SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.
[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.]
The aim of this little book is to tell in a simple and concise form the story of the founding and development of the United States. The study of the history of one's own country is a serious matter, and should be entered upon by the text-book writer, by the teacher, and by the pupil in a serious spirit, even to a greater extent than the study of language or of arithmetic. No effort has been made, therefore, to make out of this text-book a story book. It is a text-book pure and simple, and should be used as a text-book, to be studied diligently by the pupil and expounded carefully by the teacher.
Most of the pupils who use this book will never have another opportunity to study the history and institutions of their own country. It is highly desirable that they should use their time in studying the real history of the United States and not in learning by heart a mass of anecdotes,--often of very slight importance, and more often based on very insecure foundations. The author of this text-book, therefore, has boldly ventured to omit most of the traditional matter which is usually supposed to give life to a text-book and to inspire a "love of history,"--which too often means only a love of being amused. For instance, descriptions of the formation of the Constitution and of the struggle over the extension of slavery here occupy the space usually given to the adventures of Captain John Smith and to accounts of the institutions of the Red Men. The small number of pages available for the period before 1760 has necessitated the omission of "pictures of colonial life," which cannot be briefly and at the same time accurately described. These and similar matters can easily be studied by the pupils in their topical work in such books as Higginson's Young Folks' History, Eggleston's United States and its People, and McMaster's School History. References to these books and to a limited number of other works have been given in the margins of this text-book. These citations also mention a few of the more accessible sources, which should be used solely for purposes of illustration.
It is the custom in many schools to spread the study of American history over two years, and to devote the first year to a detailed study of the period before 1760. This is a very bad arrangement. In the first place, it gives an undue emphasis to the colonial period; in the second place, as many pupils never return to school, they never have an opportunity to study the later period at all; in the third place, it prevents those pupils who complete this study from gaining an intelligent view of the development of the American people. And, finally, most of the time the second year is spent in the study of the Revolutionary War and of the War for the Union. A better way would be to go over the whole book the first year with some parallel reading, and the second year to review the book and study with greater care important episodes, as the making of the Constitution, the struggle for freedom in the territories, and the War for the Union. Attention may also be given the second year to a study of industrial history since 1790 and to the elements of civil government. It is the author's earnest hope that teachers will regard the early chapters as introductory.
Miss Annie Bliss Chapman, for many years a successful teacher of history in grammar schools, has kindly provided a limited number of suggestive questions, and has also made many excellent suggestions to teachers. These are all appended to the several divisions of the work. The author has added a few questions and a few suggestions of his own. He has also altered some of Miss Chapman's questions. Whatever there is commendable in this apparatus should be credited to Miss Chapman. Acknowledgments are also due to Miss Beulah Marie Dix for very many admirable suggestions as to language and form. The author will cordially welcome criticisms and suggestions from any one, especially from teachers, and will be very glad to receive notice of any errors.
CAMBRIDGE,
March 29, 1900.
1. The European Discovery of America.
2. Spanish and French Pioneers in the United States.
3. Pioneers of England.
4. French Colonists, Missionaries, and Explorers.
5. Virginia and Maryland.
6. New England.
7. New Netherland and New Sweden.
8. The Colonies under Charles II.
9. Colonial Development, 1688-1760.
10. Expulsion of the French.
11. Britain's Colonial System.
12. Taxation without Representation.
13. Revolution impending.
14. Bunker Hill to Trenton.
15. The Great Declaration and the French Alliance.
16. Independence.
17. The Confederation, 1783-1787.
18. Making of the Constitution, 1787-1789.
19. Organization of the Government.
20. Rise of Political Parties.
21. The Last Federalist Administration.
22. The United States in 1800.
23. Jefferson's Administrations.
24. Causes of the War of 1812.
25. The Second War of Independence, 1812-1815.
26. The Era of Good Feeling, 1815-1824.
27. New Parties and New Policies, 1824-1829.
28. The American People in 1830.
29. The Reign of Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837.
30. Democrats and Whigs, 1837-1844.
31. Beginning of the Antislavery Agitation.
32. The Mexican War.
33. The Compromise of 1850.
34. The Struggle for Kansas.
35. The United States in 1860.
36. Secession, 1860-1861.
37. The Rising of the Peoples, 1861.
38. Bull Run to Murfreesboro', 1861-1862.
39. The Emancipation Proclamation.
40. The Year 1863.
41. The End of the War, 1864-1865.
42. President Johnson and Reconstruction, 1865-1869.
43. From Grant to Cleveland, 1869-1889.
44. Confusion in Politics.
45. The Spanish War.
UNITED STATES, SHOWING FORMS OF LAND.
BRITISH DOMINIONS IN NORTH AMERICA.
UNITED STATES IN 1783.
CLAIMS AND CESSIONS.
TERRITORIAL ACQUISITIONS.
UNITED STATES IN 1800.
UNITED STATES IN 1803.
UNITED STATES IN 1819.
UNITED STATES IN 1830.
UNITED STATES IN 1850.
UNITED STATES IN 1860.
SLAVERY AND SECESSION.
UNITED STATES IN 1900.
DEPENDENCIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
THE WORLD, ETC..
Table of Dates
1815-1824. Era of Good Feeling.
1819. The Florida Treaty.
1820. Missouri Compromise.
1823. The Monroe Doctrine.
1825. The Erie Canal.
1828. Election of Jackson.
1830. The Locomotive.
1832. The Nullification Episode.
1840. Election of William H. Harrison.
1844. The Electric Telegraph.
1845. The Horse Reaper.
1845. Annexation of Texas.
1846. The Oregon Treaty.
1846-1848. The Mexican War (Acquisition of California, New Mexico,
etc.)
1849. California (Discovery of Gold).
1850. Compromise of 1850.
1854. Kansas-Nebraska Act.
1857. The Dred Scott Case.
1861-1865. The War for the Union.
1863. Emancipation Proclamation, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg.
1867. Purchase of Alaska.
1867. Reconstruction Acts.
1868. Impeachment of Johnson.
1876. The Electoral Commission.
1881-1883. Civil Service Reform.
1890. Sherman Silver Law (Repealed, 1893).
1898. The War with Spain.
The lists of "Books for Study and Reading" contain such titles only as are suited to the pupil's needs. The teacher will find abundant references in Channing's Students' History of the United States (N.Y., Macmillan). The larger work also contains the reasons for many statements which are here given as facts without qualification. Reference to the Students' History is made easy by the fact that the divisions or parts (here marked by Roman numerals) cover the same periods in time as the chapters of the larger work. On the margins of the present volume will be found specific references to three text-books radically unlike this text-book either in proportion or in point of view. There are also references to easily accessible sources and to a few of the larger works. It is not suggested that any one pupil, or even one class, shall study or read all of these references. But every pupil may well read some of them under each division. They are also suited to topical work. Under the head of "Home Readings" great care has been taken to mention such books only as are likely to be found interesting.
The books most frequently cited in the margins are Higginson's Young Folks' History (N.Y., Longmans), cited as "Higginson"; Eggleston's United States and its People (N.Y., Appleton), cited as "Eggleston", McMaster's School History of the United States (N.Y., American Book Co.), cited as "McMaster"; Higginson's Book of American Explorers (N.Y., Longmans), cited as "Explorers"; Lodge and Roosevelt, Hero Tales from American History, cited as "Hero Tales"; and Hart's Source-Book of American History (N.Y., Macmillan), cited as "Source-Book." Books containing sources are further indicated by an asterisk.
References.--Parkman's Pioneers of France (edition of 1887 or a later edition); Irving's Columbus (abridged edition).
Home Readings.--Higginson's Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic; Mackie's With the Admiral of the Ocean Sea (Columbus); Lummis's Spanish Pioneers; King's De Soto in the Land of Florida; Wright's Children's Stories in American History; Barnes's Drake and his Yeomen.
Leif Ericson.
1. Leif Ericson discovers America, 1000.--In our early childhood many of us learned to repeat the lines:--
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
In fourteen hundred, ninety-two.
Leif discovers America, 1000. Higginson, 25-30; American History Leaflets, No. 3.
We thought that he was the first European to visit America. But nearly five hundred years before his time Leif Ericson had discovered the New World. He was a Northman and the son of Eric the Red. Eric had already founded a colony in Greenland, and Leif sailed from Norway to make him a visit. This was in the year 1000. Day after day Leif and his men were tossed about on the sea until they reached an unknown land where they found many grape-vines. They called it Vinland or Wineland. They Then sailed northward and reached Greenland in safety. Precisely where Vinland was is not known. But it certainly was part of North America. Leif Ericson, the Northman, was therefore the real discoverer of America.
[Illustration: EUROPE, ICELAND, GREENLAND, AND NORTH AMERICA.]
Marco Polo, Cathay, and Cipango.
2. Early European Travelers.--The people of Europe knew more of the lands of Asia than they knew of Vinland. For hundreds of years missionaries, traders, and travelers visited the Far East. They brought back to Europe silks and spices, and ornaments of gold and of silver. They told marvelous tales of rich lands and great princes. One of these travelers was a Venetian named Marco Polo. He told of Cathay or China and of Cipango or Japan. This last country was an island. Its king was so rich that even the floors of his palaces were of pure gold. Suddenly the Turks conquered the lands between Europe and the golden East. They put an end to this trading and traveling. New ways to India, China, and Japan must be found.
Portuguese seamen.
3. Early Portuguese Sailors.--One way to the East seemed to be around the southern end of Africa--if it should turn out that there was a southern end to that Dark Continent. In 1487 Portuguese seamen sailed around the southern end of Africa and, returning home, called that point the Cape of Storms. But the King of Portugal thought that now there was good hope of reaching India by sea. So he changed the name to Cape of Good Hope. Ten years later a brave Portuguese sailor, Vasco da Gama, actually reached India by the Cape of Good Hope, and returned safely to Portugal (1497).
Columbus and his beliefs. Higginson, 31-35; Eggleston, 1-3; American History Leaflets, No. 1.
4. Columbus.--Meantime Christopher Columbus, an Italian, had returned from an even more startling voyage. From what he had read, and from what other men had told him, he had come to believe that the earth was round. If this were really true, Cipango and Cathay were west of Europe as well as east of Europe. Columbus also believed that the earth was very much smaller than it really is, and that Cipango was only three thousand miles west of Spain. For a time people laughed at the idea of sailing westward to Cipango and Cathay. But at length Columbus secured enough money to fit out a little fleet.
Columbus reaches America, 1492. Higginson, 35-37; Eggleston, 3-5.
5. The Voyage, 1492.--Columbus left Spain in August, 1492, and, refitting at the Canaries, sailed westward into the Sea of Darkness. At ten o'clock in the evening of October 20, 1492, looking out into the night, he saw a light in the distance. The fleet was soon stopped. When day broke, there, sure enough, was land. A boat was lowered, and Columbus, going ashore, took possession of the new land for Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Aragon and Castile. The natives came to see the discoverers. They were reddish in color and interested Columbus--for were they not inhabitants of the Far East? So he called them Indians.
[Illustration: SHIPS, SEA-MONSTERS, AND INDIANS. From an early Spanish book on America.]
The Indians, Higginson, 13-24; Eggleston,
71-76.
Columbus discovers Cuba.
6. The Indians and the Indies.--These Indians were not at all like those wonderful people of Cathay and Cipango whom Marco Polo had described. Instead of wearing clothes of silk and of gold embroidered satin, these people wore no clothes of any kind. But it was plain enough that the island they had found was not Cipango. It was probably some island off the coast of Cipango, so on Columbus sailed and discovered Cuba. He was certain that Cuba was a part of the mainland of Asia, for the Indians kept saying "Cubanaquan." Columbus thought that this was their way of pronouncing Kublai Khan--the name of a mighty eastern ruler. So he sent two messengers with a letter to that powerful monarch. Returning to Spain, Columbus was welcomed as a great admiral. He made three other voyages to America. But he never came within sight of the mainland of the United States.
John Cabot visits North America, 1497. Higginson, 40-42; Eggleston, 8-10; American History Leaflets, No. 9.
7. John Cabot, 1497.--While Columbus explored the West Indies, another Italian sailed across the Sea of Darkness farther north. His name was John Cabot, and he sailed with a license from Henry VII of England, the first of the Tudor kings. Setting boldly forth from Bristol, England, he crossed the North Atlantic and reached the coast of America north of Nova Scotia. Like Columbus, he thought that he had found the country of the Grand Khan. Upon his discovery English kings based their claim to the right to colonize North America.
Americus Vespucius, his voyages and books.
Higginson, 37-38; Eggleston, 7-8.
The New World named America.
8. The Naming of America.--Many other explorers also visited the new-found lands. Among these was an Italian named Americus Vespucius. Precisely where he went is not clear. But it is clear that he wrote accounts of his voyages, which were printed and read by many persons. In these accounts he said that what we call South America was not a part of Asia. So he named it the New World. Columbus all the time was declaring that the lands he had found were a part of Asia. It was natural, therefore, that people in thinking of the New World should think of Americus Vespucius. Before long some one even suggested that the New World should be named America in his honor. This was done, and when it became certain that the other lands were not parts of Asia, the name America was given to them also until the whole continent came to be called America.
[Illustration: AMERICUS VESPUCIUS.]
Balboa sees the Pacific, 1513.
Magellan's great voyage, 1520. Eggleston, 10-11.
9. Balboa and Magellan, 1513, 1520.--Balboa was a Spaniard who came to San Domingo to seek his fortune. He became a pauper and fled away from those to whom he owed money. After long wanderings he found himself on a high mountain in the center of the Isthmus of Panama. To the southward sparkled the waters of a new sea. He called it the South Sea. Wading into it waist deep, he waved his sword in the air and took possession of it for his royal master, the King of Spain. This was in 1513. Seven years later, in 1520, Magellan, a Portuguese seaman in the service of the Spanish king, sailed through the Straits of Magellan and entered the same great ocean, which he called the Pacific. Thence northward and westward he sailed day after day, week after week, and month after month, until he reached the Philippine Islands. The natives killed Magellan. But one of his vessels found her way back to Spain around the Cape of Good Hope.
Indian traditions.
10. Stories of Golden Lands.--Wherever the Spaniards went, the Indians always told them stories of golden lands somewhere else. The Bahama Indians, for instance, told their cruel Spanish masters of a wonderful land toward the north. Not only was there gold in that land; there was also a fountain whose waters restored youth and vigor to the drinker. Among the fierce Spanish soldiers was Ponce de Leon (Pon'tha da la-on'). He determined to see for himself if these stories were true.
De Leon visits Florida, 1513. Higginson,
42.
De Leon's death.
11. Discovery of Florida, 1513.--In the same year that Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean, Ponce de Leon sailed northward and westward from the Bahamas. On Easter Sunday, 1513, he anchored off the shores of a new land. The Spanish name for Easter was La Pascua de los Flores. So De Leon called the new land Florida. For the Spaniards were a very religious people and usually named their lands and settlements from saints or religious events. De Leon then sailed around the southern end of Florida and back to the West Indies. In 1521 he again visited Florida, was wounded by an Indian arrow, and returned home to die.
Discovery of the Mississippi.
Conquest of Mexico.
12. Spanish Voyages and Conquests.--Spanish sailors and conquerors now appeared in quick succession on the northern and western shores of the Gulf of Mexico. One of them discovered the mouth of the Mississippi. Others of them stole Indians and carried them to the islands to work as slaves. The most famous of them all was Cortez. In 1519 he conquered Mexico after a thrilling campaign and found there great store of gold and silver. This discovery led to more expeditions and to the exploration of the southern half of the United States.
Coronado sets out from Mexico, 1540.
The pueblo Indians. Source Book, 6.
13. Coronado in the Southwest, 1540-42.--In 1540 Coronado set out from the Spanish towns on the Gulf of California to seek for more gold and silver. For seventy-three days he journeyed northward until he came to the pueblos (pweb'-lo) of the Southwest. These pueblos were huge buildings of stone and sun-dried clay. Some of them were large enough to shelter three hundred Indian families. Pueblos are still to be seen in Arizona and New Mexico, and the Indians living in them even to this day tell stories of Coronado's coming and of his cruelty. There was hardly any gold and silver in these "cities," so a great grief fell upon Coronado and his comrades.
[Illustration: By permission of the Bureau of Ethnology. THE PUEBLO OF ZUÑI (FROM A PHOTOGRAPH).]
Coronado finds the Great Plains.
14. The Great Plains.--Soon, however, a new hope came to the Spaniards, for an Indian told them that far away in the north there really was a golden land. Onward rode Coronado and a body of picked men. They crossed vast plains where there were no mountains to guide them. For more than a thousand miles they rode on until they reached eastern Kansas. Everywhere they found great herds of buffaloes, or wild cows, as they called them. They also met the Indians of the Plains. Unlike the Indians of the pueblos, these Indians lived in tents made of buffalo hides stretched upon poles. Everywhere there were plains, buffaloes, and Indians. Nowhere was there gold or silver. Broken hearted, Coronado and his men rode southward to their old homes in Mexico.
De Soto in Florida, 1539. Explorers,
119-138.
De Soto crosses the Mississippi.
15. De Soto in the Southeast, 1539-43.--In 1539 a Spanish army landed at Tampa Bay, on the western coast of Florida. The leader of this army was De Soto, one of the conquerors of Peru. He "was very fond of the sport of killing Indians" and was also greedy for gold and silver. From Tampa he marched northward to South Carolina and then marched southwestward to Mobile Bay. There he had a dreadful time; for the Indians burned his camp and stores and killed many of his men. From Mobile he wandered northwestward until he came to a great river. It was the Mississippi, and was so wide that a man standing on one bank could not see a man standing on the opposite bank. Some of De Soto's men penetrated westward nearly to the line of Coronado's march. But the two bands did not meet. De Soto died and was buried in the Mississippi. Those of his men who still lived built a few boats and managed to reach the Spanish settlements in Mexico.
Other Spanish explorers.
Attempts at settlement.
16. Other Spanish Expeditions.--Many other Spanish explorers visited the shores of the United States before 1550. Some sailed along the Pacific coast; others sailed along the Atlantic coast. The Spaniards also made several attempts to found settlements both on the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico and on Chesapeake Bay. But all these early attempts ended in failure. In 1550 there were no Spaniards on the continent within the present limits of the United States, except possibly a few traders and missionaries in the Southwest.
Verrazano's voyages, 1524. Higginson, 44-45;
Explorers, 60-69.
Cartier in the St. Lawrence, 1534-36. Explorers 99-117.
17. Early French Voyages, 1524-36.--The first French expedition to America was led by an Italian named Verrazano (Ver-rä-tsä'-no), but he sailed in the service of Francis I, King of France. He made his voyage in 1524 and sailed along the coast from the Cape Fear River to Nova Scotia. He entered New York harbor and spent two weeks in Newport harbor. He reported that the country was "as pleasant as it is possible to conceive." The next French expedition was led by a Frenchman named Cartier (Kar'-tya'). In 1534 he visited the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 1535 he sailed up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. But before he could get out of the river again the ice formed about his ships. He and his crew had to pass the winter there. They suffered terribly, and twenty-four of them perished of cold and sickness. In the spring of 1536 the survivors returned to France.
Ribault explores the Carolina coasts, 1562.
French colonists in Carolina. Explorers, 149-156.
18. The French in Carolina, 1562.--The French next explored the shores of the Carolinas. Ribault (Re'-bo') was the name of their commander. Sailing southward from Carolina, he discovered a beautiful river and called it the River of May. But we know it by its Spanish name of St. Johns. He left a few men on the Carolina coast and returned to France. A year or more these men remained. Then wearying of their life in the wilderness, they built a crazy boat with sails of shirts and sheets and steered for France. Soon their water gave out and then their food. Finally, almost dead, they were rescued by an English ship.
French colonists in Florida.
19. The French in Florida, 1564-65.--While these Frenchmen were slowly drifting across the Atlantic, a great French expedition was sailing to Carolina. Finding Ribault's men gone, the new colony was planted on the banks of the River of May. Soon the settlers ate up all the food they had brought with them. Then they bought food from the Indians, giving them toys and old clothes in exchange. Some of the colonists rebelled. They seized a vessel and sailed away to plunder the Spaniards in the West Indies. They told the Spaniards of the colony on the River of May, and the Spaniards resolved to destroy it.
Spaniards and Frenchmen.
End of the French settlement, 1565. Explorers, 159-166.
20. The Spaniards in Florida, 1565.--For this purpose the Spaniards sent out an expedition under Menendez (Ma-nen'-deth). He sailed to the River of May and found Ribault there with a French fleet. So he turned southward, and going ashore founded St. Augustine. Ribault followed, but a terrible storm drove his whole fleet ashore south of St. Augustine. Menendez then marched over land to the French colony. He surprised the colonists and killed nearly all of them. Then going back to St. Augustine, he found Ribault and his shipwrecked sailors and killed nearly all of them. In this way ended the French attempts to found a colony in Carolina and Florida. But St. Augustine remained, and is to-day the oldest town on the mainland of the United States.
Hawkins's voyages, 1562-67.
21. Sir John Hawkins.--For many years after Cabot's voyage Englishmen were too busy at home to pay much attention to distant expeditions. But in Queen Elizabeth's time English seamen began to sail to America. The first of them to win a place in history was John Hawkins. He carried cargoes of negro slaves from Africa to the West Indies and sold them to the Spanish planters. On his third voyage he was basely attacked by the Spaniards and lost four of his five ships. Returning home, he became one of the leading men of Elizabeth's little navy and fought most gallantly for his country.
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.
Drake on the California coast, 1577-78. Source-Book, 9.
22. Sir Francis Drake.--A greater and a more famous man was Hawkins's cousin, Francis Drake. He had been with Hawkins on his third voyage and had come to hate Spaniards most vigorously. In 1577 he made a famous voyage round the world. Steering through the Straits of Magellan, he plundered the Spanish towns on the western coasts of South America. At one place his sailors went on shore and found a man sound asleep. Near him were four bars of silver. "We took the silver and left the man," wrote the old historian of the voyage. Drake also captured vessels loaded with gold and silver and pearls. Sailing northward, he repaired his ship, the Pelican, on the coast of California, and returned home by the way of the Cape of Good Hope.
Ralegh and his colonies. Eggleston, 13-17; Explorers, 177-189.
23. Sir Walter Ralegh.--Still another famous Englishman of Elizabeth's time was Walter Ralegh. He never saw the coasts of the United States, but his name is rightly connected with our history, because he tried again and again to found colonies on our shores. In 1584 he sent Amadas and Barlowe to explore the Atlantic seashore of North America. Their reports were so favorable that he sent a strong colony to settle on Roanoke Island in Virginia, as he named that region. But the settlers soon became unhappy because they found no gold. Then, too, their food began to fail, and Drake, happening along, took them back to England.
Ralegh's last attempt, 1587. Explorers, 189-200.
24. The "Lost Colony," 1587.--Ralegh made still one more attempt to found a colony in Virginia. But the fate of this colony was most dreadful. For the settlers entirely disappeared,--men, women, and children. Among the lost was little Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America. No one really knows what became of these people. But the Indians told the later settlers of Jamestown that they had been killed by the savages.
Ruin of Spain's sea-power. English History for Americans, 131-135.
25. Destruction of the Spanish Armada, 1588.--This activity of the English in America was very distressing to the King of Spain. For he claimed all America for himself and did not wish Englishmen to go thither. He determined to conquer England and thus put an end to these English voyages. But Hawkins, Drake, Ralegh, and the men behind the English guns were too strong even for the Invincible Armada. Spain's sea-power never recovered from this terrible blow. Englishmen could now found colonies with slight fear of the Spaniards. When the Spanish king learned of the settlement of Jamestown, he ordered an expedition to go from St. Augustine to destroy the English colony. But the Spaniards never got farther than the mouth of the James River. For when they reached that point, they thought they saw the masts and spars of an English ship. They at once turned about and sailed back to Florida as fast as they could go.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 1
§§ 1-3.--a. To how much honor are the Northmen entitled as the discoverers of America?
b. Draw from memory a map showing the relative positions of Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and North America.
c. What portions of the world were known to Europeans in 1490? Explain by drawing a map.
§§ 4-6.--a. State Columbus's beliefs about the shape and size of the earth.
b. What land did Columbus think that he had reached?
c. What is meant by the statement that "he took possession" of the new land?
d. Describe the appearance of the Indians, their food, and their weapons.
§§ 7-9.--a. What other Italians sailed across the Atlantic before 1500? Why was Cabot's voyage important?
b. Why was the New World called America and not Columbia?
c. Describe the discovery of the Pacific Ocean. Why was this discovery of importance?
CHAPTER 2
§§ 10-12.--a. What was the chief wish of the Spanish explorers?
b. How did they treat the Indians?
§§ 13-16.--a. Describe a pueblo. What do the existing pueblos teach us about the Indians of Coronado's time?
b. Describe Coronado's march.
c. What other band of Spaniards nearly approached Coronado's men? Describe their march.
d. What other places were explored by the Spaniards?
§§ 17-20.--a. Why did Verrazano explore the northeastern coasts?
b. Describe Cartier's experiences in the St. Lawrence.
c. Describe the French expeditions to Carolina and Florida.
d. What reason had the Spaniards for attacking the French?
CHAPTER 3
§§ 21, 22.--a. Look up something about the early voyages of Francis Drake.
b. Compare Drake's route around the world with that of Magellan.
§§ 23-25.--a. Explain carefully Ralegh's connection with our history.
b. Was the territory Ralegh named Virginia just what is now the state of Virginia?
c. What is sea-power?
d. What effect did the defeat of Spain have upon our history?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Draw upon an Outline Map the routes of all the explorers mentioned. Place names and dates in their proper places.
b. Arrange a table of the various explorers as follows, stating in two or three words what each accomplished:--
DATE. SPANISH. FRENCH. ENGLISH. 1492 Columbus 1497 Cabot.
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. Columbus's first voyage, Irving (abridged edition).
b. Coronado's expedition, Lummis's Spanish Pioneers.
c. Verrazano and Cartier, Higginson's Explorers.
d. The "Lost Colony," Higginson's Explorers.
e. The England of Elizabeth (a study of any small history of England will suffice for this topic).
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
The teacher is recommended to study sources in preparing her work, making selections where possible, for the pupil's use. Some knowledge of European history (English especially) is essential for understanding our early history, and definite work of this nature on the teacher's part, at least, is earnestly advised.
Encourage outside reading by assigning subjects for individual preparation, the results to be given to the class. Let the children keep note books for entering the important points thus given.
Map study and map drawing should be constant, but demand correct relations rather than finished drawings. Geographical environment should be emphasized as well as the influence of natural resources and productions in developing the country and in determining its history.
In laying out the work on this period the teacher should remember that this part is in the nature of an introduction.
References.--Fiske's United States for Schools, 59-133; Eggleston's United States and its People, 91-113 (for colonial life); Parkman's Pioneers (for French colonies); Bradford's Plymouth Plantation (extracts in "American History Leaflets," No. 29).
Home Readings.--Drake's Making of New England; Drake's Making of Virginia and the Middle States; Eggleston's Pocahontas and Powhatan; Dix's Soldier Rigdale (Pilgrim children); Irving's Knickerbocker History; Webster's Plymouth Oration; Longfellow's Myles Standish; Moore's Pilgrims and Puritans.
Settlement of Acadia, 1604.
Port Royal.
26. The French in Acadia.--For nearly forty years after the destruction of the colony on the River of May, Frenchmen were too busy fighting one another at home to send any more colonists to America. At length, in 1604, a few Frenchmen settled on an island in the St. Croix River. But the place was so cold and windy that after a few months they crossed the Bay of Fundy and founded the town of Port Royal. The country they called Acadia.
Champlain at Plymouth.
Quebec founded, 1608.
Champlain on Lake Champlain, 1609.
He attacks the Iroquois. Explorers, 269-278.
27. Champlain and his Work.--The most famous of these colonists was Champlain. He sailed along the coast southward and westward as far as Plymouth. As he passed by the mouth of Boston harbor, a mist hung low over the water, and he did not see the entrance. Had it been clear he would have discovered Boston harbor and Charles River, and French colonists might have settled there. In 1608 Champlain built a trading-post at Quebec and lived there for many years as governor or chief trader. He soon joined the St. Lawrence Indians in their war parties and explored large portions of the interior. In 1609 he went with the Indians to a beautiful lake. Far away to the east were mountains covered with snow. To the south were other mountains, but with no snow on their tops. To the lake the explorer gave his own name, and we still call it in his honor, Lake Champlain. While there, he drove away with his firearms a body of Iroquois Indians. A few years later he went with another war party to western New York and again attacked the Iroquois.
French missionaries and traders.
They visit Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.
28. The French on the Great Lakes.--Champlain was the first of many French discoverers. Some of these were missionaries who left home and friends to bring the blessings of Christianity to the Red Men of the western world. Others were fur-traders, while still others were men who came to the wilderness in search of excitement. These French discoverers found Lake Superior and Lake Michigan; they even reached the headwaters of the Wisconsin River--a branch of the Mississippi.
The Jesuits and their work.
29. The French Missionaries.--The most active of the French missionaries were the Jesuits. built stations on the shores of the Great Lakes. They made long expeditions to unknown regions. Some of them were killed by those whom they tried to convert to Christianity. Others were robbed and left to starve. Others still were tortured and cruelly abused. But the prospect of starvation, torture, and death only made them more eager to carry on their great work.
[Illustration: CHAMPLAIN'S ATTACK ON AN IROQUOIS FORT.]
The League of the Iroquois.
Their hatred of the French. Its importance.
The missionaries and the Iroquois.
30. The Iroquois.--The strongest of all the Indian tribes were the nations who formed the League of the Iroquois. Ever since Champlain fired upon them they hated the sight of a Frenchman. On the other hand, they looked upon the Dutch and the English as their friends. French missionaries tried to convert them to Christianity as they had converted the St. Lawrence Indians. But the Iroquois saw in this only another attempt at French conquest. So they hung red-hot stones about the missionaries' necks, or they burned them to death, or they cut them to pieces while yet living. For a century and a half the Iroquois stood between the Dutch and English settlers and their common enemies in Canada. Few events, in American history, therefore, have had such great consequences as Champlain's unprovoked attacks upon the Iroquois.
New conditions of living in England.
The Virginia Company.
31. The Virginia Company, 1606.--English people were now beginning to think in earnest of founding colonies. It was getting harder and harder to earn one's living in England, and it was very difficult to invest one's money in any useful way. It followed, from this, that there were many men who were glad to become colonists, and many persons who were glad to provide money to pay for founding colonies. In 1606 the Virginia Company was formed and colonization began on a large scale.
The Virginia colonists at Jamestown, 1607.
Higginson, 52, 110-117; Eggleston, 19-28;
Explorers 231-269.
Sickness and death.
32. Founding of Jamestown, 1607. The first colonists sailed for Virginia in December, 1606. They were months on the way and suffered terrible hardships. At last they reached Chesapeake Bay and James River and settled on a peninsula on the James, about thirty miles from its mouth. Across the little isthmus which connected this peninsula with the mainland they built a strong fence, or stockade, to keep the Indians away from their huts. Their settlement they named Jamestown. The early colonists of Virginia were not very well fitted for such a work. Some of them were gentlemen who had never labored with their hands; others were poor, idle fellows whose only wish was to do nothing whatever. There were a few energetic men among them as Ratcliffe, Archer, and Smith. But these spent most of their time in exploring the bay and the rivers, in hunting for gold, and in quarreling with one another. With the summer came fevers, and soon fifty of the one hundred and five original colonists were dead. Then followed a cold, hard winter, and many of those who had not died of fever in the summer, now died of cold. The colonists brought little food with them, they were too lazy to plant much corn, and they were able to get only small supplies from the Indians. Indeed, the early history of Virginia is given mainly to accounts of "starving times." Of the first thousand colonists not one hundred lived to tell the tale of those early days.
Sir Thomas Dale.
His wise action.
33. Sir Thomas Dale and Good Order.--In 1611 Sir Thomas Dale came out as ruler, and he ruled with an iron hand. If a man refused to work, Dale made a slave of him for three years; if he did not work hard enough, Dale had him soundly whipped. But Sir Thomas Dale was not only a severe man; he was also a wise man. Hitherto everything had been in common. Dale now tried the experiment of giving three acres of land to every one of the old planters, and he also allowed them time to work on their own land.
Tobacco.
Prosperity.
34. Tobacco-growing and Prosperity.--European people were now beginning to use tobacco. Most of it came from the Spanish colonies. Tobacco grew wild in Virginia. But the colonists at first did not know how to dry it and make it fit for smoking. After a few years they found out how to prepare it. They now worked with great eagerness and planted tobacco on every spot of cleared land. Men with money came over from England. They brought many workingmen with them and planted large pieces of ground. Soon tobacco became the money of the colony, and the whole life of Virginia turned on its cultivation. But it was difficult to find enough laborers to do the necessary work.
White servants.
Criminals.
Negro slaves, 1619.
35. Servants and Slaves.--Most of the laborers were white men and women who were bound to service for terms of years. These were called servants. Some of them were poor persons who sold their labor to pay for their passage to Virginia. Others were unfortunate men and women and even children who were stolen from their families and sold to the colonists. Still others were criminals whom King James sent over to the colony because that was the cheapest thing to do with them. In 1619 the first negro slaves were brought to Virginia by a Dutch vessel. The Virginians bought them all--only twenty in number. But the planters preferred white laborers. It was not until more that twenty-five years had passed away that the slaves really became numerous enough to make much difference in the life of the colony.
Sir Edwin Sandys.
The first American legislature, 1619.
36. The first American Legislature, 1619.--The men who first formed the Virginia Company had long since lost interest in it. Other men had taken their places. These latter were mostly Puritans (p. 29) or were the friends and workers with the Puritans. The best known of them was Sir Edwin Sandys, the playmate of William Brewster--one of the Pilgrim Fathers (p. 29). Sandys and his friends sent Sir George Yeardley to Virginia as governor. They ordered him to summon an assembly to be made up of representatives chosen by the freemen of the colony. These representatives soon did away with Dale's ferocious regulations, and made other and much milder laws.
End of the Virginia Company, 1624.
Virginia a royal province.
37. Virginia becomes a Royal Province, 1624.--The Virginians thought this was a very good way to be governed. But King James thought that the new rulers of the Virginia Company were much too liberal, and he determined to destroy the company. The judges in those days dared not displease the king for he could turn them out of office at any time. So when he told them to destroy the Virginia charter they took the very first opportunity to declare it to be of no force. In this way the Virginia Company came to an end, and Virginia became a royal province with a governor appointed by the king.
Intolerance in Virginia.
Persecution of the Puritans.
38. Religious Intolerance.--In 1625 King James died, and his son Charles became king. He left the Virginians to themselves for the most part. They liked this. But they did not like his giving the northern part of Virginia to a Roman Catholic favorite, Lord Baltimore, with the name of Maryland. Many Roman Catholics soon settled in Lord Baltimore's colony. The Virginians feared lest they might come to Virginia and made severe laws against them. Puritan missionaries also came from New England and began to convert the Virginians to Puritanism. Governor Berkeley and the leading Virginians were Episcopalians. They did not like the Puritans any better than they liked the Roman Catholics. They made harsh laws against them and drove them out of Virginia into Maryland.
Maryland given to Baltimore, 1632.
Settlement of Maryland. Higginson, 121-123;
Eggleston, 50-53; Source-book, 48-51.
39. Settlement of Maryland.--Maryland included the most valuable portion of Virginia north of the Potomac. Beside being the owner of all this land, Lord Baltimore was also the ruler of the colony. He invited people to go over and settle in Maryland and offered to give them large tracts of land on the payment of a small sum every year forever. Each man's payment was small. But all the payments taken together, made quite a large amount which went on growing larger and larger as Maryland was settled. The Baltimores were broad-minded men. They gave their colonists a large share in the government of the colony and did what they could to bring about religious toleration in Maryland.
Roman Catholics in England.
Roman Catholics and Puritans in Maryland.
The Toleration Act, 1649.
40. The Maryland Toleration Act, 1649.--The English Roman Catholics were cruelly oppressed. No priest of that faith was allowed to live in England. And Roman Catholics who were not priests had to pay heavy fines simply because they were Roman Catholics. Lord Baltimore hoped that his fellow Catholics might find a place of shelter in Maryland, and many of the leading colonists were Roman Catholics. But most of the laborers were Protestants. Soon came the Puritans from Virginia. They were kindly received and given land. But it was evident that it would be difficult for Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and Puritans to live together without some kind of law to go by. So a law was made that any Christian might worship as he saw fit. This was the first toleration act in the history of America. It was the first toleration act in the history of modern times. But the Puritan, Roger Williams, had already established religious freedom in Rhode Island (p. 33).
Tobacco and grain.
Commerce.
Servants and slaves.
41. Maryland Industries.--Tobacco was the most important crop in early Maryland. But grain was raised in many parts of the colony. In time also there grew up a large trading town. This was Baltimore. Its shipowners and merchants became rich and numerous, while there were almost no shipowners or merchants in Virginia. There were also fewer slaves in Maryland than in Virginia. Nearly all the hard labor in the former colony was done by white servants. In most other ways, however, Virginia and Maryland were nearly alike.
The English Puritans.
Non-Conformists.
Separatists.
42. The Puritans.--The New England colonies were founded by English Puritans who left England because they could not do as they wished in the home land. All Puritans were agreed in wishing for a freer government than they had in England under the Stuart kings and in state matters were really the Liberals of their time. In religious matters, however, they were not all of one mind. Some of them wished to make only a few changes in the Church. These were called Non-Conformists. Others wished to make so many changes in religion that they could not stay in the English State Church. These were called Separatists. The settlers of Plymouth were Separatists; the settlers of Boston and neighboring towns were Non-Conformists.
The Scrooby Puritans. Higginson, 55-56;
Eggleston, 34.
They flee to Holland.
They decide to emigrate to America.
43. The Pilgrims.--Of all the groups of Separatists scattered over England none became so famous as those who met at Elder Brewster's house at Scrooby. King James decided to make all Puritans conform to the State Church or to hunt them out of the land. The Scrooby people soon felt the weight of persecution. After suffering great hardships and cruel treatment they fled away to Holland. But there they found it very difficult to make a living. They suffered so terribly that many of their English friends preferred to go to prison in England rather than lead such a life of slavery in Holland. So the Pilgrims determined to found a colony in America. They reasoned that they could not be worse off in America, because that would be impossible. At all events, their children would not grow up as Dutchmen, but would still be Englishmen. They had entire religious freedom in Holland; but they thought they would have the same in America.
BREWSTER'S HOUSE AT SCROOBY.
The Pilgrims held their services in the building on the left,
now used as a cow-house.
The voyage of the Mayflower, 1620.
The Mayflower at Cape Cod.
44. The Voyage across the Atlantic.--Brewster's old friend, Sir Edwin Sandys, was now at the head of the Virginia Company. He easily procured land for the Pilgrims in northern Virginia, near the Dutch settlements (p. 41). Some London merchants lent them money. But they lent it on such harsh conditions that the Pilgrims' early life in America was nearly as hard as their life had been in Holland. They had a dreadful voyage across the Atlantic in the Mayflower. At one time it seemed as if the ship would surely go down. But the Pilgrims helped the sailors to place a heavy piece of wood under one of the deck beams and saved the vessel from going to pieces. On November 19, 1620, they sighted land off the coast of Cape Cod. They tried to sail around the cape to the southward, but storms drove them back, and they anchored in Provincetown harbor.
The Pilgrims Compact, 1620.
45. The Mayflower Compact, 1620.--All the passengers on the Mayflower were not Pilgrims. Some of them were servants sent out by the London merchants to work for them. These men said that as they were outside of Virginia, the leaders of the expedition would have no power over them as soon as they got on land. This was true enough, so the Pilgrims drew up and signed a compact which obliged the signers to obey whatever was decided to be for the public good. It gave the chosen leaders power to make the unruly obey their commands.
The Pilgrims explore the coast. Explorers,
319-328.
Plymouth settled. Higginson,58-60; Eggleston, 35-38;
Source-Book, 39-41.
Sickness and death.
46. The First Winter at Plymouth.--For nearly a month the Pilgrims explored the shores of Cape Cod Bay. Finally, on December 21, 1620, a boat party landed on the mainland inside of Plymouth harbor. They decided to found their colony on the shore at that place. About a week later the Mayflower anchored in Plymouth harbor. For months the Pilgrims lived on the ship while working parties built the necessary huts on shore. It was in the midst of a cold New England winter. The work was hard and food and clothing were not well suited to the worker's needs. Before the Mayflower sailed away in the spring one-half of the little band was dead.
The Pilgrims and the Indians. Explorers,
333-337.
Success of the colony.
New Plymouth colony.
47. New Plymouth Colony.--Of all the Indians who once had lived near Plymouth only one remained. His name was Squanto. He came to the Pilgrims in the spring. He taught them to grow corn and to dig clams, and thus saved them from starvation. The Pilgrims cared for him most kindly as long as he lived. Another and more important Indian also came to Plymouth. He was Massasoit, chief of the strongest Indian tribe near Plymouth. With him the Pilgrims made a treaty which both parties obeyed for more than fifty years. Before long the Pilgrims' life became somewhat easier. They worked hard to raise food for themselves, they fished off the coasts, and bought furs from the Indians. In these ways they got together enough money to pay back the London merchants. Many of their friends joined them. Other towns were settled near by, and Plymouth became the capital of the colony of New Plymouth. But the colony was never very prosperous, and in the end was added to Massachusetts.
Founders of Massachusetts.
Explorers 341-361; Source-book 45-48, 74-76.
Settlement of Massachusetts, 1630. Higginson, 60-64;
Eggleston, 39-41.
48. The Founding of Massachusetts, 1629-30.--Unlike the poor and humble Pilgrims were the founders of Massachusetts. They were men of wealth and social position, as for instance, John Winthrop and Sir Richard Saltonstall. They left comfortable homes in England to found a Puritan state in America. They got a great tract of land extending from the Merrimac to the Charles, and westward across the continent. Hundreds of colonists came over in the years 1629-30. They settled Boston, Salem, and neighboring towns. In the next ten years thousands more joined them. From the beginning Massachusetts was strong and prosperous. Among so many people there were some who did not get on happily with the rulers of the colony.
Roger Williams expelled from Massachusetts.
Higginson, 68-70.
He founds Providence, 1636. Source-book, 52-54.
49. Roger Williams and Religious Liberty.--Among the newcomers was Roger Williams, a Puritan minister. He disagreed with the Massachusetts leaders on several points. For instance, he thought that the Massachusetts people had no right to their lands, and he insisted that the rulers had no power in religious matters--as enforcing the laws as to Sunday. He insisted on these points so strongly that the Massachusetts government expelled him from the colony. In the spring of 1636; with four companions he founded the town of Providence. There he decided that every one should be free to worship God as he or she saw fit.
Mrs. Hutchinson and her friends.
They settle Rhode Island, 1637.
50. The Rhode Island Towns.--Soon another band of exiles came from Massachusetts. These were Mrs. Hutchinson and her followers. Mrs. Hutchinson was a brilliant Puritan woman who had come to Boston from England to enjoy the ministry of John Cotton, one of the Boston ministers. She soon began to find fault with the other ministers of the colony. Naturally, they did not like this. Their friends were more numerous than were Mrs. Hutchinson's friends, and the latter had to leave Massachusetts. They settled on the island of Rhode Island (1637).
The Connecticut colonists.
Founding of Connecticut, 1635-36. Higginson, 71-72.
51. The Connecticut Colony.--Besides those Puritans whom the Massachusetts people drove from their colony there were other settlers who left Massachusetts of their own free will. Among these were the founders of Connecticut. The Massachusetts people would gladly have had them remain, but they were discontented and insisted on going away. They settled the towns of Hartford, Windsor, and Weathersfield, on the Connecticut River. At about the same time John Winthrop, Jr., led a colony to Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut. Up to this time the Dutch had seemed to have the best chance to settle the Connecticut Valley. But the control of that region was now definitely in the hands of the English.
Destruction of the Pequods, 1637.
52. The Pequod War, 1637.--The Pequod Indians were not so ready as the Dutch to admit that resistance was hopeless. They attacked Wethersfield. They killed several colonists, and carried others away into captivity. Captain John Mason of Connecticut and Captain John Underhill of Massachusetts went against them with about one hundred men. They surprised the Indians in their fort. They set fire to the fort, and shot down the Indians as they strove to escape from their burning wigwams. In a short time the Pequod tribe was destroyed.
[Illustration: JOHN WINTHROP, JR.]
The Connecticut Orders of 1638-39.
53. The First American Constitution, 1638-39.--The Connecticut colonists had leisure now to settle the form of their government. Massachusetts had such a liberal charter that nothing more seemed to be necessary in that colony. The Mayflower Compact did well enough for the Pilgrims. The Connecticut people had no charter, and they wanted something more definite than a vague compact. So in the winter of 1638-39 they met at Hartford and set down on paper a complete set of rules for their guidance. This was the first time in the history of the English race that any people had tried to do this. The Connecticut constitution of 1638-39 is therefore looked upon as "the first truly political written constitution in history." The government thus established was very much the same as that of Massachusetts with the exception that in Connecticut there was no religious condition for the right to vote as there was in Massachusetts.
The New Haven settlers.
New Haven founded, 1638. Higginson, 72-73.
54. New Haven, 1638.--The settlers of New Haven went even farther than the Massachusetts rulers and held that the State should really be a part of the Church. Massachusetts was not entirely to their tastes. They passed only one winter there and then moved away and settled New Haven. But this colony was not well situated for commerce, and was too near the Dutch settlements (p. 41). It was never as prosperous as Connecticut and was finally joined to that colony.
Reasons for union.
Articles of Confederation, 1643.
New England towns. Higginson, 47-79.
55. The New England Confederation, 1643.--Besides the settlements that have already been described there were colonists living in New Hampshire and in Maine. Massachusetts included the New Hampshire towns within her government, for some of those towns were within her limits. In 1640 the Long Parliament met in England, and in 1645 Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans destroyed the royal army in the battle of Naseby. In these troubled times England could do little to protect the New England colonists, and could do nothing to punish them for acting independently. The New England colonists were surrounded by foreigners. There were the French on the north and the east, and the Dutch on the west. The Indians, too, were living in their midst and might at any time turn on the whites and kill them. Thinking all these things over, the four leading colonies decided to join together for protection. They formed the New England Confederation, and drew up a constitution. The colonists living in Rhode Island and in Maine did not belong to the Confederation, but they enjoyed many of the benefits flowing from it; for it was quite certain that the Indians and the French and the Dutch would think twice before attacking any of the New England settlements.
[Illustration: A CHILD'S HIGH CHAIR, ABOUT 1650.]
Education.
56. Social Conditions.--The New England colonies were all settled on the town system, for there were no industries which demanded large plantations--as tobacco-planting. The New Englanders were small farmers, mechanics, ship-builders, and fishermen. There were few servants in New England and almost no negro slaves. Most of the laborers were free men and worked for wages as laborers now do. Above all, the New Englanders were very zealous in the matter of education. Harvard College was founded in 1636. A few years later a law was passed compelling every town to provide schools for all the children in the town.
The Dutch East India Company.
57. The Dutch.--At this time the Dutch were the greatest traders and shipowners in the world. They were especially interested in the commerce of the East Indies. Indeed, the Dutch India Company was the most successful trading company in existence. The way to the East Indies lay through seas carefully guarded by the Portuguese, so the Dutch India Company hired Henry Hudson, an English sailor, to search for a new route to India.
Henry Hudson.
He discovers Hudson's River, 1609. Higginson, 88-90;
Explorers, 281-296.
His death. Explorers 296-302.
58. Hudson's Voyage, 1609.--He set forth in 1609 in the Half-Moon, a stanch little ship. At first he sailed northward, but ice soon blocked his way. He then sailed southwestward to find a strait, which was said to lead through America, north of Chesapeake Bay. On August 3, 1609, he reached the entrance of what is now New York harbor. Soon the Half-Moon entered the mouth of the river that still bears her captain's name. Up, up the river she sailed, until finally she came to anchor near the present site of Albany. The ship's boats sailed even farther north. Everywhere the country was delightful. The Iroquois came off to the ship in their canoes. Hudson received them most kindly--quite unlike the way Champlain treated other Iroquois Indians at about the same time, on the shore of Lake Champlain (p. 20). Then Hudson sailed down the river again and back to Europe. He made one later voyage to America, this time under the English flag. He was turned adrift by his men in Hudson's Bay, and perished in the cold and ice.
The Dutch fur-traders.
Settle on Manhattan Island.
New Netherland.
59. The Dutch Fur-Traders.--Hudson's failure to find a new way to India made the Dutch India Company lose interest in American exploration. But many Dutch merchants were greatly interested in Hudson's account of the "Great River of the Mountain." They thought that they could make money from trading for furs with the Indians. They sent many expeditions to Hudson's River, and made a great deal of money. Some of their captains explored the coast northward and southward as far as Boston harbor and Delaware Bay. Their principal trading-posts were on Manhattan Island, and near the site of Albany. In 1614 some of the leading traders obtained from the Dutch government the sole right to trade between New France and Virginia. They called this region New Netherland.
The Dutch West India Company, 1621.
Higginson, 90-96; Explorers, 303-307;
Source-book, 42-44.
The patroons, 1628.
60. The Founding of New Netherland.--In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was founded. Its first object was trade, but it also was directed "to advance the peopling" of the American lands claimed by the Dutch. Colonists now came over; they settled at New Amsterdam, on the southern end of Manhattan Island, and also on the western end of Long Island. By 1628 there were four hundred colonists in New Netherland. But the colony did not grow rapidly, so the Company tried to interest rich men in the scheme of colonization, by giving them large tracts of land and large powers of government. These great land owners were called patroons. Most of them were not very successful. Indeed, the whole plan was given up before long, and land was given to any one who would come out and settle.
Governor Kieft.
Kieft orders the Indians to be killed.
Results of the massacre.
61. Kieft and the Indians, 1643-44.--The worst of the early Dutch governors was William Kieft (Keeft). He was a bankrupt and a thief, who was sent to New Netherland in the hope that he would reform. At first he did well and put a stop to the smuggling and cheating which were common in the colony. Emigrants came over in large numbers, and everything seemed to be going on well when Kieft's brutality brought on an Indian war that nearly destroyed the colony. The Indians living near New Amsterdam sought shelter from the Iroquois on the mainland opposite Manhattan Island. Kieft thought it would be a grand thing to kill all these Indian neighbors while they were collected together. He sent a party of soldiers across the river and killed many of them. The result was a fierce war with all the neighboring tribes. The Dutch colonists were driven from their farms. Even New Amsterdam with its stockade was not safe. For the Indians sometimes came within the stockade and killed the people in the town. When there were less than two hundred people left in New Amsterdam, Kieft was recalled, and Peter Stuyvesant was sent as governor in his stead.
Peter Stuyvesant. Higginson, 97.
62. Stuyvesant's Rule.--Stuyvesant was a hot-tempered, energetic soldier who had lost a leg in the Company's service. He ruled New Netherland for a long time, from 1647 to 1664. And he ruled so sternly that the colonists were glad when the English came and conquered them. This unpopularity was not entirely Stuyvesant's fault. The Dutch West India Company was a failure. It had no money to spend for the defence of the colonists, and Stuyvesant was obliged to lay heavy taxes on the people.
The Swedes on the Delaware. Higginson,
106-108.
Stuyvesant conquers them.
63. New Sweden.--When the French, the English, and the Dutch were founding colonies in America, the Swedes also thought that they might as well have a colony there too. They had no claim to any land in America. But Swedish armies were fighting the Dutchmen's battles in Europe. So the Swedes sent out a colony to settle on lands claimed by the Dutch. As long as the European war went on, the Swedes were not interfered with. But when the European war came to an end, Stuyvesant was told to conquer them. This he did without much trouble, as he had about as many soldiers as there were Swedish colonists. In this way New Sweden became a part of New Netherland.
Summary.
The Chesapeake Colonies.
The New England Colonies.
64. Summary.--We have seen how the French, the Dutch, the Swedish, and the English colonies were established on the Atlantic seashore and in the St. Lawrence valley. South of these settlements there was the earlier Spanish colony at St. Augustine. The Spanish colonists were very few in number, but they gave Spain a claim to Florida. The Swedish colony had been absorbed by the stronger Dutch colony. We have also seen how very unlike were the two English groups of colonies. They were both settled by Englishmen, but there the likeness stops. For Virginia and Maryland were slave colonies. They produced large crops of tobacco. The New England colonists on the other hand were practically all free. They lived in towns and engaged in all kinds of industries. In the next hundred years we shall see how the English conquered first the Dutch and then the French; how they planted colonies far to the south of Virginia and in these ways occupied the whole coast north of Florida.
CHAPTER 4
§§ 26, 27.--a. Mark on a map all the places mentioned in these sections.
b. Describe Champlain's attacks on the Iroquois.
§§ 28-30.--a. Compare the reasons for the coming of the French and the Spaniards.
b. What work did the Jesuits do for the Indians?
c. Explain carefully why the hostility of the Iroquois to the French was so important.
CHAPTER 5
§§ 31, 32.--a. Give two reasons for the revival of English colonial enterprises.
b. Describe the voyage and early experiences of the Virginia colonists.
c. Give three reasons for the sufferings of the Virginia colonists.
§§ 33-35.--a. What do you think of Sir Thomas Dale?
b. To what was the prosperity of Virginia due? Why?
c. What classes of people were there in Virginia?
