THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 H.A.
 
 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY
 
 SPECIAL METHOD IN 
 HISTORY 
 
 A COMPLETE OUTLINE OF A COURSE OF 
 
 STUDY IN HISTORY FOR THE GRADES 
 
 BELOW THE HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES A. McMURRY, PH.D. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS AND DIRECTOR OF PRACTICE 
 
 DEPARTMENT, NORTHERN ILLINOIS STATE NORMAL 
 
 SCHOOL, DE KALB, ILLINOIS 
 
 Nefo 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 
 I9l6 
 
 All rights reserved
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1903, 
 
 BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 St up and electrotyped. Published August, 1903. 
 Reprinted October, 1904; May, September, 1905; 
 February, October, 1908 ; October, 1909 ; June, 1910; 
 August, 1911 ; June, 191* ; February, December, 1913; 
 January, December, 1915: May, 19x6.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THIS book contains a plan of a complete course of 
 study in history for the grades below the high school. 
 It is an attempt not only to outline this historical 
 course, but also to point out with definiteness the 
 materials which may appear in each year's study, to 
 estimate the value and fitness of the matter selected 
 for each grade, and to discuss and illustrate at some 
 length the method of handling these materials. 
 
 A separate chapter is given to a somewhat full 
 discussion of each of the four grades of work. 
 
 The chapter containing the course of study names 
 the topics for each year's work, and also points out 
 at length the correlations with geography, reading, 
 and literature, while a separate chapter discusses the 
 value of these correlations. 
 
 The final chapter contains for each year a care- 
 fully selected and arranged series of books for chil- 
 dren and teachers. It is hoped that this list will 
 enable the teacher to carry out practically the course 
 of study which precedes it. 
 
 In order to carry out the plan of oral instruction 
 advocated for fourth and fifth grades, the author has 
 prepared three small volumes of Pioneer History 
 Stories of America, which are designed to furnish 
 
 970092
 
 Vi PREFACE 
 
 the suitable story-material which may be easily ar- 
 ranged for any part of the country, according to 
 local geographical position and needs. 
 
 This book is one of a series of Special Methods in 
 the common school studies. The others of the series 
 are The Special Methods in the Reading of Complete 
 English Classics, in Primary Reading and Oral Work 
 with Stories, in Geography and in Natural Science. 
 
 The entire series of Special Methods is designed 
 to work out and apply in the detail of each study 
 the broad principles discussed in the General Method 
 and in the Method of the Recitation. 
 
 A complete Course of Study for the Grades of the 
 Common School is in preparation, which will bring 
 together in two volumes the comprehensive plans, 
 outlines of courses, and full references for all the 
 studies of the common school. 
 
 This course of Study in History, while it estab- 
 lishes American history as the central body of his- 
 torical material, also draws extensively from the 
 history of England and of Europe, and, in connec- 
 tion with reading and literature, looks for a still 
 wider extension of the child's horizon of thought. 
 
 CHARLES A. McMURRY. 
 
 PALATKA, FLORIDA, 
 March 24, 1903.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 I. THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION i 
 
 II. SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS SUITABLE 
 
 FOR THE COMMON SCHOOL GRADES . . 18 
 
 III. HISTORY STORIES USED IN THE FOURTH AND 
 
 FIFTH GRADES. THE METHOD OF ORAL 
 
 WORK DISCUSSED AND ILLUSTRATED . . 34 
 
 IV. SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 119 
 
 V. HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE . . .150 
 
 VI. EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 181 
 
 VII. THE CORRELATION OF HISTORY WITH OTHER 
 
 STUDIES 222 
 
 VIII. COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY .... 238 
 
 IX. LIST OF BOOKS ARRANGED ACCORDING TO GRADES 269 
 
 vii
 
 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION 
 
 WITHOUT dropping a plummet to the depths of our 
 subject at the moment of embarking, we may at least 
 say that it is good for children to gain an intelligent 
 interest in the families and persons of their neighbor- 
 hood, in the health and comfort of the people of their 
 own town, later in the personal history of well-known 
 characters, such as Longfellow, Lincoln, John Win- 
 throp, Charles Dickens, and John Quincy Adams, and 
 in larger matters of public concern. 
 
 This intelligent interest is awakened first of all by 
 a lifelike picture of the personal fortunes of men like 
 Daniel Boone, or David, or Alfred the Great. Such 
 biographies open a highway into the struggles and 
 dangers of communities and young nations. The life 
 stories also of inventors and benefactors like Stephen- 
 son, Fulton, and Peter Cooper, of Florence Night- 
 ingale, John Eliot, and William Penn, kindle social 
 sympathies of lasting worth. Children are already 
 acquainted with persons, and have strong personal 
 interests and affections, or, it may be, the opposite.
 
 2 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 With this early experience as a basis, they can more 
 quickly interpret the lives of individuals. They 
 tacitly compare themselves with such persons, and 
 are stimulated to like feelings and actions. The 
 lives of the world's chiefs are often called the very 
 substance of history, as in Carlyle's " Heroes and 
 Hero-worship," and in Emerson's " Representative 
 Men." They serve as examples and ideals to arouse 
 enthusiasms, and have an unestimated power in giving 
 the initial impulses toward the formation of character 
 in children. 
 
 Such biographies disclose to a child the broad 
 arena of possible action, and at the same time give 
 an impulse to the full stretch of his own best powers. 
 A suitable variety of select biographies must act in a 
 directly personal way upon each child. The secret 
 sources of strength in each boy or girl will thus be 
 touched and made conscious. So far as biographies 
 are typical or representative, they give insight into 
 the common interests of society and are the natural 
 introduction to public concerns. 
 
 This intelligent interest may be awakened in the 
 common life of the people, as in old-fashioned customs 
 and modes of dress, in the style and peculiarity of 
 their houses, furniture, and domestic arrangements, in 
 their hardships and sufferings caused by war, pes- 
 tilence, or drouth, in their toils in field, forest, or shop, 
 on lakes and rivers, in their homes and family life, in 
 their churches and religious ideas, in their games and
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION 3 
 
 amusements, in their schools, jury trials, and prisons, 
 in their social, educational, and political gatherings, 
 and in the peculiarities of different nationalities and 
 races in our own and other countries. 
 
 Two of our ablest writers in recent times, Green, 
 in England, and McMaster, in the United States, 
 have given us instructive descriptions of the every- 
 day life and work of the plain people, thus unveiling, 
 as it were, the giant sinews and energies of demos, 
 the folk, as compared with the puny arm of princes. 
 The teacher of history, like the politician and his- 
 torian, has been brought to a change of base. The 
 world is no longer chiefly concerned in the acts and 
 privileges of rulers and kings, but in the mammoth 
 social needs of the people. As individuals hasten or 
 obstruct this democratic social betterment, they are 
 important. 
 
 In this country, where " We, the people, do ordain 
 and establish constitutions," it is fit that the social 
 good of all should have the preeminence. 
 
 The will of the people, as expressed in their public 
 and private labors, has played and is playing the 
 chief part in the progress of our country. These 
 powerful folk-tendencies are overwhelming. The 
 westward movement of population into new regions, 
 the settling up and shaping of new states, have been 
 almost wholly due to the folk-energy. The children 
 should be led to gain some appreciation of these race 
 achievements and of their overwhelming importance.
 
 4 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 It is not necessary to settle the controversy between 
 Carlyle and his critics as to whether a few great men 
 have carried the world on their shoulders. In our 
 history men have been great leaders to the extent 
 to which they have been pronounced exponents of 
 
 /the better popular will, that is, have been true 
 representatives of the desires and tendencies of the 
 common people. 
 
 An intelligent interest should be awakened in trac- 
 ing out the origin and development of ideas and in- 
 stitutions. Our history has been a history of strong 
 and vigorous growth, not only in numbers and extent 
 of territory, in commerce and industry, in products 
 and resources, but also in religious and political ideas, 
 in state and national constitutions, in educational sys- 
 tems, in plans of taxation and revenue, and in all the 
 institutions of the most complex life. To trace the 
 origin and growth of ideas and institutions is a most 
 valuable and interesting study. For example, the 
 idea of religious toleration was developed but slowly 
 and gradually among the colonists, but led eventually 
 to the most important results in giving freedom under 
 the constitution, and the complete separation of church 
 and state. It is of interest to trace the growth of our 
 , post-office system in colonial times, then under Frank- 
 lin's management, and later under the federal govern- 
 ment. It is by tracing these progressive steps in 
 commerce, modes of travel, and political and social 
 institutions that we get some true notion of the bear-
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION 5 
 
 ing of these things in our present life. Our histo- 
 rians have always laid much stress upon the growth of 
 political institutions, such as the gradual evolution of 
 the representative system, first in the colonies and 
 then under the articles of confederation and the con- 
 stitution. In recent years much has been said of the 
 teaching of civics and civil government in grammar 
 schools and in high schools. So far as the grammar 
 schools are concerned, the very names of civics and 
 civil government seem to point to an abstract con- 
 ception of government, to a fixed and formal set of 
 documents and institutions. It would be better for 
 the children in the common school to find these con- 
 stitutions springing up during the history of the coun- 
 try as natural and necessary products of the labor and 
 thought of the people. They should see that as the 
 people grow and change, ideas and constitutions grow 
 and change. That all these institutions have the 
 vitality of the people's thoughts and need in them. 
 We shall get a better view of the aim and educa- 
 tive value of history by an inquiry into the question : 
 How far can the children relive the past ? can repro- 
 duce in themselves the helpful experience of men ? 
 In thought, feeling, and imagination, to what extent 
 may a child live over again the scenes, the dan- 
 gers, the struggles, the disasters, and the triumphs 
 of previous generations ? For example, the long 
 labors and the final landing of Columbus in America, 
 the life of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, the voyage of
 
 6 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Magellan, the struggles of the pioneers, the scenes 
 in camps, in cabinets, in senates, or on the battle-field ? 
 If history can be taught in *" rh a wa y that a rhil H 
 may take up into himself thejixgeqenrp n f thp r^rc i 
 that all he has read and studied shall become a part 
 of his real self, that the experiences of men in differ- 
 ent countries may ripen into the wisdom of the youth 
 approaching maturity, we shall see that history may be 
 a powerful educator. But a child can live and feel, 
 that is, experience, only those things which he can 
 appreciate, both by intellect and by sympathy. If 
 this part of the aim of history is made good, we must 
 be extremely careful in selecting those parts of his- 
 tory appropriate to the capacity of childhood and 
 youth. 
 
 It should be the aim of history to bring the past 
 into manifest relation to the present, and to show how 
 historical ideas and experiences are being constantly 
 projected into the present, are, in fact, the controlling 
 forces in our social and industrial life. The series of 
 locomotive engines in one of our great expositions, 
 showing the steady improvement of the engine by 
 successive inventions, proves that our modern Mogul 
 is a concentration of all the inventive wisdom of 
 machinists for a hundred years and much more. 
 Likewise, every important institution of our present 
 society is the evolved product of a whole series of 
 historical influences. Such, for example, is a great 
 insurance company, a university, a printing establish-
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION 7 
 
 ment, the entire executive department of the govern- 
 ment, a shoe factory, a department store, and a city 
 school system. History should end with giving a 
 child a much sharper understanding of the political 
 and social world around him. In tracing the evolu- 
 tion of ideas and institutions from the beginning of 
 American history to the present time, we get a strong 
 momentum toward the right interpretation of present 
 conditions. This may be asking too much of the 
 school when we consider how complex, difficult, and, 
 as yet, unsolved many of our political and social prob- 
 lems are ; but it is still true that one leading purpose 
 of history is to interpret and value the present, to 
 estimate properly the ideas and forces which are 
 now at work around us. If children have previously 
 figured out the expense account of the country in 
 achieving present results, if they may realize, as 
 Lincoln said, that each drop of blood drawn by the 
 lash is paid for by one drawn by the sword, they have 
 gained a much better perspective from which to view 
 our present problems. It may be said, however, that 
 the solution of our present problems lies with men 
 and not with children. Yet the swift evolution by 
 which children pass from the schoolroom into the 
 complex activities of life is a great admonition and 
 encouragement to teachers. 
 
 It is often said that one aim of history is to teach 
 patriotism. It might be better said that history 
 should aim to clarify and purify the sentiment of
 
 8 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 patriotism. The crude feeling of patriotism is very 
 strong and demonstrative in this country, and it is a 
 reality, not a boast nor a dream. It greatly needs to 
 be purified. Children should be made more intelli- 
 gent about our country and more sensitive to its true 
 honor and dignity. This result is attainable by the 
 schools because the lives, words, and deeds of the 
 best patriotic Americans are easily within the reach 
 of teachers and children. Disinterested American 
 patriots, such as Franklin, Washington, Lincoln, 
 Emerson, Bryant, Lowell, and many others of the 
 same stamp, have given unmistakable evidence in 
 their works and words that they fully appreciated 
 that higher destiny toward which America seems to 
 be moving. True patriotism, by common consent, 
 does not consist in magnifying our own country at 
 the expense of England, the North at the expense 
 of the South, or America, right or wrong, at the 
 expense of the world. To cultivate fair-mindedness 
 and honesty, to see clearly both sides of an h.istorjr^l 
 rnntrQY^rsy, is, in this r espP-t thetruestandard_.of 
 history study. Americans have enough to be proud 
 of without belittling those who chance to be their 
 opponents, and without extravagant boasting as to 
 their own deserts. Among other things we can well 
 afford to understand our own mistakes and weak- 
 nesses, and to accept with fair-mindedness and hon- 
 esty some of the superior excellences and institutions 
 of other countries, as of France, or England, or
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION 9 
 
 Germany. A course of study in history must neces- 
 sarily include much historical material from other 
 countries, and many noble characters not American. 
 We have no end of instructive lessons to learn from 
 Europe. True liberality and the broad mental bal- 
 ance and charity which go with it are things of slow 
 growth, but in the study of history it is the para- 
 mount obligation of the teacher to cultivate these 
 dispositions both in himself and in the children. 
 
 Following a great trend of educational thought in 
 recent years, we may say that it is the aim of history- 
 instruction to socialize a child, that is, to make him 
 more regardful of the interests of others, less stub- 
 born and isolated in his individuality, that is, less 
 selfish. Without arguing the point we may suggest 
 the sources from which this spirit naturally springs. 
 The study of biography is social in its effect because 
 it takes the child out of himself and lose^him in the 
 life and experiences of another. The more biogra- 
 phies of the right sort a child studies appreciatively, 
 the more his own life is expanded to encompass and 
 identify itself with the lives of others. As a general 
 thing those lives are most worth studying which are 
 social in their disposition, close and strong and mani- 
 fold in their social relations. Great men are usually 
 representative men, that is, they embody within them- 
 selves the sentiments and needs of whole parties or 
 classes or nations, in short, are almost purely social 
 products. To understand them is to understand the
 
 10 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 interests of the social classes which they represent 
 The social instinct in children is also deepened by a 
 study of the political and religious ideas upon which 
 the welfare of millions of people may depend. The 
 fugitive slave law, for example, roused the indigna- 
 tion of people because it threatened the welfare of 
 whole masses of people, both white and black. The 
 recent coal strike in the anthracite regions has 
 aroused the interest of the nation in the welfare of 
 many thousands of people. Not merely that the 
 coal strike has directly affected so many people, but 
 it has raised the great question of justice, on a large 
 scale, between man and man. The conflict between 
 Charles I and the Long Parliament interests us 
 deeply because it was a struggle for the rights of the 
 Commons against the arbitrary tyranny of a single 
 man. It was simply a social problem. Industrial 
 or political questions which involve the needs and 
 comforts of whole classes of people are the nurseries 
 of social sentiment. 
 
