May every youth, while he learns to love his country learn to abominate war as one of the direst evils which can befal her, and study to cherish the spirit of peace within his own bosom, for it is from the bosom of man that peace and war equally flow.

Questions on Chapter I. with Explanations.

By whom were the United States chiefly settled? To what crown were these colonies subject? On what did the precise character of their local governments depend? . What relation between them and the present constitutions of the different States? Whence did our forefathers bring the seeds of liberty? In what respect has this country been more favorable to their growth than England? Ans. In England there were numerous obstructions to their growth which did not exist here. How many state governments are there? Is there any dependence of the state governments and the government of the United States on each other? Ans. No, they are entirely independ ent; they have each their proper objects, and so far as these objects are concerned, they are all sovereign and independent. Has the

growth of our free governments been sudden or gradual? What is the main object of this book? What is the Constitution of the United States? How long a time intervened between the settlement of the first English colony on this continent, and the formation of the United States government? What are the dates of these two events? Was there any union between the different local governments of the country before the formation of the United States government? What was the first instance of such union? What is the date of this league? What colonies were embraced in it? For what purposes was it formed? What was the immediate occasion of forming it? What was it styled? Give some account of the Congress holden under this league. How long did this Union last? When and on what occasion was it destroyed? Mention some instances of Congresses holden after this time. Were these Congresses holden at stated times? At whose instance and for what purpose was the Congress convened at Albany in 1754? Describe the Union which was unanimously proposed by this Congress. How was this proposition received? Why was it rejected? What had impressed upon the minds of our colonial ancestors the

great value of a union? What circumstances led them to think seriously of a general union? What convention was holden at New York in 1765? What was done by this convention? What is the date of the first Continental Congress? Where was it holden and of whom composed ? Why was it called Continental Congress? What colony was not represented in this Congress? What was its great object? When and where and for what purpose did a Congress next assemble? When did Georgia accede to the confederacy? Was there a union of the Colonies now formed? Ans. There was in fact, although there vas as yet no solemn formal league. Did the Union act as a sovereignty before it declared itself independent? When and where was the declaration of Independence made? By whom was it made? How many years since it was made? What was the object of this declaration? Ans. To set forth to the nations of the earth the causes of our separation from Great Britain, and our claims to be considered as an independent nation. Who drew this declaration? What is the present attitude of Great Britain and the United States towards each other? Ans. One of great

harmony.

CHAPTER II.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

JULY 4, 1776.

[From the Journals of Congress.]

A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self evident :that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are

life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the