The position of New England in the Civil War accords with the double character of that struggle—the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the Union. The same men who gave their lives for the latter issue had heaped abuse upon the men like Garrison who had agitated for 20 years in favour of the former issue. On the other hand, Wendell Phillips had denounced the clergy and the Cotton Whigs for their willingness to compromise with the slave owners, and a great convention at Worcester ad vocated New England's secession from a Union which required its members to enforce the Fugitive Slave law and to recognize slave holders' property rights in human flesh. Once war began, New Englanders supported the Administration steadfastly although the persistent demands of Charles Sumner and other abolitionists for immediate emancipation frequently caused embarrassment to President Lincoln. During the Reconstruction period New Eng land remained consistently Republican.
New England commerce suffered severely during the Civil War. The whaling fleet, once the pride of New Bedford and Nantucket, was broken up by Confederate raiders and its monopoly of the il luminating oil market was destroyed by introduction of kerosene oil, gas and electricity. By the change from wooden to iron, and then to steel ships, and by the rising costs of operation under the American flag, all the natural advantages in the construction and operation of ships which New England formerly possessed, were lost.
Again as in 1812, New England's answer has been to shift her capital from shipping to manufacturing. Again as in the '3os and she succeeded, but toward the close of the century was faced with competition from new centres in the South and West, equally well equipped with power sites, with capital and within easier reach of the source of raw products and of the markets. • New England is now a highly industrialized section, yet she retains a good deal of the diversification of occupation which gave the Yankee his reputation for being a jack-of-all-trades and has produced many inventors.
Apart from the decline in her relative position in commerce, the chief respect in which New England has altered in comparison with other sections of the Union has been in the character of her population. Far from being the most homogeneous section of the colonies, New England has become one of the most cosmopolitan areas. The development of industries on a factory basis was ef fected by drawing the "native" New England stock from farms to factories without reliance on the recent immigrants. It was not till after 183o that the number of non-English immigrants began seriously to affect her political or social structure. The great im migration of Irish after the famine in the '4os produced in the neighbourhood of Boston some serious disturbances, and New England shared the anti-foreign sentiment which took political shape in the Know-Nothing party. The immigration of large
groups of other nationalities and religions between 1890 and altered the situation rapidly. Although the number of native-born of English ancestry still forms a minority in New England as a whole, and is almost negligible in the industrial centres, the blocs of foreign-born or those of non-English ancestry tend largely to offset each other for political and social or economic purposes. Of the "foreigners" the Irish Catholics took the most active part in politics. Except for a short period in 1912 during strikes in the textile centres, the influence of radical leaders has been slight among the working classes. Trade unionism existing in most in dustries is generally directed in conformity to the conservative policy of the American Federation of Labor. That there has been no general attack on the principles of capitalism is due to the fact that the New England States have been leaders in legislation fa vourable to labour as respects conditions and hours of work.
New England won the name of the Switzerland of America be cause of the independent spirit of her people in the colonial and revolutionary periods. She has kept the title in virtue of her natural scenery, stimulating climate and the wisdom of her people in conserving her natural attractions for a vacation resort and playground. No other of the old sections of the Union has set aside so many beautiful areas for parks or reservations. The White mountains of New Hampshire, the Green mountains of Vermont, the lake regions and rugged coast of Maine, the wooded Berkshire hills and sandy stretches of Cape Cod have become nationally famous. They attract a visiting population of summer residents, tourists and children's summer camp colonies which doubles the normal population of many regions during every summer. Of late years a similar movement to enjoy winter sports in the northern States has been inaugurated. From colonial days down to the present, a constant emigration of New England born or trained leaders in literature, art, science and engineering has extended her influence in the nation out of all proportion to her population or her area or to the capitalization of the industries situated within her borders. (P. P. C.) NEW FOREST, one of the few woodland regions left in England, covering 92,365 acres in the south-west of Hampshire, between the Solent, Southampton Water and the river Avon. The Crown has the right to keep enclosed and planted 16,000 acres. Pop. of rural district (1931) 24,278.