 It has been often observed that history is a moral 
 study. It deals with the subject-matter which illus- 
 trates moral ideas and obligations. It teaches morals 
 concretely both in individuals and in communities or 
 states. But moral ideas always express the higher 
 social relations between man and man. History, 
 therefore, is preeminently a social and moral study. 
 Froude, in his essay on history, says: "And it is 
 precisely in this debatable ground of low motives
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION u 
 
 and noble emotions ; in the struggle, ever failing yet 
 ever renewed, to carry truth and justice into the 
 administration of human society ; in the establish- 
 ment of states and in the overthrow of tyrannies ; in 
 the rise and fall of creeds; in the world of ideas; 
 in the character and deeds of the great actors in the 
 drama of life, where good and evil fight out their 
 everlasting battle, now ranged in opposite camps, 
 now and more often in the heart, both of them of 
 each living man, that the true human interest of 
 history resides." And again : " First, it is a voice 
 forever sounding across the centuries the laws of 
 right and wrong. Opinions alter, manners change, 
 creeds rise and fall, but the moral law is written on 
 the tablets of eternity. For every false word or 
 \ unrighteous deed, for cruelty and oppression, for lust 
 or vanity, the price has to be paid at last ; not always 
 by the chief offenders, but paid by some one. Jus- 
 tice and truth alone endure and live. Injustice and 
 falsehood may be long-lived, but doomsday comes at 
 last to them, in French revolutions and other terrible 
 ways." 
 
 It is the business of the teacher to use every device 
 by which these social ideas and relations may be 
 intensified in the study of history. It is a matter 
 both of intelligent insight and of sympathetic feeling. 
 For this reason history should never be studied in a 
 dry, matter-of-fact, formal way. The people of history 
 should live before the thought of the child as vividly
 
 12 
 
 as the hero of a tale. The imagination must recon- 
 struct the pictures of the past vividly. The persons 
 studied must be observed with heartfelt interest, 
 otherwise the social instinct receives no social stimu- 
 lus. Quoting Froude again: "The address of history 
 is less to the understanding than to the higher emo- 
 tions. We learn in it to sympathize with what is 
 great and good ; we learn to hate what is base. In 
 the anomalies of fortune we feel the mystery of our 
 mortal existence; and in the companionship of the 
 illustrious natures who have shaped the fortunes of 
 the world, we escape from the littlenesses which cling 
 to the round of common life, and our minds are tuned 
 in a higher and nobler key." 
 
 The teacher is not left without resources when 
 asked to teach morals through history. The histori- 
 cal materials most suitable for children in the grades 
 are prolific in striking examples of social conduct If 
 these illustrations of action are placed clearly before 
 the children in their true colors, they will carry 
 their own moral. They make their own appeal to the 
 child's sympathy and moral judgment. 
 
 As yet but little systematic and well-planned effort 
 has been made to accumulate and arrange these 
 genuine sources of moral culture in living, concrete 
 form. But the materials are now at hand for making 
 out such a course, and this highest aim of history 
 instruction may be realized beyond anything which 
 has yet been attempted.
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION 13 
 
 Manual training and constructive work along lines 
 suggested by history have been brought into service. 
 If a boy constructs a wigwam, dresses like an Indian, 
 and makes bows and arrows to shoot with, he comes 
 into closer sympathy with Indian life. If a child 
 produces a miniature log-house and its surroundings, 
 he gets closer to the reality of pioneer life. By 
 reproducing houses and various simple products of 
 industrial art, a child not only finds expression for 
 his motor activities in manual effort, but he comes 
 into a closer sympathy and understanding of the 
 people whose fabrics and houses he attempts to 
 reproduce. It may be said that this is only another 
 way of repeating in the child the experience of the 
 past, and of working it over into his physical and 
 mental organism. Anything in the way of drawings 
 made by the children, constructions, or efforts at 
 weaving and industrial production, which give vent 
 to a child's motor impulses, as touched into life by 
 a good story, will produce a more pronounced and 
 lasting effect. This is at least one important illustra- 
 tion of the increased vitality given to studies by the 
 exercise of constructive activities. 
 
 To what extent the course of study in history 
 should incorporate into itself the primitive industries, 
 and give play in the shop to the manual and con- 
 structive activities which are involved in the growth 
 of the typical industrial arts is still an open ques- 
 tion.
 
 14 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Some educators are inclined to think that the entire 
 course of study must be reorganized on this basis, 
 that the development of the social instincts into clear- 
 ness and force depends upon direct participation 
 through school exercises in the essential modes of 
 industrial life. To my mind this question involves 
 the course of study in geography and natural science 
 quite as much as that in history. 
 
 Manual training or constructive work seems des- 
 tined to occupy a great place in the coming curricu- 
 lum of the common school. There is a large demand 
 for it in order to secure effective work in history, 
 geography, and natural science, and even, perhaps, in 
 arithmetic and literature. Its vitalizing power, how- 
 ever, I think, depends upon its being identified 
 with those several studies as an essential ingredient, 
 not upon its being made a study apart from the 
 others. 
 
 The study of history produces a kind of mental 
 discipline which is peculiar to historical materials as 
 distinguished from the exact methods of natural 
 science and especially of mathematics. Historical 
 studies, properly conducted, lead to a thoughtful 
 weighing of arguments, pro and con, a survey of 
 both sides of a question so as to reach a reasonable 
 conclusion. These conclusions are not exact mathe- 
 matical deductions. They are rather inferences based 
 upon the careful weighing of probabilities. Hinsdale, 
 in discussing the educational value of history, says :
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION 15 
 
 "As remarked above, historical knowledge is moral 
 knowledge. Mathematical studies deal with certain ;? 
 data and their method is demonstration. They start 
 with definitions and axioms that are intuitively per- 
 ceived, and proceed by necessary inferences to inevi- 
 table conclusions. There is no gathering of facts, no 
 balancing of opposite arguments, no halting or hesita- 
 tion. There can be no looking at the other side, 
 because there is no other side. Uncertainty is an 
 impossible state of mind. Very different are the 
 problems of practical life, springing out of the rela- 
 tions of human beings. Very different the transac- 
 tion of human business. Here we accumulate data, 
 weigh the force of opposing evidence, reconcile con- 
 tradictory views, and at last reach probable con- 
 clusions. No merchant, manufacturer, or ship-owner 
 can demonstrate that a given venture will be success- 
 ful. Generals cannot certainly predict the issue of 
 battles and campaigns ; if they could, battles would 
 not be fought or campaigns be waged. Politicians 
 are not absolutely sure that canvasses and elections 
 will turn out so and so. And so it is with the 
 teacher, the preacher, and the moralist." In accord- 
 ance with this idea the problems of historical instruc- 
 tion are the means by which a certain thoughtfulness 
 and judicial-mindedness are cultivated. History, even 
 with children, becomes a training of the judgment. 
 For the practical purposes of life it is just as im- 
 portant for a child to acquire this careful habit of
 
 16 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 reasoning upon probabilities and of reaching approxi- 
 mately correct results as that he should be trained in 
 exact mathematical reasoning. 
 
 History should be so taught that it may contribute 
 largely to the better understanding of many topics in 
 literature, geography, and natural science. Without 
 the background and general setting of history much 
 of the best literature based upon history cannot be 
 understood and appreciated. One needs to get a 
 framework of Scottish history and geography in 
 order to understand Scott's " Marmion," " Lady of 
 the Lake," and "The Lay of the Last Minstrel." 
 Many of Webster's great speeches can only be un- 
 derstood in the light of the whole previous history of 
 the country, and this statement may be made also 
 of many of the best poems, ballads, novels, orations, 
 and essays in our English literature. History sup- 
 plies, therefore, much of the concrete material and 
 the broader survey of historical events which consti- 
 tutes a basis for understanding some of the best 
 literature of the world. This gives us really an or- 
 ganic or vital relation between these great studies. 
 
 In summing up the conclusions of this chapter in 
 regard to the aim of history instruction we may say 
 that it should be so taught that children may become 
 thoroughly and intelligently interested in individuals 
 and in the concerns of society. It is a still better 
 formulation of this aim to say that children shall re- 
 produce in themselves the experiences of the suitable
 
 THE AIM OF HISTORY INSTRUCTION 17 
 
 educative epochs in history. A still stronger empha- 
 sis is given to the chief aim of history by centring 
 its lessons upon the effort to socialize and humanize 
 the children by an intelligent and sympathetic treat- 
 ment of the moral relations of men. History is thus 
 preeminently a moral study and moral practice. To 
 give a vivid and intense realization of social duties 
 and obligations is the essence of the best history 
 instruction. 
 
 A great moral-social aim has such kingly power 
 that it draws into its tributary service other impor- 
 tant aims which some have set in the chief place. 
 Among these is a pure and liberal patriotism, intelli- 
 gent and fair-minded. The mental powers are also 
 exercised in a mode of reasoning peculiar to histori- 
 cal materials which calls for a well-balanced judg- 
 ment in the weighing of arguments, and in estimating 
 probabilities. This is a most useful form of reason- 
 ing, constantly needed in our everyday problems.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS SUITABLE 
 FOR THE COMMON SCHOOL GRADES 
 
 To select the best historical material which the 
 world can furnish to children in the common school 
 is not an easy task. It is necessary to keep in mind 
 both the children's capacity to appropriate histori- 
 cal knowledge and the character of those historical 
 materials which are needed to interpret modern life. 
 We must also remember the chief aim to socialize 
 and humanize the child by causing him to experience 
 the best epochs of historical growth. 
 
 We may first draw the line of separation between 
 history and several vp.ry c.lf>sp1y rp1^tp,4 studies with 
 which it is frequently confused. Some writers are 
 accustomed to include the mythologies and folklore 
 commonly taught in the primary grades as a part of 
 history, but for our present purpose we wish to dis- 
 crimin^te hisfory from the myth andJegeqd and to 
 limit it chiefly to what is now understood as authentic 
 history which will stand the tests of modern methods 
 of verification. 
 
 We are also disposed to draw a sharp line between 
 
 18
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS 19 
 
 history and literature, such literature, for example, as 
 the Homeric poems, the old English ballads, the 
 Arthurian legends, Virgil's " JEneid," the story of 
 " Siegfried," " Marmion," and many other historical 
 poems and classics. Historical novels, likewise, even 
 the best of them, are not included in the term " his- 
 tory " as we are now using it in connection with the 
 school course. All of these literary materials are 
 wrought into the school course, partly in the oral story 
 work of the primary grades, partly in the regular study 
 of reading throughout all the grades, and partly in 
 supplementary readings both at school and home. 
 This line of demarcation between history and litera- 
 ture casts no discredit upon literature, mythology, and 
 historical fiction. A full course of study in the best 
 literature of America and of other countries should 
 be provided in the common school curriculum, and is 
 presupposed. This whole subject has been fully dis- 
 cussed in the " Special Method in Reading of Eng- 
 lish Classics," and in the "Special Method in 
 Primary Reading and Oral Work in Stories," of this 
 series. 
 
 History proper deals with materials which have 
 historical veracity, which are based upon good author- 
 ities and may be accepted as true. The teacher of 
 history is expected to assume the standpoint of the 
 modern scientific historian, at least so far as the use 
 of authentic material is concerned. Not that the 
 teacher himself is a historian, but he should use
 
 20 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 materials which good historians have pronounced 
 trustworthy. It is not expected that the teacher 
 himself will become a technical critic or that he will 
 try to make such critics of the children. But there 
 are certain credulous, one-sided historical books 
 which he should avoid. Biographies giving undue 
 praise and credit to historical characters should be 
 avoided. Books which are ultra-patriotic in their 
 approval of all things American are not healthful 
 historical books. On the other hand, it is not ex- 
 pected that children shall be trained to a carping 
 criticism of great men, or that they should exercise 
 a premature wisdom in judging the leaders in history. 
 What is needed is, rather, a solid respect for histori- 
 cal truth and a disposition to know the facts and to 
 learn the lessons which history really teaches. 
 
 In laying out a course of study in American and 
 other history we may get at a good result by the 
 negative process of deciding what historical materials 
 should be excluded from our school course. We will 
 attempt, therefore, to fix a table of exclusions. 
 
 1. Anything like a full chronology, either of 
 American or European history, is out of the ques- 
 tion in the common school. This sort of systematic 
 chronology has been in vogue in our schools to a 
 considerable extent, but it is rapidly passing away. 
 For children it is certainly necessary that only a few 
 important dates be learned. 
 
 2. A brief systematic survey of the history of the
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS 21 
 
 whole world, which has been strongly recommended 
 by some teachers, seems to have very little real basis 
 in the needs of children or of society. Such an out- 
 line, if at all appropriate, should be the result of 
 historical study at the end of the course, rather than 
 a preface to it. It is inevitably a dull piece of work 
 and cannot be defended even upon the ground of 
 pure discipline, the belief in which is fast giving way 
 to a more rational conviction. 
 
 3. The genealogies of kings and royal houses, and 
 the endless series of court intrigues which once con- 
 stituted a good share of the text-books in history, are 
 now recognized as worse than valueless to children. 
 Some critics, like Herbert Spencer, have almost 
 totally rejected the study of history in our common 
 schools because it was made up of such trash. 
 
 4. Many large periods of European history can be 
 esteemed of no particular value to children up to the 
 age of fourteen. They should not be dragged over 
 the whole long chain of events as a prelude to the 
 study of later ages. 
 
 5. The study of wars and military campaigns 
 should be cut as short as possible. There are, in- 
 deed, some honorable and some horrible lessons to 
 be learned from the study of war, and the impression 
 of its destructive and devastating character, its ruin- 
 ous influence upon society, should be made as plain 
 as possible. Thus far, curiously, in the history work 
 of achools, war has been chiefly glorified and its
 
 22 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 inhuman and distressing phases overlooked. If 
 taught at all, the truth about wars ought to be 
 told and its brutalities, as well as its heroisms, ex- 
 posed. This can be done by an occasional detailed 
 treatment of a military campaign or battle. In a 
 Christian nation it is quite admissible to bring out 
 the selfish and unrighteous causes which have led 
 to war, and the plundered fields and towns, and the 
 broken and mangled families which are the sure 
 and incurable results of war. 
 
