American history and government; a text-book on the history and civil government of the United States

Front matter

Class t A H %>

Book _

Copyright N° '

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Introduction —The Unity of History ...... i

II. Discovery and Exploration ........ io

I

io.

ii.

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29. 30 - 3 1 * 3 2 *

Map of the Known World in the Time of Columbus

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Trade Routes to the East .

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The Voyages of Columbus .

Magellan’s Expedition

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Physical Map of the United States

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Grants of Land to the London and Plymouth Colonies

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The Southern Colonies

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0 •

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5 i

The Middle Colonies ....

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The English Colonies in 1700. Colored

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8i y

PVench Explorations and the French and Indian War

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North America in 1750. Colored

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99 /

European Possessions in 1763

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”5

War Map of the Revolution

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North America in 1782

Division of the West proposed by France

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The United States at the Close of the Revolution.

Colored

State Claims to Western Lands .

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l 7 S

Map illustrating the War of 1812

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The Erie Canal .....

d •

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The Oregon Territory

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Texas and her Claims

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Taylor’s Campaigns ....

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Acquisitions of Territory .

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The United States in 1861. Colored .

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<s

Military Situation in the West, 1862 .

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The Peninsular Campaign .

The Civil War, 1861-1865. Colored .

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Between 416-417

Philippine Islands ....

Porto Rico ......

The West Indies, Panama, and the Canal Route

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Products of the United States

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47 1 xix

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Unity of History

1. American History is the Outgrowth of European History. —

It would be a mistake to suppose that in studying American history and government we are studying something which has no connection with the history and government of the rest of the world. American history is simply a part of general history, and not something separate and complete in itself. We must look upon the history of the world as one continuous story, and upon the study of history as one study. In short, we must recognize the unity of history. This means that the history of any one particular nation should be studied as a part of the history of the world. For our purpose it means that American history is an outgrowth of European history and should be studied in that light. When we study the history of the founding of the American colonies, we shall see that there is a very close connection between the history of the United States and that of England, France, Spain, and other European nations. In order to understand this connection, and to give to American history its proper historical setting, it will be necessary to note the position which the United States occupies in the history of the world’s civilization.

2. The Earliest Civilization was in the East. — At the dawn of history the center of the world’s civilization was in the East, or the Orient, as it is sometimes called. The history of the world, in so far as it has been traced, begins with the peoples who lived in the valleys of the Nile and Euphrates rivers about five thousand years or more before the birth of Christ, or nearly seven thousand years ago. Egypt and Chaldea may be looked upon as “the twin sources of modern culture.” Historians have been able to find no older civilizations.

3. The Egyptians made Advances in Industry, Literature, Science, and Art — The early Egyptians made marked advances in agriculture, literature, religion, architecture, sculpture, painting, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and engineering, and transmitted their knowledge through the Hebrews, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans to the modern nations. They “ lit the torch of civilization ” and passed it on to their neighbors.

There is an undoubted connection between the history of Egypt and that of the United States. It is impossible, for example, to understand American history without an understanding of the Christian religion ; and an understanding of Christianity is impossible without a knowledge of the religion of the Hebrews, — the authors of the Old Testament; and a thorough understanding of the Old Testament cannot be obtained without a study of the sacred writings of the Egyptians known as “The Book of the Dead.” The close connection between the religion of the Hebrews and that of the Egyptians is explained by the fact that the Hebrews lived in Egypt for several centuries, and that Moses and other leaders of the people were educated by Egyptian priests.

4. The Civilization of Chaldea was quite Similar to that of Egypt. — While the Egyptians were making progress in the arts and sciences on the banks of the Nile, the Chaldeans were similarly occupied on the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates. There was a striking similarity between these two early civilizations, and the land between the Tigris and Euphrates has been well called “The Asian Egypt.”

5. The Hebrews were Teachers of Religion. — We get our first glimpse of the Hebrews about eighteen hundred or two thousand

INTRODUCTION years before Christ, when the patriarch Abraham and his followers left the “ Ur of the Chaldees ” and came to what is now Palestine. The Hebrews were not “ mighty builders,” as the Egyptians were. They were not a great industrial or commercial people. They were not artists or scientific men. Their one great contribution to the civilization of the world was their religious teaching. It is true that all ancient peoples had religions, but that of the Hebrews was of the most refining and elevating kind. It was called Monotheism, and consisted, as the name implies, in the worship of one God. It was their religion that made them a “ peculiar people.”

