THE STORY OF THE NATION.
Following the exultation of victory came a period of uncertainty and
apprehension. Financially the country was in a state of utter collapse.
The result of the war was a foreign debt of eight millions, and a
domestic debt of thirty millions of dollars. The army was unpaid and
mutinous; only the tact and energy of Washington prevented an outbreak.
The Articles of Confederation, ratified March 1st, 1781, were
insufficient to the emergencies which arose on every hand. Congress
could obtain no revenue except by requisition from the States; it had no
power to lay a tax or to enforce payment from the States. It had no
common executive, and was really less a governmental power than a
consulting body. A condition bordering on anarchy reigned throughout the
States. The legislatures of States having seaports taxed the people of
other States for trading with foreign ports through them. Some even
taxed imports from sister States. All the States neglected the
requisitions of Congress, and New Jersey actually refused payment
altogether. It was becoming alarmingly evident that the central
government must be strengthened, and new methods of administration
adopted, or the confederacy would go to pieces.
All the States except Rhode Island appointed delegates to a general
Convention to be held in Philadelphia in May, 1787, for the purpose of
“devising such further provisions as may be necessary to render the
Federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of the Union.” The
members were the wisest and most honorable men in America. The venerable
Franklin, now eighty-one years of age, George Washington, a long list of
Revolutionary heroes, and eight signers of the Declaration of
Independence were among the distinguished delegates. The Convention was
occupied for nearly four months. The proceedings were secret; the
journal being intrusted to the care of Washington, who deposited it in
the State Department. This journal was afterward printed. Notes of
several members were published in 1840, and from these we have nearly a
complete view of the process by which the Constitution was formed.
The antagonisms of the States were many and bitter. Chief among them was
the slavery question. So hot discussions on this point became that for a
fortnight the Convention was on the verge of dissolution, and even
Washington despaired of a favorable issue to the proceedings, and almost
repented of having had anything to do with the Convention. At this time
Franklin made his characteristic speech on the wide diversity of
opinion, in which he said that when a broad table is to be made, and the
edges of the planks do not fit, the artisan takes a little from both and
makes a good joint. In like manner here, both sides must part with some
of their demands in order to join in an accommodating position. With the
agreement to compromise, the work went more rapidly, and on the 12th of
September the completed Constitution was ordered printed. The signing,
and the ratification by States of the Constitution followed.
The first Congress assembled in New York on the 4th of March, 1789.
Delegates arrived from all the States excepting Rhode Island and North
Carolina. On opening the votes of the electors, it was ascertained that
George Washington was elected President of the United States, and John
Adams, having the next highest number of votes, was declared
Vice-President. On the 23d of April the President-elect arrived in New
York, and on the 30th was inaugurated. After a laborious session
Congress adjourned to meet on the first Monday in January.
The national government was received with powerful opposition by a
considerable proportion of voters, and two political parties were thus
formed at the very outset. The friends of the Constitution were called
Federalists, and the opposing party were styled anti-Federalists. In
November of this year North Carolina adopted the Constitution, and was
admitted as a State, and Rhode Island followed next year. In 1790 the
location of the Capital was decided upon, and its removal to the Potomac
designated to take place in the year 1800; in the meantime, the seat of
government was to be established at Philadelphia. A census was taken,
which showed the population of the United States to be 3,929,326, of
which 695,655 were slaves. In 1791 the opposition to the Federal party
grew stronger, when the State debts were assumed by Congress, and
Hamilton broached the scheme of a National bank. Jefferson, who had been
first Secretary of the State, headed the opposing party, who adopted the
name of Republicans, and denounced the Hamilton party as Monarchists,
and declared against the tendency to centralization of power. The
Federal party continued in the majority, however, and Washington and
Adams were re-elected in 1792. In the elections of 1800 the Republicans
were victorious; Jefferson became President and Aaron Burr
Vice-President. The two men received an equal number of votes, and
Congress had to decide between them. For many years the “State Rights”
Republican-Democratic party continued in power.
The most important event of the early part of the nineteenth century was
the purchase of Louisiana from the French. This enormous territory had
been lost to England after the French and Indian war; it embraced the
whole Mississippi Valley, and extended indefinitely westward. In 1762 it
was transferred to Spain, although open possession was not given until
1769. In 1763 Great Britain had obtained, by treaty, that portion lying
east of the Mississippi. In 1783, of course, this came into possession
of the United States. All the territory west, and on the east from the
31st parallel to the Gulf, remained in the hands of Spain. The
importance of having the free use of the river as a channel of
transportation to the sea was early felt. This necessity was intensified
as settlements increased and the Spanish authorities began to manifest a
hostile policy. In 1800 Spain gave back to France the province of
Louisiana. It was some time before the transaction became known, but the
moment it was made public Jefferson saw that our troubles with France
were not an end. The day she took possession the old friendship, long
strained, would come to an end, and war seemed near, for in 1802 came
the news that an expedition was preparing to cross to Louisiana.
