Chapter IX: Conclusion: OF THE CAMPAIGN IN PENNSYLVANIA.--After these battles, (3)

[Footnote: John Quincy Adams was born in Massachusetts, 1767; died 1848. He was a man of learning, of blameless reputation and unquestioned patriotism, yet as a President he was hardly more successful than his father. This was, doubtless, owing greatly to the fierce opposition which assailed him from the friends of disappointed candidates, who at once combined to weaken his measures and prevent his re-election. Their candidate was Andrew Jackson, a man whose dashing boldness, energy, and decision attracted the popular masses, and hid the more quiet virtues of Adams. To add to his perplexities, a majority of the House, and nearly one-half of the Senate, favored the new party, his own Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, being the candidate of the opposition, and of course committed to it. To stem such a tide was a hopeless effort. In two years Adams was returned to Congress, where he remained until his death, over sixteen years afterward. Ten years of public service were thus rendered after he had passed his "threescore years and ten," and so great was his ability in debate at this extreme age, that he was called "the old man eloquent." Like his father, he was a wonderful worker, and his mind was a complete storehouse of facts. He lived economically, and left a large estate. He was the congressional advocate of anti-slavery, and a bitter opponent of secret societies. His fame increased with his age, and he died a trusted and revered champion of popular rights. He was seized with paralysis while occupying his seat in Congress, after which he lingered two days in partial unconsciousness. His last words were--"This is the last of earth; I am content."]

(SIXTH PRESIDENT: 1825-1829)

This was a period of great national prosperity. During this term the first railroad in the United States was completed, and the Erie Canal opened. The debt was fast diminishing, and there was a surplus of $5,000,000 in the treasury. A protective tariff, known as the "American System," reached its height. It was popular at the east, but distasteful to the south.

[Footnote: The southern States, devoted to agricultural pursuits, desired to have foreign goods brought to them as cheaply as possible; while the eastern States, engaged in manufactures, wished to have foreign competition shut off by heavy duties.]

Adams was a candidate for re-election, but Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, and the democratic nominee, was chosen. The principle of a protective tariff was thus rejected by the people.

JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: Andrew Jackson was born 1767; died 1845. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. His father died before he was born, leaving his mother very poor. As a boy, Andrew was brave and impetuous, passionately fond of athletic sports, but not at all addicted to books. His life was crowded with excitement and adventure. At fourteen, being captured by the British, he was ordered to clean the commander's boots. Showing the true American spirit in his refusal, he was sent to prison with a wound on head and arm. Here he contracted the smallpox, which kept him ill for several months. Soon after his mother had effected his exchange, she died of ship-fever while caring for the imprisoned Americans at Charleston. Left destitute, young Jackson tried various employments, but finally settled down to the law, and in 1796 was elected to Congress. His imperious temper and inflexible will supplied him with frequent quarrels. He first distinguished himself as a military officer in the war against the Creek Indians. His dashing successes in the war of 1812 completed his reputation, and ultimately won him the Presidency. His nomination was at first received in many States with ridicule, as, whatever might be his military prowess, neither his temper nor his ability recommended him as a statesman. His re-election, however, proved his popular success as President. His chief intellectual gifts were energy and intuitive judgment. He was thoroughly honest, intensely warm-hearted, and had an instinctive horror of debt. His moral courage was as great as his physical, and his patriotism was undoubted. He died at the "Hermitage," his home near Nashville, Tennessee.--Jackson and Adams were born the same year, yet how different was their childhood. One born to luxury and travel, a student from his earliest years, and brilliantly educated; the other born in poverty, of limited education, and forced to provide for himself. Yet they were destined twice to compete with each other for the highest place in the nation. Adams, the first time barely successful, was unfortunate in his administration; Jackson, triumphing the second, was brilliant in his Presidential career.]

(SEVENTH PRESIDENT--TWO TERMS: 1829-1837.)

President Jackson commenced his administration with an inflexible honesty that delighted all, but with a sturdiness of purpose that amazed both friends and foes. He surrounded himself at once by his political friends, thus establishing the now popular principle of "rotation in office."

[Footnote: "During the first year of his administration, there were nearly seven hundred removals from office, not including subordinate clerks. During the forty years preceding, there had been but sixty-four."]

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_Nullification_.--South Carolina (1832) passed a Nullification ordinance declaring the tariff law "null and void," and that the State would secede from the Union if force should be employed to collect any revenue at Charleston. President Jackson acted with his accustomed promptness. He issued a proclamation announcing his determination to execute the laws, and ordered troops, under General Scott, to Charleston.

[Footnote: John C. Calhoun and Robert Y. Hayne were the prominent advocates of the doctrine of "State rights," which declared that a State could set aside an act of Congress. During this struggle occurred the memorable debate between Webster and Hayne, in which the former, opposing secession, pronounced those words familiar to every school-boy, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." Calhoun's public life extended over forty years. He was one of the most celebrated statesmen of his time. As a speaker he was noted for forcible logic, clear demonstration, and earnest manner. He rejected ornament, and rarely used illustration. Webster, his political antagonist, said of him, "He had the indisputable basis of all high character, unspotted integrity, and honor unimpeached. Nothing grovelling, low, or meanly selfish came near his head or his heart."]

In the mean time Henry Clay's celebrated "Compromise Bill" was adopted by the Senate. This measure offering a gradual reduction of the tariff, was accepted by both sides and quiet restored.

