tsri:c:-: '•r;y,,i;Cr-v„-; a5£ ,1M" J z / y z: ys^^- -».-a> f T!^T^ IPa } ( 1.195- 5-fc -^ -^ ^•?^ ■ '»ii«Cft^&s«?t'f ■ OF THE Governors of Michigan, AND OF THE e: i^J OFTHE ■t-^^!- L_4i ^t, IbSl) n^-n ^f Ra :^ Mi A A * * * ^^■/^'^•r'\^^\ — ■•■■ ■'^- ■''■- - A AAAA^^^^ J yvy <. ,. 1- 1. + + + + + + -<%. '^ ■M-, e^^^^^^^X^ FIRST PRESIDENT. tt HE Father of our Country was ©1 born in Westmorland Co., Va., Feb. 22, 1732. His parents were Augustine and Mary (Ball) Washington. The family to which he belonged has not been satisfactorily traced in England. His great-grand- father, John Washington, em- igrated to Virginia about 1657, and became a prosperous planter. He had two sons, Lawrence and John. The former married Mildred Warner and had three children, John, Augustine and Mildred. Augus- tine, the father of George, first married Jane Butler, who bore him four children, two of whom, Lawrence and Augustine, reached maturity. Of six children by his second marriage, George was the eldest, the others being Betty, Samuel, John Augustine, Charles and Mildred. Augustine Washington, the father of George, died in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, and to George he left the parental residence. George received only such education as the neighborhood schools afforded, save for a short time after he left school, when he received private instruction in mathematics. His spelling was rather defectiv«. Remarkable stories are told of his great physical strength and development at an early age. He was an acknowledged leader among his companions, and was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. When George was i4yearsoldhehad a desire to go to sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, but through the opposition of his mother the idea was abandoned. Two years later he was appointed surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. Li this business he spent three years in a rough frontier life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very essential to him. In 1751, though only 19 years of age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for active service against the French and Lidians. Soon after this he sailed to the West Lidies with his brother Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter who did not long survive him. On her demise tlie estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as Lieuten- ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North- western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, and the journey was to be made without military escort, through a territory occupied by Lidians. The GEORGE WASHINGTON. trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near losing his life, yet he returned in safet)' and furnished a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was then begun against the French and Indians, in which Washington took a most imjxirtant part. In the memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock were disabled early in the action, and Washington alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter to his brotiier he says: "I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yetl escaped unhurt, though death was leveling my companions on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit him. After having been five years in the military service, and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, to resign his commission. .Soon after he entered the Legislature, where, although not a leader, he took an active and important part. January 17, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy widow of John Parke Custis. When the British Parliament had closed the port ^f Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- delphia.Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and responsible office was conferred upon Washington, who was still a member of the Congress. He accepted it on June ig, but upon the express condition that he receive no salary. He would keep an exact account of expenses and expect Congress lo pay them and nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the fortunes and liberties of the people of this country were so long confided. The war was conducted by him under ever}' possible disadvantage, and while his forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in a parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the army to to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He retired immediately to iMount Vernon and resumed his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all connection with public life. In February, 1789, Washington was unanimously elected President. In his presidential career he was subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a new government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part of other governments; trials from want of harmony between the different sections of our own country; trials from the impoverished condition of the country, owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His clear judgment could discern the golden mean; and while perhaps this alone kept our government from sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and very annoying. At the expiration of his first term he was unani- mously re-elected. At the end of this term manv were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- dent, he returned to his home, hojiing to pass there his few remaining years free from the annoyances of public life. Later in the year, however, his repose seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France- At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to take command of the armies. He chose his sub- ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- ters in the field, which he superintended from his home. In accepting the command he made the reservation that he was not to be in the field until it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling ill his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- teenth his body was borne wi'h military honors to its final resting place, and interred in the family vault at Mount Vernon. Of the character of Washington it is impossible to speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- miration. The more we see of the operations of our government, and the more deeply we feel the difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- ent and character, which have be'"n able to challenge the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will be as lasting as the existence of man. The person of Washington was unusally tan, erect and well proportioned. His muscular strength was great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. He commanded respect without any appearance of haughtiness, and ever serious without b^ipg dull. J<^^'n.Ja:mk) SECOND PBESJDENT. ^ ^^sA^'SM — ^:? ^ r-^ p» 1*^ *-^Hi)*:t. .««(■„-_ -\^.'j-' H OHN ADAMS, the second % President and the first Vice- ' President of the United States, was born in Braintree { now Ji, Quincy ),Mass., and about ten miles from Boston, Oct. 19, 'l_^ 1735- His great-grandfather, Henry- Adams, emigrated from England about 1640, with a family of eight > sons, and settled at Braintree. The parents of John were John and Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His father was a farmer of limited means, to which he added the bus- iness of shoemaking. He gave his eldest son, John, a classical educa- tion at Harvard College. John graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the school in AVorcester, Mass. This he found but a ■'sciiool of affliction," from which he endeavored to gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the study of law. For this purpose he placed himself under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He had thought seriously of the clerical profession but seems to have been turned from this by what he termed " the frightful engines of ectlesiastical coun- jils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' of the operations of which he had been a witness in his native town. He was well fitted for the legal profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in 1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his marriage, (17(15), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial steps toward holdin^, a town meeting, and the resolu- tions he offered on the subject became very popular throughout the Province, and were adopted word for word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos- ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous and prominent advocates of the popular cause, and was chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- lislature) in 1770. Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himselt by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- vocated the movement for independence against the majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies should assume the duties of self-government. He was a prominent member of the committee of tive appointed June rt, to prepare a declaration of inde- pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but on Adams devolved the task of battling it through Congress in a three days debate. On the day after the Declaration of Independence was passed, while his soul was yet warm with the glow of excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the greatest question was decided that ever was debated in America; and greater, perhaps, never was or wil be decided among men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, ' that these United States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde. pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God. It ought to be solemnized with jximp, showst 24 JOHN ADAMS. games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward for ever. Vou will think me transjxirted with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means; and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not. " In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a ddegate to France^ and to co-operate with Bemjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money from the French Government. This was a severe trial to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, comijelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 1779. In September of the same year he was again chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet might be found willing to listen to such pvoposels. He sailed for France in November, from there he went to Holland, where he negotiated imiiortant loans and formed important commercial treaties Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement, toil and an.xiety through which Mr. Adams had passed threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he was advised to go to England to drink the waters of Bath. While in England, still drooping anddesix)nd- ing, he received dispatches from his own government urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,hemade the trip. February 24, 1785; Congress appointed Mr. Adams envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face to face the King of England, who had so long re- garded him as a traitor. As England did not condescend to appoint a minister to the United States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom- plishing but little, he sought jjermission to return to his own country, where he arrived in June, 1788. When Washington was first chosen President, John Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at home and abroad, was chosen Vice President, .