Meanwhile the navigation of the river was closed to American citizens;
all trade was forbidden them, and the right of deposit at New Orleans
was taken away. Protected by this right, traders of Kentucky and Ohio
had been accustomed to float tobacco, flour, etc., down the river and
store them in warehouses to await the arrival of sloops or scows to
carry them to their ports. By the treaty of 1795 some convenient place
must always be open for these goods, and when New Orleans was closed
there was no other place. Jefferson’s plan was to buy so much territory
on the east hank of the river as would settle forever the question of
the use of its mouth. Although vigorously opposed by the Federalists in
Congress, who wished to declare war against Spain, Jefferson’s proposal
was acted upon, and James Monroe was sent over to act with the ministers
to France and Spain in the matter of the purchase. Talleyrand hindered
the matter as much as possible, and Livingston finally was obliged to
break over the bonds of diplomatic etiquette and address himself
directly to the First Consul. Napoleon agreed to sell, not part but all;
the first price asked was one hundred and twenty-five million francs,
and the final price agreed upon was eighty millions. Jefferson, although
only authorized to spend two million dollars, accepted the treaty,
summoned Congress, and urged it to perfect the purchase. Fifteen million
dollars seemed an enormous sum for the people to assume to pay, and the
old Federalists fought the measure hotly, but in the end the treaty was
ratified by Congress. On November 10th the act creating the eleven
million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars’ worth of stock called
for by the first Convention was passed, and in December, 1803, the
United States took possession of Louisiana.
The immense territory thus acquired was an unexplored and unknown region
to the Americans of that day. Only such scraps of information as came
from hunters and trappers, and the wild tales of the Indians had reached
the officials. And such tales! There were Indians of gigantic stature; a
mountain of salt one hundred and eighty miles in length, all brilliant
white in the sun, not a tree on it, and saline streams flowing from its
base. There were prairies too rich for anything but grass, soil so
fertile that things grew for the planting. In 1804 a party of explorers
under Lewis and Clark was sent out by the government; they followed the
Missouri to its source, crossed the mountains to the Pacific, and
traversed all that region now known as Oregon.
The commerce of America now began to increase with remarkable rapidity,
and complications arising with other countries obliged the United States
to protect her commerce by engaging in two wars, one with Tripoli and
one with England. France and England were engaged in that mighty
struggle which followed the events of the French Revolution. Seriously
in need of men and unable to buy them from the German Duchies as she had
done in her war with the colonies, England began that system of
impressment of seamen which finally became so intolerable that war was
necessary. The evil was one of long standing. As far back as 1796
application was made in London for the release of two hundred and
seventy seamen thus seized within a year. The people of the United
States were roused to a state of indignation. Measures for fitting out a
suitable naval armament were taken, and a policy of aggression decided
upon.
The war with Britain, however, was preceded by a three years’ war with
the piratical power of Tripoli, which with the other Barbary States of
North Africa, had for many years made the Mediterranean unsafe for
commerce. The weaker mercantile nations of Europe, after vainly
endeavoring to suppress these outrages, had consented to pay an annual
tribute for the security of their vessels. The United States did the
same for a time, but having grown weary of this course declared war
against Tripoli. The contest ended in 1804, and resulted in the partial
suppression of the piracies. It needed a second struggle in 1815 to
induce Algiers and Tunis to give up all claims to tribute from the
United
[Illustration: MAIN BUILDING, INTERNATIONAL CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION,
1876.]
States, and this was accomplished under the same talented commander who
brought the first war to a successful close--the gallant Commodore
Decatur.
The history of the second war with Great Britain begins, as we have
seen, as far back as 1796. The aggressive acts of that power were of a
nature that would not be tolerated for a single month did they occur in
the present day. An official report made in 1812 by the Secretary of
State declared that five hundred and twenty-eight American merchantmen
had been taken by England prior to 1807, and three hundred and
eighty-nine after that period. The value of those vessels and cargoes,
estimated at the lowest figures, would amount to nearly thirty million
dollars. An abundant warrant for war, surely; yet the declaration was
carried in Congress by an astonishingly small majority. The Federal
party, opposed to all the Jeffersonian measures, fought with especial
bitterness--and with especial justification--the embargo which the
executive had declared and which had really caused severe distress to
the industrial classes. The depression continued throughout the war, and
the suffering experienced gave strong support to the measures of the
so-called “Peace Party,” who threw every obstruction in the way of its
successful termination. Altogether it was a war for which no adequate
provision was made. The navy of the United States was in no condition
to cope with that of England; the regular army numbered less than seven
thousand men, and the other requisites of war were as poorly provided
for. The time, however, was most opportune. England was exhausted with
her struggle with France, which even then was continuing, and required
most of her attention. Yet so miserably was the war managed that the
first year was a record of disaster to the United States. Our naval
operations were successful from the start, and the striking series of
victories at sea filled England with astonishment and dismay. These
successes were followed by similar ones on the lakes, where two of the
most notable battles of the war were won. In 1814 the British took
possession of Washington, burned the Capitol, the President’s house, the
public offices, the navy yard and arsenal, and the bridge over the
Potomac. They were repulsed by the Americans a few days later and forced
to leave the Chesapeake. The British fleet then sailed south, and in
December appeared before New Orleans. The gallant defense made by
Jackson lasted nearly a month and resulted in victory for the United
States. Before the first gun was fired the treaty of peace had been
signed, but word did not reach the combatants in the South until
February.
The treaty settled certain questions of boundary, of fisheries, and
provided the abolishment of naval forces on the lakes. On the subject of
impressment it was silent, as it could very well have been, since
America had amply proved her ability to defend her commerce and her
citizens in any future difficulty.
