HOW THE CENTURY ENDED FOR THE UNITED STATES
VERY likely many of my young readers live in the city of Philadelphia,
which was founded by William Penn more than two hundred years ago on the
banks of the broad Delaware River, and where now many more than a
million people make their homes. And many of you who do not live there,
but who love your country and are proud of its history, are likely to go
there some time during your lives, to visit the birthplace of your noble
nation.
Have you ever thought that the United States, as an independent nation,
was born in Philadelphia? In that city stands the stately Independence
Hall, in which the Declaration of Independence was made and signed. You
may see there the famous old bell, which rang out "Liberty throughout
the land!" And you may stand in the room in which our grand Constitution
was formed. So Philadelphia should be a place of pilgrimage to all
true-hearted Americans, who wish to see where their country was born.
It was such a place of pilgrimage in the year 1876. Then from every part
of our country, from the North, the South, the West and the East, our
people made their way in thousands towards that great city, which was
then the proud center of all American thought. A hundred years had
passed from the time the famous Declaration was signed, and the
Centennial Anniversary which marked the one hundredth year after this
great event was being celebrated in the city which may be called the
cradle of the American nation.
A grand exhibition was held. It was called a "World's Fair," for
splendid objects were sent to it from all parts of the world, and our
own country sent the best of everything it had to show, from Maine to
California. On the broad lawns of Fairmount Park many handsome buildings
were erected, all filled with objects of use or beauty, and more than
ten million people passed through the gates, glad to see what America
and the world had to show.
If you wish to know what our own country showed, I may say that the most
striking things were its inventions, machines that could do almost
everything which the world wants done. And the newest and most wonderful
of all these things was the telephone. This magical invention was shown
there to the people for the first time, and the first voice shouted
"Hallo!" over the talking wire.
In the years that followed centennial celebrations became common. In
1881 the centennial anniversary of the surrender of Cornwallis was
celebrated at Yorktown. In 1882 the bi-centennial (the two hundredth
anniversary) of the landing of William Penn was celebrated at
Philadelphia. A vessel that stood for the old ship "Welcome" sailed up
the stream, and a man dressed like the famous old Quaker landed and was
greeted by a number of men who took the part of Indian chiefs.
In 1887 Philadelphia had another grand anniversary, that of the signing
of the Constitution of the United States, which was celebrated by
magnificent parades and processions, while the whole city was dressed in
the red, white and blue. In 1889 New York celebrated the next grand
event in the history of the nation, the taking of the oath by
Washington, our first President.
The next great anniversary was that of the discovery of America by
Columbus, four hundred years before. This was celebrated by a
wonderfully splendid exhibition at Chicago, the most beautiful that the
world had ever seen. Columbus landed in October, 1492, and the buildings
were dedicated in October, 1892, but the exhibition did not take place
till the next year. Those who saw this exhibition will never forget it,
and very likely some of my readers were among them. Its buildings were
like fairy palaces, so white and grand and beautiful; and at night, when
it was lit up by thousands of electric lights, the whole place looked
like fairy land. The world will not soon see anything more beautiful.
I cannot tell of all the exhibitions. There were others, at New Orleans,
Atlanta, and other cities, but I think you will be satisfied with
hearing about the large ones. The Centennial at Philadelphia set the
fashion. After that, cities all over the country wanted to have their
great fairs, and many of the little towns had their centennial
celebrations, with music and parades, speeches and fireworks.
During all this time the country kept growing. People crossed the ocean
in millions. Our population went up, not like a tree growing, but like a
deer jumping. In 1880 we had 50,000,000 people. In 1900 we had half as
many more. Just think of that! Over 25,000,000 people added in twenty
years! How many do you think we will have when the youngest readers of
this book get to be old men and women? I am afraid to guess.
As our people increased in number they spread more widely over the
country. Railroads were built everywhere, steamboats ran on all the
streams, telegraphs and telephones came near to every man's front door,
the post-offices spread until letters and newspapers and packages were
carried to the smallest village in the land. Nobody wanted to stay at
home, in the old fashion. People thought nothing of a journey across the
continent or the ocean. Wherever they were, they could talk with their
friends by letter or telegraph, and they could go nowhere that the
newspaper could not follow them.
So the waste places of the country began rapidly to fill up. If you have
ever seen an old-time map of our country you must have noticed places in
the West marked "great desert," or "unknown territory," or by some such
name. But people made their way into these unknown regions and filled
them up. First they went with their families and household goods in
great wagons. Then they went far more swiftly in railroad trains. Here
they settled down and began farming; farther on, where there was not
rain enough to farm, they raised cattle and sheep on the rich grasses;
still farther, in the mountain regions, they set to work mining, getting
gold, silver, copper, iron and coal from the hard rocks.
