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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
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9
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS
ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
TORONTO
HOW TO TEACH
AMERICAN HISTORY
A HANDBOOK
FOR
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
BY
alter
JOHN W. WAYLAND, PH.D.
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE, STATE
NORMAL SCHOOL, HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
1914
All rights reserved
COPYRIGHT, 1914,
BY THE MAOMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1914. Reprinted
June, 1915.
Norwood Press
J. B. Cushing Co. - Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, M&88., U.S.A.
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
MY PUPILS
WHO HAVE HELPED TO MAKE IT
AND WHO HAVE MADE
THE TASK A JOY
282778
PREFACE
THIS volume is intended for use as a textbook in
normal schools, teacher-training classes, and teachers'
institutes, and as a handbook for the teacher and stu-
dent in school or at home. The principles discussed
are believed to be true of history in general, but the
application throughout has been made to American
history and to the study and teaching of history in
American schools.
An effort has been made to have the style simple
and intelligible. Technical terms not well settled in
common usage have been avoided. A rather close and
logical classification by chapters has been attempted,
and the book lists have been classified and distributed.
It has been my aim throughout to give in the book lists
and footnotes information of practical value and to
place it where it can be found conveniently. It is
hoped that the complete index appended will be found
a useful feature.
The methods herein suggested are an outgrowth of
practice, and have been proved in the experience of
capable teachers and students of history in many parts
of the country. The portions of the book for which
the author ventures to claim more or less originality,
for example, Chapters IV, XIV, XVII, XIX, XX,
XXIV, XXVI, XXVIII, XXX, are no exception to
this rule; for they have all been evolved from actual
vii
viii
PREFACE
>>
classroom experiment, most of them by what may
properly be termed the laboratory process.
Special emphasis has been placed upon the moral
values of history in normal social relations. Conse-
quently the principles acknowledged are those that are
constructive rather than destructive. The heroes ex-
tolled and the victories cheered are those of peace
rather than those of war; and the brave at home"
are given due recognition.
It is suggested that teachers may find it desirable to
introduce the matter of Chapter XXVII near the be-
ginning of a course of instruction.
Special obligation is acknowledged to my friend,
Miss Yetta S. Shoninger, B.S., of the George Peabody
College for Teachers, Nashville, Tennessee, for valu-
able suggestions regarding the treatment of certain
topics, and to Miss Elizabeth P. Cleveland, A.B., one
of my colleagues in the State Normal School, Harrison-
burg, Virginia, for helpful criticisms regarding form
and for aid in reading proof.
For various appreciated favors grateful acknowl-
edgment is made also to the following: Miss Beulah
Wardell, M.A., Columbus, Ohio; Professor E. M. Vio-
lette, First District Normal School, Kirksville, Mis-
souri; Dr. Frank A. Magruder, Princeton University;
President John Preston McConnell, State Normal
School, East Radford, Virginia.
JOHN W. WAYLAND.
HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA,
July 20, 1914.
CONTENTS
OHAPTER
PAGE
1
10
•
IV.
I. Two PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
II. THE MEANING OF HISTORY,
III. SUBJECTS CLOSELY RELATED TO HISTORY
17,
IMPORTANT AIMS IN THE TEACHING OF HISTORY 32
V. A SURVEY OF THE HISTORICAL FIELD
45
VI. THE PLACE AND TIME TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF
HISTORY
52
VII. HISTORY IN THE GRADES
60
VIII. A SUMMARY OF AIMS AND METHODS FOR THE
GRADES
98
IX. HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL . 106
X. HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN NORMAL SCHOOL 114
XI. THE USE OF THE HISTORY STORY IN THE TEACH-
ING OF HISTORY
126
XII. HISTORY IN BIOGRAPHY.
143
XIII. DRAMATICS AS A METHOD OF TEACHING HISTORY 152
XIV. THE VISUAL APPEAL IN THE TEACHING OF
HISTORY
161
XV. HELPING THE PUPIL TO STUDY
169
XVI. THE DYNAMICS OF HISTORY-TEACHING
182
XVII. WHY SOME PUPILS DISLIKE HISTORY
189
XVIII. WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS 196
XIX. MAKING AND USING HISTORY QUESTIONS
212
XX. GRADING QUIZ PAPERS AND EXAMINATION PAPERS 225
:
ix
X
CONTENTS
.
OHAPTER
PAGE
XXI. THE USE AND THE ABUSE OF DATES
235
XXII. THE VALUE OF NATIONAL AND STATE SONGS 244
XXIII. SOURCE BOOKS AND SOURCE MATERIALS
251
XXIV. ON VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY
257
VXXV. MNEMONIC DEVICES
263
XXVI. DEVICES FOR REVIEW AND RECREATION
271
XXVII. HISTORY NOTEBOOKS
279
XXVIII. THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
291
XXIX. THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW BOOKS
308
XXX. THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW HIMSELF 318
.
INDEX
325
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
CHAPTER I
TWO PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
We spend so much time and energy on the "What"
and the “Where" and the “When” of history, as
well as of other things, that we often forget or neglect
the "How” and the “Why.” All are important,
and each must receive due attention in its place;
but now let us consider briefly, in an introductory
way, the “How” and the "Why."
Why study history. - First, we should study it, let
us say, for the pleasure of it. Most things that
most people do, when they act upon choice, are
done for this reason. It may not be the best reason,
but it is compelling in its appeal and universal in its
scope. If the pleasure sought or found is clean and
wholesome, then the reason is good. Normal pleas-
ure, like springtime and youth, gives health to the
body and growth to the spirit. The pleasure that
comes with the study of history is like the pleasure
of travel, which fills the eye with ever changing won-
ders; or like the fascination of the drama, which lifts
B
1
2
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
rance.
the far-flung curtain on a world stage, and presents
before our eyes the Esthers, the Cæsars, the Alfreds,
the Shakespeares, and all the people, in habit and in
action.
Second, we should study history for the knowledge
it supplies. Consciousness of intelligence and knowl-
edge increases one's proper confidence, and heightens
one's legitimate pleasures. Knowledge is the light
of the soul, and only those souls that are born of
the night can be satisfied in the narrow cells of igno-
The great decree, “Let there be light," was
spoken not to the world of material chaos alone, but
to the world of potential consciousness as well. The
desire to know is strong in every healthy mind, and
this desire is justified by an eternal right. History
is one of the great doors through which the soul
goes out seeking and finding knowledge.
Third, we should study history as an aid to the
appreciation of other things. The young lady who
said, “I like history because I am very fond of read-
ing, and history helps me to understand and enjoy
what I read," gave a good reason. History enriches
literature, it explains civil government, it justifies
social institutions, it gives character to art, speech
to architecture, and accompaniment to music. It
teaches a thousand years of progress in a single
arch or column, and unfolds the story of a race in
the meaning of a word. It lifts the vision to a
mountain-top, and there points down upon the mov-
TWO PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
3
ing ages. The family grows large in history; the
church comes to adorn herself with humility and
charity; the state proves the need of justice and
equity; and the school emerges as the fundamental
rector of society. Geometry, physics, chemistry, and
medicine are all well clad in the robe of history.
The Roman law in Louisiana and the German law
in England are anomalies until history uncovers the
winding ways of the past. Shakespeare is only hälf
understood and Milton speaks in an unknown tongue
till Clio unfolds her wondrous parchment and be-
comes interpreter. Then strange words have mean-
ing, and old words count double. Then the masters
speak in our own familiar tongue, and we, delighted,
listen.
Fourth, we should study history as a means to a
better understanding of ourselves. “Know thyself”
was inscribed over the main entrance to the temple
at Delphi, and all the history of the world seems to
be written as an aid to him who endeavors to obey.
When the heathen said that that command came
down from heaven, they spoke better than they
knew. It is, indeed, divine. Being divine, it must
be heeded; and obedience is blessed. History teaches
a man how small he is by showing him so many
greater. It teaches him how great he may be by
showing him what less favored men have done. It
purges him of conceit by revealing his fancied origi-
nality as a commonplace of centuries gone. It over-
4
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
throws his dogmatism by proving to him that other
men no less honest than he, and much wiser, have
been mistaken in their judgments. It convinces
him that he did not begin with himself, and that he
cannot end with himself; that the most he has
others have given him ; that the most he knows others
have taught him; and that all he can do he owes to
others. History helps him to see himself as one
among countless millions, yet it brings him to know
himself as a man, in whom is potentially every
power, feeling, thought, and achievement that any
man has ever had, felt, known, or done.
Fifth, we should study history to broaden and
quicken our sympathies with others. As we learn
to know ourselves we are brought into closer touch
with our fellows, whether of this age or of other ages.
As we begin to know ourselves as men and women,
we begin to understand other men and women, whom
we soon recognize as our kinsfolk. From the primi-
tive sense of the family bond, we soon perceive the
cosmopolitan circle, and say for ourselves: “Being
human, no human being is altogether a stranger to
I have a little more charity for the crimson-
handed worshipers in the dark forests of Germany
when I remember that my ancestor was there, and
that he probably forged the blade with which the
victims were slain. I can understand a little better
the swift fierceness of the Viking when I see that he
was seeking a home for my mother's children. I
me.”
TWO PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
5
feel a little nearer to my neighbor here and now
because history reveals to me that we were brothers
just a few generations ago, and sat around the same
hearth fire yonder.
I count every man a little braver because John
Hampden and Walter Reed were men; every maid
a little truer because Grace Darling and Elizabeth
Zane were maids; and every woman a little nobler
because Cornelia and Mary the mother of Washing-
ton were women. The laughter of Sarah, the senti-
ment of Ruth, the vanity of Darius, the hate of Elec-
tra, the frugality of Charlemagne, the wrath of
William, the deceitfulness of Elizabeth, and the tears
of Marie Antoinette bring the races and the ages
nearer together; for a “touch of nature makes the
whole world kin." If drama be a mirror to nature,
history is its sympathetic system.
Sixth, we should study history to make us more
efficient citizens. “History for its own sake" is as
incomprehensible as “knowledge for its own sake.
."
If knowledge for self is selfish, knowledge for itself
is absurd. It is knowledge for service that is wisdom.
As a great American educator has recently put it,
Scholarship and knowledge fulfill themselves only
in service to men.'
History for self is selfish ; history for itself is ab-
surd. History for efficiency in service to home and
church and state, in the present and for the future,
1 ܙܐ
i President Edwin A. Alderman.
6
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
is history worth while. The study of history should
make the citizen more intelligently patriotic, and
increase his capacity for all healthy sentiment. It
should enlarge his powers for social influence and
constructive statesmanship. It should give him
aggressive confidence, balanced by judicial caution.
It should make him a seeker after the truth and the
right in every public question, rather than a partisan
vendor of arguments. It should give him breadth
and perspective, and at the same time give him pene-
tration and skill in particular cases.
How to study history. — This is a subject which
we should study with enjoyment, as something fasci-
nating; with discernment, as something profound;
with reverence, as something bequeathed the race in
sacred trust; with intense earnestness, as something
vital to the welfare of society.
Let the child study history at home, in his own
family. Perhaps the house he lives in has a history.
Perhaps his father or his grandfather has done or
knows something of historical significance. There
may be some old land patents, beautifully written
on parchment now yellow with age, in that old desk.
There may be files of an old newspaper, almost price-
less now, stored away in the attic. In yonder an-
cient chest are almost certainly some old letters
written from Manassas in '61, from California in '49,
or from the falling cities in '37. That old diary is
now a treasure house of long-forgotten facts, and that
TWO PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
7
old relic may recall the story of thrilling days and
deeds. Let all these sources and resources of the
child's home be utilized to wake up and lead out the
child's spirit. It will answer to these voices of the
past, for they speak in familiar tones.
Having had his historical spirit and instincts
awakened at home, the child will readily adopt the
methods of the school. The teacher should take
account of what the child has already done and
learned, or failed to do and learn. An appreciation
of what he has will make him appreciate what the
teacher offers, and soon the resources of the school
will be seized upon with eagerness.
From the school it is an easy step to the surround-
ing neighborhood. Let the teacher and the class
find the oldest house in town, and ascertain its
history. If the town is a county-seat, the public
records to be found there will prove rich and inter-
esting. Probably in the nearest cemetery is the
grave of some noted man or woman; and almost
certainly there is some historic spot in the neighbor-
hood that ought to be visited and marked before the
very place is lost. Frequently patriotic societies
offer prizes for essays on historical characters and
subjects, and these may be made the means of in-
ducing a whole class or a whole school to undertake
special studies of interest and value. It may be that
some person in the community has published a book
or paper of historical content. If so,
If so, such publica-
8
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
tion should be made familiar in the school, and the
author secured to address the history classes.
The story of one's home and family, his town,
his neighborhood, his county, may not be history
in the sense demanded by the critics; but it is a be-
ginning; and history, like charity, may well begin
at home. Beginning at home, the student will go
abroad with interest, intelligence, and appreciation.
Moreover, the principles of history and of historical
study are all, or nearly all, truly illustrated in small
circles and in small events as well as in large circles
and great events.
Let the student of history not only acquaint him-
self with the facts that are common knowledge, but
also add to the store by every possible discovery.
And let it be part of his business to preserve what is
in danger of being lost, as well as to discover what
has hitherto been unknown.
Finally, let him aim continually at tracing the
past into the present; that is, to show how and in
what measure past events, conditions, and move-
ments have registered themselves in our existing
customs, laws, character, and institutions. He must
do this to understand the things and the people about
him. Whether he begin with the present and go
backward, or begin with the far-away past and come
forward, he should have always the consciousness
that in history there is a unity and a continuity
that cannot be broken except with loss. There may
TWO PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
9
be many inhabited globes, but the earth is one, and
the people upon it are in all essentials one; and
their story, with its many plots, counterplots, and
episodes, is, after all, one story.
1 "The Reconstruction of History Teaching,” by J. M.
Gathany, in Education for June, 1914, will be read with interest
in connection with this chapter.
CHAPTER II
THE MEANING OF HISTORY
HISTORY is not merely a collection of dates; it is
not a field of disjointed dry bones; it is not even or
altogether a series of pretty stories. And yet all
these things enter into history, each contributing
its share of color or character or place.
Dates make up a sort of geometry of time. With-
out them the ages would be not only boundless, but
also without proper division and adjustment. The
relentless flood of years, like the dark flood of the
Nile, would sweep away the landmarks, one by one,
and leave the mind of man a wanderer upon the un-
marked waste. Chronology, therefore, is to the
historian what geometry is to the Egyptian. Both
are necessary, yet chronology is not history any more
than geometry is Egypt. The street numbers are
not the city; yet a city without street numbers would
approximate a history without dates.
The paths across the western plains in early days
were bordered with disjointed bones and pieces of
broken wagons. In these were written the records
of a stirring, striving past. Each whitened fragment
held its story, heroic and tragic. Yet these scat-
10
THE MEANING OF HISTORY
11
tered, voiceless fragments were neither attractive
nor intelligible. A vital power must breathe upon
them; a prophet's wand must touch them; then
they take form and motion, an exceeding great army.
Then the martyrs of a time, the pathfinders of a
people, the heralds of an empire pass and speak
before us. History is not dry bones; neither are
dry bones history; but when the prophet comes,
when the true historian walks upon the plain, the
dead past stirs and leaps into the living present.
History stories have a charm, a value, and a place
in our work, even though they are not history in the
scientific sense. They give color to the whole hori-
zon, and induce the eager youth to hasten toward the
realms of light, to climb upon the heights, and there
to see the long procession of the ages coming from the
distant East. We shall find much need for history
stories as we proceed in this study; let us, therefore,
not reject them, even though they are not strictly
history.
Let us open our eyes to the fact that history is not
a small subject. Let us forever quit talking about
finishing ” English history, for example, in a year.
Let us quit thinking that eight years in the grades
and one more year in the high school are too many
to give to the study of United States history. Let
us recognize the impossibility, even by the magic of
scientific classification, of compassing or compre-
hending in a brief lifetime all that it has taken mil-
12
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
lions of men and women, living and striving and
suffering and conquering for uncounted centuries,
to work out. Let us not imagine, when we have read
a dozen or two books of history, that we have done
more than make a beginning upon the thousands of
books already written, or the thousands more that
might be written.
Again, let us not imagine that history is an easy
subject so easy as not to deserve our best effort
or require the exercise of our highest powers. His-
tory has easy phases, easy stages, and may be in-
troduced to children to their keen delight; but
history in its entirety presents the profoundest phi-
losophy of human life and destiny. It has had as
its producers the mightiest men and women of every
nation, and it has engaged the growing interest of
toil and genius in every land and every age. The
fact that it is not an exact science — perhaps no
science at all, as yet — makes its demands upon
effort and reason all the more insistent. The fact
that it foreshadows so wonderfully the destinies of
the race makes its claims upon us compelling.
History is a great and vital subject. It is great
for the reasons already indicated; it is vital because
it is ever growing and because our interpretation and
application of history mean life or death to the race.
History is the life story of the human race. It is a
record of the past and a prophecy for the future. It
is like the stream of a mighty river, in that it has a
THE MEANING OF HISTORY
13
course, a direction, an onward movement, despite
its many windings, turnings, and eddies; it is like
the life of every full-grown man, in that it presents all
the stages of progressive development, from child-
hood to perfect manhood, without the necessity of
death.
The story of history is ever growing; the stream
of history is ever widening; the life of which it tells
is ever becoming fuller and richer. History, to be
complete, must portray and interpret this life in its
manifold phases; it must not neglect one phase, nor
emphasize another phase unduly. In the writing of
history and in the teaching of history we are now
coming to see that it has an intellectual phase, a
moral phase, a religious phase, an economic phase, an
industrial phase many social phases as well as
a military phase and a political phase. Peace gives
growth; anarchy is disease; war is bitter medicine:
these are some of the truths that the historian is
beginning to see and to teach.
The editor of the World's Work has recently put
certain facts of the case before us in the following
good form:
“The changes in our economic and political life deserve
much more attention than they usually get. As a nation
we neglect these things. As children we are taught Ameri-
can history as a series of wars, from the conflicts with
the Indians and the French, down through the Revolution,
the Mexican War, and the Civil War to our conquest of
14
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
the Spanish islands. The true history of the United States
is a succession of economic and political steps, here and
there interrupted by war. Our more serious wars have
been operations on the body politic. They hav
They have come
only when some of the regular machinery of progress has
broken down - when our politics and industry were sick.
And the convalescence from the operation of war has been
long and costly.
“The old saying, 'Happy is the nation whose annals
are few,' is true when you think of annals, as most of our
historians do, as being in a large part the records of wars.
But wars do not mark the progress of a people. They
mark their worst periods. The real annals of a people are
the exploits of the men of inventive genius and con-
structive minds who make possible the ever-improving
standards of life.” 1
Just as social life is constructive, so history is a
constructive science, and accordingly deals properly
with constructive rather than with destructive forces;
with the positive rather than with the negative;
with the normal rather than with the abnormal.
War, for example, is destructive, abnormal. It is
a negative value, so far as progress is concerned.
The causes, the real character, and the results of war
may be studied with profit, and should teach the na-
tions wisdom; but to waste the powers of history
in the glorification of war as such is open folly. Th
biography of a man deals naturally with his healthy
1 The World's Work, August, 1913, p. 363.
THE MEANING OF HISTORY
15
working years and his positive achievements; not
with his days or weeks of illness and violent delirium ;
so history finds its proper subject matter in the
years of noble deeds" that enrich the paths of
peace, and not in the mad carnage of rage and strife.
History is properly a record of life and growth, when
strength and beauty are increasing, and the state
abounds in good works. Such history will tend to
repeat itself as the world grows wiser.
History is a wondrous chain, in which the links are
cause and effect, forged in national eras, and com-
posed of national and personal achievements. An
event without a cause, a force without an effect, is
as absurd in history as in physics. The forces of
history work more slowly than those of physics, but
no less surely. The sowing determines in due time
the reaping in the life of a nation as well as in the life
of a man. This fact rings a warning; it also reveals
an inheritance. We, the people of the United States
of America, are reaping happy harvests every year
that were sown across the seas in Greece, in Rome, in
Germany, in Britain. Other men have labored, and
we have entered into their labors -- in benefit as
well as in responsibility. Not a single link in the
chain is altogether lost or broken; but some are of
wood and stubble; some are of brass and iron; some
are of blood and sorrow; and some are of gold.
History is not only recordation, it is also interpre-
tation. It records facts and interprets life. In its
16
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
full and perfect scope it begins and ends in moral
values. The qualities of courage, justice, patience,
industry, and self-sacrifice that distinguish the better
makers of history are all moral qualities; and the
finest results that we seek or realize from the making
and learning of history are those that are registered
in personal and national character. Achievement,
record, interpretation, application : this is the per-
petual cycle in which the forces of history move as
they come from past to present, and go from present
to future.1
1 In the American Historical Review, July, 1913, is a scholarly
article entitled, “The Interpretation of History," by J. T. Shot-
well.
CHAPTER III
SUBJECTS CLOSELY RELATED TO HISTORY
BRANCHES of learning, like men and women, are
found naturally in groups; and just as it helps us
in studying a man to know something of his kinsmen,
so in studying a science it helps us to make use of
related subjects. We must, of course, beware of going
too far afield, and we must not confuse so many
things as to rob all of distinctness; yet, as we concen-
trate attention upon the subject in hand, we should
give occasional and due recognition to those related
subjects that stand nearest.
History depends in a measure upon geography,
and is vitally related to literature, music, art, civil
government, ethics, sociology, economics, and nat-
ural science; and in studying it we may profit
largely by illustrating it with handwork of various
sorts.
In greater or less degree the geography of a country
makes its history; and nearly every great event and
stirring incident is associated with some particular
place. This association should always be strength-
ened rather than weakened ; and the bonds should
be carried over from both sides. The teacher of his-
C
17
18
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
In num-
tory should make a bond with geography, and the
teacher of geography should make a bond with his-
tory. Unfortunately, these bonds often are not
well tied, or they are neglected altogether. In
berless cases it has been observed that questions in
historical geography are the most puzzling of all to
history students. I fear that we teachers have not
been doing our duty here. It may be that sometime
the ideal textbook will be written, in which the
things that belong together will be so skillfully and
harmoniously joined that no man can put them asun-
der. Then, perhaps, the proper association of his-
tory and geography will be easy. But in the mean-
time let us make good use of the maps, pictures, and
geographical descriptions with which our history
books already abound.
It is in the study of industrial history, to which we
are giving increasing attention, that the dependence
of history upon geography becomes most obvious.
Differences over great questions like slavery and the
tariff have depended largely upon differences in geog-
raphy. The location of great manufacturing and
commercial cities was never an accident, but each
place was marked out ages in advance in the geog-
raphy of plain or river, of mountain pass or ocean
bay.
When we speak of history and literature we are
merely turning the shield. For we may speak of
history as a branch of literature, or of literature as a
SUBJECTS RELATED TO HISTORY
19
branch of history. We may not so often study
history for its literary value, but we frequently do
study literature for the light it gives to history.
Literature helps to make history, and history helps
to explain literature. How different the modern
world would be without the English Bible and the
poems of Milton; yet how little could we under-
stand or appreciate either without the history in
them and around them! He who studies literature
without having his ear open continually to the voice
of history limits his understanding and loses half his
pleasure. He who follows the path of history without
pausing before the glowing pictures that literature has
painted robs his imagination and stifles his sentiment.
The teacher must not confuse fact and fiction, nor
use, a novel as a textbook; but having the skeleton
of fact well set up, well proportioned, and well articu-
lated, let him then clothe it even with the warm flesh
and blood of poetry and fiction. It is not alone what
we learn that is valuable, it is what we remember.
Poetry and fiction make the scene and the character
so vivid and full that we cannot forget them. It is
not alone what we understand that is helpful, it is
what we feel and aspire to. Poetry and fiction often
become the oratory of history, and we start up cry-
ing, “Let us march against Philip; let us conquer
or die!"
1 See an article in the American Historical Review, April, 1913,
entitled, “History as Literature,” by Theodore Roosevelt.
20
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
John Richard Green, in discussing a certain group
of Shakespeare's plays, says:
No dramas have done so much for Shakspere's
enduring popularity with his countrymen as these
historical plays. They have done more than all the
works of English historians to nourish in the minds of
Englishmen a love of and reverence for their country's
past. When Chatham was asked where he had read
his English history, he answered, “In the plays of
Shakspere.' Nowhere could he have read it so well,
for nowhere is the spirit of our history so nobly ren-
dered." 1
If we are concerned about the spirit as well as the
letter of our history, we cannot afford to neglect the
best incarnations of that spirit. American students
and teachers are fortunate here in a wealth of re-
sources; for it is said that no less than forty per cent
of the standard novels in English and American
literature are historical in theme and setting. The
number of our fine historical poems mounts into the
hundreds. Longfellow's “The Skeleton in Armor
and “Evangeline," Joaquin Miller's “ Columbus,"
Mrs. Hemans's “ Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers,"
Lanier's “ Lexington,” Bryant's "Song of Marion's
Men," Gallagher's “The Mothers of the West,"
1 "History of the English People," by John Richard Green ;
Book VI, Chapter VII.
2 "The History of a History," p. 1; The Tabard Inn Book
Company, Philadelphia.
SUBJECTS RELATED TO HISTORY
21
Butterworth's “Whitman's Ride for Oregon,"
Timrod's “The Cotton Boll,” Mrs. Preston's "Gone
Forward," and Roche's “Panama” are a few that
are typical of a large class. Students and teachers
of American history should know these poems and
use them.
In the Old World a great wealth of history is em-
bodied in music and art: in ballads, in operas, in
oratorios, in national hymns, in castles, in palaces,
in temples, in bridges, and in the marvelous old cathe-
drals. In the New World our corresponding re-
sources are not so great, but they are growing; age
will bring them to full measure; and even now we
have enough to be helpful in many connections.
The melodies of the plantation negroes, the primitive
art of the Indians in textiles and pottery, the archi-
tecture of lost races in old ruins, not to speak of the
splendid things our own artists have wrought, will be
utilized with increasing profit in the years to come.
It is in art and music that we may most easily,
perhaps, take up the golden threads that bind us to
the other lands across the seas. The music to
“ America " is vibrant with the history of half a
dozen great countries of Europe. Maryland, My
Maryland” is sung to an old melody that comes to
us out of the German forests; and even the tune of
“ The Star-Spangled Banner" was first heard
through the mists and fogs of London. Mark the
columns and capitals at the front of your school
22
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
building : they probably speak of Attica or Tus-
cany. The bold span of the stone bridge yonder may
be telling what builders the Romans were.
The
pointed arches of the church and the round arches of
the colonnade all remind the grateful pupil of his Old
World teachers. The painting on the wall may be
Italian; the church is probably Gothic; the towers
at the campus gate may be Norman. Each has its
story - its inwrought history for the American
youth. The Raphaels, the Wrens, the Rossinis,
the Wagners, the Storys, the Copleys, and the
Morses have been working industriously for cen-
turies to equip the history laboratory.
Obviously, civil government is closely related to
history. We may say that history depends upon
geography; that it embodies its best spirit in litera-
ture, music, and art; and that it registers its teach-
ing to society at large in the organized state. If we
take the Federal Constitution, with its various
amendments, as a text, we may find registered therein
all the great forces, movements, and interests of
United States history. Accordingly, in studying the
history of our country we should take particular care
to indicate the origins and development of our great
forms of government. It may help the pupil's un-
derstanding and stimulate his interest to show him
that “politics" ought to be the science of govern-
ment; that politicians ought to be really patriotic
statesmen; and that our forms of government, in
SUBJECTS RELATED TO HISTORY
23
town and county, in state and nation, are only the
great lessons of history that have been demonstrated
in one country after another, from age to age.
History should teach ethics to each individual
man and woman. It makes possible the science of
sociology, which is or ought to be ethics for the race
in its related groups. The greatest values of history
are moral values, and these should be registered in
the characters of so many individuals that they ap-
pear as dominating society as a whole. The teacher's
business is to see that history counts as an ethical
factor in the life and character of each of his pupils;
then in time the effect will be seen in the moral ele-
vation of society at large. “Public spirit” and
“ public sentiment ” are the names we apply to these
forces when they become general; but they must
take rise in individual hearts, before the faces of
individual teachers. The teacher of history must
not only be a teacher of ethics, as indicated, but he
must also help to lay the foundation upon which
other teachers of ethics, civics, and sociology build.
In like manner, the increasing attention that is being
given to these subjects in the schools will aid and
supplement the teaching of history.
Economics may be thought of as the state's busi-
ness policy: its system of principles and methods in
managing its food supply, its money, its lands, and
other forms of wealth. Most business men find
such records as day books, ledgers, and market
24
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
reports of value to them in their business. These
records contain the history of their business. In
like manner a town, a state, or a confederation finds
that its day books, ledgers, and market reports have
an industrial and a commercial value. These books
and reports are its history - a result of public book-
keeping. Business without bookkeeping would be
unwise, if possible at all; and the larger the business,
the larger the books that must be kept. Just as
good business requires good bookkeeping, so good
economics require good history. Our national his-
tory and our national business policies must be per-
fected together. The expansion of social, economic,
and industrial phases in the writing and teaching
of American history is noticeable as a present-day
educational tendency, and is thoroughly justified by
our economic needs. We must not live altogether
in the material, but we cannot live altogether out
of it.
Natural science, including its applications to useful
arts and its practical operations in great inventions,
has perhaps done more than anything else to make
modern history. The invention of printing, the
making of gunpowder, the successful use of the mari-
ner's compass, the cotton gin, the railroad train, the
steamboat, the telegraph, the sewing machine, the
Copernican theory, the teaching of evolution, the
practice of medicine, the wonders of modern surgery,
have revolutionized the world. They have corre-
SUBJECTS RELATED TO HISTORY
25
spondingly affected history. The teacher of chemis-
try and physics and astronomy and physiology should
have respect for the story of this marvelous progress;
and the teacher of history must acknowledge his debt
and the debt of the race to the heroes and martyrs
of science.
Finally, the teacher of history may naturally and
profitably introduce some handwork into his courses.
Thereby he may secure the values of concreteness,
tangibility, keener interest, and more thorough
understanding. These values are specially desirable
in the work of young pupils; and it is accordingly
in the primary and intermediate grades that con-
structive manual work should be given its largest
proportion. To gather miniature poles and make
a wigwam; to cut little logs, and build a settler's
cabin; to make a tiny canoe, or a tomahawk, or a
bow and arrow, or to construct a fort and palisade,
will delight the heart of any normal boy; it will
also train his eye and hand, and teach him history.
The healthy girl will at the same time make a
pair of moccasins, weave a small-size primitive
blanket, draw pictures and maps, or paint a flag
with no less delight and profit. In the more ad-
vanced classes the handwork may be continued in
the construction of notebooks, the drawing of maps,
the making of designs and models, and in the accu-
rate mounting and labeling of relics for the history
museum,
26
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
The following is a brief classified list of select
books, any or all of which will be found of practical
value to the teacher in correlating history with the
subjects indicated.
GEOGRAPHY
BACON: Historic Pilgrimages in New England; Silver, Burdett
& Co., Boston.
BOGART: Economic History of the United States; Longmans,
Green & Co., New York.
BRIGHAM: Geographic Influences in American History; Ginn &
Co., Boston.
COMAN: Industrial History of the United States; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
FAIRBANKS: The Western United States; D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston,
HOTCHKISS: Representative Cities of the United States; Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston.
SEMPLE: American History and its Geographic Conditions;
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
SEMPLE: Influences of Geographic Environment; Henry Holt &
Co., New York.
SHALER: The Story of Our Continent; Ginn & Co., Boston.
SUTHERLAND: The Teaching of Geography; Scott, Foresman &
Co., Chicago. - Particularly Chapter V: "The Relation of
Geography to History."
LITERATURE
A. HISTORIES OF LITERATURE
BROOKE : English Literature; The Macmillan Co., New York.
HALLECK: American Literature; American Book Co., New York.
PANCOAST: American Literature; Henry Holt & Co., New York.
TRENT: American Literature; D. Appleton & Co., New York.
SUBJECTS RELATED TO HISTORY
27
B. COLLECTIONS OF HISTORICAL POEMS
SOUTH: Story of Our Country in Poetry and Song; A. Flanagan
Co., Chicago.
STEVENSON: Poems of American History; Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston. – A comprehensive collection of great value.
WILLIAMS : Songs and Ballads of the American Revolution; Hurst
& Co., New York.
WILLIAMS: Songs of the "Blue and the Gray; Hurst & Co., New
York.
C. HISTORICAL NOVELS
ALLEN: The Choir Invisible. -- Representing early Kentucky.
CABLE: Old Creole Days.
CARUTHERS: Cavaliers of Virginia. Time about 1650.
CHENEY: A Peep at the Pilgrims in 1636.
CHURCHILL: The Crisis. - The Civil War.
COOKE: My Lady Pokahontas.
COOPER: Water Witch. Refers to New York after 1664.
EGGLESTON: The Circuit Rider. - Portrays social and religious
life in the early Middle West.
FORD: Janice Meredith. Of the Revolutionary period.
GARLAND: A Little Norsk. Farm life in the West.
HOUGH: 54-40 or Fight. -- Dispute over the Oregon boundary.
JACKSON: Ramona. Later Indian life in America.
JOHNSTON: Lewis Rand. Of Jefferson and Virginia.
JUDD: Margaret. – Village life in New England a century ago.
KENNEDY: Horseshoe Robinson. Of the Southern Tories.
LONGSTREET: Georgia Scenes. Early times in Georgia.
MITCHELL: Hugh Wynne. Of the days of 1776.
MURFREE : Despot of Broomsedge Cove. Of Tennessee mountain
life.
PAGE: Red Rock. Of Reconstruction days.
SIMMS: Lily and Totem. — Of the French and Indians in Florida.
28
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
STOWE: The Minister's Wooing. - Of life at Newport a century
ago.
THACKERAY: The Virginians. — Of the eighteenth century.
TIFFANY: Pilgrims and Puritans.
WALLACE: The Fair God. — Of the Aztecs.
WINTHROP: John Brent. — Among the Mormons.
WISTER: The Virginian. Western ranch life.
D. CONVENIENT MANUALS
CHANNING: Guide to the Study and Reading of American History;
with Hart and Turner; Ginn & Co., Boston. Contains
long lists of historical novels and poems, biographies, etc.
Cox: Literature in the Common Schools; Little, Brown, & Co.,
Boston.
LANE: American History in Literature; with Hill; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
MCMURRY: Special Method in History; The Macmillan Co.,
New York. - Chapter IX contains extended classified lists
of books for the student and teacher of American history.
PHILLIPS: History and Literature in Grammar Grades; D. C.
Heath & Co., Boston.
WILSON: History Reader for Elementary Schools; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
MUSIC AND ART
BAILEY: Art Education; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
CAFFIN: How to Study Pictures; The Century Co., New York.
CAFFIN: The Story of American Painting; F. A. Stokes Co.,
New York.
DICKINSON: The Study of the History of Music; Chas. Scribner's
Sons, New York.
GARESCHÉ : Art of the Ages; Prang Educational Co.
HARTMANN: A History of American Art; L. C. Page & Co.,
Boston.
SUBJECTS RELATED TO HISTORY
29
ISHAM: History of American Painting; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
WILLIAMS: Lessons in Art; Educational Publishing Co., New
York. — Vol. I deals with architecture, Vol. II with sculp-
ture, bronze work, and painting. Adapted to schools.
WILSON: Picture Study in Elementary Schools; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
ASHLEY: The American Federal State; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
DUNN: The Community and the Citizen; D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston.
FISKE: Civil Government in the United States; Houghton Miffin
Co., Boston.
FLICKINGER: Civil Government as Developed in the States and in
the United States; D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
WOODBURN : American History and Government; Longmans,
Green & Co., New York.
ETHICS
COLEMAN : Social Ethics; Baker & Taylor Co., New York.
DEWEY: Ethics; with Tufts; Henry Holt & Co., New York.
DOLE: The Ethics of Progress; Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New
York.
GULLIVER: The Friendship of Nations; Ginn & Co., Boston.
MYERS : History as Past Ethics; Ginn & Co., Boston.
SOCIOLOGY
DEALEY: Sociology, Its Simpler Teachings and Applications,
Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston.
GIDDINGS: Descriptive and Historical Sociology; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
30
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
GREGG: Syllabus of History Work in First Grade; bulletin of
State Normal School, Cape Girardeau, Mo.; March, 1911.
Suggestive to the teacher in helping the little child to find
himself in his home and community.
Ross: Foundations of Sociology; The Macmillan Co., New York.
ECONOMICS
BURCH: Elements of Economics, with Nearing; The Macmillan
Co., New York. - Has special reference to American con-
ditions.
ELY: Outlines of Economics; The Macmillan Co., New York.
JOHNSON: Introduction to Economics; D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston.
SEAGER: Economics, Briefer Course; Henry Holt & Co., New
York.
NATURAL SCIENCE
BOYD: Triumphs and Wonders of the 19th Century; Wabash
Publishing House, Chicago.
JOHNSON: Great Events by Famous Historians; 20 volumes; The
National Alumni.
ROCHELEAU : Great American Industries; 4 volumes; A. Flan-
agan Co., Chicago.
WHITE: The Warfare of Science with Theology; D. Appleton &
Co., New York
HAND WORK
BOWKER: Busy Hands: Construction Work for Children; A.
Flanagan Co., Chicago.
DOBBS: Primary Handwork; The Macmillan Co., New York.
DOPP: Primitive Life Series; Rand McNally & Co., Chicago.
GILMAN : Seat Work and Industrial Occupations; with Williams;
The Macmillan Co., New York.
CHAPTER V
A SURVEY OF THE HISTORICAL FIELD
A DEGREE of orientation is always desirable, and it
is usually helpful. Put down in a new country, we
watch for the sunrise; we mark the trend of the
mountain ranges; we note the course of the rivers ;
and we ask, “How far is it to the sea ?” In Wash-
ington City we locate ourselves habitually by the
Monument and the Capitol dome. In New York
we are glad to catch a glimpse once in a while of the
Metropolitan tower, the Woolworth Building, or the
Statue of Liberty. And in Philadelphia, playing
mathematics, we take Market Street and Broad
Street as rectangular coördinates, Penn's statue
surmounting City Hall as the elevated center, and
proceed to mark out all sorts of loci, with Independ-
ence Hall, Carpenters Hall, the old Flag House, and
Franklin's grave as some of the fixed points.
In history we cannot see the end or the beginning;
neither can we get an open view clear across the field;
but we can determine east and west, we can gauge
somewhat the direction of study; we can look out
upon what others have done, and forward upon
what we ourselves may do. The teacher of history,
45
46
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
especially, should have some rather definite notions
of place, relation, scope, and direction in the history
field. This brief chapter, with the accompanying
diagram, is intended to help the teacher and the
student locate themselves.
We advocate a lifetime of growth in the under-
standing and appreciation of history, as well as a
schooltime of specially arranged and skillfully directed
study. We may begin to teach the child his kind
of history in the first grade of school; we ought to
begin it in the home, before he goes to school at all;
we should continue our work, helping turn childhood
into youth, and helping the youth become a man
upon the stronger meat of sterner facts. At first
the parent and teacher do nearly everything for the
child; at last the man should be able to do nearly
everything for himself. At first the subject matter
selected is simple and easy; at last, choosing for him-
self, the man may take what he finds, even though it
be a truth so great and so revolutionary that it shift
the center from the earth to the sun in the historical
universe. At first the child has no book --- he has
something better, a teacher; at last the man not only
has books, but he is also able to make other books,
and to be that better thing, a teacher.
Wherever we live, we have the history of all the
world before us and about us; but naturally and
properly we study first what is nearest — nearest in
place, if not in time. As already suggested, history,
A SURVEY OF THE HISTORICAL FIELD
47
like charity, should begin at home. Accordingly,
those people who live in New York begin with the
history of the New Netherlands; those who live in
Michigan begin with the heroic journeys of Mar-
quette and others who bore the lilies of France and
taught the word of the Cross; and we who live in
Virginia begin with the failures and triumphs of Ra-
leigh and Smith and Pocahontas. Carrying this prin-
ciple still farther, each child may begin with the his-
tory of his own people and his own neighborhood.
This is the natural thing, the easy thing, the inter-
esting thing. The child may not understand the
people and the things far off in time and place, but
he will take proper delight in knowing about his own
family, his father's house, his town; and, in time,
about his state, his country, his world.
Indian life and the pioneer life of the white people,
in both of which children find a “happy hunting
ground," may frequently be studied to best advan-
tage in the child's own community. At the same
time he gets occasional introductory glimpses into
the greater world in the appropriate celebration
of Thanksgiving, Washington's birthday, the Fourth
of July, Christmas, and other holidays.
If the course is well laid out in advance, the Ameri-
can boy, coming to the last of the grades, will have
pushed out to the wider historical bounds of his united
country, without profitless or tedious retreading
of beaten paths; yet all the while his main work has
48
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
been limited to his own United States. He has
learned something of European history, particularly
English history, and perhaps a good deal of older
world history; but these have come in for the most
part incidentally, to explain or illustrate or enforce
what he has found here. With him American his
tory has been the fundamental thing throughout,
even though he has been able to comprehend it only
in an elementary degree. He has had a good intro-
duction for further study, if he continue in school;
and some preparation for life as a citizen of his own
country, if he must at once face the world.
In the high school the boy or girl may well begin
with ancient history, and give special attention to
Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem. The second year
he may come on down the ages, following the star
of destiny westward, peering after its gleam in the
uncertain darkness, and rejoicing at its greater light
when the age of confused uncertainties passes.
Medieval history is rich in chivalry and romance,
thrilling in tragedy and pathos, and illuminating, in
spite of its shadows, to the student of modern insti-
tutions. The normal boy and girl will find the
Middle Age a delightful period of study for the sec-
ond year of high school.
The third year of high school may very properly
be devoted chiefly to the history of Great Britain,
our great mother land; and then in the fourth year
the student, with maturing powers and amplified
A SURVEY OF THE HISTORICAL FIELD
49
resources of knowledge, may profitably take up again
the history and government of the United States, his
own country. He will then comprehend many
things that puzzled him in the grades, and appre-
ciate many things that before seemed to him without
meaning.
In college the student of history may be allowed
increasing privilege of election, and if he act wisely
he will certainly shape his choices according to his
plan of life. If his plan contemplate a university
course, his elections will gradually converge toward
a special field, unless he should be seeking only a
rather vague general culture.
In reference to books of history, it will probably
be best not to burden the child with a textbook be-
fore the fourth year in school. Much will depend
upon the teacher. The better the teacher, the less
the need for a book in the hands of the child. The
teacher must of course know books and use books
in the process of teaching the child; and if the child
wishes to read, and can be provided with a suitable
book, let him read; but do not burden him with a
heavy book or discourage him with a dry book.
Beginning with the fourth grade, or thereabouts,
the child should be able to use some books with
profit and pleasure. In order that he may do so, the
parent or the teacher must make a judicious selec-
tion of books for him, adapting them to his knowl-
edge and capacity, as well as to the plan of the school
E
50
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
course.
As he grows, the books should grow with
him, still being nicely adapted to his powers and the
teacher's plans. In most cases the error will be com-
mitted in selecting a book too difficult for the child.
Let the teacher beware of supposing that because a
book is elementary and simple to him it is necessarily
so to the boy or girl in his class. But by the time the
pupil has reached the third year of the high school he
ought to be able to use almost any book, at least for
supplementary work. The regular textbooks should
still be carefully chosen for him.
An effort is made to show graphically in the ap-
pended outline a comprehensive scheme of the history
field, A, regarding books, B, regarding schools and
courses of study, as presented in the foregoing
paragraphs.
The graded book lists incorporated in Chapter VII
are intended to conform to this outline, particularly
to the left-hand section of it, and to carry out some-
what in specific titles the recommendations herein
made in general suggestions. The subject groups
offered in the same chapter (VII) will be seen to
conform similarly to that part of the outline which
has reference to the course of study that may be
given in the grades of the elementary school. The
four-year course of study in history outlined and
recommended for high schools in Chapter IX will
also be found in close agreement with the scheme
herewith indicated.
A SURVEY OF THE HISTORICAL FIELD
51
OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY FIELD
A. With Reference to
Books.
B. With Reference to Schools
and Courses.
The Pre-textbook Stage. (1) Grades of the Elementary School.
Textbooks in hands of 2 In American schools the work
teacher only.
3 should be chiefly in American his-
4 tory. This should be funda-
The Easy Textbook 5 mental throughout, with inci-
Stage.
6 dental reference to European
Textbooks being
history, particularly as it affects
justed to the pupil's 8
American history.
hands also.
1) Years of the High School.
2 The course here should be general,
3
but still specially applied to Amer-
4 ica, particularly in the 4th year.
ad-7
HAN
Years in College - Leading to the
1
The General Textbook
Bachelor's Degree.
2
Stage.
The course here should also be gen-
3
The pupil becoming a
eral, but may be directed par-
4
master of books as
ticularly toward the specialties in
well as of facts, meth-
prospect.
ods, and principles.
5 Years in University - Leading to the
6 Master's and the Doctor's Degree.
7 The work here should be special
18
and intensive.
>
CHAPTER VI
THE PLACE AND TIME TO BEGIN THE STUDY
OF HISTORY
SS
We are disposed to look upon all beginnings as
more or less difficult; yet many even many of
the right sort -- are very easy.
are very easy. It depends largely
upon the spirit in which we start out, and whether
we fall in with the natural order of things or not.
In teaching history the parent may begin at home,
as soon as the child takes an interest in people
and their doings. Yonder hangs an old picture upon
the wall. It was painted long ago by the child's
grandfather; and it represents an old tavern, with a
group of men, some on horseback, before it. That
picture has a story, a story that fits into the history
of the community and the nation; and the child's
ancestors helped to make that story. How natural
and easy it is to stir up the child's intelligent interest
in that picture and in that story.
Above the fireplace hangs an old sword. Out on
the green lawn is a great tree. At the next corner of
the street is an old stone house. In a dark corner of
the barn is an old stagecoach. Each of these has its
story — a story of action, of danger, of heroism -
52
PLACE AND TIME TO BEGIN THE STUDY
53
that the child will eagerly hear from the lips of parent
or teacher.
At school, even in the first grade, the resourceful
teacher will find or make numberless subjects and
occasions for stirring the child's historical curiosity.
There are flags and pictures on the walls; there are
many curious old relics in the museum ; some child
in the room has a meaningful name; another one has
found a flint arrowhead or a tomahawk in a newly
plowed field; there is a small stone marker, with
some words on it, in the public square, and a tall
white shaft of marble among the trees in the ceme-
tery; and every month or two there comes along a
historical holiday. Each of these presents an oppor-
tunity to the history teacher for beginning her work.
They come into the way so easily and naturally that
the child may enter the history path and travel long
upon it before realizing that it presents any tasks at
all. Along with the stories from real objects and
persons at hand, the skillful teacher may readily
introduce many others from the books.
In most graded and high schools the history work
follows, and in every one it should follow, a carefully
prepared outline covering every year, from the first
to the last. Under such conditions the versatile
teacher should find it easy to adjust herself to her
particular place in the scheme. She may readily
see what work has gone before, and what work
will follow after, her own; and so will be able to set
54
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
forth upon her own work intelligently, and to give
to it the proper scope and bearing.
In a poorly graded school, or a so-called graded
school that has no scheme at all for the several sub-
jects from year to year, the first step is to get a good
scheme adopted. In a single-room, ungraded school
the teacher has much freedom for her talents and
judgment; yet even here nothing will perhaps aid
her so much as adopting a comprehensive plan,
dividing the possible history work into seven or eight
parts, allotting to each part a session of school. The
several classes may then be set into this scheme. If
the teacher remain for a second or a third year at
the same school, she will find her hard planning of
the first year making easier working ever afterward.
If she go elsewhere, she should leave to her successor
a copy of her scheme, with memoranda indicating the
location of each class in the scheme.
Probably it is in the normal schools that the teacher
will find greatest difficulty in knowing just how and
where to begin. Even if the same course in history
and history teaching be required in all the secondary
schools of any particular state, the normal school
teacher will still have somewhat of the difficulty sug-
gested, since it is hardly possible that all his pupils
will have the same kind or the same degree of prepara-
tion. It would hardly be desirable to require so
much uniformity throughout the high schools of any
state in the teaching of any subject that a hundred
PLACE AND TIME TO BEGIN THE STUDY
55
different pupils, from as many different schools, could
be warranted in advance to fill exactly the same
measure. Such a thing would not be possible if it
were desirable.
Accordingly, when the history teacher in a normal
school is confronted by a hundred or more young
men and women from different sections and from dif-
ferent schools, with different kinds and degrees of
training, with different habits and traditions, it may
be well for him to take soundings a little in the harbor
before launching out into the open seas.
If the first part of the normal school course be de-
voted to a review or a new view of subject matter as
such, conditions are materially helped in various
ways. If, on the other hand, the course from the
beginning deal primarily with principles and methods,
the teacher must start farther out at sea; but in
either case a cordial relationship of mutual acquaint-
ance should be established between the teacher
and his class as soon as possible and as thoroughly
as possible. The first few days of the session may
well be devoted to such adjustment and to locating
a few cardinal points. For such purposes the fol-
lowing plan has been found valuable.
Take the first four or five days for general intro-
ductory work, proceeding somewhat after this
fashion: -
First day. — Enroll the class by having each mem-
ber of it write down upon a card her full name and
56
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
home address, including town, county, and state.
Cards of convenient size should be provided for this
purpose by the teacher or by the school. If cards
are provided by the school for registration in the
class, but do not secure the student's home address, as
indicated above, in form convenient for the teacher's
use, the latter may well have a second set of cards
filled out for his own desk. Thereby he may secure
several advantages. In the first place, he will have
the names of his pupils in convenient form for alpha-
betical or other arrangement. In the second place,
he will have an illuminating index to the characters
and habits of the different ndividuals in the exact-
ness or inexactness, the neatness or lack of it, with
which the cards are filled out. In the third place,
he may classify his pupils as to locality, and thus
not only gauge them with reference to their probable
opportunities and training, but also determine in
adequate measure some vantage grounds of appeal
in getting at one with them.
The enrolling of the class, as suggested, will require
only a few minutes; accordingly the greater part of
the hour will remain for something else. There may
be upon the blackboard, written there in advance,
a list of, say, thirty-five easy, interesting, small books
of history - preferably American history. This
list of thirty-five may be divided into five equal
groups labeled respectively A --- D, EH, I- M,
N - R, S - Z. Say to the class :
PLACE AND TIME TO BEGIN THE STUDY 57
"You will find in the school library two or more copies
of each of these books. They are all little books, easy and
interesting. I want each one of you to get one of these
books and read as much of it as you can during the next
two or three days. Read it all if you can. Read it as
a pleasure, not as a task; yet try to remember it well
enough to be able to tell something about it afterwards
if you should be given a chance to do so. All of you whose
family names begin with A, B, C, or D may take a book
in the first group; all whose names begin with E, F, G,
or H may take one from the second group; and so on.”
Some minutes of the period will likely still remain.
These may be devoted to any general or special talk
that the teacher deems appropriate.
Second day. The first half of the period may well
be employed in securing from each pupil carefully
written answers to the following questions :
1. How long have you been studying history?
2. What book of history did you first read or study?
3. Name all the other books of history you have read
or studied, so far as you can now recall them.
