effort for a peaceable adjustment of the difficulties. But the Directory refused to receive the ambassadors except upon condition that they would pay into the French treasury a quarter of a million dollars. Pinckney[Pg 212] answered that the United States had millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute. The envoys were then ordered to leave the country.

3. In 1798 an act was passed by Congress completing the organization of the army. Washington was called from his retirement and appointed commander-in-chief. Six American frigates put to sea, and, in the fall of 1799 did good service for the country. Commodore Truxtun, in the Constellation, won distinguished honors. On the 9th of February, while cruising in the West Indies, he attacked the Insurgent, a French man-of-war, carrying forty guns and more than four hundred seamen. A desperate engagement ensued; and Truxtun gained a complete victory.

4. Meanwhile, Napoleon Bonaparte had overthrown the Directory of France and made himself First Consul. He immediately sought peace with the United States. Three American ambassadors were sent to Paris, in March of 1800. Negotiations were at once opened, and in the following September were terminated with a treaty of peace.

Home of Washington at Mount Vernon.

[Pg 213]

5. Before the war-cloud was scattered America was called to mourn the loss of Washington. On the 14th of December, 1799, after an illness of only a day, the chieftain passed from among the living. All hearts were touched with sorrow. Congress went in funeral procession to the German Lutheran church, where General Henry Lee delivered a touching and eloquent oration. Throughout the world the memory of the great dead was honored with appropriate ceremonies.

6. The administration of Adams and the eighteenth century drew to a close together. The new Republic was growing strong and influential. The census of 1800 showed that the population of the country had increased to over five millions. The seventy-five post-offices reported by the census of 1790 had been multiplied to nine hundred and three; the exports of the United States had grown from twenty millions to nearly seventy-one millions of dollars. In December of 1800, Congress assembled in Washington City. Virginia and Maryland had ceded to the United States the District of Columbia, a tract ten miles square lying on both sides of the Potomac. The city was laid out in 1792; and in 1800 the population numbered between eight and nine thousand.

7. With prudent management the Federal party might have retained control of the government. But much of the legislation of Congress had been unwise and unpopular. The "Alien Law," by which the President was authorized to send foreigners out of the country, was specially odious. The "Sedition Law," which punished with fine and imprisonment the freedom of speech and of the press, was denounced as an act of tyranny. Partisan excitement ran high. Mr. Adams and Mr. Charles C. Pinckney were put forward as the candidates of the Federalists, and Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr of the Democrats. The election was thrown into the House of Representatives, and the choice fell on Jefferson and Burr.

[Pg 214]

CHAPTER XXXI.

Jefferson's Administration, 1801-1809.

AT the beginning of his administration, Mr. Jefferson transferred the chief offices of the government to members of the Democratic party. Such action was justified by the adherents of the President on the ground that the affairs of a republic will be best administered when the officers hold the same political sentiments. One of the first acts of Congress was to abolish the system of internal revenues. The unpopular "Alien" and "Sedition" laws were also repealed.

2. In the year 1800 a line was drawn through the Northwest Territory from the mouth of the Great Miami River northward, through Fort Recovery on the head waters of the Wabash, to Canada. Two years afterwards the country east of this line was erected into the State of Ohio, which, in 1803, was admitted into the Union. The portion west of the line was organized under the name of Indiana Territory.

Thomas Jefferson.

3. The new region thus brought under civil government embraced a vast area of country. It included all of the present States of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and a small portion of Minnesota. Vincennes was made the capital. The appointment [Pg 215] of Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs was conferred on General William Henry Harrison. The work imposed upon him was very great. First appointed by President John Adams, he was afterwards reappointed to the same position by Presidents Jefferson and Madison. Repairing to his field of duty, he convened the first Territorial Legislature at Vincennes, in 1805, and entered at once into negotiations with the Indian tribes.

4. During the administration of Governor Harrison, many salutary measures were adopted with respect to the natives. The Governor sought to prevent the sale of intoxicating liquors among them, and induced many of the tribes to submit to inoculation, as a means of preventing the ravages of smallpox. In September, 1809, he met a congress of the tribes at Vincennes, and effected the purchase of about three million acres of valuable land in the valleys of the Wabash and White rivers. It was these progressive measures which aroused the jealousy and alarm of the Red men, and brought on the Indian war of 1811.

5. About the same time of the organization of Indiana Territory the Mississippi Territory was organized. More important still was the purchase of the vast region called Louisiana. In 1800 Napoleon had compelled Spain to make a cession of this territory to France. He now authorized his minister to dispose of Louisiana by sale. The President appointed Mr. Livingston and James Monroe to negotiate the purchase. On the 30th of April, 1803, terms were agreed on; and for the sum of eleven million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars Louisiana was ceded to the United States. It was also agreed that the United States should pay certain debts due from France to American citizens—the sum not to exceed three million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Thus did that vast domain west of the Mississippi pass under the dominion of the United States.

[Pg 216]

6. Out of the southern portion of the great province the Territory of Orleans was organized with the same limits as the present State of Louisiana; the rest continued to be called the Territory of Louisiana. Very justly did Mr. Livingston say to the French minister as they arose from signing the treaty: "This is the noblest work of our lives."

7. In 1801 John Marshall became Chief-justice of the United States. In the colonial times, the English constitution and common law had prevailed in America. When the new Republic was organized, it became necessary to modify the principles of law and to adapt them to the altered form of government. This great work was accomplished by Chief-justice Marshall.

8. The Mediterranean pirates still annoyed American merchantmen. The emperors of Morocco, Algiers, and Tripoli became especially troublesome. In 1803 Commodore Preble was sent to the Mediterranean to protect American commerce and punish the pirates. The frigate Philadelphia, under Captain Bainbridge, sailed directly to Tripoli. When nearing his destination, Bainbridge gave chase to a pirate which fled for safety to the harbor. The Philadelphia, in close pursuit, ran upon a reef of rocks near the shore, and was captured by the Tripolitans. The officers were treated with some respect, but the crew were enslaved.

9. In the following February Captain Decatur sailed to Tripoli in a Moorish ship, called the Intrepid. At nightfall Decatur steered into the harbor, slipped alongside of the Philadelphia, sprang on deck with his daring band, and killed or drove overboard every Moor on the vessel. In a moment the frigate was fired; Decatur and his crew escaped to the Intrepid without the loss of a man.

10. In July of 1804 Commodore Preble arrived at Tripoli and began a siege. The town was bombarded, and several Moorish vessels were destroyed. In the mean time, William[Pg 217] Eaton, the American consul at Tunis, had organized a force, and was marching overland to Tripoli. Hamet, who was the rightful sovereign of Tripoli, was cooperating with Eaton in an effort to recover his kingdom. Yusef, the Tripolitan emperor, made overtures for peace. His offers were accepted, and a treaty was concluded on the 4th of June, 1805.

11. In 1804 the country was shocked by the intelligence that Vice-president Burr had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. As his term of office drew to a close, Burr foresaw that he would not be renominated. In 1803 he became a candidate for governor of New York; but Hamilton's influence in that State prevented his election. Burr thereupon sought a quarrel with Hamilton, challenged him, met him at Weehawken on the morning of the 11th of July, and deliberately murdered him. Thus the brightest intellect in America was put out in darkness.

12. After the death of Hamilton, Burr fled to the South. At the opening of the next session of Congress he returned to preside over the Senate. Then he took up his residence with an Englishman named Blennerhassett, who had built a mansion on an island in the Ohio, near the mouth of the Muskingum. Here Burr made a treasonable scheme to raise a military force, invade Mexico, detach the Southwestern States from the Union, and overthrow the government of the United States. But his purposes were suspected. The military preparations at Blennerhassett's Island were broken up. Burr was arrested in Alabama and taken to Richmond to be tried for treason. Chief-justice Marshall presided at the trial, and Burr conducted his own defence. The verdict was, "Not guilty—for want of sufficient proof." Burr afterward practiced law in New York, lived to old age, and died in poverty.

13. In the autumn of 1804 Jefferson was reelected. For Vice-president, George Clinton of New York was chosen in place of Burr. In the next year a part of the Northwest [Pg 218] Territory was organized under the name of Michigan. In the same spring, Captains Lewis and Clarke set out from the falls of the Missouri River with thirty-five soldiers and hunters to explore Oregon. For two years, through forests of gigantic pines, and along the banks of unknown rivers, did they continue their explorations. After wandering among unheard-of tribes of savages, and traversing a route of six thousand miles, the adventurers, with the loss of but one man, returned to civilization.

Lewis and Clarke's Expedition.

14. During Jefferson's second term, the country was much agitated by the aggressions of the British navy. England and France were engaged in war. The British authorities struck blow after blow against the trade between France and foreign nations; and Napoleon retaliated. The plan adopted by the[Pg 219] two powers was to blockade each other's ports with men-of-war. By such means the commerce of the United States was greatly injured.

15. In May of 1806 England blockaded the whole coast of France. American vessels, approaching the French ports, were seized as prizes. The following November Bonaparte issued a decree blockading the British isles. Again American merchantmen were subjected to seizure. In January of the next year Great Britain retaliated by prohibiting the French coasting-trade. These measures were all in violation of the law of nations.

16. Great Britain next set up the peculiar claim of citizenship, that whoever is born in England remains through life a subject of England. English cruisers were authorized to search American vessels for persons suspected of being British subjects. Those who were taken were impressed as seamen in the English navy.

17. On the 22d of June, 1807, the frigate Chesapeake was hailed near Fortress Monroe by a British man-of-war called the Leopard. British officers came on board and demanded to search the vessel for deserters. The demand was refused and the ship cleared for action. But before the guns could be charged, the Leopard poured in a destructive fire and compelled a surrender. Four men were taken from the captured ship, three of whom proved to be American citizens. Great Britain disavowed this outrage, and promised reparation; but the promise was never fulfilled.

18. The President issued a proclamation forbidding British ships of war to enter American harbors. On the 21st of December Congress passed the Embargo Act, by which all American vessels were detained in the ports of the United States. The object was to cut off commercial intercourse with France and[Pg 220] Great Britain. But after fourteen months the embargo act was repealed. Meanwhile, in November of 1808, the British government published an "order in council," prohibiting all trade with France and her allies. Thereupon Napoleon issued the "Milan decree," forbidding all trade with England and her colonies. By these outrages the commerce of the United States was well-nigh destroyed.

19. While the country was thus distracted, Robert Fulton was building the FIRST STEAMBOAT. Fulton was an Irishman by descent and a Pennsylvanian by birth. His education in boyhood was imperfect, but was afterward improved by study at London and Paris.

Fulton's "Clermont."

20. Returning to New York, he began the construction of a steamboat. When the ungainly craft was completed, Fulton invited his friends to go on board and enjoy a trip to Albany. On the 2d of September, 1807, the crowds gathered on the shore. The word was given, and the boat did not move. Fulton went below. Again the word was given, and the boat moved. On the next day the company reached Albany. For many years this first rude steamer, called the Clermont, plied the Hudson.

21. Jefferson's administration drew to a close. The territorial area of the United States had been vastly extended. But the foreign relations of the nation were troubled. The President declined a third election, and was succeeded by James Madison, of Virginia. For Vice-president, George Clinton was reelected.

[Pg 221]

CHAPTER XXXII.

Madison's Administration.—War of 1812.

James Madison.

THE new President had been a member of the Continental Congress, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and Secretary of State under Jefferson. He owed his election to the Democratic party, whose sympathy with France and hostility to Great Britain were well known. On the 1st of March the embargo act was repealed by Congress, and another measure adopted by which American ships were allowed to go abroad, but were forbidden to trade with Great Britain. Mr. Erskine, the British minister, now gave notice that by the 10th of June the "orders in council," so far as they affected the United States, should be repealed.

2. In the following spring Bonaparte issued a decree for the seizure of all American vessels that might approach the ports of France. But in November the decree was reversed, and all restrictions on the commerce of the United States were removed. But the government of Great Britain adhered to its former measures, and sent ships of war to enforce the "orders in council."

[Pg 222]

3. The affairs of the two nations were fast approaching a crisis. The government of the United States had fallen completely under control of the party which sympathized with France. The American people, smarting under the insults of Great Britain, had adopted the motto of Free Trade and Sailors' Rights, and had made up their minds to fight; the sentiment was that war was preferable to national disgrace.

4. In the spring of 1810 the third census of the United States was completed. The population had increased to seven million two hundred and forty thousand souls. The States now numbered seventeen; and several new Territories were preparing for admission into the Union. The rapid march of civilization westward had aroused the jealousy of the Red men, and Indiana Territory was afflicted with an Indian war.

5. Tecumtha, chief of the Shawnees—a brave and sagacious warrior—and his brother, called the Prophet, were the leaders of the revolt. Their plan was to unite all the nations of the Northwest Territory in a final effort to beat back the whites. When, in September of 1809, Governor Harrison met the chiefs of several tribes at Fort Wayne, and purchased three million acres of land, Tecumtha refused to sign the treaty, and threatened death to those who did. In 1810 he visited the nations of Tennessee and exhorted them to join his confederacy.

6. Governor Harrison stood firm, sent for soldiers, and mustered the militia of the Territory. The Indians began to prowl through the Wabash Valley, murdering and stealing. The governor then advanced to Terre Haute, built Fort Harrison, and hastened toward the town of the Prophet, at the mouth of the Tippecanoe. When within a few miles of this place, Harrison was met by Indian ambassadors, who asked for a conference on the following day. Their request was granted; and the American army encamped for the night. The place selected was a piece of high ground covered with oaks.

[Pg 223]

7. Before daybreak on the morning of November 7th, 1811, the savages, seven hundred strong, crept through the marshes, surrounded Harrison's position, and burst upon the camp. But the American militia fought in the darkness, held the Indians in check until daylight, and then routed them in several vigorous charges. On the next day, the Americans burned the Prophet's town, and soon afterwards returned to Vincennes. Such was the success of the campaign that the Indians were overawed, the peace of the white settlements secured, and the way made easy for the organization and admission of the State of Indiana into the Union five years afterwards.

Western Battle-fields located relatively to Present Cities.

8. Meanwhile, Great Britain and the United States had come into conflict on the ocean. On the 16th of May, Commodore Rodgers, commanding the frigate President, hailed a vessel off the coast of Virginia. Instead of a polite answer, he received a cannon-ball in the mainmast. Rodgers responded with a broadside, silencing the enemy's guns. In the morning—for it was already dark—the hostile ship was found to be the British sloop-of-war Little Belt.

[Pg 224]

9. On the 4th of November, 1811, the twelfth Congress of the United States assembled. Many of the members still hoped for peace; and the winter passed without decisive measures. On the 4th of April, 1812, an act was passed laying an embargo for ninety days on all British vessels within the harbors of the United States. But Great Britain would not recede from her hostile attitude. Before the actual outbreak of hostilities, Louisiana, the eighteenth State, was, on the 8th of April, admitted into the Union. Her population had already reached seventy-seven thousand.

10. On the 19th of June a declaration of war was made against Great Britain. Vigorous preparations for the conflict were made by Congress. It was ordered to raise twenty-five thousand regular troops and fifty thousand volunteers. The several States were requested to call out a hundred thousand militia. A national loan of eleven million dollars was authorized. Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was chosen commander-in-chief of the army.

11. The war was begun by General William Hull, governor of Michigan Territory. On the 1st of June he marched from Dayton with fifteen hundred men. For a full month the army toiled through the forests to the western extremity of Lake Erie. Arriving at the Maumee, Hull sent his baggage to Detroit. But the British at Malden were on the alert, and captured Hull's boat with everything on board. Nevertheless, the Americans pressed on to Detroit, and on the 12th of July crossed the river to Sandwich.

12. Hull, hearing that Mackinaw had been taken by the British, soon returned to Detroit. From this place he sent Major Van Horne to meet Major Brush, who had reached the river Raisin with reinforcements. But Tecumtha laid an ambush for Van Horne's forces and defeated them near Brownstown. Colonel Miller, with another detachment, attacked and routed the savages with great loss, and then returned to Detroit.

[Pg 225]

Engagement of the Wasp and the Frolic.

13. General Brock, governor of Canada, now took command of the British at Malden. On the 16th of August he advanced to the siege of Detroit. The Americans in their trenches were eager for battle. When the British were within five hundred yards, Hull hoisted a white flag over the fort. Then followed a surrender, the most shameful in the history of the United States. All the forces under Hull's command became prisoners of war. The whole of Michigan Territory was surrendered to the British. Hull was afterward court-martialed and sentenced to be shot; but the President pardoned him.

14. About the time of the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, on the present site of Chicago, was surrendered to an army of Indians. The garrison capitulated on condition of retiring without molestation. But the savages fell upon the retreating soldiers, killed some, and distributed the rest as captives.

15. On the 19th of August the frigate Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, overtook the British Guerriere off the coast of Massachusetts. The vessels maneuvered for a while, the Constitution closing with her antagonist, until at half pistol-shot she poured in a broadside, sweeping the decks of the Guerriere and deciding the contest. On the following morning, the Guerriere, being unmanageable, was blown up; and Hull returned to port with his prisoners and spoils.

[Pg 226]

16. On the 18th of October the American Wasp, under Captain Jones, fell in with a fleet of British merchantmen off the coast of Virginia. The squadron was under protection of the Frolic, commanded by Captain Whinyates. A terrible engagement ensued, lasting for three quarters of an hour. Finally, the American crew boarded the Frolic and struck the British flag. Soon afterwards the Poictiers, a British seventy-four gun ship, bore down upon the scene, captured the Wasp, and retook the wreck of the Frolic.

17. On the 25th of the month Commodore Decatur, commanding the frigate United States, captured the British Macedonian, a short distance west of the Canary Islands. The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded amounted to more than a hundred men. On the 12th of December the Essex, commanded by Captain Porter, captured the Nocton, a British packet, having on board fifty-five thousand dollars in specie. On the 29th of December the Constitution, under command of Commodore Bainbridge, met the Java on the coast of Brazil. A furious battle ensued, continuing for two hours. The Java was reduced to a wreck before the flag was struck. The crew and passengers, numbering upward of four hundred, were transferred to the Constitution, and the hull was burned at sea. The news of these victories roused the enthusiasm of the people.

18. On the 13th of October a thousand men, commanded by General Stephen Van Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara River to capture Queenstown. They were resisted at the water's edge; but the British batteries on the heights were finally carried. The enemy's forces, returning to the charge, were a second time repulsed. The Americans intrenched themselves, and waited for reinforcements. None came; and, after losing a hundred and sixty men, they were then obliged to surrender. General Van Rensselaer resigned his command, and was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth.

[Pg 227]

19. The Americans now rallied at Black Rock, a few miles north of Buffalo. From this point, on the 28th of November, a company was sent across to the Canada shore, but General Smyth ordered the advance party to return. A few days afterward, another crossing was planned, with the same results. The militia became mutinous. Smyth was charged with cowardice and deposed from his command. In the autumn of 1812 Madison was reelected President; the choice for Vice-president fell on Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts.

[Pg 228]

CHAPTER XXXIII.

War of 1812.—Events of 1813.

IN the beginning of 1813 the American army was organized in three divisions: the Army of the North, under General Wade Hampton; the Army of the Center, under General Dearborn; the Army of the West, under General Winchester, who was soon superseded by General Harrison. Early in January the Army of the West moved toward Lake Erie to regain the ground lost by Hull. On the 10th of the month the American advance reached the rapids of the Maumee, thirty miles from Winchester's camp. A detachment then pressed forward to Frenchtown, on the river Raisin, captured the town, and on the 20th of the month were joined by Winchester with the main division.

2. Two days afterwards the Americans were assaulted by a thousand five hundred British and Indians under General Proctor. A severe battle was fought. General Winchester, having been taken by the enemy, advised his forces to capitulate. The American wounded were left to the mercy of the savages, who at once completed their work of butchery. The rest of the prisoners were dragged away, through untold sufferings, to Detroit, where they were afterward ransomed.

3. General Harrison now built Fort Meigs, on the Maumee. Here he was besieged by two thousand British and savages, led by Proctor and Tecumtha. Meanwhile, General Clay, with twelve hundred Kentuckians, advanced to the relief of the fort. In a few days the Indians deserted in large numbers, and Proctor, becoming alarmed, abandoned the siege, and retreated to Malden.

[Pg 229]

4. Late in July Proctor and Tecumtha, with nearly four thousand men, again besieged Fort Meigs. Failing to draw out the garrison, the British general filed off with half his forces and attacked Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky. This place was defended by a hundred and sixty men under Colonel Croghan, a stripling but twenty-one years of age. On the 2d of August the British advanced to storm the fort. Having crowded into the trench, they were swept away almost to a man. The repulse was complete. Proctor now raised the siege at Fort Meigs and returned to Malden.

5. At this time Lake Erie was commanded by a British squadron of six vessels. The work of recovering these waters was intrusted to Commodore Oliver H. Perry. His antagonist, Commodore Barclay, was a veteran from Europe. With great energy Perry directed the construction of nine ships, and was soon afloat. On the 10th of September the two fleets met near Put-in Bay. The battle was begun by the American squadron, Perry's flag-ship, the Lawrence, leading the attack. His principal antagonist was the Detroit, under command of Barclay. The British guns had the wider range, and were better served. In a short time the Lawrence was ruined, and Barclay's flagship was almost a wreck.

6. Perceiving how the battle stood, Perry seized his banner, got overboard into an open boat, passed within pistol-shot of the enemy's ships, a storm of balls flying around him, and transferred his flag to the Niagara. With this powerful vessel he bore down upon the enemy's line, drove right through the midst, discharging terrible broadsides right and left. In fifteen minutes the British fleet was helpless. Perry returned to the hull of the Lawrence, and there received the surrender. And then he sent to General Harrison this dispatch: "We have met the enemy, and they are ours—two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop."

[Pg 230]

Fall of Tecumtha at the Battle of the Thames.

7. For the Americans the way was now opened to Canada. On the 27th of September Harrison's army was landed near Malden. The British retreated to the river Thames, and there faced about to fight. The battlefield extended from the river to a swamp. Here, on the 5th of October, the British were attacked by Generals Harrison and Shelby. In the beginning of the battle Proctor fled. The British regulars were broken by the Kentuckians under Colonel Richard M. Johnson. The Americans wheeled against the fifteen hundred Indians, who lay hidden in the swamp. Tecumtha had staked all on the issue. For a while his war-whoop sounded above the din of[Pg 231] the conflict. Presently his voice was heard no longer, for the great chieftain had fallen. The savages, appalled by the death of their leader, fled in despair. So ended the campaign in the West. All that Hull had lost was regained.

8. Meanwhile, the Creeks of Alabama had taken up arms. In the latter part of August, Fort Mims, forty miles north of Mobile, was surprised by the savages, who murdered nearly four hundred people. The governors of Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi made immediate preparation for invading the country of the Creeks. The Tennesseeans, under General Jackson, were first to the rescue. Nine hundred men, led by General Coffee, reached the Indian town of Tallushatchee, burned it, and left not an Indian alive. On the 8th of November a battle was fought at Talladega, and the savages were defeated with severe losses.

9. During the winter, Jackson's troops became mutinous and were going home. But the general set them the example of living on acorns, and threatened with death the first man who stirred from the ranks. And no man stirred. At Horseshoe Bend the Creeks made their final stand. On the 27th of March, the whites under General Jackson stormed the breastworks and drove the Indians into the bend of the river. There, huddled together, a thousand Creek warriors, with the women and children of the tribe, met their doom. The nation was completely conquered.

10. On the 25th of April, 1813, General Dearborn embarked his forces at Sackett's Harbor, and proceeded against Toronto. On the 27th of the month, seventeen hundred men, landing near Toronto, drove the British from the water's edge, stormed a battery, and rushed forward to carry the main defences. At that moment the British magazine blew up with terrific violence. Two hundred men were killed or wounded. General Pike was fatally injured; but the Americans continued the charge[Pg 232] and drove the enemy out of the town. Property to the value of a half million dollars was secured to the victors.

11. While this movement was taking place the enemy made a descent on Sackett's Harbor. But General Brown rallied the militia and drove back the assailants. The victorious troops at Toronto reembarked and crossed the lake to the mouth of the Niagara. On the 27th of May the Americans, led by Generals Chandler and Winder, stormed Fort George. The British retreated to Burlington Bay, at the western extremity of the lake.

12. After the battle of the Thames, General Harrison resigned his commission. General Dearborn was succeeded by General Wilkinson. The next campaign embraced the conquest of Montreal. On the 5th of November seven thousand men, embarking twenty miles north of Sackett's Harbor, sailed against Montreal. Parties of British, Canadians, and Indians, gathering on the bank of the river, impeded the expedition. General Brown was landed with a considerable force to drive the enemy into the interior. On the 11th of the month a severe but indecisive battle was fought at a place called Chrysler's Field. The Americans passed down the river to St. Regis, and went into winter quarters at Fort Covington.

13. In the mean time, the British on the Niagara rallied and recaptured Fort George. Before retreating, General McClure, the commandant, burned the town of Newark. The British and Indians crossed the river, took Fort Niagara, and fired the villages of Youngstown, Lewiston, and Manchester. On the 30th of December, Black Rock and Buffalo were burned.

14. Off the coast of Demerara, on the 24th of February, 1813, the sloop-of-war Hornet, commanded by Captain James Lawrence, fell in with the British brig Peacock. A terrible battle of fifteen minutes ensued, and the Peacock struck her colors. While the Americans were transferring the conquered crew, the brig[Pg 233] sank. Nine of the British sailors and three of Lawrence's men were drowned.

"Don't give up the Ship."

15. On returning to Boston the command of the Chesapeake was given to Lawrence, and again he put to sea. He was soon challenged by Captain Broke, of the British Shannon, to fight him. Eastward from Cape Ann the two vessels met on the 1st day of June. The battle was obstinate, brief, dreadful. In a short time, every officer of the Chesapeake was either killed or wounded. Lawrence was struck with a musket-ball,[Pg 234] and fell dying on the deck. As they bore him down the hatchway, he gave his last order—ever afterwards the motto of the American sailor—"Don't give up the ship!" The Shannon towed her prize into the harbor of Halifax. There the bodies of Lawrence and Ludlow, second in command, were buried by the British.

16. On the 14th of August the American brig Argus was overtaken by the Pelican and obliged to surrender. On the 5th of September the British brig Boxer was captured by the American Enterprise off the coast of Maine. On the 28th of the following March, while the Essex, commanded by Captain Porter, was lying in the harbor of Valparaiso, she was attacked by two British vessels, the Phœbe and the Cherub. Captain Porter fought his antagonists until nearly all of his men were killed or wounded; then struck his colors and surrendered.

17. From honorable warfare the naval officers of England stooped to marauding. Early in the year, Lewiston was bombarded by a British squadron. Other British men-of-war entered the Chesapeake and burned several villages on the shores of the bay. At the town of Hampton the soldiers and marines perpetrated great outrages. Commodore Hardy, to whom the blockade of New England had been assigned, behaved with more humanity. Even the Americans praised him for his honorable conduct. So the year 1813 closed without decisive results.

[Pg 235]

CHAPTER XXXIV.

The Campaigns of 1814.

IN the spring of 1814 another invasion of Canada was planned; but there was much delay. Not until the 3d of July did Generals Scott and Ripley, with three thousand men, cross the Niagara and capture Fort Erie. On the following day the Americans advanced in the direction of Chippewa village, but were met by the British, led by General Riall. On the evening of the 5th a severe battle was fought on the plain south of Chippewa Creek. The Americans, led on by Generals Scott and Ripley, won the day.

OPERATIONS ABOUT NIAGARA.

2. General Riall retreated to Burlington Heights. On the evening of the 25th of July, General Scott, commanding the American right, found himself confronted by Riall's army, on the high grounds in sight of Niagara Falls. Here was fought the hardest battle of the war. Scott held his own until reinforced by other divisions of the army. The British reserves were brought into action. Twilight faded into darkness. A detachment of Americans, getting upon the British rear, captured General Riall and his staff. The key to the enemy's position was a high ground crowned with a battery. Calling Colonel James Miller to his[Pg 236] side, General Brown said, "Colonel, take your regiment and storm that battery." "I'll try, sir," was Miller's answer; and he did take it, and held it against three assaults of the British. General Drummond was wounded, and the royal army, numbering five thousand, was driven from the field with a loss of more than eight hundred. The Americans lost an equal number.

Colonel Miller at Lundy's Lane.

3. After this battle of Niagara, or Lundy's Lane, the American forces fell back to Fort Erie. General Gaines crossed over from Buffalo, and assumed command of the army. General Drummond received reinforcements, and on the 4th of August invested Fort Erie. The siege continued until the 17th of September, when a sortie was made and the works of the British were carried. General Drummond then raised the siege and retreated to Fort George. On the 5th of November Fort Erie was destroyed by the Americans, who recrossed the[Pg 237] Niagara and went into winter quarters at Black Rock and Buffalo.

4. The winter of 1813-14 was passed by the army of the North at Fort Covington. At this time, the American fleet on Lake Champlain was commanded by Commodore McDonough. The British general Prevost now advanced into New York at the head of fourteen thousand men, and ordered Commodore Downie to ascend the Sorel with his fleet.

5. The invading army reached Plattsburgh. Commodore McDonough's squadron lay in the bay. On the 6th of September, Macomb retired with his forces to the south bank of the Saranac. For four days the British renewed their efforts to cross the river. Downie's fleet was now ready for action, and a general battle was planned for the 11th. Prevost's army was to carry Macomb's position, while the British flotilla was to bear down on McDonough. The naval battle began first, and was obstinately fought for two hours and a half. Downie and many of his officers were killed; the heavier British vessels were disabled and obliged to strike their colors. The smaller ships escaped. After a severe action, the British army on the shore was also defeated. Prevost retired precipitately to Canada; and the English ministry began to devise measures of peace.

6. Late in the summer Admiral Cochrane arrived off the coast of Virginia with an armament of twenty-one vessels. General Ross, with an army of four thousand veterans, came with the fleet. The American squadron, commanded by Commodore Barney, was unable to oppose so powerful a force. The enemy entered the Chesapeake with the purpose of attacking Washington and Baltimore. The larger division sailed into the Patuxent, and on the 19th of August, the forces of General Ross were landed at Benedict. Commodore Barney was obliged to blow up his vessels and take to the shore. From Benedict the British ad[Pg 238]vanced against Washington. At Bladensburg, six miles from the capital, they were met, on the 24th of the month, by the forces of Barney. Here a battle was fought. The militia behaved badly; Barney was defeated and taken prisoner. The President, the cabinet, and the people betook themselves to flight; and Ross marched unopposed into Washington. All the public buildings except the Patent Office were burned, together with many of the public archives. The unfinished Capitol and the President's house were left a mass of ruins.

7. Five days afterwards a portion of the British fleet reached Alexandria. The inhabitants purchased the forbearance of the enemy by the surrender of twenty-one ships, sixteen thousand barrels of flour, and a thousand hogsheads of tobacco. After the capture of Washington, General Ross proceeded with his army and fleet to lay siege to the city of Baltimore. The militia, to the number of ten thousand, gathered under command of General Samuel Smith. On the 12th of September the British were landed at the mouth of the Patapsco, and the fleet began the ascent of the river. The land-forces were met by the Americans under General Stricker. A skirmish ensued, in which General Ross was killed; but Colonel Brooks assumed command, and the march was continued. Near the city the British came upon the American lines and were brought to a halt.