 6. The philosophy of history is not a thing to be 
 taught in the common school, and this applies also 
 to some of those generalizations which even our 
 text-books commonly supply. It is, however, of little 
 value to children to memorize these general infer- 
 ences. They presuppose just such a knowledge of 
 the facts as the children should be engaged in ac- 
 cumulating. Both teachers and text-books easily 
 drop into this humdrum method of summing up his- 
 torical events. The pupils get little out of it except 
 a routine drill which dulls the sensibilities. 
 
 7. Recent and contemporary history is perhaps 
 the most difficult of historical studies, and for this 
 reason have little appropriateness to children. The 
 history of a hundred years ago can be much more 
 easily understood by children than the current events 
 of to-day. It takes a very wise and experienced 
 scholar and man of the world to judge correctly any 
 of our present political and social controversies
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS 23 
 
 We may say, on the one hand, that it involves the 
 whole purpose of the course in history to bring the 
 child to a point where he can get an intelligent in- 
 sight into the present life of the people, but on the 
 other side it may be said with equal truth that it is no 
 part of the business of children to solve our present 
 problems. It is the province of the course of study 
 in history to put children in possession of those facts 
 of our historical growth which will bring them to the 
 threshold of the present with an intelligent equip- 
 ment for these modern problems. We may say, there- 
 fore, that the schools can spend very little time in 
 discussing our present political and social problems. 
 
 In this table of exclusions we have named a num- 
 ber of things which are of little value in our historical 
 course because they are not educative in the best 
 sense. Not appropriate to the thought and activity 
 of childhood. 
 
 As to positive demands, our course of study calls 
 for the selection of a few leading biographies and 
 larger topics of American and of European history. 
 These great topics should be appropriate to children, 
 and educative in the sense of our aim. They should 
 be topics in which the impulsive life of the children 
 can find free and adequate utterance. They should 
 appeal strongly to their interest and understanding, 
 and enhance social spirit and intelligence. 
 
 These requirements are fulfilled first of all by . ^ 
 biography, but biographies are of many sorts, and
 
 24 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 the great majority of them are not of special interest 
 or value to children. Biographical stories of the true 
 stamp have a wonderful attraction for boys and girls, 
 and even for men and women. There is perhaps 
 nothing more interesting and instructive than the 
 strong and manly effort of individuals under the 
 stress and strain of life's problems. 
 
 There are also certain epochs of history which 
 have a marked attractiveness for young people. For 
 example, the age of chivalry and knight-errantry, the 
 age of maritime exploration, the war of Greek Inde- 
 pendence against the Persians, and the American 
 Revolution. As children grow older their inter- 
 ests change and centre upon more complex and 
 difficult historical personages and events. It has 
 been one of the chief aims of educators to find out 
 the series of epochs in the world's history which are 
 most interesting and instructive to children in their 
 successive stages of growth. As yet there seems to 
 be no general agreement upon this point, and there- 
 fore our courses of study are in a shifting and uncer- 
 tain condition; but so much, at least, seems to be 
 established, that a few important epochs well treated 
 in a descriptive and even dramatic fulness, are far 
 better than a systematic, chronological survey of the 
 history of many nations. 
 
 There are also important topics which show a con- 
 
 v7 tinuous development, working out step by step, 
 
 through many years, an important result. For ex-
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS 25 
 
 ample, the discovery, exploration, and settlement of 
 America, or the origin, growth, and outcome of sla- 
 very. It is an interesting and worthy study to trace 
 out one of these topics in its causal sequence of 
 events. Even a single event, like the adoption of 
 the Constitution, is the important culmination of a 
 long and complex series of historical causes which 
 it is one of the great lessons of history to trace out. 
 In these different ways important topics should be 
 selected and arranged in the course of study which 
 will give a full and adequate exercise of the mental 
 powers of the children, awaken their spontaneous 
 interest to a vigorous action, and help them to appre- 
 ciate the chief historical influences. 
 
 In projecting the course of history for American 
 children, it will be acknowledged on all hands that 
 American history should have a prominent place. 
 Thus far, in our common schools, it has practically 
 occupied nearly the whole time given to history. 
 But English and European history have received 
 some attention, and are getting more and more recog- 
 nition as a part of our school course. 
 
 It is well, therefore, to inquire definitely into the 
 scope and educative value of American history. It 
 is not only our own, but it is extremely rich in edu- 
 cative elements. 
 
 i. It exhibits the movement of political, social, 
 and industrial forces, through the chief stages, from 
 the simplest crude arrangements of the early settle-
 
 26 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 mcnts up to that vast system, with its great com- 
 plexity of institutions, which we now call our national 
 life. I think it would be impossible to find any 
 other nation in which the chief stages of modern 
 history are better illustrated, and in which there is 
 less backward movement or halting progress. The 
 growth of institutions has been steady, incessant, 
 and rapid. To trace out this movement in our 
 history is as good a preparation as can be made 
 for the understanding of our present political and 
 social affairs. Professor Turner says : 
 
 " Loria, the Italian economist, has urged the study 
 of colonial life as an aid in understanding the 
 stages of European development, affirming that 
 colonial settlement is for economic science what the 
 mountain is for geology, bringing to light primitive 
 stratifications. 'America,' he says, 'has the key to 
 the historical enigma which Europe has sought for 
 centuries in vain, and the land which has no history 
 reveals luminously the course of universal history.' 
 There is much truth in this. The United States 
 lies like a huge page in the history of society. Line 
 by line, as we read this continental page from west 
 to east, we find the record of social evolution. It 
 begins with the Indian and the hunter; it goes on 
 to tell of the disintegration of savagery by the 
 entrance of the trader, the pathfinder of civilization ; 
 we read the annals of the pastoral stage in ranch 
 life; the exploitation of the soil by the raising of
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS 27 
 
 unrotated crops of corn and wheat in sparsely settled 
 farming communities ; the intense culture of the 
 denser farm settlement ; and finally, the manufactur- 
 ing organization with city and factory system. This 
 page is familiar to the student of census statistics, 
 but how little of it has been used by our historians. 
 Particularly in eastern states this page is a palimpsest. 
 What is now a manufacturing state was in an earlier 
 decade an area of intense farming. Earlier yet it 
 had been a wheat area, and still earlier the ' range ' 
 had attracted the cattle herder. Thus Wisconsin, 
 now developing manufacture, is a state with varied 
 agricultural interests. But earlier it was given over 
 to almost exclusive grain-raising, like North Dakota 
 at the present time." 
 
 2. At every stage in this progress our country 
 has been fortunate in the character of its leading 
 men. Looked at from the standpoint of the educa- 
 tion of the young, what can be more fortunate than 
 that we should have among those persons with whose 
 life and deeds every boy and girl is to become well 
 acquainted, such men as John Winthrop, William 
 Penn, Columbus, Roger Williams, Franklin, Wash- 
 ington, Samuel Adams, Marion, Robert Lee, Cham- 
 plain, La Salle, and many others who were persons 
 of very unusual force and excellence of character. 
 It can hardly be called boasting to say that no other 
 country has, in its early history (that part which 
 children most study), such a remarkable and superior
 
 28 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 body of representative men. When the persona\ 
 history of these people is once properly presented 
 to our boys and girls, its social and moral influence 
 upon the character of the youth of America must 
 be incalculably great. 
 
 3. This history is complete, authentic, and reliable, 
 so that the truth can be told without disparagement 
 to its culture effect. From the very beginning of 
 our history the main facts are well established. 
 Tfiere is po,,dim twilight of myth and legepd- such 
 as is peculiar to the history of every European state. 
 We know the essential truth about the men and 
 women who settled the thirteen colonies ; what 
 hardships and dangers they met, and what sort of 
 character they exhibited. All this is thoroughly 
 interesting and instructive to children, even more 
 so, perhaps, than the heroes and exploits of mythical 
 antiquity. 
 
 4. The story of^ our earlier national history in 
 colonia.1 times is full of^ those simpler, ruder forms 
 of inohistrial Ufe which furnish suitable working 
 problems for the children in manual construction. 
 The tendency of children to reproduce the condi- 
 tions and surroundings of those whose lives and 
 adventures are thoroughly interesting is well known. 
 The early pioneers in America were builders and 
 wgrker^s. hunters and fighters, men who knew how 
 to make and use the sp^de. the ajg, the oar, and 
 fishing tackle, the spindle and the loom. Their
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS 29 
 
 first constructions were of the rudest and simplest 
 character. Log-houses, breastworks, forts, and pali- 
 sades were among their first necessities. They 
 were compelled to build up everything from the 
 simplest beginnings in a land where absolutely none 
 of the conveniences and products of civilization 
 were to be found. They not only built their own 
 houses and made their own furniture and 
 
 they also prepared their own clothing from furs 
 and hides, or from coarse cloth which they had 
 spun and woven. From the forests they cut down 
 the trees, from which to construct homes and forts, 
 boats and ships. They cleared the ground and 
 raised their own crops. They went out in fishing 
 smacks and soon became bold and hardy fishermen 
 along the coast of New England, or equally bold 
 and fearless Indian fighters, or emigrants into the 
 region farther west. The clothing, tools, implements, 
 and weapons which they employed, the axes, levers, 
 wedges, guns, and cooking utensils, boats, and tackle. 
 were such as boys love to bring together for their 
 hunting and outing trips. The necessities of the 
 home and of the family caused them not only to 
 make clothing, but also to produce salt and sugar, 
 to put up meats and fruits, to raise vegetables, 
 poultry, and domestic animals, and to supply them- 
 selves thus with all the means of food, shelter, and 
 clothing which their ingenuity could devise. With 
 their own hands, little by little, they actually
 
 3O SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 produced all the material objects of a civilized 
 society. 
 
 The Indian life furnishes additional construction 
 for boys and girls. Manual employments, suggested 
 and stimulated by interest in these history stories, 
 are undoubtedly a strong means of converting his- 
 tory into personal experience, and of causing the boy 
 to realize, in the fullest degree, the historical events 
 in which he is absorbed. 
 
 For these and other reasons, we are disposed to 
 grant an unusual importance to early American his- 
 tory, and to give it a large place in the school work. 
 In fact it may well serve as the backbone of this 
 part of the course of study in history. Such parts of 
 European history as contribute to a better under- 
 standing of American history or deal with equally 
 important or kindred epochs in the life of nations 
 will be brought into proper relation to the similar 
 subjects in this primary course in American history. 
 
 The Selected Parts of European History 
 
 In the vast array of important historical material 
 furnished by the history of Europe, it is plain that 
 only a few striking and prominent incidents can be 
 incorporated into the graded school curriculum. 
 First, because much of that history is beyond the 
 comprehension of children, and second, because the 
 time possible for historical instruction is very limited.
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS 31 
 
 It would be a sad mistake to overload the children 
 with a mass of memorized detail, or to distress them 
 with a schematic outline of the whole. 
 
 There are certain epochs in European history, like 
 the coming of the Angles and Saxons to England, 
 the Norman Conquest, the Reformation, and the 
 Puritan Revolution, that have a world-significance. 
 They are like mountain peaks which tower aloft and 
 show the trend of great mountain chains. There are 
 also certain lofty characters, like Alfred the Great, 
 Caesar, Charlemagne, Luther, Alexander, Isabella, 
 Cromwell, and Napoleon, who have taught the world 
 such commanding lessons that every child should 
 have a chance to grasp in a few points the signifi- 
 cance of their lives. These great events and per- 
 sonages belong to the supreme thought and experience 
 of the race, and children should carry with them from 
 school a distinct remembrance of such characters. 
 In making the selection of these few conspicuous 
 topics we must always regard the age and capacity 
 of the children, and the real educative or culture 
 value of the material selected. 
 
 It is evident that biography must here also have 
 the lead. A few individuals of striking and convinc- 
 ing personality must be selected. Hannibal in the 
 Punic wars, Caesar in his conquest of Gaul and Eng- 
 land, John Hampden in the contest with Charles I, 
 Bismarck in the Unification of Germany, sum up in 
 their personalities the most important political ideas
 
 32 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and events. In intermediate grades the hero tales 
 of Regulus, Alfred the Great, Richard I, Robert 
 Bruce, and Leonidas may be employed. 
 
 Again, many of the topics in earlier American 
 history have their other half in Europe, and the 
 immediate events in Europe demand a clear presen- 
 tation. The stories of Raleigh, of Penn, of Columbus, 
 of Magellan, of La Salle, and of all the colonial set- 
 tlements have their preliminary basis of action in 
 Europe, and the preceding events in England or 
 Spain or France need a clear statement. Even the 
 lives of Franklin, of John Paul Jones, and of other 
 Revolutionary leaders are largely European in their 
 surroundings and influences. 
 
 There are also European topics which are but en- 
 larged treatments of American topics. The English 
 Revolution and the Commonwealth, the Reformation, 
 and the Colonization of America as viewed from 
 Europe are enlargements of the points of view which 
 we gain from the study of similar and closely related 
 events in America. As will be later seen, many 
 American subjects can be far better understood in 
 England or France after kindred events have been 
 studied on a smaller scale in American history. This 
 close causal connection between events on the two 
 shores of the Atlantic needs to be clearly traced out 
 in order to get a true understanding of the importance 
 and meaning of each. 
 
 It seems clear that children, by the time they
 
 THE SELECTION OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS 33 
 
 leave the common school, should have at least 
 gained not only a bird's-eye view of the large and 
 far-reaching events in European history, but also 
 considerable insight into a few striking character- 
 istics of each of the leading nations, as of the 
 Romans, the Germans, the Spaniards, the French, 
 and the English. When did these nations stand out 
 most prominently in the world's work ? Are they 
 still progressive or have they dropped behind in the 
 world's march ? A few of these conspicuous persons 
 and peoples may be treated with sufficient detail to 
 arouse a real interest and to produce intelligent 
 insight into their character.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 HISTORY STORIES USED IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 
 
 WE assume that American history will furnish us 
 the chief materials for our course of study in history. 
 
 In the three primary grades we plan for no regu- 
 lar historical instruction. The use of a few simple 
 history stories in primary grades at Thanksgiving 
 and Christmas time, and on national celebrations, 
 may serve as a prelude to the steady and purposeful 
 studies which begin in the fourth grade. In the 
 third grade also it may be well to discuss the family 
 and neighborhood traditions, and the stories of a few 
 of the early settlers in the home district. 
 
