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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/28350-8.txt b/28350-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..34fceb0 --- /dev/null +++ b/28350-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3063 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of the Presidents Told in Words of +One Syllable, by Jean S. Remy + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lives of the Presidents Told in Words of One Syllable + +Author: Jean S. Remy + +Release Date: March 18, 2009 [EBook #28350] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, C. St. Charleskindt, Michael and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note + +This ebook retains the hyphenation and punctuation variations of +the original text. + +A few typographical corrections have been made. Details of these +changes can be found in a second Transcriber's Note at the end of +this text. + + + + +[Illustration: THE WHITE HOUSE--HOME OF THE PRESIDENTS.] + + + + +LIVES OF THE + +PRESIDENTS. + +TOLD IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE. + + + + +BY JEAN S. REMY. + + + + +_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS._ + + + + +A. L. BURT COMPANY, +PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + + + +Copyright, 1900, by A. L. BURT. + +LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. + +BY JEAN S. REMY. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + GEORGE WASHINGTON. 1 + + JOHN ADAMS. 16 + + THOMAS JEFFERSON. 20 + + JAMES MADISON. 25 + + JAMES MONROE. 29 + + JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 33 + + ANDREW JACKSON. 38 + + MARTIN VAN BUREN. 43 + + WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 45 + + JOHN TYLER. 47 + + JAMES KNOX POLK. 49 + + ZACHARY TAYLOR. 52 + + MILLARD FILLMORE. 54 + + FRANKLIN PIERCE. 56 + + JAMES BUCHANAN. 58 + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 60 + + ANDREW JOHNSON. 66 + + ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT. 68 + + RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 73 + + JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD. 75 + + CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR. 78 + + STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 80 + + BENJAMIN HARRISON. 83 + + WILLIAM MCKINLEY. 86 + + + + +LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. + + +[Illustration: GEORGE WASHINGTON.] + + +GEORGE WASH-ING-TON. + + +Way down in Vir-gin-i-a, near a small creek, called Bridg-es Creek, +there is a shaft of white stone;--on it is the name of George +Wash-ing-ton and the date of his birth: Feb-ru-ar-y 22d, 1732. + +On this spot once stood the big brick house in which George Wash-ing-ton +was born; it was built in 1657 by John Wash-ing-ton; his grand-son, +Au-gus-tine, was the fa-ther of the lit-tle boy who be-came our first +pres-i-dent. The moth-er of George Wash-ing-ton was Ma-ry Ball; so sweet +and fair was she, when she was a young girl, that she was known as +"Sweet Mol-ly." + +Now she was not the first wife of Au-gus-tine Wash-ing-ton; and he had +two boys, Law-rence and Au-gus-tine, when he made her his wife. These +boys were so kind to their small broth-er George, when he was young, +and gave him so much help, all through his life, that their names should +stay in your minds. When George was three years old his home was burned +to the ground, and his fa-ther built a fine new house, just o-ver the +riv-er from where the cit-y of Fred-er-icks-burg now stands. Here George +went to his first school, and the name of the man who taught him was so +queer, it will not go out of your mind;--it was "Hob-by." In those old +days, the boys wrote to their boy-friends, just as they do at this day. +See what George, when he was nine years old, wrote to his best friend, +Rich-ard Hen-ry Lee:--"Dear Dick-ey, I thank you ver-y much for the +pret-ty pic-ture book you gave me. Sam asked me to show him the +pic-tures and I showed him all the pic-tures in it; and I read to him +how the tame el-e-phant took care of his mas-ter's lit-tle boy, and put +him on his back and would not let an-y-bod-y touch his mas-ter's lit-tle +son. I can read three or four pages some-times with-out miss-ing a word. +Ma says I may go to see you and stay all day with you next week if it +be not rain-y. She says I may ride my po-ny. He-ro, if Uncle Ben will +go with me and lead He-ro. I have a lit-tle piece of po-et-ry a-bout +the book you gave me, but I mustn't tell you who wrote the po-et-ry. + + "G. W.'s com-pli-ments to R. H. L. + And likes his book full well. + Hence-forth will count him as his friend, + And hopes ma-ny hap-py days he may spend. + + "Your good friend, + "GEORGE WASH-ING-TON." + +"I am go-ing to get a whip top soon, and you may see and whip it." + +You see the boys in those old days were fond of books, and toys and +hors-es just as the boys of to-day are; and there is a tale of George, +and a young colt, which shows that he was a brave and strong boy, who +did not fear to tell the truth, though he had done wrong. He and some +of his boy-friends were in a field, in which were kept some young colts, +some of which had been used. + +The boys caught one colt, put a bit in its mouth, and held it, while +George sprang on its back. The colt, mad with fear, sprang in the air, +tore through the field, and tried in vain to throw the boy; at last he +leaped with such force, that he broke a blood ves-sel, and fell to the +ground dead. Just at this time George's moth-er came out, and saw the +dead colt. She asked the boys if they knew how he died. "Yes, mad-am," +at once said her own boy; and then he told the whole truth. There are +more tales of the boy-life of George and all show that he was a brave, +strong boy, full of life and fun, and at the head in games and sports +of all kinds. + +His fa-ther died when he was on-ly e-lev-en (11) years old; but his +moth-er lived to be an old, old la-dy, who was, you may be sure, ver-y +proud of her great son. + +Af-ter his fa-ther's death George made his home with his broth-er, +Au-gus-tine, un-til he was six-teen (16) years old; and the short notes +which he wrote to his moth-er were not like those he sent to his +boy-friends, or like those which you boys and girls write to-day. He +be-gan, "Hon-ored Mad-am;" and end-ed the stiff lit-tle note,--"Your +du-ti-ful son." + +In those days folks lived on great big farms, or plan-ta-tions, as they +were called, and raised to-bac-co, which was sold for much mon-ey in +Eng-land. George's fa-ther had a ver-y large plan-ta-tion and ma-ny +slaves to work on it; some day this would all be-long to George, and so +he was taught how to write in a big round hand, how to do sums, and to +look out for those who were in his care. + +All through these years there was talk of war; for a cru-el war be-tween +the French and Eng-lish, known as King George-'s War, had be-gun; and +the boys, who heard so much talk of war, of course played at it; and +George was ev-er at the head, ev-er lead-ing these bands of young +sol-diers; he longed, just as boys would to-day, to throw a-way his +books, to leave school, to go to the true war and bear a real gun; and +when he was fif-teen, his broth-er Law-rence, who was a sol-dier, tried +to make his moth-er let him join the na-vy, as he was too young to go to +the war. But this moth-er was a ver-y wise wo-man, and said no; that his +place was at home un-til he knew how to care for the great plan-ta-tion +and the ma-ny slaves that in five or six years would be his. + +Now, at this time, this great land of ours was so wild that it was hard +to tell how much land a man owned, just where one great farm end-ed and +the next be-gan; and a man who knew the land so well that he could tell +folks just these things would be of much use; so George now be-gan to +give much time to just this work; and so well did he do it that soon +folks came to him when they were in doubt. + +In fact this work led, as you shall see, straight up to the +pres-i-dent's seat. His broth-er Law-rence had mar-ried Anne Fair-fax, +and in their home at Mt. Ver-non George met ma-ny great men; a-mong +oth-ers was Lord Thom-as Fair-fax, who owned a piece of land so large +that he did not know how big it was; he sent George to find this out; +and now this young boy had a rough piece of real work to do. + +In March, 1748, he and a young friend, George Wil-liam Fair-fax, left +the ease of Mt. Ver-non to live in the wild woods, where they would see +on-ly Indians, or, at the best, rough white men; in the log huts of the +white men they found so much dirt that, af-ter one tri-al, rath-er than +sleep on dir-ty straw, with no sheet, and but one torn, thin blan-ket, +they ei-ther lay on the bare floor, near the big wood-fire, or else +built a huge fire in the woods and lay close to it on the earth. They +had to swim their hors-es o-ver streams; they shot wild deer and birds, +and of-ten cooked and ate them, alone in the great wild woods, far from +e-ven the camp of the In-di-ans. Once, at least, we know, from a little +book in which each night George wrote of what they had done that day, +that they saw a grand war-dance of the In-di-ans; the mu-sic by which +they danced was made by a pot half full of wa-ter, with a deer-skin +o-ver the top, and a gourd filled with shot; this must have made queer +mu-sic to dance by. + +[Illustration: MOUNT VERNON--THE HOME OF WASHINGTON.] + +The boys were gone six weeks, and did their work so well that the +gov-ern-or heard of it, and he made George a "pub-lic sur-vey-or;" that +is, it was his place to find out the size of all the new farms; and his +word was to be law. He must have done this work well, too, for the lines +which he laid down were the ones used by the new States years and years +af-ter his death. + +Now, for weeks at a time, he was a-lone in the woods with the In-di-ans; +liv-ing in their camps, and learn-ing of their life; they taught him +ma-ny things; and they, in turn, learned to love and trust him; this +lone-ly life made him a grave and qui-et man; one who talked lit-tle; +and it taught him to think for him-self, at an age when most boys are +told what to do by their par-ents and friends. + +When he was not in the woods, hard at work, he was at Mt. Vernon; +and here the talk was of the great lands in the west; and of the war +bet-ween the Eng-lish and the French, who were each try-ing to drive +a-way the oth-er, and were both try-ing to force out the In-di-ans. It +was pret-ty hard for the In-di-ans, who now had not on-ly to fight each +oth-er, but the white men, too. At last they took sides, some with the +Eng-lish, some with the French; and a fierce war broke out o-ver the +land near the O-hi-o River; no white men had yet lived there, and both +sides wished to own it. + +The French moved ver-y fast, and built great forts, and sent men there +to keep the Eng-lish a-way; it was no "play-war" in which Wash-ing-ton +now took part; he had real men under him; but, just as he be-gan to +learn what real war was, he had to go to the West In-dies with his +broth-er Law-rence, who was ver-y sick. They spent the win-ter there, +but Law-rence did not get well, and came back to Mt. Ver-non in the +spring, where he died in Ju-ly, 1752. + +He left his land in charge of Wash-ing-ton, who now made his home +there; and when his broth-er's daugh-ter died he be-came the own-er. + +Now, while Wash-ing-ton had been a-way, the French had been ver-y +ac-tive; they had made friends with the In-di-ans, and had e-ven dared +to send some Eng-lish tra-ders in a ship to France. + +At this act Eng-land was up and in arms, and sent o-ver great ships and +ma-ny men to help fight the French. The first step that Eng-land took +was to send men to warn the French a-way from the Eng-lish forts in +Penn-syl-va-ni-a; and Wash-ing-ton, who knew bet-ter than a-ny one else +the rough wild woods, and who was a friend of the In-di-ans, led a +lit-tle band of sev-en men through the dense, dark woods and o-ver +riv-ers filled with float-ing ice, up to the French lines. He told the +chief man of the French troops just what the Eng-lish said, but this +French man would not give up one inch of ground that he had won from the +In-di-ans, and gave Wash-ing-ton a note to take back with him, in which +he said as much. + +Of course Eng-land could take but one course now; and so the long, +fierce war known as the "Sev-en Years' War" be-gan. Wash-ing-ton was +made a colo-nel, and showed so much skill, and was so brave, that in a +short time he took charge of part of the troops of Gen-er-al Brad-dock. + +In June, 1755, the troops made a start for Fort Du-quesne, where they +were to stay; and on this trip, while they were deep in the woods, the +In-di-ans, with fierce shrieks and wild cries, sprang on them from +the rocks and trees. The horse on which Wash-ing-ton rode was shot; +Gen-er-al Brad-dock got such a wound that he died, and ma-ny poor men +were killed. Here again Wash-ing-ton act-ed so brave-ly, and was so +wise, that the sol-diers said that Brad-dock had lost the day and +Wash-ing-ton had saved the ar-my. + +At Brad-dock's death Wash-ing-ton was made chief of all the troops in +the col-o-nies; and the first thing he did was to place men near the +homes which the white men were mak-ing in the new lands, and so help +these ear-ly set-tlers to stop the In-di-ans when they came to rob them +and to burn up their lit-tle log cab-ins, for a great fear of the red +men was o-ver all the land. Now, when the war came to a close with the +fall of the French, we find that Wash-ing-ton is a very great man, that +his troops love him ver-y much, and that the heads of the states feel +that he is a strong, wise man, and one whom they can trust. All this +time, you know, he was an Eng-lish sol-dier, fight-ing for Eng-land; +but, deep in his heart, and in the hearts of all the brave men who +fought with him, there was, we may be sure, a love for this fair land, +and a long-ing for its best good. + +After the war was at an end Wash-ing-ton, who was ver-y glad to give +up his post, mar-ried Mrs. Eus-tis, a young wid-ow with two lit-tle +chil-dren, a girl of six years and a boy of twelve, and went to Mt. +Ver-non to live. For twen-ty years now he lived the qui-et life he loved +so well. He took good care of his farm, was hap-py with his fam-i-ly and +friends, and grew, day by day, in power. He did not lead an i-dle life, +you may be sure; he rose ear-ly, had his break-fast at sev-en in sum-mer +and eight in win-ter; then rode o-ver his farm and saw that all was +right. He had his din-ner at two o'clock; then had an ear-ly tea, and +of-ten was in bed by nine o'clock. Twice a year he sent to Lon-don for +things need-ed in the way of dress for his fam-i-ly and slaves, for +tools, books, drugs, etc. Some of the things he bought for the chil-dren +I think you boys and girls would like, too. He sent for "tops, lit-tle +books for chil-dren to read, a doll, and oth-er toys." + +[Illustration: MARTHA WASHINGTON.] + +Wash-ing-ton loved hors-es and was ver-y fond of hunt-ing. The name of +his pet horse was "Blue-skin"; he must have looked ver-y fine when he +was on horse-back; for he was a big man, with bright blue eyes and high +color, and he wore a red vest with gold lace on it, and a dark blue +cloth coat. Mrs. Wash-ing-ton rode in a fine car-riage drawn by four +hors-es, and her driv-er wore the Wash-ing-ton col-ors of red, white +and gold. These old days were full of life and fun, but there was work +as well, and soon came more talk of war. + +All through these twen-ty years this land was grow-ing big-ger and +big-ger; and at last came the time when folks did not see why they should +not be free from Eng-land and rule their own land in their own way. + +At last Eng-land made a law called the "Stamp Act," which put so high a +tax on goods that folks here would not pay it; tea was one of the things +on which this tax was put; and when Eng-land sent o-ver three ships +full of tea to Bos-ton, our men would not let it be ta-ken from the +ships, but broke the great chests and threw all the tea in the wa-ter. +This act is known as the "Bos-ton Tea Par-ty"; and now the first signs +of war were seen; a fierce fight took place at Lex-ing-ton, one Sun-day +morn-ing, be-tween the Brit-ish and A-mer-i-can troops; and now, all +o-ver the land, went up the cry, "To arms! To arms!" + +This is how the great War of In-de-pend-ence be-gan; and you know the +name of the man who was at once put at the head of the A-mer-i-can +ar-my--George Wash-ing-ton, of course! Now he is not an Eng-lish-man +fight-ing for his king, but an A-mer-i-can fight-ing to free his own +land. A long, hard fight it was, too, but not once did Wash-ing-ton +or his brave men lose heart. He drove the Brit-ish out of Bos-ton, and +then, for fear they would go to New York, he sent men there; but the +Brit-ish ships went to Can-a-da in-stead, and made that land theirs. + +It was just at this time that Rich-ard Hen-ry Lee, the boy-friend of +Wash-ing-ton, made a move in Con-gress that our land should say to +the whole world that it would be free from Brit-ish rule; and so the +Dec-lar-a-tion of In-de-pend-ence was drawn up and sent out to the +world on July 4, 1776. + +[Illustration: LIEUTENANT-GENERAL BURGOYNE. + +From an English print, 1733.] + +War now be-gan in dead-ly earn-est; and, at the great bat-tle of Long +Isl-and, our men met with great loss of life, and had to flee from the +foe. Soon af-ter this bad news the Brit-ish took Phil-a-del-phi-a, and +now Wash-ing-ton was sad at heart; on Christ-mas day of 1776, though, +our troops won in the great fight that took place at Tren-ton, and there +was joy in the whole land; good news came with the New Year, too, for +Wash-ing-ton won ma-ny fights; and at last, in Oc-to-ber, 1777, the +Brit-ish troops in charge of Gen-er-al Bur-goyne gave up their arms to +Gen-er-al Gates. That win-ter of 1777 was a bad one for Wash-ing-ton and +his men; at no time in the war did they suf-fer so much; the time was +spent at Val-ley Forge, and the men lived in log huts which they had +first built, in long straight lines, like cit-y streets; twelve men +lived in each hut, and there was a fire-place at the back, but no fire +could keep out the aw-ful cold, and no hut was snug e-nough to keep out +the snow that fell in great drifts a-round this lit-tle town of log +huts. To make things worse there was lit-tle food to be had; the men had +on-ly poor, thin clothes, and their bare feet oft-en left marks of blood +on the white snow. But the men did not lose hope, and kept their faith +through all the long months in their great lead-er, whose lot was quite +as hard as theirs was; the farm-house in which he had a room still +stands, and it is hard to be-lieve, as you look at this old house on the +banks of the Del-a-ware Riv-er, that once the big or-chard back of it +and all the pret-ty fields were filled with poor little wood-en huts +in which, for the sake of free-dom, lived and suf-fered thou-sands of +brave men. + +In the spring things were bet-ter, for France joined A-mer-i-ca in her +fight for free-dom, and three years from this time the Brit-ish were +beaten at York-town and A-mer-i-ca was free. One of the great +French-men, who gave us much help, and was a firm friend of +Wash-ing-ton's, was the Mar-quis de La-fay-ette. + +[Illustration: MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE.] + +A ver-y sad thing dur-ing these last years of the war was the base act +of Ben-e-dict Ar-nold, who made up his mind to sell to the Brit-ish some +posts near West Point, of which he had charge. He sent a note to +Clin-ton by a young Brit-ish spy, Ma-jor An-dre; but on his way to the +Brit-ish lines this young man was caught by three of our men. They found +the note in his boots and he was brought to the A-mer-i-can camp, tried +for his life and hung as a spy. Ben-e-dict Ar-nold had made his way to a +ship and set sail for Eng-land, and his name is hat-ed, not on-ly by his +own land, but by e-ven the land to whom he tried to sell his coun-try. + +It was in March, 1783, that the news of peace spread through the land, +and it is said that Wash-ing-ton wept with joy, as he read the glad news +to his troops; he gave or-ders that the whole ar-my should give thanks +to God; and this was done at a great meet-ing on the day af-ter Lord +Corn-wal-lis laid down his sword. Then there was a great ball giv-en at +Fred-er-icks-burg, and Wash-ing-ton's old moth-er, sev-en-ty-four years +old, was there lean-ing on the arm of her son; and do you not think she +was proud, as one af-ter an-oth-er of the great French of-fi-cers bowed +to her, and spoke in her son's praise? + +[Illustration: SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN.] + +It was on Christ-mas eve that Wash-ing-ton came home to Mt. Vernon, +af-ter eight years of war: rid-ing in state, with his wife at his side, +this great A-mer-i-can, feared now by kings, and loved more than ev-er +by the coun-try he had made free, came glad-ly back to take up the +qui-et coun-try life he loved so well; and here, could he have had his +way, he would have lived un-til his death; but this new coun-try need-ed +at its head a man whom folks loved and trust-ed, and of whom oth-er +lands stood in fear. No man but Wash-ing-ton could fill this great +place; and so, at the end of three years, once more at his coun-try's +call, he left his home,--this time to be-come the first Pres-i-dent of +the U-ni-ted States. Not one voice was a-gainst him; eve-ry man in the +new coun-try vot-ed to give him this last hon-or; and on Ap-ril 30th, +1789, in New York Ci-ty, he took the oath of of-fice. Wash-ing-ton, who +was a ve-ry rich man, had tak-en no mon-ey for serv-ing his coun-try +in the war; and said he would take none now; but be-cause oth-er +Pres-i-dents might not be rich e-nough or good e-nough to want to do +the same, the peo-ple made him take $25,000 a year; now, you know, the +Pres-i-dent gets $50,000 a year. + +Wash-ing-ton was in New York but one year, then the cap-i-tal was moved +to Phil-a-del-phia, and here he lived in great state, un-til af-ter +eight years in the Pres-i-dent's chair, once more, and for the last +time, he came back home to Mt. Ver-non. + +At the end of his term of of-fice, Wash-ing-ton on-ly wait-ed to see +the next Pres-i-dent, John Ad-ams, take the chair, and soon af-ter he +came back talk a-rose of war with France; and, of course, the coun-try +turned to him; he was a-gain put in charge of the ar-my, and took up +the pub-lic life he had so glad-ly laid down. But he had not long to +bear it this time, for on De-cem-ber 12th, 1799, while rid-ing in a +hard rain-storm, he took a heav-y cold, from which he died on Sat-ur-day +night, De-cem-ber 14th, be-tween ten and twelve o'clock. + +Wash-ing-ton was bur-ied at Mt. Ver-non, and to-day the tomb of "The +Fa-ther of his Coun-try," as he is lov-ing-ly called is a sa-cred place; +not on-ly to us, but to the men and wo-men of the old lands, which were +taught by him so long a-go to hon-or and fear this great, new A-mer-i-ca. + +Wash-ing-ton had been dead just one hun-dred years on De-cem-ber 14th, +1899, and the date was made much of in the U-nit-ed States: in New York +Ci-ty, in Wash-ing-ton, and at Mt. Ver-non there was a great time in his +hon-or, for this great man is as dear to his coun-try to-day as he was +when he was a-live. + +[Illustration: WASHINGTON FAMILY VAULT.] + + + + +JOHN AD-AMS. + + +John Ad-ams was born, not in the far South with ma-ny slaves to wait +on him, but on a small farm in Brain-tree, Mass. Here, from old Eng-land +had come, in 1636, his great-grand-fa-ther, Hen-ry Ad-ams; and in this +old home was born on Oc-to-ber 19th, 1735, John Ad-ams, who was to be +the sec-ond Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. Now, on this farm in the +east, there was much work to be done, and few to do it; the folks who +had made their homes here did not lead such lives of ease as those who +lived on the great farms in the South. + +As a small boy, though, of course, he was taught to read and write, John +Ad-ams had a good deal of hard work to do. There was wood to chop, and +snow to be cleared a-way; there were hors-es and cows to care for, and +there was much work to do in the fields. In all this work John took his +part, like the brave, strong boy that he was. When the days grew long +and cold, he was sent to an old school near his home, and here he at +once took his place with the boys, as one who would lead in fun and +sport of all kinds. There was a good deal of fun, too, in those days, +for boys and girls both; in the cold days there was good, strong ice on +which to skate; there was snow to play in, and to make fine roads for +long rides in a sleigh; and, when the days were long and hot, there were +fish in the big streams, and there was game in the wild woods. John was +not fond of his books, but still he did good work at school; and when +he was quite young went to Har-vard Col-lege. He left it in 1755, +just at the start of the "Sev-en Years' War"; and the name of George +Wash-ing-ton, the brave young Col-o-nel of Vir-gin-ia, rang loud in his +ears. + +[Illustration: JOHN ADAMS.] + +He taught school in Wor-ces-ter to earn the means to take up law; and +in 1758 he be-came a law-yer. He had ma-ny cas-es, and grew wise and +great, though he did not make much mon-ey, as folks in the small town +of Brain-tree were far from rich and paid small fees. But he did make +ma-ny kind friends, and far and near he was known as a man of clear, +strong mind and quick, bright thoughts; he had a fine, sweet voice, +too, and his speech-es were al-ways wise and showed much thought. + +In the strife with Eng-land he was, from the start, on the side of +A-mer-i-ca. So much did Eng-land fear him in 1757, the Eng-lish king +sent word that he would give him great wealth if he would serve him at +this time. Ad-ams would not do this; he would speak and act just as he +thought right, and be bound by no king. When the "Stamp Act" passed in +1764, he made a great speech, which was sent to those at the head of +his State; and when, in 1770, a troop of Brit-ish fired on a mob of +A-mer-i-can men and boys in the streets of Bos-ton, he took the case to +the courts, and spoke for the Brit-ish Cap-tain and his men, though they +had killed five of our men. It may seem strange to you that Ad-ams, who +stood for A-mer-i-can rights, should here take sides with the Brit-ish; +but, first of all, he stood for law; and, though he knew he ran the risk +of los-ing his high place in the hearts of A-mer-i-can men, still he +would do what he thought right. But men love truth, and like to see a +brave man act as he thinks right, and so felt that he had just the +clear, cool head and brain and the strong warm heart to give aid in +the dark days that were to come to the land. He was sent to the First +Con-gress and was one of the three men who drew up the Dec-la-ra-tion +of In-de-pend-ence. + +[Illustration: CARPENTER'S HALL. + +Where the first Continental Congress met September, 1774.] + +He was al-so one of three men to go to France and ask for the aid which +she gave to A-mer-i-ca, in the spring af-ter that hard win-ter at +Val-ley Forge. Do you see why this trip at this time was a brave act, +and one by which Ad-ams ran a great risk of los-ing his life? Eng-land +had no wish that he should reach France, and her ships tried in vain to +get him. If he had been caught he would have been hung, as a man who was +false to his land and his king. You know that he went to France though, +and did his work well. He stood up for our rights and had a bill passed +which made the ports of France and Eng-land free to our goods. At the +end of the war he was sent to Eng-land to look out for our rights there; +and, though now this is a pleas-ant task, it was not then, for it was +hard for Ad-ams to be true to A-mer-i-ca and yet not an-ger the Eng-lish +king, George III. + +[Illustration: GEORGE III. + +From an anonymous print.] + +But we have seen how bold and brave a man he was, so the first thing +he said to the king was: "I must tell your Maj-es-ty that I love no +coun-try but my own"; and said the king: "An hon-est man will nev-er +love an-y oth-er." In spite of this, Ad-ams met with much rude-ness at +the Eng-lish court; but he did his best for his coun-try, and when he +came home in 1787, af-ter twelve years of hard work, he was met with +great joy. He was made Vice-Presi-dent with Wash-ing-ton, and at the +end of Wash-ing-ton's term of of-fice he was made Pres-i-dent. He +served on-ly four years and then made way for Thom-as Jef-fer-son. + +At the age of six-ty-eight years, with the love of the whole land, he +went to his home in Quin-cy, Mass. His heart was ever with his coun-try; +and he lived un-til his son, John Quin-cy Ad-ams, was made Pres-i-dent +of the U-nit-ed States. + +His last thoughts were for his coun-try. On June 30th, 1826, he gave +as a toast for the great feast to be held on Ju-ly 4th the words: +"In-de-pend-ence for-ev-er." + +[Illustration: RESIDENCE OF JOHN ADAMS. + +At Quincy, Mass.] + +He died on the night of this, A-mer-i-ca's great day. His last words +were of Jef-fer-son. He said: "Thom-as Jef-fer-son still lives." But +this was not so, for Jef-fer-son had died a few hours be-fore on this +same day; and this young land wept for two of her great men, both of +whom, in giv-ing up their best to their coun-try, helped to make it +the great, free land that it is to-day. + + + + +THOM-AS JEF-FER-SON. + + +When Thom-as Jef-fer-son was a boy his home was so near the In-di-ans' +camp and he saw so much of them that I am sure all boys will like to +read of him. His fa-ther, Pe-ter Jef-fer-son, took his bride, Jane +Ran-dolph, to a house on a wild tract of land of o-ver 1,000 a-cres, +way out in Vir-gin-ia, right in the midst of great woods. He was a big, +strong man, and this strength was ve-ry use-ful to him in mak-ing his +new home, for he had to chop down huge trees and then cut them up in-to +the logs of which the lit-tle log cab-in was built. He took with him +in-to this wild new land on-ly a few slaves, but with their help his +farm soon grew large, and he be-came a rich man. The In-di-ans were +great friends of his, and al-ways sure of a warm wel-come in his home. + +Still, the In-di-ans were not al-ways at peace with the white men, who +had come to make their homes so near them, and folks had to be on the +watch for fear the red men would rob and kill them. Pe-ter Jef-fer-son +was made Col-o-nel of the men who kept the In-di-ans back in the woods, +and a-way from the lit-tle town that was fast grow-ing up near his home. + +Now, this great, strong man was fond of books, and it was with his +fa-ther that lit-tle Thom-as be-gan to stu-dy. He was al-so taught to +ride, to swim and to shoot; and as he was fond of mu-sic he spent long +hours in learn-ing to play on the vi-o-lin, or "fid-dle" as it was then +called. The In-di-ans near his home liked him, and he used to play +tunes for the lit-tle, brown In-di-an boys to dance by. + +He was on-ly nine years old when he went to board-ing school with a Mr. +Doug-lass, and here he be-gan to stu-dy Lat-in, Greek and French. He +was so near home that he did not stay a-way long at a time; and in-deed, +this home was such a hap-py one, so full of life and fun, that he did +not want to be a-way from it long at one time. + +But this hap-py time did not last long, for Thom-as was but four-teen +years old when his brave fa-ther was shot in a fight with the In-di-ans. +This boy was now at the head of as big a place as the fa-ther of George +Wash-ing-ton had left to him, and though he kept on with his books +he had the care of this great farm to think of and plan for. He was +a bright, well-read boy; and was but six-teen when he took a place +at Wil-liam and Ma-ry Col-lege. Here, his love for books and mu-sic +kept him from the wild life led by some of the young men there, and +made friends for him a-mong the great men, whose homes were in +Wil-liams-town. + +He met a great law-yer, George Wythe, and be-gan the stu-dy of law with +him when, at the end of two years, he left col-lege. In five years he +be-gan the prac-tise of law in his old home in Vir-gin-ia. In two years, +so bright and quick was he, and of such a strong, clear mind, that he +had 198 cas-es, held a high place in his State, and was a rich man. + +In 1770, while he and his moth-er were a-way from home, the old house +burned down. When news of this came to Jef-fer-son, his first thought +was for his books, and he said to the slave who had told him: "Did you +save an-y of my books?" "No, mas-ter," said the slave, "but we did save +your fid-dle." You see e-ven when he was a great and bu-sy man he still +loved his fid-dle; but the loss of all his law books was ve-ry hard for +a bu-sy law-yer, and it took him a long while to get the new books that +he must have. + +[Illustration: MONTICELLO. + +The Home of Thomas Jefferson.] + +He had be-gun to build a ve-ry large new house at Mon-ti-cel-lo, and +so in the lit-tle end of this he now went to live. Two years lat-er, to +this home, which was to be-come known all o-ver the world, he brought +his bride, Mrs. Mar-tha Skel-ton, a young and ve-ry rich wid-ow. They +were mar-ried on New Year's Day, 1772, and came to their home in such +a hard snow-storm that the hors-es could not drag the coach through the +big drifts, so these two young folks left the warm coach, and rode the +tired hors-es up to the door of their new home. Jef-fer-son and his +wife gave great care to Mon-ti-cel-lo, and it was known far and near +for its great beau-ty and for its choice and rare fruits and flow-ers. + +But Jef-fer-son was much from home. In 1762 he was sent to Con-gress, +and here he at once stood at the head of the band of wise and great men +who were then there. His mind was so clear and bright that in all the +grave things that came up he knew at once just what to do, he had the +trust of all men. + +He was a great help in writ-ing the Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence; +in fact, it may well be said that he wrote it. Soon af-ter this great +act he left Con-gress and turned his mind to the laws of his own State; +he made them safe and just for all men, both rich and poor. In 1779 he +was made gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-ia; and now his work was hard; not on-ly +must he find a way to keep the In-di-ans from the hous-es of the white +men but the Brit-ish came down to the south and laid his fair home in +ruins. Not for long years did Mon-ti-cel-lo grow in beau-ty once more. +But through all the dark years of war Jef-fer-son did his work well; he +forced back the In-di-an foes, and gave help and aid to his State while +the War for In-de-pend-ence went on. When the war was at an end, this +strong, just man, with his clear, wise brain, was just the one to stand +up for our rights in the lands a-cross the sea, so he was sent to France +at the time Ad-ams was in Eng-land. While here he had a bill passed by +which Eng-land said she would look on our land as free; and this was a +big point for us to gain. + +When Jef-fer-son came home he was made Sec-re-ta-ry of State, and in +this high of-fice did much good work; it was he who first gave us our +own coins to use in place of the Eng-lish coins, which, up to that time +had been in use here. Now, Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was in charge of +the work of mak-ing the coin, and a great feud came up be-tween him +and Jef-fer-son as to how this should be done. Men, of course, took +sides in this strife, and so two bands sprang up which were known as +Re-pub-li-cans and Fed-er-al-ists; to-day these two bands are known as +Re-pub-li-cans and Dem-o-crats. Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was killed in +a du-el by Aa-ron Burr in Ju-ly, 1804. + +In 1801, Jef-fer-son was made Pres-i-dent; and while he was in the chair +this land grew strong and great. + +Our first steam-boat was built by Rob-ert Ful-ton while Jef-fer-son was +Pres-i-dent; and it did not look at all like the great boats of to-day; +it was a heav-y, clum-sy boat, which went by sails as well as steam. + +[Illustration: THE CLERMONT. + +Rob-ert Ful-ton's first Steam-boat.] + +Jef-fer-son tried hard to put an end to the slave-trade, which he felt +was a great wrong; he thought, too, that folks should have the right to +serve God in their own way; and he held that on-ly men who could read +and write should vote. + +He was a great and a wise man; books were his dear friends; and so +one of the hard-est things he had to do, af-ter he went home to +Mon-ti-cel-lo, when he left the White House, was to sell all his books +to Con-gress in or-der to get mon-ey to live on. To his own home hosts +of friends and stran-gers came to see the great man, just as they had +when he was in Wash-ing-ton. But he sold his books so cheap that the +mon-ey did not help him much; and, at last, it seemed as if he must +sell his dear old home. But now the peo-ple for whom he had done so +much helped him, and a big fund was raised, so that he could keep his +home and live there in com-fort un-til his death. + +He lived to be a ver-y old man, and e-ven when he was so weak he could +not rise from his bed, his great, strong brain was still clear. You +know that he died on the 4th of Ju-ly, 1826, just a few hours be-fore +the death of his old friend, John Ad-ams. + +Next to the name of George Wash-ing-ton, there is no name a-mong the +great men of our land, of which the peo-ple are so proud, as that of +Thom-as Jef-fer-son. + +[Illustration: THOMAS JEFFERSON.] + +[Illustration: JAMES MADISON.] + + + + +JAMES MAD-I-SON. + + +In the home of his grand-fath-er at Port Con-way, Vir-gin-i-a, was +born, in the spring of 1751, the small boy who was to be our fourth +Pres-i-dent. He was ver-y young, though, when he went to live at +Mont-pel-ier, his fath-er's great farm in Vir-gin-i-a, and here he led +much the same life as George Wash-ing-ton did when a boy. He was but a +small boy when the French and Eng-lish War be-gan, and when Brad-dock +lost the day, a great fear of the In-di-ans spread to the ver-y door of +his home; and he grew up with the name of George Wash-ing-ton ev-er in +his ears, as a great he-ro. + +His school days were much like those of Jef-fer-son. He was a young boy +when he could read French and Span-ish with ease, and was as well hard +at work at Greek and Lat-in. In 1769 he went to Prince-ton Col-lege, and +here, as well as when he was at home, Jef-fer-son was a great help to +him. The old-er man wrote to the boy in the qui-et old col-lege town, +a-bout the scenes of war; he told him much of the Brit-ish troops in the +Bos-ton streets, of young John Ad-ams and of Wash-ing-ton. So, when in +1771 he left col-lege, he knew a great deal a-bout the strife of the +day, and had deep, clear thoughts a-bout it. At home he led a qui-et +life with his books, un-til 1774, then he was put at the head of a few +men, who were to guard their own town if the Brit-ish troops came there. +In this post he showed such a wise, clear mind and did his part so well +that in a short time he was put in a high place in his State, and from +there in 1779 was sent to Con-gress. Jef-fer-son was at this time +Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a, and the two men were close, warm friends. + +For twen-ty five years Mad-i-son was one of the first men in this land. +He had no taste for war, but he soon took a high place with those who +made the laws of the land. One of the great things he did was to help +draw up the Con-sti-tu-tion of the U-nit-ed States. + +In 1794 this grave and qui-et man mar-ried, as Wash-ing-ton and +Jef-fer-son had done, a young and love-ly wid-ow. She was but +twen-ty-two years old, twen-ty years young-er than he, and her name +was Mrs. Dor-o-thy Payne Todd. Lat-er on, the folks who grew to +love this fair la-dy so well, gave her the name by which we know her +to-day--"Dol-ly Mad-i-son." She was a Quak-er-ess, and so fair and +sweet was she, in her qui-et lit-tle gown of gray, that once a friend +said to her: "Dol-ly, tru-ly thou must hide thy face, so ma-ny stare +at thee." + +[Illustration: MRS. DOLLY PAYNE MADISON.] + +For one year af-ter his mar-riage, Mad-i-son lived at Mont-pel-ier; then +a-gain he went in-to pub-lic life, first in his State, and af-ter that, +in 1800, as Sec-re-ta-ry of State un-der Jef-fer-son. + +Now, be-gan the gay life at the White House, for which "Dol-ly" +Mad-i-son won so much fame. Jef-fer-son's wife was dead, and it was the +wife of his friend that helped him en-ter-tain the White House guests. +Well did this love-ly la-dy do her part, and in 1808 when, as the wife +of the Pres-i-dent, she be-came the real mis-tress of the White House, +more than ev-er did the peo-ple love her. To-day, of all the pic-tures +of the Pres-i-dents' wives that hang up-on the White House walls, none +is more love-ly than that of the gay and pretty "Dol-ly Mad-i-son." + +Mad-i-son was most of all a man of peace, and yet it was while he was +in of-fice that the U-nit-ed States was drawn in-to the War of 1812. +Eng-land, then at war with France, said she had the right to search +A-mer-i-can ships to see if they were tak-ing aid to France. A-mer-i-ca +would not give this right to Eng-land, and so the war be-gan. In 1814 +the Brit-ish came to the cit-y of Wash-ing-ton, and for the on-ly time +in A-mer-i-can his-to-ry the Pres-i-dent had to leave his home. + +Mad-i-son, with the Sec-re-ta-ry of State and some friends, went to a +lit-tle inn near Wash-ing-ton, and here they were met by Mrs. Mad-i-son, +who had stayed as long as she could at the White House to save some +things from the hands of the Brit-ish. She had brought the great +Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence, and had cut from its big frame the +pic-ture of Wash-ing-ton and brought it safe-ly a-way. The Brit-ish +troops set fire to the White House, the na-vy yard, the Cap-i-tol, and +in fact the whole town. They left in great haste, though, when they +heard that our troops were on the way, and the next day Mrs. Mad-i-son +put on the dress of a wash-wo-man, so folks would not know her, and made +a start for her home, but the British had set fire to a bridge she had +to cross on the way and then she begged an A-mer-i-can sol-dier to row +her o-ver the riv-er. He would not do so un-til she told him who she +was, and then he was ver-y glad to take this brave lit-tle la-dy in his +boat. On-ly black ash-es marked the spot on which the White House had +once stood, so she had to go to her sis-ter's home, where the +Pres-i-dent soon joined her. + +The Eng-lish troops now tried to take Bal-ti-more, but our brave men +drove them back; and when they tried to make a raid on New Or-le-ans, +Gen-er-al Jack-son and his troops fought so hard that the foe could +not get in-to the cit-y. + +This was the last fight of this war, and peace was signed at Ghent, +De-cem-ber 24th, 1814. From that day Eng-land has had to leave our ships +a-lone and to treat A-mer-i-ca as one of the great nations of the world. + +In 1817 Mad-i-son was not sor-ry to go back to his old home, and here +ma-ny hap-py years were spent, for the fair la-dy of the White House +kept o-pen house in her own home, and guests from far and near were +glad to come here. One of Mad-i-son's dear-est friends was old Thom-as +Jef-fer-son, who oft-en rode o-ver from his home at Mon-ti-cel-lo, +which was on-ly thir-ty miles from Mont-pel-ier. + +Mad-i-son wrote a good deal at this time; and once a-gain was seen in +pub-lic life. In 1829 he was at the head of the great change made in +all the laws of the whole land. + +He died af-ter a long sick-ness at his home in Mont-pel-ier on +June 28th, 1836. + + + + +JAMES MON-ROE. + + +James Mon-roe was, like Wash-ing-ton, Mad-i-son and Jef-fer-son, born in +Vir-gin-i-a. Our first Pres-i-dent was just twen-ty six years old when, +in West-more-land County, on A-pril 28th, 1758, was born the boy who was +to be the fifth Pres-i-dent. His fa-ther, Colo-nel Spense Mon-roe, owned +a big farm and was quite rich. Lit-tle James was sent to good schools +and did not have to work to earn the means to stay in school. He learned +at first to hunt, to skate and to swim; and was good friends with all +the boys; but through all the fun and school work came up the talk of +war; of the long strife with Eng-land and the fierce red men. It was +hard for a brave boy to hear such talk and yet keep on at his books, +and though Mon-roe did go to Wil-liam and Mary Col-lege, he did not stay +long, for we hear of him in 1775 at the camp near Bos-ton. In 1776 we +see him at the head of a band of men, and from that time on he was in +the thick of the fight. He fought at White Plains and Har-lem Heights, +and was so brave that the great Wash-ing-ton gave him high praise for +his work, and made him, when but eight-een years old, a cap-tain in the +ar-my. At the great fight at Tren-ton he got a bad wound and had to rest +for some time. In the big fights of the war this brave young man was one +of the first in the field; his hopes were ev-er high, and he put heart +in-to the weak and worn men who looked to him for help in the sad years +of the war. In 1780 he be-gan the stud-y of law with his old friend +Thom-as Jef-fer-son and soon led the bright men of the day. + +So good a friend of his was Jef-fer-son, that the home to which Mon-roe +took his bride in 1785, was planned for him by Jef-fer-son, who, so it +is said, al-so gave him the nails to build it with. + +In 1794 he was sent to France to look out for A-mer-i-ca's rights, but +he found talk of war there at that time. The peo-ple did not want a king +an-y long-er, but wished to be-come a free land like A-mer-i-ca, with +a pres-i-dent at the head; and Mad-i-son, who was a Re-pub-li-can, took +sides with the Re-pub-li-cans in France. The king did not like this, and +so Mad-i-son had to come home at the end of two years. + +But he met with a wel-come at home, and his own State made him its +Gov-ern-or. In 1803 he was once more sent to France; this time to buy +the State of Lou-is-i-an-a from the French, and he paid Na-po-le-on for +this large State $15,000,000. + +Twice Mon-roe was sent to Spain and once to Eng-land, where his task +was to force Eng-land to stop her search of A-mer-i-can ships. You +know he could not do this, for that was the cause of the War of 1812. + +Tired and sad at heart, he came back home, and was glad to rest for a +while in his own home; but he was of too much use to his coun-try to be +i-dle long. Once more, in 1811, he was made Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a. + +Then came the War of 1812; and it was Mon-roe, now Sec-re-ta-ry of +State, who, at the head of a few men, saw the Brit-ish land near +Wash-ing-ton and sent word to Mad-i-son to leave the cit-y. He al-so +act-ed as Sec-re-ta-ry of War at this time, and so well did he do his +part that in 1816 he was named for Pres-i-dent by the Dem-o-crats. He +got the most votes and so took the first place in our great land. + +His first act was to pay off the great debt which the War of 1812 had +brought on us. He did this in a ver-y short time; and now our trade grew +so great that rail-roads were built; and so our first rail-road was made +while Mad-i-son was Pres-i-dent. + +[Illustration: FIRST RAILROAD TRAIN.] + +There was a fierce war with the In-di-ans in Flor-i-da at this time; but +Gen-er-al Jack-son was sent down there and he forced them to lay down +their arms and keep the peace. + +Just at this time, too, we got Flor-i-da from the King of Spain, and +gave up Tex-as, af-ter pay-ing a big sum of mon-ey to the A-mer-i-cans, +who had been robbed by Spain. + +Mis-sou-ri came in-to the Un-ion while Mon-roe was Pres-i-dent, and +there was a fierce storm of words; the North said she should not hold +slaves after she was a State, the South said that she should. + +At last Con-gress gave way to the South-ern States; but made a law that +there should be a line drawn through the land, north of which no State +should hold slaves. + +In 1825 Mon-roe was free to go to his home at Oak Hill, Vir-gin-i-a, +and here he lived un-til 1830. His wife died in that year, and then he +went to live with his daugh-ter in New York. He died here on the 4th of +Ju-ly, 1831, and his name is one that the whole land loves and hon-ors. + +He was bur-ied in New York, but on the one hun-dredth an-ni-ver-sa-ry +of his birth, his bod-y was tak-en to Rich-mond, Vir-gin-i-a, and a +hand-some stone raised o-ver his grave. + +[Illustration: JAMES MONROE.] + +[Illustration: JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.] + + + + +JOHN QUIN-CY AD-AMS. + + +The lit-tle boy who be-came our sixth Pres-i-dent led a life not at all +like that of an-y oth-er of the boys of whom you have read. His fa-ther +was John Ad-ams, our sec-ond Pres-i-dent, and when, on Ju-ly 11th, 1767, +lit-tle John Quin-cy Ad-ams was born in the old home at Brain-tree, +Mass., his great fa-ther was al-read-y speak-ing brave-ly for his +coun-try's rights in the cit-y of Bos-ton. In 1772 the fam-i-ly moved +to Bos-ton, and lit-tle John, for two years, saw, as the oth-er boys +did, the Brit-ish sol-diers in their bright red coats on pa-rade in the +Bos-ton streets, and heard on all sides talk of war with Eng-land. He +saw a lit-tle of real war, too; for when he was eight years old, his +moth-er took him on top of a high hill, called Be-mis Hill, from which +he saw the smoke and heard the roar of can-non in that aw-ful bat-tle of +Bunk-er Hill. When, in 1776, the Brit-ish left Bos-ton, this lit-tle lad +of nine years used to oft-en ride on horse-back in and out of the city +to bring home the lat-est news. This was a ride of twen-ty-two miles +from the old home at Brain-tree, where Mrs. Ad-ams had gone when her +hus-band went to Con-gress, and I think it took a pret-ty brave and +strong boy to ride all those long miles a-lone. + +When John Ad-ams went to France to try and get her aid for A-mer-i-ca, +he took with him his lit-tle boy, then ten years old. It was a rough, +hard trip; for, not on-ly were there fierce winds which lashed the waves +in-to fu-ry, but they were chased by Brit-ish ships, for Eng-land did +not want John Ad-ams to get this help from France. But they reached +Par-is in safe-ty, and lit-tle John was at once put in a French school. +He on-ly stayed for a-bout a year and went back home with his fa-ther +in the spring. Now for three months he was with his moth-er, and then +in No-vem-ber he and some oth-er boys who were placed in his fa-ther's +care, all start-ed for France, where they were to be put in a good +school. + +This trip was hard-er than the oth-er one, for the big ship, +"Sen-si-ble," sprang a leak, and af-ter some days of great per-il, they +were glad to go to the near-est land, which was Spain; and now there +was a long, hard trip by land be-fore France could be reached. They had +sailed on Nov. 13th, 1779, and it was not un-til Feb. 5th, 1780, that +the lit-tle par-ty reached Par-is. + +For two years now our lit-tle lad was hard at work with his books in +Par-is; then his fa-ther was sent to the Neth-er-lands as A-mer-i-can +Min-is-ter, and he took his lit-tle son there and placed him in a school +in Am-ster-dam; from here he went to the U-ni-ver-si-ty at Ley-den, +where he stayed un-til Ju-ly, 1781. + +He was now on-ly four-teen years old; but you see he had been in so +ma-ny lands, that he could speak as the folks did in those strange +lands, and this was a rare thing in those days. In 1781 Fran-cis Da-na, +then the A-mer-i-can Min-is-ter to Rus-sia, need-ing some one to help +him in his work, sent to Ley-den for this young boy. They passed +through Ger-ma-ny on the way to Rus-sia, and here John Quin-cy learned +some-thing of an-oth-er new land. Then, af-ter a year in Rus-sia, he +left Mr. Da-na and stud-ied for a year in Swe-den. The next spring he +went to his fa-ther in Hol-land, and then went to Par-is with him, and +was pres-ent when the trea-ty of peace be-tween Eng-land and A-mer-i-ca +end-ed the War of In-de-pend-ence. + +For two years more he stud-ied a-broad, and then sailed for home in May, +1783. He at once en-tered the jun-ior class at Har-vard Col-lege and +grad-u-a-ted with next to the high-est hon-ors in 1787. Then he took up +law, as his fa-ther had done, and be-gan to prac-tise in Bos-ton. He +made few friends; folks did not love him as they had ei-ther Mad-i-son +or Mon-roe, but he was al-ways known to be a man of great pow-er, and +of great learn-ing; and know-ing so much of other lands, he was just +the man to be sent as A-mer-i-can Min-is-ter to these coun-tries. + +In 1794 Wash-ing-ton sent him to Hol-land, and in 1796 he was sent to +Ber-lin. + +When, in 1801, Ad-ams came back home, it was to find new hon-ors +wait-ing for him. He was sent first to the State Sen-ate and then to +Con-gress. You see the steps by which our Pres-i-dents rose to pow-er +were much the same in ev-er-y case. A du-ty well done in a small place +led to some-thing a lit-tle high-er, and so on to the great-est hon-or +of all--the Pres-i-dent's chair. + +The State of Mas-sa-chu-setts was ver-y proud of John Quin-cy A-dams; +not only was he a great states-man and the son of the man whom they all +loved, but he was, as well, a fine schol-ar, and a bril-liant speak-er. +In 1809 he was sent a-broad a-gain for his coun-try; this time to +Rus-sia, where he had not been since he was a boy of four-teen; in 1815 +he was sent to France, but he was here on-ly a few months, when war +broke out in France, and all the min-is-ters from oth-er coun-tries were +called a-way; he went at once to Eng-land, and here he had a much more +pleasant time than his father had when he went there as the first +Amer-i-can min-is-ter; the U-nit-ed States was now known as a big strong +coun-try, and no one dared to be rude to her min-is-ter. In 1817 his own +land felt the need of the great man who had served her so well a-broad, +and he was called home to be-come Sec-re-ta-ry of State. No man was so +well fit-ted for this post as he; for there were ma-ny men from the +lands a-cross the sea, now com-ing and go-ing in the cap-i-tal of the +U-nit-ed States, to talk o-ver great ques-tions; there were new states +com-ing in-to the Un-i-on; and oth-er lands were al-ways try-ing to +gain a lit-tle pow-er here; so John Quin-cy Ad-ams, who not on-ly was +a great schol-ar, and a fine law-yer, but al-so knew well so ma-ny lands +be-sides his own, was just the man to help Pres-i-dent Mon-roe through +his eight years of work. + +He al-so was the man best suit-ed for the Pres-i-dent's chair, at +the end of Mon-roe's term of of-fice. Not once, while Ad-ams was in +Wash-ing-ton work-ing hard, did he for-get his old fa-ther, watch-ing, +in his home at Quin-cy, the bu-sy life of his great son. Once ev-er-y +year he went to the qui-et old home, and told his fa-ther of the life in +Wash-ing-ton, in which the old-er man had once held so great a place. + +At the age of six-ty-eight, Ad-ams went back to his home in Quin-cy, but +in 1830 once more he was sent to Con-gress, and for six-teen years he +kept his seat there; he grew old and gray serv-ing his na-tive land; he +made bit-ter en-e-mies, but ma-ny warm friends; he feared no one, and +his voice was al-ways for the free-dom of this great land. On No-vem-ber +19th, 1846, he had a stroke of par-al-y-sis while walk-ing in Bos-ton; +but three months later we saw him a-gain in Wash-ing-ton, and tak-ing +his old seat in Con-gress. As the gray old man came feeb-ly in-to the +hall, ev-er-y man pres-ent rose to his feet, and so stood un-til he +took his seat. He was too weak now to talk, and on-ly once more did he +try to speak his mind on one of the great ques-tions of the day. This +was on Feb-ru-a-ry 21st, 1848. He rose to speak, but fell in-to the arms +of a man near him; at once they took