Roger Williams, an eloquent and pious young minister, taught that each person should think for himself in all religious matters, and be responsible to his own conscience alone. He declared that the magistrates had, therefore, no right to punish blasphemy, perjury, or Sabbath-breaking. The clergy and magistrates were alarmed at what they considered a doctrine dangerous to the peace of the colony, and he was ordered (1635) to be sent to England. It was in the depth of winter, yet he fled to the forest and found refuge among the Indians. The next year, Canonicus, the Narraganset sachem, gave him land to found a settlement, which he gratefully named Providence.

Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, during the same year, aroused a violent and bitter controversy. She claimed to be favored with special revelations of God's will. These she expounded to crowded congregations of women, greatly to the scandal of the clergy and people. Finally she also was banished.

The Quakers, about twenty years after these summary measures, created fresh trouble by their peculiar views. They were fined, whipped, imprisoned, and sent out of the colony; yet they as constantly returned, glorying in their sufferings. At last four were executed. The people beginning to consider them as martyrs, the persecution gradually relaxed.

A UNION OF THE COLONIES of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut, was formed (1643) under the title of THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. This was a famous league in colonial times. The object was a common protection against the Indians and the encroachments of the Dutch and French settlers.

KING PHILIP'S WAR.—During the life of Massasuit, Plymouth enjoyed peace with the Indians, as did Jamestown during that of Powhatan. After Massasoit's death, his son, Philip, brooded with a jealous eye over the encroachments of the whites. With profound sagacity, he planned a confederation of the Indian tribes against the intruders. The first blow fell on the people of Swansea as they were quietly going home from church on Sunday (July 14, 1675). The settlers flew to arms, but Philip escaped, and soon excited the savages to fall upon the settlements high up the Connecticut valley.

[Footnote: At Hadley the Indians surprised the people on Fast day, June 12,1676. Seizing their muskets at the sound of the savage war-whoop, the men rushed out of the meeting-house to fall into line. But the foe was on every side. Confused and bewildered, the settlers seemed about to give way, when suddenly a strange old man with long white beard and ancient garb appeared among them. Ringing out a quick, sharp word of command, he recalled them to their senses. Following their mysterious leader, they drove the enemy headlong before them. The danger passed, they looked around for their deliverer. But he had disappeared as mysteriously as he had come. The good people believed that God had sent an angel to their rescue. But history reveals the secret. It was the regicide Colonel Goffe. Fleeing from the vengeance of Charles II, with a price set upon his head he had for years wandered about, living in mills, clefts of rocks, and forest caves. At last he had found an asylum with the Hadley minister. From his window he had seen the stealthy Indians coming down the hill. Fired with desire to do one more good deed for God's people, he rushed from his hiding-place, led them on to victory, and then returned to his retreat, never more to reappear.—One learns with regret that recent research throws great doubt over the truth of this thrilling story. It is curious to notice also that there is no proof that Philip possessed any eloquence or was even present in any fight, though all these statements have hitherto been made by reliable historians.]



The colonists fortified their houses with palisades, carried their arms with them into the fields when at work, and stacked them at the door when at church. The Narraganset Indians favored Philip, and seemed on the point of joining his alliance. They had gathered their winter's provisions, and fortified themselves in the midst of an almost inaccessible swamp. Fifteen hundred of the colonists accordingly attacked them in this stronghold. The Indian wigwams and stores were burned, and one thousand warriors perished. In the spring the war broke out anew along a frontier of three hundred miles, and to within twenty miles of Boston. Nowhere fighting in the open field, but by ambuscade and skulking, the Indians kept the whole country in terror. Driven to desperation by their atrocities, the settlers hunted down the savages like wild beasts. Philip was chased from one hiding-place to another. His family being captured at last, he fled, broken-hearted, to his old home on Mt. Hope, near Bristol, E. I., where he was shot by a faithless Indian.



NEW ENGLAND A ROYAL PROVINCE.—The Navigation Act (p. 51), which we have seen so unpopular in Virginia, was exceedingly oppressive in Massachusetts, which possessed a thriving commerce. In spite of the decree the colony opened a trade with the West Indies. The royalists in England determined that this bold republican spirit should be quelled. An English officer who attempted to enforce the Navigation Act having been compelled to return home, Charles II, eagerly seized upon the excuse thus offered, and made Massachusetts a royal province. The king died before his plan was completed, but James II. (1686) declared the charters of all the New England colonies forfeited, and sent over Sir Edmund Andros, as first royal governor of New England. He carried things with a high hand. The colonies endured his oppression for three years, when, learning that his royal master was dethroned, they rose against their petty tyrant and put him in jail. With true Puritan sobriety they then quietly resumed their old form of government. This lasted for three years, when Sir William Phipps came as royal governor over a province embracing Massachusetts, Maine, and Nova Scotia. From this time till the Revolution, Massachusetts remained a royal province.

SALEM WITCHCRAFT (1692).—A strange delusion known as the Salem witchcraft, produced the most intense excitement. The children of Mr. Parris, a minister near Salem, performed pranks which could be explained only by supposing that they were under Satanic influence. Every effort was made to discover who had bewitched them. An Indian servant was flogged until she admitted herself to be guilty. Soon others were affected, and the terrible mania spread rapidly. Committees of examination were appointed and courts of trial convened. The most improbable stories were credited. To express a doubt of witchcraft was to indicate one's own alliance with the evil spirit. Persons of the highest respectability, clergymen, magistrates, and even the governor's wife were implicated. At last, after fifty-five persons had been tortured and twenty hung, the people awoke to their folly.

[Footnote: A belief in witchcraft was at that time universal. Sir Matthew Hale, one of the most enlightened judges of England, repeatedly tried and condemned persons accused of witchcraft. Blackstone himself, at a later day, declared that to deny witchcraft was to deny Revelation. Cotton Mather, the most prominent minister of the colony, was active in the rooting out of this supposed crime. He published a book full of the most ridiculous witch stories. One judge, who engaged in this persecution, was afterward so deeply penitent that he observed a day of fasting in each year, and on the day of general fast rose in his place in the Old South Church at Boston, and in the presence of the congregation handed to the pulpit a written confession acknowledging his error, and praying for forgiveness.]

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MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE.

THESE COLONIES were so intimately united with Massachusetts that they have almost a common history. Gorges (gor-jez) and Mason, about two years after the landing of the Pilgrims, obtained from the Council for New England the grant of a large tract of land which lay between the Merrimac and Kennebec Rivers. They established some small fishing stations near Portsmouth and at Dover. This patent being afterward dissolved, Mason took the country lying west of the Piscataqua, and named it New Hampshire; Gorges took that lying east, and termed it the province of Maine.

[Footnote: To distinguish it from the islands along the coast, this country had been called the Mayne (main) land, which perhaps gave rise to its present name. New Hampshire was so called from Hampshire in England, Mason's home. The settlers of New Hampshire were long vexed with suits brought by the men into whose hands Mason's grant had fallen.]

Massachusetts, however, claimed this territory, and to secure it paid six thousand dollars to the heirs of Gorges. Maine was not separated from Massachusetts till 1820. The feeble settlements of New Hampshire also placed themselves under the protection of Massachusetts. "Three times, either by their own consent or by royal authority, they were joined in one colony, and as often separated," until 1741, when New Hampshire became a royal province, and so remained until the Revolution.

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CONNECTICUT.

[Footnote: This State is named from its principal river— (Connecticut being the Indian word for Long River).]

SETTLEMENT.—About eleven years after the landing of the Pilgrims, Lord Say-and-Seal and Lord Brooke obtained from the Earl of Warwick a transfer of the grant of the Connecticut valley, which he had secured from the Council for New England. The Dutch claimed the territory, and before the English could take possession, built a fort at Hartford, and commenced traffic with the Indians. Some traders from Plymouth sailing up the river were stopped by the Dutch, who threatened to fire upon them. But they kept on and established a post at Windsor (win'-zer). Many people from Boston, allured by the rich meadow lands, settled near. In the autumn of 1635, John Steele, one of the proprietors of Cambridge, led a pioneer company "out west," as it was then called, and laid the foundations of Hartford. The next year the main band, with their pastor—Thomas Hooker, a most eloquent and estimable man—came, driving their flocks before them through the wilderness. In the meantime John Winthrop established a fort at the mouth of the river, and thus shut out the Dutch. This colony, in honor of the proprietors, was named Saybrook.

[Footnote: John Winthrop appears in history without blemish. Highly educated and accomplished, he was no less upright and generous. In the bloom of life, he left all his brilliant prospects in the old world to follow the fortunes of the new. When his father had made himself poor in nurturing the Massachusetts colony, this noble son gave up voluntarily his own large inheritance to "further the good work." It was through his personal influence and popularity at court that the liberal charter was procured from Charles II. which guaranteed freedom to Connecticut.]

THE PEQUOD WAR.—The colonists had no sooner become settled in their new home than the Pequod Indians endeavored to persuade the Narragansets to join them in a general attack upon the whites. Roger Williams hearing of this, and forgetting all the injuries he had received, on a stormy night set out in his canoe for the Indian village. Though the Pequod messengers were present, he prevailed upon the old Narraganset chief to remain at home. So the Pequods lost their ally and were forced to fight alone. They commenced by murdering thirty colonists. Captain Mason, therefore, resolved to attack their stronghold on the Mystic River. His party approached the fort at daybreak (June 4, 1637). Aroused by the barking of a dog, the sleepy sentinel shouted "Owanux! Owanux!" (the Englishmen! ) but it was too late. The troops were already within the palisades. The Indians, rallying, made a fierce resistance, when Captain Mason, seizing a firebrand, hurled it among the wigwams. The flames quickly swept through the encampment. The English themselves barely escaped. The few Indians who fled to the swamps were hunted down. The tribe perished in a day.

