POLITICS SINCE 1880
%536. Candidates in 1880.%--The campaign of 1880 was opened by the
meeting of the Republican national convention at Chicago, where a long
and desperate effort was made to nominate General Grant for a third
term. But James Abram Garfield and Chester A. Arthur were finally
chosen. The platform called for national aid to state education, for
protection to American labor, for the suppression of polygamy in Utah,
for "a thorough, radical, and complete" reform of the civil service, and
for no more land grants to railroads or corporations.
The Greenback-Labor party nominated James B. Weaver and B.J. Chambers,
and declared
1. That all money should be issued by the government and not by banking
corporations.
2. That the public domain must be kept for actual settlers and not given
to railroads.
3. That Congress must regulate commerce between the states, and secure
fair, moderate, and uniform rates for passengers and freight.
Next came the Prohibition party convention, and the nomination of Neal
Dow and Henry Adams Thompson.
Last of all was the Democratic convention, which nominated General
Winfield S. Hancock and William H. English. The platform called for
1. Honest money, consisting of gold and silver and paper convertible
into coin on demand.
2. A tariff for revenue only.
3. Public lands for actual settlers.
%537. Election and Death of Garfield.%--The campaign was remarkable
for several reasons:
1. Every presidential elector was chosen by popular vote; and every
electoral vote was counted as it was cast. This was the first
presidential election in our country of which both these statements
could be made.
2. For the first time since 1844 there was no agitation of a Southern
question.
3. All parties agreed in calling for anti-Chinese legislation.
Garfield and Arthur were elected, and inaugurated on March 4, 1881. But
on July 2, 1881, as Garfield stood in a railway station at Washington, a
disappointed office seeker came up behind and shot him in the back. A
long and painful illness followed, till he died on September 19, 1881.
[Illustration: James A. Garfield]
[Illustration: Chester A. Arthur]
%538. Presidential Succession%--The death of Garfield and the
succession of Arthur to the presidential office left the country in a
peculiar situation. An act of Congress passed in 1792 provided that if
both the presidency and vice presidency were vacant at the same time,
the President _pro tempore_ of the Senate, or if there were none, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, should act as President, till a
new one was elected. But in September, 1881, there was neither a
President _pro tempore_ of the Senate nor a Speaker of the House of
Representatives, as the Forty-sixth Congress ceased to exist on March 4,
and the Forty-seventh was not to meet till December. Had Arthur died or
been killed, there would therefore have been no President. It was not
likely that such a condition would happen again; but attention was
called to the necessity of providing for succession to the presidency,
and in 1886 a new law was enacted. Now, should the presidency and vice
presidency both become vacant, the presidency passes to members of the
Cabinet in the order of the establishment of their departments,
beginning with the Secretary of State. Should he die, be impeached and
removed, or become disabled, it would go to the Secretary of the
Treasury, and then, if necessary, to the Secretary of War, the
Attorney-general, the Postmaster-general, the Secretary of the Navy, the
Secretary of the Interior.
%539. Party Pledges redeemed.%--Since the Republican party was in
power, a redemption of the pledges in their platform was necessary, and
three laws of great importance were enacted. One, the Edmunds law
(1882), was intended to suppress polygamy in Utah and the neighboring
territories. Another (1882) stopped the immigration of Chinese laborers
for ten years. The third, the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883), was
designed to secure appointment to public office on the ground of
fitness, and not for political service.
%540. Corporations.%--These measures were all good enough in their
way; but they left untouched grievances which the workingmen and a great
part of the people felt were unbearable. That the development of the
wealth and resources of our country is chiefly due to great corporations
and great capitalists is strictly true. But that many of them abused the
power their wealth gave them cannot be denied. They were accused of
buying legislatures, securing special privileges, fixing prices to suit
themselves, importing foreign laborers under contract in order to
depress wages, and favoring some customers more than others.
%541. The Anti-monopoly and Labor Parties.%--Out of this condition of
affairs grew the Anti-monopoly party, which held a convention in 1884
and demanded that the Federal government should regulate commerce
between the states; that it should therefore control the railroads and
the telegraphs; that Congress should enact an interstate commerce law;
and that the importation of foreign laborers under contract should be
made illegal.
This platform was so fully in accordance with the views of the Greenback
or National party, that Benjamin F. Butler, the candidate of the
Anti-monopolists, was endorsed and so practically united the
two parties.
[Illustration: Grover Cleveland]
%542. The Republican and Democratic Parties%.--The Republicans
nominated James G. Blaine and John A. Logan, and the Democrats Stephen
Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks. The Prohibitionists put up
John P. St. John and William Daniel. The nomination of Blaine was the
signal for the revolt of a wing of the Republicans, which took the name
of Independents, and received the nickname of "Mugwumps." The revolt was
serious in its consequences, and after the most exciting contest since
1876, Cleveland was elected.
%543. Public Measures adopted during 1885-1889.%--Widely as the
parties differed on many questions, Democrats, Republicans, and
Nationalists agreed in demanding certain reform measures which were now
carried out. In 1885 an Anti-Contract-Labor law was enacted, forbidding
any person, company, or corporation to bring any aliens into the United
States under contract to perform labor or service. In 1887 came the
Interstate Commerce Act, placing the railroads under the supervision of
commissioners whose duty it is to see that all charges for the
transportation of passengers and freight are "reasonable and just," and
that no special rates, rebates, drawbacks, or unjust discriminations are
made for one shipper over another. In 1888 a second Chinese Exclusion
Act prohibited the return of any Chinese laborer who had once left the
country. That same year a Department of Labor was established and put in
charge of a commissioner. His duty is to "diffuse among the people of
the United States useful information on subjects connected with labor."
%544. Political Issues since 1888%.--Thus by the end of Mr.
Cleveland's first term many of the demands of the workingmen had been
granted, and laws enacted for their relief. These issues disposed of, a
new set arose, and after 1888 financial questions took the place of
labor issues.
%545. The Surplus and the Tariff.%--These financial problems were
brought up by the condition of the public debt. For twenty years past
the debt had been rapidly growing less and less, till on December 1,
1887, it was $1,665,000,000, a reduction of more than $1,100,000,000 in
twenty-one years. By that time every bond of the United States that
could be called in and paid at its face value had been canceled. As all
the other bonds fell due, some in 1891 and others in 1907, the
government must either buy them at high rates, or suffer them to run. If
it suffered them to run, a great surplus would pile up in the Treasury.
Thus on December 1, 1887, after every possible debt of the government
was met, there was a surplus of $50,000,000. Six months later (June 1,
1888) the sum had increased to $103,000,000.
Unless this was to go on, and the money of the country be locked up in
the Treasury, one of three things must be done:
1. More bonds must be bought at high rates.
2. Or the revenue must be reduced by reducing taxation.
3. Or the surplus must be distributed among the states as in 1837, or
spent.
%546. The Mills Tariff Bill.%--Each plan had its advocates. But the
Democrats, who controlled the House of Representatives, attempted to
solve the problem by cutting down the revenue, and passed a tariff bill,
called the Mills Bill, after its chief author, Mr. R. Q. Mills of Texas.
The Republicans declared it was a free-trade measure and defeated it in
the Senate.
%547. The Campaign of 1888; Benjamin Harrison, Twenty-third
President.%--In the party platforms of 1888 we find, therefore, that
three issues are prominent: (1) taxation, (2) tariff reform, (3) the
surplus. The Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland and Allen G. Thurman,
and demanded frugality in public expenses, no more revenue than was
needed to pay the necessary cost of government, and a tariff for revenue
only. The Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison and Levi P. Morton,
and demanded a tariff for protection, a reduction of the revenue by the
repeal of taxes on tobacco and on spirits used in the arts, and by the
admission free of duty of foreign-made articles the like of which are
not produced at home.
[Illustration: Benjamin Harrison]
The Prohibitionists, the Union Labor party, and the United Labor party
also placed candidates in the field. Harrison and Morton were elected,
and inaugurated March 4, 1889.
%548. The Republicans in Control.%--The Republican party not only
regained the presidency, but was once more in control of the House and
Senate. Thus free to carry out its pledges, it passed the McKinley
Tariff Act (1890); a new pension bill, which raised the number of
pensioners to 970,000, and the sum annually spent on pensions from
$106,000,000 to $150,000,000; and a new financial measure, known as
%549. The Sherman Act.%--You remember that the attempt to enact a law
for the free coinage of silver in 1878 led to the Bland-Allison Act, for
the purchase of bullion and the coinage of at least $2,000,000 worth of
silver each month. As this was not free coinage, the friends of silver
made a second attempt, in 1886, to secure the desired legislation. This
also failed. But in the summer of 1890, the silver men, having a
majority of the Senate, passed a free-coinage bill (June 17), which the
House rejected (June 25). A conference followed, and from this
conference came a bill which was quickly enacted into a law and called
the Sherman Act. It provided
1. That the Secretary of the Treasury should buy 4,500,000 ounces of
silver each month.
2. That he should pay for the bullion with paper money called treasury
notes.
3. That on demand of the holder the Secretary must redeem these notes in
gold or silver.
4. After July 1, 1891, the silver need not be coined, but might be
stored in the Treasury, and silver certificates issued.
%550. The Farmers' Alliance%.--This legislation, combined with an
agricultural depression and widespread discontent in the agricultural
states, caused the defeat of the Republicans in the elections of 1890.
The Democratic minority of 21 in the House of Representatives of the
Fifty-first Congress was turned into a Democratic majority of 135 in the
Fifty-second. Eight other members were elected by the Farmers' Alliance.
For twenty years past the farmers in every great agricultural state had
been organizing, under such names as Patrons of Husbandry, Farmers'
League, the Grange, Patrons of Industry, Agricultural Wheel, Farmers'
Alliance. Their object was to promote sociability, spread information
concerning agriculture and the price of grain and cattle, and guard the
interests and welfare of the farmer generally. By 1886 many of these
began to unite, and the National Agricultural Wheel of the United
States, the Farmers' Alliance and Cooperative Union of America, and
several more came into existence. In 1889 the amalgamation was carried
further still, and at a convention in St. Louis they were all
practically united in the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union.
The purpose of this alliance was political, and as its stronghold was
Kansas, the contest began in that state in 1890. At a convention of
Alliance men and Knights of Labor, a "People's Party" was formed, which
elected a majority of the state legislature. Five out of seven
Congressmen were secured, and one United States senator. Before Congress
met (in December, 1891), another member of the House was elected
elsewhere, and three more senators. The support of fifty other
representatives was claimed. Greatly elated over this important footing,
the Alliance men marked out a plan for congressional legislation.
They demanded
1. A bill for the free and unlimited coinage of silver.
2. The subtreasury scheme.
3. A Land Mortgage Bill.
%551. The Subtreasury Plan of the Alliance Party.%--The idea at the
base of these demands was that the amount of money in circulation must
be increased, and loaned to the people without the aid of banks or
capitalists. It was proposed, therefore, that the government should
establish a number of subtreasury or money-loaning stations in each
state, at which the farmers could borrow money from the government (at
two per cent interest), giving as security non-perishable farm produce.
%552. The Land Mortgage Scheme% provided that any owner of from 10 to
320 acres of land, at least half of which was under cultivation, might
borrow from the government treasury notes equal to half the assessed
value of the land and buildings.
%553. The People's Party organized.%--That either of the old parties
would further such schemes was far from likely. A cry was therefore
raised by the most ardent Alliance men for a third party, and at a
conference of Alliance and Labor leaders in May, 1891, a new national
party was founded, and named "The People's Party of the United States
of America."
%554. Party Candidates in 1892.%--When the campaign opened in 1892
there were thus four parties in the field. The People's party nominated
James B. Weaver and James G. Field. The platform called for
1. The free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the ratio of 16
to 1.
2. A graduated income tax.
3. Government ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones.
4. The restriction of immigration.
5. A national currency to be loaned to the people at two per cent
interest per annum, secured by land or produce.
6. All land held by aliens, or by railroads in excess of their actual
needs, to be reclaimed and held for actual settlers.
The Prohibitionists nominated John Bidwell and J. B. Cranfill, and
declared "anew for the entire suppression of the manufacture, sale,
importation, exportation, and transportation of alcoholic liquors as a
beverage."