8. Meanwhile the British squadron had ascended the Patapsco and begun the bombardment of Fort McHenry. From sunrise of the 13th until after midnight, the guns of the fleet poured a tempest of shells upon the fortress.[A] At the end of that time the works were as strong as at the beginning. The British had undertaken more than they could accomplish. Disheartened and baffled, they ceased to fire. The land-forces retired, and the siege of Baltimore was at an end.

9. On the 9th and 10th of August the village of Stonington, Connecticut, was bombarded by Commodore Hardy; but the British, attempting to land, were driven back. The fisheries of New England were broken up. The salt-works at Cape Cod escaped by the payment of heavy ransoms. All the harbors from Maine to Delaware were blockaded. The foreign commerce of the Eastern States was totally destroyed.

10. From the beginning, many of the people of New England had opposed the war. The members of the Federal party cried out against it. The legislature of Massachusetts advised the calling of a convention. The other Eastern States responded to the call; and on the 14th of December the delegates assembled at Hartford. The leaders of the Democratic party did not hesitate to say that the purposes of the assembly were disloyal and treasonable. After remaining in session, with closed doors, for nearly three weeks, the delegates published an address, and then adjourned. The political prospects of those who participated in the convention were ruined.

11. During the progress of the war the Spanish authorities of Florida sympathized with the British. In August of 1814 a British fleet was allowed by the commandant of Pensacola to use that post for the purpose of fitting out an expedition against Fort Bowyer, on the bay of Mobile. General Jackson, who commanded in the South, remonstrated with the Spaniards, but received no satisfaction. He thereupon marched a force against Pensacola, stormed the town, and drove the British out of Florida.

12. General Jackson next learned that the British were making preparations for the conquest of Louisiana. Repairing to New Orleans, he declared martial law, mustered the militia, and adopted measures for repelling the invasion. The British army, numbering twelve thousand, came from Jamaica, under Sir Edward Pakenham. On the 10th of December the[Pg 240] squadron entered Lake Borgne, sixty miles northeast of New Orleans.

The Battle of New Orleans.

13. On the 22d of the month Pakenham's advance reached the Mississippi, nine miles below the city. On the night of the 23d Generals Jackson and Coffee advanced with two thousand Tennessee riflemen to attack the British camp. After a bloody assault, Jackson was obliged to fall back to a strong position on the canal, four miles below the city. Pakenham advanced, and on the 28th cannonaded the American position. On New Year's day the attack was renewed, and the enemy was driven back. Pakenham now made arrangements for a general battle.

[Pg 241]

14. Jackson was ready. Earthworks had been constructed, and a long line of cotton-bales and sand-bags thrown up for protection. On the 8th of January the British moved forward. The battle began with the light of morning, and was ended before nine o'clock. Column after column of the British was smitten with irretrievable ruin. Jackson's men were almost entirely secure from the enemy's fire, while every discharge of the Tennessee and Kentucky rifles told with awful effect on the exposed veterans of England. Pakenham was killed; General Gibbs was mortally wounded. Only General Lambert was left to call the fragments of the army from the field. Of the British, seven hundred were killed, fourteen hundred wounded, and five hundred taken prisoners. The American loss amounted to eight killed and thirteen wounded.

15. General Lambert retired with his ruined army. Jackson marched into New Orleans and was received with great enthusiasm. Such was the close of the war on land. On the 20th of February the American Constitution, off Cape St. Vincent, captured two British vessels, the Cyane and the Levant. On the 23d of March the American Hornet ended the conflict, by capturing the British Penguin off the coast of Brazil.

16. Already a treaty of peace had been made. In the summer of 1814, American commissioners were sent to Ghent, in Belgium, and were there met by the ambassadors of Great Britain. The agents of the United States were John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin. On the 24th of December a treaty was agreed to and signed. In both countries the news was received with deep satisfaction. On the 18th of February the treaty was ratified by the Senate, and peace was publicly proclaimed.

17. The only significance of the treaty was that Great Britain and the United States agreed to be at peace. Not one of the issues, to decide which the war had been undertaken, was[Pg 242] even mentioned. Of the impressment of American seamen not a word was said. The wrongs done to the commerce of the United States were not referred to. Of "free trade and sailors' rights," the battle-cry of the American navy, no mention was made. The treaty was chiefly devoted to the settlement of unimportant boundaries and the possession of some small islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy.

18. The country was now burdened with a war-debt of one hundred million dollars. The monetary affairs of the nation were in a deplorable condition. The charter of the Bank of the United States expired in 1811, and the other banks had been obliged to suspend specie payment. Trade was paralyzed for the want of money. In 1816 a bill was passed by Congress to recharter the Bank of the United States. The President interposed his veto; but in the following session the bill was again passed in an amended form. On the 4th of March, 1817, the bank went into operation; and the business and credit of the country began to revive.

19. During the war with Great Britain the Algerine pirates renewed their depredations on American commerce. The government of the United States now ordered Commodore Decatur to proceed to the Mediterranean and chastise the sea-robbers into submission. After capturing two of their frigates he sailed into the Bay of Algiers, and obliged the frightened dey to make a treaty. The Moorish emperor released his American prisoners, relinquished all claims to tribute, and gave a pledge that his ships should trouble American merchantmen no more. Decatur next sailed against Tunis and Tripoli, compelled these states to give pledges of good conduct, and to pay large sums for former depredations.

20. The close of Madison's administration was signalized by the admission of Indiana into the Union. The new commonwealth[Pg 243] was admitted in December, 1816. About the same time was founded the Colonization Society of the United States. Many distinguished Americans became members of the association, the object of which was to provide a refuge for free persons of color. Liberia, in western Africa, was selected as the seat of the proposed colony. Immigrants arrived in sufficient numbers to found a flourishing negro State. The capital was named Monrovia, in honor of James Monroe, who, in the fall of 1816, was elected as Madison's successor. Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, was chosen Vice-president.

[Pg 244]

CHAPTER XXXV.

Monroe's Administration, 1817-1825.

James Monroe.

THE policy of Madison was adopted by his successor. The stormy times of the war gave place to many years of peace. The new President was a native of Virginia, a man of great talents and accomplishments. He had been a Revolutionary soldier, a member of Congress, governor of Virginia, envoy to France and England, and Secretary of State under Madison. The members of the cabinet were: John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State; William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury; John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War; William Wirt, Attorney-general. Statesmen of all parties devoted their energies to the payment of the national debt. Commerce soon revived; the government was economically administered, and in a few years the debt was honestly paid.

2. In December of 1817 Mississippi was organized and admitted into the Union. The new State came with a population of sixty-five thousand souls. At the same time the attention of the government was called to a nest of pirates on Amelia Island, off the coast of Florida. An armament was sent against them, and[Pg 245] the lawless establishment was broken up. Another company, on the island of Galveston, was also suppressed.

3. The question of internal improvements now began to be agitated. Without railroads and canals the products of the interior could never reach a market. Whether Congress had a right to vote money to make public improvements was a question of debate. Among the States, New York took the lead in improvements by constructing a canal from Buffalo to Albany. The cost of the work was nearly eight million dollars.

4. In 1817 the Seminole Indians of Georgia and Alabama became hostile. Some negroes and Creeks joined the savages in their depredations. General Jackson was ordered to reduce the Indians to submission. He mustered a thousand riflemen from Tennessee, and in the spring of 1818 completely overran the hostile country.

5. While on this expedition, Jackson took possession of St. Mark's. The Spanish troops stationed there were removed to Pensacola. Two Englishmen, named Arbuthnot and Ambrister, charged with inciting the Seminoles to insurrection, were tried by a court-martial and hanged. Jackson then captured Pensacola, and sent the Spanish authorities to Havana. The enemies of General Jackson condemned him for these proceedings, but the President and Congress justified his deeds. The king of Spain now proposed to cede Florida to the United States. On the 22d of February, 1819, a treaty was concluded at Washington City by which the whole province was surrendered to the American government. The United States agreed to relinquish all claim to Texas, and to pay to American citizens, for depredations committed by Spanish vessels, five million dollars.

6. In 1818 Illinois, the twenty-first State, was organized and admitted into the Union. The population of the new commonwealth was forty-seven thousand. In December of 1819 [Pg 246] Alabama was added, with a population of one hundred and twenty-five thousand. About the same time Arkansas Territory was organized. In 1820 the province of Maine was separated from Massachusetts and admitted into the Union. The population of the new State had reached two hundred and ninety-eight thousand. In August of 1821 Missouri, with a population of about seventy-four thousand souls, was admitted as the twenty-fourth member of the Union.

7. When the bill to admit Missouri was brought before Congress, a proposition was made to prohibit slavery in the new State. This was supported by the free States of the North, and opposed by the slaveholding States of the South. After long and angry debates the measure brought forward by Henry Clay, and known as the Missouri Compromise, was adopted. Its provisions were—first, the admission of Missouri as a slaveholding State; secondly, the division of the rest of the Louisiana purchase by the parallel of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes; thirdly, the admission of new States south of that line, with or without slavery, as the people might determine; fourthly, the prohibition of slavery in all the new States north of the dividing-line.

8. The President's administration grew into high favor with the people; and in 1820 he was reelected. As Vice-president, Mr. Tompkins was again chosen. The attention of the government was next called to a system of piracy which had sprung up in the West Indies. Early in 1822 an American fleet was sent thither, and more than twenty piratical ships were captured. In the following summer, Commodore Porter was dispatched with a larger squadron. The retreats of the sea-robbers were completely broken up.

9. About this time many of the countries of South America declared their independence of foreign nations. The people of the United States sympathized with the patriots of the [Pg 247] South. Henry Clay urged upon the government the duty of recognizing the South American republics. In March of 1822, a bill was passed by Congress embodying his views. In the President's message of 1823 the declaration was made that the American continents are not subject to colonization by any European power. This is the principle ever since known as the Monroe Doctrine.

Henry Clay.

10. In the summer of 1824 the venerated La Fayette, now aged and gray, revisited the land for whose freedom he had shed his blood. The patriots who had fought by his side came forth to greet him. In every city he was surrounded by a throng of shouting freemen. His journey through the country was a triumph. In September of 1825 he bade adieu to the people, and sailed for his native land. While Liberty remains, the name of La Fayette shall be hallowed.

11. In the fall of 1824 four candidates were presented for the presidency. John Quincy Adams was put forward as the candidate of the East; William H. Crawford, of Georgia, as the choice of the South; Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson as the favorites of the West. Neither candidate received a majority of the electoral votes, and the choice of President was referred to the House of Representatives. By that body Mr. Adams was elected. For Vice-president, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, was chosen by the electoral college.

[Pg 248]

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Adams's Administration, 1825-1829.

THE new President was a man of the highest attainments in literature and statesmanship. At the age of eleven years he accompanied his father, John Adams, to Europe. At Paris, and Amsterdam, and St. Petersburg the son continued his studies, and became acquainted with the politics of the Old World. In his riper years, he served as ambassador to the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, and England. He had also held the offices of United States Senator, and Secretary of State.

John Quincy Adams.

2. The new administration was a time of peace; but the spirit of party manifested itself with much violence. The adherents of General Jackson and Mr. Crawford united in opposition to the President. In the Senate the political friends of Mr. Adams were in the minority, and their majority in the lower House lasted for only one session. In his inaugural address the President strongly advocated the doctrine of internal improvements.

3. When, in the year 1802, Georgia relinquished her claim to Mississippi Territory, the general government agreed to purchase for the State all the Creek lands lying within her [Pg 249] borders. This pledge the United States had never fulfilled, and Georgia complained of bad faith. Finally, in March of 1826, a treaty was concluded between the Creek chiefs and the President, by which a cession of all their lands in Georgia was obtained. At the same time, the Creeks agreed to remove beyond the Mississippi.

4. On the 4th July, 1826—fifty years after the Declaration of Independence—John Adams, second President, and his successor, Thomas Jefferson, died. Both had lifted their voices for freedom in the days of the Revolution. One had written, and both had signed, the great Declaration. Both had lived to see their country's independence. Both had reached extreme old age: Adams was ninety; Jefferson, eighty-two.

5. The question of the tariff was much discussed in Congress at this time. By a tariff is understood a duty levied on imported goods. The object is—first, to produce a revenue for the government; and, secondly, to raise the price of the article on which the duty is laid, in order that the domestic manufacturer of the thing taxed may be able to compete with the foreign producer. When the duty is levied for the latter purpose it is called a protective tariff. Mr. Adams and his friends favored the tariff; and in 1828 protective duties were laid on fabrics made of wool, cotton, linen and silk; and those on articles manufactured of iron, lead, etc., were much increased.

6. With the fall of 1828, Mr. Adams, supported by Mr. Clay, was put forward for reelection. General Jackson appeared as the candidate of the opposition. In the previous election Jackson had received more electoral votes than Adams, but the House of Representatives had chosen the latter. Now the people had their way. Jackson was triumphantly elected, receiving one hundred and seventy-eight electoral votes against eighty-three for his opponent.

[Pg 250]

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Jackson's Administration, 1829-1837.

THE new President was a military hero—a man of great talents and inflexible honesty. His integrity was unassailable; his will like iron. He was one of those men for whom no toils are too arduous. His personal character was impressed upon his administration. At the beginning he removed nearly seven hundred office-holders and appointed in their stead his own political friends.

Andrew Jackson.

2. In his first message the President took ground against rechartering the Bank of the United States. He recommended that the old charter be allowed to expire by its own limitation in 1836. But the influence of the bank was very great; and in 1832 a bill to recharter was passed by Congress. The President opposed his veto; a two thirds majority in favor of the bill could not be secured, and the new charter failed.

3. In the congressional session of 1831-32, additional tariffs were levied upon goods imported from abroad. By this act the manufacturing districts were favored at the expense of the agricultural States. South Carolina was specially offended. Open resistance was threatened in case the officers should attempt to collect the revenues [Pg 251] at Charleston. In the United States Senate the right of a State to nullify an act of Congress was boldly proclaimed. On that question had already occurred the great debate between Colonel Hayne, senator from South Carolina, and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts.

Daniel Webster.

4. The President now took the matter in hand and issued a proclamation denying the right of a State to nullify the laws of Congress. But Mr. Calhoun, the Vice-president, resigned his office to accept a seat in the Senate, where he might defend the doctrines of his State. The President, having warned the South Carolinians, ordered a body of troops under General Scott to proceed to Charleston. The leaders of the nullifying party receded from their position, and bloodshed was avoided.

5. The lands of the Sacs and Foxes had been purchased by the government, but the Indians, influenced by the chief Black Hawk, refused to quit them. The government insisted that they fulfill their contract, and hostilities began in 1832. General Scott was sent with troops to Chicago to cooperate with General Atkinson. The latter waged a vigorous campaign, defeated the Indians, and made Black Hawk prisoner. The captive chief was taken to Washington and the great cities of the East. Returning to his own people, he advised them to make peace. The warriors abandoned the disputed lands and retired into Iowa.

[Pg 252]

6. Difficulties also arose with the Cherokees of Georgia—the most civilized of all the Indian nations. The President recommended the removal of the Cherokees to lands beyond the Mississippi. The Indian Territory was accordingly set apart in 1834. The Indians yielded with great reluctance. More than five million dollars was paid them for their lands. At last General Scott was ordered to remove them; and during the years 1837-38, the Cherokees were transferred to their new homes in the West.

7. More serious was the conflict with the Seminoles. The trouble arose from an attempt to remove the tribe beyond the Mississippi. Hostilities began in 1835, and continued for four years. Osceola and Micanopy, chiefs of the nation, denied the validity of a former cession of Seminole lands. General Thompson was obliged to arrest Osceola and put him in irons. The chief then gave his assent to the old treaty, and was liberated, but immediately entered into a conspiracy to slaughter the whites.

8. Major Dade, with a hundred and seventeen men, was now dispatched to reinforce General Clinch at Fort Drane, seventy-five miles from St. Augustine. Dade's forces fell into an ambuscade, and all except one man were massacred. On the same day Osceola, with a band of warriors, surrounded a storehouse where General Thompson was dining, and killed him and four of his companions.

9. In two successive engagements in December and February the Seminoles were repulsed. In October Governor Call of Florida, with two thousand men, overtook the savages in the Wahoo Swamp, near the scene of Dade's massacre. Here the Indians were again defeated and driven into the Everglades.

10. In the mean time, the President had put an end to the Bank of the United States. After vetoing the bill to recharter that institution, he conceived that the surplus funds which had accumulated in its vaults had better be distributed among the States. Accordingly, in October of 1833 he ordered the[Pg 253] funds of the bank, amounting to ten million dollars, to be distributed among certain State banks designated for that purpose. The financial panic of 1836-37, following soon afterward, was attributed by the Whigs to the destruction of the national bank and the removal of the funds. But the adherents of the President replied that the panic was attributable to the bank itself.

11. In 1834 the strong will of the chief magistrate was brought into conflict with France. In 1831 the French king had agreed to pay five million dollars for injuries formerly done to American commerce. But the government of France neglected the payment until the President recommended to Congress to make reprisals on French merchantmen. This measure had the desired effect, and the indemnity was paid. Portugal was brought to terms in a similar manner.

12. In June of 1836, Arkansas, with a population of seventy thousand, was admitted into the Union. In the following January, Michigan Territory was organized as a State and added to the Republic. The new commonwealth brought a population of one hundred and fifty-seven thousand. In the autumn of 1836 Martin Van Buren was elected President. As to the Vice-presidency, no one secured a majority, and the choice devolved on the Senate. By that body Colonel Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky was chosen.

[Pg 254]

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Van Buren's Administration, 1837-1841.

MARTIN Van Buren, eighth President, was born at Kinderhook, New York, on the 5th of December, 1782. After receiving a limited education he became a student of law. In 1821 he was chosen United States Senator. Seven years afterward he was elected governor of New York, and was then appointed Minister to England. From that important mission he returned to accept the office of Vice-president.

Martin Van Buren.

2. One of the first duties of the new administration was to finish the Seminole War. In the fall, Osceola came to the American camp with a flag of truce; but he was suspected of treachery, seized and sent a prisoner to Fort Moultrie, where he died. The Seminoles, however, continued the war. In December Colonel Zachary Taylor, with a thousand men, marched into the Everglades of Florida, and overtook the savages near Lake Okeechobee. A hard battle was fought, and the Indians were defeated. For more than a year Taylor continued to hunt them through the swamps. In 1839 a treaty was signed, and the Seminoles were slowly removed to the West.

[Pg 255]

3. In 1837 the country was afflicted with a serious monetary panic. The preceding years had been a time of great prosperity. A surplus of nearly forty million dollars, in the national treasury, had been distributed among the States. Owing to the abundance of money, the credit system was greatly extended. The banks of the country were multiplied to seven hundred. Vast issues of irredeemable paper money increased the opportunities for fraud.

4. The bills of these unsound banks were receivable for the public lands. Seeing that the government was likely to be defrauded out of millions, President Jackson issued an order, called the Specie Circular, by which the land agents were directed to receive nothing but coin in payment for the lands. The effects of this circular followed in the first year of Van Buren's administration. The banks suspended specie payment. In the spring of 1837, the failures in New York and New Orleans amounted to one hundred and fifty million dollars.

5. When Congress convened in the following September, a bill authorizing the issue of ten millions of dollars in treasury notes was passed as a temporary expedient. More important by far was the measure proposed by the President under the name of the Independent Treasury Bill, by which the public funds were to be kept in a treasury established for that special purpose. It was the President's plan thus to separate the business of the United States from the general business of the country.

6. The Independent Treasury Bill was at first defeated, but in the following regular session of Congress the bill was again brought forward and adopted. During the year 1838 the banks resumed specie payments. But trade was less vigorous than before. Discontent prevailed; and the administration was blamed with everything.

7. In the after part of 1837 a portion of the people of Canada attempted to establish their independence. The insurgents [Pg 256] found sympathy in the United States. Seven hundred men from New York seized and fortified Navy Island, in the Niagara River. The loyalists of Canada, however, succeeded in firing the Caroline, the supply ship of the adventurers, cut her moorings, and sent the burning vessel over Niagara Falls. For a while the peaceful relations of the United States and Great Britain were endangered. But the President issued a proclamation of neutrality, forbidding further interference with the affairs of Canada.

8. Mr. Van Buren became a candidate for reelection, and received the support of the Democratic party. The Whigs put forward General Harrison. The canvass was one of the most exciting in the history of the country. Harrison was elected. After controlling the government for forty years, the Democratic party was temporarily overthrown. For Vice-president, John Tyler of Virginia was chosen.

[Pg 257]

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Administrations of Harrison and Tyler, 1841-1845.

William H. Harrison. John Tyler.

PRESIDENT Harrison was a Virginian by birth, the adopted son of Robert Morris. He was graduated at Hampden-Sidney College, and afterwards entered the army of St. Clair. He became governor of Indiana Territory, which office he filled with great ability. He began his duties as President by calling a special session of Congress. An able cabinet was organized, with Daniel Webster as Secretary of State. Everything promised well for the new Whig administration; but before Congress could convene, the President, now sixty-eight years of age, fell sick, and died just one month after his inauguration. On the 6th of April Mr. Tyler became President of the United States.

[Pg 258]

2. He was a statesman of considerable distinction; a native of Virginia; a graduate of William and Mary College. In 1825 he was elected governor of Virginia, and from that position he was sent to the Senate of the United States. He had been put upon the ticket with General Harrison through motives of expediency; for although a Whig in political principles, he was known to be hostile to the United States Bank.

3. One of the first measures of the new Congress was the repeal of the Independent Treasury Bill. A bankrupt law was then passed for the relief of insolvent business men. The next measure was the rechartering of the Bank of the United States. A bill for that purpose was brought forward and passed; but the President interposed his veto. Again the bill received the assent of both Houses, only to be rejected by the executive. By this action a rupture was produced between the President and the party which had elected him. All the members of the cabinet, except Mr. Webster, resigned their offices.

4. A difficulty now arose with Great Britain about the northeastern boundary of the United States. Since the treaty of 1783 that boundary had been in question. Lord Ashburton, on the part of Great Britain, and Mr. Webster, on the part of the United States, were called upon to settle the dispute. They performed their work in a manner honorable to both nations; and the present boundary was established.

5. In the next year, the country was vexed with a domestic trouble in Rhode Island. By the terms of the old charter of that State the right of suffrage was restricted to property-holders. A proposition was now agreed upon to change the constitution, but in respect to the manner of annulling the old charter there was a division.

6. In 1842 the "law and order party," under Governor King, undertook to suppress the "suffrage party" under Thomas W. Dorr. The latter resisted, and made an attempt to capture the State[Pg 259] arsenal. But the militia drove the assailants away. Dorr was arrested, tried for treason, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. He was set at liberty again in 1845.

7. About the same time, a difficulty occurred with the Mormons. Under the leadership of Joseph Smith, they first settled in Missouri. But the people of Missouri opposed them. The militia was called out, and the Mormons crossed into Illinois, and laid out the city of Nauvoo. But serious troubles soon arose with the people of Illinois. Smith and his brother were arrested and lodged in jail. In 1844 a mob broke open the jail doors and killed the prisoners. Two years later the Mormons resolved to leave the States. They made a toilsome march to the far West; crossed the Rocky Mountains; reached the Great Salt Lake; and founded Utah Territory.

Fall of Crockett in the Alamo.

8. Meanwhile, a great agitation had arisen in regard to Texas. From 1821 to 1836 this vast territory had been a province of Mexico. In the year 1835 the Texans raised the standard of rebellion. In a battle at Gonzales, a thousand Mexicans[Pg 260] were defeated by a Texan force of five hundred. On the 6th of March, 1836, the Texan fort Alamo was surrounded by eight thousand Mexicans, led by Santa Anna. The garrison was overpowered and massacred. The daring David Crockett was one of the victims of the butchery. In the next month was fought the decisive battle of San Jacinto, which gave to Texas her independence.

9. Texas now asked to be admitted into the Union. At first the proposition was declined by President Van Buren. In 1844 the question of annexation was again agitated; and on that question the people divided in the presidential election. The annexation was favored by the Democrats, and opposed by the Whigs. James K. Polk of Tennessee was put forward as the Democratic candidate; while the Whigs chose their favorite leader, Henry Clay. The former was elected; for Vice-president, George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania was chosen.

10. On the 29th of May, 1844, the news of the nomination of Mr. Polk was sent from Baltimore to Washington by the Magnetic Telegraph. It was the first dispatch ever so transmitted; and the event marks an era in the history of civilization. The inventor of the telegraph, which has proved so great a blessing to mankind, was Professor Samuel F. B. Morse of Massachusetts. Perhaps no other invention has exercised so beneficent an influence on the welfare of the human race.

11. When Congress convened in December of 1844, a bill to annex Texas to the United States was brought forward, and, on the first of the following March, was passed. The President immediately gave his assent; and, on the 29th of December, Texas took her place in the Republic. On the 3d of March in this year, bills for the admission of Florida and Iowa were also signed; but the latter State was not formally admitted until December 28th, 1846.

[Pg 261]

CHAPTER XL.

Polk's Administration and the Mexican War, 1845-49.

PRESIDENT Polk was a native of North Carolina. In boyhood he removed with his father to Tennessee, and in 1839 rose to the position of governor of that State. At the head of his cabinet he placed James Buchanan of Pennsylvania.

2. A war with Mexico was at hand. On the 4th of July, 1845, the Texan legislature ratified the act of annexation. The Mexican minister at Washington immediately left the country. The authorities of Texas sent an urgent request to the President to dispatch an army for their protection. Accordingly, General Zachary Taylor was ordered to march thither from Louisiana. Texas claimed the Rio Grande as her western limit, while Mexico was determined to have the Nueces as the separating line. The government of the United States resolved to support the claim of Texas. General Taylor was sent to the mouth of the Nueces, and in January, 1846, he moved forward to the mouth of the Rio Grande, and built Fort Brown.

James K. Polk.

3. On the 26th of April a company of American dragoons was attacked by the Mexicans, east of the Rio Grande, and [Pg 262] was obliged to surrender. This was the first bloodshed of the war. General Taylor hastened to Point Isabel and strengthened the defenses. This done, he set out with a provision-train and an army of two thousand men to return to Fort Brown. Meanwhile, the Mexicans had crossed the Rio Grande and taken a position at Palo Alto. On the 8th of May the Americans came in sight and joined battle. After a severe engagement the Mexicans were driven from the field.

4. On the following day General Taylor resumed his march, and came upon the Mexicans again at a place called Resaca de la Palma. Here the enemy fought better than on the previous day. The American lines were severely galled until Captain May's dragoons charged through a storm of grape-shot, rode over the Mexican batteries, and captured La Vega, the commanding general. The Mexicans, abandoning their guns, fled in a general rout.

5. When the news from the Rio Grande was borne through the Union, the war spirit was everywhere aroused. On the 11th of May, 1846, Congress made a declaration of war. The President was authorized to accept fifty thousand volunteers, and ten million dollars was placed at his disposal. Nearly three hundred thousand men rushed forward to enter the ranks.

6. The American forces were organized in three divisions: the Army of the West, under General Kearny, to cross the Rocky Mountains against the northern Mexican provinces; the Army of the Center, under General Scott as commander-in-chief, to march from the Gulf coast into the heart of the enemy's country; the Army of Occupation, under General Taylor, to hold the districts on the Rio Grande.

7. Ten days after the battle of Resaca de la Palma General Taylor captured Matamoras, and in August laid siege to [Pg 263] Monterey. On the 21st of September the Americans carried the heights in the rear of the town. The Bishop's Palace was taken by storm on the following day. On the 23d the city was successfully assaulted in front. The American storming parties charged into the town; hoisted the victorious flag of the Union; turned upon the buildings where the Mexicans were concealed; charged up dark stairways to the flat roofs of the houses; and drove the enemy to a surrender.

John Charles Fremont.

8. General Santa Anna was now called home from Havana to take the presidency of Mexico. A Mexican army of twenty thousand men was sent into the field. General Taylor again moved forward, and on the 15th of November captured the town of Saltillo. Victoria, a city in the province of Tamaulipas, was taken by General Patterson.

9. In June of 1846 the Army of the West, led by General Kearny, set out from Fort Leavenworth for the conquest of New Mexico and California. After a wearisome march he reached Santa Fé, and on the 18th of August captured the city. With four hundred dragoons Kearny continued his march toward the Pacific coast to find that California had already been subdued.

10. For four years Colonel John C. Fremont had been exploring the country west of the Rocky Mountains. In California he[Pg 264] received dispatches informing him of the war with Mexico, and began to urge the people of California to declare their independence. A campaign was begun to overthrow the Mexican authority. Meanwhile, Commodore Sloat had captured the town of Monterey, on the coast. A few days afterward Commodore Stockton took San Diego. Before the end of summer the whole of California was subdued. On the 8th of January, 1847, the Mexicans were decisively defeated in the battle of San Gabriel, by which the authority of the United States was completely established.

11. General Scott now arrived in Mexico and ordered the Army of Occupation to join him on the Gulf for the conquest of the capital. This left Taylor and Wool in a critical condition at Monterey; for Santa Anna was advancing against them with twenty thousand men. General Taylor was able to concentrate at Saltillo an effective force of but four thousand eight hundred. At the head of this small army he chose a battlefield at Buena Vista. On the 23d of February the battle began. Against tremendous odds the field was fairly won by the Americans. The Mexicans, having lost nearly two thousand men, made a precipitate retreat.

12. On the 9th of March, 1847, General Scott, with twelve thousand men, landed to the south of Vera Cruz, and invested the city. On the morning of the 22d a cannonade was begun. On the waterside, Vera Cruz was defended by the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa. For four days the bombardment continued without cessation. An assault was already planned, when the authorities of the city proposed capitulation. On the 27th the American flag was raised over Vera Cruz.

13. The route to the capital was now open. On the 12th of the month General Twiggs came upon Santa Anna, with fifteen thousand men, on the heights of Cerro Gordo. On the 18th, the American army advanced to the assault; and before noon[Pg 265]day every position of the Mexicans had been successfully stormed. Nearly three thousand prisoners were taken, together with forty-three pieces of bronze artillery.

Operations in Mexico.

14. On the next day the victorious army entered Jalapa. The strong castle of Perote was taken without resistance. Turning southward, General Scott next entered the ancient city of Puebla, no opposition being encountered. Scott here waited for reinforcements from Vera Cruz. On the 7th of August General Scott began his march upon the capital. The army swept through the passes of the Cordilleras to look down on the Valley of Mexico.

15. The city of Mexico could be approached only by causeways leading across marshes and the beds of bygone lakes. At the ends of these causeways were massive gates strongly defended. To the left were Contreras, San Antonio, and Molino del Rey. Directly in front were the powerful defences of Churubusco and Chapultepec.

