Chapter XIII: Part 13

=231. Coal and Iron.= Next to the great farm crops, coal and iron are the most valuable products of our country. The coal that is mined in one year is worth five times as much as the gold and silver combined. Our iron mines yield as much wealth in one year as the gold mines do in three. Gold and silver are luxuries without which we could get along, but our great factories, railroads, and steamship lines could not exist without an abundance of iron and coal.

A hundred years ago there was almost no coal mined in this country. Now we use more of it than any other land, and almost a million men make a living by mining it.

[Sidenote: =Hard coal in Pennsylvania=]

[Sidenote: =Factories need coal=]

At first most of the coal produced was the hard anthracite of eastern Pennsylvania. But this hard coal is found only in one small section of Pennsylvania, whereas great beds of soft coal stretch from Pennsylvania west to Washington. At present there is far more soft coal used than anthracite. Pennsylvania is the leading state in the production of both hard and soft coal, but West Virginia, Illinois, and Ohio are also great coal states. Generally, where there are productive coal mines, factories have been built, because most of them need a great deal of coal for fuel.

_From a photograph_]

[Sidenote: =Largest iron-ore deposits in the world=]

Iron was first worked by the colonists in the bogs of New England. Iron mining, however, did not become a great industry until the latter part of the last century. In that period the great iron "ranges" of Lake Superior were opened up. These are the largest deposits of iron ore in the world.

[Sidenote: =Carried to the smelters=]

Most of the ore lies in Minnesota. Here, far up in the northern woods, thousands of men are blasting or digging out the red and rusty ore. Huge steam shovels load a car in a few minutes, and in a short while a trainload of ore is on its way to Duluth or Superior. From there it is carried by steamer east, most likely to one of the Ohio towns on Lake Erie. Here much of the ore is again loaded into cars and hauled to the Pittsburgh region, there to be smelted.

[Sidenote: =Coal and iron support great industries=]

Pittsburgh has become the greatest iron and steel center of America. Enormous quantities of coal are mined here and used for smelting the iron ore that is shipped in. More people of western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio make a living by mining coal and making steel and iron than anywhere else in America. Great blast furnaces melt the iron ore. Steel works turn out huge quantities of rail and sheet steel. Foundries make cast-iron products of all kinds. Vast shops are busily engaged in producing locomotives and machines of endless variety. Everywhere in this region are smoking chimneys and busy industrial plants, all supported by coal and iron. The southern states, Alabama, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee, also contain rich stores of coal and iron. These resources were little used during slavery days. Now, however, the southern states are digging coal for use in their great factories and cotton mills, or sending it abroad. Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the great coal and iron centers of the United States.

SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL

=The Leading Facts.= _1._ The toilers in forest, mine, and factory
contributed to the development of our land. _2._ Cotton is grown
in all the southern states and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
_3._ A valuable oil is made from the cotton seed. _4._ The climate
west of the Mississippi best suited to the raising of wheat.
_5._ The work of cultivating and harvesting is done by machines.
_6._ Wheat is sent to the flour mills, the largest of which are
in Minneapolis. _7._ Exports of wheat decreasing. _8._ Texas and
Iowa the leading cattle-raising states. _9._ Cattle from the
ranches are fed on corn in the corn states, principally Iowa and
Illinois. _10._ The refrigerator car permitted the shipment of
meat to all the world. _11._ Coal and iron mined in America worth
many times more than the gold and silver. _12._ Hard coal mined in
Pennsylvania. _13._ The Lake Superior iron ranges the greatest in
the world. _14._ Pittsburgh is the greatest iron and steel center
of America.

=Study Questions.= _1._ Describe the process of preparing cotton
for the market. _2._ What is done with the cotton seed? _3._ What
is the South preparing to do with the cotton crop? _4._ Where is
the wheat belt of America? _5._ How is the wheat cultivated and
harvested? _6._ Describe the progress of the wheat from the field
to its use as food. _7._ What are the leading cattle-raising
states? _8._ Where and how are the herds fattened? _9._ What was
the effect of the invention of the refrigerator car? _10._ How does
the value of coal and iron mined in America compare with the gold
and silver? _11._ Where is anthracite or hard coal mined? _12._
Where was iron first mined? _13._ Where is the largest deposit
in the world? _14._ Where is the great iron and steel center of
America? _15._ Give a list of all the things you can think of that
are made out of iron.

=Suggested Readings.= INDUSTRIES: Fairbanks, _The Western United
States_, 215-290; Brooks, _The Story of Cotton_; Shillig, _The Four
Wonders (Cotton, Wool, Linen, and Silk)_; Brooks, _The Story of
Corn_.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD WAR

EARLY YEARS OF THE WAR

[Sidenote: =The hero of the World War=]

=232. A War of All the People.= We have been studying in this history the lives of America's greatest men and women, and the ways they have served their country. But in the last great part of American history, the World War, what counted most was the loyalty of every one of the people to a free government, and their willingness to fight and work unitedly for its safety. The plain, everyday American is our hero in this chapter.

