USA > Illinois > Will County > Souvenir of settlement and progress of Will County, Ill. A review of the lives of our presidents, political, military and commercial history of the United States and of the state of Illinois Business directory of Joliet Comp. specially for the people of the county > Part 2
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West Virginia .- Motto, Montani semper liberi. This is the only State ever formed, under the Constitution, by the division of an organized State. It was done in 1862, and admitted into the Union in 1863. In 1880, gave 57,391 Democratic; 46,243 Republican, and 9,079 Greenback votes.
Wisconsin .- Is an Indian name, and means " Wild-rush- ing channel." Its motto is, Civilitas successit barbarum. It is called "The Badger State." The State was visited by French explorers in 1665, and a settlement was made in 1669 at Green Bay. Admitted into the Union in 1848. She furnished for the Union army 91,021 soldiers. In 1880, gave 144,400 Republican; 114,649 Democratic; 7,986 Greenback, and 69 Prohibition votes.
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THE TERRITORIES.
Washington Territory, organized in 1858, explored by the fur traders; Dakota, organized in 1861, explored by Veran- drye for the French; Idaho, organized in 1862, settled by the Jesuit Fathers in 1841; Montana, organized in 1863, set- tled by the Jesuit Fathers in 1839-40. Alaska was pur- chased from the Russians for a small consideration, June 20, 1867. The question of conferring upon this region of fabu- lous possibilities, a territorial form of government was brought before Congress in 1883. The Senate passed the act early in 1884, and on May 12, the House of Representatives concurred. The white population is about 1,800, while the Indians number over 40,000. Under the act the laws of Ore- gon and the United States are recognized. The School Fund is placed at $25,000. The traders of the American Fur Com- pany and of the Hudson Bay Company, had established posts as far south as Fort Hall, Idaho, during the first quar- ter of this century. Immediately following the explorations of the Jesuits, 1665-80, the French trappers penetrated to the Rocky mountains, and a few had even returned to the Pacific ocean; but the first permanent settlements in the northwest must be credited to the Jesuit missionaries under Father De Smet.
Signers of the Declaration of Independence .- The series of events which led the people of the Atlantic States to cast off forever the yoke of monarchy, are referred to in the chrono- logical table of American history. Here it will only be necessary to give the names of those great men who signed the Declaration of Independence, and proclaimed to the world that the same spirit which ruled the Stamp Act in 1765, which prevailed at Boston, December 16, 1773, was prepared to carry opposition to misgovernment still further, until the last servant of royalty was driven from the land. In the following list the date of death follows each name: John Hancock, Massachusetts, 1793; Josiah Bartlett, Massa- chusetts, 1795; William Whipple, Maine, 1785; Matthew Thornton, Ireland, 1803; Samuel Adams, Massachusetts, 1803; John Adams, Massachusetts, 1826; Robert Treat Paine, Massachusetts, 1814; Elbridge Gerry, Massachusetts, 1814; Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island, 1785; William Ellery, Rhode Island, 1820; Roger Sherman, Massachusetts, 1793. Samuel Huntington, Connecticut, 1796; William Williams, Connecticut, 1811; Oliver Wolcott, Connecticut, 1797; Will- iam Floyd, New York, 1821; Philip Livingston, New York,
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1776; Francis Lewis, England, 1803; Lewis Morris, New York, 1798; Richard Stockton, New Jersey, 1781; John Witherspoon, Scotland, 1794; Francis Hopkinson, Pennsyl- vania, 1791; John Hart, New Jersey, 1780; Francis L. Lee, Virginia, 1797; Carter Braxton, Virginia, 1797; William Hooper, Massachusetts, 1790; Joseph Hewes, New Jersey, 1779; John Penn, Virginia, 1788; Edward Rutledge, South Carolina, 1800; Abraham Clarke, New Jersey, 1794; Robert Morris, England, 1806; Benjamin Rush, Pennsylvania, 1813; Benjamin Franklin, Massachusetts, 1790; John Morton, Pennsylvania, 1777; George Clymer, Pennsylvania, 1813; James Smith, Ireland, 1806; George Taylor, Ireland, 1781; James Wilson, Scotland, 1798; George Ross, Delaware, 1780; Cæsar Rodney, Delaware, 1783; George Reed, Maryland, 1798; Thomas Mckean, Pennsylvania, 1817; Samuel Chase, Mary- land, 1811; William Paca, Maryland, 1799; Thomas Stone, Maryland, 1787; Charles Carroll, of Carollton, 1832; George Wythe, Virginia, 1800; Richard H. Lee, Virginia, 1794; Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, 1826; Benjamin Harrison, Vir- ginia, 1797; Thomas Nelson, Virginia, 1789; Thomas Hey- ward, Jr., South Carolina, 1809; Thomas Lynch, South Carolina, 1777; Arthur Middleton, South Carolina, 1788; Button Gwinnet, England, 1777; Lyman Hall, Connecticut, 1784; George Walton, Virginia, 1804. The original docu- ment was written by Thomas Jefferson. So thoroughly was the work performed, that only a few erasures and additions were made in committee when it was signed and proclaimed, July 4, 1776.