The best result of the war was the rapid increase of American
manufactories, caused by the impossibility, during the blockade, of
obtaining goods from abroad. After the blockade was raised many of these
manufactories were ruined, in consequence of the sudden influx of
foreign goods, but the impetus given had been a healthy one, and home
industries had received a start, at least. Agricultural products greatly
increased in value, land and labor rose in proportion, and the shipping
interests of the country grew more prosperous than ever. During this
period there was evinced a growing tendency to the division of the
country into a Northern and a Southern section. In the one, free labor
and advancing commercial and manufacturing interests created one set of
conditions, while in the South, slave labor and developing agricultural
wealth induced quite another. With the invention of the cotton-gin, in
1791, cotton quickly rose to a prominent position among American
industries. Slave labor, which had been growing undesirable, now became
of high value, and the slaves in the country increased from 657,047 in
1790 to--in round numbers--1,600,000 in 1820. By this time slavery had
almost vanished from the North, and the industrial interests of the
country were becoming so widely different that the character of the
people could not avoid suffering proportionate changes. In the North
industry was commended above all things, and the worker was the peer of
any man--theoretically speaking. In the South labor was looked down
upon, and the planter gave himself up to social pleasures, even leaving
the overseeing of his estate in the hands of an agent. While the
tendency in the North was the breaking down of all class distinction,
the South was becoming more and more of an aristocracy. This diversity
of conditions was destined to increase with time, until its final
outcome was most inevitably war for the preservation of those principles
of freedom and democracy, on which the Union was founded, and on which
its existence depends.
During this period, also, the West was filling up with remarkable
rapidity. State after State was admitted, until, by 1820, the original
thirteen were increased to twenty-four. All the States east of the
Mississippi were admitted by this time, and west of the river were
Missouri and Louisiana. It was a very rude population that filled the
frontier. Refugees from all the Eastern States fled to escape justice,
and finally formed the majority of the inhabitants. For many years
villainy reigned supreme, but the invading march of civilization
gradually introduced a better element, and the West offered a less
attractive harbor to the unregenerate.
Allusion must be made to the invasion of Florida by General Jackson in
1818. From 1812 difficulties had existed with the Seminole Indians,
while many fugitive slaves fled to the northern part of the State and
amalgamated with the savages. These negroes settled on the Appalachicola
River, and, furnished with arms by the British, defied the American
authorities. Their stronghold was destroyed by General Clinch in 1816,
but annoyance from the Seminoles continued. In 1818 General Jackson
invaded Florida, destroyed the Indian towns, and took possession of the
town of Pensacola and the Spanish fort of St. Mark’s. The controversy
thus provoked with Spain resulted in the cession of the whole of Florida
to the United States, February 22d, 1819.
The political state of the country from 1816 to 1820, during Monroe’s
administration, was peculiar in that only one political party existed--a
condition of affairs never witnessed before or since. This was known as
“the era of good feeling.” Industrially, however, it was an era of great
depression. The prosperity which followed the war of 1812 had vanished,
and the natural revulsion from abnormally high prices had come. The
banks suspended specie payments and gold and silver disappeared. The
Bank of the United States was in a demoralized condition, and ruin and
bankruptcy prevailed everywhere. From this distress it took several
years for the United States to recover. A notable feature of the time
was the consideration in Congress of the problem of internal
improvements. Large appropriations were made for a canal route across
Florida, for a national road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Ohio, etc.
The greatest enterprise was the Erie Canal, built by the State of New
York at a cost of ten millions of dollars. Among other events worthy of
mention was the founding of the Anti-Slavery Association in 1815, the
formation of the first savings bank in Philadelphia, the founding of
colleges and universities in almost every State in the Union, and the
crossing of the first ocean steamship.
The history of this period must not be closed without allusion to the
famous “Monroe Doctrine.” America had long held itself aloof from
interference in European affairs, but until now she had never asserted
her determination not to be interfered with. In Monroe’s message of
1823, occurs the passage which, although it never received official
sanction from Congress, immediately became a fixed and unalterable part
of our national policy: that any attempt to extend foreign systems of
government to any part of this hemisphere is declared dangerous to our
peace and safety, and shall be taken as a manifestation of an unfriendly
disposition toward the United States.
In 1819 occurred the exciting controversy known as the “Missouri
Compromise,” which settled one phase of the slavery question, and paved
the way for its final solution. When Missouri applied for admission as a
State, the House of Representatives voted to make that admission
conditional on the prohibition of the further introduction of slaves,
and the emancipation of all slave children born after the admission, as
soon as they reached the age of twenty-five. The Senate, however,
rejected this condition, and Congress adjourned without coming to any
final decision. All during the next session the question was fought,
until in the night between the 2d and 3d of March, 1820, the State was
admitted on a compromise. Slavery was permitted in its territory, but
forever interdicted in the territory, except Missouri, lying north of
thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes north latitude. If the latter had
affected Missouri alone it would have been comparatively insignificant,
but there were two great principles involved which bore upon the welfare
of the entire nation. These were the questions of slavery and of State
sovereignty as opposed to United States supremacy. The result of the
Compromise was that the country was divided upon a fixed geographical
basis into free and slave sections. Each of the two groups consolidated
more and more, and the antagonism between the North and South inevitably
increased.
