Chapter 24

[Footnote: Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, N. C., December 29, 1808. When only ten years of age, he was bound apprentice to a tailor of that city. Never having been at school a day in his life, he yet determined to secure an education. From a fellow-workman he learned the alphabet, and from a friend something of spelling. Thenceforth, after working ten to twelve hours per day at his trade, he spent two or three every night in study. In 1826, he went West to seek his fortune, with true filial affection carrying with him his mother, who was dependent on his labor for support. After his marriage at Greenville, Tenn., he continued his studies under the instruction of his wife, pursuing his trade as before by day. His political life commenced with his election as alderman. He was successively chosen mayor, member of legislature, Presidential elector, State senator, twice governor, and thrice U.S. senator.]

[Footnote: _Questions on the Geography of the Sixth Epoch. _-Locate Raleigh. Heart's Content, and St. John's, Newfoundland (see map, Epoch II). Alaska St. Albans, Vt. Buffalo, Mt. Pleasant, O, (map. Epoch V). West Point. Chicago. Boston. Duluth. Puget's Sound. San Francisco. Klamath Lava Beds, Oregon.]

(SEVENTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1865-1869.)

THE death of Lincoln produced no disorder, and within three hours thereafter the Vice-President, Andrew Johnson, quietly assumed the duties of the Presidency.

DISBANDING OF THE ARMY.--At the close of the war the two armies numbered a million and a half of soldiers. Within six months they had nearly all returned home. Thus the mightiest hosts ever called to the field by a republic went back without disturbance to the tranquil pursuits of civil life. In a few months there was nothing to distinguish the soldier from the citizen, except the recollection of his bravery. Other nations prophesied that such a vast army could not be disbanded peaceably. The republic, by this final triumph of law and order, proved itself the most stable government in the world.

[Footnote: A grand review of the armies of Grant and Sherman, two hundred thousand strong, took place in the presence of the President and his Cabinet. For twelve hours this triumphal procession, thirty miles long, massed in solid column twenty men deep, rolled through the broad avenues of the Capital.]

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_Reconstruction Policy of the President. _--Johnson recognized the State governments that had been formed in Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana during the war, under the protection of the Union army. In the other States, he appointed provisional governors, and authorized the calling of conventions to form loyal governments. These conventions accordingly met, repealed the ordinances of secession, repudiated the Confederate war debt, and ratified the amendment which Congress had offered abolishing slavery. On these conditions, Johnson claimed that the States, having never been legally out of the Union, should be restored to all their rights in the Union. All restrictions on commerce with the South had been previously removed (April 29, 1865). A month later, Johnson issued a proclamation of amnesty and pardon to all engaged in secession, except certain classes, on condition of taking the oath of allegiance to the United States. In 1868 (July 4) full pardon was granted to all not under indictment for treason, and afterward this was extended to all without exception.

[Footnote: Many of the persons thus excluded obtained pardons from the President by personal application. One complaint against him was the readiness with which he granted such pardons.]

_The Thirteenth Amendment_, abolishing slavery, having been ratified by the States, was declared (December 18, 1865) duly adopted as a part of the Constitution of the United States.

_Public Debt._--The annual interest on the war debt was now over one hundred and thirty millions of dollars. The revenue from duties on imported goods, taxes on manufactures, incomes, etc., and from the sale of revenue stamps, was over three hundred millions of dollars. This provided not only for the current expenses of the government and the payment of interest, but also for the gradual extinguishment of the debt. It is a striking evidence of the abundant resources of the country that, in 1866, "before all the extra troops called out by the war had been discharged, the debt had been diminished more than thirty-one millions of dollars."

_Reconstruction Policy of Congress._--On the assembling of Congress, decided grounds were taken against the policy of the President. It was claimed that Congress alone had power to prescribe the conditions for the re-admission of the seceded States. His proclamation and orders were treated as of no value. The Freedmen's Bureau, the Civil Rights, and the Tenure-of-Office bills were passed over the President's veto.

[Footnote: The first provided for the establishment of a department of the national government for the care and protection of the freedmen, _i. e._, the emancipated slaves, and also of the destitute whites at the South. The second bill guaranteed to the negroes the rights of citizenship. The third made the consent of the Senate necessary to the removal by the President of any person from a civil office.]

_The Seceded States Admitted._--Tennessee promptly ratified the Fourteenth Amendment and was restored to her former position in the Union. The other provisional governments having refused to do so, a bill was passed (March 2, 1867) placing those States under military rule. The generals in command caused a registry of voters to be made, and elections to be held for conventions to remodel the State constitutions. After a bitter and protracted struggle, governments were established in Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, and their representatives admitted (June 24, 1868) over the President's veto, to Congress, after an unrepresented period of seven years.