The war was so big that if each citizen had not done his bit, Germany might have conquered. The work of shipping boards and directors of fuel supply was less important than the work done by ordinary people. Much was done to win the war in the homes of each boy and girl in the United States as well as on the battlefields of France. Every member of the family found things he could do without to help buy more Liberty bonds. Boy Scouts sold bonds and thrift stamps. Girls worked to get food-card pledges. Mothers planned the meals carefully to save the wheat, meat, and sugar that had to be sent across to our army. Brothers and fathers had to answer the draft call and go to training camps if necessary. Not only must food and money, gasoline and coal, be saved, but everyone who could not fight overseas was expected to do some useful work.

_In the "Food Will Win the War" campaign posters urged all school children to make gardens_]

With one hundred million people in the country, we might think it would not make any difference if we let someone else do our part. But this was not the spirit of America. For the most part, each person himself felt that this was _his_ war, fought for _his_ rights and for _his_ aims. And because for the most part each person acted as if success depended on him, Europe was amazed at America's swiftness in getting ready to fight.

[Sidenote: =America by tradition aloof=]

The United States did not decide to enter this war until it had been going on nearly three years, for its people had come from nations fighting on opposite sides. Besides, war had always been a common happening in Europe, and the United States had always tried to keep its hands free. Washington and Jefferson and later Monroe had advised that we should only be "interested spectators" of quarrels abroad.

[Sidenote: =The powers involved=]

=233. A World at Arms.= The outbreak of the war surprised the world by its suddenness. The heir to the throne of Austria, Archduke Ferdinand, was murdered in June, 1914. Austria blamed Serbia for the murder. When Serbia would not agree to all that was demanded of her, Austria at once declared war. The largest nations of Europe were united in two groups. Germany took up Austria's quarrel; Russia, France, and England combined to oppose Germany. Italy was bound to defend Germany and Austria if they should be attacked, but now believed they were the attacking nations, and later came in against them. Bulgaria and Turkey threw in their lot with Germany and Austria, these four nations forming the Central Powers, and Japan and Roumania with the Allies, as the nations opposing them were called.

[Sidenote: =Invasion of Belgium=]

Germany's first act was to rush her troops across the borders of Belgium, straight toward Paris. Belgium, of course, was too small a state to stand against the armies of her stronger neighbors. On this account the great nations of western Europe had agreed never to invade Belgium, and now England felt bound to go to her defense.

[Sidenote: =Events at sea=]

British, French, and Belgian soldiers, fighting in whatever order they could, checked the on-coming masses of Germans. The Allies stopped them at the Battle of the Marne, far within France. On the sea England's mighty navy quickly put an end to all German shipping. She kept the German navy from venturing even into the North Sea. But German submarines could not be so easily blocked up, and slipped out and sunk Allied vessels.

[Sidenote: =Opinion favors the Allies=]

=234. The American Government Neutral.= When Germany first attacked Belgium, some people believed that the United States should break off relations with her at once. Our government declared itself neutral. President Wilson asked the people to be friendly in their dealings with all the nations at war. But Germany's headlong haste in declaring war, and her methods of waging it made most Americans anxious for the success of the Allies.

[Sidenote: =Germany protests=]

The European countries were too busy fighting to raise all the food or forge all the guns their armies needed. They were producing these things on a very great scale, but had to buy vast quantities besides. The United States was the country best able to supply them. The great steel factories of the country worked night and day making shells, tanks, and war material of all kinds. Since England controlled the seas, everything we made went to the Allies. Germany protested strongly against our supplying her enemies with the means to fight her. But America, not being at war, had a right to trade with all countries. To give up this right would have been to take sides with Germany. American merchants were willing to manufacture goods for Germany, but she could not send ships to get them.

=235. Disputes with England and Germany.= Our government had a just cause of complaint against England. Her acts were not always strictly lawful. She stopped our ships on the high seas and searched them, destroying mail which she thought was intended for Germany. When the United States objected, she promised to make good all losses.

[Sidenote: =The Lusitania=]

Germany, on the other hand, not only destroyed American goods but American lives. One of the two largest passenger ships ever built, the _Lusitania_, was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915. Over one hundred Americans went down. Again there was a great cry that Germany should be punished. But President Wilson made every possible effort for peace. He gave Germany a chance to prove that she did not mean to continue such lawlessness. Finally Germany promised to take Americans off the ships to be sunk. In spite of her pledge Germany failed to change her methods. New notes protesting and more ships sunk was the order of things for almost two years.

[Sidenote: =A peace-loving nation=]

President Wilson was severely criticized for this "warfare of notes." But many people were not yet convinced that this was different from other European wars. Otherwise Congress, which like the President is the servant of the people, might have declared war sooner. The country was peace-loving, and far away from roaring guns and ruined towns of Europe. In a way it is to the credit of the American people that they were slow to believe in the world-wide plots of the Kaiser, and the reported cruelty of his soldiers.

[Sidenote: =United support of war essential=]

=236. The Need of a United Nation.= President Wilson sought to be a true public servant, by listening to the opinions of people throughout the land. He did not try to lead the nation into war while the feelings of the people were still divided. A divided people could have done little in this gigantic war.

His training made him able to understand the temper of the American people well. He was a student of history, and the author of well-known books on the American government.

