 Chapter 20 of a short history of the United States. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Allison Hester of Athens, Georgia. A Short History of the United States by Edward Channing. Chapter 20. Rise of Political Parties. 207. The Federalists. There were no political parties in the United States in 1789. All the leading men were anxious to give the new Constitution a fair trial. Even Patrick Henry supported Washington. Many men, as Alexander Hamilton and Governor Morris, believed a monarchy to be the best form of government. But they saw clearly that the American people would not permit a monarchy to be established. So they supported the Constitution, although they thought it was a frail and worthless fabric. But they wished to establish the strongest possible government that could be established under the Constitution. This they could do by defining in the broadest way the doubtful words in the Constitution, as Hamilton had done in the controversy over the bank charter. Hamilton had little confidence in the wisdom of the plain people. He believed it would be safer to rely on the richer classes. So he and his friends wished to give to the central government and to the richer classes the greatest possible amounts of power. Those who believed as Hamilton believed called themselves Federalists. In reality, they were Nationalists. 208. The Republicans. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Albert Galatine, and their friends entirely disagreed with the Federalists on all of these points. They called themselves Republicans. In the Great Declaration, Jefferson had written that government rested on the consent of the governed. He also thought that the common sense of the plain people was a safer guide than the wisdom of the richer classes. He was indignant at the way in which Hamilton defined the meaning of phrases in the Constitution. He especially relied on the words of the Tenth Amendment. This amendment provided that all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people. Jefferson thought that phrases like not delegated and necessary and proper should be understood in their ordinary meanings. He now determined to arouse public opinion. He once declared that if he had to choose between having a government and having a newspaper press, he should prefer the newspaper press. He established a newspaper devoted to his principles and began a violent and determined attack on the Federalists, calling them monarchists. These disputes became especially violent in the treatment of the questions which grew out of the French Revolution. 209. The French Revolution. In 1789, the French people rose against their government. In 1792, they imprisoned their king and queen. In 1793, they beheaded them and set up a republic. The monarchs of Europe made common calls against the spirit of revolution. They made war on the French Republic and began a conflict which soon spread to all parts of the world. 210. The French Revolution and American Politics. Jefferson and his political friends rejoiced at the overthrow of the French monarchy in the setting up of the Republic. It seemed as if American ideas had spread to Europe. Soon, Jefferson's followers began to ate the manners of the French Revolutionists. They called each other Citizen This and Citizen That. Reports of French victories were received with rejoicing. At Boston, an ox, roasted whole, bread, and punch were distributed to the people in the streets. And cakes stamped with the French watchwords Liberty and Equality were given to the children. But while the Republicans were rejoicing over the downfall of the French monarchy, the Federalists were far from being happy. Hamilton had no confidence in the government by the people anywhere. Washington, with his aristocratic ideas, did not at all like the way the Republicans were acting. He said little on the subject, but Lady Washington expressed her mind freely and spoke of Jefferson's followers as, quote, filthy Democrats. 211. Citizen Jeannette. The new French government soon sent an agent or minister to the United States. He was the Citizen Jeannette. He landed at Charleston, South Carolina. He fitted out privateers to prey on British commerce and then set out over land for Philadelphia. Washington had recently made a tour through the South, but even he had not been received with the enthusiasm that greeted Jeannette. When Jeannette reached Philadelphia and began to confer with Jefferson about getting help from the government, he found little except delay, trouble, and good advice. Jefferson especially tried to warn Jeannette not to be overconfident, but Jeannette would not listen. He even appealed to the people against Washington and the people rallied to the defense of the President. Soon, another and wiser French minister came to the United States. 212. The Neutrality Proclamation, 1793. Washington and his advisors had a very difficult question to settle. For the Treaty of 1778 with French gave to French ships the use of United States ports in wartime and closed those ports to the enemies of France. The treaty might also oblige the United States to make war on Great Britain in order to preserve the French West India Islands to France. It was quite certain at all events that if French warships were allowed to use American ports and British warships were not allowed to do so Great Britain would speedily make war on the United States. The treaty had been made with the King of France. Could it not be set aside on the ground that there was no longer a French monarchy? Washington at length made up his mind to regard it as suspended owing to the confusion which existed in France. He therefore issued a proclamation of neutrality. He warned all citizens not to aid either of the fighting nations. It was in this way that Washington began the policy of keeping the United States out of European conflicts. 213. The Whiskey Insurrection, 1794. The increasing expenses of the government made new taxes necessary. Among the new taxes was an internal revenue tax on whiskey. It happened that this tax bore heavily on the farmers of western Carolina and western Pennsylvania. The farmers of those regions could not take their grain to the seaboard because the roads were bad and the distance was great. So they made it into whiskey, which could be carried to the seaboard and sold at a profit. The new tax on whiskey would make it more difficult for these western farmers to earn a living and to support their families. They refused to pay it. They fell upon the tax collectors and drove them away. Washington sent commissioners to explain matters to them. But the farmers paid no heed to the commissioners. The president then called out 15,000 militiamen and sent them to western Pennsylvania under the command of Henry Lee, Governor of Virginia. The rebellious farmers yielded without fighting. Two of the leaders were convicted of treason, but Washington pardoned them and the conflict ended there. The new government had shown its strength and had compelled people to obey the laws. That in itself was a very great thing to have done. 214. Jay's Treaty, 1794. Ever since 1783, there had been trouble with the British. They had not surrendered the posts on the Great Lakes as the treaty of 1783 required them to do. They had oppressed American commerce. The American states also had broken the treaty by making laws to prevent the collection of debts due to British subjects by American citizens. The Congress of the Confederation had been too weak to compel either the British government or the American states to obey the treaty. But the new government was strong enough to make treaties respected at home and abroad. Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to London to negotiate a new treaty. He found the British government very hard to deal with. At last he made a treaty, but there were many things in it which were not favorable to the United States. For instance, it provided that cotton should not be exported from the United States and that American commerce with British West Indies should be greatly restricted. 215. Ratification of Jay's Treaty, 1795. After a long discussion, the Senate voted to ratify the treaty without these two clauses. In the House of Representatives, there was a fierce debate. For although the House has nothing to do with ratifying treaties, it has a great deal to do with voting money. And money was needed to carry out this treaty. At last, the House voted the necessary money. The British surrendered the posts on the Great Lakes and the debts due to British subjects were paid. Many people were very angry with Jay and with Washington for making this treaty. Stuffed figures of Jay were hanged and Washington was attacked in the papers as if he had been a common pick bucket to use his own words. 216. The Spanish Treaty of 1795. France and Great Britain were not the only countries with which there was trouble. The Spaniards held posts on the Mississippi within the limits of the United States and refused to give them up. For a hundred miles, the Mississippi flowed through Spanish territory. In those days, before steam railroads connected the Ohio Valley with the eastern seacoast, the farmers of Kentucky and Tennessee sent their goods by boat or raft down the Mississippi to New Orleans. At that city, they were placed on seagoing vessels and carried to the markets of the world. The Spaniards refused to let this commerce be carried on. In 1795, however, they agreed to abandon the posts and to permit American goods to be deposited at New Orleans while awaiting shipment by seagoing vessels. 217. Washington's Farewell Address. In 1792, Washington had been a re-elected president. In 1796, there would be a new election and Washington declined another nomination. He was disgusted with the tone of public life and detested party politics and desired to pass the short remainder of his life in quiet at Mount Vernon. He announced his intention to retire in a farewell address which should be read and studied by every American. In it, he declared the Union to be the main pillar of independence, prosperity and liberty. Public credit must be carefully maintained and the United States should have as little as possible to do with European affairs. In declining a third term as president, Washington set an example which has ever since been followed. End of Chapter 20. Chapter 21. The Last Federalist Administration. 218. John Adams Elected President. 1796. In 1796, John Adams was the Federalist Candidate for President. His rival was Thomas Jefferson, the founder and chief of the Republican Party. Alexander Hamilton was the real leader of the Federalists and he disliked Adams. Thomas Pinckney was the Federalist Candidate for Vice President. Hamilton suggested a plan which he thought would lead to the election of Pinckney as president instead of Adams. But Hamilton's scheme did not turn out very well. For by it, Jefferson was elected Vice President. Indeed, he came near being President for he had only three less electoral votes than Adams. 219. More Trouble with France. France was now, 1796 to 97, governed by five chiefs of the Revolution who called themselves the Directory. They were very angry when they heard of Jay's Treaty, for they had hoped that the Americans would make war on the British. James Monroe was then American Minister at Paris. Instead of doing all he could to smooth over this difficulty, he urged on the wrath of the Directory. Washington recalled Monroe and sent, in his stead, General Charles Coatworth's Pinckney of South Carolina. The Directory promptly refused to receive Pinckney and ordered him to leave France. News of this action of the Directory reached Philadelphia three days after Adams' inauguration. 220. The XYZ Affair, 1797 to 98. Adams at once summoned Congress and addressed the members in stirring words. He denied that the Americans were a degraded people, humiliated under a colonial sense of fear, and regardless of national honor, character and interest. It seemed best, however, to make one more effort to avoid war. Adams, therefore, sent John Marshall, a Virginia Federalist, and Elbridge Cherry, a Massachusetts Republican to France. They were to join Pinckney and together to negotiate with the French Directory. When they reached Paris, three men came to see them. These men said that America, one, must apologize for the President's vigorous words. Two, must lend money to France. And three, must bribe the Directory and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. These outrageous suggestions were emphatically put aside. In sending the papers to Congress, the three men were called Mr. X, Mr. Y, and Mr. Z. So the incident is always known as the XYZ Affair. 221, Indignation in America. Federalists and Republicans joined in indignation. Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute, was the cry of the day. French flags were everywhere torn down. Hell, Columbia was everywhere sung. Adams declared that he would not send another minister to France until he was assured that the representative of the United States would be received as the quote representative of a great, free, powerful, and independent state. 222, War with France. 