I. UNITED STATES (part 3 of 3)

I. UNITED STATES (part 3 of 3)

The conduct of the general, in transcending his orders, was made a subject of inquiry in the house of representatives, and a report made disapproving of some parts of it as arbitrary, unjustifiable, and dangerous in principle; and the report was ably supported by Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, and Mr. Johnson, of Virginia, and others, but opposed by many other members. The inquiry disclosed several highly arbitrary acts. Mr. Monroe caused the instructions given on this occasion to be laid before Congress; and he also gave orders immediately for the restoration of the forts and places to the Spanish authorities.

General Jackson was, also, charged with undue severity, in the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, the Englishmen before alluded to, whom he took in the territory. The former he caused to be hung, and the other to be shot. The punishment was summary, and without law; but the executive found cause to excuse these acts on the consideration of the peculiar exigency of the case. The great popularity of the military commander was supposed to have furnished a reason for no further proceedings or inquiries into this affair.

Revision of the Tariff.--A law was passed by congress, on the subject of the tariff, in May, 1824, embracing the revision and alteration of the tariff which had heretofore existed. Except a slight protection to coarse cotton cloths, nothing had been done to encourage the manufactures of the country. The attention of the people had been, for a long time, turned towards the subject, and congress had debated it at different periods, but very little had been effected. Such was the state of things from 1816 to 1824. On the part of many citizens, great zeal had been manifested in favor of manufactures among us. Numbers, especially in the Northern and Eastern states, owing to the impediments which existed in the prosecution of commerce and navigation, by the restrictive measures of the government, as well as by the war, had engaged in the business of manufacturing. By their energy, perseverance, and economy, they had attained to a measure of success; but still, some public enactments were wanting to give due encouragement to the general interests of manufactures. The well-known favorable opinion of the president, as also the growing interest felt by the people on the subject, produced their effect in calling to it the attention of the national legislature, to some practical purpose.

At the period above named, congress imposed higher duties on several articles of import, chiefly of the description of those then manufactured in the United States. On several articles, a duty of five per cent. was laid, in addition to that before imposed, though the act met a very powerful opposition. The debate on the bill occupied the house of representatives more than ten weeks, and the bill was passed by a majority of only five. It was opposed by those who were concerned in commerce, on the ground that it would prove detrimental to their particular interests. It was opposed by those who were concerned in agriculture, from the consideration that an undue profit was secured by it to the manufacturers. On the part of some, it was a ground of opposition that it would greatly diminish imports, and thus lessen the public revenue. A portion of the national legislature, who were professedly in favor of encouraging manufactures, believed that they were already sufficiently protected. This opposition was principally by members from the Southern states, where no manufactures were established, and who believed that additional duties on imports would operate unequally in different parts of the union.

But notwithstanding the strong opposition to the measure, the bill of the house passed the senate with several alterations, by a vote of twenty-five to twenty-one. The measure, when put to the test of experiment, proved effectual in affording the desired protection to the articles which it embraced; but the same legislation was wanted in regard to others, perhaps equally important to the comfort, defence, and independence of the country.

Visit of Lafayette.--The arrival of the Marquis de Lafayette into the United States, signalized the year 1824. It was an event of great interest to the people of the country. As the friend, benefactor, and ally of the Americans during the Revolution, he was remembered with lively gratitude after his return to his native land, and his subsequent history had been traced by many among us with deep concern, as well as admiration. Nearly half a century had elapsed, since he came as a youthful, devoted adventurer to our shores, in the cause of freedom, and age was now stealing over him with its usual effects on the human frame. Before the close of life, he wished once more to revisit the scenes of his early conflicts; and, having intimated his intention of coming to this country, the people were prepared to give him a welcome and enthusiastic reception.

He landed at New York, on the 16th of August, accompanied by his son, and M. L. Vasseur, his secretary. His entrance into the city was more than a Roman triumphal procession. Splendid as it was, it was more remarkable as the tribute of the concentrated heart of America, in its great commercial capital. He was met by one universal burst of grateful enthusiasm.

In the course of about a year, he visited each of the twenty-four states, and most of the principal cities of the land, and was every where received with the like spirit of enthusiasm and gratitude.

He was present on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the Bunker hill monument, and assisted, as was most befitting he should, in laying its corner-stone. His presence added greatly to the interest of the occasion, and long will it be remembered with what enthusiasm his presence was greeted.

"When the time arrived which he had fixed as the termination of his visit, it was thought most fitting that his departure from the country should take place from the capital. A frigate was prepared at that place, and named, in compliment to him, the Brandywine, to transport him to his native country. The few weeks spent, upon the invitation of the president, as the guest of the nation, in the national palace, were appropriated to taking leave of those venerable men who had shared with him, both in establishing the independence of the country, and in receiving all the appropriate honors which the people could bestow. He had previously visited and taken leave of the venerable Adams; he now in succession took leave of the other ex-presidents, the illustrious author of the declaration of independence; the able supporter and advocate of the federal constitution; and the soldier of the Revolution, who had shed his blood in the same cause with Lafayette."

His departure, which was from the seat of government, on the 7th of September, 1825, was affecting in the highest degree, but it needs not here to be described. Suffice it to say, that in passing down the Potomac, he landed to pay a farewell visit to the tomb of Washington; then, proceeding on his way, he made a safe and prosperous voyage to France.

General Review of Mr. Monroe's Administration, his Character, &c.--As has been already remarked, under the administration of Mr. Monroe, there existed a propitious state of things. The wisdom and practical foresight of Mr. Monroe were manifested in the measures of his administration. Profound peace continued through the whole of it, the amicable relations of the country with other nations having been carefully cherished. Of the national debt, not less than sixty millions were paid. The Floridas were not only peaceably acquired, but the western boundaries of our country were so settled as to give it the width of a continent. He effected the repeal of the internal taxes, reduced the military establishment to the smallest compass consistent with safety, and brought the army under an efficient organization. The asperity of party spirit yielding in a great degree, he was enabled to carry most of those measures which he deemed necessary to the public welfare. Progress was made in the suppression of the slave-trade, the civilization of the Indians advanced, and the independence of the South American nations recognized.

As to the character of President Monroe, there seems to be scarcely a dissenting opinion. His feelings, manners, and principles, appeared to be adapted eminently for conciliation. Nearly all united under him and with him in carrying out the public enactments. "He was not so great a philosopher as Jefferson, nor so learned as Madison; but he possessed a more practical knowledge, or was more desirous of pursuing that which was useful, than of adopting new theories, or of supporting his own speculative views in opposition to public opinion. He faithfully strove to defend and promote the great interests of the republic; but sought not for impracticable good in ways discovered only to his contemplative imagination." Fisher Ames' lively, but perhaps too severe, remark concerning Mr. Jefferson, that "he strains his optics to look beyond its (the world's) circumference, and contemplates invisibility till he thinks nothing else is real," has no application to Mr. Monroe, though the latter was of the same school of politics. To continue the quotation first presented, "He (Mr. Monroe) had as much regard for humanity, and was as sincere a lover of his kind, as Mr. Jefferson; but he followed more truly the beaten path of common sense, and adhered more cautiously to the plain maxims sanctioned by experience, and shown by past history to be essential to the welfare of society."

Election of John Quincy Adams.--It being understood that, according to the example of his predecessors, Mr. Monroe would retire at the expiration of his second term, the subject of his successor was early introduced to the nation. Several candidates were put in nomination, and the claims of each were duly urged by their respective friends and supporters. The following was the electoral vote, according to the official count before the two houses of congress:

Key: A. Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee. B. John Q. Adams, of Massachusetts. C. Wm. H. Crawford, of Georgia. D. Henry Clay, of Kentucky. E. John C. Calhoun, of S. Carolina. F. Nathan Sanford, of New York. G. Nathaniel Macon, of N. Carolina. H. Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee. I. Martin Van Buren, of New York. J. Henry Clay, of Kentucky.

---------+-----------------+---------------+----------------------- No. of | | PRESIDENT. | VICE-PRESIDENT. Electors | STATES. |---------------+----------------------- from each| |A. |B. |C. |D. |E. |F. |G. |H. |I. |J. State. | | | | | | | | | | | ---------+-----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- 8 | New Hampshire, | | 8 | | | 7 | | | 1 | | 15 | Massachusetts, | |15 | | |15 | | | | | 4 | Rhode Island, | | 4 | | | 3 | | | | | 8 | Connecticut, | | 8 | | | | | | 8 | | 7 | Vermont, | | 7 | | | 7 | | | | | 36 | New York, | 1 |26 | 5 | 4 |29 | 7 | | | | 8 | New Jersey, | 8 | | | | 8 | | | | | 28 | Pennsylvania, |28 | | | |28 | | | | | 3 | Delaware, | | 1 | 2 | | 1 | | | | | 2 11 | Maryland, | 7 | 3 | 1 | |10 | | | 1 | | 24 | Virginia, | | |24 | | | |24 | | | 15 | North Carolina, |15 | | | |15 | | | | | 11 | South Carolina, |11 | | | |11 | | | | | 9 | Georgia, | | | 9 | | | | | | 9 | 14 | Kentucky, | | | |14 | 7 | 7 | | | | 11 | Tennessee, |11 | | | |11 | | | | | 16 | Ohio, | | | |16 | |16 | | | | 5 | Lousiana, | 3 | 2 | | | 5 | | | | | 5 | Indiana, | 5 | | | | 5 | | | | | 3 | Mississippi | 3 | | | | 3 | | | | | 3 | Illinois, | 2 | 1 | | | 3 | | | | | 5 | Alabama, | 5 | | | | 5 | | | | | 9 | Maine, | | 9 | | | 9 | | | | | 3 | Missouri, | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | | ---------+-----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- 261 | Whole No. of | | | | | | | | | | | electors, |99 |84 |41 |37 |182|30 |24 |13 | 9 | 2 | Majority, 131 | | | | | | | | | |

FOOTNOTE:

[76] General Gaines' official letter.

XI. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, PRESIDENT.

INAUGURATED AT WASHINGTON, MARCH 4, 1825.

JOHN C. CALHOUN, VICE-PRESIDENT.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.

Henry Clay, Kentucky, March 7, 1825, } Secretary } of State.

Richard Rush, Pennsylvania, March 7, 1825, } Secretary } of Treasury.

James Barbour, Virginia, March 7, 1825, } Secretaries Peter B. Porter, New York, May 26, 1828, } of War.

Samuel L. Southard, New Jersey, (continued in } Secretary office), } of the Navy.

John M'Lean, Ohio, (continued in } Postmaster office), } General.

William Wirt, Virginia, (continued in } Attorney office), } General.

SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

John W. Taylor, New York, Nineteenth Congress, 1825. Andrew Stevenson, Virginia, Twentieth do. 1827.

The policy and views of Mr. Adams were, in the main, conformed to those of his immediate predecessor. As secretary of state under Mr. Monroe, it is believed that no important measures were adopted without the advice or consent of Mr. Adams. He would, of course, have been apt to continue in the same general line of conduct. His qualifications were of the highest order; he well understood the interests of his country, and was skilled in every art of diplomacy and government.

On one point, perhaps, he differed in theory from Mr. Monroe. He expressed less regard for state rights, or allowed more power to the general government, according to his construction of the constitution, than Mr. Monroe did. The latter considered the United States' government strictly federal; the former viewed it rather as a consolidated or national one. In their public measures, however, this difference of opinion did not often lead to the exercise of greater power by one than the other. The constitution was the guide of both; but one might approve an act of congress for internal improvements, from which the other would probably have withheld his assent, from scruples as to the constitutional authority of the federal government for such enterprises.

The administration of Mr. Adams was, however, destined to be confronted by a very formidable opposition. This was from the beginning, on the part of numbers--they were determined to dislike his measures, whether right or wrong, as they differed with him in matters of opinion, and were dissatisfied with some circumstances attending his election. It was alleged that the latter was brought about by corruption. This state of things constituted a second era of political asperity in the history of our government, which has not subsided to this day. But the constitution has happily survived the shock, though, at the present time, it begins to be assailed by the more dangerous spirit of sectional divisions. Another portion of Mr. Adams' political opponents, more honest or honorable than the rest, were willing to judge him by his acts. "It is but justice to add, that the charge of a bargain between Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay has not been satisfactorily supported. On the contrary, it seems now to be generally admitted that no alliance had been formed between these gentlemen, previous to the election which issued in Mr. Adams' accession."

The following are the principal topics upon which we propose to dwell in noticing the administration of Mr. Adams, viz:

Controversy respecting the Creeks, Fiftieth Anniversary of Proposed Mission to Panama, Independence, Internal Improvements, "American System," Election of General Jackson.

Controversy respecting the removal of the Creeks.--At the commencement of Mr. Adams' term of office, a controversy arose between the general government and the state of Georgia, respecting the territory occupied by the Creek Indians. There had long been a dispute between these people and the Georgia state government, which claimed the lands on which the Creeks resided. The claim was professedly founded on a compact into which the United States entered with Georgia, in 1802, of extinguishing, at the national expense, the Indian title to these lands, and of removing the natives, "as soon as it could be done peaceably, and on reasonable terms." The consideration, on the part of Georgia, was the relinquishment of her claim to the Mississippi territory. Georgia was impatient to have the compact fulfilled--the Indians, having grown more attached to their homes, refused to alienate their territory. Between the vehemence of Georgia and the resistance of the Creeks, the general government had a difficult task to perform. As it had been invariably desirous of observing good faith with the Indian tribes, and had treated them with much lenity and kindness, it was fully disposed to do justice to the Creeks, while it was equally desirous to satisfy Georgia. Before the government could extinguish the Indian claim in the manner before agreed upon, i. e. "peaceably, and on reasonable terms," the governor of Georgia insisted on the removal of the tribe, and threatened to take possession of the territory by force. It was in contemplation, however, on the part of the federal executive, to resort to force to prevent these proceedings on the part of Georgia. The danger of a collision, at one time, appeared to be imminent. The national executive, nevertheless, by his prompt and vigilant measures, passed through the crisis with safety, and effected successfully the object in view.

A treaty, which had been made with a party of the Indians just before Mr. Adams entered upon his office, by which all the Creek lands in Georgia and Alabama were ceded to the United States, and which had been sanctioned by the senate on the last day of the session, was virtually set aside. Upon a more dispassionate consideration, it had appeared not to have been executed in good faith, and accordingly a new treaty was concluded at Washington, through great effort on the part of the public authorities. This was entered into with the chiefs of the Creek tribe, in March, 1826. It stipulated for the payment of a large sum to the tribe, and to guaranty the lands not expressly ceded by them. Congress sanctioned the treaty and its stipulations, though the members from Georgia expressed their dissent on record. The conduct of Mr. Adams, in this difficult and perplexing affair, was approved very generally in congress, and throughout the country.

Proposed Mission to the Congress at Panama.--The president having been invited to send commissioners to the congress of Panama, which had for its object the cementing of the friendly relations of all the independent states of America, saw fit to accept the invitation. Having nominated Richard C. Anderson and John Sergeant, as ministers on the part of the United States, and William B. Rochester, of New York, as secretary, he presented these names to the senate for confirmation. This step awakened a spirit of animosity against the president, and a long and angry debate ensued; but the nominations were eventually confirmed, and the necessary appropriations voted. Measures were soon taken to carry this policy into effect, and directions were sent to Mr. Anderson, who was then in Columbia, to attend the congress, which was to be convened in the beginning of summer. But he was cut down by a malignant fever before he could reach the place. Mr. Sergeant was prevented from going, on account of the lateness of the period at which his appointment was made.

This failure of representation at the congress, on the part of the United States, was, by many, deemed auspicious, as the relations and interests of the country might otherwise have been compromitted; but others thought differently, and believed that a conference of the kind might issue in the adoption of a friendly and enlightened policy between the parties.

Internal Improvements.--In 1826, a proposition was made in congress to expend a sum of money for repairing and extending the Cumberland road. An act had been passed long before, during Mr. Jefferson's second presidential term, for making a road from Cumberland, in the state of Maryland, or near that place, and on the north bank of the Potomac river, to the river Ohio. Hence the name of the road. After having been commenced, money was appropriated, at different periods, to finish and repair the road. It was considered of great national advantage and convenience, inasmuch as it furnished a commodious way from the Atlantic slope to the Ohio river and to the great valley of the Mississippi.

To the proposition above alluded to for an additional sum of money, opposition was made at the present time. The amount asked was eighty thousand dollars, for repairs and also for its continuance farther west; for it was considered as proper to extend it to a remoter point, as to have made it to the Ohio river. The sum was named in a general appropriation bill. Many were opposed, on account of their doubts respecting the authority of congress to expend money for such objects. Others, however, who were reluctant to vote money for internal improvements on general principles, were in favor of the appropriation in this instance, as it would be of great public utility, and as the road, in order to be used with facility, must be repaired.

"The vote, at this time, for an appropriation to repair the Cumberland road, indicated the views of members of congress on the subject of internal improvements; for it was long discussed, and several members went fully into the constitutionality of this and several measures. In the senate, the votes were twenty-three in favor and fifteen against the appropriation. And, in the house of representatives, they were ninety-two to sixty-three. And, at the same session, congress authorized the executive to subscribe, on the part of the government, for shares in the Dismal Swamp canal, so called, within the state of Virginia, to the amount of sixty thousand dollars; which was a direct recognition of the power of congress to construct works for the public convenience. An act was also passed for a survey in Florida, with a view to construct a canal across the peninsula, from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico."[77]

The Fiftieth Anniversary of American Independence.--This was a day long to be remembered in the annals of the nation. The exultation of feeling throughout the country, that we had reached in safety the fiftieth anniversary of our independence, was great. The day was every where celebrated with more than the usual demonstrations of joy. But the most striking feature of the occasion, was the simultaneous deaths of two ex-presidents of the United States, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The coincidence in their departure from life was certainly remarkable, more especially as having occurred at that particular juncture. It would seem to have been a providential dispensation, designed to answer some important purpose; perhaps to awaken the great principles of political freedom and equal rights, to the maintenance of which the lives of both were consecrated. They had both--and equally, perhaps--acted a most conspicuous part on the theatre of the world, and especially in the affairs of American independence. "Both had been presidents, both had lived to great age, both were early patriots, and both were distinguished and ever honored by their immediate agency in the act of independence. It cannot but seem striking and extraordinary, that these two should live to see the fiftieth year from the date of that act; that they should complete that year, and that then, on the day which had fast linked for ever their own fame with their country's glory, the heavens should open to receive them both at once. As their lives themselves were the gifts of Providence, who is not willing to recognize in their happy termination, as well as in their long continuance, proofs that our country and its benefactors are objects of his care?"

Although they belonged to different schools in politics, and were separated, for a time, by the party distinctions which prevailed soon after the constitution went into operation, yet they seemed to have coalesced very much in views and feelings in the latter portion of their lives. Friendly letters, of great interest, passed between them, which were given to the public at the time. But the coincidences or parallel circumstances attending these distinguished men are not yet exhausted. "They belonged to the same profession, and had pursued its studies and its practice, for unequal lengths of time indeed, but with diligence and effect. Both were learned and able lawyers. They were natives and inhabitants respectively of those two of the colonies, which, at the Revolution, were the largest and most powerful, and which, naturally, had a lead in the political affairs of the times. When the colonies became, in some degree, united, by the assembling of the general congress, they were brought to act together in its deliberations, not indeed at the same time, but both at early periods. Each had already manifested his attachment to the cause of the country, as well as his ability to maintain it, by pointed addresses, public speeches, extensive correspondence, and whatever other mode could be adopted for the purpose of exposing the encroachments of the British parliament, and animating the people to manly resistance. Both were not only decided, but early friends of independence. While others yet doubted, they were resolved; where others hesitated, they pressed forward. They were both members of the committee for preparing the Declaration of Independence; they constituted the sub-committee, appointed by the other members to make the draft. They left their seats in congress, being called to other public employments, at periods not remote from each other, although one of them returned to it, afterwards, for a short time. Neither of them was of the assembly of great men which formed the present constitution, and neither was at any time member of congress under its provisions. Both have been public ministers abroad, both vice-presidents, and both presidents." These coincidences were surprisingly completed, as already mentioned, by their simultaneous deaths, and that on the anniversary of liberty.

Introduction of the "American System."--The phrase "American System" was given to the policy advocated by many, of protecting, by impost duties, the manufactures of the country against foreign competition. It began to be employed during the administration of Mr. Adams. Additional duties were sought by the friends of manufactures on woolen goods, and a bill for that purpose passed both houses of congress, in the months of April and May, 1827. The measure, however, seemed not to be satisfactory to the country at large. "The president was in favor of affording protection to domestic manufactures generally, and of woolens particularly, which, at this time, was the leading question in political economy, so far as the federal government was believed to have authority to interfere. But he was also friendly to extensive enterprises in commerce and navigation, and expressed no opinion in support of the ultra doctrines of the manufacturers."

Election of General Jackson.--The administration of Mr. Adams encountered strong and determined opposition. The circumstance of his rival, General Jackson, having had a larger popular vote than himself, and having, in congress, only a small majority, when elected to office, seemed, in the view of the democratic party, quite sufficient to justify a more than usual distrust of his administration, from its beginning. Mr. Adams was watched with singular vigilance, and every advantage taken to render his acts unpopular. It was early charged against him, that a corrupt bargain had been made with Mr. Clay, his secretary of state. The Panama mission was represented as a measure weak and injudicious. And, moreover, it was charged that his administration was wasteful and extravagant.

Of the falsity and injustice of these charges, it is now unnecessary to speak. They were a part of an organized system of opposition, and designed to prevent the rëelection of Mr. Adams, and secure that of General Jackson. In this design, the friends of the latter succeeded, the vote of the electors for president affording a victory to his supporters, as gratifying as the defeat of the friends of the former was mortifying.

Key: A. And'w. Jackson, of Tennessee. B. John Q. Adams, of Massa'tts. C. John C. Calhoun, of S. Carolina. D. Richard Rush, of Pennsylv'a. E. William Smith, of S. Carolina.

---------+-----------------+----------+----------------- No. of | |PRESIDENT.| VICE-PRESIDENT. Electors | STATES. |----------+----------------- from each| | A. | B. | C. | D. | E. State. | | | | | | ---------+-----------------+----+-----+-----+-----+----- 9 | Maine, | 1 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 8 | New Hampshire, | | 8 | | 8 | 15 | Massachusetts, | | 15 | | 15 | 4 | Rhode Island, | | 4 | | 4 | 8 | Connecticut, | | 8 | | 8 | 7 | Vermont, | | 7 | | 7 | 36 | New York, | 20 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 8 | New Jersey, | | 8 | | 8 | 28 | Pennsylvania, | 28 | | 28 | | 3 | Delaware, | | 3 | | 3 | 11 | Maryland, | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 24 | Virginia, | 24 | | 24 | | 15 | North Carolina, | 15 | | 15 | | 11 | South Carolina, | 11 | | 11 | | 9 | Georgia, | 9 | | 2 | | 7 14 | Kentucky, | 14 | | 14 | | 11 | Tennessee, | 11 | | 11 | | 16 | Ohio, | 16 | | 16 | | 5 | Lousiana, | 5 | | 5 | | 3 | Mississippi, | 3 | | 3 | | 5 | Indiana, | 5 | | 5 | | 3 | Illinois, | 3 | | 3 | | 5 | Alabama, | 5 | | 5 | | 3 | Missouri, | 3 | | 3 | | ---------+-----------------+----+-----+-----+-----+----- 261 | Whole No. of | | | | | | electors, |178 | 83 | 171 | 83 | 7 | Majority, 131 | | | | |

FOOTNOTE:

[77] Bradford's History of the Federal Government.

XII. ANDREW JACKSON, PRESIDENT.

INAUGURATED AT WASHINGTON, MARCH 4, 1829,

JOHN C. CALHOUN AND MARTIN VAN BUREN, Vice-Presidents.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.

Martin Van Buren, New York, March 6, 1829,} Edward Livingston, Louisiana, January 12, 1832,} Secretaries Louis M'Lane, Delaware, May 29, 1833,} of State. John Forsyth, Georgia, June 27, 1834,}

Samuel D. Ingham, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1829,} Louis M'Lane, Delaware, January 13, 1832,} William J. Duane, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1833,} Roger B. Taney, Maryland, (appointed in } Secretaries the recess: } of Treasury. negatived by } the Senate,) } Levi Woodbury, New Hampshire, January 27, 1834,}

John H. Eaton, Tennessee, March 9, 1829,} Secretaries Lewis Cass, Ohio, December 30, 1831,} of War.

John Branch, North Carolina, March 9, 1829,} Secretaries Levi Woodbury, New Hampshire, December 27, 1831,} of the Navy. Mahlon Dickerson, New Jersey, June 30, 1834,}

William T. Barry, Kentucky, March 9, 1829,} Postmasters Amos Kendall, Kentucky, March 15, 1836,} General.

John M. Berrien, Georgia, March 9, 1829,} Attorneys Roger B. Taney, Maryland, December 27, 1831,} General. Benjamin F. Butler, New York, June 24, 1834,}

SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Andrew Stevenson, Virginia, Twenty-first Congress, 1829. Andrew Stevenson, Virginia, Twenty-second do. 1831. Andrew Stevenson, Virginia, Twenty-third do. 1833. John Bell, Tennessee, Twenty-fourth do. 1834. James K. Polk, Tennessee, Twenty-fifth do. 1835.

In his inaugural address, General Jackson exhibited, in comprehensive terms, his views in regard to the administration of the government. He spoke of the limitations and extent of executive power--the peace and friendship to be cultivated with foreign powers--the respect due to the rights of the separate states--the solicitude to be exercised in the management of the public revenue--the equal fostering care of the general government in respect to agriculture, commerce, and manufactures--the necessity of reform, and the correction of certain abuses--the attention to be given to internal improvement and the diffusion of knowledge--the policy to be observed towards the Indian tribes within our borders--and other similar topics.

He expressed, also, the diffidence he felt on assuming the high and responsible station to which he had been elevated, and the reverence with which he regarded the examples of public virtue left us by his illustrious predecessors; hoping at the same time to receive instruction and aid from the cöordinate branches of the government, and the indulgence and support of his fellow-citizens in general. It was a brief and terse address, and manifested the characteristic decision and fearlessness of the man.

A sketch of the more prominent measures and events of General Jackson's administration will require us to notice the following topics, viz:

Condition of the Country, Rëelection of Andrew Jackson, Georgia and the Cherokees, Removal of Deposites, Public Lands, Death of Lafayette, National Bank, Deposite Act, Internal Improvements, Seminole War, Indian Hostilities, Treasury Circular, Discontents in South Carolina, Election of Mr. Van Buren, Character of Jackson's Administration.

Condition of the Country.--A high degree of prosperity was enjoyed in the United States at this era. The administration of General Jackson's predecessor had been crowned with signal success. Circumstances, however, connected with the election of Mr. Adams were seized upon as a ground of attack; and, in the eye of many, all that he afterwards did, as the executive of the nation, was unnaturally colored or distorted. But the results showed that his administration had been conducted with wisdom, integrity, and vigor. During the whole course of it, uninterrupted peace had been enjoyed; our commercial relations had been gradually extended; and, in many instances, the claims of American citizens upon foreign governments had been prosecuted with success. At home, the marks of an able administration were exhibited, in the increased activity imparted to the legitimate powers of the federal government for the development of the resources of the country, and the increase of its wealth and respectability.

Georgia and the Cherokees.--The president, in his message on the 8th of December, 1829, had presented, at considerable length, his views in regard to the disposal of the Indian tribes within the limits of the United States. He recommended their removal beyond the boundary of the different states, but without compulsion, to such territory west of the Mississippi, as congress might set apart for their use. In this, he wished to avoid the difficulties arising from the treaties between the United States and these Indians, and the opposing claims of the states within whose limits the Indians resided. This was one of the most embarrassing subjects which demanded the attention of the new administration. It was especially applicable to the relation which the Cherokees, a powerful tribe within the limits of Georgia, sustained to the general government.

Treaties had been made with this tribe, from time to time, ever since the adoption of the federal constitution. In these treaties, the protection of the United States was promised them, and the territory they inhabited was acknowledged to be theirs. But the government had also acknowledged the limits of Georgia, and had agreed to extinguish the Indian title whenever it could be peaceably effected.

Georgia, in her anxiety to secure the Indian territory, had passed laws from time to time, with reference to that object, claiming exclusive civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Indians. In this state of things, the new administration came in, and the views of the president coinciding with those of the state of Georgia, a change was made in her mode of procedure. She was allowed, with the approbation of the general government, to extend her laws over the Cherokees, and to consider the treaties of the United States with them, guaranteeing their territory, as unconstitutional and void.

In conformity to the president's proposal of removing the Indians, as already alluded to, a bill was submitted to both houses of congress, in February, 1830, authorizing the president to set apart such portion as he should deem necessary of the public territory west of the Mississippi, to be divided into districts, for the permanent residence of the emigrating Indians. The bill underwent a thorough and spirited debate, and was finally passed by both houses, by a small majority.

The laws of Georgia had come into direct conflict with those of the United States, but this bill seemed to release the president from the duty of enforcing the acts of the latter, and observing the faith of treaties, as it was also in agreement with his determination not to regard either, in reference to a sovereign state. Encouraged by the acts of the government and the views of the president, Georgia proceeded to assert entire sovereignty over the Indians within its limits, issued writs of the state courts against the residents in the Indian territories, and tried the Cherokees before the tribunals of the state. At length, even the missionaries of the American board, residing and laboring among them, were arrested, tried, condemned and imprisoned, for refusing to obtain a permit from the government of Georgia to reside within the territory, or to take an oath of allegiance to the state. And, to consummate their high-handed proceedings, the decision of the supreme judicial tribunal of the United States, pronouncing the acts of the Georgia legislature null and void, being unconstitutional, was resisted by the state. What might have ensued from this condition of affairs, had the general government undertaken to enforce the decision of the supreme court of the nation, as it would have been its imperious duty, it is needless to say. The missionaries relieved Georgia from the dreaded calamity, by informing the governor that they had instructed their counsel to prosecute the case no further. Soon after this, the missionaries were set at liberty.

Notwithstanding all the stringent measures of Georgia, the Cherokees were determined to remain in the land of their fathers. But at length, in 1835, a few of their chiefs were induced to sign a treaty for the sale of their lands and a removal west of the Mississippi. Although this treaty was opposed by a majority of the Cherokees, and the terms afterwards decided upon at Washington rejected, yet, as the state of Georgia was determined in its hostility, and they could expect no protection, according to the new doctrine, from the general government, they finally decided upon a removal; but it was not until the close of the year 1838, that the task of emigration was completed.

Public Lands.--Questions pertaining to the public lands were earnestly debated at this period. These lands form an immense domain, and lie on both sides of the Mississippi, though much the larger portion lies on the west of that river. Applying the Georgia doctrine, in reference to the sovereignty of the state over all land within its limits, some of the new states, formed out of the public domain, set up a claim to the property in the soil of all lands not owned by individuals, as an element of sovereignty. The mode of disposing of these lands, was complained of in other states, and attempts were made to throw doubt on the validity of the title of the general government to that portion within the limits of states.

A resolution of Mr. Foot, of Connecticut, on this subject, gave rise to animated discussion in the senate, on the 29th of December, 1829. In the course of the debate, Mr. Hayne, of South Carolina, introduced the subject of state rights, and contended that the several states within which the public lands were situated, should have the entire control and jurisdiction over them. Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts, replied to Mr. Hayne in one of the most eloquent and effective speeches ever delivered in congress, and contended that on subjects fully committed to the government by the constitution, its powers were absolute, exclusive, and unlimited; that no state, nor even a number of states, might justly interfere in such cases; and that the public lands not expressly ceded to a particular state, were solely and absolutely at the disposal of the United States' government. This speech destroyed, for a time, the hopes of the advocates of the novel doctrine of nullification; yet the views of Mr. Hayne, respecting state rights and powers, continued to be entertained by a large portion of the people of the Southern states. No particular law resulted from this able and prolonged discussion.

National Bank.--In anticipation of a request for the renewal of the charter of the United States' bank, the president, in his message to congress, had expressed opinions adverse to that measure. But the standing committees of the senate and house, to which that portion of his message referred, made reports in opposition to the president's views. The friends of the administration formed a majority in both committees, and it was readily perceived how little harmony of action there was likely to be, on that subject, between the president and the party which had brought him into power.

About four years anterior to the expiration of the existing charter, that is, in December, 1832, a memorial was presented to congress from the president and directors of the United States' bank, for a renewal of its charter. This memorial was referred to a select committee, which, on the 13th of March following, reported in its favor, recommending only some limitations to the power of issuing notes and holding real property; also, the payment of a bonus of one million five hundred thousand dollars. After long debates, and various amendments, a bill for this purpose was carried in the senate by a vote of twenty-eight to twenty, and in the house by a vote of one hundred and seven to eighty-five; but, being on the 4th of July sent to the president, it was returned to the senate on the 10th of July with an absolute veto, which, not being opposed by two-thirds, decided the fate of the bank.

Internal Improvements.--The policy of the government from an early period, though not from the beginning, had favored works of internal improvement, so that it seemed to be settled as a feature of each successive administration, from Mr. Jefferson to the present period. From General Jackson's own votes, while he was a member of the senate, it might reasonably be inferred that the same policy would be coincident with his views as president. But such was found not to be the fact. The question of internal improvements by the general government, was earnestly discussed at the first session of the twenty-first congress, and a bill was passed in the house, by a vote of one hundred and two to thirty-five, in the senate by twenty-four to eighteen, authorizing a subscription to the stock of the Maysville and Lexington road company, in Kentucky. The bill thus passed by so large a majority, was sent to the president for his approval. After retaining it eight days, he returned it to the house, on the 27th of May, 1830, with his objections.

The reading of this veto message produced much excitement in congress. Many of the friends of the president from Pennsylvania and from the Western states, had confidently looked for his approbation of the bill. Their surprise and disappointment were equally great. The question being taken upon the passage of the bill, notwithstanding the objections of the president, the vote stood, yeas ninety-six, nays ninety-four. Two-thirds of the house not agreeing to pass the bill, it was rejected, though a majority of the house refused to sustain the objections of the president.

Indian Hostilities.--The year 1832 was distinguished by a series of Indian hostilities, commonly known as "Black Hawk's War," from the name of the celebrated Indian chief, who was the leader of the Sac and Fox Indians in these hostilities. These tribes, together with the Winnebagoes, had, for a considerable time, manifested a restless disposition, and appeared evidently disposed to commence hostilities, as opportunity might offer. They had joined the British in the war of 1812, and inflicted much injury on the Americans. Encouraged by the friendship of the British, as well as incited by their own warlike propensities, the Sacs and Foxes claimed the right of occupying a part of the country upon Rock river, even after it had been sold to the citizens of the United States, and the latter had made settlements upon it. In attempting to assert this right, frequent collisions ensued; and, as no persuasions on the part of the agents of the government could induce them to be quiet, and confine themselves to their own country on the west of the Mississippi, measures were taken to compel them to desist from their aggressions. As early as 1831, a considerable detachment of the army, and also of the militia of Illinois, was called into the field; upon which, the Indians agreed to confine themselves within their own proper limits.

In a short time, however, this arrangement was violated by a party of these Indians, in an outrage committed upon a band of friendly Menomonies, in the very vicinity of Fort Crawford. Twenty-five persons were wantonly killed and many wounded, while encamped in the village of Prairie du Chien, under the protection of our flag. It was felt by the government, that this aggression could not be passed over without the infliction of a due chastisement; as all was at stake, in regard to the friendly Indians and the frontier settlements in that quarter. Accordingly, the department ordered General Atkinson, on the 7th of March, 1832, to ascend the Mississippi with the disposable regular troops at Jefferson barracks, and to strengthen the frontiers; orders were also given for the rëoccupation of Chicago.

In the prosecution of his instructions, General Atkinson proceeded to the Indian country, where, after various skirmishes, and several more serious engagements, the Sacs and Foxes, under the direction of Black Hawk, fled beyond the Mississippi. On the 28th and 29th of July, General Atkinson crossed with his army to the north side of the Wisconsin, at Helena, in pursuit of the enemy. After a most difficult and forced march, over steep mountains and through deep ravines, on the 5th day of March, the enemy was announced by one of the scouts. A suitable disposition was made of the American forces, with a view to prevent the escape of any of the foe, and the firing commenced, as the different portions of the army came in contact with him. The battle lasted upwards of three hours. About fifty of his women and children were taken prisoners, and many were killed in the battle. When the Indians were driven to the bank of the Mississippi, some hundreds of the men, women, and children plunged into the river, and hoped, by diving, to escape the bullets. Very few, however, escaped--the American sharp-shooter is nearly infallible in his aim.

Black Hawk, in the midst of the battle, escaped, and went up the river. The savages, after this defeat, became convinced of the impossibility of contending, with success, against the American arms. No further serious resistance was offered on their part, and the war soon closed by the capture of Black Hawk, who was delivered up to the American commander, by two Winnebagoes, on the 27th of August. He was well treated and much noticed in the United States.

Discontent in South Carolina.--The year 1832 was distinguished also by discontents in the Southern portion of the country, particularly in South Carolina, arising from the tariff of 1828. That tariff had been slightly modified by an act of congress, in the summer of 1832. But the small and partial reduction of duties thus secured, did not diminish, but rather served to increase the opposition to the American System, then so called. By this system was meant the policy of high duties on imports, for the protection of domestic manufactures.

In South Carolina, it was resolved, a few months after the passage of the law of July, 1832, by the legislature, that the present law, and that of 1828, were infractions of the constitution, or exceeded the power given to the federal government by that compact, and were, therefore, null and void; and that the execution of those acts, within the state, was to be prevented, even by force, if necessary. And the requisite measures were taken to enforce this resolution.

An issue was thus brought on between the state and federal government, that imperiously demanded attention. The very existence of the government depended on the decision of the president. South Carolina had set at defiance the supreme authority of the Union, and declared that no umpire should be admitted to decide between the contending parties. In such an exigency, the president felt that there was no room for hesitation. The difficulty must be met, not only to save the Union from dismemberment, or the loss of one of its constituent parts, but to protect those citizens of South Carolina, who still adhered to the Union, from the horrors of civil discord. The president, with his personal courage and indomitable will, as also clothed with the irresistible power of the Union, determined to throw himself into the breach, and to enforce the revenue acts with an entire disregard to the pretended rights of sovereignty, which were assumed by the state of South Carolina.

