Part 40 (2/2)

PROGRESS OF THE CONTROVERSY.--After the other taxes were repealed, the tax on tea remained in force. A mob of young men, disguised as Indians, went on board three vessels in Boston Harbor, and threw overboard their freight of tea (1773). Before, there had been outbreakings of popular wrath against the stamp-officers. Their houses had been sometimes attacked: they had been burnt in effigy, and in some cases driven to resign. In general, however, the methods of resistance had been legal and orderly. When the news of the destruction of the tea reached England, Parliament retaliated by pa.s.sing the _Boston Port Bill_ (1774), which closed that port to the exportation or importation of goods, except food or fuel. The courts, moreover, were given the power to send persons charged with high crimes to England, or to another colony, for trial. To crown all, General _Gage_, the commander of the British troops, was made Governor of Ma.s.sachusetts.

THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.--In order to produce concert of action, committees of correspondence between the several colonies were established. The First Continental Congress, composed of delegates from the colonies, was convened in Philadelphia (1774). The remedies to which they resorted were, addresses to the king and to the people of Great Britain; an appeal for support to Canada; and a resolve not to trade with Great Britain until there should be a redress of grievances.

CONCORD AND BUNKER HILL.--The Legislature in Ma.s.sachusetts, which _Gage_ would not recognize, formed itself into the ”Provincial Congress.” The first collision took place at _Concord_ (April 19, 1775), where a detachment of British troops was sent to destroy the military stores gathered by this body. On _Lexington_ Green, the British troops fired on the militia, and killed seven men. Arriving at _Concord_, they encountered resistance. There the first shot was fired by America in the momentous struggle,--”the shot heard round the world.” A number were killed on both sides, and the attacking force was hara.s.sed all the way on its return to Boston. The people everywhere rose in arms. Men flocked from their farms and workshops to the camp which was formed near Boston. _Israel Putnam_, who had been an officer in the French War, left his plow in the field at his home in Connecticut, and rode to that place, a distance of sixty-eight miles, in one day. _Stark_ from New Hamps.h.i.+re, and _Greene_ from Rhode Island, soon arrived.

THE _SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS_, in session at Philadelphia, a.s.sumed control of military operations in all the colonies. At the suggestion first made by _John Adams_ of Ma.s.sachusetts, Colonel _George Was.h.i.+ngton_ of Virginia was unanimously appointed commander-in-chief. His mingled courage and prudence, his lofty and unselfish patriotism, his admirable sobriety of judgment, and his rare power of self-control, connected as it was with a not less rare power of command, and with a firmness which no disaster could shake, made him one of the n.o.blest of men. Before he reached _Cambridge_, where he a.s.sumed command of the gathering forces (July 3, 1775), he received the news of the battle of _Bunker Hill_, in which the provincial soldiers, under _Putnam_ and _Prescott_, made a stand against the ”regulars,” as the British troops were called, and retreated only on the third a.s.sault, and when their ammunition had given out. _Dr. Joseph Warren_, a leading Boston patriot, was slain in the battle. Before this time, _Fort Ticonderoga_ had been captured by _Ethan Allen_, and cannon been sent from it to aid in the siege of Boston (1775). But an attack on Quebec by _Arnold_ and _Montgomery_, who entered Canada by different routes, failed of its object. Before British reinforcements arrived, the American troops abandoned Canada. In the attack on Quebec, _Montgomery_ fell, and _Arnold_ was severely wounded (Dec. 31, 1775).

INDEPENDENCE.--Only a brief sketch can here be given of the seven years' struggle of the United Colonies. On the 4th of July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, drawn up in the main by _Thomas Jefferson_, and of which _John Adams_ was the most eloquent advocate on the floor of Congress, pa.s.sed that body. It was signed by the President, _John Hanc.o.c.k_, and fifty-five members. The colonies easily converted themselves into States, nearly all of them framing new const.i.tutions. Thirteen _Articles of Confederation_ made them into a league, under the name of the _United States_ of America, each State retaining its sovereignty (1777). _Franklin_, an old man, and respected in Europe as well as at home for his scientific attainments as well as for his st.u.r.dy sagacity, went to France as their envoy. Among the soldiers who came from Europe to join the Americans were _La Fayette_,--a young French n.o.bleman, who was inspired with a zeal for liberty, and was not without a thirst for fame, which, however, he desired to merit,--and _Steuben_, an officer trained under _Frederick the Great_. In Parliament, the Whig orators spoke out manfully for the American cause. The king hired German troops for the subjugation of its defenders.

