Each 1825 had nearly reached the western extremity of Maryland. of the original thirteen States showed, in every census, a large growth in population; but the new States and Territories west of the Alleghanies had made wonderful gains. 454. Territory. The area of the original thirteen colonies east of the Alleghanies was less than four hundred thousand square miles, and that of the original United States was but a little more than twice as large. By the purchase of Louisiana in 1803 the territory of the United States was more than doubled, and the pur Robert Fulton. chase of Florida in 1819 ( 446) added nearly sixty thousand square miles. The territorial area of the country, therefore, had been extended, during these thirty-five years, from about eight hundred thousand to nearly eighteen hundred thousand square miles. At the same time, the number of States comprising the Union had increased from thirteen to twenty-four. 455. Travel on Land.. The enormous increase of territorial limits had called attention to the great need of better means of transportation. The subject of "rapid transit began to interest states men and inventors as well as mere travellers. Most of the journeys were usually made by land, and the necessity of better roads became apparent. Months were needed to make journeys which to-day can easily be accomplished in days. The United States government took no direct steps to improve the means of transportation except by building a national road. The intention was to connect the navigable portion of the Potomac River with the Ohio by means of a good road, of easy grade, well built, and with good bridges. The sum of a million dollars was spent during the administration of President Monroe upon the "Cumberland Road," which extended between Cumberland, Maryland, and Wheeling, Virginia. Later, this road was extended into Indiana; but, with this exception, the Federal government has left the matter of the building of roads to the care of the States or of private corporations. Many attempts were made between 1788 steam as a means of propelling vessels. 456. Travel by Water. and 1807 to make use of Robert Fulton was the first to make a successful public experiment of running a steamboat. In 1807 his little boat, with side paddle-wheels, began to make regular trips between New York and Albany. These trips of the "Clermont" were so successful that other steamboats were built; and in 1814 the "Vesuvius" began to make regular trips between Pittsburg and New Orleans. The "Sa vannah" crossed the Atlantic in 1819, and in 1825 the "Enterprise" steamed around the Cape of Good Hope to India. While the invention of the steamboat greatly aided transportation along the rivers, the travel across the land from one river to another was as difficult as ever. This was especially the case when the journey was from the Eastern to the Western States, where the roads over the Appalachian Mountains were so difficult. Attempts were made to prevail upon Congress to authorize the construction of canals across the mountains, but they were unsuccessful, and this improvement was also left to private or State enterprise. "Clinton's Big Ditch." - Many small canals were built in various sections of the country, and in 1817 the immense task of connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River was begun. This "Erie Canal" was built by the State of New York, and was not completed until 1825. De Witt Clinton, the Governor of the State, was very energetic in this work, and those who opposed the building of the canal as impracticable used to speak of it as "Clinton's Big Ditch." The scheme was practicable, however, and nothing was more important in increasing the wealth and power of New York City than this canal, which furnishes an easy means of transportation from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic seaboard. 457. Agriculture. Farming was still the most important occupation in the United States. Wheat, flour, Indian corn, rye, beans, peas, potatoes, beef, tallow, and hides from the North, and rice, tobacco, indigo, and cotton from the South, were among the staple productions. The new West had taken the lead, and lacked only sufficient laborers to be able to furnish agricultural products for the whole world. Emigration from Europe, which had been very small between 1790 and 1815, then began to increase, and about 1820 two or three thousand emigrants yearly left Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and France, for the New World, and its great agricultural territories. 458. Manufactures. - During the period preceding the year 1825 many American manufactures were started and put upon a firm basis. The first cotton-mills were established in Beverly, Massachusetts, and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, soon after the adoption of the Constitution. Mills in which cotton yarn was spun began to spring up in New England. The yarn was woven into cloth by hand. 1813 a mill in Waltham, Massachusetts, was the first both to spin In it. Woollen, the cotton and weave it into cloth by power machinery. leather, and iron manufactures ranked next in importance to cotton, and the amount of these staples produced in the United States was constantly increasing. Other smaller industries were beginning in New England and the Middle States, such as the manufacturing of hats, bonnets, and rope. The many falls in the New England rivers furnished power for running machinery at slight expense, and aided very materially in establishing the infant manufactures. 459. Protective Tariffs. When, in 1816, the first protective tariff act was enacted by Congress, many of the representatives from New England voted in opposition to The interests of the Eastern States had been almost wholly commercial, and they felt that such acts would seriously injure foreign trade. When this law had passed, and later that of 1824, New Englanders felt themselves compelled to turn their attention to manufacturing, and soon a large part of the manufactured goods of ordinary quality were produced in this country. The main reasons advanced in favor of the protective tariff were that by means of it more employment would be obtained for the people, and the mill employees would be able to purchase more farm products, and thus the gain would be mutual. Those opposed to the principle of protection to home industries would argue that unprofitable industries would be started; that without the protective tariff the country would produce naturally what was necessary and best; that the benefit would accrue to the manufacturers and not to the employees, to a section and not to the whole country. The whole question of a tariff for protection and a tariff for revenue only is still (1896) a live issue, and upon it party lines continue to be drawn. Emigrant trains. - From the eastern States, emigrant caravans weekly crossed the mountains, en route for the West. These were covered wagons, in which the household goods were placed, as well as the women and children. The men would walk, or travel on horseback, driving sheep and cattle before them. These emigrants journeyed in large parties, and passed by the larger towns and more settled communities, constantly going farther and farther west, to the very frontiers. These pioneers were hardy settlers, and the Western States owe them much. 460. Education. The first quarter of the nineteenth century was a period of growth in education and literature as well as in material prosperity. In New England schools were established in every town; and though the "schooling" was meagre as compared with that of the present day, it was in keeping with the conditions of the time. In the Middle States the development was later, and in the Southern States only the children of the wealthy land-owners received a fair amount of instruction. Among the new States in the West a beginning was being made in the establishment of an excellent system of education. Public lands were appropriated for educational purposes, and the revenue derived from their sale put the schools on a firm foundation. 461. Religious Interests. One of the most marked effects of the American Revolution and the establishment of the Republic was the growth of toleration. During the colonial period, except in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, freedom in religious matters was almost unknown. When independence was fully established, one by one the different States relaxed and then repealed their intolerant laws until perfect freedom in worship was granted. With this advance movement there came a revival of religious interest which spread over the whole country, and Christians of most opposite religious beliefs worked hand in hand for the advancement of righteousness and the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. CHRONOLOGY. 1786. Annapolis Convention, September. Shays's Rebellion. 1787. Northwest Territory organized. Constitution framed, September 17. 1788. Constitution ratified by the ninth State, June 21. 1789. Washington inaugurated President, April 30. 1791. Establishment of the first Bank of the United States. 1793. Invention of the cotton-gin. Laying of the corner-stone of the Capitol. 1794. Victory of General Wayne, November Whiskey Insurrection. 1795. Ratification of Jay's Treaty. 1797. Adams inaugurated President, March 4. Alien and sedition laws. 1799. Death of Washington, December 14. |