[Footnote: Alexander H. Stephens says: "To do this, Clay had to break from his old political friends, while he was offering up the darling system of his heart on the altar of his country. No one can deny that he was a patriot--every inch of him. When he was importuned not to take the course he did, and assured that it would lessen his chances for the Presidency, he nobly replied, 'I would rather be right than President'--a sentiment worthy to be the motto of every young patriot in our land."]

_Bank of the United States_.--During his first term, Jackson vetoed a bill renewing the charter of the United States Bank. After his re-election by an overwhelming majority, considering his policy sustained by the people, he ordered (1833) the public money to be removed from its vaults. The bank thereupon contracted its loans, money became scarce, and people being unable to pay their debts, commercial distress ensued. Jackson's measure excited violent clamor, but he was sustained by the democratic majority in the House of Representatives.

_Speculations_.--When the public money, which had been withdrawn from the Bank of the United States, was deposited in the local banks, it became easy to borrow money. Speculation extended to every branch of trade but especially to western lands. New cities were laid out in the wilderness. Fabulous prices were charged for building lots, which existed only on paper. Scarcely a man could be found who had not his pet project for realizing a fortune. The bitter fruits of these hot- house schemes were gathered in Van Buren's time.

_Indian Troubles_. 1. broke out in the Northwest Territory (1832). The Sacs and Foxes had some time before sold their lands to the United States, but when the settlers came to take possession, the Indians refused to leave. After some skirmishes they were driven off, and their leader, the famous Black Hawk, was captured. 2. _THE FLORIDA WAR_ (1835) with the Seminoles grew out of an attempt to remove them, in accordance with a treaty, to lands west of the Mississippi. Osceola, the chief of the Seminoles, was so defiant, that General Thompson, the government agent, put him in irons. Dissembling his wrath, Osceola consented to the treaty. But no sooner was he released than, burning with indignation, he plotted a general massacre of the whites. General Thompson was shot and scalped while sitting at dinner, under the very guns ol Fort King. The same day Major Dade, with over one hundred men, was waylaid near the _Wahoo Swamp_. All but four were killed, and these afterward died of their wounds.

[Footnote: Osceola, in October, 1837, visited the camp of General Jessup, under a flag of truce. He was there seized and sent to Fort Moultrie, where he died the following year.]

After several battles the Indians retreated to the everglades of southern Florida, in whose tangled swamps they hoped to find a safe retreat. They were, however, pursued into their hiding-places by Colonel Taylor, and beaten in a hard-fought battle (Okechobee, Dec. 25, 1837), but were not fully subdued until 1842.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.--_France._--The French government had promised to pay $5,000,000 for damages to our commerce during Napoleon's wars. This agreement not being kept, Jackson urged Congress to make reprisals on French ships. The mediation of England secured the payment of the debt by France, and thus averted the threatened war.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--The democratic candidate, Martin Van Buren, was chosen President. The people thus supported the policy of Jackson--no United States Bank and no Protective Tariff. General Harrison was the whig candidate.

[Footnote: No Vice-President being chosen by the people, Colonel R. M. Johnson was selected by the Senate. ]

VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION

[Footnote: Martin Van Buren was born 1782; died 1862. He early took an interest in politics, and in 1818 started a new organization of the democratic party of New York, his native State, which had the power for over twenty years. In 1831 he was appointed minister to England, whither he went in September, but when the nomination came before the Senate in December, it was rejected, on the ground that he had sided with England against the United States, on certain matters, and had carried party contests and their results into foreign negotiations. His party regarded this as extreme political persecution, and the next year elected him to the Vice-Presidency. He thus became the head of the Senate which a few months before condemned him, and where he now performed his duties with "dignity, courtesy, and impartiality." ]

(EIGHTH PRESIDENT: 1837-1841.)

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_Crisis of_ 1837.--The financial storm which had been gathering through the preceding administration, now burst with terrible fury. The banks contracted their circulation. Business men could not pay their debts. Failures were every-day occurrences, and the losses in New York city alone, during March and April, exceeded $100,000,000. Property of all kinds declined in value. Eight of the States failed, wholly or in part. Even the United States government could not pay its debts. Consternation seized upon all classes. Confidence was destroyed, and trade stood still.

[Footnote: As a President, Van Buren was the subject of much partisan censure. The country was passing through a peculiar crisis, and his was a difficult position to fill with satisfaction to all. That he pleased his own party is proved from the fact of his re-nomination in 1840 against Harrison. In 1848 he became the candidate of the "free democracy," a new party advocating anti-slavery principles. After this he retired to his estate in Kinderhook, N. Y, where he died.]

[Footnote: The direct causes of this were (1) the specie circular, which was issued by Jackson in 1836, just at the close of his last term, directing that payments for public lands should be made in gold and silver. The gold and silver was soon gathered into the United States treasury. (2) The surplus public money, amounting to about $28,000,000, which was ordered by Congress to be withdrawn from the local banks and distributed among the States. The banks could not meet the demand. (3) During the season of high prices and speculation, when fortunes were easily made, there had been heavy importations of European goods, which had to be paid for in gold and silver. Thus the country was drained of its specie. (4) A terrible fire in the city of New York on the night of Dec. 16, 1835, which had burned 600 valuable stores, and property to the amount of $18,000,000.]

[Footnote: At the present time the public money is kept in the United States treasury at Washington, and in sub-treasuries. This was Van Buren's favorite idea, and only adopted by Congress at the close of his term. It was called the Sub-Treasury Bill, and was used as a great argument againbt Van Buren's re-election. It was repealed during Tyler's administration, but re-enacted under Polk.]