[Sidenote: =Wilson's boyhood=]

President Wilson's boyhood was much like that of any other boy. In his classes he was neither brilliant nor slow. He took part in all regular school sports, and at Davidson College once saved the day for his team in baseball. Later at Princeton and Johns Hopkins, two of the most famous eastern universities, he studied history and economics. At the age of twenty-three he began a book called _Congressional Government_, which shows his command of words and thorough knowledge of his subject.

[Sidenote: =Governor of New Jersey=]

He had tried practicing law, but did not make a success of it and decided to be a teacher. In this he is like many other Americans who have failed in their first undertaking, and have later been successful in a different line. He taught first at Bryn Mawr, a woman's college near Philadelphia, then at Wesleyan, the old Methodist university, then at Princeton. "Princeton, Trenton, Washington"--Wilson's career has been jokingly summed up, for he was in turn chosen president of Princeton, governor of New Jersey, whose capital Trenton is, and President of the United States. On the whole, his record at Princeton and Trenton, and as President during his first term, was that of a liberal and fearless chief. The elections of 1916 came at a critical time and President Wilson was reëlected partly because "he kept us out of war." Banners with this motto on them were largely used in the campaign. The American nation did not have that "warlike spirit" of loving war for war's sake which the Kaiser boasted of in his people.

[Sidenote: =A Mexican Crisis=]

In 1913 Mexico had been so upset that it looked as though the United States might be drawn into a clash with her. President Wilson avoided this except when our soldiers landed at Vera Cruz for a short time. Later General John J. Pershing was sent down to Mexico to punish Villa and his outlaw bands. He killed many of Villa's followers, but the wily old fox himself escaped.

[Sidenote: =Germany's lawless acts=]

After the _Lusitania_ was sunk, the submarine warfare grew more widespread and reckless month by month. In January, 1917, Germany openly declared that in the future she would not limit this warfare by any rules whatever. She aimed to cut off all supplies from Great Britain and to starve her people. She gave America one little port among the British Isles where the United States might send her passengers and commerce. Secret agents of the Central Powers had been blowing up factories in the United States, and purchasing newspapers to defend the German cause. Their treacherous acts had already caused President Wilson to dismiss the German ambassador.

Germany's statement that hereafter her submarines would know no law at last proved to all the nation that America could not honorably remain out of the war.

AMERICA ENTERS TO WIN

[Sidenote: =Loans to the Allies=]

=237. Congress Votes Billions.= Congress voted billions of money to be spent in various ways, and President Wilson loaned millions of dollars to England, France, and Italy. They in turn sent great men to talk with those who were managing our war preparations.

Never did a nation given to peace turn so quickly to war. Thousands of Americans in Europe had already been taking part for years. Some had joined the Canadian army or the Lafayette Squadron, part of the French air service. Others were working under the Red Cross or the American Committee for the Relief of Belgium.

[Sidenote: =Hoover as food administrator=]

Other measures necessary to "mobilize" the nation were quickly passed. The railroads were put under the control of a director-general of railroads, who ran them first of all in the service of the army. A fuel administrator decided what factories and businesses were most necessary in the war and in the life of the nation. Others had to limit their use of coal, or to close down entirely for a short time. Herbert Hoover, head of the great committee which had charge of feeding the starving people of Belgium, was made food administrator. On one hand, he decided how much food whole nations could buy of us. On the other, he helped American housewives plan their daily meals to save the wheat, meat, and fat that were needed for the soldiers, because food would "win the war."

[Sidenote: =An army of millions=]

=238. The Selective Draft.= Millions of soldiers would have been America's share of the Allied fighting forces if the war had gone on longer. Congress decided that a "Selective Draft" would be the most fair and just method of raising these millions. All men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty, and later between nineteen and forty-five, had to be examined by "Draft Boards," and the proper number selected.

[Sidenote: =Great training camps built=]

Immense training camps were built, with railroad lines, electric light and water systems, and all the needs of a modern city. Many of these camps sprang up in a few months, ready to take care of fifty thousand men apiece.

=239. The War's Nameless Heroes.= All these great preparations at home were more businesslike than they were stirring and warlike. They meant a great change in the life of the whole nation. Workers were shifted from all kinds of small, unimportant peace-time tasks to a few gigantic businesses on which the success of the war depended. All the efforts of the nation were centered on saving goods, time, and money, and producing goods to carry on the war.

[Sidenote: =Not a war of great names=]

The "home front" did not give great honors to those who held it. But the war was fought to preserve the rights of free citizens, and it had the nearly united support of a whole people. There are few famous names in the fighting abroad, and few, too, at home. It was a war in which the average man was the hero. He did not expect medals for doing his duty in battle, or a high salary for doing his duty at home. But he did it, and unbelievable deeds were accomplished--fleets built, factories multiplied, waste lands planted, two million men sent across the seas, and the war brought to a swift end.

[Sidenote: =The Burial of an "Unknown Warrior"=]

England had a great state funeral not long ago. It rivaled in ceremony the honors paid to dead queens and kings. Throngs followed the great procession to Westminster Abbey, where England's famous dead of all time are buried. A tablet was placed above the tomb of a hero whom a nation united to give its highest honors. The name on that tablet was "To an Unknown Warrior." In America, too, the deeds of the great number, in battle or at home, will always be nameless.