THE EVENTS OF THE WAR.--The maneuvers of _Was.h.i.+ngton_ forced _Gage_ to evacuate _Boston_. The American general then undertook the defense of New York. The British forces, to the number of thirty thousand, under _Gen. Howe_, and _Admiral Howe_ his brother, were collected on Staten Island. The Americans were defeated in a battle on Long Island (Aug. 27, 1776), and could not hold the city. It remained in the hands of the British to the end of the war. _Was.h.i.+ngton_ withdrew his troops to _White Plains_.

_Fort Was.h.i.+ngton_ and _Fort Lee_ were lost. The American commander, followed by _Lord Cornwallis_, retreated slowly through New Jersey (1776). These were serious reverses. By bold and successful attacks at _Trenton_ and _Princeton_, the depressed spirits of the army and the country were revived. In the spring of 1777 _Howe_ sought to capture _Philadelphia_, and landed his forces at the head of Chesapeake Bay. The Americans were defeated at _Brandywine_ (Sept. 10); and Philadelphia, which had been the seat of Congress, was, like New York, in the possession of the British. Their policy was to isolate New England. To this end, Gen. _Burgoyne_, with a large army of French and Indians, came down from the north of Lake Champlain. A detachment of his forces was defeated by _Stark_ at _Bennington_. _Burgoyne_ himself was obliged to surrender, with six thousand men, to _Gates_, at Saratoga (Oct. 17). This event made its due impression abroad. _France_ recognized the independence of the United States, and entered into an alliance with them. This alliance was a turning-point in the struggle. _Was.h.i.+ngton's_ army, ill-clad and ill-fed, suffered terribly in the winter of 1777-78 at _Valley Forge_; but he shared in their rough fare, and their discipline was much improved by the drill which they received there from _Steuben_. Sir Henry _Clinton_ left Philadelphia in order that the British forces might be concentrated in New York. He was overtaken by Was.h.i.+ngton, and the battle of _Monmouth_ took place, which was, on the whole, a success for the Americans. The design of the British to separate New England from the rest of the States had failed. _Was.h.i.+ngton_ was again at _White Plains_. They now began operations in the Southern States. Among the occurrences in this period of the war were the ma.s.sacre of the settlements in the valley of the _Wyoming_, in Pennsylvania, by the Indian auxiliaries of the British; the surrender of Savannah, and with it Georgia and Charleston, by the Americans; the gallant storming of _Stony Point_, on the Hudson, by _Wayne_ (July 15, 1779), and a brilliant naval victory of _Paul Jones_ in a desperate engagement with two British frigates near the north-eastern coast of England (Sept. 1779). The American ”partisan leaders,” Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, carried forward an irregular but hara.s.sing warfare in South Carolina. At Camden, _Gates_ was defeated by _Cornwallis_; and _Baron de Kalb_, a brave French officer, of German extraction, in the American service, fell (Aug. 16, 1780). In this year (1780) _Benedict Arnold's_ treason was detected; and Major _Andre_, a British officer through whom Arnold had made arrangements for giving up the fortress of _West Point_ to the enemy, was taken captive, and executed as a spy. In the next year Gen. _Nathanael Greene_ conducted military operations in _Georgia_ and the _Carolinas_ with much skill, and succeeded in pressing the army of Lord _Cornwallis_ into the peninsula formed by the York and James Rivers in Virginia. Thither the French fleet sailed under Count _De Gra.s.se_; and _Was.h.i.+ngton_, by forced marches, was enabled to join with the French in surrounding the British works at _Yorktown_. On the day when _Clinton_ left New York, at the head of his forces, to unite with _Cornwallis_, that officer surrendered, with his entire army of seven thousand men, to _Was.h.i.+ngton_ (1781). This blow was fatal to the British cause. The independence of the United States was recognized by Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Russia (1782). The war had been prolonged by the personal obstinacy of _George III_., against the wishes of his minister, Lord _North_. The surrender of _Cornwallis_ made it plain that further effort to conquer America was hopeless. Spain and Holland had joined hands with France, but _Rodney_ had won a great naval victory over _De Gra.s.se_ (April 12, 1782). By the treaty of peace, signed at _Paris_ and _Versailles_ (1783), England recognized the independence of her former colonies.

