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New World. By the beginning of the 17th century the Spaniards had discovered Florida, the Mississippi and the Pacific, explored parts of the South and West, made a settlement at St. Augustine, Florida, and taken possession of Mexico and New Mexico.

2. Meanwhile, the French had explored the St. Lawrence and made an attempt to get a foothold in the South, but had been driven out by the Spaniards.

3. In 1497 John Cabot first discovered the continent of North America and claimed possession of it for England. In the next century Sir Walter Raleigh planted English settlements in Virginia, but they were soon abandoned.

4. The close of the sixteenth century left the Spaniards the sole possessors of North America. So far as could then be seen, Spain, and Spain alone, was destined to control the future of the territory which is now the United States.

(See, in general, Winsor's "America," IV., i-xxx.; Shaler's "United States," and "Our Continent.")

The physical geography of the United States has had and must continue to have a powerful influence, not only on the health and industry, but on the character and progress of the American people.

I. The English colonies were planted on rivers or harbors which invited settlement and favored their commercial intercourse with the mother country, with the West Indies, and with each other. (See §§ 39 et seq., and 173, 177, 178.)

II. The Appalachian range barred the West against the colonists and confined them to a long, narrow strip bordering on the sea. This limitation of soil had important effects on the occupations and the exports of the settlers, while it encouraged the development of union, political strength, and independence. (See §§ 173, 196.) III. The Canadian French, on the other hand, having control of the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, soon got temporary possession of the Mississippi valley. This led to a war which ended by giving the West to the English colonists. (See § 172.) IV. The first English-speaking settlements made west of the Alleghanies were planted on streams flowing into the Mississippi, —a river system 35,000 miles in extent, watering the great central valley of the continent. Later, the steamboat made that vast region accessible in all directions. (See §§ 137, 258.)

V. After the Colonies secured their independence, the boundaries of the American Republic were fixed by successive treaties. These boundaries were determined, to a great extent, by: 1. coast-lines; 2. rivers and lakes; 3. watersheds; 4. mountain ranges. In 1783 our possessions bordered upon the Atlantic only; in 1803 they touched the Gulf of Mexico; in 1846 they reached the Pacific. (See "Table of Boundaries.")

VI. The most pressing question with every rapidly growing people is that of food-supply. Some nations of Europe-notably Great Britain - can only feed themselves by importing provisions. America is so fortunate in soil, climate, and extent of territory, that the people produce not only all the breadstuffs and meats they require, but they have an immense surplus for exportation. (See §§ 421, 563.) VII. Next in importance to grain and meats are cotton, wool, timber, coal, petroleum, iron, copper, and the precious metals. These products are powerful factors in the development of modern civilization, and it is believed that no continent is richer in them than our own. (See §§ 143, 406, 437, 563.)

VIII. While cotton fastened slavery on the South, the abundant water power of New England gave the first impulse to American cotton manufacturing. On the other hand, the western prairies stimulated agriculture and immigration, and encouraged the building of railroads, which in twenty years did more to open up the country than two centuries had done before. Again, physical geography has influenced legislation respecting labor, the tariff, trade, currency, and the building of roads and canals; furthermore, it determined decisive military movements in the Revolution, (see Washington's retreat across the Delaware, § 212, and Greene's retreat, § 230), and the Civil War (see §§ 467, 468, 485-487).

IX. Experience proves that the physical conditions of the United States favor health, vigor, and longevity. Statistics show that in size and weight the American people are fully equal, if not, indeed, superior to Europeans, while their average length of life appears to be somewhat greater. (See Rhodes's "U. S.," III., 73, 74.) X. The conclusion of eminent scientists is that no part of the globe is better suited to the requirements of one of the master-races of the world than the United States, and such statesmen as Lincoln and Gladstone have declared their belief that this country has a natural base for the greatest continuous empire ever established by man. (See § 34.)

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From Frye's Complete Geography, by permission of Alex. E. Frye.

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE UNITED STATES

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