Illustration:
EPOCH MAP I
PHYSICAL FEATURES
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BASED UPON GOVERNMENT MAPS
_Dark buff represents 2,000 ft. and over._
_Epochs of American History_
THE COLONIES
1492-1750
BY
REUBEN GOLD THWAITES, LL.D.
EDITOR OF "JESUIT RELATIONS," "EARLY WESTERN TRAVELS,"
"ORIGINAL JOURNALS OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITIONS,"
ETC. AUTHOR OF "FRANCE IN AMERICA," "FATHER
MARQUETTE," "DANIEL BOONE," "ROCKY
MOUNTAIN EXPLORATION," "HISTORIC
WATERWAYS," "WISCONSIN," ETC.
WITH FOUR MAPS AND
NUMEROUS BIBLIOGRAPHIES
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK
LONDON, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA
_Copyright, 1890_,
BY CHARLES J. MILLS.
_Copyright, 1897_,
BY LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
_Copyright, 1910_,
BY LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
_All rights reserved._
First Edition, December, 1890.
Reprinted, September, 1891, February, 1892, (Revised), January and August,
1893, December, 1893, (Revised), August, 1894, October, 1895, July, 1896,
August, 1897, (Revised), November, 1897, July, 1898, July, 1899, April,
1900, January, 1901, October, 1901, August, 1902, November, 1902, October,
1904, September, 1906, May, 1908, June, 1910, (Revised), October, 1911.
EDITOR'S PREFACE.
In offering to the public a new HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES,--for such the
three volumes of the EPOCHS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, taken together, are
designed to form,--the aim is not to assemble all the important facts, or
to discuss all the important questions that have arisen. There seems to be
a place for a series of brief works which shall show the main causes for
the foundation of the colonies, for the formation of the Union, and for the
triumph of that Union over disintegrating tendencies. To make clear the
development of ideas and institutions from epoch to epoch,--this is the aim
of the authors and the editor.
Detail has therefore been sacrificed to a more thorough treatment of the
broad outlines: events are considered as evidences of tendencies and
principles. Recognizing the fact that many readers will wish to go more
carefully into narrative and social history, each chapter throughout the
Series will be provided with a bibliography, intended to lead, first to the
more common and easily accessible books, afterward, through the lists of
bibliographies by other hands, to special works and monographs. The reader
or teacher will find a select list of books in the Suggestions a few pages
below.
The historical geography of the United States has been a much-neglected
subject. In this Series, therefore, both physical and political geography
will receive special attention. I have prepared four maps for the first
volume, and a like number will appear in each subsequent volume. Colonial
grants were confused and uncertain; the principle adopted has been to
accept the later interpretation of the grants by the English government as
settling earlier questions.
To my colleague, Professor Edward Channing, I beg to offer especial thanks
for many generous suggestions, both as to the scope of the work and as to
details.
ALBERT BUSHNELL HART.
CAMBRIDGE, December 1, 1890.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
Upon no epoch of American history has so much been written, from every
point of view, as upon the Thirteen Colonies. There has, nevertheless, been
lacking a book devoted especially to it, compact in form, yet sufficiently
comprehensive in scope at once to serve as a text-book for class use and
for general reading and reference. The present work is intended to meet
that want.
In this book American colonization is considered in the light of general
colonization as a phase of history. Englishmen in planting colonies in
America brought with them the institutions with which they had been
familiar at home: it is shown what these institutions were, and how, in
adapting themselves to new conditions of growth, they differed from English
models. As prominent among the changed conditions, the physical geography
of America and its aboriginal inhabitants receive somewhat extended
treatment; and it is sought to explain the important effect these had upon
the character of the settlers and the development of the country. The
social and economic condition of the people is described, and attention is
paid to the political characteristics of the several colonies both in the
conduct of their local affairs and in their relations with each other and
the mother-country. It is shown that the causes of the Revolution were
deep-seated in colonial history. Attention is also called to the fact,
generally overlooked, that the thirteen mainland colonies which revolted in
1776 were not all of the English colonial establishments in America.
From Dr. Frederick J. Turner, of the University of Wisconsin, I have had
much advice and assistance throughout the prosecution of the work; Dr.
Edward Channing, of Harvard College, has kindly revised the proof-sheets
and made many valuable suggestions; while Dr. Samuel A. Green, librarian of
the Massachusetts Historical Society, has generously done similar service
on the chapters referring to New England. To all of these gentlemen, each
professionally expert in certain branches of the subject, I tender most
cordial thanks.
REUBEN GOLD THWAITES.
MADISON, WIS., December 1, 1890.
PREFACE TO TWENTY-SECOND EDITION.
From time to time there have been several revisions of the text, so that it
has been kept fairly abreast of current investigation. The bibliographies,
however, have remained untouched since the tenth edition (August, 1897).
The principal change in the present, therefore, consists in the
introduction of new and carefully prepared references, which will render
the book of greater service to the student than it has been at any time
within the past ten years. In this revision, I have had the valuable
assistance of Miss Annie A. Nunns.
R. G. THWAITES.
MADISON, WIS., June 1, 1910.
SUGGESTIONS.
While this volume is intended to be complete in itself, compression has
been necessary in order to make it conform to the series in which it
appears. It really is but an outline of the subject, a centre from which to
start upon a study of the American colonies. The reader, especially the
teacher, who would acquire a fairly complete knowledge of this interesting
period of our history, will need to examine many other volumes; from them
gaining not only further information, but the point of view of other
authors than the present--only in this manner may an historical perspective
be obtained. The classified bibliographies, given by the author at the head
of each chapter, have been prepared with much care. While perhaps few will
desire to follow the topics to the lengths there suggested, it is urged
that as many of the other volumes as possible be consulted, particularly
those containing source material.
* * * * *
Following is a list of books which, even for a brief study, would be
desirable for reference and comparison, or for the preparation of topics:
1-5. JOHN ANDREW DOYLE: _English Colonies in America_. 5 vols. New York: H.
Holt & Co., 1882-1907.--An analytical study, in much detail, by an English
author.
