49 chapters
17 hour read
Selected Chapters
49 chapters
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
At the request of my daughter and my son and by the advice of my friends, the Honorable J. C. Bancroft Davis and the Honorable William A. Richardson, I am venturing upon the task of giving a sketch of my experiences in life during three fourths of a century. The wisdom of such an undertaking is not outside the realm of debate. A large part of my manhood has been spent in the politics of my native state, and in the politics of the country. For many years I have had the fortune to be associated wi
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
In the presence of some misgivings as to the propriety of my course, I have decided to print the article on my Life as a Lawyer, as it appears in the "Memoirs of the Judiciary and the Bar of New England" (for January, 1901), published by the Century Memorial Publishing Company, Boston, Mass. Many of the facts were furnished by me. The article was written by W. Stanley Child, Esq., but it was not seen by me, nor was its existence known to me until it appeared in the published work. The paper in m
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
REMINISCENCES OF SIXTY YEARS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS VOLUME I I INCIDENTS OF MY EARLY LIFE
REMINISCENCES OF SIXTY YEARS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS VOLUME I I INCIDENTS OF MY EARLY LIFE
My birthplace was at Brookline, Mass., near Boston, upon a farm in my father's charge, and then owned by a Dr. Spooner of Boston. The place has had many owners and it has been used for various purposes. In 1851 and 1852 it was owned by a Dr. Trowbridge, who had a fancy for fine horses. Upon my election to the office of Governor, and when he had learned that I was born upon his place, he insisted that I should use a large black stallion in the review of the troops at the annual parade. The animal
29 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
II LIFE AS A STORE-BOY AND CLERK
II LIFE AS A STORE-BOY AND CLERK
In the month of December, 1830, when I was about one month less than thirteen years of age, Mr. Simeon Heywood, the postmaster at Lunenburg and the owner of a small store, proposed to my father that I should go into his service to remain four years. An arrangement was made by which I was to receive my board and clothes, and the privilege of attending school during the winter months. I commenced my service the 26th of December, 1830, and I remained until December 1, 1834. My life with Mr. Heywood
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
III CHANGES AND PROGRESS
III CHANGES AND PROGRESS
As I pass in this record from my childhood and early youth to the responsibilities of life, I am led to some reflections upon the changes in opinions and the changes in the condition of the people in the more than half-century from 1835 to 1899. At the first period there was not a clergyman of any of the Protestant denominations who questioned the plenary and verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, including the Old and New Testaments. The suggestion could not have safely been made in any New Engl
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IV SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL-KEEPING
IV SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL-KEEPING
Of my pupils at Pound Hill an unusually large proportion were advanced in years.* Several of the boys were my seniors, and in size they had quite an advantage over me, although my weight was then about 165 pounds. That class gave me very little trouble. The unruly boys were those between ten and fifteen years of age. With a few exceptions the leading people of the town were well-to-do farmers, and nearly every week brought an invitation to a party at the house of some one of them. An attendance
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
V GROTON IN 1835
V GROTON IN 1835
In the month of February, 1835, I read an advertisement in the Lowell Journal , asking for a clerk in a store, application to be made at the office. I at once wrote to Joseph S. Hubbard,* a former schoolmate, asking him to call at the office and get the name of the advertiser. This he did, and gave me the name of Benj. P. Dix of Groton. I wrote to Mr. Dix, and upon the receipt of an answer, I went with my father to see him. The result was an agreement to work for him for three years. Terms, boar
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VII BEGINNINGS IN BUSINESS
VII BEGINNINGS IN BUSINESS
In the autumn of 1837 as my second year with Mr. Woods was approaching a close, I informed him that I proposed to go to Exeter, N. H., attend the Academy, and then either enter college or proceed with the study of the law. At about the same time I corresponded with Mr. Abbott, the principal of the Academy, in regard to terms, board, etc.. Upon this notice Mr. Woods made me a proposition to continue with him and share the business. He offered to furnish the capital, to give me my board, and one f
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VIII FIRST EXPERIENCE IN POLITICS
VIII FIRST EXPERIENCE IN POLITICS