In 1835 an event took place which was destined ultimately to be of great
interest to the United States. This was the revolution in Texas, then a
province of Central America. A Declaration of Independence was made on
the 2d of March, 1836; on March 6th the famous massacre of the Alamo
occurred, and two weeks later the battle of San Jacinto, in which the
Mexican forces were beaten, and the President, Santa Anna, taken
prisoner. As a condition to his release the Mexican troops left the
country, and hostilities ceased. The independence of Texas was soon
acknowledged by the United States and Europe, and in 1845, at its own
request, the new republic became a State of the American Union. Mexico,
which had never acknowledged the independence of Texas, resented the
action of the United States, and the following year collisions took
place between the two countries on the Rio Grande. Two very deadly
conflicts, one at Palo Alto and the other at Resaca de la Palma, could
only result in a declaration of war on the part of our government. The
army, under General Taylor, proceeded at once to Palo Alto, where the
Mexicans were defeated on the 8th of May. In September Taylor took
Monterey. Another army under General Kearney had succeeded in occupying
New Mexico, and after establishing a civil government, marched on to
California to the assistance of Commodore Stockton and Captain Fremont.
The war ended with victory for the Americans in September of the next
year. It had been an unbroken series of successes for the United States.
The treaty of peace was signed on the 2d of February, 1848; under its
provisions Upper California and New Mexico were surrendered by Mexico,
which in turn was granted all its conquered territory, with fifteen
million dollars.
The same year that witnessed our accession of California proved the
existence of gold in great abundance throughout a vast region of
country, and in a few months’ time thousands of treasure seekers were
already at work washing fortunes out of the sands. The history of the
“Gold Rush” to California in the autumn of 1848 and all during the next
few years is one of unique and most absorbing interest. The scenes to
which it gave rise are unparalleled in the story of any other country,
unless we except Australia. A short period served to exhaust the
“placer” minings of California and more expensive methods had to be
resorted to. The hydraulic process was invented in 1852; quartz mining
also came into vogue. Rich silver deposits were discovered in Colorado
and Nevada, and although the era of individual fortune hunting was past,
an immense amount of wealth still remained in the rocks of the new
country, and emigration proceeded with unexampled energy. Not only was
the Pacific Slope found rich in gold, but in forests, and above all in
agricultural facilities. With all these inducements on the coast, came
the discovery of the wealth in the intervening prairie lands, and the
great West began to fill up, until in forty-three years it has become
the home of the boldest and most promising population within the United
States’ limits. State after State has been admitted, railroads and
telegraphs have been built across the continent, and an immense and
flourishing domain has been added to the nation.
The next phase of American history which, in a recital of only the
important events of national growth, must claim attention, is the
development of Abolitionism. The slavery question was not buried after
the passage of the Missouri Compromise Bill, as its supporters had
promised and believed. The doctrine of abolition was first openly
advocated by William Lloyd Garrison in his newspaper, _The Liberator_,
issued January 1st, 1831. Anti-Slavery societies were formed soon
afterward, but they met with such violent opposition in the North that
they were forced to cease their meetings. The political strength of the
idea was not manifested until 1844, when the candidate of the “Liberty”
party made Polk President of the United States. It was, however, the
close of the Mexican War and the subsequent large addition of property
that brought the question into prominence before Congress. In the
discussion of the treaty of Mexico, David Wilmot, of Pennsylvania,
proposed to add to the appropriation bill the clause that slavery should
be prohibited in any territory which might be acquired as a consequence
of the war. Although the “Wilmot Proviso” was rejected, it was received
with warmest approbation throughout the North.
The Anti-Slavery faction, organized in 1848, under the name of “the Free
Soil Party,” and in the ensuing election returned its candidate, Martin
Van Buren, to the Presidency, sent Salmon P. Chase and Charles Sumner to
the Senate, and a large number of its friends to the House of
Representatives. The rapid settlement of the West added to the
complication. California and Oregon in their territorial organization
excluded slavery, and the former applied for admission as a State on an
Anti-Slavery basis. A fierce debate followed in Congress, the Southern
representatives insisting on the organization of California, Oregon,
Utah, and New Mexico without slavery restrictions. The Free Soil party
demanded, not only the admission of California, but the organization of
the other territories with slavery absolutely prohibited. The dispute
ended in a compromise, proposed by Henry Clay, in which California was
admitted as a free State, no restriction enforced in Utah or New Mexico,
and slavery prohibited in the District of Columbia, and provisions made
for the return of fugitive slaves from all Northern States. The
compromise was so agreeable to the majority of the people that for a
time the Anti-Slavery agitation was greatly decreased.
In 1855 the Free Soil party was absorbed into the Republican party,
destined to attain such power in later days. It was the clause relating
to fugitive slaves which renewed the abolition sentiment in the North.
For years previous to this time escaped slaves had found plenty of
friends among the Northerners to help them to Canada, and in time the
organization for aid and secretion of fugitive blacks became more
complete, and very few slaves who succeeded in crossing the border line
were ever recovered by their masters. Massachusetts even passed a law to
secure fugitive slaves trial by jury, and Pennsylvania passed a law
against kidnapping. A decision was finally made in the Supreme Court
which gave to the owners of a slave the right to recapture him without
process of law, but this availed little against the growing sentiment
against all slavery. In 1850 a Fugitive Slave law was passed which was
so unjust in its measures that it left little hindrance to the
kidnapping of free negroes to be held as slaves in the South. This law
aroused the greatest indignation, and backed up the Abolitionists with a
crowd of ardent sympathizers, where previously they had been regarded as
wild radicals. In December, 1853, the Territory of Nebraska was proposed
for organization. An amendment to the bill was offered which should
abrogate the Missouri Compromise and permit the citizens of the Southern
States to take and hold their slaves within any of the new Territories
or States. The bill was reported back from the committee, modified to
propose the formation of two territories, Kansas and Nebraska. At the
end of a contest lasting four months, the bill was carried, with the
measure which had been in existence for thirty-five years nullified and
the whole territory from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains
thrown open to slavery. In 1857 the South gained a new victory when the
Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional in the highest
tribunal in the land. The Abolition party was now very greatly
strengthened in the North, and before the slavery agitation, all other
questions of public policy were subordinate. A re-organization of
parties became necessary; the Democrats divided into two sections, and
the Free Soilers and a section of the Democrats and the old Whigs fused
to form the Republican party.
