diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9322-8.txt | 3974 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9322-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 81069 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9322-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 84724 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9322-h/9322-h.htm | 4655 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9322.txt | 3974 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9322.zip | bin | 0 -> 81048 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/8nnut10.zip | bin | 0 -> 81953 bytes |
10 files changed, 12619 insertions, 0 deletions
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/9322-8.txt b/9322-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed5f335 --- /dev/null +++ b/9322-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3974 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Nation in a Nutshell, by George Makepeace Towle + +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: The Nation in a Nutshell + +Author: George Makepeace Towle + + +Release Date: November, 2005 [EBook #9322] +This file was first posted on September 21, 2003 +Last Updated: May 10, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL *** + + + + +Produced by PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + + + +THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL + +A _RAPID OUTLINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY._ + +By George Makepeace Towle + +Author Of "Young People's History Of England," "Young People's History +Of Ireland," "Heroes Of History," "Modern France," Etc. + + +1886 + + + +THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL + + +CONTENTS: + +I. AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES +II. THE ERA OF DISCOVERY +III. THE ERA OF COLONIZATION +IV. THE COLONIAL ERA +V. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE +VI. SOCIETY IN 1776 +VII. THE REVOLUTION +VIII. THE CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION +IX. WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY +X. THE WAR OF 1812 +XI. THE MEXICAN WAR +XII. THE SLAVERY AGITATION +XIII. THE CIVIL WAR +XIV. THE PRESIDENTS +XV. MATERIAL PROGRESS +XVI. PROGRESS IN LITERATURE +XVII. PROGRESS IN THE ARTS +XVIII. PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND INVENTION +XIX. POLITICAL CHANGES + + + + +THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL + +AN OUTLINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. + + + + +I. AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. + + +[Sidenote: Geology and Archaeology.] + +The sciences of geology and archaeology, working side by side, have made +a wonderful progress in the past half a century. The one, seeking for +the history and transformations of the physical earth, and the other, +aiming to discover the antiquity, differences of race, and social and +ethnical development of man, have obtained results which we cannot +regard without amazement and more or less incredulity. The two sciences +have been faithful handmaidens the one to the other; but geology has +always led the way, and archaeology has been competed to follow in its +path. + +[Sidenote: Four Eras of Civilization.] + +Though we may doubt as to the exactness of the detailed data established +by the archaeologists, there are certain broad facts which we must +accept from them as established beyond doubt. These facts are of the +highest value and interest. The antiquary has been able, from discovered +remains of extinct civilizations, to reconstruct societies and peoples, +and to trace the occupancy of countries to periods far anterior to that +of which history takes cognizance. The general fact seems to be settled +that, in prehistoric times, Europe passed through four distinct eras. +These were the Rude Stone Age, when man was the contemporary in Europe +of the extinct hairy elephant and the cave bear; the Polished Stone Age; +the Bronze Age, when bronze was used for arms and utensils; and the Iron +Age, in which iron superseded bronze in the making of useful articles. + +[Sidenote: Ancient America.] + +In the same way it has been established that, on our own continent, the +oldest discoverable civilization was one in which rude stone implements +were used, and man lived contemporaneously with the megatherium and the +mastodon. Then polished and worked stone implements came into use; and +after the lapse of ages, copper. The researches of our antiquaries +have rendered it probable that America is as ancient, as an inhabited +continent, as Europe. Evidences have been brought to light, leading to +the conclusion that many thousands of years before the Christian era, +America was the seat of a civilization far from rude or savage. Groping +into the remains of the far past, we find skeletons, skulls, implements +of war, and even basket-work, buried in geological strata, which have +been overlaid by repeated convulsions and changes of the physical earth. +But so few are the relics of this dim, primeval period, that we can +only conclude its antiquity, and we can infer little or nothing of its +characteristics. + +[Sidenote: Primeval Races.] + +Advancing, however, another stage in research and discovery, we come +upon clear and overwhelming proofs of the existence on this continent of +a great, enterprising, skilful, and even artistic people, spread over an +immense area, and leaving behind them the most positive testimony, not +only of their existence, but of their manners and customs, their arts, +their trade, their methods of warfare, and their religion and worship. +Compared with this people, the Red Indians found here by the Pilgrims +and the Cavaliers were modern intruders upon the land. These ancient +Americans, indeed, were far superior in all respects to the Red Indian +of our historic acquaintance. When the Red Indians replaced them, the +civilization of the continent fell from a high to a much lower plane. + +[Sidenote: The Mound-Builders.] + +The great race of which I speak is known as "the Mound-Builders." Like +the "Wall-Builders" of Greece and Italy, they stand out, in the light +of their remains, as distinctly as if we had historical records of them. +The Mound-Builders occupied, often in thickly settled communities, the +region about our great Northern Lakes, the valleys of the Mississippi, +the Ohio, the Missouri, and the regions watered by the affluents of +these rivers, and a wide and irregular belt along the coast of the Gulf +of Mexico. There is little or no evidence that the same race inhabited +any part of the country now occupied by the Eastern and Middle States; +but some few traces of them are found in North and South Carolina. + +[Sidenote: Ancient Mounds.] + +The chief relics left by this comparatively polished race are the very +numerous mounds, or artificial hills, found scattered over the country. +These are sometimes ten, and sometimes forty and fifty, feet in height, +with widely varying bases. They present many forms; they are circular +and pyramidal, square and polygonal, and in some places are manifestly +imitations of the shapes of beasts, birds, and human beings. There are +districts where hundreds of these mounds appear within a limited area. +Sometimes--as at Aztalan, in Wisconsin, and at Newark, in the Licking +Valley--a vast series of earthwork enclosures is discovered, sometimes +with embankments twelve feet high and fifty broad, within which are +variously shaped mounds, definitely formed avenues, and passages and +ponds. These enclosures amply prove, aside from the geological evidences +of their antiquity, the existence of a race very different from the +Red Indians. They were clearly a people not nomadic, but with fixed +settlements, cultivators of the soil, and skilful in the art of military +defence. + +[Sidenote: Altars and Temples.] + +The excavations of the wonderful mounds have brought to light many +things more curious than the mounds themselves. It seems to be +established that the mounds were used for four distinct purposes. They +were altars for sacrifice, and, like the Persians, whose sacrificial +ceremonies strikingly resembled those of the Mound-Builders, they were +sun-worshippers. They offered up the most costly gifts, and even human +victims. The pyramidal mounds, with avenues leading to the summits, +were the sites of the stately sun and moon temples. Here, undoubtedly, +imposing ceremonies were often performed. The lower or "knoll" mounds +were used as the sepulchres of the dead. They yield up to the modern +antiquary numberless skulls, of a type distinctly different from those +of the Red Indians. The Mound-Builders buried their dead, most often, +in a sitting posture, adorned with shell beads and ivory ornaments. +Sometimes the dead were burned. Finally, the mounds were employed as +points of observation. + +[Sidenote: Relics of the Mounds.] + +[Sidenote: Early Arts.] + +That the Mound-Builders were a far more civilized race than the Indians +is clearly revealed by the relics found in and about the mounds. They +have left behind them thousands of flint arrow-heads, many of beautiful +workmanship. They used spades, rimmers, borers, celts, axes, fleshers, +scrapers, pestles, and other implements whose use cannot now be +determined, made of various stones, such as porphyry, greenstone, +and feldspar. They knew well the use of tobacco, for among their +most artistic and elaborately carved remains are pipes, some of them +representing animals and human heads. It seems to be certain that they +had even attained the art of weaving cloth fabrics; for pieces of cloth, +of a material akin to hemp, have been found in the mounds, with uniform +and regularly spun threads, and every evidence that they were woven by +some deft invention or mechanical device. It is certain that the Red +Indian was ignorant of this valuable art. + +[Sidenote: Primeval Mining.] + +Among the highly wrought remains of the mounds are fanciful water-jugs, +well carved and symmetrical in shape, some of which were evidently +made to keep water cool. The human heads represented on these bear no +resemblance to the Indian types. Drinking cups with carved rims and +handles, sepulchral urns with curious ornaments, kettles and other +pieces of skilful pottery, copper chisels, axes, knives, awls, spear and +arrow heads, and even bracelets, come to light, here and there. There +is no doubt that the Mound-Builders were miners. For, on the southern +shores of Lake Superior, great excavations indicate an extensive and +skilful mining of copper at a very remote period. It is singular, on +the other hand, that no iron implement has ever been discovered in the +mounds. The builders used iron-ore as a stone, but never learned the art +of moulding it into weapons or utensils. + +Thus the fact that vast areas of what are now the United States were +once occupied by an active, skilful, imaginative, and progressive race, +seems fully established. Not less certain is it that in their physical +type, in their government, in their arts, habits, and daily pursuits, +they were separated by a wide gap from the Red Indians whom our +ancestors found in possession of the continent. The Indian was roving, +and hunted for subsistence. The Mound-Builders were sedentary, and +undoubtedly cultivated maize as their chief article of food. + +[Sidenote: Origin of the Mound-Builders.] + +But how remote the Mound-Builders were from the era of European +settlement, whence they came; how, whither, and when they +vanished,--these are questions before which science stands harassed, +impotent to answer positively. There are those who, marking certain +apparent resemblances between the implements, religious rites and +customs, and cranial formations, of the Mound-Builders, and those of +the Asiatic Mongols, conclude that the former were originally Asiatic +hordes, who, crossing Behring Straits, when, perhaps, the two continents +were united at that point, formed a new home and established a new +empire here. Others, with more proof, connect them with that great +Toltec race which occupied Central America and Mexico, before they were +driven out by the ruder and more warlike Aztecs. + +[Sidenote: The Aztecs.] + +The Toltecs have left ample records of their existence and gorgeous +civilization, in noble monuments and very numerous though till recently +undecipherable inscriptions; and many similarities lend weight to the +theory that the empire of the Mound-Builders, in the Ohio, Mississippi, +and Missouri valleys, was the result of a great Toltec migration from +Central America, which they left to Aztec dominion. Thus while we call +our continent the "New World," it is not improbable that we may be +living in a country which was alive with art, splendor, invention, +and power, when Europe was a dreary waste, over which the now extinct +monsters roamed unmolested by man. + + + + +II. THE ERA OF DISCOVERY. + +[Sidenote: Historic Myths.] + +We live in times when the researches of scholars are minute, pitiless, +and exhaustive, and when no hitherto received historical fact is +permitted to escape the ordeal of the most critical scrutiny. Many are +the cherished historical beliefs which have latterly been assailed +with every resource of logical argument and formidably arrayed proofs, +unearthed by tireless diligence and pursuit. Thus we are told that the +story of William Tell is a romantic myth; that Lucretia Borgia, far from +being a poisoner and murderess, was really a very estimable person; and +that the siege of Troy was a very insignificant struggle, between armies +counted, not by thousands, but by hundreds. + +In the same way the old familiar question, "Who discovered America?" +which every school-boy was formerly as prompt to answer as to his age +and name, has in recent years become a perplexing problem of historical +disputation; and at least can no longer be accurately answered by the +name of the gallant and courageous Genoese who set forth across the +Atlantic in 1492. + +[Sidenote: Icelandic Discoverers.] + +Bancroft, on the first page of his history, pronounces the story of +the discovery of our country by the Icelandic Northmen, a narrative +"mythological in form and obscure in meaning"; and adds that "no clear +historical evidence establishes the natural probability that they +accomplished the passage." But the first volume of Bancroft was +published in 1852. Since then, the proofs of the discovery of the +continent by the Icelanders, very nearly five hundred years before +Columbus was thrilled with the delight of beholding the Bahamas, have +multiplied and grown to positive demonstration. They no longer rest upon +vague traditions; they have assumed the authority of explicit and well +attested records. + +[Sidenote: Discoverers of America.] + +The discovery of the New England coast by the Icelanders is the earliest +which, down to the present, can be positively asserted. But it has been +recently urged that there are some evidences of American discovery by +Europeans or Asiatics long prior to Leif Erikson. There are certain +indications that the Pacific coast was reached by Chinese adventurers in +the remote past; and it is stated that proofs exist in Brazil tending to +show that South America was discovered by Phoenicians five hundred years +before Christ. The story is said to be recorded on some brass tablets +found in northern Brazil, which give the number of the vessels and +crews, state Sidon as the port to which the voyagers belonged, and even +describe their route around the Cape of Good Hope and along the +west coast of Africa, whence the trade-winds drifted them across the +Atlantic. + +[Sidenote: Icelandic Voyagers.] + +Confining ourselves to credible history, it appears that in the year 986 +(eighty years before the conquest of England by William of Normandy), an +Icelandic mariner named Bjarne Herrjulson, making for Greenland in his +rude bark, was swept across the Atlantic, and finally found himself +cast upon dry land. He made haste to set sail on his return voyage, and +succeeded in getting safely back to Iceland. He told his story of +the strange land beyond the seas; and so pleased had he been with its +pleasant and fruitful aspect that he named it "Vineland." + +[Sidenote: Leif Erikson.] + +The story of Bjarne impressed itself upon an intelligent and adventurous +man, Leif Erikson; who, having purchased Bjarne's ship, set sail for +Vineland in the year 1000, with a crew of thirty-five men. He reached +what is now Cape Cod, and passed the winter of 1000-1 on its shores. +Returning to Iceland, his example was followed, two years later, by +another Erikson, who established a colony on the shores of Narragansett +Bay, not far from Fall River, where the founder died and was buried. + +[Sidenote: Columbus in Iceland.] + +It is well nigh certain that Christopher Columbus, in the year 1477, +visited Iceland, and even sailed one hundred leagues beyond it, +discovering there an unfrozen sea. The idea of western discovery was +already in his mind, and he had received hints of a western continent, +from certain carved objects picked up in the Atlantic by other +navigators. It is altogether probable that the conjectures of Columbus +were confirmed into conviction by the Icelandic traditions of Leif's +discovery, during his sojourn at Rejkjawik. From this time Columbus was +more than ever intent upon the enterprise which, fifteen years after, +conferred upon him imperishable glory. + +[Sidenote: Voyage of Columbus.] + +The story of Columbus is, or should be, familiar to every American who +can read. How he sailed forth from the roads of Saltez on the 3d of +August, 1492, with three vessels and a crew of one hundred and twenty +men; how the voyage was stormy and full of doubts and discouragements; +how, finally, early on the morning of October 12, Rodrigo Triana, a +seaman of the _Pinta_, first descried the land which Columbus christened +San Salvador; how they pushed on and found Cuba and Hayti; how, after +returning to Spain, Columbus made two more voyages westward,--one +in 1493, when he discovered Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Porto Rico: and +another in 1498 when the Orinoco and the coast of Para rewarded his +researches; and his subsequent unhappy fate--all these events have been +related by many writers, and most vividly of all by the graphic pen of +Washington Irving. + +[Sidenote: Menendez.] + +The era of American discovery may be said to have continued till the +memorable fourth day of September, 1565, when the Spaniard Menendez +founded the first town on this continent, on the Florida coast, which he +called St. Augustine. In one sense, indeed, the era of discovery did not +cease down to within the memory of men still living; for the discovery +of a path across the Rocky Mountains might well be regarded as included +in it. But during the period which intervened between the return of +Columbus from his first voyage and the building of St. Augustine, +the extent and character of the eastern portion of our continent was +revealed to Europe by many and successful navigators. + +[Sidenote: The Cabots.] + +The story of Columbus inspired the cupidity and territorial ambition of +England, France, Spain, and Italy; and in the year 1497 John Cabot, +a Venetian by birth, but long a resident of Bristol, England, set out +thence across the Atlantic. He was accompanied by his son Sebastian. +On the 24th of June he came in sight of Newfoundland, and then of Nova +Scotia; then he sailed southward and reached Florida. As this was a year +before the third voyage of Columbus, in which he saw the coast of the +mainland, to John Cabot belongs the honor of having landed upon the +American continent before Columbus. + +[Sidenote: Amerigo Vespucci.] + +Voyages to the new land now followed each other in quick succession +for many years. It was in 1499 that the accomplished but unscrupulous +Amerigo Vespucci made his first voyage to Hispaniola, following it up by +voyages along the coast of South America. He returned thence to claim, +after the death of Columbus, the honors due to the great Genoese. + +[Sidenote: Verrazzani.] + +Portugal and France, jealous of the success of the Spanish and English +expeditions, lost no time in entering into this perilous and brilliant +competition for maritime honor and western possession. Portugal sent out +Cortereal, and France Verrazzani. The former skirted the coast for six +hundred miles, kidnapping Indians, and spending some time at Labrador, +where he came to his death. Verrazzani, in 1524, sailed for the Western +Continent in the _Dolphin_, ranged along the coast of North Carolina, +and so northward until he espied the beautiful harbor of New York, and +anchored for a brief rest in that of Newport. Verrazzani returned to +France with glowing accounts of the beauty, fertility, and noble harbors +of the country. + +[Sidenote: Jacques Cartier.] + +Within ten years France sent forth another expedition, under the command +of the famous Jacques Cartier, which was destined to acquire for that +nation its claim to the possession of Canada. Cartier sailed from St. +Malo to Newfoundland in twenty days. He went up the St. Lawrence, and +returned home to tell the thrilling tale of his adventures. The next +year he came back to discover the sites of Montreal and Quebec; and he +made two more voyages, in 1540 and 1542. + +[Sidenote: Ponce de Leon.] + +Meanwhile, Spain was resolved to sustain the great prestige she had +gained by the expeditions of Columbus, and to yield to no rival her +claims to dominion on the new continent. In 1512, Don Juan Ponce de +Leon, a brave soldier and adventurous man, who had accompanied +Columbus on his second voyage, landed on the peninsula of Florida, and +established the right of Spain to its possession. Five years after, +Fernandez landed on the coast of Yucatan; and ere long Garay explored +the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. + +[Sidenote: De Soto.] + +It is not possible, in this survey, to follow, or even to name, the +Spanish expeditions of discovery and conquest between 1512 and 1550. +Suffice it to say that during this period subjects of the Spanish king +landed on the coast of South Carolina, entered the harbors of New York +and New England, crossed Louisiana and northern Mexico to the Pacific, +explored Mexico and Peru, marched across Georgia under the lead of the +renowned Ferdinand de Soto, penetrated to the interior, and, after many +romantic adventures and desperate hardships, discovered the magnificent +river which we call the Mississippi; made perilous excursions into the +wild depths of Arkansas and Missouri, and even to the remote banks of +the Red River. + +[Sidenote: Character of the Discoverers.] + +The enterprises of Spaniards, English, Portuguese, and French were alike +prompted by the greed of gain. All sought the fabled El Dorado; all +craved the power of colonial dominion. None the less were the navigators +and soldiers, whom the nations sent forth to reveal a new world to +civilization, men of courage and fortitude, able in achieving the +momentous tasks assigned to them. Columbus and Cabot, at least, thought +less of riches and fleeting honors than of the proper and noble glories +of discovery; it was left to their Spanish successors to kidnap the +Indians, to rob their settlements and murder their women, and to invade +the peaceful wilds of America, with fire and the sword. + + + + +III. THE ERA OF COLONIZATION. + +[Sidenote: Voyages of Colonization.] + +To acquire a title to the fertile and fruitful lands and fabled riches +of the newly discovered continent, became the aspiration of the great +maritime states of Europe, which had shared between them the honors of +its discovery. From the middle of the sixteenth to the beginning of the +seventeenth century, the voyages of adventure and projected colonization +were almost continuous. Spaniards, Frenchmen, and Englishmen fitted out +vessels and crossed the ocean, to make more extended researches, and to +found, if possible, permanent settlements. Although failure generally +attended these attempts at colonization, they gradually led the way to +the final occupation of the continent. + +[Sidenote: The Huguenots in America.] + +Of these abortive efforts, that of Admiral Coligny to found a settlement +of the Huguenots, who were persecuted in France, on the new shores, was +the earliest and one of the most romantic. As long ago as 1562, America +became a refuge of the oppressed for conscience's sake. The Huguenot +colony, taking up their residence on the River May, gave the name of +"Carolina" (from King Charles IX.) to their new domain. After many and +terrible hardships, they returned again to France, to be soon succeeded +by another colony of Huguenots, also sent out by brave old Coligny, +which settled on the same soil of Carolina. + +[Sidenote: Menendez in Florida] + +This aroused the jealousy and cupidity of Spain. The "most Catholic" +king was not only enraged to find the soil which he claimed as his own +by right of discovery, taken possession of by the subjects of his French +rival, but was scandalized that the new colonists should be Calvinistic +heretics. It was the very height of the gloomiest period of religious +fanaticism and persecution in Europe. Menendez was accordingly sent +out to Florida by King Philip, and assumed its governorship; and on +September 8, 1565, Saint Augustine, the oldest town in the United +States, was founded, and Philip of Spain was solemnly proclaimed +sovereign of all North America. Menendez lost no time in attacking the +Huguenot colonists of Carolina. They were speedily defeated, and most +of them were ruthlessly massacred; and our almost virgin soil was thus +early the scene of another St. Bartholomew. + +Meanwhile, England was not idle in contesting with France and Spain +the supremacy of the western land. Very early in the sixteenth century +projects of colonizing America were formed in England. + +[Sidenote: English Colonization.] + +Numerous voyages hither were undertaken during the reign of Henry VIII.; +but the accounts which remain of them are rare and meagre. Some of +them resulted in terrible disasters of shipwreck and death. Late in the +century a courageous and determined navigator, Martin Frobisher, made +three voyages to America, but without establishing a colony, or finding +the treasures of gold and gems which he sought. Later, Sir Humphrey +Gilbert, the half-brother of Raleigh, and Barlow, made attempts to found +colonies, but in vain. + +[Sidenote: Raleigh's Expedition.] + +It was in the spring of 1585 that Sir Walter Raleigh fitted out his +famous expedition of seven ships, and one hundred and eight emigrants, +and sent it forth, bound for the shores of Carolina. At first it seemed +as it art English colony were really about to prosper in the new land. +They established themselves at Roanoke, and explored the country. +Hariot, one of the shrewdest of them, discovered the seductive +proper-ties of tobacco, the succulence of Indian corn, and the nutritive +quality of potatoes. + +[Sidenote: Sir Francis Drake.] + +The hostility of the natives, however, soon became so bitter, and their +attacks so frequent, that the colony was glad to return to England +in the visiting ships of Sir Francis Drake. Two years later Raleigh, +undismayed by the failure of his first colony, sent out another, under +John White, which settled on the Isle of Roanoke, and founded the "city +of Raleigh." It was here that, on the 18th of August, 1587, the first +child of English parents was born on American soil. Her name was +Virginia Dare, and she was the granddaughter of Governor White. The +Governor returned to England, leaving the emigrants behind; and on his +going back to Roanoke, three years afterwards, no vestige of the colony +could be discovered. It is supposed that they were all massacred by +the Indians during White's absence. The first permanent settlement in +America, was made by the French, at Port Royal, in 1605. + +[Sidenote: Port Royal.] + +[Sidenote: Colonies in Virginia.] + +English enterprise was now at last ready to found and perpetuate states +on the new continent. In little more than a year after the French +occupation of Port Royal, a patent was granted by King James the First +to a party of colonists, under Newport and Smith, authorizing them to +form a government in Virginia, subject to the English crown. Imagine, +then, three small ships setting forth, on the bleak 19th of December, +1606, and directing their way to Virginia, with one hundred and five men +on board, and freighted with a goodly store of arms and provisions. Most +of the party were gallant and courtly cavaliers: there were but twelve +laborers and four carpenters in all the company. After a stormy voyage +they passed up the James River, and landing, on its shores, they founded +Jamestown. + +[Sidenote: Heinrich Hudson.] + +The news of the colonization of Virginia, the success of the adventurous +emigrants in maintaining their settlement, and the fertility, beauty, +and salubriousness of the continent, soon inspired other enterprises of +a similar kind. The Dutch have always been famous navigators; and it was +in 1609 that gallant Heinrich Hudson, alter two previous futile attempts +to find a western passage to India, reached these shores, and sailed +up the noble river which now bears his name. Five years after, a Dutch +colony was formed on Manhattan Island, whereon the city of New York now +stands, to which was first given the name of "New Amsterdam." The colony +prospered, and in 1624 the island was purchased of the Indians for +twenty four pounds English money. + +[Sidenote: The Pilgrims and Puritans.] + +We now reach the fourth permanent colony on American soil; that which +was more powerful in shaping our destinies and determining our national +traits than any other. The story of the Pilgrims and Puritans is almost +too familiar to be rehearsed. Every schoolboy knows of their adventures +and trials, their hardships and their dauntless energy, their piety and +rigidity of rule, the great qualities by the exercise of which it may +be justly claimed that they made themselves the true founders of the +American Republic. Driven by persecution from their native England, +they took refuge in Holland; and from thence they sailed in two small +vessels, the _Speedwell_ and the _Mayflower_ on a July day in 1620, for +the new world. One hundred Puritans thus crossed the ocean. + +[Sidenote: Settlement at Plymouth.] + +After a tempestuous voyage of sixty-three days, the _Mayflower_ coasted +along Cape Cod, and landed, on the twenty-first day of December, at +Plymouth. The _Speedwell_ had been forced to put back in a disabled +condition. Before landing, the Puritans made a solemn compact of +government, purely republican in form, and to this they afterwards +religiously adhered. In 1629 another English Puritan colony, called the +"Massachusetts Bay Colony," settled at Salem; and in the following +year came Governor John Winthrop, with eight hundred emigrants. The +Massachusetts Bay Colony, thus re-enforced, and now numbering not far +from one thousand souls, settled Boston and its neighborhood. + +[Sidenote: New England Colonized.] + +New Hampshire began to be settled three years after the landing of +the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Maine was colonized not much later. Vermont, +having been explored by Champlain in 1609, was settled some years +after. The Rhode Island colony was founded by Roger Williams and five +companions, driven from the Boston and Plymouth colonies in succession, +in 1636; and Connecticut first became the seat of a settlement in 1635, +the colonial constitution being adopted in 1630. Next in point of time, +Delaware was settled by parties of Swedes and Finlanders in 1638, and +was called "New Sweden." The province passed into the hands of the Dutch +of New Amsterdam, however, in 1655. + +[Sidenote: European possessions in America.] + +Thus, in a period of a little less than half a century, the whole of the +American coast had been acquired by, and was to a large degree under +the dominion of, five European nations. In 1655 the Spaniards held the +peninsula of Florida; the French were in possession of, or at least +claimed the right to, what are now the two Carolinas; the Dutch held +Manhattan Island, New Jersey, a narrow strip running along the west bank +of the Hudson, and a portion of Long Island; the Swedes were established +(soon to be deprived of it) in what is now Delaware, and a part of +what is now Pennsylvania, along the Delaware River; while the English +possessions far exceeded those of all the others put together, including +as they did nearly the whole of Virginia, a large share of Maryland, all +of New England, and the greater part of Long Island. + +[Sidenote: William Penn.] + +In the year 1681 all the Dutch possessions had been added to the +dominion of the English in America; and it was in this year that William +Penn, having received a grant of a large tract of land in what is now +Pennsylvania, sent out a colony, which settled on his grant. The next +year he came in person, assumed the governorship of the colony, founded +Philadelphia, and made his famous treaties with the Indians. At the +close of the seventeenth century the English dominion comprised the +whole coast, from Canada to the Carolinas; and it may be fairly said +that when the eighteenth century opened, the era of colonization had +reached its culmination, English civilization was indelibly stamped on, +and firmly planted in, the new continent. The crystallizing process of a +new and mighty nation had begun and was in rapid progress. + + + + +IV. THE COLONIAL ERA. + + +[Sidenote: England's Acquirements.] + +The Colonial Era, intervening between the permanent colonization of the +Atlantic coast and the momentous time when the colonies united to assert +their independence, may be said to have been comprised within a period +of a little more than a century. In 1664 England had acquired possession +of the whole colonized territory from the Kennebec to the southern +boundary of South Carolina. Georgia was still unsettled, and remained +to be colonized some sixty years after by that good and gallant General +Oglethorpe, who forbade slavery to be introduced into the province, and +prohibited the sale of rum within its limits. Florida was still held by +the Spanish, the only continental power which then had a foothold on the +Atlantic border of what is now the United States. + +[Sidenote: Colonial Progress.] + +The century of settlement and growth which we call the Colonial Era was +full of hardship, romance, brave struggling with great difficulties, +fortitude, and alternate misfortune and success. As we look back upon it +from this distance, however, we do not fail to be struck with the steady +and certain progress made towards a compact and enduring nationality. +Even then the same variety of race and habits and characteristics which +the United States reveal to-day were to be observed in the population +which was scattered over the narrow strip of territory extending +a thousand miles along the seaboard. There were English +everywhere--predominant then, as English traits still possess, in a yet +more marked degree, the prevailing influence. There were, however, Dutch +in New York and Pennsylvania, some Swedes still in Delaware, Danes in +New Jersey, French Huguenots in the Carolinas, Austrian Moravians, not +long after, in Georgia, and Spaniards in Florida. + +[Sidenote: The New England Colonies.] + +Amid such a diversity of races, of course the habits, the laws, and +the religious opinions of the colonies widely differed. But these +differences were not confined to those arising from variety of origin. +The English in New England presented a very marked contrast to the +English in New York and in Virginia. The settlements of Plymouth and +Massachusetts Bay comprised communities of zealous Calvinists, rigid +in their religious belief and ceremonies, codifying their religious +principles into political law, and adhering resolutely, through thick +and thin, to the idea expressed, by one of the early Puritans, that +"our New England was originally a plantation of religion, and not a +plantation of trade." + +[Sidenote: Roger Williams.] + +Roger Williams founded Rhode Island on the principle of religious +toleration; but he carried thither the sobriety and diligence and +courage of his former Puritan associations. He provided, as he himself +said, "a shelter for persons distressed for conscience." Connecticut was +also essentially a "religious plantation," which for many years accepted +the Bible as containing the only laws necessary to the colony, +and confined the right of suffrage to members of the church; and +Connecticut, as well as Massachusetts, vigorously punished offenders +by the rough, old-fashioned methods of the pillory, the stocks, and the +whipping-post. + +[Sidenote: Colonial New York and Virginia.] + +No contrast could be more striking than that between colonial New +England and colonial New York and Virginia. The Puritans gathered +together in towns and villages; they lived in log or earth cottages, one +story high, with no pretensions to ornament, and but little to comfort. +The wealthier New Englanders, after a time, built two-story brick +houses; but these were still plain and substantial, and not imposing. + +[Sidenote: Puritan Costumes] + +The men wore short cloaks and jerkins, short, loose breeches, wide +collars with tassels, and high, narrow-crowned hats with wide brims. The +women dressed in plain-colored homespun, but bloomed forth on Sundays +with silk hoods and daintily worked caps. The proximity of Indians +required that every New England village should be a fortress, and every +citizen a soldier. Two hundred years ago, muster-days and town-meetings, +means of defence from attack and of self-government within, were as +prominent features of New England life as they are to-day. + +[Sidenote: New England Industries.] + +The New Englanders were mainly farmers, hunters, and fishermen. Commerce +was slow to grow up among them. Trade was the means towards supporting a +religious state; not a method for the acquirement of wealth. By and by, +however, manufactures of cotton and woollen fabrics grew up, lumber was +floated down to the coast, gunpowder and glass were made, and fish were +cured for winter use and to be sent abroad. They ate corn-meal and milk, +and pork and beans were a favorite New England dish from the first; and +they drank cider and home-brewed beer. The first coins appeared in +1652; and the oldest college on American soil, Harvard, was founded at +Cambridge in 1636. + +[Sidenote: Dutch and Cavaliers.] + +The Dutch, in New York, and the Cavaliers, in Virginia, set out upon +their colonial careers in a very different way. The Dutch came to +America as traders; the Cavaliers came to be landed proprietors and to +seek rapid fortunes. Instead, therefore, of clustering close in towns +and villages, both the Dutch and the Cavaliers spread out through the +country and established large and isolated estates. Wealthy Dutchmen +came hither with patents from the East India Company, took possession +of tracts sixteen miles long, settled colonies upon them, and lived in +great state on their "manors," ruling the colonies, working their lands +with slaves, and assuming the aristocratic title of "Patroon." Thus +a sort of feudal system grew up, in which the "Patroons" exercised an +authority well nigh as absolute as that of the mediaeval barons on the +Rhine; and this system long flourished side by side with the democratic +simplicity of the Puritan commonwealths. + +[Sidenote: Captain John Smith.] + +In the same way the Virginians scattered themselves in the fruitful and +sunny valleys between the sea and the Alleghanies, and in time created +lordly domains and plantations, over which the possessors exercised +feudal sway. But this colony, composed originally in the main of +gentlemen unused to manual labor, and indisposed to bear patiently the +hardships of early settlement, did not become established without many +and serious difficulties. The colonists at first hung tents to the +trees to shelter them from the sun; and the best of their houses "could +neither well defend wind nor rain." Captain John Smith wrote to England, +begging his friends there to "rather send thirty carpenters, husbandmen, +gardeners, fishermen, blacksmiths, and diggers-up of the roots, well +provided, than a thousand of such as we have." + +[Sidenote: Tobacco in Virginia.] + +The Virginians cultivated tobacco; and in the same year that the +Puritans landed on Plymouth Rock, the first cargo of African slaves was +carried up the James River in a Dutch trading ship. It is an interesting +fact that so extensive and profitable was the early cultivation of +tobacco in Virginia that it became the general medium of exchange. Debts +were paid with it; fines of so much tobacco, instead of so much money, +were imposed; a wife cost a Virginian five hundred pounds of the +narcotic weed; and even the government accepted it in discharge of +taxes. + +[Sidenote: Virginian Customs.] + +Virginia early became divided into classes; the landlords being a +virtual nobility, the poorer colonists a middle class, and the slaves +comprising the lower social stratum. The Church of England was the +prevailing sect, and English habits of hospitality and ease of manner +replaced the Puritan austerity of the North. Yet Virginia had a severe +code of punishments; and at one time, if a man stayed away from church +three times without good reason, he was liable to the penalty of death. +The Virginians were tolerant of all faiths excepting those of the +Quakers and the Roman Catholics. Persons professing these creeds were +sternly excluded from the colony. + +[Sidenote: The Indians.] + +Just one hundred years before the outbreak of the Revolution, the white +population of New England had reached fifty-five thousand: while the +Indians, retreating at the approach of the European, had become reduced +to two-thirds of that number. The presence of the aborigines on the +borders of the whole line of the colonies seemed at first, destined to +become fatal to the settlement of the continent. But had it not been +for Indian hostility, the colonies might never have grown together and +merged, first into a close defensive alliance, and then into a great +and united state. It was mainly the sentiment of the common preservation +that brought about the intimate relations which gradually grew up +between Puritan, Dutchman, and Cavalier. + +[Sidenote: Indian Wars.] + +The Puritans treated the Indians with strict justice: Penn made friends +of the powerful tribes along the Delaware; and Roger Williams succeeded +in conciliating the Narragansetts. But a time came when the Indians saw +clearly that they were being pushed further and further back, away +from their ancient homes. Then followed the terrible wars which so +long threatened the existence of the struggling colonies, and which the +dauntless courage and hardihood of the settlers alone rendered vain. +King Philip arose, and struggled fiercely for more than a year to +exterminate the New England intruders. The Canadian French, jealous of +English supremacy on the continent, joined hands with the Indians, and +incited them constantly to fresh assaults. These French had explored the +Lakes, and the Mississippi as far as what is now New Orleans; and they +feared lest the English should deprive them of these western domains. + +Wars succeeded each other with alarming rapidity. After King Philip's +War came King William's War in 1689, Queen Anne's War in 1702, King +George's War in 1744, the Canadian War (which lasted from 1755 to 1763, +and in which Quebec was taken by Wolfe, and Canada was conquered by the +English), and finally, Pontiac's bold but futile rebellion, aided by +the French, in 1763. It was these wars, and the growing need of combined +resistance to the tyrannical assumptions of the British government, +which together drew close the bonds of friendship and mutual support +between the colonies, and made them capable of striking a successful +blow for independence. + + + + + +V. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. + + +[Sidenote: The Revolution.] + +[Sidenote: American Loyalty.] + +The Revolution was long in brewing. The discontent of the colonies at +their treatment by the mother country was gradual in its growth. At +first it seemed rather to inspire fitful protests and expostulations, +than a desire to foster a deliberate quarrel. Even New England, settled +by Pilgrims who had no strong reason for evincing loyalty and affection +for the land whence they had been driven for opinion's sake, seemed +to have become more or less reconciled to the dominion of British +governors. There can be no doubt that the colonists, even down to within +a brief period of the Declaration of Independence, hoped to retain their +connection with Great Britain. Congress declared, even after armies had +been raised to resist the red-coats, that this was not with the design +of separation or independence. Even the mobs cried "God save the king!" +Washington said that until the moment of collision he had abhorred +the idea of separation: and Jefferson declared that, up to the 19th of +April, 1775 (the date of the battle of Lexington), "he had never heard a +whisper of a disposition to separate from Great Britain." + +[Sidenote: Effect of the Stamp Act.] + +The Stamp Act, and the similar acts which followed it, united the +colonies in a spirit of resistance. They inspired Patrick Henry's +eloquence in Virginia; they gave rise to the "tea-party" in Boston; they +produced the Boston massacre; they led to the burning of the _Gaspee_ +in Narragansett Bay; they finally developed, no longer rioting, but +open and flagrant rebellion at Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill. The +colonies did not refuse to be taxed. They recognized the right of +Great Britain to tax them. But they claimed that this right had its +condition--that the taxed people should be represented in the body which +held the taxing power. Had the colonies been permitted to send members +to the British Parliament, and to have a voice in the deliberations of +the government, the Revolution might never have taken place. But King +George and his Tory ministers were obstinate to folly. They met protest +with repression; in order to subjugate the colonies, they added tyranny +to tyranny. The warnings of Townshend and Chatham were lost upon them, +and at last the colonies, utterly despairing of a settlement with +a power so deaf and so inconsiderate, launched into the storm of +revolution. + +[Sidenote: Independence Hall.] + +[Sidenote: Trumbull's Picture.] + +Every American who pays a visit to Philadelphia should visit the plain, +old-fashioned, sombre room known as "Independence Hall." Its dinginess +is venerable; its relics are illustrious. In this hall have resounded +the voices of Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Randolph,--the whole +circle of Revolutionary statesmen. On that table, which is pointed out +to you, the famous Declaration was signed. From the walls historic faces +gaze down upon you. Every relic has its record and its hint. In the +square below, you see the place where the Philadelphians of 1776 +listened to the reading of the Declaration from the Court House steps. +No one can visit this hall without conjuring up in his fancy the +memorable scene of the first of our "Fourths of July"; and, happily, +a great painter, who knew many of the actors in it, has preserved its +features on canvas. It is not difficult, standing in Independence Hall, +and retaining Trumbull's picture in memory, to imagine very nearly the +scene it presented. + +[Sidenote: Signers of the Declaration.] + +There were the long rows of plain uncushioned benches, extending up and +down the sides, filled with men of all ages, some with wigs, some with +powdered hair, some with unpowdered hair, all dressed in small-clothes, +breeches, knee-buckles, long stockings, and buckled shoes; coats of +blue, gray, and snuff color; venerable men like Franklin and Stephen +Hopkins, men in the full vigor of middle life, like Samuel Adams and +Roger Sherman, young men in the ardor and flush of lusty patriotism, +like Thomas Jefferson, and Francis Hopkinson, and Robert Livingston, and +John Hancock--the younger evidently predominating, alike in numbers and +activity. The faces were solemn and grave, no doubt, though Dr. Franklin +would have his genial joke about the necessity of their all hanging +together, lest they should all hang, separately; deep silence prevailed, +followed now and then by an excited stir among the benches. + +[Sidenote: President Hancock.] + +[Sidenote: The Continental Army.] + +Then there was the President's table, a little aside from one end of the +hall, with papers strewed over it, and by its side President Hancock, +attired with dainty and aristocratic precision, his sword by his side, +his wig perfectly dressed, his face earnest yet serene and bright. We +can fancy, too, the commotion which arose, the leaning forward, the +holding of the breath, then the dead silence, when the committee +appointed to draw the Declaration advanced to the President's table. It +was the moment of crossing the Rubicon. It was the burning of the +ships behind them. From this moment there was to be no possibility of +retreating. Independence declared, it still remained to conquer it. +British troops burdened the soil; shiploads of them were at that moment +crossing the Atlantic. The Continental army was but an armed rabble, +with patriotism for their strongest weapon. And would the colonies, one +and all, adhere, and "hang together"; or would the Declaration strike +terror to timid hearts, and destroy its purpose by its very audacity? + +[Sidenote: Thomas Jefferson.] + +[Sidenote: Franklin.] + +All this must have passed through the mind of each deputy as the +illustrious committee of five stood before Hancock, at the President's +desk. Foremost among them was Thomas Jefferson, the tallest, youngest, +and ablest of the five; their chairman, and the author of the great +document which he held in his hand. In his thirty-fourth year, Jefferson +was then a fine specimen of the Virginian gentry, his tall form clad +loosely in the small-clothes of the period, his bright red hair, +unpowdered, gathered carelessly behind with a ribbon, his light blue +eyes clear and calm, and his lips parted in a placid and confident +smile. Next to him, side by side, stood Franklin and John Adams, sons +of Massachusetts--the one risen from the printer's case, the other a +prosperous country lawyer, descended from the good Puritan stock of John +Alden. Franklin was already beyond three score and ten; his gray hair +hung in long locks to his shoulders; his snuff-colored coat reached to +his knees; his large, pleasant face must have encouraged the others on +that fateful day, so did it shine with trust in the cause and confidence +in its success. + +[Sidenote: Roger Sherman.] + +Pugnacity and determination were revealed in the short thick-set figure +of John Adams; the round bald head, the firm mouth, the set eyes of +the Braintree patriot, gave the idea that he was grimly and terribly in +earnest. Square-headed old Roger Sherman was another figure well worth +studying; a man, like the others, with the air of being rather resolved +on, than resigned to, the step which was being made, and seriously +prepared to take all consequences. And, to complete the group, there was +the polished and scholarly Livingston of New York, almost a fop in dress +and toilet, a model of elegance and fine courtesy, who, though serving +as one of the committee, was absent when the Declaration was signed. The +signing did not take place for several weeks after its adoption. + +[Sidenote: The Declaration proclaimed.] + +[Sidenote: British exasperation.] + +Jefferson read the Declaration to the Congress, and it was accepted, +with a few alterations, by the votes of the deputies of twelve of the +colonies. New York alone abstained from voting. The bell of the State +House rang out the tidings; the Declaration was read to a surging, +excited crowd in the square; it was sent off in all directions by fleet +messengers, and read at the head of each brigade of the Continental +army; and the colonies now knew that the fight was to go on to the +bitter end. Thenceforth there was no thought of patching a compromise +with the mother country, or of returning to the old allegiance to +the British crown. On the side of England, national pride and royal +obstinacy urged forward every preparation to continue the struggle; and +the voices of Chatham, Burke, and Fox were drowned amid the storm of +exasperation which the Declaration had caused. A price was set upon the +heads of Hancock and Samuel Adams, and Hessians were purchased to fill +the insufficient corps of the red-coats. + +[Sidenote: Consequences of the Declaration.] + +Now the colonies were the United States, with a flag common to all, the +symbol of a united nationality. Seldom has a written paper so moved the +world. In our own history, the only document that can compare with +it, in its momentous results, was the emancipation charter of Abraham +Lincoln. Both required a courage that was nothing less than heroic: but +the proclaimers of the Declaration of Independence risked life, family, +property; engaged in an irreconcilable conflict against enormous odds; +defied the greatest naval power in the world, and the richest nation, in +pursuit, not of the material gain to be derived from the abrogation of +a tax, but of national liberties which they were determined to secure at +every hazard. The Declaration, indeed, was needed to combine the action +of the patriots, and to give them a definite and certain purpose. It was +the bond that pledged them to harmony, and which confined them to the +alternative of "liberty or death." + + + + +VI. SOCIETY IN 1776. + +[Sidenote: American Society.] + +Despite the numerous biographies, histories, narratives, diaries, and +volumes of correspondence concerning the revolutionary epoch, which fill +many shelves of our larger libraries, it is not easy to reproduce in +imagination the state of American society as it was a hundred years ago. +In order to do so we must exclude from the mind many objects and ideas +which have been familiar to us all our lives. We must subtract all of +material improvements, of changes in the method of doing things, of new +directions and wide divergencies in the current of thought and knowledge +that have come about in the interval. We must strip the modern home, for +instance, of appliances without which it is difficult to conjure up a +picture of comfort, much less of luxury. We must forget railways, and +the telegraph, and every other use of that still mysterious agent, +electricity. We must put out of our minds all notion of great cities, of +long lines of elegant shops, blocks of noble residences, spacious parks +adorned by every refinement of the gardening art, public buildings +capped with stately dome and graceful turret and sculptured front; all +notion of the later growth of recreation, the theatre and the concert +hall, the lecture platform, the brilliant holiday festival, the sea +excursion, the gay and attractive summer resort with its big hotels and +its countless luxuries. We must return in imagination, in short, to +a social condition but few remnants of which are still to be found in +remote corners of the country; the relics of which still visible to the +eye are rare and precious, and dwindling away day by day; and the +life and spirit of which have ceased with the broadened, gift-laden +civilization which has replaced the old primitive simplicity, and made +a powerful, teeming, and restless nation out of scattered villages and +colonies struggling to exist. + +[Sidenote: Old-time Mansions.] + +Still, there was a very distinct advance in culture, elegance, comfort, +and luxury, beyond the condition of the colonies in the previous +century. Those who remember the stately Hancock House, on the top of +Beacon Hill in Boston, and compare its exterior and interior with still +extant edifices which were residences of the wealthier colonists of two +hundred years ago, may gather some idea of the far more lavish adornment +and elegance of the period in which Hancock lived. We may well believe +that when Washington drove through the streets of Philadelphia in +a state coach, "of which the body was in the shape of a hemisphere, +cream-colored, bordered with flowers round the panels, and ornamented +with figures representing cupids, and supporting festoons," he presented +a very different appearance from that of the early Puritan governors +and Virginian squires; and could we have peeped into the square, solid +drawing-room in which, as President, he held his receptions, aided by +the matronly grace and dignity of Mrs. Washington, the scene would +be far gayer and more imposing than William Penn's house would have +displayed, or the company of the richest Dutch "patroon" of New York +could have presented in the seventeenth century. + +[Sidenote: Old Furniture.] + +Yet, had we gone over the mansion, in how many things would we, used +to the minute refinements of this later age, have judged it wanting! +Instead of gas, there would be candles, and not of the best quality, +everywhere. Instead of stoves and furnaces with coal, we should have +been fain to comfort ourselves with the cheerful blaze and genial glow, +but scant and capricious warmth, of the wood logs, burning in the big +open fireplaces. Lace curtains and moquette carpets would be nowhere +apparent. The furniture, though here and there richly carved and +bountifully upholstered, would be wanting in variety and the luxurious +ease of that which we now enjoy. + +[Sidenote: The Tables of 1776.] + +At table we should have missed the thousand refinements and inventions +of French and native cooking which now lend variety to our sustenance. +The food would have been substantial and heavy and little various; the +English simplicity, probably, of barons of beef and shoulders of mutton, +and cold bread, and big plum puddings, with a relish of fruits. Were we +in fancy to journey from New York to Philadelphia or Boston, we should +be forced to rumble slowly over bad roads, through interminable forests +and by desert sea-coasts, in heavy and rudely jolting vehicles, and be +several days upon the trip. + +[Sidenote: Travelling in the Olden Time.] + +[Sidenote: The Wealthier Classes.] + +It is a striking fact that people in the days of Washington travelled +not a whit more rapidly than people in the days of Moses or of Homer. +The chariot-rider of the Olympic games attained a speed which +was, perhaps, never equalled in Europe or America until the first +railway-train sped between Liverpool and Manchester, in 1830. In 1776, +the Americans were still mainly confined to the original occupations of +the early colonists, farming, trade, hunting, and fishing. Manufactories +there were not as yet; Lawrence and Lowell. Pittsburg, and the great +industrial New York towns, were still in the womb of the future. +In almost every household throughout the land the old-fashioned +spinning-wheel was humming under the pressure of matronly and maidenly +feet, by which the homespun garments of the time were made. While the +less well-to-do and laboring classes were content with clothing spun and +knitted at their own firesides, the wealthier people arrayed themselves +with far more ostentation than they do at this day. Silks and satins +came hither by ship-loads from France to supply the luxury of costume +which was then in vogue. The difference between the costumes of that day +and of this was especially marked in the attire of gentlemen. Now there +is much greater plainness and uniformity. When Washington held his +levees, he was generally dressed "in black velvet, with white +or pearl-colored waistcoat, yellow gloves, and silver knee and +shoe-buckles." "His hair was powdered and gathered in a silk bag behind. +He carried a cocked hat in his hand, and wore a long sword with a +scabbard of polished white leather." The display of dress was not less +marked in other officials, and in men of high social rank. The judges of +the Supreme Court wore scarlet robes faced with velvet. "If a +gentleman went abroad, he appeared in his wig, white stock, white satin +embroidered vest, black satin small-clothes, with white silk stockings, +and a fine broadcloth or velvet coat; if at home, a velvet cap, +sometimes with a fine linen one under it, took the place of the +wig; while a gown, frequently of colored damask lined with silk, +was substituted for the coat, and the feet were covered with leather +slippers of some fancy color." All men shaved their beards clean; a man +who appeared in the streets wearing hair on any part of his face was +stared at, and very likely laughed at. + +[Sidenote: Old-time Attire.] + +[Sidenote: Wigs and Queues.] + +All the great gentlemen wore wigs; most of the country farmers contented +themselves with tying their hair in a queue behind, sprinkling it with +powder when they went to church on a Sunday. As for the ladies, those in +the best society were even more elaborate in their toilets than those +of to-day. On the dressing of the hair, especially, much time and money +were spent. It was raised high upon the head and powdered thick; "the +hair dressers," says Higginson, "were kept so busy on the day of any +fashionable entertainment, that ladies sometimes had to employ their +services at four or five in the morning, and had to sit upright all the +rest of the day, in order to avoid disturbing the head-dress." + +[Sidenote: Amusements.] + +Although our ancestors did not possess the variety of amusements +which now exists, their life was far from a humdrum one. Theatres were +tabooed, but were beginning to hold their ground here and there, though +not, we may be sure, in New England. There were, however, private +theatricals and charades, which became at one period very much in vogue +in the aristocratic houses of New York and Philadelphia. Concerts were +often held, and in the country many old-time English festivals, such as +May Day, were kept up. The most frequent and fashionable amusements of +that time were balls and parties. We hear of the gentlemen and dames +going to "routs" in their sedan chairs, much as they did in the old +country: arriving at eight--they kept better hours than our modern +fashionable people--they would dance the staid and stately minuet and +the gayer contra-dance, to the music mainly of fiddles, till midnight, +and then separate, horrified at the lateness of the hour. + +[Sidenote: Imitations of the English.] + +Indeed, we are able to see in the habits of the American upper classes +a distinct imitation of London fashions, despite the quarrel with the +British. The whole etiquette of patrician society was based upon that +of the English court, just as the law administered in the courts was +borrowed from that dispensed at Westminster. It is interesting to note +that "gentlemen took snuff in those days almost universally: and a great +deal of expense and variety were often lavished upon a snuff-box. To +take snuff with one another was as much a matter of courtesy as the +lifting of the hat." + +[Sidenote: Wine and Profanity.] + +The days of prevalent cigar-smoking and tobacco-chewing had not come. +The use of wine and ardent spirits was regarded with less reprobation +in the old society than in the new; profanity, too, was indulged in much +more freely by men of standing and moral profession than now. Thus we +can recognize, in these and in many other things, a progress in morals, +and in greater refinement both of thought, manners, and language, as +well as in the material enginery of civilization. + + + + +VII. THE REVOLUTION. + +[Sidenote: Washington as Commander-in-chief.] + +George Washington had been assigned to the command-in-chief of the +colonial troops, just before the Battle of Bunker Hill. Thus, at the +very start, wisdom ruled the counsels and Providence guided the action +of our forefathers. The military abilities and lofty patriotism of +Washington could scarcely have been foreseen at the first in all their +breadth and scope; yet he was already known as a soldier of tried +courage and of prudent conduct, and as a Virginia gentleman of +conspicuous social and private virtues. + +[Sidenote: Continental Generals.] + +Washington assumed the chief direction of the Continental forces, under +the famous old elm which still stands, but a few steps from Harvard +College, in Old Cambridge, on the third day of July, 1775. At the same +time of his appointment, four major-generals--Artemus Ward, Israel +Putnam, Philip Schuyler, and Charles Lee--were designated. The principal +troops of the colonies were at this time gathered in an irregular cordon +around Boston. Their position was almost unchanged from that which they +had occupied before the Battle of Bunker Hill; for the British were +unable to follow up the success which they had achieved on that +occasion. + +[Sidenote: The Continental Forces.] + +The general-in-chief, on inspecting his forces, saw how ill disciplined +and ill supplied they were. They had but little clothing, a scant supply +of arms, and still less ammunition. Washington's first task was by +no means the least difficult of those which lay before him. It was to +create an army out of a brave but heterogeneous multitude of patriots. +It was to collect arms and supplies; to keep vigilant watch on the +British in Boston; to fortify and defend the surrounding circle; and +prepare to meet and drive out the pent-up foe. + +At last, after preparations extending through nearly eight months, +Boston was attacked by batteries from Dorchester Heights, and on the +17th of March, 1776, Howe evacuated the town, and the first decisive +struggle of the seven years' contest had been decided in favor of the +Americans. + +[Sidenote: First Campaign.] + +The scene is now transferred further south. Charleston had, it is true, +already been attacked, but without favorable results to the English; +on the other hand, Arnold and Montgomery had vainly essayed to assail +British power in the Canadas. New York was the objective point of +those who had now come to be regarded as the invaders of our soil. Its +splendid harbor and its central position afforded a good standpoint. The +concentration of the troops of Howe, which had evacuated Boston, the war +ships commanded by his brother, Lord Howe, and the forces under Clinton, +which had been occupied in futile operations in the South, enabled +the British to force Washington out of New York, and to occupy it +themselves. + +[Sidenote: Numerical Force of the Contestants.] + +The whole British force engaged in this enterprise was scarcely less +than twenty-five thousand men; the American force did not exceed twelve +thousand; and the contrast in discipline and equipment still further +increased this inequality of strength. Then came the retreat across New +Jersey, succeeded by one of the most brilliant strokes of the war. This +was the midnight and midwinter crossing of the Delaware by the American +general and his troops, the forced march upon Trenton through the snow +and cold, and the surprise and utter defeat of the Hessians at that +place on Christmas morning. + +[Sidenote: Valley Forge.] + +But the colonists, though waxing in strength, were not yet able to cope +in a prolonged and active campaign with the royal army. Philadelphia, +like New York, had to be given up. The terrible winter months spent at +Valley Forge formed one of the saddest and most heroic romances of the +Revolution. The army lived in huts, which, as Lafayette exclaimed, "were +no gayer than dungeons." Bread and clothing were sadly wanting. The cold +was intense, and almost unremitting. The Pilgrims during their first +winter at Plymouth were scarcely more comfortless. + +[Sidenote: Bennington.] + +It was early in the following year (1777) that General Burgoyne made an +offensive movement southward from Canada, by way of Lake Champlain and +Fort Ticonderoga. A portion of his troops were sent to Bennington to +capture some stores collected there by the Vermont patriots. A vigorous +defence of these stores by the intrepid Stark resulted in the repulse, +first of the British, then of the Hessian troops. The next scene in +the drama was what may be called the second decisive action of the +war. Burgoyne, with his whole force of five thousand men, encamped at +Saratoga. There he was confronted by General Horatio Gates, who engaged +him in two battles, which, however uncertain their immediate issue, were +followed by a retreat on Burgoyne's part. The Americans succeeded in +turning his flank, and hemming him in; and then came the surrender of +Burgoyne and his entire force. + +[Sidenote: Surrender of Burgoyne.] + +The consequences of this event were of far greater moment than the +elimination from the contest of an able British general and five +thousand well drilled British and mercenary soldiers. It silenced the +complaints which were growing loud against the inactivity of Washington. +It once more harmonized the colonial counsels, which were becoming +seriously discordant. It inspired new effort throughout the colonies. +And it decided France to make open cause with the struggling patriots. +To the masterly diplomacy of Franklin we owe it that the great +European rival of England threw the weight of her sympathy and material +assistance on our side. + +[Sidenote: Charleston Taken.] + +[Sidenote: Capture of Stony Point.] + +From the moment of Burgoyne's surrender, the tide of the war was +fitful, but on the whole, towards American success. There were still +vicissitudes, now and then an apparent back-sliding; Charleston was +taken by Clinton; massacres by Indians took place in Pennsylvania; the +progress of the cause at times seemed grievously slow. On the other +hand, "mad" Anthony Wayne assaulted and took Stony Point, on the Hudson; +Paul Jones made vigorous havoc with the British war-ships, conquering +the _Serapis_ and carried terror to the English by approaching close to +their coast with his doughty _Bonhomme Richard_; Marion and Sumter kept +up constant hostilities with the British in South Carolina; and the +vexatious character of the war was evidently wearying the patience, and +wearing upon the determination, of the royal government. + +[Sidenote: Surrender of Cornwallis.] + +The final scene of the war, at least that which most obtrusively +stands forth in its panorama, was the siege and capture of Yorktown, +in Virginia, and the surrender of General Lord Cornwallis with seven +thousand troops. On this occasion the Americans had the aid of a corps +of French troops under Count Rochambeau, while the French Admiral de +Grasse guarded York River. The siege was so vigorous that in ten +days Lord Cornwallis found himself unable to hold the town. But for +a propitious rain-storm, he might yet have saved his army, and thus +protracted the war. His attempt to leave Yorktown under cover of night +was, however, frustrated by the outburst of a tempest; and he was forced +to send word to Washington that he would surrender. + +[Sidenote: Peace.] + +This he did, with all the customary formalities of war, on the 19th of +October, 1781. By this act seven thousand British troops, the largest +force left on American soil, were withdrawn from the conflict. It was +the death-blow to British hopes. The war dragged on, however, for two +years more. The royalist troops held New York, Charleston, and Savannah, +but did not venture upon aggressive projects. At last, a treaty was made +at Paris, on the 3d of September, 1783, by the conditions of which Great +Britain grudgingly acknowledged the independence of the United States of +America. + +[Sidenote: The Revolutionary Heroes.] + +There would be no justice in presenting even an outline of the American +Revolution, without referring to its triumphs of statesmanship and +diplomacy, as well as its triumphs of military achievement. Washington, +Greene, Stark, Putnam, Wayne, Lafayette, De Kalb, Steuben, Schuyler, and +their fellow-soldiers, performed a great part, and that which was the +most brilliant and conspicuous, in accomplishing our liberties. But in +the Congress were patriots quite as devoted, and not less efficient; +while Franklin, during his sojourn abroad, exercised with great skill +the delicate and subtle generalship of diplomacy. It would have been +easy for the statesmen of the Revolution to render all of Washington's +efforts vain and futile. The triumph of unworthy ambitions in the +colonial counsels might well have brought wreck and ruin upon the cause. + +[Sidenote: Revolutionary Statesmanship.] + +Had the revolutionary statesmen lacked capacity or courage, they would +have loaded the army with a burden which it probably could not have +supported. The marvel of the period was the almost undisturbed unity, +readiness, and practical energy of every branch of the public service; +the devotion of each one in his own sphere to the common end; the +general co-operation in the means by which that end was to be reached; +the remarkable rarity of treason, even of self-seeking; the steadfast +exercise, amid the comfortlessness of camps and the temptations of the +council-hall of the highest and worthiest public virtues. + + + + +VIII. THE CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION. + + +[Sidenote: The Confederation.] + +[Sidenote: Bond of the States.] + +The Confederation was designed as a temporary civil machine, with which +to conduct a war common to the colonies. The Constitution was the later +and permanent bond, combining the States under a single government. +Without the confederation, there would have been chaos in the +revolution; without the constitution, there would have remained the +weakness arising from the division and rivalry of States. It is most +interesting to observe the gradual manner in which our civil government +crystallized out of the original elements offered by the colonies; +and it is wonderful to see with what wise deliberation and patriotic +earnestness States differing so widely in manners, in religion, in +colonial system, and even in blood and race, were brought together in +harmonious coalition, bound with a bond which the greatest civil war of +modern times failed to sever, and which it seems only to have confirmed +and strengthened. + +[Sidenote: Early Confederations.] + +There were, indeed, local confederations before those which, in +1774, enabled a congress to meet at Philadelphia, and which, in 1777, +established articles for a more regular, though still a temporary, civil +enginery with which to bring the war to a successful conclusion. More +than a century before the first meeting of the Continental Congress, +the idea of a confederation had been agitated among the New England +colonies. In 1643 a confederation of those colonies was agreed upon +at Boston, with