him in-to a cloak-room, and sent +for his wife. For two days did he lay there, and then, on the morn-ing +of Feb-ru-a-ry 23d, his great soul took its flight. His last words were: +"This is the last of life, and I am con-tent." + + + + +AN-DREW JACK-SON. + + +The boy who was to be our sev-enth Pres-i-dent did not lead the sort +of life, as boy or man, that the oth-er Pres-i-dents did. He was the son +of a poor I-rish-man who came here from Ire-land in 1765. He was born +on March 15th, 1767, in a small place in South Car-o-li-na, called the +Wax-haw Set-tle-ments. Poor and mean was the log house in which he first +saw the light, and when his fa-ther died, which was when An-drew was a +wee baby, the life of the lit-tle home was hard-er yet. His moth-er was +a brave, good wo-man, and so well did she do her hard part in life that +she was loved by all who knew her, and was known far and near as "Aunt +Bet-ty." + +Andrew was a great care to her when a boy, for, full of life and fun, he +did not care for books, and was at the head in all sorts of wild sport. +He was ev-er read-y for a fight with boys who made him an-gry; the small +boys looked to him for help in any strife with boys big-ger than they; +and so strong was he, or read-y to knock a boy down for a real or a +fan-cied wrong, that they soon found it best to give him his own way, +and let him take his place as lead-er a-mong them; when he was at the +head all went well. + +He was just nine years old when the Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence +was signed, and then came four years of war with Eng-land. In 1780 this +war was car-ried into the South, and on May 29th a number of Brit-ish +sol-diers un-der Colo-nel Tarle-ton killed and wounded over 200 of the +men and boys from the Wax-haw set-tle-ments. A-mong those who helped +to care for the hurt and dy-ing men were Mrs. Jack-son and her boys. +An-drew was on-ly four-teen when he fell in-to the hands of the +Brit-ish, and he, with o-ver one hun-dred sick and dy-ing men, was kept +for days in a dir-ty pen, with no beds, lit-tle to eat and on-ly stale +wa-ter to drink. To make things worse, small-pox broke out and An-drew +was one of those who had it. His brave moth-er was at last a-ble to free +him, and it was ow-ing to her lov-ing care that he did not die at this +aw-ful time. + +[Illustration: ANDREW JACKSON.] + +Af-ter he was well e-nough to be left, his moth-er, who was ver-y sor-ry +for the poor A-mer-ican sol-diers, went to Charles-ton to take care of +those who were sick and wound-ed here. Just as she had be-gun her no-ble +work she was ta-ken sick and died. + +Soon af-ter her death came the good news of peace; and now young An-drew +be-gan to pay some heed to his books, with the hope of stud-y-ing law. +He al-so taught school for a while, though he could not have been a +ver-y good teach-er, for he nev-er learned how to spell ver-y well +him-self. Still, in 1787, we find he has learned e-nough to take up the +prac-tice of law, and he be-gan this work in Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see; +and now we see the boy who had been the lead-er in boy-ish sports, games +and fights, be-come at once a lead-er a-mong men. He was tall and quite +good look-ing, with bright blue eyes and red-dish hair, and he was +full of fun and life; he rode horse-back well, and knew how to shoot +straight; and a-bove all he was a brave man, a-fraid of noth-ing. + +In 1788 he was giv-en a place in which he had to try for the State all +men who had done wrong and it need-ed, in those wild days and in that +new land, a brave man for such a work, for he would make ma-ny foes, +both a-mong the bad white men and the In-di-ans. His work took him from +Nash-ville to Jones-bor-ough, and here the In-di-ans were ver-y strong +and ver-y cru-el, kill-ing and rob-bing the white men and wo-men, and +e-ven the lit-tle ba-bies in their moth-ers' arms. Hear-ing and see-ing +day by day more and more of this sav-age war-fare, al-ways in dan-ger of +be-ing killed by night or day by some In-di-an hid-ing be-hind a tree or +house, Jack-son learned to know the In-di-ans and their hab-its bet-ter +than most men did, so was read-y to fight them in their own way in a +few years. + +He made his home in Nash-ville and built up a good law prac-tice. He +grew in pow-er so fast that in 1797 he was sent as the first man from +Ten-nes-see to Con-gress. He went all the way from his home to +Phil-a-del-phi-a, a dis-tance of 800 miles, on horse-back. In 1798 we +see him a-gain at home as Judge of the Su-preme Court, and here he +stayed un-til 1804. Then came four-teen years of peace for the land, and +a hap-py home life for him. A-mong oth-er things which Jack-son did at +this time was to build a large log store in which he kept all sorts of +things which both the white men and the In-di-ans want-ed. His home, +which was called "The Her-mit-age," was a fine house for those days, and +in later years it grew as well known as Mt. Ver-non and Mon-ti-cel-lo. +Jack-son was all through his life a man who would stand up for his own +way, if it led to strife with his best friend, and more than once he +fought du-els to the death. In Con-gress he would, when he rose to +speak, some-times choke with blind rage if he could not make his point +and force men to yield to him. + +Af-ter years of peace came the War of 1812, and from that hour +Jack-son's name was first in the minds of men. He showed great skill in +his fights with the red men, and won much fame in a fierce fight with +the Creeks, a bad tribe of In-di-ans in Al-a-ba-ma. + +He could force men to do as he said; the young men of that day looked +up-on him with awe and fear, but rushed to fill his ranks and serve +un-der him. + +In 1815 he won the day at New Or-le-ans, and put the Brit-ish troops to +flight with great loss of life. At the end of the war, back home went +Jack-son for the rest of which he stood in sore need; but, in 1818, +strife with the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans in Flor-i-da came up, and Jack-son +was sent there. + +At this time Spain owned Flor-i-da, and it was both Span-ish troops and +In-di-an foes that Jack-son had to meet, but he won his way, and at last +made Spain yield her rights in Flor-i-da and sign a peace. In 1823 she +sold Flor-i-da to us for $5,000,000; not such a great sum when we think +what a rich and great place this "Land of Flow-ers" is. Jack-son was +now put at the head of things in Flor-i-da, and the hard-est part of his +work was to keep peace in the bad tribe of Sem-i-nole In-di-ans. With +their chief Os-ce-o-la at their head they would creep out from the woods +and swamps of Flor-i-da, rush on the homes of the white men, and burn +them to the ground, and then dash back to the woods, where they could +safe-ly hide. At the end of four years Jack-son was glad to go home to +the Her-mit-age; here he and his wife led a qui-et life and kept up +ma-ny of the ways of their young days, though now they were quite rich. +Af-ter din-ner, they would sit, one on each side of the great big wood +fire, in the large hall, and smoke their old pipes, with the long +stems, just as they had in their log cab-in of long a-go. But the great +gen-er-al could not live this qui-et life long; in 1823 he was sent +to Con-gress; and here he met with high hon-or. On New Year's Day, +1824, the great men of the day gave him the pock-et tel-e-scope that +Wash-ing-ton had owned; a year from the day on which the Bat-tle of New +Or-le-ans was fought, John Quin-cy Ad-ams gave him a great feast, at +which were men, who held high rank here and in oth-er lands; and on the +day that he was fif-ty-sev-en years old, Pres-i-dent Mon-roe gave him a +gold badge for his brave acts in his fights for his coun-try. In 1828 +this rough, but brave and kind, old man, was made pres-i-dent; and now +he stood up for his own way, just as he had in the wars of his land, and +when he was but a boy. His first act was to stop some states in the +South from leav-ing the Un-ion. John C. Cal-houn was at the head of a +band of men, who felt that the North had more rights than the South; had +more than its share of wealth and land; so rose the wish to set up a +rule just for the South. "But," said Jack-son, "if one state goes out +oth-ers will; and our great land will be a ru-in." So he stopped this +plan, just in time. + +All the years that Jack-son was pres-i-dent, our great land gained in +strength; new rail-roads were built; and new steam-boats; the land grew +rich year by year. + +In 1824 the slaves in Mex-i-co were set free, and Tex-as came in-to the +Un-ion. + +On the whole, Jack-son's term was a good one for the land; and so well +did the peo-ple like him, that he is the on-ly pres-i-dent of whom it +has been said that he was bet-ter liked when he went out of of-fice +than when he went in. + +The last years of his life were spent at "The Her-mit-age," where he +died on June 8th, 1845. + + + + +THE LIFE OF MAR-TIN VAN BU-REN. + + +The place in which Mar-tin Van Bu-ren was born was far from the homes +of the oth-er boys who be-came our pres-i-dents; and his life, as a boy, +was not one bit like theirs. His fa-ther and moth-er were Dutch; Hoes +was his moth-er's queer name; and the name of the small town, in which, +on De-cem-ber 5th, 1782, he was born, was Dutch too--Kin-der-hook; the +lit-tle town was on the Hud-son Riv-er, way up in New York state. His +fa-ther kept a good inn, and had a small farm; so he could send Mar-tin +to good schools; Mar-tin was so quick and bright at his books that he +took up the study of law when he was four-teen; and at twen-ty-one he +was a law-yer and at work in Kin-der-hook. He was a man who made friends +with great ease; and as he was a good law-yer as well, his state soon +saw that he was the man to speak for it at Wash-ing-ton. So in 1821 he +was sent to Con-gress; then in 1828 he was made gov-ern-or of New York +state; and this was a big step toward the pres-i-dent's chair; he was +sec-re-tary of state when Jack-son was pres-i-dent; and in 1837 he took +the oath of of-fice, and be-came pres-i-dent. + +He was in of-fice on-ly one term; and those four years were hard ones +for him. + +Just at this time the men in Can-a-da tried to be free from Eng-land, +and have home-rule; and some of our men took sides with them; this made +Eng-land an-gry of course; and if Van Bu-ren had not put a stop to such +things, we should have had war once more; but he said all who tried to +give aid to Can-a-da should be sent to jail; and so the fear of war was +put down. + +At the end of Van Bu-ren's first term some want-ed him to take the chair +a-gain; but more want-ed Gen-er-al Har-ri-son, who had made a great name +in the In-di-an wars. Van Bu-ren was rich, and Har-ri-son was poor; +and this race for the pres-i-dent's chair was called the "Log Cab-in +a-gainst the White House." Af-ter Har-ri-son took the chair, Van Bu-ren +went back to his home at Kin-der-hook, where he lived in qui-et, until, +in 1848, he was once more put up for pres-i-dent; but James K. Polk had +more votes than he, and so won the e-lec-tion. + +In 1853 Van Bu-ren and his son went to Eu-rope, where they stayed two +years. He spent the rest of his life at his old home, where he died on +Ju-ly 24th, 1862. + +[Illustration: MARTIN VAN BUREN.] + +[Illustration: WILLIAM H. HARRISON.] + + + + +WIL-LIAM HEN-RY HAR-RI-SON. + + +Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son was born in Berke-ly, Vir-gin-i-a, on +Feb-ru-a-ry 9th, 1773; his fath-er, Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son, was not a +rich man, but lived at ease on a small farm; he was a man of much force +in his state, and was at one time its gov-ern-or. He was a brave, strong +man, and taught his small son to be like him; now while lit-tle Wil-liam +was hard at work at school, he heard much talk of the In-di-an wars; +and his heart was full of long-ing to fight these cru-el foes of the +white men. + +So, though he went to Hamp-den Syd-ney Col-lege, he did not stay long, +but left to join the ar-my. He was such a brave fight-er that, when he +was twen-ty-one, Wash-ing-ton put him in charge of the troops at Fort +Wash-ing-ton, just the place where the In-di-ans were strong-est and +most cru-el. + +Ma-jor Gen-er-al Wayne was at the head of the ar-my, and so rash and +fear-less was he, that his troops called him "Mad An-tho-ny." He knew +well how to fight the red men though, and in 1794 beat them in a fierce +fight, on the spot where the cit-y of De-troit now stands. So brave was +young Har-ri-son at this time, that he was made a cap-tain; for six +years Har-ri-son was in the heat of the In-di-an wars; and learned all +the sav-age ways of war; then he went home to rest, but was soon sent to +Congress. So well did he do his work here, that In-di-an-a now chose +him for gov-ern-or; and here he was so much liked that he kept his seat +three terms; the hard-est task that he had to do while gov-ern-or was to +keep peace with the In-di-ans; and side by side with his name, stands +that of a great and good In-di-an chief Te-cum-seh; for years these two +men tried to help the In-di-ans and teach them to live in peace; but at +last the hate of the red men for the whites who were forc-ing them +from their lands, end-ed in a great fight at Tip-pe-ca-noe, where the +In-di-ans lost the bat-tle. So brave had Har-ri-son been in this fight, +that he was made a gen-er-al; and in the War of 1812 was put at the head +of the ar-my. At the close of the war, the brave old In-di-an fight-er +went to live on his farm at South Bend, In-di-an-a, in the then state of +O-hi-o; but he was too great a man to live a qui-et life, and was sent +to Con-gress twice and once a-broad in his coun-try's serv-ice. Then in +1836, he ran for Pres-i-dent, but did not get the most votes; four years +la-ter he was put up once more, and he and John Ty-ler won by a big +vote. It was in this race for Pres-i-dent, that the song was sung, whose +cho-rus you hear to-day: "Tip-pe-ca-noe and Ty-ler, too." + +On the 4th of March, 1841, Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son, the old In-di-an +fight-er, now six-ty-eight years old, came from years of qui-et home +life, to take up the cares and wor-ries of a pres-i-dent's life, but the +task was too much for him, and a month af-ter-ward, on A-pril 4th, 1841, +the brave old man died. + + + + +JOHN TY-LER. + + +As a boy, the life of John Ty-ler was much the same as that of the boys +of to-day. He was born on March 29th, 1790, in Charles Cit-y, +Vir-gin-i-a, at a time when the whole land was at peace. No talk of the +red men came to his young ears; and no fear fell like a dark cloud over +the fun and play of his boy-hood. He was the son of a man who had for +friends the great men of his day;--Wash-ing-ton and Ben-ja-min +Har-ri-son were warm, close friends of old John Ty-ler; and he was at +one time Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a. Young John was sent to school when +he was a ver-y small boy; and, though he was fond of sports and games, +he kept hard at work at his books and won a high place at school. He +was a mere boy when he could en-ter Wil-liam and Ma-ry Col-lege; and he +left in 1806 at the head of his class. He at once took up law with his +fa-ther, and soon showed the good stuff of which he was made. Clear and +quick was his mind, swift to think and feel; and his words came as fast +as his thoughts. He rose with great, quick strides towards the first +place in the land. In 1825 he was made Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a; and in +1827, was sent to Con-gress, where he kept his seat for six years; these +were years of strife as to the slave trade, and there were fierce, hard +words and harsh thoughts be-tween the men of the North and those of the +South. Ty-ler was at home for a few years af-ter he left Con-gress, and +took a high place as a law-yer. In 1836 he was put up with Har-ri-son in +the race for the pres-i-dent's chair. But it was not till 1840 that he +won this place; then, as the vice-pres-i-dent had not a great deal to +do, Ty-ler went home to Wil-liams-burg. It was here that the sad news +of Har-ri-son's death was brought to him, and he at once went on to +Wash-ing-ton. Here he found he had a hard task; for he and his Con-gress +did not think the same on the great ques-tions of the day and were +ev-er at strife. One of his first acts was to put down a state war +in Mis-sou-ri. A Mor-mon, by the name of Smith, and a band of men who +thought as he did went down there to live; folks there did not like this +and tried to drive them out of the state, but this was a hard thing to +do, for there were a-bout 12,000 Mor-mons. At last, Ty-ler sent troops +there to put down the strife, and the Mor-mons were sent to Il-li-nois. +They were here but a short time when the same old strife a-rose, and +then they fled to the lands in the far west--where they are to-day, +in the state of Utah. War broke out in Tex-as while Ty-ler was in the +chair, and af-ter fierce fights be-tween the Tex-ans and Mex-i-cans the +Tex-ans won, and were at the head of the state. They asked at once to +come in-to the Un-ion, and in 1845 this great state came in. In the last +year of Ty-ler's rule Sam-u-el F. B. Morse found out how to send words +in just a flash of time through miles and miles of space; and you +chil-dren know well that the fine wire stretched from one great pole to +the next on which the quick news was sent was called the "tel-e-graph." + +At the end of Ty-ler's first term, James Knox Polk had the most votes, +and so took the pres-i-dent's chair; and this news was the first that +was sent o-ver the tel-e-graph wires. + +[Illustration: JOHN TYLER.] + +[Illustration: JAMES K. POLK.] + + + + +JAMES KNOX POLK. + + +As a boy James Knox Polk led a life that would please a good ma-ny +of the boys of to-day. He was born in Meck-len-burg County, North +Car-o-li-na, on No-vem-ber 2d, 1705; but in 1806 his fa-ther went to +Duck Farm, Ten-nes-see, and lit-tle James, e-lev-en years old, was of +much help in the new home. Where the day's work took the big, strong +fa-ther, there went the small son; if there was a long ride to get food +or clothes from some big town, lit-tle James could help care for the +hors-es and when his fa-ther and oth-er men, for weeks at a time, were +in the great, wild woods, hunt-ing, mak-ing new roads, or helping each +oth-er build the log cab-ins, which were the homes of these ear-ly +set-tlers, James would be there too, cook-ing meals and keep-ing the +camp neat and bright for the men who came back tired and hun-gry at +night. + +So years passed by with much work in the o-pen air and lit-tle of stud-y +or books; but when James was four-teen years old it was time that he +should earn mon-ey. + +He was not a big, strong boy; he could not stand rough, hard work on +a farm; he did not love to hunt; he had no taste for war; so he was put +in a small store, that he might learn to man-age a big store when he +grew old. + +Here he first saw some books, and his love for them a-woke; for weeks +and months he worked a-lone with an-y book or pa-per he could find. + +At last his fa-ther took him from the store and sent him to school; he +was now eight-een, but he was so quick to learn, so bright and smart, +that five years from this time he left the U-ni-ver-si-ty of North +Car-o-li-na at the head of his class. + +When he came back to Duck Riv-er, not on-ly was his fa-ther proud of his +boy, but all Ten-nes-see knew that he was one of the bright-est young +men in the state. + +Now, just at this time, Gen-er-al Jack-son was fight-ing so brave-ly +a-gainst the In-di-ans and all the boys of Ten-nes-see were as proud of +this great he-ro as the boys of Vir-gin-i-a had been of Wash-ing-ton. In +1819, when young James Polk went to Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see, to take up +law, he was near Jack-son's home; and he and the great Gen-er-al be-came +fast friends. It was ow-ing to Jack-son's help that, in 1824, Polk, then +a bright young law-yer, took his first pub-lic step and was sent to the +state leg-is-la-ture. + +He a-rose so fast in the love and trust of his state that he was sent to +Con-gress when on-ly thir-ty years old; and here he stayed for thir-teen +years. + +In 1840 he went back to his home at Grun-dy's Hill in Nash-ville, +hav-ing made a great name in Wash-ing-ton; not once did he lose his hold +on the great ques-tions of the day, e-ven while here at home; and in +1845 he was chos-en pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. + +While he was in of-fice, once more the U-nit-ed States was at war, and +this war is known as the "Mex-i-can War." Its cause was this:-- + +Our peo-ple in Mex-i-co said that a big tract of land down there was +theirs; the Mex-i-cans laid claim to it too; so Gen-er-al Tay-lor went +down to see that our rights were looked af-ter. + +In the first fight he won, and lost but nine men; then he laid siege to +their great cit-y of Mon-te-rey, and af-ter a hard fight took the town. + +That same year Gen-er-al Scott took the cit-y of Ve-ra Cruz; on +Sep-tem-ber 14th, 1847, the A-mer-i-can troops took the cit-y of +Mex-i-co, and the long war was at an end. + +In 1848 came the news of great gold mines in Cal-i-for-ni-a; and men +went in such num-bers to this state that the "Gold Fe-ver of 1849" is +a well known term to-day. + +While Polk was in the chair, three new states came in; and two of them +were free states; that is, no slaves could be kept there; just at this +time some men formed a band, and said that no slaves should be kept in +an-y new state which the U-nit-ed States should gain. + +In 1849 Polk went home to Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see; he was on-ly +fif-ty-eight years old; but was so worn out with years of work that he +lived but a few months af-ter he got home; he died on the 15th of June, +in the same year. + + + + +ZACH-A-RY TAY-LOR. + + +Zach-a-ry Tay-lor was born in Vir-gin-i-a, on No-vem-ber 24th, 1784; but +when he was a small boy his fa-ther went to live in Ken-tuck-y; and long +af-ter the rest of the land was at peace this state was the scene of +such fierce fights with the In-di-ans that it was known as "The dark and +blood-y ground." It is not strange that this boy, who lived at a time +when wo-men as well as men had to know how to load and fire guns, so +that they could help to keep the red men from their homes, should have +grown up to be a brave, strong man. + +As a boy he went to good schools, but cared far more for the tales of +war which his brave fa-ther told him than he did for his books; he did +love books which told of great fights and brave men, and read all that +he could get. When he was just of age he went to war, in place of a +friend, and was so brave and fear-less that he soon took a high place. + +He was in the great fight of Tip-pe-ca-noe; and all through the War of +1812 he showed great skill in his fights with the red men;--well he knew +all their tricks and modes of war. He gained great fame in Flor-i-da, +when he was sent there to make the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans keep the peace. +For years had this tribe of In-di-ans made war on the white men; their +chief, Os-ce-o-la, had, years a-go, gone to one of the forts with his +wife, who was a slave girl; he had been put in chains, and she held +at the fort. In his rage, he had sworn to lead his men in war, when he +could get to them; at last his chance had come, and he had fled by night +from the fort. To rouse his tribe and hurl them at the whites, was +his first thought; and long and cru-el were the fights that went on for +years. At last Tay-lor was sent to Flor-i-da; and now a trick was played +on this great chief of the In-di-ans; with a flag of truce, he came +to the fort to talk with the gen-er-al; and by the or-ders of the +gen-er-al, he was held there a pris-on-er; he was sent, at last, to Fort +Moul-trie in Charles-ton har-bor, and there, in the year 1838, he died. +With their chief dead, the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans had no heart for war; +and soon the few red men left of this great, fierce tribe were put far +a-way from each oth-er, in new states, and there was peace in Flor-i-da. + +Gen-er-al Tay-lor won great fame in the Mex-i-can War; in 1847 he +won the fight of Bu-e-na Vis-ta, which took place on Wash-ing-ton's +birth-day; and he won too the fights of Pa-lo Al-to and Mon-te-rey. On +Sep-tem-ber 24th, 1847, our troops took the cit-y of Mex-i-co, and the +war was brought to an end. As Tay-lor went home to Ba-ton Rouge, he met +with praise, at each place he passed; folks came in crowds to see the +great he-ro; cheers filled the air; flags were raised and guns were +fired; he was the i-dol of the land. His men too were fond of him, for +all through the war he had been kind and good to them, and shared their +hard life. He was such a he-ro to the whole land, that it is not strange +that he was named for the next pres-i-dent, and got the most votes. He +took the chair of state in 1849, but the brave old man came in just at +the time when the strife a-bout slaves was at its height; and the cares +of the of-fice were too much for him, as they had been for Har-ri-son. +On Ju-ly 4th, 1850, there was a great time in Wash-ing-ton, in which +he took part; but his health was too weak to stand this strain; and +in the midst of his work, on Ju-ly 9th, 1850, the brave old In-di-an +fight-er died. + +[Illustration: ZACHARY TAYLOR.] + +[Illustration: MILLARD FILLMORE.] + + + + +MIL-LARD FILL-MORE. + + +In a log ca-bin way out in the western part of New York State, deep in +the dense, wild woods, was born, on Jan-u-a-ry 7th, 1800, the boy who +was to be the thir-teenth pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. His +fa-ther had gone there from Ver-mont, to get a-way from the In-di-ans, +who gave no peace in his old home; and no house stood near-er than four +miles to the lit-tle home he had built in the wild new land; there was +no school; and if there had been lit-tle Mil-lard had not much time to +go; for he was ver-y young, when he was taught to earn mon-ey and help +in the lit-tle home. He learned how to make cloth from the soft white +wool; and was hard at work, in this way, till he was nine-teen years +old; then a love of books came to him; and a law-yer took note of +him and gave him such aid that he soon took a high place in the +law-stud-ies. When he was twen-ty-two, he went to Buf-fa-lo, and taught +school, to help pay his way, as he went on with the stud-y of law. He +was bright and quick, and, in 1823, he be-gan to prac-tise law and +soon rose to such a high place in the state bar that his state sent +him to Con-gress. Here his work was done so well that he was made +vice-pres-i-dent, when Tay-lor took the pres-i-dent's seat; and on his +death be-came pres-i-dent. + +While he was in the chair one of his aids was the great Dan-iel +Web-ster, who looked af-ter the laws of all the states. He had been in +of-fice but a short time, when a band of men tried to get Cu-ba from +Spain; but they were soon put down. He was in of-fice one term, and then +went home to Buf-fa-lo, and took up the prac-tice of law a-gain. In 1855 +he went to Eu-rope, where he stayed for one year; he then came home to +lead a qui-et life, full of stud-y, till his death on March 8th, 1874. + + + + +FRANK-LIN PIERCE. + + +A brave sol-dier in the War of the Rev-o-lu-tion was Ben-ja-min Pierce, +the fa-ther of the boy who was to be our four-teenth pres-i-dent; and +it was in the old town of Hills-bor-ough, New Hamp-shire, that, on +No-vem-ber 22d, 1804, Frank-lin Pierce was born. The fa-ther was a big +strong man, fond of sports and fun of all kinds and much liked by all; +he was the chief man in Hills-bor-ough, and was at one time gov-ern-or +of his state. In such a home it is not hard to see that the life of +lit-tle Frank-lin would be full of work and play as well. He was sent to +good schools, and was just six-teen when he went to Bow-do-in Col-lege. +He was full of fun, and at once took the lead in the col-lege life; but +he worked hard at his books too; in 1824 he left col-lege, and took up +the stud-y of law, and soon be-came one of the bar. He was now at his +old home in Hills-bor-ough, and folks felt that he was a man of brains +and great force; he was sent to Con-gress, and held high of-fice in his +state while he was still a young man; and in the Mex-i-can War he showed +him-self as brave a man as his fa-ther had been. At last, in 1853, he +was made pres-i-dent. At this time, the strife as to the slave trade +was at its height; some states wished to have slaves, while some held +it wrong. At last Con-gress made a law that all new states should do +as they pleased. The first "World's Fair" was held in New York, just +at this time, in a great hall made of glass, which was known as "The +Crys-tal Pal-ace." + +Pierce was in of-fice one term; at the end of that time he went back +home to Con-cord, Mas-sa-chu-setts, where he lived a qui-et life un-til +his death, on Oc-to-ber 8th, 1867. + +[Illustration: FRANKLIN PIERCE.] + +[Illustration: JAMES BUCHANAN.] + + + + +JAMES BU-CHAN-AN. + + +A strong, brave, young man from Ire-land was the fa-ther of our +fif-teenth pres-i-dent. He had come here in 1783, and bought a small +farm in Penn-syl-va-ni-a; so well did he do that he soon bought a store +as well; and when, on A-pril 23d, 1791, at Cove Gap, lit-tle James was +born, his fa-ther was quite a rich man. He sent his son to the best +schools and he was just six-teen years old when he went to Dick-in-son +col-lege. Here he took first place with ease. In 1809, when he left +col-lege, he be-gan the stud-y of law. In the War of 1812 he served in +the ar-my; and at the close of the war his state chose him to help make +her laws. He was a young man when his state sent him to Wash-ing-ton +where he held his place in Con-gress for ten years. In 1831 he was sent +to Rus-sia to look out for our rights there; and in 1853 he held the +same post in Eng-land. You see, he rose fast to the first place in the +land, for in 1857 he was made pres-i-dent. While he was in the chair of +state, the Prince of Wales came here for the first time, and this shows +that Eng-land felt we were now one of the big coun-tries of the world, +and that she must treat us as such. + +It was while Bu-chan-an was pres-i-dent that Cy-rus W. Field laid the +first wire un-der the O-cean, by which words could be sent from this new +land to those old lands on the oth-er side. The talk a-bout slav-er-y +was so fierce at this time that a fight in which brave lives were lost +took place, and the name which shines out bright is that of John Brown +of Kan-sas. He was a friend of the black men, and took their part. He +struck the first blow in their cause at the fort at Har-per's Fer-ry, +which he held for two days. He took all the guns that were there, as he +wished to arm the black men and then lead them to the South to fight for +their friends, held there as slaves. Of course this was a-gainst the law +of the land, and troops were sent to seize this brave and good man. His +two sons fought with him, and he saw them both shot down, but he did not +give up till in the heat of the fight he fell with six wounds. He did +not die at this time; af-ter this he was hung as one who had fought +a-gainst the law of his land. His last act, as he was on his way to the +place where he was to be hung, was to kiss a lit-tle ba-by which a poor +slave held up to him as he passed. + +His death was not in vain, for from now on the ques-tion of sla-ver-y +was the talk of the whole land, and in 1860 South Car-o-li-na took the +lead and said that she would not bear the laws of the Un-ion, but would +rule her land in her own way. Soon, six more South-ern states said the +same; and these states which cut loose from the North were called the +"Con-fed-er-a-cy;" at the head as pres-i-dent was Jef-fer-son Da-vis. + +This was the state of things when Bu-chan-an left the chair, and went +to his home in Penn-syl-va-ni-a, at a place called Wheat-land. + +In the last year of his life he wrote a book of his life, which is still +in print. He died at his home on June 1st, 1868. He was the last of the +"Peace" pres-i-dents, for it was A-bra-ham Lin-coln who took his place, +and in his term the strife as to the slave trade led to our "Civ-il War." + + + + +A-BRA-HAM LIN-COLN. + + +Thom-as Lin-coln, who was the fa-ther of A-bra-ham Lin-coln, had seen +a sad sight when he was but a boy of eight years; while he and his +brothers were hard at work with their fa-ther in the dense, wild woods +which grew close to their small home in Ken-tuck-y, an In-di-an chief +crept close to them; he fired one shot, and the boys saw their big, +strong fa-ther fall dead. They were brave boys, and while one ran for +help, the oth-ers kept at bay the In-di-ans who came from the woods. A +band of men soon came to their aid, and drove the fierce red men back to +the woods. It was a rough, hard life in which Thom-as Lin-coln grew up; +and he could not read or write when, at twen-ty years, he took as his +wife Miss Nan-cy Hanks; she was a bright girl and soon taught him at +least to write his name. + +[Illustration: LINCOLN'S EARLY HOME.] + +[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.] + +It was a poor log-house in Har-din Coun-ty, Ken-tuck-y, to which he +took his bride; and yet in this home so mean and small, was born, on +Feb-ru-a-ry 12th, 1809, the boy who was to be pres-i-dent of this great +land. Few boys and girls know what it is to be as poor as this lit-tle +boy was, or to lead as hard and sad a life. His clothes were thin and +poor, his shoes, when he had an-y, were oft-en full of holes; he did +not al-ways have as much as he would like to eat, and in the long, hard +win-ters he was oft-en ver-y cold. It was not an eas-y life, and it was +full of hard work, for peo-ple in this rough place could not read and +there were no schools; but when he was still a young boy his folks moved +to In-di-an-a, and though there was more work to be done, life was not +quite so sad, for he and his sis-ter Nan-cy now had a play-mate, their +cous-in, Den-nis Hanks, who was full of life and fun. "Abe," as folks +called him, was but eight years old when his par-ents went out into the +West to live, but he was so strong that he could help chop down the +trees of which the new home was made; then, too, he learned how to shoot +the game and wild fowl in the big woods, and so could bring good things +in-to the house to eat. But a dark time came in his life soon, for the +kind, good moth-er took sick and died. Her death was a great loss to +"Abe," and he felt much grief that there was no one to say a pray-er at +her grave; so he wrote to the min-is-ter in the old home in Ken-tuck-y, +and asked him if he would not come there and bless his moth-er's grave. +This good man came as soon as he could, but it was a long while af-ter +her death be-fore "Abe" had his wish. That win-ter was long and hard for +the poor lit-tle boy and girl with no moth-er to see that they were +warm, or that they had good food to eat; but in the fall of 1819, the +fa-ther brought home a new wife, Mrs. Sal-ly John-son and now at last a +ray of bright light came to stay with "Abe" and Nan-cy. The new moth-er +was a good, kind wo-man, and was quite rich for those days. She soon had +the home bright and neat; she put good warm clothes on "Abe" and Nan-cy; +saw that they had food to eat and at once sent them to school. + +"Abe" was now e-lev-en years old, tall and big, and of more strength +than most boys of his age. His fa-ther hired him out for all sorts of +work; to pitch hay, to chop wood, to help on the farm; no work was too +hard for this big, strong boy; but, with all this work, he kept at his +books too. Late at night, while all the rest slept, he would stud-y his +books; and as books were few he read them ma-ny times o-ver; one of the +books he loved the most was the "Life of Wash-ing-ton." + +He was a young man, for it was in March, 1828, that a chance came to him +to see more of life; he was hired to take a boat filled with skins down +the Mis-sis-sip-pi Riv-er to New Or-le-ans; he did this work well, and +when he came back was paid a good price for it. He was just of age when +his folks went to Il-li-nois to live; and now he helped build a home, +cleared a big field in which it stood, split rails to fence it in, and +then went off to make his own way in life. + +The first thing he did was to help build a flat-boat and then take it +down to New Or-le-ans; when he came back the man who owned the boat gave +him a place in his store at New Sa-lem; and now he had a good chance to +get books to read; and you may be sure he was glad of this. He was soon +known in the place as a bright young man, and one who would not lie, +or steal, or do an-y mean thing; he was full of fun and jokes, and the +folks in the town were all fond of him; he was called "Hon-est Abe." +When the "Black Hawk War" broke out he went at the head of a small band +of men to the seat of war; he was in no great fight, but learned much of +war and how to rule the rough men who were in his care. + +When he came home he was felt to be one of the first men in the town, +and in 1834 he took a high place in the state. He now took up the +stud-y of law, and was soon in ac-tive prac-tise; he had a good, kind +heart, and did much good to those who were too poor to pay him. In 1846 +he was sent to Con-gress; this time he was there but one year; then came +back to Spring-field, Il-li-nois, and built up a fine law prac-tise. His +name was now known through all this great land; and in the slave strife +he was al-ways on the side of the slaves. He spoke so oft-en for the +slaves that in 1860, the South said if he was put up for pres-i-dent, by +the North and West, they would leave the Union. But he was just the man +to fill this high office at this time; and as he had the most votes he +took the of-fice of Pres-i-dent in 1861. There is a sto-ry told of these +days, which shows that Lin-coln, when a great man, had no shame for the +days when he was poor. Old John Hanks, who had helped him build that +rail fence so long a-go, came to Il-li-nois with two of those rails; and +on them was a big card which told where they came from, and who split +them. Lin-coln was just a-bout to make a speech to a big crowd; and +when he saw these rails he said that he had split them when a boy, but +thought he could do bet-ter now. Then shouts and cheers went up from the +crowd, you may be sure; and from that time Lin-coln was known in the +race for pres-i-dent as "The Rail Split-ter." + +When he left his home to go to Wash-ing-ton, a great crowd came to see +him off, but he was so sad he could not say much to them. There were +plots to kill him at this time, and he knew it; but he gave no thought +to his own life, and went straight to his post of du-ty as Pres-i-dent. +It was with a sad heart that he saw this great land torn with war; and +he would have been glad to keep peace, but this he could not do. When +the South fired at the flag of the Un-ion at Fort Sum-ter, a cry went +up through the whole land. The South fought for what it called "States +Rights;" the right of each state to rule in its own way; but this +Lin-coln would not have. He cared more for the Un-ion than he did for +the slaves; for, though he thought all men should be free, he said, +if he could save the Un-ion, he did not care if not one slave was made +free; he had no wish to keep the South from its rights; but, at last, he +felt it wise to send out a bill, which said that all the slaves should +be free, and have the same rights as white men. This land was in no +state for war; much had to be done; clothes and food got for the troops; +and arms as well had to be made or bought at once. The first great fight +was at Bull Run in Vir-gin-i-a; and the loss of life on both sides was +great; the North lost from the first; men who had nev-er been in a fight +be-fore went mad with fear and ran for their lives. But at the fight at +Get-tys-burg the men of the North were brave and fought with such skill +that the great fight was won by the North. + +Grant was put at the head of the troops who went down to free +Mis-sis-sip-pi; and it was not long be-fore he placed the Stars and +Stripes over this fair state. The South made a brave fight, for what it +thought was right and just; but as the war went on, the troops of the +South were in a bad state; they could get no food, no clothes, and so +ma-ny men had been shot that in the last years of the war young boys had +to help fill up the ranks. Now came Sher-man's march to the sea, and he +took Sa-van-nah and all its guns and stores. This was a great blow, and +now one by one the sea-ports of the South fell in-to the hands of the +North. At last Gen-er-al Lee, a great and good man of the South, sent +word to Grant that he would come to terms and make peace. Grant was +kind at this hard time; he let Lee keep his sword, and said that the men +might keep all their hors-es. It was in A-pril, 1865, that peace came +to our great land; and the North went mad with joys; bells pealed, and +fires blazed in the streets; flags were raised and guns were fired; but +in the South there was no joy; on-ly great grief. + +From the grief of the South a great crime sprang; on the night of A-pril +14th, as Lin-coln sat in a box at the the-a-tre watch-ing a play he +was shot by a man from the South named Wilkes Booth. When he had shot +Lin-coln, this man sprang on the stage and tried to run from the place; +he fell and broke his leg; but in this state he got to the door, where +he jumped on his horse and fled for his life. He was found at last in a +barn, and made such a brave fight for his life that the barn had to be +set on fire be-fore he could be caught; e-ven then he would not come out +and give him-self up; but fought till he was shot down where he stood. + +Lin-coln had been shot in the back of his head, and could not move or +speak;--men took him with care to a house near by, but there was no help +for him; and in the ear-ly morn of the next day a great life came to a +sad end. The whole land, the South as well as the North, wept at his +death; for no sane man felt that Booth's deed was wise or just; and to +this day the name of A-bra-ham Lin-coln, the "Sav-iour of his Coun-try," +is held dear by North and South. + + + + +AN-DREW JOHN-SON. + + +An-drew John-son's life as a boy was quite as hard as that of lit-tle +"Abe" Lin-coln. He was born in Ra-leigh, North Car-o-li-na, on +De-cem-ber 29th, 1808, in a small log cab-in; and near his home were +the big farms of the rich men of the South, on which lived in more +ease than he the slaves, who looked down on his fa-ther and mo-ther +as "poor white trash." + +His fa-ther died when An-drew was but four years old; he must have been +a brave man, for he lost his life try-ing to save a man from drown-ing. +Lit-tle An-drew was too poor to go to school; he had to try and earn +mon-ey, when he was but ten years old; so he was sent to a tail-or to +learn to make clothes; here, for five years he worked hard; and then he +heard a man read; and for the first time it came to his mind that he +could learn to do this; he got the men in the shop to teach him his +"A, B, C;" and he was so quick to learn that soon he could read a +lit-tle; but it was not till he was wed to a bright young girl that he +learned a great deal of books; this was when he was eight-een, and he +had gone to Green-ville, Ten-nes-see, to set up in life for him-self. +These young folks were both poor, but both bright; and the wife was a +great help to John-son all through his life. He rose fast in his new +home; we see him, from the first, take the part of the poor; and he +was soon put in high of-fice in the town; it was not long ere he rose +to a high place in the state, and, in 1843, we see the poor lit-tle +tail-or boy of 1826 in the halls of Con-gress, stand-ing up for the +rights of the class in which he was born. In 1846 he took the seat of +John Quin-cy Ad-ams, who was too sick to hold it; does it not seem +strange that two men who had lived as boys so un-like should rise to +just the same place? For ten years he was in Wash-ing-ton, where he +helped make the laws of the land; then in 1853, he was made gov-ern-or +of Ten-nes-see. When the Civ-il War broke out, he took sides with +the North, though he was born in the South and lived there; and when +Lin-coln was made pres-i-dent he took the next place as vice-pres-i-dent. + +[Illustration: ANDREW JOHNSON.] + +On Lin-coln's death, he took the pres-i-dent's chair. The whole land was +now up-set; in the South the white men had no work; and the slaves did +not know how to care for them-selves. In the North there was strife as +to the terms on which the South should come back in-to the Un-ion; and +on ma-ny things John-son and his Con-gress did not think the same; so +there was strife be-tween them. It came to its height in 1868, when the +Sen-ate tried John-son for "high crimes and mis-de-mean-ors;" this means +that Con-gress thought the pres-i-dent did not act for the good of the +land, and should be put out of of-fice; but the men who tried him did +not all think the same; and most of them said he should keep his place. + +So he was in the chair for four years, and then went home to +E-liz-a-beth-town, Ten-nes-see, where he lived till his death on +Ju-ly 29th, 1875. + + + + +U-LYS-SES SIMP-SON GRANT. + + +The boy who was to be first a great gen-er-al in the ar-my, and then +Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States, was born at Point Pleas-ant, O-hi-o, +A-pril 27th, 1822. As a boy he did not care for books, but was fond of +sports and games, and had a great love for horses; he was but eight +years old when he put a young colt to a sled, and hauled sticks and logs +from the woods to his home; and he was but twelve when he made a trade +of a horse he had for a young colt which had not been used much; on his +way home a dog sprang at the colt, which, at once, mad with fear, tried +to run a-way; the boy held fast to his reins, and stopped the colt just +on the edge of a great cliff; but it was in such fear that it would not +move, and the boy for a time knew not what to do. At last he took his +hand-ker-chief, tied it o-ver the colt's eyes, and so drove him home. +Folks near the Grant home said there was no horse which young U-lys-ses +could not ride; he was a boy who had a firm will and strong nerves; and +was at the head in all sports or games; for young boys soon learn which +one of them must take the lead. + +He did not stand so high in school, but did his tasks well; and in 1839 +he went to West Point. Here he soon had ma-ny friends; and they gave him +a name which clung to him for life; he was called "Uncle Sam," from the +U. S. in his first two names. At West Point, he read a great deal of +war, and the men who had done brave deeds for their coun-try; and +when he left there he was, at heart, as well as in name, a sol-dier of +his coun-try. He at once took his place with the troops, who were at war +with the In-di-ans in the West; but his first big fight was at Pa-lo +Al-to in 1846. At the close of this war Grant, who had shown much skill, +and knew no fear, was sent to the West once more to force the In-di-ans +to keep peace. + +[Illustration: ULYSSES S. GRANT.] + +He was in Cal-i-for-ni-a while the gold craze was at its height, to try +and make the rough men who came in search of gold keep the laws of the +land. Then, from 1854, he had a few years of peace, and start-ed to tan +hides and skins, in Ga-le-na, Il-li-nois; but his life was ev-er at his +coun-try's call; and he was one of the first men to take up arms in the +Civil War. He was made a gen-er-al soon af-ter the war broke out; and +one of his first acts was to block all the streams and roads near his +post at Cai-ro, on the O-hi-o River, so that the South could get no food +or arms. Grant was known as a brave fight-er, and oft-en was in the +midst of the fight at the head of his men. At a great loss of life to +his troops, he took two strong forts from the South, Forts Hen-ry and +Don-el-son; and then came that great fight at Shi-loh; where the troops +of the South were cut down, and the North won the day; Grant was now put +next to the head of the whole ar-my; and at once tried to take the cit-y +of Vicks-burg. The siege of this cit-y was hard for those in its walls, +and for the troops in front of it; for Grant and his men could get no +food from the North, and the cit-y was quite cut off from help. The +cit-y made a brave stand for two long months; but had to give in at +last, and at the end of that time Grant and his men marched in-to the +cit-y; now this great gen-er-al showed what a kind heart he had, for he +gave food and clothes to the poor men who had fought so long and so +well, to save their town; and he tried hard, at this time, to think of +some way to bring the war to a close. Grant was not a hard man, but he +was a just one; and in his camps, the men must live the right sort of +lives; he would not let his men steal food from the farms a-bout them, +or rob the poor folks in their homes. He was a plain man, and his dress +showed his plain tastes; once, when he had his troops march past him, +that he might see how they looked, he wore such a plain garb that his +cap-tains were dressed bet-ter than he. He wore no sword, sash, nor +belt; just a plain, dark suit, with a soft felt hat on his head, and a +pair of kid gloves on his hands; he was a great smoker, and, it is said, +his big plans were all made when his ci-gar was in his mouth. In 1863, +Grant won a great fight at Chat-ta-noo-ga; and in the fierce fight in +the Wil-der-ness, he and Gen-er-al Lee met for the first time. + +Grant's next great work was to seize Pe-ters-burg; and so he laid siege +to the town; he dug a huge mine in front of the doomed cit-y, and filled +it full of pow-der that would go off when fired with a match; when this +great charge went off, the fort was blown to small bits, and heaps of +dead and dy-ing men lay in the midst of the ru-in; but the brave men of +the South still held the fort, and drove back the troops from the North +as they rushed up; and so well did they fight that Grant and his men had +to draw back, and leave Pe-ters-burg a-lone for some time. + +The next time he tried to take the town though, Gen-er-al Lee, who was +in charge, was forced to yield; and soon the red, white and blue waved +o-ver the South-ern cit-y. Soon af-ter this, Grant took from Lee all the +troops in his charge; and it was now plain to see that the war must +soon end. + +You read in the life of Lin-coln, of the terms of peace which Grant gave +to the great chief of the South; and it seems that these two men, Grant +and Lee, had no hard thoughts for each other; for when peace was made, +they shook hands, and part-ed friends. Each had done his best in the +cause he thought right. Grant's trip to the North when the war was at +an end was a grand one; crowds rushed to see the man who had saved the +Union, and cheers and shouts rang to the skies. He was, of course, named +for pres-i-dent and a great vote put him in of-fice. + +He was in the pres-ident's seat for two terms; and was the on-ly man +since Wash-ing-ton, who was thought of for a third term; but this the +whole land said no to; as no man should be pres-i-dent longer than +Wash-ing-ton had been. In Grant's last term, a big fair was held in +Phil-a-del-phi-a, called the "Cen-ten-ni-al;" to keep in mind this was +the great day on which this land was made free. At the end of Grant's +two terms, he took a tour of the world; and all lands made much of the +sol-dier pres-i-dent; rich gifts were placed in his hands; and at the +courts of the old world, kings and queens were glad to have this plain +qui-et man as a guest. + +His last home was in New York; and here, in 1884, he fell sick; he lost +much mon-ey at this time, and was, in truth, a poor man. But he was, to +the last, a brave man; and in the midst of much pain, he wrote the book +of his life, that when he was dead his wife should have mon-ey from its +sale. + +He died after eight long months of great pain, at Mt. Mc-Greg-or, near +Sar-a-to-ga, on July 23d, 1885; his bod-y lay in state in New York for +some days, and crowds from far and near came to view this great man for +the last time. + +He was laid to rest Au-gust 8th, 1885, at Riv-er-side Park, New York +Cit-y; and the white mar-ble tomb that marks this spot is a gift to the +great dead, from the land he served so well. + + + + +RUTH-ER-FORD B. HAYES. + + +Ruth-er-ford B. Hayes was born in Del-a-ware, O-hi-o, Oc-to-ber 4th, +1822; such a strong, ro-sy lit-tle boy was he, that he had the pet name +of "Rud-dy;" his fa-ther had a big farm and a store as well, so he was +quite rich, and lit-tle Rud-dy grew up in a bright and hap-py home. He +came of a race of brave men, who had fought and died for this fair land +in the wars of the Rev-o-lu-tion and of 1812; and he grew up as brave +as they. He and his lit-tle sis-ter Fan-ny went when young to a small +school near their home; and the good, wise moth-er helped them with +their books at home; Ruth-er-ford worked hard at school, and went when +quite young to the high school, where he soon stood at the head of his +class. He was six-teen when he went to Ken-yon Col-lege, Ohio. Now, +though he was so good at his books, he loved sport and fun as well; and +he was so strong, that he could walk miles on the cold-est of days, and +yet get no hurt. Once he walked all the way from col-lege to his home +and back, when the snow lay deep on the ground, and this was for-ty +miles; he could swim and skate, and knew how to fish and hunt; the boys +at col-lege all liked him; he had hosts of friends, and the strong, +brave will that kept him at the head in games and sports put him first +in his class too. He left col-lege in 1842, and took up the stud-y of +law at Har-vard Col-lege; in 1846, he was made one of the bar, and took +up prac-tise of law in Cin-cin-nat-i. When the Civ-il War broke out, he, +as cap-tain of a band of men from his home, did brave, good work. Once +he was shot and fell to the ground; but he did not give up; he told his +men what to do as he lay there in great pain, and kept up till some one +came to take his place as lead-er. At the end of the war, he was a +gen-er-al; and was much loved by his men. He was sent to Con-gress by +his state; and then made its gov-ern-or for three terms. In 1876, he was +made pres-i-dent; though some thought by a fraud in the count; and the +Dem-o-crats said that their man, Sam-u-el J. Til-den, should have been +pres-i-dent. While Hayes was at the White House, there was a great +la-bor strike, from the East to the West, on all the rail-roads. The +heads of the roads said that they would not pay the men, in their hire, +as much as they had done; and so, all the men left their work and no +trains could run, for the men came in great mobs to stop them; at last, +they rose in arms, and then the troops were sent out to force them to +keep the peace; nine men were killed, and some of the rest were bad-ly +hurt. But the men did not give up for a long time; they held Pitts-burg +for two days, and burned cars and the grain kept in them. + +Of course, in the end, the law had to be o-beyed and the mobs were made +to come to terms, and lay down their arms. + +There was a war with the In-di-ans while Hayes was in the chair; but +this was put down by Gen-er-al How-ard; and after some fierce fights, +the chiefs were caught and bound to keep the peace. There was a change +made in the way of life at the White House while Hayes was there, for no +wine was ever put on the ta-ble for guests or for the pres-i-dent and +his wife; this was the first time, and so far, the on-ly time, that wine +has