6-13. JOHN FISKE: _Beginnings of New England; The Discovery of America_, 2
vols.; _Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America_, 2 vols.; _New France and
New England; Old Virginia and her Neighbours_, 2 vols. Boston: Houghton,
Mifflin & Co., 1897-1902.--The best popular accounts; but while eminently
readable and inspiring, not sufficiently thorough at all points, to serve
as authoritative studies.
14. HENRY CABOT LODGE: _Short History of the English Colonies in America_.
New York: Harper Brothers Co., 1881.--Concise and readable.
15-17. HERBERT LEVI OSGOOD: _American Colonies in the 17th Century_. 3
vols. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1904-1907.--The most elaborate treatment
of this period, from the American point of view.
If a detailed study is intended, the following volumes should be added to
the foregoing:
A. Bibliography.
1. EDWARD CHANNING and ALBERT BUSHNELL HART: _A Guide to the Study of
American History_. Boston: Ginn & Co., 1896.--A well-arranged manual for
both students and general readers.
2. JOSEPHUS NELSON LARNED: _Literature of American History_. Boston:
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1902.--More detailed than the foregoing. Contains
critical estimates of many of the works cited, by experts in the several
subjects.
B. General.
3-5. ELROY MCKENDREE AVERY: _A History of the United States and its People
from their Earliest Records to the Present Time_. 15 vols. Cleveland:
Burrows Brothers Co., 1904+.--Volumes I.-III. cover the colonial period.
Especially notable for its illustrations--for the most part, reproductions
of contemporary views, maps, portraits, and articles of historical
interest. The bibliographies are quite full.
6, 7. EDWARD CHANNING: _A History of the United States_. 8 vols. New York:
The Macmillan Co., 1905+.--A calm, philosophical treatise, written with
care and erudition.
8-13. Albert Bushnell Hart, Editor: _The American Nation_. New York: Harper
Brothers Co., 1904-1907.--The latest co-operative history of the United
States. Each volume is by an author who specializes in the topic treated.
Vols. II.-VII. are concerned with the colonial period. The bibliographical
chapters are very useful.
14, 15. WOODROW WILSON: _A History of the American People_. 5 vols. New
York: Harper Brothers Co., 1902.--Popular and readable, often brilliant.
Only vols. I. and II. cover the colonial period.
16-20. JUSTIN WINSOR: _Narrative and Critical History of America_. 8 vols.
Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1889.--A co-operative enterprise, the
chapters being by different hands, for the most part specialists. There is
a wealth of illustrations, notes, and bibliographical references. But much
of the work has been superseded by later publications. Vols. I.-V. cover
the colonial period.
C. Special Histories.
21, 22. PHILIP ALEXANDER BRUCE: _Economic History of Virginia in the 17th
Century_. 2 vols. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1896.--A careful, detailed
study.
23. PHILIP ALEXANDER BRUCE: _Social Life of Virginia in the 17th Century_.
Richmond: Whittet & Shepperson, 1907.--Thorough and clear.
24, 25. SYDNEY GEORGE FISHER: _Men, Women, and Manners in Colonial Times_.
2 vols. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1898.--A readable and useful
survey.
26. FREDERICK WEBB HODGE: _Handbook of American Indians north of Mexico_.
Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1907.--The author, a member of the
Ethnological Bureau, is an authority on this subject.
27-38. FRANCIS PARKMAN: _France and England in North America_. 12 vols.
Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1851-1892. The titles of volumes comprising
this series are: Pioneers of France in the New World; The Jesuits in North
America; La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West; The Old Régime in
Canada; Count Frontenac and New France; A Half-Century of Conflict, 2
vols.; Montcalm and Wolfe, 2 vols.; The Conspiracy of Pontiac, 2 vols.--In
spite of its age, this work remains the principal authority for the
thrilling story of New France. A first-hand study, written in fascinating
style.
39. ELLEN CHURCHILL SEMPLE: _American History and its Geographic
Conditions_. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1903.--Of first importance in
understanding the causes and effects of the movements of population.
40. CYRUS THOMAS: _The Indians of North America in Historic Times_.
Philadelphia: G. Barrie & Sons, 1903.--The latest compendious treatment;
somewhat repellent in style, but useful for reference. The author is a
well-known authority.
41, 42. WILLIAM BABCOCK WEEDEN: _Economic and Social History of New
England, 1620-1789_. 2 vols. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1890.--An
admirably executed work.
D. Sources.
43, 44. ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, Editor: _American History Told by
Contemporaries_. 4 vols. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1897, 1898.--Very
useful for purposes of illustration. Vols. I., II., are devoted to colonial
material.
45-64. JOHN FRANKLIN JAMESON, Editor: _Original Narratives of Early
American History_. 20 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1906+.--Carefully edited, and indispensable for first-hand study.
65. WILLIAM MACDONALD, Editor: _Documentary Source Book of American
History, 1606-1898_. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1908.--Useful reprints of
material otherwise difficult to obtain.
In addition to the above, the publications of colonial and town record
commissions and state and local historical and antiquarian societies
contain material of the utmost value in the study of our colonial history.
Among them may especially be mentioned the volumes issued by the Prince
Society, Gorges Society, American Antiquarian Society, and the state
historical societies of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and
Virginia; also the colonial records of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New
York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North
and South Carolina.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE LAND AND THE NATIVE RACES.
PAGES
1. References, p. 1.--2. Physical characteristics of North
America, p. 2.--3. The native races, p. 7.--4. Characteristics
of the Indian, p. 13.--5. Relations of the Indians and
colonists, p. 17 1-19
CHAPTER II.
DISCOVERIES AND EARLY SETTLEMENTS (1492-1606).
6. References, p. 20.--7. Pre-Columbian discoveries, p. 21.--8.
Early European discoveries (1492-1512), p. 23.--9. Spanish
exploration of the interior (1513-1542), p. 27.--10. Spanish
colonies (1492-1687), p. 31.--11. The French in North America
(1524-1550), p. 32.--12. French attempts to colonize Florida
(1562-1568), p. 33.--13. The French in Canada (1589-1608), p.
35.--14. English exploration (1498-1584), p. 36.--15. English
attempts to colonize (1584-1606), p. 38.--16. The experience
of the sixteenth century (1492-1606), p. 42 20-44
CHAPTER III.