6. The Phoenicians were Traders, Navigators, and Colonizers. — A few centuries after the time of Abraham the Phoenicians became an important factor in Eastern or Oriental history. They occupied a narrow strip of land between the Lebanon Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, and their principal cities were Tyre and Sidon. They were the merchants, the traders, the navigators, and the colonizers of the ancient Oriental world. Their greatest service to civilization was not in making advances in literature, art, or science, but in spreading the culture the\ivtiizaof other nations among the people with whom they tion of other

. , nations.

came into contact, they were the “ disseminators or scatterers of civilization, and one of their chief exports was the alphabet.

7. The Persians were Soldiers and Rulers. — In the sixth century before Christ the great Persian Empire was founded. The Persians were brave soldiers and masterly rulers, and extended their sway over thousands of miles of territory from Asia Minor on the west to the Indus 1 River on the east.

8. Summary of Oriental Civilization. — Such, then, were the beginnings of the world’s civilization. The Egyptians and Chaldeans made some advances in industry, literature, art, science, and law ; the Phoenicians were the spreaders of civilization ; the Hebrews were the teachers of religion ; and the Persians were the conquerors and governors who welded together an immense empire. The Chinese, Japanese, and Hindoos have ancient and important civilizations, but as these peoples did not come into contact with other nations at this time, the influence of their civilizations need not be considered.

9. The Greeks were Literary Men and Artists. — After the decline of the Oriental nations the center of civilization moved westward and halted among the Greeks. Here for a few centuries flourished one of the most beautiful civilizations in all history. One writer calls the country “ that point of light in history,” and another exclaims : “ We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, . . . our art, have their roots in Greece.”

The connection between the civilization of Greece and that of the Oriental countries is unmistakable. “ It was from the East,” Mr. Rawlinson declares, “ that Greece derived her architecture, her science, her philosophy, her mathematical knowledge, — in a word, her intellectual life.” It is undoubtedly true that Greece did receive the beginnings of her culture from the East, but she was in no sense an imitator. She improved to such an extent upon what she received that some of her achievements in literature and art have never been surpassed and, in the opinion of some, never equaled.

The civilization of Greece reached its highest development during the so-called “ Age of Pericles,” in the fifth ofp ericas,” century before Christ. During this “golden age” 5th century architecture, sculpture, painting, history, poetry, ora- • tory, and philosophy were developed to a degree of perfection never before approached.

10. The Romans were Soldiers, Lawgivers, and Governors. — There came a decline in Greek power, however, and the center of civilization moved on to Rome. Greece became a Roman province and Rome ruled the affairs of the world. The Romans were very different from the Greeks. The Greeks were literary men and artists, while the Romans were soldiers, lawgivers, and governors. Rome began her career as an insignificant little village, or group of villages, on the banks of the Tiber, but in the course of a few centuries she became the mistress of the civilized world. In the second century of the Christian era the

Introduction

Empire reached its greatest extent. It extended from the Atlantic Ocean on the west to the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf on the east, and from the Rhine and Danube on the north to the Sahara Desert on the south. The Mediterranean Sea was then, in truth, a “ Roman lake.”

The civilization of Rome reached its highest development during the reign of Augustus, who was Emperor at the time of the birth of Christ. This was Rome’s best, or “ golden age.” Her greatest artists, poets, histo- ta ^ e o ^ ugus " rians, and orators lived at about this time. It was “Golden

Age.”

not in art or literature, however, that the Romans made their greatest contribution to civilization, but in law, politics, and government. In these subjects the Romans were masters ; in art and literature they were imitators.

Rome, however, in spite of her power and magnificence, was destined, like the other states of antiquity, to fall. In 395 a.d. the Empire was divided into two parts : the eastern XheEmpire with its capital at Constantinople, and the western was divided with its capital at Rome. The western part, from ln 395 AJ) ' the historical standpoint, is by far the more important of the two. At the time of the division, and even before, the Empire had begun to decline. The Roman soldiers were no longer looked upon as unconquerable. The old fire and spirit seemed to be lacking.

11. The Germans invade the Empire. — The Germans or Teutons, as they are sometimes called, who lived to the north of the Danube River, were the most powerful of the A Germanic foes of the Romans. As the Romans declined in placed^* 3 power and spirit, the fierce, hardy, barbarian Germans the throne obtained footholds in various parts of the Empire, 111476 D ' and finally in 476 a.d. succeeded in putting one of Empire their number on the throne at Rome. The Roman t» e «> mes

“ German-

and the German then contended for the supremacy ized.” in the civilization of the Western Empire. The two were quite unlike. The Romans were far more cultured than the Germans, but the latter were more vigorous and virtuous, and so triumphed in the end. After the lapse of a few centuries the German gained the upper hand, and the Empire in the West became thoroughly “ Germanized.”

