A hundred years of warfare, 1689-1789; how the nation was born

Front matter

A HUNDRED Y

Class

Book

Preface

This book — the story of the struggles which preceded and which brought about the birth of our American nation — is offered to the grammar school children of the country in the hope that it ma}^ help them to understand " how it all came about." The period is truly one of warfare — in camp and on battle field, in legislative halls and assemblies of the populace. The author has, however, striven to avoid the " drum and trumpet style " of telling the story, and has kept ever before her the necessity of telling why as the most important thing.

The criticism that the book gives too much space to picturesque incident may be made. The author, however, looks upon these incidents as the strongest nails upon which to hang historical facts. No story has been told simply for its own sake. A taste for historical reading is, after all, the most valuable gift we can bestow upon our youthful student of history. Having given him that, we may safely leave the rest to him.

As in the earlier book of the series, no effort has been spared to make the book a valuable tool in the hands of the teacher. The distinctive features of the earlier volume — Things to Remember, Things to Read, and Things to Do — have been retained, and a simple outline for notevm PREFACE

book work has been added. Word lists, book' lists, and picture lists also serve the teacher whose time is more than full.

I acknowledge gratefully the help I have received from various sources. I would thank, especially, Professor Ferguson of Trinity College, who very kindly read the proof. It is only fair to Professor Ferguson, however, to say that he is in no way responsible for the plan of the book. I must extend my thanks also to Mr. Lawton L. Walton for his work in obtaining the illustrations ; to my publishers for their liberality in giving the book an attractive setting ; to the librarian of the Hartford Public Library ; and to my husband, who has given me the constant benefit of criticism and suggestion, as well as the very material aid rendered by sketching all the maps for the book.

MARGUERITE STOCKMAN DICKSON.

Contents

I. Foreword

IT. The Wealth of an Undeveloped Country

III. English Colonies and Colonists .

II The Wealth Of An Undeveloped Country

We know, or we think we know, our country so well — we are so accustomed to thinking of its wonderful resources, its wealth, and its suitability for nianj^ and varied industries — -that it is a little hard for us to see it with the eyes of the early settlers. Much of the continent, as we have already said, was unknown to them ; but they had seen enough to realize that here were opportunities for enterprising men to find wealth in the wilderness.

First of all, in size — as the size of North America began to be realized vaguely by the people — it was truly a great land. Here was territory in which France, or Germany, or any country of Europe might he almost lost. And, because of its size, here were climates to suit the

Srr j^i^^-^

Corn.

eOHMAV « CO., N.Y.

Resource Map.

THE WEALTH OF AN UNDEVELOPED COUNTRY 5

tastes of the most diverse of people : Canada, cold and snowy, yet abounding in wealth for the hardy fortune seeker; Georgia and Florida, sunny, almost tropical, and presenting attractions to those who loved an easier life ; between, all the -varying degrees of heat and cold found in a temperate clime.

Forest showing Trees Valiaule for Timher.

And again, as the climate varied, there varied too the products of this wonderful New World. There were furs in Canada, cotton in the south, tobacco and Indian corn in the middle portion, with great forests of valuable timber almost everywhere. Nor were these all. There were great tracts of rich land, — fertile river valleys, — where the crops of Europe might be taught to flourish ; mile after mile of grassy prairie, where the cattle of the Old World might be brought to roam ; mountains with the wealth of mines concealed beneath their rugged sides. And still these were not all. There were thousands of little streams which could be harnessed to the mill-wheel ; there were quarries of old gi-anite, slate, and marble, as yet untouched by human hands ; there were millions of fish swarming in the rivers and the sea.

There were all these, and more, that the colonists had never seen nor even imagined. To-day we know something of the possibilities of our land, and it may be tliat even we have That it was a good laud, and that it might become tlie seat of a great nation, could be seen even two hundred years ago.