THE THREE COLONIES.—1. The New Haven Colony was founded (1638) by a number of wealthy London families. They took the Bible for law, and only church members could vote. 2. The Connecticut Colony, proper, comprising Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor, adopted a written constitution in which it was agreed to give to all freemen the right to vote. This was the first instance in history of a written constitution framed by the people. 3. The Saybrook Colony was at first governed by the proprietors, but was afterward sold to the Connecticut colony. This reduced the three colonies to two.



A ROYAL CHARTER was obtained (1662) which united both these colonies and guaranteed to all the rights upon which the Connecticut colonists had agreed. This was a precious document, since it gave them almost independence, and was the most favorable yet granted to any colony. Twenty-four years after, Governor Andros marching from Boston over the route where the pious Hooker had led his little flock fifty years before, came "glittering with scarlet and lace" into the assembly at Hartford, and demanded the charter. A protracted debate ensued. The people crowded around to take a last look at this guarantee of their liberties, when suddenly the lights were extinguished. On being relighted, the charter was gone. William Wadsworth had seized it, escaped through the crowd and hidden it in the hollow of a tree, famous ever after as the Charter Oak. However, Andros pronounced the charter government at an end. "Finis" was written at the close of the minutes of their last meeting. When the governor was so summarily deposed in Boston the people brought the charter from its hiding-place, the general court reassembled, and the "finis" disappeared.

[Footnote: Another attempt to infringe upon charter rights occurred in 1693. Governor Fletcher ordered the militia placed under his own command. Having called them out to listen to his royal commission, he began to read. Immediately Captain Wadsworth ordered the drums to be beaten. Fletcher commanded silence, and began again. "Drum, drum!" cried Wadsworth. "Silence!" shouted the governor. "Drum, drum, I say!" repeated the captain; and then turning to Fletcher, with a meaning look, he added: "If I am interrupted again, I will make the sun shine through you." The governor did not press the matter.—The story of the Charter Oak is denied by some, who claim that contemporary history does not mention it, and that probably Andros seized the charter, while the colonists had previously made a copy.]



RHODE ISLAND.

[Footnote: An island of a reddish appearance was observed lying in the bay. This was known to the Dutch as Roode or Red Island. Hence the name of the island and State of Rhode Island.—Brodhead.]

SETTLEMENT. Roger Williams settled Providence Plantation in 1636, the year in which Hooker came to Hartford. Other exiles from Massachusetts followed, among them the celebrated Mrs. Hutchinson. A party of these purchased the island of Aquiday and established the Rhode Island Plantation. Roger Williams stamped upon these colonies his favorite idea of religious toleration, i.e., that the civil power has no right to interfere with the religious opinions of men.

[Footnote: William Blackstone, being as dissatisfied with the yoke of the "lords brethren" in Boston as with that of the "lord bishops" in England, some time before this removed to the banks of what is now called the Blackstone, near Providence. He, however, acknowledged the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.]

[Footnote: Persecuted refugees from all quarters flocked to Providence; and Williams shared equally with all the lands he had obtained, reserving to himself only two small fields which, on his first arrival, he had planted with his own hands.]

A CHARTER.—The colonists wished to join the New England Union, but were refused on the ostensible plea that they had no charter. Williams accordingly visited England and obtained a charter uniting the two plantations. On his return the people met, elected their officers, and (1647) agreed on a set of laws guaranteeing freedom of faith and worship to all,—"the first legal declaration of liberty of conscience ever adopted in Europe or America."



NEW YORK.

SETTLEMENT.—Soon after the discovery of the Hudson, as previously described (p. 39), Dutch ships began to visit the river to traffic in furs with the Indians. Afterward the West India Company obtained a grant of New Netherland, and under its patronage permanent settlements were made at New Amsterdam and also at Fort Orange (Albany). The company allowed persons who should plant a colony of fifty settlers to select and buy land of the Indians, which it was agreed should descend to their heirs forever. These persons were called "patroons" (patrons) of the manor.

[Footnote: Some huts were built by the Dutch traders on Manhattan Island in 1613. and a trading-post was established a year or two after. A fort was completed, in 1615, south of the present site of Albany. Eight or nine years later, a party of Walloons or Protestants from Belgian provinces were brought over by the company. About the same time, Fort Orange was erected, and eighteen families built their bark huts under its protection. In 1626, Minuit, the first governor, arrived in New Amsterdam, and purchased Manhattan Island of the Indians for about $24, nearly 1 mill per acre.—Some of the old Dutch manors remain to this day. The famous anti-rent difficulties (p. 182) grew out of such titles.]



EPOCH II.

The history of New York for twenty years is only an account of Indian butcheries., varied by difficulties with the Swedes on the Delaware, and the English on the Connecticut.

[Footnote: These disputes arose from the fact that the Dutch claimed the territory lying between the Delaware and the Connecticut.]



THE FOUR DUTCH GOVERNORS

These disturbances are monotonous enough in the recital, but doubtless thrilled the blood of the early Knickerbockers. Peter Stuyvesant was the last and ablest of the four Dutch governors. He agreed with Connecticut upon the boundary line, and taking an armed force, marched upon the Swedes, who at once submitted to him. But the old Governor hated democratic institutions, and was terribly vexed in this wise. There were some English in the colony, and they longed for the rights of self-government which the Connecticut people enjoyed. They kept demanding these privileges and talking of them to their Dutch neighbors. At this juncture an English fleet came to anchor in the harbor, and demanded the surrender of the town in the name of the Duke of York. Stout-hearted old Peter pleaded with his council to fight. But in vain. They rather liked the idea of English rule. The surrender was signed, and at last the reluctant governor attached his name. In September, 1664, the English flag floated over Manhattan Island. The colony was named New York in honor of the proprietor.



THE ENGLISH GOVERNORS disappointed the people by not granting them their coveted rights. A remonstrance against being taxed without representation was burned by the hangman. So that when, after nine years of English rule, a Dutch fleet appeared in the harbor, the people went back quietly under their old rulers. But the next year peace being restored between England and Holland, New Amsterdam became New York again. Thus ended the Dutch rule in the colonies. Andros, who twelve years after played the tyrant in New England, was the next governor, but he ruled so arbitrarily that he was called home. Under his successor, Dongan, an assembly of the representatives of the people was called, by permission of the Duke of York. This was but a transient gleam of civil freedom, for two years alter, when the Duke of York became James II., king of England, he forgot all his promises, forbade legislative assemblies, prohibited printing-presses, and annexed the colony to New England. When, however, Andros was driven from Boston, Nicholson, his lieutenant and apt tool of tyranny in New York, fled at once. Captain Leisler, supported by the democracy but bitterly opposed by the aristocracy, thereupon administered affairs very prudently until the arrival of Governor Sloughter (slaw-ter) who arrested him on the absurd charge of treason. Sloughter was unwilling to execute him, but Leisler's enemies, at a dinner party, made the governor drunk, obtained his signature, and before he became sober enough to repent, Leisler was no more.

[Footnote: For many years the Atlantic Ocean was infested by pirates. A little after the events narrated above, William Kidd, a New York shipmaster, was sent out to cruise against these sea-robbers. He turned pirate himself and became the most noted of them all. Returning from his cruise, he was at length captured while boldly walking in the streets of Boston. He was carried to England, tried, and hung. His name and deeds have been woven into popular romance, and the song "My name is Captain Kidd, as I sailed, as I sailed," is well known. He is believed to have buried his ill-gotten riches on the coast of Long Island or the banks of the Hudson, and these localities have been oftentimes searched by credulous persons seeking for Kidd's treasure.]

From this time till the Revolution, the struggles of the people with the royal governors for their rights, developed the spirit of liberty and paved the way for that eventful crisis.

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NEW JERSEY.

SETTLEMENT.—The present State of New Jersey was embraced in the territory of New Netherland, and the Dutch made settlements at several places near New York. Soon after New Netherland passed into the hands of the Duke of York, he gave the land between the Hudson and the Delaware to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. In 1664, a company from Long Island and New England settled at Elizabethtown, which they named after Carteret's wife. This was the first permanent English settlement in the State.

[Footnote: This tract was called New Jersey in honor of Carteret, who had been governor of Jersey island in the English Channel.]

EAST AND WEST JERSEY.—Lord Berkeley sold his share to some English Quakers. This part was called West Jersey. A company of Quakers soon settled at Burlington. Others followed, and thus West Jersey became a Quaker colony. Sir George Carteret's portion was called East Jersey. After his death it was sold to William Penn and eleven other Quakers.

[Footnote: It was settled, however, largely by Puritans and Scotch Presbyterians. The latter having refused to accept the English form of religion, had been bitterly persecuted. Fleming their native country they found an asylum in this favored land.]

NEW JERSEY UNITED.—Constant disputes arose out of the land titles. Among so many proprietors the tenants hardly knew from whom to obtain their titles for land. The proprietors finally (1702) surrendered their rights of government to the English crown, and the whole of New Jersey was united with New York under one governor, but with a separate assembly. Thirty-six years after, at the earnest request of the people, New Jersey was set apart as a distinct royal province.



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE.

SETTLEMENT.—The first permanent settlement in Delaware was made (1638) by the Swedes, on a tract which they called New Sweden, lying near Wilmington. They also made the first settlement in Pennsylvania, a few miles below Philadelphia. The Dutch subsequently conquered these settlements, but they continued to prosper long after the Swedish and Dutch rule had yielded to the constantly growing English power.