§§ 36-38.--a. What is the meaning of the word "Puritan" (see § 43)? Why is Sir Edwin Sandys regarded as the founder of free government in the English colonies?
b. Describe the laws of Virginia as to Roman Catholics and Puritans.
§§ 39-41.--a. Describe Lord Baltimore's treatment of his settlers. What do you think of the wisdom of his actions?
b. How were Roman Catholics treated in England?
c. What is meant by toleration? Who would be excluded by the Maryland Toleration Act?
d. Describe the likenesses and the differences between Virginia and Maryland.
CHAPTER 6
§§ 42-47.--a. Describe the voyage of the Mayflower.
b. What was the object of the Mayflower Compact?
c. Describe the Pilgrims' search for a place of settlement.
d. Read Bradford's account of the first winter at Plymouth.
e. What did Squanto do for the Pilgrims?
§§ 48-50.--a. What advantages did the founders of Massachusetts have over those of New Plymouth?
b. Look up the history of England, 1630-40, and say why so many colonists came to New England in those years.
c. On what matters did Roger Williams disagree with the rulers of Massachusetts?
d. How are Williams's ideas as to religious freedom regarded now?
e. Why was Mrs. Hutchinson expelled from Massachusetts?
§§ 51-54.--a. How did the Pequod War affect the colonists on the Connecticut?
b. What is a constitution? Why did the Connecticut people feel the need of one? Why is the Connecticut constitution famous?
c. Why did the New Haven settlers found a separate colony?
§§ 55, 56.--a. What two parties were fighting in England?
b. Give all the reasons for the formation of the New England Confederation. What were the effects of this union?
c. Compare the industries of New England with those of Virginia.
CHAPTER 7
§§ 57-59.--a. Why did the Dutch East India Company wish a northern route to India?
b. Describe Hudson's and Champlain's expeditions, and compare their treatment of the Iroquois.
c. What attracted the Dutch to the region discovered by Hudson?
§§ 60-62.--a. What was the object of the Dutch West India Company? What privileges did the patroons have?
b. Describe the career of Kieft. What were the results of his treatment of the Indians?
c. What kind of a governor was Stuyvesant? Why was he unpopular?
§ 63.--a. In what European war were the Swedes and the Dutch engaged?
b. On what land did the Swedes settle?
c. Describe how New Sweden was joined to New Netherland.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Mark on a map in colors the lands settled by the different European nations.
b. Note the position of the Dutch with reference to the English, and explain the importance of such position.
c. Give one fact about each of the colonies, and state why you think it important.
d. Give one fact which especially interests you in connection with each colony, and explain your interest.
e. In which colony would you have liked to live, and why?
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. Champlain's place in American history (Parkman's Pioneers).
b. The First American Legislature and its work (Hart's Contemporaries, I., No. 65).
c. Why did the Pilgrims come to America? (Bradford's Plymouth).
d. Arrange a table of the several settlements similar to that described on page 18.
e. Write a composition on life in early colonial days (Eggleston's United States, 91-113).
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
In treating this chapter aim to make clear the reasons for and conditions of the settlement of each colony. Vividness can best be obtained by a study of the writings of the time, especially of Bradford's History of Plymouth. Use pictures in every possible way and molding board as well.
Emphasize the lack of true liberty of thought, and lead the children to understand that persecution was a characteristic of the time and not a failing of any particular colony or set of colonists.
References.--Fiske's United States for Schools 133-180; McMaster's School History, 93-108 (life in 1763); Source-Book, ch. vii; Fisher's Colonial Era; Earle's Child Life.
Home Readings.--Parkman's Montcalm and Wolfe; Franklin's Autobiography; Brooks's In Leisler's Times; Coffin's Old Times in the Colonies; Cooper's Last of the Mohicans; Scudder's Men and Manners One Hundred Years Ago.
The Puritan in England. Higginson and Channing,
English History for Americans, 182-195.
The Colonies, 1649-60.
65. The Puritans and the Colonists, 1649-60.--In 1649 Charles I was executed, and for eleven years the Puritans were supreme in England. During this time the New England colonists governed themselves, and paid little heed to the wishes and orders of England's rulers. After some hesitation, the Virginians accepted the authority of Cromwell and the Puritans. In return they were allowed to govern themselves. In Maryland the Puritans overturned Baltimore's governor and ruled the province for some years.
The Restoration, 1660. English History for
Americans, 196.
The Navigation Laws.
66. Colonial Policy of Charles II.--In 1660 Charles II became king of England or was "restored" to the throne, as people said at the time. Almost at once there was a great revival of interest in colonization, and the new government interfered vigorously in colonial affairs. In 1651 the Puritans had begun the system of giving the English trade only to English merchants and shipowners. This system was now extended, and the more important colonial products could be carried only to English ports.
Charles II and Massachusetts.
Massachusetts and the Quakers. Higginson, 80-81.
67. Attacks on Massachusetts.--The new government was especially displeased by the independent spirit shown by Massachusetts. Only good Puritans could vote in that colony, and members of the Church of England could not even worship as they wished. The Massachusetts people paid no heed whatever to the navigation laws and asserted that acts of Parliament had no force in the colony. It chanced that at this time Massachusetts had placed herself clearly in the wrong by hanging four persons for no other reason than that they were Quakers. The English government thought that now the time had come to assert its power. It ordered the Massachusetts rulers to send other Quakers to England for trial. But, when this order reached Massachusetts, there were no Quakers in prison awaiting trial, and none were ever sent to England.
Charters of Connecticut and Rhode Island,
1662-63.
New Haven absorbed by Connecticut.
68. Connecticut and Rhode Island.--While the English government was attacking Massachusetts it was giving most liberal charters to Connecticut and to Rhode Island. Indeed, these charters were so liberal that they remained the constitutions of the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island until long after the American Revolution. The Connecticut charter included New Haven within the limits of the larger colony and thus put an end to the separate existence of New Haven.
THE OLDEST CHURCH SOUTH OF THE POTOMAC.
The English conquest of New Netherland, 1664. Higginson. 97-98.
69. Conquest of New Netherland, 1664.--The English government now determined to conquer New Netherland. An English fleet sailed to New Amsterdam. Stuyvesant thumped up and down on his wooden leg. But he was almost the only man in New Amsterdam who wanted to fight. He soon surrendered, and New Netherland became an English colony. The Dutch later recaptured it and held it for a time; but in 1674 they finally handed it over to England.
New Netherland given to the Duke of York and Albany.
70. New York.--Even before the colony was seized in 1664, Charles II gave it away to his brother James, Duke of York and Albany, who afterward became king as James II. The name of New Netherland was therefore changed to New York, and the principal towns were also named in his honor, New York and Albany. Little else was changed in the colony. The Dutch were allowed to live very nearly as they had lived before, and soon became even happier and more contented than they had been under Dutch rule. Many English settlers now came in. The colony became rich and prosperous, but the people had little to do with their own government.
Origin of New Jersey, 1664.
Settlement of New Jersey.
71. New Jersey.--No sooner had James received New Netherland from his brother than he hastened to give some of the best portions of it to two faithful friends, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley. Their territory extended from New York harbor to the Delaware River, and was named New Jersey in honor of Carteret's defense of the island of Jersey against the Puritans. Colonists at once began coming to the new province and settled at Elizabethtown.
East and West Jersey.
Prosperity.
72. Later New Jersey.--Soon New Jersey was divided into two parts, East Jersey and West Jersey. West Jersey belonged to Lord Berkeley and he sold it to the Quakers. Not very many years later the Quakers also bought East Jersey. The New Jersey colonists were always getting into disputes with one another, so they asked Queen Anne to take charge of the government of the province. This she did by telling the governor of New York to govern New Jersey also. This was not what the Jersey people had expected. But they had their own legislature. In time also they secured a governor all to themselves and became a royal province entirely separate from New York. Pennsylvania and New York protected the Jersey people from the French and the Indians, and provided markets for the products of the Jersey farms. The colonists were industrious and their soil was fertile. They were very religious and paid great attention to education. New Jersey became very prosperous and so continued until the Revolution.
Founding of Carolina, 1663. Higginson, 124-127.
73. The Founding of Carolina.--The planting of New Jersey was not the only colonial venture of Carteret and Berkeley. With Lord Chancellor Clarendon and other noblemen they obtained from Charles land in southern Virginia extending southward into Spanish Florida. This great territory was named Carolina.
Northern Carolina.
Southern Carolina.
74. The Carolina Colonists.--In 1663, when the Carolina charter was granted, there were a few settlers living in the northern part of the colony. Other colonists came from outside mainly from the Barbadoes and settled on the Cape Fear River. In this way was formed a colony in northern Carolina. But the most important settlement was in the southern part of the province at Charleston. Southern Carolina at once became prosperous. This was due to the fact that the soil and climate of that region were well suited to the cultivation of rice. The rice swamps brought riches to the planters, they also compelled the employment of large numbers of negro slaves. Before long, indeed, there were more negroes than whites in southern Carolina. In this way there grew up two distinct centers of colonial life in the province.
[Illustration: Southern Carolina.]
Indian war.
Bacon's Rebellion, 1676.
75. Bacon's Rebellion, 1676.--By this time the Virginians had become very discontented. There had been no election to the colonial assembly since 1660 and Governor Berkeley was very tyrannical. The Virginians also wanted more churches and more schools. To add to these causes of discontent the Indians now attacked the settlers, and Berkeley seemed to take very little interest in protecting the Virginians. Led by Nathaniel Bacon the colonists marched to Jamestown and demanded authority to go against the Indians. Berkeley gave Bacon a commission. But, as soon as Bacon left Jamestown on his expedition, Berkeley declared that he was a rebel. Bacon returned, and Berkeley fled. Bacon marched against the Indians again, and Berkeley came back, and so the rebellion went on until Bacon died. Berkeley then captured the other leaders one after another and hanged them. But when he returned to England, Charles II turned his back to him, saying, "The old fool has killed more men in Virginia than I for the murder of my father."
[Illustration: THE HOUSE IN WHICH NATHANIEL BACON DIED. From an original sketch.]
Greedy Governors.
Founding of William and Mary College, 1691.
76. Virginia after Bacon's Rebellion.--The Virginians were now handed over to a set of greedy governors. Some of them came to America to make their fortunes. But some of them were governors whom the people of other colonies would not have. The only event of importance in the history of the colony during the next twenty-five years was the founding of William and Mary College (1691) at Williamsburg. It was the second oldest college in the English colonies.
[Illustration: THE OPENING LINES OF THE PENNSYLVANIA CHARTER SHOWING ORNAMENTAL BORDER AND PORTRAIT OF CHARLES II.]
King Philip's War, 1675-76. Higginson, 137-138; Eggleston, 81-89.
77. King Philip's War, 1675-76.--It was not only in Virginia and Maryland that the Indians were restless at this time. In New England also they attacked the whites. They were led by Massasoit's son, King Philip, an able and far-seeing man. He saw with dismay how rapidly the whites were driving the Indians away from their hunting-grounds. The Indians burned the English villages on the frontier and killed hundreds of the settlers. The strongest chief to join Philip was Canonchet of the Narragansetts. The colonial soldiers stormed his fort and killed a thousand Indian warriors. Before long King Philip himself was killed, and the war slowly came to an end.
William Penn.
The Pennsylvania Charter, 1681.
78. William Penn.--Among the greatest Englishmen of that time was William Penn. He was a Quaker and was also a friend of Charles II and James, Duke of York. He wished to found a colony in which he and the Quakers could work out their ideas in religious and civil matters. It chanced that Charles owed Penn a large sum of money. As Charles seldom had any money, he was very glad to give Penn instead a large tract of land in America. In this way Penn obtained Pennsylvania. James, for his part, gave him Delaware.
Settlement of Pennsylvania, 1682. Higginson, 101-105; Eggleston, 57-60; Source-Book, 67-69.
79. Founding of Pennsylvania, 1682.--William Penn had a great reputation for honesty and fair dealing among the English Quakers and among the Quakers on the continent of Europe as well. As soon as it was known that he was to found a colony, great numbers of persons came to Pennsylvania from England and from Germany. In a very short time the colony became strong and prosperous. In the first place, the soil of Pennsylvania was rich and productive while its climate was well suited to the growth of grain. In the second place, Penn was very liberal to his colonists. He gave them a large share in the government of the province and he allowed no religious persecution. He also insisted on fair and honest dealing with the Indians.
Mason and Dixon's line.
Its importance in history.
80. Mason and Dixon's Line.--In the seventeenth century the geography of America was very little understood in Europe--and the persons who drew up colonial charters understood it least of all. Charter lines frequently overlapped and were often very indistinct. This was particularly true of the Maryland and Pennsylvania boundaries. Penn and Baltimore tried to come to an agreement; but they never could agree. Years afterward, when they were both dead, their heirs agreed to have a line drawn without much regard to the charters. This line was finally surveyed by two English engineers, Mason and Dixon, and is always called after their names. It is the present boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. In colonial days it separated the colonies where slavery was the rule from those where labor was generally free. In the first half of the nineteenth century it separated the free states from the slave states. Mason and Dixon's line, therefore, has been a famous line in the history of the United States.
New policy of the Stuarts.
Reasons for the new policy.
81. The Stuart Tyranny.--Instead of admiring the growth of the colonies in strength and in liberty, Charles and James saw it with dismay. The colonies were becoming too strong and too free. They determined to reduce all the colonies to royal provinces, like Virginia--with the exception of Pennsylvania which belonged to their friend, William Penn. There was a good deal to be said in favor of this plan, for the colonists were so jealous of each other that they would not unite against the French or the Indians. If the governments were all in the hands of the king, the whole strength of the British colonies could be used against any enemy of England.
End of the Massachusetts Company, 1684.
Governor Andros of New England, 1688.
82. The Stuart Tyranny in New England.--The Massachusetts charter was now taken away, and Sir Edmund Andros was sent over to govern the colony. He was ordered to make laws and to tax the people without asking their consent. He did as he was ordered to do. He set up the Church of England. He taxed the people. He even took their lands from them, on the ground that the grants from the old Massachusetts government were of no value. When one man pointed to the magistrates' signatures to his grant, Andros told him that their names were worth no more than a scratch with a bear's paw. He also enforced the navigation laws and took possession of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Plymouth. At the same time he was also governor of New Hampshire and of New York.
[Illustration: A PROCLAMATION OF 1690 FORBIDDING THE PRINTING OF NEWSPAPERS WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE GOVERNMENT.]
Flight of James II.
Rebellion against Andros, 1689.
83. The "Glorious Revolution" in America, 1689.--By this time Charles was dead, and James was King of England. The English people did not like James any better than the New Englanders liked Andros. In 1688 they rebelled and made William of Orange and his wife Mary, James's eldest daughter, King and Queen of England. On their part, the Massachusetts colonists seized Andros and his followers and shut them up in prison (April 18, 1689). The people of Connecticut and Rhode Island turned out Andros's agents and set up their old governments. In New York also Andros's deputy governor was expelled, and the people took control of affairs until the king and queen should send out a governor. Indeed, all the colonies, except Maryland, declared for William and Mary.
Policy of William and Mary.
The Massachusetts Province charter, 1691.
84. The New Arrangements.--For a year or two William was very busy in Ireland and on the continent. At length he had time to attend to colonial affairs. He appointed royal governors for both Pennsylvania and Maryland. William Penn soon had his colony given back to him; but the Baltimores had to wait many years before they recovered Maryland. In New York there was a dreadful tragedy. For the new governor, Slaughter, was persuaded to order the execution of the leaders in the rising against Andros. Massachusetts did not get her old charter back, but she got another charter. This provided that the king should appoint the governor, but the people should elect a House of Representatives. The most important result of this new arrangement was a series of disputes between the king's governor and the people's representatives. Maine and New Plymouth were included in Massachusetts under the new charter. But New Hampshire remained a royal province.
Prosperity of the colonies, 1700-60.
85. The Colonies, 1700-60.--During these years immigrants thronged to America, and the colonies became constantly stronger. Commerce everywhere developed, and many manufactures were established. Throughout the colonies the people everywhere gained power, and had it not been for the French and Indian wars they would have been happy. Aside from these wars the most important events of these years were the overthrow of the Carolina proprietors and the founding of Georgia.
[Illustration: Carolina Rice Fields.]
Bad government of the Carolina proprietors.
Rebellion in Carolina, 1719.
North and South Carolina.
86. North and South Carolina.--The Carolina proprietors and their colonists had never got on well together. They now got on worse than ever. The greater part of the colonists were not members of the Established Church; but the proprietors tried to take away the right to vote from all persons who were not of that faith. They also interfered in elections, and tried to prevent the formation of a true representative assembly. They could not protect the people against the pirates who blockaded Charleston for weeks at a time. In 1719 the people of Charleston rebelled. The king then interfered, and appointed a royal governor. Later he bought out the rights of the proprietors. In this way Carolina became a royal province. It was soon divided into two provinces, North Carolina and South Carolina. But there had always been two separate colonies in Carolina (p. 52).
General Oglethorpe.
Grant of Georgia, 1732.
87. Founding of Georgia, 1732.--In those days it was the custom in England to send persons who could not pay their debts to prison. Of course many of these poor debtors were really industrious persons whom misfortune or sickness had driven into debt. General Oglethorpe, a member of Parliament, looked into the prison management. He was greatly affected by the sad fate of these poor debtors, and determined to do something for them. With a number of charitable persons he obtained a part of South Carolina for a colony, and named it Georgia for George II, who gave the land. Parliament also gave money. For the government thought it very desirable to have a colony between the rich plantations of Carolina and the Spanish settlements in Florida.
Settlement of Georgia, 1733. Higginson,
127-130; Eggleston, 62-65; Source-Book, 71-73.
Progress of the colony.
88. Georgia, 1733-52.--Naturally Oglethorpe had no difficulty in getting colonists. For the poor debtors and other oppressed persons were very glad to have a new start in life. Savannah was founded in 1733. The Spaniards, however, were not at all glad to have an English colony planted so near Florida. They attacked the Georgians, and Oglethorpe spent years in fighting them. The Georgia colonists found it very difficult to compete with the Carolina planters. For the Carolinians had slaves to work for them, and the proprietors of Georgia would not let the Georgians own slaves. Finally they gave way and permitted the colonists to own slaves. But this so disheartened the Georgia proprietors that they gave up the enterprise and handed the colony over to the king. In this way Georgia became a royal province.
Louis of France and William of Orange.
89. Causes of the French Wars.--At the time of the "Glorious Revolution" (p. 58) James II found refuge with Louis XIV, King of France. William and Louis had already been fighting, and it was easy enough to see that if William became King of England he would be very much more powerful than he was when he was only Prince of Orange. So Louis took up the cause of James and made war on the English and the Dutch. The conflict soon spread across the Atlantic.
Disadvantages of the English colonists.
Advantages of the French colonists.
90. Strength of the Combatants.--At first sight it might seem as if the English colonists were much stronger than the French colonists. They greatly outnumbered the French. They were much more prosperous and well-to-do. But their settlements were scattered over a great extent of seacoast from the Kennebec to the Savannah. Their governments were more or less free. But this very freedom weakened them for war. The French colonial government was a despotism directed from France. Whatever resources the French had in America were certain to be well used.
[Illustration: A "GARRISON HOUSE" AT YORK, MAINE, BUILT IN 1676.]
King William's War, 1689-97. Eggleston, 122-123.
91. King William's War, 1689-97.--The Iroquois began this war by destroying Montreal. The next winter the French invaded New York. They captured Schenectady and killed nearly all the inhabitants. Other bands destroyed New England towns and killed or drove away their inhabitants. The English, on their part, seized Port Royal in Acadia, but they failed in an attempt against Quebec. In 1697 this war came to an end. Acadia was given back to the French, and nothing was gained by all the bloodshed and suffering.
Queen Anne's War, 1701-13. Higginson, 143-147; Source-Book, 98-100.
92. Queen Anne's War, 1701-13.--In 1701 the conflict began again. It lasted for twelve years, until 1713. It was in this war that the Duke of Marlborough won the battle of Blenheim and made for himself a great reputation. In America the French and Indians made long expeditions to New England. The English colonists again attacked Quebec and again failed. In one thing, however, they were successful. They again seized Port Royal. This time the English kept Port Royal and all Acadia. Port Royal they called Annapolis, and the name of Acadia was changed to Nova Scotia.
King George's War, 1744-48.
93. King George's War, 1744-48.--From 1713 until 1744 there was no war between the English and the French. But in 1744 fighting began again in earnest. The French and Indians attacked the New England frontier towns and killed many people. But the New Englanders, on their part, won a great success. After the French lost Acadia they built a strong fortress on the island of Cape Breton. To this they gave the name of Louisburg. The New Englanders fitted out a great expedition and captured Louisburg without much help from the English. But at the close of the war (1748) the fortress was given back to the French, to the disgust of the New Englanders.
La Salle on the Mississippi, 1681.
McMaster, 62-65; Source-book, 96-98.
94. The French in the Mississippi Valley.--The Spaniards had discovered the Mississippi and had explored its lower valley. But they had found no gold there and had abandoned the country. It was left for French explorers more than one hundred years later to rediscover the great river and to explore it from its upper waters to the Gulf of Mexico. The first Frenchman to sail down the river to its mouth was La Salle. In 1681, with three canoes, he floated down the Mississippi, until he reached a place where the great river divided into three large branches. He sent one canoe down each branch. Returning, they all reported that they had reached the open sea.
La Salle attempts to found a colony.
McMaster, 79-80.
Louisiana settled, 1699.
95. Founding of Louisiana.--La Salle named this immense region Louisiana in honor of the French king. He soon led an expedition to plant a colony on the banks of the Mississippi. Sailing into the Gulf of Mexico, he missed the mouth of the Mississippi and landed on the coast of Texas. Misfortune after misfortune now fell on the unhappy expedition. La Salle was murdered, the stores were destroyed, the Spaniards and Indians came and killed or captured nearly all the colonists. A few only gained the Mississippi and made their way to Canada. In 1699, another French expedition appeared in the Gulf of Mexico. This time the mouth of the Mississippi was easily discovered. But the colonists settled on the shores of Mobile Bay. It was not until 1718 that New Orleans was founded.
The French on the Ohio, 1749. McMaster,
82-86.
The English Ohio Company, 1750.
96. Struggle for the Ohio Valley.--At the close of King George's War the French set to work to connect the settlements in Louisiana with those on the St. Lawrence. In 1749 French explorers gained the Alleghany River from Lake Erie and went down the Ohio as far as the Miami. The next year (1750) King George gave a great tract of land on the Ohio River to an association of Virginians, who formed the Ohio Company. The struggle for the Ohio Valley had fairly begun. Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia learned that the French were building forts on the Ohio, and sent them a letter protesting against their so doing. The bearer of this letter was George Washington, a young Virginia surveyor.
George Washington. Scudder's Washington; Hero
Tales 1-15.
He warns the French to leave the Ohio.
97. George Washington.--Of an old Virginia family, George Washington grew up with the idea that he must earn his own living. His father was a well-to-do planter. But Augustine Washington was the eldest son, and, as was the custom then in Virginia, he inherited most of the property. Augustine Washington was very kind to his younger brother, and gave him a good practical education as a land surveyor. The younger man was a bold athlete and fond of studying military campaigns. He was full of courage, industrious, honest, and of great common sense. Before he was twenty he had surveyed large tracts of wilderness, and had done his work well amidst great difficulties. When Dinwiddie wanted a messenger to take his letter to the French commander on the Ohio, George Washington's employer at once suggested him as the best person to send on the dangerous journey.
The French build Fort Duquesne.
Washington's first military expedition, 1754.
98. Fort Duquesne.--Instead of heeding Dinwiddie's warning, the French set to work to build Fort Duquesne (Dü-kan') at the spot where the Alleghany and Monongahela join to form the Ohio,--on the site of the present city of Pittsburg. Dinwiddie therefore sent Washington with a small force of soldiers to drive them away. But the French were too strong for Washington. They besieged him in Fort Necessity and compelled him to surrender (July 4, 1754).
[Illustration: BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN.]
Braddock's expedition, 1755. Higginson, 152-154; Eggleston, 129-131; Source-book, 103-105.
99. Braddock's Defeat, 1755.--The English government now sent General Braddock with a small army of regular soldiers to Virginia. Slowly and painfully Braddock marched westward. Learning of his approach, the French and Indians left Fort Duquesne to draw him into ambush. But the two forces came together before either party was prepared for battle. For some time the contest was even, then the regulars broke and fled. Braddock was fatally wounded. With great skill, Washington saved the survivors,--but not until four shots had pierced his coat and only thirty of his three companies of Virginians were left alive.
The French and Indian War.
William Pitt, war minister, 1757.
100. The War to 1759.--All the earlier French and Indian wars had begun in Europe and had spread to America. This war began in America and soon spread to Europe. At first affairs went very ill. But in 1757 William Pitt became the British war minister, and the war began to be waged with vigor and success. The old generals were called home, and new men placed in command. In 1758 Amherst and Wolfe captured Louisburg, and Forbes, greatly aided by Washington, seized Fort Duquesne. Bradstreet captured Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario. There was only one bad failure, that of Abercrombie at Ticonderoga. But the next year Amherst captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point and opened the way to Canada by Lake Champlain.
[Illustration: WOLFE'S RAVINE. This shows the gradual ascent of the path from the river to the top of the bluff.]
Capture of Quebec, 1759. Higginson, 154-156;
Eggleston, 137-139; Source-Book, 105-107.
Battle of Quebec.
101. Capture of Quebec, 1759.--Of all the younger generals James Wolfe was foremost. To him was given the task of capturing Quebec. Seated on a high bluff, Quebec could not be captured from the river. The only way to approach it was to gain the Plains of Abraham in its rear and besiege it on the land side. Again and again Wolfe sent his men to storm the bluffs below the town. Every time they failed. Wolfe felt that he must give up the task, when he was told that a path led from the river to the top of the bluff above the town. Putting his men into boats, they gained the path in the darkness of night. There was a guard at the top of the bluff, but the officer in command was a coward and ran away. In the morning the British army was drawn up on the Plains of Abraham. The French now attacked the British, and a fierce battle took place. The result was doubtful when Wolfe led a charge at the head of the Louisburg Grenadiers. He was killed, but the French were beaten. Five days later Quebec surrendered. Montreal was captured in 1760, and in 1763 the war came to an end.
Peace of Paris, 1763.
102. Peace of Paris, 1763.--By this great treaty, or set of treaties, the French withdrew from the continent of North America. To Spain, who had lost Florida, the French gave the island of New Orleans and all of Louisiana west of the Mississippi. To Great Britain the French gave up all the rest of their American possessions except two small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Spain, on her part, gave up Florida to the British. There were now practically only two powers in America,--the British in the eastern part of the continent, and the Spaniards west of the Mississippi. The Spaniards also owned the island of New Orleans and controlled both sides of the river for more than a hundred miles from its mouth. But the treaty gave the British the free navigation of the Mississippi throughout its length.
CHAPTER 8
§§ 65, 66.--a. What government did England have after the execution of Charles I? Give three facts about Cromwell.
b. How did the accession of Charles II affect the colonies?
c. What laws were made about the commerce of the colonies?
§ 67.--a. How did the new government of England regard Massachusetts? Why?
b. Describe the treatment of the Quakers in Massachusetts.
§ 68.--a. Describe the charters given to Connecticut and Rhode Island. Why did Connecticut need a charter when she already had a constitution?
b. What other colony was united with Connecticut?
§§ 69,70.--a. Why did England wish to conquer New Netherland? Why did not the people of New Amsterdam wish to fight the English?
b. To whom did Charles give this territory?
§§ 71, 72.--a. Mark on a map the position of New Jersey.
b. Describe the division of New Jersey and its sale to the Quakers.
c. Why was the colony prosperous?
§§ 73, 74.--a. Describe the founding of Carolina.
b. Describe northern and southern Carolina, and note the differences between them.
§§ 75, 76.--a. What complaints did the people of Virginia make? Was Bacon a rebel?
b. Describe the later government of Virginia.
c. Why was the founding of William and Mary College important?
§ 77.--a. What was the cause of King Philip's War?
b. What were the results of the war?
§§ 78-80.--a. Find out three facts about the early life of William Penn. Why did colonists come to Pennsylvania?
b. What trouble arose with Maryland about the boundary line?
c. How was Mason and Dixon's line famous later?
CHAPTER 9
§§ 81-84.--a. Why did Charles and James dislike the growing liberty of the colonies?
b. What changes did Andros make in New England?
c. Describe the "Glorious Revolution" in America.
d. What changes did William and Mary make in the colonial governments?
§§ 85-88.--a. How did the Carolina proprietors treat their colonists? What was the result of their actions?
b. Explain the reasons for the founding of Georgia.
CHAPTER 10
§§ 89,90.--a. Compare the strength of the English and French colonies. What is a "despotism"?
b. Draw a map showing the position of the English and French colonies.
§§ 91-93.--a. Mark on a map all the places mentioned in the text.
b. Describe the expedition against Louisburg.
c. What was the result of these wars?
§§ 94-97.--a. Which country, England, France, or Spain, had the best claim to the Mississippi valley? Why?
b. Follow route of La Salle on a map, marking each place mentioned. Describe the settlement of Louisiana.
c. Why did the struggle between England and France begin in the Ohio valley?
d. Describe Washington's early training.
§§ 98-101.--a. Where was Fort Duquesne? Why was its position important? Describe Braddock's expedition and trace his route.
b. Mark on a map the important routes to Canada.
c. Describe the capture of Quebec. Why was it important?
§ 102.--a. What territory did England gain in 1763? What did Spain gain? What did France lose?
b. What was the great question settled by this war?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Were the New England colonies difficult to govern? Why?
b. In what respects were the colonial governments alike? In what respects were they unlike?
c. What events in any colony have shown that its people desired more liberty?
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. The Revolution of 1688 in England and America.
b. Write an account of the life of a boy or girl in any colony; tell about the house, furniture, dress, school, and if a journey to another colony is made, how it is made and what is seen on the way.
c. Arrange a table similar to that described on p. 18.
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
In this period the growing difficulties between England and the colonies can be traced--especially in commercial affairs and in governmental institutions. Thus many of the causes of the Revolution may be brought out as well as the difficulties in the way of colonial union. This may be emphasized by noting the difference between the English and French colonies.
A MAP OF THE BRITISH DOMINIONS IN NORTH AMERICA., ACCORDING TO
THE TREATY IN 1763,
By Peter Bell, Geographer, 1772.
References.--Fiske's War of Independence, 39-86; Scudder's George Washington; Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution; English History for Americans, 244-284 (English political history).
Home Readings.--Irving's Washington (abridged edition); Cooke's Stories of the Old Dominion; Cooper's Lionel Lincoln; Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride.
England's early liberal colonial policy.
England's changed colonial policy.
103. Early Colonial Policy.--At the outset, England's rulers had been very kind to Englishmen who founded colonies. They gave them great grants of land. They gave them rights of self-government greater than any Englishmen living in England enjoyed. They allowed them to manage their own trade and industries as they saw fit. They even permitted them to worship God as their consciences told them to worship him. But, as the colonists grew in strength and in riches, Britain's rulers tried to make their trade profitable to British merchants and interfered in their government. On their part the colonists disobeyed the navigation laws and disputed with the royal officials. For years Britain's rulers allowed this to go on. But, at length, near the close of the last French war Mr. Pitt ordered the laws to be enforced.
Difficulties in enforcing the navigation laws.
James Otis. Eggleston, 163. His speech against writs of
assistance, 1761.
104. Writs of Assistance, 1761.--It was a good deal easier to order the laws to be carried out than it was to carry them out. It was almost impossible for the customs officers to prevent goods being landed contrary to law. When the goods were once on shore, it was difficult to seize them. So the officers asked the judges to give them writs of assistance. Among the leading lawyers of Boston was James Otis. He was the king's law officer in the province. But he resigned his office and opposed the granting of the writs. He objected to the use of writs of assistance because they enabled a customs officer to become a tyrant. Armed with one of them he could go to the house of a man he did not like and search it from attic to cellar, turn everything upside down and break open doors and trunks. It made no difference, said Otis, whether Parliament had said that the writs were legal. For Parliament could not make an act of tyranny legal. To do that was beyond the power even of Parliament.
Patrick Henry. Eggleston, 162.
His speech in the Parson's Cause, 1763.
105. The Parson's Cause, 1763.--The next important case arose in Virginia and came about in this way. The Virginians made a law regulating the salaries of clergymen in the colony. The king vetoed the law. The Virginians paid no heed to the veto. The clergy men appealed to the courts and the case of one of them was selected for trial. Patrick Henry, a prosperous young lawyer, stated the opinions of the Virginians in a speech which made his reputation. The king, he said, had no right to veto a Virginia law that was for the good of the people. To do so was an act of tyranny, and the people owed no obedience to a tyrant. The case was decided for the clergyman. For the law was clearly on his side. But the jurymen agreed with Henry. They gave the clergyman only one farthing damages, and no more clergymen brought cases into the court. The king's veto was openly disobeyed.
Proclamation of 1763. McMaster, 110.
106. The King's Proclamation of 1763.--In the same year that the Parson's Cause was decided the king issued a proclamation which greatly lessened the rights of Virginia and several other colonies to western lands. Some of the old charter lines, as those of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, and the Carolinas had extended to the Pacific Ocean. By the treaty of 1763 (p. 69) the king, for himself and his subjects, abandoned all claim to lands west of Mississippi River. Now in the Proclamation of 1763 he forbade the colonial governors to grant any lands west of the Alleghany Mountains. The western limit of Virginia and the Carolinas was fixed. Their pioneers could not pass the mountains and settle in the fertile valleys of the Ohio and its branches.
George III.
George Grenville.
The British Parliament.
107. George III and George Grenville.--George III became king in 1760. He was a narrow, stupid, well-meaning, ignorant young man of twenty-one. He soon found in George Grenville a narrow, dull, well-meaning lawyer, a man who would do what he was told. So George Grenville became the head of the government. To him the law was the law. If he wished to do a thing and could find the law for it, he asked for nothing more. His military advisers told him that an army must be kept in America for years. It was Grenville's business to find the money to support this army. Great Britain was burdened with a national debt. The army was to be maintained, partly, at least, for the protection of the colonists. Why should they not pay a part of the cost of maintaining it? Parliament was the supreme power in the British Empire. It controlled the king, the church, the army, and the navy. Surely a Parliament that had all this power could tax the colonists. At all events, Grenville thought it could, and Parliament passed the Stamp Act to tax them.
Taxation and representation.
Henry's resolutions, 1765. Higginson, 161-164;
McMaster, 112-114.
108. Henry's Resolutions, 1765.--The colonists, however, with one voice, declared that Parliament had no power to tax them. Taxes, they said, could be voted only by themselves or their representatives. They were represented in their own colonial assemblies, and nowhere else. Patrick Henry was now a member of the Virginia assembly. He had just been elected for the first time. But as none of the older members of the assembly proposed any action, Henry tore a leaf from an old law-book and wrote on it a set of resolutions. These he presented in a burning speech, upholding the rights of the Virginians. He said that to tax them by act of Parliament was tyranny. "Caesar and Tarquin had each his Brutus, Charles I his Cromwell, and George III"--"Treason, treason," shouted the speaker. "May profit by their example," slowly Henry went on. "If that be treason, make the most of it." The resolutions were voted. In them the Virginians declared that they were not subject to Acts of Parliament laying taxes or interfering in the internal affairs of Virginia.
HENRY'S FIRST AND LAST RESOLUTIONS (FACSIMILE OF THE ORIGINAL
DRAFT).
Opposition to the Stamp Act, 1765. Higginson, 164-165; McMaster, 116.
109. Stamp Act Riots, 1765.--Until the summer of 1765 the colonists contented themselves with passing resolutions. There was little else that they could do. They could not refuse to obey the law because it would not go into effect until November. They could not mob the stamp distributers because no one knew their names. In August the names of the stamp distributers were published. Now at last it was possible to do something besides passing resolutions. In every colony the people visited the stamp officers and told them to resign. If they refused, they were mobbed until they resigned. In Boston the rioters were especially active. They detested Thomas Hutchinson. He was lieutenant-governor and chief justice and had been active in enforcing the navigation acts. The rioters attacked his house. They broke his furniture, destroyed his clothing, and made a bonfire of his books and papers.
Colonial congresses.
Albany Congress, 1754.
Stamp Act Congress, 1765.
110. The Stamp Act Congress, 1765.--Colonial congresses were no new thing. There had been many meetings of governors and delegates from colonial assemblies. The most important of the early congresses was the Albany Congress of 1754. It was important because it proposed a plan of union. The plan was drawn up by Benjamin Franklin. But neither the king nor the colonists liked it, and it was not adopted. All these earlier congresses had been summoned by the king's officers to arrange expeditions against the French or to make treaties with the Indians. The Stamp Act Congress was summoned by the colonists to protest against the doings of king and Parliament.
[Illustration: PATRICK HENRY "I am not a Virginian, but an American."]
Declaration of the Rights and Grievances of the Colonists, 1765. McMaster, 115.
111. Work of the Stamp Act Congress.--Delegates from nine colonies met at New York in October, 1765. They drew up a "Declaration of the Rights and Grievances of the Colonists." In this paper they declared that the colonists, as subjects of the British king, had the same rights as British subjects living in Britain, and were free from taxes except those to which they had given their consent. They claimed for themselves the right of trial by jury--which might be denied under the Stamp Act. But the most important thing about the congress was the fact that nine colonies had put aside their local jealousies and had joined in holding it.
Benjamin Franklin.
Examined by the House of Commons.
112. Franklin's Examination.--Born in Boston, Benjamin Franklin ran away from home and settled at Philadelphia. By great exertion and wonderful shrewdness he rose from poverty to be one of the most important men in the city and colony. He was a printer, a newspaper editor, a writer, and a student of science. With kite and string he drew down the lightning from the clouds and showed that lightning was a discharge of electricity. He was now in London as agent for Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. His scientific and literary reputation gave him great influence. He was examined at the bar of the House of Commons. Many questions and answers were arranged beforehand between Franklin and his friends in the House. But many questions were answered on the spur of the moment. Before the passage of the Stamp Act the feeling of the colonists toward Britain had been "the best in the world." So Franklin declared. But now, he said, it was greatly altered. Still an army sent to America would find no rebellion there. It might, indeed, make one. In conclusion, he said the repeal of the act would not make the colonists any more willing to pay taxes.
Fall of Grenville.
Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766.
The Declaratory Act, 1766.
113. Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766.--It chanced that at this moment George III and George Grenville fell out. The king dismissed the minister, and gave the Marquis of Rockingham the headship of a new set of ministers. Now Rockingham and his friends needed aid from somebody to give them the strength to outvote Grenville and the Tories. So when the question of what should be done about the Stamp Act came up, they listened most attentively to what Mr. Pitt had to say. That great man said that the Stamp Act should be repealed wholly and at once. At the same time another law should be passed declaring that Parliament had power to legislate for the colonies in all cases whatsoever. The Rockinghams at once did as Mr. Pitt suggested. The Stamp Act was repealed. The Declaratory Act was passed. In the colonies Pitt was praised as a deliverer. Statues of him were placed in the streets, pictures of him were hung in public halls. But, in reality, the passage of the Declaratory Act was the beginning of more trouble.
The Chatham Ministry.
The Townshend Acts, 1767. McMaster, 117-118.
114. The Townshend Acts, 1767.--The Rockingham ministers did what Mr. Pitt advised them to do. He then turned them out and made a ministry of his own. He was now Earl of Chatham, and his ministry was the Chatham Ministry. The most active of the Chatham ministers was Charles Townshend. He had the management of the finances and found them very hard to manage. So he hit upon a scheme of laying duties on wine, oil, glass, lead, painter's colors, and tea imported into the colonies. Mr. Pitt had said that Parliament could regulate colonial trade. The best way to regulate trade was to tax it. At the same time that Townshend brought in this bill, he brought in others to reorganize the colonial customs service and make it possible to collect the duties. He even provided that offences against the revenue laws should be tried by judges appointed directly by the king, without being submitted to a jury of any kind.
The Sugar Act.
Enforcement of the Navigation Acts.
115. Colonial Opposition, 1768.--Many years before this, Parliament had made a law taxing all sugar brought into the continental colonies, except sugar that had been made in the British West Indies. Had this law been carried out, the trade of Massachusetts and other New England colonies would have been ruined. But the law was not enforced. No one tried to enforce it, except during the few months of vigor at the time of the arguments about writs of assistance. As the taxes were not collected, no one cared whether they were legal or not. Now it was plain that this tax and the Townshend duties were to be collected. The Massachusetts House of Representatives drew up a circular letter to the other colonial assemblies asking them to join in opposing the new taxes. The British government ordered the House to recall the letter. It refused and was dissolved. The other colonial assemblies were directed to take no notice of the circular letter. They replied at the first possible moment and were dissolved.
Seizure of the sloop Liberty, 1768.
116. The New Customs Officers at Boston, 1768.--The chief office of the new customs organization was fixed at Boston. Soon John Hancock's sloop, Liberty, sailed into the harbor with a cargo of Madeira wine. As Hancock had no idea of paying the duty, the customs officers seized the sloop and towed her under the guns of a warship which was in the harbor. Crowds of people now collected. They could not recapture the Liberty. They seized one of the war-ship's boats, carried it to the Common, and had a famous bonfire. All this confusion frightened the chief customs officers. They fled to the castle in the harbor and wrote to the government for soldiers to protect them.
ONE OF JOHN HANCOCK'S BILL-HEADS.
Virginia Resolves, 1769.
117. The Virginia Resolves of 1769.--Parliament now asked the king to have colonists, accused of certain crimes, brought to England for trial. This aroused the Virginians. They passed a set of resolutions, known as the Virginia Resolves of 1769. These resolves asserted: (1) that the colonists only had the right to tax the colonists; (2) that the colonists had the right to petition either by themselves or with the people of other colonies; and (3) that no colonist ought to be sent to England for trial.
Non-Importation Agreements, 1769.
Partial repeal of the Townshend Acts, 1770.
118. Non-Importation Agreements, 1769.--When he learned what was going on, the governor of Virginia dissolved the assembly. But the members met in the Raleigh tavern near by. There George Washington laid before them a written agreement to use no British goods upon which duties had been paid. They all signed this agreement. Soon the other colonies joined Virginia in the Non-Importation Agreement. English merchants found their trade growing smaller and smaller. They could not even collect their debts, for the colonial merchants said that trade in the colonies was so upset by the Townshend Acts that they could not sell their goods, or collect the money owing to them. The British merchants petitioned Parliament to repeal the duties, and Parliament answered them by repealing all the duties except the tax on tea.
THE "RALEIGH TAVERN".
The British soldiers at New York.
Soldiers sent to Boston, 1768.
119. The Soldiers at New York and Boston.--Soldiers had been stationed at New York ever since the end of the French war because that was the most central point on the coast. The New Yorkers did not like to have the soldiers there very well, because Parliament expected them to supply the troops with certain things without getting any money in return. The New York Assembly refused to supply them, and Parliament suspended the Assembly's sittings. In 1768 two regiments came from New York to Boston to protect the customs officers.
The Boston Massacre, 1770. Higginson, 166-169; McMaster, 118.
120. The Boston Massacre, 1770.--There were not enough soldiers at Boston to protect the customs officers--if the colonists really wished to hurt them. There were quite enough soldiers at Boston to get themselves and the colonists into trouble. On March 5, 1770, a crowd gathered around the soldiers stationed on King's Street, now State Street. There was snow on the ground, and the boys began to throw snow and mud at the soldiers. The crowd grew bolder. Suddenly the soldiers fired on the people. They killed four colonists and wounded several more. Led by Samuel Adams, the people demanded the removal of the soldiers to the fort in the harbor. Hutchinson was now governor. He offered to send one regiment out of the town. "All or none," said Adams, and all were sent away.
Town Committees of Correspondence.
Colonial Committees of Correspondence, 1769.
121. Committees of Correspondence.--Up to this time the resistance of the colonists had been carried on in a haphazard sort of way. Now Committees of Correspondence began to be appointed. These committees were of two kinds. First there were town Committees of Correspondence. These were invented by Samuel Adams and were first appointed in Massachusetts. But more important were the colonial Committees of Correspondence. The first of these was appointed by Virginia in 1769. At first few colonies followed Massachusetts and Virginia in appointing committees. But as one act of tyranny succeeded another, other colonies fell into line. By 1775 all the colonies were united by a complete system of Committees of Correspondence.
The tax on tea. McMaster, 119.
122. The Tea Tax.--Of all the Townshend duties only the tax on tea was left. It happened that the British East India Company had tons of tea in its London storehouses and was greatly in need of money. The government told the company that it might send tea to America without paying any taxes in England, but the three-penny colonial tax would have to be paid in the colonies. In this way the colonists would get their tea cheaper than the people of England. But the colonists were not to be bribed into paying the tax in any such way. The East India Company sent over ship-loads of tea. The tea ships were either sent back again or the tea was stored in some safe place where no one could get it.
Boston Tea Party, 1773. Higginson, 171-173; Eggleston, 165; Source-Book, 137.
123. The Boston Tea Party, 1773.--In Boston things did not go so smoothly. The agents of the East India Company refused to resign. The collector of the customs refused to give the ships permission to sail away before the tea was landed. Governor Hutchinson refused to give the ship captains a pass to sail by the fort until the collector gave his permission. The commander at the fort refused to allow the ships to sail out of the harbor until they had the necessary papers. The only way to get rid of the tea was to destroy it. A party of patriots, dressed as Indians, went on board of the ships as they lay at the wharf, broke open the tea boxes, and threw the tea into the harbor.
Repressive acts, 1774. McMaster, 120.
124. Punishment of Massachusetts, 1774.--The British king, the British government, and the mass of the British people were furious when they found that the Boston people had made "tea with salt water." Parliament at once went to work passing acts to punish the colonists. One act put an end to the constitution of Massachusetts. Another act closed the port of Boston so tightly that the people could not bring hay from Charlestown to give to their starving horses. A third act provided that soldiers who fired on the people should be tried in England. And a fourth act compelled the colonists to feed and shelter the soldiers employed to punish them.
The colonists aid Massachusetts. Higginson,
174-177.
George Washington.
125. Sympathy with the Bostonians.--King George thought he could punish the Massachusetts people as much as he wished without the people of the other colonies objecting. It soon appeared that the people of the other colonies sympathized most heartily with the Bostonians. They sent them sheep and rice. They sent them clothes. George Washington was now a rich man. He offered to raise a thousand men with his own money, march with them to Boston, and rescue the oppressed people from their oppressors. But the time for war had not yet come although it was not far off.
The Quebec Act, 1774.
126. The Quebec Act, 1774.--In the same year that Parliament passed the four acts to punish Massachusetts, it passed another act which affected the people of other colonies as well as those of Massachusetts. This was the Quebec Act. It provided that the land between the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Great Lakes should be added to the Province of Quebec. Now this land was claimed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. These colonies were to be deprived of their rights to land in that region. The Quebec Act also provided for the establishment of a very strong government in that province. This seemed to be an attack on free institutions. All these things drove the colonists to unite. They resolved to hold a congress where the leaders of the several continental colonies might talk over matters and decide what should be done.
The First Continental Congress, 1774.
127. The First Continental Congress, 1774.--The members of the Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, in September, 1774. Never, except in the Federal Convention (p. 137), have so many great men met together. The greatest delegation was that from Virginia. It included George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee. From Massachusetts came the two Adamses, John and Samuel. From New York came John Jay. From Pennsylvania came John Dickinson. Of all the greatest Americans only Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were absent.
[Illustration: CARPENTER'S HALL, PHILADELPHIA.]
The American Association, 1774.
128. The American Association, 1774.--It soon became clear that the members of the Congress were opposed to any hasty action. They were not willing to begin war with Great Britain. Instead of so doing they adopted a Declaration of Rights and formed the American Association. The Declaration of Rights was of slight importance. But the Association was of great importance, as the colonies joining it agreed to buy no more British goods. This policy was to be carried out by the Committees of Correspondence. Any colony refusing to join the Association should be looked upon as hostile "to the liberties of this country," and treated as an enemy. The American Association was the real beginning of the American Union.
Resistance throughout the colonies 1774-75.
129. The Association carried out, 1774-75.--It was soon evident that Congress in forming the Association had done precisely what the people wished to have done. For instance, in Virginia committees were chosen in every county. They examined the merchants' books. They summoned before them persons suspected of disobeying "the laws of Congress." Military companies were formed in every county and carried out the orders of the committees. The ordinary courts were entirely disregarded. In fact, the royal government had come to an end in the Old Dominion.
Parliament punishes Massachusetts, 1774-75.
130. More Punishment for Massachusetts, 1774-75.--George III and his ministers refused to see that the colonies were practically united. On the contrary, they determined to punish the people of Massachusetts still further. Parliament passed acts forbidding the Massachusetts fishermen to catch fish and forbidding the Massachusetts traders to trade with the people of Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and all foreign countries. The Massachusetts colonists were rebels, they should be treated as rebels. General Gage was given more soldiers and ordered to crush the rebellion.
General Gage.
Opposed by the Massachusetts people.
131. Gage in Massachusetts, 1774-75.--General Gage found he had a good deal to do before he could begin to crush the rebellion. He had to find shelter for his soldiers. He also had to find food for them. The Boston carpenters would not work for him. He had to bring carpenters from Halifax and New York to do his work. The farmers of eastern Massachusetts were as firm as the Boston carpenters. They would not sell food to General Gage. So he had to bring food from England and from Halifax. He managed to buy or seize wood to warm the soldiers and hay to feed his horses. But the boats bringing these supplies to Boston were constantly upset in a most unlooked-for way. The colonists, on their part, elected a Provincial Congress to take the place of the regular government. The militia was reorganized, and military stores gathered together.
[Illustration: APRIL 19, 1775, DRAWN AND ENGRAVED BY TWO MEN WHO TOOK PART IN THE ACTION. Reproduced through the courtesy of Rev. E. G. Porter.]
Lexington and Concord, 1775. Higginson, 178-183; McMaster, 126-128; Source-Book, 144-146.
132. Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775.--Gage had said that with ten thousand men he could march all over Massachusetts. In April, 1775, he began to crush the rebellion by sending a strong force to Concord to destroy stores which his spies told him had been collected there. The soldiers began their march in the middle of the night. But Paul Revere and William Dawes were before them. "The regulars are coming," was the cry. At Lexington, the British found a few militiamen drawn up on the village green. Some one fired and a few Americans were killed. On the British marched to Concord. By this time the militiamen had gathered in large numbers. It was a hot day. The regulars were tired. They stopped to rest. Some of the militiamen attacked the regulars at Concord, and when the British started on their homeward march, the fighting began in earnest. Behind every wall and bit of rising ground were militiamen. One soldier after another was shot down and left behind. At Lexington the British met reinforcements, or they would all have been killed or captured. Soon they started again. Again the fighting began. It continued until the survivors reached a place of safety under the guns of the warships anchored off Charlestown. The Americans camped for the night at Cambridge and began the siege of Boston.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 11
§ 103.--a. Name some instances which illustrate England's early policy toward its colonies.
b. Explain the later change of policy, giving reasons for it.
§§ 104, 105.--a. What reasons did Otis give for his opposition to the writs of assistance? Why are such writs prohibited by the Constitution of the United States?
b. What is a veto? What right had the King of Great Britain to veto a Virginia law? Which side really won in the Parson's Cause?
§ 106.--What colonies claimed land west of the Alleghany Mountains? How did the king interfere with these claims?
CHAPTER 12
§§ 107-109.--a. What reasons were given for keeping an army in America?
b. What is meant by saying that Parliament was "the supreme power in the British Empire"?
c. Is a stamp tax a good kind of tax?
d. Explain carefully the colonists' objections to the Stamp Act of 1765. Do the same objections hold against the present Stamp tax?
§§ 110-113.--a. Explain the difference between the Stamp Act Congress and the earlier Congress.
b. What did the Stamp Act Congress do?
c. Give an account of Franklin. What did Franklin say about the feeling in the colonies?
d. Explain carefully the causes which led to the repeal of the Stamp Act.
e. Can the taxing power and the legislative power be separated? What is the case to-day in your own state? In the United States?
§§ 114-116.--a. How did Townshend try to raise money? How did this plan differ from the Stamp tax?
b. What was the Massachusetts Circular Letter? Why was it important?
c. What was the result of the seizure of the Liberty?
§§ 117, 118.--a. What were the Virginia Resolves of 1769? Why were they passed?
b. What were the Non-importation agreements?
c. What action did the British merchants take? What results followed?
CHAPTER 13
§§ 119, 120.--a. Why were the soldiers stationed at New York? At Boston?
b. Describe the trouble at Boston. Why is it called a massacre?
§§ 121-123.--a. What was the work of a Committee of Correspondence?
b. What did the British government hope to accomplish in the tea business? Why did the colonists refuse to buy the tea?
c. Why was the destruction of the tea at Boston necessary?
§§ 124-126.--a. How did Parliament punish the colonists of Massachusetts and Boston? Which of these acts was most severe? Why?
b. What effect did these laws have on Massachusetts? On the other colonies?
c. Explain the provisions of the Quebec Act.
d. How would this act affect the growth of the colonies?
§§ 127-129.--a. What was the object of the Continental Congress?
b. Why was the Association so important?
c. How was the idea of the Association carried out?
d. What government did the colonies really have?
§§ 130-132.--a. What is a rebel? Were the Massachusetts colonists rebels?
b. Describe General Gage's difficulties.
c. What was the result of Gage's attempt to seize the arms at Concord?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Arrange, with dates, all the acts of the British government which offended the colonists.
b. Arrange, with dates, all the important steps which led toward union. Why are these steps important?
c. Give the chief causes of the Revolution and explain why you select these.