16. On the 20th of August Generals Pillow and Twiggs stormed the Mexican position at Contreras. A few hours afterwards General Worth carried San Antonio. General Pillow led[Pg 266] a column against one of the heights of Churubusco; and after a terrible assault the position was carried. General Twiggs stormed another height of Churubusco. Still another victory was achieved by Generals Shields and Pierce, who defeated Santa Anna's reserves.

Scott's Army Entering the City of Mexico.

17. On the morning after the battles the Mexican authorities came out to negotiate. General Scott rejected their proposals. On the 8th of September General Worth stormed the[Pg 267] western defences of Chapultepec, and on the 13th that citadel itself was carried by storm.

18. On the following morning forth came a deputation from the city to beg for mercy; but General Scott, tired of trifling, turned them away with contempt. "Forward!" was the order that rang along the lines at sunrise. The war-worn regiments swept into the famous city, and at seven o'clock the flag of the Union floated over the halls of the Montezumas.

19. On leaving his capital, Santa Anna turned about to attack the hospitals at Puebla. Here eighteen hundred sick men had been left in charge of Colonel Childs. A gallant resistance was made by the garrison, until General Lane, on his march to the capital, fell upon the besiegers and scattered them. It was the closing stroke of the war.

20. The military power of Mexico was completely broken. In the winter of 1847-48, American ambassadors met the Mexican Congress at Guadalupe Hidalgo, and on the 2d of February a treaty was concluded. By the terms of settlement the boundary-line between Mexico and the United States was established on the Rio Grande from its mouth to the southern limit of New Mexico; thence westward along the southern, and northward along the western boundary of that territory to the Gila; thence down that river to the Colorado; thence westward to the Pacific. New Mexico and Upper California were relinquished to the United States. Mexico guaranteed the free navigation of the Gulf of California and the river Colorado. The United States agreed to surrender all places in Mexico, to pay that country fifteen million dollars, and to assume all debts due from Mexico to American citizens.

21. A few days after the signing of the treaty, a laborer, employed by Captain Sutter on the American fork of Sacramento River, in California, discovered some pieces of gold in the sand. The news went flying to the ends of the world. Men thousands of miles away were crazed with excitement. From[Pg 268] all quarters adventurers came flocking. Before the end of 1850, San Francisco had grown to be a city of fifteen thousand inhabitants. In September of that year, California was admitted into the Union; and by the close of 1852, the State had a population of more than a quarter of a million.

22. In 1848 Wisconsin was admitted into the Union. The new commonwealth came with a population of two hundred and fifty thousand. Another presidential election was already at hand. General Lewis Cass, of Michigan, was nominated by the Democrats, and General Zachary Taylor by the Whigs. As the candidate of the new Free Soil party, ex-President Martin Van Buren was put forward. The memory of his recent victories in Mexico made General Taylor the favorite with the people, and he was elected by a large majority. As Vice-president, Millard Fillmore, of New York, was chosen.

[Pg 269]

CHAPTER XLI.

Administrations of Taylor and Fillmore, 1849-1853.

THE new President was a Virginian by birth, a soldier by profession. During the war of 1812 he distinguished himself in the Northwest. In the Seminole War he bore a part, but earned his greatest renown in Mexico. His administration began with a violent agitation on the question of slavery in the territories.

2. In his first message the President advised the people of California to prepare for admission into the Union. The advice was promptly accepted. A convention was held at Monterey in September of 1849. A constitution prohibiting slavery was framed, submitted to the people, and adopted.

Zachary Taylor.

3. When the question of admitting California came before Congress the members were sectionally divided. The admission of the new State was favored by the representatives of the North, and opposed by those of the South. The latter claimed that, with the extension of the Missouri Compromise to the Pacific, the right to introduce slavery into California was guaranteed by the general government, and that therefore the pro[Pg 270]posed constitution of the State ought to be rejected. The reply of the North was that the Missouri Compromise had respect only to the Louisiana purchase, and that the Californians had framed their constitution in their own way.

4. Other questions added fuel to the controversy. Texas claimed New Mexico as a part of her territory, and the claim was resisted by the people of Santa Fé. The people of the South complained that fugitive slaves were aided and encouraged in the North. The opponents of slavery demanded the abolition of the slave-trade in the District of Columbia.

Millard Fillmore.

5. Henry Clay appeared as a peacemaker. On the 9th of May, 1850, he brought forward, as a compromise, the Omnibus Bill, of which the provisions were as follows: first, the admission of California as a free State; second, the formation of new States, not exceeding four in number, out of Texas, said States to permit or exclude slavery as the people should determine; third, the organization of territorial governments for New Mexico and Utah, without conditions as to slavery; fourth, the establishment of the present boundary between Texas and New Mexico; fifth, the enactment of a stringent law for the recovery of fugitive slaves; sixth, the abolition of the slave-trade in the District of Columbia.

6. When the Omnibus Bill was laid before Congress, the debates broke out anew. While the discussion was at its height, President Taylor fell sick, and died on the 9th of July, 1850. Mr. Fillmore at once took the oath of office and entered upon[Pg 271] the duties of the Presidency. A new cabinet was formed, with Daniel Webster at the head as Secretary of State.

7. On the 18th of September the compromise proposed by Mr. Clay was adopted, and received the sanction of the President. The excitement in the country rapidly abated, and the controversy seemed at an end. Shortly afterwards Mr. Clay bade adieu to the Senate, and sought at Ashland a brief rest from the cares of public life.

8. The year 1850 was marked by an attempt of some American adventurers to conquer Cuba. It was thought that the Cubans were anxious to annex themselves to the United States. General Lopez organized an expedition in the South, and on the 19th of May, 1850, effected a landing in Cuba. But there was no uprising in his favor; and he was obliged to return to Florida. Renewing the attempt, he and his band were defeated and captured by the Spaniards. Lopez and the ringleaders were taken to Havana and executed.

9. In 1852 a serious trouble arose with England. By the terms of former treaties the coast-fisheries of Newfoundland belonged to Great Britain. But, outside of a line drawn three miles from the shore, American fishermen enjoyed equal rights. A quarrel now arose as to how the line should be drawn across the bays and inlets; and both nations sent men-of-war to the contested waters. But in 1854 the difficulty was settled happily by negotiation; and the right to take fish in the bays of the British possessions was conceded to American fishermen.

10. During the summer of 1852 the Hungarian patriot Louis Kossuth made a tour of the United States. He came to plead the cause of Hungary before the American people, and was everywhere received with expressions of sympathy and good-will. But the policy of the United States forbade the government to interfere on behalf of the Hungarian patriots.

11. The attention of the American people was next directed to explorations in the Arctic Ocean. In 1845 Sir John Franklin, [Pg 272] a brave English seaman, went on a voyage of discovery to the North. Years went by, and no tidings came from the daring sailor. Other expeditions were sent in search, but returned without success. In 1853 an Arctic squadron was equipped, the command of which was given to Dr. Elisha Kent Kane; but the expedition returned without the discovery of Franklin.

12. During the administrations of Taylor and Fillmore, many distinguished men fell by the hand of death. On the 31st of March, 1850, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina passed away. His death was much lamented, especially in his own State, to whose interests he had devoted the energies of his life. Then followed the death of the President; and then, on the 28th June, 1852, the great Henry Clay sank to rest. On the 24th of the following October, Daniel Webster died at his home at Marshfield, Massachusetts. The office of Secretary of State was then conferred on Edward Everett.

13. The political parties again marshaled their forces. Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire appeared as the candidate of the Democratic party, and General Winfield Scott as the choice of the Whigs. The question at issue before the country was the Compromise Act of 1850. Both the Whig and Democratic platforms stoutly reaffirmed the doctrines of the Omnibus Bill. A third party arose, however, whose members declared that all the Territories of the United States ought to be free. John P. Hale of New Hampshire was put forward as the candidate of this Free Soil party. Mr. Pierce was elected by a large majority, and William R. King of Alabama was chosen Vice-president.

[Pg 273]

CHAPTER XLII.

Pierce's Administration, 1853-1857.

THE new chief magistrate was a native of New Hampshire, a graduate of Bowdoin College, and a statesman of considerable abilities. On account of ill health, Mr. King, the Vice-president, was sojourning in Cuba. Growing more feeble, he returned to Alabama, where he died in April, 1853. William L. Marcy of New York was chosen as Secretary of State.

Franklin Pierce.

2. In 1853 a corps of engineers was sent out to explore the route for a Pacific Railroad. The enterprise was at first regarded as visionary and impossible. In the same year, the southwestern boundary was settled, by purchase of the claim of Mexico. The territory thus acquired is known as the Gadsden Purchase.

3. In the same year intercourse was opened between the United States and Japan. Hitherto the Japanese ports had been closed against the vessels of Christian nations. In order to remove this restriction, Commodore Perry sailed into the Bay of Yeddo, and prepared the way for a treaty, by which the privileges of commerce were granted to American merchantmen.

[Pg 274]

4. On the very day of Perry's introduction to the Emperor, the Crystal Palace was opened in New York for the World's Fair. The palace was built of iron and glass. Specimens of the arts and manufactures of all nations were put on exhibition within the building.

5. In January of 1854, Senator Douglas of Illinois brought forward a proposition to organize Kansas and Nebraska. A clause was inserted in the bill providing that the people of the territories should decide for themselves whether the new States should be free or slaveholding. This was a repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1821. After several months' debate, Mr. Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Bill, was finally passed.

6. Whether Kansas should admit slavery now depended upon the vote of the people. The territory was soon filled with an agitated mass of people, thousands of whom had been sent thither to vote. In the elections of 1854-55, the pro-slavery party was triumphant. The State Legislature at Lecompton framed a constitution permitting slavery. The Free Soil party, declaring the elections to have been illegal, assembled at Topeka, and framed a constitution excluding slavery. Civil war broke out between the factions. The hostile parties were quieted, but the agitation extended to all parts of the Union. The Kansas question became the issue in the presidential election of 1856.

7. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania was nominated as the Democratic candidate. He planted himself on the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and secured a heavy vote both North and South. As the candidate of the Free Soil or People's party, John C. Fremont of California was brought forward. The exclusion of slavery from all the Territories was the principle of the Free Soil platform. The American or Know Nothing party nominated Millard Fillmore. Mr. Buchanan was elected by a large majority, while the choice for the Vice-presidency fell on John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky.

[Pg 275]

CHAPTER XLIII.

Buchanan's Administration, 1857-1861.

JAMES Buchanan was a native of Pennsylvania, born on the 13th of April, 1791. In 1831 he was appointed Minister to Russia, was afterwards senator of the United States, and Secretary of State under President Polk. In 1853 he received the appointment of Minister to Great Britain. As Secretary of State in the new cabinet, General Lewis Cass of Michigan was chosen.

2. In the first year of Buchanan's administration, serious trouble occurred with the Mormons concerning the enforcement of the authority of the United States over Utah. An army was sent to the Territory in 1857 to compel obedience. For awhile the Mormons resisted; but when the President proclaimed a pardon to all who would submit, they yielded; and order was restored.

James Buchanan.

3. The 5th of August, 1858, was noted for the completion of the FIRST TELEGRAPHIC CABLE across the Atlantic. The success of this great work was due to the genius of Cyrus W. Field of New York. The cable was stretched from Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, to Valencia Bay, Ireland. After successful operation for a few weeks the cable ceased to work. In 1858 Minnesota was added to the [Pg 276] Union. The population of the new State was a hundred and fifty thousand. In the next year, Oregon, the thirty-third State, was admitted, with a population of forty-eight thousand.

4. The slavery question continued to vex the nation. In 1857 the Supreme Court of the United States, after hearing the cause of Dred Scott, formerly a slave, decided that negroes are not and can not become citizens. Thereupon, in several of the free States, Personal Liberty Bills were passed, to defeat the Fugitive Slave Law. In the fall of 1859, John Brown of Kansas, with a party of twenty-one daring men, captured the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and held his ground for two days. The national troops were called out to suppress the revolt. Thirteen of Brown's men were killed, two made their escape, and the rest were captured. The leader and his six companions were tried by the authorities of Virginia, condemned and hanged.

5. In the presidential canvass of 1860 the candidate of the Republican party was Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. The distinct principle of this party was opposition to the extension of slavery. In April the Democratic convention assembled at Charleston; but the Southern delegates withdrew from the assembly. The rest adjourned to Baltimore and chose Douglas as their standard-bearer. There, also, the delegates from the South reassembled in June, and nominated John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The American party chose as their candidate John Bell of Tennessee. The contest resulted in the election of Mr. Lincoln.

6. The leaders of the South had declared that the choice of Lincoln for the presidency would be a just cause for the dissolution of the Union. A majority of the cabinet, and a large number of senators and representatives in Congress, were advocates of disunion. It was seen that all the departments of the government would shortly pass under the control of the Re[Pg 277]publican party. President Buchanan was not himself a disunionist; but he declared himself not armed with the constitutional power to prevent secession by force.

7. On the 17th of December, 1860, a convention met at Charleston, and after three days passed a resolution that the union hitherto existing between South Carolina and the other States was dissolved. The sentiment of disunion spread with great rapidity. By the first of February, 1861, six other States—Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas—had all passed ordinances of secession. Nearly all the senators and representatives of those States resigned their seats in Congress and gave themselves to the disunion cause.

8. In the secession conventions a few of the speakers denounced disunion as bad and ruinous. In the convention of Georgia, Alexander H. Stephens delivered a powerful oration in which he defended the theory of secession, but urged that the measure was impolitic, unwise, disastrous.

9. On the 4th of February, 1861, delegates from six of the seceded States assembled at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new government, called the Confederate States of America. On the 8th, the government was organized by the election of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, as provisional President, and Alexander H. Stephens, as Vice-president. A few days previous a peace conference met at Washington, and proposed certain amendments to the Constitution. But Congress gave little heed; and the conference adjourned.

10. The country seemed on the verge of ruin. The army was on remote frontiers—the fleet in distant seas. With the exception of Forts Sumter, Moultrie, Pickens, and Monroe, all the important posts in the seceded States had been seized by the Confederate authorities. Early in January, the President sent the Star of the West to reinforce Fort Sumter. But the ship was fired on, and not allowed to land.

[Pg 278]

Review Questions.—Part V.

CHAPTER XXIX.

• 1. Give an account of the inauguration of the first President, and of the organization of his Cabinet.
• 2. Outline the important measures of Washington's first and of his second Administration.
• 3. Tell about the troubles with the Miami Indians.
• 4. What difficulty with Great Britain arose during the second Administration, and how was it adjusted?

CHAPTER XXX.

• 5. Sketch the Administration of the second President, and give the relations existing at this time between the United States and France.
• 6. Tell about the "Alien" and "Sedition" laws.

CHAPTER XXXI.

• 7. Give an account of the election of Thomas Jefferson, and of the changes that took place in the early part of his Administration.
• 8. Give an account of the organization of Indiana Territory, and also of the Louisiana Purchase.
• 9. Tell the story of Aaron Burr and his treason.
• 10. Tell of the British claim to the "right of search," and of the immediate results in America.

CHAPTER XXXII.

• 11. Give an account of the election of President Madison, and of our relations with Great Britain.
• 12. Follow the Indian war in the Territory of Indiana.
• 13. Outline the movements, by land and by sea, of the opening campaign of the war of 1812.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

• 14. Describe the organization of the American army and the war movements of 1813.

[Pg 279]

CHAPTER XXXIV.

• 15. Give the campaigns of 1814 and their results.
• 16. Tell about the treaty of peace, also state what had been the causes of the war, and how the treaty affected the points in dispute.
• 17. State the condition of monetary affairs in the United States, and the measures that were adopted in their interest.

CHAPTER XXXV.

• 18. What characterized the Administration of James Monroe?
• 19. Give an account of the affairs in Florida, and of the cession of that territory by Spain to the United States.
• 20. Tell about the "Missouri Compromise," and the "Monroe Doctrine."

CHAPTER XXXVI.

• 21. Give the principal features of the peaceful Administration of John Quincy Adams.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

• 22. Give an account of President Jackson, and of his treatment of the nullification doctrines that were brought forward in his time.
• 23. Tell of the Indian affairs of these years, and of their adjustment.
• 24. Describe the bank questions that now arose.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

• 25. Outline the Administration of Martin Van Buren, and especially the measures adopted to settle the monetary questions.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

• 26. Sketch the Administrations of Harrison and Tyler.
• 27. Tell the story of the Mormons.
• 28. Give an account of the affairs of Texas, and its admission into the Union as a State.

CHAPTER XL.

• 29. What was the issue upon which President Polk was elected, and what were the great events of his term of office?
• 30. Follow the course of the Mexican war, giving its causes, prominent generals, leading events, and results.
• 31. Give an account of the treaty with Mexico.
• 32. Tell about the affairs in California, and the discovery of gold.

[Pg 280]

CHAPTER XLI.

• 33. State how the discussions of the slavery question were reopened by the admission of California into the Union, and tell of the "Omnibus Bill."
• 34. Give an account of the Arctic expeditions of this period.

CHAPTER XLII.

• 35. Give an account of the leading measures of President Pierce's Administration, and of the general progress of the nation.
• 36. What issues were prominent in the election of 1856?

CHAPTER XLIII.

• 37. Tell of the civil and political affairs of the first three years of Buchanan's Administration.
• 38. Give an account of the political campaign of 1860, and the results of the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency.

[Pg 281]

Part VI.

THE CIVIL WAR.

CHAPTER XLIV.

Lincoln's Administration.—The Beginning of the War.

ABRAHAM Lincoln was a native of Kentucky, born on the 12th of February, 1809. At the age of seven he was taken to southern Indiana, where his boyhood was passed in poverty and toil. On reaching his majority he removed to Illinois, where he distinguished himself as a lawyer. He gained a national reputation in 1858, when, as the competitor of Stephen A. Douglas, he canvassed Illinois for the United States Senate.

Abraham Lincoln.

2. The new cabinet was organized with William H. Seward of New York as Secretary of State. Salmon P. Chase of Ohio was chosen Secretary of the Treasury, and Simon Cameron, Secretary of War; but he was soon succeeded by Edwin M. Stanton. The secretaryship of the navy[Pg 282] was conferred on Gideon Welles. In his inaugural address, the President declared his purpose to repossess the forts and public property which had been seized by the Confederates. On the 12th of March, a futile effort was made by the seceded States to obtain recognition from the national government. Then followed a second attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter.

3. The defences of Charleston were held by seventy-nine men under Major Robert Anderson. With this small force he retired to Fort Sumter. Confederate volunteers flocked to the city, and batteries were built about the harbor. The authorities of the Confederate States determined to anticipate the movement of the government by compelling Anderson to surrender. On the 11th of April, General P. T. Beauregard, commandant of Charleston, sent a flag to Sumter, demanding an evacuation. Major Anderson replied that he should defend the fortress. On the following morning the first gun was fired from a Confederate battery; and a bombardment of thirty-four hours' duration followed. The fort was obliged to capitulate. The honors of war were granted to Anderson and his men.

4. Three days after the fall of Sumter the President issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers to serve three months. Two days later Virginia seceded from the Union. On the 6th of May, Arkansas followed, and then North Carolina, on the 20th of the month. In Tennessee there was a powerful opposition to disunion, and it was not until the 8th of June that a secession ordinance could be passed. In Missouri the movement resulted in civil war, while in Kentucky the authorities issued a proclamation of neutrality. The people of Maryland were divided into hostile parties.

5. On the 19th of April, when the Massachusetts volunteers were passing through Baltimore, they were fired upon by the citizens and three men killed. This was the first bloodshed of [Pg 283] the war. On the day previous, a body of Confederate soldiers captured the armory of the United States at Harper's Ferry. On the 20th of the month another company obtained possession of the great navy yard at Norfolk. The property thus captured amounted to fully ten millions of dollars. On the 3d of May the President issued a call for eighty-three thousand soldiers to serve for three years or during the war. General Winfield Scott was made commander-in-chief. War ships were sent to blockade the Southern ports. In the seceded States there was boundless activity. The Southern Congress adjourned from Montgomery, to meet on the 20th of July, at Richmond. There Mr. Davis and the officers of his cabinet had assembled to direct the affairs of the government. So stood the antagonistic powers in the beginning of June, 1861. It is appropriate to look briefly into the Causes of the conflict.

[Pg 284]

CHAPTER XLV.

Causes of the Civil War.

THE most general cause of the civil war in the United States was the different construction put upon the Constitution by the people of the North and of the South. A difference of opinion existed as to how that instrument was to be understood. One party held that the Union of the States is indissoluble; that the States are subordinate to the central government; that the acts of Congress are binding on the States; and that all attempts at nullification and disunion are disloyal and treasonable. The other party held that the national Constitution is a compact between sovereign States; that for certain reasons the Union may be dissolved; that the sovereignty of the nation belongs to the individual States; that a State may annul an act of Congress; that the highest allegiance of the citizen is due to his own State; and that nullification and disunion are justifiable and honorable.

2. This question struck into the very heart of the government. It threatened to undo the whole civil structure of the United States. In the earlier history of the country the doctrine of State sovereignty was most advocated in New England. Afterwards the people of that section passed over to the advocacy of national sovereignty, while the people of the South took up the doctrine of State rights. As early as 1831 the right of nullifying an act of Congress was openly advocated in South Carolina. Thus it happened that the belief in State sovereignty became more prevalent in the South than in the North.

[Pg 285]

3. A second cause of the civil war was the different system of labor in the North and in the South. In the former section the laborers were freemen; in the latter, slaves. In the South the theory was that capital should own labor; in the North that both labor and capital are free. In the beginning all the colonies had been slaveholding. In the Eastern and Middle States the system of slave-labor had been abolished. In the Northwestern Territory slavery was excluded from the beginning. Thus there came to be a dividing line drawn through the Union. Whenever the question of slavery was agitated, a sectional division would arise between the North and the South. The danger arising from this source was increased by several subordinate causes.

4. The first of these was the invention of the Cotton Gin to replace hand-labor in separating the fiber from the seeds of the cotton plant. It was invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, of Massachusetts, and through its immediate adoption cotton suddenly became the most profitable of all the staples. In proportion to the increased profitableness of cotton, slave-labor grew in demand and slavery became an important and deep-rooted institution.

5. From this time onward, there was constant danger of disunion. In the Missouri Agitation of 1820-21, threats of dissolving the Union were freely made in both the North and the South. When the Missouri Compromise was enacted, it was the hope of Mr. Clay and his fellow-statesmen to save the Union by removing the slavery question from politics.

6. Next came the Nullification Acts of South Carolina. The Southern States had become cotton-producing; the Eastern States had given themselves to manufacturing. The tariff measures favored manufacturers at the expense of producers. Mr. Calhoun proposed to remedy the evil by annulling the laws of Congress; and another compromise was found necessary in order to allay the animosities which had been awakened.

[Pg 286]

7. The Annexation of Texas led to a renewal of the agitation. Those who opposed the Mexican War did so because of the fact that thereby slavery would be extended. Whether the territory acquired should be made into free or slaveholding States was the question next agitated. This led to the Omnibus Bill, by which the excitement was again allayed.

8. In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Bill opened the question anew. Meanwhile, the character of the Northern and the Southern people had become quite different. In population and wealth the North had far outgrown the South. In 1860 Mr. Lincoln was elected by the votes of the Northern States. The people of the South were exasperated at the choice of a chief-magistrate whom they regarded as hostile to their interests.

9. The third general cause of the war was the want of intercourse between the people of the North and the South. The great railroads ran east and west. Between the North and the South there was little travel. From want of acquaintance the people became estranged, jealous, and suspicious.

10. A fourth cause was the publication of sectional books. During the twenty years preceding the war, many works were published whose popularity depended on the animosity existing between the two sections. In such books the manners and customs of one section were held up to the contempt of the people of the other section. In the North the belief was fostered that the South was given up to inhumanity; while in the South the opinion prevailed that the Northern people were a mean race of cowardly Yankees.

11. The evil influence of demagogues may be cited as the fifth general cause of the war. From 1850 to 1860, American statesmanship and patriotism were at a low ebb. Ambitious and scheming politicians had obtained control of the political parties. The welfare of the country was put aside as of little value. In order to gain power, many unprincipled men in the South were anxious[Pg 287] to destroy the Union, while others in the North were willing to abuse the Union for the same purpose.

12. Added to all these causes was a growing public opinion in the North against the institution of slavery itself; a belief that slavery was wrong and ought to be destroyed. This opinion, comparatively feeble at the beginning of the war, was rapidly developed, and had much to do in determining the final character of the conflict.

[Pg 288]

CHAPTER XLVI.

Events of 1861.

ON the 24th of May the Union army crossed the Potomac from Washington to Alexandria. At this time Fortress Monroe was held by twelve thousand men, under General B. F. Butler. At Bethel Church, in that vicinity, was stationed a detachment of Confederates. On the 10th of June, a body of Union troops was sent to dislodge them, but was repulsed with considerable loss.

Vicinity of Manassas Junction, 1861.

2. In the last of May, General T. A. Morris moved forward from Parkersburg to Grafton, West Virginia. On the 3d of June he defeated a force of Confederates at Phillippi. General George B. McClellan now took the command, and on the 11th of July gained a victory at Rich Mountain. On the 10th of August, General Floyd, with a detachment of Confederates at Carnifex Ferry, was attacked by General William S. Rosecrans and obliged to retreat. On the 14th of September the Confederates, under General Robert E. Lee, were beaten in an engagement at Cheat Mountain.

[Pg 289]

3. In the beginning of June, General Robert Patterson marched against Harper's Ferry. On the 11th of the month a division commanded by Colonel Lewis Wallace made a successful onset upon the Confederates at Romney. Patterson then crossed the Potomac and pressed back the Confederate forces to Winchester. Thus far there had been only petty engagements and skirmishes. The time had now come for the first great battle of the war.

4. The main body of the Confederates, under General Beauregard, was concentrated at Manassas Junction, twenty-seven miles west of Alexandria. Another large force, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, was in the Shenandoah Valley. The Union army at Alexandria was commanded by General Irwin McDowell, while General Patterson was stationed in front of Johnston. On the 16th of July the national army moved forward, and on the morning of the 21st came upon the Confederate army between Bull Run and Manassas Junction. A general battle ensued, continuing with great severity until noonday. In the crisis of the conflict General Johnston arrived with nearly six thousand fresh troops from the Shenandoah Valley; and in a short time McDowell's army was hurled back in rout and confusion into the defenses of Washington. The Union loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners amounted to two thousand nine hundred and fifty-two; that of the Confederates to two thousand and fifty.

5. Meanwhile, on the 20th of July, the new Confederate government was organized at Richmond. Jefferson Davis, the President, was a man of wide experience in the affairs of state, and considerable reputation as a soldier. He had served in both houses of the national Congress, and as a member of Pierce's cabinet. His decision of character and advocacy of State rights had made him a natural leader of the South.

6. The next military movements were made in Missouri. A convention, called by Governor Jackson in the previous March, [Pg 290] had refused to pass an ordinance of secession. But the disunionists were numerous and powerful; and the State became a battlefield. Both Federal and Confederate camps were organized. By capturing the United States arsenal at Liberty, the Confederates obtained a supply of arms and ammunition.

7. They hurried up troops, also, from Arkansas and Texas in order to secure the lead mines in the southwest part of the State. On the 17th of June Lyon defeated Governor Jackson at Booneville, and on the 5th of July the Unionists, led by Colonel Franz Sigel, were again successful in a fight at Carthage. On the 10th of August a hard battle was fought at Wilson's Creek, near Springfield. General Lyon made a daring attack on the Confederates under Generals McCulloch and Price. The Federals at first gained the field, but General Lyon was killed, and his men retreated.

8. General Price now pressed northward to Lexington, which was defended by two thousand six hundred Federals, commanded by Colonel Mulligan. A stubborn defence was made, but Mulligan was obliged to capitulate. On the 16th of October Lexington was retaken by the Federals. General John C. Fremont followed the retreating Confederates as far as Springfield, when he was superseded by General Hunter. The latter retreated to St. Louis, and Price fell back toward Arkansas.

9. The Confederates captured the town of Columbus in Kentucky, and also gathered in force at Belmont, on the opposite bank of the Mississippi. Colonel Ulysses S. Grant, with three thousand Illinois troops, was now sent into Missouri. On the 7th of November he made a successful attack on Belmont; but was afterwards obliged to retreat.

10. After the rout at Bull Run, troops were rapidly hurried to Washington. The aged General Scott retired from active duty, and General McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac. By October his[Pg 291] forces had increased to a hundred and fifty thousand men. On the 21st of that month two thousand troops were sent across the Potomac at Ball's Bluff. Without proper support, the Federals were attacked by a force of Confederates under General Evans, driven to the river, their leader, Colonel Baker, killed, and the whole force routed with a loss of eight hundred men.

11. In the summer of 1861 a naval expedition proceeded to the North Carolina coast, and on the 29th of August captured the forts at Hatteras Inlet. On the 7th of November an armament, under Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont and General Thomas W. Sherman, reached Port Royal, and captured Forts Walker and Beauregard. The blockade became so rigorous that communication between the Confederate States and foreign nations was cut off. In this juncture of affairs, a serious difficulty arose with Great Britain.

George B. McClellan.

12. The Confederate government appointed James M. Mason and John Slidell as ambassadors to France and England. The envoys, escaping from Charleston, reached Havana in safety. At that port they took passage on the British steamer Trent for Europe. On the 8th of November the vessel was overtaken by the United States frigate San Jacinto, commanded by Captain Wilkes. The Trent was hailed and boarded; the two ambassadors were seized, transferred to the San Jacinto, and carried to Boston. When the Trent reached England, the whole kingdom burst out in a blaze of wrath.

[Pg 292]

13. At first the government of the United States was disposed to defend Captain Wilkes's action. Had such a course been taken, war with Great Britain would have been inevitable. The country was saved from the peril by the diplomacy of William H. Seward, the Secretary of State. When Great Britain demanded reparation for the insult, and the liberation of the prisoners, he replied in a mild, cautious, and very able paper. It was conceded that the seizure of Mason and Slidell was not justifiable according to the law of nations. An apology was made for the wrong done; the Confederate ambassadors were liberated, put on board a vessel, and sent to their destination. So ended the first year of the civil war.

[Pg 293]

CHAPTER XLVII.

Campaigns of 1862.

THE Federal forces now numbered about four hundred and fifty thousand men. Of these nearly two hundred thousand, under General McClellan, were encamped near Washington. Another army, commanded by General Buell, was stationed at Louisville, Kentucky.

2. At the beginning of the year the capture of Fort Henry on the Tennessee and Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland, was planned by General Halleck. Commodore Foote was sent up the Tennessee with a fleet of gunboats, and General Grant was ordered to move forward against Fort Henry. Before the land-forces reached that place, the flotilla compelled the evacuation of the fort, the Confederates escaping to Donelson.

3. The Federal gunboats now dropped down the Tennessee and then ascended the Cumberland. Grant pressed on from Fort Henry, and began the siege of Fort Donelson. The defences were manned by ten thousand Confederates, under General Buckner. Grant's force numbered nearly thirty thousand. On the 16th of February Buckner was obliged to surrender. His army became prisoners of war, and all the magazines, stores, and guns of the fort fell into the hands of the Federals.