At the spring election of Groton in 1839, I was chosen a member of the school committee. The other members had been in the service in previous years. They were the Rev. Charles Robinson, the Rev. Mr. Kittredge, Dr. Joshua Green, and Dr. George Stearns. In the early Colonial period the "minister" was often the schoolmaster also. Naturally he took an interest in the education of the children, and previous to the time when school committees were required by statute, he was the self-constituted guid
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IX THE ELECTION OF 1840
IX THE ELECTION OF 1840
In the early summer of 1840 the great contest began, which ended in the defeat of Mr. Van Buren and the election of Gen. Harrison to the Presidency. The real issues were not much discussed—certainly not by the Whigs. In reality the results were due to the general prostration of business and the utter discredit that had fallen upon General Jackson's pet bank system. The Independent Treasury System, as it was termed by Democrats, or the Sub-Treasury System, as it was called by the Whigs, had not b
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
X MASSACHUSETTS MEN IN THE FORTIES
X MASSACHUSETTS MEN IN THE FORTIES
In 1841 I was again a candidate for the House, and I was elected by the meager majority of one vote. As a member for the year 1842 I made the acquaintance of many persons, some of whom became distinguished in state and national politics. The leading members on the Democratic side were Samuel C. Allen of Northfield; Nathaniel Hinckley of Barnstable; Seth Whitmarsh, of Seekonk; Seth J. Thomas, Richard Frothingham of Charlestown; and James Russell, of West Cambridge. Allen was a son of the Samuel C
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XI THE ELECTION OF 1842, AND THE DORR REBELLION
XI THE ELECTION OF 1842, AND THE DORR REBELLION
The election of 1842 was contested by the Democratic Party and successfully, upon the charge that the Whig Administration had unwisely and illegally aided the "law and order party" in Rhode Island in the controversy with Thomas W. Dorr, the leader of the party engaged in an attempt to change the form of government in that State. At that time the people of Rhode Island were living under the charter granted by Charles II. Its provisions were illiberal in the opinion of the majority of the people o
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XII THE LEGISLATURE OF 1847
XII THE LEGISLATURE OF 1847
At the meeting of the Legislature of 1847, some new members appeared. Caleb Cushing came from Newburyport, and Fletcher Webster, and J. Lothrop Motley from Boston. The Democrats of Boston and vicinity were then engaged in raising and equipping a regiment for Mexico. Cushing was Colonel of the regiment and Edward Webster, a brother of Fletcher, was the Captain of one of the companies. On the first day of the session Cushing introduced an order to appropriate twenty thousand dollars to aid in equi
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XIII LEGISLATIVE SESSION OF 1848—FUNERAL OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
XIII LEGISLATIVE SESSION OF 1848—FUNERAL OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
The chief incident of the Legislative session of 1848 was the funeral of John Quincy Adams. Mr. Adams died in February, 1848. There were then twenty-four States in the Union and the House of Representatives selected one member from each State to accompany the remains of Mr. Adams to Massachusetts. Of these members I recall Talmadge of New York; Newell* of New Jersey; Kaufmann of Texas; Morse of Louisiana; Wentworth of Illinois; Bingham of Michigan; and Holmes of South Carolina. The Massachusetts
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XIV THE LEGISLATURE OF 1849
XIV THE LEGISLATURE OF 1849
In the year 1849, two men were elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives who have had conspicuous careers in the State and nation,—General Nathaniel P. Banks and Henry L. Dawes. General Banks had genius for politics and the generalities of public affairs. As an orator he was peculiar and attractive to an unusual degree. For a long period his popularity was great in his town and district, and finally in the State. A long life was the possession of General Banks, and I have only to con
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XV MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS AND MASSACHUSETTS POLITICIANS 1850-51 AND 1852
XV MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS AND MASSACHUSETTS POLITICIANS 1850-51 AND 1852
The defeat of General Cass in 1848 changed the policy of the leaders of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts. These leaders were David Henshaw, Charles G. Greene, and as an assistant Benjamin F. Hallett. The first two had controlled the patronage of the general government very largely during the administrations of Jackson, Van Buren and Polk. They looked to the election of General Cass as a continuation of that policy. These leaders considered the control of Massachusetts as hopeless, and not u
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XVI ACTON MONUMENT
XVI ACTON MONUMENT
