A Short History of the United States for School Use

We thought that he was the first European to visit America. But nearly five hundred years before his time Leif Ericson had discovered the New World. He was a Northman and the so...

10. Stories of Golden Lands.--Wherever the Spaniards went, the Indians always told them stories of golden lands somewhere else. The Bahama Indians, for instance, told their crue...

21. Sir John Hawkins.--For many years after Cabot's voyage Englishmen were too busy at home to pay much attention to distant expeditions. But in Queen Elizabeth's time English s...

The teacher is recommended to study sources in preparing her work, making selections where possible, for the pupil's use. Some knowledge of European history (English especially)...

26. The French in Acadia.--For nearly forty years after the destruction of the colony on the River of May, Frenchmen were too busy fighting one another at home to send any more...

31. The Virginia Company, 1606.--English people were now beginning to think in earnest of founding colonies. It was getting harder and harder to earn one's living in England, an...

42. The Puritans.--The New England colonies were founded by English Puritans who left England because they could not do as they wished in the home land. All Puritans were agreed...

57. The Dutch.--At this time the Dutch were the greatest traders and shipowners in the world. They were especially interested in the commerce of the East Indies. Indeed, the Dut...

In treating this chapter aim to make clear the reasons for and conditions of the settlement of each colony. Vividness can best be obtained by a study of the writings of the time...

65. The Puritans and the Colonists, 1649-60.--In 1649 Charles I was executed, and for eleven years the Puritans were supreme in England. During this time the New England colonis...

81. The Stuart Tyranny.--Instead of admiring the growth of the colonies in strength and in liberty, Charles and James saw it with dismay. The colonies were becoming too strong a...

89. Causes of the French Wars.--At the time of the "Glorious Revolution" (p. 58) James II found refuge with Louis XIV, King of France. William and Louis had already been fightin...

_b_. Write an account of the life of a boy or girl in any colony; tell about the house, furniture, dress, school, and if a journey to another colony is made, how it is made and...

103. Early Colonial Policy.--At the outset, England's rulers had been very kind to Englishmen who founded colonies. They gave them great grants of land. They gave them rights of...

107. George III and George Grenville.--George III became king in 1760. He was a narrow, stupid, well-meaning, ignorant young man of twenty-one. He soon found in George Grenville...

119. The Soldiers at New York and Boston.--Soldiers had been stationed at New York ever since the end of the French war because that was the most central point on the coast. The...

This section is not only the most important but the most difficult of any so far considered. Its successful teaching requires more preparation than any earlier section. The teac...

133. Advantages of the British.--At first sight it seems as if the Americans were very foolish to fight the British. There were five or six times as many people in the British I...

145. Growth of the Spirit of Independence.--The year 1776 is even more to be remembered for the doings of Congress than it is for the doings of the soldiers. The colonists loved...

157. Fall of Charleston, 1780.--It seemed quite certain that Clinton could not conquer the Northern states with the forces given him. In the South there were many loyalists. Res...

§§ 158, 159.--_a_. Why was the scene of action transferred to the South? _b_. What places were captured? _c_. Compare the British and American armies at Camden. What was the res...

167. Problems of Peace.--The war was over. But the future of the American nation was still uncertain. Indeed, one can hardly say that there was an American nation in 1783. While...

178. Necessity for a New Government.--At this very moment a convention was making a constitution to put an end to the Confederation itself. It was quite clear that something mus...

This period should be taught very slowly and very thoroughly, as it demands much more time than any of the earlier periods. A clear understanding of the Constitution is of the m...

192. Washington elected President.--In the early years under the Constitution the Presidents and Vice-Presidents were elected in the following manner. First each state chose pre...

207. The Federalists.--There were no political parties in the United States in 1789. All the leading men were anxious to give the new Constitution a fair trial. Even Patrick Hen...

218. John Adams elected President, 1796.--In 1796 John Adams was the Federalist candidate for President. His rival was Thomas Jefferson, the founder and chief of the Republican...

§§ 226, 227.--_a_. What position does Washington hold in our history? Why is it deserved? _b_. Describe the election of 1800. Why was it fought so bitterly? _c_. Why should disp...

228. Area and Population, 1800.--The area of the United States in 1800 was the same as at the close of the Revolutionary War. But the population had begun to increase rapidly. I...

237. President Jefferson.--Thomas Jefferson was a Republican. He believed in the republican form of government. He believed the wisdom of the people to be the best guide. He wis...

247. The North Africa Pirates.--Stretching along the northern shores of Africa from Egypt westward to the Atlantic were four states. These states were named Tunis, Tripoli, Algi...

The purchase of Louisiana and the early development of the West are leading points in this period. With the latter must be coupled the important inventions which made such devel...