not had its place at least at the state meals at the White House. +Hayes was in Wash-ing-ton for one term and then went to his home in +Mas-sil-lon, O-hi-o. He died on Jan-u-a-ry 17th, 1893. + +[Illustration: RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.] + +[Illustration: JAMES A. GARFIELD.] + + + + +JAMES A-BRAM GAR-FIELD. + + +In rough log cab-ins, out in the midst of wild woods, we have read that +six of our pres-i-dents were born; the sev-enth, James A-bram Gar-field, +was born in Or-ange, O-hi-o, on No-vem-ber 19th, 1831. + +His fa-ther had built, with his own hands, their small, rude home; and +it stood deep in the wild wood, whose trees would, at times, catch fire +from the sparks thrown from the steam en-gines some miles off. Near the +Gar-field home was their field of grain; one day this caught fire, and +in trying to save his wheat, the fa-ther of lit-tle James lost his life. +It was a hard life to which he left his young wife and the four lit-tle +ones; but she was a brave good wo-man; she had to work hard of course, +and so did the boys; but the moth-er taught them from books as well; and +lit-tle James was but four years old when he went to his first school. +He was a tough, strong boy, and soon did a large part of the farm +work; in the long sum-mers he had the most work to do, and then in the +win-ters he could go to school; he was a brave boy, for the school was +miles from home, and his road lay through the deep woods, in which wild +beasts roamed at will. But he went his way, and if he felt fear, did not +show it; he had a great love for books, and late at night, with the big +wood-fire for his light, he would read o-ver and o-ver his few books. +His moth-er had taught him to love the Bi-ble, and this Good Book he +knew well. But, at last, the time came when he was so old that he could +leave home, and so help the moth-er more than he had done. The first +thing he did was to drive mules on the tow-path of the O-hi-o Ca-nal; +here he earned $10.00 a month, but the men he met were coarse and rough, +and the life rude and vile; so, with a sad heart, the young boy, fresh +from his good home in the qui-et woods, took what he had made here, and +went back to the place he loved. He was sick for a long while now; and +as he lay on his bed, he made up his mind that he would go to col-lege, +and lead a good, use-ful life out in the big world; that he would use +his brains more than his hands. With this hope in front of him, he made +mon-ey in the sum-mer to pay his way at school in win-ter; and soon knew +all that they could teach and went to Hi-ram Col-lege; here at first he +did all sorts of work to pay his way; rang the bells, swept the floors, +and built the fires; but he was soon paid to teach in the col-lege, for +he was too bright and quick to do such hard work long. In 1854, he went +to Wil-liams Col-lege, and left at the head of his class in 1856. + +From now on he rose fast; he taught school when he left col-lege; his +boys loved the big strong man and said so much in his praise, that men +learned to love him too; and in 1859 he was made one of the O-hi-o +Sen-ate, and soon af-ter sent to Con-gress. Then came the Civ-il War, +in which he fought brave-ly; he won much fame in some of the great +bat-tles, and was made a gen-er-al. He was a warm, close friend of +Lin-coln; and on the day of Lin-coln's death, it was Gar-field who spoke +such calm, good words to a mob of men on Wall Street, New York, that he +kept them from rash acts at this sad time. At the close of the war, +Gar-field was in Eu-rope for a short time; and when he came home, he was +sent to Con-gress, where he kept his seat for a long time. In 1880 he +was named for pres-i-dent, and took his seat in 1881. But there was a +great grief in store for this land, once more. On July 2d, 1881, just +four months from the time he took his seat, Gar-field was shot by +Charles Gui-teau, as he, with James G. Blaine, was on his way to take a +train north from Wash-ing-ton. They bore him back to the White House, +and the man who had done this foul act was seized. The whole land prayed +for Gar-field's life, but he grew worse fast; and it was thought best +at last to take him to Long Branch, where it was cool-er than in +Wash-ing-ton. But the long, hot months dragged on; and the sick man did +not grow well in the cool salt air, as it had been hoped; in spite of +all care, the pres-i-dent failed day by day; and on Sep-tem-ber 19th, +1881, the whole world heard with sorrow of this good man's death. The +great men of the day wept side by side, as Gar-field lay in state in +Wash-ing-ton; and men of note, in all walks of life, felt his death as +a great grief. He now lies at rest in Cleve-land, O-hi-o. Gui-teau was +hanged for the crime he had done; and it is but just to say, that some +thought he was not in his right mind when he shot Gar-field. + + + + +CHES-TER AL-AN AR-THUR. + + +Ches-ter Al-an Ar-thur was born in Fair-field, Ver-mont, on Oc-to-ber +5th, 1830, and his fath-er had charge of the church in that place and +was one of the first men to speak for the poor slaves. Now, in those +days, those good men did not live as well as they do now; for folks +were poor in the small towns; so this small boy was al-so born in a log +cab-in; but he was sent to good schools, and was quite young when he +knew so much that he could go to Un-ion Col-lege. All the time he was +here he paid his own way, and when he left Col-lege he taught school, so +that he could lay by means to go to New York and stud-y law. He was soon +in law prac-tise, and he and an old school-mate made the name of their +firm well known. Ar-thur took the part of the black race, just as his +fa-ther had done, and in 1856, he won a suit which let the ne-groes ride +in horse-cars with the whites. A slave-girl had been put off a car and +Ar-thur took up her case and won it. For some years he held high of-fice +in the state of New York and was a gen-er-al in the Civ-il War; he was +not in the fights, but saw that the troops had clothes and food; he did +this hard task so well that, when the war was at an end, the pres-i-dent +gave him the best place in New York State; he was made chief of the +great port of New York and held this post for two terms. + +[Illustration: CHESTER A. ARTHUR.] + +In 1880 he was made vice-pres-i-dent with Gar-field as pres-i-dent; and, +of course, took the chair when Gar-field died. He held this place for +one term and then went back to his home in New York Cit-y, and took +up his law work. There was a split in his par-ty at the end of his term; +some men wished Ar-thur to run once more for pres-i-dent, but more +wished James G. Blaine of Maine; so, of course, Blaine was named. The +Dem-o-crats named Gro-ver Cleve-land; and as all the men on that side +wished this one man to win, he had the most votes; and for the first +time in a long while, the Dem-o-crats won in the race for pres-i-dent. + +Two years from the time that Ar-thur came home, and right in the midst +of his law work, he died in New York Cit-y; this was on No-vem-ber 18th, +1886; and he was laid to rest in Al-ba-ny. + + + + +STE-PHEN GRO-VER CLEVE-LAND. + + +The race of brave, strong men from whom Ste-phen Gro-ver Cleve-land +sprang made their first homes here, in Mas-sa-chu-setts, as far back +as 1635. His fa-ther had charge of a small church in Cald-well, New +Jer-sey, and here, in a neat white frame house, which you may see for +your-selves to-day, was born, on March 18th, 1837, the boy who was to +rise, step by step, to the pres-i-dent's seat. + +He was three years old when they moved to Fay-ette-ville, New York, and +here he first went to school and lived till he was twelve years old. He +showed a strong will, and a great love for books, as a small boy; he +would have his own way, if he could get it; and this was why he was sent +to a high school, when he was not so old by some years, as the rest of +the boys there; he gave his fa-ther no rest till he sent him; and once +there he made up his mind to lead his class. + +He was just twelve when his strong will sent him to work in a store near +his home, so that he could help care for the big fam-i-ly in the small +home. The man who hired him, soon saw that, if he was young, he knew how +to work well, and that he could trust him; for two years he worked in +the store and then went back to his books. + +But, just at this time, his fa-ther died; and he then had to find a way +to care for those in great need at home. With the same pluck that he had +shown in the past, he now went to work in a "Home for the Blind," in New +York. In this big cit-y, the bright boy saw and heard much which gave +him new thoughts, and put in his heart the wish to make his life a great +one. At the end of two years in the "Home," he made up his mind to learn +law; and he asked a man whom he knew to lend him twen-ty-five dol-lars +to start him. The fact that this man did so shows that he had trust in +young Gro-ver Cleve-land; he could now start his work, and went to +Buf-fa-lo to do so. Here he lived for eight years; at first he helped +his un-cle, in the care of a big farm, and the mon-ey he so made was +sent to his moth-er. Soon he had the chance to stud-y law; the place +where he went was two miles from his un-cle's home, but back and forth, +rain or shine, he walked each day. There is told a tale that shows how +he loved the books of law; for, the first day he went to this place, a +book was put in his hands to read; he kept at it for hours, till dark +came; then he found the rest of the men had gone home; all the doors +were locked; and he must stay there all night. + +Such hard work soon made him a man who well knew the law; and folks gave +him big cases that brought him much fame. He did not go to the war, when +it broke out, for he felt that he could not leave his folks at home with +no one to care for them. + +He rose fast in his law work; and more than one great case did he win; +he cared far more to take the part of the poor than of the rich; and at +no time in his life did he look for high place or fame; it came to him +though, for he was just the man to fill a high post well. His name was +soon known in his state and at Wash-ing-ton; for three years he was +Sher-iff of E-rie Coun-ty and then he took up his law prac-tise once +more; but soon he was put at the head of his cit-y as its May-or; and +then was made the Gov-ern-or of the great state of New York. Here he +did good work; he put down those who had tak-en bribes, and had not been +good, true men, and he tried to see that the laws were well kept; men +saw that he was the right man to fill this high place, for he had no +fear of what might be thought of him; he just did as he felt right; and +so, while he was still gov-ern-or, he was named for pres-i-dent by a +great vote, and was e-lect-ed. When he took the oath of of-fice in +Wash-ing-ton, he did not kiss the big Bi-ble which oth-er pres-i-dents +had kissed, but a lit-tle old book, much worn with use, which his +moth-er had giv-en to him when he first left home. He was in the chair +four years and while here, he took for his wife Miss Fran-ces Fol-som; +he was the first pres-i-dent to wed in the White House. Cleve-land was +pres-i-dent for four years; at the end of that time, the Re-pub-li-cans +placed Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son in the pres-i-dent's chair. + +But, at the end of one term, once more the Dem-o-crats won the day; and +a-gain, in 1893, we see Gro-ver Cleve-land pres-i-dent. + +In May of 1894, the World's Fair was o-pened; and few boys and girls are +too young to know some-thing of the beau-ty of the Great White Cit-y +built on the shores of Lake Mich-i-gan in Chi-ca-go. In the last years +of Cleve-land's term, there was much talk of the state of things in +Cu-ba. The men there wished to be free from Spain, who had ruled them, +with a hard hand, for hun-dreds of years. + +Spain sent down troops of sol-diers; and harsh laws were made to force +the Cu-bans to keep the peace. But Cu-ba would not give up; and the +U-ni-ted States be-gan to feel pit-y for this brave lit-tle is-land, +try-ing to get free. + +In the midst of the strife, Cleve-land's term of of-fice came to an end, +and he came to New York to live and take up law a-gain. He now has his +home in Prince-ton, New Jer-sey, and has a large law prac-tise. + +[Illustration: GROVER CLEVELAND.] + +[Illustration: BENJAMIN HARRISON.] + + + + +BEN-JA-MIN HAR-RI-SON. + + +In the first part of this book, you heard of a brave In-di-an fight-er, +whose name was Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son; and you saw this brave man +mount step by step to the pres-i-dent's chair. It is his grand-son, +Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son, whom we now see pres-i-dent of the U-ni-ted +States. He was born in his grand-fa-ther's home at North-Bend, +In-di-an-a, on Au-gust 20th, 1833. There were no good schools near his +home; so in a small log house, in his grand-fa-ther's grounds, he first +went to school; he and a few oth-er boys and girls were taught here by +those whom the Har-ri-sons hired. In this school the seats were of +planks, laid on sticks that were stuck in holes in the floor; they had +no backs; and were so high that the small boys and girls could not touch +their feet to the floor. On-ly in the win-ter did this small boy go to +school; in the sum-mer he had work to do on the big farm; he did his +work well; but he also learned to shoot, to fish, to swim, and to ride. + +He was much liked by all the boys, for he was full of sports and jokes. +In 1820 he went to Mi-a-mi Col-lege, and left in 1822, to stud-y law. +In one of his first cases, the light was so dim, that he could not see +the notes he had made with such care. What should he do? There was but +one thing he could do: fling to one side the notes and plead his case +without an-y. This was a hard thing to do; but he did it so well, that +he won his case; and the great men of the day gave him much praise for +his speech. + +When the Civ-il War broke out he raised a troop of men, from his own +state, and was made the col-o-nel of this band, which was called the +"70th In-di-an-a." + +He served for two years, and won fame in some of the great bat-tles of +the war; so brave was he at Re-sa-ca, that he was made a Brig-a-dier +Gen-er-al. Through the long years of war, he was kind and good to the +men in his care; they loved him well, and gave him the name of "Little +Ben." + +Not till the war was at an end, did he leave the field; then with much +fame, he went back home, and took up his work at law. He took a high +place in his own state and made some great speech-es. + +It was now the year 1889; just one hun-dred years had passed since +Wash-ing-ton, our first pres-i-dent, took his place as Pres-i-dent of +the U-nit-ed States; and the whole land thought it right to cel-e-brate +the date. So in New York Cit-y, on A-pril 29th and 30th, was held the +"Wash-ing-ton Cen-ten-ni-al." The cit-y was hung from end to end, with +red, white and blue; the grand, good face of Wash-ing-ton, framed in the +flag of the land, or wreathed in green, looked down on the gay scene. +Rank by rank, the troops filed by a-midst the shouts and cheers of the +dense crowds that filled the streets, and looked from the win-dows of +stores and hous-es. Rich and poor, great and small, kept this great day; +the pres-i-dent and oth-er great men from Wash-ing-ton were brought to +the foot of Wall Street, on a barge hung with flags; here all the ships +of war were drawn up on each side; and as the par-ty went to the spot +where Wash-ing-ton took his oath of of-fice, young girls, clad in white, +cast flow-ers be-fore them. As the troops filed past the pres-i-dent, +one saw, not just those from the North; but up from the South came +hosts of men, bearing the flags of their states; all glad to share in +this great day of the na-tion; and there were men from across the +seas too; the Ger-mans and the French marched side by side with the +A-mer-i-cans. By night, fire-works and bon-fires filled the streets with +light, and blazed in beau-ty; no such great time had ever been known in +this land; and this was as it should be; for it was all done for the +great, good man, who had led our troops so well in our first war, that +he had made us free; and had then, by a wise and just rule, helped us +to be the great, strong land that we are to-day. + +While Har-ri-son was in of-fice, work was be-gun for the "World's Fair," +which was held in Chi-ca-go, in 1892, just four hun-dred years since +Co-lum-bus first saw A-mer-i-ca. Har-ri-son went to Chi-ca-go and +o-pened the fair with a speech on Oc-to-ber 14th, 1892; but folks could +not go there till the next year. In 1893, Har-ri-son went home to +In-di-an-a, and took up his law work, once more; he is still a-live, is +well known as a good law-yer, and has many warm friends a-mong the great +men of our day. + +We have seen that Gro-ver Cleve-land now be-came pres-i-dent; at the end +of his four years, the Re-pub-li-cans put Wil-liam Mc-Kin-ley in of-fice. + + + + +WIL-LIAM MC-KIN-LEY. + + +The man, who now, in the year 1900, stands at the head of our great +land, was born at Niles, O-hi-o, on Jan-u-a-ry 29th, 1843. In the +schools near his home he was taught his let-ters and, as a child, was +fond of books, and quick to learn. He was a mere boy, when he taught +school to earn the means to go to Col-lege. The school-house in which +he taught still stands; it is a plain, square, white house, with two +win-dows in front and three on each side. His moth-er was a good +wo-man, with a clear, strong brain; she taught him, as well as his +eight broth-ers and sis-ters, to love truth, and to live brave and +strong lives. + +Young Wil-liam was not long to lead a life of peace; for in 1861 he, +then but a boy of eight-een, left his books and his home, and went to +the war. Many sto-ries prove how brave he was while there; but two will +show you why he rose so fast from the ranks. At one time the guns had +been left on the road, af-ter a great fight; and it would be a hard task +to go back near the foe to get them. But, young Mc-Kin-ley said, "The +boys will haul them;" and he and a few oth-ers went back for them and +brought them into our lines. Then he was at one time two miles from the +fight, in charge of the food; he was quite safe; but he thought our men +would fight bet-ter, if they had some cof-fee and food. So he filled a +cart and drove straight to the lines, where our brave men were hard at +work. Was this not a brave act? To risk his life for the sake of tak-ing +food and drink to the worn men. He worked his way straight to the +front and came out of the war a cap-tain. He went home at once and took +up the stud-y of law in Can-ton; one of his first speech-es was for the +rights of the black men; he said that they should have the same right to +vote that white men had; and he was ev-er on the side of the black man. +In 1869 Mc-Kin-ley was mar-ried to Miss I-da Sax-ton. They were both +very young when their two lit-tle chil-dren died. The young law-yer did +all he could to cheer his wife; and she was as brave as he, and did not +let her grief keep him from his work. He rose fast in his state, and +held high place more than once; then, in 1877, he was sent to Congress. +In 1891 he was made gov-ern-or of O-hi-o; and in 1897, he had made such +a great name for him-self that he was put up for pres-i-dent by the +Re-pub-li-cans, and e-lect-ed. Just as he came in-to of-fice, the strife +in Cu-ba was at its height; and men here in our great, free land had +much pit-y for the Cu-bans, who were try-ing to get free from Spain, +just as we had tried to shake off the hand of Eng-land long years a-go. +The Span-ish rule grew worse and worse, as Spain found that Cu-ba would +not give in. At last Gen-er-al Wey-ler, a harsh and cru-el man, was sent +there to force peace on an-y terms; but Gen-er-al Go-mez knew his foes +well, and his brave men fought with a strength born of a great hate for +Spain. By and by, when Spain saw she could not win the day, she sent +word that if Cu-ba would lay down her arms, she could have the rights +for which she had asked in vain in the past. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM McKINLEY.] + +But it was too late; Cu-ba had no faith in Spain, and would now be free +from her hard yoke. There was much want in the big towns of Cu-ba at +this time, for Wey-ler had made all the poor folks, who had lived in +peace on their small farms, come in-to the towns. He said they gave +help to the Cu-ban troops, and so he forced them to leave their homes +and would on-ly let them bring with them just the few things that they +could put on their backs. Then he had their lit-tle homes, and their +crops which they had raised with care, all burned to the ground. He had +lit-tle food to give this great host of poor peo-ple, and ma-ny died in +the streets for the want of bread. You may be sure that our great land +saw the pain and want down in Cu-ba, and longed to give aid; but an act +of help on our part would mean war with Spain, and this Mc-Kin-ley did +not wish. But there came a day when a great cry went up through the +U-nit-ed States at a foul deed done in the bay of Ha-va-na. Our great +war ship, the "Maine," was blown up by a bomb, as she lay at an-chor in +the har-bor. The thought of our poor men sent to such a death raised the +cry of war in all hearts. "Re-mem-ber the Maine," was the war-cry; and +men cried for war at once with Spain. But Mc-Kin-ley gave Spain one more +chance to stop the fight and free Cu-ba; this she would not do. So on +A-pril 21st, 1898, once more the U-nit-ed States had to make read-y for +war. From all the states men poured in and camps sprang up here and +there, where the men were taught to load and fire their guns. Off at +Hong-Kong, in charge of our war-ships, was brave Ad-mi-ral Dew-ey. He +knew that the Span-ish fleet was in Ma-ni-la Bay, near the Phil-ip-pine +Is-lands, which were ruled by Spain; the loss of these ships would be a +great blow to Spain just at this time; so Dew-ey steered his ships there +to strike a blow for his coun-try. + +It was night when he reached the spot, and be-fore the Span-iards knew +he was near, six of his great ships had slipped past their forts. Then +a fierce fire poured on him from the forts; but it did not do much harm. +At last the Span-ish fleet saw him, and at once the ships o-pened fire; +but Dew-ey's flag-ship, the "O-lym-pi-a," sent out such a storm of shot +and shell, that the first of the Span-ish ships was sunk, and all on +board killed. + +The fight last-ed two hours; and at the end of that time the Span-ish +fleet had all been sunk. Great joy was felt in the U-nit-ed States when +this glad news was heard, and Dew-ey was the he-ro of the whole land. + +Our men down in Cu-ba fought well, and ma-ny brave deeds were done. On +June 6th Ad-mi-ral Samp-son fired on the forts at San-ti-a-go; our men +put their hearts in their work and their aim with the great guns was +true and straight. The Span-iards did not aim so well, and their shots +did not go so far, and so the shot and shell from their forts did not +do us much harm. + +Soon our men had stopped the fire from all the forts save Cas-tle +Mor-ro, and this fort was rent and torn in great holes. + +On June 24th our "Rough Ri-ders," with The-o-dore Roose-velt at their +head, were sent out to clear the way to San-ti-a-go. The foe poured a +hot fire on our men from the tall grass and weeds in which they lay +hid-den; and there was great loss of life. Full of fire and pluck were +these "Rough Ri-ders," and led by their brave colo-nels, Roose-velt and +Wood, they forced the Span-ish troops back, foot by foot. The line of +fight was five miles long; the heat was fierce; and food and wa-ter +scarce. But at last the troops came to the fort of San Juan Hill; then, +with a mad rush, up, up went our men to the Span-ish fort at the head! +Cheers and shouts rose to the skies as the red, white and blue waved +from the old Span-ish fort; but the cost of this fort had been great, +for there was much loss of life on both sides. On Ju-ly 3d Cer-ve-ra, +the Span-ish Ad-mi-ral, tried to sail his fleet out of the bay of +San-ti-a-go; he was seen, though, by our men, and af-ter a hot chase +and fierce fight-ing, the whole Span-ish fleet was burned or sunk. + +Spain lost scores of brave men; but on our side not one man was killed, +nor did we lose a ship. + +The end of the war was near; on Ju-ly 10th we laid siege to San-ti-a-go, +and on Ju-ly 17th we went in-to the cit-y and raised ov-er it the Stars +and Stripes. + +In this part of the world the last shot had been fired; but Dew-ey in +the far east did not know this, and so he struck one more blow for his +coun-try. + +He took the cit-y of Ma-ni-la with the loss of but twelve men, and when +our flag waved o-ver this cit-y, the end of the Span-ish war had come. +On Jan-u-a-ry 1st, 1899, the Span-ish flag, which for four hun-dred +years had waved o-ver Cu-ba, was hauled down; the red, white and blue +of our own land took its place; and Cu-ba, free from the hard rule of +Spain, blessed the great na-tion that had come to her aid. + +In Sep-tem-ber of 1899 Ad-mi-ral Dew-ey came home; and from end to end +of this land his name was cheered. + +He was the guest of the cit-y of New York for three days; and well did +the cit-y hon-or the he-ro of Ma-ni-la. + +When we took Ma-ni-la from Spain, and so closed the Span-ish war, it did +not give us the Phil-ip-pines. The men there were glad to have us drive +out the Span-iards, but did not wish us to take their place. Long months +of war fol-lowed, but now, A-gui-nal-do, their chief, has yield-ed and +peace seems to be at hand. + +It was not eas-y to see when Mc-Kin-ley be-came pres-i-dent that we +were soon to be in the midst of war; but our land has borne her part +well. We have gained new lands in the far east, and our flag waves o-ver +strange peo-ple who have not yet learned that it stands for free-dom. +They still fear that the yoke of the U-nit-ed States will be as hard to +bear as that of Spain. This is not so, and it will not be long be-fore +all these far-off lands will learn to love and bless the Red, White and +Blue, just as ev-er-y State in our great Un-ion does to-day. + + + + +THE END. + + + + +BURT'S SERIES of ONE SYLLABLE BOOKS + +=12 Titles. Handsome Illuminated Cloth Binding.= + +A series of Classics, selected specially for young people's reading, +and told in simple language for youngest readers. Printed from large +type, with many illustrations. + + * * * * * + + =Price, 50 Cents per Volume.= + + * * * * * + +=AESOP'S FABLES.= + + Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By MARY + GODOLPHIN. With 41 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES.= + + (Selections.) Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By + HARRIET T. COMSTOCK. With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=BIBLE HEROES.= + + Told in words of one syllable for young people. By HARRIET T. + COMSTOCK. With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES.= + + (Selections.) Retold in words of one syllable. By JEAN S. RÉMY. + With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=GULLIVER'S TRAVELS= + + Into several remote regions of the world. Retold in words of one + syllable for young people. By J. C. G. With 32 illustrations. + Illuminated cloth. + +=LIFE OF CHRIST.= + + Told in words of one syllable for young people. By JEAN S. RÉMY. + With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.= + + Told in words of one syllable for young people. By JEAN S. RÉMY. + With 24 large portraits. Illuminated cloth. + +=PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.= + + Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By SAMUEL + PHILLIPS DAY. With 33 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=REYNARD THE FOX:= + + The Crafty Courtier. Retold in words of one syllable for young + people. By SAMUEL PHILLIPS DAY. With 23 illustrations. + Illuminated cloth. + +=ROBINSON CRUSOE.= + + His life and surprising adventures retold in words of one + syllable for young people. By MARY A. SCHWACOFER. With + 32 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=SANFORD AND MERTON.= + + Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By MARY + GODOLPHIN. With 20 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.= + + Retold in words of one syllable for young people. Adapted from + the original. With 31 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + + * * * * * + +For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price +by the publisher, =A. L. BURT. 52-58 Duane Street, New York.= + + + + +Transcriber's Note + +The reader will note that words in this text are not exclusively +"of one syllable," but rather that most multi-syllabic words in the +text have been hyphenated into syllables. + +Hyphenation and punctuation in this text are not standardized, and may +also appear oddly placed. There are numerous sections and words in +which hyphens are omitted. Some words are spelled variably, including +the author's name. These oddities have been retained to match the +original text. + +Some illustrations have been moved from their original positions, so +as to be nearer to their corresponding text, or for ease of navigation +around paragraphs. + +The following typographical corrections have been made in this ebook: + + Page 14: Removed misplaced hyphen + (the coun-try turned to him) + + Page 22: Changed , to . + (The Home of Thomas Jefferson.) + + Page 25: Typo leading to factual error. Changed Mon-ti-cel-lo to + Mont-pel-ier (Mont-pel-ier, his fath-er's great farm) + + Page 47: Moved misplaced hyphen + (a ver-y small boy) + + Page 47: Added missing word 'and' + (of the North and those of the South) + + Page 71: Moved misplaced semi-colon + (on July 23d, 1885; his bod-y lay in state) + + Page 85: Typo leading to factual error. Changed 'one' to 'four' + (in 1892, just four hun-dred years since Co-lum-bus) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of the Presidents Told in Words +of One Syllable, by Jean S. Remy + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS *** + +***** This file should be named 28350-8.txt or 28350-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/3/5/28350/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, C. St. Charleskindt, Michael and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Told in Words of One Syllable., by Jean S. 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Remy + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lives of the Presidents Told in Words of One Syllable + +Author: Jean S. Remy + +Release Date: March 18, 2009 [EBook #28350] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, C. St. Charleskindt, Michael and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="tnote"> +<h3>Transcriber's Note</h3> + +<p>This ebook retains the hyphenation and punctuation variations of +the original text.</p> + +<p>A few typographical corrections have been made. Details of these +changes can be found in a second Transcriber's Note +<a href="#Transcribers_Note2">at the end of this text</a>.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;"> +<img src="images/presidents_cover.jpg" width="425" height="600" alt="Lives of the Presidents: Cover Image" /> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;"> +<img src="images/wht_hse_frontis.jpg" width="650" height="395" alt="THE WHITE HOUSE—HOME OF THE PRESIDENTS." /> +<span class="caption">THE WHITE HOUSE—HOME OF THE PRESIDENTS.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<h1> +<span class="size50">LIVES OF THE</span> +<br /><br /> +<span class="size110">PRESIDENTS.</span> +<br /><br /> +<span class="size40">TOLD IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE.</span></h1> + +<hr class="bigspacer" /> + +<div class="center size90"> +<span class="smcap">By</span> JEAN S. REMY. + +<hr class="bigspacer" /> +<i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.</i> +<hr class="bigspacer" /> + +A. L. BURT COMPANY,<br /> +PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="center size75"> +Copyright, 1900, by <span class="smcap">A. L. Burt</span>. +<hr class="spacer" /> +LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. +<hr class="spacer" /> +<span class="smcap">By Jean S. Remy.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<div class="center"> +<table summary="Table of Contents"> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#GEORGE_WASHINGTON">George Washington</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +1 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#JOHN_ADAMS">John Adams</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +16 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#THOMAS_JEFFERSON">Thomas Jefferson</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +20 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#JAMES_MADISON">James Madison</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +25 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#JAMES_MONROE">James Monroe</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +29 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#JOHN_QUINCY_ADAMS">John Quincy Adams</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +33 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#ANDREW_JACKSON">Andrew Jackson</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +38 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#MARTIN_VAN_BUREN">Martin Van Buren</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +43 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#WILLIAM_HENRY_HARRISON">William Henry Harrison</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +45 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#JOHN_TYLER">John Tyler</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +47 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#JAMES_KNOX_POLK">James Knox Polk</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +49 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#ZACHARY_TAYLOR">Zachary Taylor</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +52 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#MILLARD_FILLMORE">Millard Fillmore</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +54 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#FRANKLIN_PIERCE">Franklin Pierce</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +56 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#JAMES_BUCHANAN">James Buchanan</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +58 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#ABRAHAM_LINCOLN">Abraham Lincoln</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +60 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#ANDREW_JOHNSON">Andrew Johnson</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +66 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#ULYSSES_SIMPSON_GRANT">Ulysses Simpson Grant</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +68 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#RUTHERFORD_B_HAYES">Rutherford B. Hayes</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +73 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#JAMES_ABRAM_GARFIELD">James Abram Garfield</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +75 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#CHESTER_ALAN_ARTHUR">Chester Alan Arthur</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +78 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#STEPHEN_GROVER_CLEVELAND">Stephen Grover Cleveland</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +80 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#BENJAMIN_HARRISON">Benjamin Harrison</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +83 +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="toc1"> +<span class="smcap"><a href="#WILLIAM_MCKINLEY">William McKinley</a>.</span> +</td> +<td class="toc2"> +86 +</td> +</tr> + +</table> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 1 --> + +<span class="nopagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span> +<a name="GEORGE_WASHINGTON" id="GEORGE_WASHINGTON"></a> +</div> + +<h1><a name="LIVES_OF_THE_PRESIDENTS" id="LIVES_OF_THE_PRESIDENTS"></a>LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.</h1> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/g_washington_p1.png" width="300" height="410" alt="GEORGE WASHINGTON." /> +<span class="caption">GEORGE WASHINGTON.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<h2>GEORGE WASH-ING-TON.</h2> + +<p>Way down in Vir-gin-i-a, near a small creek, called Bridg-es Creek, +there is a shaft of white stone;—on it is the name of George +Wash-ing-ton and the date of his birth: Feb-ru-ar-y 22d, 1732.</p> + +<p>On this spot once stood the big brick house in which George +Wash-ing-ton was born; it was built in 1657 by John Wash-ing-ton; +his grand-son, Au-gus-tine, was the fa-ther of the lit-tle boy who +be-came our first pres-i-dent. The moth-er of George Wash-ing-ton +was Ma-ry Ball; so sweet and fair was she, when she was a young +girl, that she was known as "Sweet Mol-ly."</p> + +<p>Now she was not the first wife of Au-gus-tine Wash-ing-ton; and he +had two boys, Law-rence and Au-gus-tine, when he made her his wife. +These boys were so kind to their small broth-er George, when he was +young, and gave him so much help, all through his life, that their +names should stay in your minds. When George was three years old his +home was burned to the ground, and his fa-ther built a fine new +house, just o-ver the riv-er from where the cit-y of +Fred-er-icks-burg now stands. Here George went to his first school, +and the name of the man who taught him was so queer, it will not go +out of your mind;—it was "Hob-by." In those old days, the boys +wrote to their boy-friends, + +<!-- Page 2 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> +just as they do at this day. See what +George, when he was nine years old, wrote to his best friend, +Rich-ard Hen-ry Lee:—"Dear Dick-ey, I thank you ver-y much for the +pret-ty pic-ture book you gave me. Sam asked me to show him the +pic-tures and I showed him all the pic-tures in it; and I read to +him how the tame el-e-phant took care of his mas-ter's lit-tle boy, +and put him on his back and would not let an-y-bod-y touch his +mas-ter's lit-tle son. I can read three or four pages some-times +with-out miss-ing a word. Ma says I may go to see you and stay all +day with you next week if it be not rain-y. She says I may ride my +po-ny. He-ro, if Uncle Ben will go with me and lead He-ro. I have a +lit-tle piece of po-et-ry a-bout the book you gave me, but I mustn't +tell you who wrote the po-et-ry.</p> + +<div class="letter"> +"G. W.'s com-pli-ments to R. H. L.<br /> +And likes his book full well.<br /> +Hence-forth will count him as his friend,<br /> +And hopes ma-ny hap-py days he may spend. +</div> + +<div class="signindr">"Your good friend,</div> + +<div class="signr">"<span class="smcap">George Wash-ing-ton</span>."</div> + +<p>"I am go-ing to get a whip top soon, and you may see and whip it."</p> + +<p>You see the boys in those old days were fond of books, and toys and +hors-es just as the boys of to-day are; and there is a tale of +George, and a young colt, which shows that he was a brave and strong +boy, who did not fear to tell the truth, though he had done wrong. +He and some of his boy-friends were in a field, in which were kept +some young colts, some of which had been used.</p> + +<p>The boys caught one colt, put a bit in its mouth, and held it, while +George sprang on its back. The colt, mad with + +<!-- Page 3 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> +fear, sprang in the +air, tore through the field, and tried in vain to throw the boy; at +last he leaped with such force, that he broke a blood ves-sel, and +fell to the ground dead. Just at this time George's moth-er came +out, and saw the dead colt. She asked the boys if they knew how he +died. "Yes, mad-am," at once said her own boy; and then he told the +whole truth. There are more tales of the boy-life of George and all +show that he was a brave, strong boy, full of life and fun, and at +the head in games and sports of all kinds.</p> + +<p>His fa-ther died when he was on-ly e-lev-en (11) years old; but his +moth-er lived to be an old, old la-dy, who was, you may be sure, +ver-y proud of her great son.</p> + +<p>Af-ter his fa-ther's death George made his home with his broth-er, +Au-gus-tine, un-til he was six-teen (16) years old; and the short +notes which he wrote to his moth-er were not like those he sent to +his boy-friends, or like those which you boys and girls write +to-day. He be-gan, "Hon-ored Mad-am;" and end-ed the stiff lit-tle +note,—"Your du-ti-ful son."</p> + +<p>In those days folks lived on great big farms, or plan-ta-tions, as +they were called, and raised to-bac-co, which was sold for much +mon-ey in Eng-land. George's fa-ther had a ver-y large plan-ta-tion +and ma-ny slaves to work on it; some day this would all be-long to +George, and so he was taught how to write in a big round hand, how +to do sums, and to look out for those who were in his care.</p> + +<p>All through these years there was talk of war; for a cru-el war +be-tween the French and Eng-lish, known as King George-'s War, had +be-gun; and the boys, who heard so much talk of war, of course +played at it; and George was ev-er at the head, ev-er lead-ing these +bands of young sol-diers; + +<!-- Page 4 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +he longed, just as boys would to-day, to +throw a-way his books, to leave school, to go to the true war and +bear a real gun; and when he was fif-teen, his broth-er Law-rence, +who was a sol-dier, tried to make his moth-er let him join the +na-vy, as he was too young to go to the war. But this moth-er was a +ver-y wise wo-man, and said no; that his place was at home un-til he +knew how to care for the great plan-ta-tion and the ma-ny slaves +that in five or six years would be his.</p> + +<p>Now, at this time, this great land of ours was so wild that it was +hard to tell how much land a man owned, just where one great farm +end-ed and the next be-gan; and a man who knew the land so well that +he could tell folks just these things would be of much use; so +George now be-gan to give much time to just this work; and so well +did he do it that soon folks came to him when they were in doubt.</p> + +<p>In fact this work led, as you shall see, straight up to the +pres-i-dent's seat. His broth-er Law-rence had mar-ried Anne +Fair-fax, and in their home at Mt. Ver-non George met ma-ny great +men; a-mong oth-ers was Lord Thom-as Fair-fax, who owned a piece of +land so large that he did not know how big it was; he sent George to +find this out; and now this young boy had a rough piece of real work +to do.</p> + +<p>In March, 1748, he and a young friend, George Wil-liam Fair-fax, +left the ease of Mt. Ver-non to live in the wild woods, where they +would see on-ly Indians, or, at the best, rough white men; in the +log huts of the white men they found so much dirt that, af-ter one +tri-al, rath-er than sleep on dir-ty straw, with no sheet, and but +one torn, thin blan-ket, they ei-ther lay on the bare floor, near +the big wood-fire, or else built a huge fire in the woods and lay +close to it on the earth. They had to swim their hors-es o-ver +streams; they + +<!-- Page 5 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> +shot wild deer and birds, and of-ten cooked and ate +them, alone in the great wild woods, far from e-ven the camp of the +In-di-ans. Once, at least, we know, from a little book in which each +night George wrote of what they had done that day, that they saw a +grand war-dance of the In-di-ans; the mu-sic by which they danced +was made by a pot half full of wa-ter, with a deer-skin o-ver the +top, and a gourd filled with shot; this must have made queer mu-sic +to dance by.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/mt_vernon_p5.jpg" width="400" height="275" alt="MOUNT VERNON—THE HOME OF WASHINGTON." /> +<span class="caption">MOUNT VERNON—THE HOME OF WASHINGTON.</span> +</div> + +<p>The boys were gone six weeks, and did their work so well that the +gov-ern-or heard of it, and he made George a "pub-lic sur-vey-or;" +that is, it was his place to find out the size of all the new farms; +and his word was to be law. He must have done this work well, too, +for the lines which he laid + +<!-- Page 6 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> +down were the ones used by the new +States years and years af-ter his death.</p> + +<p>Now, for weeks at a time, he was a-lone in the woods with the +In-di-ans; liv-ing in their camps, and learn-ing of their life; they +taught him ma-ny things; and they, in turn, learned to love and +trust him; this lone-ly life made him a grave and qui-et man; one +who talked lit-tle; and it taught him to think for him-self, at an +age when most boys are told what to do by their par-ents and +friends.</p> + +<p>When he was not in the woods, hard at work, he was at Mt. Vernon; +and here the talk was of the great lands in the west; and of the war +bet-ween the Eng-lish and the French, who were each try-ing to drive +a-way the oth-er, and were both try-ing to force out the In-di-ans. +It was pret-ty hard for the In-di-ans, who now had not on-ly to +fight each oth-er, but the white men, too. At last they took sides, +some with the Eng-lish, some with the French; and a fierce war broke +out o-ver the land near the O-hi-o River; no white men had yet lived +there, and both sides wished to own it.</p> + +<p>The French moved ver-y fast, and built great forts, and sent men +there to keep the Eng-lish a-way; it was no "play-war" in which +Wash-ing-ton now took part; he had real men under him; but, just as +he be-gan to learn what real war was, he had to go to the West +In-dies with his broth-er Law-rence, who was ver-y sick. They spent +the win-ter there, but Law-rence did not get well, and came back to +Mt. Ver-non in the spring, where he died in Ju-ly, 1752.</p> + +<p>He left his land in charge of Wash-ing-ton, who now made his home +there; and when his broth-er's daugh-ter died he be-came the own-er.</p> + +<p>Now, while Wash-ing-ton had been a-way, the French had been ver-y +ac-tive; they had made friends with the In-di-ans, + +<!-- Page 7 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> +and had e-ven +dared to send some Eng-lish tra-ders in a ship to France.</p> + +<p>At this act Eng-land was up and in arms, and sent o-ver great ships +and ma-ny men to help fight the French. The first step that Eng-land +took was to send men to warn the French a-way from the Eng-lish +forts in Penn-syl-va-ni-a; and Wash-ing-ton, who knew bet-ter than +a-ny one else the rough wild woods, and who was a friend of the +In-di-ans, led a lit-tle band of sev-en men through the dense, dark +woods and o-ver riv-ers filled with float-ing ice, up to the French +lines. He told the chief man of the French troops just what the +Eng-lish said, but this French man would not give up one inch of +ground that he had won from the In-di-ans, and gave Wash-ing-ton a +note to take back with him, in which he said as much.</p> + +<p>Of course Eng-land could take but one course now; and so the long, +fierce war known as the "Sev-en Years' War" be-gan. Wash-ing-ton was +made a colo-nel, and showed so much skill, and was so brave, that in +a short time he took charge of part of the troops of Gen-er-al +Brad-dock.</p> + +<p>In June, 1755, the troops made a start for Fort Du-quesne, where +they were to stay; and on this trip, while they were deep in the +woods, the In-di-ans, with fierce shrieks and wild cries, sprang on +them from the rocks and trees. The horse on which Wash-ing-ton rode +was shot; Gen-er-al Brad-dock got such a wound that he died, and +ma-ny poor men were killed. Here again Wash-ing-ton act-ed so +brave-ly, and was so wise, that the sol-diers said that Brad-dock +had lost the day and Wash-ing-ton had saved the ar-my.</p> + +<p>At Brad-dock's death Wash-ing-ton was made chief of all + +<!-- Page 8 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +the troops +in the col-o-nies; and the first thing he did was to place men near +the homes which the white men were mak-ing in the new lands, and so +help these ear-ly set-tlers to stop the In-di-ans when they came to +rob them and to burn up their lit-tle log cab-ins, for a great fear +of the red men was o-ver all the land. Now, when the war came to a +close with the fall of the French, we find that Wash-ing-ton is a +very great man, that his troops love him ver-y much, and that the +heads of the states feel that he is a strong, wise man, and one whom +they can trust. All this time, you know, he was an Eng-lish +sol-dier, fight-ing for Eng-land; but, deep in his heart, and in the +hearts of all the brave men who fought with him, there was, we may +be sure, a love for this fair land, and a long-ing for its best +good.</p> + +<p>After the war was at an end Wash-ing-ton, who was ver-y glad to give +up his post, mar-ried Mrs. Eus-tis, a young wid-ow with two lit-tle +chil-dren, a girl of six years and a boy of twelve, and went to Mt. +Ver-non to live. For twen-ty years now he lived the qui-et life he +loved so well. He took good care of his farm, was hap-py with his +fam-i-ly and friends, and grew, day by day, in power. He did not +lead an i-dle life, you may be sure; he rose ear-ly, had his +break-fast at sev-en in sum-mer and eight in win-ter; then rode +o-ver his farm and saw that all was right. He had his din-ner at two +o'clock; then had an ear-ly tea, and of-ten was in bed by nine +o'clock. Twice a year he sent to Lon-don for things need-ed in the +way of dress for his fam-i-ly and slaves, for tools, books, drugs, +etc. Some of the things he bought for the chil-dren I think you boys +and girls would like, too. He sent for "tops, lit-tle books for +chil-dren to read, a doll, and oth-er toys."</p> + +<div> +<!-- Page 9 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/m_washington_p9.png" width="300" height="405" alt="MARTHA WASHINGTON." /> +<span class="caption">MARTHA WASHINGTON.</span> +</div> + +<p>Wash-ing-ton loved hors-es and was ver-y fond of hunt-ing. The name +of his pet horse was "Blue-skin"; he must have looked ver-y fine +when he was on horse-back; for he was a big man, with bright blue +eyes and high color, and he wore a red vest with gold lace on it, +and a dark blue cloth coat. Mrs. Wash-ing-ton rode in a fine +car-riage drawn by four hors-es, and her driv-er wore the +Wash-ing-ton col-ors of red, white and gold. These old days were +full of life and + +<!-- Page 10 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +fun, but there was work as well, and soon came +more talk of war.</p> + +<p>All through these twen-ty years this land was grow-ing big-ger and +big-ger; and at last came the time when folks did not see why they +should not be free from Eng-land and rule their own land in their +own way.</p> + +<p>At last Eng-land made a law called the "Stamp Act," which put so +high a tax on goods that folks here would not pay it; tea was one of +the things on which this tax was put; and when Eng-land sent o-ver +three ships full of tea to Bos-ton, our men would not let it be +ta-ken from the ships, but broke the great chests and threw all the +tea in the wa-ter. This act is known as the "Bos-ton Tea Par-ty"; +and now the first signs of war were seen; a fierce fight took place +at Lex-ing-ton, one Sun-day morn-ing, be-tween the Brit-ish and +A-mer-i-can troops; and now, all o-ver the land, went up the cry, +"To arms! To arms!"</p> + +<p>This is how the great War of In-de-pend-ence be-gan; and you know +the name of the man who was at once put at the head of the +A-mer-i-can ar-my—George Wash-ing-ton, of course! Now he is not an +Eng-lish-man fight-ing for his king, but an A-mer-i-can fight-ing to +free his own land. A long, hard fight it was, too, but not once did +Wash-ing-ton or his brave men lose heart. He drove the Brit-ish out +of Bos-ton, and then, for fear they would go to New York, he sent +men there; but the Brit-ish ships went to Can-a-da in-stead, and +made that land theirs.</p> + +<p>It was just at this time that Rich-ard Hen-ry Lee, the boy-friend of +Wash-ing-ton, made a move in Con-gress that our land should say to +the whole world that it would be free from Brit-ish rule; and so the +Dec-lar-a-tion of In-de-pend-ence was drawn up and sent out to the +world on July 4, 1776.</p> + +<div> +<!-- Page 11 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +</div> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 245px;"> +<img src="images/burgoyne_p11.jpg" width="245" height="300" alt="LIEUTENANT-GENERAL BURGOYNE. +From an English print, 1733." /> +<span class="caption">LIEUTENANT-GENERAL BURGOYNE.<br /> +From an English print, 1733.</span> +</div> + +<p>War now be-gan in dead-ly earn-est; and, at the great bat-tle of +Long Isl-and, our men met with great loss of life, and had to flee +from the foe. Soon af-ter this bad news the Brit-ish took +Phil-a-del-phi-a, and now Wash-ing-ton was sad at heart; on +Christ-mas day of 1776, though, our troops won in the great fight +that took place at Tren-ton, and there was joy in the whole land; +good news came with the New Year, too, for Wash-ing-ton won ma-ny +fights; and at last, in Oc-to-ber, 1777, the Brit-ish troops in +charge of Gen-er-al Bur-goyne gave up their arms to Gen-er-al Gates. +That win-ter of 1777 was a bad one for Wash-ing-ton and his men; at +no time in the war did they suf-fer so much; the time was spent at +Val-ley Forge, and the men lived in log huts which they had first +built, in long straight lines, like cit-y streets; twelve men lived +in each hut, and there was a fire-place at the back, but no fire +could keep out the aw-ful cold, and no hut was snug e-nough to keep +out the snow that fell in great drifts a-round this lit-tle town of +log huts. To make things worse there was lit-tle food to be had; the +men had on-ly poor, thin clothes, and their bare feet oft-en left +marks of blood on the white snow. But the men did not lose hope, and +kept their faith through all the long months in their great lead-er, +whose lot was quite as hard as theirs was; the farm-house in which +he had a room still stands, and it is hard to be-lieve, as you look +at this old house on the banks of the Del-a-ware Riv-er, that once +the big or-chard back of it and + +<!-- Page 12 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> +all the pret-ty fields were filled +with poor little wood-en huts in which, for the sake of free-dom, +lived and suf-fered thou-sands of brave men.</p> + +<p>In the spring things were bet-ter, for France joined A-mer-i-ca in +her fight for free-dom, and three years from this time the Brit-ish +were beaten at York-town and A-mer-i-ca was free. One of the great +French-men, who gave us much help, and was a firm friend of +Wash-ing-ton's, was the Mar-quis de La-fay-ette.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 250px;"> +<img src="images/lafayette_p12.jpg" width="250" height="300" alt="MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE." /> +<span class="caption">MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE.</span> +</div> + +<p>A ver-y sad thing dur-ing these last years of the war was the base +act of Ben-e-dict Ar-nold, who made up his mind to sell to the +Brit-ish some posts near West Point, of which he had charge. He sent +a note to Clin-ton by a young Brit-ish spy, Ma-jor An-dre; but on +his way to the Brit-ish lines this young man was caught by three of +our men. They found the note in his boots and he was brought to the +A-mer-i-can camp, tried for his life and hung as a spy. Ben-e-dict +Ar-nold had made his way to a ship and set sail for Eng-land, and +his name is hat-ed, not on-ly by his own land, but by e-ven the land +to whom he tried to sell his coun-try.