While I held the office of Governor, two memorial events occurred, of some importance. The first was the erection and dedication of a monument in the town of Acton, to the memory of Captain Isaac Davis, and two others, who were killed the 19th of April, 1775, at the Old North Bridge in Concord. A feud had existed for many years between the towns of Concord and Acton each claiming the honors of the battlefield on that date. Of Concord it was alleged that not a drop of blood was lost on the occasi
49 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XVII SUDBURY MONUMENT
XVII SUDBURY MONUMENT
At the session of 1851 the Legislature made an appropriation of five hundred dollars to aid the town of Sudbury in building a memorial to Captain Wadsworth and the men of his command who were cut off at Sudbury in the year 1676 in the war known as King Philip's War. As Governor I was made a member of the committee for the erection of a monument. The first subject was the style of the memorial. The artists of Boston and vicinity sent designs and plans. Some of these were very attractive. It happe
35 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XVIII LOUIS KOSSUTH*
XVIII LOUIS KOSSUTH*
When Louis Kossuth landed in New York, December 5, 1851, he was not an unknown personage. He and his native land had been made known to the people of the United States by the Revolution of 1848 and the contest of 1849 for the independence of Hungary. Until those events occurred, Hungary was only a marked spot on the map of Europe, and the name of Kossuth, as a leader in industrial and social progress, had not been written or spoken on this side of the Atlantic; but in the year 1851 there was no
47 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XIX THE COALITION AND THE STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1853
XIX THE COALITION AND THE STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1853
The controversy over slavery, which wrought a division in the Whig and Democratic parties as early as the year 1848, led to a reorganization of parties in 1849, under the names of Whig, Democratic, and Free-soil parties, respectively. Of these the Whig Party was the largest, but from 1849 to 1853 it was not able to command a majority vote in the State, and at that time a majority vote was required in all elections. There was a substantial agreement between the Democratic and Free-soil parties up
30 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XX THE YEAR 1854
XX THE YEAR 1854
At the session of the Legislature, January, 1854, the town of Fitchburg, aided by towns and citizens of the vicinity, petitioned for a new county to be composed of towns to be taken from the counties of Middlesex and Worcester and to be called the county of Webster. Mr. Choate was retained for the new county, and I appeared for the county of Middlesex. The hearing by the committee occupied two weeks or more, for an hour or an hour and a half a day. The fees received seem now to have been very sm
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXI ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN MASSACHUSETTS IN 1855—AND THE EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR
XXI ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN MASSACHUSETTS IN 1855—AND THE EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR
In the month of August 1855, the Republican Party of Massachusetts was organized, and under the head of those who signed the call, a convention was held at Worcester, the eighteenth day of September, of that year. In Mr. Webster's time the Whig Party had been divided into two parts, known as Conscience Whigs and Cotton Whigs. The Conscience Whigs had become Free-soilers, and the Cotton Whigs upheld the flag of the party in the belief that trade would follow the flag. The death of Mr. Webster and
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXII AS SECRETARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF EDUCATION
XXII AS SECRETARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF EDUCATION
In the early autumn of 1855 the Board of Education elected me to the office of secretary of the board. The position was offered to Mr. George B. Emerson, who declined to accept it for the reason that he was unwilling to perform the necessary labor. My predecessor was Barnas Sears, who resigned to accept the presidency of Brown University. I made no effort to secure the appointment; indeed, I was doubtful as to the wisdom of accepting it. I had been a member of the board for several years, and I
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXIII PHI BETA KAPPA ADDRESS AT CAMBRIDGE
XXIII PHI BETA KAPPA ADDRESS AT CAMBRIDGE
About ten days before the 18th of June, 1861, Judge Hoar called at my office and invited me to deliver the Phi Beta Kappa oration at Cambridge on the 18th of the month. Although I had but little time for preparation, I accepted the invitation upon the understanding, or rather upon his request, that I was to deal with the questions then agitating the country. Among my hearers was the venerable Josiah Quincy, formerly President of the College. My address was so radical that the timid condemned it,
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXIV THE PEACE CONVENTION OF 1861