Rice.

more to learn

1. The colonists knew little of the resources of the country.

2. The continent covered many miles of territory, and varied in climate and productions.

3. Unlike a tropical country, much work was needed to develop the land, but the possibilities were great for people who were willing to work.

■I. North America was, then, well adapted to become the seat of a great and flourishing nation.

THE WEALTH OF AN UNDEVELOPED COUNTRY

CJonsult your geography for information as to the physical features of North America. You will find much information in Tarr aiul McMurry's Geography, on that continent. Read what is said of the climate and productions under each group of states, and under Canada.

1. Compare the size of North America with that of Europe ; of Canada with that of England ; the United States with that of France or Germany ; ]\Iexico with that of Spain.

2. Find out what you can about the climate of North America.

3. Make a list of the natural products of the country known and used to-day.

4. Copy the production map.

5. Look up pictures illustrating the industries of the country at the present time. These may he mounted to form a very interesting class collection.

6. Study the furs and fur-bearing animals of Canada.

Ill

Now for the colonies themselves — suppose we first renew our acquaintance with those of the English, and trace some of the events which have been making history even in these young settlements. By the end of the second century after the New -World was discovered, all of the "thirteen original colonies" except Georgia had been settled. Virginia, the oldest of them, was not far from her hundredth birthday ; and Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island were not many years behind. Pennsylvania, although the youngest of the twelve, had grown so rapidly as to be larger than many of the older colonies.

There were about two hundred thousand people in the English settlements. The day when these settlements could be counted on the fingers of one hand — when Virginia meant Jamestown, and New England meant Plymouth, or possibly Salem and Boston — had long since passed. There were hundreds of communities, and year by year the settlers were pushing farther westward, imtil the mountain wall was almost reached.

The years had been years of progress in all the colonies, and years in which the people, in spite of their differing ideas and beHefs, were growing more like one another, and more unlike the people of the countries from which they had come. Their life in America, so far away from the home government in England, was developing in the colonists more and more of that spirit of independence in political affairs for which Englishmen at home and abroad have ever been noted.

There were three kinds of government in the colonies. A few of them had charters. These were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Virginia had been founded as a chartered colony, but in 1624 tlie king had taken away the charter, and bad made Virginia a royal province. Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania were still under the rule of proprietors, the heirs of those to whom the land had been originally granted. The rest of the twelve, though they had been at first proprietary, had become, like Virginia, royal provinces. This means that their governors were appointed by the king. In the chartered colonies the governors were usually elected by the people. In the proprietary colonies they were appointed by the proprietors.

In each of the colonies, however, the people had an assembly, and as long as this assembly was not interfered with, the people were, in most cases, able to rule themselves whether the governor was willing or not. For the assembly managed the money affairs of the colony, and if the governor were troublesome, he could usually be brought to terms by refusing him the money to carry out his plans, or perhaps by refusing him even his salary.

There were many struggles between the assembhes and the royal governors — struggles in which the people gained the courage to oppose wliat they considered injustice, and the power to make their opposition felt by the governors, or even by the king. Several of these quarrels were important enough to be remembered.

In Virginia the people suffered for years from the harsh rule of Governor Berkeley. Year after year he prevented their electing a new House of Burgesses, thereby keeping in power a House which was friendly to himself. From what I have told you above, you will see that this cut off from the people their only means of keeping down the governor's power. So the governor did much as he liked, and the people could only endure it.

At last, however, in 1676, many of the people, under the leadership of a young man named Bacon, rose against the governor. The Indians were a constant danger to the colony, but the governor had refused to raise troops or to allow the people to do so to protect their homes against them. Indignant at this refusal, Bacon and his followers took the matter in their own hands. This was the beginning of " Bacon's Rebellion." There were exciting times in Virginia during the few months that it lasted, but Bacon soon died, and the governor and his friends triumphed. Things were soon as bad as before. But though the attempt had been a failure, the spirit of resistance to oppression was born in the hearts of the men of Virginia.