</p> + +<p>It was in March, 1783, that the news of peace spread through the +land, and it is said that Wash-ing-ton wept with joy, as he read the +glad news to his troops; he gave or-ders that the whole ar-my should +give thanks to God; and this was done at a great meet-ing on the day +af-ter Lord Corn-wal-lis laid down his sword. Then there was a great +ball giv-en at Fred-er-icks-burg, and Wash-ing-ton's old moth-er, + +<!-- Page 13 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +sev-en-ty-four years old, was there lean-ing on the arm of her son; +and do you not think she was proud, as one af-ter an-oth-er of the +great French of-fi-cers bowed to her, and spoke in her son's praise?</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/cornwallis_surr_p13.jpg" width="500" height="345" alt="SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN." /> +<span class="caption">SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN.</span> +</div> + +<p>It was on Christ-mas eve that Wash-ing-ton came home to Mt. Vernon, +af-ter eight years of war: rid-ing in state, with his wife at his +side, this great A-mer-i-can, feared now by kings, and loved more +than ev-er by the coun-try he had made free, came glad-ly back to +take up the qui-et coun-try life he loved so well; and here, could +he have had his way, he would have lived un-til his death; but this +new coun-try need-ed at its head a man whom folks loved and +trust-ed, and of whom oth-er lands stood in fear. No man but +Wash-ing-ton could fill this great place; and so, at the end of three + +<!-- Page 14 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +years, once more at his coun-try's call, he left his +home,—this time to be-come the first Pres-i-dent of the U-ni-ted +States. Not one voice was a-gainst him; eve-ry man in the new +coun-try vot-ed to give him this last hon-or; and on Ap-ril 30th, +1789, in New York Ci-ty, he took the oath of of-fice. Wash-ing-ton, +who was a ve-ry rich man, had tak-en no mon-ey for serv-ing his +coun-try in the war; and said he would take none now; but be-cause +oth-er Pres-i-dents might not be rich e-nough or good e-nough to +want to do the same, the peo-ple made him take $25,000 a year; now, +you know, the Pres-i-dent gets $50,000 a year.</p> + +<p>Wash-ing-ton was in New York but one year, then the cap-i-tal was +moved to Phil-a-del-phia, and here he lived in great state, un-til +af-ter eight years in the Pres-i-dent's chair, once more, and for +the last time, he came back home to Mt. Ver-non.</p> + +<p>At the end of his term of of-fice, Wash-ing-ton on-ly wait-ed to see +the next Pres-i-dent, John Ad-ams, take the chair, and soon af-ter +he came back talk a-rose of war with France; and, of course, the +coun-try turned to him; he was a-gain put in charge of the ar-my, +and took up the pub-lic life he had so glad-ly laid down. But he had +not long to bear it this time, for on De-cem-ber 12th, 1799, while +rid-ing in a hard rain-storm, he took a heav-y cold, from which he +died on Sat-ur-day night, De-cem-ber 14th, be-tween ten and twelve +o'clock.</p> + +<p>Wash-ing-ton was bur-ied at Mt. Ver-non, and to-day the tomb of "The +Fa-ther of his Coun-try," as he is lov-ing-ly called is a sa-cred +place; not on-ly to us, but to the men and wo-men of the old lands, +which were taught by him so long a-go to hon-or and fear this great, +new A-mer-i-ca.</p> + +<p>Wash-ing-ton had been dead just one hun-dred years on De-cem-ber + +<!-- Page 15 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +14th, 1899, and the date was made much of in the U-nit-ed States: in +New York Ci-ty, in Wash-ing-ton, and at Mt. Ver-non there was a +great time in his hon-or, for this great man is as dear to his +coun-try to-day as he was when he was a-live.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/wa_vault_p15.jpg" width="450" height="385" alt="WASHINGTON FAMILY VAULT." /> +<span class="caption">WASHINGTON FAMILY VAULT.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 16 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +<a name="JOHN_ADAMS" id="JOHN_ADAMS"></a> +</div> + +<h2>JOHN AD-AMS.</h2> + +<p>John Ad-ams was born, not in the far South with ma-ny slaves to wait +on him, but on a small farm in Brain-tree, Mass. Here, from old +Eng-land had come, in 1636, his great-grand-fa-ther, Hen-ry Ad-ams; +and in this old home was born on Oc-to-ber 19th, 1735, John Ad-ams, +who was to be the sec-ond Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. Now, +on this farm in the east, there was much work to be done, and few to +do it; the folks who had made their homes here did not lead such +lives of ease as those who lived on the great farms in the South.</p> + +<p>As a small boy, though, of course, he was taught to read and write, +John Ad-ams had a good deal of hard work to do. There was wood to +chop, and snow to be cleared a-way; there were hors-es and cows to +care for, and there was much work to do in the fields. In all this +work John took his part, like the brave, strong boy that he was. +When the days grew long and cold, he was sent to an old school near +his home, and here he at once took his place with the boys, as one +who would lead in fun and sport of all kinds. There was a good deal +of fun, too, in those days, for boys and girls both; in the cold +days there was good, strong ice on which to skate; there was snow to +play in, and to make fine roads for long rides in a sleigh; and, +when the days were long and hot, there were fish in the big streams, +and there was game in the wild woods. John was not fond of his +books, but still he did good work at school; and when he was quite +young went to Har-vard Col-lege. He left it in 1755, + +<!-- Page 17 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +just at the start of the "Sev-en Years' War"; and the name of George +Wash-ing-ton, the brave young Col-o-nel of Vir-gin-ia, rang loud in +his ears.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/j_adams_p16.png" width="300" height="400" alt="JOHN ADAMS." /> +<span class="caption">JOHN ADAMS.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<p>He taught school in Wor-ces-ter to earn the means to take up law; +and in 1758 he be-came a law-yer. He had ma-ny cas-es, and grew wise +and great, though he did not make much mon-ey, as folks in the small +town of Brain-tree were far from rich and paid small fees. But he +did make ma-ny kind friends, and far and near he was known as a man +of clear, strong mind and quick, bright thoughts; he had a fine, +sweet voice, too, and his speech-es were al-ways wise and showed +much thought.</p> + +<p>In the strife with Eng-land he was, from the start, on the side of +A-mer-i-ca. So much did Eng-land fear him in 1757, the Eng-lish king +sent word that he would give him great wealth if he would serve him +at this time. Ad-ams would not do this; he would speak and act just +as he thought right, and be bound by no king. When the "Stamp Act" +passed in 1764, he made a great speech, which was sent to those at +the head of his State; and when, in 1770, a troop of Brit-ish fired +on a mob of A-mer-i-can men and boys in the streets of Bos-ton, he +took the case to the courts, and spoke for the Brit-ish Cap-tain and +his men, though they had killed five of our men. It may seem strange +to you that Ad-ams, who stood for A-mer-i-can rights, should here +take sides with the Brit-ish; but, first of all, he stood for law; +and, though he knew he ran the risk of los-ing his high place in the +hearts of A-mer-i-can men, still he would do what he thought right. +But men love truth, and like to see a brave man act as he thinks +right, and so felt that he had just the clear, cool head and brain +and the strong warm heart to give aid in the dark days that were to come + +<!-- Page 18 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +to the land. He was sent to the First Con-gress and was one of +the three men who drew up the Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 350px;"> +<img src="images/carpenter_p18.jpg" width="350" height="375" alt="CARPENTER'S HALL. +Where the first Continental Congress met September, 1774." /> +<span class="caption">CARPENTER'S HALL.<br /> +Where the first Continental Congress met September, 1774.</span> +</div> + +<p>He was al-so one of three men to go to France and ask for the aid +which she gave to A-mer-i-ca, in the spring af-ter that hard win-ter +at Val-ley Forge. Do you see why this trip at this time was a brave +act, and one by which Ad-ams ran a great risk of los-ing his life? +Eng-land had no wish that he should reach France, and her ships +tried in vain to get him. If he had been caught he would have been +hung, as a man who was false to his land and his king. You know that +he went to France though, and did his work well. He stood up for our +rights and had a bill passed which made the ports of France and +Eng-land free to our goods. At the end of the war he was sent to +Eng-land to look out for our rights there; and, though now this is a +pleas-ant task, it was not then, for it was hard for Ad-ams to be +true to A-mer-i-ca and yet not an-ger the Eng-lish king, George III.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 250px;"> +<img src="images/king_george_p18.jpg" width="250" height="340" alt="GEORGE III. +From an anonymous print." /> +<span class="caption">GEORGE III.<br />From an anonymous print.</span> +</div> + +<p>But we have seen how bold and brave a man he was, so the first thing +he said to the king was: "I must tell your Maj-es-ty that I love no +coun-try but my own"; and said the king: "An hon-est man will nev-er +love an-y oth-er." In spite + +<!-- Page 19 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +of this, Ad-ams met with much rude-ness +at the Eng-lish court; but he did his best for his coun-try, and +when he came home in 1787, af-ter twelve years of hard work, he was +met with great joy. He was made Vice-Presi-dent with Wash-ing-ton, +and at the end of Wash-ing-ton's term of of-fice he was made +Pres-i-dent. He served on-ly four years and then made way for +Thom-as Jef-fer-son.</p> + +<p>At the age of six-ty-eight years, with the love of the whole land, +he went to his home in Quin-cy, Mass. His heart was ever with his +coun-try; and he lived un-til his son, John Quin-cy Ad-ams, was made +Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States.</p> + +<p>His last thoughts were for his coun-try. On June 30th, 1826, he gave +as a toast for the great feast to be held on Ju-ly 4th the words: +"In-de-pend-ence for-ev-er."</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 420px;"> +<img src="images/adams_res_p19.jpg" width="420" height="240" alt="RESIDENCE OF JOHN ADAMS. +At Quincy, Mass." /> +<span class="caption">RESIDENCE OF JOHN ADAMS.<br />At Quincy, Mass.</span> +</div> + +<p>He died on the night of this, A-mer-i-ca's great day. His last words +were of Jef-fer-son. He said: "Thom-as Jef-fer-son still lives." But +this was not so, for Jef-fer-son had died a few hours be-fore on +this same day; and this young land wept for two of her great men, +both of whom, in giv-ing up their best to their coun-try, helped to +make it the great, free land that it is to-day.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 20 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +<a name="THOMAS_JEFFERSON" id="THOMAS_JEFFERSON"></a> +</div> + +<h2>THOM-AS JEF-FER-SON.</h2> + +<p>When Thom-as Jef-fer-son was a boy his home was so near the +In-di-ans' camp and he saw so much of them that I am sure all boys +will like to read of him. His fa-ther, Pe-ter Jef-fer-son, took his +bride, Jane Ran-dolph, to a house on a wild tract of land of o-ver +1,000 a-cres, way out in Vir-gin-ia, right in the midst of great +woods. He was a big, strong man, and this strength was ve-ry use-ful +to him in mak-ing his new home, for he had to chop down huge trees +and then cut them up in-to the logs of which the lit-tle log cab-in +was built. He took with him in-to this wild new land on-ly a few +slaves, but with their help his farm soon grew large, and he be-came +a rich man. The In-di-ans were great friends of his, and al-ways +sure of a warm wel-come in his home.</p> + +<p>Still, the In-di-ans were not al-ways at peace with the white men, +who had come to make their homes so near them, and folks had to be +on the watch for fear the red men would rob and kill them. Pe-ter +Jef-fer-son was made Col-o-nel of the men who kept the In-di-ans +back in the woods, and a-way from the lit-tle town that was fast +grow-ing up near his home.</p> + +<p>Now, this great, strong man was fond of books, and it was with his +fa-ther that lit-tle Thom-as be-gan to stu-dy. He was al-so taught +to ride, to swim and to shoot; and as he was fond of mu-sic he spent +long hours in learn-ing to play on the vi-o-lin, or "fid-dle" as it +was then called. The + +<!-- Page 21 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +In-di-ans near his home liked him, and he used +to play tunes for the lit-tle, brown In-di-an boys to dance by.</p> + +<p>He was on-ly nine years old when he went to board-ing school with a +Mr. Doug-lass, and here he be-gan to stu-dy Lat-in, Greek and +French. He was so near home that he did not stay a-way long at a +time; and in-deed, this home was such a hap-py one, so full of life +and fun, that he did not want to be a-way from it long at one time.</p> + +<p>But this hap-py time did not last long, for Thom-as was but +four-teen years old when his brave fa-ther was shot in a fight with +the In-di-ans. This boy was now at the head of as big a place as the +fa-ther of George Wash-ing-ton had left to him, and though he kept +on with his books he had the care of this great farm to think of and +plan for. He was a bright, well-read boy; and was but six-teen when +he took a place at Wil-liam and Ma-ry Col-lege. Here, his love for +books and mu-sic kept him from the wild life led by some of the +young men there, and made friends for him a-mong the great men, +whose homes were in Wil-liams-town.</p> + +<p>He met a great law-yer, George Wythe, and be-gan the stu-dy of law +with him when, at the end of two years, he left col-lege. In five +years he be-gan the prac-tise of law in his old home in Vir-gin-ia. +In two years, so bright and quick was he, and of such a strong, +clear mind, that he had 198 cas-es, held a high place in his State, +and was a rich man.</p> + +<p>In 1770, while he and his moth-er were a-way from home, the old +house burned down. When news of this came to Jef-fer-son, his first +thought was for his books, and he said to the slave who had told +him: "Did you save an-y of my books?" "No, mas-ter," said the slave, +"but we did save your fid-dle." You see e-ven when he was a great and bu-sy + +<!-- Page 22 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +man he still loved his fid-dle; but the loss of all his +law books was ve-ry hard for a bu-sy law-yer, and it took him a long +while to get the new books that he must have.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/monticello_p22.jpg" width="450" height="325" alt="MONTICELLO. +The Home of Thomas Jefferson." /> +<span class="caption">MONTICELLO.<br />The Home of Thomas Jefferson.</span> +</div> + +<p>He had be-gun to build a ve-ry large new house at Mon-ti-cel-lo, and +so in the lit-tle end of this he now went to live. Two years lat-er, +to this home, which was to be-come known all o-ver the world, he +brought his bride, Mrs. Mar-tha Skel-ton, a young and ve-ry rich +wid-ow. They were mar-ried on New Year's Day, 1772, and came to +their home in such a hard snow-storm that the hors-es could not drag +the coach through the big drifts, so these two young folks left the +warm coach, and rode the tired hors-es up to the door of their new +home. Jef-fer-son and his wife gave great care to Mon-ti-cel-lo, and +it was known far and near for its great beau-ty and for its choice +and rare fruits and flow-ers.</p> + +<p>But Jef-fer-son was much from home. In 1762 he was sent to +Con-gress, and here he at once stood at the head of the band of wise +and great men who were then there. His mind was so clear and bright +that in all the grave things that came up he knew at once just what +to do, he had the trust of all men.</p> + +<p>He was a great help in writ-ing the Dec-la-ra-tion of +In-de-pend-ence; in fact, it may well be said that he wrote it. Soon + +<!-- Page 23 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +af-ter this great act he left Con-gress and turned his mind to +the laws of his own State; he made them safe and just for all men, +both rich and poor. In 1779 he was made gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-ia; +and now his work was hard; not on-ly must he find a way to keep the +In-di-ans from the hous-es of the white men but the Brit-ish came +down to the south and laid his fair home in ruins. Not for long +years did Mon-ti-cel-lo grow in beau-ty once more. But through all +the dark years of war Jef-fer-son did his work well; he forced back +the In-di-an foes, and gave help and aid to his State while the War +for In-de-pend-ence went on. When the war was at an end, this +strong, just man, with his clear, wise brain, was just the one to +stand up for our rights in the lands a-cross the sea, so he was sent +to France at the time Ad-ams was in Eng-land. While here he had a +bill passed by which Eng-land said she would look on our land as +free; and this was a big point for us to gain.</p> + +<p>When Jef-fer-son came home he was made Sec-re-ta-ry of State, and in +this high of-fice did much good work; it was he who first gave us +our own coins to use in place of the Eng-lish coins, which, up to +that time had been in use here. Now, Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was in +charge of the work of mak-ing the coin, and a great feud came up +be-tween him and Jef-fer-son as to how this should be done. Men, of +course, took sides in this strife, and so two bands sprang up which +were known as Re-pub-li-cans and Fed-er-al-ists; to-day these two +bands are known as Re-pub-li-cans and Dem-o-crats. Al-ex-an-der +Ham-il-ton was killed in a du-el by Aa-ron Burr in Ju-ly, 1804.</p> + +<p>In 1801, Jef-fer-son was made Pres-i-dent; and while he was in the +chair this land grew strong and great.</p> + +<p>Our first steam-boat was built by Rob-ert Ful-ton while Jef-fer-son + +<!-- Page 24 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +was Pres-i-dent; and it did not look at all like the great boats of +to-day; it was a heav-y, clum-sy boat, which went by sails as well +as steam.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/steamboat_p24.jpg" width="400" height="250" alt="THE CLERMONT. +Rob-ert Ful-ton's first Steam-boat." /> +<span class="caption">THE CLERMONT.<br />Rob-ert Ful-ton's first Steam-boat.</span> +</div> + +<p>Jef-fer-son tried hard to put an end to the slave-trade, which he +felt was a great wrong; he thought, too, that folks should have the +right to serve God in their own way; and he held that on-ly men who +could read and write should vote.</p> + +<p>He was a great and a wise man; books were his dear friends; and so +one of the hard-est things he had to do, af-ter he went home to +Mon-ti-cel-lo, when he left the White House, was to sell all his +books to Con-gress in or-der to get mon-ey to live on. To his own +home hosts of friends and stran-gers came to see the great man, just +as they had when he was in Wash-ing-ton. But he sold his books so +cheap that the mon-ey did not help him much; and, at last, it seemed +as if he must sell his dear old home. But now the peo-ple for whom +he had done so much helped him, and a big fund was raised, so that +he could keep his home and live there in com-fort un-til his death.</p> + +<p>He lived to be a ver-y old man, and e-ven when he was so weak he +could not rise from his bed, his great, strong brain was still +clear. You know that he died on the 4th of Ju-ly, 1826, just a few +hours be-fore the death of his old friend, John Ad-ams.</p> + +<p>Next to the name of George Wash-ing-ton, there is no name a-mong the +great men of our land, of which the peo-ple are so proud, as that of +Thom-as Jef-fer-son.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/t_jefferson_p24.png" width="300" height="405" alt="THOMAS JEFFERSON." /> +<span class="caption">THOMAS JEFFERSON.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/j_madison_p25.png" width="300" height="400" alt="JAMES MADISON." /> +<span class="caption">JAMES MADISON.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 25 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +<a name="JAMES_MADISON" id="JAMES_MADISON"></a> +</div> + +<h2>JAMES MAD-I-SON.</h2> + +<p>In the home of his grand-fath-er at Port Con-way, Vir-gin-i-a, was +born, in the spring of 1751, the small boy who was to be our fourth +Pres-i-dent. He was ver-y young, though, when he went to live at +Mont-pel-ier, his fath-er's great farm in Vir-gin-i-a, and here he +led much the same life as George Wash-ing-ton did when a boy. He was +but a small boy when the French and Eng-lish War be-gan, and when +Brad-dock lost the day, a great fear of the In-di-ans spread to the +ver-y door of his home; and he grew up with the name of George +Wash-ing-ton ev-er in his ears, as a great he-ro.</p> + +<p>His school days were much like those of Jef-fer-son. He was a young +boy when he could read French and Span-ish with ease, and was as +well hard at work at Greek and Lat-in. In 1769 he went to Prince-ton +Col-lege, and here, as well as when he was at home, Jef-fer-son was +a great help to him. The old-er man wrote to the boy in the qui-et +old col-lege town, a-bout the scenes of war; he told him much of the +Brit-ish troops in the Bos-ton streets, of young John Ad-ams and of +Wash-ing-ton. So, when in 1771 he left col-lege, he knew a great +deal a-bout the strife of the day, and had deep, clear thoughts +a-bout it. At home he led a qui-et life with his books, un-til 1774, +then he was put at the head of a few men, who were to guard their +own town if the Brit-ish troops came there. In this post he showed +such a wise, clear mind and did his part so well that in a short +time he was put in a high place in his State, and from there in 1779 was + +<!-- Page 26 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> +sent to Con-gress. Jef-fer-son was at this time Gov-ern-or +of Vir-gin-i-a, and the two men were close, warm friends.</p> + +<p>For twen-ty five years Mad-i-son was one of the first men in this +land. He had no taste for war, but he soon took a high place with +those who made the laws of the land. One of the great things he did +was to help draw up the Con-sti-tu-tion of the U-nit-ed States.</p> + +<p>In 1794 this grave and qui-et man mar-ried, as Wash-ing-ton and +Jef-fer-son had done, a young and love-ly wid-ow. She was but +twen-ty-two years old, twen-ty years young-er than he, and her name +was Mrs. Dor-o-thy Payne Todd. Lat-er on, the folks who grew to love +this fair la-dy so well, gave her the name by which we know her +to-day—"Dol-ly Mad-i-son." She was a Quak-er-ess, and so fair and +sweet was she, in her qui-et lit-tle gown of gray, that once a +friend said to her: "Dol-ly, tru-ly thou must hide thy face, so +ma-ny stare at thee."</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 240px;"> +<img src="images/d_madison_p26.jpg" width="240" height="375" alt="MRS. DOLLY PAYNE MADISON." /> +<span class="caption">MRS. DOLLY PAYNE MADISON.</span> +</div> + +<p>For one year af-ter his mar-riage, Mad-i-son lived at Mont-pel-ier; +then a-gain he went in-to pub-lic life, first in his State, and +af-ter that, in 1800, as Sec-re-ta-ry of State un-der Jef-fer-son.</p> + +<div> +<!-- Page 27 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>Now, be-gan the gay life at the White House, for which "Dol-ly" +Mad-i-son won so much fame. Jef-fer-son's wife was dead, and it was +the wife of his friend that helped him en-ter-tain the White House +guests. Well did this love-ly la-dy do her part, and in 1808 when, +as the wife of the Pres-i-dent, she be-came the real mis-tress of +the White House, more than ev-er did the peo-ple love her. To-day, +of all the pic-tures of the Pres-i-dents' wives that hang up-on the +White House walls, none is more love-ly than that of the gay and +pretty "Dol-ly Mad-i-son."</p> + +<p>Mad-i-son was most of all a man of peace, and yet it was while he +was in of-fice that the U-nit-ed States was drawn in-to the War of +1812. Eng-land, then at war with France, said she had the right to +search A-mer-i-can ships to see if they were tak-ing aid to France. +A-mer-i-ca would not give this right to Eng-land, and so the war +be-gan. In 1814 the Brit-ish came to the cit-y of Wash-ing-ton, and +for the on-ly time in A-mer-i-can his-to-ry the Pres-i-dent had to +leave his home.</p> + +<p>Mad-i-son, with the Sec-re-ta-ry of State and some friends, went to +a lit-tle inn near Wash-ing-ton, and here they were met by Mrs. +Mad-i-son, who had stayed as long as she could at the White House to +save some things from the hands of the Brit-ish. She had brought the +great Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence, and had cut from its big +frame the pic-ture of Wash-ing-ton and brought it safe-ly a-way. The +Brit-ish troops set fire to the White House, the na-vy yard, the +Cap-i-tol, and in fact the whole town. They left in great haste, +though, when they heard that our troops were on the way, and the +next day Mrs. Mad-i-son put on the dress of a wash-wo-man, so folks +would not know her, and made a start for her home, but the British +had set fire to a bridge she had to cross on the way and then she +begged an + +<!-- Page 28 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +A-mer-i-can sol-dier to row her o-ver the riv-er. He +would not do so un-til she told him who she was, and then he was +ver-y glad to take this brave lit-tle la-dy in his boat. On-ly black +ash-es marked the spot on which the White House had once stood, so +she had to go to her sis-ter's home, where the Pres-i-dent soon +joined her.</p> + +<p>The Eng-lish troops now tried to take Bal-ti-more, but our brave men +drove them back; and when they tried to make a raid on New +Or-le-ans, Gen-er-al Jack-son and his troops fought so hard that the +foe could not get in-to the cit-y.</p> + +<p>This was the last fight of this war, and peace was signed at Ghent, +De-cem-ber 24th, 1814. From that day Eng-land has had to leave our +ships a-lone and to treat A-mer-i-ca as one of the great nations of +the world.</p> + +<p>In 1817 Mad-i-son was not sor-ry to go back to his old home, and +here ma-ny hap-py years were spent, for the fair la-dy of the White +House kept o-pen house in her own home, and guests from far and near +were glad to come here. One of Mad-i-son's dear-est friends was old +Thom-as Jef-fer-son, who oft-en rode o-ver from his home at +Mon-ti-cel-lo, which was on-ly thir-ty miles from Mont-pel-ier.</p> + +<p>Mad-i-son wrote a good deal at this time; and once a-gain was seen +in pub-lic life. In 1829 he was at the head of the great change made +in all the laws of the whole land.</p> + +<p>He died af-ter a long sick-ness at his home in Mont-pel-ier on June +28th, 1836.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 29 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +<a name="JAMES_MONROE" id="JAMES_MONROE"></a> +</div> + +<h2>JAMES MON-ROE.</h2> + +<p>James Mon-roe was, like Wash-ing-ton, Mad-i-son and Jef-fer-son, +born in Vir-gin-i-a. Our first Pres-i-dent was just twen-ty six +years old when, in West-more-land County, on A-pril 28th, 1758, was +born the boy who was to be the fifth Pres-i-dent. His fa-ther, +Colo-nel Spense Mon-roe, owned a big farm and was quite rich. +Lit-tle James was sent to good schools and did not have to work to +earn the means to stay in school. He learned at first to hunt, to +skate and to swim; and was good friends with all the boys; but +through all the fun and school work came up the talk of war; of the +long strife with Eng-land and the fierce red men. It was hard for a +brave boy to hear such talk and yet keep on at his books, and though +Mon-roe did go to Wil-liam and Mary Col-lege, he did not stay long, +for we hear of him in 1775 at the camp near Bos-ton. In 1776 we see +him at the head of a band of men, and from that time on he was in +the thick of the fight. He fought at White Plains and Har-lem +Heights, and was so brave that the great Wash-ing-ton gave him high +praise for his work, and made him, when but eight-een years old, a +cap-tain in the ar-my. At the great fight at Tren-ton he got a bad +wound and had to rest for some time. In the big fights of the war +this brave young man was one of the first in the field; his hopes +were ev-er high, and he put heart in-to the weak and worn men who +looked to him for help in the sad years of the war. In 1780 he +be-gan the stud-y of law with his old friend Thom-as + +<!-- Page 30 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +Jef-fer-son +and soon led the bright men of the day.</p> + +<p>So good a friend of his was Jef-fer-son, that the home to which +Mon-roe took his bride in 1785, was planned for him by Jef-fer-son, +who, so it is said, al-so gave him the nails to build it with.</p> + +<p>In 1794 he was sent to France to look out for A-mer-i-ca's rights, +but he found talk of war there at that time. The peo-ple did not +want a king an-y long-er, but wished to be-come a free land like +A-mer-i-ca, with a pres-i-dent at the head; and Mad-i-son, who was a +Re-pub-li-can, took sides with the Re-pub-li-cans in France. The +king did not like this, and so Mad-i-son had to come home at the end +of two years.</p> + +<p>But he met with a wel-come at home, and his own State made him its +Gov-ern-or. In 1803 he was once more sent to France; this time to +buy the State of Lou-is-i-an-a from the French, and he paid +Na-po-le-on for this large State $15,000,000.</p> + +<p>Twice Mon-roe was sent to Spain and once to Eng-land, where his task +was to force Eng-land to stop her search of A-mer-i-can ships. You +know he could not do this, for that was the cause of the War of +1812.</p> + +<p>Tired and sad at heart, he came back home, and was glad to rest for +a while in his own home; but he was of too much use to his coun-try +to be i-dle long. Once more, in 1811, he was made Gov-ern-or of +Vir-gin-i-a.</p> + +<p>Then came the War of 1812; and it was Mon-roe, now Sec-re-ta-ry of +State, who, at the head of a few men, saw the Brit-ish land near +Wash-ing-ton and sent word to Mad-i-son to leave the cit-y. He al-so +act-ed as Sec-re-ta-ry of War at this time, and so well did he do +his part that in 1816 he + +<!-- Page 31 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +was named for Pres-i-dent by the +Dem-o-crats. He got the most votes and so took the first place in +our great land.</p> + +<p>His first act was to pay off the great debt which the War of 1812 +had brought on us. He did this in a ver-y short time; and now our +trade grew so great that rail-roads were built; and so our first +rail-road was made while Mad-i-son was Pres-i-dent.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 525px;"> +<img src="images/first_rr_p31.jpg" width="525" height="165" alt="FIRST RAILROAD TRAIN." /> +<span class="caption">FIRST RAILROAD TRAIN.</span> +</div> + +<p>There was a fierce war with the In-di-ans in Flor-i-da at this time; +but Gen-er-al Jack-son was sent down there and he forced them to lay +down their arms and keep the peace.</p> + +<p>Just at this time, too, we got Flor-i-da from the King of Spain, and +gave up Tex-as, af-ter pay-ing a big sum of mon-ey to the +A-mer-i-cans, who had been robbed by Spain.</p> + +<p>Mis-sou-ri came in-to the Un-ion while Mon-roe was Pres-i-dent, and +there was a fierce storm of words; the North said she should not +hold slaves after she was a State, the South said that she should.</p> + +<p>At last Con-gress gave way to the South-ern States; but made a law +that there should be a line drawn through the land, north of which +no State should hold slaves.</p> + +<p>In 1825 Mon-roe was free to go to his home at Oak Hill, Vir-gin-i-a, +and here he lived un-til 1830. His wife died in that + +<!-- Page 32 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +year, and then +he went to live with his daugh-ter in New York. He died here on the +4th of Ju-ly, 1831, and his name is one that the whole land loves +and hon-ors.</p> + +<p>He was bur-ied in New York, but on the one hun-dredth +an-ni-ver-sa-ry of his birth, his bod-y was tak-en to Rich-mond, +Vir-gin-i-a, and a hand-some stone raised o-ver his grave.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/j_monroe_p32.png" width="300" height="400" alt="JAMES MONROE." /> +<span class="caption">JAMES MONROE.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/jq_adams_p33.png" width="300" height="410" alt="JOHN QUINCY ADAMS." /> +<span class="caption">JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 33 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +<a name="JOHN_QUINCY_ADAMS" id="JOHN_QUINCY_ADAMS"></a> +</div> + +<h2>JOHN QUIN-CY AD-AMS.</h2> + +<p>The lit-tle boy who be-came our sixth Pres-i-dent led a life not at +all like that of an-y oth-er of the boys of whom you have read. His +fa-ther was John Ad-ams, our sec-ond Pres-i-dent, and when, on Ju-ly +11th, 1767, lit-tle John Quin-cy Ad-ams was born in the old home at +Brain-tree, Mass., his great fa-ther was al-read-y speak-ing +brave-ly for his coun-try's rights in the cit-y of Bos-ton. In 1772 +the fam-i-ly moved to Bos-ton, and lit-tle John, for two years, saw, +as the oth-er boys did, the Brit-ish sol-diers in their bright red +coats on pa-rade in the Bos-ton streets, and heard on all sides talk +of war with Eng-land. He saw a lit-tle of real war, too; for when he +was eight years old, his moth-er took him on top of a high hill, +called Be-mis Hill, from which he saw the smoke and heard the roar +of can-non in that aw-ful bat-tle of Bunk-er Hill. When, in 1776, +the Brit-ish left Bos-ton, this lit-tle lad of nine years used to +oft-en ride on horse-back in and out of the city to bring home the +lat-est news. This was a ride of twen-ty-two miles from the old home +at Brain-tree, where Mrs. Ad-ams had gone when her hus-band went to +Con-gress, and I think it took a pret-ty brave and strong boy to +ride all those long miles a-lone.</p> + +<p>When John Ad-ams went to France to try and get her aid for +A-mer-i-ca, he took with him his lit-tle boy, then ten years old. It +was a rough, hard trip; for, not on-ly were there fierce winds which +lashed the waves in-to fu-ry, but they were chased by Brit-ish +ships, for Eng-land did not want John + +<!-- Page 34 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +Ad-ams to get this help from +France. But they reached Par-is in safe-ty, and lit-tle John was at +once put in a French school. He on-ly stayed for a-bout a year and +went back home with his fa-ther in the spring. Now for three months +he was with his moth-er, and then in No-vem-ber he and some oth-er +boys who were placed in his fa-ther's care, all start-ed for France, +where they were to be put in a good school.</p> + +<p>This trip was hard-er than the oth-er one, for the big ship, +"Sen-si-ble," sprang a leak, and af-ter some days of great per-il, +they were glad to go to the near-est land, which was Spain; and now +there was a long, hard trip by land be-fore France could be reached. +They had sailed on Nov. 13th, 1779, and it was not un-til Feb. 5th, +1780, that the lit-tle par-ty reached Par-is.</p> + +<p>For two years now our lit-tle lad was hard at work with his books in +Par-is; then his fa-ther was sent to the Neth-er-lands as +A-mer-i-can Min-is-ter, and he took his lit-tle son there and placed +him in a school in Am-ster-dam; from here he went to the +U-ni-ver-si-ty at Ley-den, where he stayed un-til Ju-ly, 1781.</p> + +<p>He was now on-ly four-teen years old; but you see he had been in so +ma-ny lands, that he could speak as the folks did in those strange +lands, and this was a rare thing in those days. In 1781 Fran-cis +Da-na, then the A-mer-i-can Min-is-ter to Rus-sia, need-ing some one +to help him in his work, sent to Ley-den for this young boy. They +passed through Ger-ma-ny on the way to Rus-sia, and here John +Quin-cy learned some-thing of an-oth-er new land. Then, af-ter a +year in Rus-sia, he left Mr. Da-na and stud-ied for a year in +Swe-den. The next spring he went to his fa-ther in Hol-land, and +then went to Par-is with him, and was pres-ent + +<!-- Page 35 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +when the trea-ty of +peace be-tween Eng-land and A-mer-i-ca end-ed the War of +In-de-pend-ence.</p> + +<p>For two years more he stud-ied a-broad, and then sailed for home in +May, 1783. He at once en-tered the jun-ior class at Har-vard +Col-lege and grad-u-a-ted with next to the high-est hon-ors in 1787. +Then he took up law, as his fa-ther had done, and be-gan to +prac-tise in Bos-ton. He made few friends; folks did not love him as +they had ei-ther Mad-i-son or Mon-roe, but he was al-ways known to +be a man of great pow-er, and of great learn-ing; and know-ing so +much of other lands, he was just the man to be sent as A-mer-i-can +Min-is-ter to these coun-tries.</p> + +<p>In 1794 Wash-ing-ton sent him to Hol-land, and in 1796 he was sent +to Ber-lin.</p> + +<p>When, in 1801, Ad-ams came back home, it was to find new hon-ors +wait-ing for him. He was sent first to the State Sen-ate and then to +Con-gress. You see the steps by which our Pres-i-dents rose to +pow-er were much the same in ev-er-y case. A du-ty well done in a +small place led to some-thing a lit-tle high-er, and so on to the +great-est hon-or of all—the Pres-i-dent's chair.</p> + +<p>The State of Mas-sa-chu-setts was ver-y proud of John Quin-cy +A-dams; not only was he a great states-man and the son of the man +whom they all loved, but he was, as well, a fine schol-ar, and a +bril-liant speak-er. In 1809 he was sent a-broad a-gain for his +coun-try; this time to Rus-sia, where he had not been since he was a +boy of four-teen; in 1815 he was sent to France, but he was here +on-ly a few months, when war broke out in France, and all the +min-is-ters from oth-er coun-tries were called a-way; he went at +once to Eng-land, and here he had a much more pleasant time than his +father had when he went there as the first Amer-i-can + +<!-- Page 36 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +min-is-ter; the U-nit-ed States was now known as a big strong coun-try, and no +one dared to be rude to her min-is-ter. In 1817 his own land felt +the need of the great man who had served her so well a-broad, and he +was called home to be-come Sec-re-ta-ry of State. No man was so well +fit-ted for this post as he; for there were ma-ny men from the lands +a-cross the sea, now com-ing and go-ing in the cap-i-tal of the +U-nit-ed States, to talk o-ver great ques-tions; there were new +states com-ing in-to the Un-i-on; and oth-er lands were al-ways +try-ing to gain a lit-tle pow-er here; so John Quin-cy Ad-ams, who +not on-ly was a great schol-ar, and a fine law-yer, but al-so knew +well so ma-ny lands be-sides his own, was just the man to help +Pres-i-dent Mon-roe through his eight years of work.</p> + +<p>He al-so was the man best suit-ed for the Pres-i-dent's chair, at +the end of Mon-roe's term of of-fice. Not once, while Ad-ams was in +Wash-ing-ton work-ing hard, did he for-get his old fa-ther, +watch-ing, in his home at Quin-cy, the bu-sy life of his great son. +Once ev-er-y year he went to the qui-et old home, and told his +fa-ther of the life in Wash-ing-ton, in which the old-er man had +once held so great a place.</p> + +<p>At the age of six-ty-eight, Ad-ams went back to his home in Quin-cy, +but in 1830 once more he was sent to Con-gress, and for six-teen +years he kept his seat there; he grew old and gray serv-ing his +na-tive land; he made bit-ter en-e-mies, but ma-ny warm friends; he +feared no one, and his voice was al-ways for the free-dom of this +great land. On No-vem-ber 19th, 1846, he had a stroke of +par-al-y-sis while walk-ing in Bos-ton; but three months later we +saw him a-gain in Wash-ing-ton, and tak-ing his old seat in +Con-gress. As the gray old man came feeb-ly in-to the hall, ev-er-y +man pres-ent + +<!-- Page 37 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> +rose to his feet, and so stood un-til he took his +seat. He was too weak now to talk, and on-ly once more did he try to +speak his mind on one of the great ques-tions of the day. This was +on Feb-ru-a-ry 21st, 1848. He rose to speak, but fell in-to the arms +of a man near him; at once they took him in-to a cloak-room, and +sent for his wife. For two days did he lay there, and then, on the +morn-ing of Feb-ru-a-ry 23d, his great soul took its flight. His +last words were: "This is the last of life, and I am con-tent."</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 38 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +<a name="ANDREW_JACKSON" id="ANDREW_JACKSON"></a> +</div> + +<h2>AN-DREW JACK-SON.</h2> + +<p>The boy who was to be our sev-enth Pres-i-dent did not lead the sort +of life, as boy or man, that the oth-er Pres-i-dents did. He was the +son of a poor I-rish-man who came here from Ire-land in 1765. He was +born on March 15th, 1767, in a small place in South Car-o-li-na, +called the Wax-haw Set-tle-ments. Poor and mean was the log house in +which he first saw the light, and when his fa-ther died, which was +when An-drew was a wee baby, the life of the lit-tle home was +hard-er yet. His moth-er was a brave, good wo-man, and so well did +she do her hard part in life that she was loved by all who knew her, +and was known far and near as "Aunt Bet-ty."</p> + +<p>Andrew was a great care to her when a boy, for, full of life and +fun, he did not care for books, and was at the head in all sorts of +wild sport. He was ev-er read-y for a fight with boys who made him +an-gry; the small boys looked to him for help in any strife with +boys big-ger than they; and so strong was he, or read-y to knock a +boy down for a real or a fan-cied wrong, that they soon found it +best to give him his own way, and let him take his place as lead-er +a-mong them; when he was at the head all went well.</p> + +<p>He was just nine years old when the Dec-la-ra-tion of +In-de-pend-ence was signed, and then came four years of war with +Eng-land. In 1780 this war was car-ried into the South, and on May +29th a number of Brit-ish sol-diers un-der Colo-nel Tarle-ton killed +and wounded over 200 of the men and boys from the Wax-haw +set-tle-ments. A-mong those who helped + +<!-- Page 39 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +to care for the hurt and +dy-ing men were Mrs. Jack-son and her boys. An-drew was on-ly +four-teen when he fell in-to the hands of the Brit-ish, and he, with +o-ver one hun-dred sick and dy-ing men, was kept for days in a +dir-ty pen, with no beds, lit-tle to eat and on-ly stale wa-ter to +drink. To make things worse, small-pox broke out and An-drew was one +of those who had it. His brave moth-er was at last a-ble to free +him, and it was ow-ing to her lov-ing care that he did not die at +this aw-ful time.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/a_jackson_p39.png" width="300" height="400" alt="ANDREW JACKSON." /> +<span class="caption">ANDREW JACKSON.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<p>Af-ter he was well e-nough to be left, his moth-er, who was ver-y +sor-ry for the poor A-mer-ican sol-diers, went to Charles-ton to +take care of those who were sick and wound-ed here. Just as she had +be-gun her no-ble work she was ta-ken sick and died.</p> + +<p>Soon af-ter her death came the good news of peace; and now young +An-drew be-gan to pay some heed to his books, with the hope of +stud-y-ing law. He al-so taught school for a while, though he could +not have been a ver-y good teach-er, for he nev-er learned how to +spell ver-y well him-self. Still, in 1787, we find he has learned +e-nough to take up the prac-tice of law, and he be-gan this work in +Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see; and now we see the boy who had been the +lead-er in boy-ish sports, games and fights, be-come at once a +lead-er a-mong men. He was tall and quite good look-ing, with bright +blue eyes and red-dish hair, and he was full of fun and life; he +rode horse-back well, and knew how to shoot straight; and a-bove all +he was a brave man, a-fraid of noth-ing.</p> + +<p>In 1788 he was giv-en a place in which he had to try for the State +all men who had done wrong and it need-ed, in those wild days and in +that new land, a brave man for such a work, for he would make ma-ny +foes, both a-mong the + +<!-- Page 40 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +bad white men and the In-di-ans. His work +took him from Nash-ville to Jones-bor-ough, and here the In-di-ans +were ver-y strong and ver-y cru-el, kill-ing and rob-bing the white +men and wo-men, and e-ven the lit-tle ba-bies in their moth-ers' +arms. Hear-ing and see-ing day by day more and more of this sav-age +war-fare, al-ways in dan-ger of be-ing killed by night or day by +some In-di-an hid-ing be-hind a tree or house, Jack-son learned to +know the In-di-ans and their hab-its bet-ter than most men did, so +was read-y to fight them in their own way in a few years.</p> + +<p>He made his home in Nash-ville and built up a good law prac-tice. He +grew in pow-er so fast that in 1797 he was sent as the first man +from Ten-nes-see to Con-gress. He went all the way from his home to +Phil-a-del-phi-a, a dis-tance of 800 miles, on horse-back. In 1798 +we see him a-gain at home as Judge of the Su-preme Court, and here +he stayed un-til 1804. Then came four-teen years of peace for the +land, and a hap-py home life for him. A-mong oth-er things which +Jack-son did at this time was to build a large log store in which he +kept all sorts of things which both the white men and the In-di-ans +want-ed. His home, which was called "The Her-mit-age," was a fine +house for those days, and in later years it grew as well known as +Mt. Ver-non and Mon-ti-cel-lo. Jack-son was all through his life a +man who would stand up for his own way, if it led to strife with his +best friend, and more than once he fought du-els to the death. In +Con-gress he would, when he rose to speak, some-times choke with +blind rage if he could not make his point and force men to yield to +him.</p> + +<p>Af-ter years of peace came the War of 1812, and from that hour +Jack-son's name was first in the minds of men. He showed great skill +in his fights with the red men, and won + +<!-- Page 41 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> +much fame in a fierce fight +with the Creeks, a bad tribe of In-di-ans in Al-a-ba-ma.</p> + +<p>He could force men to do as he said; the young men of that day +looked up-on him with awe and fear, but rushed to fill his ranks and +serve un-der him.</p> + +<p>In 1815 he won the day at New Or-le-ans, and put the Brit-ish troops +to flight with great loss of life. At the end of the war, back home +went Jack-son for the rest of which he stood in sore need; but, in +1818, strife with the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans in Flor-i-da came up, and +Jack-son was sent there.</p> + +<p>At this time Spain owned Flor-i-da, and it was both Span-ish troops +and In-di-an foes that Jack-son had to meet, but he won his way, and +at last made Spain yield her rights in Flor-i-da and sign a peace. +In 1823 she sold Flor-i-da to us for $5,000,000; not such a great +sum when we think what a rich and great place this "Land of +Flow-ers" is. Jack-son was now put at the head of things in +Flor-i-da, and the hard-est part of his work was to keep peace in +the bad tribe of Sem-i-nole In-di-ans. With their chief Os-ce-o-la +at their head they would creep out from the woods and swamps of +Flor-i-da, rush on the homes of the white men, and burn them to the +ground, and then dash back to the woods, where they could safe-ly +hide. At the end of four years Jack-son was glad to go home to the +Her-mit-age; here he and his wife led a qui-et life and kept up +ma-ny of the ways of their young days, though now they were quite +rich. Af-ter din-ner, they would sit, one on each side of the great +big wood fire, in the large hall, and smoke their old pipes, with +the long stems, just as they had in their log cab-in of long a-go. +But the great gen-er-al could not live this qui-et life long; in +1823 he was sent to Con-gress; and here + +<!-- Page 42 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +he met with high hon-or. On +New Year's Day, 1824, the great men of the day gave him the pock-et +tel-e-scope that Wash-ing-ton had owned; a year from the day on +which the Bat-tle of New Or-le-ans was fought, John Quin-cy Ad-ams +gave him a great feast, at which were men, who held high rank here +and in oth-er lands; and on the day that he was fif-ty-sev-en years +old, Pres-i-dent Mon-roe gave him a gold badge for his brave acts in +his fights for his coun-try. In 1828 this rough, but brave and kind, +old man, was made pres-i-dent; and now he stood up for his own way, +just as he had in the wars of his land, and when he was but a boy. +His first act was to stop some states in the South from leav-ing the +Un-ion. John C. Cal-houn was at the head of a band of men, who felt +that the North had more rights than the South; had more than its +share of wealth and land; so rose the wish to set up a rule just for +the South. "But," said Jack-son, "if one state goes out oth-ers +will; and our great land will be a ru-in." So he stopped this plan, +just in time.</p> + +<p>All the years that Jack-son was pres-i-dent, our great land gained +in strength; new rail-roads were built; and new steam-boats; the +land grew rich year by year.</p> + +<p>In 1824 the slaves in Mex-i-co were set free, and Tex-as came in-to +the Un-ion.</p> + +<p>On the whole, Jack-son's term was a good one for the land; and so +well did the peo-ple like him, that he is the on-ly pres-i-dent of +whom it has been said that he was bet-ter liked when he went out of +of-fice than when he went in.</p> + +<p>The last years of his life were spent at "The Her-mit-age," where he +died on June 8th, 1845.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 43 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +<a name="MARTIN_VAN_BUREN" id="MARTIN_VAN_BUREN"></a> +</div> + +<h2>THE LIFE OF MAR-TIN VAN BU-REN.</h2> + +<p>The place in which Mar-tin Van Bu-ren was born was far from the +homes of the oth-er boys who be-came our pres-i-dents; and his life, +as a boy, was not one bit like theirs. His fa-ther and moth-er were +Dutch; Hoes was his moth-er's queer name; and the name of the small +town, in which, on De-cem-ber 5th, 1782, he was born, was Dutch +too—Kin-der-hook; the lit-tle town was on the Hud-son Riv-er, way +up in New York state. His fa-ther kept a good inn, and had a small +farm; so he could send Mar-tin to good schools; Mar-tin was so quick +and bright at his books that he took up the study of law when he was +four-teen; and at twen-ty-one he was a law-yer and at work in +Kin-der-hook. He was a man who made friends with great ease; and as +he was a good law-yer as well, his state soon saw that he was the +man to speak for it at Wash-ing-ton. So in 1821 he was sent to +Con-gress; then in 1828 he was made gov-ern-or of New York state; +and this was a big step toward the pres-i-dent's chair; he was +sec-re-tary of state when Jack-son was pres-i-dent; and in 1837 he +took the oath of of-fice, and be-came pres-i-dent.</p> + +<p>He was in of-fice on-ly one term; and those four years were hard +ones for him.</p> + +<p>Just at this time the men in Can-a-da tried to be free from +Eng-land, and have home-rule; and some of our men took sides with +them; this made Eng-land an-gry of course; and if Van Bu-ren had not +put a stop to such things, we should + +<!-- Page 44 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +have had war once more; but he +said all who tried to give aid to Can-a-da should be sent to jail; +and so the fear of war was put down.</p> + +<p>At the end of Van Bu-ren's first term some want-ed him to take the +chair a-gain; but more want-ed Gen-er-al Har-ri-son, who had made a +great name in the In-di-an wars. Van Bu-ren was rich, and Har-ri-son +was poor; and this race for the pres-i-dent's chair was called the +"Log Cab-in a-gainst the White House." Af-ter Har-ri-son took the +chair, Van Bu-ren went back to his home at Kin-der-hook, where he +lived in qui-et, until, in 1848, he was once more put up for +pres-i-dent; but James K. Polk had more votes than he, and so won +the e-lec-tion.</p> + +<p>In 1853 Van Bu-ren and his son went to Eu-rope, where they stayed +two years. He spent the rest of his life at his old home, where he +died on Ju-ly 24th, 1862.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/m_vanburen_p44.png" width="300" height="400" alt="MARTIN VAN BUREN." /> +<span class="caption">MARTIN VAN BUREN.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/wh_harrison_p45.png" width="300" height="410" alt="WILLIAM H. HARRISON." /> +<span class="caption">WILLIAM H. HARRISON.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 45 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +<a name="WILLIAM_HENRY_HARRISON" id="WILLIAM_HENRY_HARRISON"></a> +</div> + +<h2>WIL-LIAM HEN-RY HAR-RI-SON.</h2> + +<p>Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son was born in Berke-ly, Vir-gin-i-a, on +Feb-ru-a-ry 9th, 1773; his fath-er, Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son, was not a +rich man, but lived at ease on a small farm; he was a man of much +force in his state, and was at one time its gov-ern-or. He was a +brave, strong man, and taught his small son to be like him; now +while lit-tle Wil-liam was hard at work at school, he heard much +talk of the In-di-an wars; and his heart was full of long-ing to +fight these cru-el foes of the white men.</p> + +<p>So, though he went to Hamp-den Syd-ney Col-lege, he did not stay +long, but left to join the ar-my. He was such a brave fight-er that, +when he was twen-ty-one, Wash-ing-ton put him in charge of the +troops at Fort Wash-ing-ton, just the place where the In-di-ans were +strong-est and most cru-el.</p> + +<p>Ma-jor Gen-er-al Wayne was at the head of the ar-my, and so rash and +fear-less was he, that his troops called him "Mad An-tho-ny." He +knew well how to fight the red men though, and in 1794 beat them in +a fierce fight, on the spot where the cit-y of De-troit now stands. +So brave was young Har-ri-son at this time, that he was made a +cap-tain; for six years Har-ri-son was in the heat of the In-di-an +wars; and learned all the sav-age ways of war; then he went home to +rest, but was soon sent to Congress. So well did he do his work +here, that In-di-an-a now chose him for gov-ern-or; and here he was +so much liked that he kept his seat + +<!-- Page 46 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +three terms; the hard-est task +that he had to do while gov-ern-or was to keep peace with the +In-di-ans; and side by side with his name, stands that of a great +and good In-di-an chief Te-cum-seh; for years these two men tried to +help the In-di-ans and teach them to live in peace; but at last the +hate of the red men for the whites who were forc-ing them from their +lands, end-ed in a great fight at Tip-pe-ca-noe, where the In-di-ans +lost the bat-tle. So brave had Har-ri-son been in this fight, that +he was made a gen-er-al; and in the War of 1812 was put at the head +of the ar-my. At the close of the war, the brave old In-di-an +fight-er went to live on his farm at South Bend, In-di-an-a, in the +then state of O-hi-o; but he was too great a man to live a qui-et +life, and was sent to Con-gress twice and once a-broad in his +coun-try's serv-ice. Then in 1836, he ran for Pres-i-dent, but did +not get the most votes; four years la-ter he was put up once more, +and he and John Ty-ler won by a big vote. It was in this race for +Pres-i-dent, that the song was sung, whose cho-rus you hear to-day: +"Tip-pe-ca-noe and Ty-ler, too."