Our United States

Front matter

"The study of the past begins to inspire us with new hopes for the future of humanity. The life which, viewed from without, seems in us, and thousands such as we, so petty and trivial, catches a new significance and even grandeur from the thought that it is not the isolated, transient thing we deemed it. We begin to perceive that no earnest effort for the good of humanity is ever lost, no life, however obscure, that has been devoted to the highest ends, to the service of mankind, to the progress of truth and goodness in the world, is ever spent in vain. For we can think of them as contribixtions to a life which is not of to-day or yesterday, but of all time — a life which, never hasting, never resting, is through the ages ever advancing to its consummation." — John Caird.

America

Group before the New York Custom House, by Daniel Chester French.

Part I Discovery And Exploration (1492-1607) Paoe

The Way to Cathay ...... 1

PART U COLONIZATION OF THE NEW WORLD (1607-1763)

VI. The Old Dominion

VII. The Other Southern Colonies

VIII. The New England Colonies

IX. The Middle Colonies

X; The Struggle for a Continent

XI. Life in Colonial Times

57 69 78 96 111 126

Part III

XII. The Quarrel with the Mother Country

XIII. The Dawning of Independence

XIV. The Campaigns in the Middle States XV. The Closing Years of the Revolution

143 160 175 189

Part IV

XVI. The Critical Period under the Confederation 209

XVII. JSIaking the Federal Constitution . . . 221

XVIII. Setting the New Government in Motion . . 234

XIX. Our Difficult Foreign Relations . . . 244

XX. The Policies of Jefferson ..... 256 vu vm

CONTENTS

Part V The Rise Of American Nationality (1812-1840) Chapter Page

XXI. The War of 1812 269

XXII. New Tools and New Methods of Production 287

XXIII. Pushing the Frontier Westward . . . 293

XXIV. The Monroe Doctrine and the Missouri Com-

XXV. New Systems of Transportation . . . 315

XXVI. Jacksonian Democracy ..... 327

XXVII. How Democracy Changed American Life . 341

PART VI The Struggle for Kansas ..... 383

XXVIII.

XXIX.

XXX.

XXXI.

XXXII.

XXXIII. Social and Industrial Growth

Part VII

XXXIV. The Appeal to Arms

XXXV. The War in the West

XXXVI. The War in the East

XXXVII. Civil Affairs during the War

415 429 441 456

PART vni

XXXVIII. Restoring the Broken Union . . . .

XXXIX. Thirty Years of Foreign Affairs, 1865-1895

XL. The New West and the New South

XLI. The Age of Big Business .

XLII. Political and Economic Reforms

XLIII. The War with Spain ....

XLIV. Our Own Times and Its Problems .

XLV. The Progress of a Half Century, 1865-1915

XLVI. Democracy on Trial in the World War

XLVII. The Turning of the Tide .

XLVIII. Democracy's Victory and Its Meaning

CONTENTS

IX

Appendix

PAOE

Declaration of Independence ...... i

Constitution of the United States ..... v

Area, Population, and Electoral Votes of the States, 1912 xxiii

Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States . xxiv

LIST OF REFERENCE MAPS

The United States and Possessions

The World as Europeans Knew It before 1492

Trade Routes to the East ....

Toscanelli's Map .....

The Four Voyages of Columbus

Famous World Voyages ....

Spanish Voyages of Exploration and Conquest

Indian Tribes of North America

Principal English Grants, 1606-1665 .

Early Settlements in Virginia

The Other Southern Colonies

New Netherland and New Sweden

French Forts and Portage Routes

The Ohio Valley Country ....

The MidcUe Colonies during the French and Indian War

Colonial North America before the French and

Colonial North America after the French and

Boston and Vicinity in 1775

Campaigns in the Northern and Middle States

The West during the Revolution

Campaigns in the Southern States

North America at the Close of the Revolution

The Westward Movement ....

Exploring the Great West, 1803-1806

The Campaigns in the North, the West, and in

Washington .....

Campaigns in the Southwest The Westward Movement, 1820-1835 .

The United States in 1820 ....

The Route of the National Road, 1812-1840 Transportation Competition for the Western Trade Texas and the Mexican War ....