The Continental Congress .- The first meeting of this body of legislators was held at Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. From the beginning its deliberations were characterized by wisdom. The Loyalists (there were Loyalists even after 1773) kept a close watch on the Federalists ; while the latter, hav- ing almost all the ability, and certainly all the right on their side, were even more vigilant and cautious. The Presidents of the Continental Congress, 1774-1781, were : Peyton Ran- dolph, Virginia, 1774; Henry Middleton, South Carolina, 1774; Peyton Randolph, Virginia, 1775; John Hancock, Massachusetts, 1776; Henry Laurens, South Carolina, 1777; John Jay, New York, 1778; Samuel Huntington, Connecti- cut, 1779 ; Thomas McKean, Delaware, 1781; John Hanson, Maryland, 1781; Elias Boudinot, New Jersey, 1782 ; Thomas Mifflin, Pennsylvania, 1783; Richard Henry Lee, Virginia, 1784; Nathaniel Gorham, Massachusetts, 1786; Arthur St. Clair, Pennsylvania, 1787; Cyrus Griffin, Virginia, 1788.
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One of the most sublime acts of this Congress was to re- ceive from the State of Virginia a gift of the territory north- west of the Ohio, and guarantee its freedom from slavery. The Articles of Confederation were adopted November 15, 1777, and were ratified by all the States March 1, 1781. A form of Constitution was agreed upon September 17, 1787, which was adopted March 4, 1789. The States, with the exception of North Carolina, were represented in the Stamp Act Congress of 1765. Under the Constitution of 1789, the Presidents of the United States have been elected. In the following pages a short history of each President and of his administration is given.
George Washington was born on the Potomac river, in Westmoreland county, Virginia, February 22, 1732, and died December 14, 1799, aged sixty-eight years. In 1754 he was made Lieutenant-Colonel of the militia, and accompanied Braddock in his expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1755. In the same year he was made Commander-in-chief of the military forces of the Colony of Virginia, and in 1787 he was unanimously chosen President of the Covention that met to frame a Constitution. He was inaugurated first President of the United States April 30, 1789, and being re- elected, he held the office until 1797. Conceiving it to be a dangerous precedent to serve more than two terms, he patri- otically declined a third election. In early life he followed the occupation of an engineer. He was married to Mrs. Martha Custis in January, 1759. Congress elected him Commander of the Revolutionary forces, and he took active command July 2, 1775, and held supreme military control throughout the struggle for independence. His faith in the military genius and philantrophy of the renowned Lafayette, as well as his obedience to the French patriot's counsels, contributed much to the victory which gave us the Union.
John Adams, born at Braintree, Massachusetts, October 30, 1735, died at Quincy, Massachusetts, July 4, 1826, aged ninety-one years. He was married to Miss Abigail Smith in 1764; was elected President, on the Federal ticket, in 1796, installed March 4, 1797, and served the Union faith- fully during one term of office. His foreign policy, and the coercion laws which he favored, led to the fall of the Fed- eralist party.
Thomas Jefferson, born at Shadwell, Virginia, April 2, 1743, died at Monticello, Virginia, July 4, 1826, aged eighty- three years. He was married to Mrs. Martha Skelton in 1772; was elected President in 1800, re-elected in 1804, and
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served two full terms. Parton says of him : "The immortal document, the Declaration of Independence, was, with the exception of a few words entirely his work. He was an ardent supporter of the doctrine of State rights, and led the opposition to the Federalists. After he became President, however, he found the difficulty of administering the gov- ernment upon that theory. 'The executive authority had to be stretched until it cracked, to cover the purchase of Louisiana;' and he became convinced on other occasions that the federal government, to use his own expression, ' must show its teeth.' Like Washington he was of aristo- cratic birth, but his principles were intensely democratic. He hated ceremonies and titles; even 'Mr.' was distasteful to him. These traits were the more remarkable in one of his superior birth and education, and peculiarly endeared him to the common people. Coming into power on a wave of popularity, he studiously sought to retain this favor. There were no more brilliant levees or courtly ceremonies, as in the days of Washington and Adams. On his inaugu- ration day, he rode to Congress unattended and, leaping from his horse, hitched it, and went into the chamber, dressed in plain clothes to read his fifteen minutes' inaugural. Some of the sentences of that short but memorable address have passed into proverbs. The unostentatious example thus set by the nation's President was wise in its effects. Soon the public debt was diminished, the army and navy reduced, and the treasury replenished. A man of such marked character necessarily made bitter enemies, but Jefferson commanded the respect of even his opponents."
