Till this time we had always claimed that Louisiana extended across Texas as far as the Rio Grande. By the treaty this claim was given up, and the boundary became the Sabine River from the Gulf of Mexico to 32°, then a north line to the Red River; westward along this river to the 100th meridian; then northward to the Arkansas River, and westward to its source in the Rocky Mountains; then a north line to 42°, and then along that parallel to the Pacific Ocean.1 298. Russian Claims on the Pacific. The Oregon country was thus restricted to 42° on the south, and though it had no limit on the north the Emperor of Russia (in 1822) undertook to fix one at 51°, which he declared should be the south boundary of Alaska. Oregon was thus to extend from 42° to 51°, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. But Russia had also founded a colony in California, and seemed to be preparing to shut the United States from the Pacific coast. Against all this John Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State, protested, telling the Russian minister that European powers no longer had a right to plant colonies in either North or South America. 299. The Holy Allies and the South American Republics.—This was a new doctrine, and while the United States and Russia were discussing the boundary of Oregon, it became necessary to make another declaration regarding the rights of European powers in the two Americas. Ever since 1793, when Washington issued his proclamation of neutrality (p. 206), the policy of the United States had been to take no part in European wars, nor meddle in European politics. This had been asserted repeatedly by Washington, Jefferson, and Monroe,2 and during all the wars from 1793 to 1815 had been carefully adhered to. It was supposed, of course, that if we did not meddle in the affairs of the Old World nations, 1 McMaster's History of the People of the United States, Vol. IV., pp. 457-480. 2 See Washington's Farewell Address; Jefferson's Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801; also his message to Congress, Oct. 17, 1803; Monroe's Inaugural Address, March 4, 1817, and messages, Dec. 2, 1817, Nov. 17, 1818, Nov. 14, 1820; see also American History Leaflets, No. 4. they would not interfere in affairs over here. But about 1822 it seemed likely that they would interfere very seriously. Beginning with 1810, the Spanish colonies of Mexico and South America (Chile, Peru, Buenos Ayres, Colombia) rebelled, formed republics, and in 1822 were acknowledged as free and independent powers by the United States. Spain, after vainly attempting to subdue them, appealed for help to the powers of Europe, which in 1815 had formed a Holy Alliance for the purpose of maintaining monarchical government. For a while these powers (Russia, Prussia, Austria, France) held aloof. But in 1823 they decided to help Spain to get back her old colonies, and invited Great Britain to attend a Congress before which the matter was to be discussed. But Great Britain had no desire to see the little republics destroyed, and in the summer of 1823, the British Prime Minister asked the American minister in London if the United States would join with England in a declaration warning the Holy Allies not to meddle with the South American republics. Thus, just at the time when Adams was protesting against European colonization in the Northwest, England suggested a protest against European meddling in the affairs of Spanish America. The opportunity was too good to be lost, and Adams succeeded in persuading President Monroe to make a protest in behalf of the nation against both forms of European interference in American affairs. Monroe thought it best to make the declaration independent of Great Britain, and in his annual message to Congress, December 2, 1823, he announced three great guiding principles now known as the 300. Monroe Doctrine. · 1. Taking up the matter in dispute with Russia, he declared that the American continents were no longer open to colonization by European nations. Referring to the conduct of the Holy Allies, he said, 2. That the United States would not meddle in the political affairs of Europe. 3. That European governments must not extend their system to any part of North or South America, nor oppress, nor in any other manner seek to control the destiny of any of the nations of this hemisphere.1 1 McMaster's With the Fathers, pp. 1-54; Tucker's Monroe Doctrine. The protest was effectual. The Holy Allies did not meddle in South American affairs, and the next year (1824) Russia agreed to make no settlement south of 54° 40'. SUMMARY 1. At the presidential election of 1816 the Federalist party, for the last time, voted for a presidential candidate. Party politics were dead, and the "era of good feeling" opened. 2. Many important matters which were not settled by the Treaty of Ghent were disposed of: A. The forty-ninth parallel was made the boundary from a point south of the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains. B. Oregon was held in joint occupation. C. The line 54° 40' was established. 3. The boundary between the United States and the Spanish possessions was drawn, and Florida was acquired. 4. The Monroe doctrine was announced. SOME RESULTS OF THE WAR. End of the European war. Death of the Federalist Disappearance of old party issues. The Holy Allies. The South American republics. The Monroe Doctrine. Proposal of the Holy Allies to reduce the South American republics. The Monroe Doctrine announced (1823). CHAPTER XXI THE RISING WEST 301. Rush into the West. - The settlement of our boundary disputes, especially with Spain, was most timely, for even then people were hurrying across the mountains by tens of thousands, and building up new states in the Mississippi valley. The great demand for ships and provisions, which from 1793 to 1807 had made business so brisk, had kept people on the seaboard and given them plenty of employment. But after 1812, and particularly after 1815, trade, commerce, and business on the seaboard declined, work became scarce, and men began to emigrate to the West, where they could buy land from the government on the installment plan, and where the states could not tax their farms until five years after the government had given them a title deed. Old settlers in central New York declared they had never seen so many teams and sleighs, loaded with women, children, and household goods, traveling westward, bound for Ohio, which was then but another name for the West. and As the year wore away, the belief was expressed that when autumn came it would be found that the worst was over, that the good times expected to follow peace would keep people on the seaboard. But the good times did not return. The condition of trade and commerce, of agriculture and manufactures, grew worse instead of better, and the western movement of population became greater than ever. 302. Rapid Growth of Towns.-Fed by this never-ending stream of newcomers, the West was almost transformed. Towns grew and villages sprang up with a rapidity which even |