4. Do you like history, or not?
5. Give reasons why you like it, or why you do not
like it.
The remainder of the hour may be used for another
general or special lecture.
Third day. - Have the answers to the above ques-
tions carefully tabulated, and take the whole hour
to go over them and discuss them with the class.
58
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
This will be an exercise of exceeding interest and
profit to both teacher and pupils.
Fourth day. — Call on two or three members from
each of the five groups to make brief reports on the
books read. This will give the teacher opportunity
to make some helpful remarks and to secure some
helpful observations. It will add to the class's
general stock of information. It will give the pupils
reporting a sort of experience on their feet that should
be valuable in their preparation for teaching. It will
do much to promote acquaintance and a spirit of good
fellowship in the class; and it will impress each pupil,
at the outset, with the fact that part of one's business
in preparing to teach is to get acquainted with books.
Fifth day. — The first half of the period may ap-
propriately be given to a preliminary talk on note-
books and the methods of taking notes in class, in the
library, or in other places. The second half may be
used to explain the rules by which the work of the
pupil is to be estimated : what values will be credited
to regular attendance, to oral recitation, to written
reports, to written tests, to deportment, and to
general attitude toward the subject and the work.
The first regular assignment in a textbook may be
made at this time.
It is confidently believed that the first week may
be spent upon introductory work of the sort indicated
with greater profit than would ordinarily be realized
by plunging at once into regular routine. But let
PLACE AND TIME TO BEGIN THE STUDY 59
the plan outlined above, or any plan, be modified or
supplanted altogether according to the judgment of
each instructor, as he studies his own pupils and their
needs. Skillful adaptation is always the chief thing
to be sought in every plan, in every method, in every
place. I would lay down only one ironclad rule: Be
the master of every rule. Let no plan be so iron-
clad that it cannot be modified or discarded for im-
provement.
Common sense must always be a saving grace.
The teacher who says, " There is just one way — my
way ” is several centuries out of his time and place.
He would have done fairly well in medieval Europe,
but old Egypt or China was his proper home. Born
after his time" should be inscribed over his door.
The paths of progress lead elsewhere.1
1 In connection with the subject of this chapter attention is
directed to an article in the History Teacher's Magazine, June,
1914: "Suggestions for Beginners in the Teaching of History,”
by F. E. Moyer.
CHAPTER VII
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
EVERY school should have a well-defined course
mapped out for the work in history, assigning partic-
ular phases or portions of the work to the successive
years, in a progressive series.
The advantages of such a plan are obvious.
Thereby each teacher, according to her grade, or the
grade of her class, can at once fit herself into the
scheme, knowing where to begin and where to stop.
She can determine in fair measure what preparation
her pupils have had in the subject, and what they still
lack. Needless duplication and identical repetition
from year to year can be avoided. Having the field
apportioned to a definite number of years, the several
teachers should be able to cover it all in the allotted
time; and, at the same time, since the work of each
year is limited to a comparatively brief period, or
to only a few subjects, each teacher, or the same
teacher from year to year, has a chance to work more
or less intensively. Extension is assured by the
scheme as a whole, and intension is made possible by
circumscribing a part of the field, year by year.
In most schools the teacher will doubtless find the
60
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
61
course of study for each year or each grade already
mapped out, and her skill in consequence may be
addressed chiefly to the task of adapting herself to
the system and at the same time shaping her part of
the system upon her ideals. In such cases the text-
books also, and the chief reference books, will prob-
ably be selected in advance for her. Nevertheless,
she should have at least opinions of her own — them
she should claim the right of shaping for herself.
She should be able soon to reach a conclusion as to
whether the plan of the course is a good one; whether
the textbooks she is given are good in themselves;
and whether they are adapted to the grade for which
they are provided. She should be able thus not
only to reach intelligent conclusions, but also to exert
some influence in a proper and tactful way to get
conditions changed if they ought to be changed.
In case the teacher is so unfortunate as to get into
a school that has no course of study already outlined,
she should be able to help matters by outlining a
course at once. The lack may be her opportunity.
As a possible aid in such a contingency, and as a
means of expressing some opinions in tabular form,
the following outline of history for the grades is sub-
mitted. Since it is for American schools it is devoted
mainly to American history. European history and
older world history are brought in rather sparingly,
and to explain rather than to supplement American
history. The author has no prejudice against the
62
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
history of the Old World, he loves it; but the his-
tory of our own country is so vast and so essential
that we cannot afford to be sidetracked too much
until we have in a fashion compassed it.
Moreover, it should be remembered that the child,
in a good school or in a good home, is by no means
wholly dependent upon the history course for knowl-
edge of Old World treasures. Much Old World
history is touched upon through his studies in litera-
ture, art, music, and geography, and should be so
touched upon consciously and deliberately. Reader
selections, biographical studies, Sunday school les-
sons, and such material frequently present a rich
background in the Old World, and enhance the
child's appreciation of distant lands and distant
ages.
For the course in history for the grades, as pre-
sented below, the following distinctive features are
claimed:
1. An effort is made to unify the whole by a
rather close adherence to the American field. Con-
sequently, only a small amount of foreign matter is
introduced, and such only as has an obvious bearing
on American history.
2. By this close adherence to the American field
it has been possible to introduce into the course
certain important topics not usually given place in
our history courses, for example, social and industrial
topics like the following: The Story of Steam, The
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
63
Story of Iron, The Story of Cotton, Great American
Missionaries, Great American Educators, and Great
American Women.
3. The chronological order is completed in the
seventh grade, thus to afford a practicable course
for seven-grade schools, while the topics presented
for the eighth grade are selected with a view to
giving the most desirable work possible in that year
for eight-grade schools.
4. In the book list following each grade an attempt
is made to classify the books in groups corresponding
to the several topics or groups in the outline; and
from the fifth grade on two lists are given: one for
the pupil, one for the teacher.
Grade I
SUBJECT
Group 1. Easy history stories, developed from local subjects.
2. Glimpses of Indian life, given during Indian Summer.
3. Thanksgiving stories, centering about Thanksgiving.
4. Christmas stories, centering about Christmas.
5. Stories from the life of Robert E. Lee, centering about
Lee's birthday, January 19.
6. Stories from the life of Abraham Lincoln, centering about
Lincoln's birthday, February 12.
7. Stories from the life of George Washington, centering about
Washington's birthday, February 22. This series may be
extended over a couple of months, and embrace many features
of pioneer life and Indian life.
8. Stories from the life of Daniel Boone, continuing the por-
traiture of primitive life in America.
64
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
9. Various forms of construction work on sand tables, etc.,
may be employed throughout to give concreteness and attrac-
tiveness to the lessons.
10. Frequent excursions may be made to places of historical
interest near the school.
References for the Teacher 1
Group 1
Local histories, old letters, old diaries, old buildings, relics, etc.
Group 2
BAYLISS: Two Little Algonkin Lads; Educational Publishing
Co., New York.
BURTON: The Story of the Indians of New England; Silver, Bur-
dett & Co., Boston.
DRAKE: Indian History for Young Folks; Harper & Bros.,
New York.
DRAKE: The Making of New England; Chas. Scribner's Sons,
New York.
HART: Colonial Children; Part IV; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
JUDD: Wigwam Stories; Ginn & Co., Boston.
POWERS: Stories of Indian Days; Educational Publishing Co.,
New York.
Group 3
BRADFORD: Journal; Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston.
BURNS: A Complete Holiday Program for First Grade; with
Nunney; Educational Publishing Co., New York. --Con-
i Note that the groups of reference books for each grade are
numbered to correspond to the subject-groups outlined for the
grade.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
65
tains fine material for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Lincoln's
birthday, Washington's birthday, Arbor Day, Bird Day,
Decoration Day, Mother's Day, etc.
DENTON : Holiday Facts and Fancies; Educational Publishing
Co., New York. An excellent manual for the early grades.
EARLE : Customs and Fashions of Old New England; Chas.
Scribner's Sons, New York.
TIFFANY: Pilgrims and Puritans; Ginn & Co., Boston.
Group 4
BALDWIN: Old Stories of the East; American Book Co., New
York.
BENNETT: The Bible Story, Retold for Young People; with
Adeney; The Macmillan Co., New York.
BENNETT: The New Testament Story, Retold for Young People;
with Adeney; The Macmillan Co.
BIBLE: Stories of Joseph, David, Ruth, Esther, Elizabeth, Mary,
Zacharias, John the Baptist, the Bethlehem Shepherds, the
Wise Men, and others.
CHURCH: Stories from the Bible; The Macmillan Co., New York.
SANGSTER: The Story Bible; Moffat, Yard & Co., New York.
STEWART: Tell Me a True Story (Bible hero stories); F. H.
Revell Co., New York.
STEWART: The Shepherd of Us All (Christ stories for children);
F. H. Revell Co.
TAYLOR: Bible Biographies; Harper & Bros., New York. — Sepa-
rate volumes on Daniel, David, Joseph, Ruth, and others.
WALLACE: The Boyhood of Christ; Harper & Bros., New York.
WALLACE: The First Christmas; Harper & Bros.
Group 5
CHANDLER: Makers of Virginia History; Silver, Burdett & Co.,
Boston.
F
66
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
MAGILL: First Book in Virginia History; pp. 162–172; J. P.
Bell Co., Lynchburg, Va.
WILLIAMSON: Life of Robert E. Lee for Children; B. F. Johnson
Co., Richmond, Va.
Group 6
ANONYMOUS: The Story of Lincoln; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
BALDWIN : Four Great Americans (Washington, Franklin, Web-
ster, Lincoln); American Book Co., New York.
NICHOLS: Life of Abraham Lincoln; Mast, Crowell & Kirk-
patrick, Springfield, Ohio.
PUTNAM: Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln; A. C. McClurg &
Co., Chicago.
TAPPAN: American Hero Stories; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
Group 7
ANONYMOUS: The Story of Washington; A. Flanagan Co.,
Chicago.
COOKE: Stories of the Old Dominion; American Book Co., New
York.
HART: Camps and Firesides of the Revolution; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
MAGILL: First Bool in Virginia History; pp. 56–152; J. P.
Bell Co., Lynchburg, Va.
SCUDDER: George Washington; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. .
WILSON: George Washington; Harper & Bros., New York.
Group 8
ANONYMOUS: Stories of American Pioneers (Boone, Lewis and
Clark, Fremont, Carson); Educational Publishing Co., New
York.
ANONYMOUS: The Story of Daniel Boone; A. Flanagan Co.,
Chicago.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
67
CHANDLER: Makers of American History; with Chitwood;
Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston.
EGGLESTON: Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans;
American Book Co., New York.
McMURRY: Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley (including Boone
and Lincoln); The Macmillan Co., New York.
PERRY: Four American Pioneers (Boone, Crockett, Clark, Car-
son); with Beebe; American Book Co., New York.
THWAITES: Life of Daniel Boone; D. Appleton & Co., New
York.
The Perry Pictures, published at Malden, Mass., and other
educational art series will be found of great value in many con-
nections throughout the grades.
Grade II
SUBJECT
Group 1. The story of Columbus and the New World he
found.
2. Stories and studies of primitive life, with special reference
to the home county. These studies may embrace both the
pioneer life of the white settlers and the habits of the particular
Indian tribes by which they were surrounded.
3. Special studies of the home county's notable men and
women.
4. Appropriate celebrations of Thanksgiving, Christmas, the
birthdays of Lee, Lincoln, Washington, and others, including a
few men and women of the home county.
5. Construction work, continued, according to developing
skill and interest. This sort of work, as well as occasional ex-
cursions to historic places, should be kept up indefinitely, with
proper adaptation
68
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Additional Reference Books for the Teacher
Group 1
EGGLESTON: First Book of American History; American Book
Co., New York.
FISKE: Discovery of America; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
FOOTE: Explorers and Founders of America; with Skinner;
American Book Co., New York.
IRVING: Life of Columbus.
LAWLER: Columbus and Magellan; Ginn & Co., Boston.
NIDA : Dawn of American History in Europe; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
Groups 2 and 3
Local histories, etc. — The Guide to American History, by
Channing, Hart, and Turner, published by Ginn & Co., Boston,
contains on pages 62-89 lists of local histories for every or nearly
every state in the Union. By means of this directory, or a
similar one, the teacher in most cases will be able to find some
publication relating to his own particular section.
See an article entitled "An Experiment in Teaching Local
History," by Elizabeth B. White, in the History Teacher's Maga-
zine, September, 1913.
Group 4
See List, Grade I: Group 3.
Suggestions and materials for various celebrations will be
found in educational journals and in occasional publications of
schools, societies, the Federal bureau of education, state depart-
ments of public instruction, etc.
It will be observed that no attempt is made to put forward
dates and chronology, as such, in the early grades. Some dates
will naturally be learned, and a few may be taught incidentally;
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
69
but the consecutive arrangement of facts, events, and move-
ments, and the fixing of dates, will more properly come later.
At this early stage the child is making personal acquaintances,
gathering materials, and completing small circles. He is also
finding his own powers.
Grade III
SUBJECT
Group 1. Stories of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Walter Raleigh, and
Virginia Dare; John Smith and Pocahontas; Henry Hudson and
the Half Moon; the Cavaliers and the Puritans; the Pilgrims
and Priscilla Alden.
2. Stories and studies of the early history of the home state.
3. Special studies of the famous men and women of the home
state.
4. Appropriate celebrations of state and national holidays.
5. The story of steam. Simple descriptions, with pictures,
models, etc., of the early steamboats of Rumsey, Fitch, Fulton,
and others; and of the early railroad cars drawn by horses, pro-
pelled by sails, and finally driven by steam.
Reference List 1
Group 1
ANONYMOUS: Stories of Old New England; A. Flanagan Co.,
Chicago.
BARLOW: The Lost Colony; with Howison; Great Events by
Famous Historians, Vol. X, pp. 211–229.
BATES : English History Told by English Poets; with Coman;
The Macmillan Co., New York.
BROWN: The Story of Our English Grandfathers; Public School
Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill.
1 See also preceding lists.
70
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
.
CHURCH: Stories from English History; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
CLEVELAND: Henry Hudson Explores the Hudson River; Great
Events, Vol. XI, pp. 1–13.
CONNOR: The Story of the Old North State; J. B. Lippincott Co.,
Philadelphia.
COOKE: Virginia: A History of the People; Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston.
DRAKE: Virginia and the Middle Colonies; Chas. Scribner's
Sons, New York.
FISKE: Dutch and Qualcer Colonies; Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston.
KENDALL: Source Book of English History; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
LONGFELLOW: The Courtship of Miles Standish.
TAPPAN: England's Story; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
TAPPAN: Our Country's Story; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
Groups 2 and 3
ALABAMA
BROWN: History of Alabama for Use in Schools; New York,
1900.
ARIZONA
BANCROFT: Arizona and New Mexico; San Francisco, 1888.
ARKANSAS
HALLUM: Biographical and Pictorial History of Arkansas;
Albany, 1887.
REYNOLDS: Makers of Arkansas; New York, 1905.
CALIFORNIA
ANONYMOUS: Heroes of California; Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
BANCROFT: California; San Francisco, 1890.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
71
HITTELL: History of California; San Francisco, 1897.
SEXTON: Stories of California; The Macmillan Co., New York.
COLORADO
BANCROFT: Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming; San Francisco,
1890.
PARSONS: The Making of Colorado; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
CONNECTICUT
DWIGHT: History of Connecticut; New York, 1841.
HOLLISTER: History of Connecticut; Hartford, 1857.
SANFORD: History of Connecticut; Hartford, 1888.
DAKOTA
BATCHELDER: Sketch of the History and Resources of Dakota T'er-
ritory; Yankton, 1870.
ROBINSON : Brief History of South Dakota; New York, 1905.
DELAWARE
CONRAD: History of the State of Delaware; Wilmington, 1908.
FERRIS : History of the Original Settlements on the Delaware;
Wilmington, 1840.
SCHARF: History of Delaware; Philadelphia, 1888.
FLORIDA
FAIRBANKS: Florida; its History and its Romance; Jackson-
ville, 1898.
GEORGIA
JONES: History of Georgia; Boston, 1883.
McCALL: History of Georgia, Savannah, 1811.
PHILLIPS: Georgia; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
STEVENS: History of Georgia; Philadelphia, 1859.
72
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
IDAHO
HAILEY: History of Idaho; Boise, 1910.
ILLINOIS
BOGGESS: Settlement of Illinois; Chicago, 1908.
BREESE: Early History of Illinois, Chicago, 1884.
Mason: Chapters from Illinois History; Chicago, 1901.
MATHER: The Making of Illinois; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
INDIANA
COCKRUM: Pioneer History of Indiana; Oakland City, 1907.
LEVERING: Historic Indiana; New York, 1909.
IOWA
GUE: History of Iowa from the Earliest Times; New York, 1903.
HARSHA : The Story of Iowa; Omaha, 1890.
SABIN: The Making of Iowa; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
SHAMBAUGH: Iowa Biographical Series; Iowa City, 1907.
KANSAS
HOLLOWAY: History of Kansas; Lafayette, Ind., 1868.
SPRING : Kansas; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
WILDER: Annals of Kansas; Topeka, 1886.
KENTUCKY
DANDRIDGE: A Kentucky Pioneer; The Michie Co., Charlottes-
ville, Va.
DRAKE: Pioneer Life in Kentucky; Cincinnati, 1870.
SMITH: History of Kentucky; Louisville, 1886.
LOUISIANA
FORTIER: History of Louisiana; New York, 1904.
MAGRUDER: History of Louisiana; D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
THOMPSON: The Story of Louisiana; Boston, 1889.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
73
MAINE
VARNEY: Brief History of Maine; Portland, 1888.
WILLIAMSON: History of the State of Maine; Hallowell, 1832.
MARYLAND
BOZMAN: History of Maryland; Baltimore, 1837.
GAMBRILL: Leading Events of Maryland History; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
SCHARF: History of Maryland; Baltimore, 1879.
WELSH: Colonial Days; Educational Publishing Co., New York.
- Deals with Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and
Georgia. Adapted to 3d or 4th grade.
MASSACHUSETTS
BARRY: History of Massachusetts, Boston, 1857.
BRADFORD: History of Massachusetts; Boston, 1829.
GOODWIN: The Pilgrim Republic; Boston, 1888.
LODGE: Boston; New York, 1891.
MICHIGAN
Cook: Michigan: Its History and Government; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
HOLLANDS: When Michigan was New; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
LANMAN: History of Michigan; New York, 1839.
SHELDON: Early History of Michigan; New York, 1856.
MINNESOTA
FOLWELL: Minnesota, the North Star State; Boston, 1908.
FORSTER: Stories of Minnesota; Educational Publishing Co.,
New York.
NEILL: History of Minnesota; Minneapolis, 1883.
MISSISSIPPI
LOWRY: History of Mississippi; with McCardle; Jackson, 1891.
PICKETT: History of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi; Charles-
ton, 1851.
74
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
MISSOURI
Davis: Illustrated History of Missouri; with Durrie; St. Louis,
1876.
SHEPARD: Early History of St. Louis and Missouri; St. Louis,
1870.
MONTANA
JUDSON: Montana; Chicago, 1909.
MILLER: Illustrated History of the State of Montana; Chicago,
1894.
NEBRASKA
JOHNSON: History of Nebraska; Omaha, 1880.
SHELDON : History and Stories of Nebraska; University Publish-
ing Co., Chicago, 1913.
NEVADA
BANCROFT: Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming; San Francisco,
1890.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
MCCLINTOCK : History of New Hampshire; Boston, 1888.
SANBORN: New Hampshire; Boston, 1907.
NEW JERSEY
GORDON : History of New Jersey; Trenton, 1834.
MURRAY: Notes, Historical and Biographical, concerning Eliza-
beth-Town; Elizabethtown, 1844.
SCOTT: New Jersey; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
NEW MEXICO
HAINES: History of New Mexico; New York, 1891.
LADD: The Story of New Mexico; Boston, 1892.
TWITCHELL: History of New Mexico; Cedar Rapids, 1910.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
75
t
NEW YORK
BROOKS: The Story of New York; Boston, 1888.
LOSSING: The Hudson, from the Wilderness to the Sea; New
York, 1866.
LOVERING: Stories of New York; Educational Publishing Co.,
New York.
PALMER: History of Lake Champlain; Albany, 1866.
TODD: Story of the City of New York, New York, 1890.
WILLIAMS: Stories from Early New York History; Chas. Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York,
NORTH CAROLINA
ALLEN: North Carolina History Stories; B. F. Johnson Co.,
Richmond, Va.
ASHE: History of North Carolina; Greensboro, 1908.
OHIO
BLACK: The Story of Ohio; Boston, 1888.
FERNOW: The Ohio Valley in Colonial Days; Albany, 1890.
MILLER: Cincinnati's Beginnings; Cincinnati, 1880.
OKLAHOMA
ABBOTT: History and Civics of Oklahoma; Ginn & Co., Boston.
HILL: History of the State of Oklahoma; Chicago, 1908.
OREGON
GRAY: History of Oregon; Portland, 1870.
LYMAN: History of Oregon; New York, 1903.
WILKES: History of Oregon; New York, 1845.
PENNSYLVANIA
CORNELL: History of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, 1876.
EGLE: Illustrated History of Pennsylvania; Harrisburg, 1876.
76
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
SCHARF: History of Philadelphia; with Westcott; Philadelphia,
1884.
THOMAS: History of Pennsylvania; D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
RHODE ISLAND
BRIGHAM: History of the State of Rhode Island; Boston, 1902.
EATON: Roger Williams, Founder of Providence; With Sugges-
tions for Study in Schools; with Craig; Dept. of Education,
State of Rhode Island, 1908.
GREENE: Short History of Rhode Island; Providence, 1877.
WEEDEN: Early Rhode Island; New York, 1910.
SOUTH CAROLINA
RAMSAY: History of South Carolina; Charleston, 1809.
RAVENEL: Charleston, the place and the People; New York,
1906.
SIMMS: History of South Carolina; Charleston, 1840.
TENNESSED
BOND: Old Tales Retold; or, Perils and Adventures of Tennessee
Pioneers; Smith & Lamar, Nashville.
KARNS: Tennessee History Stories; B. F. Johnson Co., Rich-
mond, Va., 1904.
McGEE: A History of Tennessee; American Book Co., New York,
1899.
PHELAN: School History of Tennessee; E. H. Butler & Co.,
Philadelphia, 1889.
TURNER: Life of John Sevier; The Neale Co., New York, 1910.
TEXAS
BROWN: History of Texas; St. Louis, 1893.
FOOTE: Texas and the Texans; Philadelphia, 1841.
YOAKUM: History of Texas; New York, 1856.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
77
UTAH
BANCROFT: Utah; San Francisco, 1890.
WHITNEY: History of Utah; Salt Lake City, 1893.
VERMONT
COLLINS: History of Vermont; Ginn & Co., Boston.
HALL: History of Vermont; Albany, 1868.
HEATON: The Story of Vermont; Boston, 1889.
VIRGINIA
CHANDLER: Makers of Virginia History; Silver, Burdett & Co.,
New York,
HOWE: Historical Collections of Virginia; Charleston, S.C.,
1846.
KERCHEVAL: A History of the Valley of Virginia; J. H. Grabill,
Woodstock, Va., 1902.
MAURY: Young People's History of Virginia; B. F. Johnson
Co., Richmond, 1904.
SYDENSTRICKER: School History of Virginia; with Burger;
Dulaney-Boatwright Co., Lynchburg.
WERTENBAKER: Virginia Under the Stuarts; Princeton Uni-
versity Press, 1914.
WASHINGTON
MEANY: History of the State of Washington, New York, 1910.
MEEKER: Pioneer Reminiscences of Puget Sound; Seattle, 1905.
WEST VIRGINIA
FAST: The History and Government of West Virginia; with Max-
well; Morgantown, 1901.
LEWIS: History and Government of West Virginia; New York,
1904.
78
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
WISCONSIN
SMITH: The Making of Wisconsin; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
THWAITES: The Story of Wisconsin; Boston, 1890.
TUTTLE : Illustrated History of Wisconsin; Boston, 1875.
WYOMING
COUTANT: History of Wyoming; Laramie, 1899.
Group 4
DENTON : Holiday Facts and Fancies; Educational Publishing
Co., New York.
TITTLE: Colonial Holidays.
Group 5
ADAMS: Railroads, their Origin and Problems; D. Appleton &
Co., New York.
ANONYMOUS: Heroes of Industry (a story of steam); A. Flanagan
Co., Chicago.
ARAGO: Watt Improves the Steam Engine; Great Events, Vol.
XIII, pp. 302–312.
BOGART: Economic History of the United States; Longmans,
Green & Co., New York.
BUCKMAN: Old Steamboat Days on the Hudson.
COMAN: Industrial History of the United States; the Macmillan
Co., New York.
DANDRIDGE: Historic Shepherdstown (home of Rumsey); The
Michie Co., Charlottesville, Va.
FLINT: Railroads of the United States, their History, etc.; Phila-
delphia, 1868.
MAHAN: From Sail to Steam.
MORRISON: History of American Steam Navigation; New York,
1903.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
79
PERRY: Four American Inventors (Fulton, Whitney, Morse, Edi-
son); American Book Co., New York.
ROCHELEAU: Great American Industries: Transportation; A.
Flanagan Co., Chicago.
SUTCLIFFE: Robert Fulton and the Clermont.
WRIGHT: Children's Stories of American Progress; Chas. Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York.
All of the book lists herein submitted are selective rather
than exhaustive; yet it is not necessary, of course, for every
teacher to have all the books that are named.
The Educational Publishing Company, 18 E. 17th Street,
New York, has a series of biographical classics, dealing chiefly
with famous Americans, from which many helpful selections
may be made for the 3d, 4th, and 5th grades. Another most
excellent and helpful series of biographies is published by the
Macmillan Company, 66 Fifth Avenue, New York.
Grade IV
SUBJECT
Group 1. Easy biographies of De Soto, Balboa, and Cortez,
Champlain, La Salle, and Marquette, Peter Stuyvesant, Roger
Williams, William Penn, and James Oglethorpe.
2. Characteristics and habits of the Spanish, French, Dutch,
and English, as illustrated in the foregoing and other represen-
tatives.
3. The romance and tragedy of the seas. Studies of the
explorations and treasure-hunts of the British, Spanish, Dutch,
and Portuguese sea captains, such as Magellan, Drake, Fro-
bisher, and others.
4. Appropriate celebrations of great days and great events,
particularly the discovery of the Pacific (September 26), dis-
covery of America (October 12), Plymouth Rock Day (Decem-
80
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
ber 21), Easter, Jamestown Day (May 13), and Peace Day
(May 18).
5. The story of iron. Simple descriptions, with pictures,
drawings, etc., of iron ore, mining operations, smelting, forging,
casting, etc.; an explanation of the values and uses of iron;
and, in connection, something about the discovery of fire and
its importance to mankind, together with descriptions of the
stone, bone, and copper implements that preceded the use of
iron.
Book List
Groups 1 and 2
ANONYMOUS: Father Marquette; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
ANONYMOUS: How Canada was Discovered and Settled; Flanagan
Co.
ANONYMOUS: The Story of La Salle; Flanagan Co.
BALDWIN: Discovery of the Old Northwest; American Book Co.,
New York.
DAVIS: Stories of the United States for Youngest Readers; Edu-
cational Publishing Co., New York.
FOOTE: Explorers and Founders of America; with Skinner;
American Book Co., New York.
KING: De Soto and His Men in the Land of Florida; The Mac-
millan Co., New York.
MITCHELL: Cortes, Montezuma, and Mexico; A. Flanagan Co.,
Chicago.
OBER: Biographies of De Soto, Balboa, Cortes, and others; Harper
& Bros., New York.
PRATT: De Soto, Marquette, and La Salle; Educational Publish-
ing Co., New York.
TAPPAN: American Hero Stories; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
WINTERBURN: The Spanish in the Southwest; American Book
Co., New York.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
81
In Great Events by Famous Historians :
ELLIS: Penn's Founding of Philadelphia; Vol. XII, pp. 153–163.
GARNEAU: La Salle Names Louisiana; Vol. XII, pp. 108–124.
MILES : Champlain in Canada; Vol. X, pp. 366-384.
STEVENS: Oglethorpe's Settlement of Georgia; Vol. XIII, pp. 44
56.
VALENTINE: The Dutch Settlement of New York; Vol. XI, pp.
44-49.
Group 3
BEST: Search for the Northwest Passage by Frobisher; Great Events,
Vol. X, pp. 156–162.
CORBETT: Drake Captures Cartagena; Great Events, Vol. X,
pp. 230–250.
GORDY: Stories of American Explorers; Chas. Scribner's Sons,
New York.
LAUT: Vikings of the Pacific; The Macmillan Co., New York.
MCMURRY: Pioneers on Land and Sea; The Macmillan Co.
OBER: Biographies of Columbus, Vespucius, the Cabots, Magellan,
and Raleigh; Harper & Bros., New York.
PRÅTT: American History Stories, Vol. I; Educational Publish-
ing Co., New York.
SHAW: Discoverers and Explorers; American Book Co., New York.
WINSOR: Sir Francis Drake; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
Group 4
Material for the celebration of Peace Day may be obtained
from the American School Peace League, Mrs. F. F. Andrews,
Secretary, 405 Marlboro Street, Boston. The Teachers' Maga-
zine, May, 1914, contains an attractive program for Peace
Day for primary and intermediate grades. Appropriate exer-
cises for other anniversaries may easily be arranged by the
teacher from collections of stories, poems, and music.
G
82
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Group 5
BISHOP: History of American Manufactures; Philadelphia,
1868.
BRIGHAM: Commercial Geography, pp. 58–78; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
CHASE: Stories of Industry; Vol. I; with Clow; Educational
Publishing Co., New York.
ROCHELEAU : Great American Industries: Minerals; A. Flana-
gan Co., Chicago.
SWANK: Iron in All Ages, Philadelphia, 1892.
SWANK: Progressive Pennsylvania; J. B. Lippincott Co., Phila-
delphia. —- Contains much of interest about steamboats,
railroads, and iron industries.
Some of the books listed in Groups 1 and 2 and in Group 3
may be put into the hands of the pupils. "Stories of Industry"
and "Great American Industries," in Group 5, are also of com-
paratively easy grade.
Grade V
The Beginning of a Chronological Order
SUBJECT
.
Group 1. European background of beginnings in America.
To be studied from the opening of the session to the Christmas
recess.
2. The thirteen colonies that became the United States.
Historical period, from the beginnings in America to the
Stamp Act, 1765; study period, from January 1 to about
May 1.
3. The story of cotton, following logically the story of steam
and the story of iron in Grades III and IV, respectively.
4. Appropriate celebrations throughout the year.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
83
Reference List
A. For the Pupil
Group 1
BOURNE: Introductory American History; with Benton; D. C.
Heath & Co., Boston.
GORDY: American Beginnings in Europe; Chas. Scribner's Sons,
New York.
HARDING: The Story of Europe; Scott, Foresman & Co., Chicago.
NIDA: The Dawn of American History in Europe; The Mac-
millan Co., New York.
POWELL: History of the United States for Beginners; The Mac-
millan Co.
The books named above are perhaps best adapted to the 6th
grade, but they may be used here with a competent teacher.
The chronological order is begun in the 5th grade in order to
make a course that is practicable for schools having only seven
grades as well as for those having eight grades.
Group 2
GORDY: Stories of Early American History; Chas. Scribner's
Sons, New York.
HART: Colonial Children; The Macmillan Co., New York.
HODGDON : First Course in American History; Book I; D. C.
Heath & Co., Boston.
PERRY: American History: First Book; with Price; American
Book Co., New York.
PRATT: America's Story for America's Children; Vols. I, II, III,
and IV; D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
SWEET: Grandfather's Tales of Colonial Days; McLoughlin Bros.,
New York.
TAPPAN: Our Country's Story; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
84
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Group 3
CHASE: Stories of Industry; Vol. II; with Clow; Educational
Publishing Co., New York.
ROCHELEAU : Great American Industries: Products of the Soil;
A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
STONE: Days and Deeds a Hundred Years Ago; with Fickett;
D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
B. For the Teacher
Group 1
CHENEY: European Background of American History; Harper &
Bros., New York,
HOWARD: Four Great Pathfinders (Marco Polo, Columbus, Da
Gama, Magellan); Educational Publishing Co., New York.
MYERS: The Modern Age; Ginn & Co., Boston.
Ogg: Source Book of Mediæval History; American Book Co.,
New York.
RENOUF: Outlines of General History; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
ROBINSON: History of Western Europe; Ginn & Co., Boston.
WEST: Modern History; Allyn & Bacon, Boston.
Group 2
CHANNING: Story of the Great Lakes; with Lansing; The Mac-
millan Co., New York.
FISHER: The Colonial Era; Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York.
FISKE: The Discovery of America; Houghton Miffin Co., Boston.
HART: "American History Told by Contemporaries; Vols. I and
II; The Macmillan Co., New York.
HART: Source-Book of American History; The Macmillan Co.
OSGOOD: American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century; The
Macmillan Co.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
85
PARKMAN : Pioneers of New France; Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
PARKMAN: A Struggle for a Continent; Little, Brown & Co.
THWAITES: The Colonies; Longmans, Green & Co., New York.
Group 3
BRIGHAM: Commercial Geography; pp. 22–39; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
BROOKS: The Story of Cotton; Rand, McNally & Co., Chicago.
DABNEY: The Cotton Gin and the Cotton Industry; with Handy
and Olmsted; Great Events, Vol. XIV, pp. 271–294.
HENDERSON : Cotton Manufacture Developed; Great Events, Vol.
XIII, pp. 341-346.
Grade VI
SUBJECT
Group 1. A review of the period from the beginnings in
America to the Stamp Act, 1765.
2. The struggle of the English colonies with the mother
country, and the winning of political independence, 1765–1783.
- Study period for topics 1 and 2, from the opening of the
session to Christmas.
3. Formation of the Federal Union and the winning of com-
mercial independence, 1777–1815.
4. Some great American Indians: for example, King Philip,
Pontiac, Tecumseh, Osceola.
5. Appropriate celebrations throughout the year.
Reference List
A. For the Pupil
Groups 1, 2, and 3
BLAISDELL: The Story of American History; Ginn & Co., Boston.
BURTON : Lafayette, The Friend of American Liberty; American
Book Co., New York.
86
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
CODD: The Story of Lafayette; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
EARLE: Child Life in Colonial Days; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
GORDY: Elementary History of the United States; Chas. Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York.
GUERBER: Story of the Thirteen Colonies, American Book Co.,
New York.
GUERBER: Story of the Great Republic; American Book Co.
HART: Camps and Firesides of the Revolution; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
HODGDON: First Course in American History; Book II; D. C.
Heath & Co., Boston.
MONTGOMERY: Beginner's American History; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
MOORE: From Colony to Commonwealth; Ginn & Co.
PRATT: American History Stories; Vol. II; Educational Pub-
lishing Co., New York.
PRATT: Foundations of the Republic; D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston.
STONE: Everyday Life in the Colonies; with Fickett; D. C.
Heath & Co.
WHITE: Beginner's History of the United States; American Book
Co., New York.
Group 4
GORDY: Colonial Days; Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York,
Contains chapters on King Philip and Pontiac.
HULST: Indian Sketches; Longmans, Green & Co., New
York.
STARR: American Indians; D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
WHITNEY: Four American Indians (King Philip, Pontiac, Te-
cumseh, Osceola); with Perry; American Book Co., New
York.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
87
B. For the Teacher
Groups 1, 2, and 3
CHANNING: A Student's History of the United States; The Mac-
millan Co., New York.
EARLE: Home Life in Colonial Days; The Macmillan Co.
FISKE: The Critical Period of American History; Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston.
HART: American History Told by Contemporaries; Vol. III;
The Macmillan Co., New York.
HART: Formation of the Union; Longmans, Green & Co., New
York.
PARKMAN: Montcalm and Wolfe; Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
PARKMAN: The Struggle for a Continent; Little, Brown & Co.
SLOANE: The French War and the Revolution; Chas. Scribner's
Sons, New York.
WALKER: The Making of the Nation; Chas. Scribner's Sons.
Group 4
HILDRETH: King Philip's War; Great Events, Vol. XII, pp.
125-137.
PARKMAN : Conspiracy of Pontiac; Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
RANDALL: Conspiracy of Pontiac; Great Events, Vol. XIII, pp.
267–288.
Grade VII
SUBJECT
Group 1. Geographical and industrial expansion, 1815–1860.
2. Contemporary growth in literature. — Study topics 1 and
2 till Christmas.
3. The Civil War: causes, incidents, and results.
4. Reconstruction.
5. The latest forty years.
88
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
6. Some great American statesmen.
7. Appropriate celebrations throughout the year.
The author is thoroughly in favor of eight grades in the ele-
mentary schools; but inasmuch as many schools have only seven
grades he has endeavored to make this outline practicable for
them also by ending the chronological order in the seventh
grade, as above.
Reference List
A. For the Pupil
Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
BATES: American Literature; The Macmillan Co., New York.
CODY: Four American Poets (Bryant, Whittier, Longfellow,
Holmes); American Book Co., New York.
CODY: Four Famous American Writers (Irving, Poe, Lowell,
Taylor); American Book Co.
DICKSON: American History for Grammar Schools; The Macmil-
lan Co., New York.
FORMAN: Stories of Useful Inventions; The Century Co., New
York.
GORDY: A History of the United States for Schools; Chas. Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York.
HALLECK: History of American Literature; American Book Co.,
New York.
HITCHCOCK : The Louisiana Purchase and Building of the West;
Ginn & Co., Boston.
KINGSLEY: Four American Explorers (Lewis and Clark, Fremont,
Kane); American Book Co., New York.
LAWLER: A Primary History of the United States; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
MACE: A Primary History: Stories of Heroism; Rand, McNally
& Co., Chicago.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
89
MCLAUGHLIN: A History of the United States for Schools; with
Van Tyne; D. Appleton & Co., New York.
MACOMBER: Stories of Our Authors; Educational Publishing Co.,
New York.
MOORE: An Industrial History of the American People; The
Macmillan Co., New York,
PERRY: Four American Inventors (Fulton, Whitney, Morse,
Edison); American Book Co., New York.
RILEY: Our Republic; with Chandler and Hamilton; Riley &
Chandler, Richmond, Va.
ROCHELEAU : Great American Industries: Manufactures; A.
Flanagan Co., Chicago.
ROOSEVELT: The Winning of the West; Current Literature
Publishing Co., New York.
SEARS: American Literature in Its Colonial and National Periods;
Little, Brown & Co., Boston,
SWEET: Stories of the Blue and the Gray; McLoughlin Bros.,
New York.
THOMPSON: A History of the United States; D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston.
TURPIN: A Short History of the American People; The Mac-
millan Co., New York.
WRIGHT: Children's Stories of American Progress; Chas. Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York,
Group 6
ANONYMOUS: The Story of Franklin; A. Flanagan Co.,
Chicago.
BALDWIN : Four Great Americans (Washington, Franklin, Web-
ster, Lincoln); American Book Co., New York.
BURTON : Four American Patriots (Henry, Hamilton, Jackson,
Grant); American Book Co.
CAMPBELL: Famous American Statesmen; Educational Pub-
lishing Co., New York.
90
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
CHANDLER: Makers of American History; with Chitwood;
Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston.
GORDY: American Leaders and Heroes; Chas. Scribner's Sons,
New York.
HALL: Lives of the Presidents; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
SPARK: Men Who Made the Nation; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
B. For the Teacher
Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
BOGART: Economic History of the United States; Longmans,
Green & Co., New York.
BURGESS: The Civil War and the Constitution; Chas. Scribner's
Sons, New York.
BURTON: Literary Leaders of America; Chas. Scribner's Sons.
CHADWICK : Causes of the Civil War; Harper & Bros., New York.
COMAN: Economic Beginnings of the Far West; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
COMAN: Industrial History of the United States; The Mac-
millan Co.
FLEMING: History of Reconstruction; Arthur H. Clark Co.,
Cleveland, Ohio.
FORMAN: Advanced American History; The Century Co., New
York.
GREGG: Conimerce of the Prairies; Arthur H. Clark Co., Cleve-
land, Ohio.
HART: American History Told by Contemporaries; Vol. IV;
The Macmillan Co., New York.
HULBERT: The Cumberland Road; Arthur H. Clark Co., Cleve-
land, Ohio.
HULBERT: The Great American Canals; Arthur H. Clark Co.
LAUT: Pathfinders of the West; The Macmillan Co., New Y
McELROY: The Winning of the Far West; G. P. Putnam's Sons,
New York.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
91
MEANY: United States History for Schools; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
MIMS: Southern Prose and Poetry; with Payne; Chas. Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York.
MUNFORD: Virginia's Attitude toward Slavery and Secession;
Longmans, Green & Co., New York.
Ogg: Opening of the Mississippi; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
PANCOAST: Introduction to American Literature; Henry Holt &
Co., New York.
SACHSE: Wayside Inns between Philadelphia and Lancaster; pp.
1-109, Vol. 22, Pennsylvania-German Society Pro-
ceedings.
STEDMAN: Poets of America; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
TURNER: Rise of the New West; Harper & Bros., New
York.
WILSON: Division and Reunion : 1829-1889; Longmans, Green
& Co., New York.
WRIGHT: Industrial Evolution of the United States; Chas. Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York.
Group 6
American Statesmen Series ; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
BASSETT: The Federalist System; Harper & Bros., New York.
CHANNING: The Jeffersonian System; Harper & Bros.
DODD: Statesmen of the Old South; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
HAPGOOD : George Washington; The Macmillan Co.
JERVEY; Robert Hayne and His Times; The Macmillan Co.
MCCONNELL: Southern Orators: Speeches and Orations; The
Macmillan Co.
TARBELL: Abraham Lincoln; The Macmillan Co.
92
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Grade VIII
SUBJECT
Group 1. Social and industrial life in colonial America.
2. The American national spirit, its character and its growth;
as shown in Franklin's Albany plan of union, the Declaration of
Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Federal Con-
stitution, the Northwest Ordinance, the Monroe Doctrine, etc.
Read the several documents, note their historical significance
and the stages of progress in national spirit and political organi-
zation that they mark, making a somewhat extended study of
the men who took the lead in framing these documents.
3. Great American missionaries : Foreigners like Las Casas,
Eliot, Hennepin, and Asbury, who labored in America; and
Americans like Mills and Judson, who labored abroad.
4. Great American educators: Mann, Hopkins, Page, Bar-
nard, Wickersham, Curry, Knapp, and others.
5. Great American women : Mary Washington, Dolly Madi-
son, Dorothy Dix, Clara Barton, Frances Willard, Ellen Richards,
Jane Addams, and others.
Reference List
A. For the Pupil
Group 1
ASHLEY: American Colonial History; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
BOURNE: A History of the United States; with Benton; D. C.
Heath & Co., Boston.
EARLE: Life in Colonial Days; The Macmillan Co., New York.
EARLE: Colonial Days in Old New York; Chas. Scribner's Sons,
New York.
GORDY: Colonial Days; Chas. Scribner's Sons.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
93
HART: How Our Grandfathers Lived; The Macmillan Co., New
York.
HART: Source-Book of American History; The Macmillan Co.
MAURY: History of Virginia; pp. 94-121; B. F. Johnson Co.,
Richmond, Va. .
PRATT: Stories of Colonial Children; Educational Publishing Co.,
New York.
SWEET: Grandmamma's Tales of Colonial Days; McLoughlin.
Bros., New York.
WHARTON: Through Colonial Doorways; J. B. Lippincott Co.,
Philadelphia.
Group 2
ASHLEY: American History; The Macmillan Co., New York.
CHANNING: Student's History of the United States; The Mac-
millan Co., New York.
FISKE: Civil Government in the United States; pp. 146–321;
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
FISKE: How the United States Became a Nation; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
MACDONALD: Documentary Source Book of American History;
The Macmillan Co., New York.
STEPHENSON: An American History; Ginn & Co., Boston.
Group 3
ANONYMOUS: Old Franciscan Missions of California; Little,
Brown & Co., Boston.
GARDNER: Winners of the World during Twenty Centuries; F. H.
Revell Co., New York.
JOHNSTON: Adoniram Judson; F. H. Revell Co.
MCMURRY: Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
MONTGOMERY: Western Women in Eastern Lands; The Mac-
millan Co.
94
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
RHEA: Henry Martyn and Samuel J. Mills; with Stryker; F.H.
Revell Co., New York.
SCUDDER: Nineteen Centuries of Missions; F. H. Revell Co.,
New York.
SPEER: Young Men Who Overcame; F. H. Revell Co.
STEWART: The Life of Sheldon Jackson (missionary pioneer in
the Rocky Mountains); F. H. Revell Co.
Group 4
GRAVES: Great Educators of Three Centuries; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
PARKER: History of Modern Elementary Education; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
WINSHIP: Great American Educators; American Book Co., New
York,
Group 5
ADAMS: Heroines of Modern Progress; with Foster; Sturgis and
Walton Co., New York.
BOLTON: Girls Who Became Famous; Thomas Y. Crowell Co.,
New York.
GILCHRIST: Life of Mary Lyon; Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston.
HORTON: A Group of Famous Women; D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston,
HUNT: Life of Ellen H. Richards; Whitcomb & Barrows,
Boston.
TAPPAN: American Hero Stories; Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston.
WHARTON: Colonial Days and Dames; J. B. Lippincott Co.,
Philadelphia.
WILLIAMS: Some Successful Americans, Ginn & Co., Boston.
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
95
.
B. For the Teacher
Group 1
BRUCE: Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century;
Whittet & Shepperson, Richmond.
BRUCE : Social Life of the South; with others; Southern Publi-
cation Society, Richmond.
BURNABY: Travels through North America; A. Wessels Co.,
New York.
COFFIN: Old Times in the Colonies; New York, 1880.
EARLE: Stage-Coach and Tavern Days; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
FISHER: Men, Women, and Manners in Colonial Times; J. B.
Lippincott Co., Philadelphia.
FISKE: Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America; Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston.
GREENE: Provincial America; Harper & Bros., New York.
HULBERT: Boone's Wilderness Road; Arthur H. Clark Co.,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Group 2
ANDREWS: Colonial Self-Government; Harper & Bros., New
York.
ASHLEY: American Government (Part II); The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
BABCOCK : The Rise of American Nationality; Harper & Bros.,
New York.
BASSETT: A Short History of the United States; The
Macmillan Co., New York.
FISH: Development of American Nationality; American Book
Co., New York.
FLICKINGER: Civil Government; pp. 206-334; D. C. Heath &
Co., Boston.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
JOHNSTON: The United States: Its History and Constitution;
Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York.
MACDONALD: Documentary Source Book of American History;
The Macmillan Oo., New York.
MCLAUGHLIN: The Confederation and the Constitution; Harper
& Bros., New York.
SMITH: Spirit of American Government; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
TAYLOR: Origin and Growth of the American Constitution;
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
WALKER: The Making of the Nation; Chas. Scribner's Sons,
New York.
Group 3
BARTON : Human Progress through Missions; F. H. Revell Co.,
New York.
CLOUGH: Social Christianity in the Orient; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
FISHER: History of the Christian Church; pp. 449-483, 509–
527, 559-598; Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York.
JOHNSON: Great Events, Vol. XIII, pp. 57-71; article on
George Whitefield.
LINDSAY: Missions and Social Progress; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
OVERTON: The Evangelical Revival in the Eighteenth Century;
Longmans, Green & Co., New York,
WARNECK: History of Protestant Missions; F. H. Revell Co.,
New York.
Group 4
ALDERMAN: J. L. M. Curry: A Biography; with Gordon; The
Macmillan Co., New York.
CARTER: Mark Hopkins; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. .
HISTORY IN THE GRADES
97
DEXTER: History of Education in the United States; The Mac-
millan Co.
HINSDALE: Horace Mann and the Common School Revival in the
United States; Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York.
HUBBELL: Horace Mann; Wm. F. Fell Co., Philadelphia.
LANG: Horace Mann; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
MURRAY: Francis Wayland; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
PHELPS: David P. Page; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
Group 5
ADDAMS: Twenty Years at Hull House; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
BOLTON: Some Successful Women; Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
BROOKS: Historic Girls; G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.
BRUCE: Woman in the Making of America; Little, Brown & Co.,
Boston.
EARLE: Margaret Winthrop; Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York.
GOODWIN: Dolly Madison; Chas. Scribner's Sons.
GREEN: Pioneer Mothers of America; G. P. Putnam's Sons,
New York.
PRYOR: My Day; The Macmillan Co., New York.
PRYOR: The Mother of Washington and Her Times; The Mac-
millan Co.
RAVENEL: Eliza Pinckney; Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York.
STUART: The Philanthropic Work of Josephine Shaw Lowell;
The Macmillan Co., New York.
TIFFANY: Dorothea Lynde Dix; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
"History in the Elementary Schools,” by S. B. Howe, in
Education for June, 1914, will be read with interest in connec-
tion with this chapter.
H
CHAPTER VIII
A SUMMARY OF AIMS AND METHODS FOR THE
GRADES
It is my purpose to bring together here, in brief
compass, a number of the things already presented
in the preceding chapters, and in connection with
these a few others that have perhaps not been men-
tioned hitherto.
We may do well to begin the teaching of history in
the first grade, even in the home before the child goes
to school at all, if we begin in a natural and sensible
way - that is, largely in the child's way or in ways
that the child will understand and appreciate; and
we may continue to teach history as long as the school
course continues : through the high school, the col-
lege, the university, or the professional school. Yet
in every process and in every period of the course
we must study the pupil as well as the facts we are
trying to teach him, and consider carefully our ways
of doing things with him. In short, we must ob-
serve a good many cautions as well as some recom-
mendations.
Do not burden the child at first with a textbook.
This caution should naturally suggest itself if we be-
98
SUMMARY OF AIMS AND METHODS
99
gin teaching the child history before he can read.
But even after he can read a little, let us be care-
ful about thrusting books upon him. With a good
teacher he may get along very well without a history
book in his own hands until he comes into the fourth
grade. Do not construe this as an iron-clad rule for
every case. Every case must be decided for itself.
The child is the main factor; the subject and the cir-
cumstances count for something; the books avail-
able must be taken into account; the teacher is the
wise judge. If the child wants to read history stories,
or books of that nature, before the fourth grade, by
all means let him do so. All I say is, Do not burden
him with a textbook. This means, do not force a
textbook into his unwilling hands; do not give him
one that is too heavy for him, even if he is willing to
receive it.
With a wise teacher almost any rule will work
well ; with an unwise teacher almost any rule is
dangerous.
Do not confuse the little child with dates, and do
not terrify him with skeletons. Dates are necessary
in the complete scheme of history, but you must not
undertake to teach the little child history in its com-
pleteness. Skeletons are the framework, or archi-
tectural fundamentals, of history, shown in their
bare outlines. Skeletons, too, are necessary, in his-
tory as well as in anatomy, but in teaching children
I do not believe we should show skeletons to start
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
with. It seems much better to study first some of the
beautiful things of the outside, whether we are study-
ing the human body, a tree, or history.
Tell the little child a story, a story of some man or
woman that helped to make a bit of history, some-
where, sometime. Tell him a story, and then tell it
to him again. Do not tell him too many different
stories at first. Too many will confuse him. When
you have told him a good story, have him tell it to
you.
