Causes and effects in American history; the story of the origin and development of the nation

Front matter

CAUSES Ar

IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Class Book..

Preface

Few things are drier or duller than the bare facts of history. Few things are more interesting than the reasons why great events happened as they did and why the consequences of these happenings were what they were. Few things are more difficult than to prevent a multiplicity of details from crowding into an historical picture and from obscuring what is essential, significant, important.

This narrative ignores details. It deals not so much with facts as with causes and effects — with the large currents of thought, feeling, and action which from generation to generation, especially through the economic and intellectual influences of each period, have modified and shaped the destinies of the American people. The purpose of the book is thus to supply to the imagination a key to the real meaning of the evolutions, often complex and apparently confusing, of the historical pageant as it passes across the stage.

If this purpose has been accomplished with the simplicity, clearness, and accuracy for which the author has striven throughout, the book should prove equally serviceable as an introduction to American history which, by indicating its larger relations of cause and effect, will inspire younger readers with a zeal for further and more intimate study, and as an interpretation of American history which may give a new meaning to facts already famil-

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PREFACE

Jar to older readers. Both of these classes of readers will find that the emphasis in this account of the development of the nation has been laid not upon the evolution of political parties, except in so far as parties became the instruments for the advancement of great political, economic, or moral ideas, but upon the important parts which intellectual and religious freedom, industrial and commercial activity, and even literature and the fine arts, not to include other kindred influences, have played in shaping the life of the people.

A glance at the illustrations will suffice to show that they have been selected solely for their historical value as a pictorial commentary, contemporaneous whenever possible, upon the more salient features of the narrative.

E. W. M.

Why the Northmen migrated from Norway to Iceland

How Eric the Red came to discover Greenland

Leif, Eric's son, reaches Vinland (probably Nova Scotia) by

Why no effort was made to extend the discoveries . Marco Polo and others bring news from the far East Necessity of a water route to Asia ....

Efforts of Prince Henry of Portugal to solve the problem Columbus turns his eyes to the west ....

His four voyages in search of Cipango (Japan) and Cathay

He dies without realizing that he has discovered a new hemi

Vasco da Gama rounds Africa and reaches the Indies . Voyages of the Cabots made the basis for English claims Origin of the name America ......

II Explorers And Conquerors

Spain at the height of her power .... Results of the expeditions of Balboa and Magellan Discoveries of Cartier and Drake .... Conquest of Mexico and Peru by Cortes and Pizarro Explorations of De Vaca, De Soto, and Coronado French interest in exploration half-hearted . Voyages of Verrazzano and Gomez Cartier's voyages establish the French claim to Canada Decline in the energy of Spanish exploration .

lO

II

12 12 13 13 13 14 14 16 16

Massacre of the French PIuKuenots in Florida by Menendez de Aviles ......

Attitude of Spain toward heretics .

English enterprise under Elizabeth What Hawkins and Drake accomplished Influence of Hakluyt's collections of narratives Effects of the destruction of the Spanish Armada

16 18 18 18 20 20

III Two main streams flow from England

Early Jamestown settlers in search of gold or a way to the South Sea (Pacific)

John Rolfe develops tobacco culture .....

Negro slave labor introduced by a Dutch vessel

Influence of these incidents upon the civilization of \irginia and Maryland ........

Motives of the Pilgrims in leaving Holland ....

Sailing for \'irginia, chance carries them to Massachusetts .

The Puritans leave England to make homes and to secure religious freedom ........

Causes of the Cavalier migration to \'irginia

The descendants of these families

The Dutch, following Henry Hudson, reveal a greater genius for trade than for government

The English take possession of New Amsterdam in 1664

Settlement of Maryland and Pennsylvania ....

Both possess proprietary forms of government

Turbulence and disorder in the Carolinas ....

The \'irginia colonists stay in the Church of England .

Creat influence of the Congregational church and ministry in New England

Desire for peace and quiet the cause of religious persecutions

The Flartford and New Haven colonies independent commonwealths ..........

Penn and his Quaker followers ......

Influence of Roger Williams and Penn with tin- Indians

Causes of Bacon's rebellion .......