The first hostilities resulting in bloodshed appeared in Kansas. An
organized effort had been made by the anti-slavery societies of the
North to secure Kansas by colonizing her with Abolitionists. Missouri
made a corresponding effort to secure it to slavery, but rather by
violence than colonization. An armed band of two hundred and fifty
Missourians marched upon the new town of Lawrence and ordered its
settlers to leave the territory. The settlers refused, and their
assailants retired; but this battle of words was followed by a series of
more serious assaults. An election for a Territorial legislature was
ordered in 1855. The slave-holders of Missouri and Arkansas entered the
Territory in large bands, took possession of the polls, and, driving the
actual settlers away, cast their votes for the Pro-Slavery candidates.
This fraudulent operation was ignored by Congress, and the proceedings
of the Pro-Slavery legislature were indorsed. But the Free State
settlers were too many to be dealt with thus, and in 1859 they held
another convention, elected their candidates, and adopted a new
Constitution, in which slavery was prohibited.
These violent methods of legislation were carried to Congress, where,
in 1856, Charles Sumner was brutally assaulted by Preston S. Brooks, of
South Carolina, after the delivery of the speech on “The Crime Against
Kansas” by the former. This occurrence added to the bitterness of party
spirit, and had its share in arousing the fanatical outbreak of John
Brown at Harper’s Ferry. On the approach of the elections of 1860 the
hot-headed leaders of Southern politics, rather than accept the moderate
views of the Northern section of their party, chose to divide their
ranks, thus insuring the election of a Northern candidate. When the
Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, whose record on the
question was embraced in one sentence of a recent speech, “I believe
this government cannot permanently endure half slave and half free,” the
issue was for the first time clearly defined in a political contest. For
ten years the threat of secession had been openly made in Congress,
whenever any Pro-Slavery measure was strongly opposed, but now it became
more than a threat; it was a menace. Lincoln must have been elected,
even if the issue had been less vital, and his successful candidacy was
rather desired than dreaded in the South. Secession had been determined
upon in South Carolina, and the “fire-eaters” of the South were
delighted at what they deemed a direct provocation.
In December, 1860, South Carolina passed an ordinance of secession, and
set up an independent government. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas,
Mississippi, and Louisiana followed; the Northern range of slave States
waited until war had actually broken out.
The Southern element still had possession of Congress, and there was no
fear of interference until after Lincoln’s inauguration; the seizure of
the United States forts and arsenals in the seceding States was
therefore accomplished without opposition.
It was not until April that any decisive action was taken by the new
administration. Even the fact that a convention had been held at
Montgomery, Alabama, a Constitution adopted, and a President elected of
the Confederated Southern States had received no active opposition; but
when Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor was beleaguered by a Confederate
force, preparations were made to relieve it at once, thus deciding the
question of war. Early in April a fleet sailed southward and took
possession of the fort. As soon as it became known in Charleston,
hostilities were determined upon unless Major Anderson, the Federal
commander, at once evacuated the fort. He refused, and on the 12th day
of April, 1861, at the hour of five A.M., the first gun was fired which
announced the beginning of the greatest civil war in history.
Of this war we shall not attempt to give a
[Illustration: LIBBY PRISON.]
detailed account, but shall merely pass in rapid review over the most
important events, giving a general outline of the basis on which it was
fought. The reduction of Fort Sumter was followed by a call from
President Lincoln for seventy-five thousand volunteers, which were
quickly furnished. Yet the valuable navy yard at Norfolk fell into the
hands of the Confederates, and the capture of Washington was only
averted by a hasty movement of the troops. The first situation was a
little complex; there was in effect a double war--one in Virginia and
the country north of it, the other in the States bordering the
Mississippi River on the east. There were minor fields of campaigning
west of the river, and along the coast where the blockade proved useful
in isolating the South from foreign countries.
The seceding States having chosen Jefferson Davis as President, made
Richmond, Virginia, their capital, and the two capitals--Richmond and
Washington--were the points between which the war in Virginia raged
during the entire four years, and the fury with which these cities were
alternately assailed and defended went far toward exhausting the warring
sections of the country. In the West and along the Mississippi the line
of battle went southward, while a corresponding movement pushed toward
the north from the enemy’s country along the river until the two armies
met and thus gave the Mississippi to the United States again. After this
achievement the two fields of war began to combine in one, and the
Western army, marching into the Atlantic States, pushed on to aid Grant
in the final struggle.
The war began in earnest, when General McDowell with twenty-eight
thousand men, advanced against General Beauregard, who was entrenched
behind the small stream of Bull Run, south of Washington. Both armies
were composed of undisciplined men. The fighting was severe on both
sides, and it was only when Beauregard was reinforced by Johnston’s
forces that the tide of war turned in favor of the Southern army. The
National troops became demoralized, and the bulk of them fled from the
field in disorder. This defeat greatly startled and alarmed the North.