COLONIZATION AND THE COLONISTS.
17. References, p. 45.--18. Colonial policy of European states,
p. 45.--19. Spanish and Portuguese policy, p. 47.--20.
French policy, p. 48.--21. Dutch and Swedish policy, p.
50.--22. English policy, p. 51.--23. Character of English
emigrants, p. 53.--24. Local government in the colonies, p.
55.--25. Colonial governments, p. 58.--26. Privileges of
the colonists, p. 61 45-63
CHAPTER IV.
THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH (1606-1700).
27. References, p. 64.--28. Reasons for final English colonization,
p. 65.--29. The charter of 1606, p. 66.--30. The settlement
of Virginia (1607-1624), p. 69.--31. Virginia during the
English revolution (1624-1660), p. 75.--32. Development of
Virginia (1660-1700), p. 78.--33. Settlement of Maryland
(1632-1635), p. 81.--34. Maryland during the English
revolution (1642-1660), p. 84.--35. Development of Maryland
(1660-1715), p. 86.--36. Early settlers in the Carolinas
(1542-1665), p. 87.--37. Proprietorship of the Carolinas
(1663-1671), p. 89.--38. The two settlements of Carolina
(1671-1700), p. 92 64-95
CHAPTER V.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTH IN 1700.
39. References, p. 96.--40. Land and People in the South, p.
96.--41. Slavery and servants, p. 98.--42. Middle and upper
classes, p. 100.--43. Occupations, p. 102.--44. Navigation
Acts, p. 104.--45. Social life, p. 106.--46. Political
life, and conclusions, p. 109 96-111
CHAPTER VI.
THE COLONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND (1620-1643).
47. References, p. 112.--48. The New England colonists,
p. 113.--49. Plymouth colonized (1620-1621), p. 116.--50.
Development of Plymouth (1621-1691), p. 120.--51.
Massachusetts founded (1630), p. 124.--52. Government of
Massachusetts (1630-1634), p. 127.--53. Internal
dissensions in Massachusetts (1634-1637), p. 129.--54.
Religious troubles in Massachusetts (1636-1638), p.
132.--55. Indian wars (1635-1637), p. 136.--56. Laws and
characteristics of Massachusetts (1637-1643), p. 137.--57.
Connecticut founded (1633-1639), p. 140.--58. The
Connecticut government (1639-1643), p. 142.--59. New Haven
founded (1637-1644), p. 144.--60. Rhode Island founded
(1636-1654), p. 146.--61. Maine founded (1622-1658), p.
150.--62. New Hampshire founded (1620-1685), p. 152 112-153
CHAPTER VII.
NEW ENGLAND FROM 1643 TO 1700.
63. References, p. 154.--64. New England confederation formed
(1637-1643), p. 154.--65. Workings of the confederation
(1643-1660), p. 157.--66. Disturbances in Rhode Island
(1641-1647), p. 159.--67. Policy of the confederation
(1646-1660), p. 161.--68. Repression of the Quakers
(1656-1660), p. 165.--69. Royal commission (1660-1664), p.
166.--70. Indian wars (1660-1678), p. 170.--71. Territorial
disputes (1649-1685), p. 173.--72. Revocation of the
charters (1679-1687), p. 174.--73. Restoration of the
charters (1689-1692), p. 176 154-177
CHAPTER VIII.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN NEW ENGLAND IN 1700.
74. References, p. 178.--75. Land and people, p. 179.--76.
Social classes and professions, p. 181.--77. Occupations,
p. 184.--78. Social conditions, p. 186.--79. Moral and
religious conditions, p. 188.--80. The witchcraft delusion,
p. 190.--81. Political conditions, p. 192 178-194
CHAPTER IX.
THE COLONIZATION OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES (1609-1700).
82. References, p. 195.--83. Dutch settlement (1609-1625),
p. 196.--84. Progress of New Netherland (1626-1664), p.
198.--85. Conquest of New Netherland (1664), p. 202.--86.
Development of New York (1664-1700), p. 203.--87. Delaware
(1623-1700), p. 207.--88. New Jersey (1664-1738), p.
210.--89. Pennsylvania (1681-1718), p. 215 195-217
CHAPTER X.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE MIDDLE COLONIES IN 1700.
90. References, p. 218.--91. Geographical conditions in the
middle colonies, p. 218.--92. People of the middle
colonies, p. 220.--93. Social classes, p. 222.--94.
Occupations, p. 224.--95. Social life, p. 226.--96.
Intellectual and moral conditions, p. 229.--97. Political
conditions, and conclusion, p. 231 218-232
CHAPTER XI.
OTHER ENGLISH NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES (1605-1750).
98. References, p. 233.--99. Outlying English colonies,
p. 234.--100. Windward and Leeward Islands (1605-1814), p.
236.--101. Bermudas (1609-1750) and Bahamas (1522-1783), p.
238.--102. Jamaica (1655-1750), p. 240.--103. British
Honduras (1600-1798), p. 241.--104. Newfoundland
(1497-1783), p. 241.--105. Nova Scotia, Acadia (1497-1755),
p. 242.--106. Hudson's Bay Company, p. 243 233-244
CHAPTER XII.
THE COLONIZATION OF NEW FRANCE (1608-1750).
107. References, p. 245.--108. Settlement of Canada (1608-1629),
p. 246.--109. Exploration of the Northwest (1629-1699), p.
247.--110. Social and political conditions, p. 249.--111.
Intercolonial wars (1628-1697), p. 252.--112. Frontier wars
(1702-1748), p. 254.--113. Territorial claims, p.
255.--114. Effect of French colonization, p. 257 245-257
CHAPTER XIII.
THE COLONIZATION OF GEORGIA (1732-1755).
115. References, p. 258.--116. Settlement of Georgia
(1732-1735), p. 258.--117. Slow development of Georgia
(1735-1755), p. 261 258-263
CHAPTER XIV.
THE CONTINENTAL COLONIES FROM 1700 TO 1750.
118. References, p. 264.--119. Population (1700-1750),
p 265.--120. Attacks on the charters (1701-1749), p.