Another instance of difficulty between governor and people is to be found in the story of Sir Edmund Andres. In

1686, the year after James II came to the throne of England, he sent Andros to America to become the governor of Massachusetts, Plymouth, New Hampshire, and Maine. The assemblies of these colonies were to be abolished, and Andros was to demand the charters of Rhode Island and Connecticut. These colonies were then to be added to the territory under his control. In 1088 he was also made governor of New York and New Jersey, thus making his rule absolute from the Delaware to the border line of Canada.

Andros made his headquarters in Boston, and sent Francis Nicholson to rule for him in New York. There was soon trouble for both Nicholson and Andros.

They carried out the king's orders, to disregard the people's assemblies, very faithfully, and the people hated them accordingly. It was not long, however, before news came to America that King James, who had sent the hated governor, had Ijeen driven from his throne, and had fled from England. Why should not the people in America drive away their tyrants, the king's officers?

In New York a German named Leisler gathered a band m

Sir Edmtxd Andros.

of citizen soldiers who obliged Nicholson to leave the town. Leisler then made himself governor. For three years he remained in power, but at last the people grew tired of his rule, and appealed to the new English king for a governor. King William granted their request, and when the new governor reached New York, Leisler was hanged for treason. The whole story is important only as it shows us the spirit of resistance beginning to assert itself.

Meanwhile Andros himself had been captured by the people of Boston, and, after being kept imprisoned for some time, had l3een sent to England, while the people took the government into their own hands for a time. The stories of Bacon's rebellion, and of the overthrow of Andros and Nicholson, serve to illustrate the same spirit of resistance to what the people believed to be oppression and injustice, which was growing in the English colonists. It is a spirit of which we shall see more hereafter.

There were other traits in these early Americans which were as strong, and which affected their later history as much as their love of self-government. They were a sturdy people, slow to change their ways of life, content to reach the goal of their ambitions ste}3 by step ; extending their territory only as it became necessary to make room for the settlers; not dreaming of a great empire, but intent upon making homes.

These homes — nestled among the rugged hills of New England, along the shores of the Hudson and the Delaware, or surrounded by the widespread toljacco fields of the South — tliese explain to us the wonderful vitalit}' of the Engli.sli settlements. The old lioinesteads of New England became centers of life, centers of industry, centers of training. The children and the children's children settling near made large and thriving communities of the little towns. The green valleys became fields of waving

A Colonial Farmhouse.

corn. The wooded hillsides rang with the sound of the woodman's ax. The waters of the harbors reflected the masts of gallant ships, built in America and manned b}^ American seamen.

Many books have been written which describe for us life ill tliese far-away colonial times; and you will find tliem well worth reading. They tell us tales of roomy old kitchens, with huge fireplaces around which the family gathered at night, popping corn, roasting apples, cracking nuts ; the children listening eagerly to stories of old England, or perhaps to wild tales of bears and panthers

A Colonial Kitchen.

and stealthy, catlike Indians, or still more weird and horrible stories of witches and wizards, while the red firelight glowed over all, and the steady hum of the spinning wheel made a drowsy accompaniment to the story.

We shall find stories of the Sundays of long ago — of the hare, cold churches, so cold that sometimes the minister preached in overcoat and mittens. We shall lear of the tithingman, whose duty it A^as to keep drowsy folk awake when ihe sermon proved too long and dry, 'or sermons were long in those days — hree or four hours was not at all unisual.

We shall read of harsh laws for the junishment of crime, and of the stocks nid pillory that stood on every village yreen ; of the ducking stool, where scoldng women were shown the error of their kvays ; and of many other strange ways jf keeping people from doing wrong.

We shall be told of the way people

travelled

Spixnixc Whkil.

Pillory.

when they made their long-anticipated visits to Boston or Philadelphia, and of the time it took to go from place to place.

We shall hear of the stagecoach, which was called the "flvino; machine," because it coukl ^ go from New York to '!^% S3^ - T^liilat^elpliia in two days.

