With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as G.o.d gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation"s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphan; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.
The war ended on April 9th of this same year, and on April 14th, the President, weary with the cares of state, but with the burden of the war clouds lifted, had gone to Ford"s Theatre in Washington for an evening"s entertainment and pleasure, accompanied by Mrs. Lincoln. The box which the President occupied had been most elaborately decorated with the flag of the country. His coming had been heralded abroad and the audience that had a.s.sembled in his honor was large, brilliant, and joyously happy over the a.s.sured preservation of the Union. In the midst of the play, the a.s.sa.s.sin, J. Wilkes Booth, entered the box and fired the fatal shot. The body of the bleeding President was taken to a house across the street where the next morning at 7:20 o"clock he died. Thus the emanc.i.p.ator of the slave, the friend of the whole people and the savior of our country died, a martyr to the cause of freedom.
Washington has been called "the aristocrat," and Lincoln "the man of the people." The one had culture, wealth, and social position; the other lacked all of these in his early years. Lincoln"s early life was cradled in the woods, and all of life out of doors had been his in the new and pioneer states of the {338} wilderness. He grew up not knowing many people, but somehow in his up-coming there was developed in his life a great heart full of tenderness and kindly feeling. Doubtless it was the very hardships of life that made him what he was. At any rate, he was one of the greatest and n.o.blest figures in all history. He was called "Honest Abe" by those who knew him because always, even in little things, he wanted to see perfect justice done; and thus it was, when he came to things of large importance, that the man was only a boy grown tall, not only in stature but in the things that make for righteousness in a nation.
The Spanish-American War--1889
The war with Spain was not of this country"s seeking. The island of Cuba, whose distress had aroused the sympathy of the whole world, was our near neighbor, and to sit idly by and witness the inhuman treatment practised by the Spanish soldiery upon the helpless islanders would hardly be a part creditable to any people. It was not our intention at first to do other than to relieve the suffering and distress of Cuba, near at hand, and this we tried to do peaceably in the supplying of food and other necessities of life.
As the next step, the United States sent a remonstrance to Spain telling her she should send a more humane governor to the island. But as matters grew worse instead of better, even under a change of governors, the sympathy of the United States became daily more deeply enlisted in the freedom of the Cubans.
The battleship Maine was sent to Havana Harbor to protect, if need be, the Americans and American interests in Cuba. On the night of February 15th, 1898, an explosion occurred, sinking the ship almost immediately.
With the destruction of the Maine--whether by accident or intent--with the appalling loss of two hundred and fifty-six men, including two officers, relations with Spain became more and more strained, until war seemed inevitable. On April 11, 1898, President McKinley in a special message to Congress, said: "In the name of humanity and civilization, the war in Cuba must stop."
War indeed was formally declared April 25th, and in the brief s.p.a.ce of one hundred and fourteen days history had added to its annals: the blockading of Cuban ports whereby the Spanish fleet was trapped; the invasion and siege of the island by United States regulars, volunteers, and rough riders; the {339} destruction of the Pacific Spanish fleet in Manila Bay by Admiral Dewey; and, finally, the destruction of the remainder of the Spanish fleet under command of Admiral Cervera, Sunday morning, July 3d. The final outcome of this war was the freedom of Cuba and the possession by the United States of Porto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands.
Peace
There is no country in the world less warlike than ours, and no country in the world that more potently argues for universal peace. We have never departed from the spirit of our Declaration of Independence, "that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." We put it into our Const.i.tution when we said, "in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" we "do ordain and establish this Const.i.tution for the United States of America." Such has been, then, and always must be, our programme--the chart and compa.s.s of all our ways.
The American Flag
"_A star for every state and a state for every star_."
The flag of one"s country is its dearest possession--emblem of home, and country, and native land. This is what one thinks and feels when he sees the flag, and this is what it means. Our flag is the emblem of liberty--the emblem of hope--the emblem of peace and good-will toward men.