AMERICA AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR.--The Congress during the war had issued paper money to the amount of twenty millions of dollars. It had no power to lay taxes, or to compel the States to pay their several portions of the public indebtedness. The States themselves were poor, and largely in debt. They surrendered, however, their unoccupied public lands to the United States. In 1787 Congress made one territory of the district north-west of the Ohio River, which Virginia had ceded, and by an ordinance excluded slavery from it for ever.

THE CONSt.i.tUTION.--The lack of one system of law for the different States in reference to duties on imports, and on various other matters of common concern, and disorders springing up in different places, inspired an anxious desire for a stronger central government. A convention, over which _Was.h.i.+ngton_ presided, met in _Philadelphia_ in 1787, and formed the new _Const.i.tution_.

_Hamilton_ of New York and _Madison_ of Virginia were leading members. There was much opposition to the new plan of government which they agreed upon, but it was finally adopted by all the States. It supplied the defects of the old confederation by uniting _national_ with _federal_ elements. To the Senate, made up of two delegates from each State, it added a _House of Representatives_, where the number of members from each State was made proportionate to the population. It put the general government, within the limit of its defined functions, into a _direct_ relation to the citizens, and gave to it judicial and executive departments to carry out and enforce its legislation. It committed to the central authority the management of foreign affairs, and various other powers necessary for the preservation of peace and unity in the land, and for the securing of the common weal of the whole country. _Was.h.i.+ngton_ was unanimously chosen as the first president of the Republic, and _John Adams_ was chosen vice-president. The first Congress met in _New York_ in April, 1789, although the day appointed was March 4.

CHAPTER VI. LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND RELIGION.

LITERATURE.

I. FRANCE.

POETRY AND THE DRAMA.--The literature of France in the age of _Louis XIV_. was cla.s.sical in its spirit. The ancient Greek and Roman writers were admired and imitated. The Renaissance was now to run its course. The French Academy, founded by _Richelieu_, undertook to regulate and improve the French language. Measure, finish, elegance, were demanded by the reigning taste, in all literary productions. _Corneille_ (1606-1684), the father of French tragedy, was the most virile of the French dramatists. _Racine_ (1639-1699), who followed, if less grand, was more pathetic. We find, however, in writers of genius,--even in the great preachers, as _Bourdaloue_ and _Ma.s.sillon_, who formed a type of pulpit eloquence peculiar to France,--a tendency to what seems now a stilted style. The master in comedy was _Moliere_ (1622-1673), an actor, as well as an author of inimitable humor. One of the most popular of French authors has been _La Fontaine_ (1621-1695), whose fables have charmed mult.i.tudes by their smooth versification, as well as by their contents. _Boileau_ (1636-1711), the Horace of France, prescribed, as a lawgiver, rules upon the ”Art of Poetry,” and himself wrote satires and other poems of high merit.