To carry the determination of the government into effect, all the disposable military force was ordered to assemble at Charleston, and a sloop-of-war was sent to that port to protect the federal officers, in case of necessity, in the execution of their duties. On the 10th of December, the proclamation of the president was issued, plainly and forcibly stating the nature of the American government, and the supremacy of the federal authorities in all matters intrusted to their care. At the same time, in this document, he exhorted the citizens of South Carolina not to persist in a course which must bring upon their state the force of the confederacy, and expose the Union to the hazard of a dissolution.

The proclamation of General Jackson was a noble production. It was hailed with delight throughout the country, as well by his political opponents, as by his friends. "Perhaps no document has emanated from the executive department of the government, which has been more generally approved, both in regard to the style in which it was written, and the doctrines asserted and maintained, since the farewell address of the first president. It contains no speculative opinions, no new theories; it speaks the facts of history, in the language of the constitution, and in the spirit which we, of a later generation, may suppose animated its framers."

The president, on this momentous occasion, was nobly supported by the leaders of the opposition party in congress, with Mr. Webster at their head. The force of public opinion was irresistible--South Carolina was compelled to shrink before it. No resistance was actually made to the enforcement of the laws they had nullified, and, consequently, no coercive measures were necessary on the part of the general government to maintain its authority. The objectionable laws were somewhat modified in the session of 1833, by what was termed "the compromise act," proposed by Mr. Clay; and South Carolina, though she has steadfastly adhered to her theories, has been contented not to reduce them to practice.

Rëelection of General Jackson.--In the autumn of 1832, the electors of the country were again convened in their respective places of residence for the choice of a president. The two principal candidates were General Jackson and Henry Clay. The friends of Mr. Calhoun, in South Carolina, where the tariff question had already produced a bitter feeling of hostility to the government, remained almost entirely aloof from the contest. The anti-masonic party in the Northern states, which had been recently formed, supported William Wirt, of Maryland. The opponents of General Jackson were strongly opposed to his rëelection, and made great exertions to defeat it; but the returns from the electoral colleges exhibited a large majority in his favor. The following is the official result of the electoral vote:

Key: A. Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee. B. Henry Clay, of Kentucky. C. John Floyd, of Virginia. D. William Wirt, of Maryland. E. Martin Van Buren, of New York. F. John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania. G. William Wilkins, of Pennsylvania. H. Henry Lee, of Massachusetts. I. Amos Ellmaker, of Pennsylvania.

---------+-----------------+---------------+------------------- No. of | | PRESIDENT. | VICE-PRESIDENT. Electors | STATES. |---------------+------------------- from each| |A. |B. |C. |D. |E. |F. |G. |H. |I. State. | | | | | | | | | | ---------+-----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- 10 | Maine, |10 | | | |10 | | | | 7 | New Hampshire, | 7 | | | | 7 | | | | 14 | Massachusetts, | |14 | | | |14 | | | 4 | Rhode Island, | | 4 | | | | 4 | | | 8 | Connecticut, | | 8 | | | | 8 | | | 7 | Vermont, | | | | 7 | | | | | 7 42 | New York, |42 | | | |42 | | | | 8 | New Jersey, | 8 | | | | 8 | | | | 30 | Pennsylvania, |30 | | | | | |30 | | 3 | Delaware, | | 3 | | | | 3 | | | 10 | Maryland, | 3 | 5 | | | 3 | 5 | | | 23 | Virginia, |23 | | | |23 | | | | 15 | North Carolina, |15 | | | |15 | | | | 11 | South Carolina, | | |11 | | | | |11 | 11 | Georgia, |11 | | | |11 | | | | 15 | Kentucky, | |15 | | | |15 | | | 15 | Tennessee, |15 | | | |15 | | | | 21 | Ohio, |21 | | | |21 | | | | 5 | Lousiana, | 5 | | | | 5 | | | | 4 | Mississippi, | 4 | | | | 4 | | | | 9 | Indiana, | 9 | | | | 9 | | | | 5 | Illinois, | 5 | | | | 5 | | | | 7 | Alabama, | 7 | | | | 7 | | | | 4 | Missouri, | 4 | | | | 4 | | | | ---------+-----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- 288 | Whole No. of | | | | | | | | | | electors, |219|49 |11 | 7 |189|49 |30 |11 | 7 | Majority, 145 | | | | | | | | |

Removal of the Deposites.--The law of 1816, which created the United States' bank, required that the public moneys should be deposited in that bank, subject to be removed only by the secretary of the treasury, and requiring him, in that case, to present his reasons for removing them to congress. Congress had already refused to authorize the removal of the deposites, and the president was now resolved to effect it on his own responsibility. The new secretary of the treasury, William J. Duane (for there had been some recent changes in the cabinet), refusing to act in this matter, and resigning his office, the attorney-general, Roger B. Taney, was appointed in his place. Mr. Taney immediately issued the necessary orders for the removal of the deposites from the United States' bank; a measure which resulted from the president's determination to break off all connection between the government and the bank.

At the coming session of congress, 2d of December, 1833, one of the first acts of the senate was the adoption of a resolution, by a vote of twenty-six to twenty, declaring "that the president, in his late executive proceedings, in relation to the public revenue, had assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the constitution and laws, but in derogation of both." This resolution remained on the journal until January 15, 1837, when it was formally expunged by order of the senate.

The act of the president, and the measures taken by the United States' bank, occasioned much embarrassment throughout the mercantile community, during the years 1834 and 1835. Committees, appointed by the merchants, mechanics, and tradesmen of the principal commercial cities, solicited the president to rëplace the government deposites in the United States' bank. But he resisted every solicitation. Many petitions were sent to congress on the same subject. The senate favorably received them; but the house saw fit to sustain the president in this measure.

Death of Lafayette.--This illustrious man and benefactor of America, died at his residence, La Grange, in France, on the 20th of May, 1834. This event was announced to congress on the 21st of June, in a message from the president. The character, services, and sacrifices of Lafayette, as an apostle of liberty and lover of mankind, were spoken of in appropriate terms of commendation in the president's communication. A joint select committee, of both houses, reported a series of resolutions, among which, one went to request the president to address a letter of condolence to the survivors in his family, and another to appoint John Quincy Adams to deliver, at the next session of congress, an oration on the life and character of the illustrious man. In due time, Mr. Adams pronounced his eulogy, in which the character and actions of Lafayette were drawn in a masterly manner.

Deposite Act.--The deposite or distribution act was passed by congress in 1835. The president had given it his "reluctant approval," with the apprehension of evil consequences flowing from it. In a message to the subsequent congress, he speaks of it as merely an act for the deposite of the surplus moneys of the United States in the state treasuries, for safe keeping, until wanted for the service of the general government--but that it had been spoken of as a gift, would be so considered, and might be so used. The manifestation of the president's feelings, in regard to this act and its disadvantages, was not calculated to relieve the minds of some, as to what he might attempt, in order to defeat its execution, or to prevent a future similar measure. This apprehension was subsequently strengthened by certain circumstances, which, however, need here no specific mention. There was at least an apparent effort to obtain control over the government funds, so as to divert them from the channel directed by the act of congress.

Seminole War.--The Seminole Indians of Florida, near the close of the year 1835, commenced hostilities against the settlements of the whites in their neighborhood. To this, they were incited by the attempt of the government to remove the Indians to lands west of the Mississippi, in accordance with the treaty of Payne's Landing, executed in 1832. That treaty, however, the Indians denied to be justly binding upon them, and they naturally felt a strong reluctance to quit their homes for ever. Micanopy, the king of the Seminoles, was opposed to the removal; and Osceola, their most noted warrior, said he "wished to rest in the land of his fathers, and his children to sleep by his side."

Osceola was cruelly put in irons by General Thompson, the government agent, who was displeased by the pretensions of the chieftain, and his remonstrances against the governmental proceedings. He, however, obtained his liberty, at length, by dissembling his displeasure, and gave his confirmation to the treaty of removal. The whites were thus lulled into security; and, while they were expecting the delivery of the cattle and horses of the Indians, according to the treaty, the latter were already commencing the work of devastation and death.

At this time, Major Dade was dispatched from Fort Brooke, at the head of Tampa Bay, with upwards of an hundred men, to the assistance of General Clinch, stationed at Fort Drane, in the interior of Florida. The latter was supposed to be in imminent danger. Dade had proceeded only about half the distance, when he was suddenly attacked by the enemy, and he and all, except four of his men, were killed, and these four, terribly mangled, afterwards died of their wounds.

At the time of this massacre, Osceola, with a small band of warriors, was lurking in the vicinity of Fort King, about sixty-five miles south-west from St. Augustine. Here General Thompson and a few friends were dining at a store near the fort, when Osceola and his band surprised them by a sudden discharge of musketry, and five out of nine were killed. The general was one of the slain, his body having been pierced by fifteen bullets. The Indian chief and his party then rushed in, scalped the dead, and retreated before they could be fired upon from the fort.

There were other engagements about this time between the Americans and the savages; and subsequently, upon the junction of several of the Creek towns and tribes with the Seminoles in the war, murders and devastations became frequent. The Indians obtained possession of many of the southern mail routes in Georgia and Alabama, attacked steamboats, destroyed stages, burned a number of towns, and compelled thousands of the whites, who had settled in their territory, to abandon their homes. A strong force, however, of confederate whites and friendly Indians, having been sent against them, and several of the hostile chiefs having been captured, the Creeks submitted, and, during the summer of 1836, several thousands of them were transported west of the Mississippi.

In October of the same year, Governor Call took command of the American forces in Florida, and marched into the interior with nearly two thousand men. At the Wahoo swamp, not far from Dade's battle-ground, five hundred and fifty of his troops attacked a large number of the enemy, who, after a fierce contest of nearly half an hour, were dispersed, with the loss of twenty warriors left dead on the field. In a second engagement, the Americans lost nine men killed and sixteen wounded. The combats of the whites and Indians in Florida, at this period, seem to have been attended with much loss of life on both sides.

Treasury Circular.--An important circular, in relation to the funds which should be received in payment for the public lands, was issued from the treasury department on the 11th of July, 1836. The purport of the circular was, to instruct the receivers of the public money, after the 15th day of August next ensuing, to receive in payment of the public lands nothing except gold and silver, and in the proper places, Virginia land scrip, in accordance with the directions of the existing laws. In order to secure the faithful execution of the requirements of the circular, all receivers were strictly prohibited from accepting, for land sold, any draft, certificate, or other evidence of money or deposite, though for specie, unless signed by the treasurer of the United States, in conformity to the act of April 25th, 1820.

At the next following session of congress, the president, in his message, was pleased to represent this specie circular as having produced many salutary consequences, contrary to the views of a large portion of the citizens of the United States, who believed that the embarrassment and disturbance of the currency, so severely felt, were, in a great measure, owing to the operation of that circular.

Character of General Jackson's Administration.--It is hardly to be anticipated, perhaps, that a full and impartial estimate of General Jackson's administration, can be formed during the present generation. There were many strong points in it, and these are apt to call forth strong correspondent feelings, whether of approbation or dislike. Men differ, and may honestly differ, in regard to the propriety of his conduct and the wisdom of his measures. That he was honest, as a ruler, will not be at all doubted. That he was self-willed, and determined to have his own way, will scarcely less admit of a question.

Still, it is not too much to hope, that the services he rendered to his country, connected though they be with the stern and high-handed measures adopted by his indomitable will, may be cherished with gratitude and respect. As a statesman, he had clear views, and, in some instances, a sort of prophetic foresight. When he had once determined upon a particular course, where any important principle was involved, he could not be made to swerve from what he conceived to be just and right. As the element of fear seemed not to be in him, he never shrunk from the discharge of any public duty, and was always ready to avow any act of his administration, as in the instance of removal of the public deposites through his secretary, and unshrinkingly to abide the consequences.

Election of Martin Van Buren.--General Jackson, in his last annual message, signified his intention, at the expiration of his term, to retire to private life. At the democratic convention for nominating a successor, Mr. Van Buren received a decided majority. The votes of the electoral colleges, counted February 8th, 1837, showed the following result:

Key: A. Martin Van Buren, of New York. B. Wm. H. Harrison, of Ohio. C. Hugh L. White, of Tennessee. D. Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts. E. W. P. Mangum, of N. Carolina. F. R. M. Johnson, of Kentucky. G. Francis Granger, of New York. H. John Tyler, of Virginia. I. William Smith, of Alabama.

---------+-----------------+-------------------+---------------- No. of | | PRESIDENT. |VICE-PRESIDENT. Electors | STATES. |-------------------+---------------- from each| |A. |B. |C. |D. |E. |F. |G. |H. |I. State. | | | | | | | | | | ---------+-----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- 10 | Maine, |10 | | | | |10 | | | 7 | New Hampshire, | 7 | | | | | 7 | | | 14 | Massachusetts, | | | |14 | | |14 | | 4 | Rhode Island, | 4 | | | | | 4 | | | 8 | Connecticut, | 8 | | | | | 8 | | | 7 | Vermont, | | 7 | | | | | 7 | | 42 | New York, |42 | | | | |42 | | | 8 | New Jersey, | | 8 | | | | | 8 | | 30 | Pennsylvania, |30 | | | | |30 | | | 3 | Delaware, | | 3 | | | | | 3 | | 10 | Maryland, | |10 | | | | | |10 |23 23 | Virginia, |23 | | | | | | | | 15 | North Carolina, |15 | | | | |15 | | | 11 | South Carolina, | | | | |11 | | |11 | 11 | Georgia, | | |11 | | | | |11 | 15 | Kentucky, | |15 | | | | |15 | | 15 | Tennessee, | | |15 | | | | |15 | 21 | Ohio, | |21 | | | | |21 | | 5 | Lousiana, | 5 | | | | | 5 | | | 4 | Mississippi, | 4 | | | | | 4 | | | 9 | Indiana, | | 9 | | | | | 9 | | 5 | Illinois, | 5 | | | | | 5 | | | 7 | Alabama, | 7 | | | | | 7 | | | 4 | Missouri, | 4 | | | | | 4 | | | 3 | Arkansas, | 3 | | | | | 3 | | | 3 | Michigan, | 3 | | | | | 3 | | | ---------+-----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- 294 | Whole No. of | | | | | | | | | | electors, |170|73 |26 |14 |11 |147|77 |47 |23 | Majority, 148 | | | | | | | | |

XIII. MARTIN VAN BUREN, PRESIDENT.

INAUGURATED AT WASHINGTON, MARCH 4, 1837.

RICHARD M. JOHNSON, VICE-PRESIDENT.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.

John Forsyth, Georgia, (continued in } Secretary office), } of State.

Levi Woodbury, New Hampshire, (continued in } Secretary office), } of Treasury.

Joel R. Poinsett, South Carolina, March 7, 1837, Secretary of War.

Mahlon Dickerson, New Jersey, (continued in } Secretaries office), } of the Navy. James K. Paulding, New York, June 30, 1838,}

Amos Kendall, Kentucky, (continued in } Postmasters office), } General. John M. Niles, Connecticut, May 25, 1840,}

Benjamin F. Butler, New York, (continued in } Attorneys office), } General. Felix Grundy, Tennessee, September 1, 1838,}

SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

James K. Polk, Tennessee, Twenty-sixth Congress, 1837. R. M. T. Hunter, Virginia, Twenty-seventh do. 1839.

Prior to the elevation of Mr. Van Buren to the presidency, he had been long in public life, and had been honored with several offices in his native state and under the general government. His talents, learning, and experience, though not greater than those of many others of his countrymen, were generally allowed to be adequate to his station. He had not, indeed, like all his predecessors, been connected more or less with the scenes of the Revolution, for he was born in the concluding year of the war. But, in the swiftly revolving years, it was evident that the time must soon come, when others than the men of '76 would be called to the helm of government. New men, and those not of the Anglo-American stock, must participate, as agreeable to the will of our mixed community, in guiding the ship of state which the fathers launched forth on the sea of experiment. Such was the case in respect to Mr. Van Buren, and such must it be hereafter, so far as regards men of ante-revolutionary birth. Whether our future presidents will continue to be guided by the spirit and example of the sages and heroes of the Revolution, remains to be seen.

In developing the administration of Mr. Van Buren, the following topics will be noticed:

Measures respecting Banks, Difficulties in Maine, Treasury Circular, Border Troubles, Continuance of Florida War, Changes of Public opinion, Internal Improvements, Character of the Administration, Public Expenses, Election of William H. Harrison.

Measures respecting Banks, &c.--The embarrassments in trade, consequent on the discontinuance of the Bank of the United States, issued in a great and disastrous diminution of the revenue. In this state of things, the administration found it necessary to resort to large loans. The people, as was to be expected, soon began to suffer in their private enterprises, and the country throughout wore a gloomy aspect, in respect to its pecuniary affairs and general prosperity. This condition of things arose to a great height, in the year 1837, and continued for some time afterwards. "Over trading, or the unusual amount of importations, was one cause to which this unprosperous state of the country was imputed. But it was also attributed to the discontinuance of the national bank, and to the repeated attempts of the administration to destroy its influence. Several petitions, from different commercial towns and cities, with very numerous subscribers, were presented to the president, requesting an early session of congress. The president delayed, for some time, to act on the petitions; but the distress increasing, and other petitions being addressed to him, he issued a proclamation for convening the national legislature in the month of September."

In his message, the president proposed what his opponents termed the "sub-treasury scheme." He held out very little hope of relief to the people from the government. His opinion was, that the government could do little more than take care of itself--that the class or classes of the community who had suffered, could alone supply a remedy, by a more prudent and limited course of enterprise and trade. These, and similar suggestions, seemed little calculated to satisfy a large portion of the people, especially as the government had destroyed one important means of benefit and facility to the merchants, and, through them, to all the other classes of citizens.

Following the suggestions of Mr. Van Buren, congress passed an act authorizing the issue of treasury notes, to the amount of ten millions of dollars, for the immediate wants of the government. "This was no other than a loan, except in name. The notes were made negotiable, and thus became, in fact, merely paper money; with no better credit, for there was no greater capital, or certainty of payment, than there had been in the national bank. The like amount of treasury notes was authorized in 1838, and again in 1839, but a part of former issues had been redeemed."

The sub-treasury scheme, which the president had proposed in his message, did not succeed at that time. The measure was opposed not only by the adverse political party, but by his democratic friends who were concerned in banks, and it was, at that period, very unpopular. This portion of the democratic party separated from the administration, and were known as conservatives. They eventually fell into the ranks of the old opposition, or as it was (and is still) termed, "the whig party." The subject of the sub-treasury was postponed. At the opening of the session of congress, in the following December, as may be remarked in anticipation, Mr. Van Buren again pressed the measure, which now seemed to be his favorite; but, though carried in the senate, it was defeated in the house. In a spirit of perseverance, he was enabled to effect the object, through his political friends, at the next session, when, on the 4th of July, 1840, the bill received his signature.

The extra session of congress seemed to satisfy neither party. The friends of the administration viewed the causes of the depression of business and the consequent distress, to be overaction in business, arising from exclusive issues of bank paper, and other facilities for the acquirement and enlargement of credit; the contraction of a large foreign debt, investment in unproductive lands, and vast internal improvements; and they naturally wished the separation of the government from the banks, in which project they were for the present disappointed. The opponents of the administration traced the causes of the pecuniary difficulties of the country to the veto of the national bank; the removal of the deposites, with the earnest injunction of the secretary of the treasury upon the banks to enlarge their accommodations; the gold bill and the demand of gold for the foreign indemnities; the imperfect execution of the deposite law; and the treasury order of July, 1836: and they naturally desired some modification or counteraction of these measures by legislative interference. Disappointment was felt among the mass of the people, that the government had taken care of itself, while their plans must be impeded, and the labors of industry go unrewarded.

Issue of the Treasury Circular.--This was a communication from the secretary of the treasury to the several collectors and receivers of the public money, containing instructions in respect to the safe keeping of the same. The instructions were as follows: "Congress having adjourned without making any additional provisions for the security and safe keeping of the public money, it is obvious that, in the present state of the laws and of the banks, an unusual responsibility devolves upon those who collect the revenues of the general government. The president expects that exertions, corresponding to the occasion, will cheerfully be made by every officer, and that no effort will be spared to have all the laws, as well as the regulations and instructions of the treasury department, scrupulously enforced. Accuracy in your accounts, punctuality in your returns, promptness in your deposites and payments, and entire forbearance to use any part of the public funds for private purposes, will, it is hoped, characterize the whole class of collecting offices hereafter. In the present condition of things, if any departure should unfortunately occur, it will be much regretted; and, however unpleasant the task, an exemplary and severe notice of the irregularity will become necessary, in order to secure the great public interests involved in this subject. The duty on the part of public officers to abstain from the employment of the public moneys for private advantage, is so apparent, that no excuse whatever for it can be deemed admissible."

Continuance of the War in Florida.--The war in Florida continued to be prosecuted during the administration of President Van Buren. Large sums of money were expended in maintaining it. Three millions and a half of dollars had been appropriated on its account, during the years 1836 and 1837, under General Jackson; and at the extra session in October, 1837, one million and six hundred thousand dollars were appropriated; and in 1838, the expenses for supporting the war in that quarter against the Indians, amounted to as large a sum as in either of the two preceding years. "When the difficulty arose with these Indians, President Jackson supposed that it would be soon terminated. And no one, at that time, had any reason to suppose it would continue for years, and have cost the government eight or ten millions. Other measures than those of force, would probably have terminated the difficulty at an early period. It would certainly have saved many valuable lives now lost to the country, and been far more satisfactory to the friends of humanity throughout the Union."

Internal Improvements.--During Mr. Van Buren's administration, large sums were appropriated for internal improvements, although the president was generally opposed to the policy. The expenditures were, however, for purposes which the advocates of state rights, for the most part, believed to be legitimate, such as repairs on the Cumberland road and its continuance through the states of Indiana and Illinois; for light-houses, life-boats, buoys, and monuments, in behalf of the interests of navigation. In reference to these objects, there was always far more agreement among the different parties in congress, than in reference to any thing that seemed less essential to the nation's benefit.

Public Expenses.--The expenses of the government had been increasing to a considerable extent, from year to year. During the year 1837 and 1838, they amounted to nearly thirty-two millions each. The number of public agents was greatly multiplied, and the compensation for their services was, in many cases, greatly increased. The federal officers into whose hands moneys were placed, frequently appropriated them for improper purposes, and thus loss ensued. Extra services were often charged, through some pretext, and thus the compensation allowed by law was largely exceeded. The public printing for congress, and for the departments under the executive, occasioned a large and frequently a needless expenditure, as it was found, in many cases, that the work could have been performed at a far cheaper rate. Such was the tendency of high party feeling towards an abuse of government patronage.

Difficulties in the State of Maine.--The North-eastern boundary had long been a source of difficulty between the United States and England. The question had seemed on the eve of a decision by arms between the British authorities in New Brunswick and the state of Maine. Armed bands had been sent out on both sides to the territory in dispute. General Scott had been sent to the scene of contention by the president, and the affair, through the general's exertions, was, for the time, quieted, yet not settled. The danger attending this state of things, induced Mr. Van Buren, on the 26th of February, 1839, to communicate to congress a message on this subject, which resulted in an act of congress, giving the president additional power for the defence of the country, in certain cases, against invasion, or any attempt on the part of Great Britain to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the disputed territory.

He was authorized, in this event, to accept the services of any number of volunteers, not exceeding fifty thousand. The sum of ten millions was appropriated for the president to employ in executing the provisions of this act. At the same time, an appropriation was made for the sending of a special minister to England, should it be expedient in the opinion of the president.

The Border Troubles on the Northern Frontier.--The Canada rebellion, so called, which broke out during the years 1837 and 1838, strongly enlisted the sympathies of many of the Americans, especially in the northern parts of the states of New York and Vermont. They viewed it as the sacred cause of liberty and human rights. The consequence was, that they assumed the name of patriots, and formed secret associations, which they called Hunter's Lodges, with the object of rendering assistance to the insurgents in their efforts to establish independence in Canada.

"In the prosecution of this well-meant, but illegal interference in the concerns of a foreign power, a daring party of adventurers took possession of Navy island, a small spot of ground, containing about three hundred and fifty acres, and situated in the Niagara river, about two miles above the falls, and lying within the jurisdiction of Upper Canada. It was fortified so strongly by the adventurers, as to resist an attack upon it by Sir James Head, the commander of the British forces. The president of the United States and the governor of the state of New York both issued proclamations, enjoining upon the inhabitants of the frontier to observe a strict neutrality.

"Notwithstanding these injunctions, arms and ammunition were procured, either by purchase or by stealth, and kept for the use of the insurgents. The party upon Navy island fired upon the opposite shore of Canada, and boats were destroyed by the force of their shot. The persons who were in possession of the island, amounting to seven hundred, were fully supplied with provisions, and had collected twenty pieces of cannon.

"These measures, on the part of the Americans, produced great excitement among the provincial authorities in Canada. A small steamboat, called the Caroline, was hired by the insurgents, to ply between Navy Island and Schlosser, on the American shore, in order to furnish the islanders with the means of carrying on the war. It began to run on the morning of the 29th of December, and, during the evening of that day, a detachment of one hundred and fifty armed men from the Canada side, in five boats, with muffled oars, proceeded to Schlosser, drove the men who were on board the Caroline ashore, cut her loose from her fastenings to the wharf, and, setting the boat on fire, let her float over the falls. In this enterprise, a man by the name of Durfee was killed; and it is said that one or two more were left in the steamboat when she went over the cataract."[78]

The Americans, in their turn, were greatly excited, and the threatened serious consequences to the peace existing between our government and that of Great Britain, were, with difficulty averted. The president, however, by proclamation and other measures, succeeded, at length, in checking the belligerent movements of our people on the frontier.

Changes of Opinion among the People.--Although the president, during his visit to his native state in the summer of 1839, for the first time since his inauguration, was every where greeted with enthusiasm by his political friends, and with great personal respect by his opponents, yet it was evident that the political horizon wore a different aspect from what it formerly had done. The derangement of the currency and prostration of trade, attributed by many to the mal-administration of government, had caused great political changes. Of the representatives in the twenty-sixth congress, there were one hundred and nineteen democrats and one hundred and eighteen whigs, leaving out of view five representatives from New Jersey, whose seats were contested. After several fierce debates, the democratic members from this state were admitted.

Mr. Van Buren, in 1840, being a candidate for rëelection, failed to carry the suffrages of the people. The great political changes, from causes already intimated, as shown in the state elections, gave, at the outset, but little hope of his success.

Character of the Administration.--Mr. Van Buren's administration, which closed on the 3rd of March, 1841, was an exciting one; and its character, even at this day, cannot, in all respects, be properly estimated. The verdict of posterity will be given with more justice than that of the present generation, in respect to its real benefit to the country. The great event of his administration, as has been remarked, by which it "will hereafter be known and designated, is the divorce of bank and state in the fiscal affairs of the federal government, and the return, after half a century of deviation, to the original design of the constitution." The caution, however, which history must necessarily observe on this subject, is well exhibited in the following remarks:

"The full results of the peculiar and experimental policy of President Jackson and President Van Buren, respecting banks and the currency, in their influence on the condition of the country, for good or for evil, for succeeding years, cannot be correctly estimated. The immediate consequences were a general disturbance of the trade and monetary affairs of the nation, and an unprecedented check to the accustomed pursuits of a people so enterprising in their spirit, and so desirous of improving their condition, as are the citizens of the United States. The sub-treasury scheme also gave alarm to the friends of the constitution generally, and to men of settled republican sentiments, who perceived in it a deviation from the essential elements of liberty recognized in the constitution, and a weakness of the responsibility of public agents, who should always be controlled by the authority of law. They knew that power was corrupting; that it was necessary to impose checks on those who were clothed with political authority, and to make them constantly amenable to their constituents. The developments and effects of this fearful experiment, must be left for narration to a distant day. The only just hope of the perpetuity and future purity of the republic, rest on the intelligence and virtue of the people, and on their wisdom in the choice of men for places of public trust; who, like Washington, shall make the constitution their guide, and, under the controlling influence of its doctrines and requisitions, shall seek to preserve the integrity of the Union, and the rights and welfare of individuals."

Canvass for the Presidency.--Unusual efforts had been put forth in the election of Mr. Van Buren's successor. Never before had greater activity been manifested by the leading political parties of the nation. The country had been convulsed with the strife for many months. The whole political press had exerted its utmost influences on the one side or the other, and that, in many instances, in the most unscrupulous manner. Considerations of great interest and importance were urged by the respective parties; much truth was uttered and widely disseminated, but more falsehood and detraction. Popular meetings--in numbers, character, and enthusiasm, never before assembled on the American soil for this or any other purpose--were held towards the conclusion of the political contest in every state, and in almost every county. The most distinguished men in the nation addressed thousands and tens of thousands, by night and by day. Said an eminent statesman, on one occasion, "If, on the occurrence of our presidential elections in future, our contests must be so severe, so early begun, and so long continued, human nature will fail. The energies of man are not equal to the conflict." The question, which had been actually determined before, was officially decided on the 10th of February, 1841, when the ceremony of counting and announcing the votes of the electoral colleges for president and vice-president took place. The result was as follows:

Key: A. W. H. Harrison, of Ohio. B. M. Van Buren, of New York. C. John Tyler, of Virginia. D. R. M. Johnson, of Kentucky. E. L. W. Tazewell, of Virginia. F. James K. Polk, of Tennessee.

---------+-----------------+----------+------------------- No. of | |PRESIDENT.| VICE-PRESIDENT. Electors | STATES. |----------+------------------- from each| | A. | B. | C. | D. | E. | F. State. | | | | | | | ---------+-----------------+----+-----+----+----+----+---- 10 | Maine, | 10 | | 10 | | | 7 | New Hampshire, | | 7 | | 7 | | 14 | Massachusetts, | 14 | | 14 | | | 4 | Rhode Island, | 4 | | 4 | | | 8 | Connecticut, | 8 | | 8 | | | 7 | Vermont, | 7 | | 7 | | | 42 | New York, | 42 | | 42 | | | 8 | New Jersey, | 8 | | 8 | | | 30 | Pennsylvania, | 30 | | 30 | | | 3 | Delaware, | 3 | | 3 | | | 10 | Maryland, | 10 | | 10 | | | 23 | Virginia, | | 23 | | 22 | | 1 15 | North Carolina, | 15 | | 15 | | | 11 | South Carolina, | | 11 | | | 11 | 11 | Georgia, | 11 | | 11 | | | 15 | Kentucky, | 15 | | 15 | | | 15 | Tennessee, | 15 | | 15 | | | 21 | Ohio, | 21 | | 21 | | | 5 | Lousiana, | 5 | | 5 | | | 4 | Mississippi, | 4 | | 4 | | | 9 | Indiana, | 9 | | 9 | | | 5 | Illinois, | | 5 | | 5 | | 7 | Alabama, | | 7 | | 7 | | 4 | Missouri, | | 4 | | 4 | | 3 | Arkansas, | | 3 | | 3 | | 3 | Michigan, | 3 | | 3 | | | ---------+-----------------+----+-----+----+----+----+---- 294 | Whole No. of | | | | | | | electors, | 234| 60 | 234| 48 | 11 | 1 | Majority, 148 | | | | | |

FOOTNOTE:

[78] Willard's History of the United States.

XIV. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, PRESIDENT.

INAUGURATED AT WASHINGTON, MARCH 4, 1841.

JOHN TYLER, VICE-PRESIDENT.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.

Daniel Webster, Massachusetts, March 5, 1841, Secretary of State.

Thomas Ewing, Ohio, March 5, 1841, Secretary of Treasury.

John Bell, Tennessee, March 5, 1841, Secretary of War.

George E. Badger, North Carolina, March 5, 1841, Secretary of the Navy.

Francis Granger, New York, March 6, 1841, Postmaster General.

J. J. Crittenden, Kentucky, March 5, 1841, Attorney General.

SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

John White, Kentucky, Twenty-eighth Congress, 1841. John W. Jones, Virginia, Twenty-ninth do. 1843.

The unwonted efforts put forth in the presidential canvass, had prepared a majority of the people for an unusual exultation of feeling on the accession of General Harrison; but, in the providence of God, that exultation was destined to be transitory. Just one month from the day of his inauguration, after a brief sickness, he died. The nation, it may well be believed, was surprised by this most unexpected calamity. It was difficult to conceive that the recent august spectacle of his introduction into the highest office in the gift of his countrymen, should be so nearly associated with his funeral honors. The loss seemed severe, in proportion to the expectations that had been indulged. A suitable commemoration of the distressing event was observed throughout the United States, by public bodies, and especially by Christian worshiping assemblies. Political opponents, in many instances, were not slow to render homage to the memory of the deceased president. There had been time for no particular development of principles or course of policy, on the part of the administration. The cabinet had been formed, and things were proceeding prosperously, and the future was full of promises, when this bereavement came to quench the hopes of millions.

This brief notice of a brief administration may be closed by an extract from the circular issued by the members of the cabinet, immediately after the president's decease, and which alludes to his dying, as well as his living example: "The people of the United States, overwhelmed, like ourselves, by an event so unexpected and so melancholy, will derive consolation from knowing that his death was calm and resigned, as his life had been patriotic, useful, and distinguished; and that the last utterance of his lips expressed a firm desire for the perpetuity of the constitution,[79] and the preservation of its true principles. In death, as in life, the happiness of his country was uppermost in his thoughts."

Upon the demise of General Harrison, Mr. Tyler, the vice-president, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, as they were construed by himself, and were acquiesced in by the nation, became president of the United States.

FOOTNOTE:

[79] His last words were, as if addressing his successor, "Sir, I wish you to understand the principles of the government. I want them carried out. I ask nothing more."

XV. JOHN TYLER, PRESIDENT.

ASSUMED THE GOVERNMENT APRIL 4, 1841

[The cabinet of General Harrison continued in office under Mr. Tyler till September, when they all resigned, excepting Mr. Webster, who remained till the 8th of May, 1843, when the department of state was temporarily filled by the attorney general, Hugh S. Legare.]

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.

Abel P. Upshur, Virginia, January 2, 1844,} Secretaries John C. Calhoun, South Carolina, March 6, 1844,} of State.

Walter Forward, Pennsylvania, September 13, 1841,} Secretaries John C. Spencer, New York, March 3, 1843,} of Treasury. George M. Bibb, Kentucky, June 15, 1844,}

John C. Spencer, New York, December 20, 1841,} Secretaries James M. Porter, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1843,} of War William Wilkins, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1844,}

Abel P. Upshur, Virginia, September 13, 1841,} David Henshaw, Massachusetts, July 24, 1843,} Secretaries Thomas W. Gilmer, Virginia, February 15, 1844,} of the Navy. John Y. Mason, Virginia, March 14, 1844,}

Charles A. Postmaster Wickliffe, Kentucky, September 13, 1841, General

Hugh S. Legare, South Carolina, September 13, 1841,} Attorneys John Nelson, Maryland, January 2, 1844,} General John Y. Mason, Virginia, March 5, 1845,}

The bereavement which the nation had experienced, seemed to demand from it a solemn recognition of the Divine Providence in the sad event. Accordingly, Mr. Tyler very properly appointed a day of public humiliation, fasting, and prayer, to be observed throughout the land, in token of its sense of the Divine judgment, and, as a means of securing the continuance of the Divine favor. This was well received, and the day was religiously observed throughout our widely-extended country.

In the room of an inaugural address, President Tyler made an official declaration, in a published document, of the principles and general course of policy which he intended should mark his administration. These, as summarily expressed, were generally satisfactory to his political friends.

The principal measures and events of President Tyler's administration will be noticed in the following order:

Extra Session of Congress, Annexation of Texas, Relations with Great Britain, Character of Mr. Tyler's Settlement of the N. E. Boundary, Administrat'n, Difficulties in Rhode Island, Celebration of Bunker's hill Modification of the Tariff, Monument, Treaties, Presidential Canvass.

Extra Session of Congress.--A few days before his death, General Harrison had issued his proclamation for an extra session of congress, to be held on the 31st of May, 1841, principally on account of the condition of the revenue and finances of the country. These were suffering, in consequence of the character of the events that had taken place. The revenue was insufficient to support the government, and the currency of the country was greatly disordered. Congress assembled, in conformity to the proclamation, and engaged in the grave and urgent business to which their attention had been called.

Several important acts were passed at this session, among which were--the establishment of a uniform system of bankruptcy, a measure which seemed imperiously required for the relief of more than half a million of debtors, who otherwise had no prospect of paying their debts--a bill providing for the distribution of the net proceeds of the public lands among the states, according to their respective population on the federal representative scale--also, the repeal of the sub-treasury law, which had been adopted towards the close of Mr. Van Buren's administration--and an act imposing duties of twenty per cent. on the value of all articles of import not expressly excepted therein.

Congress, at this time, passed a bill having in view the establishment of a national bank, which, however, Mr. Tyler saw fit to veto, notwithstanding, in his first message, he had recommended a bank of some kind. The bill, which the president set aside, chiefly, as he alleged, from his doubts as to its accordance with the constitution, contained, in the view of its framers, a compromise sufficient to overcome his constitutional objections to a bank. But having, in his veto-message, shadowed forth a fiscal agent, such as was believed he might approve, a bill, in agreement therewith, was framed and adopted; yet this also he vetoed; and there not being a constitutional majority in its favor, it was lost. This was a result, in both cases, sufficiently mortifying to the political party which had raised him to power. To the friends of a national bank, the disappointment was extreme. Great excitement prevailed, and all of Mr. Tyler's cabinet, except Mr. Webster, resigned.

Relations with Great Britain.--A communication was made to the American government, on the part of that of Great Britain, as announced by the president in his message of the 6th of December, 1841, respecting the destruction of the steamboat Caroline. That affair, it was alleged, was undertaken by orders from the authorities of the British government. Under this sanction, the release of Alexander McLeod, a British subject, who had been indicted for the murder of an American citizen, on that occasion, was demanded by the English authorities. It happened, however, favorably for the peace of the two countries, that McLeod had previously been tried in the state of New York, and acquitted. The excitement and anxiety, among all parties, had been intense during the trial, and the result was awaited, with no little foreboding, on the part of the peaceably disposed. It was now only left that the affair of the Caroline should, in some way, be adjusted by negotiation.