[Footnote: As a requisite demanded by Congress for holding office, every candidate was obliged to swear that he had not participated in the secession movement Since few Southerners could take this "iron-clad oath," as it was termed, most of the representatives were Northern men who had gone South after the war, and were, therefore, called "carpet-baggers."]

_Impeachment of the President._--The constantly-increasing hostility between the President and Congress came to an issue when the former attempted to remove Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. This being considered a violation of the Tenure-of-Office bill, the impeachment of the President was at last ordered (February 24, 1868). After a long and tedious trial he was acquitted, the two-thirds majority necessary for conviction lacking one vote.

_The Fourteenth Amendment_ proposed by Congress, guaranteeing equal civil rights to all, regardless of race or color, and basing representation in each State on the number of voters, was adopted July 28, 1868.

_The Indian War_ along the Southwest having, in 1865-6, increased so as to demand active measures for its suppression, General Sheridan was ordered thither. Black Kettle and a large body of his warriors being surprised and slain by a charge of Custer's cavalry (1868) in the battle of the Wacheta (wah-che'-tah), hostilities ceased.

_The French in Mexico._--While the United States were absorbed in the civil war, Napoleon III., emperor of France, took advantage of the opportunity to secure a foothold in America. By the assistance of the French army, the imperialists of Mexico defeated the liberals, and Maximilian, archduke of Austria, was chosen emperor. The United States government protested against the measure, but was unable to enforce the "Monroe doctrine." When the American people were relieved from the pressure of civil strife, they turned their attention to the Mexicans hopelessly struggling for liberty, and the United States government demanded of Napoleon the recall of the French troops. Maximilian, deprived of foreign aid, was defeated, and, falling into the hands of the Mexican liberals, was shot June 19, 1867. This ended the dream of French dominion on this continent.

_Laying of the Atlantic Cable_.--While these great political events were happening, science had achieved a peaceful triumph whose importance far transcended the victories of diplomatic or military skill. A telegraphic cable eighteen hundred and sixty-four miles in length had been laid from Valentia Bay, Ireland, to Heart's Content, Newfoundland.

[Footnote: The success of this enterprise was due to the energy of Cyrus W. Field. In 1856, the line was finished from New York to St. John's, Newfoundland, a distance of over one thousand miles. A company was then formed with a capital of about $1,750,000. A cable was made, but in an attempt to lay it (August, 1857), the cable parted. A second attempt, in June, 1858, failed after repeated trials. A third effort, in July was successful. A message was sent from the Queen of England to the President, and a reply transmitted. A celebration was held in New York in honor of the event, but on that very day (September 1) the cable ceased to work. The time and money spent seemed a total loss. Mr. Field alone was undismayed. The company was revived, $3,000,000 were subscribed, and a new cable was manufactured. In July, 1865, the Great Eastern commenced laying this cable, but in mid-ocean it parted and sank to the bottom. Again Mr. Field went to work, raised a new company with a capital of $3,000,000, and made a third cable. The Great Eastern sailed with this in June, 1866, and successfully accomplished the feat. To make the triumph more complete, the vessel sailed back to the very spot where the cable of 1865 had parted, and, dropping grappling-irons, caught the lost cable, brought it to the surface, and, splicing it, laid the remaining portion. The two cables were found to work admirably. A despatch has been sent across the ocean by a battery made in a gun-cap.]

The two continents were thus brought into almost instant communication.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.--_Purchase of Alaska_ (October, 1867).--Through the diplomacy of William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Alaska was purchased of Russia for $7,200,000 in gold. It contains about 500,000 square miles, but is principally valuable for its harbors, furs, and fisheries.

_Fenian Excitement_.--The Fenians, a secret society organized for the purpose of delivering Ireland from British rule, crossed the Canadian frontier at Buffalo, N. Y., and St. Albans, Vt., in large numbers. President Johnson issued a proclamation declaring the movement a violation of our neutrality, and sent thither General Meade to execute the laws. After some skirmishing with British troops, the expedition returned.

_Treaty with China_ (1868).--An embassy from the Chinese Empire, under charge of Anson Burlingame, visited the United States.

[Footnote: Burlingame had been the United States minister to the Chinese government for six years. During this time he had rendered himself so popular, that, at the end of his term of service, Prince Kung, the Chinese Regent, requested him to go on this special mission to foreign courts. After visiting the United States, he went to England, France, and Russia. He died at St. Petersburg within a month after his arrival there.]

It was an event of much importance, and the first of its kind in the history of that exclusive nation. A treaty was perfected guaranteeing liberty of conscience to Americans in China, and certain commercial privileges of great value.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--The republican party nominated General Ulysses S. Grant, of Illinois, for President, and Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, for Vice-President. The democratic party nominated Horatio Seymour, of New York, and General Frank P. Blair, of Missouri. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas were not allowed to vote. As the other Southern States had been "reconstructed," had granted negro suffrage, and enforced a strict registry law, they were permitted to participate in the election. Grant and Colfax were elected.

GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: Hiram Ulysses Grant was born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, April 27,1822. He was unwilling to follow his father's trade, which was that of a tanner, and, at seventeen, an appointment to West Point was secured for him. His name having been wrongly registered, Grant vainly attempted to set the matter right, but finally accepted his "manifest destiny," assumed the change thus forced upon him, and thenceforth signed himself "Ulysses Simpson," the latter being his mother's family name. Two years after completing his four-years course as cadet, the Mexican War broke out, in which Grant conducted himself with great gallantry, receiving especial mention and promotion. After this, he retired to civil life, where he remained until the opening of the war in 1861. He was then appointed to command a company of volunteers. Having taken it to Springfield, he became aid to Gov. Yates, and was finally commissioned as colonel of the 21st Illinois regiment. His military and political career was henceforth a part of the country's history. After the close of his presidential terms, he made the tour of the world. During this extended journey, he was everywhere received with marked enthusiasm and honor, and his dignified and consistent conduct shed lustre upon the country he represented.]

(EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT--TWO TERMS: 1869-1877.)

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_Pacific Railroad_.--The year 1869 was made memorable by the opening of this road, which completed the union between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The traveler can now pass from New York to San Francisco, a distance of about 3,400 miles, in less than a week. This great highway has linked the West to the East by iron bands, has carried thousands of pioneers into the hitherto wild country along its route, developed fresh sources of industry and mines of wealth, and opened the United States to the silks, teas, and spices of Asia. American ingenuity has solved the problem which foiled Columbus and the olden navigators. It has made for itself a route to India.

[Footnote: Already other roads across the continent are constructing. The Northern Pacific has its eastern terminus on Lake Superior, and its western will be on Puget Sound. Though far to the north, yet in Oregon there is no winter weather, but only a rainy season, as in California. In portions of Dakota, Idaho, and Montana, cattle range the natural-grass pastures during the whole winter; while, in Washington Territory, roses blossom the year around. For the construction of this road public lands have been given by Congress, to the amount of over 80,000,000 acres, which is considerably in excess of the total area of the six New England States. The length of this road will be 1,800 miles, with a branch of 200 miles to Portland, Oregon. The Southern Pacific is to extend from Shreveport, La., to San Diego, Cal., a distance of 1,514 miles. This will run through a country so mild as to avoid the necessity of the "snow-sheds" which form so singular a feature of the Central Pacific.]

_The Fifteenth Amendment_, which guarantees to all the right of suffrage, irrespective of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude," having been ratified by the requisite number of States, was formally announced as a part of the Constitution, by Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, March 30, 1870.

_Prosperity of the Country._--The nation rapidly recovered from the effects of war. The price of gold fell to 110, and the national debt was reduced $204,000,000 during the first two years of this administration. A general amnesty to all connected with the Civil War was proclaimed, and the bitter feelings engendered by fraternal strife fast melted away. The South, devastated and scourged by the march of contending armies, accustomed herself to the novel conditions of free labor, rebuilt her railroads, cultivated her fields, and repaired the ravages of war. The census of 1870 showed that the population of the United States was over thirty-eight millions, an increase of about seven millions, while the manufacturing establishments of the country had nearly, if not quite, doubled in number and value during the preceding decade.

_Fires_.--l. A great fire broke out in Chicago, Sunday night, October 8, 1871. For two days it raged with tremendous violence, devastating 3,000 acres. 25,000 buildings were burned, $200,000,000 worth of property was destroyed, and 100,000 persons were rendered homeless. Contributions for the sufferers were taken in nearly all parts of the world, and over $7,500,000 were raised. 2. During the same fall, wide-spread conflagrations raged in the forests of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Entire villages were consumed. 1,500 people perished in Wisconsin alone. 3. An extensive fire occurred in Boston November 9, 1872. It swept over sixty acres in the center of the wholesale trade of that city, and destroyed $70, 000,000 worth of property.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.--_Treaty of Washington_.--The refusal of the English government to pay the damages to American commerce caused by the Alabama and other Confederate cruisers (p. 268) produced bitter feeling, and even threatened war. A high commission, composed of distinguished statesmen and jurists from both countries, accordingly met in Washington, and arranged the basis of a treaty between the United States and Great Britain, settling this and other causes of dispute. According to its provisions, the claim for losses was submitted to a board of arbitrators, who, having convened at Geneva, Switzerland, awarded the United States $15,500, 000 in gold.

