The importance of Connecticut lay in the men that it nurtured and the forms of government that it established and preserved. Few institutions from the Old World had root in its soil. In their town meetings the people looked after local affairs; and matters of larger import they managed by means of the general assembly to which the towns sent representatives. They made, their own laws, which they administered in their own courts. Their rules of justice, though sometimes peculiar, were the same for all. They did what they could to educate their children, to uphold good morals, to help the poor, and to increase the prosperity of the colony. Though they could not entirely prevent England from interfering in their affairs, they succeeded in reducing her interference to a minimum and were well content to be let alone. Yet when called upon to furnish men in time of war, they did so generously and, in the main, promptly. They became a vigorous, strong, determined community, and though unprogressive in agriculture, they were enterprising in trade and commerce, and in the opening up of new opportunities prepared the way for the later career of a progressive, highly organized manufacturing state. To the larger colonial world they furnished men and ideas that, during the period of revolution and constitution-making, played prominent parts in shaping the future of the United States of America. If this little volume gives to the children of Connecticut a truer appreciation of the early history of the state in which they live, its purpose will have been achieved. A knowledge of Connecticut's history, its men and the work they have accomplished, should arouse the devotion and loyalty of every Connecticut boy and girl to the state and its welfare; and that it shall do so is the hope of those by whom this work has been projected and under whose auspices it has been published. CHARLES M. ANDREWS. CONTENTS I. THE HOUSE OF HOPE AND THE CHARTER OAK II. TWO INDIAN WARRIORS III. A HARBOR FOR SHIPS IV. THREE JUDGES V. THE FORT ON THE RIVER VI. THE FROGS OF WINDHAM VII. OLD WOLF PUTNAM VIII. THE BULLET-MAKERS OF LITCHFIELD IX. NEWGATE PRISON X. THE DARK DAY XI. A FRENCH CAMP IN CONNECTICUT XII. NATHAN HALE ILLUSTRATIONS I. WADSWORTH HIDING THE CHARTER II. MIANTONOMO'S MONUMENT III. MEDAL COMMEMORATING THE FOUNDING OF NEW HAVEN IV. THE JUDGES' CAVE ON WEST ROCK V. THE SITE OF SAYBROOK FORT VI. THE WYOMING MASSACRE VII. GENERAL PUTNAM VIII. KING GEORGE THE THIRD IX. THE RUINS OF NEWGATE PRISON X. AN OLD CONNECTICUT INN, 1790 XI. THE MARQUIS OF LAFAYETTE XII. NATHAN HALE ONCE UPON A TIME IN CONNECTICUT THE HOUSE OF HOPE AND THE CHARTER OAK A great oak tree fell in the city of Hartford on August 21, 1856. The night had been wild and stormy; in the early morning a violent wind twisted and broke the hollow trunk about six feet above the ground, and the old oak that had stood for centuries was overthrown.