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. The early life of Benjamin Franklin (Franklin's Autobiography).
b. The early life of George Washington (Scudder's Washington).
c. The Boston Tea Party (Fiske's War of Independence).
d. The Nineteenth of April, 1775 (Fiske's War of Independence; Lossing's Field-Book).
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
This section is not only the most important but the most difficult of any so far considered. Its successful teaching requires more preparation than any earlier section. The teacher is advised carefully to peruse Channing's Students' History, ch. iv, and to state in simple, clear language, the difference between the ideas on representation which prevailed in England and in the colonies. Another point to make clear is the legal supremacy of Parliament. The outbreak was hastened by the stupid use of legal rights which the supremacy of Parliament placed in the hands of Britain's rulers, who acted often in defiance of the real public opinion of the mass of the inhabitants of Great Britain.
References.--Fiske's War of Independence; Higginson's Larger History, 249-293; McMaster's With the Fathers.
Home Readings.--Scudder's Washington; Holmes's Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill; Cooper's Lionel Lincoln (Bunker Hill); Cooper's Spy (campaigns around New York); Cooper's Pilot (the war on the sea); Drake's Burgoyne's Invasion; Coffin's Boys of '76; Abbot's Blue Jackets of '76; Abbot's Paul Jones, Lossing's Two Spies.
Advantages of the British.
133. Advantages of the British.--At first sight it seems as if the Americans were very foolish to fight the British. There were five or six times as many people in the British Isles as there were in the continental colonies. The British government had a great standing army. The Americans had no regular army. The British government had a great navy. The Americans had no navy. The British government had quantities of powder, guns, and clothing, while the Americans had scarcely any military stores of any kind. Indeed, there were so few guns in the colonies that one British officer thought if the few colonial gunsmiths could be bribed to go away, the Americans would have no guns to fight with after a few months of warfare.
GRAND UNION FLAG.
Hoisted at Cambridge, January, 1776. The British Union and thirteen
stripes.
Advantages of the Americans.
134. Advantages of the Americans.--All these things were clearly against the Americans. But they had some advantages on their side. In the first place, America was a long way off from Europe. It was very difficult and very costly to send armies to America, and very difficult and very costly to feed the soldiers when they were fighting in America. In the second place, the Americans usually fought on the defensive and the country over which the armies fought was made for defense. In New England hill succeeded hill. In the Middle states river succeeded river. In the South wilderness succeeded wilderness. In the third place, the Americans had many great soldiers. Washington, Greene, Arnold, Morgan, and Wayne were better soldiers than any in the British army.
The Loyalists.
135. Disunion among the Americans.--We are apt to think of the colonists as united in the contest with the British. In reality the well-to-do, the well-born, and the well-educated colonists were as a rule opposed to independence. The opponents of the Revolution were strongest in the Carolinas, and were weakest in New England.
THE SIEGE OF BOSTON.
Boston and neighborhood, 1775-76.
Importance of Dorchester and Charlestown.
136. Siege of Boston.--It was most fortunate that the British army was at Boston when the war began, for Boston was about as bad a place for an army as could be found. In those days Boston was hardly more than an island connected with the mainland by a strip of gravel. Gage built a fort across this strip of ground. The Americans could not get in. But they built a fort at the landward end, and the British could not get out. On either side of Boston was a similar peninsula. One of these was called Dorchester Heights; the other was called Charlestown. Both overlooked Boston. To hold that town, Gage must possess both Dorchester and Charlestown. If the Americans could occupy only one of these, the British would have to abandon Boston. At almost the same moment Gage made up his mind to seize Dorchester, and the Americans determined to occupy the Charlestown hills. The Americans moved first, and the first battle was fought for the Charlestown hills.
[Illustration: A POWDER-HORN USED AT BUNKER HILL.]
Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775. Higginson, 183-188; McMaster, 129-130.
137. Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.--When the seamen on the British men-of-war waked up on the morning of June 17, the first thing they saw was a redoubt on the top of one of the Charlestown hills. The ships opened fire. But in spite of the balls Colonel Prescott walked on the top of the breastwork while his men went on digging. Gage sent three or four thousand men across the Charles River to Charlestown to drive the daring Americans away. It took the whole morning to get them to Charlestown, and then they had to eat their dinner. This delay gave the Americans time to send aid to Prescott. Especially went Stark and his New Hampshire men, who posted themselves behind a breastwork of fence rails and hay. At last the British soldiers marched to the attack. When they came within good shooting distance, Prescott gave the word to fire. The British line stopped, hesitated, broke, and swept back. Again the soldiers marched to the attack, and again they were beaten back. More soldiers came from Boston, and a third time a British line marched up the hill. This time it could not be stopped, for the Americans had no more powder. They had to give up the hill and escape as well as they could. One-half of the British soldiers actually engaged in the assaults were killed or wounded. The Americans were defeated. But they were encouraged and were willing to sell Gage as many hills as he wanted at the same price.
[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF A REVOLUTIONARY POSTER.]
Washington takes command of the army, 1775.
Higginson, 188-193.
Seizure of Ticonderoga and Crown Point.
Evacuation of Boston, 1776.
138. Washington in Command, July, 1775.--The Continental Congress was again sitting at Philadelphia. It took charge of the defense of the colonies. John Adams named Washington for commander-in-chief, and he was elected. Washington took command of the army on Cambridge Common, July 3, 1775. He found everything in confusion. The soldiers of one colony were jealous of the soldiers of other colonies. Officers who had not been promoted were jealous of those who had been promoted. In the winter the army had to be made over. During all this time the people expected Washington to fight. But he had not powder enough for half a battle. At last he got supplies in the following way. In the spring of 1775 Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, with the help of the people of western Massachusetts and Connecticut, had captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point. These forts were filled with cannon and stores left from the French campaigns. Some of the cannon were now dragged by oxen over the snow and placed in the forts around Boston. Captain Manley, of the Massachusetts navy, captured a British brig loaded with powder. Washington now could attack. He seized and held Dorchester Heights. The British could no longer stay in Boston. They went on board their ships and sailed away (March, 1776).
[Illustration: SITE OF TICONDEROGA.]
The Canada expedition, 1775-76.
Assault on Quebec.
139. Invasion of Canada, 1775-76.--While the siege of Boston was going on, the Americans undertook the invasion of Canada. There were very few regular soldiers in Canada in 1775, and the Canadians were not likely to fight very hard for their British masters. So the leaders in Congress thought that if an American force should suddenly appear before Quebec, the town might surrender. Montgomery, with a small army, was sent to capture Montreal and then to march down the St. Lawrence to Quebec. Benedict Arnold led another force through the Maine woods. After tremendous exertions and terrible sufferings he reached Quebec. But the garrison had been warned of his coming. He blockaded the town and waited for Montgomery. The garrison was constantly increased, for Arnold was not strong enough fully to blockade the town. At last Montgomery arrived. At night, amidst a terrible snowstorm, Montgomery and Arnold led their brave followers to the attack. They were beaten back with cruel loss. Montgomery was killed, and Arnold was severely wounded. In the spring of 1776 the survivors of this little band of heroes were rescued--at the cost of the lives of five thousand American soldiers.
ARNOLD'S MARCH.
Strength of Charleston.
Fort Moultrie.
Attack on Fort Moultrie, 1776.
Success of the defense
140. British Attack on Charleston, 1776.--In June 1776 a British fleet and army made an attack on Charleston, South Carolina. This town has never been taken by attack from the sea. Sand bars guard the entrance of the harbor and the channels through these shoals lead directly to the end of Sullivan's Island. At that point the Americans built a fort of palmetto logs and sand. General Moultrie commanded at the fort and it was named in his honor, Fort Moultrie. The British fleet sailed boldly in, but the balls from the ships' guns were stopped by the soft palmetto logs. At one time the flag was shot away and fell down outside the fort. But Sergeant Jasper rushed out, seized the broken staff, and again set it up on the rampart. Meantime, General Clinton had landed on an island and was trying to cross with his soldiers to the further end of Sullivan's Island. But the water was at first too shoal for the boats. The soldiers jumped overboard to wade. Suddenly the water deepened, and they had to jump aboard to save themselves from drowning. All this time Americans were firing at them from the beach. General Clinton ordered a retreat. The fleet also sailed out--all that could get away--and the whole expedition was abandoned.
[Illustration: GENERAL MOULTRIE.]
Defense of New York, 1776.
Battle of Long Island, 1776.
Escape of the Americans.
141. Long Island and Brooklyn Heights, 1776.--The very day that the British left Boston, Washington ordered five regiments to New York. For he well knew that city would be the next point of attack. But he need not have been in such a hurry. General Howe, the new British commander-in-chief, sailed first to Halifax and did not begin the campaign in New York until the end of August. He then landed his soldiers on Long Island and prepared to drive the Americans away. Marching in a round-about way, he cut the American army in two and captured one part of it. This brought him to the foot of Brooklyn Heights. On the top was a fort. Probably Howe could easily have captured it. But he had led in the field at Bunker Hill and had had enough of attacking forts defended by Americans. So he stopped his soldiers--with some difficulty. That night the wind blew a gale, and the next day was foggy. The British fleet could not sail into the East River. Skillful fishermen safely ferried the rest of the American army across to New York. When at length the British marched to the attack, there was no one left in the fort on Brooklyn Heights.
Retreat from New York.
Washington crosses the Delaware.
142. From the Hudson to the Delaware, 1776.--Even now with his splendid fleet and great army Howe could have captured the Americans. But he delayed so long that Washington got away in safety. Washington's army was now fast breaking up. Soldiers deserted by the hundreds. A severe action at White Plains only delayed the British advance. The fall of Fort Washington on the end of Manhattan Island destroyed all hope of holding anything near New York. Washington sent one part of his army to secure the Highlands of the Hudson. With the other part he retired across New Jersey to the southern side of the Delaware River. The end of the war seemed to be in sight. In December, 1776, Congress gave the sole direction of the war to Washington and then left Philadelphia for a place of greater safety.
Battle of Trenton, 1776. Higginson, 203; Hero Tales, 45-55
143. Trenton, December 26, 1776.--Washington did not give up. On Christmas night, 1776, he crossed the Delaware with a division of his army. A violent snowstorm was raging, the river was full of ice. But Washington was there in person, and the soldiers crossed. Then the storm changed to sleet and rain. But on the soldiers marched. When the Hessian garrison at Trenton looked about them next morning they saw that Washington and Greene held the roads leading inland from the town. Stark and a few soldiers--among them James Monroe--held the bridge leading over the Assanpink to the next British post. A few horsemen escaped before Stark could prevent them. But all the foot soldiers were killed or captured. A few days later nearly one thousand prisoners marched through Philadelphia. They were Germans, who had been sold by their rulers to Britain's king to fight his battles. They were called Hessians by the Americans because most of them came from the little German state of Hesse Cassel.
[Illustration: Battle of Trenton.]
[Illustration: Battle of Princeton.]
Battle of Princeton, 1777. Source-Book, 149-151.
144. Princeton, January, 1777.--Trenton saved the Revolution by giving the Americans renewed courage. General Howe sent Lord Cornwallis with a strong force to destroy the Americans. Washington with the main part of his army was now encamped on the southern side of the Assanpink. Cornwallis was on the other bank at Trenton. Leaving a few men to keep up the campfires, and to throw up a slight fort by the bridge over the stream, Washington led his army away by night toward Princeton. There he found several regiments hastening to Cornwallis. He drove them away and led his army to the highlands of New Jersey where he would be free from attack. The British abandoned nearly all their posts in New Jersey and retired to New York.
Rising spirit of independence, 1775-76.
145. Growth of the Spirit of Independence.--The year 1776 is even more to be remembered for the doings of Congress than it is for the doings of the soldiers. The colonists loved England. They spoke of it as home. They were proud of the strength of the British empire, and glad to belong to it. But their feelings rapidly changed when the British government declared them to be rebels, made war upon them, and hired foreign soldiers to kill them. They could no longer be subjects of George III. That was clear enough. They determined to declare themselves to be independent. Virginia led in this movement, and the chairman of the Virginia delegation moved a resolution of independence. A committee was appointed to draw up a declaration.
[Illustration: FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG. Adopted by Congress in 1777.]
The Great Declaration, adopted July 4, 1776.
Higginson, 194-201; McMaster, 131-135;
Source-Book, 147-149.
Signing of the Declaration, August 2, 1776.
146. The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.--The most important members of this committee were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Of these Jefferson was the youngest, and the least known. But he had already drawn up a remarkable paper called A Summary View of the Rights of British America. The others asked him to write out a declaration. He sat down without book or notes of any kind, and wrote out the Great Declaration in almost the same form in which it now stands. The other members of the committee proposed a few changes, and then reported the declaration to Congress. There was a fierce debate in Congress over the adoption of the Virginia resolution for independence. But finally it was adopted. Congress then examined the Declaration of Independence as reported by the committee. It made a few changes in the words and struck out a clause condemning the slave-trade. The first paragraph of the Declaration contains a short, clear statement of the basis of the American system of government. It should be learned by heart by every American boy and girl, and always kept in mind. The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776. A few copies were printed on July 5, with the signatures of John Hancock and Charles Thompson, president and secretary of Congress. On August 2, 1776, the Declaration was signed by the members of Congress.
[Illustration: Battle of Brandywine.]
Battle of Brandywine 1777. McMaster,
137-138.
Battle of Germantown, 1777.
147. The Loss of Philadelphia, 1777.--For some months after the battle of Princeton there was little fighting. But in the summer of 1777, Howe set out to capture Philadelphia. Instead of marching across New Jersey, he placed his army on board ships, and sailed to Chesapeake Bay. As soon as Washington learned what Howe was about, he marched to Chad's Ford, where the road from Chesapeake Bay to Philadelphia crossed Brandywine Creek. Howe moved his men as if about to attempt to cross the ford. Meantime he sent Cornwallis with a strong force to cross the creek higher up. Cornwallis surprised the right wing of the American army, drove it back, and Washington was compelled to retreat. Howe occupied Philadelphia and captured the forts below the city. Washington tried to surprise a part of the British army which was posted at Germantown. But accidents and mist interfered. The Americans then retired to Valley Forge--a strong place in the hills not far from Philadelphia.
The army at Valley Forge, 1777-78.
[Illustration: "The Glorious WASHINGTON and GATES." FROM TITLE-PAGE OF AN ALMANAC OF 1778. To show condition of wood-engraving in the Revolutionary era.]
Baron Steuben.
148. The Army at Valley Forge, 1777-78.--The sufferings of the soldiers during the following winter can never be overstated. They seldom had more than half enough to eat. Their clothes were in rags. Many of them had no blankets. Many more had no shoes. Washington did all he could do for them. But Congress had no money and could not get any. At Valley Forge the soldiers were drilled by Baron Steuben, a Prussian veteran. The army took the field in 1778, weak in numbers and poorly clad. But what soldiers there were were as good as any soldiers to be found anywhere in the world. During that winter, also, an attempt was made to dismiss Washington from chief command, and to give his place to General Gates. But this attempt ended in failure.
Burgoyne's campaign, 1777. Eggleston,
178-179; McMaster, 139-140; Source-Book, 154-157.
Schuyler and Gates.
149. Burgoyne's March to Saratoga, 1777.--While Howe was marching to Philadelphia, General Burgoyne was marching southward from Canada. It had been intended that Burgoyne and Howe should seize the line of the Hudson and cut New England off from the other states. But the orders reached Howe too late, and he went southward to Philadelphia. Burgoyne, on his part, was fairly successful at first, for the Americans abandoned post after post. But when he reached the southern end of Lake Champlain, and started on his march to the Hudson, his troubles began. The way ran through a wilderness. General Schuyler had had trees cut down across its woodland paths and had done his work so well that it took Burgoyne about a day to march a mile and a half. This gave the Americans time to gather from all quarters and bar his southward way. But many of the soldiers had no faith in Schuyler and Congress gave the command to General Horatio Gates.
Battle of Bennington, 1777. Hero Tales, 59-67.
150. Bennington, 1777.--Burgoyne had with him many cavalrymen. But they had no horses. The army, too, was sadly in need of food. So Burgoyne sent a force of dismounted dragoons to Bennington in southern Vermont to seize horses and food. It happened, however, that General Stark, with soldiers from New Hampshire, Vermont, and western Massachusetts, was nearer Bennington than Burgoyne supposed. They killed or captured all the British soldiers. They then drove back with great loss a second party which Burgoyne had sent to support the first one.
Battle of Oriskany, 1777.
151. Oriskany, 1777.--Meantime St. Leger, with a large body of Indians and Canadian frontiersmen, was marching to join Burgoyne by the way of Lake Ontario and the Mohawk Valley. Near the site of the present city of Rome in New York was Fort Schuyler, garrisoned by an American force. St. Leger stopped to besiege this fort. The settlers on the Mohawk marched to relieve the garrison and St. Leger defeated them at Oriskany. But his Indians now grew tired of the siege, especially when they heard that Arnold with a strong army was coming. St. Leger marched back to Canada and left Burgoyne to his fate.
First battle of Freeman's Farm, 1777.
Second battle of Freeman's Farm, 1777.
Surrender of the British at Saratoga, 1777.
152. Saratoga, 1777.--Marching southward, on the western side of the Hudson, Burgoyne and his army came upon the Americans in a forest clearing called Freeman's Farm. Led by Daniel Morgan and Benedict Arnold the Americans fought so hard that Burgoyne stopped where he was and fortified the position. This was on September 19. The American army posted itself near by on Bemis' Heights. For weeks the two armies faced each other. Then, on October 7, the Americans attacked. Again Arnold led his men to victory. They captured a fort in the centre of the British line, and Burgoyne was obliged to retreat. But when he reached the crossing place of the Hudson, to his dismay he found a strong body of New Englanders with artillery on the opposite bank. Gates had followed the retiring British, and soon Burgoyne was practically surrounded. His men were starving, and on October 17 he surrendered.
The Treaty of Alliance, 1778.
153. The French Alliance, 1778.--Burgoyne's defeat made the French think that the Americans would win their independence. So Dr. Franklin, who was at Paris, was told that France would recognize the independence of the United States, would make treaties with the new nation, and give aid openly. Great Britain at once declared war on France. The French lent large sums of money to the United States. They sent large armies and splendid fleets to America. Their aid greatly shortened the struggle for independence. But the Americans would probably have won without French aid.
The British leave Philadelphia 1778.
Battle of Monmouth, 1778.
154. Monmouth, 1778.--The first result of the French alliance was the retreat of the British from Philadelphia to New York. As Sir Henry Clinton, the new British commander, led his army across the Jerseys, Washington determined to strike it a blow. This he did near Monmouth. The attack was a failure, owing to the treason of General Charles Lee, who led the advance. Washington reached the front only in time to prevent a dreadful disaster. But he could not bring about victory, and Clinton seized the first moment to continue his march to New York. There were other expeditions and battles in the North. But none of these had any important effect on the outcome of the war.
[Illustration: Clark's Campaign 1777-1778]
Clark's conquest of the Northwest, 1778-79. Hero Tales, 31-41.
155. Clark's Western Campaign, 1778-79.--The Virginians had long taken great interest in the western country. Their hardy pioneers had crossed the mountains and begun the settlement of Kentucky. The Virginians now determined to conquer the British posts in the country northwest of the Ohio. The command was given to George Rogers Clark. Gathering a strong band of hardy frontiersmen he set out on his dangerous expedition. He seized the posts in Illinois, and Vincennes surrendered to him. Then the British governor of the Northwest came from Detroit with a large force and recaptured Vincennes. Clark set out from Illinois to surprise the British. It was the middle of the winter. In some places the snow lay deep on the ground. Then came the early floods. For days the Americans marched in water up to their waists. At night they sought some little hill where they could sleep on dry ground. Then on again through the flood. They surprised the British garrison at Vincennes and forced it to surrender. That was the end of the contest for the Northwest.
[Illustration: WEST POINT IN 1790.]
Benedict Arnold.
His treason, 1780 Higginson, 209-211; McMaster,
144
156. Arnold and André, 1780.--Of all the leaders under Washington none was abler in battle than Benedict Arnold. Unhappily he was always in trouble about money. He was distrusted by Congress and was not promoted. At Saratoga he quarrelled with Gates and was dismissed from his command. Later he became military governor of Philadelphia and was censured by Washington for his doings there. He then secured the command of West Point and offered to surrender the post to the British. Major André, of Clinton's staff, met Arnold to arrange the final details. On his return journey to New York André was arrested and taken before Washington. The American commander asked his generals if André was a spy. They replied that André was a spy, and he was hanged. Arnold escaped to New York and became a general in the British army.
Invasion of the South.
Capture of Charleston, 1780.
157. Fall of Charleston, 1780.--It seemed quite certain that Clinton could not conquer the Northern states with the forces given him. In the South there were many loyalists. Resistance might not be so stiff there. At all events Clinton decided to attempt the conquest of the South. Savannah was easily seized (1778), and the French and Americans could not retake it (1779). In the spring of 1780, Clinton, with a large army, landed on the coast between Savannah and Charleston. He marched overland to Charleston and besieged it from the land side. The Americans held out for a long time. But they were finally forced to surrender. Clinton then sailed back to New York, and left to Lord Cornwallis the further conquest of the Carolinas.
Battle of Camden, 1780.
158. Gates's Defeat at Camden, 1780.--Cornwallis had little trouble in occupying the greater part of South Carolina. There was no one to oppose him, for the American army had been captured with Charleston. Another small army was got together in North Carolina and the command given to Gates, the victor at Saratoga. One night both Gates and Cornwallis set out to attack the other's camp. The two armies met at daybreak, the British having the best position. But this really made little difference, for Gates's Virginia militiamen ran away before the British came within fighting distance. The North Carolina militia followed the Virginians. Only the regulars from Maryland and Delaware were left. They fought on like heroes until their leader, General John De Kalb, fell with seventeen wounds. Then the survivors surrendered. Gates himself had been carried far to the rear by the rush of the fleeing militia.
Battle of King's Mountain, 1780. Hero Tales, 71-78.
159. King's Mountain, October, 1780.--Cornwallis now thought that resistance surely was at an end. He sent an expedition to the settlements on the lower slopes of the Alleghany Mountains to get recruits, for there were many loyalists in that region. Suddenly from the mountains and from the settlements in Tennessee rode a body of armed frontiersmen. They found the British soldiers encamped on the top of King's Mountain. In about an hour they had killed or captured every British soldier.
[Illustration: THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGNS.]
General Greene.
Morgan's victory of the Cowpens, 1781.
160. The Cowpens, 1781.--General Greene was now sent to the South to take charge of the resistance to Cornwallis. A great soldier and a great organizer Greene found that he needed all his abilities. His coming gave new spirit to the survivors of Gates's army. He gathered militia from all directions and marched toward Cornwallis. Dividing his army into two parts, he sent General Daniel Morgan to threaten Cornwallis from one direction, while he threatened him from another direction. Cornwallis at once became uneasy and sent Tarleton to drive Morgan away, but the hero of many hard-fought battles was not easily frightened. He drew up his little force so skillfully that in a very few minutes the British were nearly all killed or captured.
[Illustration: GENERAL MORGAN THE HERO OF COWPENS.]
Greene's retreat.
The Battle of Guilford, 1781.
161. The Guilford Campaign, 1781.--Cornwallis now made a desperate attempt to capture the Americans, but Greene and Morgan joined forces and marched diagonally across North Carolina. Cornwallis followed so closely that frequently the two armies seemed to be one. When, however, the river Dan was reached, there was an end of marching, for Greene had caused all the boats to be collected at one spot. His men crossed and kept the boats on their side of the river. Soon Greene found himself strong enough to cross the river again to North Carolina. He took up a very strong position near Guilford Court House. Cornwallis attacked. The Americans made a splendid defense before Greene ordered a retreat, and the British won the battle of Guilford. But their loss was so great that another victory of the same kind would have destroyed the British army. As it was, Greene had dealt it such a blow that Cornwallis left his wounded at Guilford and set out as fast as he could for the seacoast. Greene pursued him for some distance and then marched southward to Camden.
Greene's later campaigns, 1871-83.
162. Greene's Later Campaigns.--At Hobkirk's Hill, near Camden, the British soldiers who had been left behind by Cornwallis attacked Greene. But he beat them off and began the siege of a fort on the frontier of South Carolina. The British then marched up from Charleston, and Greene had to fall back. Then the British marched back to Charleston and abandoned the interior of South Carolina to the Americans. There was only one more battle in the South--at Eutaw Springs. Greene was defeated there, too, but the British abandoned the rest of the Carolinas and Georgia with the exception of Savannah and Charleston. In these wonderful campaigns with a few good soldiers Greene had forced the British from the Southern states. He had lost every battle. He had won every campaign.
Lafayette and Cornwallis, 1781.
163. Cornwallis in Virginia, 1781.--There were already two small armies in Virginia,--the British under Arnold, the Americans under Lafayette. Cornwallis now marched northward from Wilmington and added the troops in Virginia to his own force; Arnold he sent to New York. Cornwallis then set out to capture Lafayette and his men. Together they marched from salt water across Virginia to the mountains--and then they marched back to salt water again. Cornwallis had called Lafayette "the boy" and had declared that "the boy should not escape him." Finally Cornwallis fortified Yorktown, and Lafayette settled down at Williamsburg. And there they still were in September, 1781.
The French at Newport, 1780.
Plans of the allies, 1781.
164. Plans of the Allies.--In 1780 the French government had sent over a strong army under Rochambeau. It was landed at Newport. It remained there a year to protect the vessels in which it had come from France from capture by a stronger British fleet that had at once appeared off the mouth of the harbor. Another French fleet and another French army were in the West Indies. In the summer of 1781 it became possible to unite all these French forces, and with the Americans to strike a crushing blow at the British. Just at this moment Cornwallis shut himself up in Yorktown, and it was determined to besiege him there.
THE UNITED STATES IN 1783.
The Siege of Yorktown.
The march to the Chesapeake.
Combat between the French and the British fleets.
Surrender of Yorktown, October 19, 1781. Higginson,
211-212.
165. Yorktown, September-October, 1781.--Rochambeau led his men to New York and joined the main American army. Washington now took command of the allied forces. He pretended that he was about to attack New York and deceived Clinton so completely that Clinton ordered Cornwallis to send some of his soldiers to New York. But the allies were marching southward through Philadelphia before Clinton realized what they were about. The French West India fleet under De Grasse reached one end of the Chesapeake Bay at the same time the allies reached the other end. The British fleet attacked it and was beaten off. There was now no hope for Cornwallis. No help could reach him by sea. The soldiers of the allies outnumbered him two to one. On October 17, 1781, four years to a day since the surrender of Burgoyne, a drummer boy appeared on the rampart of Yorktown and beat a parley. Two days later the British soldiers marched out to the good old British tune of "The world turned upside down," and laid down their arms.
Treaty of Peace, 1783.
166. Treaty of Peace, 1783.--This disaster put an end to British hopes of conquering America. But it was not until September, 1783, that Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay brought the negotiations for peace to an end. Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States. The territory of the United States was defined as extending from the Great Lakes to the thirty-first parallel of latitude and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. Spain had joined the United States and France in the war. Spanish soldiers had conquered Florida, and Spain kept Florida at the peace. In this way Spanish Florida and Louisiana surrounded the United States on the south and the west. British territory bounded the United States on the north and the northeast.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 14
§§ 134-136.--a. Compare the advantages of the British and the Americans. Which side had the greater advantages?
b. Explain the influence of geographical surroundings upon the war.
c. Why were there so many loyalists?
§§ 137-139.--a. Mold or draw a map of Boston and vicinity and explain by it the important points of the siege.
b. Who won the battle of Bunker Hill? What were the effects of the battle upon the Americans? Upon the British?
c. Why was Washington appointed to chief command?
d. What were the effects of the seizure of Ticonderoga on the siege of Boston?
§§ 140, 141.--a. Why did Congress determine to attack Canada? b. Follow the routes of the two invading armies. What was the result of the expedition?
c. Describe the harbor of Charleston. Why did the British attack at this point?
d. What was the result of this expedition?
§§ 142, 143.--a. What advantage would the occupation of New York give the British?
b. Describe the Long Island campaign.
c. Why did Congress give Washington sole direction of the war? Who had directed the war before?
§§ 144, 145.--a. Describe the battle of Trenton. Why is it memorable?
b. Who were the Hessians?
c. At the close of January, 1777, what places were held by the British?
§§146, 147.--a. What had been the feeling of most of the colonists toward England? Why had this feeling changed?
b. Why was Jefferson asked to write the Declaration?
c. What great change was made by Congress in the Declaration? Why?
d. What truths are declared to be self-evident? Are they still self-evident?
e. What is declared to be the basis of government? Is it still the basis of government?
f. When was the Declaration adopted? When signed?
§§ 148, 149.--a. Describe Howe's campaign of 1777.
b. What valuable work was done at Valley Forge?
§§ 150-153.--a. What was the object of Burgoyne's campaign? Was the plan a wise one from the British point of view?
b. What do you think of the justice of removing Schuyler?
c. How did the battle of Bennington affect the campaign? What was the effect of St. Leger's retreat to Canada?
d. Describe Arnold's part in the battles near Saratoga.
§§ 154, 155.--a. What was the effect of Burgoyne's surrender on Great Britain? On France? On America?
b. What were the results of the French alliance?
c. Describe the battle of Monmouth. Who was Charles Lee?
§ 156.--a. Describe Clark's expedition and mark on a map the places named. b. How did this expedition affect the later growth of the United States?
§ 157.--a. Describe Arnold's career as a soldier to 1778. b. What is treason? c. Was there the least injustice in the treatment of André?
Chapter 16
§§ 158, 159.--a. Why was the scene of action transferred to the South? b. What places were captured? c. Compare the British and American armies at Camden. What was the result of this battle?
§§ 160-163.--a. Describe the battle of King's Mountain. b. What was the result of the battle of the Cowpens? c. Follow the retreat of the Americans across North Carolina. What events showed Greene's foresight? d. What were the results of the battle of Guilford? e. Compare the outlook for the Americans in 1781 with that of 1780.
§§ 164-166. a. How did the British army get to Yorktown? b. Describe the gathering of the Allied Forces. c. Describe the surrender and note its effects on America, France, and Great Britain.
§ 167.--a. Where were the negotiations for peace carried on? b. Mark on a map the original territory of the United States. c. How did Spain get the Floridas?
General Questions
a. When did the Revolution begin? When did it end? b. Were the colonies independent when the Declaration of Independence was adopted? c. Select any campaign and discuss its objects, plan, the leading battles, and the results. d. Follow Washington's movements from 1775-82. e. What do you consider the most decisive battle of the war? Why?
Topics For Special Work
a. Naval victories. b. Burgoyne's campaign. c. Greene as a general. d. Nathan Hale. e. The peace negotiations.
Suggestions
The use of map or molding board should be constant during the study of this period. Do not spend time on the details of battles, but teach campaigns as a whole. In using the molding board the movements of armies can be shown by colored pins.
The Declaration of Independence should be carefully studied, especially the first portions. Finally, the territorial settlement of 1783 should be thoroughly explained, using map or molding board.
References.--Higginson's Larger History, 293-308; Fiske's Civil Government, 186-267; McMaster's With the Fathers.
Home Readings.--Fiske's Critical Period, 144-231, 306-345; Captain Shays: A Populist of 1786.
Disunion and jealousy. Source-Book, 161-163.
167. Problems of Peace.--The war was over. But the future of the American nation was still uncertain. Indeed, one can hardly say that there was an American nation in 1783. While the war lasted, a sense of danger bound together the people of the different states. But as soon as this peril ceased, their old jealousies and self-seekings came back. There was no national government to smooth over these differences and to compel the states to act justly toward one another. There was, indeed, the Congress of the Confederation, but it is absurd to speak of it as a national government.
Formation of the Articles of Confederation.
Weakness of the Confederation. McMaster, 163.
168. The Articles of Confederation, 1781.--The Continental Congress began drawing up the Articles of Confederation in June, 1776. But there were long delays, and each month's delay made it more impossible to form a strong government. It fell out in this way that the Congress of the Confederation had no real power. It could not make a state or an individual pay money or do anything at all. In the course of a few years Congress asked the states to give it over six million dollars to pay the debts and expenses of the United States. It received about a million dollars and was fortunate to get that.
Distress among the people.
169. A Time of Distress.--It is not right to speak too harshly of the refusal of the state governments to give Congress the money it asked for, as the people of the states were in great distress and had no money to give. As soon as peace was declared British merchants sent over great quantities of goods. People bought these goods, for every one thought that good times were coming now that the war was over. But the British government did everything it could do to prevent the coming of good times. The prosperity of the northern states was largely based on a profitable trade with the West Indies. The British government put an end to that trade. No gold and silver came to the United States from the West Indies while gold and silver constantly went out of the country to pay debts due to British merchants. Soon gold and silver grew scarce, and those who had any promptly hid it. The real reason of all this trouble was the lack of a strong national government which could have compelled the British government to open its ports to American commerce. But the people only saw that money was scarce and called upon the state legislatures to give them paper money.
Paper money.
170. Paper Money.--Most of the state legislatures did what they were asked to do. They printed quantities of paper money. They paid the public expenses with it, and sometimes lent it to individuals without much security for its repayment. Before long this paper money began to grow less valuable. For instance, on a certain day a man could buy a bag of flour for five dollars. In three months' time a bag of flour might cost him ten dollars. Soon it became difficult to buy flour for any number of paper dollars.
Tender laws.
171 Tender Laws.--The people then clamored for "tender laws." These were laws which would make it lawful for them to tender, or offer, paper money in exchange for flour or other things. In some cases it was made lawful to tender paper money in payments of debts which had been made when gold and silver were still in use. The merchants now shut up their shops, and business almost ceased. The lawyers only were busy. For those to whom money was owed tried to get it paid before the paper money became utterly worthless. The courts were crowded, and the prisons were filled with poor debtors.
Stay laws.
172. Stay Laws.--Now the cry was for "stay laws." These were laws to prevent those to whom money was due from enforcing their rights. These laws promptly put an end to whatever business was left. The only way that any business could be carried on was by barter. For example, a man who had a bushel of wheat that he did not want for his family would exchange it for three or four bushels of potatoes, or for four or five days of labor. In some states the legislatures passed very severe laws to compel people to receive paper money. In one state, indeed, no one could vote who would not receive paper money.
[Illustration: STATE STREET, BOSTON, ABOUT 1790. The Boston Massacre occurred near where the two-horse wagon stands.]
Disorder in Massachusetts.
173. Shays's Rebellion, 1786-87.--In Massachusetts, especially, the discontent was very great. The people were angry with the judges for sending men to prison who did not pay their debts. Crowds of armed men visited the judges and compelled them to close the courts. The leader in this movement was Daniel Shays. He even threatened to seize the United States Arsenal at Springfield. By this time Governor Bowdoin and General Lincoln also had gathered a small force of soldiers. In the midst of winter, through snowstorms and over terrible roads, Lincoln marched with his men. He drove Shays from place to place, captured his followers, and put down the rebellion. There were risings in other states, especially in North Carolina. But Shays's Rebellion in Massachusetts was the most important of them all, because it convinced the New Englanders that a stronger national government was necessary.
CLAIMS AND CESSIONS.
Claims of the states to Western lands.
McMaster, 155.
Hero Tales, 19-28.
Opposition of Maryland and of other states.
174. Claims to Western Lands.--The Confederation seemed to be falling to pieces. That it did not actually fall to pieces was largely due to the fact that all the states were interested in the settlement of the region northwest of the Ohio River. It will be well to stop a moment and see how this came about. Under their old charters Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia had claims to lands west of the Alleghanies. Between 1763 and 1776 the British government had paid slight heed to these claims (pp. 75, 89). But Daniel Boone and other colonists had settled west of the mountains in what are now the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. When the Revolution began the states having claims to western lands at once put them forward, and New York also claimed a right to about one-half of the disputed territory. Naturally, the states that had no claims to these lands had quite different views. The Marylanders, for example, thought that the western lands should be regarded as national territory and used for the common benefit. Maryland refused to join the Confederation until New York had ceded her claims to the United States, and Virginia had proposed a cession of the territory claimed by her.
The states cede their claims to the United States. McMaster, 159-160.
175. The Land Cessions.--In 1784 Virginia gave up her claims to the land northwest of the Ohio River with the exception of certain large tracts which she reserved for her veteran soldiers. Massachusetts ceded her claims in 1785. The next year (1786) Connecticut gave up her claims. But she reserved a large tract of land directly west of Pennsylvania. This was called the Connecticut Reserve or, more often, the Western Reserve. South Carolina and North Carolina ceded their lands in 1787 and 1790, and finally Georgia gave up her claims to western lands in 1802.
Reasons for the ordinance.
Passage of Ordinance of 1787. McMaster, 160-162;
Source-Book, 169-172.
Passage of Ordinance of 1787. McMaster, 160-162;
Source-Book, 169-172.
176. Passage of the Ordinance of 1787.--What should be done with the lands which in this way had come into the possession of the people of all the states? It was quite impossible to divide these lands among the people of the thirteen states. They never could have agreed as to the amount due to each state. In 1785 Congress took the first step. It passed a law or an ordinance for the government of the Territory Northwest of the Ohio River. This ordinance was imperfect, and few persons emigrated to the West. There were many persons who wished to emigrate from the old states to the new region. But they were unwilling to go unless they felt sure that they would not be treated by Congress as the British government had treated the people of the original states. Dr. Cutler of Massachusetts laid these matters before Congress and did his work so well that Congress passed a new ordinance. This was in 1787. The ordinance is therefore called the Ordinance of 1787. It was so well suited to its purpose that nearly all the territories of the United States have been settled and governed under its provisions. It will be well to study this great document more at length.
Provisions of the Ordinance of 1787.
177. The Ordinance of 1787.--In the first place the ordinance provided for the formation of one territory to be called the Territory Northwest of the Ohio. But it is more often called the Northwest Territory or simply the Old Northwest. At first it was to be governed by the persons appointed by Congress. But it was further provided that when settlers should arrive in sufficient numbers they should enjoy self-government. When fully settled the territory should be divided into five states. These should be admitted to the Confederation on a footing of equality with the original states. The settlers in the territory should enjoy full rights of citizenship. Education should be encouraged. Slavery should never be permitted. This last provision is especially important as it saved the Northwest to freedom. In this way a new political organization was invented. It was called a territory. It was really a colony; but it differed from all other colonies because in time it would become a state on a footing of entire equality with the parent states.
Weakness of the Confederation.
Meeting of the Federal Convention, 1787.
178. Necessity for a New Government.--At this very moment a convention was making a constitution to put an end to the Confederation itself. It was quite clear that something must be done or the states soon would be fighting one another. Attempt after attempt had been made to amend the Articles of Confederation so as to give Congress more power. But every attempt had failed because the consent of every state was required to amend the Articles. And one state or another had objected to every amendment that had been proposed. It was while affairs were in this condition that the Federal Convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787.
James Madison.
179. James Madison.--Of all the members of the Convention, James Madison of Virginia best deserves the title of Father of the Constitution. He drew up the Virginia plan which was adopted as the basis of the new Constitution. He spoke convincingly for the plan in the Convention. He did more than any one else to secure the ratification of the Constitution by Virginia. He kept a careful set of Notes of the debates of the Convention which show us precisely how the Constitution was made. With Alexander Hamilton and John Jay he wrote a series of papers which is called the Federalist and is still the best guide to the Constitution.
[Illustration: JAMES MADISON.]
Washington President of the Convention.
Franklin.
180. Other Fathers of the Constitution.--George Washington was chosen President of the Convention. He made few speeches. But the speeches that he made were very important. And the mere fact that he approved the Constitution had a tremendous influence throughout the country. The oldest man in the Convention was Benjamin Franklin. His long experience in politics and in diplomacy with his natural shrewdness had made him an unrivaled manager of men. From all the states came able men. In fact, with the exception of John Adams, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson, the strongest men in political life were in the Federal Convention. Never in the history of the world have so many great political leaders, learned students of politics, and shrewd business men gathered together. The result of their labors was the most marvelous product of political wisdom that the world has ever seen.
[Illustration: THE OLD STATE HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA. Meeting place of the Continental Congress and of the Federal Convention--now called Independence Hall.]
The Virginia plan.
Pinckney's plan.
Vote for a national government.
181. Plans for a National Government.--As soon as the Convention was in working order, Governor Randolph of Virginia presented Madison's plan for a "national" government. Charles Pinckney of South Carolina also brought forward a plan. His scheme was more detailed than was Madison's plan. But, like it, it provided for a government with "supreme legislative, executive, and judicial powers." On May 30 the Convention voted that a "national government ought to be established, consisting of a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary." It next decided that the legislative department should consist of two houses. But when the delegates began to talk over the details, they began to disagree.
The New Jersey plan.
182. Disagreement as to Representation.--The Virginia plan proposed that representation in one branch of the new Congress should be divided among the states according to the amount of money each state paid into the national treasury, or according to the number of the free inhabitants of each state. The Delaware delegates at once said that they must withdraw. In June Governor Patterson of New Jersey brought forward a plan which had been drawn up by the delegates from the smaller states. It is always called, however, the New Jersey plan. It proposed simply to amend the Articles of Confederation so as to give Congress more power. After a long debate the New Jersey plan was rejected.
[Illustration: Benjamin Franklin. "He snatched the lightning from Heaven, and the sceptre from tyrants." --TURGOT.]
Representation in the House of Representatives.
McMaster, 167.
Representation in the Senate.
183. The Compromise as to Representation.--The discussion now turned on the question of representation in the two houses of Congress. After a long debate and a good deal of excitement Benjamin Franklin and Roger Sherman proposed a compromise. This was, that members of the House of Representatives should be apportioned among the states according to their population and should be elected directly by the people. In the Senate they proposed that each state, regardless of size, population, or wealth, should have two members. The Senators, representing the states, would fittingly be chosen by the state legislatures. It was agreed that the states should be equally represented in the Senate. But it was difficult to reach a conclusion as to the apportionment of representatives in the House.
The federal ratio.
184. Compromise as to Apportionment.--Should the members of the House of Representatives be distributed among the states according to population? At first sight the answer seemed to be perfectly clear. But the real question was, should slaves who had no vote be counted as a part of the population? It was finally agreed that the slaves should be counted at three-fifths of their real number. This rule was called the "federal ratio." The result of this rule was to give the Southern slave states representation in Congress out of all proportion to their voting population.
Power of Congress over commerce.
Restriction as to slave-trade.
185. Compromise as to the Slave-Trade.--When the subject of the powers to be given to Congress came to be discussed, there was even greater excitement. The Northerners wanted Congress to have power to regulate commerce. But the Southerners opposed it because they feared Congress would use this power to put an end to the slave-trade. John Rutledge of South Carolina even went so far as to say that unless this question was settled in favor of the slaveholders, the slave states would "not be parties to the Union." In the end this matter also was compromised by providing that Congress could not prohibit the slave-trade until 1808. These were the three great compromises. But there were compromises on so many smaller points that we cannot even mention them here.
[Illustration: SIGNING OF THE CONSTITUTION, SEPTEMBER 17, 1787. From an early unfinished picture. This shows the arrangement of the room and the sun behind Washington's chair.]
Franklin's prophecy.
186. Franklin's Prophecy.--It was with a feeling of real relief that the delegates finally came to the end of their labors. As they were putting their names to the Constitution, Franklin pointed to a rising sun that was painted on the wall behind the presiding officer's chair. He said that painters often found it difficult to show the difference between a rising sun and a setting sun. "I have often and often," said the old statesman, "looked at that behind the President, without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting; but now, at length, I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun." And so indeed it has proved to be.
Strength of the Constitution. McMaster, 168-169.
187. The Constitution.--It will be well now to note some of the points in which the new Constitution was unlike the old Articles of Confederation. In the first place, the government of the Confederation had to do only with the states; the new government would deal directly with individuals. For instance, when the old Congress needed money, it called on the states to give it. If a state refused to give any money, Congress could remonstrate--and that was all. The new government could order individuals to pay taxes. Any one who refused to pay his tax would be tried in a United States court and compelled to pay or go to prison. In the second place the old government had almost no executive powers. The new government would have a very strong executive in the person of the President of the United States.
Interpretation of the Constitution.
John Marshall's decisions.
188. The Supreme Court.--But the greatest difference of all was to be found in the Supreme Court of the United States provided in the Constitution. The new Congress would have very large powers of making laws. But the words defining these powers were very hard to understand. It was the duty of the Supreme Court to say what these words meant. Now the judges of the Supreme Court are very independent. It is almost impossible to remove a judge of this court, and the Constitution provides that his salary cannot be reduced while he holds office. It fell out that under the lead of Chief Justice John Marshall the Supreme Court defined the doubtful words in the Constitution so as to give the greatest amount of power to the Congress of the United States. As the laws of the United States are the supreme laws of the land, it will be seen how important this action of the Supreme Court has been.
[Illustration: OPENING LINES OF THE CONSTITUTION.]
Opposition to the Constitution. Source-Book, 172-175.
189. Objections to the Constitution.--The great strength of the Constitution alarmed many people. Patrick Henry declared that the government under the new Constitution would be a national government and not a federal government at all. Other persons objected to the Constitution because it took the control of affairs out of the hands of the people. For example, the Senators were to be chosen by the state legislatures, and the President was to be elected in a round-about way by presidential electors. Others objected to the Constitution because there was no Bill of Rights attached to it. They pointed out, for instance, that there was nothing in the Constitution to prevent Congress from passing laws to destroy the freedom of the press. Finally a great many people objected to the Constitution because there was no provision in it reserving to the states or to the people those powers that were not expressly given to the new government.
[Illustration: CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.]
Opponents of the Constitution.
The first ten amendments.
190. The First Ten Amendments.--These defects seemed to be so grave that patriots like Patrick Henry, R.H. Lee, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock could not bring themselves to vote for its adoption. Conventions of delegates were elected by the people of the several states to ratify or to reject the Constitution. The excitement was intense. It seemed as if the Constitution would not be adopted. But a way was found out of the difficulty. It was suggested that the conventions should consent to the adoption of the Constitution, but should, at the same time, propose amendments which would do away with many of these objections. This was done. The first Congress under the Constitution and the state legislatures adopted most of these amendments, and they became a part of the Constitution. There were ten amendments in all, and they should be studied as carefully as the Constitution itself is studied.
Constitution adopted. Higginson, 216; Source-Book, 175-180.
191. The Constitution Adopted, 1787-88.--In June, 1788, New Hampshire and Virginia adopted the Constitution. They were the ninth and tenth states to take this action. The Constitution provided that it should go into effect when it should be adopted by nine states, that is, of course, it should go into effect only between those states. Preparations were now made for the organization of the new government. But this took some time. Washington was unanimously elected President, and was inaugurated in April, 1789. By that time North Carolina and Rhode Island were the only states which had not adopted the Constitution and come under the "New Roof," as it was called. In a year or two they adopted it also, and the Union of the thirteen original states was complete.
CHAPTER 17
§§ 168, 169.--a. What were the chief weaknesses of the Confederation? Why did not Congress have any real power?
b. How did some states treat other states? Why?
§§ 170-173.--a. Explain the distress among the people.
b. Describe the attitude of the British government and give some reason for it.
c. Why did the value of paper money keep changing?
d. What were the "tender laws"? The "stay laws"?
e. Give some illustration of how these laws would affect trade.
§ 174.--a. Describe the troubles in Massachusetts.
b. What was the result of this rebellion?
§§ 175-178.--a. What common interest did all the states have?
b. What did Maryland contend? State carefully the result of Maryland's action. Describe the land cessions.
c. How did the holding these lands benefit the United States?
d. Give the provisions of the Ordinance of 1787. What was the result of the declaration as to slaves?
e. What privileges were the settlers to have? Why is this Ordinance so important?
CHAPTER 18
§§ 179-181.--a. What difficulties in the United States showed the necessity of a stronger government?
b. How could the Articles of Confederation be amended?
c. What was the important work of Madison?
d. What was the advantage of having Washington act as President of the Convention?
§§ 182, 183.--a. Explain fully the provisions of the Virginia plan. What departments were decided upon?
b. Why did New Jersey and Delaware oppose the Virginia plan? What were the great objections to the New Jersey plan?
§§ 184-186.--a. What is a compromise? What are the three great compromises of the Constitution?
b. Explain the compromise as to representation. What does the Senate represent? What the House?
c. Define apportionment. What do you think of the wisdom of the compromise as to apportionment? What of its justice?
d. Why was there a conflict over the clause as to commerce? How was the matter settled?
§§ 187-189.--a. What events at first seemed to disprove Franklin's prophecy?
b. Compare the Constitution with the Articles of Confederation and show in what respects the Constitution was much stronger.
c. Explain how the new government could control individuals.
d. What were some of the duties of the President? Of Congress? Of the Supreme Court?
§§ 190-192.--a. What is the difference between a national and a federal government? Was Henry's criticism true?
b. Study the first ten amendments and state how far they met the objections of those opposed to the Constitution.
c. Repeat the Tenth Amendment from memory.
d. How was the Constitution ratified?
e. How did the choice of Washington as first President influence popular feeling toward the new government?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Why should the people have shown loyalty to the states rather than to the United States?
b. Analyze the Constitution as follows:--
EXECUTIVE. LEGISLATIVE. JUDICIARY. Method of Appointment or Election Term of Office. Duties and Powers.
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
The career of any one man prominent in the Convention, as Madison, Hamilton, Franklin, Washington, Robert Morris, etc. Write a brief biography.
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
This period should be taught very slowly and very thoroughly, as it demands much more time than any of the earlier periods. A clear understanding of the Constitution is of the most practical value, not merely to enable one to comprehend the later history, but also to enable one to understand present duties. Note carefully the "federal ratio" and the functions of the Supreme Court. Use the text of the Constitution and emphasize especially those portions of importance in the later history.
This work is difficult. It should therefore be most fully illustrated from recent political struggles. Let the children represent characters in the Convention and discuss the various plans proposed. Encourage them also to suggest transactions which might represent the working of the tender laws, the commercial warfare between the states, the "federal ratio" etc. Especially study the first ten amendments and show how they limit the power of the general government to-day.
TERRITORIAL ACQUISITIONS 1783-1853.
References.--Higginson's Larger History, 309-344; Eggleston's United States and its People ch. xxxiv (the people in 1790); McMaster's School History, ch. xiv (the people in 1790).
Home Readings.--Drake's Making of the West; Scribner's Popular History, IV; Coffin's Building the Nation; Bolton's Famous Americans; Holmes's Ode on Washington's Birthday; Seawell's Little Jarvis.
The first way of electing President. Constitution,
Art. II, §I; McMaster, 170-171.
Washington and Adams.
192. Washington elected President.--In the early years under the Constitution the Presidents and Vice-Presidents were elected in the following manner. First each state chose presidential electors usually by vote of its legislature. Then the electors of each state came together and voted for two persons without saying which of the two should be President. When all the electoral votes were counted, the person having the largest number, provided that was more than half of the whole number of electoral votes, was declared President. The person having the next largest number became Vice-President. At the first election every elector voted for Washington. John Adams received the next largest number of votes and became Vice-President.
[Illustration: FEDERAL HALL, 1797. Washington took the oath of office on the balcony.]
Washington's journey to New York. Higginson, 217-218.
193. Washington's Journey to New York.--At ten o'clock in the morning of April 14, 1789, Washington left Mt. Vernon and set out for New York. Wherever he passed the people poured forth to greet him. At Trenton, New Jersey, a triumphal arch had been erected. The school girls strewed flowers in his path and sang an ode written for the occasion. A barge manned by thirteen pilots met him at the water's edge and bore him safely to New York.
Washington inaugurated President, 1789.
Source-Book, 181-183.
The oath of office.
194. The First Inauguration, April 30, 1789.--Long before the time set for the inauguration ceremonies, the streets around Federal Hall were closely packed with sightseers. Washington in a suit of velvet with white silk stockings came out on the balcony and took the oath of office ordered in the Constitution, "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." Cannon roared forth a salute and Chancellor Livingston turning to the people proclaimed, "Long live George Washington, President of the United States." Reëntering the hall Washington read a simple and solemn address.
Jefferson, Secretary of State.
Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury. Eggleston, 215.
Knox, Secretary of War.
Randolph, Attorney-General.
195. The First Cabinet.--Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson Secretary of State. Since writing the Great Declaration, Jefferson had been governor of Virginia and American minister at Paris. The Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton. Born in the British West Indies, he had come to New York to attend King's College, now Columbia University. For Secretary of War, Washington selected Henry Knox. He had been Chief of Artillery during the Revolution. Since then he had been head of the War Department. Edward Randolph became Attorney General. He had introduced the Virginia plan of union into the Federal Convention. But he had not signed the Constitution in its final form. These four officers formed the Cabinet. There was also a Postmaster General. But his office was of slight importance at the time.
[Illustration: WASHINGTON'S WRITING-TABLE]
Federal Officers.
Jay, Chief Justice.
196. Appointments to Office.--The President now appointed the necessary officers to execute the national laws. These were mostly men who had been prominent in the Revolutionary War. For instance, John Jay (p. 126) was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and General Lincoln (p. 134) was appointed Collector of Customs at Boston. It was in having officers of its own to carry out its laws, that the new government seemed to the people to be so unlike the old government. Formerly if Congress wanted anything done, it called on the states to do it. Now Congress, by law, authorized the United States officials to do their tasks. The difference was a very great one, and it took the people some time to realize what a great change had been made.
