ers who tilled their own land had good buildings, plenty of cleared land and many cattle. They were well clothed, either in homespun made from their own sheep or, for those who were able, in cloth brought over from Europe. In the South a few of the large planters lived on a great scale in large mansions; but the small planter and the poor white living on his own land, were poorly housed, fed, and clothed.

The American People in 1775 Let us sum up what we know about the American people at about the time of the Revolution, say from 1775 to 1790.

In

(1) They were growing very fast, partly because of the immigration, particularly of the negro race; still more because of the large families, running up to ten, twelve or more children. order to know how fast they grew, remember that in 1790 there were about 4,000,000 and that the number of colonists had been doubling about every twenty-five years for a century. That is they were about 250,000 in 1700; 500,000 in 1725; 1,000,000 in 1750; 2,000,000 in 1775; and 4,000,000 in 1790. The world has rarely seen a new nation grow so fast.

(2) The people were in constant motion. Some were coming in from other countries. Great numbers were "emigrants" who pushed out westward; and

they or their children moved still farther west, so that numbers of the people lived on the frontier, next to the Indians, with whom they were frequently

at war.

(3) The people were of many races, who in the main got on very well together. The newcomers, whether from Europe or moving from one colony into another, were usually welcome, and very easily got the privilege of citizenship.

(4) The official language in every colony was English, and all the people were accustomed to the English system of law. For instance, the ownership and transfer of land, the inheritance of estates, the punishment of crime were regulated by customs and laws like those of England.

(5) The colonies took over also the social system of European countries. In every colony existed a class of rich landowners or merchants or slave owners who were considered to be the aristocracy and entitled to the best offices. However, the mainstay was the farmers living on their own land or on rented farms, who could feed themselves, clothe themselves from homespun made on or near their farms, and sell part of their produce in order to buy imported goods. The 4,000,000 Americans in 1790 were the largest body of people in the world living under self-government.

William Penn, Commonwealth Builder

Who is the man who best shows the spirit of the Colonial people? Many were bold seamen who explored the coast of America for England, among them the "sea dogs," Sir John Hawkins, and Sir Francis Drake, and the first English colonizer, Sir Walter Raleigh. Many were the leaders in planting colonies, such as stout John Smith of Virginia, and William Bradford of Plymouth, and John Winthrop of Mas

sachusetts, and Cecil Calvert of Maryland. But the colonizer who best represents the leaders of colonies and framers of governments was William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania in 1682.

Penn was the son of a wealthy Englishman, but became a Quaker, and served several terms in prison for worshiping according to his own conscience. He had a multitude of friends, to one of whom he wrote, "My love and

WILLIAM PENN

We hear a great deal of the work of the Colonial Fathers; let us not forget the

Colonial Mothers

Conquest of the Wilderness, 1492-1750

No Part of American History is more Interesting or more Important than this Steady Push of People Westward

T

colonies. Now we must take up the story of the separate settlements and colonies. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada the English felt strong enough to disregard the Spaniards, and in 1607 the first organized colony of the English was planted at Jamestown, which became the capital of the new

Colonial Spirit
Different

HE Colonies became

THE

different in spirit

from Great Britain. This

HE English settlements of America, which were the foundations of the later United States, were not simply efforts to bring European races into regions inhabited by native races. The colonization of America was the overflow of the civilized nations of Western Europe into a land of similar climate and products, with few inhabi- colony called Virginia. tants and great opportunities. The first settlers began to clear land and break the soil and raise crops. The colonists at once began to plant new settlements inland. By the time of the Revolution they had reached the headwaters of the Ohio and the Tennessee rivers on the western slope of mountains. From that day to this they have never ceased to press westward wherever there was a chance to make a farm or to open a mine or to develop a cattle run. No part of American history is more interesting or more important than this steady push westward. It started in the coast settlements, all along from Maine to Georgia and it has spread across the continent to the Pacific Coast and to Alaska.

was due in part to the
coming of people to
America other than the
English or Scotch races;
particularly the Ger-
mans, the Scotch-Irish
and the Catholic Irish.

English Colonies

In Chapter II we followed the stream of settlers into the English

This is one of the greatest events in the history of mankind, for the little colony was backed up by powerful and wealthy Englishmen who kept sending out emigrants and kept the colony alive in the midst of sickness and death and Indian wars. This colony held a charter granted by King James I. which is the first first written constitution ever set up for the government of a body of people who were settling down to live

together in America.

The next English colony was founded at Plymouth by the Pilgrims, poor and obscure people who belonged to the sect of Puritans, and were the most Protestant of all the English. They had gone from England to Holland, but wanted to settle where they could bring up their children in their own way.

From 1630 to 1640 a rush of immigrants from England came to the New England and southern coasts. The Eng