Celebrate a few holidays — three or four a year;
more, if convenient and desirable. Make what you
present in words or in action as full of detail, as vivid
with color, and as impressive as possible. Vividness
and impressiveness will generally be secured in pro-
portion as things are made concrete. The abstract
is almost certain to be a fatal wilderness to all chil-
dren, and also to many a self-approved Joshua.
Avoid complex stories and complex situations with
beginners. As the child grows the situations and
stories may grow; but nothing very difficult or com-
plicated should be attempted in the first four or five
grades. All along here it is the teacher's business
to make things simple, rather than to twist them up
for the fun of untangling them.
In order to give much to your pupils, get full of the
subject yourself. Getting the facts well in hand is
not enough. An encyclopedia is full of facts, but it
does not usually prove the best teacher. As a
SUMMARY OF AIMS AND METHODS
101
teacher, a living teacher for living pupils, you need
to get full of the spirit of your subject; of botany, if
you teach botany; of literature, if you teach litera-
ture; and of history, if you teach history. Beware
of a zeal without knowledge, but do not imagine that
a knowledge without zeal is much better - for a
teacher of children.
Get some good manuals guidebooks for teachers
of history – and make yourself very familiar with the
one or two that seem to meet your needs most fully.
Do not imagine that a stack of such books that you
have never studied, and to which you never refer,
is going to help you much. In the second place, do
not be so foolish as to try to do everything the guide-
book suggests. Every manual ought to be compre-
hensive enough to meet the needs of many teachers
and many different classes : it would be folly for a
single teacher to explode it all upon the heads of a
single class in a single session. In the third place,
dare to do some things for yourself — some things
that are not in the manuals at all. There is little
hope for a teacher who is afraid to do a thing, good
though she is convinced it is, until she has glanced
anxiously into her guidebook to assure herself that
it has the stamp of authority. Such a person is not
a real teacher. Such a person is a slave to conven-
tion, a moral coward, and has no right in the noble
ranks of the teaching profession. A teacher must
have courage, and must be willing to face the criti-
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
cism that is always one of the rewards of leadership.
Teachers have the right to be pioneers; and no au-
thority, however renowned, has a monopoly upon
invention and skill.
Seize your surroundings: the objects within reach
and sight that have historical values; the incidents
of the hour, and the passing anniversaries of notable
events of long ago. Seize the time, then, as well as
the surroundings, for both are eloquent in your aid.
The teacher, like the orator, must make the place
and the occasion reënforce his utterance. Napoleon
could not have spoken so forcefully except in the
shadow of the pyramids, and Lincoln's most famous
address could not have been uttered anywhere else
so finely as at Gettysburg.
In celebrating holidays, such as Discovery Day
(October 12) and Thanksgiving, in describing the
Indians and pioneers, and in portraying primitive
life in its various phases, use constructions as well
as stories. A large sand table is a fine foundation for
temporary structures. Upon it may soon be grown
a forest of cedar, pine, and oak; at one place may be
a wigwam, at another a settler's cabin in a clearing.
Yonder may be a fort of stone or logs, surrounded
by a palisade. A piece of glass set down on the
bottom of the table may represent a lake or an arm
of the sea; and upon it may be placed some boats or
a tiny ship.
Maps and sketches on the blackboard, drawings
SUMMARY OF AIMS AND METHODS
103
1
on paper, bows and arrows, moccasins, household
utensils, and farming implements, each made of suit-
able materials, may all be thought of as possibilities
under the head of constructions.
Utilize the resources of your community for his-
torical excursions of larger or smaller compass.
Drill yourself in the art of story-telling, by cultivat-
ing the qualities of directness, clearness, simplicity,
and sympathy. Get your children to hunting for
stories, and urge each one to find a new one if possible,
one that has never been written down or printed in a
book.
Have a museum for history, as well as a library, and
make use of it. For small children - for pupils in
the first three or four grades — a good museum is
worth ten times as much as a library. Let the chil-
dren help build up the museum. This process will
be a good sort of training in itself, and will develop
intelligent interest and school spirit. Many old
cast-off utensils and fabrics of several generations
past, that will soon be destroyed or lost, if not cared
for by proper hands, may be gathered together at the
school with great profit.?
Remember that all the way through the grades
the child is chiefly making acquaintances.
This, of
1 See “Local Historical Excursions as Class Exercises," by
E. M. Violette; pp. 33–40, History and Government Bulletin,
March, 1914; First District Normal School, Kirksville, Mo.
2 See “Historical Museum," pp. 48-58, of the above Bul-
letin.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
course, is most obviously and most thoroughly true
at the beginning. It is your business, as his teacher,
to introduce him to men and women, to facts, to
situations, to scenes of beauty and truth and power,
and to help him gather great stores of materials with
which he may build through all the following years.
If you appreciate this great fact you will necessarily
see that to him, at first, nearly everything is new and
strange. Not to see this, or not to regard it, may
mean your failure as a teacher. One of your prob-
lems, then, is to avoid identical and needless repeti-
tion from year to year, yet at the same time to en-
able the pupil to view the common field from many
points of vantage.
The materials and opportunities at your hand are
many, but the motive that pushes you to success is
one: it is love for your work — enthusiasm, if you
please. The triumphs of history have derived more
from the enthusiasm of leaders than from any other
human force. The teaching of history, with children
at least, depends more upon the enthusiasm of the
teacher than upon any other factor.
Finally, keep continually before you the human
element in history -- the moral values. Men and
women have made it; it has been made for men and
women; it points to the origins and the issues of
life. You must make it a force for character and
good citizenship. You are under a constant obli-
gation to make the history course for the grades use-
SUMMARY OF AIMS AND METHODS
105
ful for life to those pupils who never go beyond the
grades, and at the same time so vital and thorough-
going that it will serve as a good foundation for any
and all subsequent study to those who continue in
school.
CHAPTER IX
HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL
BECAUSE of its general values for good citizenship,
we claim a respectable place in the high school for
the study of history; and because the citizenship we
contemplate is to be exercised in a particular country
- our own country--we seek in this study of history
the particular character and values that seem to
promise most for the making of citizenship in the
United States of America.
For many generations the human interest of his-
tory has been acknowledged in many lands. In
recent years it has gained fuller appreciation in the
great awakening regarding the necessity for a more
serious and a more general study of all social sciences;
yet, strange to say, in only a few of our high schools --
" the colleges of the people " -- even at this late day,
has anything like adequate provision been made for
history-teaching and history-study. In the great
majority of American high schools the history courses
are too short, too irregular, too poorly taught, and
too lightly regarded. In many of our high schools,
1 See an article in the History Teacher's Magazine, March,
1914, entitled “History in the High School Curriculum," by
St. George L. Sioussat.
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HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL 107
and in some of quite respectable standing, no course
whatever in American history is provided. This is
certainly too bad.
Let us study about other worlds, in which perhaps
nobody lives, if we have time; but by all means let
us study about our own world, and the people in it,
since it is here that we must live and do our life work.
Let us learn, if we have the opportunity (and, inci-
dentally, the brains), how to draw, determine, and
calculate all sorts of possible curves, seen and unseen,
in space and in infinity; but, in all conscience, let
us perceive it as our duty to get some notion of the
sort of curve a normal human life should follow, in a
normal human society. If schools are intended as a
preparation for subsequent life, it seems reasonable
to demand that we have taught in our schools the
subjects that unfold life in the truest possible colors.
All subjects of study, doubtless, have something in
them of vital interest; but, obviously, if we are seek-
ing those that deal with human character, human
conduct, and human destiny most directly we cannot
neglect such subjects as history, literature, civics, and
sociology.
If we decide that history is of sufficient importance
to merit a place in our high school courses, the next
question is, What history shall we choose to put into
these courses ?
Inasmuch as a majority of the pupils in our
elementary schools never get into high school, or
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
never complete high school, it would appear that the
history taught in the grades should aim primarily
at helping the pupil to be a man or a woman, and
only secondarily at articulation with high school
courses. Likewise, inasmuch as a large majority of
the pupils in our high schools never go to college, it
seems right that the history taught in the high
schools should aim primarily at moral worth and
social efficiency, and only secondarily at articulation
with college courses. Nevertheless, a good history
course for life values ought to be a good course for
college entrance, and vice versa. Moreover, in the
better class of high schools it will generally be possible
to offer some range of election, so that the pupil
preparing for college may conform agreeably with
the college standards, and the one preparing more
directly for home and office and shop and farm may
study what seems best for him.
In any case and in every case it would certainly
not be amiss for the young American in high school
to study American history and government at least
one year. If he have but one year in high school,
one of the subjects of study for that year should aim
at enlarging his knowledge of his own country and at
clarifying his sense of what a citizen of that country
ought to do and be. Upon these premises the follow-
ing scheme is submitted:
HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL 109
OUTLINE OF WORK IN HISTORY FOR AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS
A. FOR WORK COVERING ONE YEAR
United States History and Government. — A general course, but
one in which later periods are emphasized rather than the earlier
ones, and in which the duties and opportunities of the citizen in
government are dwelt upon rather than the intricacies and tech-
nicalities of systems.
B. FOR WORK COVERING TWO YEARS
First Year: The History and Government of Great Britain.
A general course, but one in which the growth of social, politi-
cal, religious, educational, and industrial forces and institutions
is emphasized, and in which the intimate relations with Ameri-
can history are carefully traced.
Second Year: United States History and Government.
C. FOR WORK COVERING THREE YEARS
First Year: European History, from the Time of Charlemagne.
Second Year: The History and Government of Great Britain.
Third Year: United States History and Government.
D. FOR WORK COVERING TOUR YEARS
First Year: Ancient History, centering specially about Athens,
Rome, and Jerusalem, and coming down to about the year 800
A.D.
Second Year: European History, from the Time of Charle-
magne.
Third Year: The History and Government of Great Britain.
Fourth Year: United States History and Government.
It is hardly necessary to remark that four years
of work in history seems the desirable thing for the
110
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
good American high school, and for the good Ameri-
can citizen, in so far as he is or may be a high school
product. It is confidently believed that such a
four-year course as the one outlined above, which is
approved by good authorityl and wide acceptance,
as well as by sound reason, will be found most profit-
able for practical life values to the average student,
and also acceptable to the average college as a prep-
aration for the more intensive work of higher educa-
tion. The shorter courses are not recommended in
preference or even in competition, but only as expe-
dients to be utilized in case the four-year course seems
altogether out of reach.
In his high school history work the student should
of course make due progress beyond the standards
and methods of the grades, but should not be
required to jump any great chasms suddenly, to
ape the habits of college and university. Many
students in attempting to pass from the last grade
into the first year of the high school are confused and
discouraged upon encountering differences much
greater than ought to exist. Naturally and properly
the work of September in the high school is more
advanced than that of the preceding June in the last
grade, but there seems to be no adequate reason why
three months of holiday here may warrant a much
1 See Report of the Committee of Seven to the American
Historical Association, pp. 34, 35. More extended reference to
this Report will be found in Chapter XXIX.
HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL 111
greater advance than a similar period of equal length
the preceding year.
But having crossed the Rubicon, or whatever it is,
and having entered upon the high school course,
happily or unhappily, the student must give evidence
of growth. He must be able to work more inde-
pendently, though not less regularly and systemati-
cally. He must develop the capacity for doing more
work in a given time: for mastering longer assign-
ments in the text, and for assembling more supple-
mentary facts and materials from other sources.
He should find increasing pleasure and facility in the
use of source books, and after a year or two should
have some degree of acquaintance with most of the
history books in the school library. He should
come to appreciate more keenly the values of history.,
and his interest in the subject should become in-
creasingly intelligent and vital.
In high school the fervid patriotism of the grades
should not be cooled, exactly, but refined, and
rendered more sane and safe. The youth of fifteen
ought not to be allowed to pose as a critic, yet he
may certainly be permitted to learn that all questions
have two sides -- even the questions that were raised
by the American Revolution; that even aliens and
enemies have rights; that one purpose of historical
study is to cultivate the virtues of charity and jus-
tice; and that the real student of history is seeking
the whole truth rather than arguments that seem to
112
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
support his favorite set of opinions. He should come
to understand that an appropriate Fourth of July
celebration may be had without either noise or
smoke; that firecrackers are, after all, capable of
expressing a very limited circle of sentiments; that
men and women of peace may be just as loyal and
helpful citizens and patriots as those who haste to
war; and that the men who are charged with the
heavy responsibilities of national policy and national
destiny are as likely to be sincere and right as an
irresponsible, chinkapin press.
In the high school an increasing number of topical
studies may be undertaken with interest and profit.
Reports should be given, sometimes orally, some-
times in writing; but in every case the form of the
report as well as the substance of it should receive
careful attention. The study of biography should
still be carried on, old acquaintances being discovered
in new relations, and new characters being intro-
duced. The values of biographical studies will come
into fuller appreciation as the student goes on from
year to year.
If the youth in high school is so fortunate as to
have four years in history, according to the approved
scheme outlined above, he will come in his senior
year to the history of his own country again, better
prepared than ever before to understand it and to
appreciate it. During the three years in which he
has been studying ancient, medieval, and modern
HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL 113
history he has been carrying with him the facts
learned in the grades about American history,
together with the notions he has formed upon the
basis of those facts. As other countries, other ages,
and other facts have come into his range of knowledge
his notions about his own country have changed
somewhat, and even the facts he learned as a boy
grow larger and more significant as one stream of
light after another falls upon them from Greece or
Rome, from Paris or London. Accordingly, when
he comes again, after long training and with enlarged
vision, to review the history and governmental pro-
cesses in the United States they will have many new
meanings for him, and he will be able to see many
new reasons for existing institutions here, because
he has become familiar with many old origins else-
where.1
1 In connection with the subject of this chapter attention
is called to two articles in the History Teacher's Magazine, June,
1914: “Preparation for the High School Teacher of History,"
by N. M. Trenholme; and “Present Tendencies in High School
History Teaching," by T. P. Marshall. In the University of
Virginia Alumni Bulletin, July, 1908, is an interesting paper by
R. H. Dabney, entitled "History in the High School."
I
CHAPTER X
HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN NORMAL SCHOOL
OUR normal schools have been charged with
superficiality in the teaching of the facts of history,
perhaps in the teaching of subject matter generally.
History, however, is one of the subjects the facts
of which seem to be specially elusive. In state
examinations for teachers and in college examina-
tions for entering students the marks on history are
so generally poor as to be painfully conspicuous.
Evidently there is somehow a frequent failure, in
many parts of the United States, in the attempt to
teach the facts of history. Are the normal schools
altogether to blame? Is it true that the normal
schools fail in their part of the business? What is
their part? and what is the truth of the matter?
I believe it is true that our normal schools often
do not teach the facts of history very thoroughly.
May I be pardoned for saying that this is not the
primary business of the normal schools? The pri-
mary function of the normal school is to give pro-
fessional training. It is the business of the elemen-
tary and secondary schools, among other things,
thoroughly to fix the facts — the subject matter --
114
HISTORY IN AMERICAN NORMAL SCHOOL 115
up to a reasonable degree. The full graduate of a
high school should know enough to enter college
or to undertake professional courses in a normal
school. But sometimes high school graduates do
not know the subjects enumerated on their certifi-
cates; and sometimes a state is so poorly provided
with high schools that the normal schools must take
pupils who have had less than four years of high
school work. It is easy to see, therefore, how the
charge of superficiality falls upon the normal schools.
But it is just as easy to see that they are being cen-
sured for what is really somebody else's sin.
The normal schools are properly professional
schools, and should deal with every subject from the
professional standpoint. Teaching facts, subject
matter, as such, is not properly their business. It
would be poor economy for them to do what can be
done with less expense in the lower schools. More-
over, if the normal school should undertake to keep
students long enough to do its own work and the work
of the high school too, there would be a great outcry
against the long time-requirement. The normal
school hardly dares to ask a four-year high school
graduate to work more than two or three years for a
teaching diploma; and a period of two or three
years is not long enough for teaching subject matter
thoroughly and for giving good professional training.
It is not long enough for the latter alone if the former
has not been done.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
But there is a way in which the normal school may
become guilty, and make the charge against itself
true and just: By admitting students with in-
adequate preparation, or by granting diplomas to
those who do not know and cannot do. Those who
do not know are superficial; and those who cannot
do will leave their pupils superficial. Under such
conditions the normal school is in a measure respon-
sible and culpable.
To protect themselves against tasks that do not
properly belong to them, to escape being charged
with a superficiality for which other schools are justly
responsible, and to secure a fair chance to do their
proper work in a satisfactory manner, our normal
schools must insist that students entering their gates
really know the subject matter, the facts, that the
elementary and secondary schools should teach
them. For, be it clearly understood, the normal
schools cannot in any way stand for superficiality,
either in themselves or in other schools for which they
are in some measure responsible. They must see
to it that those persons who receive their diplomas
to teach have adequate knowledge of facts as well
as approved professional skill. If it is not the real
business of the normal schools to teach subject
matter, as such, it is their business to send good
teachers to the lower schools and then to demand that
those schools do their duty. Only when the pre-
paratory schools do their work thoroughly can the
HISTORY IN AMERICAN NORMAL SCHOOL 117
normal schools do their proper work in the time
allotted them.
We should take pleasure in the fact, however, that
the normal schools in doing their proper work have
many opportunities for supplementing and strength-
ening the work of the lower (or preceding) schools;
and as far as possible these opportunities should
be utilized. It is a wise provision in the order of
things that the matter of the various subjects is the
logical material to use in teaching how to teach those
subjects. Method depends on matter. The mind
cannot go through a process of reasoning without
ideas and notions out of which to construct the chain.
A man cannot speak in approved manner without
words. Likewise, in teaching principles and methods
of instruction a concrete relation must be maintained.
In giving professional training, materials of some
appropriate kind must be used as a working basis,
if the process is to be intelligible and usable.
Obviously, the facts and materials making up the
subject matter of the respective sciences and arts
are the natural and proper objects in which to
embody the processes of the teacher's art. How to
teach arithmetic is best shown in skillfully dealing
with representative problems of arithmetic. How
to teach botany is best shown by the scientific col-
lection, study, and description of numerous plants.
How to teach literature is best shown in the sym-
pathetic and appreciative interpretation of some
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
literary masterpiece. And how to teach history is
best shown by actually dealing with the facts, move-
ments, and persons that have made history.
If, therefore, the normal school teacher should
proceed at once to instruct his class in the most
approved methods of teaching history to children,
he would incidentally, if he did his work well, teach
more or less history to his pupils. It would probably
be better still, for his purposes, to take a month or
two -- a whole quarter if available --- for reviewing
or new-viewing the subject as such, so as to gather
the working materials well into hand.
Such preliminary study of the subject, and all
subsequent incidental study, should present new
views rather than mere reviews. The normal school
teacher of history should be able to reveal more in
history than the average high school teacher; and
the student preparing to teach should be expected
to have keener and more appreciative discernment
than the average student in the lower schools. Far
from being superficial, the presentation of facts,
although employed incidentally, should give a more
profound insight and a juster sense of values than
could reasonably be expected in the earlier stages of
the student's progress. In so far, therefore, as the
facts, forces, and institutions of history are studied
in the normal school, the work should be compre-
hensive rather than extensive, philosophical rather
than statistical; the aim should be toward a helpful
HISTORY IN AMERICAN NORMAL SCHOOL 119
interpretation and application of facts rather than
toward a mere catechising process to fix the facts.
Such a process is out of place in a normal school.
Discussion should be encouraged, opinions should
be elicited, and a good deal of stress should be laid
upon the proper correlation of history with kindred
subjects, such as literature, geography, civics,
sociology, and upon the opportunities for making
it concrete through handwork of various sorts. The
student should do much work in the library, not only
for the purpose of collecting materials for reports,
essays, teaching plans, and supplementary study,
but also, and especially, for the purpose of getting
acquainted with books. This last-mentioned pro-
cess is deemed so important that a later chapter
(Chapter XXIX) is devoted specially to it.
Every normal school lesson in history, or in any
other subject, if you please, whether given in the
form of a lecture, a recitation, a series of questions
and answers, a story, or a written quiz, should be an
observation lesson. This statement is not to be
construed as meaning that special observation lessons
in the training school are not desirable or necessary,
but as meaning simply that every time teacher and
pupils come together both should have open eyes.
The teacher should observe his pupils, collectively,
of course, and individually, as far as possible. It is
in this way that the teacher who wishes to learn may
learn some of his best lessons. On the other hand,
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
his pupils should be able to learn as much from what
they see him do as from what he tells them to do.
In his own attitude and procedure before his class he
should demonstrate at least some of the principles
and methods he lectures upon with so much com-
placency and learning. The average pupil watches
his teacher. The normal school student should make
a specialty of watching his teacher. Not that nor-
mal school teachers are perfect, or can be perfect;
but they ought to be, certainly, good enough to be
watched with some profit to the pupil. A teacher,
particularly a normal school teacher, who is not
willing to be watched, not cynically but earnestly
and sympathetically, had better resign. He is
there to be watched. The intelligent student of
normal school age is able to get theories and plans out
of books, but he needs to observe teachers to see
how they do things.
The next step, of course, is for the student to do
things himself. Accordingly, the normal school
teacher should make it a point of conscience to have
his pupils do things under his direction. He should
have them stand before the class. Walking up to
the front and standing there show character and
habit. But further acts are necessary. Let the
student speak. Let her tell a story; let her present
oral and written reports; let her quiz the class
occasionally; let her choose subjects for lesson
plans, adapting her choices to this or that particular
HISTORY IN AMERICAN NORMAL SCHOOL 121
grade; let her do all the different things, as far as
possible, that she will be called upon to do when she
goes out to teach history upon her own responsibility.
It is what the normal school student does, rather
than what she says or writes, that enables the teacher
to judge of her degree of teaching power. It occa-
sionally happens that a student who knows facts,
who thinks clearly, who gets all A's on notebooks
and examinations, is weak and almost a failure when
up
before a class trying to teach. On the other hand,
it once in a while turns out that one who has had a
hard time to make passing marks on paper shows an
unexpected and surprising power on the floor.
The scholar whose bodily presence is weak has a
good chance for growth in personality, and she may
in time become a dynamic teacher, but so far as
her all-round rank in a normal school class goes her
paper grades must go down somewhat to make an
equitable adjustment with her deficient floor powers.
Again, in due equity, the low paper grades of the one
who is deficient in scholarship may be raised some-
what in the general estimate if she have pedagogical
tact and personal force, powers that are of primary
importance in the teacher.
If three quarters, or terms, can be had for the
normal school course in United States history, it
seems to me that a distribution of emphasis like the
following might be best. In the first quarter put
the emphasis upon subject matter, reviewing and
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
new-viewing. In the second quarter let the teacher
present chiefly principles and methods, ways and
means of teaching the subject, giving demonstrations
and illustrations of these methods, and so on, in
ample measure. In the third quarter let the pupil
show what she can do in the actual use of the various
facts and methods learned or reviewed the preced-
ing quarters.
As far as practicable, the history courses in our
normal schools should be shaped toward particular
fields. That is, the work done in the normal school
should contemplate this or that definite work or
definite field for each normal school graduate.
In other words, each normal school teacher of history
should have, in each one of his classes, a definite
notion as to whether he is training teachers for the
high school or for the grades. Although the general
principles of history and of teaching history are true
and applicable everywhere, the training in methods,
in ways and means, should take a rather special
character, looking toward, say, the needs of primary
classes, intermediate classes, grammar grades, or
high school.
Frequently college graduates are sought after to
be teachers of history and other subjects in high
schools. In many cases they prove to be very poor
teachers. Two or three reasons are obvious. In
the first place, most of them have had no special
training to teach anything. In the second place,
HISTORY IN AMERICAN NORMAL SCHOOL 123
some of them never expect to be professional teachers,
and hence are little concerned whether they are good
teachers or not. And, in the third place, about all
the methods they can think of are the methods they
have seen used in college, and these do not fit the
high school.
Doubtless it would seem unkind to say that some
very profound college and university professors are,
as teachers, neither scientific nor dynamic; but it is
nevertheless true. This fact must also be credited
with some significance in enumerating the reasons
why college graduates are sometimes poor teachers.
Now, nothing herein is to be construed as meaning
that a high school teacher of history, or of anything
else, does not need college education. He does need
it, and he should have it; but before he goes into the
schoolroom to teach he should also have professional
training, aimed definitely at making him a good
teacher. Frequently, perhaps in most cases, a four-
year high school graduate, with two or three years
in a normal school, will make a better teacher for the
high school, or any other school, than the college
graduate without any professional training. The
better way will be happily found when the young
man or young woman who intends to be a teacher
will first graduate from the high school, then from
the college, and then from the normal school. It is
hardly necessary to say that a college graduate ought
to get twice as much benefit from his normal school
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
course as the one who comes in straight from high
school.
History in our normal schools should be taught in
a highly sane and judicial spirit. The teachers of
American youth must have not only a keen historical
instinct, but also a true historical judgment. En-
thusiasm is to be kindled to a white heat, but it
must be safeguarded by fine self-control and a
religious loyalty to truth. If we prize such qualities
and powers in the teachers of our youth, we must
demand them in the makers of teachers.
Our normal schools must help to develop a just
appreciation of subjective values in history study,
along with a due insistence upon objective values.
History, if well taught or earnestly studied, is certain
to take hold upon the student's life, interests, desires,
ideals, and ambitions. These are subjective values.
They are worth more than any mere knowledge of
facts without effects. The teacher of the future will
give more consideration to what the pupil is becoming
in himself, and will not make him stand or fall upon
a trick of memory.
The normal school teacher of history may certainly
be allowed to use any method for presenting facts
that he may choose, just so he chooses well in every
He may lecture; he may assign regular lessons
in textbooks, and quiz upon them; he may require
oral or written reports upon particular topics; he
may occasionally have each pupil make a rather
case.
HISTORY IN AMERICAN NORMAL SCHOOL 125
exhaustive study of some character or subject, and
embody the results in a dissertation; but in every
process he should aim at developing as much as
possible the student's own self-directing powers
and his sense of responsibility. Those who are soon
to go out to direct others should learn, as good
stewards of life, how to control themselves, how to use
their time, and how to direct their own powers and
activities.
CHAPTER XI
THE USE OF THE HISTORY STORY IN THE
TEACHING OF HISTORY
WITHIN recent years educators have come again to
recognize the value of the story, particularly in his-
tory and related subjects. I say “ again ”; for of a
truth the value of the story has been appreciated and
utilized in education at many times in the past; and
in all countries and all ages, whether in school or
home, whether in prose or song, whether upon silent
pages or speaking lips, the story has had power.
By one of the fortunate accidents that so often
redeem defective systems, a set of old history story
books that were published in the early part of last
century fell into my hands as soon as I began to read.
They were entitled The Child's First Book of History,
The Child's Second Book of History, and The Child's
Third Book of History. It was accident, indeed,
rather than plan that laid these books before me,
but the accident worked better than many plans do.
I looked at the pictures, I devoured the stories, I
got a hunger for history. The same facts clad in
the sober garb of philosophy might have repelled
or even disgusted me; in the simple narrative they
charmed me.
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127
Since the day, so long ago, when those books were
published, there has been frequent dearth of history
stories for home and school; but now it is not so.
History stories -- all sorts of stories - abound. Our
task now is to sift the wheat from the chaff.
Every child loves a story, just as every race in its
childhood has loved a story. The poet in the Greek
camps about Troy, the troubadour in the pleasant
land of France, the minstrel in the Saxon halls, the
ballad singer of the wild border, never wanted an
audience; for whether he chanted or whether he sang,
whether he lilted in the measure of verse or dropped
quaintly into prose, the people listened eagerly,
for
he told a story.
He who gets the ear of a child will soon touch his
heart. Securing and holding attention is one of the
teacher's hardest problems, but the story is one of
the easiest and happiest solutions. Moreover, the
story is valuable for economy. Professor Hinsdale
well says: -
"A bit of romance, poetry, anecdote, or story will
often throw more light upon a historical situation, or let
you deeper into a man's heart and life, than a page of
careful analysis. The story of Alfred and the cakes, of
Bruce and the spider, of Sidney and the cup of water,
of Marion and the sweet potatoes, are not only thoroughly
characteristic, but they tell us more than a laborious
description.” 1
1 Hinsdale: “How to Study and Teach History, p. 48.
1 ܙܕ
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
History in general is rich in story material, because
persons, action, events, achievement, make up so
much of history; and persons in action, participating
in events and shaping achievement, appear as the
controlling factors in every story. American history
in particular is especially fortunate in a wealth of
story. It is so, first, because of the innumerable
splendid achievements that have marked our life
from the early beginnings unto the present; second,
because of the rapidity with which the action has
moved all along the line of our marvelous progress;
third, because of the high nobility of character that
has in nearly every case distinguished our great men
and women; and, finally, because the stories of
American history are true stories.
We assume that no argument is necessary to sus-
tain the contention that a history story should be
true. It should at least be true to the common
life of a time, if not actually true in every name and
incident. The stories of old Rome and of old
England are beautiful, many of them, and have great
value; but how much better for history would it be
— perhaps for poetry too — if we could say of Romu-
lus and King Arthur, “ They were not only real men,
but they were just as they are pictured, and they
did just the things with which they are credited."
We can say this of Columbus and William Penn and
George Washington and Lafayette. America has
its far-off age of shadows, to be sure, when dim,
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129
99
uncertain figures moved behind the edge of dawn,
but so far as our direct ancestors are concerned they
came upon the New World stage in a full light, and
the curtain has been lifted high ever since. The
difference between our early American history and
the early age of almost every other great country is
the simple difference between history and myth,
fact and fancy. It is worth much when we can tell
the American boy a stirring story of his favorite hero,
and say to him or let him feel “ It is true.”
At present no teacher of American history need
lack suitable books for guidance in history story work.
As intimated in the opening sentence and elsewhere
in this chapter, the value of history stories has come
again into recognition, and all progressive publishers
are making haste to put suitable collections of story
books upon the market. They may be had now by
the dozens, some for this grade, some for that, from
first to last. However, one rather serious lack may
still be noted: the lack of stories of women, great and
good, who have helped to make our history. It
is probable, however, that this lack will not exist
much longer.
Obviously, the largest proportion of story work
falls naturally into the early grades. At first the
teacher does nearly everything for the child: it is
the story hour. At last the child is able to do nearly
everything for himself: it is his day of strength.
Accordingly, if one were to draw a diagram of this
K
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transfer of power through the grades, he might use
two of the dynamic marks of music: a long diminu-
endo mark, with just above it a long crescendo. The
first, beginning large and gradually lessening, would
represent the story work of the teacher; the second,
beginning small and gradually expanding, would
represent what the child grows into and acquires,
making him more and more independent of what the
teacher gives and does.
Notwithstanding the fact that the teacher may
find many excellent collections of history stories ready
for her use, she must still exercise her own good judg-
ment in the selection of the particular stories that
she uses.
A story for little children should be simple
in plot, and not too long. The characters should be
few and well marked. The whole story should be
full of human interest and alive with action.
Every story, for small children or larger ones,
should be rich in detail — the little particulars about
which the child will wonder if they are omitted.
Broad generalities may glitter and sometimes thrill,
but it is the realistic touch of a little hand, the shape
and color of a hero's cap, the exact words that a
mother spoke that chain attention and grip the heart.
The story-teller must train herself in the skillful and
accurate picturing of detail in action, form, color,
word, and feeling.
To secure unity in a story it should be limited to a
single incident, or should have a progressive conti-
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131
answer.
nuity that leads clearly and strongly from one incident
to another. If possible, it should reach a climax at or
near the end. The climax may involve a surprise
or may relieve a suspense that has been built up grad-
ually. The element of suspense is valuable in ex-
citing interest and holding attention. It should be
utilized in some way: by withholding a name, by
creating a dangerous or trying situation, by arousing
a desire for an explanation which is not at once
given, or by asking a question which the story is to
The story-teller must be on her guard
against giving away all the points of interest at the
beginning.
Probably the average story for the child should be
a hero story; but the good teacher will likely take
Vergil's theme and cut it half in two. "Arma
virumque cano" is too much for our better time:
“Virum cano” is enough. Children like the rattle
of arms and the scramble of the fight, but we are
now trying to train them for better things. Not
that we can or ought to pluck out the fighting in-
stinct, but we should give it proper aims and objects.
As long as the world is full of dangers and life is full
of struggles, we need the grit to fight and the grace
to die; but both are " in viro" and neither is “in
armis." We have come now to seek the heroism that
gives life and saves life, rather than the sort that
takes life or hurts life. We have risen to the plane
of law and justice, at least in our aims, and widened
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our love of heroism so as to include the brave at
home.”
Here is a little story of a sort that may be given
to children in the second or third grade.
ELIZABETH IRVINE'S RIDE
You perhaps have heard of the ride of Paul Revere,
from Boston to Lexington, one night in April more than
a hundred years ago. Now I am going to tell you about
the ride of Elizabeth Irvine. She lived long ago too,
about the same time that Paul Revere lived; but his
home was in Massachusetts, and hers was in Virginia.
Paul Revere's ride was made one night, as I said.
Elizabeth Irvine's ride was also made one night. But
there were some differences, too. Paul Revere's ride was
in the spring of the year, in April; Elizabeth Irvine's
ride was in the fall, in October or November. And she
rode twice as far as Paul Revere did. He rode twelve
or fifteen miles, while she rode about thirty.
As I told you, Elizabeth Irvine lived in Virginia. Her
home was in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, on a little
stream called Long Glade. Near by was a little village
called Dinkletown. The big county of Augusta then
included Dinkletown, the Long Glade section, and much
of the country round about.
Elizabeth Irvine, at the time of which I speak, was a
young woman, just recently married. She was not very
tall, and had bright black eyes. Her husband's name was
Francis Irvine.
One day, as autumn came on, Francis Irvine and all
the other men on Long Glade and at Dinkletown started
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133
on a hunting trip. They needed a supply of venison and
other meat for the winter, and expected to be away from
home a week or two.
The men left early in the morning, and the day was long
and lonesome for young Mrs. Irvine; but about four
o'clock in the afternoon she had a visitor. Who do you
think it was? I know you could never guess. It was
an old Indian woman called Shawnee Kate.
Kate was an old friend of Mrs. Irvine's, but her visit
was a great surprise.
“Why Kate !” exclaimed Mrs. Irvine, “I haven't
seen you for a long time, and I thought you were away out
on the South Branch with your people."
Then the old woman told Mrs. Irvine something that
made her start and give a little cry.
"Kill-Buck makes ready to get all the scalps at Deer-
field. I come to tell you."
Deerfield was Mrs. Irvine's old home. Her parents and
brothers and sisters lived there. They were in great
danger, for Kill-Buck was the most cunning and cruel
chief in all the country between the Shenandoah and the
Ohio. Shawnee Kate had walked many miles to warn
Mrs. Irvine; for often the little black-eyed girl at Deer-
field had given the old squaw a smile and something to eat.
But it was thirty miles to Deerfield, and all the men
of Long Glade and Dinkletown were away hunting.
Kill-Buck was gathering his braves for the attack. They
were hiding in the great mountains west of the valley.
It was a time for action, and Elizabeth Irvine did not
hesitate. She had quick eyes and strong hands, and her
heart did not fail. She saw the danger that hung over
Deerfield ; she also saw her own duty.
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Out in the pasture lot was a good horse. It was hers.
Her father gave it to her the day she left her old home to
come to her new home on Long Glade. She ran out to
the lot and called :
"Dundee ! Dundee! Come, Dundee !"
The horse raised his head, set his ears forward, and came
quickly to her side. In a few minutes he was bridled and
a saddle was on his back. Mrs. Irvine mounted him and
turned his head towards Deerfield.
The whole country was in forest, and the trails were
rough and hard to find at many places. It was dark
before she passed the headwaters of the Glade. It was
midnight before she reached Buffalo Gap, the first moun-
tain pass. Because of the darkness and the bad road she
had to go slowly. Rocks and stumps were in the way,
bushes swept the horse's sides, and rough branches of
trees hung low overhead. If the horse had not known the
way better than his rider, both would have been hopelessly
lost.
Do you think Mrs. Irvine was afraid ? Yes, she was
afraid. And that proves her a brave woman. She rode
right on through the darkness, even though she was afraid.
She was used to the hooting of the owls; and I do not
think she minded much the howling of the wolves; but
she did shiver a little when she saw a tall stump that
looked like an Indian. She did not know how soon one
of Kill-Buck's warriors might step out into the narrow
path and clutch Dundee by the bridle. She thought
that some of them might be on the watch.
Mrs. Irvine had a wonderful memory. Late in life
she could recite Milton's Paradise Lost and Young's Night
Thoughts. But she must have had many thoughts of her
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135
own that night. I doubt whether she recited poems that
night, unless it was some of King David's. She was a
Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, and knew her Bible by heart
too. She may have gone over some words like these :
"In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; . . . for thou art
my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake
lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they
have laid secretly for me: for thou art my strength.”
It takes a long time to ride thirty miles, even on a good
road in the daytime. Over that rough trail, in the dark
night, it took Mrs. Irvine hours and hours. As I told you,
it was midnight before she reached Buffalo Gap. Deer-
field was still eight or ten miles further on.
After a couple of hours more Dundee went down a steep
bank and Mrs. Irvine heard his feet splash in water. She
was pretty certain that it was the Calf Pasture River.
Some distance ahead she could see the dim outline of a
high mountain against the sky. It was the first great
range of the Alleghanies, and she knew that she was close
to Deerfield. As the morning star came up over the Blue
Ridge, far in the east, she rode up to her father's door.
The settlement was saved.
Elizabeth Irvine lived to tell her grandchildren this
story, and some of her descendants still live on Long
Glade. If you wish to find Dinkletown on the map, just
look for Bridgewater. That is the present name.
For boys and girls of the fifth grade and upwards,
who begin to understand the importance of science
in history and especially in our present-day life, the
following story and others like it might be used.
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THE “VOLTURNO" TRIUMPH
Shortly after daybreak on the ninth of last October
(1913) a great ocean steamer was bravely plowing her
way eastward through the waves of a stormy sea. Sud-
denly her course changed; her speed quickened. Like
a frightened monster of the deep she heaved and plunged
forward. Soon every rib of steel and close-locked joint
in her giant body was trembling and throbbing under the
strain of her mighty engines, far down in the burdened
hold.
What had happened? Why the changed course and
the quickened speed ? Why was the great ship leaping
forward like a frightened thing of life, fleeing as from a
terrible foe?
It was indeed a race for life the life of passengers and
crew; and the terrible foe that threatened death could
not be left behind. It clung to the fleeing ship and was
carried along in the race. The smoke that rose from the
forward decks and mingled with that of the furnace stacks
told the story: The ship was afire !
It was the good ship Volturno, with hundreds of men,
women, and children aboard. Her young captain and
his brave men were fighting the fire and driving the vessel
forward in the hope of finding rescue.
Far off on the stormy waters another great ship was
suddenly changing her course, and leaping forward at
increasing speed. The passengers perhaps wondered, but
the reason soon became known. A miracle had called
out of the skies. Out of the clouds a little voice had come,
searching far and wide for a listening ear. Out over the
rolling waves, up into the seething air, from height to
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137
height and from cloud to cloud it trembled on until at
last it touched and thrilled a human soul. High on the
second ship the operator of the wireless telegraph sat at
his post, faithful and vigilant, the receiver at his ear;
and he caught the little cry for help that came struggling
through the clouds.
As he listened he learned the thrilling import of the mes-
sage: “We are afire
cannot stop it come quick or
650 lives will be lost." The location of the burning ship
was also given; and then out into space, far across the
leagues of sea, this heart-cheering answer flew : “We are
coming — forced draught - cheer up - we will take you
off."
It was to make this promise good that the second ship
changed her course and rushed forward at top speed; but
the distance to the Volturno was eighty miles; and from
her forecastle was rising a column of flame forty feet high.
Escape by the lifeboats of the ship was impossible in
the savage seas. Some were lowered and filled with human
cargoes, only to be swamped or dashed to pieces. A
hundred lives were lost to prove that escape in boats was
not to be hoped for. The horror of the situation was
increased by several terrible explosions in the hold of the
ship, which seemed enough to burst her steel-ribbed hull
and open it to the hungry waters. In terror and with
shortened breath the huddling groups on the decks
watched the bow of the ship, expecting to see it settle
down into the depths at any moment. The officers of
the Volturno expected that she would burn to the water's
edge in an hour, but they did not speak of their fears
to the passengers. Instead they distributed life preserv-
ers and continued to fight the flames. Risking their lives
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
in deadly peril, they bore themselves as men, cheering the
passengers with words of hope.
It was early morning when the fire broke out. It was
noon before the first rescue ship, the gallant Carmania,
came up. The chance of rescue even then seemed hope-
less, for the storm and the sea threatened death to all
who sought escape from the flames. The shivering groups
pressed toward the stern of the fated vessel, with imploring
eyes fixed on the helpers so near, yet so powerless to give
them aid. Hour after hour passed, and ship after ship
came racing in over the rolling seas in answer to the little
trembling call that had gone out upon the winds and
clouds. Time and again through the terrible afternoon
efforts were made to lower boats and reach the burning
ship; but all in vain. Every boat was beaten back,
though strong men did their best, risking their lives in
every attempt
At half-past five in the evening the ship Kroonland came
up. Her crew lowered boats, as others had done, but
these too were dashed back. Night was approaching,
and death seemed to frown from sky and sea. The
pain of those who had failed to give help answered to the
despair of those who were going slowly down with the
burning ship. One who stood on the Kroonland's deck
and looked across the heaving valleys of death thus
described the scene: -
“We could see the passengers grouped at the stern of
the Volturno. Their cries for help wrung our hearts.
Women could be seen stretching out their arms to us and
holding their babies for us to see. Their ship was blazing
like a furnace forward of the funnel. Our boat was forced
to return without reaching her.''
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139
But the brave captain and crew of the Volturno still
fought on and hoped for rescue. Shortly before dark
Second Officer Edward Lloyd, stern-faced and resolute,
with four other brave men, undertook to show the rescue
fleet that a boat could be taken across the waves. They
launched a lifeboat, and after a terrible struggle reached
the Kroonland; but as they clambered up the Kroonland's
side their shattered boat sank.
Through the long, black night the rescue ships circled
near the center of fire, their searchlights piercing in hither
and thither through the vales of shadow. Toward
morning the seas began to subside. From the Narra-
gansett, an oil steamer, great quantities of oil were pumped
on the angry waters, and soon it became possible to reach
the Volturno with less danger. At five o'clock the real
work of transfer began, and at nine the task was done.
For more than 24 hours the Volturno's crew had fought
the flames, and the terrified passengers had watched the
fight. Ten rescue ships had come out of the dark horizons
in answer to that thrilling call of the air, and had gathered
in a rolling circle about the fated vessel. Storm and sea
and fire raged through the long hours, but 521 out of
657 on board the Volturno were saved.
The young captain of the Volturno, having nobly led
his men in the fight to a splendid finish, came finally up
the Kroonland's side.
“One could not tell,” said a passenger who saw him,
"whether he was a white man or a black man. His face
was scorched and blackened by fire and smoke. His
eyes were red and painful. His uniform was in tatters.
His shoes had nearly been burned from his feet. His
coolness and his gallantry were warmly commended by
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
his passengers and crew and by the people on the rescuing
ships.”
As he came aboard the Kroonland, last of all to leave the
flaming Volturno, he carried with him his dog, which he
had found on his last careful search.
The young captain's name is Francis Inch; and we
feel like saying, “Every inch a man." He and his men
represent the modern chivalry, the heroism of the higher
life. And along with their names let us link that of
William Marconi, the man of science, whose thought
has winged so many brave acts with power. The triumph
of that terrible day on the sea was a triumph of modern
science and modern manhood.
To begin with, the teacher is the teller. To be a
good story-teller, she must cultivate a style that is
clear and easy, and somewhat picturesque or graphic.
Her manner must be vivacious, and she must have
feeling and imagination enough to enter into the story
with spirit. She must add the power of her eyes
and face and attitude and tone of voice to the words
she utters. Reading good stories and listening to good
story-tellers will help her; but after all she must
train herself in the art by careful, thoughtful practice.
As aids in story-telling the teacher may use maps,
pictures, relics, blackboard sketches, and music.
A poem recited or a song sung may often add a
touch of power to a story. The historic songs that
are now accessible on talking-machine records have a
decided value for the teacher of children.
THE HISTORY STORY
141
Finally, balance impression with expression. Have
the child reproduce the story. This will help him
in fixing and organizing the facts; it will give the
teacher a chance to judge of her own work; and it
will develop ease and skill in the child's manner and
speech. If the story is difficult, it may be told to
the child several times; but sooner or later he should
be asked to repeat it.
Reference Books
Following is a brief list of books that will be found helpful by
the teacher in her efforts to develop the story-telling art.
ADLER: The Moral Instruction of Children; D. Appleton & Co.,
New York. — Particularly pages 106-165, presenting se-
lected stories from the Old Testament and from the
Odyssey and the Iliad.
ANDREWS: Everyday Heroism; American School Peace League.
-- A select bibliography in bulletin of July, 1914.
BAILEY: For the Story Teller; Milton Bradley Co., Springfield,
Mass.
BLAISDELL: The American History Story Book; Little, Brown &
Co., Boston.
BRYANT: How to Tell Stories to Children; Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston.
DYE: The Story-Teller's Art; Ginn & Co., Boston.
ESENWEIN: How to Attract and Hold an Audience; Hinds &
Noble, New York. - This is a general treatise on rhetoric
and public speaking, but it may be studied with special
reference to skill and power in telling a story.
KEYES: Stories and Story-Telling; D. Appleton & Co., New
York. — Unfortunately for our purposes this work deals
with stories of fancy rather than with stories of fact.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
MACE: Method in History; Ginn & Co., Boston. — Particularly
pp. 282–308.
MCGOVERN: Stories and Poems with Lesson Plans; Educational
Publishing Co., New York.
MCMURRY: Special Method in History; The Macmillan Co.,
New York. - Particularly Chapter III, pp. 34-118.
WILTSE: The Place of the Story in Early Education; Ginn & Co.,
Boston. The first chapter of this book presents many
excellent points for story-tellers, and the whole book may
be read with profit in this connection.
The Story-Teller's Magazine, published by the Story-Teller's
Company, New York City, will be found of interest and value
by the teacher in the grades.
CHAPTER XII
HISTORY IN BIOGRAPHY
FROM the history story it is an easy and natural
step to biography. Most of the stories relate to
history makers, introducing them in characteristic
attitudes and significant incidents. Indeed, so many
incidents in the life of a man like Washington may be
given in stories in the first grades that a full-length
picture of the man is constructed by the child, for
himself, even before anything like a formal bio-
graphical study is planned by the teacher. When a
connected biographical study is begun the child is
pleased to meet an old acquaintance; to find a logi-
cal connection between the incidents of which he has
already heard; to see reasons for certain actions he
has long admired but perhaps never much under-
stood; and to reconstruct his picture of the hero in
the fuller light and according to the better standards.
Biography fills a large place in history; and may
we not say, especially in American history? The fact
that, so far as the English, French, Germans, Dutch,
Swedes, Scotch, and Irish are concerned, we have no
prehistoric age in America makes our history begin
with real biography, and not with myth and fable.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
The fact that our state and national systems were
worked out in fine form before our country was
crowded with a dense population not only gave a
few great men a chance to fashion great things, but
also gives us a chance to see what those men were
really doing. In older lands the clouds of uncer-
tainty rest upon the face of history until the ages
are far advanced, until many fundamental processes
in politics, religion, literature, industry, and social
institutions have been wrought out, and until the
face of the earth is so full of men that we either
cannot tell who are the masters of progress or despair
of knowing them because of their multitude.
In the United States it has been different. From
the time our forefathers first came to the New World
we have had a fair record of their doings; and be-
cause they could begin here with an advanced degree
of civilization it was possible for them to accomplish
wonderful things in a few years, and before the num-
ber of workers became an indistinguishable multi-
tude. Consequently the biographies of a few great
characters give us a grip on nearly all the significant
and constructive forces in the making of what we call
America. American history is rich in biography
not only because of the splendid qualities that have
generally distinguished our leading men and women,
but also because of what it has been possible for a
few men and women to accomplish.
The child appreciates the maker of history before
HISTORY IN BIOGRAPHY
145
he understands the making or the meaning of history.
Accordingly, it is possible to introduce the study of
biography at an early stage in history teaching. Be-
cause of the many sides of great human beings it is
possible to continue the study of biography with
profit in college and university. The child will study
Washington with one sort of interest, the statesman
with another; both with profit.
In biography what we term human interest is
strong and obvious. This will doubtless be acknowl-
edged however we may define human interest, or
even if we do not attempt to define it at all. Each
person may make his own definition and still find the
statement true. Theories often seem vague and far
off. Things often appear to have no connection
either among themselves or with us; thoughts are
frequently bewildering; but living, suffering, loving,
conquering men and women come very near to us,
and our hearts are soon beating sympathetically
with theirs.
Biography emphasizes the personal element in
history. The personal element can hardly be over-
valued. In truth, we are constantly in danger of
not recognizing the personal forces in great move-
ments at half their value. We speak of the course
of events, as if things of themselves worked them-
selves out in logical series. We abstract the spirit
of the age, as if it were something that has an exist-
ence apart from the embodied spirits that walk and
L
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
talk before us. Evolution has become evident in
so many things, persons, and institutions that we
almost imagine evolution as a force in itself that
comes and lays hold of us and makes us go a certain
way, whether we will or no. Let us know that so
far as human events are concerned they are shaped
largely by personal character and personal conduct.
When we extol public sentiment or the spirit of the
age let us be thankful that a majority of the influ-
ential people of the age have such controlling power
through their agreement upon certain principles.
It is very well to make the spirit of the age responsi-
ble; but we must not fail to make the ruling majority
responsible for the spirit of the age. It is a personal
thing, and can have no existence apart from persons.
Sometimes a great man represents the spirit of his
age; sometimes he dies trying to change it. Evolu-
tion may be observed in matter, but if so it was
directed by intelligence, and intelligence can exist only
in persons. Evolution may be evident in the life
of a man, in his body, in his spirit; but in either
case his own intelligence or that of another is respon-
sible. Responsibility must always be forced back
upon a person. Evolution in institutions is made
possible only as people change.
Whether we speak of science or art or law or litera-
ture or invention or industry or agriculture or com-
merce or education or religion, we speak always of
things that depend on persons and that can have no
HISTORY IN BIOGRAPHY
147
existence apart from persons. All intellectual forces,
perhaps, and all moral forces certainly, are personal
forces. Intellectual and moral forces have made
much of the world's history directly; much of the
remainder they have made indirectly by their action
upon material things.
The power of personality in history becomes strik-
ingly manifest when we behold a man like Luther or
Napoleon or Peter the Great or John Wesley. Only
a few persons, it may be, have such power; but
nearly all great powers come from persons - from a
single person acting supremely or from may persons
acting in more or less harmony.