Titles. Higginson, 222.
197. The Question of Titles.--The first fiercely contested debate in the new Congress was over the question of titles. John Adams, the Vice-President and the presiding officer of the Senate, began the conflict by asking the Senate how he should address the President. One senator suggested that the President should be entitled "His Patriotic Majesty." Other senators proposed that he should be addressed as "Your Highness, the President of the United States and Protector of their Liberties." Fortunately, the House of Representatives had the first chance to address Washington and simply called him "Mr. President of the United States."
Ceremonies. Higginson, 222-224.
Monarchical appearances.
198. Ceremonies and Progresses.--Washington liked a good deal of ceremony and was stiff and aristocratic. He soon gave receptions or "levees" as they were called. To these only persons who had tickets were admitted. Washington stood on one side of the room and bowed stiffly to each guest as he was announced. When all were assembled, the entrance doors were closed. The President then slowly walked around the room, saying something pleasant to each person. In 1789 he made a journey through New England. Everywhere he was received by guards of honor, and was splendidly entertained. At one place an old man greeted him with "God bless Your Majesty." This was all natural enough, for Washington was "first in the hearts of his countrymen." But many good men were afraid that the new government would really turn out to be a monarchy.
Struggle over protection, 1789. Source-Book, 183-186.
199. First Tariff Act, 1789.--The first important business that Congress took in hand was a bill for raising revenue, and a lively debate began. Representatives from New England and the Middle states wanted protection for their commerce and their struggling manufactures. Representatives from the Southern states opposed all protective duties as harmful to agriculture, which was the only important pursuit of the Southerners. But the Southerners would have been glad to have a duty placed on hemp. This the New Englanders opposed because it would increase the cost of rigging ships. The Pennsylvanians were eager for a duty on iron and steel. But the New Englanders opposed this duty because it would add to the cost of building a ship, and the Southerners opposed it because it would increase the cost of agricultural tools. And so it was as to nearly every duty that was proposed. But duties must be laid, and the only thing that could be done was to compromise in every direction. Each section got something that it wanted, gave up a great deal that it wanted, and agreed to something that it did not want at all. And so it has been with every tariff act from that day to this.
The first census.
Extent of the United States, 1791.
Population of the United States, 1791.
200. The First Census, 1791.--The Constitution provided that representatives should be distributed among the states according to population as modified by the federal ratio (p. 142). To do this it was necessary to find out how many people there were in each state. In 1791 the first census was taken. By that time both North Carolina and Rhode Island had joined the Union, and Vermont had been admitted as the fourteenth state. It appeared that there were nearly four million people in the United States, or not as many as one hundred years later lived around the shores of New York harbor. There were then about seven hundred thousand slaves in the country. Of these only fifty thousand were in the states north of Maryland. The country, therefore, was already divided into two sections: one where slavery was of little importance, and another where it was of great importance.
Vermont admitted, 1791.
Higginson 229.
Kentucky admitted, 1792. Higginson, 224-230.
201. New States.--The first new state to be admitted to the Union was Vermont (1791). The land which formed this state was claimed by New Hampshire and by New York. But during the Revolution the Green Mountain Boys had declared themselves independent and had drawn up a constitution. They now applied to Congress for admission to the Union as a separate state. The next year Kentucky came into the Union. This was originally a part of Virginia, and the colonists had brought their slaves with them to their new homes. Kentucky, therefore, was a slave state. Vermont was a free state, and its constitution forbade slavery.
[Illustration: CENTER OF POPULATION]
Origin of the National Debt. For details, see
McMaster, 198-200.
Bonds.
202. The National Debt.--The National Debt was the price of independence. During the war Congress had been too poor to pay gold and silver for what it needed to carry on the war. So it had given promises to pay at some future time. These promises to pay were called by various names as bonds, certificates of indebtedness, and paper money. Taken all together they formed what was called the Domestic Debt, because it was owed to persons living in the United States. There was also a Foreign Debt. This was owed to the King of France and to other foreigners who had lent money to the United States.
Hamilton as a financier.
His plan.
Objections to it.
203. Hamilton's Financial Policy.--Alexander Hamilton was the ablest Secretary of the Treasury the United States has ever had. To give people confidence in the new government, he proposed to redeem the old certificates and bonds, dollar for dollar, in new bonds. To this plan there was violent objection. Most of the original holders of the certificates and bonds had sold them long ago. They were now mainly held by speculators who had paid about thirty or forty cents for each dollar. Why should the speculator get one dollar for that which had cost him only thirty or forty cents? Hamilton insisted that his plan was the only way to place the public credit on a firm foundation, and it was finally adopted.
[Illustration: ALEXANDER HAMILTON. "He smote the rock of the national resources and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of the public credit and it sprang upon its feet."--WEBSTER.]
The state debts. Source-Book, 186-188.
Hamilton's plan of assumption.
Objections to it.
Failure of the bill.
204. Assumption of State Debts.--A further part of Hamilton's original scheme aroused even greater opposition. During the Revolutionary War the states, too, had become heavily in debt. They had furnished soldiers and supplies to Congress. Some of them had undertaken expeditions at their own expense. Virginia, for example, had borne all the cost of Clark's conquest of the Northwest (p. 116). She had later ceded nearly all her rights in the conquered territory to the United States (p. 135). These debts had been incurred for the benefit of the people as a whole. Would it not then be fair for the people of the United States as a whole to pay them? Hamilton thought that it would. It chanced, however, that the Northern states had much larger debts than had the Southern states. One result of Hamilton's scheme would be to relieve the Northern states of a part of their burdens and to increase the burdens of the Southern states. The Southerners, therefore, were strongly opposed to the plan. The North Carolina representatives reached New York just in time to vote against it, and that part of Hamilton's plan was defeated.
[Illustration: AN OLD STAGECOACH. The house was built in Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1783.]
Question of the site of the national capital.
Jefferson and Hamilton.
The District of Columbia.
205. The National Capital.--In these days of fast express trains it makes little difference whether one is going to Philadelphia or to Baltimore--only a few hours more or less in a comfortable railroad car. But in 1791 it made a great deal of difference whether one were going to Philadelphia or to Baltimore. Traveling was especially hard in the South. There were few roads or taverns in that part of the country, and those few were bad. The Southerners were anxious to have the national capital as far south as possible. They were also opposed to the assumption of the state debts by the national government. Now it happened that the Northerners were in favor of the assumption of the debts and did not care very much where the national capital might be. In the end Jefferson and Hamilton made "a deal," the first of its kind in our history. Enough Southerners voted for the assumption bill to pass it. The Northerners, on their part, agreed that the temporary seat of government should be at Philadelphia, and the permanent seat of government on the Potomac. Virginia and Maryland at once ceded enough land to form a "federal district." This was called the District of Columbia. Soon preparations were begun to build a capital city there--the city of Washington.
[Illustration: A LADY OF THE "REPUBLICAN COURT."]
Hamilton's plan for a United States bank.
McMaster, 201.
Jefferson's argument against it.
The bank established.
206. The First Bank of the United States.--Two parts of Hamilton's plan were now adopted. To the third part of his scheme there was even more opposition. This was the establishment of a great Bank of the United States. The government in 1790 had no place in which to keep its money. Instead of establishing government treasuries, Hamilton wanted a great national bank, controlled by the government. This bank could establish branches in important cities. The government's money could be deposited at any of these branches and could be paid out by checks sent from the Treasury. Furthermore, people could buy a part of the stock of the bank with the new bonds of the United States. This would make people more eager to own the bonds, and so would increase their price. For all these reasons Hamilton thought the bank would be very useful, and therefore "necessary and proper" for the carrying out of the powers given by the Constitution to the national government. Jefferson, however, thought that the words "necessary and proper" meant necessary and not useful. The bank was not necessary according to the ordinary use of the word. Congress therefore had no business to establish it. After thinking the matter over, Washington signed the bill and it became a law. But Jefferson had sounded the alarm. Many persons agreed with him, many others agreed with Hamilton. Two great political parties were formed and began the contest for power that has been going on ever since.
Formation of the Federalist party. McMaster, 202.
207. The Federalists.--There were no political parties in the United States in 1789. All the leading men were anxious to give the new Constitution a fair trial. Even Patrick Henry supported Washington. Many men, as Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris, believed a monarchy to be the best form of government. But they saw clearly that the American people would not permit a monarchy to be established. So they supported the Constitution although they thought that it was "a frail and worthless fabric." But they wished to establish the strongest possible government that could be established under the Constitution. This they could do by defining in the broadest way the doubtful words in the Constitution as Hamilton had done in the controversy over the bank charter (p. 162). Hamilton had little confidence in the wisdom of the plain people. He believed it would be safer to rely on the richer classes. So he and his friends wished to give to the central government and to the richer classes the greatest possible amount of power. Those who believed as Hamilton believed called themselves Federalists. In reality they were Nationalists.
Formation of the Republican party.
208. The Republicans.--Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Albert Gallatin, and their friends entirely disagreed with the Federalists on all of these points. They called themselves Republicans. In the Great Declaration Jefferson had written that government rested on the consent of the governed. He also thought that the common sense of the plain people was a safer guide than the wisdom of the richer classes. He was indignant at the way in which Hamilton defined the meaning of phrases in the Constitution. He especially relied on the words of the Tenth Amendment. This amendment provided that "all 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." Jefferson thought that phrases like "not delegated" and "necessary and proper" should be understood in their ordinary meanings. He now determined to arouse public opinion. He once declared that if he had to choose between having a government and having a newspaper press, he should prefer the newspaper press. He established a newspaper devoted to his principles and began a violent and determined attack on the Federalists, calling them monarchists. These disputes became especially violent in the treatment of the questions which grew out of the French Revolution.
The French Revolution, 1789.
209. The French Revolution.--In 1789 the French people rose against their government. In 1792 they imprisoned their king and queen. In 1793 they beheaded them, and set up a republic. The monarchs of Europe made common cause against this spirit of revolution. They made war on the French Republic and began a conflict which soon spread to all parts of the world.
Effect of the French Revolution on American
politics. McMaster, 206-207.
Federalists and Republicans.
210. The French Revolution and American Politics.--Jefferson and his political friends rejoiced at the overthrow of the French monarchy and the setting up of the Republic. It seemed as if American ideas had spread to Europe. Soon Jefferson's followers began to ape the manners of the French revolutionists. They called each other Citizen this and Citizen that. Reports of French victories were received with rejoicing. At Boston an ox, roasted whole, bread, and punch were distributed to the people in the streets, and cakes stamped with the French watchwords, Liberty and Equality, were given to the children. But, while the Republicans were rejoicing over the downfall of the French monarchy, the Federalists were far from being happy. Hamilton had no confidence in government by the people anywhere. Washington, with his aristocratic ideas, did not at all like the way the Republicans were acting. He said little on the subject, but Lady Washington expressed her mind freely and spoke of Jefferson's followers as "filthy Democrats."
Genet at Charleston.
His contest with the government.
211. Citizen Genet.--The new French government soon sent an agent or minister to the United States. He was the Citizen Genet. He landed at Charleston, South Carolina. He fitted out privateers to prey on British commerce and then set out overland for Philadelphia. Washington had recently made a tour through the South. But even he had not been received with the enthusiasm that greeted Genet. But when Genet reached Philadelphia, and began to confer with Jefferson about getting help from the government, he found little except delay, trouble, and good advice. Jefferson especially tried to warn Genet not to be over confident. But Genet would not listen. He even appealed to the people against Washington, and the people rallied to the defense of the President. Soon another and wiser French minister came to the United States.
The Treaty of Alliance of 1778.
The Neutrality Proclamation, 1793.
212. The Neutrality Proclamation, 1793.--Washington and his advisers had a very difficult question to settle. For the Treaty of 1778 with France (p. 115) gave to French ships the use of United States ports in war time, and closed those ports to the enemies of France. The treaty might also oblige the United States to make war on Great Britain in order to preserve the French West India Islands to France. It was quite certain, at all events, that if French warships were allowed to use American ports, and British warships were not allowed to do so, Great Britain would speedily make war on the United States. The treaty had been made with the King of France. Could it not be set aside on the ground that there was no longer a French monarchy? Washington at length made up his mind to regard it as suspended, owing to the confusion which existed in France. He therefore issued a Proclamation of Neutrality. In this proclamation he warned all citizens not to aid either of the fighting nations. It was in this way that Washington began the policy of keeping the United States out of European conflicts (p. 224).
Internal revenue taxes.
The Whiskey Rebellion, 1794. McMaster, 203-204.
213. The Whiskey Insurrection, 1794.--The increasing expenses of the government made new taxes necessary. Among the new taxes was an internal revenue tax on whiskey. It happened that this tax bore heavily on the farmers of western Carolina and western Pennsylvania. The farmers of those regions could not take their grain to the seaboard because the roads were bad and the distance was great. So they made it into whiskey, which could be carried to the seaboard and sold at a profit. The new tax on whiskey would make it more difficult for these western farmers to earn a living and to support their families. They refused to pay it. They fell upon the tax collectors and drove them away. Washington sent commissioners to explain matters to them. But the farmers paid no heed to the commissioners. The President then called out fifteen thousand militia-men and sent them to western Pennsylvania, under the command of Henry Lee, governor of Virginia. The rebellious farmers yielded without fighting. Two of the leaders were convicted of treason. But Washington pardoned them, and the conflict ended there. The new government had shown its strength, and had compelled people to obey the laws. That in itself was a very great thing to have done.
Relations with Great Britain. McMaster,
207-209; Source-Book, 188-190.
Jay's Treaty, 1794.
214. Jay's Treaty, 1794.--Ever since 1783 there had been trouble with the British. They had not surrendered the posts on the Great Lakes, as the treaty of 1783 required them to do. They had oppressed American commerce. The American states also had broken the treaty by making laws to prevent the collection of debts due to British subjects by American citizens. The Congress of the Confederation had been too weak to compel either the British government or the American states to obey the treaty. But the new government was strong enough to make treaties respected at home and abroad. Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to London to negotiate a new treaty. He found the British government very hard to deal with. At last he made a treaty. But there were many things in it which were not at all favorable to the United States. For instance, it provided that cotton should not be exported from the United States, and that American commerce with the British West Indies should be greatly restricted.
Contest over ratification of Jay's Treaty, 1795.
215. Ratification of Jay's Treaty, 1795.--After a long discussion the Senate voted to ratify the treaty without these two clauses. In the House of Representatives there was a fierce debate. For although the House has nothing to do with ratifying treaties, it has a great deal to do with voting money. And money was needed to carry out this treaty. At last the House voted the necessary money. The British surrendered the posts on the Great Lakes, and the debts due to British subjects were paid. Many people were very angry with Jay and with Washington for making this treaty. Stuffed figures of Jay were hanged, and Washington was attacked in the papers as if he had been "a common pickpocket"--to use his own words.
[Illustration: SOUTHERN BOUNDARY OF UNITED STATES 1795]
Treaty with Spain, 1795.
Right of deposit.
216. The Spanish Treaty of 1795.--France and Great Britain were not the only countries with which there was trouble. The Spaniards held posts on the Mississippi, within the limits of the United States and refused to give them up. For a hundred miles the Mississippi flowed through Spanish territory. In those days, before steam railroads connected the Ohio valley with the Eastern seacoast, the farmers of Kentucky and Tennessee sent their goods by boat or raft down the Mississippi to New Orleans. At that city they were placed on sea-going vessels and carried to the markets of the world. The Spaniards refused to let this commerce be carried on. In 1795, however, they agreed to abandon the posts and to permit American goods to be deposited at New Orleans while awaiting shipment by sea-going vessels.
Washington declines a third term.
His Farewell Address.
217. Washington's Farewell Address.--In 1792 Washington had been reëlected President. In 1796 there would be a new election, and Washington declined another nomination. He was disgusted with the tone of public life and detested party politics, and desired to pass the short remainder of his life in quiet at Mt. Vernon. He announced his intention to retire in a Farewell Address, which should be read and studied by every American. In it he declared the Union to be the main pillar of independence, prosperity, and liberty. Public credit must be carefully maintained, and the United States should have as little as possible to do with European affairs. In declining a third term as President, Washington set an example which has ever since been followed.
Hamilton's intrigues against Adams.
Adams elected, President, 1796.
218. John Adams elected President, 1796.--In 1796 John Adams was the Federalist candidate for President. His rival was Thomas Jefferson, the founder and chief of the Republican party. Alexander Hamilton was the real leader of the Federalists, and he disliked Adams. Thomas Pinckney was the Federalist candidate for Vice-President. Hamilton suggested a plan which he thought would lead to the election of Pinckney as President instead of Adams. But Hamilton's scheme did not turn out very well. For by it Jefferson was elected Vice-President. Indeed, he came near being President, for he had only three less electoral votes than Adams.
Relations with France, 1796-97. McMaster,
210-212; Source-Book, 191-194.
The French government declines to receive an American minister.
219. More Trouble with France.--France was now (1796-97) governed by five chiefs of the Revolution, who called themselves "the Directory." They were very angry when they heard of Jay's Treaty (p. 168), for they had hoped that the Americans would make war on the British. James Monroe was then American minister at Paris. Instead of doing all he could to smooth over this difficulty, he urged on the wrath of the Directory. Washington recalled Monroe, and sent in his stead General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina. The Directory promptly refused to receive Pinckney, and ordered him to leave France. News of this action of the Directory reached Philadelphia three days after Adams's inauguration.
Adams's message, 1797.
A commission sent to France, 1797.
The X.Y.Z. Affair, 1797-98.
220. The X.Y.Z. Affair, 1797-98.--Adams at once summoned Congress and addressed the members in stirring words. He denied that the Americans were a "degraded people, humiliated under a colonial sense of fear ... and regardless of national honor, character, and interest." It seemed best, however, to make one more effort to avoid war. Adams therefore sent John Marshall, a Virginia Federalist, and Elbridge Gerry, a Massachusetts Republican, to France. They were to join Pinckney and together were to negotiate with the French Directory. When they reached Paris three men came to see them. These men said that America (1) must apologize for the President's vigorous words, (2) must lend money to France, and (3) must bribe the Directory and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. These outrageous suggestions were emphatically put aside. In sending the papers to Congress, the three men were called Mr. X., Mr. Y., and Mr. Z., so the incident is always known as the "X.Y.Z. Affair."
Excitement in America.
221. Indignation in America.--Federalists and Republicans joined in indignation. "Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute," was the cry of the day. French flags were everywhere torn down. "Hail Columbia" was everywhere sung. Adams declared that he would not send another minister to France until he was assured that the representative of the United States would be received as "the representative of a great, free, powerful, and independent state."
Washington appointed Commander-in-chief. Hamilton
and Adams.
The navy.
Naval warfare, 1798-99. McMaster, 213-214.
222. War with France, 1797-98.--The organization of a provisional army was now at once begun. Washington accepted the chief command on condition that Hamilton should have the second place. There were already a few vessels in the navy. A Navy Department was now organized. The building of more warships was begun, and merchant vessels were bought and converted into cruisers. French privateers sailed along the American coasts and captured American vessels off the entrances of the principal harbors. But this did not last long. For the American warships drove the privateers to the West Indies and pursued them as they fled southward. Soon the American cruisers began to capture French men-of-war. Captain Truxton, in the Constellation, captured the French frigate L'Insurgent. Many other French vessels were captured, and preparations were made to carry on the naval war even more vigorously when a treaty with France was signed.
Another commission sent to France.
The treaty of 1800.
223. Treaty with France, 1800.--This vigor convinced the French that they had been hasty in their treatment of the Americans. They now said that if another minister were sent to France, he would be honorably received. Adams wished to send one of the American ministers then in Europe, and thus end the dispute as soon as possible. But the other Federalist leaders thought that it would be better to wait until France sent a minister to the United States. Finally they consented to the appointment of three commissioners. Napoleon Bonaparte was now the ruler of France. He received the commissioners honorably, and a treaty was soon signed. On two points, however, he refused to give way. He declined to pay for American property seized by the French, and he insisted that the treaty of 1778 (pp. 115, 166) was still binding on both countries. It was finally agreed that the Americans should give up their claims for damages, and the French government should permit the treaty to be annulled. John Adams always looked upon this peaceful ending of the dispute with France as the most prudent and successful act of his whole life. But Hamilton and other Federalists thought it was treachery to the party. They set to work to prevent his reëlection to the presidency.
Repressive Laws. McMaster, 211-212.
The naturalization act.
The alien acts.
The Sedition Act.
224. Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798.--The Federalists, even if they had been united, would probably have been defeated in the election of 1800. For they had misused their power to pass several very foolish laws. The first of these laws was the Naturalization Act. It lengthened the time of residence in the United States from five to fourteen years before a foreign immigrant could gain the right to vote. This law bore very harshly on the Republicans, because most of the immigrants were Republicans. Other laws, called the Alien Acts, were also aimed at the Republican immigrants. These laws gave the President power to compel immigrants to leave the United States, or to live in certain places that he named. The worst law of all was the Sedition Act. This was aimed against the writers and printers of Republican newspapers. It provided that any one who attacked the government in the press should be severely punished as a seditious person. Several trials were held under this law. Every trial made hundreds of persons determined to vote for the Republican candidate at the next election.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions 1798-99.
McMaster, 212-213.
Jefferson and Madison on the Constitution.
The Kentucky Resolutions of 1799.
225. Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 1798-99.--In the exciting years before the Revolutionary War the colonial legislatures had passed many resolutions condemning the acts of the British government (see pp. 77, 84). Following this example Jefferson and Madison now brought it about that the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures passed resolutions against the Alien and Sedition Acts. They declared that the Constitution was a compact between the states. It followed from this that any state could determine for itself whether any act of Congress were constitutional or not. It followed from, this, again, that any state could refuse to permit an Act of Congress to be enforced within its limits. In other words, any state could make null or nullify any Act of Congress that it saw fit to oppose. This last conclusion was found only in the Kentucky Resolutions of 1799. But Jefferson wrote to this effect in the original draft of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions called the voter's attention to the Federalist abuse of power and did much to form public opinion.
Death of Washington, 1799.
226. Death of Washington, 1799.--In the midst of this excitement George Washington died. People forgot how strongly he had taken the Federalist side in the last few years, and united to do honor to his memory. Henry Lee spoke for the nation when he declared that Washington was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." To this day, we commemorate Washington's birthday as we do that of no other man, though of late years we have begun to keep Lincoln's birthday also.
Election of 1800. McMaster, 215.
Jefferson and Burr.
The election in the House of Representatives.
227. Election of 1800.--It was for a moment only that the noise of party conflict was hushed by the death of America's first President. The strife soon began anew. Indeed, the election of 1800 was fought with a vigor and violence unknown before, and scarcely exceeded since. John Adams was the Federalist candidate, and he was defeated. Jefferson and Burr, the Republican candidates, each received seventy-three electoral votes. But which of them should be President? The Republican voters clearly wished Jefferson to be President. But the Federalists had a majority in the House of Representatives. They had a clear legal right to elect Burr President. But to do that would be to do what was morally wrong. After a useless struggle the Federalists permitted Jefferson to be chosen, and he was inaugurated on March 4, 1801.
[Illustration: PRESIDENT WASHINGTON, 1790. "Observe good faith and justice towards all nations." --Farewell Address.]
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 19
§§ 192-194.--a. Describe the method of electing President employed at first.
b. Describe Washington's journey to New York and the inaugural ceremonies, and compare them with the inauguration of the last President.
§§ 195, 196.--a. In whose hands do appointments to federal offices lie?
b. What was the great difference mentioned in § 196? Why was the difference so great?
§§ 197, 198.--a. Why was Washington "stiff and aristocratic"?
b. Would Washington have accepted the title of king? Give the reasons for your answer.
§§ 199-202.--a. Give the reasons for the different views expressed in Congress as to customs duties. What are customs duties?
b. Explain how slavery influenced the views of the Southern members.
c. Compare the extent and population of the United States in 1791 with the extent and population to-day.
d. What two new states were admitted in 1791-92? What was their attitude on slavery? What changes would their admission make in Congress?
§§ 203, 204.--a. Explain carefully Hamilton's plan. What were its advantages? What is meant by the phrase "public credit"?
b. What is meant by the phrase "assumption of the state debts"?
§§ 205, 206.--a. What question arose concerning the site of the national capital? How was it settled? Was this a good way to settle important questions?
b. Why did Hamilton want a Bank of the United States? Was this bank like one of the national banks of to-day?
CHAPTER 20
§§ 207, 208.--a. Compare carefully the principles of the Federalists and the Republicans. Which party would you have joined had you lived then? Why? Which ideas prevail to-day?
b. Discuss Jefferson's views as to the value of newspapers.
§§ 209-212.--a. Why did the Republicans sympathize with the French Revolution?
b. How was the action of the Republicans regarded by Washington? By Hamilton?
c. Why did Washington issue the Proclamation of Neutrality?
§ 213.--a. What is the difference between a tax laid by a tariff on imported goods and an internal revenue tax?
b. How was the rebellion suppressed? Compare this with Shays's Rebellion.
§§ 214-216.--a. State the reasons for the trouble with Great Britain. How was the matter settled?
b. Explain the trouble over the traffic on the Mississippi.
c. How was this matter settled?
§ 217.--a. Why did Washington decline a third term?
b. What are the important points in his Farewell Address?
c. How far has later history proved the truth of his words?
CHAPTER 21
§ 218.--a. How did Hamilton set to work to defeat Adams? Do you think his action justifiable?
b. What was the result of Hamilton's intrigues?
§§ 219-221.--a. To what was the refusal to receive Pinckney equivalent? Describe the X. Y. Z. Affair.
b. What is a bribe? How must bribery in political life affect a government?
c. How was the news of this affair received in America? What does this show about the feeling of both parties toward the government?
§§ 222, 223.--a. Describe the preparations for war. Why was a Navy Department necessary?
b. Why was France wise to make peace with the United States?
c. How was the matter finally settled?
§§ 224, 225.--a. Describe the Naturalization Act.
b. What power did the Alien Act give the President? What danger is there in such power?
c. What is sedition? Compare the Sedition Act with the First Amendment.
d. What were the theories on which the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were based?
§§ 226, 227.--a. What position does Washington hold in our history? Why is it deserved? b. Describe the election of 1800. Why was it fought so bitterly? c. Why should disputes as to elections for President go to the House? d. How was it known that Jefferson's election was the wish of the voters?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Write an account of life in the United States about 1790, or life in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Charleston. b. Prepare a table of the two political parties mentioned, with dates and account of origin. As you go on, note upon this table changes in these parties and the rise of new ones. c. On an Outline Map color the thirteen original states and then fill in, with dates, new states as they are admitted. Write on each state F. for free or S. for slave, as the case may be.
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. Early life of Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, or Hamilton. b. Washington's Farewell Address.
SUGGESTIONS
In this period we meet two questions, which are still important, tariff legislation and political parties. In connection with the Tariff Act of 1789 (§ 200), touch upon the industries of the different sections of the country and explain how local interests affected men's actions. Show how compromise is often necessary in political action.
It is a good plan to use Outline Maps to show the important lines of development, as the gradual drifting apart of the North and the South on the slavery question.
Illustrate by supposed transactions the working of Hamilton's financial measures. By all means do not neglect a study of Washington's Farewell Address. Particular attention should be given to the two views of constitutional interpretation mentioned in § 207, and considerable time should be spent on a study of §§ 224 and 225.
THE UNITED STATES IN 1800.
References.--Higginson's Larger History, 344-365; Scribner's Popular History, IV, 127-184; Schouler's Jefferson.
Home Reading.--Coffin's Building the Nation; Drake's Making the Ohio Valley States; Hale's Man Without a Country and Philip Nolan's Friends.
Area.
Population.
228. Area and Population, 1800.--The area of the United States in 1800 was the same as at the close of the Revolutionary War. But the population had begun to increase rapidly. In 1791 there were nearly four million people in the United States. By 1800 this number had risen to five and one-quarter millions. Two-thirds of the people still lived on or near tide-water. But already nearly four hundred thousand people lived west of the Alleghanies. In 1791 the centre of population had been east of Baltimore. It was now eighteen miles west of that city (p. 157).
Philadelphia.
New York.
The new capital.
229. Cities and Towns in 1800.--Philadelphia was the largest city in the United States. It had a population of seventy thousand. But New York was not far behind Philadelphia in population. Except these two, no city in the whole United States had more than thirty thousand inhabitants. The seat of government had been removed from Philadelphia to Washington. But the new capital was a city only in name. One broad long street, Pennsylvania Avenue, led from the unfinished Capitol to the unfinished White House. Congress held its sessions in a temporary wooden building. The White House could be lived in. But Mrs. Adams found the unfinished reception room very convenient for drying clothes on rainy Mondays. A few cheaply built and very uncomfortable boarding-houses completed the city.
Roads, coaches, and inns.
Traveling by water.
230. Traveling in 1800.--The traveler in those days had a very hard time. On the best roads of the north, in the best coach, and with the best weather one might cover as many as forty miles a day. But the traveler had to start very early in the morning to do this. Generally he thought himself fortunate if he made twenty-five miles in the twenty-four hours. South of the Potomac there were no public coaches, and the traveler generally rode on horseback. A few rich men like Washington rode in their own coaches. Everywhere, north and south, the inns were uncomfortable and the food was poor. Whenever it was possible the traveler went by water. But that was dangerous work. Lighthouses were far apart, there were no public buoys to guide the mariner, and almost nothing had been done to improve navigation.
THE "CLERMONT," 1807.
The first steamboat.
Fulton's steamboat, 1807. Higginson, 241-242.
231. The Steamboat.--The steamboat came to change all this. While Washington was still President, a queer-looking boat sailed up and down the Delaware. She was propelled by oars or paddles which were worked by steam. This boat must have been very uncomfortable, and few persons wished to go on her. Robert Fulton made the first successful steamboat. She was named the Clermont and was launched in 1807. She had paddle wheels and steamed against the wind and tide of the Hudson River. At first some people thought that she was bewitched. But when it was found that she ran safely and regularly, people began to travel on her. Before a great while steamboats appeared in all parts of the country.
Western pioneers.
Settlements on the Ohio. Eggleston, 232-234;
Higginson, 243.
232. Making of the West.--Even before the Revolutionary War explorers and settlers had crossed the Alleghany Mountains. In Washington's time pioneers, leaving Pittsburg, floated down the Ohio River in flatboats. Some of these settled Cincinnati. Others went farther down the river to Louisville, in Kentucky, and still others founded Wheeling and Marietta. In 1811 the first steamboat appeared on the Western rivers. The whole problem of living in the West rapidly changed. For the steamboat could go up stream as well as down stream. Communication between the new settlements, and New Orleans and Pittsburg, was now much safer and very much easier.
Cotton growing.
Beginning of exportation, 1784.
233. Cotton Growing in the South.--Cotton had been grown in the South for many years. It had been made on the plantations into a rough cloth. Very little had been sent away. The reason for this was that it took a very long time to separate the cotton fiber from the seed. One slave working for a whole day could hardly clean more than a pound of cotton. Still as time went on more cotton was grown. In 1784 a few bags of cotton were sent to England. The Englishmen promptly seized it because they did not believe that so much cotton could be grown in America. In 1791 nearly two hundred thousand pounds of cotton were exported from the South. Then came Whitney's great invention, which entirely changed the whole history of the country.
[Illustration: THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. As designed by Thomas Jefferson.]
Eli Whitney.
His cotton gin, 1793. McMaster, 195-196.
234. Whitney's Cotton Gin, 1793.--Eli Whitney was a Connecticut schoolmaster. He went to Georgia to teach General Greene's children. He was very ingenious, and one day Mrs. Greene suggested to him that he might make a machine which would separate the cotton fiber from the cotton seed. Whitney set to work and soon made an engine or gin, as he called it, that would do this. The first machine was a rude affair. But even with it one slave could clean one hundred pounds of cotton in a day. Mrs. Greene's neighbors promptly broke into Whitney's shop and stole his machine. Whitney's cotton gin made the growing of cotton profitable and so fastened slavery on the South. With the exception of the steam locomotive (p. 241) and the reaper (p. 260), no invention has so tremendously influenced the history of the United States.
Early manufactures.
235. Colonial Manufactures.--Before the Revolutionary War there were very few mills or factories in the colonies. There was no money to put into such undertakings and no operatives to work the mills if they had been built. The only colonial manufactures that amounted to much were the making of nails and shoes. These articles could be made at home on the farms, in the winter, when no work could be done out of doors.
New manufactures established.
Invention of cotton spinning machinery.
236. Growth of Manufactures, 1789-1800.--As soon as the new government with its wide powers was established, manufacturing started into life. Old mills were set to work. While the Revolution had been going on in America, great improvements in the spinning of yarn and the weaving of cloth had been made in England. Parliament made laws to prevent the export from England of machinery or patterns of machinery. But it could not prevent Englishmen from coming to America. Among the recent immigrants to the United States was Samuel Slater. He brought no patterns with him. But he was familiar with the new methods of spinning. He soon built spinning machinery. New cotton mills were now set up in several places. But it was some time before the new weaving machinery was introduced into America.
Jefferson's political ideas. Higginson 239;
McMaster, 216.
Republican simplicity.
237. President Jefferson.--Thomas Jefferson was a Republican. He believed in the republican form of government. He believed the wisdom of the people to be the best guide. He wished the President to be simple and cordial in his relations with his fellow-citizens. Adams had ridden to his inauguration in a coach drawn by six cream-colored horses. Jefferson walked with a few friends from his boarding house to the Capitol. Washington and Adams had gone in state to Congress and had opened the session with a speech. Jefferson sent a written message to Congress by a messenger. Instead of bowing stiffly to those who came to see him, he shook hands with them and tried to make them feel at ease in his presence.
Proscription of Republicans by the Federalists.
Adams's midnight appointments.
238. The Civil Service.--One of the first matters to take Jefferson's attention was the condition of the civil service. There was not a Republican office-holder in the government service. Washington, in the last years of his presidency, and Adams also had given office only to Federalists. Jefferson thought it was absolutely necessary to have some officials upon whom he could rely. So he removed a few Federalist officeholders and appointed Republicans to their places. Adams had even gone so far as to appoint officers up to midnight of his last day in office. Indeed, John Marshall, his Secretary of State, was busy signing commissions when Jefferson's Attorney General walked in with his watch in hand and told Marshall that it was twelve o'clock. Jefferson and Madison, the new Secretary of State, refused to deliver these commissions even when Marshall as Chief Justice ordered Madison to deliver them.
The Judiciary Act, 1801.
Repealed by Republicans.
Jefferson and appointments.
239. The Judiciary Act of 1801.--One of the last laws made by the Federalists was the Judiciary Act of 1801. This law greatly enlarged the national judiciary, and Adams eagerly seized the opportunity to appoint his friends to the new offices. The Republican Congress now repealed this Judiciary Act and "legislated out of office" all the new judges. For it must be remembered that the Constitution makes only the members of the Supreme Court sure of their offices. Congress also got rid of many other Federalist officeholders by repealing the Internal Revenue Act (p. 167). But while all this was done, Jefferson steadily refused to appoint men to office merely because they were Republicans. One man claimed an office on the ground that he was a Republican, and that the Republicans were the saviors of the republic. Jefferson replied that Rome had been saved by geese, but he had never heard that the geese were given offices.
[Illustration: THOMAS JEFFERSON.] "Honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none, ... economy in the public expense, the honest payment of our debts, and sacred preservation of the public faith."--Jefferson's First Inaugural.
Expenses diminished.
Internal taxes repealed.
Army and navy reduced.
Part of the debt paid. McMaster, 217-218.
240. Paying the National Debt.--Jefferson was especially anxious to cut down the expenses of the government and to pay as much as possible of the national debt. Madison and Gallatin worked heartily with him to carry out this policy. The repeal of the Internal Revenue Act took much revenue from the government. But it also did away with the salaries of a great many officials. The repeal of the Judiciary Act also put an end to many salaries. Now that the dispute with France was ended, Jefferson thought that the army and navy might safely be reduced. Most of the naval vessels were sold. A few good ships were kept at sea, and the rest were tied up at the wharves. The number of ministers to European states was reduced to the lowest possible limit, and the civil service at home was also cut down. The expenses of the government were in these ways greatly lessened. At the same time the revenue from the customs service increased. The result was that in the eight years of Jefferson's administrations the national debt shrank from eighty-three million dollars to forty-five million dollars. Yet in the same time the United States paid fifteen million dollars for Louisiana, and waged a series of successful and costly wars with the pirates of the northern coast of Africa.
The Spaniards in Louisiana and Florida.
McMaster, 218-219.
France secures Louisiana.
241. Louisiana again a French Colony.--Spanish territory now bounded the United States on the south and the west. The Spaniards were not good neighbors, because it was very hard to make them come to an agreement, and next to impossible to make them keep an agreement when it was made. But this did not matter very much, because Spain was a weak power and was growing weaker every year. Sooner or later the United States would gain its point. Suddenly, however, it was announced that France had got back Louisiana. And almost at the same moment the Spanish governor of Louisiana said that Americans could no longer deposit their goods at New Orleans (p. 170). At once there was a great outcry in the West. Jefferson determined to buy from France New Orleans and the land eastward from the mouth of the Mississippi.
[Illustration: JACKSON SQUARE, NEW ORLEANS.]
[Illustration: ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.]
Napoleon's policy.
He offers to sell Louisiana.
242. The Louisiana Purchase, 1803.--When Napoleon got Louisiana from Spain, he had an idea of again founding a great French colony in America. At the moment France and Great Britain were at peace. But it soon looked as if war would begin again. Napoleon knew that the British would at once seize Louisiana and he could not keep it anyway. So one day, when the Americans and the French were talking about the purchase of New Orleans, the French minister suddenly asked if the United States would not like to buy the whole of Louisiana. Monroe and Livingston, the American ministers, had no authority to buy Louisiana. But the purchase of the whole colony would be a great benefit to the United States. So they quickly agreed to pay fifteen million dollars for the whole of Louisiana.
Louisiana purchased, 1803. Higginson,
244-245; Eggleston, 234; Source-Book, 200-202.
Importance of the purchase.
243. The Treaty Ratified.--Jefferson found himself in a strange position. The Constitution nowhere delegated to the United States power to acquire territory (p. 164). But after thinking it over Jefferson felt sure that the people would approve of the purchase. The treaty was ratified. The money was paid. This purchase turned out to be a most fortunate thing. It gave to the United States the whole western valley of the Mississippi. It also gave to Americans the opportunity to explore and settle Oregon, which lay beyond the limits of Louisiana.
THE UNITED STATES IN 1803.
Lewis and Clark, 1804-6. Higginson, 245-247;
McMaster, 219-221; Source-Book, 206-209.
The mouth of the Oregon.
244. Lewis and Clark's Explorations.--Jefferson soon sent out several expeditions to explore the unknown portions of the continent. The most important of these was the expedition led by two army officers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, brother of General George Rogers Clark (p. 116). Leaving St. Louis they slowly ascended the muddy Missouri. They passed the site of the present city of Omaha. They passed the Council Bluffs. The current of the river now became so rapid that the explorers left their boats and traveled along the river's bank. They gained the sources of the Missouri, and came to a westward-flowing river. On, on they followed it until they came to the river's mouth. A fog hung low over the water. Suddenly it lifted. There before the explorers' eyes the river "in waves like small mountains rolled out in the ocean." They had traced the Columbia River from its upper course to the Pacific. Captain Gray in the Boston ship Columbia had already entered the mouth of the river. But Lewis and Clark were the first white men to reach it overland.
Amendment as to the election of President.
The Twelfth Amendment, 1804.
245. The Twelfth Amendment, 1804.--Four presidential elections had now been held under the method provided by the Constitution. And that method had not worked well (pp. 171, 176). It was now (1804) changed by the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment which is still in force. The old machinery of presidential electors was kept. But it was provided that in the future each elector should vote for President and for Vice-President on separate and distinct ballots. The voters had no more part in the election under the new system than they had had under the old system. The old method of apportioning electors among the states was also kept. This gives to each state as many electors as it has Senators and Representatives in Congress. No matter how small its territory, or how small its population, a state has at least two Senators and one Representative, and, therefore, three electors. The result is that each voter in a small state has more influence in choosing the President than each voter in a large state. Indeed, several Presidents have been elected by minorities of the voters of the country as a whole.
Jefferson reëlected, 1804.
Strength of the Republicans.
246. Reëlection of Jefferson, 1804.--Jefferson's first administration had been most successful. The Republicans had repealed many unpopular laws. By the purchase of Louisiana the area of the United States had been doubled and an end put to the dispute as to the navigation of the Mississippi. The expenses of the national government had been cut down, and a portion of the national debt had been paid. The people were prosperous and happy. Under these circumstances Jefferson was triumphantly reëlected. He received one hundred and sixty-two electoral votes to only fourteen for his Federalist rival.
[Illustration: STEPHEN DECATUR.]
The African pirates. Higginson, 237-239;
Eggleston, 228-229.
Tribute paying.
Jefferson ends this system.
Hero Tales, 103-113.
247. The North Africa Pirates.--Stretching along the northern shores of Africa from Egypt westward to the Atlantic were four states. These states were named Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, and Morocco. Their people were Mohammedans, and were ruled over by persons called Deys or Beys, or Pachas. These rulers found it profitable and pleasant to attack and capture Christian ships. The cargoes of the captured vessels they sold at good prices, and the seamen and passengers they sold at good prices too--as slaves. The leading powers of Europe, instead of destroying these pirates, found it easier to pay them to let their ships alone. Washington and Adams also paid them to allow American ships to sail unharmed. But the pirates were never satisfied with what was paid them. Jefferson decided to put an end to this tribute paying. He sent a few ships to seize the pirates and shut up their harbors. More and more vessels were sent, until at last the Deys and Beys and Pachas thought it would be cheaper to behave themselves properly. So they agreed to release their American prisoners and not to capture any more American ships (1805). In these little wars American naval officers gained much useful experience and did many glorious deeds. Especially Decatur and Somers won renown.
European fighters attack American commerce. McMaster, 224-226.
248. America, Britain, and France.--Napoleon Bonaparte was now Emperor of the French. In 1804 he made war on the British and their allies. Soon he became supreme on the land, and the British became supreme on the water. They could no longer fight one another very easily, so they determined to injure each other's trade and commerce as much as possible. The British declared continental ports closed to commerce, and Napoleon declared all British commerce to be unlawful. Of course under these circumstances British and Continental ships could not carry on trade, and American vessels rapidly took their places. The British shipowners called upon their government to put an end to this American commerce. Old laws were looked up and enforced. American vessels that disobeyed them were seized by the British. But if any American vessel obeyed these laws, Napoleon seized it as soon as it entered a French harbor.
Impressment. Eggleston, 240.
249. The Impressment Controversy.--With the British the United States had still another cause of complaint. British warships stopped American vessels and took away all their seamen who looked like Englishmen. These they compelled to serve on British men-of-war. As Americans and Englishmen looked very much alike, they generally seized all the best-looking seamen. Thousands of Americans were captured in this way and forced into slavery on British men-of-war. This method of kidnaping was called impressment.
The embargo, 1807. Eggleston, 241;
McMaster, 226-227, 228.
Failure of the embargo. Source-Book, 209-211.
250. The Embargo, 1807-1809.--Jefferson hardly knew what to do. He might declare war on both Great Britain and on France. But to do that would surely put a speedy end to all American commerce. In the old days, before the Revolutionary War, the colonists had more than once brought the British to terms by refusing to buy their goods (pp. 84, 85). Jefferson now thought that if the people of the United States should refuse to trade with the British and the French, the governments both of Great Britain and of France would be forced to treat American commerce properly. Congress therefore passed an Embargo Act. This forbade vessels to leave American ports after a certain day. If the people had been united, the embargo might have done what Jefferson expected it would do. But the people were not united. Especially in New England, the shipowners tried in every way to break the law. This led to the passing of stricter laws. Finally the New Englanders even talked of seceding from the Union.
[Illustration: AN EARLY STEAM FERRYBOAT, ABOUT 1810.]
Outrage on the Chesapeake, 1807. McMaster, 227.
251. The Outrage on the Chesapeake, 1807.--The British now added to the anger of the Americans by impressing seamen from the decks of an American warship. The frigate Chesapeake left the Norfolk navy yard for a cruise. At once the British vessel Leopard sailed toward her and ordered her to stop. As the Chesapeake did not stop, the Leopard fired on her. The American frigate was just setting out, and everything was in confusion on her decks. But a coal was brought from the cook's stove, and one gun was fired. Her flag was then hauled down. The British came on board and seized four seamen, who they said were deserters from the British navy. This outrage aroused tremendous excitement. Jefferson ordered all British warships out of American waters and forbade the people to supply them with provisions, water, or wood. The British offered to restore the imprisoned seamen and ordered out of American waters the admiral under whose direction the outrage had been done. But they would not give up impressment.
Madison elected President, 1808.]
252. Madison elected President, 1808.--There is nothing in the Constitution to limit the number of times a man may be chosen President. Many persons would gladly have voted a third time for Jefferson. But he thought that unless some limit were set, the people might keep on reëlecting a popular and successful President term after term. This would be very dangerous to the republican form of government. So Jefferson followed Washington's example and declined a third term, Washington and Jefferson thus established a custom that has ever since been followed. The Republicans voted for James Madison, and he was elected President (1808).
[Illustration: MODERN DOUBLE-DECKED FERRYBOAT.]
Non-Intercourse Act, 1809.
253. The Non-Intercourse Act, 1809.--By this time the embargo had become so very unpopular that it could be maintained only at the cost of civil war. Madison suggested that the Embargo Act should be repealed, and a Non-Intercourse Act passed in its place. Congress at once did as he suggested. The Non-Intercourse Act prohibited commerce with Great Britain and with France and the countries controlled by France. It permitted commerce with the rest of the world. There were not many European countries with which America could trade under this law. Still there were a few countries, as Norway and Spain, which still maintained their independence. And goods could be sold through them to the other European countries. At all events, no sooner was the embargo removed than commerce revived. Rates of freight were very high and the profits were very large, although the French and the British captured many American vessels.
The Erskine treaty.
The British minister Jackson. Source-Book, 212-213
254. Two British Ministers.--Soon after Madison's inauguration a new British minister came to Washington. His name was Erskine, and he was very friendly. A treaty was speedily made on conditions which Madison thought could be granted. He suspended non-intercourse with Great Britain, and hundreds of vessels set sail for that country. But the British rulers soon put an end to this friendly feeling. They said that Erskine had no authority to make such a treaty. They refused to carry it out and recalled Erskine. The next British minister was a person named Jackson. He accused Madison of cheating Erskine and repeated the accusation. Thereupon Madison sent him back to London. As the British would not carry out the terms of Erskine's treaty, Madison was compelled to prohibit all intercourse with Great Britain.
Still another policy. McMaster, 229-230.
French trickery.
British trickery.
255. British and French Trickery.--The scheme of non-intercourse did not seem to bring the British and the French to terms much better than the embargo had done. In 1810, therefore, Congress set to work and produced a third plan. This was to allow intercourse with both Great Britain and France. But this was coupled with the promise that if one of the two nations stopped seizing American ships and the other did not, then intercourse with the unfriendly country should be prohibited. Napoleon at once said that he would stop seizing American vessels on November 1 of that year if the British, on their part, would stop their seizures before that time. The British said that they would stop seizing when Napoleon did. Neither of them really did anything except to keep on capturing American vessels whenever they could get a chance.
Indians of the Northwest. Eggleston,
242.
Tecumthe.
256. Indian Troubles, 1810.--To this everlasting trouble with Great Britain and France were now added the horrors of an Indian war. It came about in this way. Settlers were pressing into Indiana Territory west of the new state of Ohio. Soon the lands which the United States had bought of the Indians would be occupied. New lands must be bought. At this time there were two able Indian leaders in the Northwest. These were Tecumthe, or Tecumseh, and his brother, who was known as "the Prophet." These chiefs set on foot a great Indian confederation. They said that no one Indian tribe should sell land to the United States without the consent of all the tribes of the Confederation.
Battle of Tippecanoe, 1811.
257. Battle of Tippecanoe.--This determined attitude of the Indians seemed to the American leaders to be very dangerous. Governor William Henry Harrison of Indiana Territory gathered a small army of regular soldiers and volunteers from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. He marched to the Indian settlements. The Indians attacked him at Tippecanoe. He beat them off and, attacking in his turn, routed them. Tecumthe was not at the battle. But he immediately fled to the British in Canada. The Americans had suspected that the British were stirring up the Indians to resist the United States. The reception given to Tecumthe made them feel that their suspicions were correct.
[Illustration: MEDAL PRESENTED TO HENRY CLAY.]
Henry Clay.
John C. Calhoun.
258. The War Party in Congress.--There were abundant reasons to justify war with Great Britain, or with France, or with both of them. But there would probably have been no war with either of them had it not been for a few energetic young men in Congress. The leaders of this war party were Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Clay was born in Virginia, but as a boy he had gone to Kentucky. He represented the spirit of the young and growing West. He was a true patriot and felt angry at the way the British spoke of America and Americans, and at the way they acted toward the United States. He was a very popular man and won men to him by his attractive qualities and by his energy. Calhoun was a South Carolinian who had been educated in Connecticut. He was a man of the highest personal character. He had a strong, active mind, and he was fearless in debate. As with Clay so with Calhoun, they both felt the rising spirit of nationality. They thought that the United States had been patient long enough. They and their friends gained a majority in Congress and forced Madison to send a warlike message to Congress.
Madison's war message, 1812. McMaster>, 231; Source-Book, 214-216.
259. Madison's Reasons for War, 1812.--In his message Madison stated the grounds for complaint against the British as follows: (1) they impressed American seamen; (2) they disturbed American commerce by stationing warships off the principal ports; they refused to permit trade between America and Europe; (4) they stirred up the western Indians to attack the settlers; (5) they were really making war on the United States while the United States was at peace with them. For these reasons Madison advised a declaration of war against Great Britain, and war was declared.
CHAPTER 22
§§ 228, 229.--a. Draw a map showing the states and territories in 1800.
b. How and why had the center of population changed since 1791? Where is it now?
c. Why did so many people live near tide water? Do the same reasons exist to-day?
§§ 230-232.--a. What were the "best roads" in 1800?
b. Describe the dangers and discomforts of traveling in 1800.
c. What were the early steamboats like?
§§ 233, 234.--a. What fact hindered the growth of cotton on a large scale in colonial times?
b. How did Whitney's cotton gin change these conditions?
§§ 235, 236.--a. Why had manufacturing received so little attention before the Revolution?
b. How did the new government encourage manufacturing?
CHAPTER 23
§ 237.--a. How did Jefferson's inauguration illustrate his political ideas?
b. Compare his method of opening Congress with that employed by Washington and Adams. Which method is followed to-day?
§§ 238.--a. What is the Civil Service? How had Washington and Adams filled offices? Was their action wise?
§§ 239.--a. Explain the Judiciary Act of 1801.
b. What power has Congress over the Judiciary? (Constitution, Art. III).
§§ 240.--a. What was Jefferson's policy toward expenses? How did he carry it out? What was the result of these economies?
b. Was the reduction of the navy wise? What conditions make a large navy necessary?
§§ 241-244.--a. When and how had Louisiana changed hands since its settlement? Why were the Spaniards poor neighbors?
b. How did the United States acquire Louisiana?
c. Trace on a map the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase. Compare its value to-day with the price paid.
d. What important discoveries did Lewis and Clark make?
§§ 245, 246.--a. Give instances which illustrate the disadvantages of the old way of electing the President and Vice-President.
b. Explain carefully the changes made by the Twelfth Amendment, and show how a President may be elected by a minority of the voters.
CHAPTER 24
§§ 247.--a. Describe the doings of the African pirates. Why had Washington and Adams paid them?
b. Describe Jefferson's action and state the results.
§§ 248, 249.--a. Compare the power of France and Great Britain at this time.
b. How did they try to injure one another? How did they treat American ships?
c. Explain the impressment of sailors by the British.
§§ 250, 251.--a. Describe the difficulties of Jefferson's position.
b. Give instances of refusal to buy British goods and the results.
c. Explain the Embargo Act. Why was it a failure?
d. Describe the outrage on the Chesapeake. Was the offer of the British government enough? What more should have been promised?
§§ 252, 253.--a. What were Jefferson's objections to a third term? What custom was established by these early Presidents?
b. Where have we found Madison prominent before?
c. Explain the difference between the Embargo Act and the Non-Intercourse Act.
§§ 254, 255.--a. Describe the attempt to renew friendly intercourse with Great Britain.
b. What do you think of Napoleon's treatment of the United States?
§§ 256.--a. What caused the trouble with the Indians?
b. Describe Harrison's action. How were the British connected with this Indian trouble?
§§ 257-259.--a. How did all these affairs affect the relations between the United States and Great Britain?
b. Explain the attitude of Clay and Calhoun.
c. What is meant by the "rising spirit of nationality"?
d. Illustrate, by facts already studied, the reasons given in Madison's message.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. How has machinery influenced the history of the United States?
b. Draw a map showing the extent of the United States in 1802 and 1804.
c. What were the four most important things in Jefferson's administrations? Why do you select these?
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. Robert Fulton or Eli Whitney.
b. Exploration of the Northwest.
c. War with the African pirates.
d. Life and manners in 1800.
SUGGESTIONS
The purchase of Louisiana and the early development of the West are leading points in this period. With the latter must be coupled the important inventions which made such development possible. Commercial questions should receive adequate attention and should be illustrated by present conditions.
