of the Great North-western Territory. After Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois had been severally detached, the remainder, in 1805, became a distinct territory, the first Governor of which was General Hull, by appointment of President Jefferson. Michigan suffered much from the war of 1812. For about two years nearly the whole territory was the theater of sanguinary conflicts. It was exposed to the barbarity of the enemy and their Indian allies. Since then, however, its enterprising inhabitants have brought it up to a degree of improvement which few States of its age can boast. Its strength was offered the Government in 1861, and it continues as well as it began. Its population, in 1860, was 749,113. IOWA. It was This State derives its name from the Indians. included in the Louisiana purchase. It was first settled at Dubuque, by the French, in the year 1686. This settlement, however, does not seem to have been permanent, nor productive of any real good to the territory. In 1833 Burlington was settled by emigrants from the eastern States. It formed a part of Missouri from 1804 to 1821, when it was included in Michigan Territory. It subsequently belonged to Wisconsin Territory. It was admitted into the Union March 3d, 1845. It is a highly prosperous State, having a vast extent of rich soil and excellent pasturage. It is faithful to the Union; placed itself in the front rank at the commencement of the Rebellion. TEXAS. The territory of Texas was explored by Ponce de Leon and La Salle. After Mexico became independent of Spain, a grant which had been made to Moses Austin, a native of Connecticut, comprising a large tract of this province, was confirmed by the new Republic; and, being transferred by Moses Austin, at his death, to his son, Stephen, was subsequently enlarged by a further grant. Emigration from the United States was encouraged, and in 1830 nearly ten thousand Americans were settled in Texas. The prosperity of these inhabitants excited the jealousy of Mexico, and under the administration of Santa Anna, an unjust, oppressive policy was adopted toward Texas. Remonstrance proving useless, the people of the territory declared themselves independent. The revolution began in 1835, by a battle at Gonzales, in which five hundred Texans defeated over one thousand Mexicans. Other engagements followed, the result of which was the dispersion of the Mexican army. Santa Anna now redoubled his efforts, and appearing in March, 1835, with a force of eight thousand men, several bloody battles followed. On the 21st of April, having under his immediate command one thousand and five hundred men, he was met by General Sam. Houston, with eight hundred men, and totally defeated, on the banks of the San Jacinto. Santa Anna himself was captured the next day in the woods, when he acknowledged the independence of Texas, though the Mexican Congress refused to ratify the act. Active hostilities, however, were now abandoned, and the independence of Texas was acknowledged by the United States, Great Britain, and other European countries. It was in this condition of things that Texas was annexed to the United States. On the 24th of December, 1845, it was admitted into the Union, which act was ratified by the Texan Legislature, July 4th, 1846. But Mexico, still regarding Texas as a revolted province, refused to acknowledge the validity of this measure. The result was a war between Mexico and the United States, which terminated on the 2d of February, 1848, in a treaty by which the latter power, in consideration of the payment of a debt of $3,500,000, due from Mexico to the citizens of Texas, acquired New Mexico, Texas, and California. The progress of Texas from this time till the eve of the great Rebellion, was almost unprecedented, no less than twenty-five thousand Germans having emigrated to that State in five years' time. These, however, owing to the jealousy aroused against them by their having demonstrated the superiority of free labor, even in a slave State, were obliged to migrate to Mexico in the year 1860. By this and other oppressive acts on the part of the advocates of slavery, Texas, purchased by the blood and treasure of the United States, was driven into the whirlpool of secession, March 4th, 1861. Its population, in 1860, was 604,215. The first settlement within its borders was made by the Spaniarde, at St. Antonia de Bexar, in 1690. WISCONSIN Was admitted into the Union May 29th, 1848. It was a part of the extensive territory ceded by France to Great Britain in the treaty of 1763. At the close of the Revolution it was given up by Great Britain to the United States. It was erected into a territory in 1836, the portion now forming the State of Iowa being detached in 1838. Its natural resources are extraordinary, the climate being very healthful, and the soil unsurpassed in fertility. It was settled in the year 1669, at Green Bay, by the French. It is thoroughly loyal to the Union. In 1860, it had a population of 775,881. MINNESOTA Lies north of Iowa, and extends to the Canadian boundary. On the north-east it touches Lake Superior, and, to the west, is