The books will tell us, too, of fashionable

Stocks.

balls and banquets in the gayer towns ; of ladies and gentlemen in gorgeous costumes and with wonderfully

powdered hair; of their sedate and dignified manners, and of their stately minuet.

There will be stories, too, of the belief in witchcraft, and the cruel deeds that were done because of it.

We shall hear of the dreadful days in Salem, when nineteen so-called witches were hanged on " Gallows Hill," and no one knew who would be the next to hang l)eside them. We shall shudder, and Ije glad that the day of belief in witchcraft has gone forever.

Yes, there are wonderful stories awaiting us in these records of colonial days, and we shall knoAv our forefathers better when we have read them. Then, little folks, let me introduce you to your own great-great-great-greatgraudfathers. You will find them shut in between the covers of the books on the library shelves, and very glad to come out and have a chat with you.

1. The English colonies were increasing rapidly in size and strength.

self-

There were three forms of colonial government : —

Chartered colonies (Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode

Island).

Proprietary (Pennsylvania, Delaware, and ^laryland). Royal (the remaining colonies).

One of the strongest traits of the colonists was their love of ,fovernment. Because of this they often quarreled with the royal governors.

O

Foot Stove.

4. Bacon's Rebellion was the outcome of such a quarrel in Virginia, as was the uprising in New York under Leisler and the removal of Sir Edmund Andros in Massachusetts. All these show the grov.'ing spirit of resistance to what the people believed to be oppression.

5. The English colonists were a steady, sturdy people, intent upon home-making.

6. There are many interesting accounts of their ways of living. We shall enjoy reading some of them.

c

1. "Stones of tlie Old Doniinion," by J. E. Cooke, pp. 65-81.

2. " White Aprons," by JMaude Goodwin (a story).

3. '• Stories of the Okl Kay State," by E. S., Brooks, pp. 92-100. ■1. '* True Story of the United States," by E. S. Brooks, pp. 56-64.

5. " Men and Manners a Hundred Years Ago," by Horace Sciidder.

6. "Home Life in Colonial Days," by Alice IVIorse E^arle.

Homes, p}). l-ol ; Light, pp. 32-51 ; The Kitchen Eireside, pp. 52-75; Serving of Meals, pp. 76-107; Girls' Occupations, pp. 252-280 ; Dress, pp. 281- 299; Travel, pp. 324-363; Sundays, pp. 364-387; Neighborliness, pp. 388-420.

7. Mrs. Earle has a number of other books on life in colonial times which will prove useful, such as " Costumes of Colonial Times," "Sabbath in Puritan New England," "Child Life in Colonial Days," and "Customs and Fashions in Old New England."

10. "Camps and Firesides of the Revolution," by A. B. Hart, pp. 1-36; 39-42; 59-61.

1. Find the exact meaning of commidtities, rlpveIoj)iiiii, independence, political , proprietors, opqvjse, resistxDice, oppression, aljsolate, (joal, empire, vitality.

2. Make a nuip showing the thirteen English colonies.

3. Find pictures of colonial scenes.

4. Describe the ai)pearance of a colonial lady of fashion ; a fashionable colonial gentleman.

5. Write upon one of the subjects given below. Be sure to select one upon which you have done some reading, so that you may have something to say.

A Colonial Sunday.

A New England Farmhouse.

Life on a Virginia Plantation.

How People dressed Two Hundred Years Ago.

Colonial Punishments for Crime.

Part I. Condition of affairs in Europe and America near the end of the seventeenth century.

I. The English colonies. a. Government.

CuAKTEREn

Proprietary b. The people — their strongest traits.

c. Events which show one of these traits.

IV Life IX New France

We shall find many sharp contrasts between the English colonies we have been considering, and those of the French. First of all, we shall notice the difference in climate and in the natural resources of the French settlements. Not corn, nor tobacco, but furs, we find the chief product of the country — a fact which had a great influence upon the character of the people.

