Front matter
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Preface
The present work is meant, in the first instance, for the young— not alone for boys and girls, but for young men and women who have yet to make themselves familiar with the more important features of their country's history. By a book for the young is meant one in which the author studies to make his statements clear and explicit, in which curious and picturesque details are inserted, and in which the writer does not neglect such anecdotes as lend the charm of a human and personal interest to the broader facts of the nation's story. That history is often tiresome to the young is not so much the fault of history as of a false method of writing by which one contrives to relate events without sympathy or imagination, without narrative connection or animation. The attempt to master vague and general records of kiln-dried facts is certain to beget in the ordinary reader a repulsion from the study of history— one of the very most important of all studies for its widening influence on general culture.
As the traits which render an historic narrative attractive to the young are likely to make it interesting to older people, I do not despair of finding readers beyond the special class for which this book is prepared. There are intelligent people, no longer young, may be, who will think none the worse of my book that it strives to make the causes and results of public events clear, and to trace with simplicity our present institutions from their springs downward, that it relates curious details of life and manners, and now and then turns aside to tell an incident illustrative of character, or dwells with a little momentary fondness on the exploits of a Benjamin Church, the heroism of a Nathaniel Bacon, and the adventures of a Daniel Boone.
I know of no surer way of making life tedious to a reader than the method of considering the early history of the United States as the history of thirteen petty communities and their intestine squabbles. It is, of course, indispensable that one shall give an account of the origin of each of the thirteen colonies, but for the rest I have preferred to consider the country as a whole, and the people before and after the Revolution as essentially one, omitting particulars which are neither interesting nor instructive. Two classes of facts have especially claimed attention : First, those events, great or small, which have exerted an influence on the general current of our history or modified our institutions. These must be understood, in order to keep in mind that chain of causes and effects which makes history reasonable and intelligible. The second class includes those facts which make the individual traits of great men vivid to us, and, more important still, those which enable us to understand the character and modes of life of the body of the people in times different from our own. The old historians took note of nobody but princes, courtiers, and generals. But history, like everything else, has become more democratic
PREFACE. y
in these modern days, and the real hero of the historian's story to-day is the community itself. " We need a history of liresides," said Daniel Webster. It would be specially unfortunate if the writer on the history of a repubHc like ours should be so taken up with what Sir Walter Scott would call " the big bow-wow " of public events as to neglect the story of the evolution of a great people.
As its title indicates, this is a " household edition." The school edition of the book has already appeared, and the instantaneous favor it has met with, not only as a text-book, but also as a book for general use, encouraged the preparation of the present edition. The omission of a hundred pages of questions and other machinery for teaching has enabled the writer to greatly enlarge the text by incorporating many interesting facts which could not be compressed into the limits of a school edition. To adapt the work to the purposes of the general reader, the text has been rearranged and in many parts rewritten.
Of course, I am aware that ore of the very chief attractions of the book is due to the liberality with which the publishers have availed themselves of so many of the resources of the modern art of illustration to enhance its value. The pictures represent the work of many of the best designers and engravers of our time. A very considerable body of knowledge regarding the history of civilization may be acquired from the illustrations of costume, armor, inventions, implements, sea and river craft, vehicles, and of manners generally. The drawings have been mostly made under the personal supervision of the writer, and have required no less tliought and care than the text itself. Many of these designs are founded on rare prints, and others are from ancient original drawings not before engraved, while a few have been made from written descriptions of contemporary writers. Mr. John A. Fraser has had charge of the book on its artistic side, and the illustrations have been made under his direction. For assistance in procuring illustrations I am indebted to the kindness of several friends, and especially to Justin Winsor, LL. D., Librarian of Harvard University ; Major J. W. Powell, of the U. S. Geological Survey ; and Prof. G. Brown Goode, of the Smithsonian Institution. Special acknowledgment is likewise due to the Century Company for favors in this matter.