XXIV THE PEACE CONVENTION OF 1861
In the month of January, 1861, the State of Virginia invited the States to send delegates to a congress or convention to be held in the city of Washington. The call implied that the Union was a confederation of States as distinguished from an independent and supreme and sovereign government, set up and maintained by the people of the whole country, except as the States were made the servants of the nation for certain specified purposes. There was hesitation on the part of Massachusetts, and some
25 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXV THE OPENING OF THE WAR
XXV THE OPENING OF THE WAR
When the call was made for seventy-five thousand men, the Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts was one of the first to respond. On the night of the 16th of April some, if not all, of the regiment, were quartered in Boston. I called upon Company B, of Groton, then in the hall over the Williams Market. I found that they understood that the movement meant war and duty. One of the men said to me: "Some of us will never see Massachusetts again." After the affair in Baltimore on the 19th of April, Governor
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXVI THE MILITARY COMMISSION OF 1862 AND GENERAL FREMONT
XXVI THE MILITARY COMMISSION OF 1862 AND GENERAL FREMONT
In the month of May, or early in June 1862, I received a message from Mr. Stanton asking me to report in Washington, prepared to serve upon a commission at Cairo, Illinois. Upon arriving at Washington, I was informed that it would be the duty of the commission to examine claims that might be preferred against the Government, from the States of Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. These claims had arisen from the operations of General Fremont and they were of great variety. At the end
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXVII ORGANIZATION OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES
XXVII ORGANIZATION OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES
Before the work at Cairo was finished I received a message from Mr. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, asking me to come to Washington and take charge of the Internal Revenue Office, or rather, to organize it under a statute then recently passed, but which I had not seen. After a conversation with Mr. Dana, who advised me to accept the place, I returned to Washington, where I arrived July 16, 1862. After an interview with Mr. Chase I took the oath of office before Mr. Justice Wayne of the Supreme
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
REMINISCENCES OF SIXTY YEARS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS VOLUME II
REMINISCENCES OF SIXTY YEARS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS VOLUME II
Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs by George S. Boutwell Governor of Massachusetts, 1851-1852 Representative in Congress, 1863-1869 Secretary of the Treasury, 1869-1873 Senator from Massachusetts, 1873-1877 etc., etc., New York McClure, Phillips & Co. Mcmii Copyright, 1902, by McClure, Phillips & Co. Published May, 1902. N. XXVIII Service in Congress XXIX Incidents in the Civil War XXX The Amendments to the Constitution XXXI Investigations Following the Civ
54 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
REMINISCENCES OF SIXTY YEARS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS VOLUME II XXVIII SERVICE IN CONGRESS
REMINISCENCES OF SIXTY YEARS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS VOLUME II XXVIII SERVICE IN CONGRESS
My election to Congress in 1862 was contested by Judge Benjamin F. Thomas, who was then a Republican member from the Norfolk district. The re-districting of the State brought Thomas and Train into the same district. I was nominated by the Republican Convention, and Thomas then became the candidate of the "People's Party," and at the election he was supported by the Democrats. His course in the Thirty-seventh Congress on the various projects for compromise had alienated many Republicans, and it h
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXIX INCIDENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR
XXIX INCIDENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR
When the Proclamation of Emancipation, of January 1, 1863, was issued, the closing sentence attracted universal attention, and in every part of the world encomiums were pronounced upon it. The words are these: "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God." Following the appearance of the Proclamation, and stimulated, possibly, by the recept
27 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXX THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
XXX THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
I had no part in the preparation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, nor any part in its passage through the House other than to give my vote in its favor. The Amendment resolution was passed by the Thirty-eighth Congress at its last session and by the aid of Democrats. The elections of 1864 had resulted in a two-thirds majority and it was therefore certain that the resolution would be agreed to by the next House. Hence there was less inducement for the Democrats to resist its passa