4. General Grant now ascended the Tennessee to Pittsburg Landing. A camp was established at Shiloh Church, near the river; and here, on the 6th of April, the Union army was attacked by the Confederates, led by Generals Albert S. Johnston and Beauregard. All day long the battle raged with great slaughter on both sides. Night fell on the scene with the conflict un[Pg 294]decided; but in the crisis General Buell arrived with strong reinforcements. In the morning General Grant assumed the offensive. General Johnston had been killed, and Beauregard was obliged to retreat to Corinth. The losses in killed, wounded, and missing were more than ten thousand on each side.

5. After the Confederates evacuated Columbus, Kentucky, they fortified Island Number Ten in the Mississippi, opposite New Madrid. Against this place General Pope advanced with a body of Western troops, while Commodore Foote descended the Mississippi with his gunboats. Pope captured New Madrid; and for twenty-three days Island Number Ten was besieged. On the 7th of April the Confederates attempted to escape; but Pope had cut off the retreat, and the garrison, numbering five thousand, was captured. On the 6th of June the city of Memphis was taken by the fleet of Commodore Davis.

6. Early in the year General Curtis pushed forward into Arkansas, and took position at Pea Ridge, among the mountains. Here he was attacked on the 6th of March by a Confederate force of twenty thousand men, which included a large number of Indians from the adjacent Indian Territory. A hard-fought battle ensued, lasting for two days, in which the Federals were victorious.

7. After the destruction of the navy yard at Norfolk, the Confederates had raised the frigate Merrimac, one of the sunken ships, and plated the sides with iron. The vessel was then sent to attack the Union fleet at Fortress Monroe. Reaching that place on the 8th of March, the Merrimac began the work of destruction; and two valuable vessels, the Cumberland and the Congress, were sent to the bottom. During the night, however, a strange ship, called the Monitor, invented by Captain John Ericsson, arrived from New York; and on the following morning the two iron-clad monsters turned their enginery[Pg 295] upon each other. After fighting for five hours, the Merrimac was obliged to retire to Norfolk, badly damaged.

Merrimac and Monitor.

8. On the 8th of February a Federal squadron attacked the Confederate fortifications on Roanoke Island. The garrison, nearly three thousand strong, were taken prisoners. Burnside next proceeded against Newbern, and on the 14th of March captured the city. Proceeding southward, he reached the harbor of Beaufort, and on the 25th of April took possession of the town.

9. On the 11th of the same month Fort Pulaski, at the mouth of the Savannah, surrendered to General Gillmore. Early in April, a powerful squadron, under General Butler and Admiral Farragut, ascended the Mississippi and attacked Forts Jack[Pg 296]son and St. Philip, thirty miles above the Gulf. From the 18th to the 24th the fight continued without cessation. At the end of that time Admiral Farragut succeeded in running past the batteries. On the next day he reached New Orleans, and captured the city. General Butler became commandant, and the fortifications were manned with fifteen thousand Federal soldiers. Three days afterwards, Forts Jackson and St. Philip surrendered to Admiral Porter.

10. The Confederates now invaded Kentucky, in two strong divisions, the one led by General Kirby Smith and the other by General Bragg. On the 30th of August Smith's army reached Richmond, and routed the Federals stationed there, with heavy losses. Lexington was taken, and then Frankfort; and Cincinnati was saved from capture only by the exertions of General Wallace. Meanwhile, the army of General Bragg advanced from Chattanooga, and on the 17th of September captured a Federal division of four thousand five hundred men at Mumfordsville. The Confederate general pressed on toward Louisville, and would have taken the city but for the arrival of General Buell. Buell's army was increased to one hundred thousand men. In October he again took the field, and on the 8th of the month overtook General Bragg at Perryville. Here a severe but indecisive battle was fought; and the Confederates, laden with spoils, continued their retreat into east Tennessee.

11. On the 19th of September a hard battle was fought at Iuka, between a Federal army, under Generals Rosecrans and Grant, and a Confederate force, under General Price. The latter was defeated, losing, in addition to his killed and wounded, nearly a thousand prisoners. Rosecrans now took post at Corinth with twenty thousand men; while Grant, with the remainder of the Federal forces, proceeded to Jackson, Tennessee. Generals Van Dorn and Price turned about to[Pg 297] recapture Corinth. There, on the 3d of October, another severe battle ensued, which ended, after two days' fighting, in the repulse of the Confederates.

12. In December General Sherman dropped down the river from Memphis to the Yazoo. On the 29th of the month he made an unsuccessful attack on the Confederates at Chickasaw Bayou. The assault was exceedingly disastrous to the Federals, who lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners more than three thousand men.

13. General Rosecrans was now transferred to the command of the Army of the Cumberland, with headquarters at Nashville. General Bragg, on his retirement from Kentucky, had thrown his forces into Murfreesborough. Rosecrans moved forward, and on the 30th of December came upon the Confederates on Stone's River, a short distance northwest of Murfreesborough. On the following morning a furious battle ensued, continuing until nightfall. The Union army was brought to the verge of ruin. But during the night Rosecrans rallied his forces, and at daybreak was ready to renew the conflict. On that day there was a lull. On the morning of the 2d of January Bragg's army again rushed to the onset, gained some successes at first, was then checked, and finally driven back with heavy losses. Bragg withdrew his shattered columns, and filed off toward Chattanooga.

14. In Virginia the first scenes of the year were enacted in the Shenandoah Valley. General Banks was sent forward with a strong division, and in the last of March occupied the town of Harrisonburg. To counteract this movement, Stonewall Jackson was sent with twenty thousand men to pass the Blue Ridge and cut off Banks's retreat. At Front Royal, the Confederates fell upon the Federals, routed them, and captured their guns and stores. Banks succeeded, however, in passing with his main division to Strasburg and escaping out of the valley.

[Pg 298]

15. Jackson now found himself in great peril, for General Fremont had been sent into the valley to intercept the Confederate retreat. But he succeeded in reaching Cross Keys before Fremont could attack him. The battle at Cross Keys was not decisive, and Jackson pressed on to Port Republic, where he attacked and defeated the division of General Shields.

Vicinity of Richmond, 1862.

16. On the 10th of March the Army of the Potomac set out from the camps about Washington to capture the Confederate capital. The advance proceeded as far as Manassas Junction, where McClellan, changing his plan, embarked a hundred and twenty thousand of his men for Fortress Monroe. From that place, on the 4th of April, the Union army advanced to Yorktown. This place was defended by ten thousand Confederates, under General Magruder; and here McClellan's advance was delayed for a month. On the 4th of May, Yorktown was taken and the Federal army pressed on to West Point. McClellan reached the Chickahominy without serious resistance, and crossed at Bottom's Bridge.

17. On the 10th of May General Wool, the commandant of Fortress Monroe, led an expedition against Norfolk and captured the town. On the next day the Confederate iron-clad Virginia was blown up to save her from capture. The James River was thus opened for the supply-transports of [Pg 299] the Army of the Potomac. On the 31st of May that army was attacked at a place called Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines. Here for a part of two days the battle raged with great fury. At last the Confederates were driven back; but McClellan's victory was by no means decisive. General Joseph E. Johnston, the commander-in-chief of the Confederates, was severely wounded; and the command devolved on General Robert E. Lee.

Robert E. Lee.

18. McClellan now formed the design of retiring to a point on the James below Richmond. Before the movement fairly began, General Lee, on the 25th of June, struck the right wing of the Union army at Oak Grove, and a hard-fought battle ensued. On the next day another engagement occurred at Mechanicsville, and the Federals won the field. On the following morning Lee renewed the struggle at Gaines's Mill, and came out victorious. On the 29th McClellan's army was attacked at Savage's Station and again in the White Oak Swamp—but the Confederates were kept at bay. On the 30th was fought the desperate battle of Glendale, or Frazier's Farm. On that night the Federal army reached Malvern Hill, twelve miles below Richmond. General Lee determined to carry the place by storm. On the morning of the 1st of July the whole Confederate army rushed forward to the assault. All day long the struggle for the possession of the high grounds continued. Not until nine o'clock at night did Lee's columns fall back[Pg 300] exhausted. For seven days the roar of battle had been heard almost without cessation.

19. On the 2d of July McClellan retired with his army to Harrison's Landing, a few miles down the river; and the great campaign was at an end. The Federal army had lost more than fifteen thousand men, and the losses of the Confederates had been still greater.

20. General Lee now formed the design of capturing the Federal capital. The Union troops between Richmond and Washington were under command of General John Pope. Lee moved northward, and, on the 20th of August, Pope retreated beyond the Rappahannock. Meanwhile, General Banks was attacked by Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain, where nothing but hard fighting saved the Federals from a rout.

21. Jackson next dashed by with his division, on a flank movement to Manassas Junction, where he made large captures. Pope then threw his army between the two divisions of the Confederates. On August 28th and 29th, there was terrible fighting on the old Bull Run battle-ground. At one time it seemed that Lee's army would be defeated; but Pope's reinforcements were withheld by General Porter, and on the 31st the Confederates struck the Union army at Chantilly, winning a complete victory. Pope withdrew his broken columns as rapidly as possible, and found safety within the defences of Washington.

22. General Lee crossed the Potomac, and on the 6th of September captured Frederick. On the 10th Hagerstown was taken, and on the 15th Stonewall Jackson seized Harper's Ferry, with nearly twelve thousand prisoners. On the previous day, there was a hard-fought engagement at South Mountain, in which the Federals were victorious. McClellan's army was now in the rear of Lee, who fell back to Antietam Creek and took a strong position near Sharpsburg. Then followed two days of skirmishing, which[Pg 301] terminated on the 17th in one of the great battles of the war. From morning until night the struggle continued with unabated violence, and ended in a drawn battle, after a loss of more than ten thousand men on each side. Lee withdrew his forces from the field and recrossed the Potomac.

23. General McClellan moved forward to Rectortown, Virginia. Here he was superseded by General Burnside, who changed the plan of the campaign, and advanced against Fredericksburg. At this place the two armies were again brought face to face. Burnside's movement was delayed, and it was not until the 12th of December that a passage could be effected. Meanwhile, the heights south of the river had been fortified, and the Union columns were hurled back in several desperate assaults which cost the assailants more than twelve thousand men. Thus in disaster to the Federal cause ended the campaigns of 1862.

[Pg 302]

CHAPTER XLVIII.

The Events of 1863.

THE war had now grown to enormous proportions. The Confederate States were draining every resource of men and means. The superior energies of the North were greatly taxed. On the day after the battle of Malvern Hill, President Lincoln issued a call for three hundred thousand troops. During Pope's retreat from the Rappahannock he sent forth another call for three hundred thousand, and to that was added a draft of three hundred thousand more. Most of these demands were promptly met, and it became evident that in resources the Federal government was vastly superior to the Confederacy.

2. On the 1st day of January, 1863, the President issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The war had been begun with no well-defined intention to free the slaves of the South. But during the progress of the war the sentiment of abolition had grown with great rapidity; and when at last it became a military necessity to strike a blow at the labor-system of the South, the step was taken with but little opposition. Thus, after an existence of two hundred and forty-four years, African slavery in the United States was swept away.

3. Early in January General Sherman dispatched an expedition to capture Arkansas Post, on the Arkansas River. The Union forces reached their destination on the 10th of the month, fought a battle with the Confederates and gained a victory. On the next day the post was surrendered with nearly five thousand prisoners.

4. Soon afterwards the Union forces were concentrated for the capture of Vicksburg. Three months were spent by Gen[Pg 303]eral Grant in beating about the bayous around Vicksburg, in the hope of getting a position in the rear of the town. A canal was cut across a bend in the river with a view to opening a passage for the gunboats. But a flood washed the works away. Then another canal was begun, only to be abandoned. Finally, it was determined to run the fleet past the Vicksburg batteries. On the night of the 16th of April the boats dropped down the river. All of a sudden the guns of the enemy burst forth with shot and shell, pelting the passing steamers; but they went by with little damage.

5. General Grant now marched his land-forces down the Mississippi and formed a junction with the squadron. On the 1st day of May he defeated the Confederates at Port Gibson. The evacuation of Grand Gulf followed immediately. The Union army now swept around to the rear of Vicksburg. On the 12th of May a Confederate force was defeated at Raymond. On the 14th of the month a decisive battle was fought near Jackson; the Confederates were beaten, and the city captured. General Pemberton, sallying forth with his forces from Vicksburg, was defeated by Grant on the 16th at Champion Hills, and again on the 17th at Black River Bridge. Pemberton then retired within the defences of Vicksburg.

Vicksburg and Vicinity, 1863.

6. The city was now besieged. On the 19th of May Grant made an assault, but was repulsed with terrible losses. Three[Pg 304] days afterwards the attempt was renewed with a still greater destruction of life. But the siege was pressed with ever-increasing severity. Admiral Porter bombarded the town incessantly. Reinforcements swelled the Union ranks. Pemberton held out until the 4th of July, and was then driven to surrender. The defenders of Vicksburg, numbering thirty thousand, became prisoners of war. Thousands of small arms, hundreds of cannon, and vast quantities of ammunition and stores were the fruits of the great victory.

7. Meanwhile, General Banks had been conducting a campaign on the Lower Mississippi. From Baton Rouge he advanced into Louisiana, and gained a victory over the Confederates at Bayou Teche. He then moved northward and besieged Port Hudson, the last fort held by the Confederates on the Mississippi. The garrison made a brave defence; and it was not until the 8th of July that the commandant, with his force of six thousand men, was obliged to capitulate.

8. In the latter part of June Rosecrans succeeded in crowding General Bragg out of Tennessee. The Union general followed and took post at Chattanooga, on the left bank of the Tennessee. During the summer Bragg was reinforced by the corps of Johnston and Longstreet.

9. On the 19th of September he turned upon the Federals at Chickamauga Creek, in the northwest angle of Georgia. A hard battle was fought, but night came with the victory undecided. On the following morning the fight was renewed. Bragg cut through the Union battle line and drove the right wing into a rout. General Thomas, with desperate firmness, held the left until nightfall, and then withdrew into Chattanooga. The Union loss amounted to nearly nineteen thousand, and that of the Confederates was even greater.

MAP SHOWING STATES IN SECESSION during the CIVIL WAR

10. General Bragg pressed forward to besiege Chattanooga. But General Hooker arrived with two corps from the Army of the Potomac, opened the Tennessee River, and brought relief. [Pg 305] At the same time General Grant assumed the direction of affairs at Chattanooga. General Sherman arrived with his division, and offensive operations were at once renewed. On the 24th of November Lookout Mountain, overlooking the town and river, was stormed by the division of General Hooker. On the following day, Missionary Ridge was also carried, and Bragg's army fell back in full retreat toward Ringgold.

A Truce in the Trenches.

11. On the 1st of September General Burnside arrived with his command at Knoxville. After the battle of Chickamauga General Longstreet was sent into East Tennessee, where he arrived and began the siege of Knoxville. On the 29th of November the Confederates attempted to carry the town by storm, but were repulsed with heavy losses. General Sherman soon marched to the relief of Burnside; and Longstreet retreated into Virginia.

[Pg 306]

12. Early in 1863 the Confederates resumed activity in Arkansas and southern Missouri. On the 8th of January they attacked Springfield, but were repulsed. Several other attempts were made with similar results. On the 13th of August Lawrence, Kansas, was sacked, and a hundred and forty persons killed, by a band of desperate fellows, led by a chieftain called Quantrell. On the 10th of September the Federal general Steele captured Little Rock, Arkansas.

13. In the summer of this year General John Morgan made a great raid through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. He crossed the Ohio at Brandenburg, and began his march to the north. At Corydon and other points he was resisted by the home guards and pursued by General Hobson. Morgan crossed into Ohio, made a circuit north of Cincinnati, and attempted to recross the river. But the raiders were driven back. The Confederate leader pressed on until he came near New Lisbon, where he was captured by the brigade of General Shackelford. After a four months' imprisonment Morgan escaped and made his way to Richmond.

14. On the 1st of January General Magruder captured Galveston, Texas. By this means the Confederates secured a port of entry in the Southwest. On the 7th of April Admiral Du Pont, with a fleet of iron-clads, attempted to capture Charleston, but was driven back. In June the city was besieged by a strong land-force, under General Q. A. Gillmore, assisted by Admiral Dahlgren's fleet. After the bombardment had continued for some time, General Gillmore, on the 18th of July, attempted to carry Fort Wagner by assault, but was repulsed with severe loss. The siege progressed until the 6th of September, when the Confederates evacuated the fort and retired to Charleston. Gillmore now brought his guns to bear on the wharves and buildings in the lower part of the city. But Charleston still held[Pg 307] out; and the only gain of the Federals was the establishment of a complete blockade.

15. After his repulse at Fredericksburg, General Burnside was superseded by General Joseph Hooker, who, in the latter part of April, crossed the Rappahannock and reached Chancellorsville. Here, on the morning of the 2d of May, he was attacked by the Army of Northern Virginia, led by Lee and Jackson. The latter general, at the head of twenty-five thousand men, outflanked the Union army, burst upon the right wing, and swept everything to destruction. But it was the last of Stonewall Jackson's battles. As night came on the Confederate leader received a volley from his own lines, and fell to rise no more.

Stonewall Jackson.

16. On the 3d the battle was renewed. General Sedgwick was defeated and driven across the Rappahannock. The main army was crowded between Chancellorsville and the river, where it remained until the 5th, when General Hooker succeeded in withdrawing his forces to the northern bank. The Union losses amounted in killed, wounded, and prisoners to about seventeen thousand; that of the Confederates was less by five thousand.

17. Next followed the cavalry raid of General Stoneman. On the 29th of April he crossed the Rappahannock with ten thousand men, tore up the Virginia Central Railroad, cut General Lee's communications, swept around within a few[Pg 308] miles of Richmond, and then recrossed the Rappahannock in safety.

18. General Lee now determined to carry the war into the North. In the first week of June he crossed the Potomac, and captured Hagerstown. On the 22d he entered Chambersburg, and then pressed on through Carlisle to within a few miles of Harrisburg. The militia of Pennsylvania was called out, and volunteers came pouring in from other States. General Hooker pushed forward to strike his antagonist. General Lee rapidly concentrated his forces near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On the eve of battle the command of the Union army was transferred to General George G. Meade, who took up a position on the hills around Gettysburg. Here the two armies, each numbering about eighty thousand men, were brought face to face.

19. On the 1st of July the struggle began, and for three days the conflict raged. The battle reached its climax on the 3d, when a Confederate column, three miles long, headed by the Virginians under General Pickett, made a final charge on the Union center. But the onset was in vain, and the men who made it were mowed down with terrible slaughter. The victory remained with the National army, and Lee was obliged to turn back to the Potomac. The entire Confederate loss was nearly thirty thousand; that of the Federals twenty-three thousand one hundred and eighty-six. General Lee withdrew his forces into Virginia, and the Union army resumed its position on the Potomac.

20. The administration of President Lincoln was beset with many difficulties. The last calls for volunteers had not been fully met. The anti-war party of the North denounced the measures of the government. On the 3d of March the Conscription Act was passed by Congress, and the President ordered a draft[Pg 309] of three hundred thousand men. The measure was bitterly opposed, and in many places the draft-officers were resisted. On the 13th of July, in the city of New York, a mob rose in arms, demolished buildings, burned the colored orphan asylum, and killed about a hundred people. For three days the authorities were set at defiance; but a force of regulars and volunteers gathered at the scene, and the riot was suppressed.

21. Only about fifty thousand men were obtained by the draft. But volunteering was quickened by the measure, and the employment of substitutes soon filled the ranks. In October the President issued another call for three hundred thousand men. By these measures the columns of the Union army were made more powerful than ever. In the armies of the South, on the other hand, there were already symptoms of exhaustion. On the 20th of June in this year West Virginia was separated from the Old Dominion and admitted as the thirty-fifth State of the Union.

[Pg 310]

CHAPTER XLIX.

The Closing Conflicts.—Events of 1864 and 1865.

EARLY in February, 1864, General Sherman moved from Vicksburg to Meridian. In this vicinity the railroad tracks were torn up for a hundred and fifty miles. At Meridian General Sherman expected a force of Federal cavalry, which had been sent out from Memphis under General Smith. The latter advanced into Mississippi, but was met by the cavalry of Forrest, and driven back to Memphis. General Sherman thereupon retraced his course to Vicksburg. Forrest continued his raid northward to Paducah, Kentucky, and made an assault on Fort Anderson, but was repulsed with a severe loss. Turning back into Tennessee, he came upon Fort Pillow, on the Mississippi, and carried the place by storm.

2. In the spring of 1864, the Red River Expedition was undertaken by General Banks. The object was to capture Shreveport, the seat of the Confederate government of Louisiana. On the 14th of March the Federal advance captured Fort de Russy, on Red River. The Confederates retreated to Alexandria, which was taken on the 16th by the Federals.

3. At Mansfield, on the 8th of April, the advancing Federals were attacked by the Confederates, and completely routed. At Pleasant Hill, on the next day, the main body of the Union army was badly defeated. The flotilla now descended the river from the direction of Shreveport. The whole expedition returned as rapidly as possible to the Mississippi. General Steele had, in the mean time, advanced from Little Rock to aid in the reduction of Shreveport; but learning of the Federal defeats, he withdrew after several severe engagements.

[Pg 311]

4. On the 2d of March, 1864, General Grant was appointed general-in-chief of all the armies of the United States. Seven hundred thousand soldiers were now to move at his command. Two great campaigns were planned for the year. The army of the Potomac, under Meade and the general-in-chief, was to advance upon Richmond. General Sherman, with one hundred thousand men, was to march from Chattanooga against Atlanta.

5. On the 7th of May General Sherman moved forward. At Dalton he succeeded in turning General Johnston's flank, and obliged him to fall back to Resaca. After two hard battles, on the 14th and 15th of May, this place was carried, and the Confederates retreated to Dallas. Here, on the 28th, Johnston made a second stand, but was again outflanked, and compelled to fall back to Lost Mountain. He was forced from this position on the 17th of June. The next stand was made on Great and Little Kenesaw Mountains. From this line on the 22d of June the division of General Hood made a fierce attack, but was repulsed with heavy losses. Five days afterward, General Sherman attempted to carry Great Kenesaw by storm; but the assault ended in a dreadful repulse. Sherman resumed his former tactics, and by the 10th of July the whole Confederate army had retired to Atlanta.

William T. Sherman.

6. This stronghold was at once besieged. Here were the machine shops, foundries, and car works of the Confederacy.[Pg 312] At the beginning of the siege the cautious General Johnston was superseded by the rash General J. B. Hood. On the 20th, 22d and 28th of July, the latter made three assaults on the Union lines, but was repulsed with dreadful losses. At last Hood was obliged to evacuate Atlanta; and on the 2d of September the Union army marched into the captured city.

Sherman's Campaign, 1864.

7. General Hood now marched northward through Northern Alabama, and advanced on Nashville. Meanwhile, General Thomas, with the Army of the Cumberland, had been detached from Sherman's army and sent northward to confront Hood. General Schofield, who commanded the Federal forces in Tennessee, fell back before the Confederates, and took post at Franklin. Here, on the 30th of November, he was attacked by Hood's legions, and held them in check until nightfall, when he retreated within Thomas's defenses at Nashville. Hood followed, but on the 15th of December General Thomas fell upon the Confederate army, and, routing it with a loss of twenty-five thousand men, drove it back into Alabama.

8. On the 14th of November General Sherman burned Atlanta and began his March to the Sea. His army [Pg 313] numbered sixty thousand men. He cut his communications with the North, abandoned his base of supplies, and struck out for the sea-coast, two hundred and fifty miles away. The Union army passed through Macon and Milledgeville, crossed the Ogeechee, captured Gibson and Waynesborough, and on the 10th of December arrived in the vicinity of Savannah. On the 13th, Fort McAllister was carried by storm. On the night of the 20th, General Hardee, the Confederate commandant, escaped from Savannah and retreated to Charleston. On the 22d, General Sherman made his headquarters in the city.

Joseph E. Johnston.

9. January, 1865, was spent by the Union army at Savannah. On the 1st of February, General Sherman began his march against Columbia, South Carolina. The Confederates had not sufficient force to stay his progress. On the 17th of the month, Columbia was surrendered. On the same night, Hardee, having destroyed the public property of Charleston, and kindled fires which laid four squares in ashes, evacuated the city; and on the following morning the national forces entered. From Columbia General Sherman marched into North Carolina, and on the 11th of March captured the town of Fayetteville.

10. General Johnston was now recalled to the command of the Confederate forces, and the advance of the Union army began to be seriously opposed. On the 19th of March, General Sherman was attacked by Johnston near Bentonville; but Johnston[Pg 314] was defeated, and on the 21st Sherman entered Goldsborough. Here he was reinforced by Generals Schofield and Terry. The Federal army turned to the northwest, and on the 13th of April entered Raleigh. This was the end of the great march; and here, on the 26th of the month, General Sherman received the surrender of Johnston's army.

11. Meanwhile, important events had occurred on the Gulf. Early in August, 1864, Admiral Farragut bore down on the defenses of Mobile. The harbor was defended by a Confederate fleet and the monster iron-clad Tennessee. On the 5th of August, Farragut ran past Forts Morgan and Gaines into the harbor. In order to direct the movements of his vessels, the old admiral mounted to the maintop of the Hartford, lashed himself to the rigging, and from that high perch gave his commands during the battle. One of the Union ships struck a torpedo and sank. The rest attacked and dispersed the Confederate squadron; but just as the day seemed won, the Tennessee came down at full speed to strike the Hartford. Then followed one of the fiercest conflicts of the war. The Union iron-clads closed around their antagonist and battered her with fifteen-inch bolts of iron until she surrendered.

12. Next came the capture of Fort Fisher, at the entrance to Cape Fear River. In December, Admiral Porter was sent with a powerful American squadron to besiege and take the fort. General Butler, with six thousand five hundred men, accompanied the expedition. On the 24th of the month, the troops were sent ashore with orders to storm the works. When the generals in command came near enough to reconnoiter, they decided that an assault could only end in disaster, and the enterprise was abandoned. Admiral Porter remained before Fort Fisher with his fleet, and General Butler returned to Fortress Monroe. Early in January, the siege was renewed, and on the 15th of the month Fort Fisher was taken by storm.

[Pg 315]

13. In the previous October, Lieutenant Cushing, with a number of volunteers, embarked in a small steamer and entered the Roanoke. A tremendous iron ram, called the Albemarle, was discovered lying at the harbor of Plymouth. Cautiously approaching, the lieutenant sank a torpedo under the Confederate ship, exploded it, and left the ram a ruin. The adventure cost the lives or capture of all of Cushing's party except himself and one other, who made good their escape.

14. During the progress of the war the commerce of the United States was greatly injured by the Confederate cruisers. The first ship sent out was the Savannah, which was captured on the same day that she escaped from Charleston. In June of 1861, the Sumter, commanded by Captain Semmes, ran the blockade at New Orleans, and did fearful work with the Union merchantmen. But in February of 1862, Semmes was chased into the harbor of Gibraltar, where he was obliged to sell his vessel. The Nashville ran out from Charleston, and returned with a cargo worth three millions of dollars. In March of 1863 she was sunk by a Union iron-clad in the Savannah River.

15. The ports of the Southern States were now closely blockaded. In this emergency the Confederates turned to the ship-yards of Great Britain, and began to build cruisers. In the harbor of Liverpool the Florida was fitted out; and going to sea in the summer of 1862, she succeeded in running into Mobile Bay. She afterward destroyed fifteen merchantmen, and was then captured and sunk in Hampton Roads. The Georgia, the Olustee, the Shenandoah and the Chickamauga, all built at the ship-yards of Glasgow, Scotland, escaped to sea and made great havoc with the merchant-ships of the United States.

16. Most destructive of all was the Alabama, built at Liverpool. Her commander was Captain Raphael Semmes. A majority of the crew were British subjects; and her armament was entirely British. In[Pg 316] her whole career, involving the destruction of sixty-six vessels and a loss of ten million dollars, she never entered a Confederate port. In the summer of 1864 Semmes was overtaken in the harbor of Cherbourg, France, by the steamer Kearsarge. On the 19th of June, Semmes went out to give his antagonist battle. After a desperate fight of an hour's duration, the Alabama was sunk. Semmes was picked up by the English Deerhound and carried to Southampton.

17. On the night of the 3d of May, 1864, the national camp at Culpepper was broken up, and the march on Richmond was begun. On the first day of the advance, Grant crossed the Rapidan and entered the Wilderness, a country of oak woods and thickets. He was immediately attacked by the Confederate army. During the 5th, 6th, and 7th of the month, the fighting continued incessantly with terrible losses; but the results were indecisive. Grant next made a flank movement in the direction of Spottsylvania Courthouse. Here followed, from the 9th until the 12th, one of the bloodiest struggles of the war. The Federals gained some ground and captured the division of General Stewart; but the losses of Lee were less than those of his antagonist.

18. Grant again moved to the left, and came to Cold Harbor, twelve miles northeast of Richmond. Here, on the 1st of June, he attacked the Confederates, but was repulsed with heavy losses. On the morning of the 3d the assault was renewed, and in half an hour nearly ten thousand Union soldiers fell dead or wounded before the Confederate intrenchments. The repulse of the Federals was complete, but they held their lines as firmly as ever.

19. General Grant now changed his base to James River. General Butler had already taken City Point and Bermuda Hundred. Here, on the 15th of June, he was joined by General Grant's whole army, and the combined forces moved forward and began the siege of Petersburg.

[Pg 317]

20. Meanwhile important movements were taking place on the Shenandoah. When Grant moved from the Rapidan, General Sigel marched up the valley to New Market, where he was met and defeated by the Confederate cavalry, under General Breckinridge. The latter then returned to Richmond, whereupon the Federals faced about, overtook the Confederates at Piedmont, and gained a signal victory. From this place Generals Hunter and Averill advanced against Lynchburg. By this movement the valley of the Shenandoah was again exposed to invasion.

Philip H. Sheridan.

21. Lee immediately dispatched General Early to cross the Blue Ridge, invade Maryland and threaten Washington City. With twenty thousand men Early began his march, and on the 5th of July crossed the Potomac. On the 9th he defeated the division of General Wallace on the Monocacy. But the battle saved Washington and Baltimore from capture.

22. General Wright followed Early as far as Winchester. But the latter wheeled upon him, and the Union troops were driven across the Potomac. Early next invaded Pennsylvania and burned Chambersburg. General Grant now appointed General Philip H. Sheridan to command the army on the Upper Potomac. The troops placed at his disposal numbered nearly forty thousand. On the 19th of September, Sheridan marched upon Early at Winchester, and routed him in a hard-fought battle. On the 22d of September he gained another complete victory at Fisher's Hill.