Front cover lining the

Indian Facing Indian

Facing

Facing

Facing Vicinity of

Facing

X CONTENTS

PAGE

Oregon and the Mexican Sessions . . . Facing 370

Strategy, Blockade, and Restriction of Confederate

Territory ........ Facing 422

Campaigns in the West ........ 432

Campaigns in the East ........ 443

Raih-oad Development in the West ...... 495

The Five German Drives of 1918 598

The Allied Counter-Offensives .... Facing 606

Territorial Changes in Europe .... Facing 630 The World Showing the United States and Possessions

Back cover lining (The titles in small capital letters indicate color maps.)

Hit.

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OUR UNITED STATES

A HISTORY

Chapter I The Way To Cathay

Early Ideas about the Land and the Sea. In the fifteenth century, the ooninion people of Europe knew less about the shape and size of the earth than is known to-day by almost every child. They thought of the earth, not as a great sphere whirling through space, but as a flat plain surrounded on all sides by the ocean. This ocean was the Atlantic, a dark waste of unexplored waters which fancy and superstition filled with all sorts of horrors. There were monster sea-serpents, and terrible whirlpools which swallowed up both ships and sailors ; there was a fiery zone at the equator which no man might cross ; there was — so runs the story in the Arabian Nights — a mysterious Island of Lodestone, which drew the nails from the ships and wrecked them.

Many centuries before, learned men like Aristotle had asserted their belief that the earth is round ; but as late as the fifteenth century, only the few accepted this idea. Concerning the size of the earth, men were almost as much mistaken as about its shape. European navigators knew onty their own continent, and parts of two others — southern Asia, and a narrow strip of Africa. Naturally, they thought of the earth as much smaller than it really is ; for they did not even dream of the existence of North and South America, or Australia. It is hard for us to-daj^ to understand why so little was then known about geography. But these early navigators lacked the means necessary to make long voyages. Their ships were so small that even the boldest sailors of our own time would hesitate to put to sea in them, much less to venture across the Atlantic. The maps and charts of those days were inaccurate and incomplete, nor did early navigators have that steadfast friend of the sailor, the mariner's compass. But the greatest obstacle of all to early navigation was fear of the unknown, mysterious ocean, — a fear based upon ignorance, like the child's fear of the dark.

The World as Europeans Knew it before 1492

The Crusades and the East, 1096-1272. The history of the ancient world centered about the Mediterranean Sea, and throughout the Middle Ages the life of Europe was still grouped about its shores. But at length the nations of Europe began to take more interest in the countries of the East, and became eager to learn more about the people and geography of Asia. This result was due chiefly to the Crusades, or Holy Wars of the Cross. These expeditions were organized by the rulers of Europe in order to rescue the Holy Land and the tomb of Christ from the infidel Turks. The Church favored the movement, and promised salvation to those who became soldiers of the Cross. During the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, thousands of Europeans took part in the Crusades, and on returning, told their countrymen about the wonderful things they had seen in the East.

THE WAY TO CATHAY 3

The Revival of Learning. Another influence that increased Europe's interest in the East was the Revival of Learning, vv^hich began in the tweh'th century. When the bar]:)arian tribes overwhelmed imperial Rome in 476 a.d., the culture and civilization of the ancient world liecame lost to Europe for nearly eight hundred years. The period that followed the downfall of Rome is called the Dark Ages, for during tliesc^ long centuries the people of Europe were densely ignoi'ant. Science and education could make no headway because of the constant warfare and the disorganized condition of society.

But from th(^ tw(4fth to the fourteenth centuries, a few European scholars began to study the art and litei-ature of Greece and Rome. The invention of printing (1450) brought about a general increase and spread of knowledge, and Europe began to get the benefit of the achievements of the ancient world in art and letters, as well as in government and law. The stimulus of the new movement was felt in every field of hiunan endeavor. Trade and manufactures increased, and people became eager to travel and learn about other countries. The spirit of enterprise was in the air ; men began to awake to new ideas and to have a new confidence in their own powers. Gradually the Dark Ages disappeared before a new age of enlightenment and progress. This new era is called the Renaissance or New Birth, because the world seemed to be born again. This intellectual advance made the fifteenth century an age of discovery and exploration, a time that could bring forth such men as Columbus and Magellan.