The Democratic party selected Grover Cleveland for the third time and
chose Adlai E. Stevenson for Vice President. The platform condemned
trusts and combines, advocated the reclamation of the public lands from
corporations and syndicates, the exclusion of the Chinese and of the
criminals and paupers of Europe, denounced "the Sherman Act of 1890,"
and called for "the coinage of both gold and silver without
discriminating against either metal or charge for mintage," with "the
dollar unit of coinage of both metals" "of equal intrinsic and
exchangeable value."
The Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison and Whitelaw Reid, expressed
their sympathy with the cause of temperance, their opposition to trusts,
and called for the coinage of both gold and silver in such way that "the
debt-paying power of the dollar, whether silver, gold, or paper, shall
be at all times equal."
%555. Grover Cleveland reëlected.%--The election was a complete
triumph for the Democratic party. Mr. Cleveland was again elected, and
for the first time since 1861 the House, Senate, and President were all
three Democratic.
Mr. Cleveland was inaugurated March 4,1893. Never in its history had the
country been seemingly more prosperous; the crops were bountiful;
business was flourishing, manufactures were thriving. But the prosperity
was not real. Business was inflated, and during the following summer an
industrial and financial panic which had long been brewing swept over
the business world, wrecking banks and destroying industrial and
commercial establishments.
To understand what now happened, two facts must be remembered:
1. Under the Resumption of Specie Payment Act of 1875, the Secretary of
the Treasury was authorized to buy specie by the issue of bonds and keep
it to redeem United States notes.
2. In May, 1878, it was ordered that when a greenback was redeemed in
specie, it should "not be retired, canceled, or destroyed, but shall be
reissued and paid out again and kept in circulation." There were then
$346,681,000 in greenbacks unredeemed.
%556. The Gold Reserve.%--Meantime, under the law of 1875, and before
January 1, 1879, the secretary issued $95,500,000 in bonds, the proceeds
of which, with other gold then in the Treasury, made a fund deemed
sufficient to redeem such notes as were likely to be presented. This has
since been called our gold reserve, and has been fixed by the
secretaries at $100,000,000. January 1, 1879, the reserve was
$114,000,000, and though it often rose and fell, it never went below
that amount till July, 1892. By that time there were other gold
obligations. The silver purchased under the law of 1890 was paid for
with notes exchangeable for "coin"; but as the secretaries always
construed "coin" to mean gold, and as by 1893 these notes amounted to
$150,000,000, our gold obligations--that is, notes exchangeable for
gold--were nearly $500,000,000 (greenbacks, $346,000,000; silver
purchase notes, $150,000,000). This immense and steadily increasing sum
caused a doubt of our ability to pay in gold, and a fear that we might
be forced to pay in silver. Now silver, since 1873, had fallen steadily
in value from $1.30 an ounce to $0.81 an ounce in 1893, so that the
bullion value of a silver dollar was about 67 cents. The fear, then,
that our debts might be paid in silver (1) led foreigners to cease
investing money in this country, and to send our stocks and bonds home
to be sold, and (2) led people in this country to draw gold out of the
banks and the Treasury and hoard it, so that in April, 1893, the gold
reserve, for the first time since it was created, fell below
$100,000,000 (to $97,000,000).
%557. The Panic of 1893.%--Business depression and "tight money"
followed. Over three hundred banks suspended or failed, manufactories
all over the country shut down, and a period of great distress set in.
People, alarmed at the condition of the banks, began to draw their
deposits and hoard them, thereby causing such a scarcity of bills of
small denominations that a "currency famine" was threatened.
%558. The Purchase of Silver stopped.%--Believing that the fear that
we should soon be "on a silver basis" had much to do with this state of
affairs, and that the compulsory purchase of silver each month had much
to do with the fear, the President assembled Congress in special
session, August 7, and asked for the repeal of that clause of the
Sherman Act of 1890 which required a monthly purchase of silver. After a
struggle in which both of the old parties were split, the compulsory
purchase clause was repealed, November 1, 1893.
%559. The Silver Movement.%--The steady fall in the bullion value of
silver was a serious blow to the prosperity of the great
silver-producing states,--Colorado, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota,
Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, and the territories of Arizona and New
Mexico,--where silver mining was "the very heart from which every other
industry receives support." In Colorado alone 15,000 miners were made
idle. To the people of this section, some 2,000,000 in number, the
silver question was of vital importance; and, alarmed at the call for
the special session of Congress and the possible repeal of the
silver-purchase clause, they held a convention at Denver, with a view to
affecting public sentiment. A few weeks after, the National Bimetallic
League met at Chicago. Both opposed the repeal, and demanded that if the
government ceased to buy silver, the mints should be opened to free
coinage. This the friends of silver in the Senate attempted in vain to
bring about.
%560. The Industrial Depression; the Wilson Bill.%--The industrial
revival which it was hoped would follow the repeal of the
silver-purchase law did not take place. Prices did not rise; failures
continued; the long-silent mills did not reopen; gold continued to leave
the country, imports fell off, and, when the year ended, the receipts of
the government were $34,000,000 behind the expenditures. With this
condition of the Treasury facing it, Congress met in December, 1893. The
Democrats were in control, and pledged to revise the tariff; and true to
the pledge, William L. Wilson of West Virginia, Chairman of the House
Committee on Ways and Means, presented a new tariff bill (the Wilson
Bill) which after prolonged debate passed both Houses and became a law
at midnight, August 27, 1894, without the President's signature. As it
was expected that the revenue yielded would not be sufficient to meet
the expenses of government, one section of the law provided for a tax of
two per cent on all incomes above $4000. This the Supreme Court
afterwards declared unconstitutional.
%561. The Bond Issues.%--We have seen that in April, 1893, the gold
reserve fell to $97,000,000. But it did not stop there; for, the
business depression and the demand for the free and unlimited coinage of
silver continuing, the withdrawal of gold went on, till the reserve was
so low that bonds were repeatedly sold for gold wherewith to maintain
it. In this wise, during 1894-95, $262,000,000 were added to our
bonded debt.
%562. Foreign Relations; the Hawaiian Revolution.%--when Cleveland
took office, a treaty providing for the annexation of the Hawaiian
Islands was pending in the Senate. In January, 1983, these islands were
the scene of a revolution, which deposed the Queen and set up a
"provisional government." Commissioners were then dispatched to
Washington, where a treaty of annexation was negotiated and (February
15) sent to the Senate for approval. In the course of the revolution, a
force of men from the United States steamer _Boston_ was landed at the
request of the revolutionary leaders, and our flag was raised over some
of the buildings. When these facts became known, the President, fearing
that the presence of United States marines might have contributed much
to the success of the revolution, recalled the treaty from the Senate,
and sent an agent to the islands to investigate. His report set forth in
substance that the revolution would never have taken place had it not
been for the presence and aid of United States marines, and that the
Queen had practically been deposed by United States officials. A new
minister was thereupon sent, with instructions to announce that the
treaty of annexation would not be confirmed, and to seek for the
restoration of the Queen on certain conditions. But President Dole of
the Hawaiian republic denied the right of Cleveland to impose
conditions, or in any way interfere in the domestic concerns of Hawaii,
and refused to surrender to the Queen.
%563. The Venezuelan Boundary Dispute.%--During 1895, the boundary
dispute which had been dragging on for more than half a century between
Great Britain and Venezuela, reached what the President called "an acute
stage," and made necessary a statement of the position of the United
States under the Monroe Doctrine. Great Britain was therefore informed
"that the established policy of the United States is against a forcible
increase of any territory of a European power" in the New World, and
"that the United States is bound to protest against the enlargement of
the area of British Guiana against the will of Venezuela"; and she was
invited to submit her claims to arbitration. Her answer was that the
Monroe Doctrine was "inapplicable to the state of things in which we
live at the present day" and a refusal to submit her claims to
arbitration. The President then asked and received authority to appoint
a commission to examine the boundary and report. "When such report is
made and accepted," said Cleveland, "it will in my opinion be the duty
of the United States to resist by every means in its power, as a willful
aggression upon its rights and interests, the appropriation by Great
Britain of any lands, or the exercise of any governmental jurisdiction,
over any territory which after investigation we have determined of right
belongs to Venezuela." For a time the excitement this message aroused in
Great Britain and our own country was extreme. But it soon subsided, and
on February 2, 1897, a treaty of arbitration was signed at Washington
between Great Britain and Venezuela.
%564. The Election of 1896%.--By that time the presidential election
was over. When in the spring the time came to choose delegates to the
party nominating conventions, the drift of public sentiment was so
strong against the administration, that it seemed certain that the
Republicans would "sweep the country." Little interest, therefore, was
taken by the Democrats, while the Republicans were most concerned in the
question whether Mr. McKinley or Mr. Reed should be their presidential
candidate. But as delegates were chosen by the Democrats in the Western
and Southern States, it became certain that the issue was to be the free
and unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the ratio of 16 to 1.
The Republican convention met in June, nominated William McKinley and
Garret A Hobart, and declared the party "opposed to the free coinage of
silver except by international agreement," whereupon thirty-four
delegates representing the silver states (Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, South Dakota, and Utah) seceded from the party. The Democratic
convention assembled early in July, and after a most exciting convention
chose William J. Bryan and Arthur Sewall, and declared for "the free and
unlimited coinage of both silver and gold at the present legal ration of
16 to 1, without waiting for the aid and consent of any other nation." A
great defection followed this declaration, scores of newspapers refused
to support the candidates, and in September a convention of "gold
Democrats," taking the name of the National Democratic party, nominated
John M. Palmer and Simon B. Buckner, on a "gold standard" platform.
Meanwhile, the Prohibitionists, the National party (declaring for woman
suffrage, prohibition, government ownership of railroads and telegraphs,
an income tax, and the election of the President, Vice President, and
senators by direct vote of the people), the Socialist Labor party, the
Silver party, and the Populists, had all put candidates in the field.
The Silver party indorsed Bryan and Sewall; the Populists nominated
Bryan and Thomas E. Watson.
[Illustration: William McKinley]
%565. McKinley, President.%--An "educational campaign" was carried on
with a seriousness never before approached in our history, and resulted
in the election of Mr. McKinley. He was inaugurated on March 4, and
immediately called a special session of Congress to revise the tariff, a
work which ended in the enactment of the "Dingley Tariff," on July
24, 1897.
%566. The Cuban Question.%--Absorbing as were the election and the
tariff, there was another matter, which for two years past had steadily
grown more and more serious. In February, 1895, the natives of Cuba for
the sixth time in fifty years rebelled against the misrule of Spain and
founded a republic. A cruel, bloody, and ruinous war followed, and as it
progressed, deeply interested the people of our country. The island lay
at our very doors. Upwards of $50,000,000 of American money were
invested in mines, railroads, and plantations there. Our yearly trade
with Cuba was valued at $96,000,000. Our ports were used by Cubans in
fitting out military expeditions, which the government was forced to
stop at great expense.
%567. Shall Cuba be given Belligerent Rights?%--These matters were
serious, and when to them was added the sympathy we always feel for any
people struggling for the liberty we enjoy, there seemed to be ample
reason for our insisting that Spain should govern Cuba better or set her
free. Some thought we should buy Cuba; some that we should recognize the
Republic of Cuba; others that we should intervene even at the risk of
war. Thus urged on, Congress in 1896 declared that the Cubans were
entitled to belligerent rights in our ports, and asked the President to
endeavor to persuade Spain to recognize the independence of Cuba; and
the House in 1897 recommended that the independence of Cuba be
recognized. But nothing came of either recommendation, and so the matter
stood when McKinley was inaugurated.
During the summer of 1897 matters grew worse. A large part of the island
became a wilderness. The people who had been driven into the towns by
order of Captain General Weyler, the "reconcentrados," were dying of
starvation, and our countrymen, deeply moved at their suffering, began
to send them food and medical aid.