James Madison was born in King George county, Vir- ginia, March 16, 1751, and died in 1836. He graduated at Princeton College in 1778, after which he studied law ; mar- ried Mrs. D. P. Todd in 1794, and from 1809 to 1717 served as President of the United States. In Congress in 1789 he became one of the strongest advocates of the Constitution, and did much to secure its adoption. From his political principles he was obliged, though reluctantly, to oppose Washington's administration, which he did in a courteous and temperate manner. He led his party in Congress, where he remained till 1797. The next year he drafted the famous " 1798-9 Resolutions," enunciating the doctrines of State rights, which, with the accompanying "Report " in their defense, have been the great text-book of the Democratic party. He was Secretary of State to Jefferson. In 1806, the merchants of Salem and Boston called upon the govern-
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ment to seek redress for wrongs done American seamen by the British. To assert American rights, Madison declared war in 1812, and these very merchants, as well as the whole Federalist party, were the most bitter opponents of this measure. After his Presidential services, he retired from public station. Madison's success was not so much the result of a great natural ability as of intense application and severe accuracy. His mind was strong, clear and well- balanced, and his memory was wonderful. Like John Quincy Adams, he had laid up great store of learning, which he used in the most skillful manner.
James Monroe was born in Westmoreland county, Vir- ginia, April 28, 1758, and died in the city of New York, July 4, 1831. He filled the office of President of the United States from the year 1817 to 1825. As a soldier under General Washington he bore a brave record, and especially distinguished himself in the battles of Brandywine, Ger- mantown and Monmouth. Afterward he studied law ; mar- ried Miss Kortright and entered political life. Having been sent by Washington as Minister to France, he showed such marked sympathy with that country as to displease the President and his cabinet, who were just concluding a treaty with England, and wished to preserve a strictly neutral policy. He was therefore recalled. Under Jefferson, who was his warm friend, he was again sent to France in 1803, when he secured the purchase of Louisiana. He is said to have always taken particular pride in this transaction, regarding his part in it as among the most important of his public services. Soon after his inauguration as President, he vis- ited the military posts in the North and East, with a view to thorough acquaintance with the capabilities of the coun- try in the event of future hostilities. This tour was a great success. He wore a blue military coat of homespun, light colored breeches, and a cocked hat, being the undress uni- form of a Revolutionary officer. Thus was the nation reminded of his former military services. This, with his plain, unassuming manners, completely won the hearts of the people, and brought an overwhelming majority to the support of the administration. Monroe was a man more prudent than brilliant, who acted with a single eye to the welfare of the country. Jefferson said of him: "If his soul were turned inside out, not a spot could be found on it." Like that beloved friend, he died, " poor in money, but rich in honor," and like him also, he passed away on the
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anniversary of the independence of the country he served so faithfully.
John Quincy Adams, born at Braintree, Massachusetts, July 11, 1767, died at Washington, February 23, 1848. He married Miss Johnson in 1797, entered the national arena, was elected President in 1824 and served until 1829. As President he was hardly more successful than his father. This was, doubtless, owing greatly to the fierce opposition which assailed him from the friends of disappointed candi- dates, who at once combined to weaken his measures and prevent his re-election. Their candidate was Andrew Jack- son, a man whose dashing boldness, energy and decision, attracted the popular masses, and hid the more quiet virtues of Adams. To add to his perplexities, a majority of the House and nearly one half of the Senate, favored the new party; and his own Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, was also the candidate of the opposition, and of course, commit- ted to it. To stem such a tide was a hopeless effort. In two years Adams was returned to Congress, where he remained until his death, over sixteen years afterward.