[Sidenote: =The spirit of heroism needed in peace=]

If each person, instead of looking straight ahead at the task to be done, had looked to see who else could do it, America's war program would have failed. It has been said that in a great nation any one person, by himself, is lost, and does not count. The chapter in American history just ended proves that when his country is in danger, each citizen can and must act as if the result depended on him. This spirit of patriotism among millions of those whom history will call nameless heroes brought victory in the war, and if it is still followed in peace, will bring "victories no less renowned."

[Sidenote: =An unparalleled war=]

=240. The World's Greatest War.= The war of 1914-1918 is the greatest history has ever known, because of the number of nations in it, the number of lives lost, the cost in goods and money, and the changes it has made among nations.

[Sidenote: =A record in shipbuilding=]

Its size is too vast for any one mind to picture it fully. The front-line trenches, with all their turns and twists, were six hundred miles long, nearly equal to the straight distance from Philadelphia to Chicago. Mountains of material had to be sent across to keep our soldiers well fed and warmly clothed, and furnished with the cannon and shells they must have to meet the enemy. Only about two out of three men in the army could fight, for the third man had to keep these mammoth quantities of supplies steadily moving toward the front. Ships were the thing our government needed most, since it was fighting so far away from home. American shipyards grew so rapidly that they broke all records for number of ships launched and swiftness in building them. The United States soon led the world in shipbuilding for this war.

The War Department was so anxious to keep our men warm and comfortable that it bought up all the wool in the country. The army had to have thirty-five million more pairs of woolen socks than were made for the whole nation in 1914. It used more woolen blankets in one year than the one hundred million people in the United States buy in two ordinary years.

[Sidenote: =Attacks carefully planned=]

=241. A War of Science.= Every movement in the war had to be planned as exactly as possible. This was a war of science, rather than a war of dashing adventure, as those in the past had been. Before attacks were made on the enemy, a barrage, or curtain-like rain of shells, was turned on his lines. This "curtain of fire" moved forward at a fixed rate, and the men walked behind it. They had strict orders to go only so many yards a minute, or their own guns would kill them.

[Sidenote: =Use of poison gas=]

Poison gas was one of the new weapons of this war. It caused almost one-third of our losses in 1918. Science produced new gases so rapidly that inventors had to be continually making new gas masks to strain out the deadly fumes. Over thirty kinds of gas were used during the war.

No one commander could be present at once on every part of the hundreds of miles of battle-lines, or even a small part of them. The war had to be carried on largely by telephone. The Americans strung one hundred thousand miles of wire in France.

[Sidenote: =Pershing trained for his work=]

=242. Pershing Heads the Army.= The youngest of American generals, John Joseph Pershing, was put at the head of the American forces. The choice of Pershing was hailed everywhere as a wise one. A war so immense and mechanical needed a general who had studied the art of war thoroughly, as Pershing had. He had seen much actual fighting, and was the only American general who had commanded a division in actual war. He carried with him the love and respect of all national guardsmen. They would have followed him anywhere he wished to lead.

We have already heard how he had routed Villa's bandits in Mexico. He had also led a charge of colored troops against the Spaniards in Cuba, and had conquered a powerful savage tribe in the Philippines. Before he was sent to Mexico he had been governor of a province in the Philippines for four years.

[Sidenote: =Fights squarely=]

=243. A Boy Who Was Made of Fighting Stuff.= As a boy, Pershing was brave and modest, with the ability to stay by a hard task until he finished it. John was a hardy, active boy. He played at mimic war and attended school. He played "hookey," and got into fights with his fellows, but he was square. One day the father saw the signs of battle-torn clothes and a bruised face. "Been fighting? Never let any boy say that he has licked you," was the father's remark. John had expected a whipping.

_From a Photograph by Clinedinst_

JOHN J. PERSHING]

At day school he was a plodder. But he did win a prize, a nicely bound volume of the _Life of Washington_. This was offered by the president of the school board. John's mother was there. The children clapped and called for a speech. "I'm sorry you didn't all win a prize. I'm going to grow up like Washington," he said.

[Sidenote: =Studies at West Point=]

In the 70's, when times were bad, John had to help earn the family living, and he did it by teaching some of the hardest schools in the district. He took the examinations for West Point when he was twenty, and defeated his friend. "I'm sorry you could not win too," he said. At the end of his first year at West Point he was made class leader, a position won only by hard study.

[Sidenote: =Made a general by Roosevelt=]

After he graduated from West Point, honors and promotions came fast. Roosevelt had passed by eight hundred and sixty-two older officers to make him a brigadier general. At the beginning of the war he was major general, and later Congress promoted him to the full rank of general, a very rare honor, and the highest in its power to give.

[Sidenote: =Arrival in France=]

When Pershing, with a few officers and engineers first landed in France the news spread quickly. "The Americans have come." Their arrival meant that the United States would soon take part in the fighting in earnest. New life and fresh resolution came into the hearts of the war-tired veterans of France.

[Sidenote: =Germany's last great effort=]

=244. The Great Danger in 1918.= Russia had fought bravely for the Allies at the beginning of the war, but about the time the United States entered, a revolution drove the Czar from his throne. Russia was so upset by the revolution that after a year it gave up trying to keep its army at the front, and made peace with Germany. Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers were thus left free to attack the Allies in the west. Germany thought that if she could succeed in taking Paris before many Americans arrived in the trenches, the war would be won. It was her last chance to win.

THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR

[Sidenote: =Need of a united front=]

=245. Foch the Allied Supreme Commander.= Before the spring of 1918 each of the Allied armies had been acting on its own plan. The places where the trenches of two armies came together were, of course, the weakest, and were favorite points for German attacks. It was now decided to have one commander for all the Allied forces. Foch, a French general highly skilled in the science of war, was chosen for this great task.

[Sidenote: =The German advance=]

=246. The Crisis of the War.= In their great drive the Germans always struck at the weakest point. They found this where the French and English armies were joined. They drove forward in mass formations or solid blocks. Thousands upon thousands were mowed down by the English and French guns, but on they came. Back, back the Allies fell, day after day, until the Germans reached the Marne again. The world held its breath. Each day the Germans were expected to break through, but each day the Allied troops retreated. Slowly they moved, fighting like demons and always holding at vital points.

[Sidenote: =American troops scattered along the front=]

America was eager to be of the greatest possible help in the grave danger to Paris and France. The Allies were short of reserves. General Pershing, putting his own honors second in the same generous way he had done at school, decided to scatter the Yankee troops all through the French and British lines, wherever they were needed.

[Sidenote: =Rushing troops to France=]

Germany had sneered at our nation because she thought our people were so devoted to dollars that we could not or would not fight. Now she began to learn how high the war spirit flamed in the soldiers we were preparing to send by millions to France. By the help of England's great fleet, we were able to send over more than a million men by the summer of 1918. The American troops then formed a united army, fighting under their own flag. They took over a hundred miles of the front, relieving tired Frenchmen. Another million arrived by November.

The Allied command gave Pershing command of the region between the Aisne and the Marne. The Germans thought the Americans untried, and expected to break through by using their best "shock troops."

[Sidenote: =The battle of Château-Thierry=]

In July the Germans struck a terrific blow at Château-Thierry. Without waiting for artillery, Pershing struck, and in six hours had captured as much ground as the Germans had spent six days in getting possession of. The Americans were advancing with great rapidity. The Germans were dumbfounded. They did not have time to remove their supplies.

[Sidenote: =The turning point of the war=]

By the brilliant generalship of Foch the great German attack was stopped in the middle of July, and after that it was the German army which was in danger.

Now Pershing got ready for St. Mihiel. He drew from the French and English ranks the Americans he had sent to learn war from these veterans. Now he also had tried men. St. Mihiel was important. It threatened the famous battlefield of Verdun and protected the great German fortified city of Metz.

[Sidenote: =American victory at St. Mihiel=]

=247. Germans Cry "Kamerad."= On September 12 the Americans burst forth in a rain of shot and shell such as the Germans had seldom before witnessed. The fierce battle raged for four hours. The Americans then charged across the river yelling like demons. The German soldiers had been taught to despise these "green American troops." But these same Germans now cried "Kamerad" in dead earnest. Five miles of ground were gained before these "green" Americans halted.

The next day our artillery opened fire at 1:30 in the morning. Before the day was done, more than one hundred and fifty square miles of German territory were in our possession.

Both the French and the English were busy. The French were driving at the center of the great line stretching from the North Sea to Switzerland. The English were driving the Germans out of the Belgian cities.

[Sidenote: =The greatest American battle=]

=248. Battle of the Argonne.= Many large battles were fought by the Americans, besides the smaller clashes that occurred. The greatest one was in the Argonne Forest. This was a half-mountainous, woody country, much of which was covered with underbrush. The Germans had fortified it strongly. Besides their great cannon, they had filled the Argonne with nests of machine guns, placing them in gullies and behind trees, stumps, and rocks, for protection. Here too, they had their best fighting men.

The battle started on September 26. This was the most bloody fighting of the war. Companies and regiments were cut off and lost for a time. The Germans were bound to hold the forest, and the Americans were bound to win it. Gradually the Germans were forced back, thousands were captured, and thousands more were killed. They could not stem the American tide. After many days of hard fighting in which the Americans proved themselves fully equal to the best shock troops of the German army, victory fell to the better army.

[Sidenote: =Allied victories on all fronts=]

The storm was just breaking loose on Germany. The combined navy of the Allies was choking out her life in spite of the submarines. The English in Asia were capturing the strongholds of the Turks, and the Italians now were gaining against the Austrians. Calamities came fast. Bulgaria, an ally of Germany, surrendered. Turkey followed. The hungry people of Germany began to plot revolution against their rulers, and the armies were retreating toward the Rhine.

=249. The Kaiser Runs Away.= Seeing that his cause was lost, the German ruler, the Kaiser, gave up his throne and fled to Holland. The German generals agreed to an armistice November 11, 1918, by which they gave up much fighting material and moved back many miles across the Rhine into their own land.

[Sidenote: =The bravery of ordinary men=]

=250. American Soldiers in Battle.= The American doughboys were splendid fighters. The officers had to check the rash daring of their men, they did not need to urge them forward. The Americans were drilled in methods of attack rather than defense, from the start. A joking comment was made that it took only half as long to train American troops as it did others, because they only had to be taught to go one way.

The ordinary American showed what courage lay behind the quiet round of his peace-time life. Our soldiers were clean and full of high spirits, and they were keyed to the most stubborn efforts by knowing that they were not fighting in a selfish cause. They "fraternized" famously with the French children of the villages.