PROSE LITERATURE.--_Bossuet_ (1627-1704) was an eloquent preacher and historical writer, and an expert theological polemic of the liberal Catholic school. Of a very different tone is _Rochefoucauld_, whose _Maxims_, expressed in pithy language, seek to trace all virtuous action to self-seeking. The French fondness for epigram--for terse, paradoxical statement--is exemplified even in the best writers, as, for example, _Blaise Pascal_. _La Bruyere_ (1645-1696), a genial philosopher, wrote in a most attractive style a work ent.i.tled _The Characters of Our Age_. The metaphysician _Malebranche_ (1638-1715) taught that we know through our spiritual union with G.o.d, or that we see all things in G.o.d. A disciple of _Des Cartes_, he did not strictly follow his master. _Fenelon_ (1651-1715), ill.u.s.trious for his piety as well as for his versatile authors.h.i.+p, wrote on religious topics and on education. Of all his writings, his _Telemachus_, composed for the young Duke of Burgundy, his pupil, has been the most read. The letters of Madame _de Sevigne_, addressed to her daughter, and not meant for publication, present most graphic descriptions of the characters and occurrences of the day.

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.--When we cross the limit of the eighteenth century, we meet with growing signs of skepticism in religion, and of innovation in political thought. Criticism of the past, of traditional creeds and established inst.i.tutions, is spreading. The _Historical and Critical Dictionary of Bayle_, a storehouse of chronicle and anecdote, is leavened with the spirit of doubt. Three great writers deserve special attention. _Montesquieu_ (1689-1755) satirized all dogma in his _Persian Letters_. His celebrated work on the _Spirit of Laws_ is just and humane in its tone, and full of original and inspiring views on history and government. He is one of the founders of modern political science. _Voltaire_ (1694-1778), the most popular of all the writers of his age, was the incarnation of its critical and skeptical spirit, the highest example of its wit as of its levity, and of the artificial character of its literary ideals. He was play-writer, poet, historian, critic, and brilliant converser, all in one. In religion, a scoffer not only at superst.i.tion, but at all beliefs and rites which imply revelation, he still clung to the belief in a personal G.o.d. His creed was deism, _Jean Jacques Rousseau_ (1712-1778) was, like _Voltaire_, a deist in his creed; but in religion, as in all his mental action, there was a vein of sentiment. By the fascination of his style, he was able, in his various writings, including his autobiographical _Confessions_, to interest profoundly mult.i.tudes of readers of both s.e.xes, and even to move them to sympathy with himself in a career which deserves not less abhorrence than commiseration. He was, perhaps, the first author to evoke in others a genuine relish, which he felt himself, for the wild scenery of nature. In his _Social Contract_ he maintained that government grows out of a contract of individuals with one another, all of whom in the state of nature are free and independent. He carried to a great extreme an idea which in England had been held by _Hooker_, and more explicitly expounded by _Locke_. His doctrine furnished a theory for the political revolution in France. The ”Encyclopaedists” went much beyond _Voltaire_ and _Rousseau_. _D'Alembert_, _Helvetius_, _Holbach_, advocated atheism and materialism. _Condillac_ (1715-1780) sought to reduce this species of infidelity to an exact philosophical system by tracing even conscience to sensation and self-interest. All religious sentiment was condemned as morbid illusion.

II. GERMANY.

In Germany, the great name in philosophy is that of _Leibnitz_ (1646-1716), a rival of _Newton_ in mathematics and natural science, and an eminent thinker in metaphysics, theology, and in jurisprudence. In intellect and in variety of attainments, he is almost the peer of _Aristotle_. _Wolf_ (1679-1754) his disciple, systemized and modified his philosophical views. _Klopstock_ (1724-1803), the author of _Messiah_, written somewhat after the manner of the _Paradise Lost_ of _Milton_, excelled the other German poets of his day. _Frederick the Great_ treated with disrespect the native literary products of his country. Yet a new era in German letters and criticism was opened by _Lessing_ (1729-1781), a poet, and a critic of admirable insight, whose influence in this direction in Germany has been likened in its power to that of _Luther_ in religion.

