The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Beginner's American History, by D. H.MontgomeryThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: The Beginner's American HistoryAuthor: D. H. MontgomeryRelease Date: April 5, 2006 [eBook #18127]Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY***E-text prepared by Ron SwansonNote: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 18127-h.htm or 18127-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/8/1/2/18127/18127-h/18127-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/8/1/2/18127/18127-h.zip)THE BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORYbyD. H. MONTGOMERYAuthor of the Leading Facts of History Series[Frontispiece: LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD. A Statue in theHarbor of New York City, given to the American People by the Peopleof France. (Copyright by Charles T. Root.)]Boston. U.S.A.Published by Ginn & Company1893Copyright, 1892,by D. H. MontgomeryAll Rights Reserved.Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston, U.S.A.Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A.D.H.M.TOS.K.K.PREFATORY NOTE.This little book is intended by the writer as an introduction to hislarger work entitled ...
The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Beginner's American History, by D. H.
Montgomery
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Beginner's American History
Author: D. H. Montgomery
Release Date: April 5, 2006 [eBook #18127]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY***
E-text prepared by Ron Swanson
Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustrations.
See 18127-h.htm or 18127-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/8/1/2/18127/18127-h/18127-h.htm)
or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/8/1/2/18127/18127-h.zip)
THE BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY
by
D. H. MONTGOMERY
Author of the Leading Facts of History Series
[Frontispiece: LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD. A Statue in the
Harbor of New York City, given to the American People by the People
of France. (Copyright by Charles T. Root.)]Boston. U.S.A.
Published by Ginn & Company
1893
Copyright, 1892,
by D. H. Montgomery
All Rights Reserved.
Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston, U.S.A.
Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A.
D.H.M.
TO
S.K.K.
PREFATORY NOTE.
This little book is intended by the writer as an introduction to his
larger work entitled _The Leading Facts of American History_.
It is in no sense an abridgment of the larger history, but is
practically an entirely new and distinct work.
Its object is to present clearly and accurately those facts and
principles in the lives of some of the chief founders and builders
of America which would be of interest and value to pupils beginning
the study of our history. Throughout the book great care has been
taken to relate only such incidents and anecdotes as are believed
to rest on unexceptionable authority.
The numerous illustrations in the text are, in nearly every case,
from drawings and designs made by Miss C. S. King of Boston.
In the preparation of this work for the press--as in that of the
entire _Leading Facts of History Series_--the author has been
especially indebted to the valuable assistance rendered in
proofreading by Mr. George W. Cushing of Boston.
DAVID H. MONTGOMERY,
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
CONTENTS.
PARAGRAPH
I. COLUMBUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. JOHN AND SEBASTIAN CABOT . . . . . . . . 21
III. BALBOA, PONCE DE LEON, and DE SOTO . . . 28
IV. SIR WALTER RALEIGH . . . . . . . . . . . 32
V. CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH . . . . . . . . . . . 37
VI. CAPTAIN HENRY HUDSON . . . . . . . . . . 52
VII. CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISH . . . . . . . . . 62
VIII. LORD BALTIMORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
IX. ROGER WILLIAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
X. KING PHILIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
XI. WILLIAM PENN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 XII. GENERAL JAMES OGLETHORPE . . . . . . . . 102
XIII. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN . . . . . . . . . . . 109
XIV. GEORGE WASHINGTON . . . . . . . . . . . 123
XV. DANIEL BOONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
XVI. GENERAL JAMES ROBERTSON . . . . . . . . 156
XVII. GOVERNOR JOHN SEVIER . . . . . . . . . . 156
XVIII. GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK . . . . . . 161
XIX. GENERAL RUFUS PUTNAM . . . . . . . . . . 169
XX. ELI WHITNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
XXI. THOMAS JEFFERSON . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
XXII. ROBERT FULTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
XXIII. GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON . . . . . 201
XXIV. GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON . . . . . . . . . 206
XXV. PROFESSOR SAMUEL F. B. MORSE . . . . . . 220
XXVI. GENERAL SAM HOUSTON . . . . . . . . . . 229
XXVII. CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY . . . . . . . . . . 233
XXVIII. CAPTAIN J. A. SUTTER . . . . . . . . . . 236
XXIX. ABRAHAM LINCOLN . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
A SHORT LIST OF BOOKS
INDEX
LIST OF LARGE MAPS.
