the dark years of war Jef-fer-son did his work well; he
forced back the In-di-an foes, and gave help and aid to his State while
the War for In-de-pend-ence went on. When the war was at an end, this
strong, just man, with his clear, wise brain, was just the one to stand
up for our rights in the lands a-cross the sea, so he was sent to France
at the time Ad-ams was in Eng-land. While here he had a bill passed by
which Eng-land said she would look on our land as free; and this was a
big point for us to gain.

When Jef-fer-son came home he was made Sec-re-ta-ry of State, and in
this high of-fice did much good work; it was he who first gave us our
own coins to use in place of the Eng-lish coins, which, up to that time
had been in use here. Now, Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was in charge of
the work of mak-ing the coin, and a great feud came up be-tween him
and Jef-fer-son as to how this should be done. Men, of course, took
sides in this strife, and so two bands sprang up which were known as
Re-pub-li-cans and Fed-er-al-ists; to-day these two bands are known as
Re-pub-li-cans and Dem-o-crats. Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was killed in
a du-el by Aa-ron Burr in Ju-ly, 1804.

In 1801, Jef-fer-son was made Pres-i-dent; and while he was in the chair
this land grew strong and great.

Our first steam-boat was built by Rob-ert Ful-ton while Jef-fer-son was
Pres-i-dent; and it did not look at all like the great boats of to-day;
it was a heav-y, clum-sy boat, which went by sails as well as steam.

[Illustration: THE CLERMONT.

Rob-ert Ful-ton's first Steam-boat.]

Jef-fer-son tried hard to put an end to the slave-trade, which he felt
was a great wrong; he thought, too, that folks should have the right to
serve God in their own way; and he held that on-ly men who could read
and write should vote.

He was a great and a wise man; books were his dear friends; and so
one of the hard-est things he had to do, af-ter he went home to
Mon-ti-cel-lo, when he left the White House, was to sell all his books
to Con-gress in or-der to get mon-ey to live on. To his own home hosts
of friends and stran-gers came to see the great man, just as they had
when he was in Wash-ing-ton. But he sold his books so cheap that the
mon-ey did not help him much; and, at last, it seemed as if he must
sell his dear old home. But now the peo-ple for whom he had done so
much helped him, and a big fund was raised, so that he could keep his
home and live there in com-fort un