William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was a celebrated English Quaker, He obtained from Charles II. a grant of the land lying west of the Delaware.

[Footnote: The Quakers, avoiding unmeaning forms, aim to lead purely spiritual lives. Their usual worship is conducted in solemn silence, each soul for itself. They take no oath, make no compliments, remove not the hat to king or ruler, and "thee" and "thou" both friend and foe. Every day is to them a holy day, and the Sabbath simply a day of rest. We can readily see how this must have scandalized the Puritans. William Penn became a Quaker while in college at Oxford. Refusing to wear the customary student's surplice, he with others violently assaulted some fellow-students and stripped them of their robes. For this he was expelled. His father would not allow him to return home. Afterward relenting, he sent him to Paris, Cork, and other cities, to soften his Quaker peculiarities. After several unhappy quarrels, his father proposed to overlook all else if he would only consent to doff his hat to the king, the Duke of York, and himself. Penn still refusing, he was again turned out of doors. He was several times imprisoned for his religious extremes. On the death of his father, to whom he had once more been reconciled, he became heir to quite a fortune. He took the territory which forms Pennsylvania in payment of a debt of 16,000 pounds due his father from the crown.]

This tract Penn named Sylvania, but the king insisted upon calling it Pennsylvania

[Footenote: Penn offered the secretary who drew up the charter twenty guineas to leave off the prefix "Penn" This request being denied, the king was appealed to, who commanded the tract to be called Pennsylvania] (Penn's woods) in honor of William Penn's father.

The Duke of York added to this grant the present State of Delaware, which soon came to be termed the "Three lower counties on the Delaware." Penn wished to form a refuge for his Quaker brethren, who were bitterly persecuted in England. He at once sent over large numbers, as many as two thousand in a single year. The next year he came himself, and was received by the settlers with the greatest cordiality and respect.

PHILADELPHIA FOUNDED.—The year following (1683) Penn purchased land of the Swedes and laid out a city which he named Philadelphia, signifying brotherly love. It was in the midst of the forest, and the startled deer bounded past the settler who came to survey his new home. Yet within a year it contained one hundred houses; in two years numbered over two thousand inhabitants; and in three years gained more than New York had in half a century.

THE GREAT LAW was a code agreed upon by the legislative body which Penn called from among the settlers soon after his arrival. It made faith in Christ a necessary qualification for voting and office-holding; but also provided that no one believing in "Almighty God" should be molested in his religious views. The Quakers, having been persecuted themselves, did not celebrate their liberty by persecuting others. Penn, himself, surrendered the most of his power to the people. His highest ambition seemed to be to advance their interests. He often declared that if he knew anything more that could make them happier, he would freely grant it.

PENN'S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS possesses a romantic interest. He met them under a large elm tree near Philadelphia.

[Footnote: "We meet," said Penn, "on the broad pathway of good faith and good will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. The friendship between you and me I will not compare to a chain; for that the rains might rust or the falling tree might break. We are the same as if one man's body were to be divided into two parts; we are all one flesh and blood."]

The savages were touched by his gentle words and kindly bearing. "We will live in love with William Penn and his children," said they, "as long as the sun and moon shall shine."

[Footnote: This tree was carefully preserved until 1810, when it was blown down. A monument now marks the spot.]

[Footnote: The simple-minded natives kept the history of this treaty by means of strings of wampum, and they would often count over the shells on a clean piece of bark and rehearse its provisions. "It was the only treaty never sworn to, and the only one never broken." On every hand the Indians waged relentless war with the colonies, but they never shed a drop of Quaker blood.]

PENN'S RETURN.—Penn returned to England (1684) leaving the colony fairly established. His benevolent spirit shone forth in his parting words, "Dear friends, my love salutes you all."



DELAWARE.—The three lower counties on the Delaware being greatly offended by the action of the council which Penn had left to govern in his absence, set up for themselves. Penn "sorrowfully" consented to their action, appointed a deputy governor over them, and afterward granted them an assembly. Pennsylvania and Delaware, however, remained under one governor until the Revolution.

PENN'S HEIRS after his death (1718) became proprietors of the flourishing colony he had established. It was ruled by deputies whom they appointed, until (1779) the State of Pennsylvania bought out their claims by the payment of about half a million of dollars.



MARYLAND.

SETTLEMENT.—Lord Baltimore (Cecil Calvert), a Catholic, was anxious to secure for the friends of his church a refuge from the persecutions which they were then suffering in England.

[Footnote: His father, George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, with this same design had attempted to plant a colony in Newfoundland. But having failed on account of the severity of the climate, he visited Virginia. When he found that the Catholics were there treated with great harshness, he returned to England, took out a grant of land, and bestowed upon it, in honor of the queen, Henrietta Maria, the name Maryland. Ere the patent had received the great seal of the king, Lord Baltimore died. His son, inheriting the father's noble and benevolent views, secured the grant himself, and carried out the philanthropic scheme.]

[Footnote: It is curious to observe how largely this country was peopled in its earlier days by refugees for religious faith. The Huguenots, the Puritans, the Quakers, the Presbyterians, the Catholics, the persecuted of every sect and creed, all flocked to this "home of the free."]

He accordingly obtained from King Charles a grant of land lying north of the Potomac. The first settlement was made (1634) by his brother at an Indian village which he called St. Mary's, near the mouth of the Potomac.

THE CHARTER was very different from that granted to Virginia, since it gave to all freemen a voice in making the laws. An Assembly, called in accordance with this provision, passed (1649) the celebrated Toleration Act, which secured to all Christians liberty to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. Maryland, like Rhode Island, became an asylum for the persecuted.

[Footnote: Two years before, Rhode Island had passed an act protecting every kind of religious faith and worship. Maryland extended protection to all forms of Christianity alone.]



CIVIL WARS.

1. Clayborne's Rebellion (1635).—The Virginia colony claimed that Lord Baltimore's grant covered territory belonging to them. Clayborne, a member of the Jamestown council, was especially obstinate in the matter. He had already established two trading posts in Maryland, which he prepared to defend by force of arms. A bloody skirmish ensued, in which his party was beaten. He, himself, had fled to Virginia, on the eve of battle, but being accused of treason, was sent to England for trial. He was, however, acquitted of this charge. Ten years afterward he came back, raised a rebellion, and drove Calvert, then governor of Maryland, out of the colony. The governor returned at last with a strong force, and Clayborne fled. This ended the contest.

2. The Protestants and the Catholics.—The Protestants, having obtained a majority in the Assembly, made a most ungrateful use of their power. They refused to acknowledge the hereditary rights of the proprietor, assailed his religion, excluded Catholics from the Assembly, and even declared them outside the protection of the law. Civil war ensued. For years the victory alternated. At one time two governments, one Protestant, the other Catholic, were sustained. In 1691, Lord Baltimore was entirely deprived of his rights as proprietor, and Maryland became a royal province. The Church of England was established, and the Catholics were again disfranchised in the very province they had planted. In 1715, the fourth Lord Baltimore recovered the government, and religious toleration was again restored. Maryland remained under this administration until the Revolution.

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THE CAROLINAS.

SETTLEMENT.—Lord Clarendon and several other noblemen obtained (1663) from Charles II. a grant of a vast tract south of Virginia, which was termed in honor of the king, Carolina. Two permanent settlements were soon made.

[Footnote: This in Latin is Carolus II.]

[Footnote: Both colonies were named after prominent proprietors of the grant.]

1. The _Albemarle_Colony_. This was a name given to a plantation which was already settled by people who had pushed through the wilderness from Virginia. A governor from their own number was appointed over them. They were then left in quiet to enjoy their liberties and forget the world.

[Footnote: Except when rent day came. Then they were called upon to pay to the English proprietors a half-penny per acre.]

2. The Carteret Colony was established (1670) by English emigrants. They first sailed into the well-known waters where Ribaut anchored and the fort of Carolina was erected so long before. Landing, they began a settlement on the banks of the Ashley, but afterward removed to the "ancient groves covered with yellow jessamine" which marked the site of the present city of Charleston. The growth of this colony was rapid from the first. Thither came shiploads of Dutch from New York, dissatisfied with the English rule and attracted by the genial climate. The Huguenots (French Protestants), hunted from their homes, here found a southern welcome.

[Footnote: In Charleston alone there were at one time as many as 16,000 Huguenots. They added whole streets to the city. Their severe morality, marked charity, elegant manners and thrifty habits, made them a most desirable acquisition. They brought the mulberry and olive, and established magnificent plantations on the banks of the Cooper. They also introduced many choice varieties of pears, which still bear illustrious Huguenot names. Their descendants are eminently honorable, and have borne a proud part in the establishment of our Republic. Of seven presidents who were at the head of the Congress of Philadelphia during the Revolution, three were of Huguenot parentage.]

THE GRAND MODEL was a form of government for the colonies prepared by Lord Shaftesbury and the celebrated philosopher, John Locke. It was a magnificent scheme. The wilderness was to be divided into vast estates, with which hereditary titles were to be granted. But the model was aristocratic, while the people were democratic. It granted no rights of self-government, while the settlers came into the wilderness for the love of liberty. This was not the soil on which vain titles and empty pomp could flourish. To make the Grand Model a success, it would have been necessary to transform the log-cabin into a baronial castle, and the independent settlers into armed retainers. The attempt to introduce it arousing violent opposition, it was at length abandoned.

NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA SEPARATED.—The two colonies,—the northern, or Albemarle, and the southern, or Carteret,—being so remote from each other, had from the beginning separate governors, though they remained one province. There was constant friction between the settlers and the proprietors. The people were jealous. The proprietors were arbitrary. Rents, taxes, and rights were plentiful sources of irritation. Things kept on in this unsettled way until (1729) the discouraged proprietors ceded to the crown their right of government and seven-eighths of the soil. The two colonies were separated and they remained royal provinces until the Revolution.



GEORGIA.

SETTLEMENT.—The same year in which Washington was born (1732), this last colony of the famous thirteen which were to fight for independence under him was planned. James Oglethorpe, a warm-hearted English officer, having conceived the idea of founding a refuge for debtors burdened by the severe laws of that time, naturally turned to America, even then the home of the oppressed. George II. granted him "in trust for the poor" a tract of land which, in honor of the king, was called Georgia. Oglethorpe settled at Savannah in 1733.

[Footnote: He made peace with the Indians, conciliating them by presents and by his kindly disposition. One of the chiefs gave him in return a buffalo's skin with the head and feathers of an eagle painted on the inside of it "The eagle," said the chief, "signifies swiftness; and the buffalo strength. The English are swift as a bird to fly over the vast seas, and as strong as a beast before their enemies. The eagle's feathers are soft and signify love; the buffalo's skin is warm and means protection; therefore love and protect our families."]

A general interest was excited in England, and many charitable people gave liberally to promote the enterprise. More emigrants followed, including, as in the other colonies, many who sought religious or civil liberty.

[Footnote: The gentle Moravians and sturdy Scotch Highlanders were among the number, and proved a valuable acquisition to the colony. The former had fled hither from Austria, for "conscience' sake." Having founded a little colony among the pine forests of Georgia, they named it Ebenezer,-taking as their motto "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." When John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, came to America as a missionary with his brother Charles, they were greatly charmed with the fervent piety of this simple people. The celebrated George Whitfield afterward founded at Savannah an orphan asylum, which he supported by contributions from the immense audiences which his wonderful eloquence attracted. On one occasion sixty thousand were gathered to hear him, and his open-air meetings were often attended by from twenty thousand to forty thousand people.]

The trustees limited the size of a man's farm, did not allow women to inherit land, and forbade the importation of rum, or of slaves. These restrictions were irksome, and great discontent prevailed. At last the trustees, wearied by the complaints of the colonists, surrendered their charter to the crown. Georgia remained a royal province till the Revolution.

[Footnote: Rum was obtained in exchange for lumber in the West Indies. Hence this law prevented that trade and cut off a valuable source of profit.]

* * * * *



INTER-COLONIAL WARS.



I. KING WILLIAM'S WAR. (1689-1697.)

CAUSE.—War having broken out in Europe between England and France, their colonies in America took up the quarrel. The Indians of Canada and Maine aided the French, and the Iroquois (Five Nations of New York) assisted the English.

ATTACKS UPON THE COLONISTS.—War parties of the French and Indians coming down on their snow-shoes from Canada through the forest in the depth of winter, fell upon the exposed settlements of New York and New England, and committed the most horrible barbarities. Schenectady, unsuspecting and defenceless, was attacked at midnight. Men, women, and children were dragged from their beds and tomahawked. The few who escaped, half-naked, made their way through the snow of that fearful night to Albany.

[Footnote: The histories of the time abound in thrilling stories of Indian adventure. One day in March, 1697, Haverhill, Mass., was attacked. Mr. Dustin was at work in the field. Hurrying to his house, he brought out his seven children, and bidding them "run ahead," slowly retreated, keeping the Indians back with his gun. He thus brought off his little flock in safety. His wife, who was unable to escape with him, was dragged into captivity. The party who had captured Mrs. Dustin marched many days through the forest, and at length reached an island in the Merrimac. Here she resolved to escape. A white boy, who had been taken prisoner before, found out from his master, at Mrs. Dustin's request, how to strike a blow that would produce instant death, and how to take off a scalp. Having learned these facts, in the night she awoke the boy and her nurse, and arranged their parts The task was soon done Seizing each a tomahawk, they killed ten of the sleeping Indians; only one escaped She then scalped the dead bodies, in order to prove her story when she should reach home, and hastened to the bank, where, finding a canoe, they descended the river and soon rejoined her family]



ATTACKS BY THE COLONISTS.—Aroused by these scenes of savage ferocity, the colonists organized two expeditions, one under Governor Phipps of Massachusetts, against Port Royal, Acadia, and the other a combined land and naval attack on Canada. The former was successful, and secured, it is said, plunder enough to pay the expenses of the expedition. The latter was a disastrous failure.

PEACE.—The war lasted eight years. It was ended by the treaty of Ryswick (riz'-wik), according to which each party held the territory it had at the beginning of the struggle.



II. QUEEN ANNE'S WAR. (1702-1713.)

CAUSE.—England having declared war against France and Spain, hostilities broke out between their colonies. The Five Nations had made a treaty with the French, and so took no part in the contest. Their neutrality protected New York from invasion. Consequently, the brunt of the war fell on New England.

ATTACKS ON THE COLONISTS.—The New England frontier was again desolated. Remote settlements were abandoned. The people betook themselves to palisaded houses, and worked their farms with their guns always at hand.

[Footnote: On the last night of February, 1704, while the snow was four feet deep, a party of about three hundred and fifty French and Indians reached a pine forest near Deerfield, Mass. They skulked about till the unfaithful sentinels deserted the morning watch, when they rushed upon the defenceless slumberers, who awoke from their dreams to death or captivity. Leaving the blazing village with forty-seven dead bodies to be consumed amid the wreck, they then started back with their train of one hundred and twelve captives. The horrors of that march through the wilderness can never be told. The groan of helpless exhaustion, or the wail of suffering childhood, was instantly stilled by the pitiless tomahawk. Mrs. Williams, the feeble wife of the minister, had remembered her Bible in the midst of surprise, and comforted herself with its promises, till, her strength failing, she commended her five captive children to God and bent to the savage blow of the war-axe. One of her daughters grew up in captivity, embraced the Catholic faith, and became the wife of a chief. Years after she visited her friends in Deerfield. The whole village joined in a fast for her deliverance, but her heart loved best her own Mohawk children, and she went back to the fires of her Indian wigwam.]

ATTACKS BY THE COLONISTS.

1. At the South.—South Carolina made a fruitless expedition against her old enemies at St. Augustine (1702).

[Footnote: Four years after, the French and Spanish in Havana sent a fleet against Charleston. The people, however, valiantly defended themselves, and soon drove off their assailants.]

2. At the North.—Port Royal was again wrested from the French by a combined force of English and colonial troops. In honor of the queen, the name was changed to Annapolis. Another expedition sailed against Quebec, but many of the ships were dashed upon the rocks in the St. Lawrence, and nearly one thousand men perished. Thus ended the second attempt to conquer Canada.

PEACE.-The war lasted eleven years. It was ended by the treaty of Utrecht (oo-trekt), according to which Acadia was ceded to England.



III. KING GEORGE'S WAR.

[Footnote: This war was immediately preceded by what is known as the "SPANISH WAR," which grew out of the difficulties then existing between England and Spain. It was marked by no important event in the colonies. Governor Oglethorpe invested (1740) St. Augustine with a force of two thousand men, but the strength of the Spanish garrison, and the loss by sickness, caused the attempt to be abandoned. The Spaniards, in their turn, sent (1742) an expedition against Georgia. By means of a letter which Governor Oglethorpe caused to fall into the hands of the Spaniards, they were made to believe that he expected large reinforcements. Being frightened, they burned the fort they had captured, and fled in haste. The colonies, also, furnished about four thousand men for an expedition against the Spanish settlements in the West Indies; but only a few hundred ever returned from this disastrous enterprise.]



(1744-1748.)

CAPTURE OF LOUISBURG.—War having again broken out between England and France, the flame was soon kindled in the new world. The only event of importance was the capture of Louisburg on the island of Cape Breton, by a combined force of English and colonial troops. The latter did most of the fighting, but the former took the glory and the booty. Peace being made in 1748 by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (akes-la-sha-pel), England gave back Louisburg to the French. The boundaries between the French and English colonies were left undecided, and so the germ of a new war remained.

[Footnote: Louisburg was called the "Gibraltar of America." Its fortifications were extensive, and cost upward of $5,000,000. The siege was conducted in the most unscientific way, the colonial troops laughing at military terms and discipline. When the place was captured, they were themselves astonished at what they had done. The achievement called forth great rejoicing over the country, especially in New England, and had an influence on the Revolutionary War, thirty years after. Colonel Gridley, who planned General Pepperell's batteries in this siege, laid out the American intrenchments on Bunker Hill. The same old drums that beat the triumphal entrance of the New Englanders into Louisburg, June 17, 1745, beat at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. "When General Gage was erecting intrenchments on Boston Neck, the provincials sneeringly remarked that his mud walls were nothing compared to the stone walls of old Louisburg."]



IV. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. (1754-1763)

CAUSE.—The English occupied at this time a narrow strip along the coast one thousand miles in length. It was like a string to the great bow of the French territory which reached around from Quebec to New Orleans. Both nations claimed the region west of the Alleghany Mountains, along the Ohio River. The three previous inter-colonial wars had engendered bitter hatred, and occasions of quarrel were abundant. The French had over sixty military posts guarding the long line of their possessions. They seized the English surveyors along the Ohio. They broke up a British post on the Miami.

[Footnote: The claims of the real proprietors, the Indians, were overlooked by both the English and the French. The Indians, feeling this, sent to the agent of the Ohio Company the pertinent query, "Where is the Indian's land? The English claim all on one side of the river, the French all on the other. Where does our land lie?"]