\gain at the second election of Washington as President, Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was elected President,though not without muchojiposition. Serving in this office four vears,he was succeeded by Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. "5Vhile Mr. .\dams was Vice President the great French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, and it was uiwn this point whicli he was at issue with the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the class of atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- iginated the alienation between these distinguished men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- ized, .^dams at the head of the one whose sympathies were with England and Jefferson led the other in sympathy with France. The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling had died away, and he had begun to receive that just appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till after death. No one could look upon his venerable form, and think of what he had done and suffered, and how he had given up all the prime and strength of his life to the public good, without the deepest emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar good fortune to witness the complete success of the institution which he had been so active in creating and supi»rting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest station in the gift of the people. The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the signers of that immortal instrument left upon the earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is well known, on that day two of these finished their earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- dependence FOREViiR." When the day was ushered in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." In the course of the day he said, " It is a great and glorious day." The last words he uttered were. "Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- signed his spiiit into the hands of his God. The personal appearance and manners of Mr. Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, as his portrait manifests,was intellectual ard expres. sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and h<>^ (f-^^^-^l ^"s FOURTH PRESIDENT. 31 AMES MADISON, "Father of the Constitution," and fourth * President of the United States, was born March i6, 1757, and died at his home in Virginia, '•^ June 28, 1836. The name of James Madison is inseparably con- nected with most of the important events in that heroic period of our country during which the founda- tions of this great repubUc were laid. He was the last of the founders of the Constitution of the United States to be called to his eternal reward. The Madison family were among the early emigrants to the New World, landing upon the shores of the Chesa- peake but 15 years after the settle- ment of Jamestown. The father of James Madison was an opulent planter, residing upon a very fine es- tate called "Montpelier," Orange Co., Va. The mansion was situated in the midst of scenery highly pictur- esque and romantic, on the west side of South-west Mountain, at the foot of Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and political attachment existed between these illustrious men, from their early youth until death. The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of 18 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. Here he applied himself to study with the most iiTl- m prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor of constitution. He graduated in 177 i, with a feeble body, witli a character of utmost purity, and with a mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsf " quent career. Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. This educational course, the spirit of the times in which he lived, and the society with which he asso- ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong love of liberty, and to train him for his life-wovk ot a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of mind, and his frail health leading him to think that his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind singularly free from passion and [jrejudice, and with almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed all the arguments for and against revealed religion, until his faith became so established as never to be shaken. In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to frame the constitution of the State. The next year (1777), lie was a candidate for the General Assembly. He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and consequently lost his election; but those who had witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, and he was appointed to the E.xecutive Council. Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained member of the Council ; and their appreciation of his 3^ JAMES MADISON. 'ntellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year ij So, he was elected a member of the Continental Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of ihe most conspicuous positions among them. For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- gress, one of its most active and influential members In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- tional government, with no power to form treaties which would be binding, or to enforce law. There was not any State more prominent than Virginia in the declaration, that an efficient national government must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison carried a resolution through the General Assembly of Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss this subject. Five States only were represented The convention, however, issued another call, drawn up by Mr. Madison, urging all the .States to send their delegates to Philadelphia, in Mav, 1787, to draft a Constitution for the United States, to take the place of that Confederate League. The delegates met at the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island was represented. George Washington was chosen president of the convention; and the present Consti- tution of the United States was then and there formed There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- tive in framing this immortal document than the mind and the pen of James Madison. The Constitution, adopted Ijv a vote 81 to 70 was to be presented to the several States for acceptance But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected we should be left but a conglomeration of independent btates with but little power at home and little .espect abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- tion to draw up an address to the people of the United States, expounding the principles of the Constitution and urging its adoption. There was great opposition to it at first, but It at length triumphed over all and went into effect in 1789. Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the avowed leader of the Republican party. While in New York attending Congress, he met Mrs Todd a young widow of remarkable power of fascination whom he married. She was in person and character queen.y, and probably no lady has thus far occupied so prominent a position in the very peculiar society which has constituted our republican court as Mrs Madison. Mr. Madison served as Secretary of .State under Jefferson, and at the close of his administration was cliosen President. At this time the encroach- ments of England had brought us to the verge of war British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison was a man of peace. Scholady in his taste, retiring in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the meekest spirrt can be roused. It makes one's blood boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- ance he selects any number whom he may please to designate as British subjects ; orders them down the ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the battles of England. This right of search and im- pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce the British cabinet to relinquish. _ On the iSth of June, 1S12, President Madison gave his approval to an act of Congress declaring war against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter hostility of the Federal party to tlie war, the country in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th of March, 1513, was re-elected by a large majority, and entered upon his second term of office. This is not the place to describe the various adventures of this war on the land and on the water. Our infan'. navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- pling with the most formidable power which ever swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole coast of the United States under blockade. The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks of thePatuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- burg, upon Washington. The straggling little city of Washington was thrown into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the metropolis. The wjiole population fled from the city. The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White House, with her carriage drawn up at the doer to await his sjjeedy return, hurried to meet the officers in a council of war. He met our troops utteriy routed, and he could not go back without danger of being captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in Washington were in flames. The war closed after two years of fighting, and on Feb. 13, 18 15, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi- son died July 12, 1849. I 7 ^^"^^ ■'^ > ^-^ FIFTIf PRESIDENT. 