The main purpose in making so great a number of small maps has been to preserve the utmost simplicity. A crowded map is a ve.\ation to the brain and e3-e. In most cases a map for historical illustration should be a diagram of the fact under consideration, showing no names or details not necessary to the comprehension of that fact. Not only is the reader saved from much needless toil by this plan, but maps thus arranged serve the double purpose of elucidating the narrative and impressing it on the memory at the same time by giving it form to the eye. Each little map becomes a local diagram of some historical fact, and the form of the map will remain in the memory inseparably associated with the event to which it belongs — a geographical body to an historical soul.
This smaller history by its earlier issue reaps a benefit from many laborious years of investigation for a larger work yet far from ready for publication, and some facts of considerable importance first see the light in these pages. Statements in this narrative which seem novel and different from those hitherto accepted are based upon a personal study of original authorities, and in many cases are the result of an examination of ancient manuscripts in the British Public Record Office, the British Museum, the Library of Congress, and some other collections, public and private.
It is impossible, however, to write a book covering the whole period of the history of the United States without incurring obligations to a great multitude of other writers and investigators. I owe much to the several writers in Mr. Winsor's " Narrative and Critical History of America," to Mr. Parkman's various works relating to the conflicts between the English and French colonies, and to Mr. Schouler's " History of the United States under the Constitution." I am also indebted to Mr. Bancroft, to Mr. Lossing, and to Mr. Mc- Master. Nor ought I to omit Ripley's '• Mexican War " or Dodge's " Bird's-Eye View of the Civil War." For the rest I must crave indulgence. It would be impossible to enumerate here or even to recall all the writers on special subjects to whom I have referred.
One word is due in regard to the treatment of recent events. Occurrences of our own time do not properly belong to history, nor can a dispassionate and historical judgment be formed regarding the debates and conflicts in which living men have borne a part. I have, therefore, treated the period from about 1850 by a method different from that employed in giving an vni
PREFACE.
account of earlier times, contenting myself with a narrative of the events, and not venturing on premature judgments. We who were in some sense victims of the passions of the civil-war period are not the best judges of questions between the participants. Moreover, I have desired that this little book, which will be read largely by the young, may contribute to bring about that oneness of sentiment in which lies the onlj' hope for national union and prosperity. The true work of patriotism in this time is conciliation and the consolidation of our national life.
Edward Eggleston.
CHAPTER I. PAGE How Columbus discovered America i
Illustrations : The ships of Columbus ; Head-piece ; Prow of ancient war-ship ; Sailor ; Columbus ; Ferdinand and Isabella ; Stem of ancient war-ship ; Map, World as known when CoUtnibtis sailed.
CHAPTER n.
Other Discoveries in" America 8
Illustrations: Americus; Cabot at Mecca; Henr)' VII; Indian needles for making nets ; Indian trap ; "A great man of that time " ; Caught in an Indian trap ; Map, Voyages of Columbus, Magellan, and Da Ga7na \ Magellan ; Spanish explorer.
CHAPTER HI.
Sir Walter Ralegh tries to settle a Colony in America . 14
Illustrations: Sir Walter Ralegh; Queen Elizabeth; Map, Roanoke Island; Sir Francis Drake ; Ralegh on fire ; Indian pipes.
CHAPTER IV.
How Jamestown was settled 20
Illustrations : James I ; A merchant of the V'irginia Company ; Present appearance of Jamestown ; The night-watch ; Captain John Smith ; Soldier with matchlock-gun ; Map, Jamestovjn and Roanoke Island.
CHAPTER V.
The Starving Time, and what followed 26
Illustr.\tions : Deliverance of Jamestown ; Lord De la Warr ; Pocahontas; Common people in the seventeenth century.
CHAPTER VI.
The Gre.\t Charter of Virginia, and the First Massacre by
THE Indians 32
Illustrations : English countryman ; countrywoman ; " Jack of the Feather " ; The warning.
CHAPTER VII.
The Coming of the Pilgrims 37
Illustrations : Ship ; Puritan man ; Puritan woman ; Pilgrim farewell at Delft Haven; Map, Plymouth and jfamestoivn ; Map, Vicinity o/ Plymouth ; "Welcome, Englishmen " ; Pilgrims going to church.
