History of Kansas (Holloway 1868)/Chapter 2
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF LOUISIANA CONTINUED—1541-1854
The company began their work by laboring to increase the settlement of Louisiana. A wonderful interest was awakened in France by artfully circulating reports of the gold and silver mines in the Mississippi valley. The stock of the company was soon in great demand. A company of eight hundred emigrants is shipped over and the city of New Orleans is laid out. Great expectations are awakened both in France and Louisiana of the future greatness and grandeur of the province, and for the first time the pulsations of life begin to throb vigorously in the little colony.
But the prosperity was not real. It was awakened by the financial flush, springing from the erroneous and ephemeral money theory of John Law. The financial gloom having spread over France, it extends to the colony, and the bright prospect vanishes. Louisiana is in but little better condition than when she passed into the hands of the company. The members of the company held their charter until 1733, when, wearied with their burden, surrendered it.
Though the company did not accomplish for the colony all that it and others expected, still it is entitled to credit for what it did. Under its auspices the colony had been increased to 5,000 white and 2,000 black, inhabitants—the latter having been shipped from Africa and sold for one hundred and seventy-six dollars apiece on three years credit. The vast territory had been divided into nine districts and settlements; factories and store-houses had been established in each; the attention of the colonists had been drawn from the unprofitable search for gold, to the importance of agriculture; the culture of rice, indigo and tobacco had been introduced, and figs and oranges were growing in luxuriant abundance; communication and commerce had been opened with the Indies and Canada; in short, the colony had been brought into a condition of self support.
On the reversion of Louisiana to the King, he began the chastisement of the Indians, who had been instigated to deeds of violence by the English and Spaniards. One powerful tribe, the Natches, was utterly annihilated, and the Chicasaws severely punished.
The territory claimed by the French under the name of Louisiana was immense. Beginning to the east, midway between Pensacola and Mobile, the boundary ran north to the head waters of the Ohio. Every rivulet whose waters ran to the Mississippi was claimed by the French. “Half a mile,” says Bancroft, “from the head of the southern branch of the Savannah River is a spring, which flows to the Mississippi; strangers who drank of it would say that they had tasted of French waters.” Beginning at the south-west on the Rio del Norte and ascending on a line of the ridge that divides it from the Red River, the boundary extended along this ridge to the Gulf of California. On the north-west, the boundary line between the Hudson Bay Company was not fixed. On the north-east it was bounded by Canada.
It must not be supposed that while the French were thus exploring, taking possession of, and settling so vast a country, that the Spaniards and English were wholly ignorant of, or indifferent to, their operations. Both nations had watched the French with a jealous eye and envied their success. The Spaniards had at one time destroyed a settlement at the Isle of Dauphine and frequently harassed the colonists. From the discovery of the continent, England had claimed all territory from sea to sea. In 1684 and 1726 she had purchased all the land laying north-west of the Ohio from the Six Nations, who claimed to hold it. As early as 1724 English settlers were found along the Ohio River.—Upon these grounds England based a claim to this country, and the Governor of Virginia had repeatedly called the attention of the legislators to the importance of protecting their claim against the encroachments of the French.
It was not until 1748 that anything was done by the English to openly assert their right to the territory. It was then resolved that the most effectual way to secure their possessions was to settle them. The Ohio company was organized with a grant of a half a million acres of land and several other companies of a similar nature were formed. These sent out emigrants, established settlements, opened farms, built store-houses and began a traffic with the Indians.
The Governor of Canada learning the movements of the British, caused inscriptions to be made upon plates of lead, setting forth the fact that the territory belonged to France, and had them placed on stakes in different parts of the disputed possessions. But this effort to stay the encroachment of the English proving futile, an irregular warfare was begun between the French settlers and their allies—the Indians—on the one side, and the English settlers on the other, until finally one neighborhood of the latter was utterly destroyed.
