The history of Adams County Illinois : containing a history of the county - its cities, towns, etc. a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion; general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, Part 4

Author:
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Murray, Williamson & Phelps
Number of Pages: 1254

USA > Illinois > Adams County > The history of Adams County Illinois : containing a history of the county - its cities, towns, etc. a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion; general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 4

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In pursuance of the recommendation of Congress, of September 6th, 1780, several States made cessions of territory to the United States. Virginia

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

ceded her northwestern territory March 1st, 1784, and by an act of her Legislature of December 30th, 1788, agreed to change the conditions of the act of cession of 1784, so far as to ratify the 5th article of the ordinance of 1787, passed by Congress for the government of the territory. The dele- gates in Congress from Maryland signed the Articles of Confederation at the date of the cession of territory by New York, March 1st, 1781, thus completing the confederation.

On the 23d of April, 1784, Congress passed a resolution for the govern- ment of the territory ceded by Virginia, which was superceded by the famous ordinance of July 13th, 1787, entitled "An ordinance for the govern- ment of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio." The first part of this important enactment provides for the temporary gov- ernment of the territory, and concludes with six "articles of compact between the original States and the people and States in the said territory, and forever to remain unalterable, unless by common consent." The provisions of these six articles are of such importance as to justify their insertion here in full:

"ARTICLE 1. No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments, in the said territory.

"ART. 2. The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the writ of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury; of a proportionate repre- sentation of the people in the legislature, and of judicial proceedings accord- ing to the course of the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offenses, when the proof shall be evident, or the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted. No person shall be deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land, and should the public exigencies make it necessary for the common preservation to take any person's property, or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same. And, in the just preservation of rights and property, it is understood and declared that no law ought ever to be made, or have force in the said territory, that should, in any manner whatever, in- terfere with or affect private contracts or engagements, bona fide, and with- out fraud previously formed.

"ART. 3. Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good gov- ernment and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall, from time to time, be made for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.

"ART. 4. The said territory, and the States which may be formed therein, shall forever remain a part of this confederacy of the United States of Amer- , ica, subject to the Articles of Confederation, and to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made; and to all the acts and ordinances of the United States, in Congress assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts, contracted or to be contracted, and a proportional part of the expenses of government, to be apportioned on them by Congress, according to the same common rule and measure by which apportionments thereof shall be

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made on the other States; and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the dis. trict or districts, or new States, as in the original States, within the time agreed upon by the United States, in Congress assembled. The legislatures of those districts, or new States, shall never interfere with the primary dis- posal of the soil of the United States, in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary, for securing the title in such soil, to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. . The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be com- mon highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of said territory as to the citizens of the United States, and those of any other States that may be admitted into the Confederacy, without any tax, impost, or duty therefor.

"ART. 5. There shall be formed in the said territory not less than three, nor more than five States; and the boundaries of the States, as soon as Vir- ginia shall alter her act of cession, and consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to-wit: the Western States in the said terri- tory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio and Wabash rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents due north to the ter- ritorial line between the United States and Canada, and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The Middle States shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash, from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami to the said territorial line and by the said territorial line. The Eastern State shall be bounded by the last-mentioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said territorial line; provided, however, and it is further understood and declared that the boundaries of these three States shall be subject so far to be altered that if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have authority to form one or two States in that part of the said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. And whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, such State shall be admitted, by its delegates, into the Congress of the United States on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatever; and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and State government, provided the constitution and government so to be formed shall be republi- can, and in conformity to the principles contained in these articles, and so far as can be consistent with the general interests of the Confederacy, such admission shall be allowed at an carlier period, and when there may be a less number of free inhabitants in the State than sixty thousand.

"ART. 6. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall be duly convicted; provided, always, that any person escaping into the same from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or services as aforesaid."

These articles, sometimes known as the "Compact of 1787," form the basis of the organization of the Northwestern Territory and of the several States into which it was subsequently divided. Although the original act of cession was adopted by Virginia in 1784, it will be seen that it was three years later before Congress agreed upon a plan of government. The

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subject was one of serious and earnest discussion at various times. At one time a motion prevailed to strike from the proposed plan the prohibition of slavery. Another proposition was agreed to by which the territory was to be divided into States by parallels and meridian lines, making ten States which were to be named as follows: Sylvania, Michigania, Chersonesus, Assenisipia, Metropotamia, Illenoia, Saratoga, Washington, Polypotamia and Pelisipia. When this plan was submitted to the legislatures of the States there were serious objections made, especially by Massachusetts and Vir- ginia. There were objections to the category of names, but the chief diffi- culty was the resolution of Congress of October 10th, 1780, which fixed the extent of each State at not less than one hundred nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circumstances might admit. So the subject was again taken up in 1786, and discussed during that year and until July 12th, 1787, when the ordinance finally passed, as stated above.