1797 to 98. The organization of a provisional army was now at once begun. Washington accepted the chief command on condition that Hamilton should have the second place. There were already a few vessels in the Navy. A Navy department was now organized. The building of more warships has begun, and merchant vessels were bought and converted into cruisers. French privateers sailed along the American coasts and captured American vessels off the entrances of the principal harbors. But this did not last long, for the American warships drove the privateers to the West Indies and pursued them as they fled southward. Soon, the American cruisers began to capture French men of war. Captain Truxton, in the constellation, captured the French frigate Lynn Surgent. Many other French vessels were captured, and preparations were made to carry on the naval war even more vigorously when a treaty with France was signed. 223, Treaty with France, 1800. This vigor convinced the French that they had been hasty in their treatment of the Americans. They now said that if another minister were sent to France, he would be honorably received. Adams wished to send one of the American ministers then in Europe and thus end the dispute as soon as possible. But the other Federalist leaders thought that it would be better to wait until France sent a minister to the United States. Finally, they consented to the appointment of three commissioners. Napoleon Bonaparte was now the ruler of France. He received the commissioners honorably, and a treaty was soon signed. On two points, however, he refused to give way. He declined to pay for American property seized by the French, and he insisted that the treaty of 1778 was still binding on both countries. It was finally agreed that the Americans should give up their claims for damages, and the French government should permit the treaty to be annulled. John Adams always looked upon this peaceful ending of the dispute with France as the most prudent and successful act of his whole life. But Hamilton and other Federalists thought it was treachery to the party. They set to work to prevent his reelection to the presidency. 224, Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798. The Federalists, even if they had been united, would probably have been defeated in the election of 1800, for they had misused their power to pass several very foolish laws. The first of these laws was the Naturalization Act. It lengthened the time of residence in the United States from five to fourteen years before a foreign immigrant could gain the right to vote. This law bore very harshly on the Republicans because most of the immigrants were Republicans. Other laws, called the Alien Acts, were also aimed at the Republican immigrants. These laws gave the President power to compel immigrants to leave the United States, or to live in certain places that he named. The worst law of all was the Sedition Act. This was aimed against the writers and printers of Republican newspapers. It provided that anyone who attacked the government in the press should be severely punished as a seditious person. Several trials were held under this law. Every trial made hundreds of persons determined to vote for the Republican candidate at the next election. 225, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 1798 to 99. In the exciting years before the Revolutionary War, the colonial legislatures had passed many resolutions condemning the acts of the British governments. Following this example, Jefferson and Madison now brought it about that the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures passed resolutions against the Alien and Sedition Acts. They declared that the Constitution was a compact between the states. It followed from this that any state could determine for itself whether any act of Congress were constitutional or not. It followed from this, again, that any state could refuse to permit an act of Congress to be enforced within its limits. In other words, any state could make null or nullify any act of Congress that it saw fit to oppose. This last conclusion was found only in the Kentucky Resolutions of 1799, but Jefferson wrote to this effect in the original draft of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions called the voters' attention to the Federalist's abuse of power and did much to form public opinion. 226. Death of Washington, 1799. In the midst of this excitement, George Washington died. People forgot how strongly he had taken the Federalist's side in the last few years and united to do honor to his memory. Henry Lee spoke for the nation when he declared that Washington was, quote, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. To this day, we commemorate Washington's birthday as we do that of no other man, though of late years we have begun to keep Lincoln's birthday also. 227. Election of 1800. It was for a moment only that the noise of party conflict was hushed by the death of America's first president. The strife soon began anew. Indeed, the election of 1800 was fought with a vigor and violence unknown before and scarcely exceeded since. John Adams was the Federalist candidate, and he was defeated. Jefferson and Burr, the Republican candidates, each received 73 electoral votes, but which of them should be president? The Republican voters clearly wished Jefferson to be president, but the Federalists had a majority in the House of Representatives. They had a clear legal right to elect Burr president, but to do that would be to do what was morally wrong. After a useless struggle, the Federalists permitted Jefferson to be chosen, and he was inaugurated on March 4th, 1801. End of Chapter 21. Chapters 22 and 23 of a short history of the United States. This is the LibriVox Recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Allison Hester of Athens, Georgia. A Short History of the United States by Edward Channing. Part 8. The Jeffersonian Republicans, 1801 to 1812. Chapter 22. The United States in 1800. 228. Area and Population, 1800. The area of the United States in 1800 was the same as at the close of the Revolutionary War, but the population had begun to increase rapidly. In 1791, there were nearly four million people in the United States. By 1800, this number had risen to five and one quarter million. Two-thirds of the people still lived on or near Tidewater, but already nearly 400,000 people lived west of the Alleghenies. In 1791, the center of population had been east of Baltimore. It was now 18 miles west of that city. 229. Cities and Towns in 1800. Philadelphia was the largest city in the United States. It had a population of 70,000, but New York was not far behind Philadelphia in population. Except these two, no city in the whole United States had more than 30,000 inhabitants. The seat of government had been removed from Philadelphia to Washington, but the new capital was a city only in name. One broad, long street, Pennsylvania Avenue, led from the unfinished capital to the unfinished White House. Congress held its sessions in a temporary wooden building. The White House could be lived in, but Mrs. Adams found the unfinished reception room very convenient for drying clothes on rainy Mondays. A few cheaply built and very uncomfortable boarding houses completed the city. 230. Traveling in 1800. The traveler in those days had a very hard time. On the best roads of the north, in the best coach, and with the best weather one might cover as many as 40 miles a day, but the traveler had to start very early in the morning to do this. Generally, he thought himself fortunate if he made 25 miles in the 24 hours. South of the Potomac, there were no public coaches, and the traveler generally rode on horseback. A few rich men, like Washington, rode in their own coaches. Everywhere, north and south, the ends were uncomfortable and the food was poor. Whenever it was possible, the traveler went by water, but that was dangerous work. Lighthouses were far apart, and there were no public buoys to guide the mariner, and almost nothing had been done to improve navigation. 231. The Steamboat. The steamboat came to change all this. While Washington was still president, a queer-looking boat sailed up and down the Delaware. She was propelled by oars or paddles, which were worked by steam. This boat must have been very uncomfortable, and few persons wished to go on her. Robert Fulton made the first successful steamboat. She was named the Claremont and was launched in 1807. She had paddle wheels and steamed against the wind and tide of the Hudson River. At first, some people thought she was bewitched, but when it was found that she ran safely and regularly, people began to travel on her. Before a great while, steamboats appeared in all parts of the country. 232. Making of the West. Even before the Revolutionary War, explorers and settlers had crossed the Allegheny Mountains. In Washington's time, pioneers, leaving Pittsburgh, floated down the Ohio River in flatboats. Some of these settled in Cincinnati. Others went farther down the river to Louisville, in Kentucky, and still others found in Wheeling and Marietta. In 1811, the first steamboat appeared on the western rivers. The whole problem of living in the west rapidly changed, for the steamboat could go upstream as well as downstream. Communication between the new settlements and New Orleans and Pittsburgh was now much safer and very much easier. 233. Cotton growing in the south. Cotton had been grown in the south for many years. It had been made on the plantations and into a rough cloth. Very little had been sent away. The reason for this was that it took a very long time to separate the cotton fiber from the seed. One slave working for a whole day could hardly clean more than a pound of cotton. Still, as time went on, more cotton was grown. In 1784, a few bags of cotton were sent to England. The Englishmen promptly seized it because they did not believe that so much cotton could be grown in America. In 1791, nearly 200,000 pounds of cotton were exported from the south. Then came Whitney's great invention, which entirely changed the whole history of the country. 234. Whitney's Cotton Gen. 1793. Eli Whitney was a Connecticut schoolmaster. He went to Georgia to teach general greens children. He was very ingenious, and one day Mrs. Green suggested to him that he might make a machine which would separate the cotton fiber from the cotton seed. Whitney set to work and soon made an engine, or gen, as he called it, that would do this. The first machine was a rude affair, but even with it, one slave could clean 100 pounds of cotton in a day. Mrs. Green's neighbors promptly broke into Whitney's shop and stole his machine. Whitney's Cotton Gen made the growing of cotton profitable, and so fastened slavery on the south. With the exception of the steam locomotive and the reaper, no invention has so tremendously influenced the history of the United States. 235. Colonial Manufactures Before the Revolutionary War, there were very few mills or factories in the colonies. There was no money to put into such undertakings, and no operatives to work the mills if they had been built. The only colonial manufacturers that amounted to much were the making of nails and shoes. These articles could be made at home, on the farms, in the winter, when no work could be done out of doors. 236. Growth of Manufactures 1789-1800 As soon as the new government with its wide powers was established, manufacturing started into life. Old mills were set to work. While the Revolution had been going on in America, great improvements in the spinning of yarn and the weaving of cloth had been made in England. Parliament made laws to prevent the export from England of machinery or patterns of machinery, but it could not prevent Englishmen from coming to America. Among the recent immigrants to the United States was Samuel Slater. He brought no patterns with him, but he was familiar with the new methods of spinning. He soon built spinning machinery. New cotton mills were now set up in several places, but it was some time before the new weaving machinery was introduced into America. 223. Jefferson's Administrations 237. President Jefferson Thomas Jefferson was a Republican. He believed in the Republican form of government. He believed the wisdom of the people to be the best guide. He wished the President to be simple and cordial in his relations with his fellow citizens. Adams had ridden to his inauguration in a coach drawn by six cream-colored horses. Jefferson walked with a few hundred friends from his boarding house to the Capitol. Washington and Adams had gone into state to Congress and had opened a session with a speech. Jefferson sent a written message to Congress by a messenger. Instead of bowing stiffly to those who came to see him, he shook hands with them and tried to make them feel at ease in his presence. 