Settlement of the North-eastern Boundary.--The important event of defining and agreeing upon the North-eastern boundary of the United States, took place in 1842. The treaty made with England on this subject, was ratified by the senate on the 20th of August, of that year. The proper boundary, between the United States and the British possessions in that quarter, had long been a matter of serious controversy and difficulty. The claims of either country conflicted with those of the other--bitter feelings were engendered among the inhabitants dwelling on the borders, and disturbances not unfrequently took place between them, so that the peaceful relations of the two powers were, to some extent, constantly endangered. It was fortunate for the country, that Mr. Webster was still a member of the cabinet, and brought the weight of his character and official station to bear upon this question. It was also fortunate for England that she sent so conciliating and able a negotiator as Lord Ashburton, to treat on the subject. In the spirit of kindness and compromise, the matter was discussed, and, at length, settled between them--the president, at the same time cöoperating in endeavors to the same effect.

That the states of Maine and Massachusetts, who were interested in the division to be made between the countries, might be satisfied, their respective legislatures appointed several gentlemen as commissioners on the occasion. The treaty was duly ratified on the part of both powers, in the latter part of 1842, with the public proclamation of the same by the president; and thus ended a harassing controversy of fifty years' standing.

Difficulties in Rhode Island.--From a state of things which existed in Rhode Island at this time (1842), the most serious consequences were feared, in respect to that commonwealth, if not to the Union at large. In attempts to set aside the ancient charter of the state, the mode of adopting a new constitution became a matter of controversy among the people. A portion of them proceeded, in a manner unauthorized by the laws of the state, in erecting the fabric of the government. This portion of the citizens, called the "suffrage party," actually formed and adopted a constitution of their own, made choice of Thomas W. Dorr as governor, and elected a legislature. This was aside from the government which was already existing in the state. That being administered regularly at the same time, and another portion of the citizens, called the "law and order party," upholding it; a conflict, as to authority, necessarily ensued between the two parties. The law and order party had chosen their governor, Samuel W. King, at the appointed period, and both parties met to transact the business usually attended to at the meeting of legislative bodies.

"The legally organized party then took active measures to put down what was denominated the rebellion. Great commotion ensued, and several arrests were made. Dorr left the state, but soon returning, his followers assembled under arms, and a bloody struggle appeared inevitable. The insurgents, however, dispersed on the appearance of the government forces, and Dorr, to avoid arrest, fled from the state.

"In June, however, the insurgents again made their appearance under arms, and were joined by Dorr. The whole state was now placed under martial law, and a large body of armed men was sent against the insurgents, who dispersed without any effectual resistance. Dorr again fled; but returning, after a few months, was arrested, tried for treason, convicted, and sentenced to be imprisoned during life. In the mean time, a constitution for the state had been adopted, according to the prescribed forms of law. In June, 1845, Dorr was released, although he had refused to accept a pardon on condition of taking the oath of allegiance to the state government."

Modification of the Tariff.--A well-regulated tariff was believed, by many, to be the only measure by which the financial disorders and stagnation in business, so characteristic of the times, could be remedied. Accordingly, before the adjournment of the second session of the twenty-seventh congress (August 31st, 1842), a bill modifying, in some important particulars, the existing tariff, passed both houses of congress, and received the signature of the president. The first bill introduced and passed, was vetoed by Mr. Tyler; and, for a time, the friends of the measure indulged in painful apprehensions as to the final issue. An unwonted hostility had been manifested, on the part of a powerful party, to any modification of the law on this subject, and every step of its progress had been most earnestly and bitterly contested. But the imperious necessity of the measure, the wants of the national treasury, and the suffering condition of the various branches of industry, induced congress to yield to the prejudices of the executive. Accordingly, such alterations were made in the bill vetoed as comported with the president's views, and it was returned with his signature.

Celebration of the Bunker's hill Monument.--"In June, 1843, was celebrated, with great pomp and appropriate ceremonies, the completion of the Bunker's hill monument. This great public work had met with numerous delays; but, having at length received its topmost stone, the 17th of June, the anniversary of the battle, was assigned to celebrate the event. The president and several members of his cabinet honored the celebration. A multitude, of all classes, and from various parts of the country, were present. An oration was pronounced by Mr. Webster on the occasion. The pageant was grand and imposing, and calculated to exalt, in the hearts of assembled thousands, the virtues and patriotism of the men who had, in by-gone years, moistened the soil on which the monument stands with their richest blood. A sad event, however, followed fast upon the festivities of the day--this was the sudden decease of Mr. Legare, the recently-appointed secretary of state. He had followed the president to witness the celebration; but sudden sickness fell upon him, and he died at his lodgings, in Boston, on the morning after the celebration."

Treaties.--The treaty with Great Britain, fixing a boundary line between the United States and Canada, has already been elsewhere mentioned. But in addition to that subject, the treaty at that time formed also stipulated, that each nation should maintain on the coast of Africa a naval force, of vessels sufficient to carry, in all, not less than eighty guns; to be independent of each other, but to act in concert for the suppression of the slave trade. By another article of the treaty, it was stipulated that fugitives from justice, found in either country, should be delivered up by the two governments respectively, upon complaint, and upon what should be deemed sufficient evidence to sustain the charge.

A treaty between the United States and the Chinese Empire, was ratified by a unanimous vote of the senate, during the second session of the twenty-eighth congress. The treaty was concluded by Caleb Cushing and Tsying, on the 3d of July, 1844. It placed our relations with China on a new footing, and under auspices highly favorable to the commerce and other interests of this country.

Some months previous to this time, a treaty had been negotiated with Texas, respecting the annexation of that republic, as a territory, to the United States. The annunciation of such a treaty, was made to congress in April, 1844, by a special message from the president, and excited much surprise throughout the country, and awakened great anxiety in the minds of those who were opposed to the measure. They viewed it as involving an extension of slavery, and a probable war with Mexico, as she still laid claim to Texas as a portion of her rightful domain. The senate, however, rejected the treaty, and thus frustrated Mr. Tyler's designs at that period.

Joint Resolution for the Annexation of Texas.--The rejection of the treaty with Texas, before mentioned, seemed not to discourage the president from attempting the annexation of that country to the United States, in violation, as many believed, of the constitution. According to his wishes, and it is supposed at his suggestion, a joint resolution[80] for annexation was introduced into congress, and passed the house of representatives, January 23d, 1845, by a vote of one hundred and eighteen to one hundred and one. In the senate, the resolution underwent several important amendments, particularly one by Mr. Walker, involving the alternative of negotiation at the option of the president, which, having been concurred in by the house, received the sanction of the executive, and thus the way was prepared for the annexation of the country in question.

"As these measures, in regard to the admission of Texas, were adopted at the close of the session of congress, it was expected that Mr. Tyler would leave it to his successor to consummate the wishes of congress, and it was also understood that Mr. Polk had determined to negotiate a treaty with Texas, under the alternative offered by Mr. Walker's amendment. President Tyler, however, determined to forestall the action of his successor, and hence dispatched an express to communicate to Texas, that he had decided to invite Texas into the Union, under the provisions of the resolutions as they passed the house of representatives, without the exercise of farther treaty-making power."

Character of Mr. Tyler's Administration.--"Of the character of Mr. Tyler's administration, and his personal relations thereto, it is yet too early to speak. His independent course in vetoing the bank bills and other measures, greatly exasperated the party who had elevated him to office, and he was denounced as a traitor; while his equally independent course in opposing General Jackson in his measures against the United States' bank, and also his alliance with the whigs during Mr. Van Buren's administration, denied him the confidence of the democrats. He himself said, 'I appeal from the vituperation of the present day to the pen of impartial history, in the full confidence that neither my motives nor my acts will bear the interpretation which has, for sinister purposes, been placed upon them.' As an executive of the people's will, he exhibited all the necessary vigor of a chief magistrate. 'Nor is it to be denied,' says one of his political opponents, 'that the foreign relations of the United States were ably managed during his presidential term, and that he generally surrounded himself with able counsellors in his cabinet.'"

Presidential Canvass.--Mr. Tyler's presidential term expired on the 4th of March, 1845, and he was not rëelected, nor indeed was he a candidate for rëelection, except for a short period. The candidates of the two great political parties were now Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and James K. Polk, of Tennessee. These had been nominated by the respective conventions of the parties, which had assembled in the city of Baltimore, one on the 1st, and the other on the 17th of May, 1844. The strife and the efforts of the adherents of the respective candidates were eager and persevering. The issue, for some time, appeared to be doubtful; but the close of the canvass showed that the democratic nominee had been elected.

The following table exhibits the result of the official count in the presence of both houses of congress, February 12th:

Key: A. James K. Polk, of Tennessee. B. Henry Clay, of Kentucky. C. Geo. M. Dallas, of Pennsylv'a. D. T. Frelinghuysen, of N. Jersey.

---------+-----------------+----------+--------------- No. of | |PRESIDENT.|VICE-PRESIDENT. Electors | STATES. |----------+--------------- from each| | A. | B. | C. | D. State. | | | | | ---------+-----------------+----+-----+-------+------- 9 | Maine, | 9 | | 9 | 6 | New Hampshire, | 6 | | 6 | 12 | Massachusetts, | | 12 | | 12 4 | Rhode Island, | | 4 | | 4 6 | Connecticut, | | 6 | | 6 6 | Vermont, | | 6 | | 6 36 | New York, | 36 | | 36 | 7 | New Jersey, | | 7 | | 7 26 | Pennsylvania, | 26 | | 26 | 3 | Delaware, | | 3 | | 3 8 | Maryland, | | 8 | | 8 17 | Virginia, | 17 | | 17 | 11 | North Carolina, | | 11 | | 11 9 | South Carolina, | 9 | | 9 | 10 | Georgia, | 10 | | 10 | 12 | Kentucky, | | 12 | | 12 13 | Tennessee, | | 13 | | 13 23 | Ohio, | | 23 | | 23 6 | Lousiana, | 6 | | 6 | 6 | Mississippi, | 6 | | 6 | 12 | Indiana, | 12 | | 12 | 9 | Illinois, | 9 | | 9 | 9 | Alabama, | 9 | | 9 | 7 | Missouri, | 7 | | 7 | 3 | Arkansas, | 3 | | 3 | 5 | Michigan, | 5 | | 5 | ---------+-----------------+----+-----+-------+------- 275 | Whole No. of | | | | | electors, |170 | 105 | 170 | 105 | Majority, 138 | | | |

FOOTNOTE:

[80] To this resolution there were three conditions--the 1st was, that Texas should adopt a constitution, and lay it before congress on or before the 1st day of January, 1846. 2. That all mines, minerals, fortifications, arms, navy, &c., should be ceded to the United States. 3. That new states might hereafter be formed out of the said territory. The amendment of Mr. Walker allowed the president of the United States, instead of proceeding to submit the foregoing resolutions to the republic of Texas, as an overture on the part of the United States for admission, to negotiate with that republic.

XVI. JAMES K. POLK, PRESIDENT.

INAUGURATED AT WASHINGTON, MARCH 4, 1845.

GEORGE M. DALLAS, VICE-PRESIDENT.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.

James Buchanan, Pennsylvania, March 5, 1845, Secretary of State.

Robert J. Walker, Mississippi, March 5, 1845, Secretary of Treasury.

William L. Marcy, New York, March 5, 1845, Secretary of War.

George Bancroft, Massachusetts, March 10, 1845,} Secretaries John Y. Mason, Virginia, September 9, 1846,} of the Navy.

Cave Johnson, Tennessee, March 5, 1845, Postmaster General.

John Y. Mason, Virginia, March 5, 1845,} Attorneys Nathan Clifford, Maine, December 23, 1846,} General. Isaac Toucey, Connecticut, June 21, 1848,}

SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

John W. Davis, Indiana, Twenty-ninth Congress, 1845. Robert C. Winthrop, Massachusetts, Thirtieth do. 1847.

The election of Mr. Polk to the presidency was not very strongly anticipated by the democratic party; for besides the great popularity of his rival, Mr. Clay, he had received the nomination of the Baltimore Convention, held in May of the previous year, not as the first choice of that body, but because of its inability to harmonize on another candidate. Before the meeting of the convention, Mr. Van Buren was expected to be the prominent candidate; but his avowed opposition to the annexation of Texas, added to other sources of dissatisfaction, induced the convention to abandon him, and to select a candidate in the person of James K. Polk, whose political views were supposed to be more in accordance with those of the democratic party, especially at the South. During the first seven ballotings of the convention, Mr. Polk did not receive a single vote; on the eighth balloting, but forty-four; while on the ninth, he received every vote of the convention, amounting to two hundred and sixty-six in number. On the occurrence of the election, despite the efforts which were made in favor of the whig candidate, he was elected by a strong majority.

On the occasion of his induction into office, Mr. Polk, following usage, delivered an address, explanatory of the principles which would guide him in the administration of the government. These were so nearly identical with those expressed by his predecessors, that we deem it unnecessary to detail them. It may be stated, however, that he expressed himself opposed to a national bank--to a tariff for protection only; but was strongly in favor of the annexation of Texas, and was satisfied of our "clear and unquestionable title to Oregon." In official action, he pledged himself to administer the government for the whole people, irrespective of the party by which he was elected.

The events and measures which signalized the administration of Mr. Polk were--

Decease of General Jackson, Battle of Buena Vista, Admission of Texas, Capture of Vera Cruz, Division of Oregon, Cerro Gordo, Mexican War, Progress of the Army, Siege of Fort Brown, Occupation of Mexico, Battle of Palo Alto, Treaty, Battle of Resaca de la Palma, California and its Gold, Fall of Monterey, Election of General Taylor.

Decease of General Jackson.--A short time previous to the termination of his presidential career, General Jackson was attacked with a severe hemorrhage of the lungs. He recovered, however, sufficiently to be present at the inauguration of his successor. On his arrival at the Hermitage, he was weak and infirm; but relaxation from arduous duties, added to the attention of friends, at length restored him to comparative health. His lungs, however, were from this time feeble, if not positively diseased.

But, for several months prior to his decease, his health became visibly worse. He was constantly cheered, however, by the visits of his old and attached personal friends; and the consolations of religion were a never-failing solace to his heart.

"General Jackson continued to grow more feeble until the 8th day of June, 1845. Early in the morning of that day he swooned, and, for some time, was supposed to be dead. On reviving from the swoon, he became conscious that the spark of life was nearly extinguished, and, expecting to die before another sun would set, he sent for his family and connections to come and receive his dying benediction. His remarks, it is said, were full of affection and Christian resignation. His mind retained its vigor to the last, and his dying moments, even more than his earlier years, exhibited its highest intellectual light. His death took place on the evening of the 8th of June, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. By his request, Dr. Edgar, of the Presbyterian church, preached his funeral sermon."[81]

General Jackson was, doubtless, no ordinary man. For many years, he occupied a prominent place in the affairs of his country. Whatever may have been thought of the wisdom or constitutionality of some of his measures, all united in awarding to him the merit of honesty, and a true desire to promote the welfare of the nation. That he was ardent, sometimes rash, and withal precipitate in his measures, and then determined, may be admitted, without any meditated wrong to his reputation. But when death laid him in the grave, political differences were forgotten, and political opponents united in paying a high and well-merited tribute to his memory.

Admission of Texas.--We have already had occasion to refer (p. 721) to the joint-resolution of congress, of the 23d of January, 1845, for the annexation of Texas to the United States. The conditions prescribed by that resolution were subsequently accepted by Texas, and, in his first annual message to congress, Mr. Polk informed that body that nothing remained to consummate that annexation but the passage of an act by congress, admitting her into the Union upon an equal footing with the original states.

To such a strange and summary process of admitting states, there were loud and strong remonstrances. The unconstitutionality of the measure was urged; but more, the probable increased disturbance of our relations with Mexico, which still claimed the jurisdiction, whether justly or not, over a considerable part of the territory. Besides, it was contended that the direct effect would be to extend the oppressions and curses of slavery.

Neither argument nor remonstrance, however, served to induce the president or his supporters to pause. They pretended to foresee great and signal blessings as the necessary result of thus extending the free institutions of the United States. And, accordingly, it was, upon the recommendation of the president, resolved by congress to admit Texas upon an equal footing with the original states. And the grant was made to her, which had not before been made since the adoption of the federal constitution, to allow her two representatives, while her population was insufficient to entitle her to one, except under the specific provision of the constitution, that each state shall have, at least, one representative.

In consequence of these measures, in relation to Texas, by the American government, and at an early stage of them, the Mexican minister demanded his passports; and, at a subsequent date, the American minister, Mr. Slidell, was refused a reception and recognition, as such, by the Mexican government. Thus, as had been predicted by the opposers of annexation, a serious misunderstanding, which already existed between the United States and Mexico, in relation to the conduct of the latter touching other matters, was rendered still more serious, and was rapidly tending, it was plainly perceptible, to open hostilities between the two powers.

While such was the position of our relations with Mexico--the horizon becoming daily more obscure, and clouds, portentous of evil, were rising higher and higher--a single act of the president precipitated the war which many had predicted, but which all saw reason to deplore. This was an order issued to General Taylor to break up his encampment at Corpus Christi, and, passing the Neuces, to concentrate his forces on the left bank of the Rio del Norte.

Division of Oregon.--Prior to the introduction of Mr. Polk into office, several attempts had been made by the governments of the United States and Great Britain to settle, by negotiations, questions in dispute between them, as to the proprietorship and occupation of Oregon--all of which had failed. These negotiations were conducted at London, in the years 1818, 1824, and 1826; the first two, under the administration of Mr. Monroe; the last, under that of Mr. Adams. The negotiations of 1818 having failed to accomplish its object, it was agreed, October 20th of that year, that, to the citizens of each nation, the harbors, bays, &c., should be open for ten years. The negotiations of 1824, left this agreement untouched, as did those of 1826; but, August 6th, 1827, it was further agreed, that it should be competent for either party, after October 20th, 1828, to annul this convention, by giving to the other twelve months' notice.

Subsequently, negotiations were resumed. In 1844, the British plenipotentiaries offered to divide the Oregon territory by the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, leaving the navigation of Columbia river free to both nations. This proposition was immediately rejected by the American minister; whereupon, he was invited by the British minister to make a proposition in return.

At this stage of the negotiation, Mr. Polk took the presidential chair; and, anxious to settle the question, he made the same offer which had been made by the British minister, excepting the free navigation of the Columbia river. This proposition being unacceptable, further negotiations terminated.

On the meeting of congress, in December, 1845, the president recommended that the notice required by the convention of August, 1827, should be given to Great Britain, which, at the expiration of a year, would bring the question to an issue. The subject, thus brought to the notice of congress, excited the highest possible interest. The friends of the executive, and perhaps others, were strongly in favor of giving the required notice, while serious apprehensions were entertained by many, that the practical effect of such a measure would be a war between the two nations. At length, the question was settled by the adoption of a resolution in accordance with the executive recommendation. In the house, the vote on the resolution was one hundred and forty-two to forty-six; in the senate, forty-two to ten.

The official notice, thus directed, was given by the president to her majesty Queen Victoria, on the 28th of April, 1846. Before the delivery of this notice, however, the British minister at Washington had received instructions to submit to the American government a new and further proposition for a partition of the territory in dispute.

In a special and confidential communication to the senate on the 10th of June, the president informed congress that such a proposition had been made, and requested their advice. At the same time, he reiterated the views expressed in his annual message, that no compromise, which the United States ought to accept, could be effected; that our title to the whole of Oregon was maintained by irrefragable arguments, and that the claim could not be abandoned, without a sacrifice of both national honor and interests. Such was the tenor of the president's communication. But he solicited advice. In a resolution, adopted thirty-eight to twelve, the senate advised the president to accept the proposal of the British government, which he accordingly did; and, on the 16th of June, a convention or treaty, settling boundaries, &c., in relation to Oregon, was communicated by the president to the senate, by the latter of which it was ratified, forty-one to fourteen.

The amicable settlement of such a question, which had long subsisted between the two governments--which had employed, time after time, and for a series of years, some of the most distinguished statesmen on both sides the water--which had given birth to warm and excited feelings, and to warm and contentious words--which had become more embarrassing the longer negotiations were continued, and which, it was agreed on both sides, was fast ripening into open rupture and collision--the amicable settlement of such a question, was a subject worthy of congratulation in both hemispheres. If the terms of the treaty were not so favorable to the American nation as might have been obtained, they were such as the friends of peace and good understanding were willing to accept; and, as it was admitted that the treaty was consummated through the wisdom and firmness of the senate, that body received, as it was entitled to receive, the thanks of the nation.

Mexican War.--In compliance with the order of the president, already noticed (p. 729), General Taylor arrived, with the "army of occupation," on the 28th of March, before Matamoras. On the same day, the Mexican general, Ampudia, warned General Taylor to withdraw his forces beyond the Nueces, which notification was repeated by General Arista, on the 24th of April, who, at that date, superseded Ampudia. On the same day, a rumor prevailed that the enemy were crossing the river, above and below the American camp. To ascertain the truth of this rumor, Captain Ker, with a squadron of dragoons, was directed to reconnoitre between the camp and the mouth of the river; while another squadron, consisting of sixty-three dragoons, under Captain Thornton, was sent above for the same object. The former returned without having seen or heard of a hostile corps. But the party under Captain Thornton was suddenly surrounded by a large body of Mexican infantry and cavalry, made prisoners, and taken to Matamoras. Captain Thornton himself effected an escape by an extraordinary leap of his horse, which, however, subsequently fell with and injured him. In endeavoring to return to the camp, he was taken a few miles from it, and joined his men, as a prisoner, at Matamoras. This was the first actual fight of the war, and was the occasion of great exultation on the part of the Mexicans.

Siege of Fort Brown.--While these events were transpiring, intelligence was received by General Taylor that Point Isabel, the harbor on the Texas coast nearest the mouth of the Rio Grande, and where all his military stores were deposited, was about being assailed, and that all communication with that important post might soon be interrupted. This intelligence decided General Taylor at once to take up his line of march for the Point, and to open a communication between that and Fort Brown. Arrangements were accordingly made. Fort Brown was so nearly completed, that under a competent garrison it might prudently be left. Major Jacob Brown, after whom the fort was named, was put in command of it, and the seventh regiment of infantry and two companies of artillery were assigned as the garrison.

These arrangements having been completed, General Taylor, with the main body of the army, commenced his march towards Point Isabel. It was a hazardous, but necessary movement. Of the number, position, and plans of the enemy he was profoundly ignorant. The Mexican General, Arista, mistook this movement of General Taylor towards Point Isabel for a precipitate retreat, and immediately dispatched a courier extraordinary to Mexico, announcing the fact. In the opinion of some, he was better informed, but "wished, for ulterior purposes, to create such an impression among the Mexican soldiers and the Mexican government." But whatever might have been his ignorance, he soon had an opportunity to inform himself of the real object of the movement, and therefore set about endeavoring to destroy Fort Brown.

For two days following the departure of the army, Fort Brown remained unmolested; but, on the third morning, the Mexicans opened upon it with a battery of seven guns, killing Sergeant Weigard, but otherwise effecting no material injury. On leaving the fort, General Taylor had instructed Major Brown, in case the Mexicans surrounded it, to give him information by firing the eighteen-pounders at stated intervals. The contingency having occurred, the critical condition of the fort was thus communicated to General Taylor, who made instant preparations to return to its relief. Meanwhile, the bombardment was renewed; during which, Major Brown was mortally wounded, and was succeeded in command by Captain Hawkins.

On the 7th and 8th, the bombardment was continued; but about two o'clock it ceased, when was heard, in the direction of Point Isabel, a heavy cannonading. It was the presage of relief, as Captain Hawkins inferred from it that, in whatever contest General Taylor was engaged, he was urging his return. And so it proved. Towards the close of the day, intelligence was received that the Americans had "met the enemy," and had driven them back towards Matamoras.

Battle of Palo Alto.--General Taylor had heard the signal-guns at Fort Brown; and, on the evening of the 7th, left Point Isabel with a force of about two thousand one hundred men, with a large train of provisions and military stores. At the distance of seven miles, he encamped, resuming his march early on the morning of the 8th. In their progress, they at length reached a broad prairie, bounded by Palo Alto, a thick grove of dwarfish trees. On either side of the American army were ponds of water, and beyond them, chapparal. Upon this prairie, a large body of Mexicans were drawn up in battle array. No time was lost in the requisite preparations, on the part of the Americans, and soon a cannonading was commenced on either side, which for two hours rent the air with its thunders. In the firing of the Mexicans there was little precision, their missiles almost invariably passing over the American lines, while the discharges from the American guns marked their courses with carnage and death.

At the expiration of two hours, the Mexican batteries began to slacken, and, at length, ceased altogether. They were unable longer to withstand the terrible and destructive fire of Ringgold's, Churchill's, Duncan's, and Ridgeley's guns, and began to fall back, for the purpose of forming a new line of battle under cover of the smoke. The Americans also formed a new line. At the expiration of an hour, the action was renewed by our artillery, which was even more destructive than before. As night was now drawing on, the Mexicans, bent on one last and most vigorous effort, poured in upon Ringgold's battery a literal tempest of balls. Captain Page fell, mortally wounded, a cannon-ball having carried away the whole of his lower-jaw; and the brave Ringgold, nearly at the same time, had both legs shot away by a cannon-ball, which passed through his horse. On the 11th, he died at Point Isabel.

With great spirit and determination did Arista and his army maintain the contest; but it was in vain. They were at length driven from the field in hopeless disorder. Night put an end to the contest; and the wearied and exhausted victors sank upon the field, where they chanced to be, glad to find opportunity to rest from toil so severe. The force of General Taylor did not exceed two thousand three hundred; that of Arista consisted of six thousand infantry, with seven pieces of artillery, and eight hundred cavalry. The loss of the Americans was but four men killed--three officers--and thirty-seven wounded. Two hundred Mexicans were killed; four hundred wounded. Some estimate their loss in killed, wounded, and missing, little short of one thousand.

Resaca de la Palma.--At two o'clock, on the following day, the American army moved from the field of victory, at Palo Alto, towards Fort Brown. Towards evening, what was their surprise when, on approaching a ravine, called Resaca de la Palma, or the Dry River of Palma, they discovered the Mexican army occupying this exceedingly well-selected spot, and drawn up in battle array. A vigorous action immediately ensued. The Mexican artillery became engaged with Ridgeley's battery, as the latter moved up the ravine. Generals La Vega and Requena superintended the former, and the effect of the firing soon began to be severely felt along the American lines. To dislodge them, became indispensable to the safety of the Americans. The execution of this duty was assigned to Captain May, whose celebrated charge now took place. "I will do it," said May; and, turning to his troops, he rose in his stirrups, pointed to the guns before them, now pouring forth their terrific explosions, and exclaimed, "Remember your regiment! men, follow!" He struck his charger, and bounded on before them, while a deafening cheer answered his call; and immediately the whole were dashing towards the cannons' mouths. May outstripped them--fortunately, wonderfully did he escape, and wonderful was it that so many of his squadron escaped, exposed, as they were, to a fire which swept fearfully along the very line they were pursuing. Some, indeed, there met an untimely fate--seven men, among whom were the brave and noble-hearted Inge and Sacket. Terrific as was the scene, May and his followers pressed on. As they approached the battery, at a single bound, May's horse cleared it. The horses of a few others were equal to the leap, and their impetus carried them beyond the guns. Wheeling again, they drove the gunners off, and Captain Graham, and Lieutenants Pleasantson and Winship, with others, coming up, were masters of the battery. General La Vega was made prisoner. The American infantry now charged the Mexican line; for a time, the latter fought desperately, and sustained themselves with stubborn bravery; but, at length, yielding to necessity, they precipitately fled from the field. In this battle, only the outlines of which we give, the Americans captured eight pieces of artillery, several standards, large military stores, and several hundred prisoners. The loss of the Americans, in both these actions, was three officers and forty men killed. Besides the officers already named, was Lieutenant Cochrane. Thirteen officers and one hundred men were wounded. The Mexican loss was one hundred and fifty-four officers and men killed; two hundred and five wounded; missing, one hundred and fifty-six. General Taylor, following the battle, continued his march to Fort Brown; and, on the 18th, took possession of Matamoras, the Mexican settlement opposite.

Fall of Monterey.--Following the occupation of Matamoras, preparations were made, by order of the government, for an advance into the interior of Mexico. During these preparations, which occupied the space of three months, several Mexican villages, Reinosa, Wier, Revilla, and Camargo, were taken possession of. This last place, situated about one hundred and eighty miles above the mouth of the Rio Grande, was selected as a dépôt of supplies; and to this point, the several divisions of General Taylor's army were at length concentrated. The first of these divisions, two thousand and eighty, was commanded by General Twiggs; the second, one thousand seven hundred and eighty, by General Worth; the third, two thousand eight hundred and ten, by General Butler.

On the 19th of September, these several divisions reached a place called Walnut Springs, distant from Monterey three miles. The capture of this city was now the immediate object in view. It was a strongly-fortified place, with a competent garrison under command of General Ampudia. On the evening of the 19th, a reconnoisance of the fortifications was made; and, on the following day, the attack was commenced by the division of General Worth. On the 21st, the attack was renewed, and two fortified heights were taken; the guns of one of which was turned upon the bishop's palace, which had been rendered exceedingly strong. On the 22d, other heights, above the bishop's palace, were carried, and, soon after, the palace itself. As these fortifications, in a measure, commanded the city, the enemy, on the night of the 22d, evacuated all his defences in the lower part. On the morning of the 23d, the streets of the upper part of the city became the scene of action. Here the battle raged. All that day the firing was kept up; the American troops proceeded from house to house--from square to square--the Mexicans resisting them at every step. The carnage was frightful.

Early on the 24th, Ampudia prepared to evacuate the town; a suspension of hostilities was, therefore, arranged till twelve o'clock; during which, at the request of Ampudia, General Taylor had an interview with him, which resulted in a capitulation; placing the town and materials of war, with certain exceptions, in the possession of the American general.

The city was found to be of great strength. There were mounted forty-two pieces of cannon. The Mexican force consisted of seven thousand troops of the line and two or three thousand irregulars. The American force was four hundred and twenty-five officers, and six thousand two hundred and twenty men. The artillery was one ten-inch mortar, two twenty-four pound howitzers, and four light field batteries, of four guns each.

The American loss was twelve officers and one hundred and eight men killed; thirty-one officers and three hundred and thirty-seven men wounded. The loss of the Mexicans was still more considerable. An armistice was allowed by General Taylor, of eight weeks, subject to be revoked by either government. On receiving intelligence of the armistice and its conditions, the American government, it is said, directed its termination. The Mexican army was permitted to retire, and marched out with the honors of war.

Victory at Buena Vista.--For some months following the occupation of Monterey, General Taylor was variously employed; during which time, with what he had already achieved, the conquest of the provinces of New Mexico, New Leon, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas, in the Mexican republic, had been effected.

As an advance still farther into the interior of Mexico was ordered by the government, General Worth, with his division, had some time previously been sent forward to take the pass at Saltillo, fifty miles west of Monterey. To this point, leaving a force of one thousand five hundred men to garrison Monterey, General Taylor directed his course on the 31st of January, and, on the 2d of February, reached Saltillo. His effective force at this time was about five thousand. On the 4th of February, he advanced upon Agua Nueva, a strong position on the road leading from Saltillo to San Luis; at which place intelligence was received, on the 21st, that Santa Anna, the Mexican general-in-chief, with an army exceeding twenty thousand men, was on the advance. Finding his present position, at Agua Nueva, less favorable for a conflict with a force so overwhelming, he fell back upon Buena Vista, a strong mountain-pass, eleven miles nearer Saltillo. Of the five thousand troops, of which his army was composed, less than five hundred were regulars; while, on the other hand, the army of Santa Anna consisted of the flower of the Mexican nation. The odds were fearful, being more than four to one.

At length, on the 22d of February, the Mexican army bore down upon General Taylor, whose troops, now formed in order of battle, calmly awaited the approach of the Mexican host. Halting his army at some little distance, Santa Anna sent a summons to General Taylor to surrender; to which the hero of Palo Alto very politely, but laconically replied, "I beg leave to say, that I decline acceding to your request."

Still, the enemy forbore, for a time, an attack, evidently waiting the arrival of his rear columns. But on the morning of the 23d, the conflict between the armies began. A full description of the battle would occupy pages. Few engagements were ever entered upon when the forces were so unequal in numbers. That victory should declare for Taylor and his five thousand troops, is the wonder and admiration of all military men. But while all due praise is accorded to the infantry and the few cavalry engaged, the most effectual work was accomplished by the artillery. The American artillery cannot probably be excelled. At one moment--a most critical and anxious moment it was--when it seemed nearly impossible but that the Mexican army should overpower--if by no other means, by the force of numbers--Captain Bragg was ordered to take a particular position with his battery, the Mexican line being but a few yards from the muzzle of his pieces. The first discharge of the cannister caused the enemy--probably advancing as they were--to pause and hesitate; while a second and third discharge drove them back in disorder; and, in the words of General Taylor, "saved the day."

That night--it was a night intensely cold--the American soldiers were compelled to bivouac without fires, expecting that the morning would renew the conflict. During the night, the wounded were removed to Saltillo. The following day, prisoners were exchanged, the dead were collected and buried; and it may be added, that the Mexican wounded, left upon the field by Santa Anna, were sent to Saltillo, and comfortably provided for.

The loss of the Americans during the action was, killed, two hundred and sixty-seven; wounded, four hundred and fifty-six; missing, twenty-three. The Mexican loss in killed and wounded was supposed to amount to two thousand--five hundred of whom were left upon the field of battle. "Our loss," says General Taylor in his official dispatch, "has been especially severe in officers, twenty-eight having been killed upon the field. We have to lament the death of Captain George Lincoln, assistant adjutant-general, serving in the staff of General Wool--a young officer of high bearing and approved gallantry, who fell early in action. No loss falls more heavily upon the army in the field than that of Colonels Hardin and McKee, and Lieutenant-colonel Clay. Possessing in a remarkable degree the confidence of their commands, and the last two having enjoyed the advantage of a military education, I had looked particularly to them for support, in case we met the enemy. I need not say, that their zeal in engaging the enemy, and the cool and steadfast courage with which they maintained their positions during the day, fully realized my hopes, and caused me to feel yet more sensibly their untimely loss."

The annals of American warfare probably do not furnish a more remarkable victory than this of Buena Vista, whether we consider the inequality of the forces engaged--the character of the forces, being nearly all volunteers on the American side, and regular troops on the other--or the decisive nature of the victory itself. Most remarkable were the coolness and gallantry displayed; but it must be remembered that that coolness and gallantry were, in no slight degree, the result of those qualities which so eminently distinguished the commanding general himself.

Capture of Vera Cruz.--Events connected with the prosecution of the war, will require us in the next place to speak of transactions in another quarter of that agitated and long-distracted country.

Some two hundred miles south-easterly of the capital, on the Gulf of Mexico, is situated the city of Vera Cruz--a place of considerable mercantile importance, and nearly opposite to which is a small island, on which stands the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, a fortress long celebrated for its impregnable strength.

The reduction of this fortress, and the capture of this most important maritime town belonging to Mexico, had for some time engaged the attention of the American government. For a time, the well-known strength of the fortress, and the danger arising from the vomito, of garrisoning that and the city, in case of their reduction, strongly operated against the enterprise. But their importance to the final and more speedy termination of the war, at length decided the president and his advisers to hazard the expedition. It being impracticable to withdraw General Taylor from the theatre of his signal victories, the enterprise was intrusted to the long-tried and accomplished General Scott.

In obedience to his orders, General Scott left Washington on the 24th of November, on this great and doubtful enterprise. On the 1st of January, he reached the Rio Grande. The troops destined for this expedition, among whom was a considerable portion of the army under General Taylor, were directed to rendezvous at Lesbos, an island about one hundred and twenty-five miles north-west of Vera Cruz. From this point, the army was transported to the west of the island of Sacrificios. The landing of the troops having been effected without direct opposition, although the guns and castles, of the city kept up a constant firing with round shot and thirteen-inch shells, the several divisions of the army took their respective positions for the purpose of investment and siege.

Soon after the commencement of the siege, a "norther" prevailed, which rendered it impossible to land heavy ordnance. On the 17th, a pause occurred in the storm, and ten mortars, four twenty-four-pound guns, and some howitzers were landed. On the night of the 18th, the trenches were opened, and--engineers, with sappers and miners, leading the way--the army gradually closed in nearer the city.

On the 22d of March--seven of the ten-inch mortars being in battery, and other works in progress--General Scott summoned the governor of Vera Cruz to surrender the city. This he refused. On the return of the flag, the mortar-battery, at a distance of eight hundred yards from the city, opened its fire, and continued to fire during the day and night.

On the 24th, the batteries were rëinforced with twenty-four pounders and Paixhan guns. On the 25th, all the batteries were in "awful activity." Terrible was the scene! The darkness of the night was illuminated with blazing shells circling through the air. The roar of artillery, and the heavy fall of descending shot, were heard throughout the streets of the besieged city. The roofs of buildings were on fire. The domes of churches reverberated with fearful explosions. The sea was reddened with the broadsides of ships. The castle of San Juan returned from its heavy batteries the fire, the light, the smoke, the noise of battle. Such was the sublime and awfully-terrible scene, as beheld from the trenches of the army, from the 22d to the 25th of March.

Early on the morning of the 26th, General Landers, on whom the command had been devolved by General Morales, made overtures of surrender. Late on the night of the 27th, the articles of capitulation were signed and exchanged.

On the 29th, the official dispatch of General Scott announced that the flag of the United States floated over the walls of Vera Cruz and the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa. The regular siege of the city had continued from the day of investment, the 12th of March, to the day the articles of capitulation were signed, the 27th; making a period of fifteen days, in which active, continuous, vigorous operations were carried on. During this time, our army had thrown three thousand ten-inch shells, two hundred howitzer shells, one thousand Paixhan shot, and two thousand five hundred round shot, weighing, in the whole, about half a million pounds! Most effective and most terrible was the disaster and destruction they caused within the walls of the city, whose ruins and whose mourning attested both the energy and the sadness of war.

