Edna Henry Lee Turpin

“ When Bacon returned from war with the Indians he found war awaiting him at home. The people of the colony were divided in their interests and sympathies. Some sided with Bacon for people’s rights, some sided with Berkeley because that was the cause of the king and lawful authority. There was a stubborn fight in which Bacon was victor and became master of Jamestown. Fearing that they could not hold it and unwilling for it to fall into Berkeley’s hands, the rebels burned the town, the capitol of Virginia, the first seat of English power on this continent. ”

“ To-day, the steamship and the railway unite countries and destroy distance. Even the parts of the world where these do not penetrate, own, to a greater or less extent, the power of the great nations of the world. A citizen of the United States can cross the deserts of Africa or penetrate the wilds of Asia and be protected by his nation’s flag. There is hardly a place so secluded that some hardy traveler has not visited it, describing and picturing the country, people, and customs so as to make them known to all the world. ”

“ The English realized the value of their New World possessions. The best of their troops were sent over to prosecute the war with vigor. Montcalm, on the other hand, lacked men, means, ammunition, and supplies, for which he appealed in vain to the home government. With a sad heart he foresaw the downfall of French power in America. Resolved “to find his grave under the ruins of the colony,” he bent all his energies to the struggle.
One place after another was captured by the English. News of their victories came now as regularly as tidings of their defeat had come a few months before. ”

“ The British general determined to place his cannon on a rocky height commanding the fort. He was told that the height was inaccessible for cannon. “Where a goat can go, a man can go,” he said; “where a man can go, he can haul up a gun.” The cannon was put in place and commanded the fort. St. Clair, seeing that it was useless to resist, abandoned the fort and withdrew through the woods to join Schuyler. At the news that Ticonderoga was taken King George rushed into the queen’s room, exclaiming, “I have beat them; I have beat all the Americans!” ”

“ When the war against England began in 1812, it seemed that American chances for sea victory were small. England, the mistress of the seas, had a large, well-equipped navy; the American fleet was far inferior in numbers and in size. But the Americans had brave seamen who won some brilliant victories. One of the greatest of these was that of the American vessel the Constitution over the English Guerriére.
The command of the Great Lakes was very important; being on the boundary between the United States and the English colony of Canada, they controlled the entrance to each country. ”

“ In three years there were more than seven thousand settlers,—English, French, Dutch, Swedes, men of different races and various creeds.
Penn made it from the first a “free colony for all mankind,” assuring the people “You shall be governed by laws of your own making. I shall not usurp the right of any or oppress his person.” He put the government in the hands of a governor and of a council and general assembly chosen by freemen. ”

“ Cecil, who was the real founder of Maryland, never visited the colony; he sent out settlers and supplies under his younger brother, Leonard. Leonard was the first governor of Maryland, as the land was called in honor of the English queen, Henrietta Maria. The charter given Lord Baltimore granted more absolute power than was ever bestowed on any other English colonist in the New World. “Cecilius, Absolute Lord of Maryland and Avalon,” could make peace or war; he had the law-making power also and the people could merely advise and assent or dissent. ”

“ Gates led the retreat, or stampede, of the militia, while a brave German, De Kalb, with one-third of the army stood at bay against the whole British army and met an honorable death. “We look on America as at our feet,” said an English statesman when the news of this battle was received in England.
But it was a general not a people which the English had defeated. The brave settlers on the frontier rallied in their own defense. In October, 1780, they surrounded Ferguson’s troops at King’s Mountain, captured or killed the entire force, and disbanded before the English could attack them. ”

“ They reached Mexico and Peru, and made themselves masters of silver, gold, and other treasures.
It never occurred to them that the natives had any rights to be regarded. The only right that they recognized was that of the strongest. Against their war horses and coats of mail and firearms, what were the reed spears and arrows of the natives? The Indians fell before the Spaniards like grain before the scythe.
To the conquered natives, life was a worse fate than death. With brutal cruelty they were driven to labor in the mines for their taskmasters. ”

“ This was true, also, of Jefferson, another great typical American. From those days to the present time, this practical turn has been characteristic of American talent. Sometimes it has been said in reproach that America stands for progress in material ways, that her men of science care, not for abstract truth, but for its market value.
Let us remember, however, that whenever a great cause or principle has needed support, Americans have always risen to the occasion. Material progress and business ability are good things, if only we do not overestimate their value in comparison with others. ”

“ Then, drawing his sword and unfurling the royal banner, he took possession of the land in the name of the king and queen of Spain.
Eyeing the strangers were the natives,—naked, with straight, black hair, and swarthy skins daubed with paint. Columbus, who thought he had reached India, called these people Indians, the name they retain to this day. The island, which he called San Salvador, was one of the Bahamas. In search of gold, Columbus cruised about, touching one island after another, Cuba, Haiti, and others of the West Indies. ”

“ At Bennington a detachment of Burgoyne’s army was attacked by General Starke. “Before night we must conquer or Molly Starke is a widow,” he cried, as he led his men to victory. An English force of about two thousand men marched up the Mohawk and attacked Fort Stanwix, or Schuyler, at the head of the river. The men in the fort prepared to resist to the last. They cut up their shirts and cloaks to make a flag, the Stars and Stripes, which they raised with cheers. General Herkimer gathered the militia and went to their rescue. ”

“ In 1532, De Soto with a band of horsemen joined Francisco Pizarro, the leader of the army which invaded and conquered Peru. He was nominally under the command of Pizarro but was really the master of his brave band of three hundred volunteer horsemen. Some historians say that the brave De Soto did more to secure victory than did the cruel Pizarro. At all events, the higher glory belongs to the young cavalry-man; he displayed more humanity in his dealings with the natives than any other Spanish leader and he endeavored to prevent the murder of the captive Inca, or emperor, of Peru. ”

“ He said that every man should be free to believe what he chose, and that it was wrong to tax people to support a certain church or to compel them to attend it. He said that every man ought to be allowed to vote, and that for magistrates sensible, upright men ought to be chosen without regard to their church membership. These things were contrary to the belief of the Massachusetts Bay colony and to its practices.
Williams said, moreover, that the king of England had no right to grant lands in America to any one; these belonged to the Indians and should be secured from them. ”

“ When summer came, Hudson wished to continue his search. He believed that men should, to use his own words, resolve “To achieve what they have undertaken, or else to give reason wherefore it will not be.”
His crew wished to return home and mutinied against him. One midsummer day, they seized him, his son, and seven loyal seamen, and set them adrift in a boat. The little craft floated off on the summer sea and nothing more was ever heard of it or of a soul on board. An old Dutch legend says that Hudson and his men came safe to shore and made their home in the fair land he had discovered. ”

“ Not all the people who had come to Massachusetts were willing to endure the hardships of the new life. About a hundred went back to England, but Governor Winthrop, with the more unselfish and zealous Puritans, remained.
Governor Winthrop endeavored to set the people an example of a sober and upright life. He became convinced that the drinking of healths at meals according to the English custom led to intemperance. He restrained it at his own table and thus became the leader of temperance reform in the New World. ”

“ The colonists refused to work, they were attacked by the Indians, and laid waste by disease. By famine, fever, and war, the colonists in a few months were reduced in numbers from five hundred to sixty. They embarked to leave the scene of misery, but met a ship containing food and supplies and turned back. Thus near failure came the colony which laid the foundation of English civilization, and religious and civil liberty in America. After a time the common-store system was abolished and each man was given land to cultivate for himself ”

“ The Steel King
The United States has been called “the land of the poor man’s opportunity.” More than one barefoot boy in it has passed from a log cabin to the White House. In no other country have there been such rises from poverty to wealth and position. There is often much to condemn in the methods by which vast wealth is acquired, but the task requires ability and talent of a kind, and the careers of these “captains of industry,” as they are well termed, are regarded with interest.
A typical man of this class is Andrew Carnegie, who has risen from extreme poverty to vast wealth. ”

“ In order to understand it, you must remember that the colony of Virginia was then a part of England and that the church of England, like its civil government, was established by law. The salaries of clergymen were raised by a regular tax on all the people. As money was scarce in the colonies, this tax was paid in tobacco which was the regular currency of Virginia. By law sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco was a clergyman’s yearly salary.
The people do not seem to have objected to paying these salaries, and usually they found no fault with the amount of them. ”

“ The wealth wrested from the conquered Peruvians enriched the Spanish invaders. De Soto, who had landed in America with “nothing else of his own save his sword and shield” became master of a fortune of [34] “an hundred and four score thousand ducats.” He returned to Spain and married Isabella, his patron’s daughter, from whom he had been separated about fifteen years. But he was not content to rest at home. The age’s spirit of adventure and love of wandering was in his veins. ”

“ The Dutch resented the English seizure of their colony and declared war against England. When peace was made, it was agreed that each nation should keep what it had won. Holland had won the most victories and so gained most territory by this agreement; but the [94] city of New Amsterdam and the colony of New Netherlands—both of which were called New York in honor of their new ruler—remained in English hands. The Dutch inhabitants were secured in their rights and privileges, according to Colonel Nicolls’ promise, and they went on their sober, hard-working way. ”

“ The Narragansett Indians went on the war-path against the white men. Their headquarters were on an island in a swamp which was thought to be inaccessible. Here, in five hundred wigwams, were sheltered the women and children of the tribe and were stored their supplies of corn. By the treachery of one of Philip’s warriors, the path to the island was betrayed to the white men. In the depth of winter the colonists made their way through the swamp to the island, killed men, women, and children without mercy, and burned the fort and the whole settlement. ”

“ They believed that every man is led by the “inward light,” or the Spirit of God, saying, “He that gave us an outward luminary for our bodies, hath given us an inward one for our minds to act by.” The Quakers refused to pay tithes and taxes to support the established church and, thinking it wrong to fight, they refused to serve in the army. At that time hats were worn indoors as well as out, and men took them off as a token of respect. The Quaker refused to pull off their hats to men of any rank, uncovering only in prayer. “Hat honor was invented by men in the Fall,” they said. ”

“ The people of the colonies—even the loyal Virginians—were beginning to be dissatisfied with the treatment of the mother-country. The Seven Years’ War between England and France had come to an end two years before. It had, of course, cost a great deal of [146] money; in particular, the sending of troops and supplies against the French in America had been very expensive. The English government said that the colonies ought to bear a large share of the war debt; the contest had begun on the American frontier and the English victory had extended colonial territory and trade. ”

“ As years passed, people became more and more anxious to find a short passage to India. The Turks controlled and blocked the overland passage to Asia. The ocean route by way of Africa was long and roundabout; for the Dutch this had also the disadvantage of making it necessary for their ships to pass and repass their enemy Spain and their trade-rival Portugal. The Dutch had, by long and desperate fighting, freed themselves from Spanish control and they had become the great sea-traders of the world. ”

“ Andrew Jackson
The Man of the People
While Washington, the aristocrat, was using his sword and Jefferson, the scholarly gentleman, was using his pen, to form in America a government of the people, there was growing up in a border settlement a youth who was to be a “man of the people” and bear rule over it.
Andrew Jackson was the son of a poor Irish emigrant, who spent the years after his coming to America in a brave fight for bread for his wife and children. Worn out by the struggle, he died, and the children were left to their mother’s care. ”

“ Hundreds and thousands of miles of railroads were built in different parts of the country. Now, great lines connect the north and south, the east and west. Huge engines, very unlike Stephenson’s little Rocket, travel a mile a minute: instead of taking weeks to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, people can make the journey in five days.
Before the steam railway was invented by an Englishman, an American inventor had applied the use of steam to water-travel and had invented a steamboat. James Watt, a Scotch inventor, had prepared the way by his invention of the steam engine. ”

“ People marveled at seeing Stephenson’s engine travel at a speed of fifteen miles an hour; they doubted whether the railway would ever become a practicable mode of travel. Stephenson said, “I venture to tell you that I think you will live to see the day when railways will supersede almost all other methods of conveyance in this country—when mail coaches will go by railway, and railroads will become the great highways for the king and all his subjects. The time is coming when it will be cheaper for a working man to travel on a railway than to walk on foot.” ”