s. The Judges were appointed by the Legislature, and were
completely subservient to it; and, through the influence of the land
speculators all lands except town lots were taxed alike, so that the men
who had obtained possession of the best tracts shifted to other
shoulders much of their own proper burden. [Footnote: "Constitutional
History of Tennessee," by Joshua W. Caldwell, p. 101, another of Robert
Clark's publications; an admirable study of institutional development in
Tennessee.]

CHAPTER IV.

INTRIGUES AND LAND SPECULATIONS--THE TREATIES OF JAY AND PINCKNEY,
1793-1797.

The Current of Tendency.

Throughout the history of the winning of the West what is noteworthy is
the current of tendency rather than the mere succession of individual
events. The general movement, and the general spirit behind the
movement, became evident in many different forms, and if attention is
paid only to some particular manifestation we lose sight of its true
import and of its explanation. Particular obstacles retarded or
diverted, particular causes accelerated, the current; but the set was
always in one direction. The peculiar circumstances of each case must
always be taken into account, but it is also necessary to understand
that it was but one link in the chain of causation.

The Causes of the Various Separatist and Filibustering Movements.

Such events as Burr's conspiracy or the conquest of Texas cannot be
properly understood if we fail to remember that they were but the most
spectacular or most important manifestations of what occurred many
times. The Texans won a striking victory and performed a feat of the
utmost importance in our history; and, moreover, it happened that at the
moment the accession of Texas was warmly favored by the party of the
slave-holders. Burr had been Vice-President of the United States, and
was a brilliant and able man, of imposing personality, whose intrigues
in the West attracted an attention altogether disproportionate to their
real weight. In consequence each event is often treated as if it were
isolated and stood apart from the general current of western history;
whereas in truth each was but the most striking or important among a
host or others. The feats performed by Austin and Houston and the
other founders of the Texan Republic were identical in kind with the
feats merely attempted, or but partially performed, by the men who, like
Morgan, Elijah Clark, and George Rogers Clark,