22 22

2 2

26 26

28 28 28 20 20

31 31

32 32

CONTENTS xi

PAGE

Importance of the alliance of the Dutch, and later the

English, with the Five Nations . . . . .32

A bulwark against the French and their Algonquin allies from

Educational matters in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New

Harvard College founded in 1636 ...... 33

IV

.Motives of the French in establishing settlements in Canada 35 Their policy as carried out by Champlain and his successors 35 Character and achievements of Champlain .... 36

How the alliance between the Five Nations and the Dutch

was brought about ........ 36

Marquette and Joliet reach the Mississippi River . . -38 By floating to its mouth La Salle, in 1682, establishes the

French claim to the water-shed of the Mississippi . 40

Quebec for a few years in the hands of the English ... 40 Effects in America of the wars between England and France

Efforts of Count Frontenac and his successors to keep the Five Nations neutral and the New England tribes hostile to the English ........ 43

The massacre at Deerfield, Mass. ...... 44

William Pitt the elder plans to break down the French barrier to the westward expansion of the English colonies . 44 George Washington's first appearance on the historical stage 44 The French power finally broken by the fall of Quebec and

V

Consequences of the revolution in 1688 placing William and

Mary on the English throne ...... 47

English origin of the witchcraft delusion .... 47

Royal governors under William . . . . . .48 xii CONTENTS

PAGE

Causes of annoyance and irritation 50

Pennsylvania and Maryland under proprietary governments

until the Revolutionary War . . . . . -51 Diversified pursuits of the people . . . . . -52

Changes in the social, religious, and political life of the people 52 Cause of the beginning of the decline in influence of the New

England ministry ......'.

Reaction from the severity of Puritan rule .

The "Great Revival" seeks to bring men back to the old

standards ........

Presbyterianism establishes itself in the Valley of Virginia Advances in popular education .....

Private instruction in Virginia .....

Newspapers begin publication in Boston, Philadelphia, New

York, and elsewhere ....... 56

Foundations of institutions of higher learning laid . . 56

VI

No precedents to guide the King and his ministers . . 59 The British answer to the "Boston massacre" ... 59 Danger to the King of yielding to the colonists ... 60 Unable to understand that principle, not expediency, governed the Americans ....... 60

Difference between the Stamp Act and the Townshcnd acts 62

The aim of Lord North's bills .62

New York, at first wavering, sides finally with her sister

Massachusetts and Virginia stand together .... 64

Patrick Henry an eloquent leader 64

All the colonies make common cause with Massachusetts

after the port of Boston is closed ..... 64

Samuel Adams the creator of the bond of union ... 65

The first Continental Congress meets 65

Why the colonists as a whole had at this time no desire for

independence ......... 65

Viewsof Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington on independence 66

Separation finally accepted as the only solution of the problem 66

Samuel Adams always working for that end .... 66 xiu

VII

Evacuation of Boston by the British . . . . . Washington's resourcefulness after defeat in the battle of

Long Island .....

Significance of Trenton and Princeton . Effect of Paine's Common Sense The Declaration of Independence .

The victory of Saratoga leads to the treaty with France And makes any further incursion from Canada impossible Washington's share in the Saratoga campaign Compensations for the battles of the Brandywine and Ger-

mantown .....

French help secured under the treaty .

Charles Lee's treachery at Monmouth .

Washington's two strategic principles .

What was accomplished by this policy .

Military inefficiency of Howe and Clinton

Energy and ability of General Greene .

Washington's plan to entrap Cornwallis

Aid from the French fleet

How the surrender at Yorktown was brought about

Treaty of peace signed ......

Part played in the war by American privateers Paul Jones's exploit in the Bonhovime Richard Character of Washington .....

The obstacles which he overcame ....

PAGE 69

69 70 70 70

72 72

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VIII The situation at the end of the war ..... 82

Changes in the direction of greater freedom .... 83

Prohibition of the slave trade and gradual emancipation foreshadowed ......... 83

Origin and growth of the idea of federation .... 84

Why the federal union proposed by Franklin in 1754 was

rejected 84

XIV

Defects of the Articles of Confederation

The states jealous of their rights ....

Washington's plan for a national system

How Maryland took the leadership toward this goal

The Ordinance of 17S7 a result ....

Its provisions and its significance ....

Causes which made the Ordinance of 17S7 possible

The fear of anarchy or civil war ....

The Constitutional Convention called to avert this danger

IX Union Under The Constitution

The Constitutional Convention a representative body

The result of its deliberations a remarkable document

Important provisions based on compromises .

The Federalist essays as an interpretation of the Constitution

All the states finally ratify the Constitution .

The Federalist party win the first election

Organization of the new government

Hamilton's qualities as Secretary of the Treasury

His financial and economic policy

What he hoped to accomplish

The Republican party favors a strict construction of the Constitution ........

Effects of foreign affairs on both parties

The power of the Federalists begins to wane .

Jay negotiates a treaty with England in order to avert wa

American commerce stimulated as a consequence .

The Alien and Sedition laws the crowning blunder of the Federalists .........

Purpose of the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions .

Demoralized, the Federalists lose the election of iSoo

Far-reaching effects of the invention of the cotton-gin

Cotton mills and other industries established

Application of steam power to boats

Rapid increase in population ....

New states admitted to the federal Union

The centre of population moves westward

AN ERA OF EXPANSION

The purchase of Louisiana by Jefferson . Jefferson's passion for peace ....

