IN TIMES OF PEACE.
When peace came, the men who had been in camp went to their
own homes. They were all poor, and did not know what to do.
There was no gold in the land, but a kind of cash which was
so bad that it took more than you could count to buy a pair
of shoes. Gen-er-al Wash-ing-ton found his task more hard to
keep all in good cheer, now there were no fights on hand, than
when they were at war. There had to be a tax on some things
to keep all right, and they did not want to pay the tax, or
their debts at this time. Wash-ing-ton felt that things were
at loose ends, and he must make them more strong.
[Illustration: GEORGE WASH-ING-TON.]
Each State had a wish to be first; and it would seem that, with
no foe to fight, they were on the point of war with their own
selves. There was need of a strong hand to rule the whole land.
So men were sent out of each State to meet in Phil-a-del-phia
and talk of the best plan. They had a long talk, and at last
wrote what we call the "Con-sti-tu-tion." Ten of the States
gave it their vote at once; but three held back for a while.
There were grand times in our land when it was known that the
Con-sti-tu-tion was to be our guide; that we were to be in truth,
"The U-nit-ed States of A-mer-i-ca," with one will, one aim,
one soul as it were, while time should last.
A great crowd came out in Phil-a-del-phia to show their joy.
Each trade had its men there, with the tools of the trade in
their hands. There was a grand car, made in the shape of that
bird which we chose as the sign of our land. It was drawn by
six steeds, and in it sat those who were to judge the folk in
our great courts. They held a staff, and on it was our "Con-sti-tu-tion,"
in a frame, and on the top of the staff a cap, which we might
call the cap of the free--a kind they were fond of in France
at that time. There were ten ships on the river, gay with flags
and gilt, to show forth the ten States that had cast their vote
in the right way.
George Wash-ing-ton was made the first Pres-i-dent, and as he
took his way to New York, which was then the seat of rule, he
met joy and kind words on all the route.
At Tren-ton, where he had fought, there was an arch thrown out
on a bridge, where he must pass. This was hung with wreaths,
and young girls stood with hands full of sweet buds and bloom,
which they flung in his path, as they sung a song to greet him,
and thank him for all he had done.
[Illustration: WASH-ING-TON MADE PRES-I-DENT.]
As he drew near New York, a barge came out to meet him. It had
a crew all in white, and was meant to show the States--a man
for each State. Then more boats came to join them, with our
flag on each. Wash-ing-ton was led in great state to his new
home. When the time came for him first to meet with the folk
and take the oath to be true to the Con-sti-tu-tion, there was
such a rush to the place that some one said, "One might walk
on the heads of the crowd." When Wash-ing-ton came out where
all could see him, and the oath was read to him, and he took
it, a great cheer rent the air, and a cry rang out, "Long live
George Wash-ing-ton, Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States." There
was a flag flung out from that Hall, a peal of bells rang, and
a blast was sent out from the guns, to show the joy and the
love with which they took him for their chief. This was on April
30, 1789.
War is bad for all folks; for it is hard, when it is past, for
men to learn the arts of peace. Wash-ing-ton found the whole
land in debt. They did not want a tax, and the red men were
still their foes. But in a few years he made a great change.
The In-di-ans were put down, and France and Spain and Eng-land
were brought to deal with us as friends. It was a man by the
name of John Jay, who wrote out the terms with Eng-land, and
so we had peace for a time.
Just then there was a great fight in France, not with a foe,
but in their own midst. The men there had seen how our land
had won the day, and they had a mind to be free and have no
King. They did not go at it in the same way that we did; but
shed much blood of their own folk, and cut off the heads of
their King and Queen, and did things which made good men sad.
But they said they did it all to be free. There was a reign
of fright for a time. But at last, the mob could rule no more,
and they were glad to take a King.