28 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXI INVESTIGATIONS FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR
XXXI INVESTIGATIONS FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR
In the years 1865, '66 and '67 three important subjects of inquiry were placed in the hands of committees of which I was a member. The Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives by resolutions adopted respectively the 9th and 30th days of April, 1866, was directed "to inquire into the nature of the evidence implicating Jefferson Davis and others in the assassination of Mr. Lincoln." James M. Ashley of Ohio introduced a resolution for the impeachment of President Johnson, and on t
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXII IMPEACHMENT OF ANDREW JOHNSON
XXXII IMPEACHMENT OF ANDREW JOHNSON
The nomination of Andrew Johnson to the Vice-Presidency in 1864, by the Republican Party, was a repetition of the error committed by the Whig Party in 1840, in the nomination of John Tyler for the same office. In each case the nomination was due to an attempt to secure the support of a body of men who were not in accord in all essential particulars with the party making the nomination. John Tyler was opposed to the administration of Mr. Van Buren, but he was opposed also to a national bank, whic
44 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXIII THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT IN 1869
XXXIII THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT IN 1869
In March, 1869, I was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Grant. Soon after my appointment Mr. McCulloch, the retiring Secretary, said to me that I should find the department in excellent order, and that in his opinion the financial difficulties of the Government had been overcome. The first of these statements was true in part, and in part it was very erroneous. The accounting branch of the service was properly administered practically, but there were about one hundred persons on t
39 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXIV THE MINT BILL AND THE "CRIME OF 1873"
XXXIV THE MINT BILL AND THE "CRIME OF 1873"
Of the many measures of my administration of the Treasury Department, the Mint Bill of 1873 is the only one which has been made a party issue, and which has entered permanently into the policy of the country. In the month of March, in the year 1869, I came to the head of the Treasury Department. At an early day my attention was directed to the disordered condition of the mint service, which was then, as it ever had been, without a responsible head. The proceedings at the mints were unsystematic,
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXV BLACK FRIDAY—SEPTEMBER 24, 1869
XXXV BLACK FRIDAY—SEPTEMBER 24, 1869
So much time has passed since September 24, 1869, that there may be a large public who may become interested in a review of the events of the spring and summer of that year which culminated in Wall Street, New York, in the transactions and experiences of the day known as "Black Friday." When the Forty-first Congress assembled in December of that year, the House of Representatives directed the Committee on Banking and Currency "to investigate the causes that led to the unusual and extraordinary f
29 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXVI AN HISTORIC SALE OF UNITED STATES BONDS IN ENGLAND
XXXVI AN HISTORIC SALE OF UNITED STATES BONDS IN ENGLAND
If there should be any considerable interest in the history of the funding system of the United States, the interest would be due to a sale of bonds some thirty years ago and certain incidents which could not have been anticipated, which arose from the execution of the trust. In the month of July, 1868, a bill for funding the national debt which had passed the Senate of the United States was reported, without amendments, to the House of Representatives by the Committee on Ways and Means. When th
29 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXVII GENERAL GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION
XXXVII GENERAL GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION
The greatness of General Grant in war, in civil affairs, and in personal qualities which at once excite our admiration and deserve our commendation, was not fully appreciated by the generation to which he belonged, nor can it be appreciated by the generations that can know of him only as his life and character may appear upon the written record. He had weaknesses, and of some of them I may speak; but they do not qualify in any essential manner his claim to greatness in the particulars named. He
33 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXVIII GENERAL GRANT AS A STATESMAN*
XXXVIII GENERAL GRANT AS A STATESMAN*
General Grant's father was a Whig and an admirer and supporter of Mr. Clay. The public policy of Mr. Clay embraced three great measures: First, a national bank, or a fiscal agency as an aid to the Treasury in the collection and disbursement of the public revenues; secondly, a system of internal improvements to be created at the public expense and controlled by the National Government; and, thirdly, a tariff system which should protect the American laborer against the active competition of the la
