A First Book in American History E-Book

Edward Eggleston

• Herausgeber: Cheapest Books
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 230

Beschreibung

   IN preparing a first book of American history, it is necessary to keep in mind the two purposed such a work is required to serve.  
 
   There are children whose school life is brief; these must get all the instruction they are to receive in their country's history from a book of the grade of this. 
 
To another class of pupils the first book of American history is a preparation for the intelligent study of a textbook more advanced. It is a manifest waste of time and energy to require these to learn in a lower class the facts that must be re-studied in a higher grade. Moreover, primary histories which follow the order of larger books are likely to prove dry and unsatisfactory condensations. But a beginner's book ought before all things else to be interesting. A fact received with the attention raised to its highest power remains fixed in the memory; that which is learned listlessly is lost easily, and a lifelong aversion to history is often the main result produced by the use of an unsuitable textbook at the outset. 
 
The main peculiarity of the present book is that it aims to teach children the history of the country by making them acquainted with some of the most illustrious actors in it. A child is interested, above all, in persons. Biography is for him the natural door into history. The order of events in a nation's life is somewhat above the reach of younger pupils, but the course of human life and the personal achievements of an individual are intelligible and delightful.  
 
In teaching younger pupils by means of biography, which is the very alphabet of history, we are following a sound principle often forgotten, that primary education should be pursued along the line of the least resistance.  
 
Moreover, nothing is more important to the young American than an acquaintance with the careers of the great men of his country.

Leseprobe

A First Book in American History

“An Early Life of America”

Edward Eggleston

Illustrated by E. Eggleston

George Washington, first President of the United States

“from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States”.

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Table of Contents

About The Book & Author:

Preface

THE EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS

HOW COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA

COLUMBUS AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

JOHN CABOT AND HIS SON SEBASTIAN

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH

MORE ABOUT CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH

THE STORY OF POCAHONTAS

HENRY HUDSON

CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISH

MYLES STANDISH AND THE INDIANS

WILLIAM PENN

KING PHILIP

CAPTAIN CHURCH IN PHILIP’S WAR

BACON AND HIS MEN

BOYHOOD OF FRANKLIN

FRANKLIN, THE PRINTER

THE GREAT DOCTOR FRANKLIN

YOUNG GEORGE WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON IN THE FRENCH WAR

WASHINGTON IN THE REVOLUTION

THE VICTORY AT YORKTOWN AND WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT

THOMAS JEFFERSON

DANIEL BOONE

ROBERT FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT.

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON

ANDREW JACKSON

MORSE AND THE TELEGRAPH

HOW THE TELEGRAPH BECAME SUCCESSFUL

EARLY LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

LINCOLN IN PUBLIC LIFE

SOMETHING ABOUT THE GREAT CIVIL WAR

SOMETHING ABOUT THE SPANISH WAR

HOW THE UNITED STATES BECAME LARGER (AN OBJECT LESSONS IN HISTORIC GEOGRAPHY)

* * *

About The Book & Author:

§

Edward Eggleston: (1837-1902)

Edward Eggleston, (was born Dec. 10, 1837, Vevay, Ind., U.S.—died Sept. 4, 1902, Lake George, N.Y.), clergyman, novelist, and historian who realistically portrayed various sections of the U.S. in such books as The Hoosier School-Master.

By the age of 19, Eggleston had become an itinerant preacher, but circuit riding broke his health. He held various pastorates, serving from 1874 to 1879 in Brooklyn; he was an editor of the juvenile paper, Little Corporal (1866–67), the National Sunday School Teacher (1867–73), and other periodicals.

In all of his work he sought to write with “photographic exactness” of the real West. The most popular of his books for adults was The Hoosier School-Master (1871), a vivid study of backwoods Indiana. His other novels include The End of the World (1872), The Mystery of Metropolisville (1873), The Circuit Rider: A Tale of the Heroic Age(1874), Roxy (1878), and The Graysons (1888). His later novels and children’s books are considered less significant. After a trip to Europe in 1879 he turned to the writing of history. His Beginners of a Nation(1896) and Transit of Civilization from England to America (1900) contributed to the growth of social history.

Preface

§

IN preparing a first book of American history, it is necessary to keep in mind the two purposed such a work is required to serve. There are children whose school life is brief; these must get all the instruction they are to receive in their country's history from a book of the grade of this.

