AN AMERICAN HISTORY CHAPTER I OUR COUNTRY and, on the west, the wide Location. The United States occupies a central position among the countries of the world. To the north stretch the limits of Canada; on the east is the Atlantic Ocean, an open waterway to Europe; at the south are Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico; Pacific extending to the Orient. While our country has the natural advantages of a central location, the vast oceans give it a certain independence and general freedom from the petty and incessant political and commercial struggles of both Europe and Asia. The wide stretches of sea water on the eastern and western shores were among the causes that led to the independent national life of the American people, and gave them security against easy invasion. When Columbus and the explorers of his day set sail from Europe to seek a western water route to the Indies, they had no expectation of discovering a new continent. They believed that the Atlantic Ocean probably extended to China and India, and, while they were prepared to meet new and unusual people in strange surroundings, they were not anticipating the discovery of a new world, peopled with an unknown race, and the knowledge that another ocean lay between this land and the far East. For many years the real extent of the United States remained a mystery. Hundreds of explorers of different nationalities gave their lives to the work of discovery, and each in turn added to the fund of knowledge many strange stories of the rivers and lakes, mountains and valleys, woodlands and plains, swamps and deserts, until gradually the white race grew confident of the worth of this goodly land and made it their permanent home. Natural Advantages. The United States has the best commercial position of any of the countries in America, as it possesses the finest harbors along the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as those found on the Gulf of Mexico. For this reason, foreign ships have sought our ports and trade relations have been extended to all parts of the world. The long, navigable rivers extending into the interior of the country furnish waterways for transportation and invite inland settlements. The extent of the United States is so vast that every variety of climate common to the temperate zones is found. The different grades of altitude, from those that barely reach above sea level to those that rise thousands of feet, furnish opportunity for an endless variety of agricultural products. The magnificent forests yield an abundant supply of the most serviceable timber in the world, and the mountain ranges contain rich mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead. The American coal, oil, salt, and sulphur deposits are recognized as the greatest in the world, and the possibilities of its agricultural productions surpass the expectations of the most enthusiastic farmers. These natural advantages have materially aided in the growth of the American nation. Out of these surroundings has risen a nation of vigorous, intelligent people with a large capacity for caring for themselves and aiding others—people who look out upon life in a wholesome, open-minded way and who realize that where efforts of energy and earnest endeavor prevail, assured success follows. |