twelve organic articles, for the common protection and +defence. Here was the very beginning of American unions; and in its +features may be discovered traces of the democratic principles of the +Pilgrims. + +[Sidenote: Declaration of Rights.] + +A general congress of all the colonies met at New York in 1690, +for purposes of conference, when the Stamp Act was promulgated. +Massachusetts invited the colonies to meet in a general congress, which +assembled at New York in 1765, adopted a declaration of rights, asserted +the sole right of taxation to rest in the colonies, and passed other +important resolutions. Eleven years before this, commissioners from +nearly all of the colonies had met at Albany, and before this body +Benjamin Franklin submitted his famous "project of union." Other +conferences and congresses were held between 1765 and 1774; but it was +early in September of the latter year that the first formal Continental +Congress met, at Philadelphia, mainly to concert measures for resisting +the arbitrary acts of the mother country. The rules which guided its +deliberations were few and simple; but even so early we find Patrick +Henry arguing upon the great question of the rights of the States, which +has been a bone of contention in this country from that time to this. + +[Sidenote: Articles of Confederation Adopted. ] + +The first formal articles of confederation, after several ineffectual +attempts, were adopted on the 15th of November, 1777, when the States +were in the midst of the war of independence; but they were not formally +ratified by all of the colonies until 1781, when Maryland at last agreed +to them. These articles contained the germs of nationality, the crude +material out of which the much broader and wiser constitution was +afterwards framed. The second article provided for the complete +"sovereignty, independence, and freedom," of the several States, in all +powers not expressly delegated to Congress. + +[Sidenote: Restrictions on the States. ] + +It was declared that the confederation was a mutual league for +protection and defence; that each State should deliver fugitives from +justice to the others, and accord full faith to the judicial records +of the others; that each State should have the right to recall its +delegates, and that no State should be represented in Congress by +less than two nor more than seven delegates; that no State should send +embassies to foreign powers, confer titles of nobility, lay imports +inconsistent with treaties of the United States, keep vessels of war +or military forces in time of peace without the consent of Congress, a +certain quota of militia excepted, or engage in war except in certain +specified exigencies. + +These, with many minor regulations, were the organic rules under +which our civil government was carried on from 1777 to 1788, when the +constitution came into force. The confederation was supplied with an +executive chosen by Congress, comprising secretaries of foreign affairs, +war, and finance. It was evident, however, that this league, while it +had well served a temporary purpose, was quite inadequate to the +purpose of a permanent bond of union. "We are one nation to-day," said +Washington, "and thirteen to-morrow; who will treat with us on these +terms?" + +[Sidenote: Steps towards a Constitution.] + +The first formal step towards establishing a constitution was the +meeting, in the autumn of 1786, of commissioners from Virginia, +Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, at Annapolis. They +conferred together, and reported to Congress a recommendation that a +body, comprising delegates from all the States, and empowered to frame +an organic instrument, should be convened early in the following year. +Congress adopted the scheme, and the constituent convention was called. + +[Sidenote: The Constituent Convention.] + +This famous assembly met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and its +deliberations continued until the middle of September. Among its +members were many of the most eminent statesmen and soldiers of the +Revolutionary period. + +[Sidenote: Members of the Convention.] + +George Washington, pre-eminent in war, and to be still pre-eminent in +times of peace, presided over the convention, and was one of the guiding +spirits of its labors. Of the thirty-eight delegates who signed the +constitution, six--Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, +James Wilson, and George Clymer--had previously signed the Declaration +of Independence. It was in the constitutional convention that Alexander +Hamilton's genius for statesmanship became conspicuous to the whole +nation; while Madison, the future President, achieved therein a large +reputation. + +[Sidenote: The Non-signers.] + +Among others, the two Pinckneys from South Carolina, John Dickinson, +Jonathan Dayton, Rufus King, Gouverneur Morris, Jared Ingersoll, and +John Rutledge, were eminent in various spheres of public life. Some of +the members of the convention refused to, or for some reason did not, +sign the constitution after it was completed and drafted. These were +Elbridge Gerry and Caleb Strong of Massachusetts, Oliver Ellsworth +of Connecticut, John Lansing and Robert Yates of New York, William +C. Houston of New Jersey, Luther Martin and John Francis Mercer of +Maryland, George Mason, James McClung, Edmund Randolph, and George Wythe +of Virginia, William R. Davis of North Carolina, William Houston and +William Pierce of Georgia. + +[Sidenote: Issues in the Convention.] + +The discussions on the proposed constitution were long, earnest, +sometimes heated, and revealed the presence of widely divergent +opinions. Four plans, or projects, were submitted severally by Edmund +Randolph, William Paterson, Charles Pinckney, and Alexander Hamilton, +differing widely in the political systems recommended. Throughout, the +struggle was between those who desired to preserve a large degree +of independence to the States, and those who wished to make a strong +national government; and the crisis of the struggle came upon the +question whether the States should have equal votes in the Senate, or +should be represented in that body, as in the House of Representatives, +according to population. + +This was warmly debated for several days, the venerable Roger Sherman +and Hamilton sustaining the principle of State equality, and Madison +and Rufus King as vigorously opposing it. At last the former party +prevailed, after a report in favor of State equality in the Senate said +to have been moved in committee by Dr. Franklin. Other phases of the +same contention occurred in the discussion of the article specially +defining the powers of Congress. It was the object of the "States' +rights" party to limit these as much as possible, and of the nationalist +party to give them a broad range. + +[Sidenote: The Constitution a Compromise.] + +[Sidenote: Powers of Congress.] + +Thus, after labors extending through nearly four months, the +constitution issued from the hands of its framers with the marks of +compromise and concession on almost every section. On the one hand, +the States were to vote as equals in the second and upper branch of +Congress, and reserved to themselves local self-government and all +powers not expressly set forth in the instrument. On the other, Congress +was clothed with authority to lay uniform taxes and imposts, to provide +for the common defence, to borrow money on the credit of the nation, to +regulate foreign commerce, to make naturalization and bankruptcy laws, +to coin money, to establish post-offices and roads, to declare war and +raise armies and a navy, to constitute courts, to organize and call +out the militia, and to "execute the laws of the Union, suppress +insurrection, and repel invasions." + +Animated, too, by the true republican spirit, the framers of the +constitution inserted in it that no bill of attainder or _ex-post-facto_ +law should be passed; that the writ of _habeas corpus_ should only be +suspended in cases of extreme necessity; and that no title of nobility +should either be granted by the government or accepted by a citizen of +the United States. + +[Sidenote: Ratification of the Constitution.] + +As soon as the constitution was promulgated, a warm contest arose in all +the States over its ratification. The instrument, upon being ratified by +nine States, was to become the organic law of the land. Although it was +strenuously opposed by many eminent men, among them Patrick Henry, a +sufficient number of States assented in time to bring the constitution +into operation the year after its submission to the people. + +[Sidenote: "The Federalist."] + +Although neither Hamilton nor Madison was entirely satisfied with the +work of the convention, both sank their scruples in a loftier spirit of +patriotism; and their defence of the constitution, in conjunction +with John Jay in the _Federalist_, is likely to be read as long as the +constitution lasts. How wisely the framers labored, and the great fruits +of their labor, are far more clearly to be seen now that the great +instrument has been so long and so severely tried, than was possible in +their own generation. The constitution has stood well the strain of a +progress far more rapid, and needs far more vast and pressing, than they +could have foreseen. It protects the liberties of a nation many fold +more extended and numerous than they could have anticipated would +exist within the brief space of a century; nor does the promise of its +endurance yet grow feeble. + + + + +IX. WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY. + + +"To have framed a constitution was showing only, without realizing, the +general happiness. This great work remained to be done; and America, +steadfast in her preference, with one will summoned her beloved +Washington, unpractised as he was in the duties of civil administration, +to execute this last act in the completion of the national felicity." +Thus spoke Gen. Henry Lee, the funeral orator of Washington, and +the father of a later and more famous Lee, who fought to destroy the +national felicity of which his father spoke. + +[Sidenote: Test of the Constitution.] + +The test of the constitution had come; and it was indeed an experiment +well calculated to arouse the liveliest anxieties of the infant nation. +The passions of party ran yet more high in those days than in our +own. Views the most antagonistic existed already, regarding the +interrelation, as well as the probable success, of the organic +instrument. But upon one point: all factions, however opposed, were +agreed. The only possible first President of the United States was +George Washington. + +[Sidenote: Election of Washington as President.] + +The new nation proceeded, in the autumn of 1788, to the choice of an +executive. There being no contest as to the chief office, the struggle +turned on the Vice-Presidency; but even in this case one candidate was +conspicuous far above the others. If Virginia had the President it +was right that Massachusetts should have the Vice-President; and as +Washington was the pre-eminent Virginian, so John Adams was, beyond all +dispute, the foremost New Englander. Ten States voted in the election, +casting sixty-nine electoral ballots. Washington received the whole +sixty-nine; and our government began with the happy augury of an +unanimous choice for its head. For Vice-President, John Adams received +thirty-four votes; John Jay nine; R.H. Harrison six; John Rutledge six; +John Hancock four; and George Clinton three. + +[Sidenote: Washington takes the Oath of Office.] + +It was on the last day of April, 1789, that President Washington took +the oath of office at New York, and in person delivered his inaugural +address in the presence of the two branches of Congress. This masterly +paper expressed the reluctance with which Washington had abandoned a +retreat which he had chosen "as the asylum of my declining years"; his +willingness to yield the prospect of repose to the call of country and +duty; his faith in the constitution and in the future of the nation; and +his devout reliance, in the burden he was taking upon himself, on "the +benign Parent of the human race." + +[Sidenote: The First Cabinet.] + +A very able cabinet surrounded and strengthened the hands of our +first President. Thomas Jefferson, who had written the Declaration of +Independence, had been Governor of Virginia, and was the successor of +Franklin at the Court of France, was made Secretary of State. At the +head of the Treasury--then, as now, the most important branch of the +executive--was placed the still young but conspicuously able Alexander +Hamilton; the most forcible of revolutionary pamphleteers, the most +efficient of staff-officers, and already an authority on finance. +Major-General Henry Knox, the chief of the continental artillery +service, who had presided over the war department during the +confederation, became Secretary of War. Samuel Osgood of Massachusetts, +experienced in civil affairs and a judicious counsellor, was assigned +to the General Post-Office; and Edmund Randolph, who had recanted his +hostility to the constitution, and was now a close ally of Jefferson, +was appointed the first Attorney-General of the United States. + +[Sidenote: Washington's Difficulties.] + +[Sidenote: Antagonism of Parties.] + +Many difficulties surrounded the first President and his advisers at the +outset. The nation was deeply in debt, and its currency was a paper one. +The people, oppressed for so many years by the burdens of an unequal +war, were irritated by the necessarily heavy taxes. The Indians on +the borders of the settled States were troublesome. And, to add to the +embarrassments of our statesmen, the relations of the United States +with the European powers were strained, and at times alarming. The two +parties which had struggled to fashion the constitution continued to +agitate the country in a more bitter rivalry than has been seen since, +with the exception of the party excitement of the period just before the +Rebellion. Their antagonism became more pronounced during Washington's +presidency, by reason of the great European war then going on, which +divided the sympathies of our people and politicians between France and +England. + +[Sidenote: The Republicans.] + +On the one hand, the party which called itself "Republican," and at the +head of which were Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, James Madison, +Edmund Randolph, and Patrick Henry, were zealous friends of the French +Revolution. They regarded that great convulsion as a desperate attempt +on the part of our recent allies to found a republic like that of the +United States; and they were in favor of extending the French our aid +and sympathy, while the more eager went so far as to advocate our active +participation in the war on behalf of France. On the other hand, the +"Federalists," chief among whom were Washington, John Adams, Hamilton, +and Jay, deplored the excesses of the French Revolutionists; thought +their example rather to be avoided than emulated; and, with a still +lingering affection for England despite her tyrannies, leaned to her +side in the conflict which was so fiercely raging. + +[Sidenote: State Rights and a Central Government.] + +The cabinet itself was divided between these two parties. Jefferson, the +"Republican" leader, was Secretary of State; Hamilton, the "Federalist" +leader, was at the head of the Treasury. On other than foreign +subjects the antagonism of the two parties was distinctly defined. The +Republicans were the stout defenders of what they called the rights of +the States. The Federalists wished to make the central government as +strong as possible. The Republicans favored strict economy, a democratic +simplicity of manners and costumes, and opposed official ceremony and +formality. The Federalists were the aristocratic party, elegant and +patrician in their tastes, sticklers for etiquette and state. Hamilton +and Washington were freely charged by the Republicans with being +monarchists at heart. + +[Sidenote: Washington's State.] + +Political capital was made of the President's ostentatious style of +living, of his cream-colored coach and six, and liveried lackeys, his +velvet and gold apparel, his almost royal levees, and his well known +desire that the title of "High Mightiness" should be conferred upon him. +He was accused of imitating the state of the monarchs of the old world, +and of wishing to gather a brilliant, ceremonious, and exclusive +court about him. Thus before he had completed his two terms of office, +Washington found himself confronted and opposed by a powerful democratic +party. John Adams, his successor in policy as well as in office, was +chosen President by only one majority in the electoral college; and when +his term expired, the Republicans succeeded in placing Jefferson in the +executive chair, and in holding power for a quarter of a century. + +[Sidenote: Washington's Policy.] + +Washington's administration, however, proved his capacity for +statesmanship as well as for war, his wisdom and force of character, and +his pure and lofty devotion to the interests of the whole country. +His policy was at once vigorous and moderate. At first he preserved an +almost impartial bearing towards the two parties, as indicated by his +selection of their several chiefs for the highest seats in his cabinet. +Towards the close of his term, however, the government became more +distinctly Federalist. Hamilton's influence became paramount; and +Jefferson retired from office to put himself at the head of a very +earnest and aggressive opposition. + +[Sidenote: Relations with Foreign Powers.] + +The results of Washington's policy may be recognized, at this distance +of time, as having been in the highest degree beneficial to the welfare +of the young nation. He placed its finances on a sound basis. He +maintained order, and put a term to the aggressions of the Indians. He +compelled Algiers to prevent her pirates from preying upon our commerce. +He made friendly treaties with England and Spain. With the French +question he dealt in a manner most creditable to his wisdom, and in the +only manner by which the United States could escape being involved once +more in war. He issued a proclamation of absolute neutrality; and he +saw that it was adhered to in the spirit and in the letter. Towards the +close of his presidency, the arbitrary conduct of France towards this +country was such that a conflict became imminent. Even an invasion by +the French was threatened. This danger continued into the period of +John Adams' term; but the firm and vigorous policy of Washington and his +successor averted it, while the European, wars in which Napoleon soon +became involved diverted the attention of France elsewhere. + +[Sidenote: States Added to the Union.] + +[Sidenote: General Results of Washington's Administration.] + +Three States were added to the Union of thirteen during Washington's +tenure of office. Vermont came within the circle in 1791; Kentucky +followed in the next year; and her neighbor, Tennessee, became a state +in 1796. What a contrast in national expenditure there was between +Washington's administration and those of modern times may be judged +when it is stated that the average annual expense of the government in +Washington's time was something less than two millions of dollars. The +population, according to the first census taken in 1790 was a little +less than four millions. Now we number more than fifty millions. It may +be said, generally, of Washington's presidency, that it gave the new +government a good start on its career of growth, order, and prosperity. +By his statesmanship, which was pure, solid, and vigorous, rather than +brilliant, peace was preserved at home and abroad; and the result was +that that general happiness which Henry Lee spoke of as promised only by +the constitution had already at least begun to be realized. + + + + +X. THE WAR OF 1812. + +[Sidenote: The Period of Political Settlement.] + +The period between the inauguration of Washington and the declaration +of war against Great Britain in 1812 may be regarded as the era of +formation and political settlement in the history of the republic. +It must not be forgotten that, at first, many of the wisest American +statesmen looked upon Republicanism as an experiment, and did not +place implicit faith in its success. The accession of Jefferson to the +presidency, however, and the events of his administration, gave the +Republican idea full scope and trial. The most philosophical and +studious of the statesmen of that day, Jefferson had the courage to +test the theories for which he had contended against the Federalism of +Washington, Adams, and Hamilton, by a vigorous practical policy. + +[Sidenote: Jefferson's Ideas.] + +Jefferson was heartily supported in this by the great mass of the +nation; and it was he who, thus sustained, established those general +principles of policy and government which became final, and have +prevailed ever since. That suffrage is a right and not a privilege, +that we should make large annexations of territory, and become the +controlling power of the continent; and that a rigid economy should +be practised, leaving the States the largest scope of local +self-government: these were cardinal articles in the Jeffersonian creed. +For twenty-four years Jefferson himself, and Madison and Monroe, his +fellow-Virginians and his earnest political disciples, presided without +interruption over the destinies of the country. + +[Sidenote: Condition of the Union in 1812.] + +The condition of the United States in the year 1812 presented a +striking and most favorable contrast to that which they had exhibited at +Washington's accession. The population had increased from four to about +seven and a half millions. The sixteen States over which Washington +presided had swelled to eighteen. Ohio and Louisiana had been admitted +to the circle. But this was by no means the limit to territorial +acquisition. It was President Jefferson who added to the domain of the +Union that vast and fertile tract which is even now in rapid process of +settlement, and which was known as the Louisiana purchase. This tract +reached from the banks of the Mississippi to the base of the Rocky +Mountains. It embraced nearly a million square miles, or more than the +whole of the area of the Union as it then was; and fifteen millions of +dollars were paid to France in exchange for it. A great invention had +been put into practical operation during Jefferson's term. This was the +steamboat. Robert Fulton put the _Clermont_ upon the Hudson in 1807; and +thenceforth navigation by steam was to play a great part in the commerce +and economical progress of the land. + +[Sidenote: Inventions.] + +[Sidenote: Causes of the War.] + +President Madison, who assumed the executive chair in 1809, inherited a +quarrel with Great Britain from his predecessor, which soon ripened +into war. The great contest which raged between France and Great Britain +early in the century could not but affect the rest of the civilized +world. American commerce had already grown into importance, and was now +seriously crippled by the arbitrary course respecting trade adopted by +both of the belligerents. Each power forbade neutral nations to trade +with its foe. But while Napoleon followed the example of Pitt in making +a decree to this effect, the bearing of Great Britain towards this +country, in respect to the prohibition of trade, was far more arrogant +and vexatious than that of France. American ships were captured on +the high seas by British men-of-war, carried into port, adjudged, and +confiscated. + +[Sidenote: The Right of Search.] + +A still more serious assault upon our national honor was made by the +British government. It claimed the right to search American vessels for +British seamen, and proceeded to execute it. Thus sailors were taken +from our ships by the hundred; and, on one occasion, an American ship, +the _Chesapeake_, was fired upon and forcibly boarded by a British +man-of-war, within sight of the Virginia coast. For a while retaliation +was attempted in the shape of an embargo upon American vessels; but this +was soon found to tend to the utter extitinction of our commerce, and +the embargo was abandoned. Remonstrance with Great Britain proved to be +of no avail. The English ministry at that time was a strict Tory one, +and far from friendly in disposition toward the United States. Despite +the protests of our envoy, the practice of search was vigorously +pursued. + +[Sidenote: War Declared.] + +This was the state of affairs when James Madison became President. +The party represented by him was now clamorous for war, while the old +Federalists, especially those of New England, as earnestly deprecated +it. At last it became apparent that war was the only remedy for the +outrages committed almost without cessation on our commerce. The +President sent a message to Congress expressing this opinion; and on +the 18th of June, 1812, war was formally declared against Great Britain. +This was evidently in accordance with the will of the nation: but we +did not enter upon the conflict without the bitter opposition of the +Federalists. A convention of the leading members of that party met at +Hartford, held secret sessions, and issued an energetic protest against +the war. This aroused a deep sense of hostility in the breasts of the +war party; and, ever since, the Hartford Convention has been regarded +as at least an injudicious demonstration at a period when war already +existed, and when the government needed the support of every patriot to +bring it to a successful end. + +[Sidenote: Beginning of Hostilities.] + +[Sidenote: Naval Victories.] + +The Americans began hostilities by making an ineffectual attempt to +conquer Canada. Meanwhile the English promptly took up the challenge, +sent ships of war loaded with excellent soldiers, many of them veterans +of the Napoleonic wars, across the Atlantic, and engaged Tecumseh, +and other Indian chiefs inimical to the intruders upon their former +hunting-grounds, to aid them in the contest. While Tecumseh, however, +was defeated and killed, the successes of the American army were few +compared with the brilliant exploits of our naval forces. The War of +1812 proved that the Americans had studied well the British example and +system in naval warfare. It was emphatically a naval war, simply because +Great Britain could only approach us from the sea. The victories of Hull +and Perry showed the greatest maritime power on earth that, though our +navy might be inferior to hers in distant waters, it was more than a +match for hers on the Lakes and the American coast. If the _Shannon_ +captured the _Chesapeake_, and if gallant David Porter had at last +to desert the burning _Essex_, on the other hand the capture of the +_Guerrière_ and the surrender of the British squadron on Lake Erie to +Perry, more than compensated for our disasters. + +[Sidenote: The British take Washington.] + +It was the the last year of the war, which continued nearly three years, +that the British landed on our southern coast, and, making havoc of +villages and plantations as they went, took Washington, and burned the +Capitol and the President's house, from which Mr. Madison and his family +had happily escaped into Virginia. But the enemy found it impossible to +pursue their temporary success to a decisive issue. Both countries were +weary of the war, and overtures of peace having been made, four American +commissioners--John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, and +Jonathan Russell--were sent to Ghent, in Belgium, to meet British +commissioners and conclude a treaty. The treaty of Ghent was signed on +the 24th of December, 1814; and, singularly enough, while such subjects +as the boundary line and the fisheries were discussed, that treaty +contained no stipulation in regard to the British claim to the right of +search. + +[Sidenote: Battle of New Orleans.] + +In those days, when there were neither railways, steamships, nor +telegraphs, news was long in travelling from one continent to the other. +The tidings of the treaty did not reach New Orleans in time to prevent +General Andrew Jackson from winning glory by defending that city from +behind his cotton-bales. This was one of the most brilliant land-battles +of the war, and was fought on the 8th of January, just a fortnight after +peace had been formally concluded at Ghent. + +[Sidenote: Results of the War.] + +The War of 1812, while it left many questions unsettled between the +mother and the daughter country, practically put an end to the vexatious +disturbance of our commerce by Great Britain. It also tended to give a +longer lease of political power to what was then called the Republican +party, and prepared the way for the "era of good feeling," over which +the amiable though not conspicuously able President Monroe presided. The +war also brought certain men prominently before the public eye. Hull, +Bainbridge, Porter, Decatur, Rodgers, and Perry, were enshrined among +the country's naval heroes. General Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, +and General Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, later reaped the reward +of the Presidency, the indirect result of their military exploits. The +gallant Richard M. Johnson afterwards became Vice-President; and it was +in the War of 1812 that General Winfield Scott won his first laurels, +and that General Zachary Taylor, long afterwards President, gave promise +of the military genius which later so much aided in bringing the Mexican +War to a speedy and victorious end. + +[Sidenote: Growth of the Union.] + +The period of the war and of the years immediately succeeding witnessed +a very rapid growth of population, and a notable swelling of the tide of +emigration westward. In 1816 Indiana came within the circle of States; +followed alternately by slave and free states--Mississippi, 1817; +Illinois, 1818; Alabama, 1819; Maine, 1820. and Missouri, 1821. The +great highway built between Cumberland and Wheeling was all alive in +those days with the wagons and groups of new settlers. A long era of +peace was to follow, and to give the country opportunity to increase, to +develop its resources, and to make rapid progress in its prosperity and +the development of its institutions. + + + + +XI. THE MEXICAN WAR. + +[Sidenote: An Era of Peace.] + +[Sidenote: Andrew Jackson.] + +An interval of over thirty years elapsed between our second war with +Great Britain and the war with Mexico. Although this period was one of +external, and, excepting the troubles which now and then arose with the +Indians, of internal peace, its social and political aspects are very +full of interest. Within its limits the first railway and the first +telegraph-lines were laid in the United States, and the great Erie Canal +was built. After three tranquil presidential terms, presided over by the +sensible though not brilliant Monroe, and by the shrewd, scholarly, and +positive younger Adams, a man succeeded to the Executive Chair whose +course was destined to revolutionize parties, to carry party bitterness +to a height of great violence, and to divert the political destinies +of the country into new channels. Andrew Jackson was well fitted by his +strong will and stubborn courage to do the dangerous work of his time. + +[Sidenote: Nullification.] + +Various considerations induced the State of South Carolina to defy +the Union. The alleged ground of her quarrel was the high rates of the +tariff imposed by Congress upon imports. This tariff she resolved to +resist; hence a resolution was passed by a convention in South Carolina +that after a certain date the tariff should be null and void within her +limits. It was further resolved that if the United States attempted +to enforce it, South Carolina should secede, and form an independent +government. John C. Calhoun was, or was charged with being, the +instigator of this movement. It was at once quelled, however, by the +prompt action of President Jackson. He sent troops and war-ships to +Charleston, under the command of General Scott; and "nullification" was +overawed and defeated. + +President Jackson also had the nerve to veto the bill creating a +national bank; and when, after two terms of service, he retired, he gave +up to the rule of his designated successor a nation of fifteen millions +of people, solvent, prosperous, and apparently destined to a long career +of peace and power. The four years of President Van Buren's term were +not notable for great events, and are chiefly interesting as exhibiting +the re-formation of parties, in which the lines between the Whigs and +the Democrats became more defined and distinct. Van Buren was the leader +of the Democrats, but was soon to lose that leadership by reason of his +connection with the fast-growing anti-slavery cause. Henry Clay was the +Whig chief; and continued to be so, despite the rivalry of Webster, down +to the time of his death. [Sidenote: Causes of the Mexican War.] + +[Sidenote: Texas.] + +It was during the term of President John Tyler, who succeeded to the +chief magistracy after poor worn-out old General Harrison had exercised +its functions for one brief month, that the events took their rise which +ripened into the War with Mexico. The large territory of Texas, lying +upon our extreme southwestern border, between Louisiana and Mexico, had +revolted from the latter nation and set up an independent republic of +its own. Texas had been largely colonized from the slave States, and +General Sam Houston, formerly of Tennessee, was its President. + +[Sidenote: Election of Polk.] + +The republic sought admission to our Union in 1837, but the application +was then refused. Seven years later, Mr. Tyler gave it a more hospitable +reception. A treaty was framed, and at first rejected by the United +States Senate. At last, in March, 1845, just as Mr. Tyler was retiring +from office, a resolution was adopted by both houses of Congress +annexing Texas, and this resolution was approved by the outgoing +President. The presidential campaign in the autumn of 1844, between +Henry Clay as the Whig and James K. Polk as the Democratic candidate, +was fought mainly upon the issue of this annexation, and the election of +Mr. Polk was looked upon as a confirmation of it by the people. + +[Sidenote: Boundary Dispute.] + +No sooner had the new President been inaugurated than what the Whig +leaders had earnestly predicted came to pass. A dispute arose with +Mexico as to the boundary between that country and Texas. Mexico claimed +that this boundary was the river Nueces; Texas asserted it to be the +Rio Grande. The matter was one of some importance, as the Nueces is +a hundred miles northeastward from the Rio Grande, and that much of +territory was therefore in dispute. The brief negotiations which +ensued with a view to the settlement of this question, proved abortive. +President Polk accordingly ordered General Zachary Taylor to occupy the +disputed territory with a small body of troops. Taylor concentrated his +men at Corpus Christi, near the frontier. + +[Sidenote: First Battles.] + +The Mexicans were equally prompt, and the first collisions occurred at +Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, near the Rio Grande. General Taylor +repulsed the enemy with little difficulty and but small loss, and, +crossing the Rio Grande, advanced upon and captured Matamoras. Thus far +the hostilities had proceeded when a formal declaration of war was made +against Mexico by the United States. Clay and the Whigs strenuously +opposed this action; but the administration party bore down all +opposition. Volunteers now flocked, especially from the Southern States, +to Taylor's standard; and in a few weeks he found himself at the head +of a resolute though not very well disciplined force of nearly eight +thousand men. Monterey, a fortified town of considerable importance, was +held by about nine thousand Mexican troops. General Taylor's objective +point was the City of Mexico. + +[Sidenote: Taylor's Campaign.] + +After an attack of three days, Monterey fell into his hands. Victory +followed his army everywhere. Santa Anna, a crafty and able man, who +had sat in the presidential chair of Mexico, was now in command of the +Mexican army, and confronted Taylor at Huena Vista. His gallant attempt +to stay the advance of the triumphant Americans, however, failed, for +Taylor defeated him in what was perhaps the most brilliantly and hotly +contested action of the war. Taylor's force at Buena Vista numbered +about six thousand men, the larger part of them being but rudely +disciplined soldiers. Santa Anna's command comprised at least twenty +thousand Mexicans. It was at Buena Vista that the Lancers, the best body +of troops in the Mexican army, were routed by the dashing onset of the +American volunteers. + +[Sidenote: Victory at Vera Cruz.] + +[Sidenote: Scott Enters Mexico.] + +General Scott now appeared upon the scene to reap fresh victories, +and to lend powerful aid, by his scientific skill and ripe military +judgment, in bringing the war to a decisive issue. He was despatched +with an army to attack Vera Cruz, the most important port and fort on +the Mexican coast. His force numbered between eleven and twelve thousand +men, and he was supported by Commodore Matthew Perry, who operated with +a fleet in the Gulf. Vera Cruz fell after a vigorous bombardment and +a brave defence. The Mexicans could no longer hold the fortress of San +Juan D'Ulloa, which was speedily occupied by General Scott. The two +victories of Buena Vista and Vera Cruz rendered the cause of the +Mexicans hopeless. The fall of the capital was only a question of more +or less delay. The resistance of the Mexicans was still obstinate, +though always ineffectual. The troops of the United States won in +succession the battles of Cerro Gordo, Cherubusco, El Molino del Rey and +Chapultepec. Finally, on the 14th of September, 1847, the American army +of six thousand, under Winfield Scott, entered the City of Mexico. This +was one year and four months after war had been declared by Congress. + +Besides these main operations, there were various collateral movements +designed to cripple the power and diminish the territory of Mexico. +General Kearney, with an independent force of volunteers, had marched +into and taken possession of the province of New Mexico; Colonel +Doliphan had in like manner occupied Chihuahua; while Colonel Fremont, +placing himself at the head of a band of American settlers recruited in +the valley of the Sacramento, and supported by Commodore Stockton, had +availed himself of the opportunity to hold Upper California for the +United States. + +[Sidenote: The Treaty of Peace.] + +Thus Mexico was subdued and compelled to come to terms, her enemy +dictating these from her own capital. Commissioners met at the city +of Guadalupe Hidalgo to conclude a treaty of peace. By this instrument +Mexico agreed to accept the Rio Grande as the boundary between herself +and Texas, adding thereby to the territory of the United States an area +of not less than five hundred thousand square miles; to make over New +Mexico and Upper California to the United States in consideration of the +sum of fifteen millions of dollars; and to guarantee the debts due from +Mexico to American citizens. This treaty was duly ratified and +exchanged in the spring of 1848--about two years after the beginning of +hostilities. + +[Sidenote: Political Effect of the War.] + +[Sidenote: California.] + +The political effect of the Mexican War was to add a large territory and +a fast-increasing population to the tier of slave-holding States, and +thus to aggrandize the slave-holding oligarchy, as opposed to the party +in favor of free soil. On the other hand, the military glory won by +General Taylor, and his adoption in the year after the war as the Whig +candidate for the Presidency, singularly enough brought into power the +party which had persistently opposed both the annexation of Texas, +and the war which had been undertaken to complete it. The Mexican War +provided the parties with four presidential candidates, Generals Taylor, +Scott, Pierce, and Fremont, two of whom succeeded in reaching the +summit of executive authority. When Colonel Fremont raised the American +standard in California, it was little imagined that he was acquiring +a province for the country the value of which was destined to be +incalculably greater than the Texan republic. Within a year, however, +the gold mines had been discovered, and that wonderful civilization of +the Pacific Coast which we now witness had begun to grow up in the far +western wilderness. + + + + +XII. THE SLAVERY AGITATION. + +[Sidenote: Slavery Inherited.] + +The United States inherited, and had to accept, from the colonial +system, a great moral and social wrong. Slavery, planted on our soil +soon after its first settlement, had spread not only through the South, +but had existed for a time even in the Puritan colonies of New England. +An active slave-trade had grown up, and was still flourishing at the +time that the constitution was framed. There is every reason to believe +that the most eminent and enlightened even of Southern statesmen, in +the very infancy of the Republic, regarded African bondage as not only +a moral, but, in many regards, a material evil. Washington and Jefferson +especially uttered, in no doubtful accents, their dislike of the system; +while such northern statesmen as Franklin, Adams, and Roger Sherman +protested in yet sterner tones against its continuance. + +[Sidenote: Strength of the Slave Power.] + +[Sidenote: The Missouri Compromise.] + +But slavery, like many traditional abuses of nations, was so securely +lodged, so difficult to uproot, that wise men at once deplored its +presence and despaired of its abolition. While, therefore, the framers +of the constitution refused to insert a direct recognition of slavery in +that instrument, choosing to regard it as temporary, and likely in +time to become extinct, other subjects, crowding upon the attention of +statesmen at the period of political formation, pushed this of slavery +for a while into the background. The first definite collision between +the upholders and the opponents of slavery occurred when, as a +consequence of the rapid growth of the country, the territories began +one after another to knock for admission into the household of States. +The dispute came to an issue in the year 1820. Missouri sought admission +into the Union, and it was attempted to admit her as a slave state. Then +the Northern statesmen declared that some limit or restriction should be +placed upon future admissions of States, in regard to slavery. + +[Sidenote: The "Slavery Agitation."] + +The debates in Congress were long and warm. Every argument which has +since become so familiar on the subject was advanced on one side and on +the other. The moral evil of slavery, its demoralizing influence upon +freeman and bondman, its cruelties in practice, were dilated upon by +some; others pictured "the peculiar institution" in its more patriarchal +and pleasant aspects. Finally, the northern members agreed to admit +Missouri as a slave State, on condition that thenceforth all new states +north of the line of 36°30'north latitude--known as "Mason and Dixon's +line"--should be free; while all new states south of that line should +decide for themselves whether they should be free or slave. It was the +vain hope of the statesmen of Monroe's time that this settlement, known +in history as the "Missouri Compromise," would be accepted as final, and +that the mutual ill-feeling which had already become bitter between the +sections would be finally allayed by it. + +They flattered themselves that they had put a period to the agitation, +and that the irritating question was now cast outside the domain of +American politics. Perhaps they did not sufficiently reflect that the +same power which had established the boundaries of slavery might, +when the opportunity was ripe, erase them. The slavery agitation was, +however, only in its infancy. It had within it a vital and irrepressible +element of growth. With the advance of civil liberty, the growth of +education, it, too, must necessarily make progress. As yet it was in the +hands of so-called "fanatics." Respectable statesmanship, having made +the Missouri Compromise, would have no more of it. + +[Sidenote: The "Liberty Party."] + +[Sidenote: Garrison.] + +It was early in General Jackson's presidency that the small but +determined "Liberty party" of the North began to attract attention +by what was considered the extravagance of its utterances, and the +absurdity of its proposals. The Quaker Lundy published his "Genius of +Universal Emancipation"; Garrison put forth the "Liberator" at Boston; +and soon, in various parts of the Union, abolition tracts and fanatical +orators brought down upon them not only the execration of the South, +but the assaults of northern mobs. An insurrection, under the lead of +a negro named Turner, broke out in Virginia, and massacres and burnings +followed. The Georgia Legislature put a price upon Garrison's head; and +that devoted advocate of human freedom responded by founding the New +England Anti-Slavery Society--an example soon followed in various places +through the North. + +[Sidenote: Sympathy for the Slaves.] + +[Sidenote: Lovejoy Killed.] + +The cause was right, and grew despite every obstacle of mob violence, +persecution, contempt, and, not the least, the indignant hostility +of respectable statesmanship. Yet evidences began to appear, here and +there, that the sympathy even of official responsibility was gradually +leaning to the principle of liberty. The Massachusetts Supreme Court +declared the child Med, whose master had brought her to Boston, to have +become by that act free. There was still, however, much suffering in +store for the anti-slavery advocates. Garrison, in attempting to speak +before the Female Anti-Slavery Society in Boston, was dragged through +the streets by an enraged mob, and was only saved from death by being +hurried to the jail as a refuge. A hall in Philadelphia which had been +desecrated by an abolition conference, was burned. Elijah Lovejoy, an +Illinois abolition editor, was killed by a mob. These are a few among +many examples of the violence with which the abolitionists were treated. + +The old "Liberty party," however, grew gradually into the larger and +more powerful "Free Soil" party, of which the venerable John Quincy +Adams became the champion in the House of Representatives, and Martin +Van Buren the presidential candidate in 1848. It was still, of course, +a small minority, but its influence was now distinctly felt in the +legislative councils and in the politics of the country. The petitions +in favor of abolition which invaded Congress created alarm in the South, +and at last the southern members found it necessary to pass a rule +excluding these "incendiary documents" altogether. + +[Sidenote: The Compromise of 1850.] + +If the Free Soilers were becoming formidable, the South was also +resolved to assume the offensive. Its triumph in securing the annexation +of Texas as another slave State was followed, a few years after, by the +celebrated "Compromise" of 1850; by which, while California was admitted +as a free State, and the slave trade was abolished in the District of +Columbia, the Fugitive Slave Law was also conceded. This aroused the +indignation of very large numbers in the North, and the treatment of +fugitives under it, notably that of Jerry in New York State, and +of Anthony Burns in Boston, did much to develop and strengthen the +anti-slavery feeling. The outrageous character of the law was too +palpable to be unperceived and unresented. + +[Sidenote: The Free Sellers.] + +[Sidenote: Border Ruffianism.] + +The next effort of the slave power provoked the formation of a great +national anti-slavery party, out of the old Free Soil elements. This +effort, which, by the aid of the Pierce administration and some Northern +statesmen, was successful, was to destroy the Missouri Compromise of +1820 and thus open the way to the creation of slave States north, as +well as south, of Mason and Dixon's line. The immediate object of +this policy was to make slave States of Kansas and Nebraska, two great +territories which were ready for admission into the fatuity of the +Union. No sooner had the Nebraska Bill passed, in May, 1854, than the +terrible scenes of "border ruffianism" began. As the new law required +that the inhabitants of the territories should themselves decide whether +slavery should exist or not, the attempt was made to convert Kansas into +a slave State by invasions of "border ruffians" from Missouri. After +a long and bloody struggle, the cause of freedom triumphed in the two +disputed territories. + +[Sidenote: The "Irrepressible Conflict."] + +The events in that part of the Union served to win many converts to the +anti-slavery cause in the North. The Republican party was organized on +the eve of the Presidential election of 1856. Its chief doctrine was +that no more slave States whatever should be admitted to the Union. It +put a ticket into the field with Colonel John Charles Fremont as +the candidate for President, and William L. Dayton of New Jersey for +Vice-President. It could not be expected that so young a party would +triumph at its first essay; but when Fremont received 113 electoral +votes, while Buchanan had only 177, it was appreciated everywhere +that the "irrepressible conflict" between slavery and liberty was fast +approaching its crisis. + +[Sidenote: John Brown's Raid.] + +The self-sacrificing heroism of a fanatic, the most salient incident of +the slavery agitation during the Presidency of Buchanan, had a marked +influence in hastening the final issue. This was John Brown's raid upon +Harper's Ferry, for the purpose of setting free the slaves. The old +man's courage, his utter self-devotion to his cause, his noble death, +his simple and sincere character, appealed most strongly to the sympathy +of the opponents of slavery, and even compelled words of strong praise +from the lips of Henry A. Wise, the Virginia Governor, who signed his +death-warrant. + +[Sidenote: The South Prepares to Secede.] + +The cause of free soil at last attained its triumph in the election +of 1860. All things foreshadowed the success of Abraham Lincoln. The +northern people were ripe for decisive action against the extension, at +least, of human bondage. The Democratic party divided into two factions +at Charleston, and the factions put each a candidate into the field, +mutually to destroy each other. The South so far gave up the contest as +to make preparations, while the presidential battle was yet raging, +to withdraw from the Union. Then, as the grand, bitter, but necessary +result of the long-continued slavery agitation, the war came, and wiped +out slavery with the blood of patriots. + + + + +XIII. THE CIVIL WAR. + +[Sidenote: The Civil War.] + +The great American Rebellion of 1861-65 is still, perhaps, too near to +be judged with the calm and judicial spirit which gives its chief value +to history. Thousands of those who took part in it on either side are +yet living; millions who witnessed its progress, and watched its course +with varying emotions of grief and joy, who mourned its dead, exulted in +its victories, and hailed its termination, yet hold it in vivid memory. +Moreover, all that could be said of it, from bald narrative to +infinite discussion of this and that general, this and that campaign +or stratagem, of causes and effects, has already been repeated till the +tale has been, not twice, but many times told. + +The results of that awful yet necessary conflict are still being felt, +in one way or another, by all of us. Many a household still mourns the +loss of those who died on southern battle-fields. We feel the war in our +business, in our pockets. We feel it in the financial enigmas which +even yet await solution. And although we have come to a period of +reconciliation, when we can with free hearts garland with roses the +graves alike of the blue and the gray, we feel still the indirect +influences of the war in our political contests. + +[Sidenote: Origin of the War.] + +[Sidenote: Secession.] + +The war may be said to have had its origin in two not necessarily +connected circumstances. It was the fruit, on the one hand, of a certain +political doctrine; on the other, of a threatened and to-be-defended +social condition. The political doctrine was that called "State's +rights," from which two corollaries were deduced by Calhoun and his +disciples: "nullification," or the right of a State to disobey a United +States law; and "secession," or the right of a State to withdraw from +the Union at will. The social condition was that of slavery, threatened, +as the South thought, by the election of Abraham Lincoln, and to be +defended under cover of the political doctrine which Calhoun had +taught the South to credit and to cherish. Thus, while the cause of the +rebellion was slavery, its justification was an asserted constitutional +right. The North did not believe in slavery, or at least in the +extension of slavery. But what the North at first undertook to subdue +was not slavery in the States, but the altogether destructive doctrine +of secession. + +[Sidenote: South Carolina's "Ordinance."] + +[Sidenote: Fort Sumter Taken.] + +The threat loudly uttered during the election of 1860, that the South +would secede if Lincoln were chosen, was duly followed up by action in +a few weeks after that event. Before Christmas South Carolina had +passed her famous "ordinance," and by early February, 1861, Mississippi, +Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas had followed in her +footsteps. The senators and representatives of these States in Congress +retired front its halls, breathing defiance as they went. South Carolina +took the lead in military, as she had done in political action. Claiming +the national property within her limits, she attached and took Fort +Sumter in Charleston harbor. The way had been prepared for this by +Secretaries Floyd and Toucey of the Buchanan Cabinet, who had sent South +materials of war, and so disposed the navy as to render it for the time +powerless for aid in the Union cause. + +[Sidenote: Call for Troops.] + +Lincoln was now President. The guns fired at Sumter roused the North, +and gave the signal of war, proving that a conflict could no longer be +avoided. Meanwhile, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas +were hurried out of the Union by the political leaders. On the day +following the fall of Sumter, the President issued his call for +seventy-five thousand volunteers, and the governors were urged to send +such forces as they could at once to Washington, which was threatened +with an attack. Then came the assault upon the gallant Sixth +Massachusetts in the streets of Baltimore, the isolation of Washington, +and its relief. A blockade of the southern ports was proclaimed. + +[Sidenote: Bull Run.] + +After a few minor engagements, such as those in Western Virginia, in +which McClellan was successful, and at Big Bethel, the first great +battle was fought on July 21, 1861, at Bull Run. This was in consequence +of an attempt by General Scott to advance upon Richmond. The result was +the total defeat of the Union army, which recoiled in confusion upon +Washington. Later in the first year of the war, General Lyon gained some +advantages over the rebels in Missouri, and naval expeditions were sent +to Hatteras and Port Royal; General Scott yielded the command-in-chief +to General McClellan, and rebel privateers appeared upon the ocean, and +began their destructive depredations upon our commerce. Great Britain +had too hastily recognized the belligerent rights of the rebels, and in +November the capture of Mason and Slidell was followed by their delivery +again to the protection of the British flag. + +[Sidenote: Second Year of the War.] + +The second year of the war found no less than half a million of soldiers +enlisted in the army of the Union. It seemed as if we were now ready +to cope with rebellion in all its extent and strength. The hope of +an approaching and decisive triumph animated the hearts of the loyal. +McClellan now led the Army of the Potomac against Richmond, approaching +it from the east. Then followed the battle of Fair Oaks, and the +Seven Days' battles, of which that at Malvern Hill was the most hotly +contested. The Confederates were beaten, with terrible loss on both +sides. Cedar Mountain and the second Bull Run followed, the latter +proving a disaster as serious as the former struggle on the same field +had been. + +[Sidenote: Antietam.] + +Then came Lee's advance into Maryland, his capture of Frederick City, +and that great battle, Antietam, in which Lee was repulsed and retreated +into Virginia. But McClellan, having failed to follow up his advantage, +was relieved of the command-in-chief, which was conferred on Burnside. +Burnside's repulse at Fredericksburg was followed by a discouraging +retreat. But though the attempt to capture Richmond was foiled, in other +parts of the country many advantages were obtained by the Union forces +in the year 1862. + +[Sidenote: Union Victories.] + +Prominent among these were the victory of the _Monitor_ over the +_Merrimac_, in Hampton Roads; the capture of Roanoke Island and Fort +Pulaski; Grant's gallant victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, at +Island No. 10, and, later, at Pittsburg Landing; and the heroic taking +of New Orleans by Farragut and Butler. + +[Sidenote: Chancellorsville.] + +At the very threshold of the third year of the war, President Lincoln +issued the "Proclamation of Emancipation." Thus not only was the crime +of slavery wiped away, but a new source of strength to our forces was +provided by the emancipated negroes, who were enlisted to aid in the +confirmation of their freedom by final victory. The first half of +the year 1863 witnessed what was perhaps the gloomiest and most +disheartening period of the war. Hooker succeeded Burnside, only to meet +at Chancellorsville the same disastrous fate which had overtaken his +predecessor at Fredericksburg. General Lee was encouraged to assume the +offensive, and to invade Pennsylvania. The North was discouraged; the +expense of the war began to be grievously felt; the draft was becoming +very obnoxious; the desertions from the army were alarming in number. + +[Sidenote: Gettysburg.] + +Lee advanced by the Shenandoah Valley into the Northern States. But at +Gettysburg he met the reorganized Union army, under Meade. The collision +of one hundred and sixty thousand men, lasting for three days, resulted +in that hard-won Union victory which proved the turning-point of the +war. On the day of Lee's retreat from Gettysburg, the Fourth of July, +Vicksburg was surrendered to Grant. Soon after, Port Hudson fell, and +the Mississippi was opened to the passage of troops. Then the Battle +of Chattanooga was fought and won, and Tennessee was rid of Confederate +occupation. Meanwhile, the siege of Charleston was proceeding on the +coast, and before the end of the year Fort Wagner was taken. + +[Sidenote: Grant Commander-in-chief.] + +[Sidenote: Sherman's March to the Sea.] + +We have now reached the fourth year of the war, 1864. It was now clear +that the result was only a question of time. The first events of the +year were not brilliant. Kilpatrick made his famous but futile raid near +Richmond; Hanks met with disaster at Red River; Forrest captured Fort +Pillow and killed three hundred negro troops. The last act of the +momentous drama began by the elevation of General Ulysses S. Grant +to the command-in-chief in March. The two great movements which were +together to seal the fate of the Confederacy were at once prepared. +Grant, assuming command of the Army of the Potomac, made Richmond his +objective point. He advanced deliberately towards the southern capital, +and fought the terrific battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and +Cold Harbor. He laid siege to Petersburg, but without immediate result. +Meanwhile the gallant Sherman began his marvellous march to the sea, +took Atlanta, and at last entered Savannah in triumph. Sheridan, making +his famous ride, defeated Early at Cedar Creek. The _Alabama_ was +sunk by the _Kearsarge_ off the French coast. Mobile was captured by +Farragut. The _Albermarle_ was destroyed. + +[Sidenote: Surrender of Lee.] + +The Confederates were now penned in, and it only remained to make a +last strenuous effort to end the war. While Sherman advanced northward, +taking Charleston by the way, and Terry captured Fort Fisher, the siege +of Richmond became closer and more vigorous. Then Sheridan conquered at +Five Forks, turning the flank of the hunted and hounded Lee. Finally, +on the 3d of April, 1865, the Union troops occupied Richmond and +Petersburg; Lee surrendered on the 9th, at Appomattox; Johnston followed +by yielding to Sherman; and the Southern Confederacy was no more. + + + + +XIV. THE PRESIDENTS. + +[Sidenote: Number of Presidents.] + +Between 1789, when the government organized by the constitution +began its functions, and 1886, the people of the United States have +twenty-five times chosen a President; and of the Presidents, seven have +been chosen for a second term. Four of them, having died in office, were +succeeded by Vice Presidents. While the number of terms, therefore, +has been twenty-five, the executive chair has been filled by twenty-two +individuals. In referring to the line of Presidents, and scanning the +names of those who have exercised powers more extensive than those +of English royalty, we are struck by the fact that very few of our +Presidents have ranked first, in point of intellect, in their own +generation. It may be said, indeed, that Jefferson alone of them all was +without dispute the foremost statesman of his day. + +[Sidenote: Presidential Ability.] + +Comparing our elected chief magistrates with the various lines of +hereditary sovereigns of Europe, we find that pre-eminent ability is +scarcely more frequent among them than is presented by the houses of +Romanoff, Hohenzollern, and Hapsburg. When, however, we consider their +moral qualities as rulers--their patriotism and purity, their freedom +from a too grasping ambition, the fidelity and zeal with which they +have served the country as best they knew how--we are perhaps not +unreasonable in judging them superior, as a line of rulers, to any royal +house of which history affords record. Very rarely has it been that +a President has been even suspected of craving increased power for +himself, or of using his office for unworthy personal ends. Some have +been weak, some perverse and obstinate; but as the clouds of party +passion, which have sometimes obscured the motives and the acts of our +chief magistrates, pass away, we may recognize in their action honest +though now and then ill directed efforts to use their high office for +the general weal. + +[Sidenote: The Ablest Men not Presidents.] + +Our intellectually ablest men have not, with the exception of Jefferson, +attained the Presidency, though many of them have aspired to it. No one +can doubt that Hamilton was a greater political genius than the first +two Presidents. It can scarcely be questioned that Webster, Calhoun, +and Clay were greater in this respect than the three Presidents who +succeeded Jefferson. Madison was a man of culture, clear vision, and +political learning, but he was the disciple of Jefferson, and did not +reveal qualities of originality and constructiveness in statesmanship. +Monroe was a man of yet more limited capacity, unless Polk be excepted, +Monroe was the least able of all our Presidents. But he had a large +experience in public affairs, he was judicious and cool-tempered, and +thoroughly honest and simple-minded. He was personally liked, and after +Washington was the only President who was the unanimous choice of the +country.