</p> + +<p>On the 4th of March, 1841, Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son, the old +In-di-an fight-er, now six-ty-eight years old, came from years of +qui-et home life, to take up the cares and wor-ries of a +pres-i-dent's life, but the task was too much for him, and a month +af-ter-ward, on A-pril 4th, 1841, the brave old man died.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 47 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +<a name="JOHN_TYLER" id="JOHN_TYLER"></a> +</div> + +<h2>JOHN TY-LER.</h2> + +<p>As a boy, the life of John Ty-ler was much the same as that of the +boys of to-day. He was born on March 29th, 1790, in Charles Cit-y, +Vir-gin-i-a, at a time when the whole land was at peace. No talk of +the red men came to his young ears; and no fear fell like a dark +cloud over the fun and play of his boy-hood. He was the son of a man +who had for friends the great men of his day;—Wash-ing-ton and +Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son were warm, close friends of old John Ty-ler; +and he was at one time Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a. Young John was +sent to school when he was a ver-y small boy; and, though he was +fond of sports and games, he kept hard at work at his books and won +a high place at school. He was a mere boy when he could en-ter +Wil-liam and Ma-ry Col-lege; and he left in 1806 at the head of his +class. He at once took up law with his fa-ther, and soon showed the +good stuff of which he was made. Clear and quick was his mind, swift +to think and feel; and his words came as fast as his thoughts. He +rose with great, quick strides towards the first place in the land. +In 1825 he was made Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a; and in 1827, was sent +to Con-gress, where he kept his seat for six years; these were years +of strife as to the slave trade, and there were fierce, hard words +and harsh thoughts be-tween the men of the North and those of the +South. Ty-ler was at home for a few years af-ter he left Con-gress, +and took a high place as a law-yer. In 1836 he was put up with +Har-ri-son in the race for the pres-i-dent's + +<!-- Page 48 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> +chair. But it was not +till 1840 that he won this place; then, as the vice-pres-i-dent had +not a great deal to do, Ty-ler went home to Wil-liams-burg. It was +here that the sad news of Har-ri-son's death was brought to him, and +he at once went on to Wash-ing-ton. Here he found he had a hard +task; for he and his Con-gress did not think the same on the great +ques-tions of the day and were ev-er at strife. One of his first +acts was to put down a state war in Mis-sou-ri. A Mor-mon, by the +name of Smith, and a band of men who thought as he did went down +there to live; folks there did not like this and tried to drive them +out of the state, but this was a hard thing to do, for there were +a-bout 12,000 Mor-mons. At last, Ty-ler sent troops there to put +down the strife, and the Mor-mons were sent to Il-li-nois. They were +here but a short time when the same old strife a-rose, and then they +fled to the lands in the far west—where they are to-day, in the +state of Utah. War broke out in Tex-as while Ty-ler was in the +chair, and af-ter fierce fights be-tween the Tex-ans and Mex-i-cans +the Tex-ans won, and were at the head of the state. They asked at +once to come in-to the Un-ion, and in 1845 this great state came in. +In the last year of Ty-ler's rule Sam-u-el F. B. Morse found out how +to send words in just a flash of time through miles and miles of +space; and you chil-dren know well that the fine wire stretched from +one great pole to the next on which the quick news was sent was +called the "tel-e-graph."</p> + +<p>At the end of Ty-ler's first term, James Knox Polk had the most +votes, and so took the pres-i-dent's chair; and this news was the +first that was sent o-ver the tel-e-graph wires.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/j_tyler_p48.png" width="300" height="405" alt="JOHN TYLER." /> +<span class="caption">JOHN TYLER.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/jk_polk_p49.png" width="300" height="400" alt="JAMES K. POLK." /> +<span class="caption">JAMES K. POLK.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 49 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +<a name="JAMES_KNOX_POLK" id="JAMES_KNOX_POLK"></a> +</div> + +<h2>JAMES KNOX POLK.</h2> + +<p>As a boy James Knox Polk led a life that would please a good ma-ny +of the boys of to-day. He was born in Meck-len-burg County, North +Car-o-li-na, on No-vem-ber 2d, 1705; but in 1806 his fa-ther went to +Duck Farm, Ten-nes-see, and lit-tle James, e-lev-en years old, was +of much help in the new home. Where the day's work took the big, +strong fa-ther, there went the small son; if there was a long ride +to get food or clothes from some big town, lit-tle James could help +care for the hors-es and when his fa-ther and oth-er men, for weeks +at a time, were in the great, wild woods, hunt-ing, mak-ing new +roads, or helping each oth-er build the log cab-ins, which were the +homes of these ear-ly set-tlers, James would be there too, cook-ing +meals and keep-ing the camp neat and bright for the men who came +back tired and hun-gry at night.</p> + +<p>So years passed by with much work in the o-pen air and lit-tle of +stud-y or books; but when James was four-teen years old it was time +that he should earn mon-ey.</p> + +<p>He was not a big, strong boy; he could not stand rough, hard work on +a farm; he did not love to hunt; he had no taste for war; so he was +put in a small store, that he might learn to man-age a big store +when he grew old.</p> + +<p>Here he first saw some books, and his love for them a-woke; for +weeks and months he worked a-lone with an-y book or pa-per he could +find.</p> + +<p>At last his fa-ther took him from the store and sent him + +<!-- Page 50 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> +to school; +he was now eight-een, but he was so quick to learn, so bright and +smart, that five years from this time he left the U-ni-ver-si-ty of +North Car-o-li-na at the head of his class.</p> + +<p>When he came back to Duck Riv-er, not on-ly was his fa-ther proud of +his boy, but all Ten-nes-see knew that he was one of the bright-est +young men in the state.</p> + +<p>Now, just at this time, Gen-er-al Jack-son was fight-ing so brave-ly +a-gainst the In-di-ans and all the boys of Ten-nes-see were as proud +of this great he-ro as the boys of Vir-gin-i-a had been of +Wash-ing-ton. In 1819, when young James Polk went to Nash-ville, +Ten-nes-see, to take up law, he was near Jack-son's home; and he and +the great Gen-er-al be-came fast friends. It was ow-ing to +Jack-son's help that, in 1824, Polk, then a bright young law-yer, +took his first pub-lic step and was sent to the state +leg-is-la-ture.</p> + +<p>He a-rose so fast in the love and trust of his state that he was +sent to Con-gress when on-ly thir-ty years old; and here he stayed +for thir-teen years.</p> + +<p>In 1840 he went back to his home at Grun-dy's Hill in Nash-ville, +hav-ing made a great name in Wash-ing-ton; not once did he lose his +hold on the great ques-tions of the day, e-ven while here at home; +and in 1845 he was chos-en pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States.</p> + +<p>While he was in of-fice, once more the U-nit-ed States was at war, +and this war is known as the "Mex-i-can War." Its cause was this:—</p> + +<p>Our peo-ple in Mex-i-co said that a big tract of land down there was +theirs; the Mex-i-cans laid claim to it too; so Gen-er-al Tay-lor +went down to see that our rights were looked af-ter.</p> + +<p>In the first fight he won, and lost but nine men; then he + +<!-- Page 51 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> +laid siege to their great cit-y of Mon-te-rey, and af-ter a hard fight +took the town.</p> + +<p>That same year Gen-er-al Scott took the cit-y of Ve-ra Cruz; on +Sep-tem-ber 14th, 1847, the A-mer-i-can troops took the cit-y of +Mex-i-co, and the long war was at an end.</p> + +<p>In 1848 came the news of great gold mines in Cal-i-for-ni-a; and men +went in such num-bers to this state that the "Gold Fe-ver of 1849" +is a well known term to-day.</p> + +<p>While Polk was in the chair, three new states came in; and two of +them were free states; that is, no slaves could be kept there; just +at this time some men formed a band, and said that no slaves should +be kept in an-y new state which the U-nit-ed States should gain.</p> + +<p>In 1849 Polk went home to Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see; he was on-ly +fif-ty-eight years old; but was so worn out with years of work that +he lived but a few months af-ter he got home; he died on the 15th of +June, in the same year.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 52 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +<a name="ZACHARY_TAYLOR" id="ZACHARY_TAYLOR"></a> +</div> + +<h2>ZACH-A-RY TAY-LOR.</h2> + +<p>Zach-a-ry Tay-lor was born in Vir-gin-i-a, on No-vem-ber 24th, 1784; +but when he was a small boy his fa-ther went to live in Ken-tuck-y; +and long af-ter the rest of the land was at peace this state was the +scene of such fierce fights with the In-di-ans that it was known as +"The dark and blood-y ground." It is not strange that this boy, who +lived at a time when wo-men as well as men had to know how to load +and fire guns, so that they could help to keep the red men from +their homes, should have grown up to be a brave, strong man.</p> + +<p>As a boy he went to good schools, but cared far more for the tales +of war which his brave fa-ther told him than he did for his books; +he did love books which told of great fights and brave men, and read +all that he could get. When he was just of age he went to war, in +place of a friend, and was so brave and fear-less that he soon took +a high place.</p> + +<p>He was in the great fight of Tip-pe-ca-noe; and all through the War +of 1812 he showed great skill in his fights with the red men;—well +he knew all their tricks and modes of war. He gained great fame in +Flor-i-da, when he was sent there to make the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans +keep the peace. For years had this tribe of In-di-ans made war on +the white men; their chief, Os-ce-o-la, had, years a-go, gone to one +of the forts with his wife, who was a slave girl; he had been put in +chains, and she held at the fort. In his rage, he had sworn to lead +his men in war, when he could get to them; at last his chance had +come, and he had fled by night from the + +<!-- Page 53 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> +fort. To rouse his tribe +and hurl them at the whites, was his first thought; and long and +cru-el were the fights that went on for years. At last Tay-lor was +sent to Flor-i-da; and now a trick was played on this great chief of +the In-di-ans; with a flag of truce, he came to the fort to talk +with the gen-er-al; and by the or-ders of the gen-er-al, he was held +there a pris-on-er; he was sent, at last, to Fort Moul-trie in +Charles-ton har-bor, and there, in the year 1838, he died. With +their chief dead, the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans had no heart for war; and +soon the few red men left of this great, fierce tribe were put far +a-way from each oth-er, in new states, and there was peace in +Flor-i-da.</p> + +<p>Gen-er-al Tay-lor won great fame in the Mex-i-can War; in 1847 he +won the fight of Bu-e-na Vis-ta, which took place on Wash-ing-ton's +birth-day; and he won too the fights of Pa-lo Al-to and Mon-te-rey. +On Sep-tem-ber 24th, 1847, our troops took the cit-y of Mex-i-co, +and the war was brought to an end. As Tay-lor went home to Ba-ton +Rouge, he met with praise, at each place he passed; folks came in +crowds to see the great he-ro; cheers filled the air; flags were +raised and guns were fired; he was the i-dol of the land. His men +too were fond of him, for all through the war he had been kind and +good to them, and shared their hard life. He was such a he-ro to the +whole land, that it is not strange that he was named for the next +pres-i-dent, and got the most votes. He took the chair of state in +1849, but the brave old man came in just at the time when the strife +a-bout slaves was at its height; and the cares of the of-fice were +too much for him, as they had been for Har-ri-son. On Ju-ly 4th, +1850, there was a great time in Wash-ing-ton, in which he took part; +but his health was too weak to stand this strain; and in the midst +of his work, on Ju-ly 9th, 1850, the brave old In-di-an fight-er +died.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/z_taylor_p53.png" width="300" height="405" alt="ZACHARY TAYLOR." /> +<span class="caption">ZACHARY TAYLOR.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/m_fillmore_p54.png" width="300" height="405" alt="MILLARD FILLMORE." /> +<span class="caption">MILLARD FILLMORE.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 54 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +<a name="MILLARD_FILLMORE" id="MILLARD_FILLMORE"></a> +</div> + +<h2>MIL-LARD FILL-MORE.</h2> + +<p>In a log ca-bin way out in the western part of New York State, deep +in the dense, wild woods, was born, on Jan-u-a-ry 7th, 1800, the boy +who was to be the thir-teenth pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. +His fa-ther had gone there from Ver-mont, to get a-way from the +In-di-ans, who gave no peace in his old home; and no house stood +near-er than four miles to the lit-tle home he had built in the wild +new land; there was no school; and if there had been lit-tle +Mil-lard had not much time to go; for he was ver-y young, when he +was taught to earn mon-ey and help in the lit-tle home. He learned +how to make cloth from the soft white wool; and was hard at work, in +this way, till he was nine-teen years old; then a love of books came +to him; and a law-yer took note of him and gave him such aid that he +soon took a high place in the law-stud-ies. When he was twen-ty-two, +he went to Buf-fa-lo, and taught school, to help pay his way, as he +went on with the stud-y of law. He was bright and quick, and, in +1823, he be-gan to prac-tise law and soon rose to such a high place +in the state bar that his state sent him to Con-gress. Here his work +was done so well that he was made vice-pres-i-dent, when Tay-lor +took the pres-i-dent's seat; and on his death be-came pres-i-dent.</p> + +<p>While he was in the chair one of his aids was the great Dan-iel +Web-ster, who looked af-ter the laws of all the states. He had been +in of-fice but a short time, when a band + +<!-- Page 55 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> +of men tried to get Cu-ba +from Spain; but they were soon put down. He was in of-fice one term, +and then went home to Buf-fa-lo, and took up the prac-tice of law +a-gain. In 1855 he went to Eu-rope, where he stayed for one year; he +then came home to lead a qui-et life, full of stud-y, till his death +on March 8th, 1874.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 56 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +<a name="FRANKLIN_PIERCE" id="FRANKLIN_PIERCE"></a> +</div> + +<h2>FRANK-LIN PIERCE.</h2> + +<p>A brave sol-dier in the War of the Rev-o-lu-tion was Ben-ja-min +Pierce, the fa-ther of the boy who was to be our four-teenth +pres-i-dent; and it was in the old town of Hills-bor-ough, New +Hamp-shire, that, on No-vem-ber 22d, 1804, Frank-lin Pierce was +born. The fa-ther was a big strong man, fond of sports and fun of +all kinds and much liked by all; he was the chief man in +Hills-bor-ough, and was at one time gov-ern-or of his state. In such +a home it is not hard to see that the life of lit-tle Frank-lin +would be full of work and play as well. He was sent to good schools, +and was just six-teen when he went to Bow-do-in Col-lege. He was +full of fun, and at once took the lead in the col-lege life; but he +worked hard at his books too; in 1824 he left col-lege, and took up +the stud-y of law, and soon be-came one of the bar. He was now at +his old home in Hills-bor-ough, and folks felt that he was a man of +brains and great force; he was sent to Con-gress, and held high +of-fice in his state while he was still a young man; and in the +Mex-i-can War he showed him-self as brave a man as his fa-ther had +been. At last, in 1853, he was made pres-i-dent. At this time, the +strife as to the slave trade was at its height; some states wished +to have slaves, while some held it wrong. At last Con-gress made a +law that all new states should do as they pleased. The first +"World's Fair" was held + +<!-- Page 57 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> +in New York, just at this time, in a +great hall made of glass, which was known as "The Crys-tal Pal-ace."</p> + +<p>Pierce was in of-fice one term; at the end of that time he went back +home to Con-cord, Mas-sa-chu-setts, where he lived a qui-et life +un-til his death, on Oc-to-ber 8th, 1867.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/f_pierce_p56.png" width="300" height="410" alt="FRANKLIN PIERCE." /> +<span class="caption">FRANKLIN PIERCE.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/j_buchanan_p58.png" width="300" height="410" alt="JAMES BUCHANAN." /> +<span class="caption">JAMES BUCHANAN.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 58 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +<a name="JAMES_BUCHANAN" id="JAMES_BUCHANAN"></a> +</div> + +<h2>JAMES BU-CHAN-AN.</h2> + +<p>A strong, brave, young man from Ire-land was the fa-ther of our +fif-teenth pres-i-dent. He had come here in 1783, and bought a small +farm in Penn-syl-va-ni-a; so well did he do that he soon bought a +store as well; and when, on A-pril 23d, 1791, at Cove Gap, lit-tle +James was born, his fa-ther was quite a rich man. He sent his son to +the best schools and he was just six-teen years old when he went to +Dick-in-son col-lege. Here he took first place with ease. In 1809, +when he left col-lege, he be-gan the stud-y of law. In the War of +1812 he served in the ar-my; and at the close of the war his state +chose him to help make her laws. He was a young man when his state +sent him to Wash-ing-ton where he held his place in Con-gress for +ten years. In 1831 he was sent to Rus-sia to look out for our rights +there; and in 1853 he held the same post in Eng-land. You see, he +rose fast to the first place in the land, for in 1857 he was made +pres-i-dent. While he was in the chair of state, the Prince of Wales +came here for the first time, and this shows that Eng-land felt we +were now one of the big coun-tries of the world, and that she must +treat us as such.</p> + +<p>It was while Bu-chan-an was pres-i-dent that Cy-rus W. Field laid +the first wire un-der the O-cean, by which words could be sent from +this new land to those old lands on the oth-er side. The talk a-bout +slav-er-y was so fierce at this time that a fight in which brave +lives were lost took place, and the name which shines out bright is +that of John Brown + +<!-- Page 59 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +of Kan-sas. He was a friend of the black men, +and took their part. He struck the first blow in their cause at the +fort at Har-per's Fer-ry, which he held for two days. He took all +the guns that were there, as he wished to arm the black men and then +lead them to the South to fight for their friends, held there as +slaves. Of course this was a-gainst the law of the land, and troops +were sent to seize this brave and good man. His two sons fought with +him, and he saw them both shot down, but he did not give up till in +the heat of the fight he fell with six wounds. He did not die at +this time; af-ter this he was hung as one who had fought a-gainst +the law of his land. His last act, as he was on his way to the place +where he was to be hung, was to kiss a lit-tle ba-by which a poor +slave held up to him as he passed.</p> + +<p>His death was not in vain, for from now on the ques-tion of +sla-ver-y was the talk of the whole land, and in 1860 South +Car-o-li-na took the lead and said that she would not bear the laws +of the Un-ion, but would rule her land in her own way. Soon, six +more South-ern states said the same; and these states which cut +loose from the North were called the "Con-fed-er-a-cy;" at the head +as pres-i-dent was Jef-fer-son Da-vis.</p> + +<p>This was the state of things when Bu-chan-an left the chair, and +went to his home in Penn-syl-va-ni-a, at a place called Wheat-land.</p> + +<p>In the last year of his life he wrote a book of his life, which is +still in print. He died at his home on June 1st, 1868. He was the +last of the "Peace" pres-i-dents, for it was A-bra-ham Lin-coln who +took his place, and in his term the strife as to the slave trade led +to our "Civ-il War."</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/a_lincoln_p60.png" width="300" height="410" alt="ABRAHAM LINCOLN." /> +<span class="caption">ABRAHAM LINCOLN.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 60 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +<a name="ABRAHAM_LINCOLN" id="ABRAHAM_LINCOLN"></a> +</div> + +<h2>A-BRA-HAM LIN-COLN.</h2> + +<p>Thom-as Lin-coln, who was the fa-ther of A-bra-ham Lin-coln, had +seen a sad sight when he was but a boy of eight years; while he and +his brothers were hard at work with their fa-ther in the dense, wild +woods which grew close to their small home in Ken-tuck-y, an +In-di-an chief crept close to them; he fired one shot, and the boys +saw their big, strong fa-ther fall dead. They were brave boys, and +while one ran for help, the oth-ers kept at bay the In-di-ans who +came from the woods. A band of men soon came to their aid, and drove +the fierce red men back to the woods. It was a rough, hard life in +which Thom-as Lin-coln grew up; and he could not read or write when, +at twen-ty years, he took as his wife Miss Nan-cy Hanks; she was a +bright girl and soon taught him at least to write his name.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 350px;"> +<img src="images/cabin_p60.jpg" width="350" height="335" alt="LINCOLN'S EARLY HOME." /> +<span class="caption">LINCOLN'S EARLY HOME.</span> +</div> + +<p>It was a poor log-house in Har-din Coun-ty, Ken-tuck-y, to which he +took his bride; and yet in this home so mean and small, was born, on +Feb-ru-a-ry 12th, 1809, the boy who was to be pres-i-dent of this +great land. Few boys and girls know what it is to be as poor as this +lit-tle boy was, or to lead as hard and sad a life. His clothes were +thin and poor, his shoes, when + +<!-- Page 61 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> +he had an-y, were oft-en full of +holes; he did not al-ways have as much as he would like to eat, and +in the long, hard win-ters he was oft-en ver-y cold. It was not an +eas-y life, and it was full of hard work, for peo-ple in this rough +place could not read and there were no schools; but when he was +still a young boy his folks moved to In-di-an-a, and though there +was more work to be done, life was not quite so sad, for he and his +sis-ter Nan-cy now had a play-mate, their cous-in, Den-nis Hanks, +who was full of life and fun. "Abe," as folks called him, was but +eight years old when his par-ents went out into the West to live, +but he was so strong that he could help chop down the trees of which +the new home was made; then, too, he learned how to shoot the game +and wild fowl in the big woods, and so could bring good things in-to +the house to eat. But a dark time came in his life soon, for the +kind, good moth-er took sick and died. Her death was a great loss to +"Abe," and he felt much grief that there was no one to say a pray-er +at her grave; so he wrote to the min-is-ter in the old home in +Ken-tuck-y, and asked him if he would not come there and bless his +moth-er's grave. This good man came as soon as he could, but it was +a long while af-ter her death be-fore "Abe" had his wish. That +win-ter was long and hard for the poor lit-tle boy and girl with no +moth-er to see that they were warm, or that they had good food to +eat; but in the fall of 1819, the fa-ther brought home a new wife, +Mrs. Sal-ly John-son and now at last a ray of bright light came to +stay with "Abe" and Nan-cy. The new moth-er was a good, kind wo-man, +and was quite rich for those days. She soon had the home bright and +neat; she put good warm clothes on "Abe" and Nan-cy; saw that they +had food to eat and at once sent them to school.</p> + +<div> +<!-- Page 62 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>"Abe" was now e-lev-en years old, tall and big, and of more strength +than most boys of his age. His fa-ther hired him out for all sorts +of work; to pitch hay, to chop wood, to help on the farm; no work +was too hard for this big, strong boy; but, with all this work, he +kept at his books too. Late at night, while all the rest slept, he +would stud-y his books; and as books were few he read them ma-ny +times o-ver; one of the books he loved the most was the "Life of +Wash-ing-ton."</p> + +<p>He was a young man, for it was in March, 1828, that a chance came to +him to see more of life; he was hired to take a boat filled with +skins down the Mis-sis-sip-pi Riv-er to New Or-le-ans; he did this +work well, and when he came back was paid a good price for it. He +was just of age when his folks went to Il-li-nois to live; and now +he helped build a home, cleared a big field in which it stood, split +rails to fence it in, and then went off to make his own way in life.</p> + +<p>The first thing he did was to help build a flat-boat and then take +it down to New Or-le-ans; when he came back the man who owned the +boat gave him a place in his store at New Sa-lem; and now he had a +good chance to get books to read; and you may be sure he was glad of +this. He was soon known in the place as a bright young man, and one +who would not lie, or steal, or do an-y mean thing; he was full of +fun and jokes, and the folks in the town were all fond of him; he +was called "Hon-est Abe." When the "Black Hawk War" broke out he +went at the head of a small band of men to the seat of war; he was +in no great fight, but learned much of war and how to rule the rough +men who were in his care.</p> + +<p>When he came home he was felt to be one of the first men in the +town, and in 1834 he took a high place in the state. + +<!-- Page 63 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +He now took up +the stud-y of law, and was soon in ac-tive prac-tise; he had a good, +kind heart, and did much good to those who were too poor to pay him. +In 1846 he was sent to Con-gress; this time he was there but one +year; then came back to Spring-field, Il-li-nois, and built up a +fine law prac-tise. His name was now known through all this great +land; and in the slave strife he was al-ways on the side of the +slaves. He spoke so oft-en for the slaves that in 1860, the South +said if he was put up for pres-i-dent, by the North and West, they +would leave the Union. But he was just the man to fill this high +office at this time; and as he had the most votes he took the +of-fice of Pres-i-dent in 1861. There is a sto-ry told of these +days, which shows that Lin-coln, when a great man, had no shame for +the days when he was poor. Old John Hanks, who had helped him build +that rail fence so long a-go, came to Il-li-nois with two of those +rails; and on them was a big card which told where they came from, +and who split them. Lin-coln was just a-bout to make a speech to a +big crowd; and when he saw these rails he said that he had split +them when a boy, but thought he could do bet-ter now. Then shouts +and cheers went up from the crowd, you may be sure; and from that +time Lin-coln was known in the race for pres-i-dent as "The Rail +Split-ter."</p> + +<p>When he left his home to go to Wash-ing-ton, a great crowd came to +see him off, but he was so sad he could not say much to them. There +were plots to kill him at this time, and he knew it; but he gave no +thought to his own life, and went straight to his post of du-ty as +Pres-i-dent. It was with a sad heart that he saw this great land +torn with war; and he would have been glad to keep peace, but this +he could not do. When the South fired at the flag of + +<!-- Page 64 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +the Un-ion at +Fort Sum-ter, a cry went up through the whole land. The South fought +for what it called "States Rights;" the right of each state to rule +in its own way; but this Lin-coln would not have. He cared more for +the Un-ion than he did for the slaves; for, though he thought all +men should be free, he said, if he could save the Un-ion, he did not +care if not one slave was made free; he had no wish to keep the +South from its rights; but, at last, he felt it wise to send out a +bill, which said that all the slaves should be free, and have the +same rights as white men. This land was in no state for war; much +had to be done; clothes and food got for the troops; and arms as +well had to be made or bought at once. The first great fight was at +Bull Run in Vir-gin-i-a; and the loss of life on both sides was +great; the North lost from the first; men who had nev-er been in a +fight be-fore went mad with fear and ran for their lives. But at the +fight at Get-tys-burg the men of the North were brave and fought +with such skill that the great fight was won by the North.</p> + +<p>Grant was put at the head of the troops who went down to free +Mis-sis-sip-pi; and it was not long be-fore he placed the Stars and +Stripes over this fair state. The South made a brave fight, for what +it thought was right and just; but as the war went on, the troops of +the South were in a bad state; they could get no food, no clothes, +and so ma-ny men had been shot that in the last years of the war +young boys had to help fill up the ranks. Now came Sher-man's march +to the sea, and he took Sa-van-nah and all its guns and stores. This +was a great blow, and now one by one the sea-ports of the South fell +in-to the hands of the North. At last Gen-er-al Lee, a great and +good man of the South, sent word to Grant that he would come to +terms and make peace. + +<!-- Page 65 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +Grant was kind at this hard time; he let Lee +keep his sword, and said that the men might keep all their hors-es. +It was in A-pril, 1865, that peace came to our great land; and the +North went mad with joys; bells pealed, and fires blazed in the +streets; flags were raised and guns were fired; but in the South +there was no joy; on-ly great grief.</p> + +<p>From the grief of the South a great crime sprang; on the night of +A-pril 14th, as Lin-coln sat in a box at the the-a-tre watch-ing a +play he was shot by a man from the South named Wilkes Booth. When he +had shot Lin-coln, this man sprang on the stage and tried to run +from the place; he fell and broke his leg; but in this state he got +to the door, where he jumped on his horse and fled for his life. He +was found at last in a barn, and made such a brave fight for his +life that the barn had to be set on fire be-fore he could be caught; +e-ven then he would not come out and give him-self up; but fought +till he was shot down where he stood.</p> + +<p>Lin-coln had been shot in the back of his head, and could not move +or speak;—men took him with care to a house near by, but there was +no help for him; and in the ear-ly morn of the next day a great life +came to a sad end. The whole land, the South as well as the North, +wept at his death; for no sane man felt that Booth's deed was wise +or just; and to this day the name of A-bra-ham Lin-coln, the +"Sav-iour of his Coun-try," is held dear by North and South.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 66 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +<a name="ANDREW_JOHNSON" id="ANDREW_JOHNSON"></a> +</div> + +<h2>AN-DREW JOHN-SON.</h2> + +<p>An-drew John-son's life as a boy was quite as hard as that of +lit-tle "Abe" Lin-coln. He was born in Ra-leigh, North Car-o-li-na, +on De-cem-ber 29th, 1808, in a small log cab-in; and near his home +were the big farms of the rich men of the South, on which lived in +more ease than he the slaves, who looked down on his fa-ther and +mo-ther as "poor white trash."</p> + +<p>His fa-ther died when An-drew was but four years old; he must have +been a brave man, for he lost his life try-ing to save a man from +drown-ing. Lit-tle An-drew was too poor to go to school; he had to +try and earn mon-ey, when he was but ten years old; so he was sent +to a tail-or to learn to make clothes; here, for five years he +worked hard; and then he heard a man read; and for the first time it +came to his mind that he could learn to do this; he got the men in +the shop to teach him his "A, B, C;" and he was so quick to learn +that soon he could read a lit-tle; but it was not till he was wed to +a bright young girl that he learned a great deal of books; this was +when he was eight-een, and he had gone to Green-ville, Ten-nes-see, +to set up in life for him-self. These young folks were both poor, +but both bright; and the wife was a great help to John-son all +through his life. He rose fast in his new home; we see him, from the +first, take the part of the poor; and he was soon put in high +of-fice in the town; it was not long ere he rose to a high place in +the state, and, in 1843, we see the poor lit-tle tail-or boy + +<!-- Page 67 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +of 1826 in the halls of Con-gress, stand-ing up for the rights of the +class in which he was born. In 1846 he took the seat of John Quin-cy +Ad-ams, who was too sick to hold it; does it not seem strange that +two men who had lived as boys so un-like should rise to just the +same place? For ten years he was in Wash-ing-ton, where he helped +make the laws of the land; then in 1853, he was made gov-ern-or of +Ten-nes-see. When the Civ-il War broke out, he took sides with the +North, though he was born in the South and lived there; and when +Lin-coln was made pres-i-dent he took the next place as +vice-pres-i-dent.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/a_johnson_p67.png" width="300" height="405" alt="ANDREW JOHNSON." /> +<span class="caption">ANDREW JOHNSON.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<p>On Lin-coln's death, he took the pres-i-dent's chair. The whole land +was now up-set; in the South the white men had no work; and the +slaves did not know how to care for them-selves. In the North there +was strife as to the terms on which the South should come back in-to +the Un-ion; and on ma-ny things John-son and his Con-gress did not +think the same; so there was strife be-tween them. It came to its +height in 1868, when the Sen-ate tried John-son for "high crimes and +mis-de-mean-ors;" this means that Con-gress thought the pres-i-dent +did not act for the good of the land, and should be put out of +of-fice; but the men who tried him did not all think the same; and +most of them said he should keep his place.</p> + +<p>So he was in the chair for four years, and then went home to +E-liz-a-beth-town, Ten-nes-see, where he lived till his death on +Ju-ly 29th, 1875.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 68 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +<a name="ULYSSES_SIMPSON_GRANT" id="ULYSSES_SIMPSON_GRANT"></a> +</div> + +<h2>U-LYS-SES SIMP-SON GRANT.</h2> + +<p>The boy who was to be first a great gen-er-al in the ar-my, and then +Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States, was born at Point Pleas-ant, +O-hi-o, A-pril 27th, 1822. As a boy he did not care for books, but +was fond of sports and games, and had a great love for horses; he +was but eight years old when he put a young colt to a sled, and +hauled sticks and logs from the woods to his home; and he was but +twelve when he made a trade of a horse he had for a young colt which +had not been used much; on his way home a dog sprang at the colt, +which, at once, mad with fear, tried to run a-way; the boy held fast +to his reins, and stopped the colt just on the edge of a great +cliff; but it was in such fear that it would not move, and the boy +for a time knew not what to do. At last he took his hand-ker-chief, +tied it o-ver the colt's eyes, and so drove him home. Folks near the +Grant home said there was no horse which young U-lys-ses could not +ride; he was a boy who had a firm will and strong nerves; and was at +the head in all sports or games; for young boys soon learn which one +of them must take the lead.</p> + +<p>He did not stand so high in school, but did his tasks well; and in +1839 he went to West Point. Here he soon had ma-ny friends; and they +gave him a name which clung to him for life; he was called "Uncle +Sam," from the U. S. in his first two names. At West Point, he read +a great deal of war, and the men who had done brave deeds for their + +<!-- Page 69 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> +coun-try; and when he left there he was, at heart, as well +as in name, a sol-dier of his coun-try. He at once took his place +with the troops, who were at war with the In-di-ans in the West; but +his first big fight was at Pa-lo Al-to in 1846. At the close of this +war Grant, who had shown much skill, and knew no fear, was sent to +the West once more to force the In-di-ans to keep peace.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/us_grant_p68.png" width="300" height="410" alt="ULYSSES S. GRANT." /> +<span class="caption">ULYSSES S. GRANT.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<p>He was in Cal-i-for-ni-a while the gold craze was at its height, to +try and make the rough men who came in search of gold keep the laws +of the land. Then, from 1854, he had a few years of peace, and +start-ed to tan hides and skins, in Ga-le-na, Il-li-nois; but his +life was ev-er at his coun-try's call; and he was one of the first +men to take up arms in the Civil War. He was made a gen-er-al soon +af-ter the war broke out; and one of his first acts was to block all +the streams and roads near his post at Cai-ro, on the O-hi-o River, +so that the South could get no food or arms. Grant was known as a +brave fight-er, and oft-en was in the midst of the fight at the head +of his men. At a great loss of life to his troops, he took two +strong forts from the South, Forts Hen-ry and Don-el-son; and then +came that great fight at Shi-loh; where the troops of the South were +cut down, and the North won the day; Grant was now put next to the +head of the whole ar-my; and at once tried to take the cit-y of +Vicks-burg. The siege of this cit-y was hard for those in its walls, +and for the troops in front of it; for Grant and his men could get +no food from the North, and the cit-y was quite cut off from help. +The cit-y made a brave stand for two long months; but had to give in +at last, and at the end of that time Grant and his men marched in-to +the cit-y; now this great gen-er-al showed what a kind heart he had, +for he gave food and clothes to the + +<!-- Page 70 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> +poor men who had fought so long +and so well, to save their town; and he tried hard, at this time, to +think of some way to bring the war to a close. Grant was not a hard +man, but he was a just one; and in his camps, the men must live the +right sort of lives; he would not let his men steal food from the +farms a-bout them, or rob the poor folks in their homes. He was a +plain man, and his dress showed his plain tastes; once, when he had +his troops march past him, that he might see how they looked, he +wore such a plain garb that his cap-tains were dressed bet-ter than +he. He wore no sword, sash, nor belt; just a plain, dark suit, with +a soft felt hat on his head, and a pair of kid gloves on his hands; +he was a great smoker, and, it is said, his big plans were all made +when his ci-gar was in his mouth. In 1863, Grant won a great fight +at Chat-ta-noo-ga; and in the fierce fight in the Wil-der-ness, he +and Gen-er-al Lee met for the first time.</p> + +<p>Grant's next great work was to seize Pe-ters-burg; and so he laid +siege to the town; he dug a huge mine in front of the doomed cit-y, +and filled it full of pow-der that would go off when fired with a +match; when this great charge went off, the fort was blown to small +bits, and heaps of dead and dy-ing men lay in the midst of the +ru-in; but the brave men of the South still held the fort, and drove +back the troops from the North as they rushed up; and so well did +they fight that Grant and his men had to draw back, and leave +Pe-ters-burg a-lone for some time.</p> + +<p>The next time he tried to take the town though, Gen-er-al Lee, who +was in charge, was forced to yield; and soon the red, white and blue +waved o-ver the South-ern cit-y. Soon af-ter this, Grant took from +Lee all the troops in his charge; + +<!-- Page 71 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +and it was now plain to see that +the war must soon end.</p> + +<p>You read in the life of Lin-coln, of the terms of peace which Grant +gave to the great chief of the South; and it seems that these two +men, Grant and Lee, had no hard thoughts for each other; for when +peace was made, they shook hands, and part-ed friends. Each had done +his best in the cause he thought right. Grant's trip to the North +when the war was at an end was a grand one; crowds rushed to see the +man who had saved the Union, and cheers and shouts rang to the +skies. He was, of course, named for pres-i-dent and a great vote put +him in of-fice.</p> + +<p>He was in the pres-ident's seat for two terms; and was the on-ly man +since Wash-ing-ton, who was thought of for a third term; but this +the whole land said no to; as no man should be pres-i-dent longer +than Wash-ing-ton had been. In Grant's last term, a big fair was +held in Phil-a-del-phi-a, called the "Cen-ten-ni-al;" to keep in +mind this was the great day on which this land was made free. At the +end of Grant's two terms, he took a tour of the world; and all lands +made much of the sol-dier pres-i-dent; rich gifts were placed in his +hands; and at the courts of the old world, kings and queens were +glad to have this plain qui-et man as a guest.</p> + +<p>His last home was in New York; and here, in 1884, he fell sick; he +lost much mon-ey at this time, and was, in truth, a poor man. But he +was, to the last, a brave man; and in the midst of much pain, he +wrote the book of his life, that when he was dead his wife should +have mon-ey from its sale.</p> + +<p>He died after eight long months of great pain, at Mt. Mc-Greg-or, +near Sar-a-to-ga, on July 23d, 1885; his bod-y lay in + +<!-- Page 72 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +state in New +York for some days, and crowds from far and near came to view this +great man for the last time.</p> + +<p>He was laid to rest Au-gust 8th, 1885, at Riv-er-side Park, New York +Cit-y; and the white mar-ble tomb that marks this spot is a gift to +the great dead, from the land he served so well.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 73 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +<a name="RUTHERFORD_B_HAYES" id="RUTHERFORD_B_HAYES"></a> +</div> + +<h2>RUTH-ER-FORD B. HAYES.</h2> + +<p>Ruth-er-ford B. Hayes was born in Del-a-ware, O-hi-o, Oc-to-ber 4th, +1822; such a strong, ro-sy lit-tle boy was he, that he had the pet +name of "Rud-dy;" his fa-ther had a big farm and a store as well, so +he was quite rich, and lit-tle Rud-dy grew up in a bright and hap-py +home. He came of a race of brave men, who had fought and died for +this fair land in the wars of the Rev-o-lu-tion and of 1812; and he +grew up as brave as they. He and his lit-tle sis-ter Fan-ny went +when young to a small school near their home; and the good, wise +moth-er helped them with their books at home; Ruth-er-ford worked +hard at school, and went when quite young to the high school, where +he soon stood at the head of his class. He was six-teen when he went +to Ken-yon Col-lege, Ohio. Now, though he was so good at his books, +he loved sport and fun as well; and he was so strong, that he could +walk miles on the cold-est of days, and yet get no hurt. Once he +walked all the way from col-lege to his home and back, when the snow +lay deep on the ground, and this was for-ty miles; he could swim and +skate, and knew how to fish and hunt; the boys at col-lege all liked +him; he had hosts of friends, and the strong, brave will that kept +him at the head in games and sports put him first in his class too. +He left col-lege in 1842, and took up the stud-y of law at Har-vard +Col-lege; in 1846, he was made one of the bar, and took up prac-tise +of law in Cin-cin-nat-i. When the Civ-il War broke out, he, as +cap-tain of a band of men from his home, did brave, good work. Once +he was shot and fell to the + +<!-- Page 74 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +ground; but he did not give up; he told +his men what to do as he lay there in great pain, and kept up till +some one came to take his place as lead-er. At the end of the war, +he was a gen-er-al; and was much loved by his men. He was sent to +Con-gress by his state; and then made its gov-ern-or for three +terms. In 1876, he was made pres-i-dent; though some thought by a +fraud in the count; and the Dem-o-crats said that their man, +Sam-u-el J. Til-den, should have been pres-i-dent. While Hayes was +at the White House, there was a great la-bor strike, from the East +to the West, on all the rail-roads. The heads of the roads said that +they would not pay the men, in their hire, as much as they had done; +and so, all the men left their work and no trains could run, for the +men came in great mobs to stop them; at last, they rose in arms, and +then the troops were sent out to force them to keep the peace; nine +men were killed, and some of the rest were bad-ly hurt. But the men +did not give up for a long time; they held Pitts-burg for two days, +and burned cars and the grain kept in them.</p> + +<p>Of course, in the end, the law had to be o-beyed and the mobs were +made to come to terms, and lay down their arms.</p> + +<p>There was a war with the In-di-ans while Hayes was in the chair; but +this was put down by Gen-er-al How-ard; and after some fierce +fights, the chiefs were caught and bound to keep the peace. There +was a change made in the way of life at the White House while Hayes +was there, for no wine was ever put on the ta-ble for guests or for +the pres-i-dent and his wife; this was the first time, and so far, +the on-ly time, that wine has not had its place at least at the +state meals at the White House. Hayes was in Wash-ing-ton for one +term and then went to his home in Mas-sil-lon, O-hi-o. He died on +Jan-u-a-ry 17th, 1893.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/rb_hayes_p73.png" width="300" height="410" alt="RUTHERFORD B. HAYES." /> +<span class="caption">RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/j_garfield_p75.png" width="300" height="410" alt="JAMES A. GARFIELD." /> +<span class="caption">JAMES A. GARFIELD.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 75 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +<a name="JAMES_ABRAM_GARFIELD" id="JAMES_ABRAM_GARFIELD"></a> +</div> + +<h2>JAMES A-BRAM GAR-FIELD.</h2> + +<p>In rough log cab-ins, out in the midst of wild woods, we have read +that six of our pres-i-dents were born; the sev-enth, James A-bram +Gar-field, was born in Or-ange, O-hi-o, on No-vem-ber 19th, 1831.</p> + +<p>His fa-ther had built, with his own hands, their small, rude home; +and it stood deep in the wild wood, whose trees would, at times, +catch fire from the sparks thrown from the steam en-gines some miles +off. Near the Gar-field home was their field of grain; one day this +caught fire, and in trying to save his wheat, the fa-ther of lit-tle +James lost his life. It was a hard life to which he left his young +wife and the four lit-tle ones; but she was a brave good wo-man; she +had to work hard of course, and so did the boys; but the moth-er +taught them from books as well; and lit-tle James was but four years +old when he went to his first school. He was a tough, strong boy, +and soon did a large part of the farm work; in the long sum-mers he +had the most work to do, and then in the win-ters he could go to +school; he was a brave boy, for the school was miles from home, and +his road lay through the deep woods, in which wild beasts roamed at +will. But he went his way, and if he felt fear, did not show it; he +had a great love for books, and late at night, with the big +wood-fire for his light, he would read o-ver and o-ver his few +books. His moth-er had taught him to love the Bi-ble, and this Good +Book he knew well. But, at last, the time came when he was so old that he + +<!-- Page 76 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> +could leave home, and so help the moth-er more than he had +done. The first thing he did was to drive mules on the tow-path of +the O-hi-o Ca-nal; here he earned $10.00 a month, but the men he met +were coarse and rough, and the life rude and vile; so, with a sad +heart, the young boy, fresh from his good home in the qui-et woods, +took what he had made here, and went back to the place he loved. He +was sick for a long while now; and as he lay on his bed, he made up +his mind that he would go to col-lege, and lead a good, use-ful life +out in the big world; that he would use his brains more than his +hands. With this hope in front of him, he made mon-ey in the sum-mer +to pay his way at school in win-ter; and soon knew all that they +could teach and went to Hi-ram Col-lege; here at first he did all +sorts of work to pay his way; rang the bells, swept the floors, and +built the fires; but he was soon paid to teach in the col-lege, for +he was too bright and quick to do such hard work long. In 1854, he +went to Wil-liams Col-lege, and left at the head of his class in +1856.</p> + +<p>From now on he rose fast; he taught school when he left col-lege; +his boys loved the big strong man and said so much in his praise, +that men learned to love him too; and in 1859 he was made one of the +O-hi-o Sen-ate, and soon af-ter sent to Con-gress. Then came the +Civ-il War, in which he fought brave-ly; he won much fame in some of +the great bat-tles, and was made a gen-er-al. He was a warm, close +friend of Lin-coln; and on the day of Lin-coln's death, it was +Gar-field who spoke such calm, good words to a mob of men on Wall +Street, New York, that he kept them from rash acts at this sad time. +At the close of the war, Gar-field was in Eu-rope for a short time; +and when he came home, he was sent to Con-gress, where he kept his +seat for a + +<!-- Page 77 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +long time. In 1880 he was named for pres-i-dent, and +took his seat in 1881. But there was a great grief in store for this +land, once more. On July 2d, 1881, just four months from the time he +took his seat, Gar-field was shot by Charles Gui-teau, as he, with +James G. Blaine, was on his way to take a train north from +Wash-ing-ton. They bore him back to the White House, and the man who +had done this foul act was seized. The whole land prayed for +Gar-field's life, but he grew worse fast; and it was thought best at +last to take him to Long Branch, where it was cool-er than in +Wash-ing-ton. But the long, hot months dragged on; and the sick man +did not grow well in the cool salt air, as it had been hoped; in +spite of all care, the pres-i-dent failed day by day; and on +Sep-tem-ber 19th, 1881, the whole world heard with sorrow of this +good man's death. The great men of the day wept side by side, as +Gar-field lay in state in Wash-ing-ton; and men of note, in all +walks of life, felt his death as a great grief. He now lies at rest +in Cleve-land, O-hi-o. Gui-teau was hanged for the crime he had +done; and it is but just to say, that some thought he was not in his +right mind when he shot Gar-field.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 78 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +<a name="CHESTER_ALAN_ARTHUR" id="CHESTER_ALAN_ARTHUR"></a> +</div> + +<h2>CHES-TER AL-AN AR-THUR.</h2> + +<p>Ches-ter Al-an Ar-thur was born in Fair-field, Ver-mont, on +Oc-to-ber 5th, 1830, and his fath-er had charge of the church in +that place and was one of the first men to speak for the poor +slaves. Now, in those days, those good men did not live as well as +they do now; for folks were poor in the small towns; so this small +boy was al-so born in a log cab-in; but he was sent to good schools, +and was quite young when he knew so much that he could go to Un-ion +Col-lege. All the time he was here he paid his own way, and when he +left Col-lege he taught school, so that he could lay by means to go +to New York and stud-y law. He was soon in law prac-tise, and he and +an old school-mate made the name of their firm well known. Ar-thur +took the part of the black race, just as his fa-ther had done, and +in 1856, he won a suit which let the ne-groes ride in horse-cars +with the whites. A slave-girl had been put off a car and Ar-thur +took up her case and won it. For some years he held high of-fice in +the state of New York and was a gen-er-al in the Civ-il War; he was +not in the fights, but saw that the troops had clothes and food; he +did this hard task so well that, when the war was at an end, the +pres-i-dent gave him the best place in New York State; he was made +chief of the great port of New York and held this post for two +terms.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/ca_arthur_p78.png" width="300" height="410" alt="CHESTER A. ARTHUR." /> +<span class="caption">CHESTER A. ARTHUR.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<p>In 1880 he was made vice-pres-i-dent with Gar-field as pres-i-dent; +and, of course, took the chair when Gar-field died. He held this +place for one term and then went back + +<!-- Page 79 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +to his home in New York +Cit-y, and took up his law work. There was a split in his par-ty at +the end of his term; some men wished Ar-thur to run once more for +pres-i-dent, but more wished James G. Blaine of Maine; so, of +course, Blaine was named. The Dem-o-crats named Gro-ver Cleve-land; +and as all the men on that side wished this one man to win, he had +the most votes; and for the first time in a long while, the +Dem-o-crats won in the race for pres-i-dent.</p> + +<p>Two years from the time that Ar-thur came home, and right in the +midst of his law work, he died in New York Cit-y; this was on +No-vem-ber 18th, 1886; and he was laid to rest in Al-ba-ny.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 80 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +<a name="STEPHEN_GROVER_CLEVELAND" id="STEPHEN_GROVER_CLEVELAND"></a> +</div> + +<h2>STE-PHEN GRO-VER CLEVE-LAND.</h2> + +<p>The race of brave, strong men from whom Ste-phen Gro-ver Cleve-land +sprang made their first homes here, in Mas-sa-chu-setts, as far back +as 1635. His fa-ther had charge of a small church in Cald-well, New +Jer-sey, and here, in a neat white frame house, which you may see +for your-selves to-day, was born, on March 18th, 1837, the boy who +was to rise, step by step, to the pres-i-dent's seat.