Foreign Affairs.-_The "Patriot War" _(1837-8).--The Canadian rebellion against England, at this time, stirred the sympathies of the American people. Meetings were held, volunteers offered, and arms contributed. The President issued a proclamation refusing the protection of the United States government to any who should aid the Canadians, and sent General Scott to the frontier to preserve the peace.

[Footnote: A body of American sympathizers having taken possession of Navy Island in Niagara River, had hired a steamer, called the Caroline, to convey their provisions and war materials. On the night of December 29, 1837, a party of British troops attempted to seize this vessel at Schlosser. A desperate fight ensued; but the ship was, at last, set on fire and left to drift over the Falls. This event caused great excitement at the time.]

_The Northeast Boundary_ between Maine and New Bruns--wick had never been settled. The people of that region threatened to take up arms to support their respective claims. For some time there was great peril of a war with England. During Tyler's administration the difficulty was adjusted by what is known as the Ashburton treaty (1842), which was negotiated between the United States and Great Britain; Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton acting as commissioners.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--The financial difficulties caused a change in political feeling, and for the time weakened the confidence of the people in the wisdom of the democratic policy. Van Buren failed of a re-election, and General Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, the whig nominee, was chosen President by an immense majority.

* * * * *

HARRISON AND TYLER'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: William Henry Harrison was born in 1773; died 1841 He distinguished himself during the war of 1812, especially in the battle of the Thames. His military reputation made him available as a Presidential candidate. His character was unimpeachable, and the chief slur cast upon him by his opponent was that he had lived in a "log cabin" with nothing to drink but "hard cider." His friends turned this to good account. The campaign was noted for immense mass-meetings, long processions, song-singing, and great enthusiasm. "Hard cider" became a party watch-word, and "log cabins" a regular feature in the popular parades. Harrison was elected by a large majority, and great hopes were entertained of his administration. Though advanced in years, he gave promise of endurance. But "he was beset by office-seekers; he was anxious to gratify the numerous friends and supporters who flocked about him; he gave himself incessantly to public business; and at the close of the month he was on a sick-bed." His illness was of eight-days duration. His last words were, "The principles of the government; I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more."

John Tyler was born 1790; died 1862. He was in early life a great admirer of Henry Clay, and is said to have wept with sorrow when the whigs in convention rejected his favorite candidate for the Presidency, and selected Harrison. He was nominated Vice-President by a unanimous vote, and was a great favorite with his party. In the popular refrain, "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," the people sung praises to him as heartily as to Harrison himself. The death of Harrison and the succession of Tyler, was the first instance of the kind in our history.

Tyler's administration was not successful. He opposed the measures of his party, and made free use of the veto power. His former political friends denounced him as a renegade, to which he replied that he had never professed to endorse the measures which he opposed. The feeling increased in bitterness, and all his cabinet finally resigned. He was, however, nominated for the next Presidency by a convention composed chiefly of office-holders; he accepted, but finding no popular support, soon withdrew. In 1861 he became the presiding officer of the peace convention in Washington. All efforts at reconciliation proving futile, he renounced his allegiance to the United States and followed the Confederate fortunes. He died in Richmond where he was in attendance as a member of the Confederate Congress.]

(NINTH AND TENTH PRESIDENTS: 1841-1845.)

General Harrison had scarcely entered upon the duties of his office and selected his cabinet, when he died. John Tyler, the Vice-President, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, became President. He was elected as a whig, but did not carry out the favorite measures of his party.

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_United States Bank_.--The whigs, immediately upon coming into power, passed a bill to establish a United States Bank, but it was vetoed by Tyler, to the great disgust of the men who had elected him.

_The Suffrage Difficulties_, commonly known as "Dorr's Rebellion," grew out of efforts to secure a more liberal constitution in the State of Rhode Island. The charter granted by Charles II was still in force. It limited the right of suffrage to those holding a certain amount of property, and fixed very unequally the number of deputies in the Assembly from the different towns. In 1841, a new constitution was adopted, the vote being taken in mass conventions, and not by the legal voters, according to the charter. Under this constitution, T. W. Dorr was elected governor. The old government still went on, treating his election as illegal. He attempted to seize the State arsenal, but, finding it held by the militia, gave up the attempt. Dorr was afterward arrested, convicted of treason, and sentenced to imprisonment for life; but was finally pardoned. Meanwhile, a liberal constitution having been legally adopted, went into operation (1843).

_Anti-Rent Difficulties_ (1844).--The tenants on some of the old "patroon" estates in New York refused to pay the rent. It was very light, but was considered illegal. The anti-renters, as they were called, assumed the disguise of Indians, tarred and feathered those tenants who paid their rents, and even killed officers who served warrants upon them. The disturbances were suppressed only by a military force (1846).

[Footnote: The rent consisted of only "a few bushels of wheat, three or four fat fowls, and a day's work with horses and wagon, per year,"]

_The Mormons._--A religious sect called Mormons had settled at Nauvoo, Ill. (1840). Here they had built a city of several thousand inhabitants, and laid the foundation of a costly temple. Having incurred the enmity of the people about them, their leader, Joseph Smith, was taken from the custody of the authorities, to whom he had entrusted himself, and killed. A mob bombarded the city for three days, and finally (September, 1845) drove out the inhabitants, who fled to Iowa.

