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Bum of $780,000,000. By reason of its constitutional
authority Congress borrowed money "on the credit of
the United States" by selling bonds. The extent to
which advantage was taken of this grant of power
will be apparent from the fact that between 1 July,
1861, and 31 Aug., 186.5, there was sold to the people
of the United States $1,109,000,000 worth of bonds,
to raise money to carry on the war. United States
notes, bearing interest, were issued to the amount of
$577,000,000. There were also notes bearing no in-
terest. These included the "old demand notes", the
"fractional currency", and the "national bank
notes". Though the amount of money paid out in
the course of the war was immense, there was a public
debt of $2,84.5,000,000 on 31 Aug., 1865. Besides the
Federal debt there were state debts of almost $500,-
000,000. A generation after the war had passed
away the National Government was stiU paying out
annuaUy in pensions from $150,000,000 to $160,000,-
000, at that time about one-third of its entire ex-
penses. At the distance of half a century from the
beginning of the great conflict vast sums are still paid
in pensions to the disabled survivors and the de-
pendents of deceased Union soldiers. It has been
estimated that 300,000 men lost their lives in the war
for the Union. In the cause of secession the loss of
life must have been quite as great, and the amount of
suffering very much greater, because the South, in the
era preceding the war, obtained almost everything in
the way of manufactures from the North or from
Europe. The outbreak of the rebeUion found the
people within the Confederacy almost destitute of the
skill or the machinery to make the goods which they
consumed, and the stringent enforcement of the
blockade by the United States ships soon caused em-
barrassment everywhere in the South. Instead of
healing the wounds of war the Congressional plan of
reconstruction, which contained vindictive elements,
served only to aggravate them. It was, however, be-
lieved to be necessary, and was, therefore, supported
by patriotic and enlightened men in the North.
New States. — The south-western part of the United States was acquired from Mexico at the close of the Mexican War. California, which was included in that cession and admitted to the Union as a free state by a provision of the Compromise of 1850, rapidly developed. The rumour t hat gold had been discovered there was soon known throughout the world, and from the countries and the islands of the Pacific there ar- rived many settlers. From Mexico and from every part of the United States came multitudes. The rush was greatest in 1849, but it continued long after. Indeed, it has been only in comparatively recent times that it has nearly ceased. Even yet some of its rapidly growing cities receive large accessions from the older states. In 1858, ten years after the dis- covery in California, tidings reached Missouri that gold had been found on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. A mining camp was soon established on Cherry Creek, in what was then the Territory of Kansas. Later it was named Denver, in honour of the governor. Within a year the place had a popula- tion of 1000. In the interior of the mountains some silver-mining camps were in 1864 erected into the State of Nevada. In the space between that .state and the Territory of Colorado the Mormons, after having been driven out of Ilhnois, settled in 1848, when they established the community of Deseret, later known as Utah. Montana and Idaho, as well as Colorado, were made territories, while Arizona was separated from New Mexico. In 1876 Colorado became a state. The camp on Cherry Creek, Denver, is now a populous city.
On 2 Nov., 1889, the Dakotas came into the Union as states; Montana w;is admit ted on 6 Nov., and three days later the Territory of Washington became a state. In 1907 Oklahoma was admitted as the forty-
sixth state. In 1912 Arizona and New Mexico were
admitted as states. The accession of new states sug-
gests the territorial expansion of the original Union.
It does not, however, give one a definite idea of the
national increase in population, in wealth, and in
power since 1789.
End of Reconstruction. — The two administrations of President Grant formed a period of recuperation and industrial progress. His second term was marked by much corruption in the bureaus of the general government. This condition may have been due to his training, which was chiefly military. Perhaps it was this hmitation that enabled dishonest men to win his confidence. During the war the Democratic party formed a very small minority in Congress, but it was strong enough to watch the op- position and to take note of the pohtical scandals. Just at that moment this minority party came under the leadership of Samuel J. Tilden, of New York. With great ability as a lawyer and an unquestioned record as a reformer, he was influential enough to per- suade his party to accept the Civil War amendments of the Constitution. In the summer of 1876 he was nominated for the presidency. At the same time Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, was nominated for the vice-presidency. Two weeks earlier the Repub- lican national nominating convention had named Governor R. B. Hayes, of Ohio, and William A. Wheeler, of New York, as its candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency, respectively. On 6 Nov. the election took place, and on the following morning most of the Republican leaders conceded the election of the Democratic candidates. Zacha- riah Chandler, the campaign manager of the Repub- lican party, did not, however, admit it, but promptly claimed for the nominees of his party 185 electoral votes, and their election by a majority of one vote. On the face of the returns it appeared that the Democratic candidates had carried all the Southern States; also New York, New Jersey, and Indiana. There was no question that Tilden received 184 votes, or one less than the majority required by the Constitution. The 185 claimed by the Republican manager eoidd be made up only by including the electoral votes of Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana. The RepubUcan "returning boards" of those states had it in their power to determine the result of the election by throwing out the votes of any places where, in their judgment, fraud or intimida- tion had occurred. One of the Repubhcan electors of Oregon was said to have been disqualified under the Constitution, because he was an officer of the United States. The governor gave the certificate in this case to the Democrat having the highest vote. If Tilden could get this disputed vote his election was assured. This disqualification was merely a techni- cal one, for the Republicans had undoubtedly carried that state.
It seems to have been otherwise in the case of the three Southern States. The constitution says that the presiding officer of the Senate "shall open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted", but it does not say who is to do the counting. In 1876 the Senate was RepubUcan and the House was Demo- cratic. Two sets of certificates had been sent to Washington. In November and the months following there was much excitement throughout the coun- try, and some persons thought of attempting to seat Mr. Tilden by force. To suppress any disorder. President (^.rant strengthened the military forces around the capital. In this action the Democrats perceived an attempt at intimidation. So grave was the situation that Congress decided lo submit the dis- puted points to an l-'-lcctonil Comiuission. This v.-as to consist of five United States senators, five repre- sentatives, and five justices of the United Slates .Supreme Court. There were three Republican and two
