Joel Dorman Steele

“ Finally—this work is offered to American youth in the confident belief that as they study the wonderful history of their native land, they will learn to prize their birthright more highly, and treasure it more carefully. Their patriotism must be kindled when they come to see how slowly, yet how gloriously, this tree of liberty has grown, what storms have wrenched its boughs, what sweat of toil and blood has moistened its roots, what eager eyes have watched every out-springing bud, what brave hearts have defended it, loving it even unto death. ”

“ Then the cannonade lulled, and out of the woods swept the Confederate double battle-line, over a mile long, and preceded by a cloud of skirmishers. A thrill of admiration ran along the Union ranks, as, silently and with disciplined steadiness, that magnificent column of eighteen thousand men moved up the slope of Cemetery Ridge. A hundred guns tore great gaps in their front. Infantry volleys smote their ranks. ”

“ Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. ”

“ In the East, a famous Mussulman wishes to fight some Christian knight "to please the ladies;" Smith offers himself and slays three champions in succession. Taken prisoner in battle and sold as a slave, his head is shaved and his neck bound with an iron ring; he kills his master, arrays himself in the dead man's garments, mounts a horse and spurs his way to a Russian camp. Having returned to England, he embarks for the new world. On the voyage he excites the jealousy of his fellows and is landed in chains; but his worth becomes so apparent that he is finally made president of the colony. ”

“ Kentucky, like Missouri, had tried to remain neutral, but was unsuccessful. Soon both Confederate and Union troops were encamped on her soil, and the State was ravaged by hostile armies. In all the border States affairs were in a most lamentable condition. The people were divided in opinion, and enlisted in both armies. As the tide of war surged to and fro, armed bands swept through the country, plundering and murdering those who favored the opposite party. ”

“ Disposition.—In war the Indian was brave and alert, but cruel and revengeful, preferring treachery and cunning to open battle. At home, he was lazy, improvident, and an inveterate gambler. He delighted in finery and trinkets, and decked his unclean person with paint and feathers. His grave and haughty demeanor repelled the stranger; but he was grateful for favors, and his wigwam stood hospitably open to the poorest and meanest of his tribe. ”

“ On the balcony of old Federal Hall, New York City, he took the oath to support the Constitution of the United States. Difficulties beset the new government on every hand. The treasury was empty, and the United States had no credit. The Indians were hostile. Pirates from the Barbary States attacked our ships, and American citizens were languishing in Algerine dungeons. Spain refused us the navigation of the Mississippi. England had not yet condescended to send a minister to our government, and had made no treaty of commerce with us. ”

“ The Southern people believed the North to be so engrossed in money-making and so enfeebled by luxury that it could send to the field only mercenary soldiers, who would easily be beaten by the patriotic Southerners. They said, "Cotton is King;" and believed that England and France were so dependent upon them for that staple, that their republic would be recognized and defended by those European powers. On the other hand, the Northern people did not believe that the South would dare to fight for slavery when it had 4,000,000 slaves exposed to the chances of war. ”

“ The new constitution met with the most violent opposition. The people were divided into two parties—the Federalists and the anti-Federalists. The former favored the constitution and sought to increase the powers of the national government, and thus strengthen the Union at home and abroad. The latter wished the authority to rest with the States, opposed the constitution, were jealous of Congress, and feared too much national power lest a monarchy might be established. The nation was agitated by the most earnest and thoughtful as well as the most virulent speeches on both sides. ”

“ The traveler can now pass from New York to San Francisco, a distance of about 3,400 miles, in less than a week. This great highway has linked the West to the East by iron bands, has carried thousands of pioneers into the hitherto wild country along its route, developed fresh sources of industry and mines of wealth, and opened the United States to the silks, teas, and spices of Asia. American ingenuity has solved the problem which foiled Columbus and the olden navigators. It has made for itself a route to India. ”

“ No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. ”

“ Every boy old enough to use a rifle hurried to avenge the death of his countrymen, From behind trees, fences, buildings, and rocks, in front, flank and rear, so galling a fire was poured, that but for reinforcements from Boston, none of the British would have reached the city alive. ”

“ DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.—Kansas-Nebraska Bill.—The Compromise Bill of 1850 produced only a lull in the slavery excitement. It burst out anew when Stephen A. Douglas brought forward (1853) his famous bill organizing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and advocating the doctrine of "squatter sovereignty;" i. e., the right of the inhabitants of each Territory to decide for themselves whether the State should come into the Union free or slave. This bill being a virtual repudiation of the Missouri Compromise, excited the most intense feeling. ”

“ The Union men at the South were borne into secession, while the republicans and democrats at the North combined for the support of the government, Lincoln issued a requisition for seventy-five thousand troops. It was responded to by three hundred thousand volunteers, the American flag, the symbol of Revolutionary glory and of national unity, being unfurled throughout the North. The military enthusiasm at the South was equally ardent. Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee, which had before hesitated, joined the Confederacy. ”