To another class of pupils the first book of American history is a preparation for the intelligent study of a textbook more advanced. It is a manifest waste of time and energy to require these to learn in a lower class the facts that must be re-studied in a higher grade. Moreover, primary histories which follow the order of larger books are likely to prove dry and unsatisfactory condensations. But a beginner's book ought before all things else to be interesting. A fact received with the attention raised to its highest power remains fixed in the memory; that which is learned listlessly is lost easily, and a lifelong aversion to history is often the main result produced by the use of an unsuitable textbook at the outset.

The main peculiarity of the present book is that it aims to teach children the history of the country by making them acquainted with some of the most illustrious actors in it. A child is interested, above all, in persons. Biography is for him the natural door into history. The order of events in a nation's life is somewhat above the reach of younger pupils, but the course of human life and the personal achievements of an individual are intelligible and delightful. In teaching younger pupils by means of biography, which is the very alphabet of history, we are following a sound principle often forgotten, that primary education should be pursued along the line of the least resistance. Moreover, nothing is more important to the young American than an acquaintance with the careers of the great men of his country.

The superiority of works of history in our time over those of other ages lies in the attention given to the development of the life of the people as distinguished from the mere recital of public events. The biographical method here adopted offers a great advantage, by giving the younger pupil interesting glimpses of life in other times by means of personal anecdote. The usages of European courts, the dwellings and arts of the Indians, the struggles of pioneers in the wilderness, the customs of the inmates of frontier houses, the desolations of the early wars with the savages, the home spinning and other domestic handicrafts, the stately manners and ostentatious dress of our forefathers, and many other obsolete phases of life, are vividly suggested to the pupil's mind, not by dry didactic statements, but in unforgettable stories of real people. This line of instruction is much furthered by the running comment of the accompanying illustrations.

It has often been lamented that no adequate provision is made in a school course for teaching the principles of morality. But the teaching of abstract principles is generally unavailing to produce good conduct. In the preparation of the present work I have been surprised to find how abundant are the materials for moral instruction by example in the careers of our great men. The perseverance of Columbus, of Hudson, and of Morse, the fortitude of John Smith, of Standish, and of Boone, can not but excite the courage of those who read the narratives of their lives. No intelligent pupil will follow the story of Franklin's industrious pursuit of knowledge under difficulty without a quickening of his own aspirations. What life could teach resolute patients, truth-telling, manly honor, and disinterested public spirit better than that of Washington? And where will a poor lad struggling with poverty find more encouragement to strictest honesty, to diligent study, and to simplicity of character than in the history of Lincoln? It would be a pity for a country with such examples in her history not to use them for the moral training of the young. The faults as well as the virtues of the persons whose lives are told here will afford the teacher opportunities to encourage right moral judgments.

In the matter of illustrations, the publishers have shown a liberality without precedent, I believe, in the preparation of books of this class. The talents and skill of some of the most eminent illustrators in America have been brought into requisition to lend a charm to the first lessons in American history. Should this example be generally followed in the preparation of schoolbooks, it may produce notable results; a general refinement of taste and feeling ought to follow an early acquaintance with works of real artistic value. The pictures of have been made under the author's supervision, and are meant to be essential aids to the pupil rather than mere decorations. The younger the pupil the more must one have recourse to the imagination in teaching. Some of the pictures convey information additional to that in the text; the object of most of them is to suggest to the pupil a vivid conception of the narrative.

Perhaps the most novel feature of the book is the system of picture maps. To the untrained eye of the younger pupil an ordinary map has not much meaning, but the beautiful and effective bird's-eye views here first used in a schoolbook will leave a conception in the mind of a child distinct and ineffaceable.

Of course, the mode of studying such a book may be what the teacher pleases. Brief suggestions for a topical recitation are appended to each lesson. Recitations should not be verbal repetitions of the text; nor should they, in this grade, be precise and exhaustive. If the pupil is taught to give the substance of the narrative in his own words, it will make him assimilate what he has studied, and prove a valuable training in thought and expression. Several superintendents of schools in large cities have declared in advance their desire to introduce this book as a class reader, thus securing an elementary acquaintance with American history without overcrowding the course of study. In using the book as a reader, the topical questions will still be of service to make sure that attention has been given to the substance of the lesson.

