Chapter I: Front Matter

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THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY

Every Child Can Read

Edited by

REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D.

Illustrated

The John C. Winston Co. Philadelphia

Copyright, 1910, By The John C. Winston Co.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE
A Talk with the Young Reader 9

CHAPTER I

COLUMBUS, THE GREAT SAILOR

Bold Sailors of the Northern Countries--The
Northmen--Columbus the Little Boy--Columbus
and the Egg--He Crosses the Atlantic, Braves
the Sea and Discovers New Land 15

CHAPTER II

THREE GREAT DISCOVERERS

John and Sebastian Cabot--Balboa Discovers the
Pacific--The Fountain of Youth and Ponce de
Leon--The Naming of America 27

CHAPTER III

THREE EARLY HEROES

The Story of John Smith and First English
Settlement--Miles Standish and the Pilgrims--Roger
Williams, the Hero Preacher 36

CHAPTER IV

HOW THE DUTCH AND QUAKERS CAME TO AMERICA
Captain Hudson and His Ship, the _Half Moon_--The
Trip up the Hudson--Adventures with the
Indians--William Penn and the Quakers--How They
Settled on the Delaware River 48

CHAPTER V

THE CAVALIER COLONIES OF THE SOUTH

The Cavaliers and Lords of England--They Settle
in Virginia--The Catholics Come to Maryland--Strange
Form of Government in Carolina--Paupers Settle
Georgia--An Old Spanish Town in Florida 59

CHAPTER VI

THE RED MEN, HOW THEY LIVED AND WERE TREATED

They Were the First Americans--Their Strange Customs
and Manners--How They Followed a Trail--How they
Fought--Indian Massacres 70

CHAPTER VII

ROYAL GOVERNORS AND LOYAL CAPTAINS

How the Governor was Treated in Connecticut--The
Charter Oak--An Exciting Time in Virginia 81

CHAPTER VIII

OLD TIMES IN THE COLONIES

When a Tallow Candle Gave the Light--Old-Time
Houses--The Story of the Famous Hunter, and How
he Escaped from the Indians 91

CHAPTER IX

A HERO OF THE COLONIES

Two Boys who Crossed the Mountains--Their Adventures
with the Indians--George Washington, the
Surveyor--Messenger to the French--An Old-Time Hero 101

CHAPTER X

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

The Acadians--Their Home in Nova Scotia--Their
Sufferings--The Story of Evangeline--Why the Indians
Helped the French--The Story of a Cruel War 112

CHAPTER XI

THE CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION

How the Trouble Began--The Americans Object to Paying
Taxes on Various Articles--The Famous Boston Tea
Party--Battle of Lexington--Declaration of
Independence 121

CHAPTER XII

FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM

Washington the Commander-in-Chief--Bunker Hill--The
Wonderful Christmas--The Americans Succeed--They
Meet Defeat--"Molly Stark a Widow"--Help from France 133

CHAPTER XIII

PAUL JONES, THE NAVAL HERO OF THE REVOLUTION

Old-Time Warships--A Daring Deed--A Great Sea Fight--The
British Captain Surrenders 143

CHAPTER XIV

MARION, THE SWAMP FOX

How the War Went in the South--The Patriots Hard to
Find--The British Officers Eat Sweet Potatoes--Jack
Davis' Adventure--General Greene and his Famous
Retreat--Cornwallis Surrenders--The War at an End 153

CHAPTER XV

THE VOYAGE OF OUR SHIP OF STATE

How the People Rule--Illustrated by a Story--Our First
Trial and Failure--Making a New Form of Government--A
Nation of Thirteen States--The President--The
Congress--The Judges 162

CHAPTER XVI

THE END OF A NOBLE LIFE

Washington the First President--Beloved by
Everyone--Benjamin Franklin's Last Hours--The Kind
of Money They Used--How the Quarrel was
Settled--Washington Dies 170

CHAPTER XVII

THE STEAMBOAT AND THE COTTON GIN

The Power of Steam--Is a Boat Like a Duck--Who
Thought of the First Steamboat--The Cotton Gin
and How it Saves Labor--Where the Cotton Grows 176

CHAPTER XVIII

THE ENGLISH AND AMERICANS FIGHT AGAIN

How We Came to Quarrel with England--Protecting
the American Sailor--Interesting Land
Battles--Adventures at Sea--Peace is Made Again 184

CHAPTER XIX

HOW THE VICTIMS OF THE ALAMO WERE AVENGED

How General Santa Anna Got into Trouble--Massacre
of the Alamo--The Famous Samuel Houston--War with
Mexico--The City of Mexico--Santa Anna is Defeated
and United States is Victorious 193

CHAPTER XX

HOW SLAVERY LED TO WAR

Black and White Slaves--First Slaves Brought to
America in 1619--Why the Slaves were Used in the
South--Why the North did not Believe in Slavery--What
the word Abolitionist Means--John Brown and Harper's
Ferry 201

CHAPTER XXI

HOW LINCOLN BECAME PRESIDENT

The Ruler of the Republic--The President Chosen from
the People--Why the People Liked Him--Lincoln's School
Days--The North and South Differ--Lincoln, the Great
War President 208

CHAPTER XXII

THE GREAT CIVIL WAR

What Civil War is--Where the War was Fought--Battle of
Bull Run--"Stonewall" Jackson--General Ulysses S.
Grant and How He Came to Command the Army--His
"Unconditional Surrender" Message--Battle of
Gettysburg 215

CHAPTER XXIII

WAR ON SEA AND LAND

Fight Between the "Cheesebox" and the Ram--How the
Monitor Won the Fight--The Battle "Above the
Clouds"--Battle of the Wilderness--Sherman's March
to the Sea--Richmond Surrenders and the War Closes 225

CHAPTER XXIV

THE WASTE OF WAR AND THE WEALTH OF PEACE

What is Seen on the Picture of History--A Reign of
Peace in America--The Ocean Cable and the
Railroad--Alaska and its Treasures--The Burning
of Chicago and other Disasters--Edison and His
Work--The Triumphs of Electricity 234

CHAPTER XXV

THE MARVELS OF INVENTION

Professor Morse, the Famous Inventor--His Struggles
and His Success--The First Message--Telephone and
Other Inventions of Electricity--New Ideas in
Machinery and the Comfort they Bring 242

CHAPTER XXVI

HOW THE CENTURY ENDED FOR THE UNITED STATES

The Nation's Birthplace--Centennial Exhibition and
Columbian World's Fair--Our People's Progress--The
Indians--Trouble in Cuba--War with Spain--Santiago
and its Fleet--Dewey at Manila 253