The surrender of the city almost necessarily led to the surrender of the castle. By the terms of capitulation, five thousand prisoners were surrendered on parole, and nearly five hundred pieces of fine artillery were taken. The number of killed and wounded, on the American side, was comparatively small. The principal officers killed were Captains Alburtis and Vinton. The destruction of life fell heavily upon the Mexicans, and especially upon the citizens of Vera Cruz, many of whose females and children found their death from shells falling and bursting in the city. This, however painful it was, was unavoidable, inasmuch as many, who had ample time to leave the city before the bombardment commenced, failed to take advantage of that opportunity.

The fall of Vera Cruz and its neighboring fortress was the result of cool and determined bravery, but more, perhaps, of scientific skill and wise calculation. The castle had long been considered impregnable, and, by many, its reduction was deemed little short of presumption.

Cerro Gordo.--The victories of Palo Alto, Monterey, and Buena Vista, under General Taylor, followed, as they were, by the capture of Vera Cruz, and the fall of that Mexican Gibraltar, San Juan d'Ulloa, although terribly disastrous to the Mexicans, had not served to conquer them. Nothing short of the loss of their capital, it was apparent, could subdue them; and the occupation of that now became the one great and controlling object of the commander-in-chief. Preparations were accordingly made to march upon the city of Mexico, by the way of Jalapa, Perote, and Puebla, a distance of about three hundred miles.

On the 12th of April, the American army had reached the neighborhood of Cerro Gordo, a mountain-pass, sixty miles from Vera Cruz. Here Santa Anna had collected about fifteen thousand men, and had made every possible preparation to resist the progress of the Americans. He had fortified several eminences, formidable by nature, but now still more formidable by the batteries, which he had planted.

Perceiving that a front attack of these works would be hazardous in the extreme, General Scott directed a road to be opened around Cerro Gordo, which would enable the army to ascend the mountain, and gain the rear of the Mexican works. This was a masterly movement--the work of indescribable toil; but when accomplished, it was apparent to the Mexicans that their fate was sealed. The consequence was, that one position after another was obliged to yield, until, at length, but one remained--the fortress of Cerro Gordo, the highest and most formidable. The storming of this was intrusted to Colonel Harney, supported from various points by Twiggs, Shields, and Pillow. It was a desperate enterprise, but at length it was accomplished. Sergeant Henry had the honor of hauling down the national standard of Mexico. Of the gallant conduct of Colonel Harney, General Scott was an immediate witness. When all was effected, approaching the colonel, between whom and himself there had been some coolness, he thus addressed him: "Colonel Harney, I cannot adequately express my admiration of your gallant achievement, but, at the proper time, I shall take great pleasure in thanking you in proper terms."

The result of the victory was, three thousand prisoners; forty-three pieces of brass artillery, manufactured at Seville; five thousand stands of arms; and the five Generals Penson, Jarrero, La Vega, Noriega, and Obando.

Meanwhile, the Mexican commander-in-chief addressed himself to his own personal safety. In company with Generals Canalizo and Almonte, and some six thousand men, he made his escape. But he was so hotly pursued, that he was obliged to leave his carriage, and mount a mule which was attached to it. Nor was there time to unharness the animal, but he was detached by summarily cutting the harness. The carriage was of course abandoned; and in it, or near it, was found Santa Anna's cork leg, which, in the haste of the moment, had fallen off; and to restore which there was now no time. And still more, his dinner, which had been prepared, was discovered in his carriage uneaten; and which, after the pursuit was ended, served as a grateful repast to the several hungry and weary American officers.

Progress of the Army.--Baffled in his attempt to arrest the march of the American army, Santa Anna had no other course but to retreat, as we have related. The way was now open to the American troops, who advanced upon Perote; which having garrisoned, they proceeded to the ancient city of Puebla, in the Spanish tongue Puebla de los Angelos, the city of angels. Here, for several weeks, the army rested, waiting for rëinforcements, the troops being deemed entirely inadequate for so formidable an undertaking as that of marching on the capital. At length, the anticipated forces having arrived, preparations were made to advance. On the 6th of August, 1847, the army consisted as follows:

Scott's force at Puebla, 7,000 Cadwallader's brigade, 1,400 Pillow's brigade, 1,800 Pierce's corps brigade, 2,409 Garrison at Puebla, under Colonel Childs, 1,400 ------ Total arrived at Puebla, 14,009 Deduct from this the garrison at Puebla, including sick, 3,261 ------ Total marched from Puebla, 10,748

This army was arranged in four divisions, with a cavalry brigade. This brigade was under the command of Colonel Harney. General Worth commanded the first division; General Twiggs the second; General Pillow the third; and General Quitman the fourth.

At length, on the 7th of August, the second division, under General Twiggs, commenced its march, followed on the 8th, 9th, and 10th, by the other divisions. No opposing foe impeded their progress. On the 17th, the army was concentrated at San Augustine, about ten miles south of Mexico, on the Acapulco road leading to the city. From this point, the Americans were destined to meet with the most formidable resistance. Every possible preparation had been made by Santa Anna to prevent their access to and occupation of the city. On the 20th, the drama opened, and, on that day, several distinct and severe engagements occurred between the Mexicans and the several divisions of the American army, the principal of which were the battles of Contreras and Churubusco. In these engagements, thirty-two thousand Mexicans were engaged, and were defeated, and even routed. Three thousand prisoners were made, including eight generals and two hundred and five other officers. Four thousand, of all ranks, were killed and wounded; thirty-seven field-pieces captured, besides large stores of ammunition. An easy access to the city now presented itself, and, but for a single circumstance, the victorious Americans would doubtless have occupied it that same evening, or early on the ensuing morning.

Some time previously, the president of the United States, desirous of ending the war, had deputed a commissioner, Nicholas P. Trist, Esq., to proceed from Washington to Mexico, there, if possible, to effect a treaty with that government. The present was deemed a fit moment, ere the victors entered the city; and, in order to avoid a forcible entry, to propose an adjustment of difficulties. Accordingly, the commander-in-chief decided to pause, and await the action of its councils. On the 21st, an armistice was agreed upon. This was followed by consultations between Mr. Trist and Mexican commissioners, in relation to the terms of peace. These, however, failed; and infractions of the armistice having occurred, the conflict was resumed. On the 8th, the two armies were engaged in a severe action at Molinos del Rey. In this action, Santa Anna commanded in person. It continued two hours, and was attended with great loss on both sides, but resulted in the triumph of the American arms.

There remained yet one formidable obstacle to the entrance of the city. This was the fortress of Chepultepec--a natural and isolated mount of great elevation, strongly fortified at its base and on its acclivities and heights. On the morning of the 12th, the bombardment and cannonade of this fortress was commenced, and was continued on the 13th. The Mexicans resisted with stubborn obstinacy, and, at length, yielded only by dire necessity. The officer who had the honor of striking the Mexican flag from the walls, and planting the American standard, was Major Seymour, of the New England regiment, soon after he had succeeded the gallant Colonel Ransom, who fell while leading his troops up the heights of Chepultepec.

Such was their position on the night of the 13th. On the following day, the victorious army entered the ancient and still proud, but now subjugated city of the Aztecs--a place celebrated for its wealth and magnificence--for its public squares and public palaces--its churches and other beautiful structures--from the very discovery of the country. At the capture of Mexico, the effective force of General Scott did not exceed six thousand.

Treaty.--The occupation of Mexico, by the American army, essentially terminated the war. A few other engagements, between detachments of the armies, occurred at subsequent dates; but the fate of the capital crushed the hopes and paralyzed the efforts of the Mexicans. In this posture of affairs, Mr. Trist renewed his proposal for a treaty between the two republics. At length, this desirable object was effected, and "a treaty of peace, friendship, and settlement," was signed at Guadalupe Hidalgo. On its being submitted to the senate of the United States by the president, a long and exciting debate ensued. But, at length, after important amendments, it was ratified by a constitutional majority. To facilitate its ratification by the Mexican government, and to explain the modifications which it had undergone, the Hon. Mr. Sevier and Hon. Nathan Clifford were dispatched to Mexico. On their arrival at the city of Querataro, on the 25th of May, they found that the house of deputies had already sanctioned the treaty, and, on that day, it was adopted by the Mexican senate by a vote of thirty-three to five.

By this treaty, Upper California and New Mexico were ceded to the United States. The latter paying to the former fifteen millions of dollars, in four annual instalments, and assuming such debts as were due by Mexico to American citizens, not exceeding three millions and a quarter of dollars.

California and its Gold.--The territories of New Mexico and Upper California, were known at the time of their cession to be sufficiently large for a great empire. But, by many, they were considered of comparatively little value to the United States, excepting the bay of San Francisco, on the Pacific, as a place of harbor for our ships. But, since their acquisition, California has become, from its mineral wealth, especially its gold, an object of great interest and attraction. The whole civilized world has been astonished by the reports which have been put in circulation respecting its golden treasures, and thousands upon thousands have set forth for this western El Dorado.

California is separated into two divisions by a range of mountains, called the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Mountains, which stretches along the coast at the general distance of one hundred and fifty miles from it. West of this range are the valleys of San Joaquin and the Sacramento, which are watered by rivers of the same name. They rise at opposite ends of these valleys, and at length meet and enter the bay of Francisco together. The greatest point of interest in this newly-acquired territory, is the valley of the Sacramento, which is distinguished by its gold deposites or "placers," as they are called. The recent discovery of the existence of gold in this region was accidental. In enlarging the race-way of a water-wheel, connected with a saw-mill just erected by a Mr. Marshall for Captain Sutter, by letting in a strong current of water, a considerable quantity of earth was carried to the foot of the race. Not long after, Mr. Marshall discovered some glittering particles in this earth, which, on further inspection, proved to be virgin gold. Further explorations ensued, and deposites have been found to exist in various portions of this valley for several hundred miles.

Election of General Taylor.--The administration of Mr. Polk was signalized by many interesting and important events. Yet, it cannot be said to have been popular, even with the party to which he owed his elevation. Towards the close of his term, few, if any, seriously advocated his rëelection. At a democratic convention, held in Baltimore May 21st, 1848, Lewis Cass, of Michigan, was nominated for the presidency, and General W. O. Butler, of Kentucky, for the vice-presidency. The candidates proposed by a whig convention held at Philadelphia, June 7th, were General Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, and Millard Fillmore, of New York. Subsequently, a free-soil convention assembled at Utica, and nominated Martin Van Buren. The votes of the several electoral colleges resulted as follows:

Key: A. Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana. B. Lewis Cass, of Michigan. C. Millard Filmore, of New York. D. Wm. O. Butler, of Kentucky.

---------+-----------------+----------+--------------- No. of | |PRESIDENT.|VICE-PRESIDENT. Electors | STATES. |----------+--------------- from each| | A. | B. | C. | D. State. | | | | | ---------+-----------------+----+-----+-------+------- 9 | Maine, | | 9 | | 9 6 | New Hampshire, | | 6 | | 6 12 | Massachusetts, | 12 | | 12 | 4 | Rhode Island, | 4 | | 4 | 6 | Connecticut, | 6 | | 6 | 6 | Vermont, | 6 | | 6 | 36 | New York, | 36 | | 36 | 7 | New Jersey, | 7 | | 7 | 26 | Pennsylvania, | 26 | | 26 | 3 | Delaware, | 3 | | 3 | 8 | Maryland, | 8 | | 8 | 17 | Virginia, | | 17 | | 17 11 | North Carolina, | 11 | | 11 | 9 | South Carolina, | | 9 | | 9 10 | Georgia, | 10 | | 10 | 12 | Kentucky, | 12 | | 12 | 13 | Tennessee, | 13 | | 13 | 23 | Ohio, | | 23 | | 6 | Lousiana, | 6 | | 6 | 6 6 | Mississippi, | | 6 | | 12 | Indiana, | | 12 | | 9 | Illinois, | | 9 | | 9 | Alabama, | | 9 | | 7 | Missouri, | | 7 | | 3 | Arkansas, | | 3 | | 5 | Michigan, | | 5 | | 3 | Florida, | 3 | | 3 | 3 4 | Texas, | | 4 | | 4 | Iowa, | | 4 | | 4 | Wisconsin, | | 4 | | ---------+-----------------+----+-----+-------+------- 290 | Whole No. of | | | | | electors, |163 | 127 | 163 | 127 | Majority, 146 | | | |

FOOTNOTE:

[81] Life of Andrew Jackson, by John S. Jenkins.

XVII. ZACHARY TAYLOR, PRESIDENT.

INAUGURATED AT WASHINGTON, MARCH 5, 1849.

MILLARD FILLMORE, VICE-PRESIDENT.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.

John M. Clayton, Delaware, March 6, 1849, Secretary of State.

William M. Meredith, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1849, Secretary of the Treasury.

Thomas Ewing, Ohio, March 6, 1849, Sec'ry of Home Department.[82]

George W. Crawford, Georgia, March 6, 1849, Secretary of War.

William B. Preston, Virginia, March 6, 1849, Secretary of the Navy.

Jacob Collamar, Vermont, March 6, 1849, Postmaster General.

Reverdy Johnson, Maryland, March 6, 1849, Attorney General.

It was an occasion of great rejoicing on Monday, the 5th of March, when the hero of Buena Vista stood on that spot at the eastern portico of the national capitol, where had stood Jefferson, Madison, and others, and baring his head, took the oath prescribed, to support the constitution, which was administered to him by Chief Justice Taney.

The inaugural address of General Taylor, like all his official communications to government while in the field, was brief--shorter than any similar address by any other president, except Mr. Madison's. To a majority of the people, it proved quite satisfactory, and even in England was pronounced an eloquent production. Previous to his election, General Taylor had declined all pledges, excepting the assurance to the nation, that he would never be the president of a party, but should endeavor, if elected, to bring back the government to the spirit of the constitution, as understood and administered by Washington. Other pledges than this, he now declined, standing, as he did, before God and the nation; but this pledge he was ready to renew. "In the discharge of these duties," said he, "my guide will be the constitution, which I this day swear to 'preserve, protect, and defend.' For the interpretation of that instrument, I shall look to the decisions of the judicial tribunals established by its authority, and to the practice of the government under the earliest presidents, who had so large a share in its formation.

"Chosen by the body of the people, under the assurance that my administration would be devoted to the welfare of the whole country, and not to the support of any particular section or merely local interests, I, this day, renew the declarations I have heretofore made, and proclaim my fixed determination to maintain, to the extent of my ability, the government in its original purity, and to adopt, as the basis of my public policy, those great republican doctrines which constitute the strength of our national existence."

The ceremonies of the inauguration being over, General Taylor entered upon the duties of his office, respected for his private worth and public services, with many supplications, on the part of the pious and the patriotic, that his official course might, in its issues, prove as beneficial to his country as was Washington's, which he had presented to himself as the model of his administration.

Taylor's administration continued on page 902.

FOOTNOTE:

[82] A new office, embracing certain portions of business heretofore transacted in the Departments of State, Treasury, &c.

BRITISH AMERICA.

GENERAL REMARKS.

British America embraces not far from one equal half of the North American continent. The whole area amounts to about four millions of square miles. The Arctic ocean bounds it on the north, and the Atlantic on the east. The southern boundary is the St. Lawrence, and the extended chain of lakes as far westward as the Lake of the Woods, whence the dividing line between the British possessions and the United States follows the forty-ninth parallel of latitude westward to the Strait of Fuca, and thence along its channel south-west to the Pacific ocean. On the west, British America is bounded in part by the ocean, and in part by the line of the one hundred and forty-first degree of west longitude.

The greater portion of this immense region is a waste, uninhabited, the home of wild beasts, and the seat of eternal snow and ice. It possesses little value, except the skins and furs which are taken from the animals that rove there. The settlements are few, even in those parts that have been reduced into provinces, and these embrace but an inconsiderable portion of the whole region.

It has not been thought important to establish regular governments in all the provinces, so called. Such governments are established only in the Canadas, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, and Newfoundland. The Canadas consist of Upper and Lower, or Canada West and Canada East, and embrace the principal amount of the population and productive resources of that whole northern world.

Canada East is a country of some considerable extent, measuring about two hundred thousand square miles, but mostly hilly and rocky, and unproductive, except on the borders of the St. Lawrence.

Canada West contains an area of one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, if its western boundary, as is generally considered, extends no farther than to the heads of the streams which fall into Lake Superior. The climate of Canada West, or Upper Canada, is less severe than that of Lower Canada. It has also some quite productive soil.

I. CANADA.[83]

DISCOVERY--Settlement--Capture of Quebec--Death of Champlain--Religious Enterprises--War made by the Iroquois--Accessions to the Colony--Progress of the Colony--Attempts of the English to Conquer Canada--Condition of Canada in 1721 and 1722--General Prosperity of the Colony--Refusal to join in the War of American Independence--Consequences of American Independence to Canada--Territorial Divisions and Constitution--Dissensions after the close of the war of 1812--Disturbances and Insurrections.

Discovery.--Jacques Carter, of St. Malo, in France, is the acknowledged discoverer of Canada. He was a distinguished mariner, and was solicited by the French to conduct a voyage to Newfoundland. This he undertook with two small vessels, of only twenty tons burden each. On the 10th of May, 1534, he saw the shores of that island, and steering to the south along the coast, landed at a harbor which he named St. Catharine's. Thence, proceeding westward and northward, he entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the mouth of the river of the same name; but the unfavorableness of the weather, and the lateness of the season, induced him to return to France. He, however, first took possession of the country in the name of his king.

During the following year, he was invested with the command of three ships of larger size, and well equipped with all sorts of supplies; and making a second voyage to Newfoundland, he entered the gulf on the day of St. Lawrence. Hence, it is supposed, is the name of the gulf and of the river. This voyage was not completed till he reached, in a pinnace and two boats, the present site of Montreal on the St. Lawrence river. This was then the principal Indian settlement, named Hochelaga, where the natives received him with great kindness. He took formal possession of the country in the name of his sovereign, and returned home in the spring of the following year, 1536.

Voyages of discovery were made successively by Roberval, Pontgravè, and Champlain, down to the beginning of the seventeenth century; but of these, no particular notice need be given.

Settlements.--The important city of Quebec was founded by Champlain, in 1608. On the 13th of July of that year, he fixed on a most commanding promontory, on the north side of the River St. Lawrence, for the site of his settlement. The choice of such a spot for "the capital of a great trans-Atlantic empire, does him immortal honor." Here he remained through the winter, but, as soon as the season admitted, he resumed his voyage up the river. At a distance of twenty-five leagues above Quebec, he met a band belonging to the celebrated nation of the Algonquins, whom he agreed to join in their wars against the Iroquois. In this step, he committed a fatal error. It was the means of bringing upon the French settlements, in Canada, all the calamities of savage warfare for nearly a hundred years. He was, however, successful at that time in an engagement with the Iroquois.

A few years after the settlement of Quebec, viz., in 1611, Montreal was founded. Champlain, who had in the mean time returned to France once and again, visited America that year, arriving at a place of rendezvous appointed for another warlike expedition. Not finding the Indians, he employed his time in selecting a spot for a new settlement, higher up the river than Quebec. Carefully examining the region, he fixed upon ground in the vicinity of an eminence which he called Mount Royal; and it would seem from the prosperity which has since attended the place, under the name of Montreal, that his choice has been amply justified. After sowing grain on a cleared spot of some extent, he inclosed it with a wooden wall. Champlain explored the River Ottawa, and many other parts of the country, while he remained in it. In consequence of expeditions from France, at various times, a few other settlements were formed; but the colony, though bearing the imposing name of New France, was in a condition of extreme weakness, and seemed to be viewed with indifference, both by the mother-country and England.

Capture of Quebec.--The growth of this place was very inconsiderable for many years; but it early became a mark for the assaults of an enemy. Hostilities having commenced with England, two French subjects, David and Louis Kirk, entering the service of that country, equipped a squadron, which sailed to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, captured several vessels, and intercepted the communication between the mother-country and the colony. In July, 1629, Sir David Kirk summoned Quebec--a summons which was followed by a surrender of the place, the invaded party being promised honorable conditions, and allowed to depart with their arms, clothes, and baggage. The request of a ship to convey them directly home was not granted, but they were promised a commodious passage by way of England. In consequence of the adjustment of difficulties between the two countries, the place was at length restored; and Canada, with Cape Breton and Acadia, was confirmed to France. The final treaty, however, was not signed till the 29th March, 1632.

Death of Champlain.--Champlain, as the founder of the most important places in New France, was for a long time the life and soul of the colony. His energy, scientific accomplishments, and popularity, seemed to be most intimately connected with the prosperity, and even existence of the colony. In 1633, he was appointed governor, and sailed with a squadron, carrying all necessary supplies, to Canada, where, on his arrival, he found most of his former colonists. A greater prosperity now attended the affairs of New France. Means were employed for maintaining harmony among the inhabitants, and methods devised for introducing into the colony only persons of unexceptionable character.

But the end of his enterprising career was now come. He perished in the year 1636, having been drowned in the lake which bears his name. His death was, of course, a severe misfortune to Canada, and the loss could not well be repaired. M. de Montmagny was appointed his successor, and appeared to have commanded the general respect of the native inhabitants. But the colony was in a critical condition, and he could act only on the defensive, in the hostilities in which they were disposed from time to time to engage. Owing to the policy of the court at home, of continuing no governor in power longer than three years, Montmagny was displaced at the end of that time by the appointment of another governor. This system, however, was ill-suited to a settlement like that of Canada, where an intimate local knowledge, and a peculiar mixture of firmness and address, were necessary to deal with tumultuary tribes whom they were too feeble to subdue. Ailleboust, his successor, is said to have been a man of probity, but he indifferently possessed the energy required in so difficult a situation. The Iroquois now became peculiarly turbulent, and, as will soon be seen, brought dreadful calamities on the whites.

Religious Enterprises.--Catholic missionaries had not merely formed establishments at Quebec and Montreal, but had also penetrated into the domains of the savages. These religionists certainly gave full proof of sincerity in their work, as they renounced all the comforts of civilized life, and exposed themselves to every species of hardship and danger. The religious "establishments did little for the immediate improvement of the colony, yet as points of possession, occupied by persons whose avocations were professedly holy and useful, they laid the foundation on which arose the superstructure of those morals and habits that still and will long characterize the Gallo-Canadians."

As to the effect of the Catholic missions on the native tribes, it is to be observed, they undoubtedly reclaimed their votaries from many savage habits, and trained them up to some degree of order and industry. The tribe found to be the most docile and susceptible of improvement, was that of the Hurons; and their great numbers presented a wide field for religious effort. More than three thousand of them are recorded to have received baptism at one time, though only a portion of the number probably retained even the profession of Christianity. The general effect produced was in a degree favorable, and softened somewhat the aspect of this wild region. The main object was to unite the Indians in villages. Of these, several were formed, the principal of which were Sillery, or St. Joseph, and St. Mary.

War made by the Iroquois.--In 1648, the Iroquois, as already intimated, were resolved on renewing the war; for what cause, if for any, does not now appear. Their movements were rapid and fatal. The village of Sillery was occupied by four hundred families, and was accordingly a tempting object to the savages. In a time of profound peace, and while the missionary was celebrating the most solemn ordinances of religion, the shriek was suddenly heard, "We are murdered!" The enemy had commenced an indiscriminate massacre, without distinction of sex or age. The women fled for safety into the depths of the forest; but the infants whom they carried in their arms betrayed them by their crying, and mother and suckling were alike butchered. The assailants, at length, fell upon the priest, and after each in succession had struck him a blow, they threw him into the flames.[84]

By this onset, the Hurons were wholly routed; their country, which had for some time reposed in peace and security, became a scene of devastation and blood. Fleeing for refuge in every direction, a few subsequently united with their invaders, but the greater number sought safety among the Chippewas of Lake Superior. A small remnant of about three hundred were able to secure the protection of the French at Quebec. Here, they were viewed only as objects of charity; and though, as such, considerable exertions were put forth in their behalf, yet the whole number could not be accommodated. Numbers were exposed to cold and hunger, until a station could be formed for them, which was named Sillery, after their former chief settlement. In consequence of the successes of the Iroquois, the French were chiefly confined to the three forts of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal. For a number of years, a sad state of things existed in the colony. The French had been compelled to accept of humiliating terms of peace, and even by these means, only partially secured the boon. The Iroquois continually extended their dominion, conquering one tribe of their fellow-savages after another, and even insulting the French in their fortified posts. The latter, from fear or weakness, were compelled to witness the destruction of their allies. They were themselves, in a great measure, safe in their fortresses, for these the enemy had no adequate skill to besiege.

Accessions to the Colony.--It had been represented to Louis XIV., who had lately ascended the throne, that his government was exposing the French name to contempt, through neglect of his fine American province, and tame subjection to Indian ravages. He was sufficiently bent upon aggrandizement not willingly to incur such a reproach; and accordingly troops were dispatched from France, and the French power was at once considerably augmented in the province. The Marquis de Tracy was sent out at this time, 1665, in the joint character of viceroy and lieutenant-general. Besides the soldiers, a considerable number of settlers, including artisans, with horses and cattle, were conveyed with him to Canada. He was able to overcome and repress the savages, and increase the fortifications and defences of the country. The population was more than doubled by means of the immigration.

Progress of the Colony.--After M. de Tracy, the government was administered successively by M. de Courcelles, Count Frontenac, M. de la Barre, Denonville, and Count Frontenac the second time, down to the year 1698. Under the first-named governor, the French power was gradually extended to the interior of Canada and the upper parts of the River St. Lawrence. A settlement of Hurons was established on the island of Michilimackinack, a situation very favorable to the fur-trade, and a site for a fort was selected at Cataraqui, on Lake Ontario, a position of importance for trade and defence. Count Frontenac, immediately upon his accession, caused the fort to be completed. He conducted the affairs of the colony with spirit and energy during a period of ten years, but he was too independent in his administration to suit a jealous court at home. His successor, M. de la Barre, not fulfilling the expectations of the government, was soon rëcalled, and the Marquis Denonville appointed in his room. The measures of this governor were not at all well advised; his treachery to the natives brought him into difficulty; he obtained only an empty victory over them, and, towards the conclusion of his administration, the very existence of the colony was threatened. At this period, 1689, Frontenac was rëcalled to the government. It was hoped that his experience would teach him to avoid the errors of his former administration, while his decision, energy, and fascinating manners, were deemed of vital importance to the welfare of the settlement.

Frontenac, anxious to justify to the world the choice made of him, the second time, to administer the affairs of Canada, determined at once on several bold projects. As his own country and England were now at war, and as England relied much on the aid of her provinces of the south, he resolved on attacking the latter. Accordingly, he fitted out three expeditions; one against New York, a second against New Hampshire, and a third against the province of Maine. The fatal attack upon Corlear, or Schenectady, detailed in another part of this work, was the result of the first expedition. The burning of Salmon Falls, on the borders of New Hampshire, proceeded from the second expedition. The third destroyed the settlement of Casco, in Maine.

The atrocities of the French and their savage allies soon aroused the Northern colonies, New York and New England, to take vengeance on the foe. The English determined to strike a blow which might at once deprive him of all his possessions. Two expeditions were prepared; one by sea, from Boston, against Quebec; the other by land, from New York, against Montreal. The first was commanded by Sir William Phipps, a native of New England, of humble birth, who had raised himself by his talents to a high station. Both expeditions failed as to their ultimate object; but Sir William captured all the French posts in Acadia and Newfoundland, with several on the St. Lawrence; and it is not without reason supposed that Quebec itself would have fallen, had not the English commander too hastily considered the enterprise as hopeless. He made a very considerable effort, but did not persevere. The French, Colden says, returned fervent thanks to Providence for having, by a special interposition, deprived their enemies of common sense. Montreal was saved only after a most strenuous resistance.

The French, under the administration of Frontenac, sustained themselves, and generally held their own against the attacks of the English and the Indians. Peace, at length, having taken place between France and England, negotiations were entered into for closing the provincial war and exchanging prisoners; but before the negotiations were concluded, Frontenac died. This event occurred on the 29th day of November, 1698, and may be said to have constituted an era in the Canadian history, as by his energy and talents he had retrieved the affairs of the settlement, and raised it into a powerful and flourishing state. De Callières, the successor of Frontenac, finally effected the negotiations in 1700.

Attempts by the English to Conquer Canada.--The first serious attempt to bring the French province of Canada under the English sway, and its failure, have already been chronicled. Other efforts were subsequently put forth with this object in view, as soon as the parent countries had again taken up arms on account of the Spanish succession. Canada, in this instance, was left to her own resources, as Louis XIV. had been entirely unsuccessful in his European wars, and could afford her no aid. She was at this time, also, able to repel her invaders, or was providentially delivered from their attack.

De Vaudreuil, who was then governor, in contemplation of a formidable attack, sought to dissipate it by an offensive movement. He sent out a detachment of two hundred men, which, after a long march, succeeded in storming and destroying Haverhill, a frontier village; though, while returning, they fell into an ambuscade. Thirty of their number were killed; but having beaten off their assailants, the remainder reached Montreal in safety.

In 1709, the English left New York for Canada with a force of two thousand men, joined by an equal number of savages. But after they had erected a chain of posts from New York, and had occupied, in great force, Lakes George and Champlain, circumstances occurred which defeated the project. The savages, who were the Iroquois, failed them from prudential considerations; and a pestilential disease happening among the English troops, the enterprise was abandoned, after their canoes and forts were burned to ashes.

The succeeding year, the English prepared a new and greater armament. General Nicholson arrived at Boston with a considerable squadron and fresh forces were expected, which, with those already in the country, were to be employed in two joint expeditions, by sea against Quebec, and by land against Montreal. But it happened, to the signal relief of the French, that the squadron was wrecked near the mouth of the St. Lawrence, a circumstance which prevented also the land forces, that were already on the march, from proceeding farther. The treaty at Utrecht, which took place on the 30th of March, 1713, put an end, for many years, to their armaments for the reduction of Canada. The long interval proved to be a season of prosperity to this French domain in the New World.

Condition of Canada in 1721 and 1722.--This was the time when Charlevoix visited the colony, who gave a description of its state as he saw it.

Quebec was estimated to contain about seven thousand inhabitants; both the lower and the upper town were partially built, but none of the extensive suburbs appear to have existed. The society, composed in a great measure of military officers and noblesse, was extremely agreeable, and no where was the French language spoken in greater purity. Under this gay exterior, however, was concealed a very general poverty.

The only employment suited to their taste was the fur-trade. This, connected as it was with habits of roving and adventure, had great attractions for the people, and little fortunes were thereby occasionally made; but these were soon dissipated in the haste to enjoy pleasure and display. The absence of gold and silver, then considered almost the only objects as giving lustre to a colony, had always caused New France to be viewed as of less importance than it was in reality.

The coasts of the St. Lawrence, for some extent below Quebec, were already laid out in seignories, and tolerably cultivated. At a place seven leagues from the capital, many of the farmers were found in easy circumstances, and more wealthy than their landlords. The latter were in possession of grants which they had neither capital nor industry to improve, and they were, therefore, obliged to let them out at small quit-rents.

The island and city of Montreal presented to the eye objects of deep interest. The population was considerable, as both the upper and lower towns were already built, and a suburb had been commenced. Montreal was rendered comparatively secure against the savages, by the vicinity of two neighboring villages which were inhabited by friendly Indians.

General Prosperity of the Colony.--Canada enjoyed a long period of tranquillity, under the administrations of De Vaudreuil and Beauharnois, Gallissonière, Jonquière, Longuiel, and Du Quesne and his successors.

During this interval, the French appear to have entirely overcome that deeply-seated enmity, so long cherished by the great Indian tribes. Their pliant and courteous manners, their frequent intermarriages, and, in some instances, actual adoption of the habits of savage life, rendered them better fitted than the English, to secure the confidence of the American savage. Instead of having to treat them as British allies, they could usually employ them, when occasion required, for their own military service.

An equally favorable change took place in respect to the fur-trade, which had been considerably diverted to the English market. A more liberal system appears to have been adopted; and a large annual fair, opened at Montreal, became the general centre of the traffic.

Canada transferred to the English.--In an early portion of the volume, we have given an account of the "French and Indian war," during which an expedition against Quebec, under Wolfe, was attempted. This was in 1759. That expedition resulted, as is well known, in the death of that distinguished military hero, and the capitulation of the city. A single incident, only, will be here alluded to, touching the fall of this victorious general. On receiving his mortal wound, he said, "Support me--let not my brave soldiers see me drop." About a year following the surrender of Quebec, the whole of Canada was transferred to the dominion of Great Britain, by which it has ever since been held as one of her dependencies.

Refusal to join in the War of American Independence.--In the revolt of the United Colonies against the government of the mother-country, the Canadians were pressingly invited to join and assist the former. They, however, never swerved from their allegiance. With a view to conciliate the Canadians, the "Quebec Act," passed in 1774, changed the English civil law, which had been at first introduced, for the ancient system. The French language was also directed to be employed in the law-courts, and other changes were made for the purpose of gratifying the people. The most important privilege of all, that of a national representation, was, however, not granted.

Consequence of the American Independence to Canada.--The issue of the war of independence in the colonies, though unfavorable, or at least mortifying, to the mother-country, was attended with some advantages to Canada. A large body of loyalists, who had sought refuge in her territories during the war, received liberal grants of land in the Upper Provinces, as also farming utensils, building materials, and subsistence for two years. A great extent of country was thus put under cultivation, and flourishing towns, as those of Kingston and Toronto, arose from the policy which was adopted in regard to these settlers. Thus was laid the foundation of that prosperity which has since so eminently distinguished the Upper Province.

Territorial Division and a Constitution.--A steady advancement and growth of the country, caused the population to feel more and more their importance, and they were little contented in the absence of a representative government. The wish for such a government was, at times, strongly expressed. In 1790, Mr. Pitt determined to comply with the desires of the people on this subject; but, as a preliminary, it was resolved to divide Canada into two governments, upper and lower. The constitution granted, proved to be on a basis nearly resembling that of the British constitution. The first house of assembly was opened in 1792, but for several years their proceedings were of no special importance. In 1797, General Prescott was called to administer the government, when complaints began to be made respecting the grant of lands. The Board constituted for that purpose, had appropriated extensive tracts to themselves, and thereby had impeded the work of general settlement. He was succeeded, however, in 1800, by Sir Robert S. Milnes, as lieutenant-governor. A few years afterwards, a decision of the chief justice of Montreal declared slavery inconsistent with the laws of the country, and the small number of slaves then living there received a grant of freedom.

Dissensions after the Close of the War of 1812.--The contests in which Canada was involved with the United States, during the war of the latter with England, from 1812 to 1815, an account of which the reader will find in a prior part of the volume, had scarcely closed, before the country was disturbed by internal dissensions, particularly the Lower Province. They arose chiefly from the jealousies which existed between the different branches of the government. Indeed, as early as 1807, the assembly seriously complained of an undue influence exercised by the executive and judicial officers. The difficulties continued through successive administrations, with partial suspensions under compliant or conciliatory governors, until the government came into the hands of Sir Francis Burton, who, by yielding all the points in dispute, succeeded in conciliating the assembly. The principal subject of dispute had been the public revenue and its appropriation.

But the conciliation was not lasting. Every concession to the assembly gave rise to new demands, and the right was now claimed of an uncontrolled disposal of the entire revenue. Lord Dalhousie, who resumed office in 1826, resisted the demand, and the dissensions were of course renewed. Their violence was, indeed, much increased. On the meeting of the assembly in 1827, Mr. Papineau was chosen speaker, an appointment which, on account of his violent opposition to the measures of government, Lord Dalhousie refused to sanction. But the assembly being in no mood to recede from its position, the consequence was, that no session was held in the winter of 1827-28.

Discontent had now risen to an alarming height; and, in the latter year, a petition was presented to the king, signed by eighty-seven thousand inhabitants, complaining of the conduct of successive governors. The subject was brought before parliament, and a committee reported the expediency of a thorough and effectual redress, admitting, generally, that the grievances complained of were well-founded. Sincere attempts appear to have been made to carry out the provisions of the report, or measures of reform which had been promised; but, in the course of the colonial government, the claims of the crown and those of the assembly, on certain points, proved to be conflicting. The breach which was hoped to be closed, now became wider than ever. The assembly began to specify conditions on which certain salaries should be paid to the colonial officers; and, as a fundamental reform, next demanded that the legislative council, hitherto appointed by the crown, should be abolished, and a new one, like that of the American senate, substituted in its place, composed of members elected by the people. A petition to this effect was transmitted to the king, early in 1833, signed by Papineau. The British ministry, however, scouted at once such a proposal, and hinted the possibility of summary measures on the part of parliament, in order to compose the internal dissensions of the colonies. This was an imprudent intimation.

Both the refusal and the inuendo but added fuel to the flame. The assembly refused to pass any bill of supply whatever for the year 1834, and in a more resolute manner than heretofore, insisted on an elective legislative council. The next governor who was sent out, the Earl of Gosford, professed conciliatory views; but his real object was otherwise, as was accidentally discovered. The real instructions with which he was charged, were common to him and to the governor of the Upper Province; but the latter had made public a part of those instructions apparently without the knowledge of Lord Gosford's intentions. The rage of the popular leaders now knew no bounds; they complained not only of the disappointments they had experienced, but of the deception which had been practiced upon them. The assembly, as before, withheld the supplies, and made no provision for the public services.

Disturbances and Insurrection.--A crisis had now arrived. Ministers determined no longer to postpone measures for counteracting the proceedings of the popular party, and placing the executive government in a state of regular action. The death of the king, meanwhile, the necessity of a dissolution of the parliament, and the unwillingness to begin the government of a young and popular queen by a scheme of coercion, caused a delay in the execution of the designs of government. The expedient of advancing the amount required for the public service, by way of loan from the British revenue, was substituted by ministers, in the prospect of being ultimately reimbursed from the provincial fund. The ball, however, was set in motion, and such was the momentum, that it could not be stopped at once. Meetings were held in the counties of Montreal and Richelieu, in which it was affirmed, that the votes of the Commons, (declaring the elective legislative council and the direct responsibility of the executive to the assembly, inexpedient,) had put an end to all hopes of justice. A general convention was proposed, to consider what further means were advisable, and a recommendation was made to discontinue the consumption of British manufactures, and of all articles paying taxes.