The definitions at the close of each lesson give chiefly the meaning of the word as used in the text. It is important that the pupil pass no word without a clear comprehension of its force, and that he be taught to observe carefully the pronunciation of proper names. The judicious teacher will take pains to have the pupil examine the illustrations carefully, and make sure that their force is understood. The maps will be readily comprehended, and are not likely to be slighted.

THE EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS

MORE than four hundred years ago there lived in the old city of Genoa [gen'-o-ah], in Italy, a workingman who had four sons. One of these was Christopher Columbus, who was born, probably about the year 1446, in that part of the city occupied by the weavers of woolen cloth. Learned men have lately taken much pains to find the very house. It is a narrow house, and dark inside. The city has bought it and put an inscription in Latin on the front, which says: "No house more worthy! Here, under his father's roof, Christopher Columbus passed his boyhood and youth." The father of little Christopher was a wool comber—that is, a man who prepared the wool for the spinners, or, as some say, a weaver. Christopher learned to work in wool, like his father.

COMBING WOOL

At this time Genoa was a place of ships and sailors, going and coming to and from many parts of the world. On the beach he might have seen the fishermen launch their boats and spread their curious pointed sails, such as you see in the picture. From the wharves of Genoa he could watch the ships sailing out to trade in distant lands. I wonder if the wool-comber's little boy ever dreamed that he might one day come to be the most famous of all ship captains, and sail farther away into unknown seas than any man had ever sailed before.

Columbus was doubtless poor and had to work for his living. But he must have been studious, for he somehow got a pretty good education. He learned Latin, he wrote a good hand, and could draw maps and charts for the use of sailors, by which last calling he was able to support himself when he came to be a man. At twenty-four years of age Columbus made a voyage, but he was at least twenty-seven years of age when he finally became a seaman, and began to acquire that knowledge of sailing which prepared him to make discoveries. The seamen of that time did not sail very far. Their voyages were mostly in the Med-i-ter-ra'-ne-an, and they knew little of the Atlantic Ocean, which they called "The Sea of Darkness," because they did not know that was in it or on the other side of it. They believed that great monsters swam in the ocean, and that in one part it was so hot that the water boiled.

COLUMBUS LEARNING TO DRAW MAPS

Of course, they did not know that there was any such place as America, and they believed that Africa reached clear to the south pole. The only trade they had with Asia was by caravans, which brought silks, gums, spices, and precious stones from the far East on the backs of camels.

While Columbus was yet a little boy, there was living in Portugal [poar'-tu-gal] a prince named Henry, the son of the king of that country. Henry was a learned man, who thought he could find a way to get round Africa to the rich countries of Asia. He sent out ship after ship, until he had discovered much of the African coast.

PRINCE HENRY

It was probably the fame of these voyages that drew Columbus to Portugal. From Portugal Columbus himself sailed down the newly discovered coast of Africa. Then he went north beyond England, so that he was already a very great traveler for the time.

While the Portuguese [poar'-tu-gueze], in trying to get to India, were creeping timidly down the coast of Africa, with land always in sight, Christopher Columbus conceived a new a far bolder plan. As learned man believed the world round, he proposed to sail straight west to Asia, braving all the dangers of the known Atlantic. He thought the world much smaller than it is, and he supposed that he should find Asia about as far west of Europe as America is. He did not dream of finding a new world.

As Portugal was the leading country in making discoveries, Columbus first proposed to find this new way to Asia for the king of that country. If the good Prince Henry had been alive, he would probably have adopted the plan with joy. But "Henry the Navigator," as he was called, had died long before, and the advisers of the King of Portugal ridiculed the plan, and laughed at the large reward which Columbus demanded if he should succeed. However, the king secretly sent out one of his own vessels, which sailed westward a little way, and then came back and reported that there was no land there. When Columbus heard of this, he left Portugal, not liking to be cheated in this way.

He went to Spain and appeared at court, a poor and friendless stranger. Spain was ruled at this time by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. They were very busy in their war with the Moors, who then occupied a great part of Spain. Columbus followed the court from place to place for years. But the king and queen paid little heed to the projects of this foreigner. They were too much employed with battles and sieges to attend to plans for finding a new way to India.

A MOORISH SOLDIER

Most of those who heard of Columbus ridiculed his plans. They did not believe that people could live on the other side of the world, and walk with their feet up and their heads down. The very children tapped their foreheads when Columbus passed, to signify their belief that the fellow was crazy.