238. The Civil Service One of the first matters to take Jefferson's attention was the condition of the civil service. There was not a Republican office holder in the government service. Washington, in the last years of his presidency, and Adams also had given office only to the Federalists. Jefferson thought it was absolutely necessary to have some officials upon whom he could rely, so he removed a few Federalist office holders and appointed Republicans to their places. Adams had even gone so far as to appoint officers up to the midnight of his last day in office. Indeed, John Marshall, his Secretary of State, was busy signing commissions when Jefferson's Attorney General walked in with his watch in hand and told Marshall that it was 12 o'clock. Jefferson and Madison, the new Secretary of State, refused to deliver these commissions even when Marshall, as Chief Justice, ordered Madison to deliver them. 239. The Judiciary Act of 1801 One of the last laws made by the Federalists was the Judiciary Act of 1801. This law greatly enlarged the national judiciary, and Adams eagerly seized the opportunity to appoint his friends to the new offices. The Republican Congress now repealed this Judiciary Act and legislated out of office all the new judges. For it must be remembered that the Constitution makes only the members of the Supreme Court sure of their offices. Congress also got rid of many other Federalist office holders by repealing the Internal Revenue Act. But while all this was done, Jefferson steadily refused to appoint men to office merely because they were Republicans. One man claimed in office on the ground that he was a Republican and that the Republicans were the saviors of the Republic. Jefferson replied that Rome had been saved by geese, but he had never heard that geese were given offices. 240. Paying the National Debt Jefferson was especially anxious to cut down the expenses of the government and to pay as much as possible of the national debt. Madison and Galatine worked heartily with him to carry out this policy. The repeal of the Internal Revenue Act took much revenue from the government, but it also did away with the salaries of a great many officials. The repeal of the Judiciary Act also put an end to many salaries. Now that the dispute with France was ended, Jefferson thought that the Army and the Navy might safely be reduced. Most of the naval vessels were sold, a few good ships were kept at sea, and the rest were tied up at the warbs. The number of ministers to European states was reduced to the lowest possible limit, and the civil service at home was also cut down. The expenses of the government were in these ways greatly lessened. At the same time, the revenue from the customs service increased. The result was that in the eight years of Jefferson's administrations, the national debt shrank from $83 million to $45 million. Yet, in the same time, the United States paid $15 million for Louisiana and waged a series of successful and costly wars with the pirates of the northern coast of Africa. 241. Louisiana, again a French colony. Spanish territory now bounded the United States on the south and the west. The Spaniards were not good neighbors because it was very hard to make them come to an agreement and next to impossible to make them keep an agreement when it was made. But this did not matter very much because Spain was a weak power and was growing weaker every year. Sooner or later, the United States would gain its point. Suddenly, however, it was announced that France had got back Louisiana. And, almost at the same moment, the Spanish governor of Louisiana said that Americans could no longer deposit their goods at New Orleans. At once, there was a great outcry in the west. Jefferson determined to buy from France, New Orleans, and the land eastward from the mouth of the Mississippi. 242. The Louisiana Purchase, 1803. When Napoleon got Louisiana from Spain, he had an idea of again founding a great French colony in America. At the moment, France and Great Britain were at peace, but it soon looked as if war would begin again. Napoleon knew that the British would at once seize Louisiana, and he could not keep it anyway. So one day, when the Americans and the French were talking about the purchase of New Orleans, the French minister suddenly asked if the United States would not like to buy the whole of Louisiana. Monroe and Livingston, the American ministers, had no authority to buy Louisiana, but the purchase of the whole colony would be a great benefit to the United States, so they quickly agreed to pay $15 million for the whole of Louisiana. 243. The Treaty Ratified. Jefferson found himself in a strange position. The Constitution nowhere delegated the United States power to acquire territory, but after thinking it over, Jefferson felt sure that the people would approve of the purchase. The treaty was ratified, the money was paid. This purchase turned out to be a most fortunate thing. It gave to the United States the whole western valley of Mississippi. It also gave to the Americans the opportunity to explore and settle Oregon, which lay beyond the limits of Louisiana. 244. Lewis and Clark's Expeditions. Jefferson soon sent out several expeditions to explore the unknown portions of the continent. The most important of these was the expedition led by two Army officers, Maryweather Lewis and William Clark, brother of General George Rogers Clark. Leaving St. Louis, they slowly ascended the muddy Missouri. They passed the site of the present city of Omaha. They passed the council bluffs. The current of the river now became so rapid that the explorers left their boats and traveled along the river's bank. They gained the sources of the Missouri and came to a westward flowing river. On and on they followed it until they came to the river's mouth. A fog hung low over the water. Suddenly it lifted. There before the explorers' eyes, the river in waves like small mountains rolled out into the ocean. They had traced the Columbia River from its upper course to the Pacific. Captain Gray in the Boston ship Columbia had already entered the mouth of the river, but Lewis and Clark were the first white man to reach it over land. 245. The Twelfth Amendment, 1804. Four presidential elections had now been held under the method provided by the Constitution, and that method had not worked well. It was now, 1804, changed by the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment, which is still in force. The old machinery of presidential electors was kept, but it was provided that in the future each elector should vote for president and vice president on separate and distinct ballots. The voters had no more part in the election under the new system than they had had under the old system. The old method of apportioning electors among the states was also kept. This gives to each state as many electors as it has senators and representatives in Congress. No matter how small its territory or how small its population, a state has at least two senators and one representative and, therefore, three electors. The result is that each voter in a small state has more influence in choosing the president than each voter in a large state. Indeed, several presidents have been elected by minorities of the voters of the country as a whole. 246. Re-election of Jefferson, 1804. Jefferson's first administration had been most successful. The Republicans had repealed many unpopular laws. By the purchase of Louisiana, the area of the United States had been doubled and an end put to the dispute as to the navigation of the Mississippi. The expenses of the national government had been cut down and a portion of the national debt had been paid. The people were prosperous and happy. Under these circumstances, Jefferson was triumphantly re-elected. He received 162 electoral votes to only 14 for his federalist rival. End of Chapter 23. Chapters 24 and 25 of a short history of the United States. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Allison Hester of Athens, Georgia. A short history of the United States by Edward Channing. Chapter 24. Causes of the War of 1812. 247. The North Africa Pirates. Stretching along the northern shores of Africa from Egypt westward to the Atlantic were four states. These states were named Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, and Morocco. Their people were Mohammedans and were rulers over by persons called days or bays or pachas. These rulers found it profitable and pleasant to attack and capture Christian ships. The cargoes of the captured vessels they sold at good prices. In the seamen and passengers, they sold at good prices, too, as slaves. The leading powers of Europe, instead of destroying these pirates, found it easier to pay them to let their ships along. Washington and Adams also paid them to allow American ships to sail unharmed. But the pirates were never satisfied with what was paid them. Jefferson decided to put an end to this tribute-paying. He sent a few ships to seize the pirates and shut up their harbors. More and more vessels were sent, until at last the days and the bays and pachas thought it would be cheaper to behave themselves properly. So they agreed to release their American prisoners and not to capture any more American ships. In these little wars, American naval officers gained much useful experience and did many glorious deeds. Especially Decatur and Summers won renown. 248. America, Britain and France. Napoleon Bonaparte was now the Emperor of the French. In 1804, he made war on the British and their allies. Soon he became supreme on the land and the British became supreme on the water. They could no longer fight one another very easily, so they determined to injure each other's trade and commerce as much as possible. The British declared continental ports closed to commerce and Napoleon declared all British commerce to be unlawful. Of course, under these circumstances, British and continental ships could not carry on trade and American vessels rapidly took their places. The British ship owners called upon their government to put an end to this American commerce. Old laws were looked up and enforced. American vessels that disobeyed them were seized by the British. But if any American vessel obeyed these laws, Napoleon seized it as soon as it entered a French harbor. 249. The Impressment Controversy. With the British, the United States had still another cause of complaint. British warships stopped American vessels and took away all their seamen who looked like Englishmen. These they compelled to serve on British men of war. As Americans and Englishmen looked very much alike, they generally seized all the best looking seamen. Thousands of Americans were captured in this way and forced into slavery on British men of war. This method of kidnapping was also called Impressment. 250. The Embargo, 1807-1809. Jefferson hardly knew what to do. He might declare war on both Great Britain and on France. But to do that would surely put a speedy end to all American commerce. In the old days, before the Revolutionary War, the colonists had more than once brought the British to terms by refusing to buy their goods. Jefferson now thought if people of the United States should refuse to trade with the British and the French, the governments, both of Great Britain and of France, would be forced to treat American commerce properly. Congress therefore passed an Embargo Act. This forbade vessels to leave American ports after a certain day. If the people had been united, the Embargo might have done what Jefferson expected it would do. But the people were not united, especially in New England. The ship owners tried in every way to break the law. This led to the passing of stricter laws. Finally, the New Englanders even talked of succeeding from the Union. 251. The Outrage on the Chesapeake, 1807. The British now added to the anger of the Americans by impressing seamen from the decks of an American warship. The frigate Chesapeake left the Norfolk Navy Yard for a cruise. At once, the British vessel Leopard sailed toward her and ordered her to stop. As the Chesapeake did not stop, the Leopard fired on her. The American frigate was just setting out and everything was in confusion on her decks. But a coal was brought from the cook's stove and one gun was fired. Her flag was then hauled down. The British came on board and seized four seamen who they said were deserters from the British Navy. This outrage aroused tremendous excitement. Jefferson ordered all British warships out of American waters and forbade the people to supply them with provisions, water, or wood. The British offered to restore the imprisoned seamen and ordered out of American waters the admiral under whose direction the outrage had been done. But they would not give up impressment. 252. Madison elected president, 1808. There is nothing in the Constitution to limit the number of times a man may be chosen president. Many persons would gladly have voted a third time for Jefferson. But he thought that unless some limit were set, the people might keep on re-electing a popular and successful president term after term. This would be very dangerous to the Republican form of government. So Jefferson followed Washington's example and declined a third term. Washington and Jefferson thus established a custom that has ever since been followed. The Republicans voted for James Madison and he was elected president, 1808. 