There is a story, quite generally believed, that the first flag was planned and made in 1776 by Betsy Ross, who kept an upholstery shop on Arch Street, Philadelphia, and that this, a year later, was adopted by Congress. The special committee appointed to design a national flag consisted of George Washington, Robert Morris, and Col. George Ross, uncle of the late husband of Betsy Ross. The star that the committee decided upon had six points, but Mrs. Ross advised the five-pointed star, which has ever since been used in the United States flag. The flag thus designed was colored by a local artist, and from this colored copy Betsy Ross made the first American flag.
When Washington was in command at Cambridge, in January, 1776, the flag used by him consisted of a banner of {340} thirteen red and white stripes with the British Union Jack in the upper left-hand comer.
The Betsy Ross house has been purchased by the American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial a.s.sociation, and is pointed out as one of the interesting historical places in Philadelphia.
The official history of our flag begins on June 14, 1777, when the American Congress adopted the following resolution proposed by John Adams:
Resolved: That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.
"We take," said Washington, "the star from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty."
In designing the flag there was much discussion as to the arrangement of the stars in the field of blue. It was thought at one time that a new stripe as well as a new star should be added for each new state admitted to the Union. Indeed, in 1794, Congress pa.s.sed an act to the effect that on and after May 1, 1795, "the flag of the United States be fifteen stripes, alternate red and white; and that the union be fifteen stars, white in a field of blue." These additional stars and stripes were for the states of Vermont and Kentucky.
The impracticability of adding a stripe for each state was apparent as other states began to be admitted. Moreover, the flag of fifteen stripes, it was thought, did not properly represent the Union; therefore, on April 14, 1818, after a period of twenty-one years in which the flag of fifteen stripes had been used, Congress pa.s.sed an act which finally fixed the general flag of our country, which reads as follows:
An Act to Establish the Flag of the United States.
Sec. 1. Be it enacted, etc.. That from and after the fourth day of July next, the flag of the United States be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; that the union have twenty stars, white in a blue field.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, that, on the admission of every new state into the union, one star be added to the union of the flag; and that such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of July succeeding such admission.
341 Patriotism and Citizenship
Flag Day
June 14th, the anniversary of the adoption of the flag, is celebrated as flag day in many of our states.
{341}
In order to show proper respect for the flag, the following rules should be observed:
It should not be hoisted before sunrise nor allowed to remain up after sunset.
At "retreat," sunset, civilian spectators should stand at attention and give the military salute.
When the national colors are pa.s.sing on parade or review, the spectators should, if walking, halt, and if sitting, rise and stand at attention and uncover.
When the flag is flown at half staff as a sign of mourning it should be hoisted to full staff at the conclusion of the funeral. In placing the flag at half mast, it should first be hoisted to the top of the staff and then lowered to position, and preliminary to lowering from half staff it should first be raised to top.
On Memorial Day, May 30th, the flag should fly at half mast from sunrise until noon, and full staff from noon to sunset.
(Taken from the "Sons of the Revolution," state of New York.)
The Scout"s Pledge to the Flag
"I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Congress
The Congress of the United States is its law-making body, and is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. Senators are elected for six years, two from each state; representatives for two years, each state being represented in proportion to its population.
The Vice-president of the United States is the president of the Senate, and the presiding officer of the House of Representatives is chosen by the members from their number; he is called the speaker. The salary of the senators and representatives is $7,500 a year and 20 cents per mile is allowed for traveling to and from Washington. The speaker"s salary is $12,000 a year.
The President
The President is elected for a term of four years. He lives during his term of office at the White House, where presidential receptions and social affairs of state are held. The President"s offices are connected with the White House. Here he receives his callers and here the meetings of his Cabinet are held. The salary of the President is $75,000, a year.
The Cabinet
The members of the Cabinet are the officers and heads of the several departments of the administrative government. {342} They are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The members of the Cabinet are as follows: secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, secretary of war, attorney general, postmaster general, secretary of the navy, secretary of the interior, secretary of agriculture, secretary of commerce and labor. The members of the Cabinet are such men as the President believes are qualified to serve during his administration of office, and are usually members of the same political party as the President.