Excerpt from Our Country's Story: An Elementary History of the United States This book aims not at telling stories about the United States, but at giving a short, simple, connected account of our country from its discovery to the present day. Mindful of the pleasure that children take in knowing "why," and of their unfailing interest in biography, I have tried, as far as the limits of the book would permit, to note reasons as well as deeds; and, while avoiding everything of the nature of a biographical sketch, I have sought to arouse and encourage a feeling of friendly familiarity with the heroes of our nation. Though an introductory history must necessarily be limited in size, it is believed that there can be gained from this volume a definite knowledge of the main events in the history of our land, some idea of the causes of those events, and an acquaintance, sympathetic though slight, with the men who stood behind the events; and that the book will thus serve as an introduction to a later and more extended study of the growth and development of our country. Acknowledgment is due to General James Grant Wilson, the Lenox Library, Messrs. S. P. Avery, Jr., Walter Bailey Ellis, George A. Clough, Grover Flint, Charles Scribner's Sons, and The Century Company, for permission to reproduce a number of illustrations in this book. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.