Meanwhile the Governor of Canada constructs military roads and forts in different parts of the territory. The executive of Virginia learning of the sad destruction of an English settlement on the banks of the Ohio by the French and their other warlike demonstrations, despatched a messenger (Geo. Washington) to the commander of one of the French forts to inquire what business he had upon his Majesty's domains and require his removal from the territory. This messenger having met with a decided refusal by the French General to comply with these requisitions, an open rupture soon took place between the two nations. The war which followed—commonly known as the French war—I have not space to treat of in detail. It lasted for nine years, first in America, then in Europe, and was terminated, in 1763, by the treaty of Paris.
This treaty ceded from France to England Canada, Nova Scotia and the Island of Cape Breton, with their dependencies; fixed the boundary between the dominions of the two nations by a line drawn along the middle of the river Mississippi from its source to the river Iberville, and from thence by a line drawn along the middle of this river and the lakes Maurepas and Ponchartrain, to the sea, and withdrew all claim on the part of France to any territory east of the Mississippi. The vast territory, thus acquired by England west of the Alleghanies, was divided out among the colonies along the Atlantic coasts and held by them by charters from their mother country until after their independence.
Spain, who had stood aloof from the conflict of the two nations until she had seen the vast territory in America wrested from France, alarmed at the increasing greatness of Britain and the danger of losing her own possessions across the Atlantic, in 1762, determined to make common cause with France, and declared war against England. But by this step she suffered what she sought to avert; for before another year had passed, she, with France, was compelled to treat for peace by relinquishing Florida in favor of England.
But France undervaluing her remnant of Louisiana, ceded it, in 1764, to Spain as a compensation for her loss of Florida. Thus the vast and fertile territory included in Canada and Louisiana, which had awakened dazzling hopes in France by the greatness of its prospects, and which had cost her so much solicitude, expense and misfortune, was swept from her by the fortune of war.
This cession of Louisiana to Spain was not made known to the inhabitants for a time; but when the rumor reached them, it awakened a general dissatisfaction among the colonists; for they were intensely French, and nothing could be more odious to them than Spanish rule. When Spain did take possession of Louisiana, it was in such a way as to exasperate the excited inhabitants, and the policy she pursued, was one not calculated to win their affection. It was years before the machinery of government was fully established and worked with smoothness.
In 1776, the thirteen colonies east of the Alleghanies declared their separation from England, and by a long and hard struggle maintained it. After the establishment of the general government, they ceded their respective claims to territory in the west, to the sovereignty of the United States. This broad expanse of country lying between the Alleghany mountains and the Mississippi river, once a part of Louisiana, was divided up into districts by Congress, which were organized under territorial government, and, in a constitutional way, successively admitted into the Union as states with the names they now bear.
In this great American revolution, which resulted in the independence of the English colonies, Spain employed about the same tactics as in the former war, but with better success. France had repeatedly solicited her to join the cause of the colonies against Britain, but fearing the effects of their independence upon her adjoining possessions, she observed a strict neutrality, hoping to be able to accomplish more by diplomacy than by a resort to arms. She offered herself as a mediator between the belligerent powers, to which France acceded, but England peremptorily refused to acknowledge the independence of her subjects across the ocean, whereupon Spain joined (1779) heartily in the strife, doing much mischief to England by her maritime strength. The colony of Louisiana, rejoicing at the opportunity of revenging her suffering during the last war, raised fourteen thousand men, under the command of Galvez, and took possession of the East and the West Floridas. By the treaty of peace which England was compelled to make this time, all the territory east of the Mississippi, below the thirty-first degree of latitude, was ceded to Spain.
The treaty between the United States and Spain in, 1795, conceded to the former the free navigation of the Mississippi, the right of deposit at New Orleans, and fixed the boundary of the two dominions east of the Mississippi on the thirty-first degree of north latitude, deviating slightly from it towards the Atlantic.
