sand of them perished,-about a fourth of the whole. This was a flagrant instance of the cruelty with which the whites have treated the Indians.

Chicago Founded.-On the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan stood a small fortification named Fort Dearborn.

It had been taken by the British in 1812, and in 1831 was surrounded by about a dozen rude houses. In 1833 the settlement was named Chicago, from the Indian name of Chicago River. It then embraced something over five hundred inhabitants. In sixty years afterward it had more than a million inhabitants and was one of the largest cities in the world.

Steps of Progress.-Two new States were admitted during Jackson's administration,-Arkansas, in 1836, and Michigan, in 1837. It was a period of great industrial progress. Railroads had been introduced, and before the end of Jackson's second term two thousand miles of railroad had been built. Steam navigation was rapidly extending. In 1836, John Ericsson invented the screw-propeller, which has largely taken the place of the paddle-wheel in steam navigation. The McCormick reaper and the Nasmyth

steam-hammer were introduced. Gas was taking the place of oil and candles in city houses, water-works were replacing wells, and among the smaller but highly useful inventions were friction-matches, which first became known in 1829.

Political Changes. In 1832, Jackson had been re-elected President of the United States. He was still highly popular, and received two hundred and nineteen electoral votes, while Henry Clay, the National Republican candidate, received forty-nine. Martin Van Buren was elected VicePresident. In 1834 the National Republicans began to adopt a new name, calling themselves "Whigs." They claimed that Jackson was a kind of tyrant, whom they opposed as the Whigs of the Revolutionary period had opposed George III. A Southern party who opposed the President called themselves "State Rights Whigs."

The Election of 1836.-When the time for the next Presidential election came, Jackson declined to run again, and the Democrats, at his instigation, nominated Martin Van Buren, the Vice-President. The Whigs nominated William Henry Harrison, a soldier of the war of 1812. The State Rights Whigs nominated Hugh White. In the election the Democratic party again triumphed, electing Van Buren by one hundred and seventy electoral votes, against one hundred and twenty-four for the other candidates.

44. Van Buren's Administration.

Wild-Cat Banks.-Martin Van Buren1 had not been long in the Presidential chair before the effects of the policy of

1 Martin Van Buren was born in the State of New York in 1782. He studied law and early entered political life. In 1818 he became a leader in the New York Democracy, was elected United States senator

his predecessor made themselves felt. The overthrow of the United States Bank was followed by the establishment of a host of State banks, many of them without capital, and issuing notes which they were very unlikely to redeem. These became known as" wild-cat banks." Some of these State banks whose directors were in harmony with Jackson's views received deposits of government money. This money, as already said, soon made its way into the hands of borrowers and gave rise to a high tide of speculation. Land at first, and afterward almost everything, were speculated in, and paid for largely in the notes of the wild-cat banks.1

MARTIN VAN BUREN.

The Panic of 1837.-Much of the land bought was purchased from the government. When Jackson found that it was being paid for largely in notes that soon became worthless, an order was issued to the government agents to accept only gold in payment for public lands. This order precipitated a panic.

in 1821 and governor of New York in 1828. He was Secretary of State during Jackson's first term and Vice-President during his second. He was defeated for re-election to the Presidency in 1840 and in 1848. He died in 1862.

1 Men grew so eager in land speculation that they purchased freely of land they never had seen and never were likely to see. Town lots were bought at high prices in the far backwoods, and the sites of some of the Western cities-which existed only on paper-were six feet under water. In Dickens's story of "Martin Chuzzlewit" he gives an amusing description of one of these paper cities, dignified with the name of Eden.

It began in 1837, shortly after Van Buren took his seat, in the failure of a large New Orleans business house. Other failures quickly followed. Land was hastily offered for sale, but no one would buy it. Prices fell rapidly. In ten days a hundred New York merchants found their business ruined. Within two months the failures in that city alone reached the sum of one hundred million dollars.

The State bank notes came back in numbers for payment, but there was no gold or silver in the vaults to redeem them, and the banks began to fail in all directions. Gold and silver vanished from sight, and the government was forced to pay its debts in paper money.

The business depression that followed was one of the worst the country has ever known. Everywhere mills and factories stopped and workmen were thrown out of employment. The government was forced to suspend the payment of the surplus ordered to be divided among the States, and the fourth instalment of this was never paid.1

State Repudiation. The panic brought many of the States into trouble. Large sums had been borrowed in Europe for public improvements, such as canals and railroads, and seven of the States found it impossible to pay the interest on this debt, while one of them, Mississippi, refused to pay either interest or principal. American credit suffered a severe shock from this action.

The Sub-Treasury System.-The panic lasted for a year, but several years passed before business regained prosperity.

1 In 1837-38 there was a revolt in Canada against the British government which called forth much sympathy in the United States. Meetings were held and men and arms offered. This movement was checked by a proclamation from the President, and General Scott was sent to the border to watch events, an action which averted what might have led to a war with Great Britain.

One good result came from it. The President perceived the danger of depositing the government funds in irresponsible banks, and recommended to Congress the establishment of an independent treasury, or place of deposit for government money, at Washington, with branches, known as subtreasuries, in the chief cities.1

This system met with strong opposition. It was adopted in 1840, repealed in 1841, and adopted again in 1846. It has since remained in force. It has the one serious objection that it withdraws large sums of money from circulation. This, in times of financial disturbance, is found to cause serious trouble.

The Election of 1840.-The depression in business proved a severe blow to the Democratic party. Van Buren was renominated, and was opposed by William Henry Harrison as the Whig candidate. Harrison received two hundred and thirty-four electoral votes to sixty for Van Buren. There was an abolition candidate, James Birney, but he received no electoral votes.

1 The United States treasury is in the Treasury building at Wash-* ington. There are sub-treasuries in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Baltimore, New Orleans, and San Francisco.

2 Harrison had won the battle of Tippecanoe, had lived in a log cabin and drunk hard cider. Much was made of these facts in the campaign. He was called the "Hero of Tippecanoe," hard cider was a party watchword, and log cabins formed a prominent feature of the meetings and processions. He was called a man of the people, and Van Buren an aristocrat with a silver tea-service.