An act of territorial organization was approved August 7th, 1789. Gen. Arthur St. Clair was appointed Governor, and William H. Harrison Secre- tary. In 1788 a town had been laid out by John Cleves Symmes at Fort Washington, and was named Losantiville, but afterward Cincinnati. The place was settled by persons from the New England States and from New Jersey, but did not extensively improve until after Gen. Wayne's defeat of the Indians in 1794. This became the seat of the new territorial govern- ment. The election of representatives for the territory was held February 4th, 1799. As required by the ordinance of 1787, these representatives met at the seat of the territorial government to nominate ten persons, out of which Congress was to appoint five to serve as the territorial council. The following persons were commissioned: Henry Vandenburg, of Vincennes; Robert Oliver, of Marietta; James Findlay and Jacob Burnett, of Cincin- nati, and David Vance, of Vanceville. The first Territorial Legislature met September 16th, 1799, and on the 24th both houses were duly organized, Henry Vandenburg being elected president of the council. On the 13th of October the legislature elected Wm. Henry Harrison as delegate to Congress. He received eleven of the votes cast, being a majority of one over his opponent, Arthur St. Clair, son of the Governor. At this session

thirty-seven acts were passed and approved. Eleven other acts were passed which the Governor vetoed. The greater part of the legislation of the ses- sion related to the organization of the militia and to revenne matters. The

session closed December 19th, 1799. President Adams appointed Charles Willing Bryd as secretary of the territory to succeed Wm. Henry Harrison, elected to Congress, and the senate confirmed the nomination. James N. Varnum, S. H. Parsons and John Armstrong were appointed to the judicial bench of the territory in October, 1787.

Having briefly outlined the legislation which resulted in the formation of a Territorial government, we return to notice some of the earlier American settlements in the Territory. As elsewhere stated, a few French settlements had been made by emigrants from Canada and Lonisiana, on the Ohio river and in the region known as the Illinois country, but it was not until after the Virginia cession that any permanent American settlements were made. Then several treaties were made with the Indians, in which they relinquished their title to large portions of the territory. The government made several large grants to companies and individuals, for the purpose of colonizing the country. One of these was to a company from Massachusetts and Connecti- cut, called the New England Company, of a tract lying along the Ohio and

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Muskingum rivers, embracing 1,500,000 acres. Here the town of Marietta was laid out, in August, 1787, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers. Fort Harmar was built on the opposite, or west bank of the Mus- kingum, the year before. The New England Company sent its first party of settlers in the spring of 1788. They consisted of eight families, and some other persons, and all under the superintendency of Gen. Rufus Put- nam. The party, after a long and weary journey over the Alleghanies, and down the Ohio, arrived at Marietta on the 7th of April, 1788. This little band had the honor of being the pioneers of Ohio, unless the Moravian missionaries may be so regarded. The settlement was first known as the "Muskingum," but on the 2d of July, 1788, at a meeting of the directors and agents of the company, the name was changed to Marietta, in honor of Marie Antoinette.

In 1786, John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey, visited the country be- tween the Miamies, and being pleased with its appearance, made application to the government for the purchase of a large tract of land, to be settled on similar conditions with those of the New England Company. The grant was made to Symmes and his associates the following year. Associated with Symmes, was Matthias Denman, also of New Jersey, who located, among other tracts in the Symmes purchase, the section upon which Cincinnati was laid out. Denman sold to Robert Patterson and John Filson, each one- third of his location, retaining the other third himself. In August, 1788, they laid out the first portion of what, in a few years, became one of the great cities of the West. Fort Washington was erected here in 1790, and was for some time the headquarters of both the civil and military govern- ments of the Northwestern Territory. There were but few settlers here until after 1794, when settlers began to arrive rapidly. In July, 1815, the population was 6,500.

In October, 1795, the treaty was signed between the United States and Spain, which secured to the former the free navigation of the Mississippi. After this the Northwest began to settle rapidly. During the next year settlements were made at various points along the Miami and Scioto rivers, including those at Piqua and Chillicothe. In September, of the same year, the city of Cleveland was laid out.