This state of things put the government on the alert; preparations were made to have in readiness for the public service an additional regiment from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A proclamation, also, was issued, warning the people against all attempts to seduce them from their allegiance. Meetings of the friends of the government were held in Montreal and Quebec, condemning the house of assembly, declaring attachment to the British connexion, and deprecating disorganization and revolution. Notwithstanding all the attempts of the governor to effect a compromise, an agreement in respect to the topics in dispute could not be brought about. A recourse to arms appears now to have been determined upon by the popular leaders, with the avowed object of effecting an entire separation from the parent state. The efforts made to arouse the spirit of independence were considerable, though more secret than formerly, until an association was formed, under the title of the Sons of Liberty, who even paraded the streets of Montreal in a hostile and threatening manner. Other measures of defiance, in different parts of the country, were resorted to, having in view still more directly the ultimate object of resistance and independence. The recent appointments of the two councils, designed as an alleviation, in part, of the people's complaints, were declared wholly unsatisfactory, while the introduction of an armed force into the province was stigmatized as a new and outrageous grievance.

The government could not overlook these incipient steps of an insurrection. Additional military force was called into requisition--loyal volunteer associations were formed as an offset to those of the other party, and the Catholic clergy were zealous in their endeavors to preserve the peace. A scene of violence occurred in the streets, November 6th, 1837, between the two parties, in which the loyalists proved to be the stronger body. That event, as might be expected, increased the ferment; so that the government, as the most effectual course to put a stop to the aggressive movement of the people, arrested at Montreal a number of the most conspicuous leaders, with the exception of Papineau, who had disappeared. A part of these, however, were subsequently rescued--a fight ensued between the militia employed on this occasion, who amounted only to thirty, and a body of three hundred well-armed men, protected by a high fence. The former, of course, was overcome.

In adopting the prompt measures which were now deemed necessary by the government, strong detachments under Colonels Gore and Wetherall were sent to the village of St. Denis and St. Charles on the Sorel, to rout the armed bodies of insurgent assembled in those places, under Papineau, Brown, and Neilson. Gore was repulsed; but Wetherall, on the 26th of November, attacking a force of one thousand men, came off victorious, having killed and wounded nearly three hundred of the enemy. This latter affair decided the fate of the contest in that quarter. Terror seized the minds of the peasantry, and they began to consider themselves betrayed by their leaders. A few days subsequently, Neilson, one of the commanders of the insurgent forces, was taken in a barn, conveyed into Montreal, and thrown into prison. Papineau, however, could not be discovered.

In other portions of the province, where the insurrection had been still more formidable, the government forces were successful. At St. Eustache and the village of St. Benoit, the most bloody scenes were enacted; and there seems to have been at the latter place, after the regular battle, a wanton and barbarous destruction of human life, on the part of the enraged royalists. At the close of the year 1837, the whole Lower Province was reduced to a state of tranquillity.

In the mean time, Upper Canada had become the theatre of interesting events. A party had arisen, influenced by inhabitants who had emigrated from the United States; who, advancing from step to step in discontent, at length, scarcely made any secret of their desire to separate from the mother-country, and join the American Union. In 1834, this party, for the first time, obtained a majority in the assembly, and after making or finding causes of disagreement with the governor of the province, Sir Francis Head, at length stopped the supplies, after the example of the Lower Province. Sir Francis then reserved all their money bills for her majesty's decision, and rejected application for the payment of their incidental expenses. To settle the difficulties, if possible, he made an appeal to the people by a new election. This resulted favorably to the constitutional side, and restored tranquillity till the time of the outbreak in the Lower Province. That occasion was seized by Mackenzie, one of the chief leaders at the head of five hundred men, to put his plans in operation, and attempt a separation of the province from Great Britain. His design of taking Toronto by surprise was, however, defeated. Upon the manifestation of force on the part of the loyal inhabitants, he retired, his followers were easily dispersed, and a number of them taken prisoners. A large body of the militia had assembled for the defence of the government; but they were given to understand that they might now return to their homes. Only such a portion was retained, under Colonel M'Nab, as was wanted to bring Duncombe, another leader, to terms, which was effected.

Mackenzie, fleeing to Buffalo, created an interest in favor of the patriots among a portion of the American people, who, on the northern frontier, had been accustomed to sympathize in their attempts at independence. Bodies of men with their leaders, from the American side, took possession of Navy island, situated in the Niagara channel, between Grand island and the British shore. This they fortified with cannon, and designed as the seat of offensive operations. But Mr. Van Buren, the American president at that time, interposed his authority at once to arrest these hostile proceedings, so far as his countrymen were concerned, and sent General Scott to the scene of action, that a strict neutrality might be enforced. It was during this period that the small steamer, named Caroline, as has been already related in the present work, was burned by the British. This attack had nearly proved fatal to the peace of the country; it did not, however, arrest the vigorous measures adopted by General Scott to fulfil the objects of his mission. The force now collected against the insurgents, became so far formidable, that they evacuated the island on the 14th of January, 1838. The spirit of insurrection was now laid, but much remained to be done to effect a satisfactory adjustment of the difficulties between the government and the disaffected. The great reputation of Lord Durham, who was appointed governor in May, 1838, it was hoped would render his action favorable to such an object; but he was soon called upon to decide upon a delicate and difficult question, viz: the treatment of the prisoners taken in the rebellion. Upon a confession of guilt, he sentenced them to be deported to Bermuda, and to be kept there in strict surveillance. Should they ever return to Canada without leave of the governor, they were to suffer the penalty of death. The same was awarded to Papineau and others, implicated in the late insurrection, but who had fled the country. This procedure created not a little excitement in the home government, it being deemed an usurpation of power not belonging to the governor-general of a province. A grant of indemnity, however, was passed in his case; but Lord Durham was not of a temperament to brook this interposition, and he soon threw up his administration, and left for England on the 1st of November. No sooner had he departed, than fresh troubles arose. The spirit of disaffection was rife, and hopes were inspired through the aid which American sympathizers might afford. Communications were secretly kept up with the latter. But miserable success attended the operations of the insurgents. Dr. Robert Nelson, at the head of four thousand men, failed completely to make an impression, and, threatened by the government forces at his quarters at Napierville, he and his company dispersed without firing a shot.

In Upper Canada, Sir Francis Head had already resigned. His successor, Sir George Arthur, soon found himself involved in difficult circumstances. Bands of lawless individuals, to the number of several hundreds, on several occasions crossed from the American side; but were, in general, effectually repulsed with little loss to the British. The captives taken were treated with a severity which had not before been exercised towards that misguided and unfortunate class of people. They were generous in their sympathy, but they had violated the laws of civilized communities, and were liable to a just retribution. A considerable number of the most conspicuous were immediately shot, and the rest condemned to severe or ignominious punishments. The "Canadian Rebellion," was closed by these occurrences. The whole history of their efforts showed that the Canada people were unprepared, at that period, for an undertaking of such vast magnitude and imminent peril.

In 1840, by an act of the imperial parliament, Upper and Lower Canada were united into one, under the name of the Province of Canada. Some changes were made in the form of the government; but only a few of the causes of grievance have been removed, and the great body of the people are still abridged to a considerable degree, in respect to the choice of their rulers, or the free enactment of the laws of the state. Still more recently, the province has been thrown into great excitement by an attempt to pay, from the public exchequer, the losses sustained by those who took part in the Canadian rebellion. What the result of these stormy times will be, the future only can disclose.

FOOTNOTES:

[83] For the principal events of Canadian history during the French and Indian war--the invasion of Canada by the United Colonies, in 1775, and by the United States in 1812-15--the reader is referred to the prior portions of the volume, where these events are detailed.

[84] Murray's British America.

II. NOVA SCOTIA.

LIMITS--Conquest by the English--Settlement--Annexation to the British Crown--Policy of England in relation to the Country--Situation of the English Settlers--English Treatment of the Acadians--State of the Province during the Wars of the United States--Results of the War of 1812.

Limits.--Nova Scotia is a large peninsula on the south-eastern part of British America, united to the continent by a narrow isthmus, between Chignecto bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is three hundred and eighty-eight miles in length from north-east to south-west, and contains an area of sixteen thousand square miles. It is a rough, mountainous country, barren on the sea-board, but very fertile in some of the interior parts.

Settlement.--De Monts, a French gentleman, sailing from France with a view to settlement in this part of America, touched, in the first instance, at Nova Scotia, on the 16th May, 1604; but no settlement was effected until the year after, and that was at Port Royal (now Annapolis). The whole country, including New Brunswick, was then known by the name of Acadia. The settlement above spoken of was soon after, in 1614, broken up by Argall, an English captain, engaged in the Virginia settlement. The whole region was viewed with indifference on the part of the English, because it did not contain gold and silver. They, however, made an attempt, under Sir William Alexander, to occupy it, some years after Argall's success against Port Royal; but were obliged to desist, from finding it in possession of the French. In 1628 and 1629, the English succeeded in taking Nova Scotia and Canada; but by the terms of a treaty in 1632, the whole country was restored to France.

Conquest by the English.--A period of several years was passed in the infelicities of a deadly feud between the rival chiefs who held possession of the country. But amidst their contentions, an expedition was sent against Nova Scotia in 1654 by Cromwell, who had then declared war against France; and the result was the reduction of the warring parties, and the submission of the whole country to the English authority. This was but a temporary acquisition. By the peace of 1667, Nova Scotia was again ceded to the French.

In the course of a few subsequent years, Nova Scotia was twice invaded and taken by the English from the colony of Massachusetts; the first time under Sir William Phipps, and the second time by a body of five hundred men from Boston. Acadia was now held by the British until the treaty of Ryswick in 1697, when it again reverted to France.

Permanent Annexation to the British Crown.--There was a speedy return of the war between France and England, and the reduction of Nova Scotia was again left to New England. The first expedition, under Colonel Church, and a subsequent one, three years after, effected little for the object in view. The determination of the New Englanders, however, could not be shaken. After two years spent in preparing, they assembled a large force of five regiments; and under the command of General Nicholson, they arrived at Port Royal on the 24th of September, 1716, which in its weakness capitulated without resistance. The month following, when the deed of surrender was made, forms the era of the permanent annexation of Nova Scotia to the British crown.[85] The Indians of the country, who were strongly attached to the French, were not satisfied with the transfer, and for many years became extremely troublesome to the English, frequently surprising them, and carrying off their property. It was in the course of these disturbances, that the Massachusetts troops in 1728 defeated the tribe of the Noridgewocks; among the results of which invasion, was the death of the celebrated Father Rolle, their missionary.

Policy of England in relation to the Country.--After the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle 1748, which had been preceded by disasters to the French possessions in America, particularly by the taking of Louisburg, Great Britain began to pay more attention to Nova Scotia. Hitherto, it had been quite a French country, peopled and cultivated throughout by that hostile nation. It was suggested, that of the large number of soldiers and sailors discharged in consequence of the peace, a part might with great advantage be located as agriculturists, and thereby provide the colony with an English population. This project was embraced with ardor by the Earl of Halifax.

Fifty acres were allowed to every private, with ten additional for each member of his family. A higher allowance was granted to officers, in proportion to their rank. By this arrangement, three thousand seven hundred and sixty adventurers with their families were induced to embark in May, 1749. They were landed, not at Annapolis, but Chebucto, named henceforth Halifax, after the patron of the expedition.

Situation of the English Settlers.--As munificent provision was made for them from time to time, a town, with spacious and regular streets, was soon reared; where they were as comfortably situated as they could be with a hostile population in their vicinity, and the difficulties arising from the French claims. The boundaries of the country were in dispute between the two nations--the encroachments of the English, as the French settlers deemed them, alarmed the fears of the latter; and the Indians, excited by French emissaries, committed upon the English numerous outrages. At length, the French arose in rebellion against the British rule; but it was not until after many attempts to subdue them, on the part of the English, that the object was effected. The success of the last expedition, under Colonel Monckton, in 1755, from New England, secured the tranquillity of all French Acadia, then claimed by the English under the name of Nova Scotia.

English Treatment of the French Acadians.--The English, in consequence of the war which now raged between France and Britain, did not feel at ease. They had reason to believe that, in the event of an invasion of Nova Scotia by the French, they would find not only the Indians, but the Acadians, friendly to the invaders. A cruel expedient, hardly justified by the circumstances, was adopted to prevent the danger and evil. It was determined to break up the homes of the latter, and disperse them throughout the British colonies, so that they might be unable to unite in offensive measures. They were comfortably situated, and attached to their homes; were a quiet people, only a few of them ever having been openly engaged in arms against the British; and, consequently, they could not but keenly feel the greatness of their wrongs. They submitted to them, but with moans and pathetic appeals, though occasional forcible resistance was offered.

"Notwithstanding the barbarous diligence with which this mandate was executed, it is not supposed that the number actually deported exceeded seven thousand. The rest fled into the depth of the forest, or to the nearest French settlements, enduring incredible hardships. To prevent the return of the hapless fugitives, the government reduced to ashes their habitations and property, laying waste their own lands with a fury exceeding that of their most savage enemy. In one district, two hundred and sixty-three houses were at once in a blaze. The Acadians, from the heart of the woods, beheld all they possessed consigned to destruction; yet they made no movement till the devastators wantonly set their chapel on fire. They then rushed forward in desperation, killed about thirty of the incendiaries, and then hastened back to their hiding-place."--Such is the account given by an eloquent historian of this barbarous proceeding.

Condition of the Acadians.--By the peace which was concluded at Paris, in 1763, France was compelled to transfer to her victorious rival all her possessions on the North American continent. After the peace, the case of the Acadians was necessarily taken into consideration. The severe treatment to which they had been subjected brought no advantage to the country, as it had not become the theatre of war, and there no longer remained any pretext for continuing the persecution. Though transportation was advised by the governor, yet the administration at home, with a more equitable spirit, allowed them to return to their original places of abode, receiving lands on taking the customary oaths. Yet the justice rendered was imperfect, inasmuch as no compensation was allowed them for their plundered property.

It, however, pleased a number to return, though in 1772 the whole body was found to be only two thousand one hundred; an eighth-part, perhaps, of what had constituted once a flourishing colony. They have since, by their industry, brought themselves into a thriving state.

State of the Province during the War of the United States.--The condition of Nova Scotia, as indeed of the adjoining British provinces on the North, was highly critical during the war of the American Revolution; but the fears indulged from this source proved unfounded. The province remained loyal to the crown during the whole of that long and arduous contest. At its close, there was a large influx of refugees into the province. The number that arrived, prior to September, 1783, was reckoned at eighteen thousand, and two thousand more landed in the following month.

"Many of these new citizens possessed considerable property, as well as regular and industrious habits, so that they formed a most important acquisition. Several additional townships were erected; Shelburne, before nearly deserted, rapidly acquired upwards of ten thousand inhabitants; emigrants from Nantucket established a whale-fishery at Dartmouth; while saw and grist mills were established in various parts of the province. A considerable proportion of these emigrants directed their course to the region beyond the peninsula; which thereby acquiring a great increase of importance, was, in 1784, erected into a distinct government, under the title of New Brunswick." Cape Breton, from the above date, after having been separated from Nova Scotia until 1820, was rëannexed to the latter.

Results of the War of 1812.--The war between the United States and Great Britain, which broke out in 1812, materially advanced the prosperity of Nova Scotia, and showed the importance of Halifax as a naval station. Into this port numerous prizes were carried, by the sale of which large fortunes were realized. The evils of war were almost unknown, for a neutrality was observed by the government of Maine and the British authorities on the New Brunswick frontier; so that although the militia were kept in readiness for service, they were not called into it. A long succession of able governors since, has been the means of giving to the province a desirable increase of wealth and prosperity. The importance of Halifax has, within a few years, been greatly increased, by becoming a touching place for the royal English steamers (Cunard line) in their transit across the Atlantic.

FOOTNOTE:

[85] Murray's British America.

III. NEW BRUNSWICK.

EXTENT--Physical Aspect and Soil--Settlement and Progress--Signal Calamity.

Extent.--New Brunswick is a territory which forms a kind of irregular square, lying on the east of the state of Maine, though extending farther north than that state, and therefore bounded west by a portion of Canada. It comprises an area of more than twenty-seven thousand square miles, and hence its surface considerably exceeds that of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton united.

Physical Aspect and Soil.--The surface of the country is broken and undulating, though scarcely any where rising into mountains. The fertility of the soil is greater than that of Nova Scotia, and is especially indicated by the magnificent forests with trees of enormous size, the export of which for timber and shipping constitutes the chief occupation of the colonists. The borders of the streams consist of the richest meadow lands. The climate, like that of Canada, is excessively cold from November to April. At the latter period comes a sudden change, bringing intense heat and rapid vegetation.

Settlement and Progress.--Previously to 1783, the French comprehended the territory now called New Brunswick, under the general appellation of New France, viewing it more particularly as an appendage to Acadia. At that period, it received its present name and its existence as a colony. The English claimed it as a part of Nova Scotia, though they paid no attention to its improvement.

After that peninsula had been finally ceded to the English, the French laid claim to New Brunswick as a part of Canada, and made preparations to enforce it by arms. But the subject was put to rest finally by the cession of all Canada to the British, at the peace of 1763. It only remained to be populated and improved by enterprising people from abroad, as it was inhabited mainly by the few Acadians who had sought refuge from persecution among its forests.

A people of this description soon came, or more properly had emigrated to New Brunswick, the year before the era of the peace above referred to. They consisted of families from New England, who settled at Mangerville, about fifty miles up the St. John, and, in 1783, they amounted to about eight hundred. At the close of the revolutionary war, several thousand of disbanded British troops removed from New England, were located at Frederickton. The new colonists, however, were subjected to great hardships and cruel privations, when first placed in the midst of this wilderness, which they more keenly felt from the fact that they had been accustomed to the comforts of civilized life.

Great exertions were made for the improvement of the country under General Sir Guy Carlton, who was appointed governor in 1785. A degree of success attended his efforts, as a gradual advancement took place. During a period of fourteen years from the time he left the country, the government was administered by a succession of presidents. By an arrangement of duties on foreign timber, and by leaving that from New Brunswick free, a foundation was laid for the signal prosperity of the colony. This state of things commenced in 1809, and the exports of this article, from that period, continually increased, until it reached its acme in 1825. Then a severe rëaction was experienced, in consequence of speculative over-trading. The trade, however, assumed a healthy condition in the space of a few years.

The progress of the colony of late years has been cheering, and its natural advantages appreciated, as they have been the more unfolded. It was during the administration of Sir John Harvey, that the disputed boundary between Maine and New Brunswick had nearly occasioned a rupture between the United States and Great Britain. This source of danger to the peace of both countries, was removed, as elsewhere related, by a treaty in 1842, which settled the question to the satisfaction of those concerned.

Signal Calamity.--We may not conclude this brief notice of New Brunswick without giving some account of an awful calamity which, in 1828, befel that part of this province which borders on the Mirimachi. In October of that year, during the prevalence of a long drought, the pine forests caught fire. Being filled with resinous substance, and the fire being driven by a high wind, the conflagration was impelled with the most awful rapidity. Its sound was like uninterrupted thunder--its column rose two hundred feet above the loftiest pine. Next was seen, as it were, an ocean of flame, rolling towards New Castle and Douglas; all resistance was vain; these towns were reduced to ashes. The miserable inhabitants, abandoning their all, rushed to the bank, and threw themselves into boats, canoes, on rafts or logs, to convey them down to Chatham; but several, of both sexes, were either killed or severely injured. The flames spread a vast distance into the country, destroying magnificent forests and numerous cattle; even wild beasts and birds were drawn into them by a sort of fascination. The benevolence of the neighboring British provinces and of the United States was most liberally exerted on the distressing occurrence. The towns which were destroyed, have since that time been rebuilt.

IV. PRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND.

LOCATION, Surface, and Climate--Early Settlers--Change of Possession--Plans of Colonization--Character of late Governors--Inhabitants.

Location, Surface, and Climate.--Prince Edward, formerly St. John, is an interesting island, lying in the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It has a very winding outline and a crescent-like form, and is deeply indented by bays and inlets. The area is estimated at one million three hundred and eighty thousand seven hundred acres.

Its surface bears a different aspect from that of the adjoining parts of America. It is gently undulating, with hollows filled by numberless little creeks and lakes. The coasts of these, as well as of the open sea, present a peculiarly soft and agreeable scenery, as they are skirted by trees of the most varied foliage.

The climate is less severe than in the adjoining parts of America; the winter is shorter and milder than in Lower Canada, and more steady than in Nova Scotia. Its healthfulness is remarkable, and contributes to an extraordinary increase of population.

Early Settlement.--This island was necessarily included in the boundaries of the empire which the French court claimed in North America, in consequence of the discoveries of Cartier and Verazzani. It appears to have been granted, in 1663, to a French captain, the Seuir Doublet, but held in subordination to a fishing company, established at the small island of Mexoa. It seems, in fact, to have been valued only for fishery, and, for this purpose, to have had some few stations established upon it.

Change of Possession.--After the second reduction of Louisburg, in 1758, that of Prince Edward again followed, and it became permanently attached to the British crown. Its French inhabitants experienced a cruel proscription for a time. Thousands of peaceable and industrious settlers were expelled the island, on suspicion of their being concerned in the murder of some Englishmen, whose scalps were discovered in the French governor's house. These were doubtless the fruits of Indian massacres.

Plans of Colonization.--Some years after the island was confirmed to Britain, Lord Egremont formed a singular scheme, by which it was to be divided into twelve districts, ruled by as many barons, each of whom was expected to erect a castle on his own property, while that nobleman was to preside as lord paramount. This unwise plan was changed for another not much preferable. In August, 1767, a division was made into sixty-seven townships, of about twenty thousand acres each, which, with some reservations, were made over to individuals supposed to possess claims upon the government. They became bound to settle the country in ten years, to the extent of at least one person for two hundred acres. The scheme was indifferently carried into effect.

After the proprietors succeeded in procuring for it a governor independent of Nova Scotia, Mr. Patterson, appointed to that office, in 1770, brought back a number of exiled Acadians, with a view to relieve the effects of the former cruelty of the government. Tracady was settled by Captain Macdonald with three hundred Highlanders, and Chief-baron Montgomery made special efforts to fulfill his proprietary obligations. From these beginnings the colony received gradual accessions, and, in 1773, a constitution being accorded, the first house of assembly was called.

In 1803, the Earl of Selkirk, to whom emigration is so much indebted, carried over an important colony, consisting of about eight hundred Highlanders. Such judgment was shown in his arrangements, that the settlers soon became very prosperous, and, with the friends who have since joined them, amounted, before the year 1840, to upwards of four thousand.

Character of the late Governors.--The governors of late years have generally well sustained the interests of the colony, with the exception of one, Mr. Smyth. He succeeded in 1813, and his violent and tyrannical conduct caused a general agitation in the colony. He had prevented the meeting of the house of assembly for several years previous to 1823, and when a committee of the inhabitants was appointed to draw up a petition for his removal, he caused them to be arrested. The high-sheriff, Mr. Stewart, however, fortunately made his escape to Nova Scotia, and thence to England. When the true state of things was made known there, the governor was rëcalled, and Lieutenant-colonel Ready was appointed his successor. In 1836, Sir John Harvey was appointed governor. He was highly and justly esteemed for his many good qualities; but being, in 1837, removed to the government of New Brunswick, his place was supplied by Sir Charles A. Fitzroy.

Inhabitants.--The inhabitants consist of a few Indians, about five thousand Acadians, but chiefly of emigrants from different parts of the empire, particularly from Scotland, the natives of which constitute more than one-half of the entire population.

V. NEWFOUNDLAND.

LOCATION and Importance--Discovery and Settlement--French Hostilities--Renewal of War--Change of Administration--Present Condition.

Location and Importance.--Newfoundland is an island on the eastern coast of North America, extending farther out into the Atlantic than any other point of the Western hemisphere. It is an important and large island, being about one thousand miles in circuit. Its consequence arises not from its internal resources, but from its position and its connection with the cod-fisheries in its vicinity. In this, its commercial aspect, it is the most valuable of all the English northern possessions.

The celebrated bank, which constitutes the fishing-ground, is estimated to extend six hundred miles in length and two hundred in breadth, composed almost throughout of masses of solid rock. The abundance of fish is literally inexhaustible, no diminution of fruitfulness being observed, although Europe and America have drawn upon this treasure, to any extent, for several centuries. The vast masses of ice, which float down from the northern seas into the neighborhood of this island, bring also with them a valuable article of commerce, viz: herds of seal, which the seamen contrive to take, and which furnish a rich store of oil for export.

Discovery and Settlement.--Newfoundland was discovered, in 1497, by Cabot, and has always been claimed by Britain. Attention was drawn to its fisheries before 1517; since, as early as that time, it was stated by the crew of an English ship, that they had left forty vessels, of different European nations, engaged in the fishery.

Several partial attempts were made at settling the country, from 1536 to 1612; but it was only at the latter date that we find the first attempt made on a large scale to colonize the territory. It was chiefly promoted by Mr. Guy, an intelligent merchant of Bristol, who induced a number of influential men at court to engage in the undertaking. In 1610, he having been appointed governor of the intended colony, conveyed thither thirty-nine persons, who constructed a dwelling and store-house, and formed there the first permanent settlement.

For several years, however, the spirit of settlement languished. It was not until 1621 that it began to revive under the auspices of Sir George Calvert, afterwards Lord Baltimore, who obtained a grant of a considerable tract on a part of the island. He had in view the establishment of a Catholic colony, who might enjoy there the free exercise of their religion. About twenty years after his first plantation, there were estimated to be about three hundred and fifty families on different parts of the coast. The fishery, at the same time, grew rapidly into importance.

In 1660, the French, who had previously become active rivals of the British in the fishery, formed a settlement in the Bay of Placentia, which they occupied for a long period.

Through some jealousy, excited by those who favored the deep-sea or whale-fishery, in opposition to the boat-fishery at Newfoundland, serious attempts were made at one time, by the government at home, to break up all the settlements on the island, and reduce the land to a desert. This cruel and suicidal policy could, however, be effected but in part, and some years afterwards more just views began to be entertained on the subject, and some emigrations even were made again!

French Hostilities.--During the war with France, which broke out in consequence of the revolution of 1688, the settlements in Newfoundland endured great vicissitudes. The latter had, by favor or oversight, been allowed full freedom of fishing, and even formed several settlements. They evidently showed an intention of gaining possession of the whole island. With a view to effect their object, the works at Placentia were attacked in 1692, and partly destroyed; but, in 1696, the French, rëinforced by a squadron from Europe, attacked St. John, yet without success. The place, however, suffered severely, and another armament, before the end of the year, gaining possession of it, set it on fire. Upon this, Ibberville, with a body of troops, destroyed all the English stations, except Bonavista and Carbonier. An English fleet, sent out to retrieve these disasters, failed through the misconduct of the commander. The difficulties were terminated in 1698, by the peace of Ryswick, which placed every thing on the same footing as before the contest.

Renewal of War.--The war of the succession exposed the colony again to the attacks of the French, who were favored by local situation in their proceedings at Newfoundland. The English, at first, took some of the smaller settlements; but in 1705, the troops in Placentia, rëinforced by five hundred men from Canada, successfully attacked the British colonists. Three years afterwards, St. John was completely destroyed, and the French became masters of every English station, except Carbonier. A subsequent attempt of the British to recover their possessions, was not without effect; but their splendid successes in Europe enabled them at the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, to do more than redeem all their losses in America. Louis XIV. was compelled to yield up all his possessions on the coast of Newfoundland; but he retained, for his subjects, the right to erect huts and stages for fishing on particular portions of the coast.

Changes of Administration.--The nominal dependence of Newfoundland on Nova Scotia, was withdrawn in 1779. From this period until 1827, the government of the island was administered by naval commanders, appointed to cruise on the fishing station, but who returned to England during the winter. Since the last-named period, the government has been administered by resident governors, and, in 1832, it was determined to grant the boon of a representative assembly. This was placed on an extremely liberal footing, the assembly being elected by a suffrage nearly universal.

Present Condition.--The chief British settlements are on the large peninsula named Avalon, constituting the south-eastern part of the island, St. John, the capital, is very convenient for ships coming either from Europe or America, and particularly for the deep-sea and seal-fisheries. After all its improvements, it still bears the aspect of a fishing station, consisting of one long and narrow street, extending entirely along the sea.

VI. HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY.

EXTENT--Discovery--Settlement--Contests with France--Present State.

Extent.--The Hudson's Bay Territory is a region of British America, far surpassing, in extent, the settled and occupied parts. It is about two thousand six hundred miles in length, from east to west, and nearly one thousand five hundred miles in width, from south to north. It extends northerly till it reaches the Arctic ocean.

Discovery.--Hudson's bay, from which the territory takes its name, was repeatedly visited, at an early period, by English navigators, though for a long time solely with a view to the great object of discovering a north-west passage to Asia. It appears that Sebastian Cabot, in 1517, first penetrated to this gulf, but did not view it as an inclosed sea. This voyage, however, was lost sight of, so that when Hudson, in 1610, sailed through the straits now bearing his name, and found a wide and open expanse, it was considered a new discovery, and named, from him, the Hudson sea. Nor was it recognized as a bay, but was viewed, with hope, as a part of the Pacific. The great navigator, however, having been compelled to winter within the straits, where the crew were exposed to severe suffering, a violent mutiny arose among them, when he and several of his adherents were exposed, in a small boat, on this inhospitable shore, and doubtless perished.

Several voyages were made during the next half century, with many perils and disasters, and all of them abortive as to the primary object. But they were the means of laying open the great extent of Hudson's bay, and of conveying some idea of the valuable furs which might be obtained on its shores.

Settlements.--A Frenchman, named Grosseliez, having penetrated thither from Canada, made a survey of the country, and laid before the French court the plan of a settlement. Finding his proposition unheeded, he sought the English patronage under Prince Rupert, and in June, 1668, a company of adventurers sailed in a vessel commanded by Zachariah Gillam, and reached a river, then called Nemisco, to which they gave the name of Rupert. Here they wintered with comparative comfort. Upon the report made by this party, a capital of ten thousand five hundred pounds was subscribed by the prince and others, and a charter was obtained, securing to them the exclusive trade and administration of all the countries around Hudson's bay. They immediately sent out adventurers, who formed a settlement on Rupert's river. Others were established on Moose river, in 1674, and four years later on the Albany. By 1685, they had added two more on the Nelson and Severn, and in 1690, their affairs were in such a flourishing condition, that they determined to triple their original stock.

Contests with France.--France, learning these results, regretted her indifference to the proposal of Grosseliez, and commenced efforts to secure advantages which she had, in effect, thrown away. "A claim was advanced on the ground of prior occupation, and Grosseliez, already detached from the English service, was sent out, in 1682, with another officer. He not only laid the foundation of a factory on Hayes' river, but, in the following spring, surprised the British one on the Nelson, taking Gillam a prisoner, and carrying him to Canada; and yet, soon after, by means not very distinctly stated, the English became masters of these stations. In 1686, however, amid a profound peace, the Chevalier de Troyes marched thither, and suddenly took the Rupert, Hayes, and Albany factories. These movements do not seem to have attracted much attention in Europe, but when the war in 1688 broke out, hostile operations were carried on with great ardor. During 1693-94-95, the different posts were successively taken and rëtaken. In 1696, the English had recovered almost the whole; but in the following year, a squadron from France defeated the Hudson's bay ships, and took all the forts except Albany. The treaty of Ryswick leaving things in statu quo, this state of possession continued till the peace of Utrecht, in 1713, by which the various posts were restored to Britain."

Discoveries have been made in the intervening years, from the above date to the present time, which have resulted in a more extensive knowledge of this immense country. Settlements have occasionally been made on the coasts of the bays or rivers which so abound there; but the object principally in view of the many expeditions on those northern waters--viz: the ascertaining of a passage into the Pacific at the head of the American continent--has never been secured.

RUSSIAN AMERICA.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The Russians may be regarded as the first discoverers of the north-western shores of this continent. Behring and Tchirikow, in 1728, first saw the straits which separate America and Asia. The Russian voyagers subsequently extended their discoveries southwardly, along the American coast towards Nootka Sound, and, at a late period, made a few establishments for hunting and trade with the Indians on the coast. A single settlement at Sitka, and two others at Kodiak, and Illuluk, on an adjacent island, engaged in the fur-trade with the Indians, comprise all the actual Russian possessions in America.

The limits of the Russian territory, in this region, are bounded on the south by the parallel of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes north latitude; but though the Muscovite power lays claim to the territory, and about fifty thousand Indians acknowledge his authority, the sovereignty is little more than a name. On the 5th of April, 1824, a convention between the United States and his majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, was concluded and signed at St. Petersburg. By the third article of this convention it was agreed, "that hereafter there should not be formed under the authority of said states any establishment upon the northern coast of America, nor in any of the islands adjacent, to the north of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes of north latitude; and that, in the same manner, there shall be none formed by Russian subjects, or under the authority of Russia, south of the same parallel."

This coast possesses an Alpine character. In some parts it rises into mountains covered with snow, with immense glaciers winding through its cavities. The most remarkable summit seems to be that called St. Elias by the Russian navigators, and which, it is affirmed, has been visible at sea at the distance of sixty leagues.

The inhabitants of the more northern regions of this coast, appear to be Esquimaux, as they abound also on the eastern coast, and around Hudson's bay. The savages of Nootka are said to be very cruel to the captives taken in war, and have frequently proved treacherous and vindictive in the intercourse held with trading-vessels.

MEXICO.

SYNOPTICAL SKETCH.

DISCOVERY--Condition, anterior to the Spanish Conquest--Invasion by Cortez--Arrival of Cortez in the Mexican Capital--Abdication of Montezuma--Retreat of Cortez, and Return--Fall of the City and Empire--Fate of Cortez--Extent of New Spain--Introduction of the Catholic Religion--Native Spanish Population under the Colonial Government--Classes of the Inhabitants--Causes of the First Mexican Revolution--Commencement of the Revolution--Continuation of the War by the Patriot Chiefs--Decline of the Revolution--Invasion by Mina--Revolution under Iturbide--Adoption of the Federal Constitution--Prosperity of the years 1825 and 1826--Election of President in 1828--Usurpation of Bustamente--Defence of the Federal Constitution--Santa Anna's Proceedings--Establishment of a Central Republic--Attempts against the Central Government--Revolution of 1841--Overthrow of Santa Anna's Government.

The northern coast of Yucatan was first visited and explored in 1517 by Francisco Fernandez de Cordova, who sailed from Cuba in three small vessels, with a company of adventurers. He here found a race of men much bolder and more warlike than the inhabitants of the islands, who resisted the intruders with a most determined spirit. Many of the latter perished in the contests they were engaged in and Cordova himself received a wound, of which he died soon after his return to Cuba.

The prospect of booty which the region presented, stimulated the Spaniards to secure their prize at any hazard. Another expedition was planned the following year, under Grijalva, consisting of four ships and two hundred and forty men. They commenced by verifying the reports of the preceding adventurers; they then continued their voyage as far as the River Panuco, and were met every where with the marks of a good degree of civilization. Landing frequently, they were sometimes suspected, and warmly attacked; at other times, they were received with the reverence due to superior natures.

Condition, anterior to the Spanish Conquest.--The most ancient Mexican nation, according to tradition, was the Toltecas. It would appear that, at a period corresponding with that of 472 of the Christian era, they were expelled from their own country, called Tollan, somewhere north of Mexico, whence becoming migratory for many years, they at length built a city, called Tolton, fifty miles east from Mexico.

In 667, the Toltecas were chiefly cut off by famine and pestilence. About a hundred years after this, their country was occupied by the Checkemecas, who likewise emigrated from some northern section of the continent. They mingled and intermarried with the remnant of the Toltecas. In 1160, the Aztecs, who dwelt north of the Gulf of California, abandoned their country, and, for a series of years, led a wandering life. They originally consisted of six tribes, but eventually the Mexican tribes separated from the rest, and continued their journey alone. In 1325, they reached a spot on which they commenced a city, and which they called Mexico, after Mexitli, their god of war. Here, for two hundred years, down to the time of their conquest by the Spaniards, they flourished. They increased in power and wealth. They were joined by the other Aztec tribes from whom they had separated. They were a superior people--well instructed in the art of war. They excelled in sculpture, and, at the time of the invasion, had made considerable progress in architecture, agriculture, &c. Their capital contained not less than one hundred thousand inhabitants. Their government was an elective monarchy. Montezuma was on the Mexican throne, and had surrounded himself with the highest regal splendor, and exercised the most despotic power. Such, in brief, was the condition of the Mexicans when their conquest was attempted by the Spaniards.

Invasion by Cortez.--The reports which had been brought home by several, especially Grijalva, of the fertility and wealth of Mexico, determined Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, to attempt its conquest. The expedition was intrusted to Fernando Cortez, a man peculiarly well calculated by his courage, his perseverance, and other qualities, for an enterprise like this, full of danger and difficulty. The expedition consisted of eleven vessels and six hundred and seventeen men. The object was to make war upon a monarch whose dominions were more extensive than all the kingdoms subject to the Spanish crown. Arriving at the island of Cozumel, Cortez had there the good fortune to redeem Aguilar, a Spaniard, who had been eight years a prisoner among the Indians, and who proved extremely useful as an interpreter. In March, 1519, Cortez landed in Tabasco, a southern province of Mexico, where, though the Indians met him with extraordinary courage, they were routed with great slaughter, in several successive engagements.

Continuing his course to the westward, he landed at San Juan d'Ulloa. Here he was most respectfully addressed by a deputation on board of his ship, but in a language altogether unknown to him, and even to Aguilar. Fortunately, one of his female slaves, received at Tabasco, well understood the Mexican language, and explained what had been said in the Yucatan tongue, with which Aguilar was unacquainted. This woman, who was known afterwards by the name of Donna Marina, informed him that the persons who addressed him were the officers of a great monarch, whom they called Montezuma, and that they were sent to inquire what his intentions were in visiting their coast, and to offer any assistance he might need in order to continue his voyage. Cortez, having thus learned the purport of the message, assured the officers that he approached their country with the most friendly sentiments, and came to propose matters of great moment to their prince, which should soon be more fully unfolded. Next morning he landed his men, horses, and artillery, by the assistance of the natives, who unconsciously were admitting among them the instruments of their own destruction.