 The regular course in American history may be- 
 gin in the fourth grade with a. number of choice 
 pioneer^Jiistory stories of the United States. In 
 selecting and arranging these stories we are con- 
 trolled by two considerations. First, that they be 
 taken from the simple, primitive period of early dis- 
 covery and settlement, and not from the complex 
 surroundings of a more advanced stage of society. 
 Second, that the best early stories of the home state 
 should be studied first, and that the movement be 
 
 34
 
 HISTORY IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 35 
 
 gradually outward toward the neighboring states and 
 to the whole of North America and the world. For 
 example, in the Mississippi Valley states the pioneer 
 stories of that region should be the first history les- 
 sons for children, and later, the stories of the eastern 
 and far western states. In New York state the 
 stories of Hudson and Champlain would naturally 
 come first, while in Virginia, Raleigh and Smith 
 would have the preference. The order in which the 
 stories are taken up will thus vary in different parts 
 of the United States. Two chief reasons may be as- 
 signed for this. First, the character of pioneer ex- 
 ploration and discovery is essentially the same in all 
 parts of the United States. It has everywhere the 
 same simplicity and the same difficulties and dangers 
 to meet. Second, the chronology of pioneer events 
 has at first little importance for children. The great 
 thing is to produce strong impressions by a complete, 
 animated, realistic portraiture of a few leading char- 
 acters and the events in which they figured. 
 
 In nearly all cases the more difficult stories of 
 Columbus, Magellan, Cortes, and Drake may be 
 handled to better advantage in the fifth grade. Two 
 years (fourth and fifth) are thus given to the pioneer 
 period of American history dealing with the life ex- 
 periences of explorers and the very earliest settlers. 
 
 As indicated in the course of study, a number of 
 English and European history stories should be 
 handled in_these same grades. They spring from
 
 36 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 the earliest historical epochs, and have primitive sur- 
 roundings which children may understand. They 
 fit in well with the American stories. 
 
 It is our opinion that in teaching all the.se stories, 
 both American and European, the geographical back- 
 ground should be kept clearly in mind. Wall-maps, 
 globes, and blackboard sketches should be used in 
 every story to make clear the simple geographical 
 surroundings in which the action takes place. One 
 reason why the stories of Columbus and Magellan 
 are more difficult than those of Boone and Cham- 
 plain is that the former requires a knowledge of the 
 whole earth and of the maps then used, and of the 
 vague ideas then prevalent on geography. 
 
 Our first American history belongsto_the_ heroic 
 age. It was the blossoming time for deeds of indi- 
 vidual heroism. But it is practical and real. The 
 old heroes of mythical times had to do with mon- 
 sters and demigods, or with the huge forces of na- 
 ture in uncouth personifications, as Polyphemus, 
 Scylla, and Charybdis. The heroes of this new world 
 had more real and tangible hardships. Mountains, 
 forests, rivers, stormy oceans, wild beasts, and In- 
 dians, and other untold hardships and distresses of 
 people far from their sources of supply. The early 
 explorers and settlers of our land first discovered and 
 opened up its stretches of forest, mountain, and 
 desert ; then struggled manfully against savage diffi- 
 culties to gain possession of its soil, and finally
 
 HISTORY IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 37 
 
 labored slowly and painfully to build houses, roads, 
 villages, and all the later institutions of culture. It 
 can hardly be said that the earliest of these history 
 stories can be used to advantage before the fourth 
 grade, but for children of this grade they are well 
 adapted. 
 
 It is not uncommon to find history stories in use 
 in the first and second grades, and some even of our 
 kindergartners employ the story of Columbus and of 
 Washington and of others with still younger chil- 
 dren. They claim also that much interest is awak- 
 ened by such stories. We believe that children of 
 the first and second grades are not mature enough 
 to grasp these historical narratives in their geographi- 
 cal setting. We wish to use the stories at that point 
 where they will produce their full educative effect. 
 Nor do we believe that a story should be repeated 
 from year to year in successive grades. Let the 
 story, with its full accompaniment of local and geo- 
 graphical environment, be told by the teacher and 
 reproduced by the children at that time when they 
 are able to understand it clearly and receive a strong 
 and permanent impression. We have tested these 
 pioneer histories from time to time upon children of 
 the third and fourth grades, and have reached the con- 
 clusion that third grade pupils are not quite equal to 
 a satisfactory grasp of them. An exception to this 
 rule has been noted in the use of a few stories in con- 
 nection with Thanksgiving and other holidays.
 
 38 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The following discussion will make plain the quali- 
 tative elements in these stories that fit them for use 
 in the fourth and fifth grades rather than at other 
 periods of the school course. 
 
 The pioneer stories constitute the first stages of an 
 unbroken series of history studies, beginning in the 
 fourth grade and extending beyond the limits of the 
 common school. Taking up first the best early biog- 
 raphies of the home state, we advance to adjacent 
 parts of the country, north, south, east, and west, 
 until the main lines of pioneer life and its leading 
 characters in the earlier history of the United States 
 have been treated. 
 
 Children should begin history as soon as they take 
 a strong and intelligent interest in its simpler phases. 
 Till of late, American history was not taught below 
 the grammar grades. But now there is a strong ten- 
 dency to use biographical stories in intermediate 
 grades. This, we believe, is a correct instinct. 
 Some of the chief lessons of history can be better 
 taught in the intermediate grades than anywhere else. 
 The educative effect of heroic stories seems deeper 
 at this point than at any other time of child life. 
 There appears to be a peculiar fitness of early history 
 stories to children's minds at the age of ten or eleven. 
 
 What portion of our history is best suited to begin- 
 ners ? We think that simpje, thrilling biographies oi 
 early pioneer life are best calculated to awaken the 
 interest of younger children. They are plain and
 
 HISTORY IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 39 
 
 primitive, and withal so energetic and spirited that 
 they correspond to a child's physical and mental 
 moods. Their heroism brings out those marks of 
 prowess and courage, which children so much admire. 
 They are, in the main, free from the complexities and 
 entanglements of great wars, and of later political and 
 social institutions. The elements of personal char- 
 acter find for children a clear and full expression, and 
 the simple experiences of pioneer struggle and danger 
 make an indelible mark upon them. 
 
 In order to secure stories which are adapted to 
 children of this age, r.grtjjn limits in tbejr sgl^rtjon 
 must be observed. First, they should be biographi- i 
 cal stories, to secure simplicity and interest, and they 
 should exhibit the lives of men of high character and 
 purpose, such as impress the mind with generous 
 thoughts. Secondly, the conditions of society should 
 be simple and primitive, easily surveyed and compre- 
 hended. This condition excludes stories from the 
 period of the Revolution and of the Civil War, unless 
 they lie apart from the main struggle, and have a dis- 
 tinct pioneer character of their own. Not that 
 stories taken from the midst of the Revolution or of 
 the Civil War are less interesting and valuable, but 
 they should come later to illustrate the spirit and 
 temper of those times. The whole situation of a 
 story, its geography, and historical setting, should be 
 made transparent to the minds of children, and it is 
 impossible for them to understand the complex move-
 
 40 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 ments of armies in a great national struggle, much 
 less the state of government, legislation, and finance 
 inseparably connected therewith. 
 
 In the main, therefore, tfrese stor'^ g mng fo C)f - 
 lected from the narrow field of exploration and first 
 settlement, before society had assumed complex forms, 
 while commerce, manner of living, and government 
 were still in their simplest beginnings. In any given 
 part of the country, as in Massachusetts or California, 
 the period of exploration and pioneer life was brief, 
 but in the history of the United States, and of North 
 America as a whole, it has lasted from the time of 
 Columbus down almost to the present. In all its 
 stages it has been a period of hardship and danger, 
 calling out the most adventurous spirits and putting 
 men of large physical and moral calibre under the 
 necessity of exhibiting, in bold relief, their individual 
 traits. Such men were La Salle, Boone, Penn, 
 Clark, and Lincoln. 
 
 No other country has had such a pioneer history, 
 such a race of men as the early Friends, the Virgin- 
 ians, the Puritans, the French, the Scotch-Irish, push- 
 ing westward to subdue and civilize a continent. 
 The early_history of England, Germany^, or__Italy 
 
 The Spanish 
 
 explorers and conquerors of the New World teach us 
 mostly lessons of cruelty, rapine, and inordinate love 
 of gold. They serve as warning rather than as ex- 
 ample. But the best nations of Europe were sifted
 
 HISTORY IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 41 
 
 by persecution in order to find seed fit for the plant- 
 ing of those colonies, from which the United States 
 derive their traditions. There is scarcely one of our 
 states whose early history is not connected with the 
 stirring deeds of one or more of these noted pioneers. 
 No matter in what part of the country a child may be 
 born and reared, he may meet the best spirit of our 
 history in the early biographies of his own state. 
 
 Fortunate is that land whose early history is so full 
 of profitable lessons, for there is no part of its annals 
 that is destined to have such a telling influence upon 
 its growing children. If the Romans, by studying 
 their ancestral and traditional history, could train 
 up such men as Cincinnatus, Regulus, and the Scipios, 
 how much more valuable to our children are the 
 strong and sinewy examples of Washington, Robert- 
 son, Champlain, and Fremont. For moral-educative 
 purposes, there is no history so valuable as the biog- 
 raphies of our sturdy pioneers. 
 
 We believe that this pioneer epoch is the delightful 
 gateway through which the children of our common 
 schools are to find entrance to the fields of American 
 history. These stories not only interest, instruct, and 
 strengthen the moral fibre of children, but they are 
 an excellent vantage-ground from which to advance 
 into history, geography, and natural science. 
 
 As representative men, the pioneers settled some 
 important disputes and laid the groundwork for 
 later growth. They gave unmistakable proof of
 
 42 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 the quality and the strength of the materials that 
 went into the first framework of our western states. 
 There is scarcely a better way to begin history than 
 with the simple rudiments from which our later social 
 and political fabric has grown, especially when spirited, 
 heroic biography is the medium through which these 
 elements are brought home to the hearts and sympa- 
 thies of children. 
 
 In departing so widely from usage as to make 
 instruction in historical topics a regular part of the 
 school work from the fourth grade on, we assume the 
 value of historical studies as discussed in Chapter I 
 on " The Aim of History Instruction," and in Chap- 
 ter II of " General Method." But we now feel called 
 upon to justify still further and to emphasize by repe- 
 tition this choice of materials from our own history 
 for fourth and fifth grades. 
 
 In the first case, does this part of our history fur- 
 nish materials that are adapted to the understanding 
 and interest of children of this grade? In accord- 
 ance with our previous discussion, heroic biography 
 occupies the favored place in the hearts of children 
 of this age. It is not the lives of orators, scientists, 
 or even of statesmen, but of simple heroes, of men 
 who have shown power and skill and goodness in an 
 age when men battled single-handed or in small num- 
 bers against surrounding dangers. 
 
 So far as the schools are concerned, the fact has 
 been too much overlooked that we have in our own
 
 HISTORY IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 43 
 
 history an heroic epoch of surprising interest. A 
 collection of the best pioneer biographies of our 
 country, as shown above, is rich in stirring events, in 
 deeds of fortitude and nobility which are destined to 
 thrill the children with their high worth. Many of 
 the best episodes of our history are as yet entirely 
 unknown to our children ; for example, the watchful- 
 ness and resource of Robertson during the Indian 
 troubles about Nashville, and the boldness and 
 energy of George Rogers Clark at Kaskaskia and 
 Vincennes. These stories fulfil all the require- 
 ments of an exacting criticism even when put to 
 the test of class-room work with children. These 
 stirring, true descriptions of strong men and women, 
 of difficult enterprises, are able to awaken the deep 
 and permanent interest of children. For they have 
 the ring of true metal in them that will pass current 
 with all men in all ages. Our history, which is so 
 rich in inspiring educative materials, has consisted 
 too much, heretofore, in the study of skeleton out- 
 lines, in a memorizing of important events and of 
 chronological tables. This has often tended to dull 
 the interest in history or even to create a distaste 
 for it. There is no reason why children in their 
 earlier_vears should^not come^ in contact^ not with a 
 barren statement of important facts, but with tlie 
 personal deeds of men of energy and virtue. They 
 see these men in action and are strongly stimulated 
 by their spirit. The pioneer stories approach our
 
 44 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 history from its most attractive side, presenting im. 
 posing pictures. They not only interest for the 
 time being, but create an inclination toward the 
 study of our leading men and of important events 
 in the formative period of our history. 
 
 History stories have been introduced into our 
 schools in recent years, but they are often too 
 brief and didactic. A good story should claim a 
 child's interest from its own inherent merit. By 
 beginning early with truthful and appropriate biog- 
 raphies, we touch the heart of the child. In the 
 regular teaching of history the tendency has been 
 overwhelming toward a condensed and abstract 
 statement of the great events of our national life. 
 There has been much faith in the power of the 
 mind to assimilate the generalizations boiled down 
 into our brief compendiums of history. Even the 
 children's histories, in biographical form, have 
 been more anxious to load up with important facts 
 than to tell a good story. We have much to learn 
 in teaching history to children. It is no more true 
 here than in natural science that the mind can 
 dispense with concrete, interesting facts, the details 
 from which general statements may be later in- 
 ferred. By taking history in its simple but strong 
 characters we shall gather the best materials and 
 insure a strong interest. Andrew D. White, speak- 
 ing of the teaching of history at Cornell Univer- 
 sity, says : " In general modern history and in
 
 HISTORY IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 45 
 
 American history, while pains is taken to present 
 the framework and connections historically, the 
 filling-in is largely biographical. It is believed 
 that history is thus more surely made living and 
 real, that the development of principles and events 
 is more firmly planted into the thinking of students, 
 and that the ethical content of events may be 
 grasped as it can be in no other way." Professor 
 C. K. Adams says of the history course in the 
 German gymnasia : " The course is almost exclu- 
 sively biographical. Indeed, it is little more than 
 a succession of stories told with the especial aim 
 of making a deep impression upon the mind of 
 the child concerning some of the most important 
 of the great characters of history. Such a course, 
 continuing for two years at the rate of two lessons 
 a week, will be found to have given the pupil con- 
 siderable knowledge of a vast number of valuable 
 facts. And, best of all, the method by which this 
 information has been acquired, so far from taxing 
 the strength or wearying the attention of the scholar, 
 has been to him a positive source of recreation and 
 pleasure." If this biographical material is neces- 
 sary in universities and secondary schools, how much 
 more in intermediate and grammar grades. 
 I III the second place, besides securing a strong and 
 lasting interest, they are instructive in a double 
 [sense. The study of pioneer life in these concrete 
 forms throws into dark relief the difficulties in a
 
 46 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 primitive society of overcoming the obstacles in 
 nature. In our present condition of society it is 
 hard for us to realize what toil and effort have been 
 expended in securing our common blessings, e.g. 
 roads and bridges, tools and machines, houses and 
 schools, and security from violence. Pioneer life 
 reveals with great distinctness the intense difficul- 
 ties which beset men in the earliest stages of that 
 growth upward into our present civilization, when 
 the most necessary things, as food, ammunition, 
 medicine, and tools, and even salt were very hard 
 to obtain. Many of the children, even of the com- 
 mon people, have such an easy abundance of all 
 good things that they do not dream of the toil 
 that these things have cost. With the growth of 
 city population and luxury, with hundreds of boys 
 and girls whose sole aim is amusement, it is well 
 to return, in thought at least, and as far as possible 
 in experience, to the simple, primitive hardships of 
 our grandparents. 
 