[Pg 318]

23. Sheridan next turned about to ravage the valley. The ruinous work was fearfully well done. Nothing worth fighting for was left between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies. Maddened by his defeats, Early rallied his forces, and again entered the valley. Sheridan had posted his army on Cedar Creek, and, feeling secure, had gone to Washington. On the 19th of October, Early surprised the Union camp, captured the artillery, and sent the routed troops flying in confusion toward Winchester. The Confederates pursued as far as Middletown, and there paused to eat and rest. On the previous night, Sheridan had returned to Winchester, and was now coming to rejoin his army. He rode twelve miles at full speed, rallied the fugitives, and gained one of the most signal victories of the war. Early's army was completely ruined.

Operations in Virginia, 1864 and 1865.

24. All fall and winter General Grant pressed the siege of Petersburg. On the 30th of July a mine was exploded under one of the forts; but the assaulting column was repulsed with heavy losses. On the 18th of August a division of the Union army seized the Weldon Railroad and held it against several assaults. On the 28th[Pg 319] of September, Battery Harrison was stormed by the Federals, and on the next day General Paine's brigade carried the redoubt on Spring Hill. On the 27th of October, there was a battle on the Boydton road; and then the army went into winter quarters.

25. On the 27th of February, Sheridan gained a victory over Early at Waynesboro, and then joined the general-in-chief. On the 1st of April, a severe battle was fought at Five Forks, in which the Confederates were defeated with a loss of six thousand prisoners. On the next day Grant ordered a general assault on the lines of Petersburg, and the works were carried. On that night Lee's army and the Confederate government fled from Richmond; and on the following morning the Federal troops entered the city. The warehouses were fired by the retreating Confederates, and the better part of the city was reduced to ruins.

26. General Lee retreated as rapidly as possible to the southwest. Once the Confederates turned and fought, but were defeated with great losses. For five days the pursuit was kept up; and then Lee was brought to bay at Appomattox Courthouse. There, on the 9th of April, 1865, the work was done. General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia, and the Confederacy was hopelessly overthrown. General Grant signalized the end of the strife by granting to his antagonist the most liberal terms. How the army of General Johnston was surrendered a few days later has already been narrated. After four dreadful years of bloodshed and sorrow, THE CIVIL WAR WAS AT AN END.

27. The Federal authority was rapidly extended over the South. Mr. Davis and his cabinet escaped to Danville, and there for a few days kept up the forms of government. From that place they fled into North Carolina. The ex-President continued his flight into Georgia, and encamped near Irwinsville, where,[Pg 320] on the 10th of May, he was captured by General Wilson's cavalry. He was conveyed to Fortress Monroe, and kept in confinement until May of 1867, when he was taken to Richmond to be tried for treason. He was admitted to bail; and his case was finally dismissed.

28. At the presidential election of 1864, Mr. Lincoln was chosen for a second term. As Vice-president, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee was elected. In the preceding summer, the people of Nevada framed a constitution, and on the 31st of October the new commonwealth was proclaimed as the thirty-sixth State. The gold and silver mines of Nevada soon surpassed those of California in their yield of precious metals.

29. At the outbreak of the civil war the financial credit of the United States sank to a very low ebb. Mr. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, first sought relief by issuing Treasury Notes, receivable as money. By the beginning of 1862, the expenses of the government had risen to more than a million of dollars daily. To meet these tremendous demands on the government, Congress next provided Internal Revenue. This was made up from two general sources: first, a tax on manufactures, incomes and salaries; second, a stamp-duty on all legal documents. The next measure was the issuance of Legal Tender Notes of the United States, to be used as money. These are the notes called Greenbacks. The third great measure adopted by the government was the sale of United States Bonds. The interest upon them was fixed at six per cent., payable semi-annually in gold. In the next place, Congress passed an act providing for the establishment of National Banks. National bonds, instead of gold and silver, were used as a basis of the circulation of these banks; and the redemption of their bills was guaranteed by the treasury of the United States. At the end of the conflict, the national debt had reached nearly three thousand millions of dollars.

[Pg 321]

30. On the 4th of March, 1865, President Lincoln was inaugurated for his second term. Three days after the evacuation of Richmond by Lee's army, the President made a visit to that city. On the evening of the 14th of April, he, with his wife and a party of friends, attended Ford's Theater in Washington. As the play drew near its close, an actor, named John Wilkes Booth, stole into the President's box and shot him through the brain. Mr. Lincoln lingered in an unconscious state until morning, and died. It was the greatest tragedy of modern times. The assassin, after the murder, escaped into the darkness.

31. At the same hour another murderer, named Lewis Payne Powell, burst into the bed-chamber of Secretary Seward, sprang upon the couch of the sick man, and stabbed him nigh unto death. The city was wild with alarm. Troops of cavalry departed in all directions to hunt down the assassins. On the 26th of April, Booth was found concealed in a barn south of Fredericksburg. Refusing to surrender, he was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett. Powell was caught and hanged. David E. Herrold and Geo. A. Atzerott, together with Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, at whose house the plot was formed, were also condemned and executed. Michael O'Laughlin, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, and Samuel Arnold were sentenced to imprisonment for life, and Edward Spangler for six years.

32. So ended in darkness, but not in shame, the career of Abraham Lincoln—one of the most remarkable men of any age or country. He was prudent, far-sighted, and resolute; thoughtful, calm, and just; patient, tender-hearted, and great. The manner of his death consecrated his memory. From city to city, in one vast funeral procession, the mourning people followed his remains to their last resting-place at Springfield, Illinois.

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Review Questions.—Part VI.

CHAPTER XLIV.

• 1. Describe the situation of affairs at the opening of Lincoln's Administration.

CHAPTER XLV.

• 2. Give the causes, general and special, of the Civil War.

CHAPTER XLVI.

• 3. Outline the campaigns of 1861.
• 4. Tell of the organization of the Confederate Government.
• 5. State the difficulty that now arose with Great Britain.

CHAPTER XLVII.

• 6. Give an account of the campaigns along the Cumberland, the Tennessee, and the Mississippi Rivers.
• 7. Outline the movements of the year 1862 in and about Virginia.
• 8. What were the general conditions and prospects of the armies at the close of 1862?

CHAPTER XLVIII.

• 9. Tell about the Emancipation Proclamation.
• 10. Describe the capture of Vicksburg.
• 11. Sketch the subsequent movements of 1863.
• 12. Tell of the Conscription Act, and the results from it.

CHAPTER XLIX.

• 13. Outline the military movements of 1864 under General Sherman.
• 14. Sketch the campaigns along the Potomac, with the capture of Richmond, and the retreat and surrender of Lee's army.
• 15. Tell of the breaking up of the Confederate Government.
• 16. What was the condition of the National finances, and what measures had been enacted, from 1862 to 1865, for their relief.
• 17. Give an account of the assassination of President Lincoln.

[Pg 323]

Part VII.

THE NATION REUNITED.

CHAPTER L.

Johnson's Administration, 1865-1869.

ON the day after the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became President of the United States. He was a native of Raleigh, North Carolina—born in 1808. With no advantages of education, he passed his boyhood in poverty. In 1828 he removed to Greenville, Tennessee, where he soon rose to distinction, and was elected to Congress. As a member of the United States Senate in 1860-61, he opposed secession with all his powers. In 1862 he was appointed military governor of Tennessee. This office he held until he was nominated for the vice-presidency.

Andrew Johnson.

2. On the 1st of February, 1865, Congress adopted an amendment to the Constitution by which slavery was abolished[Pg 324] throughout the Union. By the 18th of the following December, the amendment had been ratified by the legislatures of twenty-seven States, and was duly proclaimed as a part of the Constitution. The emancipation proclamation had been issued as a military necessity; and the results of the instrument were now incorporated in the fundamental law of the land.

3. On the 29th of May, the Amnesty Proclamation was issued by the President. By its provisions a pardon was extended to all persons—except those specified in certain classes—who had taken part in upholding the Confederacy. During the summer of 1865, the great armies were disbanded, and the victors and vanquished returned to their homes to resume the works of peace.

4. The finances of the nation were in an alarming condition. The war-debt went on increasing until the beginning of 1866. The yearly interest grew to a hundred and thirty-three million dollars in gold. The expenses of the government had reached two hundred millions of dollars annually. But the revenues of the nation proved sufficient to meet these enormous outlays, and at last the debt began to diminish.

5. During the civil war, the emperor Napoleon III. succeeded in setting up a French empire in Mexico. In 1864 the Mexican crown was conferred on Maximilian of Austria, who sustained his authority with French and Austrian soldiers. But the Mexican president Juarez headed a revolution; the government of the United States rebuked France for her conduct; Napoleon withdrew his army; Maximilian was overthrown; and eventually, on the 13th of June, 1867, was tried and condemned to be shot. Six days afterwards the sentence was carried into execution.

6. After a few weeks of successful operation, the first Atlantic telegraph had ceased to work. But Mr. Field continued to advocate his measure and to plead for assistance both in Europe [Pg 325] and America. He made fifty voyages across the Atlantic, and finally secured sufficient capital to lay a second cable. The work began from the coast of Ireland in the summer of 1865; but the first cable parted and was lost. In July of 1866 a third cable, two thousand miles in length, was coiled in the Great Eastern, and again the vessel started on its way. This time the work was completely successful. Mr. Field received a gold medal from Congress, and the plaudits of all civilized nations.

7. In March of 1861, the Territory of Dakota, destined after twenty-eight years to become two great states, was detached from Nebraska and given a distinct organization. The State of Kansas had at last, on the 29th of January, 1861, been admitted into the Union, under a constitution framed at Wyandotte. In February, 1863, Arizona was separated from New Mexico, and on the 3d of March, in that year, Idaho was organized out of portions of Dakota, Nebraska, and Washington Territories. On the 26th of May, 1864, Montana was cut off from Idaho. On the 1st of March, 1867, Nebraska was admitted into the Union as the thirty-seventh State. Finally, on the 25th of July, 1868, the Territory of Wyoming was organized out of portions of Dakota, Idaho, and Utah.

8. The year 1867 was signalized by the Purchase of Alaska. Two years previously, the territory had been explored by a corps of scientific men with a view of establishing telegraphic communication with Asia. The explorers found that the coast-fisheries were of great value, and that the forests of white pine and yellow cedar were among the finest in the world. Negotiations for the purchase were at once opened, and on the 30th of March, 1867, a treaty was concluded by which, for the sum of seven million two hundred thousand dollars, Russia ceded Alaska to the United States. The territory[Pg 326] embraced an area of five hundred and eighty thousand square miles, and a population of twenty-nine thousand souls.

9. Very soon after his accession, a serious disagreement arose between the President and Congress. The difficulty grew out of the question of reorganizing the Southern States. The point in dispute was the relation which those States had sustained to the Federal Union during the civil war. The President held that the ordinances of secession were null and void, and that the seceded States had never been out of the Union. The majority in Congress held that the acts of secession were illegal and unconstitutional, but that the seceded States had been actually detached from the Union, and that special legislation was necessary in order to restore them to their former relations.

10. In 1865, measures of reconstruction were begun by the President. On the 9th of May, a proclamation was issued for the restoration of Virginia to the Union. Twenty days later a provisional government was established over South Carolina; and similar measures were adopted in respect to the other States of the Confederacy. On the 24th of June, all restrictions on trade and intercourse with the Southern States were removed. On the 7th of September a second amnesty proclamation was issued, by which all persons who had upheld the Confederate cause—excepting the leaders—were unconditionally pardoned. Meanwhile, Tennessee had been reorganized, and in 1866 was restored to its place in the Union. When Congress convened, a committee of fifteen members was appointed, to which were referred all questions concerning the reorganization of the Southern States. In accordance with measures reported by this committee, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina were reconstructed, and in June and July of 1868 readmitted into the Union. Congress had, in the mean time, passed the Civil Rights Bill, by which the privileges of citizenship were conferred on the[Pg 327] freedmen of the South. All of these congressional enactments were effected over the veto of the President.

11. Meanwhile, a difficulty had arisen in the President's cabinet which led to his impeachment. On the 21st of February, 1868, he notified Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, of his dismissal from office. The act was regarded by Congress as a usurpation of authority and a violation of law. On the 3d of March, articles of impeachment were agreed to by the House of Representatives, and the President was summoned before the Senate for trial. Proceedings began on the 23d of March and continued until the 26th of May, when the President was acquitted. Chief-Justice Salmon P. Chase, one of the most eminent of American statesmen and jurists, presided during the impeachment.

12. The time for another presidential election was already at hand. General Ulysses S. Grant was nominated by the Republicans, and Horatio Seymour, of New York, by the Democrats. The canvass was one of great excitement. The questions most discussed by the political speakers were those arising out of the civil war. The principles advocated by the majority in Congress furnished the Republican platform of 1868, and on that platform General Grant was elected by a large majority. As Vice-president, Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, was chosen.

[Pg 328]

CHAPTER LI.

Grant's Administration, 1869-1877.

ULYSSES S. Grant, eighteenth President of the United States, was born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 27, 1822. At the age of seventeen he entered the Military Academy at West Point, and was graduated in 1843. He served with distinction in the Mexican war; but his first national reputation was won by the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson. From that time he rapidly rose in rank, and in March, 1864, was appointed lieutenant-general and general-in-chief of the Union army.

Ulysses S. Grant.

2. The first great event of the new administration was the completion of the Pacific Railroad. The first division of the road extended from Omaha, Nebraska, to Ogden, Utah, a distance of one thousand and thirty-two miles. The western division reached from Ogden to San Francisco, a distance of eight hundred and eighty-two miles. On the 10th of May, 1869, the work was completed with appropriate ceremonies.

3. Before the inauguration of President Grant two additional amendments to the Constitution had been adopted. The first of these, known as the Fourteenth Amendment, extended the[Pg 329] right of citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and declared the validity of the public debt. Early in 1869, the Fifteenth Amendment was adopted by Congress, providing that the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This clause was proclaimed by the President as a part of the Constitution on the 30th of March, 1870.

4. In the first three months of the same year, the reorganization of the Southern States was completed. On the 24th of January, the senators and representatives of Virginia were readmitted to their seats in Congress. On the 23d of February a like action was taken in regard to Mississippi; and on the 30th of March the work was finished by the readmission of Texas.

5. In 1870 was completed the ninth census of the United States. Notwithstanding the ravages of war, the past ten years had been a period of growth and progress. During that time the population had increased to thirty-eight million five hundred and eighty-seven thousand souls. The national debt was rapidly falling off. The products of the United States had grown to a vast aggregate. American manufacturers were competing with those of all nations in the markets of the world. The Union now embraced thirty-seven States and eleven Territories. The national domain had spread to the vast area of three million six hundred and four thousand square miles. Few things have been more wonderful than the territorial and material growth of the United States.

6. In January of 1871, President Grant appointed Senator Wade of Ohio, Professor White of New York, and Dr. Samuel Howe of Massachusetts, to visit San Domingo and report upon the desirability of annexing that island to the United States. The measure was earnestly favored by the President. After three months spent abroad, the commissioners returned and[Pg 330] reported in favor of annexation; but the proposal met with opposition in Congress, and was defeated.

7. The claim of the United States against the British government for damages done by Confederate cruisers during the civil war still remained unsettled. After the war Great Britain grew anxious for an adjustment of the difficulty. On the 27th of February, 1871, a joint high commission, composed of five British and five American statesmen, assembled at Washington City. From the fact that the cruiser Alabama had done most of the injury complained of, the claims of the United States were called the Alabama Claims. After much discussion, the commissioners framed a treaty, known as the Treaty of Washington. It was agreed that all claims of either nation against the other should be submitted to a board of arbitration to be appointed by friendly nations. Such a court was formed, and in the summer of 1872 convened at Geneva, Switzerland. The cause of the two nations was heard, and on the 14th of September decided in favor of the United States. Great Britain was required to pay into the Federal treasury fifteen million five hundred thousand dollars.

8. The year 1871 is noted in American history for the burning of Chicago. On the evening of the 8th of October a fire broke out in De Koven street, and was driven by a high wind into the lumber-yards and wooden houses of the neighborhood. All the next day the flames rolled on, sweeping into a blackened ruin the most valuable portion of the city. The area burned over was two thousand one hundred acres, or three and a third square miles. Nearly two hundred lives were lost, and the property destroyed amounted to about two hundred millions of dollars.

9. As the first term of President Grant drew to a close, the political parties made ready for the twenty-second presidential election. Many parts of the chief magistrate's policy had[Pg 331] been made the subjects of controversy. The congressional plan of reconstruction had been unfavorably received in the South. The elevation of the negro race to the rights of citizenship was regarded with apprehension. The military spirit was still rife in the country, and the issues of the civil war were rediscussed with much bitterness. On these issues the people divided in the election of 1872. The Republicans renominated General Grant for the presidency. For the vice-presidency Mr. Colfax was succeeded by Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. As the standard-bearer of the Liberal Republican and Democratic parties, Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, was nominated. This was the last act in that remarkable man's career. For more than thirty years he had been a leader of public opinion in America. The canvass was one of wild excitement. Mr. Greeley was overwhelmingly defeated, and died in less than a month after the election.

Horace Greeley.

10. On the evening of the 9th of November, a fire broke out on the corner of Kingston and Summer streets, Boston; spread to the northeast; and continued with unabated fury until the morning of the 11th. The best portion of the city, embracing some of the finest blocks in the United States, was laid in ashes. The burnt district covered an area of sixty-five acres. Fifteen lives, eight hundred buildings, and property to the value of eighty million dollars were lost in the conflagration.

[Pg 332]

11. In the spring of 1872, the Modoc Indians were ordered to remove from their lands on Lake Klamath, Oregon, to a new reservation. They refused to go; and in the following November, a body of troops was sent to force them into compliance. The Modocs resisted, kept up the war during the winter, and then retreated into a volcanic region called the lava-beds. Here, in the spring of 1873, the Indians were surrounded. On the 11th of April, a conference was held between them and six members of the peace commission; but in the midst of the council the savages rose upon the kind-hearted men who sat beside them, and murdered General Canby and Dr. Thomas in cold blood. Mr. Meacham, another member of the commission, was shot, but escaped with his life. The Modocs were then besieged in their stronghold; but it was the 1st of June before Captain Jack and his band were obliged to surrender. The chiefs were tried by court-martial and executed in the following October.

12. About the beginning of President Grant's second term, the country was agitated by the Credit Mobilier Investigation in Congress. The Credit Mobilier was a joint stock company, organized in 1863 for the purpose of constructing public works. In 1867, another company, which had undertaken to build the Pacific Railroad, purchased the charter of the Credit Mobilier, and the capital was increased to three million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Owing to the profitableness of the work, the stock rose in value and large dividends were paid to the shareholders. In 1872 it became known that much of this stock was owned by members of Congress. A suspicion that those members had voted corruptly in matters affecting the Pacific Railroad seized the public mind, and led to a congressional investigation, in the course of which many scandalous transactions were brought to light.

13. In the autumn of 1873 occurred one of the most disastrous financial panics ever known in the United States. The[Pg 333] alarm was given by the failure of Jay Cooke & Company of Philadelphia. Other failures followed in rapid succession. Depositors hurried to the banks and withdrew their money. Business was paralyzed, and many months elapsed before confidence was sufficiently restored to enable merchants and bankers to engage in the usual transactions of trade.

14. With the coming of 1876 the people made ready to celebrate the Centennial of American Independence. The city of Philadelphia was the central point of interest. There, on the 10th of May, the great International Exposition was opened with imposing ceremonies. In Fairmount Park, on the Schuylkill, were erected beautiful buildings to receive the products of art and industry from all nations. By the beginning of summer these stately edifices were filled to overflowing with the richest products, gathered from every clime and country. On the 4th of July the centennial of the great Declaration was commemorated in Philadelphia with an impressive oration by William M. Evarts, of New York, and a National Ode by the poet, Bayard Taylor. The average daily attendance of visitors at the Exposition was over sixty-one thousand. The grounds were open for one hundred and fifty-eight days; and the receipts for admission amounted to more than three million seven hundred thousand dollars. On the 10th of November, the Exposition, the most successful of its kind ever held, was formally closed by the President of the United States.

15. The last year of President Grant's administration was noted for the war with the Sioux. These fierce savages had, in 1867, made a treaty with the United States, agreeing to relinquish all of the territory south of the Niobrara, west of the one hundred and fourth meridian, and north of the forty-sixth parallel. By this treaty the Sioux were confined to a large reservation in southwestern Dakota, and upon this they agreed to retire by the first of January, 1876. But many of the tribes continued to roam at[Pg 334] large through Wyoming and Montana, burning houses, stealing horses, and murdering whoever opposed them.

Custer's Last Fight.

16. The Government now undertook to drive the Sioux upon their reservation. A large force of regulars, under Generals Terry and Crook, was sent into the mountainous country of the Upper Yellowstone, and the savages, to the number of several thousand, were crowded back against the Big Horn Mountains and River. Generals Custer and Reno, who were sent forward with the Seventh Cavalry to discover the whereabouts of the Indians, found them on the left bank of the Little Horn.

17. On the 25th of June, General Custer, without waiting for reinforcements, charged headlong with his division into the Indian town, and was immediately surrounded. The struggle equaled in desperation and disaster any other Indian battle ever fought[Pg 335] in America. General Custer and every man of his command fell in the fight. The whole loss of the Seventh Cavalry was two hundred and sixty-one killed, and fifty-two wounded. General Reno held his position, on the bluffs of the Little Horn, until General Gibbon arrived with reinforcements and saved the remnant from destruction.

18. Other divisions of the army were soon hurried forward, and during the summer and autumn the Indians were beaten in several engagements. On the 24th of November, the Sioux were decisively defeated by Colonel McKenzie at a pass in the Big Horn Mountains. On the 5th of January, the savages were again overtaken and routed by the forces of Colonel Miles. The remaining bands, under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, being able to offer no further serious resistance, escaped across the border into Canada.

19. In August, 1876, Colorado took her place as the thirty-eighth State of the Union. The population of the "Centennial State" numbered forty-five thousand.

20. The twenty-third presidential election was one of the most exciting and critical in the history of the nation. General Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, and William A. Wheeler, of New York, were chosen as candidates by the Republicans; Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, by the Democrats. The Independent Greenback party presented as candidates Peter Cooper, of New York, and Samuel F. Cary, of Ohio. The canvass began early and with great spirit. The real contest lay between the Republicans and the Democrats. The election was held. The general result was uncertain, and both parties claimed the victory! The election was so evenly balanced; there had been so much irregularity in the elections in South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Oregon; and the power of Congress over the electoral proceedings was so poorly defined, that no certain result could be announced. For the first time in the history of the country, there was a disputed presidency.

[Pg 336]

21. When Congress convened in December, the whole question came before that body for adjustment. After much debating it was agreed that the disputed election returns should be referred for decision to a Joint High Commission, consisting of five members chosen from the United States Senate, five from the House of Representatives, and five from the Supreme Court. The Commission was accordingly constituted. The returns of the disputed States were referred to the tribunal; and on the 2d of March a result was reached. The Republican candidates were declared elected. One hundred and eighty-five electoral votes were cast for Hayes and Wheeler, and one hundred and eighty-four for Tilden and Hendricks.

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CHAPTER LII.

Hayes's Administration, 1877-1881.

RUTHERFORD B. Hayes, nineteenth President of the United States, was born in Delaware, Ohio, on the 4th of October, 1822. His ancestors were soldiers of the Revolution. His primary education was received in the public schools. At the age of twenty, he was graduated from Kenyon College. In 1845 he completed his legal studies, and began the practice of his profession, first at Marietta, then at Fremont, and finally as city solicitor, in Cincinnati. During the Civil War he performed much honorable service in the Union cause, rose to the rank of major-general, and in 1864, while still in the field, was elected to Congress. Three years later, he was chosen governor of his native State, and was reelected in 1869, and again in 1875.

Rutherford B. Hayes.

2. In the summer of 1877, in consequence of a threatened reduction in the wages of railway employes, occurred what is known as the Great Railroad Strike. On the 16th of July, the workmen of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad left their posts and gathered such strength in Baltimore and at Martinsburg,[Pg 338] West Virginia, as to prevent the running of trains. The militia was called out by Governor Matthews, but was soon dispersed by the strikers. The President then ordered General French to the scene with a body of regulars, and the blockade of the road was raised.

3. Meanwhile, the trains had been stopped on all the important roads between the Hudson and the Mississippi, and business was paralyzed. In Pittsburgh the strikers, rioters, and dangerous classes, gathering in a mob to the number of twenty thousand, held, for two days, a reign of terror unparalleled in the history of the country. The insurrection was finally suppressed by the regular troops and the Pennsylvania militia, but not until nearly one hundred lives, and property to the value of more than three millions of dollars, had been lost. Riots also occurred, or were threatened, at Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne. By the close of the month, the alarming insurrection was at an end.

4. In the spring of 1877 a war broke out with the Nez Percé Indians of Idaho. The national authorities in 1854 purchased a part of the Nez Percé territory, large reservations being made in northwestern Idaho and northeastern Oregon, but some of the chiefs refused to ratify the compact, and remained at large. This was the beginning of difficulties.

5. The war began with the usual depredations by the Indians. General Howard marched against them with a small force of regulars; but the Nez Percés, led by their noted chieftain Joseph, fled. During the greater part of summer the pursuit continued. In the fall they were chased through the mountains into northern Montana, where they were confronted by other troops commanded by Colonel Miles.

6. The Nez Percés were next driven across the Missouri River, and were finally surrounded in their camp north of the Bear Paw Mountains. Here, on the 4th of October, they[Pg 339] were attacked, and completely routed by the forces of Colonel Miles. Only a few, led by the chief White Bird, escaped. Three hundred and seventy-five of the captive Nez Percés were brought back to the American post on the Missouri.

7. During the year 1877 the public mind was greatly agitated concerning the Remonetization of Silver. By the first coinage regulations of the United States the standard unit of value was the silver dollar. From 1792 until 1873, the quantity of pure metal in this unit had never been changed, though the amount of alloy contained in the dollar was altered several times. In 1849 a gold dollar was added to the coinage, and from that time forth the standard unit of value existed in both metals. In 1873-74 a series of acts were adopted by Congress bearing upon the standard unit of value, whereby the legal-tender quality of silver was abolished, and the silver dollar omitted from the list of coins to be struck at the national mints.

8. In January, 1875, the Resumption Act was passed by Congress. It was declared that on the 1st of January, 1879, the Government should begin to redeem its outstanding legal-tender notes in coin. The question was now raised as to the meaning of the word "coin" in the act; and, for the first time, the attention of the people was aroused to the fact that the privilege of paying debts in silver had been taken away. A great agitation followed, and in 1878 a measure in Congress was passed over the President's veto, for the restoration of the legal-tender quality of the old silver dollar, and for the compulsory coinage of that unit at a rate of not less than two millions of dollars a month.

9. In the summer of 1878 several of the Gulf States were scourged with a Yellow Fever Epidemic. The disease made its appearance in New Orleans, and from thence was scattered among the towns along the Mississippi. A regular system of[Pg 340] contributions was established in the Northern States, and men and treasure were poured out without stint to relieve the suffering South. After more than twenty thousand people had fallen victims to the plague, the frosts of October came and ended the pestilence.

10. By the Treaty of Washington (1871), it was agreed that the right of the United States in certain sea-fisheries in the neighborhood of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, hitherto claimed by Great Britain, should be acknowledged and maintained. The government of the United States agreed to relinquish the duties which had hitherto been charged on certain kinds of fish imported by British subjects into American harbors; and, in order to balance any discrepancy, it was further agreed that any total advantage to the United States might be compensated by a gross sum to be paid by the American government. This sum was fixed at five million dollars in November, 1877, and a year later the amount was paid to the British government.

11. The year 1878 witnessed the establishment of a resident Chinese Embassy at Washington. For twenty years the great treaty negotiated by Anson Burlingame had been in force between the United States and China. The commercial relations of the two countries had been vastly extended. On the 28th of September the embassy chosen by the imperial government was received by the President. The ceremonies of the occasion were among the most interesting ever witnessed in Washington. The speech of Chen Lan Pin, the minister, was equal in dignity and appropriateness to the best efforts of a European diplomatist.

12. In June, 1878, the Life Saving Service of the United States was established by act of Congress. The plan proposed the establishment of regular stations and lighthouses on all the exposed parts of the Atlantic coast and along the Great[Pg 341] Lakes. Each station was to be manned by a band of surfmen experienced in the dangers peculiar to the shore in times of storms, and drilled in the best methods of rescue and resuscitation. Boats and other appliances of the most approved pattern were provided and equipped. The success of the enterprise has been so great as to reflect the highest credit on its promoters. The number of lives saved through the agency of the service reaches to thousands annually, and the amount of human suffering and distress alleviated by this beneficent movement is beyond computation.

13. On the 1st of January, 1879, the Resumption of Specie Payments was accomplished by the treasury of the United States. After seventeen years' disappearance, gold and silver coin, which during that time had been at a premium over the legal-tender notes of the government, again came into common circulation.

14. The presidential election of 1880 was accompanied with the excitement usually attendant upon great political struggles in the United States. The Republican national convention was held in Chicago on the 2d and 3d of June; a platform of principles was adopted, and General James A. Garfield, of Ohio, was nominated for President. For Vice-president, Chester A. Arthur, of New York, received the nomination. The Democratic national convention assembled at Cincinnati on the 22d of June, and nominated for the presidency General Winfield S. Hancock, of New York, and for the Vice-presidency William H. English, of Indiana. The National Greenback party held a convention in Chicago on the 9th of June, and nominated General James B. Weaver, of Iowa, for President, and General Benjamin J. Chambers, of Texas, for Vice-president. The election resulted in the choice of Garfield and Arthur. Two hundred and fourteen electoral votes, embracing those of nearly all the Northern States, were cast for the Republican candidates.

[Pg 342]

15. Soon after retiring from the presidency, General Grant, with his family and a company of personal friends, set out to make a TOUR OF THE WORLD. The expedition attracted the most conspicuous attention both at home and abroad. The departure from Philadelphia on the 17th of May, 1877, was the beginning of such a pageant as was never before extended to any citizen of any nation of the earth. General Grant visited Europe, India, Burmah and Siam; China and Japan. In the fall of 1879 the party returned to San Francisco, bearing with them the highest tokens of esteem which the great nations of the Old World could bestow upon the honored representative of the New.

Oliver P. Morton.

16. The Census of 1880 was undertaken with more system and care than ever before in the history of the country. The work was intrusted to the superintendency of Professor Francis A. Walker. In every source of national power, the development of the country was shown to have continued without abatement. The total population of the States and Territories now amounted to 50,182,525—an increase since 1870 of more than a million inhabitants a year! The center of population had moved westward about fifty miles, to the vicinity of Cincinnati.

17. During the administration of Hayes several eminent Americans passed from the scene of their earthly activities. On the 1st of November, 1877, the distinguished senator, Oliver P. Morton, died of paralysis at his home in Indianapolis. His reputation[Pg 343] in his own State and throughout the Union was very great, and his sterling character had won the respect even of his political enemies. As War Governor of Indiana, he had been one of the main pillars of support to the Union in the trying days of the Civil War. After that event he had become one of the foremost men of the nation. Although but fifty-four years of age, he had risen to be a recognized leader in American statesmanship. His death was regarded as a public calamity, and the Nation, without distinction of party, joined with his own State in doing honor to the memory of the great dead.