Cities grew up where the Indian and the buffalo had roamed. The factory
followed the farmer; the engine began to puff its steam into the air,
the wheels to turn, the machines to work, goods of all kinds to be
made. The whole country became like a great hive of workers, where
everybody was busy, and thousands of the people grew rich.
But all this great western country was not given up to the farmer, the
miner and the wood-chopper. There were places which nature had made
beautiful or wonderful or grand, and these were kept as places for all
the people to visit. One of these was the beautiful Yosemite Valley, in
California; another was the wonderful Yellowstone Park, with its
marvelous spouting springs; others were the groves of giant trees; still
others were great forests, from which the government told the
wood-choppers to keep out, for the woods had been set aside for the good
or the pleasure of all the people of the land.
Some of you may ask, what became of the old people of the country--the
Indians, who were spread all over the West? There were hundreds of
tribes of them, and many of them were bold and brave, and when they saw
the white men pushing into their country they fought fiercely for their
homes. But they could not stand before the guns of the pioneers and the
cannon of the soldiers, and in time they were all forced to submit. Then
places were set aside for them and they were made to live in them. The
Indians were not always treated well. They were robbed and cheated in a
hundred ways. But that, I hope, is all over now, for they are being
well cared for and educated, and they seem likely, before many years, to
become good and useful citizens of our country.
[Illustration: CUSTER'S LAST FIGHT.]
Now I have another story to tell. Our Civil War, which you have read
about, ended in 1865. For thirty-three years after that--one-third of a
century--we were at peace at home and abroad, and our country had the
wonderful growth of which you have just read. Then, in 1898, almost at
the end of the century, war came again. By good luck, it was not a big
war this time, and it was one I can tell you about in a few words.
It was pity and charity that brought us into this war. South of Florida
is the large and fertile island of Cuba, which had long belonged to
Spain, and whose people had been very badly treated. At length they said
they could stand it no longer, so they took their guns, left their
homes, and went to war with the soldiers of Spain. For two years they
fought bravely. Their old men, and their women and children, who had
stayed at home, helped them all they could; so the Spaniards drove these
from their homes into the cities, and left them there with hardly
anything to eat. Thousands of these poor wretches starved to death.
You may be sure that our people thought this very wicked. They said that
it ought to be stopped; but Spain would not do what they wished. Then
they sent food to the starving people. Some of it got to them and some
of it was used by others. Everybody in our country felt very badly to
see this terrible affair going on at our very doors, and the government
was told that it ought to take some action. What the government did was
to send one of its war-vessels, the "Maine," to the harbor of Havana,
the capital of Cuba.
Then something took place that would have made almost any country go to
war. One dark night, while the "Maine" floated on the waters of the
harbor, and nearly all her crew were fast asleep in their berths, a
terrible explosion was heard under her, and the good vessel was torn
nearly in half. In a minute she sank into the muddy bottom of the
harbor, and hundreds of her sleeping crew were drowned. Only the captain
and some of the officers and men escaped alive.
I fancy all of you must know how angry our people felt when they heard
of this dreadful event. You were angry yourselves, no doubt, and said
that the Spaniards had done this and ought to be punished by having Cuba
taken from them. I do not think there were many Americans who did not
feel like taking revenge for our poor murdered sailors.
War soon came. In April, 1898, the Congress declared war against Spain
and a strong fleet of iron-clad ships was sent to Cuba. An army was
gathered as quickly as possible, and the soldiers were put on board
ship and sailed away to the south. There was a Spanish fleet in the
harbor of Santiago de Cuba and an American fleet outside keeping the
ships of Spain like prisoners in the harbor; so the soldiers were sent
to that place, and it was not long before an army was landed and was
marching towards the city of Santiago. I am glad to say that the
fighting did not last very long. There was a bold charge up hill by the
Rough Riders and others in the face of the Spanish guns, and the Spanish
army was driven back to the city. Here they were shut up and soon
surrendered, and the war in Cuba was at an end.
But the iron-clad ships in the harbor were not given up. On the 3d of
July a brave dash for liberty was made. They came out at full speed
where our great ships lay waiting, and soon there was one of the
strangest fights that had ever been seen. The Spanish ships rushed
through the waters near the coast, firing as they fled. After them came
the American ships at full speed, firing as they followed. But not many
of the Spanish halls touched the American ships, while the great guns of
the Americans raked the Spaniards fore and aft.
Soon some of their ships were on fire and had to be run ashore. In an
hour or two the chase was at an end and the fine Spanish fleet was sunk
and burning, with hundreds of its crew killed, while on the American
ships only one man had been killed. It was a wonderful flight and fight.
I should tell you more about it, only that I have another story of the
same kind to relate.
Far away from Cuba, on the other side of the world, in the broad Pacific
Ocean, near the coast of China, is a great group of islands called the
Philippines, which had long belonged to Spain. Here, in the harbor of
Manila, the capital of the islands, was a Spanish fleet. There was an
American fleet in one of the harbors of China, under the command of
Commodore George Dewey. And as soon as war had been declared Dewey was
ordered to go to Manila and sink or take the Spanish fleet.
Dewey was a man who thought it his duty to obey orders. He had been told
to sink or take the Spanish fleet, and that was what he meant to try his
best to do. Over the waters sped his ships, as swiftly as steam could
carry them, and into the harbor of Manila they went at midnight while
deep darkness lay upon the waters. It was early morning of the 1st of
May when the American ships rounded up in front of the city and came in
sight of the Spanish fleet. This lay across the mouth of a little bay
with forts to guard it on the land at each side.
It was a great danger which Commodore Dewey and his bold followers
faced. Before them lay the Spanish ships and the forts. There were
torpedo boats which might rush out and sink them. There were torpedoes
under the waters which might send the flagship itself to the bottom.
Some men would have stopped and felt their way, but George Dewey was not
that kind of a man. Without stopping for a minute after his long journey
from China, he dashed on with the fleet and ordered his men to fire.
Soon the great guns were roaring and the air was full of fire and smoke.
Round and round went the American ships, firing as they passed. Every
shot seemed to tell. It was not long before some of the Spanish ships
were blazing, while hardly a ball had touched an American hull. After an
hour or two of this hot work Dewey drew out and gave his men their
breakfast. Then back he came and finished the job. When he was done, the
whole Spanish fleet was sunk and burning, with hundreds of its men dead
and wounded, while not an American ship was badly hurt and not an
American sailor was killed. There had hardly been so one-sided a battle
since the world began.
There, I have, as I promised, told you in few words the story of the
war. Soon after a treaty of peace was signed and all was at an end. The
brave Dewey was made an admiral and was greatly honored by the American
people.
If you should ask me what we gained from the war, I would answer that we
gained in the first place what the war was fought for, the freedom of
Cuba from the cruel rule of Spain. But we did not come out of it without
something for ourselves. We obtained the fertile island of Porto Rico in
the West Indies and the large group of the Philippine Islands, near the
coast of Asia. These last named came as the prize of Dewey's victory,
but I am sorry to say that there was a war with the people themselves
before the United States got possession. During the war with Spain we
obtained another fine group of islands, that known as Hawaii, in the
Pacific Ocean. You can see from this that our country made a wide spread
over the seas at the end of the nineteenth century. The winning of all
these islands was an event of the greatest importance to the United
States. It gave this country a broad foothold on the seas and a new
outlook over the earth. Some of the proud nations of Europe had looked
on this country as an American power only, with no voice in world
affairs. But when Uncle Sam set his left foot on the Hawaiian Islands,
in the Central Pacific, and his right foot on the Philippine Islands,
near the coast of Asia, these powers of Europe opened their eyes and
began to get new ideas about the great republic of the West. It was
plain that the United States had become a world power, and that when
the game of empire was to be played the western giant must be asked to
take a hand.
This was seen soon after, when China began to murder missionaries and
try to drive all white people from its soil. For the first time in
history the United States joined hands with Europe in an Old World
quarrel, and it was made evident that the world could not be cut up and
divided among the powers without asking permission from Uncle Sam. But
fortunately Uncle Sam wants to keep out of war.
And now we are near the end of our long journey. We have traveled
together for more than four hundred years, from the time of Columbus to
the present day, looking at the interesting facts of our country's
history, and following its growth from a tiny seed planted in the
wilderness to a giant tree whose branches are beginning to overshadow
the earth. We have read about what our fathers did in the times that are
no more. We have learned something of what has been taking place during
our own lives. There is a new history before us in which we shall live
and act and of which our own doings will form part. A new century, the
twentieth, has opened before us, and it only remains to tell what our
country has done in the few years that have passed of this century.