In proportion as the student recognizes the per-
sonal element in history, in proportion as he sees
how social and political institutions are determined
by the characters and conduct of men and women,
he will be forced to acknowledge his personal obli-
gation as a citizen. Upon such a basis education for
efficient and honorable citizenship ought to be proper
and easy. Is it fortitude and devotion and patience
and justice and enterprise and patriotism that have
made the past glorious ? Is it these qualities that we
cherish for the future? These things are found in
persons: nowhere else can they be found.
Biography makes history vital and concrete. It :
shows progress registered in human life, and physical
factors controlled and directed by human powers.
The abstract notion of history as a system beyond
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
us or apart from us takes definite forms in the friends
and foes about us and in the striving forces within us.
It may be very difficult for a boy or girl to make a
generalization from many facts concerning a particu-
lar time; but either one can readily get acquainted
with a man or woman that illustrates the time by
being typical or representative. Graft and philan-
thropy are vague, elusive terms; but Tweed and
Peabody become living realities, chained in memory,
walking in the full noon of imagination.
All of us, children especially, are continually trans-
ferring ourselves into other selves. It is only a trick
of imagination, to be sure, but we all do it, and it may
be done with profit. The boy sees himself an Indian,
a policeman, Columbus, or Daniel Boone; the girl
sees herself a fine lady, a missionary, Molly Pitcher,
or Priscilla Alden. Biography presents many attrac-
tive transfers to the imagination. Proper biography
thus opens many desirable flights to aspiration, and
at the same time closes many that are undesirable.
The child's imagination is going to make flights,
we may be certain of that; the child is going to think
himself somebody else much of the time. Shall he
be introduced into the company of nobles, who have
made the best the world has, or shall he be allowed to
find heroes for himself in Deadwood Dick and the
nearest gang leader?
We prepare ourselves for action by observing what
others do, and by picturing in thought what we would
HISTORY IN BIOGRAPHY
149
do in their places. It makes a great deal of differ-
ence for life and citizenship where the boy goes when
he jerks on the seven-league boots, as well as when
he literally walks down town. The boy who habitu-
ally sees himself John Hampden, or George Wash-
ington, or Cyrus W. Field is getting ready to do
his country real service; and the girl who thinks
with burning heart what she would do in the crises
that have always proved the nobility of woman-
hood is growing fiber for humanity in all the ages
to come.
Biography makes historical classification easy and
rapid. One of the great facts we need to learn in
history as well as in natural science is that things,
events, people, and institutions fall properly into
classes, and that among the endless multitude and
the infinite variety there are, after all, only a few
great, determining groups. Men are easily classified
as statesmen, scholars, soldiers, pioneers, inventors,
and a child is able to make intelligent classifica-
tions of men long before he is capable of assorting
and labeling theories, acts, and institutions. More-
over, upon the basis of the easy classifications in
biography he is soon able to reach out and comprehend
men and women of corresponding classes in all ages
and all lands. Having learned to know intimately
a few pioneers, he will have a fair acquaintance with
the life of all pioneers. Having studied at length a
few statesmen, he will be able to appreciate the ordi-
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
nary experiences and problems of all statesmen.
Biography, therefore, like the history story, has a
decided economy value.
The biography of a great historical character gives
a natural and obvious continuity to contemporary
events. The life of Daniel Boone leads one along
the path of civilization from the older settlements
out into the wilderness, and makes him a witness of
the great movement of the people westward. The
life of Franklin leads one along the shining way of
scientific experiment, and at the same time chains
together in a related series the steps and struggles
of our national beginnings. Biography not only
supplies the place of chronology, but it also makes
evident many links in the chain of cause and effect.
As testimony to the value of biography in history
teaching, both for children and for advanced stu-
dents, we have many authoritative statements from
Europe and America. Many of the best schools in
both the Old World and the New World teach his-
tory largely through a study of the history makers.
The practice seems to be growing, and all the stand-
ard publishing houses are making an effort to pro-
vide suitable biographies of distinguished men. I
say men advisedly; for as yet not much has been
done to supply the need of appropriate biographies
of great women. There is a need here, not only be-
cause of the telling work women have done in the
building of our civilization, but also because girls
HISTORY IN BIOGRAPHY
151
in our schools have a right to their inheritance in the
noble characters and devoted service of their mothers
and grandmothers.
1 In connection with the general subject of this chapter atten-
tion is invited to "Some Social and Political Pioneers of the
Nineteenth Century,” by Ramoden Balmforth; Swann, Son-
nenschein & Co. The introduction to this book, dealing with
biography and its relation to history, is finely apropos.
CHAPTER XIII
DRAMATICS AS A METHOD OF TEACHING HISTORY
THERE are three to whom drama is almost real life;
The child, the savage, and the artist. With the last,
dramatic expression has been perfected by long
training; with the other two it is mainly an instinct,
inherited through long ancestry. For our purposes
we shall waive the interest that may attach to the
savage and the artist, in order that we may give at-
tention to the dramatic instincts of the child and the
opportunity we have of teaching him history upon
the basis of these instincts.
Just as some nationalities, like the French and
Spanish, for example, are more dramatic than others,
so some children are more dramatic than others.
This probably means, for one thing, that imagina-
tion is more lively and vivid for some than for others.
Nevertheless, every normal child has imagination
and dramatic instinct enough to fill out many a
historical incident if it is presented in action, and to
portray many scenes and incidents of his own initia-
tive if given any chance at all.
All of us have observed how readily the little boy
transforms an old broom into a horse, and himself
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DRAMATICS
153
into the expert rider of a plunging charger. I once
started to dodge out of a path because I heard what
I thought was a horse trotting up behind me. When
I turned to look I saw a small colored boy coming on
four feet, as it were, and imitating almost exactly
in sound the horse-trot by holding in his hands two
small tin boxes. He had the dramatic instinct, and
was working it out in sound as well as in action. A
little chap one day stuck his thumb into a cherry
pudding; when he drew it out and held it up the tip-
top was red. “That's Santa Claus," he exclaimed,
“in a red cap.” If Snug the Joiner has a good voice
for roaring he does not need to hide half his face in
a lion's mane: the child will see him a lion as quickly
as Oberon, Titania, or Robin Goodfellow. A feather
will make an Indian, a tent in the back yard a wig-
wam in the forest. A penny trumpet and a paper
drum become a splendid military band instantly in
the magic alchemy of the boy's spirit. A dark corner
is a bear's den and the boy is a bear as he lunges out,
growling fiercely. He cannot think about a soldier
without straightening up and shouldering his imagi-
nation for a gun if nothing better happens to be in
his hand.
Story and biography stir up the dramatic instinct,
and call strongly upon the boy for action. As he
goes with Washington across the Delaware he finds
himself springing up in the bow of the boat and
giving orders for clearing the way. As he stands
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
with Nelson upon the deck of the Victory he catches
himself giving the famous charge, “ England expects
every man to do his duty.” As he walks by himself
and lives over the life of his hero he breaks out into
stirring speech, strikes an attitude, and works out a
long, complex situation in a few simple words and
motions.
Since action is so much of the child's life and makes
such a tremendous appeal to him, the teacher cannot
afford to neglect all the waiting opportunities in this
great field. Since action appeals to the child, let him
see action : let him see some of the characters, classes,
and incidents of which he is told in visible, moving,
talking forms. And, on the other hand, since the
child is himself always potentially and often actually
an actor, let him do things and be persons under the
teacher's guidance.
History is full of characters, situations, and inci-
dents that lend themselves to dramatic representa-
tion. If any one doubts this let him recall the great-
est operas and dramas of the greatest masters, and
observe how many of them are historical. American
history is especially fortunate here, because America
has been preëminently the land of action, of swift
and wondrous achievement. It has been said that
America is poor in literary materials because of the
homogeneity of its people and the sameness of its
physical characteristics. It would be hard to find
anything farther from the truth. There are cer-
DRAMATICS
155
tainly obvious differences between New Orleans and
Philadelphia; between San Francisco and Boston;
between the people of Charleston and the people of
the Appalachian highlands; between the Scandi-
navians of the Dakotas and the sombrero-wearers
of the Mexican border. If we desire more striking
differences, we may utilize the red men who claimed
the land ahead of us and the/négroes that have been
brought in from Africa. If we want to see the classes
of our nation in close contrast, all at one place, we
might find them during a brief stay in Washington;
and if we desire to see the peoples of all the earth
close enough together for interesting situations, we
might find most of them in a tour about New York.
For nationalities we have the French, the Dutch,
the Swedes, the Germans, the Scotch, the Irish, the
Spanish, the Welsh, the Italians, the Russians, the
Syrians, the Greeks, the Japanese, the Chinese, and
as many more as you wish. For social and industrial
classes we have the farmers, the miners, the lumber-
men, the fishermen, the ranchmen, the pioneers and
hunters, the Puritans, the Cavaliers, the Quakers,
the Jesuit missionaries, the frontier preachers, the
Indian traders, the stage-drivers, the fire-fighters,
the soldiers, the sailors, the trained nurses, the Sal-
vation Army men and women, the Red Cross workers,
the policemen, and the railroad men. All these
classes would lend themselves easily to distinctive
representation, because of their striking costumes,
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
their different tools, weapons, or equipment, and be-
cause of the marked diversity in their several occu-
pations. Not only would it be comparatively easy
to represent any one of these classes in drama, but
every one of them has played or is now playing an
important part in American history.
Striking historical characters — persons — may
be made up just as easily, and with historical accuracy
enough to be of real educational value. John Smith,
Pocahontas, Miles Standish, John Alden, Priscilla,
William Penn, Peter Stuyvesant, Sam Houston,
Robert Fulton, Lafayette, Eli Whitney, Marcus
Whitman, Ponce de Leon, Henry Hudson, Benjamin
Franklin, and many others have enough distinctive
characteristics and equipment associated with them
to be recognized without great difficulty, even if they
were not very well portrayed.
For small children Indian life and the life of the
white pioneers afford many appropriate subjects and
incidents for dramatic reproduction. The “Indian
suits that have for some time been on the market
for children make the matter of costumes a simple
problem. For larger boys and girls inexpensive
costumes and equipment may be improvised with
little labor. Not long ago I witnessed a beautiful
presentation of the " Song of Hiawatha,” given by
a number of young ladies. Their costumes were not
expensive, and they certainly did not require much
time for construction, for all who appeared in the
DRAMATICS
157
drama were busy students and did not have much
time for "extras."
extras.” A stick and a string made the
famous bow, terrible to the timid deer, necessary to
the hunter, and useful to the poet for adjusting man
and woman. Another stick served for an arrow.
An ordinary electric light bulb, wrapped in red tissue
paper and tucked into a pile of wood under a small
kettle suspended from a tripod, gave a fine effect of
fire. Brown autumn leaves on the floor, and branches
from the forest in profusion in the corners and about
the windows, produced a woodland scene of sufficient
fullness and wildness. Dark tresses unbraided and
fair faces daubed with some harmless paint, with a
few rather loud ornaments donned for the occasion,
fascinated the gaze of the spectator and helped his
imagination to rush swiftly back across the years
and deep into the primeval forests. The chanting,
the singing, and the dancing completed the striking
scene.
Here are two specific suggestions. For giving a
class or a school a good notion of the different nation-
alities that have made up the United States, it is
possible without much trouble or expense to have a
pair of the larger pupils represent each. A boy and
a girl may be costumed and otherwise equipped to
be Puritan English; another pair, Cavalier English;
a third pair, Quaker English. Other pairs may per-
sonate the Dutch, the French, the Germans, and
the Scotch. Similarly the various industrial classes
.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
may be portrayed. Costumes should belong to the
school, and the equipment may then be kept from
year to year.
The second suggestion is this: Let various mem-
bers of the class or the school personate famous men
and women in history: Daniel Boone, Elizabeth Zane,
John Smith, Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, Betsy
Ross, and so on. There is no harm in letting each boy
or girl bear in school the name of the historical per-
son represented. Then, to make the proceeding still
more interesting and profitable, let each actor make
a special study of the life and character of the person
he stands for, — become a sort of authority concern-
ing that person; and let all questions pertaining to
the historical man or woman be referred to the boy
or girl that personates that man or woman.
Many good people dread the dramatic, and perhaps
with very good reason. Nearly everything that has
great possibilities for uplift has corresponding possi-
bilities for degradation. The press and the ballot
are other examples. Yet it hardly seems fair for the
wrong party to be granted a monopoly of great powers
by the voluntary withdrawal of the right party.
There seems little more reason for teachers and
others, who have the welfare of youth at heart, to
surrender the drama to the vicious and mercenary
than for them to surrender the ballot to the same
classes.
After such a preface one may perhaps be allowed to
DRAMATICS
159
mention motion pictures. One hesitates to do it for
the reason that they are so generally misused; but,
on the other hand, they embody such splendid possi-
bilities for real education that teachers cannot af-
ford to surrender them to those who abuse them.
Motion pictures supply a fine substitute for the
drama, and often give values that untrained and im-
provised drama cannot give. Recently I witnessed
a representation of Robin Hood and his merry men
in old Sherwood Forest. The whole thing was ex-
cellent. It gave one a very definite and striking
notion of many things that the books present only
feebly. The outdoor forest scenes, the wild life of
the outlaws of mediæval England, the dangers of
travel, the castle life of the nobles, the task of the
king's sheriffs, the skillful play with the rude quarter-
staff, and the marvelous skill of the English archers,
using the famous long bow, were all made very clear
and vivid.
In large schools or in any place where a considerable
number of persons may be secured for the occasion,
historical pageants have great possibilities. They
have a value from their imposing proportions as well
as from their particular features. One of the finest
lessons in American history it was ever my good
fortune to receive came from a pageant in which about
a thousand men and women took part. Nearly all
the leading characters from Elizabeth's court to the
wild borders of the New World were there. They
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
walked and talked in the forms and terms of truth.
Nearly every State was represented, with some of
its important persons or some of the most famous
events in its history. The appeal to the imagination
through the eye as well as through the ear was strong
and lasting. The values of the undertaking far
overshadowed the slight tasks of preparation.
1 A helpful book in developing the dramatic instinct in
classroom work is “Colonial Plays for the Schoolroom," by
Blanche Shoemaker; Educational Publishing Co., N. Y.
Messrs. Ginn & Co., Boston, publish “Pageants and Pageantry,''
by Bates and Orr, and "The Dramatic Method of Teaching,”
by Finlay-Johnson.
CHAPTER XIV
THE VISUAL APPEAL IN THE TEACHING OF
HISTORY
DURING our waking hours the eye-gate is nearly
always open. With children it is wide open. We
can hardly appreciate how much we are continually
receiving through our eyes until there comes a sudden
breakdown at the electric “plant," and darkness
closes the gate -- this wondrous gate to the soul.
We hear the music in the hedge, or at best a mile
away; but not only does the eye show the feathered
singer near us, in his beauty coat, and the mile-away
procession, whence the distant music sounds, it
also reaches out to the far mountain summit where
winds are turning trees to harps, and even up to the
shining stars, each of which perhaps " in his motion
like an angel sings "; but we cannot hear them.
The ear admits innumerable guests that come knock-
ing at the door of our understanding; but the eye
admits more and entertains them longer. The eye
reaches so far and takes the message so quickly that
a great world, measureless in extent and infinite in
variety, is given to our consciousness every moment;
yet there is no jumble, no confusion: all is in perfect
order, harmony, and proportion.
M
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It has been said we remember one tenth of what
we hear, five tenths of what we see, and nine tenths
of what we do. This is perhaps a fair statement,
generally true, yet somewhat misleading. The facts
are perhaps not completely stated. For instance,
in estimating what we receive or retain from what the
hand does, we should take account of the great con-
tribution the eye makes to the skill and efficiency
of the hand. In other words, part of the nine tenths
of a possible maximum benefit credited to the hand
(the doing) should be credited to the eye, under whose
guidance the hand works, and through which we get
much of the knowledge and memory treasure sup-
posedly acquired in the process of doing. If we
doubt this, let us try working with our hands in the
dark. Our skill - even our long-practiced skill
will miss, and we shall have a very vague notion of
what we really have accomplished. It seems difficult
to talk — even to talk — well in the dark, though
we may have a beautiful picture on the screen, just
at the shadow's edge.
Seeing is believing ” because seeing is so gen-
erally understanding. When the boy does not com-
prehend your explanation, he says, “I don't see it”;
but “ Now I see it,” he exclaims when he gets your
point. The philosopher who said, “We are slaves
to our eyes," must have meant not only that we are
largely dependent upon them, but also that we most
readily and quickly follow them.
66
..
THE VISUAL APPEAL
163
One reason, perhaps the chief reason, why drama
makes such a tremendous appeal is because it sends
the fact flashing in through the open eye-gate. The
motion picture gains its superiority over the ordinary
sort for the reason that it enables us to see so much
more. Costume and scenery and fierce countenance
and corded muscles could add no whit of effect,
either in drama or motion picture, if the audience
were blind. If the audience were blind, the motion
picture would be nothing and the drama would lose
more than half its force.
My point, therefore, is simply this: Let the history
teacher, as well as the art teacher, appreciate the
open eye-gate and utilize the many facilities at hand
for keeping it thronged with the swift-winged mes-
sengers of beauty and truth.
In the textbooks are maps and pictures: they are
there for a purpose, and in the hands of a competent
teacher they have a great value. Maps and pictures
on the walls of the room are of still greater value,
because they are seen continually and attention may
so readily be directed to them by the teacher's pointer
and pointed words. The relics and models in the
school museum are worth something as a mere collec-
tion, but their usefulness may be quadrupled if the
teacher will bring them before his class and make
them illustrate the statements of the text.
Every school, large or small, should have a museum.
In every new building erected for school use, an ap-
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
propriate room should be provided for natural, scien-
tific, literary, artistic, and historical collections. It
would be better still if every class room were equipped
with cases and shelves for the storing of particular
collections. By this arrangement art collections
would be in the art room, literary collections in the
literature room, and historical collections in the his-
tory room, all ready at hand when needed. In every
community are many relics and other objects which
are continually being lost and broken up, but which
would be really valuable in a school museum. The
children of the community should be awakened to
the interest that centers about such things. Being
once awakened, and given the opportunity to do so,
they will vie with one another in finding objects of
interest and bringing them in as contributions to
their respective museums. The process of collection
will be interesting and profitable; the further work
of classification and labeling will give scientific train-
ing to pupils and teacher; and the profit from using
the growing collections will increase through all the
future.1
Historical excursions to near-by scenes and build-
ings increase the pupil's interest, expand his intelli-
gence, and clarify his notions, because they give
him so much through the eye-gate. If a place cannot
1 On pages 48-58, History and Government Bulletin No. 2, of
the First District Normal School, Kirksville, Mo., issued in March,
1914, will be found a helpful article on the history museum.
THE VISUAL APPEAL
165
So.
be visited, let the teacher draw a plan of it on the
blackboard, if she is sufficiently familiar with it to do
The plan need not be elaborate, or even accurate
in every particular : it will still give a more complete
and more accurate notion than will many words with
nothing to see.
Every teacher should build up a collection of draw-
ings, diagrams, and charts on sheets of paper large
enough to be seen over the class room. Every such
diagram or chart put in convenient, permanent
form, will add so much to the teacher's material
equipment, besides clarifying and fixing his own
knowledge of the things represented. The larger
the collection grows, from year to year, the less time
will be required in the preparation to teach the things
thus portrayed. Furthermore, the economy of time
to the teacher will be insignificant in comparison
with the saving of time to the class. Permit the
citation of an actual experience for illustration. I
had found that, as a rule, hardly one pupil in a hun-
dred understood or was able to explain clearly how
the President and Vice President are chosen. And I
found it necessary every year to spend two or three
periods, of fifty minutes each, on as many successive
days, in the effort to make the process clear. Fi-
nally, a simple and rather crude diagram was made,
and placed on the blackboard (later on a wall chart)
before the class. What then? Twenty minutes
seemed worth as much as two hours before. What
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
made the difference? Simply this : There was some-
thing to see, and everybody saw it.
Economy of time, economy of energy, definiteness
of notion, permanence of impression
these are
certainly values worth considering; and these values
may frequently be realized more fully by utilizing
the eye-gate than by any other means.
In story-telling the skillful teacher will use action,
facial expression, this or that object, or make such
and such marks on the blackboard. She is thereby
heightening the effect of her words and tone of voice.
In the study of biography she will show pictures of
the persons and pictures and maps of the places with
which the persons have been associated. A vivid,
orderly notion of the physical geography amid which
a boy grew to manhood will give every normal boy
a better notion of what his hero was and how he came
to be thus or thus.
It is the open eye-gate that makes travel so swift
and rich in its results. A half-hour in Independence
Hall is better than a month of books that tell about
it. You stand before the cracked old liberty bell,
and get such a vision of other days and other scenes
as you have never had before. Since it belonged to
remote years, you imagined a little bell and a rather
feeble voice; but when you see that it is as tall as a
man and weighs over a ton you get an enlarged vision
of the liberty it proclaimed throughout the land.
You have read the Declaration of Independence and
THE VISUAL APPEAL
167
the Articles of Confederation and the Federal Con-
stitution, and you have read much about them; but
when you walk into the East Room, the “ Independ-
ence Chamber," you experience a new sense of reality.
Here the Declaration was signed; here the Articles
of Confederation were drafted; here the great con-
vention met in 1787, and here the Constitution was
finally wrought out. In this room Washington was
made commander of the American army, and here the
captured banners from Yorktown were finally laid
down as trophies of victory. Yonder is the identical
table upon which the Declaration lay when men took
their lives as well as their pens in hand to make it
good. There are some of the old leather-finished
chairs in which they sat and listened to Richard
Henry Lee, John Hancock, Franklin, Madison, and
Hamilton. And all around upon the walls hang
portraits — portraits of the patriots who labored
here to build a nation, and whose very spirits seem
now to come again and charge us to maintain in justice
and honor what they established at so much sacrifice.
It is a dream of mine that some day, sooner or
later, every normal school and college in our land
shall have for its history department an endowment,
liberal and secure, provided for the specific purpose
of enabling the history classes to travel at least three
months of every year, under the direction and in-
struction of their teachers. A term of history study,
connected with travel, will be worth more than three
168
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY.
of
m-
terms in books alone. Geography may thus be
bined with history, and literature also, to som ex-
tent. The time thus gained will make possible the ad-
justment of programs and render the whole scheme
entirely practicable.1
1 The Keystone View Company, Meadville, Pa., publish a
“Teachers' Guide" of stereographs and lantern slides suitable
for educational purposes. A fine collection of views for history
and civics is offered. The “Little Phostint Journeys," on colored
post cards, supplied by the Detroit Publishing Com any, are
very attractive. In this connection the Perry pictures will of
course be thought of. The Mentor Association, New York City,
provides an excellent series of historical pictures, which are much
enhanced in value by the well-prepared historical sketches
accompanying them.
CHAPTER XV
HELPING THE PUPIL TO STUDY
PLEASE observe the caption is not“ studying for
the pupil,” but "helping the pupil to study.” It
might-wery well be "studying to help the pupil,"
or “ finding ways to help the pupil to help himself.”
Either extreme - any extreme -- is almost in-
evitably bad. The teacher who does or tries to do
everything for the child, all the time, is just as bad
as the one who never does or tries to do anything for
him, at any time. In fact, neither one is a teacher.
The former is an infant's nurse; the latter is a guide-
post with the inscription rubbed off. Every mean is
somewhere between the extremes, but not every mean
is golden. In my opinion, the teacher, especially
the teacher of young pupils, had better err on the side
of helping too much than of helping too little.
In fact, it is the teacher's business to help the pupil,
whether the latter is young or old. Some so-called
teachers do not help; but they are not, then, really
teachers. Every real teacher is a helper, a leader,
an inspirer, a benefactor. The question, therefore,
is not, “ Shall I help my pupil ?” but “How can I
help him most and best?”
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
No teacher can help his pupil most by carrying
him when he ought to walk, or by making him so
dependent upon crutches that he never feels able to
stand erect and strong upon his own feet. Teaching,
good teaching, is like good charity. It is a form of
loving service, aiming to make every sane, healthy
person a self-supporting, law-maintaining, society-
helping citizen. Society comprises just two classes :
lifters and leaners. It is the teacher's business to be
a lifter, and to help his pupils to get into the same
class as fast as possible.
Obviously, one of the best things any teacher can
do, or may do, for the average pupil is to teach him
how to study effectively. Weeks of time are wasted
every year by students in high school and college,
not to think of the grades, who cannot study, or do
not study. I am not speaking of the lazy loafer.
Eliminate him from present consideration. I am
speaking of the earnest student, who is working
himself to death, or thinks he is, without getting
much forward. He has my sympathy. He needs
help, and deserves it.
The main trouble is, so many teachers have
not learned the art of studying. No wonder if they
find teaching others how to study difficult. Little
wonder if they forget to make the effort to do so.
To master the task may require years of study and
experiment; to indicate completely a course of pro-
cedure might demand a large volume; but let us
HELPING THE PUPIL TO STUDY
171
briefly consider here a few principles and methods
that may prove helpful to teacher or pupil.
No one can study well without good power of at-
tention. Accordingly, every student should contin-
ually endeavor to strengthen this power in and for
himself. This he may do not only by persistently
controlling his own thought and directing it accord-
ing to his own purposes, but also by insisting that
other persons respect the rights of his spirit as well as
the rights of his body. It is no more rude and unjust
for a fellow to break into your room and beat your
head with a stick than it is for him to come rushing
in, or shambling in, and break up the hard-wrought
fabric of thought that you have been getting into
form with infinite pains, and scatter the fragments
far and wide. You should not allow him to do it.
Students must learn to respect one another's study
rights. You have no more right to walk into your
neighbor's study hour than you have to smash his
watch; and you should be ready to defend your own
study hour as valiantly as your gold.
Possibly it may be well for advanced students,
after each one has mastered the lesson for himself,
to get into a group for discussion; but frequently
such a proceeding is not only a great waste of time,
but also a process that results in making the weaker
members of the group still weaker. These likely
come in before they have done anything, and go away
imagining they have done something, when in reality
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
they have only listened to others say something
something usually of less value than the poorest
line of the textbook.
Sooner or later the pupil must learn to dig, to dig
for himself, and to dig hard and long; otherwise he
can never be a real student.
About as bad as trying to study in a room full of
talkers is trying to do it outdoors, under a fragrant
tree, in early springtime. Pupils do not really
go outdoors to study books, at such times. They
go to smell the blossoms, to hear the hum of the bees,
to watch the quick flight of the birds, to lie upon the
velvety grass, to look up into the promising skies,
and to dream of things far away. All this is excel-
lent, in its place and proportion, but it is not serious
study in books. Even though a thing is gold, do not
fool yourself by imagining that you always need gold.
Sometimes you need iron. If you want to read a
book without distraction, go where you will see only
the words on the page, where you will hear only the
thrilling call of flying thought, and where you will
feel only the struggle of your own soul to follow the
call.
Dry and deadening textbooks are often a serious
impediment to study; and the teacher can help the
pupil very much by throwing such books away.
There is no sufficient reason why any textbook should
be dull and dry. Nature is beautiful with color and
form, with adaptation and harmony, clad with flowers
HELPING THE PUPIL TO STUDY
173
while ribbed with granite. No book can truly and
adequately portray nature without a beauty-painting
power. Truth is interesting and simple always,
when clearly seen. A book that makes truth clear
is bound to be simple and interesting. Obscurity
may be profundity, but it is the profundity of shadow.
There is no need for an author to be boring in order to
be accurate. And there is no need for a boy or a
girl to be bored and disgusted with a dull book of
history, for nowadays there are plenty of books, accu-
rate as any, that will stir the very soul of youth.
There are, of course, a few things worse than a dull
textbook. One of them is an occasional soul of
youth that will not be stirred. Such a person is like
powder that is not the least disturbed by the touch
of fire. But there are only a few so bad as that.
Most can be stirred, but it takes much patient effort
in many cases to make the fiery touch. Dozens
of our rising citizens can read Antony's speech over
Cæsar without twitching a nerve or changing a tone.
As many more can read what John Richard Green
says about Joan of Arc, or even sing the “Star-
Spangled Banner," with the same Olympian calm.
But is it “ Olympian" calm? I doubt it. I fear
it is, in plain terms, that sort of deadness that Scott
suggested with so much unwillingness in the lines,
“Breathes there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
'This is my own, my native land'?”
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
What accounts for such deadness on the part of
occasional young Americans of fair average intelli-
gence? Is it indifference? Hardly. Is it an af-
fected cynicism? Not often. Is it a blasé egotism?
Let us hope not.
In my opinion it may be explained by what I shall
call, for want of a better phrase, innocency of
words.” To them words have little meaning. In
their memories many words are like distant friends
of long ago. In their imaginations words do not
leap into life and rush up with a life and death
message. In their thought words are not things, ,
vital and concrete, to be seen and felt, shaking the
world.
Doubtless it is chiefly the business of the teacher
of reading to get the pupil to understand and appre-
ciate words, to visualize a sentence or a page, and to
enter into the fellowship of silent thought with a
feeling of kinship and even of ecstasy; but the
teacher of history, as well as the teacher of mathe-
matics, is a continual witness of the disaster that a
lack of such power brings, and is forced to the con-
clusion that he and every other teacher must help
to awaken this power.
How shall this power be awakened? Undoubtedly,
the teacher that succeeds in taking away this in-
nocency of words” by making the pupil see and feel
what the printed page really tells will do more than
all others to help the pupil to study.
HELPING THE PUPIL TO STUDY
175
Somewhere at a handy place in your history note-
book there should be a straight column of carefully
written words. Those words were put there one at
a time, as you found them in your history lessons
day by day. When you wrote them down you did not
know their meanings, but now you know, because you
have written the proper statement as to meaning or
meanings after each one. You have carried this
process on so long that it has become a second nature
to you. You could not be satisfied not to do it. To
pass over an unfamiliar word without nailing it would
keep you from sleep at night. You are positively rest-
less until you know what a strange word signifies.
It would be just as impossible for you to be satisfied
about an urgent message you had failed to deliver,
or not to keep groping after the name of an old friend
who passed you on the street until you grasp it, as it
would be for you to slur lazily over an unknown word
in your reading. In short, you have the dictionary
habit. It has become inveterate with you. If you
can make the habit contagious, and give it to that
pupil of yours, it will gradually get him into a new
world. His innocence as to common words is hold-
ing him back from man's estate.
I believe that many pupils waste time by reading
too fast. More exactly, they lose values by trying
to read too fast. Naturally some persons read faster
than others, just as some think faster and talk faster;
but when a student, particularly an immature stu-
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
dent, races over thirty or forty pages in an hour the
chances are that he is not studying well. He may
intend to go over it again; but if he does go over it
a second time, or even a third time, he will almost
certainly do it as superficially as he did it the first
time. One thorough, thoughtful reading would prob-
ably enable him to understand more and to remem-
ber more than two or three flying chances. So far as
the values in careful habits are concerned, there can
hardly be any question. The chances are that the
boy who reads twenty pages an hour is a better stu-
dent than the one who reads thirty in the same time.
Whatever stimulates the imagination or touches
the feeling or broadens experience of life quickens
appreciation of words and helps the reader to visual-
ize his page. Poetry, fiction, and drama may all be
used to good effect. There is nothing, however, like
real life. Real life cannot always be had to order,
upon call; yet a rich and varied experience on the
part of the teacher may in some measure be trans-
mitted to the pupil. It will help him to live as he
reads.
The dictionary habit, cultivating imagination and
feeling, treasuring and utilizing rich experiences,
reading slowly and filling out the statement with your
own thought: these are some of the things that will
make the printed page a busy highway of life,
thronged with friends we long have known as well as
with strangers whose graces soon give us pleasure.
/
HELPING THE PUPIL TO STUDY
177
The student must learn to discriminate as he reads.
Not all persons who appear in the narrative, not all
topics mentioned in the discussion, not all dates re-
corded here and there are of equal importance. The
reader of history who takes everything at the same
value, and makes a uniform effort to remember every-
body and everything and every time and every place,
may be an earnest plodder, but he is not a good stu-
dent. The teacher should, of course, give special
and definite aid to the pupil in the effort to develop
the power of intelligent discrimination. A plan like
this is simple and helpful. You have just assigned
the lesson for to-morrow: Chapter XIX, let us say,
in Nida's The Dawn of American History in Europe.
You say to the class :
“ In this chapter you will find the names of four
famous men. All of them did some great deeds; but
two of them did such deeds because they couldn't
help doing them, while the other two did them be-
cause they wished to do them. As you find these
men and see what they did, try to group them as I
have indicated. All four are famous men: decide
for yourselves whether all were great men or not. I
shall ask for opinions at the close of the lesson to-
morrow.'
As teacher you should also help the pupils to dis-
tinguish between generals and particulars. The
poor student often flounders about in hopeless con-
fusion, amid a multitude of incidents, failing to see
i
1
97
N
178
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
that they merely come in to explain or illustrate the
main statement, which he perhaps overlooks alto-
gether. Take, for example, the particular chapter
just referred to above. Either first or last you might
say to the class : -
Please notice the real subject of this chapter :
what is it?"
Among a variety of answers you would probably
get the correct one: “The winning of English lib-
erty.” Having written this on the blackboard, in
large letters, you might continue :
“Do you see how nearly all the particular incidents
recorded in the chapter go to show this one thing?
The signing of the Great Charter, the demands of
the Great Council under the Great Charter, the high-
handed measures of Simon of Montfort, the sum-
moning of the knights to sit with the bishops and
barons, the making of the Model Parliament, are all
steps in the same process; so I write them down here
under the main topic, a little further to the right,
and in a smaller hand. It will help you very much to
see that we are not studying about a half dozen great
subjects here, but just one; and that the half dozen
particular things, though of great importance, are
really given to make the one thing clear. Always
try to find the main subject, and then notice how
other things take rise from it or come up and lean
against it.'
Along with discrimination, analysis, and subordi-
HELPING THE PUPIL TO STUDY
179
nation of details go naturally classification and asso-
ciation. We set things of the same class together
in thought, even though they were actually separated
by ages and hemispheres. We may associate many
things helpfully, even though they may not be much
alike.
It should not be necessary in this full year of grace
to say that history lessons should not be committed
to memory, word for word. This is not saying that
memory is an unimportant factor in education. It
is fundamental. Neither is it saying that once in
a while some fine passage may not be learned or re-
cited verbatim. What I mean is simply this: It is
usually much better for the student to make the
author's thought his own thought, and thus remem-
ber the facts in his own words. Expression in his
own words will then be natural and easy.
Once in a while the teacher may read over a lesson
with the class in advance, to enrich their own subse-
quent reading. Frequently he may give much aid by
suggesting certain points of lookout -high points of
observation - whence the field may be seen to special
advantage. A word of suggestion in advance is often
worth more than a long talk after the matter is old.
When all teachers become real students — when
they study the pupil as well as the facts and forces
of human knowledge, and come to understand the
processes by which the student may comprehend
these facts and forces — then all teachers will become
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
real helpers. Then every history teacher will be a
benefactor to society, and every normal citizen will
become an appreciative, life-long student of history.
SUMMARY
1. Introduction
(1) It is the teacher's business to help the pupil.
(2) The question is "How?"
(3) Teaching the art of studying is one of the best
ways.
(4) Many teachers themselves need to learn the art.
2. Development
(1) The student must have power of attention.
a. He must develop this power in himself ;
. He must demand from others a respect for
his study rights.
(2) Studying in groups is of doubtful value.
(3) The student must be able to dig. Digging is an
individual process.
(4) Studying outdoors is of doubtful value.
(5) The teacher may help the pupil by throwing away
dry and deadening textbooks.
(6) The teacher must try to fire up the dead pupil.
(7) "Innocency of words” is a prevalent condition
of soul deadness.
(8) This innocency must give way to visualizing
power through
a. The dictionary habit;
6. The cultivation of imagination and feeling;
c. The utilizing of life experiences;
d. Slow reading and quick thinking.
HELPING THE PUPIL TO STUDY
181
(9) The student must learn to appreciate differences
of value -- to discriminate -- in his reading
and study.
(10) He must also get into the habit of seizing upon
the few essential, general facts, and seeing
how the many particulars serve merely the
purpose of explanation and illustration.
(11) He must learn to recognize the people and the
things that are alike: thus he will be able
to reduce them all to a few classes.
(12) Association of things related, similar, or contem-
porary is helpful and interesting.
(13) Study should register itself in memory, but in the
student's own words and phrases rather than
in those of the author.
(14) A preview, judiciously directed by the teacher, is
often better than a review.
3. Conclusion
When all teachers become real helpers, all citizens will
become real students.
NOTE 1. The analytical outline, or summary, given above is in-
tended not only to aid the pupil in getting the gist of this chapter,
but also to suggest and illustrate what may be done by the pupil
himself with the other chapters of this book and with other
books. Making such analyses will do much to develop study
power.
NOTE 2. The following books will be found helpful in connec-
tion with the subject of this chapter: Earhart's “Teaching Chil-
dren to Study”; Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston; and McMurry's
“How to Study and Teaching How to Study”; published by the
same house.
CHAPTER XVI
THE DYNAMICS OF HISTORY-TEACHING
In the world of matter a dynamo stands for power
and a source of power. It converts mechanical en-
ergy into electrical energy; or vice versa, by means of
magnetic induction. It is capable of serving either
as a generator or as a motor.
Without attempting to carry parallels too far, let
us consider a few that are obvious. In the world of
spirit a dynamo is a person of power, or a combination
of active powers in a person. Such a person converts
intellectual energy into moral energy, or vice versa, by
means of magnetic induction. A human dynamo is
capable of serving either as a generator or as a motor.
As a matter of fact, every dynamic person is likely
to be both a generator and a motor.
Every teacher should be a human dynamo. Every
schoolroom should be a magnetic field. Every pupil
that enters that magnetic field should feel the thrill
of transmitted energy, and in due time have within
himself the activities that generate and the powers
that move.
It matters little what you call this power: the
essential thing is for you to have it and to communi-
182
THE DYNAMICS
183
cate it. Call it, if you please, magnetic personality;
call it moral force; call it human interest; call it
soul power; call it the gift to inspire; call it uncon-
scious intuition; call it the ability to arouse interest
and ambition; but try to get it and try to exert it.
One day, nearly a century ago, in a little Virginia
town, a boy stood before a teacher. The boy was
poor; he was ignorant; he was meanly clad. But
he had in his soul some divine fire. That teacher
stirred the fire. That seems to have been about all
he did, for he saw the boy only two or three times.
But, for his part, that was enough. In the years that
followed the uncouth boy became a great scholar, a
great teacher, a master of many arts, a master of
thought, a light in literature. His name, Joseph
Salyards, has been a household word in northern
Virginia for two generations.
How can we account for this remarkable transfor-
mation? Salyards himself gave the explanation
when, as an old man, full of years and honors, he
wrote to his old teacher. He said, “You inspired
me.?
There is telling, there is teaching, there is touching.
I am speaking now of touching. Those persons who
stand in schoolrooms and talk, while all the time their
thoughts and desires and interests are outside, are
mere tellers. They might be replaced with phono-
graphs without serious loss. Those persons who
bring some light into schoolrooms, but go away leav-
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
ing them still cold, are perhaps teachers. They in-
form their pupils with facts, they let in the light to
that degree, but the source of light never gets near
enough, somehow, to fire the child's soul. His deep-
est feelings, his strongest energies, are not aroused.
But that man, that woman, whose soul speaks a
language that the child's soul answers to is a toucher.
And the toucher is, after all, the real teacher. The
power to touch is the supreme test of the teacher.
Socrates and Jesus and all great teachers have done
their greatest work and exerted their most far-reach-
ing influence through their heart-touching power.
A few years ago I listened to an address delivered
before a large educational gathering by my friend,
Professor Edwin Mims, of Vanderbilt University.
His subject was “ Mechanics and Dynamics in Edu-
cation.' It seemed to me then, it has seemed to
me ever since, that he brought two great worlds of
truth into balance in those two terms, as he defined
them: mechanics and dynamics. Comprehended
under mechanics are buildings, systems, schedules,
materials, equipment; concentrated under dynam-
ics we find the inspiring personality of the teacher,
the vital and moving interests of the subjects taught,
and the unconquerable spirit of high aim and achieve-
ment in the pupil.
Professor Mims himself is one of the finest examples
of pedagogical dynamics personally incarnated that
it has been my privilege to know. It is always a
THE DYNAMICS
185
privilege to know a dynamic teacher. If there was
good foundation for the fancy that pictured a log with
a boy on one end of it as a university, because Mark
Hopkins was made to sit at the other end, then verily
Mark Hopkins must have been a dynamic teacher.
His teaching would doubtless have driven that boy
to the ends of the earth, if necessary, to find what his
spirit craved.
The greatest teacher it has ever been my privilege
to know was Dr. Noah Knowles Davis, for many
years professor of moral philosophy at the University
of Virginia. He embodied a number of notable
qualities : knowledge of facts, wide experience of life,
the gift of making abstruse things concrete and simple,
and a marked facility in apt illustration; but I be-
lieve that most of his old pupils will agree with me
when I say that his greatest power was that inde-
finable thing we call personality. It was apparently
made up in his case of a fierce, unflinching justice,
balanced by the keenest sympathy; unerring logic,
balanced by unfailing poetry; scientific reserve and
caution, balanced by a terrible earnestness, a burning
enthusiasm. He taught his young men great truth,
but the flaming touch of his great spirit drove them
forth to find greater truth.
1 Reference may appropriately be made here to the following
addresses, printed in the N. E. A. Proceedings of 1908, pp.
108-128: “The Personal Touch in Teaching," by A. F.
West; and "The Personal Power of the Teacher in Public School
Work," by W. H. Maxwell.
1
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
For the history teacher mechanics may include a
place of work, the schoolroom, let us say; historical
maps, books of history, pictures, relics, and a graded
course of study. Dynamics would be the moving
forces of human interest, gathered from the human
race, that drive the souls of teacher and pupil forward
along the ways of light and life.
What, now, for me, if I am a teacher of history, is
starting the dynamo"?
It is getting the pupil intelligently interested in
history. It is getting him vitally interested, so that
in due time he will generate interest for himself, and
will not need to be led on by another. It is getting
him interested in human life, through history, so that
he will thereby enter into fellowship with the race in
all of its normal aims and activities. It is giving him
such an undying ambition to be somebody of worth,
and to do something worth while, that he will never
be content in idleness or in selfishness, but will strive
as a man to contribute his due portion to the welfare
of society.
In the next place, how is the dynamo to be started ?
Whether it is started or not will depend in a meas-
ure on what the teacher knows; in greater measure,
on what she can do; in greatest measure, on what
she is.
Skillful adaptation of topics, of books, of construc-
tion work, and attractive presentation of men, women,
and children in story and in biography will be almost
THE DYNAMICS
187
certain to win the child's attention and develop his
liking for such work and such acquaintances. Such
a liking on his part is the birth of interest, and is a
guarantee of his further effort in continual seeking
and acquiring.
Liking, interest, enthusiasm, are more readily
caught than taught. How fortunate it is that vir-
tues and graces are just as contagious as vices and
diseases ! Accordingly, the teacher of history, of
anything, needs not only knowledge of his subject
and skill in imparting the facts of that subject, in-
cluding the ability to direct study, but he also needs
enthusiasm in his subject, a spirit of happy conta-
gion. He must himself find delight in doing what
he asks the pupil to do.
The teacher that arouses in his pupil a deep and
abiding interest in history succeeds in the most vital
point, in whatever else he may fail; on the other
hand, the teacher that provokes in his pupil a dislike
for the subject fails in the worst way, even though
he fix a thousand facts. If history were something
to be passed off and then cast off, it might not be so;
but history portrays and interprets life, and is needed
for life in every generation.
Does any one inquire, Why has this chapter been
held back until now? or, Why was it not put first ?
Let answer be made: The need of arousing the pupil's
interest has been indicated repeatedly in preceding
chapters, but the subject has been reserved for special
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
treatment here for two reasons. First, it is hoped
that here some accumulated notions may add empha-
sis to what is deemed of so much importance. Sec-
ond, it is about the end of the grades or the beginning
of the high school that the interests of the child must
expand into the interests of the youth. Somewhere
here are dawns of great awakening. Somewhere
here is a mystic borderland, fringed with fancies,
haunted more or less with phantoms, but lighted
day and night with fair, far visions, in which the
stars of hope kiss all the hills of promise. These are
dynamic days. Impulses and aims do here take
deep hold of life.
CHAPTER XVII
WHY SOME PUPILS DISLIKE HISTORY
It is true, we all know, that some pupils do not like
history. When it is true, the matter presents rather
serious problems in every case. It means that both
teacher and pupil are going to encounter unnecessary
difficulties. It may mean discouragement and failure
to both. At the very best, so long as the pupil does
not like history he is not going to study it with
avidity or appreciation. He may have to be driven
to it to study it at all, and this may mean that he
will be driven away from it with an everlasting dis-
like, if not disgust. All this means vital loss to the
pupil. As for the teacher, it means failure in some
degree. At the least, it increases her work and mul-
tiplies her difficulties and discouragements.
It is certainly worth while, then, to find out if we
can why some pupils dislike history, especially if by
doing so we can in any measure cure their dislike or,
much better still, prevent it.
To find out the truth of the matter, I have been
able to think of no better way than asking the pupils
themselves. Accordingly, I have made a special
canvass for several years past, and have interrogated
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190
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
66
hundreds of different students, from various parts
of the country, on this particular point and related
matters.
I have asked them these questions :-
" Do you like history, or do you not like it?"
“If you like it, why do you like it?"
“If you do not like it, why not?"
Here are some of the most significant answers given
by those who said they did not like history :-
“I did not find it interesting.”
I had never seen any historical places.'
" I did not know why I was studying it.”
My teacher did not like it."
"I was entered too high.'
I was given a book too hard for me.'
When a large number said that they did not find
history interesting, they perhaps really said about
this: "I did not like history because I did not like
it." But the sad fact still remains that they did not
like it. Moreover, a number of them gave some
master-keys to the situation. For example, one said,
“It was not interesting — the teacher merely heard
the lesson.” Another said, “ My teacher just taught
me facts and dates, without any stories or interesting
things." Another, “It was presented to me in a
very difficult form." Another, “ The teacher did
not make it interesting." And so on. Is there not
a secret here revealed ? Whisper it softly: The
main fault lay with the teacher !
WHY SOME PUPILS DISLIKE HISTORY
191
This disclosure may be rather crushing to the
teacher's pride; but after all is not the situation
fortunate? Is it not much better to find that the
trouble is due to a temporary aberration in a few
teachers than to find it due to a constitutional defect
in the pupils ? Certainly it is easier to reach the
intelligent teacher, who is anxious to solve the prob-
lem, than it is to reach the unthinking pupil, who
frequently does not care whether he likes history or
not. Moreover, if the fault be in the teacher, reach-
ing the teacher effectively will cure the ills for all
concerned. Curing the teacher is healing the nation.
When so many different persons, without any
chance for malicious collusion, say the same thing
and thus agree that it was the teacher's failure when
history was not interesting, it behooves the earnest
teacher to be patient and listen. Thus may he
profit. Can we wonder that when the teacher
merely "hears the lesson," or presents facts in a
difficult form, or requires the pupil to memorize one
section after another, or brings in “only what is in
the book,” or does not like history himself, the pupil
should find the subject lacking attractiveness and
interest ? Under such conditions it would be a
wonder, indeed, if the boy or girl did like history.
But please observe that all these unfortunate
conditions are things for which the teacher is re-
sponsible, and which he can change for the better if
he will.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
But may we not blame the parents if the boy is
"entered too high "? or censure the school board or
the state department if the textbook is too hard and
dry ? Perhaps, a little. But after all, my fellow
teacher, you and I are still guilty. If the child is
put into this or that grade, or this or that class,
when he ought to be in a lower place, you and I have
had something to do with it. If the book is too hard
for him, we cannot justify ourselves by saying the
state has done it, or the local board has done it, and
I cannot help it. It is the teacher's business to
help just such things, among many others. If the
boy and the book do not fit together, let us hold the
boy back a little, or hold the book back a little. If
we cannot do either, let us make the book easy for
him, or hold him responsible at first for only the easier
parts of it.
A short time ago I had a very interesting con-
ference with a young lady who told me that in her
childhood she had "just hated history.” The main
trouble, she thought, was with the textbook that
had been forced into her hands. " It was too hard
for me," she said; “I could not understand it, and
of course I could not get interested in it. I have
only recently overcome my dislike for history, and
I have just within the last few days come to take a
real pleasure in that old book which (along with my
teacher) I blame for my childhood troubles with
history.”
WHY SOME PUPILS DISLIKE HISTORY
193
>>
"I am glad,” said I, " that you have at last been
able to use that old book with pleasure. May I ask
what use you have been making of it?"
Said she, “I have been cutting it up and using
the pictures in my notebook."
Poor teachers and dry, misfit books! Here are
the two chief reasons for uninterested pupils. The
former reason is personal and responsible. It must
shoulder the latter.
Fortunately there are in history so many forces
that thrillingly appeal to the human mind and heart
that both the reasons just mentioned, a poor teacher
and a juiceless or misfit textbook, are usually re-
quired in combination to kill out the spirit and in-
terest of the normal boy or girl. Fortunately, again,
it does not often happen that these two evils are
found in company; but by a saving mercy of Prov-
idence the combination usually encountered is
this: Good book plus bad teacher; or this : Bad
book plus good teacher. Accordingly, a guilty
pedagogue is often overshadowed and partly re-
deemed by a good textbook; and sometimes an
otherwise impossible book is recreated and made
interesting by a good teacher.
Happily, another ground of hope is found here.
I have ascertained, from a number of cases investi-
gated, that, although the child's dislike for history
sometimes lasts through life, it is generally possible
for the unfortunate pupil to displace in later years
O
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
his early indifference or aversion with a real and
permanent interest. This desirable change of atti-
tude may usually be hastened by a better teacher,
who unfolds skillfully the wonderful human kindness
of history to the quickening and awakening spirit
of youth. I believe that only a very few cases of
dislike for history are altogether incurable. In
these few it is the abnormalities of the patient
rather than the unskill of the doctor or the inefficacy
of the remedies that block the way. So much for the
teacher's consolation.
Having enumerated in the beginning of this chapter
some of the things that cause pupils to dislike history,
things to be avoided by the teacher, let us catalogue
now some of the things that have been credited with
an effect in arousing interest in and liking for the
subject. Here are a few. They all have been men-
tioned specifically by large numbers of students.
“I love humanity, and hence am interested in
things that people have done and are doing."
'I was blessed with a better teacher.'
It is a beautiful subject. It brings before us
noble men and women, engaged in noble and wonder-
ful work."
"The teacher was interested and made it inter-
esting to me."
“It is related to literature."
" It helps to explain and appreciate our present
civil and social conditions."
" It incites to noble effort."
66
WHY SOME PUPILS DISLIKE HISTORY
195
" It is real life."
It shows that the right usually triumphs in the
long run.”
For students in normal schools the following state-
ments are of special interest and significance :-
“The interest of my own pupils has stimulated
my interest."
"I see the part history plays in education."
It furnishes me with illustrations.'
"I am interested in history because I wish to be
able to teach history successfully."
It is suggested to the student and teacher that
there is an intimate relation between the matter
of this chapter, particularly the latter part of it,
and Chapter XVI. History itself is a subject of
vital and comprehensive interests. The normal
boy and girl, the earnest man and woman, will
naturally respond to these interests when they feel
in any appreciable measure their essence and force.