Europe in the Fifteenth Century. What kind of country was that Europe which forms the background of oin* American history ? Not the Europe which we know to-day, teeming with people, divided iiito strong national states, with many great industries, and a commerce covering every corner of the globe. On the contrary, Europe in the fifteenth century was thinly inhabited, its entire population being under fifty millions, or about equal to that of G.-eat Britain to-day. Agriculture on a primitive scale was everywhere the chief occupation of the people. Manufacturing was in the household stage of development ; nearly all of its processes were carried on by hand labor, for steam was unknown as a motive power, while mechanical devices were few and crude. Mediterranean commerce had created a few flourishing cities, Venice and Genoa being the chief rivals for trade with the Far East. Paris, too, was a considerable city, but its population was under two hundred thousand. London was merely an overgrown town, Berlin was a fishing village, and Petrograd did not exist at all.

As a rule, the people of Europe were not united under strong national governments, but owed allegiance to a large number of petty rulers. Only a few powers, Austria, France, Spain, and England, could be called nations in the sense that we use the word to-day. Government was everywhere monarchical in form, except in Switzerland and in the free cities of Italy and Germany. The powers of the monarch were unlimited except for the important privileges belonging to the Church and the nobles. The people had no voice in their government, and of course no share in education, which was only for the favored few. Their part was to till the soil, to pay the taxes, and to fight the battles of their overlords. But the age of feudalism was passing, and the Revival of Learning brought about a new era in which the people were to have some share in education and in government.

In the age of Columbus, western Europe had a single religion, for Protestantism did not have its beginning until early in the sixteenth century. Throughout all western Europe, the Pope or Bishop of Rome was acknowledged as the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church ; while the people of Russia and southeastern Europe belonged to the Greek Catholic Church, with its head at Constantinople.

Trade Routes to the East. As a result of the Crusades, Europe looked to Asia for such luxuries as spices, drugs, jewels, rare woods, silks, rugs, and ivory. There were three important trade routes leading to Asia and the Far East. The northern route started from Genoa, and after crossing the Mediterranean to Constantinople, passed tln-ough the Black and Caspian seas into China. The southern route started from Venice, passed through the Mediterranean Sea to Alexandria, then by caravan

THE WAY TO CATHAY to the Red Sea and on across the Indian Ocean. The middle route began at Antioch and made its way through the Persian Gulf to India.

The trade routes were long and difficult, and fraught with danger. Chinese or Malay junks and long-winding caravans brought the products of the Orient to Constantinople, Alexandria, or Antioch. At these ports, European merchants bartered

Trade Routes to the East

with the Arab traders, offering them linens, woolen goods, glass vessels, and wines in exchange for the coveted silks, spices, perfumes, rugs, and porcelains. After the Arabs had taken a rich toll for their services as middlemen, the Oriental wares were loaded on the Italian trading fleets, to be distributed throughout Europe.

The commerce with Asia gave employment to thousands of men, and made Venice and Genoa the wealthiest cities of Europe. European merchants kept in close touch with the " Indies," a vague term used to denote southeastern Asia, as well as China and Japan. Cathay (China) was the name given to the farthermost land lying on the border of the great Eastern Ocean. This country took a strong hold on the imagination of the people. It was reported to have a large population, hundreds of wealthy cities, and to abound in all the luxuries of the time. Farther eastward lay Cipango (Japan), an indistinct island country about which almost nothing was known.

Marco Polo and His Travels, 1271-1295. Europe's information about the Indies came from the reports of a few bold travelers, the most famous of whom was Marco Polo, a Venetian. Marco Polo traveled with his father and uncle, merchants who made a remarkable journey to northern China or Cathay. They remained for twenty years in Peking, returning at last by way of India, the Red Sea and Cairo, then back to Venice by crossing the Mediterranean. Marco Polo afterwards became a political prisoner in Genoa, and to while away the time, wrote the story of his travels. This famous book told of a vast eastern ocean beyond the land of Cathay, an account which seemed to confirm the belief of the older writers that the earth is round, and that this ocean east of China might be the same as that which washed the shores of western Europe. A copy of Polo's book afterwards came into the hands of Christopher Columbus, and helped form his idea of the earth as a sphere.