[Sidenote: =Work of the Peace Conference=]

=251. The Treaty of Peace.= After the armistice, the nations which had won the victory planned to meet at Paris to make a treaty of peace. President Wilson went over to France to take part in this meeting.

The men who made the peace treaty gave France her two states, Alsace and Lorraine, which Germany had taken in the war of 1870. They divided Austria into a number of separate states, giving to each kind of people its own government. They took land from Germany and Russia and created Poland. They also decided that Germany should pay Belgium and France for the destruction of property in those countries.

[Sidenote: =Opinion favors a League=]

[Sidenote: =Why the League was defeated=]

=252. America and the League of Nations.= Included in the treaty was an agreement called the League of Nations. Its purpose was to combine all nations, great and small, in a covenant which would work for the peace of the world. The need of a league was urged by men of different parties in this country during the war. A great number of Americans were in favor of such a world agreement. This country had always been a peace-loving people, and had fought in the hope that this would be a war to end war. But after the armistice Europe remained more unsettled than anyone had expected. In spite of all the treaties, wars of various kinds continued in Europe. President Wilson toured the country speaking for the League, but met much opposition. The American people came to believe that under the League they would be too closely bound up with European affairs, which were now so disturbed.

In 1920 the question of entering the League in its original form was widely debated. It was the chief point on which the presidential election turned, and the result was overwhelmingly against the League as it had been drawn up at Paris.

SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL

=The Leading Facts.= _1._ This war was so great that it needed
the support of every American citizen. _2._ People at home had to
do without many things needed by the army and by the Allies. _3._
Nearly all the great powers of Europe were drawn into the war. _4._
Germany, contrary to treaty, invaded Belgium. _5._ The German navy
was quickly driven from the seas, and Germany was blockaded. _6._
The American government remained neutral, but most of its people
favored the Allies. _7._ Germany sank the _Lusitania_ and other
vessels illegally. _8._ President Wilson did not lead the nation
into war until the people were unitedly in favor of it. _9._ When
Germany declared that her submarines would obey no law, and the
United States entered the war. _10._ Congress voted billions of
dollars for war. _11._ A selective draft raised a great national
army. _12._ The part of the average man in this war stands out
more than that of famous leaders. _13._ This was a war of science,
and by far the greatest war in history. _14._ Pershing was given
command of the American army. _15._ When Russia withdrew from the
war Germany used her extra troops for a final great attack. _16._
Foch was put in command of all the Allied armies, and turned the
Germans back. _17._ The United States sent more than two million
men in all overseas. _18._ The peace treaty changed many boundary
lines. _19._ Americans wished to uphold world peace, but in the
election of 1920 defeated the League of Nations as it stood.

=Study Questions.= _1._ Name some of the things that were done in
American homes to win the war. _2._ Why did everyone wish to do
his part? _3._ Why was the United States so late in entering the
war? _4._ Make a list of the principal countries that took part
in the World War. _5._ What was the importance of the invasion of
Belgium? _6._ Give the story of the war at sea. _7._ What disputes
occurred between the United States and the different warring
countries before 1917? _8._ Tell briefly Wilson's life before he
became President. _9._ How did Germany's treatment of the United
States lead to war? _10._ How did the United States "mobilize" for
war? _11._ What means were used to raise a national army? _12._
What was done to take care of these millions of men? _13._ What did
the United States need most at the start? _14._ Why was this "a
war of science"? _15._ What training had Pershing had for his new
position? _16._ Tell some events of Pershing's boyhood. _17._ What
was the great danger in 1918? _18._ Give a number of reasons why
a supreme commander for the Allied armies was needed. _19._ What
action of General Pershing's reminds you of the boy, John Pershing?
Why? _20._ Tell about the battle of Château-Thierry; of St. Mihiel;
of the Argonne. _21._ What events led up to Germany's surrender?
_22._ Who in your opinion was the real hero of this war? _23._ What
did the Peace Conference do? _24._ Do you think we should enter a
world league of nations?

=Suggested Readings.= Rand McNally's _School Atlas of
Reconstruction_; Perry, _Our Navy in the War_, 170-175.

WHERE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THEIR CIVILIZATION CAME FROM

INTRODUCTION

[Sidenote: =First settlers from a built-up Europe=]

=253. Why Boys and Girls Should Know about Europe.= In the part of the book just studied, you have become acquainted with men and women who have been great American leaders. Did you ever stop to think that the early settlers in this country, from whom most of our great men sprang, came from countries in Europe already built up? What the settlers gave to this country they got from people who had lived a long time ago. Therefore in many ways their habits and institutions were different from ours now. They had their own ways of living, their own schools, churches, and forms of government.

[Sidenote: =The rulers=]

In most European countries kings and queens ruled the people. Next to the king stood the lords, who were great men and owned acres and acres of land. They had their own soldiers and many servants to do their work and to wait on them.

_From an early 14th century psalter_

SERFS OF THE MIDDLE AGES]

[Sidenote: =The serfs=]

Below the lords, who spent their time in war, in the chase, and in going to see play-battles, called mock-fights, were the common people. In some countries these people were not free, as you are, but lived in huts in small villages on the great man's land. They had to work on his land, and were only a little better off than slaves. These people were called serfs.

