Contents 
Front Matter The Vikings Find New Lands The Faith of Columbus The Sea of Darkness Columbus Returned in Triumph How America Was Named England in the New World France in Florida French Colony in Florida Spaniards Drive Out French French Avenge Countrymen Sir Humphrey Gilbert Sir Walter Raleigh Captain John Smith More Captain John Smith How the Colony Was Saved Pocahontas over the Seas How the Redmen Fought A Duel with Tyranny Coming of the Cavaliers Bacon's Rebellion Knights of Golden Horseshoe The Pilgrim Fathers Founding of Massachusetts Story of Harry Vane Story of Anne Hutchinson Founding of Harvard Quakers in New England Maine and New Hampshire Founding of Connecticut Founding of New Haven Hunt for the Regicides King Philip's War Charter of Connecticut The Witches of Salem The Founding of Maryland New Amsterdam German Rule in New York Pirates! Founding of New Jersey Founding of Pennsylvania Franklin in Philadelphia Founding of the Carolinas Indians in the Carolinas Founding of Georgia Mississippi is Discovered King William's War The Mississippi Bubble A Terrible Disaster End of French Rule in America The Rebellion of Pontiac The Boston Tea-Party Paul Revere's Ride The Battle of Bunker Hill The War in Canada The Birth of a Great Nation Trenton and Princeton Bennington and Oriskany Bemis Heights, Saratoga Brandywine—Germantown War on the Sea The Battle of Monmouth The Story of a Great Crime A Turning Point Washington in War and Peace How Adams Kept the Peace How Territory Was Doubled How the Door Was Opened A Man Who Would be King The Shooting Star War with Great Britain Monroe's Famous Doctrine The Tariff of Abominations "Liberty and Union" The Hero of Tippecanoe Florida Becomes a State How Much Land Was Added The Finding of Gold Union or Disunion The Underground Railroad Story of "Bleeding Kansas" Story of the Mormons The First Shots Bull Run to Fort Donelson Battle between Ironclads The Battle of Shiloh The Slaves Are Made Free Death of Stonewall Jackson The Battle of Gettysburg Grant's Campaign Sherman's March to the Sea The End of the War The President is Impeached A Peaceful Victory Hayes—Garfield—Arthur Cleveland—Harrison McKinley—Sudden Death Roosevelt—Taft Troubles with Mexico The Great War

This Country of Ours - H. E. Marshall




Adams—The Tariff of Abominations

In 1825 Monroe's term of office came to an end and John Quincy Adams became President. He was the son of John Adams who had been second President, and he had been Secretary of State to Monroe. It was said, indeed, that it was really he who originated the famous Doctrine which came to be called by Monroe's name.

He was an honest man and a statesman. He refused to give offices to his friends just because they were his friends, and he refused to turn men out of office simply because they did not agree with him in politics. He wanted to do what was right and just. But he did it from a cold sense of duty. So no one liked him very much. Both House and Senate were against him, and he was not able to do all he would have done for his country.

Adams wanted to do a great deal towards improving the country. He wanted canals to be cut. And as the steam engine had just been discovered, he was eager to have railroads and bridges. But Congress would not help him.

Still, much was done in this direction. Several canals were cut; railroads began to be built, and the rivers were covered with steamboats.

Manufacturers also began to flourish. For during the 1812 war it had been very difficult to get manufactured goods from foreign countries. So Americans had begun to make these things for themselves.

And after the war was over, they went on manufacturing them. At length people began to be proud of using only American made things. And when Adams was inaugurated everything he wore had been manufactured in the States.

The factories were for the most part in the North, and soon the Northerners began to clamour for duties on imported goods. They wanted to keep out foreign goods, or at least make them so dear that it would pay people to buy American made goods.

But the people in the South who did not manufacture things themselves wanted the duties to be kept low. However the manufacturers won the day, and twice during Adams' presidency bills were passed, by which the tariff was made higher. The second bill made the duties so high that many people were very angry and called it the "tariff of abominations." In the South, indeed many people were so angry that they swore never to buy anything from the North until the tariff was made lower. Thus once again North and South were pulling different ways.

Adams would willingly have been President for a second term. But in spite of his honesty and his upright dealings no one liked him. So he was not re-elected.

When he ceased to be President, however, he did not cease to take an interest in politics, and for many years after he was a member of Congress, where he did good service to his country.