[1] + +[Sidenote: Monroe.] + +[Sidenote: John Quincy Adams.] + +John Quincy Adams, a trained statesman, who had been an ambassador, +a Senator, and a Secretary of State, was still inferior in point of +political intellect to Clay, his own Secretary of State, and to Calhoun, +the Vice-President; and there were several others at that time who might +justly be competed with him. So, although Andrew Jackson was perhaps the +greatest of our Presidents in executive vigor and stern force of will, +as a political figure his most devoted admirers would scarcely rank him +with Clay or Webster. Van Buren was rather a shrewd politician than an +eminent statesman; but he was a politician in a higher sense, and no +stain of dishonor attaches to his career, while his presidential term +was an honest and able one. + +[Sidenote: Later Presidents.] + +Many public men might be named who, living at the time of Harrison's +elevation, were very much his political superiors; in his very cabinet +were at least three, Webster, Crittenden, and Ewing; and John Tyler was +very far from being in the front rank of American statesmen, though his +political capacity has sometimes been underrated. + +Polk was the weakest of all our later Presidents, and he too presided +over at least three secretaries who were intellectually larger men, in +Marcy, Robert J. Walker, and Buchanan. The same may be said in comparing +General Taylor with his advisers, and Fillmore, Pierce, and Lincoln +with theirs; for while no one can fail to revere the grand moral +and practical qualities which make Lincoln illustrious, in purely +intellectual eminence he was excelled by Seward, Chase, and perhaps +Stanton. + +[Sidenote: A Conservative Republic.] + +[Sidenote: Origin of the Presidents.] + +Ours has always been a conservative Republic. The French Republicans +of '93 and '48, the Communards of '71, did not derive their wild and +visionary fanaticism from our example, although there can be no doubt +that our Revolution had not a little influence in hastening that +of France. When the people have been called upon to choose a chief +magistrate, therefore, they have not sought men of extreme views, nor +have humble birth and limited education often been recommendations of +candidates. It is notable that the first six Presidents were selected +from the class which in England is called the "gentry." Washington, +indeed, belonged to the high rural aristocracy of Virginia; Mount Vernon +was as much a patrician manor-house as are the "halls," "priories," and +"manors" of rural England; and he lived there in the style of a country +magnate, John Adams belonged to the sturdy New England yeomanry sprung +from the Pilgrims, and, as the descendant of John Alden, had some +reason to pride himself upon good blood. The three succeeding Virginia +Presidents were sons of gentlemen-farmers, and belonged to the +cultivated gentry of the Old Dominion. Jackson was the first of the +plebeian Presidents, and then came Van Buren, of the gentry by birth; +Harrison, the son of a signer of the Declaration, and thus well born, +and Tyler, another Virginia gentleman, the lord of Sherwood Forest. Polk +belonged to the same rural condition. Fillmore was the next President +of humble beginnings, and Lincoln the third; while Andrew Johnson, +who learned to read after he was married, and began life as a country +tailor, was the most lowly born of all our chief magistrates. + +[Sidenote: Military Presidents.] + +Those young men who, having a taste for and ambition in politics, +adopt the law as a stepping-stone to political honor, may derive +some encouragement from the classification of the Presidents by their +professions; for out of the twenty-two Presidents, no less than eighteen +were at some period of their lives practising at the bar. The four +who were not lawyers were the four military Presidents, Washington, +Harrison, Taylor, and Grant. Three other Presidents, however, derived +something of their fame from military careers--Monroe, Jackson, and +Pierce. Monroe was a revolutionary colonel, Jackson the hero of New +Orleans, and Pierce a brigadier in the Mexican War. But Monroe owed +his political eminence to diplomatic successes and the friendship of +Jefferson and Madison: while Pierce certainly did not win the presidency +by his Mexican exploits. + +[Sidenote: Presidential Succession.] + +No man has ever yet passed directly from the United States Senate to the +White House. Of the Presidents, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, +Harrison, Tyler, Pierce, Buchanan, and Johnson had been senators; while +John Adams, Jefferson and Van Buren held the Vice-Presidency just +before their elevation by election to the higher office. The custom +of succession from the one office to the other, which prevailed in the +earlier years of the Republic, was broken when Madison was preferred to +George Clinton in 1808; and was revived only in the single instance +of Van Buren, whom the irresistible will of Jackson imposed upon the +Democrats as his successor. Washington, before becoming President, had +held the office of President of the Constitutional Convention. Polk had +only served in the lower House of Congress, over which he had presided +as speaker. Neither Taylor nor Grant ever held a state or national +office before being raised to the Executive Chair. Lincoln had served +a few years, with but little distinction, in the national House of +Representatives. The same may be said of Hayes, and of Fillmore before +he was chosen Vice-President. + +[Sidenote: Presidents Contributed by the Various States.] + +Virginia has had five Presidents, four of them having served in the +first quarter of a century of the national existence. Tennessee has had +three; Ohio, three; Massachusetts, two; New York, four; Illinois, two; +and New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana, each one. But Harrison, +though elected from Ohio, and Taylor, elected from Louisiana, were +both born in Virginia; and Lincoln, elected from Illinois, was born in +Kentucky. Therefore Virginia gave birth to seven of the Presidents. In +point of years, the ages of the Presidents have ranged from sixty-eight, +which was Harrison's age on his accession, to forty-six, which was +Grant's age when he became President; the average age being about +fifty-seven. + + + + +XV. MATERIAL PROGRESS. + +[Sidenote: A Twofold Progress.] + +It is manifestly impossible to give, within the brief scope of this +volume, more than a hint of the elements which have entered into and +stimulated the material progress of the United States during the past +century. That progress may be said to have been twofold; the progress +which we have shared in common with the civilized world, and the +progress which has been peculiar to ourselves. The agency which +invention and discovery have had in our advancement scarcely needs to be +pointed out. We have only to look around us, and remember the origin +of many of the comforts, conveniences, luxuries, nay even what we now +regard as necessities, that surround us and minister to our existence, +in order to comprehend how very vast, how much beyond easy calculation, +the material progress of the century has been. + +[Sidenote: Modern Comforts.] + +Every hour of the day, should you stop to reflect, you would find +yourself doing something, or aided by something, unknown to or unused +by the generation of 1776. Sitting in your parlor or library, your feet +rest upon carpets, which were introduced into American households in +1792; the book you are reading--which has far better paper, print, +binding and illustration than the old copy of "Pilgrim's Progress" which +your great-grandfather used to read--is lighted by gas, which did not +come into use till this century was well on its way; and that gas you +have lit by a friction match, an affair of marvellous simplicity, which +was unknown till after 1830. + +[Sidenote: Improvement in Dress.] + +You are writing, perhaps, with a steel pen; the Declaration of +Independence was signed with quills. It is, possibly, a rainy day. You +put on rubbers, and you carry an umbrella. The men of '76 had to do as +best they could without either. You burn coal in a furnace or stove; +they must fain have warmed themselves with more cheery but less +warming wood, in an open fireplace. Every article of your dress is an +improvement in convenience and comfort on those worn by Washington in +all his Presidential glory. + +[Sidenote: Rapidity of Transit.] + +Your walls are hung with photographs; your wife or daughter has a +sewing-machine. In the kitchen are endless contrivances which our +great-grandmothers would have greeted with speechless astonishment. You +can order a case of goods from Hong Kong on Monday, and be told that +they are ready for shipping on Thursday. You can go to San Francisco +in almost the same time that it took, only fifty years ago, to reach +Washington from New York. When General Jackson went to the capital to +be President, he could travel no faster than did the Jews, after the +captivity, from Babylon to Jerusalem. + +[Sidenote: Material Growth.] + +[Sidenote: Population.] + +Taking a broader view--for we might go on with the material details of +progress all about us _ad infinitum_, did patience and strength hold +out--we look abroad over the land, and note the great elements of +a progress peculiarly American, in the growth and distribution of +population, in manufactures, agriculture, and commerce. Each and all +have been incalculably aided by perpetual invention. A few leading facts +must suffice to show that our orators, in their most daring flights, can +scarcely exaggerate the marvels of our material advance. The population +of this country in 1776, including slaves, was about two and three +quarters millions. In 1886, it is without doubt more than fifty +millions. In 1790, when the first census was taken, the figure was a +little less than four millions. A notable circumstance in reference to +the movement of our population has been the increase of the proportion +of dwellers in our cities to those in the rural districts. In 1790, only +one-thirtieth of our population inhabited the cities. In 1886, probably +nearly one-fourth are included in the cities. + +In 1790 there were but six cities with a population of more than eight +thousand each. These were: Philadelphia, with about 42,500; New York, +with about 33,000; Boston, with about 18,000; Charleston, with about +16,300: Baltimore, with about 13,500; and Salem, with a little over +8000. The total was about 131,500. Now the aggregate of our urban +population is, probably, at least 12,000,000. It may be added that +the _centre_ of our population has shifted from a few miles east of +Baltimore, where it was in 1790, to about eight miles west by south from +Cincinnati, where it is now supposed to be. + +[Sidenote: Agriculture.] + +The earliest avocation of our colonies was that of agriculture; and +before 1776 our agricultural industries, owing to the discoveries which +had gradually been made as to the capabilities of the then settled +districts, had grown to important proportions. It needs but a glance +at the map to observe over what a vast area agricultural enterprise has +spread since 1790. We may fairly say that invention and improvement, in +the application of chemistry and mechanical discovery to the cultivation +of land, have kept pace with the territorial advance of agricultural +science. There can scarcely be named a farming operation which is not +performed by instruments far more perfect, and with a rapidity far +greater, than was possible with our ancestors. + +[Sidenote: Cheaper Tools.] + +Human labor has been greatly lessened in proportion to the results +obtained. Tools are cheaper; and whereas they were formerly made, to +a large extent, on the farms themselves, they are now perfected in +factories supplied with the most efficient machinery. There were in +1880 two thousand establishments for the manufacture of agricultural +implements, with an annual production valued at over $68,000,000. It +would take up too much space to give even a list of these implements; +suffice it to say that it is calculated that the value of those now in +use on American farms is at least $500,000,000. A hundred years ago a +man could only manage six bushels of grain a day--cutting, binding and +stocking, threshing and cleaning it. Now, with the aid of mechanical +appliances, a single man's labor can achieve almost eight times as much. + +[Sidenote: Advance of Agricultural Arts] + +To machinery must be added the advance in the arts of manuring, +draining, irrigation, and of grafting and obtaining greater varieties +of fruits and vegetables. The improvement in breeding and raising +live-stock must not be omitted. In this product the wealth of the +country was at least $2,000,000.000 in 1880. + +[Sidenote: First Mills.] + +Great as has been our progress in agriculture, it is scarcely so +remarkable as that in manufactures. In 1776 we were mostly a farming +community. Now, in New England at least, to a large extent in the Middle +States, and to some degree in the West and South, manufactures have +outstripped the farming industry. Manufacturing necessarily began, +indeed, very early in the settlement of the country; for ships had to +be built, and were built, soon after the colonization of Plymouth and +Boston. The first saw-mill was erected at Salmon Falls as early as 1635. +A printing-press was set up at Cambridge in 1638, and a book-bindery in +1663. The first fulling-mill for making cloth was started at Rowley in +1643. Iron manufacture was regularly established at Lynn in 1645. The +first successful cotton-mill in the United States was started by Samuel +Slater at Providence in 1793. + +[Sidenote: The Cotton Industry.] + +[Sidenote: Manufactures.] + +The growth of the cotton industry may be appreciated when we state that +its extent in 1831 comprised 795 factories and 1,246,500 spindles; +while in 1880 there were over ten million spindles, and the value of +the products reached nearly two hundred million dollars annually. The +progress in woollen manufacture has been equally rapid. Since 1850 the +number of factories in this industry has more than doubled, while the +value of the products has increased over fourfold. Looking over the +whole field of manufacturing industries, it is stated that the +estimated capital employed throughout out the country in 1880, namely +$2,790,000,000, does not really approximate to the total amount. +According to the census of that year, moreover, over two and a half +millions of persons were engaged in manufacturing; while about seven and +a half millions were employed in agriculture, and nearly two millions +in trade and transportation. Only a hint can thus be attempted of our +progress in manufactures. + +[Sidenote: Commercial Relations.] + +It need scarcely be said that commerce, as the great medium of barter +and exchange between States and with foreign nations, has necessarily +kept pace with the development of the industries which we have briefly +glanced at. The increase of our mercantile marine, up to the unhappy +period of the war, when it was almost swept from the ocean, kept pace +with the ever-increasing needs of the business of the country. Now it is +again slowly reviving from the disasters of the civil conflict. During +the past century, our commercial relations have extended to the remotest +corners of the earth, whither we send the commodities we have to spare, +and whence we derive those which we need for comfort, convenience, +luxury, and wealth. The extent to which steam applied to water +navigation, and telegraphy laid not only over the continents but under +the oceans, have stimulated our commerce in common with that of the +world, is more easy to be observed in general than calculated in detail. +With many nations we have treaties of commerce, and the time may not +be long in coming when such pacts will be reciprocated between all the +trading nations of the world. + + + + +XVI. PROGRESS IN LITERATURE. + +[Sidenote: English Literature.] + +[Sidenote: Majority of Authors from New England.] + +With English laws, customs, Protestantism, habits of thought, and +methods of culture, we also inherited the English literature. So rich +was already this inheritance when our colonies were settled, that there +was little need or incentive for the early Americans to strike out into +new literary paths, and create an original literature. Our ancestors +read Milton, Bunyan, Doddridge, Butler, Dryden, Pope, and Shakespeare. +It is a noteworthy fact that American literature not only took its start +from, but, up to within recent times, was mainly produced by the New +England and the Middle States. Even now, the noted writers in any +branch of letters born south of Virginia may almost be counted upon the +fingers. It is equally true that west of Ohio authors who have won +a general and permanent reputation are few. If we survey American +literature from the time of Cotton Mather (who may perhaps be called the +first author of the country whose works are still remembered and read) +to the present, we find that a majority of the best authors, both in +prose and verse, have been New Englanders. + +[Sidenote: Ante-Revolutionary Writers.] + +The rise of our literature having taken place in the colonies of +Puritan stock, and those most fully imbued with Puritan sobriety and +seriousness, it was natural that our earliest literary products should +be religious and philosophical. Cotton Mather, with his extravagant +"Magnolia"; Jonathan Edwards, with his stern treatise on the Will; +Franklin, with his shrewd maxims, and clear, strong, unadorned essays, +were about the only ante-revolutionary writers who are not by this +time forgotten. It was not surprising that the period of the Revolution +should develop a literature peculiarly political. There were, no doubt, +already poetasters, novelists, and essayists; but even their names are +strange to us of this age. Where are they and their works? What faint +traces are still left of them show us that they were mostly mere +imitators, and not brilliant ones, of the English authors of their day. + +[Sidenote: Political Literature.] + +But our political literature became, with the Revolution and its sequel, +most vigorous, philosophical, eloquent, and profound. The Declaration +itself was a masterpiece of political style, as well as of substance; +and Jefferson, its author, continuing for years after to discuss +political questions with a lucidity and vigor which were unrivalled +in America, took his place in literary history as perhaps our greatest +political writer. Close behind him came writers like Hamilton, Jay, +Madison, Ames, Freneau, and Tom Paine, all of them holding high rank in +this department of letters. + +[Sidenote: Post-Revolutionary Writers.] + +When we became an independent nation, literature naturally felt the +impulse and inspiration of the new national life. Poets and novelists +came up of a higher type than their ante-revolutionary predecessors; +writers like Dwight, Hopkinson, Trumbull, Barlow, Brockden Brown, and +Paine. But no one of these attained the rank of genius, nor did any of +them establish a great reputation; and if they are remembered at all, +it is rather by happy isolated pieces than by the general excellence of +their works. The American novels of the last century, unlike the English +novels of Swift, Fielding, and Goldsmith, have one and all passed into +oblivion. + +[Sidenote: William Cullen Bryant.] + +The position of American literature in 1886 may, especially in the +departments of history and poetry, fairly bear comparison with that of +England. Yet the first really great American authors, if we except +the theological and political writers of whom mention has been made, +published their first works at a period quite within the memory of +men still living. Our first great poet was William Cullen Bryant, who +survived to old age to observe to what vast proportions our literary +productions, both in quality and quantity, had grown. Our first great +biographer and essayist, Washington Irving, may be remembered as living +by the man of thirty-five. Our first eminent novelist, James Fenimore +Cooper, would only be ninety-seven if he were still among us. And our +first great historian, Prescott, died but twenty-seven years ago. + +[Sidenote: Rise of American Poetry.] + +The new career of American letters, indeed, may be said to have been +begun when William Cullen Bryant published "Thanatopsis," in the year +1816. Our writers then began to feel the influence of the vigorous +schools of English poetry of which Byron, Wordsworth, and Coleridge were +the shining lights. Like these, our own writers shook off the poetic +dominion of Pope, and declared form to be subordinate to the thought and +the feeling. Bryant, the enthusiastic disciple of Wordsworth, set the +bold example, and from that moment American literature received an +element of vitality which was given it its noble and rapid growth. It +is almost always the case that, in young nations, poetry is the first +branch of letters to be developed. The earliest masterpieces of Greek +and English literature are the "Iliad," the "Canterbury Tales," and +the "Faerie Queene." Perhaps the best German literature before Lessing, +worth remembering, was the songs of the Minnesinger. + +[Sidenote: Earlier Poets.] + +[Sidenote: Later Posts.] + +In the United States, Bryant was soon followed by a succession of poets +whose productions clearly revealed the magnetism of the English revival, +and gave promise of the rise of that poetic art which we have seen reach +its culmination in our own day. Richard H. Dana wrote the "Buccaneer"; +Fitz-Greene Halleck, "Marco Bozarris"; Edgar A. Poe "The Raven"; the +painter Allston turned easily from brush to pen, and added more than +one fine poem to our literature; Emerson rose to found a school of +transcendental poetry as well as philosophy; N.P. Willis became the +lyrical likeness of Moore on this side of the Atlantic; Percival reached +a brief popularity, and wrote some things well worthy of remembrance; +and the banker-poet Sprague filled a worthy place in our group of bards. +In the next generation came the poets of the highest culture and most +widely extended popularity: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf +Whittier, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. + +[Sidenote: Historians.] + +The United States have produced a race of historians whose works and +names may not unfairly be ranked with those of Hume, Macaulay, Hallam, +and Froude. Prescott and Irving have been followed by Bancroft, Motley, +Parkman, Adams, Kirk, Goodwin, Young, and Ticknor. Sydney Smith, were +he now living, would find his question, "Who reads an American +book?" speedily answered; for in English drawing-rooms and on English +book-stalls "Evangeline" and "The Wayside Inn" are to be found quite +as often as "In Memoriam" and "Idyls of the King"; and "Ferdinand +and Isabella" and the "Rise of the Dutch Republic," as often as the +histories of Macaulay and Froude. + +[Sidenote: Theological Literature.] + +Our theologians have kept pace, in the amount and intellectual force of +their writings, with those of the older continent. It is not astonishing +that, in a nation established by a sect for the purpose of doing God +honor, a race of great theological authors should arise. The names +of Hopkins and Emmons, of Dwight, Channing, Norton, Theodore Parker, +Wayland, Bacon, Park, Bushnell, and many others, will recur, to remind +us how active religious philosophy and speculation have been from the +time of Jonathan Edwards to the present. + +[Sidenote: Political and Legal Writers.] + +In other departments of letters our progress during the century, though +less marked, has been very distinct. Webster, Everett, Sumner, Winthrop, +and, it may well be added, Lincoln, have made a literary art, as well as +a practical career, of politics. American legal writers, like Greenleaf, +Kent, Story, and Parsons, are quoted in the English as in the American +courts, as authorities worthy of respect and trust. In the domain of +searching literary criticism, England has perhaps produced no author +since the days of Gifford and Jeffrey superior in learning, acuteness, +and grace to Edwin P. Whipple. + +[Sidenote: Humorists.] + +[Sidenote: Writers of Fiction.] + +Humorists have been many; in this field we count not only Lowell, Neal, +and Holmes, but the younger band, which includes Artemas Ward, Mark +Twain, Nasby, Bret Harte, Warner, and Leland. In the department of +essays and miscellaneous belles-lettres, the names of George William +Curtis, Thoreau, Tuckerman, Higginson, Marsh, and many more, crowd upon +the mind. Foremost among writers of fiction may be classed Cooper and +Nathaniel Hawthorne; and though in this field America can scarcely +contest the palm with the mother country, and the great purely national +novel has not yet appeared, the fertility of our novelists affords +promise that in time great and national romances will come. Meanwhile, +Mrs. Stowe, Donald G. Mitchell, T.B. Aldrich, William D. Howells (poet +as well as novelist), Henry James, Julian Hawthorne, Stockton, Miss +Phelps, E.E. Hale, and others, have delighted thousands by their +imaginative works. + +[Sidenote: American Dictionaries.] + +To present even a list, indeed, of American writers who may be called +noted, would much more than occupy the limits assigned to this chapter. +The multitude that crowds upon the memory, even in a cursory glance over +our history, is so large that even in mentioning any names at all one +runs the risk of some unjust omission. Suffice it to say that no field +of letters has remained wholly uncultivated in this country, and that +literary invention in the United States, though sometimes at a pause, +on the whole advances with their population and civilization. We have +philosophers, men of science, poets, critics, essayists, art writers, +theologians, fully able to cope with their literary brethren in the old +world. Let it be added that America has produced the two dictionaries +which are to-day paramount authority in every English school, college, +and university; and that in the science of language George P. Marsh and +William D. Whitney have carried their studies to depths as profound, +and have given the world results as valuable, as have any old-world +philologists. + + + + +XVII. PROGRESS IN THE ARTS. + +[Sidenote: Old-time Simplicity.] + +American art, like American letters, was of slow and difficult growth. +The early colonists, even those who, like the Virginia cavaliers and the +settlers in Maryland, possessed somewhat of the old-world culture and +taste, had little time for the ornamental. To worry a decent living +out of an inhospitable and reluctant soil, and to serve God after their +strict and severe fashion, were abundant occupation to the Puritans. +Therefore, could we carry ourselves back through the generations and +find ourselves in the streets and abodes of colonial New England, we +should observe but very few and slight attempts at decoration. + +Pictures, unless it were now and then a scriptural or historical +print, there would be none on the plain walls with their heavy beams; +varnishing and frescoing would be but rare vanities, if indeed such +could be anywhere discovered at all; as for rare vases, or bronzes, or +marbles, such things were assuredly unknown. The austere simplicity of +the place, the people, and the age, forbade not only a footing to the +arts, but refused all nurture to imaginative growths. The Puritans +especially had the lofty scorn of art which resented the idea of a +picture or a statue in a church with as much indignation as they would +have shown to the Pope had he invited them to return to the fold of +Rome. + +[Sidenote: John Singleton Copley.] + +As there was very little literature for America to be proud of before +the Declaration of Independence, so, in casting our eyes backward over +the annals of art, we can discover but one notable native artist in the +period between the early settlements and the Revolution. This was John +Singleton Copley. He was born in Boston in 1738, and became the pupil +of Smybert, an English artist of some talent, who had accompanied Bishop +Berkeley across the Atlantic and had settled in Boston. The pupil soon +eclipsed the master, and for years Copley stood alone as a popular +portrait-painter in New England. + +[Sidenote: Historical Pictures.] + +But even the monopoly of his profession did not suffice to give him +adequate support, or gratify Copley's ambition; and he was forced to +seek in a more art-loving land the full recognition and reward of his +genius. He left behind him many portraits which still exist as precious +heirlooms in New England families, and just as the storm of the +Revolution was gathering, he set sail for the mother country, which he +never afterward left. Before he went, however, a son had been born to +him in Boston, who was destined long after to reach the highest summit +of English legal dignity and rank--Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst. Copley was +especially great as a portrait-painter, but he also sometimes adopted +historical subjects. Of these the best known is his "Death of Lord +Chatham," which now hangs in the South Kensington Museum, in London. + +[Sidenote: Benjamin West.] + +Copley was soon succeeded by an American artist whose triumphs in +England afterward far outshone his own. Benjamin West was born in +Pennsylvania in 1738, and was the youngest of nine children, of Quaker +parents. His genius for art was discovered in an amusing way. When he +was seven sears old he was put to the task of fanning the flies away +from the sleeping baby of one of his sisters. Instead of doing so, he +sketched her face with black and red ink. His mother snatched the paper +from him, looked at it with amazement, and exclaimed: "I declare, he has +made a likeness of little Sally." From the Indians be got some of the +pigments with which they smeared their faces, and his mother's indigo +bag supplied him with blue; while from the house cat's tail he took +the hair for his brushes. West was well known as a portrait-painter +at fifteen. His Quaker friends at first demurred at the vanity of his +calling: but in a solemn meeting the spirit happily moved them to bless +him and consecrate him to art. He found rich patrons, who sent him to +Italy, where he studied the great masters with zeal and enthusiasm. + +[Sidenote: Royal Academy Founded.] + +This sojourn in the favored land of art, and the chance which procured +him an introduction to King George III. as he was passing through +England on his way home, deprived his native country of this famous +artist. Received and petted at the English court, he took up his +permanent residence in London. There, with Sir Joshua Reynolds, and +encouraged by the king, he founded the Royal Academy, of which he +became president; and as long as King George retained his mind, West was +constantly in the sunshine of royal favor. He was appointed "Painter +to His Majesty," and a splendid income rewarded his labors. He was +neglected by the Prince of Wales, but was recompensed for the loss of +his court associations by the patronage of the nobles and people. +Copley and West were the forerunners of a succession of American +portrait-painters not inferior in their art to their European +contemporaries. Both Copley and West aspired to something higher and +more creative than copying the lineaments of human faces, but it may be +said of them that in historical and imaginative painting they fell short +of the highest standard. + +[Sidenote: Peale, Stuart, and Trumbull.] + +Following Copley and West came, close together, three painters whose +works were of a high order, some of them being familiar to every one in +engraved copies. These were Charles Wilson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, and +John Trumbull. Peale was a saddler's apprentice, Stuart the son of +a snuffmaker; Trumbull, on the other hand, was the son of one of the +foremost statesmen of the Revolution. To all three we owe portraits of +Washington from life. Peale painted him in his prime, just after the +battle of Monmouth; Trumbull painted him as he was a few years later, +at the surrender of Cornwallis; and Stuart painted him when the added +dignity of age had crept upon him, and he was President at Philadelphia. +Both Peale and Trumbull fought in the Revolution. Trumbull is now +best known as the painter of the historical pictures of the war for +independence which hang in the Capitol at Washington; of which the most +familiar is the "Battle of Bunker's Hill." + +[Sidenote: Washington Allston.] + +It could no longer be said, after these great painters had lived and +left enduring results of their labors, that America was devoid of a +genius for, or an appreciation of, art. The appearance of Washington +Allston, who as a colorist won the name of the "American Titian," and +whose noble conceptions of Biblical subjects, executed with wonderful +power, have given him permanent rank among the best artists of his time; +and of Henry Inman, whose versatile genius readily took up portrait, +historical, or landscape painting at will, served to carry American art +yet another grade higher. Rembrandt Peale sustained the tradition of his +father's ability by his own works; Sully came from England to win fame +here as a portrait-painter; Vanderlyn and many others rapidly rose +to establish art as a profession and adornment in this country. It is +worthy of note that two of the greatest of American inventors, Robert +Fulton and S.F.B. Morse, began life as artists; but found it more +profitable, in fame and fortune, to run steamboats and establish +telegraphs. + +[Sidenote: Artists as Inventors.] + +[Sidenote: Sculptors.] + +The sister arts have nourished in this country in a degree scarcely less +marked than painting. In sculpture, a later but prolific growth with +us, the names of Hiram Powers, Horatio Greenough, Crawford, Ball, Story, +Ward, Rogers, Hart, and Harriet Hosmer, sufficiently attest the progress +made and the reputation established in this respect. In drawing, +caricature, water-colors, and other minor branches of art, our progress +has been scarcely less notable; we may fairly claim to have our Gillrays +and Cruikshanks as well as our English cousins. + +[Sidenote: Art a Modern Necessity.] + +Art, from having been a very rare luxury among our forefathers even as +lately as the beginning of this century, has become an adjunct, it may +even be said a necessity, of our civilization. Drawing is being taught +in our schools, and is regarded as one of the polite accomplishments of +educated young ladies. Art galleries have sprung up everywhere, and art +stores are popular resorts in our larger cities. Art societies thrive +and flourish in many States, and art teachers are in demand in most of +our towns. Colonies of artists swarm in stately buildings in New York, +Boston, and Philadelphia. The time has come when no artist of merit need +starve for want of patronage. + +Thousands of Americans, travelling abroad every year, spend the larger +portion of their time in Europe in visiting those splendid art galleries +which the munificence and taste of kings and nobles have established, +and which are free to all the world. The taste for art has become +universal, and has penetrated all classes; few are the American houses, +in these days, wherein the evidences of this taste are not apparent. + +[Sidenote: Music.] + +Music has progressed with the other arts in popularity and culture; +though America, like England, has as yet produced no really great +composer. Every branch of music, however, is cultivated with us; and +music as a profession is even more certainly lucrative than painting. +America welcomes the most renowned singers and musicians in the world, +and the highest efforts of musical composition are performed here to +audiences sufficiently cultivated fully to enjoy and appreciate them. +We cannot doubt that the future will still further develop the American +love of all the arts; or that, in time, this continent will rival that +of Europe in great artistic productions. + + + + +XVIII. PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND INVENTION. + + +[Sidenote: The Patent Office.] + +The progress in practical science and invention, in this country and the +civilized world, has been so amazingly rapid during the present century, +that the merest hint of a few of the most important elements of that +progress can alone be given. The fertility of the human intellect, in +devising quicker and more exact methods of doing those things which +contribute to the wealth and the pleasure of man, has accomplished +results so vast and so varied since the Declaration of Independence, +that the mind cannot survey the smallest portion of this field without +bewilderment and wonder. If we should visit the Patent Office at +Washington, and give ourselves up to a scrutiny of its records, its +tabulated results, and its long rows of cases of models, we should in +time gain some idea of the extent to which American minds have carried +the effort of invention. + +[Sidenote: Discoveries in the Exact Sciences.] + +Yet the Patent Office, while it exhibits the results of American +invention, fails to show anything like the total amount of useful +discovery which has been achieved on this continent since the foundation +of the government. There are those who discover and invent, and who do +not patent. There are discoveries which cannot be circumscribed by the +filling-out of blank forms, and an official restriction on their use. +This is emphatically the case with discoveries in the exact sciences, +which, while they have added immeasurably to the knowledge of mankind, +have also attained results the most useful and practical. + +[Sidenote: Meteorological Laws.] + +Illustrations of this truth may be found in the progress made by such +sciences as astronomy and meteorology. No one can doubt the value of +the result which accrues to human lore from a more accurate knowledge +of astronomy, of the mutual influences of the solar system, and the +physical character of its members. Nor can we deny that the rapid +strides which have been made within thirty years in the science of +meteorology are of the most immediate benefit to the material interests +of men. The simple statement that the predictions of "Old Probabilities" +as to the weather prove, in a large majority of instances, to be +justified by the event,--founded as they are, not upon mere guesswork, +but upon ascertained meteorological laws and a proved uniformity in the +direction of storms,--is enough to show the importance of the recent +discoveries in this field. One has only to reflect upon the changes in +the course of little and of great events wrought by the weather, to be +convinced of their large and permanent value. + +[Sidenote: Improvements in Machines and Methods.] + +We can look in no direction, however, without at once in some degree +appreciating, and being astonished at, the metamorphosis which has been +effected by the activity of scientific invention and discovery of +the most palpably practical kind. No practical profession, trade, or +industry can be named in which the improvements in machinery and +methods have not been such, within the century, as to alter most of +its conditions, and very greatly to multiply its efficiency and +productiveness. These improvements have descended, too, from general +systems to the minutest details. Cloth fabrics are not only manufactured +on a very different scale and extent, but every little appliance of the +machinery has been made better, and does its appointed work faster and +with greater precision. + +[Sidenote: Steam and Electricity.] + +[Sidenote: Conveyances.] + +If one were asked what two inventions made within the century have +wrought the greatest changes, the reply would be prompt that they are +locomotion by steam and communication by electricity. The steam-engine +and the steamship have made it possible to travel around the world, if +not in the eighty days required of Jules Verne's hero, at least in a +hundred; while the telegraph enables us to talk with our friends at the +antipodes--if such we have--within a week. What share America has had in +achieving these mighty agencies is signified by the names of Fulton +and Morse. Nor have other means of locomotion and communication been +neglected. The horse-car has to a large extent taken the place of the +omnibus and of the lumbering stage-coach; while vertical travelling, by +means of the elevator, has become easy and luxurious in our day. In the +making of carriages of every kind, the progress becomes very apparent +when we compare the light and elegant vehicles which fill our +fashionable avenues on a pleasant day, with the coaches in which +Washington and Lafayette deigned to ride on state occasions. + +[Sidenote: Iron Manufactures.] + +In the great industries, invention has supplied the means of changing +the rude ore or the raw material into every manifold form of use and +ornament, in an increased production which would have filled the men of +'76 with amazement. Machinery has come to do a vast amount of work which +manual labor used to do; yet, by a happy compensation in the economic +condition of things, human labor, far from being left in the lurch by +mechanical introduction and ever increasing efficiency, is in greater +demand than before. In the melting and puddling of iron, in its casting, +forging, and rolling, and especially in its turning and planing, +the inventions have been, perhaps, more striking than in any other +operations upon metals; and the importance of the improvements thus +effected in the manufacture of iron may be appreciated when we consider +to how many more precious uses iron is put than any other metal. The +advances made in the working of wood, and in that noble engineering +science which employs itself in the construction of canals, dikes, and +bridges, are not less notable. + +[Sidenote: Machines and Weapons.] + +To even mention the devices by which the manufacture of cotton and +woollen fabrics, of shoes, of silks, and very many other articles, has +been brought from rude processes to the rapid production seen to-day at +our great industrial centres, would require a volume. To America is due +the sewing-machine, which in the factory and in the household has given +a manifold value to labor, has cheapened time, and is assuredly one of +the chief triumphs of human ingenuity. We have done our part, too, in +devising deadly weapons for contending armies. The revolver, invented by +Samuel Colt, made a man armed with it six times as formidable as he was +before; and the breech-loader, first attempted by John Hall of Yarmouth, +Massachusetts, more than seventy years ago, was generally adopted in +Europe. It is said that the greater number of the military arms made +in the United States for Europe are on the breech-loading system. +The invention of what is called the principle of "assembling," which +consists in making the various parts of a machine "in distinct pieces +of fixed shape and dimensions, so that the corresponding parts are +interchangeable," has brought about a revolution in the manufacture +of other articles besides fire-arms. It is applied also to watches, +sewing-machines, knitting-machines, and even to agricultural implements +and the building of locomotive engines. + +[Sidenote: Labor Saving Appliances.] + +The kitchen, the farm, and the sitting-room have been invaded by +labor-saving appliances so numerous and so deft as to make each of these +domestic departments a sort of factory in itself. The spinning-wheel +has been abandoned for the sewing and the knitting machine, and the +hand-plough for the steam-plough, and the scythe for the mowing-machine, +and the rude kitchen knife and spoon for an endless variety +of contrivances, from the apple-parer, the egg-beater, and the +bean-shelters, to the lemon-squeezers, knife-sharpeners, and +coffee-mills. + +[Sidenote: Various Inventions.] + +It is equally vain to attempt the enumeration of the improvements in +the security of movable property, the rapidly changing devices for more +effective fire-alarms, the revolution in the system of fire prevention +with its steam-engine and its fire-alarm telegraph, the growing +efficiency of the science of aerostation, the invention of scales for +weighing heavy bodies, the processes for refining the precious metals, +the achieved idea of making ice by machinery, the great advance effected +in the making of glass, and the vast changes which have been wrought in +many respects by the perfection of india-rubber as an article of common +use. + +[Sidenote: Surgical Progress.] + +[Sidenote: Printing and Engraving.] + +Nor must we forget to hint at the discoveries which have given new +effect to surgical skill--the discovery of anaesthetics, the perfection +of artificial limbs, the repair of the body, and the valuable method +of lithotrity; while even the match need not be disdained as one of the +chief inventions of the century. Paper, too, and engraving, and +printing (with all its complications of stereotyping, electrotyping, and +heliotyping), photography (with its constant improvements), can only be +mentioned to open the mind to a wide vista of marvellous triumphs. +We have but to glance along the stalls of a modern book-store, to +appreciate that the arts of printing and engraving have made a more +rapid progress during the past hundred years than during all the +previous centuries since the invention of type; while it may fairly +be said that the United States can at last boast that not only is her +literature worthy to be compared with that of England, but that it is +as well printed, illustrated, and bound, and is presented on home-made +paper as elegant and as durable, as are the choicest publications of +London and Paris. + + + + +XIX. POLITICAL CHANGES. + + +[Sidenote: Sources of Government.] + +President Woolsey has forcibly remarked that states and forms of +government have had mainly two sources of origin. They have either +"slowly built themselves up for ages, finding support in historical +causes, and in past political habits"; or, they have been "the +artificial results of political theory." England presents the most +conspicuous modern example of the former class; while France, since the +Revolution, may be regarded as the chief modern example of the latter. +And as it was with England, our mother-country, so it has been, and +is, with us. It is true that the organism of the United States was the +immediate result of revolution, and is founded upon a constitution that +is written and fixed, or only with great pains and difficulty modified. +Yet, if we search further and deeper for the materials of which our +national fabric has been constructed, we shall easily recognize that our +freedom, like that of England, has really "broadened slowly down from +precedent to precedent." + +[Sidenote: Gradual Growth of the American System.] + +The growth towards American independence did not begin, the seeds of it +were not sown, either at Bunker's Hill or at Philadelphia. Indeed the +growth had then reached the period of fruitfulness. The progression +towards an independent nation, and a free nation, began at Plymouth and +at Jamestown. The Constitution only made articulate the spirit which had +been growing for more than a century, and it still left an unwritten law +set up by custom, habit, and characteristics most aptly nourished to the +ends reached in 1776, 1787, and 1789. While our written constitution was +made, we still retained the common law of England as the basis of our +own, and, like England, proceeded gradually to build upon this broad +foundation the superstructure of statute. + +[Sidenote: Origin of the Government.] + +If, therefore, the origin of our government was in one respect +revolutionary, it was not revolutionary as being sudden, accidental, +and without preparation. The revolution was, in fact, almost formal in a +political sense. The same people, the same traditions remained, and +the same growth went on. There was a new bond, binding the colonies +together, and holding them the more sturdily to purposes already formed +and undertaken. Yet it was certain that a new government, starting +forth, as ours did, at a period when political theories of diverse and +contradictory import were engaged in a very active struggle in Europe, +would meet with unusual difficulties, and be beset with grave dangers +from the outset. + +[Sidenote: The Contest of Diverse Political Ideas.] + +We note, therefore, in the very body which framed the constitution, the +rise of the contest out of which have come the most momentous changes +which our polity has since undergone. Happily for us, we have had to +witness no sudden and startling alterations in the form or spirit of our +institutions. What changes have occurred--and some have occurred of very +high and grave importance--have come gradually, have been foreseen. The +victories of parties in this country have never been by _coups d'état_. +They have been won by light of day, with banners flying and trumpets +sounding. We have not been subject to that dread of sudden calamity, of +a bean-stalk growth of anarchy in a night, which haunts the French to +this day, and which makes both kings and peoples in continental Europe +sensitive to every untoward rumor. + +[Sidenote: Political Changes.] + +Of all the political changes which the United States have undergone +during the ninety-nine years of our national career, the most +conspicuous, perhaps, is that which has tended to increase the powers +of the central government, and diminish those of the several States. The +contest between those who believed in a strong central power and those +who jealously defended the largest share of independence for the +several States compatible with the bond of federation, began in the +Constitutional Convention; and the instrument which was there framed, +after long discussion and many perils, was really a compromise between +these two principles. On the one hand, the equality and dignity of the +States were conceded in the structure of the Senate, in the division +of the electoral votes by States, and in the "reserved rights" of the +States, which have been so often and so strenuously insisted upon since. + +[Sidenote: Early Political Parties.] + +On the other, the words of the Constitution throughout imply that the +United States constitute more than a league--a nation; and the money +power was lodged in the lower house of Congress, elected by the people +of the nation, according to their population. The opposing ideas +regarding the powers of the States and of the government, respectively, +gave rise to the two first political parties, the Federalist and the +Republican; and these have had as successors parties which have fought +the same battle over and over again. The later Whigs and Republicans, +on the one hand, and the Democrats, on the other, have usually been the +champions, respectively, of a strong central government, and of State +rights. The older Democrats insisted on a strict construction of the +Constitution, and opposed the undertaking of internal improvements and +the maintenance of a national bank by the general government; and +for the first sixty years of this century the State rights principle +prevailed in national policy with little interruption. + +[Sidenote: Rights of the States.] + +[Sidenote: Tendency towards Centralization.] + +It happened that the social institution and evil of slavery, which +had become confined to the Southern States, needed the defence of the +doctrine of State rights for its continuance. Nullification, in 1833, +and secession, in 1861, were the ultimate conclusions of that doctrine, +practically applied for the purpose of sustaining the system of human +bondage. A State had a right, it was said, to break her "compact" +with the Union; and the Southern States, following in the line of this +doctrine, did attempt to secede in order to maintain slavery. The war +which followed was the rock upon which the doctrine of State rights +split. The tide at once turned towards a strong central government. +Extraordinary powers, civil, military, and financial, were exercised to +put down the rebellion; and some of these powers, once assumed by the +general government, have been continued to this day. They have been +greatly strengthened by the enormous patronage which has accumulated +in the hands of the Executive; by the army of office-holders which, +scattered through the land, is subject to the influence of the central +power. + +[Sidenote: Results of Emancipation.] + +[Sidenote: The Fifteenth Amendment.] + +Connected with this change are some other changes, scarcely less +important. One of these is the establishment, throughout the Union, of +universal male suffrage. The emancipation of the slaves wrought a social +and economic change the final results of which are still problematical. +It also introduced a new political element, by endowing millions of +ignorant men with electoral rights for their own protection. Gradually +yet steadily through our political history, restrictions upon the +suffrage have been swept away. At first, not only was there a property +qualification in many of the States, but foreigners and negroes were in +some of them altogether excluded from the polls. The fifteenth amendment +to the Constitution crowned the edifice of universal suffrage in the +United States; and the floodgates, once open, can never be shut again. +A set of men once armed with the vote cannot be deprived of it: and all +the efforts of Know-nothing movements will probably be vain, whether +directed against the freedman, the Chinaman, or the European emigrant. +The only way to meet the evils which accompany universal suffrage is +by paths of education, and the creation of a pure and sincere public +spirit. + +[Sidenote: The Political Changes Gradual.] + +[Sidenote: Changes Effected by the Civil War.] + +It may be said, then, of the few great political changes which have +come over the spirit of our body politic, that they have been, like the +English revolutions, gradual, and, if on one occasion violent, at least +long contemplated and foreshadowed. On questions of commercial finance, +we are still where we were half a century ago. The antagonistic +principles of a protective tariff and of free trade are still struggling +for the mastery. The greatest changes--that produced on the government +in aggrandizing it at the expense of the States, and that produced on +the South by freeing and enfranchising the blacks--were brought about +by the civil war. The evil results which have flowed from them, mingled +with great good, are evident in many ways. Is it too much to hope that, +a generation hence, those of us who survive will look back gratefully +upon a survival of the good only wrought by these changes; and upon +a completed reform of the civil service, a purified government and +Congress, a people no longer eager to grow suddenly rich by wild +speculation, but content with the moderate prosperity attained by steady +enterprise and wholesome trade; and a South educated and reconciled, +with its civil and political freedom assured by its own enforcement of +equal law? + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + +[Footnote 1: Monroe was chosen for his second term by every vote but +one in the Electoral College. That vote was given by Mr. Hummer of New +Hampshire, on the ground that it was a dangerous precedent to elect a +President unanimously.] + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Nation in a Nutshell, by George Makepeace Towle + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL *** + +***** This file should be named 9322-8.txt or 9322-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/3/2/9322/ + +Produced by PG Distributed Proofreaders + +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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/9322-8.zip b/9322-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cbbf1f6 --- /dev/null +++ b/9322-8.zip diff --git a/9322-h.zip b/9322-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cbfdc54 --- /dev/null +++ b/9322-h.zip diff --git a/9322-h/9322-h.htm b/9322-h/9322-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e1a8b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/9322-h/9322-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4655 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Nation in a Nutshell, by George Makepeace Towle + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + .side { float: right; font-size: 75%; width: 25%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; margin-left: 0.8em; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's The Nation in a Nutshell, by George Makepeace Towle + +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: The Nation in a Nutshell + +Author: George Makepeace Towle + + +Release Date: November, 2005 [EBook #9322] +This file was first posted on September 21, 2003 +Last Updated: May 10, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL *** + + + + +Text file produced by PG Distributed Proofreaders + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + + +</pre> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL + </h1> + <h3> + A <i>RAPID OUTLINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY.</i> + </h3> + <h2> + By George Makepeace Towle + </h2> + <div class="middle"> + <p> + Author Of "Young People's History Of England," "Young People's History + Of Ireland," "Heroes Of History," "Modern France," Etc. + </p> + </div> + <h4> + 1886 + </h4> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I. AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II. THE ERA OF DISCOVERY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III. THE ERA OF COLONIZATION. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> IV. THE COLONIAL ERA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> V. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> VI. SOCIETY IN 1776. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VII. THE REVOLUTION. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VIII. THE CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> IX. WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> X. THE WAR OF 1812. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> XI. THE MEXICAN WAR. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XII. THE SLAVERY AGITATION. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> XIII. THE CIVIL WAR. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIV. THE PRESIDENTS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XV. MATERIAL PROGRESS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XVI. PROGRESS IN LITERATURE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> XVII. PROGRESS IN THE ARTS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVIII. PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND INVENTION. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XIX. POLITICAL CHANGES. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_FOOT"> FOOTNOTES: </a> + </p> + <h1> + THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL + </h1> + <h2> + AN OUTLINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I. AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + Geology and Archaeology. + </p> + <p> + The sciences of geology and archaeology, working side by side, have made a + wonderful progress in the past half a century. The one, seeking for the + history and transformations of the physical earth, and the other, aiming + to discover the antiquity, differences of race, and social and ethnical + development of man, have obtained results which we cannot regard without + amazement and more or less incredulity. The two sciences have been + faithful handmaidens the one to the other; but geology has always led the + way, and archaeology has been competed to follow in its path. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Four Eras of Civilization. + </p> + <p> + Though we may doubt as to the exactness of the detailed data established + by the archaeologists, there are certain broad facts which we must accept + from them as established beyond doubt. These facts are of the highest + value and interest. The antiquary has been able, from discovered remains + of extinct civilizations, to reconstruct societies and peoples, and to + trace the occupancy of countries to periods far anterior to that of which + history takes cognizance. The general fact seems to be settled that, in + prehistoric times, Europe passed through four distinct eras. These were + the Rude Stone Age, when man was the contemporary in Europe of the extinct + hairy elephant and the cave bear; the Polished Stone Age; the Bronze Age, + when bronze was used for arms and utensils; and the Iron Age, in which + iron superseded bronze in the making of useful articles. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Ancient America. + </p> + <p> + In the same way it has been established that, on our own continent, the + oldest discoverable civilization was one in which rude stone implements + were used, and man lived contemporaneously with the megatherium and the + mastodon. Then polished and worked stone implements came into use; and + after the lapse of ages, copper. The researches of our antiquaries have + rendered it probable that America is as ancient, as an inhabited + continent, as Europe. Evidences have been brought to light, leading to the + conclusion that many thousands of years before the Christian era, America + was the seat of a civilization far from rude or savage. Groping into the + remains of the far past, we find skeletons, skulls, implements of war, and + even basket-work, buried in geological strata, which have been overlaid by + repeated convulsions and changes of the physical earth. But so few are the + relics of this dim, primeval period, that we can only conclude its + antiquity, and we can infer little or nothing of its characteristics. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Primeval Races. + </p> + <p> + Advancing, however, another stage in research and discovery, we come upon + clear and overwhelming proofs of the existence on this continent of a + great, enterprising, skilful, and even artistic people, spread over an + immense area, and leaving behind them the most positive testimony, not + only of their existence, but of their manners and customs, their arts, + their trade, their methods of warfare, and their religion and worship. + Compared with this people, the Red Indians found here by the Pilgrims and + the Cavaliers were modern intruders upon the land. These ancient + Americans, indeed, were far superior in all respects to the Red Indian of + our historic acquaintance. When the Red Indians replaced them, the + civilization of the continent fell from a high to a much lower plane. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Mound-Builders. + </p> + <p> + The great race of which I speak is known as "the Mound-Builders." Like the + "Wall-Builders" of Greece and Italy, they stand out, in the light of their + remains, as distinctly as if we had historical records of them. The + Mound-Builders occupied, often in thickly settled communities, the region + about our great Northern Lakes, the valleys of the Mississippi, the Ohio, + the Missouri, and the regions watered by the affluents of these rivers, + and a wide and irregular belt along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. There + is little or no evidence that the same race inhabited any part of the + country now occupied by the Eastern and Middle States; but some few traces + of them are found in North and South Carolina. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Ancient Mounds. + </p> + <p> + The chief relics left by this comparatively polished race are the very + numerous mounds, or artificial hills, found scattered over the country. + These are sometimes ten, and sometimes forty and fifty, feet in height, + with widely varying bases. They present many forms; they are circular and + pyramidal, square and polygonal, and in some places are manifestly + imitations of the shapes of beasts, birds, and human beings. There are + districts where hundreds of these mounds appear within a limited area. + Sometimes—as at Aztalan, in Wisconsin, and at Newark, in the Licking + Valley—a vast series of earthwork enclosures is discovered, + sometimes with embankments twelve feet high and fifty broad, within which + are variously shaped mounds, definitely formed avenues, and passages and + ponds. These enclosures amply prove, aside from the geological evidences + of their antiquity, the existence of a race very different from the Red + Indians. They were clearly a people not nomadic, but with fixed + settlements, cultivators of the soil, and skilful in the art of military + defence. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Altars and Temples. + </p> + <p> + The excavations of the wonderful mounds have brought to light many things + more curious than the mounds themselves. It seems to be established that + the mounds were used for four distinct purposes. They were altars for + sacrifice, and, like the Persians, whose sacrificial ceremonies strikingly + resembled those of the Mound-Builders, they were sun-worshippers. They + offered up the most costly gifts, and even human victims. The pyramidal + mounds, with avenues leading to the summits, were the sites of the stately + sun and moon temples. Here, undoubtedly, imposing ceremonies were often + performed. The lower or "knoll" mounds were used as the sepulchres of the + dead. They yield up to the modern antiquary numberless skulls, of a type + distinctly different from those of the Red Indians. The Mound-Builders + buried their dead, most often, in a sitting posture, adorned with shell + beads and ivory ornaments. Sometimes the dead were burned. Finally, the + mounds were employed as points of observation. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Relics of the Mounds. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Early Arts. + </p> + <p> + That the Mound-Builders were a far more civilized race than the Indians is + clearly revealed by the relics found in and about the mounds. They have + left behind them thousands of flint arrow-heads, many of beautiful + workmanship. They used spades, rimmers, borers, celts, axes, fleshers, + scrapers, pestles, and other implements whose use cannot now be + determined, made of various stones, such as porphyry, greenstone, and + feldspar. They knew well the use of tobacco, for among their most artistic + and elaborately carved remains are pipes, some of them representing + animals and human heads. It seems to be certain that they had even + attained the art of weaving cloth fabrics; for pieces of cloth, of a + material akin to hemp, have been found in the mounds, with uniform and + regularly spun threads, and every evidence that they were woven by some + deft invention or mechanical device. It is certain that the Red Indian was + ignorant of this valuable art. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Primeval Mining. + </p> + <p> + Among the highly wrought remains of the mounds are fanciful water-jugs, + well carved and symmetrical in shape, some of which were evidently made to + keep water cool. The human heads represented on these bear no resemblance + to the Indian types. Drinking cups with carved rims and handles, + sepulchral urns with curious ornaments, kettles and other pieces of + skilful pottery, copper chisels, axes, knives, awls, spear and arrow + heads, and even bracelets, come to light, here and there. There is no + doubt that the Mound-Builders were miners. For, on the southern shores of + Lake Superior, great excavations indicate an extensive and skilful mining + of copper at a very remote period. It is singular, on the other hand, that + no iron implement has ever been discovered in the mounds. The builders + used iron-ore as a stone, but never learned the art of moulding it into + weapons or utensils. + </p> + <p> + Thus the fact that vast areas of what are now the United States were once + occupied by an active, skilful, imaginative, and progressive race, seems + fully established. Not less certain is it that in their physical type, in + their government, in their arts, habits, and daily pursuits, they were + separated by a wide gap from the Red Indians whom our ancestors found in + possession of the continent. The Indian was roving, and hunted for + subsistence. The Mound-Builders were sedentary, and undoubtedly cultivated + maize as their chief article of food. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Origin of the Mound-Builders. + </p> + <p> + But how remote the Mound-Builders were from the era of European + settlement, whence they came; how, whither, and when they vanished,—these + are questions before which science stands harassed, impotent to answer + positively. There are those who, marking certain apparent resemblances + between the implements, religious rites and customs, and cranial + formations, of the Mound-Builders, and those of the Asiatic Mongols, + conclude that the former were originally Asiatic hordes, who, crossing + Behring Straits, when, perhaps, the two continents were united at that + point, formed a new home and established a new empire here. Others, with + more proof, connect them with that great Toltec race which occupied + Central America and Mexico, before they were driven out by the ruder and + more warlike Aztecs. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Aztecs. + </p> + <p> + The Toltecs have left ample records of their existence and gorgeous + civilization, in noble monuments and very numerous though till recently + undecipherable inscriptions; and many similarities lend weight to the + theory that the empire of the Mound-Builders, in the Ohio, Mississippi, + and Missouri valleys, was the result of a great Toltec migration from + Central America, which they left to Aztec dominion. Thus while we call our + continent the "New World," it is not improbable that we may be living in a + country which was alive with art, splendor, invention, and power, when + Europe was a dreary waste, over which the now extinct monsters roamed + unmolested by man. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II. THE ERA OF DISCOVERY. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + Historic Myths. + </p> + <p> + We live in times when the researches of scholars are minute, pitiless, and + exhaustive, and when no hitherto received historical fact is permitted to + escape the ordeal of the most critical scrutiny. Many are the cherished + historical beliefs which have latterly been assailed with every resource + of logical argument and formidably arrayed proofs, unearthed by tireless + diligence and pursuit. Thus we are told that the story of William Tell is + a romantic myth; that Lucretia Borgia, far from being a poisoner and + murderess, was really a very estimable person; and that the siege of Troy + was a very insignificant struggle, between armies counted, not by + thousands, but by hundreds. + </p> + <p> + In the same way the old familiar question, "Who discovered America?" which + every school-boy was formerly as prompt to answer as to his age and name, + has in recent years become a perplexing problem of historical disputation; + and at least can no longer be accurately answered by the name of the + gallant and courageous Genoese who set forth across the Atlantic in 1492. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Icelandic Discoverers. + </p> + <p> + Bancroft, on the first page of his history, pronounces the story of the + discovery of our country by the Icelandic Northmen, a narrative + "mythological in form and obscure in meaning"; and adds that "no clear + historical evidence establishes the natural probability that they + accomplished the passage." But the first volume of Bancroft was published + in 1852. Since then, the proofs of the discovery of the continent by the + Icelanders, very nearly five hundred years before Columbus was thrilled + with the delight of beholding the Bahamas, have multiplied and grown to + positive demonstration. They no longer rest upon vague traditions; they + have assumed the authority of explicit and well attested records. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Discoverers of America. + </p> + <p> + The discovery of the New England coast by the Icelanders is the earliest + which, down to the present, can be positively asserted. But it has been + recently urged that there are some evidences of American discovery by + Europeans or Asiatics long prior to Leif Erikson. There are certain + indications that the Pacific coast was reached by Chinese adventurers in + the remote past; and it is stated that proofs exist in Brazil tending to + show that South America was discovered by Phoenicians five hundred years + before Christ. The story is said to be recorded on some brass tablets + found in northern Brazil, which give the number of the vessels and crews, + state Sidon as the port to which the voyagers belonged, and even describe + their route around the Cape of Good Hope and along the west coast of + Africa, whence the trade-winds drifted them across the Atlantic. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Icelandic Voyagers. + </p> + <p> + Confining ourselves to credible history, it appears that in the year 986 + (eighty years before the conquest of England by William of Normandy), an + Icelandic mariner named Bjarne Herrjulson, making for Greenland in his + rude bark, was swept across the Atlantic, and finally found himself cast + upon dry land. He made haste to set sail on his return voyage, and + succeeded in getting safely back to Iceland. He told his story of the + strange land beyond the seas; and so pleased had he been with its pleasant + and fruitful aspect that he named it "Vineland." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Leif Erikson. + </p> + <p> + The story of Bjarne impressed itself upon an intelligent and adventurous + man, Leif Erikson; who, having purchased Bjarne's ship, set sail for + Vineland in the year 1000, with a crew of thirty-five men. He reached what + is now Cape Cod, and passed the winter of 1000-1 on its shores. Returning + to Iceland, his example was followed, two years later, by another Erikson, + who established a colony on the shores of Narragansett Bay, not far from + Fall River, where the founder died and was buried. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Columbus in Iceland. + </p> + <p> + It is well nigh certain that Christopher Columbus, in the year 1477, + visited Iceland, and even sailed one hundred leagues beyond it, + discovering there an unfrozen sea. The idea of western discovery was + already in his mind, and he had received hints of a western continent, + from certain carved objects picked up in the Atlantic by other navigators. + It is altogether probable that the conjectures of Columbus were confirmed + into conviction by the Icelandic traditions of Leif's discovery, during + his sojourn at Rejkjawik. From this time Columbus was more than ever + intent upon the enterprise which, fifteen years after, conferred upon him + imperishable glory. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Voyage of Columbus. + </p> + <p> + The story of Columbus is, or should be, familiar to every American who can + read. How he sailed forth from the roads of Saltez on the 3d of August, + 1492, with three vessels and a crew of one hundred and twenty men; how the + voyage was stormy and full of doubts and discouragements; how, finally, + early on the morning of October 12, Rodrigo Triana, a seaman of the <i>Pinta</i>, + first descried the land which Columbus christened San Salvador; how they + pushed on and found Cuba and Hayti; how, after returning to Spain, + Columbus made two more voyages westward,—one in 1493, when he + discovered Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Porto Rico: and another in 1498 when + the Orinoco and the coast of Para rewarded his researches; and his + subsequent unhappy fate—all these events have been related by many + writers, and most vividly of all by the graphic pen of Washington Irving. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Menendez. + </p> + <p> + The era of American discovery may be said to have continued till the + memorable fourth day of September, 1565, when the Spaniard Menendez + founded the first town on this continent, on the Florida coast, which he + called St. Augustine. In one sense, indeed, the era of discovery did not + cease down to within the memory of men still living; for the discovery of + a path across the Rocky Mountains might well be regarded as included in + it. But during the period which intervened between the return of Columbus + from his first voyage and the building of St. Augustine, the extent and + character of the eastern portion of our continent was revealed to Europe + by many and successful navigators. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Cabots. + </p> + <p> + The story of Columbus inspired the cupidity and territorial ambition of + England, France, Spain, and Italy; and in the year 1497 John Cabot, a + Venetian by birth, but long a resident of Bristol, England, set out thence + across the Atlantic. He was accompanied by his son Sebastian. On the 24th + of June he came in sight of Newfoundland, and then of Nova Scotia; then he + sailed southward and reached Florida. As this was a year before the third + voyage of Columbus, in which he saw the coast of the mainland, to John + Cabot belongs the honor of having landed upon the American continent + before Columbus. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Amerigo Vespucci. + </p> + <p> + Voyages to the new land now followed each other in quick succession for + many years. It was in 1499 that the accomplished but unscrupulous Amerigo + Vespucci made his first voyage to Hispaniola, following it up by voyages + along the coast of South America. He returned thence to claim, after the + death of Columbus, the honors due to the great Genoese. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Verrazzani. + </p> + <p> + Portugal and France, jealous of the success of the Spanish and English + expeditions, lost no time in entering into this perilous and brilliant + competition for maritime honor and western possession. Portugal sent out + Cortereal, and France Verrazzani. The former skirted the coast for six + hundred miles, kidnapping Indians, and spending some time at Labrador, + where he came to his death. Verrazzani, in 1524, sailed for the Western + Continent in the <i>Dolphin</i>, ranged along the coast of North Carolina, + and so northward until he espied the beautiful harbor of New York, and + anchored for a brief rest in that of Newport. Verrazzani returned to + France with glowing accounts of the beauty, fertility, and noble harbors + of the country. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Jacques Cartier. + </p> + <p> + Within ten years France sent forth another expedition, under the command + of the famous Jacques Cartier, which was destined to acquire for that + nation its claim to the possession of Canada. Cartier sailed from St. Malo + to Newfoundland in twenty days. He went up the St. Lawrence, and returned + home to tell the thrilling tale of his adventures. The next year he came + back to discover the sites of Montreal and Quebec; and he made two more + voyages, in 1540 and 1542. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Ponce de Leon. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, Spain was resolved to sustain the great prestige she had gained + by the expeditions of Columbus, and to yield to no rival her claims to + dominion on the new continent. In 1512, Don Juan Ponce de Leon, a brave + soldier and adventurous man, who had accompanied Columbus on his second + voyage, landed on the peninsula of Florida, and established the right of + Spain to its possession. Five years after, Fernandez landed on the coast + of Yucatan; and ere long Garay explored the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. + </p> + <p class="side"> + De Soto. + </p> + <p> + It is not possible, in this survey, to follow, or even to name, the + Spanish expeditions of discovery and conquest between 1512 and 1550. + Suffice it to say that during this period subjects of the Spanish king + landed on the coast of South Carolina, entered the harbors of New York and + New England, crossed Louisiana and northern Mexico to the Pacific, + explored Mexico and Peru, marched across Georgia under the lead of the + renowned Ferdinand de Soto, penetrated to the interior, and, after many + romantic adventures and desperate hardships, discovered the magnificent + river which we call the Mississippi; made perilous excursions into the + wild depths of Arkansas and Missouri, and even to the remote banks of the + Red River. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Character of the Discoverers. + </p> + <p> + The enterprises of Spaniards, English, Portuguese, and French were alike + prompted by the greed of gain. All sought the fabled El Dorado; all craved + the power of colonial dominion. None the less were the navigators and + soldiers, whom the nations sent forth to reveal a new world to + civilization, men of courage and fortitude, able in achieving the + momentous tasks assigned to them. Columbus and Cabot, at least, thought + less of riches and fleeting honors than of the proper and noble glories of + discovery; it was left to their Spanish successors to kidnap the Indians, + to rob their settlements and murder their women, and to invade the + peaceful wilds of America, with fire and the sword. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III. THE ERA OF COLONIZATION. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + Voyages of Colonization. + </p> + <p> + To acquire a title to the fertile and fruitful lands and fabled riches of + the newly discovered continent, became the aspiration of the great + maritime states of Europe, which had shared between them the honors of its + discovery. From the middle of the sixteenth to the beginning of the + seventeenth century, the voyages of adventure and projected colonization + were almost continuous. Spaniards, Frenchmen, and Englishmen fitted out + vessels and crossed the ocean, to make more extended researches, and to + found, if possible, permanent settlements. Although failure generally + attended these attempts at colonization, they gradually led the way to the + final occupation of the continent. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Huguenots in America. + </p> + <p> + Of these abortive efforts, that of Admiral Coligny to found a settlement + of the Huguenots, who were persecuted in France, on the new shores, was + the earliest and one of the most romantic. As long ago as 1562, America + became a refuge of the oppressed for conscience's sake. The Huguenot + colony, taking up their residence on the River May, gave the name of + "Carolina" (from King Charles IX.) to their new domain. After many and + terrible hardships, they returned again to France, to be soon succeeded by + another colony of Huguenots, also sent out by brave old Coligny, which + settled on the same soil of Carolina. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Menendez in Florida + </p> + <p> + This aroused the jealousy and cupidity of Spain. The "most Catholic" king + was not only enraged to find the soil which he claimed as his own by right + of discovery, taken possession of by the subjects of his French rival, but + was scandalized that the new colonists should be Calvinistic heretics. It + was the very height of the gloomiest period of religious fanaticism and + persecution in Europe. Menendez was accordingly sent out to Florida by + King Philip, and assumed its governorship; and on September 8, 1565, Saint + Augustine, the oldest town in the United States, was founded, and Philip + of Spain was solemnly proclaimed sovereign of all North America. Menendez + lost no time in attacking the Huguenot colonists of Carolina. They were + speedily defeated, and most of them were ruthlessly massacred; and our + almost virgin soil was thus early the scene of another St. Bartholomew. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, England was not idle in contesting with France and Spain the + supremacy of the western land. Very early in the sixteenth century + projects of colonizing America were formed in England. + </p> + <p class="side"> + English Colonization. + </p> + <p> + Numerous voyages hither were undertaken during the reign of Henry VIII.; + but the accounts which remain of them are rare and meagre. Some of them + resulted in terrible disasters of shipwreck and death. Late in the century + a courageous and determined navigator, Martin Frobisher, made three + voyages to America, but without establishing a colony, or finding the + treasures of gold and gems which he sought. Later, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, + the half-brother of Raleigh, and Barlow, made attempts to found colonies, + but in vain. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Raleigh's Expedition. + </p> + <p> + It was in the spring of 1585 that Sir Walter Raleigh fitted out his famous + expedition of seven ships, and one hundred and eight emigrants, and sent + it forth, bound for the shores of Carolina. At first it seemed as it art + English colony were really about to prosper in the new land. They + established themselves at Roanoke, and explored the country. Hariot, one + of the shrewdest of them, discovered the seductive proper-ties of tobacco, + the succulence of Indian corn, and the nutritive quality of potatoes. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Sir Francis Drake. + </p> + <p> + The hostility of the natives, however, soon became so bitter, and their + attacks so frequent, that the colony was glad to return to England in the + visiting ships of Sir Francis Drake. Two years later Raleigh, undismayed + by the failure of his first colony, sent out another, under John White, + which settled on the Isle of Roanoke, and founded the "city of Raleigh." + It was here that, on the 18th of August, 1587, the first child of English + parents was born on American soil. Her name was Virginia Dare, and she was + the granddaughter of Governor White. The Governor returned to England, + leaving the emigrants behind; and on his going back to Roanoke, three + years afterwards, no vestige of the colony could be discovered. It is + supposed that they were all massacred by the Indians during White's + absence. The first permanent settlement in America, was made by the + French, at Port Royal, in 1605. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Port Royal. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Colonies in Virginia. + </p> + <p> + English enterprise was now at last ready to found and perpetuate states on + the new continent. In little more than a year after the French occupation + of Port Royal, a patent was granted by King James the First to a party of + colonists, under Newport and Smith, authorizing them to form a government + in Virginia, subject to the English crown. Imagine, then, three small + ships setting forth, on the bleak 19th of December, 1606, and directing + their way to Virginia, with one hundred and five men on board, and + freighted with a goodly store of arms and provisions. Most of the party + were gallant and courtly cavaliers: there were but twelve laborers and + four carpenters in all the company. After a stormy voyage they passed up + the James River, and landing, on its shores, they founded Jamestown. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Heinrich Hudson. + </p> + <p> + The news of the colonization of Virginia, the success of the adventurous + emigrants in maintaining their settlement, and the fertility, beauty, and + salubriousness of the continent, soon inspired other enterprises of a + similar kind. The Dutch have always been famous navigators; and it was in + 1609 that gallant Heinrich Hudson, alter two previous futile attempts to + find a western passage to India, reached these shores, and sailed up the + noble river which now bears his name. Five years after, a Dutch colony was + formed on Manhattan Island, whereon the city of New York now stands, to + which was first given the name of "New Amsterdam." The colony prospered, + and in 1624 the island was purchased of the Indians for twenty four pounds + English money. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Pilgrims and Puritans. + </p> + <p> + We now reach the fourth permanent colony on American soil; that which was + more powerful in shaping our destinies and determining our national traits + than any other. The story of the Pilgrims and Puritans is almost too + familiar to be rehearsed. Every schoolboy knows of their adventures and + trials, their hardships and their dauntless energy, their piety and + rigidity of rule, the great qualities by the exercise of which it may be + justly claimed that they made themselves the true founders of the American + Republic. Driven by persecution from their native England, they took + refuge in Holland; and from thence they sailed in two small vessels, the + <i>Speedwell</i> and the <i>Mayflower</i> on a July day in 1620, for the + new world. One hundred Puritans thus crossed the ocean. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Settlement at Plymouth. + </p> + <p> + After a tempestuous voyage of sixty-three days, the <i>Mayflower</i> + coasted along Cape Cod, and landed, on the twenty-first day of December, + at Plymouth. The <i>Speedwell</i> had been forced to put back in a + disabled condition. Before landing, the Puritans made a solemn compact of + government, purely republican in form, and to this they afterwards + religiously adhered. In 1629 another English Puritan colony, called the + "Massachusetts Bay Colony," settled at Salem; and in the following year + came Governor John Winthrop, with eight hundred emigrants. The + Massachusetts Bay Colony, thus re-enforced, and now numbering not far from + one thousand souls, settled Boston and its neighborhood. + </p> + <p class="side"> + New England Colonized. + </p> + <p> + New Hampshire began to be settled three years after the landing of the + Pilgrims at Plymouth. Maine was colonized not much later. Vermont, having + been explored by Champlain in 1609, was settled some years after. The + Rhode Island colony was founded by Roger Williams and five companions, + driven from the Boston and Plymouth colonies in succession, in 1636; and + Connecticut first became the seat of a settlement in 1635, the colonial + constitution being adopted in 1630. Next in point of time, Delaware was + settled by parties of Swedes and Finlanders in 1638, and was called "New + Sweden." The province passed into the hands of the Dutch of New Amsterdam, + however, in 1655. + </p> + <p class="side"> + European possessions in America. + </p> + <p> + Thus, in a period of a little less than half a century, the whole of the + American coast had been acquired by, and was to a large degree under the + dominion of, five European nations. In 1655 the Spaniards held the + peninsula of Florida; the French were in possession of, or at least + claimed the right to, what are now the two Carolinas; the Dutch held + Manhattan Island, New Jersey, a narrow strip running along the west bank + of the Hudson, and a portion of Long Island; the Swedes were established + (soon to be deprived of it) in what is now Delaware, and a part of what is + now Pennsylvania, along the Delaware River; while the English possessions + far exceeded those of all the others put together, including as they did + nearly the whole of Virginia, a large share of Maryland, all of New + England, and the greater part of Long Island. + </p> + <p class="side"> + William Penn. + </p> + <p> + In the year 1681 all the Dutch possessions had been added to the dominion + of the English in America; and it was in this year that William Penn, + having received a grant of a large tract of land in what is now + Pennsylvania, sent out a colony, which settled on his grant. The next year + he came in person, assumed the governorship of the colony, founded + Philadelphia, and made his famous treaties with the Indians. At the close + of the seventeenth century the English dominion comprised the whole coast, + from Canada to the Carolinas; and it may be fairly said that when the + eighteenth century opened, the era of colonization had reached its + culmination, English civilization was indelibly stamped on, and firmly + planted in, the new continent. The crystallizing process of a new and + mighty nation had begun and was in rapid progress. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV. THE COLONIAL ERA. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + England's Acquirements. + </p> + <p> + The Colonial Era, intervening between the permanent colonization of the + Atlantic coast and the momentous time when the colonies united to assert + their independence, may be said to have been comprised within a period of + a little more than a century. In 1664 England had acquired possession of + the whole colonized territory from the Kennebec to the southern boundary + of South Carolina. Georgia was still unsettled, and remained to be + colonized some sixty years after by that good and gallant General + Oglethorpe, who forbade slavery to be introduced into the province, and + prohibited the sale of rum within its limits. Florida was still held by + the Spanish, the only continental power which then had a foothold on the + Atlantic border of what is now the United States. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Colonial Progress. + </p> + <p> + The century of settlement and growth which we call the Colonial Era was + full of hardship, romance, brave struggling with great difficulties, + fortitude, and alternate misfortune and success. As we look back upon it + from this distance, however, we do not fail to be struck with the steady + and certain progress made towards a compact and enduring nationality. Even + then the same variety of race and habits and characteristics which the + United States reveal to-day were to be observed in the population which + was scattered over the narrow strip of territory extending a thousand + miles along the seaboard. There were English everywhere—predominant + then, as English traits still possess, in a yet more marked degree, the + prevailing influence. There were, however, Dutch in New York and + Pennsylvania, some Swedes still in Delaware, Danes in New Jersey, French + Huguenots in the Carolinas, Austrian Moravians, not long after, in + Georgia, and Spaniards in Florida. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The New England Colonies. + </p> + <p> + Amid such a diversity of races, of course the habits, the laws, and the + religious opinions of the colonies widely differed. But these differences + were not confined to those arising from variety of origin. The English in + New England presented a very marked contrast to the English in New York + and in Virginia. The settlements of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay + comprised communities of zealous Calvinists, rigid in their religious + belief and ceremonies, codifying their religious principles into political + law, and adhering resolutely, through thick and thin, to the idea + expressed, by one of the early Puritans, that "our New England was + originally a plantation of religion, and not a plantation of trade." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Roger Williams. + </p> + <p> + Roger Williams founded Rhode Island on the principle of religious + toleration; but he carried thither the sobriety and diligence and courage + of his former Puritan associations. He provided, as he himself said, "a + shelter for persons distressed for conscience." Connecticut was also + essentially a "religious plantation," which for many years accepted the + Bible as containing the only laws necessary to the colony, and confined + the right of suffrage to members of the church; and Connecticut, as well + as Massachusetts, vigorously punished offenders by the rough, + old-fashioned methods of the pillory, the stocks, and the whipping-post. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Colonial New York and Virginia. + </p> + <p> + No contrast could be more striking than that between colonial New England + and colonial New York and Virginia. The Puritans gathered together in + towns and villages; they lived in log or earth cottages, one story high, + with no pretensions to ornament, and but little to comfort. The wealthier + New Englanders, after a time, built two-story brick houses; but these were + still plain and substantial, and not imposing. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Puritan Costumes + </p> + <p> + The men wore short cloaks and jerkins, short, loose breeches, wide collars + with tassels, and high, narrow-crowned hats with wide brims. The women + dressed in plain-colored homespun, but bloomed forth on Sundays with silk + hoods and daintily worked caps. The proximity of Indians required that + every New England village should be a fortress, and every citizen a + soldier. Two hundred years ago, muster-days and town-meetings, means of + defence from attack and of self-government within, were as prominent + features of New England life as they are to-day. + </p> + <p class="side"> + New England Industries. + </p> + <p> + The New Englanders were mainly farmers, hunters, and fishermen. Commerce + was slow to grow up among them. Trade was the means towards supporting a + religious state; not a method for the acquirement of wealth. By and by, + however, manufactures of cotton and woollen fabrics grew up, lumber was + floated down to the coast, gunpowder and glass were made, and fish were + cured for winter use and to be sent abroad. They ate corn-meal and milk, + and pork and beans were a favorite New England dish from the first; and + they drank cider and home-brewed beer. The first coins appeared in 1652; + and the oldest college on American soil, Harvard, was founded at Cambridge + in 1636. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Dutch and Cavaliers. + </p> + <p> + The Dutch, in New York, and the Cavaliers, in Virginia, set out upon their + colonial careers in a very different way. The Dutch came to America as + traders; the Cavaliers came to be landed proprietors and to seek rapid + fortunes. Instead, therefore, of clustering close in towns and villages, + both the Dutch and the Cavaliers spread out through the country and + established large and isolated estates. Wealthy Dutchmen came hither with + patents from the East India Company, took possession of tracts sixteen + miles long, settled colonies upon them, and lived in great state on their + "manors," ruling the colonies, working their lands with slaves, and + assuming the aristocratic title of "Patroon." Thus a sort of feudal system + grew up, in which the "Patroons" exercised an authority well nigh as + absolute as that of the mediaeval barons on the Rhine; and this system + long flourished side by side with the democratic simplicity of the Puritan + commonwealths. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Captain John Smith. + </p> + <p> + In the same way the Virginians scattered themselves in the fruitful and + sunny valleys between the sea and the Alleghanies, and in time created + lordly domains and plantations, over which the possessors exercised feudal + sway. But this colony, composed originally in the main of gentlemen unused + to manual labor, and indisposed to bear patiently the hardships of early + settlement, did not become established without many and serious + difficulties. The colonists at first hung tents to the trees to shelter + them from the sun; and the best of their houses "could neither well defend + wind nor rain." Captain John Smith wrote to England, begging his friends + there to "rather send thirty carpenters, husbandmen, gardeners, fishermen, + blacksmiths, and diggers-up of the roots, well provided, than a thousand + of such as we have." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Tobacco in Virginia. + </p> + <p> + The Virginians cultivated tobacco; and in the same year that the Puritans + landed on Plymouth Rock, the first cargo of African slaves was carried up + the James River in a Dutch trading ship. It is an interesting fact that so + extensive and profitable was the early cultivation of tobacco in Virginia + that it became the general medium of exchange. Debts were paid with it; + fines of so much tobacco, instead of so much money, were imposed; a wife + cost a Virginian five hundred pounds of the narcotic weed; and even the + government accepted it in discharge of taxes. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Virginian Customs. + </p> + <p> + Virginia early became divided into classes; the landlords being a virtual + nobility, the poorer colonists a middle class, and the slaves comprising + the lower social stratum. The Church of England was the prevailing sect, + and English habits of hospitality and ease of manner replaced the Puritan + austerity of the North. Yet Virginia had a severe code of punishments; and + at one time, if a man stayed away from church three times without good + reason, he was liable to the penalty of death. The Virginians were + tolerant of all faiths excepting those of the Quakers and the Roman + Catholics. Persons professing these creeds were sternly excluded from the + colony. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Indians. + </p> + <p> + Just one hundred years before the outbreak of the Revolution, the white + population of New England had reached fifty-five thousand: while the + Indians, retreating at the approach of the European, had become reduced to + two-thirds of that number. The presence of the aborigines on the borders + of the whole line of the colonies seemed at first, destined to become + fatal to the settlement of the continent. But had it not been for Indian + hostility, the colonies might never have grown together and merged, first + into a close defensive alliance, and then into a great and united state. + It was mainly the sentiment of the common preservation that brought about + the intimate relations which gradually grew up between Puritan, Dutchman, + and Cavalier. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Indian Wars. + </p> + <p> + The Puritans treated the Indians with strict justice: Penn made friends of + the powerful tribes along the Delaware; and Roger Williams succeeded in + conciliating the Narragansetts. But a time came when the Indians saw + clearly that they were being pushed further and further back, away from + their ancient homes. Then followed the terrible wars which so long + threatened the existence of the struggling colonies, and which the + dauntless courage and hardihood of the settlers alone rendered vain. King + Philip arose, and struggled fiercely for more than a year to exterminate + the New England intruders. The Canadian French, jealous of English + supremacy on the continent, joined hands with the Indians, and incited + them constantly to fresh assaults. These French had explored the Lakes, + and the Mississippi as far as what is now New Orleans; and they feared + lest the English should deprive them of these western domains. + </p> + <p> + Wars succeeded each other with alarming rapidity. After King Philip's War + came King William's War in 1689, Queen Anne's War in 1702, King George's + War in 1744, the Canadian War (which lasted from 1755 to 1763, and in + which Quebec was taken by Wolfe, and Canada was conquered by the English), + and finally, Pontiac's bold but futile rebellion, aided by the French, in + 1763. It was these wars, and the growing need of combined resistance to + the tyrannical assumptions of the British government, which together drew + close the bonds of friendship and mutual support between the colonies, and + made them capable of striking a successful blow for independence. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + The Revolution. + </p> + <p class="side"> + American Loyalty. + </p> + <p> + The Revolution was long in brewing. The discontent of the colonies at + their treatment by the mother country was gradual in its growth. At first + it seemed rather to inspire fitful protests and expostulations, than a + desire to foster a deliberate quarrel. Even New England, settled by + Pilgrims who had no strong reason for evincing loyalty and affection for + the land whence they had been driven for opinion's sake, seemed to have + become more or less reconciled to the dominion of British governors. There + can be no doubt that the colonists, even down to within a brief period of + the Declaration of Independence, hoped to retain their connection with + Great Britain. Congress declared, even after armies had been raised to + resist the red-coats, that this was not with the design of separation or + independence. Even the mobs cried "God save the king!" Washington said + that until the moment of collision he had abhorred the idea of separation: + and Jefferson declared that, up to the 19th of April, 1775 (the date of + the battle of Lexington), "he had never heard a whisper of a disposition + to separate from Great Britain." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Effect of the Stamp Act. + </p> + <p> + The Stamp Act, and the similar acts which followed it, united the colonies + in a spirit of resistance. They inspired Patrick Henry's eloquence in + Virginia; they gave rise to the "tea-party" in Boston; they produced the + Boston massacre; they led to the burning of the <i>Gaspee</i> in + Narragansett Bay; they finally developed, no longer rioting, but open and + flagrant rebellion at Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill. The colonies + did not refuse to be taxed. They recognized the right of Great Britain to + tax them. But they claimed that this right had its condition—that + the taxed people should be represented in the body which held the taxing + power. Had the colonies been permitted to send members to the British + Parliament, and to have a voice in the deliberations of the government, + the Revolution might never have taken place. But King George and his Tory + ministers were obstinate to folly. They met protest with repression; in + order to subjugate the colonies, they added tyranny to tyranny. The + warnings of Townshend and Chatham were lost upon them, and at last the + colonies, utterly despairing of a settlement with a power so deaf and so + inconsiderate, launched into the storm of revolution. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Independence Hall. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Trumbull's Picture. + </p> + <p> + Every American who pays a visit to Philadelphia should visit the plain, + old-fashioned, sombre room known as "Independence Hall." Its dinginess is + venerable; its relics are illustrious. In this hall have resounded the + voices of Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Randolph,—the whole + circle of Revolutionary statesmen. On that table, which is pointed out to + you, the famous Declaration was signed. From the walls historic faces gaze + down upon you. Every relic has its record and its hint. In the square + below, you see the place where the Philadelphians of 1776 listened to the + reading of the Declaration from the Court House steps. No one can visit + this hall without conjuring up in his fancy the memorable scene of the + first of our "Fourths of July"; and, happily, a great painter, who knew + many of the actors in it, has preserved its features on canvas. It is not + difficult, standing in Independence Hall, and retaining Trumbull's picture + in memory, to imagine very nearly the scene it presented. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Signers of the Declaration. + </p> + <p> + There were the long rows of plain uncushioned benches, extending up and + down the sides, filled with men of all ages, some with wigs, some with + powdered hair, some with unpowdered hair, all dressed in small-clothes, + breeches, knee-buckles, long stockings, and buckled shoes; coats of blue, + gray, and snuff color; venerable men like Franklin and Stephen Hopkins, + men in the full vigor of middle life, like Samuel Adams and Roger Sherman, + young men in the ardor and flush of lusty patriotism, like Thomas + Jefferson, and Francis Hopkinson, and Robert Livingston, and John Hancock—the + younger evidently predominating, alike in numbers and activity. The faces + were solemn and grave, no doubt, though Dr. Franklin would have his genial + joke about the necessity of their all hanging together, lest they should + all hang, separately; deep silence prevailed, followed now and then by an + excited stir among the benches. + </p> + <p class="side"> + President Hancock. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Continental Army. + </p> + <p> + Then there was the President's table, a little aside from one end of the + hall, with papers strewed over it, and by its side President Hancock, + attired with dainty and aristocratic precision, his sword by his side, his + wig perfectly dressed, his face earnest yet serene and bright. We can + fancy, too, the commotion which arose, the leaning forward, the holding of + the breath, then the dead silence, when the committee appointed to draw + the Declaration advanced to the President's table. It was the moment of + crossing the Rubicon. It was the burning of the ships behind them. From + this moment there was to be no possibility of retreating. Independence + declared, it still remained to conquer it. British troops burdened the + soil; shiploads of them were at that moment crossing the Atlantic. The + Continental army was but an armed rabble, with patriotism for their + strongest weapon. And would the colonies, one and all, adhere, and "hang + together"; or would the Declaration strike terror to timid hearts, and + destroy its purpose by its very audacity? + </p> + <p class="side"> + Thomas Jefferson. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Franklin. + </p> + <p> + All this must have passed through the mind of each deputy as the + illustrious committee of five stood before Hancock, at the President's + desk. Foremost among them was Thomas Jefferson, the tallest, youngest, and + ablest of the five; their chairman, and the author of the great document + which he held in his hand. In his thirty-fourth year, Jefferson was then a + fine specimen of the Virginian gentry, his tall form clad loosely in the + small-clothes of the period, his bright red hair, unpowdered, gathered + carelessly behind with a ribbon, his light blue eyes clear and calm, and + his lips parted in a placid and confident smile. Next to him, side by + side, stood Franklin and John Adams, sons of Massachusetts—the one + risen from the printer's case, the other a prosperous country lawyer, + descended from the good Puritan stock of John Alden. Franklin was already + beyond three score and ten; his gray hair hung in long locks to his + shoulders; his snuff-colored coat reached to his knees; his large, + pleasant face must have encouraged the others on that fateful day, so did + it shine with trust in the cause and confidence in its success. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Roger Sherman. + </p> + <p> + Pugnacity and determination were revealed in the short thick-set figure of + John Adams; the round bald head, the firm mouth, the set eyes of the + Braintree patriot, gave the idea that he was grimly and terribly in + earnest. Square-headed old Roger Sherman was another figure well worth + studying; a man, like the others, with the air of being rather resolved + on, than resigned to, the step which was being made, and seriously + prepared to take all consequences. And, to complete the group, there was + the polished and scholarly Livingston of New York, almost a fop in dress + and toilet, a model of elegance and fine courtesy, who, though serving as + one of the committee, was absent when the Declaration was signed. The + signing did not take place for several weeks after its adoption. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Declaration proclaimed. + </p> + <p class="side"> + British exasperation. + </p> + <p> + Jefferson read the Declaration to the Congress, and it was accepted, with + a few alterations, by the votes of the deputies of twelve of the colonies. + New York alone abstained from voting. The bell of the State House rang out + the tidings; the Declaration was read to a surging, excited crowd in the + square; it was sent off in all directions by fleet messengers, and read at + the head of each brigade of the Continental army; and the colonies now + knew that the fight was to go on to the bitter end. Thenceforth there was + no thought of patching a compromise with the mother country, or of + returning to the old allegiance to the British crown. On the side of + England, national pride and royal obstinacy urged forward every + preparation to continue the struggle; and the voices of Chatham, Burke, + and Fox were drowned amid the storm of exasperation which the Declaration + had caused. A price was set upon the heads of Hancock and Samuel Adams, + and Hessians were purchased to fill the insufficient corps of the + red-coats. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Consequences of the Declaration. + </p> + <p> + Now the colonies were the United States, with a flag common to all, the + symbol of a united nationality. Seldom has a written paper so moved the + world. In our own history, the only document that can compare with it, in + its momentous results, was the emancipation charter of Abraham Lincoln. + Both required a courage that was nothing less than heroic: but the + proclaimers of the Declaration of Independence risked life, family, + property; engaged in an irreconcilable conflict against enormous odds; + defied the greatest naval power in the world, and the richest nation, in + pursuit, not of the material gain to be derived from the abrogation of a + tax, but of national liberties which they were determined to secure at + every hazard. The Declaration, indeed, was needed to combine the action of + the patriots, and to give them a definite and certain purpose. It was the + bond that pledged them to harmony, and which confined them to the + alternative of "liberty or death." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI. SOCIETY IN 1776. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + American Society. + </p> + <p> + Despite the numerous biographies, histories, narratives, diaries, and + volumes of correspondence concerning the revolutionary epoch, which fill + many shelves of our larger libraries, it is not easy to reproduce in + imagination the state of American society as it was a hundred years ago. + In order to do so we must exclude from the mind many objects and ideas + which have been familiar to us all our lives. We must subtract all of + material improvements, of changes in the method of doing things, of new + directions and wide divergencies in the current of thought and knowledge + that have come about in the interval. We must strip the modern home, for + instance, of appliances without which it is difficult to conjure up a + picture of comfort, much less of luxury. We must forget railways, and the + telegraph, and every other use of that still mysterious agent, + electricity. We must put out of our minds all notion of great cities, of + long lines of elegant shops, blocks of noble residences, spacious parks + adorned by every refinement of the gardening art, public buildings capped + with stately dome and graceful turret and sculptured front; all notion of + the later growth of recreation, the theatre and the concert hall, the + lecture platform, the brilliant holiday festival, the sea excursion, the + gay and attractive summer resort with its big hotels and its countless + luxuries. We must return in imagination, in short, to a social condition + but few remnants of which are still to be found in remote corners of the + country; the relics of which still visible to the eye are rare and + precious, and dwindling away day by day; and the life and spirit of which + have ceased with the broadened, gift-laden civilization which has replaced + the old primitive simplicity, and made a powerful, teeming, and restless + nation out of scattered villages and colonies struggling to exist. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Old-time Mansions. + </p> + <p> + Still, there was a very distinct advance in culture, elegance, comfort, + and luxury, beyond the condition of the colonies in the previous century. + Those who remember the stately Hancock House, on the top of Beacon Hill in + Boston, and compare its exterior and interior with still extant edifices + which were residences of the wealthier colonists of two hundred years ago, + may gather some idea of the far more lavish adornment and elegance of the + period in which Hancock lived. We may well believe that when Washington + drove through the streets of Philadelphia in a state coach, "of which the + body was in the shape of a hemisphere, cream-colored, bordered with + flowers round the panels, and ornamented with figures representing cupids, + and supporting festoons," he presented a very different appearance from + that of the early Puritan governors and Virginian squires; and could we + have peeped into the square, solid drawing-room in which, as President, he + held his receptions, aided by the matronly grace and dignity of Mrs. + Washington, the scene would be far gayer and more imposing than William + Penn's house would have displayed, or the company of the richest Dutch + "patroon" of New York could have presented in the seventeenth century. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Old Furniture. + </p> + <p> + Yet, had we gone over the mansion, in how many things would we, used to + the minute refinements of this later age, have judged it wanting! Instead + of gas, there would be candles, and not of the best quality, everywhere. + Instead of stoves and furnaces with coal, we should have been fain to + comfort ourselves with the cheerful blaze and genial glow, but scant and + capricious warmth, of the wood logs, burning in the big open fireplaces. + Lace curtains and moquette carpets would be nowhere apparent. The + furniture, though here and there richly carved and bountifully + upholstered, would be wanting in variety and the luxurious ease of that + which we now enjoy. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Tables of 1776. + </p> + <p> + At table we should have missed the thousand refinements and inventions of + French and native cooking which now lend variety to our sustenance. The + food would have been substantial and heavy and little various; the English + simplicity, probably, of barons of beef and shoulders of mutton, and cold + bread, and big plum puddings, with a relish of fruits. Were we in fancy to + journey from New York to Philadelphia or Boston, we should be forced to + rumble slowly over bad roads, through interminable forests and by desert + sea-coasts, in heavy and rudely jolting vehicles, and be several days upon + the trip. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Travelling in the Olden Time. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Wealthier Classes. + </p> + <p> + It is a striking fact that people in the days of Washington travelled not + a whit more rapidly than people in the days of Moses or of Homer. The + chariot-rider of the Olympic games attained a speed which was, perhaps, + never equalled in Europe or America until the first railway-train sped + between Liverpool and Manchester, in 1830. In 1776, the Americans were + still mainly confined to the original occupations of the early colonists, + farming, trade, hunting, and fishing. Manufactories there were not as yet; + Lawrence and Lowell. Pittsburg, and the great industrial New York towns, + were still in the womb of the future. In almost every household throughout + the land the old-fashioned spinning-wheel was humming under the pressure + of matronly and maidenly feet, by which the homespun garments of the time + were made. While the less well-to-do and laboring classes were content + with clothing spun and knitted at their own firesides, the wealthier + people arrayed themselves with far more ostentation than they do at this + day. Silks and satins came hither by ship-loads from France to supply the + luxury of costume which was then in vogue. The difference between the + costumes of that day and of this was especially marked in the attire of + gentlemen. Now there is much greater plainness and uniformity. When + Washington held his levees, he was generally dressed "in black velvet, + with white or pearl-colored waistcoat, yellow gloves, and silver knee and + shoe-buckles." "His hair was powdered and gathered in a silk bag behind. + He carried a cocked hat in his hand, and wore a long sword with a scabbard + of polished white leather." The display of dress was not less marked in + other officials, and in men of high social rank. The judges of the Supreme + Court wore scarlet robes faced with velvet. "If a gentleman went abroad, + he appeared in his wig, white stock, white satin embroidered vest, black + satin small-clothes, with white silk stockings, and a fine broadcloth or + velvet coat; if at home, a velvet cap, sometimes with a fine linen one + under it, took the place of the wig; while a gown, frequently of colored + damask lined with silk, was substituted for the coat, and the feet were + covered with leather slippers of some fancy color." All men shaved their + beards clean; a man who appeared in the streets wearing hair on any part + of his face was stared at, and very likely laughed at. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Old-time Attire. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Wigs and Queues. + </p> + <p> + All the great gentlemen wore wigs; most of the country farmers contented + themselves with tying their hair in a queue behind, sprinkling it with + powder when they went to church on a Sunday. As for the ladies, those in + the best society were even more elaborate in their toilets than those of + to-day. On the dressing of the hair, especially, much time and money were + spent. It was raised high upon the head and powdered thick; "the hair + dressers," says Higginson, "were kept so busy on the day of any + fashionable entertainment, that ladies sometimes had to employ their + services at four or five in the morning, and had to sit upright all the + rest of the day, in order to avoid disturbing the head-dress." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Amusements. + </p> + <p> + Although our ancestors did not possess the variety of amusements which now + exists, their life was far from a humdrum one. Theatres were tabooed, but + were beginning to hold their ground here and there, though not, we may be + sure, in New England. There were, however, private theatricals and + charades, which became at one period very much in vogue in the + aristocratic houses of New York and Philadelphia. Concerts were often + held, and in the country many old-time English festivals, such as May Day, + were kept up. The most frequent and fashionable amusements of that time + were balls and parties. We hear of the gentlemen and dames going to + "routs" in their sedan chairs, much as they did in the old country: + arriving at eight—they kept better hours than our modern fashionable + people—they would dance the staid and stately minuet and the gayer + contra-dance, to the music mainly of fiddles, till midnight, and then + separate, horrified at the lateness of the hour. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Imitations of the English. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, we are able to see in the habits of the American upper classes a + distinct imitation of London fashions, despite the quarrel with the + British. The whole etiquette of patrician society was based upon that of + the English court, just as the law administered in the courts was borrowed + from that dispensed at Westminster. It is interesting to note that + "gentlemen took snuff in those days almost universally: and a great deal + of expense and variety were often lavished upon a snuff-box. To take snuff + with one another was as much a matter of courtesy as the lifting of the + hat." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Wine and Profanity. + </p> + <p> + The days of prevalent cigar-smoking and tobacco-chewing had not come. The + use of wine and ardent spirits was regarded with less reprobation in the + old society than in the new; profanity, too, was indulged in much more + freely by men of standing and moral profession than now. Thus we can + recognize, in these and in many other things, a progress in morals, and in + greater refinement both of thought, manners, and language, as well as in + the material enginery of civilization. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII. THE REVOLUTION. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + Washington as Commander-in-chief. + </p> + <p> + George Washington had been assigned to the command-in-chief of the + colonial troops, just before the Battle of Bunker Hill. Thus, at the very + start, wisdom ruled the counsels and Providence guided the action of our + forefathers. The military abilities and lofty patriotism of Washington + could scarcely have been foreseen at the first in all their breadth and + scope; yet he was already known as a soldier of tried courage and of + prudent conduct, and as a Virginia gentleman of conspicuous social and + private virtues. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Continental Generals. + </p> + <p> + Washington assumed the chief direction of the Continental forces, under + the famous old elm which still stands, but a few steps from Harvard + College, in Old Cambridge, on the third day of July, 1775. At the same + time of his appointment, four major-generals—Artemus Ward, Israel + Putnam, Philip Schuyler, and Charles Lee—were designated. The + principal troops of the colonies were at this time gathered in an + irregular cordon around Boston. Their position was almost unchanged from + that which they had occupied before the Battle of Bunker Hill; for the + British were unable to follow up the success which they had achieved on + that occasion. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Continental Forces. + </p> + <p> + The general-in-chief, on inspecting his forces, saw how ill disciplined + and ill supplied they were. They had but little clothing, a scant supply + of arms, and still less ammunition. Washington's first task was by no + means the least difficult of those which lay before him. It was to create + an army out of a brave but heterogeneous multitude of patriots. It was to + collect arms and supplies; to keep vigilant watch on the British in + Boston; to fortify and defend the surrounding circle; and prepare to meet + and drive out the pent-up foe. + </p> + <p> + At last, after preparations extending through nearly eight months, Boston + was attacked by batteries from Dorchester Heights, and on the 17th of + March, 1776, Howe evacuated the town, and the first decisive struggle of + the seven years' contest had been decided in favor of the Americans. + </p> + <p class="side"> + First Campaign. + </p> + <p> + The scene is now transferred further south. Charleston had, it is true, + already been attacked, but without favorable results to the English; on + the other hand, Arnold and Montgomery had vainly essayed to assail British + power in the Canadas. New York was the objective point of those who had + now come to be regarded as the invaders of our soil. Its splendid harbor + and its central position afforded a good standpoint. The concentration of + the troops of Howe, which had evacuated Boston, the war ships commanded by + his brother, Lord Howe, and the forces under Clinton, which had been + occupied in futile operations in the South, enabled the British to force + Washington out of New York, and to occupy it themselves. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Numerical Force of the Contestants. + </p> + <p> + The whole British force engaged in this enterprise was scarcely less than + twenty-five thousand men; the American force did not exceed twelve + thousand; and the contrast in discipline and equipment still further + increased this inequality of strength. Then came the retreat across New + Jersey, succeeded by one of the most brilliant strokes of the war. This + was the midnight and midwinter crossing of the Delaware by the American + general and his troops, the forced march upon Trenton through the snow and + cold, and the surprise and utter defeat of the Hessians at that place on + Christmas morning. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Valley Forge. + </p> + <p> + But the colonists, though waxing in strength, were not yet able to cope in + a prolonged and active campaign with the royal army. Philadelphia, like + New York, had to be given up. The terrible winter months spent at Valley + Forge formed one of the saddest and most heroic romances of the + Revolution. The army lived in huts, which, as Lafayette exclaimed, "were + no gayer than dungeons." Bread and clothing were sadly wanting. The cold + was intense, and almost unremitting. The Pilgrims during their first + winter at Plymouth were scarcely more comfortless. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Bennington. + </p> + <p> + It was early in the following year (1777) that General Burgoyne made an + offensive movement southward from Canada, by way of Lake Champlain and + Fort Ticonderoga. A portion of his troops were sent to Bennington to + capture some stores collected there by the Vermont patriots. A vigorous + defence of these stores by the intrepid Stark resulted in the repulse, + first of the British, then of the Hessian troops. The next scene in the + drama was what may be called the second decisive action of the war. + Burgoyne, with his whole force of five thousand men, encamped at Saratoga. + There he was confronted by General Horatio Gates, who engaged him in two + battles, which, however uncertain their immediate issue, were followed by + a retreat on Burgoyne's part. The Americans succeeded in turning his + flank, and hemming him in; and then came the surrender of Burgoyne and his + entire force. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Surrender of Burgoyne. + </p> + <p> + The consequences of this event were of far greater moment than the + elimination from the contest of an able British general and five thousand + well drilled British and mercenary soldiers. It silenced the complaints + which were growing loud against the inactivity of Washington. It once more + harmonized the colonial counsels, which were becoming seriously + discordant. It inspired new effort throughout the colonies. And it decided + France to make open cause with the struggling patriots. To the masterly + diplomacy of Franklin we owe it that the great European rival of England + threw the weight of her sympathy and material assistance on our side. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Charleston Taken. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Capture of Stony Point. + </p> + <p> + From the moment of Burgoyne's surrender, the tide of the war was fitful, + but on the whole, towards American success. There were still vicissitudes, + now and then an apparent back-sliding; Charleston was taken by Clinton; + massacres by Indians took place in Pennsylvania; the progress of the cause + at times seemed grievously slow. On the other hand, "mad" Anthony Wayne + assaulted and took Stony Point, on the Hudson; Paul Jones made vigorous + havoc with the British war-ships, conquering the <i>Serapis</i> and + carried terror to the English by approaching close to their coast with his + doughty <i>Bonhomme Richard</i>; Marion and Sumter kept up constant + hostilities with the British in South Carolina; and the vexatious + character of the war was evidently wearying the patience, and wearing upon + the determination, of the royal government. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Surrender of Cornwallis. + </p> + <p> + The final scene of the war, at least that which most obtrusively stands + forth in its panorama, was the siege and capture of Yorktown, in Virginia, + and the surrender of General Lord Cornwallis with seven thousand troops. + On this occasion the Americans had the aid of a corps of French troops + under Count Rochambeau, while the French Admiral de Grasse guarded York + River. The siege was so vigorous that in ten days Lord Cornwallis found + himself unable to hold the town. But for a propitious rain-storm, he might + yet have saved his army, and thus protracted the war. His attempt to leave + Yorktown under cover of night was, however, frustrated by the outburst of + a tempest; and he was forced to send word to Washington that he would + surrender. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Peace. + </p> + <p> + This he did, with all the customary formalities of war, on the 19th of + October, 1781. By this act seven thousand British troops, the largest + force left on American soil, were withdrawn from the conflict. It was the + death-blow to British hopes. The war dragged on, however, for two years + more. The royalist troops held New York, Charleston, and Savannah, but did + not venture upon aggressive projects. At last, a treaty was made at Paris, + on the 3d of September, 1783, by the conditions of which Great Britain + grudgingly acknowledged the independence of the United States of America. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Revolutionary Heroes. + </p> + <p> + There would be no justice in presenting even an outline of the American + Revolution, without referring to its triumphs of statesmanship and + diplomacy, as well as its triumphs of military achievement. Washington, + Greene, Stark, Putnam, Wayne, Lafayette, De Kalb, Steuben, Schuyler, and + their fellow-soldiers, performed a great part, and that which was the most + brilliant and conspicuous, in accomplishing our liberties. But in the + Congress were patriots quite as devoted, and not less efficient; while + Franklin, during his sojourn abroad, exercised with great skill the + delicate and subtle generalship of diplomacy. It would have been easy for + the statesmen of the Revolution to render all of Washington's efforts vain + and futile. The triumph of unworthy ambitions in the colonial counsels + might well have brought wreck and ruin upon the cause. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Revolutionary Statesmanship. + </p> + <p> + Had the revolutionary statesmen lacked capacity or courage, they would + have loaded the army with a burden which it probably could not have + supported. The marvel of the period was the almost undisturbed unity, + readiness, and practical energy of every branch of the public service; the + devotion of each one in his own sphere to the common end; the general + co-operation in the means by which that end was to be reached; the + remarkable rarity of treason, even of self-seeking; the steadfast + exercise, amid the comfortlessness of camps and the temptations of the + council-hall of the highest and worthiest public virtues. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII. THE CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + The Confederation. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Bond of the States. + </p> + <p> + The Confederation was designed as a temporary civil machine, with which to + conduct a war common to the colonies. The Constitution was the later and + permanent bond, combining the States under a single government. Without + the confederation, there would have been chaos in the revolution; without + the constitution, there would have remained the weakness arising from the + division and rivalry of States. It is most interesting to observe the + gradual manner in which our civil government crystallized out of the + original elements offered by the colonies; and it is wonderful to see with + what wise deliberation and patriotic earnestness States differing so + widely in manners, in religion, in colonial system, and even in blood and + race, were brought together in harmonious coalition, bound with a bond + which the greatest civil war of modern times failed to sever, and which it + seems only to have confirmed and strengthened. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Early Confederations. + </p> + <p> + There were, indeed, local confederations before those which, in 1774, + enabled a congress to meet at Philadelphia, and which, in 1777, + established articles for a more regular, though still a temporary, civil + enginery with which to bring the war to a successful conclusion. More than + a century before the first meeting of the Continental Congress, the idea + of a confederation had been agitated among the New England colonies. In + 1643 a confederation of those colonies was agreed upon at Boston, with + twelve organic articles, for the common protection and defence. Here was + the very beginning of American unions; and in its features may be + discovered traces of the democratic principles of the Pilgrims. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Declaration of Rights. + </p> + <p> + A general congress of all the colonies met at New York in 1690, for + purposes of conference, when the Stamp Act was promulgated. Massachusetts + invited the colonies to meet in a general congress, which assembled at New + York in 1765, adopted a declaration of rights, asserted the sole right of + taxation to rest in the colonies, and passed other important resolutions. + Eleven years before this, commissioners from nearly all of the colonies + had met at Albany, and before this body Benjamin Franklin submitted his + famous "project of union." Other conferences and congresses were held + between 1765 and 1774; but it was early in September of the latter year + that the first formal Continental Congress met, at Philadelphia, mainly to + concert measures for resisting the arbitrary acts of the mother country. + The rules which guided its deliberations were few and simple; but even so + early we find Patrick Henry arguing upon the great question of the rights + of the States, which has been a bone of contention in this country from + that time to this. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Articles of Confederation Adopted. + </p> + <p> + The first formal articles of confederation, after several ineffectual + attempts, were adopted on the 15th of November, 1777, when the States were + in the midst of the war of independence; but they were not formally + ratified by all of the colonies until 1781, when Maryland at last agreed + to them. These articles contained the germs of nationality, the crude + material out of which the much broader and wiser constitution was + afterwards framed. The second article provided for the complete + "sovereignty, independence, and freedom," of the several States, in all + powers not expressly delegated to Congress. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Restrictions on the States. + </p> + <p> + It was declared that the confederation was a mutual league for protection + and defence; that each State should deliver fugitives from justice to the + others, and accord full faith to the judicial records of the others; that + each State should have the right to recall its delegates, and that no + State should be represented in Congress by less than two nor more than + seven delegates; that no State should send embassies to foreign powers, + confer titles of nobility, lay imports inconsistent with treaties of the + United States, keep vessels of war or military forces in time of peace + without the consent of Congress, a certain quota of militia excepted, or + engage in war except in certain specified exigencies. + </p> + <p> + These, with many minor regulations, were the organic rules under which our + civil government was carried on from 1777 to 1788, when the constitution + came into force. The confederation was supplied with an executive chosen + by Congress, comprising secretaries of foreign affairs, war, and finance. + It was evident, however, that this league, while it had well served a + temporary purpose, was quite inadequate to the purpose of a permanent bond + of union. "We are one nation to-day," said Washington, "and thirteen + to-morrow; who will treat with us on these terms?" + </p> + <p class="side"> + Steps towards a Constitution. + </p> + <p> + The first formal step towards establishing a constitution was the meeting, + in the autumn of 1786, of commissioners from Virginia, Delaware, + Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, at Annapolis. They conferred + together, and reported to Congress a recommendation that a body, + comprising delegates from all the States, and empowered to frame an + organic instrument, should be convened early in the following year. + Congress adopted the scheme, and the constituent convention was called. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Constituent Convention. + </p> + <p> + This famous assembly met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and its + deliberations continued until the middle of September. Among its members + were many of the most eminent statesmen and soldiers of the Revolutionary + period. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Members of the Convention. + </p> + <p> + George Washington, pre-eminent in war, and to be still pre-eminent in + times of peace, presided over the convention, and was one of the guiding + spirits of its labors. Of the thirty-eight delegates who signed the + constitution, six—Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, + James Wilson, and George Clymer—had previously signed the + Declaration of Independence. It was in the constitutional convention that + Alexander Hamilton's genius for statesmanship became conspicuous to the + whole nation; while Madison, the future President, achieved therein a + large reputation. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Non-signers. + </p> + <p> + Among others, the two Pinckneys from South Carolina, John Dickinson, + Jonathan Dayton, Rufus King, Gouverneur Morris, Jared Ingersoll, and John + Rutledge, were eminent in various spheres of public life. Some of the + members of the convention refused to, or for some reason did not, sign the + constitution after it was completed and drafted. These were Elbridge Gerry + and Caleb Strong of Massachusetts, Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, John + Lansing and Robert Yates of New York, William C. Houston of New Jersey, + Luther Martin and John Francis Mercer of Maryland, George Mason, James + McClung, Edmund Randolph, and George Wythe of Virginia, William R. Davis + of North Carolina, William Houston and William Pierce of Georgia. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Issues in the Convention. + </p> + <p> + The discussions on the proposed constitution were long, earnest, sometimes + heated, and revealed the presence of widely divergent opinions. Four + plans, or projects, were submitted severally by Edmund Randolph, William + Paterson, Charles Pinckney, and Alexander Hamilton, differing widely in + the political systems recommended. Throughout, the struggle was between + those who desired to preserve a large degree of independence to the + States, and those who wished to make a strong national government; and the + crisis of the struggle came upon the question whether the States should + have equal votes in the Senate, or should be represented in that body, as + in the House of Representatives, according to population. + </p> + <p> + This was warmly debated for several days, the venerable Roger Sherman and + Hamilton sustaining the principle of State equality, and Madison and Rufus + King as vigorously opposing it. At last the former party prevailed, after + a report in favor of State equality in the Senate said to have been moved + in committee by Dr. Franklin. Other phases of the same contention occurred + in the discussion of the article specially defining the powers of + Congress. It was the object of the "States' rights" party to limit these + as much as possible, and of the nationalist party to give them a broad + range. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Constitution a Compromise. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Powers of Congress. + </p> + <p> + Thus, after labors extending through nearly four months, the constitution + issued from the hands of its framers with the marks of compromise and + concession on almost every section. On the one hand, the States were to + vote as equals in the second and upper branch of Congress, and reserved to + themselves local self-government and all powers not expressly set forth in + the instrument. On the other, Congress was clothed with authority to lay + uniform taxes and imposts, to provide for the common defence, to borrow + money on the credit of the nation, to regulate foreign commerce, to make + naturalization and bankruptcy laws, to coin money, to establish + post-offices and roads, to declare war and raise armies and a navy, to + constitute courts, to organize and call out the militia, and to "execute + the laws of the Union, suppress insurrection, and repel invasions." + </p> + <p> + Animated, too, by the true republican spirit, the framers of the + constitution inserted in it that no bill of attainder or <i>ex-post-facto</i> + law should be passed; that the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i> should only be + suspended in cases of extreme necessity; and that no title of nobility + should either be granted by the government or accepted by a citizen of the + United States. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Ratification of the Constitution. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the constitution was promulgated, a warm contest arose in all + the States over its ratification. The instrument, upon being ratified by + nine States, was to become the organic law of the land. Although it was + strenuously opposed by many eminent men, among them Patrick Henry, a + sufficient number of States assented in time to bring the constitution + into operation the year after its submission to the people. + </p> + <p class="side"> + "The Federalist." + </p> + <p> + Although neither Hamilton nor Madison was entirely satisfied with the work + of the convention, both sank their scruples in a loftier spirit of + patriotism; and their defence of the constitution, in conjunction with + John Jay in the <i>Federalist</i>, is likely to be read as long as the + constitution lasts. How wisely the framers labored, and the great fruits + of their labor, are far more clearly to be seen now that the great + instrument has been so long and so severely tried, than was possible in + their own generation. The constitution has stood well the strain of a + progress far more rapid, and needs far more vast and pressing, than they + could have foreseen. It protects the liberties of a nation many fold more + extended and numerous than they could have anticipated would exist within + the brief space of a century; nor does the promise of its endurance yet + grow feeble. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX. WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY. + </h2> + <p> + "To have framed a constitution was showing only, without realizing, the + general happiness. This great work remained to be done; and America, + steadfast in her preference, with one will summoned her beloved + Washington, unpractised as he was in the duties of civil administration, + to execute this last act in the completion of the national felicity." Thus + spoke Gen. Henry Lee, the funeral orator of Washington, and the father of + a later and more famous Lee, who fought to destroy the national felicity + of which his father spoke. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Test of the Constitution. + </p> + <p> + The test of the constitution had come; and it was indeed an experiment + well calculated to arouse the liveliest anxieties of the infant nation. + The passions of party ran yet more high in those days than in our own. + Views the most antagonistic existed already, regarding the interrelation, + as well as the probable success, of the organic instrument. But upon one + point: all factions, however opposed, were agreed. The only possible first + President of the United States was George Washington. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Election of Washington as President. + </p> + <p> + The new nation proceeded, in the autumn of 1788, to the choice of an + executive. There being no contest as to the chief office, the struggle + turned on the Vice-Presidency; but even in this case one candidate was + conspicuous far above the others. If Virginia had the President it was + right that Massachusetts should have the Vice-President; and as Washington + was the pre-eminent Virginian, so John Adams was, beyond all dispute, the + foremost New Englander. Ten States voted in the election, casting + sixty-nine electoral ballots. Washington received the whole sixty-nine; + and our government began with the happy augury of an unanimous choice for + its head. For Vice-President, John Adams received thirty-four votes; John + Jay nine; R.H. Harrison six; John Rutledge six; John Hancock four; and + George Clinton three. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Washington takes the Oath of Office. + </p> + <p> + It was on the last day of April, 1789, that President Washington took the + oath of office at New York, and in person delivered his inaugural address + in the presence of the two branches of Congress. This masterly paper + expressed the reluctance with which Washington had abandoned a retreat + which he had chosen "as the asylum of my declining years"; his willingness + to yield the prospect of repose to the call of country and duty; his faith + in the constitution and in the future of the nation; and his devout + reliance, in the burden he was taking upon himself, on "the benign Parent + of the human race." + </p> + <p class="side"> + The First Cabinet. + </p> + <p> + A very able cabinet surrounded and strengthened the hands of our first + President. Thomas Jefferson, who had written the Declaration of + Independence, had been Governor of Virginia, and was the successor of + Franklin at the Court of France, was made Secretary of State. At the head + of the Treasury—then, as now, the most important branch of the + executive—was placed the still young but conspicuously able + Alexander Hamilton; the most forcible of revolutionary pamphleteers, the + most efficient of staff-officers, and already an authority on finance. + Major-General Henry Knox, the chief of the continental artillery service, + who had presided over the war department during the confederation, became + Secretary of War. Samuel Osgood of Massachusetts, experienced in civil + affairs and a judicious counsellor, was assigned to the General + Post-Office; and Edmund Randolph, who had recanted his hostility to the + constitution, and was now a close ally of Jefferson, was appointed the + first Attorney-General of the United States. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Washington's Difficulties. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Antagonism of Parties. + </p> + <p> + Many difficulties surrounded the first President and his advisers at the + outset. The nation was deeply in debt, and its currency was a paper one. + The people, oppressed for so many years by the burdens of an unequal war, + were irritated by the necessarily heavy taxes. The Indians on the borders + of the settled States were troublesome. And, to add to the embarrassments + of our statesmen, the relations of the United States with the European + powers were strained, and at times alarming. The two parties which had + struggled to fashion the constitution continued to agitate the country in + a more bitter rivalry than has been seen since, with the exception of the + party excitement of the period just before the Rebellion. Their antagonism + became more pronounced during Washington's presidency, by reason of the + great European war then going on, which divided the sympathies of our + people and politicians between France and England. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Republicans. + </p> + <p> + On the one hand, the party which called itself "Republican," and at the + head of which were Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, James Madison, Edmund + Randolph, and Patrick Henry, were zealous friends of the French + Revolution. They regarded that great convulsion as a desperate attempt on + the part of our recent allies to found a republic like that of the United + States; and they were in favor of extending the French our aid and + sympathy, while the more eager went so far as to advocate our active + participation in the war on behalf of France. On the other hand, the + "Federalists," chief among whom were Washington, John Adams, Hamilton, and + Jay, deplored the excesses of the French Revolutionists; thought their + example rather to be avoided than emulated; and, with a still lingering + affection for England despite her tyrannies, leaned to her side in the + conflict which was so fiercely raging. + </p> + <p class="side"> + State Rights and a Central Government. + </p> + <p> + The cabinet itself was divided between these two parties. Jefferson, the + "Republican" leader, was Secretary of State; Hamilton, the "Federalist" + leader, was at the head of the Treasury. On other than foreign subjects + the antagonism of the two parties was distinctly defined. The Republicans + were the stout defenders of what they called the rights of the States. The + Federalists wished to make the central government as strong as possible. + The Republicans favored strict economy, a democratic simplicity of manners + and costumes, and opposed official ceremony and formality. The Federalists + were the aristocratic party, elegant and patrician in their tastes, + sticklers for etiquette and state. Hamilton and Washington were freely + charged by the Republicans with being monarchists at heart. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Washington's State. + </p> + <p> + Political capital was made of the President's ostentatious style of + living, of his cream-colored coach and six, and liveried lackeys, his + velvet and gold apparel, his almost royal levees, and his well known + desire that the title of "High Mightiness" should be conferred upon him. + He was accused of imitating the state of the monarchs of the old world, + and of wishing to gather a brilliant, ceremonious, and exclusive court + about him. Thus before he had completed his two terms of office, + Washington found himself confronted and opposed by a powerful democratic + party. John Adams, his successor in policy as well as in office, was + chosen President by only one majority in the electoral college; and when + his term expired, the Republicans succeeded in placing Jefferson in the + executive chair, and in holding power for a quarter of a century. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Washington's Policy. + </p> + <p> + Washington's administration, however, proved his capacity for + statesmanship as well as for war, his wisdom and force of character, and + his pure and lofty devotion to the interests of the whole country. His + policy was at once vigorous and moderate. At first he preserved an almost + impartial bearing towards the two parties, as indicated by his selection + of their several chiefs for the highest seats in his cabinet. Towards the + close of his term, however, the government became more distinctly + Federalist. Hamilton's influence became paramount; and Jefferson retired + from office to put himself at the head of a very earnest and aggressive + opposition. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Relations with Foreign Powers. + </p> + <p> + The results of Washington's policy may be recognized, at this distance of + time, as having been in the highest degree beneficial to the welfare of + the young nation. He placed its finances on a sound basis. He maintained + order, and put a term to the aggressions of the Indians. He compelled + Algiers to prevent her pirates from preying upon our commerce. He made + friendly treaties with England and Spain. With the French question he + dealt in a manner most creditable to his wisdom, and in the only manner by + which the United States could escape being involved once more in war. He + issued a proclamation of absolute neutrality; and he saw that it was + adhered to in the spirit and in the letter. Towards the close of his + presidency, the arbitrary conduct of France towards this country was such + that a conflict became imminent. Even an invasion by the French was + threatened. This danger continued into the period of John Adams' term; but + the firm and vigorous policy of Washington and his successor averted it, + while the European, wars in which Napoleon soon became involved diverted + the attention of France elsewhere. + </p> + <p class="side"> + States Added to the Union. + </p> + <p class="side"> + General Results of Washington's Administration. + </p> + <p> + Three States were added to the Union of thirteen during Washington's + tenure of office. Vermont came within the circle in 1791; Kentucky + followed in the next year; and her neighbor, Tennessee, became a state in + 1796. What a contrast in national expenditure there was between + Washington's administration and those of modern times may be judged when + it is stated that the average annual expense of the government in + Washington's time was something less than two millions of dollars. The + population, according to the first census taken in 1790 was a little less + than four millions. Now we number more than fifty millions. It may be + said, generally, of Washington's presidency, that it gave the new + government a good start on its career of growth, order, and prosperity. By + his statesmanship, which was pure, solid, and vigorous, rather than + brilliant, peace was preserved at home and abroad; and the result was that + that general happiness which Henry Lee spoke of as promised only by the + constitution had already at least begun to be realized. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X. THE WAR OF 1812. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + The Period of Political Settlement. + </p> + <p> + The period between the inauguration of Washington and the declaration of + war against Great Britain in 1812 may be regarded as the era of formation + and political settlement in the history of the republic. It must not be + forgotten that, at first, many of the wisest American statesmen looked + upon Republicanism as an experiment, and did not place implicit faith in + its success. The accession of Jefferson to the presidency, however, and + the events of his administration, gave the Republican idea full scope and + trial. The most philosophical and studious of the statesmen of that day, + Jefferson had the courage to test the theories for which he had contended + against the Federalism of Washington, Adams, and Hamilton, by a vigorous + practical policy. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Jefferson's Ideas. + </p> + <p> + Jefferson was heartily supported in this by the great mass of the nation; + and it was he who, thus sustained, established those general principles of + policy and government which became final, and have prevailed ever since. + That suffrage is a right and not a privilege, that we should make large + annexations of territory, and become the controlling power of the + continent; and that a rigid economy should be practised, leaving the + States the largest scope of local self-government: these were cardinal + articles in the Jeffersonian creed. For twenty-four years Jefferson + himself, and Madison and Monroe, his fellow-Virginians and his earnest + political disciples, presided without interruption over the destinies of + the country. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Condition of the Union in 1812. + </p> + <p> + The condition of the United States in the year 1812 presented a striking + and most favorable contrast to that which they had exhibited at + Washington's accession. The population had increased from four to about + seven and a half millions. The sixteen States over which Washington + presided had swelled to eighteen. Ohio and Louisiana had been admitted to + the circle. But this was by no means the limit to territorial acquisition. + It was President Jefferson who added to the domain of the Union that vast + and fertile tract which is even now in rapid process of settlement, and + which was known as the Louisiana purchase. This tract reached from the + banks of the Mississippi to the base of the Rocky Mountains. It embraced + nearly a million square miles, or more than the whole of the area of the + Union as it then was; and fifteen millions of dollars were paid to France + in exchange for it. A great invention had been put into practical + operation during Jefferson's term. This was the steamboat. Robert Fulton + put the <i>Clermont</i> upon the Hudson in 1807; and thenceforth + navigation by steam was to play a great part in the commerce and + economical progress of the land. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Inventions. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Causes of the War. + </p> + <p> + President Madison, who assumed the executive chair in 1809, inherited a + quarrel with Great Britain from his predecessor, which soon ripened into + war. The great contest which raged between France and Great Britain early + in the century could not but affect the rest of the civilized world. + American commerce had already grown into importance, and was now seriously + crippled by the arbitrary course respecting trade adopted by both of the + belligerents. Each power forbade neutral nations to trade with its foe. + But while Napoleon followed the example of Pitt in making a decree to this + effect, the bearing of Great Britain towards this country, in respect to + the prohibition of trade, was far more arrogant and vexatious than that of + France. American ships were captured on the high seas by British + men-of-war, carried into port, adjudged, and confiscated. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Right of Search. + </p> + <p> + A still more serious assault upon our national honor was made by the + British government. It claimed the right to search American vessels for + British seamen, and proceeded to execute it. Thus sailors were taken from + our ships by the hundred; and, on one occasion, an American ship, the <i>Chesapeake</i>, + was fired upon and forcibly boarded by a British man-of-war, within sight + of the Virginia coast. For a while retaliation was attempted in the shape + of an embargo upon American vessels; but this was soon found to tend to + the utter extitinction of our commerce, and the embargo was abandoned. + Remonstrance with Great Britain proved to be of no avail. The English + ministry at that time was a strict Tory one, and far from friendly in + disposition toward the United States. Despite the protests of our envoy, + the practice of search was vigorously pursued. + </p> + <p class="side"> + War Declared. + </p> + <p> + This was the state of affairs when James Madison became President. The + party represented by him was now clamorous for war, while the old + Federalists, especially those of New England, as earnestly deprecated it. + At last it became apparent that war was the only remedy for the outrages + committed almost without cessation on our commerce. The President sent a + message to Congress expressing this opinion; and on the 18th of June, + 1812, war was formally declared against Great Britain. This was evidently + in accordance with the will of the nation: but we did not enter upon the + conflict without the bitter opposition of the Federalists. A convention of + the leading members of that party met at Hartford, held secret sessions, + and issued an energetic protest against the war. This aroused a deep sense + of hostility in the breasts of the war party; and, ever since, the + Hartford Convention has been regarded as at least an injudicious + demonstration at a period when war already existed, and when the + government needed the support of every patriot to bring it to a successful + end. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Beginning of Hostilities. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Naval Victories. + </p> + <p> + The Americans began hostilities by making an ineffectual attempt to + conquer Canada. Meanwhile the English promptly took up the challenge, sent + ships of war loaded with excellent soldiers, many of them veterans of the + Napoleonic wars, across the Atlantic, and engaged Tecumseh, and other + Indian chiefs inimical to the intruders upon their former hunting-grounds, + to aid them in the contest. While Tecumseh, however, was defeated and + killed, the successes of the American army were few compared with the + brilliant exploits of our naval forces. The War of 1812 proved that the + Americans had studied well the British example and system in naval + warfare. It was emphatically a naval war, simply because Great Britain + could only approach us from the sea. The victories of Hull and Perry + showed the greatest maritime power on earth that, though our navy might be + inferior to hers in distant waters, it was more than a match for hers on + the Lakes and the American coast. If the <i>Shannon</i> captured the <i>Chesapeake</i>, + and if gallant David Porter had at last to desert the burning <i>Essex</i>, + on the other hand the capture of the <i>Guerrière</i> and the surrender of + the British squadron on Lake Erie to Perry, more than compensated for our + disasters. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The British take Washington. + </p> + <p> + It was the the last year of the war, which continued nearly three years, + that the British landed on our southern coast, and, making havoc of + villages and plantations as they went, took Washington, and burned the + Capitol and the President's house, from which Mr. Madison and his family + had happily escaped into Virginia. But the enemy found it impossible to + pursue their temporary success to a decisive issue. Both countries were + weary of the war, and overtures of peace having been made, four American + commissioners—John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, and + Jonathan Russell—were sent to Ghent, in Belgium, to meet British + commissioners and conclude a treaty. The treaty of Ghent was signed on the + 24th of December, 1814; and, singularly enough, while such subjects as the + boundary line and the fisheries were discussed, that treaty contained no + stipulation in regard to the British claim to the right of search. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Battle of New Orleans. + </p> + <p> + In those days, when there were neither railways, steamships, nor + telegraphs, news was long in travelling from one continent to the other. + The tidings of the treaty did not reach New Orleans in time to prevent + General Andrew Jackson from winning glory by defending that city from + behind his cotton-bales. This was one of the most brilliant land-battles + of the war, and was fought on the 8th of January, just a fortnight after + peace had been formally concluded at Ghent. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Results of the War. + </p> + <p> + The War of 1812, while it left many questions unsettled between the mother + and the daughter country, practically put an end to the vexatious + disturbance of our commerce by Great Britain. It also tended to give a + longer lease of political power to what was then called the Republican + party, and prepared the way for the "era of good feeling," over which the + amiable though not conspicuously able President Monroe presided. The war + also brought certain men prominently before the public eye. Hull, + Bainbridge, Porter, Decatur, Rodgers, and Perry, were enshrined among the + country's naval heroes. General Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, and + General Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, later reaped the reward of the + Presidency, the indirect result of their military exploits. The gallant + Richard M. Johnson afterwards became Vice-President; and it was in the War + of 1812 that General Winfield Scott won his first laurels, and that + General Zachary Taylor, long afterwards President, gave promise of the + military genius which later so much aided in bringing the Mexican War to a + speedy and victorious end. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Growth of the Union. + </p> + <p> + The period of the war and of the years immediately succeeding witnessed a + very rapid growth of population, and a notable swelling of the tide of + emigration westward. In 1816 Indiana came within the circle of States; + followed alternately by slave and free states—Mississippi, 1817; + Illinois, 1818; Alabama, 1819; Maine, 1820. and Missouri, 1821. The great + highway built between Cumberland and Wheeling was all alive in those days + with the wagons and groups of new settlers. A long era of peace was to + follow, and to give the country opportunity to increase, to develop its + resources, and to make rapid progress in its prosperity and the + development of its institutions. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XI. THE MEXICAN WAR. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + An Era of Peace. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Andrew Jackson. + </p> + <p> + An interval of over thirty years elapsed between our second war with Great + Britain and the war with Mexico. Although this period was one of external, + and, excepting the troubles which now and then arose with the Indians, of + internal peace, its social and political aspects are very full of + interest. Within its limits the first railway and the first + telegraph-lines were laid in the United States, and the great Erie Canal + was built. After three tranquil presidential terms, presided over by the + sensible though not brilliant Monroe, and by the shrewd, scholarly, and + positive younger Adams, a man succeeded to the Executive Chair whose + course was destined to revolutionize parties, to carry party bitterness to + a height of great violence, and to divert the political destinies of the + country into new channels. Andrew Jackson was well fitted by his strong + will and stubborn courage to do the dangerous work of his time. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Nullification. + </p> + <p> + Various considerations induced the State of South Carolina to defy the + Union. The alleged ground of her quarrel was the high rates of the tariff + imposed by Congress upon imports. This tariff she resolved to resist; + hence a resolution was passed by a convention in South Carolina that after + a certain date the tariff should be null and void within her limits. It + was further resolved that if the United States attempted to enforce it, + South Carolina should secede, and form an independent government. John C. + Calhoun was, or was charged with being, the instigator of this movement. + It was at once quelled, however, by the prompt action of President + Jackson. He sent troops and war-ships to Charleston, under the command of + General Scott; and "nullification" was overawed and defeated. + </p> + <p> + President Jackson also had the nerve to veto the bill creating a national + bank; and when, after two terms of service, he retired, he gave up to the + rule of his designated successor a nation of fifteen millions of people, + solvent, prosperous, and apparently destined to a long career of peace and + power. The four years of President Van Buren's term were not notable for + great events, and are chiefly interesting as exhibiting the re-formation + of parties, in which the lines between the Whigs and the Democrats became + more defined and distinct. Van Buren was the leader of the Democrats, but + was soon to lose that leadership by reason of his connection with the + fast-growing anti-slavery cause. Henry Clay was the Whig chief; and + continued to be so, despite the rivalry of Webster, down to the time of + his death. [Sidenote: Causes of the Mexican War.] + </p> + <p class="side"> + Texas. + </p> + <p> + It was during the term of President John Tyler, who succeeded to the chief + magistracy after poor worn-out old General Harrison had exercised its + functions for one brief month, that the events took their rise which + ripened into the War with Mexico. The large territory of Texas, lying upon + our extreme southwestern border, between Louisiana and Mexico, had + revolted from the latter nation and set up an independent republic of its + own. Texas had been largely colonized from the slave States, and General + Sam Houston, formerly of Tennessee, was its President. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Election of Polk. + </p> + <p> + The republic sought admission to our Union in 1837, but the application + was then refused. Seven years later, Mr. Tyler gave it a more hospitable + reception. A treaty was framed, and at first rejected by the United States + Senate. At last, in March, 1845, just as Mr. Tyler was retiring from + office, a resolution was adopted by both houses of Congress annexing + Texas, and this resolution was approved by the outgoing President. The + presidential campaign in the autumn of 1844, between Henry Clay as the + Whig and James K. Polk as the Democratic candidate, was fought mainly upon + the issue of this annexation, and the election of Mr. Polk was looked upon + as a confirmation of it by the people. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Boundary Dispute. + </p> + <p> + No sooner had the new President been inaugurated than what the Whig + leaders had earnestly predicted came to pass. A dispute arose with Mexico + as to the boundary between that country and Texas. Mexico claimed that + this boundary was the river Nueces; Texas asserted it to be the Rio + Grande. The matter was one of some importance, as the Nueces is a hundred + miles northeastward from the Rio Grande, and that much of territory was + therefore in dispute. The brief negotiations which ensued with a view to + the settlement of this question, proved abortive. President Polk + accordingly ordered General Zachary Taylor to occupy the disputed + territory with a small body of troops. Taylor concentrated his men at + Corpus Christi, near the frontier. + </p> + <p class="side"> + First Battles. + </p> + <p> + The Mexicans were equally prompt, and the first collisions occurred at + Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, near the Rio Grande. General Taylor + repulsed the enemy with little difficulty and but small loss, and, + crossing the Rio Grande, advanced upon and captured Matamoras. Thus far + the hostilities had proceeded when a formal declaration of war was made + against Mexico by the United States. Clay and the Whigs strenuously + opposed this action; but the administration party bore down all + opposition. Volunteers now flocked, especially from the Southern States, + to Taylor's standard; and in a few weeks he found himself at the head of a + resolute though not very well disciplined force of nearly eight thousand + men. Monterey, a fortified town of considerable importance, was held by + about nine thousand Mexican troops. General Taylor's objective point was + the City of Mexico. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Taylor's Campaign. + </p> + <p> + After an attack of three days, Monterey fell into his hands. Victory + followed his army everywhere. Santa Anna, a crafty and able man, who had + sat in the presidential chair of Mexico, was now in command of the Mexican + army, and confronted Taylor at Huena Vista. His gallant attempt to stay + the advance of the triumphant Americans, however, failed, for Taylor + defeated him in what was perhaps the most brilliantly and hotly contested + action of the war. Taylor's force at Buena Vista numbered about six + thousand men, the larger part of them being but rudely disciplined + soldiers. Santa Anna's command comprised at least twenty thousand + Mexicans. It was at Buena Vista that the Lancers, the best body of troops + in the Mexican army, were routed by the dashing onset of the American + volunteers. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Victory at Vera Cruz. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Scott Enters Mexico. + </p> + <p> + General Scott now appeared upon the scene to reap fresh victories, and to + lend powerful aid, by his scientific skill and ripe military judgment, in + bringing the war to a decisive issue. He was despatched with an army to + attack Vera Cruz, the most important port and fort on the Mexican coast. + His force numbered between eleven and twelve thousand men, and he was + supported by Commodore Matthew Perry, who operated with a fleet in the + Gulf. Vera Cruz fell after a vigorous bombardment and a brave defence. The + Mexicans could no longer hold the fortress of San Juan D'Ulloa, which was + speedily occupied by General Scott. The two victories of Buena Vista and + Vera Cruz rendered the cause of the Mexicans hopeless. The fall of the + capital was only a question of more or less delay. The resistance of the + Mexicans was still obstinate, though always ineffectual. The troops of the + United States won in succession the battles of Cerro Gordo, Cherubusco, El + Molino del Rey and Chapultepec. Finally, on the 14th of September, 1847, + the American army of six thousand, under Winfield Scott, entered the City + of Mexico. This was one year and four months after war had been declared + by Congress. + </p> + <p> + Besides these main operations, there were various collateral movements + designed to cripple the power and diminish the territory of Mexico. + General Kearney, with an independent force of volunteers, had marched into + and taken possession of the province of New Mexico; Colonel Doliphan had + in like manner occupied Chihuahua; while Colonel Fremont, placing himself + at the head of a band of American settlers recruited in the valley of the + Sacramento, and supported by Commodore Stockton, had availed himself of + the opportunity to hold Upper California for the United States. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Treaty of Peace. + </p> + <p> + Thus Mexico was subdued and compelled to come to terms, her enemy + dictating these from her own capital. Commissioners met at the city of + Guadalupe Hidalgo to conclude a treaty of peace. By this instrument Mexico + agreed to accept the Rio Grande as the boundary between herself and Texas, + adding thereby to the territory of the United States an area of not less + than five hundred thousand square miles; to make over New Mexico and Upper + California to the United States in consideration of the sum of fifteen + millions of dollars; and to guarantee the debts due from Mexico to + American citizens. This treaty was duly ratified and exchanged in the + spring of 1848—about two years after the beginning of hostilities. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Political Effect of the War. + </p> + <p class="side"> + California. + </p> + <p> + The political effect of the Mexican War was to add a large territory and a + fast-increasing population to the tier of slave-holding States, and thus + to aggrandize the slave-holding oligarchy, as opposed to the party in + favor of free soil. On the other hand, the military glory won by General + Taylor, and his adoption in the year after the war as the Whig candidate + for the Presidency, singularly enough brought into power the party which + had persistently opposed both the annexation of Texas, and the war which + had been undertaken to complete it. The Mexican War provided the parties + with four presidential candidates, Generals Taylor, Scott, Pierce, and + Fremont, two of whom succeeded in reaching the summit of executive + authority. When Colonel Fremont raised the American standard in + California, it was little imagined that he was acquiring a province for + the country the value of which was destined to be incalculably greater + than the Texan republic. Within a year, however, the gold mines had been + discovered, and that wonderful civilization of the Pacific Coast which we + now witness had begun to grow up in the far western wilderness. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XII. THE SLAVERY AGITATION. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + Slavery Inherited. + </p> + <p> + The United States inherited, and had to accept, from the colonial system, + a great moral and social wrong. Slavery, planted on our soil soon after + its first settlement, had spread not only through the South, but had + existed for a time even in the Puritan colonies of New England. An active + slave-trade had grown up, and was still flourishing at the time that the + constitution was framed. There is every reason to believe that the most + eminent and enlightened even of Southern statesmen, in the very infancy of + the Republic, regarded African bondage as not only a moral, but, in many + regards, a material evil. Washington and Jefferson especially uttered, in + no doubtful accents, their dislike of the system; while such northern + statesmen as Franklin, Adams, and Roger Sherman protested in yet sterner + tones against its continuance. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Strength of the Slave Power. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Missouri Compromise. + </p> + <p> + But slavery, like many traditional abuses of nations, was so securely + lodged, so difficult to uproot, that wise men at once deplored its + presence and despaired of its abolition. While, therefore, the framers of + the constitution refused to insert a direct recognition of slavery in that + instrument, choosing to regard it as temporary, and likely in time to + become extinct, other subjects, crowding upon the attention of statesmen + at the period of political formation, pushed this of slavery for a while + into the background. The first definite collision between the upholders + and the opponents of slavery occurred when, as a consequence of the rapid + growth of the country, the territories began one after another to knock + for admission into the household of States. The dispute came to an issue + in the year 1820. Missouri sought admission into the Union, and it was + attempted to admit her as a slave state. Then the Northern statesmen + declared that some limit or restriction should be placed upon future + admissions of States, in regard to slavery. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The "Slavery Agitation." + </p> + <p> + The debates in Congress were long and warm. Every argument which has since + become so familiar on the subject was advanced on one side and on the + other. The moral evil of slavery, its demoralizing influence upon freeman + and bondman, its cruelties in practice, were dilated upon by some; others + pictured "the peculiar institution" in its more patriarchal and pleasant + aspects. Finally, the northern members agreed to admit Missouri as a slave + State, on condition that thenceforth all new states north of the line of + 36°30'north latitude—known as "Mason and Dixon's line"—should + be free; while all new states south of that line should decide for + themselves whether they should be free or slave. It was the vain hope of + the statesmen of Monroe's time that this settlement, known in history as + the "Missouri Compromise," would be accepted as final, and that the mutual + ill-feeling which had already become bitter between the sections would be + finally allayed by it. + </p> + <p> + They flattered themselves that they had put a period to the agitation, and + that the irritating question was now cast outside the domain of American + politics. Perhaps they did not sufficiently reflect that the same power + which had established the boundaries of slavery might, when the + opportunity was ripe, erase them. The slavery agitation was, however, only + in its infancy. It had within it a vital and irrepressible element of + growth. With the advance of civil liberty, the growth of education, it, + too, must necessarily make progress. As yet it was in the hands of + so-called "fanatics." Respectable statesmanship, having made the Missouri + Compromise, would have no more of it. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The "Liberty Party." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Garrison. + </p> + <p> + It was early in General Jackson's presidency that the small but determined + "Liberty party" of the North began to attract attention by what was + considered the extravagance of its utterances, and the absurdity of its + proposals. The Quaker Lundy published his "Genius of Universal + Emancipation"; Garrison put forth the "Liberator" at Boston; and soon, in + various parts of the Union, abolition tracts and fanatical orators brought + down upon them not only the execration of the South, but the assaults of + northern mobs. An insurrection, under the lead of a negro named Turner, + broke out in Virginia, and massacres and burnings followed. The Georgia + Legislature put a price upon Garrison's head; and that devoted advocate of + human freedom responded by founding the New England Anti-Slavery Society—an + example soon followed in various places through the North. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Sympathy for the Slaves. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Lovejoy Killed. + </p> + <p> + The cause was right, and grew despite every obstacle of mob violence, + persecution, contempt, and, not the least, the indignant hostility of + respectable statesmanship. Yet evidences began to appear, here and there, + that the sympathy even of official responsibility was gradually leaning to + the principle of liberty. The Massachusetts Supreme Court declared the + child Med, whose master had brought her to Boston, to have become by that + act free. There was still, however, much suffering in store for the + anti-slavery advocates. Garrison, in attempting to speak before the Female + Anti-Slavery Society in Boston, was dragged through the streets by an + enraged mob, and was only saved from death by being hurried to the jail as + a refuge. A hall in Philadelphia which had been desecrated by an abolition + conference, was burned. Elijah Lovejoy, an Illinois abolition editor, was + killed by a mob. These are a few among many examples of the violence with + which the abolitionists were treated. + </p> + <p> + The old "Liberty party," however, grew gradually into the larger and more + powerful "Free Soil" party, of which the venerable John Quincy Adams + became the champion in the House of Representatives, and Martin Van Buren + the presidential candidate in 1848. It was still, of course, a small + minority, but its influence was now distinctly felt in the legislative + councils and in the politics of the country. The petitions in favor of + abolition which invaded Congress created alarm in the South, and at last + the southern members found it necessary to pass a rule excluding these + "incendiary documents" altogether. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Compromise of 1850. + </p> + <p> + If the Free Soilers were becoming formidable, the South was also resolved + to assume the offensive. Its triumph in securing the annexation of Texas + as another slave State was followed, a few years after, by the celebrated + "Compromise" of 1850; by which, while California was admitted as a free + State, and the slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia, the + Fugitive Slave Law was also conceded. This aroused the indignation of very + large numbers in the North, and the treatment of fugitives under it, + notably that of Jerry in New York State, and of Anthony Burns in Boston, + did much to develop and strengthen the anti-slavery feeling. The + outrageous character of the law was too palpable to be unperceived and + unresented. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Free Sellers. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Border Ruffianism. + </p> + <p> + The next effort of the slave power provoked the formation of a great + national anti-slavery party, out of the old Free Soil elements. This + effort, which, by the aid of the Pierce administration and some Northern + statesmen, was successful, was to destroy the Missouri Compromise of 1820 + and thus open the way to the creation of slave States north, as well as + south, of Mason and Dixon's line. The immediate object of this policy was + to make slave States of Kansas and Nebraska, two great territories which + were ready for admission into the fatuity of the Union. No sooner had the + Nebraska Bill passed, in May, 1854, than the terrible scenes of "border + ruffianism" began. As the new law required that the inhabitants of the + territories should themselves decide whether slavery should exist or not, + the attempt was made to convert Kansas into a slave State by invasions of + "border ruffians" from Missouri. After a long and bloody struggle, the + cause of freedom triumphed in the two disputed territories. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The "Irrepressible Conflict." + </p> + <p> + The events in that part of the Union served to win many converts to the + anti-slavery cause in the North. The Republican party was organized on the + eve of the Presidential election of 1856. Its chief doctrine was that no + more slave States whatever should be admitted to the Union. It put a + ticket into the field with Colonel John Charles Fremont as the candidate + for President, and William L. Dayton of New Jersey for Vice-President. It + could not be expected that so young a party would triumph at its first + essay; but when Fremont received 113 electoral votes, while Buchanan had + only 177, it was appreciated everywhere that the "irrepressible conflict" + between slavery and liberty was fast approaching its crisis. + </p> + <p class="side"> + John Brown's Raid. + </p> + <p> + The self-sacrificing heroism of a fanatic, the most salient incident of + the slavery agitation during the Presidency of Buchanan, had a marked + influence in hastening the final issue. This was John Brown's raid upon + Harper's Ferry, for the purpose of setting free the slaves. The old man's + courage, his utter self-devotion to his cause, his noble death, his simple + and sincere character, appealed most strongly to the sympathy of the + opponents of slavery, and even compelled words of strong praise from the + lips of Henry A. Wise, the Virginia Governor, who signed his + death-warrant. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The South Prepares to Secede. + </p> + <p> + The cause of free soil at last attained its triumph in the election of + 1860. All things foreshadowed the success of Abraham Lincoln. The northern + people were ripe for decisive action against the extension, at least, of + human bondage. The Democratic party divided into two factions at + Charleston, and the factions put each a candidate into the field, mutually + to destroy each other. The South so far gave up the contest as to make + preparations, while the presidential battle was yet raging, to withdraw + from the Union. Then, as the grand, bitter, but necessary result of the + long-continued slavery agitation, the war came, and wiped out slavery with + the blood of patriots. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIII. THE CIVIL WAR. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + The Civil War. + </p> + <p> + The great American Rebellion of 1861-65 is still, perhaps, too near to be + judged with the calm and judicial spirit which gives its chief value to + history. Thousands of those who took part in it on either side are yet + living; millions who witnessed its progress, and watched its course with + varying emotions of grief and joy, who mourned its dead, exulted in its + victories, and hailed its termination, yet hold it in vivid memory. + Moreover, all that could be said of it, from bald narrative to infinite + discussion of this and that general, this and that campaign or stratagem, + of causes and effects, has already been repeated till the tale has been, + not twice, but many times told. + </p> + <p> + The results of that awful yet necessary conflict are still being felt, in + one way or another, by all of us. Many a household still mourns the loss + of those who died on southern battle-fields. We feel the war in our + business, in our pockets. We feel it in the financial enigmas which even + yet await solution. And although we have come to a period of + reconciliation, when we can with free hearts garland with roses the graves + alike of the blue and the gray, we feel still the indirect influences of + the war in our political contests. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Origin of the War. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Secession. + </p> + <p> + The war may be said to have had its origin in two not necessarily + connected circumstances. It was the fruit, on the one hand, of a certain + political doctrine; on the other, of a threatened and to-be-defended + social condition. The political doctrine was that called "State's rights," + from which two corollaries were deduced by Calhoun and his disciples: + "nullification," or the right of a State to disobey a United States law; + and "secession," or the right of a State to withdraw from the Union at + will. The social condition was that of slavery, threatened, as the South + thought, by the election of Abraham Lincoln, and to be defended under + cover of the political doctrine which Calhoun had taught the South to + credit and to cherish. Thus, while the cause of the rebellion was slavery, + its justification was an asserted constitutional right. The North did not + believe in slavery, or at least in the extension of slavery. But what the + North at first undertook to subdue was not slavery in the States, but the + altogether destructive doctrine of secession. + </p> + <p class="side"> + South Carolina's "Ordinance." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Fort Sumter Taken. + </p> + <p> + The threat loudly uttered during the election of 1860, that the South + would secede if Lincoln were chosen, was duly followed up by action in a + few weeks after that event. Before Christmas South Carolina had passed her + famous "ordinance," and by early February, 1861, Mississippi, Georgia, + Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas had followed in her footsteps. The + senators and representatives of these States in Congress retired front its + halls, breathing defiance as they went. South Carolina took the lead in + military, as she had done in political action. Claiming the national + property within her limits, she attached and took Fort Sumter in + Charleston harbor. The way had been prepared for this by Secretaries Floyd + and Toucey of the Buchanan Cabinet, who had sent South materials of war, + and so disposed the navy as to render it for the time powerless for aid in + the Union cause. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Call for Troops. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln was now President. The guns fired at Sumter roused the North, and + gave the signal of war, proving that a conflict could no longer be + avoided. Meanwhile, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas were + hurried out of the Union by the political leaders. On the day following + the fall of Sumter, the President issued his call for seventy-five + thousand volunteers, and the governors were urged to send such forces as + they could at once to Washington, which was threatened with an attack. + Then came the assault upon the gallant Sixth Massachusetts in the streets + of Baltimore, the isolation of Washington, and its relief. A blockade of + the southern ports was proclaimed. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Bull Run. + </p> + <p> + After a few minor engagements, such as those in Western Virginia, in which + McClellan was successful, and at Big Bethel, the first great battle was + fought on July 21, 1861, at Bull Run. This was in consequence of an + attempt by General Scott to advance upon Richmond. The result was the + total defeat of the Union army, which recoiled in confusion upon + Washington. Later in the first year of the war, General Lyon gained some + advantages over the rebels in Missouri, and naval expeditions were sent to + Hatteras and Port Royal; General Scott yielded the command-in-chief to + General McClellan, and rebel privateers appeared upon the ocean, and began + their destructive depredations upon our commerce. Great Britain had too + hastily recognized the belligerent rights of the rebels, and in November + the capture of Mason and Slidell was followed by their delivery again to + the protection of the British flag. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Second Year of the War. + </p> + <p> + The second year of the war found no less than half a million of soldiers + enlisted in the army of the Union. It seemed as if we were now ready to + cope with rebellion in all its extent and strength. The hope of an + approaching and decisive triumph animated the hearts of the loyal. + McClellan now led the Army of the Potomac against Richmond, approaching it + from the east. Then followed the battle of Fair Oaks, and the Seven Days' + battles, of which that at Malvern Hill was the most hotly contested. The + Confederates were beaten, with terrible loss on both sides. Cedar Mountain + and the second Bull Run followed, the latter proving a disaster as serious + as the former struggle on the same field had been. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Antietam. + </p> + <p> + Then came Lee's advance into Maryland, his capture of Frederick City, and + that great battle, Antietam, in which Lee was repulsed and retreated into + Virginia. But McClellan, having failed to follow up his advantage, was + relieved of the command-in-chief, which was conferred on Burnside. + Burnside's repulse at Fredericksburg was followed by a discouraging + retreat. But though the attempt to capture Richmond was foiled, in other + parts of the country many advantages were obtained by the Union forces in + the year 1862. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Union Victories. + </p> + <p> + Prominent among these were the victory of the <i>Monitor</i> over the <i>Merrimac</i>, + in Hampton Roads; the capture of Roanoke Island and Fort Pulaski; Grant's + gallant victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, at Island No. 10, and, + later, at Pittsburg Landing; and the heroic taking of New Orleans by + Farragut and Butler. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Chancellorsville. + </p> + <p> + At the very threshold of the third year of the war, President Lincoln + issued the "Proclamation of Emancipation." Thus not only was the crime of + slavery wiped away, but a new source of strength to our forces was + provided by the emancipated negroes, who were enlisted to aid in the + confirmation of their freedom by final victory. The first half of the year + 1863 witnessed what was perhaps the gloomiest and most disheartening + period of the war. Hooker succeeded Burnside, only to meet at + Chancellorsville the same disastrous fate which had overtaken his + predecessor at Fredericksburg. General Lee was encouraged to assume the + offensive, and to invade Pennsylvania. The North was discouraged; the + expense of the war began to be grievously felt; the draft was becoming + very obnoxious; the desertions from the army were alarming in number. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Gettysburg. + </p> + <p> + Lee advanced by the Shenandoah Valley into the Northern States. But at + Gettysburg he met the reorganized Union army, under Meade. The collision + of one hundred and sixty thousand men, lasting for three days, resulted in + that hard-won Union victory which proved the turning-point of the war. On + the day of Lee's retreat from Gettysburg, the Fourth of July, Vicksburg + was surrendered to Grant. Soon after, Port Hudson fell, and the + Mississippi was opened to the passage of troops. Then the Battle of + Chattanooga was fought and won, and Tennessee was rid of Confederate + occupation. Meanwhile, the siege of Charleston was proceeding on the + coast, and before the end of the year Fort Wagner was taken. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Grant Commander-in-chief. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Sherman's March to the Sea. + </p> + <p> + We have now reached the fourth year of the war, 1864. It was now clear + that the result was only a question of time. The first events of the year + were not brilliant. Kilpatrick made his famous but futile raid near + Richmond; Hanks met with disaster at Red River; Forrest captured Fort + Pillow and killed three hundred negro troops. The last act of the + momentous drama began by the elevation of General Ulysses S. Grant to the + command-in-chief in March. The two great movements which were together to + seal the fate of the Confederacy were at once prepared. Grant, assuming + command of the Army of the Potomac, made Richmond his objective point. He + advanced deliberately towards the southern capital, and fought the + terrific battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor. He + laid siege to Petersburg, but without immediate result. Meanwhile the + gallant Sherman began his marvellous march to the sea, took Atlanta, and + at last entered Savannah in triumph. Sheridan, making his famous ride, + defeated Early at Cedar Creek. The <i>Alabama</i> was sunk by the <i>Kearsarge</i> + off the French coast. Mobile was captured by Farragut. The <i>Albermarle</i> + was destroyed. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Surrender of Lee. + </p> + <p> + The Confederates were now penned in, and it only remained to make a last + strenuous effort to end the war. While Sherman advanced northward, taking + Charleston by the way, and Terry captured Fort Fisher, the siege of + Richmond became closer and more vigorous. Then Sheridan conquered at Five + Forks, turning the flank of the hunted and hounded Lee. Finally, on the 3d + of April, 1865, the Union troops occupied Richmond and Petersburg; Lee + surrendered on the 9th, at Appomattox; Johnston followed by yielding to + Sherman; and the Southern Confederacy was no more. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIV. THE PRESIDENTS. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + Number of Presidents. + </p> + <p> + Between 1789, when the government organized by the constitution began its + functions, and 1886, the people of the United States have twenty-five + times chosen a President; and of the Presidents, seven have been chosen + for a second term. Four of them, having died in office, were succeeded by + Vice Presidents. While the number of terms, therefore, has been + twenty-five, the executive chair has been filled by twenty-two + individuals. In referring to the line of Presidents, and scanning the + names of those who have exercised powers more extensive than those of + English royalty, we are struck by the fact that very few of our Presidents + have ranked first, in point of intellect, in their own generation. It may + be said, indeed, that Jefferson alone of them all was without dispute the + foremost statesman of his day. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Presidential Ability. + </p> + <p> + Comparing our elected chief magistrates with the various lines of + hereditary sovereigns of Europe, we find that pre-eminent ability is + scarcely more frequent among them than is presented by the houses of + Romanoff, Hohenzollern, and Hapsburg. When, however, we consider their + moral qualities as rulers—their patriotism and purity, their freedom + from a too grasping ambition, the fidelity and zeal with which they have + served the country as best they knew how—we are perhaps not + unreasonable in judging them superior, as a line of rulers, to any royal + house of which history affords record. Very rarely has it been that a + President has been even suspected of craving increased power for himself, + or of using his office for unworthy personal ends. Some have been weak, + some perverse and obstinate; but as the clouds of party passion, which + have sometimes obscured the motives and the acts of our chief magistrates, + pass away, we may recognize in their action honest though now and then ill + directed efforts to use their high office for the general weal. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Ablest Men not Presidents. + </p> + <p> + Our intellectually ablest men have not, with the exception of Jefferson, + attained the Presidency, though many of them have aspired to it. No one + can doubt that Hamilton was a greater political genius than the first two + Presidents. It can scarcely be questioned that Webster, Calhoun, and Clay + were greater in this respect than the three Presidents who succeeded + Jefferson. Madison was a man of culture, clear vision, and political + learning, but he was the disciple of Jefferson, and did not reveal + qualities of originality and constructiveness in statesmanship. Monroe was + a man of yet more limited capacity, unless Polk be excepted, Monroe was + the least able of all our Presidents. But he had a large experience in + public affairs, he was judicious and cool-tempered, and thoroughly honest + and simple-minded. He was personally liked, and after Washington was the + only President who was the unanimous choice of the country.<a + href="#linknote-1" name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> + </p> + <p class="side"> + Monroe. + </p> + <p class="side"> + John Quincy Adams. + </p> + <p> + John Quincy Adams, a trained statesman, who had been an ambassador, a + Senator, and a Secretary of State, was still inferior in point of + political intellect to Clay, his own Secretary of State, and to Calhoun, + the Vice-President; and there were several others at that time who might + justly be competed with him. So, although Andrew Jackson was perhaps the + greatest of our Presidents in executive vigor and stern force of will, as + a political figure his most devoted admirers would scarcely rank him with + Clay or Webster. Van Buren was rather a shrewd politician than an eminent + statesman; but he was a politician in a higher sense, and no stain of + dishonor attaches to his career, while his presidential term was an honest + and able one. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Later Presidents. + </p> + <p> + Many public men might be named who, living at the time of Harrison's + elevation, were very much his political superiors; in his very cabinet + were at least three, Webster, Crittenden, and Ewing; and John Tyler was + very far from being in the front rank of American statesmen, though his + political capacity has sometimes been underrated. + </p> + <p> + Polk was the weakest of all our later Presidents, and he too presided over + at least three secretaries who were intellectually larger men, in Marcy, + Robert J. Walker, and Buchanan. The same may be said in comparing General + Taylor with his advisers, and Fillmore, Pierce, and Lincoln with theirs; + for while no one can fail to revere the grand moral and practical + qualities which make Lincoln illustrious, in purely intellectual eminence + he was excelled by Seward, Chase, and perhaps Stanton. + </p> + <p class="side"> + A Conservative Republic. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Origin of the Presidents. + </p> + <p> + Ours has always been a conservative Republic. The French Republicans of + '93 and '48, the Communards of '71, did not derive their wild and + visionary fanaticism from our example, although there can be no doubt that + our Revolution had not a little influence in hastening that of France. + When the people have been called upon to choose a chief magistrate, + therefore, they have not sought men of extreme views, nor have humble + birth and limited education often been recommendations of candidates. It + is notable that the first six Presidents were selected from the class + which in England is called the "gentry." Washington, indeed, belonged to + the high rural aristocracy of Virginia; Mount Vernon was as much a + patrician manor-house as are the "halls," "priories," and "manors" of + rural England; and he lived there in the style of a country magnate, John + Adams belonged to the sturdy New England yeomanry sprung from the + Pilgrims, and, as the descendant of John Alden, had some reason to pride + himself upon good blood. The three succeeding Virginia Presidents were + sons of gentlemen-farmers, and belonged to the cultivated gentry of the + Old Dominion. Jackson was the first of the plebeian Presidents, and then + came Van Buren, of the gentry by birth; Harrison, the son of a signer of + the Declaration, and thus well born, and Tyler, another Virginia + gentleman, the lord of Sherwood Forest. Polk belonged to the same rural + condition. Fillmore was the next President of humble beginnings, and + Lincoln the third; while Andrew Johnson, who learned to read after he was + married, and began life as a country tailor, was the most lowly born of + all our chief magistrates. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Military Presidents. + </p> + <p> + Those young men who, having a taste for and ambition in politics, adopt + the law as a stepping-stone to political honor, may derive some + encouragement from the classification of the Presidents by their + professions; for out of the twenty-two Presidents, no less than eighteen + were at some period of their lives practising at the bar. The four who + were not lawyers were the four military Presidents, Washington, Harrison, + Taylor, and Grant. Three other Presidents, however, derived something of + their fame from military careers—Monroe, Jackson, and Pierce. Monroe + was a revolutionary colonel, Jackson the hero of New Orleans, and Pierce a + brigadier in the Mexican War. But Monroe owed his political eminence to + diplomatic successes and the friendship of Jefferson and Madison: while + Pierce certainly did not win the presidency by his Mexican exploits. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Presidential Succession. + </p> + <p> + No man has ever yet passed directly from the United States Senate to the + White House. Of the Presidents, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, + Harrison, Tyler, Pierce, Buchanan, and Johnson had been senators; while + John Adams, Jefferson and Van Buren held the Vice-Presidency just before + their elevation by election to the higher office. The custom of succession + from the one office to the other, which prevailed in the earlier years of + the Republic, was broken when Madison was preferred to George Clinton in + 1808; and was revived only in the single instance of Van Buren, whom the + irresistible will of Jackson imposed upon the Democrats as his successor. + Washington, before becoming President, had held the office of President of + the Constitutional Convention. Polk had only served in the lower House of + Congress, over which he had presided as speaker. Neither Taylor nor Grant + ever held a state or national office before being raised to the Executive + Chair. Lincoln had served a few years, with but little distinction, in the + national House of Representatives. The same may be said of Hayes, and of + Fillmore before he was chosen Vice-President. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Presidents Contributed by the Various States. + </p> + <p> + Virginia has had five Presidents, four of them having served in the first + quarter of a century of the national existence. Tennessee has had three; + Ohio, three; Massachusetts, two; New York, four; Illinois, two; and New + Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana, each one. But Harrison, though + elected from Ohio, and Taylor, elected from Louisiana, were both born in + Virginia; and Lincoln, elected from Illinois, was born in Kentucky. + Therefore Virginia gave birth to seven of the Presidents. In point of + years, the ages of the Presidents have ranged from sixty-eight, which was + Harrison's age on his accession, to forty-six, which was Grant's age when + he became President; the average age being about fifty-seven. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XV. MATERIAL PROGRESS. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + A Twofold Progress. + </p> + <p> + It is manifestly impossible to give, within the brief scope of this + volume, more than a hint of the elements which have entered into and + stimulated the material progress of the United States during the past + century. That progress may be said to have been twofold; the progress + which we have shared in common with the civilized world, and the progress + which has been peculiar to ourselves. The agency which invention and + discovery have had in our advancement scarcely needs to be pointed out. We + have only to look around us, and remember the origin of many of the + comforts, conveniences, luxuries, nay even what we now regard as + necessities, that surround us and minister to our existence, in order to + comprehend how very vast, how much beyond easy calculation, the material + progress of the century has been. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Modern Comforts. + </p> + <p> + Every hour of the day, should you stop to reflect, you would find yourself + doing something, or aided by something, unknown to or unused by the + generation of 1776. Sitting in your parlor or library, your feet rest upon + carpets, which were introduced into American households in 1792; the book + you are reading—which has far better paper, print, binding and + illustration than the old copy of "Pilgrim's Progress" which your + great-grandfather used to read—is lighted by gas, which did not come + into use till this century was well on its way; and that gas you have lit + by a friction match, an affair of marvellous simplicity, which was unknown + till after 1830. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Improvement in Dress. + </p> + <p> + You are writing, perhaps, with a steel pen; the Declaration of + Independence was signed with quills. It is, possibly, a rainy day. You put + on rubbers, and you carry an umbrella. The men of '76 had to do as best + they could without either. You burn coal in a furnace or stove; they must + fain have warmed themselves with more cheery but less warming wood, in an + open fireplace. Every article of your dress is an improvement in + convenience and comfort on those worn by Washington in all his + Presidential glory. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Rapidity of Transit. + </p> + <p> + Your walls are hung with photographs; your wife or daughter has a + sewing-machine. In the kitchen are endless contrivances which our + great-grandmothers would have greeted with speechless astonishment. You + can order a case of goods from Hong Kong on Monday, and be told that they + are ready for shipping on Thursday. You can go to San Francisco in almost + the same time that it took, only fifty years ago, to reach Washington from + New York. When General Jackson went to the capital to be President, he + could travel no faster than did the Jews, after the captivity, from + Babylon to Jerusalem. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Material Growth. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Population. + </p> + <p> + Taking a broader view—for we might go on with the material details + of progress all about us <i>ad infinitum</i>, did patience and strength + hold out—we look abroad over the land, and note the great elements + of a progress peculiarly American, in the growth and distribution of + population, in manufactures, agriculture, and commerce. Each and all have + been incalculably aided by perpetual invention. A few leading facts must + suffice to show that our orators, in their most daring flights, can + scarcely exaggerate the marvels of our material advance. The population of + this country in 1776, including slaves, was about two and three quarters + millions. In 1886, it is without doubt more than fifty millions. In 1790, + when the first census was taken, the figure was a little less than four + millions. A notable circumstance in reference to the movement of our + population has been the increase of the proportion of dwellers in our + cities to those in the rural districts. In 1790, only one-thirtieth of our + population inhabited the cities. In 1886, probably nearly one-fourth are + included in the cities. + </p> + <p> + In 1790 there were but six cities with a population of more than eight + thousand each. These were: Philadelphia, with about 42,500; New York, with + about 33,000; Boston, with about 18,000; Charleston, with about 16,300: + Baltimore, with about 13,500; and Salem, with a little over 8000. The + total was about 131,500. Now the aggregate of our urban population is, + probably, at least 12,000,000. It may be added that the <i>centre</i> of + our population has shifted from a few miles east of Baltimore, where it + was in 1790, to about eight miles west by south from Cincinnati, where it + is now supposed to be. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Agriculture. + </p> + <p> + The earliest avocation of our colonies was that of agriculture; and before + 1776 our agricultural industries, owing to the discoveries which had + gradually been made as to the capabilities of the then settled districts, + had grown to important proportions. It needs but a glance at the map to + observe over what a vast area agricultural enterprise has spread since + 1790. We may fairly say that invention and improvement, in the application + of chemistry and mechanical discovery to the cultivation of land, have + kept pace with the territorial advance of agricultural science. There can + scarcely be named a farming operation which is not performed by + instruments far more perfect, and with a rapidity far greater, than was + possible with our ancestors. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Cheaper Tools. + </p> + <p> + Human labor has been greatly lessened in proportion to the results + obtained. Tools are cheaper; and whereas they were formerly made, to a + large extent, on the farms themselves, they are now perfected in factories + supplied with the most efficient machinery. There were in 1880 two + thousand establishments for the manufacture of agricultural implements, + with an annual production valued at over $68,000,000. It would take up too + much space to give even a list of these implements; suffice it to say that + it is calculated that the value of those now in use on American farms is + at least $500,000,000. A hundred years ago a man could only manage six + bushels of grain a day—cutting, binding and stocking, threshing and + cleaning it. Now, with the aid of mechanical appliances, a single man's + labor can achieve almost eight times as much. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Advance of Agricultural Arts + </p> + <p> + To machinery must be added the advance in the arts of manuring, draining, + irrigation, and of grafting and obtaining greater varieties of fruits and + vegetables. The improvement in breeding and raising live-stock must not be + omitted. In this product the wealth of the country was at least + $2,000,000.000 in 1880. + </p> + <p class="side"> + First Mills. + </p> + <p> + Great as has been our progress in agriculture, it is scarcely so + remarkable as that in manufactures. In 1776 we were mostly a farming + community. Now, in New England at least, to a large extent in the Middle + States, and to some degree in the West and South, manufactures have + outstripped the farming industry. Manufacturing necessarily began, indeed, + very early in the settlement of the country; for ships had to be built, + and were built, soon after the colonization of Plymouth and Boston. The + first saw-mill was erected at Salmon Falls as early as 1635. A + printing-press was set up at Cambridge in 1638, and a book-bindery in + 1663. The first fulling-mill for making cloth was started at Rowley in + 1643. Iron manufacture was regularly established at Lynn in 1645. The + first successful cotton-mill in the United States was started by Samuel + Slater at Providence in 1793. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Cotton Industry. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Manufactures. + </p> + <p> + The growth of the cotton industry may be appreciated when we state that + its extent in 1831 comprised 795 factories and 1,246,500 spindles; while + in 1880 there were over ten million spindles, and the value of the + products reached nearly two hundred million dollars annually. The progress + in woollen manufacture has been equally rapid. Since 1850 the number of + factories in this industry has more than doubled, while the value of the + products has increased over fourfold. Looking over the whole field of + manufacturing industries, it is stated that the estimated capital employed + throughout out the country in 1880, namely $2,790,000,000, does not really + approximate to the total amount. According to the census of that year, + moreover, over two and a half millions of persons were engaged in + manufacturing; while about seven and a half millions were employed in + agriculture, and nearly two millions in trade and transportation. Only a + hint can thus be attempted of our progress in manufactures. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Commercial Relations. + </p> + <p> + It need scarcely be said that commerce, as the great medium of barter and + exchange between States and with foreign nations, has necessarily kept + pace with the development of the industries which we have briefly glanced + at. The increase of our mercantile marine, up to the unhappy period of the + war, when it was almost swept from the ocean, kept pace with the + ever-increasing needs of the business of the country. Now it is again + slowly reviving from the disasters of the civil conflict. During the past + century, our commercial relations have extended to the remotest corners of + the earth, whither we send the commodities we have to spare, and whence we + derive those which we need for comfort, convenience, luxury, and wealth. + The extent to which steam applied to water navigation, and telegraphy laid + not only over the continents but under the oceans, have stimulated our + commerce in common with that of the world, is more easy to be observed in + general than calculated in detail. With many nations we have treaties of + commerce, and the time may not be long in coming when such pacts will be + reciprocated between all the trading nations of the world. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVI. PROGRESS IN LITERATURE. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + English Literature. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Majority of Authors from New England. + </p> + <p> + With English laws, customs, Protestantism, habits of thought, and methods + of culture, we also inherited the English literature. So rich was already + this inheritance when our colonies were settled, that there was little + need or incentive for the early Americans to strike out into new literary + paths, and create an original literature. Our ancestors read Milton, + Bunyan, Doddridge, Butler, Dryden, Pope, and Shakespeare. It is a + noteworthy fact that American literature not only took its start from, + but, up to within recent times, was mainly produced by the New England and + the Middle States. Even now, the noted writers in any branch of letters + born south of Virginia may almost be counted upon the fingers. It is + equally true that west of Ohio authors who have won a general and + permanent reputation are few. If we survey American literature from the + time of Cotton Mather (who may perhaps be called the first author of the + country whose works are still remembered and read) to the present, we find + that a majority of the best authors, both in prose and verse, have been + New Englanders. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Ante-Revolutionary Writers. + </p> + <p> + The rise of our literature having taken place in the colonies of Puritan + stock, and those most fully imbued with Puritan sobriety and seriousness, + it was natural that our earliest literary products should be religious and + philosophical. Cotton Mather, with his extravagant "Magnolia"; Jonathan + Edwards, with his stern treatise on the Will; Franklin, with his shrewd + maxims, and clear, strong, unadorned essays, were about the only + ante-revolutionary writers who are not by this time forgotten. It was not + surprising that the period of the Revolution should develop a literature + peculiarly political. There were, no doubt, already poetasters, novelists, + and essayists; but even their names are strange to us of this age. Where + are they and their works? What faint traces are still left of them show us + that they were mostly mere imitators, and not brilliant ones, of the + English authors of their day. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Political Literature. + </p> + <p> + But our political literature became, with the Revolution and its sequel, + most vigorous, philosophical, eloquent, and profound. The Declaration + itself was a masterpiece of political style, as well as of substance; and + Jefferson, its author, continuing for years after to discuss political + questions with a lucidity and vigor which were unrivalled in America, took + his place in literary history as perhaps our greatest political writer. + Close behind him came writers like Hamilton, Jay, Madison, Ames, Freneau, + and Tom Paine, all of them holding high rank in this department of + letters. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Post-Revolutionary Writers. + </p> + <p> + When we became an independent nation, literature naturally felt the + impulse and inspiration of the new national life. Poets and novelists came + up of a higher type than their ante-revolutionary predecessors; writers + like Dwight, Hopkinson, Trumbull, Barlow, Brockden Brown, and Paine. But + no one of these attained the rank of genius, nor did any of them establish + a great reputation; and if they are remembered at all, it is rather by + happy isolated pieces than by the general excellence of their works. The + American novels of the last century, unlike the English novels of Swift, + Fielding, and Goldsmith, have one and all passed into oblivion. + </p> + <p class="side"> + William Cullen Bryant. + </p> + <p> + The position of American literature in 1886 may, especially in the + departments of history and poetry, fairly bear comparison with that of + England. Yet the first really great American authors, if we except the + theological and political writers of whom mention has been made, published + their first works at a period quite within the memory of men still living. + Our first great poet was William Cullen Bryant, who survived to old age to + observe to what vast proportions our literary productions, both in quality + and quantity, had grown. Our first great biographer and essayist, + Washington Irving, may be remembered as living by the man of thirty-five. + Our first eminent novelist, James Fenimore Cooper, would only be + ninety-seven if he were still among us. And our first great historian, + Prescott, died but twenty-seven years ago. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Rise of American Poetry. + </p> + <p> + The new career of American letters, indeed, may be said to have been begun + when William Cullen Bryant published "Thanatopsis," in the year 1816. Our + writers then began to feel the influence of the vigorous schools of + English poetry of which Byron, Wordsworth, and Coleridge were the shining + lights. Like these, our own writers shook off the poetic dominion of Pope, + and declared form to be subordinate to the thought and the feeling. + Bryant, the enthusiastic disciple of Wordsworth, set the bold example, and + from that moment American literature received an element of vitality which + was given it its noble and rapid growth. It is almost always the case + that, in young nations, poetry is the first branch of letters to be + developed. The earliest masterpieces of Greek and English literature are + the "Iliad," the "Canterbury Tales," and the "Faerie Queene." Perhaps the + best German literature before Lessing, worth remembering, was the songs of + the Minnesinger. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Earlier Poets. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Later Posts. + </p> + <p> + In the United States, Bryant was soon followed by a succession of poets + whose productions clearly revealed the magnetism of the English revival, + and gave promise of the rise of that poetic art which we have seen reach + its culmination in our own day. Richard H. Dana wrote the "Buccaneer"; + Fitz-Greene Halleck, "Marco Bozarris"; Edgar A. Poe "The Raven"; the + painter Allston turned easily from brush to pen, and added more than one + fine poem to our literature; Emerson rose to found a school of + transcendental poetry as well as philosophy; N.P. Willis became the + lyrical likeness of Moore on this side of the Atlantic; Percival reached a + brief popularity, and wrote some things well worthy of remembrance; and + the banker-poet Sprague filled a worthy place in our group of bards. In + the next generation came the poets of the highest culture and most widely + extended popularity: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, + James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Historians. + </p> + <p> + The United States have produced a race of historians whose works and names + may not unfairly be ranked with those of Hume, Macaulay, Hallam, and + Froude. Prescott and Irving have been followed by Bancroft, Motley, + Parkman, Adams, Kirk, Goodwin, Young, and Ticknor. Sydney Smith, were he + now living, would find his question, "Who reads an American book?" + speedily answered; for in English drawing-rooms and on English book-stalls + "Evangeline" and "The Wayside Inn" are to be found quite as often as "In + Memoriam" and "Idyls of the King"; and "Ferdinand and Isabella" and the + "Rise of the Dutch Republic," as often as the histories of Macaulay and + Froude. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Theological Literature. + </p> + <p> + Our theologians have kept pace, in the amount and intellectual force of + their writings, with those of the older continent. It is not astonishing + that, in a nation established by a sect for the purpose of doing God + honor, a race of great theological authors should arise. The names of + Hopkins and Emmons, of Dwight, Channing, Norton, Theodore Parker, Wayland, + Bacon, Park, Bushnell, and many others, will recur, to remind us how + active religious philosophy and speculation have been from the time of + Jonathan Edwards to the present. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Political and Legal Writers. + </p> + <p> + In other departments of letters our progress during the century, though + less marked, has been very distinct. Webster, Everett, Sumner, Winthrop, + and, it may well be added, Lincoln, have made a literary art, as well as a + practical career, of politics. American legal writers, like Greenleaf, + Kent, Story, and Parsons, are quoted in the English as in the American + courts, as authorities worthy of respect and trust. In the domain of + searching literary criticism, England has perhaps produced no author since + the days of Gifford and Jeffrey superior in learning, acuteness, and grace + to Edwin P. Whipple. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Humorists. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Writers of Fiction. + </p> + <p> + Humorists have been many; in this field we count not only Lowell, Neal, + and Holmes, but the younger band, which includes Artemas Ward, Mark Twain, + Nasby, Bret Harte, Warner, and Leland. In the department of essays and + miscellaneous belles-lettres, the names of George William Curtis, Thoreau, + Tuckerman, Higginson, Marsh, and many more, crowd upon the mind. Foremost + among writers of fiction may be classed Cooper and Nathaniel Hawthorne; + and though in this field America can scarcely contest the palm with the + mother country, and the great purely national novel has not yet appeared, + the fertility of our novelists affords promise that in time great and + national romances will come. Meanwhile, Mrs. Stowe, Donald G. Mitchell, + T.B. Aldrich, William D. Howells (poet as well as novelist), Henry James, + Julian Hawthorne, Stockton, Miss Phelps, E.E. Hale, and others, have + delighted thousands by their imaginative works. + </p> + <p class="side"> + American Dictionaries. + </p> + <p> + To present even a list, indeed, of American writers who may be called + noted, would much more than occupy the limits assigned to this chapter. + The multitude that crowds upon the memory, even in a cursory glance over + our history, is so large that even in mentioning any names at all one runs + the risk of some unjust omission. Suffice it to say that no field of + letters has remained wholly uncultivated in this country, and that + literary invention in the United States, though sometimes at a pause, on + the whole advances with their population and civilization. We have + philosophers, men of science, poets, critics, essayists, art writers, + theologians, fully able to cope with their literary brethren in the old + world. Let it be added that America has produced the two dictionaries + which are to-day paramount authority in every English school, college, and + university; and that in the science of language George P. Marsh and + William D. Whitney have carried their studies to depths as profound, and + have given the world results as valuable, as have any old-world + philologists. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVII. PROGRESS IN THE ARTS. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + Old-time Simplicity. + </p> + <p> + American art, like American letters, was of slow and difficult growth. The + early colonists, even those who, like the Virginia cavaliers and the + settlers in Maryland, possessed somewhat of the old-world culture and + taste, had little time for the ornamental. To worry a decent living out of + an inhospitable and reluctant soil, and to serve God after their strict + and severe fashion, were abundant occupation to the Puritans. Therefore, + could we carry ourselves back through the generations and find ourselves + in the streets and abodes of colonial New England, we should observe but + very few and slight attempts at decoration. + </p> + <p> + Pictures, unless it were now and then a scriptural or historical print, + there would be none on the plain walls with their heavy beams; varnishing + and frescoing would be but rare vanities, if indeed such could be anywhere + discovered at all; as for rare vases, or bronzes, or marbles, such things + were assuredly unknown. The austere simplicity of the place, the people, + and the age, forbade not only a footing to the arts, but refused all + nurture to imaginative growths. The Puritans especially had the lofty + scorn of art which resented the idea of a picture or a statue in a church + with as much indignation as they would have shown to the Pope had he + invited them to return to the fold of Rome. + </p> + <p class="side"> + John Singleton Copley. + </p> + <p> + As there was very little literature for America to be proud of before the + Declaration of Independence, so, in casting our eyes backward over the + annals of art, we can discover but one notable native artist in the period + between the early settlements and the Revolution. This was John Singleton + Copley. He was born in Boston in 1738, and became the pupil of Smybert, an + English artist of some talent, who had accompanied Bishop Berkeley across + the Atlantic and had settled in Boston. The pupil soon eclipsed the + master, and for years Copley stood alone as a popular portrait-painter in + New England. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Historical Pictures. + </p> + <p> + But even the monopoly of his profession did not suffice to give him + adequate support, or gratify Copley's ambition; and he was forced to seek + in a more art-loving land the full recognition and reward of his genius. + He left behind him many portraits which still exist as precious heirlooms + in New England families, and just as the storm of the Revolution was + gathering, he set sail for the mother country, which he never afterward + left. Before he went, however, a son had been born to him in Boston, who + was destined long after to reach the highest summit of English legal + dignity and rank—Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst. Copley was especially + great as a portrait-painter, but he also sometimes adopted historical + subjects. Of these the best known is his "Death of Lord Chatham," which + now hangs in the South Kensington Museum, in London. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Benjamin West. + </p> + <p> + Copley was soon succeeded by an American artist whose triumphs in England + afterward far outshone his own. Benjamin West was born in Pennsylvania in + 1738, and was the youngest of nine children, of Quaker parents. His genius + for art was discovered in an amusing way. When he was seven sears old he + was put to the task of fanning the flies away from the sleeping baby of + one of his sisters. Instead of doing so, he sketched her face with black + and red ink. His mother snatched the paper from him, looked at it with + amazement, and exclaimed: "I declare, he has made a likeness of little + Sally." From the Indians be got some of the pigments with which they + smeared their faces, and his mother's indigo bag supplied him with blue; + while from the house cat's tail he took the hair for his brushes. West was + well known as a portrait-painter at fifteen. His Quaker friends at first + demurred at the vanity of his calling: but in a solemn meeting the spirit + happily moved them to bless him and consecrate him to art. He found rich + patrons, who sent him to Italy, where he studied the great masters with + zeal and enthusiasm. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Royal Academy Founded. + </p> + <p> + This sojourn in the favored land of art, and the chance which procured him + an introduction to King George III. as he was passing through England on + his way home, deprived his native country of this famous artist. Received + and petted at the English court, he took up his permanent residence in + London. There, with Sir Joshua Reynolds, and encouraged by the king, he + founded the Royal Academy, of which he became president; and as long as + King George retained his mind, West was constantly in the sunshine of + royal favor. He was appointed "Painter to His Majesty," and a splendid + income rewarded his labors. He was neglected by the Prince of Wales, but + was recompensed for the loss of his court associations by the patronage of + the nobles and people. Copley and West were the forerunners of a + succession of American portrait-painters not inferior in their art to + their European contemporaries. Both Copley and West aspired to something + higher and more creative than copying the lineaments of human faces, but + it may be said of them that in historical and imaginative painting they + fell short of the highest standard. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Peale, Stuart, and Trumbull. + </p> + <p> + Following Copley and West came, close together, three painters whose works + were of a high order, some of them being familiar to every one in engraved + copies. These were Charles Wilson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, and John + Trumbull. Peale was a saddler's apprentice, Stuart the son of a + snuffmaker; Trumbull, on the other hand, was the son of one of the + foremost statesmen of the Revolution. To all three we owe portraits of + Washington from life. Peale painted him in his prime, just after the + battle of Monmouth; Trumbull painted him as he was a few years later, at + the surrender of Cornwallis; and Stuart painted him when the added dignity + of age had crept upon him, and he was President at Philadelphia. Both + Peale and Trumbull fought in the Revolution. Trumbull is now best known as + the painter of the historical pictures of the war for independence which + hang in the Capitol at Washington; of which the most familiar is the + "Battle of Bunker's Hill." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Washington Allston. + </p> + <p> + It could no longer be said, after these great painters had lived and left + enduring results of their labors, that America was devoid of a genius for, + or an appreciation of, art. The appearance of Washington Allston, who as a + colorist won the name of the "American Titian," and whose noble + conceptions of Biblical subjects, executed with wonderful power, have + given him permanent rank among the best artists of his time; and of Henry + Inman, whose versatile genius readily took up portrait, historical, or + landscape painting at will, served to carry American art yet another grade + higher. Rembrandt Peale sustained the tradition of his father's ability by + his own works; Sully came from England to win fame here as a + portrait-painter; Vanderlyn and many others rapidly rose to establish art + as a profession and adornment in this country. It is worthy of note that + two of the greatest of American inventors, Robert Fulton and S.F.B. Morse, + began life as artists; but found it more profitable, in fame and fortune, + to run steamboats and establish telegraphs. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Artists as Inventors. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Sculptors. + </p> + <p> + The sister arts have nourished in this country in a degree scarcely less + marked than painting. In sculpture, a later but prolific growth with us, + the names of Hiram Powers, Horatio Greenough, Crawford, Ball, Story, Ward, + Rogers, Hart, and Harriet Hosmer, sufficiently attest the progress made + and the reputation established in this respect. In drawing, caricature, + water-colors, and other minor branches of art, our progress has been + scarcely less notable; we may fairly claim to have our Gillrays and + Cruikshanks as well as our English cousins. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Art a Modern Necessity. + </p> + <p> + Art, from having been a very rare luxury among our forefathers even as + lately as the beginning of this century, has become an adjunct, it may + even be said a necessity, of our civilization. Drawing is being taught in + our schools, and is regarded as one of the polite accomplishments of + educated young ladies. Art galleries have sprung up everywhere, and art + stores are popular resorts in our larger cities. Art societies thrive and + flourish in many States, and art teachers are in demand in most of our + towns. Colonies of artists swarm in stately buildings in New York, Boston, + and Philadelphia. The time has come when no artist of merit need starve + for want of patronage. + </p> + <p> + Thousands of Americans, travelling abroad every year, spend the larger + portion of their time in Europe in visiting those splendid art galleries + which the munificence and taste of kings and nobles have established, and + which are free to all the world. The taste for art has become universal, + and has penetrated all classes; few are the American houses, in these + days, wherein the evidences of this taste are not apparent. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Music. + </p> + <p> + Music has progressed with the other arts in popularity and culture; though + America, like England, has as yet produced no really great composer. Every + branch of music, however, is cultivated with us; and music as a profession + is even more certainly lucrative than painting. America welcomes the most + renowned singers and musicians in the world, and the highest efforts of + musical composition are performed here to audiences sufficiently + cultivated fully to enjoy and appreciate them. We cannot doubt that the + future will still further develop the American love of all the arts; or + that, in time, this continent will rival that of Europe in great artistic + productions. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVIII. PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND INVENTION. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + The Patent Office. + </p> + <p> + The progress in practical science and invention, in this country and the + civilized world, has been so amazingly rapid during the present century, + that the merest hint of a few of the most important elements of that + progress can alone be given. The fertility of the human intellect, in + devising quicker and more exact methods of doing those things which + contribute to the wealth and the pleasure of man, has accomplished results + so vast and so varied since the Declaration of Independence, that the mind + cannot survey the smallest portion of this field without bewilderment and + wonder. If we should visit the Patent Office at Washington, and give + ourselves up to a scrutiny of its records, its tabulated results, and its + long rows of cases of models, we should in time gain some idea of the + extent to which American minds have carried the effort of invention. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Discoveries in the Exact Sciences. + </p> + <p> + Yet the Patent Office, while it exhibits the results of American + invention, fails to show anything like the total amount of useful + discovery which has been achieved on this continent since the foundation + of the government. There are those who discover and invent, and who do not + patent. There are discoveries which cannot be circumscribed by the + filling-out of blank forms, and an official restriction on their use. This + is emphatically the case with discoveries in the exact sciences, which, + while they have added immeasurably to the knowledge of mankind, have also + attained results the most useful and practical. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Meteorological Laws. + </p> + <p> + Illustrations of this truth may be found in the progress made by such + sciences as astronomy and meteorology. No one can doubt the value of the + result which accrues to human lore from a more accurate knowledge of + astronomy, of the mutual influences of the solar system, and the physical + character of its members. Nor can we deny that the rapid strides which + have been made within thirty years in the science of meteorology are of + the most immediate benefit to the material interests of men. The simple + statement that the predictions of "Old Probabilities" as to the weather + prove, in a large majority of instances, to be justified by the event,—founded + as they are, not upon mere guesswork, but upon ascertained meteorological + laws and a proved uniformity in the direction of storms,—is enough + to show the importance of the recent discoveries in this field. One has + only to reflect upon the changes in the course of little and of great + events wrought by the weather, to be convinced of their large and + permanent value. + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Improvements in Machines and Methods.] + </p> + <p> + We can look in no direction, however, without at once in some degree + appreciating, and being astonished at, the metamorphosis which has been + effected by the activity of scientific invention and discovery of the most + palpably practical kind. No practical profession, trade, or industry can + be named in which the improvements in machinery and methods have not been + such, within the century, as to alter most of its conditions, and very + greatly to multiply its efficiency and productiveness. These improvements + have descended, too, from general systems to the minutest details. Cloth + fabrics are not only manufactured on a very different scale and extent, + but every little appliance of the machinery has been made better, and does + its appointed work faster and with greater precision. + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Steam and Electricity.] + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Conveyances.] + </p> + <p> + If one were asked what two inventions made within the century have wrought + the greatest changes, the reply would be prompt that they are locomotion + by steam and communication by electricity. The steam-engine and the + steamship have made it possible to travel around the world, if not in the + eighty days required of Jules Verne's hero, at least in a hundred; while + the telegraph enables us to talk with our friends at the antipodes—if + such we have—within a week. What share America has had in achieving + these mighty agencies is signified by the names of Fulton and Morse. Nor + have other means of locomotion and communication been neglected. The + horse-car has to a large extent taken the place of the omnibus and of the + lumbering stage-coach; while vertical travelling, by means of the + elevator, has become easy and luxurious in our day. In the making of + carriages of every kind, the progress becomes very apparent when we + compare the light and elegant vehicles which fill our fashionable avenues + on a pleasant day, with the coaches in which Washington and Lafayette + deigned to ride on state occasions. + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Iron Manufactures.] + </p> + <p> + In the great industries, invention has supplied the means of changing the + rude ore or the raw material into every manifold form of use and ornament, + in an increased production which would have filled the men of '76 with + amazement. Machinery has come to do a vast amount of work which manual + labor used to do; yet, by a happy compensation in the economic condition + of things, human labor, far from being left in the lurch by mechanical + introduction and ever increasing efficiency, is in greater demand than + before. In the melting and puddling of iron, in its casting, forging, and + rolling, and especially in its turning and planing, the inventions have + been, perhaps, more striking than in any other operations upon metals; and + the importance of the improvements thus effected in the manufacture of + iron may be appreciated when we consider to how many more precious uses + iron is put than any other metal. The advances made in the working of + wood, and in that noble engineering science which employs itself in the + construction of canals, dikes, and bridges, are not less notable. + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Machines and Weapons.] + </p> + <p> + To even mention the devices by which the manufacture of cotton and woollen + fabrics, of shoes, of silks, and very many other articles, has been + brought from rude processes to the rapid production seen to-day at our + great industrial centres, would require a volume. To America is due the + sewing-machine, which in the factory and in the household has given a + manifold value to labor, has cheapened time, and is assuredly one of the + chief triumphs of human ingenuity. We have done our part, too, in devising + deadly weapons for contending armies. The revolver, invented by Samuel + Colt, made a man armed with it six times as formidable as he was before; + and the breech-loader, first attempted by John Hall of Yarmouth, + Massachusetts, more than seventy years ago, was generally adopted in + Europe. It is said that the greater number of the military arms made in + the United States for Europe are on the breech-loading system. The + invention of what is called the principle of "assembling," which consists + in making the various parts of a machine "in distinct pieces of fixed + shape and dimensions, so that the corresponding parts are + interchangeable," has brought about a revolution in the manufacture of + other articles besides fire-arms. It is applied also to watches, + sewing-machines, knitting-machines, and even to agricultural implements + and the building of locomotive engines. + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Labor Saving Appliances.] + </p> + <p> + The kitchen, the farm, and the sitting-room have been invaded by + labor-saving appliances so numerous and so deft as to make each of these + domestic departments a sort of factory in itself. The spinning-wheel has + been abandoned for the sewing and the knitting machine, and the + hand-plough for the steam-plough, and the scythe for the mowing-machine, + and the rude kitchen knife and spoon for an endless variety of + contrivances, from the apple-parer, the egg-beater, and the bean-shelters, + to the lemon-squeezers, knife-sharpeners, and coffee-mills. + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Various Inventions.] + </p> + <p> + It is equally vain to attempt the enumeration of the improvements in the + security of movable property, the rapidly changing devices for more + effective fire-alarms, the revolution in the system of fire prevention + with its steam-engine and its fire-alarm telegraph, the growing efficiency + of the science of aerostation, the invention of scales for weighing heavy + bodies, the processes for refining the precious metals, the achieved idea + of making ice by machinery, the great advance effected in the making of + glass, and the vast changes which have been wrought in many respects by + the perfection of india-rubber as an article of common use. + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Surgical Progress.] + </p> + <p class="side"> + [Sidenote: Printing and Engraving.] + </p> + <p> + Nor must we forget to hint at the discoveries which have given new effect + to surgical skill—the discovery of anaesthetics, the perfection of + artificial limbs, the repair of the body, and the valuable method of + lithotrity; while even the match need not be disdained as one of the chief + inventions of the century. Paper, too, and engraving, and printing (with + all its complications of stereotyping, electrotyping, and heliotyping), + photography (with its constant improvements), can only be mentioned to + open the mind to a wide vista of marvellous triumphs. We have but to + glance along the stalls of a modern book-store, to appreciate that the + arts of printing and engraving have made a more rapid progress during the + past hundred years than during all the previous centuries since the + invention of type; while it may fairly be said that the United States can + at last boast that not only is her literature worthy to be compared with + that of England, but that it is as well printed, illustrated, and bound, + and is presented on home-made paper as elegant and as durable, as are the + choicest publications of London and Paris. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIX. POLITICAL CHANGES. + </h2> + <p class="side"> + Sources of Government. + </p> + <p> + President Woolsey has forcibly remarked that states and forms of + government have had mainly two sources of origin. They have either "slowly + built themselves up for ages, finding support in historical causes, and in + past political habits"; or, they have been "the artificial results of + political theory." England presents the most conspicuous modern example of + the former class; while France, since the Revolution, may be regarded as + the chief modern example of the latter. And as it was with England, our + mother-country, so it has been, and is, with us. It is true that the + organism of the United States was the immediate result of revolution, and + is founded upon a constitution that is written and fixed, or only with + great pains and difficulty modified. Yet, if we search further and deeper + for the materials of which our national fabric has been constructed, we + shall easily recognize that our freedom, like that of England, has really + "broadened slowly down from precedent to precedent." + </p> + <p class="side"> + Gradual Growth of the American System. + </p> + <p> + The growth towards American independence did not begin, the seeds of it + were not sown, either at Bunker's Hill or at Philadelphia. Indeed the + growth had then reached the period of fruitfulness. The progression + towards an independent nation, and a free nation, began at Plymouth and at + Jamestown. The Constitution only made articulate the spirit which had been + growing for more than a century, and it still left an unwritten law set up + by custom, habit, and characteristics most aptly nourished to the ends + reached in 1776, 1787, and 1789. While our written constitution was made, + we still retained the common law of England as the basis of our own, and, + like England, proceeded gradually to build upon this broad foundation the + superstructure of statute. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Origin of the Government. + </p> + <p> + If, therefore, the origin of our government was in one respect + revolutionary, it was not revolutionary as being sudden, accidental, and + without preparation. The revolution was, in fact, almost formal in a + political sense. The same people, the same traditions remained, and the + same growth went on. There was a new bond, binding the colonies together, + and holding them the more sturdily to purposes already formed and + undertaken. Yet it was certain that a new government, starting forth, as + ours did, at a period when political theories of diverse and contradictory + import were engaged in a very active struggle in Europe, would meet with + unusual difficulties, and be beset with grave dangers from the outset. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Contest of Diverse Political Ideas. + </p> + <p> + We note, therefore, in the very body which framed the constitution, the + rise of the contest out of which have come the most momentous changes + which our polity has since undergone. Happily for us, we have had to + witness no sudden and startling alterations in the form or spirit of our + institutions. What changes have occurred—and some have occurred of + very high and grave importance—have come gradually, have been + foreseen. The victories of parties in this country have never been by <i>coups + d'état</i>. They have been won by light of day, with banners flying and + trumpets sounding. We have not been subject to that dread of sudden + calamity, of a bean-stalk growth of anarchy in a night, which haunts the + French to this day, and which makes both kings and peoples in continental + Europe sensitive to every untoward rumor. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Political Changes. + </p> + <p> + Of all the political changes which the United States have undergone during + the ninety-nine years of our national career, the most conspicuous, + perhaps, is that which has tended to increase the powers of the central + government, and diminish those of the several States. The contest between + those who believed in a strong central power and those who jealously + defended the largest share of independence for the several States + compatible with the bond of federation, began in the Constitutional + Convention; and the instrument which was there framed, after long + discussion and many perils, was really a compromise between these two + principles. On the one hand, the equality and dignity of the States were + conceded in the structure of the Senate, in the division of the electoral + votes by States, and in the "reserved rights" of the States, which have + been so often and so strenuously insisted upon since. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Early Political Parties. + </p> + <p> + On the other, the words of the Constitution throughout imply that the + United States constitute more than a league—a nation; and the money + power was lodged in the lower house of Congress, elected by the people of + the nation, according to their population. The opposing ideas regarding + the powers of the States and of the government, respectively, gave rise to + the two first political parties, the Federalist and the Republican; and + these have had as successors parties which have fought the same battle + over and over again. The later Whigs and Republicans, on the one hand, and + the Democrats, on the other, have usually been the champions, + respectively, of a strong central government, and of State rights. The + older Democrats insisted on a strict construction of the Constitution, and + opposed the undertaking of internal improvements and the maintenance of a + national bank by the general government; and for the first sixty years of + this century the State rights principle prevailed in national policy with + little interruption. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Rights of the States. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Tendency towards Centralization. + </p> + <p> + It happened that the social institution and evil of slavery, which had + become confined to the Southern States, needed the defence of the doctrine + of State rights for its continuance. Nullification, in 1833, and + secession, in 1861, were the ultimate conclusions of that doctrine, + practically applied for the purpose of sustaining the system of human + bondage. A State had a right, it was said, to break her "compact" with the + Union; and the Southern States, following in the line of this doctrine, + did attempt to secede in order to maintain slavery. The war which followed + was the rock upon which the doctrine of State rights split. The tide at + once turned towards a strong central government. Extraordinary powers, + civil, military, and financial, were exercised to put down the rebellion; + and some of these powers, once assumed by the general government, have + been continued to this day. They have been greatly strengthened by the + enormous patronage which has accumulated in the hands of the Executive; by + the army of office-holders which, scattered through the land, is subject + to the influence of the central power. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Results of Emancipation. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Fifteenth Amendment. + </p> + <p> + Connected with this change are some other changes, scarcely less + important. One of these is the establishment, throughout the Union, of + universal male suffrage. The emancipation of the slaves wrought a social + and economic change the final results of which are still problematical. It + also introduced a new political element, by endowing millions of ignorant + men with electoral rights for their own protection. Gradually yet steadily + through our political history, restrictions upon the suffrage have been + swept away. At first, not only was there a property qualification in many + of the States, but foreigners and negroes were in some of them altogether + excluded from the polls. The fifteenth amendment to the Constitution + crowned the edifice of universal suffrage in the United States; and the + floodgates, once open, can never be shut again. A set of men once armed + with the vote cannot be deprived of it: and all the efforts of + Know-nothing movements will probably be vain, whether directed against the + freedman, the Chinaman, or the European emigrant. The only way to meet the + evils which accompany universal suffrage is by paths of education, and the + creation of a pure and sincere public spirit. + </p> + <p class="side"> + The Political Changes Gradual. + </p> + <p class="side"> + Changes Effected by the Civil War. + </p> + <p> + It may be said, then, of the few great political changes which have come + over the spirit of our body politic, that they have been, like the English + revolutions, gradual, and, if on one occasion violent, at least long + contemplated and foreshadowed. On questions of commercial finance, we are + still where we were half a century ago. The antagonistic principles of a + protective tariff and of free trade are still struggling for the mastery. + The greatest changes—that produced on the government in aggrandizing + it at the expense of the States, and that produced on the South by freeing + and enfranchising the blacks—were brought about by the civil war. + The evil results which have flowed from them, mingled with great good, are + evident in many ways. Is it too much to hope that, a generation hence, + those of us who survive will look back gratefully upon a survival of the + good only wrought by these changes; and upon a completed reform of the + civil service, a purified government and Congress, a people no longer + eager to grow suddenly rich by wild speculation, but content with the + moderate prosperity attained by steady enterprise and wholesome trade; and + a South educated and reconciled, with its civil and political freedom + assured by its own enforcement of equal law? + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_FOOT" id="link2H_FOOT"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + FOOTNOTES: + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ Monroe was chosen for his + second term by every vote but one in the Electoral College. That vote was + given by Mr. Hummer of New Hampshire, on the ground that it was a + dangerous precedent to elect a President unanimously.] + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Nation in a Nutshell, by George Makepeace Towle + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL *** + +***** This file should be named 9322-h.htm or 9322-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/3/2/9322/ + + +Text file produced by PG Distributed Proofreaders + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + +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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + + +</pre> + + </body> +</html> diff --git a/9322.txt b/9322.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..93a6622 --- /dev/null +++ b/9322.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3974 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Nation in a Nutshell, by George Makepeace Towle + +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: The Nation in a Nutshell + +Author: George Makepeace Towle + + +Release Date: November, 2005 [EBook #9322] +This file was first posted on September 21, 2003 +Last Updated: May 10, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL *** + + + + +Produced by PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + + + +THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL + +A _RAPID OUTLINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY._ + +By George Makepeace Towle + +Author Of "Young People's History Of England," "Young People's History +Of Ireland," "Heroes Of History," "Modern France," Etc. + + +1886 + + + +THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL + + +CONTENTS: + +I. AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES +II. THE ERA OF DISCOVERY +III. THE ERA OF COLONIZATION +IV. THE COLONIAL ERA +V. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE +VI. SOCIETY IN 1776 +VII. THE REVOLUTION +VIII. THE CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION +IX. WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY +X. THE WAR OF 1812 +XI. THE MEXICAN WAR +XII. THE SLAVERY AGITATION +XIII. THE CIVIL WAR +XIV. THE PRESIDENTS +XV. MATERIAL PROGRESS +XVI. PROGRESS IN LITERATURE +XVII. PROGRESS IN THE ARTS +XVIII. PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND INVENTION +XIX. POLITICAL CHANGES + + + + +THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL + +AN OUTLINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. + + + + +I. AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. + + +[Sidenote: Geology and Archaeology.] + +The sciences of geology and archaeology, working side by side, have made +a wonderful progress in the past half a century. The one, seeking for +the history and transformations of the physical earth, and the other, +aiming to discover the antiquity, differences of race, and social and +ethnical development of man, have obtained results which we cannot +regard without amazement and more or less incredulity. The two sciences +have been faithful handmaidens the one to the other; but geology has +always led the way, and archaeology has been competed to follow in its +path. + +[Sidenote: Four Eras of Civilization.] + +Though we may doubt as to the exactness of the detailed data established +by the archaeologists, there are certain broad facts which we must +accept from them as established beyond doubt. These facts are of the +highest value and interest. The antiquary has been able, from discovered +remains of extinct civilizations, to reconstruct societies and peoples, +and to trace the occupancy of countries to periods far anterior to that +of which history takes cognizance. The general fact seems to be settled +that, in prehistoric times, Europe passed through four distinct eras. +These were the Rude Stone Age, when man was the contemporary in Europe +of the extinct hairy elephant and the cave bear; the Polished Stone Age; +the Bronze Age, when bronze was used for arms and utensils; and the Iron +Age, in which iron superseded bronze in the making of useful articles. + +[Sidenote: Ancient America.] + +In the same way it has been established that, on our own continent, the +oldest discoverable civilization was one in which rude stone implements +were used, and man lived contemporaneously with the megatherium and the +mastodon. Then polished and worked stone implements came into use; and +after the lapse of ages, copper. The researches of our antiquaries +have rendered it probable that America is as ancient, as an inhabited +continent, as Europe. Evidences have been brought to light, leading to +the conclusion that many thousands of years before the Christian era, +America was the seat of a civilization far from rude or savage. Groping +into the remains of the far past, we find skeletons, skulls, implements +of war, and even basket-work, buried in geological strata, which have +been overlaid by repeated convulsions and changes of the physical earth. +But so few are the relics of this dim, primeval period, that we can +only conclude its antiquity, and we can infer little or nothing of its +characteristics. + +[Sidenote: Primeval Races.] + +Advancing, however, another stage in research and discovery, we come +upon clear and overwhelming proofs of the existence on this continent of +a great, enterprising, skilful, and even artistic people, spread over an +immense area, and leaving behind them the most positive testimony, not +only of their existence, but of their manners and customs, their arts, +their trade, their methods of warfare, and their religion and worship. +Compared with this people, the Red Indians found here by the Pilgrims +and the Cavaliers were modern intruders upon the land. These ancient +Americans, indeed, were far superior in all respects to the Red Indian +of our historic acquaintance. When the Red Indians replaced them, the +civilization of the continent fell from a high to a much lower plane. + +[Sidenote: The Mound-Builders.] + +The great race of which I speak is known as "the Mound-Builders." Like +the "Wall-Builders" of Greece and Italy, they stand out, in the light +of their remains, as distinctly as if we had historical records of them. +The Mound-Builders occupied, often in thickly settled communities, the +region about our great Northern Lakes, the valleys of the Mississippi, +the Ohio, the Missouri, and the regions watered by the affluents of +these rivers, and a wide and irregular belt along the coast of the Gulf +of Mexico. There is little or no evidence that the same race inhabited +any part of the country now occupied by the Eastern and Middle States; +but some few traces of them are found in North and South Carolina. + +[Sidenote: Ancient Mounds.] + +The chief relics left by this comparatively polished race are the very +numerous mounds, or artificial hills, found scattered over the country. +These are sometimes ten, and sometimes forty and fifty, feet in height, +with widely varying bases. They present many forms; they are circular +and pyramidal, square and polygonal, and in some places are manifestly +imitations of the shapes of beasts, birds, and human beings. There are +districts where hundreds of these mounds appear within a limited area. +Sometimes--as at Aztalan, in Wisconsin, and at Newark, in the Licking +Valley--a vast series of earthwork enclosures is discovered, sometimes +with embankments twelve feet high and fifty broad, within which are +variously shaped mounds, definitely formed avenues, and passages and +ponds. These enclosures amply prove, aside from the geological evidences +of their antiquity, the existence of a race very different from the +Red Indians. They were clearly a people not nomadic, but with fixed +settlements, cultivators of the soil, and skilful in the art of military +defence. + +[Sidenote: Altars and Temples.] + +The excavations of the wonderful mounds have brought to light many +things more curious than the mounds themselves. It seems to be +established that the mounds were used for four distinct purposes. They +were altars for sacrifice, and, like the Persians, whose sacrificial +ceremonies strikingly resembled those of the Mound-Builders, they were +sun-worshippers. They offered up the most costly gifts, and even human +victims. The pyramidal mounds, with avenues leading to the summits, +were the sites of the stately sun and moon temples. Here, undoubtedly, +imposing ceremonies were often performed. The lower or "knoll" mounds +were used as the sepulchres of the dead. They yield up to the modern +antiquary numberless skulls, of a type distinctly different from those +of the Red Indians. The Mound-Builders buried their dead, most often, +in a sitting posture, adorned with shell beads and ivory ornaments. +Sometimes the dead were burned. Finally, the mounds were employed as +points of observation. + +[Sidenote: Relics of the Mounds.] + +[Sidenote: Early Arts.] + +That the Mound-Builders were a far more civilized race than the Indians +is clearly revealed by the relics found in and about the mounds. They +have left behind them thousands of flint arrow-heads, many of beautiful +workmanship. They used spades, rimmers, borers, celts, axes, fleshers, +scrapers, pestles, and other implements whose use cannot now be +determined, made of various stones, such as porphyry, greenstone, +and feldspar. They knew well the use of tobacco, for among their +most artistic and elaborately carved remains are pipes, some of them +representing animals and human heads. It seems to be certain that they +had even attained the art of weaving cloth fabrics; for pieces of cloth, +of a material akin to hemp, have been found in the mounds, with uniform +and regularly spun threads, and every evidence that they were woven by +some deft invention or mechanical device. It is certain that the Red +Indian was ignorant of this valuable art. + +[Sidenote: Primeval Mining.] + +Among the highly wrought remains of the mounds are fanciful water-jugs, +well carved and symmetrical in shape, some of which were evidently +made to keep water cool. The human heads represented on these bear no +resemblance to the Indian types. Drinking cups with carved rims and +handles, sepulchral urns with curious ornaments, kettles and other +pieces of skilful pottery, copper chisels, axes, knives, awls, spear and +arrow heads, and even bracelets, come to light, here and there. There +is no doubt that the Mound-Builders were miners. For, on the southern +shores of Lake Superior, great excavations indicate an extensive and +skilful mining of copper at a very remote period. It is singular, on +the other hand, that no iron implement has ever been discovered in the +mounds. The builders used iron-ore as a stone, but never learned the art +of moulding it into weapons or utensils. + +Thus the fact that vast areas of what are now the United States were +once occupied by an active, skilful, imaginative, and progressive race, +seems fully established. Not less certain is it that in their physical +type, in their government, in their arts, habits, and daily pursuits, +they were separated by a wide gap from the Red Indians whom our +ancestors found in possession of the continent. The Indian was roving, +and hunted for subsistence. The Mound-Builders were sedentary, and +undoubtedly cultivated maize as their chief article of food. + +[Sidenote: Origin of the Mound-Builders.] + +But how remote the Mound-Builders were from the era of European +settlement, whence they came; how, whither, and when they +vanished,--these are questions before which science stands harassed, +impotent to answer positively. There are those who, marking certain +apparent resemblances between the implements, religious rites and +customs, and cranial formations, of the Mound-Builders, and those of +the Asiatic Mongols, conclude that the former were originally Asiatic +hordes, who, crossing Behring Straits, when, perhaps, the two continents +were united at that point, formed a new home and established a new +empire here. Others, with more proof, connect them with that great +Toltec race which occupied Central America and Mexico, before they were +driven out by the ruder and more warlike Aztecs. + +[Sidenote: The Aztecs.] + +The Toltecs have left ample records of their existence and gorgeous +civilization, in noble monuments and very numerous though till recently +undecipherable inscriptions; and many similarities lend weight to the +theory that the empire of the Mound-Builders, in the Ohio, Mississippi, +and Missouri valleys, was the result of a great Toltec migration from +Central America, which they left to Aztec dominion. Thus while we call +our continent the "New World," it is not improbable that we may be +living in a country which was alive with art, splendor, invention, +and power, when Europe was a dreary waste, over which the now extinct +monsters roamed unmolested by man. + + + + +II. THE ERA OF DISCOVERY. + +[Sidenote: Historic Myths.] + +We live in times when the researches of scholars are minute, pitiless, +and exhaustive, and when no hitherto received historical fact is +permitted to escape the ordeal of the most critical scrutiny. Many are +the cherished historical beliefs which have latterly been assailed +with every resource of logical argument and formidably arrayed proofs, +unearthed by tireless diligence and pursuit. Thus we are told that the +story of William Tell is a romantic myth; that Lucretia Borgia, far from +being a poisoner and murderess, was really a very estimable person; and +that the siege of Troy was a very insignificant struggle, between armies +counted, not by thousands, but by hundreds. + +In the same way the old familiar question, "Who discovered America?" +which every school-boy was formerly as prompt to answer as to his age +and name, has in recent years become a perplexing problem of historical +disputation; and at least can no longer be accurately answered by the +name of the gallant and courageous Genoese who set forth across the +Atlantic in 1492. + +[Sidenote: Icelandic Discoverers.] + +Bancroft, on the first page of his history, pronounces the story of +the discovery of our country by the Icelandic Northmen, a narrative +"mythological in form and obscure in meaning"; and adds that "no clear +historical evidence establishes the natural probability that they +accomplished the passage." But the first volume of Bancroft was +published in 1852. Since then, the proofs of the discovery of the +continent by the Icelanders, very nearly five hundred years before +Columbus was thrilled with the delight of beholding the Bahamas, have +multiplied and grown to positive demonstration. They no longer rest upon +vague traditions; they have assumed the authority of explicit and well +attested records. + +[Sidenote: Discoverers of America.] + +The discovery of the New England coast by the Icelanders is the earliest +which, down to the present, can be positively asserted. But it has been +recently urged that there are some evidences of American discovery by +Europeans or Asiatics long prior to Leif Erikson. There are certain +indications that the Pacific coast was reached by Chinese adventurers in +the remote past; and it is stated that proofs exist in Brazil tending to +show that South America was discovered by Phoenicians five hundred years +before Christ. The story is said to be recorded on some brass tablets +found in northern Brazil, which give the number of the vessels and +crews, state Sidon as the port to which the voyagers belonged, and even +describe their route around the Cape of Good Hope and along the +west coast of Africa, whence the trade-winds drifted them across the +Atlantic. + +[Sidenote: Icelandic Voyagers.] + +Confining ourselves to credible history, it appears that in the year 986 +(eighty years before the conquest of England by William of Normandy), an +Icelandic mariner named Bjarne Herrjulson, making for Greenland in his +rude bark, was swept across the Atlantic, and finally found himself +cast upon dry land. He made haste to set sail on his return voyage, and +succeeded in getting safely back to Iceland. He told his story of +the strange land beyond the seas; and so pleased had he been with its +pleasant and fruitful aspect that he named it "Vineland." + +[Sidenote: Leif Erikson.] + +The story of Bjarne impressed itself upon an intelligent and adventurous +man, Leif Erikson; who, having purchased Bjarne's ship, set sail for +Vineland in the year 1000, with a crew of thirty-five men. He reached +what is now Cape Cod, and passed the winter of 1000-1 on its shores. +Returning to Iceland, his example was followed, two years later, by +another Erikson, who established a colony on the shores of Narragansett +Bay, not far from Fall River, where the founder died and was buried. + +[Sidenote: Columbus in Iceland.] + +It is well nigh certain that Christopher Columbus, in the year 1477, +visited Iceland, and even sailed one hundred leagues beyond it, +discovering there an unfrozen sea. The idea of western discovery was +already in his mind, and he had received hints of a western continent, +from certain carved objects picked up in the Atlantic by other +navigators. It is altogether probable that the conjectures of Columbus +were confirmed into conviction by the Icelandic traditions of Leif's +discovery, during his sojourn at Rejkjawik. From this time Columbus was +more than ever intent upon the enterprise which, fifteen years after, +conferred upon him imperishable glory. + +[Sidenote: Voyage of Columbus.] + +The story of Columbus is, or should be, familiar to every American who +can read. How he sailed forth from the roads of Saltez on the 3d of +August, 1492, with three vessels and a crew of one hundred and twenty +men; how the voyage was stormy and full of doubts and discouragements; +how, finally, early on the morning of October 12, Rodrigo Triana, a +seaman of the _Pinta_, first descried the land which Columbus christened +San Salvador; how they pushed on and found Cuba and Hayti; how, after +returning to Spain, Columbus made two more voyages westward,--one +in 1493, when he discovered Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Porto Rico: and +another in 1498 when the Orinoco and the coast of Para rewarded his +researches; and his subsequent unhappy fate--all these events have been +related by many writers, and most vividly of all by the graphic pen of +Washington Irving. + +[Sidenote: Menendez.] + +The era of American discovery may be said to have continued till the +memorable fourth day of September, 1565, when the Spaniard Menendez +founded the first town on this continent, on the Florida coast, which he +called St. Augustine. In one sense, indeed, the era of discovery did not +cease down to within the memory of men still living; for the discovery +of a path across the Rocky Mountains might well be regarded as included +in it. But during the period which intervened between the return of +Columbus from his first voyage and the building of St. Augustine, +the extent and character of the eastern portion of our continent was +revealed to Europe by many and successful navigators. + +[Sidenote: The Cabots.] + +The story of Columbus inspired the cupidity and territorial ambition of +England, France, Spain, and Italy; and in the year 1497 John Cabot, +a Venetian by birth, but long a resident of Bristol, England, set out +thence across the Atlantic. He was accompanied by his son Sebastian. +On the 24th of June he came in sight of Newfoundland, and then of Nova +Scotia; then he sailed southward and reached Florida. As this was a year +before the third voyage of Columbus, in which he saw the coast of the +mainland, to John Cabot belongs the honor of having landed upon the +American continent before Columbus. + +[Sidenote: Amerigo Vespucci.] + +Voyages to the new land now followed each other in quick succession +for many years. It was in 1499 that the accomplished but unscrupulous +Amerigo Vespucci made his first voyage to Hispaniola, following it up by +voyages along the coast of South America. He returned thence to claim, +after the death of Columbus, the honors due to the great Genoese. + +[Sidenote: Verrazzani.] + +Portugal and France, jealous of the success of the Spanish and English +expeditions, lost no time in entering into this perilous and brilliant +competition for maritime honor and western possession. Portugal sent out +Cortereal, and France Verrazzani. The former skirted the coast for six +hundred miles, kidnapping Indians, and spending some time at Labrador, +where he came to his death. Verrazzani, in 1524, sailed for the Western +Continent in the _Dolphin_, ranged along the coast of North Carolina, +and so northward until he espied the beautiful harbor of New York, and +anchored for a brief rest in that of Newport. Verrazzani returned to +France with glowing accounts of the beauty, fertility, and noble harbors +of the country. + +[Sidenote: Jacques Cartier.] + +Within ten years France sent forth another expedition, under the command +of the famous Jacques Cartier, which was destined to acquire for that +nation its claim to the possession of Canada. Cartier sailed from St. +Malo to Newfoundland in twenty days. He went up the St. Lawrence, and +returned home to tell the thrilling tale of his adventures. The next +year he came back to discover the sites of Montreal and Quebec; and he +made two more voyages, in 1540 and 1542. + +[Sidenote: Ponce de Leon.] + +Meanwhile, Spain was resolved to sustain the great prestige she had +gained by the expeditions of Columbus, and to yield to no rival her +claims to dominion on the new continent. In 1512, Don Juan Ponce de +Leon, a brave soldier and adventurous man, who had accompanied +Columbus on his second voyage, landed on the peninsula of Florida, and +established the right of Spain to its possession. Five years after, +Fernandez landed on the coast of Yucatan; and ere long Garay explored +the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. + +[Sidenote: De Soto.] + +It is not possible, in this survey, to follow, or even to name, the +Spanish expeditions of discovery and conquest between 1512 and 1550. +Suffice it to say that during this period subjects of the Spanish king +landed on the coast of South Carolina, entered the harbors of New York +and New England, crossed Louisiana and northern Mexico to the Pacific, +explored Mexico and Peru, marched across Georgia under the lead of the +renowned Ferdinand de Soto, penetrated to the interior, and, after many +romantic adventures and desperate hardships, discovered the magnificent +river which we call the Mississippi; made perilous excursions into the +wild depths of Arkansas and Missouri, and even to the remote banks of +the Red River. + +[Sidenote: Character of the Discoverers.] + +The enterprises of Spaniards, English, Portuguese, and French were alike +prompted by the greed of gain. All sought the fabled El Dorado; all +craved the power of colonial dominion. None the less were the navigators +and soldiers, whom the nations sent forth to reveal a new world to +civilization, men of courage and fortitude, able in achieving the +momentous tasks assigned to them. Columbus and Cabot, at least, thought +less of riches and fleeting honors than of the proper and noble glories +of discovery; it was left to their Spanish successors to kidnap the +Indians, to rob their settlements and murder their women, and to invade +the peaceful wilds of America, with fire and the sword. + + + + +III. THE ERA OF COLONIZATION. + +[Sidenote: Voyages of Colonization.] + +To acquire a title to the fertile and fruitful lands and fabled riches +of the newly discovered continent, became the aspiration of the great +maritime states of Europe, which had shared between them the honors of +its discovery. From the middle of the sixteenth to the beginning of the +seventeenth century, the voyages of adventure and projected colonization +were almost continuous. Spaniards, Frenchmen, and Englishmen fitted out +vessels and crossed the ocean, to make more extended researches, and to +found, if possible, permanent settlements. Although failure generally +attended these attempts at colonization, they gradually led the way to +the final occupation of the continent. + +[Sidenote: The Huguenots in America.] + +Of these abortive efforts, that of Admiral Coligny to found a settlement +of the Huguenots, who were persecuted in France, on the new shores, was +the earliest and one of the most romantic. As long ago as 1562, America +became a refuge of the oppressed for conscience's sake. The Huguenot +colony, taking up their residence on the River May, gave the name of +"Carolina" (from King Charles IX.) to their new domain. After many and +terrible hardships, they returned again to France, to be soon succeeded +by another colony of Huguenots, also sent out by brave old Coligny, +which settled on the same soil of Carolina. + +[Sidenote: Menendez in Florida] + +This aroused the jealousy and cupidity of Spain. The "most Catholic" +king was not only enraged to find the soil which he claimed as his own +by right of discovery, taken possession of by the subjects of his French +rival, but was scandalized that the new colonists should be Calvinistic +heretics. It was the very height of the gloomiest period of religious +fanaticism and persecution in Europe. Menendez was accordingly sent +out to Florida by King Philip, and assumed its governorship; and on +September 8, 1565, Saint Augustine, the oldest town in the United +States, was founded, and Philip of Spain was solemnly proclaimed +sovereign of all North America. Menendez lost no time in attacking the +Huguenot colonists of Carolina. They were speedily defeated, and most +of them were ruthlessly massacred; and our almost virgin soil was thus +early the scene of another St. Bartholomew. + +Meanwhile, England was not idle in contesting with France and Spain +the supremacy of the western land. Very early in the sixteenth century +projects of colonizing America were formed in England. + +[Sidenote: English Colonization.] + +Numerous voyages hither were undertaken during the reign of Henry VIII.; +but the accounts which remain of them are rare and meagre. Some of +them resulted in terrible disasters of shipwreck and death. Late in the +century a courageous and determined navigator, Martin Frobisher, made +three voyages to America, but without establishing a colony, or finding +the treasures of gold and gems which he sought. Later, Sir Humphrey +Gilbert, the half-brother of Raleigh, and Barlow, made attempts to found +colonies, but in vain. + +[Sidenote: Raleigh's Expedition.] + +It was in the spring of 1585 that Sir Walter Raleigh fitted out his +famous expedition of seven ships, and one hundred and eight emigrants, +and sent it forth, bound for the shores of Carolina. At first it seemed +as it art English colony were really about to prosper in the new land. +They established themselves at Roanoke, and explored the country. +Hariot, one of the shrewdest of them, discovered the seductive +proper-ties of tobacco, the succulence of Indian corn, and the nutritive +quality of potatoes. + +[Sidenote: Sir Francis Drake.] + +The hostility of the natives, however, soon became so bitter, and their +attacks so frequent, that the colony was glad to return to England +in the visiting ships of Sir Francis Drake. Two years later Raleigh, +undismayed by the failure of his first colony, sent out another, under +John White, which settled on the Isle of Roanoke, and founded the "city +of Raleigh." It was here that, on the 18th of August, 1587, the first +child of English parents was born on American soil. Her name was +Virginia Dare, and she was the granddaughter of Governor White. The +Governor returned to England, leaving the emigrants behind; and on his +going back to Roanoke, three years afterwards, no vestige of the colony +could be discovered. It is supposed that they were all massacred by +the Indians during White's absence. The first permanent settlement in +America, was made by the French, at Port Royal, in 1605. + +[Sidenote: Port Royal.] + +[Sidenote: Colonies in Virginia.] + +English enterprise was now at last ready to found and perpetuate states +on the new continent. In little more than a year after the French +occupation of Port Royal, a patent was granted by King James the First +to a party of colonists, under Newport and Smith, authorizing them to +form a government in Virginia, subject to the English crown. Imagine, +then, three small ships setting forth, on the bleak 19th of December, +1606, and directing their way to Virginia, with one hundred and five men +on board, and freighted with a goodly store of arms and provisions. Most +of the party were gallant and courtly cavaliers: there were but twelve +laborers and four carpenters in all the company. After a stormy voyage +they passed up the James River, and landing, on its shores, they founded +Jamestown. + +[Sidenote: Heinrich Hudson.] + +The news of the colonization of Virginia, the success of the adventurous +emigrants in maintaining their settlement, and the fertility, beauty, +and salubriousness of the continent, soon inspired other enterprises of +a similar kind. The Dutch have always been famous navigators; and it was +in 1609 that gallant Heinrich Hudson, alter two previous futile attempts +to find a western passage to India, reached these shores, and sailed +up the noble river which now bears his name. Five years after, a Dutch +colony was formed on Manhattan Island, whereon the city of New York now +stands, to which was first given the name of "New Amsterdam." The colony +prospered, and in 1624 the island was purchased of the Indians for +twenty four pounds English money. + +[Sidenote: The Pilgrims and Puritans.] + +We now reach the fourth permanent colony on American soil; that which +was more powerful in shaping our destinies and determining our national +traits than any other. The story of the Pilgrims and Puritans is almost +too familiar to be rehearsed. Every schoolboy knows of their adventures +and trials, their hardships and their dauntless energy, their piety and +rigidity of rule, the great qualities by the exercise of which it may +be justly claimed that they made themselves the true founders of the +American Republic. Driven by persecution from their native England, +they took refuge in Holland; and from thence they sailed in two small +vessels, the _Speedwell_ and the _Mayflower_ on a July day in 1620, for +the new world. One hundred Puritans thus crossed the ocean. + +[Sidenote: Settlement at Plymouth.] + +After a tempestuous voyage of sixty-three days, the _Mayflower_ coasted +along Cape Cod, and landed, on the twenty-first day of December, at +Plymouth. The _Speedwell_ had been forced to put back in a disabled +condition. Before landing, the Puritans made a solemn compact of +government, purely republican in form, and to this they afterwards +religiously adhered. In 1629 another English Puritan colony, called the +"Massachusetts Bay Colony," settled at Salem; and in the following +year came Governor John Winthrop, with eight hundred emigrants. The +Massachusetts Bay Colony, thus re-enforced, and now numbering not far +from one thousand souls, settled Boston and its neighborhood. + +[Sidenote: New England Colonized.] + +New Hampshire began to be settled three years after the landing of +the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Maine was colonized not much later. Vermont, +having been explored by Champlain in 1609, was settled some years +after. The Rhode Island colony was founded by Roger Williams and five +companions, driven from the Boston and Plymouth colonies in succession, +in 1636; and Connecticut first became the seat of a settlement in 1635, +the colonial constitution being adopted in 1630. Next in point of time, +Delaware was settled by parties of Swedes and Finlanders in 1638, and +was called "New Sweden." The province passed into the hands of the Dutch +of New Amsterdam, however, in 1655. + +[Sidenote: European possessions in America.] + +Thus, in a period of a little less than half a century, the whole of the +American coast had been acquired by, and was to a large degree under +the dominion of, five European nations. In 1655 the Spaniards held the +peninsula of Florida; the French were in possession of, or at least +claimed the right to, what are now the two Carolinas; the Dutch held +Manhattan Island, New Jersey, a narrow strip running along the west bank +of the Hudson, and a portion of Long Island; the Swedes were established +(soon to be deprived of it) in what is now Delaware, and a part of +what is now Pennsylvania, along the Delaware River; while the English +possessions far exceeded those of all the others put together, including +as they did nearly the whole of Virginia, a large share of Maryland, all +of New England, and the greater part of Long Island. + +[Sidenote: William Penn.] + +In the year 1681 all the Dutch possessions had been added to the +dominion of the English in America; and it was in this year that William +Penn, having received a grant of a large tract of land in what is now +Pennsylvania, sent out a colony, which settled on his grant. The next +year he came in person, assumed the governorship of the colony, founded +Philadelphia, and made his famous treaties with the Indians. At the +close of the seventeenth century the English dominion comprised the +whole coast, from Canada to the Carolinas; and it may be fairly said +that when the eighteenth century opened, the era of colonization had +reached its culmination, English civilization was indelibly stamped on, +and firmly planted in, the new continent. The crystallizing process of a +new and mighty nation had begun and was in rapid progress. + + + + +IV. THE COLONIAL ERA. + + +[Sidenote: England's Acquirements.] + +The Colonial Era, intervening between the permanent colonization of the +Atlantic coast and the momentous time when the colonies united to assert +their independence, may be said to have been comprised within a period +of a little more than a century. In 1664 England had acquired possession +of the whole colonized territory from the Kennebec to the southern +boundary of South Carolina. Georgia was still unsettled, and remained +to be colonized some sixty years after by that good and gallant General +Oglethorpe, who forbade slavery to be introduced into the province, and +prohibited the sale of rum within its limits. Florida was still held by +the Spanish, the only continental power which then had a foothold on the +Atlantic border of what is now the United States. + +[Sidenote: Colonial Progress.] + +The century of settlement and growth which we call the Colonial Era was +full of hardship, romance, brave struggling with great difficulties, +fortitude, and alternate misfortune and success. As we look back upon it +from this distance, however, we do not fail to be struck with the steady +and certain progress made towards a compact and enduring nationality. +Even then the same variety of race and habits and characteristics which +the United States reveal to-day were to be observed in the population +which was scattered over the narrow strip of territory extending +a thousand miles along the seaboard. There were English +everywhere--predominant then, as English traits still possess, in a yet +more marked degree, the prevailing influence. There were, however, Dutch +in New York and Pennsylvania, some Swedes still in Delaware, Danes in +New Jersey, French Huguenots in the Carolinas, Austrian Moravians, not +long after, in Georgia, and Spaniards in Florida. + +[Sidenote: The New England Colonies.] + +Amid such a diversity of races, of course the habits, the laws, and +the religious opinions of the colonies widely differed. But these +differences were not confined to those arising from variety of origin. +The English in New England presented a very marked contrast to the +English in New York and in Virginia. The settlements of Plymouth and +Massachusetts Bay comprised communities of zealous Calvinists, rigid +in their religious belief and ceremonies, codifying their religious +principles into political law, and adhering resolutely, through thick +and thin, to the idea expressed, by one of the early Puritans, that +"our New England was originally a plantation of religion, and not a +plantation of trade." + +[Sidenote: Roger Williams.] + +Roger Williams founded Rhode Island on the principle of religious +toleration; but he carried thither the sobriety and diligence and +courage of his former Puritan associations. He provided, as he himself +said, "a shelter for persons distressed for conscience." Connecticut was +also essentially a "religious plantation," which for many years accepted +the Bible as containing the only laws necessary to the colony, +and confined the right of suffrage to members of the church; and +Connecticut, as well as Massachusetts, vigorously punished offenders +by the rough, old-fashioned methods of the pillory, the stocks, and the +whipping-post. + +[Sidenote: Colonial New York and Virginia.] + +No contrast could be more striking than that between colonial New +England and colonial New York and Virginia. The Puritans gathered +together in towns and villages; they lived in log or earth cottages, one +story high, with no pretensions to ornament, and but little to comfort. +The wealthier New Englanders, after a time, built two-story brick +houses; but these were still plain and substantial, and not imposing. + +[Sidenote: Puritan Costumes] + +The men wore short cloaks and jerkins, short, loose breeches, wide +collars with tassels, and high, narrow-crowned hats with wide brims. The +women dressed in plain-colored homespun, but bloomed forth on Sundays +with silk hoods and daintily worked caps. The proximity of Indians +required that every New England village should be a fortress, and every +citizen a soldier. Two hundred years ago, muster-days and town-meetings, +means of defence from attack and of self-government within, were as +prominent features of New England life as they are to-day. + +[Sidenote: New England Industries.] + +The New Englanders were mainly farmers, hunters, and fishermen. Commerce +was slow to grow up among them. Trade was the means towards supporting a +religious state; not a method for the acquirement of wealth. By and by, +however, manufactures of cotton and woollen fabrics grew up, lumber was +floated down to the coast, gunpowder and glass were made, and fish were +cured for winter use and to be sent abroad. They ate corn-meal and milk, +and pork and beans were a favorite New England dish from the first; and +they drank cider and home-brewed beer. The first coins appeared in +1652; and the oldest college on American soil, Harvard, was founded at +Cambridge in 1636. + +[Sidenote: Dutch and Cavaliers.] + +The Dutch, in New York, and the Cavaliers, in Virginia, set out upon +their colonial careers in a very different way. The Dutch came to +America as traders; the Cavaliers came to be landed proprietors and to +seek rapid fortunes. Instead, therefore, of clustering close in towns +and villages, both the Dutch and the Cavaliers spread out through the +country and established large and isolated estates. Wealthy Dutchmen +came hither with patents from the East India Company, took possession +of tracts sixteen miles long, settled colonies upon them, and lived in +great state on their "manors," ruling the colonies, working their lands +with slaves, and assuming the aristocratic title of "Patroon." Thus +a sort of feudal system grew up, in which the "Patroons" exercised an +authority well nigh as absolute as that of the mediaeval barons on the +Rhine; and this system long flourished side by side with the democratic +simplicity of the Puritan commonwealths. + +[Sidenote: Captain John Smith.] + +In the same way the Virginians scattered themselves in the fruitful and +sunny valleys between the sea and the Alleghanies, and in time created +lordly domains and plantations, over which the possessors exercised +feudal sway. But this colony, composed originally in the main of +gentlemen unused to manual labor, and indisposed to bear patiently the +hardships of early settlement, did not become established without many +and serious difficulties. The colonists at first hung tents to the +trees to shelter them from the sun; and the best of their houses "could +neither well defend wind nor rain." Captain John Smith wrote to England, +begging his friends there to "rather send thirty carpenters, husbandmen, +gardeners, fishermen, blacksmiths, and diggers-up of the roots, well +provided, than a thousand of such as we have." + +[Sidenote: Tobacco in Virginia.] + +The Virginians cultivated tobacco; and in the same year that the +Puritans landed on Plymouth Rock, the first cargo of African slaves was +carried up the James River in a Dutch trading ship. It is an interesting +fact that so extensive and profitable was the early cultivation of +tobacco in Virginia that it became the general medium of exchange. Debts +were paid with it; fines of so much tobacco, instead of so much money, +were imposed; a wife cost a Virginian five hundred pounds of the +narcotic weed; and even the government accepted it in discharge of +taxes. + +[Sidenote: Virginian Customs.] + +Virginia early became divided into classes; the landlords being a +virtual nobility, the poorer colonists a middle class, and the slaves +comprising the lower social stratum. The Church of England was the +prevailing sect, and English habits of hospitality and ease of manner +replaced the Puritan austerity of the North. Yet Virginia had a severe +code of punishments; and at one time, if a man stayed away from church +three times without good reason, he was liable to the penalty of death. +The Virginians were tolerant of all faiths excepting those of the +Quakers and the Roman Catholics. Persons professing these creeds were +sternly excluded from the colony. + +[Sidenote: The Indians.] + +Just one hundred years before the outbreak of the Revolution, the white +population of New England had reached fifty-five thousand: while the +Indians, retreating at the approach of the European, had become reduced +to two-thirds of that number. The presence of the aborigines on the +borders of the whole line of the colonies seemed at first, destined to +become fatal to the settlement of the continent. But had it not been +for Indian hostility, the colonies might never have grown together and +merged, first into a close defensive alliance, and then into a great +and united state. It was mainly the sentiment of the common preservation +that brought about the intimate relations which gradually grew up +between Puritan, Dutchman, and Cavalier. + +[Sidenote: Indian Wars.] + +The Puritans treated the Indians with strict justice: Penn made friends +of the powerful tribes along the Delaware; and Roger Williams succeeded +in conciliating the Narragansetts. But a time came when the Indians saw +clearly that they were being pushed further and further back, away +from their ancient homes. Then followed the terrible wars which so +long threatened the existence of the struggling colonies, and which the +dauntless courage and hardihood of the settlers alone rendered vain. +King Philip arose, and struggled fiercely for more than a year to +exterminate the New England intruders. The Canadian French, jealous of +English supremacy on the continent, joined hands with the Indians, and +incited them constantly to fresh assaults. These French had explored the +Lakes, and the Mississippi as far as what is now New Orleans; and they +feared lest the English should deprive them of these western domains. + +Wars succeeded each other with alarming rapidity. After King Philip's +War came King William's War in 1689, Queen Anne's War in 1702, King +George's War in 1744, the Canadian War (which lasted from 1755 to 1763, +and in which Quebec was taken by Wolfe, and Canada was conquered by the +English), and finally, Pontiac's bold but futile rebellion, aided by +the French, in 1763. It was these wars, and the growing need of combined +resistance to the tyrannical assumptions of the British government, +which together drew close the bonds of friendship and mutual support +between the colonies, and made them capable of striking a successful +blow for independence. + + + + + +V. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. + + +[Sidenote: The Revolution.] + +[Sidenote: American Loyalty.] + +The Revolution was long in brewing. The discontent of the colonies at +their treatment by the mother country was gradual in its growth. At +first it seemed rather to inspire fitful protests and expostulations, +than a desire to foster a deliberate quarrel. Even New England, settled +by Pilgrims who had no strong reason for evincing loyalty and affection +for the land whence they had been driven for opinion's sake, seemed +to have become more or less reconciled to the dominion of British +governors. There can be no doubt that the colonists, even down to within +a brief period of the Declaration of Independence, hoped to retain their +connection with Great Britain. Congress declared, even after armies had +been raised to resist the red-coats, that this was not with the design +of separation or independence. Even the mobs cried "God save the king!" +Washington said that until the moment of collision he had abhorred +the idea of separation: and Jefferson declared that, up to the 19th of +April, 1775 (the date of the battle of Lexington), "he had never heard a +whisper of a disposition to separate from Great Britain." + +[Sidenote: Effect of the Stamp Act.] + +The Stamp Act, and the similar acts which followed it, united the +colonies in a spirit of resistance. They inspired Patrick Henry's +eloquence in Virginia; they gave rise to the "tea-party" in Boston; they +produced the Boston massacre; they led to the burning of the _Gaspee_ +in Narragansett Bay; they finally developed, no longer rioting, but +open and flagrant rebellion at Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill. The +colonies did not refuse to be taxed. They recognized the right of +Great Britain to tax them. But they claimed that this right had its +condition--that the taxed people should be represented in the body which +held the taxing power. Had the colonies been permitted to send members +to the British Parliament, and to have a voice in the deliberations of +the government, the Revolution might never have taken place. But King +George and his Tory ministers were obstinate to folly. They met protest +with repression; in order to subjugate the colonies, they added tyranny +to tyranny. The warnings of Townshend and Chatham were lost upon them, +and at last the colonies, utterly despairing of a settlement with +a power so deaf and so inconsiderate, launched into the storm of +revolution. + +[Sidenote: Independence Hall.] + +[Sidenote: Trumbull's Picture.] + +Every American who pays a visit to Philadelphia should visit the plain, +old-fashioned, sombre room known as "Independence Hall." Its dinginess +is venerable; its relics are illustrious. In this hall have resounded +the voices of Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Randolph,--the whole +circle of Revolutionary statesmen. On that table, which is pointed out +to you, the famous Declaration was signed. From the walls historic faces +gaze down upon you. Every relic has its record and its hint. In the +square below, you see the place where the Philadelphians of 1776 +listened to the reading of the Declaration from the Court House steps. +No one can visit this hall without conjuring up in his fancy the +memorable scene of the first of our "Fourths of July"; and, happily, +a great painter, who knew many of the actors in it, has preserved its +features on canvas. It is not difficult, standing in Independence Hall, +and retaining Trumbull's picture in memory, to imagine very nearly the +scene it presented. + +[Sidenote: Signers of the Declaration.] + +There were the long rows of plain uncushioned benches, extending up and +down the sides, filled with men of all ages, some with wigs, some with +powdered hair, some with unpowdered hair, all dressed in small-clothes, +breeches, knee-buckles, long stockings, and buckled shoes; coats of +blue, gray, and snuff color; venerable men like Franklin and Stephen +Hopkins, men in the full vigor of middle life, like Samuel Adams and +Roger Sherman, young men in the ardor and flush of lusty patriotism, +like Thomas Jefferson, and Francis Hopkinson, and Robert Livingston, and +John Hancock--the younger evidently predominating, alike in numbers and +activity. The faces were solemn and grave, no doubt, though Dr. Franklin +would have his genial joke about the necessity of their all hanging +together, lest they should all hang, separately; deep silence prevailed, +followed now and then by an excited stir among the benches. + +[Sidenote: President Hancock.] + +[Sidenote: The Continental Army.] + +Then there was the President's table, a little aside from one end of the +hall, with papers strewed over it, and by its side President Hancock, +attired with dainty and aristocratic precision, his sword by his side, +his wig perfectly dressed, his face earnest yet serene and bright. We +can fancy, too, the commotion which arose, the leaning forward, the +holding of the breath, then the dead silence, when the committee +appointed to draw the Declaration advanced to the President's table. It +was the moment of crossing the Rubicon. It was the burning of the +ships behind them. From this moment there was to be no possibility of +retreating. Independence declared, it still remained to conquer it. +British troops burdened the soil; shiploads of them were at that moment +crossing the Atlantic. The Continental army was but an armed rabble, +with patriotism for their strongest weapon. And would the colonies, one +and all, adhere, and "hang together"; or would the Declaration strike +terror to timid hearts, and destroy its purpose by its very audacity? + +[Sidenote: Thomas Jefferson.] + +[Sidenote: Franklin.] + +All this must have passed through the mind of each deputy as the +illustrious committee of five stood before Hancock, at the President's +desk. Foremost among them was Thomas Jefferson, the tallest, youngest, +and ablest of the five; their chairman, and the author of the great +document which he held in his hand. In his thirty-fourth year, Jefferson +was then a fine specimen of the Virginian gentry, his tall form clad +loosely in the small-clothes of the period, his bright red hair, +unpowdered, gathered carelessly behind with a ribbon, his light blue +eyes clear and calm, and his lips parted in a placid and confident +smile. Next to him, side by side, stood Franklin and John Adams, sons +of Massachusetts--the one risen from the printer's case, the other a +prosperous country lawyer, descended from the good Puritan stock of John +Alden. Franklin was already beyond three score and ten; his gray hair +hung in long locks to his shoulders; his snuff-colored coat reached to +his knees; his large, pleasant face must have encouraged the others on +that fateful day, so did it shine with trust in the cause and confidence +in its success. + +[Sidenote: Roger Sherman.] + +Pugnacity and determination were revealed in the short thick-set figure +of John Adams; the round bald head, the firm mouth, the set eyes of +the Braintree patriot, gave the idea that he was grimly and terribly in +earnest. Square-headed old Roger Sherman was another figure well worth +studying; a man, like the others, with the air of being rather resolved +on, than resigned to, the step which was being made, and seriously +prepared to take all consequences. And, to complete the group, there was +the polished and scholarly Livingston of New York, almost a fop in dress +and toilet, a model of elegance and fine courtesy, who, though serving +as one of the committee, was absent when the Declaration was signed. The +signing did not take place for several weeks after its adoption. + +[Sidenote: The Declaration proclaimed.] + +[Sidenote: British exasperation.] + +Jefferson read the Declaration to the Congress, and it was accepted, +with a few alterations, by the votes of the deputies of twelve of the +colonies. New York alone abstained from voting. The bell of the State +House rang out the tidings; the Declaration was read to a surging, +excited crowd in the square; it was sent off in all directions by fleet +messengers, and read at the head of each brigade of the Continental +army; and the colonies now knew that the fight was to go on to the +bitter end. Thenceforth there was no thought of patching a compromise +with the mother country, or of returning to the old allegiance to +the British crown. On the side of England, national pride and royal +obstinacy urged forward every preparation to continue the struggle; and +the voices of Chatham, Burke, and Fox were drowned amid the storm of +exasperation which the Declaration had caused. A price was set upon the +heads of Hancock and Samuel Adams, and Hessians were purchased to fill +the insufficient corps of the red-coats. + +[Sidenote: Consequences of the Declaration.] + +Now the colonies were the United States, with a flag common to all, the +symbol of a united nationality. Seldom has a written paper so moved the +world. In our own history, the only document that can compare with +it, in its momentous results, was the emancipation charter of Abraham +Lincoln. Both required a courage that was nothing less than heroic: but +the proclaimers of the Declaration of Independence risked life, family, +property; engaged in an irreconcilable conflict against enormous odds; +defied the greatest naval power in the world, and the richest nation, in +pursuit, not of the material gain to be derived from the abrogation of +a tax, but of national liberties which they were determined to secure at +every hazard. The Declaration, indeed, was needed to combine the action +of the patriots, and to give them a definite and certain purpose. It was +the bond that pledged them to harmony, and which confined them to the +alternative of "liberty or death." + + + + +VI. SOCIETY IN 1776. + +[Sidenote: American Society.] + +Despite the numerous biographies, histories, narratives, diaries, and +volumes of correspondence concerning the revolutionary epoch, which fill +many shelves of our larger libraries, it is not easy to reproduce in +imagination the state of American society as it was a hundred years ago. +In order to do so we must exclude from the mind many objects and ideas +which have been familiar to us all our lives. We must subtract all of +material improvements, of changes in the method of doing things, of new +directions and wide divergencies in the current of thought and knowledge +that have come about in the interval. We must strip the modern home, for +instance, of appliances without which it is difficult to conjure up a +picture of comfort, much less of luxury. We must forget railways, and +the telegraph, and every other use of that still mysterious agent, +electricity. We must put out of our minds all notion of great cities, of +long lines of elegant shops, blocks of noble residences, spacious parks +adorned by every refinement of the gardening art, public buildings +capped with stately dome and graceful turret and sculptured front; all +notion of the later growth of recreation, the theatre and the concert +hall, the lecture platform, the brilliant holiday festival, the sea +excursion, the gay and attractive summer resort with its big hotels and +its countless luxuries. We must return in imagination, in short, to +a social condition but few remnants of which are still to be found in +remote corners of the country; the relics of which still visible to the +eye are rare and precious, and dwindling away day by day; and the +life and spirit of which have ceased with the broadened, gift-laden +civilization which has replaced the old primitive simplicity, and made +a powerful, teeming, and restless nation out of scattered villages and +colonies struggling to exist. + +[Sidenote: Old-time Mansions.] + +Still, there was a very distinct advance in culture, elegance, comfort, +and luxury, beyond the condition of the colonies in the previous +century. Those who remember the stately Hancock House, on the top of +Beacon Hill in Boston, and compare its exterior and interior with still +extant edifices which were residences of the wealthier colonists of two +hundred years ago, may gather some idea of the far more lavish adornment +and elegance of the period in which Hancock lived. We may well believe +that when Washington drove through the streets of Philadelphia in +a state coach, "of which the body was in the shape of a hemisphere, +cream-colored, bordered with flowers round the panels, and ornamented +with figures representing cupids, and supporting festoons," he presented +a very different appearance from that of the early Puritan governors +and Virginian squires; and could we have peeped into the square, solid +drawing-room in which, as President, he held his receptions, aided by +the matronly grace and dignity of Mrs. Washington, the scene would +be far gayer and more imposing than William Penn's house would have +displayed, or the company of the richest Dutch "patroon" of New York +could have presented in the seventeenth century. + +[Sidenote: Old Furniture.] + +Yet, had we gone over the mansion, in how many things would we, used +to the minute refinements of this later age, have judged it wanting! +Instead of gas, there would be candles, and not of the best quality, +everywhere. Instead of stoves and furnaces with coal, we should have +been fain to comfort ourselves with the cheerful blaze and genial glow, +but scant and capricious warmth, of the wood logs, burning in the big +open fireplaces. Lace curtains and moquette carpets would be nowhere +apparent. The furniture, though here and there richly carved and +bountifully upholstered, would be wanting in variety and the luxurious +ease of that which we now enjoy. + +[Sidenote: The Tables of 1776.] + +At table we should have missed the thousand refinements and inventions +of French and native cooking which now lend variety to our sustenance. +The food would have been substantial and heavy and little various; the +English simplicity, probably, of barons of beef and shoulders of mutton, +and cold bread, and big plum puddings, with a relish of fruits. Were we +in fancy to journey from New York to Philadelphia or Boston, we should +be forced to rumble slowly over bad roads, through interminable forests +and by desert sea-coasts, in heavy and rudely jolting vehicles, and be +several days upon the trip. + +[Sidenote: Travelling in the Olden Time.] + +[Sidenote: The Wealthier Classes.] + +It is a striking fact that people in the days of Washington travelled +not a whit more rapidly than people in the days of Moses or of Homer. +The chariot-rider of the Olympic games attained a speed which +was, perhaps, never equalled in Europe or America until the first +railway-train sped between Liverpool and Manchester, in 1830. In 1776, +the Americans were still mainly confined to the original occupations of +the early colonists, farming, trade, hunting, and fishing. Manufactories +there were not as yet; Lawrence and Lowell. Pittsburg, and the great +industrial New York towns, were still in the womb of the future. +In almost every household throughout the land the old-fashioned +spinning-wheel was humming under the pressure of matronly and maidenly +feet, by which the homespun garments of the time were made. While the +less well-to-do and laboring classes were content with clothing spun and +knitted at their own firesides, the wealthier people arrayed themselves +with far more ostentation than they do at this day. Silks and satins +came hither by ship-loads from France to supply the luxury of costume +which was then in vogue. The difference between the costumes of that day +and of this was especially marked in the attire of gentlemen. Now there +is much greater plainness and uniformity. When Washington held his +levees, he was generally dressed "in black velvet, with white +or pearl-colored waistcoat, yellow gloves, and silver knee and +shoe-buckles." "His hair was powdered and gathered in a silk bag behind. +He carried a cocked hat in his hand, and wore a long sword with a +scabbard of polished white leather." The display of dress was not less +marked in other officials, and in men of high social rank. The judges of +the Supreme Court wore scarlet robes faced with velvet. "If a +gentleman went abroad, he appeared in his wig, white stock, white satin +embroidered vest, black satin small-clothes, with white silk stockings, +and a fine broadcloth or velvet coat; if at home, a velvet cap, +sometimes with a fine linen one under it, took the place of the +wig; while a gown, frequently of colored damask lined with silk, +was substituted for the coat, and the feet were covered with leather +slippers of some fancy color." All men shaved their beards clean; a man +who appeared in the streets wearing hair on any part of his face was +stared at, and very likely laughed at. + +[Sidenote: Old-time Attire.] + +[Sidenote: Wigs and Queues.] + +All the great gentlemen wore wigs; most of the country farmers contented +themselves with tying their hair in a queue behind, sprinkling it with +powder when they went to church on a Sunday. As for the ladies, those in +the best society were even more elaborate in their toilets than those +of to-day. On the dressing of the hair, especially, much time and money +were spent. It was raised high upon the head and powdered thick; "the +hair dressers," says Higginson, "were kept so busy on the day of any +fashionable entertainment, that ladies sometimes had to employ their +services at four or five in the morning, and had to sit upright all the +rest of the day, in order to avoid disturbing the head-dress." + +[Sidenote: Amusements.] + +Although our ancestors did not possess the variety of amusements +which now exists, their life was far from a humdrum one. Theatres were +tabooed, but were beginning to hold their ground here and there, though +not, we may be sure, in New England. There were, however, private +theatricals and charades, which became at one period very much in vogue +in the aristocratic houses of New York and Philadelphia. Concerts were +often held, and in the country many old-time English festivals, such as +May Day, were kept up. The most frequent and fashionable amusements of +that time were balls and parties. We hear of the gentlemen and dames +going to "routs" in their sedan chairs, much as they did in the old +country: arriving at eight--they kept better hours than our modern +fashionable people--they would dance the staid and stately minuet and +the gayer contra-dance, to the music mainly of fiddles, till midnight, +and then separate, horrified at the lateness of the hour. + +[Sidenote: Imitations of the English.] + +Indeed, we are able to see in the habits of the American upper classes +a distinct imitation of London fashions, despite the quarrel with the +British. The whole etiquette of patrician society was based upon that +of the English court, just as the law administered in the courts was +borrowed from that dispensed at Westminster. It is interesting to note +that "gentlemen took snuff in those days almost universally: and a great +deal of expense and variety were often lavished upon a snuff-box. To +take snuff with one another was as much a matter of courtesy as the +lifting of the hat." + +[Sidenote: Wine and Profanity.] + +The days of prevalent cigar-smoking and tobacco-chewing had not come. +The use of wine and ardent spirits was regarded with less reprobation +in the old society than in the new; profanity, too, was indulged in much +more freely by men of standing and moral profession than now. Thus we +can recognize, in these and in many other things, a progress in morals, +and in greater refinement both of thought, manners, and language, as +well as in the material enginery of civilization. + + + + +VII. THE REVOLUTION. + +[Sidenote: Washington as Commander-in-chief.] + +George Washington had been assigned to the command-in-chief of the +colonial troops, just before the Battle of Bunker Hill. Thus, at the +very start, wisdom ruled the counsels and Providence guided the action +of our forefathers. The military abilities and lofty patriotism of +Washington could scarcely have been foreseen at the first in all their +breadth and scope; yet he was already known as a soldier of tried +courage and of prudent conduct, and as a Virginia gentleman of +conspicuous social and private virtues. + +[Sidenote: Continental Generals.] + +Washington assumed the chief direction of the Continental forces, under +the famous old elm which still stands, but a few steps from Harvard +College, in Old Cambridge, on the third day of July, 1775. At the same +time of his appointment, four major-generals--Artemus Ward, Israel +Putnam, Philip Schuyler, and Charles Lee--were designated. The principal +troops of the colonies were at this time gathered in an irregular cordon +around Boston. Their position was almost unchanged from that which they +had occupied before the Battle of Bunker Hill; for the British were +unable to follow up the success which they had achieved on that +occasion. + +[Sidenote: The Continental Forces.] + +The general-in-chief, on inspecting his forces, saw how ill disciplined +and ill supplied they were. They had but little clothing, a scant supply +of arms, and still less ammunition. Washington's first task was by +no means the least difficult of those which lay before him. It was to +create an army out of a brave but heterogeneous multitude of patriots. +It was to collect arms and supplies; to keep vigilant watch on the +British in Boston; to fortify and defend the surrounding circle; and +prepare to meet and drive out the pent-up foe. + +At last, after preparations extending through nearly eight months, +Boston was attacked by batteries from Dorchester Heights, and on the +17th of March, 1776, Howe evacuated the town, and the first decisive +struggle of the seven years' contest had been decided in favor of the +Americans. + +[Sidenote: First Campaign.] + +The scene is now transferred further south. Charleston had, it is true, +already been attacked, but without favorable results to the English; +on the other hand, Arnold and Montgomery had vainly essayed to assail +British power in the Canadas. New York was the objective point of +those who had now come to be regarded as the invaders of our soil. Its +splendid harbor and its central position afforded a good standpoint. The +concentration of the troops of Howe, which had evacuated Boston, the war +ships commanded by his brother, Lord Howe, and the forces under Clinton, +which had been occupied in futile operations in the South, enabled +the British to force Washington out of New York, and to occupy it +themselves. + +[Sidenote: Numerical Force of the Contestants.] + +The whole British force engaged in this enterprise was scarcely less +than twenty-five thousand men; the American force did not exceed twelve +thousand; and the contrast in discipline and equipment still further +increased this inequality of strength. Then came the retreat across New +Jersey, succeeded by one of the most brilliant strokes of the war. This +was the midnight and midwinter crossing of the Delaware by the American +general and his troops, the forced march upon Trenton through the snow +and cold, and the surprise and utter defeat of the Hessians at that +place on Christmas morning. + +[Sidenote: Valley Forge.] + +But the colonists, though waxing in strength, were not yet able to cope +in a prolonged and active campaign with the royal army. Philadelphia, +like New York, had to be given up. The terrible winter months spent at +Valley Forge formed one of the saddest and most heroic romances of the +Revolution. The army lived in huts, which, as Lafayette exclaimed, "were +no gayer than dungeons." Bread and clothing were sadly wanting. The cold +was intense, and almost unremitting. The Pilgrims during their first +winter at Plymouth were scarcely more comfortless. + +[Sidenote: Bennington.] + +It was early in the following year (1777) that General Burgoyne made an +offensive movement southward from Canada, by way of Lake Champlain and +Fort Ticonderoga. A portion of his troops were sent to Bennington to +capture some stores collected there by the Vermont patriots. A vigorous +defence of these stores by the intrepid Stark resulted in the repulse, +first of the British, then of the Hessian troops. The next scene in +the drama was what may be called the second decisive action of the +war. Burgoyne, with his whole force of five thousand men, encamped at +Saratoga. There he was confronted by General Horatio Gates, who engaged +him in two battles, which, however uncertain their immediate issue, were +followed by a retreat on Burgoyne's part. The Americans succeeded in +turning his flank, and hemming him in; and then came the surrender of +Burgoyne and his entire force. + +[Sidenote: Surrender of Burgoyne.] + +The consequences of this event were of far greater moment than the +elimination from the contest of an able British general and five +thousand well drilled British and mercenary soldiers. It silenced the +complaints which were growing loud against the inactivity of Washington. +It once more harmonized the colonial counsels, which were becoming +seriously discordant. It inspired new effort throughout the colonies. +And it decided France to make open cause with the struggling patriots. +To the masterly diplomacy of Franklin we owe it that the great +European rival of England threw the weight of her sympathy and material +assistance on our side. + +[Sidenote: Charleston Taken.] + +[Sidenote: Capture of Stony Point.] + +From the moment of Burgoyne's surrender, the tide of the war was +fitful, but on the whole, towards American success. There were still +vicissitudes, now and then an apparent back-sliding; Charleston was +taken by Clinton; massacres by Indians took place in Pennsylvania; the +progress of the cause at times seemed grievously slow. On the other +hand, "mad" Anthony Wayne assaulted and took Stony Point, on the Hudson; +Paul Jones made vigorous havoc with the British war-ships, conquering +the _Serapis_ and carried terror to the English by approaching close to +their coast with his doughty _Bonhomme Richard_; Marion and Sumter kept +up constant hostilities with the British in South Carolina; and the +vexatious character of the war was evidently wearying the patience, and +wearing upon the determination, of the royal government. + +[Sidenote: Surrender of Cornwallis.] + +The final scene of the war, at least that which most obtrusively +stands forth in its panorama, was the siege and capture of Yorktown, +in Virginia, and the surrender of General Lord Cornwallis with seven +thousand troops. On this occasion the Americans had the aid of a corps +of French troops under Count Rochambeau, while the French Admiral de +Grasse guarded York River. The siege was so vigorous that in ten +days Lord Cornwallis found himself unable to hold the town. But for +a propitious rain-storm, he might yet have saved his army, and thus +protracted the war. His attempt to leave Yorktown under cover of night +was, however, frustrated by the outburst of a tempest; and he was forced +to send word to Washington that he would surrender. + +[Sidenote: Peace.] + +This he did, with all the customary formalities of war, on the 19th of +October, 1781. By this act seven thousand British troops, the largest +force left on American soil, were withdrawn from the conflict. It was +the death-blow to British hopes. The war dragged on, however, for two +years more. The royalist troops held New York, Charleston, and Savannah, +but did not venture upon aggressive projects. At last, a treaty was made +at Paris, on the 3d of September, 1783, by the conditions of which Great +Britain grudgingly acknowledged the independence of the United States of +America. + +[Sidenote: The Revolutionary Heroes.] + +There would be no justice in presenting even an outline of the American +Revolution, without referring to its triumphs of statesmanship and +diplomacy, as well as its triumphs of military achievement. Washington, +Greene, Stark, Putnam, Wayne, Lafayette, De Kalb, Steuben, Schuyler, and +their fellow-soldiers, performed a great part, and that which was the +most brilliant and conspicuous, in accomplishing our liberties. But in +the Congress were patriots quite as devoted, and not less efficient; +while Franklin, during his sojourn abroad, exercised with great skill +the delicate and subtle generalship of diplomacy. It would have been +easy for the statesmen of the Revolution to render all of Washington's +efforts vain and futile. The triumph of unworthy ambitions in the +colonial counsels might well have brought wreck and ruin upon the cause. + +[Sidenote: Revolutionary Statesmanship.] + +Had the revolutionary statesmen lacked capacity or courage, they would +have loaded the army with a burden which it probably could not have +supported. The marvel of the period was the almost undisturbed unity, +readiness, and practical energy of every branch of the public service; +the devotion of each one in his own sphere to the common end; the +general co-operation in the means by which that end was to be reached; +the remarkable rarity of treason, even of self-seeking; the steadfast +exercise, amid the comfortlessness of camps and the temptations of the +council-hall of the highest and worthiest public virtues. + + + + +VIII. THE CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION. + + +[Sidenote: The Confederation.] + +[Sidenote: Bond of the States.] + +The Confederation was designed as a temporary civil machine, with which +to conduct a war common to the colonies. The Constitution was the later +and permanent bond, combining the States under a single government. +Without the confederation, there would have been chaos in the +revolution; without the constitution, there would have remained the +weakness arising from the division and rivalry of States. It is most +interesting to observe the gradual manner in which our civil government +crystallized out of the original elements offered by the colonies; +and it is wonderful to see with what wise deliberation and patriotic +earnestness States differing so widely in manners, in religion, in +colonial system, and even in blood and race, were brought together in +harmonious coalition, bound with a bond which the greatest civil war of +modern times failed to sever, and which it seems only to have confirmed +and strengthened. + +[Sidenote: Early Confederations.] + +There were, indeed, local confederations before those which, in +1774, enabled a congress to meet at Philadelphia, and which, in 1777, +established articles for a more regular, though still a temporary, civil +enginery with which to bring the war to a successful conclusion. More +than a century before the first meeting of the Continental Congress, +the idea of a confederation had been agitated among the New England +colonies. In 1643 a confederation of those colonies was agreed upon +at Boston, with twelve organic articles, for the common protection and +defence. Here was the very beginning of American unions; and in its +features may be discovered traces of the democratic principles of the +Pilgrims. + +[Sidenote: Declaration of Rights.] + +A general congress of all the colonies met at New York in 1690, +for purposes of conference, when the Stamp Act was promulgated. +Massachusetts invited the colonies to meet in a general congress, which +assembled at New York in 1765, adopted a declaration of rights, asserted +the sole right of taxation to rest in the colonies, and passed other +important resolutions. Eleven years before this, commissioners from +nearly all of the colonies had met at Albany, and before this body +Benjamin Franklin submitted his famous "project of union." Other +conferences and congresses were held between 1765 and 1774; but it was +early in September of the latter year that the first formal Continental +Congress met, at Philadelphia, mainly to concert measures for resisting +the arbitrary acts of the mother country. The rules which guided its +deliberations were few and simple; but even so early we find Patrick +Henry arguing upon the great question of the rights of the States, which +has been a bone of contention in this country from that time to this. + +[Sidenote: Articles of Confederation Adopted. ] + +The first formal articles of confederation, after several ineffectual +attempts, were adopted on the 15th of November, 1777, when the States +were in the midst of the war of independence; but they were not formally +ratified by all of the colonies until 1781, when Maryland at last agreed +to them. These articles contained the germs of nationality, the crude +material out of which the much broader and wiser constitution was +afterwards framed. The second article provided for the complete +"sovereignty, independence, and freedom," of the several States, in all +powers not expressly delegated to Congress. + +[Sidenote: Restrictions on the States. ] + +It was declared that the confederation was a mutual league for +protection and defence; that each State should deliver fugitives from +justice to the others, and accord full faith to the judicial records +of the others; that each State should have the right to recall its +delegates, and that no State should be represented in Congress by +less than two nor more than seven delegates; that no State should send +embassies to foreign powers, confer titles of nobility, lay imports +inconsistent with treaties of the United States, keep vessels of war +or military forces in time of peace without the consent of Congress, a +certain quota of militia excepted, or engage in war except in certain +specified exigencies. + +These, with many minor regulations, were the organic rules under +which our civil government was carried on from 1777 to 1788, when the +constitution came into force. The confederation was supplied with an +executive chosen by Congress, comprising secretaries of foreign affairs, +war, and finance. It was evident, however, that this league, while it +had well served a temporary purpose, was quite inadequate to the +purpose of a permanent bond of union. "We are one nation to-day," said +Washington, "and thirteen to-morrow; who will treat with us on these +terms?" + +[Sidenote: Steps towards a Constitution.] + +The first formal step towards establishing a constitution was the +meeting, in the autumn of 1786, of commissioners from Virginia, +Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, at Annapolis. They +conferred together, and reported to Congress a recommendation that a +body, comprising delegates from all the States, and empowered to frame +an organic instrument, should be convened early in the following year. +Congress adopted the scheme, and the constituent convention was called. + +[Sidenote: The Constituent Convention.] + +This famous assembly met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and its +deliberations continued until the middle of September. Among its +members were many of the most eminent statesmen and soldiers of the +Revolutionary period. + +[Sidenote: Members of the Convention.] + +George Washington, pre-eminent in war, and to be still pre-eminent in +times of peace, presided over the convention, and was one of the guiding +spirits of its labors. Of the thirty-eight delegates who signed the +constitution, six--Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, +James Wilson, and George Clymer--had previously signed the Declaration +of Independence. It was in the constitutional convention that Alexander +Hamilton's genius for statesmanship became conspicuous to the whole +nation; while Madison, the future President, achieved therein a large +reputation. + +[Sidenote: The Non-signers.] + +Among others, the two Pinckneys from South Carolina, John Dickinson, +Jonathan Dayton, Rufus King, Gouverneur Morris, Jared Ingersoll, and +John Rutledge, were eminent in various spheres of public life. Some of +the members of the convention refused to, or for some reason did not, +sign the constitution after it was completed and drafted. These were +Elbridge Gerry and Caleb Strong of Massachusetts, Oliver Ellsworth +of Connecticut, John Lansing and Robert Yates of New York, William +C. Houston of New Jersey, Luther Martin and John Francis Mercer of +Maryland, George Mason, James McClung, Edmund Randolph, and George Wythe +of Virginia, William R. Davis of North Carolina, William Houston and +William Pierce of Georgia. + +[Sidenote: Issues in the Convention.] + +The discussions on the proposed constitution were long, earnest, +sometimes heated, and revealed the presence of widely divergent +opinions. Four plans, or projects, were submitted severally by Edmund +Randolph, William Paterson, Charles Pinckney, and Alexander Hamilton, +differing widely in the political systems recommended. Throughout, the +struggle was between those who desired to preserve a large degree +of independence to the States, and those who wished to make a strong +national government; and the crisis of the struggle came upon the +question whether the States should have equal votes in the Senate, or +should be represented in that body, as in the House of Representatives, +according to population. + +This was warmly debated for several days, the venerable Roger Sherman +and Hamilton sustaining the principle of State equality, and Madison +and Rufus King as vigorously opposing it. At last the former party +prevailed, after a report in favor of State equality in the Senate said +to have been moved in committee by Dr. Franklin. Other phases of the +same contention occurred in the discussion of the article specially +defining the powers of Congress. It was the object of the "States' +rights" party to limit these as much as possible, and of the nationalist +party to give them a broad range. + +[Sidenote: The Constitution a Compromise.] + +[Sidenote: Powers of Congress.] + +Thus, after labors extending through nearly four months, the +constitution issued from the hands of its framers with the marks of +compromise and concession on almost every section. On the one hand, +the States were to vote as equals in the second and upper branch of +Congress, and reserved to themselves local self-government and all +powers not expressly set forth in the instrument. On the other, Congress +was clothed with authority to lay uniform taxes and imposts, to provide +for the common defence, to borrow money on the credit of the nation, to +regulate foreign commerce, to make naturalization and bankruptcy laws, +to coin money, to establish post-offices and roads, to declare war and +raise armies and a navy, to constitute courts, to organize and call +out the militia, and to "execute the laws of the Union, suppress +insurrection, and repel invasions." + +Animated, too, by the true republican spirit, the framers of the +constitution inserted in it that no bill of attainder or _ex-post-facto_ +law should be passed; that the writ of _habeas corpus_ should only be +suspended in cases of extreme necessity; and that no title of nobility +should either be granted by the government or accepted by a citizen of +the United States. + +[Sidenote: Ratification of the Constitution.] + +As soon as the constitution was promulgated, a warm contest arose in all +the States over its ratification. The instrument, upon being ratified by +nine States, was to become the organic law of the land. Although it was +strenuously opposed by many eminent men, among them Patrick Henry, a +sufficient number of States assented in time to bring the constitution +into operation the year after its submission to the people. + +[Sidenote: "The Federalist."] + +Although neither Hamilton nor Madison was entirely satisfied with the +work of the convention, both sank their scruples in a loftier spirit of +patriotism; and their defence of the constitution, in conjunction +with John Jay in the _Federalist_, is likely to be read as long as the +constitution lasts. How wisely the framers labored, and the great fruits +of their labor, are far more clearly to be seen now that the great +instrument has been so long and so severely tried, than was possible in +their own generation. The constitution has stood well the strain of a +progress far more rapid, and needs far more vast and pressing, than they +could have foreseen. It protects the liberties of a nation many fold +more extended and numerous than they could have anticipated would +exist within the brief space of a century; nor does the promise of its +endurance yet grow feeble. + + + + +IX. WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY. + + +"To have framed a constitution was showing only, without realizing, the +general happiness. This great work remained to be done; and America, +steadfast in her preference, with one will summoned her beloved +Washington, unpractised as he was in the duties of civil administration, +to execute this last act in the completion of the national felicity." +Thus spoke Gen. Henry Lee, the funeral orator of Washington, and +the father of a later and more famous Lee, who fought to destroy the +national felicity of which his father spoke. + +[Sidenote: Test of the Constitution.] + +The test of the constitution had come; and it was indeed an experiment +well calculated to arouse the liveliest anxieties of the infant nation. +The passions of party ran yet more high in those days than in our +own. Views the most antagonistic existed already, regarding the +interrelation, as well as the probable success, of the organic +instrument. But upon one point: all factions, however opposed, were +agreed. The only possible first President of the United States was +George Washington. + +[Sidenote: Election of Washington as President.] + +The new nation proceeded, in the autumn of 1788, to the choice of an +executive. There being no contest as to the chief office, the struggle +turned on the Vice-Presidency; but even in this case one candidate was +conspicuous far above the others. If Virginia had the President it +was right that Massachusetts should have the Vice-President; and as +Washington was the pre-eminent Virginian, so John Adams was, beyond all +dispute, the foremost New Englander. Ten States voted in the election, +casting sixty-nine electoral ballots. Washington received the whole +sixty-nine; and our government began with the happy augury of an +unanimous choice for its head. For Vice-President, John Adams received +thirty-four votes; John Jay nine; R.H. Harrison six; John Rutledge six; +John Hancock four; and George Clinton three. + +[Sidenote: Washington takes the Oath of Office.] + +It was on the last day of April, 1789, that President Washington took +the oath of office at New York, and in person delivered his inaugural +address in the presence of the two branches of Congress. This masterly +paper expressed the reluctance with which Washington had abandoned a +retreat which he had chosen "as the asylum of my declining years"; his +willingness to yield the prospect of repose to the call of country and +duty; his faith in the constitution and in the future of the nation; and +his devout reliance, in the burden he was taking upon himself, on "the +benign Parent of the human race." + +[Sidenote: The First Cabinet.] + +A very able cabinet surrounded and strengthened the hands of our +first President. Thomas Jefferson, who had written the Declaration of +Independence, had been Governor of Virginia, and was the successor of +Franklin at the Court of France, was made Secretary of State. At the +head of the Treasury--then, as now, the most important branch of the +executive--was placed the still young but conspicuously able Alexander +Hamilton; the most forcible of revolutionary pamphleteers, the most +efficient of staff-officers, and already an authority on finance. +Major-General Henry Knox, the chief of the continental artillery +service, who had presided over the war department during the +confederation, became Secretary of War. Samuel Osgood of Massachusetts, +experienced in civil affairs and a judicious counsellor, was assigned +to the General Post-Office; and Edmund Randolph, who had recanted his +hostility to the constitution, and was now a close ally of Jefferson, +was appointed the first Attorney-General of the United States. + +[Sidenote: Washington's Difficulties.] + +[Sidenote: Antagonism of Parties.] + +Many difficulties surrounded the first President and his advisers at the +outset. The nation was deeply in debt, and its currency was a paper one. +The people, oppressed for so many years by the burdens of an unequal +war, were irritated by the necessarily heavy taxes. The Indians on +the borders of the settled States were troublesome. And, to add to the +embarrassments of our statesmen, the relations of the United States +with the European powers were strained, and at times alarming. The two +parties which had struggled to fashion the constitution continued to +agitate the country in a more bitter rivalry than has been seen since, +with the exception of the party excitement of the period just before the +Rebellion. Their antagonism became more pronounced during Washington's +presidency, by reason of the great European war then going on, which +divided the sympathies of our people and politicians between France and +England. + +[Sidenote: The Republicans.] + +On the one hand, the party which called itself "Republican," and at the +head of which were Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, James Madison, +Edmund Randolph, and Patrick Henry, were zealous friends of the French +Revolution. They regarded that great convulsion as a desperate attempt +on the part of our recent allies to found a republic like that of the +United States; and they were in favor of extending the French our aid +and sympathy, while the more eager went so far as to advocate our active +participation in the war on behalf of France. On the other hand, the +"Federalists," chief among whom were Washington, John Adams, Hamilton, +and Jay, deplored the excesses of the French Revolutionists; thought +their example rather to be avoided than emulated; and, with a still +lingering affection for England despite her tyrannies, leaned to her +side in the conflict which was so fiercely raging. + +[Sidenote: State Rights and a Central Government.] + +The cabinet itself was divided between these two parties. Jefferson, the +"Republican" leader, was Secretary of State; Hamilton, the "Federalist" +leader, was at the head of the Treasury. On other than foreign +subjects the antagonism of the two parties was distinctly defined. The +Republicans were the stout defenders of what they called the rights of +the States. The Federalists wished to make the central government as +strong as possible. The Republicans favored strict economy, a democratic +simplicity of manners and costumes, and opposed official ceremony and +formality. The Federalists were the aristocratic party, elegant and +patrician in their tastes, sticklers for etiquette and state. Hamilton +and Washington were freely charged by the Republicans with being +monarchists at heart. + +[Sidenote: Washington's State.] + +Political capital was made of the President's ostentatious style of +living, of his cream-colored coach and six, and liveried lackeys, his +velvet and gold apparel, his almost royal levees, and his well known +desire that the title of "High Mightiness" should be conferred upon him. +He was accused of imitating the state of the monarchs of the old world, +and of wishing to gather a brilliant, ceremonious, and exclusive +court about him. Thus before he had completed his two terms of office, +Washington found himself confronted and opposed by a powerful democratic +party. John Adams, his successor in policy as well as in office, was +chosen President by only one majority in the electoral college; and when +his term expired, the Republicans succeeded in placing Jefferson in the +executive chair, and in holding power for a quarter of a century. + +[Sidenote: Washington's Policy.] + +Washington's administration, however, proved his capacity for +statesmanship as well as for war, his wisdom and force of character, and +his pure and lofty devotion to the interests of the whole country. +His policy was at once vigorous and moderate. At first he preserved an +almost impartial bearing towards the two parties, as indicated by his +selection of their several chiefs for the highest seats in his cabinet. +Towards the close of his term, however, the government became more +distinctly Federalist. Hamilton's influence became paramount; and +Jefferson retired from office to put himself at the head of a very +earnest and aggressive opposition. + +[Sidenote: Relations with Foreign Powers.] + +The results of Washington's policy may be recognized, at this distance +of time, as having been in the highest degree beneficial to the welfare +of the young nation. He placed its finances on a sound basis. He +maintained order, and put a term to the aggressions of the Indians. He +compelled Algiers to prevent her pirates from preying upon our commerce. +He made friendly treaties with England and Spain. With the French +question he dealt in a manner most creditable to his wisdom, and in the +only manner by which the United States could escape being involved once +more in war. He issued a proclamation of absolute neutrality; and he +saw that it was adhered to in the spirit and in the letter. Towards the +close of his presidency, the arbitrary conduct of France towards this +country was such that a conflict became imminent. Even an invasion by +the French was threatened. This danger continued into the period of +John Adams' term; but the firm and vigorous policy of Washington and his +successor averted it, while the European, wars in which Napoleon soon +became involved diverted the attention of France elsewhere. + +[Sidenote: States Added to the Union.] + +[Sidenote: General Results of Washington's Administration.] + +Three States were added to the Union of thirteen during Washington's +tenure of office. Vermont came within the circle in 1791; Kentucky +followed in the next year; and her neighbor, Tennessee, became a state +in 1796. What a contrast in national expenditure there was between +Washington's administration and those of modern times may be judged +when it is stated that the average annual expense of the government in +Washington's time was something less than two millions of dollars. The +population, according to the first census taken in 1790 was a little +less than four millions. Now we number more than fifty millions. It may +be said, generally, of Washington's presidency, that it gave the new +government a good start on its career of growth, order, and prosperity. +By his statesmanship, which was pure, solid, and vigorous, rather than +brilliant, peace was preserved at home and abroad; and the result was +that that general happiness which Henry Lee spoke of as promised only by +the constitution had already at least begun to be realized. + + + + +X. THE WAR OF 1812. + +[Sidenote: The Period of Political Settlement.] + +The period between the inauguration of Washington and the declaration +of war against Great Britain in 1812 may be regarded as the era of +formation and political settlement in the history of the republic. +It must not be forgotten that, at first, many of the wisest American +statesmen looked upon Republicanism as an experiment, and did not +place implicit faith in its success. The accession of Jefferson to the +presidency, however, and the events of his administration, gave the +Republican idea full scope and trial. The most philosophical and +studious of the statesmen of that day, Jefferson had the courage to +test the theories for which he had contended against the Federalism of +Washington, Adams, and Hamilton, by a vigorous practical policy. + +[Sidenote: Jefferson's Ideas.] + +Jefferson was heartily supported in this by the great mass of the +nation; and it was he who, thus sustained, established those general +principles of policy and government which became final, and have +prevailed ever since. That suffrage is a right and not a privilege, +that we should make large annexations of territory, and become the +controlling power of the continent; and that a rigid economy should +be practised, leaving the States the largest scope of local +self-government: these were cardinal articles in the Jeffersonian creed. +For twenty-four years Jefferson himself, and Madison and Monroe, his +fellow-Virginians and his earnest political disciples, presided without +interruption over the destinies of the country. + +[Sidenote: Condition of the Union in 1812.] + +The condition of the United States in the year 1812 presented a +striking and most favorable contrast to that which they had exhibited at +Washington's accession. The population had increased from four to about +seven and a half millions. The sixteen States over which Washington +presided had swelled to eighteen. Ohio and Louisiana had been admitted +to the circle. But this was by no means the limit to territorial +acquisition. It was President Jefferson who added to the domain of the +Union that vast and fertile tract which is even now in rapid process of +settlement, and which was known as the Louisiana purchase. This tract +reached from the banks of the Mississippi to the base of the Rocky +Mountains. It embraced nearly a million square miles, or more than the +whole of the area of the Union as it then was; and fifteen millions of +dollars were paid to France in exchange for it. A great invention had +been put into practical operation during Jefferson's term. This was the +steamboat. Robert Fulton put the _Clermont_ upon the Hudson in 1807; and +thenceforth navigation by steam was to play a great part in the commerce +and economical progress of the land. + +[Sidenote: Inventions.] + +[Sidenote: Causes of the War.] + +President Madison, who assumed the executive chair in 1809, inherited a +quarrel with Great Britain from his predecessor, which soon ripened +into war. The great contest which raged between France and Great Britain +early in the century could not but affect the rest of the civilized +world. American commerce had already grown into importance, and was now +seriously crippled by the arbitrary course respecting trade adopted by +both of the belligerents. Each power forbade neutral nations to trade +with its foe. But while Napoleon followed the example of Pitt in making +a decree to this effect, the bearing of Great Britain towards this +country, in respect to the prohibition of trade, was far more arrogant +and vexatious than that of France. American ships were captured on +the high seas by British men-of-war, carried into port, adjudged, and +confiscated. + +[Sidenote: The Right of Search.] + +A still more serious assault upon our national honor was made by the +British government. It claimed the right to search American vessels for +British seamen, and proceeded to execute it. Thus sailors were taken +from our ships by the hundred; and, on one occasion, an American ship, +the _Chesapeake_, was fired upon and forcibly boarded by a British +man-of-war, within sight of the Virginia coast. For a while retaliation +was attempted in the shape of an embargo upon American vessels; but this +was soon found to tend to the utter extitinction of our commerce, and +the embargo was abandoned. Remonstrance with Great Britain proved to be +of no avail. The English ministry at that time was a strict Tory one, +and far from friendly in disposition toward the United States. Despite +the protests of our envoy, the practice of search was vigorously +pursued. + +[Sidenote: War Declared.] + +This was the state of affairs when James Madison became President. +The party represented by him was now clamorous for war, while the old +Federalists, especially those of New England, as earnestly deprecated +it. At last it became apparent that war was the only remedy for the +outrages committed almost without cessation on our commerce. The +President sent a message to Congress expressing this opinion; and on +the 18th of June, 1812, war was formally declared against Great Britain. +This was evidently in accordance with the will of the nation: but we +did not enter upon the conflict without the bitter opposition of the +Federalists. A convention of the leading members of that party met at +Hartford, held secret sessions, and issued an energetic protest against +the war. This aroused a deep sense of hostility in the breasts of the +war party; and, ever since, the Hartford Convention has been regarded +as at least an injudicious demonstration at a period when war already +existed, and when the government needed the support of every patriot to +bring it to a successful end. + +[Sidenote: Beginning of Hostilities.] + +[Sidenote: Naval Victories.] + +The Americans began hostilities by making an ineffectual attempt to +conquer Canada. Meanwhile the English promptly took up the challenge, +sent ships of war loaded with excellent soldiers, many of them veterans +of the Napoleonic wars, across the Atlantic, and engaged Tecumseh, +and other Indian chiefs inimical to the intruders upon their former +hunting-grounds, to aid them in the contest. While Tecumseh, however, +was defeated and killed, the successes of the American army were few +compared with the brilliant exploits of our naval forces. The War of +1812 proved that the Americans had studied well the British example and +system in naval warfare. It was emphatically a naval war, simply because +Great Britain could only approach us from the sea. The victories of Hull +and Perry showed the greatest maritime power on earth that, though our +navy might be inferior to hers in distant waters, it was more than a +match for hers on the Lakes and the American coast. If the _Shannon_ +captured the _Chesapeake_, and if gallant David Porter had at last +to desert the burning _Essex_, on the other hand the capture of the +_Guerriere_ and the surrender of the British squadron on Lake Erie to +Perry, more than compensated for our disasters. + +[Sidenote: The British take Washington.] + +It was the the last year of the war, which continued nearly three years, +that the British landed on our southern coast, and, making havoc of +villages and plantations as they went, took Washington, and burned the +Capitol and the President's house, from which Mr. Madison and his family +had happily escaped into Virginia. But the enemy found it impossible to +pursue their temporary success to a decisive issue. Both countries were +weary of the war, and overtures of peace having been made, four American +commissioners--John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, and +Jonathan Russell--were sent to Ghent, in Belgium, to meet British +commissioners and conclude a treaty. The treaty of Ghent was signed on +the 24th of December, 1814; and, singularly enough, while such subjects +as the boundary line and the fisheries were discussed, that treaty +contained no stipulation in regard to the British claim to the right of +search. + +[Sidenote: Battle of New Orleans.] + +In those days, when there were neither railways, steamships, nor +telegraphs, news was long in travelling from one continent to the other. +The tidings of the treaty did not reach New Orleans in time to prevent +General Andrew Jackson from winning glory by defending that city from +behind his cotton-bales. This was one of the most brilliant land-battles +of the war, and was fought on the 8th of January, just a fortnight after +peace had been formally concluded at Ghent. + +[Sidenote: Results of the War.] + +The War of 1812, while it left many questions unsettled between the +mother and the daughter country, practically put an end to the vexatious +disturbance of our commerce by Great Britain. It also tended to give a +longer lease of political power to what was then called the Republican +party, and prepared the way for the "era of good feeling," over which +the amiable though not conspicuously able President Monroe presided. The +war also brought certain men prominently before the public eye. Hull, +Bainbridge, Porter, Decatur, Rodgers, and Perry, were enshrined among +the country's naval heroes. General Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, +and General Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, later reaped the reward +of the Presidency, the indirect result of their military exploits. The +gallant Richard M. Johnson afterwards became Vice-President; and it was +in the War of 1812 that General Winfield Scott won his first laurels, +and that General Zachary Taylor, long afterwards President, gave promise +of the military genius which later so much aided in bringing the Mexican +War to a speedy and victorious end. + +[Sidenote: Growth of the Union.] + +The period of the war and of the years immediately succeeding witnessed +a very rapid growth of population, and a notable swelling of the tide of +emigration westward. In 1816 Indiana came within the circle of States; +followed alternately by slave and free states--Mississippi, 1817; +Illinois, 1818; Alabama, 1819; Maine, 1820. and Missouri, 1821. The +great highway built between Cumberland and Wheeling was all alive in +those days with the wagons and groups of new settlers. A long era of +peace was to follow, and to give the country opportunity to increase, to +develop its resources, and to make rapid progress in its prosperity and +the development of its institutions. + + + + +XI. THE MEXICAN WAR. + +[Sidenote: An Era of Peace.] + +[Sidenote: Andrew Jackson.] + +An interval of over thirty years elapsed between our second war with +Great Britain and the war with Mexico. Although this period was one of +external, and, excepting the troubles which now and then arose with the +Indians, of internal peace, its social and political aspects are very +full of interest. Within its limits the first railway and the first +telegraph-lines were laid in the United States, and the great Erie Canal +was built. After three tranquil presidential terms, presided over by the +sensible though not brilliant Monroe, and by the shrewd, scholarly, and +positive younger Adams, a man succeeded to the Executive Chair whose +course was destined to revolutionize parties, to carry party bitterness +to a height of great violence, and to divert the political destinies +of the country into new channels. Andrew Jackson was well fitted by his +strong will and stubborn courage to do the dangerous work of his time. + +[Sidenote: Nullification.] + +Various considerations induced the State of South Carolina to defy +the Union. The alleged ground of her quarrel was the high rates of the +tariff imposed by Congress upon imports. This tariff she resolved to +resist; hence a resolution was passed by a convention in South Carolina +that after a certain date the tariff should be null and void within her +limits. It was further resolved that if the United States attempted +to enforce it, South Carolina should secede, and form an independent +government. John C. Calhoun was, or was charged with being, the +instigator of this movement. It was at once quelled, however, by the +prompt action of President Jackson. He sent troops and war-ships to +Charleston, under the command of General Scott; and "nullification" was +overawed and defeated. + +President Jackson also had the nerve to veto the bill creating a +national bank; and when, after two terms of service, he retired, he gave +up to the rule of his designated successor a nation of fifteen millions +of people, solvent, prosperous, and apparently destined to a long career +of peace and power. The four years of President Van Buren's term were +not notable for great events, and are chiefly interesting as exhibiting +the re-formation of parties, in which the lines between the Whigs and +the Democrats became more defined and distinct. Van Buren was the leader +of the Democrats, but was soon to lose that leadership by reason of his +connection with the fast-growing anti-slavery cause. Henry Clay was the +Whig chief; and continued to be so, despite the rivalry of Webster, down +to the time of his death. [Sidenote: Causes of the Mexican War.] + +[Sidenote: Texas.] + +It was during the term of President John Tyler, who succeeded to the +chief magistracy after poor worn-out old General Harrison had exercised +its functions for one brief month, that the events took their rise which +ripened into the War with Mexico. The large territory of Texas, lying +upon our extreme southwestern border, between Louisiana and Mexico, had +revolted from the latter nation and set up an independent republic of +its own. Texas had been largely colonized from the slave States, and +General Sam Houston, formerly of Tennessee, was its President. + +[Sidenote: Election of Polk.] + +The republic sought admission to our Union in 1837, but the application +was then refused. Seven years later, Mr. Tyler gave it a more hospitable +reception. A treaty was framed, and at first rejected by the United +States Senate. At last, in March, 1845, just as Mr. Tyler was retiring +from office, a resolution was adopted by both houses of Congress +annexing Texas, and this resolution was approved by the outgoing +President. The presidential campaign in the autumn of 1844, between +Henry Clay as the Whig and James K. Polk as the Democratic candidate, +was fought mainly upon the issue of this annexation, and the election of +Mr. Polk was looked upon as a confirmation of it by the people. + +[Sidenote: Boundary Dispute.] + +No sooner had the new President been inaugurated than what the Whig +leaders had earnestly predicted came to pass. A dispute arose with +Mexico as to the boundary between that country and Texas. Mexico claimed +that this boundary was the river Nueces; Texas asserted it to be the +Rio Grande. The matter was one of some importance, as the Nueces is +a hundred miles northeastward from the Rio Grande, and that much of +territory was therefore in dispute. The brief negotiations which +ensued with a view to the settlement of this question, proved abortive. +President Polk accordingly ordered General Zachary Taylor to occupy the +disputed territory with a small body of troops. Taylor concentrated his +men at Corpus Christi, near the frontier. + +[Sidenote: First Battles.] + +The Mexicans were equally prompt, and the first collisions occurred at +Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, near the Rio Grande. General Taylor +repulsed the enemy with little difficulty and but small loss, and, +crossing the Rio Grande, advanced upon and captured Matamoras. Thus far +the hostilities had proceeded when a formal declaration of war was made +against Mexico by the United States. Clay and the Whigs strenuously +opposed this action; but the administration party bore down all +opposition. Volunteers now flocked, especially from the Southern States, +to Taylor's standard; and in a few weeks he found himself at the head +of a resolute though not very well disciplined force of nearly eight +thousand men. Monterey, a fortified town of considerable importance, was +held by about nine thousand Mexican troops. General Taylor's objective +point was the City of Mexico. + +[Sidenote: Taylor's Campaign.] + +After an attack of three days, Monterey fell into his hands. Victory +followed his army everywhere. Santa Anna, a crafty and able man, who +had sat in the presidential chair of Mexico, was now in command of the +Mexican army, and confronted Taylor at Huena Vista. His gallant attempt +to stay the advance of the triumphant Americans, however, failed, for +Taylor defeated him in what was perhaps the most brilliantly and hotly +contested action of the war. Taylor's force at Buena Vista numbered +about six thousand men, the larger part of them being but rudely +disciplined soldiers. Santa Anna's command comprised at least twenty +thousand Mexicans. It was at Buena Vista that the Lancers, the best body +of troops in the Mexican army, were routed by the dashing onset of the +American volunteers. + +[Sidenote: Victory at Vera Cruz.] + +[Sidenote: Scott Enters Mexico.] + +General Scott now appeared upon the scene to reap fresh victories, +and to lend powerful aid, by his scientific skill and ripe military +judgment, in bringing the war to a decisive issue. He was despatched +with an army to attack Vera Cruz, the most important port and fort on +the Mexican coast. His force numbered between eleven and twelve thousand +men, and he was supported by Commodore Matthew Perry, who operated with +a fleet in the Gulf. Vera Cruz fell after a vigorous bombardment and +a brave defence. The Mexicans could no longer hold the fortress of San +Juan D'Ulloa, which was speedily occupied by General Scott. The two +victories of Buena Vista and Vera Cruz rendered the cause of the +Mexicans hopeless. The fall of the capital was only a question of more +or less delay. The resistance of the Mexicans was still obstinate, +though always ineffectual. The troops of the United States won in +succession the battles of Cerro Gordo, Cherubusco, El Molino del Rey and +Chapultepec. Finally, on the 14th of September, 1847, the American army +of six thousand, under Winfield Scott, entered the City of Mexico. This +was one year and four months after war had been declared by Congress. + +Besides these main operations, there were various collateral movements +designed to cripple the power and diminish the territory of Mexico. +General Kearney, with an independent force of volunteers, had marched +into and taken possession of the province of New Mexico; Colonel +Doliphan had in like manner occupied Chihuahua; while Colonel Fremont, +placing himself at the head of a band of American settlers recruited in +the valley of the Sacramento, and supported by Commodore Stockton, had +availed himself of the opportunity to hold Upper California for the +United States. + +[Sidenote: The Treaty of Peace.] + +Thus Mexico was subdued and compelled to come to terms, her enemy +dictating these from her own capital. Commissioners met at the city +of Guadalupe Hidalgo to conclude a treaty of peace. By this instrument +Mexico agreed to accept the Rio Grande as the boundary between herself +and Texas, adding thereby to the territory of the United States an area +of not less than five hundred thousand square miles; to make over New +Mexico and Upper California to the United States in consideration of the +sum of fifteen millions of dollars; and to guarantee the debts due from +Mexico to American citizens. This treaty was duly ratified and +exchanged in the spring of 1848--about two years after the beginning of +hostilities. + +[Sidenote: Political Effect of the War.] + +[Sidenote: California.] + +The political effect of the Mexican War was to add a large territory and +a fast-increasing population to the tier of slave-holding States, and +thus to aggrandize the slave-holding oligarchy, as opposed to the party +in favor of free soil. On the other hand, the military glory won by +General Taylor, and his adoption in the year after the war as the Whig +candidate for the Presidency, singularly enough brought into power the +party which had persistently opposed both the annexation of Texas, +and the war which had been undertaken to complete it. The Mexican War +provided the parties with four presidential candidates, Generals Taylor, +Scott, Pierce, and Fremont, two of whom succeeded in reaching the +summit of executive authority. When Colonel Fremont raised the American +standard in California, it was little imagined that he was acquiring +a province for the country the value of which was destined to be +incalculably greater than the Texan republic. Within a year, however, +the gold mines had been discovered, and that wonderful civilization of +the Pacific Coast which we now witness had begun to grow up in the far +western wilderness. + + + + +XII. THE SLAVERY AGITATION. + +[Sidenote: Slavery Inherited.] + +The United States inherited, and had to accept, from the colonial +system, a great moral and social wrong. Slavery, planted on our soil +soon after its first settlement, had spread not only through the South, +but had existed for a time even in the Puritan colonies of New England. +An active slave-trade had grown up, and was still flourishing at the +time that the constitution was framed. There is every reason to believe +that the most eminent and enlightened even of Southern statesmen, in +the very infancy of the Republic, regarded African bondage as not only +a moral, but, in many regards, a material evil. Washington and Jefferson +especially uttered, in no doubtful accents, their dislike of the system; +while such northern statesmen as Franklin, Adams, and Roger Sherman +protested in yet sterner tones against its continuance. + +[Sidenote: Strength of the Slave Power.] + +[Sidenote: The Missouri Compromise.] + +But slavery, like many traditional abuses of nations, was so securely +lodged, so difficult to uproot, that wise men at once deplored its +presence and despaired of its abolition. While, therefore, the framers +of the constitution refused to insert a direct recognition of slavery in +that instrument, choosing to regard it as temporary, and likely in +time to become extinct, other subjects, crowding upon the attention of +statesmen at the period of political formation, pushed this of slavery +for a while into the background. The first definite collision between +the upholders and the opponents of slavery occurred when, as a +consequence of the rapid growth of the country, the territories began +one after another to knock for admission into the household of States. +The dispute came to an issue in the year 1820. Missouri sought admission +into the Union, and it was attempted to admit her as a slave state. Then +the Northern statesmen declared that some limit or restriction should be +placed upon future admissions of States, in regard to slavery. + +[Sidenote: The "Slavery Agitation."] + +The debates in Congress were long and warm. Every argument which has +since become so familiar on the subject was advanced on one side and on +the other. The moral evil of slavery, its demoralizing influence upon +freeman and bondman, its cruelties in practice, were dilated upon by +some; others pictured "the peculiar institution" in its more patriarchal +and pleasant aspects. Finally, the northern members agreed to admit +Missouri as a slave State, on condition that thenceforth all new states +north of the line of 36 deg.30'north latitude--known as "Mason and Dixon's +line"--should be free; while all new states south of that line should +decide for themselves whether they should be free or slave. It was the +vain hope of the statesmen of Monroe's time that this settlement, known +in history as the "Missouri Compromise," would be accepted as final, and +that the mutual ill-feeling which had already become bitter between the +sections would be finally allayed by it. + +They flattered themselves that they had put a period to the agitation, +and that the irritating question was now cast outside the domain of +American politics. Perhaps they did not sufficiently reflect that the +same power which had established the boundaries of slavery might, +when the opportunity was ripe, erase them. The slavery agitation was, +however, only in its infancy. It had within it a vital and irrepressible +element of growth. With the advance of civil liberty, the growth of +education, it, too, must necessarily make progress. As yet it was in the +hands of so-called "fanatics." Respectable statesmanship, having made +the Missouri Compromise, would have no more of it. + +[Sidenote: The "Liberty Party."] + +[Sidenote: Garrison.] + +It was early in General Jackson's presidency that the small but +determined "Liberty party" of the North began to attract attention +by what was considered the extravagance of its utterances, and the +absurdity of its proposals. The Quaker Lundy published his "Genius of +Universal Emancipation"; Garrison put forth the "Liberator" at Boston; +and soon, in various parts of the Union, abolition tracts and fanatical +orators brought down upon them not only the execration of the South, +but the assaults of northern mobs. An insurrection, under the lead of +a negro named Turner, broke out in Virginia, and massacres and burnings +followed. The Georgia Legislature put a price upon Garrison's head; and +that devoted advocate of human freedom responded by founding the New +England Anti-Slavery Society--an example soon followed in various places +through the North. + +[Sidenote: Sympathy for the Slaves.] + +[Sidenote: Lovejoy Killed.] + +The cause was right, and grew despite every obstacle of mob violence, +persecution, contempt, and, not the least, the indignant