Andrew Jackson was born in Waxhaw settlement, North or South Carolina, March 15, 1767, and died at the Hermit- age, near Nashville, Tenn., June 8, 1845. He served as President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. He was married to Miss Robards in 1791. The nomination of Pres- idential candidates by "Convention," as the term is now understood and applied, dates from the year 1832. At the first election, Jackson was nominated by the Legislature of Tennessee and other States, as well as by several bodies of citizens and conventions, but the first regularly constituted convention of a party as an organized body, and fulfilling all the assumed functions of the old Congressional caucus, met at Baltimore on the 22d of May, 1832, and nominated Jackson and Van Buren as the Democratic candidates for President and Vice-President. The Whig candidates, less "regularly " nominated, were Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, who were the anti-Masonic candidates. The leading issue of the campaign grew out of the question of the re-charter of the United States Bank; the Whigs favoring and the Democrats opposing it. He was elected a member of Congress in 1796. His conduct of the war against the Creek Indians, and his brilliant victories over the British during the war of 1812, won for him a place in public esteem, and led him on to the position of first Magistrate. His Celtic impetuosity combined with a
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large share of moral courage and natural ability, gained for his administration a most enviable record.
Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New York, December 5, 1782, and died at the same place July 24, 1862. He studied law and was admitted to practice in 1803; was married to Miss Hannah Hoes in 1804, and elected Presi- dent of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. In early years he took an interest in politics, and in 1818 started a new organization of the Democratic party in New York, his native State, which had the power for over twenty years. In 1831, he was appointed Minister to England, whither he went in September, but when the nomination came before the Senate in December, it was rejected on the ground that he had sided with England against the United States on cer- tain matters, and had carried party contests and their results into foreign negotiations. His party regarded this as an extreme political persecution, and the next year elected him to the Vice-Presidency. He thus became head of the Senate which a few months before had condemned him, and where he now performed his duties with "dignity, courtesy and impartiality." That he pleased his own party is proven from the fact of his re-nomination in 1840 against Harrison. In 1848, he was once more urged by his friends, but failed to get a two-thirds vote in the convention, on account of his opposition to the annexation of Texas. In 1848, he became a candidate of the "Free Democracy," a new party advocat- ing anti-slavery principles. After this he retired to his estate in Kinderkhook, N. Y., where he died.
William Henry Harrison was born in Charles City county, Virginia, February 9, 1773. He entered the army in 1791, after graduating from Hampden-Sydney College, and married Miss Symmes in 1795. After reaching the grade of captain he resigned in 1797; was chosen delegate to Congress from the Northwestern Territory in 1797; ap- pointed Governor of Indiana in 1801, and continued to 1813. He was elected President of the United States in 1840, and had scarcely entered upon the duties of his office when he died at Washington, April 4, 1841. In 1812, he distinguished himself during the war, especially in the battle of the Thames. His military reputation made him available as a Presidential candidate. His character was unimpeachable, and the chief slur cast upon him by his opponents was that he had lived in a "log cabin" with nothing to drink but "hard cider." His friends turned this to good account. The campaign was noted for immense mass-meetings, long
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processions, song-singing, and general enthusiasm. "Hard cider" became a party watchword, and "log-cabins" a reg- ular feature in the popular parades. He was elected by a very large majority, and great hopes were entertained of his administration. Though advanced in years, he gave promise of endurance. But "he was beset by office seekers; he was anxious to gratify the numerous friends and sup- porters who flocked about him; he gave himself incessantly to public business : and at the close of the month he was on a sick bed." His illness was of eight days' duration. His last words were, "The principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more."
John Tyler was born in Charles City county, Virginia, March 20, 1790, and died at Richmond, Va., January 17, 1862. He studied law; was married to Miss Letitia Christ- tian in 1813, and was elected to Congress in 1816, and served some five years; was elected United States Senator in 1827; re-elected in 1833, Vice-President in 1840, and was Presi- dent of the Peace Convention at Washington in 1861. On the the death of his first wife, he married Miss Julia Gardner. Mr. Tyler became President upon the death of Mr. Harri- son as his constitutional successor. John Tyler was in early life a great admirer of Henry Clay, and is said to have wept with sorrow when the Whigs in convention rejected his favorite candidate for the Presidency and selected Harrison. He was nominated Vice-President by a unanimous vote, and was a great favorite with his party. In the popular refrain, " Tippecanoe and Tyler too," the people sung praises to him as heartily as to Harrison himself. The death of Harrison and the succession of Tyler, was the first instance of the kind in our history. Tyler's administration was not suc- cessful. He opposed the measures of his party, and made free use of the veto power. His former political friends denounced him as a renegade, to which he replied that he had never professed to endorse the measures which he opposed. The feeling increased in bitterness. All his cabi- net, except Webster, resigned. He was, however, nominated by a convention composed chiefly of office-holders, for the next Presidency ; he accepted, but finding no popular sup- port, soon withdrew from the canvass. In 1861, he became the presiding officer of the Peace Convention at Washington. All efforts at reconciliation proving futile, he renounced his allegiance to the United States and followed the Confederate fortunes. He died in Richmond, where he was in attend- ance as a member of the Confederate Congress.