%568. The Maine destroyed.%--While engaged in this humane work they were
horrified to hear that on the night of February 15, 1898, our battleship
_Maine_ was blown up in the harbor of Havana, and 260 of her sailors
killed. Although our Court of Inquiry was unable to fix the
responsibility for the explosion, many people believed that it had been
perpetrated by Spaniards, and the hope of a peaceable settlement of the
Cuban question rapidly waned. The sum of $50,000,000 was voted to the
President for strengthening our defenses and buying ships and munitions
of war. After declining to recognize the Cuban Republic, Congress
adopted a resolution, on April 19, declaring for the freedom of Cuba,
demanding that Spain should withdraw from the island, and authorizing
the President to compel her withdrawal, if necessary, by means of our
army and navy. Spain severed diplomatic relations with us on April 21,
and the war began on that date, as declared by an Act of Congress a few
days later. Two hundred thousand volunteers were quickly enlisted, out
of the much larger number that wished to serve.
%569. War with Spain.%--The Battle of Manila.--While one fleet which
had long been gathering at Key West went off and blockaded Havana and
other parts of the coast of Cuba, another, under Commodore George
Dewey, sailed from Hong-kong to attack the Spanish fleet at the
Philippine Islands. Dewey found it in the Bay of Manila, where, on May
1, 1898, he fought and won the most brilliant naval battle in the
world's history. Passing the forts at the entrance, he entered the bay,
and, without the loss of a man or a ship, he destroyed the entire
Spanish fleet of ten vessels, killed and wounded over 600 men, and
captured the arsenal at Cavité (cah-ve-ta') and the forts at the
entrance to the bay. The city of Manila was then blockaded by Dewey's
fleet, and General Merritt with 20,000 troops was sent across the
Pacific to take possession of the Philippines, which had long been
Spain's most important possession in the East. For his great victory
Dewey received the thanks of Congress and was promoted to be
Rear-Admiral, and later was given for life the full rank of Admiral.
[Illustration: Admiral Dewey]
[Illustration Rear-Admiral Sampson]
%570. The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet--Capture of
Santiago.%--Meantime a second Spanish fleet, under Admiral Cervera,
sailed from the Cape Verde Islands. Acting Rear-Admiral Sampson, with
ships which had been blockading Havana, and Commodore Schley, with a
Flying Squadron, went in search of Cervera, and after a long hunt he was
found in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba (sahn-te-ah'go da coo'bah),
which was promptly blockaded by the ships of both squadrons, with
Sampson in command. The narrow entrance to the harbor was so well
defended by forts and submarine mines that a direct attack on Cervera
was impossible. In an attempt to complete the blockade, Naval
Constructor R. P. Hobson and a volunteer crew of seven men took the
collier _Merrimac_ to the harbor entrance, and, amid a rain of shot and
shell, sank her in the channel (June 3). The gallant little band escaped
with life, but were made prisoners of war, and in time were exchanged.
[Illustration: General Shafter]
[Illustration: Rear-Admiral Schley]
The capture of Santiago was decided upon when Cervera sought refuge in
its harbor, and about 18,000 men (mostly of the regular army), under
General Shafter, were hurried to Cuba and landed a few miles from the
city. On July 1 the enemy's outer line of defenses were taken, after
severe fighting at El Caney (ca-na') and San Juan (sahn hoo-ahn'); and
on the next day the Spaniards failed in an attempt to retake them. So
certain was it that the city must soon surrender, that Cervera was
ordered to dash from the harbor, break through the American fleet, and
put to sea. On Sunday morning, July 3, the attempt was made; a desperate
sea fight followed, and, in a few hours, all six of the Spanish vessels
were sunk or stranded, shattered wrecks, on the coast of Cuba. The
Spanish loss in killed and wounded was heavy, while Admiral Cervera and
about 1800 of his men were taken prisoners. Not one of our vessels was
seriously damaged, and but one of our men was killed. When the battle
began, the American war ships were in their usual positions before the
harbor, as assigned them by Admiral Sampson; but Sampson himself, in his
flagship, was several miles to the east on his way to a conference with
General Shafter. Commodore Schley's flagship, the _Brooklyn_, was at the
west end of the line, and as the enemy tried to escape in that
direction, she was in the thickest of the fight. Another war ship which
especially distinguished herself was the _Oregon_, a Western-built
ship, which had sailed from San Francisco all the way around Cape Horn
in order to reach the seat of war.
[Illustration: General Miles]
After the naval battle of July 3, all hope of successful resistance by
the Spaniards vanished, and on July 17, General Toral surrendered
Santiago, the eastern end of Cuba, and an army of nearly 25,000 men. A
week later General Miles set off to seize the island of Porto Rico. He
landed on the southern coast, and had occupied much of the island when
hostilities came to an end.
571. Peace.--On August 12, 1898, a protocol was signed by
representatives of the two nations, providing for the immediate
cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Spain from the West Indies,
and the occupation of Manila by the United States till the conclusion of
a treaty of peace, which was to be negotiated by a commission meeting in
Paris, and which was to provide for the disposition of the Philippines.
News of the cessation of hostilities was instantly sent to all our
fleets and armies. But, on August 13, before word could reach the
Philippines, Manila was attacked by General Merritt's army and Dewey's
fleet, whereupon the Spanish general surrendered the city and about
7000 soldiers.
A formal treaty of peace was signed at Paris December 10, 1898,
providing that Spain should relinquish her title to Cuba, and cede Porto
Rico, Guam (one of the Ladrones), and the Philippines to the United
States; and that the United States should pay $20,000,000 to Spain. The
treaty was then submitted to the governments of the United States and
Spain for ratification; but in both countries it met some opposition. In
our country objections were made especially to the taking of the
Philippines without the consent of their inhabitants, many of whom,
under the leadership of Aguinaldo, had previously rebelled against Spain
and were now demanding complete independence; but the prevailing view
was that our immediate control was necessary to prevent civil war,
anarchy, and foreign complications there. Accordingly, on February 6,
1899, the treaty was ratified by the Senate by a vote of 57 to 27. Spain
also accepted the treaty, which was formally proclaimed April 11. The
$20,000,000 was promptly paid to Spain, and ordinary diplomatic
relations were resumed.
%572. The War Bonds and War Taxes.%--For the expenses of the war with
Spain Congress made ample provision. The Secretary of the Treasury was
authorized to issue $400,000,000 in 3 per cent bonds,[1] and borrow
$100,000,000 upon temporary certificates of indebtedness. Stamp taxes,
an inheritance tax, and a duty on tea were laid, and the silver in the
Treasury was ordered to be coined at the rate of $1,500,000 a month.
[Footnote 1: $200,000,000 of the war bonds were offered for popular
subscription, and $109,000,000 were subscribed in sums under $500. All
was taken in sums under $5000.]
%573. Hawaii annexed.%--But in few respects was the effect of the war
so marked as in the changed sentiment of the people toward Hawaii.
During five years the little republic had been steadily seeking
annexation to the United States, and seeking in vain. But with the
partial occupation of the Philippines, and the impending acquisition of
Porto Rico, and perhaps Cuba, the policy of territorial expansion lost
many of its terrors, and the Hawaiian Islands were annexed by joint
resolution of Congress, signed by the President July 7, 1898. The formal
transfer of sovereignty took place August 12. The islands continued
temporarily under their existing form of government, with slight
modifications, till June 14, 1900, when they were organized as a
territory.
[Illustration: (World Map)]
[Illustration: General Otis]
%574. The War in the Philippines.%--While the treaty with Spain was
under consideration, the city of Manila was held by General Otis,
Merritt's successor; but native troops, under Aguinaldo, were in control
of most of Luzon and several other islands. On the night of February 4,
1899, the long-threatened conflict between them was begun by Aguinaldo's
unsuccessful attack on the Americans at Manila. War now followed; but in
battle after battle the natives were beaten and scattered, till by the
beginning of the year 1900 the main army of the Filipinos had been
completely broken up, and the only forces still opposing American
authority were small bodies of bandits and guerrillas. These held out
persistently, and continued the warfare for more than a year. In 1900
the President sent a commission to the Philippines to organize civil
government in such localities and in such degree as it should deem
advisable; and in 1902 Congress enacted a plan of government under which
the Philippines are constituted a partly self-governing dependency.
%575. Porto Rico and Cuba.%--After the close of the Spanish war, both
Porto Rico and Cuba remained under the military control of the United
States for many months. For Porto Rico, which had been ceded to our
country, Congress provided a system of civil government which went into
effect May 1, 1900. This organized Porto Rico as a dependency.
Cuba, however, had not been ceded to the United States. It had passed
under our control only for the restoration of peace and the
establishment of a stable government there; for Congress, in its
resolution of April 19, 1898, asserted its determination, after the
pacification of Cuba, "to leave the government and control of the island
to its people." In June, 1900, the local city governments were turned
over to municipal officers that had been elected by the people. In the
following winter a constitution was framed by a convention of delegates
elected by the Cubans. Then, after certain provisions had been added to
this, to govern the future relations between Cuba and the United States,
and after the first officers of the Cuban Republic had been elected, the
United States troops were withdrawn and the new government took charge
of the island, May 20, 1902.
%576. Disorders in China.%--Early in 1900 a patriotic society of
Chinese, called the Boxers, began to massacre native Christians in the
north of China, and to drive out or kill all missionaries and other
foreigners. The disorder soon spread to Pekin, where the foreign
ministers and their countrymen (including some Americans) were besieged
in their quarter of the city by Boxers and regular Chinese troops; for
the Chinese government, instead of suppressing the Boxers, acted in
sympathy with them.
President McKinley sent warships and soldiers to China, where they
coöperated with the forces of Japan and the European powers in rescuing
the imperiled foreigners in Pekin. War was not declared against China,
though she resisted the invading troops, making it necessary for them to
capture several towns and to fight several battles before Pekin was
taken. A treaty was then negotiated with the United States, Japan, and
the European powers, providing for the restoration of order and a
settlement of the various claims against China.
%577%. At home during 1900 our population was counted; a President
was elected; and a currency law of much importance was enacted. In the
United States and the territories there were found to be about
76,000,000 people, and in the one state of New York more inhabitants
than there were in all the United States in 1810.
By the currency law, known as the Gold Standard Act, it is provided:--
1. That the gold dollar shall be the standard unit of value.
2. That all forms of money issued or coined shall be kept "at a parity
of value" with this gold standard.
3. That United States notes and Treasury notes shall be redeemed in gold
coin. For this purpose $150,000,000 of gold coin or bullion is set apart
in the Treasury.
%578%. When the time came to prepare for the election of a President
and Vice President, eleven conventions were held, as many platforms were
framed, and eight pairs of candidates were nominated. There were the
Democratic and Republican parties; the People's Party (Fusionists) and
the People's Party (Middle of the Road Anti-Fusionists); the
Prohibition, United Christian, Silver Republican, Socialist Labor,
Social Democratic, and National parties; and the Anti-Imperialist
League. The things opposed, approved of, or demanded by these parties
were many and various; but a few should be stated as showing what the
people were thinking about: Trusts, the gold standard, the free coinage
of silver, a canal across Nicaragua or the isthmus of Panama, election
of United States senators by the people, repeal of the war taxes,
statehood for the territories, independence for the Filipinos, aid to
American shipping, irrigation of the arid lands in the West, public
ownership of railways and telegraphs, desecration of the Sabbath,
equality of men and women, exclusion of the Asiatics, the
Monroe Doctrine.
%579. McKinley Reëlected.%--The Populist (Fusionist) convention
nominated William J. Bryan and Charles A. Towne. But the Democrats named
Bryan and Adlai E. Stevenson. Thereupon Towne withdrew, and Bryan and
Stevenson were made the candidates of the Populists and the Silver party
as well as of the Democrats. The Democratic platform denounced
imperialism and trusts, and reiterated the demand for the free coinage
of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1. The Republicans renominated
President McKinley, and nominated Theodore Roosevelt for Vice President,
on a platform indorsing McKinley's administration and favoring the gold
standard of money. McKinley and Roosevelt were elected.
%580. McKinley Assassinated.% On March 4, 1901, the President began
his second term, which six months later came to a dreadful end. In May a
great fair--the Pan-American Exposition--was opened at Buffalo, and to
this exposition the President came as a guest early in September, and
was holding a public reception on the afternoon of the 6th, when an
anarchist who approached as if to shake hands, suddenly shot him twice.
For several days it was thought that the wounds would not prove fatal;
but early on the morning of the 14th, the President died, and that
afternoon Mr. Roosevelt took the oath of office required by the
Constitution and became President.
[Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt]
%581. Public Measures adopted in 1901-1904.%--The events connected
with our large island possessions had directed much attention to our
military and naval forces. As a result, Congress passed several measures
to increase the efficiency of the army, and appropriated large sums for
additions to the navy. For the reclamation of the arid parts of the Far
West an important law was enacted (1902), setting aside the money
received from the sales of public land in that part of the country and
appropriating it for the planning and construction of irrigation works.
In 1903 a ninth member was added to the President's cabinet in the
person of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. The new department was
made to include the Department of Labor established fifteen years
before, and a number of other bureaus already existing; at the same time
the Bureau of Corporations was newly established, and was given the
power to investigate the organization and workings of any trust or
corporation (except railroads) engaged in interstate or foreign
commerce, and, with the President's approval, to publish the
information so obtained.
A long-standing dispute as to the eastern boundary of southern Alaska
was referred to a British-American tribunal, which decided chiefly in
favor of the United States (1903). By a reciprocity treaty with Cuba
which went into effect in 1904, the duties on Cuban trade were
somewhat lowered.
%582. The Isthmian Canal.%--A French company many years ago began to dig
a ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama, but it failed through bad
management before the work was half done. A United States commission
made a survey of this route and also of the Nicaragua route across
Central America, estimated the cost of building each canal, and gave
careful consideration to the advantages of each route. The owners of the
French canal having offered to sell for $40,000,000, Congress in 1902
authorized the President to buy and complete it, provided satisfactory
title and permanent control of the route could be secured. In all, about
$200,000,000 was provided for this work. In 1903 a treaty was negotiated
with Colombia, giving the United States a permanent lease of a six-mile
strip across the isthmus, for an annual rental of $250,000 and the
payment of $10,000,000, but Colombia rejected the treaty. The Colombian
province of Panama thereupon seceded (November 3), and its independence
was recognized by the United States and other nations. A treaty was soon
made whereby the United States guaranteed the independence of Panama,
and Panama ceded to the United States a ten-mile strip across the
isthmus for the sums rejected by Colombia. The rights of the French
company were then bought, and a United States commission began the work
of completing the canal (1904).
%583. Election of Roosevelt.%--There were almost as many parties as ever
in the campaign of 1904. The Republicans indorsed the existing
administration, demanded the continuance of the protective tariff and
the gold standard, and nominated Roosevelt for President and Charles W.
Fairbanks for Vice President. The Democrats nominated Alton B. Parker
and Henry G. Davis, and declared for a reduction of the tariff and
against militarism and trusts, but were silent on the money question.
Roosevelt and Fairbanks were elected by a large majority.
%584. Interstate Commerce.%--In spite of the act of 1887 and some
later laws, favored shippers were still given various unfair advantages
in the service and charges of railroads. In 1906 Congress greatly
enlarged the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission to supervise
railroads, express companies, and other common carriers operating in
more than one state, and even authorized it to fix new freight and
passenger rates in place of any it deemed to be unjust or unreasonable.
Besides this law to regulate interstate transportation, Congress passed
several acts to regulate the quality of goods entering into interstate
commerce. Efficient inspection of meat-packing establishments was
provided, at a cost of $3,000,000 a year. Adulteration or misbranding of
any foods, drugs, medicines, or liquors manufactured anywhere for sale
in another state, was forbidden under heavy penalties.
%585. Intervention in Cuba.%--One of the provisions added to the
Cuban constitution gave the United States the right to intervene "for
the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life,
property, and individual liberty." This right was first exercised in the
autumn of 1906, when the Cuban government failed to suppress an
insurrection in the island. Efforts were first made, in vain, to bring
about peace in Cuba without armed intervention; then the Cuban president
resigned, our envoy Secretary Taft proclaimed himself provisional
governor of Cuba, United States troops were stationed at various points,
and the insurgents peacefully disbanded. The work of completing the
restoration of order and confidence, preparatory to the holding of a new
election under the Cuban constitution, was intrusted by the President to
Charles E. Magoon, who became provisional governor in October.
%586. The Panic of 1907.%--For several years our country had enjoyed
unusual prosperity. Never had the business of the country been better. A
distrust of banks and banking institutions, however, was suddenly
developed. Belief that the money of depositors was being used in a
reckless way became widespread, and when a run on some banks in New York
city forced them to suspend, a panic swept over the country. People
everywhere made haste to withdraw their deposits, and the banks for a
time were forced to refuse to cash checks for large sums. Business
depression and hard times followed.
%587. The Currency Law.%--In the midst of the panic the Sixtieth
Congress met and in the course of its session enacted (for six years) a
currency law. This is an emergency measure by which the national banks,
when currency is scarce, may issue more under certain conditions. The
total amount put out by all the national banks must not be greater than
$500,000,000. Those using this currency must pay a heavy tax, which it
is believed will lead to its prompt recall as soon as the emergency
has passed.
%588. Election of Taft.%--For the thirty-first time in our history
electors of President and Vice President were chosen in 1908. Seven
parties placed candidates in the field. The Republicans nominated
William H. Taft and James S. Sherman; the Democrats named William J.
Bryan and John W. Kern. Candidates were also presented by the
Prohibition, Populist, Socialist Labor, Socialist, and Independence
parties. In many respects the Republican and Democratic platforms were
alike. Both declared for revision of the tariff, postal savings banks, a
bureau of mines and mining, protection of our citizens abroad, a better
civil service, improvement of our inland waterways, preservation of our
forests, and the admission of Arizona and New Mexico as separate states.
The Democratic platform called for an income tax, the publication of the
names of contributors to national campaign funds, legislation against
private monopolies, and full control of interstate railways. Taft and
Sherman were elected.
One of Taft's first acts as President was to call a special session of
Congress, which met March 15 to frame a new tariff act.
[Illustration: William H. Taft]
SUMMARY
1. The political issues before the country since 1880 have been of two
general classes--industrial and financial.
2. The industrial issues led to the formation of certain great
organizations, as the Farmers' Alliance, Knights of Labor, Patrons of
Industry, etc.; and to the enactment of certain important laws, as the
Interstate Commerce Acts, the Anti-Chinese laws, the Anti-Contract Labor
law, and the establishment of the Labor Bureau.
3. The financial issues were in general connected in some way with the
agitation for free coinage of silver.
4. These issues seriously affected both the old parties and produced
others, as the Anti-monopoly party, the People's party, the Silver
party, the National, the Socialist.
5. In 1893 financial questions became so serious that a panic occurred,
which forced the repeal of the purchase clause of the Sherman Act. In
1907 there was another panic.
6. Among our foreign complications during this period were the question
of the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, the Venezuela boundary
dispute, the Cuban question, which finally involved us in a war with
Spain, and the trouble with China arising from the Boxer outbreak.
7. The chief events of the war with Spain were Dewey's naval victory in
Manila Bay, May 1; the battles of El Caney and San Juan, near Santiago,
July 1; the naval battle of July 3 off Santiago; the surrender of
Santiago, July 14; the invasion of Porto Rico, near the end of July; and
the capture of Manila, August 13.
8. The war resulted in the cession of Porto Rico and the Philippines to
our country, and in Spain's withdrawal from Cuba.
9. The withdrawal of Spain from the Philippines was followed by an
uprising of natives led by Aguinaldo; but the insurrection was soon
suppressed and a system of civil government established.
10. By peaceful negotiation a treaty was perfected giving the United
States control of the route for the Panama Canal.
APPENDIX
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE--1776
* * * * *
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776.
THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people
to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a
decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights;
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That,
to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any
form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of
the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government,
laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and
happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long
established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and,
accordingly, all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object,
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their
right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide
new guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient
sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which
constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history
of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries
and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an
absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be
submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for
the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should
be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to
attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and
formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records,
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with
his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with
manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others
to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of
annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise;
the State remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that
purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing
to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the
conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent
to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their
offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of
officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us in times of peace, standing armies, without the
consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to,
the civil power.
He has combined, with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to
our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to
their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders
which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States:
[Transcriber's note: This is an excerpt. Please see Project Gutenberg's
complete text.]
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES--1787[1]
[Footnote 1: This reprint of the Constitution exactly follows the text
of that in the Department of State in Washington, save in the spelling
of a few words.]
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of
liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.
ARTICLE I
SECTION 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House
of Representatives.
SECTION 2. 1 The House of Representatives shall be composed of members
chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for
electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature.
2 No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State
in which he shall be chosen.
3 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the
several States which may be included within this Union, according to
their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the
whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a
term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all
other persons[2]. The actual enumeration shall be made within three
years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and
within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall
by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for
every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one
representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of
New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight,
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York
six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six,
Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and
Georgia three.
[Footnote 2: The last half of this sentence was superseded by the 13th
and 14th Amendments. (See p.16 following.)]
4 When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the
executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies.
5 The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
SECTION 3. 1 The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof for six
years; and each senator shall have one vote.
2 Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes.
The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the
expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of
the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth
year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if
vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the
legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary
appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then
fill such vacancies.
3 No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he
shall be chosen.
4 The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.
5 The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president
_pro tempore_, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall
exercise the office of President of the United States.
6 The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the
President of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall
preside: and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two
thirds of the members present.
7 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office
of honor, trust or profit under the United States: but the party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial,
judgment and punishment, according to law.
SECTION 4. 1 The times, places, and manner of holding elections for
senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the
legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or
alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators.
2 The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by
law appoint a different day.
SECTION 5. 1 Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall
constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of
absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House
may provide.
2 Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two
thirds, expel a member.
3 Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on
any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be
entered on the journal.
4 Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
[Transcriber's note: This is an excerpt. Please see Project Gutenberg's
complete text.]
STATE CONSTITUTIONS
We have seen (page 155), that in 1776 the Continental Congress advised
the people of the colonies to form governments for themselves, and that
the people of the colonies accordingly adopted constitutions and became
sovereign and independent states. Of the thirteen original state
constitutions, none save that of Massachusetts is now in force, and even
that has been amended. Changes in political ideas, changes in the
conditions of life due to the wonderful progress of our country, have
forced the people to alter, amend, and often remake their state
constitutions.
All our state constitutions now in force divide the powers of government
among three departments,--legislative, executive, and judicial.
_The Legislative Department_--called in some states the Legislature, in
others the General Assembly, and in still others the General Court--
consists in every state of two branches or houses, usually known as the
Senate and House of Representatives. In six states the legislature meets
annually, and in all the rest biennially; the members of both branches
are everywhere elected by the people, and serve from one to four years.
In most states a session of the legislature is limited to a period of
from forty to ninety days. The legislature enacts the laws (which must
not conflict with the Constitution of the United States, the treaties,
the acts of Congress, or the constitution of the state); but the powers
of the two houses are not equal in all the states. In some the House of
Representatives has the sole right to originate bills for the raising
and the expenditure of money, and in some the Senate confirms or rejects
appointments to office made by the Governor.
_The Governor_ is the executive; is elected for a term of years varying
from one to four; and is in duty bound to see that the laws are
enforced. To him, in nearly all the states, are sent the acts of the
legislature to be signed if he approves, or vetoed if he disapproves. In
some states the Governor may veto parts or items of an act and approve
the rest. He is commander in chief of the militia; commissions all
officers whom he appoints; and in most of the states may pardon
criminals.
_The Judicial Branch_ of government is composed of the state courts,
whose judges are appointed, or elected for a long term of years.
These three branches of government--the executive, the legislative, and
the judicial--are distinct and separate, and none can exercise the
powers of the others. No judge can enact a law; no legislature can try a
suit; no executive can perform the duties of a judge or a legislature.
When the thirteen colonies threw off their allegiance to the British
Crown, the government set up by each was supreme within the limits of
the state. Each could coin money, impose duties on goods imported from
abroad or from other states, fix the legal rate of interest, make laws
regulating marriage and divorce and the descent of property, and do
anything else that any supreme government could do.
But when the states united in forming a strong general government by
adopting the Constitution, they did not give up all their powers of
government. They intrusted part of them to the Federal government, and
retained the rest as before. In other words, the people of each state,
instead of continuing to have one government, adopted a double
government, state and Federal, according to the plan laid down in the
Constitution. It is the Federal Constitution that makes the division of
powers between the nation and the separate states. The Constitution, for
instance, gives the Federal government the powers of coining money and
laying import duties, and forbids these powers to the states; but the
rate of interest, marriage and divorce, and the descent of property are
matters not mentioned in the Constitution, and concerning which the
states retain the power to make laws.
