Excerpt from The House of RooseveltIn the 100 years that followed the death of Washington, we have had 25 Presidents, not all of equal ability or merit but all imbued with the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and all loyal to the Constitution, none of them seeking to perpetuate their tenure of office or to install their families in control. Under their leadership, the country grew to four times its original area, ex tending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and to 25 times its original population, attracting millions of immigrants from beyond the seas. Irish, Eng lish and Scotch, Scandinavians, Germans, Italians, Poles and Russians arrived in successive waves. Farmers, laborers and artisans they were, sturdy folk who were glad to escape the petty despotisms of Europe and settle in this land of opportunity and liberty. These were our true aristocrats, every one of them with an ancestry going right back to Adam, and every one with hope in his heart. Their descendants are this virile, manly race we call Americans, second to none in ability or energy or general education.During that century great crises arose, but they were speedily surmounted. We passed through the horrors of the Civil War under the leadership of the immortal Lincoln, and our sacrifices were repaid by the abolition of slavery, the firm, riveting together of the nation, and the promulgation of the doctrine. Of government of the people, by the people and for the people.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.