A Brief History of the United States. John Bach McMaster
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
[Illustration: U. S. BATTLESHIP.]
CHAPTER
DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION I. THE NEW WORLD FOUND II. THE ATLANTIC COAST AND THE PACIFIC DISCOVERED III. FRANCE AND ENGLAND ATTEMPT TO SETTLE AMERICA
THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA IV. THE ENGLISH ON THE CHESAPEAKE V. THE ENGLISH IN NEW ENGLAND VI. THE MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN COLONIES VII. HOW THE COLONIES WERE GOVERNED
RIVALS OF THE ENGLISH VIII. THE INDIANS IX. THE FRENCH IN AMERICA X. WARS WITH THE FRENCH XI. THE FRENCH DRIVEN FROM AMERICA
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION XII. THE QUARREL WITH THE MOTHER COUNTRY XIII. THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE BEGUN XIV. THE WAR IN THE MIDDLE STATES AND ON THE SEA XV. THE WAR IN THE WEST AND IN THE SOUTH
DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNION XVI. AFTER THE WAR XVII. OUR COUNTRY IN 1789 XVIII. THE NEW GOVERNMENT XIX. GROWTH OF THE COUNTRY, 1789–1805 XX. THE STRUGGLE FOR COMMERCIAL INDEPENDENCE XXI. RISE OF THE WEST XXII. THE ERA OF GOOD FEELING XXIII. POLITICS FROM 1829 TO 1841 XXIV. GROWTH OF THE COUNTRY FROM 1820 TO 1840
THE LONG STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY XXV. MORE TERRITORY ACQUIRED XXVI. THE STRUGGLE FOR FREE SOIL XXVII. STATE OF THE COUNTRY FROM 1840 TO 1860 XXVIII. THE CIVIL WAR, 1861–1863 XXIX. THE CIVIL WAR, 1863–1865 XXX. THE NAVY IN THE WAR; LIFE IN WAR TIMES XXXI. RECONSTRUCTION
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT XXXII. GROWTH OF THE COUNTRY FROM 1860 TO 1880 XXXIII. A QUARTER CENTURY OF STRUGGLE OVER INDUSTRIAL QUESTIONS, 1872 TO 1897 XXXIV. THE WAR WITH SPAIN, AND LATER EVENTS
APPENDIX THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES TABLE OF STATES TABLE OF PRESIDENTS INDEX
LIST OF COLORED MAPS
FRENCH CLAIMS, ETC., IN 1700 EASTERN NORTH AMERICA, 1754 BRITISH TERRITORY, 1764 NORTHERN COLONIES DURING THE REVOLUTION—SOUTHERN COLONIES DURING THE REVOLUTION THE UNITED STATES, ABOUT 1783, SHOWING STATE CLAIMS THE UNITED STATES, 1805 THE UNITED STATES, 1824 THE UNITED STATES, 1850 THE UNITED STATES, 1861 THE WEST IN 1870 (ALSO 1860 AND 1907) THE UNITED STATES AND ITS OUTLYING POSSESSIONS
[Illustration: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."]
COLUMBUS
Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate said: "Now we must pray,
For, lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Admiral, speak; what shall I say?"
"Why say, 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'"
"My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak."
The stout mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
"What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?"
"Why you shall say at break of day,
'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'"
They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,
Until at last the blanched mate said:
"Why, now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way,
For God from these dread seas is gone,
Now speak, brave Admiral; speak and say"—
He said, "Sail on! sail on! and on!"
They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:
"This mad sea shows its teeth to-night.
He curls his lips, he lies in wait
With lifted teeth, as if to bite!
Brave Admiral, say but one good word;
What shall we do when hope is gone?"
The words leapt like a leaping sword:
"Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"
Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck,
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck—
A light! A light! A light! A light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
It grew to be Time's burst of dawn.
He gained a world; he gave that world
Its grandest lesson: "On! sail on!"
—Joaquin Miller.
Copyrighted and published by The Whitaker & Ray Wiggin Co. San Francisco,
California. Used by permission.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
CHAPTER I
THE NEW WORLD FOUND
The New World, of which our country is the most important part, was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. When that great man set sail from Spain on his voyage of discovery, he was seeking not only unknown lands, but a new way to eastern Asia. Such a new way was badly needed.
THE ROUTES OF TRADE.—Long before Columbus was born, the people of Europe had been trading with the far East. Spices, drugs, and precious stones, silks, and other articles of luxury were brought, partly by vessels and partly by camels, from India, the Spice Islands, and Cathay (China) by various routes to Constantinople and the cities in Egypt and along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. There they were traded for the copper, tin, and lead, coral, and woolens of Europe, and then carried to Venice and Genoa, whence merchants spread them over all Europe. [1] The merchants of Genoa traded chiefly with Constantinople, and those of Venice with Egypt.
THE TURKS SEIZE THE ROUTES OF TRADE.—While this trade was at its height, Asia Minor (from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean) was conquered by the Turks, the caravan routes across that country were seized, and when Constantinople was captured (in 1453), the trade of Genoa was ruined. Should the Turkish conquests be extended southward to Egypt (as later they were), the prosperity of Venice would likewise be destroyed, and all existing trade routes to the Orient would be in Turkish hands.
[Illustration: THE KNOWN WORLD IN 1490; ROUTES TO INDIA.]
THE PORTUGUESE SEEK A NEW ROUTE.—Clearly an ocean route to the East was needed, and on the discovery of such a route the Portuguese had long been hard at work. Fired by a desire to expand Portugal and add to the geographical knowledge of his day, Prince Henry "the Navigator" sent out explorer after explorer, who, pushing down the coast of Africa, had almost reached the equator before Prince Henry died. [2] His successors continued the good work, the equator was crossed, and in 1487 Dias passed the Cape of Good Hope and sailed eastward till his sailors mutinied. Ten years later Vasco da Gama sailed around the end of Africa, up the east coast, and on to India, and brought home a cargo of eastern products. A way to India by water was at last made known to Europe.