In many cases it is hard to decide whether a state has power to do a
certain thing. Whenever the question turns on the interpretation of the
Federal Constitution, it is decided by the United States courts. The
Federal Constitution and the laws and treaties made in accordance with
it are supreme in case of any conflict with a state constitution or law.
The powers of government exercised by the states are more numerous, and
affect the individual citizen in more ways, than those of the nation.
The force of contracts; the relations of employer and employed, husband
and wife, parent and child; the administration of schools; and the
punishment of most crimes, are matters controlled by the state. A much
larger amount of taxes is imposed by the states than by the nation.
_Local Governments._--Moreover, the local government of counties, towns,
and cities is entirely under the control of the state. State
constitutions contain many provisions in regard to this local
government, but the legislature can make laws affecting it more or less
greatly in the various states. In the local government of a city, town,
or county there is to some extent a distribution of powers among
legislative, executive, and judicial officers. The legislative function
is exercised by the city council or board of aldermen, the town trustees
(or by the whole body of voters), and the county board of supervisors or
commissioners; the executive, by the city mayor, the county sheriff, and
other officers; and the judicial, by various city courts, justices of
the peace, and county courts.
_Political Rights and Duties._--The political rights and duties of
citizens depend chiefly on the state constitutions and laws. Elections,
both state and national, are conducted by state officers. The state
prescribes who shall have the right to vote, and the various states
differ greatly in this respect. Congress grants citizenship by a uniform
rule of naturalization; but some states allow aliens to vote (on certain
conditions), and some provide that a naturalized citizen can not vote
until a certain period has elapsed after his naturalization. In some
states women may vote; in some only those men who have certain property
or educational qualifications.
The right to vote is the qualification for holding most offices;
additional qualifications are prescribed for very important offices, in
the Federal and state constitutions. Thus, none but a native may be a
President or Vice President of the United States, nor may a citizen
under thirty years of age be a member of the United States Senate.
Besides voting and office holding, the most important political rights
and duties of citizens are to sit on juries and to serve in the army.
The qualifications of jurors in state courts are prescribed by state
authority, and in national courts by national authority. Congress has
the exclusive power to raise armies, and in the Civil War hundreds of
thousands of citizens came under national authority in connection with
the duty to bear arms. The militia, however, is commanded by state
officers, and in time of peace is under the control of the
separate states.
INDEX
%A%
Abolition, laws;
societies;
opposition to;
Compromise Bill;
issue of Civil War.
Acadia, extent of;
struggle for.
Act, of 1870;
of 1873;
of 1875.
_Adams_.
Adams, Alvin.
Adams, Charles F.
Adams, John, defends soldiers;
Declaration of Independence;
negotiates treaty;
vice president;
president.
Adams, John Quincy, opposes European colonization;
presidential nominee;
president;
opposed to slavery.
Adams, John Q., vice-pres. nominee.
Adams, Samuel.
Adams Express Company.
"Adams men".
"Administration men".
_Alabama_.
Alabama, admitted;
secedes;
readmitted.
Alabama claims.
Alaska, boundaries;
purchased.
Albany, Dutch at;
colonial congress at.
Alexandria.
Algonquins.
Alien and Sedition laws.
Allegheny River, French on.
Allen, Ethan.
Allison amendment.
Amendments to Constitution, ten;
twelfth;
proposed thirteenth;
thirteenth;
fourteenth;
fifteenth.
America, discovery of;
naming of.
American Antislavery Society.
American Fur Trading Company.
American party.
American Republican party;
disappears.
Amherst.
Amnesty, proclamation issued;
political issue.
Anaesthesia discovered.
Anderson, Robert.
André, Major John.
Annapolis, Md., founded; riot at;
trade convention at.
Annapolis, Port Royal called.
Annual message.
Anti-Chinese movement.
Anti-Federalists.
Anti-Nebraska men.
Antietam, battle of.
Antimasonic party.
Antislavery movement.
Appomattox Courthouse.
Arbitration, policy;
between England and Venezuela.
Argall, Governor.
_Argus_.
Arizona, territory;
silver interests.
Arkansas, becomes territory;
admitted;
secedes;
Confederates in;
reconstruction;
readmitted.
Army of the Cumberland;
disbanded.
Army of the Potomac, peninsular campaign;
at Gettysburg;
in Wilderness campaign;
disbanded.
Army of Tennessee.
Army of Virginia.
Arnold, Benedict, attacks Quebec;
at Saratoga;
treason of;
in British service.
Articles of Confederation.
Ashburton, Lord.
Assumption of state debts.
Astor, John Jacob.
Astoria founded.
Atchison settled.
Atlanta burned.
Atlantic cable.
Auburn settled.
Aurania settled.
Austin, Moses.
Austin, Stephen.
%B%
Bahama Islands.
Balboa.
Baltimore, founded;
in colonial times;
Congress at;
attacked;
route to the West;
convention at;
insurgents in;
labor congress in.
Baltimore, Lord,
Banks, United States, see National Bank;
state, see State Banks.
Banks, N. P., presidential nominee, in
Civil War,
Bannock City founded,
Barry, John,
Barron, Commander,
Baton Rouge, captured,
Spaniards claim,
"Battle above the Clouds,"
Bean, William,
Bear State republic,
Beauregard, General,
Bell, John,
Belmont,
Belpre settled,
Bemis Heights, battle of,
Bennington, battle of,
Benton, Thomas II., senator,
Bents Fort,
_Berceau_,
Berkeley, Lord,
Berlin Decree,
Bidwell, John,
Bienville, Céloron de,
Big Bottom massacre,
Bills of credit,
Biloxi settled,
Bimetallism,
Birney, James Gillespie, presidential nominee,
abolitionist,
Black, James,
Black Rock burned,
Bladensburg, battle of,
Blaine, James G.,
Blair, Francis P.,
Bland-Allison Silver Bill,
Blockade, of 1814,
Southern,
Blockade runners,
Blue Lodges,
Bonded debt, of 1866,
of 1894,
Bonds, United States,
_Bonhomme Richard_,
Bonneville, Captain,
Boom towns,
Boone, Daniel,
Boonesboro settled,
Booth, John Wilkes, assassinates Lincoln,
Bordentown,
Border states secede,
Boscawen,
_Boston_,
Boston, founded,
in colonial times,
riot,
massacre,
tea party,
Port Bill,
occupied by British,
evacuated,
in 1790,
fire,
Boston Neck,
_Boston Sentinel_,
Boundary, of United States in 1783,
in 1815,
Canadian,
Spanish,
of Alaska,
of Texas,
map showing territorial growth of United States,
_Boxer_,
Braddock, Edward,
Bradford, William,
Bradstreet,
Bragg,
Brandywine, battle of,
Brazil discovered,
Breckinridge, John C., vice president,
presidential candidate,
Breeds Hill, battle of,
Brewster, William,
British, see English.
British Columbia, boundary of,
British Guiana,
Brown, B. Gratz,
Brown, Jacob,
Brown, John,
Brown, Robert,
Brownists,
Brush,
Bryan, William J.,
Buchanan, James, president,
attitude toward seceded states,
Buckner, General Simon B.,
Buell, General,
Buena Vista, battle of,
Buffalo burned,
Bull Run, battles of,
Bunker Hill, battle of,
Bunker Hill Monument,
Burgoyne, John,
Burke P. B.,
Burlingame, Anson,
Burnside, General,
Burr, Aaron,
Business depression of '93,
Butler,
Butler, A. P.,
Butler, Benjamin F.,
Butler, William O.,
Butterfield overland stage.
%C%
Cabinet, first,
Cable, Atlantic,
Cabots,
Cabral,
Calhoun, John C., in War Congress,
vice president,
favors nullification,
on slavery,
on Compromise Bill,
death of,
California, Frémont in,
independent,
slavery in,
gold discoveries,
applies for admission,
settled and admitted,
Pacific Railroad to,
Calverts,
Cambridge settled,
Camden, battle of,
Canada, ceded to British,
boundary of,
fisheries,
Canals,
Canonchet,
Canso attacked,
Cape Ann colony,
Cape Breton,
Cape Cod named,
Cape Fear River settlements,
Captains of industry.
Caribbean Islands.
Carleton, Sir Guy.
Carolinas, settled;
see North and South Carolina.
Carpetbaggers.
Carson, Kit.
Carteret, Sir George.
Cartier, Jacques.
Cass, Lewis.
Castine massacre.
Castle Pinckney.
Catholics in Maryland.
Cayuga Indians.
Cedar Creek, battle of.
Cedar Mountain, battle of.
Céloron de Bienville.
Census, first;
of 1810;
of 1870;
of 1900.
Central Pacific Railroad.
Cerro Gordo, battle of.
Certificates, national.
Chadds Ford, battle of.
Chambers, B. J.
Chambersburg burned.
Champlain.
Chancellorsville, battle of.
Chapultepec, battle of.
Charles I., grants Maryland;
persecutes Puritans;
beheaded.
Charles II., grants Connecticut;
grants Carolina;
grants Pennsylvania.
Charleston, founded;
attacked;
in colonial times;
opposes tea tax;
captured;
nominating convention.
Charleston harbor.
Charlestown, settled.
Charlestown Neck.
Charter colonies.
Charters, of 1606;
of 1609;
of 1629.
Chase, Salmon P.
Chattanooga, battle of.
Cherokee Indians.
Cherry Creek.
Cherry Valley massacre.
_Chesapeake_.
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
Chester.
Chicago, Republican conventions;
in 1832;
in 1840;
labor congress;
convention of '69;
fire;
meat packing;
Bimetallic League.
Chickahominy River.
Chickamauga, battle of.
Chickasaw Indians.
China, disorder in.
Chinese Exclusion acts.
Chinese immigration.
Chippewa, battle of.
Choctaw Indians.
Church of New England.
Churubusco, battle of.
Cincinnati, in 1802;
in 1810;
convention of 1872;
labor congress;
convention of 1876.
Circuit courts.
Civil Rights Bill.
Civil service reform.
Civil War;
cost of;
results of.
Clark, General George Rogers.
Clark, William.
Clay, Henry, speaker;
presidential nominee;
secretary of state;
Compromise Tariff;
Infant School;
Compromise Bill;
death of.
_Clermont_.
Cleveland, population in 1840.
Cleveland, Stephen Grover, president.
Clinton, George.
Clinton, Governor De Witt.
Clinton, Sir Henry, campaigns.
Cobb, Howell.
Cochrane, General John.
Cockburn, Admiral.
Cohoes founded.
Coin at a premium.
Coinage of gold and silver.
Cold Harbor, battle of.
Colfax, Schuyler.
Collins steamship line.
Colonial, life;
forms of government.
Colonies, Spanish;
English;
Dutch;
Swedish.
Colorado, acquired;
a territory;
admitted;
silver interests.
Colt.
_Columbia Centinel_.
Columbia River discovered.
Columbus, Christopher.
Columbus, Ky., evacuated.
Columbus, O., population in 1840;
conventions.
Commerce, in colonial times;
about 1810;
destroyers;
See also Trade.
Committee of Safety.
Compromise, Missouri;
tariff;
of 1850;
of Crittenden.
Compromises in Constitution.
Comptroller of the Currency.
Concord, battle of.
Confederate cruisers.
Confederate States, formed;
during civil war;
capital of;
end of;
military supplies of;
debts and losses of;
congress dissolved.
_Congress_.
Congress, under Articles of Confederation, and see Continental Congress;
reconstruction plan of;
gives land grants;
acts of 1862 and 1863.
Congress, National Labor.
Connecticut, settled;
in colonial times;
Reserve.
Conscription, Confederate.
_Constellation_.
_Constitution_.
Constitution of U.S.,
amendments to, see Amendments.