12. Charles the Great is crowned Emperor on Christmas Day, 800 . — The Germans continued to rule in the West, and finally there appeared among them one of the greatest men in European history. Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day, 800, and immediately set about to educate his people and to improve his Empire. It should be borne in mind, however, that his Empire was not so extensive as the Roman Empire of the second century, which embraced the whole civilized world. The Empire in the East had cut off Greece and Asia Minor, and the Mohammedans, a religious sect which had originated in Arabia in the seventh century, had conquered western Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. The Empire of Charles the Great was thus of comparatively narrow He is sue- limits, and to this Empire he gave his best efforts.

ceededm He ri q e d his domains with a firm hand until his death 814 by his

son Lewis in 8 1 4, when he was succeeded by his weak son, the Pious. Lewis the Pious. Lewis reigned until his death in 840, at which time the Empire was divided among his three sons. These sons quarreled over their possessions, but finally, by the treaty of Verdun of 843, they came to a definite agreement. It was agreed that one son was to have

divided into the eastern P art °f the Empire, corresponding three parts roughly to modern Germany ; that another was to

have the western part, corresponding somewhat to modern France ; and that the third was to have a part of Italy and a narrow strip of territory extending from Italy to the North Sea.

13. The States of Modern Europe grew from the Divisions of the Empire. — Thus the great Empire in the West fell apart, and from its divisions grew the states of modern Europe. When the foundations of these states were laid and each had begun its independent development, the course of civilization advanced from Rome and branched out in various directions. There was

The

Western by the treaty of Verdun in 843.

INTRODUCTION no longer a single center of civilization, but many centers. The treaty of Verdun helped to divide the river of civilization into several streams which flowed to the various capitals of Europe.

14. The Dark Ages and the Renaissance. — Some of these

branches of the stream of civilization found their way, in due

time, to America. In order to see clearly how this

came about it will be necessary to retrace our steps of civmza-

somewhat. It will be remembered that the Germans tion reaches

America.

took possession of the Empire in the West in 476 a.d. They came into the country in vast numbers both before and after this date, and their coming made a great change. The entire character of the Empire was transformed. The fires of its civilization seemed to be smothered as by a great, wet blanket spread over them. Then followed a period of ignorance and superstition, popularly known as the “ Dark Ages.” It seemed as if the lights of learning Ages,” 5th had been snuffed out by the hands of the rude, bar- t0 baric Germans. The people were not being educated century * and the writing of literature had almost ceased. This period lasted for about eight hundred years, or until the fourteenth century ; at which time a remarkable change took place. During the “Dark Ages” the fires of civilization had not really gone out. They were slowly smoldering during all of that time, and in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries they blazed up and burned more brightly than they had ever done. The Renais This period is called the Renaissance , or “the new sance, 14th birth,” as the world seemed to be born again. The and * 5 th period began with “a revival of learning” in Italy, began in The old literature of Greece and Rome, which had Italy ‘ been neglected for centuries, was now studied by the scholars of the time.

In addition to a revival of learning there was also a revival in other lines of activity. Men’s minds were more active than they had been for centuries. The dust and cobwebs of the “ Dark Ages ” were being brushed from the brain of Europe. Commerce and industry had been revived, and cities had begun to grow.

The discovery of America was an outgrowth of this revival in industry, commerce, and

navigation.

Goods were manufactured in greater abundance, and trade routes were established to the extreme parts of the civilized world. Man was eager to find new and better routes for his trade, and as a consequence interest in geography and navigation was quickened* It was this latter desire, as we shall see later, that led to the discovery of the American continent. The famous discovery by Columbus in 1492 should be looked upon as the outgrowth of that remarkable revival in learning, industry, commerce, and navigation which took place in the latter part of the Middle Ages. The stream of civilization had penetrated to a new continent.

15. American Civilization was derived from Europe in General and from England in Particular. — The sources of American civilization constitute an interesting study. The civilization of Europe first came to America from Spain, as Columbus sailed from that country. At a later time it came from the British Isles, France, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, and other European countries. The majority of the leading nations of the world had a part in the exploration and colonization .of the American continent. Consequently American civilization is a mixture, and it was a question for a time which element would come uppermost. We shall see, as we continue our study, that England and France obtained the strongest footholds in the New World, and that in 1754 they began a final struggle for the supremacy of North America. The English were victorious in this war, ^ . and English influence has since dominated our civili-

Our lan- &

guage, law, zation. While tributary streams have come from all

ment are™/ P arts Europe, the main stream of American civili- Engiish zation is English. We speak the English language, onsin ' and our manners, customs, law, and government have been, for the most part, derived from England.