The Turks Cut Off the Trade Routes. In the fifteenth century the Ottoman Turks, whose westward advance was only delayed by the Crusaders, began a desperate move on Constantinople. This important city fell into their hands in 1453. The result was to cut off the trade from Genoa to the East by way of the Black Sea route. As the Turks spread their power and influence throughout Asia Minor toward Egypt, the other trade routes were also closed. A new route between Europe and the East must be found. A few thoughtful men began to ask themselves, " Might not Cathay and the Indies be reached by an ocean route? "

Prince Henry the Navigator. Spain and Portugal began to see that their trade would be increased by the discovery of an ocean route to the Far East. Foremost among the men eager to

THE WAY TO CATHAY 7

experiment for a new route was Prince Henry the Navigator, of Portugal. Prince Henry was an earnest, devout man, anxious above all to find a route which would divert the trade of the Orient from infidel to Christian countries. He assembled around him students, mariners, and scientific men, and established a school of navigation on lonely Cape St. Vincent, which the ancients had supposed the westernmost limit of the habitable world. Under his direction, Portugal entered upon a glorious period of pioneer work in attempting to find a new sea route.

Scientific Inventions. The efforts of Prince Henry and his associates could not have been so successful without the scientific inventions just then coming into common use. The compass, by which the ship's direction can be told in all kinds of weather, and the astrolabe, an instrument to determine position with regard to the stars, gave the mariner more confidence ; for the first time he felt that he could sail out of sight of land with comparative safety. Then the invention of paper, and the newly discovered art of printing, were making books of travel and geography more accessible. Finally, the invention of gunpowder gave the explorer added security against such people as he should find who still depended upon spears and arrows.

The Portuguese Sail Around Africa to India. Before the old trade routes were entirely closed, the Portuguese had begun the work of finding a new sea route. By the year 1460, Portuguese navigators had visited all the island groups off the coast of Africa, the Madeiras, the Canaries, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands. Many people began to believe that a voyage around the southern point of Africa would bring the mariner tc India. Portuguese discoveries made exploration popular, and created a bold school of navigators. Attracted by the slave trade and the lure of a fabled " gold coast," they crept farther and farther down the shore of Africa. At last, in 1487, Bartholomew Diaz sailed around the southern extremity of Africa, but failed to reach India because of the furious gales. Diaz named the headland which he had passed the " Stormy Cape " ; but King John of Portugal christened it the Cape of Good Hope, because it seemed to promise so much. Among the shipmates of Captain Diaz on his famous voyage was Bartholomew, the younger brother of Christopher Columbus.

About ten years later, Vasco da Gama followed up the work of Diaz by crossing the Indian Ocean to Calicut in southern India. This completed the proof of the route to India by the circumnavigation of Africa. Well might the king of Portugal exult over this voyage. The first mariner to reach India by ocean, Da Gama had actually visited Arab cities, bringing back spices, jewels, silks, and tapestries. Under Prince Henry's leadership, Portugal had been the pioneer in exploring the ocean route to the far-famed Indies ; the voyage of Da Gama won for the little kingdom the honor of first reaching the coveted goal.

Bassett, J. S., Short History of the United States, pp. 23-27. Becker, C. L., Beginnings of the American People (Riverside Series),

pp. 1-12.

Channing, Edward, History of the United States, I, ch. I. Cheyney, E. p., European Background of American History (American

Nation Series), chs. I-IV.

Hall, Jennie, Our Ancestors in Europe, pp. 341-349. Hart, A. B., Editor, American Patriots and Statesmen, I, pp. 31-35. Johnson, W. H., French Pathfinders in North America, chs. IV-V. Johnson, W. H., The World's Discoverers, chs. II, VIII-XI. Parkman, Francis, The Struggle for a Continent, pp. 69-82.

1. Early Ideas about the Earth. Archer, A. B., Stories of Exploration and Discovery, ch. I ; Fiske, John, Discovery of America, I, chs. III-IV ; Sparks, E. E., Expansion of the American People, ch. I.

2. The Crusades. Gordy, W. F., American Beginnings in Europe, chs. XIX-XX ; Hall, Jennie, Our Ancestors in Europe, pp. 329-333.

3. Marco Polo. Archer, A. B., Stories of Exploration and Discovery, ch. Ill; Fiske, John, Discovery of America, I, p. 280; Johnson, W. H., The World's Discoverers, ch. I.