Printed in Appendix,
Constitutional Union party,
Continental army,
Continental Congress,
Continental debt,
Continental money,
Contract labor,
Contraction policy,
Contreras, battle of,
Conway cabal,
Cooper, Peter,
Corinth,
battle of,
Cornwallis, Lord,
Coronado,
Corporations, rise of,
opposition to,
Cortereal,
Cortes,
Cotton gin,
Cotton industry,
Cotton-seed oil,
Council Bluffs, Mormons at,
Council for New England,
_Coureurs de bois,_
Court of Admiralty,
Courts of U.S. established,
Cowpens, battle of,
Cranfill, J.B.,
Crawford, William H.,
Credit Strengthening Act,
Creek Indians,
Crittenden's Compromise,
Croghan, Major,
Crown Point, founded,
English at,
Cuba,
Culpeper Courthouse,
_Cumberland_,
Cumberland Road,
Cunard steamship line,
Currency, U.S.,
Curtis, Gen. S.R.,
Customs Commissioners.
%D%
Dakota Territory, formed,
population of,
Dallas, George Mifflin,
Dalton, battle of,
Daniel, William,
Davenport, John,
Davie, William K.,
Davis, David,
Davis, Jefferson, president of Confederacy,
capture of,
Dayton, William L.,
De Soto,
Deane, Silas,
Dearborn's expedition,
Debt, national, after the Revolutionary War,
in 1790,
in 1801,
in 1835,
new national,
during Civil War,
in 1866,
in 1887,
in 1894,
Declaration of Independence,
in Vermont,
See Appendix,
Declaration of Rights,
DeKalb,
Delaware, claims in,
sold to Penn,
in colonial times,
slavery in,
Delaware, Lord, 32.
Delaware Indians, 68, 72.
Delegates, territorial, 162, 351 n. 2.
Democratic party,
Democratic Republicans,
Denver, settled,
convention at,
Department of Labor established,
Detroit, settled
surrender of,
Dewey, Commodore,
Dingley Tariff,
Dinwiddie, Governor Robert,
Direct tax,
District courts,
District of Columbia,
slavery in,
Dixon, Jeremiah,
Dole, president of Hawaiian Republic,
Donelson, Andrew Jackson,
Donelson, John,
Dorchester settled,
Dorchester Heights captured,
Douglas, Stephen A., Nebraska Bill,
debates with Lincoln,
elected senator,
presidential nominee,
Dover riot,
Dow, Neal,
_Drake_,
Drake, Sir Francis,
Draper, Dr. John W.,
Dred Scott decision,
Duane, William J.,
Duluth founded,
Duquesne, Marquis,
Durham massacre,
Dutch, possessions,
settlements,
Dutch West India Company.
%E%
Earle, Thomas,
Early, Jubal,
East India Company,
East Indies, trade with,
Eastern Colonies, occupations, etc.,
Eastport captured,
Edmunds Law,
Electoral college,
Electoral commission,
Electricity,
Elizabeth, Queen,
Elizabeth City captured,
Ellmaker, Amos,
Ellsworth, Oliver,
Emancipation, agitation;
Proclamation;
cost of.
Embargo laws.
Emigration, western.
Endicott, John.
English, possessions;
settlements;
relations with France;
relations with Indians;
government of colonies;
attitude to colonies;
war with colonies;
at war with French;
disputed right of trade;
favor South American republics;
favor South;
Venezuelan boundary question.
English, William H.
English fur companies.
_Enterprise_.
Era of Good Feeling.
Ericsson, Captain John.
Ericsson, Leif.
Erie Canal.
Erie Indians.
_Essex_.
Europe, claims in America;
attitude during Civil War.
Evans, Oliver.
Everett, Edward.
Exeter massacre.
Explorations, European;
French;
Western;
Northwestern.
Express, pony.
Express companies formed.
%F%
Fair Oaks, battle of.
Fairbanks.
Farewell Address of President Washington.
Farmers' Alliance.
Farragut, Admiral.
Federal Hall.
Federal money.
Federalist party,
Ferdinand, King, aids Columbus.
Field, Cyrus W.
Field, James G.
Fifteenth Amendment.
"Fifty-four forty or fight".
Fillmore, Millard, vice president;
president;
presidential nominee.
Financial, distress of '37;
condition after Civil War;
policy, Grant's;
questions after '88.
First Continental Congress.
Fiscal Bank of United States.
Fiscal Corporation.
Fishery question.
Fitch, John.
Five Nations, or Iroquois Indians.
Flag, national;
American naval.
Flamborough Head, 148.
_Florida_.
Florida, discovered;
a British possession;
East and West;
a Spanish possession;
purchased;
a territory;
admitted;
secedes;
readmitted.
Foote, Flag Officer.
Force Act, of;
Jackson's;
of 1871.
Foreign labor.
Foreigners, see Immigration.
Fort Assumption built.
Fort Boise.
Fort Chartres built.
Fort Crèvecoeur built.
Fort Cumberland.
Fort Donelson captured.
Fort Duquesne built;
captured.
Fort Edward.
Fort Erie captured.
Fort Fisher captured.
Fort Frontenac captured.
Fort Hall founded.
Fort Henry captured.
Fort Le Boeuf built
Fort Leavenworth.
Fort Lee attacked.
Fort Loyal massacre.
Fort McAllister captured.
Fort McHenry bombarded.
Fort Macon captured.
Fort Meigs, battle of.
Fort Monroe.
Fort Morgan.
Fort Moultrie.
Fort Nassau built.
Fort Natchitoches.
Fort Necessity built.
Fort Orange built.
Fort Pillow captured.
Fort Pitt.
Fort Rosalie founded.
Fort St. Louis built.
Fort Stanwix besieged.
Fort Stephenson, battle of.
Fort Sumter;
battles of.
Fort Ticonderoga.
Fort Tombeckbee built.
Fort Toulouse founded.
Fort Venango built.
Fort Washington captured.
"Forty-niners".
Fourteenth Amendment.
Fractional currency.
Franchise right;
interference with.
Franklin, Benjamin, during the French War;
experiments;
Declaration of Independence;
ambassador to France.
Franklin, state of.
Fray Marcos.
Fredericksburg, in colonial times;
battle of.
Free coinage, of gold and silver;
of silver.
Free-soil party;
joins Republicans.
Freedmen, treatment after war;
vote.
Freedmen's Bureau Bill.
Frelinghuysen, Theodore.
Frémont, John C., in California;
presidential nominee;
in Shenandoah valley.
French, possessions;
explorations;
relations with Indians;
relations with English;
and Indian War;
abandon America;
acknowledge our independence;
republic established;
war with English;
trouble with United States;
during Civil War;
in Mexico.
French Directory.
Frenchtown, battle of.
Fries's Rebellion.
Frobisher, Sir Martin.
_Frolic_.
Frontenac, Count.
Frontier life.
Frye, Joshua.
Fugitive-slave laws.
Fulton, Robert.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.
Funding of national debt.
Fusion tickets.
%G%
Gadsden, James.
Gadsden Purchase.
"Gag Rule".
Gage, General Thomas.
Gaines Mill, battle of.
Gallatin, Albert.
Gallipolis settled.
Gallissonière, Marquis de la.
Gama, Vasco da.
Garfield, James, president;
death of.
Garrison, William Lloyd.
Gates, General Horatio.
Gates, Sir Thomas.
Genet.
Geneva awards.
George II, grants charter.
Georgia, settled;
in colonial times;
annexed territory;
conquered;
cedes land to Congress;
secedes;
Sherman's march through;
again in the Union;
Germantown, battle of.
Gerry, Elbridge.
Gerrymander.
Gettysburg, battle of.
Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's.
Gila River.
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey.
Goffe, William.
Gold, discovered in California;
at Pikes Peak;
in Northwestern States;
payments suspended;
sole legal tender;
standard.
Gold Democrats.
Gold reserve.
Goldsboro.
Goodyear.
Gorges, Sir Ferdinando.
Gosnold.
Gourgues.
Government, colonial;
under Articles of Confederation;
of territories;
control of railroads, etc.
Grant, General U. S., in Civil War;
relations with Johnson;
president;
third term proposed.
Gray, Captain.
Great American Desert.
Great Britain, see English.
Great Lakes explored.
Great Salt Lake.
_Great Western_.
Greeley, Horace.
Green Mountain Boys.
Greenback party.
Greenbacks.
Greene, Nathanael.
Grenville, Prime Minister.
Groesbeck, W. S.
Groton massacre.
Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of.
_Guerrière_.
Guilford founded.
Guilford Courthouse, battle of.
Guinther.
Guthrie.
%H%
_Hail, Columbia!_ written.
Hale, John P.
Hale, Nathan.
_Half-Moon_.
Halleck, General Henry.
Hamet.
Hamilton, Alexander.
Hamlin, Hannibal.
Hampton Roads, peace conference at;
Confederate cruiser sunk in;
_Monitor_ and _Merrimac_.
Hancock, General Winfield.
Hand loom.
Hand mill.
Hand press.
Hard cider campaign.
Hard times of '73;
of '93.
Harnden, W. F.
Harpers Ferry.
Harrisburg convention.
Harrison, Benjamin, president.
Harrison, William Henry, in War of 1812;
delegate in Congress;
at Tippecanoe;
presidential candidate;
elected;
death of.
Harrisons Landing.
Harrodsburg settled.
Hartford settled.
Hatteras Inlet.
Haverhill massacre.
Hawaiian annexation.
Hayes, Rutherford B., president.
Hayne, Governor.
Helena founded.
Hendricks, Thomas A.
Hennepin.
Henry, Patrick.
Hessians.
Highways of trade.
Hispaniola colonized.
Hobart, Garret A.
Hoe octuple press,.
Holly Springs.
Holy Alliance.
Home manufactures defended.
Homestead Law.
Hood, General J.B.
Hooker, General.
Hooker, Thomas.
Hopkinson, Joseph.
_Hornet_.
House of Burgesses.
House of Commons.
House of Lords.
House of Representatives, formed,
elects president
Houston. Samuel.
Howe, Elias.
Howe, General William.
Hudson, Henry.
Hudson Bay Company.
Hull's surrender.
Hunt, Walter.
Huron Indians.
Hutchinson, Anne.
%I%
Iberville.
Idaho, a territory
admitted
silver interests.
Idaho City founded.
Illinois, a territory
admitted.
Immigration, Chinese, see Chinese; European Western,
see Emigration.
Impeachment of Johnson.
Impressment of sailors.
Income tax.
Indented servants.
Independence Chamber.
Independence, Declaration of.
Independence Hall.
Independent National party.
Independent Treasury law.
Independents or Mugwumps.
India rubber.
Indian country.
Indiana, a territory;
admitted.
_Indiana Register_.
Indianapolis, population in 1840.
Indians, alliance with French,
traits of
wars
in French and Indian War
during Revolution
in 1790
in 1812,
troubles with
in Oregon
territory sold.
Industrial revolution
Inflation Bill.
_Insurgente_.
Interest indents.
Internal improvements, political issue.
Internal revenue system.
Interstate Commerce.
Intolerable Acts.
Inventions.
"Invisible Empire,".
Iowa, a territory
admitted, 366.
Ironclads.
Iroquois Indians.
Irwinsville.
Isabella. Queen, aids Columbus.
Island No. 10 captured.
Isthmian Canal.
Iuka, battle of.
%J%
Jackson, convention at
battle of.
Jackson, Dr.
Jackson, General Andrew, at New Orleans,
defeats Indians
presidential nominee
president, 301-811.
Jackson, General T.J.
"Jackson men,"
Jalapa, battle of.
Jamaica discovered,.
James I., creates Virginia Company;
annuls charter.
Jamestown settled.
_Java_ captured.
Jay, John, treaty of Paris,
ambassador to London.
Jay Cooke and Co.'s failure.
Jefferson, Thomas, writes Declaration of Independence
secretary of state,
Republican leader
vice president,
opposes Alien and Sedition laws
president
favors political proscription.
Jerry.
Jerseys, see New Jersey;
retreat across.
Johnson, Andrew, vice president
president
amnesty policy.
Johnson, Herschel V.
Johnson, R.M.
Johnston, Gen. A.S.
Johnston, Gen. Joseph E.
Joliet. Louis.
Jones, John Paul.
Julian, George W.
Jumonville.
%K%
Kanawha state.
Kansas, struggle for
slavery question in,
admitted
rapid growth
Farmers' Alliance.