Perhaps enough has been said to show the connection between American history and the history of the rest of the world. We have traced the stream of the world’s culture from its twin sources in Egypt and Chaldea ; we have followed its course to

INTRODUCTION

Palestine and Phoenicia and on to Greece and Rome ; we have noted its branching out from Rome to the countries of modern Europe, and thence to the American continent. The main point to be remembered is that there were six thousand years of history before the American continent was discovered, and that American history is inseparably connected with that which had gone before. American history is the outgrowth of European history, and American civilization is, for the most part, the flower and fruit of the civilization of Europe. The American continent is geographically separated from the rest of the world, but historically it is not so. There is an unbreakable bond of union between the two which grows stronger with passing years. In the light of these facts we shall probably agree with Professor Freeman when he emphasizes “the unity of history ” and insists that we must “ look on the history of the world as one continuous whole.”

C

CHAPTER II Vinland

colony

founded.

16 . Norsemen discover America about 1000 A.D. — The Norsemen from the Scandinavian peninsula were probably the first Europeans to set foot upon the American continent. In the latter part of the tenth century (985), these hardy sea rovers, under the leadership of Eric the Red, made settlements in Greenland, and about the year 1000, Leif Ericson, the son of Eric, is said to have come from Norway by way of Greenland and Iceland and to have landed upon the shore of North America somewhere to the south of Labrador. He and his

companions, about thirty-five in number, named the place “ Vinland” because of the abundance of wild grapes which they found. Here they spent the winter. Other settlers came, and a colony was founded, only to be abandoned later. No trace of this Vinland colony has ever been found in the United States, and its exact location still remains a mystery. It was probably somewhere within the present boundaries of Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

This discovery, however, although a picturesque historical event, is a matter of no practical importance. It apparently The Norse made little impression upon the minds of the people

discovery and was S00 n forgotten. The men of the later was of no 0

practical Middle Ages knew nothing of it. The real and praclmportance. tj ca i discovery of America was made by Christopher

Columbus about five hundred years later.

17 . The Discovery of America by Columbus grew out of the Renaissance. — It was stated in the previous chapter that the discovery of America grew out of that remarkable revival in ii learning, industry, and commerce which took place in Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It will be necessary for us at this time to note more definitely the way in which this came about. We have seen that the intellectual and material life of Europe was greatly quickened near the close of the Middle Ages. There was greater interest in learning; commerce and manufacturing developed ; gunpowder was introduced ; printing was invented ; and there was a renewed interest in geography and travel. The spirit of enterprise was in the air. One result of all this was to stimulate trade with the East.

18. The East was looked upon as a Country of Great Riches. — For centuries the people of Europe had carried on an extensive and valuable trade with the East. India and China, or Cathay, as it was then called, were the sources from which the nations of Europe obtained gold, precious stones, silks, perfumes, spices,' and other highly desirable commodities. The fact that little was known about the East made the locality still more attractive. There was fascination in its mystery. Travelers returning from India and China brought marvelous tales concerning the wealth and magnificence of those countries. Marco Polo, an Italian who had traveled extensively in the East, wrote of the country in glowing terms in 1299, and soon after there appeared the entertaining “ Voyage and Travels of Sir John Mandeville,” made up from earlier narratives of travel. These books fired the imagination of the West. They told of “ silver walls and golden towers,” of precious stones and fountains of youth, and of palaces paved with plates of gold “ like slabs of stone, a good two fingers thick.” “ For centuries,” says Justin Winsor, “ the Orient had been the dream of the philosopher and the goal of the merchant. Everything in the East was thought to be on a larger scale than in Europe, — metals were more abundant, pearls were rarer, spices were richer, plants were nobler, animals were statelier.”

Access to this wonderful country was naturally a matter of great importance, and routes of trade between Europe and the East were studied with great care. In the Middle Ages there were three important routes : one leading to Genoa by way of There were the Caspian and Black seas and Constantinople ;

three im- another to Antioch by way of the Persian Gulf and portant J J

trade routes the Euphrates valley ; and the third to Venice by way to the East. 0 f the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean.

Map of the Known World in the Time of Columbus.

Travelers had been to India, China, and Japan. Portuguese navigators had crept down the western coast of Africa, and Bartholomew Diaz had reached the Cape of Storms (Cape of Good Hope). Vasco da Gama had not yet circumnavigated Africa and reached India. The American continent was enveloped in darkness.