The difficulty with regard to the Northwestern boundary between the United States and British America was submitted to the Emperor of Germany, and was decided in favor of the United States. Thus happily all danger of war was averted, and the great principle of the settlement of disputes by peaceful arbitration rather than by the sword was finally established.

_Proposed Annexation of Santo Domingo._

[Footnote: The island of Santo Domingo is the "New World's classic land." Here Columbus founded the first white colony on this side of the Atlantic, and transporting hither animals, trees, shrubs, vines, and grains, so to speak, grafted the old world upon the new. Hither, also, flocked the bold, adventurous, ambitious Spanish multitude (see p. 26). Great cities sprung up, rivaling the majestic proportions of Moorish capitals. Magnificent enterprises were set on foot and prospered. Here Ponce de Leon renewed his ambition, and set forth afresh on an expedition to Porto Rico, and thence to Florida, in search of the Fountain of Youth (see p. 26). "A century before Henry Hudson sailed up the noble river that perpetuates his name--more than a century before the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock--the city of Santo Domingo was a rich and populous center of industry and trade. Some of its palaces and churches still remain, massive and splendid; among them, the great cathedral begun in 1514 and finished in 1540." But the Spanish policy of greed and oppression gradually undermined itself. In 1795, when Santo Domingo was ceded to France, it was "abandoned to such a degree that it was a mere wilderness, devoted to the grazing of cattle." Yet, in spite of past tyranny, of neglect, and the knowledge that they had been "sold like a herd of cattle" to a foreign master, the Dominicans were loyal to Spain, and when Napoleon I. took possession of Madrid in 1808, they indignantly rose in arms, overpowered the French garrisons, and made themselves masters of their own country. They then rehoisted the Spanish flag, and in 1814, by the treaty of Paris, Santo Domingo was formally restored to that country. Meanwhile, the few years of interval had taught them some of the pleasures of liberty, and the seed then implanted grew rapidly. In 1821, they severed their connection with the mother country, but only to be absorbed by the more thriving and populous Hayti. In 1844, the Dominican Republic declared itself free and independent. Great Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Holland, and Sardinia formally recognized it, and sent representatives to its capital. After seventeen years of struggle against European intrigue and Haytien aggression, it again lapsed into a Spanish dependency. Its story for the next four years is successively one of oppression, of revolt, of bloody wars, and of ultimate success. The Spanish fleet took final leave in 1865, and left the brave Dominicans to their well-earned freedom.]

This republic, comprising a large part of the island of Hayti, applied for admission to the United States. A commission of eminent men, appointed by the President to visit the island and examine its condition, reported favorably. The measure, however, was rejected by Congress.

_"The Virginius." _--In 1868, Cuba attempted to throw off the Spanish yoke. Great sympathy was felt in the United States for the patriots, and repeated efforts were made to send them aid. In spite of the vigilance of the authorities, the Virginius, loaded with men and supplies, escaped from port in the fall of this year. While still on the high seas, and flying the American flag, she was captured by the Spanish war steamer Tornado and carried into Santiago. Many of her crew and passengers were summarily shot. The United States consul at that port protested in vain. President Grant interfered with a strong hand. The Virginius was thereupon released, and suitable apologies were made for the insult offered to the United States flag.

POLITICAL PARTIES.--The liberal republican party, consisting of republicans opposed to the administration, nominated Horace Greeley of New York for the presidential term commencing 1873 The democratic party endorsed this nomination. The republicans renomimated President Grant, who was elected

[Footnote: Horace Greeley was born at Amherst, N. H., February 3, 1811. At two years of age, he began to study the newspapers given him for amusement; and at four, could read anything placed before him, At six, he was able to spell any word in the English language was somewhat versed in geography and arithmetic and had read the entire Bible. His passion for books increased with his years, and at an early age he determined to be a printer. At fifteen he entered the office of the Northern Spectator at East Poultney, Vt. His wages were forty dollars a year, the greater part of which was saved and sent to his father, then struggling in poverty upon a farm in Pennsylvania. The Spectator having failed in 1831 Greeley went to New York. He landed with ten dollars and a scanty outfit tied in a handkerchief. Franklin like, he traversed the streets in search of work--a long stooping, stockingless figure in linen roundabout short trousers and drooping hat, with his out grown cotton wristbands made to meet with twine. Diligence, integrity and ability won him a ready rise when employment was at last secured. Ten years later he founded the New York Tribune. He served in Congress in 1848-49 where he was known for his opposition to the abuses of the mileage system. When civil war seemed imminent, he advocated a peaceable division of the country but after it opened he urged a vigorous prosecution of hostilities. At the close of the war, he pleaded for immediate conciliation and was a signer of the bail bond which restored Jefferson Davis to liberty after two years imprisonment in Fortress Monroe.