[Footnote: Joseph Smith, while living at Palmyra, N. Y., claimed to have had a supernatural revelation, by which he was directed to a spot where he found buried a series of golden plates covered with inscriptions, which he translated by means of two transparent stones (Urim and Thummim) found with them. The result was the Book of Mormon, said to be the history of a race favored by God, who occupied this continent at a remote period of antiquity. The Mormons accept the Holy Bible as received by all Christian people, but believe the Book of Mormon to be an additional revelation, and also that their chief or prophet receives direct inspiration from God. They practice plural marriage, or polygamy, claiming that the Scriptures justify, while one of their revelations directly commands it. After the death of Smith and their expulsion from Nauvoo, a company under the leadership of Brigham Young crossed the Rocky Mountains, and settled near Great Salt Lake, in Utah. They were followed by others of their sect, and, after great sufferings, succeeded in subduing the barren soil, and establishing a prosperous colony. They founded Salt Lake City, where they erected a large temple for worship. Their prophet, Brigham Young, who died August 19, 1877, is still remembered by his followers with the greatest reverence.]

Foreign Affairs.-_Annexation of Texas_.-The Texans, under General Sam. Houston, having won their independence from Mexico, applied (April, 1844) for admission into the Union. Their petition was at first rejected by Congress, but being endorsed by the people in the fall elections, it was accepted before the close of Tyler's administration.

[Footnote: There were two reasons why this measure was warmly discussed--(1). Mexico claimed Texas, although that country had maintained its independence for nine years, and had been recognized by several European nations as well as by the United States. Besides, Texas claimed the Rio Grande (reo-granday), while Mexico insisted upon the Nueces (nway-ses) River as the boundary line between Texas and Mexico. The section of country between these rivers was therefore disputed territory. Thus the annexation of Texas would bring on a war with Mexico. (2). Texas held slaves. Thus, while the South urged its admission, the North as strongly opposed it.]

_Northwest Boundary_.-The northeast boundary question had scarcely been settled, when the northwest boundary came into dispute. It was settled during Polk's administration, by compromise, fixing the boundary line at 49 degrees instead of 54 degrees 40 minutes as claimed by the United States.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--The question of the annexation of Texas went before the people for their decision. The democrats, who favored its admission, nominated James K. Polk, who, after a close contest, was elected President. The whigs, who opposed its admission, had nominated Henry Clay.

[Footnote: The announcement of Polk's nomination was the first news ever sent by magnetic telegraph. It was transmitted from Baltimore to Washington, May 29 1844 over a line built with $30,000 appropriated by Congress to test Professor Morse's invention This was the grandest event of this administration and it had largely influenced the civilization and prosperity of the country. Thus the steamboat and the magnetic telegraph were the first fruits of American liberty and industry (Read Barnes's Popular History of the United States pp. 360 and 442)]

[Footnote: Henry Clay was a man whom the nation loved, but signally failed to honor. Yet his fame and reputation remain far above any distinction which mere office can give, and unite with them an affection which stands the test of time. Respected by his opponents he was almost idolized by his friends. In this he somewhat resembled Jefferson, but, unlike him, he had not in his early years the advantages of a liberal education. His father, a Baptist minister of very limited means, died when Henry was five years old and at fifteen he was left to support himself. Meantime he had received what little tuition he had, in a log-cabin school house from very indifferent teachers. With a rare tact for making friends, ready talent waiting to be instructed, and a strong determination seeking opportunities, he soon began to show the dawnings of the power which afterward distinguished him. He said, "I owe my success in life to one single fact, namely that at an early age I commenced, and continued for some years, the practice of daily reading and speaking the contents of some historical or scientific book. These off-hand efforts were sometimes made in a corn field, at others, in the forest, and not unfrequently in some distant barn, with the horse and ox for my only auditors. It is to this that I am indebted for the impulses that have shaped and molded my entire destiny." Rising rapidly by the force of his genius, he soon made himself felt in his State and in the nation. He was peculiarly winning in his manners. An eminent and stern political antagonist once refused an introduction to him expressly on the ground of a determination not to be magnetized by personal contact as he "had known other good haters" of Clay to be "United with this suavity was a wonderful will and an inflexible honor." His political adversary but personal admirer John C. Breckenridge, in an oration pronounced at his death, uttered these words--"If I were to write his epitaph I would inscribe as the highest eulogy on the stone which shall mark his resting place 'Here lies a man who was in the public service for fifty years, and never attempted to deceive his countrymen.'"]

JAMES K. POLK'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: James K. Polk was born 1795; died 1849. He was one of the most conspicuous opposers of the administration of J. Q. Adams, and a warm supporter of Jackson. In 1839, having served fourteen years in Congress, he declined a re-election and was chosen governor of Tennessee. His Presidential nomination, in connection with that of George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania, as Vice-President, had the effect of uniting the democratic party, which had been disturbed by dissensions between the friends and opponents of Martin Van Buren. The Mexican war, which was strongly opposed in many States, the enactment of a tariff based on a revenue principle instead of a protective one, and the agitation caused by the "Wilmot proviso" (see p. 190), all conspired to affect his popularity before the end of his term. He had, however, previously pledged himself not to be a candidate for re-election. He died about three months after his retirement from office.]

(ELEVENTH PRESIDENT: 1845-1849.)

WAR WITH MEXICO. 1846-7.

