THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS
JOINT EDITORS
ARTHUR MEE Editor and Founder of the Book of Knowledge
J.A. HAMMERTON Editor of Harmsworth a Universal Encyclopaedia
VOL. XII MODERN HISTORY
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_Table of Contents_
MODERN HISTORY
AMERICA
ELIOT, SAMUEL
History of the United Stales
PRESCOTT, W.H.
History of the Conquest of Mexico
History of the Conquest of Peru
ENGLAND
EDWARD HYDE, E. OF CLARENDON
History of the Rebellion
MACAULAY, LORD
History of England
BUCKLE, HENRY
History of Civilization in England
BAGEHOT, WALTER
English Constitution
FRANCE
VOLTAIRE
Age of Louis XIV
TOCQUEVILLE, DE
Old Régime
MIGNET, FRANCOIS
History of the French Revolution
CARLYLE, THOMAS
History of the French Revolution
LAMARTINE, A.M.L. DE
History of the Girondists
TAINE, H.A.
Modern Régime
GERMANY
CARLYLE, THOMAS
Frederick the Great
GREECE
FINLAY, GEORGE
History of Greece
HOLLAND
MOTLEY, J.L.
Rise of the Dutch Republic
History of the United Netherlands
INDIA
ELPHINSTONE, MOUNTSTUART
History of India
RUSSIA
VOLTAIRE
Russia under Peter the Great
SPAIN
PRESCOTT, W.H.
Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella
SWEDEN
VOLTAIRE
History of Charles XII
PAPACY
MILMAN, HENRY
History of Latin Christianity
VON RANKE, LEOPOLD
History of the Popes
A Complete Index of THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS will be found at the end
of Volume XX.
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_Acknowledgment_
Acknowledgment and thanks for permitting the use of the
selection by H.A. Taine on "Modern Régime," appearing in this
volume, are hereby tendered to Madame Taine-Paul-Dubois, of
Menthon St. Bernard, France, and Henry Holt & Co., of New
York.
* * * * *
SAMUEL ELIOT
History of the United States
Samuel Eliot, a historian and educator, was born in Boston in
1821, graduated at Harvard in 1839, was engaged in business
for two years, and then travelled and studied abroad for four
years more. On his return, he took up tutoring and gave
gratuitous instruction to classes of young workingmen. He
became professor of history and political science in Trinity
College, Hartford, Conn., in 1856, and retained that chair
until 1864. During the last four years of that time, he was
president of the institution. From 1864 to 1874 he lectured on
constitutional law and political science. He lectured at
Harvard from 1870 to 1873. He was President of the Social
Science Association when it organised the movement for Civil
Service reform in 1869. His history of the United States
appeared in 1856 under the title of "Manual of United States
History between the Years 1792 and 1850." It was revised and
brought down to date in 1873, under the title of "History of
the United States." A third edition appeared in 1881. This
work gained distinction as the first adequate textbook of
United States history and still holds the place it deserves in
popular favor. The epitome is supplemented by a chronicle
compiled from several sources.
The first man to discover the shores of the United States, according to
Icelandic records, was an Icelander, Leif Erickson, who sailed in the
year 1000, and spent the winter somewhere on the New England coast.
Christopher Columbus, a Genoese in the Spanish service, discovered San
Salvador, one of the Bahama Islands, on October 12, 1492. He thought
that he had found the western route to the Indies, and, therefore,
called his discovery the West Indies. In 1507, the new continent
received its name from that of Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine who had
crossed the ocean under the Spanish and Portuguese flags. The middle
ages were Closing; the great nations of Europe were putting forth their
energies, material and immaterial; and the discovery of America came
just in season to help and be helped by the men of these stirring years.
Ponce de Leon, a companion of Columbus, was the first to reach the
territory of the present United States. On Easter Sunday, 1512, he
discovered the land to which he gave the name of Florida or Flower Land.
Numberless discoverers succeeded him. De Soto led a great expedition
northward and westward, in 1539-43, with no greater reward than the
discovery of the Mississippi. Among the French explorers to claim Canada
under the name of New France, were Verrazzano, 1524, and Cartier,
1534-42. Champlain began Quebec in 1608. The oldest town in the United
States, St. Augustine, Florida, was founded September 8, 1565, by
Menendez de Aviles, who brought a train of soldiers, priests and negro
slaves. The second oldest town, Santa Fe, was founded by the Spaniards
in 1581.
John Cabot, a Venetian residing in Bristol, was the first person sailing
under the English flag, to come to these shores. He sailed in 1497, with
his three sons, but no settlement was effected. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was
lost at sea in 1583, and Walter Raleigh, his cousin, took up claims that
had been made to him by Queen Elizabeth, and crossed to the shores of
the present North Carolina. Sir Richard Grenville left one hundred and
eighty persons at Roanoke Island, in 1585. They were glad to escape at
the earliest opportunity. Fifteen persons left there later were murdered
by the Indians. Still a third settlement, consisting of one hundred and
eighteen persons, disappeared, leaving no trace. Raleigh was discouraged
and made over his patent to others, who were still less successful.
