A Brief History of the United States Part 1

A Brief History of the United States.

by John Bach McMaster.

PREFACE

It is not too much to a.s.sert that most of our countrymen acquire at school all the knowledge they possess of the past history of their country. In view of this fact it is most desirable that a history of the United States for elementary schools should present not only the essential features of our country's progress which all should learn, but also many things of secondary consequence which it is well for every young American to know.

In this book the text proper consists of the essentials, and these are told in as few words as truth and fairness will permit. The notes, which form a large part of the book, include the matters of less fundamental importance: they may be included in the required lessons, or may be omitted, as the teacher thinks proper; however, they should at least be read. Some of the notes are outline biographies of men whose acts require mention in the text and who ought not to be mere names, nor appear suddenly without any statement of their earlier careers. Others are intended to be fuller statements of important events briefly described or narrated in the text, or relate to interesting events that are of only secondary importance. Still others call attention to the treatment of historical personages or events by our poets and novelists, or suggest pa.s.sages in standard histories that may be read with profit. Such suggested readings have been chosen mostly from books that are likely to be found in all school libraries.

Much of the machinery sometimes used in history teaching--bibliographies, extensive collateral readings, judgment questions, and the like--have been omitted as out of place in a brief school history. Better results may be obtained by having the pupils write simple narratives in their own words, covering important periods and topics in our history: as, the discovery of America; the exploration of our coast and continent; the settlements that failed; the planting of the English colonies; the life of the colonists; the struggles for possession of the country; the causes of the Revolution; the material development of our country between certain dates; and other subjects that the teacher may suggest. The student who can take such broad views of our history, and put his knowledge in his own words, will acquire information that is not likely to be forgotten.

No trouble has been spared in the selection of interesting and authentic ill.u.s.trations that will truly ill.u.s.trate the text. Acknowledgment is due for permission to photograph many articles in museums and in the possession of various historical societies. The reproduction of part of Lincoln's proclamation on page 365 is inserted by courtesy of David McKay, publisher of Lossing's _Civil War in America_.

JOHN BACH McMASTER.

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

[Ill.u.s.tration: U. S. BATTLESHIP.]

COLUMBUS

Behind him lay the gray Azores, Behind the Gates of Hercules; Before him not the ghost of sh.o.r.es, Before him only sh.o.r.eless 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 G.o.d would know Should I and all my men fall dead.

These very winds forget their way, For G.o.d 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 sh.o.r.e 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 pa.s.sed 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. [3]

[Ill.u.s.tration: A CARAVEL, A SHIP OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.]

COLUMBUS PLANS A ROUTE.--Meanwhile Christopher Columbus [4] planned what he thought would be a shorter ocean route to the East. He had studied all that was known of geography in his time. He had carefully noted the results of recent voyages of exploration. He had read the travels of Marco Polo [5] and had learned that off the coast of China was a rich and wonderful island which Polo called c.i.p.ango. He believed that the earth is a sphere, and that China and c.i.p.ango could be reached by sailing about 2500 miles due westward across the Atlantic.

COLUMBUS SEEKS AID.--To make others think so was a hard task, for nearly everybody believed the earth to be flat, and several sovereigns were appealed to before one was found bold enough to help him. He first applied to the king of Portugal, and when that failed, to the king and queen of Spain. [6] When they seemed deaf to his appeal, he sent his brother to England, and at last, wearied with waiting, set off for France. Then Queen Isabella of Spain was persuaded to act. Columbus was recalled, [7] ships were provided with which to make the voyage, and on Friday, the 3d of August, 1492, the _Santa Maria_ (sahn'tah mah-ree'ah), the _Pinta_ (peen'tah), and the _Nina_ (neen'yah) set sail from Palos (pah'los), on one of the greatest voyages ever made by men. [8]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE COUNCIL OF SALAMANCA.]

THE VOYAGE WESTWARD.--The little fleet went first to the Canary Islands and thence due west across the Sea of Darkness, as the Atlantic was called. The voyage was delightful, but every sight and sound was a source of new terror to the sailors. An eruption of a volcano at the Canaries was watched with dread as an omen of evil. They crossed the line of no magnetic variation, and when the needle of the compa.s.s began to change its usual direction, they were sure it was bewitched. They entered the great Sarga.s.so Sea and were frightened out of their wits by the strange expanse of floating vegetation. They entered the zone of the trade winds, and as the breeze, day after day, steadily wafted them westward, the boldest feared it would be impossible to return. When a mirage and flights of strange birds raised hopes that were not promptly realized, the sailors were sure they had entered an enchanted realm. [9]

[Ill.u.s.tration: SEA MONSTERS DRAWN ON OLD MAPS.]

LAND DISCOVERED.--Columbus, who was above such fear, explained the unusual sights, calmed the fears of the sailors, hid from them the true distance sailed, [10] and steadily pursued his way till unmistakable signs of land were seen. A staff carved by hand and a branch with berries on it floated by. Excitement now rose high, and a reward was promised to the man who first saw land. At last, on the night of October 11, Columbus beheld a light moving as if carried by hand along a sh.o.r.e. A few hours later a sailor on the _Pinta_ saw land distinctly, and soon all beheld, a few miles away, a long, low beach. [11]

[Ill.u.s.tration: ANCIENT VIKING SHIP FOUND BURIED IN NORWAY.]

THE VOYAGE AMONG THE ISLANDS.--Columbus thought he had found one of the islands of the Indies, as the southern and eastern parts of Asia were called. Dressed in scarlet and gold and followed by a band of his men bearing banners, he landed, fell on his knees, and having given thanks to G.o.d, took possession for Spain and called the island San Salvador (sahn sahl-va-dor'), which means Holy Savior. The day was October 12, 1492, and the island was one of the Bahamas. [12]

After giving red caps, beads, and trinkets to the natives who crowded about him, Columbus set sail to explore the group and presently came in sight of the coast of Cuba, which he at first thought was c.i.p.ango. Sailing eastward, landing now and then to seek for gold, he reached the eastern end of Cuba, and soon beheld the island of Haiti; this so reminded him of Spain that he called it Hispaniola, or Little Spain.

THE FIRST SPANISH COLONY IN THE NEW WORLD.--When off the Cuban sh.o.r.e, the _Pinta_ deserted Columbus. On the coast of Haiti the _Santa Maria_ was wrecked. To carry all his men back to Spain in the little _Nina_ was impossible. Such, therefore, as were willing were left at Haiti, and founded La Navidad, the first colony of Europeans in the New World. [13]

This done, Columbus sailed for home, taking with him ten natives, and specimens of the products of the lands he had discovered.

THE VOYAGE HOME.--The _Pinta_ was overtaken off the Haitian coast, but a dreadful storm parted the ships once more, and neither again saw the other till the day when, but a few hours apart, they dropped anchor in the haven of Palos, whence they had sailed seven months before. As the news spread, the people went wild with joy. The journey of Columbus to Barcelona was a triumphal procession. At Barcelona he was received with great ceremony by the king and queen, and soon afterward was sent back with many ships and men to found a colony and make further explorations in the Indies.