253. The Non-Intercourse Act, 1809. By this time, the embargo had become so very unpopular that it could be maintained only at the cost of civil war. Madison suggested that the embargo act should be repealed and a non-intercourse act passed in its place. Congress at once did as he suggested. The Non-Intercourse Act prohibited commerce with Great Britain and with France and countries controlled by France. It permitted commerce with the rest of the world. There were not many European countries with which America could trade under this law. Still, there were a few countries as Norway and Spain which still maintained their independence and goods could be sold through them to the other European countries. At all events, no sooner was the embargo removed than commerce revived. Rates of freight were very high and the profits were very large, although the French and British captured many American vessels. 254. Two British ministers. Soon after Madison's inauguration, a new British minister came to Washington. His name was Erskine and he was very friendly. A treaty was speedily made on conditions which Madison thought could be granted. He suspended non-intercourse with Great Britain and hundreds of vessels set sail for that country, but the British rulers soon put an end to this friendly feeling. They said that Erskine had no authority to make such a treaty. They refused to carry it out and recalled Erskine. The next British minister was a person named Jackson. He accused Madison of cheating Erskine and repeated the accusation. Thereupon, Madison sent him back to London. As the British could not carry out the terms of Erskine's treaty, Madison was compelled to prohibit all intercourse with Great Britain. 255. British and French trickery. The scheme of non-intercourse did not seem to bring the British and French to terms much better than the embargo had done. In 1810, therefore, Congress set to work and produced a third plan. This was to allow intercourse with both Great Britain and France. But this was coupled with the promise that if one of the two nations stopped seizing American ships, and the other did not, then intercourse with the unfriendly country should be prohibited. Napoleon at once said he would stop seizing American vessels on November 1 of that year if the British, on their part, would stop their seizures before that time. The British said that they would stop seizing when Napoleon did. Neither of them really did anything except to keep on capturing American vessels whenever they could get a chance. 256. Indian Troubles, 1810. To this everlasting trouble with Great Britain and France were now added the horrors of an Indian war. It came about in this way. Sedlers were pressing into Indiana territory west of the new state of Ohio. Soon the lands which the United States had bought of the Indians would be occupied. New lands must be bought. At this time there were two able Indian leaders in the northwest. These were Tecumte or Tecumse and his brother who was known as the Prophet. These chiefs set on foot a great Indian confederation. They said that no one Indian tribe should sail land to the United States without the consent of all the tribes of the confederation. 257. Battle of Tipi Canoe, This determined attitude of the Indians seemed to American leaders to be very dangerous. Governor William Henry Harrison of Indiana territory gathered a small army of regular soldiers and volunteers from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. He marched to the Indian settlements. The Indians attacked him at Tipi Canoe. He beat them off and, attacking in his turn, routed them. Tecumte was not at the battle, but he immediately fled to the British and Canada. The Americans had suspected that the British were stirring up the Indians to resist the United States. The reception giving to Tecumte made them feel that their suspicions were correct. 258. The War Party in Congress There were abundant reasons to justify war with Great Britain or with France or with both of them. But there would probably have been no war with either of them had it not been for a few energetic young men in Congress. The leaders of this war party were Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Clay was born in Virginia, but as a boy he had gone to Kentucky. He represented the spirit of the young and growing West. He was a true patriot and felt angry at the way the British spoke of America and Americans and at the way they acted toward the United States. He was a very popular man and one man to him by his attractive qualities and by his energy. Calhoun was a South Carolinian who had been educated in Connecticut. He was a man of the highest personal character. He had a strong, active mind and he was fearless in debate. As with Clay, so with Calhoun, they both felt the rising spirit of nationality. They thought that the United States had been patient long enough. They and their friends gained a majority in Congress and forced Madison to send a war-like message to Congress. 259. Madison's Reasons for War, 1812. In his message, Madison stated that the grounds for complaint against the British as follows. One, they impressed American semen. Two, they disturbed American commerce by stationing warships off the principal ports. Three, they refused to permit trade between America and Europe. Four, they stirred up the Western Indians to attack the settlers. Five, they were really making war on the United States while the United States was at peace with them. For these reasons, Madison advised the Declaration of War against Great Britain and war was declared. End of Chapter 24. Part 9. War and Peace, 1812-1829. Chapter 25. The Second War of Independence, 1812-1815. 260. Plan of Campaign, 1812. The American plan of campaign was that General Hull should invade Canada from Detroit. He could then march eastward, north of Lake Erie and meet another army which was to cross the Niagara River. These two armies were to take up the eastward march and join a third army from New York. The three armies would then capture Montreal and Quebec and generally all of Canada. It was a splendid plan, but there were three things in the way of carrying it out. One, there was no trained American army. Two, there were no supplies for any army when gathered and trained. And three, there was a small, well-trained and well-supplied army in Canada. 261. Hull's Surrender of Detroit, 1812. In those days, Detroit was separated from the settled parts of Ohio by 200 miles of wilderness. To get his men and supplies to Detroit, Hull had to first, of all, to cut a row through the forest. The British learned of the actual Declaration of War before Hull knew of it. They dashed down on his scattered detachments and seized his provisions. Hull sent out expedition after expedition to gather supplies and to bring in the scattered settlers. Tecumfe and the other Indian allies of the British captured one expedition after another. The British advanced on Detroit and Hull surrendered. By this disaster, the British got control of the upper lakes. They even invaded Ohio. 262. Perry's victory on Lake Erie, 1813. But the British triumph did not last long. In the winter of 1812 to 13, Captain Oliver Hazard Perry built a fleet of warships on Lake Erie. They were built of green timber cut for the purpose. They were poor vessels, but they were as good as the British vessels. In September, 1813, Perry sailed in search of the British ships. Coming up with them, he hoisted at his masthead a large blue flag with Lawrence's immortal words, Don't give up the ship, worked upon it. The battle was fiercely fought. Soon, Perry's flagship, the Lawrence, was disabled and only nine of her crew were uninjured. Rowing to another ship, Perry continued the fight. In 15 minutes more, all the British ships surrendered. The control of Lake Erie was now in American hands. The British retreated from the southern side of the lake. General Harrison occupied Detroit. He then crossed into Canada and defeated a British army on the banks of the River Times. 263. The Frigate Constitution One of the first vessels to get to sea was the Constitution, commanded by Isaac Hull. She sailed from Chesapeake Bay for New York, where she was to serve as a guard ship. On the way, she fell in with a British squadron. The Constitution sailed on with the whole British fleet in pursuit. Soon, the wind began to die away. The Constitution's sails were soaked with water to make them hold the wind better. Then, the wind gave out all together. Captain Hull lowered his boats, and the men began to tow the ship. But the British lowered their boats also. They set a great many boats to towing their fastest ship, and she began to gain on the Constitution. Then, Captain Hull found that he was sailing over shoal water, although out of sight of land, so he sent a small anchor ahead in a boat. The anchor was dropped, and men on the ship pulled in the anchor line. This was done again and again. The Constitution now began to gain on the British fleet. Then a sudden squall burst on the ships. Captain Hull saw it coming, and made every preparation take advantage of it. When the rain cleared away, the Constitution was beyond fear of pursuit. But she could not go to New York, so Captain Hull took her to Boston. The government at once ordered him to stay where he was, but before the orders reached Boston, the Constitution was far away. 264. Constitution in Guerrilli, 1812. For some time, Hull cruised about in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. One day, he sighted a British frigate, the Guerrilli, one of the ships that had chased the Constitution. But now that Hull found her alone, he steered straight for her. In 30 minutes from the firing of the first gun, the Guerrilli was a ruinous wreck. All of her masks and spars were shot away, and most of her crew were killed or wounded. The Constitution was only slightly injured and was soon ready to fight another British frigate, had there been one to fight. Indeed, the surgeons of the Constitution went on board the Guerrilli to help dress the wounds of the British seamen. The Guerrilli was a little smaller than the Constitution and had smaller guns, but the real reason for this great victory was that the American ship and the American guns were very much better handled than were the British ship and the British guns. 265. The Wasp and the Frolick, 1812. At almost the same time, the American ship Wasp captured the British Brig Frolick. The Wasp had three masts, and the Frolick had only two masts. But the two vessels were really of about the same size, as the American ship was only five feet longer than her enemy and had the lighter guns. In a few minutes after the beginning of the fight, the Frolick was a shattered hulk with only one sound man on her deck. Soon after the conflict, a British battleship came up and captured both the Wasp and her prize. The effect of these victories of the Constitution and the Wasp was tremendous. Before the war, British naval officers had called the Constitution, quote, a bundle of sticks. Now it was thought to be no longer safe for British frigates to sail in the seas alone. They must go in pairs to protect each other from old iron sides. Before long, the Constitution, now commanded by Captain Bainbridge, had captured the British frigate Java. And the frigate United States, Captain Decatur, had taken the British ship Macedonian. On the other hand, the Chesapeake was captured by the Shannon. This victory gave great satisfaction to the British, but Captain Lawrence's last words, don't give up the ship, have always been a glorious inspiration to American sailors. 266. Brown's invasion of Canada, 1814. In the first two years of the war, the American armies in New York had done nothing, but Abler men were now in command. Of these, General Jacob Brown, General McComb, Colonel Winfield Scott, and Colonel Ripley deserved to be remembered. The American plan of campaign was that Brown, with Scott and Ripley, would cross the Niagara River and invade Canada. General McComb, with a naval force under McDonough, was to hold the line of Lake Champlain. The British plan was to invade New York by way of Lake Champlain. Brown crossed the Niagara River and fought two brilliant battles at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. The latter battle was especially glorious because the Americans captured British guns and held them against repeated attacks by British veterans. In the end, however, Brown was obliged to retire. 267. McDonough's victory at Plattsburgh, 1814. General Prevost, with a fine army of veterans, marched southward from Canada while a fleet sailed up Lake Champlain. At Plattsburgh, on the western side of the lake, was General McComb, with a force of American soldiers. Anchored before the town was McDonough's fleet. Prevost attacked McComb's army and was driven back. The British fleet attacked McDonough's vessels and was destroyed. That put an end to Prevost's invasion. He retreated back to Canada as fast as he could go. 268. The British in the Chesapeake, 1814. Besides their operations on the Canadian frontier, the British tried to capture New Orleans and the cities on Chesapeake Bay. The British landed below Washington. They marched to the capital. They entered Washington. They burned the capital, the White House, and several other public buildings. They then hurried away, leaving their wounded behind them. Later on, the British attacked Baltimore and were beaten off with great loss. It was at this time that Francis Scott Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner. He was detained on board one of the British warships during the fight. Eagerly, he watched through the smoke for a glimpse of the flag over Fort McHenry at the harbor's mouth. In the morning, the flag was still there. This defeat closed the British operations on the Chesapeake. 