The Plymouth Colony and London Colony were formed under King James I. as
business enterprises. The parties to the patents were capitalists, who
had the right to settle colonists and servants, impose duties and coin
money, and who were to pay a share of the profits in the enterprise to
the Crown.
The London company, under the name of Jamestown, established the
beginning of the first English town in America, May 13, 1607, with one
hundred colonists. Captain John Smith was the genius of the colony, and
it enjoyed a certain prosperity while he remained with it. A curious
incident of its history was the importation of a large number of young
women of good character, who were sold for one hundred and twenty, or
even one hundred and fifteen, pounds of tobacco (at thirteen shillings a
pound) to the lonely settlers. The Company failed, with all its
expenditures, some half-million dollars, in 1624, and at that time,
numbered only two thousand souls--the relics of nine thousand, who had
been sent out from England.
Though the Plymouth Company had obtained exclusive grants and
privileges, they never achieved any actual colony. A band of
independents, numbering one hundred and two, whose extreme principles
led to their exile, first from England and then from Holland, landed at
a place called New Plymouth, in 1620. Half died within a year.
Nevertheless, the Pilgrims, as they were called, extended their
settlement. The distinction of the Pilgrims at Plymouth is that they
relied upon themselves, and developed their own resources. Salem was
begun in 1625, and for three years was called Naumkeag. In 1628, John
Endicott came from England with one hundred settlers, as Governor for
the Massachusetts Colony, extending from the Charles to the Merrimac
river. A royal charter was procured for the Governor and Company of
Massachusetts Bay in New England, and one thousand colonists, led by
John Winthrop, settled Boston, 1630. These colonists were Puritans, who
wished to escape political and religious persecution. They brought over
their own charter and developed a form of popular government. The
freemen of the town elected the governor and board of assistants, but
suffrage was restricted to members of the church. Representative
government was granted in other colonies, but in the royal colonies of
Virginia and New York, the executive officers and members of the upper
branch of the legislature were appointed by the Crown. In Maryland,
appointments were made in the same way by the Proprietor. Maryland was
founded 1632, by royal grant to Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore.
The English colonies were divided in the middle by the Dutch at New
Amsterdam and the Swedes on the Delaware. The claim of the prior
discovery of Manhattan was raised by the English, who took New
Amsterdam, in 1664. Charles II. presented a charter to his brother,
James, Duke of York. East and west Jersey were formed out of part of the
grant.
The patent for the great territory included in the present state of
Pennsylvania was granted to William Penn in 1681. Penn laid the
foundations for a liberal constitution. Patents for the territory of
Carolina were given in 1663. Carolina reached the Spanish possessions in
the South.
The New England settlers spread westward and northward. Connecticut
adopted a written constitution in 1639. The charter of Rhode Island,
1663, confirmed the aim of its founder, Roger Williams, in the
separation of civil and religious affairs.
The English predominated in the colonies, though other nationalities
were represented on the Atlantic seaboard. The laws were based on
English custom, and loyalty to England prevailed. The colonists united
for mutual support during the early Indian wars. The United Colonies of
New England, comprised Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut and New
Haven. This union was formed in 1643, and lasted nearly forty years. The
"Lord of Trade" caused the colonies to unite later, at the time of the
French and Indian War, 1754.
The colonies, nevertheless, were too far apart to feel a common
interest. Communication between them was slow, and commerce was almost
entirely carried on with the English. The boundaries were frequently a
cause of conflict between them. The plan of a constitution was devised
by Franklin, but even the menace of war could not make the colonies
adopt it.
While the English were establishing themselves firmly on the coast, the
French were all the time quietly working in the interior. Their
explorers and merchants established posts to the Great Lakes, the
northwest and the valley of the Mississippi. The clash with the English
came in 1690. King William's War, Queen Anne's War and the French and
Indian War, were all waged before the difficulties were settled in the
rout of the French from the continent. The so-called French and Indian
War (1701-13) was the American counterpart of the Seven Years' War of
Europe. The chief events of this war were: the surrender of Washington
at Fort Necessity, 1754; removal of the Arcadian settlers, 1755;
Braddock's defeat, July 9, 1755; capture of Oswego by Montcalm, 1756;
the capture of Louisburg and Fort Duquesne, 1758; the capture of
Ticonderoga and Niagara in 1759; battle of Quebec, September 13, 1759;
surrender of Montreal, 1760.
At the Peace of Paris, 1763, the French claims to American territory
were formally relinquished. Spain, however, got control of the territory
west of the Mississippi, in 1762. This was known as Louisiana, and
extended from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains.
At this period the relations of the colonies with the home government
became seriously strained. The demands that goods should be transported
in English ships, that trade should be carried on only with England,
that the colonies should not manufacture anything in competition with
home products, were the chief causes of friction. The navigation laws
were evaded without public resistance, and smuggling became a common
practice.
The Stamp Act, in 1765, required stamps to be affixed to all public
documents, newspapers, almanacs and other printed matter. All of the
colonies were taxed at the same time by this scheme, which was contrary
to their belief that they should be taxed only by their legislatures;
although the proceeds of the taxes were to have been devoted to the
defence of the colonies. Delegates, protesting against the Act, were
sent to England by nine colonies. The Stamp Act Congress, October 7,
1765, passed measures of protest. The people never used the stamps, and
the Act was repealed the next year. As a substitute, the English
government established, in 1767, duties on paper, paint, glass and tea.
The colonies replied by renewing the agreement which they made in 1765,
not to import any English goods. The sending of troops to Boston
aggravated the trouble. All the duties but that on tea were then
withdrawn. Cargoes of tea were destroyed at Boston and Charleston, and a
bond of common sympathy was slowly forged between the colonies.
In 1774, the harbour of Boston was closed, and the Massachusetts charter
was revoked. Arbitrary power was placed in the hands of the governor.
The colonies mourned in sympathy. The assembly of Virginia was dismissed
by its governor, but merely reunited, and proceeded to call a
continental congress.
The first continental congress was held at Capitol Hall, Philadelphia,
September 5, 1774. All the colonies but Georgia were represented. The
congress appealed to George III. for redress. They drafted the
Declaration of Rights, and pledged the colonies not to use British
importations and to export no American goods to Great Britain or to its
colonies.
The battles of Lexington and Concord were precipitated by the attempt of
the British to seize the colonists' munitions of war. The immediate
result was the assembling of a second continental congress at
Philadelphia, May 10, 1775. The second congress was in a short time
organising armies and assuming all the powers of government.
On November 1, 1775, it was learned that King George would not receive
the petition asking for redress, and the idea of the Declaration of
Independence was conceived. On May 15, 1776, the congress voted that all
British authority ought to be suppressed. Thomas Jefferson, in December,
drafted the Constitution, and it was adopted on July 4, 1776.
The leading events of the Revolution were the battles of Lexington and
Concord, April 19, 1775; capture of Ticonderoga, May 10; Bunker Hill,
June 17; unsuccessful attack on Canada, 1775-1776; surrender of Boston,
March 17, 1776; battle of Long Island, August 27; White Plains, October
28; retreat through New Jersey, at the end of 1776; battle of Trenton,
December 26; battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777; Bennington, August
16; Brandywine, September 11; Germantown, October 4; Saratoga, October
7; Burgoyne's surrender, October 17; battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778;
storming of Stony Point, July 15, 1779; battle of Camden, August 16,
1780; battle of Cowpens, January 17, 1781; surrender of Cornwallis,
October 19, 1781.
The surrender of Cornwallis terminated the struggle. The peace treaty
was signed in 1783. The financial situation was very deplorable. One of
the greatest difficulties that confronted the colonists, was the limited
power of Congress. The states could regulate commerce and exercise
nearly all authority. But disputes regarding their boundaries prevented
their development as a united nation.
Congress issued an ordinance in 1784 under which territories might
organise governments, send delegates to Congress, and obtain admission
as states. This was made use of in 1787 by the Northwest Territory, the
region lying between the Ohio and the Mississippi and the Great Lakes.
The states made a compact in which it was agreed that there should be no
slavery in this territory.
The critical period lasted until 1789. In the absence of strong
authority, economic and political troubles arose. Finally, a commission
appointed by Maryland and Virginia to settle questions relating to
navigation on the Potomac resulted in a convention to adjust the
navigation and commerce of the whole of the United States, called the
Annapolis Convention from the place where it met, May 1, 1787. Rhode
Island was the only state that failed to send delegates. Instead of
taking up the interstate commerce questions the convention formulated
the present Constitution. A President, with power to carry out the will
of the people, was provided, and also, a Supreme Court.
Washington was elected first President, his term beginning March 4,
1789. A census was taken in 1790. The largest city was Philadelphia,
with a population of 42,000--the others were New York, 33,000, and
Boston, 18,000. The total population of the United States was 4,000,000.
The slaves numbered 700,000; free negroes, 60,000, and the Indians,
80,000.
The Federalists, who believed in centralised government, were the most
influential men in Congress. Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of State, Knox Secretary of War, Hamilton Secretary of the
Treasury, Osgood Postmaster General, and Jay Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court.
The first tariff act was passed with a view of providing revenue and
protection, in 1789. The national debt amounted to $52,000,000.00--a
quarter of which was due abroad. The states had incurred an expense of
$25,000,000.00 more, in supporting the Revolution. The country suffered
from inflated currency. The genius of Hamilton saved the situation. He
persuaded Congress to assume the whole obligation of the national
government and of the states. Washington selected the site of the
capitol on the banks of the Potomac. But the government convened at
Philadelphia for ten years. Vermont and Kentucky were admitted as states
by the first Congress.
In Washington's administration, a number of American ships were captured
by British war vessels. England was at war with France and claimed the
right of stopping American vessels to look for possible deserters. War
was avoided by the Jay Treaty, November 19, 1794.
Washington retired, in 1796, at the end of two terms. John Adams, who
had been Ambassador to France, Holland and England, became second
President. The Democratic-Republican party, originated at this time,
stood for a strict construction of the constitution and favoured France
rather than England. Its leader was Thomas Jefferson. Adams proved but a
poor party leader, and the power of the Federalists failed after eight
years. He had gained some popularity in the early part of his first term
when France began to retaliate for the Jay Treaty by seizing American
ships, and would not receive the American minister. He appointed Charles
Coatesworth Pinckney, with John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry, as a
commission to treat with the French. The French commissioners who met
them demanded $24,000,000.00 as a bribe to draw up a treaty. The names
of the French commissioners were referred to in American newspapers as
X, Y and Z. Taking advantage of the popular favour gained in the conduct
of this affair, the Federalists succeeded in passing the Alien and
Sedition Laws.
Napoleon seized the power in France and made peace with the United
States. In the face of impending war between France and England,
Napoleon gave up his plans of an empire in America and sold Louisiana to
the United States for $15,000,000.00. The territory included 1,500,000
square miles. The Lewis and Clarke Expedition, sent out by Jefferson,
started from St. Louis May 14, 1804, crossed the Rocky Mountains and
discovered the Oregon country.
Aaron Burr was defeated for Governor of New York, and in his
Presidential ambitions, and in revenge killed Hamilton in a duel. He
fled the Ohio River country and made active preparations to carry out
some kind of a scheme. He probably intended to proceed against the
Spanish possessions in the Southwest and Mexico, and set himself up as a
ruler. He was betrayed by his confidante, Wilkinson, and was tried for
treason and acquitted in Richmond, Va., in 1807.
The momentous question of slavery in the territories came up in
Jefferson's administration. The institution was permitted in
Mississippi, but the ordinance of 1787 was maintained in Indiana. The
importation of slaves was prohibited after January 1, 1808.
James Madison, a Republican, became President, in 1809. The Indians,
under Tecumseh, attacked the Western settlers, but were defeated at
Tippecanoe by William Henry Harrison in 1811. In the same year, Congress
determined to break with England. Clay and Calhoun led the agitation.
Madison acceded, and war was declared June 18, 1812. The Treaty of Ghent
was signed on December 24, 1814. British commerce had been devastated. A
voyage even from England to Ireland was made unsafe.
The leading events of the War of 1812 were the unsuccessful invasion of
Canada and surrender at Detroit, August 12, 1812; sea fight in which the
"Constitution" took the "Guerriere," August 19th; sea fight in which the
"United States" took the "Macedonian," October 25, 1813; defeat at
Frenchtown, January 22nd; victory on Lake Erie, September 10th; loss of
the "Chesapeake" to the "Shannon," June 1st; victory at Chippewa, July
5, 1814; victory at Lundy's Lane, July 15th; Lake Champlain, September
11th; British burned public buildings in Washington, August 25th;
American defeated British at Baltimore, September 13th; American under
Jackson defeated the British at New Orleans, December 23rd and 28th.
Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, were admitted as states, in 1792, 1796,
and 1803, respectively. In 1806, the federal government began a wagon
road, from the Potomac River to the West through the Cumberland Gap. New
York State finished the Erie Canal, in 1825. The population increased so
rapidly, that six new states, west and south of the Allegheny Mountains,
were admitted between 1812 and 1821. A serious conflict arose in 1820
over the admission of Missouri. The Missouri Compromise resulted in the
prohibition of slavery in the Louisiana Purchase, north of 36° and 30'
north latitude. Missouri was admitted in 1831, and Maine, as a free
state, in 1820.
With the passing of protective tariff measures in 1816 a readjustment of
party lines took place. Protection brought over New England from
Federalism to Republicanism. Henry Clay of Kentucky was the leading
advocate of protection. Everybody was agreed upon this point in
believing that tariff was to benefit all classes. This time was known as
"The Era of Good Feeling."
Spain ceded Florida to the United States for $5,000,000.00, throwing in
claims in the Northwest, and the United States gave up her claim to
Texas. The treaty was signed in 1819.
The Monroe Doctrine was contained in the message that President Monroe
sent to Congress December 2, 1823. The colonies of South America had
revolted from Spain and had set up republics. The United States
recognised them in 1821. Spain called on Europe for assistance. In his
message to Congress, Monroe declared, "We could not view any
interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any
other manner their destiny by any European power, in any other light
than as a manifestation of an unfriendly feeling toward the United
States....The American Continents are henceforth not to be considered as
subjects for future colonisation by any European power." Great Britain
had previously suggested to Monroe that she would not support the
designs of Spain.
Protective measures were passed in 1824 and 1828. Around Adams and Clay
were formed the National-Republican Party, which was joined by the
Anti-Masons and other elements to form the Whig Party. Andrew Jackson
was the centre of the other faction, which came to be known as the
Democratic Party and has had a continuous existence ever since. South
Carolina checked the rising tariff for a while by declaring the tariff
acts of 1828 and 1832 null and void.
The region which now forms the state of Texas had been gradually filling
up with settlers. Many had brought slaves with them, although Mexico
abolished slavery in 1829. The United States tried to purchase the
country. Mexican forces under Santa Anna tried to enforce their
jurisdiction in 1836. Texas declared her independence and drew up a
constitution, establishing slavery. Opposition in the United States to
the increase of slave territory defeated a plan for the annexation of
this territory.
The New England Anti-Slavery Society was formed 1832, and the American
Anti-Slavery Society was founded in Philadelphia in 1833. William Lloyd
Garrison was the leader of abolition as a great moral agitation.
John C. Calhoun, Tyler's Secretary of State, proposed the annexation of
Texas in 1844, but the scheme was rejected by the Senate. The election
of Polk changed the complexion of affairs and Congress admitted Texas,
which became a state in December, 1845.
The boundaries had never been settled and war with Mexico followed.
Taylor defeated the Mexican forces at Palo Alto, May 8, 1846, at Resaca
de la Palma, May 9th, and later at Monterey and Buena Vista. Scott was
sent to Vera Cruz with an expedition, which fought its way to the City
of Mexico by September 14, 1846. The United States troops also seized
New Mexico. California revolted and joined the United States. The
Gadsden Purchase of 1853 secured a further small strip of territory from
Mexico.
The Boundary Treaty with Great Britain, in June, 1846, established the
northern limits of Oregon at 49th parallel north latitude.
The plans for converting California into a slave state were frustrated
by the discovery of gold. Fifty thousand emigrants poured in. The men
worked with their own hands, and would not permit slaves to be brought
in by their owners. Five bills, known as the Compromise of 1850,
provided that New Mexico should be organised as a territory out of
Texas; admitted California as a free state; established Utah as a
territory; provided a more rigid fugitive slave law; and abolished
slavery in the District of Columbia.
Cuba was regarded as a promising field for the extension of the slave
territory when the Democratic Party returned to power in 1853 with the
administration of Franklin Pierce. The ministers to Spain, France and
Great Britain met in Belgium, at the President's direction, and issued
the Ostend Manifesto, which declared that the United States would be
justified in annexing Cuba, if Spain refused to sell the island. This
Manifesto followed the popular agitation over the Virginius affair. The
Spaniards had seized a ship of that name, which was smuggling arms to
the Cubans, and put to death some Americans. War was averted, and Cuba
remained in the control of the Spaniards.
The Supreme Court in 1857, in the Dred Scott decision, held that a slave
was not a citizen and had no standing in the law, that Congress had no
right to prohibit slavery in the territories, and that the constitution
guaranteed slave property.
The Presidential campaign in 1858, which was signalised by the debates
between Douglass and Lincoln, resulted in raising the Republican power
in the House of Representatives, to equal that of the Democrats.
A fanatic Abolitionist, John Brown, with a few followers, seized the
Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in 1859, defended it heroically
against overpowering numbers, but was finally taken, tried and condemned
for treason. This incident served as an argument in the South for the
necessity of secession to protect the institution of slavery.
In the Presidential election of 1860, the Republican convention
nominated Lincoln. Douglass and John C. Breckenridge split the
Democratic vote, and Lincoln was elected President. This was the
immediate cause of the Civil War. The first state to secede was South
Carolina. A state convention, called by the Legislature, met on December
20, 1860, and declared that the union of that state and the other states
was dissolved. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana,
followed in the first month of 1861, and Texas seceded February 1st.
They formed a Confederacy with a constitution and government at a
convention at Montgomery, Alabama, February, 1861. Jefferson Davis was
chosen President, and Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President.
Sumter fell on April 14th, and the following day Lincoln called for
75,000 volunteers. The demand was more than filled. The Confederacy,
also, issued a call for volunteers which was enthusiastically received.
Four border states went over to the Confederacy, Arkansas, North
Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Three went over, in May, and the last,
June 18.
The leading events of the Civil War were, the battle of Bull Run, July
21, 1861; Wilson's Creek, August 2; Trent Affair, November 8, 1862;
Battle of Mill Spring, January 19; Ft. Henry, February 6; Ft. Donelson,
February 13-16: fight between the "Monitor" and "Merrimac," March 9;
Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7; capture of New Orleans, April 25; battle of
Williamsburgh, May 5; Fair Oaks, May 31-June 1; "Seven Days'
Battle"--Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill, Frazier's Farm, Malvern Hill,
June 25-July 1; Cedar Mountain, August 9; second battle of Bull Run,
August 30; Chantilly, September 1; South Mountain, September 14;
Antietam, September 17; Iuka, September 19; Corinth, October 4;
Fredericksburg, December 13; Murfreesboro, December 31-January 2, 1863.
Emancipation Proclamation, January 1; battle of Chancellorsville, May
1-4; Gettysburg, July 1-3; fall of Vicksburg, July 4; battle of
Chickamauga, September 19-20; Chattanooga, November 23-25; 1864--battles
of Wilderness and Spottsylvania, May 5-7; Sherman's advance through
northern Georgia, in May and June; battle of Cold Harbor, June 1-3; the
"Kearsarge" sank the "Alabama," June 19; battles of Atlanta, July 20-28;
naval battle of Mobile, August 5; battle of Winchester, September 19;
Cedar Creek, October 19; Sherman's march through Georgia to the sea,
November and December; battle of Nashville, December 15-16;
1865--surrender of Fort Fisher, January 15; battle of Five Forks, April
1; surrender of Richmond, April 3; surrender of Lee's army at
Appomattox, April 9; surrender of Johnston's army, April 26; surrender
of Kirby Smith, May 26.
Lincoln, who had been elected for a second term, was assassinated on
April 14, 1865, in Ford's Theatre, Washington.
The United States expended $800,000,000 in revenue, and incurred a debt
of three times that amount during the war.
The Reconstruction Period lasted from 1865 to 1870. The South was left
industrially prostrate, and it required a long period to adjust the
change from the ownership to the employment of the negro.
Alaska was purchased from Russia, in 1867, for $7,200,000.00.
An arbitration commission was called for by Congress to settle the
damage claims of the United States against Great Britain, on account of
Great Britain's failure to observe duties of a neutral during the war.
The conference was held at Geneva, at the end of 1871, and announced its
award six months later. This was $15,000,000.00 damages, to be paid to
the United States for depredations committed by vessels fitted out by
the Confederates in British ports. The chief of these privateers was the
"Alabama."
One of the first acts of President Hayes, in 1877, was the withdrawal of
the Federal troops of the South. The new era of prosperity dates from
the resumption of home rule.
The Bland Bill of 1878 stipulated that at least $2,000,000, and not more
than $4,000,000, should be coined in silver dollars each month, at the
fixed ratio of 16-1.
Garfield, the twentieth President of the United States, was elected
1880, and was assassinated on July 2, 1881, in Washington, by an insane
office-seeker, and died September 19th.
The Civil Service Act of 1833 provided examinations for classified
service, and prohibited removal for political reasons. It also forbade
political assessments by a government official, or in the government
buildings.
The Interstate Commerce Commission was established in 1877 with very
limited powers, based on the clause in the constitution, drawn up in
1787, giving Congress the power to regulate domestic commerce.
Harrison was elected 1888. Both Houses were Republican, and the tariff
was increased. In 1890, the McKinley Bill raised the duties to an
average of 50 per cent, but reciprocity was provided for.
The Sherman Bill superseded the Bland Bill, and provided that 4,500,000
ounces of silver bullion must be bought and stored in the Treasury each
month. This measure failed to sustain the price of silver, and there was
a great demand, in the South and West, for the free coinage of that
metal.
The tariff was made the issue of the next Presidential election, in
1892, when Cleveland defeated Harrison by a large majority of electoral
votes. Each received a popular vote of 5,000,400. The Populist Party,
which espoused the silver cause, polled 1,000,000 votes.
Congress was called in special session, and repealed the Silver Purchase
Bill, and devised means of protection for the gold reserve which was
approaching the vanishing point.
Cleveland forced Great Britain to arbitrate the boundary dispute with
Venezuela in 1895, by a defiant enunciation of the Monroe doctrine.
Congress supported him and voted unanimously for a commission to settle
the dispute.
Free coinage of silver was the chief issue of the Presidential election,
in 1896. McKinley defeated Bryan by a great majority. The Dingley Tariff
Bill maintained the protective theory.
The blowing up of the "Maine," in the Havana Harbor, in 1898, hastened
the forcible intervention of the United States, in Cuba, where Spain had
been carrying on a war for three years.
On May 1st, Dewey entered Manila Bay and destroyed a Spanish fleet. The
more powerful and stronger Spanish fleet was destroyed while trying to
escape from the Harbour of Santiago de Cuba, on July 3.
By the Treaty of Paris, December 10, Porto Rico was ceded, and the
Philippine Islands were made over on a payment of $20,000,000, and a
republic was established in Cuba, under the United States protectory.
Hawaii had been annexed, and was made a territory, in 1900.
A revolt against the United States in the Philippine Islands was put
down, in 1901, after two years.
McKinley was elected to a second term, with a still more overwhelming
majority over Bryan.
McKinley was assassinated on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American
Exposition at Buffalo, by an Anarchist. Theodore Roosevelt, the
Vice-President, succeeded him, and was re-elected, in 1904, defeating
Alton B. Parker.
Roosevelt intervened in the Anthracite Coal Strike, in 1902, recognised
the revolutionary Republic of Panama, and in his administration, the
United States acquired the Panama Canal Zone, and began work on the
inter-oceanic canal. Great efforts were made, during his administration,
to repress the big corporations by prosecutions, under the Sherman
Anti-Trust Law. The conservation of natural resources was also taken up
as a fixed policy.
* * * * *
WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT
History of the Conquest of Mexico
The "Conquest of Mexico" is a spirited and graphic narrative
of a stirring episode in history. To use his own words, the
author (see p. 271) has "endeavoured to surround the reader
with the spirit of the times, and, in a word, to make him a
contemporary of the 16th century."
_I. The Mexican Empire_
Of all that extensive empire which once acknowledged the authority of
Spain in the New World, no portion, for interest and importance, can be
compared with Mexico--and this equally, whether we consider the variety
of its soil and climate; the inexhaustible stores of its mineral wealth;
its scenery, grand and picturesque beyond example; the character of its
ancient inhabitants, not only far surpassing in intelligence that of the
other North American races, but reminding us, by their monuments, of the
primitive civilisation of Egypt and Hindostan; and lastly, the peculiar
circumstances of its conquest, adventurous and romantic as any legend
devised by any Norman or Italian bard of chivalry. It is the purpose of
the present narrative to exhibit the history of this conquest, and that
of the remarkable man by whom it was achieved.
The country of the ancient Mexicans, or Aztecs as they were called,
formed but a very small part of the extensive territories comprehended
in the modern Republic of Mexico. The Aztecs first entered it from the
north towards the beginning of the thirteenth century, but it was not
until the year 1325 that, led by an auspicious omen, they laid the
foundations of their future city by sinking piles into the shallows of
the principal lake in the Mexican valley. Thus grew the capital known
afterwards to Europeans as Mexico. The omen which led to the choice of
this site--an eagle perched upon a cactus--is commemorated in the arms
of the modern Mexican Republic.
In the fifteenth century there was formed a remarkable league,
unparallelled in history, according to which it was agreed between the
states of Mexico, Tezcuco, and the neighbouring little kingdom of
Tlacopan, that they should mutually support each other in their wars,
and divide the spoil on a fixed scale. During a century of warfare this
alliance was faithfully adhered to and the confederates met with great
success. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, just before the
arrival of the Spaniards, the Aztec dominion reached across the
continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. There was thus included in
it territory thickly peopled by various races, themselves warlike, and
little inferior to the Aztecs in social organisation. What this
organisation was may be briefly indicated.
The government of the Aztecs, or Mexicans, was an elective monarchy, the
sovereign being, however, always chosen from the same family. His power
was almost absolute, the legislative power residing wholly with him,
though justice was administered through an administrative system which
differentiated the government from the despotisms of the East. Human
life was protected, except in the sense that human sacrifices were
common, the victims being often prisoners of war. Slavery was practised,
but strictly regulated. The Aztec code was, on the whole, stamped with
the severity of a rude people, relying on physical instead of moral
means for the correction of evil. Still, it evinces a profound respect
for the great principles of morality, and as clear a perception of those
principles as is to be found in the most cultivated nations. One
instance of their advanced position is striking; hospitals were
established in the principal cities, for the cure of the sick, and the
permanent refuge of the disabled soldier; and surgeons were placed over
them, "who were so far better than those in Europe," says an old
chronicler, "that they did not protract the cure, in order to increase
the pay."
In their religion, the Aztecs recognised a Supreme Creator and Lord of
the universe, "without whom man is as nothing," "invisible, incorporeal,
one God, of perfect perfection and purity," "under whose wings we find
repose and a sure defence." But beside Him they recognised numerous
gods, who presided over the changes of the seasons, and the various
occupations of man, and in whose honour they practised bloody rites.
Such were the people dwelling in the lovely Mexican valley, and wielding
a power that stretched far beyond it, when the Spanish expedition led by
Hernando Cortes landed on the coast. The expedition was the fruit of an
age and a people eager for adventure, for gain, for glory, and for the
conversion of barbaric peoples to the Christian faith. The Spaniards
were established in the West Indian Islands, and sought further
extension of their dominions in the West, whence rumours of great
treasure had reached them. Thus it happened that Velasquez, the Spanish
Governor of Cuba, designed to send a fleet to explore the mainland, to
gain what treasure he could by peaceful barter with the natives, and by
any means he could to secure their conversion. It was commanded by
Cortes, a man of extraordinary courage and ability, and extraordinary
gifts for leadership, to whose power both of control and inspiration
must be ascribed, in a very great degree, the success of his amazing
enterprise.
_II.--The Invasion of the Empire_
It was on the eighteenth of February, 1519, that the little squadron
finally set sail from Cuba for the coast of Yucatan. Before starting,
Cortes addressed his soldiers in a manner both very characteristic of
the man, and typical of the tone which he took towards them on several
occasions of great difficulty and danger, when but for his courageous
spirit and great power of personal influence, the expedition could only
have found a disastrous end. Part of his speech was to this effect: "I
hold out to you a glorious prize, but it is to be won by incessant toil.
Great things are achieved only by great exertions, and glory was never
the reward of sloth. If I have laboured hard and staked my all on this
undertaking, it is for the love of that renown, which is the noblest
recompense of man. But, if any among you covet riches more, be but true
to me, as I will be true to you and to the occasion, and I will make you
masters of such as our countrymen have never dreamed of! You are few in
number, but strong in resolution; and, if this does not falter, doubt
not but that the Almighty, who has never deserted the Spaniard in his
contest with the infidel, will shield you, though encompassed by a cloud
of enemies; for your cause is a _just cause_, and you are to fight under
the banner of the Cross. Go forward then, with alacrity and confidence,
and carry to a glorious issue the work so auspiciously begun."
The first landing was made on the island of Cozumel, where the natives
were forcibly converted to Christianity. Then, reaching the mainland,
they were attacked by the natives of Tabasco, whom they soon reduced to
submission. These made presents to the Spanish commander, including some
female slaves. One of these, named by the Spaniards Marina, became of
great use to the conquerors in the capacity of interpreter, and by her
loyalty, her intelligence, and, not least, by her distinguished courage
became a powerful influence in the fortunes of the Spaniards.