With so many good books as we have now from which
to choose, it would seem that almost any teacher of
fair equipment and average power ought to be able
to lead the pupil around and past the bogs of dis-
like into the fair lands of historical light and promise.
The best way to avoid dislike is to keep so busy
over the attractive things that the child will never
know that anybody ever was discouraged over his-
tory. When he becomes a man he will put away
childish things, but he will not put away history.
CHAPTER XVIII
WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS
SOME pupils fail through their own faults; some,
through the faults of their teachers.
When pupils fail through the errors of their
teachers the latter are probably guilty of one or
more of the following faults: (1) Premature pro-
motion; (2) poor or inadequate teaching; (3) im-
possible examination questions; (4) bad wording
of questions; or, (5) unreasonable grading of answers.
Frequently pupils are promoted to a grade or
admitted to a school upon too little preparation.
This is perhaps generally the fault of the teacher
below, but it often spells failure for the teacher (as
well as the pupil) above. Poor teaching means
poor teacher” ; but inadequate teaching may be
done by a good teacher if the pupil's preparation
be deficient or the time allowed for the course of
instruction be too short. Too many things at-
tempted and too little time in school are responsible
for most of the present-day failures in American
education. Impossible examination questions are
sometimes given, and answers are occasionally
graded with unreasonableness. The explanation for
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WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS 197
this usually is that the teacher is young, or without
experience, or has so little common sense as to try
to get college work from grammar-grade students.
Bad wording of questions is a frequent fault, not
peculiar to any grade or rank. From the kinder-
garten to the university, occasional knots in the
teacher's English present stumblingblocks to the
pupil's reason.
Teachers, of course, ease their consciences upon
the assumption that most pupils who fail on examina-
tions do so because of their own faults or deficiencies.
Perhaps this is true. At any rate, various lacks
and confusions on the pupil's part are certainly
factors in the result in many instances. Some of
these lacks and confusions may be stated as follows:
1. Lack of native ability.
2. Lack of knowledge.
3. Confusion of knowledge.
4. Unfortunate and unfamiliar similarities.
5. “Innocency of words."
6. Indiscriminate reading — lack of attention to
detail - a phase of the
a phase of the “ American habit.”
1. Some pupils fail simply because they do not
have the native ability to do exacting mental work.
I do not refer to the so-called defectives, but to those
students who, to all general appearances, are up to
the average in intellectual capacity, but who habit-
ually fall somewhat below in every test. There are
always a few such in every school; and they, of
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
3
course, have great difficulty in doing the work that
is easy to the brilliant student and generally possible
to the normal student.
2. Obviously, outright lack of knowledge is the
common misfortune of the pupils who fail. —— Lack
of knowledge is indicated by blank spaces upon the
examination paper, by the frank confession, “I
don't know,” or by an answer like the following:
“The purpose of the Omnibus Bill was to keep
foreigners out of our land; author Braddock."
The pupil who gave this answer was a hard student,
and not a" defective” by any means; but she simply
did not know the facts. Apparently, however, she
thought that she knew the facts. She did know some
facts, but they were much confused.
3. Confusion of knowledge. - This, I believe,
is more frequently the cause of poor answers than
sheer lack of knowledge. Confusion of facts may,
indeed, be reduced to lack of knowledge; but un-
der this head I wish to leave “blanks” out of con-
sideration and call attention to answers that have
some sense mixed with a good deal of nonsense.
All the examples given in this chapter are real cases
that have come under my own personal notice. All
of them but one have been found upon papers col-
lected in my own classes during a period of about
fifteen years.
Here are some examples of answers that show some
knowledge of facts, but indicate that the things known
WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS
199
were almost as worthless as if they had been entirely
unknown, being involved in hopeless confusions :---
1. "St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest city in the
world."
2. “John Randolph was the father of Pocahontas."
3. "James Hargreaves, in 1767, invented the Spinning
Jenny. He got his idea from a machine called a mule.
The name Jenny is suggested by the mule.”
4. “The Charter Oak was in North Carolina. The
settlers had left, and when they returned they only found
the word 'Croatan' on this oak."
5. "A party platform is a place where the men get
together and decide by a number of votes who will serve
best in office of any kind.”
6. “Robert Bruce was the head leader in the rebellion
for Whales independence."
7. "Byzantine Empire was the most important part
of Europe. Byzan was their leader.'
8. “The first group of Indians were on the east coast,
the second up around the Great Lakes, and the third,
who were in the west, called themselves the Totems."
9. “Islam was a young girl who, at the age of 18,
married Philip. He married her for her property. The
next day he wanted a divorce. Her people objected and
appealed to the Pope. It was never known why he dis-
liked her. He treated her very cruelly.”
Please remember that these answers were not given
by “ defectives,” but by young persons of fair in-
telligence. They were not incapable, but merely
confused as to facts.
19
200
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
ܕܐ
A field of frequent confusion is discovered in the
realm of biography, when an attempt is made to fix
identities and names. For example, when a class
in American history was asked to write in a column
the names of ten Federal generals, and opposite it
a similar list of Confederate generals, Gates
and “Sheridan" were written in the latter column.
In the lists on other papers were confusions just as
remarkable.
If the cases I have cited were without parallels,
they ought not to be given at all. If I alone had
found such answers to my questions, the thing for
me to do would be to look only to my own errors.
It would mean that I am a poor teacher, and nothing
But it means something more because other
teachers find the same sort of confusions upon the
papers they receive from their pupils. Because such
confusions are common, and could be duplicated
in kind many times over in nearly every school, they
have a general interest for teachers, and perhaps
have a rather far-reaching significance in present-day
education.1
As already remarked in the beginning of Chapter
X, history is one of the subjects that seem to present
special difficulties. Why is it that so many pupils
1 A recent investigation conducted by H. W. Craven in the
schools of Seattle, Washington, revealed conditions that were
surprising, and which would be fairly suggested by the examples
given above. Conditions in Seattle were probably typical of
those in many other places.
more.
WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS 201
fail in history — even in the history of their own
country?
First, there are many poor teachers of history
in our land. It has been a common error to suppose
that almost anybody will do to teach history. Con-
sequently, many persons even now trying to teach
history have no special qualifications for the task,
and have had no adequate training for it.
Second, history is not an easy little subject, as
many people suppose. It is a great subject, as big
as the world, as old as the race, as varied as the
nations, as comprehensive as life. It is a subject
of four dimensions, if you please.
Third, the need of thorough and accurate knowl-
edge of history has not been sufficiently recognized,
not to say emphasized, by our school authorities
and the public in general. It is assumed that arith-
metic, algebra, physics or chemistry, French or
Latin, and other subjects, must be studied; and then
it is possibly conceded that history may be studied
if there is a place for it.
Fourth, insufficient time is allowed for thorough
work in the schools. This is the main reason why
pupils lack knowledge of history, and why the facts
they have laid hold upon are so often in such hope-
less confusion. It takes a long time to learn history.
To learn history one must learn geography – be-
come familiar with many places, here and there,
separated by wide distances. To learn
To learn history
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
one must learn biography — get well acquainted
with a large number of men and women, living at
different places, in different times, and engaged in
different enterprises. To learn history one must
study out the causes, characters, and consequences
of numerous events, varying in nature, interest, and
importance. And to learn history one must grasp
the ever changing and ever moving front of time,
and fix the dates of many important events that
seem scattered with provoking elusiveness over the
long centuries.
Recognizing these facts, which are self-evident
and indisputable, and considering the crowded
curricula of our schools and the desperate rush that
is continually on to "get through " with it all and
rush into something else, can we wonder any more
why pupils do not have a more complete and orderly
knowledge of history?
The cardinal sin of American education to-day is
the overcrowding of curricula. Some so-called
educators are trying to cut the school life down, and
make it a year or two shorter; others are trying to
put in more subjects; pupils are trying to graduate
with their classes ''; teachers are trying to push
them through on schedule time; great truths are
being “smattered” and nerves are being shattered. .
It is time the current were setting the other way.
Nature made the school life of man some twenty
years or more. Man himself is trying to cut down
WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS 203
the time and crowd into the task of study many
more things than nature ever dreamed of. In cut-
ting down school life we are cutting down life. We are
making a nation of incapables by trying to do too
many things in the time at our disposal, which is
short at the most. We can as easily grow an oak
in full strength, proportion, and beauty in twenty
years as we can educate a man adequately in ten or
fifteen. Education is largely a process of growth.
For growth — whether in an oak or a man - - time,
much time, is necessary.
If history is not worth the time necessary to master
it, let us throw it out of the curriculum, and thus
gain time for other subjects that are worth while.
Not mastered, it is not of full value; to master it
the average pupil needs more time than he is fre-
quently allowed. If there is nothing else to do,
let us throw out of American schools all history but
American history; but if we are going to study
history at all, let us take a fair chance for mastering
at least a small field of it. Let us give the pupil
a fair chance to learn the facts, to get them into
their right places and right relations, and to become
so familiar with them that they can be used without
confusion.
4. Unfortunate and unfamiliar similarities. -
In many cases a pupil's confusion regarding persons,
places, and incidents in history is led into greater
mazes by some unlucky suggestion in the examina-
204
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
tion question. Here are some illustrations of this
sort of thing: -
1. "South Carolina was seceded to the Union in 1860."
Herein is an evident confusion of “seceded”
"
with “ceded.'
2. “In 1844 the Morris telegraph was invented.”
In this we see a confusion of the unfamiliar name
Morse" with the more familiar name Morris.'
9
3. "The Spanish Main was blown up in Havana harbor
by the Spaniards."
The confusion here is obvious.
4. “Wampum is something like a wigwam.”
5. “A trust is an organization supposed to be entirely
reliable in every way.”
6. “In 1692 Benjamin Franklin discovered that light-
ning was electricity worked by friction.”
The foregoing was an answer given to the question :
" What of witchcraft in 1692?"
7. “George Calvert was the founder of the Calvinists."
8. "Sulla was a great general and leader of the nobles
during the strife between the Plebeians and the Patri-
archs.'
9. “We should see the seven hills upon which Rome is
built, the Palatine, Aventine, Quirinal, etc.; also the
Appian Way, one of the main thoroughfares. Famous
buildings seen would be the Parthenon, temple to all the
WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS 205
gods, Circus Maximus, the temple to the goddess Athene,
etc.”
Pupils frequently confuse the Parthenon and the
Pantheon.
10. “George Mason helped to draw up the boundary
line between Dixie and Mason."
11. “Wat Tylor was a great historian."
The pupil who wrote this answer probably lived
near Williamsburg, Virginia.
12. "John Hampten: a great minister in the Hampten
Court Conference."
Mt. Vernon was put in Vermont probably because
of the suggestion contained in “Ver"; Vicksburg
in “Mass." because of the clutch that "Miss."
had once made; and for some such reasons, too,
many pupils have said that Mt. Vernon was Washing-
ton's birthplace.
In a certain book it is stated that the bishops
who refused to acknowledge Elizabeth's supremacy
in the church lost their sees. Unlucky suggestion
made a young lady who was asked to explain the
statement say, “ They lost their eyes."
A particular thing that almost invariably gives
trouble is “ strict” and “loose " construction. It
is so natural to associate "strictness" with strength
in the Federal authority that the average pupil will
aver that the strict constructionists wanted to give
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
all the power possible to the national government,
and that the loose constructionists wanted a weak
national government.
Sometimes these unlucky confusions blossom into
real wit - innocent wit, no doubt. For example,
one pupil wrote: “A protective tariff is a tax
on incomes.” Another said,
Another said, “General Bee was
a general who made a bee line to Boston to
aid Washington.” Of course it was a young
lady who wrote of the Concord Hymn as the
“Conquered Him.” What was the Sherman
Act?” was answered thus: “Marching through
Georgia.” 1
5. “Innocency of words." — Herein we find a
prolific cause of failure on examinations - and on
everything else. When a pupil writes “ Jackson's
policy of civil service was that no one should go
into the war who had not good health and was
trained,” we sigh in real despair and exclaim,“ What
innocency!” Such childlike (or childish) simplicity
regarding the meaning of common words in our
mother tongue is indeed painful. It might be amus-
ing if it were found in only a few cases; but it
appears so often that it is really distressing. Here
are other examples :-
1 The last example appeared on a history paper that I received
in the summer of 1910. Shortly afterward it gained rather
wide currency through the "funny page" of a popular magazine.
I was not responsible for the publicity given it at that time.
WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS
207
1. "Charlemagne was the founder of the Dooms day
book."
2. “A noted French discoverer was Champlain who
founded Lake Champlain.'
3. "The tobacco rebellion was when they brought it
from England and over here and showed the people over
here how to raise tobacco."
4. “The Erie Canal was discovered in 1765."
Innocency of words usually means poverty of
ideas. For example, notice how a single adjective
seems to fill the world for the pupil who, to a question
regarding the character of certain kings, writes thus :-
“Charles I was a good king.
"Charles II was a good king.
"John was not a good king.
“ Alfred was a good king.
“Alfred II was not a very good king.
“Edward I was a good king."
Innocency of words and poverty of ideas frequently
seize upon the phraseology of the question in the vain
effort to express themselves. That is to say, the
pupil, in his attempt at an answer, merely says over
what the teacher has said in the question itself, and
complacently imagines that he has answered the
question, or at least said something. Here is an
example.
Question: "Show definitely why it is necessary for
the teacher of history to be familiar with the subject
matter in order to be skillful in method."
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Answer: "The teacher must be familiar with subject
matter in order to teach history successfully."
This is an actual case, and the answer is more or
less typical of a large class. It is such fatal innocency
as this that enables the pupil to say over the words
of his lesson without seeing what they mean; to
listen to the teacher in the class room without under-
standing what he says; and to write answers (?) to
examination questions without knowing that he has
said practically nothing or something that is absurd
upon its own face.
6. Indiscriminate reading. -— By indiscriminate
reading I mean reading without marking meanings
and differences. Beginning in the first grade, and
continuing therefrom, the child naturally endeavors
to read with thoughtfulness and understanding; and
his teachers all along the line should be able to
strengthen his effort in this respect. To read prop-
erly is to interpret speech and to lay hold of the
treasures others would give us. Even in the first
grade, imagination and thought may be quickened
and developed in the reading process; and if the
child reaches the grammar school without being able
to see wondrous forms and vital relationships through
printed words, his teachers must be charged with
incompetence or negligence. But placing the re-
sponsibility upon them will not relieve him of the
resulting handicap.
This indiscriminate reading, such as too often
WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS 209
handicaps the pupil in the upper grades and in the
high school, is due to poor training and bad habit
rather than to deficient intelligence. Lack of at-
tention to detail is a phase of the American habit
of haste and halfwayness. It is this habit that
breaks up our nerves and robs us of many an excel-
lence. We do not fully appreciate the fact that the
difference between mediocrity and excellence con-
sists only of small points — of slight touches. We
try to grasp things wholesale rather than in detail.
We learn to read and spell on words and sen-
tences, and get blind spots for letters and commas.
We buy a coat without trying the buttons, and a
house without inspecting the locks and latches. We
gulp a book a page at a time; we guess the con-
tents of the newspaper from the headlines; we
estimate a man's consequence by the size of his
automobile; we build a tower without testing the
foundation; we try to lift society without touching
the individual.
The boy in school has caught the fashion. He
sweeps his glance over the examination question
as a whole, and misses altogether or fails to mark
the crucial words. He dashes down an answer,
never taking the pains to see whether it will fit the
question or not. He must hurry on to the next.
Innocency of words and indiscriminate reading
are of course intimately related, but a distinction
may be made. In the former the pupil does not know
P
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
what the words mean; in the latter he does not take
the pains to note carefully the meanings that might
be plain to him.
“What are you hauling ?” I said one day to a
little boy with red cheeks and a new express wagon.
He replied, “Out at de Normal School," and seemed
well pleased with himself.
" Who was John Marshall ? " I wrote on the black-
board the next day, in giving a quiz to the history
class; and this is what a young lady wrote in answer:
“John Marshall was born at Germantown, in 1755.
He was educated at home until he began studying
law."
The little boy was an indiscriminate hearer. He
either misunderstood the question, or failed to
perceive that “what" cannot be answered as if it
“
where."
The young lady was an indis-
criminate reader. She did not see that "who"
does not call for place, time, or process. Such
words as what," who,"
where,
"why," and "how" are like index fingers, pointing
the mind to highways of thought; but many a pupil
passes them heedlessly. It is as if he should walk
into a strange city without noting or heeding the
street names, the door numbers, the motorman's
gong, or the policeman's signal.
What are some of the lessons from all these things
for the teacher and the school official, as well as for
the pupil ?
were
“
16
when,
.
WHY SOME PUPILS FAIL ON EXAMINATIONS 211
1. The pupil needs more time for the mastery of
history.
2. The appreciative understanding of English is
necessary to the successful study of history or any-
thing else in which the pupil must get many facts
from books.
3. The pupil must be taught to observe carefully
and to pay due regard to detail. Careless reading
or slipshod statements, either in speech or in writing,
should not be tolerated.
4. The teacher should take special pains to dis-
tinguish names and terms that are so much alike
as to lead readily to confusion.
5. If the examination is counted as a vital factor
in determining the pupil's standing, he should be
given training in the answering of such questions as
he will have to answer on examination, in order that
some of his bad habits may be corrected against
the fateful day. And he needs practice in written
expression. If he is required to give only oral an-
swers during the term, he can hardly be expected to
do himself justice in a written test at the end of the
term.
1
1 In the History Teacher's Magazine, November, 1913, is an
interesting article by Edgar Dawson entitled, “Mortality in
History Examinations and its Causes."
CHAPTER XIX
MAKING AND USING HISTORY QUESTIONS
EVERY teacher of history will of course use ques-
tions, and should use many of them, oral and
written. The intelligent child, if interested, will
ask questions, ad infinitum; and he in turn should
be called upon to answer a great many, even from
the first grade. The teacher aims at impression,
through stories, pictures, objects, and exemplary
action; but he must also demand expression, through
the retelling of stories, the making of pictures and
objects, imitative and imaginative action, and
through the frequent answering of questions.
Beginning in the last grades or in the high school,
the teacher may gradually adopt the lecture in place
of the story, and use that predominantly in the col-
lege, the normal school, and the university. In
parallel procedure, the pupil may gradually cease
his deliberate echoing of the teacher's voice in song
and story, and try instead to speak of and for him-
self in oral and written reports, in formal essays,
and in debates; but all the way through, even to
the last examination for the Doctor's degree, the
world of the teacher and the student is full of ques-
212
MAKING AND USING HISTORY QUESTIONS 213
tions, questions, questions, uttered and unuttered,
answered and unanswered.
Where?”is the question of geography; "When?"
is the question of chronology; “Who?" is the
question of biography and genealogy; “What?"
is the question of chemistry and literature; "How?”
is the question of sociology as well as of mathematics
and mechanics; Why?” is the question of phi-
losophy; " Whence?” and “Whither?” are the
questions of biology and religion; but history needs
them all.
“Where?" leads us to the place of wondrous
story; “ When?" ascertains the year and the day
of the great event; “Who?" points to every noble
man and woman in every age;
What?" seeks
knowledge of every vital relation and every notable
deed; “How?” observes processes and searches
for the secrets of mastery and skill; “Why?"
demands a reason for every thought and act;
“Whence?" seeks for origins and beginnings; and
“Whither?” has regard to tendency and destiny.
The history teacher, in the instruction and ex-
amination of his classes, may put his questions in
speech or in writing; but naturally most of them
will be oral, especially in the elementary schools.
All questions should be stated clearly and as concisely
as possible; and in oral work a constant effort
should be made to have them definite, pointed, and
brief. When a question is written down the pupil
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
can usually take as much time as may be necessary
to look it over; but when it comes flying upon the
wings of the wind, and has to be caught upon the
senses and held in memory while the same powers
and others are searching the world for an answer,
it should, in the interests of mercy as well as of
pedagogy, be stated in a few words that have a dis-
tinct meaning
In order to set forth certain qualities in questions,
some good, some bad, a number of examples are
herewith presented. All these examples have been
copied, word for word, from standard textbooks on
United States history.
Here are several that certainly are embarrassing
by reason of their length:-
“What has entitled Marquette, Joliet, and La Salle
to their fame and to the gratitude, not only of French
Canadians, but of all Americans ?”
“How did Benjamin Franklin try to create a common
interest and responsibility in all the colonies in this big
land quarrel ?”
“What were some of the results for good and for evil
arising from the indirect relations becoming prevalent
between employers and laborers ?”
If these questions were used only in written or
printed form, to be answered in writing, they might
be tolerable; but if they are for oral use, they are
certainly not good. They may properly be termed
cumbersome.” To cumber is to burden, to hamper.
MAKING AND USING HISTORY QUESTIONS 215
The very size and involved character of these ques-
tions would cumber the student while he is groping
and struggling for an answer. If fast on paper, they
are bad enough; if fired out orally by a nervous
teacher, they are altogether impossible to the average
pupil. They should be split or chopped into thinner
or shorter pieces, and the pieces well pointed.
The temptation to fire a double-barrel gun or a
repeating rifle seems often too much for the teacher;
and so we are annihilated by such fusillades as the
above or cut in two by such chain-shot as the
following:
“What is said of the life in cities and on plantations ?"
"Name the two cities most active in carrying on trade
between Europe and the Far East, and tell how this
traffic was threatened in the fourteenth century."
“What were the platform and candidates of the Republi-
cans in 1884 ?"
Each of these questions should be dissected and
reconstructed. As to the first, one certainly would
think that life in cities is worth a question for itself
alone. The answer, to be at all satisfactory, would
necessarily be rather long. Just as properly, a
question could be devoted wholly to plantation life.
The second example also would be much better as
two questions, with the division made at the comma
after “Far East."
The third example is worst of all. If the pupil
is able to state the national platform of a great
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
party, he surely ought to be allowed time for breath,
and be complimented with a second question:
“Who were the candidates?” But as propounded
the question is a violation of good form as well as
a sin against childhood. In trying to swamp the
pupil in the subtleties of politics, the teacher drowns
himself in his own English. See what he really says:
"What were the candidates ?"
How could any one say, even if he could tell who
they were? Obviously, the teacher in this case
intended to ask only who they were, but he sacrificed
sense in order to economize words. The chances
are that most of the cumbersome questions found
in books are largely the result of an ill-advised effort
to save paper and printer's ink. But if the questions
that slip into standard books are thus and so, what
must be true of thousands that are never tried at
all by any standards?
Here are two more examples of questions of such
great content that they ought to be divided :
"What objections were raised even by wise men, and
what mistakes had Columbus made in his calculations ?"
“In general, what conditions in the old world made so
many people dissatisfied there, and what conditions in
the new world drew so many to its shores ?”
If such questions are overwhelming in their magni-
tude, the following are apt to take the pupil's breath
away by the rapidity of their dancing variety :-
MAKING AND USING HISTORY QUESTIONS 217
'Why, how, and when did Fort Sumter fall ?"
"When, why, and where did the Swedes begin to settle
in America ?”
“Where, when, why, and by whom was the Line of De-
marcation established ?"
These questions, please remember, are all in the
books. Pray, let us leave them there. If we use
them in the class room, let us break them up and ad-
minister them a piece at a time. In comic drama
they may serve a good purpose entire. They remind
us of the downpour of interrogations that fell all
at once upon the defenseless head of Cinna the Poet,
in the hour when Cæsar died :-
"What is your name, whither are you going, where do
you dwell, are you a married man or a bachelor ? Answer
every man directly, ay, and briefly, ay, and wisely, ay,
and truly.”
In framing questions the teacher should be care-
ful to choose words with clear-cut meaning and to
put words and phrases in their proper places. Here
are some illustrations of failures in these respects :-
"Did the fear of British arms by European nations
make these colonies more secure from Dutch, Spanish, or
French attack in America ?”
"What was the new law concerning the counting of the
electoral vote passed in 1887 ?”
In the first example the word "arms" is of indefi-
nite meaning. Probably it is used to mean the
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
British military power; but the pupil might nat-
urally suppose that it means rifles or pistols or swords.
In the second example the arrangement of the
parts of the sentence stands in the way of clear
meaning. Written down, and punctuated thus,
it would possibly be clear :-
“What was the new law, concerning the counting of the
electoral vote, passed in 1887 ?”
But if this question were spoken, it might still be
misleading or confusing. Would it not be better
thus?
"What was the new law, passed in 1887, concerning the
counting of the electoral vote?"
Clearness and definiteness are not always best
secured by conciseness and brevity. Note the
following question:
"How was the national debt reduced from 1801 to
1811?"
Despite absurdities and impossibilities, somebody
would take this question literally, and try to reduce
1801 to 1811. In such a case it would probably
be advisable to put in another word or two, and make
the question stand thus:-
“How was the national debt reduced during the period
from 1801 to 1811 ?"
There are some questions that may well be termed
questions of complacency." The questioner is
MAKING AND USING HISTORY QUESTIONS 219
evidently well satisfied with himself, just as he is.
He shuts one eye to ask the question, and he expects
the pupil to shut one eye to answer it. Here are
some examples :-
“Why did the Monitor beat the Merrimac?"
“What French names still remain where these settle-
ments were made ?"
“What four causes led up to this panic ?”
In the first of these the questioner is apparently
shutting his eye to this: "Did the Monitor beat the
Merrimac?” which is still a question with a good
many persons.
In the second example it is implied that one may
readily list all the French names that still remain
around the Great Lakes and in the Mississippi
Valley, an implication that can hardly be allowed.
The question would mean more and be more true
stated thus :
“What are some of the French names that still remain
where these settlements were made ?"
In the third example is a similar implication. The
panic of 1837 perhaps had more than four causes.
It is a mistake to allow a child to get the notion that,
when he has mentioned certain familiar things,
he has exhausted all possibilities in the matter.
Because of such misimpressions many children sup-
pose that “taxation without representation ” was
the sole cause of the American Revolution.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Questions that suggest unmistakably their own
answers are not worth much. Here are some of this
sort:
"Was it necessary to make the paper notes legal tender?"
“Was it easy to decide whether to be a patriot or a
loyalist ?
A good guesser would be pretty certain of hitting
either one of these, although the second seems to
call for more thought than the first.
Here is a question that looks like a boomerang :-
"When an attack upon the South along the coast failed,
how did the British attempt to attack the colonies in the
rear ?"
It seems to fly back into your face about the time
you are getting ready to say something. In other
words, the last phrase of the question seems to
contain the answer. Just what it means, or is in-
tended to call forth, I do not know. I only know
that it is found in a standard textbook, and I fear
that many teachers of history are employing it or
others just as bad.
It is not necessary that every question be startling
or striking, any more than it is necessary for the
landscape to be all peaks and mountain ranges.
We have need of the commonplace in education
just as in the landscape and in life. For example,
the first questions about any subject or topic may
naturally be simple, or deal with simple phases of
MAKING AND USING HISTORY QUESTIONS 221
the subject; those that demand more penetrating
or more summary answers may just as naturally
come later. Nothing herein is to be construed,
however, as meaning that the teacher shall not, if
he choose, use a striking or startling question as
the very first in a series for the purpose of arousing
attention.
Not all questions in a series need to be of equal
importance. In fact, it would be impossible to make
them all of equal importance if they refer consistently
to the different phases of the subject; for obviously
the different phases of every subject are of different
degrees of interest and value. Some very common-
place questions may serve a good purpose in calling
for commonplace facts which, although they are not
of tremendous significance, ought to be known.
Some questions should call for facts — make a
demand upon the stores of memory; some should
call for a process of thought — make a demand upon
the reasoning powers; some should stimulate the
imagination, and hence all the powers of mind and
heart; some should call, as it were, for the pupil
himself: demand an act of choice and volition, thus
requiring a subjective response rather than an ob-
jective possession. Every question should present
a contest to the pupil, in which he must take hand.
He may sit quiet and passive — perhaps indifferent
under the teacher's lecture, but the question leaps
up before him with a challenge, and he must become
222
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
at once active, or be classed as a dodger or even as
a coward. Even if he fail to answer correctly, he
may still meet the challenge courageously.
The question with its answer opens the gate to
the pupil's thought and soul, and lets the teacher
look in. It should do so. It should reveal lacks
and needs as well as riches and resources. The
question and the answer are an exchange of ac-
quaintance between master and disciple - a bond
of sympathy and friendship. Good questioning
marks the good teacher just as much as good an-
swering marks the good pupil. Questions are keys
to knowledge as well as to souls. They stand con-
tinually before the gates of thought, knocking for
audience, like messengers from strange lands.
Here is a list of questions that illustrate very well
the desirable qualities of brevity, definiteness, and
directness. They also form a logical series, one
question following another naturally.
1. “What was a 'writ of assistance'?'
2. “Why did the colonists oppose the Stamp Act?"
3. "What was done by the Stamp Act Congress ?”
4. “Show some of the forms of opposition to the
stamps."
5. "Tell why the repeal of the Stamp Act was not
complete.”
6. "How did Pitt's illness basten the Revolution ?"
7. “Describe Townshend's threefold plan for taxing
America.”
MAKING AND USING HISTORY QUESTIONS 223
8. “Of what use was the Adams circular letter ?"
9. “Why was the tea tax a blunder ?”
10. “How did the colonials learn of each other's
plans?"
Such questions test the pupil's knowledge of the
text. They call for facts known or to be known
objective realities, possessed or to be possessed.
They seem to make their chief demand upon the
memory, but they also stimulate the imagination
and provoke thought.
In the following questions, particularly in No. 3
and No. 5, a strong call is made upon the pupil
himself. They seek a response in character. Their
aim is subjective development rather than objective
acquirement.
1. "What is bribery?”
2. "What shapes may it take?”
3. “What is there wrong about it?"
4. “What instances of bribery, or attempted bribery,
are there in American history ?"
5. “Why is it an insult to an honest man to offer him
a bribe?” 2
The subjective value of the following ques-
tions is obvious. They make an appeal to choice
and volition upon the basis of knowledge and
reason.
1 Meany: “United States History for Schools,” pp. 187,
188.
2 Fiske: "A History of the United States," p. 305.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
"Would you have been a Federalist or a Republican
in Washington's time ?"
" "Give reasons for your answer.
"
" 1
The teacher, especially the young teacher, had
better formulate his questions and reduce them to
writing before meeting his class. Impromptu ques-
tions are apt to be defective in form, illogical, and
badly distributed. Use your own questions with
the class in preference to those in the book. The
latter are excellent in preparing for class work.
Your lesson plan should include your question list,
and you should make at least so much of the lesson
plan every day.
2
1 Fiske: “ A History of the United States,' p. 305.
2 The following books, among others, will be found helpful
on the subject of questioning : Anonymous : “Analytical Questions
in United States History”; A. Flanagan Co.; Chicago; Betts :
"The Recitation” (part on "The Art of Questioning'); Hough-
ton Mifflin Co., Boston.
CHAPTER XX
GRADING QUIZ PAPERS AND EXAMINATION
PAPERS
In essence the written quiz, the written test, and
the written examination are the same. The dif-
ferences consist largely in the terms. In usage,
however, the examination is ordinarily a longer and
more formal exercise, coming at the end of a quarter
or a session; while the test or quiz may be given
monthly, weekly, or at irregular intervals. The
test, or the quiz, is used not only for the instruction
of the pupil, but also to enable the teacher to gauge
the pupil's progress and to determine his class stand-
ing. Grades made on tests, or class grades deter-
mined by tests and otherwise, should be combined
with the grade of the final examination and with his
other grades, to arrive at a fair estimate of the pu-
pil's knowledge, ability, and growth.
Professor R. H. Dabney, head of the history de-
partment of the University of Virginia, makes a
daily use of the written quiz in certain of his classes.
le has been following this plan for a number of
years and has found it attended with most excellent
results. Each day, when the class meets for the
Q
225
226
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
hour lecture period, the first ten minutes are devoted
to the written quiz. Only two, three, or four ques-
tions are given; they are on the day's lesson; and
they are always such as can be answered in the limited
time. The papers handed in are carefully graded,
and each man's marks recorded against his name.
At the end of the term the average grade from the
daily tests is combined with the examination grade,
one counting about as much as the other, and each
being essential in the grade required for passing.
In other words, if a student does not do reasonably
well on both the daily tests and the final examina-
tion, he cannot pass. He cannot atone for habitual
negligence by a brilliant spurt at the end. On the
other hand, if he does good work daily, he is practi-
cally certain of the result, because the quiz each day
is limited to the lesson of that day; and by preparing
regularly each daily lesson he is making the best
possible preparation for the final examination. Since
Professor Dabney inaugurated this system several
years ago he has been able to observe a marked im-
provement in the work affected by it. A much larger
proportion of men pass the courses now than formerly.
Perhaps the most difficult work of all that falls
upon the teacher of history is the grading of written
answers to written questions. This sort of work
is particularly difficult in history and kindred sub-
jects. In mathematics or an exact science most of
the questions put to pupils in the schools require
QUIZ PAPERS AND EXAMINATION PAPERS 227
" Correct
or
answers that are so fixed and definite that the teacher
can say of each one at a glance,
Incorrect.” In history, on the other hand, and
in all social sciences, many of the lines of fact are
not yet clearly drawn, and very few are fixed by
anything like universal agreement. In other words,
while there is usually but one proper answer to a
question in an exact science, there may often be in
a social science a number of different answers, all
of excellent merit.
There are, of course, certain questions in history and
related subjects that have fixed and definite answers,
as may readily be shown. Such answers the teacher
can easily and quickly grade. Usually in such cases
the value of an answer is either 100 or 0, and which
it is can be at once determined, for it is a certain
name, a fixed date, a definite fact, or a well-known
quantity. Here are some examples of such ques-
tions, with their answers :
1. Who was called the “Father of the Constitution"?
Answer: James Madison.
2. When was Lincoln born ?
Answer: February 12, 1809.
3. What important artificial waterway was opened from
west to east in 1825 ?
Answer: The Erie Canal.
4. How much money did the United States give Spain
for the Philippine Islands, etc.?
Answer: $20,000,000.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Obviously each of these questions can have but
one acceptable answer. All such questions, there-
fore, will have answers that can at once be marked
either at full value or at zero. If the teacher wishes
to have an easy time grading papers, or if she wishes
to give the members of her class a first lesson in
grading their own papers under her direction, she
must be careful to ask just such questions.
Not long ago I gave this question to a class in
history :--
1. (1) What important machine was invented in 1793 ?
(2) Who was the inventor ?
Here are some of the answers received, with the
grades I gave them, each part of the question being
accorded a maximum value of 50:--
A. 1. (1) Cotton Gin.
50
(2) Eli Whitney.
50
B. 1. (1) The Cotton Gin.
50
(2) Eli Whitney.
50
This answer is complete and in good form.
C. 1. (1) The cotton gin was invented in 1793.
(2) Eli Whitney was the inventor.
A needless lot of words are used here.
50
50
D. 1. (1) The important machine invented in 1793 was
the cotton gin.
50
(2) The inventor was Eli Whitney.
50
Here are more needless words.
QUIZ PAPERS AND EXAMINATION PAPERS 229
Although some of the foregoing answers are in
better form than others, it is easy to see that all are
the same in substance, and that all are substantially
correct. It would be just as easy to see that answers
different in substance from these would be alto-
gether incorrect.
But the good teacher of history wishes to ask
many questions the answers to which cannot be
stated so definitely or be disposed of so readily.
As already remarked, many questions in history and
related subjects admit of answers widely different
in substance as well as in form. Any question that
involves judgments from complex conditions, some
of which are undetermined, or from more or less
unsettled theories, is bound to have a different
answer from every different thinker. These answers
may agree essentially, differing only incidentally;
but they will differ in form of statement at least.
Moreover, such a difference in form represents some
difference in conception and appreciation, and hence
in value. Some answers may agree in part with
known facts or accepted conclusions, while disagree-
ing in part. In such cases credit should be given
for the part that is good, and a fair deduction of
credit be made for the part that is not good.
The term “good” is here used rather than the
term “ correct " or "right"; because in many ques-
tions of the sort under consideration it will be pos-
sible to get a number of good answers, but perhaps
230
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
1)
"right"
or
impossible to get one that could properly be termed
the right one or the correct one. To use the term
correct would imply that there is
but one acceptable answer, which is not true.
Who, now, is to evaluate all these differing state-
ments (answers) about different persons, forces, move-
ments, and institutions, concerning all of whom or
which there are so many different opinions deserving
respect, and so many different things that are true?
The teacher must do it. The teacher, therefore,
has a hard task. To perform it well he needs many
powers and qualifications: Broad knowledge, pene-
trating insight, cosmopolitanism, or power of sym-
pathy and adjustment, strict regard for fact, and
judicial fairness.
To illustrate the variety of answers that may be
expected in many cases, and to indicate the different
values that may be assigned to certain answers,
more examples are herewith submitted. This ques-
tion was given to a large class along with the one
concerning Eli Whitney and the cotton gin; and
the answers here reproduced are stated literally
as they were given by different pupils in the class.
2. (1) Who was John Marshall ?
(2) How did he make his greatest contribution to
American history?
In grading the answers to this question a maximum
value of 40 was determined upon for the first part
QUIZ PAPERS AND EXAMINATION PAPERS 231
and 60 for the second part. Here are some of the
answers and their respective grades :-
A. 2. (1) A jurist.
35
Not specific enough.
(2) While Chief Justice of the United States he estab-
lished precendents in the Constitution which have re-
mained so ever since.
50
A word misspelled. He did more than establish
precedents.
B. 2. (1) John Marshall was Chief-justice of the
United States.
38
Not explicit enough. Form not the best.
(2) John Marshall was a member of the House of
Burgesses. He interpreted the Constitution.
50
He was not a member of the House of Burgesses,
but of the Virginia legislature.
C. 2. (1) John Marshall was the son of Colonel Thomas
Marshall.
30
Not a good identification.
(2) The great contribution Marshall made to the Ameri-
can History was the interpretation of the constitution. 50
" The American History" suggests a book.
“ Constitution” not capitalized is indefinite.
232
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
D. 2. (1) John Marshall was a Virginian. He became
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. 39
“U. S.” here is not good form.
(2) John Marshall interpreted the constitution in such
a way that the meaning of it could be understood by the
people. He also took a leading part in trying to get US
to adopt the Constitution.
40
“US” probably means the United States, but
the statement would be more applicable to Virginia.
E. 2. (1) John Martial was the Chief Justice of U.S.
He served for 35 years.
35
Five points off for bad spelling and bad form.
(2) He added several things to the Constitution that
are taken to-day as a precident.
25
Bad spelling and inaccurate statement, but some
truth expressed.
F. 2. (1) John Marshall was a lawyer, and the first
chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. 30
He was not the first chief justice. John Jay, John
Rutledge, and Oliver Ellsworth preceded him.
(2) He expounded and explained the Constitution. He
added many things to it that are still in existence. 45
“And explained” is repetition. He added nothing
to the Constitution literally, though he did add much
potentially.
QUIZ PAPERS AND EXAMINATION PAPERS 233
preme Court.
G. 2. (1) John Marshall was Chief Justice of the Su-
35
“Supreme Court” of what?
(2) The distinction of securing the adoption of the
Constitution by Virginia was due chiefly to Marshall.
He also made the Constitution clear enough (for the first
time) that the national government might be under-
stood,
55
H. 2. (1) John Marshall was one of the world's
greatest jurists. He was chief justice of the U. S. for
thirty-four years.
37
(2) He made his greatest contribution to American
history by expounding the Constitution in terms that are
often used at present, and by making many constitutional
decisions which have influenced the present day. 59
“ Which have had an influence to the present day
would be more exact.
I. 2. (1) John Marshall was born a Virginian. He
was a distinguished statesman and was Justice of Supreme
Court for thirty-four years.
35
“Justice” is inaccurate and "Supreme Court”
is indefinite. The latter expression might readily
be understood as meaning the supreme court of
Virginia.
(2). His most noticeable service was in the interpret-
ing and expounding the Constitution. The influence of
his decisions and interpretations are felt to-day.
59
“ And expounding
seems to be repetition.
ܙܙ
234
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
J. 2. (1) A great American jurist; chief justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court, 1801-1835.
40
(2) By his profound interpretation of the Constitution
and his momentous decisions in accordance therewith.
He won respect for the Court, and set precedents that have
fixed national policy and perhaps national destiny. 60
Examples could be multiplied. Obviously, each
case must be dealt with individually, upon its merits.
Not many rules can be given. The matter in every
instance depends upon the teacher upon
the
knowledge and good judgment that he is able to
make bear upon it. Students preparing to be
teachers, especially students in our normal schools,
should have some training in the grading of papers,
along with other things helpful and necessary to
their skill and trustworthiness.1
1 An interesting article entitled "Adequate Tests in History,"
by H. D. Foster, may be found in the History Teacher's Magazine,
April, 1914.
CHAPTER XXI
THE USE AND THE ABUSE OF DATES
DATES seem to be the disturbing factor in history
study; yet if dates were left out of history, every-
thing would be disturbed and in hopeless confu-
sion.
When a pupil imagines that history consists
merely of so many dates to be memorized, he is mis-
taken. When he says, “I can't learn history be-
cause I can't remember dates,” he is probably mis-
taken twice: first, in supposing that history consists
only of dates; second, in asserting that he cannot
remember dates.
Young ladies, especially, are prone to imagine
that they cannot remember dates. They are much
mistaken. Nearly every girl and nearly every
woman has special gifts for remembering dates.
Who ever heard of a young lady who forgot a friend's
birthday? or a “date " for the opera, even though
fixed a month in advance, to the day, the hour, and
the minute? or the date of her approaching wedding,
though set two years in advance? What woman
has ever forgot a wedding day or a birthday, though
a score of years in the past? Women are really
235
236
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
geniuses in remembering dates. If they can only
find half the interest in historical dates that they
have, and have rightfully, in personal dates, the
whole matter will be easy for them.
When a teacher makes it appear that dates are
history or the essence of history, he is abusing
history. When he asserts that dates are the source
of all his woes in the teaching of history, he is abusing
dates. When he tries to make the child learn all
the dates in the chronicle, he is abusing the child.
Let us consider dates in their true light. In books
a large number of dates are necessary, and they
ought to be at the right places, in plain type. In
heads at least a few dates are necessary, and they
ought to be just as clear and well placed as those in
the books. In both books and heads dates serve
as guides, with index fingers, pointing both ways:
back into the prolific past, forward into the promising
future. Changing the figure, we may think of the
system of historical dates as the skeleton that is
necessary for a perfect body, keeping all things in
place, giving strength, and making possible use-
fulness and beauty.
Once more, dates in history are like the stars in
the heavens. They shine out of the darkness,
showing place, relation, and interrelation. A few
are of the first magnitude; the others are less in
rank by reason of smaller circumstances, or less in
brilliancy by reason of greater distances. We do
THE USE AND THE ABUSE OF DATES
237
not attempt to learn all the stars by name - the
great majority, perhaps, are nameless; but we do
name a few of the chief ones, and learn to know
them. In the world of time, as in the world of space,
we need to name and know only the great fixed stars
there are no temporal planets. The innumerable
lesser dots upon the expanse of the ages may be al-
lowed to fade gradually out of our consciousness,
save here and there a path of light - a Clio's milky
way.
It would be wrong for the teacher of history to
regard all dates as of equal importance, or to allow
his pupils to do so. It would be harmful and foolish
for him to demand of his class that they remember
every date. He should not only know that dates
differ in value, but he should also know which partic-
ular dates are of most importance; and as he goes
through a book with his pupils he should occasion-
ally direct attention to this date or that, and show
its significance. At the same time, or at some time,
he should call upon his pupils to exercise their own
judgment in the selection of important dates.
There are two or three reasons why people forget
dates. Perhaps there are four. In the first place,
lack of interest in a date makes it harder to remember.
But the chief reason why pupils in school and people
generally forget dates is this: They have never
learned them thoroughly. It is one thing to play
at learning dates; it is another thing to grind them
238
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
into memory as into granite. When a boy learns
a list of dates as thoroughly as some of us years ago
had to learn the multiplication table, or as thor-
oughly as most persons are expected to learn their
own names and the names of their friends, he will
not soon forget it. If dates are thoroughly learned
and occasionally used they will not often be forgotten.
We discredit the memory too much nowadays, and
hence fail to realize full value from it in many
cases.
Another reason why people forget dates, or never
learn them thoroughly, is found in the fact, already
suggested, that no definite selection of important
dates is made for special study. Instead, a half
chance is taken at all the dates in the book, indis-
criminately, and this usually means failure to fix
any of them permanently.
The reasons why history dates are forgotten,
therefore, may be put in summary form, as follows:-
1. Lack of interest in them.
2. Lack of thoroughness in learning them.
3. Lack of means for using them.
4. Failure to discriminate between important and
non-important dates.
In like manner, the rules for learning and remember-
ing dates may be summarized thus :
1. Select a limited number of the most important
dates.
2. Learn them thoroughly.
THE USE AND THE ABUSE OF DATES
239
3. Devise some means for using or recalling them
occasionally.
4. Endeavor to appreciate the interest and signifi-
cance of each date studied.
The teacher may do well to select twenty or
thirty or forty of the most important dates in
American history for his class, and have each pupil
copy the list in his notebook. He may do better
still by having each pupil take part in making the
selection. Let us suppose that you are near the end
of your textbook. You have pointed out, from time
to time, certain dates with emphasis. You say:-
“We shall now select the most important dates
mentioned in our textbook, and make a list of them
for our notebooks and our memories. During the
next three days each one of you will make an inde-
pendent selection of twenty dates, and arrange
them in chronological order, writing after each date,
in concise form, the event or events distinguishing it.
The fourth day you will bring your lists to class.
We shall then compare the different dates, discuss
them, and select the twenty that meet with general
approval. This approved list will be written upon
the blackboard to give all of you an opportunity to
copy it."
In learning dates the principle of association may
be utilized to excellent advantage in many instances.
It is indeed remarkable how many coincidences
there are in dates which make association easy and
240
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
helpful. For example, let us see how many impor-
tant events are associated in the year 1619, in the
Virginia colony.
1619, in the Virginia colony :--
First elected legislature
First shipload of wives
First shipload of slaves
First shipload of tobacco exported
First university planned for America
The year 1689 affords another striking illustration.
1689, a notable year:
Bill of Rights agreed upon in England
Andros overthrown in New England
Frontenac sent to Canada as governor
French and English begin the fight for
America
April 19 is a fateful day in several centuries.
April 19, an eventful day in American history:
1619: Sir George Yeardley arrives at James-
town
1689: Boston overthrows Andros
1775: First battle of the Revolution, at Lexing-
ton
1861: First bloodshed of the Civil War, at
Baltimore
THE USE AND THE ABUSE OF DATES
241
Fate has certainly been kind to the feeble memory.
Here is another example, chosen from many.
1807, a memorable year :-
Fulton's steamboat proved
The Embargo passed
Act of Congress forbidding importation of
slaves passed
Burr tried for treason
Robert E. Lee born
Different years that are marked by notable events
may often be linked together by striking similarities.
They often fall at intervals of ten, twenty, or fifty
years, or an even century. Note the following
examples :
1603, Queen Elizabeth dies and James I succeeds her
1613, The Dutch begin trading at New Amsterdam
1623, New Hampshire settled at Dover and Ports-
mouth
1633, Connecticut settled at Windsor
1643, The New England Confederation formed
1653, Cromwell turns out the Rump Parliament
1663, Charles II makes the Carolina grant
1673, The Dutch take back New Amsterdam for a year
1683, Penn lays out Philadelphia
1693, William and Mary College founded in Virginia
Rice culture introduced into the Carolinas
1703, Delaware becomes a separate colony
R
242
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
1713, Treaty of Utrecht ends Queen Anne's War
1723, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Adam Smith born
1733, Oglethorpe settles Georgia at Savannah
1743, Thomas Jefferson born
First Bible printed in America, by Christopher
Sower
1753, Washington sent to the French governor
1763, Treaty of Paris, closing the French and Indian
War
1773, The Boston Tea Party
1783, Peace of Paris, closing the Revolutionary War
1793, Whitney invents the cotton gin
1803, Jefferson purchases Louisiana
1813, Perry's victory on Lake Erie
1823, The Monroe Doctrine proclaimed
1833, The Compromise Tariff
Chicago founded
1843, Whitman returns to Oregon
1853, The Gadsden Purchase
1863, The battle of Gettysburg
1873, Financial panic
1883, Electric lights widely introduced
Brooklyn Bridge opened to traffic
Civil Service Reform Commission provided for
Letter postage reduced to two cents
1893, Chicago World's Fair
Financial panic
Colorado grants full suffrage to women
Civil Service Reform extended
THE USE AND THE ABUSE OF DATES
243
1903, President Roosevelt sends wireless telegram to
King Edward VII
1913, Gettysburg reunion
Does not a list like this justify the claim that dates
are interesting and easy to learn? Two more il-
lustrations of the wonderful way important dates
have been chained together by coincidence and
parallelism are submitted :-
1675-6, King Philip's War in New England
Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia
1775-6, General rebellion in the colonies
1755-1763, Period of the French and Indian War
1775–1783, Period of the Revolutionary War
CHAPTER XXII
THE VALUE OF NATIONAL AND STATE SONGS
ONE summer morning a few years ago, soon after
the doors of the National Museum at Washington
were opened, the attendants in charge and the few
early visitors present were suddenly attracted,
perhaps somewhat startled, by a burst of song that
came from behind one of the tall cabinets. It was a
patriotic song, full of devotion and the spirit of youth.
If any one had looked upon the singing as unconven-
tional and disturbing, he hardly would have dared to
say so. To have stopped the song by violence would
have been like tearing down the national colors. A
group of history students, with their teacher, had
come on an excursion to the national capital. An
evening or two before they had listened to the United
States Marine Band concert on the White House
lawn, and had stood up with the vast throng when
the national anthem was played. The next day they
had stood under the great flagstaff at Arlington, and
had seen the house of Francis Scott Key in George-
town. At this very time they were bound for Mt.
Vernon, and were utilizing the hour till the steamer
should start by a pause at the Museum. In
244
VALUE OF NATIONAL AND STATE SONGS 245
the history class at home they had just recently
reviewed the British advance upon Washington
and Baltimore in 1814, and the conditions under
which Key had written the stirring lines that have
made his name immortal. As part of the class
exercise in that study the anthem itself had been
learned and sung. Can any one be surprised,
then, that this band of students, full of patriotic
spirit, and heavy-laden with old stories made new,
should have rushed eagerly up into a close group be-
fore that huge cabinet in the National Museum, and
burst out singing “ The Star-Spangled Banner,"
when they saw there before them the identical old
banner that floated over Fort McHenry in 1814 and
inspired the writing of the song ?
There it was, a great Old Glory, a huge flag, thirty-
two feet long and twenty-seven feet wide — big
enough to cover Baltimore in a storm of fire, and big
enough to wave every day over a free and happy land.
The“ broad stripes " on it are a foot wide, and the
stars that once were bright have lost nothing of their
real splendor, though their fair faces show less clearly
on the faded blue field than they did when both
It would have been a loss of honor not to
sing; it would have been treason to have stopped the
song; it is a rich moment missed or lost whenever
any teacher tells the story of “The Star-Spangled
Banner" without having the class sing it.