 We desire also to secure an ^appreciative .insight 
 intO_the beginnings of sociaj^jecoiiomic. and j>pliti- 
 caL-Society. Children cannot understand this in 
 its present complexity. Going back, however, to 
 a simple social state, they may more easily see the 
 chief elements. One of the greatest lessons of 
 history is to discover how, out of simple early con- 
 ditions, step by step, our present society and govern- 
 ment have grown. There is no place where the
 
 HISTORY IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 47 
 
 simple foundations upon which the Americans have 
 built their institutions are seen with such clearness as 
 in pioneer life. Professor Frederick J. Turner says : 
 " American social development has been continually 
 beginning over again on the frontier. This perennial 
 rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion 
 westward with its new opportunities, its continuous 
 touch with the simplicity of primitive society, fur- 
 nish the forces dominating American character. The 
 true point of view in the history of this nation is not 
 the Atlantic coast, it is the great West." . . . "The 
 frontier is the line of the most rapid and effective 
 Americanization. The wilderness masters the colo- 
 nist. It finds him a European in dress, industries, 
 tools, modes of travel, and thought. It takes him 
 from the railroad car and puts him in the birch canoe. 
 It strips off the garments of civilization and arrays 
 him in the hunting shirt and moccasin. It puts him 
 in the log cabin of the Cherokee and Iroquois and 
 runs an Indian palisade around him. Before long 
 he has gone to planting Indian corn and ploughing 
 with a sharp stick ; he shouts the war-cry and takes 
 the scalp in orthodox Indian fashion. In short, at 
 the frontier the environment is at first too strong 
 for the man. He must accept the conditions which it 
 furnishes, or perish, and so he fits himself into the 
 clearings and follows the Indian trails. Little by 
 little he transforms the wilderness, but the outcome 
 is not the old Europe, not simply the development of
 
 48 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Germanic germs, any more than the first phenome- 
 non was a case of reversion to the Germanic 
 mark. The fact is, that here is a new product that 
 is American." 
 
 While this kind of pioneer history does not aim 
 to give us a comprehensive view of the great events 
 and movements in our national life, it does present, 
 with great distinctness, a few important events that 
 have had a formative influence upon all our later 
 history, e.g. the efforts of the French to get posses- 
 sion of the St. Lawrence and of the Mississippi 
 Valley ; later, the conflict between the British and 
 the Kentuckians for the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, 
 the claims based upon the discoveries and explora- 
 tions of the ocean pioneers, Columbus, Raleigh, 
 Hudson, etc. Again, the important Indian tribes 
 and confederacies are distinctively marked out, and 
 their influence upon the trend of settlement. Some 
 of the great characters of our annals, about which 
 the memory loves to linger, men who stood for 
 great and lasting achievements, are not only clearly 
 pointed out, but illustrated with sufficient detail to 
 give the colors of real life. 
 
 This leads us to our third point. Is the moral 
 benefit of a proper teaching of these materials 
 clear and positive? Simply to name a few of the 
 men is almost sufficient answer. Columbus, Raleigh, 
 La Salle, Penn, Marquette, Washington, Lincoln. 
 The deeds and character which these names suggest
 
 HISTORY IN FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 49 
 
 are what we desire to see emulated among the youth. 
 As a means of moral education, the history of 
 pioneer life is offered with great confidence. Moral 
 impulses and dispositions are cultivated by giving 
 the opening mind of the child a chance to admire 
 and approve right actions in others. These biogra- 
 phies may serve, in short, as a series of object lessons 
 in character and morals. In studying the lives of 
 men we pass moral judgments, and pass them with 
 fervor. The feelings and incentives aroused (espe- 
 cially if their daily practical bearings are kept in 
 mind) pass over into moral convictions which influence 
 our later actions. By a good selection of intrinsically 
 valuable history stories, which create a strong per- 
 sonal interest, it is possible, under good instruction, 
 to exert a direct moral influence in the formation of 
 character in pupils. 
 
 Method of Treating History Stories in Fourth 
 and Fifth Grades 
 
 Let it be assumed that we have found out what 
 parts of American biography and history are best 
 suited to instruct and stimulate children in these 
 grades. We are to consider next in what manner 
 they may get at and appreciate these stories. Would 
 it be possible to leave them entirely to the home and 
 extra-school occupations of the pupils ? Are they 
 likely, without school aid, to find the choicest epi-
 
 5O SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 sodes in our history ; and, having found them, will 
 they, unaided, get into the life and spirit of the men 
 about whom they read ? Or, again, supposing that 
 these materials are furnished to children in supple- 
 mentary readers, or even in school histories, to be 
 learned and recited, can we count upon the right 
 results ? 
 
 First, there are very few books touching American 
 biography or history which can be read easily by the 
 children of the fourth and fifth grades. Their aver- 
 age reading capacity is considerably limited. They 
 can understand many things presented to them orally 
 which they would appropriate with difficulty in a 
 printed form. Their power to think, reason, and 
 understand is much greater than their readiness to 
 grasp thought from the printed page. It is certainly 
 desirable to induce children to read biography and 
 history and to cultivate a taste for them as soon as 
 they have the ability and inclination. But average 
 children do not drink much from this fountain un- 
 less they have acquired some taste for its waters. 
 The oral treatment of these stories, when the per- 
 sonal interest, energy, and skill of the teacher give 
 the facts and scenes an almost real and tangible form 
 this oral treatment is the thing and the only thing 
 to give a child the best start in historical study. There 
 are doubtless a few bright children in every school who 
 will browse for themselves if only the suitable books 
 are put before them, but even these brighter minds are
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 51 
 
 apt to become slovenly readers if left without train- 
 ing in the power to realize and objectify the things 
 read. We have in mind, however, not the excep- 
 tional few, but the great body of school children, 
 and wish to determine what history can do to 
 strengthen their characters and stir up vigorous 
 thought. 
 
 A story becomes more graphic, interesting, realis- 
 tic, in the hands of a good teacher. Not only are 
 his descriptions more animated, picturesque, collo- 
 quial, adapting themselves to the faces, moods, and 
 varied thoughts and suggestions of the pupils, but 
 there can be a discussion of causes by pupils and 
 teacher, a weighing of probabilities, a use of the 
 blackboard for graphic drawing or diagram, a vari- 
 ety of homely illustrations, an appeal to the chil- 
 dren's previous experience and reading such as is 
 impossible in the mere memorizing of a book. 
 
 It is a favorite statement of writers and teachers 
 that children must learn to use books. But unless , 
 books are used with intelligence and spirit no good j 
 result follows. Thousands of children in our schools 
 use almost nothing but books, but after leaving 
 school never read books nor care for them. The 
 way to learn to use books is to learn to appreciate 
 and enjoy the things found in books. The text-book 
 has become to a large extent in this country a syno- 
 nym for dulness. Many teachers have deceived 
 themselves with the belief that even a dull, routine
 
 52 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 use of text-books would somehow make children 
 expert in the use of books. It may be said with 
 more truth that only those persons have learned to 
 use books who, after once learning to read, have 
 broken loose from text-books and have allowed them- 
 selves a free range among the books of spirit and 
 power. 
 
 No author, however talented or fertile in language, 
 can supply what the interest, resource, and skill of a 
 good teacher brings to the recitation. Any doubts 
 on the part of the pupils can be solved, any miscon- 
 ceptions corrected, when the pupils take up the oral 
 reproduction of the stories. 
 
 Where geography is involved, maps and sketches 
 can be discussed in such a vivid and cause-revealing 
 connection as to make the situations and the diffi- 
 culties clear to the mind's eye. Where persons and 
 scenes are presented, pictures may often greatly 
 aid the verbal descriptions. Comparisons with home 
 objects, in regard to size or resemblance in form, 
 give greater precision, reality, and spirit to the 
 thought products. 
 
 In history the oral presentation largely takes the 
 place of the object in natural science studies. We 
 desire to draw so near to historical persons, scenes, 
 or occasions as to stand in their presence, to so exer- 
 cise the imagination as to become the eye-witnesses 
 of the facts. It is impossible to reproduce history 
 except through the imagination.
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 53 
 
 When a person has read a play of Shakespeare 
 under the suggestion and stimulus of a thoughtful 
 admirer of the great poet, he will read all other 
 plays with improved judgment and appreciation. 
 When a child has learned how to interpret one his- 
 tory story through the aid of an enthusiastic teacher, 
 he will read other history stories with better under- 
 standing. A course of oral lessons in a series of 
 American history episodes and biographies is a 
 preparation for a later study of history in a double 
 sense. A keen and abiding interest is awakened in 
 a few of our stanchest men. A deeper and more 
 practical realization of the difficulties and hardships 
 of these men and of their physical environment is 
 secured. If we are to realize the significance of his- 
 tory and of men's conduct as there expressed, we 
 must see and feel their dangers, trials, and physical 
 limitations. The simple memorizing of facts and 
 descriptions from text-books manifestly falls far 
 short of true history study. How far a good teacher 
 may supplement, criticise, and energize the facts of 
 a text-book so as to give them actuality may be 
 fairly asked. But even before any text-book is or 
 can be used, we may get at the soul of the matter 
 through a direct personal presentation of stories by 
 the teacher and in the midst of a running fire of ques- 
 tions, suggestions, and reasoning at causes which 
 both stimulate interest and thought, and give a 
 strong tone of reality to the events discussed.
 
 54 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The Method of Oral Presentation 
 
 We have called for a vivid and realistic presenta- 
 tion of a narrative and its setting by the teacher. 
 
 In one sense this is a heavy demand upon teachers, 
 and one to which they are not much accustomed 
 to respond. Skill, facility, and tact in this line of 
 exertion are acquired by most teachers slowly. It 
 seems, however, to be a misapprehension to suppose 
 that only the gifted few are capable of this kind of 
 success. Those who are slow and halting in speech, 
 or who have no special gift for story-telling, may be 
 eminently successful. In truth, one of the first and 
 most important requirements of a teacher in success- 
 ful story-telling is to hold his tongue, to check his 
 volubility. He must, however, acquire skill in mak- 
 ing facts and situations vivid to children. He must 
 possess the magic wand which touches their imagina- 
 tions so that they construct pictures that approximate 
 the distinctness of reality. First, the teacher himself 
 must possess feeling and imagination ; he must see 
 things with great distinctness and detail, and he must 
 find homely phrases, striking or amusing analogies, 
 gestures, and facial expression. Graphic sketches 
 and outlines on the blackboard must be at his dis- 
 posal. He must learn to exercise all his faculties 
 with great freedom before a class. He must be 
 quick in sympathy and ready to interpret a child's
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 55 
 
 questions or remarks. The previous knowledge of 
 children, their home experiences, as well as facts 
 remembered from books, must be called out in eluci- 
 dation of the topic under discussion. But it is neces- 
 sary to use these home materials without allowing 
 either teacher or pupils to be drawn aside from the 
 main topic. The intelligent judgment and self- 
 activity of pupils should be exercised at every turn in 
 the story. They are stimulated by questions as to 
 facts, causes, probable sequence, reasons. 
 
 A particular kind of preparation for such oral 
 lessons, rendered obligatory by the whole character 
 of the work, is ilie^clear and definite arrangement jof 
 the story into a series of topics. It is not sufficient 
 to read the story through carefully so as to get a 
 clear sequence of events and a memory for the facts. 
 The teacher's mind should cast the story into a series 
 of unities or topics, each of which has a nucleus or 
 centre with a body of related facts which find their 
 cause and explanation in this centre. Each topic is 
 projected as a unit in the mind of the teacher. It 
 should be an essential link in a chain of important 
 sequences. In the recitation each topic should be 
 mastered before proceeding to what follows. As 
 each topic is presented by the teacher and repro- 
 duced by the pupil, a brief outline may be kept on 
 the board, of the topics discussed, and this outline 
 becomes the basis of all reproductions after the 
 whole subject has been presented.
 
 56 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 This power to get at the essential segments or the 
 pivotal points in a story is an excellent logical train- 
 ing for the teacher. He must see a series of events 
 in their essential aspects, in their causal relation, and 
 in their relative importance. Such a careful analysis 
 of a story into clearly distinct topics calls for a 
 thoughtful digestion of the materials, which goes far 
 toward a pedagogical mastery of a subject for teach- 
 ing purposes. A teacher must learn to be thought- 
 ful, logical, and clear-headed. 
 
 But if the teacher has learned to think sensibly 
 and to organize his lesson into prominent headings 
 which will stand a close logical test, it is clear that 
 the children will be trained into logical and rational 
 modes of thinking and study. Children will learn to 
 do more than simply memorize. They learn to 
 estimate and judge the value of the points discussed, 
 to discriminate between the important and secondary 
 facts, to notice the proper relations and groupings of 
 facts. 
 
 This series of topics upon which we have laid such 
 stress should be expressed on the blackboard in the 
 form of suitable words, phrases, or short sentences. 
 After a topic has been fully presented by a teacher, 
 it is often well to ask the children for a brief phrase 
 which suggests the gist of the matter. Some expres- 
 sion furnished by the pupils may serve for the head- 
 ing, or it may be modified, to give a more definite 
 and exact form.
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 57 
 
 The Reproduction by the Pupils 
 
 When the teacher has done his full duty in a 
 vigorous and clear presentation of the facts in a 
 topic, his next duty lies in devolving the work of 
 reproducing a story upon the children. It is for the i 
 pupils now to show how attentive they have been, 
 and how fully they can recall and express the ideas 
 already presented. Let the teacher firmly decline to 
 do the pupil's part of the work. Let him not pump 
 answers from the children. The briefest possible 
 questions, or corrections, or checks, or signs of 
 approval are all that is needed. Brevity and silence 
 are the teacher's chief merits at this stage of the / 
 work. 
 
 The topic should generally be reproduced more 
 than once; at first, perhaps, by one of the readier 
 pupils, and thetis. by two or three others. The 
 children's reproductions will show misconceptions 
 that must be corrected by other pupils or by the 
 teacher. Still further explanations may be given by 
 the teacher after the child's work is finished. We 
 cannot be satisfied with anything short of a thorough 
 appropriation of the facts as at first presented. It 
 will pay to stick to one topic till the victory is com- 
 plete. The children have no books to study, and if 
 they ever get the facts, they must do it now. The 
 welding must take place while the iron is hot or it
 
 58 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 will never be done. Close attention is indispensable 
 in this work, and if it can be first secured by the 
 teacher in the classroom, its effects will be felt in 
 their home and private studies. If children dawdle 
 when studying at home, it is partially because they 
 are allowed to dawdle during recitations at school. 
 
 One of the incidental advantages that springs from 
 ^ral_presentatiorj anH rpprn^nrtinn of history stories 
 is_a jstraightfpj[ward, forcible use^of_good^ English. 
 But many corrections of faulty words and phrases 
 are made necessary. These corrections may be 
 made quietly by the teacher without seriously inter- 
 rupting the pupil's course of thought. Our primary 
 aim, however, is not language drill, but the culture 
 that liec in history. 
 
 After a series of topics has been worked out with 
 alternate presentation and reproduction, it is in place 
 to call for a full narration of the whole subject by 
 one or more pupils. The brief outline on the board 
 ought to be sufficient to guide the pupil without ques- 
 tions from the instructor. Success in this reproduc- 
 tion is a final test of the mastery of the story. The 
 topics presented one day, however, should be re- 
 viewed the next by the students, and this repe- 
 tition continued till the mastery is felt to be 
 satisfactory. 
 
 The children should keep a blank-book, such as an 
 
 7 ordinary composition book, into which the outlines 
 developed may be copied by the children once or
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 59 
 
 twice a week. It should be done in ink, with neat- 
 ness and care, and these outlines may serve well, 
 at the close of the term, for the final review and 
 reproduction. 
 
 Difficulties 
 
 There are gp ;YPra1 difficulties in the way of sat- 
 isfactory oral jyork of the kind described which 
 prevent practical teachers from undertaking it : 
 
 i. In the training of our teachers^ not much care 
 is taken to acquire the ability to present a subject 
 well to a class. It is an art difficult to acquire in 
 many cases, and not generally regarded as valuable. 
 The function of the teacher has been found in assign- 
 ing and testing rather than in the presentation of 
 knowledge. 
 
 An oral method of teaching is liable to great 
 abuses, because it is really a difficult art. But it is 
 reasonable for us to raise the question whether a 
 teacher, in declining to treat certain subjects orally 
 which are best adapted to it, is not consulting his 
 convenience and laziness rather than the rules of his 
 art. If a teacher does not know a subject well 
 enough to present it in a clear and interesting way 
 to his class, he does not know it as well as a teacher 
 should. He has not thoroughly assimilated it and 
 organized it in his own mind. The teacher who is 
 called upon to present a lesson to a class will master
 
 60 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 it in a more effective way than the mere hearer ot 
 recitations. He will also seek to adapt his facts to 
 the minds of the class and to make them clear by 
 means of drawings or illustrations and other devices. 
 If his own mind is awake and aglow with the ideas 
 he is discussing or presenting, the children's thoughts 
 will kindle. If it is possible to put such safeguards 
 around oral teaching as will keep it from degenerat- 
 ing into talk, we shall find it a means of stimulus. 
 
 Clear, vivid, animated presentation of ideas to a 
 class, though difficult, is an excellent aim for teachers 
 to keep in view, because it will regenerate their 
 school activity. There are, of course, a good many 
 lessons in arithmetic, grammar, and reading that 
 must be learned from text-books. To these our 
 remarks apply but indirectly. In geography, history, 
 language, and natural science there are lessons in 
 plenty that call for oral treatment, where pupil and 
 teacher come face to face in the discussion of facts. 
 
 2. Oral teaching calls for close and constant 
 attention from all jpembers_oj^ a class a somewhat 
 difficult thing to secure. The habit of inattention 
 formed in our schools reveals one of the most vul- 
 nerable points in our present method. There is a 
 striking difference between American and European 
 schools of the better sort, in this respect 
 
 An exclusive text-book method of studying and 
 teaching undermines attention in the classroom. 
 The strongest attention is required in learning the
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 6l 
 
 lesson before the recitation, but the class period is 
 characterized by general looseness, except for each 
 particular child when called up to recite. 
 
 An oral method is based fundamentally upon strict 
 attention. The facts must be acquired in the class, 
 or not at all. The habits of attention formed in good / 
 classroom work will also strengthen the children in 
 home study and initiate them into the right method 
 of attention and study. In reply to all this, it may 
 be truly said that a vigorous teacher will secure 
 attention whether teaching orally or from a text- 
 book. However true this may be, there is a natural 
 tendency to laxity in a text-book method, while the 
 necessity for close attention is much more apparent 
 and is really imperative in an oral presentation and 
 treatment. 
 
 3. The growth of self-activity in the children should 
 spring directly from oral instruction. But the idea 
 that children should do everything for themselves, 
 by their own self-activity, has been commonly used 
 to support our text-book method and to bring dis- 
 credit upon oral teaching. The ridicule heaped upon 
 the " pouring in " and " drawing out " process has 
 also confirmed us in the belief that our present method / 
 of learning and reciting from books is, after all, the 
 best. 
 
 It is an admitted fact that children in our inter- 
 mediate and grammar grades in town schools have 
 very little self-reliance or thoughtfulness. They are
 
 62 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 overwhelmingly inclined to mechanical methods of 
 
 work, memorizing phrases in arithmetic, geography, 
 
 > and grammar. After an infinite amount of talking 
 
 , \ about self -reliance, and s.e.lf-activity by teachers, chil- 
 
 i . t * 
 
 I dren become neither self-reliant nor self-active. Such 
 terms as " self-activity " and " self-reliance " may be 
 bandied about among teachers forever, but they will 
 not save us from the inherent weaknesses of mechani- 
 | cal methods in teaching. What we need is more 
 1 energy, spirit, and interest in the subjects, both 
 1 among teachers and pupils. Will good oral teaching 
 help us in this respect ? There is some danger that 
 our ideal of a teacher will be lowered by constantly 
 thinking of him as a drill-master, a hearer of recita- 
 tions, a tester of acquired facts. Xhe best thing that 
 a Jeacher q&T\ jo i tfl stimulate and arpugp- 
 
 The real genesis of self-activity and power to think 
 should be found in these oral lessons where the in- 
 structor can adapt his explanations and questions to 
 the individuals of his class. This is the best place 
 to find out what is in a boy, and to bring out all the 
 facts of his experience in the search for causes. The 
 oral lesson, above all others, is the place to throw a 
 child back upon his own resources of thought But 
 this requires expert skill. 
 
 4. It is difficult to get teachers to properly organize 
 an oral lesson into topics, to uold in mind a clear, 
 logical outline of points, and to make this outline 
 the basis for reproductions and later reviews. They
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 63 
 
 forget to fix the chief points or topics as they go. 
 They move over the ground, but neglect to stake it 
 off as they go, and both teacher and pupils become 
 muddled. Without a clear succession of distinct 
 topics in oral lessons, the work becomes hazy and 
 scattering, and the results must be desultory. Such 
 an outline is indispensable if oral lessons are to be 
 logical, clear, and of permanent value. 
 
 5. We are often met with the objection that time 
 is wanting for such oral recitations in our present 
 school programmes. This is true, but programmes 
 can be modified. In several studies oral lessons have 
 found a recognized place in the school programme, as 
 is the case with general lessons, stories in primary 
 grades, and elementary science in all grades. In 
 these cases the text-book is acknowledged to be 
 inadequate. If the same is found true of history 
 lessons in intermediate grades, we shall find time for 
 oral lessons. Two devices may be used to modify 
 our present programmes. As oral recitations require 
 more time, let us have but two such lessons a week, 
 instead of five, and thus more than double the length 
 of the period. Form the school into larger classes, 
 combining several smaller classes into one for oral 
 history lessons. The general tendency of oral lessons 
 is to leave less time for seat-study during school hours, 
 but more for close, intent recitation work. 
 
 6. One of the chief difficulties that stands in the 
 way of good oral teaching is the lack of materials
 
 64 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 such as a teacher can use for oral presentation and 
 discussion. 
 
 The moment a teacher begins to treat a subject 
 orally, he calls for more abundant and detailed mate- 
 rials on those topics than our text-books furnish. In 
 geography, history, and natural science he goes on 
 a skirmish for facts that have more meaning than 
 the barren statements in our texts. He needs more 
 that is interesting and significant. 
 
 This is true in the history stories. We require 
 fuller and more detailed accounts of our leading 
 pioneers. Quite a number of books containing his- 
 tory stories for children have been published of late, 
 but most of them are too meagre. They are too 
 much in bondage to the old text-book idea that it 
 is a few leading facts that we want instead of pictures 
 of men and of the times taken from life, full of 
 adventure, spirit, and circumstance. 
 
 These are some of the difficulties and prejudicial 
 customs that stand in the way of oral teaching. 
 
 There are other inherent objections that are em- 
 phasized by our experience. Oral teaching has been 
 looked upon as one of the fads. It is thought to 
 have had its day, run its course, and passed away 
 with its mistakes. It brought some life and enthusi- 
 asm into school work, but was barren of results. It 
 wasted time in fruitless discussions. . All this was 
 only too nearly true, and if oral teaching were now 
 introduced among us on a large scale, it would prove
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 65 
 
 but partially satisfactory. The chief difficulty lies in 
 the fact that the great majority of teachers are poorly 
 equipped for their work. They do not know enough 
 of their subject, and their knowledge is not organized 
 so as to be brought into presentable shape. A good 
 text-book is a godsend to a poorly equipped teacher 
 as well as a help to a good one. 
 
 But there is a growing class of teachers who 
 believe in their profession and are giving it their best 
 energy. Oral teaching offers to such a ladder by 
 which they may climb up to higher professional effi- 
 ciency and success. 
 
 There is also at present a strong drift toward 
 oral teaching in literature, natural science, and 
 geography. All experts are now fairly well agreed 
 that children cannot get their knowledge of plants, 
 animals, and natural phenomena from books. Ob- 
 servation, experiment, and oral discussion are the 
 only available avenues of approach to the natural 
 sciences. In geography, also, the best work in 
 third, fourth, and fifth grades is now done in oral 
 lessons. Clear and graphic description, oral dis- 
 cussion and reproduction of topics, make up the 
 essentials of good work. Maps, pictures, and books 
 are tributary to this oral work. If these subjects 
 are ever properly taught in our schools, it must be 
 done in early grades, without text-books, by letting 
 teacher and children stand face to face with the 
 facts.
 
 66 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Parallel with the effort to introduce natural science 
 and geography in spirited oral work is the effort 
 to get our best literature through good story-telling 
 into the lower and intermediate grades. First-grade 
 children cannot read fables and fairy stories ; they 
 must hear them. " Robinson Crusoe " in the second 
 grade, and mythical stories in the third, are best 
 presented by the living voice of the teacher. There 
 is no such vivid way of putting the best classical 
 myths and stories before children in the intermediate 
 grades as by oral presentation. 
 
 In history, also, a life-giving instruction at the 
 threshold of study is just as dependent upon good 
 oral presentation as in natural science, geography, 
 and literature. Experience abundantly shows that 
 to put history books into the hands of children at 
 the beginning of history study is a blunt mistake. 
 It is the special duty of the teacher to open the 
 way to book study by a skilful and interesting oral 
 treatment of stories. 
 
 The Solution of Problems in Oral Instruction 
 
 The question how far children can think for them- 
 selves, that is, can reason and draw inferences, is 
 in part for good oral instruction to answer. It may 
 seem strange to suggest that oral instruction in 
 history should set up problems to solve. It has 
 been so long the custom of history teaching to re-
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 67 
 
 quire merely the memorizing of facts that an inde- 
 pendent thought-process or self-activity on the 
 learner's part has been lost sight of. The chance 
 to solve problems presented in oral history lessons 
 opens up an interesting field both for teachers and 
 children. History stories are full of problems which 
 may stimulate the thinking power, if got before the 
 pupil in their true bearings. Stories of adventure 
 and heroic enterprise, such as the pioneer biog- 
 raphies, bring the actors into the presence of 
 difficulties and dangers which they must have the 
 inventive wit to circumvent or master. The story 
 of Magellan is a series of problems and difficulties 
 which this rare man made into stepping-stones to 
 final success. La Salle, in exploring the great lakes 
 and the Mississippi, is sometimes called the invincible 
 Norman, because he could never be conquered by 
 difficulties. The emergencies in which such men 
 were placed, and out of which they rescued them- 
 selves, furnish choice opportunities to the best oral 
 instruction. The story of the journey of the gold 
 seekers to California, in 1849, illustrates this. The 
 caravan of sixteen wagons, with forty-one men, was 
 moving slowly along the Nebraska River. On the 
 low hills, two or three miles away, they one day 
 saw a great cloud of dust made by a large troop of 
 horsemen ; probably Indians on the war path, or out 
 for plunder. What should the men and the long 
 caravan of sixteen wagons do in this emergency ?
 
 68 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 At this point the teacher may call a halt and ask 
 the children to solve the problem. It requires some 
 time and thoughtfulness, and even some blundering 
 on the part of the children ; but they will soon work 
 it out if left to their own power of thought, as the 
 author has discovered on several occasions. 
 
 Later, upon this same journey, the caravan of 
 heavily-laden wagons had just succeeded in crossing 
 the salt desert west of the Great Salt Lake. One 
 evening, worn out with travel, they reached the 
 head waters of the Humbolt River, where they found 
 a camping place and grass for their animals. While 
 the others slept, four men were appointed to guard 
 the camp. But, weary with travel, the four men, 
 one after another, fell asleep, and a prowling band 
 of Snake Indians from the north crept into the 
 camp, cut the ropes of the horses and mules and 
 drove them all away. Some three or four hours 
 later the men awakened and discovered their loss. 
 The Indians, on horseback, had a four hours' start. 
 Behind the weary travellers, toward the east, lay the 
 salt desert, which they had crossed with difficulty. 
 To the west the trail stretched away six hundred 
 miles to California and the gold mines, without a 
 settlement between. The wagons were heavily 
 loaded with all their goods. What should the gold- 
 seekers do under these circumstances? Leave this 
 for the children to decide. At least let them talk 
 it over and make their several proposals, some of
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 69 
 
 which may prove ridiculous or impossible. Let 
 them study the map if necessary. The more they 
 think about it the more they will realize the 
 desperate situation in which these men were placed. 
 If it were toward the close of the recitation, it 
 might be well to leave it, like a problem in arithme- 
 tic, for the next lesson. 
 
 In problems of this sort it is evidently the business 
 of the teacher to make unmistakably clear to the 
 children the conditions, that is, the environing diffi- 
 culties which beset the men. The great thing at 
 first is to get the facts which lead up to such an 
 emergency and to have them clearly imaged in the 
 minds of the children. In this connection appears 
 the very great advantage of having stories which 
 are simple, in which the surrounding conditions can 
 be made perfectly clear to their understanding. 
 This is a peculiarity of the pioneer history stories 
 to a marked degree. This is more so, perhaps, than 
 in any other class of stories that could be mentioned. 
 The trappings of civilization are removed. The 
 simplest conditions of nature must be met. 
 
 A general on the battle-field has to deal with a / 
 complex situation which a child cannot easily under- 
 stand. A statesman in a political or diplomatic 
 emergency is dealing with intricate and tangled rela- 
 tions which no child can appreciate. But the pio- ^ 
 neer heroes were face to face with simple, crude 
 situations which a child can grasp. For young chil-
 
 7O SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 dren, therefore, just beginning history, they are 
 strikingly interesting and appropriate. Biographical 
 stories taken from later and more complex periods 
 of our history, such as those of Hamilton, Jefferson, 
 Garfield, and Grant, are not so well suited to younger 
 children. They cannot appreciate these men and 
 their surroundings. They can solve no problems in 
 connection with them unless it be some exploits of 
 their boyhood life. Many writers of stories for chil- 
 dren have not discriminated between the simple and 
 the complex in biography. 
 
