Part 25

The war lasted four years (1861-1865). Many terrible battles were fought; thousands of brave men were killed on both sides. During the war President Lincoln gave the slaves their freedom in all the states which were fighting against the Union, and those in the other slave states got their freedom later. After a time General Grant obtained the command of all the armies of the North, and General Lee became the chief defender of the South.

The last battles were fought around Richmond, Virginia, between these two great generals. When the Southern soldiers saw that it was useless to attempt to fight longer, they laid down their arms, and peace was made--a peace honorable to both sides.

261. The success of the North preserves the Union and makes all slaves free; the North and the South shake hands; murder of President Lincoln.--The success of the North in the war preserved the Union, and as all negro laborers were now free, there was no longer any dispute about slavery. The North and the South could shake hands and be friends, for both were now ready to pull in the same direction.

The saddest thing at the close of the war was the murder of President Lincoln by a madman named Booth. Not only the people of the North but many of those at the South shed tears at his death, because they felt that they had an equal place in his great heart. He loved both, as a true American must ever love his whole country.

262. Summary.--Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, became President of the United States in 1861. He was elected by a party in the North that was determined that slaves should not be taken into free states or territories, and that no more slave states should be made. On this account most of the slave-holding states of the South resolved to withdraw from the Union. A great war followed, and President Lincoln gave the slaves their freedom. The North succeeded in the war, and the Union was made stronger than ever, because the North and the South could no longer have any dispute over slavery. Both sides now shook hands and became friends.

Who was the tall man in Congress from Illinois? What did the people of his state like to call him? When was Abraham Lincoln born? Where was he born? To what state did his father move? Tell about "Abe's" new home. Tell about the new cabin and its furniture. Tell about "Abe's" bed. What is said about the boy's mother? What did "Abe" do? What did he say after he became a man? What did Thomas Lincoln's new wife say about "Abe"? Tell about "Abe's" going to school; about his new teacher; about his books. What did he use to write on? What is said of Abraham Lincoln at seventeen? What about him when he was nineteen? Tell about his voyage to New Orleans.

Tell about his moving to Illinois. What did Abraham Lincoln and John Hanks do? Tell about the hunting frolics. Tell how Lincoln chopped in the woods. What kind of a bargain did he make for a new pair of trousers? What did Abraham Lincoln hire out to do in New Salem? Tell about the gang of ruffians. What is said of Jack Armstrong? Why did Lincoln get the name of "Honest Abe"? Tell about the Black Hawk War. What did Lincoln do in that war.

After he returned from the Black Hawk War, what did Lincoln do? Tell how he used to read law. What did people think of him after he began to practise law? Tell about the Armstrong murder trial. Tell about Lincoln and the pig. To what did the people of Illinois elect Lincoln? Did they ever elect him to the state legislature again? Then where did they send him? Was he going any higher?

Tell about the great meeting in one of the towns of Illinois in 1860. Can any one in the class repeat what was on the banner? What happened at Chicago? What the next November? What happened in the spring of 1861? Who fired the first gun in the war? What was done then?

Tell why so many people in the South wished to leave the Union? What is said about negro slaves at the time of the Revolution? What happened in the course of eighty years? What had the North and the South come to be like? How did most of the people at the South feel about slavery? How did most of the people at the North feel about it? What did the people who held slaves at the South want to do? What did most of the people at the North think about this? What is said about Abraham Lincoln and his party? How did most of the people of the slave states feel when Lincoln became President?

What is said about the North and the South in the war? How long did the war last? What is said about it? What did President Lincoln do for the slaves? After a time what general got the command of all the armies of the North? Who became the chief defender of the South? Where were the last battles fought? What did the South do at last? What happened then? What did the success of the North do? What is said about slavery? What could the North and the South do? What was the saddest thing which happened at the close of the war? How did the North and the South feel about President Lincoln?

SINCE THE WAR.

263. How the North and the South have grown since the war; the great West.--Since the war the united North and South have grown and prospered as never before. At the South many new and flourishing towns and cities have sprung up. Mines of coal and iron have been opened, hundreds of cotton-mills and factories have been built, and long lines of railroads have been constructed.

At the West changes equally great have taken place. Cities have risen up in the wilderness, mines of silver and gold have been opened, and immense farms and cattle ranches produce food enough to feed all America. Three great lines of railroads have been built which connect with railroads at the East, and stretch across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Into that vast country beyond the Mississippi hundreds of thousands of industrious people are moving from all parts of the earth, and are building homes for themselves and for their children.

264. Celebration of the discovery of America by Columbus; the unfinished pyramid; making history.--Four hundred years have gone by since the first civilized man crossed the ocean and found this new world which we call America. We are now about to celebrate that discovery made by Columbus, not only in the schools throughout the country, but by a great fair--called the "World's Columbian Exposition"--to be held at Chicago; and we shall invite all who will to come from all parts of the globe and join us in the celebration.

On one of the two great seals of the United States a pyramid is represented partly finished. That pyramid stands for our country. It shows how much has been done and how much still remains to be done. The men whose lives we have read in this little book were all builders. Little by little they added stone to stone, and so the good work grew. Now they have gone, and it is for us to do our part and make sure that the pyramid, as it rises, shall continue to stand square, and strong, and true.

The second great seal, adopted at the same time, was never used. It was intended for stamping the wax on a ribbon attached to a treaty or other important paper, thus making a hanging seal. The Latin motto "Annuit Coeptis," above the all-seeing eye looking down with favor on the unfinished pyramid, means "God has favored the Work." The date MDCCLXXVI, or 1776, marks the Declaration of Independence. The Latin motto at the bottom, "Novus Ordo Seclorum," means "A New Order of Ages"--or a new order of things, such as we have in this New World of America.]

What is said about the North and the South since the war? Tell about the growth of the South. What is said about the West? What about railroads? What about people going west?

How long is it since Columbus discovered America? What is said about the celebration of that discovery? What is said about one of the great seals of the United States? What does the unfinished pyramid stand for? What does it show us? What is said of the men whose lives we have read in this book? Is anything left for us to do?

A SHORT LIST OF BOOKS OF REFERENCE (For the Use of Teachers.)

This brief list is arranged alphabetically. It consists, with a few exceptions, of small, one-volume biographies; all of which are believed to be of acknowledged merit.

A much fuller reference list will be found in the appendix to the author's larger work, entitled The Leading Facts of American History.

Balboa: Irving's Companions of Columbus, and Winsor's America, Vol. II.

Baltimore, Lord: William H. Browne's Lords Baltimore; G. W. Burnap's Baltimore.

Boone, Daniel: C. B. Hartley's Boone (including Boone's autobiography); J. M. Peck's Boone; and see the excellent sketch of Boone's life in Theodore Roosevelt's The Winning of the West, Vol. I.

Cabot (John and Sebastian): J. F. Nicholls's Cabot; C. Hayward's Cabot.

Clark, George Rogers: see Theodore Roosevelt's The Winning of the West, Vol. II.

Columbus: Irving's Columbus, abridged edition; Charles K. Adams's Columbus; Edward Everett Hale's Columbus.