It was seen that a gigantic struggle with a most potent and determined
foe was at hand, and preparations were made to meet it. State militia
regiments were mustered into the National army “for three years or the
war,” and General George B. McClellan was put in command. The remainder
of 1861 was spent in drilling and equipment of troops, etc., with the
exception of a battle at Ball’s Bluff, in which the Confederates were
again victorious.
In the spring of 1862, General McClellan began active work. His plans
were most elaborately drawn and carefully matured. It was the campaign
of an engineer, rather than of a fighting soldier. He moved toward
Richmond with the bulk of his army by way of the James River Peninsula,
while General McDowell advanced from Fredericksburg, and Banks and
Fremont moved down the Shenandoah Valley. The last two commanders were
met and beaten completely by General Thomas J. Jackson, best known as
“Stonewall.” McDowell was held back to defend Washington. So McClellan
and his army went on alone. He wasted some time in besieging Yorktown;
and fought the battles of Williamsburg, May 5th, and Seven Pines May
31st, the latter being within six miles of Richmond. At Seven Pines the
Confederate General, J.E. Johnston, was seriously wounded, and Robert E.
Lee succeeded him as leader of the Southern hosts.
“Stonewall” Jackson having beaten Banks and Fremont in the Valley, now
came down and joined Lee, and McClellan was driven back to Harrison’s
Landing on the James River. During this retreat, the battles of Gaines’s
Mills, Savage Station, Glendale, and Malvern Hill were fought, from June
25th to July 1st, all desperate and bloody. Malvern Hill was a Titanic
conflict, and in it the National army was victorious. But McClellan,
instead of following up his advantage, continued his retreat. He was
constantly clamoring for reinforcements, and blamed the Government at
Washington for his inability to whip the enemy. On August 29th and 30th
the National forces under General Pope were vanquished at Bull Run, and
soon after General Lee captured Harper’s Ferry, and crossed the Potomac
into Maryland. McClellan met him on September 17th at Antietam, and
defeated him in a bloody battle. Lee fell back, and McClellan did not
pursue him.
The President had long been dissatisfied with the policy pursued by
McClellan, who apparently was a victim to over-cautiousness. General
Burnside was therefore put in his place, as Commander of the Army of the
Potomac. He proved as rash as McClellan had been cautious, and the
results of his rashness were disastrous. On December 13th he fought at
Fredericksburg a bloody but fruitless battle; and soon thereafter he was
superseded in command by General Joseph Hooker. That commander was also
incautious, and was commonly known as “Fighting Joe” Hooker, from his
supposed brilliancy and courage in battle. He led the army against the
Confederates at Chancellors ville, May 1st and 3d, 1863, and was
terribly beaten. It was one of the worst defeats sustained by the Union
arms in the whole war.
Now the Southern armies, flushed with victory, took the aggressive and
invaded the North. They swept across Maryland and entered Pennsylvania,
no effective opposition being offered. Hooker and his army started after
them, but in the last week of June Hooker was removed from command, and
General George Gordon Meade was put in his place. That wise and capable
leader hurried the Union army northward, and on July 1st confronted Lee
at Gettysburg. There, on July 1st, 2d, and 3d, was fought the greatest
battle of the war, and one of the most important in human history. It
cannot be described in detail here, but it resulted in the complete
discomfiture of the Confederates, who retreated with all possible haste
back to Virginia, and never sought to invade the North again. General
Meade followed them, but was unable to overtake and capture them. During
the remainder of that year Meade made two attempts upon Richmond, but
without important results. Thus matters stood in Virginia at the
beginning of 1864, when a new factor appeared upon the scene, before
dwelling upon which some events elsewhere must be recounted.
Attacks had been made, up to this time, upon the Confederates along the
coast by several expeditions. General T. W. Sherman and Commodore Du
Pont had occupied Beaufort in November, 1861. Early in 1862 General
Burnside had taken Roanoke Island and Newberne. In the West, beyond the
Mississippi, there had been much fighting, especially in Arkansas, and
the National arms had been generally successful. On the water, also, the
National fleets were supreme. At no time had the Confederates a fleet
able to hold its own at sea. They had a number of fast cruisers, fitted
out in England, which roamed the ocean as freebooters, preying upon
American commerce. The most notable of these was the “Alabama,” which
was finally destroyed off Cherbourg, France, by the “Kearsarge,” in
June, 1864. They had also a number of powerful rams and ironclad
gunboats, for coast and harbor defense. Most famous of these was the
“Merrimack,” which, in Hampton Roads, destroyed the great frigates
“Congress” and “Cumberland,” and bade fair to deal likewise with the
whole Union fleet. Opportunely, the little ironclad “Monitor,” just
built by John Ericsson, appeared upon the scene, gave battle, and
vanquished the monster “Merrimack.” This was one of the epoch-making
naval battles of the world. It not only saved the whole Union fleet, and
perhaps many Northern seaport cities from destruction. At a single
stroke it revolutionized naval architecture and naval warfare. The great
wooden frigates were instantly made things of the past; thenceforth the
typical war-ship was a heavily armored iron and steel machine, carrying
only a few guns in revolving turrets, or in heavy iron casemates.
But the greatest of the operations leading down to 1864 were in the West
Central States. At the beginning of 1862 the National commanders set out
to regain possession of the Mississippi River. In January General Thomas
defeated the Confederates at Mill Spring. In February Commodore Foote
reduced Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River. A few days later General U.