bounded by Dakotah Territory. It comprises the head waters of the Mississippi, and abounds in rivers and lakes, teeming with fish. Its soil is highly prolific, and its forests are among the finest in the world. Its name is derived from Minnisotah, the Indian name of St. Peter's River. Primarily discovered by La Salle, it, for some years, belonged to the French, and at a very early period was traversed by their traders and soldiers. It was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of 1763, and to the United States at the peace of 1783. It received a territorial government in 1849, and was admitted into the Union in May, 1858. It has still, within its borders, several bands of the Chippewas, with whom considerable trouble has been experienced since the breaking out of the rebellion. It is, however, a thrifty, growing State, and is thoroughly loyal. It was settled in 1846, at St. Paul, by emigrants from the eastern States. OREGON Was admitted into the Union in the year 1859. It, primarily, included Washington Territory, and, with the latter, comprised the extensive tract lying between the British Possessions, on the north, and California, on the south; the Rocky Mountains, on the east, and the Pacific Ocean, on the west. The coasts of this region were discovered by the Spaniards in the 16th century. In 1792, Capt. Grey, of Boston, discovered and entered the Columbia River, and thus the United States acquired the right of sovereignty over the territory. The exploration of the country from the Missouri to the Columbia, by Lewis and Clark, government appointees, in 1804-5-6, strengthened this claim. The British, however, laid claim to the northern part of the territory, which gave rise to a threatening dispute between Great Britain and the United States. But the difficulty was adjusted by a treaty in 1846, establishing the boundary of 49°, north latitude. The State still contains the Flathead, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Shoshane, and other tribes of Indians, who are, for the most part, in the savage state, though the Christian missionaries have done much in the way of civilizing a portion of them. The furs of this region, those of the badger, beaver, bear, fisher-fox, lynx, martin, mink, muskrat, etc., have long been a great source of revenue. The American fur companies established trading posts in Oregon at an early period, that of Astoria being founded in 1810, under the auspices of the late John Jacob Astor, of New York. It was settled, at Astoria, by emigrants from the Eastern States, in the year 1811. Its population amounted to 52,465 in 1860. KANSAS. About the development of this young State cluster some of the most important events of American history. Its territorial organization, by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, in 1854, re-opened the agitation of the slavery question, which seeming to have acquired fresh vigor and virulence from the sleep it had enjoyed under the Missouri Com promise, thoroughly aroused the old animosities between the pro and antislavery elements of our national politics. From 1854 to 1857 it was the theater of political tragedies, the bare mention of which may well put the blush of shame upon even the most fool-hardy partisan; and the historian has well said that these dire afflictions might have been expected when the bill organizing Kansas Territory was passed. No sooner was it decided that this territory was open alike to the abolitionist and the slave-holder, than the Emigrant Aid Societies of New England and the pro-slavery organizations of the South began pouring streams of settlers into it of opposite political views, entertaining the most hostile feelings, each party toward the other; and, as the legitimate result, came a civil war, which lasted about two years, and which, in some of its incidents would have shamed even savages. The Territory made application to Congress, in 1857, for a place in the Union, but the Constitution under which it asked admission (the one framed at Lecompton) was known to be a fraudulent affair, and hence Kansas was rejected. The discussion of this Constitution caused a permanent division of the Democratic party. The Constitution was rejected by the people of Kansas by a majority of 10,000. Kansas was, however received into the Union, in 1861, under a free State Constitution, formed at Topeka. CALIFORNIA Was admitted into the Union on the 7th of September, 1850. The alarming discussion which occured upon the question of admission was what gave rise to the compromise measures of 1850, popularly styled the Omnibus Bill. The measures are presented in detail in another part of this work. General Fremont, with a small but dauntless band of rangers, conquered California in 1846, having defeated, on frequent occasions, vastly superior forces of Mexicans, Its resources as a farming country early attracted attention. But when, in February, 1848, it was published that gold in quantities had been found on a branch of the Sacramento, the swarm of emigrants which rushed in, comprising representatives from every State in the Union, and from nearly |