Kansas City.
Kansas-Nebraska Law.
Kaskaskia settled.
Kearny, Colonel Stephen.
_Kearsarge_.
Kendall, Amos.
Kentucky,
settled;
resolutions;
admitted;
Confederates in;
slavery in.
Key, Francis S., writes _Star-Spangled Banner_.
Kickapoo Indians.
King George's War.
King Philip's War.
King William's War.
King, Rufus.
King, William R.
Kings Mountain.
Kirtland.
Knights of Labor.
Know-nothing party.
Knox, General Henry.
Ku Klux Klan.
%L%
La Salle, Robert de.
Labor, in 1763;
in 1790;
questions in 1860;
after Civil War;
slave and free;
foreign and convict;
parties.
Labor department established.
Laconia.
Lafayette, Marquis de.
Lake Champlain, battle of.
Lake Erie, battle of.
Lancaster, Congress at.
Land grants, free;
to railroads;
opposed.
Land Mortgage scheme.
Lane, Joseph.
Lane, Ralph.
Larimer, General.
Laud, Archbishop.
Laudonnière.
_Lawrence_.
Lawrence settled.
Lawrence, Amos A.
Lawrence, James.
Leaven worth.
Lecompton constitution.
Lee, Charles.
Lee, Richard Henry.
Lee, Robert E., campaigns in Civil War;
surrenders.
Lenni Lenape Indians.
_Leopard_.
Letters of marque.
Lewis, Meriwether.
Lewiston founded.
_Lexington_, 148.
Lexington, battle of.
Lexington, Ky.
Liberal Republican party.
_Liberator_.
Liberty party.
Limestone settled.
Lincoln, Abraham, debates with Douglas,
in Illinois senatorial contest;
elected president;
during Civil War;
inauguration speech;
Emancipation Proclamation;
Gettysburg Address;
peace conference with Stephens;
reflected;
assassinated.
Lincoln, General.
Line of Demarcation.
_Little Belt_.
Livingston, Robert R.
Loan-office certificates.
Log cabin campaign.
Log cabins.
Log of the Mayflower.
Logan, John A.
Logstown.
London Company.
Long, Dr.
Long, Major;
discovers Longs Peak.
Long houses, Indian.
Long Parliament.
Lookout Mountain, battle of.
Lords of Trade.
Lottery, Congress.
Louis XV. claims Ohio region.
Louisburg, built;
captured by English;
restored to French.
Louisiana, La Salle in;
extent of;
French in;
struggle for;
Spanish;
purchased;
admitted;
boundary;
secedes;
reconstructs government;
readmitted.
Louisville, settled;
labor congress at.
Lovejoy, Elijah.
Lowell founded.
Lundy, Benjamin.
Lundys Lane, battle of.
Lyon, General.
%M%
McClellan, General George B., campaigns;
presidential nominee.
McCormick reaper.
McDonough, Thomas.
McDowell, General Irwin, campaigns.
McKinley, William, president.
McKinley Tariff Act.
_Macedonian_.
Macomb, General.
Macon Bill.
Madison, James, on the Constitution;
Republican leader;
favors Virginia Resolutions;
president.
Magellan.
Mails, see Postal System.
Maine, settled;
part of Massachusetts Bay colony;
admitted.
Maine Law.
Manassas Junction, battle of.
Manhattan Island.
Manila, battle of.
Manufactures, in colonial times;
about 1800;
infant;
in slave states;
during Civil War;
since Civil War.
March to the Sea, Sherman's.
Marcos, Fray.
Marietta settled.
Marion.
Marquette.
Marshall.
Marshall, John.
Martin, Luther.
Mary, Queen, grants Massachusetts charter.
Maryland, colonized;
in colonial times.
slavery in.
Mason, Charles.
Mason, James M.
Mason, John.
Mason and Dixon's Line.
Massachusetts, Bay Company;
religious intolerance in;
Bay charter granted;
in colonial times;
opposes Stamp and Townshend Acts;
Bill;
cedes land to Congress.
Matagorda Bay
Matamoras, battle of
Maximilian
_Mayflower_
Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Log
Maysville settled
Meade, General
Mechanical improvements
Mechanicsville
Memphis captured
Mendoza
Menendez
Mercer
_Merrimac_
Mexico, becomes republic
wars
French in
Miami Indians
Michigan, a territory
admitted
Michilimackinac, trading post
Middle Colonies, occupations, etc.
Milan Decree
Milford founded
Military lands
Mill Springs, battle of
Mills, R. Q.
Mills Tariff Bill
Milwaukee, population in 1840
Minneapolis mills
_Minnesota_
Minnesota, slavery in
a territory
admitted
Mint established
Minute men
Missionary Ridge, battle of
Mississippi River, explored
French forts built on
right of navigation
slavery west of
campaign in Civil War
Mississippi, a territory
admitted
secedes
convention in
opposed to Reconstruction Act
again in the Union
Missouri, admitted
opposes Wilmot Proviso
elects Kansas delegate
slavery in
Missouri Compromise
Missouri River, gold discovered on
Mobile, in colonial times
captured
Mobile Bay explored
British in
Mohawk Indians
Mohegan Indians
Molino del Rey, battle of
Money, see Currency, Gold, and Silver.
_Monitor_
Monmouth, battle of
Monroe, James, Republican leader
treaty with England
president
Monroe Doctrine
Montana, a territory
admitted
silver interests
Montcalm, General
Monterey, Cal., Frémont at
Monterey, Mexico, battle of
Montezuma
Montgomery, Confederate capital
Montgomery, Richard
Montreal, attacked
captured
attacked in 1813
Moose Island captured
Morgan, Daniel
Morgan, William
Mormons
Morris, Robert
Morris, Thomas
Morristown, Washington at
Morse, Samuel F.B.
Morton, Dr.
Morton, Levi P.
Moultrie
Mount Desert Island settled
Mount Pleasant settled
Mount Vernon. Washington's home
Mugwumps
Murfreesboro, battle of
Murray, William Vans
Muskhogee Indians
Mutiny Act.
%N%
Nantucket Island captured
Napoleon, consul of France
issues decrees
seizes American vessels
loses power
Napoleon, Louis, in Mexico
Narragansett Indians
Narvaez
Nashville, settled
evacuated
battle of
Nassau, blockade running
Natchez, in colonial times
captured
claimed by Spaniards
National Agricultural Wheel
National Bank, First
loses charter
Second
proposed Third
National banks
National Bimetallic League
National debt, see Debt.
National Democratic party
National Labor Congress
National Labor Reform party
National notes, see Bonds
National party
National Pike
National Prohibition Reform party
National Republican party, see Republican.
National Union party
Native American party
Naturalization law
Naumkeag settled
Nauvoo built
Naval warfare,
in Revolution
in French War
in War of 1812
in Civil War
Navigation Acts
Navy department
Nebraska Bill
Nebraska,
struggle for
admitted
rapid growth
Neutrality,
Proclamation of
policy
Nevada,
acquired
territory and state
silver interests
New Albion
New Amsterdam,
founded
becomes New York
New England,
early settlements
occupations in colonies
English victories in
New England Emigrant Aid Society
New France,
extent of
struggle for
New Hampshire,
settled
in colonial times
grants
New Haven,
colony
in colonial times
riot at
New Jersey,
settled
in colonial times
plan for Constitution
New London,
riot at
burned
New Mexico,
Spanish explore
conquered
slavery in
bought from Texas
silver interests
New Netherland,
becomes New York
New Orleans,
founded
in colonial times
battle of
captured
"New Roof"
New Sweden
"New tenor"
New York (state),
New Netherland becomes
in colonial times
English in
cedes land to Congress
New York (city),
convention
in colonial times
colonial congress at
evacuated
national capital
the metropolis
in 1830
labor congress at
New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company
Newark,
founded
riot at
Newbern captured
Newfoundland,
granted to English
fisheries
Newport, Ky. settled
Newport, R.I.,
settled
riot at
Newspapers,
in colonial times
in 1790
about 1810
Newtown settled
_Niagara_
Niagara,
founded
expedition against
_Niña_
Nipmuck Indians
Nominating conventions
Non-importation,
agreements
Act
Non-intercourse Law
Norfolk evacuated
North, Lord
North American party
North Carolina,
settled
in colonial times
cedes land to Congress
secedes
Sherman in
readmitted
North Castle
North Dakota admitted
Northern attitude toward slavery
Northern Pacific Railroad
Northwest,
exploration of
the new
Northwest passage to India
Northwest Territory,
surrendered
Indian troubles in
slavery question in
Notes, United States, see Bonds.
Nova Scotia,
part of Massachusetts Bay colony
struggle for
Nueces River
Nullification doctrine.
%O%
_Observer_
O'Conor, Charles
Oglethorpe, James
Ohio,
Settled
Admitted
currency plan
Ohio Land Company
Ohio River,
struggle for
settlements on
Oklahoma
Old Demand notes
_Old Ironsides_
Olmsted, F. L.
Omnibus Bill
Omnibuses
Oneida Indians
Onondaga Indians
Orders in Council of 1806 and 1807
Ordinance,
how passed
of 1785
of 1787
Oregon,
settled
joint occupation of
boundaries of
trail
a territory
slavery in
Orleans Territory
Ossawatomie settled
Oswego burned
Otis, James
Overland stage
Owen, Robert.
%P%
Pacific Fur Company
Pacific Ocean,
discovered
named
Pacific railroads,
Pacific States settled,
Pakenham, General,
Palmer, John M.,
Palmyra, Mormons at,
Palo Alto, battle of,
Panic, of 1837,
of 1873,
of 1893,
Paper currency,
Parker, Joel,
Party platforms, see Platforms.
Patent office,
Patroons,
Patterson, General,
Paulding,
Pea Ridge, battle of,
_Peacock_,
_Pelican_,
Pemberton, General,
Pendleton, George H.,
Pendleton Civil Service Act,
Peninsular campaign,
Penn, William, settles New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
relations with Indians,
Pennsylvania, granted to Penn,
in colonial times,
opposes Townshend Acts,
Declaration of Independence in,
Confederates in,
_Pennsylvania Freeman_,
_Pennsylvania Gazette_,
_Pennsylvania Journal_,
_Pennsylvania Packet_,
Pennsylvania route to West,
Pensacola captured,
Pensions,
People's party,
Pequot Indians,
Perote,
Perry, Oliver Hazard,
Perryville, battle of,
Personal Liberty laws,
"Pet banks,"
Petersburg, in colonial times,
Cornwallis at,
besieged,
evacuated,
Petroleum,
Philadelphia, founded,
in colonial times,
First Continental Congress,
captured,
Congress at,
evacuated,
constitutional convention at,
in 1800,
national capital,
_Philanthropist_,
Philippines,
Phips, Sir William,
_Phoenix_,
Photographic discoveries,
Pickens,
Pickens, Governor,
Pierce, Franklin, president,
Pike, Zebulon,
Pikes Peak,
Pilgrims,
Pinckney, C. C., minister to France,
Federalist candidate,
treaty with England,
Pineda,
_Pinta_,
Pinzon,
Pitt, William,
Pittsburg, founded,
in 1790,
rebellion at,
Pittsburg Landing, battle of,
Plains of Abraham,
Platforms, party,
Platte country,
Plattsburg, battle of,
Plymouth, charter,
Company,
settled,
part of Massachusetts Bay colony,
Pocahontas,
_Poictiers_,
Political issues, see Platforms.
Political parties, beginning of,
see Federalists, Democrats, Republicans, etc.
Polk, James K., presidential nominee,
president,
Polygamy,
Ponce de Leon,
Pony express,
Pope, General John, campaigns,
Popham, Sir John,
Popular sovereignty,
Population, in 1790,
in 1815,
in 1810,
in 1820,
increase in,
of Oregon,
western immigrant,
between 1840 and 1860,
in 1870,
of northwestern states,
of Oklahoma,
Populists, see People's Party.
Port Gibson, battle of,
Port Hudson, battle of,
Port Royal, settled,
French stronghold,
captured,
called Annapolis,
Port Royal, S. C., captured,
Portage Railroad,
Porter, at Vicksburg,
Porto Rico,
Portsmouth, settled,
in colonial times,
navy yard,
Portuguese in Brazil,
Postage stamps,
Postal system, in colonial times,
in 1790,
in 1840,
in 1860,
Powhatan Indians,
Prairie schooners,
Prescott, Colonel,
_President_,
Presidential election, method of,
proposed method of,
Presidential succession,
Presque Isle built,
Price, General,
Princeton, battle of,
Printing press,
Proclamation, line,
of neutrality,
Emancipation,
Progress, from 1790 to 1815,
from 1840 to 1860,
since Civil War,
Prohibition party,
Proprietary colonies
Proscription, political
Proslavery movement
Protection
South opposes
Clay favors
political issue
Providence
founded
in colonial times
riot at
Provincial colonies
Public domain
granted
additions to
grants, see Land grants
Puebla
Puerto Rico
see Porto Rico.
Pulaski
Punishment
forms of
Puritans
persecution of
in New England
become Separatists
Putnam.
%Q%
Quaker settlements
Quartering Act
Quebec
boundaries of
Quebec
settled
French stronghold
attacked
surrendered
Quebec Act
Queen Anne's War
Queenstown, battle of
Quincy, Josiah.
%R%
Radical Republicans
Railroads
early
Western
Northern Pacific
in 1887
land grants to
Ralegh, Sir Walter
Randolph, John
"Receivers general" created
Reconstruction Act
Reconstruction policy
Redemptioners
Refunding Act
Reid, Whitelaw
_Reprisal_
Republicans
old party
new party
Resaca de la Palma
battle of
Restoration
English
Resumption of Specie Payment Act
_Revenge_
Revolutionary War
Rhode Island
settled
charter
in colonial times
Ribault, John
Richmond
Confederate capital
campaign against
captured
Rio Grande
Ripon
convention at
Rittenhouse, David
Roads
improvements
Western
Roanoke
colonized
captured
Robertson, James
Robinson, John
Rochester settled
Rogers, Captain
Rolfe, John
Roosevelt, Theodore
Rosecrans, General
campaigns
Ross, General
Roxbury settled
Royal colonies
Rule of 1756
Rumsey, James
Russell, John
Russia
possessions
claims on the Pacific
complies with Monroe Doctrine
attitude in Civil War
Alaska purchased from
Ryal, Captain.
%S%
Sacketts Harbor
battle of
Sacramento
St. Augustine founded
St. Clair's defeat
St. Croix River settlements
St. John, John P.
St. Joseph captured
St. Lawrence River explored
St. Leger, Colonel
St. Louis
St. Marks captured
St. Marys founded
St. Paul
Salem settled
Salmon Falls massacre
Saltillo
Sampson, W.T.
_San Jacinto_
San Jacinto,
battle of
San Salvador
Santa Anna
Santa Fe
captured
trail
_Santa Maria_
Santiago, battles of
Saratoga, battle of
_Savannah_
Savannah
founded
in colonial times
captured
Schenectady massacre
Schley, W.S.
Schools, free
Schuyler, General
Scientific discoveries
Scioto Company
Scott, General Winfield
in 1814
in Mexican War
presidential nominee
in Civil War
Sea to sea grants
Secession, of Southern States
states refuse troops
reconstruction plans
Sedition Law
Seminole Indians
Senate formed
Seneca Indians
Separatists
_Serapis_
Seven Cities of Cibola
Seven days' battles
Seven Pines, battle of
Sevier, John
Sewall, Arthur
Seward, William H.
Sewing machine invented
Seymour, Horatio
Shadrach
_Shannon_
Sharpsburg, battle of
Indians
Shays, Daniel
_Shenandoah_
Shenandoah valley, war in
Sheridan, General Phil., campaigns
Sherman, Roger
Sherman, General W.T., campaigns
Sherman Act
silver-purchase clause repealed
Shiloh, battle of
Ship Island
Shirley, Governor
Silver, specie suspended
mines discovered
demonetized
remonetized
certificates
free coinage of
movement
party
"Silver Grays"
Sioux Indians
_Sirius_
Six Nations
Slave trade forbidden
Slavery, established
in colonial times,
in territories
at time of Constitution
in 1790
affected by cotton industry
in Kentucky
in early states
beyond Mississippi River
issue between North and South
area expanded
in Texas
in New Mexico and California
in Kansas
in 1857
in 1860
Civil War
Emancipation Proclamation
during Civil War
abolished in Confederate States
position of negroes after war
Slidell, John
Smith, Green Clay
Smith, John, at Jamestown
explores New England coast
among the Indians
Smith, Joseph
Social conditions, in 1790
about 1890
Socialist Labor party
Society for Encouragement of Domestic Manufactures
Solis
Somers, Sir George
Sons of Liberty
South American republics
South Carolina, settled
in colonial times
cedes land to Congress
Railroad
Exposition
favors nullification
secedes
Sherman in
readmitted
South Dakota, admitted
silver interests
South Pass
Southern Colonies, occupations, etc.
Southern States, English in
attitude toward slavery
form Confederacy
at end of 1860
at beginning of war
coast blockade
cost of war in
reconstruction of
troubles in
the New South
Spanish, possessions
settlements, etc.
claims
boundary line
Florida bought from
war with United States
Spanish America
Specie Circular
Specie payments
Speculation in 1836
_Speedwell_
Spottsylvania Courthouse, battle of
Springfield, settled
Republican state convention at
Lincoln's speech at
Squatter sovereignty, see Popular Sovereignty
Squatters
Stagecoaches
Stamford founded
Stamp Act
Stamp tax
Standish, Miles
Stanton
_Star of the West_
_Star-Spangled Banner_
Stark, Colonel John
State banks
State debts
State department
Staten Island evacuated
States, formed
thirteen original
trade laws
powers of
new constitutions in
sovereignty of
government in seceded,
Steamboats
Stephens, Alexander II.
Steuben, Baron
Stevens, John
Stevenson, Adlai E.
Stewart, G.T.
Stillwater, battle of
Stockton, Commodore
"Stonewall" Jackson
Stonington bombarded
Stony Point captured
Stowe, H.B.
Stuart
Stuyvesant, Peter
Sub treasury plan
Sugar Act
Sullivan, General
Sumner, Charles
_Sumter_
Sumter
Sumter, Fort
Supreme Court
established
gives Dred Scott decision
on Wilson Bill
Surplus revenue
in 1837
in 1887
_Surprise_
Sutter
Sutter's Fort
Swedish
possessions
settlements
Symmes, John C.
%T%
Taft, William II.
Taney, Roger B.
Tariff
of 1789
bills of 1824, etc.
of 1861
for revenue only
Mills Bill
McKinley Act
revision of 1896
Tarleton, Commander
Taxation
in colonies
of 1861
of bonds demanded
of Chinese
a political issue
Taylor, General Zachary
in Mexican War
president
death of
Tea tax
Tecumseh
Telegraph
Temperance party
Tender Acts
Tennessee
settled
part of public domain
admitted
opposes Wilmot Proviso
secedes
reconstructs government
readmitted
Tenure of Office Act
Territory formed
Terry, Eli
Texas
becomes independent
annexed to United States
boundaries of
New Mexico purchased from
admitted
secedes
opposed to Reconstruction Act
again in the Union
Thames River
battle of
Thayer, Hon. Eli
Third-term tradition
Thirteenth Amendment
proposed
adopted
Thomas, General George II.
campaigns
Thomas, General Lorenzo
Thompson, Henry Adams
Thurman, Allen G.
Ticket money
Ticonderoga
Tilden, Samuel J.
Tippecanoe, battle of
Toledo
population in 1840
Tompkins, Daniel D.
Tonty, Henri de
Topeka
Topeka free-state constitution
Tories
Townshend Acts
Trade
in colonial times
in original states
convention at Annapolis
regulated by Congress
with West Indies
regulations of English and French
facilities for
trades unions
Transportation Bill
Travel
in 1790
in 1810
Treasury department established
Treasury notes
Treaty
of Penn with Indians
of Utrecht
of Ryswick
of Aix-la-Chapelle
of Paris
with France
Jay's
with Spain
of Ghent
of Greenville
of 1818
of 1819
Webster-Ashburton
with Mexico
with Texas
of 1846
with China
of Washington
with Hawaii
between Great Britain and Venezuela
_Trent_
Trent, William
Trent Affair
Trenton
battle of
Tripoli
war with
Trusts
see Corporations.
Truxton, Captain Thomas
Tuscarora Indians
Twelfth Amendment
Tyler, John
vice-presidential nominee
president
%U%
_Uncle Tom's Cabin_
Underground Railroad
Union Labor party
Union Pacific Railroad
United Colonies of New England
United Labor party
_United States_
United States Bank
see National Bank.
United States bonds
see Bonds.
Usselinx, William
Utah
Mormons in
acquired
slavery question in
admitted
silver interests
%V%
Vaca, Cabeza de
Vail, Alfred
Valley Forge
Van Buren, Martin
birth
vice-presidential nominee
president
presidential nominee
favors 10 hours system
Van Born, General
Van Rensselaer's expedition
Van Wart
Venezuela boundary question
_Vengeance_
Vera Cruz
battle of
Vermont
admitted
passes Personal Liberty Law
Vespucci, or Vespucius, Amerigo.
Vevay settled.
Vice-admiralty courts.
Vice president, manner of electing.
Vicksburg captured.
Vincennes settled.
_Virginia_.
Virginia, named;
settled;
charters;
a royal colony;
defends Ohio valley;
in colonial times;
opposes Stamp Act;
cedes land to Congress;
Reserve;
Plan of Constitution;
resolutions of 1798;
resolutions of 1849;
Brown's raid in;
secedes;
coast blockade;
opposes reconstruction policy;
again in the Union.
Virginia City, Mont., founded.
Virginia City, Nov., founded.
Virginia companies.
Volunteers during Civil War.
%W%
Wabash River, Indians on.
_Wachusett_.
Wages, in 1790;
in 1860;
in 1873;
in 1880.
Walla Walla.
Wampanoag Indians.
War department.
Ward, Ensign.
Warren.
Wars, Indian;
colonial;
French and Indian;
Revolution;
with France;
with Tripoli;
war for commercial independence (War of 1812);
Mexican;
Civil;
Spanish.
Washington, George, in French and Indian War;
commander in chief;
in Revolution;
president constitutional convention;
president;
social conditions at time of.
Washington, national capital;
burned;
Confederates near.
Washington, slavery question in;
a territory;
settled;
boundary of;
admitted.
_Wasp_.
Watauga Creek settlements.
Waterloo settled.
Watertown settled.
Watlings Island.
Watson, Thomas E.
Wayne, Anthony, at Stony Point;
in Indian warfare.
Weaver, James B.
Webster, Daniel, birth;
opposes nullification doctrine;
secretary of state;
speech on Compromise Bill;
death of.
Webster-Ashburton treaty.
Weitzel, General.
Wells, Dr.
West Indies discovered.
West Point, Arnold at.
West Virginia, admitted;
slavery in.
Western movement.
Western Reserve of Connecticut.
Western Union Telegraph Company.
Wethersfield settled.
Whalley, Edward.
Wheeler, William A.
Wheeling settled.
Whig party.
Whisky Rebellion.
White House Landing, battle of.
White Plains, battle of, 135.
White, John.
White, John.
Whitman, Marcus.
Whitney, Eli.
Wildcat state banks.
Wilderness campaign.
Wilkes, Captain.
William, King, grants Massachusetts charter.
Williams.
Williams, Roger.
Williamsburg, in colonial times;
captured.
Wilmington, Del., Washington at.
Wilmington, N. C., British at;
captured.
Wilmot, David.
Wilmot Proviso.
Wilson, Henry.
Wilson, William L.
Wilson Bill.
Winchester, General.
Winchester, battle of.
Winthrop, John.
Wirt, William.
Wisconsin territory and state.
Wolfe, General James.
Woman suffrage.
Workingman, see Labor.
Wyeth, Nathaniel J.
Wyoming massacre.
Wyoming, acquired;
a territory;
admitted;
silver interests.
%X%
"X, Y, Z mission."
%Y%
Yates.
York, Canada, burned.
York, Me., massacre.
York, Pa., Congress at.
York, Duke of.
Yorktown, surrendered;
captured.
Young, Brigham.
%Z%
Zuñi pueblos.