Grant made a tour round the world. He visited many of the most important countries in Europe and Asia, and was received with great honor by their rulers. When he returned to America he settled in New York, where he lived for some time like any other private citizen. But

developed into an incurable disease. 23d of July, 1885, he died.

his last years were clouded with trouble. Much of the fortune which he had acquired while in public life was lost through the dishonesty of men in whom he had confided. He had trouble with his throat, and this At length on the

His body now rests in a magnificent tomb in Riverside Park by the banks of the Hudson. His memory will ever be honored by the grateful people of a united country.

REVIEW

Why does the United States maintain the Military Academy at West Point? Name two famous men who were educated there. When did the civil war begin? What were its causes? What we the most important victories gained by General Grant in the Westo Why was the control of the Mississippi River so important to the Confederates? What was one of the chief results of the war?

WILLIAM MCKINLEY

AND THE EXPANSION OF THE NATION

I. FROM PRIVATE TO MAJOR

At the Sparrow Inn. One evening in June, 1861, an excited company of men and boys was gathered at the Sparrow Inn, in the little village of Poland, Ohio. Every countenance wore a serious, determined look, showing that the meeting was for no idle purpose. One man who seemed to be well known to all arose and made a speech. "Our country's flag has been shot at," he said. "It has been trailed in the dust by those who should defend it, dishonored by those who ought to cherish and love it. Who will be the first to volunteer to defend it?"

The volunteers. Among the company present there was very little hesitation. One by one, men and grown-up boys went forward and pledged themselves to give the next three years of their lives to their country. Almost the first was a slim, gray-eyed youth of nineteen, who gave his name as William McKinley, Jr. Everybody knew young McKinley. He was at that time a clerk in the village post ice. He was a teacher in the Methodist Sunday School. He had been a pupil in the academy at Poland, and he had the reputation of being a great student.

With the rest who had pledged themselves that night, young McKinley went without delay to Columbus, and was there formally enlisted as a private in the Twenty-third Regiment of Ohio volunteers. One of the officers in that regiment was Rutherford B. Hayes, who, sixteen years later, became the nineteenth President of the United States. The Twenty-third Ohio was one of the most famous regiments in the war; and when Mr. Hayes was advanced to

its command he selected William McKinley to be a member of his staff. Before the end of a year McKinley received his first actual promotion by being chosen commissary sergeant for his company. Other promotions

The grand review. With the surrender of Lee's army the war was virtually ended, and in May, 1865, Major McKinley was one of those who took part in the last grand review of the Union army at Washington. A few weeks later, he was mustered out of service with his regiment and returned to his father's home at Poland. "He had never been absent a day from his command on sick leave," says one of his friends; "he had had only one

short furlough in his four years of service; he never asked nor sought promotion; he was present and active in every engagement in which his regiment took part; and he performed bravely and well every duty assigned to him."

II. LAWYER AND CONGRESSMAN

Studying law. William McKinley was now twentythree years old. He had already made up his mind to be a lawyer, and he at once began the studies necessary to prepare him for his profession. He made such rapid

progress that within less than two years after leaving the army he was admitted to the bar. He then settled down to the practice of his profession at Canton, the county seat of Stark County, Ohio.

Negro suffrage. It was in support of negro suffrage that Mr. McKinley made his first political speeches. Until several years after the war the idea of permitting negroes to vote was very unpopular, not only in the South but in many of the northern states. In Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and other states, only white men were allowed the right to vote and hold office; black men were not even citizens, and in some places there were laws forbidding them to settle within the limits of the state. In a few of the states these laws were repealed during or soon after the war; in others they remained on the statute books until they were made null by the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. While this question of negro suffrage was being agitated in Ohio, Mr. McKinley spoke in favor of it at a number of political meetings; and his speeches made him