In 1491 Columbus, whose plans were at last rejected, left the court, traveling on foot like the poor man that he was, and leading his little boy by the hand. He stopped one day at the convent of La Rabida [la rab'-ee-dah] to beg a little bread and water for the child. The good prior of the convent, happening to pass at that moment, was struck with the foreign accent of the stranger's speech. He began to talk with him, and soon learned of the project that had so long filled the mind of Columbus. The prior was deeply interested. He had once been the confessor, or religious adviser, of Isabella, and he now wrote the queen a letter in favor of the plan of Columbus. The queen sent for the prior, and he persuaded her to bring back Columbus. She sent the great navigator a mule and some decent clothes.

But Columbus, when he got back to court, still demanded such high rewards if he should succeed that he was again allowed to depart. He set out to offer his plan to the King of France; but now his friends again interceded with the queen, lamenting that Spain should lose his services. The queen sent a messenger after him, who overtook him in a pass of the mountains and brought him back, with the assurance that, at last, he would be sent forth on his voyage.

Nav'-i-ga-tor, one who sails or directs the course of ships. Con'-vent, a house in which monks or nuns dwell. Pri'-or, the head of a company of monks.

Tell in your own words— Where Columbus was born. What Columbus learned. What is said of Prince Henry. What happened to Columbus in Portugal. What happened to him in Spain.

Place to be remembered— Genoa, the birthplace of Columbus.

MONSTERS SUPPOSED TO LIVE IN THE OCEAN AS DRAWN ON OLD MAPS

HOW COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA

ABOUT two hundred years before Columbus sailed, there arrived in the city of Venice [ven'-is] one day three travelers, coarsely dressed in Chinese fashion.

They said that they were three gentlemen named Polo, who had left Venice many years before. They had almost forgotten how to speak Italian, and at first their own relatives thought them foreigners and impostors. But they gave a magnificent banquet at which they all appeared in rich robes. They changed their garments again and again as the feast went on. Every robe taken off was cut up and given to the servants. At last they took their old garments and ripped them open, and poured out before the guests a collection of precious stones of untold value.

One of these gentlemen, Marco Polo, whose portrait you see here, wrote a book of his travels, describing the vast riches of Eastern countries, before unknown to people in Europe. Columbus had read this book, and it was to find a new way to reach the rich countries seen by Polo that he was now resolved to sail partly round the globe.

In spite of the power which the King of Spain gave him to force ships and seamen to go with him, Columbus found the greatest trouble in fitting out his expedition, so much were the sailors afraid of the ocean. But at last all was ready. Those who were to sail into "The Sea of Darkness" with Columbus took the sacrament and bade a solemn farewell to their friends, feeling much like men condemned to death. They embarked in three little vessels, only one of which had a deck over it.

Columbus went to the Canary Islands first. Then with bitter lamentations the men took leave of the last known land, and sailed into seas in which no ship had ever been. Columbus tried to cheer them with the stories he had read in Marco Polo's book, of the riches of the great country of China. But he also deceived them by keeping two separate accounts of his sailing. In the one which he showed to his companions he made the distance from Spain much less than it really was.

COLUMBUS READING POLO'S BOOK

But they were greatly alarmed to find that, as they went west, the needle of the compass did not point directly to the north star. This change, though well known now, was probably as surprising to Columbus as to his men, but he did his best to keep up their courage.

The weather was fine, and the winds blew always from the east. This alarmed the sailors more than ever, for they were sure they would get no wind to come back with. One day the wind came around to the southwest, which was a great encouragement.

But presently the ships struck great masses of seaweed, and all was grumbling and lamentation again. The frightened sailors remembered old stories of a frozen ocean, and imagined that this must be the very place. When the wind fell to a calm, they thought the ships might lie there and rot for want of wind to fill the sails.

They were getting farther and farther away from Europe. Where would they find food and water to last them till they got home? They thought their commander a crack-brained fool, who would go on to their destruction. They planned, therefore, to throw him into the sea, and go back. They could say that, while he was gazing at the stars, after his fashion, he had tumbled over.

But the worst disappointments were to come. One day the glad cry of "Land!" was raised. Columbus fell on his knees to return thanks, while the men scrambled up into the rigging. But it proved to be only a cloud. On the 7th of October another false alarm disheartened the sailors more than ever.