S. Grant, after most severe fighting, captured Fort Donelson and its
garrison of 15,000 Confederate troops. This was the first really great
Union victory, and Grant at once became a dominant figure in the drama
of civil war. Other operations followed, by which the Confederates were
driven out of Kentucky, and largely out of Tennessee. In April General
Pope and Commodore Foote captured Island No. 10, with 7,000
Confederates, thus clearing the Mississippi down to Memphis. Early in
April a great two days’ battle was fought at Pittsburg Landing, on the
Tennessee River, Generals Grant and W. T. Sherman commanding the
National army, and A. S. Johnston and G. P. T. Beauregard the
Confederates. On the first day the Confederates were successful, but on
the second the National army rallied, regained its ground, and drove the
foe before it in one of the bloodiest conflicts of the war. General A.
S. Johnston was killed--an irreparable loss to the Southern cause.
The Union armies now moved southward into Alabama and Mississippi. Early
in 1863 they gathered about Vicksburg, the “Gibraltar of the South,” the
only important obstacle to the reopening of the Mississippi. Admiral
Porter co-operated with his fleet. A long siege, marked by many
desperate engagements, followed, ending with the surrender of Vicksburg,
with 27,000 men to General Grant. This occurred on July 3d, at the very
time when Meade was putting Lee to rout at Gettysburg. A few days later
Port Hudson surrendered to General Banks; Admiral Farragut, in a naval
conflict of surpassing splendor, had already captured New Orleans; and
thus the entire Mississippi was regained by the National authorities.
Later, a great reverse was suffered. General Rosecrans was terribly
beaten by the Confederates at Chickamauga, and driven into Chattanooga,
where he was besieged. This was on September 19th and 20th. But Grant
was now free to turn his attention thither, and he quickly drove the
Confederates away from Chattanooga southward into Georgia.
Thus we come to the opening of 1864. General Grant’s brilliant successes
in the West led the President to call him to the East, when he was made
commander of all the National armies. Sherman was left in the West to
command there, under Grant’s direction. These two illustrious
commanders matured their plans together, and simultaneously, early in
May, moved forward on the greatest campaign of the war. Sherman marched
from Chattanooga southward, against the able Confederate General J. E.
Johnston. Desperate battles were fought at Kenesaw Mountain and
elsewhere, but Sherman was irresistible. In August the war raged about
Atlanta, and at the beginning of September that most important city fell
into Sherman’s hands. The Confederate President, who hated Johnston, had
foolishly removed him from command and put Hood in his place. The latter
was a brave and gallant soldier, but was not--as he himself well
knew--the equal of Johnston as a commander, and this change did the
Confederates much harm. Despairing of checking Sherman, Hood sought to
make a diversion by marching northward into Tennessee. He fought the
battle of Franklin, where there was some of the most dreadful carnage of
the war, and besieged Nashville. Sherman sent General Thomas thither,
and he gave Hood battle. The slaughter was terrific, and at the day’s
end Hood’s army was all but annihilated. This was on December 15th.
Sherman, meantime, cutting loose from his base of supplies, and severing
all communications with the North, had set out with 60,000 troops for
his famous “March to the Sea.” He made his way almost unopposed across
Georgia, from Atlanta to Savannah, capturing the latter city, with vast
stores, on December 21st. Thence he made his way northward through the
Carolinas to co-operate with Grant in Virginia.
In the meantime Grant had begun his campaign with the awful battles in
the Wilderness, May 5th and 6th; at Spottsylvania, May 8th-18th; at
North Anna, and at Cold Harbor. The losses on both sides in these
engagements were terrific. But the National army was readily reinforced
by recruits, while the Confederates had no more supplies to draw upon.
Grant therefore determined to press the fighting, and simply exhaust the
enemy. A long struggle followed at Petersburg, south of Richmond.
Finding himself steadily losing, Lee sought in his desperation to make a
favorable diversion by sending his Lieutenant Early northward, up the
Shenandoah Valley, into Maryland, and against Washington itself. At
first Early was successful, and almost captured Washington. Then Grant
sent General Philip H. Sheridan against him, and in two or three battles
Early was utterly routed, the final engagement being the famous battle
of Cedar Creek, on October 19th.
The year 1865 opened with the National arms everywhere victorious. The
war was now concentrated in Southern Virginia. The Confederates
abandoned Richmond, and Lee strove to make his way southward, to join
J. E. Johnston in North Carolina. Grant and Sheridan headed him off,
however, and he was compelled to surrender at Appomattox Court House, on
April 9th. The surrender of Johnston to Sherman followed on April 26th.
General Grant treated his prisoners with the most marked generosity,
bidding them keep their horses, which, he said, they would need for the
spring work on their farms. And thus the Titanic conflict was
practically ended. The other engagements that should be mentioned were
the great battle in Mobile Bay in August, 1864, when Admiral Farragut
destroyed the Confederate forts and fleet, and the capture of Fort
Fisher by General Terry in January, 1865. Jefferson Davis was captured
and held as a prisoner for some time, but was finally released and
permitted to enjoy a life of liberty and prosperity in the country he
had striven to disrupt. On April 14th, 1865, President Lincoln was
murdered by a member of a desperate band of Confederate conspirators,
and the nation was plunged into mourning.
Constitutional amendments, forever prohibiting slavery, and extending
citizenship to the negroes, were adopted, the States lately in rebellion
were “reconstructed,” and the restored and reunited nation resumed the
career of prosperity that had been so rudely interrupted.
The events since the close of the war must be only briefly alluded to.
Within the space of twenty-seven years many important occurrences have
been recorded. The effect of the great struggle was on the whole good.
The two great disturbing questions which from the signing of the
Constitution until 1861 divided the country, were now settled forever.