18. Still more universally felt was the loss of the great poet and journalist, William Cullen Bryant, who on the 12th of June, 1878, at the advanced age of eighty-four, passed from among the living. For more than sixty years his name had been known and honored wherever the English language was spoken. On the 19th of December, in the same year, the illustrious Bayard Taylor, who had recently been appointed American Minister to the German Empire, died suddenly in the city of Berlin. His life had been exclusively devoted to literary work; and almost every department of letters, from the common tasks of journalism to the highest charms of poetry, had been adorned by his genius. On the 1st day of November, 1879, Zachariah Chandler, of Michigan, one of the organizers of the Republican party, and a great leader of that party in the times of the civil war, died suddenly at Chicago; and on the 24th day of April, 1881, the noted publisher and author, James T. Fields, died at his home in Boston.

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CHAPTER LIII.

Administration of Garfield and Arthur, 1881-1885.

JAMES A. Garfield, twentieth President of the United J States, was born at Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, November 19, 1831. He was left in infancy to the sole care of his mother and to the rude surroundings of a backwoods home. In boyhood he served as a driver and pilot of a canal boat plying the Ohio and Pennsylvania canal. At the age of seventeen he attended the High School in Chester, was afterwards a student at Hiram College, and in 1854 entered Williams College, from which he was graduated with honor.

James A. Garfield.

2. In the same year, Garfield returned to Ohio, and was made first a professor and afterwards president of Hiram College. This position he held until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he left his post to enter the army. In the service he rose to distinction, and while still in the field was elected by the people of his district to the lower house of Congress. In 1879 he was elected to the United States Senate, and hard upon this followed his nomination and election to the presidency. American history has furnished but few instances of a more steady and brilliant rise, from the[Pg 345] poverty of an obscure boyhood, to the most distinguished elective office in the gift of mankind.

3. On the 4th of March, 1881, President Garfield delivered his inaugural address, and the new administration entered upon its course with omens of an auspicious future. But its prospects were soon darkened with political difficulties. A division arose in the ranks of the Republican party. The two wings of the Republicans were nicknamed the "Stalwarts" and the "Half-Breeds": the former, headed by Senator Conkling of New York; the latter, led by Mr. Blaine, Secretary of State, and indorsed by the President himself. The Stalwarts claimed the right of dispensing the appointive offices of the Government, after the manner which had prevailed for many preceding administrations; the President, supported by his division of the party, insisted on naming the officers in the various States according to his own wishes.

4. The chief clash between the two influences in the party occurred in New York. The collectorship of customs for the port of New York is the best appointive office in the Government. To fill this position the President nominated Judge William Robertson, and the appointment was antagonized by the New York senators, Conkling and Platt, who, failing to prevent the confirmation of Robertson, resigned their seats, returned to their State, and failed of a reelection.

5. A few days after the adjournment of the Senate in June, the President, in company with Secretary Blaine and a few friends, entered the railroad depot at Washington to take the train for Long Branch, New Jersey. A moment afterwards he was approached by a miserable miscreant, who, unperceived, came within a few feet of the company, drew a pistol, and fired upon the Chief Magistrate. The shot struck the President in the back, and inflicted a dreadful wound. The bleeding chieftain was borne away to the executive mansion, and the wretch who had committed[Pg 346] the crime was hurried to prison. For eighty days the stricken President lingered between life and death, bearing the pain and anguish of his situation with a fortitude and heroism rarely witnessed among men; but at half-past ten on the evening of September 19th, the anniversary of the battle of Chickamauga, his vital powers suddenly gave way, and in a few moments death closed the scene.

6. On the day following this deplorable event, Vice-president Arthur took the oath of office in New York, and repaired to Washington. Chester A. Arthur was born in Vernon, Franklin County, Vermont, October 5, 1830. He was of Irish descent, and was educated at Union College, from which institution he was graduated in 1849. For awhile he taught school in his native State, and then came to New York City to study law. During the civil war he was Quartermaster-General of the State of New York. After 1865 he returned to the practice of law, and in 1871 was appointed Collector of Customs for the port of New York. This position he held until July, 1878, when he was removed by President Hayes. Again he returned to his law practice, but was soon called by the voice of his party to be a standard-bearer in the Presidential canvass of 1880.

Chester A. Arthur.

7. The administration of President Arthur proved to be uneventful. The government pursued the even tenor of its way, and the progress of the country was unchecked by calamity. Several important scientific inventions were perfected about this time, and several great public works completed.

[Pg 347]

8. One of the best examples of the application of scientific discovery to the affairs of every-day life is that of the Telephone. It has remained for our day to discover the possibility of transmitting or reproducing the human voice at a distance of hundreds or even thousands of miles. By means of a simple contrivance, a person in one part of the country is able to converse with friends in another part, as if face to face. The invention of this wonderful instrument is to be credited to Professor A. Graham Bell, of Massachusetts, and Elisha P. Gray, of Chicago. It should be mentioned, also, that Professor A. C. Dolbear, of Tufts College, and the great inventor, Thomas A. Edison, have succeeded in the production of telephonic instruments.

9. Another recent invention is the Phonograph. It is the nature of the phonograph to receive and retain the wave-lines and figures of sound, whether of the human voice or some other sound, and by an ingenious contrivance to reproduce those sounds as if they were the original utterance. It is to be regretted that thus far the phonograph has proved to be of little or no practical utility.

10. But perhaps the greatest invention of the age is the Electric Light. About 1870 it was first proposed to use electricity for practical illumination. Long before this time the possibility of electric lighting had been shown by the philosopher Gramme, of Paris. About the same time the Russian scientist, Jablokoff, also succeeded in converting electricity into light. It remained, however, for the great American inventor, Thomas A. Edison, to remove the difficulties in the way of electric lighting, and to make the invention practical. The systems produced by him and others are rapidly taking the place of the old methods of illumination.

11. Among the great public works may be mentioned the East River Bridge, joining New York with Brooklyn, which was opened with appropriate ceremonies on the 24th of May, [Pg 348] 1883. This structure is the largest of the kind in the world, being a suspension bridge, with a total length of 5,989 feet. The span from pier to pier is 1,595 feet; and the estimated capacity of resistance is 49,200 tons. The engineer under whose direction the great bridge was constructed was Mr. John A. Roebling, who may properly be regarded as the originator of wire suspension bridges. Though he did not live to see the completion of the work which he had planned, the same was taken up and finished by his son, scarcely less noted than his father.

12. The recurrence of the birthday of Washington, 1885, was noted for the completion of the great monument, erected at the Capital, in honor of the Father of his Country. The cost of the completed structure was about $1,500,000. The shaft of the monument, exclusive of the foundation, is 555 feet in height, being 30 feet higher than the cathedral of Cologne, and 75 feet higher than the pyramid of Cheops.

13. In the last year of Arthur's administration the command of the army of the United States was transferred from General William T. Sherman to General Philip H. Sheridan. The former eminent soldier, having reached the age at which, according to Act of Congress, he might retire from active service, availed himself of the provision, and laid down the command which he had so long and honorably held. Nor could it be said that the new General, to whom the command of the American army was now given, was less a patriot and soldier than his eminent predecessor.

14. During this administration there was a gradual obliteration of those sharply defined issues which for a quarter of a century had divided the two great political parties. Partisan animosity in some measure abated, and it was with difficulty that the managers were able to direct the people in the political contest of 1884. The issue most clearly defined was that of tariff and[Pg 349] free trade, and even this, when much discussed, tended to break up both the existing political organizations.

15. During the year 1883 many distinguished men were named for the presidential office. The first national convention was that of the Greenback-Labor party, held at Indianapolis, in April of 1884. By this party, General Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, and A. N. West, of Texas, were put in nomination. The Republican convention met on the 3d of June, in Chicago, and, after a session of three days, closed its labors by the nomination of James G. Blaine, of Maine, and General John A. Logan, of Illinois. The Democratic convention met in the same city, on the 9th of July, and chose for its standard-bearers Grover Cleveland, of New York, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. The result showed that the Democratic party had drawn to its banners a majority of the American people. Cleveland and Hendricks were elected, receiving 219 ballots in the Electoral College, against 182 votes which were cast for Blaine and Logan.

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CHAPTER LIV.

Cleveland's Administration, 1885-1889.

THE new President was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1885. Perhaps the history of the country has furnished no other example of such rapid rise to great distinction. Grover Cleveland, twenty-second President of the United States, was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, March 18th, 1837. With his father he removed to Fayetteville, New York, in 1840. Here the youth grew to manhood. His education was obtained in the common schools and academies of the neighborhood. In 1857 he removed to New York City, and became a student of law. In 1859 he was admitted to the bar, and four years afterwards was appointed Assistant District Attorney for Erie County. In 1869 he was elected Sheriff of the same county, and in 1881 he was chosen mayor of Buffalo. In 1882 he was elected governor of New York, receiving for that office a plurality of more than 190,000 votes. Before his term of office had expired he was called by the voice of his party to be its standard-bearer in the presidential campaign of 1884, in which he was again successful.

Grover Cleveland.

2. The last months of Arthur's and the first of Cleveland's administration were noted for the International Cotton Exposition at New Orleans. This, after the Centennial Exposition [Pg 351] of 1876, was the greatest display of the kind ever held in the United States. The Exposition extended from December of 1884 to June of 1885, and was daily attended by thousands of visitors from all parts of the United States and from many foreign countries. The display was varied and full of interest. Intended, in the first place, to exhibit the wonderful resources of the South in her peculiar products, the exhibition was enlarged to include all branches of production and every species of mechanism and art. Among the incidental benefits of the Exposition may be mentioned the increased intercourse and consequent friendliness of the people of the Northern and Southern States.

3. The first year of Cleveland's administration was uneventful. The great question before the President was that of the Reform of the Civil Service. In attempting to substitute a new series of rules for appointment to office, by which the persons appointed should be selected rather for their fitness than for their party services, the President was greatly embarrassed. He found that the old forces in American politics were as active as ever, and that a reform was almost impossible under existing conditions.

4. The first great national event of the Cleveland administration was that of the Labor Agitations, which broke out in the spring of 1886. It was not until after the Civil War that the first symptoms appeared of a renewal, in the New World, of the struggle which has been long going on in Europe between Capital and Labor. The first difficulties of this sort in our country appeared in the mining regions, and in the factories of the Eastern States. The agitation soon spread to the West. As early as 1867 the peculiar method of action, called "striking," began among the laborers of the country. An account of the great railroad strike of 1877 has already been presented. (Pages 337 and 338.)

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5. At the same time monopolies sprang up and flourished; and, coincident with this, American labor discovered the salutary but dangerous power of combination. When the trade season of 1886 opened, a series of strikes and labor troubles broke out in several parts of the country. The cities and towns were most involved in these agitations. The first serious conflict was on what is known as the Gould System of Railways, in the Southwest. A single workman, belonging to the Knights of Labor, and employed on a branch of the Texas and Pacific Railway, was discharged from his place. This action was resented by the Knights, and the laborers on a great part of the Gould System were ordered to strike. The movement was, for a season, successful, and the transportation of freights from St. Louis to the Southwest ceased. Gradually, however, other workmen were substituted for the striking Knights; but the end was not reached until a severe riot in East St. Louis had occasioned the sacrifice of much property and several innocent lives.

6. Far more alarming was the outbreak in Chicago. In that city the socialistic and anarchic elements were sufficiently powerful to present a bold front to the authorities. Processions bearing red flags and banners, with communistic devices and mottoes, frequently paraded the streets, and were addressed by demagogues who avowed themselves the open enemies of society and the existing order. On the 4th of May, 1886, a vast crowd of this reckless material collected in a place called the Haymarket, and were about to begin the usual inflammatory proceedings, when a band of policemen, mostly officers, drew near, with the evident purpose of controlling or dispersing the meeting.

7. A terrible scene ensued. Dynamite bombs were thrown from the crowd and exploded among the officers, several of whom were blown to pieces, and others shockingly mangled.[Pg 353] The mob was, in turn, attacked by the police, and many of the insurgents were shot down. Order was presently restored in the city; several of the leading anarchists were arrested on the charge of inciting to murder, were tried, condemned, and four of them executed. On the day following the Chicago riot, a similar, though less dangerous, outbreak, which was suppressed without serious loss of life, occurred in Milwaukee.

8. The summer of 1886 is memorable on account of the great natural catastrophe known as the Charleston Earthquake. On the night of the 31st of August, at ten minutes before ten o'clock, without a moment's warning, the city of Charleston, S. C., was rocked and rent to its very foundations. Hardly a building in the limits of Charleston, or in the country surrounding, escaped serious injury; and perhaps one half of all were in a state of semi-wreck or total ruin.

9. The whole coast in the central region of the disturbance was modified with respect to the sea, and the ocean itself was thrown into turmoil for miles from the shore. The people in the city fled from their falling houses to the public squares and parks and far into the country. Afraid to return into the ruins, they threw up tents and light booths for protection, and abode for weeks away from their homes. Nothing before in the limits of our knowledge has been at all comparable with it in extent and violence, except the great earthquake of New Madrid in 1811.

10. The disaster to Charleston served to bring out some of the better qualities of our civilization. Personal assistance and contributions from all quarters poured in for the support and encouragement of the afflicted people. For several weeks a series of diminishing shocks continued to terrify the citizens; but it was discovered that these shocks were only the dying away of the great convulsion, and that they gave cause for hope of entire cessation rather than continued alarm. In the course of a few months the ruins were cleared away,[Pg 354] business was resumed, and the people were again safe in their homes.

11. On the 4th of March, 1887, the second session of the Forty-ninth Congress expired. The work of the body had not been so fruitful of results as had been desired and anticipated by the friends of the government. On the question of the tariff nothing of value was accomplished. A measure of Revenue Reform had been brought forward at an early date in the session, but the act failed of adoption.

12. On the question of Extending the Pension List, however, the case was different. A great majority of both parties favored such measures as looked to the increase of benefits to the soldiers. At the first, only a limited number of pensions had been granted, and these only to actually disabled or injured veterans of the War for the Union. But it became more and more important to each of the parties to secure and hold the soldier vote, without which it was felt that neither could maintain ascendency in the government. The Arrears of Pensions Act, making up to those who were already recipients of pensions such amounts as would have accrued if the benefit had dated from the time of disability, instead of from the time of granting the pension, was passed in 1879; and at the same time the list of pensioners was greatly enlarged.

13. The measure presented in the Fiftieth Congress was designed to extend the pension list so as to include all regularly enlisted and honorably discharged soldiers of the Civil War, who had become in whole, or in part, dependent upon the aid of others for their maintenance. The measure was known as the Dependent Pensions Bill. Many opposed the enactment of a law which appeared to give the bounty of the government to the deserving and the undeserving alike, and to compel the worthy recipients of pensions to rank themselves with those who had gone into the army for pay, and had been brought to want through improvidence. A majority was easily[Pg 355] obtained for the measure in both Houses of Congress, and the act was passed. President Cleveland, however, interposed his veto, and the proposed law fell to the ground.

14. The most important and noted legislation of the session was the act known as the Inter-State Commerce Bill. For some fifteen years complaints against the methods and management of the railways of the United States had been heard on many sides, and in cases not a few the complaints had originated in actual abuses. A large class of people became clamorous that Congress should compel railways to accept a system of uniformity as to all charges for service rendered. With this object in view the Inter-State Commerce Bill was accordingly prepared, and became a law.

15. In the spring of 1885 it became known that General Ulysses S. Grant was stricken with a fatal malady. The announcement at once drew to the General and ex-President the interest and sympathies of the whole American people. The hero of Vicksburg and Appomattox sank under the ravages of a malignant cancer, which had fixed itself in his throat. On the 23d of July, 1885, he expired at a summer cottage on Mount McGregor, New York. His last days were hallowed by the love of the nation which he had so gloriously defended. No funeral west of the Atlantic—not even that of Lincoln—was more universally observed. The procession in New York City was perhaps as imposing a pageant as was ever exhibited in honor of the dead. On the 8th of August the body of General Grant was laid to rest in Riverside Park, overlooking the Hudson. There, on the summit from which may be seen the great river and the metropolis of the nation, is the tomb of him whose courage and magnanimity in war will forever give him rank with the few master spirits who have honored the human race and changed the course of history.

16. Within scarcely more than a year from the funeral of Grant several other distinguished Union Generals fell. On the[Pg 356] 29th of October General George B. McClellan died at his home at St. Cloud, New Jersey. After another brief interval General Winfield S. Hancock, senior Major-General of the American Army, breathed his last. In the mean time, within a brief period, Generals Irwin McDowell, Ambrose E. Burnside, Joseph Hooker, and George G. Meade, each of whom, in a critical period of the war, had commanded the Army of the Potomac, passed away. Before the close of 1886 Major-General John A. Logan, greatest of the volunteer commanders, who, without previous military education, won for themselves distinguished honors in the War for the Union, fell sick and died at his home, called Calumet Place, in Washington City.

Thomas A. Hendricks.

17. In the mean time, several distinguished civilians had passed away. On the 25th of November, 1885, Vice-president Thomas A. Hendricks, after an illness of a single day, died suddenly at his home in Indianapolis. The life of Mr. Hendricks had been one of singular purity as well as of greatness. His character had been noted for its mildness and serenity in the stormy arena of politics. The goodness of the man in private life, combined with his distinction as governor, senator, and Vice-president of the United States, drew from the people every evidence of public and private respect for his memory. The body of the dead statesman was buried in Crown Hill cemetery, near Indianapolis. The funeral pageant surpassed in grandeur any other display of the kind ever witnessed in the Western States, except the funeral[Pg 357] of Lincoln. Shortly after his death, the funds were easily subscribed by the people, for the erection of the magnificent bronze monument and statue standing at one of the entrances to the Capitol of Indiana.

18. The death of Hendricks was soon followed by that of Horatio Seymour, of New York. On the 12th of February, 1886, this distinguished citizen, who had been governor of the Empire State, and a candidate for the Presidency against General Grant, died at his home in Utica. Still more distinguished in reputation and ability was Samuel J. Tilden, also of New York, who died at his home, called Greystone, at Yonkers, near New York City, on the 4th of August, 1886.

19. To this list of deaths must be added the illustrious name of Henry Ward Beecher. To him, with little reservation, must be assigned the first place among our orators and philanthropists. He had the happy fortune to retain his faculties unimpaired to the close of his career. On the evening of the 5th of March, 1887, at his home in Brooklyn, he sank down under a stroke of apoplexy. He was nearing the close of his seventy-fourth year. He lived until the morning of the 8th, and quietly entered the shadows. He was followed to the grave by the common eulogium of mankind, and every circumstance of his passing away showed that he had occupied the supreme place among men of his class in America.

20. On the 23d of March, 1888, Morrison R. Waite, Chief-Justice of the United States, died at his home in Washington City. The death of this able jurist imposed on President Cleveland the duty of naming his successor. Judge Melville W. Fuller, of Chicago, was appointed, and confirmed on the 30th of April, 1888.

21. During the whole of Cleveland's administration, the public mind was swayed and excited by the movements of politics. The universality of partisan newspapers, the combination in their columns of all the news of the world with the invectives and misrepresentations of party leaders, kept political[Pg 358] questions constantly uppermost to the detriment of social progress and industrial interests. Scarcely had President Cleveland entered upon his office as chief magistrate when the question of the succession to the Presidency was agitated.

22. By the last year of the administration it was seen that there would be no general break-up of the existing parties. It was also perceived that the issues between them must be made rather than found in the existing state of affairs. The sentiment in the United States in favor of the Constitutional prohibition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors had become somewhat extended and intensified since the last general election. But the discerning eye might perceive that the real issue was between the Republican and Democratic parties.

23. One issue, however, had a living and practical relation to affairs, and that was the question of Protection to American Industry. Since the campaign of 1884, the agitation had been gradually extended. At the opening of the session, in 1887, the President, in his annual message to Congress, devoted the whole document to the discussion of the single question of a Reform of the Revenue System of the United States. The existing rates of duty on imported articles of commerce had so greatly augmented the income of the Government, that a large surplus had accumulated in the treasury of the United States. This fact was made the basis of the President's argument in favor of a new system of revenue, or at least an ample reduction in the tariff rates under the old. It was immediately charged by the Republicans, that the project in question meant the substitution of the system of Free Trade in the United States as against the system of protective duties. The question thus involved was made the bottom issue in the Presidential campaign of 1888.

24. The Democratic National Convention was held in St. Louis on the 5th day of June, 1888, and Mr. Cleveland was[Pg 359] renominated by acclamation. For the Vice-presidential nomination the choice fell on ex-Senator Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio. The Republican National Convention was held in Chicago, on the 19th day of June. Many candidates were ardently pressed upon the body, and the contest was long and spirited. The voting was continued to the eighth ballot, when the choice fell upon Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana. In the evening, Levi P. Morton, of New York, was nominated for the Vice-presidency on the first ballot.

25. In the mean time, the Prohibition party had held its National Convention at Indianapolis, and on the 30th of May had nominated for the Presidency General Clinton B. Fisk, of New Jersey, and for the Vice-presidency John A. Brooks, of Missouri. The Democratic platform declared for a reform of the revenue system of the United States, and reaffirmed the principle of adjusting the tariff on imports with strict regard to the actual needs of governmental expenditure. The Republican platform declared also for a reform of the tariff schedule, but at the same time stoutly affirmed the maintenance of the protective system as a part of the permanent policy of the United States. Both parties deferred to the patriotic sentiment of the country in favor of the soldiers. The Prohibitionists entered the campaign, on the distinct proposition that the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors should be prohibited throughout the United States by Constitutional amendment. To this was added a clause in favor of extending the right of suffrage to women.

26. As the canvass progressed during the summer and autumn of 1888, it became evident that the result was in doubt. The contest was exceedingly close. The result showed success for the Republican candidate. He received 233 electoral votes, against 168 votes for Mr. Cleveland. The latter, however, appeared to a better advantage on the popular count, having a considerable majority over General Harrison. General Fisk, the Prohibition candidate, received nearly three hundred thou[Pg 360]sand votes; but, under the system of voting, no electoral vote of any State was obtained for him.

27. The last days of Cleveland's administration and of the Fiftieth Congress were signalized by the admission into the Union of Four New States, making the number forty-two. In 1887 the question of dividing Dakota Territory by a line running east and west was agitated, and the measure finally prevailed. Steps were taken by the people of both sections for admission into the Union. Montana, with her 146,080 square miles of territory, had meanwhile acquired a sufficient population; and Washington Territory, with its area of 69,180 square miles, also knocked for admission. In the closing days of the Fiftieth Congress a bill was passed raising all of these four Territories—South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Washington—to the plane of Statehood. The Act contemplated the adoption of State Constitutions, and a proclamation of admission by the next President. It thus happened that the honor of bringing in this great addition to the States of the Union was divided between the outgoing and incoming administrations.

28. Another Act of Congress was also of national importance. Hitherto the government had been administered through seven departments, at the head of each of which was placed a Cabinet officer, the seven together constituting the advisers of the President. Early in 1889 a measure was brought forward in Congress, and adopted, for the institution of a new department, to be called the Department of Agriculture. Practically the measure involved the elevation of what had previously been an Agricultural Bureau in the Department of the Interior, to the rank of a Cabinet office. Hitherto, though agriculture has been the greatest of all the producing interests of the people, it has been neglected for more political and less useful departments of American life and enterprise.

[Pg 361]

CHAPTER LV.

Harrison's Administration, 1889- ——.

BENJAMIN Harrison, twenty-third President of the United States, was born at North Bend, Ohio, on the 20th of August, 1833. He is a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Benjamin Harrison.

2. Harrison's early home was on a farm. He was a student at the institution called Farmers' College, for two years. Afterwards, he attended Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, and was graduated therefrom in June, 1852. He took in marriage the daughter of Dr. John W. Scott, President of the University. After a course of study, he entered the profession of law, removed to Indianapolis, and established himself in that city. With the outbreak of the war he became a soldier of the Union, and rose to the rank of Brevet Brigadier-General of Volunteers. Before the close of the war, he was elected Reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Indiana.

3. In the period following the Civil War, General Harrison rose to distinction as a civilian. In 1876 he was the unsuccessful candidate of the Republican party for governor of I[Pg 362]ndiana. In 1881 he was elected to the United States Senate, where he won the reputation of a leader and statesman. In 1884, his name was prominently mentioned in connection with the Presidency; and in 1888 it was found that he, more than any other, combined in himself all the elements of a successful candidate. The event justified the choice of the party in making him the standard-bearer in the ensuing campaign.

4. General Harrison was inaugurated President on the 4th of March, 1889. His Cabinet appointments were as follows: Secretary of State, James G. Blaine, of Maine; Secretary of the Treasury, William Windom, of Minnesota; Secretary of War, Redfield Proctor, of Vermont; Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin F. Tracy, of New York; Postmaster-General, John Wanamaker, of Pennsylvania; Secretary of the Interior, John W. Noble, of Missouri; Attorney-General, William H. H. Miller, of Indiana; and Secretary of Agriculture—the new department—Jeremiah Rusk, of Wisconsin.

5. As the more fertile and accessible public lands in the Mississippi valley were gradually taken up, new settlers began to cast envious eyes upon Indian Territory, and especially upon a central region, called Oklahoma, or the "beautiful country," which was supposed to be very fertile. Several illegal attempts were made by bands of adventurers to settle upon these lands, and the military had been employed to eject the "Oklahoma Boomers," as the intruders were called.

6. The Indian title to Oklahoma had gradually been acquired by the United States, and one of the first acts of President Harrison was to issue a proclamation declaring that this region, embracing nearly 3000 square miles, should be thrown open to public settlement at noon of April 22, 1889.

7. As this date approached, settlers to the number of over ten thousand collected and formed camps along the southern boundary of Kansas, and, at the hour named, made a wild race to Oklahoma across the intervening strip of Indian[Pg 363] Territory. Towns were started in several localities, and within a few days the region had a population of more than 30,000. Though the country proved somewhat less fertile than had been supposed, the new community continued to grow, and the following year, with greatly enlarged boundaries and a population of 62,000, was organized as the Territory of Oklahoma.

8. Within two months after Harrison's inauguration occurred the Centennial of the American Republic. On the 30th of April, 1789, the Father of his Country had taken the oath of office and entered upon his duties as first President of the United States, and the corresponding date in 1889 was fixed upon for the centennial celebration of the event. The holidays in the metropolis included the 29th and 30th days of April and the 1st day of May. The event drew to New York the largest concourse of people ever seen at one place within the limits of the United States. Fully half a million strangers visited the city and were present at the ceremonies.

9. The close of the year 1888 and the beginning of 1889 were marked by a dangerous complication between the United States and Germany relative to the Samoan Islands. In order to settle the difficulty, the President of the United States sent three commissioners to Berlin, to confer with the German Government. The result was wholly satisfactory to the United States. The attitude and demand of the American Government in favor of the independence of Samoa, under its native sovereign, were supported by the decision of the commissioners, and the difficulty ended with the recognition of King Malietoa.

10. The last week of May, 1889, was memorable in the history of our country for the destruction of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. That city lay at the junction of a stream, known as the South Fork, with the Conemaugh River. Several miles up the South Fork some wealthy fishermen had constructed a dam and [Pg 364] a reservoir, where the waters had accumulated in an immense volume. The level of the lake was high above the valley and the city. During the last days of May heavy rains fell, and the country was inundated. On the afternoon of the 31st of the month, the dam which held the lake in place was burst asunder, and the deluge of waters poured suddenly down the valley. Everything was swept away by the flood. Johnstown, a manufacturing city, was totally wrecked, and thrown in an indescribable mass against the aqueduct of the Pennsylvania Railway below the town. Here the ruins caught fire, and the wild shrieks of hundreds of miserable victims were heard above the roar of the deluge and the conflagration. The heart of the nation responded quickly to the sufferings of the people, and millions of dollars in money and supplies were poured into the Conemaugh valley to relieve the destitution of those who survived the calamity.

11. The work of the fifty-first Congress was marked with much partisan bitterness and excitement. The first question which occupied the attention of the body was the revision of the tariff. On this question the political parties were strongly opposed to each other. The policy of the Republican party, though the platform of 1888 had declared for a revision of the tariff, was favorable to the perpetuation of the protective system as a part of the permanent policy of the Government. The Democrats favored a great reduction in the existing rates of duties, and the ultimate adoption of the principle of free trade. What was known as the McKinley Bill was introduced into Congress, and finally adopted, by which the Republican policy was incorporated as a part of the governmental system. The average rate of import duties was raised from about forty-seven per cent. to more than fifty-three per cent.; but in a few instances the existing duties were abolished, and in the case of raw sugar a bounty to the producers was provided instead.

[Pg 365]

12. Early in the session a serious difficulty arose in the House of Representatives between the Democrats and the Speaker, Thomas B. Reed, of Maine. The Republican majority in the House was not large, and the minority were easily able in matters of party legislation to break the quorum by refusing to vote. In order to counteract this policy, a new system of rules was reported empowering the Speaker to count the minority as present whether voting or not, and thus to compel a quorum. These rules were violently resisted by the Democrats, and Speaker Reed was denounced by his opponents as an unjust officer. It was under the provision of the new rule that nearly all of the party measures of the fifty-first Congress were adopted.

13. One of the most important of these was the attempt to pass through Congress what was known as the Force Bill, by which it was proposed to transfer the control of the Congressional elections in the States of the Union, from State to National authority. This measure provoked the strongest opposition, part of which arose within the Republican party. In the Senate certain Republicans refused to support the bill, and it was finally laid aside for the consideration of other business.

14. A third measure was the attempt to restore silver to a perfect equality with gold in the coinage of the country. Since 1874 there had been an increasing difference in the purchasing power of the two money metals of the country. That is, the purchasing power of gold had, in the last fifteen years, risen about fifteen per cent., while the purchasing power of silver had fallen about five per cent. in the markets of the world. One class of theorists, assuming that gold is the only invariable standard of values, insisted that this difference in the purchasing power of the two metals had risen wholly from a depreciation in the price of silver; while the opposing class argued that the difference had arisen most largely from an increase in the purchasing[Pg 366] power of gold, and that equal legislation and equal favor shown to the two money metals would bring them to par, the one with the other, and keep them in that relation in the markets of the world.

15. The advocates of free coinage claimed that the laws discriminating against silver and in favor of gold were impolitic, unjust, and un-American. They urged that the free coinage of silver would be of vast advantage to the financial interests of the country. This view, however, was strongly opposed by the money centers and by the fund-holding classes, to whom the payment of all debts according to the highest standard of value—that is, in gold only—was a fundamental principle. A bill for the free coinage of silver was passed by the Senate, but rejected by the House, and the question was handed over to the next Congress.

16. This Congress passed the necessary acts for the admission of Idaho and Wyoming as the forty-third and forty-fourth States respectively. Idaho was admitted with a population of 84,385, on the 3d of July, 1890; while on the 10th of the same month 60,705 souls were added to the Union with the State of Wyoming.