Jefferson's attitude toward both the Louisiana Purchase and the enforcement of the Embargo Act is an illustration of the effect which power and responsibility have on those placed at the head of the government. This can also be illustrated by events in our own time.
References.--Higginson's Larger History, 365-442; Scribner's Popular History, IV; Lossing's Field-Book of the War of 1812; Coffin's Building the Nation, 149-231.
Home Readings.--Barnes's Yankee Ships; Roosevelt's Naval War of 1812; Seawell's Midshipman Paulding; Holmes's Old Ironsides; Goodwin's Dolly Madison.
American plan of campaign, 1812.
Objections to it.
260. Plan of Campaign, 1812.--The American plan of campaign was that General Hull should invade Canada from Detroit. He could then march eastward, north of Lake Erie, and meet another army which was to cross the Niagara River. These two armies were to take up the eastward march and join a third army from New York. The three armies then would capture Montreal and Quebec and generally all Canada. It was a splendid plan. But there were three things in the way of carrying it out: (i) there was no trained American army; (2) there were no supplies for an army when gathered and trained; and (3) there was a small, well-trained and well-supplied army in Canada.
[Illustration: DETROIT, ABOUT 1815.]
Hull's march to Detroit.
His misfortunes.
He surrenders Detroit, 1812.
261. Hull's Surrender of Detroit, 1812.--In those days Detroit was separated from the settled parts of Ohio by two hundred miles of wilderness. To get his men and supplies to Detroit, Hull had first of all to cut a road through the forest. The British learned of the actual declaration of war before Hull knew of it. They dashed down on his scattered detachments and seized his provisions. Hull sent out expedition after expedition to gather supplies and bring in the scattered settlers. Tecumthe and the other Indian allies of the British captured one expedition after another. The British advanced on Detroit, and Hull surrendered. By this disaster the British got control of the upper lakes. They even invaded Ohio.
[Illustration: PERRY'S BATTLE FLAG.]
Battle of Lake Erie 1813. McMaster, 234-235.
Battle of the Thames, 1813.
262. Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, 1813.--But the British triumph did not last long. In the winter of 1812-13 Captain Oliver Hazard Perry built a fleet of warships on Lake Erie. They were built of green timber cut for the purpose. They were poor vessels, but were as good as the British vessels. In September, 1813, Perry sailed in search of the British ships. Coming up with them, he hoisted at his masthead a large blue flag with Lawrence's immortal words, "Don't give up the ship" (p. 212), worked upon it. The battle was fiercely fought. Soon Perry's flagship, the Lawrence, was disabled and only nine of her crew were uninjured. Rowing to another ship, Perry continued the fight. In fifteen minutes more all the British ships surrendered. The control of Lake Erie was now in American hands. The British retreated from the southern side of the lake. General Harrison occupied Detroit. He then crossed into Canada and defeated a British army on the banks of the river Thames (October, 1813).
[Illustration: THE "CONSTITUTION." From an early painting of the escape of the Constitution from the British fleet. The men in the boat are preparing to carry out a small anchor.]
The Constitution.
Chased by a British fleet, 1812.
She escapes.
263. The Frigate Constitution.--One of the first vessels to get to sea was the Constitution, commanded by Isaac Hull. She sailed from Chesapeake Bay for New York, where she was to serve as a guard-ship. On the way she fell in with a British squadron. The Constitution sailed on with the whole British fleet in pursuit. Soon the wind began to die away. The Constitution's sails were soaked with water to make them hold the wind better. Then the wind gave out altogether, Captain Hull lowered his boats and the men began to tow the ship. But the British lowered their boats also. They set a great many boats to towing their fastest ship, and she began to gain on the Constitution. Then Captain Hull found that he was sailing over shoal water, although out of sight of land, so he sent a small anchor ahead in a boat. The anchor was dropped and men on the ship pulled in the anchor line. This was done again and again. The Constitution now began to gain on the British fleet. Then a sudden squall burst on the ships. Captain Hull saw it coming and made every preparation to take advantage of it. When the rain cleared away, the Constitution was beyond fear of pursuit. But she could not go to New York, so Captain Hull took her to Boston. The government at once ordered him to stay where he was; but, before the orders reached Boston, the Constitution was far away.
Constitution and Guerrière,
1812.
Reasons for the victory.
264. Constitution and Guerrière, 1812.--For some time Hull cruised about in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. One day he sighted a British frigate--the Guerrière--one of the ships that had chased the Constitution. But now that Hull found her alone, he steered straight for her. In thirty minutes from the firing of the first gun the Guerrière was a ruinous wreck. All of her masts and spars were shot away and most of her crew were killed or wounded. The Constitution was only slightly injured, and was soon ready to fight another British frigate, had there been one to fight. Indeed, the surgeons of the Constitution went on board of the Guerrière to help dress the wounds of the British seamen. The Guerrière was a little smaller than the Constitution and had smaller guns. But the real reason for this great victory was that the American ship and the American guns were very much better handled than were the British ship and the British guns.
Wasp and the Frolic.
Effect of these victories.
265. The Wasp and the Frolic, 1812.--At almost the same time the American ship Wasp captured the British brig Frolic. The Wasp had three masts, and the Frolic had only two masts. But the two vessels were really of about the same size, as the American ship was only five feet longer than her enemy, and had the lighter guns. In a few minutes after the beginning of the fight the Frolic was a shattered hulk, with only one sound man on her deck. Soon after the conflict a British battleship came up and captured both the Wasp and her prize. The effect of these victories of the Constitution and the Wasp was tremendous. Before the war British naval officers had called the Constitution "a bundle of sticks." Now it was thought to be no longer safe for British frigates to sail the seas alone. They must go in pairs to protect each other from "Old Ironsides." Before long the Constitution, now commanded by Captain Bainbridge, had captured the British frigate Java, and the frigate United States, Captain Decatur, had taken the British ship Macedonian. On the other hand, the Chesapeake was captured by the Shannon. This victory gave great satisfaction to the British. But Captain Lawrence's last words, "Don't give up the ship," have always been a glorious inspiration to American sailors.
[Illustration]
Plan of campaign, 1814.
Battle of Lundy's Lane, 1814.
266. Brown's Invasion of Canada, 1814.--In the first two years of the war the American armies in New York had done nothing. But abler men were now in command. Of these, General Jacob Brown, General Macomb, Colonel Winfield Scott, and Colonel Ripley deserve to be remembered. The American plan of campaign was that Brown, with Scott and Ripley, should cross the Niagara River and invade Canada. General Macomb, with a naval force under McDonough, was to hold the line of Lake Champlain. The British plan was to invade New York by way of Lake Champlain. Brown crossed the Niagara River and fought two brilliant battles at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. The latter battle was especially glorious because the Americans captured British guns and held them against repeated attacks by British veterans. In the end, however, Brown was obliged to retire.
Invasion of New York.
Battle of Plattsburg, 1814.
267. McDonough's Victory at Plattsburg, 1814.--General Prevost, with a fine army of veterans, marched southward from Canada, while a fleet sailed up Lake Champlain. At Plattsburg, on the western side of the lake, was General Macomb with a force of American soldiers. Anchored before the town was McDonough's fleet. Prevost attacked Macomb's army and was driven back. The British fleet attacked McDonough's vessels and was destroyed. That put an end to Prevost's invasion. He retreated back to Canada as fast as he could go.
[Illustration: FORT McHENRY.]
Burning of Washington, 1814.
"The Star-Spangled Banner."
268. The British in the Chesapeake, 1814.--Besides their operations on the Canadian frontier, the British tried to capture New Orleans and the cities on Chesapeake Bay. The British landed below Washington. They marched to the capital. They entered Washington. They burned the Capitol, the White House, and several other public buildings. They then hurried away, leaving their wounded behind them. Later on the British attacked Baltimore and were beaten off with great loss. It was at this time that Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner." He was detained on board one of the British warships during the fight. Eagerly he watched through the smoke for a glimpse of the flag over Fort McHenry at the harbor's mouth. In the morning the flag was still there. This defeat closed the British operations on the Chesapeake.
[Illustration: FLAG OF FORT McHENRY. Fifteen stars and fifteen stripes--one of each for each state.]
Jackson's Creek campaign, 1814.
269. The Creek War.--The Creek Indians lived in Alabama. They saw with dismay the spreading settlements of the whites. The Americans were now at war. It would be a good chance to destroy them. So the Creeks fell upon the whites and murdered about four hundred. General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee commanded the American army in the Southwest. As soon as he knew that the Creeks were attacking the settlers, he gathered soldiers and followed the Indians to their stronghold. He stormed their fort and killed most of the garrison.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. From a sketch by one of Jackson's staff.]
Battle of New Orleans, 1815.
Hero Tales, 139-147.
270. Jackson's Defense of New Orleans, 1814-15.--Jackson had scarcely finished this work when he learned of the coming of a great British expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi River. He at once hastened to the defense of New Orleans. Below the city the country greatly favored the defender. For there was very little solid ground except along the river's bank. Picking out an especially narrow place, Jackson built a breastwork of cotton bales and rubbish. In front of the breastwork he dug a deep ditch. The British rushed to the attack. Most of their generals were killed or wounded, and the slaughter was terrible. Later, they made another attack and were again beaten off.
Naval combats, 1814.
271. The War on the Sea, 1814.--It was only in the first year or so of the war that there was much fighting between American and British warships. After that the American ships could not get to sea, for the British stationed whole fleets off the entrances to the principal harbors. But a few American vessels ran the blockade and did good service. For instance, Captain Charles Stewart in the Constitution captured two British ships at one time. But most of the warships that got to sea were captured sooner or later.
The privateers. Hero Tales, 129-136.
272. The Privateers.--No British fleets could keep the privateers from leaving port. They swarmed upon the ocean and captured hundreds of British merchantmen, some of them within sight of the shores of Great Britain. In all, they captured more than twenty-five hundred British ships. They even fought the smaller warships of the enemy.
Treaty of peace, 1814.
273. Treaty of Ghent, 1814.--The war had hardly begun before commissioners to treat for peace were appointed by both the United States and Great Britain. But they did nothing until the failure of the 1814 campaign showed the British government that there was no hope of conquering any portion of the United States. Then the British were ready enough to make peace, and a treaty was signed at Ghent in December, 1814. This was two weeks before the British disaster at New Orleans occurred, and months before the news of it reached Europe. None of the things about which the war was fought were even mentioned in the treaty. But this did not really make much difference. For the British had repealed their orders as to American ships before the news of the declaration of war reached London. As for impressment, the guns of the Constitution had put an end to that.
[Illustration: THE OLD STATE HOUSE. Where the Hartford Convention met.]
New England Federalists.
Hartford Convention, 1814.
274. The Hartford Convention, 1814.--While the New commissioners were talking over the treaty of peace, other debaters were discussing the war, at Hartford, Connecticut. These were leading New England Federalists. They thought that the government at Washington had done many things that the Constitution of the United States did not permit it to do. They drew up a set of resolutions. Some of these read like those other resolutions drawn up by Jefferson and Madison in 1798 (p. 175). The Hartford debaters also thought that the national government had not done enough to protect the coasts of New England from British attacks. They proposed, therefore, that the taxes collected by the national government in New England should be handed over to the New England states to use for their defense. Commissioners were actually at Washington to propose this division of the national revenue when news came of Jackson's victory at New Orleans and of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The commissioners hastened home and the Republican party regained its popularity with the voters.
[Illustration: A REPUBLICAN SQUIB ON THE HARTFORD CONVENTION.]
Gains of the war.
The American nation.
275. Gains of the War.--The United States gained no territory after all this fighting on sea and land. It did not even gain the abolition of impressment in so many words. But what was of far greater importance, the American people began to think of itself as a nation. Americans no longer looked to France or to England as models to be followed. They became Americans. The getting of this feeling of independence and of nationality was a very great step forward. It is right, therefore, to speak of this war as the Second War of Independence.
[Illustration: JAMES MONROE.]
Monroe elected President, 1816, 1820.
Characteristics of the Era of Good Feeling. McMaster,
260.
276. The Era as a Whole.--The years 1815-24 have been called the Era of Good Feeling, because there was no hard political fighting in all that time--at least not until the last year or two. In 1816 Monroe was elected President without much opposition. In 1820 he was reëlected President without any opposition whatever. Instead of fighting over politics, the people were busily employed in bringing vast regions of the West under cultivation and in founding great manufacturing industries in the East. They were also making roads and canals to connect the Western farms with the Eastern cities and factories. The later part of the era was a time of unbounded prosperity. Every now and then some hard question would come up for discussion. Its settlement would be put off, or the matter would be compromised. In these years the Federalist party disappeared, and the Republican party split into factions. By 1824 the differences in the Republican party had become so great that there was a sudden ending to the Era of Good Feeling.
Hard times, 1816-18.
Emigration to the West, 1816-18. McMaster, 241, 266-273.
Four states admitted, 1816-1819.
Maine and Missouri apply for admission.
277. Western Emigration.--During the first few years of this period the people of the older states on the seacoast felt very poor. The shipowners could no longer make great profits. For there was now peace in Europe, and European vessels competed with American vessels. Great quantities of British goods were sent to the United States and were sold at very low prices. The demand for American goods fell off. Mill owners closed their mills. Working men and women could find no work to do. The result was a great rush of emigrants from the older states on the seaboard to the new settlements in the West. In the West the emigrants could buy land from the government at a very low rate, and by working hard could support themselves and their families. This westward movement was at its height in 1817. In the years 1816--19, four states were admitted to the Union. These were Indiana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), and Alabama (1819). Some of the emigrants even crossed the Mississippi River and settled in Missouri and in Arkansas. In 1819 they asked to be admitted to the Union as the state of Missouri, or given a territorial government under the name of Arkansas. The people of Maine also asked Congress to admit them to the Union as the state of Maine.
Objections to the admission of Missouri.
278. Opposition to the Admission of Missouri.--Many people in the North opposed the admission of Missouri because the settlers of the proposed state were slaveholders. Missouri would be a slave state, and these Northerners did not want any more slave states. Originally slavery had existed in all the old thirteen states. But every state north of Maryland had before 1819 either put an end to slavery or had adopted some plan by which slavery would gradually come to an end. Slavery had been excluded from the Northwest by the famous Ordinance of 1787 (p. 135). In these ways slavery had ceased to be a vital institution north of Maryland and Kentucky. Why should slavery be allowed west of the Mississippi River? Louisiana had been admitted as a slave state (1812). But the admission of Louisiana had been provided for in the treaty for the purchase of Louisiana from France. The Southerners felt as strongly on the other side. They said that their slaves were their property, and that they had a perfect right to take their property and settle on the land belonging to the nation. Having founded a slave state, it was only right that the state should be admitted to the Union.
[Illustration: (Map) Missouri Compromise of 1820]
This Missouri Compromise, 1820. Higginson,
254-256; Eggleston, 258-261.
Both states admitted, 1820. McMaster,274-276.
279. The Missouri Compromise, 1820.--When the question of the admission of Maine and Missouri came before Congress, the Senate was equally divided between the slave states and the free states. But the majority of the House of Representatives was from the free states. The free states were growing faster than were the slave states and would probably keep on growing faster. The majority from the free states in the House, therefore, would probably keep on increasing. If the free states obtained a majority in the Senate also, the Southerners would lose all control of the government. For these reasons the Southerners would not consent to the admission of Maine as a free state unless at the same time Missouri was admitted as a slave state. After a long struggle Maine and Missouri were both admitted--the one as a free state, the other as a slave state. But it was also agreed that all of the Louisiana purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri, with the single exception of the state of Missouri, should be free soil forever. This arrangement was called the Missouri Compromise. It was the work of Henry Clay. It was an event of great importance, because it put off for twenty-five years the inevitable conflict over slavery.
THE UNITED STATES IN 1819
Reasons for the purchase of Florida.
Jackson invades Florida, 1818.
The Florida purchase, 1819.
280. The Florida Treaty, 1819.--While this contest was going on, the United States bought of Spain a large tract of land admirably suited to negro slavery. This was Florida. It belonged to Spain and was a refuge for all sorts of people: runaway negroes, fugitive Indians, smugglers, and criminals of all kinds. Once in Florida, fugitives generally were safe. But they were not always safe. For instance, in 1818 General Jackson chased some fleeing Indians over the boundary. They sought refuge in a Spanish fort, and Jackson was obliged to take the fort as well as the Indians. This exploit made the Spaniards more willing to sell Florida. The price was five million dollars. But when it came to giving up the province, the Spaniards found great difficulty in keeping their promises. The treaty was made in 1819, but it was not until 1821 that Jackson, as governor of Florida, took possession of the new territory. Even then the Spanish governor refused to hand over the record books, and Jackson had to shut him up in prison until he became more reasonable.
[Illustration: OLD HOUSES, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA.]
Formation of the Holy Alliance.
It interferes in Spanish affairs.
The Spanish Americans colonists rebel against Spain.
Russian attempts at colonization.
281. The "Holy Alliance."--Most of the people of the other Spanish colonies were rebelling against Spain, and there was a rebellion in Spain itself. There were rebellions in other European countries as well as in Spain. In fact, there seemed to be a rebellious spirit nearly everywhere. This alarmed the European emperors and kings. With the exception of the British king, they joined together to put down rebellions. They called their union the Holy Alliance. They soon put the Spanish king back on his throne. They then thought that they would send warships and soldiers across the Atlantic Ocean to crush the rebellions in the Spanish colonies. Now the people of the United States sympathized with the Spanish colonists in their desire for independence. They also disliked the idea of Europeans interfering in American affairs. "America for Americans," was the cry. It also happened that Englishmen desired the freedom of the Spanish colonists. As her subjects Spain would not let them buy English goods. But if they were free, they could buy goods wherever they pleased. The British government therefore proposed that the United States and Great Britain should join in a declaration that the Spanish colonies were independent states. John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, was Monroe's Secretary of State. He thought that this would not be a wise course to follow, because it might bring American affairs within European control. He was all the more anxious to prevent this entanglement, as the Czar of Russia was preparing to found colonies on the western coast of North America and Adams wanted a free hand to deal with him.
The Monroe Doctrine, 1822. McMaster,
262-265.
Action of Great Britain. End of European interference in
America.
282. The Monroe Doctrine, 1823.--It was under these circumstances that President Monroe sent a message to Congress. In it he stated the policy of the United States as follows: (1) America is closed to colonization by any European power; (2) the United States have not interfered and will not interfere in European affairs; (3) the United States regard the extension of the system of the Holy Alliance to America as dangerous to the United States; and (4) the United States would regard the interference of the Holy Alliance in American affairs as an "unfriendly act." This part of the message was written by Adams. He had had a long experience in diplomacy. He used the words "unfriendly act" as diplomatists use them when they mean that such an "unfriendly act" would be a cause for war. The British government also informed the Holy Allies that their interference in American affairs would be resented. The Holy Alliance gave over all idea of crushing the Spanish colonists. And the Czar of Russia agreed to found no colonies south of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes north latitude.
Meaning of the Monroe Doctrine.
283. Meaning of the Monroe Doctrine.--The ideas contained in Monroe's celebrated message to Congress are always spoken of as the Monroe Doctrine. Most of these ideas were not invented by Monroe or by Adams. Many of them may be found in Washington's Neutrality Proclamation, in Washington's Farewell Address, in Jefferson's Inaugural Address, and in other documents. What was new in Monroe's message was the statement that European interference in American affairs would be looked upon by the United States as an "unfriendly act," leading to war. European kings might crush out liberty in Europe. They might divide Asia and Africa among themselves. They must not interfere in American affairs.
End of Monroe's administrations.
284. End of the Era of Good Feeling.--The Era of Good Feeling came to a sudden ending in 1824. Monroe's second term as President would end in 1825. He refused to be a candidate for reëlection. In thus following the example set by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, Monroe confirmed the custom of limiting the presidential term to eight years. There was no lack of candidates to succeed him in his high office.
J.Q. Adams
285. John Quincy Adams.--First and foremost was John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts. He was Monroe's Secretary of State, and this office had been a kind of stepping-stone to the presidency. Monroe had been Madison's Secretary of State; Madison had been Jefferson's Secretary of State; and Jefferson had been Washington's Secretary of State, although he was Vice-President when he was chosen to the first place. John Quincy Adams was a statesman of great experience and of ability. He was a man of the highest honor and intelligence. He was nominated by the legislatures of Massachusetts and of the other New England states.
[Illustration: John C. Calhoun.]
W.H. Crawford.
Tenure of Office Act.
The Crawford machine.
286. William H. Crawford.--Besides Adams, two other members of Monroe's cabinet wished to succeed their chief. These were John C. Calhoun and William H. Crawford. Calhoun soon withdrew from the contest to accept the nomination of all the factions to the place of Vice-President. Crawford was from Georgia and was Secretary of the Treasury. As the head of that great department, he controlled more appointments than all the other members of the cabinet put together. The habit of using public offices to reward political friends had begun in Pennsylvania. Washington, in his second term, Adams, and Jefferson had appointed to office only members of their own party. Jefferson had also removed from office a few political opponents (p. 187). But there were great difficulties in the way of making removals. Crawford hit upon the plan of appointing officers for four years only. Congress at once fell in with the idea and passed the Tenure of Office Act, limiting appointments to four years. Crawford promptly used this new power to build up a strong political machine in the Treasury Department, devoted to his personal advancement. He was nominated for the presidency by a Congressional caucus and became the "regular" candidate.
Henry Clay.
Andrew Jackson.
287. Clay and Jackson.--Two men outside of the cabinet were also put forward for Monroe's high office. These were Andrew Jackson of Tennessee and Henry Clay of Kentucky. Clay and Calhoun had entered politics at about the same time. They had then believed in the same policy. Calhoun had abandoned his early ideas. But Clay held fast to the policy of "nationalization." He still favored internal improvements at the national expense. He still favored the protective system. He was the great "peacemaker" and tried by means of compromises to unite all parts of the Union (p. 222). He loved his country and had unbounded faith in the American people. The legislatures of Kentucky and other states nominated him for the presidency. The strongest man of all the candidates was Andrew Jackson, the "Hero of New Orleans." He had never been prominent in politics. But his warlike deeds had made his name and his strength familiar to the voters, especially to those of the West. He was a man of the people, as none of his rivals were. He stood for democracy and the Union. The legislatures of Tennessee and other states nominated Jackson for the presidency.
The election of 1824.
It goes to the House of Representatives.
The House chooses Adams.
288. Adams chosen President, 1824.--The election was held. The presidential electors met in their several states and cast their votes for President and Vice-President. The ballots were brought to Washington and were counted. No candidate for the presidency had received a majority of all the votes cast. Jackson had more votes than any other candidate, next came Adams, then Crawford, and last of all Clay. The House of Representatives, voting by states, must choose one of the first three President. Clay, therefore, was out of the race. Clay and his friends believed in the same things that Adams and his friends believed in, and had slight sympathy with the views of Jackson or of Crawford. So they joined the Adams men and chose Adams President. The Jackson men were furious. They declared that the Representatives had defeated the "will of the people."
[Illustration: JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.]
Adams appoints Clay Secretary of State.
Charges of a bargain.
Weakness of Adams's administration.
289. Misfortunes of Adams's Administration.--Adams's first mistake was the appointment of Clay as Secretary of State. It was a mistake, because it gave the Jackson men a chance to assert that there had been a "deal" between Adams and Clay. They called Clay the "Judas of the West." They said that the "will of the people" had been defeated by a "corrupt bargain." These charges were repeated over and over again until many people really began to think that there must be some reason for them. The Jackson men also most unjustly accused Adams of stealing the nation's money. The British government seized the opportunity of Adams's weak administration to close the West India ports to American shipping.
Early tariff laws.
The tariff of 1816.
Tariff of 1824.
290. Early Tariffs.--Ever since 1789 manufactures had been protected (p. 155). The first tariff rates were very low. But the Embargo Act, the non-intercourse law, and the War of 1812 put an end to the importation of foreign goods. Capitalists invested large amounts of money in cotton mills, woolen mills, and iron mills. With the return of peace in 1815, British merchants flooded the American markets with cheap goods (p. 220). The manufacturers appealed to Congress for more protection, and Congress promptly passed a new tariff act (1816). This increased the duties over the earlier laws. But it did not give the manufacturers all the protection that they desired. In 1824 another law was drawn up. It raised the duties still higher. The Southerners opposed the passage of this last law. For they clearly saw that protection did them no good. But the Northerners and the Westerners were heartily in favor of the increased duties, and the law was passed.
Agitation for more protection, 1828.
Scheme of the Jackson men.
Tariff of 1828.
291. The Tariff of Abominations, 1828.--In 1828 another presidential election was to be held. The manufacturers thought that this would be a good time to ask for even higher protective duties, because the politicians would not dare to oppose the passage of the law for fear of losing votes. The Jackson men hit upon a plan by which they would seem to favor higher duties while at the same time they were really opposing them. They therefore proposed high duties on manufactured goods. This would please the Northern manufacturers. They proposed high duties on raw materials. This would please the Western producers. But they thought that the manufacturers would oppose the final passage of the bill because the high duties on raw materials would injure them very much. The bill would fail to pass, and this would please the Southern cotton growers. It was a very shrewd little plan. But it did not work. The manufacturers thought that it would be well at all events to have the high duties on manufactured goods--perhaps they might before long secure the repeal of the duties on raw materials. The Northern members of Congress voted for the bill, and it passed.
Election of 1828.
Jackson elected President. McMaster, 301.
292. Jackson elected President, 1828.--In the midst of all this discouragement as to foreign affairs and this contest over the tariff, the presidential campaign of 1828 was held. Adams and Jackson were the only two candidates. Jackson was elected by a large majority of electoral votes. But Adams received only one vote less than he had received in 1824. The contest was very close in the two large states of Pennsylvania and New York. Had a few thousand more voters in those states cast their votes for Adams, the electoral votes of those states would have been given to him, and he would have been elected. It was fortunate that Jackson was chosen. For a great contest between the states and the national government was coming on. It was well that a man of Jackson's commanding strength and great popularity should be at the head of the government.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 25
§§ 260-262.--a. Explain by a map the American plan of campaign and show its advantages and disadvantages.
b. Describe Perry's victory. How did this turn the scale of war?
§§ 263-265.--a. Describe the escape of the Constitution from the British fleet. Describe the destruction of the Guerrière and of the Frolic. What was the reason for the American successes?
b. Why was the effect of these victories so great?
c. Why did the capture of the Chesapeake cause so much delight in England? Why are Lawrence's words so inspiring?
§§ 266, 267.--a. Compare the second plan for the invasion of Canada with the earlier one.
b. Discuss the events of Brown's campaign and its results.
c. Compare Prevost's campaign with Burgoyne's. Why was it unsuccessful?
d. What do Perry's and McDonough's victories show?
§§ 268.--a. Why were the British attacks directed against these three portions of the country?
b. Describe the attack on Washington. Was the burning of the public buildings justifiable?
c. Read the "Star-Spangled Banner" and explain the allusions.
§§ 269, 270.--a. Describe Jackson's plans for the defense of New Orleans. Why were they so successful?
b. Why did not this success of the Americans have more effect on the peace negotiations?
§§ 271, 272.--a. Why were most of the naval conflicts during the first year of the war? What is a blockade? What is a privateer?
b. What work did the privateers do?
§ 273.--a. Why was so little advance made at first toward a treaty of peace?
b. Why was the news of the treaty so long in reaching Washington?
c. What was settled by the war?
§ 274.--a. Were the Federalists or the Republicans more truly the national party?
b. What propositions were made by the Hartford Convention? If such proposals were carried out, what would be the effect on the Union?
c. Compare the principles underneath these resolutions with those of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.
§275.--a. Note carefully the effect of this war.
b. Why is it called the Second War of Independence?
CHAPTER 26
§§ 276, 277.--a. What is meant by the Era of Good Feeling? Is this period more important or less important than the period of war which preceded it? Why?
b. What matters occupied the attention of the people?
c. What shows the sudden increase in Western migration?
§§ 278, 279.--a. State carefully the objections to the admission of Missouri on the part of the Northerners. Why did the Southerners object to the admission of Maine?
b. Trace on a map the line between the free states and the slave states. Why was slavery no longer of importance north of this line? Why was it important south of this line?
c. Why were the free states gaining faster than the slave states?
d. Explain the Missouri Compromise. How did the Compromise postpone the conflict over slavery?
§ 280.--a. Why was Florida a danger to the United States?
b. What people in the United States would welcome the purchase of Florida?
c. What does this section show you as to Jackson's character?
§ 281.--a. Why was the Holy Alliance formed? What did the allies propose as to America?
b. How was this proposal regarded by Americans? Why?
c. How was it regarded by Englishmen? Why?
§§ 282, 283.--a. Explain carefully the four points of Monroe's message.
b. Were these ideas new? What is an "unfriendly act"?
c. What action did Great Britain take? What was the result of the declarations of the United States and Great Britain.
d. What was the new point in Monroe's message?
e. Do we still keep to the Monroe Doctrine in all respects?
CHAPTER 27
§§ 284-288.--a. Who were the candidates for President in 1824? Describe the qualities and careers of each of them. For whom would you have voted had you had the right to vote in 1824?
b. How were these candidates nominated? What is a caucus?
c. Describe the Tenure of Office Act. Should a man be given an office simply because he has helped his party?
d. In what respects was Jackson unlike the early Presidents?
e. What was the result of the election? Who was finally chosen? Why? If you had been a Representative in 1824, for whom would you have voted? Why?
f. What is a majority? A plurality?
§ 289.--a. Why was the appointment of Clay a mistake?
b. What charges were made against Adams?
c. Describe the misfortunes of Adams's administration.
§§ 290, 291.--a. How are manufactures protected?
b. Why were the protective tariffs of no benefit to the Southerners?
c. Why was an attempt for a higher tariff made in 1828?
d. Explain the plan of the Jackson men. Why did the plan fail?
§ 292.--a. Describe the election of 1828.
b. How was Jackson fitted to meet difficulties?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Why was the navy better prepared for war than the army?
b. Why did slaveholders feel the need of more slave territory in the Union?
c. Jackson has been called "a man of the people." Explain this title.
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. Early life of Andrew Jackson (to 1828).
b. A battle of the War of 1812, e.g. Lake Erie, Lundy's Lane, Plattsburg, New Orleans, or a naval combat.
c. The frigate Constitution.
d. The career of Clay, of Calhoun, of J.Q. Adams, or of Monroe.
SUGGESTIONS
The results of the War of 1812 should be carefully studied and compared with the proposals of the Hartford Convention. These last can be taught by comparison with the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.
To the Missouri Compromise much time and careful explanation should be given. Touch upon the economic side of slavery, and explain how the continued supremacy of the slave power was threatened.
The Monroe Doctrine is another difficult topic; but it can be explained by recent history.
The election of 1824 can be carefully employed to elucidate the mode of electing President, and the struggle over the tariffs can be illustrated by recent tariff contests.
[Illustration: FLAG ADOPTED IN 1818. A star for each state and a stripe for each of the original states.]
UNITED STATES IN 1830.
References.--Scribner's Popular History, IV; Lodge's Webster; Coffin's Building the Nation, 251-313.
Home Readings.--Roosevelt's Winning of the West; Hale's Stories of Inventions; Wright's Stories of American Progress.
Changes in conditions.]
293. A New Race.--Between the election of President Jefferson and the election of President Jackson great changes had taken place. The old Revolutionary statesmen had gone. New men had taken their places. The old sleepy life had gone. Everywhere now was bustle and hurry. In 1800 the Federalists favored the British, and the Republicans favored the French. Now no one seemed to care for either the British or the French. At last the people had become Americans. The Federalist party had disappeared. Every one now was either a National Republican and voted for Adams, or a Democratic Republican and voted for Jackson.
Population, 1830.
Area, 1830.
Growth of the cities.
Settlement of the West.
294. Numbers and Area.--In 1800 there were only five and one-half million people in the whole United States. Now there were nearly thirteen million people. And they had a very much larger country to live in. In 1800 the area of the United States was about eight hundred thousand square miles. But Louisiana and Florida had been bought since then. Now (1830) the area of the United States was about two million square miles. The population of the old states had greatly increased. Especially the cities had grown. In 1800 New York City held about sixty thousand people; it now held two hundred thousand people. But it was in the West that the greatest growth had taken place. Since 1800 Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri had all been admitted to the Union.
Difficulties of transport over the Alleghanies.
McMaster, 252, 280-282.
The Cumberland Road.
295. National Roads.--Steamboats were now running on the Great Lakes and on all the important rivers of the West. The first result of this new mode of transport was the separation of the West from the East. Steamboats could carry passengers and goods up and down the Mississippi and its branches more cheaply and more comfortably than people and goods could be carried over the Alleghanies. Many persons therefore advised the building of a good wagon road to connect the Potomac with the Ohio. The eastern end of this great road was at Cumberland on the Potomac in Maryland. It is generally called, therefore, the Cumberland Road. It was begun at the national expense in 1811. By 1820 the road was built as far as Wheeling on the Ohio River. From that point steamboats could steam to Pittsburg, Cincinnati, St. Louis, or New Orleans. Later on, the road was built farther west, as far as Illinois. Then the coming of the railroad made further building unnecessary.
The Erie Canal, 1825. McMaster, 282-284.
De Witt Clinton.
Results of the building of the Erie Canal.
296. The Erie Canal.--The best way to connect one steamboat route with another was to dig a canal. The most famous of all these canals was the one connecting the Hudson River with Lake Erie, and called the Erie Canal. It was begun in 1817 and was completed so that a boat could pass through it in 1825. It was De Witt Clinton who argued that such a canal would benefit New York City by bringing to it the produce of the Northwest and of western New York. At the same time it would benefit the farmers of those regions by bringing their produce to tide water cheaper than it could be brought by road through Pennsylvania. It would still further benefit the farmers by enabling them to buy their goods much cheaper, as the rates of freight would be so much lower by canal than they were by road. People who did not see these things as clearly as De Witt Clinton saw them, spoke of the enterprise most sneeringly and called the canal "Clinton's big ditch." It very soon appeared that Clinton was right. In one year the cost of carrying a ton of grain from Lake Erie to the Hudson River fell from one hundred dollars to fifteen dollars. New York City soon outstripped all its rivals and became the center of trade and money in the United States. Other canals, as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, were marvels of skill. But they were not so favorably situated as the Erie Canal and could not compete with it successfully.
[Illustration: CONESTOGA WAGON AND TEAM.]
The first railroads. McMaster, 285-289.
297. Early Railroads.--The best stone and gravel roads were always rough in places. It occurred to some one that it would be better to lay down wooden rails, and then to place a rim or flange on the wagon wheels to keep them on the rails. The first road of this kind in America was built at Boston in 1807. It was a very rude affair and was only used to carry dirt from the top of a hill to the harbor. The wooden rails soon wore out, so the next step was to nail strips of iron on top of them. Long lines of railroads of this kind were soon built. Both passengers and goods could be carried on them. Some of them were built by private persons or by companies. Others were built by a town or a state. Any one having horses and wagons with flanged wheels could use the railway on the payment of a small sum of money. This was the condition of affairs when the steam locomotive was invented.
AN EARLY LOCOMOTIVE.
Invention of the locomotive, 1830.
Hardships of early railroad travel.
298. The Steam Locomotive.--Steam was used to drive boats through the water. Why should not steam be used to haul wagons over a railroad? This was a very easy question to ask, and a very hard one to answer. Year after year inventors worked on the problem. Suddenly, about 1830, it was solved in several places and by several men at nearly the same time. It was some years, however, before the locomotive came into general use. The early railroad trains were rude affairs. The cars were hardly more than stagecoaches with flanged wheels. They were fastened together with chains, and when the engine started or stopped, there was a terrible bumping and jolting. The smoke pipe of the engine was very tall and was hinged so that it could be let down when coming to a low bridge or a tunnel. Then the smoke and cinders poured straight into the passengers' faces. But these trains went faster than canal boats or steamboats. Soon the railroad began to take the first place as a means of transport.
A LOCOMOTIVE OF TO-DAY.
Use of hard coal.
Growth of the cities.
299. Other Inventions.--The coming of the steam locomotive hastened the changes which one saw on every side in 1830. For some time men had known that there was plenty of hard coal or anthracite in Pennsylvania. But it was so hard that it would not burn in the old-fashioned stoves and fireplaces. Now a stove was invented that would burn anthracite, and the whole matter of house warming was completely changed. Then means were found to make iron from ore with anthracite. The whole iron industry awoke to new life. Next the use of gas made from coal became common in cities. The great increase in manufacturing, and the great changes in modes of transport, led people to crowd together in cities and towns. These inventions made it possible to feed and warm large numbers of persons gathered into small areas. The cities began to grow so fast that people could no longer live near their work or the shops. Lines of stagecoaches were established, and the coaches were soon followed by horse cars, which ran on iron tracks laid in the streets.
AN EARLY HORSE CAR.
Growth of the school system.
Dictionary."
American men of letters.
American men of science.
300. Progress in Letters.--There was also great progress in learning. The school system was constantly improved. Especially was this the case in the West, where the government devoted one thirty-sixth part of the public lands to education. High schools were founded, and soon normal schools were added to them. Even the colleges awoke from their long sleep. More students went to them, and the methods of teaching were improved. Some slight attention, too, was given to teaching the sciences. In 1828 Noah Webster published the first edition of his great dictionary. Unfortunately he tried to change the spelling of many words. But in other ways his dictionary was a great improvement. He defined words so that they could be understood, and he gave the American meaning of many words, as "congress." American writers now began to make great reputations. Cooper, Irving, and Bryant were already well known. They were soon joined by a wonderful set of men, who speedily made America famous. These were Emerson, Lowell, Longfellow, Holmes, Hawthorne, Prescott, Motley, Bancroft, and Sparks. In science, also, men of mark were beginning their labors, as Pierce, Gray, Silliman, and Dana. Louis Agassiz before long began his wonderful lectures, which did much to make science popular. In short, Jackson's administration marks the time when American life began to take on its modern form.
[Illustration: NOAH WEBSTER.]
Jackson's early career.
His "kitchen cabinet".
301. General Jackson.--Born in the backwoods of Carolina, Jackson had early crossed the Alleghanies and settled in Tennessee. Whenever trouble came to the Western people, whenever there was need of a stout heart and an iron will, Jackson was at the front. He always did his duty. He always did his duty well. Honest and sincere, he believed in himself and he believed in the American people. As President he led the people in one of the stormiest periods in our history. Able men gathered about him. But he relied chiefly on the advice of a few friends who smoked their pipes with him and formed his "kitchen cabinet." He seldom called a regular cabinet meeting. When he did call one, it was often merely to tell the members what he had decided to do.
Party machines.
The Spoils System.
302. The Spoils System.--Among the able men who had fought the election for Jackson were Van Buren and Marcy of New York and Buchanan of Pennsylvania. They had built up strong party machines in their states. For they "saw nothing wrong in the principle that to the victors belong the spoils of victory." So they rewarded their party workers with offices--when they won. The Spoils System was now begun in the national government. Those who had worked for Jackson rushed to Washington. The hotels and boarding-houses could not hold them. Some of them camped out in the parks and public squares of the capital. Removals now went merrily on. Rotation in office was the cry. Before long Jackson removed nearly one thousand officeholders and appointed political partisans in their places.
The North and the South. McMaster, 301-304.
303. The North and the South.--The South was now a great cotton-producing region. This cotton was grown by negro slaves. The North was now a great manufacturing and commercial region. It was also a great agricultural region. But the labor in the mills, fields, and ships of the North was all free white labor. So the United States was really split into two sections: one devoted to slavery and to a few great staples, as cotton; the other devoted to free white labor and to industries of many kinds.
The South and the tariff, 1829.
Calhoun's "Exposition."
304. The Political Situation, 1829.--The South was growing richer all the time; but the North was growing richer a great deal faster than was the South. Calhoun and other Southern men thought that this difference in the rate of progress was due to the protective system. In 1828 Congress had passed a tariff that was so bad that it was called the Tariff of Abominations (p. 231). The Southerners could not prevent its passage. But Calhoun wrote an "Exposition" of the constitutional doctrines in the case. This paper was adopted by the legislature of South Carolina as giving its ideas. In this paper Calhoun declared that the Constitution of the United States was a compact. Each state was a sovereign state and could annul any law passed by Congress. The protective system was unjust and unequal in operation. It would bring "poverty and utter desolation to the South." The tariff act should be annulled by South Carolina and by other Southern states.
[Illustration: DANIEL WEBSTER, 1833.]
Hayne's speech, 1830.
Webster's reply to Hayne.
305. Webster and Hayne, 1830.--Calhoun was Vice-President and presided over the debates of the Senate. So it fell to Senator Hayne of South Carolina to state Calhoun's ideas. This he did in a very able speech. To him Daniel Webster of Massachusetts replied in the most brilliant speeches ever delivered in Congress. The Constitution, Webster declared, was "the people's constitution, the people's government; made by the people and answerable to the people. The people have declared that this constitution ... shall be the supreme law." The Supreme Court of the United States alone could declare a national law to be unconstitutional; no state could do that. He ended this great speech with the memorable words, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable."
Tariff of 1832.
"Nullified" by South Carolina, 1833.
Jackson's warning.
He prepares to enforce the law.
The Force Bill, 1833.
306. Nullification, 1832-33.--In 1832 Congress passed a new tariff act. The South Carolinians decided to try Calhoun's weapon of nullification. They held a convention, declared the act null and void, and forbade South Carolinians to obey the law. They probably thought that Jackson would not oppose them. But they should have had no doubts on that subject. For Jackson already had proposed his famous toast on Jefferson's birthday, "Our federal Union, it must be preserved." He now told the Carolinians that he would enforce the laws, and he set about doing it with all his old-time energy. He sent ships and soldiers to Charleston and ordered the collector of that port to collect the duties. He then asked Congress to give him greater power. And Congress passed the Force Bill, giving him the power he asked for. The South Carolinians, on their part, suspended the nullification ordinance and thus avoided an armed conflict with "Old Hickory," as his admirers called Jackson.
Tariff of 1833.
307. The Compromise Tariff, 1833.--The nullifiers really gained a part of the battle, for the tariff law of 1832 was repealed. In its place Congress passed what was called the Compromise Tariff. This compromise was the work of Henry Clay, the peacemaker. Under it the duties were to be gradually lowered until, in 1842, they would be as low as they were by the Tariff Act of 1816 (p. 231).
Second United States Bank, 1816.
Jackson's dislike of the bank.
308. The Second United States Bank.--Nowadays any one with enough money can open a national bank under the protection of the government at Washington. At this time, however, there was one great United States Bank. Its headquarters were at Philadelphia and it had branches all over the country. Jackson, like Jefferson (p. 163), had very grave doubts as to the power of the national government to establish such a bank. Its size and its prosperity alarmed him. Moreover, the stockholders and managers, for the most part, were his political opponents. The United States Bank also interfered seriously with the operations of the state banks--some of which were managed by Jackson's friends. The latter urged him on to destroy the United States Bank, and he determined to destroy it.
Jackson, Clay, and the bank charter.
Constitution, Art. I, sec. 7, par. 3.
Reëlection of Jackson, 1832.
309. Struggle over the Bank Charter.--The charter of the bank would not come to an end until 1836, while the term for which Jackson had been elected in 1828 would come to an end in 1833. But in his first message to Congress Jackson gave notice that he would not give his consent to a new charter. Clay and his friends at once took up the challenge. They passed a bill rechartering the bank. Jackson vetoed the bill. The Clay men could not get enough votes to pass it over his veto. The bank question, therefore, became one of the issues of the election of 1832. Jackson was reflected by a large majority over Clay.
The people were clearly on his side, and he at once set to work to destroy the bank.
The bank and the government.
Removal of the deposits, 1833. McMaster, 305-308.
310. Removal of the Deposits.--In those days there was no United States Treasury building at Washington, with great vaults for the storing of gold, silver, and paper money. There were no sub-treasuries in the important commercial cities. The United States Bank and its branches received the government's money on deposit and paid it out on checks signed by the proper government official. In 1833 the United States Bank had in its vaults about nine million dollars belonging to the government. Jackson directed that this money should be drawn out as required, to pay the government's expenses, and that no more government money should be deposited in the bank. In the future it should be deposited in certain state banks. The banks selected were controlled by Jackson's political friends and were called the "pet banks."
[Illustration: ANDREW JACKSON, 1815. "Our Federal union, it must be preserved." --Jackson's toast at the Jefferson dinner.]
Speculation in Western lands. McMaster,
309.
The specie circular, 1836.
311. Jackson's Specie Circular, 1836.--The first result of the removal of the deposits was very different from what Jackson had expected. At this time there was active speculation in Western lands. Men who had a little spare money bought Western lands. Those who had no money in hand, borrowed money from the banks and with it bought Western lands. Now it happened that many of the "pet banks" were in the West. The government's money, deposited with them, tempted their managers to lend money more freely. This, in turn, increased the ease with which people could speculate. Jackson saw that unless something were done to restrain this speculation, disaster would surely come. So he issued a circular to the United States land officers. This circular was called the Specie Circular, because in it the President forbade the land officers to receive anything except gold and silver and certain certificates in payment for the public lands.
[Illustration: A SETTLER'S CABIN.]
Payment of the national debt. McMaster, 309-310.
312. Payment of the Debt, 1837.--The national debt had now all been paid. The government was collecting more money than it could use for national purposes. And it was compelled to keep on collecting more money than it could use, because the Compromise Tariff (p. 248) made it impossible to reduce duties any faster than a certain amount each year. No one dared to disturb the Compromise Tariff, because to do so would bring on a most bitter political fight. The government had more money in the "pet banks" than was really safe. It could not deposit more with them.
Distribution of the surplus.
Van Buren elected President, 1836.
313. Distribution of the Surplus, 1837.--A curious plan was now hit upon. It was to loan the surplus revenues to the states in proportion to their electoral votes. Three payments were made to the states. Then the Panic of 1837 came, and the government had to borrow money to pay its own necessary expenses. Before this occurred, however, Jackson was no longer President. In his place was Martin Van Buren, his Secretary of State, who had been chosen President in November, 1836.
Causes of the Panic.
Hard times, 1837-39.
314. The Panic of 1837.--The Panic was due directly to Jackson's interference with the banks, to his Specie Circular, and to the distribution of the surplus. It happened in this way. When the Specie Circular was issued, people who held paper money at once went to the banks to get gold and silver in exchange for it to pay for the lands bought of the government. The government on its part drew out money from the banks to pay the states their share of the surplus. The banks were obliged to sell their property and to demand payment of money due them. People who owed money to the banks were obliged to sell their property to pay the banks. So every one wanted to sell, and few wanted to buy. Prices of everything went down with a rush. People felt so poor that they would not even buy new clothes. The mills and mines were closed, and the banks suspended payments. Thousands of working men and women were thrown out of work. They could not even buy food for themselves or their families. Terrible bread riots took place. After a time people began to pluck up their courage. But it was a long time before "good times" came again.
The national finances.
The Sub-Treasury plan.
Independent Treasury Act, 1840.
315. The Independent Treasury System.--What should be done with the government's money? No one could think of depositing it with the state banks. Clay and his friends thought the best thing to do would be to establish a new United States Bank. But Van Buren was opposed to that. His plan, in short, was to build vaults for storing money in Washington and in the leading cities. The main storehouse or Treasury was to be in Washington, subordinate storehouses or sub-treasuries were to be established in the other cities. To these sub-treasuries the collectors of customs would pay the money collected by them. In this way the government would become independent of the general business affairs of the country. In 1840 Congress passed an act for putting this plan into effect. But before it was in working order, Van Buren was no longer President.
New parties.
The Democrats.
The Whigs.
316. Democrats and Whigs.--In the Era of Good Feeling there was but one party--the Republican party. In the confused times of 1824 the several sections of the party took the names of their party leaders: the Adams men, the Jackson men, the Clay men, and so on. Soon the Adams men and the Clay men began to act together and to call themselves National Republicans. This they did because they wished to build up the nation's resources at the expense of the nation. The Jackson men called themselves Democratic Republicans, because they upheld the rights of the people. Before long they dropped the word "Republican" and called themselves simply Democrats. The National Republicans dropped the whole of their name and took that of the great English liberal party--the Whigs. This they did because they favored reform.
[Illustration: Log Cabin Song Book.]
"A campaign of humor." Higginson, 269;
McMaster, 315-316.
Harrison and Tyler elected, 1840.
317. Election of 1840.--General William Henry Harrison was the son of Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. General Harrison had moved to the West and had won distinction at Tippecanoe, and also in the War of 1812 (pp. 202, 209). The Whigs nominated him in 1836, but he was beaten. They now renominated him for President, with John Tyler of Virginia as candidate for Vice-President. Van Buren had made a good President, but his term of office was associated with panic and hard times. He was a rich man and gave great parties. Plainly he was not a "man of the people," as was Harrison. A Democratic orator sneered at Harrison, and said that all he wanted was a log cabin of his own and a jug of cider. The Whigs eagerly seized on this description. They built log cabins at the street corners and dragged through the streets log cabins on great wagons. They held immense open-air meetings at which people sang songs of "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." Harrison and Tyler received nearly all the electoral votes and were chosen President and Vice-President.
Death of Harrison, 1841.
318. Death of Harrison, 1841.--The people's President was inaugurated on March 4, 1841. For the first time since the establishment of the Spoils System a new party came into control of the government. Thousands of office-seekers thronged to Washington. They even slept in out-of-the-way corners of the White House. Day after day, from morning till night, they pressed their claims on Harrison. One morning early, before the office-seekers were astir, he went out for a walk. He caught cold and died suddenly, just one month after his inauguration. John Tyler at once became President.
President Tyler.
His contest with the Whigs.
319. Tyler and the Whigs.--President Tyler was not a Whig like Harrison or Clay, nor was he a Democrat like Jackson. He was a Democrat who did not like Jackson ideas. As President, he proved to be anything but a Whig. He was willing to sign a bill to repeal the Independent Treasury Act, for that was a Democratic measure he had not liked; but he refused to sign a bill to establish a new Bank of the United States. Without either a bank or a treasury, it was well-nigh impossible to carry on the business of the government. But it was carried on in one way or another. Tyler was willing to sign a new tariff act, and one was passed in 1842. This was possible, as the Compromise Tariff (p. 248) came to an end in that year.
[Illustration]
Northeastern boundary dispute.
The Ashburton Treaty, 1842.
320. Treaty with Great Britain, 1842.--Perhaps the most important event of Tyler's administration was the signing of the Treaty of 1842 with Great Britain. Ever since the Treaty of Peace of 1783, there had been a dispute over the northeastern boundary of Maine. If the boundary had been run according to the plain meaning of the Treaty of Peace, the people of Upper Canada would have found it almost impossible to reach New Brunswick or Nova Scotia in winter. At that time of the year the St. Lawrence is frozen over, and the true northern boundary of Maine ran so near to the St. Lawrence that it was difficult to build a road which would be wholly in British territory. So the British had tried in every way to avoid settling the matter. It was now arranged that the United States should have a little piece of Canada north of Vermont and New York and should give up the extreme northeastern corner of Maine. It was also agreed that criminals escaping from one country to the other should be returned. A still further agreement was made for checking the slave trade from the coast of western Africa.
[Illustration: JOHN TYLER.]
[Illustration: THE FIRST MORSE INSTRUMENT.]
The Morse code.
First telegraph line, 1844.
Usefulness of the telegraph, McMaster, 372.
321. The Electric Telegraph.--Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Henry made great discoveries in electricity. But Samuel F. B. Morse was the first to use electricity in a practical way. Morse found out that if a man at one end of a line of wire pressed down a key, electricity could be made at the same moment to press down another key at the other end of the line of wire. Moreover, the key at the farther end of the line could be so arranged as to make an impression on a piece of paper that was slowly drawn under it by clockwork. Now if the man at one end of the line held his key down for only an instant, this impression would look like a dot. If he held it down longer, it would look like a short dash. Morse combined these dots and dashes into an alphabet. For instance, one dash meant the letter "t," and so on. For a time people only laughed at Morse. But at length Congress gave him enough money to build a line from Baltimore to Washington. It was opened in 1844, and proved to be a success from the beginning. Other lines were soon built, and the Morse system, greatly improved, is still in use. The telegraph made it possible to operate long lines of railroad, as all the trains could be managed from one office so that they would not run into one another. It also made it possible to communicate with people afar off and get an answer in an hour or so. For both these reasons the telegraph was very important and with the railroads did much to unite the people of the different portions of the country.
[Illustration: THE FIRST MCCORMICK REAPER.]
Problems of what growing.
The McCormick reaper, 1831. McMaster, 31-372.
Results of this invention.
322. The McCormick Reaper.--Every great staple depends for its production on some particular tool. For instance, cotton was of slight importance until the invention of the cotton gin (p. 185) made it possible cheaply to separate the seed from the fiber. The success of wheat growing depended upon the ability quickly to harvest the crop. Wheat must be allowed to stand until it is fully ripened. Then it must be quickly reaped and stored away out of the reach of the rain and wet. For a few weeks in each year there was a great demand for labor on the wheat farms. And there was little labor to be had. Cyrus H. McCormick solved this problem for the wheat growers by inventing a horse reaper. The invention was made in 1831, but it was not until 1845 that the reaper came into general use. By 1855 the use of the horse reaper was adding every year fifty-five million dollars to the wealth of the country. Each year its use moved the fringe of civilization fifty miles farther west. Without harvesting machinery the rapid settlement of the West would have been impossible. And had not the West been rapidly settled by free whites, the whole history of the country between 1845 and 1865 would have been very different from what it has been. The influence of the horse reaper on our political history, therefore, is as important as the influence of the steam locomotive or of the cotton gin.