269. The Creek War. The Creek Indians lived in Alabama. They saw with this May the spreading settlements of the Whites. The Americans were now at war. It would be a good chance to destroy them. So the Creek's fell upon the Whites and murdered about 400. General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee commanded the American Army in the Southwest. As soon as he knew that the Creek's were attacking the settlers, he gathered soldiers and followed the Indians to their stronghold. He stormed their fort and killed most of the garrison. 270. Jackson's defense of New Orleans, 1814-15. Jackson had scarcely finished this work when he learned of the coming of a great British expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi River. He at once hastened to the defense of New Orleans. Below the city, the country greatly favored the defender, for there was very little solid ground except along the river's bank. Picking out an especially narrow place, Jackson built a breastwork of cotton veils and rubbish. In front of the breastwork, he dug a deep ditch. The British rushed to the attack. Most of their generals were killed or wounded and the slaughter was terrible. Later they made another attack and were again beaten off. 271. The War on the Sea, 1814. It was only in the first year or so of the war that there was much fighting between American and British warships. After that, the American ships could not get to sea, for the British stationed whole fleets off the entrances to the principal harbors. But a few American vessels ran the blockade and did good service. For instance, Captain Charles Stewart in the Constitution captured two British ships at one time. But most of the warships that got to sea were captured sooner or later. 272. The Privateers. No British fleets could keep the privateers from leaving port. They swarmed upon the ocean and captured hundreds of British merchant men, some of them within sight of the shores of Great Britain. In all, they captured more than 2,500 British ships. They even fought the smaller warships of the enemy. 273. Treaty of Ghent, 1814. The war had hardly begun before commissioners to treat for peace were appointed by both the United States and Great Britain. But they did nothing until the failure of the 1814 campaign showed the British government that there was no hope of conquering any portion of the United States. Then the British were ready enough to make peace, and a treaty was signed at Ghent in December, 1814. This was two weeks before the British disaster at New Orleans occurred and months before the news of it reached Europe. None of the things about which the war was fought were ever mentioned in this treaty. But this did not really make much of a difference, for the British had repealed their orders as to American ships before the news of the declaration of war reached London. As for impressment, the guns of the Constitution had put an end to that. 274. The Hartford Convention, 1814. While the new commissioners were talking over the Treaty of Peace, other debaters were discussing the war at Hartford, Connecticut. These were leading New England Federalists. They thought that the government at Washington had done many things that the Constitution of the United States did not permit it to do. They drew up a set of resolutions. Some of these read like other resolutions drawn up by Jefferson and Madison in 1798. The Hartford debaters also thought that the national government had not done enough to protect the coasts of New England from British attacks. They proposed, therefore, that the taxes collected by the national government in New England should be handed over to the New England states to use for their defense. Commissioners were actually at Washington to propose this division of the national revenue when news came of Jackson's victory at New Orleans and of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The commissioners hastened home and the Republican Party regained its popularity with the voters. 275, gains of the war. The United States gained no territory after all this fighting on sea and land. It did not even gain the abolition of impressment in so many words. But what was of far greater importance, the American people began to think of itself as a nation. Americans no longer looked to France or to England as models to be followed. They became Americans. The getting of this feeling of independence and of nationality was a very great step forward. It is right, therefore, to speak of this war as the second war of independence. End of Chapter 25. Chapters 26 and 27 of a short history of the United States. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Allison Hester of Athens, Georgia. A Short History of the United States by Edward Channing. Chapter 26. The Era of Good Feeling. 1815 to 1824. 276. The Era as a Whole. The years 1815 to 24 have been called the Era of Good Feeling because there was no hard political fighting in all that time. At least, not until the last year or two. In 1816, Munro was elected president without much opposition. In 1820, he was re-elected president without any opposition, whatever. Instead of fighting over politics, the people were busily employed in bringing vast regions of the West under cultivation and in founding great manufacturing industries in the East. They were also making roads and canals to connect the western farms with the eastern cities and factories. The later part of the Era was a time of unbounded prosperity. Every now and then, some hard question would come up for discussion. Its settlement would be put off or the matter would be compromised. In these years, the Federalist Party had disappeared and the Republican Party split into factions. By 1824, the differences in the Republican Party had become so great that there was a sudden ending to the Era of Good Feeling. 277. Western Immigration During the first few years of this period, the people of the older states on the seacoast felt very poor. The ship owners could no longer make great profits. For now, there was peace in Europe and European vessels competed with American vessels. Great quantities of British goods were sent to the United States and resold at very low prices. The demand for American goods fell off. Mill owners closed their mills. Working men and women could find no work to do. The result was a great rush of immigrants from the older states on the seabird to the new settlements in the west. In the west, the immigrants could buy land from the government at a very low rate and, by working hard, could support themselves and their families. This western movement was at its height in 1817. In the years 1816 to 19, four states were admitted to the Union. These were Indiana, 1816, Mississippi, 1817, Illinois, 1818, and Alabama, 1819. Some of the immigrants even crossed the Mississippi River and settled in Missouri and Arkansas. In 1819, they asked to be admitted to the Union as the state of Missouri or given a territorial government under the name of Arkansas. The people of Maine also asked Congress to admit them to the Union as the state of Maine. 278. Opposition to the Admission of Missouri Many people in the north opposed the Admission of Missouri because the settlers of the proposed state were slaveholders. Missouri would be a slave state and these northerners did not want any more slave states. Originally, slavery had existed in all the old 13 states but every state north of Maryland had before 1819 either put an end to slavery or had adopted some plan by which slavery would gradually come to an end. Slavery had been excluded from the northwest by the famous Ordinance of 1787. In these ways, slavery had ceased to be a vital institution north of Maryland and Kentucky. Why should slavery be allowed west of the Mississippi River? Louisiana had been admitted as a slave state, 1812, but the Admission of Louisiana had been provided for in the Treaty for the Purchase of Louisiana from France. The Southerners felt as strongly on the other side. They said that their slaves were their property and they had a perfect right to take their property and settle on the land belonging to the nation. Having founded a slave state, it was only right that the state should be admitted to the Union. 279. The Missouri Compromise, 1820 When the question of the Admission of Maine and Missouri came before Congress, the Senate was equally divided between the slave states and the free states. But the majority of the House of Representatives was from the free states. The free states were growing faster than were the slave states and would probably keep on growing faster. The majority from the free states in the House, therefore, would probably keep on increasing. If the free states obtained a majority in the Senate also, the Southerners would lose all control of the government. For these reasons, the Southerners would not consent to the Admission of Maine as a free state, unless at the same time, Missouri was admitted as a slave state. After a long struggle, Maine and Missouri were both admitted, the one as a free state, the other as a slave state. But it was also agreed that all of the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri, with the single exception of the state of Missouri, should be free soil forever. This arrangement was called the Missouri Compromise. It was the work of Henry Clay. It was an event of great importance because it put off for 25 years the inevitable conflict over slavery. 280. The Florida Treaty, 1819. While this contest was going on, the United States bought of Spain a large tract of land admirably suited to Negro slavery. This was Florida. It belonged to Spain and was a refuge for all sorts of people. Runaway Negroes, fugitive Indians, smugglers, and criminals of all kinds. Once in Florida, fugitives generally were safe, but they were not always safe. For instance, in 1818, General Jackson chased some fleeing Indians over the boundary. They sought refuge in a Spanish fort, and Jackson was obliged to take the fort as well as the Indians. This exploit made the Spaniards more willing to sell Florida. The price was $5 million, but when it came to giving up the province, the Spaniards found great difficulty in keeping their promises. The treaty was made in 1819, but it was not until 1821 that Jackson, as governor of Florida, took possession of the new territory. Even then, the Spanish governor refused to hand over the record books, and Jackson had to shut him up in prison until he became more reasonable. 281. The Holy Alliance. Most of the people of the other Spanish colonies were rebelling against Spain, and there was a rebellion in Spain itself. There were rebellions in other European countries, as well as in Spain. In fact, there seemed to be a rebellious spirit nearly everywhere. This alarmed the European emperors and kings. With the exception of the British king, they joined together to put down rebellions. They called their union the Holy Alliance. They soon put the Spanish king back on his throne. Then, they thought that they would send warships and soldiers across the Atlantic Ocean to crush the rebellions in the Spanish colonies. Now, the people of the United States sympathized with the Spanish colonists in their desire for independence. They also disliked the idea of Europeans interfering in American affairs. America for Americans was the cry. It also happened that Englishmen desired the freedom of the Spanish colonists. As her subjects, Spain would not let them buy English goods. But if they were free, they could buy goods wherever they pleased. The British government, therefore, proposed that the United States and Great Britain should join in a declaration that the Spanish colonies were independent states. John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, was Munro's secretary of state. He thought that this would not be a wise course to follow because it might bring American affairs within European control. He was all the more anxious to prevent this entanglement as the Tsar of Russia was preparing to found colonies on the western coast of North America and Adams wanted a free hand to deal with him. 282, the Munro Doctrine, 1823. It was under these circumstances that President Munro sent a message to Congress. In it, he stated that the policy of the United States at was as follows. One, America is close to colonization by any European power. Two, the United States have not interfered and will not interfere in European affairs. Three, the United States regarded the extension of the system of the Holy Alliance to America as dangerous to the United States. And four, the United States would regard the interference of the Holy Alliance in American affairs as an unfriendly act. This part of the message was written by Adams. He had had a long experience in diplomacy. He used the words unfriendly act as diplomatists use them when they mean that such an unfriendly act would be a cause for war. The British government also informed the Holy Allies that their interference in American affairs would be resented. The Holy Alliance gave over all idea of crushing the Spanish colonists. And the Tsar of Russia agreed to found no colonies in the south of 54 degrees and 40 degrees north latitude. Two, 83, meaning of the Monroe Doctrine. The ideas contained in Monroe's celebrated message to Congress are always spoken of as the Monroe Doctrine. Most of these ideas were not invented by Monroe or by Adams. Many of them may be found in Washington's neutrality proclamation, in Washington's farewell address, in Jefferson's inaugural address, and in other documents. What was new in Monroe's message was the statement that European interference in American affairs would be looked upon by the United States as an unfriendly act leading to war. European kings might crush out liberty in Europe. They might divide Asia and Africa among themselves. They must not interfere in American affairs. End of Chapter 26. Chapter 27. New Parties and New Policies. From 1824 to 1829. 