266.--121. Settlement and boundaries (1700-1750), p.
267.--122. Schemes of colonial union (1690-1754), p.
269.--123. Quarrels with royal governors (1700-1750), p.
271.--124. Governors of southern colonies, p. 272.--125.
Governors of middle colonies, p. 273.--126. Governors of
New England colonies, p. 275.--127. Effect of the French
wars (1700-1750), p. 277.--128. Economic conditions, p.
278.--129. Political and social conditions (1700-1750), p.
280.--130. Results of the half-century (1700-1750), p. 282 264-284
INDEX 285
LIST OF MAPS.
1. Physical Features of the United States _Frontispiece_.
2. North America, 1650 _End of volume_.
3. English Colonies in North America, 1700 _End of volume_.
4. North America, 1750 _End of volume_.
EPOCHS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
THE COLONIES.
1492-1750.
CHAPTER I.
THE LAND AND THE NATIVE RACES.
1. References.
Bibliographies.--L. Farrand, _Basis of American History_, ch. xviii.; J.
Larned, _Literature of American History_, 21-50; J. Winsor, _Narrative and
Critical History_, I., II.; Channing and Hart, _Guide_, §§ 21, 77-80; C.
Lummis, _Reading List on Indians_.
Historical Maps.--No. 1, this volume (_Epoch Maps_, No. 1); T. MacCoun,
_Historical Geography of United States_; school histories of Channing,
Elson, Gordy, James and Sanford, Mace, McLaughlin, McMaster, and
Montgomery.
General Accounts.--Historical significance of geography of the United
States: H. Mill, _International Geography_, ch. xxxix.; F. Ratzel,
_Vereinigte Staaten_, I. ch. ii.; B. Hinsdale, _How to Study and Teach
History_, ch. xiv.; E. Bogart, _Economic History of United States_,
introduction; E. Semple, _American History and its Geographic Conditions_;
A. Brigham, _Geographic Influences in American History_; W. Scaife,
_America: its Geographical History_.--Topographical descriptions of the
country: J. Whitney, _United States_, I. pt. i.; N. Shaler, _United
States_, I., and _Nature and Man in America_; Mill, as above; E. Reclus,
_North America_, III.; Hinsdale, as above, ch. xv.--Prehistoric Man in
America: L. Morgan, _Ancient Society_; J. Nadaillac, _Prehistoric America_;
J. Foster, _Prehistoric Races_; Winsor, as above, I. ch. vi.; E. Avery,
_United States and its People_, I. chs. i., ii.; Farrand, as above, ch.
v.--The Indians (or Amerinds): D. Brinton, _American Race_; C. Thomas,
_Indians in Historic Times_; F. Hodge, _Handbook of American Indians_;
Farrand, as above, chs. vi.-xviii.; Avery, as above, I. ch. xxii.; F.
Dellenbaugh, _North Americans of Yesterday_; S. Drake, _Aboriginal Races of
America_; G. Ellis, _Red Man and White Man in North America_; G. Grinnell,
_Story of the Indian_. The introduction to F. Parkman, _Jesuits in North
America_, and his _Conspiracy of Pontiac_, I. ch. i., are admirable general
surveys. Briefer, also excellent, is J. Fiske's _Discovery of America_, I.
ch. i. The mound-builders have now been identified as Indians. L. Carr,
_Mounds of the Mississippi Valley Historically Considered_ is the best
exposition of this subject. C. Thomas, _Catalogue of Prehistoric Works East
of the Rocky Mountains_ is useful.
Special Histories.--Larned, _History for Ready Reference_, I. 83-115, gives
brief account and bibliographies of tribes; Farrand, as above, 279-286,
does the same by geographical groups. Especially notable are L. Morgan,
_League of the Iroquois_, and C. Colden, _Five Indian Nations_. For
detailed treatment of the aborigines of that section, consult H. Bancroft,
_Native Races of the Pacific Coast_, II., and _Mexico_, I.; J. Palfrey,
_New England_, I. chs. i., ii., describes the Indians in that region; T.
Roosevelt, _Winning of the West_, I. chs. iii., iv., the Southern tribes;
and Parkman, _Pontiac_, the old Northwest tribes. There are numerous
biographies of chiefs, and a considerable literature on border warfare.
2. Physical Characteristics of North America.
Sidenote: Origin of the native races, a mere matter of conjecture.
Whence came the native races of America? Doubtless the chain of Aleutian
islands served as stepping-stones for straggling bands of Asiatics to cross
over into continental Alaska many centuries ago; others may have traversed
the ice-bridge of Bering's Strait; possibly prehistoric vessels from China,
Japan, or the Malay peninsula were blown upon our shores by westerly
hurricanes, or drifted hither upon the ocean currents of the Pacific. There
are striking similarities between the flora on each shore of the North
Pacific; and the Eskimos of North America, like the West-Slope Indians of
South America, have been thought to exhibit physical resemblances to the
Mongols and Malays. On the other hand, some archæologists hold that men as
far advanced as the present Eskimos followed the retreating ice-cap of the
last glacial epoch. In the absence of positive historical evidence, the
origin of the native peoples of America is a mere matter of conjecture.
Sidenote: Difficulties of colonization from the west.
North America could not, in a primitive stage of the mechanic arts, have
been developed by colonization on any considerable scale from the west,
except in the face of difficulties almost insuperable. The Pacific coast of
the country is dangerous to approach; steep precipices frequently come down
to the shore, and the land everywhere rises rapidly from the sea, until not
far inland the broad and mighty wall of the Cordilleran mountain system
extends from north to south. That formidable barrier was not scaled by
civilized men until modern times, when European settlement had already
reached the Mississippi from the east, and science had stepped in to assist
the explorers. At San Diego and San Francisco are the only natural harbors,
although Puget Sound can be entered from the extreme north, and skilful
improvements have in our day made a good harbor at the mouth of Columbia
River. The rivers of the Pacific Slope for the most part come noisily
tumbling down to the sea over great cliffs and through deep chasms, and
cannot be utilized for progress far into the interior.
Sidenotes: The Atlantic seaboard the natural approach to North America.