Every teacher who has tested the matter knows
were new.
246
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
what power music, especially singing, has in school.
It tells for morality and discipline, as well as for
culture in the graces. The teacher of music is a uni-
versal benefactor; and the teacher of literature and
the teacher of history may add vitality, culture, pleas-
ure, and a wholesome patriotism to many a lesson by
giving it the voice of melody - the voice of song.
In 1814 Key's writing of a song was doubtless
looked upon by the few who knew of it as a minor
incident of the capture of Washington and the re-
pulse at Baltimore; but time has given the song a
larger place in the history and life of our nation than
can be claimed for either of the other events. A
national song embodies more national sentiment,
and perhaps more history, than any other set of words
of equal number. A worthy song that has once
become national has in that process made untold
history; and it will go on down the ages elevating
citizenship, shaping character among the people, and
directing national policy.
The charge brought against us by some of our for-
eign cousins, in saying that the most conspicuous
thing about the national anthems of America is that
the people of America do not know them, is, or has
been, too true. Let it be true no longer. At least,
let the teachers and the pupils in our schools know
the songs of our country.
y. Such songs as "America,"
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” and “The Flag of the
Free” ought to be a part of every course in American
VALUE OF NATIONAL AND STATE SONGS 247
history in every American school. Every good citizen
ought to know these songs, words and music, and be
able to join in singing them at home or abroad.
"Dixie," expressing a Southern sentiment that has be-
come national," and "America the Beautiful,” express-
ing a Northern sentiment that will become national,
are both worthy of long life and many friends. The
best setting of the latter in music has been made by
Will C. Macfarlane; and in this setting the song
may be found in the Ladies' Home Journal of Feb-
ruary, 1914.
In the same periodical, issue of September, 1911,
appeared another song that has a fine spirit in beauti-
ful words, both being enhanced by the excellent mel-
ody and harmony to which they are wedded. The
words are by Henry van Dyke, the music by C.
Austin Miles. The song is entitled “Where the Flag
is Full of Stars." It should be sung all over the
United States.
Strange as it may seem, the Russian Hymn, trans-
lation by H. F. Chorley and music by Alexis Lwoff,
is one of the finest anthems for the United States or
any other country. It is one of the great world,
hymns that may become national in any land. In
both words and music it is a classic. It is a prayer
to Jehovah that may be uttered with sincerity by
1 The finest words to Dixie are those by M. B. Wharton,
used in “Echoes from Dixie"; publisher, Mrs. Griff Edwards,
Portsmouth, Va.
248
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
any people. It is a prayer for pity, for mercy, for
righteousness, for truth, for freedom, for peace
national and international.
Apropos of the widespread peace sentiment and
the great organized movements for international
peace upon the basis of sincerity and justice, refer-
ence should be made to a song recently published by
two gentlemen of New York City, George Graff, Jr.,
author, and E. R. Ball, composer, entitled "Let Us
Have Peace.” This beautiful song is dedicated by
permission to Hon. William H. Taft and to the cause
of peace the world over. It was selected by Imre
Kiralfy, director-general of the Anglo-American ex-
position, to be used at the opening celebrations
commemorating the hundred years of peace between
Great Britain and the United States.
Included in the study of State history should be a
due measure of attention to State songs. Many
particular States, perhaps most of them, have their
own songs; and every State in the Union should
have its proper song, or songs, sooner or later. Some
already in use that I happen to know about are the
following: “My Old Kentucky Home," "Maryland,
My Maryland," "Old Virginia," "The West Virginia
Hills," "The Hills of Tennessee," 1 "Illinois, The
1 2 (0
1 E. T. Hildebrand, Basic City, Va., is the composer and
the owner of the copyright.
2 “Illinois may be found in a booklet entitled “The One
Hundred and One Best Songs," issued by the Cable Co., Chicago.
VALUE OF NATIONAL AND STATE SONGS 249
Red Old Hills of Georgia," and “The Old North
State."
A number of publishing houses in various parts of
the country have upon the market books or other
collections of State and national songs. Among the
standard collections are Songs of the Nation (Silver,
Burdett & Co., Boston), the School Song Book
(C. C. Birchard & Co., Boston), and Songs for School
and Flag (Macmillan). Among other firms that
publish excellent collections of patriotic songs are
the Orville Brewer Publishing Company, Chicago;
the Hall-Mack Company, Philadelphia ; Hinds, Noble
& Eldredge, New York; Hall & McCreary, Chicago;
and the A. S. Barnes Company, New York.
The Children's Library, published by Doubleday,
Page & Co., New York, contains a volume entitled
Songs, edited by Dolores M. Bacon, in which the
teacher of history and the teacher of literature may
find many helpful pieces, words and music. The
best cheap collection of patriotic songs, especially
State songs, on the market is a booklet entitled Songs
of the People, published by the Ruebush-Kieffer
Company, Dayton, Va.
The best way to study and use State and national
songs is, of course, to learn the words and music and
sing them; but much variety and pleasure may be
added by the use in school of a victrola or a grafonola.
These machines are wonderfully perfect in their
reproduction of all forms of music, and they are ad-
250
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
justed in price to the means of almost any school.
They offer fine possibilities to every teacher of his-
tory and literature, as well as to the teacher of
music. They make it possible for the children of
every nation to hear and know the songs of all
nations.
CHAPTER XXIII
SOURCE BOOKS AND SOURCE MATERIALS
The ordinary child in reading the ordinary book
gets no idea at all as to where or how or from whom the
author got the facts stated or the pictures used to
illustrate the statements. He may never inquire
about these things; nevertheless, the teacher sooner
or later should cause him to inquire; and it will
certainly increase his interest in the subject presented
and promote his general intelligence to know some-
thing of the sources of information. The experience
is akin to that which he had one day when he fol-
lowed the brook, the familiar brook along which he
had spent many happy days, across the meadows,
through the foothills, into the mountain gap, and on
up into the great“ kettle" in the peak, where the
springs gush up clear and cold. The brook had a
new meaning to him from that day. He had found
the source.
By sources of history we usually mean records of
some reliable sort contemporary with the events
recorded. Such records are most frequently docu-
ments, writings, produced at the time and place,
or near the time and place, associated with the
251
252
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
events. For example, we have a letter written
by Columbus to an official of the Spanish court,
telling about his first voyage to America - written,
perhaps, during the latter part of the voyage.
This letter is an interesting and valuable source
of information concerning that memorable voy-
age. Again, during the sessions of the Consti-
tutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787 James
Madison, a member of the Convention, kept a
journal of the proceedings. We have the journal
or copies of it, and it is a most valuable source con-
cerning the framing of the Federal Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence is a stirring con-
temporary statement of the causes of the Revolu-
tion. Washington's Farewell Address is a source,
and an authoritative source, as to Washington's
principles of statesmanship. Why should we spend
all our time reading what the third or fourth or the
fiftieth man says about Washington's political views
when we can read what he himself said? Why not
go to the source ?
In source books arranged for use in schools the
documents have been reproduced, usually being
printed verbatim from the original written form.
Sometimes they are reproduced almost exactly, by
photography. Occasionally they are given in the
most accurate translations possible, from the originals
which are in a foreign language. In every case these
reproductions are arranged in some kind of order,
SOURCE BOOKS AND SOURCE MATERIALS 253
topical or chronological generally, and frequently
according to both topics and time. Each document is
usually preceded by an introductory note, which gives
the historical setting. At other places other notes
may appear, giving the meaning of obsolete words,
explaining obscure statements and references, etc.
Here is presented a brief list of source books for
American history, most of which may be obtained
without much difficulty.
CALDWELL: American History Studies: Selections from Sources;
H. W. Caldwell, Lincoln, Neb., 1897.
CALDWELL; A Source History of the United States; with Per-
singer; Ainsworth & Co., Chicago.
HART: Source-Book of American History; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
HART: Source Readers in American History:
No. 1, Colonial Children;
No. 2, Camps and Firesides of the Revolution;
No. 3, How Our Grandfathers Lived;
No. 4, The Romance of the Civil War;
The Macmillan Co., New York.
HART: American History Leaflets; with Channing; New York,
1892-1896.
HUMPHREY: American Colonial Tracts; G. P. Humphrey,
Rochester, N.Y.
KENT: Library of Southern Literature; 15 volumes; with various
editors; The Martin & Hoyt Co., Atlanta, Ga.
: Liberty Bell Leaflets; Philadelphia, 1899—
MCCONNELL: Selections from Southern Orators; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
MACDONALD : Documentary Source Book of American History,
1606–1898; The Macmillan Co., New York.
254
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
MACDONALD : Select Documents, 1976–1861; New York, 1898.
MEAD: Old South Leaflets; E. D. Mead, Boston, 1883–.
RICHARDSON: Messages and Papers of the Presidents; 10 vol-
umes; Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1903.
STEDMAN : Library of American Literature; 11 volumes; with
Hutchinson; New York, 1888–1890.
THORPE: Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters,
etc.; 8 volumes; Government Printing Office, Washington,
1909.
WOODBURN: American Orations; New York, 1898.
Not only documents, but also inscriptions on mon-
uments, coins, weapons, pictures, and like things,
supply sources of information to the history student.
All over this great country of ours — all over the
world -- are history sources in old buildings, ruins,
costumes, implements, and furniture. The old State
House in Boston, with Faneuil Hall, Old South
Church, and the Old North Church ; Trinity Church
and churchyard in New York City, with Wall Street,
and Battery Park; Independence Hall in Philadel-
phia, with Carpenters' Hall, the Betsy Ross House,
and Penn's Cottage; the national museums and art
galleries of Washington; old St. John's Church and
other buildings in Richmond ; ancient landmarks of
the Spanish days at St. Augustine and many other
places in the South: all these and many more serve
to bring the past down into the present with a mean-
ingful reality. Every city and nearly every town has
numerous sources of history in this, that, or the
other form.
SOURCE BOOKS AND SOURCE MATERIALS 255
In addition to the source books, and so on, listed
above there are many other publications easily ac-
cessible to the student and teacher of history which
contain source materials of great variety, interest,
and value. The historical magazines published in
nearly every section of the country frequently con-
tain rare materials not generally available. The
Congressional Globe, the Congressional Record, and
the collected Acts of state legislatures are rich mines
of treasure for the antiquarian, as are also county
records, published and unpublished, with the an-
nual journals and reports of educational, religious,
and scientific organizations.
Files of old newspapers, magazines, and almanacs
are often some of the most interesting and satisfac-
tory sources of history. Numerous diaries and jour-
nals, published and unpublished, are to be found
nearly everywhere. Time will add to their interest
and value. A Confederate Girl's Diary, just given to
the public (1913) by the Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston, is a notable example. Books of travel, often
written by foreign scholars, give us glimpses of
ourselves through the eyes of others. Burnaby's
Travels Through North America (A. Wessels Co.,
New York, 1904) is an excellent example of this
class of source books.
Some of the values to be realized from the use of
source books and source materials in schools may
be indicated briefly in tabular form:
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
1. They illuminate the textbook and quicken the
historical imagination.
2. They make the picture more vivid and vital,
producing a sense of reality not felt in long-distance
accounts.
3. They give the pupil definite notions; they make
things plain.
4. They emphasize the personal element in history;
they give one an intimate personal acquaintance with
great men and women of the past. They make the
bonds of personal sympathy more keen and intelligent.
5. They have a decided value in economy. Owing
to their directness, definiteness, and comprehensive-
ness, they give more complete information in a few
pages than might be acquired apart from them in
many pages of description. For example, in teach-
ing civil government, more definite information may
be obtained from the Federal Constitution concern-
ing the national government, or from a state consti-
tution concerning the corresponding state govern-
ment, than from three or four times as much other
matter in the average textbook.
6. Sources stimulate interest.
7. After studying the sources the student is con-
scious of a new sense of certainty. He feels that he
is justified in drawing conclusions for himself.
Not many of the sources listed above, except the
four volumes of source readers, could be used in
the grades. More liberal use of sources may be made
in the high school, the normal school, and the college.
CHAPTER XXIV
ON VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY
In reaching America Columbus had the joy of tri-
umph, in that he believed he had accomplished what
he had set out to do; and, as Joaquin Miller says,
he gave the world its grandest lesson: “Sail on!”
Yet Columbus missed a keener joy - the thrill of
knowing that he had found a new world — or, more
exactly, a world that was lost. The joy of achieve-
ment has ever reached its rarest heights in the heart-
leap of discovery. We must respect the emotion of
Balboa when he first beheld the Pacific, and of Coper-
nicus when he found the true center of the physical
universe; for it is right that the desire to add some-
thing to the common store should stir the soul, and
that it should leap with joy when it finds a new treas-
ure for the sons of men.
Fortunately, too, the joy of discovery is not re-
served for those alone who find new continents or
new oceans or new centers of the world. The child
may have this joy by finding a shining pebble in the
brook, or by discovering that he can whistle or swim.
Perhaps the keenest joys come in the discovery of un-
suspected powers for good achievement within our-
S
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
selves. The best discovery is often made in finding
oneself. Moreover, a little triumph of discovery
in the world without often leads to greater awaken-
ings in the world within. Dr. M. G. Brumbaugh
tells of a backward boy who for a year was dull and
listless. Finally, one rainy afternoon in early sum-
mer, going out with his classmates upon a botany
excursion, he unexpectedly found a rare white orchid.
The beauty of that white flower and the thrill of joy
attending the finding of it awoke that boy's long-
sleeping spirit, and marked the beginning of a life
of splendid achievement.
Occasionally in a history class some child seems to
take little or no interest in what others have done.
This may be the time to set him doing something.
If he is not stirred by the discoveries others have
made, perhaps he will be aroused to interest and con-
tinued effort if he is led to make a discovery for him-
self. But what can he do? What can a child dis-
cover in history?
The chances are, of course, that any discovery he
may make will have but little value for others; but
if it have even the least value for him, it will be well
worth while.
One of the most interesting exercises I have ever
found for my classes may be called The Voyage of
Discovery. I say to the class :
"During the next month I want each one of you to go
out and find something new. It may be anything of
ON VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY
259
historical interest, but I prefer that you find something
in your own community. Look about in your neighbor-
hood in your own home. Ask your father or your
grandfather, or any one else that you think may know
something of historical interest, to tell you about some
persons or events of the past. Try to find something
that is not widely known. If possible, find something
that has never been written out or printed. Take pains
to get the exact and complete facts; write them out
accurately in good form; and at the end of the month
bring in your discoveries. We shall have a red-letter day
for opening and reading these stories.”
Always there are members of the class who at first
despair of finding anything; but in a little while
every one sets out upon his voyage in earnest. A
few perhaps need to be aided further by judicious
suggestions; but, so far as I now recall, no one has
ever failed to discover something; and all enjoy
the search and the results therefrom. Some of these
discoveries have been well worth preserving.
Even children in the grades can make discoveries
of this sort. So far as values in enlarged interest are
concerned, they may perhaps be realized in the grades
better than anywhere else. The natural enthusiasm
of childhood lends itself finely to the processes of
seeking and finding.
Some of the sources to which students may go on
these voyages of discovery are indicated below.
For the child, the teacher must in some measure
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
point the way. Advanced students should be able
to perceive fields of possibilities for themselves, but
even for them a few guideposts may be useful. AC-
cordingly, the list of sources herewith presented is
intended to be helpful, at least in suggestion, to stu-
dents in high schools, normal schools, and colleges,
as well as to pupils in the grades.
A LIST OF SOURCES
SOME FIELDS FOR DISCOVERY
1. County records. -- In every county-seat, partic-
ularly in the older counties, are to be found veritable
treasures for the student of history. The records of
deeds, wills, and land surveys often contain materials
of real and unsuspected interest. Lists of property,
real and personal, made out for purposes of taxation,
or recorded in deeds of trust and other mortgages,
are often illuminating with reference to social and
economic conditions. The minute books of the
courts of long ago are nearly always rich in a variety
of valuable historical materials. Only advanced
students, however, are able to use such records to
much advantage.
2. Records belonging to old churches, educational
institutions, and patriotic societies. — These may be
found in the form of registers of marriages and
baptisms, records of business meetings, minutes of
faculties and committees, catalogues and bulletins,
ON VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY
261
constitutions and by-laws, programs, and lists of
names.
3. Old daybooks, ledgers, and other business
records. – One of the most interesting sources I
have ever seen is an old daybook that was used by a
country merchant during the beginnings of the Revo-
lutionary War. On one of the fly-leaves, for example,
is a list of supplies contributed for the relief of the
far-away" Bostonians," whose port at that time was
blockaded under the famous Boston Port Bill.
4. Old buildings and ruins. – Many old dwelling
houses have quaint inscriptions here or there, or they
are invested with an interesting history that is known
to only a few persons.
5. Unmarked places of historic interest. — In every
neighborhood there are places with which are asso-
ciated striking incidents of more or less significance.
The exact location of many of these places is known
to only a few individuals who will soon pass away.
It is a real service to the community and to posterity
when the story of such a place is discovered by one
who will take the pains to write it down. Aged per-
sons with good memories should be sought out and
consulted by the student and teacher of local history.
6. Old letters, diaries, and other personal records
of a generation or two past. — Old letters, especially,
are often rich sources for facts and incidents that
have much more than a local interest. For example,
I have before me a letter that was written from the
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
California gold fields shortly after the rush to the
Golden Gate. It contains first-hand information
about social and economic conditions that are full
of interest and value to the student of history and
sociology. Old trunks, bureaus, chests, and writing
desks frequently contain real treasures that may be
found with little effort.1
1 In connection with the subject of this chapter an article
entitled "An Experiment in Teaching Local History," by Eliza-
beth B. White, in the History Teacher's Magazine, September,
1913, will be found of particular interest.
CHAPTER XXV
MNEMONIC DEVICES
The notion that history is merely a
memory sub-
ject" and that one cannot study history profitably
without memorizing a great many dates, with page
after page of statements, word for word, is, of course,
erroneous; but we may as well admit the fact that
memory is a necessary power in the study and use of
history as well as in everything else in the curriculum.
Imagination and thought are possible only when
memory supplies ready materials and serves as a basis
of operation. Likewise, the definite matter of his-
tory can have a positive, everyday value in thought,
in speech, in action only when the memory holds it
faithfully before us. The student in school needs no
argument to convince him that a good many things in
history must be remembered. The teacher of his-
tory should profit by his pupil's conviction. Any
teacher who is under the necessity of consulting the
chronicle for every date, the index for every name,
and the encyclopedia for every fact in every half
hour that he stands before his class must be greatly
handicapped, not to say embarrassed.
There are some persons of "blessed memory." '
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264
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
That is to say, they can remember names, places,
facts, and dates almost without an effort. But such
persons are few. The majority of us must make a
special effort to fix an impression, and then more
special effort to deepen it and command it. There is
no magic trick for remembering history any more
than there is such a trick for remembering the rules
of grammar or the formulæ of chemistry. However,
remembering history ought to be much easier than
the remembering of either of the other subjects
named. History is such an interesting, connected,
logical order that it lends itself naturally to the pro-
cesses of memory. Just as it is easier to remember a
story or a poem than it is to remember a lot of dis-
connected sentences or numbers, so it is easier to
retain a mental grip on history than on any subject
in which human interest is lacking or the reason
searches Vainly for whys and wherefores. Because
of its multiplicity of incident and the logic of its
constructive principles history clutches the memory
circumstantial and beckons the memory philosophi-
cal. It would perhaps be more strictly true to say
that the memory clutches history. There is a magic
here, but it is the magic that makes every memory
wonderful. No new power is needed; we only need
to know the powers we have, and how to use them.
Accordingly, the relations of resemblance, contrast,
contiguity in time and place, cause and effect, all
combine in aiding the memory in history; and these
MNEMONIC DEVICES
265
ordinary forces are generally adequate for all ordinary
purposes and persons. Nevertheless, once in a while
some special device may be used to advantage.
Every device suggested herein is simple and natural,
and is presented as an illustration of what the student
may find for himself rather than as something made
and given by another. No artificial system of mne-
monics is outlined or even recommended. Most such
systems are worse burdens in themselves than are the
friendly facts they are supposed to carry.
One of the best ways to aid memory is to write
down carefully and plainly the thing to be remem-
bered. If some unique or striking form is employed,
the mnemonic value is increased. The following
outlines may serve to illustrate this suggestion.
FOUR EVENTFUL APRILS
1775 - April 19, Battle of Lexington
1861 - April 14, Fort Sumter evacuated
15, Volunteers called for by Lincoln
19, First bloodshed (in Baltimore)
20, Norfolk navy yard captured
1862 --- April 6, 7, Battle of Shiloh
7, Island No. 10 captured
11, Fort Pulaski captured
25, New Orleans captured
1865 - April 1, Battle of Five Forks
2, Fall of Petersburg
3, Fall of Richmond
>
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
1865 – April 9, Lee's surrender
14, Lincoln assassinated
26, Johnston's surrender
FOUR STEPS OF STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN HISTORY
I. The Struggle for Life — 1492–1789
II. The Struggle of Factions — 1789–1820
III. The Struggle of Sections 1820–1877
IV. The Struggle of Classes - 1877–
Frequently the tenacity of a form may be increased
by putting into it a forced alliteration or other repe-
tend of sound, as in the following examples:
A
I. Construction - 1776-1789
II. Destruction - 1860-1865
III. Reconstruction - 1865-1877
B
I. The Finding of the New World, 1000–1565
II. The Founding of the Colonies, 1565-1733
III. The Fledging of the Colonies, 1733-1765
IV. The Freeing of the Colonies, 1765-1783
V. The Framing of the Nation, 1783-1789
VI. The Forming of Political Parties, 1789–1820
VII. The Debate over Slavery,
1820-1850
VIII. War Clouds Brewing,
1850-1860
IX. War Clouds Bursting,
1860-1865
MNEMONIC DEVICES
267
X. War Clouds Breaking,
XI. The Clearer Sky,
1865–1877
1877-
Sometimes a date written altogether in figures
presents a striking form, as, for example, the date of
the signing of the Great Charter, June 15, 1215;
otherwise, 6, 15, 12, 15. The date of Burgoyne's
surrender is a notable combination of eight and
seven : Oct. 17, 1777; otherwise, Oct. 17, 17, 77;
or, 10, 17, 17, 77.
See how easy it is to remember the victories of
Perry and Macdonough on the Lakes, in the War of
1812, when the dates are written together thus :
Perry, on Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813; or 9, 10, 1813.
Macdonough on Lake Sept. 11, 1814; or 9, 11, 1814.
Champlain,
It happens that there are some very striking
resemblances between the 7th President of the United
States and the 17th President, some of which may
be suggested by the remarkable similarities in their
names, etc.
7th President, Andrew Jackson.
17th President, Andrew Johnson.
The initial history of the Monroe Doctrine neces-
sitates some reference to the Holy Alliance. The
curious word formed by the several letters beginning
the two parts of the name, and the names of the
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
countries that composed the Holy Alliance, will
stick to the memory like a scene of childhood :-
Holy Alliance: Russia, Austria, Prussia
H A
R A P
Whatever Harap may be or mean, it helps me to
remember the Holy Alliance and the countries that
made it up.
The character and purpose of the
Alliance may be set forth upon the same curious
word — if it be a word :
H — Holy
H – Holy
A — Alliance
A- Alliance
R - Religion
R -- Reactionary
A — And
A — Absolutism
P— Peace Pretended; but the P-Promoted
The medieval trivium and quadrivium may be
remembered easily by a similar device :-
TRIVIUM
Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic;
G
R
L
QUADRIVIUM
Music, Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy
M А
G
А.
The Grl Maga is a little maid who will come at your
call, and who will prove a friend in need.
MNEMONIC DEVICES
269
A number of devices for remembering the names of
the Presidents in order have been published. The
following one, brought to my attention by one of my
pupils, is about the best I have seen :---
“Washington And Jefferson Made Many A Joke. Van
Buren Had Trouble Plenty To Find Proper Banknotes.
Let Johnson Go Home Grinning At Congress Heartily.
Cleveland Made Roosevelt Tarry Wilfully."
In this mnemonic the names of some of the Pres-
idents appear in their places, and the initials of the
others are given in their proper order in the initial
letters of the respective words.
One other example must suffice. This was given
me several years ago by Dr. S. Rolfe Millar, who
said that it was seen one day, written upon a sheet
of paper, hanging on the wall of Richard T. Ely's
room, while the latter was a student at the University
of Heidelberg. It is a key to the names of the royal
families of Great Britain, beginning with the Nor-
mans and coming down to the present:
“No plan like yours to study history or biography.
No
Norman
Plan
Plantagenet
Like
Lancaster
Yours
York
To
Tudor
Study -
Stuart
History or Biography - Hanover or Brunswick'
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
This is not only a clever device to aid the memory,
but it also suggests a vital truth to the student and
teacher. There is no plan like yours — no plan so
good as yours, if yours is a good plan - for studying
or teaching. There is probably no device that will
aid your memory so much as one that you discover or
invent for yourself. As a student, you should de-
velop some plans and methods of your own, and
these should be ever ready and useful, even if you
forget what others have suggested. As a teacher,
you should be observant, inventive, and courageous,
ready to try and test what your reason, your ex-
perience, or your aims may suggest, or your needs
may demand. The good teacher's best plans are
his own plans; and no one is a good teacher without
having some plans of his own.
CHAPTER XXVI
DEVICES FOR REVIEW AND RECREATION
In this chapter it is my purpose to indicate in
brief, tabular form some particular things that may
be done in history classes for the sake of both knowl-
edge and pleasure. These things are indicated
here in a separate division because they may be
properly regarded as somewhat out of the ordinary,
and hence to be used only occasionally. It should
be understood, however, that they are all things
that are practicable and easy to carry out. Every
one of them has been tested and approved by actual
class room experiment.
1. Biographical review. - This may come in very
appropriately at the end of a quarter or a session,
at the end of a book, or at the end of a course. It
may also be used at the beginning of a session for the
purpose of recalling leading characters and events,
and thus getting a fresh grip upon past work as a
good start for new progress. The process is logical
and simple. The teacher makes out a list of promi-
nent names in the field of history, last covered,
arranging them chronologically. They are assigned,
in order, to particular members of the class for
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
special study. On each character the proper stu-
dent prepares a two-minute report in which an
effort is made to point out the special significance
of the man's work, as well as to state leading bio-
graphical facts.
At the meeting of the class the teacher calls for the
reports in order, each pupil rising in his place and
responding promptly. In a half hour a dozen such
reports may be made, and as many assignments
given out for the next day. Three or four days may
be required to complete the series.
2. Who's Who in America ? -- A profitable ex-
ercise that logically follows the one outlined above
is the identification of the personages concerning
whom reports have been recently given in class.
Divide the class into two groups, or sides, as for the
old-time spelling match. Let the teacher call out
the name of a particular historical character, and
let the proper student, on the proper side, give a
satisfactory identification. If he fail in this, let
the name be passed to the proper student on the
opposite side. Let each failure put the "failer "
down and out, for the time.
If it is known that such a contest as this may fol-
low the biographical reports, better attention may
thereby be secured to those reports; and the exercise
of identification will not only test the memory, but
will also give training in the selection of significant
facts regarding each person identified. The teacher
DEVICES FOR REVIEW AND RECREATION 273
should insist upon accurate and satisfactory state-
ments in every instance.
3. Proper names properly spelled. — One of the
very best exercises for review or recreation in a
history class is a regular spelling match over the
proper names of history: names of persons, places,
events, occasions, achievements, and so on, that are
spelled with capital letters. The captains should be
elected in advance, and they should have the class
divided before the period of the contest comes.
If
they will hand the teacher the names of one side,
he can call those names in less than a minute; then
all whose names are not called will compose the
opposite side. By such a plan only a minute or two
will be required for preliminaries, and practically
the whole period will be available for spelling.
Easy names should be given for the first round or
two; then harder ones may be used.
4. A battle over the generals. ---- Many persons
get the generals named in American history much
confused. Frequently one is not able to tell whether
Schimmelfennig, for example, fought in the Revolu-
tion or in some other war; and if by chance he should
guess the proper war, he could not tell, to save his
life, whether the said general wore blue or gray, red
or buff. Accordingly, real instruction and real
pleasure may be combined in a contest between two
classes, or two parts of the same class, in which the
contestants shall be called upon first to say whether
T
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
7
such and such a general figured in this or that or the
other war; and, second, to tell upon which side he
stood. I think it is well to go around the class first,
or over the list first, having the officers properly
classified as to wars; then take a second round,
requiring each contestant to tell both things :
(1) The name of the war in which the man figured ;
(2) the side upon which he fought.
5. Geographical contest. Hardly anything puz-
zles a history student so much as a question in
historical geography. Yet, hardly anything is more
necessary to a clear and complete notion, in many
instances, than a definite idea of geography. A
most interesting and profitable contest may be had
in calling for the location of particular places that
figure prominently in our national history. First,
the location of the place may be called for; second,
a definite statement regarding the thing that has
made the place famous. Variety may be secured
if the teacher will occasionally indicate the location
of the place himself, and then ask the pupil to give
the name of the place described.
6. Chain-method maps. — The teacher selects
some small, simple map in the textbook and assigns
a small, definite part of it to one pupil after another,
until every part of the map has been assigned. He
then assigns the same parts, in the same order, to
another group of pupils, equal in number to the first
group.
Each pupil is expected to practice drawing
DEVICES FOR REVIEW AND RECREATION 275
his particular part until he can draw it quickly and
with fair accuracy. In a day or two the two groups
are put to work, at opposite ends or sides of the room.
Each "artist" puts in his part in regular order, from
first to last. The group that finishes first makes
the first score in the contest; the group that makes
the best map gets the second score, which may be
double in value to the first. All the drawing in
the contest is done, of course, from memory.
7. Our first citizens. -- Some day you may give
an interesting exercise in this manner: Announce
that upon a certain occasion in the near future a
vote will be taken on this question: "What man
has rendered the greatest service to the United
States ?" Announce also that
Announce also that another vote will
then be taken for the second honor, on the question:
" What man after ... has rendered the greatest
service to the United States?"
At the same time, or upon another day, take votes
to accord first honor and second honor among the
great women of our land.
Let all voting be by written ballot, with each ballot
containing the name of only one person. The first
ballot will serve, perhaps, only to nominate certain
candidates. Subsequent ballots may be taken upon
the three or five names leading in the first ballot,
until one name gets a majority of the votes.
8. Election day. — In history or civil government
a voting booth may be prepared, judges and clerks
99
276
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
of election appointed, and a form of election, with
the Australian ballot, be gone through with. To
make the proceedings more complete and instructive,
a registrar may be appointed some time in advance,
and the several members of the class may be duly
registered, each one presenting qualifications that
are acceptable under the state and national con-
stitutions.
9. Date contest. — The principle of contest, which
adds so much of interest and enthusiasm wherever
it is applied, may be utilized in making up the list
of dates suggested in Chapter XXI. For example,
if an approved list of thirty dates in American history
is to be decided upon, let each member of the class
make a list of thirty dates for consideration. One
after the other, different members of the class may
be called upon to suggest dates, one at a time, for
the approved list, no date being admitted to that list
without a certain number of (say, five or ten) approv-
ing votes, the teacher retaining a veto power in each
case. Probably forty or more dates, of all those sug-
gested, will receive the requisite number of approving
votes. The teacher should then eliminate ten, or the
number required, to bring the approved list down to
thirty. Then some small prize may be awarded to
the pupil whose personal list is found to contain the
largest number of dates on the approved list.
Various other contests with dates may be devised
by any ingenious teacher.
DEVICES FOR REVIEW AND RECREATION 277
10. A question list. - One of the most helpful
things a teacher can do for his class is to make out
for them a list of questions based upon the textbook.
These questions may be numbered consecutively
from the beginning, and may be few or many.
This is so simple and commonplace that one hesitates
to mention it at all, but it is so practicable and is
always received with so much appreciation that it
cannot be overlooked.
11. Question-box day. - On a certain day each
member of the class may be requested to write out
a question on a piece of paper of convenient size
and drop it into the class question box upon coming
into the room. If the class contain only ten or
twelve members, each one may be allowed to drop
in two or three questions. The teacher then opens
the question box and conducts the quiz for the day
altogether from the pupils' own questions. If two
or more days at the end of a quarter should be set
aside for review, one of them could very profitably
be used as question-box day. This method will be
found interesting and helpful at any time. Before
the teacher undertakes it, however, he should be
pretty certain of the ground to be covered. It is
not a very easy thing for the inexperienced teacher
to take up one question after another and answer it
promptly and correctly --- when somebody else has
framed the question. It should be understood, of
course, that only reasonable questions are to be
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
submitted. Any " smart question, or any one
that is evidently not given in good faith, should be
cast aside without ceremony. To insure care in
every question, it is well to have each one signed.
12. Class debate. -- An occasional formal debate
in class, on some question of historical or current
interest, may be made both instructive and enter-
taining. Judges should be secured from outside
the class, if possible.
13. Lantern talks. By means of collections of
post cards or lantern slides the teacher may now and
then illustrate a special talk that will be illuminating
to his pupils regarding this or that subject. His-
toric places lend themselves finely to such methods.
Whatever approaches the eye-gate is likely to find
ready entrance and a kind welcome.
14. Picture contest. - A pleasing variation of
No. 13 may be had by showing, preferably on the
lantern screen, a lot of historical pictures, numbered
but not named, and allowing the class to guess the
names or subjects. The series may include portraits
of famous men and women, photographs of historic
objects and places, reproductions of well-known
paintings, a map or two, or anything of like helpful
nature. Each member of the class may write his
guess after the respective number, as the pictures are
shown; and at the end a prize may be awarded for
the best list of answers.
CHAPTER XXVII
HISTORY NOTEBOOKS
In this chapter we shall consider first the teacher's
own notebook ; second, the notebook that the
pupil may make under the teacher's direction. The
subject may be presented at the beginning of a course
of instruction, to give the student practical aid at
the earliest possible moment.
The teacher's notebook should be for him a ready
manual, a portfolio of materials and plans ready for
use. The pupil's notebook should be for him an open
laboratory, as well as a volume of record. In every
case, however, especially in normal schools, the
pupil's notebook should be potentially, if not de-
signedly, a teacher's notebook. Every teacher
should be able to use in some measure, as a teacher,
the notebook he formerly made as a pupil.
Many of the publishing houses nowadays are able
to supply notebooks prepared in advance, in outline,
for the use of different history classes. Some of
these are excellent, especially for beginners or in-
experienced pupils; and more particular notice will
be given certain ones at the end of this chapter. For
the teacher, however, and for the advanced pupil,
279
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
I am of the opinion that no notebook is quite so valu-
able, either in the process of construction or in sub-
sequent use, as the book made wholly by himself,
for himself, and largely in his own way.
The teacher's notebook may be of any convenient
size or form. However, if the pages are smaller in
size than 8 by 10 inches, the space on a page will
often be found inadequate for various purposes.
Unruled pages will be found preferable in most cases.
Maps, outlines, diagrams, and drawings are often
interrupted by conventional lines. The paper of a
notebook should be of good quality and of sufficient
weight to bear pictures and clippings pasted on it.
On the whole, the most satisfactory combination I
have found, for teacher and pupil alike, is composed
of the University Note Cover, No. 6, filled with both
ruled and unruled detachable leaves. The advan-
tages thus secured are obvious. This book is elastic,
not only in the sense that many or few leaves may
be carried at a time, but also in the sense that
pasted-in clippings and pictures will not strain the
binding. Since the leaves may be taken out at any
time, and may be arranged in any desired order,
such a notebook can be used for three or four dif-
ferent classes. The only necessary rule is this:
“Put only one kind of notes on each leaf.” The
possibility of having at hand either ruled or un-
ruled leaves is also an advantage. For ordinary
line writing the ruled leaves may be used; for draw-
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281
ings, maps, and such entries, the unruled leaves are
available.
Having the notebook ready, but empty as yet,
what shall be put into it, and how? The answers
here must vary in accordance with the teacher's
field or grade of work. Obviously, the materials
selected and the manner of arrangement must be
adapted to the primary grades, if the teacher is a
primary teacher; and the same is true, with neces-
sary changes, for the high school teacher, the normal
school teacher, and the college teacher. But in all
grades and fields, perhaps, the following things may
be found desirable and appropriate.
1. Lesson plans. Every teacher should have a
plan of some sort. It may be elaborate or compen-
dious, but it should be logical and workable. It may
not be written down anywhere, except in the ready
convolutions of the teacher's brain; but if it be writ-
ten down on paper, the teacher's notebook is a good
place for it. Young and inexperienced teachers
will find the making of lesson plans almost as help-
ful as the actual using of them. The lesson plan,
as written down, may consist of only a list of ques-
tions; but if so, the notebook is a good place for
these questions, which should be preserved, at least
for a while, for use in review or for the teacher's
own reference.
2. Lists of names, events, and dates. — The
teacher of American history should be able to name
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offhand, in order, all the Presidents of the United
States, and be able at the same time to give the ap-
proximate date of each administration; but until he
is able to do this he ought to have the names neatly
tabulated in his notebook, in a straight column, with
the proper ordinal numeral preceding each name, and
the exact date of the administration following. Such
a list will sometimes be needed for testing the pupils
in class, and will always be convenient for reference.
The next step would be to enlarge this outline by
writing down under each name the chief events of
the administration.
In a similar manner the teacher may have ready at
hand in his notebook a list of important inventions,
with the date in each case and the name of the in-
ventor; parallel lists of Federal and Confederate
generals; parallel lists of Republican and Demo-
cratic leaders; a list of important political events;
a list of important economic and industrial events;
a list of recent events of note; a list of subjects of
special current interest and significance. All these
are good; but everything mentioned here is sug-
gested rather than prescribed. The resourceful
teacher will do many other things, all of which may
be, perhaps, better for him.
3. A list of topics, with specific references to
sources of information. - The teacher must know
not only what topics merit special study, but also
where definite information on these topics may be
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found. Accordingly, it is well for every teacher to
work out for his notebook a list of from twenty to
fifty such topics as “ Home Life in Colonial Days,"
“The Navigation Acts," " The Making of the Fed-
eral Constitution," “Protection and Free Trade,"
“ The Westward Movement," " Immigration,” put-
ting down under each, in tabular form, a number of
references to sources of information and illustration.
The topics should be arranged in logical or chrono-
logical order. The references may lead to archives,
to source books, to general or special treatises, to
articles in current periodicals, to standard works
of fiction, to historical poems, to maps, charts, and
pictures. Each reference should be full and specific.
A reference to a book should give not only the title
of the book and the author's name, but also the ap-
propriate chapter and pages. References to periodi-
cals should give at least the name of the article, with
the exact and full date of the particular issue con-
taining the article, in each case. Some of the best
things extant on many history topics may be found
in standard magazines, and often nowhere else.
4. Classified lists of books of historical interest.
These books should be such as are suitable for the
school libraries of different grades as well as for the
home reading and reference of the children. The
teacher will find such lists convenient not only in
finding her own materials and in assigning work to
the more advanced classes, but also in answering
!
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
questions from principals and parents regarding the
purchase of books for school and home.
5. Quotations and summaries. — Striking state-
ments of great historical facts are found in every
standard work. A number of these may, with inter-
est and profit, be assembled in the teacher's note-
book for use in class. Each one, of course, should
be exactly reproduced and properly credited. Brief
summaries of extended readings are convenient, and
the making of such summaries is an excellent exer-
cise for teacher or pupil.
6. Clippings and pictures. - If a teacher does not
keep a complete indexed file of periodicals, he will
find it very desirable to preserve in his notebook a
number of clippings that have value for his work.
In most cases, perhaps, these clippings will be made
from papers that are not of sufficient value, or not
esteemed of sufficient value, to be preserved entire.
Each piece selected should be cut out neatly, and
pasted into the notebook at some place where it has
relation to its surroundings. Especial care should
always be taken to put under each clipping the name
of the periodical from which it was taken, with the
exact date of issue. Great collections of clippings are
often rendered almost worthless simply because they
cannot be identified with any authority or any date.
In the collection of historical pictures for his note-
book the teacher is nowadays offered a wonderfully
rich and varied field. The advertising pages of
mag-
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285
azines, the book catalogues of publishing houses,
specimen pages of new textbooks, postage stamps
that record history, picture post cards from every-
where, not to mention the pictures prepared specially
for school use, are continually coming to his hand.
They all have an interest and a value for his work
if he will but take them, preserve them, and use them.
His notebook has great possibilities as a filing cabi-
net and as a picture gallery.
7. Maps and drawings. — These should not be
mere copies, but original and unique, as far as possible.
If the teacher visit a place of historic interest, let
him draw a map in his notebook for subsequent use.
This map may be reproduced upon the blackboard
by the teacher or a member of the class. The fact
that this map is not found in any published work will
give it double interest and value. In like manner
drawings of historical relics --- houses, implements,
weapons, etc. -- may be made and used with pleasure
and profit.
An important principle to observe in making the
notebook is this: Make it open and approachable.
A succession of solidly written pages in a notebook
or in anything else is neither open nor approachable.
Accordingly, make frequent headings, paginal or
marginal, throughout your book. Leave a blank
line between paragraphs. Whenever possible put a
statement, especially a series of related lines, in
tabular form. Use outlines,“ graphs,” and dia-
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
grams freely. Write in a hand compact and legible.
In every case try to make the entry attractive, dis-
tinctive, and easy to find. A notebook is of little
value unless it can be opened readily at the particu-
lar thing needed.
So much for the teacher's notebook. Let us now
consider the notebook that the pupil may make under
the teacher's direction.
In general, the things already enumerated as de-
sirable for the teacher's notebook are also appropriate
for the pupil's use. Lists of names, events, and
dates, a list of topics with specific references, quota-
tions and summaries, clippings and pictures, maps
and drawings should all be worked out in due place
and proportion. Normal school pupils will not, of
course, neglect the lesson plan. A fine notebook in
the hands of the teacher may well serve as a model
for the pupil. With special reference, however, to the
pupil's work, a few additional suggestions are offered.
1. Let the pupil keep a careful record of all readings
outside the regular textbook. The following form is
recommended :-
Topic: Columbus and his Achievements.
Readings on this topic:
1. Nida: The Dawn of American History in Europe;
Chapter XXIII, pp. 279–296.
(Brief summary of the reading or a notable ex-
tract from it.)
(Date when the reading was done.)
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287
2. Renouf: Outlines of General History; Chapter
XXI, pp. 251–256.
(Brief summary or a notable quotation.)
(Date.)
3. Garner and Lodge: History of the United States;
Vol. I, Chapter II, divisions I and II, pp. 31-
64.
(Brief summary, with notable quotations.)
(Date.)
The making of such records as these will serve
different helpful purposes. Thereby the pupil will
get training in careful reading and in the art of select-
ing main facts. He will get into the scholarly habit
of making exact references and giving due credits.
He will build up a classified bibliography that may
be of convenience and value in the future. From
such records the pupil or teacher may determine at
any time just what and how much parallel reading
has been done. The satisfaction of having a definite
record is worth something in both equipment and
character
2. The pupil should put into his notebook the work
that the teacher puts on the blackboard or presents
in original charts and diagrams. Exceptions to this
there may be, but this may stand as a general rule.
The pupil should not try to write down everything
the teacher says; for, in the process, unless he be an
expert stenographer, he will miss altogether many
things of greater importance than those he gets.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Close and unbroken attention to a lecture, with note-
taking only at intervals, is usually worth more than
the futile and distracting effort to record everything.
A most excellent plan is this : Listen carefully, with
discrimination, to what is said ; then go to your room
and write down in good form an outline of what you
have heard. Not the least among the values ob-
tained from this process are those developed in atten-
tion and memory.
3. All class reports and essays that the pupil is
required to prepare may well be retained as part of
his notebook.
4. In observation lessons normal school students
will secure much valuable material for notes. All
formal reports on observation work should of course
be incorporated in the proper notebook for future
study. Moreover, with normal school students every
lesson should be an observation lesson. Every
teacher should be carefully observed; and every
good method he uses or suggests should be noted. It
may also be necessary occasionally to record a caution
against some proceeding that is obviously bad.
5. All historical discoveries, wherever and when-
ever made, should be recorded. As the boy or girl
is coming and going, at home, at school, abroad,
during school time and in vacation, facts and objects
of historical value will be found; places and things
of historical interest will be seen ; persons who are
making history, or have made it, will be met. The
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289
student with the true historical instinct will seize
upon every opportunity thus presented, and his
notebook, his teacher, and his classmates, not to
speak of himself, will be the richer ever afterward.
Inasmuch as the pupil's notebook should, as far as
possible, register his own work and individuality, and
thus aid him to self-expression and constructive
power, few hard and fast rules should be given him.
It may well be required that all notebooks in the
same class be of the same kind to begin with; but to
require that they all follow a certain form, and be
practically the same at the end, would be absurd.
Such a rule would smack of Egypt or China.
Accuracy, neatness, and artistic quality are high
values in notebook work, and should be emphasized
throughout. The constant recognition of these
values gives the pupil character and skill. They
appear in his work as good form and attractiveness.
Let the notebook grow into a thing of beauty; then
it will be a joy forever. Then it will be made with
pleasure; it will be referred to with satisfaction; it
will be kept with profit for a larger future.
For the benefit of those teachers or pupils who
need or desire notebooks in American history, pre-
pared in outline, the following paragraphs are offered.
Therein are briefly described some excellent manuals
that the author has examined.
1. Foster's Historical Outline Maps for Students of
American History; The Historical Publishing Co., Topeka,
U
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Kansas. In the complete book are 40 outline maps,
with specific directions accompanying each one. The
series, when completed according to directions, depicts
most of the great movements and events in United States
history that have a geographical basis. This book may
be secured in three parts, one for the 7th grade, one for
the 8th grade, and one for the high school.
2. Ivanhoe Historical Note Book Series; Part I, United
States History; Atkinson, Mentzer & Co., New York and
Chicago. This book contains 42 outline maps, with ac-
companying directions. There are also suggestions for
reviews, and a few blank pages for notes or an essay. In
the Ivanhoe series is a special notebook to accompany
the study of Texas history.
3. McKinley's Historical Notebook for United States
History; McKinley Publishing Co., Philadelphia. This
book contains 26 outline maps, to be filled out from the
study of standard books, to which specific references are
made. Alternate leaves are blank, for notes and essays.
4. White's Pupil's Outline Studies in United States
History; American Book Co., New York and Chicago.
Drawings, outlines, essays, and special development of
topics are provided for in this book, as well as the filling
out of maps. There are in all 128 pages.
The first three books described above are in size
about 8 by 102 inches, and open at the end ; the last is
about 8 by 9 inches, and opens at the side. The prices
range from 20 to 30 cents. None of them ought to
be used below the 7th grade, and all could be used with
profit in the high school and in the normal school.
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
To work without a plan is to work without intelli-
gence, and at the sacrifice of economy, efficiency,
and directness. It would be no more wasteful and
absurd for a builder to begin a house without a plan
than for a teacher to begin a course or a lesson without
a plan.
A plan made in advance is essential to happy re-
sults in either case. It is not necessary, however,
that the plan of the builder or the teacher be laid out
on paper. Obviously it first must have some shape
in the maker's imagination before it can take form
upon paper; and sometimes the memory must serve
instead of paper. Many good structures have been
erected without the drawing of a single visible line
in advance. On one occasion a certain general, I
think it was Stonewall Jackson, wanted a bridge
built across a small stream within a very brief time.
He called the master builder, a man of many years
but of little learning - in books. He said, “ This
bridge must be done by such and such a day. My
architect will furnish you with plans." The next
evening the old builder was summoned again. The
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
general said: “Have you received the plans for that
bridge?” “General," replied the other, “the
bridge is done; I don't know whether the pictur' is
or not."
This is not an argument against plans. The old
bridge master had a plan, complete and ready, that
he had wrought out many a time into visible symme-
try and wondrous strength. He had a plan in mem-
ory, and he was able to transfer it into abutment
and girder and brace without any intermediary forms
on paper. At first he alone saw the plan; at last
everybody could see the bridge.
The experienced teacher should be able to project
a new plan promptly or to adapt an old plan quickly
upon occasion, and to use either straight from the
brain; yet an old teacher will always find the process
of formal plan-making exceedingly helpful, and the
young teacher should conscientiously regard it as
necessary. There must be something in the brain
to begin with, or there can be nothing on the paper;
but it is remarkable how quickly ideas expand and
reach out in proper relations when given a tentative
form before the eye. Organization and elaboration
go forward with encouraging facility at the point of
a pen.
It is believed that the following outlines will be
helpful to the young teacher in the process of plan-
making. First is given a skeleton outline, of general
character, that may be filled out according to need
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
293
or desire. Next are given three embodiments of the
same skeleton: first, in a story for small children;
second, in a series of questions for larger pupils;
third, in a series of topics for the upper grades or the
high school. Each of the three complete forms is
intended to be typical for the grades indicated, but
suggestive rather than final. Simplicity of form and
clearness of statement have been chief aims. Cer-
tain troublesome terms, supposed to be technical but
used by different authorities with different meanings,
have been studiously avoided.
A LESSON PLAN FOR TEACHING HISTORY
IN THE GRADES
.
A. Memoranda
1. Subject of the Course :
2. Subject for To-day:
3. Textbook; Pages assigned :...
4. Pupils' References:
5. Teacher's References :
6. Assignment for To-morrow :.
7. Materials Suggested :.
.
B. Outline of Class Work
(For To-day)
1. Introduction:
(1) Connection with Yesterday's Lesson;
(2) Entrance upon To-day's Lesson.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
2. Development :
(1) By means of a Story; (or)
(2) By means of a Logical Series of Questions; (or)
(3) By means of a Logical Series of Topics; (or)
(4) By a Combination of the Foregoing.
3. Conclusion :
(1) A Summary of the whole lesson ; (or)
(2) Special Emphasis on Selected Points; (or)
(3) A Presentation of some New Fact revealed or
suggested by the lesson.
FIRST EXAMPLE OF EXPANDED PLAN
FOR THE THIRD OR FOURTH GRADE
DEVELOPMENT BY MEANS OF A STORY
A. Memoranda
1. Subject of the Course: American History.
2. Subject for To-day: How the Settlers Built their
Houses.
3. Textbook; Pages assigned : No regular textbook
used.
4. Pupils' Reference: Building a Log Cabin, in Hart's
How Our Grandfathers Lived, pages 143–146.
5. Teacher's References:
(1) Danske Dandridge's A Kentucky Pioneer, ,
pages 161-163;
(2) Samuel Kercheval's A History of the Valley
of Virginia, page 151.
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
295
6. Assignment for To-morrow : Construction Work.
7. Materials Suggested: Small poles or other round
sticks; wire nails of different sizes; stones;
mortar; saw, hatchet, trowel, and other tools.
B. Outline of Class Work
(For To-day)
(1. INTRODUCTION)
For several days past we have been studying about the
Indians. Now we shall begin to study about the white
people who made settlements in this country while the
Indians were still here. Yesterday we finished making
a little wigwam, which gives us an idea of the Indian
houses; to-day I am going to tell you a story which will
help you to understand how a white settler's first house
was built.