New influences of the American democracy . What the Louisiana purchase embraced Lewis and Clark cross the continent Captain Gray discovers and names the Columbia The expeditions of Captain Pike Fulton drives the Clermont to Albany and back power .......

Steam power revolutionizes inland water transport

The Barbary pirates are subdued .

New England whale fisheries ....

American vessels in the foreign trade Character of the exports and imports The population in 1810 .

PACE loS

River no

III by steam ation

IIS

XI THE WAR OF l8l2 AND ITS CAUSES

Attitude of Jefferson toward the merchant marine

Indignities inflicted upon .'Kmerican sailors and vessels

England's desire to cripple American commerce

Results of her policy of impressing American seamen

England's defense of this policy

How American shipping suffered .

The object of the embargo ....

The Non-intercourse law takes its place

Popular resentment increases

War is declared ......

Victories of American frigates Reasons for American superiority on the sea . The battles of Lake Erie and Lake Champlain The battle of New Orleans ....

Influences which brought about peace . Ravages of American privateers The Federalists as a party disappear

XII The tide of migration sets westward

The Cumberland Road constructed

The Erie Canal completed in 1825

Other canal systems built

Railroad construction after 1830 .

Locomotive engines come into use .

Increase of population in the West and Southwest

The tide of immigration begins to tlow heavily

Causes and quality of this immigration .

Numbers and destinations of these immigrants

Inventions and new industries

Expansion of the national domain .

The Floridas purchased and Texas wins its independence

Causes and results of the war with Mexico

Gold is discovered in California

New states received into the federal Union

Tariff legislation from 1816 to 1846

Andrew Jackson represents the new democracy

Economic changes in the South

The panic of 1837 and its causes .

The Monroe Doctrine enunciated .

XIII Activity of American shipping interests after the War of 181 2

Packet ships for north Atlantic service .

A prosperous decade for American shipping

English jealousy and alarm ...

American ships make world-wide voyages

The New England whalemen ...

Causes of the decline in the whaling industry

Steam power applied to vessels for transatlantic service

The Cunard line established .

Ericsson invents the screw propeller

American and British steamships .

Congress changes its attitude regarding subsidies Disasters to the Collins line steamships . Tonnage figures of American shipping . Supremacy of American clipper ships Exports chiefly agricultural products Causes of the decline in American shipping Outlook for the merchant marine .

Free materials for shipbuilding xvu

PAGE

148 148 148

XIV Golden Age Of American Letters

Early sensitiveness to English criticism . Influences toward literary expression Scott, Byron, and Goethe ....

Effects of foreign studies and travel on American si

writers .......

Currents of new ideas set in motion Irving the pioneer in American fiction . Cooper wins a wide audience by his novels His characteristics as a writer Poe's characters and technique in his stories . Hawthorne's romances .....

Two Years Before the Mast and U)iclc Tom's CahL Bryant, poet and journalist ....

Poe's philosophy of the art of poetry Lowell's most characteristic verse .

Longfellow and Whittier ....

The poems of Emerson .....

Four historical writers of distinction Bancroft and Prescott .....

Motley and Parkman .....

The breakfast-table philosophy of Holmes and th

Permanent value of Emerson's essays

• 155

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cholars anc

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n

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i6s e essays of

166 168

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XV Reasons for the attitude of the South toward slavery

Raising of slaves an important industry.

Attempts to legalize the African slave trade

Extent of the domestic trade in slaves .

Financial interest of the South in slavery

Importance and influence of the institution

The Missouri Compromise

Rise of the abolitionists under Garrison

Southern resentment natural

Attempts of the South to extend slavery

Clay's Compromise of 1850 .

Northern sympathizers with slavery

The Kansas-Nebraska act a turning-point

Kansas becomes a battle-ground

Causes of the change in northern sentiment

Origin of the Republican party

Fremont defeated in 1856

New anti-slavery leaders appear

Crimes against life and property in Kansas

Assault of Brooks upon Sumner

Decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case

Object and results of John Brown's raid

Significance of the Lincoln-Douglas debates

The slave owners desert Douglas .

Nomination and election of Lincoln

Why secession was inevitable from the point of view of the

The choice between slavery and the Union

Jefferson Davis elected President of the Confederate States

of America .....

Some compromise still looked for .

Peace-at-any-price leaders in the North . Lincoln makes the preservation of the Union the issue Results of this master-stroke of statesmanship

XVI The colossal task entrusted to Lincoln

The government unprepared for war

Buchanan merely marks time ....

At first Union forces out-generalled and out -fought McClellan as a commander .....

Different conditions in the West ....

Grant at Fort Donelson and Shiloh

Capture of New Orleans and surrender of Vicksburg divide

The Chattanooga campaign .

Grant made commander-in-chief Menace of English or French intervention English sympathy with the South .