[Illustration: MODERN HARVESTER.]
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 28
§§ 293, 294.--Compare the condition of the United States in 1830 and 1800 as to (1) extent, (2) population, (3) interests and occupation of the people. Illustrate these changes by maps, diagrams, or tables.
§§ 295, 296.--a. How had the use of steamboats increased?
b. Why had this led to the separation of the West and the East? How was it proposed to overcome this difficulty?
c. Do you think that roads should be built at national expense? Give your reasons.
d. Mark on a map the Erie Canal, and show why it was so important. Describe the effects of its use.
§§ 297, 298.--a. Do you think that railroads should be carried on by the state or by individuals? Why?
b. What influence has the railroad had upon the Union? Upon people's minds? Upon the growth of cities? (Take your own city or town and think of it without railroads anywhere.)
§§ 299, 300.--a. Explain how one discovery or invention affected other industries (as shown, for instance, in the use of anthracite coal).
b. How did these inventions make large cities possible?
c. Why is the education of our people so important?
d. What were the advantages of Webster's "Dictionary"?
CHAPTER 29
§§ 301, 302.--a. Why is this chapter called the "Reign of Andrew Jackson"? Do you think that a President should "reign"?
b. In what respects was Jackson fitted for President?
c. What is meant by his "kitchen cabinet"?
d. What is a "party machine"? How was it connected with the "spoils system"?
e. Did the "spoils system" originate with Jackson?
§§ 303, 304.--a. Compare carefully the North and the South. Why was the North growing rich faster than the South?
b. Where have you already found the ideas expressed in Calhoun's Exposition? Why was this doctrine so dangerous? Are the states "sovereign states"?
§ 305.--a. What view did Webster take? How does his speech show the increase of the love of the Union?
b. What is the "supreme law of the land"? Whose business is it to decide on the constitutionality of a law? Is this wise?
§§ 306, 307.--a. How did South Carolina oppose the Act of 1832?
b. How did Jackson oppose the South Carolinians?
c. Would a state be likely to nullify an act of Congress now? Give your reasons.
§§ 308, 309.--a. Was the United States Bank like the national banks of the present day?
b. Why did Jackson dislike and distrust the United States Bank?
c. If a bill is vetoed by the President, how can it still be made a law?
§§ 310.--a. Where did the United States government keep its money?
b. How did Jackson try to ruin the United States Bank?
§§ 311-313.--a. Why did people wish to buy Western lands? How did the favoring the "pet banks" increase speculation?
b. What was done with the surplus? What was the effect of this measure?
c. How did Jackson try to stop speculation?
CHAPTER 30
§§ 314, 315.--a. Why did "prices go down with a rush"?
b. Describe the Independent Treasury plan. Where is the nation's money kept to-day?
§§ 316, 317.--a. State briefly the reasons for the split in the Republican party. Had you lived in 1840, for whom would you have voted? Why?
b. Give an account of the early life of Harrison.
c. Describe the campaign of 1840, and compare it with the last presidential campaign.
§§ 318, 319.--a. What party came into power in 1841? Under the spoils system what would naturally follow?
b. To what party did Tyler belong?
c. Why was it difficult for the government to carry on its business without a bank or a treasury?
§§ 320.--a. What dispute had long existed with Great Britain?
b. Why did the British object to the boundary line laid down in the Treaty of 1783? Show on a map how the matter was finally settled.
§§ 321, 322.--a. Explain carefully the application of electricity made by Morse. Of what advantage has the telegraph been to the United States?
b. How did the McCormick reaper solve the difficulty in wheat growing? What were the results of this invention?
c. Compare its influence upon our history with that of the cotton gin.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Why is the period covered by this division so important?
b. Give the principal events since the Revolution which made Western expansion possible.
c. Explain, using a chart, the changes in parties since 1789.
d. What were the good points in Jackson's administration? The mistakes?
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. Select some one invention between 1790 and 1835, describe it, explain the need for it, and the results which have followed from it.
b. The Erie Canal.
c. The career of Webster, Clay, or Calhoun.
d. Life and works of any one of the literary men of this period.
e. The Ashburton Treaty, with a map.
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
The personality of Andrew Jackson, representing as he does a new element in social and political life, deserves a careful study. The financial policy of his administration is too difficult for children. With brief comparisons with present-day conditions the study of this subject can be confined to what is given in the text. Jackson's action at the time of the nullification episode may well be compared with Buchanan's inaction in 1860-61. The constitutional portions of Webster's great speeches are too hard for children, but his burning words of patriotism may well be learned by the whole class. The spoils system may be lightly treated here. It can best be studied in detail later in connection with civil service reform.
THE UNITED STATES IN 1850.
References.--Scribner's Popular History, IV; McMaster's With the Fathers, Coffin's Building the Nation, 314-324.
Home Readings.--Wright's Stories of American Progress; Bolton's Famous Americans; Brooks's Boy Settlers; Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin; Lodge's Webster.
Antislavery sentiments of the Virginians.
Slavery in the far South.
Source-book, 244-248, 251-260.
323. Growth of Slavery in the South.--South of Pennsylvania and of the Ohio River slavery had increased greatly since 1787 (p. 136). Washington, Jefferson, Henry, and other great Virginians were opposed to the slave system. But they could find no way to end it, even in Virginia. The South Carolinians and Georgians fought every proposition to limit slavery. They even refused to come into the Union unless they were given representation in Congress for a portion at least of their slaves. And in the first Congress under the Constitution they opposed bitterly every proposal to limit slavery. Then came Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. That at once made slave labor vastly more profitable in the cotton states and put an end to all hopes of peaceful emancipation in the South.
Proposal to end slavery with compensation.
The Liberator.
324. Rise of the Abolitionists.--About 1830 a new movement in favor of the negroes began. Some persons in the North, as, for example, William Ellery Channing, proposed that slaves should be set free, and their owners paid for their loss. They suggested that the money received from the sale of the public lands might be used in this way. But nothing came of these suggestions. Soon, however, William Lloyd Garrison began at Boston the publication of a paper called the Liberator. He wished for complete abolition without payment. For a time he labored almost alone. Then slowly others came to his aid, and the Antislavery Society was founded.
Anti-abolitionist sentiment in the North.
Higginson, 268.
Disunion sentiment of abolitionists.
The Garrison riot, 1835. Source-Book, 248-251.
325. Opposition to the Abolitionists.--It must not be thought that the abolitionists were not opposed. They were most vigorously opposed. Very few Northern men wished to have slavery reestablished in the North. But very many Northern men objected to the antislavery agitation because they thought it would injure business. Some persons even argued that the antislavery movement would bring about the destruction of the Union. In this idea there was a good deal of truth. For Garrison grew more and more outspoken. He condemned the Union with slaveholders and wished to break down the Constitution, because it permitted slavery. There were anti-abolitionist riots in New York, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. In Boston the rioters seized Garrison and dragged him about the streets (1835).
Nat Turner's Rebellion, 1831.
Incendiary publications in the mails. McMaster, 313-314.
326. Slave Rebellion in Virginia, 1831.--At about the time that Garrison established the Liberator at Boston, a slave rebellion broke out in Virginia. The rebels were led by a slave named Nat Turner, and the rebellion is often called "Nat Turner's Rebellion." It was a small affair and was easily put down. But the Southerners were alarmed, because they felt that the Northern antislavery agitation would surely lead to more rebellions. They called upon the government to forbid the sending of the Liberator and similar "incendiary publications" through the mails.
Right of petition.
J.Q. Adams and antislavery petitions, 1836. Hero Tales,
151-159.
The "gag-resolutions." McMaster, 314-315.
327. The Right of Petition.--One of the most sacred rights of freemen is the right to petition for redress of grievances. In the old colonial days the British Parliament had refused even to listen to petitions presented by the colonists. But the First Amendment to the Constitution forbade Congress to make any law to prevent citizens of the United States from petitioning. John Quincy Adams, once President, was now a member of the House of Representatives. In 1836 he presented petition after petition, praying Congress to forbid slavery in the District of Columbia. Southerners, like Calhoun, thought these petitions were insulting to Southern slaveholders. Congress could not prevent the antislavery people petitioning. They could prevent the petitions being read when presented. This they did by passing "gag-resolutions." Adams protested against these resolutions as an infringement on the rights of his constituents. But the resolutions were passed. Petitions now came pouring into Congress. Adams even presented one from some negro slaves.
Growth of antislavery feeling in the North.
328. Change in Northern Sentiment.--All these happenings brought about a great change of sentiment in the North. Many people, who cared little about negro slaves, cared a great deal about the freedom of the press and the right of petition. Many of these did not sympathize with the abolitionists, but they wished that some limit might be set to the extension of slavery. At the same time the Southerners were uniting to resist all attempts to interfere with slavery. They were even determined to add new slave territory to the United States.
The Mexican Republic, 1821.
Texas secedes from Mexico, 1836, McMaster, 320-322; Hero
Tales, 173-181.
329. The Republic of Texas.--The Mexicans won their independence from Spain in 1821 and founded the Mexican Republic. Soon immigrants from the United States settled in the northeastern part of the new republic. This region was called Texas. The Mexican government gave these settlers large tracts of land, and for a time everything went on happily. Then war broke out between the Mexicans and the Texans. Led by Samuel Houston, a settler from Tennessee, the Texans won the battle of San Jacinto and captured General Santa Anna, the president of the Mexican Republic. The Texans then established the Republic of Texas (1836) and asked to be admitted to the Union as one of the United States.
Question of the admission of Texas to the Union.
330. The Southerners and Texas.--The application of Texas for admission to the Union came as a pleasant surprise to many Southerners. As a part of the Mexican Republic Texas had been free soil. But Texas was well suited to the needs of the cotton plant. If it were admitted to the Union, it would surely be a slave state or, perhaps, several slave states. The question of admitting Texas first came before Jackson. He saw that the admission of Texas would be strongly opposed in the North. So he put the whole matter to one side and would have nothing to do with it. Tyler acted very differently. Under his direction a treaty was made with Texas. This treaty provided for the admission of Texas to the Union. But the Senate refused to ratify the treaty. The matter, therefore, became the most important question in the presidential election of 1844.
[Illustration: JAMES K. POLK.]
Candidates for the presidency, 1844.
The Liberty party.
Polk elected.
331. Election of 1844.--President Tyler would have been glad of a second term. But neither of the great parties wanted him as a leader. The Democrats would have gladly nominated Van Buren had he not opposed the acquisition of Texas. Instead they nominated James K. Polk of Tennessee, an outspoken favorer of the admission of Texas. The Whigs nominated Henry Clay, who had no decided views on the Texas question. He said one thing one day, another thing another day. The result was that the opponents of slavery and of Texas formed a new party. They called it the Liberty party and nominated a candidate for President. The Liberty men did not gain many votes. But they gained enough votes to make Clay's election impossible and Polk was chosen President.
Texas admitted by joint resolution, 1845. McMaster, 325.
332. Acquisition of Texas, 1845.--Tyler now pressed the admission of Texas upon Congress. The two houses passed a joint resolution. This resolution provided for the admission of Texas, and for the formation from the territory included in Texas of four states, in addition to the state of Texas, and with the consent of that state. Before Texas was actually admitted Tyler had ceased to be President. But Polk carried out his policy, and on July 4, 1845, Texas became one of the United States.
Southern boundary of Texas.
Taylor on the Rio Grande.
War declared, 1846. Lowell in Source-Book, 271-276.
333. Beginning of the Mexican War, 1846.--The Mexicans had never acknowledged the independence of Texas. They now protested against its admission to the United States. Disputes also arose as to the southern boundary of Texas. As no agreement could be reached on this point, President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to march to the Rio Grande and occupy the disputed territory. Taylor did as he was ordered, and the Mexicans attacked him. Polk reported these facts to Congress, and Congress authorized the President to push on the fighting on the ground that "war exists, and exists by the act of Mexico herself."
The three parts of the Mexican War.
Taylor's campaign. McMaster, 326-327.
Battle of Buena Vista, 1847.
334. Taylor's Campaigns.--The Mexican War easily divides itself into three parts: (1) Taylor's forward movement across the Rio Grande; (2) Scott's campaign, which ended in the capture of the City of Mexico; and (3) the seizure of California. Taylor's object was to maintain the line of the Rio Grande, then to advance into Mexico and injure the Mexicans as much as possible. The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma (May 8, 9, 1846) were fought before the actual declaration of war. These victories made Taylor master of the Rio Grande. In September he crossed the Rio Grande. So far all had gone well. But in the winter many of Taylor's soldiers were withdrawn to take part in Scott's campaign. This seemed to be the Mexicans' time. They attacked Taylor with four times as many men as he had in his army. This battle was fought at Buena Vista, February, 1847. Taylor beat back the Mexicans with terrible slaughter. This was the last battle of Taylor's campaign.
Scott's campaign. Eggleston, 284-286;
McMaster, 327-328.
He captures City of Mexico, 1847.
335. Scott's Invasion of Mexico.--The plan of Scott's campaign was that he should land at Vera Cruz, march to the city of Mexico,--two hundred miles away,--capture that city, and force the Mexicans to make peace. Everything fell out precisely as it was planned. With the help of the navy Scott captured Vera Cruz. He had only about one-quarter as many men as the Mexicans. But he overthrew them at Cerro Gordo, where the road to the City of Mexico crosses the coast mountains (April, 1847). With the greatest care and skill he pressed on and at length came within sight of the City of Mexico. The capital of the Mexican Republic stood in the midst of marshes, and could be reached only over narrow causeways which joined it to the solid land. August 20, 1847, Scott beat the Mexicans in three pitched battles, and on September 14 he entered the city with his army, now numbering only six thousand men fit for active service.
[Illustration: THE BEAR FLAG.]
California.
The "Bear Republic," 1846.
California seized by American soldiers.
336. Seizure of California.--California was the name given to the Mexican possessions on the Pacific coast north of Mexico itself. There were now many American settlers there, especially at Monterey. Hearing of the outbreak of the Mexican War, they Set up a republic of their own. Their flag had a figure of a grizzly bear painted on it, and hence their republic is often spoken of as the Bear Republic. Commodore Stockton with a small fleet was on the Pacific coast. He and John C. Frémont assisted the Bear Republicans until soldiers under Colonel Kearney reached them from the United States by way of Santa Fé.
[Illustration: JOHN C. FRÉMONT.]
Mexican cessions, 1848.
The Gadsden Purchase, 1853. McMaster, 334.
337. Treaty of Peace, 1848.--The direct cause of the Mexican War was Mexico's unwillingness to give up Texas without a struggle. But the Mexicans had treated many Americans very unjustly and owed them large sums of money. A treaty of peace was made in 1848. Mexico agreed to abandon her claims to Texas, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. The United States agreed to withdraw its armies from Mexico, to pay Mexico fifteen million dollars, and to pay the claims of American citizens on Mexico. These claims proved to amount to three and one-half million dollars, In the end, therefore, the United States paid eighteen and one-half million dollars for this enormous and exceedingly valuable addition to its territory. When the time came to run the boundary line, the American and Mexican commissioners could not agree. So the United States paid ten million dollars more and received an additional strip of land between the Rio Grande and the Colorado rivers. This gave the United States its present southern boundary. This agreement was made in 1853 by James Gadsden for the United States, and the land bought is usually called the Gadsden Purchase.
Oregon.
Joint occupation by United States and Great Britain.
338. The Oregon Question.--It was not only in the Southwest that boundaries were disputed; in the Northwest also there was a long controversy which was settled while Polk was President. Oregon was the name given to the whole region, between Spanish and Mexican California and the Russian Alaska. The United States and Great Britain each claimed to have the best right to Oregon. As they could not agree as to their claims, they decided to occupy the region jointly. As time went on American settlers and missionaries began to go over the mountains to Oregon. In 1847 seven thousand Americans were living in the Northwest.
"All Oregon or none."
Division of Oregon, 1846.
339. The Oregon Treaty, 1846.--The matter was now taken up in earnest. "All Oregon or none," "Fifty-four forty or fight," became popular cries. The United States gave notice of the ending of the joint occupation. The British government suggested that Oregon should be divided between the two nations. In 1818 he boundary between the United States and British North America had been fixed as the forty-ninth parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains. It was now proposed to continue this line to the Pacific. The British government, however, insisted that the western end of the line should follow the channel between Vancouver's Island and the mainland so as to make that island entirely British. The Mexican War was now coming on. It would hardly do to have two wars at one time. So the United States gave way and a treaty was signed in 1846. Instead of "all Oregon," the United States received about one-half. But it was a splendid region and included not merely the present state of Oregon, but all the territory west of the Rocky Mountains between the forty-second and the forty-ninth parallels of latitude.
Should Oregon and Mexican cessions be free
soil?
The Wilmot Proviso. McMaster, 324.
340. The Wilmot Proviso, 1846.--What should be done with Oregon and with the immense territory received from Mexico? Should it be free soil or should it be slave soil? To understand the history of the dispute which arose out of this question we must go back a bit and study the Wilmot Proviso. Even before the Mexican War was fairly begun, this question came before Congress. Every one admitted that Texas must be a slave state. Most people were agreed that Oregon would be free soil. For it was too far north for negroes to thrive. But what should be done with California and with New Mexico? David Wilmot of Pennsylvania thought that they should be free soil. He was a member of the House of Representatives. In 1846 he moved to add to a bill giving the President money to purchase land from Mexico a proviso that none of the territory to be acquired at the national expense should be open to slavery. This proviso was finally defeated. But the matter was one on which people held very strong opinions, and the question became the most important issue in the election of 1848.
[Illustration: ZACHARY TAYLOR.]
Candidates for the presidency, 1848.
"Squatter sovereignty."
Free Soil party. McMaster, 334-335.
Taylor and Fillmore elected.
341. Taylor elected President, 1848.--Three candidates contested the election of 1848. First there was Lewis Cass of Michigan, the Democratic candidate. He was in favor of "squatter sovereignty," that is, allowing the people of each territory to have slavery or not as they chose. The Whig candidate was General Taylor, the victor of Buena Vista. The Whigs put forth no statement of principles. The third candidate was Martin Van Buren, already once President. Although a Democrat, he did not favor the extension of slavery. He was nominated by Democrats who did not believe in "squatter sovereignty," and by a new party which called itself the Free Soil party. The abolitionists or Liberty party also nominated a candidate, but he withdrew in favor of Van Buren. The Whigs had nominated Millard Fillmore of New York for Vice-President. He attracted to the Whig ticket a good many votes in New York. Van Buren also drew a good many votes from the Democrats. In this way New York was carried for Taylor and Fillmore. This decided the election, and the Whig candidates were chosen.
[Illustration: THE SITE OF SAN FRANCISCO IN 1847. From an original drawing.]
Discovery of gold in California, 1848.
The "rush" to California, 1849. McMaster, 337-338;
Source-Book, 276-279.
342. California.--Before the treaty of peace with Mexico was ratified, even before it was signed, gold was discovered in California. Reports of the discovery soon reached the towns on the western seacoast. At once men left whatever they were doing and hastened to the hills to dig for gold. Months later rumors of this discovery began to reach the eastern part of the United States. At first people paid little attention to them. But when President Polk said that gold had been found, people began to think that it must be true. Soon hundreds of gold-seekers started for California. Then thousands became eager to go. These first comers were called the Forty-Niners, because most of them came in the year 1849. By the end of that year there were eighty thousand immigrants in California.
California constitutional convention, 1849.
Slavery forbidden.
343. California seeks Admission to the Union.--There were eighty thousand white people in California, and they had almost no government of any kind. So in November, 1849, they held a convention, drew up a constitution, and demanded admission the Union as a state. The peculiar thing about this constitution was that it forbade slavery in California. Many of the Forty-Niners were Southerners. But even they did not want slavery. The reason was that they wished to dig in the earth and win gold. They would not allow slave holders to work their mining claims with slave labor, for free white laborers had never been able to work alongside of negro slaves. So they did not want slavery in California.
Divisions on the question of the extension of slavery. McMaster, 335-336.
344. A Divided Country.--This action of the people of California at once brought the question of slavery before the people. Many Southerners were eager to found a slave confederacy apart from the Union. Many abolitionists were eager to found a free republic in the North. Many Northerners, who loved the Union, thought that slavery should be confined to the states where it existed. They thought that slavery should not be permitted in the territories, which belonged to the people of the United States as a whole. They argued that if the territories could be kept free, the people of those territories, when they came to form state constitutions, would forbid slavery as the people of California had just done. They were probably right, and for this very reason the Southerners wished to have slavery in the territories. So strong was the feeling over these points that it seemed as if the Union would split into pieces.
Taylor's policy.
California demands admission.
345. President Taylor's Policy.--General Taylor was now President. He was alarmed by the growing excitement. He determined to settle the matter at once before people could get any more excited. So he sent agents to California and to New Mexico to urge the people to demand admission to the Union at once. When Congress met in 1850, he stated that California demanded admission as a free state. The Southerners were angry. For they had thought that California would surely be a slave state.
Clay's compromise scheme, 1850. McMaster, 339-341; Source-Book, 279-281.
346. Clay's Compromise Plan.--Henry Clay now stepped forward to bring about a "union of hearts." His plan was to end all disputes between Northerners and Southerners by having the people of each section give way to the people of the other section. For example, the Southerners were to permit the admission of California as a free state, and to consent to the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia. In return, the Northerners were to give way to the Southerners on all other points. They were to allow slavery in the District of Columbia. They were to consent to the organization of New Mexico and Utah as territories without any provision for or against slavery. Texas claimed that a part of the proposed Territory of New Mexico belonged to her. So Clay suggested that the United States should pay Texas for this land. Finally Clay proposed that Congress should pass a severe Fugitive Slave Act. It is easily seen that Clay's plan as a whole was distinctly favorable to the South. Few persons favored the passage of the whole scheme. But when votes were taken on each part separately, they all passed. In the midst of the excitement over this compromise President Taylor died, and Millard Fillmore, the Vice-President, became President.
[Illustration: MILLARD FILLMORE.]
Art. IV, sec. 2.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. McMaster, 341-343.
Results of passage of this act. Higginson, 281;
Source-Book, 282-284.
round Railway." Source-Book, 260-263.
347. The Fugitive Slave Act.--The Constitution provides that persons held to service in one state escaping into another state shall be delivered up upon claim of the person to whom such service may be due. Congress, in 1793, had passed an act to carry out this provision of the Constitution. But this law had seldom been enforced, because its enforcement had been left to the states, and public opinion in the North was opposed to the return of fugitive slaves. The law of 1850 gave the enforcement of the act to United States officials. The agents of slave owners claimed many persons as fugitives. But few were returned to the South. The important result of these attempts to enforce the law was to strengthen Northern public opinion against slavery. It led to redoubled efforts to help runaway slaves through the Northern states to Canada. A regular system was established. This was called the "Underground Railway." In short, instead of bringing about "a union of hearts," the Compromise of 1850 increased the ill feeling between the people of the two sections of the country.
"Uncle Tom's Cabin."
Effects of this book.
348. "Uncle Tom's Cabin."--It was at this time that Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin." In this story she set forth the pleasant side of slavery--the light-heartedness and kind-heartedness of the negroes. In it she also set forth the unpleasant side of slavery--the whipping of human beings, the selling of human beings, the hunting of human beings. Of course, there never was such a slave as Uncle Tom. The story is simply a wonderful picture of slavery as it appeared to a brilliant woman of the North. Hundreds of thousands of copies of this book were sold in the South as well as in the North. Plays founded on the book were acted on the stage. Southern people when reading "Uncle Tom" thought little of the unpleasant things in it: they liked the pleasant things in it. Northern people laughed at the pretty pictures of plantation life: they were moved to tears by the tales of cruelty. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and the Fugitive Slave Law convinced the people of the North that bounds must be set to the extension of slavery.
Campaign of 1852.
Pierce elected President.
349. Pierce elected President, 1852.--It was now Campaign time for a new election. The Whigs had been successful with two old soldiers, so they thought they would try again with another soldier and nominated General Winfield Scott, the conqueror of Mexico. The Democrats also nominated a soldier, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire, who had been in northern Mexico with Taylor. The Democrats and Whigs both said that they would stand by the Compromise of 1850. But many voters thought that there would be less danger of excitement with a Democrat in the White House and voted for Pierce for that reason. They soon found that they were terribly mistaken in their belief.
The Nebraska bill, 1854. Source-Book,
284-287.
Douglas asserts Compromise of 1820 to be repealed.
350. Douglas's Nebraska Bill.--President Pierce began his term of office quietly enough. But in 1854 Senator Douglas of Illinois brought in a bill to organize the Territory of Nebraska. It will be remembered that in 1820 Missouri had been admitted to the Union as a slave state. In 1848 Iowa had been admitted as a free state. North of Iowa was the free Territory of Minnesota. Westward from Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota was an immense region without any government of any kind. It all lay north of the compromise line of 1820 (p. 222), and had been forever devoted to freedom by that compromise. But Douglas said that the Compromise of 1820 had been repealed by the Compromise of 1850. So he proposed that the settlers of Nebraska should say whether that territory should be free soil or slave soil, precisely as if the Compromise of 1820 had never been passed. Instantly there was a tremendous uproar.
[Illustration: FRANKLIN PIERCE.]
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854.
Antislavery senators attack the bill.
The Independent Democrats.
351. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854.--Douglas now changed his bill so as to provide for the formation of two territories. One of these he named Kansas. It had nearly the same boundaries as the present state of Kansas, except that it extended westward to the Rocky Mountains. The other territory was named Nebraska. It included all the land north of Kansas and between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. The antislavery leaders in the North attacked the bill with great fury. Chase of Ohio said that it was a violation of faith. Sumner of Massachusetts rejoiced in the fight, for he said men must now take sides for freedom or for slavery. Some, independent Democrats published "An Appeal." They asked their fellow-citizens to take their maps and see what an immense region Douglas had proposed to open to slavery. They denied that the Missouri Compromise had been repealed. Nevertheless, the bill passed Congress and was signed by President Pierce.
[Illustration: Territory opened to slavery.]
Abraham Lincoln, Hero Tales, 325-335.
Aroused by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
352. Abraham Lincoln.--Born in Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln went with his parents to Indiana and then to Illinois. As a boy he was very poor and had to work hard. But he lost no opportunity to read and to study. At the plow or in the long evenings at home by the firelight he was ever thinking and studying. Growing to manhood he became a lawyer and served one term in Congress. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act aroused his indignation as nothing had ever aroused it before. He denied that any man had the right to govern another man, be he white or be he black, without that man's consent. He thought that blood would surely be shed before the slavery question would be settled in Kansas, and the first shedding of blood would be the beginning of the end of the Union.
Seward's challenge to the Southerners.
McMaster, 347-351.
The Sons of the South.
Fraudulent election. Source-Book, 287-289.
353. Settlement of Kansas.--In the debate on the Kansas-Nebraska bill Senator Seward of New York said to the Southerners: "Come on, then.... We will engage in competition for the soil of Kansas, and God give the victory to the side that is strong in numbers as it is in right." Seward spoke truly. The victory came to those opposed to the extension of slavery. But it was a long time in coming. As soon as the act was passed, armed "Sons of the South" crossed the frontier of Missouri and founded the town of Atchison. Then came large bands of armed settlers from the North and the East. They founded the towns of Lawrence and Topeka. An election was held. Hundreds of men poured over the boundary of Missouri, outvoted the free-soil settlers in Kansas, and then went home. The territorial legislature, chosen in this way, adopted the laws of Missouri, slave code and all, as the laws of Kansas. It seemed as if Kansas were lost to freedom.
Free-state constitution.
The Senate refuses to admit Kansas.
354. The Topeka Convention.--The free-state voters now held a convention at Topeka. They drew up a constitution and applied to Congress for admission to the Union as the free state of Kansas. The free-state men and the slave-state men each elected a Delegate to Congress. The House of Representatives now took the matter up and appointed a committee of investigation. The committee reported in favor of the free-state men, and the House voted to admit Kansas as a free state. But the Senate would not consent to anything of the kind. The contest in Kansas went on and became more bitter every month.
Origin of the Republican party. McMaster,
352-355.
Anti-Nebraska men.
355. The Republican Party.--The most important result of the Kansas-Nebraska fight was the formation of the Republican party. It was made up of men from all the other parties who agreed in opposing Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska policy. Slowly they began to think of themselves as a party and to adopt the name of the old party of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe--Republican.
Presidential candidates, 1856.
Buchanan.
Frémont.
356. Buchanan elected President, 1856.--The Whigs and the Know-Nothings nominated Millard Fillmore for President and said nothing about slavery. The Democrats nominated James Buchanan of Pennsylvania for President and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for Vice-President. They declared their approval of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and favored a strict construction of the Constitution. The Republicans nominated John C. Frémont. They protested against the extension of slavery and declared for a policy of internal improvements at the expense of the nation. The Democrats won; but the Republicans carried all the Northern states save four.
Dred Scott decision, 1857. McMaster,
355-357; Source-Book, 290-291.
Opinions of the judges.
357. The Dred Scott Decision, 1857.--The Supreme Court of the United States now gave a decision in the Dred Scott case that put an end to all hope of compromise on the slavery question. Dred Scott had been born a slave. The majority of the judges declared that a person once a slave could never become a citizen of the United States and bring suit in the United States courts. They also declared that the Missouri Compromise was unlawful. Slave owners had a clear right to carry their property, including slaves, into the territories, and Congress could not stop them.
Lincoln's policy.
His debates with Douglas. McMaster, 388-389;
Source-Book, 290-294.
358. The Lincoln and Douglas Debates, 1858.--The question of the reëlection of Douglas to the Senate now came before the people of Illinois. Abraham Lincoln stepped forward to contest the election with him. "A house divided against itself cannot stand," said Lincoln. "This government cannot endure half slave and half free.... It will become all one thing or all the other." He challenged Douglas to debate the issues with him before the people, and Douglas accepted the challenge. Seven joint debates were held in the presence of immense crowds. Lincoln forced Douglas to defend the doctrine of "popular sovereignty." This Douglas did by declaring that the legislatures of the territories could make laws hostile to slavery. This idea, of course, was opposed to the Dred Scott decision. Douglas won the election and was returned to the Senate. But Lincoln had made a national reputation.
[Illustration: HARPER'S FERRY.]
Civil war in Kansas. McMaster, 357.
John Brown.
The slave constitution.
Douglas opposes Buchanan.
359. "Bleeding Kansas."--Meantime civil war had broken out in Kansas, Slavery men attacked Lawrence, killed a few free-state settlers, and burned several buildings. Led by John Brown, an immigrant from New York, free-state men attacked a party of slave-state men and killed five of them. By 1857 the free-state voters had become so numerous that it was no longer possible to outvote them by bringing men from Missouri, and they chose a free-state legislature. But the fraudulent slave-state legislature had already provided for holding a constitutional convention at Lecompton. This convention was controlled by the slave-state men and adopted a constitution providing for slavery. President Buchanan sent this constitution to Congress and asked to have Kansas admitted as a slave state. But Douglas could not bear to see the wishes of the settlers of Kansas outraged. He opposed the proposition vigorously and it was defeated. It was not until 1861 that Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state.
John Brown's Raid, 1859. Higginson, 286-289;
Source-Book, 294-296.
He seizes Harper's Ferry.
His execution, 1859.
360. John Brown's Raid, 1859.--While in Kansas John Brown had conceived a bold plan. It was to seize a strong place in the mountains of the South, and there protect any slaves who should run away from their masters. In this way he expected to break slavery in pieces within two years. With only nineteen men he seized Harper's Ferry, in Virginia, and secured the United States arsenal at that place. But he and most of his men were immediately captured. He was executed by the Virginian authorities as a traitor and murderer. The Republican leaders denounced his act as "the gravest of crimes." But the Southern leaders were convinced that now the time had come to secede from the Union and to establish a Southern Confederacy.
CHAPTER 31
§ 323.--a. Why were the people of South Carolina so opposed to any limitation of slavery? How did they show their opposition?
b. Had slavery disappeared in the North because people thought that it was wrong?
§§ 324, 325.--a. What suggestions were made by some in the North for the ending of slavery? What do you think of these suggestions?
b. For what did Garrison contend, and how did he make his views known? Why were these views opposed in the North?
§ 326.--a. Why were the Southerners so alarmed by Nat Turner's Rebellion?
b. What power had Congress over the mails? How would you have voted on this question?
§§ 327, 328.--a. Why is the right of petition so important? How is this right secured to citizens of the United States?
b. Why should these petitions be considered as insulting to slaveholders?
c. Why were the Southerners so afraid of any discussion of slavery?
CHAPTER 32
§§ 329, 330.--a. Show by the map the extent of the Mexican Republic.
b. Why did Texas wish to join the United States? What attitude had Mexico taken on slavery?
§§ 331, 332.--a. Explain carefully how the Texas question influenced the election of 1844.
b. What was the Liberty party? How did its formation make the election of Polk possible?
c. What is a "joint resolution"?
§ 333.--How did the Mexicans regard the admission of Texas? What dispute with Mexico arose? Did Mexico begin the war?
§§ 334, 335.--a. What was the plan of Taylor's campaign? Of Scott's campaign?
b. Mention the leading battles of Taylor's campaign. Of Scott's campaign.
§§ 336, 337.--a. What action did the American settlers in California take? With what result?
b. Explain by a map the Mexican cessions of 1848 and 1853.
§§ 338, 339.--a. What was the extent of Oregon in 1845?
b. How was the dispute finally settled? Explain by a map.
c. What was the extent of Oregon in 1847? Is it the same to-day?
d. Of what value was this region to the United States?
CHAPTER 33
§§ 340, 341.--a. Why was there little question whether Oregon would be slave or free?
b. Explain carefully Wilmot's suggestion. What would be the arguments in Congress for and against this "proviso"?
c. What is meant by "squatter sovereignty"? What do you think of the wisdom and justice of such a plan?
§§ 342, 343.--a. Describe the discovery of gold in California and the rush thither. What difference did one year make in the population of California?
b. What attitude did California take on the slavery question? Why?
§§ 344, 345.--a. How had the question of slavery already divided the country?
b. What extreme parties were there in the North and the South?
c. Why was the question about the territories so important?
d. What action did President Taylor take? Why? What do you think of the wisdom of this policy?
§§ 346, 347.--a. State the provisions of Clay's compromise plan. Which of these favored the North? The South?
b. What law had been made as to fugitive slaves? Why had it not been enforced? Why was the change made in 1850 so important?
c. How would you have acted had you been a United States officer called to carry out the Fugitive Slave Law?
§ 348.--a. Who was Mrs. Stowe? What view did she take of slavery?
b. Were there any good points in the slave system?
c. Why is this book so important?
CHAPTER 34
§§ 349-351.--a. Who were the candidates in 1852? Who was chosen? Why?
b. What doctrine did Douglas apply to Kansas and Nebraska?
c. Why did Chase call this bill "a violation of faith"?
d. Was Douglas a patriot? Chase? Sumner? Pierce?
§ 352.--a. Give an account of the early life and training of Abraham Lincoln.
b. What did he think of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
§§ 353, 354.--a. What effect did the Kansas-Nebraska Act have on the settlement of Kansas?
b. Describe the election. Do you think that laws made by a legislature so elected were binding?
d. Explain the difference in the attitude of the Senate and House on the Kansas question.
§§ 355, 356.--a. How was the Republican party formed? b. Were its principles like or unlike those of the Republican party of Jefferson's time? Give your reasons.
§ 357.--a. What rights did the Supreme Court declare a slave could not possess? Was a slave a person or a thing?
b. What power does the Constitution give Congress over a territory? (Art. IV, Sec. 3.)
§ 358.--a. Explain carefully the quotations from Lincoln's speeches.
b. Was the doctrine of popular sovereignty necessarily favorable to slavery? Give illustrations to support your reasons.
c. Was Douglas's declaration in harmony with the decision of the Supreme Court?
§§ 359, 360.--a. Compare the attitude of Douglas and Buchanan upon the admission of Kansas.
b. Describe John Brown's raid. Was he a traitor?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Give, with dates, the important laws as to slavery since 1783.
b. What were the arguments in favor of the extension of slavery? Against it?
c. Find and learn a poem against slavery by Whittier, Lowell, or Longfellow.
d. Make a table of elections since 1788, with the leading parties, candidates, and principal issues. Underline the name of the candidate elected.
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. John Brown in Kansas or at Harper's Ferry.
b. The career, to this time, of any man mentioned in Chapters 33 and 34.
c. Any one fugitive slave case: Jerry McHenry in Syracuse (A.J. May's Antislavery Conflicts), Shadrach, Anthony Burns.
SUGGESTIONS
Preparation is especially important in teaching this period. The teacher will find references to larger books in Channing's Students' History.
Show how the question of slavery was really at the basis of the Mexican War. Geographical conditions and the settlement of the Western country should be carefully noted. A limited use of the writings and speeches of prominent men and writers is especially valuable at this point.
Have a large map of the United States in the class room, cut out and fasten upon this map pieces of white and black paper to illustrate the effects of legislation under discussion, and also to illustrate the various elections.
The horrors of slavery should be but lightly touched. Emphasize especially the fact that slavery prevented rather than aided the development of the South, and was an evil economically as well as socially.
THE UNITED STATES IN 1860.
References.--Scribner's Popular History, IV, 432-445; McMaster's School History, chap. xxvi (industrial progress, 1840-60).
Home Readings.--Page's The Old South.
Area of the United States, 1860.
Population, 1860.
361. Growth of the Country.--The United States was now three times as large as it was at Jefferson's election. It contained over three million square miles of land. About one-third of this great area was settled. In the sixty years of the century the population had increased even faster than the area had increased. In 1800 there were five and a half million people living in the United States. In 1860 there were over thirty-one million people within its borders. Of these nearly five millions were white immigrants. More than half of these immigrants had come in the last ten years, and they had practically all of them settled in the free states of the North. Of the whole population of thirty-one millions only twelve millions lived in the slave states, and of these more than four millions were negro slaves.
New states. McMaster, 365-368.
362. Change of Political Power.--The control of Congress had now passed into the hands of the free states of the North. The majority of the Representatives had long been from the free states. Now more Senators came from the North than from the South. This was due to the admission of new states. Texas (1845) was the last slave state to be admitted to the Union. Two years later the admission of Wisconsin gave the free states as many votes in the Senate as the slave states had. In 1850 the admission of California gave the free states a majority of two votes in the Senate. This majority was increased to four by the admission of Minnesota in 1858, and to six by the admission of Oregon in 1859. The control of Congress had slipped forever from the grasp of the slave states.
The cities.
New York.
Chicago.
363. The Cities.--The tremendous increase in manufacturing, in farming, and in trading brought about a great increase in foreign commerce. This in turn led to the building up of great cities in the North and the West. These were New York and Chicago; and they grew rapidly because they formed the two ends of the line of communication between the East and the West by the Mohawk Valley (p. 239). New York now contained over eight hundred thousand inhabitants. It had more people within its limits than lived in the whole state of South Carolina. The most rapid growth was seen in the case of Chicago. In 1840 there were only five thousand people in that city; it now contained one hundred and nine thousand inhabitants. Cincinnati and St. Louis, each with one hundred and sixty thousand, were still the largest cities of the West, and St. Louis was the largest city in any slave state. New Orleans, with nearly as many people as St. Louis, was the only large city in the South.
The North and the South.
Growth of the Northwest.
Density of population, 1860.
364. The States.--As it was with the cities so it was with the states--the North had grown beyond the South. In 1790 Virginia had as many inhabitants as the states of New York and Pennsylvania put together. In 1860 Virginia had only about one-quarter as many inhabitants as these two states. Indeed, in 1860 New York had nearly four million inhabitants, or nearly as many inhabitants as the whole United States in 1791 (p. 156). But the growth of the states of the Northwest had been even more remarkable. Ohio now had a million more people than Virginia and stood third in population among the states of the Union. Illinois was the fourth state and Indiana the sixth. Even more interesting are the facts brought out by a study of the map showing the density of population or the number of people to the square mile in the several states. It appears that in 1860 Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts each had over forty-five inhabitants to the square mile, while not a single Southern state had as many as forty-five inhabitants to the square mile. This shows us at once that although the Southern states were larger in extent than the Northern states, they were much less powerful.
[Illustration: DENSITY OF POPULATION IN 1860.]
Improvements in living.
365. City Life.--In the old days the large towns were just like the small towns except that they were larger. Life in them was just about the same as in the smaller places. Now, however, there was a great difference. In the first place the city could afford to have a great many things the smaller town could not pay for. In the second place it must have certain things or its people would die of disease or be killed as they walked the streets. For these reasons the streets of the Northern cities were paved and lighted and were guarded by policemen. Then, too, great sewers carried away the refuse of the city, and enormous iron pipes brought fresh water to every one within its limits. Horse-cars and omnibuses carried its inhabitants from one part of the city to another, and the railroads brought them food from the surrounding country.
[Illustration: AN OMNIBUS]
Growth of the railroad systems.
366. Transportation.--Between 1849 and 1858 twenty-one thousand miles of railroad were built in the United States, In 1860 there were more than thirty thousand miles of railroad in actual operation. In 1850 one could not go from New York to Albany without leaving the railroad and going on board a steamboat. In 1860 one continuous line of rails ran from New York City to the Mississippi River. Traveling was still uncomfortable according to our ideas. The cars were rudely made and jolted horribly. One train ran only a comparatively short distance. Then the traveler had to alight, get something to eat, and see his baggage placed on another train. Still, with all its discomforts, traveling in the worst of cars was better than traveling in the old stagecoaches. Many more steamboats were used, especially on the Great Lakes and the Western rivers.
[Illustration: HORACE GREELEY]
Schools.
Newspapers.
Horace Greeley.
367. Education.--The last thirty years had also been years of progress in learning. Many colleges were founded, especially in the Northwest. There was still no institution which deserved the name of university. But more attention was being paid to the sciences and to the education of men for the professions of law and medicine. The newspapers also took on their modern form. The New York Herald, founded in 1835, was the first real newspaper. But the New York Tribune, edited by Horace Greeley, had more influence than any other paper in the country. Greeley was odd in many ways, but he was one of the ablest men of the time. He called for a liberal policy in the distribution of the public lands and was forever saying, "Go West, young man, go West." The magazines were now very much better than in former years, and America's foremost writers were doing some of their best work.
[Illustration: THE FIRST SEWING MACHINE.]
The telegraph.
The Howe sewing machine.
Agriculture machinery.
Stagnation in the South.
368. Progress of Invention.--The electric telegraph was now in common use. It enabled the newspapers to tell the people what was going on as they never had done before. Perhaps the invention that did as much as any one thing to make life easier was the sewing machine. Elias Howe was the first man to make a really practicable sewing machine. Other inventors improved upon it, and also made machines to sew other things than cloth, as leather. Agricultural machinery was now in common use. The horse reaper had been much improved, and countless machines had been invented to make agricultural labor more easy and economical. Hundreds of homely articles, as friction matches and rubber shoes, came into use in these years. In short, the thirty years from Jackson's inauguration to the secession of the Southern states were years of great progress. But this progress was confined almost wholly to the North. In the South, living in 1860 was about the same as it had been in 1830, or even in 1800. As a Southern orator said of the South, "The rush and whirl of modern civilization passed her by."
[Illustration: WILLIAM H. SEWARD.]
Candidates for the Republican nomination 1860.
Lincoln nominated. The platform.
369. The Republican Nomination, 1860.--Four names were especially mentioned in connection with the Republican nomination for President. These were Seward, Chase, Cameron, and Lincoln. Seward was the best known of them all. In the debates on the Compromise of 1850 he had declared that there was "a higher law" than the Constitution, namely, "the law of nature in men's hearts." In another speech he had termed the slavery contest "the irrepressible conflict." These phrases endeared him to the antislavery men. But they made it impossible for many moderate Republicans to follow him. Senator Chase of Ohio had also been very outspoken in his condemnation of slavery. Senator Cameron of Pennsylvania was an able political leader. But all of these men were "too conspicuous to make a good candidate." They had made many enemies. Lincoln had spoken freely. But he had never been prominent in national politics. He was more likely to attract the votes of moderate men than either of the other candidates. After a fierce contest he was nominated. The Republican platform stated that there was no intention to interfere with slavery in the states where it existed; but it declared the party's opposition to the extension of slavery. The platform favored internal improvements at the national expense. It also approved the protective system.
The Charleston convention, 1860. McMaster,
360-361.
The Douglas Democrats.
The Breckinridge Democrats.
370. The Democratic Nominations.--The Democratic convention met at Charleston, South Carolina. It was soon evident that the Northern Democrats and the Southern Democrats could not agree. The Northerners were willing to accept the Dred Scott decision and to carry it out. But the Southerners demanded that the platform should pledge the party actively to protect slavery in the territories. To this the Northerners would not agree. So the convention broke up to meet again at Baltimore. But there the delegates could come to no agreement. In the end two candidates were named. The Northerners nominated Douglas on a platform advocating "popular sovereignty." The Southerners nominated John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. In their platform they advocated states' rights, and the protection of slavery in the territories by the federal government.
The Constitutional Union party.
371. The Constitutional Union Party.--Besides these three candidates, cautious and timid men of all parties united to form the Constitutional Union party. They nominated Governor John Bell of Tennessee for President. In their platform they declared for the maintenance of the Constitution and the Union, regardless of slavery.
[Illustration: LINCOLN'S SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS AND SADDLEBAG.]
The campaign of 1860.
Lincoln elected.
372. Lincoln elected President, 1860.--With four candidates in the field and the Democratic party hopelessly divided, there could be little doubt of Lincoln's election. He carried every Northern state except Missouri and New Jersey. He received one hundred and eighty electoral notes. Breckenridge carried every Southern state except the "border states" of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and received seventy-two electoral votes. Bell carried the three "border" Southern states and Douglas carried Missouri and New Jersey. There was no doubt as to Lincoln's election. He had received a great majority of the electoral votes. But his opponents had received more popular votes than he had received. He was therefore elected by a minority of the voters.
[Illustration: LINCOLN'S BOOKCASE. From the Keyes-Lincoln Memorial Collection, Chicago.]
Weakness of the Republicans.
Southern fears.
373. The North and the South.--Lincoln had been elected by a minority of the people. He had been elected by the people of one section. Other Presidents had been chosen by minorities. But Lincoln was the first man to be chosen President by the people of one section. The Republicans, moreover, had not elected a majority of the members of the House of Representatives, and the Senate was still in the hands of the Democrats. For two years at least the Republicans could not carry out their ideas. They could not repeal the Kansas-Nebraska Act. They could not admit Kansas to the Union as a free state. They could not carry out one bit of their policy. In their platform they had declared that they had no intention to interfere with slavery in the states. Lincoln had said over and over again that Congress had no right to meddle with slavery in the states. The Southern leaders knew all these things. But they made up their minds that now the time had come to secede from the Union and to establish a Southern Confederacy. For the first time all the southernmost states were united. No matter what Lincoln and the Republicans might say, the Southern slaveholders believed that slavery was in danger. In advising secession, many of them thought that by this means they could force the Northerners to accept their terms as the price of a restored Union. Never were political leaders more mistaken.
Southern conventions.
374. Threats of Secession, November, 1860.--The Constitution permits each state to choose presidential electors as it sees fit. At the outset these electors had generally been chosen by the state legislatures. But, in the course of time, all the states save one had come to choose them by popular vote. The one state that held to the old way was South Carolina. Its legislature still chose the state's presidential electors. In 1860 the South Carolina legislature did this duty and then remained in session to see which way the election would go. When Lincoln's election was certain, it called a state convention to consider the question of seceding from the United States. In other Southern states there was some opposition to secession. In Georgia, especially, Alexander H. Stephens led the opposition. He said that secession "was the height of madness." Nevertheless he moved a resolution for a convention. Indeed, all the southernmost states followed the example of South Carolina and summoned conventions.
Buchanan's compromise plan.
Crittenden's plan of compromise. McMaster, 380-381.
It fails to pass Congress.
375. The Crittenden Compromise Plan.--Many men hoped that even now secession might be stopped by some compromise. President Buchanan suggested an amendment to the Constitution, securing slavery in the states and territories. It was unlikely that the Republicans would agree to this suggestion. The most hopeful plan was brought forward in Congress by Senator Crittenden of Kentucky. He proposed that amendments to the Constitution should be adopted: (1) to carry out the principle of the Missouri Compromise (p. 222);(2) to provide that states should be free or slave as their people should determine; and (3) to pay the slave owners the value of runaway slaves. This plan was carefully considered by Congress, and was finally rejected only two days before Lincoln's inauguration.
South Carolina secedes, 1860. Eggleston,
304-305.
Six other states secede.
376. Secession of Seven States, 1860-61.--The South Carolina convention met in Secession Hall, Charleston, on December 17, 1860. Three days later it adopted a declaration "that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other states, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved." Six other states soon joined South Carolina. These were Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
Confederate states constitution.
Views of Jefferson Davis.
377. The "Confederate States of America."--The next step was for these states to join together to form a confederation. This work was done by a convention of delegates chosen by the conventions of the seven seceding states. These delegates met at Montgomery, Alabama. Their new constitution closely resembled the Constitution of the United States. But great care was taken to make it perfectly clear that each member of the Confederacy was a sovereign state. Exceeding care was also taken that slavery should be protected in every way. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was chosen provisional president, and Alexander H. Stephens provisional vice-president.
[Illustration: CHARLESTON MERCURY EXTRA: The UNION is DISSOLVED!]
Views of Jefferson Davis.
Views of Alexander H. Stephens. Source-Book, 296-299.
378. Views of Davis and Stephens.--Davis declared that Lincoln had "made a distinct declaration of war upon our (Southern) institutions." His election was "upon the basis of sectional hostility." If "war must come, it must be on Northern and not on Southern soil.... We will carry war ... where food for the sword and torch awaits our armies in the densely populated cities" of the North. For his part, Stephens said the new government's "foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man."
"Let the erring sisters" go in peace.
Greeley's opinions.
Buchanan's opinions.
379. Hesitation in the North.--At first it seemed as if Davis was right when he said the Northerners would not fight. General Scott, commanding the army, suggested that the "erring sisters" should be allowed to "depart in peace," and Seward seemed to think the same way. The Abolitionists welcomed the secession of the slave states. Horace Greeley, for instance, wrote that if those states chose to form an independent nation, "they had a clear moral right so to do." For his part, President Buchanan thought that no state could constitutionally secede. But if a state should secede, he saw no way to compel it to come back to the Union. So he sat patiently by and did nothing.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 35
§§ 361, 362.--a. Compare the area and population of the United States in 1800 and in 1860.
b. Compare the white population of the North and the South. Were all the Southern whites slave owners?
c. Why had the control of the House passed to the free states? Did a white man in the North and in the South have proportionally the same representation in the House? Why?
d. What change in the control of the Senate had taken place? Why? Why was this change so important?
§§ 363, 364.--a. What had caused the growth of the Northern cities? Why were there so few large cities in the slave states?
b. How had the population of the states changed since 1790? What had caused the growth of the Northwest?
c. Where was there the greatest density of population? Why?
§§ 365, 366.--a. Describe the change of life in the cities. What arrangements were made for the comfort and health of the people?
b. How had railroads increased, and what improvements had been made?
§§ 367, 368.--a. Of what use are newspapers? How do they influence the opinions of the people? What policy did Horace Greeley uphold? Why?
b. Who were some of the important writers? Mention two works of each.
c. What influence did the telegraph have? Was this important?
d. Describe some of the other inventions.
e. Why had this progress been confined mainly to the North?
CHAPTER 36
§ 369.--a. Who were the leading Republican candidates?
b. Why was Lincoln nominated? What is the meaning of the phrase "too conspicuous"?
c. What did Seward mean by saying that there was a "higher law" than the Constitution? Why was the slavery contest "irrepressible"?
d. What declaration was made by the Republican party as to slavery? Compare this policy with the Wilmot Proviso.
§§ 370, 371.--a. What divisions took place in the Democratic party? Why?
b. What candidates were named? What policy did each uphold?
c. How had the demands of the Southerners concerning slavery increased?
d. What third party was formed? By whom? What does the name show?
§§ 372, 373.--a. What was the result of the election?
b. What was there peculiar in Lincoln's election?
c. Were the Southern states in any particular danger?
d. Why should the Southerners have felt so strongly about this election? What was their hope in threatening secession?
§§374, 375.--a Give arguments for and against secession. In what other question similar to this had South Carolina led?
b. Were the people of the South generally in favor of secession?
c. What compromise did Buchanan suggest? What do you think of the wisdom of the plan?
d. Explain carefully the points in Crittenden's plan. Discuss its value.
§§ 376, 377.--a Could one state dissolve the Union? b. What other states followed South Carolina?
c. What government was formed by them? What two points were especially emphasized in their constitution? Why these?
§§ 378, 379.--a. What statement did Davis make as to Lincoln? Was it true or false? Give your reasons.
b. Why did Davis advocate war on Northern soil?
c. Why was there such hesitation in the North? State the opinions of Scott, Greeley, and Buchanan.
d. What would Jackson probably have done had he been President?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Was the South justified in thinking that the North would yield? Give illustrations to support your view.
b. Were the years 1857-61 more or less "critical" than the years 1783-87? Why?
c. How was the South dependent upon the North?
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. Comparison between the North and the South.
b. Any invention mentioned in this part.
c. Some writer of this period.
d. The condition of your own state (or town or city) in 1860.
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
The first chapter of this part should be taught very slowly, and at each point the contrast between the North and the South should be pointed out.
In Chapter 36 the changed attitude of the Southern politicians should be noted and their demands clearly set forth. The fact that the slave owners while a minority in the South dominated public opinion should be pointed out.
In considering the question of secession it will be well to review the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, the Hartford Convention, and the Nullification episode. The weakness of Pierce and Buchanan may be contrasted with the strength of Jackson, and will serve as an introduction to the study of Lincoln's character.
References.--Dodge's Bird's-Eye View; Scribner's Popular History, IV and V; McMaster's School History. chap, xxix (the cost of the war); Lincoln's Inaugurals and Gettysburg Address.
Home Readings.--Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (composed largely of articles that had previously appeared in the Century Magazine; Whittier's Barbara Frietchie; Coffin's Winning his Way and other stories; Soley's Sailor Boys of '61; Trowbridge's Drummer Boy and other stories; Read's Sheridan's Ride; Champlin's Young Folks' History of the War for the Union).
Lincoln's inaugural address, March 4, 1861.
380. Lincoln's Inauguration.--On March 4, 1861, President Lincoln made his first inaugural address. In it he declared: "The Union is much older than the Constitution.... No state upon its own motion can lawfully get out of the Union.... In view of the Constitution and the laws the Union is unbroken ... I shall take care that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the states." As to slavery, he had "no purpose ... to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists." He even saw no objection to adopt an amendment of the Constitution to prohibit the Federal government from interfering with slavery in the states. But he was resolved to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
SLAVERY AND SECESSION.
"OLD GLORY" AS USED IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Fort Sumter. Source-Book, 299-302.
The call to arms, April 15, 1861.
381. Fall of Fort Sumter, April, 1861.--The strength of Lincoln's resolve was soon tested. When South Carolina seceded, Major Anderson, commanding the United States forces at Charleston, withdrew from the land forts to Fort Sumter, built on a shoal in the harbor. He had with him only eighty fighting men and was sorely in need of food and ammunition. Buchanan sent a steamer, the Star of the West, to Charleston with supplies and soldiers. But the Confederates fired on her, and she steamed away without landing the soldiers or the supplies. Lincoln waited a month, hoping that the secessionists would come back to the Union of their own accord. Then he decided to send supplies to Major Anderson and told the governor of South Carolina of his decision. Immediately (April 12) the Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter. On April 14 Anderson surrendered. The next day President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for seventy-five thousand volunteers.
The Northern volunteers. McMaster, 386-387;
Source-Book, 303-305.
Douglas, Buchanan, and Pierce.
Progress of secession.
382. Rising of the North.--There was no longer a question of letting the "erring sisters" depart in peace. The Southerners had fired on "Old Glory." There was no longer a dispute over the extension of slavery. The question was now whether the Union should perish or should live. Douglas at once came out for the Union and so did the former Presidents, Buchanan and Franklin Pierce. In the Mississippi Valley hundreds of thousands of men either sympathized with the slaveholders or cared nothing about the slavery dispute. But the moment the Confederates attacked the Union, they rose in defense of their country and their flag.
West Virginia.
383. More Seceders.--The Southerners flocked to the standards of the Confederacy, and four more states joined the ranks of secession. These were Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. In Virginia the people were sharply divided on the question of secession. Finally Virginia seceded, but the western Virginians, in their turn, seceded from Virginia and two years later were admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia. Four "border states" had seceded; but four other "border states" were still within the Union. These were Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.
Kentucky and Maryland saved to the Union.
Missouri saved to the Union. Eggleston, 310.
384. The Border States.--The people of Maryland and of Kentucky were evenly divided on the question of secession. They even tried to set up as neutral states. But their neutrality would have been so greatly to the advantage of the seceders that this could not be allowed. Lincoln's firm moderation and the patriotism of many wise leaders in Kentucky saved that state to the Union. But Maryland was so important to the defense of Washington that more energetic means had to be used. In Missouri, a large and active party wished to join the Confederacy. But two Union men, Frank P. Blair and Nathaniel Lyon, held the most important portions of the state for the Union. It was not until a year later, however, that Missouri was safe on the Northern side.
Southern sentiment in Washington.
Southern Unionists.
First bloodshed, April 19, 1861.
385. To the Defense of Washington.--The national capital was really a Southern town, for most of the permanent residents were Southerners, and the offices were filled with Southern men. In the army and navy, too, were very many Southerners. Most of them, as Robert E. Lee, felt that their duty to their state was greater than their duty to their flag. But many Southern officers felt differently. Among these were two men whose names should be held in grateful remembrance, Captain David G. Farragut and Colonel George H. Thomas. The first soldiers to arrive in Washington were from Pennsylvania; but they came unarmed. Soon they were followed by the Sixth Massachusetts. In passing through Baltimore this regiment was attacked. Several men were killed, others were wounded. This was on April 19, 1861,--the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord. It was the first bloodshed of the war.
[Illustration: RAILROADS AND RIVERS OF THE SOUTH.]
The field of war.
386. Nature of the Conflict.--The overthrow of the Confederate states proved to be very difficult. The Alleghany Mountains cut the South into two great fields of war. Deep and rapid rivers flowed from the mountains into the Atlantic or into the Mississippi. Each of these rivers was a natural line of defense. The first line was the Potomac and the Ohio. But when the Confederates were driven from this line, they soon found another equally good a little farther south. Then again the South was only partly settled. Good roads were rare, but there were many poor roads. The maps gave only the good roads. By these the Northern soldiers had to march while the Southern armies were often guided through paths unknown to the Northerners, and thus were able to march shorter distances between two battlefields or between two important points.
Plan of campaign.
Disaster at Bull Run, July, 1861. Source-Book, 305-308.
387. The Bull Run Campaign, July, 1861.--Northern soldiers crossed the Potomac into Virginia and found the Confederates posted at Bull Run near Manassas Junction. Other Northern soldiers pressed into the Shenandoah Valley from Harper's Ferry. They, too, found a Confederate army in front of them. The plan of the Union campaign is now clear: General McDowell was to attack the Confederates at Bull Run, while General Patterson attacked the Confederates in the Valley, and kept them so busy that they could not go to the help of their comrades at Bull Run. It fell out otherwise, for Patterson retreated and left the Confederate general, Johnston, free to go to the aid of the sorely pressed Confederates at Bull Run. McDowell attacked vigorously and broke the Confederate line; but he could not maintain his position. The Union troops at first retreated slowly. Then they became frightened and fled, in all haste, back to Washington. The first campaign ended in disaster.
[Illustration: GENERAL MCCLELLAN.]
The Army of the Potomac, 1862.
388. The Army of the Potomac.--While the Bull Run campaign was going on in eastern Virginia, Union soldiers had been winning victories in western Virginia. These were led by General George B. McClellan. He now came to Washington and took command of the troops operating in front of the capital. During the autumn, winter, and spring he drilled his men with great skill and care. In March, 1862, the Army of the Potomac left its camps a splendidly drilled body of soldiers.
Southern preparations. Source-Book,
308-311.
Richmond.
Army of Northern Virginia.
389. The Army of Northern Virginia.--Meantime the government of the Confederacy had gathered great masses of soldiers. There were not nearly as many white men of fighting age in the South as there were in the North. But what men there were could be placed in the fighting line, because the negro slaves could produce the food needed by the armies and do the hard labor of making forts. The capital of the Confederacy was now established at Richmond, on the James River, in Virginia. The army defending this capital was called the Army of Northern Virginia. It was commanded by Joseph E. Johnston; but its ablest officers were Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson).
McClellan's plan of campaign, 1862.
Objections to it.
390. Plan of the Peninsular Campaign.--The country between the Potomac and the James was cut up by rivers, as the Rappahannock, the Mattapony, and Pamunkey, and part of it was a wilderness. McClellan planned to carry his troops by water to the peninsula between the James and the York and Pamunkey rivers. He would then have a clear road to Richmond, with no great rivers to dispute with the enemy. Johnston would be obliged to leave his camp at Bull Run and march southward to the defense of Richmond. The great objection to the plan was that Johnston might attack Washington instead of going to face McClellan. General Jackson also was in the Shenandoah Valley. He might march down the Valley, cross the Potomac, and seize Washington. So the government kept seventy-five thousand of McClellan's men for the defense of the Federal capital.
[Illustration: THE "MONITOR."]
The Monitor and the Merrimac. Hero Tales, 183, 195.
391. The Monitor and the Merrimac.--On March 8 a queer-looking craft steamed out from Norfolk, Virginia, and attacked the Union fleet at anchor near Fortress Monroe. She destroyed two wooden frigates, the Cumberland and the Congress, and began the destruction of the Minnesota. She then steamed back to Norfolk. This formidable vessel was the old frigate Merrimac. Upon her decks the Confederates had built an iron house. From these iron sides the balls of the Union frigates rolled harmlessly away. But that night an even stranger-looking ship appeared at Fortress Monroe. This was the Monitor, a floating fort, built of iron. She was designed by John Ericsson, a Swedish immigrant. When the Merrimac came back to finish the destruction of the Minnesota, the Monitor steamed directly to her. These two ironclads fought and fought. At last the Merrimac steamed away and never renewed the fight.
Battle of Fair Oaks, May, 1862.
The Seven Days.
Malvern Hill.
392. The Peninsular Campaign, 1862.--By the end of May McClellan had gained a position within ten miles of Richmond. Meantime, Jackson fought so vigorously in the Shenandoah Valley that the Washington government refused to send more men to McClellan, although Johnston had gone with his army to the defense of Richmond. On May 31 the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia fought a hard battle at Fair Oaks. Johnston was wounded, and Lee took the chief command. He summoned Jackson from the Valley and attacked McClellan day after day, June 26 to July 2, 1862. These terrible battles of the Seven Days forced McClellan to change his base to the James, where he would be near the fleet. At Malvern Hill Lee and Jackson once more attacked him and were beaten off with fearful loss.
Lee's plan of campaign.
Second battle of Bull Run, August, 1862.
393. Second Bull Run Campaign.--The Army of the Potomac was still uncomfortably near Richmond. It occurred to Lee that if he should strike a hard blow at the army in front of Washington, Lincoln would recall McClellan. Suddenly, without any warning, Jackson appeared at Manassas Junction (p. 317). McClellan was at once ordered to transport his army by water to the Potomac, and place it under the orders of General John Pope, commanding the forces in front of Washington. McClellan did as he was ordered. But Lee moved faster than he could move. Before the Army of the Potomac was thoroughly in Pope's grasp, Lee attacked the Union forces near Bull Run. He defeated them, drove them off the field and back into the forts defending Washington (August, 1862).
Lee invades Maryland.
Antietam, September, 1862. Hero Tales, 199-209.
394. The Antietam Campaign, 1862.--Lee now crossed the Potomac into Maryland. But he found more resistance than he had looked for. McClellan was again given chief command. Gathering his forces firmly together, he kept between Lee and Washington, and threatened Lee's communications with Virginia. The Confederates drew back. McClellan found them strongly posted near the Antietam and attacked them. The Union soldiers fought splendidly. But military writers say that McClellan's attacks were not well planned. At all events, the Army of the Potomac lost more than twelve thousand men to less than ten thousand on the Confederate side, and Lee made good his retreat to Virginia. McClellan was now removed from command, and Ambrose E. Burnside became chief of the Army of the Potomac.
[Illustration: ANTIETAM (A WAR-TIME SKETCH).]
Battle of Fredericksburg, December, 1862.
395. Fredericksburg, December, 1862.--Burnside found Lee strongly posted on Marye's Heights, which rise sharply behind the little town of Fredericksburg on the southern bank of the Rappahannock River. Burnside attacked in front. His soldiers had to cross the river and assault the hill in face of a murderous fire--and in vain. He lost thirteen thousand men to only four thousand of the Confederates. "Fighting Joe" Hooker now succeeded Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac. We must now turn to the West, and see what had been doing there in 1861-62.
General Grant.
He seizes Cairo.
Battle of Mill Springs, January, 1862.
396. Grant and Thomas.--In Illinois there appeared a trained soldier of fierce energy and invincible will, Ulysses Simpson Grant. He had been educated at West Point and had served in the Mexican War. In September, 1861, he seized Cairo at the junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi. In January, 1862, General George H. Thomas defeated a Confederate force at Mill Springs, in the upper valley of the Cumberland River. In this way Grant and Thomas secured the line of the Ohio and eastern Kentucky for the Union.
[Illustration: THE BRIDGE AT ANTIETAM. Burnside's soldiers charged over the bridge from the middle foreground.]
Capture of Fort Henry, February, 1862.
Fort Donelson.
397. Forts Henry and Donelson, February, 1862.--In February, 1862, General Grant and Commodore Foote attacked two forts which the Confederates had built to keep the Federal gunboats from penetrating the western part of the Confederacy. Fort Henry yielded almost at once, but the Union forces besieged Fort Donelson for a longer time. Soon the Confederate defense became hopeless, and General Buckner asked for the terms of surrender. "Unconditional surrender," replied Grant, and Buckner surrendered. The lower Tennessee and the lower Cumberland were now open to the Union forces.
The lower Mississippi.
Admiral Farragut.
398. Importance of New Orleans.--New Orleans and the lower Mississippi were of great importance to both sides, for the possession of this region gave the Southerners access to Texas, and through Texas to Mexico. Union fleets were blockading every important Southern port. But as long as commerce overland with Mexico could be maintained, the South could struggle on. The Mississippi, too, has so many mouths that it was difficult to keep vessels from running in and out. For these reasons the Federal government determined to seize New Orleans and the lower Mississippi. The command of the expedition was given to Farragut, who had passed his boyhood in Louisiana. He was given as good a fleet as could be provided, and a force of soldiers was sent to help him.
[Illustration: A RIVER GUNBOAT.]
Capture of New Orleans, April, 1862. Higginson, 303-304; Source-Book, 313-315.
399. New Orleans captured, April, 1862.--Farragut carried his fleet into the Mississippi, but found his way upstream barred by two forts on the river's bank. A great chain stretched across the river below the forts, and a fleet of river gunboats with an ironclad or two was in waiting above the forts. Chain, forts, and gunboats all gave way before Farragut's forceful will. At night he passed the forts amid a terrific cannonade. Once above them New Orleans was at his mercy. It surrendered, and with the forts was soon occupied by the Union army. The lower Mississippi was lost to the Confederacy.
[Illustration: A WAR-TIME ENVELOPE.]
Shiloh, April, 1862.
Corinth, May, 1862.
400. Shiloh and Corinth, April, May, 1862.--General Halleck now directed the operations of the Union armies in the West. He ordered Grant to take his men up the Tennessee to Pittsburg Landing and there await the arrival of Buell with a strong force overland from Nashville. Grant encamped with his troops on the western bank of the Tennessee between Shiloh Church and Pittsburg Landing. Albert Sidney Johnston, the Confederate commander in the West, attacked him suddenly and with great fury. Soon the Union army was pushed back to the river. In his place many a leader would have withdrawn. But Grant, with amazing courage, held on. In the afternoon Buell's leading regiments reached the other side of the river. In the night they were ferried across, and Grant's outlying commands were brought to the front. The next morning Grant attacked in his turn and slowly but surely pushed the Confederates off the field. Halleck then united Grant's, Buell's, and Pope's armies and captured Corinth.
General Bragg invades Kentucky.
Battle of Perryville, October, 1862.
Murfreesboro', December, 1862. Eggleston, 331.
401. Bragg in Tennessee and Kentucky.--General Braxton Bragg now took a large part of the Confederate army, which had fought at Shiloh and Corinth, to Chattanooga. He then marched rapidly across Tennessee and Kentucky to the neighborhood of Louisville on the Ohio River. Buell was sent after him, and the two armies fought an indecisive battle at Perryville. Then Bragg retreated to Chattanooga. In a few months he was again on the march. Rosecrans had now succeeded Buell. He attacked Bragg at Murfreesboro'. For a long time the contest was equal. In the end, however, the Confederates were beaten and retired from the field.
The blockade.
402. The Blockade.--On the fall of Fort Sumter President Lincoln ordered a blockade of the Confederate seaports. There were few manufacturing industries in the South. Cotton and tobacco were the great staples of export. If her ports were blockaded the South could neither bring in arms and military supplies from Europe, nor send cotton and tobacco to Europe to be sold for money. So her power of resisting the Union armies would be greatly lessened. The Union government bought all kinds of vessels, even harbor ferryboats, armed them, and stationed them off the blockaded harbors. In a surprisingly short time the blockade was established. The Union forces also began to occupy the Southern seacoast, and thus the region that had to be blockaded steadily grew less.
Effect of the blockade.
403. Effects of the Blockade.--As months and years went by, and the blockade became stricter and stricter, the sufferings of the Southern people became ever greater. As they could not send their products to Europe to exchange for goods, they had to pay gold and silver for whatever the blockade runners brought in. Soon there was no more gold and silver in the Confederacy, and paper money took its place. Then the supplies of manufactured goods, as clothing and paper, of things not produced in the South, as coffee and salt, gave out. Toward the end of the war there were absolutely no medicines for the Southern soldiers, and guns were so scarce that it was proposed to arm one regiment with pikes. Nothing did more to break down Southern resistance than the blockade.
Hopes of the Southerners.
404. The Confederacy, Great Britain, and France.--From the beginning of the contest the Confederate leaders believed that the British and the French would interfere to aid them. "Cotton is king," they said. Unless there were a regular supply of cotton, the mills of England and of France must stop. Thousands of mill hands--men, women, and children--would soon be starving. The French and the British governments would raise the blockade. Perhaps they would even force the United States to acknowledge the independence of the Confederate states. There was a good deal of truth in this belief. For the British and French governments dreaded the growing power of the American republic and would gladly have seen it broken to pieces. But events fell out far otherwise than the Southern leaders had calculated. Before the supply of American cotton in England was used up, new supplies began to come in from India and from Egypt. The Union armies occupied portions of the cotton belt early in 1862, and American cotton was again exported. But more than all else, the English mill operatives, in all their hardships, would not ask their government to interfere. They saw clearly enough that the North was fighting for the rights of free labor. At times it seemed, however, as if Great Britain or France would interfere.
Southern agents sent to Europe.
Removed from the Trent.
Lincoln's opinion.
Action of Great Britain.
405. The Trent Affair, 1861.--As soon as the blockade was established, the British and French governments gave the Confederates the same rights in their ports as the United States had. The Southerners then sent two agents, Mason and Slidell, to Europe to ask the foreign governments to recognize the independence of the Confederate states. Captain Wilkes of the United States ship San Jacinto took these agents from the British steamer Trent. But Lincoln at once said that Wilkes had done to the British the very thing which we had fought the War of 1812 to prevent the British doing to us. "We must stick to American principles," said the President, "and restore the prisoners." They were given up. But the British government, without waiting to see what Lincoln would do, had gone actively to work to prepare for war. This seemed so little friendly that the people of the United States were greatly irritated.
The war powers of the President.
Lincoln follows Northern sentiment.
406. Lincoln and Slavery.--It will be remembered that the Republican party had denied again and again that it had any intention to interfere with slavery in the states. As long as peace lasted the Federal government could not interfere with slavery in the states. But when war broke out, the President, as commander-in-chief, could do anything to distress and weaken the enemy. If freeing the slaves in the seceded states would injure the secessionists, he had a perfect right to do it. But Lincoln knew that public opinion in the North would not approve this action. He would follow Northern sentiment in this matter, and not force it.
The contrabands.
407. Contrabands of War.--he war had scarcely begun before slaves escaped into the Union lines. One day a Confederate officer came to Fortress Monroe and demanded his runaway slaves under the Fugitive Slave Act (p. 281). General Butler refused to give them up on the ground that they were "contraband of war." By that phrase he meant that their restoration would be illegal as their services would be useful to the enemy. President Lincoln approved this decision of General Butler, and escaping slaves soon came to be called "Contrabands."
[Illustration: A WAR-TIME ENVELOPE.]
Abolition with compensation.
408. First Steps toward Emancipation, 1862.--Lincoln and the Republican party thought that Congress could not interfere with slavery in the states. It might, however, buy slaves and set them free or help the states to do this. So Congress passed a law offering aid to any state which should abolish slavery within its borders. Congress itself abolished slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation to the owners. It abolished slavery in the territories without compensation. Lincoln had gladly helped to make these laws. Moreover, by August, 1862, he had made up his mind that to free the slaves in the seceded states would help "to save the Union" and would therefore be right as a "war measure." For every negro taken away from forced labor would weaken the producing power of the South and so make the conquest of the South easier.
Lincoln's warning, September, 1862.
Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863. Higginson,
304-305; Source-Book, 315-318, 327-329.
409. The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863.--On September 23, 1862, Lincoln issued a proclamation stating that on the first day of the new year he would declare free all slaves in any portion of the United States then in rebellion. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This proclamation could be enforced only in those portions of the seceded states which were held by the Union armies. It did not free slaves in loyal states and did not abolish the institution of slavery anywhere. Slavery was abolished by the states of West Virginia, Missouri, and Maryland between 1862 and 1864. Finally, in 1865, it was abolished throughout the United States by the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment (p. 361).
Northern friends of secession.
Suspension of habeas corpus.
410. Northern Opposition to the War.--Many persons in the North thought that the Southerners had a perfect right to secede if they wished. Some of these persons sympathized so strongly with the Southerners that they gave them important information and did all they could to prevent the success of the Union forces. It was hard to prove anything against these Southern sympathizers, but it was dangerous to leave them at liberty. So Lincoln ordered many of them to be arrested and locked up. Now the Constitution provides that every citizen shall have a speedy trial. This is brought about by the issuing a writ of habeas corpus, compelling the jailer to bring his prisoner into court and show cause why he should not be set at liberty. Lincoln now suspended the operation of the writ of habeas corpus. This action angered many persons who were quite willing that the Southerners should be compelled to obey the law, but did not like to have their neighbors arrested and locked up without trial.
[Illustration: THE DRAFT.]
The draft.
Riots in the North.
411. The Draft Riots.--At the outset both armies were made up of volunteers; soon there were not enough volunteers. Both governments then drafted men for their armies; that is, they picked out by lot certain men and compelled them to become soldiers. The draft was bitterly resisted in some parts of the North, especially in New York City.
Position of the armies.
412. Position of the Armies, January, 1863.--The Army of the Potomac, now under Hooker, and the Army of Northern Virginia were face to face at Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock. In the West Rosecrans was at Murfreesboro', and Bragg on the way back to Chattanooga. In the Mississippi Valley Grant and Sherman had already begun the Vicksburg campaign. But as yet they had had no success.
Grant's Vicksburg Campaign, 1863. Hero Tales, 239-248.
413. Beginnings of the Vicksburg Campaign.--Vicksburg stood on the top of a high bluff directly on the river. Batteries erected at the northern end of the town commanded the river, which at that point ran directly toward the bluff. The best way to attack this formidable place was to proceed overland from Corinth. This Grant tried to do. But the Confederates forced him back.
Siege of Vicksburg. Source-Book,
320-323.
Surrender of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863.
414. Fall of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863.--Grant now carried his whole army down the Mississippi. For months he tried plan after plan, and every time he failed. Finally he marched his army down on the western side of the river, crossed the river below Vicksburg, and approached the fortress from the south and east. In this movement he was greatly aided by the Union fleet under Porter, which protected the army while crossing the river. Pemberton, the Confederate commander, at once came out from Vicksburg. But Grant drove him back and began the siege of the town from the land side. The Confederates made a gallant defense. But slowly and surely they were starved into submission. On July 4, 1863, Pemberton surrendered the fortress and thirty-seven thousand men.
Port Hudson surrendered.
Opening of the Mississippi.
415. Opening of the Mississippi.--Port Hudson, between Vicksburg and New Orleans, was now the only important Confederate position on the Mississippi. On July 8 it surrendered. A few days later the freight steamer Imperial from St. Louis reached New Orleans. The Mississippi at last "flowed unvexed to the sea." The Confederacy was cut in twain.
Chancellorsville, May, 1863. Hero Tales,
213-223.
Lee invades Pennsylvania.
Meade in command.
416. Lee's Second Invasion, 1863.--"Fighting Joe Hooker" was now in command of the Army of the Potomac. Outwitting Lee, he gained the rear of the Confederate lines on Marye's Heights, But Lee fiercely attacked him at Chancellorsville and drove him back across the Rappahannock. Then Lee again crossed the Potomac and invaded the North. This time he penetrated to the heart of Pennsylvania. Hooker moved on parallel lines, always keeping between Lee and the city of Washington. At length, in the midst of the campaign, Hooker asked to be relieved, and George G. Meade became the fifth and last chief of the Army of the Potomac.
[Illustration: BATTLEFIELD OF GETTYSBURG, LOOKING SOUTH FROM ROUND TOP.]
Lee retires.
Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863.
417. Gettysburg, July 1, 1863.--Meade now moved the Union army toward Lee's line of communication with Virginia. Lee at once drew back. Both armies moved toward Gettysburg, where the roads leading southward came together. In this way the two armies came into contact on July i, 1863. The Southerners were in stronger force at the moment and drove the Union soldiers back through the town to the high land called Cemetery Ridge. This was a remarkably strong position, with Culp's Hill at one end of the line and the Round Tops at the other end. Meade determined to fight the battle at that spot and hurried up all his forces.
[Illustration: MAP: Battle of Gettysburg.]
The second day.
418. Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.--At first matters seemed to go badly with the Union army. Its left flank extended forward from Little Round Top into the fields at the foot of the ridge. The Confederates drove back this part of the Union line. But they could not seize Little Round Top. On this day also the Confederates gained a foothold on Culp's Hill.
The third day. Source-Book, 323-327.
Pickett's charge. Hero Tales, 227-236.
It fails.
Lee retreats, July 4, 1863.
419. Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.--Early on this morning the Union soldiers drove the Confederates away from Culp's Hill and held the whole ridge. Now again, as at Malvern Hill (p. 321), Lee had fought the Army of the Potomac to a standstill. But he would not admit failure. Led by Pickett of Virginia, thirteen thousand men charged across the valley between the two armies directly at the Union center. Some of them even penetrated the Union lines. But there the line stopped. Slowly it began to waver. Then back the Confederates went--all who escaped. The battle of Gettysburg was won. Lee faced the Army of the Potomac for another day and then retreated. In this tremendous conflict the Confederates lost twenty-two thousand five hundred men killed and wounded and five thousand taken prisoners by the Northerners--a total loss of twenty-eight thousand out of eighty thousand in the battle. The Union army numbered ninety-three thousand men and lost twenty-three thousand, killed and wounded. Vicksburg and Gettysburg cost the South sixty-five thousand fighting men--a loss that could not be made good. We must now turn to eastern Tennessee.
Rosecrans and Bragg, 1863.
Chickamauga, September, 1863.
Thomas and Sheridan.
Grant in command in the West.
420. Chickamauga, September, 1863.--For six months after Murfreesboro' (p. 326) Rosecrans and Bragg remained in their camps. In the summer of 1863 Rosecrans, by a series of skillful marchings, forced Bragg to abandon Chattanooga. But Bragg was now greatly strengthened by soldiers from the Mississippi and by Longstreet's division from Lee's army in Virginia. He turned on Rosecrans, and attacked him at Chickamauga Creek. The right wing of the Union army was driven from the field. But Thomas, "the Rock of Chickamauga," with his men stood fast. Bragg attacked him again and again, and failed every time, although he had double Thomas's numbers. Rosecrans, believing the battle to be lost, had ridden off to Chattanooga, but Sheridan aided Thomas as well as he could. The third day Thomas and Bragg kept their positions, and then the Union soldiers retired unpursued to Chattanooga. The command of the whole army at Chattanooga was now given to Thomas, and Grant was placed in control of all the Western armies.
[Illustration: GENERAL THOMAS.]
Sherman's attack.
Hooker's attack.
Thomas's attack.
Rout of the Confederates, November, 1863.
421. Chattanooga, November, 1863.--The Union soldiers at Chattanooga were in great danger. For the Confederates were all about them and they could get no food. But help was at hand. Hooker, with fifteen thousand men from the Army of the Potomac, arrived and opened a road by which food could reach Chattanooga. Then Grant came with Sherman's corps from Vicksburg. He at once sent Sherman to assail Bragg's right flank and ordered Hooker to attack his left flank. Sherman and his men advanced until he was stopped by a deep ravine. At the other end of the line Hooker fought right up the side of Lookout Mountain, until the battle raged above the clouds. In the center were Thomas's men. Eager to avenge the slaughter of Chickamauga, they carried the first Confederate line of defenses. Then, without orders, they rushed up the hillside over the inner lines. They drove the Southerners from their guns and seized their works. Bragg retreated as well as he could. Longstreet was besieging Knoxville. He escaped through the mountains to Lee's army in Virginia.
Grant in chief command.
Sherman commands in the West.
422. Grant in Command of all the Armies.--The Vicksburg and Chattanooga campaigns marked out Grant for the chief command. Hitherto the Union forces had acted on no well-thought-out plan. Now Grant was appointed Lieutenant General and placed in command of all the armies of the United States (March, 1864). He decided to carry on the war in Virginia in person. Western operations he intrusted to Sherman, with Thomas in command of the Army of the Cumberland. Sheridan came with Grant to Virginia and led the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. We will first follow Sherman and Thomas and the Western armies.
[Illustration: GENERAL SHERMAN.]
Sherman's army.
The march to Atlanta.
Hood attacks Sherman.
423. The Atlanta Campaign, 1864.--Sherman had one hundred thousand veterans, led by Thomas, McPherson, and Schofield. Joseph E. Johnston, who succeeded Bragg, had fewer men, but he occupied strongly fortified positions. Yet week by week Sherman forced him back till, after two months of steady fighting, Johnston found himself in the vicinity of Atlanta. This was the most important manufacturing center in the South. The Confederates must keep Atlanta if they possibly could. Johnston plainly could not stop Sherman. So Hood was appointed in his place, in the expectation that he would fight. Hood fought his best. Again and again he attacked Sherman only to be beaten off with heavy loss. He then abandoned Atlanta to save his army. From May to September Sherman lost twenty-two thousand men, but the Confederates lost thirty-five thousand men and Atlanta too.
Problems of war.
Plan of the March to the Sea.
424. Plans of Campaign.--Hood now led his army northward to Tennessee. But Sherman, instead of following him, sent only Thomas and Schofield. Sherman knew that the Confederacy was a mere shell. Its heart had been destroyed. What would be the result of a grand march through Georgia to the seacoast, and then northward through the Carolinas to Virginia? Would not this unopposed march show the people of the North, of the South, and of Europe that further resistance was useless? Sherman thought that it would, and that once in Virginia he could help Grant crush Lee. Grant agreed with Sherman and told him to carry out his plans. But first we must see what happened to Thomas and Hood.
Hood in Tennessee.
Battle of Franklin, November, 1864.
Thomas destroys Hood's army, December, 1864.
425. Thomas and Hood, 1864.--Never dreaming that Sherman was not in pursuit, Hood marched rapidly northward until he had crossed the Tennessee. He then spent three weeks in resting his tired soldiers and in gathering supplies. This delay gave Thomas time to draw in recruits. At last Hood attacked Schofield at Franklin on November 30, 1864. Schofield retreated to Nashville, where Thomas was with the bulk of his army, and Hood followed. Thomas took all the time he needed to complete his preparations. Grant felt anxious at his delay and ordered him to fight. But Thomas would not fight until he was ready. At length, on December 15, he struck the blow, and in two days of fighting destroyed Hood's whole army. This was the last great battle in the West.
The March to the Sea, 1864.
Fall of Savannah, December, 1864.
426. Marching through Georgia.--Destroying the mills and factories of Atlanta, Sherman set out for the seashore. He had sixty thousand men with him. They were all veterans and marched along as if on a holiday excursion. Spreading out over a line of sixty miles, they gathered everything eatable within reach. Every now and then they would stop and destroy a railroad. This they did by taking up the rails, heating them in the middle on fires of burning sleepers, and then twisting them around the nearest trees. In this way they cut a gap sixty miles long in the railroad communication between the half-starved army of northern Virginia and the storehouses of southern Georgia. On December 10, 1864, Sherman reached the sea. Ten days later he captured Savannah and presented it to the nation as a Christmas gift. Sherman and Thomas between them had struck a fearful blow at the Confederacy. How had it fared with Grant?
Grant's plan of campaign, 1864.
Objections to it.
427. Grant in Virginia, 1864.--Grant had with him in Virginia the Army of the Potomac under Meade, the Ninth Corps under Burnside, and a great cavalry force under Sheridan. In addition General Butler was on the James River with some thirty thousand men. Lee had under his orders about one-half as many soldiers as had Grant. In every other respect the advantage was on his side. Grant's plan of campaign was to move by his left from the Rappahannock southeastwardly. He expected to push Lee southward and hoped to destroy his army. Butler, on his part, was to move up the James. By this plan Grant could always be near navigable water and could in this way easily supply his army with food and military stores. The great objection to this scheme of invasion was that it gave Lee shorter lines of march to all important points. This fact and their superior knowledge of the country gave the Confederates an advantage which largely made up for their lack in numbers.
Battle of the Wilderness, May, 1864.
428. The Wilderness, May, 1864.--On May 4 and 5 the Union army crossed the Rapidan and marched southward through the Wilderness. It soon found itself very near the scene of the disastrous battle of Chancellorsville (p. 335). The woods were thick and full of underbrush. Clearings were few, and the roads were fewer still. On ground like this Lee attacked the Union army. Everything was in favor of the attacker, for it was impossible to foresee his blows, or to get men quickly to any threatened spot. Nevertheless Grant fought four days. Then he skillfully removed the army and marched by his left to Spotsylvania Court House.
[Illustration: GENERAL GRANT. From a photograph taken in the field, March, 1865. "Strong, simple, silent, ... such was he Who helped us in our need."--LOWELL.]
Spotsylvania, May, 1864.
429. Spotsylvania, May, 1864.--Lee reached Spotsylvania first and fortified his position. For days fearful combats went on. One point in the Confederate line, called the Salient, was taken and retaken over and over again. The loss of life was awful, and Grant could not push Lee back. So on May 20 he again set out on his march by the left and directed his army to the North Anna. But Lee was again before him and held such a strong position that it was useless to attack him.
Cold Harbor.
Blockade of Petersburg.
430. To the James, June, 1864.--Grant again withdrew his army and resumed his southward march. But when he reached Cold Harbor, Lee was again strongly fortified. Both armies were now on the ground of the Peninsular Campaign. For two weeks Grant attacked again and again. Then on June 11 he took up his march for the last time. On June 15 the Union soldiers reached the banks of the James River below the junction of the Appomattox. But, owing to some misunderstanding, Petersburg had not been seized. So Lee established himself there, and the campaign took on the form of a siege. In these campaigns from the Rapidan to the James, Grant lost in killed, wounded, and missing sixty thousand men. Lee's loss was much less--how much less is not known.
[Illustration: A BOMB PROOF AT PETERSBURG AS IT APPEARS TO-DAY WITH THE TREES GROWING ON THE BREASTWORKS.]
Importance of Petersburg.
431. Petersburg, June-December, 1864.--Petersburg guarded the roads leading from Richmond to the South. It was in reality a part of the defenses of Richmond. For if these roads passed out of Confederate control, the Confederate capital would have to be abandoned. It was necessary for Lee to keep Petersburg. Grant, on the other hand, wished to gain the roads south of Petersburg. He lengthened his line; but each extension was met by a similar extension of the Confederate line. This process could not go on forever. The Confederacy was getting worn out. No more men could be sent to Lee. Sooner or later his line would become so weak that Grant could break through. Then Petersburg and Richmond must be abandoned. Two years before, when Richmond was threatened by McClellan, Lee had secured the removal of the Army of the Potomac by a sudden movement toward Washington (p. 321). He now detached Jubal Early with a formidable force and sent him through the Shenandoah Valley to Washington.
[Illustration: GENERAL SHERIDAN.]
Confederate attack on Washington, 1864.
Sheridan in the Valley. Hero Tales, 263-290.
Confederate disaster, October, 1864.
Lincoln reëlected, November, 1864. McMaster,
425-426.
432. Sheridan's Valley Campaigns, 1864.--The conditions now were very unlike the conditions of 1862. Now, Grant was in command instead of McClellan or Pope. He controlled the movements of all the armies without interference from Washington, and he had many more men than Lee. Without letting go his hold on Petersburg, Grant sent two army corps by water to Washington. Early was an able and active soldier, but he delayed his attack on Washington until soldiers came from the James. He then withdrew to the Shenandoah Valley. Grant now gave Sheridan forty thousand infantry and fifteen thousand cavalry, and sent him to the Valley with orders to drive Early out and to destroy all supplies in the Valley which could be used by another Southern army. Splendidly Sheridan did his work. At one time, when he was away, the Confederates surprised the Union army. But, hearing the roar of the battle, Sheridan rode rapidly to the front. As he rode along, the fugitives turned back. The Confederates, surprised in their turn, were swept from the field and sent whirling up the Valley in wild confusion (October 19, 1864). Then Sheridan destroyed everything that could be of service to another invading army and rejoined Grant at Petersburg. In the November following this great feat of arms, Lincoln was reëlected President.
Mobile Bay, 1864. Hero Tales, 303-322.
Kearsarge and Alabama.
433. The Blockade and the Cruisers, 1863-64.--The blockade had now become stricter than ever. For by August, 1864, Farragut had carried his fleet into Mobile Bay and had closed it to commerce. Sherman had taken Savannah. Early in 1865 Charleston was abandoned, for Sherman had it at his mercy, and Terry captured Wilmington. The South was now absolutely dependent on its own resources, and the end could not be far off. On the open sea, with England's aid a few vessels flew the Confederate flag. The best known of these vessels was the Alabama. She was built in England, armed with English guns, and largely manned by Englishmen. On June 19, 1864, the United States ship Kearsarge sank her off Cherbourg, France. Englishmen were also building two ironclad battleships for the Confederates. But the American minister at London, Mr. Charles Francis Adams, said that if they were allowed to sail, it would be "war." The English government thereupon bought the vessels.
[Illustration: ADMIRAL FARRAGUT.]
Sherman's northern march, 1865.
434. Sherman's March through the Carolinas, 1865.--Early in 1865 Sherman set out on the worst part of his great march. He now directed his steps northward from Savannah toward Virginia. The Confederates prepared to meet him. But Sherman set out before they expected him, and thus gained a clear path for the first part of his journey. Joseph E. Johnston now took command of the forces opposed to Sherman and did everything he could to stop him. At one moment it seemed as if he might succeed. He almost crushed the forward end of Sherman's army before the rest of the soldiers could be brought to its rescue. But Sherman's veterans were too old soldiers to be easily defeated. They first beat back the enemy in front, and when another force appeared in the rear they jumped to the other side of their field breastworks and defeated that force also. Night then put an end to the combat, and by morning the Union force was too strong to be attacked. Pressing on, Sherman reached Goldsboro' in North Carolina. There he was joined by Terry from Wilmington and by Schofield from Tennessee. Sherman now was strong enough to beat any Confederate army. He moved to Raleigh and completely cut Lee's communications with South Carolina and Georgia, April, 1865.
Condition of Lee's army.
Higginson, 317.
Surrender of the Southern armies, April 1865. Source-book,
329-333.
435. Appomattox, April, 1865.--The end of the Confederacy was now plainly in sight. Lee's men were starving. They were constantly deserting either to go to the aid of their perishing families or to obtain food from the Union army. As soon as the roads were fit for marching, Grant set his one hundred and twenty thousand men once more in motion. His object was to gain the rear of Lee's army and to force him to abandon Petersburg. A last despairing attack on the Union center only increased Grant's vigor. On April 1 Sheridan with his cavalry and an infantry corps seized Five Forks in the rear of Petersburg and could not be driven away. Petersburg and Richmond were abandoned. Lee tried to escape to the mountains. But now the Union soldiers marched faster than the starving Southerners. Sheridan, outstripping them, placed his men across their path at Appomattox Court House. There was nothing left save surrender. The soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia, now only thirty-seven thousand strong, laid down their arms, April 9, 1865. Soon Johnston surrendered, and the remaining small isolated bands of Confederates were run down and captured.
Murder of Lincoln, April 14, 1865. Higginson, 322-323; Source-book, 333-335.
436. Lincoln murdered, April 14, 1865.--The national armies were victorious. President Lincoln, never grander or wiser than in the moment of victory, alone stood between the Southern people and the Northern extremists clamoring for vengeance. On the night of April 14 he was murdered by a sympathizer with slavery and secession. No one old enough to remember the morning of April 15, 1865, will ever forget the horror aroused in the North by this unholy murder. In the beginning Lincoln had been a party leader. In the end the simple grandeur of his nature had won for him a place in the hearts of the American people that no other man has ever gained. He was indeed the greatest because the most typical of Americans. Vice-President Andrew Johnson, a war Democrat from Tennessee, became President. The vanquished secessionists were soon to taste the bitter dregs of the cup of defeat.
[Illustration: MAYOR'S OFFICE, APRIL 15th, 1865, Death notice of Abraham Lincoln]
[Use maps constantly while studying this period. The maps provided in Dodge's Bird's-Eye View are admirably adapted to this purpose.]
CHAPTER 37
§ 380.--a. What did Lincoln say about the Union? What did he say about slavery? What oath did Lincoln take?
b. Was his inaugural conciliatory to the South?
§§ 381, 382.--a. What was the result of Buchanan's attempt to send supplies to Fort Sumter?
b. Why did Lincoln inform the governor of South Carolina of his determination to succor Fort Sumter?
c. What was the effect on Northern opinion of the attack on Fort Sumter?
d. Could the Southerners have done otherwise than fire on the flag?
§§ 383-385.--a. Why were the Virginians so divided? What resulted from this division?
b. What were the "border states"? Could these states have been neutral?
c. Describe the especial importance of Maryland.
d. What oath had the officers of the United States army and navy taken? Did Lee and other officers who resigned necessarily believe in the right of secession? Give your reasons.
CHAPTER 38
§§ 386, 387.--a. State the advantages of the Southerners from the geographical point of view.
b. Explain how rivers were lines of defense.
c. Describe carefully the plan of the Bull Run campaign.
d. Why was the Shenandoah Valley so important?
§§ 388-390.--a. Why was McClellan placed in command of the Army of the Potomac?
b. Of what advantage to the South were the negroes?
c. Describe the plan of the Peninsular Campaign. What was the great objection to it?
§ 391.--a. Describe the Merrimac, the Monitor. Compare them with the Congress.
b. What effect did the Monitor-Merrimac fight have on McClellan's campaign?
§§ 392, 393.--a Describe the Peninsular Campaign. Why were not more soldiers sent to McClellan?
b. What is meant by the phrase "change of base"?
c. How did Lee secure the removal of McClellan's army from the James?
§§ 394, 395.--a Why did Lee invade Maryland? b. Describe the battle of Antietam, of Fredericksburg. What was the result of each of these battles?
§§ 396, 397.--a. Give an account of the early life and training of Grant and of Thomas.
b. Why were the seizures of Cairo and Paducah and the battle of Mill Springs important?
c. What is meant by the phrase "unconditional surrender"?
§§ 398, 399.--a. Explain carefully the importance to the South of New Orleans and the lower Mississippi.
b. Give an account of Farragut's early life. How did it fit him for this work?
c. Describe the operations against New Orleans.
§ 400.--a. Explain carefully the plan of the campaign to Corinth Why was Corinth important?
b. What quality in Grant was conspicuous at Shiloh?
§ 401.--a. What was Bragg's object in invading Kentucky? How far did he succeed? Why was Chattanooga important?
CHAPTER 39
§§ 402, 403.--a. What is a blockade? What was the effect of the blockade on the South?
b. Had sea power been in Southern hands, could the Union have been saved?
c. Why was Charleston so difficult to capture? (Compare with the Revolutionary War.)
§§ 405, 406.--a. What help did the Southerners hope to obtain from Great Britain and France? Why? How were their hopes disappointed?
b. What do you think of the action of the English mill operatives?
c. Describe the Trent Affair. What do you think of Lincoln's action? Did the British government act wisely?
§§ 406, 407.--a. What had the Republican party declared about slavery in the states? What had Lincoln said in his inaugural?
b. How had the war altered Lincoln's power as President?
c. Why was it necessary for Lincoln to follow Northern sentiment?
d. What is contraband of war? How were the slaves contraband?
§§ 408, 409.--a. What steps had already been taken by Congress toward freeing the slaves?
b. How was the Emancipation Proclamation justified? Upon what would its enforcement depend?
c. What slave states were not affected by this proclamation?
d. How was slavery as an institution abolished throughout the United States?
§§ 410, 411.--a. Why was not the North united upon this war?
b. What is the force of the writ of habeas corpus? Why is it so important?
c. What was the "draft," and why was it necessary?
CHAPTER 40
§§ 412-415.--a. Explain the position of the armies at the beginning of 1863.
b. Why was the conquest of Vicksburg so difficult? How was it finally captured?
c. What effect did the control of the Mississippi have upon the Confederacy?
§ 416.--a. What was Lee's object in invading Pennsylvania?
b. What position did the Union army keep as regards the Confederates?
§§ 417-419.--a. Describe the battle-field of Gettysburg. Why was the battle so important?
b. Describe in detail the principal events of each day of the battle.
c. Learn Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." How was this ground hallowed? What was the great task before the people?
§§ 420, 421.--a. Describe the battle of Chickamauga. Review Thomas's services up to this time.
b. Describe the three parts of the battle of Chattanooga.
CHAPTER 41
§§ 422, 423.--a. How had Grant shown his fitness for high command? Was it wise to have one man in command of all the armies? Why?
b. Review Sherman's career up to this time. Why did Grant impose trust in him?
c. What was the result of Hood's attacks?
§§ 424-426.--a. What was the real object of Sherman's march to the sea?
b. Describe the destruction of Hood's army. What does it show as to Thomas's ability?
c. What did Sherman's army accomplish on its way to the sea?
§§ 427-430.--a. Compare the conditions of the two armies in Virginia. Explain the advantages of the Confederates.
b. Describe the battle of the Wilderness, noting the conditions favorable to the Confederates.
c. Describe the movement to the James. What advantages had Grant not possessed by McClellan?
§§ 431, 432.--a. Why was Petersburg important?
b. How did Lee try to compel the withdrawal of Grant? Why did he not succeed?
c. Describe Sheridan's work in the Shenandoah Valley. Read a short account of Sheridan's career to 1865, and state his services to the Union cause.
§§ 433.--a. How had Sherman's victories affected the blockade?
b. What aid had Great Britain given to the Confederates? Why did she not give more assistance?
§§ 434, 435.--a. How did Sherman's occupation of Raleigh affect Lee?
b. Describe the condition of Lee's army. How was its capture accomplished?
§ 436.--a. Why was Lincoln's death a terrible loss to the South?
b. Why is he the greatest of all Americans?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Review the steps which led to the war for the Union.
b. What were Lincoln's personal views as to slavery? Why could he not carry them out?
c. What were Lincoln's leading characteristics? Give illustrations to support your view.
d. Study Grant's military career and try to find out why he succeeded where others failed.
e. Arrange a table of the leading campaigns, giving dates, leaders, end to be attained, important battles, and result.
f. Give the two most important battles of the war. Why do you select these?
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK.
a. Life in Southern prisons.
b. The Shenandoah Valley in the war.
c. Any important battle or naval action, or leading general, or naval commander.
d. The part played by your own state or town in the war, or the history of one of your state regiments.
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS
A few days spent upon a study of the field of war will save a great deal of time. Channing's Students' History will enable the teacher to indicate the most important strategic points. Maps have been sparingly provided in this book, as the simple plans in Dodge's Bird's-eye View can easily be reproduced on the blackboard. In general, campaigns should be studied rather than battles.
Pictures relating to this period are easily obtainable and may be freely used. It is an excellent plan to ask some veteran to describe his experiences, and the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic will often lend material aid in making the war real to the pupils. Grant's career should be especially studied, and the reasons for his successes carefully noted.
Indeed, the study of this period may well center around Lincoln and Grant. Lincoln's inaugurals are too difficult to be studied thoroughly. But the teacher can easily select portions, as the last paragraph of the second inaugural. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address should be learned by every pupil, and his letter to Greeley (Students' History, p. 539) will throw a flood of light on Lincoln's character. In studying this period, as well as other periods, it is better to dwell on the patriotism and heroism of our soldiers, sailors, and statesmen than to point out their mistakes and personal faults.
Literature is so rich in reference to this time that nothing more than the mention of the works of Lowell, Whittier, Holmes, and Longfellow is needed.
[Illustration: THE PRESENT FLAG, 1900.]
References.--Scribner's Popular History, V; McMaster's School History, chs. xxx-xxxiii; Andrews's Last Quarter-Century.
Home Readings.--Hale's Mr. Merriam's Scholars.
Position of the seceded states.
Lincoln's policy of reconstruction. McMaster, 427-428.
437. Lincoln's Reconstruction Policy.--The great question now before the country was what should be done with the Southern states and people. And what should be done with the freedmen? On these questions people were not agreed. Some people thought that the states were "indestructible"; that they could not secede or get out of the Union. Others thought that the Southern states had been conquered and should be treated as a part of the national domain. Lincoln thought that it was useless to go into these questions. The Southern states were out of the "proper practical relations with the Union." That was clear enough. The thing to do, therefore, was to restore "proper practical relations" as quickly and as quietly as possible. In December, 1863, Lincoln had offered a pardon to all persons, with some exceptions, who should take the oath of allegiance to the United States, and should promise to support the Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation. Whenever one-tenth of the voters in any of the Confederate states should do these things, and should set up a republican form of government, Lincoln promised to recognize that government as the state government. But the admission to Congress of Senators and Representatives from such a reconstructed state would rest with Congress. Several states were reconstructed on this plan. But public opinion was opposed to this quiet reorganization of the seceded states. The people trusted Lincoln, however, and had he lived he might have induced them to accept his plan.
Andrew Johnson President, 1865.
His ideas on reconstruction. McMaster, 428.
438. President Johnson's Reconstruction Plan.--Johnson was an able man and a patriot. But he had none of Lincoln's wise patience. He had none of Lincoln's tact and humor in dealing with men. On the contrary, he always lost his temper when opposed. Although he was a Southerner, he hated slavery and slave owners. On the other hand, he had a Southerner's contempt for the negroes. He practically adopted Lincoln's reconstruction policy and tried to bring about the reorganization of the seceded states by presidential action.
Force of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Abolition of slavery, 1865.
439. The Thirteenth Amendment, 1865.--President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (p. 331) had freed the slaves in those states and parts of states which were in rebellion against the national government. It had not freed the slaves in the loyal states. It had not destroyed slavery as an institution. Any state could reestablish slavery whenever it chose. Slavery could be prohibited only by an amendment of the Constitution. So the Thirteenth Amendment was adopted, December, 1865. This amendment declares that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, ... shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." In this way slavery came to an end throughout the United States.
HORSE CAR.
Forced labor in the South. McMaster,
429.
The Freedmen's Bureau. Source-book, 339-342.
440. Congress and the President, 1865-66.--Unhappily many of the old slave states had passed laws to compel the negroes to work. They had introduced a system of forced labor which was about the same thing as slavery. In December, 1865, the new Congress met. The Republicans were in the majority. They refused to admit the Senators and Representatives from the reorganized Southern states and at once set to work to pass laws for the protection of the negroes. In March, 1865, while the war was still going on, and while Lincoln was alive, Congress had established the Freedmen's Bureau to look after the interests of the negroes. Congress now (February, 1866) passed a bill to continue the Bureau and to give it much more power. Johnson promptly vetoed the bill. In the following July Congress passed another bill to continue the Freedmen's Bureau. In this bill the officers of the Bureau were given greatly enlarged powers, the education of the blacks was provided for, and the army might be used to compel obedience to the law. Johnson vetoed this bill also.
Civil Rights Bill, 1866.
It is passed over Johnson's veto.
The Fourteenth Amendment, 1866.
441. The Fourteenth Amendment.--While this contest over the Freedmen's Bureau was going on, Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill to protect the freedmen. This bill provided that cases concerning the civil rights of the freedmen should be heard in the United States courts instead of in the state courts. Johnson thought that Congress had no power to do this. He vetoed the bill, and Congress passed it over his veto. Congress then drew up the Fourteenth Amendment. This forbade the states to abridge the rights of the citizens, white or black. It further provided that the representation of any state in Congress should be diminished whenever it denied the franchise to any one except for taking part in rebellion. Finally it guaranteed the debt of the United States, and declared all debts incurred in support of rebellion null and void. Every Southern state except Tennessee refused to accept this amendment.
[Illustration: ANDREW JOHNSON.]
Elections of 1866.
Tenure of Office Act, 1867.
The Reconstruction Acts, 1867. Process of reconstruction.
Source-Book, 344-346.
442. The Reconstruction Acts, 1867.--The Congressional elections of November, 1866, were greatly in favor of the Republicans. The Republican members of Congress felt that this showed that the North was with them in their policy as to reconstruction. Congress met in December, 1866, and at once set to work to carry out this policy. First of all it passed the Tenure of Office Act to prevent Johnson dismissing Republicans from office. Then it passed the Reconstruction Act. Johnson vetoed both of these measures, and Congress passed them both over his veto. The Reconstruction Act was later amended and strengthened. It will be well to describe here the process of reconstruction in its final form. First of all the seceded states, with the exception of Tennessee, were formed into military districts. Each district was ruled by a military officer who had soldiers to carry out his directions. Tennessee was not included in this arrangement, because it had accepted the Fourteenth Amendment. But all the other states, which had been reconstructed by Lincoln or by Johnson, were to be reconstructed over again. The franchise was given to all men, white or black, who had lived in any state for one year--excepting criminals and persons who had taken part in rebellion. This exception took the franchise away from the old rulers of the South. These new voters could form a state constitution and elect a legislature which should ratify the Fourteenth Amendment. When all this had been done, Senators and Representatives from the reconstructed state might be admitted to Congress.
Charges against Johnson.
He is impeached.
But not convicted.
443. Impeachment of Johnson, 1868.--President Johnson had vetoed all these bills. He had declared that the Congress was a Congress of only a part of the states, because Representatives from the states reconstructed according to his ideas were not admitted. He had used language toward his opponents that was fairly described as indecent and unbecoming the chief officer of a great nation. Especially he had refused to be bound by the Tenure of Office Act. Ever since the formation of the government the Presidents had removed officers when they saw fit. The Tenure of Office Act required the consent of the Senate to removals as well as to appointments. Among the members of Lincoln's cabinet who were still in office was Edwin M. Stanton. Johnson removed him, and this brought on the crisis. The House impeached the President. The Senate, presided over by Chief Justice Chase, heard the impeachment. The Constitution requires the votes of two-thirds of the Senators to convict. Seven Republicans voted with the Democrats against conviction, and the President was acquitted by one vote.
Napoleon's plans.
Action of the United States.
Withdrawal of the French, 1868.
444. The French in Mexico.--Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, seized the occasion of the Civil War to set the Monroe Doctrine at defiance and to refound a French colonial empire in America. At one time, indeed, he seemed to be on the point of interfering, to compel the Union government to withdraw its armies from the Confederate states. Then Napoleon had an idea that perhaps Texas might secede from the Confederacy and set up for itself under French protection. This failing, he began the establishment of an empire in Mexico with the Austrian prince, Maximilian, as Emperor. The ending of the Civil War made it possible for the United States to interfere. Grant and Sheridan would gladly have marched troops into Mexico and turned out the French, but Seward said that the French would have to leave before long anyway. He hastened their going by telling the French government that the sooner they left the better. They were withdrawn in 1868. Maximilian insisted on staying. He was captured by the Mexicans and shot. The Mexican Republic was reestablished.
Purchase of Alaska, 1867.
The fur seals.
Boundary controversy.
445. The Purchase of Alaska, 1867.--In 1867 President Johnson sent to the Senate, for ratification, a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Russia's American possessions. These were called Alaska, and included an immense tract of land in the extreme Northwest. The price to be paid was seven million dollars. The history of this purchase is still little known. The Senate was completely taken by surprise, but it ratified the treaty. Until recent years the only important product of Alaska has been the skins of the fur seals. To preserve the seal herds from extinction, the United States made rules limiting the number of seals to be killed in any one year. The Canadians were not bound by these rules, and the herds have been nearly destroyed. In recent years large deposits of gold have been found in Alaska and in neighboring portions of Canada. But the Canadian deposits are hard to reach without first going through Alaska. This fact has made it more difficult to agree with Great Britain as to the boundary between Alaska and Canada.
Grant nominated for the presidency.
The Democrats.
Grant elected, 1868.
446. Grant elected President, 1868.--The excitement over reconstruction and the bitter contest between the Republicans in Congress and the President had brought about great confusion in politics. The Democrats nominated General F. P. Blair, a gallant soldier, for Vice-President. For President they nominated Horatio Seymour of New York. He was a Peace Democrat. As governor of New York during the war he had refused to support the national government. The Republicans nominated General Grant.
He received three hundred thousand more votes than Seymour. Of the two hundred and ninety-four electoral votes, Grant received two hundred and fifteen.
The Fifteenth Amendment, 1870.
447. The Fifteenth Amendment.--In February, 1869, just before Grant's inauguration, Congress proposed still another amendment, providing that neither the United States nor any state could abridge the rights of citizens of the United States on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The state legislatures hastened to accept this amendment, and it was declared in force in March, 1870.
Progress of reconstruction.
Reunion, 1870.
448. End of Reconstruction.--Three states only were still unreconstructed. These were Virginia, Texas, and Mississippi. In 1869 Congress added to the conditions on which they could be readmitted to the Union the acceptance of the Fifteenth Amendment. Early in 1870 they all complied with the conditions and were readmitted. The Union was now again complete. Since 1860 four states had been added to the Union. These were Kansas, West Virginia, Nevada, and Nebraska. There were now thirty-seven states in all.
The carpetbaggers. McMaster, 439-414.
The Ku-Klux-Klan.
The Force Acts.
449. The Southerners and the Negroes.--The first result of the Congressional plan of reconstruction was to give the control of the Southern states to the freedmen and their white allies. Some of these white friends of the freedmen were men of character and ability, but most of them were adventurers who came from the North to make their fortunes. They were called the "carpetbaggers," because they usually carried their luggage in their hands. The few Southern whites who befriended the negroes were called "scalawags" by their white neighbors. Secret societies sprang into being. The most famous was the Ku-Klux-Klan. The object of these societies was to terrorize the freedmen and their white friends and to prevent their voting. This led to the passage of the Force Acts. These laws provided severe penalties for crimes of intimidation. They also provided that these cases should be tried in United States courts. Federal soldiers, stationed in the South, could be used to compel obedience to the law.
Relations with Great Britain.
Treaty of Washington, 1871. Source-Book, 355-358.
The Geneva Award.
450. The Alabama Claims.--During the Civil War vessels built in British shipyards, or refitted and supplied with coal at British ports, had preyed upon American commerce. The most famous of these vessels was the Alabama. The claims for losses caused by these vessels which the United States presented to Great Britain were therefore called the "Alabama Claims." There also were disputes with Great Britain over the fisheries and over the western end of the Oregon boundary. In 1871 the United States and Great Britain made an arrangement called the Treaty of Washington. By this treaty all these points of dispute were referred to arbitration. The Oregon boundary was decided in favor of the United States, but the fishery dispute was decided in favor of Great Britain. The "Alabama Claims" were settled by five arbitrators who sat at Geneva in Switzerland. They decided that Great Britain had not used "due diligence" to prevent the abuse of her ports by the Confederates. They condemned her to pay fifteen and one-half million dollars damages to the United States.
The Chicago fire, 1871.
451. The Chicago Fire, 1871.--Early one morning in October, 1871, a Chicago woman went to the barn to milk her cow. She carried a lighted kerosene lamp, for it was still dark. The cow kicked over the lamp. The barn was soon ablaze. A furious gale carried the burning sparks from one house to another. And so the fire went on spreading all that day and night and the next day. Nearly two hundred million dollars' worth of property was destroyed. The homes of nearly one hundred thousand persons were burned down. In a surprisingly short time the burnt district was rebuilt, and Chicago grew more rapidly than ever before.
Rings. Source-Book, 352-355.
Bribery.
452. Corruption in Politics.--New York City had no two hundred million dollar fire. But a "ring" of city officers stole more than one hundred and fifty million dollars of the city's money. In other cities also there was great corruption. Nor were the state governments free from bribery and thieving. Many officers in the national government were believed to be mixed up in schemes to defraud the people. The truth of the matter was that the Civil War had left behind it the habit of spending money freely. A desire to grow suddenly rich possessed the people. Men did not look closely to see where their money came from.
[Illustration: CHICAGO IN 1832.]
Objections to Grant.
Liberal Republicans.
Horace Greeley.
Grant reëlected, 1872.
453. Election of 1872.--In fact, this condition of the public service made many persons doubtful of the wisdom of reëlecting President Grant. There was not the slightest doubt as to Grant's personal honesty. There were grave doubts as to his judgment in making appointments. Reconstruction, too, did not seem to be restoring peace and prosperity to the South. For these reasons many voters left the Republican party. They called themselves Liberal Republicans and nominated Horace Greeley for President. He had been one of the most outspoken opponents of slavery. The Democrats could find no better candidate, so they, too, nominated Greeley. But many Democrats could not bring themselves to vote for him. They left their party for the moment and nominated a third candidate. The result of all this confusion was the reëlection of Grant. But the Democrats elected a majority of the House of Representatives.
[Illustration: THE HEART OF MODERN CHICAGO.]
Rebellion in Cuba, 1867.
Spanish cruelty.
The Virginius affair.
Spanish promises end rebellion, 1877.
454. The Cuban Rebellion, 1867-77.--When the other Spanish-American colonies won their independence (p. 223), Cuba remained true to Spain. But by 1867 the Cubans could no longer bear the hardships of Spanish rule. They rebelled and for ten years fought for freedom. The Spaniards burned whole villages because they thought the inhabitants favored the rebels. They even threatened to kill all Cuban men found away from their homes. This cruelty aroused the sympathy of the Americans. Expeditions sailed from the United States to help the Cubans, although the government did everything it could to prevent their departure. One of these vessels carrying aid to the Cubans was named the Virginius. The Spaniards captured her, carried her to Santiago, and killed forty-six of her crew. There came near being a war with Spain over this affair. But the Spaniards apologized and saluted the American flag. In 1877 President Grant made up his mind that the war had lasted long enough. He adopted a severe tone toward Spain. The Spanish government made terms with the rebels, and the rebellion came to an end.
The Credit Mobilier.
The Whiskey Ring.
455. Scandals in Political Life.--In 1872 the House of Representatives made a searching inquiry into the charges of bribery in connection with the building of the Pacific railroads. Oakes Ames of Massachusetts was the head of a company called the "Credit Mobilier." This company had been formed to build the Union Pacific Railway. Fearing that Congress would pass laws that might hurt the enterprise, Ames gave stock in the company to members of Congress. But nothing definite could be proved against any members, and the matter dropped. Soon after the beginning of Grant's second term, many evil things came to light. One of these was the Whiskey Ring, which defrauded the government of large sums of money with the aid of the government officials. Grant wished to have a thorough investigation, and said, "Let no guilty man escape." The worst case of all, perhaps, was that of W. W. Belknap, Secretary of War. But he escaped punishment by resigning.
[Illustration: A MISSISSIPPI RIVER COTTON STEAMER.]
Failure of reconstruction. Source-Book, 349-351.
456. Anarchy in the South.--Meantime reconstruction was not working well in the South. This was especially true of Louisiana, Arkansas, and South Carolina. In Louisiana, and in Arkansas also, there were two sets of governors and legislatures, and civil war on a small scale was going on. In South Carolina the carpetbaggers and the negroes had gained control. They stole right and left. In other Southern states there were continued outrages on the negroes. President Grant was greatly troubled. "Let us have peace," was his heartfelt wish. But he felt it necessary to keep Federal soldiers in the South, although he knew that public opinion in the North was turning against their employment. It was under these circumstances that the election of 1876 was held.
Election of 1876. Higginson, 331-334.
The electoral commission.
Hayes inaugurated, 1877.
457. Election of 1876.--The Republican candidate was Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio. He was a gallant soldier of the Civil War, and was a man of the highest personal character. His Democratic opponent was Samuel J. Tilden of New York--a shrewd lawyer who had won distinction as governor of the Empire State. When the electoral returns were brought in, there appeared two sets of returns from each of three Southern states, and the vote of Oregon was doubtful. The Senate was Republican, and the House was Democratic. As the two houses could not agree as to how these returns should be counted, they referred the whole matter to an electoral commission. This commission was made up of five Senators, five Representatives, and five justices of the Supreme Court. Eight of them were Republicans and seven were Democrats. They decided by eight seven that Hayes was elected, and he was inaugurated President on March 4, 1877.
Southern politics Higginson, 334-335.
Troops withdrawn.
458. Withdrawal of the Soldiers from the South.--The People of the North were weary of the ceaseless political agitation in the South. The old Southern leaders had regained control of nearly all the Southern states. They could not be turned out except by a new civil war, and the Northern people were not willing to go to war again. The only other thing that could be done was to withdraw the Federal soldiers and let the Southern people work out their own salvation as well as they could. President Hayes recalled the troops, and all the Southern states at once passed into the control of the Democrats.
[Illustration: THE RUINS AFTER THE PITTSBURGH RIOTS.]
Panic and hard times.
The Pittsburgh riots, 1877.
459. Strikes and Riots, 1877.--The extravagance and speculation of the Civil War, and the years following its close, ended in a great panic in 1873. After the panic came the "hard times." Production fell off. The demand for labor diminished. Wages were everywhere reduced. Strikes became frequent, and riots followed the strikes. At Pittsburg, in western Pennsylvania, the rioters seized the railroad. They burned hundreds of railroad cars and locomotives. They destroyed the railroad buildings. At last the riot came to an end, but not until millions of dollars' worth of property had been destroyed.
The Stalwart Republicans.
Garfield elected President, 1880.
460. Election of 1880.--At the beginning of his administration Hayes had declared that he would not be a candidate for reëlection. Who should be the Republican standard bearer? Grant's friends proposed to nominate him for a third term. The politicians who advocated a third term for Grant were opposed to the candidacy of James G. Blaine. They were called the Stalwart Republicans. In the convention they voted steadily and solidly for Grant. Finally their opponents, with the cry of "Anything to beat Grant," suddenly turned to an entirely new man, whose name had been little mentioned. This was James A. Garfield of Ohio. He had won distinction in the Civil War and had served with credit in Congress. For Vice-President the Republicans nominated Chester A. Arthur, a New York banker. The Democrats, on their part, nominated one of the most brilliant and popular soldiers of the Army of the Potomac, General Winfield Scott Hancock. The campaign was very hotly contested. In the end Garfield won.
Garfield murdered, 1881.
President Arthur.
Civil Service Reform. Source-Book, 363-365.
461. Garfield murdered; Civil Service Reform.--President Garfield took the oath of office on March 4, 1881. On July 2 he was shot in the back by a disappointed office-seeker. Week after week he endured terrible agony. At length, on September 19, the martyred President died. Now at last the evils of the "Spoils System" were brought to the attention of the American people. Vice-President Arthur became President and entered heartily into projects of reform. A beginning was soon made. But it was found to be a very difficult thing to bring about any lasting reform. The Constitution gives the President the appointment of officers, subject to the confirmation of the Senate. No act of Congress can diminish the constitutional powers of the President except so far as he consents, and one President cannot bind succeeding Presidents. Any scheme of reform also costs money, which must be voted annually by Congress. It follows, therefore, that the consent of every President and of both Houses of every Congress is necessary to make the reform of the civil service permanent. Nevertheless the reform has made steady progress until now by far the greater part of the civil service is organized on the merit system.
J.G. Blaine.
The Mugwumps.
Grover Cleveland.
Cleveland elected President, 1884.
Tariff reform.
462. Election of 1884.--In 1884 the Republicans nominated James G. Blaine of Maine for President. He was a man of magnetic address and had made many friends, but he also had made many enemies. Especially many Republican voters distrusted him. They felt that he had used his position for private gain, although nothing was proved against him. These Republicans were called "Mugwumps." They "bolted" the nomination and supported the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland. As mayor of Buffalo, Cleveland had done very well. He had then been elected governor of New York by a very large majority. The campaign of 1884 was conducted on lines of personal abuse that recall the campaigns of 1800 and of 1828. Cleveland carried four large Northern states and the "solid South" and was elected.
[Illustration: GROVER CLEVELAND.]
463. Cleveland's Administration, 1885-89.--The great contest of Cleveland's first term was a fierce struggle over the tariff. The government's need of money during the Civil War had compelled Congress to raise large sums by means of internal revenue taxes. These taxes in turn had brought about a great increase in the tariff rates on goods imported from foreign countries. The internal revenue taxes had been almost entirely removed, but the war tariff substantially remained in force. In 1887 Cleveland laid the whole question before Congress. For a time it seemed probable that something would be done. But the opposition in Congress was very active and very strong. It fell out, therefore, that nothing important was done. The real significance of Cleveland's first administration lay in the fact that the Southerners were once again admitted to a share in the government of the nation. It marked, therefore, the reunion of the American people.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 42
§§437, 438.--a. Explain carefully Lincoln's plan for reconstruction. How was it affected by his death?
b. What was Johnson's attitude toward reconstruction? Precisely what is meant by "reconstruction"?
§§439-441.--a. What was the force of the Emancipation Proclamation? How was the institution of slavery abolished?
b. Explain the reasons for the establishment of the freedmen's bureau. What do you think of the provision relating to the use of the army?
c. How was Congress able to pass a bill over the President's veto?
d. Explain carefully the Fourteenth Amendment. What do you think of the provision as to debts?
§§442, 443.--a. Why were the elections of 1866 important?
b. What was the force of the Tenure of Office Act, and why was it passed?
c. Describe the actual process of reconstruction.
d. Why was Johnson impeached? Why did the impeachment fail?
§§444, 445.--a. How did this act of Napoleon's set the Monroe Doctrine at defiance?
b. What action did the government take? With what result?
c. What advantage has Alaska been to the United States?
§446.--a. What were the issues in the campaign of 1868?
b. What had Blair done for the Union?
c. What did the election of Grant show?
CHAPTER 43
§§447-449.--a. What were the provisions of the Fifteenth Amendment?
b. Under what conditions were the remaining seceded states readmitted?
c. What was the Force Act? Why was it passed?
§450.--a. How was the injury to our shipping during the Civil War connected with Great Britain?
b. What is meant by "arbitration"? Is it better to settle disputes by arbitration or by war?
§§451-452.--a. Describe the Chicago fire and its results.
b. Why was there so much bribery and corruption at this time?
c. Should city governments be conducted as business enterprises?
§453.--a. Why was there so much opposition to Grant's reëlection?
b. Why did the Democrats nominate Greeley? What was the result of the election?
§454.--a. What trouble broke out in Cuba? Why?
b. Describe the Virginius affair. How did the Cuban rebellion come to an end?
§§455, 456.--a. What scandal arose in connection with the Union Pacific Railway?
b. What was the "Whiskey Ring"? What was Grant's wish?
c. What troubles arose in the South? Could they have been avoided?
§§457, 458.--a. Why was there a dispute about the election of 1876? How was it settled?
b. Was it wise to let the Southerners work out their questions for themselves or not? Why?
§§459, 460.--a. Compare the panic of 1873 with that of 1877 explaining the likenesses and differences.
b. Why was opposition to the nomination of Grant so strong?
c. Who were nominated? Who was elected?
§§461.--a. What was the cause of Garfield's murder?
b. Why is Civil Service Reform so difficult?
c. What is meant by the "Merit System"? Do you consider such a system better or worse than the Spoils System? Why?
§§462, 463.--a. Why was Blaine so strongly opposed? Who were the "Mugwumps"? How did their action influence the election?
b. What is the difference between internal revenue taxes and customs duties?
c. What was the real significance of Cleveland's first election?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
a. Give all the treaties with Great Britain, with dates, reason for the treaty, and results.
b. Why were there no executions for treason at the close of the Civil War?
c. What two methods does the Constitution provide for its amendment? Which method has always been followed?
d. What were the chief difficulties in the way of reconstruction?
e. What are the important duties of citizens? Why do you select these?
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
a. Impeachment of Johnson.
b. The Chicago fire.
c. Civil Service Reform.
d. Industrial activity in the South.
SUGGESTIONS
The importance of the topics treated in Part XIV can hardly be overestimated. The opportunities to impress the pupils with their public duties are many and important. Reconstruction should be broadly treated and not discussed in a partisan spirit. It is better to dwell on our duties to the negroes than to seek out Northern blunders and Southern mistakes. In connection with the amendments the whole question of the suffrage can be discussed in the responsibility devolving upon the voter fully set forth. Questions of municipal organizations also arise and can be illustrated by local experience.
References.--Scribner's Popular History, V, 579-659; McMaster's School History, chs. xxxiv, xxxv.
Home Readings.--Any short, attractive account of the Spanish War.
Benjamin Harrison elected President, 1888.
464. Benjamin Harrison elected President, 1888.--In 1888 the Democrats put forward Cleveland as their candidate for President. The Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison of Indiana. Like Hayes and Garfield, he had won renown in the Civil War and was a man of the highest honor and of proved ability. The prominence of the old Southern leaders in the Democratic administration, and the neglect of the business interests of the North, compelled many Northern Republicans who had voted for Cleveland to return to the Republican party. The result was the election of Harrison and of a Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
The McKinley tariff, 1890.
Reciprocity.
465. The McKinley Tariff, 1890.--One of the questions most discussed in the campaign of 1888 was the reform of the tariff. There seem to have been two sets of tariff reformers. One set of reformers proposed to reform the tariff by doing away with as much of it as possible. The other set of reformers proposed to readjust the tariff duties so as to make the protective system more consistent and more perfect. Led by William McKinley, the Republicans set to work to reform the tariff in this latter sense. This they did by generally raising the duties on protected goods. The McKinley Tariff Act also offered reciprocity to countries which would favor American goods. This offer was in effect to lower certain duties on goods imported from Argentina, for instance, if the Argentine government would admit certain American goods to Argentina on better terms than similar goods imported from other countries.
[Illustration: THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON.]
Gold and Silver.
Sherman Silver Law.
466. The Sherman Silver Law, 1890.--In the Civil War gold and silver had disappeared from circulation. But after the close of the war a gradual return was made to specie payments. In the colonial days the demand for silver, as compared with the demand for gold, outran the supply. The consequence was that silver was constantly becoming worth more in comparison with gold. In the nineteenth century the supply of silver has greatly outstripped the demand, with the result that silver has greatly declined in value as compared with gold. In 1871 the government decided to use silver for small coins only, and not to allow silver to be offered in payment of a larger sum than five dollars. This was called the "demonetization of silver." In 1878 a small but earnest band of advocates of the free coinage of silver secured the passage of an act of Congress for the coinage of two million silver dollars each month. The silver in each one of these dollars was only worth in gold from ninety to sixty cents. In 1890, Senator John Sherman of Ohio brought in a bill to increase the coinage of these silver dollars which, in 1894, were worth only forty nine cents on the dollar in gold.
Business depression.
Cleveland elected President, 1892.
467. Election of 1892.--One result of this great increase in the silver coinage was to alarm business men throughout the country. Business constantly declined. Every one who could lessened his expenses as much as possible. Mill owners and railroad managers discharged their workers or reduced their wages. Harrison and Cleveland were again the Republican and Democratic candidates for the presidency. As is always the case, the party in power was held to be responsible for the hard times. Enough voters turned to Cleveland to elect him, and he was inaugurated President for the second time (March 4, 1893).
Scarcity of money.
Repeal of the Sherman Law.
Wilson tariff.
468. Silver and the Tariff.--In the summer of 1893 there was a great scarcity of money. Thousands of people withdrew all the money they could from the banks and locked it up in places of security. But Congress repealed the Sherman Silver Law and put an end to the compulsory purchase of silver and the coinage of silver dollars. This tended to restore confidence. The Democrats once more overhauled the tariff. Under the lead of Representative Wilson of West Virginia they passed a tariff act, lowering some duties and placing many articles on the free list.
Chicago Exhibition, 1893.
469. The Chicago Exhibition, 1893.--The four hundredth anniversary of the Columbian discovery of America occurred in October, 1892. Preparations were made for holding a great commemorative exhibition at Chicago. But it took so long to get everything ready that the exhibition was not held until the summer of 1893. Beautiful buildings were erected of a cheap but satisfactory material. They were designed with the greatest taste, and were filled with splendid exhibits that showed the skill and resources of Americans, and also with the products of foreign countries. Hundreds of thousands of persons from all parts of the country visited the exhibition with pleasure and great profit. No more beautiful or successful exhibition has ever been held.
[Illustration: THE FISHERIES BUILDING, WORLD'S FAIR, CHICAGO.]
William McKinley.
W.J. Bryan.
McKinley elected President, 1896.
470. Election of 1896.--In 1896 the Republicans held their convention at St. Louis and nominated William McKinley of Ohio for President. They declared in favor of the gold standard, unless some arrangement with other nations for a standard of gold and silver could be made. They also declared for protection to home industries. The Democrats held their convention at Chicago. The men who had stood by Cleveland found themselves in a helpless minority. William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska was nominated for President on a platform advocating the free coinage of silver and many changes in the laws in the direction of socialism. The Populists and the Silver Republicans also adopted Bryan as their candidate. Now, at last, the question of the gold standard or the silver standard was fairly before the voters. They responded by electing McKinley and a Republican House of Representatives.
[Illustration: WILLIAM MCKINLEY.]
The Dingley tariff, 1897.
471. The Dingley Tariff, 1897.--The Republicans, once more in control of the government, set to work to reform the tariff in favor of high protection. Representative Dingley of Maine was chairman of the committee of the House that drew up the new bill, and the act as finally passed goes by his name. It raised the duties on some classes of goods and taxed many things that hitherto had come in free. Especially were duties increased on certain raw materials for manufactures, with a view to encourage the production of such materials in the United States. The reciprocity features of the McKinley tariff (P. 383) were also restored.
The Cubans rebel, 1894.
Spanish cruelties, Source-book, 374-379.
472. The Cuban Rebellion, 1894-98.--The Cubans laid down their arms in 1877 (p. 372) because they relied on the promises of better government made by the Spaniards. But these promises were never carried out. Year after year the Cuban people bore with their oppression. But at last their patience was worn out. In 1894 they again rebelled. The Spaniards sent over an army to subdue them. Soon tales of cruelty on the part of the Spaniards reached the United States. Finally the Spanish governor, General Weyler, adopted the cruel measure of driving the old men, the women, and the children from the country villages and huddling them together in the seaboard towns. Without money, without food, with scant shelter, these poor people endured every hardship. They died by thousands. The American people sent relief, but little could be done to help them. The Cubans also fitted out expeditions in American ports to carry arms and supplies to the rebels. The government did everything in its power to stop these expeditions, but the coast line of the United States is so long that it was impossible to stop them all, especially as large numbers of the American people heartily sympathized with the Cubans. Constant disputes with Spain over the Cuban question naturally came up and gave rise to irritation in the United States and in Spain.
[Illustration: THE "MAINE."]
Destruction of the Maine, 1898.
Cuban independence recognized.
473. The Declaration of War, 1898.--On January 5, 1898, the American battleship Maine anchored in Havana harbor. On February 15 she was destroyed by an explosion and sank with two hundred and fifty-three of her crew. A most competent Court of Inquiry was appointed. It reported that the Maine had been blown up from the outside. The report of the Court of Inquiry was communicated to the Spanish government in the hope that some kind of apology and reparation might be made. But all the Spanish government did was to propose that the matter should be referred to arbitration. The condition of the Cubans was now dreadful. Several Senators and Representatives visited Cuba. They reported that the condition of the Cubans was shocking. The President laid the whole matter before Congress for its determination. On April 19, 1898, Congress recognized the independence of the Cuban people and demanded the withdrawal of the Spaniards from the island. Congress also authorized the President to compel Spain's withdrawal and stated that the United States did not intend to annex Cuba, but to leave the government of the island to its inhabitants. Before these terms could be formally laid before the Spanish government, it ordered the American minister to leave Spain.
[Illustration: THE "OLYMPIA." From a photograph by Irving Underhill.]
Battle of Manila Bay, May 1, 1898.
474. The Destruction of the Spanish Pacific Fleet.--Admiral Dewey, commanding the American squadron on the Asiatic station, had concentrated all his vessels at Hong Kong, in the belief that war was at hand. Of course he could not stay at Hong Kong after the declaration of war. The only thing that he could do was to destroy the Spanish fleet and use Spanish ports as a naval base. The Spanish fleet was in Manila Bay. Thither sailed Dewey. In the darkness of the early morning of May 1, Dewey passed the Spanish forts at the entrance of the bay. The fleet was at anchor near the naval arsenal, a few miles from the city of Manila. As soon as it was light Dewey opened fire on the Spaniards. Soon one Spanish ship caught fire, then another, and another. Dewey drew off out of range for a time while his men rested and ate their breakfasts. He then steamed in again and completed the destruction of the enemy's fleet. Not an American ship was seriously injured. Not one American sailor was killed. This victory gave the Americans the control of the Pacific Ocean and the Asiatic waters, as far as Spain was concerned. It relieved the Pacific seacoast of the United States of all fear of attack. It made it possible to send soldiers and supplies to Manila, without fear of attack while on the way. And it was necessary to send soldiers because Dewey, while he was supreme on the water and could easily compel the surrender of Manila, could not properly police the town after its capture.
Defense of the Atlantic seaboard.
Blockade of Cuba.
475. The Atlantic Seacoast and the Blockade.--No sooner did war seem probable than the people on the Atlantic seacoast were seized with an unreasoning fear of the Spanish fleets. For the Spaniards had a few new fast ships. The mouths of the principal harbors were blocked with mines and torpedoes. The government bought merchant vessels of all kinds and established a patrol along the coast. It also blockaded the more important Cuban seaports. But the Cuban coast was so long that it was impossible to blockade it all. As it was, great suffering was inflicted on the principal Spanish armies in Cuba.
The Spanish-Atlantic fleet.
The American fleet.
476. The Atlantic Fleets.--Before long a Spanish fleet of four new, fast armored cruisers and three large sea-going torpedo-boat destroyers appeared in the West Indies. The Spanish admiral did not seem to know exactly where to go. But after sailing around the Caribbean Sea for a time, he anchored in Santiago harbor--on the southern coast of Cuba. In the American navy there were only two fast armored cruisers, the New York and the Brooklyn. These with five battleships--the Oregon, Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Texas--and a number of smaller vessels were placed under the command of Admiral Sampson and sent to Santiago. Another fleet of sea-going monitors and unarmored cruisers maintained the Cuban blockade.
The Oregon's voyage.
477. The Oregon's Great Voyage.--When the Maine was destroyed, the Oregon was at Puget Sound on the northwest coast. She was at once ordered to sail to the Atlantic coast at her utmost speed. Steadily the great battleship sped southward along the Pacific coast of North America, Central America, and South America. She passed through Magellan Straits and made her way up the eastern coast of South America. As she approached the West Indies, it was feared that she might meet the whole Spanish fleet. But she never sighted them. She reached Florida in splendid condition and at once joined Sampson's squadron.
Santiago.
Sinking of the Merrimac
478. The Blockade of the Spanish Fleet.--Santiago harbor seemed to have been designed as a place of refuge for a hard-pressed fleet. Its narrow winding entrance was guarded by huge mountains strongly fortified. The channel between these mountains was filled with mines and torpedoes. The American fleet could not go in. The Spanish fleet must not be allowed to come out unseen. Lieutenant Hobson was ordered to take the collier Merrimac into the narrow entrance and sink her across the channel at the narrowest part. He made the most careful preparations. But the Merrimac was disabled and drifted by the narrowest part of the channel before she sank. The Spanish admiral was so impressed by the heroism of this attempt that he sent a boat off to the American squadron to assure them that Hobson and his six brave companions were safe.
Destruction of the Spanish Fleet.
Lessons of the victory.
479. Destruction of the Spanish Fleet.--As the American vessels could not enter Santiago harbor to sink the Spanish ships at their anchors, it became necessary to send an army to Santiago. But the Spaniards did not wait for the soldiers to capture the city. On Sunday morning, July 3, the Spanish fleet suddenly appeared steaming out of the harbor. The Massachusetts was away at the time, getting a supply of coal, and the New York was steaming away to take Admiral Sampson to a conference with General Shafter. But there were enough vessels left. On came the Spaniards. The American ships rushed toward them. The Spaniards turned westward and tried to escape along the coast. Soon one of them was set on fire by the American shells. She was run on shore to prevent her sinking. Then another followed her, and then a third. The torpedo-boat destroyers were sunk off the entrance to the harbor. But one ship now remained afloat. Speedily, she, too, was overtaken and surrendered. In a few hours the whole Spanish fleet was destroyed; hundreds of Spanish seamen were killed, wounded, or drowned, and sixteen hundred Spanish sailors captured. The American loss was one man killed and two wounded. The American ships were practically ready to destroy another Spanish fleet had one been within reach. At Manila Bay and off Santiago the American fleets were superior to the enemy's fleets. But the astounding results of their actions were due mainly to the splendid manner in which the American ships had been cared for and, above all, to the magnificent training and courage of the men behind the guns. Years of peace had not in any way dimmed the splendid qualities of the American sea-fighters.
Military preparations.
The volunteers.
480. The American Army.--Meantime the American soldiers on shore at Santiago were doing their work under great discouragement, but with a valor and stubbornness that will always compel admiration. While the navy was silently and efficiently increased to be a well-ordered force, the army was not so well managed at first. Soldiers there were in plenty. From all parts of the Union, from the South and from the North, from the West and from the East, from the cattle ranches of the plains and the classrooms of the great universities, patriots offered their lives at their country's call. But there was great lack of order in the management of the army. Sickness broke out among the soldiers. Volunteer regiments were supplied with old-fashioned rifles. It seemed to be difficult to move one regiment from one place to another without dire confusion. When the Spanish fleet was shut up in Santiago harbor, a force of fifteen thousand soldiers under General Shafter was sent to capture Santiago itself and make the harbor unsafe for the ships.
[Illustration: SAN JUAN BLOCKHOUSE SHOWING MARKS OF SHOT.]
The landing.
La Guasimas. Source-Book, 380-382.
San Juan and Caney.
Fall of Santiago.
481. The Santiago Expedition.--On June 22 and 23 the expedition landed not far to the east of the entrance to Santiago harbor. Steep and high mountains guard this part of the coast. But no attempt was made to prevent the landing of the Americans. Dismounted cavalrymen of the regular army and Roosevelt's Rough Riders, also on foot, at once pushed on toward Santiago. At La Guasimas the Spaniards tried to stop them. But the regulars and the Rough Riders drove them away, and the army pushed on. By June 28 it had reached a point within a few miles of the city. The Spaniards occupied two very strong positions at San Juan (San Huan) and Caney. On July 1 they were driven from them. The regulars and the volunteers showed the greatest courage and heroism. They crossed long open spaces in the face of a terrible fire from the Spaniards, who were armed with modern rifles. The rains now set in, and the sufferings of the troops became terrible. On July 3 the Spanish fleet sailed out of the harbor to meet its doom from the guns of the American warships. Reinforcements were sent to Shafter, and heavy guns were dragged over the mountain roads and placed in positions commanding the enemy's lines. The Spaniards surrendered, and on July 17 the Americans entered the captured city.
[Illustration: TAKING WOUNDED TO THE DIVISION HOSPITAL AFTER THE FIGHT ON SAN JUAN HILL.]
The Porto Rico expedition.
482. The Porto Rico Campaign.--The only other important colony still remaining to Spain in America was Porto Rico. General Nelson A. Miles led a strong force to its conquest. Instead of landing on the northern coast near San Juan, the only strongly fortified position on the seacoast, General Miles landed his men on the southern coast near Ponce (Pon-tha). The inhabitants received the Americans with the heartiest welcome. This was on August 1. The American army then set out to cross the island. But before they had gone very far news came of the ending of the hostilities.
Fall of Manila.
483. Fall of Manila.--When the news of Dewey's victory (p. 390) reached the United States, soldiers were sent to his aid. But this took time, for it was a very long way from San Francisco to the Philippines and vessels suitable for transports were not easily procured on the Pacific coast. General Wesley Merritt was given command of the land forces. Meantime, for months Dewey with his fleet blockaded Manila from the water side, while Philippine insurgents blockaded it from the land side. Foreign vessels, especially the German vessels, jealously watched the operations of the American fleet and severely taxed Dewey's patience. On August 17 Merritt felt strong enough to attack the city. It was at once surrendered to him.
THE UNITED STATES IN 1900.
DEPENDENCIES OF THE UNITED STATES. All on same scale as United
States, 1900.
Treaty of Peace, 1898.
Hawaii.
484. End of the War.--The destruction of the Spanish Atlantic fleet and the fall of Santiago convinced the Spaniards that further resistance was useless. So it was agreed that the fighting should be stopped. This was in July, 1898. But the actual treaty of peace was not made until the following December. The conditions were that Spain should abandon Cuba, should cede to the United States Porto Rico, the Philippines, and some smaller islands, and should receive from the United States twenty million dollars. For many years American missionaries, merchants, and planters had been interested in the Hawaiian Islands. The war showed the importance of these islands to the United States as a military and naval station, and they were annexed.
485. Prosperity.--The years 1898-1900 have been a period of unbounded prosperity for the American people. Foreign trade has increased enormously, and the manufactures of the United States are finding a ready market in other countries. A rebellion has been going on in the Philippines, but it seems to be slowly dying out (February, 1900).
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 44
§§ 464, 465.--a. Why was Harrison chosen President?
b. What is "tariff reform"? What is "reciprocity"? Do you consider such a method wise or not? Why?
§§ 466, 467.--a. Why was silver demonetized? What is meant by the word "demonetization"?
b. What was the Sherman Silver Law? What effect did it have upon business?
c. Was there any reason for the fear on the part of business men?
d. Why was Harrison defeated in 1892?
§§ 468, 469.--a. Why did money become scarce in the summer of 1893?
b. How did the repeal of the Sherman Law affect confidence in the future of business?
c. Describe the Chicago Exhibition. What is the advantage of such an exhibition?
§§ 470, 471.--a. Who were the leading candidates for the presidency in 1896? What principles did they stand for?
b. Explain the provisions of the Dingley Tariff.
c. Ask some business man what he thinks of the wisdom of changing the tariff very often.
CHAPTER 45
§§ 472, 473.--a. What promises had the Spaniards made to the Cubans and how had they kept them?
b. What do you think of Weyler's policy?
c. Could the Spanish war have been avoided?
§ 474.--a. Why could not Admiral Dewey remain at Hong Kong?
b. Describe the battle of Manila Bay. What were the results of this action?
§§ 475-477.--a. Why were the American people on the Atlantic seacoast alarmed? Were the harbors well defended?
b. Compare the American and the Spanish Atlantic fleets. Why was the voyage of the Oregon important?
§§ 478, 479.--a. Describe the harbor of Santiago. What advantages did it possess for the Spaniards?
b. How did Hobson try to prevent the escape of the Spanish fleet?
c. Describe the encounter between the two fleets.
d. To what was this great success due?
§§ 480-482.--a. From what parts of the country did the volunteers come?
b. Why was there so much confusion in the army?
c. Describe the Santiago campaign and the suffering of the soldiers.
d. Describe the Porto Rico expedition. Why did General Miles land on the southern coast?
§§ 483-485.--a. Why were the soldiers needed after Dewey's victory?
b. Give the conditions of peace. Exactly what was the condition as to Cuba?
c. Why are the Hawaiian Islands important to the United States?
a. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a tariff?
b. What important matters have been definitely settled during the past one hundred years?
c. What are some of the problems now before the American people?
d. Should the United States be a "world power"?
a. Present condition of any part of the United States or dependent territories.
b. Any campaign or battle of the Spanish War.
c. Present political parties and their principles.
Interesting constitutional questions will inevitably arise in teaching this section, but the events are too recent to admit of dogmatizing on lines of policy. The Spanish War and the Philippine trouble are too near to be properly judged, and the facts only should be taught. The duties and responsibilities resting upon the United States through its closer connection with all parts of the world can, however, be emphasized without the display of partisan spirit. Furthermore, the causes of present prosperity and the industrial advantages of the United States may well demand attention. Throughout every part of this section, also, the importance of good citizenship, in the broadest sense of the word, should receive special emphasis.
WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.
ARTICLE. I.
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.
SECTION. 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 chuse 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 chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
SECTION. 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 chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of 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.
SECTION. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing 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.
SECTION. 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 Behaviour, 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.
SECTION. 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 at 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 encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
SECTION. 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 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.
SECTION. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
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 an 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 Offences against the Law of Nations;
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 the 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, dock-Yards, 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.
SECTION. 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 herein before 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 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.
SECTION. 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 Controul 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 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 chuse 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 chuse the President. But in chusing 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 the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing 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 and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, 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 encreased 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."
SECTION. 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 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 Offences 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.
SECTION. 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.
SECTION. 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 one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in Office.
SECTION. 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to 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 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.
SECTION. 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.
SECTION. 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 Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
SECTION. 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 Legislatures 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.
SECTION. 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 cannot 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.
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.
THE AMENDMENTS.
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.
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.
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.
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 persons or things to be seized.
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 offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any Criminal Case to be witness against himself, 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.
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 defence.
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 re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
VIII.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
IX.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
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.
XI.
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
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 the 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.
XIII.
SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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.
SECTION 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 the 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.
SECTION 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.
SECTION 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 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.
SECTION 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
XV.
SECTION 1. The right 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.
SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
[1] Reprinted from the text issued by the State Department.
Abolitionists. Acadia. Adams, John; Vice-President; President;
his administration. Adams, John Quincy, portrait; and the Monroe
Doctrine; President, his administration; and the right
of petition.
Adams, Samuel. Alabama claims. Alaska, purchase of; map of. Albany
Congress. Algerine War. Alien and Sedition Acts. Allen, Ethan.
America, discovery of; naming of. American Association. Americus
Vespucius, see Vespucius. André, Major. Andros, Sir Edmund.
Antietam, battle of. Antislavery agitation. Appomattox, surrender
at. Arnold, Benedict, at Quebec; in Burgoyne's campaign; treason
of. Arthur, C.A., Vice-President; President. Articles of
Confederation. Atlanta Campaign.
Bacon's Rebellion. Balboa discovers Pacific Ocean. Baltimore,
Lord. Bank of the United States, the First; the Second. Bennington,
battle of. Blaine, J.G., candidate for the Presidency. Blair, F.P.
Blockade of Confederate seaports. "Border States" in Civil War.
Boston, founded; massacre at; destruction of tea at; closing of the
port of; siege of; map of siege.
Braddock, British general. Bragg, Confederate general. Brandy wine,
battle of. Breckinridge, John C., Vice-President; defeated for
Presidency. Brown, General Jacob, invades Canada. Brown, John, in
Kansas; at Harper's Ferry; executed. Buchanan, James, President;
comes out for the Union. Buell, General. Bull Run, battles of.
Bunker Hill, battle of. Burgoyne's campaign. Burnside, General
A.E.
Cabot, John, discovers North America. Calhoun, John C.,
portrait; in Congress; Vice-President; his
Exposition.
California, Drake on the coast of; seized by Americans;
discovery of gold in; seeks admission to the Union.
Camden, battle of. Canada, conquest of; invasion of 1775; in War of
1812. Carolina, settlement of; rebellion in 1719;
separated into two provinces.
Cartier (kar'tia'). Cass, Lewis, defeated for the Presidency.
Cathay. Champlain, Samuel de. Champlain, Lake. Chancellorsville,
battle of. Charles II, his colonial policy. Charleston, S.C.,
attacked; captured; in Civil War. Chattanooga, battle of.
"Chesapeake," outrage on the. Chicago, growth of; great fire at.
Columbian Exhibition. Chickamauga, battle of. Cipango. Civil
Service under Washington and Adams; under Jefferson;
"Spoils System" in the; reform of the.
Clark, General G.R., conquers the Northwest. Clay, Henry, portrait;
in Congress; and the Missouri Compromise; defeated for
the Presidency; and the Compromise of 1850.
Cleveland, Grover, portrait; President; reëlected President.
Clinton, British general. Columbus discovers America. Committees of
Correspondence. Compromises of the Constitution; of 1820; of 1850.
Concord, battle of. Confederate States. Confederation of New
England. Confederation of the United States, Articles of.
Connecticut, settlement of; charter of. Constitution, formation of
the; facsimile of first lines; first ten amendments;
text of, Appendix.
"Constitution," the frigate, chased by a British fleet;
and the "Guerrière."
Constitutional Union Party. Continental Congress, first; second.
Coronade, in the Southwest. Cotton gin. Cowpens, battle of.
Crawford, William H., defeated for the Presidency. Creek War.
Critical Period. Crittenden Compromise. Cromwell, Oliver, and the
colonies. Cuba, rebellions in (1867-77); (1894-98).
Dale, Sir Thomas. Davis, Jefferson. Decatur, Stephen, portrait;
in Algerine War. Declaration of Independence. Declaratory Act.
Democratic Party. Detroit, surrender of. Dewey, Admiral. Dickinson,
John. Douglas, Stephen A., Kansas-Nebraska Act; debate with
Lincoln; defeated for Presidency; comes out for the
Union.
Draft Riots. Drake, Sir Francis, his great voyage. Dred Scott
Decision. Duquesne, Fort. Dutch Colonies.
Elections, presidential, of 1800; of 1824; of 1840; of 1844;
of 1848; of 1852; of 1856; of 1860; of 1868; of
1872;
of 1876; of 1880; of 1884; of 1888; of 1892; of
1896.
Electoral Commission. Embargo, Jefferson's. Era of Good Feeling.
Ericson, Leif (Life er'ik-son). Ericsson, John. Erie Canal.
Farragut, Admiral D.G., portrait; at New Orleans. Federal Ratio.
Federalist Party. Fifteenth Amendment. Fillmore, Millard, portrait;
chosen Vice-President; becomes President. Florida, discovered;
settled; purchased. Fourteenth Amendment. France, explorers and
colonists of; colonists conquered by British;
recognizes independence of the United States;
influence of revolution in, on America;
controversy.
Franklin, Benjamin, portrait; early life of; examined by House of
Commons; Minister to France; in Federal Convention.
Fredericksburg, battle of. Free Soil Party. Freeman's Farm, battles
of. Frémont, John C.; portrait; in California; defeated for
the Presidency. Fugitive Slave Act. Fulton, Robert.
Gadsden Purchase. Gag Resolutions. Gage, British general. Gama,
da (dä gä'mä). Garfield, J. A.; elected President;
murdered. Garrison, W. L. Gates, General; in Burgoyne's campaign;
defeated at Camden. Genet, French Minister. Georgia, settlement of.
Gettysburg, battle of. Ghent, Treaty of. Grant, General U.S.;
portrait; seizes Cairo; captures Fort Donelson; at
Shiloh; captures Vicksburg; at Chattanooga; Lieutenant-General;
his Virginia Campaign; elected President;
reëlected President.
Great Britain; Treaty of 1783; Jay's Treaty; Treaty of Ghent;
Treaty of 1842; Oregon Treaty; Alabama claims.
Greeley, Horace; portrait; on secession; defeated for Presidency.
Greene, General, his Southern Campaigns. Grenville, George.
Guilford, battle of.
Hamilton, Alexander; Secretary of the Treasury; his financial
policy; his constitutional ideas; intrigues against
Adams.
Harrison, Benjamin, elected President. Harrison, General W.H.; at
Tippecanoe; elected President; his death. Hartford Convention.
Harvester, the. Hawaii annexed. Hawkins, Sir John. Hayes, R.B.,
elected President. Henry, Patrick; portrait; Parson's Cause; his
Stamp Act Resolutions; in Continental Congress; opposes
Constitution.
Hood, Confederate general. Hooker, General Joseph. Hudson,
Henry.
Impressment. Iroquois.
Jackson, General Andrew; portrait; a Creek War; defends New
Orleans; candidate for Presidency; elected President;
his administration.
Jamestown, founded. Jay, John. Jay's Treaty. Jefferson, Thomas;
portrait; writes Declaration of Independence; Secretary
of State; his constitutional ideas; Vice-President;
writes Kentucky Resolutions; elected President; his
administrations.
Johnson, Andrew; portrait; President; his reconstruction policy;
impeached.
Johnston, Confederate general. Judiciary Act of 1801.
Kansas, struggle for. Kansas-Nebraska Act. Kentucky Resolutions. Kieft, Dutch governor. King Philip's War. King's Mountain, battle of.
Lake Erie, battle of. La Salle, his explorations. Lee, R. E.,
Confederate general. Lee, R. H. Leon, Ponce de. Lewis and Clark.
Lexington, battle of. "Liberty," the, seized. Lincoln, Abraham;
portrait; early life; Debate with Douglas; elected
President; first inaugural; Emancipation Proclamation;
murdered; reconstruction policy.
Livingston, R. R.; portrait; negotiates Louisiana Purchase.
Locomotive invented. Louisiana; settlement of; ceded to Spain;
returned to France; purchased by United States.
Loyalists. Lundy's Lane, battle of.
Madison, James; portrait; in Federal convention;
writes Virginia Resolutions; President; his war
message.
Magellan, his great voyage. "Maine," destruction of the. Manhattan
Island. Manila Bay, battle of. Manila, captured. Maryland
Toleration Act. Mason and Dixon's Line. Massachusetts Circular
Letter. Mayflower compact. McClellan, General G.B.; portrait;
Peninsular Campaign; at Antietam. McCormick, C.H., invents horse
reaper. McKinley, William; portrait; President. Meade, General G.G.
Menendez (mä-nen'deth). Mexico; War with; the French in.
Missouri Compromise. "Monitor" and "Merrimac." Monmouth, battle of.
Monroe Doctrine. Monroe, James; portrait; negotiates Louisiana
Purchase; President. Morgan, General D.. Morse, S.F.B. Moultrie,
General. Murfreesboro', battle of.
Nashville, battle of. National debt; origin of; Jefferson and the. Neutral commerce. Neutrality Proclamation. New Amsterdam. New England colonies, settlement of. New England Confederation. New Jersey. New Netherland. New Orleans; defended by Jackson; captured by Farragut. New Sweden. New York City; in 1800; in 1830; in 1860. Non-Conformists. Non-Importation agreements. Non-Intercourse Act. North Carolina. Nullification.
Oglethorpe, General. Ordinance of 1787. Oregon; claims to; divided. Oriskany, battle of. Otis, James.
Pacific Ocean, discovered. Panic; of 1837; of 1873. Paris; Peace of (1763); (1783). Parson's cause. Parties, political, formation of. Peninsular Campaign. Penn, William. Pennsylvania, settlement of. Pequod War. Perry, Commodore. Petersburg, blockade of. Petition, right of. Philadelphia. Pierce, Franklin; portrait; President; comes out for the Union. Pilgrims. Pitt, William. Plattsburg, battle of. Plymouth, settlement of. Polk, James K.; portrait; President. Polo, Marco. Pope, General John. Porto Rico, occupied. President, how chosen. Princeton, battle of. Proclamation of 1763. Providence, founded. Puritans, the.
Quakers. Quebec Act. Quebec; founded; captured.
Railroads, growth of. Ralegh, Sir Walter. Reaper, the horse. Reconstruction Acts. Religion. Republican Party; of Jefferson; of Lincoln. Revolutionary War, campaigns of. Rhode Island, settlement of. Ribault (re'bo'), French explorer. Rockingham Ministry. Rosecrans, General.
St. Augustine, founded. Sampson, Admiral. Sandys, Sir Edwin.
Santiago. Saratoga, Burgoyne's surrender at. Schuyler. General.
Scott, General Winfield; his Mexican campaign; defeated for
Presidency; views on secession.
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Sherman, General W.T.; portrait; at Chattanooga; captures Atlanta;
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Sovereignty." Stamp Act. Stamp Act Congress. Stark, General.
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Stuart Tyranny in the colonies. Stuyvesant, Dutch governor. Sumter,
fall of Fort.
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Dingley. Taylor, General Zachary; portrait; his Mexican Campaign;
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Spain).
Trent Affair. Trenton, battle of. Twelfth Amendment. Tyler, John;
portrait; Vice-President; President.
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Van Buren, Martin; President; defeated for Presidency. Verrazano (ver-rä-tsä'no). Vespucius, Americus; portrait; his voyages. Vicksburg, Campaign of. Vinland. Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. Virginia Resolves of 1769. Virginia, settlement of.
War of 1812. Washington, George; portrait; his early life; first
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Washington City. Webster, Daniel; portrait; his reply to Hayne.
Webster, Noah, portrait; his Dictionary. Whig Party, the. Whiskey
Insurrection. Whitney. Wilderness, battle of the. Williams, Roger.
Wilmot Proviso. Wolfe, General. Writs of Assistance. X.Y.Z. Affair.
Yorktown, capture of.
In Congress, July 4, 1776,
THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislature, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.
Nor have We been wanting in attention to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
JOHN HANCOCK.
New Hampshire--JOSIAH BARTLETT, WM. WHIPPLE, MATTHEW THORNTON.
Massachusetts Bay--SAML. ADAMS, JOHN ADAMS, ROBT. TREAT PAINE, ELBRIDGE GERRY.
Rhode Island--STEP. HOPKINS, WILLIAM ELLERY.
Connecticut--ROGER SHERMAN, SAM'EL HUNTINGTON, WM. WILLIAMS, OLIVER WOLCOTT.
New York--WM. FLOYD, PHIL. LIVINGSTON, FRANS. LEWIS, LEWIS MORRIS.
New Jersey--RICHD. STOCKTON, JNO. WITHERSPOON, FRAS. HOPKINSON, JOHN HART, ABRA. CLARK.
Pennsylvania--ROBT. MORRIS, BENJAMIN RUSH, BENJA. FRANKLIN, JOHN MORTON, GEO. CLYMER, JAS. SMITH, GEO. TAYLOR, JAMES WILSON, GEO. ROSS.
Delaware-CAESAR RODNEY, GEO. READ, THO. M'KEAN.
Maryland--SAMUEL CHASE, WM. PACA, THOS. STONE, CHARLES CARROLL of Carrollton.
Virginia--GEORGE WYTHE, RICHARD HENRY LEE, TH. JEFFERSON, BENJA. HARRISON, THOS. NELSON, jr., FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE, CARTER BRAXTON.
North Carolina--WM. HOOPER, JOSEPH HEWES, JOHN PENN.
South Carolina--EDWARD RUTLEDGE, THOS. HEYWARD, Junr., THOMAS LYNCH, Junr., ARTHUR MIDDLETON.
Georgia--BUTTON GWINNETT, LYMAN HALL, GEO. WALTON.[2]
[2] This arrangement of the names is made for convenience. The States are not mentioned in the original.