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXXIX REMINISCENCES OF PUBLIC MEN
XXXIX REMINISCENCES OF PUBLIC MEN
Of the men whom I have known in public affairs, General Banks was in his personality one of a small number who were always agreeable and permanently attractive. He was the possessor of an elastic spirit; he was always hopeful of the future and in adversity he saw or fancied that he saw, days of prosperity for himself, for his party, for the commonwealth and for the country. His interest in the fortunes of the laboring classes was a permanent interest, and they are largely indebted to him for the
26 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
GRANT AS A SOLDIER*
GRANT AS A SOLDIER*
When General Grant came before the public, and into a position that compelled notice, he was called to meet a difficulty that his predecessor in the office of President had encountered and overcome successfully. An opinion existed in the cultivated classes, an opinion that was especially local in the East, that a great place could not be filled wisely and honorably, unless the occupant had had the benefit of a university training. Of such training Mr. Lincoln was destitute, utterly, and the trai
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XL BLAINE AND CONKLING AND THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION OF 1880
XL BLAINE AND CONKLING AND THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION OF 1880
The controversy between Mr. Blaine and Mr. Conkling on the floor of the House of Representatives in the Thirty-ninth Congress was fraught with serious consequences to the contestants, and it may have changed the fortunes of the Republican Party. Mr. Conkling was a member of the Thirty-seventh Congress, but he was defeated as a candidate for the Thirty-eighth. He was returned for the Thirty-ninth Congress. During the term of the Thirty-eighth Congress he was commissioned by the Department of War
23 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XLI FROM 1875 TO 1895
XLI FROM 1875 TO 1895
In January, 1875, Mr. Fish negotiated a treaty with the representatives of the Hawaiian Islands by which there was to be a free exchange of specified products and manufactures. By the fourth article the King agreed not to dispose of any port or harbor in his dominions or create a lien thereon in favor of any other government. When the treaty came to the Senate it had no original friends, and it met with determined opposition, especially from Sherman of Ohio, and Morrill and Edmunds of Vermont. T
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XLII LAST OF THE OCEAN SLAVE-TRADERS*
XLII LAST OF THE OCEAN SLAVE-TRADERS*
In the month of April, 1861, a bark, registering 215 tons, anchored in the bay of Port Liberté, a place of no considerable importance, on the northerly coast of the island of Hayti, about twenty miles from the boundary of Santo Domingo. The vessel carried the flag of France, and the captain called himself Jules Letellier. The name of the vessel was not painted upon the stern, as is required by our law; but the captain gave her name as Guillaume Tell , bound from Havana to Havre. He stated that h
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XLIII MR. LINCOLN AS AN HISTORICAL PERSONAGE.
XLIII MR. LINCOLN AS AN HISTORICAL PERSONAGE.
The services and fame of Mr. Lincoln are so identified with the organization, doings and character of the Republican Party, that something of the history of that party is the necessary incident of every attempt to set forth the services and the fame of Mr. Lincoln. In a very important sense Mr. Lincoln may be regarded as the founder of the Republican Party. He was its leader in the first successful national contest, and it was during his administration as President that the policy of the party w
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XLIV SPEECH ON COLUMBUS
XLIV SPEECH ON COLUMBUS
We celebrate this day as the anniversary of the discovery of the American continent. "The hand that rounded Peter's dome. And groined the aisles of Christian Rome, Wrought in a sad sincerity; Himself from God he could not free; He builded better than he knew." Of these lines of Emerson, the last three are as true of Columbus, as of "The hand that rounded Peter's dome, And groined the aisles of Christian Rome," for he, too, "Wrought in a sad sincerity; Himself from God he
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XLV IMPERIALISM AS A PUBLIC POLICY
XLV IMPERIALISM AS A PUBLIC POLICY
This paper is introduced upon two grounds mainly. It sets forth with a reasonable degree of fulness the views that I have entertained for three years in regard to President McKinley's policy in the acquisition and control of the islands in the Caribbean Sea and in the Pacific Ocean, and it presents a history of my relations to political movements through a long half century. A truthful statement that I have been inconsistent in the opinions that I have held and advocated upon questions of public
34 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter