A PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION Four years have passed since the first appearance of this history. In that time the book has frequently been reprinted, and a number of minor corrections have been made, but it now seems desirable to bring the story down to date. Few events of prime importance have occurred that must be chronicled. The period is rather one of a return to normal conditions, and it must be said that, despite some depressing developments in public life, the progress made has been rapid. The book ends as it began with problems of reconstruction arising out of great wars. Fortunately for us these problems of to-day are much less grave than those that faced our fathers in 1865 or than those that now trouble our late European enemies and allies. P. L. HAWORTH. 669520 PREFACE If it be true that an important object of history study is to enable one to understand the present, then it is clear that the time has come when greater emphasis than hitherto must be laid on the period since the Civil War. Fifty-five years-almost half the period of our existence under the Constitution-have passed since the close of that conflict, and most of our problems have little or no direct relation to those that troubled Lincoln and his predecessors. This book is designed to meet the needs of students who desire to know our country in our own times. In it I have devoted a large share of space to social and industrial questions, but I have been on my guard against swinging too far in this direction. After all, the business of government is still of prime importance to the welfare of the nation, and it is essential that our citizens should understand our past political history. Throughout the book I have tried to bear in mind that history is made by men and not by abstractions. Nor have I forgotten that generalizations about a subject mean little to a student until he has some knowledge of what actually took place. I am indebted to a number of persons for assistance rendered in the preparation of the volume, but most of all to Professor James A. Woodburn, my old preceptor and later colleague, for reading the proof and making many helpful suggestions. PAUL L. HAWORTH. |