PARAGRAPH
I. Map Illustrating the Early Life of Washington . . . . . . 127
II. Map of the Revolution (northern states) . . . . . . . . . 135
III. Map of the Revolution (southern states) . . . . . . . . . 140
IV. The United States at the close of the Revolution . . . . 187
V. The United States after the Purchase of Louisiana (1803) 188
VI. The United States after the Purchase of Florida (1819) . 218
VII. The United States after the Acquisition of Texas (1845) . 230
VIII. The United States after the Acquisition of Oregon (1846) 235
IX. The United States after the Acquisition of California
and New Mexico (1848) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
X. The United States after the Gadsden Purchase (1853) . . . 240
XI. The United States after the Purchase of Alaska (1867)
See Map of North America (giving a summary of the
territorial growth of the United States) . . . . . . . 240
NOTE.--In these maps it has been thought best to give the boundaries
of the thirteen original states as they now exist; and to show the
outlines of other states before they were organized and admitted.
LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
PARAGRAPH
I. The Statue of Liberty . . . . . . . . . . . . ._Frontispiece_
II. An Indian Attack on a Settlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
III. Paul Revere's Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
IV. Battle of New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
V. Niagara Suspension Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
VI. Mount Hood, Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
VII. Mirror Lake, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
THE BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY
_The paragraph headings, following the paragraph numbers, will befound useful for topical reference, and, if desired, as questions;
by simply omitting these headings, the book may be used as a reader._
_Teachers who wish a regular set of questions on each section will
find them at the end of the section. Difficult words are defined or
pronounced at the end of the numbered paragraph where they first
occur; reference to them will be found in the index._
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
(1436-1506).[1]
1. Birth and boyhood of Columbus.--Christopher Columbus,[2] the
discoverer of America, was born at Genoa,[3] a seaport of Italy, more
than four hundred and fifty years ago. His father was a
wool-comber.[4] Christopher did not care to learn that trade, but
wanted to become a sailor. Seeing the boy's strong liking for the
sea, his father sent him to a school where he could learn geography,
map-drawing, and whatever else might help him to become some day
commander of a vessel.
[Illustration: COLUMBUS AS A BOY. (From the statue in the Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston.)]
[Footnote 1: These enclosed dates under a name show, except when
otherwise stated, the year of birth and death.]
[Footnote 2: Christopher Columbus (Kris'tof-er Ko-lum'bus).]
[Footnote 3: Genoa (Jen'o-ah); see map in paragraph 21.]
[Footnote 4: Wool-comber: before wool can be spun into thread and
woven into cloth the tangled locks must be combed out straight and
smooth; once this was all done by hand.]
2. Columbus becomes a sailor.--When he was fourteen Columbus went
to sea. In those days the Mediterranean[5] Sea swarmed with war-ships
and pirates. Every sailor, no matter if he was but a boy, had to stand
ready to fight his way from port to port.
In this exciting life, full of adventure and of danger, Columbus grew
to manhood. The rough experiences he then had did much toward making
him the brave, determined captain and explorer[6] that he afterwards
became.
[Footnote 5: Mediterranean (Med'i-ter-ra'ne-an).]
[Footnote 6: Explorer: one who explores or discovers new countries.]
3. Columbus has a sea-fight; he goes to Lisbon.--According to some
accounts, Columbus once had a desperate battle with a vessel off the
coast of Portugal. The fight lasted, it is said, all day. At length
both vessels were found to be on fire. Columbus jumped from his
blazing ship into the sea, and catching hold of a floating oar,
managed, with its help, to swim to the shore, about six miles away.
He then went to the port of Lisbon.[7] There he married the daughter
of a famous sea-captain. For a long time after his marriage Columbus
earned his living partly by drawing maps, which he sold to commandersof vessels visiting Lisbon, and partly by making voyages to Africa,
Iceland, and other countries.
[Footnote 7: Lisbon: see map in paragraph 21.]
4. What men then knew about the world.--The maps which Columbus made
and sold were very different from those we now have. At that time
not half of the world had been discovered.[8] Europe, Asia, and a
small part of Africa were the chief countries known. The maps of
Columbus may have shown the earth shaped like a ball, but he supposed
it to be much smaller than it really is. No one then had sailed round
the globe. No one then knew what lands lay west of the broad Atlantic;
for this reason we should look in vain, on one of the maps drawn by
Columbus, for the great continents of North and South America or for
Australia or the Pacific Ocean.
[Illustration: The light parts of this map show how much of the world
was then well-known; the white crosses show those countries of
Eastern Asia of which something was known.]
[Footnote 8: See map in this paragraph.]
5. The plan of Columbus for reaching the Indies by sailing
west.--While living in Lisbon, Columbus made up his mind to try to
do what no other man, at that time, dared attempt,--that was to cross
the Atlantic Ocean. He thought that by doing so he could get directly
to Asia and the Indies, which, he believed, were opposite Portugal
and Spain. If successful, he could open up a very profitable trade
with the rich countries of the East, from which spices, drugs, an