35 AMES MONROE, the fifth 'residentof The United States, was born in Westmoreland Co., Va., April 28, 175S. His early life was passed at the place of nativity. His ancestors had for La many years resided in the prov- ince in which he was born. When, «;it 17 years of age, in the process of completing his education at William and Mary College, the Co- lonial Congress assembled at Phila- delphia to deliberate upon the un- just and manifold oppressions of Great Britian, declared the separa- tion of thg Colonies, and promul- gated the Declaration of Indepen- dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly probable that he would have been one of the signers of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left school and enlisted among the patriots. He joined the army when everything looked hope- less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased from day to day. The invading armies came pouring in ; and the tories not only favored the cause of the mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of con- tending with an enemy whom they had been taught to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through difficulty and danger, the United States owe their political emancipation. The young cadet joined tlie ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured ccmntry, with a firm determination to live or die with her strife for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel- ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled before its foes through New Jersey. In four months after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg- ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left shoulder. As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was ])ro- moted a captain of infantry; and, having recovered from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, receded from the line of promotion, by becoming an officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam- paigns of 1777 and 177S, in the actions of Brandy wine, Germantown and Monmouth, he continued aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain his position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upon this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at that period Governor, and pursued, with considerable ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun- teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. In 1782, he was elected from King George county, a member of the Leglislature of Virginia, and by that body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive Council. He was thus honored with the confidence of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having at this early period displayed some of that ability and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards employed with unremitting energy for the public good, 36 JAMES MONROE. he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of the Congress of the United States. DeeplyasMr. Monioefell the imperfectionsof theold Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, ihinkiiig, with many others of the Republican parly, that it gave too much power to the Central Government, and not enough to the individual States. Still he re- tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member of the United States Senate; which office he held for four years. Every month the line of distinction be- tween the two great parties which divided the nation, the Federal and the Republican, was growing more distinct. The two prominent iaeas which now sep- arated them were, that the Republican party was in sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a strict construction of the Constitution as to give the Central Government as little power, and the State Governments as much power, as the Constitution wo\ild warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- stitution, which would give as much power to the Central Government as that document could possibly authorize. The leading Federalists and Republicans were alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the good of the nation. Two more honest men or more pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In building up this majestic nation, which is destined to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- bination of their antagonism was needed to create the light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- nounced as almost a demon. Washington was then President. England had es- poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi- ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- tween tliese contending powers. France had helped us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms of Europe were now combined to prevent the French from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse than that which we had endured Col. Monroe, more magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres- ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in magnanimity. Washington, who could appreciate such a character, developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister of that Government to fhe Republic of France. Mr. Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention In France with the most enthusiastic demonstr/>-tions. Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon- roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the office for three yeais. He was again sent to France to co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining the vast territory then known as the Province of Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- tained from Spain. Their united efforts were suc- cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and district of Louisiana were added to the United States. This was probably the largest transfer of real estate which was ever made in all the history of the world. From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- ' tain from that country some recognition of out rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- land was unrelenting. He agam returned to Eng- land on the same mission, but could receive no redress. He returned to his home and was again chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned to accept the position of Secretary of State under Madison. While in this office war with England was declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during these trying times, the duties of the War Department were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient business man in his cabinet. LTpon the return of peace he resigned the Dei>artment of War, but con- tinued in the office of Secretary of«State until the ex- piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had been chosen President with but little opposition, and upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years later he was elected for a second tenii. Among the important measures of his Presidency were the cession of Florida to the United States; the Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine.' This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that time the United States had recognized the independ- ence of the South American states, and did not wish to have European powers longer attempting to sub- due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt on the part of European powers to extend their sys- tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerotis to our peace and safety," and "that we could not view any interposition for the purix)se of oppressing or controlling American governments or provinces in any other light than as a manifestation by European powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." This doctrine immediately affected the course of foreign governments, and has become the approved sentiment of the United States. K\. the end of his second term Mr. Monroe retired to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830, when he went to New York to live with his son-in- law. In that city he died.on the 4th of July, 1831 J, 5, Ai OAnj SIXTH PRESIDRNT. 39 71^ jor^i] Qnii]SY ;iD^i]QS. l$;K$«»$;T:^<«^;ic$'«^k^'Se;;g^&$;:g*$;;;s-'^>5;:iT^$;K«-*-5Z$**x*>ie;:^ "■' OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the sixth President of the United j^j* States, was born in the rural home of his honored father, John Adams, in Quincy, Mass., on the I ith cf July, 1767. His mother, a woman of exalted worth, watched over his childhood during the almost constant ab- sence of liis father. When but eight years of age, he stood with his mother on an eminence, listen- ing to the booming of the great bat- tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on upon the smoke and flames billow- ing up from the conflagration of Charlestown. When but eleven years old he took a tearful adieu of his mother, to sail with his father for Europe, through a fleet ot liostile British cruisers. The bright, animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted the notice of these distinguished men, and he received from them flattering marks of attention. Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again 7ohn Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he applied liimself with great diligence, for six months, to jtudy; then accompained his father to Holland, v/nere he entered, first a scliool in Amsterdam, then the University at Leyden. About a year from this time, in 178 1, when the manly 1 oy was but fourteen yea-3 of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min- ister to the Russian court, as his private secretar}'. Tn this school of incessant labor and of enobling culture he spent fourteen months, and then returned to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and Bremen. This long journey he took alone, in the winter, wlien in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed -T.s studies, under a pn-'^te tutor, at Hague. Thence, in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father u Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintance with the most distinguished men on the Continent examining architectural remains, galleries of paintings and all renowned works of art. At Paris he agair. became associated with the most illustrious men ol all lands in the contemplations of the loftiest temporal themes which can engross the human mind. Afte' a short visit to England he returned to Paris, ana consecrated all Iris energies to study until May, 1785, when he returned to America. To a brilliant young man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world, and who was familiar with tlie etiquette of courts, a residence with his father in London, under such cir- cumstances, must have been extremely attractive but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- ferred to return to America to complete his education in an American college. He wished then to study law, that with an honorable profession, he might be able to obtain an independent support. ' Upon leaving Harvard College, at theageof twentj- he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- ing then but tv/enty-seven years of age, he was ap- pointed by Washington, resident minister at the Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached London in October, where he was immediately admit- ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney. assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with Great Britian. After thus spending a fortnight i. London, he proceeded to the Hague. In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal a3 minister plenipotentiary. On his way to Portugal, upon arriving in London, he met with despatches directing him to the court of Beilin, but requesting him to remain in London until he should receive his instructions. While waiting he was married to ar. American lady to whom he had been previously en- gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughte' of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American consul in london a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom. plisliment which eminently fitted her to move in ti.e elevated sphere for which she w;is i^>RS''ioed. 40 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- filled all the purjwses of his mission, he solicited his recall. Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to Ihe Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then was elected Senator of the United States for six years, from the 4th of March, 1804. His reputation, his ability and his experience, placed him immediately among the most prominent and influential members of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern- ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- sulting our flag. There was no man in America more familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon these points, and no one more resolved to present a firm resistance. In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in tlie Pres- idential chair, and he immediately nominated John Quincy .\dams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked at Boston, in August, 1809. While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- dent. He devoted his attention to the language and history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the European system of weights, measures, and coins; to the climate and astronomical observations ; while he Kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and I^atin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. All through life the Bible constituted an important part of his studies. It was his rule to read five chapters every day. On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe took the Presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr. .\dams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he sailed in June, 1819, for the United States. On the i8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- roe's administration, Mr, Adams continued Secretary of State. Some time before Lhe close of Mr. Monroe's second term of office, new candidates began to be presented for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams brought forward his name. It »vas an e.xciting campaign. Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty- seven. As there was no choice by the people, the question went to the House of Representatives. Mr. Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and he was elected. The friends of all the disappointed candidates now ;ombined in a venomous and persistent assault upon Mr. Adams. There is nothing more disgraceful in »fee past history of our country than the abuse which was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upoa this high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was an administration more pure in principles, more con- scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- try, than that of John Quincy Adams ; and never, per- haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- lously and outrageously assailed. Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- stemious and temperate in his habits; always rising early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his own fire and applying himself to work in his library often long before dawn. On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- dent. The slavery question now began to assume jxjrtentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was elected representative to Congress. For seventeen years, jntil his death, he occupied the post as repre- sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of "the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in the House, he announced that he should hold him- self bound to no party. Probably there never was a member more devoted to his duties. He was usually the first in his place in the morning, and the last to leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The battle which Mr. .\dams fought, almost singly, against the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime in Its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he was threatened with indictment by the grand Jury, with expulsion from the House, with assassination ; but no threats could intimidate him, and his final triumph was complete. It has been said of President Adams, that when his body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before he slept, the prajer which his mother taught him in his infant years. On the 2istof February, 1848, he rose on the floor of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by ]iaraly- sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and said " This is the end of earth ;"then after a moment's pause he added, '\l am content" These were the last words of the grand "Old Man Eloquent." /^ SE VENTH PRESIDENT. ^3 i^^^^^^Qpi^^Sl/mnpr^^ '^^WiM i 'xa;ia2/iS-^'"S~^-*'^« ^-=r^f^j^!^^| gj NDREW JACKSON, the seventh President of the 1? United States, was born ni Waxhaw settlement, N. C, March 15, 1767, a few days after his father's death. His parents were poor emigrants from Ireland, and took up their abode in Waxhaw set- tlement, where they lived in deepest poverty. Andrew, or Andy, as he was universally called, grew up a very rough, rude, turbulent boy. His features were coarse, his form un- gainly; and there was but very little in his character, made visible, which was at- tractive. When only thirteen years old he joined the volun- teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 178 1, he and his brother Robert were captured and imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of the dauntless boy. The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desi)erate Dlow at the head of the helpless young prisoner. Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- ful gashes, — one on the hand and the other upon the head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert with the same demand. He also refused, and re- ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite disabled him, and which probably soon after caused his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and were finally stricken with the small-pox. Their mother was successful \r\ Qbtaining their exchange. and took her sick boys home. After a long illness. Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon left him entirely friendless. Andrew supported himself in various ways, such as working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, gave more attention to the wild amusements of the times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, of which Tennessee was then a part. This involved many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear, and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish with the Sharp Knife. In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who supposed herself divorced from her former husband. Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, to find that the conditionsof the divorce had just been definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur- rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. Jackson into disfavor. During these years he worked hard at his profes sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec- ially disgraceful. In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- stitution. Five were sent from each of the eleven counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegates. The new State was entitled to but one member in the National House of Representatives. Andrew JacTc- son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he rode to Philedelphia, where Congress then held its 44 ANDREW JACKSON. sessions, — a distance of about eight hundred miles. Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. Jackson took his seat, Gen. Washington, whose second term of office was then e.xpiring, delivered his last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson did not approve of tlie address, and was one of the twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to say that Gen. Wasiiington's adminstration had been " wise, firm and patriotic." Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court of his State, which position he held for si.x years. When the war of 1812 with Great Biitian com- menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who would do credit to a commission if one were con- ferred u|)on him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson offered his services and tiiose of twenty-five hundred volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops were assembled at Nashville. As the British were hourly expected to make an at- tack upon New Orleans, where Gen. Wilkinson was in command, he was ordered to descend the river with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The e.xpedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of sev- eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything, the men were ordered liack to their homes. But the energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him golden opinions; and he became the most popular man in the State. It was in this expedition that his toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, he received two severe i)istol wounds. While he was lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on one of the bends of theTallauoosa River, near the cen- ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. With an army of two thousand men, Gen. Jackson traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. 1814. The bend of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow- neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, with an ample suplyof arms were assembled. The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn- ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam the river and escaped. This ended the war. The power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold plunge into the wilderness, with its terrifific slaughter, so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants of the bands caiue to the camp, begging for peace. This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the allies of the Indians No man of less resolute will than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he was appointed major-general. Late in August, with an army of two thousand men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, and from both ship and shore commeaced a furious assault. The liattle was long and doubtful. At length one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his troops, which numbered about four thousand men, won a signal victory over the British army of about nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the loss of the British was two thousand six hundred. The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he assumed the reins of the government, he met with the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of her death he never recovered. His administration was one of the most memorable in the annals of our country; applaude/f oyone party, condemned by the other. No man had more bitter enemies or warmer friends. Kx. the expiration of his two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where he died June 8, 1845. The last years of Mr. Jack- son's life w-ere that of a devoted Christian man. 7' 7 ^^^^^ ^-7^/Ju^ EIGHTH PRESIDENT. m A^ ARTIN VAN BUREN, the eighth President of the United States, was born at Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 1782. He died at the same place, July 24, 1862. His body rests in the cemetery at Kinderhook. Above it is a plain granite shaft fifteen feet high, bearing a simple inscription about half way up on one face. The lot is unfenced, unbordered or unbounded by shrub or flower. There is but little in the life of Martin Van Buren of romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those incidents which give zest to biography. His an- cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- ligence and exemplary piety. Ae was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un- usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies in his native village, and commenced the study of law. As he had not a collegiate education, seven years of study in a law-office were required of him <)efore he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with J. lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pur- ,sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After spending six years in an office in bis native village, he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted liis studies for the seventh year. In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years of age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil- lage. The great conflict between the Federal and Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van Buren was from the beginning a politician. He had, perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the many discussions which had been carried on in his father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the cause of State Rights ; though at that time the Fed- eral party held the supremacy both in his town and State. His success and increasing ruputation led him after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, th., county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years constantly gaining strength by contending in th(. courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned the bar of his State. Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mi. Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short years she sank into the grave, the victim of consump- tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep over her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record of those years is barren in items of public interest. In t8i2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to the State Senate, and gave his strenuous support to Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was ap- pointed Attorney-General, and the next year moved to Albany, the capital of the State. While he was ackno\\'ledged as one of the most p. ominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had 48 Martin van bvrBN. the moral courage to avow that true democracy did not require that " universal suffrage" which admits the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of governing the State. In true consistency with his democratic principles, he contended that, while the path leading to the privilege of voting sliould be open to every man without distinction, no one should be invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue and some property interests in the welfare of the State. In 182 1 he was elected ;, member of the United States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat in the convention to revise the constitution of his native State. His course in this convention secured the approval of men of all parties. No one could doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the interests of all classes in the community. In the Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to .he Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- rermined opposer of the Administration, adopting the ■'State Rights " view in opposition to what was deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his seat in the Senate. Probably no one in the United States contributed so much towards ejecting John Q. Adams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- garded througiiout the United States as one of the most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. It was supjxised that no one knew so well as he how to touch the secret springs of action; how to pull all the wires to put his machinery in motion ; and how to organize a political array which would, secretly and stealthily accomplish the most gigantic results. By these powers it is said that he outv/itted Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which lew thought then could be accomplished. When Andrew Jackson was elected President he appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately appointed Minister to England, where he went the same autumn. The Senate, however, wlien it met, refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned home, apparently untroubled; was nominated Vice President in tlie place of Calhoun, at the re-election of President Jackson; and with smiles for all and frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that Senate which \\iA refused to confirm his nomination as ambassador. His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- ite; and tills, probably more than any other cause, secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu live. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. Jackson as President of the United States. He was elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred upon him the power to appoint a successor." His administration was filled with exciting events- The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in- volve tills country in war with England, the agitation of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- cial ])anic which spread over the country, all were trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- tributed to the management of the Democratic party, and brought the President into such disfavor that he failed of re-election. With the exception of being nominated for the Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in 1848, Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upoii his estate until his death. He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits, and living within his income, had now fortunately a competence for his declining years. His unblemished character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he had occupied in the government of our country, se- cured to him not only the homage of his party, but the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald, he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics of the country. From this time until his death, on the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old age, probably far more happiness than he had before experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life- ^. J9r )Te^4^(^^i„^^/ TWELFTH PRESIDENT. 63 -aa\,. ;«4^>fc.. cz Zly77ze_J (2'^Puo-^£^Zy72.€6'9^ I'IFTEENTH PRESIDENT, W -««« *— »>» t^t^i^>.^.i^t^ci^r^i^t^(^t •. 