The Beginner's American History

Part 1

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THE BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY

D. H. MONTGOMERY

Author of the Leading Facts of History Series

Boston. U.S.A. Published by Ginn & Company 1893 Copyright, 1892, by D. H. Montgomery All Rights Reserved. Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston, U.S.A. Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A.

D.H.M. TO S.K.K.

PREFATORY NOTE.

This little book is intended by the writer as an introduction to his larger work entitled The Leading Facts of American History.

It is in no sense an abridgment of the larger history, but is practically an entirely new and distinct work.

Its object is to present clearly and accurately those facts and principles in the lives of some of the chief founders and builders of America which would be of interest and value to pupils beginning the study of our history. Throughout the book great care has been taken to relate only such incidents and anecdotes as are believed to rest on unexceptionable authority.

The numerous illustrations in the text are, in nearly every case, from drawings and designs made by Miss C. S. King of Boston.

In the preparation of this work for the press--as in that of the entire Leading Facts of History Series--the author has been especially indebted to the valuable assistance rendered in proofreading by Mr. George W. Cushing of Boston.

DAVID H. MONTGOMERY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

CONTENTS. PARAGRAPH I. COLUMBUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 II. JOHN AND SEBASTIAN CABOT . . . . . . . . 21 III. BALBOA, PONCE DE LEON, and DE SOTO . . . 28 IV. SIR WALTER RALEIGH . . . . . . . . . . . 32 V. CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH . . . . . . . . . . . 37 VI. CAPTAIN HENRY HUDSON . . . . . . . . . . 52 VII. CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISH . . . . . . . . . 62 VIII. LORD BALTIMORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 IX. ROGER WILLIAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 X. KING PHILIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 XI. WILLIAM PENN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 XII. GENERAL JAMES OGLETHORPE . . . . . . . . 102 XIII. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN . . . . . . . . . . . 109 XIV. GEORGE WASHINGTON . . . . . . . . . . . 123 XV. DANIEL BOONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 XVI. GENERAL JAMES ROBERTSON . . . . . . . . 156 XVII. GOVERNOR JOHN SEVIER . . . . . . . . . . 156 XVIII. GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK . . . . . . 161 XIX. GENERAL RUFUS PUTNAM . . . . . . . . . . 169 XX. ELI WHITNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 XXI. THOMAS JEFFERSON . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 XXII. ROBERT FULTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 XXIII. GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON . . . . . 201 XXIV. GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON . . . . . . . . . 206 XXV. PROFESSOR SAMUEL F. B. MORSE . . . . . . 220 XXVI. GENERAL SAM HOUSTON . . . . . . . . . . 229 XXVII. CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY . . . . . . . . . . 233 XXVIII. CAPTAIN J. A. SUTTER . . . . . . . . . . 236 XXIX. ABRAHAM LINCOLN . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

A SHORT LIST OF BOOKS INDEX

LIST OF LARGE MAPS. PARAGRAPH I. Map Illustrating the Early Life of Washington . . . . . . 127 II. Map of the Revolution (northern states) . . . . . . . . . 135 III. Map of the Revolution (southern states) . . . . . . . . . 140 IV. The United States at the close of the Revolution . . . . 187 V. The United States after the Purchase of Louisiana (1803) 188 VI. The United States after the Purchase of Florida (1819) . 218 VII. The United States after the Acquisition of Texas (1845) . 230 VIII. The United States after the Acquisition of Oregon (1846) 235 IX. The United States after the Acquisition of California and New Mexico (1848) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 X. The United States after the Gadsden Purchase (1853) . . . 240 XI. The United States after the Purchase of Alaska (1867) See Map of North America (giving a summary of the territorial growth of the United States) . . . . . . . 240

NOTE.--In these maps it has been thought best to give the boundaries of the thirteen original states as they now exist; and to show the outlines of other states before they were organized and admitted.

LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. PARAGRAPH I. The Statue of Liberty . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frontispiece II. An Indian Attack on a Settlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 III. Paul Revere's Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 IV. Battle of New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 V. Niagara Suspension Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 VI. Mount Hood, Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 VII. Mirror Lake, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

THE BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY

The paragraph headings, following the paragraph numbers, will be found useful for topical reference, and, if desired, as questions; by simply omitting these headings, the book may be used as a reader.

Teachers who wish a regular set of questions on each section will find them at the end of the section. Difficult words are defined or pronounced at the end of the numbered paragraph where they first occur; reference to them will be found in the index.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (1436-1506).

1. Birth and boyhood of Columbus.--Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America, was born at Genoa, a seaport of Italy, more than four hundred and fifty years ago. His father was a wool-comber. Christopher did not care to learn that trade, but wanted to become a sailor. Seeing the boy's strong liking for the sea, his father sent him to a school where he could learn geography, map-drawing, and whatever else might help him to become some day commander of a vessel.

2. Columbus becomes a sailor.--When he was fourteen Columbus went to sea. In those days the Mediterranean Sea swarmed with war-ships and pirates. Every sailor, no matter if he was but a boy, had to stand ready to fight his way from port to port.

In this exciting life, full of adventure and of danger, Columbus grew to manhood. The rough experiences he then had did much toward making him the brave, determined captain and explorer that he afterwards became.

3. Columbus has a sea-fight; he goes to Lisbon.--According to some accounts, Columbus once had a desperate battle with a vessel off the coast of Portugal. The fight lasted, it is said, all day. At length both vessels were found to be on fire. Columbus jumped from his blazing ship into the sea, and catching hold of a floating oar, managed, with its help, to swim to the shore, about six miles away.

He then went to the port of Lisbon. There he married the daughter of a famous sea-captain. For a long time after his marriage Columbus earned his living partly by drawing maps, which he sold to commanders of vessels visiting Lisbon, and partly by making voyages to Africa, Iceland, and other countries.

4. What men then knew about the world.--The maps which Columbus made and sold were very different from those we now have. At that time not half of the world had been discovered. Europe, Asia, and a small part of Africa were the chief countries known. The maps of Columbus may have shown the earth shaped like a ball, but he supposed it to be much smaller than it really is. No one then had sailed round the globe. No one then knew what lands lay west of the broad Atlantic; for this reason we should look in vain, on one of the maps drawn by Columbus, for the great continents of North and South America or for Australia or the Pacific Ocean.

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