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lost; and may His wise providence bring those who have produced this crisis to see their folly, before they feel the misery of civil strife, and inspire a returning veneration for that Union, which, if we may dare to penetrate His designs, He has chosen as the only means of attaining the high destinies to which we may reasonably aspire.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, having signed the same with my hand.

Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, and of the Independence of the United States the fifty-seventh.

By the President:

ANDREW JACKSON.

EDWD. LIVINGSTON, Secretary of State.

HISTORY OF THE STATES.

men.

VIRGINIA.

"The Old Dominion," so distinguished as being the native State of the Father of American Liberty, and the "Mother of Presidents," really seemed at one time, to be peculiarly favorable to the birth and development of statesIt has furnished no less than five Presidents, among whom are Washington, Monroe, Madison, and Jefferson. It was the first Colony, on the Continent, settled by the English. In 1607, a company formed under the patronage of James I, obtained a grant to make settlements in America, between the 34th and 38th degrees of north latitude. In May, 1607, a colony of one hundred and five persons, under direction of this company, arrived off the coast of South Virginia. Their intention had been to form a settlement on Roanoke, now in North Carolina; but being driven north by a violent storm, they discovered and entered the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Passing up this bay they named its capes-Henry and Charles-in honor of the king's two sons. They were commanded by Capt. Christopher New-. port, an experienced and distinguished navigator. Passing up James River, they arrived at a peninsula, upon which they landed and established Jamestown.

After promulgating a code of laws which had been formed. by the London company; Capt. Newport sailed for England, leaving the colony under the care of Capt. John Smith, whose subsequent relations to the settlement became so important, and without whose efforts the enterprise would doubtless have proved a failure. The colonists seem to have been very poorly adapted to the labor required at their hands. Too many of them were gentlemen, and came, it appears, only to enrich themselves by gathering gold, which, they had heard, was very abundant.

Through a series of difficulties, which it is rarely the lot of man to encounter, this colony progressed; the settlers awhile quarreling among themselves, and awhile contending against savages and famine, for bare existence, until the period of the Revolution, in which it was one of the first colonies to take active part, furnishing to the young republic many of its most efficient military chieftains and statesmen. It ratified the Constitution June 26, 1788. After the Revolution its course was for many years one of great prosperity. But, unfortunately, the year 1861 found the majority of its statesmen arrayed against the Government, on the side of secession, and on the 15th of April, 1861, she seceded from the Union. On the 17th of June, 1861, all the counties lying between the Alleghany Mountains and the Ohio River, were, by a convention held at Wheeling, declared independent of the old State government, and were organized into a new State, called West Virginia, which remains loyal. The capital of the old State was selected as the seat of government of the so-called Confederate States of America.

MASSACHUSETTS.

Massachusetts was settled in the year 1620, by the Puritans. These people, having been severely persecuted in England, had previously taken refuge in Holland; but for various reasons they determined, after remaining in Holland a season, to emigrate to the New World. Unfortunately, they started at a very unpropitious season of the year, arriving at New England in the winter. The severity of the climate, their scarcity of food at times, operated seriously against their comfort and progress. It is said that they were frequently threatened with starvation. At one time the entire company had but one pint of Indian corn, which being divided equally among them, allowed to each person eight grains. But, unlike the early settlers of Virginia, they were all working men, and good economists. From the time of the landing at Plymouth, up to 1691, this first settlement was known as the Plymouth Colony. Meantime, another settlement had been formed, styled the Massachusetts Colony. Both were for some years under the

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control of a London company. In 1691, Massachusetts and Plymouth Colonies were united, and thenceforward their history is one. The people of Massachusetts were, during the early part of their colonial existence, sorely vexed, at times, by the Indians, especially by the Pequods. They, unfortunately, had imbibed, during their own persecutions, too much of the spirit of conscription, and, although themselves refugees from religious bigotry, sullied much of their history prior to the Revolution by punishing what they called heresy in the Quakers and Baptists. During 1774 and 1775, Massachusetts took a very prominent part in favor of colonial rights, and was the first State to manifest the spirit of resentment toward Great Britain. Its history during the War for Independence is one of glory. It adopted the Constitution June 6, 1788.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

This State was a part of Massachusetts up to the year 1680. It was, however, settled in 1624, the first settlement being formed at Dover by the English. In 1680, it was erected into a separate colony, and its first legislative assembly met this year. John Mason was its first Governor. It suffered severely from Indian wars, and its progress, during the first years of its existence, was slow. In 1742 it contained only six hundred persons liable to taxation. Its first Constitution was formed in 1683. It suffered from the effects of an insurrection in 1686, although prior and subsequent to this affair, it seems to have been one of the most peaceful and quiet of the colonies. It is distinguished for its excellent pastures, towering hills, and fine cattle. The White Mountains are the highest in New England. It took a prominent and active part in the Revolution. It ratified

the Constitution June 21, 1788, since which time it has been highly prosperous. Its present population is 326,073. Its course during the rebellion has been highly commendable.

MARYLAND.

In 1632, Sir George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) visited

America, explored a tract of country lying on the Chesapeake Bay, belonging to what was then called South Virginia, and returned to England to procure a grant for it. But before the patent was made out, he died, and it was given to his son Cecil. The province was named by King Charles I, in the patent, in honor of his Queen, Henrietta Maria. A part of the province appears to have been included in the grant made some time afterward to William Penn, and to have caused much contention between the successors of Penn and Baltimore.

In March, 1634, Leonard Calvert, the brother of Cecil, arrived at the mouth of the Potomac River, bringing with him two hundred emigrants, most of whom were Roman Catholic gentlemen. Leaving the vessel, he ascended in a pinnace as far as Piskataqua, an Indian village nearly opposite Mount Vernon. The Indian Sachem gave him full liberty to settle there if he chose; but not deeming it safe, he began a settlement lower down on a branch of the Potomac, at the Indian town of Yoacomoco. The settlement was called St. Mary's.

Maryland made a very fortunate beginning. The colonists arrived in time to make a crop for that year. Their neighbors in Virginia supplied them with cattle, and protected them in great part from the Indians, while their own kind and consistent course materially promoted their happy relations with the savages.

The charter which had been granted them was very_liberal-ceding to them the full power of legislation, without any interference on the part of the Crown. In 1635, they made laws for their government, which were somewhat modified in 1639. In 1650, they had an upper and lower legislative assembly, as had their Virginia neighbors.

Ten or twelve years after its settlement, Maryland was disturbed by an insurrection, headed by one Clayborne; but this difficulty was soon settled. It played a conspicuous part in the Revolution, and adopted the Constitution April 28, 1788. Its progress has been fair, its present population being 687,049. Its geographical position and the mixed political character of its people caused it to assume a rather dubious attitude at the commencement of the re

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