From 1793 to 1797 efforts were made by the agents of France and Spain to prevail upon the people of the south-western territory to separate from the United States, and, with Louisiana in connection with these two powers, form an independent government west of the Alleghany mountains. Genet, the Minister of the French Republic, first fermented the idea, and even went so far as to enlist the sympathies and co-operation of the western people. But his government discovering his acts and recalling him, the United States establishing a strong military force in the West, squelched the movement. Garondolet, the governor of Louisiana, sought to attain the same object. He refused to give up certain posts that fell to the United States by the treaty, and embarrassed the navigation of the Mississippi. He sent secret agents into Ohio and Kentucky and sought to bribe over commanders of military posts to his interests; but finding them incorruptible, his project failed.
Therefore, when the United States ascertained through her Minister at Paris, Mr. Livingston, that the whole of Louisiana had been re-troceded to France by the secret treaty of Ildefonso (1800), as might be expected, was greatly alarmed. While impotent Spain had held dominion there, she had experienced great danger; still more was she imperilled when ambitious and powerful France established herself in so strong and commanding position.
The sagacious Jefferson, then President, comprehending the peril of his country's situation, like a wise and skillful statesman, by one of the most celebrated and strategic strokes of American diplomacy, steered the ship of State free of danger. Though the future seemed lowering, the present he augured propitious.—France suffering from a long and disastrous war with England and an impoverished treasury, was in no condition to resist a determined overture from the United States for the possession of Louisiana. Jefferson, accordingly, dispatched instructions to the United States Minister at Paris, to represent to the First Consul that the occupation of New Orleans by France would endanger the friendly relations between the two nations, and, perhaps, even oblige the United States to make common cause with England; as the possession of this city by the former, by giving her the command of the Mississippi, the only outlet to the produce of the Western States, and also the Gulf of Mexico, so important to American commerce, would render it almost certain that the conflicting interests of the two nations would lead to an open rupture. Mr. Livingston, the Minister, was instructed to negotiate not only for the free navigation of the Mississippi, but for the acquisition of New Orleans and the territory itself.
Bonaparte, on receiving these representations from the Minister of the United States, summoned a conference with two of his ministers who had resided in Louisiana, and opened it with these words: “I am fully sensible of the value of Louisiana, and it is my wish to repair the error of the French diplomatists, who abandoned it in 1763. I have scarcely recovered it, before I run the risk of losing it; but, if I am obliged to give it up, it shall hereafter cost more to those who force me to part with it, than to those to whom I yield it. The English have despoiled France of all her northern possessions, and now they covet those of the south. I am determined that they shall not have the Mississippi. Although Louisiana is but a trifle compared with their vast possessions in other parts of the globe, yet, judging from the vexation which they have manifested on seeing it return to the power of France, I am certain that their first object will be to gain possession of it. They will probably commence war in that quarter. They have twenty vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, and affairs in St. Domingo are daily getting worse since the death of Le Clerc. The conquest of Louisiana might be easily made, and I have not a moment to lose in putting it out of their reach. I am not sure but that they have already begun the attack upon it. Such a measure would be in accordance with their habits, and in their place, I should not wait. I am inclined in order to deprive them of all prospects of ever possessing it, to cede it to the United States. Indeed, I cannot say I cede it, for I hardly possess it; and if I wait but a short time, my enemies will leave me nothing but an empty title to grant to the republic I wish to conciliate. They only ask for the city of Louisiana, but I consider the whole colony lost; and I believe in the hands of this rising power, it will be more useful to the political, and even the commercial interest of France, than if I should attempt to retain it.”