[Footnote: The Indian allies of the French having captured the Miami chief who defended his English friends, killed and ate him, in true savage style.]

They built a fort at Presque Isle (pres-keel) near the present town of Erie, Penn.; another, Fort le Boeuf (le boof), at the present town of Waterford; and a third, Fort Venango, about twelve miles south, on French Creek. These encroachments awakened the liveliest solicitude on the part of the colonists.

WASHINGTON'S JOURNEY.—Din-wid'-die, lieutenant-governor of Virginia, accordingly sent a message by George Washington, then a young man of twenty-one, to the French commander of these forts, asking their removal. Washington, the very day he received his credentials, set out on his perilous journey through the wilderness from Williamsburg to Lake Erie. He found the French officer at Fort Venango loud and boastful. At Fort le Boeuf the commandant, St. Pierre (sang-pe-are), treated him with great respect; but, like a true soldier, refused to discuss theories, and declared himself under orders which he should obey. It was clear that France was determined to hold the territory explored by the heroic La Salle and Marquette. The shore in front of the fort was even then lined with canoes ready for an intended expedition down the river. Washington's return through the wilderness, a distance of four hundred miles, was full of peril. At last he reached home unharmed, and delivered St. Pierre's reply.



[Footnote: The streams were swollen. The snow was falling and freezing as it fell. The horses gave out, and he was forced to proceed on foot. With only one companion, he quitted the usual path, and, with the compass as his guide, struck boldly out through the forest. An Indian, lying in wait, fired at him only a few paces off, but missing, was captured. Attempting to cross the Alleghany on a rude raft, they were caught between large masses of ice floating down the rapid current of the mid-channel. Washington thrust out his pole to check the speed, but was jerked into the foaming water. Swimming to an island, he barely saved his life. Fortunately, in the morning the river was frozen over, and he escaped on the ice.]

WAR OPENS.—Early the next spring, the French, at the fork of the Monongahela and Alleghany, drove off a party of English traders and erected a fort, which was called Du Quesne (doo-kane). Soon, among the blackened stumps, corn and barley were growing on the present site of Pittsburg. In the meantime, a regiment of Virginia troops, under Colonel Frye, Washington being second in command, had been sent out to occupy this important point. Learning that the French had anticipated them, Washington hastened forward with a reconnoitering party. Jumonville (zhoo-mong-veel), who was hiding among the rocks with a company of French troops, waiting an opportunity to attack him, was himself surprised and defeated.

[Footnote: Washington's word of command to "fire!" upon that skulking foe, on the night of May 28, 1754, was the opening of the campaign. Washington himself, it is said, fired the first gun of that long and bloody war.]

On the death of Colonel Frye, soon after, Washington assumed command. Collecting the troops at the Great Meadows, he erected a stockade, which he aptly named Fort Necessity. Here he was attacked by a large force of French and Indians, and after a severe conflict was compelled to capitulate.



THE FIVE OBJECTIVE POINTS OF THE WAR.

1. Fort du Quesne was the key to the region west of the Alleghanies, and as long as the French held it, Virginia and Pennsylvania were exposed to Indian attacks.

2. The possession of Louisburg and Acadia threatened New England, while it gave control over the Newfoundland fisheries. French privateers harbored there, darted out and captured English ships, and then returned where they were safe from pursuit.

3. Crown Point and Ticonderoga controlled the route to Canada by the way of Lake George and Lake Champlain, and also offered a safe starting-point for French expeditions against New York and New England.

4. Niagara lay on the portage between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and thus protected the great fur trade of the upper lakes and the West.

5. Quebec being the strongest fortification in Canada, gave control of the St. Lawrence, and largely decided the possession of that province.

We thus see why these points were so persistently attacked by the English, and so obstinately defended by the French. We shall speak of them in order.

1. FORT DU QUESNE.

The First Expedition (1755) was commanded by General Braddock, Washington acting as aide-de-camp. The general was a regular British officer, proud and conceited. Washington warned him of the dangers of savage warfare, but his suggestions were received with contempt.

[Footnote: "The Indians," said Braddock, "may frighten continental troops, but they can make no impression on the king's regulars!"]

The column came within ten miles of the fort, marching along the Monongahela in regular array, drums beating and colors flying. Suddenly, in ascending a little slope, with a deep ravine and thick underbrush on either side, they encountered the Indians lying in ambush. The terrible war-whoop resounded on every hand. The British regulars huddled together, and, frightened, fired by platoons, at random, against rocks and trees. The Virginia troops alone sprang into the forest and fought the savages in Indian style. Washington seemed everywhere present. An Indian chief with his braves especially singled him out.

[Footnote: Fifteen years after, this old Indian chief came "a long way" to see the Virginia officer at whom he fired a rifle fifteen times without hitting him, during the Monongahela fight. Washington never received a wound in battle.]

Four balls passed through his clothes. Two horses were shot under him. Braddock was mortally wounded and borne from the field. At last, when the continental troops were nearly all killed, the regulars turned and fled disgracefully, abandoning everything to the foe. Washington covered their flight and saved the wreck of the army from pursuit.

Second Expedition (1758).—General Forbes led the second expedition, Washington commanding tho Virginia troops. The general lost so much time in building roads that, in November, he was fifty miles from the fort. A council of war decided to give up the attempt. But Washington receiving news of the weakness of the French garrison, urged a forward movement. He himself led the advance guard, and by his vigilance dispelled all danger of Indian surprise. The French fired the fort, and fled at his approach. As the flag of England floated out over the ruined ramparts, this gateway of the west was named Pittsburg.

[Footnote: This was in honor of William Pitt, prime minister of England, whose true friendship for the colonies was warmly appreciated in America. He came into power in 1758, and from that time the war took on a different aspect.]

2. ACADIA AND LOUISBURG.

1. Acadia.—Scarcely had the war commenced, when an attack was made on Acadia. The French forts at the head of the Bay of Fundy were quickly taken, and the entire region east of the Penobscot fell into the hands of the English.

[Footnote: This victory was disgraced by an act of heartless cruelty. The Acadians were a simple-minded, rural people. They readily gave up their arms and meekly submitted to their conquerors. But the English authorities, knowing their sympathy with the French and coveting their rich farms, drove old and young on board the ships at the point of the bayonet, and distributed them among the colonies. Families were broken up, their homes burned, and, poor exiles, the broken-hearted Acadians met everywhere only insult and abuse. Longfellow, in his beautiful poem "Evangeline," has revived in the present generation a warm sympathy for these people, whose misfortunes he has so pathetically recorded.]

2. Louisburg (1757).—General Loudoun collected an army at Halifax for an attack on Louisburg. After spending all summer in drilling his troops, "he gave up the attempt on learning that the French fleet contained one more ship than his own!" The next year Generals Amherst and Wolfe captured the city after a severe bombardment, and took possession of the entire island.

[Footnote: Abandoning Louisburg, the English made Halifax, as it is to-day, their rendezvous in that region.]

3. CROWN POINT AND TICONDEROGA.

1. Battle of Lake George.—About the time of Braddock's expedition, another was undertaken against Crown Point. The French under Dieskau (de-es-ko) were met near the head of Lake George.

[Footnote: The brave Dieskau was severely wounded. In the pursuit, a soldier found him leaning against a stump. As he fumbled for his watch to propitiate his enemy, the soldier thinking him to be searching for his pistol, shot him.]

[Footnote: Johnson, the English commander, received word of the approach of the enemy, and sent out Colonel Williams with twelve hundred men to stop them. In the skirmish Williams was killed. He was the real founder of Williams College, having by his will, made while on his way to battle, bequeathed a sum to found a free school for Western Massachusetts.]

Fortunately, General Johnson, being slightly wounded, early in the action retired to his tent, whereupon General Lyman, with his provincial troops, regained the battle then nearly lost. This victory following closely on the heels of Braddock's disaster, excited great joy. Johnson was voted knighthood and $25,000; Lyman, the real victor, received nothing. This battle ended the attempt to take Crown Point. Johnson loitered away the summer in building a fort near by, which he called William Henry.

[Footnote: Two years after, Montcalm, the new French general, swept down from Canada and captured this fort with its garrison, although Webb was at Fort Edward, fourteen miles below, with six thousand men lying idly in camp. The victory is noted for an illustration of savage treachery. The English had been guaranteed a safe escort to Fort Edward. But they had scarcely left the fort when the Indians fell upon them to plunder and to slaughter. In vain did the French officers peril their lives to save their captives from the lawless tomahawk. "Kill me," cried Montcalm, in desperation, "but spare the English, who are under my protection." The Indian fury, however, was implacable, and the march of the prisoners to Fort Edward became a flight for life.]

In the fall he returned to Albany and disbanded his troops.

2. Attack on Ticonderoga.—On a calm Sunday morning, about four months before the fall of Fort du Quesne, a thousand boats full of soldiers, with waving flags and strains of martial music, swept down Lake George to attack Ticonderoga. General Abercrombie ordered an assault before his artillery came up, and while the battle raged lay hid away in the rear. A disastrous repulse was the result.

[Footnote: While the main army was delaying after this failure, Colonel Bradstreet obtained permission to go against Fort Frontenac, on the present site of Kingston. Crossing the lake, he captured the fort and a large quantity of stores intended for Fort Du Quesne. The loss disheartened the garrison of the latter place, frightened off their Indian allies, and did much to cause its evacuation on the approach of the English.]

3. Capture of both Forts.—The next year (1759), at the approach of General Amherst with a large army, both Ticonderoga and Crown Point were evacuated.