X CONTEA'TS.
CHAPTER VIII.
PAGE
The Coming of the Puritans 42
Illustrations : Oliver Cromwell ; Puritan gentleman ; Puritan lady ; John Winthrop ; John Davenport ; House of the first Governor of Rhode Island ; Merchant's wife, 1620 ; Map^ Early New England settletnents.
CHAPTER IX.
The Coming of the Dutch 47
Illustrations ; The Half-Moon in Hudson River ; Dutch country people, seventeenth century ; Dutch women, seventeenth century ; Map^ Early Dutch and Swedish settlements ; Peter Stuyvesant ; Street in New Amsterdam ; New York in the Dutch period.
CHAPTER X.
The Settlement of Maryland and the Carolinas ... 52
Illustrations : First Lord Baltimore ; Charles I ; Second Lord Haltimore ; The landing in Maryland, 1634; Map^ Virginia and first Maryland settlement; Charles II ; Huguenot merchant and wife ; Map, Early Settlements in the Carolinas.
CHAPTER XI.
The Coming of the Quakers and others to the Jerseys and
Pennsylvania 58
Illustrations : Scotch woman ; Scotch man ; William Penn ; Penn's house in Philadelphia ; Map, Settlements in the Jerseys and Pennsylvania ; Treaty-belt.
CHAPTER XII.
The Settlement of Georgia, and the Coming of the Germans,
Irish, and French 63
Illustrations: General Oglethorpe; Map, Coast 0/ Georgia and Carolina; a Georgia road ; Highland piper ; German countryman ; German countrywoman ; Irish man ; Irish woman ; French countryman ; French countrywoman.
CHAPTER XIII.
How THE Indians lived 69
Illustrations : Indian mother and child ; Medicine-man, 15S5 ; Indian cliildren playing ; Navajo Indian woman weaving a belt ; Wampum ; Indian wigwams of bark ; Manner of boiling ; Zurii Indian woman making pottery ; Indian bottle ; Indian manner of broiling in 1585 ; Stone axe ; Indian kindling fire ; Making a canoe ; Indian vase ; Indian girl with baskets ; Indian girls with water-jars ; Pottery from Missouri,
CHAPTER XIV.
Early Indian Wars 78
Illustrations : Shell axe ; Florida warrior, 1565 ; Calumet ; Indian mask ; Iroquois Indian mask ; Belt of wampum ; King Philip ; North Carolina warrior, 1585.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XV.
XI
PAGE
Traits of War with the Indians 86
Illustrations : War-club ; Matchlock ; Matchlock-gun ; Soldier with matchlock-gfun ; Pikeman ; Matchlock-gun ; Snow-shoes ; Block-house ; Tail-piece.
CHAPTER XVI.
Life in the Colonial Time 91
Illustrations : Cabin of round logs ; A calash ; Birch canoes ; Pack-horses ; School scene in 1740 ; A wedding in New Amsterdam ; Dutch woman skating.
CHAPTER XVII.
Farming and Shipping in the Colonies 99
Illustrations : Colonial plow ; Flag of the New York merchant-sliips ; Ensign carried by New England ships ; Pirate Blackbeard.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Bondservants and Slaves in the Colonies .... 104
Illustrations : English farm laborer, seventeenth centur>' ; Kidnapping a man for the colonies ; Sir John Hawkins.
CHAPTER XIX.
Laws and Usages in the Colonies 108
Illustrations : Drumming for meeting ; The ducking-stool ; The sto.ks ; Punishment of a drunkard.
CHAPTER XX.
The Spaniards in Florida, and the French in Canada . .113
Illustrations : Champlain ; Quebec in Champlain's time ; La Salle ; French gentleman, 1700 ; Coureur des Bois ; Missionary priest ; Long-house of the Iroquois ; Map, French claim in Maine \ Map, Present territory of the United States, showing by whom it was claimed before 1 763.
CHAPTER XXI.
Colonial Wars with France and Spain 120
Illustrations : Map, The home of the Iroquois; Queen Anne ; Old house at Deerfield ; Gateway at St. Augustine ; Map, Georgia and Florida in Oglethorpe's time.
