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1869-1877

dred buildings were destroyed, and the total loss amounted to about $80,000,000.

In the final year of Grant's administration, the centennial of American independence, a great exposition was held at Philadelphia, the birthplace of the Republic. Not only the United States, but, in jubilee with them, the leading nations of the world assembled their varied products of agriculture, science, commerce, manufacturing, and the other industrial and mechanical arts. The exhibition was a splendid proof of the industrial progress of the country during the first one hundred years of its existence as an independent nation, and it was especially fitting that it should have been held in Philadelphia, the "Home of Independence," and a city famous for its historic places. The government of the United States lent its aid to the extent of two million dollars, the city of Philadelphia appropriated one and a half million dollars, and the State of Pennsylvania one million, while forty-three foreign nations accepted invitations to participate in the exhibition.21 The Exposition was held in the beautiful Fairmount Park on the banks of the Schuylkill. Five mammoth structures, the Main Building, Machinery Hall, Agricultural Hall, Horticultural Hall and Memorial Hall, the latter a beautiful granite building costing $1,000,ooo, and intended to be permanent, together with numerous smaller buildings covering altogether about two hundred acres, were erected. The gates of the Exposition were opened on May 10 with impressive ceremonies and in the presence of one hundred thousand spectators, including President Grant and the Emperor of Brazil. Wagner composed a special march, a thousand voices sang Whittier's noble Centennial hymn, Lanier, the Georgia poet, read his "Centennial Ode," and Richard Henry Lee, whose grandfather moved the Declaration of Independence in the Continental Congress, read the declaration from the original copy amid the prolonged cheers of the multitude.

For the first time in the history of the country the varied products of all climates and peoples were brought together and placed on exhibition. The American display of textiles, vehicles of transportation, musical instruments, watches, tools, and furniture surpassed those of any other nation. The exhibit of American-made machinery was especially creditable and attracted the greatest attention. The art collection was the poorest feature 21 "Appleton's Annual Cyclopædia," 1876, p. 263.

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of the exhibit, but it was nevertheless the largest and most notable ever seen in America up to that time. The country had been devoted chiefly to industrial development, practical invention and manufacturing, rather than to the fine arts, and one of the valuable lessons of the Exposition was to lead Americans to a realization of the superiority of the European nations in this particular, and to stimulate them to greater interest in art and the finer aspects of civilization. The attendance at the Exposition was very large. All through the summer and autumn tens of thousands of visitors from every quarter of the land poured into the city and filled the fair grounds. On one day, September 28, 275,000 persons passed through the gates. From the first to last there were 9,900,000 admissions, more than those of any previous international exposition, except that of Paris in 1867, where the gates were open nearly two months longer than were those at Philadelphia.

While the country was happy in the contemplation of the industrial progress of the United States as revealed by the Exposition, and the people were rejoicing at the pacification of the South and the termination of all domestic and international controversies, they were suddenly shocked by the news of a frightful Indian massacre in the West. As already noted, the administration of Indian affairs during President Grant's term had been such as to create great discontent among the Indians in various localities. Contractors systematically swindled them, while unscrupulous agents withheld the government supplies to which they were entitled, so that in some cases the Indians were reduced to the verge of starvation.

In 1872 the Modoc Indians of Oregon became turbulent and refused to remain on their reservation. General E. R. S. Canby, a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars, was sent against them, but they retreated to the lava beds and prepared to resist the United States. The advance of the American troops was greatly impeded by the peculiar topography of the country, and a good many of them were picked off by Indian sharpshooters concealed behind the rocks and crags of the lava beds. Efforts were then made to negotiate with them, and on April 8 an unarmed conference was held between General Canby and two peace commissioners, on the one hand, and a number of Modocs, including their chief, Captain Jack, on the other. While seated on stones around a small fire, two Indians who were concealed in the bushes rushed

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from their hiding place with guns and shot to death General Canby and one of his companions. A vigorous campaign was now begun against the treacherous Indians, and in the following summer General Jefferson C. Davis, who succeeded General Canby, captured the Modoc band. Captain Jack and three other leaders were tried by military commission and hanged, while two others were imprisoned for life. Altogether the war cost half a million dollars, sixty odd soldiers and Indian allies were killed and nearly as many wounded.