17. The Eleventh Decennial Census of the United States was taken in June, 1890. Its results indicated that the population of the country had increased to 62,622,250, exclusive of Indians not taxed, and whites in Alaska and Indian Territory. These swell the grand total to about 63,000,000 souls. Indiana was found to contain 2,195,404 inhabitants, and to include, near the hamlet of Westport in Decatur County, the center of population of the United States.

18. Meanwhile three other great leaders of the Civil War passed away by death. On the 5th of August, 1888, Lieutenant-General Sheridan, at that time Commander-in-chief of the American army, died at his home in Nonquitt, Massachusetts. Few other[Pg 367] generals of the Union army had won greater admiration and higher honors. He was in many senses a model soldier, and his death at the comparatively early age of fifty-seven was the occasion of great grief throughout the country.

19. Still more conspicuous was the fall of General William T. Sherman. Among the Union commanders in the great Civil War he stood easily next to Grant in greatness and reputation. In vast and varied abilities, particularly in military accomplishment, he was perhaps superior to all. Born in 1820, he reached the mature age of seventy-one, and died at his home in New York on the 14th day of February, 1891. The event produced a profound impression. Sherman, more than any other great military captain of his time, had shunned and put aside political ambition. Of his sterling patriotism there was never a doubt. As to his wonderful abilities, all men were agreed. His remains were taken under escort from New York to St. Louis, where they were deposited in the family burying grounds in Mount Calvary cemetery.

20. After the death of General Sherman, only two commanders of the first class remained on the stage of action from the great Civil War—both Confederates. These were Generals Joseph E. Johnston and James Longstreet. The former of these was destined to follow his rival and conqueror at an early day to the land of rest. General Johnston, who had been an honorary pall bearer at the funeral of Sherman, contracted a heavy cold on that occasion, which resulted in his death on the 20th of February, 1891, at his home in Washington City. General Johnston was in his eighty-third year at the time of his decease. Among the Confederate commanders none were his superiors, with the single exception of Lee. After the close of the war, his conduct had been of a kind to win the confidence of Union men; and at the time of his death he was held in almost universal honor.

[Pg 368]

21. In February of 1891 a serious event occurred in the city of New Orleans. There existed in that metropolis a secret social organization among the Italians, known as the Mafia Society. The principles of the brotherhood involved mutual protection and even the law of revenge against enemies. Several breaks occurred between members of the society and the police authorities of the city, and the latter, by arrest and prosecution, incurred the dislike and hatred of the former. The difficulty grew until at length Captain David C. Hennessey, chief of the police, was assassinated by some secret murderer or murderers, who for the time escaped detection. It was believed, however, that the Mafia Society was at the bottom of the assassination, and several members of the brotherhood were arrested under the charge of murder.

22. A trial followed, and the circumstances tended to establish the guilt of the prisoners. But the proof was not positive, and the first three of those on trial were acquitted. A great excitement followed this decision, and charges were published that the jury had been bribed or terrorized with threats into making a false verdict. On the following day a public meeting was called, and a great crowd gathered around the statue of Henry Clay, standing in one of the public squares. Speeches were made. A mob was organized and directed against the jail where the Italian prisoners were confined. The jail was entered by force. The prisoners were driven from their cells, and nine of them were shot to death in the court of the prison. Two others were dragged forth and hanged. Nor can it be doubted that the innocent as well as the guilty suffered in the slaughter.

23. The event was followed by intense public excitement. The affair became of national, and then of international, importance. The Italian minister, Baron Fava, at Washington, entered his solemn protest against the killing of his countrymen, and the American Secretary of State communicated with King[Pg 369] Humbert on the subject. The Italian societies in other American cities passed angry resolutions against the destruction of their fellow-countrymen by the mob; and the newspapers of the country teemed with discussions of the subject. Threats of war were heard between Italy and the United States; but the more thoughtful looked with confidence to the settlement of the question by peaceable means.

24. The History of our Country has thus been traced from the times of the aborigines to the present day. The story is done. The Republic has passed through stormy times, but has at last entered her second century in safety and peace. The clouds that were recently so black overhead have broken, and are sinking behind the horizon. The equality of all men before the law has been written with the iron pen of war in the Constitution of the Nation. The Union of the States has been consecrated anew by the blood of patriots and the tears of the lowly. The temple of freedom reared by our fathers still stands in undiminished glory. The Past has taught its Lesson; the Present has its Duty; and the Future its Hope.[Pg 370]

Review Questions.—Part VII.

CHAPTER L.

• 1. Tell about the thirteenth amendment.
• 2. Trace the reconstruction measures of President Johnson's administration.
• 3. Give an account of the purchase of Alaska.
• 4. Tell about the Atlantic cable.

CHAPTER LI.

• 5. Give an account of the adoption of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments.
• 6. Detail the Alabama Claims controversy and tell how it was settled.
• 7. Tell about the great fires of 1871-72.
• 8. Outline the Indian troubles with the Modocs and the Sioux.
• 9. Give an account of the Credit Mobilier.
• 10. Tell about the Centennial exposition.
• 11. Give an account of the contested election of 1876, and how it was adjusted.

CHAPTER LII.

• 12. Tell about the railroad strikes in the early part of President Hayes's administration.
• 13. Give an account of the troubles with the Nez Percé Indians.
• 14. Give the leading Congressional measures of these four years.
• 15. Tell about General Grant's tour around the world.

CHAPTER LIII.

• 16. Give an account of the presidency and death of Garfield.
• 17. Outline the presidency of Arthur and the progress of applied science during his term of office.

CHAPTER LIV.

• 18. State the general condition and trace the measures of Cleveland's administration.
• 19. Tell about the Charleston earthquake.
• 20. What great leaders of the Civil War died during these four years?

CHAPTER LV.

• 21. Give an account of the election of President Harrison, and of his entrance upon office.
• 22. Summarize the leading events which have occurred during his administration.

[Pg 371]

APPENDIX.

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of North America.

ARTICLE I.

Section 1.—All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Sec. 2.—The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature.

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand; but each State shall have at least one representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose[Pg 372] three; Massachusetts, eight; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one; Connecticut, five; New York, six; New Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, six; Virginia, ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five; and Georgia, three.

When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment.

Sec. 3.—The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have one vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature which shall then fill such vacancies.

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice-president of the United States shall be president of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-president, or when he shall exercise the office as President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the chief-justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present.

Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law.

Sec. 4.—The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legisla[Pg 373]ture thereof; but the Congress may, at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year; and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Sec. 5.—Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members; and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting.

Sec. 6.—The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance on the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and, for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such time; and no person holding any office under the United States shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office.

Sec. 7.—All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills.

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return[Pg 374] it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and, if approved by two thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But, in all such cases, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.

Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment), shall be presented to the President of the United States; and, before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.

Sec. 8.—The Congress shall have power:—
To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defense and general welfare, of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States:

To borrow money on the credit of the United States:

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes:

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States:

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures:

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States:

To establish post-offices and post-roads:

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries:

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court:

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations:

[Pg 375]

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water:

To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years:

To provide and maintain a navy:

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces:

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions:

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress:

To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings:—And

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Sec. 9.—The migration or importation of such persons, as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a tax, or duty, may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census, or enumeration, hereinbefore directed to be taken.

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties, in another.

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the[Pg 376] receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.

Sec. 10.—No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of nobility.

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.

ARTICLE II.

Section 1.—The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and together with the Vice-president, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows:—

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates; and the votes shall then be counted. The[Pg 377] person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose, by ballot, one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then, from the five highest on the list, the said house shall, in like manner, choose the President. But, in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States; and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be Vice-president. But, if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them, by ballot, the Vice-president.

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers or duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-president; and the Congress may, by law, provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-president, declaring what officer shall then act as President; and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected; and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States or any of them.

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:—

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Sec. 2.—The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require[Pg 378] the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of their next session.

Sec. 3.—He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and, in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and shall commission all the officers of the United States.

Sec. 4.—The President, Vice-president, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE III.

Section 1.—The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in a Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior; and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Sec. 2.—The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and[Pg 379] treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more States, between a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of different States, between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens, or subjects.

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations, as the Congress shall make.

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but, when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.

Sec. 3.—Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted.

ARTICLE IV.

Section 1.—Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.

Sec. 2.—The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime.

No person held to service or labor in one State under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation[Pg 380] therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.

Sec. 3.—New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislature of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Sec. 4.—The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature can not be convened), against domestic violence.

ARTICLE V.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution; or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided, that no amendment, which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI.

All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

[Pg 381]

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

ARTICLE VII.

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same.

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

George Washington, President,
and Deputy from Virginia.

New Hampshire.—John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman.

Massachusetts.—Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King.

Connecticut.—William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman.

New York.—Alexander Hamilton.

New Jersey.—William Livingston, David Bearly, William Patterson, Jonathan Dayton.

Pennsylvania.—Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris.

Delaware.—George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom.

Maryland.—James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll.

Virginia.—John Blair, James Madison, Jr.

North Carolina.—William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson.

South Carolina.—John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler.

Georgia.—William Few, Abraham Baldwin.

Attest:

William Jackson, Secretary.

[Pg 382]

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

ARTICLE I.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

ARTICLE II.

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

ARTICLE III.

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE IV.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.

ARTICLE V.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject, for the same offense, to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself;[Pg 383] nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.

ARTICLE VI.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law; and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

ARTICLE VII.

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the common law.

ARTICLE VIII.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

ARTICLE IX.

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

ARTICLE X.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

ARTICLE XI.

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one[Pg 384] of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State.

ARTICLE XII.

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-president, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-president; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-president, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate; the president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But, in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-president shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-president shall be the Vice-president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-president; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice.

But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-president of the United States.

ARTICLE XIII.

Section 1.—Neither slavery nor voluntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,[Pg 385] shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Sec. 2.—Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.

ARTICLE XIV.

Section 1.—All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Sec. 2.—Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States, according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for choice of electors for President and Vice-president of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Sec. 3.—No person shall be a senator, or representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-president, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; but Congress may, by a vote of two thirds of each house, remove such disability.

Sec. 4.—The validity of the public debt of the United States authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions, and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States, nor any State, shall assume or[Pg 386] pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Sec. 5.—The Congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate legislation the provisions of this Article.

ARTICLE XV.

Section 1.—The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Sec. 2.—The Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.

[Pg 387]

INDEX.

