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liberation, the convention agreed to a frame of government for the United States, and recommended it to the several states for adoption.

Of the Ratification of the Federal Government. The states referred the question of adopting the frame of government, to conventions appointed for that express purpose. On that occasion popular jealousy appeared in all its force. It was objected, that the plan of government proposed, abridged the states of their sovereignty, and amounted to a consolidation. This was a fruitful theme of declamation, notwithstanding all the calamities that had arisen from the jealousies and clashing interests of the states, and a want of uniformity in public measures. Many other objections were urged, especially in the large states. At length however, the proposed frame of federal government was accepted and ratified in 1787, by eleven states, and became the constitution of the United States. The first convention in North Carolina rejected it; as did the town meetings to which it was referred in Rhode Island. But North Carolina acceded to it in November 1789, and Rhode Island in May 1790. The ratification of the constitution was eelebrated in the large cities, with great joy and splendid exhibitions A ship, the emblem of commerce, and stages for mechanical labour, the emblems of manufactures, were mounted on wheels and drawn through the streets, attended by immense processions of citizens arranged according to their professions; while bands of music, streaming flags and the roar of cannon, manifested the enthusiasm with which the people received the authority of the national gov

ernment.

Of the Organization of the New Constitution. According to the constitution, the several states elected their delegates to the congress, and by a unanimous vote, general Washington was elected the first president. With deep regret, that distinguished citizen was compelled, by the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens, to leave his beloved retirement, and accept the high office of supreme magistrate. On

the 30th of April 1789, he was inaugurated, President of the United States. The ceremony was performed in the open gallery of the city hall in NewYork, in presence of a countless multitude of spectators; where the oath was administered to him by the chancellor of the state of New-York. The importance of the act, the novelty of the scene, the dig nity of the general's character, the gravity of his. manner and the reverence with which he bowed to kiss the sacred volume, impressed upon the transaction a solemnity never before witnessed in America.

SECTION XV.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Of the Situation of the United States.

THE territory of the United States lies in the temperate or variable climate of North America, between the thirty-first and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude and the sixty third and ninety-seventh degrees of longitude west from Greenwich, in England

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Of the Northern Boundary of the United States. The nothern limit of the United States is, a line beginning at a point due north of the source of the eastern branch of the river Scoodue, on the high lands which divide the rivers which fall into the Atlantic on one side, and the river Iroquois or St Lawrence on the other; thence extending along the highlands to the north-west-most head of Connecticut river; thence down the middleof that river to the forty-fifth degree of latitude, and running in that latitude to the Iroquois; thence along the middle of that river and of the great lakes to the

lake of the woods and from the north-west most point of that lake, due west to the Missisippi *

Of the other Limits of the United States. The western limit of the United States is, a line drawn along the middle of the Missisippi to the termination of the thirty first degree of north latitude. The southern limit is a line drawn due east in the said thirty-first degree of latitude, from the Missisippi to the river Apalachicola, or Catahochy, and along the middle of that river to its junction with Flint river; thence a strait line to the head of the river St. Mary, and down the middle of that river to the Atlantic. The eastern limit of the United States is, a line drawn from the mouth of the Scooduc along the middle of the river to the source of its eastern branch, and thence a due north line to the highlands; and the shore of the main landfrom that river to St. Mary; but the jurisdiction of the United States extends to all the islands lying in the Atlantic, within twenty leagues of the main land.

Of the Extent of the United States. The length of the United States from north to south is, on an average, one thousand miles-the breadth, on the north line, is fifteen hundred miles and on the south, seven hundred; giving an area or surface of more than one thousand miles square, and containing at least six hundred and forty millions of acres. Of this area, it is estimated that water covers about fifty millions of acres, which leaves five hundred and ninety millions of acres of land

Of the Climate of the United States. With respect to climate, the Atlantic states may be divided into three regions. The first or northern region comprehends that part of the territory, lying north of the beginning of the fortieth degree of latitude in which there is a predominance of cold and severe frost in winter.

This

*Late discoveries prove that the northern sources of the Missisippi are far south of a west line from the lake of the woods, so that a part of the western limit of the United States is not defined by the treaty of peaceTM made in 1783.

VOL. II.

region includes the states of New-Hampshire, Ver mont, Massachusetts, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, NewYork, and a part of New-Jersey and Pennsylvania. The second or middle region comprehends the territory from the fortieth to the thirty-seventh degree of lati tude, in which the weather of winter is very variable, and subject to continual alterations of frost and rain. This region includes a part of New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The third or southern region, from the thirty-seventh to the thirty-first degree of latitude, and including the Carolinas and Georgia, has a predominance of mild weather in winter, though it is not exempt from occasional frosts.

Of the Temperature of the Several Regions. The United States are subject to the extremes of heat and cold. The winters in the northern region usually commence in December and end in February. The earth is covered with snow, and the rivers with ice from eight to twelve weeks But in hard winters, the frost begins about the middle or latter part of November and ends in March. In mild winters, there is no severe frost of many days continuance, and little snow-In the middle region, the frost is less steady, though often severe. In ordinary winters, the rivers are occasionally obstructed with ice, but not for a great length of time, and snow is of short duration. In hard winters, the rivers in this region are covered with a bridge of ice, for six or eight weeks. In the southern region, the frosts of an ordinary winter are very in considerable, and snow is scarcely seen In hard winters frost and snow continue sometimes for several days and even weeks.

Of the number of severe Winters. Winters of the utmost severity seldom exceed four or five in a hundred years. Those which are less severe, but which may be called cold winters, are one third or at least a fourth of the whole number. Very mild winters, in which there is little frost and snow in the northern region, are nearly as rare as very hard winters These remarks are applicable to all parts of the territory of the United States, east of the mountains. On the west of the

mountains, the weather is milder in the same latitudes, and storms of wind, rain, and snow, less frequent and violent.

Of the Temperature of the Summer Heut. In all parts of the United States, the heat of summer is very great. In the southern region, the summer commences in April or May, and ends in October or November. In the middle and northern regions, the heat of summer begins in May or June, and ends in September, or in the northern part of the territory, in August. In the more northerly parts of the United States, frost is seen in almost every month of the year. In general, the winters in America, are as cold in the fortieth degree of latitude, as they are in Europe in the fiftieth.

Of Spring and Autumn. The spring of the year is marked with very variable weather, in every part of the United States. Warm days succeeded by cold nights, alternately thawing and freezing the surface of the earth; bleak westerly winds, followed by warm humid winds from the south, or damp chilly winds from the east, distinguish the months of March and April- and frequently the first weeks in May are distinguished by almost constant easterly rains. Autumn is a far more pleasant season. From the latter part of September to the middle of November, sometimes much later, the weather is temperate and dry, and to the blessings of abundant crops, is added a serene sky, which enables the farmer to collect and secure the fruits of the earth.

Of the proportion of Dry Weather. America is remarkable for a great proportion of dry weather. About two hundred and fifty days in the year, on an average, are nearly unclouded. The days which are mostly cloudy, do not exceed seventy or eighty; and those in which rain or snow falls the whole day, are scarcely half the number.

Of the Winds. The winds most prevalent in the Atlantic States are from the westward-in winter they are north-westerly, and in summer, south-westerly. These are dry winds, and especially the north-westerly winds, which are accompanied with a rapid evaporation,

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