4. NIAGARA.

1. About the time of Braddock's expedition, General Shirley marched to capture Niagara. But reaching Oswego and learning of that disastrous defeat, he was discouraged. He simply built a fort and came home.

[Footnote: The next year that indefatigable general, Montcalm, crossed the lake from Canada and captured this fort with its garrison and a large amount of public stores.]

2. Nothing further was done toward the capture of this important post for four years, when it was invested by General Prideaux (pre-do). In spite of desperate attempts made to relieve the garrison, it was at last compelled to surrender (1759). New York was thus extended to Niagara River, and the West was secured to the English.

[Footnote: Prideaux was accidentally killed during the siege, but his successor, Johnson, satisfactorily carried out his plans.]

5. QUEBEC (1759).—The same summer in which Niagara, Crown Point, and Ticonderoga were occupied by the English, General Wolfe anchored with a large fleet and eight thousand land troops in front of Quebec. Opposed to him was the vigilant French general, Montcalm, with a command equal to his own. The English cannon easily destroyed the lower city next the river, but the citadel being on higher ground, was far out of their reach. The bank of the river, for miles a high craggy wall, bristled with cannon at every landing-place. For months Wolfe lingered before the city, vainly seeking some feasible point of attack. Carefully reconnoitering the precipitous bluff above the city, his sharp eyes at length discovered a narrow path winding among the rocks to the top, and he determined to lead his army up this ascent.

[Footnote: It was expected that the two armies engaged in the capture of these forts would join Wolfe in the attack on Quebec; but for various reasons they made no attempt to do so, and Wolfe was left to perform his task alone.]



[Footnote: General Wolfe was a great admirer of the poet Gray. As he went the rounds for final inspection on the beautiful starlight evening before the attack, he remarked to those in the boat with him. "'I would rather be the author of The Elegy in a Country Churchyard' than to have the glory of beating the French to morrow," and amid the rippling of the water and the dashing of the oars he repeated

"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike the inevitable hour The paths of glory lead but to the grave"]

To distract the enemy's attention, he took his men several miles up the river. Thence dropping down silently by night with the ebb-tide, they landed, clambered up the steep cliff, quickly dispersed the guard, and at day-break stood arrayed in order of battle on the Plains of Abraham.

[Footnote: Although Wolfe rose from a sick-bed to lead his troops, he was the first man to land. The shore was lined with French sentinels. A captain who understood French and had been assigned this duty, answered the challenge of the sentinel near the landing, and thus warded off the first danger of alarm.]

Montcalm, astonished at the audacity of the attempt, could scarcely believe it possible. When convinced of its truth he at once made an impetuous attack. Wolfe's veterans held their fire until the French were close at hand, then poured upon them rapid, steady volleys. The enemy soon wavered. Wolfe, placing himself at the head, now ordered a bayonet charge. Already twice wounded, he still pushed forward. A third ball struck him. He was carried to the rear. "They run! They run!" exclaimed the officer on whom he leaned. "Who run?" he faintly gasped. "The French," was the reply. "Now God be praised, I die happy," murmured the expiring hero. Montcalm, too, was fatally wounded as he was vainly trying to rally the fugitives. On being told by the surgeon that he could not live more than twelve hours, he answered, "So much the better. I shall not see the surrender of Quebec."

Five days afterward (September 18, 1759,) the city and garrison capitulated.



CLOSE OF THE WAR.

[Footnote: The five points which were especially sought by the English were now all captured. Canada itself, worn out, impoverished, and almost in famine, because of the long war, was ready for peace.]

PEACE.—The next year an attempt was made to re-capture Quebec. But a powerful fleet arrived from England in time to raise the siege. A large army marched upon Montreal, and Canada soon submitted. The English flag now waved over the continent, from the Arctic Ocean to the Mississippi. Peace was made at Paris in 1763. Spain ceded Florida to England. France gave up to England all her territory east of the Mississippi, except two small islands south of Newfoundland, retained as fishing stations; while, to Spain she ceded New Orleans, and all her territory west of the Mississippi.

PONTIAC'S WAR.—The French traders and missionaries had won the hearts of the Indians. When the more haughty English came to take possession of the western forts, great discontent was roused. Pontiac, a chief of the Ottawas, Philip-like, formed a confederation of the tribes against the common foe. It was secretly agreed to fall at once upon all the British posts. Eight forts were thus surprised and captured.

[Footnote: Various stratagems were employed to accomplish their designs. At Maumee, a squaw lured forth the commander by imploring aid for an Indian woman dying outside the fort. Once without, he was at the mercy of the ambushed savages. At Mackinaw, hundreds of Indians had gathered. Commencing a game at ball, one party drove the other, as if by accident, toward the fort. The soldiers were attracted to watch the game. At length the ball was thrown over the pickets, and the Indians jumping after it, began the terrible butchery. The commander, Major Henry, writing in his room, heard the war-cry and the shrieks of the victims, and rushing to his window beheld the savage work of the tomahawk and the scalping-knife. Amid untold perils he himself escaped. At Detroit, the plot was betrayed by a squaw, and when the chiefs were admitted to their proposed council for "brightening the chain of friendship," they found themselves surrounded by an armed garrison. Pontiac was allowed to escape. Two days after he commenced a siege which lasted several months. In payment of the supplies for his army, he issued birch-bark notes signed with the figure of an otter. These primitive "government bonds" were promptly paid when due.]

Thousands of persons fled from their homes to avoid the scalping-knife. At last the Indians, disagreeing among themselves, deserted the alliance, and a treaty was signed. Pontiac, still revengeful, fled to the hunting-grounds of the Illinois. There he was murdered by a Peorian Indian, while endeavoring to incite another attack.

EFFECTS OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.—In this war the colonists spent $16,000,000, and England repaid only $5,000,000. The Americans lost thirty thousand men, and suffered the untold horrors of Indian barbarity. The taxes sometimes equaled two-thirds the income of the tax-payer; yet they were levied by their own representatives, and they did not murmur. The men of different colonies and diverse ideas fought shoulder to shoulder, and many sectional jealousies were allayed. They learned to think and act independently of the mother country, and thus came to know their strength. Democratic ideas had taken root, legislative bodies had been called, troops raised and supplies voted, not by England, but by themselves. They had become fond of liberty. They knew their rights and dared maintain them. When they voted money they kept the purse in their own hands.

The treatment of the British officers helped also to unite the colonists. They made sport of the awkward provincial soldiers. The best American officers were often thrust aside to make place for young British subalterns. But, in spite of sneers, Washington, Gates, Montgomery, Stark, Arnold, Morgan, Putnam, all received their training, and learned how, when the time came, to fight even British regulars.

* * * * *



CONDITION OF THE COLONIES.

[Footnote: Read Dames's Popular History of the United States, Chap 4, Colonial Life.]

There were now thirteen colonies. They numbered about 2,000,000 people. The largest cities were Boston and Philadelphia, each containing about eighteen thousand inhabitants Three forms of government existed—charter, proprietary, and royal. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, had charter governments. Maryland and Pennsylvania (with Delaware) were proprietary—that is, their proprietors governed them. Georgia, Virginia, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and the Carolinas were directly subject to the crown, the last three being at first proprietary, but afterward becoming royal. The colonies were all Protestant. The intolerant religious spirit of early days had moderated, and there had been a gradual assimilation of manners and customs. They had, in a word, become Americans. In accordance with the customs of the age, the laws were still severe. Thus in New England, at one time, twelve offences were punishable by death, while in Virginia there were seventeen capital crimes. The affairs of private life were regulated by law in a manner that would not now be endured. At Hartford, for example, the ringing of the watchman's bell in the morning was the signal for every one to rise and in Massachusetts a scold was sometimes gagged and placed near her door, while for other minor offences the stocks and pillory were used. The social prejudices brought over from England still survived in a measure. Even in New England official positions were monopolized by a few leading families, and often descended from father to son. The catalogues of Harvard and Yale were long arranged according to the rank of the students.



Nine colleges had already been established. These were Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, Princeton, Columbia (originally called King's), Brown, Rutger's (then Queen's), Dartmouth, and Hampden Sidney. Educational interests were not fostered by the English government. Only one donation was given to found a college in the colonies—that of William and Mary, an institution named in honor of these sovereigns.



Agriculture was the main dependence of the people, though manufactures, even at this early period, received much attention at the north. Hats, paper shoes, household furniture, farming utensils, and the coarser kinds of cutlery were made to some extent. Cloth weaving had been introduced. Most thrifty people, however, dressed in homespun. It is said of Mrs. Washington that she kept running sixteen spinning-wheels. Commerce had steadily increased—principally, however, as coast trade, in consequence of the oppressive laws of Great Britain. The daring fishermen of New England already pushed their whaling crafts far into the icy regions of the north. Money was for many years very scarce. In 1635 musket-bullets were made to pass in place of farthings, the law providing that not more than twelve should be given in one payment.



The first printing press was set up at Cambridge, in 1639. Most of the books of that day were collections of sermons. The first permanent newspaper, The Boston News Letter, was published in 1704. In 1750 there were only seven newspapers. The Federal Orrery, the first daily paper, was not issued till 1792. There was a public library in New York, from which books were loaned at four and a half pence per week.

The usual mode of travel was on foot or horseback. People journeyed largely by means of coasting sloops. The trip from New York to Philadelphia occupied three days if the wind was fair. There was a wagon running bi-weekly from New York across New Jersey. Conveyances were put on in 1766, which made the unprecedented time of two days from New York to Philadelphia. They were, therefore, termed "flying machines."