Slavery was abolished; the most bitter source of sectional dispute. The
doctrine of State rights was also laid at rest. Another benefit of the
conflict was the national banking system. The finances of the country
were placed on a more secure basis than ever before. The period of
reconstruction was a painful one, of course, but in the end both
sections of the United States found themselves stronger and better than
ever before. Andrew Johnson, on becoming President, after the murder of
Lincoln, took measures of which Congress disapproved, and a bitter
strife began which lasted all during the administration. The President
declared at the outset that as a State could not secede, none of the
Southern States had been out of the Union at all. This doctrine was
ignored by Congress, which held that the seceding States were still out
of the Union and could only be re-admitted on such terms as Congress
should prescribe. The Civil Rights Bill, which made the negroes citizens
of the United States, was passed in 1866, and shortly afterward the
fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was adopted. The breach
between the President and Congress grew wider; bill after bill was
passed over his veto, and in 1868 the House passed a resolution to
impeach the President for “high crimes and misdemeanors” in the conduct
of his office. The immediate provocation was the removal of Secretary
Stanton, which proceeding was in contravention of the Tenure of Office
Act, which provided that no removal from office should be made without
consent of the Senate. The impeachment trial continued until May, when
the final vote was taken, and it lacked the necessary two-thirds
majority to impeach.
In pursuance of the “Military Act,” the South in 1867 was divided into
five districts and placed under military governors. This exclusion of
the better class of Southern citizens from civil duties placed all power
in the hands of an inferior class of Northern men (called in the South
“Carpet-baggers”), who had come hither after the war in search of
position. The actions of these men did little to restore harmony between
the sections. The situation was not improved by the existence of a body
of Southern reprobates who called themselves the “Ku Klux Klan,” and
rode about in disguise, doing acts of violence against the negroes and
all who sympathized with them. This state of affairs was brought to a
gradual change by the acceptance of the terms proposed by Congress. In
1868 a pardon was extended to all who had engaged in the war, except
those who were indicted for criminal offenses; in 1870 the last of the
States accepted the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, and with their
admission to Congress the problem of reconstruction was solved and the
country resumed its normal condition.
Many other questions have since arisen, but until they too are finally
disposed of they can not properly take a place in history. Among these,
the labor question, the temperance agitation, woman suffrage, the
tariff, civil service reform, railroad and land monopoly, and the Indian
troubles are evidence enough that the public mind is not at rest The
Indian problem, it is hoped, is nearing solution. It is unquestionable
that they have been treated with great injustice and it remains now for
the United States to pursue the educating and civilizing policy which it
was so late in assuming, but which has proved so satisfactory in its
results.
In 1868 General Grant was elected President, in which office he
continued eight years. During his administration the Union Pacific
Railroad was completed, thus connecting the two oceans. The first
successful ocean telegraph was completed in 1866.
The most disastrous event of the period was the Chicago fire, which
broke out October 8th, 1871, and destroyed an area of buildings
extending over a length of four miles. One hundred thousand people were
left homeless, and two hundred people perished. Contributions to the
amount of seven million dollars poured in, and almost without delay the
process of re-building commenced. In a few years scarcely a trace of the
disaster remained, and so rapid was the city’s new growth, that what in
1871 had been a ruined heap of ashes, in 1890 was found to be the second
city in the United States.
The second term of Grant’s Presidency was marked with violent political
agitation. The “Credit Mobilier” scheme to bribe certain members of
Congress in favor of the Pacific Railroad Company was exposed; Secretary
Belknap was impeached by Congress for fraud, but was acquitted; other
exposures still further shook public confidence.
The elections of 1876 gave rise to great excitement, and much bitter
partisanship in consequence of the closeness of the Presidential vote,
and the questionable methods of deciding upon the successful candidate.
The returns from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were disputed,
and it finally became necessary to adopt a special method of deciding
the contest. A commission of five members of each House of Congress and
five associate judges of the Supreme Court decided in favor of the
Republican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes. The decision gave great
offense to the Democrats, and the question is one which is still
disputed. In this year was held the Centennial Exhibition. Previous to
this time a great financial panic swept the country, and carried ruin
far and wide. The grasshopper plague created much suffering and famine
through the West.
In 1880 James A. Garfield was elected President, and Chester A. Arthur
Vice-President. The Civil Service Reform, begun under Mr. Hayes, was
taken up vigorously by Garfield, and on this issue the party split into
two factions. Two leaders in the “Stalwart” section, Roscoe Conkling and
Thomas C. Platt, resigned their seats in the Senate. The excitement
caused by these events induced a lunatic office-seeker, Charles J.
Guiteau, to a desperate deed. On the 2d of July, 1881, he shot and
mortally wounded the President in the railroad depot at Washington.
After months of suffering, the martyred President died, September 19th.
The Civil Service Reform agitation survived its defender, however, and
the sentiment in favor of his ideas has grown enormously, and promises
to become stronger.
In the Presidential election of 1884 the long continuance of Republican
rule was broken by
[Illustration: INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA.]
the seating of the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland, who won an
enviable record for himself during his administration, both for
integrity and wise management. In 1888 he again came up for election,
but was defeated by Benjamin Harrison, the Republican nominee.
Thus the Nation has come down to the present day, in which it stands
supreme among the powers of the world in freedom and prosperity and all
the true elements of greatness. Upon such a basis of accomplished facts,
the patriotic seer must cast, if he will, its future horoscope.