Read of the Embargo Act and the refusal of England to repeal her decree; also of the acts of Napoleon at the time. The battles of the war that followed were nearly all at sea, and are full of exciting interest, from the victory of the Constitution, after only half an hour's fighting, to the very end; one of the most famous is the Battle of Lake Erie, when Perry sent the historic message, "I have met the enemy, and they are ours." Read of the invasion of Canada and the Battle of New Orleans, and close the study with the Treaty of 1814. A story called Midshipman Paulding, by Molly Elliot Seawell, gives a good sketch of the time, and Roosevelt's Naval War of 1812 is excellent for reference.
VII—EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENTS
From this point on for several decades, the country slowly increased her territory, her manufactures, her school system, her trade at home and abroad. Steam was introduced on boats and railways, and wealth and comforts grew. Florida was bought for five millions, the Monroe Doctrine exploited, and several States added to the Union. Slavery gradually increased in the South, and the cotton-gin was introduced in the North to weave the raw product there. The Missouri Compromise was one of the great national issues of the day, and Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun were the leaders in politics. There was a great commercial panic which led to the settling of our banking laws; the first telegraphic message was sent; Mormonism was first heard of, and became important.
The war with Mexico, which began in 1848, gave us a great additional territory. Abolition sentiment rose. The period closed with the discovery of gold in California. Read Bret Harte's books, Theodore Winthrop's John Brent, for a study of Mormonism, and Parkman's Oregon Trail.
VIII—THE CIVIL WAR
The various difficulties which led to the great conflict should be studied in detail in a good history of the times. Among others were: The Fugitive Slave Law, the Underground Railway, Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, the debates of Lincoln and Douglas, the Dred Scott decision, and the story of John Brown's raid.
It will be necessary to have a good reference-book with maps of the campaigns. Perhaps the best book is Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, written by the great generals, published by The Century Company. Divide the war into the four years of its continuance, following this condensed outline:
1861—Attack on Fort Sumter; call for troops by Lincoln; Battle of Bull Run; The Trent Affair.
1862—The Merrimac and Monitor; Battle of Shiloh; Farragut and the Battle of New Orleans; Seven Days' Battles before Richmond; Second Battle of Bull Run; Antietam; Fredericksburg.
1863—January first, the Emancipation Proclamation; Chancellorsville; Gettysburg; surrender of Vicksburg; Chickamauga; Chattanooga.