Instead of settling down to a farming life, most of the men became wood rangers — fur traders, hunters, trappers. They lived wild lives in the forests, and in spite of the efforts of the king and his officers to draw them back to the settlements, they loved the wild life best. King Louis tried very hard to make the colony grow. Parkman, a great historian who has told the stoxy of New France, says, '*' The new settler was found by the king, sent over by the king, and supplied by the king with a wife, a farm, and sometimes with a house. Well did Louis XIV earn the title of ' Father of New France.' "

Some of these colonists sent over by the king were peasants, while many were soldiers whose regiments the king ordered to Canada and then caused to be disbanded

LIFE IN NEW FRANCE there, hoping that the meu would remain and hecome colonists, as most of them did. The wives provided by the king were sent out from France, a hundred or two hundred at a time, much as was done in Virginia in the early days. There was, however, nothing to be paid by

HrXTERS the settler for his wife, as in Virginia. He was, on the contrary, almost driven to marry, by the orders of the benevolent king.

King Louis believed, and there was much truth in his theory, that the colony would never prosper imtil families were established, and children born in Canada grew up to become the men of the next generation. A pension was offered to any man who should have ten children, and a greater sum to the father of twelve.

Successful, however, as the king's matrimonial plans were, he did not succeed in building up the great population that he dreamed of for Canada. The woods were too near, the great rivers and the lakes seemed always

calling the young men to the wild life beyond.

Farming was slow work, and often discourao-ino'

o o

work. Why should one toil in the fields, coaxing the backward crops, when the forest teemed with game and the waters with fish, always ready for the hunter or the fisherman ? Why plod on day after day in the same stupid round of cares and troubles ?

In' the forest one could be free !

And so we hear of deserted farms, of abandoned homes and wives and children. In vain were laws made and penalties ordered to overcome the evil. The French colonist was made of different stock from the Eng-lish — more impulsive, less ready to give up his present desire

Deer.

LIFE m NEW FRANCE for the sake of some later good, less self-reliant in matters oi g;overnment, having been trained by centuries of abso- Uite rule to )je guided by those in authority.

Nowhere is this absolute government more clearly shown than in Canada. The king made himself in truth the " Father of New France," and he governed the colonists as though they were unruly children. They were not, it is true, capable 3f self-government as the English were ; but their training in the New World was doing little to make them more capable of it.

One of the most noticeal)le results of the adventurous life of the Canadian woodsmen was their friendship with the Indians. With the exception of the Iroquois, who had been the foes of all Frenchmen since the time when Champlain had given their enemies aid against them, all the northern tribes were friendly and even more than friendly with the men of Canada. Often the woodsman visited his " red brothers," sometimes he lived among them and married an Indian wife. All the secrets of the forest became his, and he forgot the ways of civilization.

Sometimes, however, he did not live entirely among the Indians, but returned once in two or three years to the settlement. Here he sold the furs he had gathered

Indian Moccasins.

24 A HUNDEED YEARS OF WARFARE

together (often against the orders of the king), and after a few days of wild drunken reveh^y would make his way back to the woods again.

It seems strange that through all this wild lawless life the church should have kept its hold upon even the most adventurous of the settlers, but it shows the power of the priests in Canada. The church and the king — these were the forces that guided the fortunes of New France. And under their watchful care, their daily suppression of every instinct of self-government, what wonder that the Canadian colony failed to become sturdy and self-supporting like its English neighbors, but depended always upon aid from the king, advice from tlie priests, and guidance in the smallest affairs of government from the officers of church and crown, sent to rule them.

THIXGS TO REMEMBER

1. The French colonies differed from the English in natural resources, in government, in religion, in the character of the people.

2. Furs were the principal product. Fur-bearing animals were very plentiful.

3. There were fewer villages and settled communities than in the English colonies. Most of the settlements were trading posts and missions.

4. Many of the men of Canada were wood rangers. They were on very friendly terms with the Indians.

5. The government of the colony was entirely in the hands of officers appointed by the king. Self-government was unknown in Canada.