CHAPTER 11

Christopher Columbus. All this travel toward Asia paved the way for some bold mariner to act on the theory that by sailing to the west, " the Indies in the East might be readily found." The man for this undertaking was Christopher Columbus, the son of a humble woolcomber of Genoa. Born about the year 1446 or 1447, Columbus was a sailor on the Mediterranean at the age of fourteen. He soon became a fearless navigator, as well as an expert maker of maps and charts.

About the 3'ear 1471 Columbus went to Lisbon to live.

There he married the daughter of one of Prince Henry's navigators, and later made his home on the island of Porto Santo. From this island Columbus sailed on Portuguese ships as far south as Guinea, and north possibly as far as Iceland. These

Christopher Columbus voyages, with his study of maps and charts, helped him form his idea of a western route to India. Columbus was firm in the belief that the earth is round ; so he reasoned that by sailing westward, he could come to China and Japan in the East. Toscanelli's Map. Toscanelli, a native of Florence and the most famous astronomer of his day, shared this belief. Toscanelli wrote letters to Columbus setting forth his ideas about the shape of the earth, and he may have sent him a copy of a map that he had made. This map showed the shape of the earth as a sphere, and located the eastern countries visited by Marco Polo. Toscanelli underestimated the size of the earth, and so he placed Japan where the Gulf of Mexico actually is. Neither he nor Columbus dreamed of a continent between Europe and Asia. We know that Columbus made a careful study of Marco Polo's book of travels, for the copy that he used has been preserved, with his own notes written on the margin of the pages.

Columbus Seeks Aid. While Diaz was on his way back to Portugal after discovering the Cape of Good Hope route, Columbus was seeking aid for his voyage to the west. He first offered his services to Genoa, then to the king of Portugal, who called him a dreamer. Finally he turned to the rulers of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. The Spanish monarchs were making a final effort to drive the Moors out of Spain, and so had little time for Columbus or his plans. Still they commanded him to argue his cause before a council of learned men at Salamanca. Again was he pronounced a dreamer. " If the earth were round," jeered the skeptics, " the men on the other side of it would have to walk with their heads downward, while rain and snow must fall upward. " For seven long years, Columbus pleaded in vain at the Spanish court. Meantime his brother

Bartholomew, back from the famous Diaz voyage, made an unsuccessful attempt to secure help from King Henry VII of England.

At last Columbus gave up hope of securing aid at the Spanish court, and started for France to make the same appeal that Spain had rejected. Shortly after he reached the little town of Palos on the coast of Spain, a messenger arrived from Queen

Exact Reproduction of the Santa Maria at the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893, now in Jackson Park, Chicago

Isabella to summon him back. After all these years of disappointment and failure, Columbus was to have his chance. Queen Isabella herself gave most of the money with which to equip three small sailing vessels, the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta. The vessels themselves were provided by the town of Palos ; the crews consisted of about ninety unwilling men, some of whom were recruits from Spanish jails.

Columbus Sails Westward. A little before sunrise on August 3, 1492, the people of Palos watched the three small ships start on the world's most famous voyage. The Santa Maria was chosen for the flagship because it was the largest, although only about sixty-five feet over all. The other two vessels were commanded by the Pinzon brothers, wealthy citizens of Palos. The route lay south to the Canaries, island colonies of Spain. From this point, Columbus meant to sail straight across the Atlantic to the fabled Chinese cities of Marco Polo as shown on the Toscanelli map.

Six days after leaving Palos the expedition reached the Canaries, and at the end of the first week in September it was fairly launched upon the open sea. Panic terror filled the hearts of the crew as land faded from sight on the eastern horizon, and the dark waste of waters unrolled before their gaze. But added terrors were in store for them. As the ships sailed westward, the compass needle swayed more and more to the northwest, instead of pointing toward the north star. About the middle of September, masses of seaweed were encountered, suggesting hidden shoals and all the old stories of impassable seas. Worst of all, the trade winds l)lew steadily from the east, and the wretched sailors feared that there would never be a western wind to carry them home.

