Siege abandoned.

rison. Scarcely twenty men escaped. Thus, in one
way or another, almost every fort in the region of the
lakes was retaken by the Indians from the English.
Detroit, however, held out with great courage; but the
garrison had become almost exhausted by famine, when,
at the approach of winter, the Indians gradually scat-
tered, and gave up the siege after five months. Noth-
ing but the remarkable power and energy of Pontiac
could have carried it on so long. He was at last com-
pelled to make peace with the English, and was after-
wards murdered by another Indian in a drunken frolic.
This was the end of the long series of French and In-
dian wars;
and the English colonists were now to have
a little rest, until the beginning of their own Revo-
lution.

CHAPTER XVII.

I

THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION.

Thirteen"

HAVE thus described the early history of the The "Old thirteen original colonies, "the old thirteen," as they were often called. These were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. All the rest of the present States were made from these, or from territory added to these; so that the history of the country down to the Revolution is the history of these thirteen colonies.

history of

It is easy to see that each of the thirteen had Peculiar something peculiar in its history to distinguish it each. from the rest. To begin with, they were established by several different nations. Most of them, it is true, were founded by Englishmen; but New York and New Jersey were settled by the Dutch, and Delaware by the Swedes; while the Carolinas were first explored and named by a French colony. Most of them were founded by small parties of settlers, among whom no great distinctions of rank existed; but two of them, Pennsylvania and Maryland, were founded by a single proprietor in each case, who owned the whole soil; while New York had its "patroons," or large

Points of

resemblance.

Loyalty to
England.

landholders with tenants under them. Most of them were founded by those who fled from religious persecution in Europe; yet one of them, Rhode Island, was made up largely from those persecuted in another colony; and another, Maryland, was founded by Roman Catholics. Some had charter governments; some had royal governments without charters; and others were governed by the original proprietors, or those who represented them.

But, however differently the thirteen colonies may have been founded or governed, they were all alike in some things. For instance, they all had something of local self-government; that is, each community, to a greater or less extent, made and administered its own laws. Moreover, they all became subject to Great Britain at last, even if they had not been first settled by Englishmen; and finally they all grew gradually discontented with the British Government, because they thought themselves ill treated. This discontent made them at last separate themselves from England, and form a complete union with one another. But this was not accomplished without a war, the war commonly called the American Revolution.

When we think about the Revolutionary War, we are very apt to suppose that the colonies deliberately came together, and resolved to throw off the yoke of Great Britain. But this was not the case at all. When the troubles began, most of the people supposed themselves to be very loyal; and they were ready to shout "God save King George!" Even after they had raised armies, and had begun to fight, the Continental Congress said, "We have not raised armies with the ambi

tious design of separating from establishing independent States."

Great Britain, and
They would have

been perfectly satisfied to go on as they were, if the British Government had only treated them in a manner they thought just; that is, if Great Britain. either had not taxed them, or had let them send representatives to parliament in return for paying taxes. This wish was considered perfectly reasonable by many of the wisest Englishmen of that day; and these statesmen would have gladly consented to either of these measures. But King George III. and his advisers would not consent; and so they not only lost the opportunity of taxing the American colonies, but finally lost the colonies themselves.

for taxa

There were some reasons why it seemed just that Reasons the Americans should be taxed. The debt of the tion. British Government was very great, and part of this debt had been incurred in defending the American colonies from the French and Indians. So it seemed fair that these colonies should help to pay it; and probably they would not have objected, if they had been represented in the British Government, so that they could at least have had a voice in deciding what their taxes should be. But this was not allowed; and so, when the famous "Stamp Act" was passed, in 1765, the popular indignation was very great.

"Stamp

There was nothing very bad about the law called the The "Stamp Act," in itself; and Englishmen would not have Act." complained of it at home. This famous act required only that all deeds and receipts, and other legal documents, should be written or printed on stamped paper, and that this paper should be sold by the tax-collectors;

ciple involved.

the money going to the government. It was such a law as has always existed in England; and, indeed, taxes have since been imposed in a similar way in America. The colonists objected to it only because it involved a The prin- principle. No matter how trifling the tax might be, they objected to it. They said the British Government had no right to put this or any other tax upon them, when they were not represented in the government. "No taxation without representation" was a phrase constantly heard in the colonies in those days; and the excitement about the Stamp Act was the real beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Speeches in parliament.

Speech of
Col. Barré.

Even in the British parliament, when the Stamp Act was being discussed, there were persons who had been in America, and who declared that the imposed law was very unjust. The member to whom the people of America felt most grateful was Colonel Barré, who had fought under General Wolfe at the taking of Quebec. Mr. Charles Townshend had one day said in a speech, "Will these Americans, children planted by our care, nourished by our indulgence, till they are grown up to strength and opulence, and protected by our arms, will they grudge to contribute their mite to relieve us from the weight of that heavy burden under which we lie?"

"They planted by your care?" replied Colonel Barré. "No, they were planted by your oppression. . . They nourished by your indulgence? They grew up by your neglect. . . . They protected by your arms? They have nobly taken up arms in your defence. They are, I believe, as truly loyal as any subjects the king has, but a people jealous of their liberties, and