The river system.
The Appalachian valley system.
The Atlantic seaboard, upon the other hand, is broad and inviting. The
Appalachian range lies for the most part nearly a hundred miles inland. The
gently sloping coast abounds in indentations,--safe harbors and generous
land-locked bays, into which flow numerous rivers of considerable breadth
and depth, by means of which the land can be explored for long distances
from tide-water. By ascending the St. Lawrence and the chain of the Great
Lakes, the interior of the continent is readily reached. Dragging his craft
over any one of a half-dozen easy portages in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,
or Ohio, the canoe traveller can emerge into the Mississippi basin, by
means of whose far-stretching waters he is enabled to explore the heart of
the New World, from the Alleghanies to the Rockies, from the Great Lakes to
the Gulf of Mexico. A carrying trail, at the headwaters of the Missouri,
will lead him over to tributaries of the Columbia, whereby he gains access
to the Pacific slope; while by another portage of a few miles in length,
from Pigeon River to Rainy River, he is given command of the vast basin of
Hudson Bay,--a labyrinth of waterways extending northward to the Arctic
Ocean, and connected by still other portages with the Pacific. The Hudson
River and Lakes George and Champlain form a natural highway from the St.
Lawrence southward to the ocean. By the Mohawk and a short carrying-place,
the Hudson was from early times connected with the Great Lakes. The
Potomac, the Susquehanna, the Roanoke, and other Southern rivers can be
traced northwestward to their sources in the mountains; and hard by are the
headwaters of west-flowing feeders of the Mississippi. The Appalachian
mountains run for the most part in parallel ridges northeast and southwest;
and their valley system, opening out through the Cumberland Gap upon the
Kentucky prairies and the valleys of the Ohio basin, also affords a
comparatively easy highway from the Atlantic sea-coast to the interior.
Sidenote: An inviting field for Aryan colonization.
Thus with the entrance of North America facing the east, and with Europe
lying but little more than one half the distance from Boston that Asia lies
from San Francisco, it was in the order of things that from the east should
have come the people who were to settle and civilize the New World.
Colonists could on this side of the continent found new commonwealths, yet
at the same time easily maintain their connection with the fatherland. The
march of Aryan emigration has ever been on lines little diverging from due
east or west. It is fortunate that the geographical conditions of North
America were such as to make her an inviting field for the further
migration of the race.
Sidenotes: Geographical characteristics of New England and of the South.
Three grand natural divisions of the Atlantic slope.
Extractive industries.
Soil.
Climate.
The Atlantic border may be considered as the threshold of the continent. It
was among its dense, gloomy forests of hard wood and pine that European
nations planted their colonies; here those colonies grew into States, which
were the nucleus of the American Union. The Appalachians are not high
enough seriously to affect the climate or landscape of the region. Their
flanks slope gradually down to the sea, furrowed by rivers which from the
first gave character to the colonies. In New England, where there is an
abundance of good harbors, the coast is narrow and the streams are short
and rapid, with stretches of navigable water between the waterfalls which
turn the wheels of industry for a busy, ingenious, and thrifty people. The
long, broad rivers of the South, flowing lazily through a wide base-plain,
the coast of which furnishes but little safe anchorage, served as avenues
of traffic for the large, isolated colonial estates strung along their
banks; the autocratic planters taking pleasure in having ports of entry at
their doors. The Hudson and the Potomac lead far inland,--paths to the
water ways of the interior,--and divide the Atlantic slope into three grand
natural divisions, the New England, the Middle, and the Southern, in which
grew up distinct groups of colonies, having quite a different origin, and
for a time but few interests in common. The Appalachian mountains and their
foot-hills abound in many places in iron and coal; works for the smelting
of the former were erected near Jamestown, Virginia, as early as 1620, and
early in the eighteenth century the industry began to be of considerable
importance in parts of New England, New York, and New Jersey; but the
mining of anthracite coal was not commenced until 1820. The soil of the
Atlantic border varies greatly, being much less fertile in the North than
in the South; but nearly everywhere it yields good returns for a proper
expenditure of labor. The climate is subject to frequent and extreme
changes. At about 30° latitude the mean temperature is similar to that on
the opposite side of the Atlantic; but farther north the American climate,
owing to the divergence of the Gulf Stream and the influence of the great
continent to the west, is much colder than at corresponding points in
Europe. The rainfall along the coast is everywhere sufficient.
Sidenotes: The Mississippi basin.
The Pacific slope.
Beyond the Appalachian mountain wall, the once heavily forested land dips
gently to the Mississippi; then the land rises again, in a long, treeless
swell, up to the foot of the giant and picturesque Cordilleras. The
isothermal lines in this great central basin are nearly identical with
those of the Atlantic coast. The soil east of the 105th meridian west from
Greenwich is generally rich, sometimes extremely fertile; and it is now
agreed that nearly all the vast arid plains to the west of that meridian,
formerly set down as desert, needs only irrigation to blossom as the rose.
The Pacific slope, narrow and abrupt, abounds in fertile, pent-up valleys,
with some of the finest scenery on the continent and a climate everywhere
nearly equal at the same elevation; the isothermal lines here run north and
south, the lofty mountain range materially influencing both climate and
vegetation.
Sidenote: Summary.
There is no fairer land for the building of a great nation. The region
occupied by the United States is particularly available for such a purpose.
It offers a wide range of diversity in climate and products, yet is
traversed by noble rivers which intimately connect the North with the
South, and have been made to bind the East with the West. It possesses in
the Mississippi basin vast plains unsurpassed for health, fertility, and
the capacity to support an enormous population, yet easily defended; for
the great outlying mountain ranges, while readily penetrated by bands of
adventurous pioneers, and though climbed by railway trains, might easily be
made serious obstacles to invading armies. The natural resources of North
America are apparently exhaustless; we command nearly every North American
seaport on both oceans, and withal are so isolated that there appears to be
no necessity for "entangling alliances" with transatlantic powers. The
United States seems permitted by Nature to work out her own destiny
unhampered by foreign influence, secure in her position, rich in
capabilities. Her land is doubtless destined to become the greatest
stronghold of the Aryan race.
3. The Native Races.
Sidenotes: The aborigines.
Divisible into two divisions.
When Europeans first set foot upon the shores of America it was found not
only that a New World had been discovered, but that it was peopled by a
race of men theretofore unknown to civilized experience. The various
branches of the race differed greatly from each other in general appearance
and in degrees of civilization, and to some extent were settled in
latitudinal strata; thus the reports concerning them made by early
navigators who touched at different points along the coast, led to much
confusion in European estimates of the aborigines. We now know that but one
race occupied the land from Hudson Bay to Patagonia. Leaving out of account
the Carib race of the West Indies, the portion resident in North and
Central America may be roughly grouped into two grand divisions:--
Sidenote: Mexicans, Peruvians, Pueblos, Cliff-Dwellers, and Indians of
the lower Mississippi valley.
I. The semi-civilized peoples represented by the sun-worshipping Mexicans
and Peruvians, who had attained particular efficiency in architecture,
road-making, and fortification, acquired some knowledge of astronomy, were
facile if not elegant in sculpture, practised many handicrafts, but appear
to have exhibited little capacity for further progress. Their government
was paternal to a degree nowhere else observed, and the people, exercising
neither political power nor individual judgment in the conduct of many of
the common affairs of life, were helpless when deprived of their native
rulers by the Spanish conquerors, Cortez and Pizarro. Closely upon the
border of this division, both geographically and in point of mental status,
were the Pueblos and Cliff-Dwellers of New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern
California,--the occupants of the country around the headwaters of the Rio
Grande and Gila rivers, and of the foot-hills of the Desert Range. These
people, like the Mexicans, lived in great communal dwellings of stone or
sun-dried brick, and were also sun-worshippers. They made crude cloth and
pottery, and irrigated and cultivated large tracts of arid land, but were
inferior as fighters, and occupied a mental plane considerably below the
Mexicans. Allied in race and similar in acquirements were the tribes
inhabiting the lower Mississippi valley, the Natchez and perhaps other
tribes lying farther to the east.
Sidenote: The Red Indians of North America.
II. The natives of North America, called Red Indians,--a name which
perpetuates the geographical error of Columbus, and has given rise to an
erroneous opinion as to their color--occupied a still lower plane of
civilization. Yet one must be cautious in accepting any hard-and-fast
classification. The North Americans presented a considerable variety of
types, ranging from the Southern Indians, some of whose tribes were rather
above the Caribs in material advancement, and quite superior to them in
mental calibre, down to the Diggers, the savage root-eaters of the
Cordilleran region.
Sidenote: Philological divisions of Red Indian tribes.
The migrations of some of the Red Indian tribes were frequent, and they
occupied overlapping territories, so that it is impossible to fix the
tribal boundaries with any degree of exactness. Again, the tribes were so
merged by intermarriage, by affiliation, by consolidation, by the fact that
there were numerous polyglot villages of renegades, by similarities in
manner, habits, and appearance, that it is difficult even to separate the
savages into families. It is only on philological grounds that these
divisions can be made at all. In a general way we may say that between the
Atlantic and the Rockies, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, there were
four Indian languages in vogue, with great varieties of local dialect.
Sidenote: The Algonquians.
I. The Algonquians were the most numerous, holding the greater portion of
the country from the unoccupied "debatable land" of Kentucky northward to
Hudson Bay, and from the Atlantic westward to the Mississippi. Among their
tribes were the Narragansetts and Mohicans. These savages were rude in life
and manners, were intensely warlike, depended for subsistence chiefly on
hunting and fishing, lived in rude wigwams covered with bark, skins, or
matted reeds, practised agriculture in a crude fashion, and were less
stable in their habitations than the Southern Indians. They have made a
larger figure in our history than any other family, because through their
lands came the heaviest and most aggressive movement of white population.
Estimates of early Indian populations necessarily differ, in the absence of
accurate knowledge, but it is now known that the numbers were never so
great as was at first estimated. The colonists on the Atlantic seaboard
found a native population much larger than elsewhere existed, for the
Indians had a superstitious, almost a romantic, attachment to the seaside;
and fish-food abounded there. Back from the waterfalls on the Atlantic
slope,--in the mountains and beyond,--there were large areas destitute of
inhabitants; and even in the nominally occupied territory the villages were
generally small and far apart. A careful modern estimate is that the
Algonkins at no time numbered over ninety thousand souls, and possibly not
over fifty thousand.
Sidenote: The Iroquois.
II. In the heart of this Algonquian land was planted an ethnic group called
the Iroquois, with its several distinct branches, often at war with each
other. The craftiest, most daring, and most intelligent of Red Indians, yet
still in the savage hunter state, the Iroquois were the terror of every
native band east of the Mississippi, and eventually pitted themselves
against their white neighbors. The five principal tribes of this
family--Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, all stationed in
pallisaded villages south and east of Lakes Erie and Ontario--formed a
loose confederacy, styled by themselves "The Long House," and by the whites
"The Five Nations," which firmly held the waterways connecting the Hudson
River and the Great Lakes. The population of the entire group was not over
seventeen thousand,--a remarkably small number, considering the active part
they played in American history, and the control which they exercised over
wide tracts of Algonquian territory. Later they were joined by the
Tuscaroras from North Carolina, and the confederacy was thereafter known as
"The Six Nations."
Sidenote: The Southern Indians.
III. The Southern Indians occupied the country between the Tennessee River
and the Gulf, the Appalachian ranges and the Mississippi. They were divided
into five lax confederacies,--the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks,
and Seminoles. Of a milder disposition than their Northern cousins, they
were rather in a barbarous than a savage state. The Creeks, in particular,
had good intellects, were fair agriculturists, and quickly adopted many
mechanic and rural arts from their white neighbors; so that by the time of
the Revolution they were not far behind the small white proprietors in
industrial or domestic methods. In the Indian Territory of to-day the
descendants of some of these Southern Indians are good farmers and
herdsmen, with a capacity for self-government and shrewd business dealing.
It is not thought that the Southern tribes ever numbered above fifty
thousand persons.
Sidenote: The Dakotahs.
IV. The Dakotah, or Sioux, family occupied for the most part the country
beyond the Mississippi. They were and are a fierce, high-strung people, are
genuine nomads, and war appears to have been their chief occupation. Before
the advent of the Spaniards they were foot-wanderers; but runaway horses
came to them from Mexico and from the exploring expeditions of Narvaez,
Coronado, and De Soto, and very early in the historic period the Indians of
the far western plains became expert horsemen, attaining a degree of
equestrian skill equal to that of the desert-dwelling Arabs. Outlying bands
of the Dakotahs once occupied the greater part of Wisconsin and northern
Illinois, and were, it is believed by competent investigators, one of the
various tribes of mound-builders. Upon withdrawing to the west of the
Mississippi, they left behind them one of their tribes,--the
Winnebagoes,--whom Nicolet found (1634) resident on and about Green Bay of
Lake Michigan, at peace and in confederacy with the Algonquians, who hedged
them about. Other trans-Mississippi nations there are, but they are neither
as large nor of such historical importance as the Dakotahs.
Sidenote: Other tribes.
The above enumeration, covering the territory south of Hudson Bay and east
of the Rocky Mountains, embraces those savage nations with which the white
colonists of North America have longest been in contact. North and west of
these limits were and are other aboriginal tribes of the same race, but
materially differing from those to whom allusion has been made, as well as
from each other, in speech, stature, feature, and custom. These, too, lie,
generally speaking, in ethnological zones. North of British Columbia are
the fish-eating and filthy Hyperboreans, including the Eskimos and the
tribes of Alaska and the British Northwest. South of these dwell the
Columbians,--the aborigines of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia,--a
somewhat higher type than the Hyperboreans, but much degenerated from
contact with whites. The Californians are settled not only in what is now
termed California, but stretch back irregularly into the mountains of
Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.
4. Characteristics of the Indian.
But of all the North American tribes, our interest in this book is with the
traditional Red Indian,--the savage of eastern North America, the crafty
forest warrior whom our fathers met on landing, and whose presence so
materially shaped the fortunes of the colonies.
Sidenote: The Indian as a hunter and fisher.
First of all, the Indian was a hunter and fisherman. As such, his life was
a struggle for existence. Enemies were to be driven from the tribe's
hunting-grounds, but the game-preserves of other tribes were invaded when
convenient, and this led to endless feuds. War was not only a pastime, but
a necessity in the competition for food. Villages were as a consequence
almost invariably built at vantage points,--at inlets of the sea, at
waterfalls, on commanding banks of lakes and rivers, on portage paths
between the headwaters of streams, and at river junctions. Hence we find
that many, if not most, of the early white towns, built before railways
were introduced, are on sites originally occupied by Indian villages.
Sidenote: Political organization.
The political organization of the Indians was weak. The villages were
little democracies, where one warrior held himself as good as another,
except for the deference naturally due to headmen of the several clans, or
to those of reputed wisdom or oratorical ability. There was a sachem, or
peace-chief, hereditary in the female line, whose authority was but slight,
unless aided by natural gifts which commanded respect. In times of war the
fighting men ranged themselves as volunteers under some popular
leader,--perhaps a permanent chief; sometimes a warrior without titular
distinction. Much which appears in the early writings about the power and
authority of "nobles," "kings," and "emperors" among the red men was
fanciful, the authors falling into the error of judging Indian institutions
by Old World standards. Around the village council-fires all warriors had a
right to be heard; but the talking was chiefly done by the privileged
classes of headmen, old men, wise men, and orators, who were also selected
as the representatives of villages in the occasional deliberative
assemblies of the tribe or confederacy. The judgment of such a council
could not bind the entire village, tribe, or confederacy; any one might
refuse to obey if it pleased him. It was seldom that an entire tribe united
in an important enterprise, still more unusual for several tribes to stand
by each other in adversity. It was this weakness in organization,--inherent
in a pure democracy,--combined with their lack of self-control and
steadfastness of purpose, and with the ever-prevailing tribal jealousies,
which caused Indians to yield before the whites, who better understood the
value of adherence in the face of a common foe. Here and there in our
history we shall note some formidable Indian conspiracies for entirely
dispossessing the whites,--such as the Virginia scheme (1622), King
Philip's uprising (1675), and the Pontiac War (1763). They were the work of
native men of genius who had the gift of organization highly developed, but
who could not find material equal to their skill; hence these uprisings
were short-lived.
Sidenote: The Indian as a fighter.
The strength of the Indian as a fighter lay in his capacity for stratagem,
in his ability to thread the tangled thicket as silently and easily as he
would an open plain, in his powers of secrecy, and in his habit of making
rapid, unexpected sallies for robbery and murder, and then gliding back
into the dark and almost impenetrable forest. The child of impulse, he soon
tired of protracted military operations; and in a siege or in the open
usually yielded to stoutly sustained resistance on the part of an enemy
inferior in numbers. But the colonists were obliged to learn and adopt the
Indian's skulking method of warfare before they could successfully cope
with him in the forest.
Sidenote: Social characteristics.
The Indian was lord of his own wigwam and of the squaws, whom he purchased
of their fathers, kept as his slaves, and could divorce at his caprice.
Families were not large, chiefly owing to the lack of food and to heavy
infant mortality. The wigwams, or huts,--each tribe having peculiarities in
its domestic architecture,--were foully kept, and the bodies of their dirty
inhabitants swarmed with vermin. Kind and hospitable to friends and
unsuspected strangers, the Indian was merciless to his enemies, no cruelty
being too severe for a captive. Yet prisoners were often snatched from the
stake or the hands of a vindictive captor to be adopted into the family of
the rescuer, taking the place of some one slaughtered by the enemy. In
council and when among strangers, the Indian was dignified and reserved,
too proud to exhibit curiosity or emotion; but around his own fire he was
often a jolly clown, much given to verbosity, and fond of comic tales of
doubtful morality. Improvidence was one of his besetting sins.
Sidenotes: Dress.
Religion.
Medicine.
The summer dress of the men was generally a short apron made of the pelt of
a wild animal, the women being clothed in skins from neck to knees; in
winter both sexes wrapped themselves in large robes of similar material.
Indian oratory was highly ornate; it abounded in metaphors drawn from a
minute observance of nature and from a picturesque mythology. A belief in
the efficacy of religious observances was deep seated. Long fastings,
penances, and sacrifices were frequent. The elements were peopled with
spirits good and bad. Every animal, every plant, had its manitou, or
incarnate spirit. Fancy ran riot in superstition. Even the dances practised
by the aborigines had a certain religious significance, being pantomimes,
and in some features resembling the mediæval miracle-plays of Europe. The
art of healing was tinctured with necromancy, although there was
considerable virtue in their decoctions of barks, roots, and herbs, and
their vapor-baths, which came in time to be borrowed from them by the
whites.
Sidenote: Intellectual status.
In intellectual activity the red man did not occupy so low a scale as has
often been assigned him. He was barbarous in his habits, but was so from
choice: it suited his wild, untrammelled nature. He understood the arts of
politeness when he chose to exercise them. He could plan, he was an
incomparable tactician and a fair strategist; he was a natural logician;
his tools and implements were admirably adapted to the purpose designed; he
fashioned boats that have not been surpassed in their kind; he was
remarkably quick in learning the use of firearms, and soon equalled the
best white hunters as a marksman. A rude sense of honor was highly
developed in the Indian; he had a nice perception of public propriety; he
bowed his will to the force of custom,--these characteristics doing much to
counteract the anarchical tendency of his extreme democracy. He understood
the value of form and color, as witness his rock-carvings, his rude
paintings, the decorations on his finely tanned leather, and his often
graceful body markings. It was because the savage saw little in civilized
ideas to attract him, that he either remained obdurate in the face of
missionary endeavors, or simulated an interest he could not feel.
5. Relations of the Indians and Colonists.
Sidenotes: The Indians and the colonists.
Indians as foes.
The colonists from Europe met the Red Indian in a threefold capacity,--as a
neighbor, as a customer and trader, and as a foe opposed to encroachments
upon his hunting grounds. At first the whites were regarded by the
aborigines as of supernatural origin, and hospitality, veneration, and
confidence were displayed toward the new-comers. But the morality of the
Europeans was soon made painfully evident to them. When the early
Spaniards, and afterwards the English, kidnapped tribesmen to sell them
into slavery or to use them as captive guides for future expeditions, or
even murdered the natives on slight provocation, distrust and hatred
naturally succeeded the sentiment of awe. Like many savage races, like the
earlier Romans, the Indian looked upon the member of every tribe with which
he had not made a formal peace as a public enemy; hence he felt justified
in wreaking his vengeance on the race whenever he failed to find individual
offenders. He was exceptionally cruel, his mode of warfare was skulking, he
could not easily be got at in the forest fastnesses which he alone knew
well, and his strokes fell heaviest on women and children; so that whites
came to fear and unspeakably to loathe the savage, and often added greatly
to the bitterness of the struggle by retaliation in kind. The white
borderers themselves were frequently brutal, reckless, and lawless; and
under such conditions clashing was inevitable.
Sidenote: The fur-trade, and inter-tribal barter.
But the love of trade was strong among the Indians, and caused them to some
extent to overcome or to conceal their antipathies. There had always
existed a system of inter-tribal barter, so widespread that the first
whites landing on the Atlantic coast saw Indians with copper ornaments and
tools which came from the Lake Superior mines; and by the middle of the
seventeenth century many articles of European make had passed inland, by
means of these forest exchanges, as far as the Mississippi, in advance of
the earliest white explorers. The trade with the Indians was one of the
incentives to colonization. The introduction of European blankets at once
revolutionized the dress of the coast tribes; and it is surprising how
quickly the art of using firearms was acquired among them, and barbaric
implements and utensils abandoned for those of civilized make. So rapid was
this change that it was not long before the Indians became dependent on the
whites for nearly every article of dress and ornament, and for tools and
weapons. The white traders, who travelled through the woods visiting the
tribes, exchanging these goods for furs, often cheated and robbed the
Indian, taught him the use of intoxicants, bullied and browbeat him,
appropriated his women, and in general introduced serious demoralization
into the native camps. Trouble frequently grew out of this wretched
condition of affairs. The bulk of the whites doubtless intended to treat
the Indian honorably; but the forest traders were beyond the pale of law,
and news of the details of their transactions seldom reached the coast
settlements.
Sidenotes: The Indian as a neighbor.
The inevitable struggle for mastery.
As a neighbor the Indian was difficult to deal with, whether in the
negotiation of treaties of amity, or in the purchase of lands. Having but a
loose system of government, there was no really responsible head, and no
compact was secure from the interference of malcontents who would not be
bound by treaties made by the chiefs. The English felt that the red-men
were not putting the land to its full use, that much of the territory was
growing up as a waste, that they were best entitled to it who could make it
the most productive. On the other hand, the earlier cessions of land were
made under a total misconception: the Indians supposed that the new-comers
would, after a few years of occupancy, pass on and leave the tract again
to the natives. There was no compromise possible between races with
precisely opposite views of property in land. The struggle was
inevitable,--civilization against savagery. No sentimental notions could
prevent it. It was in the nature of things that the weaker must give way.
For a long time it was not certain that a combined effort might not drive
the whites into the sea and undo the work of colonization; but in the end
the savage went to the wall.
Sidenote: Good effect of Indian opposition on the colonists.
Taking a general view of the growth of the American nation, it is now easy
to see that it was fortunate that Englishmen met in the Indian so
formidable an antagonist: such fierce and untamed savages could never be
held long as slaves; and thus were the American colonists of the North--the
bone and sinew of the nation--saved from the temptations and the moral
danger which come from contact with a numerous servile race. Again, every
step of progress into the wilderness being stubbornly contested, the spirit
of hardihood and bravery--so essential an element in nation-building--was
fostered among the borderers; and as settlement moved westward slowly, only
so fast as the pressure of population on the seaboard impelled it, the
Americans were prevented from planting scattered colonies in the interior,
and thus were able to present a solid front to the mother-country when, in
due course of time, fostering care changed to a spirit of commercial
control, and commercial control to jealous interference and menace.