Wash-ing-ton kept up great state, for those times, in his own
home, and when he drove out he had a state coach, cream white
in hue, and drawn by six steeds on state days. He took but one
horse on the Lord's day, when he rode to church. This coach
was of the shape of a half sphere, and had wreaths, and the
forms of small fat boys with wings, drawn on it in gay tints.
He set days for all to come and see him in his home. Those who
came would see Wash-ing-ton in front of the fire place, and near
him the band of great men who gave him help with their wise words.
He would be, seen in a coat of black, with a vest of white or
pearl, and buff gloves. His hair was made white with a kind
of dust they had in use in those days; and it was put in a sort
of silk bag at the back of his head. That was a queue.
He would have his hat in his hand, and he wore a long sword.
He did not shake hands with his guests, but made them a bow,
and had some word for each. His wife, too, had times for her
friends to come; and all must be in full dress--the dames in
low necks and short sleeves. On the birth day of Wash-ing-ton,
men would meet to dine in all the large towns; and those who
made rhymes would write odes to the great man. There were some
who did not like all this state and form and show. They thought
it was too much like the style of kings in the old land, and
they would have been glad to have a new mode here. They did
not wish to see a Judge in a robe of red, or the man who was
to preach in the church in a wig, with gown and bands. They
were for plain dress and plain ways.
You may see now bits of the stiff, rich silks of those days,
or it may be a quaint old gown, rich in lace, which has been
kept from that time. You may see in your mind the dame who wore
it, as she waves her fan, sent from France, with the head of
Wash-ing-ton on it. The hair of this dame would be drawn high
on her head, and made white with the dust of which I spoke,
and put in great puffs. The men whose trade it was to dress
hair in those days had such a crowd of folks to fix, that they
had to get up at four to do the work. I have heard of great
dames who sat up all night to keep their hair in good style
for some ball, or the play. The men, too, thought quite as much
of dress as their wives, and in those days they did not wear
plain cloth suits as now. Then a man put on a wig, and a white
stiff stock, that held up his chin; a vest of white silk, it
may be with rose-buds on it, and all the rest of his clothes
were rich.
It was the mode to have a snuff box in those days; it might
be of gold, or some dear stuff, with much work on it, and when
one met a friend they would be as sure to stop and take a pinch
of snuff as to lift the hat in our time.
[Illustration: SPIN-NING WHEEL.]
They gave Balls in those days, which were quite grand, but they
did not dance in the same way as now. They had all sorts of
slow steps and bows. There was a kind of stiff grace in their
style, and some would like it more now, than the rush and whirl
of our mode of to-day. The dames were borne in a sort of chair
through the streets to these Balls.
All this was the way of life with the rich. The poor still wore
the clothes they spun and wove, and they made their own lights,
and struck fire with two flints. They had not seen a match then,
and did not dream of gas, or of the strange new light which has
been found in our time. They went to bed with the chicks, and
rose when the cock crew. The towns at the North throve the best.
At the South towns were few, and in the far West the foot of
man had not yet found its way.
[Illustration: COT-TON PLANT.]
Those brave men who had first come to this land, had seen here
and there in the South a strange plant. It had a sort of bulb
full of a fine white down, and those who had seen it in hot
lands knew it could be spun, and cloth made from it. It was
not hard to make it grow; but the white fluff was so full of
seeds that it took a whole day to get a pound free from them.
Wise men saw in this plant a great fund of wealth for the States.
So they set to work to find a quick way to take the seed out.
There was a man in the East who heard of this, and set his brain
to work. He was a young man by the name of E-li Whit-ney; and
he had not seen the plant when he took it in his head that he
could find a way to "gin" it; for that is the name of the work.
He had to walk all the way to one of the towns at the South,
to get the seed, and as he had no tools or wire, he had to make
them. You may think that was slow work, but he had a strong
will, and when he had made a rude "gin," he bade his friends
come and see how it would do. All saw that it would work well;
but some thieves broke in his house at night and stole it. So
there was a long time that the man who made the "gin" got nought
for it. For those who stole it made gins like it and sold them.