The great extent of the Northwestern Territory, and the rapid increase of population at the beginning of the new century, began to render the effi- cient action of the courts impossible ; and to remedy this evil a division of the Territory was proposed. A committee in Congress, to whom the mat- ter had been referred, on the 3d of March, 1800, reported in favor of two distinct territorial governments, and that the division be made by a line beginning at the mouth of the Great Miami river, and running directly to the boundary line between the United States and Canada. The report was accepted, and an act passed, which was approved May 7th, of the same year, making the division. It provided, among other things, that from and after the next 4th day of July, "all that part of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio river, which lies to the northward of a line beginning at a point on the Ohio, opposite to the month of the Kentucky river, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a separate territory, and be called the Indiana Territory." The same act provided, that until the Leg- islatures of the Territories, respectively, otherwise ordered, Chillicothe, on

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the Scioto river, should be the seat of government of the Territory east of the line of division; and that Vincennes, on the Wabash river, should be the seat of government of the Indiana Territory. On the 3d of November, of that year, the Territorial Legislature met at Chillicothe. William Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of Indiana Territory, and entered upon his duties in 1801. The new Territory then embraced all that region now comprising the States of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and that part of Minnesota east of the Mississippi river. Nearly the whole of it was at that time in the possession of the Indians. Soon after the arrival of Governor Harrison at Vincennes, he concluded several treaties with the In- dians, whereby large grants of land were obtained from the various tribes. By a treaty made at St. Louis, August 18th, 1804, he obtained a relinquish- ment of Indian title to over 51,000,000 of acres. The year before the gov- ernment had obtained Louisiana from France, by purchase, and that being divided, the "District of Louisiana " (the "New Northwest ") was annexed to Indiana Territory, thus extending Gov. Harrison's authority over a vast domain, occupied chiefly by savage tribes.

By an act of Congress, of January 11th, 1805, Indiana Territory was di- vided into two separate governments, and the new Territory of Michigan formed. William Hull was appointed Governor of the new Territory, and Detroit was designated as the seat of government. On the 30th of June the Territorial government of Michigan was to go into operation. When Gov. Hull, and the other Territorial officers, reached Detroit, they found the place in ruins and the inhabitants scattered. On the 11th of that month a fire had destroyed almost every building in the place. Gov. Hull adopted a new plan for rebuilding the town, and in population and importance it soon regained all it had lost by the fire.

Other changes were subsequently made in the boundaries of the Western Territories, as new States were from time to time admitted into the Union, until finally, all that vast domain originally designated as the "Northwestern Territory" became sovereign States.

THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE.

Discovery of the Mouth of the Mississippi-Founding of New Orleans-French Grant-John" Law-The "Mississippi Bubble "-Territory West of the Mississippi-France Cedes to Spain - Spain Cedes Back to France - France Cedes to the United States - Right to Navigate the Mississippi-Particulars of the Negotiations With France-Extent of the Territory-Possession Taken by the United States-Division of the Territory.

THAT vast region of territory once known as Louisiana, came under the jurisdiction of civilized men by the right of discovery-a right which has long been known and recognized among civilized nations, though often necessarily followed by conquest to render it effective. For two centuries the Spaniards had navigated the Gulf of Mexico, so far as we know, ignorant of the fact that it received the waters of one of the largest rivers of the world. About the year 1660 the French, who had re-established themselves in Canada, received some information of this great river, but did not discover its mouth until 1691, when, according to some authorities, La Salle succeeded in reaching it. Iberville founded his first colony in 1699, but it did not assume importance until 1717, when the city of New Orleans was founded. In 1712 Louis XIV of France granted to M. Crozart a charter to the whole territory of Louisiana, which was so named in honor of the king. Under

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the leadership of John Law, in 1716, a company was formed at Paris and incorporated as the "Mississippi Company," which purchased Louisiana from the crown. The financial disasters in France caused by Law brought about the failure of his Mississippi scheme, and the explosion of what is known in history as the "Mississippi bubble." Louisiana was then resumed by the crown, and the commerce of the Mississippi was declared free. The French retained possession until 1762, when they ceded it to Spain, includ- ing the whole country to the head waters of the great river and west to the Rocky Mountains. The jurisdiction of France, which had continued for nearly a century, thus ended, until in 1800 Bonaparte, then first consul, induced the Spanish government to cede it back to France. During the time that Louisiana remained a Spanish dependency, that government claimed the exclusive right of navigating the Mississippi river. The free navigation of that river was essential to the prosperity and commerce of the United States. Spain then having jurisdiction also over the Floridas east of the great river, and that river for several hundred miles flowing wholly through the Spanish dominions, the question of its navigation south of the southern boundary of the United States became a serious one to our govern- ment and people. The people in the western part of the United States especially demanded the free navigation of the river as a right. But Spanish military posts enforced the collection of duties on imports by way of the river for the upper region. Boats descending were forced to submit to reve- nue exactions by Spanish authorities. These exactions were a constant source of trouble and disaffection, and led to a threatening state of affairs between the United States and Spain. Spain, however, by the treaty of Madrid, October 20, 1795, conceded to the United States the free navigation of the river from its source to the Gulf, and also the free use of the port of New Orleans for three years as a port of deposit.