• A
• Abercrombie, General, defeat of, at Ticonderoga, 143.
• Abraham, Plains of, battle of, 146.
• Acadia, named, 39;
• conquered by the English, 141.
• Acadians, exile of the, 141.
• Act, the Importation, 150;
• the Stamp, 151;
• the Embargo, 219;
• the Conscription, 308;
• the Resumption, 339.
• Adams, John, predicts American Independence, 150;
• nominates Washington, 161;
• on Declaration Committee, 165;
• Commissioner to Paris, 197;
• elected first Vice-president, 202;
• reelected Vice-president, 208;
• elected President, 210;
• administration of, 211-213;
• death of, 249.
• Adams, John Quincy, Secretary of State, 244;
• elected President, 247;
• sketch of, 248;
• administration of, 248, 249.
• Adams, Samuel, at Boston town-meeting, 150.
• Agricultural Department, established, 360.
• Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 93.
• Alabama, admission of, 246.
• Alabama Claims, the, 330.
• Alabama, depredations by the, 315.
• Alaska, purchase of, 325.
• Algiers, tribute paid to, 210;
• subdued by Decatur, 242.
• Alexander, Pope, gives New World to Spain, 43.
• Algonquins, regions inhabited by the, 16.
• Allen, Ethan, captures Fort Ticonderoga, 159.
• America, discovery of, 25;
• derivation of name, 26.
• Amendments to the Constitution, fourteenth and fifteenth, 328.
• Amherst, general-in-chief of American forces, 144.
• Amnesty proclamation, the, 324.
• Anarchists, the Chicago, 352.
• Anderson, Robert, defends Fort Sumter, 282.
• André, John, capture of, 191.
• Andros, Sir Edmund, royal governor of New England, 86;
• demands surrender of Connecticut charter, 87;
• governor of New York, 101;
• treaty of with the Iroquois, 102.
• Antietam, battle of, 301.
• Anti-Federalist party, the, 201.
• Appomattox Courthouse, surrender at, 319.
• Arctic expeditions, 272.
• Argall, Samuel, abducts Pocahontas, 65;
• expedition against Acadia, 65;
• elected governor of Virginia, 67.
• Arizona Territory, organization of, 325.
• Arkansas, organization of Territory, 246;
• admission of State, 253.
• Arlington, Earl of, grant of Virginia to, 73;
• surrenders claim to Culpepper, 75.
• Arnold, Benedict, at Ticonderoga, 159;
• expedition against Canada, 162;
• at camp on Delaware, 172;
• at Bemis's Heights, 174;
• treason of, 190;
• in British army, 192.
• Arthur, Chester A., elected Vice-president, 341;
• becomes President, 346;
• sketch of, 346;
• administration of, 346-349.
• Atlanta, capture of, 312.
• Aztecs, regions inhabited by the, 16.
• B
• Bacon, Nathaniel, rebellion led by, 74.
• Balboa discovers the Pacific, 27.
• Ball's Bluff, battle of, 291.
• Baltimore, Lord, secures charter for New Maryland, 122.
• Baltimore, siege of, 238;
• mob at fire on Union soldiers, 282.
• Bank of North America, organization of, 192.
• Bank of the United States, organization of, 207;
• rechartered, 242;
• rechartering vetoed by Jackson, 250;
• rechartering vetoed by Tyler, 258.
• Banks, N. P., in West Virginia, 297;
• at Cedar Mountain, 300;
• captures Port Hudson, 304;
• Red River expedition of, 310.
• Barclay, Commodore, on Lake Erie, 229.
• Battle of Antietam, 301;
• Atlanta, 312;
• Ball's Bluff, 291;
• Bemis's Heights, 174;
• Bennington, 173;
• Brandywine, 175;
• Brier Creek, 185;
• Buena Vista, 264;
• Bull Run, 289, 300;
• Bunker Hill, 159;
• Cerro Gordo, 264;
• Champion Hills, 303;
• Chancellorsville, 307;
• Chapultepec, 267;
• Chickamauga, 304;
• Chippewa, 235;
• Chrysler's Field, 232;
• Churubusco, 266;
• City of Mexico, 265;
• Cold Harbor, 316;
• Corinth, 297;
• Cowpens, 193;
• Eutaw Springs, 195;
• Fair Oaks, 299;
• Five Oaks, 319;
• Fort Edward, 142;
• Fort Meigs, 228;
• Fort Stephenson, 229;
• Fredericksburg, 301;
• Frenchtown, 228;
• Germantown, 176;
• Gettysburg, 308;
• Guilford Courthouse, 194;
• Kenesaw Mountain, 311;
• King's Mountain, 189;
• Lake Erie, 229;
• Long Island, 166;
• Lookout Mountain, 305;
• Lundy's Lane, 235;
• Malvern Hill, 299;
• Missionary Ridge, 305;
• Monmouth, 180;
• Monterey, 263;
• Murfreesborough, 297;
• Nashville, 312;
• New Orleans, 241;
• Palo Alto, 262;
• Plains of Abraham, 145;
• Plattsburgh, 237;
• Princeton, 171;
• Queenstown, 226;
• Resaca de la Palma, 262;
• Sag Harbor, 171;
• Sander's Creek, 188;
• San Gabriel, 264;
• Saratoga, 174;
• Savannah, 183;
• Shiloh, 293;
• Spottsylvania Courthouse, 316;
• Talladega, 231;
• Thames, 230;
• Tippecanoe, 223;
• Trenton, 169;
• Vera Cruz, 264;
• Vicksburg, 303;
• White Plains, 168;
• Wilson's Creek, 290;
• Yorktown, 196.
• Beecher, Henry Ward, death of, 357.
• Bell, A. Graham, inventor of telephone, 357.
• Bellomont, Earl of, governor of New York, 103.
• Bemis's Heights, battle of, 174.
• Bennington, battle of, 264.
• Berkeley, Sir William, governor of Virginia, 71;
• elected by burgesses, 72;
• rebellion against, 74;
• oppression by, 75;
• grant of New Jersey to, 115;
• sells interest, 116.
• Beverley, Robert, royalist captain, 74.
• Black Hawk War, the, 251.
• Blaine, James G., Secretary of State under Garfield, 345;
• nominated for President, 349;
• Secretary of State under Harrison, 362.
• Block, Adrian, explorations by, 55.
• Body of Liberties, 82.
• Boone, Daniel, colonizes Kentucky, 208.
• Booth, John Wilkes, assassinates Lincoln, 321;
• death of, 321.
• Boston, founded, 79;
• occupied by British, 154;
• massacre at, 154;
• tea party, 155;
• Port Bill, 156;
• siege of, 159-164;
• fire in, 331.
• Braddock, Edward, arrives in America, 139;
• defeat and death of, 140.
• Bradford, John, landing of, 51.
• Bradford, William, governor of Massachusetts, 77.
• Bragg, Braxton, at Murfreesborough, 297;
• at Chickamauga, 304;
• at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, 305.
• Brandywine, battle of, 175.
• Breckinridge, John C., elected Vice-president, 274;
• commands Confederate cavalry, 317.
• Breed's Hill, fortification of, 159.
• Brier Creek, battle of, 185.
• Brooklyn Bridge, construction of the, 347.
• Brown, John, insurrection led by, 276.
• Bryant, William Cullen, death of, 343.
• Buchanan, James, Secretary of State, 261;
• elected President, 274;
• sketch of, 275;
• administration of, 275-277.
• Buckner, S. B., defends Fort Donelson, 293.
• Buena Vista, battle of, 264.
• Bull Run, battles of, 289, 300.
• Bunker Hill, battle of, 159.
• Burgesses, House of, organized, 67;
• scene in, 152.
• Burgoyne, Gen., campaign of, 172-175;
• surrender of, 175.
• Burnside, Ambrose E., takes command of Army of the Potomac, 301;
• at Fredericksburg, 301;
• death of, 356.
• Burr, Aaron, elected Vice-president, 213;
• duel with Hamilton, 217;
• schemes of, 217.
• Butler, Benjamin F., at New Orleans, 296;
• at Fort Fisher, 314;
• joins Grant at Bermuda Hundred, 316;
• nominated for presidency, 349.
• C
• Cabinet, the first, 205.
• Cable, Atlantic, laying of the, 275, 325.
• Cabot, John, voyage and discoveries of, 41.
• Cabot, Sebastian, voyage and explorations of, 42.
• Calhoun, John C., Secretary of War, 244;
• elected Vice-president, 247;
• for nullification, 251;
• death of, 272.
• California, conquest of, 264;
• discovery of gold in, 267;
• admission of, 268.
• Californians, regions inhabited by the, 16.
• Calvert, Sir Cecil, charter issued to, 123.
• Calvert, Sir George, in Maryland, 122.
• Cambridge, named, 81.
• Canadian insurrection, the, 256.
• Canonchet, King, violates treaty, 84;
• death of, 85.
• Canonicus, King of the Narragansetts, 107.
• Capitol of the United States, location of the, 213.
• Carolinas, history of the, 125-127;
• separation of the, 127.
• Caroline, firing of the, 256.
• Carteret, Sir George, proprietor of New Jersey, 115.
• Cartier, James, voyages of, 36, 37.
• Carver, John, governor of the Pilgrims, 51;
• death of, 76.
• Census of 1790 and 1800, 213;
• of 1810, 222;
• of 1870, 329;
• of 1880, 342;
• of 1890, 366.
• Centennial Exposition, the, 333.
• Centennial of the Republic, the, 362.
• Cerro Gordo, battle of, 264.
• Champion Hills, battle of, 303.
• Champlain, Lake, discovered, 40;
• expedition to, 141;
• abandoned by the French, 145.
• Champlain, Samuel, voyages of, 39, 40;
• founds Quebec, 39;
• discovers Lake Champlain, 40;
• governs New France, 40.
• Chancellorsville, battle of, 307.
• Chandler, Zackariah, death of, 343.
• Chapultepec, battle of, 267.
• Charlesbourg, Fort, settlement at, 47.
• Charleston, founded, 128;
• British repulsed at, 164;
• taken by British, 187;
• evacuated, 195;
• taken by Sherman, 313.
• Charleston earthquake, the, 353.
• Charter Oak, the, 87.
• Charter of New England, 78.
• Chase, Salmon P., Secretary of the Treasury, 281;
• as Chief-justice presides at impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, 327.
• Chen Lan Pin, the Chinese Minister, 340.
• Cherokees, regions inhabited by the, 16;
• difficulties with the, 252.
• Cherry Valley, massacre at, 181.
• Chesapeake, the affair of the, 233.
• Chesapeake Bay, explored, 61.
• Chicago, the great fire in, 330;
• the Anarchists in, 352.
• Chickamauga, battle of, 304.
• Chicora, first name of South Carolina, 29.
• Chinese Embassy, establishment of the, 340.
• Chippewa, battle of, 235.
• Chrysler's Field, battle of, 232.
• Churubusco, battle of, 266.
• Circumnavigation of the globe, 28.
• Civil Rights Bill, the, 326.
• Civil Service Reform, the, 351.
• Civil War, causes of the, 284-287;
• history of the, 281-319.
• Clark, George Rogers, campaigns of in the West, 181.
• Clarke, William, expedition of, 218.
• Clay, Henry, advocates Missouri Compromise, 246;
• advocates Omnibus Bill, 270;
• death of, 272.
• Clayborne, William, surveys of, 122.
• Cleveland, Grover, elected President, 349;
• sketch of, 350;
• administration of, 350-360;
• renominated, 358;
• receives majority of popular vote, 359.
• Clinton, Sir Henry, repulsed at New York, 164;
• bombards Charleston, 164;
• at battle of Long Island, 166.
• Code of Laws, given by London Company, 68.
• Cold Harbor, battle of, 316.
• Colonies, the American, war of with Great Britain, 157-198;
• independence of, 165-197.
• Colonization Society, founded, 243.
• Colorado, admission of, 335.
• Columbia, District of, organized, 213.
• Columbus, Christopher, sketch of, 24;
• discovers America, 25;
• other voyages of, 26;
• misfortunes of, 26;
• death of, 26;
• discovers Orinoco, 43.
• Comanches, regions inhabited by the, 16.
• Commerce, aggressions on American, 219.
• Concessions, account of the, 116.
• Concord, founded, 80.
• Confederacy, the Southern, 277.
• Confederation, articles of, 199;
• history of the, 199.
• Confederate cruisers, depredations by, 315.
• Congress of the Colonies, 139;
• the Stamp Act, 152;
• the First Continental, 156;
• the Second Continental, 161.
• Conkling, Roscoe, resigns seat in Senate, 345.
• Connecticut, colonization of, 106;
• history of, 106;
• charter of, 109;
• joins New England, 111.
• Conscription in the North, 308.
• Constitution of the United States, proposed, 200;
• committee appointed, 200;
• report of committee adopted, 201;
• provisions of, 201;
• adopted by the States, 202.
• Constitution, the affair of the, 225.
• Continental Army, organization of the, 162.
• Convention, the Constitutional, 200;
• the Hartford, 239.
• Cooke, Jay & Co., disastrous failure of, 333.
• Cooper, Peter, candidate for Presidency, 335.
• Cordova, Fernandez de, explorations of, 28.
• Corinth, battle of, 297.
• Cornbury, Lord, governor of New York, 104.
• Cornwallis, Lord, joins Clinton, 164;
• at Long Island, 167;
• takes Fort Lee, 168;
• pursues Washington, 169;
• at Brandywine, 176;
• at Monmouth, 180;
• at Sander's Creek, 188;
• pursues Greene, 194;
• in Virginia, 195;
• blockaded in Yorktown, 196;
• surrender of, 197.
• Cortereal, Gaspar, voyages of, 34.
• Cortez, Fernando, conquers Mexico, 28.
• Cotton gin, invention of the, 285.
• Cowpens, battle of, 193.
• Cranfield, Edward, governor of Province of New Hampshire, 86.
• Credit Mobilier, the, 332.
• Creek cession, the, 249.
• Creeks, war with the, 231.
• Crown Point, Johnson's expedition against, 141;
• deserted by the French, 145.
• Cuban "Filibusters," the, 271.
• Culpepper, John, leader of insurrection in North Carolina, 126.
• Culpepper, Lord, grant of Virginia to, 73;
• appointed governor, 75;
• sole proprietor, 75;
• removed, 75.
• Custer, General, defeat of, 334.
• D
• Da Gama, Vasco, doubles Cape of Good Hope, 42.
• Dakota Territory, organized, 325.
• Dakotas, the separation of the, 360.
• Dakotas, regions inhabited by the, 16.
• Dare, Virginia, birth of, 46.
• Darrah, Lydia, story of, 176.
• Davis, Jefferson, President of Confederacy, 277;
• sketch of, 289;
• escape of, 319;
• capture of, 320.
• Daye, Stephen, first printer in America, 81.
• Deane, Silas, commissioner to France, 178.
• Dearborn, Fort, surrender of, 225.
• Dearborn, Henry, commander-in-chief of American army, 224;
• expedition against Toronto, 231.
• De Ayllon, voyage of, 29.
• Decatur, captures the Philadelphia, 216;
• captures the Macedonian, 226;
• conquers the Algerian pirates, 242.
• Declaration of Rights, 153;
• of Independence, 165.
• Decree, the Milan, 220.
• De Gourgues, Dominic, revenge of, 38.
• De Kalb, joins patriot forces, 172;
• killed, 181.
• Delaware, Lord, governor of Virginia, 62;
• voyage to Virginia, 63;
• return to England, 34;
• death of, 67.
• Delaware, secession of, 120.
• Delaware, the, crossed by Washington, 169.
• De Monts, patent of, 38;
• at Port Royal, 39.
• De Soto, Ferdinand, expedition of, 30-32;
• discovers the Mississippi, 31;
• death of, 32.
• D'Estaing, fleet of, 179.
• Detroit, surrender of, 225.
• Dieskau, defeat of, 142.
• Discovery of America, 25.
• Division of land, 64.
• Dolbear, A. C., inventor of the telephone, 347.
• Donelson, Fort, capture of, 293.
• Dorchester Heights, fortification of, 163.
• Dorr's Rebellion, 258.
• Douglas, Stephen A., advocates State sovereignty, 274.
• Dover, founded, 113.
• Drake, Sir Francis, voyages of, 44;
• at Roanoke, 45.
• Dred Scott case, the, 276.
• Du Quesne, Fort, built, 138;
• battle near, 140;
• destruction of, 144.
• E
• Early, J. A., invades Pennsylvania, 317;
• surprises Union camp, 318;
• defeated at Winchester, 318.
• East India Company, the Dutch, 53.
• Edison, Thomas A., inventor of the telephone and electric light, 347.
• Edward, Fort, built, 141;
• battle at, 142.
• Electoral Commission, the, 336.
• Electric light, invention of the, 347.
• Elizabethtown, founded, 115.
• Emancipation Proclamation, issued, 302.
• Embargo Act, passage of, 219;
• repeal of the, 321.
• Endicott, John, governor of Plymouth, 78.
• Ericsson, John, invents the Monitor, 294.
• Ericsson, Leif, discovers America, 21.
• Ericsson, Thorwald and Thorstein, 22.
• Erie, Fort, siege of, 236.
• Erie, Lake, battle of, 229.
• Esquimos, regions inhabited by the, 16.
• Eutaw Springs, battle of, 195.
• Evarts, William A., delivers Centennial oration, 333.
• F
• Fair Oaks, battle of, 299.
• Farragut, Admiral, captures New Orleans, 296;
• captures Mobile, 314.
• Fava, Baron, Italian minister, 368.
• Federalist party, the, 201.
• Field, Cyrus W., lays Atlantic cables, 275, 324.
• Fields, James T., death of, 343.
• Fillmore, Millard, elected Vice-president, 268;
• becomes President, 270;
• administration of, 270-272.
• Fisher, Fort, capture of, 314.
• Fishery award, the, 340.
• Fishery dispute, the, 271.
• Fisk, Clinton B., prohibition candidate for Presidency, 359.
• Five Forks, battle of, 319.
• Florida, origin of name, 27;
• cession of, 245;
• admission of, 260.
• Force Bill, introduction of the, 365.
• Fort Charlesbourg, settlement at, 37.
• ---- Dearborn, surrender of, 225.
• ---- Donelson, capture of, 293.
• ---- Du Quesne, built, 138;
• destruction of, 114.
• ---- Edward, built, 141;
• battle at, 142.
• ---- Fisher, capture of, 314.
• ---- Jackson, capture of, 296.
• ---- Le Bœuf, built, 136;
• arrival of Washington at, 136.
• ---- McHenry, bombarded, 238.
• ---- Meigs, building and siege of, 228.
• ---- Mercer, taken by British, 176.
• ---- Mifflin, taken by British, 176.
• ---- Moultrie, bombarded, 164.
• ---- Nassau, building of, 55.
• ---- Necessity, built and defended, 138.
• ---- Stephenson, siege of, 229.
• ---- St. Philip, capture of, 296.
• ---- Sumter, fired upon, 282.
• ---- Venango, built, 136.
• ---- William Henry built, 142;
• massacre at, 143.
• ---- Windsor, building of, 95.
• France, explorers sent from, 35;
• colony at Fort Charlesbourg, 37;
• colonizes Florida, 37;
• settlement at Quebec, 39;
• aid of, 172;
• treaty with America, 178;
• relations with America, 178-186;
• troubles with, 211;
• treaty of peace with, 212.
• Franklin, Benjamin, one of Declaration Committee, 165;
• in France, 178;
• sketch of, 179;
• plan of confederation by, 191.
• Franklin, Sir John, Arctic expedition of, 272.
• Fredericksburg, battle of, 301.
• Free Coinage Bill, introduction of the, 365.
• Free Soil Party, organization of the, 272.
• Fremont, John C., in California, 263.
• French and Indian War, history of the, 135-146.
• Frenchtown, battle of, 228.
• Frobisher, Martin, searching for northwest passage, 43.
• Fuller, Melville W., appointed Chief-justice of the United States, 357.
• Fulton, Robert, invents the steamboat, 220.
• G
• Gadsden Purchase, the, 273.
• Gage, General, occupies Boston, 154.
• Garfield, James A., elected President, 341;
• sketch of, 344;
• administration of, 344-346;
• assassination of, 345;
• death of, 346.
• Gates, Horatio, commands northern army, 175;
• defeat at Sander's Creek, 188.
• Gates, Sir Thomas, in Virginia, 63-66.
• Genet, Citizen, trouble caused by, 208.
• Georgia, history of, 130-134;
• named, 131.
• Germantown, battle of, 176.
• Gerry, Elbridge, envoy to France, 211;
• Vice-president, 227.
• Gettysburg, battle of, 308.
• Ghent, the treaty of, 241.
• Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, voyage of, 44;
• lost at sea, 45.
• Gist, Christopher, commands exploring party, 136.
• Gold, searches for, 43;
• discovery of in California, 267.
• Gorges, Sir Ferdinand, proprietor New Hampshire, 113.
• Gosnold, Bartholomew, voyage and explorations of, 46;
• in the London Company, 47.
• Grant, Ulysses S., captures Fort Donelson, 293;
• at Shiloh, 293;
• at Vicksburg, 303;
• general-in-chief, 311;
• in the wilderness, 316;
• at Petersburg, 318;
• enters Richmond, 319;
• final victory of, 319;
• elected President, 327;
• sketch of, 328;
• administration of, 328-336;
• reelected, 331;
• tour of the world, 342;
• death of, 355;
• tomb of, 355.
• Gray, Elisha P., inventor of telephone, 347.
• Great Britain colonizes America, 41-52;
• governs Virginia, 70-75;
• governs New York, 100-105;
• oppressions by, 149-156;
• revolutionary war with, 157-197;
• war of 1812 with, 221-241;
• treaties with, 197, 241, 258, 330.
• Great Eastern, the, carries Atlantic cable, 325.
• Great Meadows, battle at, 138.
• Greeley, Horace, nominated for Presidency, 331;
• death of, 331.
• Greenbacks, issued, 320.
• Greene, Nathaniel, campaigns of, 193.
• Grenville, Sir Richard, voyage of, 45.
• Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 267.
• Guilford Court House, battle of, 194.
• H
• "Half Breeds," the, 345.
• Half Moon, voyages of the, 53, 54.
• Hamilton, Alexander, builds Fort Washington, 168;
• urges adoption of Constitution, 201;
• first Secretary of the Treasury, 206;
• financial policy of, 207;
• killed by Burr, 217.
• Hamilton, Andrew, defends Zenger, 104.
• Hancock, Winfield S., death of, 356.
• Harmar, General, expedition of, 207.
• Harrison, Benjamin, nominated for Presidency, 359;
• elected, 359;
• sketch of, 361;
• administration of, 361-369.
• Harrison, William Henry, governor Indiana Territory, 215;
• at Tippecanoe, 222;
• campaigns of, 228-330;
• resigns commission, 232;
• elected President, 256;
• sketch of, 257;
• death of, 258.
• Hartford, founded, 80.
• Hartford Convention, the, 239.
• Harvard College founded, 81.
• Harvey, Sir John, governor of Virginia, 70.
• Hayes, Rutherford B., elected President, 336;
• sketch of, 337;
• administration of, 337-343.
• Hayne, Isaac, hanging of, 195.
• Hayne, Senator, debate with Daniel Webster, 251.
• Hendricks, Thomas A., elected Vice-president, 349;
• death of, 356;
• sketch of, 356;
• statue of, 357.
• Hennessey, David C., assassination of, 368.
• Henry, Patrick, speech of, 152.
• Herjulfson, discovers America, 21.
• Hood, J. B., evacuates Atlanta, 312;
• Nashville campaign of, 312.
• Hooker, Joseph, storms Lookout Mountain, 305;
• commands Army of the Potomac, 307;
• at Chancellorsville, 307;
• death of, 356.
• Howe, Admiral, at battle of Long Island, 166.
• Howe, General, arrives in Boston, 159;
• at Bunker Hill, 160;
• surrenders Boston, 163;
• at Battle of Long Island, 166;
• at White Plains, 168;
• at Brandywine, 176.
• Hudson, Sir Henry, voyages of, 53;
• mutiny against, 54.
• Huguenots, massacre of the, 33, 38;
• colony of, 37;
• in South Carolina, 129.
• Hull, Isaac, in naval battle, 225.
• Hull, William, begins War of 1812, 224;
• surrenders Detroit, 225.
• Hunt, Robert, in London Company, 47.
• Huron-Iroquois, regions inhabited by the, 16;
• characteristics of the, 16.
• Hutchinson, Ann, accused of heresy, 80;
• exile of, 81.
• I
• Icelanders, the, in America, 21-23.
• Idaho, organization of Territory, 325;
• admission of State, 366.
• Illinois, admission of, 245.
• Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, 327.
• Importation Act, the, 150.
• Independence, Declaration of, by North Carolina Convention, 161;
• by congress of the United Colonies, 165;
• leading principles of, 166.
• Independent Treasury Bill, the, proposed by Van Buren, 255;
• repeal of, 258.
• Indiana, organization of Territory, 214;
• admission of State, 242.
• Indians, sketch of the, 15-19;
• troubles with in Northwest Territory, 207.
• Indian Territory, set apart, 252.
• Internal revenue, sources of, 320.
• Iowa, admission of, 260.
• Iroquois, regions inhabited by the, 16.
• Isabella, Queen, sympathy with, and aid to Columbus, 25.
• Island Number Ten, siege of, 294.
• J
• Jack, Captain, leads Modoc war, 332.
• Jackson, Andrew, begins career, 188;
• subdues the Creeks, 231;
• drives British from Florida, 239;
• in command at New Orleans, 239-241;
• subdues Seminoles, 245;
• elected President, 249;
• administration of, 250-253.
• Jackson, Stonewall, valley campaign of, 297;
• at Cedar Mountain, 300;
• seizes Harper's Ferry, 300;
• at Chancellorsville, 307;
• death of, 307.
• Jamestown, settlement of, 48;
• colony at, 57.
• Japan, intercourse opened with, 273.
• Jay, John, first Chief-justice, 206;
• envoy to England, 210.
• Jefferson, Thomas, prepares Declaration of Independence, 165;
• Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 205;
• elected Vice-president, 210;
• elected President, 213;
• administration of, 214-220;
• reelected, 217;
• death of, 249.
• Johnson, Andrew, elected Vice-president, 320;
• becomes President, 323;
• sketch of, 323;
• administration of, 323-327;
• issues Amnesty Proclamation, 324;
• impeachment of, 327.
• Johnston, Joseph E., at Bull Run, 289;
• wounded at Fair Oaks, 299;
• surrender of, 313;
• death of, 367.
• Johnstown flood, the, 363.
• Jones, Paul, conquers the Serapis, 186.
• Joseph, chief of the Nez Percé Indians, 338.
• K
• Kane, Elisha Kent, Arctic expedition of, 272.
• Kansas, troubles in, 274;
• admission of, 325.
• Kansas-Nebraska Bill, the, 274.
• Karlsefne, Thorfinn, explorations of, 22.
• Kearny, Philip, expedition to California, 263.
• Kenesaw Mountain, battle of, 311.
• Kentucky, admission of, 208.
• Kidd, Captain William, story of, 103.
• Kieft, Sir William, governor of New Amsterdam, 96.
• King's Mountain, battle of, 189.
• Kingston, destroyed by Indians, 98.
• Kossuth, Louis, tour of in America, 271.
• L
• Labor agitations, the, 351.
• Lafayette, Marquis de, enters American army, 172;
• wounded at Brandywine, 176;
• campaigns of in Virginia, 194-196;
• revisits America, 246.
• La Roche, Marquis of, brings colonists to America, 38.
• Laudonniere, in Florida, 38.
• Law, the alien, 213; the sedition, 213.
• Lawrence, James, commands the Hornet, 232;
• commands the Chesapeake, 233;
• death of, 234.
• Le Bœuf, Fort, built by the French, 136.
• Lee, Charles, besieges Boston, 162;
• captured by British, 169;
• exchanged, 172;
• trouble with Washington, 180.
• Lee, Richard Henry, offers Resolutions of Independence in Congress, 164.
• Lee, Robert E., at Cheat Mountain, 288;
• Confederate commander-in-chief, 299;
• at Bull Run, 300;
• invades Maryland, 300;
• at Antietam, 301;
• at Chancellorsville, 307;
• invades Pennsylvania, 308;
• at Gettysburg, 308;
• in the Wilderness, 316;
• at Spottsylvania C. H., 319;
• flees from Richmond, 319;
• surrender of, 319.
• Leisler, Jacob, insurrection of, 102.
• Lewis, Captain, expedition of, 218.
• Lexington, battle of, 157.
• Liberia, colony in, 243.
• Liberty pole, fight at, 154.
• Life-saving Service, establishment of the, 340.
• Lincoln, Abraham, elected President, 276;
• sketch of, 281;
• administration of, 281-321;
• issues Emancipation Proclamation, 302;
• reelected, 320;
• assassination of, 321;
• burial of, 321.
• Lincoln, General, campaigns of in the north, 174-175;
• campaigns of in the south, 185-187.
• Livingston, Edward, negotiates purchase of Louisiana, 215.
• Livingston, Robert R., on Declaration Committee, 165.
• Locke, John, draws up the Grand Model, 125.
• Logan, John A., death of, 356.
• London Company, organization of, 47;
• grants to, 47;
• settlement of Jamestown, 48;
• new charter of, 62;
• third patent, 65;
• charter cancelled, 69.
• Long Island, battle of, 166.
• Longstreet, James, death of, 367.
• Lookout Mountain, storming of, 305.
• Loudoun, Earl of, commands Colonial army, 142.
• Louisburg, captures of, 92, 143.
• Louisiana, purchase of, 215;
• Territory of, 216;
• admission of, 224.
• Lovelace, governor of New York, 100.
• Lundy's Lane, battle of, 235.
• Lyon, Nathaniel, at Booneville, 290;
• killed at Wilson's Creek, 290.
• M
• Madison, James, elected President, 220;
• administration of, 221-227.
• Mafia Society, in New Orleans, 368.
• Magellan, Ferdinand, voyage of around the world, 28.
• Maine, the Province of, 85;
• admission of, 246.
• Malietoa, king of Samoa, 363.
• Malvern Hill, battle of, 299.
• Manhattan Island, purchase of, 94.
• Marion, Francis, raids of, in South Carolina, 188.
• Marshall, John, envoy to France, 211;
• Chief-justice of the United States, 216;
• presides at trial of Aaron Burr, 217.
• Maryland, history of, 122-125.
• Mason, James M., Confederate ambassador to England, 291.
• Mason, John, in Pequod war, 107;
• grant to, 113.
• Massachusetts, colonization of, 47-52;
• history of, 76-93.
• Massachusetts Bay Colony, 78.
• Massacre, the Boston, 154;
• the Cherry Valley, 181;
• the Indian, 68;
• the New Orleans, 367;
• the Wyoming, 180.
• Massasoit, visits Plymouth, 76.
• Mather, Cotton, favors prosecution of witches, 89, 91.
• May, Cornelius, explorations of, 55;
• leader in Dutch settlement, 94.
• Mayflower, voyage of the, 50.
• McClellan, George B., campaigns of, in West Virginia, 288;
• commands Army of the Potomac, 290;
• Peninsular campaign of, 299;
• at Antietam, 301;
• death of, 356.
• McDonough, Commodore, at battle of Plattsburg, 237.
• McDowell, Irwin, at Bull Run, 289;
• death of, 356.
• McHenry, Fort, bombardment of, 238.
• McKinley Bill, adoption of the, 364.
• Meade, George G., in command of Army of the Potomac, 308;
• at Gettysburg, 308;
• in the Wilderness, 316;
• flees from Richmond, 319;
• surrender of, 319;
• death of, 356.
• Meigs, Colonel, attacks Sag Harbor, 171;
• rewarded by Congress, 172.
• Meigs, Fort, built, 228;
• siege of, 228.
• Menendez, Pedro, expedition of, 32;
• massacre of Huguenots, 33, 34, 38.
• Mercer, Fort, taken by British, 176.
• Merrimac, the, fights with the Monitor, 294.
• Mexico, City of, siege of the, 265.
• Mexico, French occupation of, 324.
• Mexico, war with, 261-267;
• declaration of war with, 262.
• Miamis, war with the, 207.
• Miantonomah, gives Rhode Island, 81.
• Michigan, organization of Territory, 218;
• admission of State, 253.
• Mifflin, Fort, taken by British, 176.
• Miller, James, at Lundy's Lane, 236.
• Mims, Fort, attacked by savages, 231.
• Minnesota, admission of, 276.
• Missionary Ridge, storming of, 305.
• Mississippi, organization of Territory, 215;
• admission of State, 244.
• Mississippi River, discovery of, 31.
• Missouri, admission of, 246.
• Missouri Compromise, the, 246.
• Mobilians, regions inhabited by the, 16;
• tribes of the, 16.
• Model, the Grand, account of, 125.
• Modocs, war with the, 332.
• Monitor, fights the Merrimac, 294.
• Monmouth, battle of, 180.
• Monroe Doctrine, the, 246.
• Monroe, James, negotiates Louisiana purchase, 216;
• elected President, 243;
• sketch of, 244;
• administration of, 244-247;
• reelected, 246.
• Montana, organization of Territory, 325;
• admission of State, 360.
• Montcalm, General, at Fort William Henry, 142;
• at Plains of Abraham, 145.
• Monterey, capture of, 263.
• Montgomery, Richard, attack of on Quebec, 162;
• death of, 162.
• Mont Real, island and town of, 36.
• Morgan, John, raid of, 306.
• Mormons, troubles with the, 259, 275.
• Morris, Robert, gives financial aid, 170;
• Secretary of Finance, 192;
• brought to poverty, 200.
• Morse, Samuel F. B., inventor of the telegraph, 260.
• Morton, Levi P., elected Vice-president, 359.
• Morton, Oliver P., death of, 343.
• Mound-builders, account of the, 12-15.
• Moultrie, bombardment of, 164.
• Murfreesborough, battle of, 297.
• Mutiny in Continental Army, 192.
• N
• Narvaez, De, governor of Florida, 29.
• Nashville, siege of, 312.
• National Banks, establishment of, 320.
• National debt, the, 320, 324.
• Naval battles between the Chesapeake and the Leopard, 219;
• Chesapeake and the Shannon, 233;
• Constellation and the Insurgent, 212;
• Constitution and the Guerriere, 225;
• Constitution and the Java, 226;
• Essex and the Nocton, 226;
• Essex and the Phoebe and Cherub, 234;
• Hartford and the Tennessee, 314;
• Hornet and the Peacock, 232;
• Hornet and the Penguin, 241;
• Lawrence and the Detroit, 229;
• Monitor and the Merrimac, 294;
• Niagara and British fleet, 229;
• Poictiers and the Wasp, 226;
• Poor Richard and the Serapis, 186;
• President and the Little Belt, 223;
• United States and the Macedonian, 226;
• Wasp and the Frolic, 226.
• Nebraska, admission of 325.
• Necessity, Fort, built and defended, 138.
• Negro Plot, the, 104.
• Nevada, admission of, 320.
• New Amsterdam, founded, 54.
• New England, named, 49;
• colonization of, 51, 52, 76-93, 106-114.
• New France, 36-40.
• New Hampshire, the province of, 86, 113;
• history of, 113.
• New Haven, founded, 108.
• New Jersey, named, 115;
• history of, 115-118;
• division of, 116.
• New Netherlands named, 55;
• history of, 94-99.
• New Orleans, battle of, 241;
• capture of, 295;
• exposition in, 350;
• massacre in, 367.
• Newport, Christopher, commands fleet, 48;
• brings immigrants, 61.
• New Sweden, colonization of, 95-99.
• New York, colonization of, 94-99;
• named, 99;
• under English, 100-105.
• New York City, settlement of, 94;
• under Dutch, 94-99;
• under English, 100-105;
• occupied by Washington, 164;
• operations about, 166;
• taken by British, 167;
• evacuation of, 198;
• world's fair in, 274;
• riots in, 309.
• Nez Percé Indians, war with the, 338.
• Niagara, captured by English, 144.
• Norsemen, early discoveries by the, 21;
• voyages of the, 20-23;
• remains in America of the, 23.
• North Carolina, history of, 125-127;
• ratifies constitution, 206.
• North Dakota, admission of, 360.
• Northeastern boundary, establishment of, 258.
• Northwest Passage, the, 43.
• Nullification, account of, 250-251.
• O
• Oglethorpe, James, founding of Georgia by, 130-134.
• Ohio, admission of, 214.
• Ohio Company, organization of, 136.
• Omnibus Bill, the, 270.
• Oregon, admission of, 276.
• P
• Pacific, discovery of the, 27.
• Pacific Railroad, route of surveyed, 278;
• completion of, 328.
• Pakenham, Sir Edward, commands British at New Orleans, 239-241.
• Palo Alto, battle of, 262.
• Panic of 1836-37, the financial, 253, 255;
• of 1873, 332.
• Paper Money, origin of in America, 89.
• Patroons, account of the, 95.
• Paris, the treaty of, 146.
• Parris, Samuel, joins in witchcraft persecutions, 89.
• Penn, William, purchases East Jersey, 117;
• proprietor of Pennsylvania 118;
• sketch of, 119;
• treaty of with Indians, 119;
• founds Philadelphia, 120;
• death of, 120.
• Pennsylvania, history of, 118-120.
• Pension legislation, 354.
• Pequods, war with the, 107.
• Perry, Oliver H., victory of on Lake Erie, 229.
• Petersburg, siege of, 316;
• capture of, 319.
• Philadelphia, founded, 120;
• taken by British, 176;
• evacuated by British, 180.
• Philadelphia, the, captured and retaken, 216.
• Philip, King, war with, 84.
• Phipps, Sir William, commands English troops, 88.
• Pickett, George G., charge at Gettysburg, 308.
• Pierce, Franklin, elected President, 272;
• administration of, 273-274.
• Pilgrims, so named, 50;
• promise to the, 50;
• landing, 51;
• sufferings, 51.
• Pirates, the Algerine, 210.
• Pittsburgh, building on site of, 137;
• named, 144.
• Platt, Thomas C., resigns seat in Senate, 345.
• Plattsburgh, battle of, 237.
• Plymouth Company, the, organization of, 47;
• grants to, 47;
• attempt at colonization, 48.
• Plymouth Council, organization of, 49;
• grant to, 49.
• Plymouth Rock, landing at, 51.
• Pocahontas, rescues John Smith, 60;
• abducted by Argall, 65;
• marriage of, 65.
• Polk, James K., elected President, 260;
• sketch of, 261;
• administration of, 261-268.
• Ponce de Leon, voyages of, 27.
• Pope, John, takes Island Number Ten, 294;
• at Bull Run, 300.
• Port Bill, the Boston, 156.
• Porter, Admiral, bombards Vicksburg, 304;
• captures Fort Fisher, 314.
• Port Royal, founded, 39.
• Portuguese explorations, 34.
• Prescott, William, fortifies Breed's Hill, 159.
• Prideaux, General, campaign of against Niagara, 144.
• Princeton, battle of, 171.
• Pring, Martin, voyage of, 46.
• Printing-press, introduction of in America, 81.
• Privateers, British, 209.
• Prohibition Party candidates, the, of 1884, 359.
• Proprietors' Rights, purchase of, 77.
• Providence, R. I., founded, 80.
• Pulaski, Count, honored by Congress, 176;
• killed at Savannah, 186.
• Puritans, sketch of the, 49;
• character of the, 93.
• Q
• Quakers, persecution of the, 82.
• Quebec, founded, 39;
• captured by Wolfe, 146;
• expedition of Arnold against, 162.
• Queenstown, battle of, 226.
• R
• Ragged Regiment, Marion's, 188.
• Raleigh, Sir Walter, voyage of with Gilbert, 44;
• expeditions of, 45, 46.
• Randolph, Edmund, introduces resolution to adopt a new Constitution, 200.
• Rebellion, Bacon's, 74.
• Reconstruction, measures of, 325.
• Red River Expedition, the, 310.
• Reed, Thomas B., Speaker of House of Representatives, 365.
• Remonetization of silver, 339.
• Republic, the New, 202.
• Resaca de la Palma, battle of, 262.
• Resumption Act, adoption of the, 339.
• Revere, Paul, ride of, 157.
• Revolution, causes of the, 149-156;
• history of the, 157-198.
• Rhode Island, founded, 80;
• history of, 111-113;
• ratifies the Constitution, 206;
• Dorr's rebellion in, 258.
• Ribault, John, voyages of, 37.
• Richmond, capital of Southern Confederacy, 283;
• fall of, 319.
• Rights, declaration of, 153.
• Roanoke, colony at, 45.
• Roberval, Frances of, attempts to found colony in New France, 37.
• Rodgers, Commodore, commander of the President, 223.
• Roebling, John, architect of the Brooklyn bridge, 348.
• Rolfe, John, marriage of, 65.
• Rosecrans, W. S., at Murfreesborough, 297;
• at Chickamauga, 304.
• Ross, General, captures Washington, 237;
• expedition against Baltimore, 238.
• Ryswick, treaty of, 89.
• S
• Salem, founded, 78;
• witchcraft at, 89.
• Samoa, difficulty in, 363.
• Samoset, welcomes the Pilgrims, 76.
• Sander's Creek, battle of, 188.
• San Domingo Commission, the, 329.
• Sandys, Sir Edwyn, treasurer of London Company, 68;
• sends wives to colonists, 68.
• San Gabriel, battle of, 264.
• Santa Anna, called to Mexico, 263;
• at Buena Vista and Cerro Gordo, 264;
• driven from Mexico, 267.
• Saratoga, battle of, 174.
• Savannah, founded, 131;
• taken by British, 183;
• bombardment of, 185;
• taken by Sherman, 313.
• Saybrook, founded, 107.
• Scott, Winfield S., at Lundy's Lane, 235;
• commander-in-chief in Mexican war, 262-267;
• commander-in-chief of the Union, 283;
• retires from service, 290.
• Seamen, the impressment of, 219.
• Secession, account of the, 277.
• Seminoles, war with the, 245, 252.
• Seven Days' battles, the, 299.
• Seward, William H., Secretary of State, 281;
• diplomacy of, 292;
• attempted assassination of, 321.
• Seymour, Horatio, death of, 357.
• Shackamaxon, treaty of, 119.
• Sheridan, Philip H., ravages Shenandoah valley, 318;
• ride to Winchester, 318;
• general-in-chief, 348;
• death of, 367.
• Sherman, Roger, on declaration committee, 165.
• Sherman, William Tecumseh, at Chickasaw Bayou, 297;
• advance on Atlanta, 311;
• captures Atlanta, 312;
• march to the sea, 312;
• resigns command, 348;
• death of, 367.
• Shiloh, battle of, 293.
• Silver, remonetization of, 339.
• Sioux Indians, war with the, 333.
• Sitting Bull, in Sioux war, 335.
• Slavery, introduction of in Virginia, 67;
• in South Carolina, 128;
• in the Territories, 269;
• abolition of, 302;
• amendment to the Constitution, 323.
• Slidell, John, Confederate ambassador to England, 291.
• Sloughter, Colonel, governor of New York, 103.
• Smith, John, in London Company, 47;
• at Jamestown settlement, 48;
• voyages of, 48;
• names New England, 49;
• admiral of New England, 49;
• trouble with colonists, 58;
• captured by Indians, 59;
• rescue by Pocahontas, 60;
• explores Chesapeake Bay, 61;
• president of Virginia, 62;
• returns to England, 63.
• Smyth, Alexander, takes command of American forces, 226;
• charged with cowardice, 227.
• Sons of Liberty, organization of, 153.
• South Carolina, history of, 128-130.
• South Dakota, admission of, 360.
• Spain, discovers and colonizes America, 24-34;
• treaty with, 245.
• Spanish Florida, war with, 133.
• Specie Circular, the, 255.
• Specie Resumption, the, 341.
• "Spoils System," the, 345.
• Spottsylvania Courthouse, battle of, 316.
• "Stalwarts," the, 345.
• Stamp Act, adoption of the, 151;
• repeal of the, 153.
• Standish, Miles, landing of, 51;
• expedition of, 76.
• Stanton, Edwin M., Secretary of War, 281.
• Starving Time, the, 63.
• St. Augustine, founded, 33.
• St. Clair, expedition of against Miami Indians, 207.
• Steamboat, invention of, 220.
• Stephens, Alexander, defends theory of secession, 277;
• Vice-president of Southern Confederacy, 277.
• Stephenson, Fort, siege of, 229.
• St. Lawrence River, named, 36.
• Stony Point, taken by British, 184;
• retaken by General Wayne, 184.
• Strike, the great railroad, 337;
• the southwestern, 352.
• Stuyvesant, Peter, governor of New Netherlands, 97-99.
• Sumter, Fort, fired upon, 282.
• Sumter, Thomas, raids of, in South Carolina, 188.
• Supreme Court, organization of, 206.
• T
• Talladega, battle of, 231.
• Tariff, the protective, agitation of, 249;
• issue in presidential campaign, 358, 359.
• Taylor, Bayard, author of National Ode, 333;
• death of, 343.
• Taylor, Zachary, campaign in Florida, 254;
• campaigns in Mexican War, 261-264;
• elected President, 268;
• administration of, 269-270;
• death of, 270.
• Tea Party, the Boston, 155.
• Tecumtha, conspiracy of, 222;
• lays ambush, 224;
• besieges Fort Meigs, 228, 229;
• death of, 231.
• Telegraph, invention of the, 260.
• Telephone, invention of the, 347.
• Tennessee, admission of, 210.
• Territory, southwest of the Ohio, organization of the, 207.
• Territories, organization of the, 325.
• Texas, secedes from Mexico, 260;
• annexation of, 260.
• Thames, battle of the, 230.
• Ticonderoga, defeat of English at, 143;
• abandoned by French, 145;
• taken by Ethan Allen, 159;
• captured by British, 173.
• Tilden, Samuel J., election as President claimed by Democrats, 355;
• death of, 357.
• Tippecanoe, battle of, 223.
• Tobacco, cultivation of, 67.
• Toronto, attacked by Americans, 231.
• Treaty with Indians, 77;
• of Ryswick, 89;
• of Utrecht, 92;
• of Aix-la-Chapelle, 93;
• of Shackamaxon, 119;
• of Paris, 146;
• with France, 178;
• of 1783, 197;
• with France, 212;
• of Ghent, 241;
• with Spain, 245;
• the Webster-Ashburton, 258;
• of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 267;
• of Washington, 330.
• Trent, affair of the, 291.
• Trenton, battle at, 169.
• Tripoli, war with, 216.
• Truxtun, Commodore, 212.
• Tyler, John, elected Vice-president, 256;
• becomes President, 257;
• sketch of, 258;
• administration of, 258-260.
• U
• Underhill, John, commands Dutch forces, 96.
• Union of Independent Colonies, the, 200.
• United Colonies of New England, 82.
• United Colonies of America, the, 161.
• Utah Territory, founded, 259;
• difficulties in, 275.
• Utrecht, treaty of, 92.
• V
• Valley Forge, American army at, 177.
• Van Buren, Martin, elected President, 253;
• sketch of, 254;
• administration of, 254-256.
• Van Rensselaer, Stephen, at Queenstown, 226.
• Van Twiller, Wouter, governor of New Netherlands, 95.
• Venango, Fort, built, 136.
• Vera Cruz, surrender of, 264.
• Vermont, admission of, 207.
• Verrazano, John, explorations of, 35.
• Vespucci, Amerigo, voyages of, 26.
• Vicksburg, battle of, 303.
• Vincennes, capture of, 183.
• Virginia named, 45;
• colonization of, 48;
• history of, 57-75.
• W
• Wadsworth, Joseph, hides the charter, 87.
• Waite, Morrison R., Chief-justice of the United States, death of, 357.
• Wallace, Lewis, at Romney, 289;
• saves Cincinnati from capture, 296;
• defeated by Early, 317.
• Walloons, at New Amsterdam, 94.
• Walker, Francis A., superintendent of Tenth Census, 342.
• War, with Indians, 92, 96;
• with Susquehannas, 73;
• King Philip's, 84;
• King William's, 88;
• Queen Anne's, 91;
• King George's, 92;
• with Pequods, 107;
• Yamassees, 129;
• with Spanish Florida, 133;
• French and Indian, 135-146;
• with Great Britain, 157-198;
• with Miamis, 207;
• with Tripoli, 216;
• of 1812, 221-241;
• Black Hawk, 251;
• Seminole, 252;
• with Mexico, 261-267;
• the Civil, 281-319;
• Modoc, 332;
• Sioux, 333;
• Nez Percé, 338.
• Warren, Joseph, at Bunker Hill, 160.
• Washington, admission of, 360.
• Washington City, founded, 213;
• burned by the British, 238.
• Washington, George, embassy to St. Pierre, 136;
• at Great Meadows, 138;
• with Braddock, 139;
• in Shenandoah, 142;
• against Fort Du Quesne, 144;
• commander-in-chief, 161;
• sketch of, 161;
• besieges Boston, 162;
• occupies Boston, 163;
• at New York, 164;
• on Long Island, 166;
• retreats to New York, 167;
• occupies Fort Lee, 168;
• retreats to Trenton, 169;
• crosses the Delaware, 169;
• at Trenton, 170;
• at Princeton, 171;
• at Brandywine, 176;
• at Germantown, 176;
• at Valley Forge, 177;
• at Monmouth, 180;
• quells mutiny, 192;
• farewell to army, 198;
• elected President, 202;
• administration of, 205-210;
• inauguration of, 205;
• reelected, 208;
• farewell address, 210;
• recalled from retirement, 212;
• death of, 213.
• Washington Monument, completion of the, 348.
• Washington, Treaty of, 330.
• Wayne, Anthony, at Stony Point, 184;
• subdues the Indians, 208, 209.
• Webster, Daniel, reply to Hayne, 251;
• Secretary of State, 257, 271;
• concludes Ashburton Treaty, 258;
• death of, 272.
• Wesley, Charles, in America, 133.
• Wesley, John, in America, 132.
• West India Company, the Dutch, organization of, 94.
• West Virginia, admission of, 309.
• Weymouth, founded, 77.
• Wheeler, William A., elected Vice-president, 336.
• Whisky Insurrection, the, 208.
• Whitefield, George, preaching in America, 133.
• Whitemarsh, operations at, 176.
• White Plains, battle of, 168.
• Whitney, Eli, inventor of cotton gin, 285.
• Wilderness, battles in the, 316.
• Wingfield, Edward, in London Company, 47;
• at Jamestown settlement, 48;
• embezzles stores, 58.
• William Henry, Fort, building of, 142;
• massacre at, 143.
• Williams, Roger, arraigned for heresy, 79;
• banished from Massachusetts, 80;
• with the Narragansetts, 107;
• founds Providence, 111;
• founds Rhode Island, 112.
• Wilson's Creek, battle of, 290.
• Winthrop, John, governor of Massachusetts, 79.
• Winthrop, the younger, founds Saybrook, 107;
• secures charter for Connecticut, 109.
• Wisconsin, admission of, 268.
• Witchcraft in Salem, 89-91.
• Wives for colonists, 68.
• Wolfe, General, captures Quebec, 145;
• death of, 146.
• World's Fair in New York, the, 274.
• Writs of Assistance, the, 150.
• Wyatt, Sir Francis, governor of Virginia, 68;
• retires from office, 70;
• reelected, 21.
• Wyoming, massacre of, 180.
• Wyoming, organization of Territory, 325;
• admission of State, 366.
• Y
• Yale College, founded, 110.
• Yamassees, war with the, 129.
• Yeamans, Sir John, governor of Carolina, 128.
• Yeardley, George, appointed governor of Virginia, 67;
• reappointed, 70;
• death of, 70.
• Yellow fever epidemic, the, 339.
• Yorktown, siege of, 196.