(2. DEVELOPMENT)
How Hans and Hannah Built their House
Hans was a sturdy young German, and Hannah was
his buxom young wife. In the midst of their honeymoon
they left their old home in Pennsylvania to seek a new
home in the Valley of Virginia. In company with many
of their friends, who were also seeking new homes, they
journeyed slowly southward. Such things as pots and
kettles, saws and axes, corn and potatoes were hauled
in wagons; and cows and extra horses were led along on
foot. Hans had two strong young horses, named Kit and
Barney, hitched to his new wagon; and he drove at the
head of the long procession.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
Crossing the Potomac River a few miles above Harper's
Ferry, the party followed an old Indian trail up the
beautiful Shenandoah Valley, past the places where
Winchester, Woodstock, and New Market now stand.
They continued moving up the Valley for four days.
Some Indians were occasionally seen, but they were all
friendly. Once in a while cabins of white settlers were
passed, but they were few; for the time of which we speak
was long ago. George Washington, who afterwards was
a surveyor in the Valley for Lord Fairfax, was at this time
just eight or ten years old ; and Daniel Boone, who after-
wards hunted through the Valley, was a little chap of only
five or six.
On the evening of the fourth day, as the sun went down
behind the high mountains in the west, Hans pulled up
the lines and said "Whoa!" to Kit and Barney, and they
stopped beside a big spring of water that gushed out
between two huge limestone rocks.
Here,” said Hans, “we are going to build our house."
“Ja,” exclaimed Hannah,"sehr gut, Hans,” which Hans
understood to mean “All right, Hans, I'll stand by you.”
They were near the place where Harrisonburg now
stands; and the other members of the party selected
home sites not far away. Until the cabins could be
finished each family slept in its wagon, under the big
wagon cover, which resembled a tent. The weather was
warm, for it was early May. The forest was beautiful
in its many shades of green; the birds sang sweetly among
the branches; bees hummed over the wild flowers; and
squirrels leaped from tree to tree.
Early the next morning Hans and Hannah were at work.
First they cleared off a good-sized space of ground near
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
297
the spring, and drove in four strong stakes at the places
where they intended to set the four corners of their house.
By this time it was ten o'clock, and Hannah began to
cook dinner; but Hans took his ax and began to cut down
some nice straight trees, which were about as large around
as a two-gallon bucket. After dinner Hannah took hold
of one end of the long cross-cut saw, and she and Hans
sawed the felled trees into long logs. Some of these logs
were 20 feet long, and were intended for the sides of the
house; most of the others were 16 feet long, and were
intended for the ends of the house.
Hans continued to fell trees and, with Hannah's help,
to saw them up, all the afternoon, and during the next
two days. By that time they had about 40 of the longer
logs, and about the same number of the shorter ones.
The fourth day Hans took Kit and Barney and dragged
the logs to the place that was already staked off for the
house. He arranged the logs in four piles: the longer
ones in two piles, on opposite sides of the house site; the
shorter ones in two piles, at opposite ends of the house
site. I'll show you the arrangement here on the black-
board.
By this time the other members of the party were also
ready to build their houses; but it was agreed among
them that Hans and Hannah should have their house put
up first. Accordingly, on an appointed day all the men
came early in the morning to help Hans build the house;
and some of the women also came to help Hannah cook
a big dinner.
Four men, who were very skillful with axes, took their
sharp axes in their hands and stood at the places where
Hans and Hannah had driven the four stakes. These
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
stakes, you remember, showed just where the four corners
of the house were to be. These four men were called
corner-men.” It was their business to notch the ends
of the logs and fit them together at the corners of the house,
and to keep the corners straight as the house went up.
It was the business of the other men, most of them, to
bring the logs and hand them up to the corner-men.
When the house got up above a man's shoulders, the logs
were rolled up on long, strong poles, laid slanting up from
the ground. These poles were called skids.
A few of the men were put to making puncheons and
clapboards. We shall see after a little what puncheons
and clapboards were.
I have been trying to find out the names of the four
corner-men, whose sharp axes made the white chips fly
whenever a log was handed or pushed up to them. Al-
though I cannot be certain in this case, I think their names
may have been George Bowman, Peter Showalter, Daniel
Heatwole, and John Burkholder. These have been
familiar names about Harrisonburg for many years.
Some cabins in those early days had only the ground
for a floor; but Hans and Hannah decided to have a wood
floor in theirs. Accordingly, when the first round of logs
next the ground was securely in place, notches were cut
into the two side logs at regular distances, and into these
notches were fitted the ends of strong cross-timbers.
These cross-timbers were called "sleepers." They lay
near the ground and held up the floor. The floor con-
sisted of puncheons, laid close together across the sleepers.
Now, the puncheons were heavy, rough boards, or slabs,
split out of logs. They were smoothed somewhat with
axes, but they were at best very rough and uneven. You
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
299
can well imagine how many splinters Hans might have got
into his feet by walking over such a floor barefooted.
Puncheons made a strong floor, but one that was very
full of ups and downs. All the stools and chairs had to
be made with three legs only; because nothing with four
legs, unless it was a cat or a dog, could stand steady.
When the puncheons dried out and shrunk up, the cracks
between them were wide enough for a rat to go through.
A door was made in the side of the house by sawing out
short pieces of the logs, one above the other. At each
side of the doorway a fiat piece of timber was set up and
fastened to the ends of the logs with strong wooden pins,
driven in after holes were bored with an auger. These
upright pieces not only made a frame or facing for the
door, but also held the sawed-off logs in their places.
A similar opening, not quite so high, but about twice as
wide, was made at one end of the cabin. This was for
the fireplace and chimney. At another place a block was
sawed out of a single log. The small opening thus made
was afterwards covered with a piece of paper well greased
with lard. What do you suppose this was? It was the
window. Glass could not be had, and the greased paper,
which let in a little light, was used instead.
When the walls of the house were about ten feet high,
the end logs were made shorter each round. This drew
the side logs in toward the center. At the same time,
each pair of side logs was higher than the preceding pair.
At last a single log rested along the center, from end to
end, higher than all the others. This was called the ridge
pole.
The house was now ready for the roof, and the men who
had been making clapboards had a large pile of them
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
ready. Clapboards are big shingles. They are split
out of straight logs, just like shingles or barrel staves, but
are not shaved smooth, with a drawing knife, as shingles
and staves are. The clapboards were laid on the roof,
one layer after another. They did not fit together very
well, neither did they lie flat and even everywhere; but
they were fastened down with heavy poles laid on top of
them, and they had to lie still. A clapboard roof was the
fashionable thing in early pioneer days. It was not smooth
or pretty, but it kept out all of the rain and most of the
snow.
While the men were splitting out the clapboards they
cast aside a great many small pieces of timber. These
were now cut into proper sizes and driven into the cracks
between the logs of the house. The cracks were then
filled up with mud. This kept out the wind and cold
until the house got old and dry; then the cold wind would
often whistle in through a hundred cracks at once; and
sometimes, of a winter's night, when Hans and Hannah
were asleep, the little flakes of snow would sift in and make
white figures all over the rough puncheon floor.
The chimney to the house was also built of wood. It
was lined around the fireplace with flat stones, and was
well daubed over with mud. It was not so safe against
fire as a stone chimney, but otherwise it was good enough.
Many a time, when Hans was working out in the "new-
ground,” he would keep his eye on the little wooden
chimney; and when he would see the smoke come rolling
out in a big cloud he would know that Hannah was cooking
dinner or supper; and he would say to himself, "I guess
I'd better go to the house."
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
301
(3. CONCLUSION)
To-morrow you may begin building a little house. You
may place it near the little wigwam; and I want you to
make it look just like the one that Hans and Hannah built.
When it is finished I will tell you what kind of furniture
and cooking utensils Hans and Hannah had in their house.
SECOND EXAMPLE OF EXPANDED PLAN
FOR THE FIFTH OR SIXTH GRADE
DEVELOPMENT BY MEANS OF A LOGICAL SERIES OF
QUESTIONS
A. Memoranda
1. Subject of the Course : American History.
2. Subject for To-day: Robert Fulton and his Great
Invention.
3. Textbook; Pages assigned: Chandler and Chit-
wood's Makers of American History, pages
187–191.
4. Pupils' References:
(1) Magill's History of Virginia, pages 237–239;
(2) Frances M. Perry's Four American Inventors,
pages 11-69.
5. Teacher's References :
(1) Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. XV
pages 159–169;
(2) Danske Dandridge's Historic Shepherdstown,
pages 267–277.
302
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
6. Assignment for To-morrow : Given in the Conclu-
sion.
7. Materials Suggested : Pictures of Fulton, of canal
boats, early steamboats, etc. Models would be
helpful and interesting.
B. Outline of Class Work
(For To-day)
(1. INTRODUCTION)
Yesterday we studied the life and work of Eli Whitney,
who, by his great invention, made cotton "king"; to-day
we shall get acquainted with Robert Fulton, who succeeded
in making every great river in our land a highway of travel
and commerce.
(2. DEVELOPMENT )
1. In what State was Fulton born, Mary? (Penn.)
2. In what county of that State?
(Lancaster)
3. In what year?
(1765)
4. Of what nationality was Fulton's
father, John ?
(Irish)
You have answered correctly. Now listen to this:
Fulton, an Irishman, was born in a county of Germans;
but the county, as well as the State, has an English name;
and the year was 1765, the very one in which the British
Stamp Act was passed.
5. Why did Fulton, as a boy, have to depend upon
himself, Jane?
6. What effect did this likely have upon his character,
Thomas?
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
303
7. Why was he so anxious, after a while, to go to Eng-
land, Susan ?
8. Tell us of another famous man he met in England.
9. What plan did he conceive as he watched the canal
boats, George?
10. Is it not strange that Fulton, the artist, should have
thought of undertaking such a difficult mechanical task ?
11. Whose invention did he propose to utilize in his
boat, Edna ?
12. Do you think that Fulton had ever heard of a steam-
boat before?
13. Now, William, I want you to go to the blackboard
and write down in three lines three difficulties that Fulton
had to overcome.
(a. Lack of confidence on the part of the public)
(6. The actual construction of the boat)
(c. Lack of money)
14. Which of these difficulties was overcome last,
Flora?
15. Which had to be overcome first?
16. Who helped Fulton to overcome this one, Frank ?
Notice: Two Roberts, one with brains, the other with
money, and both with a will, made a strong combination.
17. A banker in New York also furnished some money :
Why do we not know his name, Anna?
18. What did Fulton name his boat, James ?
19. On what river did he test it?
20. Between what two cities was the trial trip made,
Grace?
21. What is the distance ?
22. In how many hours did the Clermont make the trip,
Ralph ?
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
23. This was an average of about how many miles an
hour?
24. Could you walk five miles an hour? Suppose you
ran?
25. If a sailboat sometimes made ten miles an hour,
what advantage had the Clermont, Nora ?
26. Does not this suggest to us the chief value of the
steamboat? It can always be counted on, wind or calm,
up stream or down.
27. I think you ought to remember the year in which
the Clermont made its successful trial trip: It was just
200 years after Jamestown was settled : Yes, 1807. Now,
1807 was also the year in which Robert E. Lee was born.
Moreover, in 1807 Congress passed a famous law called
the Embargo, which you will learn about later.
(3. CONCLUSION)
Richard, you may go to the board and write down the
qualities in Fulton's boat that made it a success. The
class may make suggestions.
Now, Lucy, you may go to the board and write down
the qualities in Fulton himself that made him a success.
The class may make suggestions.
Which set of qualities was the more important? Why?
To-morrow I shall call upon some one to tell us the story
of Fulton. Then, for the remainder of the period, we
shall talk about James Rumsey and others who invented
steamboats before 1807.
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
305
THIRD EXAMPLE OF EXPANDED PLAN
FOR THE SEVENTH OR EIGHTH GRADE
DEVELOPMENT BY MEANS OF A LOGICAL SERIES OF
TOPICS
A. Memoranda
1. Subject of the Course : American History.
2. Subject for To-day: The Crisis of 1837.
3. Textbook; Pages assigned: Lee's New School
History of the United States, pages 227, 228.
4. Pupils' References :
(1) Woodrow Wilson's Division and Reunion,
pages 86–98;
(2) Coman's Industrial History of the United
States, pages 198–201;
(3) Wilson's History of the American People, Vol.
IV, pages 66–75;
(4) Garner and Lodge's History of the United
States, Vol. II, pages 887-890.
5. Teacher's References :
(1) Burgess's The Middle Period, pages 283–286;
(2) Bogart's Economic History of the United
States, pages 221-224.
6. Assignment for To-morrow : The Crisis of 1873.
7. Materials Suggested : Old state bank notes; na-
tional bank notes; diagrams showing the rise
and fall of values ; etc.
x
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
B. Outline of Class Work
(For To-day)
(1. INTRODUCTION)
Having devoted the preceding lesson to the prosperity
and material development of our country during Jackson's
eight-year "reign," we shall now take up for study the
depressing reaction that fell upon the early days of Jack-
son's successor. In accordance with this plan, particular
topics were assigned yesterday to the different members
of the class; and the reports upon these topics will now
be heard.
(2. DEVELOPMENT)
1. Jackson's War against the United States Bank
(Zeno Cole).
2. The Growth of State Banking (Ida Gates).
3. The Rapid Building of Railroads (David Bruce).
4. Speculation in Government Land (Hilda May).
5. The General Craze for Speculation (Roland Frank).
6. The Specie Circular and Its Effect (Ella Gay).
7. The Banks in Panic (Roger Gill).
8. Business in Panic (Lida Kelley).
9. Laborers in Want (Charles Jones).
10. The Causes of the Crash : A Summary (Agnes Lile).
11. The Results of the Depression: A Summary (Albert
Wise).
(3. CONCLUSION)
Having studied this crisis somewhat, let us next take
up for consideration the crisis of 1873. If we can under-
stand these two, or any two, we can probably understand
THE TEACHER'S LESSON PLAN
307
all crises; for while each crisis has its own peculiar features,
all crises are in the main alike. They all come when times
are good, which usually means that business credit is
strained to the breaking point; and when loss of confidence
in men means loss of money — perhaps to millions.
Noтв. . On Lesson Plans see also pages 167-223 of Strayer's
“ A Brief Course in the Teaching Process”; The Macmillan Co.,
New York.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW BOOKS
It should be one of the aims of the history teacher
to introduce his pupils to books, magazines, pam-
phlets, and other publications from which informa-
tion on historical subjects may be obtained. A
library is not enough; a list of books is not enough ;
the pupil needs to see the book, to handle it, to look
into it, and to become familiar enough with it to
remember something about it, or at least to remem-
ber that there is such a book. The teacher, therefore,
must bring books into his class room and show them
to his pupils, or go with the pupils into the library
and guide them to the books. All this should not
be necessary, to be sure, with experienced students;
but sometime or other it is necessary with almost
every pupil.
To be able to introduce his pupils to books, and
to the best books, and to be able to answer all the
questions of intelligent pupils regarding sources of
information on this, that, and the other topic, the
teacher needs to know books.
Part of the business of every student in a normal
school is to get acquainted with books. It would
308
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW BOOKS 309
be of little use for a mechanic to have the most
improved tools in his outfit if he did not know those
tools were in existence. It would seem absurd for
him not to know it. The teacher who does not
know the existence of the best books in her special
subject, even though these books may be in the
library of her own school, is placed in a position no
whit less absurd. In fact, such a teacher does not
know her business, or the means at her hand for good
work.
It is the purpose, therefore, of this chapter to
emphasize this need of the teacher to know books;
and, in the second place, to help the teacher and the
normal school student to get acquainted with some
books that will be useful to them. No attempt is
made to give a list of books on subject matter, but
a select list of professional books and essays is sub-
mitted. These publications not only give outlines
of courses of study, present discussions of principles
and tendencies in education, and suggest methods
of instruction and study, but also contain lists of all
sorts of books on all sorts of historical subjects. In
short, through acquaintance with a few professional
books the teacher will be introduced to numerous
other books in which particular facts of history are
collected.
The list of books submitted is selective rather than
exhaustive. It is made up mainly of books that may
easily be obtained from the respective publishers,
310
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
and of reports contained in bound volumes of the
proceedings of learned societies that should be found
in every school library. In a number of instances
descriptive notes have been appended, in the effort
to give the reader a more definite notion of the scope
or character of the publication.
A Professional Bibliography
A brief list of books, essays, reports, etc., con-
taining outlines of courses, discussions of principles,
outlines of methods, bibliographies, etc., for American
teachers and students of history.
ADAMS: The Teaching of History; pp. 245–263, Vol. I, Annual
Report, American Historical Association, 1896.
ALLEN : Place of History in Education; D. Appleton & Co., New
York.
ALLEN : Topical Studies in American History; The Macmillan
Co., New York. Contains valuable references to numer-
ous publications.
ANDREWS: Outline of the Principles of History; Ginn & Co.,
Boston.
BAILEY: For the Story Teller; Milton Bradley Co., Springfield,
Mass.
BARNARD: The Teaching of Civics in Elementary and Secondary
Schools, pp. 84-90, Journal, National Education Associa-
tion, 1913.
BARNES: Studies in American History; D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston.
BARNES: Studies in Historical Method; D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston, 1896.
BARNES: The Historic Sense among Primitive Peoples; pp. 29–
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW BOOKS 311
38 of Studies in Education, edited by Earl Barnes; Stanford
University, California, 1896.
BLAKE: Peace in the Schools; pp. 140-146, Journal, National
Education Association, 1911. -- The duty and opportunity
of the schools in the international peace movement are
finely set forth in a number of publications issued by the
American School Peace League, Boston. Mrs. Fannie Fern
Andrews, 405 Marlboro Street, is secretary of the League,
and will answer inquiries.
Bliss: History in Elementary Schools; American Book Co.,
New York.
BOURNE: The Teaching of History and Civics in the Elementary
and the Secondary School; Longmans, Green & Co., New
York; 12mo, 385 pages; new edition, 1912. — Part I deals
with the study and teaching of history; Part II outlines a
course of study. Pages 366-381 relate to the teaching of
civics.
BOYER: History; Chapter IX (pp. 254–265) of Modern Methods
for Teachers; J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1908.
BURR: Reports on European and American History; with
others; pp. 63-86, Vol. I, Annual Report, American His-
torical Association, 1907.
CHANNING : Guide to the Study and Reading of American History;
with others; Ginn & Co., Boston. -- Revised edition, 1912;
12mo, 650 pages. Part I, Status and Methods; Part II,
Classified Bibliographies; Part III, Teaching and Reading
History; Part IV, Colonial History and the Revolution;
Part V, United States History, 1781-1865; Part VI, Recent
United States History, 1865–1910. This is perhaps the
most convenient guide to sources of information on various
subjects, for different sections of the country, that has been
published.
CHARTERS: Teaching the Common Branches; Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston, 1913. - Pages 241-272 deal with the teaching
of history and civics.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
EIGHT, COMMITTEE OF: The Study of History in the Elementary
Schools; report to the American Historical Association;
Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York, 1910. — An excellent
handbook for the grade teacher. The course outlined,
however, is not sufficiently unified upon American history.
For example, many of the subjects introduced from Euro-
pean history have no logical connection with the general
scheme, and only a very indirect historical connection.
FARRAND : Report of the Conference on History in the College
Curriculum; pp. 103–125, Vol. I, Annual Report, American
Historical Association, 1906.
FIRTA: A Plea for the Historical Teaching of History; Oxford
University Press, England.
FIVE, COMMITTEE OF: The Study of History in Secondary Schools;
report to the American Historical Association; The Mac-
millan Co., New York, 1912. — Has special reference to the
report by the Committee of Seven.
FLING: Outline of Historical Method; Ainsworth & Co., Chicago.
FOSTER: A History Syllabus for Secondary Schools; with others;
D. C. Heath & Co., Boston, 1901. The first 35 pages dis-
cuss principles and methods; the remainder of the 375
contain chronological and topical outlines, with references
to various publications.
GILBERT: History; Chapters XIII and XIV (pp. 146–170) of
What Children Study and Why; Silver, Burdett & Co., New
York.
GREENE: Problems of State and Local Historical Societies; pp.
51-64, Vol. I, Annual Report, American Historical Society,
1907.
GRIFFIN: Writings on American History, 1909; pp. 491-739,
Annual Report, American Historical Association, 1909.
A valuable bibliography. It is one of a series that began
in 1906 and that is perhaps continued still. The Annual
Reports of the Association for 1910 (pp. 427–657) and 1911
(pp. 529–761) contain numbers in the series.
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW BOOKS
313
HALL: Pedagogy of History; pp. 278-310, Vol. II, Educational
Problems; D. Appleton & Co., New York.
HALL: Methods of Teaching and Studying History; with others;
D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. - A collection of essays by
different history teachers.
HARRISON: The Meaning of History, and Other Essays; The
Macmillan Co., London, 1894; New York edition, 1900.
HART: The American School of Historical Writers; pp. xxvii-
xlvii, Vol. I, Harper's Encyclopædia of United States
History.
HARTWELL: The Teaching of History; Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston, 1913; 16mo, 70 pages. An excellent small volume
on ways and means.
HASKINS: Report on the Conference on the First Year of College
Work in History; with others; pp. 147-174, Vol. I, Annual
Report, American Historical Association, 1905.
HINSDALE: How to Study and Teach History; D. Appleton &
Co., New York, 1893; 12mo, 365 pages. — The first 152
pages deal with history in its character and relations, and
with the teacher's qualifications; pp. 153–313 outline the
history field, particularly in the United States; pp. 314-336
relate to the teaching of civics.
JAEGER: The Teaching of History; Lemcke & Buechner.
JAMES: Report of the Conference on the Teaching of History in the
Elementary Schools, with others; pp. 133-145, Vol. I,
Annual Report, American Historical Association, 1905;
pp. 61-104, idem, 1906. - These conferences led to the re-
port of the Committee of Eight.
JORDAN: War and Manhood; pp. 61-71, Journal, National Edu-
cation Association, 1910.
KEATINGE: Studies in the Teaching of History; The Macmillan
Co., New York.
KEMP: Outline of History for the Grades; Ginn & Co., Boston.
LAMPRECHT: What is History ? The Macmillan Co., New
York.
314
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
LANGLOIS: Introduction to the Study of History; with Seignobos;
Henry Holt & Co., New York, 1903. — A technical work
for advanced students — particularly writers of history.
LARNED: The Literature of American History; Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston, 1902. — A bibliographical guide of much value.
MCLAUGHLIN : History in Secondary Schools; pp. 65–84, Vol. I,
Annual Report, American Historical Association, 1908.
MCLAUGHLIN: History in Secondary Schools; with others; pp.
211-242, Annual Report, American Historical Association,
1910. — Report of the Committee of Five.
MCLAUGHLIN : Report of Conference on American Constitutional
History; pp. 79–84, Vol. I, Annual Report, American His-
torical Association, 1907.
McMURRY: History and Civil Government; with others; pp.
162–315 in Vol. V of Public School Methods; School
Methods Co., Chicago, 1912.
MCMURRY: Special Method in History; The Macmillan Co.,
New York, 1908; 12mo, 291 pages. — An excellent manual.
The discussions and suggestions are particularly sane and
helpful, but the course of study as outlined is overloaded
with too great a variety of topics.
MACE: Method in History; Ginn & Co., Boston, 1898; 12mo,
311 pages.
The nature and value of history are presented ;
a division of the field of U. S. history is offered; the ele-
mentary phases of history teaching are discussed.
MAITLAND: Essays on the Teaching of History; with Gwatkin
and others; Cambridge University Press, England.
MARSH: Aids in United States History; A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.
OMAN: The Study of History; Oxford University Press, England.
Osgood: Research in American Colonial and Revolutionary His-
tory; pp. 111-127, Vol. I, Annual Report, American His
torical Association, 1908.
RICE: Course of Study in History and Literature; A. Flanagan
Co., Chicago. Shows the intimate relation between his-
tory and literature.
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW BOOKS 315
RILEY: History in the High School; pp. 107–115, Journal,
Southern Educational Association, 1908.
ROBINSON: The New History; The Macmillan Co., New York.
ROBINSON: The Teaching of European History in the College;
pp. 267-278, Vol. I, Annual Report, American Historical
Association, 1896.
ROOSEVELT: History as Literature; American Historical Review,
April, 1913.
SEVEN, COMMITTEE OF: The Study of History in Schools; report
to the American Historical Association; The Macmillan
Co., New York, 1906. — Treats of history in the secondary
schools. An excellent manual for high school teachers.
SEVERANCE: Second Report on State and Local Historical So-
cieties; pp. 175-217, Vol. I, Annual Report, American
Historical Association, 1905; Third Report, idem, pp. 125–
158, 1906.
SIOUSSAT: Problems of State and Local Historical Societies; pp.
147–167, Vol. I, Annual Report, American Historical
Association, 1908.
SPARKS: Relations of Geography to History; pp. 57–61, Vol. I,
Annual Report, American Historical Association, 1908.
SYLVESTER: The New Practical Reference Library; 6 vols.;
Hanson-Bellows Co., Chicago. — Vol. VI, pp. 332–434,
contains a division on history and history teaching, com-
prising outlines, diagrams, lists of questions, etc.
TAFT: The Relation of Education to Democratic Government; pp.
71-78, Journal, National Education Association, 1910.
TALKINGTON: How to Study and Teach History and Civics in the
Grades; Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill.
TEN, COMMITTEE OF: Secondary School Studies; report to the
National Education Association; American Book Co.,
New York, 1894. — Pages 162
Pages 162–203 are devoted to history,
civil government, and political economy.
TRAINER: How to Teach and Study United States History; A.
Flanagan Co., Chicago.
316
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
TURNER: Relation of Geography and History; pp. 45–48, Vol. I,
Annual Report, American Historical Association, 1907.
TURNER: The West as a Field for Historical Study; pp. 281–319,
Vol. I, Annual Report, American Historical Association, 1896.
Contains valuable lists of references for different states.
TYLER: Research in Southern History; pp. 131-143, Vol. I,
Annual Report, American Historical Association, 1908.
VINCENT: Historical Research; Henry Holt & Co., New York.
WILSON: The Significance of American History; pp. xxi-xxvi,
Vol. I, Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History.
WOODBURN : Report of Conference on United States History since
1865; pp. 85, 86, Vol. I, Annual Report, American His-
torical Association, 1907.
Teachers are frequently called upon to give an
estimate of this or that book; and in the selection of
textbooks for his classes the teacher must form opin-
ions as to the relative merits of different books,
unless he is willing to be guided altogether by the
statements of others. In the hope of suggesting some
of the points to be considered in making up an esti-
mate of a history textbook the following outline is
submitted.
OUTLINE FOR REVIEWING A TEXTBOOK IN HISTORY
1. Name of author; exact title; name of publisher; place
and date of publication.
2. Your acquaintance with the book. Have you used the
book as a student or as a teacher, or as both ? or have you only
given it a hasty reading ?
3. The historical veracity of the book. - Is it accurate and
fair?
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW BOOKS
317
4. Proportion of parts. — Are the topics well selected, and is
the emphasis well placed ?
5. The literary style. — Is it clear and interesting ?
6. Maps and illustrations.
7. Teaching helps, bibliographies, index.
8. General appearance and make-up.
9. Adaptability. - Does it suit your grade or your class ?
NOTE. In connection with this chapter the reader is referred
to "Note-Taking," by S. S. Seward, Jr. (Allyn & Bacon), and to
Scientific Book-Marking,” by John W. Wayland, in the Sewanee
Review of April, 1913. These two treatises might be cited also in
connection with Chapter XV and Chapter XXVII.
CHAPTER XXX
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW HIMSELF
PERHAPS no power can bestow upon the teacher
the gift of seeing himself as others see him ; but it is
quite possible for him to know in some degree
whether his methods are good or bad; and which
are good and which are bad. If he can know in
a measure how his pupils see him, he should thereby
be enabled to escape some blunders and to rid himself
of at least a few foolish notions.
It would doubtless help every teacher to get
occasional frank criticisms from his maturer pupils.
The teacher ought to learn just as much from his
class as the class learns from him. Mutual sympathy
and confidence should be fostered, and no pupil
should be afraid to express himself frankly and fully
regarding the teacher's manner and methods if the
latter ask for such an expression. It is a confession
of weakness or a false sense of pride sheltering in
ignorance if the teacher feels that his dignity and
influence would be endangered by taking his pupils
into such a degree of confidence.
I suspect, however, that in spite of this heart-to-
heart talk the majority of my fellow teachers will
318
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW HIMSELF 319
99
go ahead in the same old way, blissfully imagining
either that they have no faults in their manners and
methods or that their pupils are blind to such faults.
Accordingly, to offer a little help in the matter, and
at the same time to spare tender feelings, I am going
to put down in this chapter a great many things that
pupils have said about “other teachers." This
is done in the hope that we all may see ourselves and
profit in some degree.
For a number of years I have been collecting
opinions that pupils have had concerning their
teachers of history. Tabular statements of good
points and bad points have been asked for in each
case. Hundreds of different students, most of them
of rather mature judgment, have been interviewed,
and hundreds of different statements have been
received. The majority of these statements, how-
ever, fall into groups, a fact which shows that there
are certain faults and virtues that are more or less
common to our profession. All the statements sub-
joined are actual ones, from the pupils themselves.
They were all made regarding teachers of history.
They all show thought; some poorer, some better,
judgment. They all make us keenly aware that
our pupils are watching us, and that they have
opinions about us and our ways of doing things.
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HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
BAD POINTS THAT PUPILS HAVE OBSERVED IN HISTORY
TEACHERS
1. Not enough class discussion.
2. Too much attention to small incidents.
3. Not enough holidays celebrated.
4. Not enough historical excursions.
5. Bad proportion in assignment of lessons : too long
one day and too short the next.
6. Fails to emphasize historical geography enough.
7. Cause and effect not sufficiently brought out.
8. Does not know the subject.
9. Not very enthusiastic over history.
10. Dwells too long on the first part of the chapter,
and not enough on the last.
11. Too much stress on dates.
12. Not enough daily demand upon the class regarding
the assignment in the textbook.
13. Not definite enough in making assignments.
14. “We have to make our notebooks for you rather
than for ourselves."
15. Reference readings stated too indefinitely.
16. Not enough questions asked.
17. Too few tests given.
18. Very seldom speaks of current events.
19. Reads stories instead of telling them.
20. Test questions are too frequently "memory ques-
tions" instead of "thought questions."
21. Questions are not interesting enough.
22. Does not emphasize important points.
23. Not enough reviews.
24. Requiring the pupil to memorize, word for word,
the matter of the text.
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW HIMSELF 321
25. Having the children recite the lesson assigned,
without making any connection with what went before,
and without giving any definite notion as to where the
events occurred.
26. Teaching the textbook only.
27. Depending entirely upon the textbook.
28. The same method every day.
29. Using only questions given in the textbook.
30. Accepting any answer the child may give.
31. The teacher's doing all the talking.
32. Failing to explain what the child does not under-
stand.
33. Using textbooks too difficult for the pupil.
34. Having the forward pupils recite, but never giving
the backward ones a chance.
66
It is certainly to be hoped that no one teacher is
guilty on all these different counts; but something
in the catalogue may come close enough home to
somebody to be helpful. The honest teacher will
admit a fault when it is clearly shown against him;
and the earnest teacher will be glad for an opportunity
to profit by somebody else's observation. Whether
we think that all the points scored above are bad
points" or not, they are at least interesting as coming
from the pupil's viewpoint. They are commended
to the earnest consideration of those teachers of
history who are anxious for improvement.
So many things have been said, and so many things
may be said, in criticism of the history teacher, that
all of us should be glad when something is found
Y
322
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
to strengthen his heart. It gives the heart new
strength and life a larger aim, my fellow teachers,
when those for whom we labor rise up and speak
a word of praise. The hope and joy of every teacher
are bound fast to the minds and hearts of his pupils.
It would be wrong, therefore, to put down in cold
type the list of criticisms given above, without
presenting also some of the "good points” put in
balance with the adverse criticisms. In nearly every
case investigated, the number of good points credited
to the teacher exceeded the number of bad points
charged against him.
Whatever values may be attached to the various
things enumerated below, it will certainly be allowed
by even the most critical that many of them are
desirable in a teacher of history or of anything else.
An inspection of the list should help the teacher to
get a few more ideas as to what the average pupil
thinks worth while in his teacher.
GOOD POINTS OBSERVED IN HISTORY TEACHERS
1. Making history seem real to the pupils.
2. Showing that there are two sides to all great ques-
tions.
3. Labeling important years in history.
4. Making the subject interesting by the use of charts,
maps, historical poems, special lectures, etc.
5. Enthusiasm for the work.
6. Frankness and sincerity with pupils.
THE TEACHER'S NEED TO KNOW HIMSELF 323
7. Singing state, national, and school songs.
8. Sympathy and patience.
9. Blackboard maps and diagrams.
10. Interest in the pupils as well as in the subject.
11. Using materials outside the textbook.
12. Giving lists of review questions.
13. Historical excursions.
14. Suggestions regarding a history museum, history
scrapbooks, etc.
15. Discovering the pupil's attitude toward history.
16. Use of a historical calendar.
17. Frequent use of illustrations.
18. Keeping every one on the lookout for new materials.
19. Having only a select list of dates to be learned.
20. Viewing wars in general, not in detail.
21. "A manner in the teacher that tends to make the
student perfectly frank in expressing what she really
thinks. The student needs never to be afraid that her
view will not meet with sympathetic consideration.”
22. Variety in the work
23. Correlating history with other subjects.
24. Trying to make the class enjoy the work.
25. Suggestions as to the best way to proceed in getting
up the next day's lesson.
26. Does not make a skeleton of history.
27. Presenting the facts of history so that they have
a result in character-building.
28. Showing the importance of history.
29. Makes the lesson interesting.
30. Clear statement of questions.
31. Study of sources.
32. Shows the need of history in the study of literature.
324
HOW TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY
33. Presents the topics in logical order.
34. Develops initiative in the student.
35. Originality.
36. Correlation of events.
37. Gives clear descriptions and vivid illustrations.
38. Discussing in class common mistakes made in
written work.
39. Emphasis on neatness in all written work.
40. Encourages the pupils to ask questions.
41. Does not expect an unreasonable amount of work
in an unreasonably short time.
42. Arouses in the pupils a desire to know more about
the present, as well as the past, of our land.
43. Manifests a keen sense of justice.
INDEX
ABBOTT: History and Civics of American Colonies in the Seven-
Oklahoma, 75.
teenth Century, 84.
Abraham Lincoln, 91.
American Constitutional History,
ADAMS: Heroines of Modern Prog- 314.
ress, 94; Railroads, 78; The American Federal State, 29.
Teaching of History, 310.
American Hero Stories, 66, 80, 94.
Adaptation in method, 40-42, 59. American Historical Association,
Addams, Jane, 92, 97.
310-316.
ADENEY: The Bible Story, 65; The American Historical Review, 16, 19,
New Testament Story, 65.
315.
Adequate Tests in History," 234, American History (Ashley), 93.
ADLER: Moral Instruction of Chil- American History (Stephenson), 93.
dren, 141.
American History and Government,
Adoniram Judson, 93.
29.
Advanced American History, 90. American History: First Book, 83.
Aids in United States History, 314. American History for Grammar
Aims of the history teacher, 32–44. Schools, 88.
Ainsworth & Co., 253, 312.
American History in Literature, 28.
Alabama, 70, 73.
American History Leaflets, 253.
Alden, John, 156.
American History Stories, 81, 86.
Alden, Priscilla, 148, 156.
American History Story Book, 141.
Alderman, E. A., 5, 96.
American History told by Con-
ALLEN: History in Education, 310; temporaries, 84, 87, 90.
North Carolina History Stories, American Indians, 86.
75; Topical Studies in American American Leaders and Heroes, 90.
History, 310.
American literature, books on, 26-
Allen, James L., 27.
28, 88-91.
Alliterative outline of American American Orations, 254.
history, 266, 267.
American Painting, 28.
Allyn & Bacon, 84, 317.
American Pioneers, 66.
Alumni Bulletin, 113.
American School of Historical
“America,” 21, 246.
Writers, 313.
American Beginnings in Europe, 83. American School Peace League, 81,
American Book Co., 26, 65-68, 76, 141, 311.
79–81, 83–86, 88, 89, 94, 95, 311, American Steam Navigation, 78.
315.
America's Story for America's Chil-
American Colonial History, 92.
dren, 83.
American Colonial Tracts, 253. 'America the Beautiful," 247.
325
326
INDEX
75.7
Analytical Questions in United Ball, E. R., 248.
States History, 224.
Balmforth, Ramoden, 151.
ANDREWS (C. M.): Colonial Self- BANCROFT: Arizona and New
Government, 95.
Mexico, 70; California, 70; Ne-
ANDREWS (E. B.): Outline of the vada, Colorado, and Wyoming, 71,
Principles of History, 310.
74; Utah, 77.
Andrews, Mrs. F. F., 81, 141, 311. BARLOW: The Lost Colony, 69.
"An Experiment in Teaching Local BARNARD: Teaching of Civics, 310.
History," 68.
Barnard, Henry, 92.
Appleton & Co., 26, 30, 67, 78, 89, BARNES: Studies in American His-
141, 310, 313.
tory, 310; Studies in Historical
ARAGO: Watt Improves the Steam Method, 310; The Historic Sense,
Engine, 78.
310.
Arizona, 70.
Barnes Co., 249.
Arkansas, 70.
BARRY: History of Massachusetts,
Art Education, 28.
73.
Art in relation to history, 21, 22, BARTON: Human Progress, 96.
28, 29, 67.
Barton, Clara, 92.
"Art of Questioning,” 224.
BASSETT: A Short History of the
Art of the Ages, 28.
United States, 95; The Federalist
Asbury, Francis, 92.
System, 91.
ASHE: History of North Carolina, BATCHELDER: History of Dakota,
71.
ASHLEY: American Federal State, BATES (E. W.): Pageants, 160.
29; American Government, 95; BATES (K. L.): American Litera-
American History, 93; Colonial ture, 88; English History Told
History, 92.
by English Poets, 69.
Association in history study, 179, Battle over the generals, 273, 274.
180, 324.
BAYLISS: Two Algonlcin Lads, 64.
Attention, power of, 171, 180. BEIBE: Four American Pioneers,
Aztecs, 28.
67.
Beginner's American History, 86.
BABCOCK: American Nationality, Beginners' History of the United
95.
States, 83, 86.
BACON: Historic Pilgrimages, 26. Bell Co., 66.
Bacon, Dolores M., 249.
BENNETT:
The Bible Story, 65;
Bad points in history teachers, 320, The New Testament Story, 65.
321.
BENTON: American History, 83;
BAILEY (C. S.): For the Story History of the United States, 92.
Teller, 141, 310.
BEST: Northwest Passage, 81.
BAILEY (H. T.): Art Education, 28. Betsy Ross House, 254.
Baker & Taylor Co., 29.
BETTS: The Recitation, 224.
Balboa, 79, 80, 257.
Bible hero stories, 65.
BALDWIN: Discovery of the Old Bible Story, The, 65.
Northwest, 80; Four Great Ameri- Biographical review, 271.
cans, 66, 89; Old Stories of the Biography, value of, in history study,
East, 65.
143-151, 153.
INDEX
327
cess, 307.
Birchard & Co., 249.
BRADFORD: History of Massachu-
BISHOP: American Manufactures, setts, 73; Journal, 64.
82.
Bradley Co., 31, 141, 310.
BLACK: Story of Ohio, 75.
BREESE : History of Illinois, 72.
BLAISDELL: American History Brewer Publishing Co., 249.
Story Book, 141; Story of Ameri- Brief Course in the Teaching Pro-
can History, 85.
BLAKE: Peace in the Schools, 311. BRIGHAM (A.
(A. P.): Commercial
BLISS : History in Elementary Geography, 82, 85; Geographic
Schools, 311.
Influences, 26.
BOGART: Economic History, 26, 78, BRIGHAM (C. S.): History of
90, 305.
Rhode Island, 76.
BOGGESS: Settlement of Illinois, 72. British dynasties in mnemonic, 269.
BOLTON: Girls Who Became fa- BROOKE: English Literature, 26.
mous, 94; Successful Women, 97. BROOKS: The Story of New York,
BOND: Tennessee Pioneers, 76.
75.
Book lists: civics and history, 29; BROOKS (E. C.): The Story of
economics and history, 30; Cotton, 85.
ethics and history, 29 ; for BROOKS (E. S.): Historic Girls, 97.
teachers of history, 310-316; BROWN: History of Alabama, 70;
for the grades, 64-97; for the History of Texas, 76; Story of
story-teller, 141, 142; geography Our English Grandfathers, 69.
and history, 26; handwork and BRUCE (H. A.):
A.): Woman in the
history, 30, 31; literature and Making of America, 97.
history, 26-28 ; music and art BRUCE (P. A.): Social Life of
and history, 28, 29; natural Virginia, 95; Social Life of the
science and history, 30; sociology South, 95.
and history, 29, 30; source books Brumbaugh, M. G., 258.
of history, 253, 254.
BRYANT: How to Tell Stories, 141.
Book lists suggested for notebooks, | Bryant, W. C., 88.
283, 284,
BUCKMAN: Old Steamboat Days, 78.
Books, acquaintance with neces- BURCH: Economics, 30.
sary, 119, 308–310.
Bureau of National Literature, 254.
Boomerang questions, 220.
BURGER : History of Virginia, 77.
Boone, Daniel, 63, 66, 67, 148, 150, ) BURGESS: The Civil War, 90; The
158, 296.
Middle Period, 305.
Boone's Wilderness Road, 95. Burgoyne's surrender, 267.
Boston, 73.
BURNABY: Travels, 95, 255.
BOURNE: American History, 83; BURNS: Holiday Program, 64.
History of the United States, 92; BURR: Reports on History, 311.
Teaching of History and Civics, BURTON: Indians of New England,
311.
64; Lafayette, 85.
BOWKER: Busy Hands, 30.
BURTON (A. H.): Four American
BOYD: Triumphs and Wonders, 30. Patriots, 89.
BOYER: History, 311.
BURTON (R.): Literary Leaders, 90.
Boyhood of Christ, 65.
Busy Hands, 30.
BOZMAN: History of Maryland, 73. Butler & Co., 76.
328
INDEX
Cable Co., 248.
tory teaching, 165, 166, 285,
CABLE: Old Creole Days, 27.
286, 322.
Cabots, The, 81.
CHASE : Stories of Industry, 82, 84.
CAFFIN: American Painting, 28; Chatham on the study of English
How to Study Pictures, 28.
history, 20.
CALDWELL: A Source History, 253; CHENEY: European Background of
Selections from Sources, 253.
American History, 84; Pilgrims
California, 70, 71.
in 1636, 27.
Cambridge Press, 314.
Child Life in Colonial Days, 86.
CAMPBELL:
Famous
American Children's Library, 249.
Statesmen, 89.
Children's Stories of American
Camps and Firesides of the Revo- Progress, 79, 89.
lution, 66, 86, 253.
CHITWOOD: Makers of American
Canada, How Discovered and Settled, History, 67, 90.
80.
Choir Invisible, The, 27.
Canals, Great American, 90.
Chorley, H. F., 247.
Cape Girardeau Normal School, 30. Christian Church, History of the, 96.
Carolinas, The, 73.
Christ stories for children, 65.
Carpenters' Hall, 254.
Chronological order in history
Carson, Kit, 66, 67.
study, 63, 68, 82, 83, 88.
CARTER: Mark Hopkins, 96. CHURCH: Stories from English His-
CARUTHERS : Cavaliers of Virginia, tory, 70; Stories from the Bible,
27,
65.
Causes of the Civil War, 90.
CHURCHILL: The Crisis, 27.
Cavaliers, 69.
Circuit Rider, The, 27.
Cavaliers of Virginia, 27.
Civic values of history, 3-6, 22–24,
Century Co., 28, 88, 90.
42-44.
CHADWICK: Causes of the Civil Civil Government as Developed in
War, 90.
the States and in the United
Chain method in map-drawing, States, 29, 95.
274, 275.
Civil government as related to his-
Champlain, 79.
tory, 22, 23.
Champlain in Canada, 81.
Civil Government in the United
CHANDLER: Makers of American States, 29, 93.
History, 67, 90, 301; Makers of Civil War, books on the, 27, 88, 89,
Virginia History, 65, 77; Our 90, 91.
Republic, 89.
Civil War and the Constitution, 90.
CHANNING: American History Clark Co., 90, 95.
Leaflets, 253; Guide to American Clark, G. R., 67.
History, 28, 68, 311; Story of the Classification, principle of, in history
Great Lakes, 84; Student's His- study, 149, 150.
tory, 87, 93; The Jeffersonian Clearness in method, 37, 38.
System, 91.
CLEVELAND: Henry Hudson, 70.
Charleston, 76.
Clio, muse of history, 3, 237.
CHARTERS : Teaching the Common Clippings and pictures, 284, 285.
Branches, 311.
CLOUGH: Social Christianity, 96.
Charts and graphs, value of, in his- | Clow: Stories of Industry, 82, 84.
INDEX
329
COCKRUM: History of Indiana, 72. CONNOR: Story of the Old North
CODD: Story of Lafayette, 86.
State, 70.
CODY: Four American Poets, 88; CONRAD: History of Delaware, 71.
Four Famous Writers, 88.
Conspiracy of Pontiac, 87.
COFFIN: Old Times in the Colonies, Constitutional Convention, 167,
95.
252.
COLEMAN: Social Ethics, 29.
Construction work in history-
College work in history, 49, 51, 122, teaching, 25, 64, 67, 102, 103,
123, 256.
295, 301.
College graduates as teachers, 122– COOK: Michigan, 73.
124.
COOKE: My Lady Pokahontas, 27;
COLLINS : History of Vermont, 77. Stories of the Old Dominion, 66;
Colonial Children, 64, 83, 253.
Virginia, 70.
Colonial Days, 86, 92.
COOPER: Water Witch, 27.
Colonial Days and Dames, 94. Copernicus, 257.
Colonial Days in Old New York, 92. CORBETT: Drake Captures Car-
Colonial Era, The, 84.
tagena, 81.
Colonial Holidays, 78.
CORNELL: History of Pennsylvania,
Colonial Plays for the Schoolrooni, 75.
160.
Cortes, Hernando, 79, 80.
Colonial Self-Government, 95.
Cortes, Montezuma, and Mexico, 80.
Colonial Tracts, 253.
Costumes and other equipment,
Colonies, The, 85.
156-158.
Colony to Commonwealth, 86.
Cotton, story of, 82, 85.
Colorado, 71, 74.
Cotton Gin and the Cotton Industry,
Columbus, Christopher, 67, 81, 84, 85.
128, 148, 252, 257, 286, 287. Cotton Manufacture Developed, 85.
Columbus and Magellan, 68.
Courage, pedagogical, 101, 102.
COMAN: Economic Beginnings, 90; Course in history for the grades,
English History Told by English 46-48, 51, 60–97.
Poets, 69; Industrial History, 26, Course in history for high schools,
78, 90, 305.
48, 49, 51, 109.
Commercial Geography, 82, 85. Course of Study in History and
Commerce of the Prairies, 90.
Literature, 314.
Commonplace questions, 220, 221. COUTANT: History of Wyoming, 78.
Community and Citizen, 29.
Cox: Literature in Schools, 28.
Complacent questions, 218, 219. CRAIG : Roger Williams, 76.
Concrete forms of expression, value Craven, H. W., 200.
of, 38, 39, 100, 117, 118, 147, Crisis of 1837, 305, 306.
148.
Crisis, The, 27.
Confederate Girl's Diary, A, 255. Critical Period of American History,
Confederation and Constitution, 96. 87.
Confusion of names and terms in Criticisms of history teachers, 320–
history, 198–200, 203-206.
324.
Congressional Globe, 255.
Crockett, David, 67.
Congressional Record, 255.
Crowell Co., 29, 94.
Connecticut, 71.
Cumberland Road, 90.
330
INDEX
Current events, 320.
DICKINSON: Study of History of
Current Literature Co., 89.
Music, 28.
Curry, J. L. M., 92.
DICKSON: American History, 88.
Curry: A Biography, 96.
Dictionary habit,” the, 175, 176,
180.
Dabney, R. H., 113, 225, 226. Dinkletown, 132, 133, 135.
DABNEY: The Cotton Gin, 85. Discoverers and Explorers, 81.
Da Gama, 84.
Discoveries to be made in history
Dakota, 71.
study, 8, 103, 288, 323.
DANDRIDGE: A Kentucky Pioneer, Discovery of America, 68, 84.
72, 294; Historic Shepherds- Discovery of the Old Northwest, 80.
town, 78, 301.
Discrimination necessary in read-
Dare, Virginia, 69.
ing, 177, 178, 180.
Date contest, 276.
Disliking history, reasons for, 189–
Dates in history study, 10, 68, 69, 195.
82, 99, 235-243, 263, 276, 281, Division and Reunion, 91.
282, 320, 323.
Dix, Dorothy, 92.
Dates, some notable, 240-243, 265- Dixie," song, 247.
267.
DOBBS: Primary Handwork, 30.
DAVIS : History of Missouri, 74. Documentary Source Book of Ameri-
DAVIS (A. C.): Stories of the United can History, 93, 96, 253.
States, 80.
DODD: Statesmen of the Old South,
Davis, N. K+, 185.
91.
Dawn of American History in DOLE : Ethics of Progress, 29.
Europe, 68, 83, 177, 286.
Dolly Madison, 97.
Dawson, Edgar, 211.
Dopp: Primitive Life, 30.
Days and Deeds a Hundred Years Dorothea Lynde Dix, 97.
Ago, 84.
Double-barrel questions, 215.
Deadwood Dick, 148.
Doubleday, Page & Co., 249.
DEALEY: Sociology, 29.
Drake Captures Cartagena, 81.
Debates in history classes, 278. Drake, Francis, 79, 81.
Delaware, 71.
DRAKE : Pioneer Life in Kentucky,
Delphi inscription, 3.
72.
DENTON: Holiday Facts and DRAKE (F. S.): Indian History,
Fancies, 65, 78.
64.
Derry-Collard Co., 31.
DRAKE (S. A.): Making of New
Descriptive and Historical Sociology, England, 64; Virginia and the
29.
Middle Colonies, 70.
De Soto, 79.
Dramatic Method of Teaching, 160.
De Soto and His Men, 80.
“Dry facts” of history, 10, 11.
De Soto, Marquette, and La Salle, 80. Dulaney-Boatwright Co., 77.
Despot of Broomsedge Cove, 27. DUNN: Community and Citizen, 29.
Detroit Publishing Co., 168.
DURRIE: History of Missouri, 74.
Development of American Nation. Dutch and Qualcer Colonies, 95.
ality, 95.
Dutch Settlement of New York, 81.
DEWEY: Ethics, 29.
DWIGHT: History of Connecticut,
DEXTER: History of Education, 97. 71.
INDEX
331
ence, 141.
DYE: The Story-Teller's Art, 141. ELLIS: Penn's Founding of Phila-
Dynamic teaching, 182–188.
delphia, 81.
ELY: Economics, 30.
EARHART: Teaching Children to Ely, R. T., 269.
Study, 181.
Embargo, The, 304.
EARLE: Child Life in Colonial Days, England's Story, 70.
86; Colonial Days in Old New English History, Source Book of, 70.
York, 92; Customs of Old New English History told by English
England, 65; Home Life in Colo- Poets, 69.
nial Days, 87, 92; Margaret English Literature, title of several
Winthrop, 97; Stage-Coach and manuals, 26.
