ven
their bravery and generalship in the French and Indian War. Many of them
had developed into fine officers, and all compared favorably with the
British regulars. Their loyalty to England was proven by the 30,000
lives that had been given that she might conquer her traditional rival
and enemy.

The adventurous spirit of the colonists was shown by the fact that many
began crossing the Alleghanies into the fertile district beyond, where
they were in continual danger from the fierce Indians. James Robertson
led a party of emigrants who made the first settlement in Tennessee in
1768, and the famous Daniel Boone and a company of immigrants were the
pioneers in Kentucky in 1769. No effort was made to settle the country
north of the Ohio until after the Revolution.

[Illustration: MEMORIAL HALL, HARVARD COLLEGE.]

The intellectual progress of the colonies was remarkable. The first
printing press was set up at Cambridge in 1639, and newspapers and books
were in general circulation. Harvard College was founded in
Massachusetts in 1638; William and Mary, in Virginia, in 1692; Yale, in
Connecticut, in 1700; the College of New Jersey (now Princeton
University), in 1746; the University of Pennsylvania, in 1749; and
King's College (now Columbia), in New York, in 1754. Much attention was
given to education, commerce was greatly extended, the oppressive
Navigation Act being generally disregarded, and thousands of citizens
were in prosperous circumstances.

More significant than all else was the growth of the sentiment of unity
among the different colonies. Although properly known as provincials, to
distinguish them from the British, they now, instead of speaking of
themselves as New Englanders or Virginians or Englishmen, often
substituted the name "Americans." The different colonies were looked
upon as members of the same great family, ready to make common cause
against a danger threatening any one of them. Some of the bolder ones
began to express the thought that it would be a fine thing if they were
all independent of the mother country, though for years the sentiment
assumed no importance.

Now was the time for England to display wisdom, justice, and
statesmanship toward her subjects in America. Had she treated them as
she now treats Canada and Australia and her other colonies, there never
would have been a Revolution. No doubt in time we should have separated
from her, but the separation would have been peaceable.

[Illu