tion of the lands taken from the "enemy;" settlement, and
permanent exploitation--through all these stages of conquest the country
has moved.

The "Historical Register of the United States Army" (F. B. Heitman,
Washington, Govt. Print., 1903, vol. 2, pp. 298-300) contains a list of
114 wars in which the United States has been engaged since 1775. The
publication likewise presents a list of 8600 battles and engagements
incident to these 114 wars. Two of these wars were with England, one
with Mexico and one with Spain. These, together with the Civil War and
the War with Germany, constitute the major struggles in which the United
States has been engaged. In addition to these six great wars there were
the numerous wars with the Indians, the last of which (with the
Chippewa) occurred in 1898. Some of these Indian "wars" were mere
policing expeditions. Others, like the wars with the Northwest Indians,
with the Seminoles and with the Apaches, lasted for years and involved a
considerable outlay of life and money.

When the Indian Wars were ended, and the handful of red men had been
crushed by the white millions, the American Indians, once possessors of
a hunting ground that stretched across the continent, found themselves
in reservations, under government tutelage, or else, abandoning their
own customs and habits of life, they accepted the "pale-face" standards
in preference to their own well-loved traditions.

The territory flanking the Mississippi Valley, with its coastal plains
and the deposits of mineral wealth, is one of the richest in the world.
Only two other areas, China and Russia, can compare with it in
resources.

This garden spot came into the possession of the English speaking whites
almost without a struggle. It was as if destiny had held a door tight
shut for centuries and suddenly had opened it to admit her chosen
guests.

History shows that such areas have almost always been held by one
powerful nation after another, and have been the scene of ferocious
struggles. Witness the valleys of the Euphrates, the Nile, the Danube,
the Po and the Rhine. The barrier of the Atlantic saved North America.

Had the Mississippi Valley been in Europe, Asia or Northern Africa, it
would doubtless have been blood-soaked for centuries and dominated by
highly organized nations, armed to the teeth. Lying isolated, it
presented an almost virgin opportunity to the conquering Teutons of
Western Europe.

Freed by their isolated