The Trent affair .....

Effect of the Emancipation Proclamation

Charles Francis Adams in England

Anglo-Confederate commerce destroyers

Results of the fight between the Moiiilor and the Mcr.

Farragut at Mobile Bay

Renomination of Lincoln in 1864 .

The situation critical ....

McClellan nominated by the Democrats Opportune victories for the Republicans Lincoln re-elected .....

Causes of the collapse of the Confederacy

Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House

English intervention a costly delusion .

The South exhausted through starvation

Generals who distinguished themselves .

Davis's character and temperament

Cost of the war to the North and the South

Relative numbers and losses .

Forces more evenly matched than is generally supposed

Fruits of the war .

Assassination of Lincoln

His character ....

The Gettysburg address

192 192 192

193 194

XVII Demoralizing effects of the war

Why the ballot was given to the negro ....

Ex-Confederates believed to be enemies of the Union

The danger a real one to the men of that day

The "carpet-baggers" and "scalawags" in control in the

Restoration of white leadership .....

Tweed and the Tammany ring .....

The gas ring in Philadelphia ......

Grant the prey of unscrupulous schemers

The whiskey ring frauds ......

General Belknap forced to resign from the cabinet Financial panic of 1873 and its causes ....

The Credit Mobilier scandal ......

Blaine's relations with railway corporations fatal to his polit

ical ambition ........

Creditable acts of Grant's administrations

The award of the Geneva Tribunal ....

Issues in the Hayes-Tilden campaign ....

How the South justifies intimidation ....

XVIII A protective tariff an issue in i860

Industrial interests favor a high tariff

Democratic support for a high tariff

Cleveland's efforts to reduce duties

The Wilson bill and the Mills bill .

Republican extravagance

Power of business interests in regulating the t

The Dingley bill and the Payne-Aldrich bill

A board of tariff experts created

The contest for sound money

The West and the South demand more money

Popularity of the greenback ....

XXI

Legislation in favor of silver

The Bland-Allison bill

International bi-metallism ....

The Sherman Silver Purchase bill

Cleveland buys gold to protect the government's

Other causes of the panic of 1893 .

Defeat of Bryan and free silver in 1896

Revival of business in McKinley's administration

National finances placed on a gold basis in 1900

End of the agitation for free silver

The panic of 1907 and its causes .

The need of a new monetary system

The purchase of Alaska and its results .

Venezuela and the Monroe Doctrine

Cleveland's attitude in this affair .

A great danger happily averted

Operation of the Pendleton Civil Service law

Dr. Charles W. Eliot on the need of further reform

President Taft's recommendations .

The pohticians in the way of the reform

Inventive ingenuity of the people .

The telephone and the electric light

Influence of other inventions .

XIX The conflict between industrial combination and competition

Purpose of the Interstate Commerce law

Rise of industrial combinations or trusts

The Sherman Anti-trust bill and its object

Ineffective suits brought under it .

Effects of the war with Spain upon the business imagination

A great movement toward industrial consolidation

Technical conditions all favorable .....

Combinations of railway systems .....

Enormous financial resources concentrated

The dangers in the situation . . . . .

Roosevell's work in averting these dangers His remedy for threatened evils Suits begun against two great trusts Denounced for "interfering with Ijusincss" The Anti-trust law generally accepted as salutary Causes of the war with Spain The blowing up of the Maine The Spaniards easily conquered Two military lessons of the war The anti-imperialistic agitation The United States becomes a world-power Its influence in Chinese affairs Annexation of the Hawaiian Islands The Panama Canal .....

The United States gives independence to Cuba Fate of the new republic still in the balance . Roosevelt's restless energy ....

His work in checking the trusts and in conserving pub sources ........

XX Intellectual and a.'sthetic pursuits not altoget

A few of Mark Twain's books noteworthy

Whitman's place still in doubt

A group of historians ....

Works in scholarship and criticism

Writers of novels and short stories

Mr. Howells's literary career .

Poetry languishes .....

.American painters and sculptors

Interest in art in the middle and far West

.Advances in architecture

The future full of promise

Merchant princes as founders of museums a

Famous private collections

Development in music ....

Stagnation in the drama ther neglected md a!- collectors

264 266 267 267

CONTENTS xxiii

PAGE

Popular and advanced education ...... 267

Mr. Rockefeller's and Mr. Carnegie's benefactions . . 268

Princely gifts from other sources ...... 268

The public school system of the country .... 270

Higher education for men and women . . . . .270

Reasons for the tendency toward industrial and trade schools 271 Instruction in scientific farming ...... 271

Athletic sports in the colleges . . . . . .272

Effects of the increase in the size of colleges and universities 273 America's contributions to civilization, according to President

How the American race-mind has expressed itself . . . 273