Tavern Days, 95.
Enthusiasm, value of in history
EATON: Roger Williams, 76.
study, 33, 100, 101, 104, 187,
Echoes from Dixie, 247.
320, 322.
Economic Beginnings of the Far ESENWEIN: How to hold an Audi-
West, 90.
Economic crises, 305-307.
Essays on the Teaching of History,
Economic History of the United 314.
States, 26, 78, 90.
Ethics, 29.
Economics, Briefer Course, 30. Ethics in history, 23, 42-44, 145–
Economics as related to history, 147, 221–224.
23, 24.
Ethics of Progress, 29:
Edison, T. A., 79, 89.
European Background of American
Education in the United States, 97. History, 84.
Education, magazine, referred to, European History in the College, 315.
9, 97.
Evangelical Revival, 96.
Educational Problems, 313.
Everyday Heroism, 141.
Educational Publishing Co., 29, Everyday Life in the Colonies, 86.
64-66, 73, 75, 78–82, 84, 86, 89, Examinations in history, failing on,
93, 142, 160.
196-211.
Edwards, Mrs. Griff, 247.
Examination papers, the grading
Efficient citizenship to be pro- of, 225–234.
moted, 5, 6, 23, 39, 40, 42–44. Excursions, historical, 7, 164, 165,
EGGLESTON: The Circuit Rider, 27; 320, 323.
First Book of American History, Explorers and Founders of America,
68; Stories of Great Americans, 68.
67.
Expression, to balance impression,
EGLE: History of Pennsylvania, 75. 141.
Eight, Committee of, 312, 313. Eye-gate, value of the, 161-168.
Election day, a class exercise, 275,
276.
FAIRBANKS: Florida, 71.
Elementary History of the United FAIRBANKS (H. W.): The Western
States, 86.
United States, 26.
Elements of Economics, 30.
Fair God, The, 28.
Eliot, John, 92.
Famous American Statesmen, 89.
Eliza Pinckney, 97.
Famous Women, A Group of, 94.
Ellen H. Richards, 94.
Fanueil Hall, 254.
332
INDEX
FARRAND : Report on History, 312. 78-80, 82, 84, 86, 89, 90, 97, 224,
FAST: History of West Virginia, 77. 314, 315.
Fast reading in history study, 175, FLEMING : Reconstruction, 90.
176.
FLICKINGER: Civil Government, 29,
Father Marquette, 80.
95.
"Father of the Constitution," 227. FLING: Historical Method, 312.
Federal and State Constitutions, FLINT: Railroads, 78.
254.'
'Floor power," 120, 121.
Federalist System, 91.
Florida, 27, 71.
Fell Co., 97.
FOLWELL: Minnesota, 73.
FERNOW: The Ohio Valley, 75. FOOTE: Ecplorers and Founders
FERRIS: History of Settlements on of America, 68, 80; Texas and the
the Delaware, 71.
Texans, 76.
FICKETT: Days and Deeds, 84; FORD: Janice Meredith, 27.
Life in the Colonies, 86.
FORMAN: American History, 90;
Field, Cyrus W., 149.
Useful Inventions, 88.
Fields for historical discovery, 260- Formation of the Union, 87.
262.
FORSTER: Stories of Minnesota, 73.
Fifty-four-Forty or Fight, 27. For the Story Teller, 141, 310.
Fighting spirit, the, 131, 132. FORTIER : History of Louisiana, 72.
FINLAY-JOHNSON: Dramatic Meth- FOSTER: A History Syllabus, 312.
od, 160.
Foster, H. D., 234.
First Book in Virginia History, 66. Foster's notebooks, 289, 290.
First Book of American History, 68.Foundations of Sociology, 30.
First Christmas, The, 65.
Foundations of the Republic, 86.
"First citizens," a class exercise, Four American Explorers, 88.
275.
Four American Indians, 86.
First Course in American History, Four American Inventors, 79, 89.
83, 86.
Four American Patriots, 89.
First Year of College Work in His- Four American Pioneers, 67.
tory, 313.
Four American Poets, 88.
FIRTH: A Plea for History, 312. Four Famous American Writers, 88.
Fish: American Nationality, 95. Four Great Americans, 66, 89.
FISHER: Men, Women, and Man- Four Great Pathfinders, 84.
Franciscan Missions of California,
FISHER (G. P.): The Christian 93.
Church, 96; The Colonial Era, 84. Francis Wayland, 97.
FISKE: Civil Government, 29, 93; Franklin, Benjamin, 66, 89, 150,
Discovery of America, 68, 84; 156, 158, 167.
Dutch and Quaker Colonies, 70, Fremont, J. C., 66, 88.
95; How the United States Be- French, the, 27.
came a Nation, 93; The Critical French War and the Revolution, 87.
Period, 87.
Friendship of Nations, 29.
Fitch, John, 69.
Frobisher, Martin, 79.
Five, Committee of, 312, 314. From Sail to Steam, 78.
“Flag of the Free," 246.
Fulton, Robert, 69, 79, 89, 156,
Flanagan Co., 27, 30, 66, 69, 71–73, 241, 301-304.
ners, 95.
INDEX
333
GAMBRILL: Maryland History, 73. Grabill, J. H., 77.
GARDNER: Winners of the World, Graded course, value of a, 54, 60,
93.
61.
GARDSCHE: Art of the Ages, 28. Grade I, outline of work in history
GARLAND: A Little Norsk, 27.
for, 63, 64.
GARNDAU: La Salle Names Loui- Grade II, 67.
siana, 81.
Grade III, 69.
GARNER: History of the United Grade IV, 79, 80.
States, 287, 305.
Grade V, 82.
GATHANY: "Reconstruction of His- Grade VI, 85.
tory Teaching," 9.
Grade VII, 87, 88.
Geographical contest in history Grade VIII, 92.
study, 274.
Grading history papers, 225-234.
Geographic Conditions, 26.
Graff, George, 248.
Geographic Environment, 26.
Grammar grade lesson plan, 305–
Geographic Influences in American 307.
History, 26.
Grandfather's Tales of Colonial
Geography as related to history, Days, 83.
17, 18, 26, 320.
Grandmamma's Tales of Colonial
George Washington, 91.
Days, 93.
Georgia, 27, 71, 73.
Grant, U. S., 89.
Georgia Scenes, 27.
GRAVES: Great Educators, 94.
GIDDINGS : Sociology, 29.
GRAY: History of Oregon, 75.
GILBERT: History, 312.
.
Great American Educators, 94.
GILCHRIST: Mary Lyon, 94.
Great American Industries, 30, 79,
GILMAN : Seat Work, 30.
82, 84, 89.
Ginn & Co., 26, 28, 29, 64, 65, 68, Great Educators of Three Centuries,
73, 75, 77, 82, 84-86, 88, 93, 94, 94.
141, 142, 160, 310, 311, 313, 314. Great Events by Famous Historians,
Girls Who Became Famous, 94.
30, 69, 70, 78, 81, 85, 87, 96, 301.
Good points in history teachers, Green, J. R., 20, 173.
322–324.
GREEN: Pioneer Mothers, 97.
GOODWIN: The Pilgrim Republic, 73. GREENE: History of Rhode Island,
GOODWIN (M. W.): Dolly Madi- 76.
GREENE (E. B.): Problems of His-
GORDON: History of New Jersey, torical Societies, 312; Provincial
74.
America, 95.
GORDON (A. C.): J. L. M. Curry, GREGG (J.): Commerce of the
96.
Prairies, 90.
GORDY: American Beginnings in GREGG (R. E.): Syllabus of His-
Europe, 83; American Leaders, tory Work, 30.
90; Colonial Days, 86, 92; Ele- GRIFFIN: Writings on American
mentary History, 86; History History, 312.
of the United States, 88; Stories Group study, 171, 172, 180.
of American Explorers, 81; GUE: History of Iowa, 72.
Stories of American History, 83. GUERBER: The Great Republic, 86 ;
Government Printing Office, 254. The Thirteen Colonies, 86.
son, 97.
334
INDEX
29.
94.
Guide to American History, 28, 68, Grandfathers Lived, 93, 294;
311.
Source-Book of American History,
GULLIVER: Friendship of Nations, 84, 93, 253; Source Readers in
American History, 253.
GWATKIN: Teaching of History, 314. HARTMANN: History of American
Art, 28.
HAILEY: History of Idaho, 72. HARTWELL: Teaching of History,
HAINES: History of New Mexico, 313.
74.
HASKINS: Report on History, 313.
Half Moon, the, 69.
Hayne, Robert Y., 91.
Hall: History of Vermont, 77. Heath & Co., 26, 28–30, 72, 76, 83,
HALL (G. S.): Methods of Teach- 84, 86, 89, 92, 94, 95, 310, 311,
ing and Studying History, 313; 313.
Pedagogy of History, 313.
HEATON : Story of Vermont, 77.
HALL (J. O.): Lives of the Presi- | HENDERSON: Cotton Manufacture,
dents, 90.
85.
Hall & McCreary, 249.
Hennepin, Father, 92.
Hall-Mack Co., 249.
Henry Hudson Explores the Hudson
HALLECK: American Literature, 26, River, 70.
88.
Henry Martyn and Samuel J. Mills,
HALLUM: History of Arkansas, 70.
Hamilton, Alexander, 43, 89, 167. Henry, Patrick, 89.
HAMILTON: Our Republic, 89. Heroes of Industry, 78.
Hampden, John, 149.
Heroines of Modern Progress, 94.
Hancock, John, 167.
Heroism, of the better sort, 131-
Handwork for Kindergarten, 31.
140.
Handwork in history study, 17, 25, Hiawatha, dramatized, 156, 157.
102, 103.
High school work in history, 48, 49,
HANDY: The Cotton Gin, 85.
51, 106-113, 256, 315.
Hanson-Bellows Co., 315.
Hildebrand, E. T., 248.
HAPGOOD: George Washington, 91. HILDRETH : King Philip's War, 87.
HARDING: Story of Europe, 83. HILL: History of Oklahoma, 75.
Harper & Bros., 64-66, 80, 81, 84, HILL (M.): American History in
90, 91, 95, 96.
Literature, 28.
Harper's Encyclopædia of United Hills of Tennessee," 248.
States History, 313, 316.
Hinds & Noble, 141, 249.
HARRISON: Meaning of History, Hinsdale, B. A., quoted, 127.
313.
HINSDALE : Horace Mann, 97;
HARSHA: Story of Iowa, 72.
How to Study and Teach History,
HART: American History Leaflets, 313.
253; American History Told by Historical excursions, 7, 64, 67, 164,
Contemporaries, 84, 87, 90;
165, 320, 323.
Camps and Firesides, 66, 86 ; “Historical Museum," 103.
Colonial Children, 64, 83; For- Historical Research, 316.
mation of the Union, 87; Guide Historic Girls, 97.
to American History, 28, 68, 311 ; Historic Pilgrimages in New Eng-
Historical Writers, 313; How Our land, 26.
INDEX
335
Historic Sense among
among Primitive History of a History, 20.
Peoples, 310.
History of American Art, 28.
Historic Shepherdstown, 78.
History of American Painting, 29.
History: a chain of cause and History of the English People, 20.
effect, 15; a comprehensive sub- History of the United States, 89, 287.
ject, 11, 12, 201, 202; a con- History of the United States for
structive study, 14, 15; a diffi- Schools, 88, 89.
cult subject, 12, 201, 202; a History of Virginia, 93.
progressive science, 13; a vital History Reader for Elementary
subject, 12, 13; interpretation Schools, 28.
as well as recordation, 15, 16. History should promote: civic
History and Civics in the Grades, efficiency, 5, 6, 23, 39, 40, 42-44;
315.
knowledge, 2; pleasure, 1, 2;
History and Civil Government, 314. power of appreciation, 2, 3 3;
History and Literature in Grammar sympathy, 4, 5; understanding
Grades, 28.
of oneself, 3, 4.
“History as Literature,'' 19, 315. History stories, qualities desirable
History as Past Ethics, 29.
in, 128–131.
History as related to: art and History Syllabus for Secondary
music, 17, 21, 22, 28, 29; civics Schools, 312.
and civil government, 5, 6, 17, History Teacher's Magazine, 59, 68,
22, 23, 29, 315; economics, 17, 106, 113, 211, 234, 262.
23, 24, 30; ethics, 17, 23, 29; HITCHCOCK: The Louisiana Pur-
geography, 17, 18, 26; litera- chase, 88.
ture, 17-21, 26-28, 315, 323; HITTELL: History of California, 71.
natural science, 17, 24, 25, 30; HODGDON: First Course in Ameri-
sociology, 17, 23, 29, 30.
can History, 83, 86.
History for the Grades, 313.
Holiday Facts and Fancies, 65, 78.
History in college, 49, 51, 122, 123, Holiday Program, 64.
256, 312.
Holidays, celebration of, 47, 53, 63,
History in high school, 48, 49, 51, 67-69, 79-82, 85, 88, 100, 102,
106-113, 256, 312, 314, 315.
320.
History in Secondary Schools, 314. Holidays, materials for celebrating,
History in the College Curriculum,
68, 78.
312.
HOLLANDS: When Michigan was
History in the Elementary
New, 73.
Schools,” 97, 311.
HOLLISTER: History of Connecticut,
History in the grades, 28, 46-48,
60-97, 311, 313, 315.
HOLLOWAY: History of Kansas, 72.
“History in the High School," 113, Holmes, O. W., 88.
315.
Holt & Co., 26, 29, 30, 91, 314, 316.
“History in the High School Curric- Holy Alliance, 267, 268.
ulum," 106.
Home direction in history study, 6,
History in the normal school, 54- 7, 46, 52, 53.
59, 114-125, 286, 288, 308, 309. Home Life in Colonial Days, 87.
History more than: dates, 10; facts, Hopkins, Mark, 92, 185.
10, 11; or narrative, 10, 11. Horace Mann, 97.
71.
336
INDEX
Horace Mann and the Common HUTCHINSON: American Literature,
School Revival, 97.
254.
Horseshoe Robinson, 27.
HORTON: Famous Women, 94. Idaho, 72.
HOTCHKISS : Representative Cities, Iliad, The, 141.
26.
Illinois, 72.
Hough: 54–40 or Fight, 27.
"Illinois," song, 248.
Houghton Mifflin Co., 26–29, 66, 68, Imagination, historical, 3-5, 148,
70–72, 74, 80, 81, 83, 84, 87, 91, 149, 256.
93–97, 141, 181, 224, 255, 311, Imagination, the appeal to the, 152,
313, 314.
153, 176, 180, 221.
Houston, Sam, 156.
Inch, Francis, 140.
HOWARD : Four Great Pathfinders, Independence Hall, 45, 166, 167,
84.
254.
Howe: Historical Collections of Index words in questions, 210, 213.
Virginia, 77.
Indiana, 72.
Howe, S. B., 97.
Indian History for Young Folks, 64.
HOWISON: The Lost Colony, 69. Indian life, 27, 47, 156, 157.
How Our Grandfathers Lived, 93, | Indian Sketches, 86.
253.
Indians of Florida, 27.
How the United States Became a Na- Indians of New England, 64.
tion, 93.
Indiscriminate reading, 208–211.
How to Hold an Audience, 141. Industrial Education, 31.
How to Study and Teach History, Industrial Evolution of the United
127, 313.
States, 91.
.
How to Study and Teaching How to Industrial History of the American
Study, 181.
People, 89.
How to Study Pictures, 28.
Industrial History of the United
How to Teach and Study United States, 26, 78, 90.
States History, 315.
Innocency of words," 174, 175,
How to Tell Stories, 141.
180, 206-208.
HOXIE: Handwork, 31.
Interest, importance of, 187, 190,
HUBBELL: Horace Mann, 97.
323.
Hudson, Henry, 69, 156.
Interest, means of arousing, 187,
Hugh Wynne, 27.
194, 195, 256-260.
HULBERT: Boone's Wilderness Intermediate grade lesson plan, .
Road, 95; Cumberland Road, 90; 301-304.
Great American Canals, 90. “Interpretation of History," 16.
HULST: Indian Sketches, 86.
Introduction to Economics, 30.
Humanitarian influence of history Introduction to the Study of History,
study, 4, 5.
314.
Human Progress through Missions, Introductory American History, 83.
96.
Iowa, 72.
HUMPHREY : American Colonial Ironclad rule, 59.
Tracts, 253.
Iron in All Ages, 82.
HUNT: Ellen H. Richards, 94 Iron, the story of, 80, 82.
Hurst & Co., 27.
Irvine, Elizabeth, heroine, 132–135.
3
INDEX
337
IRVING: Life of Columbus, 68. KENDALL: Source Book of English
Irving, Washington, 88.
History, 70.
ISHAM: History of American Paint- KENNEDY: Horseshoe Robinson, 27.
ing, 29.
KENT: Southern Literature, 253.
Ivanhoe notebooks, 290.
Kentucky, 27, 72.
KIRCHEVAL: The Valley of Vir-
Jackson, Andrew, 89.
ginia, 77, 294.
JACKSON: Ramona, 27.
Key, Francis Scott, 244–246.
JAEGER: Teaching of History, 313. Key words in questions, 210, 213.
JAMES : Report on History, 313. KEYES: Story-Telling, 141.
Jamestown Day, 80.
Keystone View Co., 168.
Janice Meredith, 27.
KING: De Soto and His Men, 80.
Jefferson, Thomas, 27.
King Philip, 85, 86.
Jeffersonian System, The, 91. King Philip's War, 87.
JERVEY: Robert Hayne, 91.
KINGSLEY: Four American Ex-
Jesus as a teacher, 184.
plorers, 88
John Brent, 28.
Kiralfy, Imre, 248.
John Sevier, Life of, 76.
Kirksville Normal School, 103.
JOHNSON: History of Nebraska, 74. Knapp, S. A., 92.
JOHNSON (A. S.): Economics, 30.
Johnson Co., 66, 75–77, 93.
LADD; Story of New Mexico, 74.
JOHNSON (R.): Great Events, 30, Ladies and dates, 235, 236.
69, 70, 78, 81, 85, 87, 96, 301. Ladies' Home Journal, 247.
JOHNSTON (A.): The United States, Lafayette, 128, 156.
96.
Lafayette, The Friend of American
JOHNSTON (J. H.): Adoniram Jud- Liberty, 85.
Lake Erie victory, 267.
JOHNSTON (M.): Lewis Rand, 27. LAMPRECHT: What is History? 313.
JONES: History of Georgia, 71. LANE: American History in Litera-
JORDAN: War and Manhood, 313. ture, 28.
Josephine Shaw Lowell, 97.
LANG: Horace Mann, 97.
JUDD: Margaret, 27.
LANGLOIS: The Study of History, 314.
JUDD (M. C.): Wigwam Stories, 64. LANMAN: History of Michigan, 73.
Judicial spirit, to be exercised in LANSING: Story of the Great Lakes,
history study, 111, 112, 124, 322, 84.
Lantern talks in history teaching,
Judson, Adoniram, 92.
168, 278.
JUDSON: Montana, 74.
LARNED: Literature of American
History, 314.
Kane, E. K., 88.
La Salle, 79, 80.
Kansas, 72.
La Salle Names Louisiana, 81.
KARNS: Tennessee History Stories, Las Casas, 92.
76.
LAUT: Pathfinders, 90; Vikings of
KEATINGE: Teaching of History, the Pacific, 81.
313.
LAWLER: Columbus and Magellan,
Kellogg & Co., 31.
68; Primary History of the United
KEMP: History for the Grades, 313. States, 88.
son, 93.
324.
Z
338
INDEX
LEE: New School History of the LONGFELLOW: Courtship of Miles
United States, 305.
Standish, 70.
Lee, R. E., 63.
Longfellow, H. W., 88.
Lee, R. H., 167.
Longmans, Green & Co., 26, 29, 78,
Lemcke & Buechner, 313.
85-87, 90, 91, 96, 311.
Lesson plans in history, 142, 281, LONGSTREET: Georgia Scenes, 27.
291-307,
LOSSING: The Hudson, 75.
Lessons in Art, 29.
Lost Colony, The, 69.
"Let Us Have Peace," 248.
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 97.
LEVERING: Historic Indiana, 72. Louisiana, 72.
Lewis and Clark, 66, 88.
Louisiana Purchase, 88.
LEWIS: History of West Virginia, LOVE : Industrial Education, 31.
77.
LOVDRING: Stories of New York,
Lewis Rand, 27.
75.
Liberty Bell, 166.
Lowell, J. R., 88.
Liberty Bell Leaflets, 253.
LOWRY: History of Mississippi,
Library of American Literature, 254. 73.
Library of Southern Literature, 253. Lwoff, Alexis, 247.
Life in Colonial Days, 92.
LYMAN: History of Oregon, 75.
Life of Columbus, 68.
Life of Daniel Boone, 67.
MCCALL: History of Georgia, 71.
Life of Lee for Children, 66.
MCCARDLE : History of Mississippi,
Life of Lincoln, 66.
73.
Liking history, reasons for, 194, MCCLINTOCK : History of New
195.
Hampshire, 74,
Lily and Totem, 27.
McClurg & Co., 66.
Lincoln, Abraham, 66, 67, 89, 91. MCCONNELL: Southern Orators, 91,
LINDSAY : Missions and Social 253.
Progress, 96.
MACDONALD: Documentary Source
Lippincott Co., 70, 82, 93-95, 311. Book of American History, 93,
Literary Leaders of America, 90. 96, 253; Select Documents, 254.
Literature, aided by history, 2, 3, MACE: Method in History, 142,
18-21, 26-28.
314; Stories of Heroism, 88.
Literature in Schools, 28.
MCELROY: The Far West, 90.
Literature of American History, McGEE: History
History, McGED: History of Tennessee, 76.
314.
MCGOVERN: Stories and Poems,
Little, Brown, & Co., 28, 70, 85, 87, 142. :
89, 93, 97, 141.
McKinley's notebooks, 290.
Little Norsk, A, 27.
MCLAUGHLIN: Constitutional His-
Lives of the Presidents, 90.
tory, 314; History in Secondary
Lloyd, Edward, 139.
Schools, 314; History of the
“Local Historical Excursions," 103. United States, 89; The Confedera-
Local resources for history study, tion and the Constitution, 96.
6-8, 46, 47, 52, 53, 64, 68, 103, McLoughlin Bros., 83, 89, 93.
260-262.
Macmillan Co., 26, 28-30, 65-71,
LODGE: Boston, 73; History of the 73, 78-81, 83, 84, 86–97, 142,
United States, 287, 305.
249, 253, 307, 310, 312-315.
INDEX
339
MCMURRY (C. A.): History and Massachusetts, 73.
Civil Government, 314; Pioneers Mast, Crowell & Kirkpatrick, 66.
of the Mississippi Valley, 67, 93; | MATHER: The Making of Illinois,
Pioneers on Land and Sea, 81; 72.
Special Method in History, 28, MAURY: History of Virginia, 77, 93.
142, 314.
MAXWELL (H.): History of West
MCMURRY (F. M.): How to Study, Virginia, 77.
181.
Maxwell, W. H., 185.
MACOMBER : Our Authors, 89. MEAD: Old South Leaflets, 254.
Madison, Dolly, 92.
Meaning of History, 313.
Madison, James, 43, 167, 252. MCANY: History of the State of
Magellan, 68, 79, 81, 84.
Washington, 77; United States
MAGILL: Virginia History, 66, 301. History, 91.
MAGRUDDR: History of Louisiana, Mechanics and dynamics in educa-
72.
tion, 184.
MAHAN: From Sail to Steam, 78. MEEKER: Puget Sound, 77.
Maine, 73.
Memory in history study, 179, 263-
Maine, H: S., quoted, 39.
270.
MAITLAND: Teaching of History, Mentor pictures, 168.
314.
Men Who Made the Nation, 90.
Makers of American History, 67, 90. Men, Women, and Manners in
Makers of Virginia History, 65. Colonial Times, 95.
Making of New England, 64.
Messages and Papers of the Presi-
Making of the Nation, 87, 96.
dents, 254.
Mann, Horace, 92, 97.
Method books, use of, 101, 102.
Manual Training, Economics of, 31. Method in History, 142, 314.
Manufactures, 89.
Methods for the grades
Manufactures, History of American, marized, 98–105.
82.
Methods in high school, 111-113.
Maps and drawings, 102, 103, 163, Methods in normal schools, 54-59,
165, 166, 285, 286.
114-125, 286, 288, 308, 309, 318–
Marconi, William, 140.
324.
Marco Polo, 84.
Methods of Teaching and Studying
Margaret, 27.
History, 313.
Margaret Winthrop, 97.
Michie Co., 72, 78.
Mark Hoplins, 96.
Michigan, 47, 73.
Marquette, Father, 47, 79.
Miles, C. A., 247.
MARSH: Aids in United States MILES : Champlain in Canada, 81.
History, 314.
Millar, S. R., 269.
Marshall, John, 230–234.
MILLER: Cincinnati's Beginnings,
Marshall, T. P., 113.
75; History of Montana, 74.
Martin & Hoyt Co., 253.
Miller, Joaquin, 257.
Maryland, 73.
Mills, S. J., 92.
"Maryland, My Maryland," 21, Mims, Edwin, 91, 184.
248.
MIMS: Southern Prose and Poetry,
Mary Lyon, Life of, 94.
91.
MASON: Illinois History, 72. Minerals, 80, 82.
sum-
340
INDEX
67.
Minister's Wooing, 28.
Music and art as related to history,
Minnesota, 73.
21, 22, 28, 29.
Missions and Social Progress, 96. . Mutual confidence between teacher
Mississippi, 73.
and pupil desirable, 318, 319.
Mississippi Valley, Pioneers of the, My Day, 97.
MYERS: History as Past Ethics, 29;
Missouri, 74.
The Modern Age, 84.
MITCHELL (B.): Cortes, Monte-
zuma, and Mexico, 80.
Napoleon, 147.
MITCHELL (S. W.): Hugh Wynne, National Alumni, 30.
27.
National and state songs, 244–250,
Modern Age, The, 84.
323.
Modern Elementary Education, 94. National Education Association,
Modern History, 84.
185, 310, 311, 313, 315.
Modern Methods for Teachers, 311. Nationalities, variety of, in America,
Moffat, Yard & Co., 65.
155.
Montana, 74.
Natural science as related to his-
Montcalm and Wolfe, 87.
tory, 24, 25.
MONTGOMERY (D. H.): Beginner's Neale Co., 76.
American History, 86.
NEARING: Economics, 30.
MONTGOMERY (H. B.): Western Neatness a value in history exer-
Women in Eastern Lands, 93. cises, 289, 324.
MOORE (J. R. H.): Industrial His Nebraska, 74.
tory, 89.
NEILL: History of Minnesota, 73.
MOORE (N.): From Colony to Nelson, Admiral, 154.
Commonwealth, 86.
Nevada, 71, 74.
Moral Instruction of Children, 141. New England, 27.
Moral values of history, 3-6, 23, New Hampshire, 74.
42-44, 104, 145–148, 323.
New History, The, 315.
Mormons, 28
New Jersey, 74.
MORRISON : Steam Navigation, 78. New Mexico, 70, 74.
Morse, S. F. B., 79, 89.
Newport, 28.
"Mortality in History Examina- New Practical Reference Library,
tions," 211.
315.
Mother of Washington, 97.
New Testament Story, 65.
Motion pictures for teaching his- New York, 27, 47, 75.
tory, 158, 159.
New York City, 45.
MOYER: “Suggestions for Begin- NICHOLS : Life of Lincoln, 66.
ners,'' 59.
NIDA : Dawn of American History in
MUNFORD: Virginia's Attitude, 91. Europe, 68, 83, 177, 286.
MURFRED : Despot of Broomsedge Nineteen Centuries of Missions,
Cove, 27.
94.
MURRAY: Elizabeth-Town, 74. Normal school work in history, 54–
MURRAY (J. O.): Francis Wayland, 59, 114-125, 256, 286, 291-309.
97.
North Carolina, 75.
Museum for history study in schools, Northwest Passage, 81.
25, 53, 103, 163, 164, 323.
Notable dates, 240–243, 265–267.
INDEX
341
160.
Notebooks in history study, 175, Our Country in Poetry and Song, 27.
279–290.
Our Country's Story, 70, 83.
Note-taking, methods of, 287, 288, Our Republic, 89.
317.
Outline of Historical Method, 312.
NUNNEY: Holiday Program, 64. Outline of the history field, 51.
Outlines of Economics, 30.
OBER: Biographies of Columbus, Outlines of General History, 84, 287.
De Soto, and others, 80, 81. OVERTON: The Evangelical Re-
Observation work, 119, 120, 288. vival, 96.
Odyssey, The, 141.
Oxford Press, 312, 314.
OGG: Opening of the Mississippi,
91; Source Book, 84.
Page, David P., 92, 97.
Oglethorpe, James, 79.
Page (L. C.) & Co., 28.
Ohio, 75.
PAGE: Red Rock, 27.
Oklahoma, 75.
Pageants and Pageantry, 160.
Old Creole Days, 27.
Pageants, historical, 159,
Old Dominion, Stories of the, 66. See also “Pageants and Local
"Old Kentucky Home," 248.
History," in History Teacher's
Old New England, 65.
Magazine, November, 1914, and
Old North Church, 254.
"The Virginia Pageant,” in the
"Old North State," 249.
Alumni Bulletin, October, 1909.
Old South Church, 254.
PALMER: History of Lake Cham-
Old South Leaflets, 254.
plain, 75.
Old Steamboat Days on the Hudson, PANCOAST: American Literature, 26,
78.
Old Stories of the East, 65.
PARKER: Modern Elementary Edu-
Old Testament stories, 141.
cation, 94.
Old Times in the Colonies, 95. PARKMAN: A Struggle for a Conti-
"Old Virginia," song, 248.
nent, 85, 87; Conspiracy of Pon-
Old World history, 62.
tiac, 87; Montcalm and Wolfe,
OLMSTED: The Cotton Gin, 85.
87; Pioneers of New France, 85.
“Olympian calm," 173.
PARSONS: Making of Colorado, 71.
OMAN : Study of History, 314. Past vital in the present, 8, 9.
One Hundred and One Best Songs, Pathfinders of the West, 90.
248.
PAYNE: Southern Prose and Poetry,
Opening of the Mississippi, 91.
91.
Oregon, 75.
Peace Day, 80, 81, 248.
Oregon boundary, 27.
Peace ideals preferred, 44, 131, 132.
Originality in method, 101, 270, 321. Peace in the Schools, 311.
Originality in teacher appreciated, Peace League, American School, 81,
324.
141.
Origin and Growth of the American Peace, productiveness of, 13–15.
Constitution, 96.
Pedagogy of History, 313.
ORR: Pageants, 160.
Penn, William, 79, 128, 156.
Osceola, 85, 86.
Penn's Founding of Philadelphia,
OSGOOD: American Colonies, 84 · 81.
Research in History, 314.
Pennsylvania, 75, 76.
91.
342
INDEX
Pennsylvania-German Society, 91. Poe, E.-A., 88.
PERRY: American History, 83; Poems of American History, 27.
Four American Indians, 86; Poems on American history, 20, 21,
Four American Inventors, 79, 89, 27.
301; Four American Pioneers, Poetry and fiction as an aid his
67.
tory, 19-21, 27, 28.
Perry pictures, 67, 168.
Poets of America, 91.
PERSINGER: A Source History, 253. Pokahontas, 27.
Personal forces in history, 145–148, Ponce de Leon, 156.
256.
Pontiac, 85, 86.
Personality of the teacher, impor- POWELL: History of the United
tance of, 33–35, 182–188, 322–324. States, 83.
“Personal Power of the Teacher," POWERS: Stories of Indian Days,
185.
64.
"Personal Touch in Teaching," | Prang Co., 28.
185.
PRATT: American History Stories,
Peter the Great, 147.
81, 86; Colonial Children, 93;
PHELAN: School History of Ten- De Soto, Marquette, and La
nessee, 76.
Salle, 80.
PHELPS : David P. Page, 97.
PRATT (M. L.): America's Story,
Philadelphia, 45, 76.
83; Foundations of the Republic,
PHILLIPS (J. H.): History and 86.
Literature in Grammar Grades, 28. "Preparation for the High School
PHILLIPS (U. B.): Georgia, 71. Teacher of History," 113.
“Phostint Journeys," 168.
“Present Tendencies in High School
PICKETT: History of Alabama, History Teaching,".113.
Georgia, and Mississippi, 73. Presidents in mnemonics, 269.
Picture contest, 278.
"Previews" in directing study, 179,
Picture Study, 29.
180.
Pilgrims, 69.
PRICE : American History, 83.
Pilgrims and Puritans, 28, 65. Primary grade lesson plan, 293–
Pilgrims in 1636, 27.
301.
Pioneer house-building, 295–301. Primary History of the United
Pioneer life, 47, 67.
States, 88.
Pioneer Mothers of America, 97. Primitive life, 47, 67.
Pioneers of New France, 85.
Primitive Life Series, 30.
Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley, Princeton University Press, 77.
93.
Principles of History, 310.
Pioneers on Land and Sea, 81. Priscilla Alden, 69, 156.
Pitcher, Molly, 148.
Problems of Historical Societies,
Place of History in Education, 310. 312, 315.
Place of the Story in Early Educa- Professional bibliography, 310-316.
tion, 142.
Professional function of normal
Plea (A) for the Historical Teaching schools, 114-117,
of History, 312.
Progressive Pennsylvania, 82.
Plymouth Rock Day, 79, 80. Protestant Missions, History of, 96.
Pocahontas, 69, 156, 158.
Provincial America, 95.
INDEX
343
317.
PRYOR: My Day, 97; Mother of | Report on United States History
Washington, 97.
since 1865, 316.
Public School Publishing Co., 69, Reports on History, 311.
315.
Representative Cities, 26.
Public spirit, 23.
Research in Colonial and Revolu.
Puget Sound, 77.
tionary History, 314.
Puritans, 69, 155, 157.
Research in Southern History, 316.
PUTNAM: Life of Lincoln, 66. Revell Co., 65, 93, 94, 96.
Putnam's Sons, 90, 97.
Revere, Paul, 132.
Reviewing a history textbook, 316,
Queen Elizabeth, 69.
Question box, 277.
Revolutionary War, 27, 85, 86.
Question lists, 277.
REYNOLDS: Makers of Arkansas,
Questions, framing and using, 212– 70.
224.
RHEA : Martyn and Mills, 94.
Questions, keys to souls, 222, 223. Rhode Island, 76.
Quiz papers, 225-234.
RICE: History and Literature, 314.
Quotations and summaries, 284. Richards, Ellen, 92, 94.
RICHARDSON: Messages of the Pres-
Railroads, 82.
idents, 254.
Railroads of the United States, 78. Riley & Chandler, 89.
Railroads, their Origin and Problems, RILEY: History in the High School,
78.
315; Our Republic, 89.
Raleigh, Walter, 69, 81.
Rise of American Nationality, 95.
Ramona, 27.
Rise of the New West, 91.
RAMSAY: History of South Caro- Robert Hayne and His Times, 91.
lina, 76.
Robin Hood, 159.
RANDALL: Conspiracy of Pontiac, ROBINSON: History of South Dam
87.
kota, 71.
Rand McNally & Co., 30, 85, 88. ROBINSON (J. H.): European His-
RAVENEL: Eliza Pinckney, 97; tory in the College, 315; History
Charleston, 76.
of Western Europe, 84; The New
Reasons for studying history, 1-6. History, 315.
Reconstruction, 27, 87, 90.
ROCHELEAU: Great American In-
Reconstruction, History of, 90.
dustries, 30, 79, 82, 84, 89.
'Reconstruction of History Teach- Roger Williams, 76.
ing,” 9.
Romance of the Civil War, 253.
“Red Old Hills of Georgia," 249. ROOSEVELT: “History as Litera-
Red Rock, 27.
ture," 19, 315; Winning of the
Relation between history and litera- West, 89.
ture, 17-21, 26-28, 314.
Ross, Betsy, 158.
Relation of Education to Democratic Ross: Foundations of Sociology, 30.
Government, 315.
ROUILLION: Economics of Manual
“Relation of Geography to His- Training, 31.
tory," 26, 315, 316.
Ruebush-Kieffer Co., 249.
RENOUF: Outlines of General His- Rules for remembering dates, 238,
tory, 84, 287.
239.
344
INDEX
.
gan, 73.
Rumsey, James, 69, 78, 304.
Shaw: Discoverers and Explorers,
Russian Hymn, 247, 248.
81.
SHELDON: History and Stories of
SABIN: The Making of Iowa, 72. Nebraska, 74; History of Michi-
SACHSE: Wayside Inns, 91.
Salyards, Joseph, 183.
Sheldon Jackson, Life of, 94.
SANBORN: New Hampshire, 74. SHEPARD: History of St. Louis and
SANFORD: History of Connecticut, 71. Missouri, 74.
SANGSTER: The Story Bible, 65. "Sherman Act,” 206.
SCHARF: History of Delaware, 71; Shoemaker, Blanche, 160.
History of Maryland, 73; His Short History of the American
tory of Philadelphia, 76.
People, 89.
School Methods Co., 314.
Short History of the United States,
School Song Book, 249.
95.
"Scientific Book-Marking," 317. SHOTWELL: “Interpretation of
Scott, Foresman & Co., 26, 83.
History," 16.
SCOTT: New Jersey, 74.
Significance of American History,
Scott, Walter, quoted, 173.
316.
Scribner's Sons, 28, 64, 65, 70, 75, Silver, Burdett & Co., 26, 29, 64,
79, 81, 83, 84, 86–92, 96, 97, 312. 65, 67, 77, 90, 249, 312.
SCUDDER: Nineteen Centuries of SIMMS: History of South Carolina,
Missions, 94.
76; Lily and Totem, 27.
SCUDDER (H. E.): George Wash- Simplicity in method, 35–37.
ington, 66.
SIOUSSAT: Historical Societies, 315;
SEAGER: Economics, 30.
“History in the High School
SEARS : American Literature, 89. Curriculum," 106.
Seattle history tests, 200.
SKINNER: Explorers and Founders
Seat Work, 30.
of America, 68, 80.
Secondary School Studies, 315. SLOANE : The French War, 87.
SEIGNOBOS: The Study of History, Slow reading, 176, 180.
314.
Smith & Lamar, 76.
Select Documents, 254.
Smith, Captain John, 69, 156, 158.
Selections from Sources, 253.
SMITH: History of Kentucky, 72;
Selections from Southern Orators, Making of Wisconsin, 78; Spirit
253.
of American Government, 96.
SEMPLE:
Geographic Conditions, Social and Political Pioneers, 151.
26; Geographic Environment, 26. Social Christianity in the Orient, 96.
Seven, Committee of, 110, 312, 315. Social Ethics, 29.
SEVERANCE : Historical Societies, Social Life of the South, 95.
315.
Social Life of Virginia in the Seven-
Sewanee Review, 317.
teenth Century, 95.
SEWARD: Note-taking, 317.
Sociology as related to history, 23,
SEXTON: Stories of California, 71.
Shakespeare's dramas, 20.
Sociology, Its Simpler Teachings, 29.
SHALER: Story of Our Continent, 26. Socrates as a teacher, 184.
SHAMBURG : Iowa Biographical Soil Products, 84.
Series, 72.
Songs and Ballads, 27.
39.
1
INDEX
345
son, 94.
Songs for School and Flag, 249. STEDMAN: American Literature,
Songs, national and state, 244-250. 254; Poets of America, 91.
Songs of Blue and Gray, 27.
STEPHENSON: An American His-
Songs of the Nation, 249.
tory, 93.
Songs of the People, 249,
Steps of struggle in American
Source-Book of American History, history, 266.
84, 93, 253.
Stereographs and lantern slides,
Source Book of Medical History, 168.
84.
STEVENS: History of Georgia, 71;
Source History of the United States, Oglethorpe's Settlement of Georgia,
253.
81.
Source Readers in American History, STEVENSON: Poems of American
253.
History, 27.
South Carolina, 76.
STEWART (M.): Tell Me a True
SOUTH: Our Country in Poetry and Story, 65; The Shepherd of Us
Song, 27.
All, 65.
Southern Educational Association, STEWART (R. L.): Sheldon Jack-
315.
Southern Orators, 91.
St. John's Church, 254.
Southern Prose and Poetry, 91. St. Louis, 74.
Southern Publication Society, 95. Stokes (F. A.) Co., 28.
Spanish in the Southwest, 80. STONE : Days and Deeds, 84; Life
SPARK: Men Who Made the Nation, in the Colonies, 86.
90.
Stories and Poems with Lesson
SPARKS: Relations of Geography to Plans, 142.
History, 315.
Stories and Story-Telling, 141.
Special Method in History, 28, 142, Stories from English History, 70.
314.
Stories from the Bible, 65.
SPEER: Young Men Who Overcame, Stories in history-teaching, 10, 11,
94.
52, 53, 63, 67, 100, 126-142, 294–
Spelling contest in history study, 301.
273.
Stories of American Explorers, 81.
Spirit of American Government, 96. Stories of Colonial Children, 93.
SPRING : Kansas, 72.
Stories of Early American History,
Stage-Coach and Tavern Days, 95. 83.
Standish, Miles, 156.
Stories of Great Americans, 67.
STARR: American Indians, 86. Stories of Heroism, 88.
"Star-Spangled Banner," 21, 173, Stories of Indian Days, 64.
245, 246.
Stories of Industry, 82.
Startling questions, 220, 221. Stories of Old New England, 69.
State and Local Historical Societies, Stories of Our Authors, 89.
315.
Stories of the Blue and the Gray, 89.
Statesmen of the Old South, 91. Stories of the United States for
Steam, story of, 69, 82.
Youngest Readers, 80.
Steamboat, invention of the, 301-Stories of Useful Inventions, 88.
304.
Story Bible, 65.
Steamboats, 69, 78, 82.
Story of American History, 85.
.
346
INDEX
Story of cotton, 82, 85.
Suggestions for Beginners," 59.
Story of Europe, 83.
SUTCLIFFE: Robert Fulton, 79.
Story of Franklin, 89.
SUTHERLAND: Teaching of Geog-
Story of Lafayette, 86.
raphy, 26.
Story of Our Continent, 26.
SYDENSTRICKER: History of Vir-
Story of Our English Grandfathers, ginia, 77.
69.
Syllabus of History Work in First
Story of steam, 69, 78, 82.
Grade, 30.
Story of the Great Lakes, 84.
SYLVESTER; Reference Library, 315.
Story of the Great Republic, 86. SWANK: Iron in All Ages, 82;
Story of the Old North State, 70. Progressive Pennsylvania, 82.
Story of the Thirteen Colonies, 86. Swann, Sonnenschein & Co., 151.
Story of Washington, 66.
SWEET: Grandfather's Tales, 83;
Story-teller, desirable qualities in Grandmamma's Tales, 93; Stories
the, 103, 140.
of Blue and Gray, 89.
Story-Teller's Art, 141.
Story-Teller's Magazine, 142.
Tabard Inn Book Co., 20.
Story-telling, aids to, 103, 140, 166. TAFT: Relation of Education to
Story-telling in history-teaching, Democratic Government, 315.
99, 100, 126-141, 153, 294-301. Taft, W. H., 248.
STOWE: Minister's Wooing, 28. TALKINGTON: History and Civics,
STRAYER: The Teaching Process, 315.
307.
TAPPAN: American Hero Stories,
Struggle for a Continent, 85, 87. 66, 80, 94; England's Story, 70;
STRYKER: Martyn and Mills, 94. Our Country's Story, 70, 83.
STUART: Josephine Shaw Lowell, TARBELL: Abraham Lincoln, 91.
97.
Taylor, Bayard, 88.
Student's History of the United TAYLOR (H.): The American Con-
States, 87, 93.
stitution, 96.
Studies in American History, 310. TAYLOR (W. M.): Bible Biogra-
Studies in Education, 311.
phies, 65.
Studies in Historical Method, 310. Teachers' Magazine, 81.
Studies in the Teaching of History, Teaching Children to Study, 181.
313..
"Teaching Local History," 262.
Study of History, 314.
Teaching of Civics, 310.
Study of History in Schools, 315. Teaching of Geography, 26.
Study of History in Secondary Teaching of History (Adams), 310.
Schools, 312.
Teaching of History (Hartwell), 313.
Study of History in the Elementary Teaching of History (Jaeger), 313.
Schools, 312, 313.
Teaching of History and Civics, 311.
Study of History of Music, 28. Teaching the Common Branches, 311.
Sturgis & Walton, 94.
Tecumseh, 85, 86.
Stuyvesant, Peter, 79, 156.
Telling in teaching, 183, 184.
Subjective values in history, 124, Ten, Committee of, 315.
221-224.
Tennessee, 27, 76.
Successful Americans, 94.
Tennyson, quoted, 44.
Successful Women, 97.
Texas, 76.
INDEX
347
Textbooks as impediments, 172, New West, 91; The West as a
173, 180, 190, 192, 193, 320, 321. Field for Historical Study, 316.
Textbooks, use of, 49, 50, 98, 99, TURNER (F. M.): Life of John
101, 102, 111, 119, 308–317.
Sevier, 76.
THACKERAY: The Virginians, 28. TURPIN: A Short History, 89.
The Recitation, 224.
TUTTLE : History of Wisconsin, 78.
THOMAS: History of Pennsylvania, Twenty Years at Hull House, 97.
76.
TWITCHELL: History of New Mex-
THOMPSON: Story of Louisiana, 72. ico, 74.
THOMPSON (W.): History of the Two Algonkin Lads, 64.
United States, 89.
TYLER: Southern History, 316.
THORPE: Constitutions, 254.
Through Colonial Doorways, 93. United States History for Schools, 91.
THWAITES : Life of Daniel Boone, United States (The): Its History
67; Story of Wisconsin, 78; The and Constitution, 96.
Colonies, 85.
Unity of history, 8, 9.
TIFFANY (F.): Dorothea Lynde Dix, University of Virginia, 185, 225,
97.
226.
TIFFANY (N. M.): Pilgrims and University Publishing Co., 74.
Puritans, 28, 65.
Utah, 77.
Time allowed for history study
inadequate, 201–203.
VALENTINE: Dutch Settlement of
TITTLE : Colonial Holidays, 78. New York, 81.
TODD: Story of the City of New Van Dyke, Henry, 247.
York, 75.
VAN TYNE: History of the United
Topical Studies in American His- States, 89.
tory, 310.
VARNEY: History of Maine, 73.
Topics, lists of, 282, 283.
Vastness of history, 11, 12, 201, 202.
Tories, 27.
Vermont, 77.
Touching in teaching, 183, 184. Vespucius, 81.
TRAINER: How to Teach and Study | Vikings of the Pacific, 81.
United States History, 315. VINCENT: Historical Research, 316.
Transportation, 79.
Violette, E. M., 103.
Travel, value of in history study, Virginia, 27, 47, 70, 73, 77.
167, 168.
Virginian, The, 28.
Travels through North America, 95, Virginians, The, 28.
255.
Virginia's Attitude toward Slavery
Trenholme, N. M., 113.
and Secession, 91.
TRENT: American Literature, 26. Vitality of history, 12, 39, 40.
Trinity Church, 254.
Volturno, story of the, 136-140.
Triumphs and Wonders of the 19th
Century, 30.
Wabash Publishing House, 30.
Trivium and Quadrivium, 268. WALKER: Making of the Nation,
TUFTS : Ethics, 29.
87, 96.
TURNER (F. J.): Geography and WALLACE: Boyhood of Christ, 65;
History, 316; Guide to American The Fair God, 28; The First
History, 28, 68, 311; Rise of the Christmas, 65.
348
INDEX
cans, 94.
War, destructiveness of, 13-15. Whitefield, George, 96.
Warfare of Science with Theology, 30. Whitman, Marcus, 21, 156.
WARNECK: Protestant Missions, 96. Whitney, Eli, 79, 89, 156, 228, 302.
Washington City, 45.
WHITNEY: Four American In-
Washington, George, 63, 66, 89, dians, 86; History of Utah, 77.
91, 128, 149, 153, 296.
Whittet & Shepperson, 95.
Washington, Mary, 92.
Whittier, J. G., 88.
Washington, state of, 77.
" Who's Who in America ? 272,
Water Witch, 27.
Wickersham, J. P., 92.
Watt Improves the Steam Engine, 78. Wigwam Stories, 64.
Wayland, John W., 317.
WILDER: Annals of Kansas, 72.
Wayside Inns between Philadelphia WILKES : History of Oregon, 75.
and Lancaster, 91.
Willard, Frances, 92.
Webster, Daniel, 66, 89.
WILLIAMS (E. B.): Seat Work, 30.
WEEDEN: Early Rhode Island, 76. Williams, Roger, 79.
WELSH: Colonial Days, 73.
WILLIAMS: Songs and Ballads, 27;
WERTENBAKER: Virginia Under Songs of Blue and Gray, 27.
the Stuarts, 77.
WILLIAMS (S.): Early New York
Wesley, John, 147.
History, 75; Successful Ameri-
Wessels Co., 95, 255.
West, A. F., 185.
WILLIAMS (W. H.): Lessons in Art,
WEST: Modern History, 84.
29.
West (The) as a Field for Historical WILLIAMSON: History of Maine, 73.
Study, 316.
WILLIAMSON (M. L.): Life of Lee,
West Virginia, 77.
66.
“West Virginia Hills," 248.
WILSON (L. L. W.): History
WESTCOTT: History of Philadel- Reader, 28; Picture Study, 29.
phia, 76.
WILSON (W.): Division and Re-
Western Europe, History of, 84. union, 91, 305; George Washing-
Western United States, The, 26.
ton, 66; History of the American
Western Women in Eastern Lands, People, 305; Significance of
93.
American History, 316.
WHARTON: Colonial Days and WILTSC: The Story in Early Edu-
Dames, 94; Through Colonial cation, 142.
Doorways, 93.
Winners of the World, 93.
Wharton, M. B., 247.
Winning of the West, 89.
What Children Study and Why, 312. Winning of the Far West, 90.
What is History? 313.
WINSHIP: Great American Educa-
"Where the Flag is Full of Stars,"
tors, 94.
247.
WINSOR: Sir Francis Drake, 81.
Whitcomb & Barrows, 94.
WINTERBURN: The Spanish in the
WHITE (A. D.): Warfare of Science, Southwest, 80.
30.
WINTHROP: John Brent, 28.
White, Elizabeth B., 68, 262. Wisconsin, 78.
WHITE (H. A.): Beginner's History, WISTER: The Virginian, 28.
WOODBURN: American History and
White's notebook, 290.
Government, 29; American Ora-
86.
INDEX
349
on
tions, 254; Report on United Wright & Potter Co., 64.
States History, 316.
Writings American History,
Woodley, 0. I., quoted, 42.
312.
Woman in the Making of America, Written quizzes, 225–234.
97.
Wyoming, 71, 74, 78.
Women in history, 129.
World's Work quoted, 13, 14.
WRIGHT (C. D.): Industrial Evolu-Young Men Who Overcame, 94.
YOAKUM: History of Texas, 76.
tion, 91.
WRIGHT (H. C.): Children's Stories
of American Progress, 79, 89. Zane, Elizabeth, 5, 158.
- 1015
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