</p> + +<p>He was three years old when they moved to Fay-ette-ville, New York, +and here he first went to school and lived till he was twelve years +old. He showed a strong will, and a great love for books, as a small +boy; he would have his own way, if he could get it; and this was why +he was sent to a high school, when he was not so old by some years, +as the rest of the boys there; he gave his fa-ther no rest till he +sent him; and once there he made up his mind to lead his class.</p> + +<p>He was just twelve when his strong will sent him to work in a store +near his home, so that he could help care for the big fam-i-ly in +the small home. The man who hired him, soon saw that, if he was +young, he knew how to work well, and that he could trust him; for +two years he worked in the store and then went back to his books.</p> + +<p>But, just at this time, his fa-ther died; and he then had to find a +way to care for those in great need at home. With the same pluck +that he had shown in the past, he now went to work in a "Home for +the Blind," in New York. In this big cit-y, the bright boy saw and +heard much which gave him + +<!-- Page 81 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +new thoughts, and put in his heart the +wish to make his life a great one. At the end of two years in the +"Home," he made up his mind to learn law; and he asked a man whom he +knew to lend him twen-ty-five dol-lars to start him. The fact that +this man did so shows that he had trust in young Gro-ver Cleve-land; +he could now start his work, and went to Buf-fa-lo to do so. Here he +lived for eight years; at first he helped his un-cle, in the care of +a big farm, and the mon-ey he so made was sent to his moth-er. Soon +he had the chance to stud-y law; the place where he went was two +miles from his un-cle's home, but back and forth, rain or shine, he +walked each day. There is told a tale that shows how he loved the +books of law; for, the first day he went to this place, a book was +put in his hands to read; he kept at it for hours, till dark came; +then he found the rest of the men had gone home; all the doors were +locked; and he must stay there all night.</p> + +<p>Such hard work soon made him a man who well knew the law; and folks +gave him big cases that brought him much fame. He did not go to the +war, when it broke out, for he felt that he could not leave his +folks at home with no one to care for them.</p> + +<p>He rose fast in his law work; and more than one great case did he +win; he cared far more to take the part of the poor than of the +rich; and at no time in his life did he look for high place or fame; +it came to him though, for he was just the man to fill a high post +well. His name was soon known in his state and at Wash-ing-ton; for +three years he was Sher-iff of E-rie Coun-ty and then he took up his +law prac-tise once more; but soon he was put at the head of his +cit-y as its May-or; and then was made the Gov-ern-or of the great +state of New York. Here he did good work; he put down + +<!-- Page 82 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +those who had +tak-en bribes, and had not been good, true men, and he tried to see +that the laws were well kept; men saw that he was the right man to +fill this high place, for he had no fear of what might be thought of +him; he just did as he felt right; and so, while he was still +gov-ern-or, he was named for pres-i-dent by a great vote, and was +e-lect-ed. When he took the oath of of-fice in Wash-ing-ton, he did +not kiss the big Bi-ble which oth-er pres-i-dents had kissed, but a +lit-tle old book, much worn with use, which his moth-er had giv-en +to him when he first left home. He was in the chair four years and +while here, he took for his wife Miss Fran-ces Fol-som; he was the +first pres-i-dent to wed in the White House. Cleve-land was +pres-i-dent for four years; at the end of that time, the +Re-pub-li-cans placed Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son in the pres-i-dent's +chair.</p> + +<p>But, at the end of one term, once more the Dem-o-crats won the day; +and a-gain, in 1893, we see Gro-ver Cleve-land pres-i-dent.</p> + +<p>In May of 1894, the World's Fair was o-pened; and few boys and girls +are too young to know some-thing of the beau-ty of the Great White +Cit-y built on the shores of Lake Mich-i-gan in Chi-ca-go. In the +last years of Cleve-land's term, there was much talk of the state of +things in Cu-ba. The men there wished to be free from Spain, who had +ruled them, with a hard hand, for hun-dreds of years.</p> + +<p>Spain sent down troops of sol-diers; and harsh laws were made to +force the Cu-bans to keep the peace. But Cu-ba would not give up; +and the U-ni-ted States be-gan to feel pit-y for this brave lit-tle +is-land, try-ing to get free.</p> + +<p>In the midst of the strife, Cleve-land's term of of-fice came to an +end, and he came to New York to live and take up law a-gain. He now +has his home in Prince-ton, New Jer-sey, and has a large law +prac-tise.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/g_cleveland_p82.png" width="300" height="405" alt="GROVER CLEVELAND." /> +<span class="caption">GROVER CLEVELAND.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/b_harrison_p83.png" width="300" height="400" alt="BENJAMIN HARRISON." /> +<span class="caption">BENJAMIN HARRISON.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 83 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +<a name="BENJAMIN_HARRISON" id="BENJAMIN_HARRISON"></a> +</div> + +<h2>BEN-JA-MIN HAR-RI-SON.</h2> + +<p>In the first part of this book, you heard of a brave In-di-an +fight-er, whose name was Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son; and you saw +this brave man mount step by step to the pres-i-dent's chair. It is +his grand-son, Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son, whom we now see pres-i-dent of +the U-ni-ted States. He was born in his grand-fa-ther's home at +North-Bend, In-di-an-a, on Au-gust 20th, 1833. There were no good +schools near his home; so in a small log house, in his +grand-fa-ther's grounds, he first went to school; he and a few +oth-er boys and girls were taught here by those whom the Har-ri-sons +hired. In this school the seats were of planks, laid on sticks that +were stuck in holes in the floor; they had no backs; and were so +high that the small boys and girls could not touch their feet to the +floor. On-ly in the win-ter did this small boy go to school; in the +sum-mer he had work to do on the big farm; he did his work well; but +he also learned to shoot, to fish, to swim, and to ride.</p> + +<p>He was much liked by all the boys, for he was full of sports and +jokes. In 1820 he went to Mi-a-mi Col-lege, and left in 1822, to +stud-y law. In one of his first cases, the light was so dim, that he +could not see the notes he had made with such care. What should he +do? There was but one thing he could do: fling to one side the notes +and plead his case without an-y. This was a hard thing to do; but he +did it so well, that he won his case; and the great men of the day +gave him much praise for his speech.</p> + +<div> +<!-- Page 84 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +</div> + +<p>When the Civ-il War broke out he raised a troop of men, from his own +state, and was made the col-o-nel of this band, which was called the +"70th In-di-an-a."</p> + +<p>He served for two years, and won fame in some of the great bat-tles +of the war; so brave was he at Re-sa-ca, that he was made a +Brig-a-dier Gen-er-al. Through the long years of war, he was kind +and good to the men in his care; they loved him well, and gave him +the name of "Little Ben."</p> + +<p>Not till the war was at an end, did he leave the field; then with +much fame, he went back home, and took up his work at law. He took a +high place in his own state and made some great speech-es.</p> + +<p>It was now the year 1889; just one hun-dred years had passed since +Wash-ing-ton, our first pres-i-dent, took his place as Pres-i-dent +of the U-nit-ed States; and the whole land thought it right to +cel-e-brate the date. So in New York Cit-y, on A-pril 29th and 30th, +was held the "Wash-ing-ton Cen-ten-ni-al." The cit-y was hung from +end to end, with red, white and blue; the grand, good face of +Wash-ing-ton, framed in the flag of the land, or wreathed in green, +looked down on the gay scene. Rank by rank, the troops filed by +a-midst the shouts and cheers of the dense crowds that filled the +streets, and looked from the win-dows of stores and hous-es. Rich +and poor, great and small, kept this great day; the pres-i-dent and +oth-er great men from Wash-ing-ton were brought to the foot of Wall +Street, on a barge hung with flags; here all the ships of war were +drawn up on each side; and as the par-ty went to the spot where +Wash-ing-ton took his oath of of-fice, young girls, clad in white, +cast flow-ers be-fore them. As the troops filed past the +pres-i-dent, one saw, not just those from the North; but up + +<!-- Page 85 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +from the South came hosts of men, bearing the flags of their states; all +glad to share in this great day of the na-tion; and there were men +from across the seas too; the Ger-mans and the French marched side +by side with the A-mer-i-cans. By night, fire-works and bon-fires +filled the streets with light, and blazed in beau-ty; no such great +time had ever been known in this land; and this was as it should be; +for it was all done for the great, good man, who had led our troops +so well in our first war, that he had made us free; and had then, by +a wise and just rule, helped us to be the great, strong land that we +are to-day.</p> + +<p>While Har-ri-son was in of-fice, work was be-gun for the "World's +Fair," which was held in Chi-ca-go, in 1892, just four hun-dred +years since Co-lum-bus first saw A-mer-i-ca. Har-ri-son went to +Chi-ca-go and o-pened the fair with a speech on Oc-to-ber 14th, +1892; but folks could not go there till the next year. In 1893, +Har-ri-son went home to In-di-an-a, and took up his law work, once +more; he is still a-live, is well known as a good law-yer, and has +many warm friends a-mong the great men of our day.</p> + +<p>We have seen that Gro-ver Cleve-land now be-came pres-i-dent; at the +end of his four years, the Re-pub-li-cans put Wil-liam Mc-Kin-ley in +of-fice.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div> +<!-- Page 86 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +<a name="WILLIAM_MCKINLEY" id="WILLIAM_MCKINLEY"></a> +</div> + +<h2>WIL-LIAM MC-KIN-LEY.</h2> + +<p>The man, who now, in the year 1900, stands at the head of our great +land, was born at Niles, O-hi-o, on Jan-u-a-ry 29th, 1843. In the +schools near his home he was taught his let-ters and, as a child, +was fond of books, and quick to learn. He was a mere boy, when he +taught school to earn the means to go to Col-lege. The school-house +in which he taught still stands; it is a plain, square, white house, +with two win-dows in front and three on each side. His moth-er was a +good wo-man, with a clear, strong brain; she taught him, as well as +his eight broth-ers and sis-ters, to love truth, and to live brave +and strong lives.</p> + +<p>Young Wil-liam was not long to lead a life of peace; for in 1861 he, +then but a boy of eight-een, left his books and his home, and went +to the war. Many sto-ries prove how brave he was while there; but +two will show you why he rose so fast from the ranks. At one time +the guns had been left on the road, af-ter a great fight; and it +would be a hard task to go back near the foe to get them. But, young +Mc-Kin-ley said, "The boys will haul them;" and he and a few oth-ers +went back for them and brought them into our lines. Then he was at +one time two miles from the fight, in charge of the food; he was +quite safe; but he thought our men would fight bet-ter, if they had +some cof-fee and food. So he filled a cart and drove straight to the +lines, where our brave men were hard at work. Was this not a brave +act? To risk his life for the sake of tak-ing food and drink + +<!-- Page 87 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +to the worn men. He worked his way straight to the front and came out +of the war a cap-tain. He went home at once and took up the stud-y +of law in Can-ton; one of his first speech-es was for the rights of +the black men; he said that they should have the same right to vote +that white men had; and he was ev-er on the side of the black man. +In 1869 Mc-Kin-ley was mar-ried to Miss I-da Sax-ton. They were both +very young when their two lit-tle chil-dren died. The young law-yer +did all he could to cheer his wife; and she was as brave as he, and +did not let her grief keep him from his work. He rose fast in his +state, and held high place more than once; then, in 1877, he was +sent to Congress. In 1891 he was made gov-ern-or of O-hi-o; and in +1897, he had made such a great name for him-self that he was put up +for pres-i-dent by the Re-pub-li-cans, and e-lect-ed. Just as he +came in-to of-fice, the strife in Cu-ba was at its height; and men +here in our great, free land had much pit-y for the Cu-bans, who +were try-ing to get free from Spain, just as we had tried to shake +off the hand of Eng-land long years a-go. The Span-ish rule grew +worse and worse, as Spain found that Cu-ba would not give in. At +last Gen-er-al Wey-ler, a harsh and cru-el man, was sent there to +force peace on an-y terms; but Gen-er-al Go-mez knew his foes well, +and his brave men fought with a strength born of a great hate for +Spain. By and by, when Spain saw she could not win the day, she sent +word that if Cu-ba would lay down her arms, she could have the +rights for which she had asked in vain in the past.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/w_mckinley_p87.png" width="300" height="410" alt="WILLIAM McKINLEY." /> +<span class="caption">WILLIAM McKINLEY.</span> +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<p>But it was too late; Cu-ba had no faith in Spain, and would now be +free from her hard yoke. There was much want in the big towns of +Cu-ba at this time, for Wey-ler had made all the poor folks, who had +lived in peace on their small + +<!-- Page 88 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +farms, come in-to the towns. He said +they gave help to the Cu-ban troops, and so he forced them to leave +their homes and would on-ly let them bring with them just the few +things that they could put on their backs. Then he had their lit-tle +homes, and their crops which they had raised with care, all burned +to the ground. He had lit-tle food to give this great host of poor +peo-ple, and ma-ny died in the streets for the want of bread. You +may be sure that our great land saw the pain and want down in Cu-ba, +and longed to give aid; but an act of help on our part would mean +war with Spain, and this Mc-Kin-ley did not wish. But there came a +day when a great cry went up through the U-nit-ed States at a foul +deed done in the bay of Ha-va-na. Our great war ship, the "Maine," +was blown up by a bomb, as she lay at an-chor in the har-bor. The +thought of our poor men sent to such a death raised the cry of war +in all hearts. "Re-mem-ber the Maine," was the war-cry; and men +cried for war at once with Spain. But Mc-Kin-ley gave Spain one more +chance to stop the fight and free Cu-ba; this she would not do. So +on A-pril 21st, 1898, once more the U-nit-ed States had to make +read-y for war. From all the states men poured in and camps sprang +up here and there, where the men were taught to load and fire their +guns. Off at Hong-Kong, in charge of our war-ships, was brave +Ad-mi-ral Dew-ey. He knew that the Span-ish fleet was in Ma-ni-la +Bay, near the Phil-ip-pine Is-lands, which were ruled by Spain; the +loss of these ships would be a great blow to Spain just at this +time; so Dew-ey steered his ships there to strike a blow for his +coun-try.</p> + +<p>It was night when he reached the spot, and be-fore the Span-iards +knew he was near, six of his great ships had slipped past their +forts. Then a fierce fire poured on him from + +<!-- Page 89 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +the forts; but it did +not do much harm. At last the Span-ish fleet saw him, and at once +the ships o-pened fire; but Dew-ey's flag-ship, the "O-lym-pi-a," +sent out such a storm of shot and shell, that the first of the +Span-ish ships was sunk, and all on board killed.</p> + +<p>The fight last-ed two hours; and at the end of that time the +Span-ish fleet had all been sunk. Great joy was felt in the U-nit-ed +States when this glad news was heard, and Dew-ey was the he-ro of +the whole land.</p> + +<p>Our men down in Cu-ba fought well, and ma-ny brave deeds were done. +On June 6th Ad-mi-ral Samp-son fired on the forts at San-ti-a-go; +our men put their hearts in their work and their aim with the great +guns was true and straight. The Span-iards did not aim so well, and +their shots did not go so far, and so the shot and shell from their +forts did not do us much harm.</p> + +<p>Soon our men had stopped the fire from all the forts save Cas-tle +Mor-ro, and this fort was rent and torn in great holes.</p> + +<p>On June 24th our "Rough Ri-ders," with The-o-dore Roose-velt at +their head, were sent out to clear the way to San-ti-a-go. The foe +poured a hot fire on our men from the tall grass and weeds in which +they lay hid-den; and there was great loss of life. Full of fire and +pluck were these "Rough Ri-ders," and led by their brave colo-nels, +Roose-velt and Wood, they forced the Span-ish troops back, foot by +foot. The line of fight was five miles long; the heat was fierce; +and food and wa-ter scarce. But at last the troops came to the fort +of San Juan Hill; then, with a mad rush, up, up went our men to the +Span-ish fort at the head! Cheers and shouts rose to the skies as +the red, white and blue waved from the old Span-ish fort; but the +cost of this fort had + +<!-- Page 90 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +been great, for there was much loss of life +on both sides. On Ju-ly 3d Cer-ve-ra, the Span-ish Ad-mi-ral, tried +to sail his fleet out of the bay of San-ti-a-go; he was seen, +though, by our men, and af-ter a hot chase and fierce fight-ing, the +whole Span-ish fleet was burned or sunk.</p> + +<p>Spain lost scores of brave men; but on our side not one man was +killed, nor did we lose a ship.</p> + +<p>The end of the war was near; on Ju-ly 10th we laid siege to +San-ti-a-go, and on Ju-ly 17th we went in-to the cit-y and raised +ov-er it the Stars and Stripes.</p> + +<p>In this part of the world the last shot had been fired; but Dew-ey +in the far east did not know this, and so he struck one more blow +for his coun-try.</p> + +<p>He took the cit-y of Ma-ni-la with the loss of but twelve men, and +when our flag waved o-ver this cit-y, the end of the Span-ish war +had come. On Jan-u-a-ry 1st, 1899, the Span-ish flag, which for four +hun-dred years had waved o-ver Cu-ba, was hauled down; the red, +white and blue of our own land took its place; and Cu-ba, free from +the hard rule of Spain, blessed the great na-tion that had come to +her aid.</p> + +<p>In Sep-tem-ber of 1899 Ad-mi-ral Dew-ey came home; and from end to +end of this land his name was cheered.</p> + +<p>He was the guest of the cit-y of New York for three days; and well +did the cit-y hon-or the he-ro of Ma-ni-la.</p> + +<p>When we took Ma-ni-la from Spain, and so closed the Span-ish war, it +did not give us the Phil-ip-pines. The men there were glad to have +us drive out the Span-iards, but did not wish us to take their +place. Long months of war fol-lowed, but now, A-gui-nal-do, their +chief, has yield-ed and peace seems to be at hand.</p> + +<p>It was not eas-y to see when Mc-Kin-ley be-came pres-i-dent + +<!-- Page 91 --> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +that we were soon to be in the midst of war; but our land has borne her part +well. We have gained new lands in the far east, and our flag waves +o-ver strange peo-ple who have not yet learned that it stands for +free-dom. They still fear that the yoke of the U-nit-ed States will +be as hard to bear as that of Spain. This is not so, and it will not +be long be-fore all these far-off lands will learn to love and bless +the Red, White and Blue, just as ev-er-y State in our great Un-ion +does to-day.</p> + +<hr class="bigspacer" /> + +<div class="center">THE END.</div> + +<hr class="bigspacer" /> +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="adverts"> + +<h3>BURT'S SERIES of ONE SYLLABLE BOOKS</h3> + +<div class="center"><b>12 Titles. Handsome Illuminated Cloth Binding.</b></div> + +<p>A series of Classics, selected specially for young people's reading, +and told in simple language for youngest readers. Printed from large +type, with many illustrations.</p> + +<hr class="minor" /> + +<div class="center size105"><b>Price, 50 Cents per Volume.</b></div> + +<hr class="minor" /> + +<h4>AESOP'S FABLES.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By <span class="smcap">Mary Godolphin</span>. +With 41 illustrations. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>(Selections.) Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By +<span class="smcap">Harriet T. Comstock</span>. With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>BIBLE HEROES.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>Told in words of one syllable for young people. By <span class="smcap">Harriet T. +Comstock</span>. With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>(Selections.) Retold in words of one syllable. By <span class="smcap">Jean S. Rémy</span>. With +many illustrations. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>GULLIVER'S TRAVELS</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>Into several remote regions of the world. Retold in words of one +syllable for young people. By J. C. G. With 32 illustrations. +Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>LIFE OF CHRIST.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>Told in words of one syllable for young people. By <span class="smcap">Jean S. Rémy</span>. +With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>Told in words of one syllable for young people. By <span class="smcap">Jean S. Rémy</span>. +With 24 large portraits. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By <span class="smcap">Samuel Phillips +Day</span>. With 33 illustrations. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>REYNARD THE FOX:</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>The Crafty Courtier. Retold in words of one syllable for young +people. By <span class="smcap">Samuel Phillips Day</span>. With 23 illustrations. Illuminated +cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>ROBINSON CRUSOE.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>His life and surprising adventures retold in words of one syllable +for young people. By <span class="smcap">Mary A. Schwacofer</span>. With 32 illustrations. +Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>SANFORD AND MERTON.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By <span class="smcap">Mary Godolphin</span>. +With 20 illustrations. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<h4>SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.</h4> + +<div class="indent"><p>Retold in words of one syllable for young people. Adapted from the +original. With 31 illustrations. Illuminated cloth.</p></div> + +<hr class="minor" /> + +<p>For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by +the publisher, <b>A. L. BURT. 52-58 Duane Street, New York.</b></p> + +</div> + +<hr class="major" /> + +<div class="tnote"> + +<h3><a name="Transcribers_Note2" id="Transcribers_Note2"></a>Transcriber's Note</h3> + +<p>The reader will note that words in this text are not exclusively +"of one syllable," but rather that most multi-syllabic words in the +text have been hyphenated into syllables.</p> + +<p>Hyphenation and punctuation in this text are not standardized, and may +also appear oddly placed. There are numerous sections and words in +which hyphens are omitted. Some words are spelled variably, including +the author's name. These oddities have been retained to match the +original text.</p> + +<p>Some illustrations have been moved from their original positions, +so as to be nearer to their corresponding text, or for ease of navigation +around paragraphs.</p> + +<p>The following typographical corrections have been made in this ebook:</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_14">Page 14</a>: Removed misplaced hyphen (the coun-try turned to him)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_22">Page 22</a>: Changed , to . (The Home of Thomas Jefferson.)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_25">Page 25</a>: Typo leading to factual error. Changed Mon-ti-cel-lo to +Mont-pel-ier (Mont-pel-ier, his fath-er's great farm)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_47">Page 47</a>: Moved misplaced hyphen (a ver-y small boy)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_47">Page 47</a>: Added missing word 'and' (of the North and those of the South)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_71">Page 71</a>: Moved misplaced semi-colon (on July 23d, 1885; his bod-y lay in state)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_85">Page 85</a>: Typo leading to factual error. Changed 'one' to 'four' +(in 1892, just four hun-dred years since Co-lum-bus)</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of the Presidents Told in Words +of One Syllable, by Jean S. Remy + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS *** + +***** This file should be named 28350-h.htm or 28350-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/3/5/28350/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, C. 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Remy + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lives of the Presidents Told in Words of One Syllable + +Author: Jean S. Remy + +Release Date: March 18, 2009 [EBook #28350] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, C. St. Charleskindt, Michael and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note + +This ebook retains the hyphenation and punctuation variations of +the original text. + +A few typographical corrections have been made. Details of these +changes can be found in a second Transcriber's Note at the end of +this text. + + + + +[Illustration: THE WHITE HOUSE--HOME OF THE PRESIDENTS.] + + + + +LIVES OF THE + +PRESIDENTS. + +TOLD IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE. + + + + +BY JEAN S. REMY. + + + + +_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS._ + + + + +A. L. BURT COMPANY, +PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + + + +Copyright, 1900, by A. L. BURT. + +LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. + +BY JEAN S. REMY. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + GEORGE WASHINGTON. 1 + + JOHN ADAMS. 16 + + THOMAS JEFFERSON. 20 + + JAMES MADISON. 25 + + JAMES MONROE. 29 + + JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 33 + + ANDREW JACKSON. 38 + + MARTIN VAN BUREN. 43 + + WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 45 + + JOHN TYLER. 47 + + JAMES KNOX POLK. 49 + + ZACHARY TAYLOR. 52 + + MILLARD FILLMORE. 54 + + FRANKLIN PIERCE. 56 + + JAMES BUCHANAN. 58 + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 60 + + ANDREW JOHNSON. 66 + + ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT. 68 + + RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 73 + + JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD. 75 + + CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR. 78 + + STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 80 + + BENJAMIN HARRISON. 83 + + WILLIAM MCKINLEY. 86 + + + + +LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. + + +[Illustration: GEORGE WASHINGTON.] + + +GEORGE WASH-ING-TON. + + +Way down in Vir-gin-i-a, near a small creek, called Bridg-es Creek, +there is a shaft of white stone;--on it is the name of George +Wash-ing-ton and the date of his birth: Feb-ru-ar-y 22d, 1732. + +On this spot once stood the big brick house in which George Wash-ing-ton +was born; it was built in 1657 by John Wash-ing-ton; his grand-son, +Au-gus-tine, was the fa-ther of the lit-tle boy who be-came our first +pres-i-dent. The moth-er of George Wash-ing-ton was Ma-ry Ball; so sweet +and fair was she, when she was a young girl, that she was known as +"Sweet Mol-ly." + +Now she was not the first wife of Au-gus-tine Wash-ing-ton; and he had +two boys, Law-rence and Au-gus-tine, when he made her his wife. These +boys were so kind to their small broth-er George, when he was young, +and gave him so much help, all through his life, that their names should +stay in your minds. When George was three years old his home was burned +to the ground, and his fa-ther built a fine new house, just o-ver the +riv-er from where the cit-y of Fred-er-icks-burg now stands. Here George +went to his first school, and the name of the man who taught him was so +queer, it will not go out of your mind;--it was "Hob-by." In those old +days, the boys wrote to their boy-friends, just as they do at this day. +See what George, when he was nine years old, wrote to his best friend, +Rich-ard Hen-ry Lee:--"Dear Dick-ey, I thank you ver-y much for the +pret-ty pic-ture book you gave me. Sam asked me to show him the +pic-tures and I showed him all the pic-tures in it; and I read to him +how the tame el-e-phant took care of his mas-ter's lit-tle boy, and put +him on his back and would not let an-y-bod-y touch his mas-ter's lit-tle +son. I can read three or four pages some-times with-out miss-ing a word. +Ma says I may go to see you and stay all day with you next week if it +be not rain-y. She says I may ride my po-ny. He-ro, if Uncle Ben will +go with me and lead He-ro. I have a lit-tle piece of po-et-ry a-bout +the book you gave me, but I mustn't tell you who wrote the po-et-ry. + + "G. W.'s com-pli-ments to R. H. L. + And likes his book full well. + Hence-forth will count him as his friend, + And hopes ma-ny hap-py days he may spend. + + "Your good friend, + "GEORGE WASH-ING-TON." + +"I am go-ing to get a whip top soon, and you may see and whip it." + +You see the boys in those old days were fond of books, and toys and +hors-es just as the boys of to-day are; and there is a tale of George, +and a young colt, which shows that he was a brave and strong boy, who +did not fear to tell the truth, though he had done wrong. He and some +of his boy-friends were in a field, in which were kept some young colts, +some of which had been used. + +The boys caught one colt, put a bit in its mouth, and held it, while +George sprang on its back. The colt, mad with fear, sprang in the air, +tore through the field, and tried in vain to throw the boy; at last he +leaped with such force, that he broke a blood ves-sel, and fell to the +ground dead. Just at this time George's moth-er came out, and saw the +dead colt. She asked the boys if they knew how he died. "Yes, mad-am," +at once said her own boy; and then he told the whole truth. There are +more tales of the boy-life of George and all show that he was a brave, +strong boy, full of life and fun, and at the head in games and sports +of all kinds. + +His fa-ther died when he was on-ly e-lev-en (11) years old; but his +moth-er lived to be an old, old la-dy, who was, you may be sure, ver-y +proud of her great son. + +Af-ter his fa-ther's death George made his home with his broth-er, +Au-gus-tine, un-til he was six-teen (16) years old; and the short notes +which he wrote to his moth-er were not like those he sent to his +boy-friends, or like those which you boys and girls write to-day. He +be-gan, "Hon-ored Mad-am;" and end-ed the stiff lit-tle note,--"Your +du-ti-ful son." + +In those days folks lived on great big farms, or plan-ta-tions, as they +were called, and raised to-bac-co, which was sold for much mon-ey in +Eng-land. George's fa-ther had a ver-y large plan-ta-tion and ma-ny +slaves to work on it; some day this would all be-long to George, and so +he was taught how to write in a big round hand, how to do sums, and to +look out for those who were in his care. + +All through these years there was talk of war; for a cru-el war be-tween +the French and Eng-lish, known as King George-'s War, had be-gun; and +the boys, who heard so much talk of war, of course played at it; and +George was ev-er at the head, ev-er lead-ing these bands of young +sol-diers; he longed, just as boys would to-day, to throw a-way his +books, to leave school, to go to the true war and bear a real gun; and +when he was fif-teen, his broth-er Law-rence, who was a sol-dier, tried +to make his moth-er let him join the na-vy, as he was too young to go to +the war. But this moth-er was a ver-y wise wo-man, and said no; that his +place was at home un-til he knew how to care for the great plan-ta-tion +and the ma-ny slaves that in five or six years would be his. + +Now, at this time, this great land of ours was so wild that it was hard +to tell how much land a man owned, just where one great farm end-ed and +the next be-gan; and a man who knew the land so well that he could tell +folks just these things would be of much use; so George now be-gan to +give much time to just this work; and so well did he do it that soon +folks came to him when they were in doubt. + +In fact this work led, as you shall see, straight up to the +pres-i-dent's seat. His broth-er Law-rence had mar-ried Anne Fair-fax, +and in their home at Mt. Ver-non George met ma-ny great men; a-mong +oth-ers was Lord Thom-as Fair-fax, who owned a piece of land so large +that he did not know how big it was; he sent George to find this out; +and now this young boy had a rough piece of real work to do. + +In March, 1748, he and a young friend, George Wil-liam Fair-fax, left +the ease of Mt. Ver-non to live in the wild woods, where they would see +on-ly Indians, or, at the best, rough white men; in the log huts of the +white men they found so much dirt that, af-ter one tri-al, rath-er than +sleep on dir-ty straw, with no sheet, and but one torn, thin blan-ket, +they ei-ther lay on the bare floor, near the big wood-fire, or else +built a huge fire in the woods and lay close to it on the earth. They +had to swim their hors-es o-ver streams; they shot wild deer and birds, +and of-ten cooked and ate them, alone in the great wild woods, far from +e-ven the camp of the In-di-ans. Once, at least, we know, from a little +book in which each night George wrote of what they had done that day, +that they saw a grand war-dance of the In-di-ans; the mu-sic by which +they danced was made by a pot half full of wa-ter, with a deer-skin +o-ver the top, and a gourd filled with shot; this must have made queer +mu-sic to dance by. + +[Illustration: MOUNT VERNON--THE HOME OF WASHINGTON.] + +The boys were gone six weeks, and did their work so well that the +gov-ern-or heard of it, and he made George a "pub-lic sur-vey-or;" that +is, it was his place to find out the size of all the new farms; and his +word was to be law. He must have done this work well, too, for the lines +which he laid down were the ones used by the new States years and years +af-ter his death. + +Now, for weeks at a time, he was a-lone in the woods with the In-di-ans; +liv-ing in their camps, and learn-ing of their life; they taught him +ma-ny things; and they, in turn, learned to love and trust him; this +lone-ly life made him a grave and qui-et man; one who talked lit-tle; +and it taught him to think for him-self, at an age when most boys are +told what to do by their par-ents and friends. + +When he was not in the woods, hard at work, he was at Mt. Vernon; +and here the talk was of the great lands in the west; and of the war +bet-ween the Eng-lish and the French, who were each try-ing to drive +a-way the oth-er, and were both try-ing to force out the In-di-ans. It +was pret-ty hard for the In-di-ans, who now had not on-ly to fight each +oth-er, but the white men, too. At last they took sides, some with the +Eng-lish, some with the French; and a fierce war broke out o-ver the +land near the O-hi-o River; no white men had yet lived there, and both +sides wished to own it. + +The French moved ver-y fast, and built great forts, and sent men there +to keep the Eng-lish a-way; it was no "play-war" in which Wash-ing-ton +now took part; he had real men under him; but, just as he be-gan to +learn what real war was, he had to go to the West In-dies with his +broth-er Law-rence, who was ver-y sick. They spent the win-ter there, +but Law-rence did not get well, and came back to Mt. Ver-non in the +spring, where he died in Ju-ly, 1752. + +He left his land in charge of Wash-ing-ton, who now made his home +there; and when his broth-er's daugh-ter died he be-came the own-er. + +Now, while Wash-ing-ton had been a-way, the French had been ver-y +ac-tive; they had made friends with the In-di-ans, and had e-ven dared +to send some Eng-lish tra-ders in a ship to France. + +At this act Eng-land was up and in arms, and sent o-ver great ships and +ma-ny men to help fight the French. The first step that Eng-land took +was to send men to warn the French a-way from the Eng-lish forts in +Penn-syl-va-ni-a; and Wash-ing-ton, who knew bet-ter than a-ny one else +the rough wild woods, and who was a friend of the In-di-ans, led a +lit-tle band of sev-en men through the dense, dark woods and o-ver +riv-ers filled with float-ing ice, up to the French lines. He told the +chief man of the French troops just what the Eng-lish said, but this +French man would not give up one inch of ground that he had won from the +In-di-ans, and gave Wash-ing-ton a note to take back with him, in which +he said as much. + +Of course Eng-land could take but one course now; and so the long, +fierce war known as the "Sev-en Years' War" be-gan. Wash-ing-ton was +made a colo-nel, and showed so much skill, and was so brave, that in a +short time he took charge of part of the troops of Gen-er-al Brad-dock. + +In June, 1755, the troops made a start for Fort Du-quesne, where they +were to stay; and on this trip, while they were deep in the woods, the +In-di-ans, with fierce shrieks and wild cries, sprang on them from +the rocks and trees. The horse on which Wash-ing-ton rode was shot; +Gen-er-al Brad-dock got such a wound that he died, and ma-ny poor men +were killed. Here again Wash-ing-ton act-ed so brave-ly, and was so +wise, that the sol-diers said that Brad-dock had lost the day and +Wash-ing-ton had saved the ar-my. + +At Brad-dock's death Wash-ing-ton was made chief of all the troops in +the col-o-nies; and the first thing he did was to place men near the +homes which the white men were mak-ing in the new lands, and so help +these ear-ly set-tlers to stop the In-di-ans when they came to rob them +and to burn up their lit-tle log cab-ins, for a great fear of the red +men was o-ver all the land. Now, when the war came to a close with the +fall of the French, we find that Wash-ing-ton is a very great man, that +his troops love him ver-y much, and that the heads of the states feel +that he is a strong, wise man, and one whom they can trust. All this +time, you know, he was an Eng-lish sol-dier, fight-ing for Eng-land; +but, deep in his heart, and in the hearts of all the brave men who +fought with him, there was, we may be sure, a love for this fair land, +and a long-ing for its best good. + +After the war was at an end Wash-ing-ton, who was ver-y glad to give +up his post, mar-ried Mrs. Eus-tis, a young wid-ow with two lit-tle +chil-dren, a girl of six years and a boy of twelve, and went to Mt. +Ver-non to live. For twen-ty years now he lived the qui-et life he loved +so well. He took good care of his farm, was hap-py with his fam-i-ly and +friends, and grew, day by day, in power. He did not lead an i-dle life, +you may be sure; he rose ear-ly, had his break-fast at sev-en in sum-mer +and eight in win-ter; then rode o-ver his farm and saw that all was +right. He had his din-ner at two o'clock; then had an ear-ly tea, and +of-ten was in bed by nine o'clock. Twice a year he sent to Lon-don for +things need-ed in the way of dress for his fam-i-ly and slaves, for +tools, books, drugs, etc. Some of the things he bought for the chil-dren +I think you boys and girls would like, too. He sent for "tops, lit-tle +books for chil-dren to read, a doll, and oth-er toys." + +[Illustration: MARTHA WASHINGTON.] + +Wash-ing-ton loved hors-es and was ver-y fond of hunt-ing. The name of +his pet horse was "Blue-skin"; he must have looked ver-y fine when he +was on horse-back; for he was a big man, with bright blue eyes and high +color, and he wore a red vest with gold lace on it, and a dark blue +cloth coat. Mrs. Wash-ing-ton rode in a fine car-riage drawn by four +hors-es, and her driv-er wore the Wash-ing-ton col-ors of red, white +and gold. These old days were full of life and fun, but there was work +as well, and soon came more talk of war. + +All through these twen-ty years this land was grow-ing big-ger and +big-ger; and at last came the time when folks did not see why they should +not be free from Eng-land and rule their own land in their own way. + +At last Eng-land made a law called the "Stamp Act," which put so high a +tax on goods that folks here would not pay it; tea was one of the things +on which this tax was put; and when Eng-land sent o-ver three ships +full of tea to Bos-ton, our men would not let it be ta-ken from the +ships, but broke the great chests and threw all the tea in the wa-ter. +This act is known as the "Bos-ton Tea Par-ty"; and now the first signs +of war were seen; a fierce fight took place at Lex-ing-ton, one Sun-day +morn-ing, be-tween the Brit-ish and A-mer-i-can troops; and now, all +o-ver the land, went up the cry, "To arms! To arms!" + +This is how the great War of In-de-pend-ence be-gan; and you know the +name of the man who was at once put at the head of the A-mer-i-can +ar-my--George Wash-ing-ton, of course! Now he is not an Eng-lish-man +fight-ing for his king, but an A-mer-i-can fight-ing to free his own +land. A long, hard fight it was, too, but not once did Wash-ing-ton +or his brave men lose heart. He drove the Brit-ish out of Bos-ton, and +then, for fear they would go to New York, he sent men there; but the +Brit-ish ships went to Can-a-da in-stead, and made that land theirs. + +It was just at this time that Rich-ard Hen-ry Lee, the boy-friend of +Wash-ing-ton, made a move in Con-gress that our land should say to +the whole world that it would be free from Brit-ish rule; and so the +Dec-lar-a-tion of In-de-pend-ence was drawn up and sent out to the +world on July 4, 1776. + +[Illustration: LIEUTENANT-GENERAL BURGOYNE. + +From an English print, 1733.] + +War now be-gan in dead-ly earn-est; and, at the great bat-tle of Long +Isl-and, our men met with great loss of life, and had to flee from the +foe. Soon af-ter this bad news the Brit-ish took Phil-a-del-phi-a, and +now Wash-ing-ton was sad at heart; on Christ-mas day of 1776, though, +our troops won in the great fight that took place at Tren-ton, and there +was joy in the whole land; good news came with the New Year, too, for +Wash-ing-ton won ma-ny fights; and at last, in Oc-to-ber, 1777, the +Brit-ish troops in charge of Gen-er-al Bur-goyne gave up their arms to +Gen-er-al Gates. That win-ter of 1777 was a bad one for Wash-ing-ton and +his men; at no time in the war did they suf-fer so much; the time was +spent at Val-ley Forge, and the men lived in log huts which they had +first built, in long straight lines, like cit-y streets; twelve men +lived in each hut, and there was a fire-place at the back, but no fire +could keep out the aw-ful cold, and no hut was snug e-nough to keep out +the snow that fell in great drifts a-round this lit-tle town of log +huts. To make things worse there was lit-tle food to be had; the men had +on-ly poor, thin clothes, and their bare feet oft-en left marks of blood +on the white snow. But the men did not lose hope, and kept their faith +through all the long months in their great lead-er, whose lot was quite +as hard as theirs was; the farm-house in which he had a room still +stands, and it is hard to be-lieve, as you look at this old house on the +banks of the Del-a-ware Riv-er, that once the big or-chard back of it +and all the pret-ty fields were filled with poor little wood-en huts +in which, for the sake of free-dom, lived and suf-fered thou-sands of +brave men. + +In the spring things were bet-ter, for France joined A-mer-i-ca in her +fight for free-dom, and three years from this time the Brit-ish were +beaten at York-town and A-mer-i-ca was free. One of the great +French-men, who gave us much help, and was a firm friend of +Wash-ing-ton's, was the Mar-quis de La-fay-ette. + +[Illustration: MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE.] + +A ver-y sad thing dur-ing these last years of the war was the base act +of Ben-e-dict Ar-nold, who made up his mind to sell to the Brit-ish some +posts near West Point, of which he had charge. He sent a note to +Clin-ton by a young Brit-ish spy, Ma-jor An-dre; but on his way to the +Brit-ish lines this young man was caught by three of our men. They found +the note in his boots and he was brought to the A-mer-i-can camp, tried +for his life and hung as a spy. Ben-e-dict Ar-nold had made his way to a +ship and set sail for Eng-land, and his name is hat-ed, not on-ly by his +own land, but by e-ven the land to whom he tried to sell his coun-try. + +It was in March, 1783, that the news of peace spread through the land, +and it is said that Wash-ing-ton wept with joy, as he read the glad news +to his troops; he gave or-ders that the whole ar-my should give thanks +to God; and this was done at a great meet-ing on the day af-ter Lord +Corn-wal-lis laid down his sword. Then there was a great ball giv-en at +Fred-er-icks-burg, and Wash-ing-ton's old moth-er, sev-en-ty-four years +old, was there lean-ing on the arm of her son; and do you not think she +was proud, as one af-ter an-oth-er of the great French of-fi-cers bowed +to her, and spoke in her son's praise? + +[Illustration: SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN.] + +It was on Christ-mas eve that Wash-ing-ton came home to Mt. Vernon, +af-ter eight years of war: rid-ing in state, with his wife at his side, +this great A-mer-i-can, feared now by kings, and loved more than ev-er +by the coun-try he had made free, came glad-ly back to take up the +qui-et coun-try life he loved so well; and here, could he have had his +way, he would have lived un-til his death; but this new coun-try need-ed +at its head a man whom folks loved and trust-ed, and of whom oth-er +lands stood in fear. No man but Wash-ing-ton could fill this great +place; and so, at the end of three years, once more at his coun-try's +call, he left his home,--this time to be-come the first Pres-i-dent of +the U-ni-ted States. Not one voice was a-gainst him; eve-ry man in the +new coun-try vot-ed to give him this last hon-or; and on Ap-ril 30th, +1789, in New York Ci-ty, he took the oath of of-fice. Wash-ing-ton, who +was a ve-ry rich man, had tak-en no mon-ey for serv-ing his coun-try +in the war; and said he would take none now; but be-cause oth-er +Pres-i-dents might not be rich e-nough or good e-nough to want to do +the same, the peo-ple made him take $25,000 a year; now, you know, the +Pres-i-dent gets $50,000 a year. + +Wash-ing-ton was in New York but one year, then the cap-i-tal was moved +to Phil-a-del-phia, and here he lived in great state, un-til af-ter +eight years in the Pres-i-dent's chair, once more, and for the last +time, he came back home to Mt. Ver-non. + +At the end of his term of of-fice, Wash-ing-ton on-ly wait-ed to see +the next Pres-i-dent, John Ad-ams, take the chair, and soon af-ter he +came back talk a-rose of war with France; and, of course, the coun-try +turned to him; he was a-gain put in charge of the ar-my, and took up +the pub-lic life he had so glad-ly laid down. But he had not long to +bear it this time, for on De-cem-ber 12th, 1799, while rid-ing in a +hard rain-storm, he took a heav-y cold, from which he died on Sat-ur-day +night, De-cem-ber 14th, be-tween ten and twelve o'clock. + +Wash-ing-ton was bur-ied at Mt. Ver-non, and to-day the tomb of "The +Fa-ther of his Coun-try," as he is lov-ing-ly called is a sa-cred place; +not on-ly to us, but to the men and wo-men of the old lands, which were +taught by him so long a-go to hon-or and fear this great, new A-mer-i-ca. + +Wash-ing-ton had been dead just one hun-dred years on De-cem-ber 14th, +1899, and the date was made much of in the U-nit-ed States: in New York +Ci-ty, in Wash-ing-ton, and at Mt. Ver-non there was a great time in his +hon-or, for this great man is as dear to his coun-try to-day as he was +when he was a-live. + +[Illustration: WASHINGTON FAMILY VAULT.] + + + + +JOHN AD-AMS. + + +John Ad-ams was born, not in the far South with ma-ny slaves to wait +on him, but on a small farm in Brain-tree, Mass. Here, from old Eng-land +had come, in 1636, his great-grand-fa-ther, Hen-ry Ad-ams; and in this +old home was born on Oc-to-ber 19th, 1735, John Ad-ams, who was to be +the sec-ond Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. Now, on this farm in the +east, there was much work to be done, and few to do it; the folks who +had made their homes here did not lead such lives of ease as those who +lived on the great farms in the South. + +As a small boy, though, of course, he was taught to read and write, John +Ad-ams had a good deal of hard work to do. There was wood to chop, and +snow to be cleared a-way; there were hors-es and cows to care for, and +there was much work to do in the fields. In all this work John took his +part, like the brave, strong boy that he was. When the days grew long +and cold, he was sent to an old school near his home, and here he at +once took his place with the boys, as one who would lead in fun and +sport of all kinds. There was a good deal of fun, too, in those days, +for boys and girls both; in the cold days there was good, strong ice on +which to skate; there was snow to play in, and to make fine roads for +long rides in a sleigh; and, when the days were long and hot, there were +fish in the big streams, and there was game in the wild woods. John was +not fond of his books, but still he did good work at school; and when +he was quite young went to Har-vard Col-lege. He left it in 1755, +just at the start of the "Sev-en Years' War"; and the name of George +Wash-ing-ton, the brave young Col-o-nel of Vir-gin-ia, rang loud in his +ears. + +[Illustration: JOHN ADAMS.] + +He taught school in Wor-ces-ter to earn the means to take up law; and +in 1758 he be-came a law-yer. He had ma-ny cas-es, and grew wise and +great, though he did not make much mon-ey, as folks in the small town +of Brain-tree were far from rich and paid small fees. But he did make +ma-ny kind friends, and far and near he was known as a man of clear, +strong mind and quick, bright thoughts; he had a fine, sweet voice, +too, and his speech-es were al-ways wise and showed much thought. + +In the strife with Eng-land he was, from the start, on the side of +A-mer-i-ca. So much did Eng-land fear him in 1757, the Eng-lish king +sent word that he would give him great wealth if he would serve him at +this time. Ad-ams would not do this; he would speak and act just as he +thought right, and be bound by no king. When the "Stamp Act" passed in +1764, he made a great speech, which was sent to those at the head of +his State; and when, in 1770, a troop of Brit-ish fired on a mob of +A-mer-i-can men and boys in the streets of Bos-ton, he took the case to +the courts, and spoke for the Brit-ish Cap-tain and his men, though they +had killed five of our men. It may seem strange to you that Ad-ams, who +stood for A-mer-i-can rights, should here take sides with the Brit-ish; +but, first of all, he stood for law; and, though he knew he ran the risk +of los-ing his high place in the hearts of A-mer-i-can men, still he +would do what he thought right. But men love truth, and like to see a +brave man act as he thinks right, and so felt that he had just the +clear, cool head and brain and the strong warm heart to give aid in +the dark days that were to come to the land. He was sent to the First +Con-gress and was one of the three men who drew up the Dec-la-ra-tion +of In-de-pend-ence. + +[Illustration: CARPENTER'S HALL. + +Where the first Continental Congress met September, 1774.] + +He was al-so one of three men to go to France and ask for the aid which +she gave to A-mer-i-ca, in the spring af-ter that hard win-ter at +Val-ley Forge. Do you see why this trip at this time was a brave act, +and one by which Ad-ams ran a great risk of los-ing his life? Eng-land +had no wish that he should reach France, and her ships tried in vain to +get him. If he had been caught he would have been hung, as a man who was +false to his land and his king. You know that he went to France though, +and did his work well. He stood up for our rights and had a bill passed +which made the ports of France and Eng-land free to our goods. At the +end of the war he was sent to Eng-land to look out for our rights there; +and, though now this is a pleas-ant task, it was not then, for it was +hard for Ad-ams to be true to A-mer-i-ca and yet not an-ger the Eng-lish +king, George III. + +[Illustration: GEORGE III. + +From an anonymous print.] + +But we have seen how bold and brave a man he was, so the first thing +he said to the king was: "I must tell your Maj-es-ty that I love no +coun-try but my own"; and said the king: "An hon-est man will nev-er +love an-y oth-er." In spite of this, Ad-ams met with much rude-ness at +the Eng-lish court; but he did his best for his coun-try, and when he +came home in 1787, af-ter twelve years of hard work, he was met with +great joy. He was made Vice-Presi-dent with Wash-ing-ton, and at the +end of Wash-ing-ton's term of of-fice he was made Pres-i-dent. He +served on-ly four years and then made way for Thom-as Jef-fer-son. + +At the age of six-ty-eight years, with the love of the whole land, he +went to his home in Quin-cy, Mass. His heart was ever with his coun-try; +and he lived un-til his son, John Quin-cy Ad-ams, was made Pres-i-dent +of the U-nit-ed States. + +His last thoughts were for his coun-try. On June 30th, 1826, he gave +as a toast for the great feast to be held on Ju-ly 4th the words: +"In-de-pend-ence for-ev-er." + +[Illustration: RESIDENCE OF JOHN ADAMS. + +At Quincy, Mass.] + +He died on the night of this, A-mer-i-ca's great day. His last words +were of Jef-fer-son. He said: "Thom-as Jef-fer-son still lives." But +this was not so, for Jef-fer-son had died a few hours be-fore on this +same day; and this young land wept for two of her great men, both of +whom, in giv-ing up their best to their coun-try, helped to make it +the great, free land that it is to-day. + + + + +THOM-AS JEF-FER-SON. + + +When Thom-as Jef-fer-son was a boy his home was so near the In-di-ans' +camp and he saw so much of them that I am sure all boys will like to +read of him. His fa-ther, Pe-ter Jef-fer-son, took his bride, Jane +Ran-dolph, to a house on a wild tract of land of o-ver 1,000 a-cres, +way out in Vir-gin-ia, right in the midst of great woods. He was a big, +strong man, and this strength was ve-ry use-ful to him in mak-ing his +new home, for he had to chop down huge trees and then cut them up in-to +the logs of which the lit-tle log cab-in was built. He took with him +in-to this wild new land on-ly a few slaves, but with their help his +farm soon grew large, and he be-came a rich man. The In-di-ans were +great friends of his, and al-ways sure of a warm wel-come in his home. + +Still, the In-di-ans were not al-ways at peace with the white men, who +had come to make their homes so near them, and folks had to be on the +watch for fear the red men would rob and kill them. Pe-ter Jef-fer-son +was made Col-o-nel of the men who kept the In-di-ans back in the woods, +and a-way from the lit-tle town that was fast grow-ing up near his home. + +Now, this great, strong man was fond of books, and it was with his +fa-ther that lit-tle Thom-as be-gan to stu-dy. He was al-so taught to +ride, to swim and to shoot; and as he was fond of mu-sic he spent long +hours in learn-ing to play on the vi-o-lin, or "fid-dle" as it was then +called. The In-di-ans near his home liked him, and he used to play +tunes for the lit-tle, brown In-di-an boys to dance by. + +He was on-ly nine years old when he went to board-ing school with a Mr. +Doug-lass, and here he be-gan to stu-dy Lat-in, Greek and French. He +was so near home that he did not stay a-way long at a time; and in-deed, +this home was such a hap-py one, so full of life and fun, that he did +not want to be a-way from it long at one time. + +But this hap-py time did not last long, for Thom-as was but four-teen +years old when his brave fa-ther was shot in a fight with the In-di-ans. +This boy was now at the head of as big a place as the fa-ther of George +Wash-ing-ton had left to him, and though he kept on with his books +he had the care of this great farm to think of and plan for. He was +a bright, well-read boy; and was but six-teen when he took a place +at Wil-liam and Ma-ry Col-lege. Here, his love for books and mu-sic +kept him from the wild life led by some of the young men there, and +made friends for him a-mong the great men, whose homes were in +Wil-liams-town. + +He met a great law-yer, George Wythe, and be-gan the stu-dy of law with +him when, at the end of two years, he left col-lege. In five years he +be-gan the prac-tise of law in his old home in Vir-gin-ia. In two years, +so bright and quick was he, and of such a strong, clear mind, that he +had 198 cas-es, held a high place in his State, and was a rich man. + +In 1770, while he and his moth-er were a-way from home, the old house +burned down. When news of this came to Jef-fer-son, his first thought +was for his books, and he said to the slave who had told him: "Did you +save an-y of my books?" "No, mas-ter," said the slave, "but we did save +your fid-dle." You see e-ven when he was a great and bu-sy man he still +loved his fid-dle; but the loss of all his law books was ve-ry hard for +a bu-sy law-yer, and it took him a long while to get the new books that +he must have. + +[Illustration: MONTICELLO. + +The Home of Thomas Jefferson.] + +He had be-gun to build a ve-ry large new house at Mon-ti-cel-lo, and +so in the lit-tle end of this he now went to live. Two years lat-er, to +this home, which was to be-come known all o-ver the world, he brought +his bride, Mrs. Mar-tha Skel-ton, a young and ve-ry rich wid-ow. They +were mar-ried on New Year's Day, 1772, and came to their home in such +a hard snow-storm that the hors-es could not drag the coach through the +big drifts, so these two young folks left the warm coach, and rode the +tired hors-es up to the door of their new home. Jef-fer-son and his +wife gave great care to Mon-ti-cel-lo, and it was known far and near +for its great beau-ty and for its choice and rare fruits and flow-ers. + +But Jef-fer-son was much from home. In 1762 he was sent to Con-gress, +and here he at once stood at the head of the band of wise and great men +who were then there. His mind was so clear and bright that in all the +grave things that came up he knew at once just what to do, he had the +trust of all men. + +He was a great help in writ-ing the Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence; +in fact, it may well be said that he wrote it. Soon af-ter this great +act he left Con-gress and turned his mind to the laws of his own State; +he made them safe and just for all men, both rich and poor. In 1779 he +was made gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-ia; and now his work was hard; not on-ly +must he find a way to keep the In-di-ans from the hous-es of the white +men but the Brit-ish came down to the south and laid his fair home in +ruins. Not for long years did Mon-ti-cel-lo grow in beau-ty once more. +But through all the dark years of war Jef-fer-son did his work well; he +forced back the In-di-an foes, and gave help and aid to his State while +the War for In-de-pend-ence went on. When the war was at an end, this +strong, just man, with his clear, wise brain, was just the one to stand +up for our rights in the lands a-cross the sea, so he was sent to France +at the time Ad-ams was in Eng-land. While here he had a bill passed by +which Eng-land said she would look on our land as free; and this was a +big point for us to gain. + +When Jef-fer-son came home he was made Sec-re-ta-ry of State, and in +this high of-fice did much good work; it was he who first gave us our +own coins to use in place of the Eng-lish coins, which, up to that time +had been in use here. Now, Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was in charge of +the work of mak-ing the coin, and a great feud came up be-tween him +and Jef-fer-son as to how this should be done. Men, of course, took +sides in this strife, and so two bands sprang up which were known as +Re-pub-li-cans and Fed-er-al-ists; to-day these two bands are known as +Re-pub-li-cans and Dem-o-crats. Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was killed in +a du-el by Aa-ron Burr in Ju-ly, 1804. + +In 1801, Jef-fer-son was made Pres-i-dent; and while he was in the chair +this land grew strong and great. + +Our first steam-boat was built by Rob-ert Ful-ton while Jef-fer-son was +Pres-i-dent; and it did not look at all like the great boats of to-day; +it was a heav-y, clum-sy boat, which went by sails as well as steam. + +[Illustration: THE CLERMONT. + +Rob-ert Ful-ton's first Steam-boat.] + +Jef-fer-son tried hard to put an end to the slave-trade, which he felt +was a great wrong; he thought, too, that folks should have the right to +serve God in their own way; and he held that on-ly men who could read +and write should vote. + +He was a great and a wise man; books were his dear friends; and so +one of the hard-est things he had to do, af-ter he went home to +Mon-ti-cel-lo, when he left the White House, was to sell all his books +to Con-gress in or-der to get mon-ey to live on. To his own home hosts +of friends and stran-gers came to see the great man, just as they had +when he was in Wash-ing-ton. But he sold his books so cheap that the +mon-ey did not help him much; and, at last, it seemed as if he must +sell his dear old home. But now the peo-ple for whom he had done so +much helped him, and a big fund was raised, so that he could keep his +home and live there in com-fort un-til his death. + +He lived to be a ver-y old man, and e-ven when he was so weak he could +not rise from his bed, his great, strong brain was still clear. You +know that he died on the 4th of Ju-ly, 1826, just a few hours be-fore +the death of his old friend, John Ad-ams. + +Next to the name of George Wash-ing-ton, there is no name a-mong the +great men of our land, of which the peo-ple are so proud, as that of +Thom-as Jef-fer-son. + +[Illustration: THOMAS JEFFERSON.] + +[Illustration: JAMES MADISON.] + + + + +JAMES MAD-I-SON. + + +In the home of his grand-fath-er at Port Con-way, Vir-gin-i-a, was +born, in the spring of 1751, the small boy who was to be our fourth +Pres-i-dent. He was ver-y young, though, when he went to live at +Mont-pel-ier, his fath-er's great farm in Vir-gin-i-a, and here he led +much the same life as George Wash-ing-ton did when a boy. He was but a +small boy when the French and Eng-lish War be-gan, and when Brad-dock +lost the day, a great fear of the In-di-ans spread to the ver-y door of +his home; and he grew up with the name of George Wash-ing-ton ev-er in +his ears, as a great he-ro. + +His school days were much like those of Jef-fer-son. He was a young boy +when he could read French and Span-ish with ease, and was as well hard +at work at Greek and Lat-in. In 1769 he went to Prince-ton Col-lege, and +here, as well as when he was at home, Jef-fer-son was a great help to +him. The old-er man wrote to the boy in the qui-et old col-lege town, +a-bout the scenes of war; he told him much of the Brit-ish troops in the +Bos-ton streets, of young John Ad-ams and of Wash-ing-ton. So, when in +1771 he left col-lege, he knew a great deal a-bout the strife of the +day, and had deep, clear thoughts a-bout it. At home he led a qui-et +life with his books, un-til 1774, then he was put at the head of a few +men, who were to guard their own town if the Brit-ish troops came there. +In this post he showed such a wise, clear mind and did his part so well +that in a short time he was put in a high place in his State, and from +there in 1779 was sent to Con-gress. Jef-fer-son was at this time +Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a, and the two men were close, warm friends. + +For twen-ty five years Mad-i-son was one of the first men in this land. +He had no taste for war, but he soon took a high place with those who +made the laws of the land. One of the great things he did was to help +draw up the Con-sti-tu-tion of the U-nit-ed States. + +In 1794 this grave and qui-et man mar-ried, as Wash-ing-ton and +Jef-fer-son had done, a young and love-ly wid-ow. She was but +twen-ty-two years old, twen-ty years young-er than he, and her name +was Mrs. Dor-o-thy Payne Todd. Lat-er on, the folks who grew to +love this fair la-dy so well, gave her the name by which we know her +to-day--"Dol-ly Mad-i-son." She was a Quak-er-ess, and so fair and +sweet was she, in her qui-et lit-tle gown of gray, that once a friend +said to her: "Dol-ly, tru-ly thou must hide thy face, so ma-ny stare +at thee." + +[Illustration: MRS. DOLLY PAYNE MADISON.] + +For one year af-ter his mar-riage, Mad-i-son lived at Mont-pel-ier; then +a-gain he went in-to pub-lic life, first in his State, and af-ter that, +in 1800, as Sec-re-ta-ry of State un-der Jef-fer-son. + +Now, be-gan the gay life at the White House, for which "Dol-ly" +Mad-i-son won so much fame. Jef-fer-son's wife was dead, and it was the +wife of his friend that helped him en-ter-tain the White House guests. +Well did this love-ly la-dy do her part, and in 1808 when, as the wife +of the Pres-i-dent, she be-came the real mis-tress of the White House, +more than ev-er did the peo-ple love her. To-day, of all the pic-tures +of the Pres-i-dents' wives that hang up-on the White House walls, none +is more love-ly than that of the gay and pretty "Dol-ly Mad-i-son." + +Mad-i-son was most of all a man of peace, and yet it was while he was +in of-fice that the U-nit-ed States was drawn in-to the War of 1812. +Eng-land, then at war with France, said she had the right to search +A-mer-i-can ships to see if they were tak-ing aid to France. A-mer-i-ca +would not give this right to Eng-land, and so the war be-gan. In 1814 +the Brit-ish came to the cit-y of Wash-ing-ton, and for the on-ly time +in A-mer-i-can his-to-ry the Pres-i-dent had to leave his home. + +Mad-i-son, with the Sec-re-ta-ry of State and some friends, went to a +lit-tle inn near Wash-ing-ton, and here they were met by Mrs. Mad-i-son, +who had stayed as long as she could at the White House to save some +things from the hands of the Brit-ish. She had brought the great +Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence, and had cut from its big frame the +pic-ture of Wash-ing-ton and brought it safe-ly a-way. The Brit-ish +troops set fire to the White House, the na-vy yard, the Cap-i-tol, and +in fact the whole town. They left in great haste, though, when they +heard that our troops were on the way, and the next day Mrs. Mad-i-son +put on the dress of a wash-wo-man, so folks would not know her, and made +a start for her home, but the British had set fire to a bridge she had +to cross on the way and then she begged an A-mer-i-can sol-dier to row +her o-ver the riv-er. He would not do so un-til she told him who she +was, and then he was ver-y glad to take this brave lit-tle la-dy in his +boat. On-ly black ash-es marked the spot on which the White House had +once stood, so she had to go to her sis-ter's home, where the +Pres-i-dent soon joined her. + +The Eng-lish troops now tried to take Bal-ti-more, but our brave men +drove them back; and when they tried to make a raid on New Or-le-ans, +Gen-er-al Jack-son and his troops fought so hard that the foe could +not get in-to the cit-y. + +This was the last fight of this war, and peace was signed at Ghent, +De-cem-ber 24th, 1814. From that day Eng-land has had to leave our ships +a-lone and to treat A-mer-i-ca as one of the great nations of the world. + +In 1817 Mad-i-son was not sor-ry to go back to his old home, and here +ma-ny hap-py years were spent, for the fair la-dy of the White House +kept o-pen house in her own home, and guests from far and near were +glad to come here. One of Mad-i-son's dear-est friends was old Thom-as +Jef-fer-son, who oft-en rode o-ver from his home at Mon-ti-cel-lo, +which was on-ly thir-ty miles from Mont-pel-ier. + +Mad-i-son wrote a good deal at this time; and once a-gain was seen in +pub-lic life. In 1829 he was at the head of the great change made in +all the laws of the whole land. + +He died af-ter a long sick-ness at his home in Mont-pel-ier on +June 28th, 1836. + + + + +JAMES MON-ROE. + + +James Mon-roe was, like Wash-ing-ton, Mad-i-son and Jef-fer-son, born in +Vir-gin-i-a. Our first Pres-i-dent was just twen-ty six years old when, +in West-more-land County, on A-pril 28th, 1758, was born the boy who was +to be the fifth Pres-i-dent. His fa-ther, Colo-nel Spense Mon-roe, owned +a big farm and was quite rich. Lit-tle James was sent to good schools +and did not have to work to earn the means to stay in school. He learned +at first to hunt, to skate and to swim; and was good friends with all +the boys; but through all the fun and school work came up the talk of +war; of the long strife with Eng-land and the fierce red men. It was +hard for a brave boy to hear such talk and yet keep on at his books, +and though Mon-roe did go to Wil-liam and Mary Col-lege, he did not stay +long, for we hear of him in 1775 at the camp near Bos-ton. In 1776 we +see him at the head of a band of men, and from that time on he was in +the thick of the fight. He fought at White Plains and Har-lem Heights, +and was so brave that the great Wash-ing-ton gave him high praise for +his work, and made him, when but eight-een years old, a cap-tain in the +ar-my. At the great fight at Tren-ton he got a bad wound and had to rest +for some time. In the big fights of the war this brave young man was one +of the first in the field; his hopes were ev-er high, and he put heart +in-to the weak and worn men who looked to him for help in the sad years +of the war. In 1780 he be-gan the stud-y of law with his old friend +Thom-as Jef-fer-son and soon led the bright men of the day. + +So good a friend of his was Jef-fer-son, that the home to which Mon-roe +took his bride in 1785, was planned for him by Jef-fer-son, who, so it +is said, al-so gave him the nails to build it with. + +In 1794 he was sent to France to look out for A-mer-i-ca's rights, but +he found talk of war there at that time. The peo-ple did not want a king +an-y long-er, but wished to be-come a free land like A-mer-i-ca, with +a pres-i-dent at the head; and Mad-i-son, who was a Re-pub-li-can, took +sides with the Re-pub-li-cans in France. The king did not like this, and +so Mad-i-son had to come home at the end of two years. + +But he met with a wel-come at home, and his own State made him its +Gov-ern-or. In 1803 he was once more sent to France; this time to buy +the State of Lou-is-i-an-a from the French, and he paid Na-po-le-on for +this large State $15,000,000. + +Twice Mon-roe was sent to Spain and once to Eng-land, where his task +was to force Eng-land to stop her search of A-mer-i-can ships. You +know he could not do this, for that was the cause of the War of 1812. + +Tired and sad at heart, he came back home, and was glad to rest for a +while in his own home; but he was of too much use to his coun-try to be +i-dle long. Once more, in 1811, he was made Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a. + +Then came the War of 1812; and it was Mon-roe, now Sec-re-ta-ry of +State, who, at the head of a few men, saw the Brit-ish land near +Wash-ing-ton and sent word to Mad-i-son to leave the cit-y. He al-so +act-ed as Sec-re-ta-ry of War at this time, and so well did he do his +part that in 1816 he was named for Pres-i-dent by the Dem-o-crats. He +got the most votes and so took the first place in our great land. + +His first act was to pay off the great debt which the War of 1812 had +brought on us. He did this in a ver-y short time; and now our trade grew +so great that rail-roads were built; and so our first rail-road was made +while Mad-i-son was Pres-i-dent. + +[Illustration: FIRST RAILROAD TRAIN.] + +There was a fierce war with the In-di-ans in Flor-i-da at this time; but +Gen-er-al Jack-son was sent down there and he forced them to lay down +their arms and keep the peace. + +Just at this time, too, we got Flor-i-da from the King of Spain, and +gave up Tex-as, af-ter pay-ing a big sum of mon-ey to the A-mer-i-cans, +who had been robbed by Spain. + +Mis-sou-ri came in-to the Un-ion while Mon-roe was Pres-i-dent, and +there was a fierce storm of words; the North said she should not hold +slaves after she was a State, the South said that she should. + +At last Con-gress gave way to the South-ern States; but made a law that +there should be a line drawn through the land, north of which no State +should hold slaves. + +In 1825 Mon-roe was free to go to his home at Oak Hill, Vir-gin-i-a, +and here he lived un-til 1830. His wife died in that year, and then he +went to live with his daugh-ter in New York. He died here on the 4th of +Ju-ly, 1831, and his name is one that the whole land loves and hon-ors. + +He was bur-ied in New York, but on the one hun-dredth an-ni-ver-sa-ry +of his birth, his bod-y was tak-en to Rich-mond, Vir-gin-i-a, and a +hand-some stone raised o-ver his grave. + +[Illustration: JAMES MONROE.] + +[Illustration: JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.] + + + + +JOHN QUIN-CY AD-AMS. + + +The lit-tle boy who be-came our sixth Pres-i-dent led a life not at all +like that of an-y oth-er of the boys of whom you have read. His fa-ther +was John Ad-ams, our sec-ond Pres-i-dent, and when, on Ju-ly 11th, 1767, +lit-tle John Quin-cy Ad-ams was born in the old home at Brain-tree, +Mass., his great fa-ther was al-read-y speak-ing brave-ly for his +coun-try's rights in the cit-y of Bos-ton. In 1772 the fam-i-ly moved +to Bos-ton, and lit-tle John, for two years, saw, as the oth-er boys +did, the Brit-ish sol-diers in their bright red coats on pa-rade in the +Bos-ton streets, and heard on all sides talk of war with Eng-land. He +saw a lit-tle of real war, too; for when he was eight years old, his +moth-er took him on top of a high hill, called Be-mis Hill, from which +he saw the smoke and heard the roar of can-non in that aw-ful bat-tle of +Bunk-er Hill. When, in 1776, the Brit-ish left Bos-ton, this lit-tle lad +of nine years used to oft-en ride on horse-back in and out of the city +to bring home the lat-est news. This was a ride of twen-ty-two miles +from the old home at Brain-tree, where Mrs. Ad-ams had gone when her +hus-band went to Con-gress, and I think it took a pret-ty brave and +strong boy to ride all those long miles a-lone. + +When John Ad-ams went to France to try and get her aid for A-mer-i-ca, +he took with him his lit-tle boy, then ten years old. It was a rough, +hard trip; for, not on-ly were there fierce winds which lashed the waves +in-to fu-ry, but they were chased by Brit-ish ships, for Eng-land did +not want John Ad-ams to get this help from France. But they reached +Par-is in safe-ty, and lit-tle John was at once put in a French school. +He on-ly stayed for a-bout a year and went back home with his fa-ther +in the spring. Now for three months he was with his moth-er, and then +in No-vem-ber he and some oth-er boys who were placed in his fa-ther's +care, all start-ed for France, where they were to be put in a good +school. + +This trip was hard-er than the oth-er one, for the big ship, +"Sen-si-ble," sprang a leak, and af-ter some days of great per-il, they +were glad to go to the near-est land, which was Spain; and now there +was a long, hard trip by land be-fore France could be reached. They had +sailed on Nov. 13th, 1779, and it was not un-til Feb. 5th, 1780, that +the lit-tle par-ty reached Par-is. + +For two years now our lit-tle lad was hard at work with his books in +Par-is; then his fa-ther was sent to the Neth-er-lands as A-mer-i-can +Min-is-ter, and he took his lit-tle son there and placed him in a school +in Am-ster-dam; from here he went to the U-ni-ver-si-ty at Ley-den, +where he stayed un-til Ju-ly, 1781. + +He was now on-ly four-teen years old; but you see he had been in so +ma-ny lands, that he could speak as the folks did in those strange +lands, and this was a rare thing in those days. In 1781 Fran-cis Da-na, +then the A-mer-i-can Min-is-ter to Rus-sia, need-ing some one to help +him in his work, sent to Ley-den for this young boy. They passed +through Ger-ma-ny on the way to Rus-sia, and here John Quin-cy learned +some-thing of an-oth-er new land. Then, af-ter a year in Rus-sia, he +left Mr. Da-na and stud-ied for a year in Swe-den. The next spring he +went to his fa-ther in Hol-land, and then went to Par-is with him, and +was pres-ent when the trea-ty of peace be-tween Eng-land and A-mer-i-ca +end-ed the War of In-de-pend-ence. + +For two years more he stud-ied a-broad, and then sailed for home in May, +1783. He at once en-tered the jun-ior class at Har-vard Col-lege and +grad-u-a-ted with next to the high-est hon-ors in 1787. Then he took up +law, as his fa-ther had done, and be-gan to prac-tise in Bos-ton. He +made few friends; folks did not love him as they had ei-ther Mad-i-son +or Mon-roe, but he was al-ways known to be a man of great pow-er, and +of great learn-ing; and know-ing so much of other lands, he was just +the man to be sent as A-mer-i-can Min-is-ter to these coun-tries. + +In 1794 Wash-ing-ton sent him to Hol-land, and in 1796 he was sent to +Ber-lin. + +When, in 1801, Ad-ams came back home, it was to find new hon-ors +wait-ing for him. He was sent first to the State Sen-ate and then to +Con-gress. You see the steps by which our Pres-i-dents rose to pow-er +were much the same in ev-er-y case. A du-ty well done in a small place +led to some-thing a lit-tle high-er, and so on to the great-est hon-or +of all--the Pres-i-dent's chair. + +The State of Mas-sa-chu-setts was ver-y proud of John Quin-cy A-dams; +not only was he a great states-man and the son of the man whom they all +loved, but he was, as well, a fine schol-ar, and a bril-liant speak-er. +In 1809 he was sent a-broad a-gain for his coun-try; this time to +Rus-sia, where he had not been since he was a boy of four-teen; in 1815 +he was sent to France, but he was here on-ly a few months, when war +broke out in France, and all the min-is-ters from oth-er coun-tries were +called a-way; he went at once to Eng-land, and here he had a much more +pleasant time than his father had when he went there as the first +Amer-i-can min-is-ter; the U-nit-ed States was now known as a big strong +coun-try, and no one dared to be rude to her min-is-ter. In 1817 his own +land felt the need of the great man who had served her so well a-broad, +and he was called home to be-come Sec-re-ta-ry of State. No man was so +well fit-ted for this post as he; for there were ma-ny men from the +lands a-cross the sea, now com-ing and go-ing in the cap-i-tal of the +U-nit-ed States, to talk o-ver great ques-tions; there were new states +com-ing in-to the Un-i-on; and oth-er lands were al-ways try-ing to +gain a lit-tle pow-er here; so John Quin-cy Ad-ams, who not on-ly was +a great schol-ar, and a fine law-yer, but al-so knew well so ma-ny lands +be-sides his own, was just the man to help Pres-i-dent Mon-roe through +his eight years of work. + +He al-so was the man best suit-ed for the Pres-i-dent's chair, at +the end of Mon-roe's term of of-fice. Not once, while Ad-ams was in +Wash-ing-ton work-ing hard, did he for-get his old fa-ther, watch-ing, +in his home at Quin-cy, the bu-sy life of his great son. Once ev-er-y +year he went to the qui-et old home, and told his fa-ther of the life in +Wash-ing-ton, in which the old-er man had once held so great a place. + +At the age of six-ty-eight, Ad-ams went back to his home in Quin-cy, but +in 1830 once more he was sent to Con-gress, and for six-teen years he +kept his seat there; he grew old and gray serv-ing his na-tive land; he +made bit-ter en-e-mies, but ma-ny warm friends; he feared no one, and +his voice was al-ways for the free-dom of this great land. On No-vem-ber +19th, 1846, he had a stroke of par-al-y-sis while walk-ing in Bos-ton; +but three months later we saw him a-gain in Wash-ing-ton, and tak-ing +his old seat in Con-gress. As the gray old man came feeb-ly in-to the +hall, ev-er-y man pres-ent rose to his feet, and so stood un-til he +took his seat. He was too weak now to talk, and on-ly once more did he +try to speak his mind on one of the great ques-tions of the day. This +was on Feb-ru-a-ry 21st, 1848. He rose to speak, but fell in-to the arms +of a man near him; at once they took him in-to a cloak-room, and sent +for his wife. For two days did he lay there, and then, on the morn-ing +of Feb-ru-a-ry 23d, his great soul took its flight. His last words were: +"This is the last of life, and I am con-tent." + + + + +AN-DREW JACK-SON. + + +The boy who was to be our sev-enth Pres-i-dent did not lead the sort +of life, as boy or man, that the oth-er Pres-i-dents did. He was the son +of a poor I-rish-man who came here from Ire-land in 1765. He was born +on March 15th, 1767, in a small place in South Car-o-li-na, called the +Wax-haw Set-tle-ments. Poor and mean was the log house in which he first +saw the light, and when his fa-ther died, which was when An-drew was a +wee baby, the life of the lit-tle home was hard-er yet. His moth-er was +a brave, good wo-man, and so well did she do her hard part in life that +she was loved by all who knew her, and was known far and near as "Aunt +Bet-ty." + +Andrew was a great care to her when a boy, for, full of life and fun, he +did not care for books, and was at the head in all sorts of wild sport. +He was ev-er read-y for a fight with boys who made him an-gry; the small +boys looked to him for help in any strife with boys big-ger than they; +and so strong was he, or read-y to knock a boy down for a real or a +fan-cied wrong, that they soon found it best to give him his own way, +and let him take his place as lead-er a-mong them; when he was at the +head all went well. + +He was just nine years old when the Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence +was signed, and then came four years of war with Eng-land. In 1780 this +war was car-ried into the South, and on May 29th a number of Brit-ish +sol-diers un-der Colo-nel Tarle-ton killed and wounded over 200 of the +men and boys from the Wax-haw set-tle-ments. A-mong those who helped +to care for the hurt and dy-ing men were Mrs. Jack-son and her boys. +An-drew was on-ly four-teen when he fell in-to the hands of the +Brit-ish, and he, with o-ver one hun-dred sick and dy-ing men, was kept +for days in a dir-ty pen, with no beds, lit-tle to eat and on-ly stale +wa-ter to drink. To make things worse, small-pox broke out and An-drew +was one of those who had it. His brave moth-er was at last a-ble to free +him, and it was ow-ing to her lov-ing care that he did not die at this +aw-ful time. + +[Illustration: ANDREW JACKSON.] + +Af-ter he was well e-nough to be left, his moth-er, who was ver-y sor-ry +for the poor A-mer-ican sol-diers, went to Charles-ton to take care of +those who were sick and wound-ed here. Just as she had be-gun her no-ble +work she was ta-ken sick and died. + +Soon af-ter her death came the good news of peace; and now young An-drew +be-gan to pay some heed to his books, with the hope of stud-y-ing law. +He al-so taught school for a while, though he could not have been a +ver-y good teach-er, for he nev-er learned how to spell ver-y well +him-self. Still, in 1787, we find he has learned e-nough to take up the +prac-tice of law, and he be-gan this work in Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see; +and now we see the boy who had been the lead-er in boy-ish sports, games +and fights, be-come at once a lead-er a-mong men. He was tall and quite +good look-ing, with bright blue eyes and red-dish hair, and he was +full of fun and life; he rode horse-back well, and knew how to shoot +straight; and a-bove all he was a brave man, a-fraid of noth-ing. + +In 1788 he was giv-en a place in which he had to try for the State all +men who had done wrong and it need-ed, in those wild days and in that +new land, a brave man for such a work, for he would make ma-ny foes, +both a-mong the bad white men and the In-di-ans. His work took him from +Nash-ville to Jones-bor-ough, and here the In-di-ans were ver-y strong +and ver-y cru-el, kill-ing and rob-bing the white men and wo-men, and +e-ven the lit-tle ba-bies in their moth-ers' arms. Hear-ing and see-ing +day by day more and more of this sav-age war-fare, al-ways in dan-ger of +be-ing killed by night or day by some In-di-an hid-ing be-hind a tree or +house, Jack-son learned to know the In-di-ans and their hab-its bet-ter +than most men did, so was read-y to fight them in their own way in a +few years. + +He made his home in Nash-ville and built up a good law prac-tice. He +grew in pow-er so fast that in 1797 he was sent as the first man from +Ten-nes-see to Con-gress. He went all the way from his home to +Phil-a-del-phi-a, a dis-tance of 800 miles, on horse-back. In 1798 we +see him a-gain at home as Judge of the Su-preme Court, and here he +stayed un-til 1804. Then came four-teen years of peace for the land, and +a hap-py home life for him. A-mong oth-er things which Jack-son did at +this time was to build a large log store in which he kept all sorts of +things which both the white men and the In-di-ans want-ed. His home, +which was called "The Her-mit-age," was a fine house for those days, and +in later years it grew as well known as Mt. Ver-non and Mon-ti-cel-lo. +Jack-son was all through his life a man who would stand up for his own +way, if it led to strife with his best friend, and more than once he +fought du-els to the death. In Con-gress he would, when he rose to +speak, some-times choke with blind rage if he could not make his point +and force men to yield to him. + +Af-ter years of peace came the War of 1812, and from that hour +Jack-son's name was first in the minds of men. He showed great skill in +his fights with the red men, and won much fame in a fierce fight with +the Creeks, a bad tribe of In-di-ans in Al-a-ba-ma. + +He could force men to do as he said; the young men of that day looked +up-on him with awe and fear, but rushed to fill his ranks and serve +un-der him. + +In 1815 he won the day at New Or-le-ans, and put the Brit-ish troops to +flight with great loss of life. At the end of the war, back home went +Jack-son for the rest of which he stood in sore need; but, in 1818, +strife with the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans in Flor-i-da came up, and Jack-son +was sent there. + +At this time Spain owned Flor-i-da, and it was both Span-ish troops and +In-di-an foes that Jack-son had to meet, but he won his way, and at last +made Spain yield her rights in Flor-i-da and sign a peace. In 1823 she +sold Flor-i-da to us for $5,000,000; not such a great sum when we think +what a rich and great place this "Land of Flow-ers" is. Jack-son was +now put at the head of things in Flor-i-da, and the hard-est part of his +work was to keep peace in the bad tribe of Sem-i-nole In-di-ans. With +their chief Os-ce-o-la at their head they would creep out from the woods +and swamps of Flor-i-da, rush on the homes of the white men, and burn +them to the ground, and then dash back to the woods, where they could +safe-ly hide. At the end of four years Jack-son was glad to go home to +the Her-mit-age; here he and his wife led a qui-et life and kept up +ma-ny of the ways of their young days, though now they were quite rich. +Af-ter din-ner, they would sit, one on each side of the great big wood +fire, in the large hall, and smoke their old pipes, with the long +stems, just as they had in their log cab-in of long a-go. But the great +gen-er-al could not live this qui-et life long; in 1823 he was sent +to Con-gress; and here he met with high hon-or. On New Year's Day, +1824, the great men of the day gave him the pock-et tel-e-scope that +Wash-ing-ton had owned; a year from the day on which the Bat-tle of New +Or-le-ans was fought, John Quin-cy Ad-ams gave him a great feast, at +which were men, who held high rank here and in oth-er lands; and on the +day that he was fif-ty-sev-en years old, Pres-i-dent Mon-roe gave him a +gold badge for his brave acts in his fights for his coun-try. In 1828 +this rough, but brave and kind, old man, was made pres-i-dent; and now +he stood up for his own way, just as he had in the wars of his land, and +when he was but a boy. His first act was to stop some states in the +South from leav-ing the Un-ion. John C. Cal-houn was at the head of a +band of men, who felt that the North had more rights than the South; had +more than its share of wealth and land; so rose the wish to set up a +rule just for the South. "But," said Jack-son, "if one state goes out +oth-ers will; and our great land will be a ru-in." So he stopped this +plan, just in time. + +All the years that Jack-son was pres-i-dent, our great land gained in +strength; new rail-roads were built; and new steam-boats; the land grew +rich year by year. + +In 1824 the slaves in Mex-i-co were set free, and Tex-as came in-to the +Un-ion. + +On the whole, Jack-son's term was a good one for the land; and so well +did the peo-ple like him, that he is the on-ly pres-i-dent of whom it +has been said that he was bet-ter liked when he went out of of-fice +than when he went in. + +The last years of his life were spent at "The Her-mit-age," where he +died on June 8th, 1845. + + + + +THE LIFE OF MAR-TIN VAN BU-REN. + + +The place in which Mar-tin Van Bu-ren was born was far from the homes +of the oth-er boys who be-came our pres-i-dents; and his life, as a boy, +was not one bit like theirs. His fa-ther and moth-er were Dutch; Hoes +was his moth-er's queer name; and the name of the small town, in which, +on De-cem-ber 5th, 1782, he was born, was Dutch too--Kin-der-hook; the +lit-tle town was on the Hud-son Riv-er, way up in New York state. His +fa-ther kept a good inn, and had a small farm; so he could send Mar-tin +to good schools; Mar-tin was so quick and bright at his books that he +took up the study of law when he was four-teen; and at twen-ty-one he +was a law-yer and at work in Kin-der-hook. He was a man who made friends +with great ease; and as he was a good law-yer as well, his state soon +saw that he was the man to speak for it at Wash-ing-ton. So in 1821 he +was sent to Con-gress; then in 1828 he was made gov-ern-or of New York +state; and this was a big step toward the pres-i-dent's chair; he was +sec-re-tary of state when Jack-son was pres-i-dent; and in 1837 he took +the oath of of-fice, and be-came pres-i-dent. + +He was in of-fice on-ly one term; and those four years were hard ones +for him. + +Just at this time the men in Can-a-da tried to be free from Eng-land, +and have home-rule; and some of our men took sides with them; this made +Eng-land an-gry of course; and if Van Bu-ren had not put a stop to such +things, we should have had war once more; but he said all who tried to +give aid to Can-a-da should be sent to jail; and so the fear of war was +put down. + +At the end of Van Bu-ren's first term some want-ed him to take the chair +a-gain; but more want-ed Gen-er-al Har-ri-son, who had made a great name +in the In-di-an wars. Van Bu-ren was rich, and Har-ri-son was poor; +and this race for the pres-i-dent's chair was called the "Log Cab-in +a-gainst the White House." Af-ter Har-ri-son took the chair, Van Bu-ren +went back to his home at Kin-der-hook, where he lived in qui-et, until, +in 1848, he was once more put up for pres-i-dent; but James K. Polk had +more votes than he, and so won the e-lec-tion. + +In 1853 Van Bu-ren and his son went to Eu-rope, where they stayed two +years. He spent the rest of his life at his old home, where he died on +Ju-ly 24th, 1862. + +[Illustration: MARTIN VAN BUREN.] + +[Illustration: WILLIAM H. HARRISON.] + + + + +WIL-LIAM HEN-RY HAR-RI-SON. + + +Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son was born in Berke-ly, Vir-gin-i-a, on +Feb-ru-a-ry 9th, 1773; his fath-er, Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son, was not a +rich man, but lived at ease on a small farm; he was a man of much force +in his state, and was at one time its gov-ern-or. He was a brave, strong +man, and taught his small son to be like him; now while lit-tle Wil-liam +was hard at work at school, he heard much talk of the In-di-an wars; +and his heart was full of long-ing to fight these cru-el foes of the +white men. + +So, though he went to Hamp-den Syd-ney Col-lege, he did not stay long, +but left to join the ar-my. He was such a brave fight-er that, when he +was twen-ty-one, Wash-ing-ton put him in charge of the troops at Fort +Wash-ing-ton, just the place where the In-di-ans were strong-est and +most cru-el. + +Ma-jor Gen-er-al Wayne was at the head of the ar-my, and so rash and +fear-less was he, that his troops called him "Mad An-tho-ny." He knew +well how to fight the red men though, and in 1794 beat them in a fierce +fight, on the spot where the cit-y of De-troit now stands. So brave was +young Har-ri-son at this time, that he was made a cap-tain; for six +years Har-ri-son was in the heat of the In-di-an wars; and learned all +the sav-age ways of war; then he went home to rest, but was soon sent to +Congress. So well did he do his work here, that In-di-an-a now chose +him for gov-ern-or; and here he was so much liked that he kept his seat +three terms; the hard-est task that he had to do while gov-ern-or was to +keep peace with the In-di-ans; and side by side with his name, stands +that of a great and good In-di-an chief Te-cum-seh; for years these two +men tried to help the In-di-ans and teach them to live in peace; but at +last the hate of the red men for the whites who were forc-ing them +from their lands, end-ed in a great fight at Tip-pe-ca-noe, where the +In-di-ans lost the bat-tle. So brave had Har-ri-son been in this fight, +that he was made a gen-er-al; and in the War of 1812 was put at the head +of the ar-my. At the close of the war, the brave old In-di-an fight-er +went to live on his farm at South Bend, In-di-an-a, in the then state of +O-hi-o; but he was too great a man to live a qui-et life, and was sent +to Con-gress twice and once a-broad in his coun-try's serv-ice. Then in +1836, he ran for Pres-i-dent, but did not get the most votes; four years +la-ter he was put up once more, and he and John Ty-ler won by a big +vote. It was in this race for Pres-i-dent, that the song was sung, whose +cho-rus you hear to-day: "Tip-pe-ca-noe and Ty-ler, too." + +On the 4th of March, 1841, Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son, the old In-di-an +fight-er, now six-ty-eight years old, came from years of qui-et home +life, to take up the cares and wor-ries of a pres-i-dent's life, but the +task was too much for him, and a month af-ter-ward, on A-pril 4th, 1841, +the brave old man died. + + + + +JOHN TY-LER. + + +As a boy, the life of John Ty-ler was much the same as that of the boys +of to-day. He was born on March 29th, 1790, in Charles Cit-y, +Vir-gin-i-a, at a time when the whole land was at peace. No talk of the +red men came to his young ears; and no fear fell like a dark cloud over +the fun and play of his boy-hood. He was the son of a man who had for +friends the great men of his day;--Wash-ing-ton and Ben-ja-min +Har-ri-son were warm, close friends of old John Ty-ler; and he was at +one time Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a. Young John was sent to school when +he was a ver-y small boy; and, though he was fond of sports and games, +he kept hard at work at his books and won a high place at school. He +was a mere boy when he could en-ter Wil-liam and Ma-ry Col-lege; and he +left in 1806 at the head of his class. He at once took up law with his +fa-ther, and soon showed the good stuff of which he was made. Clear and +quick was his mind, swift to think and feel; and his words came as fast +as his thoughts. He rose with great, quick strides towards the first +place in the land. In 1825 he was made Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a; and in +1827, was sent to Con-gress, where he kept his seat for six years; these +were years of strife as to the slave trade, and there were fierce, hard +words and harsh thoughts be-tween the men of the North and those of the +South. Ty-ler was at home for a few years af-ter he left Con-gress, and +took a high place as a law-yer. In 1836 he was put up with Har-ri-son in +the race for the pres-i-dent's chair. But it was not till 1840 that he +won this place; then, as the vice-pres-i-dent had not a great deal to +do, Ty-ler went home to Wil-liams-burg. It was here that the sad news +of Har-ri-son's death was brought to him, and he at once went on to +Wash-ing-ton. Here he found he had a hard task; for he and his Con-gress +did not think the same on the great ques-tions of the day and were +ev-er at strife. One of his first acts was to put down a state war +in Mis-sou-ri. A Mor-mon, by the name of Smith, and a band of men who +thought as he did went down there to live; folks there did not like this +and tried to drive them out of the state, but this was a hard thing to +do, for there were a-bout 12,000 Mor-mons. At last, Ty-ler sent troops +there to put down the strife, and the Mor-mons were sent to Il-li-nois. +They were here but a short time when the same old strife a-rose, and +then they fled to the lands in the far west--where they are to-day, +in the state of Utah. War broke out in Tex-as while Ty-ler was in the +chair, and af-ter fierce fights be-tween the Tex-ans and Mex-i-cans the +Tex-ans won, and were at the head of the state. They asked at once to +come in-to the Un-ion, and in 1845 this great state came in. In the last +year of Ty-ler's rule Sam-u-el F. B. Morse found out how to send words +in just a flash of time through miles and miles of space; and you +chil-dren know well that the fine wire stretched from one great pole to +the next on which the quick news was sent was called the "tel-e-graph." + +At the end of Ty-ler's first term, James Knox Polk had the most votes, +and so took the pres-i-dent's chair; and this news was the first that +was sent o-ver the tel-e-graph wires. + +[Illustration: JOHN TYLER.] + +[Illustration: JAMES K. POLK.] + + + + +JAMES KNOX POLK. + + +As a boy James Knox Polk led a life that would please a good ma-ny +of the boys of to-day. He was born in Meck-len-burg County, North +Car-o-li-na, on No-vem-ber 2d, 1705; but in 1806 his fa-ther went to +Duck Farm, Ten-nes-see, and lit-tle James, e-lev-en years old, was of +much help in the new home. Where the day's work took the big, strong +fa-ther, there went the small son; if there was a long ride to get food +or clothes from some big town, lit-tle James could help care for the +hors-es and when his fa-ther and oth-er men, for weeks at a time, were +in the great, wild woods, hunt-ing, mak-ing new roads, or helping each +oth-er build the log cab-ins, which were the homes of these ear-ly +set-tlers, James would be there too, cook-ing meals and keep-ing the +camp neat and bright for the men who came back tired and hun-gry at +night. + +So years passed by with much work in the o-pen air and lit-tle of stud-y +or books; but when James was four-teen years old it was time that he +should earn mon-ey. + +He was not a big, strong boy; he could not stand rough, hard work on +a farm; he did not love to hunt; he had no taste for war; so he was put +in a small store, that he might learn to man-age a big store when he +grew old. + +Here he first saw some books, and his love for them a-woke; for weeks +and months he worked a-lone with an-y book or pa-per he could find. + +At last his fa-ther took him from the store and sent him to school; he +was now eight-een, but he was so quick to learn, so bright and smart, +that five years from this time he left the U-ni-ver-si-ty of North +Car-o-li-na at the head of his class. + +When he came back to Duck Riv-er, not on-ly was his fa-ther proud of his +boy, but all Ten-nes-see knew that he was one of the bright-est young +men in the state. + +Now, just at this time, Gen-er-al Jack-son was fight-ing so brave-ly +a-gainst the In-di-ans and all the boys of Ten-nes-see were as proud of +this great he-ro as the boys of Vir-gin-i-a had been of Wash-ing-ton. In +1819, when young James Polk went to Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see, to take up +law, he was near Jack-son's home; and he and the great Gen-er-al be-came +fast friends. It was ow-ing to Jack-son's help that, in 1824, Polk, then +a bright young law-yer, took his first pub-lic step and was sent to the +state leg-is-la-ture. + +He a-rose so fast in the love and trust of his state that he was sent to +Con-gress when on-ly thir-ty years old; and here he stayed for thir-teen +years. + +In 1840 he went back to his home at Grun-dy's Hill in Nash-ville, +hav-ing made a great name in Wash-ing-ton; not once did he lose his hold +on the great ques-tions of the day, e-ven while here at home; and in +1845 he was chos-en pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. + +While he was in of-fice, once more the U-nit-ed States was at war, and +this war is known as the "Mex-i-can War." Its cause was this:-- + +Our peo-ple in Mex-i-co said that a big tract of land down there was +theirs; the Mex-i-cans laid claim to it too; so Gen-er-al Tay-lor went +down to see that our rights were looked af-ter. + +In the first fight he won, and lost but nine men; then he laid siege to +their great cit-y of Mon-te-rey, and af-ter a hard fight took the town. + +That same year Gen-er-al Scott took the cit-y of Ve-ra Cruz; on +Sep-tem-ber 14th, 1847, the A-mer-i-can troops took the cit-y of +Mex-i-co, and the long war was at an end. + +In 1848 came the news of great gold mines in Cal-i-for-ni-a; and men +went in such num-bers to this state that the "Gold Fe-ver of 1849" is +a well known term to-day. + +While Polk was in the chair, three new states came in; and two of them +were free states; that is, no slaves could be kept there; just at this +time some men formed a band, and said that no slaves should be kept in +an-y new state which the U-nit-ed States should gain. + +In 1849 Polk went home to Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see; he was on-ly +fif-ty-eight years old; but was so worn out with years of work that he +lived but a few months af-ter he got home; he died on the 15th of June, +in the same year. + + + + +ZACH-A-RY TAY-LOR. + + +Zach-a-ry Tay-lor was born in Vir-gin-i-a, on No-vem-ber 24th, 1784; but +when he was a small boy his fa-ther went to live in Ken-tuck-y; and long +af-ter the rest of the land was at peace this state was the scene of +such fierce fights with the In-di-ans that it was known as "The dark and +blood-y ground." It is not strange that this boy, who lived at a time +when wo-men as well as men had to know how to load and fire guns, so +that they could help to keep the red men from their homes, should have +grown up to be a brave, strong man. + +As a boy he went to good schools, but cared far more for the tales of +war which his brave fa-ther told him than he did for his books; he did +love books which told of great fights and brave men, and read all that +he could get. When he was just of age he went to war, in place of a +friend, and was so brave and fear-less that he soon took a high place. + +He was in the great fight of Tip-pe-ca-noe; and all through the War of +1812 he showed great skill in his fights with the red men;--well he knew +all their tricks and modes of war. He gained great fame in Flor-i-da, +when he was sent there to make the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans keep the peace. +For years had this tribe of In-di-ans made war on the white men; their +chief, Os-ce-o-la, had, years a-go, gone to one of the forts with his +wife, who was a slave girl; he had been put in chains, and she held +at the fort. In his rage, he had sworn to lead his men in war, when he +could get to them; at last his chance had come, and he had fled by night +from the fort. To rouse his tribe and hurl them at the whites, was +his first thought; and long and cru-el were the fights that went on for +years. At last Tay-lor was sent to Flor-i-da; and now a trick was played +on this great chief of the In-di-ans; with a flag of truce, he came +to the fort to talk with the gen-er-al; and by the or-ders of the +gen-er-al, he was held there a pris-on-er; he was sent, at last, to Fort +Moul-trie in Charles-ton har-bor, and there, in the year 1838, he died. +With their chief dead, the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans had no heart for war; +and soon the few red men left of this great, fierce tribe were put far +a-way from each oth-er, in new states, and there was peace in Flor-i-da. + +Gen-er-al Tay-lor won great fame in the Mex-i-can War; in 1847 he +won the fight of Bu-e-na Vis-ta, which took place on Wash-ing-ton's +birth-day; and he won too the fights of Pa-lo Al-to and Mon-te-rey. On +Sep-tem-ber 24th, 1847, our troops took the cit-y of Mex-i-co, and the +war was brought to an end. As Tay-lor went home to Ba-ton Rouge, he met +with praise, at each place he passed; folks came in crowds to see the +great he-ro; cheers filled the air; flags were raised and guns were +fired; he was the i-dol of the land. His men too were fond of him, for +all through the war he had been kind and good to them, and shared their +hard life. He was such a he-ro to the whole land, that it is not strange +that he was named for the next pres-i-dent, and got the most votes. He +took the chair of state in 1849, but the brave old man came in just at +the time when the strife a-bout slaves was at its height; and the cares +of the of-fice were too much for him, as they had been for Har-ri-son. +On Ju-ly 4th, 1850, there was a great time in Wash-ing-ton, in which +he took part; but his health was too weak to stand this strain; and +in the midst of his work, on Ju-ly 9th, 1850, the brave old In-di-an +fight-er died. + +[Illustration: ZACHARY TAYLOR.] + +[Illustration: MILLARD FILLMORE.] + + + + +MIL-LARD FILL-MORE. + + +In a log ca-bin way out in the western part of New York State, deep in +the dense, wild woods, was born, on Jan-u-a-ry 7th, 1800, the boy who +was to be the thir-teenth pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. His +fa-ther had gone there from Ver-mont, to get a-way from the In-di-ans, +who gave no peace in his old home; and no house stood near-er than four +miles to the lit-tle home he had built in the wild new land; there was +no school; and if there had been lit-tle Mil-lard had not much time to +go; for he was ver-y young, when he was taught to earn mon-ey and help +in the lit-tle home. He learned how to make cloth from the soft white +wool; and was hard at work, in this way, till he was nine-teen years +old; then a love of books came to him; and a law-yer took note of +him and gave him such aid that he soon took a high place in the +law-stud-ies. When he was twen-ty-two, he went to Buf-fa-lo, and taught +school, to help pay his way, as he went on with the stud-y of law. He +was bright and quick, and, in 1823, he be-gan to prac-tise law and +soon rose to such a high place in the state bar that his state sent +him to Con-gress. Here his work was done so well that he was made +vice-pres-i-dent, when Tay-lor took the pres-i-dent's seat; and on his +death be-came pres-i-dent. + +While he was in the chair one of his aids was the great Dan-iel +Web-ster, who looked af-ter the laws of all the states. He had been in +of-fice but a short time, when a band of men tried to get Cu-ba from +Spain; but they were soon put down. He was in of-fice one term, and then +went home to Buf-fa-lo, and took up the prac-tice of law a-gain. In 1855 +he went to Eu-rope, where he stayed for one year; he then came home to +lead a qui-et life, full of stud-y, till his death on March 8th, 1874. + + + + +FRANK-LIN PIERCE. + + +A brave sol-dier in the War of the Rev-o-lu-tion was Ben-ja-min Pierce, +the fa-ther of the boy who was to be our four-teenth pres-i-dent; and +it was in the old town of Hills-bor-ough, New Hamp-shire, that, on +No-vem-ber 22d, 1804, Frank-lin Pierce was born. The fa-ther was a big +strong man, fond of sports and fun of all kinds and much liked by all; +he was the chief man in Hills-bor-ough, and was at one time gov-ern-or +of his state. In such a home it is not hard to see that the life of +lit-tle Frank-lin would be full of work and play as well. He was sent to +good schools, and was just six-teen when he went to Bow-do-in Col-lege. +He was full of fun, and at once took the lead in the col-lege life; but +he worked hard at his books too; in 1824 he left col-lege, and took up +the stud-y of law, and soon be-came one of the bar. He was now at his +old home in Hills-bor-ough, and folks felt that he was a man of brains +and great force; he was sent to Con-gress, and held high of-fice in his +state while he was still a young man; and in the Mex-i-can War he showed +him-self as brave a man as his fa-ther had been. At last, in 1853, he +was made pres-i-dent. At this time, the strife as to the slave trade +was at its height; some states wished to have slaves, while some held +it wrong. At last Con-gress made a law that all new states should do +as they pleased. The first "World's Fair" was held in New York, just +at this time, in a great hall made of glass, which was known as "The +Crys-tal Pal-ace." + +Pierce was in of-fice one term; at the end of that time he went back +home to Con-cord, Mas-sa-chu-setts, where he lived a qui-et life un-til +his death, on Oc-to-ber 8th, 1867. + +[Illustration: FRANKLIN PIERCE.] + +[Illustration: JAMES BUCHANAN.] + + + + +JAMES BU-CHAN-AN. + + +A strong, brave, young man from Ire-land was the fa-ther of our +fif-teenth pres-i-dent. He had come here in 1783, and bought a small +farm in Penn-syl-va-ni-a; so well did he do that he soon bought a store +as well; and when, on A-pril 23d, 1791, at Cove Gap, lit-tle James was +born, his fa-ther was quite a rich man. He sent his son to the best +schools and he was just six-teen years old when he went to Dick-in-son +col-lege. Here he took first place with ease. In 1809, when he left +col-lege, he be-gan the stud-y of law. In the War of 1812 he served in +the ar-my; and at the close of the war his state chose him to help make +her laws. He was a young man when his state sent him to Wash-ing-ton +where he held his place in Con-gress for ten years. In 1831 he was sent +to Rus-sia to look out for our rights there; and in 1853 he held the +same post in Eng-land. You see, he rose fast to the first place in the +land, for in 1857 he was made pres-i-dent. While he was in the chair of +state, the Prince of Wales came here for the first time, and this shows +that Eng-land felt we were now one of the big coun-tries of the world, +and that she must treat us as such. + +It was while Bu-chan-an was pres-i-dent that Cy-rus W. Field laid the +first wire un-der the O-cean, by which words could be sent from this new +land to those old lands on the oth-er side. The talk