284. End of the Era of Good Feeling. The Era of Good Feeling came to a sudden ending in 1824. Monroe's second term as president would end in 1825. He refused to be a candidate for reelection. And thus, following the example set by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, Monroe confirmed the custom of limiting the presidential term to eight years. There was no lack of candidates to succeed him in his high office. 285. John Quincy Adams. First and foremost was John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts. He was Monroe's secretary of state and this office had been a kind of stepping stone to the presidency. Monroe had been Madison's secretary of state, Madison had been Jefferson's secretary of state, and Jefferson had been Washington's secretary of state, although he was vice president when he was chosen to the first place. John Quincy Adams was a statesman of great experience and of ability. He was a man of the highest honor and intelligence. He was nominated by the legislatures of Massachusetts and of the other New England states. 286. William H. Crawford. Besides Adams, two other members of Monroe's cabinet wished to succeed their chief. These were John C. Calhoun and William H. Crawford. Calhoun soon withdrew from the contest to accept the nomination of all the positions to the place of vice president. Crawford was from Georgia and was secretary of the treasury. As the head of that great department he controlled more appointments than all other members of the cabinet put together. The habit of using public offices to reward political friends had begun in Pennsylvania. Washington in his second term Adams and Jefferson had appointed to the office only members of their own party. Jefferson had also removed from office a few political opponents but there were great difficulties in the way of making removals. Crawford hit upon the plan of appointing officers for four years only. Congress at once fell in with the idea and passed the tenure of office act limiting appointments to four years. Crawford promptly used this new power to build up a strong political machine in the treasury department devoted to his personal advancement. He was nominated for the presidency by a congressional caucus and became the regular candidate. 287 Clay and Jackson Two men outside of the cabinet were also put forward for Monroe's high office. These were Andrew Jackson of Tennessee and Henry Clay of Kentucky. Clay and Calhoun had entered politics about the same time. They had then believed in the same policy. Calhoun had abandoned his early ideas but Clay held fast to the policy of nationalization. He still favored internal improvements at the national expense. He still favored the protective system. He was the great peacemaker and tried by means of compromises to unite all parts of the union. He loved his country and had unbounded faith in the American people. The legislatures of Kentucky and other states nominated him for the presidency. The strongest man of all the candidates was Andrew Jackson the hero of New Orleans. He had never been prominent in politics but his warlike deeds had made his name and his strength familiar to the voters especially to those of the West. He was a man of the people as none of his rivals were. He stood for democracy and the union. The legislatures of Tennessee and other states nominated Jackson for presidency. 288 Adams chosen president 1824 The election was held. The presidential electors met in their several states and cast their votes for president and vice president. The ballots were brought to Washington and were counted. No candidate for the presidency had received a majority of all the votes cast. Jackson had more votes than any other candidate. Next came Adams then Crawford and last of all Clay. The House of Representatives voting by states must choose one of the first three president. Clay, therefore, was out of the race. Clay and his friends believed in the same things that Adams and his friends believed in and had slight sympathy with the views of Jackson or of Crawford. So they joined the Adams men and chose Adams president. The Jackson men were furious. They declared that the representatives had defeated the will of the people. 289 Misfortunes of Adams Administration Adams' first mistake was the appointment of Clay as Secretary of State. It was a mistake because it gave the Jackson men a chance to assert that there had been a deal between Adams and Clay. They called Clay the Judas of the West. They said that the will of the people had been defeated by a corrupt bargain. These charges were repeated over and over again until many people really began to think there must be some reason for them. The Jackson men also most unjustly accused Adams of stealing the nation's money. The British government seized the opportunity of Adams' weak administration to close the West India ports to American shipping. 290 Early Tariffs Ever since 1789 manufacturers had been protected. The first tariff rates were very low. But the embargo act the non-intercourse law and the War of 1812 put an end to the importation of foreign goods. Capitalists invested large amounts of money in cotton mills, and iron mills. With the return of peace in 1815 British merchants flooded the American markets with cheap goods. The manufacturers appealed to Congress for more protection and Congress promptly passed a new Tariff Act 1816. This increased the duties over the earlier laws. But it did not give the manufacturers all the protection that they desired. In 1824 another law was drawn up. It raised the duties still higher. The Southerners opposed the passage of this last law, for they clearly saw that protection did them no good. But the Northerners and the Westerners were heartily in favor of the increased duties, and the law was passed. 291 The Tariff of Abominations 1828 In 1828 another presidential election was to be held. The manufacturers thought that this would be a good time to ask for even higher protective duties because the politicians would not dare to oppose the passage of the law for fear of losing votes. The Jackson men hit upon a plan by which they would seem to favor higher duties while at the same time they were really opposing them. They therefore proposed high duties on manufactured goods. This would please the Norther manufacturers. They proposed high duties on raw materials. This would please the Western producers. But they thought that the manufacturers would oppose the final passage of the bill because the high duties on raw materials would enter them very much. The bill would fail to pass. And this would please the Southern cotton growers. It was a very shrewd little plan, but it did not work. The manufacturers thought that it would be well at all events to have the high duties on manufactured goods. Perhaps they might before long secure the repeal of the duties on raw materials. The Northern members of Congress voted for the bill, and it passed. 292 Jackson elected president 1828. In the midst of all this discouragement as to foreign affairs, in this contest over the tariff, the presidential campaign of 1828 was held. Adams and Jackson were the only two candidates. Jackson was elected by a large majority of electoral votes. But Adams received only one vote less than he had received in 1824. The contest was very close in the two large states of Pennsylvania and New York. Had a few thousand more voters in those states cast their votes for Adams, the electoral votes of those states would have been given to him, and he would have been elected. It was fortunate that Jackson was chosen for a great contest between the states and the national government was coming on. It was well that a man of Jackson's commanding strength in great popularity should be at the head of the government. End of Chapter 27. Chapters 28 and 29 of a short history of the United States. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Allison Hester of Athens, Georgia. A Short History of the United States by Edward Channing. Part 10 The National Democracy 1829 to 1844 Chapter 28 The American People in 1830 293 A New Race Between the election of President Jefferson and the election of President Jackson, great changes had taken place. The old revolutionary statesmen had gone. New men had taken their places. The old sleepy life had gone. Everywhere now was a bustle and hurry. In 1800, the Federalists favored the British, and the Republicans favored the French. Now, no one seemed to care for either the British or the French. At last, the people had become Americans. The Federalist Party had disappeared. Everyone was now either a national Republican and voted for Adams, or a Democrat Republican and voted for Jackson. 294. Numbers and Area In 1800, there were only five and one half million people in the whole United States. Now, there were nearly 13 million people. And they had a very much larger country to live in. In 1800, the area of the United States was about 800,000 square miles. But Louisiana and Florida had been bought since then. Now, 1830, the area of the United States was about 2 million square miles. The population of the old states had greatly increased, especially the cities had grown. In 1800, New York City held about 60,000 people. It now held 200,000 people. But it was in the west that the greatest growth had taken place. Since 1800, Ohio, Louisiana, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri had all been admitted to the Union. 295. National Roads Steamboats were now running on the Great Lakes and on all the important rivers of the west. The first result of this new mode of transport was the separation of the west from the east. Steamboats could carry passengers and goods up and down the Mississippi in its branches more cheaply and more comfortably than people in goods could be carried on. Many persons, therefore, advised the building of a good wagon road to connect the Potomac with the Ohio. The eastern end of this great road was at Cumberland on the Potomac in Maryland. It is generally called, therefore, the Cumberland Road. It was begun at the national expense in 1811. By 1820, the road was built as far as Wheeling on the Ohio River. From that point, steamboats could steam to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, or New Orleans. Later on, the road was built farther west, as far as Illinois. Then the coming of the railroad made further building unnecessary. 296. The Erie Canal. The best way to connect one steamboat route with another was to dig a canal. The most famous of all these canals was the one connecting the Hudson River with Lake Erie called the Erie Canal. It was begun in 1817 and was completed so that a boat could pass through it in 1825. It was DeWitt Clinton who argued that such a canal would benefit New York City by bringing to it the produce of the Northwest and of Western New York. At the same time, it would benefit the farmers of those regions by bringing their produce to Tidewater cheaper than it could be brought by road through Pennsylvania. It would still further benefit the farmers by enabling them to buy their goods much cheaper as the rates of freight would be so much lower by canal than they were by road. People who did not see these things as clearly as DeWitt Clinton saw them spoke of the enterprise most sneeringly and called the canal Clinton's Big Ditch. It very soon appeared that Clinton was right. In one year, the cost of carrying a ton of grain from Lake Erie to the Hudson River fell from $100 to $15. New York City soon outstripped all its rivals and became the center of trade and money in the United States. Other canals as the Chesapeake and the Ohio Canal were marvels of skill, but they were not so favorably situated as the Erie Canal and could not compete with it successfully. 297. Early Railroads The best stone and gravel roads were always rough in places. It occurred to someone that it would be better to lay down wooden rails and then to place a rim or flange on the wagon wheels to keep them on the rails. The first road of this kind in America was built in Boston in 1807. It was a very rude affair and was only used to carry dirt from the top of a hill to the harbor. The wooden rails soon wore out so the next step was to nail strips of iron to the top of them. Long lines of railroads of this kind were soon built. Both passengers and goods could be carried on them. Some of them were built by private persons or by companies. Others were built by a town or a state. Anyone having horses and wagons with flanged wheels could use the railway payment of a small sum of money. This was a condition of affairs when the steam locomotive was invented. 