The treaty of Madrid, however, did not quiet all troubles between the United States and Spain. In 1802, during the administration of President Jefferson, there was some apprehension of a war growing out of the continued disputes respecting the southwestern boundary. These disputes had led to many difficulties between the people of the United States and the Spanish authorities. These affairs, however, assumed a new aspect, when in the spring of 1802 the government of the United States received intelligence that, by a secret treaty made in October, 1800, Spain had ceded Louisiana to France. At this time Mr. Livingston was the United States Minister to France, and President Jefferson, soon after learning of the Spanish cession to France, wrote to Mr. Livingston in reference to acquiring the right to deposit at the port of New Orleans, and other matters which had been in dispute between the United States and Spain. In his annual message to Congress, in December of the same year, the President alluded to the subject of the Spanish cession to France. Congress passed resolutions asserting the right of navigating the Mississippi, and insisting upon the right to the use of a port or place of deposit. At that time it was understood in the United States that the Spanish cession to France included the Floridas, which, however, was not the case. The policy of the President was to enter into a treaty with France for the purchase of New Orleans and the Floridas, and with this view, on the 10th of January, 1803, he appointed James Monroe minister plenipotentiary to France to act in conjunction with Mr. Livingston. Mr. Monroe's nomination was confirmed by the senate. The instructions to the American ministers only asked for the cession of the city of New Orleans

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and the Floridas, together with the free navigation of the Mississippi. The cession at this time of the entire Territory of Louisiana was not a subject of discussion. Mr. Monroe sailed from New York, March 8, 1803, and arrived in Paris April 1.

Bonaparte was then first consul, and France was on the eve of a war with England. He supposed the American ministers were authorized to enter into more extended stipulations than they really were. Marquis de Marbois was directed to negotiate with the American ministers. Said the first con- sul to his minister, as recorded by the latter:

"Irresolution and deliberation are no longer in season. I renounce Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans that I will cede; it is the whole col- ony, without any reservation. I know the price of what I abandon, and I have sufficiently proved the importance that I attach to this province, since my first diplomatic act with Spain had for its object the recovery of it. I renounce it with the greatest regret. To attempt to retain it would be folly. I direct you to negotiate this affair with the envoys of the United States. Do not even await the arrival of Mr. Monroe; have an interview this day with Mr. Livingston. But I require a great deal of money for this war, and I would not like to commence with new contributions. If I should regulate my terms, according to the value of these vast regions to the United States, the indemnity would have no limits. I will be moderate, in consideration of the necessity in which I am of making a sale. But keep this to yourself. I want fifty millions francs, and for less than that sum I will not treat; I would rather make a desperate attempt to keep those fine countries. To- morrow you shall have full powers. Mr. Monroe is on the point of arriving. To this minister the President must have given secret instructions, more extensive than the ostensible authorization of Congress, for the stipulation of the payments to be made. Neither this minister nor his colleague is prepared for a decision which goes infinitely beyond anything that they are about to ask of us. Begin by making them the overture without any sub- terfuge. You will acquaint me, day by day, hour by hour, of your progress. The cabinet of London is informed of the measures adopted at Washington, but it can have no suspicion of those which I am now taking. Observe the greatest secrecy, and recommend it to the American ministers; they have not a less interest than yourself in conforming to this counsel. You will correspond with M. de Talleyrand, who alone knows my intentions. If I attended to his advice, France would confine her ambition to the left bank of the Rhine, and would only make war to protect any dismemberment of her possessions. But he also admits that the cession of Louisiana is not a dismemberment of France. Keep him informed of the progress of this affair."

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The history of Adams County Illinois : containing a history of the county - its cities, towns, etc. a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion; general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, Part 4

Author: Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : Murray, Williamson & Phelps Number of Pages: 1254

Author:
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Murray, Williamson & Phelps
Number of Pages: 1254