On the 26th of March, Cortez commenced his march towards the Mexican capital, having first destroyed his vessels, that his soldiers, deprived of the means of retreat, might rely solely on their valor. On his way thither, by consummate address, he alienated from Montezuma several of the petty states with their caziques. Others he compelled, by force of arms, to join him. By degrees, he marched into the country, and, with the addition of the natives, he found himself at the head of an army consisting of several thousand persons.

Arrival of Cortez in the Mexican Capital.--As Cortez approached the Mexican capital, a great retinue of persons came to meet him, adorned with plumes and clad in mantles of fine cotton. Each of these saluted Cortez in the most respectful manner. They announced the approach of Montezuma himself; and soon after, the harbingers, two hundred in number, in a uniform dress, appeared in sight. These were followed by a company of higher rank, in splendid apparel, in the midst of whom was Montezuma, carried in a litter richly ornamented with gold and feathers of various colors. The king and Cortez met, and the most respectful salutations passed between them. Montezuma conducted Cortez to the quarters that had been prepared for his reception, and took leave of him, saying, "You are now with your brothers in your own house; refresh yourselves after your fatigue, and be happy until I return."

The first care of Cortez, however, was to take precautions for his security, by planting the artillery so as to command the different avenues which led to the place allotted for his reception.

In the evening, Montezuma returned to visit his guests, and again made them magnificent presents. Various conferences passed between them; and the next day Cortez and some of his principal attendants were admitted to an audience of the emperor.

While these events were happening, Cortez formed a plan no less extraordinary than daring. This was to seize Montezuma in his palace, and to carry him prisoner to the Spanish quarters. He communicated his plan to his principal officers, and almost instantly put it into execution.

The Abdication of Montezuma.--Although Montezuma was permitted to exercise the functions of royalty, yet he was guarded with the utmost vigilance by the Spaniards. The king's brave son, with several of the principal officers, on the slightest pretext, was burned alive by the command of Cortez. The monarch himself was, at length, bound with fetters. Having both the monarch and his subjects under this temporary authority, Cortez availed himself of it to the utmost. He appointed commissioners to survey the empire, and to prepare the minds of the people for submitting to the Spaniards; and, in the end, he persuaded Montezuma to acknowledge himself a vassal to the Spanish crown, and to pay an annual tribute. The fallen prince, at the instance of Cortez, accompanied this profession of fealty and homage, with a magnificent present to the king of Spain, and, after his example, his subjects brought in liberal contributions.

War, and the Death of Montezuma.--About this time Velasquez, piqued by the success of his subaltern, had sent a force into Mexico to take him and his principal officers prisoners; but the good fortune of Cortez triumphed again; for overcoming his enemies in battle, he induced the greater part of them to join his standard; and when he had least of all expected it, he was placed at the head of a thousand Spaniards, ready to aid him, at any hazard, in his enterprises.

This additional force had but just time to enroll themselves under their new leader, before the Mexicans attacked them in all directions.

Cortez now found himself environed with the most imminent dangers. The only resource which remained to him was to try what effect the interposition of Montezuma might have upon his enraged subjects. When, the next morning, they approached to renew the assault, that unfortunate prince was compelled to advance to the battlements, and exhort his people to discontinue hostilities. But the fury of the multitude could not be repressed, and it was now directed momentarily against their prince. Flights of arrows and volleys of stones poured in so violently upon the ramparts, that before the Spanish soldiers had time to lift their shields for Montezuma's defence, two arrows wounded the unhappy monarch, and a blow of a stone on his temple struck him to the ground.

Most bitterly did these poor men lament the consequences of their displeasure, as they witnessed the fate of their sovereign. As for Montezuma, in a paroxysm of rage he tore the bandage from his wounds, and so obstinately refused to take any nourishment, that he soon ended his days, rejecting with disdain all the urgency of the Spaniards that he should embrace the Christian faith.

Retreat and Return of Cortez.--The death of Montezuma filled the Mexicans with surprise and terror; but added to, rather than diminished, their hostility. They determined to reduce by famine a foe which they could not subdue by force. This coming to the knowledge of Cortez, he perceived, situated as he was, that his safety lay in instant retreat from the city. Preparations were accordingly made to march out of Mexico that very night. Each soldier took such booty as he was able; yet a large quantity of silver was left behind. At midnight, the troops abandoned their quarters, and proceeded in silence along the causeway that led to Tacubaya.

The Mexicans were watching the retreating foe. At length, the latter reached a breach which had been made in the causeway, when in an instant they were astounded by a tremendous roar of martial instruments. Clouds of arrows were showered upon them. Yet they struggled on to a second breach, where they were obliged to wade through the mud and water. All was darkness, confusion, dismay. Many were so heavily laden with spoils, that they sunk to rise no more. The carnage was dreadful. It was a night of blood--or what is known in the Mexican history as the Noche triste, or "doleful night." Cortez lost some five or six hundred Spaniards, and of his allies, the Tlascalans, above two thousand. Only a small portion of the pillaged treasures was saved--horses, ammunition, baggage, nearly all were gone. In the morning, although his troops needed rest and his wounded care, Cortez pursued his march towards Tlascala, where he was received with kindness by his allies.

Some interval of tranquillity was now absolutely necessary, not only that the Spaniards might give attention to the cure of their wounds, but in order to recruit their strength, exhausted by a long succession of fatigues and hardships. When these objects had been attained, and his forces were considerably augmented, on the 28th of December, 1520, Cortez commenced his return towards Mexico.

In his progress towards it, he took possession of Tezcuco, the second town in the empire, situated on the lake about twenty miles from the capital. He had already prepared the materials for building several brigantines, so that they might be carried thither in pieces ready to be put together, and launched when they were needed. Here he established his head-quarters, as it was the most suitable place to launch the brigantines. With the launching of these, all was in readiness for the great enterprise.

Nor were the Mexicans unprepared. Upon the death of Montezuma, his brother, Quetlavaca, a man distinguished for his courage and capacity, was raised to the throne. But in the midst of his preparations to meet the invaders, he was fatally attacked by the small-pox, a scourge which had been introduced into the country by the Spaniards. Gautimozin, nephew and son-in-law of Montezuma, was next chosen emperor, nor could the choice have fallen on a more deserving man.

Great bravery was displayed by the Mexicans during the siege. Cortez found it necessary to proceed with caution in all his measures. His chief prospect of success lay in cutting off supplies from the city; at length, in that, he succeeded, so that the public stores were exhausted, and the sufferings in the city became extreme.

Fall of the City and Empire.--At this crisis, Gautimozin, in an attempt to escape to the provinces, with a view to arouse his people more effectually for his defence, was captured and conducted to Cortez.

He appeared with singular composure and self-respect, requesting of Cortez, that no insult should be offered to the empress or his children. "I have done," said he to his conqueror, "what became a monarch. I have defended my people to the last extremity. Nothing now remains but to die. Take this dagger," (laying hold of one which Cortez wore,) "plant it in my heart, and put an end to a life which can be no longer useful to my country." Before he left the city, he had been careful to disappoint the expectations of the Spaniards, by throwing all his treasures into the lake.

When the fate of their sovereign was known, the Mexicans laid down their arms, and Cortez took possession of that small part of the capital which yet remained, three-fourths of it having been reduced to ashes during the conflict. In this manner terminated the memorable siege of Mexico.

The fate of the capital decided that, also, of the empire. The provinces submitted, one after another, to the conquerors. Small parties of Spaniards, marching through them without interruption, penetrated in different quarters to the Pacific ocean. Thus a great and rich empire was secured to Spain, through the almost incredible efforts of a single man at the head of a small band of adventurers.

Fate of Cortez.--As a reward for his bold and surprising achievements, Cortez was warmly eulogized by his countrymen at home, and the Emperor Charles V. appointed him captain-general and governor of New Spain, with other tokens of favor. But a bitter cup was at last pressed to his lips. After returning to America, and continuing there for a time in his command, he came back, in 1540, to his native country. But in consequence of his ambition and usurpations, his reception at home was ill-suited to the character of his heroic deeds. "The emperor behaved to him with cold civility, his ministers treated him sometimes with neglect, sometimes with insolence. His grievances received no redress; his claims were urged without effect; and, after several years spent in fruitless application to ministers and judges, he ended his days on the 2d of December, in the sixty-second year of his age."

Extent of New Spain.--This country, under the Spaniards, embraced a more extensive region than the empire of Mexico, or the dominions of Montezuma and his predecessors. It included, in addition to the Mexican empire proper, New Navarre, a vast territory, extending to the north and west; the provinces of California, as also the peninsula of California; and, moreover, the provinces of Yucatan and Honduras, stretching from the Bay of Campeachy to beyond Cape Gracias a Dios. At an early period, most of these countries had been visited and subjugated by Spanish adventurers. The peninsula of California, which had been discovered by Cortez in 1536, began to be explored by the Jesuits towards the close of the seventeenth century. Here they established an important mission, but, after a time, were expelled from the country.

Introduction of the Catholic Religion.--The conquerors of New Spain carried with them the Catholic faith, which became the established religion; and, indeed, was the only religion that was tolerated, until the revolution in the beginning of the present century. The establishment was instituted as an auxiliary branch of the government, on a similar model to that in Spain. In attempts to convert the natives, they made use of the same unjustifiable means that have been resorted to by the Jesuits. But notwithstanding all that was done, their spiritual character and condition were unchanged. Of real Christianity, they remained wholly ignorant, and retained all their veneration for their ancient superstitions. This mixture of Christianity with their own heathenish rites and notions, was transmitted to their posterity, and has never been eradicated. That device of the infernal pit, the Inquisition, was established in America by the bigoted zeal of Philip II., in the year 1570. This measure completed the ecclesiastical apparatus for fastening Catholicism on the new world.

Native Spanish Population under the Colonial Government.--For nearly three centuries, down to the year 1810, Mexico was governed by viceroys, appointed by the court of Spain, all of whom, with one exception, were European Spaniards. Every situation in the gift of the crown was bestowed upon a European, nor is there an instance, for many years before the revolution, either in the church, the army, or the law, in which the door of preferment was opened to a Spaniard, Mexican-born. Through this policy, a privileged caste arose, distinct from the Mexican Spaniards in feelings, habits, and interests--the paid agents of a government whose only aim was to enrich itself, without any regard to the abuses perpetrated under its authority.

Classes of the Inhabitants.--Anterior to the revolution in 1810, the population of Mexico was divided into distinct castes, as follows: 1, The old Spaniards, born in Spain, designated Chapetones. 2, Creoles or Whites, of pure European race, born in America, and regarded by the first class as natives. 3, The Indians, or indigenous copper-colored race. 4, The Mestizos, or mongrel breeds of Whites and Indians, in the purer descent approaching to the Creoles. 5, Mulattoes, or descendants of Whites and Negroes. 6, The Zambos, descendants of Negroes and Indians. And 7, The African Negroes, whether manumitted or slaves.

The pure races were the old Spaniards, Creoles, Indians, and Negroes, and gave rise, in their various combinations or divisions, to the others. The remaining three races were impure or mixed, and were sub-divided, without any assigned limits. Upon the breaking out of the revolution, the distinctions of caste were all absorbed in the name of Americans and Europeans.

Causes of the First Mexican Revolution.--For more than a century, Spain had been on the decline, when, in 1808, the Emperor Napoleon gave a finishing stroke to her degradation, by seizing upon the royal family, and placing his brother Jerome upon the throne. To this revolution, the Spanish chiefs, who were assured of their places, were disposed to yield, excepting the viceroy of Mexico. But the people, indignant at the foul treatment which their sovereign had received, were determined not to submit to it. A general revolt against the authority of Buonaparte, soon disclosed itself in old Spain, intelligence of which reaching Mexico on the 29th of July, 1808, the feelings of the people were excited to the highest pitch of enthusiasm. At this time, the Cabildo, or municipality of Mexico, presented a petition to Iturrigaray the viceroy, to assemble a junta, or representatives of the province, for self-government. The viceroy, however, hesitated, fearing the Spanish population, who opposed the measure. Apprised of his inclination to gratify the people, the Spaniards seized the viceroy, and delivered him over to the prison of the Inquisition. The conspirators were principally Spanish merchants in Mexico, and were secretly favored in their designs by the court of the Audiciencia, the highest judicial tribunal of Mexico.

The European Spaniards, both in the capital and in the interior, now formed patriotic associations for the defence of what they termed their rights, and armed themselves against the Creoles, who had favored the project of assembling the junta. The latter, though by far the most numerous, were unused to arms, and submitted for the moment; but their spirit was aroused, and it became an absorbing question whether themselves or the small clique of Europeans should possess the right of administering the government during the captivity of their king. A general impatience to shake off the yoke of foreign domination, began to seize the minds of all. There was wanting only a leader to make the occasion and to strike the blow.

Commencement of the Revolution.--The person was soon found, in Don Miguel Hidalgo Castilla, a clergyman, distinguished for his talents, learning, and liberality of sentiment. Perceiving the general disaffection of the people, and the prevailing animosities against the Spaniards, as also having private motives of discontent, Hidalgo conceived the plan of a general insurrection for the subversion of the colonial government.

Allende, a friend of Hidalgo, was the first to raise the standard of revolt in the little town of Dolores, on the 16th of September, 1810, where he seized and imprisoned seven Europeans, whose property he distributed among his followers. The Indians, under Hidalgo, now flew to arms; and being rëinforced by disaffected troops belonging to the government, Hidalgo marched to Guanaxuato, a wealthy town of eighty thousand inhabitants, of which, after a strenuous contest, he received the submission. This was an acquisition of signal importance, as he found in the treasury an amount of five millions of silver.

From this period, the insurrection spread rapidly, notwithstanding the efforts of Venegas, the new viceroy, to allay it. Many towns declared in favor of Hidalgo, who proceeded from Guanaxuato to Valladolid, where he was joyfully received as a deliverer. His pecuniary resources were increased by the donation of one million two hundred thousand dollars from the public authorities. His next step was to march towards the capital. He had made a great acquisition in having Morelos, a warlike priest, and highly celebrated in the revolution, come to his aid.

Mexico was, at this time, in a highly critical condition--the prevailing disaffection had reached it, and was producing its fruits of weakness and division. The forces collected for its defence were wholly inadequate to the object.

In this juncture of affairs, Hidalgo might doubtless have seized on the capital; indeed, many were anxiously awaiting his approach, as its deliverer. After an anxious night, great was the surprise the next morning, on the part of the people, when they saw the assailants retiring. The cause of Hidalgo's strange retrograde movement has never been satisfactorily ascertained.

From this period, sad reverses awaited him. When he had arrived at Aculco, on his retreat, he was attacked, on the 7th of November, by Calleja, who, with the main part of the Spanish army, had previously reached the capital. Of the royal troops, six thousand were disciplined veterans, and their imposing appearance alone was sufficient to frighten Hidalgo's Indians. These fled at the first fire; the regular troops being thus left unsupported, were unable long to stand the attack. Pursued by the royalists with great fury, the slaughter became immense; ten thousand of the independents, in the official report of Calleja, were said to have been killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. Hidalgo, having retreated to Guanaxuato, was, on the 29th of November, attacked again by Calleja, and driven from his position, with the loss of twenty-five pieces of cannon and several valuable officers.

"Hidalgo retreated to Valladolid, where he caused eighty Europeans to be beheaded, and proceeded thence to Guadalaxara; he made another triumphal entrance into that city, on the 24th of November. Here he committed another act of cold-blooded massacre, which has left a foul blot on his name. All the Europeans having been thrown into prison, Hidalgo determined to destroy them. Without trial or previous examination, they were taken out in small parties, and conducted under the veil of night to retired parts of the neighboring mountains, where between seven and eight hundred were butchered in secret. This remorseless act of barbarity, besides being wholly unjustifiable by the rules of war, was impolitic in the extreme. It prevented many respectable Creoles from joining the insurgents; and as it drove the Spaniards to despair, it furnished them at the same time with an excuse for any atrocities which they chose to commit."

Hidalgo continued to retreat towards Saltillo. By this time, his forces were reduced to about four thousand men; and arriving at Saltillo, a distance of nearly five hundred miles from the Mexican capital, he left the army, and with several officers sought the frontiers of the United States, with the intention of purchasing arms and military stores. He was destined, however, to be the victim of treachery. One of his subordinates in office had the baseness to arrest him, for the purpose of securing a pardon for himself. The leader, unsuspicious of danger when attacked, was easily overcome and taken. It was on the 21st of March, 1811, that Hidalgo and his followers were made prisoners. Many of them were executed on the field of action the next day. Hidalgo and a few others were not put to death until the 27th of July following.

Continuation of the War by the Patriot Chiefs.--The revolution had evidently taken deep hold on the minds of the people. The fate of Hidalgo did not dispirit the chiefs of the patriot cause. The prominent of these, Rayon, a lawyer, Villagran, and Morelos, a priest, now assumed the responsibility of directing the storm. The principal of these was Morelos, and to an account of his movements we confine ourselves.

From small beginnings Morelos possessed, at length, an efficient army, and was obeyed throughout nearly the entire southern coast of Mexico. On taking the field, town after town was taken, and victory succeeded to victory. His course, moreover, was marked by the humane treatment of his prisoners in every instance. Morelos had now great reason to hope for success in his noble enterprise, while the inhabitants were ready to aid him in every possible way. In this state, it was deemed necessary to oppose to him the greatest captain of the governmental forces, and Calleja was summoned to defend the capital.

Calleja, soon after his arrival at Mexico, attacked the army of Morelos at Quantla; but after a severe action, he was repulsed, and obliged to retreat, leaving five hundred dead on the field of battle. But what he could not effect by storm, he now attempted to accomplish by siege. For seventy-five days he continued to besiege Morelos, who was determined, if possible, to hold out; but all hopes of obtaining provisions being, at length, extinguished, Morelos resolved to evacuate the place, which he effected on the night of the 2d of May, 1811. Most of the inhabitants marched out with the army. When Calleja discovered the movement, he commenced a spirited attack upon them, and four thousand of the patriots were slain. It was during the events attending the siege of Quantla, that Victoria and Bravo, both young men, began to distinguish themselves in the cause of independence. Guerréro likewise, in the successful defence of a neighboring town, began his long and perilous career.

Following the affair at Quantla, Morelos engaged in numerous encounters with divisions of the enemy, and, for a time, was victorious; but he was at length taken, and doomed to execution. Just prior to his death, he uttered the following simple, but affecting prayer: 'Lord, if I have done well, thou knowest it; if ill, to thy infinite mercy I commend my soul.' He then bound a handkerchief over his eyes, gave the signal to the soldiers to fire, and met death with as much composure as he had ever shown when facing it on the field of battle.

Decline of the Revolution.--After the death of Morelos, no leader was found whose influence was sufficient to combine the efforts of the insurgents, and secure harmony among the chiefs. The cause of the revolution, therefore, declined apace. Teran, Guerréro, Rayon, Torrés, Bravo, and Victoria, commanding in different parts of the country, were mostly, in the course of two or three years, overcome, and taken prisoners. The story of Victoria is one of uncommon interest. The province of Vera Cruz was the field of his operations, and it was not until after a struggle of two years, that this formidable insurgent chief was disarmed of his power to harass the viceroy, Apadoca. He lost many of his followers in battle, others deserted him, and he was left, in the end, literally alone. No threats and no promises of preferment could induce him to offer his submission to the government. Unattended by a single friend, he sought the solitude and security of the mountains, and was lost for several years to his country.

Invasion of Mexico by Mina.--In the year 1817, when most of the insurgent forces were dispersed, an enterprise of singular boldness was attempted in Mexico, by a foreigner named Don Xavier Mina. His more specific object was to establish the independence of Mexico on a constitutional basis, without an entire severance of the country from Spain. Mina was a nephew of the celebrated general of that name, who so long resisted the French and Spanish royalists in his native country. In May, 1816, he sailed from Liverpool with a small expedition, having a few thousand stand of arms, and also equipages for a body of infantry and cavalry, and arrived in the United States in June. Here he procured the service of several officers, an addition of muskets, and some pecuniary aid from Baltimore and New Orleans. Sailing for the Gulf of Mexico, he did not reach Galveston until November, where he was joined by Aury, the commander of the privateers in that quarter, and by some of the inhabitants; but as it was too late for operations, he passed the winter in Galveston.

Early in the following spring, Mina entered upon the prosecution of his design. But the time chosen by him was unpropitious. The revolutionary cause had fallen to a low point. Mina failed, was taken, and shot. The power of the insurgents was broken, and most of their eminent men were either killed in battle, or shot as traitors, or imprisoned. But the principles of independence were daily gaining ground in the country at large, and the spirit of the revolutionists, though checked for a time, was not subdued, as was proved by subsequent events in Mexican history.

Revolution under Iturbide.--The unfortunate termination of the expedition under Mina, was by no means a termination of the difficulties in which Mexico had long been involved. The next person who largely figured in her affairs was Augustin Iturbide, who had risen, in 1816, by his valor and capacity, to the command of what was called the northern army. In 1820, the cortes having ordered the sale of the church property, the viceroy, Apadoca, refused to acknowledge the cortes; he employed Iturbide to reduce Guerréro, one of the patriot chiefs; but, instead of this, he formed a junction with that chief, and on February 24th, 1821, he proclaimed the independence of his country. Soon after, he took possession of the capital, and, in 1822, May 18th, he usurped the crown, through the subserviency of his troops. He was proclaimed emperor, under the name of Augustin the First.

The next morning congress was convened in extraordinary session. His election to the imperial dignity was proposed and discussed in his presence, and was voted for by a few more than one-half the whole body of delegates. Meanwhile, the friends of liberal institutions, overawed by the power of the usurper, fled to their wonted retreats, until a fitting season should arrive for acting with union and efficiency. The acts of oppression of Iturbide, from this time, continued to increase. He ordered the dissolution of congress, had recourse to forced loans, with other usurpations.

While affairs were in this posture, Santa Anna, who at this time was commanding at Vera Cruz, was suddenly dismissed. Surprised at treatment thus harsh, and as he deemed unjust, Santa Anna excited the garrison to revolt, for the purpose of dethroning Iturbide, and establishing a republican government. While these matters were in progress, Victoria, who for some years had lived in obscurity, made his appearance, and was appointed commander-in-chief of the insurgents. In February, 1823, Echavarri, the commander of the imperialists, joined forces with Victoria and Santa Anna.

Defection now became general among the officers of the army; in consequence of which, Iturbide was obliged to surrender his power. Hastily assembling at Mexico the dispersed members of congress, on the 19th of March, 1823, he tendered them his abdication of the crown. Congress allowed him a yearly pension of twenty-five thousand dollars, on condition of his leaving the Mexican territory for ever. On the 11th of May, he embarked for Leghorn.

Adoption of the Federal Constitution.--A provisionary government was immediately established, and a triplicate executive appointed, consisting of Generals Victoria, Bravo, and Negrete. Measures were at once adopted for the convocation of a new congress, which, upon assembling, entered on the arduous plan of framing a constitution of government. This they did on the federative plan, and on the 2d of February, it was sworn to in the capital, amidst the rejoicings and acclamations of the people. The government soon went into operation, and Victoria was chosen president of the republic, and Bravo vice-president.

Contrary to the decree of perpetual banishment against him, Iturbide returned to Mexico in disguise; but, being discovered, he was shot. This took place on the 10th of July, 1824. Several disturbances had occurred, partly on his account, during his absence; but the republic was now relieved from one great source of disquietude.

The general provisions of the new constitution, as to the distribution of the powers of government into their parts, were the same as those of the constitution of the United States; but they differed as to the right of trial by jury, which was omitted, and the Roman Catholic religion was alone to be tolerated in Mexico.

Prosperity of the years 1825 and 1826.--The new government was now acceptable to the Mexican people. The administration of Victoria was popular, and measures were maturing for cementing the union of states, and for consolidating the public liberty. Much was done, also, to stimulate the industry of the people. The prospect of public peace, order, and liberty in Mexico, was such as to attract thousands of emigrants from the United States and from Europe. Wealth, and comfort, and honors, were held out as a reward of virtue and enterprise. But the pleasant vision soon vanished, and this ill-fated country was again the theatre of turmoil and contention.

Election of a President in 1828.--Victoria's term now expiring, a new president was to be chosen; among the prominent candidates for which office were General Guerréro, and Gomez Pedraza, then secretary of war. The canvass resulted in the choice of Pedraza; but the friends of Guerréro soon set up a claim in his favor, alleging that, in taking the votes, he was defeated solely by fraud.

At the session of the new congress in January, 1829, the house of representatives proclaimed Vincent Guerréro to be duly elected president, on the constitutional ground that he had the majority of the legal votes. General Bustamente, who had been supported by the partisans of Pedraza, was declared to be duly elected vice-president; and in organizing the new administration, Zavala, then governor of the state of Mexico, was appointed secretary of state, and General Santa Anna, secretary of war.

Usurpation of Bustamente.--Soon after the declaration of congress in favor of the election of Guerréro, that body passed a resolution investing him with dictatorial powers, in anticipation of an invasion by Spain, to recover possession of Mexico. The Spanish army of four thousand five hundred men, sent for that purpose, were defeated, and compelled to retire. The continuance of his extraordinary power was now no longer necessary; yet Guerréro continued to exercise it, and in a manner and for purposes not contemplated. This brought upon him the censure of Bustamente and others, who saw in his measures a desire to perpetuate his dictatorship. Yet, on the 11th of December, Guerréro resigned his dictatorship into the hands of congress, and retired to his estate. Bustamente immediately assumed or usurped the presidency, pretending that he was actuated solely by a desire to restore the constitution, which had been violated in the elevation of Guerréro to the presidency. The latter now fled to the mountains, but circumstances, in the spring of 1830, seeming to favor an attempt to regain his lost authority, he embarked in the enterprise, and the whole country was again in arms. He was, however, unsuccessful, and falling into the hands of his opponents, he was condemned as a traitor, and executed in February, 1831.

Defence of the Federal Constitution.--The measures of Bustamente directly tended towards the establishment of a strong central government, as those of Guerréro had been in favor of a perpetual dictatorship. On the ground of Bustamente's procedure in his government, Santa Anna, in 1832, placed himself at the head of the garrison of Vera Cruz, and, as a pretext for revolt, demanded a rëorganization of the ministry. His declarations were in favor of the constitution and the laws, and consequently rallied the friends of the federal system to his support. War soon began to rage, and it was not until nearly a year, that an accommodation was made, when it was agreed that Pedraza should be restored to the government. He was accordingly restored, and by means of his favorable notice of Santa Anna, now his friend, but formerly his enemy, he exerted such an influence, that the latter was elected his successor in 1833. Gomez Farias was chosen vice-president. The federal system was now apparently rëestablished under the new administration.

Proceedings of Santa Anna--a Central Republic Established.--From the first moment of Santa Anna's accession to the presidency, he was inflamed with a desire for dictatorial power. He seized an opportunity to desert the federal republican party, and joined the centralist faction. By a military order, he dissolved the constitutional congress in May, 1834, and in January, 1835, he assembled a revolutionary and aristocratic congress, which deposed the vice-president Farias, and elected General Barragan, a leading centralist, in his place. About the same time, through the influence of Santa Anna, the constitution of 1824 was abolished by congress, as were also all the state constitutions and state authorities, and a central republic was established in its place. So violent a measure proved unacceptable to several of the states. Zacatecas submitted, and declared for centralism. "The torch of liberty was now extinguished in the republic, and military despotism fully established." No! it was not quite extinguished. One Mexican territory, Texas, with her by fifty thousand bold inhabitants, chiefly emigrants from the United States, was ready to resist the dictates of a usurper and a despot. Santa Anna felt at once the importance of reducing Texas, and of defeating the Americans or driving them from the country. He made the attempt with an army of eight thousand men, but when he supposed that his object had been attained, he was suddenly attacked at San Jacinto, by General Houston, who routed his troops, and took him prisoner. This occurred on the 21st of April, 1836. After being a prisoner several months, he was permitted to return to Mexico, where, in the mean time, his authority as president had been superseded, and where he passed several years in obscurity, on his own hacienda (farm).

Attempts against the Central Government.--Two successive attempts were made against the central government during the years 1837 and 1838, under Bustamente, who had been chosen president after his return from France. The first consisted of declarations in favor of federation, and of Gomez Farias for the presidency; but the disturbance was easily quelled. The other attempt was made by Mexia in 1838, who had once before raised the standard of rebellion against the central government. He was opposed by Santa Anna, who had issued from his retirement, and who hoped, by rendering some service to the government, to wipe off the disgrace which attached to his name. Mexia was unfortunate, and, being taken prisoner, was almost instantly shot. Santa Anna appeared again on the stage, in resisting an attack from an invading French expedition against the town of Vera Cruz.

An insurrection commenced with the federalist party, in the month of July, 1840, headed by General Urrea and Gomez Farias, and, for a time, the prospect was favorable for another reform of the constitution.

Revolution of 1841.--But revolutions were not at an end in Mexico. An insurrection broke out in the month of August, 1841, the result of which was, the bombardment of the capital, the downfall of Bustamente, and the convention of Tacubaya. Santa Anna took a part in this revolution against the president, and being at the head of the army, he selected the junta, which, according to the "plan of Tacubaya," was to choose the president of the republic. The junta repaid the distinction conferred upon them by selecting him for that high office. The congress, however, which assembled in June, 1842, proving to be disagreeable to Santa Anna, he dissolved it by an authoritative act, and, convening an assembly of notables, they fixed on a new constitution.

A New Constitution.--This was proclaimed on the 13th of June, 1843, and conferred almost all the power on the national executive. Santa Anna himself having been chosen that executive, the new government was organized by the assembling of congress in January, 1844. There was little agreement between that body and the dictator, as he might now be called, and hostility to his administration began to be expressed throughout the country. Measures were accordingly taken for his overthrow, in which Paredes, who had commenced the revolution of 1841, bore a conspicuous part. At the head of a body of troops, he openly declared against the dictator, and soon carried with him several of the northern provinces.

Overthrow of Santa Anna's Government.--The people in the capital soon arose in arms; the military declared against the dictator, and on the rëassembling of congress, General Herrera, the leader of the constitutional party, was appointed provisional president of the republic, and a new ministry was formed. This was an occasion of unbounded rejoicing throughout the country. Santa Anna, however, with the troops still under his command, attempted to rëgain his lost authority; but meeting with defeat and disappointment, he endeavored to escape, having first proposed to his opponents terms that were not accepted. This occurred in January, 1845. He was taken prisoner, and confined several months in the castle of Perote; after which, congress passed against him a decree of perpetual banishment from Mexico.

In the mean time, the province of Texas having maintained its independence during nine years, and having been acknowledged therein by the United States and several European powers, was, upon its own application, received into the confederacy of the former, and became a constituent part of the great American Union. This annexation became the occasion of the war between Mexico and the United States, of which an account is given in the history of the latter country.

GUATEMALA.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

LOCALITY--Extent--Physical Character--Discovery and Conquest--Independence of the Country.

Guatemala, or the "Republic of Central America," is the most southern point or portion of the North American continent, exclusive of the isthmus. It has an area of one hundred and eighty-five thousand square miles. It is composed of five states, which are sub-divided into districts, and of the federal district, which contains the seat of government.

The soil of the country is in general good, and exhibits the same variety as in Mexico, with similar productions. In portions of it, Guatemala is subject to tremendous convulsions of nature. This is the case mostly in the mountainous regions, of which there is a lofty chain, traversing the country, and presenting a series of twenty-one volcanic summits in constant activity. Old Guatemala, the capital of the state of Guatemala, has been several times destroyed by earthquakes, as it lies between the volcanoes of Agua and Fuego.

Discovery and Conquest.--Guatemala, like the other portions of the American continent in this quarter, was discovered by the Spaniards. It appears never to have formed a part of the empire of Mexico. At the arrival of the Spaniards, it contained many distinct kingdoms or principalities. The natives, called Quiches, lived in cities, and some ruins of their works are yet visible. The subjugation of Mexico by Cortez, struck terror into the inhabitants of Guatemala, and some of the chiefs sent embassies to the conqueror, offering to submit to him, and acknowledging themselves vassals of the Spanish king. Cortez dispatched Pedro de Alvarado, one of his officers who had been most active in the conquest of Mexico, to take possession of the country.

Alvarado marched from Mexico in November, 1523, with three hundred Spaniards, and a large auxiliary force of Mexicans. He met, however, with strenuous opposition in his progress. The Indians were defeated in several engagements, and the Spaniards remained masters of the provinces in which these engagements took place. On entering the kingdom of Quiche, they met with a more serious resistance than they had received elsewhere. The invaders, nevertheless, on the 14th of May, 1524, gained the victory in a great battle. Alvarado continued his march to the capital of the king of Kachiquel, who had sent his submission to Cortez. This prince received the stranger with courtesy, and on the 29th of July, 1524, they laid the foundation of the ancient city of Guatemala. The conquest of the remaining provinces followed soon after, although many savage wilds have remained to the present day very little explored or known by the conquerors.

Independence of the Country.--The people of Guatemala declared Guatemala independent on the 15th of September, 1821, and subsequently it was incorporated with Mexico; but on the fall of Iturbide, it disconnected itself from Mexico, and formed a separate independent republic on the 4th of July, 1843, under the title of the "Federation of Central America."

The constitution of the republic is modeled on that of the United States. The president and vice-president are elected for four years. The senate is composed of two members from each of the states, and the house of representatives consists of deputies (one deputy for thirty thousand inhabitants) elected by the people. They have abolished slavery in this country, as well as in Mexico. No other religion than the Catholic is tolerated in Guatemala, that being the established faith.

SOUTH AMERICA.

I. NEW GRENADA.

EXTENT and Physical Features--Revolution of 1811--Formation of a Constitution--Liberation of Quito--The Crisis of 1828--Separation of New Grenada, Venezuela, and Equator--State of the Government since the Separation.

Extent and Physical Features.--New Grenada constitutes the north-west portion of the South American continent, commencing with the isthmus, and extending down on the western coast nine hundred and eighty miles. It contains an area of three hundred and eighty thousand square miles. The country is traversed by several chains of the Andes, the basis of which consists of elevated plains or table-lands, which are many thousand feet above the level of the sea. The soil is extremely fertile, and produces in great richness and abundance the various fruits and vegetables of the tropical regions. The climate is hot and unhealthy in the low country on the coast, but on the table-lands is found a perpetual spring.

Revolution of 1811.--Soon after the invasion of Spain by the French in 1808, a revolutionary spirit began to manifest itself in the Spanish colonies of South America; and in the course of a few years, all these colonies, one after another, declared themselves independent, and formed republican constitutions, most of which took that of the United States as a model, in a great measure. But the people were ill-prepared for free governments. Their character, education, and habits were little in accordance with republicanism.

New Grenada declared itself an independent state in 1811, and after a long and severe struggle with the mother-country, expelled the Spaniards from its territory. The memorable victory of Carabobo, in 1821, completed the overthrow of the Spanish authority. In this battle, an army of six thousand royalists was nearly annihilated, only four hundred men saving themselves by taking shelter in Porto Cavello. The patriots were led on by Bolivar.[86] Previously to this period, viz: in 1819, a union was decreed of New Grenada and Venezuela into one republic, under the name of Columbia, the presidency of Quito having subsequently succeeded to the confederacy.

Formation of a Constitution.--On the 17th of July, 1821, a general congress met at Rosario de Cucuta, to form a constitution, which was completed and adopted on the 30th of August. The legislative power was vested in a senate of thirty-six members, and in a chamber of deputies of ninety-four members, and Simon Bolivar was elected president, and Santander vice-president. Bolivar and Santander were both rëelected for a second term, commencing on the 1st of January, 1827.

Liberation of Quito.--In respect to the liberation of Quito, it appears that the destruction of the royal army, on the plains of Carabobo, enabled Bolivar to direct his whole attention to the expulsion of the Spaniards from the southern provinces. The presidency of Quito, afterwards formed into the republic of Equador, had, for many years, been united with New Grenada. The army of the South, under Sucre, was rëinforced by the troops which could be spared from other situations, amounting to seven thousand men, and the president placed himself at its head. Both parties having at length concentrated their forces, the campaign and the fate of Quito were decided at the battle fought at Pinchincha, about the 1st of June, 1822. Bolivar's usual success still attended him, and the arms of the republic were again crowned with a most signal victory.

The Crisis of 1828.--In 1828, the country was threatened with anarchy, and Bolivar took a decisive step--and daring as it was decisive--in dissolving the Columbian congress on the 27th of August of that year, and assuming absolute authority. To this movement he had been encouraged by addresses from various municipal bodies, calling upon him to put an end to the public disorders, by taking upon himself that authority. He organized a new government to suit his own views, and soon began to feel the consequences of the bold measure he had adopted, in the conspiracies that were formed against him. The month of September did not pass without an attempt to assassinate him. His aid-de-camp was killed, but Bolivar's life was saved by the courage of his officers. Generals Padilla and Santander were charged with this plot, and by a special tribunal condemned to death. The former was executed, but the punishment of Santander was commuted for banishment. Several other individuals suffered death. The country was more or less agitated by violent factions; many military leaders aspired to the supreme command, and Bolivar's efforts to prevent dissension incited insurrections. Many denounced him as a usurper and tyrant. Venezuela claimed her independence, and Bolivar, after endeavoring in vain to unite them, and create a spirit of harmony under his rule, resigned all his authority to the congress at Bogota, in 1830. He retired to Carthagena in deep depression of spirits, on account of the calamities of his country.

Separation of New Grenada, Venezuela, and Ecuador, or Equator.--On the 4th of May, 1830, Senor Joachim Mosquera was elected president, and General Domingo Caicedo, vice-president; but on the 4th of September, Mosquera resigned, and Urdanata was appointed temporary president until the arrival of Bolivar, whose return to power was decreed by a meeting of soldiers and citizens; but Bolivar died at Carthagena, December 17th, the same year. Venezuela again joined Columbia for a short time; but in November, 1831, a new separation took place, and since that time the late republic of Columbia has been divided into three republics, viz: New Grenada, Venezuela, and Equator, whose constitutions are similar to that of Columbia.

State of the Government since the Separation.--Since this period, there seems to have been a regularity in the appointment of the highest officers of the government. In 1832, General Santander was called to the presidency, whose term of office expired in 1836. The next term of four years was filled by José Ignacio de Marquez. Of late years--that is, for two successive terms--General Herran has been president of New Grenada. Don Thomas C. Mosquera was elected president of the republic in 1848.

