XLVI. CHAP. Quincy Adams-that conveyed a delicate compliment, as on the banks of that little stream he was wounded in his 1825. first battle in the cause of American freedom. The American people wished to manifest still further their sense of obligation, and Congress conferred upon him two hundred thousand dollars and a township of land. When the time came to choose a successor to Monroe-now in his second term-four candidates were put in nomination; John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, General Jackson, and William H. Crawford. No one of the candidates received a majority of the popular vote, and the election devolved upon the House of Representatives, by whom Adams was chosen. John C. Calhoun had been chosen Vice-President by the popular vote. This election gave the death-blow to the custom of nominating candidates for the Presidency by a caucus held by certain members of Congress. Previous to this, for twenty-four successive years, the candidates had been thus nominated, and consequently chosen from a single State. CHAPTER XLVII. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS' ADMINISTRATION. Manufactures and Internal Improvements.-Indian Lands in Georgia.- Presidential Contest. XLVII. THE new President invited able and experienced men to CHAP form his cabinet, at the head of which was Henry Clay, as Secretary of State. This administration was one of 1825. remarkable prosperity; the nation was gradually advancing in wealth and happiness, gaining strength at home, and securing more and more of the respect of nations abroad. Every branch of industry was increasing in prosperity; agriculture, commerce, and manufactures. Numerous companies had been formed for the purpose of making iron nails, and also for the manufacture of 1815. broadcloths, though the latter were soon involved in ruin by "a deluge of English cloths." In those days fine wool was worth a dollar and a half a pound, while badly made broadcloth cost from eight to twelve dollars a yard. The wars of Europe opened a wide field for enterprise in the carrying trade. American genius and art produced the style of ship known as the clipper. These far outstripped all others in sailing; they made rapid voyages, and, what was important in those days, they were able very often to evade the French and English cruisers. At first, the United States had but little of their own products CHAP. to send to the old world, but presently Eli Whitney inXLVII. vented the cotton-gin, by which the seed was separated 1793. from the cotton, and that gradually became the most important article of export. The great National Road-the work of the General Government-extending across the Alleghany Mountains, from Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, on the Ohio, and to be continued to the Mississippi, had just been 1820. completed, at an expense of one million seven hundred thousand dollars. It was commenced in Jefferson's administration, and had been fourteen years in building. Its beneficial effects upon the country were very great, in thus connecting the valley of the Ohio with the seaboard. A still more important work was also finished-the 1825. Erie Canal, uniting the Hudson and the waters of the great lakes. It was the work of the State of New York, and was completed after a labor of eight years. The project was at first deemed visionary and impracticable; but owing principally to the energy of De Witt Clinton, privately, as well as a member of the Legislature and as Governor, the work was carried through. The completion and success of these improvements encouraged the construction of others in various parts of the Union-one, 1832. the Ohio Canal, from Lake Erie to the Ohio river. The first railway was the Quincy, in Massachusetts, designed 1827. to transport granite to the sea-shore. The first locomotive used in the United States was on the Hudson and 1832. Mohawk Railroad. A difficult question arose in relation to the removal of the Creeks and the Cherokees, from their lands in Georgia and Alabama, to the region beyond the Mississippi. Georgia claimed jurisdiction over the Indians within her territory. Originally claiming the region west of her 1802. boundary, she ceded it to the United States, on condition that the latter should, by purchase, extinguish the title DEATH OF EX-PRESIDENTS JEFFERSON AND ADAMS.. 657 XLVII. of the Indian lands reserved within her own limits. The CHAP. national government promised to fulfil its part of the agreement “as early as the same could be peaceably ob- 1825. tained on reasonable terms." Twenty-five years had passed, and these titles had not been purchased. The Indians were not willing to sell their territory. However, a treaty had been recently made by some of the chiefs, who ceded the lands, but the great majority of the Indians declared these chiefs had no authority to sell the property of the nation. Thus, according to the original contract, the national government could not extinguish the Indian titles. treaty, but the State The latter sent surdivide the lands into distributing them by The Federal govern The government cancelled this of Georgia determined to enforce it. veyors into the Indian country, to portions suitable for farms, before lottery to the citizens of the State. ment took the part of the poor Indians, and the President proclaimed that he would enforce the laws committed to his trust, while Troup, the bellicose Governor of Georgia, wrote to the Secretary of War: "From the first decisive act of hostility, you will be considered and treated as a public enemy." The matter for the present was adjusted by the Creeks consenting to dispose of their lands, and to emigrate. Rather than be thus harassed they were willing to remove from their happy homes, and give up their hopes of civilization. This year was marked by the deaths of two distinguished men, whose names are identified with the history of the government-John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Both were men of liberal education, and both chose the profession of the law; both had been consistent and strenuous advocates of national independence, and were upon the committee which proposed that famous declaration. The one drew it up, and the other was its most efficient supporter; both signed it; both had been XLVII. 66. CHAP. on foreign missions; both were first Vice-Presidents, and then became Presidents. They ended their earthly 1826. career at the same time and in the same way; in the regular course of nature, in the repose and tranquillity of retirement, in the bosoms of their families, on the soil which their labors had contributed to make free," and within a few hours of each other, on the fiftieth anniversary of American independence. A certain William Morgan, of Western New York, a member of the society of Free Masons, suddenly disappeared, he having been seized and forcibly carried off. Sept. He had proposed to publish a book revealing the secrets of the order, some of whose members were charged with his murder. The affair created a great excitement, which led to the formation of a political party, whose avowed object was to exclude Free Masons from office. In several of the States the party polled a large number of votes, but in a year or two it disappeared. The manufacturing interests were still laboring to sustain themselves against foreign competition. The sentiment prevailed, especially in the northern States and in some of the southern, that measures should be taken to protect the industry of the nation. In accordance with this view, a convention of delegates from twenty-two States of the Union assembled at Harrisburg, in PennsylJuly, 1827. vania. Four of the slave States did not send delegates. The Convention memorialized Congress to grant protection to American industry; to impose a tariff on imported goods, sufficiently high to shield American producers of the same articles from the ruinous effects of foreign competition; and they also asked that this policy should be fixed, and thus give stability to the enterprise of the country. Capital would not be invested in domestic manufactures, if they were liable at any time to be ruined either by the combination of foreign competitors |