a-bout slav-er-y +was so fierce at this time that a fight in which brave lives were lost +took place, and the name which shines out bright is that of John Brown +of Kan-sas. He was a friend of the black men, and took their part. He +struck the first blow in their cause at the fort at Har-per's Fer-ry, +which he held for two days. He took all the guns that were there, as he +wished to arm the black men and then lead them to the South to fight for +their friends, held there as slaves. Of course this was a-gainst the law +of the land, and troops were sent to seize this brave and good man. His +two sons fought with him, and he saw them both shot down, but he did not +give up till in the heat of the fight he fell with six wounds. He did +not die at this time; af-ter this he was hung as one who had fought +a-gainst the law of his land. His last act, as he was on his way to the +place where he was to be hung, was to kiss a lit-tle ba-by which a poor +slave held up to him as he passed. + +His death was not in vain, for from now on the ques-tion of sla-ver-y +was the talk of the whole land, and in 1860 South Car-o-li-na took the +lead and said that she would not bear the laws of the Un-ion, but would +rule her land in her own way. Soon, six more South-ern states said the +same; and these states which cut loose from the North were called the +"Con-fed-er-a-cy;" at the head as pres-i-dent was Jef-fer-son Da-vis. + +This was the state of things when Bu-chan-an left the chair, and went +to his home in Penn-syl-va-ni-a, at a place called Wheat-land. + +In the last year of his life he wrote a book of his life, which is still +in print. He died at his home on June 1st, 1868. He was the last of the +"Peace" pres-i-dents, for it was A-bra-ham Lin-coln who took his place, +and in his term the strife as to the slave trade led to our "Civ-il War." + + + + +A-BRA-HAM LIN-COLN. + + +Thom-as Lin-coln, who was the fa-ther of A-bra-ham Lin-coln, had seen +a sad sight when he was but a boy of eight years; while he and his +brothers were hard at work with their fa-ther in the dense, wild woods +which grew close to their small home in Ken-tuck-y, an In-di-an chief +crept close to them; he fired one shot, and the boys saw their big, +strong fa-ther fall dead. They were brave boys, and while one ran for +help, the oth-ers kept at bay the In-di-ans who came from the woods. A +band of men soon came to their aid, and drove the fierce red men back to +the woods. It was a rough, hard life in which Thom-as Lin-coln grew up; +and he could not read or write when, at twen-ty years, he took as his +wife Miss Nan-cy Hanks; she was a bright girl and soon taught him at +least to write his name. + +[Illustration: LINCOLN'S EARLY HOME.] + +[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.] + +It was a poor log-house in Har-din Coun-ty, Ken-tuck-y, to which he +took his bride; and yet in this home so mean and small, was born, on +Feb-ru-a-ry 12th, 1809, the boy who was to be pres-i-dent of this great +land. Few boys and girls know what it is to be as poor as this lit-tle +boy was, or to lead as hard and sad a life. His clothes were thin and +poor, his shoes, when he had an-y, were oft-en full of holes; he did +not al-ways have as much as he would like to eat, and in the long, hard +win-ters he was oft-en ver-y cold. It was not an eas-y life, and it was +full of hard work, for peo-ple in this rough place could not read and +there were no schools; but when he was still a young boy his folks moved +to In-di-an-a, and though there was more work to be done, life was not +quite so sad, for he and his sis-ter Nan-cy now had a play-mate, their +cous-in, Den-nis Hanks, who was full of life and fun. "Abe," as folks +called him, was but eight years old when his par-ents went out into the +West to live, but he was so strong that he could help chop down the +trees of which the new home was made; then, too, he learned how to shoot +the game and wild fowl in the big woods, and so could bring good things +in-to the house to eat. But a dark time came in his life soon, for the +kind, good moth-er took sick and died. Her death was a great loss to +"Abe," and he felt much grief that there was no one to say a pray-er at +her grave; so he wrote to the min-is-ter in the old home in Ken-tuck-y, +and asked him if he would not come there and bless his moth-er's grave. +This good man came as soon as he could, but it was a long while af-ter +her death be-fore "Abe" had his wish. That win-ter was long and hard for +the poor lit-tle boy and girl with no moth-er to see that they were +warm, or that they had good food to eat; but in the fall of 1819, the +fa-ther brought home a new wife, Mrs. Sal-ly John-son and now at last a +ray of bright light came to stay with "Abe" and Nan-cy. The new moth-er +was a good, kind wo-man, and was quite rich for those days. She soon had +the home bright and neat; she put good warm clothes on "Abe" and Nan-cy; +saw that they had food to eat and at once sent them to school. + +"Abe" was now e-lev-en years old, tall and big, and of more strength +than most boys of his age. His fa-ther hired him out for all sorts of +work; to pitch hay, to chop wood, to help on the farm; no work was too +hard for this big, strong boy; but, with all this work, he kept at his +books too. Late at night, while all the rest slept, he would stud-y his +books; and as books were few he read them ma-ny times o-ver; one of the +books he loved the most was the "Life of Wash-ing-ton." + +He was a young man, for it was in March, 1828, that a chance came to him +to see more of life; he was hired to take a boat filled with skins down +the Mis-sis-sip-pi Riv-er to New Or-le-ans; he did this work well, and +when he came back was paid a good price for it. He was just of age when +his folks went to Il-li-nois to live; and now he helped build a home, +cleared a big field in which it stood, split rails to fence it in, and +then went off to make his own way in life. + +The first thing he did was to help build a flat-boat and then take it +down to New Or-le-ans; when he came back the man who owned the boat gave +him a place in his store at New Sa-lem; and now he had a good chance to +get books to read; and you may be sure he was glad of this. He was soon +known in the place as a bright young man, and one who would not lie, +or steal, or do an-y mean thing; he was full of fun and jokes, and the +folks in the town were all fond of him; he was called "Hon-est Abe." +When the "Black Hawk War" broke out he went at the head of a small band +of men to the seat of war; he was in no great fight, but learned much of +war and how to rule the rough men who were in his care. + +When he came home he was felt to be one of the first men in the town, +and in 1834 he took a high place in the state. He now took up the +stud-y of law, and was soon in ac-tive prac-tise; he had a good, kind +heart, and did much good to those who were too poor to pay him. In 1846 +he was sent to Con-gress; this time he was there but one year; then came +back to Spring-field, Il-li-nois, and built up a fine law prac-tise. His +name was now known through all this great land; and in the slave strife +he was al-ways on the side of the slaves. He spoke so oft-en for the +slaves that in 1860, the South said if he was put up for pres-i-dent, by +the North and West, they would leave the Union. But he was just the man +to fill this high office at this time; and as he had the most votes he +took the of-fice of Pres-i-dent in 1861. There is a sto-ry told of these +days, which shows that Lin-coln, when a great man, had no shame for the +days when he was poor. Old John Hanks, who had helped him build that +rail fence so long a-go, came to Il-li-nois with two of those rails; and +on them was a big card which told where they came from, and who split +them. Lin-coln was just a-bout to make a speech to a big crowd; and +when he saw these rails he said that he had split them when a boy, but +thought he could do bet-ter now. Then shouts and cheers went up from the +crowd, you may be sure; and from that time Lin-coln was known in the +race for pres-i-dent as "The Rail Split-ter." + +When he left his home to go to Wash-ing-ton, a great crowd came to see +him off, but he was so sad he could not say much to them. There were +plots to kill him at this time, and he knew it; but he gave no thought +to his own life, and went straight to his post of du-ty as Pres-i-dent. +It was with a sad heart that he saw this great land torn with war; and +he would have been glad to keep peace, but this he could not do. When +the South fired at the flag of the Un-ion at Fort Sum-ter, a cry went +up through the whole land. The South fought for what it called "States +Rights;" the right of each state to rule in its own way; but this +Lin-coln would not have. He cared more for the Un-ion than he did for +the slaves; for, though he thought all men should be free, he said, +if he could save the Un-ion, he did not care if not one slave was made +free; he had no wish to keep the South from its rights; but, at last, he +felt it wise to send out a bill, which said that all the slaves should +be free, and have the same rights as white men. This land was in no +state for war; much had to be done; clothes and food got for the troops; +and arms as well had to be made or bought at once. The first great fight +was at Bull Run in Vir-gin-i-a; and the loss of life on both sides was +great; the North lost from the first; men who had nev-er been in a fight +be-fore went mad with fear and ran for their lives. But at the fight at +Get-tys-burg the men of the North were brave and fought with such skill +that the great fight was won by the North. + +Grant was put at the head of the troops who went down to free +Mis-sis-sip-pi; and it was not long be-fore he placed the Stars and +Stripes over this fair state. The South made a brave fight, for what it +thought was right and just; but as the war went on, the troops of the +South were in a bad state; they could get no food, no clothes, and so +ma-ny men had been shot that in the last years of the war young boys had +to help fill up the ranks. Now came Sher-man's march to the sea, and he +took Sa-van-nah and all its guns and stores. This was a great blow, and +now one by one the sea-ports of the South fell in-to the hands of the +North. At last Gen-er-al Lee, a great and good man of the South, sent +word to Grant that he would come to terms and make peace. Grant was +kind at this hard time; he let Lee keep his sword, and said that the men +might keep all their hors-es. It was in A-pril, 1865, that peace came +to our great land; and the North went mad with joys; bells pealed, and +fires blazed in the streets; flags were raised and guns were fired; but +in the South there was no joy; on-ly great grief. + +From the grief of the South a great crime sprang; on the night of A-pril +14th, as Lin-coln sat in a box at the the-a-tre watch-ing a play he +was shot by a man from the South named Wilkes Booth. When he had shot +Lin-coln, this man sprang on the stage and tried to run from the place; +he fell and broke his leg; but in this state he got to the door, where +he jumped on his horse and fled for his life. He was found at last in a +barn, and made such a brave fight for his life that the barn had to be +set on fire be-fore he could be caught; e-ven then he would not come out +and give him-self up; but fought till he was shot down where he stood. + +Lin-coln had been shot in the back of his head, and could not move or +speak;--men took him with care to a house near by, but there was no help +for him; and in the ear-ly morn of the next day a great life came to a +sad end. The whole land, the South as well as the North, wept at his +death; for no sane man felt that Booth's deed was wise or just; and to +this day the name of A-bra-ham Lin-coln, the "Sav-iour of his Coun-try," +is held dear by North and South. + + + + +AN-DREW JOHN-SON. + + +An-drew John-son's life as a boy was quite as hard as that of lit-tle +"Abe" Lin-coln. He was born in Ra-leigh, North Car-o-li-na, on +De-cem-ber 29th, 1808, in a small log cab-in; and near his home were +the big farms of the rich men of the South, on which lived in more +ease than he the slaves, who looked down on his fa-ther and mo-ther +as "poor white trash." + +His fa-ther died when An-drew was but four years old; he must have been +a brave man, for he lost his life try-ing to save a man from drown-ing. +Lit-tle An-drew was too poor to go to school; he had to try and earn +mon-ey, when he was but ten years old; so he was sent to a tail-or to +learn to make clothes; here, for five years he worked hard; and then he +heard a man read; and for the first time it came to his mind that he +could learn to do this; he got the men in the shop to teach him his +"A, B, C;" and he was so quick to learn that soon he could read a +lit-tle; but it was not till he was wed to a bright young girl that he +learned a great deal of books; this was when he was eight-een, and he +had gone to Green-ville, Ten-nes-see, to set up in life for him-self. +These young folks were both poor, but both bright; and the wife was a +great help to John-son all through his life. He rose fast in his new +home; we see him, from the first, take the part of the poor; and he +was soon put in high of-fice in the town; it was not long ere he rose +to a high place in the state, and, in 1843, we see the poor lit-tle +tail-or boy of 1826 in the halls of Con-gress, stand-ing up for the +rights of the class in which he was born. In 1846 he took the seat of +John Quin-cy Ad-ams, who was too sick to hold it; does it not seem +strange that two men who had lived as boys so un-like should rise to +just the same place? For ten years he was in Wash-ing-ton, where he +helped make the laws of the land; then in 1853, he was made gov-ern-or +of Ten-nes-see. When the Civ-il War broke out, he took sides with +the North, though he was born in the South and lived there; and when +Lin-coln was made pres-i-dent he took the next place as vice-pres-i-dent. + +[Illustration: ANDREW JOHNSON.] + +On Lin-coln's death, he took the pres-i-dent's chair. The whole land was +now up-set; in the South the white men had no work; and the slaves did +not know how to care for them-selves. In the North there was strife as +to the terms on which the South should come back in-to the Un-ion; and +on ma-ny things John-son and his Con-gress did not think the same; so +there was strife be-tween them. It came to its height in 1868, when the +Sen-ate tried John-son for "high crimes and mis-de-mean-ors;" this means +that Con-gress thought the pres-i-dent did not act for the good of the +land, and should be put out of of-fice; but the men who tried him did +not all think the same; and most of them said he should keep his place. + +So he was in the chair for four years, and then went home to +E-liz-a-beth-town, Ten-nes-see, where he lived till his death on +Ju-ly 29th, 1875. + + + + +U-LYS-SES SIMP-SON GRANT. + + +The boy who was to be first a great gen-er-al in the ar-my, and then +Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States, was born at Point Pleas-ant, O-hi-o, +A-pril 27th, 1822. As a boy he did not care for books, but was fond of +sports and games, and had a great love for horses; he was but eight +years old when he put a young colt to a sled, and hauled sticks and logs +from the woods to his home; and he was but twelve when he made a trade +of a horse he had for a young colt which had not been used much; on his +way home a dog sprang at the colt, which, at once, mad with fear, tried +to run a-way; the boy held fast to his reins, and stopped the colt just +on the edge of a great cliff; but it was in such fear that it would not +move, and the boy for a time knew not what to do. At last he took his +hand-ker-chief, tied it o-ver the colt's eyes, and so drove him home. +Folks near the Grant home said there was no horse which young U-lys-ses +could not ride; he was a boy who had a firm will and strong nerves; and +was at the head in all sports or games; for young boys soon learn which +one of them must take the lead. + +He did not stand so high in school, but did his tasks well; and in 1839 +he went to West Point. Here he soon had ma-ny friends; and they gave him +a name which clung to him for life; he was called "Uncle Sam," from the +U. S. in his first two names. At West Point, he read a great deal of +war, and the men who had done brave deeds for their coun-try; and +when he left there he was, at heart, as well as in name, a sol-dier of +his coun-try. He at once took his place with the troops, who were at war +with the In-di-ans in the West; but his first big fight was at Pa-lo +Al-to in 1846. At the close of this war Grant, who had shown much skill, +and knew no fear, was sent to the West once more to force the In-di-ans +to keep peace. + +[Illustration: ULYSSES S. GRANT.] + +He was in Cal-i-for-ni-a while the gold craze was at its height, to try +and make the rough men who came in search of gold keep the laws of the +land. Then, from 1854, he had a few years of peace, and start-ed to tan +hides and skins, in Ga-le-na, Il-li-nois; but his life was ev-er at his +coun-try's call; and he was one of the first men to take up arms in the +Civil War. He was made a gen-er-al soon af-ter the war broke out; and +one of his first acts was to block all the streams and roads near his +post at Cai-ro, on the O-hi-o River, so that the South could get no food +or arms. Grant was known as a brave fight-er, and oft-en was in the +midst of the fight at the head of his men. At a great loss of life to +his troops, he took two strong forts from the South, Forts Hen-ry and +Don-el-son; and then came that great fight at Shi-loh; where the troops +of the South were cut down, and the North won the day; Grant was now put +next to the head of the whole ar-my; and at once tried to take the cit-y +of Vicks-burg. The siege of this cit-y was hard for those in its walls, +and for the troops in front of it; for Grant and his men could get no +food from the North, and the cit-y was quite cut off from help. The +cit-y made a brave stand for two long months; but had to give in at +last, and at the end of that time Grant and his men marched in-to the +cit-y; now this great gen-er-al showed what a kind heart he had, for he +gave food and clothes to the poor men who had fought so long and so +well, to save their town; and he tried hard, at this time, to think of +some way to bring the war to a close. Grant was not a hard man, but he +was a just one; and in his camps, the men must live the right sort of +lives; he would not let his men steal food from the farms a-bout them, +or rob the poor folks in their homes. He was a plain man, and his dress +showed his plain tastes; once, when he had his troops march past him, +that he might see how they looked, he wore such a plain garb that his +cap-tains were dressed bet-ter than he. He wore no sword, sash, nor +belt; just a plain, dark suit, with a soft felt hat on his head, and a +pair of kid gloves on his hands; he was a great smoker, and, it is said, +his big plans were all made when his ci-gar was in his mouth. In 1863, +Grant won a great fight at Chat-ta-noo-ga; and in the fierce fight in +the Wil-der-ness, he and Gen-er-al Lee met for the first time. + +Grant's next great work was to seize Pe-ters-burg; and so he laid siege +to the town; he dug a huge mine in front of the doomed cit-y, and filled +it full of pow-der that would go off when fired with a match; when this +great charge went off, the fort was blown to small bits, and heaps of +dead and dy-ing men lay in the midst of the ru-in; but the brave men of +the South still held the fort, and drove back the troops from the North +as they rushed up; and so well did they fight that Grant and his men had +to draw back, and leave Pe-ters-burg a-lone for some time. + +The next time he tried to take the town though, Gen-er-al Lee, who was +in charge, was forced to yield; and soon the red, white and blue waved +o-ver the South-ern cit-y. Soon af-ter this, Grant took from Lee all the +troops in his charge; and it was now plain to see that the war must +soon end. + +You read in the life of Lin-coln, of the terms of peace which Grant gave +to the great chief of the South; and it seems that these two men, Grant +and Lee, had no hard thoughts for each other; for when peace was made, +they shook hands, and part-ed friends. Each had done his best in the +cause he thought right. Grant's trip to the North when the war was at +an end was a grand one; crowds rushed to see the man who had saved the +Union, and cheers and shouts rang to the skies. He was, of course, named +for pres-i-dent and a great vote put him in of-fice. + +He was in the pres-ident's seat for two terms; and was the on-ly man +since Wash-ing-ton, who was thought of for a third term; but this the +whole land said no to; as no man should be pres-i-dent longer than +Wash-ing-ton had been. In Grant's last term, a big fair was held in +Phil-a-del-phi-a, called the "Cen-ten-ni-al;" to keep in mind this was +the great day on which this land was made free. At the end of Grant's +two terms, he took a tour of the world; and all lands made much of the +sol-dier pres-i-dent; rich gifts were placed in his hands; and at the +courts of the old world, kings and queens were glad to have this plain +qui-et man as a guest. + +His last home was in New York; and here, in 1884, he fell sick; he lost +much mon-ey at this time, and was, in truth, a poor man. But he was, to +the last, a brave man; and in the midst of much pain, he wrote the book +of his life, that when he was dead his wife should have mon-ey from its +sale. + +He died after eight long months of great pain, at Mt. Mc-Greg-or, near +Sar-a-to-ga, on July 23d, 1885; his bod-y lay in state in New York for +some days, and crowds from far and near came to view this great man for +the last time. + +He was laid to rest Au-gust 8th, 1885, at Riv-er-side Park, New York +Cit-y; and the white mar-ble tomb that marks this spot is a gift to the +great dead, from the land he served so well. + + + + +RUTH-ER-FORD B. HAYES. + + +Ruth-er-ford B. Hayes was born in Del-a-ware, O-hi-o, Oc-to-ber 4th, +1822; such a strong, ro-sy lit-tle boy was he, that he had the pet name +of "Rud-dy;" his fa-ther had a big farm and a store as well, so he was +quite rich, and lit-tle Rud-dy grew up in a bright and hap-py home. He +came of a race of brave men, who had fought and died for this fair land +in the wars of the Rev-o-lu-tion and of 1812; and he grew up as brave +as they. He and his lit-tle sis-ter Fan-ny went when young to a small +school near their home; and the good, wise moth-er helped them with +their books at home; Ruth-er-ford worked hard at school, and went when +quite young to the high school, where he soon stood at the head of his +class. He was six-teen when he went to Ken-yon Col-lege, Ohio. Now, +though he was so good at his books, he loved sport and fun as well; and +he was so strong, that he could walk miles on the cold-est of days, and +yet get no hurt. Once he walked all the way from col-lege to his home +and back, when the snow lay deep on the ground, and this was for-ty +miles; he could swim and skate, and knew how to fish and hunt; the boys +at col-lege all liked him; he had hosts of friends, and the strong, +brave will that kept him at the head in games and sports put him first +in his class too. He left col-lege in 1842, and took up the stud-y of +law at Har-vard Col-lege; in 1846, he was made one of the bar, and took +up prac-tise of law in Cin-cin-nat-i. When the Civ-il War broke out, he, +as cap-tain of a band of men from his home, did brave, good work. Once +he was shot and fell to the ground; but he did not give up; he told his +men what to do as he lay there in great pain, and kept up till some one +came to take his place as lead-er. At the end of the war, he was a +gen-er-al; and was much loved by his men. He was sent to Con-gress by +his state; and then made its gov-ern-or for three terms. In 1876, he was +made pres-i-dent; though some thought by a fraud in the count; and the +Dem-o-crats said that their man, Sam-u-el J. Til-den, should have been +pres-i-dent. While Hayes was at the White House, there was a great +la-bor strike, from the East to the West, on all the rail-roads. The +heads of the roads said that they would not pay the men, in their hire, +as much as they had done; and so, all the men left their work and no +trains could run, for the men came in great mobs to stop them; at last, +they rose in arms, and then the troops were sent out to force them to +keep the peace; nine men were killed, and some of the rest were bad-ly +hurt. But the men did not give up for a long time; they held Pitts-burg +for two days, and burned cars and the grain kept in them. + +Of course, in the end, the law had to be o-beyed and the mobs were made +to come to terms, and lay down their arms. + +There was a war with the In-di-ans while Hayes was in the chair; but +this was put down by Gen-er-al How-ard; and after some fierce fights, +the chiefs were caught and bound to keep the peace. There was a change +made in the way of life at the White House while Hayes was there, for no +wine was ever put on the ta-ble for guests or for the pres-i-dent and +his wife; this was the first time, and so far, the on-ly time, that wine +has not had its place at least at the state meals at the White House. +Hayes was in Wash-ing-ton for one term and then went to his home in +Mas-sil-lon, O-hi-o. He died on Jan-u-a-ry 17th, 1893. + +[Illustration: RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.] + +[Illustration: JAMES A. GARFIELD.] + + + + +JAMES A-BRAM GAR-FIELD. + + +In rough log cab-ins, out in the midst of wild woods, we have read that +six of our pres-i-dents were born; the sev-enth, James A-bram Gar-field, +was born in Or-ange, O-hi-o, on No-vem-ber 19th, 1831. + +His fa-ther had built, with his own hands, their small, rude home; and +it stood deep in the wild wood, whose trees would, at times, catch fire +from the sparks thrown from the steam en-gines some miles off. Near the +Gar-field home was their field of grain; one day this caught fire, and +in trying to save his wheat, the fa-ther of lit-tle James lost his life. +It was a hard life to which he left his young wife and the four lit-tle +ones; but she was a brave good wo-man; she had to work hard of course, +and so did the boys; but the moth-er taught them from books as well; and +lit-tle James was but four years old when he went to his first school. +He was a tough, strong boy, and soon did a large part of the farm +work; in the long sum-mers he had the most work to do, and then in the +win-ters he could go to school; he was a brave boy, for the school was +miles from home, and his road lay through the deep woods, in which wild +beasts roamed at will. But he went his way, and if he felt fear, did not +show it; he had a great love for books, and late at night, with the big +wood-fire for his light, he would read o-ver and o-ver his few books. +His moth-er had taught him to love the Bi-ble, and this Good Book he +knew well. But, at last, the time came when he was so old that he could +leave home, and so help the moth-er more than he had done. The first +thing he did was to drive mules on the tow-path of the O-hi-o Ca-nal; +here he earned $10.00 a month, but the men he met were coarse and rough, +and the life rude and vile; so, with a sad heart, the young boy, fresh +from his good home in the qui-et woods, took what he had made here, and +went back to the place he loved. He was sick for a long while now; and +as he lay on his bed, he made up his mind that he would go to col-lege, +and lead a good, use-ful life out in the big world; that he would use +his brains more than his hands. With this hope in front of him, he made +mon-ey in the sum-mer to pay his way at school in win-ter; and soon knew +all that they could teach and went to Hi-ram Col-lege; here at first he +did all sorts of work to pay his way; rang the bells, swept the floors, +and built the fires; but he was soon paid to teach in the col-lege, for +he was too bright and quick to do such hard work long. In 1854, he went +to Wil-liams Col-lege, and left at the head of his class in 1856. + +From now on he rose fast; he taught school when he left col-lege; his +boys loved the big strong man and said so much in his praise, that men +learned to love him too; and in 1859 he was made one of the O-hi-o +Sen-ate, and soon af-ter sent to Con-gress. Then came the Civ-il War, +in which he fought brave-ly; he won much fame in some of the great +bat-tles, and was made a gen-er-al. He was a warm, close friend of +Lin-coln; and on the day of Lin-coln's death, it was Gar-field who spoke +such calm, good words to a mob of men on Wall Street, New York, that he +kept them from rash acts at this sad time. At the close of the war, +Gar-field was in Eu-rope for a short time; and when he came home, he was +sent to Con-gress, where he kept his seat for a long time. In 1880 he +was named for pres-i-dent, and took his seat in 1881. But there was a +great grief in store for this land, once more. On July 2d, 1881, just +four months from the time he took his seat, Gar-field was shot by +Charles Gui-teau, as he, with James G. Blaine, was on his way to take a +train north from Wash-ing-ton. They bore him back to the White House, +and the man who had done this foul act was seized. The whole land prayed +for Gar-field's life, but he grew worse fast; and it was thought best +at last to take him to Long Branch, where it was cool-er than in +Wash-ing-ton. But the long, hot months dragged on; and the sick man did +not grow well in the cool salt air, as it had been hoped; in spite of +all care, the pres-i-dent failed day by day; and on Sep-tem-ber 19th, +1881, the whole world heard with sorrow of this good man's death. The +great men of the day wept side by side, as Gar-field lay in state in +Wash-ing-ton; and men of note, in all walks of life, felt his death as +a great grief. He now lies at rest in Cleve-land, O-hi-o. Gui-teau was +hanged for the crime he had done; and it is but just to say, that some +thought he was not in his right mind when he shot Gar-field. + + + + +CHES-TER AL-AN AR-THUR. + + +Ches-ter Al-an Ar-thur was born in Fair-field, Ver-mont, on Oc-to-ber +5th, 1830, and his fath-er had charge of the church in that place and +was one of the first men to speak for the poor slaves. Now, in those +days, those good men did not live as well as they do now; for folks +were poor in the small towns; so this small boy was al-so born in a log +cab-in; but he was sent to good schools, and was quite young when he +knew so much that he could go to Un-ion Col-lege. All the time he was +here he paid his own way, and when he left Col-lege he taught school, so +that he could lay by means to go to New York and stud-y law. He was soon +in law prac-tise, and he and an old school-mate made the name of their +firm well known. Ar-thur took the part of the black race, just as his +fa-ther had done, and in 1856, he won a suit which let the ne-groes ride +in horse-cars with the whites. A slave-girl had been put off a car and +Ar-thur took up her case and won it. For some years he held high of-fice +in the state of New York and was a gen-er-al in the Civ-il War; he was +not in the fights, but saw that the troops had clothes and food; he did +this hard task so well that, when the war was at an end, the pres-i-dent +gave him the best place in New York State; he was made chief of the +great port of New York and held this post for two terms. + +[Illustration: CHESTER A. ARTHUR.] + +In 1880 he was made vice-pres-i-dent with Gar-field as pres-i-dent; and, +of course, took the chair when Gar-field died. He held this place for +one term and then went back to his home in New York Cit-y, and took +up his law work. There was a split in his par-ty at the end of his term; +some men wished Ar-thur to run once more for pres-i-dent, but more +wished James G. Blaine of Maine; so, of course, Blaine was named. The +Dem-o-crats named Gro-ver Cleve-land; and as all the men on that side +wished this one man to win, he had the most votes; and for the first +time in a long while, the Dem-o-crats won in the race for pres-i-dent. + +Two years from the time that Ar-thur came home, and right in the midst +of his law work, he died in New York Cit-y; this was on No-vem-ber 18th, +1886; and he was laid to rest in Al-ba-ny. + + + + +STE-PHEN GRO-VER CLEVE-LAND. + + +The race of brave, strong men from whom Ste-phen Gro-ver Cleve-land +sprang made their first homes here, in Mas-sa-chu-setts, as far back +as 1635. His fa-ther had charge of a small church in Cald-well, New +Jer-sey, and here, in a neat white frame house, which you may see for +your-selves to-day, was born, on March 18th, 1837, the boy who was to +rise, step by step, to the pres-i-dent's seat. + +He was three years old when they moved to Fay-ette-ville, New York, and +here he first went to school and lived till he was twelve years old. He +showed a strong will, and a great love for books, as a small boy; he +would have his own way, if he could get it; and this was why he was sent +to a high school, when he was not so old by some years, as the rest of +the boys there; he gave his fa-ther no rest till he sent him; and once +there he made up his mind to lead his class. + +He was just twelve when his strong will sent him to work in a store near +his home, so that he could help care for the big fam-i-ly in the small +home. The man who hired him, soon saw that, if he was young, he knew how +to work well, and that he could trust him; for two years he worked in +the store and then went back to his books. + +But, just at this time, his fa-ther died; and he then had to find a way +to care for those in great need at home. With the same pluck that he had +shown in the past, he now went to work in a "Home for the Blind," in New +York. In this big cit-y, the bright boy saw and heard much which gave +him new thoughts, and put in his heart the wish to make his life a great +one. At the end of two years in the "Home," he made up his mind to learn +law; and he asked a man whom he knew to lend him twen-ty-five dol-lars +to start him. The fact that this man did so shows that he had trust in +young Gro-ver Cleve-land; he could now start his work, and went to +Buf-fa-lo to do so. Here he lived for eight years; at first he helped +his un-cle, in the care of a big farm, and the mon-ey he so made was +sent to his moth-er. Soon he had the chance to stud-y law; the place +where he went was two miles from his un-cle's home, but back and forth, +rain or shine, he walked each day. There is told a tale that shows how +he loved the books of law; for, the first day he went to this place, a +book was put in his hands to read; he kept at it for hours, till dark +came; then he found the rest of the men had gone home; all the doors +were locked; and he must stay there all night. + +Such hard work soon made him a man who well knew the law; and folks gave +him big cases that brought him much fame. He did not go to the war, when +it broke out, for he felt that he could not leave his folks at home with +no one to care for them. + +He rose fast in his law work; and more than one great case did he win; +he cared far more to take the part of the poor than of the rich; and at +no time in his life did he look for high place or fame; it came to him +though, for he was just the man to fill a high post well. His name was +soon known in his state and at Wash-ing-ton; for three years he was +Sher-iff of E-rie Coun-ty and then he took up his law prac-tise once +more; but soon he was put at the head of his cit-y as its May-or; and +then was made the Gov-ern-or of the great state of New York. Here he +did good work; he put down those who had tak-en bribes, and had not been +good, true men, and he tried to see that the laws were well kept; men +saw that he was the right man to fill this high place, for he had no +fear of what might be thought of him; he just did as he felt right; and +so, while he was still gov-ern-or, he was named for pres-i-dent by a +great vote, and was e-lect-ed. When he took the oath of of-fice in +Wash-ing-ton, he did not kiss the big Bi-ble which oth-er pres-i-dents +had kissed, but a lit-tle old book, much worn with use, which his +moth-er had giv-en to him when he first left home. He was in the chair +four years and while here, he took for his wife Miss Fran-ces Fol-som; +he was the first pres-i-dent to wed in the White House. Cleve-land was +pres-i-dent for four years; at the end of that time, the Re-pub-li-cans +placed Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son in the pres-i-dent's chair. + +But, at the end of one term, once more the Dem-o-crats won the day; and +a-gain, in 1893, we see Gro-ver Cleve-land pres-i-dent. + +In May of 1894, the World's Fair was o-pened; and few boys and girls are +too young to know some-thing of the beau-ty of the Great White Cit-y +built on the shores of Lake Mich-i-gan in Chi-ca-go. In the last years +of Cleve-land's term, there was much talk of the state of things in +Cu-ba. The men there wished to be free from Spain, who had ruled them, +with a hard hand, for hun-dreds of years. + +Spain sent down troops of sol-diers; and harsh laws were made to force +the Cu-bans to keep the peace. But Cu-ba would not give up; and the +U-ni-ted States be-gan to feel pit-y for this brave lit-tle is-land, +try-ing to get free. + +In the midst of the strife, Cleve-land's term of of-fice came to an end, +and he came to New York to live and take up law a-gain. He now has his +home in Prince-ton, New Jer-sey, and has a large law prac-tise. + +[Illustration: GROVER CLEVELAND.] + +[Illustration: BENJAMIN HARRISON.] + + + + +BEN-JA-MIN HAR-RI-SON. + + +In the first part of this book, you heard of a brave In-di-an fight-er, +whose name was Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son; and you saw this brave man +mount step by step to the pres-i-dent's chair. It is his grand-son, +Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son, whom we now see pres-i-dent of the U-ni-ted +States. He was born in his grand-fa-ther's home at North-Bend, +In-di-an-a, on Au-gust 20th, 1833. There were no good schools near his +home; so in a small log house, in his grand-fa-ther's grounds, he first +went to school; he and a few oth-er boys and girls were taught here by +those whom the Har-ri-sons hired. In this school the seats were of +planks, laid on sticks that were stuck in holes in the floor; they had +no backs; and were so high that the small boys and girls could not touch +their feet to the floor. On-ly in the win-ter did this small boy go to +school; in the sum-mer he had work to do on the big farm; he did his +work well; but he also learned to shoot, to fish, to swim, and to ride. + +He was much liked by all the boys, for he was full of sports and jokes. +In 1820 he went to Mi-a-mi Col-lege, and left in 1822, to stud-y law. +In one of his first cases, the light was so dim, that he could not see +the notes he had made with such care. What should he do? There was but +one thing he could do: fling to one side the notes and plead his case +without an-y. This was a hard thing to do; but he did it so well, that +he won his case; and the great men of the day gave him much praise for +his speech. + +When the Civ-il War broke out he raised a troop of men, from his own +state, and was made the col-o-nel of this band, which was called the +"70th In-di-an-a." + +He served for two years, and won fame in some of the great bat-tles of +the war; so brave was he at Re-sa-ca, that he was made a Brig-a-dier +Gen-er-al. Through the long years of war, he was kind and good to the +men in his care; they loved him well, and gave him the name of "Little +Ben." + +Not till the war was at an end, did he leave the field; then with much +fame, he went back home, and took up his work at law. He took a high +place in his own state and made some great speech-es. + +It was now the year 1889; just one hun-dred years had passed since +Wash-ing-ton, our first pres-i-dent, took his place as Pres-i-dent of +the U-nit-ed States; and the whole land thought it right to cel-e-brate +the date. So in New York Cit-y, on A-pril 29th and 30th, was held the +"Wash-ing-ton Cen-ten-ni-al." The cit-y was hung from end to end, with +red, white and blue; the grand, good face of Wash-ing-ton, framed in the +flag of the land, or wreathed in green, looked down on the gay scene. +Rank by rank, the troops filed by a-midst the shouts and cheers of the +dense crowds that filled the streets, and looked from the win-dows of +stores and hous-es. Rich and poor, great and small, kept this great day; +the pres-i-dent and oth-er great men from Wash-ing-ton were brought to +the foot of Wall Street, on a barge hung with flags; here all the ships +of war were drawn up on each side; and as the par-ty went to the spot +where Wash-ing-ton took his oath of of-fice, young girls, clad in white, +cast flow-ers be-fore them. As the troops filed past the pres-i-dent, +one saw, not just those from the North; but up from the South came +hosts of men, bearing the flags of their states; all glad to share in +this great day of the na-tion; and there were men from across the +seas too; the Ger-mans and the French marched side by side with the +A-mer-i-cans. By night, fire-works and bon-fires filled the streets with +light, and blazed in beau-ty; no such great time had ever been known in +this land; and this was as it should be; for it was all done for the +great, good man, who had led our troops so well in our first war, that +he had made us free; and had then, by a wise and just rule, helped us +to be the great, strong land that we are to-day. + +While Har-ri-son was in of-fice, work was be-gun for the "World's Fair," +which was held in Chi-ca-go, in 1892, just four hun-dred years since +Co-lum-bus first saw A-mer-i-ca. Har-ri-son went to Chi-ca-go and +o-pened the fair with a speech on Oc-to-ber 14th, 1892; but folks could +not go there till the next year. In 1893, Har-ri-son went home to +In-di-an-a, and took up his law work, once more; he is still a-live, is +well known as a good law-yer, and has many warm friends a-mong the great +men of our day. + +We have seen that Gro-ver Cleve-land now be-came pres-i-dent; at the end +of his four years, the Re-pub-li-cans put Wil-liam Mc-Kin-ley in of-fice. + + + + +WIL-LIAM MC-KIN-LEY. + + +The man, who now, in the year 1900, stands at the head of our great +land, was born at Niles, O-hi-o, on Jan-u-a-ry 29th, 1843. In the +schools near his home he was taught his let-ters and, as a child, was +fond of books, and quick to learn. He was a mere boy, when he taught +school to earn the means to go to Col-lege. The school-house in which +he taught still stands; it is a plain, square, white house, with two +win-dows in front and three on each side. His moth-er was a good +wo-man, with a clear, strong brain; she taught him, as well as his +eight broth-ers and sis-ters, to love truth, and to live brave and +strong lives. + +Young Wil-liam was not long to lead a life of peace; for in 1861 he, +then but a boy of eight-een, left his books and his home, and went to +the war. Many sto-ries prove how brave he was while there; but two will +show you why he rose so fast from the ranks. At one time the guns had +been left on the road, af-ter a great fight; and it would be a hard task +to go back near the foe to get them. But, young Mc-Kin-ley said, "The +boys will haul them;" and he and a few oth-ers went back for them and +brought them into our lines. Then he was at one time two miles from the +fight, in charge of the food; he was quite safe; but he thought our men +would fight bet-ter, if they had some cof-fee and food. So he filled a +cart and drove straight to the lines, where our brave men were hard at +work. Was this not a brave act? To risk his life for the sake of tak-ing +food and drink to the worn men. He worked his way straight to the +front and came out of the war a cap-tain. He went home at once and took +up the stud-y of law in Can-ton; one of his first speech-es was for the +rights of the black men; he said that they should have the same right to +vote that white men had; and he was ev-er on the side of the black man. +In 1869 Mc-Kin-ley was mar-ried to Miss I-da Sax-ton. They were both +very young when their two lit-tle chil-dren died. The young law-yer did +all he could to cheer his wife; and she was as brave as he, and did not +let her grief keep him from his work. He rose fast in his state, and +held high place more than once; then, in 1877, he was sent to Congress. +In 1891 he was made gov-ern-or of O-hi-o; and in 1897, he had made such +a great name for him-self that he was put up for pres-i-dent by the +Re-pub-li-cans, and e-lect-ed. Just as he came in-to of-fice, the strife +in Cu-ba was at its height; and men here in our great, free land had +much pit-y for the Cu-bans, who were try-ing to get free from Spain, +just as we had tried to shake off the hand of Eng-land long years a-go. +The Span-ish rule grew worse and worse, as Spain found that Cu-ba would +not give in. At last Gen-er-al Wey-ler, a harsh and cru-el man, was sent +there to force peace on an-y terms; but Gen-er-al Go-mez knew his foes +well, and his brave men fought with a strength born of a great hate for +Spain. By and by, when Spain saw she could not win the day, she sent +word that if Cu-ba would lay down her arms, she could have the rights +for which she had asked in vain in the past. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM McKINLEY.] + +But it was too late; Cu-ba had no faith in Spain, and would now be free +from her hard yoke. There was much want in the big towns of Cu-ba at +this time, for Wey-ler had made all the poor folks, who had lived in +peace on their small farms, come in-to the towns. He said they gave +help to the Cu-ban troops, and so he forced them to leave their homes +and would on-ly let them bring with them just the few things that they +could put on their backs. Then he had their lit-tle homes, and their +crops which they had raised with care, all burned to the ground. He had +lit-tle food to give this great host of poor peo-ple, and ma-ny died in +the streets for the want of bread. You may be sure that our great land +saw the pain and want down in Cu-ba, and longed to give aid; but an act +of help on our part would mean war with Spain, and this Mc-Kin-ley did +not wish. But there came a day when a great cry went up through the +U-nit-ed States at a foul deed done in the bay of Ha-va-na. Our great +war ship, the "Maine," was blown up by a bomb, as she lay at an-chor in +the har-bor. The thought of our poor men sent to such a death raised the +cry of war in all hearts. "Re-mem-ber the Maine," was the war-cry; and +men cried for war at once with Spain. But Mc-Kin-ley gave Spain one more +chance to stop the fight and free Cu-ba; this she would not do. So on +A-pril 21st, 1898, once more the U-nit-ed States had to make read-y for +war. From all the states men poured in and camps sprang up here and +there, where the men were taught to load and fire their guns. Off at +Hong-Kong, in charge of our war-ships, was brave Ad-mi-ral Dew-ey. He +knew that the Span-ish fleet was in Ma-ni-la Bay, near the Phil-ip-pine +Is-lands, which were ruled by Spain; the loss of these ships would be a +great blow to Spain just at this time; so Dew-ey steered his ships there +to strike a blow for his coun-try. + +It was night when he reached the spot, and be-fore the Span-iards knew +he was near, six of his great ships had slipped past their forts. Then +a fierce fire poured on him from the forts; but it did not do much harm. +At last the Span-ish fleet saw him, and at once the ships o-pened fire; +but Dew-ey's flag-ship, the "O-lym-pi-a," sent out such a storm of shot +and shell, that the first of the Span-ish ships was sunk, and all on +board killed. + +The fight last-ed two hours; and at the end of that time the Span-ish +fleet had all been sunk. Great joy was felt in the U-nit-ed States when +this glad news was heard, and Dew-ey was the he-ro of the whole land. + +Our men down in Cu-ba fought well, and ma-ny brave deeds were done. On +June 6th Ad-mi-ral Samp-son fired on the forts at San-ti-a-go; our men +put their hearts in their work and their aim with the great guns was +true and straight. The Span-iards did not aim so well, and their shots +did not go so far, and so the shot and shell from their forts did not +do us much harm. + +Soon our men had stopped the fire from all the forts save Cas-tle +Mor-ro, and this fort was rent and torn in great holes. + +On June 24th our "Rough Ri-ders," with The-o-dore Roose-velt at their +head, were sent out to clear the way to San-ti-a-go. The foe poured a +hot fire on our men from the tall grass and weeds in which they lay +hid-den; and there was great loss of life. Full of fire and pluck were +these "Rough Ri-ders," and led by their brave colo-nels, Roose-velt and +Wood, they forced the Span-ish troops back, foot by foot. The line of +fight was five miles long; the heat was fierce; and food and wa-ter +scarce. But at last the troops came to the fort of San Juan Hill; then, +with a mad rush, up, up went our men to the Span-ish fort at the head! +Cheers and shouts rose to the skies as the red, white and blue waved +from the old Span-ish fort; but the cost of this fort had been great, +for there was much loss of life on both sides. On Ju-ly 3d Cer-ve-ra, +the Span-ish Ad-mi-ral, tried to sail his fleet out of the bay of +San-ti-a-go; he was seen, though, by our men, and af-ter a hot chase +and fierce fight-ing, the whole Span-ish fleet was burned or sunk. + +Spain lost scores of brave men; but on our side not one man was killed, +nor did we lose a ship. + +The end of the war was near; on Ju-ly 10th we laid siege to San-ti-a-go, +and on Ju-ly 17th we went in-to the cit-y and raised ov-er it the Stars +and Stripes. + +In this part of the world the last shot had been fired; but Dew-ey in +the far east did not know this, and so he struck one more blow for his +coun-try. + +He took the cit-y of Ma-ni-la with the loss of but twelve men, and when +our flag waved o-ver this cit-y, the end of the Span-ish war had come. +On Jan-u-a-ry 1st, 1899, the Span-ish flag, which for four hun-dred +years had waved o-ver Cu-ba, was hauled down; the red, white and blue +of our own land took its place; and Cu-ba, free from the hard rule of +Spain, blessed the great na-tion that had come to her aid. + +In Sep-tem-ber of 1899 Ad-mi-ral Dew-ey came home; and from end to end +of this land his name was cheered. + +He was the guest of the cit-y of New York for three days; and well did +the cit-y hon-or the he-ro of Ma-ni-la. + +When we took Ma-ni-la from Spain, and so closed the Span-ish war, it did +not give us the Phil-ip-pines. The men there were glad to have us drive +out the Span-iards, but did not wish us to take their place. Long months +of war fol-lowed, but now, A-gui-nal-do, their chief, has yield-ed and +peace seems to be at hand. + +It was not eas-y to see when Mc-Kin-ley be-came pres-i-dent that we +were soon to be in the midst of war; but our land has borne her part +well. We have gained new lands in the far east, and our flag waves o-ver +strange peo-ple who have not yet learned that it stands for free-dom. +They still fear that the yoke of the U-nit-ed States will be as hard to +bear as that of Spain. This is not so, and it will not be long be-fore +all these far-off lands will learn to love and bless the Red, White and +Blue, just as ev-er-y State in our great Un-ion does to-day. + + + + +THE END. + + + + +BURT'S SERIES of ONE SYLLABLE BOOKS + +=12 Titles. Handsome Illuminated Cloth Binding.= + +A series of Classics, selected specially for young people's reading, +and told in simple language for youngest readers. Printed from large +type, with many illustrations. + + * * * * * + + =Price, 50 Cents per Volume.= + + * * * * * + +=AESOP'S FABLES.= + + Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By MARY + GODOLPHIN. With 41 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES.= + + (Selections.) Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By + HARRIET T. COMSTOCK. With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=BIBLE HEROES.= + + Told in words of one syllable for young people. By HARRIET T. + COMSTOCK. With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES.= + + (Selections.) Retold in words of one syllable. By JEAN S. REMY. + With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=GULLIVER'S TRAVELS= + + Into several remote regions of the world. Retold in words of one + syllable for young people. By J. C. G. With 32 illustrations. + Illuminated cloth. + +=LIFE OF CHRIST.= + + Told in words of one syllable for young people. By JEAN S. REMY. + With many illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.= + + Told in words of one syllable for young people. By JEAN S. REMY. + With 24 large portraits. Illuminated cloth. + +=PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.= + + Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By SAMUEL + PHILLIPS DAY. With 33 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=REYNARD THE FOX:= + + The Crafty Courtier. Retold in words of one syllable for young + people. By SAMUEL PHILLIPS DAY. With 23 illustrations. + Illuminated cloth. + +=ROBINSON CRUSOE.= + + His life and surprising adventures retold in words of one + syllable for young people. By MARY A. SCHWACOFER. With + 32 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=SANFORD AND MERTON.= + + Retold in words of one syllable for young people. By MARY + GODOLPHIN. With 20 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + +=SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.= + + Retold in words of one syllable for young people. Adapted from + the original. With 31 illustrations. Illuminated cloth. + + * * * * * + +For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price +by the publisher, =A. L. BURT. 52-58 Duane Street, New York.= + + + + +Transcriber's Note + +The reader will note that words in this text are not exclusively +"of one syllable," but rather that most multi-syllabic words in the +text have been hyphenated into syllables. + +Hyphenation and punctuation in this text are not standardized, and may +also appear oddly placed. There are numerous sections and words in +which hyphens are omitted. Some words are spelled variably, including +the author's name. These oddities have been retained to match the +original text. + +Some illustrations have been moved from their original positions, so +as to be nearer to their corresponding text, or for ease of navigation +around paragraphs. + +The following typographical corrections have been made in this ebook: + + Page 14: Removed misplaced hyphen + (the coun-try turned to him) + + Page 22: Changed , to . + (The Home of Thomas Jefferson.) + + Page 25: Typo leading to factual error. Changed Mon-ti-cel-lo to + Mont-pel-ier (Mont-pel-ier, his fath-er's great farm) + + Page 47: Moved misplaced hyphen + (a ver-y small boy) + + Page 47: Added missing word 'and' + (of the North and those of the South) + + Page 71: Moved misplaced semi-colon + (on July 23d, 1885; his bod-y lay in state) + + Page 85: Typo leading to factual error. Changed 'one' to 'four' + (in 1892, just four hun-dred years since Co-lum-bus) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of the Presidents Told in Words +of One Syllable, by Jean S. Remy + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS *** + +***** This file should be named 28350.txt or 28350.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/3/5/28350/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, C. St. Charleskindt, Michael and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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