FOOTNOTE:

[86] Simon Bolivar was a native of Caraccas, and belonged to one of the most respectable and wealthy families of that city. By a series of brilliant and arduous services, he established the liberty and independence of his native country, and procured the well-deserved title of The Liberator.

II. VENEZUELA.

NAME, Physical Features, &c.--Discovery--State of the Country under the Spanish Dominion--Termination of the Spanish Dominion--Condition since.

Name, Physical Features, &c.--This republic formerly known by the name of the Captain-generalship of Caraccas, as has been seen, once formed a part of the republic of Columbia. When it was first brought to the knowledge of the Spaniards, they called the place where they landed Venezuela, from the common propensity to find a resemblance between the objects they saw in America, and those that were familiar to them at home. An Indian village, built upon piles, was the object which suggested the name.

Venezuela includes a portion of the great chain of the Andes and a vast plain, which constitutes the greater part of the surface. It is watered by the Orinoco, one of the largest rivers of the world, which empties into the Atlantic by about fifty mouths. The area of Venezuela measures four hundred and fifty thousand square miles. In respect to its soil, it has all the richness of the equatorial regions of the globe.

Discovery.--The Spaniards, under Ojeda, first visited this country, in 1499. They made some attempts to settle at the Indian village before adverted to, which they observed built upon piles, in order to raise the huts above the stagnant waters around. But their labors were, for the most part, abortive. The reduction of the country was brought about by soldiers of fortune, abounding in Germany in the sixteenth century, who, through an arrangement of the Emperor Charles V., were introduced into these wilds. These adventurers, neglecting the purpose for which they were placed there, which was to cultivate and improve the country, became impatient to amass riches, and wandered from district to district in search of mines. In this pursuit, they cruelly plundered the natives, and imposed on them intolerable tasks. In a few years, the desolated province hardly afforded them subsistence; and when they were removed by their employers, the Spaniards again took possession of the country, and soon renewed the horrors which it had already experienced. In consequence of these, and other ravages at a later period, the whole region lay waste for a long season. When new settlements were at length commenced, they advanced so slowly, that this part of the Spanish possessions remained comparatively unproductive, while the other American colonies were in a thriving state.

State of the Country under the Spanish Dominion.--As in the other provinces held by Spain on this continent, the Spanish dominion continued in this until the early part of the nineteenth century. Venezuela was, however, agitated by the question of freedom and independence, perhaps, earlier than was the fact elsewhere in Spanish America. As early as in 1797, an attempt to raise the standard of independence was made in Venezuela, so keenly did the country feel the rapacity and oppression of the Spanish government. Two natives of Caraccas were leaders in this revolt, which comprised a large number of people distinguished for their talents, virtues, and wealth. The insurrection, which had for its object the securing of the heads of government, as hostages, till a treaty could be made with the court of Spain for a redress of grievances was fixed for the 14th of July, 1797; but was divulged by one of the conspirators on the evening previous. The consequence was, that most of the conspirators were arrested, and eventually put to death, but the leaders effected their escape.

The discontents of the people continued, and General Miranda, in consequence of earnest entreaties expressed in letters from Venezuela, to put himself at the head of an expedition for revolutionizing the country, acceded to the proposal. Proceeding to the United States, he collected there a body of a few hundred adventurers. With this force he sailed from New York in 1806; but after arriving on the coast, he was repulsed by the Spanish gun-boats; and it was only after recruiting his forces at Trinidad, and aided under the convoy of a British sloop, that he again proceeded to the place of destination. He, however, effected nothing, as he found the people now luke-warm in the cause of revolt, and abandoned the project, with the loss of numbers of his men, who were taken and hanged.

Termination of the Spanish Dominion.--The Spanish authority, however, over the province, was drawing to an end. The great revolution broke out in 1810. On the 19th of April, the captain-general of Caraccas was deposed, and delegates were chosen by the people to meet in a congress, for the purpose of forming a government for Venezuela. The congress published a declaration of independence on the 5th of July, 1811, and this example was followed by the other provinces, which were afterwards united, as has already been mentioned, in the republic of Columbia.

In so succinct an account as the present, the details of the revolution cannot be given, nor would they be specially interesting or useful, from their want of general and permanent results. It needs only to be stated, that the patriots were generally successful till 1812, when they experienced the terrible calamity of the loss of their city, Caraccas, by an earthquake; a circumstance which wrought upon the superstitious fears of the populace against the cause, and that Miranda, who had returned to this country, in despair capitulated, was taken a prisoner, and finally sent to Spain, where he died in a dungeon.

From this period, through a series of years, the contest maintained a doubtful character; Bolivar defeating the royalists in several battles, and they in their turn defeating him. The struggle between the parties continued, until after the junction of New Grenada and Venezuela, in 1819. The battle of Carabobo in 1820, as already related in the history of the former state, put the finishing stroke to the war in Venezuela. By the end of the year, the Spaniards were driven from every part of the two provinces, except Puerto Cabello and Quito.

Condition since the Overthrow of the Spanish Power.--The promise of better times soon after the union of New Grenada and Venezuela, was realized but in part. The country continued disturbed for years. In the mean time, the republic of Columbia was formed, but, as already shown, it was not destined to continue: its remembrance, however, will always be connected with the heroic efforts of Bolivar.

The government of the country was administered from 1831 to 1835, by General José Antonio Paez, the president, and 1835 to 1839, by Dr. Vargas, also the president. Since the last-named period, the government has been in the hands again of General Paez. From recent accounts, however, it would seem that the country is in a disturbed state, a war being carried on between Paez and Monagas--Paez representing the constitutional party. Very lately, the latter obtained a decided victory over Monagas.

III. EQUATOR, OR ECUADOR.

NAME, Extent, Physical Character--Classes of the Inhabitants--Subversion of the Spanish Authority--Condition since the Spanish Rule.

Name, Extent, &c.--This country derives its name from its situation, it being intersected towards the north by the equator. It is one of the three republics before spoken of, formed from the territory which, before 1831, constituted the republic of Columbia, and it comprehends the ancient kingdom or presidency of Quito, and formerly constituted a part of the vice-royalty of New Grenada. It has an area of three hundred and twenty-five thousand square miles, and a population of six hundred and fifty thousand souls.

The western part of Ecuador is traversed from north to south by a chain of the Andes, forming a double ridge of colossal summits; the valley between which, constitutes a table-land of about twenty-five miles in width, and from nine thousand to nine thousand five hundred feet in height. Throughout this elevated valley, a perpetual spring is enjoyed; while on the summits of the mountains the snows of winter are always seen; and in the low country, along the coast, the heat is excessive, and the climate is dangerous to foreigners. The whole eastern portion of the state is traversed by the great River Amazon, which forms a part of the southern boundary of the republic.

Classes of the Inhabitants.--A small proportion only of the inhabitants are whites, the Indians and mixed breeds composing the bulk of the population. The civilized part of the population is confined to the central valley and the western coast, the vast tracts of land to the east of the mountains being occupied by independent and hostile tribes of savages. The aborigines belonged to the Peruvian family, and numerous remains of their architectural industry and skill are still visible.

Subversion of the Spanish Authority.--Dissatisfaction with the authority of the central junta of Spain, and generally the anxiety which was felt for the fate of the colonies, in case the French should prevail in the peninsula, led to the establishment of a junta in the province of Quito in August, 1809, and the Marquis Selva Allegre was chosen its president.

The viceroy of New Grenada, Don Amar, determined to destroy the junta; "but, desirous of exhibiting an appearance of acting in conformity to the will of the people, he convened the principal inhabitants of Santa Fe de Bogota, for the purpose of consulting them on the subject, believing that they would not have independence sufficient to oppose his will. In this, however, he was disappointed. The assembly not only approved of the proceedings at Quito, but declared that a similar body ought to be formed in Santa Fe, for the security of the country, in case Spain should finally be conquered by the French.

"The assembly, with the consent of the viceroy, was adjourned to meet again on the 11th of September, 1809, the first meeting being on the 7th. Still thinking to intimidate the members, the viceroy required that each one should give his vote in writing. When the assembly again met, they were surprised to see that the guards of the palace were doubled, and that great military preparations had been made, as if an enemy was approaching the city. But even this seasonable display of military force did not have the effect of overawing the assembly; its debates were bold and spirited; and the voting by written ballots, showing the opinions of the different members, tended to strengthen their firmness and resolution, so that the friends of the measure were rather increased than diminished.

"This occasion first brought into notice several individuals, who afterwards became distinguished patriots; Camillo de Torres, Gutierrez, Father Padilla, and Moreno, were among the number. Being at length persuaded that he could not have the appearance of acting in conformity to public opinion, he took immediate steps to suppress the popular junta at Quito by an armed force; and the viceroy of Peru having dispatched troops for the same object, the junta was obliged to yield to a power which it had no means of resisting. And although an assurance was given by the president of the audiencia of Quito, that no one should any way suffer on account of what had taken place; yet, in violation of this plighted faith, a large number of those who had belonged to, or supported the popular government, were arrested and imprisoned, and on the 2d of August, the following year, they were all massacred in prison, under pretence of revolt. The troops stationed in the city, after massacring the prisoners, were suffered to plunder the inhabitants; the scene of rapine and carnage was shocking, and involved the property of thousands, and the lives of more than three hundred persons, murdered in cold blood."

From this period, a long struggle ensued--most of the incidents are common with those which have been narrated. The Spanish authority was not entirely overthrown, until the splendid victory of Pinchincha, in 1822; soon after which, Quito was united with Columbia. This union was dissolved in 1830, and Quito formed an independent state.

Condition since the Spanish Rule.--One of the early presidents of the republic was Vincente Rocafuerte; more lately, the executive department has been filled by Juan Joseph Flores; according to the latest advices from Ecuador, there are symptoms of a revolution. Numerous accusations against the president have been brought forward. What events may grow out of it, time will decide. The instability of political affairs in that quarter of the world has long been remarked; nor perhaps will it soon cease to be a feature of the governments of South America.

IV. PERU.

LOCALITY, Extent, and Physical Character--Condition at the time of its Invasion by the Spaniards--Conquest by Pizarro--Condition of the Country after the Conquest--Insurrection--Revolutionary Movement--Declaration of Independence--Condition of the Country after the Expulsion of the Spaniards.

Locality, Extent, &c.--Peru lies south of Equator along the western shore of the continent, nearly central between the isthmus and the Straits of Magellan, having an area of five hundred thousand square miles, and a population of one million eight hundred thousand. The country is traversed by several chains of the Andes, from north to south, the principal chain lying nearly parallel to the coast. There exists a great variety as to the surface, soil, and climate of Peru, portions of the country being sterile, with no rains, and only dews; and others very fertile, abounding in impenetrable forests of gigantic trees, and producing the rich fruits and vegetables of tropical regions. The traveler, according to his elevation, meets here with eternal snows or perpetual summer, or the most excessive and deadly heat. The gold and silver wealth of Peru has a world-wide celebrity. The silver mines of Potosi are perhaps the richest known, unless the recent golden treasures of California shall be found to exceed them. Like the latter, the former were first made known by accident. An Indian, by the name of Hualpa, one day following some wild animals up the mountain, laid hold of a shrub or tree to aid his ascent; which, giving way, revealed a mass of silver ore, which lay so near the surface as to cling to the roots. For some time Hualpa kept his discovery a secret, but his rapid increase of wealth attracting the notice of a countryman, he revealed it to him. The friends, however, soon quarreled; upon which, the secret was divulged.

Condition at the time of its Invasion by the Spaniards.--"Peru was one of the two monarchies of America which, at the invasion of the Spaniards, had attained to a degree of refinement far above that savage state in which most of the American Indians lived. It was also remarkable from the contrast of the character of its civilization to that of the Mexicans. Instead of the fierce and lofty spirit, the bloody wars, the uncouth deities, and ferocious rites of the latter, the Peruvians were united in tranquil subjection to a mild superstition, which represented their Inca as the child of the sun, to whom unreserved submission was due. However fable may have been mixed with the truth in the tale of Manco Capac and his wife Mama Ocollo--who, according to the traditions of the country, founded the empire, first appearing among the people about the year 1100, claiming to be children of the sun--the story of the greatness of the Peruvian empire has nothing fabulous. It comprehended not only the vast region now called Peru, but the territory of Quito or Ecuador, which is covered with the monuments of the Incas. Order was established in this vast region; the land was carefully cultivated; the rivers were carefully employed in irrigating the soil; mountains were formed into terraces to receive the canals constructed for this purpose, and walls were built to prevent the water from escaping; so that large tracts, which have now relapsed into deserts, were rendered productive."

Conquest by Pizarro.--Francisco Pizarro, an uneducated Spaniard, is entitled to the renown, or the infamy, of bringing this rich country under the dominion of Spain, in the former part of the sixteenth century. The details are too numerous to be here given; but suffice it to say, that with two associates and about two hundred soldiers, he overran this splendid empire, and filled it with rapine and blood. The gentle and unsuspicious character of the natives rendered them an easy prey to the artifice, cupidity, and cruelty of these Spanish cut-throats. Pizarro's associates were Diego de Almagro, a soldier of fortune, and Fernando de Luques, a mercenary priest.

Atahualpa, the Peruvian emperor, treated the strangers with great courtesy, and sent them several valuable presents--fruits, corn, emeralds, and vases of gold and silver. The sight of the gold and silver served to render the Spaniards more fierce, and prepare them for the cruel butcheries that followed. The following morning, Atahualpa, attended by fifteen thousand men, met Pizarro at a place previously appointed. He was borne on a throne of gold. As the procession approached Pizarro, a Dominican friar, by the name of Valverde, made a long address to the emperor, in which he endeavored to expound the Christian religion; following which, he proposed to him a submission to the king of Spain, on the ground that the pope had made a present to him of Peru.

To this, Atahualpa replied, that he was willing to be the friend of the king of Spain, but not his vassal. The pope he considered a very extraordinary personage to make a present of that which did not belong to him; and as to those whom the friar denominated Christians--"If," said he, "they worship a God who died upon a cross, I worship the Sun, who never dies." After further efforts at persuasion, Valverde became indignant, and called upon the Spaniards to vindicate their holy religion, and to wreak their just vengeance upon dogs who could thus trample upon the gospel. Upon this, a signal was given, and the work of butchery commenced in the emperor's own palace. Pizarro himself advanced towards Atahualpa, and took him prisoner, while all around the princes of the race of the Incas, the flower of the nobility, and other great men of the court, were indiscriminately put to the sword.

The cruelties that were inflicted, from this time forward, upon this unoffending people, and the riches amassed by these rapacious adventurers, so abhorred of God and men, are scarcely capable of enumeration, were it the object of this succinct account to speak of particulars. While their prince, being a prisoner, was condemned on some frivolous pretext, and strangled at the stake, they were made to expiate, by their death, the crime of owning a rich and beautiful country. Their great city of Cuzco was entered by Pizarro, in 1534, and plundered of its immense wealth. Indeed, the thirst of blood and plunder was every where exhibited in the progress of the Spaniards through the country. Had the latter shown any degree of moderation and humanity, they would probably have made themselves masters of the empire without further bloodshed than this commencement of the fearful tragedy. A people, by constitution and training so mild and submissive, would have yielded to the yoke without much reluctance. But the infinite variety of their calamities stirred up the people to revenge, and they found agents to give it, for a time, a degree of effect. But the Spaniards persevered in their efforts to overthrow the country; large numbers poured into it from abroad, and all resistance finally ceased. Those of the natives who were most attached to their liberty, to their government, and to their religion, took refuge at a distance among inaccessible mountains. The greater part of them, however, submitted to their conquerors.

The fate of these robbers was, at length, as deplorable as that of the subjects of their rapacity and cruelty. By various causes irritated and enraged against each other, the leaders fought among themselves, and the most revolting scenes of revenge and hatred were exhibited in the result. The original leaders of the enterprise were soon no more, and others followed in the same path of robbery, blood, and mutual jealousy and contention. These civil wars continued through a series of years. Fortunately for this part of the new world, the most seditious of the conquerors, and of those who followed in their steps, had perished in these wars. With their departure was connected a degree of tranquillity, and then only the Catholic kings might with truth style themselves the sovereigns of the Spaniards settled in Peru.

Condition of the Country after the Conquest.--The native Peruvians, after their subjugation, quietly submitted to the Spanish yoke for more than two centuries. They felt keenly, in many instances, the wrongs inflicted on them, but they had no power of resistance against a disciplined European force. They were loaded with insupportable burdens, yet it was useless to complain. The exactions of their conquerors were most unreasonable and cruel, and they passed their days in sorrow, groaning under the severest bondage. It would seem that all memory of their ancient independence, and the glories of the empire of Manco Capac, was lost from among them. Under their oppressions, their spirit and resolution appeared wholly to depart; but events proved that they were capable of being aroused--if by nothing better, at least by despair.

Insurrection in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century.--The sufferings of the natives became so extreme, that they wanted nothing but a leader to induce them to rise upon their oppressors, and attempt the overthrow of the Spanish power. Such a leader was found in Tupac Amaru, a descendant, on the mother's side, from an Inca of that name. He was well fitted, in many respects, to head an insurrection, having a commanding figure and intrepidity of spirit. He animated his countrymen to many heroic deeds, and, in the course of the rebellion, several successful battles were fought, and many Spaniards killed in the encounters, and many massacred in the progress of the Indian arms; but these were, on the whole, unsuccessful; their irregularities were, perhaps, more than retaliated by the Spaniards. Amaru was captured in the course of the war, and drawn into pieces by wild horses, as the punishment of his attempt to free his countrymen from oppression. Several other leaders were likewise taken, and shared the same cruel fate.

The principal leaders of the insurrection being no more, the great body of the Indian population quietly returned to vassalage, and bowed again under the galling yoke. Such was the issue of an attempt for freedom, which filled Peru with bloodshed and misery for the space of two years, and of a war, in which, it is asserted, one-third of the population of Peru perished by the hand of violence. It produced no permanent or important change in the condition of the Indians. They were rigidly prohibited the use of arms. The tribute pressed more heavily afterwards, and was more strictly levied, and that unfortunate people were treated more contemptuously, in revenge of their unsuccessful rebellion.

Revolutionary Movements in the early part of the Present Century.--Previously to the French invasion of Spain, and the confusion into which the mother-country was thrown by that event, and the consequent facilities and inducements which were furnished to the colonies in respect to their independence, an attempt had been made in Peru, having that object in view, as early as the year 1805. It was undertaken by Ubalde, an eminent jurist of Cuzco; but it proved to be a failure, and its author paid his life as the forfeiture of his rashness.

In 1809, a popular movement took place, and provisional juntas were established at Quito and La Paz. This revolutionary design, however, was at once defeated by the viceroys of Peru, Buenos Ayres, and New Grenada, whose armies dissolved the juntas. After this second abortive attempt, Peru remained tranquil for ten years, while the neighboring provinces were engaged in the war of their independence. At length, the people of Chili having defeated the Spanish army in the decisive battle of Maypu, in 1818, conceived the project of securing their independence by expelling the Spaniards from Peru. A naval armament and a land army both were fitted out for this object; the one in 1819, and the other in 1820. The naval force was commanded by Lord Cochrane, an English adventurer, and the land force was commanded by General San Martin.

Some obstacles were interposed to the immediate success of the undertaking; partly from negotiation, and partly from the insufficiency of the invading forces--the liberating army of San Martin being only about five thousand strong, and Cochrane being able only to blockade the Peruvian ports. The city of Lima appeared to be too powerful for an attack by the army of the general; but having, at length, resolved on the enterprise of advancing upon this city, the pusillanimity of the viceroy made way for a success which force might not have achieved. The viceroy fled, to secure his personal safety, while a deputation of citizens invited San Martin to enter the city as a liberator.

Declaration of Independence.--It was on the 12th of July, 1821, that San Martin made his entry into Lima, where he was received with acclamations, and, on the 28th, the independence of Peru was formally declared. San Martin took the title of Protector of Peru, with supreme power, both civil and military. A provisional government was organized, and measures were adopted to establish the affairs of the country on a permanent basis. But the new state of things was fluctuating. It was not until the 20th of September, 1822, that the first Peruvian congress convened. At this congress, an executive junta was appointed, of three persons, to administer the government. San Martin declined the office of commander-in-chief of the Peruvian armies, and returned to Chili.

From this period, there was little promise of stability for the new republic. Discontent and dissensions followed among the people, and every thing was thrown into confusion. It was not until the great liberator, Bolivar, had come among them, by invitation of a portion of the people, and after three sanguinary battles had with the royalist forces, that the Spanish power was prostrated in Peru. On the 10th of December, 1824, the Peruvian congress was again installed. Bolivar was then declared the political and military head of the republic, as he had been once before, and a gift of a million of dollars was tendered him for his services, which he saw fit to refuse. Lower Peru was thus liberated, and, as early as January, 1826, Upper Peru experienced the same deliverance, through the arms of the patriot General Sucre.

Condition of the Country after the Expulsion of the Spaniards.--Bolivar's influence was great, and a constitution of government was adopted, which harmonized with his views; but the people were still dissatisfied, and they seized an occasion, when Bolivar was absent in Columbia, of rising in insurrection, and effected a complete revolution in the beginning of the year 1827. A new form of government was adopted, combining the properties of a federal and a central system, with a president, chosen for four years, a national congress, and a separate provisional government.

The republic, however, did not become settled by this latter change; for the constitution of 1827, like that which preceded it, has proved to be too little congenial to the taste and capacities of the people. As late as 1835, four chiefs, in arms, were striving for the supremacy; and one year later, a spurious president, General Salaverry, having been defeated in battle, was condemned to death by a court martial, and shot, with his adherents, in the month of February, 1836. In 1837, Peru was placed under the protection of Santa Cruz, president of Bolivia. Both Chili and Buenos Ayres were at war with Peru, a few years since.

V. BOLIVIA.

NAME, Extent, and Physical Character--Overthrow of the Spanish Power--Proclamation of Independence--Choice of Rulers under the New Constitution--Present Condition.

Name, Extent, &c.--This country, originally called Upper Peru, and once forming a portion of the vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres, or La Plata, dates from the battle of Ayacucho, December 9th, 1828, in which the republicans, under Sucre, completely defeated the royalists. The name, Bolivia, given to it, was in compliment to Bolivar.

The republic has a length of one thousand one hundred and forty-two miles, and an area of four hundred and ten thousand square miles. In its physical features, it is marked by several lofty peaks of the Andes. Some of them exceed twenty thousand feet in height. The inequality of the surface gives it a great variety as to temperature and climate. In the central portion of it, the soil has great agricultural capabilities. The mineral wealth of the country is very considerable--the famous mine of Potosi, which has heretofore been particularly noticed, now belongs to Bolivia.

Overthrow of the Spanish Power.--The provinces of Upper Peru having been wrested from the Spaniards, as above stated, General Sucre soon cleared the country of the royalist forces. As he advanced into the territory, not only was he received with universal joy by the inhabitants, but the royal corps, in various places, spontaneously declared for the independence of the country. Sucre reached Potosi in April, 1825, where Olaneta, the Spanish general, made what resistance he was able, but was himself slain, and the royal troops in Upper Peru surrendered to the conquerors.

Proclamation of Independence.--The upper territories being thus emancipated, a general congress of delegates was convened to decide on the political destiny of the intendencies; whether they would unite with Lower Peru, or the United Provinces, or form a separate and independent nation. The latter was chosen; and, on the 6th of August, 1825, a solemn declaration of the independence of Upper Peru was published. The congress, which assembled at Chiquisaca, gave the new republic its name, and determined to call the capital Sucre, the name of the general whose exploits have so often been spoken of. Having solicited Bolivar to prepare a constitution, the congress dissolved itself on the 6th of October. The constitution which was proposed by Bolivar, and adopted by the congress in 1826, vested the executive power in a president chosen for life, with the privilege of naming his successor, and the legislative power in three bodies: a senate, tribune, and censors. But this constitution was soon abolished.

Choice of Rulers under the New Constitution.--Sucre, at the time of the adoption of the Bolivarian constitution, resigned his discretionary power, and was elected president; but he sent in his resignation to the congress which assembled on the 3d of August, 1828, and returned to Columbia, and, in June, 1830, he was assassinated near Pasto. On the retirement of Sucre, General Velasco filled the office of president, till the meeting of the convention, on the 16th of December. This body displaced Velasco, and elected General Blanco president. A revolution soon followed, which resulted in the deposition and death of Blanco, January 1st, 1829. A temporary government was established, with Velasco at the head, till a new president could be elected, and Santa Cruz was chosen. Generals Velasco and Ballivian have since been elected presidents of the republic; the latter is still in office.

Present Condition.--The most recent accounts represent Bolivia as being in a state of civil war. The antagonists of President Ballivian have proclaimed the constitution of 1839, and constituted a provisional government, backed by a powerful military organization. The revolution is headed by General Belza, minister of war, who has violated his oath of office, disgraced his country, and outraged constitution and laws, for the purpose of gaining the presidency.

VI. CHILI.

EXTENT, Physical Features, Climate--Conquest by Almagro--Revolution in the beginning of the Present Century--Final Establishment of Independence--Subsequent Condition.

Extent, Physical Features, Climate, &c.--Chili, lying on the shore of the Pacific, from the twenty-fourth to the forty-fifth degrees of south latitude, its length being one thousand two hundred and sixty miles, and its breadth three hundred miles, possesses many natural advantages and attractions. The immense chain of the Andes traverses the country from north to south. In the vicinity of these mountains, earthquakes are common, and these seem to be the only drawbacks to the paradise which nature has formed in this part of the South American continent. Chili, it is believed, is blessed with the most salubrious and delightful climate on the globe.

Though there are some sterile tracts, the soil, in general, is remarkably fertile, and the products are rich and varied. Medicinal, dyeing, and aromatic plants abound, and there are several plants peculiar to the country. All kinds of metal abound in Chili. Gold, however, is the most copious, and in some districts there is scarcely a hill which does not contain it. Chili is supposed to be the only American state, formerly subject to Spain, whose commerce has been increased since the separation from the mother-country.

Conquest by Almagro.--After the principal provinces of Peru were brought into subjection, the Spanish conquerors turned their attention to the conquest of Chili. In the early part of 1535, Almagro set out for Cuzco, in the prosecution of this enterprise, with a considerable force. From the nature of the route, he met with great difficulties, and lost many of his men; but he at length accomplished his design, and was received with tokens of submission on the part of the inhabitants. The natives, however, at length, recovering from their astonishment at the sight of so superior a race of men as the Spaniards, began to think of regaining their liberty. Hence, a war arose, which lasted ten years, in which, though the natives were sometimes successful, they were generally and in the end defeated. For a long course of years, the possession of the country by the Spaniards continued to be disputed, and fatal hostilities occurred from time to time, as they attempted to extend their empire in Chili. Their object, however, was effected by degrees, as in all the other American colonies.

Revolution in the beginning of the Present Century.--The occasion of the revolution in Chili, and its subsequent independence, was the same as in the other Spanish states in America, viz: the disturbances in Spain in consequence of the French invasion in 1809. The captain-general of the province was compelled to resign, and by the popular voice the Count de la Conquista was elevated to his place. The count immediately took measures for instituting a new government. A general congress was determined on, and at length chosen, after some attempts made by the royalists at a counter-revolution. The congress, upon their organization, passed a decree, permitting all persons who were dissatisfied with the changes in the government, to leave the country with their effects, within six months. The children of slaves, born in future, were declared free, and many other acts were passed, with a view to reform the abuses of the ancient government.

Discontent, however, with the new order of things, soon arose, and there was the usual amount of plots and counter-plots, menace and fighting, between the friends and the enemies of the changes in the government, which has constituted a principal feature of Spanish American history in modern times. After various military movements and internal struggles, the revolutionary power was overthrown, and, in 1814, the Spanish authority was completely rëestablished in Chili.

Final Establishment of Independence.--This state of things continued for more than two years. But it was destined to pass away, after some severe fighting. The government of Buenos Ayres dispatched an army, under San Martin, for the purpose of liberating Chili. After incredible exertions and fatigue, he crossed the lofty chain of the Andes, and arrived in Chili with very little loss. At Chacabuco, the royal troops were defeated, and put to the rout, on the 12th of February, 1817. At Santiago, the liberator was received with acclamations by the inhabitants, and made supreme director. He, however, declined the office, and bestowed it upon O'Higgins, who had commanded a division of his army. Chili was delivered by means of San Martin's successes, ending in the great victory of Maypu, April 5th, 1818, in which the whole Spanish army was destroyed, with the exception of their commander, Osorio, and a few horsemen. This victory set the seal on the independence of Chili, and the patriots were soon enabled to carry the war into the enemy's country by the invasion of Peru, as narrated in the history of the latter.

Condition subsequently to the Establishment of Independence.--The fact of securing her independence has given little repose to Chili. The outward forms of a republic have been preserved in her government, while parties have struggled for the ascendancy, and filled the country with turbulence. For several years, the southern frontiers were disturbed by the depredations of an outlaw, named Benavides, a Spaniard, who put himself at the head of the Araucanian Indians, and desolated the country with fire and sword, and the commission of bloody atrocities unsurpassed in the history of savage warfare. His success, and the authority he had acquired over the Indians, induced him to think himself a powerful monarch, and he attempted to establish a navy. He captured several American and English vessels, which touched on the coasts of Chili for refreshments, and made himself master of a large amount of property, arms, and military stores. The Spaniards encouraged him in his piracies and murders, and furnished him with troops and artillery. But his bloody career was cut short by the Chilians, who dispatched an expedition against him in October, 1821. Arauco, his capital, was taken, his forces defeated, and Benavides compelled to flee. He was taken prisoner in February, 1822, tried and executed.

In January, 1823, O'Higgins was compelled to resign, and was succeeded by Ramon Freire, as supreme director. In July, 1826, Freire resigned his office, and Admiral Manuel Blanco was appointed in his place; but before the expiration of two months, he retired from office. In 1827, the form of the government was changed; but the public tranquillity has not been secured by the change. Of the two vice-presidents, who were chosen from 1827 to 1831, one was expelled and the other assassinated. Chili, for many years, has been agitated by the dissensions of two parties; the one desiring to establish a central government, and the other, a government like that of the United States.

Chili, in connection with Buenos Ayres, within a few years, has been at war both with Peru and Bolivia. According to the latest accounts, some difficulty now exists between this country and Buenos Ayres; the hope is expressed that it may not issue in war. The too great readiness of the infant republics of South America to engage in contentions with one another, and to indulge in internal feuds, must be acknowledged to be a bad omen in respect to their preparation for the blessings of liberty and independence.

VII. BUENOS AYRES, OR PROVINCES OF LA PLATA.

NAME, &c.--Inhabitants, or Classes of People--Discovery and Settlement--First Insurrection against the Government of Spain--Progress and Changes of the New Government--Present Condition of the Government.

Name, &c.--This country received its name, at first, from the name of its great river La Plata. The river was so denominated from the fact that, among the spoils of a few Indians, inhumanly put to death, some ornaments of gold and silver had been found. In 1778, it was erected into a Spanish vice-royalty by the name of the vice-royalty of Rio de la Plata. On its declaration of independence, in 1816, it assumed the name of the United Provinces of La Plata, and, in 1826, that of the Argentine Republic; and it has, also, long been known by the name of Buenos Ayres, from the name of its chief city.

Inhabitants, or Classes of People.--These are the same as are found in Chili, viz: European Spaniards, Creoles, Negroes, Indians, and the mixed races. The Chiquintos are a numerous and civilized nation of independent Indians. There are also many other tribes. There is a striking sameness in the character of all the South American states. Among the Creoles, the strictest equality obtains. No white would do service for any one of his own nation. Education, perhaps, in all the classes, is rather neglected.

Discovery and Settlement.--Sebastian Cabot, in the early part of the sixteenth century, sailed up the river, to which he gave the name of La Plata. In attempting to build a fortress in the country, or otherwise to commence a settlement, he met with so much opposition from the inhabitants, that, in 1530, he returned to Spain, in order to obtain recruits. The few men whom he left in the colony, were either massacred, or abandoned the country. Some more considerable forces, led by Mendoza, came and settled on the river in 1535, and laid the foundation of Buenos Ayres. Their condition, however, was precarious, whether there, or wherever else they located themselves in the country. They were in danger of being cut off, either by famine or Indian hostilities. Buenos Ayres was at length abandoned, and settlements made farther up the river. To propitiate the natives, they finally resorted to the policy of marrying their women. From a union of this kind, sprung the race of Mestizoes, which, in the course of time, became so common in South America. Buenos Ayres was rebuilt in 1580, and from that time some of the petty nations in that vicinity submitted to the Spanish yoke. A degree of civilization and order was effected among this savage people, by the Jesuits, through a long course of years.

First Insurrection against the Government of Spain.--The desire of throwing off the government of the mother-country was manifested at an early period among the inhabitants of the city of Buenos Ayres. The development of this feeling was somewhat earlier there, than in other parts of Spanish America. It owed its origin to the war which existed between Spain and Great Britain, in 1806. As the consequence of this war, the province of La Plata was neglected, and thus presented a strong temptation for invasion on the part of the British. That which might have been attempted at some subsequent period by public authority, was commenced by private aggressions, or certainly without orders from the government. A fleet and army, under Commodore Topham and General Beresford, after effecting the conquest of the Cape of Good Hope, proceeded to Buenos Ayres, on the 8th of June, 1806, and, after a slight resistance, took possession of the place on the 28th of June. The Spaniards, however, under Liniers, a French officer, collecting a large force in the country, rëtook it within sixteen days, with a good deal of loss to the British. The latter having received rëinforcements, made two several attempts to recover possession of the city, but failed in both.

In the embarrassments occasioned by Napoleon's invasion of Spain, parties sprang up in Buenos Ayres, some supporting Liniers, who had been appointed viceroy of the province, and others the Spanish authority. The latter appeared, for a time, to be the prevailing power; but the ebulition of royalty which had proclaimed Ferdinand, was of short duration. The Spanish Americans began to feel that they had power in their hands, as was manifested in their defeat of the British. Their discontents increased at the tyranny exercised over them. Commotion followed commotion, till in May, 1810, the viceroy, Cisneros, finding his embarrassments and perplexities greatly increased by the disasters of the Spaniards at home, was compelled to announce his inability to manage the government. By the request of the municipality of the city, he called a congress, which established a provisional junta for the government of the country. The 25th of May, the date of this government, has ever since been observed as the anniversary of independence in Buenos Ayres.

Progress and Changes of the New Government.--On the part of Spain, attempts were made to recover her lost power, and the difficulties and dissensions, so universally experienced by the American colonies on such occasions, were felt in a considerable degree in Buenos Ayres. In 1811, a congress assembled in the city of Buenos Ayres, and placed the executive power in the hands of a triumvirate. In 1812, Posadas was appointed supreme director of the republic, with a council of seven. In 1816, a congress assembled at Tucuman, declared the countries on the La Plata independent, and named Pueyredon director; having transferred its sessions to Buenos Ayres, it assumed the title of the United Provinces of South America.

In 1819, a congress assembled at Buenos Ayres, formed a constitution, modeled on that of the United States, and Rondeau was elected supreme director, and Rivadavia was placed at the head of foreign affairs. For some time, the principal functions of the government were discharged by a constituent congress, the executive power being intrusted to the provincial government of Buenos Ayres.

In February, 1826, Rivadavia was elected president. The republic became involved in war with Brazil, on account of Banda Oriental, which was first added to Brazil, and afterwards declared (August, 1828) independent. Rivadavia having resigned, the congress was dissolved, each of the provinces became again independent, and Dorego was chosen governor of the province of Buenos Ayres. General Lavalle, at the head of the Unitarios, caused Dorego to be shot, and himself to be proclaimed president, December 1st, 1828. A bloody civil war ensued, and in August, 1829, Lavalle was compelled to resign, and his successor was General Juan Jose Viamont, who was succeeded, December 8th, 1829, by General Juan Manuel de Rosas, who was declared dictator August 9th, 1830; but before the end of the year, General Queroga made himself dictator or governor. In 1835, De Rosas was made governor of Buenos Ayres for five years; and, in addition to his other duties, he was charged with the foreign relations of the Argentine Republic.[87]

As early as the year 1822, the independence of the United Provinces of La Plata was acknowledged by the congress of the United States, and a treaty of commerce was concluded with Great Britain in 1825. Domestic troubles, however, were again renewed, the union of the provinces was dissolved, and separate governments were established. But the difficulties did not soon come to a close, as two fiercely-contending parties, of opposite views respecting the forms of government, created no small amount of turbulence and misrule.

On December 29th, 1839, a battle was fought at Cagancha, between General Echagne, governor of the Buenos Ayrean province of Entre Rios, and General Fructuoso Rivera, president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. The former had an army of five thousand men, and was defeated with a loss stated at eight hundred killed, and a considerable number of prisoners, together with the loss of their baggage and horses. The loss of General Rivera, in killed and wounded, was stated at about two hundred.

Present Condition of the Government.--The government of this country, for many years past, has been in the hands of Don Juan M. de Rosas. According to the latest advices, Rosas is in trouble with the new British minister, Mr. Southern. It is stated that the former refused to receive Mr. Southern, unless he was authorized to treat with Rosas on the basis laid down by Mr. Hood, the first special minister that was sent out by England. Mr. Southern refuses to submit to that condition, and thus the affair remains at present.

FOOTNOTE:

[87] American Almanac for 1849.

VIII. ORIENTAL REPUBLIC, OR URUGUAY.

LOCALITY, Extent, &c.--Name and History--The Constitution.

Locality, Extent, &c.--This country lies north of the Rio de la Plata, east of the river Uruguay, and south of Brazil. It has an area of eighty thousand miles. Monte Video is the capital of the republic, and is a town of some importance. Uruguay comprises nine departments.

Name and History.--This country constituted a part of the vice-royalty, afterwards the republic of La Plata, and was known by the name of Banda Oriental (Eastern Frontier, from its geographical position). After the declaration of the independence of the United Provinces, it became the subject of an obstinate war between the new republic and the empire of Brazil.