CHAPTER XXII.
Braddol'k's Defeat, and the Expulsion of the Acadians . . 128
Illustrations: Map, French and Indian Wars; Washington rallying Braddock's troops ; Map, Braddock's march ; Sir William Johnson ; Map, Lake George and vicinity ; Lord Loudon.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Fall of Canada 134
Illustrations : William Pitt ; Amherst ; Map, Acadia ; Wolfe ; Montcalm ; Wolfe scales the Heights of Abraham ; Map, Vicinity of Quebec j Old view of Quebec.
xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXIV.
PAGB
Characteristics of the Colonial Wars with the French. . 139
Illustrations : French officer ; French regular ; Canadian soldier ; Flint-lock ; Indian moccasins ; Flint-lock gun ; Lord Howe ; Lord Howe washing his linen ; Rogers's slide, Lake George ; White captives ; Redoubt at Pittsburg, built 1764.
CHAPTER XXV.
How the Colonies were Governed 148
Illustrations : Colonial court-house, Philadelphia ; A hatter's shop in old limes.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Earl'v^ Struggles for Liberty in the Colonies .... 153 Illustrations : The pillory as used in America ; Governor Andres.
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Causes of the Revolution 159
Illustrations : James Otis ; Patrick Henry ; Hanover Court-House ; Samuel Adams ; *' The Boston Tea-party."
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Outbreak of the Revolution, and Declaration of Independence 165
Illustrations : Pine-tree flag ; General Gage ; Ethan Allen ; Ruins of Ticonderoga ; Battle of Bunker Hill ; Map, The Revolution about Boston ; Rattlesnake flag ; Map, The Revolutionary War at large ; American flag, beginning of the Revolution ; Monticello, the home of Jefferson.
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Battle of Trenton, and the Capture of Burgovne's Army 174
Illustrations : George III ; Destroying the statue of George III in New York city ; Admiral Lord Howe; Map, The Revolution about Neiu York; The retreat from Long Island ; Hessian trooper ; Map, Trenton and Princeton ; Hessian trooper's boot; American flag, 1777; General Burgoyne; Map, Lake Champlain and vicinity ; Hessian made prisoner by militiaman ; General Gates.
CHAPTER XXX.
The Dark Period of the Revolution i8o
Illustrations: General Sir William Howe ; .Ifap, The Revolution about Rhiladel' phia ; Baron Steuben ; De Kalb ; La Fayette ; Sir Henry Chnton ; Pulaski ; General Lincoln ; General Moultrie ; General Sumter ; General Marion.
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Closing Years of the Revolution 186
Illustrations : Uniforms of French soldiers in America ; Map, Revolutionary posts on the Hudson ; Benedict Arnold ; Major Andr^ ; Map, The Revolution at the
CONTENTS. Xiii
PAGE
South \ Colonel Tarleton ; one of Morgan's riflemen ; General Nathanael Greene ; Royal flag of France ; Lord Cornwallis ; Rochambeau ; American artillery drawn by oxen ; Map, Vicinity of Yorktown \ House in which the surrender at Yorktown was made.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Traits and Incidents of the Revolutionary War . . .190
ILLUSTR.\TI0NS : Esek Hopkins ; American seaman, 1776 ; John Paul Jones ; American marine, 1776; A Revolutionary block-house; Revolutionary powder-horn and canteen ; Soldier of the Congress ; American rifleman ; American major-general ; English grenadier ; Israel Putnam ; " Brown Bess."
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Adoption of the Constitution 194
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The New Republic and its People 200
Illl'STRations : George Washington ; Diagram of comparative population \ Map, The United States at the close of the Revolution ; Wagons and carriages of that time; Singing with the harpsichord and, flute; River bateau; Benjamin Franklin; Birthplace of Franklin.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Home and Society in Washington's Time 209
Illustrations : Wool-wheel ; Flax-wheel ; Hat of Washington's time ; High head-dress of the time.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Washington's Presidency, from 1789 to 1797 213
Illustrations : Martha Washington ; Alexander Hamilton ; Kentucky captives ; General St. Clair ; Anthony Wayne ; Map, Wayne's caynpaign ; Mount Vernon.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Troubles with England and France. — Presidency of John
Adams 221
Illustrations: John Jay; John Adams; Cannoneer, 1797; Seaman, 1798; The White House.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Election of Jefferson. — War with Tripoli 225
Illustrations : Jefferson's seal ; Thomas Jefferson ; American seaman in Jefferson's time ; American soldiers about iSoo ; Map, The Barbary states ; Stephen Decatur.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Settlement of the Great Valley ...... 231
Illustrations ; Daniel Boone ; Map, Northwest Territory.
XIV
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XL. p^^ce
The Purchase of Louisiana, and the Treason of Aaron Burr 238
Illustrations: Maps, The United States be/ore the purchase of Louisiana; The United States after the purchase of Louisiana ; Aaron Burr.
CHAPTER XLL Beginning of the Second War with England . . . .242
Illustrations: George Clinton ; Tecumseh ; Map, Tippecanoe battle-ground \'\\ie. Prophet ; Map, Detroit and the Western forts ; Madison's home at Montpelier.
CHAPTER XLH.
The Navy in the War of 1812 248
Illustrations : James Madison ; Constitution and Guerriere ; British flag ; Mrs. Madison ; The Constitution ; Seaman, 1815 ; Lawrence.
CHAPTER XLIH.
The Army in the War of 1812 255
Illustrations: Map, Detroit and vicinity; Infantrj-man, 1S12-1834 ; Perry; Map, Battle of Lake Erie; French Canadian; French Canadian woman; Map, Lundy's Lane and vicinity ; Map, Battle of Lake Champlain ; Macdonough ; Map, British capture of Washington; The Star-Spangled Banner, 1795-1818; Map, Jackson's defense of Ne7v Orleans ; Major-general, 1S12.
CHAPTER XLIV.
Expansion of the Union 263
Illustrations : Gentleman's riding-dress ; Head-dress, 1806 ; Turban head-dress ; Opera head-dress ; Evening dress in Jefferson's time ; Map, New States admitted up to 1821 ; Child's dress ; Walking costume, 1S07.
CHAPTER XLV.
From Monroe to Van Buren.— Rise of the Whigs and Democrats 269
Illustrations : James Monroe ; Spanish standard ; Monroe's home at Montpelier, Va. ; John Quincy Adams ; Adams houses at Braintree, Mass. ; Andrew Jackson ; Dress of a lady in Jackson's time ; " The Hermitage " of Jackson ; John C. Calhoun ; Home of Calhoun ; Henry Clay ; Birthplace of Clay ; Daniel Webster ; Webster's home.
CHAPTER XLVL The Steamboat, the Railroad, and the Telegraph . . .277
Illustrations : Robert Fulton ; Baltimore clipper ; Fulton's first steamboat ; The first railroad passengeror in England ; First steam passenger-train in America ; S. F. B. Morse ; Little girl's dress ; A bonnet of 1830.
CONTENTS.
XV
CHAPTER XLVII.
PACE
Annexation of Texas.— Beginning of the Mexican War . . 282
Illustrations : William H. Harrison ; John Tyler ; James Knox Polk ; Sam Houston ; Diagram, Comparative size of Texas and France ; Map, Texan annexation and disputed territory, 1845 ; Mexican flag ; Map, Taylor's campaign.
CHAPTER XLVni.
The Close of the Mexican War and the Annexation of New
Territory
Illustrations: Santa Anna; .Map, Relation 0/ Scott's to Taylor's campaign; Map, Scott's campaign ; Winfield Scott ; Map, sliouiing territory acquired from Mexico ; Map.^ The Oregon country.
CHAPTER XLIX.
The Question of Slavery in Politics 295
Illustrations : Zachary Taylor ; Millard Fillmore ; I'ranklin Pierce.
CHAPTER L.
Break-up of Old Parties.— Approach of the Civil Wai
Illustrations : Stephen A. Douglas ; James Buchanan.
CHAPTER LI.
Hovif THE Great Civil War began ....
Illustrations: Map, Charleston and vicinity ; Jefferson Davis; Confederate flag of 1861 ; Map, Seceding States.
CHAPTER LII.
Confederate Victory at Bull Run.— The Fir.st Western Campaign
Illustrations : Map, Campaigns in Kentucky and West Virginia ; Map, First battle 0/ Bull Run ; Irvin McDowell ; P. G. T. Beauregard ; Charging an' earthwork ; Map, Battles in Missouri and Arkansas \ Andrew H. Foote ; John Pope ; Map, From Fort Donelson to Corinth ; A. S. Johnston ; D. C. Buell.
CHAPTER LHI.
The War in the East.— From Bull Run to Gettysburg . . 318
Illustrations : George B. McClellan ; Stonewall Jackson ; Map, Peninsular campaign ; Map, The campaigns about Washington ; A. E. Burnside ; George G. Meade ; Map, The campaign in Pennsylvania.
CHAPTER LIV.
Various Operations in 1862 and 1863 323
Illustrations : Map, Hampton Roads ; John Ericsson ; The Monitor and the Merrjmac; Farragut; Map, Capture of New Orleans; Braxton Bragg; Map, The campaign against Vicksburg.
XVI
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER LV.
PAGE
The Campaign between Nashville and Atlanta .... 329
Illustrations : Holding the line ; W. S. Rosecrans ; Map, Battles about Chattanooga \ George H. Thomas ; J. E. Johnston ; J. B. Hood ; Map, I-rom Naslwille to Atlanta.
CHAPTER LVI.
From the Wilderness to Petersburg. — The War in the Valley 334
Illustrations : Ulysses S. Grant ; Robert E. Lee ; Map, Wilderness campaign ; Map, The Valley campaign ; Jubal Early ; Philip H. Sheridan ; Cold comfort.
CHAPTER LVH.
Close of the Civil War 342
Illustrations : General Schofield ; William Tecumseh Sherman ; Map, Sherman's march ; Map, Lee's retreat.
CHAPTER LVHI.
Traits and Results of the Civil War.— Death of Lincoln . 346
Illustration : Abraham Lincoln.
CHAPTER LIX.
Political Events since the Civil War 352
Illustrations: Andrew Johnson ; Rutherford B. Hayes ; James A. Garfield ; Chester A. Arthur ; Grover Cleveland ; Benjamin Harrison.
CHAPTER LX.
Later Developments of the Country 361
Illustrations: Map, Alaska; Custer; Indian watching for buffaloes; Battle of Washita.
CHAPTER LXL Population, Wealth, and Modes of Living 366
Illustrations: Present flag; Map, Centers of population since 1790; The Pennsylvania fireplace ; Old fireplace.
CHAPTER LXn.
Literature and Art in the United States 370
Illustrations : Rittenhouse ; Washington Irving ; William Cullen Brjant ; Henry W. Longfellow ; Oliver Wendell Holmes ; Edgar A. Poe ; Ralph Waldo Emerson ; James Fenimore Cooper ; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Harriet Beecher Stowe ; William H. Prescott ; John L. Motley ; John J. Audubon ; Benjamin West ; John S. Copley ; Gilbert Stuzirt.
CHAPTER I.
HOW COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA.
It is now about four hundred years since Columbus Trade with mdia discovered America. People in Europe, up to that time, co.umb"r °' had known nothing of any lands on the western side of the Atlantic. Travelers were very liable to be robbed as soon as they reached a foreign land, and the ships of the time made but short voyages, and were often plundered by ships of other nations. The people of Europe, therefore, did not know much of Asia, except that it was the land of spices, which spices, grown in India, were sold from one country to another until the Turks sold them to European merchants. But, about two hundred years before Columbus was born, a Venetian, by the name of Marco Polo, had succeeded in visiting China, and had written a book giving many wonderful accounts of the splendor of the Chinese cities and of the riches of the Eastern countries generally, as well as many curious stories about the ^ people who lived in those far-away lands.
HISTORY OF THE UMTED STATES.
Porlugue: explorati(
When Columbus was a boy, there was a prince ot Portugal, Don Henrique by name, who is known to us as Prince Henry the Navigator. He first turned men's minds in the direction of discover}'. Though the maps of his time made Africa extend to the south pole, Prince Henry believed, from what he found in ancient books, that there was a wa}- to get around Africa to India and China, and thus to bring the spices and other commodities of those lands to Europe by sea. But the seamen of that day were accustomed to sail mostl)' in the Mediterranean, and they were timid in the Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese sent out expedition after expedition for seventy years before they succeeded in discovering the Cape of Good Hope, and they had not yet got around that cape when Cohmibus offered to find a new and shorter way to India.
Christopher Columbus, the most renowned of all discoverers, was born in the city of Genoa, in Italy. The exact date of his birth is uncertain. His father was a wool-comber by trade, but, though the family was humble, Columbus received considerable education, and he was all his life studious to acquire knowledge about navigation and about geography as far as it was then understood. He knew Latin, wrote a good hand, and drew maps exceedingly well. He sometimes supported himself b}' making maps and charts. At fourteen he went to sea, and before his great voyage he had sailed to almost all the countries of the known world. He had gone some distance down the newl}' discovered coast of Africa with the Portuguese, and to the north bej-ond Iceland. Columbus married the daughter of a Portuguese navigator, and thus came into possession of his charts.
I/On- COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA.
As learned men already believed the world to be round, Columbus asked : Why try to get to India and China by going around Africa? Why not sail straight to the west around the world to Asia ? He did not know that America was in the wav, and he thought that the world was smaller than it is, and therefore he believed that he could reach the rich lands of gold and spices in Asia by sailing only two or three thousand miles to the westward. So that Columbus discovered America in consequence of two mistakes.
He first offered to make this discovery for the city of Genoa, in which he was bom. Then he offered his plan to the King of Portugal. But a voyage on the great Atlantic Ocean seemed a dreadful thing in those days. It was called the " Sea of Darkness," because no one knew anything about it, and people imagined that it was inhabited by hideous monsters.
The King of Portugal was an enlightened man, and the ideas of Columbus made an impression on him after a while. But he did not like to grant the great rewards demanded by the navigator if he should find land ; so he secretly sent out a ship under another commander to sail to the westward and see if there was any land there. The sailors on this ship were easily discouraged, and they returned laughing at Columbus and his notions.
But Columbus was not a man to be discouraged. No rebuff from the great, no amount of ridicule, no bitter-
Colum in Spa
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
D ISABELLA.
ncss of poverty, could ever make him give up his great thought of discovering the western boundary of the Atlantic. Finding that he had been trifled with, he proudlv refused to reopen negotiations with King John of Portugal. Poor and in debt, he secretly left that country and traveled into - Spain afoot, leading his little son by the hand. He had determined to offer his idea to the King and Queen of Spain, the celebrated Ferdinand and Isabella. The Spanish monarchs were very busy in their war against the Moors, and Columbus spent six or seven 3^ears in tr3'ing to persuade them to furnish him ships and sailors for his voyage. The matter was at one time referred to a meeting of learned men, some of whom tried to ])r()ve from the Scriptures and other writings that the \vt)rld was flat and not round. Others said that, if the world was round and a ship sailed down one side, it could never get back up again. During his long waiting on the king and queen, Columbus followed the Spanish court in its movements in the war with the Moors, and he even took a brave part in some of the battles of the time. He was laughed at for a visionar}', and the children in the streets tapped their foreheads with their fingers when he passed by, to intimate their belief that he was crazy. At length, when the war was over, his affair was consid- V ered and his offer rejected. For eighteen years he had A sought in vain an outfit for his voyage. But, not yet 'Sjij^ out of heart, he resolved to quit Spain, and he set iKl I ^- out to begin his solicitations anew at the court of the King of France. Some of his friends now made a strong appeal to the Spanish queen, which so ffOW COLUMBUS DISCOVERED A A/ERICA.
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