III. ITALY.

In the eighteenth century, there was a new revival of literature in Italy. _Vico_ (1668-1744) almost made an epoch in the scientific treatment of history and mythology; in political economy and in archeology, there were numerous explorers; Florence became once more a seat of learning. _Beccaria_ (1738-1794) by his writings introduced more humane views in criminal jurisprudence. _Volta_ (1745-1827), an electrician, constructed the instrument called the voltaic pile. _Metastasio_ (1698-1782) fostered the melodrama, or Italian opera, by his dramatic writings. _Goldoni_ (1707-1793), a Venetian, was the most eminent writer of comedies. Tragedy reached its acme in the works of _Alfieri_ (1749-1803), the founder of a new school.

IV. ENGLAND.

In England, after the Restoration, the influence of French standards in literature is obvious. The drama declined, partly from the earlier antagonism of the Puritans, and partly from the rage for indecency which infected the dramatic writers,--even those of much ability, as _Congreve_,--and defiled the stage. The _Pilgrim's Progress_ of _Bunyan_ (1628-88) is written in a plain, unaffected style, and is the most popular work of that age. In sharp contrast with _Bunyan_ is _Butler's Hudibras_, a witty satire, in doggerel verse, upon Puritanism. The princ.i.p.al writer, prior to Queen _Anne_, is _Dryden_ (1631-1700). We have pa.s.sed now from the _Romantic_ school of poetry, in which Shakspeare is the most exalted name, to the _Cla.s.sical_ school. In the age of Queen _Anne_, _Pope_ (1688-1744), with his vigor, without elevation, of thought, his smooth versification and bright wit, is the princ.i.p.al figure. The same period produced the labored novels of _Richardson_ (1689-1761), and the vigorous and lifelike fictions of _Fielding_ (1707-1754), which are, unhappily, disfigured by coa.r.s.e and licentious pa.s.sages. In the early part of the century, _Addison_ (1672-1719) and _Steele_ (1672-1729) were the most distinguished essayists. In them, as in the novels of _Defoe_ (1661-1731), the author of _Robinson Crusoe_, and in the prose writings of _Swift_ (1667-1745), the richness and idiomatic force of the English tongue are seen; while in _Samuel Johnson_, the literary dictator in the latter part of the century, the author of the _English Dictionary_, of _The Rambler_, the _Lives of the Poets_, and _Ra.s.selas_, we have a striking and contagious example of a stately, sounding, Latinized diction. In pleasing contrast, as regards style, which charms from its simplicity, are the writings of _Goldsmith_ (1728-74). In poetry, _Gray_ (1716-71), the author of the _Elegy in a Country Churchyard_, and _Collins_ (1721-59), wrote little, but wrote well. The triumvirate of great English historians of the century are _Hume_, _Robertson_, and _Gibbon_. Gibbon's _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_ is a monument of masterly ability and of vast research; a work, however, marred by a want of naturalness in style, and, still more, by a lack of religious faith and reverence, and by impurity of tone and allusion. _Hume's_ style is one of his chief claims to esteem as an historian; for he was indolent in his researches, and prejudiced in his views. He merited distinction chiefly as an economist and a metaphysician.

PHILOSOPHY.--In English philosophy, there are several writers of extraordinary talents and influence. _John Locke_ (1632-1704), an upright man and a lover of freedom, wrote the celebrated _Essay on the Understanding_, besides other important works in political science and theology. He traced all our knowledge to two sources, _sensation_ and _reflection_, ultimately to the first of these. _Berkeley_ (1685-1753) advocated with rare genius an ideal theory of matter, and defended theism. _Hume_ (1711-76) indirectly gave rise to much of the later philosophy, by his acute speculations in behalf of skepticism as to the reality of human knowledge and the foundation of accepted beliefs. _Reid_ (1710-96) rescued philosophy from the attacks of _Hume_ by the doctrine of ”common sense,” and thus founded the Scottish school of metaphysicians. Among the numerous authors who cultivated both philosophy and theology, particular distinction belongs to _Dr. Samuel Clarke_ (1675-1729), and to Bishop _Joseph Butler_ (1692-1752) who wrote briefly, but with marked power, on the nature of conscience, and on the _a.n.a.logy_ between religion and what we know of the const.i.tution and course of nature.

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