The first stage route was between Providence and Boston, taking two days for the trip. A post-office system had been effected by the combination of the colonies, which united the whole country. Benjamin Franklin was one of the early postmasters-general. He made a grand tour of the country in his chaise, perfecting and maturing the plan. His daughter Sally accompanied him, riding sometimes by his side in the chaise, and sometimes on the extra horse which he had with him. It took five months to make the rounds which could now be performed in as many days. A mail was started in 1672, between New York and Boston, by way of Hartford; according to the contract the round trip being made monthly.



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

1. The New England people were strict in morals. Governor Winthrop prohibited cards and gaming tables. A man was whipped for shooting fowl on Sunday. No man was allowed to keep tavern who did not bear an excellent character and possess property. The names of drunkards were posted up in the ale houses, and the keepers forbidden to sell them liquor. By order of the colony of Connecticut, no person under twenty years of age could use any tobacco without a physician's order; and no one was allowed to use it oftener than once a day, and then not within ten miles of any house.

Articles of dress were also limited or regulated by law. No person whose estate did not exceed 200 pounds, could wear "gold or silver lace, or any lace above 2 shillings per yard." The "selectmen" were required to take note of the "apparel" of the people, especially their "ribbands and great boots." Only the gentility, including ministers and their wives, received the prefix Mr. and Mrs. to their names. Others, above servitude, were called Goodman and Goodwife.

Conduct was shaped by a literal interpretation of the Scriptures. Simplicity of manners and living was carefully inculcated. At first the ministers had almost entire control. A church reproof was the heaviest punishment, and knotty points in theology caused the bitterest discussion. A pillion was the grandest equipage, and a plain blue and white gown, with primly starched apron, was the common attire of the New England dames.

2. The Middle Colonies.—The manners of the New York people were essentially Dutch. Many customs then inaugurated still remain in vogue. Among these is that of New Year's Day visiting, of which General Washington said, "New York will in process of years gradually change its ancient customs and manners, but whatever changes take place, never forget the cordial observance of New Year's Day." So, also, to the Dutch we owe our Christmas visit of Santa Claus, colored eggs at Easter, doughnuts, crullers, and New Year's cookies. Laws of morality were rigidly enforced, as in New England. Furniture and equipages were extremely simple. Carpets were hardly known before 1750, and each housekeeper prided herself on the purity of her white-sanded floor.



3. The Southern Colonists differed widely from the northern in habits and style of living. In place of thickly-settled towns and villages, they had large plantations, and were surrounded by a numerous household of servants. An estate in those days was a little empire. The planter had among his slaves men of every trade. The mansion-house was large, and fitted to the free-hearted, open handed hospitality of its owner. The negro quarters formed a hamlet apart, with its gardens and poultry yards. There were large sheds for curing tobacco, and mills for grinding corn and wheat. Everything necessary for ordinary use was produced on the plantation. Their tobacco was put up by their own negroes, and consigned direct to England. The flour of the Mount Vernon estate was packed under the eye of Washington himself, and we are told that barrels of flour bearing his brand, passed in the West India market without inspection. A style of luxury and refinement already prevailed. Services of plate, elegant equipages, and liveried servants were not uncommon. Rich planters vied with one another in the possession of the finest horses.



EDUCATION.

1 The Eastern Colonies—Next to their religion, the Puritans prized education. When Boston was but six years old, $2,000 were appropriated to the seminary at Cambridge, now known as Harvard University. Some years after, each family gave a peck of corn or a shilling in cash for its support. Common schools had already been provided, and in 1647 every town was ordered to have a free school, and, if it contained over one hundred families, a grammar school. In Connecticut, any town that did not keep a school for three months in the year was liable to a fine. In 1700, ten ministers, having previously so agreed, brought together a number of books, each saying as he laid down his gift, "I give these books for founding a college in Connecticut." This was the beginning of Yale College. It was first established at Saybrook, but in 1716 was removed to New Haven. It was named from Governor Yale, who befriended it most generously.



The "town meetings," as they were styled, were of inestimable value in cultivating democratic ideas. The young and old, rich and poor, here met on a perfect equality for the discussion of all local questions. In Hartford, every freeman who neglected to attend the town meeting was fined sixpence, unless he had a good excuse.

2. The Middle Colonies already had many schools scattered through the towns. In New York, during the Dutch period, it was customary for the schoolmaster, in order to increase his earnings, to ring the church-bell, dig graves, and act as chorister and town clerk. In the English period, some of the schools were kept by Dutch masters, who taught English as an accomplishment. As early as 1702, an act was passed for the "Encouragement of a Grammar Free School in the City of New York." In 1795, George Clinton laid the foundation of the common-school system of the State, and within three years nearly 60,000 children were receiving instruction. At Lewiston, Del, is said to have been established the first girls' school in the colonies. The first school in Pennsylvania was started about 1683, where "reading, writing, and casting accounts" were taught, for eight English shillings per annum. The Orrery invented by Dr. Rittenhouse, in 1768, is still preserved in Princeton College. No European institution had its equal.

Churches were established by the various denominations. The Swedes had a meeting house erected even before the landing of Penn. Ministers' salaries were met in different ways. In New York the Dutch dominie was paid sometimes in wampum. The dominie of Albany on one occasion received one hundred and fifty beaver skins.

3. The Southern Colonies met with great difficulties in their efforts to establish schools. Though Virginia boasts of the second oldest college, yet her English governors bitterly opposed the progress of education. Governor Berkeley, of whose haughty spirit we have already heard, said, "I thank God there are no free schools nor printing-presses here, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years." The restrictions upon the press were so great that no newspaper was published in Virginia until 1736, and that was controlled by the government. Free schools were established in Maryland in 1696, and a free school in Charleston, S. C., in 1712. Private schools were early established by the colonists in every neighborhood.

A farm of one hundred acres was set apart by law for each clergyman, and also a portion of the "best and first gathered corn" and tobacco. Absence from church was fined. In Georgia, masters were compelled to send their slaves to church, under a penalty of 5 pounds.



Summary of the History of the Second Epoch, arranged in Chronological Order.

1607. Jamestown founded by the London Company. First permanent English settlement in America, May 23 1609. Virginia received its second charter, June 2 1610. "Starving Time" in Virginia 1612. Virginia received its third charter, March 22 1613. Pocahontas married Rolfe, April Settlement of New York by the Dutch 1614. Smith explored the New England Coast 1615. Culture of tobacco commenced in Virginia 1619. First Colonial Assembly, June 28 Slavery introduced in the English colony at Jamestown 1620. Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. First permanent English settlement in New England, December 21 1622. Indian massacre in Virginia, March 22 New Hampshire granted to Gorges and Mason, Aug. 10 1623. New Hampshire settled at Dover and Portsmouth 1628. Charter granted to Massachusetts Bay Colony, March 4 1629. New patent for New Hampshire granted to Mason, November 7 1630. First house built in Boston, under Governor Winthrop, July 1632. Maryland granted to Lord Baltimore, June 20 1634. Maryland settled at St. Mary's; 1633-6. Connecticut settled at Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield, 1635. Clayborne's rebellion in Virginia and Maryland, 1636. Rhode Island settled at Providence, June, 1637. Pequod War, 1638. New Haven colony founded, April 18, Delaware settled near Wilmington by the Swedes, April 1641. New Hampshire united to Massachusetts, 1643. Union of the New England colonies, May 29, 1644. Second Indian massacre in Virginia, April 18, Charter granted to Rhode Island.—Providence and Rhode Island plantations united, March 14, 1655. Civil war in Maryland, New Sweden conquered by the Dutch, October, 1660. Navigation Act, passed in 1651, now enforced, 1662. Charter granted to Connecticut, April 20, 1663. Albemarle Colony formed, March 24, 1664. New Netherland conquered by the English and called New York, September, New Jersey settled at Elizabethtown, 1670. South Carolina settled on the Ashley River, 1675. King Philip's War, 1676. Bacon's rebellion, April 1679. New Hampshire made a royal province 1680. Charleston, S. C., founded 1682. Pennsylvania settled Delaware granted to William Penn by the Duke of York, August 31, 1683. Philadelphia founded by William Penn, February, 1686. Andros arrived in Boston as governor of New England, December 20, 1689. King William's war, Andros seized and sent to England 1690. Schenectady burned by the Indians and the French 1692. Salem witchcraft Massachusetts received a new charter, under Phipps, Gov. 1697. Peace of Ryswick terminated King William's war 1702. Queen Anne's war commenced, Delaware secured a separate legislative assembly, 1710. Port Royal, N. S., captured by the English and named Annapolis, 1713. Queen Anne's war closed by the treaty of Utrecht 1732. Washington born, February 22, 1733. Georgia settled by Oglethorpe at Savannah, February 12, 1739. The Spanish War began, 1744. King George's war began, 1745. Louisburg captured by the English, June 17, 1748. King George's war ended by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle 1753. Washington sent with a letter by Dinwiddie to St. Pierre, October 31, 1754. Battle at Gt. Meadows-Ft. Necessity captured by French, 1755. The French driven from Acadia, June, Braddock defeated in the Battle of Monongahela, July 9, The British defeated Dieskau at Lake George. September 8, 1756. War first formally declared between the English and the French, May 17, French under Montcalm captured Fort Oswego, Aug. 14, 1757. Fort William Henry surrendered to Montcalm, Aug. 9, 1758. Abercrombie repulsed at Fort Ticonderoga, July 8, Louisburg taken by Amherst and Wolfe, July 26, Fort Frontenac captured by the colonists, August 27, Fort du Quesne taken by the English, November 25, 1759. Ticonderoga and Crown Point abandoned by the French, Niagara surrendered to England, July 25, Battle of Plains of Abraham—Quebec surrendered, 1760. Montreal surrendered to the English, September 8, Pontiac's war, 1763. Peace of Paris,



REFERENCES FOR READING.