From the first Columbus had pointed to seaweed, and other supposed signs of land, until the men would no longer listen to his hopeful words. Now the appearance of some song birds, a heron, and a duck, could not comfort them. The great enterprise was about to end in failure, after all, when, on the 11th of October, the sailors found a branch of a thorn-tree with berries on it. At length a carved stick was found, and the men began to believe that they were really near to some inhabited land.

During the night which followed this discovery no one on the ships slept. About ten o'clock Columbus saw a glimmering light appearing and disappearing, as though someone on shore were carrying a torch. At two o'clock a sailor sighted land.

The morning light of Friday, October 12, 1492, showed the Spaniards a beautiful little island. Columbus dressed himself in scarlet, and planted the Spanish standard on the shore, throwing himself on the earth and kissing it, while the naked Indians wondered whether these men in bright armor had flown from the skies in their winged boats or had sailed down upon the clouds. The sailors, lately so ready to cast Columbus into the sea, now crowded about him, embracing him and kissing his hands.

When the Indians had recovered from their first surprise, they visited the ships, some of them in canoes, and others by swimming. They brought with them a ball of cotton yarn, bread made from roots, and some tame parrots, which, with a few golden ornaments, they exchanged for caps, glass beads, tiny bells, and other trifles, with which they could adorn themselves.

The island which Columbus first discovered was a small one, which he called San Salvador, but we do not now know which of the West India Islands it was. He thought that he was on the coast of Asia. But where were the rich islands and great cities and houses roofed with gold, of which Marco Polo had written two hundred years before?

From island to island Columbus sailed, looking for these things, not knowing that they were thousands of miles away. Finding the island of Cuba very large, he concluded that it was a part of the mainland of Asia.

Im-pos'-tors, people who pretend to be what they are not. Crack'-brained, crazy. Stand'-ard, national flag. Ar'-mor, a dress to protect the person in battle, usually made of metal.

Tell in your own words— About the return of the Polos. What Marco Polo wrote. What Columbus was looking for. About his departure. His voyage. (See Map at the top of page 1.) The discovery.

Date to be remembered— 1492, the year of the discovery of America. About how many hundred years ago?

COLUMBUS AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

COLUMBUS was very kind to the natives. At one time a poor savage was captured by the sailors and brought to Columbus, who was standing on the high after-castle of the ship. The terrified Indian sought to gain his favor by presenting the great man with a ball of cotton yarn.

Columbus refused the present, but he put upon the Indian's head a pretty colored cap; he hung bells in his ears, and tied strings of green beads about his arms. Then he sent the simple creature ashore, where his friends were afterward seen admiring his ornaments.

At another time the sailors picked up an Indian who was crossing in an open canoe a wide tract of water from one island to another. This man had a piece of cassava bread and a gourd of water for his sea stores. He also had a bit of red paint with which to decorate his face before appearing among strangers, and a string of beads procured from the white men. He was rowing to a neighboring island to carry the news of the coming of the Spaniards. His canoe was taken on board, he was fed with the best food of the ship, and put ashore at his destination.

GOURD BOTTLE

Having got one of his vessels ashore on the coast of Haiti [ha'-tee], which he called Hispaniola [his-pan-ee-o'-lah], Columbus built a fort of the timber from the wrecked vessel and left here a little colony.

But now he began to think of carrying home the good news of his great discovery. In January, 1493, he set sail for Spain. On the 12th of January, when all were looking forward to a joyful return, a terrific storm threatened to wreck the ship and to bury in the ocean all memory of the great discovery. Prayers were said and vows were made, for the safety of the ship.

To preserve the memory of his discovery if all else should be lost, Columbus wrote two accounts of it, which he inclosed [spelling: enclosed?] in cakes of wax and put into two barrels. One of these was thrown into the sea; the other was set upon the stern of the vessel, that it might float off if the ship should go down. He hoped that one of these barrels might drift to the coast of Europe and be found.

Columbus at length reached the islands called the Azores. Here, when the storm had abated, some of his men went ashore to perform their vows at a little chapel, and were made prisoners by the Portuguese governor. Having got out of this difficulty, Columbus put to sea and met another gale, which split his sails and threatened to wreck the vessel. He finally came to anchor in a Portuguese port, where he no doubt felt some exultation in showing what Portugal had lost by refusing his offers.