298. The Steam Locomotive Steam was used to drive boats through the water. Why should not steam be used to haul wagons over a railroad? This was a very easy question to ask and a very hard one to answer. Year after year inventors worked on the problem. Suddenly, about 1830, it was solved in several places and by several men at nearly the same time. It was some years, however, before the locomotive came into general use. The early railroad trains were rude affairs. The cars were hardly more than stagecoaches with flanged wheels. They were fastened together with chains. And when the engines started or stopped, there was a terrible bumping and jolting. The smoke pipe of the engine was very tall and was hinged so that it could be let down when coming to a low bridge or a tunnel. Then the smoke and senders poured straight into the passengers faces. But these trains went faster than canal boats or steam boats. Soon the railroad began to take the first place as a means of transport. 299. Other inventions. The coming of the steam locomotive hastened the changes which one saw on every side in 1830. For some time, men had known that there was plenty of hard coal or anthracite in Pennsylvania. But it was so hard that it would not burn fashioned stoves or fireplaces. Now a stove was invented that would burn anthracite and the whole matter of housewarming was completely changed. Then means were found to make iron from ore with anthracite. The whole iron industry awoke to new life. Next, the use of gas made from coal became common in cities. The great increase in manufacturing and the great changes in modes of transport led people to crowd together in cities and towns. These inventions made it possible to feed and warm large numbers of persons gathered into small areas. The cities began to grow so fast that people could no longer live near their work or the shops. Lines of stagecoaches were established and the coaches were soon followed by horse cars which ran on iron tracks laid in the streets. 300. Progress in Letters There was also great progress in learning. The school system was constantly improved. Especially was this the case in the west where the government devoted one 36th part of the public lands to education. High schools were founded and soon normal schools were added to them. Even the colleges awoke from their long sleep. More students went to them and the methods of teaching were improved. Some slight attention, too, was given to teaching the sciences. In 1828 Noah Webster published the first edition of his Great Dictionary. Unfortunately, he tried to change the spelling of many words, but in other ways his dictionary was a great improvement. He defined words so that they could now be understood and he gave the American meaning of many words as Congress. American writers now began to make great reputations. Cooper, Irving and Bryant were already well known. They were soon joined by a wonderful set of men who speedily made America famous. These were Emerson, Lowell, Longfellow, Holmes, Hawthorne, Prescott, Motley, Bancroft and Sparks. In science, also men of Mark were beginning their labors as Pierce, Gray, Silliman and Dana. Louis Agassiz, before Long, began his wonderful lectures, which did much to make science popular. In short, Jackson's administration marks the time when American life began to take on its modern form. End of Chapter 28 Chapter 29 The Rain of Andrew Jackson 1829 to 1837 301 General Jackson Born in the backwoods of Carolina, Jackson had early crossed the Alleghenies and settled in Tennessee. Whenever trouble came to the Western people, whenever there was a need of a stout heart and an iron will, Jackson was at the front. He always did his duty well. Honest and sincere, he believed in himself and he believed in the American people. As president, he led the people in one of the stormiest periods in our history. Able men gathered about him, but he relied chiefly on the advance of a few friends who smoked their pipes with him and formed his kitchen cabinet. He seldom called a regular cabinet meeting. When he did call one, it was often merely to tell the members what he had decided to do. 302. The Spoil System Among the able men who had fought the election for Jackson were Van Buren and Marcy of New York and Buchanan of Pennsylvania. They had built up strong party machines in their states, for they saw nothing wrong in the principle that to the victors belonged the spoils of victory. So, they rewarded their party workers with offices when they won. The spoil system was now begun by the national government. Those who had worked for Jackson rushed to Washington. The hotels and boarding houses could not hold them. Some of them camped out in the parks and public squares of the capital. Removals now went merely on. Rotation in office was the cry. Before long, Jackson removed nearly 1,000 office holders and appointed political partisans in their places. 303. The North and the South The South was now a great cotton producing region. This cotton was grown by Negro slaves. The North was now a great manufacturing and commercial region. It was also a great agricultural reason. But the labor in the mills, fields and ships of the North was all free white labor. So, the United States was really split into two sections. One devoted to slavery and to a few great staples as cotton. The other devoted to free white labor and to industries of many kinds. 304. The Political Situation 1829. The South was growing richer all the time, but the North was growing richer a great deal faster than was the South. Calhoun and other Southern men thought that this difference in the rate of progress was due to the protective system. In 1828 Congress had passed a tariff that was so bad that it was called the Tariff of Abominations. The Southerners could not prevent its passage, but Calhoun wrote a petition of the constitutional doctrines in the case. This paper was adopted by the legislature of Carolina as giving its ideas. In this paper, Calhoun declared that the Constitution of the United States was a compact. Each state was a sovereign state and could annul any law passed by Congress. The protective system was unjust and unequal in operation. It would bring poverty and utter desolation to the South. The Tariff Act should be annulled by South Carolina and other Western states. 305 Webster & Hain 1830 Calhoun was Vice President and provided over the debates of the Senate, so it fell to Senator Hain of South Carolina to state Calhoun's ideas. This he did in a very able speech. To him, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts replied in the most brilliant speeches ever delivered in Congress. The Constitution Webster declared was the quote, People's Constitution, the people's government, made by the people and answerable to the people. The people have declared that this Constitution shall be the supreme law end quote. The Supreme Court of the United States alone could declare a national law to be unconstitutional. No state could do that. He ended this great speech with the memorable words quote, Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable. 306 Nullification 1832-33 In 1832, Congress passed a new Tariff Act. The South Carolinians decided to try Calhoun's weapon of nullification. They held a convention, declared the act null and void, and forbade South Carolinians to obey the law. They probably thought that Jackson would not oppose them, but they should have had no doubts on that subject. For Jackson already had proposed a toast on Jefferson's birthday. Our Federal Union, it must be preserved. He now told the Carolinians that he would enforce the laws, and he set about doing it with all his old time energy. He sent ships and soldiers to Charleston and ordered the collector of that port to collect the duties. He then asked Congress to give him greater power, and Congress passed the force bill, giving him the power he asked for. The South Carolinians, on their part, suspended the nullification ordinance, and thus avoided an armed conflict with old Hickory, as his admirers call Jackson. 307 The Compromised Tariff, 1833 The nullifiers really gained a part of the battle. For the tariff law of 1832 was repealed. In its place, Congress passed what was called the Compromised Tariff. This compromise was the work of Henry Clay, the peacemaker. Under it, the duties were to be gradually lowered, until, in 1842, they would be as low as they were by the Tariff Act of 1816. 308 The Second United States Bank Nowadays, anyone with enough money can open a national bank under the protection of the government at Washington. At this time, however, there was one great United States Bank. Its headquarters were at Philadelphia, and it had branches all over the country. Jackson, like Jefferson, had very grave doubts as to the power of the national government to establish such a bank. Its size and prosperity alarmed him. Moreover, the stockholders and managers for the most part were his political opponents. The United States Bank also interfered seriously with the operations of the state banks, some of which were managed by Jackson's friends. The latter urged him on to destroy the United States Bank, and he determined to destroy it. 309 Struggle Over the Bank Charter The charter of the bank would not come to an end until 1836, while the term for which Jackson had been elected in 1828 would come to an end in 1833. But in his first message to Congress, Jackson gave notice that he would not give up his consent to a new charter. Clay and his friends at once took up the challenge. They passed a bill rechartering the bank. Jackson vetoed the bill. The Clay men could not get enough votes to pass it over his veto. The bank question, therefore, became one of the issues of the election of 1832. Jackson was reflected by a large majority over Clay. The people were clearly on his side, and he at once set to work to destroy the bank. 310 Removal of the Deposits In those days, there was no United States Treasury building at Washington with great vaults for the storing of silver and paper money. There were no sub-treasuries in the important commercial cities. The United States Bank and its branches received the government's money on deposit and paid it out on checks signed by the proper government official. In 1833, the United States Bank had in its vaults about nine million dollars belonging to the government. Jackson directed that this money should be drawn out as required to pay the government's expenses, and that no more government should be deposited in the bank. In the future, it should be deposited in certain state banks. The banks selected were controlled by Jackson's political friends and were called the pet banks. 311 Jackson's Species Circular, 1836 The first result of the removal of the deposits was very different from what Jackson had expected. At this time, there was active speculation in western lands. Men who had a little spear money bought western lands. Those who had no money in hand borrowed money from the banks, and with it, bought western lands. Now it happened that many of the pet banks were in the west. The government's money deposited with them tempted their managers to lend money more freely. This, in turn, increased the ease with which people could speculate. Jackson saw that unless something were done to restrain this speculation, disaster would surely come. So he issued a circular to the United States Land Officers. This circular was called the Species Circular because in it, the President forbade the land officers to receive anything except gold and silver and certain certificates and payments for public lands. 312 Payment of the Debt, 1837 The national debt had now all been paid. The government was collecting more money than it could use for national purposes and it was compelled to keep on collecting more money than it could use because the compromise tariff made it impossible to reduce duties any faster than a certain amount each year. No one dared to disturb the compromise tariff because to do so would bring on a most bitter political fight. The government had more money in the pet banks than was really safe. It could not deposit more with them. 313 Distribution of the Surplus 1837 A curious plan was now hit upon. It was to loan the surplus revenues to the states in proportion to their electoral votes. Three payments were made to the states. Then the panic of 1837 came and the government had to borrow money to pay its own necessary expenses. Before this occurred, however, Jackson was no longer President and his place was Martin Van Buren, his Secretary of State who had been chosen President in November 1836. End of Chapter 29 Chapter 30 and 31 of A Short History of the United States. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Allison Hester of Athens, Georgia. A Short History of the United States by Edward Channing Chapter 30 Democrats and Wigs 1837 to 1844 314 The Panic of 1837 The Panic was due directly to Jackson's interference with the banks to his species circular and to the distribution of the surplus. It happened in this way. When the species circular was issued, people who held paper money at once went to the banks to get gold and silver in exchange for it to pay for the lands bought of the government. The government, on its part, drew out money from the banks to pay the state their share of the surplus. The banks were obliged to sell their property and demand payment of money due them. People who owed money to the banks were obliged to sell their property to pay the banks. So everyone wanted to sell and few wanted to buy. Prices of everything went down with a rush. People felt so poor they couldn't even buy new clothes. The mills and mines were closed and the banks suspended payments. Thousands of working men and women were thrown out of work. They could not even buy food for themselves or their families. Terrible bread riots took place. After a time, people began to pluck up their courage. But it was a long time before that good times came again. 315 The Independent Treasury System What should be done with the government's money? No one could think of depositing it with the state banks. Clay and his friends thought the best thing to do would be to establish a new United States bank. But Van Buren was opposed to that. His plan, in short, was to build vaults for storing money in Washington and in the leading cities. The main storehouse or treasury was to be in Washington. Subordinate storehouses were to be established in the other cities. To these sub-treasuries, the collectors of customs would pay the money collected by them. In this way, the government would become independent of the general business affairs of the country. In 1840, Congress passed an act for putting this plan into effect. But before it was in working order, Van Buren was no longer president. 316 Democrats and Whigs In the era of good feeling, there was but one party, the Republican Party. In the confused times of 1824, the several sections of the party took the names of their party leaders. The Adams men, the Jackson men, the Clay men, and so on. Soon, the Adams men and the Clay men began to act together and to call themselves national Republicans. They did because they wished to build up the nation's resources at the expense of the nation. The Jackson men called themselves Democrat Republicans because they upheld the rights of the people. Before long, they dropped the word Republican and called themselves simply Democrats. The National Republicans dropped the whole of their name and took that of the great English liberal party, the Whigs. This they did because they favored reform. 317 Election of 1840 General William Henry Harrison was the son of Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. General Harrison had moved to the West and had won distinction at Tipa Canoe and also in the War of 1812. The Whigs nominated him in 1836, but he was beaten. They now renominated him for president with John Tyler of Virginia as candidate for vice president. Van Buren had made a good president, but his term of office was associated with panic and hard times. He was a rich man and gave great parties. Plainly, he was not a quote man of the people as was Harrison. A Democratic orator sneered at Harrison and said all he wanted was a log cabin of his own and a jug of cider. The Whigs eagerly seized on this description. They built log cabins at the street corners and dragged through the streets, log cabins on great wagons. They held immense open air meetings at which people sang songs of Tipa Canoe and Tyler too. Harrison and Tyler received nearly all the electoral votes and were chosen president and vice president. 318. Death of Harrison 1841. The People's President was inaugurated on March 4, 1841 for the first time since the establishment of the spoiled system. A new party came into control of the government. Thousands of office seekers thronged to Washington. They even slept in out of the way corners of the White House. Day after day from morning till night, they pressed their claims on Harrison. One morning early before the office seekers were a stir, he went out for a walk. He caught cold and died suddenly, just one month after his inauguration. John Tyler at once became president. 319. Tyler and the Wigs President Tyler was not a wig like Harrison or Clay, nor was he a Democrat like Jackson. He was a Democrat who did not like Jackson's ideas. As a president he proved to be anything but a wig. He was willing to sign a bill to repeal the Independent Treasury Act. For that was a Democratic measure he had not liked. But he refused to sign a bill to establish a new Bank of the United States. Without either a bank or a Treasury, it was well nigh impossible to carry on the business of the government. But it was carried on in one way or another. Tyler was willing to sign a new Tariff Act and one was passed in 1842. This was possible as the Compromised Tariff came to an end that year. 320. Treaty with Great Britain 1842 Perhaps the most important event of Tyler's administration was the signing of the Treaty of 1842 with Great Britain. Ever since the Treaty of Peace in 1783 there had been a dispute over the North Eastern boundary of Maine. If the boundary had been run according to the plain meaning of the Treaty of Peace the people of Upper Canada would have found it almost impossible to reach New Brunswick or Nova Scotia in winter. At that time of the year the St. Lawrence River is frozen over and the true northern boundary of Maine ran so near to the St. Lawrence that it was difficult to build a road which would be wholly in British territory. So the British had tried in every way to avoid settling the matter. It was now arranged that the United States should have a little piece of Canada north of Vermont and New York and should give up the extreme country. It was also agreed that criminals escaping from one country to the other should be returned. A still further agreement was made for checking the slave trade from the coast of western Africa. 321. The Electric Telegraph Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Henry made great discoveries in electricity but Samuel F. B. Morris was the first to use electricity in a practical way. Morris found that if a man at one end of a line of wire pressed down a key electricity would be made at the same moment to press down another key at the other end of the wire. Moreover, the key at the farther end of the line could be arranged as to make an impression on a piece of paper that was slowly drawn under it by clockwork. Now, if the man at one end of the line held his key down for only an instant this impression would look like a dot. If he held it down longer it would look like a short dash. Morris combined these dots and dashes into an alphabet. For instance, one dash meant the letter T and so on. For a time people only laughed at Morris but at length Congress gave him enough money to build a line from Baltimore to Washington. It was opened in 1844 and proved to be a success from the beginning. Other lines were soon built and the Morris system was still in use. The telegraph made it possible to operate long lines of railroad as all the trains could be managed from one office so that they would not run into one another. It also made it possible to communicate with people afar off and get an answer in an hour or so. For both these reasons the telegraph was very important and with the railroads did much to unite the people of different portions of the country. 322 McCormick Reaper Every great staple depends for its production on some particular tool. For instance cotton was of slight importance until the invention of the cotton gin made it possible to cheaply separate the seed from the fiber. The success of wheat growing depended upon the ability to quickly harvest the crop. Wheat must be allowed to stand until it is fully ripened. Then it must be quickly reaped and stored away out of the reach of the rain and wet. For a few weeks in each year there was a great demand for labor on the wheat farms and there was little labor to be had. Cyrus H. McCormick solved this problem for the wheat growers by inventing a horse reaper. The invention was made in 1831 but it was not until 1845 that the reaper came into general use. By 1855 the use of the horse reaper was adding every year $55 million to the wealth of the country. Each year its use moved the fringe of civilization 50 miles farther west. Without harvesting machinery the rapid settlement of the west would have been impossible. And had not the west been rapidly settled by free whites the whole history of the country between 1845 and 1865 would have been very different from what it has been. The influence of the horse reaper on our political history therefore is as important as the influence of the steam locomotive or of the cotton gin. End of Chapter 30 Section 6 Chapter 31 Section 6 Slavery in the Territories 1844-1859 Chapter 31 Beginning of the Anti-Slavery Agitation 323 Growth of Slavery in the South South of Pennsylvania and of the Ohio River slavery had increased greatly since 1787. Washington, Jefferson, Henry and other great Virginians were opposed to the slave system but they could find no way to end it even in Virginia. The South Carolinians and Georgians fought every proposition to limit slavery. They even refused to come into the Union unless they were given representation in Congress for a portion at least of their slaves. And in the first Congress of the Constitution, they opposed bitterly every proposal to limit slavery. Then came Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. That at once made slave labor vastly more profitable in the cotton states and put an end to all hopes of peaceful emancipation in the South. 324 Rise of the Abolitionists About 1830 a new movement in favor of the Negroes began. Some persons in the North as, for example, William Ellery Channing proposed that slaves should be set free and their owners paid for their loss. They suggested that the money received from the sale of the public lands might be used in this way but nothing came of these suggestions. Soon, however, William Lloyd Garrison began at Boston, the publication of a paper called The Liberator. He wished for complete abolition without payment. For a time he labored almost alone. Then slowly others came to his aid and the Anti-Slavery Society was founded. 325 Opposition to the Abolitionists It must not be thought that the abolitionists were not opposed. They were most vigorously opposed. Very few northern men wished to have slavery reestablished in the North, but very many northern men objected to the anti-slavery agitation because they thought it would injure business. Some persons even argued that anti-slavery movement would bring about the destruction of the union. In this idea there was a good deal of truth for Garrison grew more and more outspoken. He condemned the union with slave holders and wished to break down the Constitution because it permitted slavery. There were anti- abolitionist riots in New York, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. In Boston the rioters seized Garrison and dragged him about the streets. 326 Slave Rebellion in Virginia 1831 At about the time that Garrison established the liberator at Boston a slave rebellion broke out in Virginia. The rebels were led by a slave named Nat Turner and the rebellion is often called Nat Turner's Rebellion. It was a very small affair that was actually put down. But the Southerners were alarmed because they felt that the northern anti-slavery agitation would surely lead to more rebellions. They called upon the government to forbid the sending of the liberator and similar incendiary publications through the mails. 327 The Right of Petition One of the most sacred rites of freedom is the right to petition for redress of grievances. In the old colonial states even to listen to petitions presented by the colonists. But the First Amendment to the Constitution forbade Congress to make any law to prevent citizens of the United States from petitioning. John Quincy Adams once president was now a member of the House of Representatives. In 1836 he presented petition after petition praying Congress to forbid slavery in the District of Columbia. Southerners, like Calhoun thought these petitions were insulting to southern slaveholders. Congress could not prevent the anti-slavery people petitioning. They could prevent the petitions being read when presented. This they did by passing gag resolutions. Adams protested against these resolutions as an infringement on the rights of his consultants. But the resolutions were passed. Petitions now came pouring into Congress. Adams even presented one from some Negro slaves. 328. Change in Northern Sentiment All these happenings brought about a great change of sentiment in the North. Many people who cared little about Negro slaves cared a great deal about the freedom of press and the right of petition. Many of these did not sympathize with the abolitionists. But they wished that some limit might be set to the extension of slavery. At the same time the Southerners were uniting to resist all attempts to interfere with slavery. They were even determined to add new slave territory to the United States. End of Chapter 31