A more disastrous Indian war was that against the Sioux of Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, in the summer of 1876. A large portion of this tribe under their chiefs, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and others, refused to be assigned to a particular reservation which the government had set aside for them, and besides persisted in making war on Indians friendly to the United States. The government prepared to bring the rebellious Indians to obedience by force, and they in turn made ready for a determined resistance. Three columns, led by Generals Gibbon, Crook and Terry, moved forward with the intention of closing in simultaneously upon the hostile Indians. Lieutenant-Colonel George A. Custer, with the Seventh United States Cavalry, six hundred strong, was sent by General Terry to make a detour, and in June he pursued Sitting Bull into the valley of the Little Big Horn River. At this juncture Custer detached over two hundred of his men and sent them under command of Major Reno to cross the river and strike the hostile Indians from another direction. With only 262 men left Custer, May 25, suddenly came upon Sitting Bull's force, numbering 2500 warriors. The brave little band dismounted and prepared to make their last stand. Presently the whole army of the Indians swooped down upon them, stampeded their horses, causing them to run away with bags of ammunition, and in twenty-five minutes all was over. Not a single man was left alive to tell the tale. The remaining companies of the Seventh Cavalry were saved by the brave and prudent conduct of Major Reno and the timely arrival of General Terry.22

22 " Appleton's Cyclopædia," 1876, p. 43.

Chapter XXXVIII

HAYES AND THE END OF THE SOUTHERN QUESTION

1877-1881
I

THE TILDEN-HAYES CONTEST; THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

HILE the country was sorrowing over the awful tragedy on the Little Big Horn, the Republican national convention was gathering at Cincinnati for the purpose of nominating its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. There were no more Grants and Lincolns, and consequently for the first time since the accession of the Republican party to power, sixteen years before, the work of the national convention was undetermined in advance by public opinion. The leading candidate in the popular estimation was James G. Blaine, of Maine, a statesman of great promise, who had been a prominent member of Congress since the outbreak of the war and had served for several terms as Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was placed in nomination by Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, who referred to the candidate as a "plumed knight" who "marched down the halls of the American Congress and threw his shining lance full and fair against the brazen foreheads of the defamers of his country and the maligners of his honor." 1 This eloquent outburst had reference to charges affecting Blaine's personal integrity in connection with the Credit Mobilier scandal. It was true that Blaine had courted investigation, and he was cleared of the charge to the satisfaction of his friends, but there were many who were not so thoroughly convinced. In consequence of the state of public opinion at this time respecting corruption in high places during the last four years, and the practical certainty that reform would be one of the chief issues in the approaching campaign, it was deemed inexpedient to nominate anyone whose

1 Crawford. "Life of James G. Blaine," p. 389.

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record was not spotless. This was the view of the late Senator Hoar, who said, "I did not think it wise to put at the head of a movement for reform and for purity of administration a man whose supporters must defend him against such charges, and who must admit that he had most unwisely, of his own accord, put himself into a position where such charges were not only possible, but plausible." 2 Furthermore, Blaine was somewhat radical on the Southern question, and it was feared would not be strong in the States of the South. He was therefore defeated by what Webster called the "far-seeing doctrine of sagacious availability." Other prominent candidates were Senator Oliver P. Morton, the noted war governor of Indiana; Roscoe Conkling, the brilliant senator from New York and the devoted friend of General Grant, and Benjamin F. Bristow, of Kentucky, Secretary of the Treasury, who was the candidate of the reform elements in the party, a man of spotless integrity and great ability. He was well remembered for the service which he had rendered the country in unearthing the whisky frauds and in breaking up the ring of conspirators. Moreover, coming from Kentucky, his selection would tend to remove the charge of sectionalism from the Republican party and give it strength with the white people of the South. The convention met on June 14, and three days later the balloting began. On the first ballot Blaine led with a large plurality, receiving nearly enough votes to nominate him. Bristow received the second largest number, and Morton followed third. On the second ballot Blaine gained eleven votes. On the sixth ballot his strength had risen from 285 to 308. When the seventh ballot opened the New York and Pennsylvania delegates retired for consultation, and under the lead of Conkling and Cameron determined to unite on a candidate and defeat the nomination of Blaine. As the roll call proceeded there was a stampede to Governor R. B. Hayes, of Ohio, who had from the first been supported by the Ohio delegation, and who on the fifth ballot had received the vote of the Michigan delegation as well. He was nominated, and with him William A. Wheeler of New York for Vice President. The platform contained more than the usual number of platitudes with regard to liberty, equality, civil and political rights, and the like. It eulogized the deeds of the Republican party, declared in favor of a thorough-going reform of the civil 2 "Autobiography of Seventy Years," vol. i. p. 379.

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