The next event of consequence in the career of the Conquerors was the
foundation of the first colony in New Spain, the town of Villa Rica de
Vera Cruz, on the sea-shore. Following this, came the reduction of the
warlike Republic of Tlascala, and the conclusion of an alliance with its
inhabitants which proved of priceless value to the Spaniards in their
long warfare with the. Mexicans.
More than one embassy had reached the Spanish camp from Montezuma, the
Emperor of Mexico, bearing presents and conciliatory messages, but
declining to receive the strangers in his capital. The basis of his
conduct and of that of the bulk of his subjects towards the Spaniards
was an ancient tradition concerning a beneficent deity named
Quetzalcoatl who had sailed away to the East, promising to return and
reign once more over his people. He had a white skin, and long, dark
hair; and the likeness of the Spaniards to him in this respect gave rise
to the idea that they were his representatives, and won them honour
accordingly; while even to those tribes who were entirely hostile a
supernatural terror clung around their name. Montezuma, therefore,
desired to conciliate them while seeking to prevent their approach to
his capital. But this was the goal of their expedition, and Cortes, with
his little army, never exceeding a few hundred in all, reinforced by
some Tlascalan auxiliaries, marched towards the capital. Montezuma, on
hearing of their approach, was plunged into despondency. "Of what avail
is resistance," he is said to have exclaimed, "when the gods have
declared themselves against us! Yet I mourn most for the old and infirm,
the women and children, too feeble to fight or to fly. For myself and
the brave men round me, we must bare our breasts to the storm, and meet
it as we may!"
Meanwhile the Spaniards marched on, enchanted as they came by the beauty
and the wealth of the city and its neighbourhood. It was built on piles
in a great lake, and as they descended into the valley it seemed to them
to be a reality embodying in the fairest dreams of all those who had
spoken of the New World and its dazzling glories. They passed along one
of the causeways which constituted the only method of approach to the
city, and as they entered, they were met by Montezuma himself, in all
his royal state. Bowing to what seemed the inevitable, he admitted them
to the capital, gave them a royal palace for their quarters, and
entertained them well. After a week, however, the Spaniards began to be
doubtful of the security of their position, and to strengthen it Cortes
conceived and carried out the daring plan of gaining possession of
Montezuma's person. With his usual audacity he went to the palace,
accompanied by some of his cavaliers, and compelled Montezuma to consent
to transfer himself and his household to the Spanish quarters. After
this, Cortes demanded that he should recognise formally the supremacy of
the Spanish emperor. Montezuma agreed, and a large treasure, amounting
in value to about one and a half million pounds sterling, was despatched
to Spain in token of his fealty. The ship conveying it to Spain touched
at the coast of Cuba, and the news of Cortes's success inflamed afresh
the jealousy of Velasquez, its governor, who had long repented of his
choice of a commander. Therefore, in March, 1520, he sent Narvaez at the
head of a rival expedition, to overcome Cortes and appropriate the
spoils. But he had reckoned without the character of Cortes. Leaving a
garrison in Mexico, the latter advanced by forced marches to meet
Narvaez, and took him unawares, entirely defeating his much superior
force. More than this, he induced most of these troops to join him, and
thus, reinforced also from Tlascala, marched back to Mexico. There his
presence was greatly needed, for news had reached him that the Mexicans
had risen, and that the garrison was already in straits.
_III.--The Retreat from Mexico_
It was indeed in a serious position that Cortes found his troops,
threatened by famine, and surrounded by a hostile population. But he was
so confident of his ability to overawe the insurgents that he wrote to
that effect to the garrison of Vera Cruz, by the same dispatches in
which he informed them of his safe arrival in the capital. But scarcely
had his messenger been gone half an hour, when he returned breathless
with terror, and covered with wounds. "The city," he said, "was all in
arms! The drawbridges were raised, and the enemy would soon be upon
them!" He spoke truth. It was not long before a hoarse, sullen sound
became audible, like that of the roaring of distant waters. It grew
louder and louder; till, from the parapet surrounding the enclosure, the
great avenues which led to it might be seen dark with the masses of
warriors, who came rolling on in a confused tide towards the fortress.
At the same time, the terraces and flat roofs in the neighbourhood were
thronged with combatants brandishing their missiles, who seemed to have
risen up as if by magic. It was a spectacle to appall the stoutest.
But this was only the prelude to the disasters that were to befall the
Spaniards. The Mexicans made desperate assaults upon the Spanish
quarters, in which both sides suffered severely. At last Montezuma, at
the request of Cortes, tried to interpose. But his subjects, in fury at
what they considered his desertion of them, gave him a wound of which he
died. The position became untenable, and Cortes decided on retreat. This
was carried out at night, and owing to the failure of a plan for laying
a portable bridge across those gaps in the causeway left by the
drawbridges, the Spaniards were exposed to a fierce attack from the
natives which proved most disastrous. Caught on the narrow space of the
causeway, and forced to make their way as best they could across the
gaps, they were almost overwhelmed by the throngs of their enemies.
Cortes who, with some of the vanguard, had reached comparative safety,
dashed back into the thickest of the fight where some of his comrades
were making a last stand, and brought them out with him, so that at last
all the survivors, a sadly stricken company, reached the mainland.