6. The religion of the Canadians was Catholic. The priests were very powerful in the colony.

LIFE IN NEW FRANCE

1. Find the exact meaning of contnicts, natural resources, regiments, benevolent, theory, generation, pension, matrimonial, teemed, abandoned, penalties, impulsive, suppression, peasants.

2. Write about "a Canadian woodsranger " : -^

I. Wliere he nmde his home — why he did not remain in the settlement — what he often left behind. IT. How he spent his life — his " red brothers." III. An occasional visit to the settlement.

3. Discuss in class with your teacher the following question : —

Why should a colony whose men lived in the woods as hunters prosper less than a colony of home-makers ?

4. Write about the " Father of New France.''

I. To whoiu this name was given — wliy ? II. How he tried to make the colony grow. III. The result of his efforts — the reason for this result. .

II. New France.

a. Government, b. The people — their prominent traits.

III. Comparison of the French and English colonies.

Position

Climate

Productions

Motives in colonizing

Attitude of government

Character of people

Occupation.s

Government

Religion

Intercourse with Indians

Military training

E.n<;lisii

V

A GLANCE AT ENGLAND AND FRANCE

Leaving for a time the rival colonies in America, let lis glance at the mother countries in Europe. The time when we take up our story — that is, the latter part of the seventeenth century — is part of what is sometimes known as the "Age of Revolution." In England, especially, there had been many changes in government. In the first half of the century there had been a great civil war between the king and his followers on the one hand and the people on the other. It was ended by the execution of the king, and the declaration of the victorious army that henceforth the land should be ruled by the elected representatives of the people, who formed the Parliament. And so it was, for about four years.

There were, however, many people who were not satis-

Charles I. (Who was beheaded.)

fied with the rule of Parliament, and the governmeut fell into the hands of one man, Oliver Cromwell. His power was almost unlimited, and as he was a man of great strength of character, he did much for England, both in

building up a strong government at home and in securing the respect of foreign nations.

When Cromwell died, in 1G59, his son took his place as '' Lord Protector of the Commonwealth."

Being, however, a much weaker man tlian his father, he was soon obliged to resign his otfice. There seemed no one lifted to rule as Cromwell had done, and after a few months of uncertainty, the people were quite ready to have a king again. They invited Charles, the son of the king whom they had beheaded, to return to^England as their ruler, and he was glad enough to accept. It seemed as though the civil war and the determination of the people to rule themselves had been entirely forgotten.

But Charles II, the new king, was much like liis father in wanting to have his own way, and before his reign of twenty-five years was over, the people had begun to re-

A GLANCE AT ENGLAND AND FRANCE pent of asking him to return. His brother, James II, who became king in 1685, was still worse, and was so hated by :he people that in 1688 they coidd bear his rule no longer.

They asked William, the Prince of Orange, in Hohand, a stanch Protestant and a lover of liberty, to come over to England, and become king. William's wife was a daugli- ;,er of James, so she had some claim upon the throne. William and Mary came, and though King .James was ivilling now to make all sorts of promises to observe tlie liberties of the people, it was too late. He was deserted, md was obliged to llee from England. The new reiL!;n Degan. Much of the power that had once been the kini2:'s ivas given to Parliament, and it seemed at last as though the liberties of the English people were assiu'ed.

There could be no stronger ['ontrast to England under King William than France imder Louis XIV. Almost born a king — he was only five years old at his father's leath — he believed he was

born to rule, and most royallv did he support this belief, tie used to declare, '' I am the state," meaning of course that his will in all things must Ije obeyed. France had o;rown much in strength and jnnver during the reign of Louis XIII, and during the childhood of the new boy

Charles IL king the kingdom was well managed by his ministers. Wars with Austria and with Spain had made France the leading state of Europe, and when he grew old enough to take the reins of government into his own hands, Louis determined to make France greater yet.