These gins did the work well and fast, and so there grew up
a great trade for us in this soft white fluff.
It is made in cloth for you to wear, and is spread on your beds,
and will take all sorts of bright dyes. We sell it to all the
world, and wealth flows in on all sides. This would not have
been the case had not the young man, E-li Whit-ney, made the
"gin."
The death of one of the great men of the land came to pass at
this time. We have told you of Ben-ja-min Frank-lin. He was
born in Bos-ton, and he was the son of a poor man. But he knew
how to print, and he set up a press in a room where he could
print each morn the news of the day. He did not scorn to sell
all sorts of wares as well, such as rags, ink, soap, and such
things. He had read a great deal, and found out more than those
round him knew. You have seen the sharp light play in the dark
clouds in a storm. You know that it strikes at times; it may
be a house or a barn or a man, and that the one who is struck
is apt to die.
Well, Frank-lin thought that this light could be drawn down
from the skies, and when he heard a laugh at this, he set to
work to prove it. He sent his son out one day in a storm, with
a kite in his hand. As a low black cloud went by, they saw the
fierce light tear through it; it would seem that the light ran
down the string of the kite. Frank-lin had put a key on this
string, and when he made his friends touch that key, they drew
sparks from it. So they saw that he had found out a great thing;
and from that has come the plan of the rods that are now put
on a house to keep it safe in a storm. This gave him fame here
and in the rest of the world. He was sent to France and made
strong friends for us there. He is said to have done more good
works for his land than all the rest of the men of his time.
So it is not strange that all felt sad when death took him from
us.
The French, too, met in their great hall to mourn his loss;
and one of their chiefs said, "The sage whom two worlds claim
as their own is dead;" and they wore crape on their arms for
three days, for his sake.
While Wash-ing-ton had the rule of the land, more new States
came in. The first of these was Ver-mont. This State was full
of green hills and strong brave men, who had cut down the trees
and made homes there. Once New York laid claim to this land,
but they could not drive these brave men out. They thought they
had a right to the soil, and they sent a man, by name E-than
Al-len, to talk with the men of New York. He was met with gibes
and sneers, but he would not yield. He said to them in words
from the good Book, "Our gods are gods of the hills, so they
are more strong than yours."
So when the men from New York came to drive out those who had
made homes in the midst of these hills, they found a stout foe.
The Vermont boys would take those who came and tie them to trees
and whip them with rods from the beech trees. To this they gave
the name of "the beech seal;" and those from New York did not
care to have the "beech seal" put on them more than once. They
grew mad, of course, and they sent out bills in which they set
forth that they would give a good price for the head of E-than
Al-len. But in time peace was made in these two States, when
they had fought side by side in the great war. And so Ver-mont
was brought in and took that name, which means "Green Hills."
The next State that came in was Ken-tuck-y. This land was next
to Vir-gin-ia, and for a time held to be a part of that State.
The first man who made his way through its wild woods and hills
was Dan-iel Boone, who had won a name for the way he could go
in to the nooks and glens and trap wild beasts for their fur.
He took a small band of men with him, and they had no fear,
but went far in where man had not yet trod, to hunt or fish,
or make salt at the "Salt Licks" or springs. He built forts
and held them with his few friends for quite a time, spite of
the red men. But once they took him and bound him, and thought
they could make him one of them; so much did they like his strength
and pluck, but he got free. When men heard of his brave deeds,
more came to help him. The most of them were from Vir-gin-ia,
and brought their slaves with them.
The In-di-ans were in a rage at all this new force, and made
the best fight they could to drive them from the soil; so that
whole land came to be known as the "Dark Land of Blood." In
time, peace was made, and the land grew to a State by the name
of Ken-tuck-y.
Wash-ing-ton held his post for two terms, or eight years, and
he did not wish to serve more. So John Ad-ams was the choice
of all, for the next chief of our land.