'i '. '• '. '::'.' ■'■•!' -•'I'ggit^'^'^'^'ggii'isgi'^t^'^ t^i 's^t^'^';gat^'§a'^'gg^'^'^'Sii':^'^'^:^:''^'^tgs't^'t^i^tg?'i^gg3i^,'(^j[jgJt^i^ -m «<« — ►— •-* — jj«j»- AMES BUCHANAN, the fif- teenth President of the United States, was born in a small frontier town, at the foot of the eastern ridge of the Allegha- nies, in Franklin Co., Penn.,on the 23d of April, 1791. The ;>lace where the inunble cabin of his father stood was called Stony Batter. It was a wild and ro- mantic spot in a gorge of the moun- tains, with towering summits rising grandly all around. His father was a native of the north of Ireland ; a poor man, who had emigrated in 1783, with little property save his own strong arms. Five years afterwards he married Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer, and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilder- ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a clearing with his axe, and settled down there to per- form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se- cluded home, where James was born, he remained for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual advantages. Wiien James was eight years of age, his father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where his son was placed at school, and commenced a course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de- veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among the first scholars in the institution. His application 'to study was intense, and yet his native powers en- abled him to master the most abstruse subjects wi '- facility. In the year 1809, he graduated with the highest honors of his clas^. He was then eighteen years of age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He immediately commenced the study of law in tlie city of Lancaster, and was admitted to the bar in 1812, when he was but twenty-one years of age. Very rapidly lie rose in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand with the ablest lawyers of the State. When but twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc- cessfully defended before the State Senate ov^e of the judges of the State, who was tried upon articles of impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally admitted that he stood at the head of the bar; and there was no lawyer in the State who had a more lu- crative practice. In 1820, he reluctantly consented to run as a candidate for Congress. He was elected, and for ten years he remained a member of the Lower House. During the vacations of Congress, he occasionally tried some important case. In 1831, he retired altogether from the toils of his VJrofession, having ac- quired an ample fortune. Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency, appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. 1 he duties of his mission he performed with ability, which gave'satisfaction to all parties. Upon his return, in 1833, he was elected to a seat in the United States Senate. He there met, as his associates, V/ebster, Clay, Wright and Calhoun. He advocated the meas- ures proposed by President Jackson, cf miking repn- 76 JAMES BUCHANAN. sals against France, to enforce the payment of our claims against that country ; and defended the course of the President in his unprecedented and wholesale removal from office of those who were not the sup- porters of his administration. Upon this question he was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay. Ho-also, with voice and vote, advocated expunging from the journal of the Senate the vote of censure against Gen. Jackson for removing the deposits. Earnestly he opposed the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and urged the prohibition of the circulation of anti-slavery documents by the United States mails. As to petitions on the subject of slavery, he advo- cated that they should be respectfully received; and that the reply should be returned, that Congress had no power to legislate upon the subject. " Congress," said he, " might as well undertake to interfere with slavery under a foreign government as in any of the States where it now exists." Upon Mr, Polk's accession to the Presidency, Mr. Buchanan became Secretary of State, and as such, took his share of the responsibility in the conduct of the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that crossjng the Nueces by the American troops into the disputed territory was not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross the Rio Grande into that territory was a declaration of war. No candid man can read with pleasure the account of the course our Government pursued in that movement Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with the party devoted to the pi-r|)etuation and extension of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind to bear against the Wilmot Proviso. He gave his cordial approval to the compromise measures of 1S50, which included the fugitive-slave law. Mr. Pierce, upon his election to the Presidency, honored Mr. Buchanan with the mission to England. In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven- tion nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presidency. The political conflict was one of tlie most severe in which our country has ever engaged. All the friends of slavery were on one side; all the advocates of its re- striction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fre- mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, re- ceived 114 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 174, and was elected. The popular vote stood 1,340,618, for Fremont, 1,224,750 for Buchanan. On March 4th. 1857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated. Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four vears were wanting to fill up his threescore years and ten. His own friends, those with whom he had been allied in political principles and action for years, were seeking the destruction of the Government, that they might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a nation whose corner-stone should be human slavery. In this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hopelessly be- wildered He could not, with his long-avowed prin- ciples, consistently oppose the State-rights party in their assumptions. As President of the United States, bound by his oath faithfully to administer the laws, he could not, without perjury of the grossest kind, unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the repub- lic. He therefore did nothing. The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration nominated Abraham Luicoln as their standard bearer in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slavery party declared, that if he were elected, and the con- trol of the Government were thus taken from their hands, they would secede from the Union, taking with them, as they retired, the National Capitol at Washington, and the lion's share of the territory of the United States. Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slaverj' party was such, that he had been willing to offer them far more than they had ventured to claim. All the South had professed to ask of the North was non- intervention upon the subject of slavery. Mr. Bu- chanan had been ready to offer them the active co- operation of the Government to defend and extend the institution. As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholders claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avow- ing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one of the most pitiable exhibitions of governmental im- becility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He declared that Congress had no power to enforce its laws in any State which had withdrawn, or which was attempting to withdraw from the Union. This was not the doctrine of Aiidrew Jackson, when, with his hand upon his sword-hilt, he exclaimed, " The Union must and shall be preserved!" South Carolina seceded in December, i860; nearly three months before the inauguration of President Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless despair. The rebel flag was raised in Charleston; Fort Sumpter was besieged; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals were seized ; our depots of military stores were plun- dered ; and our custom-houses and post-offices were appropriated by the rebels. The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looked on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glide away, and close the administration, so terrible in its weak- ness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliver- ance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the scepter. The administration of President Buchanan was certainly the most calamitous our country has ex- perienced. His best friends cannot recall it with pleasure. And still more deplorable it is for his fame, that in that dreadful conflict which rolled its billows of flame and blood over our whole land, no word came from his lips to indicate his wish that our country's banner should triumph over the flag of the rebellioi\ He died at his Wheatland retreat, Jime i, 1868. I •^ C9 ' <2-'«^^^ oy^o^-c^^^ SIXTEENTH F R ES /DET\rT. 79 I i ABRAHAM > ^:i?)i- i ^c^<:5jc^uu^aK2:da^Mjif''*^^^^^aiSy^;xQ^^K£j_^^^^ BRAHAM LINCOLN, the sixteenth President of the I-^United States, was born in Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 12, 1809. About the yean 7 80, a man by the name of Abraham Lincobi left Virginia with his family and moved into the then wilds of Kentucky. Only two years after this emigration, still a young man, while working one day in a field, was stealthily approached by an Lidian and shot dead. His widow was left in extreme poverty with five little children, three boys and two girls. Thomas, the youngest of the boys, was four years of age at his father's death. Tliis Thomas was the father of Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States whose name must henceforth fo'-ever be enrolled with the most prominent in the annals of our world. Of course no record has been kept of the life of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was among the poorest of the poor. His home was a wretched log-cabin; his food the coarsest and the meanest. Education he had none ; he could never either read or write. As soon as he was able to do anything for himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend- less, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- self out, and thus spent the whole of his youth as a laborer in the fields of others. When twenty-eight years of age he built a log- cabin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their second child was Abraham Lincoln, the subject of this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. "All that I am, or hope to be," e.xclaims the grate- ful son " I owe to my angel-mother. When he was eight years of age, his father sold his cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana Whei- two years later his mother died. Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated community around him. He could not have had a better school than this to teach him to put thoughts into words. He also became an eager reader. ' The books he could obtain were few ; but these he i.'ead and re-read until they were almost committp'^ tc memory. As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly fair.ilj was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sisto .Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mai ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, and soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830 and emigrated to Macon Co., 111. Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearing another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this until he saw the family comfortably settled, and theii small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when he announced to liis father his intention to leave home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- liant that fortune was to be. He saw the value o! education and was intensely earnest to improve his mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin which ardent spirits were causing, and became strictly temperate ; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- cating liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in God's word, "Thou shalt not take the name of tha Lord thy God in vain ;" and a profane expression ha was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a single vice. Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborei among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield, where he was employed in building a large flat-boat. In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mis- sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Lin- coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give great satisfaction to his employers. In this adven 8o ABRAHAM LINCOLN. ture his employers were so well pleased, that upon his return tney placed a store and mill under his care. In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew Jackson the appointmentof Postmaster of New Salem, His only post-ofifice was his hat. All the letters he received he carried there ready to deliver to those he chanced to meet. He studied surveying, and soon made this his business. In 1834 he again became a candidate for the Legislature, and was elected Mr. Stuart, of Sjiringfield, advised him to study law. He walked from New Salem to Springfield, borrowed of Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and began his legal studies. When the Legislature as- sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. His success with the jury was so great that he was soon engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit. In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois, in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became one of tb.e leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's speeches in opposition to Senator Douglas in the con- test in 1858 for a seat in the Senate, form a most notable part of his history. The issue was on the slavery question, and he took the broad ground of :he Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- test, but won a far higher prize. The great Republican Convention met at Chicago on the i6th of June, i860. The delegates and strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- five thousand. .\n immense building called "The Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes were thrown. William H Seward, a man whose fame as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most prominent. It was generally supposed he would be the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him: and aslittledid he dream that he was to render services to his country', which would fix upon him the eyes of the whole civilized world, and which would give him a place in the affections of his countrymen, second only, if second, to that of Washington. Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180 electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, constitutionally elected President of the United States. The tirade of abuse that vas poured upon this good and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was greater than upon any other man ever elected to this high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his way making speeches. The whole journey was frought with much danger. Many of the Southern States had already seceded, and several attempts at assassination were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti- more had arranged, uix)n his arrival to" get ujj a row," and in the confusion to make sure of his death with revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled the plot. A secret and special train was provided to take him from Harrisburg, through Baltimore, at an unexpected hour of the night. The train started at half-past ten ; and to prevent any possible communi- cation on the part ot the Secessionists with their Con- federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train hau started the telegraph-wres were cut. Mr. Lincoln reached Washington in safety and was inaugurated, although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave to Mr Seward the Department of State, and to other prominent opponents before the convention he gave important positions. During no other administration have the duties devolving upon the President been so manifold, and the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he learned early to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in determining his plan's, and Divine comfort in all his trials, bo^h personal and national. Contrary to his own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the most courageous of men. He went directly into the rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with Gen. Grant, was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It was announced that they would Le present. Gen. Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel- ing, witn his characteristic kindliness of heart, that it would be a disappointment if he shoidd fail them, very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to the play an actor by the name of John W'ilkes Booth entered the box where the President and family were seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the next morning at seven o'clock. Never before, in the history of the world was a nation plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a model. His name as the savior of his country ■»':11 live with that of Washington's, its father; his country- men being unable to decide which is the greater. <^ ^^^'^-^-^-^ „;:^;^''^^^^ '^^:^^^^-:2^o^^)^ SEVENTEENTH PRESIDE AT. 83 NDREW JOHNSON, seven- teenth President of the United "^''■^ States. The early life of Andrew Johnson contains but the record of poverty, destitu- tion and friendlessness. He was born December 29, 180S, in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, belonging to the class of the "poor whites " of the South, were in such circumstances, that they could not c';nfrr . .'ei\ the slight- est advantages of education upon their child. When Andrew was five years of age, his father accidentally lost his life while herorically endeavoring to save a friend from drowning, ^'nuil teri years of age, Andrew was a ragged boy abour the streets, supported by the labor of his mother, who obtained her living with her own hands. He then, having never attended a school one day, and being unable either to read or write, was ap- prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often read from the speeches of distinguished British states- men. .\ndrew, who was endowed with a mind of more than ordinary native ability, became much interested in these speeches ; his ambition was roused, and he was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. He accordingly applied himself to tlie alphabet, and with the assistance of some of his fellow- workmen, iearned his letters. He then called upon the gentle- man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner. pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book but assisted him in learning to combine the letters into words. Under such difficulties he pressed oi- ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours at work-in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest and recreatior to devote such time as he could to reading. He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos sessed some education. Under her instructions he learned to write and cipher. He became prominent in the village debating society, and a favorite with the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or- ganized a working man's party, which elected him alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which position he held three years. He now began to take a lively interest in political affairs ; identifying himself with the working-classes, to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. He became a very active member of the legislature gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Tan "Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to thos^ of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased his reputation. In 1841, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he was elected a member of Congress, and by successive elections, held that important post for ten years. In 1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and was re-elected in 1855. In all these resi»nsible posi- tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished abi'. 84 ANDRE IV JOHNSON. ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- ing classes. In 1857, fvlr. Johnson was elected United States Senator. Years before, in 1S45, he had warmly advocated the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- ably prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, (ind become merged in a population congenial to themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com- promise measures, the two essential features of which were, that the white people of the Territories should be permitted to decide for themselves whether they would enslave the colored people or not, and that the *'ree States of the North should return to the .Souih persons who attempted to escape from slavery. Mr. Johnson was never ashamed ofhis lowly origin: on the contrary, he often took pride in avowing that he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," said he on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget that I am a mechanic ; neither do I forget that Adam was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Sav- ior was the son of a carpenter." In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of iSbo, ne wras the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the Presidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the South- irn Democracy became apparent, he took a decided stand in favor of the Union, and held that " slavery must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he established the most stringent military rule. His numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 1865, became President. In a speech two days later he said, " The American people must be taught, if they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and must be punished ; that the Government will not always bear with its enemies ; that it is strong not only to protect, but to punish. * * The people must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole administration, the history of which is so well known, was in utter iatjonsistency with, and the most violent opposition to. the principles laid down in that speech. In his loose policy of reconstruction and general amnesty, he was opposed by Congress ; and he char- acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly defied it, in everythmg possible, to the utmost. In the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes il and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the '" removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre- ferred against him, and the trial began March 23. It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three months. A test article of the impeachment was at length submitted to the court for its action. It was certain that as the court voted upon that article so would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against him. The change of one vote from the 7iot guilty side would have sustained the impeachment. The President, for the remainder of his term, was but little regarded. He continued, though impotently, his conflict with Congress. His own party did not think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi- dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar- alleled since the days of Washington, around the name of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was there presented to a man a better opportunity to im- mortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in politics until 1875. On Jan. 26, after an exciting struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special session convened by President Grant, on the 5 th of March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter Station, Tenn. AVhen he started on his journey, he was apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reach- ing the residence of his child the following day, was stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 2 .4. M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, with every demonstration of respect. '/- w EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT. 87 # '^s€»^>/^®)@^V<2X9^^"(i) LYSSES S. GRANT, the ifi) eighteenth President of the ;3?S United States, was born on the 29th of April, 1822, of Christian parents, in a humble ' home, at Point Pleasant, on the banks of the Ohio. Shortly after his father moved to George- town, Brown Co., O. In this re- mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses received a common-school edu- cation. At the age of seven- teen, in the year 1839, he entered the Military Academy at West Point. Here he was regarded as a solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis- souri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating Indians. The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at Resaca de la Palma, his second battle. At the battle of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that ne performed a signal service of daring and skillful horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one side of the aniroal, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 10 aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha- pultepec. At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re- turned with his regiment to New York, and was again sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The discovery of gold in California causing an immense tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. Grant resigned his commission and returned to the Statues; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga- lena, 111. This was in the year i860. As the ridings of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — "Uncle Sam has educated me for the army; though I have served him through one war, I do not feel that I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my tword and see Uncle Sam through this war too." He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, the capital of the Stale, where their services were offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the volunteer organization that was being formed in the State in behalf of the Government. On the 15th o( 88 ULYSSES S. GRANT. June, 1 86 1, Capt. Grant received a commission as Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who had served for 15 years in the regular army, were such that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier- General and was placed in command at Cairo. The rebels raised their banner at Paducah, near the mouth of. the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and stripes were unfurled in its stead. He entered the service with great determination and immediately began active duty. This was the be- ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry won another victory. Then came tlie brilliant fight at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was immediately made a Major-General, and the military district of Tennessee was assigned to him. Like all great captains. Gen. Grant knew well how to secure the results of victory. He immediately mished on to the enemies' lines. Then came the terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro- ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid of Gens. Rosecrans and Tliomas at Chattanooga, and by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas- ures put the Union Army infighting condiiion. Then followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lockout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels were routed with great loss. This won far liim un- bounded praise in the North. On the 4tli of Febru- ary, 1864, Congress revived the' grade of lieutenant- general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials ,iiid enter upon O-'f duties of his new office Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge of the army to concentrate the widely-dispersed National troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. .Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains were burdened with closely packed thousands. His plans were comprehensive and involved a series of campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- render of Lee, April 9, 1865. The war was ended. The Union was saved. The almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal- vation. The eminent Services he had thus rendered the country brought him conspicuously forward as the Republican candidate for the Presidential chair. At the Republican Convention held at Chicago. May 21, 1S68, he was unanimously nominated for the Presidency, and at the autumn election received a majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 electoral votes. The National Convention of the Republican party which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1S72, placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 electoral votes being cast for him. Soon after the close of his second term. Gen. Grant started upon his famous trip around the world. He visited almost every country of the civilized world, and was everywhere received with such ovations and demonstrations of respect and honor, private as well as public and official, as were never before bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. He was the most prominent candidate before the ReiKiblican National Convention in 18S0 for a re- nomination for President. He went to New York and embarked in the brokerage business under the firm nameof Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, wrecked (jrant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to the penitentiary. The General was attacked with cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like manner, never complaining. He was re-instated as General of the Army and retired by Congress. The cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 1885, the nation v\'enf in mourning over the death of the illustrious General. NINETEENTH PRESIDENT. 91 'Vscv^vii.- RITTHERirORB m HiLYES. K 7'i'i^»^«gai«;v-i',;'i'wi'.f 1' ; 1' ; 1' ; .' : ^'~:i\yAi^^,^cii^i?i\^.\■.■'r.\•^i^^?^>^^i^<^ '"""^'^''^^y^iiji -'=•.,, ,^ ^ 5| ^W^ UTHERFORD B. HAYES, ^Swfel k(@)1K65> the nineteenth President of ' the United States, was born in Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- most three months after the ^ death of his father, Rutherford Hayes. His ancestry on both the paternal and maternal sides, was of the most honorable char- acter. It can be traced, it is said, as far back as 1280, when Hayes and Rutherford were two Scottish chief- tains, fighting side by side with Baliol, William Wallace and Robert Bruce. Both families belonged to the nobility, owned extensive estates, and had a large following. Misfor- ;ane ov»rr