260. Plan of Campaign, 1812.--The American plan of campaign was that General Hull should invade Canada from Detroit. He could then march eastward, north of Lake Erie, and meet a...

276. The Era as a Whole.--The years 1815-24 have been called the Era of Good Feeling, because there was no hard political fighting in all that time--at least not until the last...

284. End of the Era of Good Feeling.--The Era of Good Feeling came to a sudden ending in 1824. Monroe's second term as President would end in 1825. He refused to be a candidate...

_b._ Trace on a map the line between the free states and the slave states. Why was slavery no longer of importance north of this line? Why was it important south of this line?

§§ 284-288.--_a_. Who were the candidates for President in 1824? Describe the qualities and careers of each of them. For whom would you have voted had you had the right to vote...

293. A New Race.--Between the election of President Jefferson and the election of President Jackson great changes had taken place. The old Revolutionary statesmen had gone. New...

301. General Jackson.--Born in the backwoods of Carolina, Jackson had early crossed the Alleghanies and settled in Tennessee. Whenever trouble came to the Western people, whenev...

314. The Panic of 1837.--The Panic was due directly to Jackson's interference with the banks, to his Specie Circular, and to the distribution of the surplus. It happened in this...

§§ 293, 294.--Compare the condition of the United States in 1830 and 1800 as to (1) extent, (2) population, (3) interests and occupation of the people. Illustrate these changes...

The personality of Andrew Jackson, representing as he does a new element in social and political life, deserves a careful study. The financial policy of his administration is to...

323. Growth of Slavery in the South.--South of Pennsylvania and of the Ohio River slavery had increased greatly since 1787 (p. 136). Washington, Jefferson, Henry, and other grea...

329. The Republic of Texas.--The Mexicans won their independence from Spain in 1821 and founded the Mexican Republic. Soon immigrants from the United States settled in the north...

340. The Wilmot Proviso, 1846.--What should be done with Oregon and with the immense territory received from Mexico? Should it be free soil or should it be slave soil? To unders...

349. Pierce elected President, 1852.--It was now Campaign time for a new election. The Whigs had been successful with two old soldiers, so they thought they would try again with...

Show how the question of slavery was really at the basis of the Mexican War. Geographical conditions and the settlement of the Western country should be carefully noted. A limit...

361. Growth of the Country.--The United States was now three times as large as it was at Jefferson's election. It contained over three million square miles of land. About one-th...

369. The Republican Nomination, 1860.--Four names were especially mentioned in connection with the Republican nomination for President. These were Seward, Chase, Cameron, and Li...

_c_. Why had the control of the House passed to the free states? Did a white man in the North and in the South have proportionally the same representation in the House? Why?

In Chapter 36 the changed attitude of the Southern politicians should be noted and their demands clearly set forth. The fact that the slave owners while a minority in the South...

380. Lincoln's Inauguration.--On March 4, 1861, President Lincoln made his first inaugural address. In it he declared: "The Union is much older than the Constitution.... No stat...

386. Nature of the Conflict.--The overthrow of the Confederate states proved to be very difficult. The Alleghany Mountains cut the South into two great fields of war. Deep and r...

402. The Blockade.--On the fall of Fort Sumter President Lincoln ordered a blockade of the Confederate seaports. There were few manufacturing industries in the South. Cotton and...

412. Position of the Armies, January, 1863.--The Army of the Potomac, now under Hooker, and the Army of Northern Virginia were face to face at Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock...

422. Grant in Command of all the Armies.--The Vicksburg and Chattanooga campaigns marked out Grant for the chief command. Hitherto the Union forces had acted on no well-thought-...

_d_. What oath had the officers of the United States army and navy taken? Did Lee and other officers who resigned necessarily believe in the right of secession? Give your reasons.

A few days spent upon a study of the field of war will save a great deal of time. Channing's _Students' History_ will enable the teacher to indicate the most important strategic...

437. Lincoln's Reconstruction Policy.--The great question now before the country was what should be done with the Southern states and people. And what should be done with the fr...

447. The Fifteenth Amendment.--In February, 1869, just before Grant's inauguration, Congress proposed still another amendment, providing that neither the United States nor any s...

The importance of the topics treated in Part XIV can hardly be overestimated. The opportunities to impress the pupils with their public duties are many and important. Reconstruc...

464. Benjamin Harrison elected President, 1888.--In 1888 the Democrats put forward Cleveland as their candidate for President. The Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison of Ind...

472. The Cuban Rebellion, 1894-98.--The Cubans laid down their arms in 1877 (p. 372) because they relied on the promises of better government made by the Spaniards. But these pr...

Interesting constitutional questions will inevitably arise in teaching this section, but the events are too recent to admit of dogmatizing on lines of policy. The Spanish War an...