“ His half-starved troops, with a rallying of their old courage, obeyed. But the cavalry moving aside, as a curtain is drawn, revealed dense bodies of infantry in battle line. The Civil War was about to end in one of its bloodiest tragedies, when the Confederate advance was stopped. General Grant had already sent in a note demanding the surrender of the army. Lee accepted the terms; and, April 9th, eight thousand men—the remains of the Army of Virginia—laid down their arms near Appomattox Court House, and then turned homeward, no longer Confederate soldiers, but American citizens. ”

“ The good people believed that God had sent an angel to their rescue. But history reveals the secret. It was the regicide Colonel Goffe. Fleeing from the vengeance of Charles II, with a price set upon his head he had for years wandered about, living in mills, clefts of rocks, and forest caves. At last he had found an asylum with the Hadley minister. From his window he had seen the stealthy Indians coming down the hill. ”

“ Two hundred lives were lost. In spite of the efforts of the Union troops, a vast amount of private property was involved in the general devastation. The ravages which the war had made were well illustrated by the appearance of this city after its evacuation. An eye-witness says: "No pen, no pencil, no tongue can do justice to the scene; no imagination can conceive the utter wreck, the universal ruin, the stupendous desolation. ”

“ BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND (Aug. 27) .—The British army landed on the southwest shore of Long Island. General Putnam, with about nine thousand men, held a fort at Brooklyn and defences on a range of hills south of the city. The English advanced in three divisions. Two of these attacked the defences in front, while General Clinton, by a circuitous route, gained the rear. The patriots were fighting gallantly, when, to their dismay, they heard firing behind them. They attempted to escape, but it was too late. Out of five thousand Americans engaged, two thousand were lost. ”

“ Thomas Jefferson was born 1743; died 1826. "Of all the public men who have figured in the United States," says Parton, "he was incomparably the best scholar and the most variously accomplished man." He was a bold horseman, a skilful hunter, an elegant penman, a fine violinist, a brilliant talker, a superior classical scholar, and a proficient in the modern languages. On account of his talents he was styled "The Sage of Monticello." That immortal document, the Declaration of Independence, was, with the exception of a few words, entirely his work. ”

“ KING PHILIP'S WAR.—During the life of Massasuit, Plymouth enjoyed peace with the Indians, as did Jamestown during that of Powhatan. After Massasoit's death, his son, Philip, brooded with a jealous eye over the encroachments of the whites. With profound sagacity, he planned a confederation of the Indian tribes against the intruders. The first blow fell on the people of Swansea as they were quietly going home from church on Sunday (July 14, 1675) . The settlers flew to arms, but Philip escaped, and soon excited the savages to fall upon the settlements high up the Connecticut valley. ”

“ Who is the president of the Senate? When only can he vote? Who chooses the other officers of the Senate? When can the Senate choose a president pro tempore (for the time being) ? What "sole power" does the Senate possess? Who presides when the President of the United States is impeached? What number is needed to convict? What penalties can be inflicted in case of conviction? Is a person so convicted liable to a trial-at-law for the same offence? ”

“ On the last night of February, 1704, while the snow was four feet deep, a party of about three hundred and fifty French and Indians reached a pine forest near Deerfield, Mass. They skulked about till the unfaithful sentinels deserted the morning watch, when they rushed upon the defenceless slumberers, who awoke from their dreams to death or captivity. Leaving the blazing village with forty-seven dead bodies to be consumed amid the wreck, they then started back with their train of one hundred and twelve captives. The horrors of that march through the wilderness can never be told. ”

“ INDIAN TROUBLES.—After the death of Powhatan, the firm friend of the English, the Indians formed a plan for the extermination of the colony. So secretly was this managed that on the very morning of the massacre (March 22, 1622) they visited the houses and sat at the tables of those whose murder they were plotting. At a preconcerted moment they attacked the colonists on all their widely-scattered plantations. Over three hundred men, women, and children fell in one day. ”

“ Emigration began from all parts of America, and even from Europe and Asia. In eighteen months one hundred thousand persons had gone from the United States to this El Dorado, where a fortune was to be picked up in a few days. Thousands made their way across the desert, amid privations which strewed the route with skeletons. The bay of San Francisco was soon surrounded by an extemporized city of shanties and booths. ”

“ Resolved to drive the Americans from their position, Howe crossed the river with three thousand men, and formed them at the landing. The roofs and steeples of Boston were crowded with spectators, intently watching the troops as they slowly ascended the hill. The patriot ranks lay quietly behind their earthworks until the red-coats were within ten rods, when Prescott shouted "Fire!" A blaze of light shot from the redoubt, and whole platoons of the British fell. The survivors, unable to endure the terrible slaughter, broke and fled. ”