-

660. The Results. — In many respects, the first Pacific railroad far exceeded the expectations and hopes of its promoters. The great saving of time, whereby it takes no longer to travel from New York to San Francisco than it did from New York to Boston a hundred years ago, has caused a revolution in business. The objection made, when Oregon was admitted ( 530), that a representative from that State would need to spend all his time travelling to and from Congress, causes only amusement to-day. The benefits to commerce resulting from these roads are incalculable, as is also the effect that they had in promoting the rapid growth of the West. August 1st, 1876, the "Centennial State," Colorado, was admitted to the Union.

Colorado. -The first certainlyknown settlement in the "Centennial State" was in 1859, upon the discovery of gold near the present site of Denver. A territorial government was provided, in 1861, for the many immigrants, who hoped to find a second California. Besides its valuable mining industries, Colorado has great cattle-ranches, and manufactures are springing up throughout the State. Colorado is making vast strides, having more than doubled its population in the past ten years, until it has now nearly half a million.

661. Prosperity.-These four years were prosperous in all sections of the country. Gold and silver mines added vastly to the wealth of the nation, petro

leum and coal were obtained in greater quantities, wheat fields yielded their grains as never before, manufactures went on apace, population made vast strides, and soon the country had regained the position held before the war, and had gone far beyond it.

662. Fires. The prosperous condition is well shown by the way in which cities recovered from severe losses by fire. In October, 1871, a conflagration broke out in Chicago, which lasted two days and destroyed two hundred million dollars' worth of property. In November, 1872, Boston suffered a loss of seventy-five million dollars by a fire covering sixty acres of business blocks. The whole country immediately responded to the calls for aid from the suffering people, millions of dollars being quickly subscribed. Each city began at once to rebuild, and, in a remarkably short time, all vestiges of the fire had disappeared, and the magnificent new buildings seemed to prove that the disaster was a blessing rather than a

curse.

663. The Centennial. The hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was celebrated by a World's Fair, at Philadelphia. The Centennial Exhibition, which lasted

from May until November, 1876, far surpassed anything of its kind previously held. The Main Exhibition Hall covered twenty acres, and hundreds of other buildings were filled with proofs of the prosperity of the United States and of other nations. The nearly ten million visitors to this exhibition of the world's industries received an education which could be obtained in no other way. The fair also resulted in an increased attention paid to inventions and laborsaving devices, as shown by the large number of patents granted during the next few years.

664. The Panic. In connection with the great prosperity of the country there was a large degree of speculation. More railroads were built than the country needed or could pay for. Millions of

dollars were spent upon investments which could not be productive for a long time. As in 1837 and in 1857, so in 1873 there came a disturbance in all business circles. This lasted for several years, and not until 1880 did the country ågain feel a full tide of prosperity.

665. Political Scandals. The period of speculation was accompanied by corruption among certain officials of the government. A ring was formed by the whiskey distillers and certain officers of the

Internal Revenue Department, whereby the government was defrauded of money, which went into the pockets of the ring. Besides the Whiskey Ring, certain Indian agents also conspired to defraud the government as well as the Indians. An investigation showed that members of Congress had received bribes in the form of stocks in the Credit Mobilier, a company which was building the Pacific Railroad, and hoped to obtain certain favors from Congress. Political rings had grown up in the larger cities, which carried on the government in a corrupt manner. As

the
exposures of these scandals came
in connection with the great panic,
this was a gloomy period for those
who were most anxious for the wel-
fare of the country.

666. Grant re-elected. Although the President was not implicated in any of these scandals, strong opposition was made to his renomination by the Republicans. A branch of the party seceded, called themselves Liberal Republicans, and nominated Horace Greeley, editor of the "New York Tribune," as their candidate. for the Presidency. The Democrats were not strong at the time, and ratified the nomination of this lifeiong Republican. General Grant was re-elected, however, receiving two hundred and eighty-six out of the three hundred and fortynine votes cast. Henry Wilson of Massachusetts was elected Vice

President.

Horace Greeley.

667. The Fifteenth Amendment. In 1870 the third of the amendments which resulted from the war received a three-fourths vote of the States, and became a part of the Constitution. This Fifteenth Amendment provided that the right to vote in any State should not be denied" on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." In spite of the dense ignorance of the freedmen, negro suf frage was made the law of the country. Though they owned little land and but a small amount of property, they had an equal power in the levying of taxes.

668. The Effect in the South. The negroes naturally mistrusted their former masters and voted against them. Those persons who came from the North and sided with the negroes were called "CarpetBaggers," because they were said to have brought nothing into the South except what they had in their carpet-bags. The Southerners who were willing to vote with the negroes were decried by the title "Scalawags." Disorder and almost warfare sprang up, both sides being doubtless to blame. An organization called the Ku Klux Klan was formed, with the avowed purpose of depriving the negroes of the ballot, and thereby saving the States, as they said. from ruin. This Klan caused a reign of terror to ensue, and Federal troops were sent into the South in order to protect the ballot-box and the negroes in their right to vote.

669. Presidential Election. The political scandals, the panic and the troubles in the South, caused a reaction against the party in power. In 1876 the Republicans nominated Governor R. B. Hayes of Ohio, and W. A. Wheeler of New York. The Democratic candidates were Samuel J. Tilden of New York, and T. A. Hendricks of Indiana (1673). There was no vital issue between the two parties, and the election proved very close. For weeks after the voting of the people, the country was in suspense as to the result. It was found that two sets of electors had voted in certain Southern States. 670. An Electoral Commission. - In Florida and in Louisiana the largest number of votes were returned for the Democratic candidates. In each, the Returning Board, whose duty it was to count the votes, decided that there had been errors in certain districts. They therefore refused to count certain votes, which resulted in their declaring the election of the Republican electors. The Republican Senate and the Democratic House of Representatives could not agree as to which electors should be considered duly chosen. After a long controversy, it was decided by law to leave the matter to a commission, consisting of five Senators, five members of the House, and five Justices of the Supreme Court. This Electoral Commission, after careful consideration, decided in favor of Hayes and Wheeler, and they were declared elected by a vote of 185 to 184 for Tilden and Hendricks.

CHAPTER LXXIX.

POLITICAL PARTIES AND PUBLIC QUESTIONS.

671. Parties. The years that have passed since President Hayes was inaugurated, March 5th, 1877, have, on the whole, been years of

Rutherford Burchard Hayes.

prosperity. No great issues have held the attention of the people, and the political conditions have been in a state of marked and constant change. The Republicans held the Presidency and both branches of Congress from 1889 to 1891; and in 1893 the Democratic party obtained. possession of the entire government. At no other period since 1877 has either party had complete control of the government, as the two branches of Congress have been in the hands. of different parties.

Greenback party nominated J. B. Weaver of Iowa, and B. J. Chambers of Texas, and declared for a larger issue of " paper money" (599) by the government. The Democratic candidates were General W. S. Hancock of New York, and W. H. English of Indiana. The Republicans put in nomination General James A. Garfield of Ohio, and Chester A. Arthur of New York. After a

Rutherford Burchard Hayes, born October 4th, 1822, was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1845. At the beginning of the war he went as a volunteer, with the rank of major. He served in the field throughout the war, and was made brigadier-general on account of his gallantry. He represented his State at Washington, and was twice the Re publican Governor of Ohio. Since his Presidency, Mr. Hayes lived in retirement, and was especially interested ir. philanthropic work. He died January 17th, 1893.

spirited campaign, the electors gave 214 votes for Garfield and Arthur, and 155 for the Democratic candidates. 673. The Election of 1884. The Democrats adopted as their campaign cry in 1884 "reduction of national expenditures," and placed