When they had debts which they could not pay, they were thrown into prison.

For these reasons the people came to America to make new and better homes where they could live in freedom.

The first immigrants had a very hard time.

Often they did not have enough to eat.

They were in constant danger of being killed by wild animals and wild Indians.

They had to protect themselves as well as they were able.

Many immigrants kept coming, until in 1775 there were three million people living in the thirteen Colonies along the Atlantic coast.

Finally England took possession of the thirteen Colonies.

The King of England sent over officers to govern the Colonies.

The War for Independence

Most of the first immigrants got their living from the soil.

They became independent farmers. They owned their own land.

They had freedom in the new country. They were not like the peasants in Europe who had to obey their landlords.

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When the rulers of England saw how prosperous the Colonies were, they became jealous.

England passed unjust laws, placing taxes on the colonists.

But the colonists had no voice in the government which taxed them.

At last they refused to obey the laws of the English King.

A number of the leading men of the Colonies signed a statement that the Colonies should be independent.

This was called the Declaration of Independence. It was signed on July 4, 1776.

For seven years the Colonies fought hard for liberty and freedom.

They fought not a people but a king, for many people in England were in sympathy with the Americans.

The Colonies won the war for independence.

In this war George Washington was a great leader. He did much to win the war for the Colonies.

There were many foreign friends, too, who helped to win independence for this country.

From France came Lafayette.
From Poland came Kosciusko.
From Bavaria came DeKalb.

America will long remember these foreign friends of democracy.

The New Government

At first the new nation had many troubles. Many people wanted a strong central government. Others were afraid of a strong central government. They remembered how England had oppressed them before the war.

But George Washington and many great leaders did much to overcome these troubles. They said that people would not be safe unless a strong government could be established.

In a strong government there are laws.

Laws should protect all people equally.

The great leaders of the time laid the foundations of a government for the people and by the people. The new government was the first great republic in the world.

In 1789 we began life under our new Constitution. In another lesson we shall read more about the Constitution and how it was made.

George Washington became the first President of the United States.

He was elected by the people. He served two terms and then retired.

We have such men as Washington, Franklin, and

Jefferson to thank for the beginnings of our govern

ment.

LESSON 2

GREAT CHANGES IN AMERICAN LIFE

The Coming of the Machine

At the time the Colonies were settled, most of the people were farmers. They lived and worked on farms. They could make for themselves most of the things they needed.

Each farmer raised all the food needed by his fam

ily.

The housewife

and the daughters spun the yarn and made the clothing.

The farmer and his family were independent. They worked alone.

There were only a few large towns and even these were not like our great cities now.

There were no railroads, and wagon roads were bad.

The people of that time traveled very little.
There was not much chance to carry on trade.
Then great changes took place in the country.
Machines of all kinds were invented.

Machines for making cloth more rapidly and better were invented.

The steam engine came into use.
The steamboat was invented.
Railroads and canals were built.

Great factories brought workers to the towns. Before long, small towns grew to be great cities. If it had not been for these inventions, the big cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Cleveland would never have been built.

The machines changed the lives of the American people very much.

The early American was an independent man because he could make for himself all the things that he needed.

Now the people of America are all dependent upon one another.

They must work together or coöperate in order to make a living.