Elio, who was appointed by the regency of Spain captain-general of the province of Rio de la Plata, in that capacity, also, governed the province of Monte Video, or the Banda Oriental. He was now the most dangerous and powerful enemy with which the government of Buenos Ayres were at war. That government having received an ally, by the desertion of Artigas, a captain in the royal service, employed him, in conjunction with General Rondeau, in an expedition against Banda Oriental. In May, 1811, they obtained a signal victory at Las Piedras over the royalists, and laid siege to Monte Video. In this extremity, Elio, finding himself unable to hold out long without assistance, applied to the Portuguese of Brazil, who sent him an army of four thousand men, and a subsidy of moneys. Before any important operations could be engaged in, however, a treaty was concluded between Monte Video and Buenos Ayres, in November, 1811, by virtue of which the siege of Monte Video was to be raised, and the Portuguese forces were to return home. In pursuance of the treaty, the siege was raised, but the Portuguese proved faithless, and began to ravage the territory of La Plata.

Danger now encompassed the Buenos Ayreans, not only from the Portuguese, but from the royalists of Peru. They, however, induced the latter to withdraw their troops, and the royalists they defeated in battle; but nothing could restore quiet to the country, and hostilities were again commenced with Monte Video. The war was carried on with various success, and what, with this calamity and rival factions which infested the city, little tranquillity was enjoyed, till articles of agreement between the Brazilians and Buenos Ayreans were signed at Rio Janeiro, August 27, 1828. Then was effected the independence of the country, which took the title of the Republic of Monte Video, so named from its capital, but it has since assumed the title of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

A constitution was adopted in 1830, according to which the legislative power is vested in two bodies; a senate of nine members, and a house of representatives of twenty-nine members, and the code Napoleon was established as the law of the country.

IX. BRAZIL.

SITUATION, Extent, &c.--Discovery and Settlement--Policy of the Portuguese Government--Removal of the Portuguese Court to Brazil--Constitution and Government.

Situation, Extent, &c.--Brazil is an extensive country, occupying the eastern and central portion of South America, from four degrees north to thirty-three degrees south, and from thirty-five degrees to seventy-three degrees west longitude. It has an area of three millions square miles.

This region is traversed by several distinct chains of mountains, chiefly in the eastern and northern provinces, but they do not any of them reach to any great elevation. "The mighty Orellana," or the Amazon, gives a character to the country, as it is the largest river in the world, both in regard to the length of its course and its volume of water; draining an area of more than two millions of square miles, and furnishing the country with the amplest means of intercommunication. The greater part of Brazil is constituted of an immense immeasurable plain, through which flow innumerable streams, on which stand boundless and impenetrable forests, and the whole of which swarms "with animal life in all its forms; ferocious beasts of prey, huge serpents, alligators, troops of monkeys, flocks of gaudily-colored and loquacious birds, and clouds of insects, are yet undisturbed by the arts of man."

A great variety exists as to the climate. Intense heat prevails under the equator, but rendered supportable by the excessive humidity of the atmosphere and the copious dews. Mild and temperate, with occasionally cold weather, is experienced in the southern portions.

The soil is very fertile in a large portion of the country, and produces an immense variety of rich and valuable plants and vegetables, many of them being peculiar to this region. The forests are admirable for their beauty and grandeur; the growth of trees being gigantic, and the number of ornamental ones surpassing calculation. An important article of export, are several kinds of what is called Brazil-wood, not to speak of timber for ship-building, mahogany, and an infinity of dyeing woods.

The golds and diamonds of Brazil are far-famed; the quantity of gold annually obtained being estimated at five millions of dollars. Brazil has more foreign commerce than any other country in America, except the United States. Its principal ports are Rio Janeiro, Bahia or St. Salvador, Pernambuco, Para, San Luis de Maranham, and San Pedro.

Discovery and Settlement.--The discovery of Brazil, by the Portuguese, was a matter of accident. It occurred in the year 1500, as Pedro Alvarez Cabral was sailing from Lisbon with a fleet for the East Indies. Standing out a great distance to the west, in order to avoid the calms on the coast of Africa, he saw land, on the 24th of April, in latitude seventeen south, and on the 3d of May landed at a harbor which was named Porto Seguro. The country was named Brazil, eventually, from the circumstance that the forests abounded with trees producing a beautiful dye-wood of a fiery red, to which the Portuguese gave the name of brazil, from braza, a live coal. Cabral having taken possession of the country in the name of his sovereign, the king of Portugal, dispatched a vessel to Lisbon, to announce his important discovery, while he himself proceeded on his voyage to India.

The king, gratified with the foregoing announcement, immediately fitted out an expedition, under Amerigo Vespucci, consisting of three ships, which sailed in 1501. Vespucci explored the country as far south as the fifty-second degree of latitude, but formed no settlement. After a voyage of sixteen months, he returned to Lisbon. Two years after, 1503, he made a second voyage, in which he had the misfortune to lose all his fleet, with the exception of his own ship. During this visit, he established a settlement on the coast, and carried home a cargo of brazil-wood, the value of which was so great, as to induce many adventurers to embark for that country. These volunteer colonists, composed of various grades and conditions in the social scale, but all imbued with the spirit of enterprise, formed a settlement at St. Salvador.

The settlement which had been made on the coast in 1503, under Vespucci, received but little attention, until certain French adventurers, about half a century afterwards, attempted to settle a colony at Rio Janeiro. A Portuguese force finally expelled the French from their position, after a struggle of two years, in 1567--the French having continued in different parts of the country, from 1558 till that time. Owing to various circumstances, the Portuguese court, from making this region a place of exile and confinement for convicts and the unhappy victims of the Inquisition, was led to regard it, at length, as a place of some importance. The sugar-cane began to be cultivated, and the new luxury of sugar was sought with avidity. In connection with this, a governor was sent out to manage the affairs of the settlers, and he built a city at St. Salvador, which became the centre of the colony. The Jesuits, however, were the most efficient class in building up the colony, and conciliating the affections of the natives.

As misfortunes, during the latter part of the sixteenth century, befel the Portuguese in Europe, advantage was taken of their weakness, and their Brazilian possessions were invaded and taken by the Dutch. But they were not suffered to hold their conquest without molestation. In 1626, St. Salvador was rëtaken by the Portuguese; the Dutch, however, retained their power for a number of years in the country, and added to their conquests, till they were expelled, in 1654, by a superior Portuguese force sent against them. In 1661, the sole possession of Brazil was secured to Portugal by treaty, in consideration of the sum of one million seven hundred thousand dollars, which that crown engaged to pay to the United Colonies.

Policy of the Portuguese Government in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century.--The measures adopted by the government in respect to Brazil, were narrow and illiberal. Their effect was to discourage industry, and to fetter commerce. On the latter, restrictions and monopolies were imposed. The search for gold and diamonds engrossed the attention of the government. Foreigners could either gain no admission into the country, or were jealously watched. Trade was carried on only at the fortified posts. This disastrous state of things continued till the beginning of the present century, when an event took place which changed the whole aspect of affairs in this country.

Removal of the Portuguese Court to Brazil.--The event above referred to, was the removal of the court in the mother-country to this, its American colony. The design of effecting such a change was entertained many years before it took place; as early as 1761, the measure had been determined on, and preparations were made; but it was not until 1808, that the project was put into execution. The occasion was the declaration of war by Buonaparte against Portugal. The regent (who, after the death of his mother, in 1816, became king of Portugal, by the title of John VI.), with the royal family, left Europe for Brazil, where they arrived January 22d, 1808. This event resulted in great advantage to the Brazilians. Soon, the old exclusive system of trade was abolished, and all the ports of the country were opened to the commerce of the world; the free exercise of industry was permitted to all classes of people; and the press, which for three centuries had been prohibited, was immediately established.

After the fall of Napoleon, John raised Brazil to the rank of a kingdom, in 1815, thenceforth to be called the kingdom of Brazil, which, with the European territories, should constitute the United Kingdoms of Portugal, Algarves, and Brazil. In 1821, John returned to Portugal, leaving his son, Pedro, in Brazil, as prince-regent. On the 12th of October, 1822, Brazil was declared independent, as there had been, for some time, a manifest and growing desire, on the part of the people, for this change. At the same time, the Prince Pedro was crowned emperor of Brazil. On the death of John VI., in 1826, Pedro declared his daughter Maria Queen of Portugal; and, on the 6th of April, 1831, he abdicated the throne of Brazil in favor of his son, Pedro II., born October 2d, 1825, and who is now emperor.

Constitution of Government.--According to the constitution, which was formed in 1823, and adopted in 1824, Brazil is a hereditary monarchy, with a legislative assembly, consisting of two houses; a senate, appointed by the emperor, and a house of representatives, elected by the people. The Catholic faith is the religion of the state, but all other Christians are tolerated, though not allowed to build churches, or perform divine service in public.

X. PARAGUAY.

SITUATION, Extent, &c.--Insurrection and attempt at Revolution in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century--Establishment of Independence, and a Despotic Government.

Situation, Extent, &c.--This republic is situated between the rivers Paraguay and Parana, having the empire of Brazil on the east, and the Argentine Republic on the west. It has an area of ninety thousand square miles. Its divisions consist of eight departments.

This country is considered the fairest portion of what was once the United Provinces. Its climate is mild and balmy; the surface is not mountainous, neither is it a dead level; it is well supplied with a great variety of streams of pure water; its soil is every where found to be exceedingly productive, and was originally covered with immense forests of stately timber. Among its more ample productions are grain, cotton, sugar, and excellent fruits--oranges, figs, the olive, and the grape--as well as the singular vegetable called matte, so extensively used in South America as a tea or beverage.

Insurrections and attempts at Revolution in the early part of the Eighteenth Century.--Paraguay is rendered remarkable by several projects, more than a century ago, having in view its independence, and, what is more wonderful, by the open and public assertion, at that time, of the principle, that the authority of the people was greater than that of the king himself. Thus was anticipated, in a colony of the most bigoted and despotic court of Europe, more than a hundred years ago, the modern liberal doctrine of the sovereignty of the people. The attempts referred to were made by individuals, who had, perhaps, their private causes of grievance, as Antequera, Mompo, and Mena, though one of them, certainly, Mompo, was the preacher of the doctrine above stated. No real independence, however, was effected, except for a short period. The revolutionary leaders were soon overcome in battle, put to death, or banished, and the authority of the king of Spain was rëestablished, and continued for the greater part of a century.

Establishment of Independence, and a Despotic Government.--In 1810, the junta of Buenos Ayres sent a body of troops to Paraguay to depose the Spanish governor, but they were compelled to retreat. The inhabitants, however, themselves deposed the governor, and took the government into their own hands. In 1813, they proclaimed Paraguay a republic, under two consuls, the principal of which was Dr. Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia. At the end of the year, Francia caused himself to be named dictator for three years, and, at the close of this term, for life. On the 24th of September, 1826, a formal declaration of independence was made, though the country, for fourteen or fifteen years, had been governed independently of Spain.

The administration of Dr. Francia proved to be an absolute and perfect despotism, and that of a most severe and sanguinary character. He was a native of Paraguay, and received the degree of doctor of theology at the University of Cordova, in Tucuman. For nearly thirty years he acted the tyrant over the inhabitants of the country, and brought the entire mass into the most unresisting subserviency to his will. No personage has figured so conspicuously as Dr. Francia, in the modern history of South America. When, by consummate address, he had succeeded in getting himself appointed dictator for life, commenced one of the most extraordinary events on record. "From the moment when he found his footing firm, and his authority quietly submitted to, his whole character appeared to undergo a sudden change. Without faltering or hesitation--without a pause of human weakness, or a thrill of human feeling--he proceeded to frame the most extraordinary despotism that the world has ever seen. He reduced all the population of Paraguay to two classes; of which the dictator constituted one, and his subjects the other. In the dictator was lodged the whole power, legislative and executive; the people had no power, no privileges, no rights, and only one duty, to obey. All was performed rapidly, boldly, and decisively. He knew the character of the weak and ignorant people at whose head he had placed himself, and who had the temerity to presume that they had energy and virtue sufficient to form a republic. The inhabitants of Paraguay delivered themselves up, bound hand and foot, into the hands of an absolute and ferocious despot, who reduced them to absolute slavery, ruined their commerce and agriculture, shut them up from the rest of the world, and dragged to the prison or the scaffold every man in the country whose talents, wealth, or knowledge opposed any obstacle in the way of his tyranny. No human being was allowed to leave the country, or dispatch a letter abroad." A few only escaped, by means of the flooding of the country by the rise of the river Paraguay, and from these individuals the world has learned respecting the secrets of this more than Dionysian espionage and tyranny. No attempted conspiracies availed to secure his person or destroy his life. He managed so as to gain over his soldiers entirely to his interests. As was to be expected, he lived in constant fear of assassination or poisoning, ordering his guards sometimes to shoot those who dared to look at his house in passing along the streets, and taking the trouble to cook his own victuals. He died at about the age of eighty, in 1842, having thus enacted the despot during the long course of twenty-eight years.

The wonder of all is, that the people generally were contented and happy under this strict and unnatural regime; yet it is partly to be accounted for from the entire security of person and property which was felt, so far as the intercourse of the people among themselves was concerned. Each district was made responsible for every theft committed in it. All the inhabitants, Indians as well as Creoles, were taught to read, write, and keep accounts. Public schools were every where established, and children were required to attend them, until, in the judgment of the municipal authority, they were sufficiently instructed. The dictator also established lyceums and other liberal institutions. Every person was required to labor, and mendicity was prohibited. It has been represented, however, that there was a mitigation of the doctor's despotism, in the latter part of his life.

According to the more recent accounts, the government of this country was administered by five consuls; but this and the other matters pertaining to Paraguay, are very imperfectly known, as the country has, for so long a period, been avoided by foreigners.

WEST INDIES.

SITUATION, Extent, &c.--Inhabitants--Political Divisions.--I. BRITISH WEST INDIES: Jamaica--Trinidad--Barbadoes--Bahamas--St. Christopher--Bermudas or Sommers' Islands--St. Vincent.--II. SPANISH WEST INDIES: Cuba--Porto Rico.--III. FRENCH WEST INDIES: Martinique--Guadaloupe.--IV. DUTCH WEST INDIES.--V. DANISH WEST INDIES.--VI. HAYTI.

Situation, Extent, Climate, Productions, &c.--The West Indies constitute the great archipelago of the western continent, extending from latitude ten to twenty-eight degrees north, between the coast of Florida on the north, and the mouth of the river Orinoco in South America. They are a large cluster of islands, in their several portions variously denominated, according to their situations or other peculiarities, but will here be considered in their political divisions. The land area of the whole group is over ninety-three thousand square miles.

These islands have a general sameness of character, in some respects, from the position which they occupy on the face of the globe. The climate, as is to be expected, is generally very warm, though moderated and made comfortable, for the most part, by sea breezes. The thermometer frequently rises above ninety degrees; but its medium height maybe stated at about seventy-eight degrees of Fahrenheit. They are visited by periodical rains, which are often powerful, and in general the humidity of the atmosphere is very great, causing iron and other metals that are easily oxydated, to be covered with rust. Hurricanes are common to most of these islands, and frequently, in their incredible fury, produce the most desolating effects wherever they extend.

The productions of the West Indies are rich and varied, and constitute important articles of commerce. From the fertile soil spring the sugar-cane, the coffee-plant, the allspice or pimento, the nutritive banana or plantain, the pineapple, the luscious fruit of the anana, the yam, sweet potato, uca, maize, and cassava or manioc, with cocoa, tobacco, cotton, various dye-woods and stuffs (fustic, logwood, indigo, cochineal), and medicinal plants; such as arrow-root, liquorice-root, ginger, jalap, ipecacuanha, sarsaparilla, &c.; the mahogany and lignum-vitæ are included in the vegetable productions of this archipelago; but to this catalogue must still be added the bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, mango, papaw, guava, orange, lemon, tamarind, fig, cashew-nut, mammee, grenadilla, panilla, panda-nut, &c.

Inhabitants.--The white inhabitants of the West Indies are Creoles, Spanish, English, French, Germans, &c.; but the negroes are the most numerous class, though the mixed races are quite abundant. The Indians are extinct, except as mingled with negroes in a part of the island of St. Vincent. The general classes are those of master and slave, or were such before the act of emancipation took effect in the British portion of the islands. From the diversity of nations or races, several languages are necessarily in use, as the English, the French, the Spanish, with other European tongues, and the Creole, a jargon used in Hayti, composed of French and several African dialects.

Political Divisions.--These consist of the British islands, the Spanish islands, the French islands, the Dutch islands, the Danish islands, one Swedish island, and the independent island of Hayti. The British own twenty-two islands, of various dimensions; the Spanish, two, viz: the large islands of Cuba and Porto Rico; the French, six; the Dutch, four; and the single Swedish island is St. Bartholomews. The last is a small, but fertile, island, which was ceded to Sweden by France in 1785.

I. BRITISH WEST INDIES.--The government of the British West Indies is modeled on the constitution of the mother-country. The several islands have a governor or lieutenant-governor, and a legislative council appointed by the crown; and the most of them have also a house of representatives, chosen by the people, who legislate upon all subjects of a local character.

The West Indies were formerly a great mart of that infamous traffic, the slave-trade, which, according to M'Culloch, was commenced by the Portuguese in 1542, and this nation seems disposed to be the last to relinquish it. By means of the noble exertions of Wilberforce, Clarkson, Sharp, and others, an act was passed in 1806 by the British parliament for abolishing the slave-trade; and the present age has witnessed another act highly honorable to the British nation, for the total abolition of slavery, at great expense, throughout the British colonies. By this memorable act, which was passed by parliament in 1833, the slaves were on the 1st of August, 1834, made apprenticed laborers to continue such, a part of them till the 1st of August, 1838, and a part till the 1st of August, 1840, when they were all to become completely free. To indemnify the owners of the slaves, parliament voted the sum of twenty millions pounds, as a compensation, payable in certain fixed proportions, according as each colony should be ascertained to have complied with the terms of the act.

Soon after the passing of this act, the slaves in the island of Antigua and the Bermudas were made free by the colonial governments, and acts were afterwards passed by the legislatures of Barbadoes, Jamaica, Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher's, St. Vincent, and Tortola, liberating all the slaves or apprenticed laborers in those islands on the 1st of August, 1838. Movements of a similar nature also, about the same time, took place in the other islands, bringing to a close the apprenticeship which had been established.[88]

A few of the more important British islands will be noticed separately in a brief manner.

1. Jamaica.--This island was discovered by Columbus in his second voyage in 1494. It was first settled by the Spaniards in 1509. A body of seventy men were sent to it by Diego Columbus, the son of the discoverer. These were blood-thirsty wretches, who made frequent assaults on the natives, for the purpose of robbery or revenge. The progress of settlement was extremely slow--not more than three thousand inhabitants, of whom half were slaves, being found on the island in 1655, when it was taken by a British force, under Penn and Venables.

Soon after this event, Jamaica was colonized by three thousand soldiers, disbanded from the parliamentary army, who were followed by about one thousand five hundred royalists. At the period of its capture by the English, many of the slaves belonging to the Spanish settlers fled to the mountains, where they long lived in a kind of savage independence, and became troublesome to the British colonists. They have been known by the name of Maroons. In 1795 they were overcome by the English, as they descended from their fastnesses for the purpose of assaulting the former, and six hundred of them were sent to Nova Scotia, where they were settled on locations of land provided for them by the government. Since the occupancy of the island in 1655, the English have firmly maintained their authority over it.

2. Trinidad.--This is a fruitful island, producing cotton, sugar, fine tobacco, indigo, ginger, maize, and various fruits. Its area is nearly two thousand square miles, and its population over forty-five thousand. Its climate is unhealthy. This island was taken by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595, and by the French in 1676. It was captured from the Spaniards in 1797, and ceded to England by the treaty of Amiens in 1802.

3. Barbadoes.--This island is situated on the eastern border of the West Indian archipelago. It has a large population for its size, numbering over one hundred thousand souls, on an area of less than two hundred square miles. The climate is hot, but the air is pure, and moderated by the constant trade-winds, which render it salubrious, in comparison with the other islands. The exports from the island are sugar, rum, ginger, cotton, aloes, &c. It is subject to tempests, which at times have occasioned great devastation and loss of life.

Barbadoes is supposed to have been discovered by the Portuguese, and appears never to have had any aboriginal inhabitants. In 1627, some English families settled there, but without any authority from the government. It was soon afterwards supplied with a regular colony by the Earl of Carlisle. The British settlers at length brought this rich, but uncultivated, track into entire subjection by the power of industry.

4. Bahamas.--The Bahama or Lucayos islands consist of about seven hundred very small islands, extending over a large space of the archipelago on its northern border. Their soil is generally light and sandy, and productive only in a few places. The principal products are cotton, salt, turtle, fruits, mahogany, and dye-woods. The group among them called Turk's island, is famous for its salt ponds, which annually yield more than thirty thousand tons of salt for the foreign market.

Guanahani, or Cat island, is celebrated as being the land which Columbus first discovered. He named it San Salvador. The Spaniards first settled on these islands, but at length abandoned them, having shipped off the natives to work in the mines in other places. They remained desolate for more than a century. In 1629, New Providence was taken possession of by the English, who remained there till 1641, when they were driven out by the Spaniards in a cruel and barbarous manner. They, however, changed owners repeatedly, till, in 1783, they were confirmed to the English by treaty. For many years previous to the close of the American war, the Bahamas were the haunts of pirates, buccaniers, and freebooters.

5. St. Christopher's.--This island, with Montserrat, Nevis, Antigua, and the Virgin isles, form one government, the governor generally residing at Antigua. The interior of the country is a rugged mass of precipices and barren mountains, the loftiest rising to three thousand seven hundred and ten feet. The island has a productive soil on the plains.

St. Christopher's is said to have been the nursery of all the English and French colonies in the West Indies. It was first visited by both nations on the same day, in 1625. They shared the island between them, engaging, by treaty, to observe perpetual neutrality and alliance against the Spaniards, the common enemy. The possession of a common property in the productions of the island, led eventually to jealousies and contentions. Whenever war broke out between the mother-countries, the colonists engaged among themselves, and alternately drove each other from the plantations; but the treaty of Utrecht confirmed the British in the possession of the whole island.

6. Bermudas.--The Bermudas, or Sommers' islands, consist of a cluster of small islands in the ocean, opposite the coast of North Carolina, about two hundred leagues distant. They number about four hundred, but most of them are of no importance. A few of them have numerous forests, which supply timber for ship-building, thus giving employment to the inhabitants, in connection with navigation. The climate is healthful and pleasant, and the fields and trees are clad in perpetual green. Their population is nearly nine thousand. These islands were first discovered in 1522, by Juan Bermudez, a Spaniard, who found them without inhabitants. From him they received the name by which they are generally known. They were also called Sommers, from the circumstance that Sir George Sommers was wrecked on them, in 1609. Shortly after this event, the islands were settled by the English, who have retained possession of them ever since.

7. St. Vincent.--St. Vincent is a rugged and elevated island, of small extent, but extremely fertile, and well adapted to the cultivation of sugar and indigo.

This island was first colonized, in 1719, by the French, from Martinique. They had no small difficulty, even at that late period, in bringing the fierce Carib natives under their authority. It was obtained by the British, at the peace of 1763, and, though afterwards subjected to the French arms, it was, in 1783, again confirmed to the British.

II. SPANISH WEST INDIES.--Although Spain had the honor of first ascertaining the existence of the West Indian islands, and enjoyed the privilege of settling and holding most of them for a time, yet they have all passed from her authority, except two, Cuba and Porto Rico. Cuba, however, is by far the largest of the group, having an extent of territory equal to nearly one-half of the land area of the entire archipelago.--The exports of these islands consist of sugar, rum, molasses, coffee, tobacco, and cigars, with honey, hides, cotton, fruits, &c.

1. Cuba.--This island, as being the largest, is, in many respects, the most important in the whole cluster of the islands of the American continent. "During the last fifty years, a concurrence of circumstances has rendered Cuba the richest of the European colonies in any part of the globe; a more liberal and protecting policy has been adopted by the mother-country; the ports of the island have been thrown open; strangers and emigrants have been encouraged to settle there; and, amid the political agitations of Spain, the expulsion of the Spanish and French residents from Hispaniola, the cession of Louisiana and Florida to a foreign power, and the disasters of those who, in the continental states of America, adhered to the old country, Cuba has become a place of general refuge." Its growth and increase, within the above-named period, have been very great. By the census of 1831, it contained eight hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants. The value of its exports, in 1833, was nearly fourteen millions of dollars; that of its imports, eighteen millions and a half. In 1838, the government of Spain levied a subsidy of two millions five hundred thousand dollars on the island, to assist in defraying the expense of the civil war. These facts denote a state of things which formerly was far from existing on this island.

Cuba was discovered by Columbus in his first voyage; but he did not ascertain whether it was an island or a part of the continent. The question was not determined until some years afterwards. It was conquered by the Spaniards, under Velasquez, in 1511. Little progress was made in the settlement of the island till 1519, when it was found that the most convenient route between Mexico and Europe would be through the Bahama channel, and it was desirable to possess a sea-port on the passage. This led to the foundation of Havana, the harbor of which is the best in the world. Cuba has ever been a Spanish colony.

2. Porto Rico.--This island is somewhat large for one of the West Indian cluster, having four thousand five hundred square miles. It possesses a great variety of surface, mountains, hills, and valleys. Its climate and productions are similar to those of the adjacent islands.

Porto Rico was discovered by Columbus in 1493, but the Spaniards made no attempt to settle it till 1509, when the pursuit after gold carried them thither from Hispaniola, under the command of Ponce de Leon. The natives, impressed by the belief of the superior nature of the Spaniards, made no resistance, but submitted to the yoke of bondage. Subsequently, they made an insurrection, and massacred a hundred of the invaders; but they were easily subdued, as soon as the Spaniards received rëinforcements from St. Domingo. Condemned to the mines, the wretched natives all finally disappeared from among the living. This island was taken by the English towards the close of the seventeenth century, but they found the climate so unhealthy, that they abandoned the conquest. It is now, with Cuba, under the government of a captain-general, who resides at Havana.

III. FRENCH WEST INDIES.--The French, at present, possess but few of the islands of this Western main, having lost some of their most important ones, as the result of oppression or warfare. Of those that remain to them, two are of some consequence.

1. Martinique.--This island is about fifty miles long and sixteen broad. It has an uneven surface, and, in some instances, mountainous eminences. Sugar, coffee, cassia, cotton, indigo, cocoa, and ginger, are among its principal productions.

This island was settled by the French in 1635. The British took it in 1794; it was restored to France in 1802. It changed hands again in 1809, but was finally restored to France in 1815.

2. Guadaloupe.--This island is somewhat extensive, being seventy miles long, and twenty-five broad at its widest part. In many parts, it has a rich soil, and among its productions are enumerated sugar, coffee, rum, ginger, cocoa, logwood, &c. It has been repeatedly captured by the British, and as often restored to France.

IV. DUTCH WEST INDIES.--The Dutch possess four islands in the West Indian group, viz: Curaçoa, St. Eustatius, St. Martin, and Saba. Curaçoa was first possessed by the Spaniards, in 1527. It was taken by the Dutch in 1634. It is an island of thirty miles in length and ten in breadth. Its chief productions are sugar and tobacco, but its soil is not of the best quality, and for its supply of water it is dependent on the rains. St. Eustatius is said to be one of the finest and best-cultivated islands of all the Caribbees. Its chief product is tobacco. The English captured the island in 1801, but restored it to the Dutch in 1814.

V. DANISH WEST INDIES.--These islands are three in number, viz: St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas. They are all small, the largest, St. Croix, having only eighty square miles. St. John is celebrated for its fine and capacious harbor. It has a number of salt ponds. St. Croix has a salubrious climate and fertile soil. Every part of it is under the highest cultivation. The Danes first obtained possession of these islands, and still retain them.

VI. INDEPENDENT ISLAND, Hayti.--The island of Hayti, which now forms an independent negro republic, was formerly called St. Domingo and Hispaniola--St. Domingo, from the name of its chief city, and which became its common appellation in Europe; Hispaniola, meaning little Spain, so called by Columbus. Hayti is its original name, and, after a lapse of three hundred years, has been revived since the revolution. The island belonged, the western part of it, to France, and the eastern to Spain. It is the second in size of the West India islands, having an area of about thirty thousand square miles. It is traversed by mountains in two chains, from east to west, with several collateral branches, from which the rivers pour over the plains below.

Besides the tropical fruits and vegetables which this region affords, Hayti abounds with many valuable kinds of wood. The mahogany is of a superior quality, and a species of oak affords planks sixty or seventy feet long. The pine is also abundant in the mountains. The annual value of exports is about four millions of dollars, the principal article being coffee, with mahogany, campeachy-wood, cotton, tobacco, hides, cacas, tortoise-shell, wax, ginger, &c.

This island was discovered by Columbus in his first voyage, and became early the scene of many an adventure, as the civilized European mingled with the native Carib. In the course of about half a century, however, from the time of their settlement here, the Spaniards exterminated the whole native population, estimated at more than two millions. They remained undisputed masters of the island till 1630, when some English and French, who had been driven out of St. Christopher's, took refuge there, and established themselves on the northern coast. The French finally obtained a firm footing on the island, and, after many ineffectual attempts on the part of the Spanish government to expel them, were, by the treaty of Ryswick, in 1691, formally confirmed in the possession of the western half of Hayti. The French portion of the island became, at length, the far most important part of it in productiveness and wealth.

The convulsions in France, in the latter part of the last century, reached to this, its distant and beautiful colony. The doctrines of liberty and independence had begun to affect the minds of the blacks, who constituted seven-eighths of the population. They soon became ripe for a rebellion, which accordingly broke out in 1791, in the French portion of Hayti. On the 1st of July, 1801, the independence of this island was proclaimed, the celebrated Toussiant L'Ouverture being at that time the leader. Toussiant died in 1803, and the command devolved upon Dessalines, one of the chiefs, who was appointed governor for life; but afterwards assumed, in 1804, the title of Jacques I., Emperor of Hayti. His tyrannical reign was terminated by assassination in 1806. Christophe, the second in command, assumed the administration of affairs; in 1807, he was appointed chief-magistrate for life, and, in 1811, he assumed the title of King Henry I. But he found a formidable rival in Petion, who possessed himself of the south part of the island, which was formed into a republic, of which he was, in 1816, appointed president for life.

Petion died in 1818, and was succeeded by Boyer, as president for life. Two years afterwards, the subjects of Christophe, wearied with his tyranny, revolted, and he, being deserted by his troops, shot himself. Upon this event, Boyer marched with an army to the north; and, after a feeble resistance from a portion of the royalist chiefs, was received as a deliverer by the people, and the two states became united under one republic. There was little difficulty in the undertaking, as the people, who were principally colored, revolted against the Spanish authorities, and received Boyer as their friend. The Spanish soldiers were removed from the island, and the work of emancipation was completely effected. From that period, the authority of the blacks has been extended over the whole of Hayti.

In 1825, April 17th, a treaty was concluded between France and Hayti, by which the independence of the latter was acknowledged, on condition of receiving one hundred and fifty millions of francs, to be paid in five annual instalments. On the 1st of February, 1838, a new treaty of peace was concluded at Port-au-Prince, between this republic and the kingdom of France. The balance due from Hayti to France was fixed at sixty millions of francs, to be paid by annual instalments, from 1838 to 1863.

FOOTNOTE:

[88] American Almanac for 1839.

CONSTITUTION

OF THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

ARTICLE I.

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment.

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have one vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen, by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honour, trust or profit under the United States: but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law.

Section 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of chusing senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Section 5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behaviour and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.

Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.

Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office.

Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills.

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.

Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;--To borrow money on the credit of the United States;--To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;--To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;--To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;--To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;--To establish post offices and post roads;--To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;--To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court;--To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations;--To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;--To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;--To provide and maintain a navy;--To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;--To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;--To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;--To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings;--And to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.

No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.

No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law, and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.

Section 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection laws: and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and controul of the Congress.

No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.

ARTICLE II.--Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows:

Each state shall appoint in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress: but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

[A clause originally inserted in this place, relative to the election of President and Vice-President, has been superseded and annulled by Article Twelve of the Amendments; which see.]

The Congress may determine the time of chusing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section 2. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.

Section 4. The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE III.--Section 1. The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;--to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls;--to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;--to controversies to which the United States shall be a party;--to controversies between two or more states;--between a state and citizens of another state;--between citizens of different states,--between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.

Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.

ARTICLE IV.--Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.

Section 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.

A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.

No person held to service or labour in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labour, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labour may be due.

Section 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state.

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.

ARTICLE V.--The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by convention in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI.--All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

ARTICLE VII.--The ratification of the Conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying the same.

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names,

GEO WASHINGTON--Presidt and deputy from Virginia.

New Hampshire--John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman.

Massachusetts--Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King.

Connecticut--Wm. Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman.

New York--Alexander Hamilton.

New Jersey--Wil: Livingston, David Brearley, Wm. Paterson. Jona. Dayton.

Pennsylvania--B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt. Morris, Geo: Clymer, Tho: Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv: Morris.

Delaware--Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford, Jun'r, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco: Broom

Maryland--James M'Henry, Dan: of St. Thos. Jenifer, Danl. Carroll.

Virginia--John Blair, James Madison, Jr.

North Carolina--Wm Blount, Rich'd Dobbs Spaight, Ho. Williamson.

South Carolina--J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler

Georgia--William Few, Abr. Baldwin.

Attest: WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.

ARTICLES

IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF,

The Constitution of the United States of America,

PROPOSED BY CONGRESS, AND RATIFIED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION.

(Article 1.) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

(Article 2.) A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

(Article 3.) No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

(Article 4.) The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

(Article 5.) No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

(Article 6.) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favour, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.

(Article 7.) In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

(Article 8.) Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

(Article 9.) The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

(Article 10.) The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Article 11. The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.

Article 12. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose Shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

The following is prefixed to the first Ten[89] of the preceding Amendments.

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES,

Begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday, the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

The Conventions of a number of the states, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution;

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following Articles be proposed to the legislatures of the several states, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution, viz.

Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution.

The first ten amendments of the Constitution were ratified by the states as follows, viz:

By New Jersey, 20th November, 1789. By Maryland, 19th December, 1789. By North Carolina, 22d December, 1789. By South Carolina, 19th January, 1790. By New Hampshire, 25th January, 1790. By Delaware, 28th January, 1790. By Pennsylvania, 10th March, 1790. By New York, 27th March, 1790. By Rhode Island, 15th June, 1790. By Vermont, 3 November, 1791. By Virginia, 15 December, 1791.

* * * * *

The following is prefixed to the Eleventh of the preceding Amendments:

THIRD CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

At the First Session, begun and held at the City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, on Monday the second of December, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following Article be proposed to the legislatures of the several states, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; which when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the said Constitution, viz:

* * * * *

The following is prefixed to the Twelfth of the preceding Amendments:

EIGHTH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

At the First Session, begun and held at the City of Washington, in the Territory of Columbia, on Monday the seventeenth of October, one thousand eight hundred and three.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That in lieu of the third paragraph of the first section of the second article of the Constitution of the United States, the following be proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of the legislatures of the several states, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution, to wit:

* * * * *

The ten first of the preceding amendments were proposed at the first session of the first Congress of the United States, 25 September, 1789, and were finally ratified by the constitutional number of states, on the 15th day of December, 1791. The eleventh amendment was proposed at the first session of the third Congress, 5 March, 1794, and was declared in a message from the President of the United States to both houses of Congress, dated 8th January, 1798, to have been adopted by the constitutional number of states. The twelfth amendment was proposed at the first session of the eighth Congress, 12 December, 1603, and was adopted by the constitutional number of states in 1804, according to a public notice thereof by the Secretary of State, dated 25th September, of the same year.

* * * * *

⁂ The foregoing copy of the Constitution, Amendments, &c., is printed from an edition which "has been critically compared with the original, and found to be correct in text, letter and punctuation;" and is so certified by James Buchanan, Secretary of State.

FOOTNOTE:

[89] Only ten of the twelve Articles of Amendment proposed by the first Congress, were ratified by the states; the first and second in order not being approved by the requisite number. These two were the following:

Article the First. After the first enumeration required by the first Article of the Constitution, there shall be one representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which, the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than one hundred representatives, nor less than one representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of representatives shall amount to two hundred, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than two hundred representatives, nor more than one representative for every fifty thousand persons.

Article Second. No law, varying the compensation for the services of the senators and representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments, long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world:

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance unless suspended in their operations till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature; a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migration thither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in time of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power.

He has combined with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation.

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefit of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of the attempts, by their legislature, to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do. And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

JOHN HANCOCK.

New Hampshire.

JOSIAH BARTLETT, WILLIAM WHIPPLE, MATTHEW THORNTON.

Massachusetts Bay.

SAMUEL ADAMS, JOHN ADAMS, ROBERT TREAT PAINE, ELBRIDGE GERRY.

Rhode Island.

STEPHEN HOPKINS, WILLIAM ELLERY.

Connecticut.

ROGER SHERMAN, SAMUEL HUNTINGTON, WILLIAM WILLIAMS, OLIVER WOLCOTT.

New York.

WILLIAM FLOYD, PHILIP LIVINGSTON, FRANCIS LEWIS, LEWIS MORRIS.

New Jersey.

RICHARD STOCKTON, JOHN WITHERSPOON, FRANCIS HOPKINSON, JOHN HART, ABRAHAM CLARK.

Pennsylvania.

ROBERT MORRIS, BENJAMIN RUSH, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, JOHN MORTON, GEORGE CLYMER, JAMES SMITH, GEORGE TAYLOR, JAMES WILSON, GEORGE ROSS.

Delaware.

CÆSAR RODNEY, GEORGE READ, THOMAS M'KEAN.

Maryland.

SAMUEL CHASE, WILLIAM PACA, THOMAS STONE, CHARLES CARROLL, of Carrollton.

Virginia.

GEORGE WYTHE, RICHARD HENRY LEE, THOMAS JEFFERSON, BENJAMIN HARRISON, THOMAS NELSON, JR., FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE, CARTER BRAXTON.

North Carolina.

WILLIAM HOOPER, JOSEPH HEWES, JOHN PENN.

South Carolina.

EDWARD RUTLEDGE, THOMAS HEYWARD, JR., THOMAS LYNCH, JR., ARTHUR MIDDLETON.

Georgia.

BUTTON GWINNETT. LYMAN HALL, GEORGE WALTON.

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