hostility +of respectable statesmanship. Yet evidences began to appear, here and +there, that the sympathy even of official responsibility was gradually +leaning to the principle of liberty. The Massachusetts Supreme Court +declared the child Med, whose master had brought her to Boston, to have +become by that act free. There was still, however, much suffering in +store for the anti-slavery advocates. Garrison, in attempting to speak +before the Female Anti-Slavery Society in Boston, was dragged through +the streets by an enraged mob, and was only saved from death by being +hurried to the jail as a refuge. A hall in Philadelphia which had been +desecrated by an abolition conference, was burned. Elijah Lovejoy, an +Illinois abolition editor, was killed by a mob. These are a few among +many examples of the violence with which the abolitionists were treated. + +The old "Liberty party," however, grew gradually into the larger and +more powerful "Free Soil" party, of which the venerable John Quincy +Adams became the champion in the House of Representatives, and Martin +Van Buren the presidential candidate in 1848. It was still, of course, +a small minority, but its influence was now distinctly felt in the +legislative councils and in the politics of the country. The petitions +in favor of abolition which invaded Congress created alarm in the South, +and at last the southern members found it necessary to pass a rule +excluding these "incendiary documents" altogether. + +[Sidenote: The Compromise of 1850.] + +If the Free Soilers were becoming formidable, the South was also +resolved to assume the offensive. Its triumph in securing the annexation +of Texas as another slave State was followed, a few years after, by the +celebrated "Compromise" of 1850; by which, while California was admitted +as a free State, and the slave trade was abolished in the District of +Columbia, the Fugitive Slave Law was also conceded. This aroused the +indignation of very large numbers in the North, and the treatment of +fugitives under it, notably that of Jerry in New York State, and +of Anthony Burns in Boston, did much to develop and strengthen the +anti-slavery feeling. The outrageous character of the law was too +palpable to be unperceived and unresented. + +[Sidenote: The Free Sellers.] + +[Sidenote: Border Ruffianism.] + +The next effort of the slave power provoked the formation of a great +national anti-slavery party, out of the old Free Soil elements. This +effort, which, by the aid of the Pierce administration and some Northern +statesmen, was successful, was to destroy the Missouri Compromise of +1820 and thus open the way to the creation of slave States north, as +well as south, of Mason and Dixon's line. The immediate object of +this policy was to make slave States of Kansas and Nebraska, two great +territories which were ready for admission into the fatuity of the +Union. No sooner had the Nebraska Bill passed, in May, 1854, than the +terrible scenes of "border ruffianism" began. As the new law required +that the inhabitants of the territories should themselves decide whether +slavery should exist or not, the attempt was made to convert Kansas into +a slave State by invasions of "border ruffians" from Missouri. After +a long and bloody struggle, the cause of freedom triumphed in the two +disputed territories. + +[Sidenote: The "Irrepressible Conflict."] + +The events in that part of the Union served to win many converts to the +anti-slavery cause in the North. The Republican party was organized on +the eve of the Presidential election of 1856. Its chief doctrine was +that no more slave States whatever should be admitted to the Union. It +put a ticket into the field with Colonel John Charles Fremont as +the candidate for President, and William L. Dayton of New Jersey for +Vice-President. It could not be expected that so young a party would +triumph at its first essay; but when Fremont received 113 electoral +votes, while Buchanan had only 177, it was appreciated everywhere +that the "irrepressible conflict" between slavery and liberty was fast +approaching its crisis. + +[Sidenote: John Brown's Raid.] + +The self-sacrificing heroism of a fanatic, the most salient incident of +the slavery agitation during the Presidency of Buchanan, had a marked +influence in hastening the final issue. This was John Brown's raid upon +Harper's Ferry, for the purpose of setting free the slaves. The old +man's courage, his utter self-devotion to his cause, his noble death, +his simple and sincere character, appealed most strongly to the sympathy +of the opponents of slavery, and even compelled words of strong praise +from the lips of Henry A. Wise, the Virginia Governor, who signed his +death-warrant. + +[Sidenote: The South Prepares to Secede.] + +The cause of free soil at last attained its triumph in the election +of 1860. All things foreshadowed the success of Abraham Lincoln. The +northern people were ripe for decisive action against the extension, at +least, of human bondage. The Democratic party divided into two factions +at Charleston, and the factions put each a candidate into the field, +mutually to destroy each other. The South so far gave up the contest as +to make preparations, while the presidential battle was yet raging, +to withdraw from the Union. Then, as the grand, bitter, but necessary +result of the long-continued slavery agitation, the war came, and wiped +out slavery with the blood of patriots. + + + + +XIII. THE CIVIL WAR. + +[Sidenote: The Civil War.] + +The great American Rebellion of 1861-65 is still, perhaps, too near to +be judged with the calm and judicial spirit which gives its chief value +to history. Thousands of those who took part in it on either side are +yet living; millions who witnessed its progress, and watched its course +with varying emotions of grief and joy, who mourned its dead, exulted in +its victories, and hailed its termination, yet hold it in vivid memory. +Moreover, all that could be said of it, from bald narrative to +infinite discussion of this and that general, this and that campaign +or stratagem, of causes and effects, has already been repeated till the +tale has been, not twice, but many times told. + +The results of that awful yet necessary conflict are still being felt, +in one way or another, by all of us. Many a household still mourns the +loss of those who died on southern battle-fields. We feel the war in our +business, in our pockets. We feel it in the financial enigmas which +even yet await solution. And although we have come to a period of +reconciliation, when we can with free hearts garland with roses the +graves alike of the blue and the gray, we feel still the indirect +influences of the war in our political contests. + +[Sidenote: Origin of the War.] + +[Sidenote: Secession.] + +The war may be said to have had its origin in two not necessarily +connected circumstances. It was the fruit, on the one hand, of a certain +political doctrine; on the other, of a threatened and to-be-defended +social condition. The political doctrine was that called "State's +rights," from which two corollaries were deduced by Calhoun and his +disciples: "nullification," or the right of a State to disobey a United +States law; and "secession," or the right of a State to withdraw from +the Union at will. The social condition was that of slavery, threatened, +as the South thought, by the election of Abraham Lincoln, and to be +defended under cover of the political doctrine which Calhoun had +taught the South to credit and to cherish. Thus, while the cause of the +rebellion was slavery, its justification was an asserted constitutional +right. The North did not believe in slavery, or at least in the +extension of slavery. But what the North at first undertook to subdue +was not slavery in the States, but the altogether destructive doctrine +of secession. + +[Sidenote: South Carolina's "Ordinance."] + +[Sidenote: Fort Sumter Taken.] + +The threat loudly uttered during the election of 1860, that the South +would secede if Lincoln were chosen, was duly followed up by action in +a few weeks after that event. Before Christmas South Carolina had +passed her famous "ordinance," and by early February, 1861, Mississippi, +Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas had followed in her +footsteps. The senators and representatives of these States in Congress +retired front its halls, breathing defiance as they went. South Carolina +took the lead in military, as she had done in political action. Claiming +the national property within her limits, she attached and took Fort +Sumter in Charleston harbor. The way had been prepared for this by +Secretaries Floyd and Toucey of the Buchanan Cabinet, who had sent South +materials of war, and so disposed the navy as to render it for the time +powerless for aid in the Union cause. + +[Sidenote: Call for Troops.] + +Lincoln was now President. The guns fired at Sumter roused the North, +and gave the signal of war, proving that a conflict could no longer be +avoided. Meanwhile, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas +were hurried out of the Union by the political leaders. On the day +following the fall of Sumter, the President issued his call for +seventy-five thousand volunteers, and the governors were urged to send +such forces as they could at once to Washington, which was threatened +with an attack. Then came the assault upon the gallant Sixth +Massachusetts in the streets of Baltimore, the isolation of Washington, +and its relief. A blockade of the southern ports was proclaimed. + +[Sidenote: Bull Run.] + +After a few minor engagements, such as those in Western Virginia, in +which McClellan was successful, and at Big Bethel, the first great +battle was fought on July 21, 1861, at Bull Run. This was in consequence +of an attempt by General Scott to advance upon Richmond. The result was +the total defeat of the Union army, which recoiled in confusion upon +Washington. Later in the first year of the war, General Lyon gained some +advantages over the rebels in Missouri, and naval expeditions were sent +to Hatteras and Port Royal; General Scott yielded the command-in-chief +to General McClellan, and rebel privateers appeared upon the ocean, and +began their destructive depredations upon our commerce. Great Britain +had too hastily recognized the belligerent rights of the rebels, and in +November the capture of Mason and Slidell was followed by their delivery +again to the protection of the British flag. + +[Sidenote: Second Year of the War.] + +The second year of the war found no less than half a million of soldiers +enlisted in the army of the Union. It seemed as if we were now ready +to cope with rebellion in all its extent and strength. The hope of +an approaching and decisive triumph animated the hearts of the loyal. +McClellan now led the Army of the Potomac against Richmond, approaching +it from the east. Then followed the battle of Fair Oaks, and the +Seven Days' battles, of which that at Malvern Hill was the most hotly +contested. The Confederates were beaten, with terrible loss on both +sides. Cedar Mountain and the second Bull Run followed, the latter +proving a disaster as serious as the former struggle on the same field +had been. + +[Sidenote: Antietam.] + +Then came Lee's advance into Maryland, his capture of Frederick City, +and that great battle, Antietam, in which Lee was repulsed and retreated +into Virginia. But McClellan, having failed to follow up his advantage, +was relieved of the command-in-chief, which was conferred on Burnside. +Burnside's repulse at Fredericksburg was followed by a discouraging +retreat. But though the attempt to capture Richmond was foiled, in other +parts of the country many advantages were obtained by the Union forces +in the year 1862. + +[Sidenote: Union Victories.] + +Prominent among these were the victory of the _Monitor_ over the +_Merrimac_, in Hampton Roads; the capture of Roanoke Island and Fort +Pulaski; Grant's gallant victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, at +Island No. 10, and, later, at Pittsburg Landing; and the heroic taking +of New Orleans by Farragut and Butler. + +[Sidenote: Chancellorsville.] + +At the very threshold of the third year of the war, President Lincoln +issued the "Proclamation of Emancipation." Thus not only was the crime +of slavery wiped away, but a new source of strength to our forces was +provided by the emancipated negroes, who were enlisted to aid in the +confirmation of their freedom by final victory. The first half of +the year 1863 witnessed what was perhaps the gloomiest and most +disheartening period of the war. Hooker succeeded Burnside, only to meet +at Chancellorsville the same disastrous fate which had overtaken his +predecessor at Fredericksburg. General Lee was encouraged to assume the +offensive, and to invade Pennsylvania. The North was discouraged; the +expense of the war began to be grievously felt; the draft was becoming +very obnoxious; the desertions from the army were alarming in number. + +[Sidenote: Gettysburg.] + +Lee advanced by the Shenandoah Valley into the Northern States. But at +Gettysburg he met the reorganized Union army, under Meade. The collision +of one hundred and sixty thousand men, lasting for three days, resulted +in that hard-won Union victory which proved the turning-point of the +war. On the day of Lee's retreat from Gettysburg, the Fourth of July, +Vicksburg was surrendered to Grant. Soon after, Port Hudson fell, and +the Mississippi was opened to the passage of troops. Then the Battle +of Chattanooga was fought and won, and Tennessee was rid of Confederate +occupation. Meanwhile, the siege of Charleston was proceeding on the +coast, and before the end of the year Fort Wagner was taken. + +[Sidenote: Grant Commander-in-chief.] + +[Sidenote: Sherman's March to the Sea.] + +We have now reached the fourth year of the war, 1864. It was now clear +that the result was only a question of time. The first events of the +year were not brilliant. Kilpatrick made his famous but futile raid near +Richmond; Hanks met with disaster at Red River; Forrest captured Fort +Pillow and killed three hundred negro troops. The last act of the +momentous drama began by the elevation of General Ulysses S. Grant +to the command-in-chief in March. The two great movements which were +together to seal the fate of the Confederacy were at once prepared. +Grant, assuming command of the Army of the Potomac, made Richmond his +objective point. He advanced deliberately towards the southern capital, +and fought the terrific battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and +Cold Harbor. He laid siege to Petersburg, but without immediate result. +Meanwhile the gallant Sherman began his marvellous march to the sea, +took Atlanta, and at last entered Savannah in triumph. Sheridan, making +his famous ride, defeated Early at Cedar Creek. The _Alabama_ was +sunk by the _Kearsarge_ off the French coast. Mobile was captured by +Farragut. The _Albermarle_ was destroyed. + +[Sidenote: Surrender of Lee.] + +The Confederates were now penned in, and it only remained to make a +last strenuous effort to end the war. While Sherman advanced northward, +taking Charleston by the way, and Terry captured Fort Fisher, the siege +of Richmond became closer and more vigorous. Then Sheridan conquered at +Five Forks, turning the flank of the hunted and hounded Lee. Finally, +on the 3d of April, 1865, the Union troops occupied Richmond and +Petersburg; Lee surrendered on the 9th, at Appomattox; Johnston followed +by yielding to Sherman; and the Southern Confederacy was no more. + + + + +XIV. THE PRESIDENTS. + +[Sidenote: Number of Presidents.] + +Between 1789, when the government organized by the constitution +began its functions, and 1886, the people of the United States have +twenty-five times chosen a President; and of the Presidents, seven have +been chosen for a second term. Four of them, having died in office, were +succeeded by Vice Presidents. While the number of terms, therefore, +has been twenty-five, the executive chair has been filled by twenty-two +individuals. In referring to the line of Presidents, and scanning the +names of those who have exercised powers more extensive than those +of English royalty, we are struck by the fact that very few of our +Presidents have ranked first, in point of intellect, in their own +generation. It may be said, indeed, that Jefferson alone of them all was +without dispute the foremost statesman of his day. + +[Sidenote: Presidential Ability.] + +Comparing our elected chief magistrates with the various lines of +hereditary sovereigns of Europe, we find that pre-eminent ability is +scarcely more frequent among them than is presented by the houses of +Romanoff, Hohenzollern, and Hapsburg. When, however, we consider their +moral qualities as rulers--their patriotism and purity, their freedom +from a too grasping ambition, the fidelity and zeal with which they +have served the country as best they knew how--we are perhaps not +unreasonable in judging them superior, as a line of rulers, to any royal +house of which history affords record. Very rarely has it been that +a President has been even suspected of craving increased power for +himself, or of using his office for unworthy personal ends. Some have +been weak, some perverse and obstinate; but as the clouds of party +passion, which have sometimes obscured the motives and the acts of our +chief magistrates, pass away, we may recognize in their action honest +though now and then ill directed efforts to use their high office for +the general weal. + +[Sidenote: The Ablest Men not Presidents.] + +Our intellectually ablest men have not, with the exception of Jefferson, +attained the Presidency, though many of them have aspired to it. No one +can doubt that Hamilton was a greater political genius than the first +two Presidents. It can scarcely be questioned that Webster, Calhoun, +and Clay were greater in this respect than the three Presidents who +succeeded Jefferson. Madison was a man of culture, clear vision, and +political learning, but he was the disciple of Jefferson, and did not +reveal qualities of originality and constructiveness in statesmanship. +Monroe was a man of yet more limited capacity, unless Polk be excepted, +Monroe was the least able of all our Presidents. But he had a large +experience in public affairs, he was judicious and cool-tempered, and +thoroughly honest and simple-minded. He was personally liked, and after +Washington was the only President who was the unanimous choice of the +country.[1] + +[Sidenote: Monroe.] + +[Sidenote: John Quincy Adams.] + +John Quincy Adams, a trained statesman, who had been an ambassador, +a Senator, and a Secretary of State, was still inferior in point of +political intellect to Clay, his own Secretary of State, and to Calhoun, +the Vice-President; and there were several others at that time who might +justly be competed with him. So, although Andrew Jackson was perhaps the +greatest of our Presidents in executive vigor and stern force of will, +as a political figure his most devoted admirers would scarcely rank him +with Clay or Webster. Van Buren was rather a shrewd politician than an +eminent statesman; but he was a politician in a higher sense, and no +stain of dishonor attaches to his career, while his presidential term +was an honest and able one. + +[Sidenote: Later Presidents.] + +Many public men might be named who, living at the time of Harrison's +elevation, were very much his political superiors; in his very cabinet +were at least three, Webster, Crittenden, and Ewing; and John Tyler was +very far from being in the front rank of American statesmen, though his +political capacity has sometimes been underrated. + +Polk was the weakest of all our later Presidents, and he too presided +over at least three secretaries who were intellectually larger men, in +Marcy, Robert J. Walker, and Buchanan. The same may be said in comparing +General Taylor with his advisers, and Fillmore, Pierce, and Lincoln +with theirs; for while no one can fail to revere the grand moral +and practical qualities which make Lincoln illustrious, in purely +intellectual eminence he was excelled by Seward, Chase, and perhaps +Stanton. + +[Sidenote: A Conservative Republic.] + +[Sidenote: Origin of the Presidents.] + +Ours has always been a conservative Republic. The French Republicans +of '93 and '48, the Communards of '71, did not derive their wild and +visionary fanaticism from our example, although there can be no doubt +that our Revolution had not a little influence in hastening that +of France. When the people have been called upon to choose a chief +magistrate, therefore, they have not sought men of extreme views, nor +have humble birth and limited education often been recommendations of +candidates. It is notable that the first six Presidents were selected +from the class which in England is called the "gentry." Washington, +indeed, belonged to the high rural aristocracy of Virginia; Mount Vernon +was as much a patrician manor-house as are the "halls," "priories," and +"manors" of rural England; and he lived there in the style of a country +magnate, John Adams belonged to the sturdy New England yeomanry sprung +from the Pilgrims, and, as the descendant of John Alden, had some +reason to pride himself upon good blood. The three succeeding Virginia +Presidents were sons of gentlemen-farmers, and belonged to the +cultivated gentry of the Old Dominion. Jackson was the first of the +plebeian Presidents, and then came Van Buren, of the gentry by birth; +Harrison, the son of a signer of the Declaration, and thus well born, +and Tyler, another Virginia gentleman, the lord of Sherwood Forest. Polk +belonged to the same rural condition. Fillmore was the next President +of humble beginnings, and Lincoln the third; while Andrew Johnson, +who learned to read after he was married, and began life as a country +tailor, was the most lowly born of all our chief magistrates. + +[Sidenote: Military Presidents.] + +Those young men who, having a taste for and ambition in politics, +adopt the law as a stepping-stone to political honor, may derive +some encouragement from the classification of the Presidents by their +professions; for out of the twenty-two Presidents, no less than eighteen +were at some period of their lives practising at the bar. The four +who were not lawyers were the four military Presidents, Washington, +Harrison, Taylor, and Grant. Three other Presidents, however, derived +something of their fame from military careers--Monroe, Jackson, and +Pierce. Monroe was a revolutionary colonel, Jackson the hero of New +Orleans, and Pierce a brigadier in the Mexican War. But Monroe owed +his political eminence to diplomatic successes and the friendship of +Jefferson and Madison: while Pierce certainly did not win the presidency +by his Mexican exploits. + +[Sidenote: Presidential Succession.] + +No man has ever yet passed directly from the United States Senate to the +White House. Of the Presidents, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, +Harrison, Tyler, Pierce, Buchanan, and Johnson had been senators; while +John Adams, Jefferson and Van Buren held the Vice-Presidency just +before their elevation by election to the higher office. The custom +of succession from the one office to the other, which prevailed in the +earlier years of the Republic, was broken when Madison was preferred to +George Clinton in 1808; and was revived only in the single instance +of Van Buren, whom the irresistible will of Jackson imposed upon the +Democrats as his successor. Washington, before becoming President, had +held the office of President of the Constitutional Convention. Polk had +only served in the lower House of Congress, over which he had presided +as speaker. Neither Taylor nor Grant ever held a state or national +office before being raised to the Executive Chair. Lincoln had served +a few years, with but little distinction, in the national House of +Representatives. The same may be said of Hayes, and of Fillmore before +he was chosen Vice-President. + +[Sidenote: Presidents Contributed by the Various States.] + +Virginia has had five Presidents, four of them having served in the +first quarter of a century of the national existence. Tennessee has had +three; Ohio, three; Massachusetts, two; New York, four; Illinois, two; +and New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana, each one. But Harrison, +though elected from Ohio, and Taylor, elected from Louisiana, were +both born in Virginia; and Lincoln, elected from Illinois, was born in +Kentucky. Therefore Virginia gave birth to seven of the Presidents. In +point of years, the ages of the Presidents have ranged from sixty-eight, +which was Harrison's age on his accession, to forty-six, which was +Grant's age when he became President; the average age being about +fifty-seven. + + + + +XV. MATERIAL PROGRESS. + +[Sidenote: A Twofold Progress.] + +It is manifestly impossible to give, within the brief scope of this +volume, more than a hint of the elements which have entered into and +stimulated the material progress of the United States during the past +century. That progress may be said to have been twofold; the progress +which we have shared in common with the civilized world, and the +progress which has been peculiar to ourselves. The agency which +invention and discovery have had in our advancement scarcely needs to be +pointed out. We have only to look around us, and remember the origin +of many of the comforts, conveniences, luxuries, nay even what we now +regard as necessities, that surround us and minister to our existence, +in order to comprehend how very vast, how much beyond easy calculation, +the material progress of the century has been. + +[Sidenote: Modern Comforts.] + +Every hour of the day, should you stop to reflect, you would find +yourself doing something, or aided by something, unknown to or unused +by the generation of 1776. Sitting in your parlor or library, your feet +rest upon carpets, which were introduced into American households in +1792; the book you are reading--which has far better paper, print, +binding and illustration than the old copy of "Pilgrim's Progress" which +your great-grandfather used to read--is lighted by gas, which did not +come into use till this century was well on its way; and that gas you +have lit by a friction match, an affair of marvellous simplicity, which +was unknown till after 1830. + +[Sidenote: Improvement in Dress.] + +You are writing, perhaps, with a steel pen; the Declaration of +Independence was signed with quills. It is, possibly, a rainy day. You +put on rubbers, and you carry an umbrella. The men of '76 had to do as +best they could without either. You burn coal in a furnace or stove; +they must fain have warmed themselves with more cheery but less +warming wood, in an open fireplace. Every article of your dress is an +improvement in convenience and comfort on those worn by Washington in +all his Presidential glory. + +[Sidenote: Rapidity of Transit.] + +Your walls are hung with photographs; your wife or daughter has a +sewing-machine. In the kitchen are endless contrivances which our +great-grandmothers would have greeted with speechless astonishment. You +can order a case of goods from Hong Kong on Monday, and be told that +they are ready for shipping on Thursday. You can go to San Francisco +in almost the same time that it took, only fifty years ago, to reach +Washington from New York. When General Jackson went to the capital to +be President, he could travel no faster than did the Jews, after the +captivity, from Babylon to Jerusalem. + +[Sidenote: Material Growth.] + +[Sidenote: Population.] + +Taking a broader view--for we might go on with the material details of +progress all about us _ad infinitum_, did patience and strength hold +out--we look abroad over the land, and note the great elements of +a progress peculiarly American, in the growth and distribution of +population, in manufactures, agriculture, and commerce. Each and all +have been incalculably aided by perpetual invention. A few leading facts +must suffice to show that our orators, in their most daring flights, can +scarcely exaggerate the marvels of our material advance. The population +of this country in 1776, including slaves, was about two and three +quarters millions. In 1886, it is without doubt more than fifty +millions. In 1790, when the first census was taken, the figure was a +little less than four millions. A notable circumstance in reference to +the movement of our population has been the increase of the proportion +of dwellers in our cities to those in the rural districts. In 1790, only +one-thirtieth of our population inhabited the cities. In 1886, probably +nearly one-fourth are included in the cities. + +In 1790 there were but six cities with a population of more than eight +thousand each. These were: Philadelphia, with about 42,500; New York, +with about 33,000; Boston, with about 18,000; Charleston, with about +16,300: Baltimore, with about 13,500; and Salem, with a little over +8000. The total was about 131,500. Now the aggregate of our urban +population is, probably, at least 12,000,000. It may be added that +the _centre_ of our population has shifted from a few miles east of +Baltimore, where it was in 1790, to about eight miles west by south from +Cincinnati, where it is now supposed to be. + +[Sidenote: Agriculture.] + +The earliest avocation of our colonies was that of agriculture; and +before 1776 our agricultural industries, owing to the discoveries which +had gradually been made as to the capabilities of the then settled +districts, had grown to important proportions. It needs but a glance +at the map to observe over what a vast area agricultural enterprise has +spread since 1790. We may fairly say that invention and improvement, in +the application of chemistry and mechanical discovery to the cultivation +of land, have kept pace with the territorial advance of agricultural +science. There can scarcely be named a farming operation which is not +performed by instruments far more perfect, and with a rapidity far +greater, than was possible with our ancestors. + +[Sidenote: Cheaper Tools.] + +Human labor has been greatly lessened in proportion to the results +obtained. Tools are cheaper; and whereas they were formerly made, to +a large extent, on the farms themselves, they are now perfected in +factories supplied with the most efficient machinery. There were in +1880 two thousand establishments for the manufacture of agricultural +implements, with an annual production valued at over $68,000,000. It +would take up too much space to give even a list of these implements; +suffice it to say that it is calculated that the value of those now in +use on American farms is at least $500,000,000. A hundred years ago a +man could only manage six bushels of grain a day--cutting, binding and +stocking, threshing and cleaning it. Now, with the aid of mechanical +appliances, a single man's labor can achieve almost eight times as much. + +[Sidenote: Advance of Agricultural Arts] + +To machinery must be added the advance in the arts of manuring, +draining, irrigation, and of grafting and obtaining greater varieties +of fruits and vegetables. The improvement in breeding and raising +live-stock must not be omitted. In this product the wealth of the +country was at least $2,000,000.000 in 1880. + +[Sidenote: First Mills.] + +Great as has been our progress in agriculture, it is scarcely so +remarkable as that in manufactures. In 1776 we were mostly a farming +community. Now, in New England at least, to a large extent in the Middle +States, and to some degree in the West and South, manufactures have +outstripped the farming industry. Manufacturing necessarily began, +indeed, very early in the settlement of the country; for ships had to +be built, and were built, soon after the colonization of Plymouth and +Boston. The first saw-mill was erected at Salmon Falls as early as 1635. +A printing-press was set up at Cambridge in 1638, and a book-bindery in +1663. The first fulling-mill for making cloth was started at Rowley in +1643. Iron manufacture was regularly established at Lynn in 1645. The +first successful cotton-mill in the United States was started by Samuel +Slater at Providence in 1793. + +[Sidenote: The Cotton Industry.] + +[Sidenote: Manufactures.] + +The growth of the cotton industry may be appreciated when we state that +its extent in 1831 comprised 795 factories and 1,246,500 spindles; +while in 1880 there were over ten million spindles, and the value of +the products reached nearly two hundred million dollars annually. The +progress in woollen manufacture has been equally rapid. Since 1850 the +number of factories in this industry has more than doubled, while the +value of the products has increased over fourfold. Looking over the +whole field of manufacturing industries, it is stated that the +estimated capital employed throughout out the country in 1880, namely +$2,790,000,000, does not really approximate to the total amount. +According to the census of that year, moreover, over two and a half +millions of persons were engaged in manufacturing; while about seven and +a half millions were employed in agriculture, and nearly two millions +in trade and transportation. Only a hint can thus be attempted of our +progress in manufactures. + +[Sidenote: Commercial Relations.] + +It need scarcely be said that commerce, as the great medium of barter +and exchange between States and with foreign nations, has necessarily +kept pace with the development of the industries which we have briefly +glanced at. The increase of our mercantile marine, up to the unhappy +period of the war, when it was almost swept from the ocean, kept pace +with the ever-increasing needs of the business of the country. Now it is +again slowly reviving from the disasters of the civil conflict. During +the past century, our commercial relations have extended to the remotest +corners of the earth, whither we send the commodities we have to spare, +and whence we derive those which we need for comfort, convenience, +luxury, and wealth. The extent to which steam applied to water +navigation, and telegraphy laid not only over the continents but under +the oceans, have stimulated our commerce in common with that of the +world, is more easy to be observed in general than calculated in detail. +With many nations we have treaties of commerce, and the time may not +be long in coming when such pacts will be reciprocated between all the +trading nations of the world. + + + + +XVI. PROGRESS IN LITERATURE. + +[Sidenote: English Literature.] + +[Sidenote: Majority of Authors from New England.] + +With English laws, customs, Protestantism, habits of thought, and +methods of culture, we also inherited the English literature. So rich +was already this inheritance when our colonies were settled, that there +was little need or incentive for the early Americans to strike out into +new literary paths, and create an original literature. Our ancestors +read Milton, Bunyan, Doddridge, Butler, Dryden, Pope, and Shakespeare. +It is a noteworthy fact that American literature not only took its start +from, but, up to within recent times, was mainly produced by the New +England and the Middle States. Even now, the noted writers in any +branch of letters born south of Virginia may almost be counted upon the +fingers. It is equally true that west of Ohio authors who have won +a general and permanent reputation are few. If we survey American +literature from the time of Cotton Mather (who may perhaps be called the +first author of the country whose works are still remembered and read) +to the present, we find that a majority of the best authors, both in +prose and verse, have been New Englanders. + +[Sidenote: Ante-Revolutionary Writers.] + +The rise of our literature having taken place in the colonies of +Puritan stock, and those most fully imbued with Puritan sobriety and +seriousness, it was natural that our earliest literary products should +be religious and philosophical. Cotton Mather, with his extravagant +"Magnolia"; Jonathan Edwards, with his stern treatise on the Will; +Franklin, with his shrewd maxims, and clear, strong, unadorned essays, +were about the only ante-revolutionary writers who are not by this +time forgotten. It was not surprising that the period of the Revolution +should develop a literature peculiarly political. There were, no doubt, +already poetasters, novelists, and essayists; but even their names are +strange to us of this age. Where are they and their works? What faint +traces are still left of them show us that they were mostly mere +imitators, and not brilliant ones, of the English authors of their day. + +[Sidenote: Political Literature.] + +But our political literature became, with the Revolution and its sequel, +most vigorous, philosophical, eloquent, and profound. The Declaration +itself was a masterpiece of political style, as well as of substance; +and Jefferson, its author, continuing for years after to discuss +political questions with a lucidity and vigor which were unrivalled +in America, took his place in literary history as perhaps our greatest +political writer. Close behind him came writers like Hamilton, Jay, +Madison, Ames, Freneau, and Tom Paine, all of them holding high rank in +this department of letters. + +[Sidenote: Post-Revolutionary Writers.] + +When we became an independent nation, literature naturally felt the +impulse and inspiration of the new national life. Poets and novelists +came up of a higher type than their ante-revolutionary predecessors; +writers like Dwight, Hopkinson, Trumbull, Barlow, Brockden Brown, and +Paine. But no one of these attained the rank of genius, nor did any of +them establish a great reputation; and if they are remembered at all, +it is rather by happy isolated pieces than by the general excellence of +their works. The American novels of the last century, unlike the English +novels of Swift, Fielding, and Goldsmith, have one and all passed into +oblivion. + +[Sidenote: William Cullen Bryant.] + +The position of American literature in 1886 may, especially in the +departments of history and poetry, fairly bear comparison with that of +England. Yet the first really great American authors, if we except +the theological and political writers of whom mention has been made, +published their first works at a period quite within the memory of +men still living. Our first great poet was William Cullen Bryant, who +survived to old age to observe to what vast proportions our literary +productions, both in quality and quantity, had grown. Our first great +biographer and essayist, Washington Irving, may be remembered as living +by the man of thirty-five. Our first eminent novelist, James Fenimore +Cooper, would only be ninety-seven if he were still among us. And our +first great historian, Prescott, died but twenty-seven years ago. + +[Sidenote: Rise of American Poetry.] + +The new career of American letters, indeed, may be said to have been +begun when William Cullen Bryant published "Thanatopsis," in the year +1816. Our writers then began to feel the influence of the vigorous +schools of English poetry of which Byron, Wordsworth, and Coleridge were +the shining lights. Like these, our own writers shook off the poetic +dominion of Pope, and declared form to be subordinate to the thought and +the feeling. Bryant, the enthusiastic disciple of Wordsworth, set the +bold example, and from that moment American literature received an +element of vitality which was given it its noble and rapid growth. It +is almost always the case that, in young nations, poetry is the first +branch of letters to be developed. The earliest masterpieces of Greek +and English literature are the "Iliad," the "Canterbury Tales," and +the "Faerie Queene." Perhaps the best German literature before Lessing, +worth remembering, was the songs of the Minnesinger. + +[Sidenote: Earlier Poets.] + +[Sidenote: Later Posts.] + +In the United States, Bryant was soon followed by a succession of poets +whose productions clearly revealed the magnetism of the English revival, +and gave promise of the rise of that poetic art which we have seen reach +its culmination in our own day. Richard H. Dana wrote the "Buccaneer"; +Fitz-Greene Halleck, "Marco Bozarris"; Edgar A. Poe "The Raven"; the +painter Allston turned easily from brush to pen, and added more than +one fine poem to our literature; Emerson rose to found a school of +transcendental poetry as well as philosophy; N.P. Willis became the +lyrical likeness of Moore on this side of the Atlantic; Percival reached +a brief popularity, and wrote some things well worthy of remembrance; +and the banker-poet Sprague filled a worthy place in our group of bards. +In the next generation came the poets of the highest culture and most +widely extended popularity: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf +Whittier, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. + +[Sidenote: Historians.] + +The United States have produced a race of historians whose works and +names may not unfairly be ranked with those of Hume, Macaulay, Hallam, +and Froude. Prescott and Irving have been followed by Bancroft, Motley, +Parkman, Adams, Kirk, Goodwin, Young, and Ticknor. Sydney Smith, were +he now living, would find his question, "Who reads an American +book?" speedily answered; for in English drawing-rooms and on English +book-stalls "Evangeline" and "The Wayside Inn" are to be found quite +as often as "In Memoriam" and "Idyls of the King"; and "Ferdinand +and Isabella" and the "Rise of the Dutch Republic," as often as the +histories of Macaulay and Froude. + +[Sidenote: Theological Literature.] + +Our theologians have kept pace, in the amount and intellectual force of +their writings, with those of the older continent. It is not astonishing +that, in a nation established by a sect for the purpose of doing God +honor, a race of great theological authors should arise. The names +of Hopkins and Emmons, of Dwight, Channing, Norton, Theodore Parker, +Wayland, Bacon, Park, Bushnell, and many others, will recur, to remind +us how active religious philosophy and speculation have been from the +time of Jonathan Edwards to the present. + +[Sidenote: Political and Legal Writers.] + +In other departments of letters our progress during the century, though +less marked, has been very distinct. Webster, Everett, Sumner, Winthrop, +and, it may well be added, Lincoln, have made a literary art, as well as +a practical career, of politics. American legal writers, like Greenleaf, +Kent, Story, and Parsons, are quoted in the English as in the American +courts, as authorities worthy of respect and trust. In the domain of +searching literary criticism, England has perhaps produced no author +since the days of Gifford and Jeffrey superior in learning, acuteness, +and grace to Edwin P. Whipple. + +[Sidenote: Humorists.] + +[Sidenote: Writers of Fiction.] + +Humorists have been many; in this field we count not only Lowell, Neal, +and Holmes, but the younger band, which includes Artemas Ward, Mark +Twain, Nasby, Bret Harte, Warner, and Leland. In the department of +essays and miscellaneous belles-lettres, the names of George William +Curtis, Thoreau, Tuckerman, Higginson, Marsh, and many more, crowd upon +the mind. Foremost among writers of fiction may be classed Cooper and +Nathaniel Hawthorne; and though in this field America can scarcely +contest the palm with the mother country, and the great purely national +novel has not yet appeared, the fertility of our novelists affords +promise that in time great and national romances will come. Meanwhile, +Mrs. Stowe, Donald G. Mitchell, T.B. Aldrich, William D. Howells (poet +as well as novelist), Henry James, Julian Hawthorne, Stockton, Miss +Phelps, E.E. Hale, and others, have delighted thousands by their +imaginative works. + +[Sidenote: American Dictionaries.] + +To present even a list, indeed, of American writers who may be called +noted, would much more than occupy the limits assigned to this chapter. +The multitude that crowds upon the memory, even in a cursory glance over +our history, is so large that even in mentioning any names at all one +runs the risk of some unjust omission. Suffice it to say that no field +of letters has remained wholly uncultivated in this country, and that +literary invention in the United States, though sometimes at a pause, +on the whole advances with their population and civilization. We have +philosophers, men of science, poets, critics, essayists, art writers, +theologians, fully able to cope with their literary brethren in the old +world. Let it be added that America has produced the two dictionaries +which are to-day paramount authority in every English school, college, +and university; and that in the science of language George P. Marsh and +William D. Whitney have carried their studies to depths as profound, +and have given the world results as valuable, as have any old-world +philologists. + + + + +XVII. PROGRESS IN THE ARTS. + +[Sidenote: Old-time Simplicity.] + +American art, like American letters, was of slow and difficult growth. +The early colonists, even those who, like the Virginia cavaliers and the +settlers in Maryland, possessed somewhat of the old-world culture and +taste, had little time for the ornamental. To worry a decent living +out of an inhospitable and reluctant soil, and to serve God after their +strict and severe fashion, were abundant occupation to the Puritans. +Therefore, could we carry ourselves back through the generations and +find ourselves in the streets and abodes of colonial New England, we +should observe but very few and slight attempts at decoration. + +Pictures, unless it were now and then a scriptural or historical +print, there would be none on the plain walls with their heavy beams; +varnishing and frescoing would be but rare vanities, if indeed such +could be anywhere discovered at all; as for rare vases, or bronzes, or +marbles, such things were assuredly unknown. The austere simplicity of +the place, the people, and the age, forbade not only a footing to the +arts, but refused all nurture to imaginative growths. The Puritans +especially had the lofty scorn of art which resented the idea of a +picture or a statue in a church with as much indignation as they would +have shown to the Pope had he invited them to return to the fold of +Rome. + +[Sidenote: John Singleton Copley.] + +As there was very little literature for America to be proud of before +the Declaration of Independence, so, in casting our eyes backward over +the annals of art, we can discover but one notable native artist in the +period between the early settlements and the Revolution. This was John +Singleton Copley. He was born in Boston in 1738, and became the pupil +of Smybert, an English artist of some talent, who had accompanied Bishop +Berkeley across the Atlantic and had settled in Boston. The pupil soon +eclipsed the master, and for years Copley stood alone as a popular +portrait-painter in New England. + +[Sidenote: Historical Pictures.] + +But even the monopoly of his profession did not suffice to give him +adequate support, or gratify Copley's ambition; and he was forced to +seek in a more art-loving land the full recognition and reward of his +genius. He left behind him many portraits which still exist as precious +heirlooms in New England families, and just as the storm of the +Revolution was gathering, he set sail for the mother country, which he +never afterward left. Before he went, however, a son had been born to +him in Boston, who was destined long after to reach the highest summit +of English legal dignity and rank--Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst. Copley was +especially great as a portrait-painter, but he also sometimes adopted +historical subjects. Of these the best known is his "Death of Lord +Chatham," which now hangs in the South Kensington Museum, in London. + +[Sidenote: Benjamin West.] + +Copley was soon succeeded by an American artist whose triumphs in +England afterward far outshone his own. Benjamin West was born in +Pennsylvania in 1738, and was the youngest of nine children, of Quaker +parents. His genius for art was discovered in an amusing way. When he +was seven sears old he was put to the task of fanning the flies away +from the sleeping baby of one of his sisters. Instead of doing so, he +sketched her face with black and red ink. His mother snatched the paper +from him, looked at it with amazement, and exclaimed: "I declare, he has +made a likeness of little Sally." From the Indians be got some of the +pigments with which they smeared their faces, and his mother's indigo +bag supplied him with blue; while from the house cat's tail he took +the hair for his brushes. West was well known as a portrait-painter +at fifteen. His Quaker friends at first demurred at the vanity of his +calling: but in a solemn meeting the spirit happily moved them to bless +him and consecrate him to art. He found rich patrons, who sent him to +Italy, where he studied the great masters with zeal and enthusiasm. + +[Sidenote: Royal Academy Founded.] + +This sojourn in the favored land of art, and the chance which procured +him an introduction to King George III. as he was passing through +England on his way home, deprived his native country of this famous +artist. Received and petted at the English court, he took up his +permanent residence in London. There, with Sir Joshua Reynolds, and +encouraged by the king, he founded the Royal Academy, of which he +became president; and as long as King George retained his mind, West was +constantly in the sunshine of royal favor. He was appointed "Painter +to His Majesty," and a splendid income rewarded his labors. He was +neglected by the Prince of Wales, but was recompensed for the loss of +his court associations by the patronage of the nobles and people. +Copley and West were the forerunners of a succession of American +portrait-painters not inferior in their art to their European +contemporaries. Both Copley and West aspired to something higher and +more creative than copying the lineaments of human faces, but it may be +said of them that in historical and imaginative painting they fell short +of the highest standard. + +[Sidenote: Peale, Stuart, and Trumbull.] + +Following Copley and West came, close together, three painters whose +works were of a high order, some of them being familiar to every one in +engraved copies. These were Charles Wilson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, and +John Trumbull. Peale was a saddler's apprentice, Stuart the son of +a snuffmaker; Trumbull, on the other hand, was the son of one of the +foremost statesmen of the Revolution. To all three we owe portraits of +Washington from life. Peale painted him in his prime, just after the +battle of Monmouth; Trumbull painted him as he was a few years later, +at the surrender of Cornwallis; and Stuart painted him when the added +dignity of age had crept upon him, and he was President at Philadelphia. +Both Peale and Trumbull fought in the Revolution. Trumbull is now +best known as the painter of the historical pictures of the war for +independence which hang in the Capitol at Washington; of which the most +familiar is the "Battle of Bunker's Hill." + +[Sidenote: Washington Allston.] + +It could no longer be said, after these great painters had lived and +left enduring results of their labors, that America was devoid of a +genius for, or an appreciation of, art. The appearance of Washington +Allston, who as a colorist won the name of the "American Titian," and +whose noble conceptions of Biblical subjects, executed with wonderful +power, have given him permanent rank among the best artists of his time; +and of Henry Inman, whose versatile genius readily took up portrait, +historical, or landscape painting at will, served to carry American art +yet another grade higher. Rembrandt Peale sustained the tradition of his +father's ability by his own works; Sully came from England to win fame +here as a portrait-painter; Vanderlyn and many others rapidly rose +to establish art as a profession and adornment in this country. It is +worthy of note that two of the greatest of American inventors, Robert +Fulton and S.F.B. Morse, began life as artists; but found it more +profitable, in fame and fortune, to run steamboats and establish +telegraphs. + +[Sidenote: Artists as Inventors.] + +[Sidenote: Sculptors.] + +The sister arts have nourished in this country in a degree scarcely less +marked than painting. In sculpture, a later but prolific growth with +us, the names of Hiram Powers, Horatio Greenough, Crawford, Ball, Story, +Ward, Rogers, Hart, and Harriet Hosmer, sufficiently attest the progress +made and the reputation established in this respect. In drawing, +caricature, water-colors, and other minor branches of art, our progress +has been scarcely less notable; we may fairly claim to have our Gillrays +and Cruikshanks as well as our English cousins. + +[Sidenote: Art a Modern Necessity.] + +Art, from having been a very rare luxury among our forefathers even as +lately as the beginning of this century, has become an adjunct, it may +even be said a necessity, of our civilization. Drawing is being taught +in our schools, and is regarded as one of the polite accomplishments of +educated young ladies. Art galleries have sprung up everywhere, and art +stores are popular resorts in our larger cities. Art societies thrive +and flourish in many States, and art teachers are in demand in most of +our towns. Colonies of artists swarm in stately buildings in New York, +Boston, and Philadelphia. The time has come when no artist of merit need +starve for want of patronage. + +Thousands of Americans, travelling abroad every year, spend the larger +portion of their time in Europe in visiting those splendid art galleries +which the munificence and taste of kings and nobles have established, +and which are free to all the world. The taste for art has become +universal, and has penetrated all classes; few are the American houses, +in these days, wherein the evidences of this taste are not apparent. + +[Sidenote: Music.] + +Music has progressed with the other arts in popularity and culture; +though America, like England, has as yet produced no really great +composer. Every branch of music, however, is cultivated with us; and +music as a profession is even more certainly lucrative than painting. +America welcomes the most renowned singers and musicians in the world, +and the highest efforts of musical composition are performed here to +audiences sufficiently cultivated fully to enjoy and appreciate them. +We cannot doubt that the future will still further develop the American +love of all the arts; or that, in time, this continent will rival that +of Europe in great artistic productions. + + + + +XVIII. PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND INVENTION. + + +[Sidenote: The Patent Office.] + +The progress in practical science and invention, in this country and the +civilized world, has been so amazingly rapid during the present century, +that the merest hint of a few of the most important elements of that +progress can alone be given. The fertility of the human intellect, in +devising quicker and more exact methods of doing those things which +contribute to the wealth and the pleasure of man, has accomplished +results so vast and so varied since the Declaration of Independence, +that the mind cannot survey the smallest portion of this field without +bewilderment and wonder. If we should visit the Patent Office at +Washington, and give ourselves up to a scrutiny of its records, its +tabulated results, and its long rows of cases of models, we should in +time gain some idea of the extent to which American minds have carried +the effort of invention. + +[Sidenote: Discoveries in the Exact Sciences.] + +Yet the Patent Office, while it exhibits the results of American +invention, fails to show anything like the total amount of useful +discovery which has been achieved on this continent since the foundation +of the government. There are those who discover and invent, and who do +not patent. There are discoveries which cannot be circumscribed by the +filling-out of blank forms, and an official restriction on their use. +This is emphatically the case with discoveries in the exact sciences, +which, while they have added immeasurably to the knowledge of mankind, +have also attained results the most useful and practical. + +[Sidenote: Meteorological Laws.] + +Illustrations of this truth may be found in the progress made by such +sciences as astronomy and meteorology. No one can doubt the value of +the result which accrues to human lore from a more accurate knowledge +of astronomy, of the mutual influences of the solar system, and the +physical character of its members. Nor can we deny that the rapid +strides which have been made within thirty years in the science of +meteorology are of the most immediate benefit to the material interests +of men. The simple statement that the predictions of "Old Probabilities" +as to the weather prove, in a large majority of instances, to be +justified by the event,--founded as they are, not upon mere guesswork, +but upon ascertained meteorological laws and a proved uniformity in the +direction of storms,--is enough to show the importance of the recent +discoveries in this field. One has only to reflect upon the changes in +the course of little and of great events wrought by the weather, to be +convinced of their large and permanent value. + +[Sidenote: Improvements in Machines and Methods.] + +We can look in no direction, however, without at once in some degree +appreciating, and being astonished at, the metamorphosis which has been +effected by the activity of scientific invention and discovery of +the most palpably practical kind. No practical profession, trade, or +industry can be named in which the improvements in machinery and +methods have not been such, within the century, as to alter most of +its conditions, and very greatly to multiply its efficiency and +productiveness. These improvements have descended, too, from general +systems to the minutest details. Cloth fabrics are not only manufactured +on a very different scale and extent, but every little appliance of the +machinery has been made better, and does its appointed work faster and +with greater precision. + +[Sidenote: Steam and Electricity.] + +[Sidenote: Conveyances.] + +If one were asked what two inventions made within the century have +wrought the greatest changes, the reply would be prompt that they are +locomotion by steam and communication by electricity. The steam-engine +and the steamship have made it possible to travel around the world, if +not in the eighty days required of Jules Verne's hero, at least in a +hundred; while the telegraph enables us to talk with our friends at the +antipodes--if such we have--within a week. What share America has had in +achieving these mighty agencies is signified by the names of Fulton +and Morse. Nor have other means of locomotion and communication been +neglected. The horse-car has to a large extent taken the place of the +omnibus and of the lumbering stage-coach; while vertical travelling, by +means of the elevator, has become easy and luxurious in our day. In the +making of carriages of every kind, the progress becomes very apparent +when we compare the light and elegant vehicles which fill our +fashionable avenues on a pleasant day, with the coaches in which +Washington and Lafayette deigned to ride on state occasions. + +[Sidenote: Iron Manufactures.] + +In the great industries, invention has supplied the means of changing +the rude ore or the raw material into every manifold form of use and +ornament, in an increased production which would have filled the men of +'76 with amazement. Machinery has come to do a vast amount of work which +manual labor used to do; yet, by a happy compensation in the economic +condition of things, human labor, far from being left in the lurch by +mechanical introduction and ever increasing efficiency, is in greater +demand than before. In the melting and puddling of iron, in its casting, +forging, and rolling, and especially in its turning and planing, +the inventions have been, perhaps, more striking than in any other +operations upon metals; and the importance of the improvements thus +effected in the manufacture of iron may be appreciated when we consider +to how many more precious uses iron is put than any other metal. The +advances made in the working of wood, and in that noble engineering +science which employs itself in the construction of canals, dikes, and +bridges, are not less notable. + +[Sidenote: Machines and Weapons.] + +To even mention the devices by which the manufacture of cotton and +woollen fabrics, of shoes, of silks, and very many other articles, has +been brought from rude processes to the rapid production seen to-day at +our great industrial centres, would require a volume. To America is due +the sewing-machine, which in the factory and in the household has given +a manifold value to labor, has cheapened time, and is assuredly one of +the chief triumphs of human ingenuity. We have done our part, too, in +devising deadly weapons for contending armies. The revolver, invented by +Samuel Colt, made a man armed with it six times as formidable as he was +before; and the breech-loader, first attempted by John Hall of Yarmouth, +Massachusetts, more than seventy years ago, was generally adopted in +Europe. It is said that the greater number of the military arms made +in the United States for Europe are on the breech-loading system. +The invention of what is called the principle of "assembling," which +consists in making the various parts of a machine "in distinct pieces +of fixed shape and dimensions, so that the corresponding parts are +interchangeable," has brought about a revolution in the manufacture +of other articles besides fire-arms. It is applied also to watches, +sewing-machines, knitting-machines, and even to agricultural implements +and the building of locomotive engines. + +[Sidenote: Labor Saving Appliances.] + +The kitchen, the farm, and the sitting-room have been invaded by +labor-saving appliances so numerous and so deft as to make each of these +domestic departments a sort of factory in itself. The spinning-wheel +has been abandoned for the sewing and the knitting machine, and the +hand-plough for the steam-plough, and the scythe for the mowing-machine, +and the rude kitchen knife and spoon for an endless variety +of contrivances, from the apple-parer, the egg-beater, and the +bean-shelters, to the lemon-squeezers, knife-sharpeners, and +coffee-mills. + +[Sidenote: Various Inventions.] + +It is equally vain to attempt the enumeration of the improvements in +the security of movable property, the rapidly changing devices for more +effective fire-alarms, the revolution in the system of fire prevention +with its steam-engine and its fire-alarm telegraph, the growing +efficiency of the science of aerostation, the invention of scales for +weighing heavy bodies, the processes for refining the precious metals, +the achieved idea of making ice by machinery, the great advance effected +in the making of glass, and the vast changes which have been wrought in +many respects by the perfection of india-rubber as an article of common +use. + +[Sidenote: Surgical Progress.] + +[Sidenote: Printing and Engraving.] + +Nor must we forget to hint at the discoveries which have given new +effect to surgical skill--the discovery of anaesthetics, the perfection +of artificial limbs, the repair of the body, and the valuable method +of lithotrity; while even the match need not be disdained as one of the +chief inventions of the century. Paper, too, and engraving, and +printing (with all its complications of stereotyping, electrotyping, and +heliotyping), photography (with its constant improvements), can only be +mentioned to open the mind to a wide vista of marvellous triumphs. +We have but to glance along the stalls of a modern book-store, to +appreciate that the arts of printing and engraving have made a more +rapid progress during the past hundred years than during all the +previous centuries since the invention of type; while it may fairly +be said that the United States can at last boast that not only is her +literature worthy to be compared with that of England, but that it is +as well printed, illustrated, and bound, and is presented on home-made +paper as elegant and as durable, as are the choicest publications of +London and Paris. + + + + +XIX. POLITICAL CHANGES. + + +[Sidenote: Sources of Government.] + +President Woolsey has forcibly remarked that states and forms of +government have had mainly two sources of origin. They have either +"slowly built themselves up for ages, finding support in historical +causes, and in past political habits"; or, they have been "the +artificial results of political theory." England presents the most +conspicuous modern example of the former class; while France, since the +Revolution, may be regarded as the chief modern example of the latter. +And as it was with England, our mother-country, so it has been, and +is, with us. It is true that the organism of the United States was the +immediate result of revolution, and is founded upon a constitution that +is written and fixed, or only with great pains and difficulty modified. +Yet, if we search further and deeper for the materials of which our +national fabric has been constructed, we shall easily recognize that our +freedom, like that of England, has really "broadened slowly down from +precedent to precedent." + +[Sidenote: Gradual Growth of the American System.] + +The growth towards American independence did not begin, the seeds of it +were not sown, either at Bunker's Hill or at Philadelphia. Indeed the +growth had then reached the period of fruitfulness. The progression +towards an independent nation, and a free nation, began at Plymouth and +at Jamestown. The Constitution only made articulate the spirit which had +been growing for more than a century, and it still left an unwritten law +set up by custom, habit, and characteristics most aptly nourished to the +ends reached in 1776, 1787, and 1789. While our written constitution was +made, we still retained the common law of England as the basis of our +own, and, like England, proceeded gradually to build upon this broad +foundation the superstructure of statute. + +[Sidenote: Origin of the Government.] + +If, therefore, the origin of our government was in one respect +revolutionary, it was not revolutionary as being sudden, accidental, +and without preparation. The revolution was, in fact, almost formal in a +political sense. The same people, the same traditions remained, and +the same growth went on. There was a new bond, binding the colonies +together, and holding them the more sturdily to purposes already formed +and undertaken. Yet it was certain that a new government, starting +forth, as ours did, at a period when political theories of diverse and +contradictory import were engaged in a very active struggle in Europe, +would meet with unusual difficulties, and be beset with grave dangers +from the outset. + +[Sidenote: The Contest of Diverse Political Ideas.] + +We note, therefore, in the very body which framed the constitution, the +rise of the contest out of which have come the most momentous changes +which our polity has since undergone. Happily for us, we have had to +witness no sudden and startling alterations in the form or spirit of our +institutions. What changes have occurred--and some have occurred of very +high and grave importance--have come gradually, have been foreseen. The +victories of parties in this country have never been by _coups d'etat_. +They have been won by light of day, with banners flying and trumpets +sounding. We have not been subject to that dread of sudden calamity, of +a bean-stalk growth of anarchy in a night, which haunts the French to +this day, and which makes both kings and peoples in continental Europe +sensitive to every untoward rumor. + +[Sidenote: Political Changes.] + +Of all the political changes which the United States have undergone +during the ninety-nine years of our national career, the most +conspicuous, perhaps, is that which has tended to increase the powers +of the central government, and diminish those of the several States. The +contest between those who believed in a strong central power and those +who jealously defended the largest share of independence for the +several States compatible with the bond of federation, began in the +Constitutional Convention; and the instrument which was there framed, +after long discussion and many perils, was really a compromise between +these two principles. On the one hand, the equality and dignity of the +States were conceded in the structure of the Senate, in the division +of the electoral votes by States, and in the "reserved rights" of the +States, which have been so often and so strenuously insisted upon since. + +[Sidenote: Early Political Parties.] + +On the other, the words of the Constitution throughout imply that the +United States constitute more than a league--a nation; and the money +power was lodged in the lower house of Congress, elected by the people +of the nation, according to their population. The opposing ideas +regarding the powers of the States and of the government, respectively, +gave rise to the two first political parties, the Federalist and the +Republican; and these have had as successors parties which have fought +the same battle over and over again. The later Whigs and Republicans, +on the one hand, and the Democrats, on the other, have usually been the +champions, respectively, of a strong central government, and of State +rights. The older Democrats insisted on a strict construction of the +Constitution, and opposed the undertaking of internal improvements and +the maintenance of a national bank by the general government; and +for the first sixty years of this century the State rights principle +prevailed in national policy with little interruption. + +[Sidenote: Rights of the States.] + +[Sidenote: Tendency towards Centralization.] + +It happened that the social institution and evil of slavery, which +had become confined to the Southern States, needed the defence of the +doctrine of State rights for its continuance. Nullification, in 1833, +and secession, in 1861, were the ultimate conclusions of that doctrine, +practically applied for the purpose of sustaining the system of human +bondage. A State had a right, it was said, to break her "compact" +with the Union; and the Southern States, following in the line of this +doctrine, did attempt to secede in order to maintain slavery. The war +which followed was the rock upon which the doctrine of State rights +split. The tide at once turned towards a strong central government. +Extraordinary powers, civil, military, and financial, were exercised to +put down the rebellion; and some of these powers, once assumed by the +general government, have been continued to this day. They have been +greatly strengthened by the enormous patronage which has accumulated +in the hands of the Executive; by the army of office-holders which, +scattered through the land, is subject to the influence of the central +power. + +[Sidenote: Results of Emancipation.] + +[Sidenote: The Fifteenth Amendment.] + +Connected with this change are some other changes, scarcely less +important. One of these is the establishment, throughout the Union, of +universal male suffrage. The emancipation of the slaves wrought a social +and economic change the final results of which are still problematical. +It also introduced a new political element, by endowing millions of +ignorant men with electoral rights for their own protection. Gradually +yet steadily through our political history, restrictions upon the +suffrage have been swept away. At first, not only was there a property +qualification in many of the States, but foreigners and negroes were in +some of them altogether excluded from the polls. The fifteenth amendment +to the Constitution crowned the edifice of universal suffrage in the +United States; and the floodgates, once open, can never be shut again. +A set of men once armed with the vote cannot be deprived of it: and all +the efforts of Know-nothing movements will probably be vain, whether +directed against the freedman, the Chinaman, or the European emigrant. +The only way to meet the evils which accompany universal suffrage is +by paths of education, and the creation of a pure and sincere public +spirit. + +[Sidenote: The Political Changes Gradual.] + +[Sidenote: Changes Effected by the Civil War.] + +It may be said, then, of the few great political changes which have +come over the spirit of our body politic, that they have been, like the +English revolutions, gradual, and, if on one occasion violent, at least +long contemplated and foreshadowed. On questions of commercial finance, +we are still where we were half a century ago. The antagonistic +principles of a protective tariff and of free trade are still struggling +for the mastery. The greatest changes--that produced on the government +in aggrandizing it at the expense of the States, and that produced on +the South by freeing and enfranchising the blacks--were brought about +by the civil war. The evil results which have flowed from them, mingled +with great good, are evident in many ways. Is it too much to hope that, +a generation hence, those of us who survive will look back gratefully +upon a survival of the good only wrought by these changes; and upon +a completed reform of the civil service, a purified government and +Congress, a people no longer eager to grow suddenly rich by wild +speculation, but content with the moderate prosperity attained by steady +enterprise and wholesome trade; and a South educated and reconciled, +with its civil and political freedom assured by its own enforcement of +equal law? + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + +[Footnote 1: Monroe was chosen for his second term by every vote but +one in the Electoral College. That vote was given by Mr. Hummer of New +Hampshire, on the ground that it was a dangerous precedent to elect a +President unanimously.] + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Nation in a Nutshell, by George Makepeace Towle + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION IN A NUTSHELL *** + +***** This file should be named 9322.txt or 9322.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/3/2/9322/ + +Produced by PG Distributed Proofreaders + +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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/9322.zip b/9322.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..af6b7e4 --- /dev/null +++ b/9322.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..63cfa69 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #9322 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9322) diff --git a/old/8nnut10.zip b/old/8nnut10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cfda209 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/8nnut10.zip |