I. GENERAL TAYLOR'S ARMY.

CAMPAIGN ON THE RIO GRANDE.--General Taylor having been ordered with his troops into the disputed territory, advanced to the Rio Grande and built Fort Brown. Returning from Point Isabel, whither he had gone for supplies, on the plains of _Palo Alto_ (pah-lo ahl'-to) he met six thousand Mexicans, under General Arista (ah-rees-tah), drawn up across the road. (Map opp. p. 161.) Though they outnumbered his little army three to one, he routed them with a loss of but nine men killed. The next afternoon he met them again at _Resaca de la Palma_ (ray-sah-kah day lah pahl'-mah), posted in a deep ravine through which the road ran, flanked by thickets. Their artillery held Taylor's men in check for a time, when Captain May, charging with his cavalry in the face of a murderous fire, captured the guns, and with them their commander, General La Vega (lah-vay-gah), just in the act of firing a gun. The infantry now rushed forward and drove the enemy, who fled across the Rio Grande in utter rout.

INVASION OF MEXICO.

--_Capture of Monterey_ (Sept 24).--General Taylor, with about six thousand men, advanced upon Monterey (mon-tay-ray). This city, surrounded by mountains and almost impassable ravines, was strongly fortified, and its streets were barricaded and defended by a garrison of ten thousand men. A grand assault was made on the city. To avoid the deadly fire from the windows, roofs, and barricades, the troops entered the buildings and dug their way through the stone walls from house to house, or passed from roof to roof. They came at last within one square of the Grand Plaza, when the city was surrendered. The garrison was allowed to march out with the honors of war.

_Battle of Buena Vista_ (bway'-nah vees'-tah) (February 23, 1847).--Santa Anna, the Mexican general, learning that the flower of Taylor's command had been withdrawn to aid General Scott, determined to crush the remainder. The little American army took post at Buena Vista, a narrow mountain pass with hills on one side and a ravine on the other.

Here they were attacked by Santa Anna with twenty thousand of the best troops of Mexico. The battle lasted from early morning till dark. In the final desperate encounter, our infantry being overwhelmed by numbers, Bragg's artillery was ordered to the rescue. Without any infantry support he dashed up to within a few yards of the crowded masses of the enemy. A single discharge made them waver. "A little more grape, Captain Bragg," shouted Taylor. A second and a third discharge followed, when the Mexicans broke and fled in disorder. During the night, Santa Anna drew off his defeated army.

General Taylor's work was now done. His army was intended only to hold the country already gained, while General Scott penetrated to the capital from Vera Cruz (va-rah krooss).

[Footnote: Several anecdotes are told of General Taylor in connection with this battle. The day before the principal attack, the Mexicans fired heavily on our line. A Mexican officer, coming with a message from Santa Anna, found Taylor sitting on his white horse with one leg over the pommel of his saddle. The officer asked him "what he was waiting for?" He answered, "For Santa Anna to surrender." After the officer's return a battery opened on Taylor's position, but he remained coolly surveying the enemy with his spy-glass. Some one suggesting that "Whitey" was too conspicuous a horse for the battle, he replied that "the old fellow had missed the fun at Monterey, and he should have his share this time." Mr. Crittenden having gone to Santa Anna's headquarters was told if General Taylor would surrender, he should be protected. Mr. Crittenden replied, "General Taylor never surrenders." This became a favorite motto during the election of 1848. The anecdote told concerning Capt. Bragg is disputed, but has become historical (Barnes's Pop. His. U. S., p. 454).]

II. GENERAL KEARNEY'S ARMY.

CONQUEST OF NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA.--General Kearney (keer-ne) was directed to take the Spanish provinces of New Mexico and California. Starting from Fort Leaven worth (June, 1846), a journey of about a thousand miles brought him to Santa Fe. Unfurling here the United States flag he continued his march toward California (map opp. p. 161). On his way, however, he learned from Kit Carson, the noted hunter, that he was too late. The winter before, Captain John C. Fremont, with a company of sixty men, had been engaged in surveying a new route to Oregon. Hearing that the Mexican commandant intended to expel the American settlers, he went to their rescue, although he was not aware that war had broken out between the United States and Mexico. With greatly inferior numbers, he was victor over the Mexicans in every conflict. By the help of Commodores Sloat and Stockton, and also General Kearney, who came in time to aid in the last battle, the entire country was conquered.

[Footnote: Colonel Doniphan, with one thousand men, the main body of General Kearney's command, marched over a thousand miles through a hostile country, from Santa Fe to Saltillo, having on the way fought two battles and conquered the province and city of Chihuahua (che-wah-wah). At the end of their term of service he marched his men back to New Orleans and discharged them. They had been enlisted, taken three thousand miles, and disbanded, all in a year.]

III. GENERAL SCOTT'S ARMY.

CAPTURE OF VERA CRUZ (March 29, 1847).--General Winfield Scott landed an army, twelve thousand strong, without opposition, and forthwith drew his siege-lines among the shifting sand-hills and chaparral thickets about Vera Cruz (map opp. p. 161). After a fierce bombardment of four days, the city and the strong castle of San Juan de Ulloa (sahn hoo-ahn' da ool-yo'-ah) were surrendered.

MARCH TO MEXICO.--_Battle of Cerro Gordo_ (April 18).--A week afterward the army took up its march for the capital. At the mountain pass of Cerro Gordo, the enemy were strongly fortified. A road was cut around the base of the mountain through the forest, and cannon were dragged up the precipice by ropes, to the rear of the position. Thence a plunging fire was opened simultaneously with an assault in front. The Mexicans fled in such haste that Santa Anna only escaped on his wheel-mule, leaving behind him his wooden leg.

The city of Puebla (pweb-lah), next to Mexico in importance, surrendered without resistance. Here Scott waited three months for reinforcements.

_Battles before Mexico_.--With eleven thousand men the march was resumed (August 7), and in three days the army reached the crest of the Cordilleras, where the magnificent valley of Mexico lay stretched before them. In the midst was the city, surrounded by fertile plains and cloud-capped mountains. But the way thither was guarded by thirty thousand men and strong fortifications. Turning to the south to avoid the strongest points, by a route considered impassable, the army came before the intrenched camp of _Contreras_, within fourteen miles of Mexico (Aug. 19). The next morning this was taken, the troops having moved to their positions in darkness so intense that, to avoid being separated, they had to touch each other as they marched. The same day the height of _Churubusco_ was stormed, numerous batteries were captured, and the defences laid bare to the causeways leading to the very gates of the city. An armistice and fruitless negotiations for peace delayed the advance until General Scott found that the Mexicans were only improving the time in strengthening their works. Once more (September 8) our army moved to the assault. The attack was irresistible. The formidable outworks were taken one by one. At last the castle of _Chapultepec_ (cha-pool-te-pek), situated on a high rock commanding the city, was stormed. The next day (September 14) the army entered the city, and the stars and stripes waved in triumph over the palace of the Montezumas.

PEACE.--The fall of the capital virtually closed the war. A treaty was concluded February 2, 1848. The United States gained the vast territory reaching south to the Gila (ghee-lah), and west to the Pacific (maps of IVth and VIth Epochs).

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_The Wilmot Proviso_.--Texas, the prize of the war, became at once the bone of contention. David Wilmot offered in Congress (August, 1846) a bill forbidding slavery in any territory which should be acquired. This measure, though lost, excited violent debate in and out of Congress, and became the great feature of the fall election.

_Discovery of Gold in California_.--A workman in digging a mill-race in the Sacramento valley (February, 1848) discovered shining particles of gold. A further search proved that the soil for miles around was full of the precious metal. The news flew in every direction. Emigration began from all parts of America, and even from Europe and Asia. In eighteen months one hundred thousand persons had gone from the United States to this El Dorado, where a fortune was to be picked up in a few days. Thousands made their way across the desert, amid privations which strewed the route with skeletons. The bay of San Francisco was soon surrounded by an extemporized city of shanties and booths. All ordinary employments were laid aside. Ships were deserted by their crews, who ran to the mines, sometimes, it is said, headed by their officers. Soon streets were laid out, houses erected, and from this Babel, as if by magic, grew up a beautiful city. For a time, lawlessness reigned supreme. But, driven by the necessity of events, the most respectable citizens took the law into their own hands, organized vigilance committees, and administered a rude but prompt justice which soon restored order.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--Three parties now divided the suffrages of the people. The whigs nominated General Taylor for President; the democrats, Lewis Cass; and the free-soilers, who were opposed to the extension of slavery, Martin Van Buren. The personal popularity of General Taylor, on account of his many sterling qualities and his brilliant victories in the Mexican war, made him the favorite candidate, and he was elected.

* * * * *

TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: Zachary Taylor was born in Virginia in 1784 Soon after his birth his parents removed to Kentucky. His means of education were extremely scanty, and until he was twenty-four years of age he worked on his father's plantation. Madison, who was a relative and at that time Secretary of State, then secured for him an appointment in the army as lieutenant. From this he rose by regular and rapid degrees to a major-generalship. Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, and Buena Vista, won him great applause. He was the hero of a successful war, and the soldiers admiringly called him "Old Rough and Ready." Many whig leaders violently opposed his nomination. Daniel Webster called him "an ignorant frontier colonel." The fact that he was a slaveholder was warmly urged against him. He knew nothing of civil affairs, and had taken so little interest in politics that he had not voted in forty years. His nomination caused a secession from the whigs, resulting in the formation of the free-soil party; yet he maintained his popularity as President, and was one of the most esteemed who have filled that office. He died July 9, 1850, at the Presidential mansion, after an illness of five days.]

(TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH PRESIDENTS: 1849-1853)

General Taylor, like General Harrison, died soon after his elevation to the Presidency. Millard Fillmore, Vice-President, succeeded him.

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--Slavery questions were the great political topic of this administration. When California applied for admission to the Union as a free State, all these subjects were brought to a focus. A hot debate ensued, and for awhile it seemed as if the Union would be rent asunder. At this terrible crisis Henry Clay, the "Great Pacificator," came forward, and, with his wonderful eloquence, urged the necessity of mutual compromise and forbearance. Daniel Webster warmly seconded this effort at conciliation.

[Footnote: When Daniel Webster, the great American statesman and jurist, was fourteen years old, he first enjoyed the privilege of a few months' schooling at an academy. The man whose eloquence was afterward to stir the nation, was then so shy that he could not muster courage to speak before the school. He says, "Many a piece did I commit and rehearse in my own room, over and over again; yet when the day came, when my name was called, and I saw all eyes turned toward me, I could not raise myself from my seat." In other respects, however, he gave decided promise of his future eminence. One year after, his father resolved to send him to college--a dream he had never dared to cherish. "I remember the very hill we were ascending through deep snow, in a New England sleigh, when my father made known this purpose to me. I could not speak. How could he, I thought, with so large a family, and in such narrow circumstances, think of incurring so great an expense for me? A warm glow ran all over me, and I laid my head on my father's shoulder and wept."--Having finished his collegiate education and entered his profession, he at once rose to eminence. Elected to Congress, in his maiden speech he "took the House and country by surprise." By rapid strides he placed himself at the head of American orators. His speeches are masterpieces, and may well be the study of every aspirant for distinction. It was a disappointment to many of Webster's friends, as it was, perhaps, to himself, that he was never called to the Presidential chair. But, like Clay, although he might have honored that position, he needed it not to enhance his renown. His death, which occurred in 1852, called out, it is said, more orations, discourses, and sermons, than had any other except that of Washington.]

_The Compromise of 1850_.--The Omnibus Bill, Clay's measure, was adopted as the best solution of the problem. It proposed (1) that California should come in as a free State; (2) that the Territories of Utah and New Mexico should be formed without any provision concerning slavery; (3) that Texas should be paid $10, 000,000 to give up its claim on the Territory of New Mexico; (4) that the slave trade should be prohibited in the District of Columbia, and (5) that a _Fugitive Slave Law_ should be enacted providing for the return to their owners of slaves escaping to a free State.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.--_Invasion of Cuba_.--About six hundred adventurers, "fillibusters," undertook to effect the annexation of Cuba to the United States. The attempt ended in utter defeat, and in the execution, at Havana, of Lopez, the leader.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--The democratic and whig parties both declared that they stood by the provisions of the Omnibus Bill. The free-soil party was outspoken against it. Franklin Pierce, the Presidential nominee of the democratic party, was elected by a large majority of votes over General Scott, the whig candidate.

* * * * *

PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: Franklin Pierce was born 1804; died 1869. He had barely attained the requisite legal age when he was elected to the Senate. He there found such men as Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Thomas H. Benton, and Silas Wright. Nathaniel Hawthorne says in his biography of Mr. Pierce: "With his usual tact and exquisite sense of propriety, he saw that it was not the time for him to step forward prominently on this highest theatre in the land. He beheld these great combatants doing battle before the eyes of the nation, and engrossing its whole regards. There was hardly an avenue to reputation save what was occupied by one or another of those gigantic figures." During Mr. Tyler's administration, he resigned. When the Mexican war broke out, he enlisted as a volunteer, but soon rose to the office of brigadier-general. He distinguished himself under General Scott, against whom he afterward successfully ran for the Presidency, and upon whom, during his administration, he conferred the title of lieutenant-general. Pierce opposed anti-slavery measures in every shape. He, however, espoused the national cause at the opening of the Civil War.]

(FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1853-1857.)

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_Kansas-Nebraska Bill_.--The Compromise Bill of 1850 produced only a lull in the slavery excitement. It burst out anew when Stephen A. Douglas brought forward (1853) his famous bill organizing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and advocating the doctrine of "squatter sovereignty;" i. e., the right of the inhabitants of each Territory to decide for themselves whether the State should come into the Union free or slave. This bill being a virtual repudiation of the Missouri Compromise, excited the most intense feeling. It, however, became a law (May, 1854).

[Footnote: During the discussion, which was exciting almost beyond precedent, Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, made some severe reflections upon Senator Butler, of South Carolina. For this he was assailed by Preston S. Brooks, a nephew of Senator Butler and a South Carolina representative, and so severely injured that for three years he could not resume his seat. Mr. Brooks was censured for this act, but, having resigned his seat, was immediately returned without opposition.]

[Footnote: The public lands have often threatened the peace of the nation. (1.) The question of their ownership was one of the greatest obstacles to the Union of the States. In 1781, New York was the first to present her western territory to the general government. Virginia followed her example in 1784, donating tho great Northwestern Territory--a princely domain, which, if retained, would have made her the richest of the States; she reserved only 3,700,000 acres in Ohio, which she subsequently sold in small tracts to settlers. Massachusetts, in 1785, relinquished her claim, retaining a proprietary right over large tracts in New York. Connecticut, in 1786, did the same, and from the sale of her lands in Ohio laid the foundation of her school fund of $2,000,000. Georgia and the Carolinas gave up their right to territory from which have since been carved the States of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. (2.) Since these lands became the property of the general government, a most perplexing question has been, Shall they be free? Upon it has hinged largely the politics of the country. The admission of Missouri, Texas, California, and Kansas has each been the signal for the reopening of this vexed question.--Though the public lands have been the cause of intestine strife, they have been a great source of national wealth. Their sale has brought large sums into the treasury. They have been given to settlers as a stimulus to emigration. They have been granted to endow colleges and schools, to build railroads, to reward the soldiers and support their widows and orphans. In every township to be incorporated hereafter in the great west, a portion of the land must be reserved for school purposes. By the Homestead Act of 1862, any citizen may secure one hundred and sixty acres.]

_"Border Warfare." _--The struggle was now taken from Congress to Kansas. A bitter contest arose between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery men--the former anxious to secure the State for slavery; the latter, for freedom. Each party sent bodies of armed emigrants to the Territory and civil war ensued. Bands of "armed men" crossed over from Missouri, took possession of the polls, and controlled the elections. Houses were attacked and pillaged, and men murdered in cold blood. For several years Kansas was a scene of lawless violence.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.--_Mexico._--Owing to the inaccuracy of the map used in the treaty between the United States and Mexico, a dispute arose with regard to the boundary line. General Gadsden negotiated a settlement whereby Mexico was paid $10,000,000, and the United States secured the region (map, Epoch VI) known as the "Gadsden purchase."

_Japan._--Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan (1854) excited great attention. He negotiated a treaty which gave to the merchants of the United States two ports of entry in that exclusive country.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--The compromises of 1820 and 1850 being now abolished, the slave question became the turning-point of the election. New party lines were drawn to meet this issue. The whig party ceased to exist. The republican party, absorbing all who opposed the extension of slavery, nominated John C. Fremont, who received the vote of eleven States. The democratic party, retaining its organization, nominated James Buchanan, who was elected President.