Palfrey's History of New England.—Parkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac. —Neal's History of the Puritans.—Holmes's Robinson of Leyden (Poem).-Mrs. Hemans's Landing of the Pilgriris (Poem).—Martyn's Pilgrim Fathers of New England.—Elliott's History of New England. —Hopkins's Youth of the Old Dominion.—Simms's Smith and Pocahontas.—Mrs. Sigourney's Pocahontas (Poem).—Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Standish, and Evangeline (Poems).—Holland's Bay Path.—Barber's New England.—Irving's Knickerbocker's History of New York, and King Philip's War (Sketch Book).—Cooper's Last of the Mohicans—James's Ticonderoga.—Hubbard's History of Indian Wars in New England.—Hall's Puritans and their Principles. —Randall's School History of New York—Barber's American Scenes—Tracy's American Historical Reader—Paulding's Ode to Jamestown (Poem), and his Dutchman's Fire-Side (a novel)—Street's Frontenac (a romance)—Mrs Childs's Hobomok (a novel).—Margaret Smith's Journal (by Whittier).—Harper's Magazine, Vol. 52, p t, art, Up the Ashley and Cooper (Life in Colony of S. C.)—Sanborn's History of New Hampshire—Holland's History of Western Massachusetts.—Greene's History of Rhode Island.



EPOCH III.



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

From 1775—the Breaking out of the War, To 1787—the Adoption of the Constitution.



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.



REMOTE CAUSES.—England treated the settlers as an inferior class of people. Her intention was to make and keep the colonies dependent. The laws were framed to favor the English manufacturer and merchant at the expense of the colonist. The Navigation Acts compelled the American farmer to send his products across the ocean to England, and to buy his goods in British markets. American manufactures were prohibited.

[Footnote: Questions on The Geography of The Third Epoch.

Locate Boston. Portsmouth. Newport. Philadelphia. Salem. Concord. Lexington. Whitehall. Cambridge. New London. Charleston. Charlestown. Brooklyn. New York. White Plains. North Castle. Cherry Valley. Elizabethtown. Trenton. Princeton. Germantown. Albany. Oriskany. Bennington. Yorktown. Monmouth C. H. Quebec. Danbury. Savannah. Augusta. Norfolk. Norwalk. Fairfield. New Haven. Elmira. Camden. Hanging Rock. Cowpeus. Guilford C. H. Wilmington. Eutaw Springs.

Locate Crown Point. Fort Ticonderoga. Fort Edward. Fort Griswold. Fort Moultrie. Fort Washington. West Point. Fort Schuyler (Fort Stanwix was named after Gen. Schuyler in 1776, and so in history is called by either name). Stony Point. Fort Lee. Fort Mifflin. Fort Creek. Catawba River. Yadkin River. Dan River. Delaware River.

Locate Valley Forge. Ninety Six. Dorchester Heights. Morristown. King's Mountain. Bemis's Heights. Wyoming.]

Iron works were denounced as "common nuisances." William Pitt, the friend of America, declared that "she had no right to manufacture even a nail for a horseshoe."

[Footnote: The exportation of hats from one colony to another was prohibited, and no hatter was allowed to have more than two apprentices at a time. The importation of sugar, rum, and molasses, was burdened with exorbitant duties; and the Carolinians were forbidden to cut down the pine-trees of their vast forests, in order to convert the wood into staves, or the juice into turpentine and tar for commercial purposes. Read Barnes's Popular History of the United States, p. 134.]

THE DIRECT CAUSE was an attempt to tax the colonies in order to raise money to defray the expenses of the recent war. As the colonists were not represented in Parliament they resisted this measure, declaring that TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION IS TYRANNY. The British government, however, was obstinate, and began first to enforce the odious laws against trade. Smuggling had become very common, and the English officers were granted

WRITS OF ASSISTANCE, as they were called, or warrants authorizing them to search for smuggled goods. Under this pretext any petty custom-house official could enter a man's house or store at his pleasure. The colonists believed that "every man's house is his castle," and resisted such power as a violation of their rights.

[Footnote: The matter was brought before a general court, held in Boston, where James Otis, advocate-general, coming out boldly on the side of the people, exclaimed, "To my dying day I will oppose, with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery on the one hand and villainy on the other." "Then and there," said John Adams, who was present, "the trumpet of the Revolution was sounded."]

THE STAMP ACT (1765), which ordered that stamps bought of the British government, should be put on all legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, &c., thoroughly aroused the colonists.

[Footnote: The assembly of Virginia was the first to make public opposition to this odious law. Patrick Henry, a brilliant young lawyer, introduced a resolution denying the right of Parliament to tax America. He boldly asserted that the king had played the tyrant; and, alluding to the fate of other tyrants, exclaimed, "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I. his Cromwell, and George III." —here pausing till the cry of "Treason! Treason!" from several parts of the house had ended, he deliberately added—"may profit by their examples. If this be treason, make the most of it."—John Ashe, speaker of the North Carolina Assembly, declared to Governor Tryon, "This law will be resisted to blood and to death."]

The houses of British officials were mobbed. Prominent loyalists were hung in effigy. Stamps were seized. The agents were forced to resign. People agreed not to use any article of British manufacture.

[Footnote: The newspapers of the day mention many wealthy people who conformed to this agreement. On one occasion forty or fifty young ladies, who called themselves "Daughters of Liberty," brought their spinning-wheels to the house of Rev. Mr. Morehead, in Boston, and during the day spun two hundred and thirty-two skeins of yarn, which they presented to their pastor. "Within eighteen months," wrote a gentleman at Newport, R.I., "four hundred and eighty-seven yards of cloth and thirty-six pairs of stockings have been spun and knit in the family of James Nixon of this town." In Newport and Boston the ladies, at their tea-drinkings, used, instead of imported tea, the dried leaves of the raspberry. They called this substitute Hyperion. The class of 1770, at Cambridge, took their diplomas in homespun suits.]

Associations, called the "Sons of Liberty," were formed to resist the law. Delegates from nine of the colonies met at New York and framed a Declaration of Rights, and a petition to the king and Parliament. The 1st of November, appointed for the law to go into effect, was observed as a day of mourning. Bells were tolled, flags raised at half-mast, and business was suspended,

[Footnote: The name was assumed from the celebrated speech of Barre on the Stamp Act, in which he spoke of the colonists as "sons of liberty."]

[Footnote: At Portsmouth, N. H., a coffin inscribed "LIBERTY, aged CXLV years," was borne to an open grave. With muffled drums and solemn tread, the procession moved from the State House. Minute guns were fired till the grave was reached, when a funeral oration was pronounced and the coffin lowered. Suddenly it was proclaimed that there were signs of life. The coffin was raised, and the inscription "Liberty Revived" added. Bells rang, trumpets sounded, men shouted, and a jubilee ensued.]

Samuel and John Adams, Patrick Henry, and James Otis, by their stirring and patriotic speeches, aroused the people over the whole land.

Alarmed by these demonstrations, the English government repealed the Stamp Act (1766), but still declared its right to tax the colonies. Soon, new duties were laid upon tea, glass, paper, &c., and a Board of Trade was established at Boston, to act independently of the colonial assemblies.

MUTINY ACT.—Anticipating bitter opposition, troops were sent to enforce the laws. The "Mutiny Act," as it was called, ordered that the colonies should provide these soldiers with quarters and necessary supplies. This evident attempt to enslave the Americans aroused burning indignation. To be taxed was bad enough, but to shelter and feed their oppressors was unendurable. The New York assembly, having refused to comply, was forbidden to pass any legislative acts. The Massachusetts assembly sent a circular to the other colonies urging a union for redress of grievances. Parliament, in the name of the king, ordered the assembly to rescind its action; but it almost unanimously refused. In the meantime the assemblies of nearly all the colonies had declared that Parliament had no right to tax them without their consent. Thereupon they were warned not to imitate the disobedient conduct of Massachusetts.

BOSTON MASSACRE.—Boston being considered the hot-bed of the rebellion, General Gage was sent thither with two regiments of troops. They entered on a quiet Sabbath morning, and marched as through a conquered city, with drums beating and flags flying. Quarters being refused, they took possession of the State House. The Common was soon crowded with tents. Cannon were planted, sentries posted, and citizens challenged. Frequent quarrels took place between the people and the soldiers. One day (March 5, 1770) a crowd of men and boys, maddened by its presence, insulted the city guard. A fight ensued, in which two citizens were wounded and three killed. The bells were rung; the country people rushed in to the help of the city; and it was with great difficulty that quiet was at last restored.

[Footnote: The soldiers were tried for murder. John Adams and Josiah Quincy, who stood foremost in opposition to British aggression, defended them. All were acquitted except two, who were found guilty of manslaughter.]

BOSTON TEA PARTY (Dec. 16, 1773).—The government, alarmed by the turn events had taken, rescinded the taxes, except that on tea—which was left to maintain the principle. An arrangement was made whereby tea was furnished at so low a price that with the tax included it was cheaper in America than in England. This subterfuge exasperated the patriots. They were fighting for a great principle, not a paltry tax. At Charleston the tea was stored in damp cellars where it soon spoiled. The tea-ships at New York and Philadelphia were sent home. The British authorities refused to let the tea-ships at Boston return. Upon this an immense public meeting was held at Faneuil Hall, and it was decided that the tea should never be brought ashore. A party of men, disguised as Indians, boarded the vessels and emptied three hundred and forty-two chests of tea into the water.