After inquiring from both for their opinions on the subject and debating the matter for a long time, he dismissed the conference without making known his determination. On the following day, calling his chief minister, he said: “The season for deliberation is over; I have determined to renounce not only New Orleans, but the whole colony. * * * I commission you, therefore, to negotiate this affair with the envoys of the United States. Do not wait for the arrival of Mr. Monroe; but go this very day and confer with Mr. Livingston. Remember, however, I want ample funds for carrying on the war, and I do not want to commence it by levying new taxes. For the last century France and Spain have incurred great expenses in the improvement of Louisiana, for which her trade has never indemnified us. Large sums have been advanced to different companies which have never returned to the treasury. It is fair that I should require payment for these. Were I to regulate my demands by the importance of this territory to the United States, they would be unbounded; but, being obliged to part with it, I shall be moderate in my terms. Still remember, I must have fifty millions of francs and will not consent to take less. I would rather make some desperate effort to preserve this fine country.”
After some considerable correspondence between the ministers of the two republics, and quibbling about the price, the purchase was effected by the United States for sixteen million dollars, four millions of which was to be paid to American merchants to indemnify them for losses from French privateers. The treaty was signed on the 3d of May, 1803, and ratified by Congress on the twentieth of the following October; the most essential provisions of which, bearing upon our subject, are here inscribed:
“Article 1.—Whereas, by the article the third of the treaty concluded at St. Ildefonso, the 9th Vendimiaire, an 9, (October 1, 1800,) between the First Consul of the French Republic and his Catholic Majesty, it is agreed as follows: His Catholic Majesty promises and engages on his part to retrocede to the French republic, six months after the full and entire execution of the conditions and stipulations herein to his royal highness, the Duke of Parma, the colony or province of Louisiana, with the same extent it now has in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France possessed it, and such as it should be after the treaties entered into between Spain and other States; And, Whereas, in pursuance of the treaty, and especially the third article, the French Republic has an incontestable title to the domain and possession of said territory: The First Consul of the French Republic, desiring to give to the United States a strong proof of his friendship, doth hereby cede to the United States, in the name of the French Republic, forever, and in full sovereignty, the said territory and all its appurtenances, as fully and in the same manner as they have been acquired by the French Republic, in virtue of the above mentioned treaty concluded with his Catholic Majesty.
“Article 3. The inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States, and admitted, as soon as possible, to all the rights, advantages and immunities of the citizens of the United States; and, in the meantime, they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and the religion which they prefer.”
Immediately after the accession of Louisiana, the President dispatched Generals Wilkinson and Claiborne to take possession of it in behalf of the United States. On their arrival at New Orleans the star-spangled banner supplanted the tri-colored flag of France. By an act of Congress the same year, it was divided into two unequal parts: the one extending from the thirty-third degree of latitude to the Gulf of Mexico, under the name of the Territory of Orleans; the other embraced the remaining portion of the cession, and was called the District of Louisiana.
The following year the Territory of Orleans passed under the second grade of government. In those days there were two distinct conditions which organized territory could occupy. In the first they were governed by a governor, judges and secretary, appointed by the President; in the second, besides these officers, they had a council appointed by the President and Senate of the United States, and a House of Representatives, chosen and elected by the people. In 1811 the Territory of Orleans having complied with the necessary requisitions, was constituted a State in the Federal Union, under the name of Louisiana. The Territory of Louisiana was under the jurisdiction of the Governor and judges of Indiana Territory the first year, but in 1805 was admitted to the first grade of government; in 1811 to the second, under the name of Missouri, and in 1820 it was made one of the United States of America.
The narrow skirt of coast along the Gulf of Mexico, below the thirty-first degree of latitude, was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1818, and was annexed to the States immediately above it.
The territories of Texas, Arkansas, Iowa and Minnesota were in turn next organized, formed, and, in the usual way, admitted to the dignity, rights and privileges of independent States.
In 1854, by an act of Congress, the territories of Kansas and Nebraska were organized, a detailed account of which I will give in a subsequent chapter. Before I enter upon this branch of my subject, I desire to disclose the' gathering of the storm that burst upon the virgin soil of Kansas; but which, by discreet council, strong arms and brave hearts, was turned back to vent its fury on the nation.