Discovery of America, 1492. The crew and even some of the officers were on the point of mutiny, almost ready to throw overboard the admiral who steered so relentlessly toward the west. While they were plotting, flocks of birds were seen overhead, apparently a promise of land. About two o'clock on the morning of October 12, 1492, the lookout at the masthead of the Pinla joyfully shouted, " Land ahead ! " and the ships soon cast anchor in the harbor of a little island of the Bahama group. The boats were lowered at dawn on the following day, and Columbus with most of his men went ashore.

The first act of the pious admiral was to give thanks to God for the happy ending of his voj^age. A host of copper-colored men, women, and children looked on with awe and amazement as Columbus drew his sword and planted the banner of Spain on the land which he claimed for Ferdinand and Isabella. Columbus supposed that he had reached the outlying islands

The Four Voyages of Columbus

of India, so he called the natives Indians. This name, based upon a mistaken idea, has always clung to the original inhabitants of the New World. Later, still in search of Japan or China, he coasted among the West Indies, visiting Cuba and Haiti. Returning to Spain in January, 1493, the great admiral was received with every mark of favor by Ferdinand and Isabella.

Later Voyages and Death of Columbus. Columbus made three other voyages to the New World which he still thought to be India. His second voyage was in 1493, when with a splendid fleet of seventeen ships and thirteen hundred men, he sailed to plant a Spanish settlement in Haiti. The colony was unsuccessful ; little gold was found, while starvation and sickness cost many lives. The third voyage was made five years later, along the coast of South America. Columbus discovered the mouth of the Orinoco River, and concluded that so large a stream must flow out of a vast continent. On his fourth and last voyage in 1502, he passed along the coast of Honduras. While Columbus was making his later voyages, Vasco da Gama had reached the real Indies by way of the Cape of Good Hope (1498). This Portuguese success overshadowed the costly expeditions of Columbus, which brought no immediate returns. The admiral had bitter enemies among the Spanish grandees, and on his third voyage they placed him under arrest and sent him home in irons. Although the king and queen promptly ordered his release, they did not restore his former privileges. For example, Columbus was not again permitted to act as governor of the lands that he discovered, as guaranteed under his original compact.

When Queen Isabella died, Columbus lost his only protector. His enemies became more powerful, and the last days of his life were passed in sickness and poverty. His sons were jeered at in the streets as " the sons of the Admiral of the Land of Mosquitoes." Columbus died at Valladolid in 1506, probably without knowing that he had discovered a New World. Neglected and unhonored at his death, it remained for future ages to give him his just fame. The great achievement of Columbus was due not so much to his true notion of the shape of the earth, as to the heroic spirit which alone made possible his first immortal voyage. Other men had reasoned that the earth is a sphere ; Columbus was the first to put his theory to the test of action.

The Northmen Visit America. Columbus was by no means the first European to visit the shores of America. Far to the north of Europe, on the Scandinavian peninsula, lived a people whose roving sailors probably reached America as early as 1000 A.D. The Northmen were sturdy, fair-haired warriors, whose chief aim in life was conquest and adventure. Roaming the sea in their long boats, they visited and colonized Iceland and distant Greenland. In one of these voyages from Norway to Greenland, the Norse leader, Leif Ericson, missed his way. According to Norse tradition, he landed upon a strange coast west and south of Greenland, probably either Nova Scotia or some part of New England. The Northmen built huts and spent the winter in this region, which they named Vinland or Wineland because the wild grapes were so abundant. Several visits to this new coast were made, but the difficulty of the voyage and the hostility of the Indians at last put an end to the expeditions.

Since the Northmen were cut off by sea from the rest of Europe, the story of their voyages was not generally known ; and even if known, the importance of the discovery could not have been appreciated by the ignorant Europeans of the eleventh century. If Columbus made a visit to Iceland, he may have talked with sailors who were familiar with the tales of the Norse sea rovers.

Division of the Newly Discovered Lands. With the discoveries of Columbus and Vasco da Gama, Spain and Portugal became active rivals for the islands and wealth of the Indies. To prevent disputes between the two nations, Pope Alexander VI issued a decree dividing che new discoveries. The Pope drew an imaginary line north and south through the middle of the Atlantic. He announced that all lands west of this line should belong to Spain, while all east of it should belong to Portugal. The two countries afterwards agreed upon a new line, three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. This gave all of the New World to Spain, except the eastern portion of Brazil.