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James K. Polk was born in Mecklinburg county, North Carolina, November 2, 1795, and died at Nashville, June 15, 1849. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1816, and studied law ; was elected to Congress in 1825, and several terms subsequently ; chosen Speaker of the House, 1835 and 1837, and Governor of Tennessee in 1839. His marriage with Miss Sarah Childress took place in 1844. Mr. Polk was very unexpectedly nominated for President, in Baltimore, on the 27th day of May, 1844. He pleased his party as a candidate, and justified their fondest expecta- tions as a man well worthy and well qualified to fill the office of Chief Magistrate of the United States, who sur- rounded himself with an able cabinet of counselors. He served as President from 1845 to 1849. Mr. Polk was one of the most conspicuous opposers of the administration of J. Q. Adams, and a warm supporter of Jackson. In 1839, having served fourteen years in Congress, he declined a re- election and was chosen Governor of Tennessee. His Presi- dential nomination, in connection with that of George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, as Vice-President, had the effect of uniting the Democratic party, which had been disturbed by dissensions between the friends and opponents of Martin Van Buren. However, the Mexican war, which in many States was strongly opposed, the enactment of a tariff based on a revenue principle instead of a protective one, and the agitation caused by the " Wilmot Proviso," all conspired to affect his popularity before the end of his term. He had, however, previously pledged himself not to be a candidate for re-election. He died about three months after his retire- ment from office.
Zachary Taylor was born in Orange county, Virginia, November 24, 1784. He entered upon the duties of Presi- dent in 1849, and died at the Presidential Mansion July 9, 1850, after an illness of five days. Soon after his birth his parents removed to the State of Kentucky. His means of education were of the scantiest kind, and until he was twenty-four years of age he worked on his father's planta- tion. Madison, who was a relative, and at that time Secretary of State, then secured for him an appointment in the army as lieutenant. From this he rose by regular and rapid degrees to a major-generalship. His triumphant battles at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, and, Buena Vista, won him great applause. He was the popular hero of a successful war. The soldiers admiringly called him "Old Rough and Ready." Having been offered the
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nomination for President, he published several letters defin- ing his position as a "Whig, but not an ultra-Whig," and declaring that he would not be a party candidate or the expo- nent of party doctrines. Many of the Whig leaders violently opposed his nomination. Daniel Webster called him "an ignorant frontier colonel." The fact that he was a slave- holder was warmly urged against him. He knew nothing of civil affairs, and had taken so little interest in politics that he had not voted in forty years. But he was nominated and elected. His nomination caused a secession from the Whigs, resulting in the formation of the Free-soil party. He felt his want of qualifications for the position, and sometimes expressed his regret that he had accepted it ; yet he maintained as President the popularity which had led to his election, and was personally one of the most esteemed who have filled that office.
Millard Fillmore, being elected Vice-President to Presi- dent Taylor, became his constitutional successor, and served the unexpired term from 1850 to 1853. Very exciting questions arose during his term of office; among them the slavery question, the admission of California into the Union as a free State, and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law- providing for the return to their owners of slaves escaping to a free State. During the debate of these questions, for a while it seemed as if the Union would be rent asunder. Mr. Fillmore treated them with dignity, if not with statesman- ship, till finally conciliatory measures prevailed, and the questions were amicably settled. In every respect Mr. Fill- more discharged the duties of President as a conscientious, sensible man, thoroughly acquainted with legislative and general political principles. President Fillmore was born in Cayuga county, New York, January 7, 1800, and died March 8, 1874. He had not a very liberal education, and, when young, served as an apprentice to the fuller's trade. In the year 1821, he was admitted to the bar, and practiced law with success. He married Miss Abigail Powers in 1826, and after her death married Miss Carmichael. From 1832 to 1840 he was a member of Congress; in 1842 he was nomi- nated by the. Whigs of New York for Governor, and was defeated ; and in 1856 the Native American party run him for President, and he received only the electoral vote of Maryland. Upon the death of President Taylor, the entire Cabinet resigned, leaving him the work of reorganizing.
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