In the few large cities there lived at that time rich merchants who traded in slaves, or went on long journeys to buy and sell their wares. In the cities, too, lived workers in wool, cotton, brass, iron, wood, and other materials. After a time the workers of a given class gathered into a sort of union called a guild, to protect themselves.

[Sidenote: =The roots of our civilization=]

But in neither country nor city did the common man have the many rights and privileges he has now-a-days in America.

These people, so different from us, got their habits and their ways of doing things from still older nations in Asia, in Africa and in Europe.

THE OLDEST NATIONS

=254. Egypt, the Land of the Nile and the Pyramids.= Egypt has always been a land of curious things. It lies across the Mediterranean, southeast of Europe. It is a land of sunshine day after day. Were it not for the Nile River, it would be a part of the Great Sahara Desert. Every year for ages, the Nile has risen in a great flood and its waters have spread out over Egypt. In coming down from their mountain home these waters carry rich earth which they spread over a part of Egypt. The result is that Egypt, in an early day, became the garden spot for nations less favored.

[Sidenote: =Egypt in Bible times=]

Many of you can recall the Bible story of Joseph's brethren who were sent down into Egypt to buy corn because there was a famine in their land. Thanks to the Nile, there was plenty of corn in Egypt. The people of Egypt were among the first of the world's farmers and gardeners of which history has any record.

[Sidenote: =Carrying the waters of the Nile to the land=]

=255. Irrigation Systems of the Egyptians.= In a great many parts of western United States where little rain falls, how do farmers and gardeners get water for their plants? "Irrigation" is the word that tells the story. The Egyptians taught the people of the world how to save water for irrigation by building great dams in the Nile. This water they carried in ditches throughout the land so that the thirsty crops would have the moisture they needed for growing.

[Sidenote: =The tombs of the kings=]

=256. Egypt Ruled by Kings.= For several thousand years Egypt was ruled by kings. The most famous of these rulers was a great warrior called Rameses II. He built great tombs or monuments called "pyramids." These were built out of huge blocks of stone much larger than any now used in buildings. For many years he had the common man or the slave doing this work for him.

The Bible tells us about Moses, who became a great leader among the Israelites. The Israelites were slaves to the kings of Egypt. Moses led them forth from Egypt to escape the hard tasks of one of their kings.

=257. What the Egyptians Gave to Other Nations.= Among the Egyptians there were great students for that early time. A few men among them studied the stars and learned about the movements of the heavenly bodies. In arithmetic they could count up to millions. They could weave cloth, cut jewels, and make most beautiful objects out of glass.

[Sidenote: =Egyptian hieroglyphics=]

But above all the Egyptians could write. Not as we do, of course, but they used letters, not rude pictures as seen in most early writings. Scholars have named the characters used in writing by Egyptians and other ancient peoples "hieroglyphics."

=258. Babylon and Nineveh.= Asia, too, had early peoples. Perhaps some of them were older than the Egyptians. There lived in southwestern Asia, in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, two mighty nations whose chief cities were Babylon and Nineveh.

[Sidenote: =The hanging gardens of Babylon=]

Babylon on the Euphrates was a splendid city. It had great walls to protect it against enemy nations. Its hanging gardens were the wonders of the ancient world.

To the north, on the banks of the Tigris, lay the great city of Nineveh. The fierce kings of Nineveh conquered many nations and forced them to pay tribute.

In this region, nature furnished the kings no building stone such as was found in Egypt. But they made their homes and their palaces out of sun-dried brick. This soft material, as the years rolled on, fell into decay, and now men can find the ruins of these wonderful cities only by digging where they lay.

[Sidenote: =How the Babylonians wrote=]

The Babylonians did their writing upon bricks or clay tablets before they dried them. They had their own way of writing, using a sharp piece of metal for making wedged-shaped lines instead of letters. They used a sort of picture-writing too, making rude cuts of birds, animals, and man. On these clay tablets, buried centuries ago, we may read the stories of what they did and how they lived.

=259. How Jews and Phoenicians Helped Mankind.= Along the eastern end of the Mediterranean lies Palestine, which was conquered by the Jews early in their history, and became their home. The Jews as a people interest us because they have given us our religious ideas. They have never been a warlike nation, but at times they could fight. David was one of their great kings, and Solomon another.

During long years this people has held faithful and true to the idea of one God. Although the Jews were driven from Palestine and scattered among the nations of the world they have never given up their religion. They have always looked forward to the time when they might return to Jerusalem and set up a Jewish nation once more. As a result of the World War that time seems to have come.

[Sidenote: =Phoenicians helped to advance learning=]

The Phoenicians were akin to the Jews. They lived near the Jews on the Mediterranean and were a sea-going people, the traders of that early time. In their ships, driven by oar and sail, they braved the dangers of the Atlantic and reached Spain and England. To these people must be given the credit of carrying to the Greeks and Romans much of the learning of Egypt and Asia. To the Phoenicians also belongs the honor and fame of inventing an alphabet much like the one we have to-day, although with fewer letters.

SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL

=The Leading Facts.= _1._ The first settlers in America came from
old and well-established countries in Europe. _2._ Their ways of
living were very different from ours. _3._ The classes of people
were very different from those we have. _4._ Egypt the oldest
nation. _5._ What the Nile does for Egypt. _6._ What Egypt taught
the world. _7._ Babylon and Nineveh, the early cities of Asia. _8._
How they differed from Egypt. _9._ How Egypt, Babylon, and Nineveh
recorded their deeds. _10._ What the Jews were noted for. _11._ Who
were great among them? _12._ How the World War has changed the hope
of some Jews. _13._ The Phoenicians were celebrated for carrying
trade and learning. _14._ They also invented the alphabet.

=Study Questions.= _1._ Name the different classes of people in
Europe. _2._ What would have happened if a great lord had carried
his people to America in an early day? _3._ Make a list of useful
things that the Egyptians knew. _4._ How do you imagine we know
about the ancient cities of Babylon and Nineveh? _5._ Why did they
use brick? _6._ Why is it better to use letters than pictures in
writing?

=Suggested Readings.= Dopp, _The Tree Dwellers_; _The Early
Cave-men_; _The Later Cave-men_; _The Early Sea People_; _Stories
of Ancient Peoples_; Ragozin, _A History of the World_, Vol. I.
Earliest Peoples; Retold from _St. Nicholas_, Stories of the
Ancient World, 3-52, 69-77, 92-124; Mace-Tanner, _Old Europe and
Young America_, 14-24.

GREECE, THE LAND OF ART AND FREEDOM

=260. Greece, a Beautiful Land.= Among the countries of the ancient world Greece was the one bright spot where men had the right to think and act for themselves.

[Sidenote: =The geography of Greece=]

Greece is a small peninsula in southeastern Europe cut up by many deep gulfs and bays and crossed by rugged mountains. The colors of its landscape have been thus described: "Against a deep blue sky, its bold hills and mountains, often powdered with snow, stand out in clear outline, and its fertile valleys please the eye with their green vineyards and groves of silver-gray olive trees."

Greece is kissed by gentle winds of the Mediterranean Sea and has the warm, balmy climate that all the shores of this inland ocean have.

[Sidenote: =Greek colonies=]

=261. The Greeks of the Olden Times.= The Greeks were bold people and many of them went on long voyages in their small vessels. These voyages were not for plunder, but for trade and for planting colonies. Under the lead of some brave Greek they made their way to France, to Italy, to Africa, to Asia Minor, and to the shores of the Black Sea. Some of these colonies became rich and prospered greatly. There were so many Greeks living in southern Italy that it was called "Greater Greece." In the island of Sicily stood the largest and most splendidly built city in Greater Greece, called Syracuse.

[Sidenote: =An old Greek myth=]

=262. The Brave Deeds of Ancient Greek Heroes.= The story of the Greek heroes was the invention of her early poets. The most famous of these heroes was Hercules, the most powerful man that ever lived, according to story. He performed twelve mighty labors, among them killing with his hands a big lion, and a terrible water serpent or snake which bore many heads.

[Sidenote: =The blind singer of Greece=]

=263. The Favorite Story of the Greeks.= The favorite tale of the old Greeks was the story of the capture of Troy. It was written by one of their poets, the blind Homer. He told how Paris, son of the king of Troy, stole Helen, the wife of the king of a Greek city called Sparta. Helen was said to be the most beautiful woman in the ancient world.

The king of Sparta called upon all Greeks for help. From every city of Greece came bold warriors. The Trojans were great fighters, too. For nine years war was waged under the walls of Troy. The Greek leaders quarreled among themselves and the Trojans drove them to their ships. This united the Greeks, and their great leader Achilles, clad in new armor made for him by the god Vulcan, rushed forth and slew Hector, leader of the Trojans. There was great sorrow among the people of Troy, but they fought on.

[Sidenote: =The fall of Troy=]

Now Ulysses, another Greek of great fame, had built a huge wooden horse. The Greeks left the horse standing near the walls of Troy. Then they pretended to sail home. The Trojans drew the great wooden beast within the walls of the city. It was full of Greek warriors. They climbed out at dead of night and opened the gates. The Greeks rushed in, slew the Trojans, burned their city, and carried home the beautiful Helen to be queen of Sparta again. The ancient Greeks never tired of telling their children the wonderful story of these brave deeds.

=264. Socrates, the Philosopher.= After ages had gone by the Greek nation still flourished, having improved in many ways, especially in art and in education.

[Sidenote: =One of the world's greatest men=]

One of the wisest of their great men was Socrates. Socrates was an ugly old man with a scolding wife. In spite of these drawbacks he stands out as one of the foremost teachers of the world. Socrates was truly a wise man, because he knew that the wisest man knows very little. He did not pretend to know things that he did not know.

[Sidenote: =The method Socrates used=]

Socrates taught, for the most part, by going among the people and asking them questions. Some people liked him, but some hated him because he asked questions that led persons on from one point to another until they saw their own mistakes.

His enemies grew in numbers and brought false charges that Socrates had not respected the gods of the city.

There came a day when he was called before the city's judges, who heard the charges against him. The judges decided that he must die by drinking a cup of poison. Some of the friends of Socrates found a way by which he could escape death. But the brave old Greek had faced death on the battlefield and was not afraid to die.

[Sidenote: =The death of Socrates=]