[Footnote: A third party, called the Know-Nothing or American party, was organized to resist the influence of foreigners. It carried the vote of only one State, Maryland. Its motto was "America for Americans." The party aroused bitter feelings, but had a transient existence. (Read list of Political Parties, Barnes's Pop. Hist., p. 654.)]

BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: James Buchanan was born 1791; died 1868. The "bachelor-President" was sixty-six years old when he was called to the executive chair. He had just returned to his native country, after an absence of four years as minister to England. Previously to that he had been well known in public life, having been Representative, Senator, and Secretary of State. As Senator in Jackson's time, he heartily supported his administration. With Van Buren, he warmly advocated the idea of an independent treasury (see p. 179), against the opposition of Clay, Webster, and others. Under Tyler, he was urgently in favor of the annexation of Texas, thus again coming into conflict with Clay and Webster. He cordially agreed with them, however, in the compromise of 1850 (see p. 193), and urged the people to adopt it. Much was hoped from his election, as he avowed the object of his administration to be "to destroy any sectional party, whether North or South, and to restore, if possible, that national fraternal feeling between the different States that had existed during the early days of the Republic." But popular passion and sectional jealousy were too strong to yield to pleasant persuasion. We shall see in the text how the heated nation was drawn into the horrors of civil war. When Mr. Buchanan's administration closed, the fearful conflict was close at hand. He retired to his estate in Pennsylvania, where he died.]

(FIFTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1857-1861.)

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.

_Dred Scott_

[Footnote: Scott and his wife were slaves belonging to a surgeon in the United States army. They were taken into and resided in Illinois and at Fort Snelling, in territory from which, by the ordinance of 1787, slavery was forever excluded. Afterward they were carried into Missouri, where they and their children were held as slaves. They claimed freedom on the ground that, by the act of their master, they had been taken into free territory. The decision of the court against their claims created an intense excitement throughout the country.]

_Decision_.--The Supreme Court of the United States (1857), through Chief-Justice Taney, declared that slave-owners might take their slaves into any State in the Union without forfeiting authority over them. At the North, this was considered as removing the last barrier to the extension of slavery, and as changing it from a local to a national institution; at the South, only as a right guaranteed them by the Constitution, whereby they should be protected in the possession of their property in every State.

_The Fugitive Slave Law_ had intensified the already heated controversy, and the subject of slavery now absorbed all others. The provision which commanded every good citizen to aid in the arrest of fugitives was especially obnoxious to the North. Disturbances arose whenever attempts were made to restore runaways to their masters. Several of the northern States passed "Personal Liberty" bills, securing to fugitive slaves, when arrested, the right of trial by jury.

_John Brown_, a man who had brooded over the exciting scenes through which he had passed in Kansas until he thought himself called upon to take the law into his own hands, seized upon the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry (1859), and proclaimed freedom to the slaves in the vicinity. His feeble band was soon overpowered by United States troops, and Brown himself hanged as a traitor. Though it was soon known that in his wild design he had asked counsel of no one, yet at the time the Southern feeling was aroused to frenzy, his act being looked upon as significant of the sentiments of the North.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--The fall elections again turned on the question of slavery. The democratic party divided, and made two nominations for President: Stephen A. Douglas, who favored squatter sovereignty, and John C. Breckinridge, who claimed that slavery could be carried into any territory. The republican party nominated Abraham Lincoln, who held that while slavery must be protected where it was, it ought not to be carried into free territory. Lincoln was elected.

[Footnote: The "Union" party put up John Bell, of Tennessee. Their motto was, "The Union, the Constitution, and the Enforcement of the Laws."]

THE SOUTH SECEDES.--Throughout the fall campaign the Southern leaders had threatened to secede if Mr. Lincoln were elected.

[Footnote: This was not a sudden movement on their part. The sectional difference between the North and the South had its source in the difference of climate, which greatly modified the character and habits of the people; also, while the agricultural pursuits and staple products of the South made slave labor profitable, the mechanical pursuits and the more varied products of the North made it unprofitable. These antagonisms, settled first by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, reopened by the tariff of 1828, bursting forth in the nullification of 1832, pacified by Clay's compromise tariff, increased through the annexation of Texas and the consequent war with Mexico, irritated by the Wilmot Proviso, lulled for a time by the compromise of 1850, awakened anew by the "squatter sovereignty" policy of 1853, roused to fury by the agitation in Kansas, spread broadcast by the Dred Scott decision, the attempted execution of the Fugitive Slave Law and the John Brown raid, had now reached a point where war was the only remedy. The election of Lincoln was the pivot on which the result turned. The cause ran back through thirty years of controversy to the difference in climate, in occupation, and in the habit of life and thought. Strange to say, each section misunderstood the other. The Southern people believed the North to be so engrossed in money-making and so enfeebled by luxury that it could send to the field only mercenary soldiers, who would easily be beaten by the patriotic Southerners. They said, "Cotton is King;" and believed that England and France were so dependent upon them for that staple, that their republic would be recognized and defended by those European powers. On the other hand, the Northern people did not believe that the South would dare to fight for slavery when it had 4,000,000 slaves exposed to the chances of war. They thought it to be all bluster, and hence paid little heed to the threat of secession or of war. Both sides sadly learned their mistake, only too late.]