These routes, dangerous and expensive at best, were being The Turks gradually cut off by the Turks as they extended their cutoff these sway over Asia. Finally, in 1453, Constantinople fell routes. into the hands of the Turks, and the route leading to Genoa, the birthplace of Columbus, was closed. It now seemed that the time was approaching when all overland communication between Europe and the East would be cut off. The great commercial and geographical problem of the fifteenth century was , x 3 therefore , the finding of a new trade route to the East . An aii-

Some improvements had recently been made in the water route 1 J was espe-

art of navigation, and for this and other reasons an C iaiiy desirall-water route was especially desirable. able *

For centuries Europeans had toiled up and down these routes, with boat and caravan. They carried woolen cloth, linen, black lead, wine, and glassware to the East, and received in exchange fragrant spices, black pepper, cotton cloth, silks, ivory, pearls, sapphires, diamonds, and other valuable articles.

Spain and Portugal, the leading maritime nations of Europe at the time, attempted to solve this great problem by different methods. Portuguese sailors tried to reach India by s ^ ain and sailing around Africa and thence into the Indian Portugal Ocean ; while the Spaniards, guided by Columbus ^d^ew* 0 and acting upon the theory that the earth was a routes to, globe, attempted to reach the same place by sailing India% directly west. Both of these attempts should receive attention at this time.

19. Prince Henry, the Navigator. — The most notable efforts of the Portuguese were made under the wise and unselfish guidance of Prince Henry, the Navigator. A half a century before Columbus sailed on his first voyage of discovery, navigators sent by Prince Henry were cautiously creeping down the The western coast of Africa in an attempt to round the

Portuguese continent and thus reach India. They finally sucfind a new r J

route to ceeded after many years of patient endeavor. In

India. 1497 Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon, and re-

turned two years later laden with the jewels, silks, and fine fabrics of the East. The Portuguese had solved the problem, but not in the lifetime of their noble prince, and not until Columbus was about to sail for the third time in search of a western route to India.

The Voyages of Columbus

The Portuguese attempted to solve the great problem of the fifteenth century and succeeded ; Columbus attempted to do the same thing and failed, yet the failure of Columbus is vastly more important then the success of the Portuguese.

20. Christopher Columbus. — Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, probably about the year 1446. Until a very recent time there was considerable doubt in regard to the exact location of the birthplace of the great navigator.

“ Seven cities claimed the Homer dead,

In which the living Homer begged his bread.”

The case of Columbus was quite similar to that of the Greek poet, Homer. No less than twenty-five places — sixteen of them in Italy — claimed the honor of being Columbus’s birthplace. That distinction has now, however, been quite definitely settled upon Genoa.

Columbus was fairly well educated for the time in which he lived, and was an expert penman and map maker. He was a i5 vigorous and daring youth, and to him adventure was the spice of life. He drifted to the sea and made several voyages while a mere boy. Lisbon was the center of nautical affairs at that time, and Columbus made his way to this city in 1470, or possibly a little later. In this favorable atmosphere he began to make his great plans.

Columbus was a close student of geography and navigation and came to the conclusion that India could be reached by sailing westward from Spain.

It would be a mistake to suppose, however, that the idea that the earth is a sphere was original with Columbus. That idea was held in Greece two thousand years before Columbus was born. It was taught by Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, and also by a few of the noted scholars of the Middle Ages. At the time of Columbus most people still believed that the earth was flat, but many scientific men thought it a globe.

Neither was Columbus the first to come to the very natural conclusion that India could be reached by sailing west. About twelve years before Columbus made his famous voyage he received a letter from Toscanelli, a famous Italian astronomer, in which the latter stated definitely that in his opinion ^ ^

India could be reached by sailing west from Europe. sen ds his Toscanelli also sent Columbus a map which was used ma P to

. Columbus.

on the famous voyage of discovery. It was estimated

by the Italian astronomer that the distance from Portugal to Asia

Columbus was not the first to believe that the earth is a sphere.

Statue of Columbus erected at Genoa, Italy.

Genoa was the probable birthplace of the great navigator.

1 6 was not more than three thousand miles. This error aided Columbus in fitting out his expedition. If the true distance had been known, — about twelve thousand miles, — it would have been exceedingly difficult for Columbus to induce sailors to undertake the voyage.

Columbus, then, was not the first to announce these great scientific theories relating to the size and shape of the earth, but he was the first man who had the courage to test these theories by pushing boldly out into the Atlantic Ocean, or “ The Sea of Darkness,” as it was frequently called, which was supposed to be inhabited by gorgons, chimeras, and other terrible monsters. This was the great work of Columbus.