Mexico weekly ledger., 1879-04-10
U. 9, HISTORY.
of the United States

The Declaration of Independence
was put forth to the world on July
4th. 1916. 1t was put forth by the
Continental Congress, composed of
delegates from the old thirteen Eng
lish Colonies, and proclaimed to the
Our country is therefore, IN hun
dred and two years, eight months
and three days old, to this, the sev-
cnth day of March, one thousand
eight hundred and se~venty-nine.
The United States, at first, consisted
of belt of land along the
Atlantic Coast. Now it stretches
from British America On the North,
to Mexico, and the Gulf of Mexico
OH the South, the Atlantic ocean on
the East, to the Pacific on the
West. The area of the United States
al the last census was about 3,000,-
600 square miles, and the popula-
ton about &c, ZOO 900 inhabitants.
THE INVENTION, PRODUCTION AND DIS
TRIBUTIoN.
The principal inventions are as
follows: the lightning-rod invent
ed by Franklin the .cotton-gin in
vented by Eli Whitney, while in Sa-
.vannah, in 1892. Cotton soon be-
came the chief staple of five or six of
the Gulf states. About sixty mil
lion dollars worth of cotton was sent
out of these states annually. The
~taoy,hoaf mo S,,apfnI hu Pnhnrf
Fulton, September 4th, 1907. The
first steam engine was invented by
Stephenson, an Englishmah. The
electromagnetic telegraph was in
vented by Professor Samuel +. b.
Morse. The Atlantic-C Gable was
first put into operation in 1888,
superintendent by Cyrus w. Field.
The production of the United States
are chiefly corn, hemp, potatoes,
fax, fruits, barley, oats, etc. They
are about equally divided. In the
frigid grow hardly anything
except shrubbery. In the temper
ate m grow corn, hemp, fax, po-
tatoes, etc. Distribution is carried
on by can of commerce, and COM
merce is divided into two classes,
foreign and domestic. Foreign COM
merce is commerce carried on be
tween different countries. Domes-
tic commerce is commerce carried on
in the same country.
INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL PROGRESS.
The century has witnessed remarka-
BILE intellectual progress. During
colonial times Americans were al
most entirely dependent on the moth
err country for intellectual food.I used
accordingly, to be s~neeringiy asked,
"Who reads an American bookE"
1t would not be asked now, or, if it
were, it would be answered highly 10
the credit of the United States.
Men OF great understanding have
rose up from all sections and their
works are read and appreciated
throughout the civilized world.
Among historians may be named
Prescott, Bancroft and Motley.
Among poets may be named Bryant,
Whittier, Simms, Holmes, Poe and
Longfeilow. Among romance and
miscellaneous writer's may be named
Cooper, Hawthorn, Irving, Chan
ming and Legare. Among orators
may be named Webster, CLAY, Cal.
houn, Douglass, Choate, Seward
Prentice, Phillips, Everetts, Stephens
and Benton. In fine arts also, the
American school Of sculptors anC
painters stand very high. The news
paper is the peoples library. Ameri
cans are pre-eminently q newspape
reading people. There are over sew
en- thousand different newspapers ant
periodicals., printed in the Unite'
States. Some of these have a yer.
large circulation. The ten cylinde
printing press, another American in
ventions, prints thirty thousand sheet
en- hour. MOI is moral progress be
lived intellectual. Over fifty tkous
and churches minister to The spiritus
wants of the people. Missionary an
Bible societies do their work on
grand scale. Benevolent institution
of all kinds, as hospitals, orphan asy
lums, etc., have been established, ali
arc scattered throughout the entir
length and breadth CT the land
Your friend,
A. j. WINsCoTT.