 Another advantage in many of these stories is that 
 each has a central aim or purpose, which is con- 
 stantly in the mind of the chief actors. This aim 
 points the direction in which effort must be ex- 
 pended, and any intervening difficulties must be 
 overcome. In one of his expeditions into the Rocky 
 Mountains and beyond, Fremont, in command of a 
 small band of explorers, found himself, about Christ- 
 mas time, at the foot of the east slope of the Sierra 
 Nevada Mountains. For several reasons he did not 
 wish to winter in this barren region, and decided to 
 cross the Sierra Nevada into California, in midwinter, 
 over a lofty mountain-range, wholly unexplored. 
 With this purpose in mind he set out to wrestle with 
 the difficulties of deep snows, rugged mountains, and 
 freezing weather. The aim set up gave purpose and 
 direction to every day's effort. 
 
 In such stories as these the causal sequence be-
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 71 
 
 :ween the facts is so close that the reasons for each 
 action can be clearly seen. It is the logic of neces- 
 sity which is here at work and which the children 
 are following with intense concern. This also fur- 
 nishes the back-bone of good thinking, and the pur- 
 pose held in mind is the infallible standard upon 
 which each proposed solution can be measured. 
 When George Rogers Clark, in Kentucky, decided 
 to drive out the English from the northwest, to 
 capture Vincennes and Kaskaskia, make friends 
 of the Indians, and thus wrest that whole region 
 from the control of the English, he had a well-set, 
 single purpose in his mind. All his later actions 
 consist of a close series of problems which he solved, 
 one after another, in working out this purpose. The 
 teacher who handles this story orally with fourth or 
 fifth grade children, should make these problems the 
 wrestling grounds of thought, the very centres of 
 interest, so that by the time they get through with 
 Clark they will have experienced his hardships and 
 triumphed in his success. 
 
 To get such a close causal connection of facts as 
 is here implied, the evidence on the main topics of 
 the story must be full and circumstantial. No brief 
 summary or outline of facts will serve the purpose. 
 Like General Grant at Vicksburg, we must settle 
 down before these strongholds of thought and fight 
 it out, if it takes all summer. In solving historical 
 problems it is necessary to see clearly the geographi-
 
 ^&.ft\^fot 
 nr up 
 
 72 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 cal basis, the physical facts which condition the 
 action. This requires a keen play of the imagination 
 in imaging the situations. It illustrates the close 
 relationship between history and geography or physi- 
 cal conditions. In these situations the teacher need 
 not be afraid of wasting time upon details. The 
 poet and the novelist have the wisdom to see that 
 at such junctures as these, full descriptive detail is 
 all-important, absolutely indispensable. 
 
 We return now to the question whether children 
 can think or no^. We are inclined to assert that the 
 power to think and to reason out conclusions in the 
 case of children depends upon their power to under- 
 stand the surrounding circumstances. Even little 
 children in the family and in the kindergarten reason 
 correctly within the sphere of their positive knowl- 
 edge. They often surprise us with their power to 
 draw correct conclusions before they can speak 
 plainly. One ground why we are prone to deny 
 reasoning power to children is because they cannot 
 reason about those things upon which grown persons 
 reason. The trouble is that children memorize easily, ' 
 and are often required to memorize things which they f /Y 
 lo not understand. Upon these things they can- 
 reason. Not even educated adults could reason 
 upon such a basis. But children can reason very 
 intelligently about all matters of thoroughly familiar 
 and interesting knowledge. The fact is that in the 
 family we require of children that they exercise their
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 73 
 
 reason up to the limit of their clear knowledge. Our 
 own opinion is that tfce reasoning power grows and 
 keeps pace with the development of the other powers L 
 or, at least, much more nearly so than the school- 
 master has supposed. Indeed, if things fail to ap- 
 peal to a childVreason and good judgment, he fails 
 tjo have an interest injhem. 
 
 The effort to reason out situations and results, 
 such as we have illustrated in the history stories, 
 deepens the interest and causes these stories to take 
 a very strong hold upon the mind. Such work takes 
 more time, but it gives a much clearer understanding 
 and produces a much more lasting effect. Even a 
 few stories treated in this way will bring the children 
 to the point of understanding what history really is, 
 and how it ought to be studied. The mere memoriz- 
 ing of the same lessons out of books can never pro- 
 duce this result 
 
 We ask children to solve problems in arithmetic 
 where certain facts are given and the child is to put 
 them together, and, by a process of reasoning, work 
 his way to another fact or conclusion. The arith- 
 metic would be worthless, or nearly so, without this 
 sort of training in reason. But we have seen that 
 suitable history stories for children are just as full of 
 problems as an arithmetic, only we have been accus- . 
 tomed to give the answers instead of the problems. // 
 In the nature of the case the historical problems have 
 much greater intrinsic interest than those of arith-
 
 74 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 metic. It is now generally admitted that history, 
 properly taught, gives a fine cultivation to a very 
 profitable kind of reasoning. It is also a kind of 
 reasoning along lines of probability, which mathe- 
 matics cannot furnish, but which common life daily 
 demands. 
 
 A text-book cannot treat history in this way. It can 
 simply present the cold facts and leave the student to 
 think or not to think, as he chooses. It gives simply 
 answers, not problems. The teacher in oral instruc- 
 tion must supply this vital deficiency. He must bring 
 the child up against problems and allow him a chance 
 to think about them seriously. 
 
 The Development Process of Teaching 
 
 If the text-book cannot supply this kind of teach- 
 ing, this setting of problems, this thought-struggle 
 with difficult situations, the teacher may step in to 
 supplement and invigorate the work of the books. 
 But this so-called development method will seem to 
 many teachers a poor makeshift or even perversion 
 of historical teaching, on the ground that the history 
 of the past cannot be drawn out of a child's mind. 
 History, they say, is a positive body of facts, not 
 dependent upon a child's thinking or experiences. 
 But in saying that this development process is pecu- 
 liarly appropriate to introductory history, there is no 
 pretence that the historical facts can be elaborated
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 75 
 
 out of the child's mind. In the example given above 
 the facts and conditions surrounding the actor are 
 clearly presented by the teacher, and, with these 
 things plainly in mind, a child is called upon to show 
 how the present emergency is to be met. The aims i ^ 
 and problems already discussed are of this thought- 
 producing character. It is for the teacher to centre * 
 the thought upon the pivotal question. Good oral 
 instruction consists largely in getting the preliminary 
 facts before the children, so as to produce thoughtful- 
 ness in answering pivotal questions. 
 
 In the midst of the effort to interpret new situa- 
 tions, still another phase of development instruction 
 of equal importance with that of problem-solving is 
 found. It is, namely, the effort to bring the subject 
 discussed into the closest contact with the child's pre- 
 vious experience. In short, he should be taught to 
 utilize, as far as possible, all the resources which his 
 life's experiences have accumulated. To keep a child 
 constantly at work revising and reorganizing his ex- 
 rjeriences as a means of interpreting or assimilating 
 new knowledge, is one of the most serious and fruit- 
 ful lines of effort open to the teacher. 
 
 It may be said, usually, that a child possesses in his 
 accumulated experiences the facts which, if properly 
 focused upon the problem, will help him to its inter- 
 pretation. The fires which he has kindled on some 
 picnic in the woods will help him to picture the camp- 
 fires of explorers. The bows and arrows and wooden
 
 76 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 guns which he has used in sham or real battles on the 
 playground will serve him in good stead for explaining 
 greater conflicts. 
 
 \ But_in_ many cases he is not made conscious^ these 
 pose connections between his own knowledge^ and 
 Ithe present difficulty. He stands in blank wonder 
 or confusion before the topic. The teacher must 
 come to the rescue and set up a line of communica- 
 tion between a point in his past experience and the 
 present emergency. The jroper question, perhaps, 
 needs to be dropped into his mind, and a flash of 
 intelligence- yjce. an electric spark is soon evidence 
 Qi_theiJ3fi_Qnnection bej-wppfl his 
 
 present. The teacher who is apt in the choice of 
 such questions, and who is constantly probing anj 
 sljrrinf among a child's previous thoughts and Apings. 
 thus causing him to use independently his store of 
 knowledge, is in so far at least a good teacher. No J, 
 better mental habit can ever be established in a child / '. 
 than that of falling back upon his own resources in/ 
 emergencies. 
 
 In arithmetic a teacher observes unmistakably that 
 a child's failure is his inability to bring to bear upon 
 the new problem facts or principles previously mas- 
 tered. The teacher must cause the child to recall a 
 fact from some table in compound numbers, or the 
 previous process of changing fractions to a common 
 fractional unit. It is a commonplace experience with 
 teachers in arithmetic to find children failing in that
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 77 
 
 subject because they do not think clearly the condi- 
 tions of a problem as based upon previous knowl- 
 edge. In a logical subject like arithmetic this defect 
 is very apparent. 
 
 But for the interpretation^^flL-Jiistorical facts^. 
 teachers are, slow to pe.rJy that children are 
 upon their previous knowledge. 
 
 They possess great store of interpretative experiences 
 in their home life and labors, in their games and 
 struggles on the playground, in their observations of 
 people, trades, and occupations, in travel and sight- 
 seeing, and in all varieties of intercourse by which 
 they become acquainted with people, their disposi- 
 tions and character. A good teacher will get at 
 these events and heartfelt experiences in previous 
 child life, will unearth these treasures and put them 
 into circulation. In the midst of the struggle of 
 thought in the classroom he will drop the pointed 
 question which causes a child to show a flash of in- 
 telligence and connect up with his past. Many people 
 never learn to do this kind of thinking, possibly be- 
 cause the schools do so little of it. Some teachers 
 may be slow to believe that a child's experiences are 
 the materials with which to interpret historical 
 events. But any boy or girl accustomed to ride 
 horses will put a vivid meaning into Alexander's 
 taming of Bucephalus, or Washington mounting his 
 mother's favorite colt. The games of boys and girls 
 on the playground have made them acquainted with
 
 78 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 those who are bold and fearless or timid and cow- 
 ardly, with harsh or selfish children or with those 
 who are kind and generous. These and other fa- 
 miliar classes of people they meet again among the 
 actors in history. A boy on the playground often 
 needs as much courage as he will ever find use for 
 as a man on the battle-field, though he be a profes- 
 sional soldier. 
 
 If these things be so, the teacher must be an ex- 
 pert in child things, in the lore of childhood days 
 and events. Perhaps neither College nor Normal 
 School supply this kind of knowledge. It is none 
 the less one of the chief requisites of a teacher. 
 > Each child, family, or neighborhood has jilso its pe- 
 culiaxjorms of experience, so that a teacher in any 
 class needs to be, to some extent, a local, a family, 
 or child historian. 
 
 These things give the reason why children learn- 
 ing merely from books often memorize without in- 
 telligent understanding. For many children Jt_Jg 
 "7 jt e^sier^to_memgrize_ than to thinkj^gr^to^reason out 
 results. In fact, children are often not made con- 
 scious of their power to interpret new lessons on the 
 basis of what they know. Oral instruction in the 
 hands of an intelligent teacher has here a fruitful 
 field. It is not claimed that teachers who use text- 
 books are regardless of this kind of training, but it 
 may be truthfully said that text-book work tends 
 toward mere memory drill, while oral and develop-
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 79 
 
 ment lessons tend to greater thoughtfulness and self- 
 activity. 
 
 Now the stories which children study shon|d_ h^_ N ^ 
 those which they can interpret on Jthe^ basis of ex- 
 perience. The simple surroundings of the pioneers 
 and of the early historical characters of Europe have 
 this objective character. They are easily imaged in 
 their relations to one another. Any child who has 
 been in the woods and fields, who has noticed streams, 
 marshes, thickets, and rough regions of country, who 
 has seen nature in storm and sunshine and through- 
 out the seasons such a child possesses in his own 
 experience most of the fundamental conditions that 
 surround the heroes of early story and pioneer life. 
 There is also a distinct advantage in bringing topics 
 of present study into comparison with those of 
 earlier lessons. This has not been very customary 
 in history instruction, but the biographies used in 
 the fourth and fifth grades are especially adapted 
 to this sort of review. The history stories, as impor- 
 tant units of study, have so many points of striking 
 resemblance to one another that such comparisons 
 are fruitful in results. Children in this way not only 
 learn to interpret new stories, but they also get a 
 stronger mastery and appreciation of the older famil- 
 iar ones. A few examples of such comparisons will 
 be presented. 
 
 The personal, experiences and character of pioneer 
 leaders may be brought side by side, as in the case
 
 80 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 of Champlain and John Smith. In how many points 
 were their experiences alike ? Both were explorers 
 passing up great rivers in boats or canoes and making 
 maps of new countries. Both cruised also along the 
 Atlantic coast, examining in part the same regions. 
 Both were in constant dealings with the Indians, as 
 friend or enemy. Both suffered the severest hard- 
 ships and wounds. Both were governors of little 
 settlements, and had to struggle for food and pro- 
 tection, and against disease and starvation. Which 
 of these men passed through the more trying diffi- 
 culties ? The details of the stories will suggest sev- 
 eral other interesting likenesses and contrasts. 
 
 A similar comparison may be set up between 
 Columbus and Magellan in their great voyages. In 
 what ways did they have similar experiences at the 
 courts in Portugal and Spain ? Compare Columbus' 
 first passage across the Atlantic with Magellan's 
 voyage across the Pacific. How do these two voy- 
 ages compare as to distance and hardship endured ? 
 Which had the greater difficulties in controlling his 
 men ? In one respect they both aimed at exactly 
 the same result. What was it? What was the re- 
 ward promised to each of them for his service ? 
 Which was the greater achievement, the voyage of 
 Columbus or the voyage of Magellan ? In making 
 such a comparison in the class many other interest- 
 ing points of resemblance and difference will be 
 called to mind. Maps of the world will have to be
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 8 1 
 
 examined to settle disputed points, and the leading 
 facts in the lives of both these men will be brought 
 out with greater distinctness. 
 
 Fremont's great exploring trip across the mountains 
 to Salt Lake and California may be compared with 
 the journey of Lewis and Clark up the Missouri 
 River and over the Rocky Mountains to Oregon. 
 Compare the passage of Lewis and Clark across 
 the high ridge of the Rocky Mountains with the 
 passage of Fremont over the Sierra Nevada in winter. 
 What was the purpose of each of these expeditions ? 
 Compare their experiences with the Indians, and 
 their boat journeys on rivers and lakes. What 
 parts of their journeys touched the same regions, 
 rivers, etc. Compare, on the map, the length 
 of these two journeys and the physical difficulties 
 overcome. 
 
 A comparison of the early life of Washington in 
 Virginia with the early life of Lincoln in Indiana 
 and Illinois, will bring out some interesting contrasts 
 under somewhat similar conditions of life. 
 
 Compare CorteY conquest of Mexico with George 
 Rogers Clark's campaign in the northwest, for the 
 capture of Vincennes and Kaskaskia. How did they 
 raise their armies ? In what ways did they treat 
 with Indians ? How do they compare in their courage 
 and hardihood in meeting and overcoming difficulties ? 
 What were the results which sprang from the con- 
 quest in both cases, and which were the more impor-
 
 82 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 tant ? Compare the present population and wealth of 
 the northwest with that of Mexico. 
 
 In order to suggest the scope and variety of such 
 comparisons, we will mention a few additional ex- 
 amples. 
 
 Note the different places and times where attacks 
 were made by Indians upon palisaded forts, such 
 as Boonesborough, Watauga, Detroit, and others. 
 Compare the personal exploits of such men as Robert- 
 son, Clark, Smith, Cortes, Washington, Sevier, and 
 others. Judge them according to shrewdness and 
 presence of mind in danger. Compare the English 
 with the French, and with the Spanish explorers and 
 settlers. The long canoe voyages on the rivers 
 and lakes, by such men as Hennepin, Joliet, Lewis, 
 and Clark and La Salle, are interesting topics for com- 
 parison. The battles fought, the defeats or victories 
 which followed, and the results to which these expedi- 
 tions led, may be measured one upon another. Place 
 the lives of leading men, or important events, side by 
 side to see what common lessons they teach and what 
 similar results follow, and one will be astonished at the 
 number of striking resemblances and bold contrasts 
 brought out. Such comparisons train children into 
 valuable habits of thought. They are a perpetual 
 test to the memory of previous knowledge. They 
 make reviews more instructive than the first acquisi- 
 tion of facts. They bring out new and interesting 
 points of view, and produce thoughtfulness in judging
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 83 
 
 men and events. Much time is required for this kind 
 of work, and not many stories can be treated in this 
 way ; but it will pay to do well whatever is attempted, 
 even though the stories be few in number. 
 
 During the latter part of the fourth year, children 
 should begin to read some of the simpler stories of 
 American biography, such as Eggleston's " Stories of 
 American Life and Adventure," Johonnot's " Stories 
 of our Country," " Pioneers of the Revolution," and 
 Hart's " Colonial Children." These are simple 
 enough for children of this age. Into such book- 
 stories they may put the same realistic interpretation 
 which the previous oral treatment has taught them. 
 The teacher should be able to supervise such read- 
 ings, and thus encourage children to a wider scope 
 of knowledge. It is fortunate to have this outlet for 
 the superabundant energies of the brighter pupils. 
 In their leisure time at home and at school, they may 
 profitably read such books. Possibly the teacher 
 may find time to talk with them about these read- 
 ings. 
 
 Children of the fifth grade, with their increasing 
 mastery of books, may greatly enlarge the range of 
 this supplementary reading. The thorough oral 
 treatment of stories is continued in the fifth grade. 
 They should be eye-openers as to the true method 
 of thinking and realizing history. There are quite a 
 number of excellent story-books of American history 
 which bright children of the fifth grade can read
 
 84 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and thus strengthen and enlarge their conceptions ot 
 life in the early heroic period of American history. 
 The knowledge thus acquired, in a hearty and whole- 
 souled way, will be of great value in the later study 
 of history. In such stories as these, children gather 
 the basal, elementary facts of history, the concrete 
 stuff out of which history is made, and which our 
 text-books, on account of lack of space, do not 
 contain. 
 
 The use of maps and blackboard sketches in the 
 first two years (fourth and fifth grades) should be 
 constant. There is surely no way of understanding 
 these historical tales without good maps. Both 
 teacher and pupils should acquire freedom in sketch- 
 ing local or larger maps, and in diagraming situations 
 on the blackboard. They serve the double purpose 
 of a means to clearer comprehension and of an out- 
 ward expression of thought It is not very difficult 
 to get children into the habit of map-making and 
 map-interpretation, if only the teacher sketches 
 freely. The physical difficulties imposed by rivers, 
 deserts, lakes, mountains, forests, and marshes, 
 should be made to stand out in the child's thought 
 by means of maps, pictures, diagrams, descriptions, 
 and comparisons of every sort. We are even willing 
 to set free the constructive activities of children to 
 reproduce as many of the objects of interest in the 
 story as they can find tools and materials to shape. 
 This is a natural impulse of children, and has been
 
 ORAL TREATMENT OF HISTORY STORIES 85 
 
 generally looked upon as a piece of youthful play or 
 nonsense ; but we are now beginning to see in it the 
 best educative forces of the child actually at work. 
 The building of miniature forts, log huts, palisaded 
 enclosures, caves, breastworks, canoes, boats, and 
 ships, the use of tools, weapons, and instruments, the 
 dress and outfit of the explorers, should be brought 
 into requisition as far as circumstances permit. The 
 things which cannot be made, can be represented in 
 collections of pictures and in such drawings as chil- 
 dren make. 
 
 Our conclusion is that problem solving and develop- 
 ment work are legitimate forms of oral instruction in 
 early history study. In order to explain more defi- 
 nitely these forms of instruction, the following story 
 of George Rogers Clark is rendered in full, and the 
 method of treatment is given at some length. A 
 somewhat complete series of the early American 
 stories is given in the three volumes of " American 
 Pioneer History Stories," for these grades. 
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
 
 AUTHORITIES. American Commonwealths, " Indiana." Roosevelt, 
 "The Winning of the West" 
 
 More than a hundred years ago, Clark, a young 
 man from Virginia, who had settled in Kentucky, 
 formed the plan of driving the English out of 
 Indiana and Illinois, and, by making friends of the
 
 86 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Indians, of bringing over the whole of this region 
 to the side of the Americans. Clark had been among 
 the people of Kentucky a year or two, was a skilful 
 hunter and woodsman, and had become a bold leader 
 of war-parties against the Indians. He was only 
 about twenty-five years old, but he decided to under- 
 take the raising of an army of Virginians and Ken- 
 tuckians, to go in boats down the Ohio, capture 
 Vincennes and Kaskaskia from the British, and 
 then force the Indians to be friends to the Ameri- 
 cans. Clark had no money to hire soldiers or to keep 
 up an army, and the men, unless well paid, would 
 be unwilling to go into such a dangerous under- 
 taking. 
 
 It was during the Revolutionary War, and the 
 English, assisted by the Indian tribes, had strong 
 forts at Vincennes, in Indiana, at Kaskaskia, Illinois, 
 and at Detroit, Michigan. At these places the Ind- 
 ians received guns, ammunition, and white leaders, 
 and were encouraged by the British to make war upon 
 the American people who were settled in Kentucky, 
 against men, women, and children. For it was the 
 practice of the Indians in attacking the settlers in 
 Kentucky, to kill or capture men, women, and chil- 
 dren. If they were not tomahawked or scalped, 
 they were carried away to the Indian villages north 
 of the Ohio River, and made slaves to the Indians. 
 
 Clark decided first to go back over the mountains 
 to Virginia to see Patrick Henry and his council.
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 87 
 
 Kentucky at this time belonged to Virginia. He 
 travelled on horseback through the woods and over 
 mountains, starting October I, 1777. He was a 
 month in reaching his home, having travelled 620 
 miles through the roughest country. Meeting the 
 governor he persuaded him that his proposed plan 
 was a good one and was promised help. He was 
 given $6000 in paper money, and each man who 
 should join his army was promised three hundred 
 acres of land. Clark was made a colonel of militia 
 and given permission to raise an army of seven 
 companies of fifty men each. 
 
 Clark now returned over the mountains toward 
 Pittsburg. He was well known along the Monon- 
 gahela River, and began to raise recruits for his 
 army from the settlers and backwoodsmen of this 
 district. At Red Stone Old Fort (Brownsville) on 
 the Monongahela, twenty miles above Pittsburg, 
 he embarked his men on flat-boats, called "broad- 
 horns," and floated down to Pittsburg. Here his 
 supply of powder and provisions was put on board. 
 A number of hardy settlers and their families joined 
 him to form a settlement near the falls of the Ohio. 
 At Wheeling more supplies were taken on, and at 
 the mouth of the Kanawha a company of recruits 
 joined him. With his boats, men, and supplies he 
 proceeded to an island just above the falls of the 
 Ohio. Here he cleared a place for a palisade and 
 blockhouse, and established the settlers with their
 
 88 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 families. Some additional men joined him here, 
 and he spent part of his time drilling his little army. 
 The men were not in uniform but wore the hunting 
 shirt, leggings, and moccasins of the backwoodsmen. 
 They were armed with the long, heavy, flintlock 
 rifles, and with hatchets and long knives in their 
 belts. Clark felt that the time had now come for 
 him to explain to the men* his full plan. He called 
 them together and told them for the first tirrie that, 
 he proposed to cdpture 1 Vincgnnes, and Kaskaskia. 
 At this some were frightened and a few from Ten- 
 nessee decided to return home, but Clark refused 
 to let them go. At night, however, they escaped 
 the guard, waded to the Kentucky shore, and took 
 to the woods. In the morning Clark sent some of 
 his more trusty men after them, but recaptured only 
 a few of them. 
 
 With the rest of the men, 153 in number, Clark 
 now made ready to set out for the capture of Kas- 
 kaskia and Vincennes. He saw that it was a very 
 dangerous undertaking, but for that very reason he 
 liked it the more. Getting into their boats they 
 plunged down over the rapids, and putting the men 
 to the oars they hastened night and day till their boats 
 reached an island at the mouth of the Tennessee 
 River. Landing here, Clark met a small party of 
 American hunters who had just lately come from 
 Kaskaskia. They told him that the fort was strong 
 and in good repair, the soldiers of the garrison well
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 89 
 
 trained, and the commander was watching the Missis- 
 sippi River for any hostile force that might come up 
 to capture the place. The French fur traders and 
 boatmen upon the river were on the watch to give 
 the commander notice of any war party. 
 
 Clark, however, did not intend to go up the river, 
 but to march across the country and to capture the 
 fort by surprise. The hunters thought this would 
 be possible. They joined him eagerly, and promised 
 to guide him by the shortest route to the fort. 
 Clark determined to march at once against Kas- 
 kaskia. Taking their new allies for guides, the 
 little army of less than two hundred men started 
 north across the wilderness, scouts being scattered 
 well ahead of them, both to kill game and to see 
 that their march was not discovered by any strag- 
 gling Frenchman or Indian. The first fifty miles 
 led through a tangled and pathless forest, the toil 
 of travelling being great. They mired in the swamps 
 and lost their way. After that, the work was less 
 difficult, as they got out among the prairies. But 
 on these great level meadows they had to take 
 extra care to avoid being seen. Once the chief 
 guide lost his way, and the whole party was thrown 
 into confusion. Clark was very angry, but in a 
 couple of hours the guide found his bearings, and 
 led them straight on their course. Clark, with his 
 army, moved along so quickly and quietly that no 
 one was expecting him.
 
 90 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 On the evening of the fourth of July they reached 
 the river Kaskaskia, within three miles of the town, 
 which lay on the further bank. They kept in the 
 woods till after it grew dusk and then marched 
 silently to the little farm on the hither side. The 
 family were taken prisoners, and from them Clark 
 learned that some days before the townspeople had 
 been alarmed at the rumor of a possible attack, but 
 they were now off their guard. There were a great 
 many men in the town, mostly French, the Indians 
 having for the most part left. The commander had 
 two or three times as many men under him as Clark, 
 and he would certainly make a good fight, if not 
 taken by surprise. It was Clark's boldness and the 
 speed of his movements which gave him a chance 
 of success, with the odds so heavily against him. 
 
 Getting boats, Clark ferried his men across the 
 stream under cover of the darkness and in silence. 
 He then approached Kaskaskia in the night, dividing 
 his force into two divisions, one being spread out to 
 surround the town so that none might escape, while 
 he himself led the other up to the walls of the fort. 
 Inside the fort the lights were lit, and through the 
 windows came the sound of violins. The officers 
 of the fort had given a ball, and the mirth-loving 
 French, young men and girls, were dancing and 
 revelling within, while the sentinels had left their 
 posts. One of the captives showed Clark a pos- 
 tern gate by the river side, and through this he
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 91 
 
 entered the fort, having placed his men at the 
 entrance. Advancing to the great hall where the 
 dance was held, he leaned silently with folded arms 
 against the door-post, looking at the dancers. An 
 Indian, lying on the floor of the entry, gazed intently 
 on the stranger's face as the light from the torches 
 within flickered across it, and suddenly sprang to his 
 feet, uttering the unearthly warwhoop. Instantly the 
 dancing ceased, while the men ran towards the door. 
 But Clark, standing unmoved and with unchanged 
 face, bade them grimly to go on with their dancing, 
 but to remember that they now danced under Virginia 
 and not under Great Britain. At the same time his 
 men burst into the fort and seized the officers, includ- 
 ing the commander, Rocheblanc, who was in bed. 
 
 Immediately Clark had every street secured and 
 sent runners through the town, ordering the people 
 to keep close to their houses on pain of death. 
 Before daybreak he had them all disarmed. The 
 French of the town were greatly frightened. The 
 unlooked-for and mysterious approach of the back- 
 woodsmen, their sudden attack, their wild and 
 uncouth appearance, combined to fill the French- 
 men with fear. They believed also that the Ken- 
 tuckians were harsh and cruel men. Clark did not 
 want to injure the French, but wished, rather, to 
 make fast friends of them. The next morning he 
 called together their chief men from the village and 
 told them that he desired in no way to injure, but to
 
 92 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 treat them as brothers and give them all the rights 
 of Americans. The French were so delighted with 
 this speech that they passed at once from despair 
 to the greatest joy, scattered flowers through the 
 streets, sang and danced. The other French settle- 
 ments along the river in Illinois heard with pleas- 
 ure of this good treatment and became at once the 
 firm friends of Clark. The French were Catholics. 
 When Gibault, the priest, asked Clark whether the 
 Catholic church might be opened, the reply was 
 that, as a commander, he had nothing to do with 
 the churches except to protect them from insult, 
 and that by the laws of the Republic, the Catholic 
 church had as great privileges as any other. 
 
 But though he had captured the fort and made 
 friends of the French, Clark was still surrounded by 
 the most serious dangers. There were many tribes 
 of warlike Indians in Illinois, Indiana, and other sur- 
 rounding states who had long been bitterly hostile to 
 the Kentuckians. Their chiefs and warriors gath- 
 ered now from far and near to see what had hap- 
 pened at Kaskaskia, and when they saw Clark's little 
 army they began to show little respect or fear of 
 him. His own army was not only small but, as their 
 time of service came to an end, many of them wished 
 to return home. His men were naturally indepen- 
 dent and wilful, and he had not the means with 
 which to hire them for longer service. Virginia was 
 hundreds of miles away across the mountains and
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 93 
 
 was fully occupied with the war of the Revolution, so 
 that Clark could expect no help from that quarter. 
 The British at Vincennes and Detroit had much 
 larger forces and supplies than Clark, and they had 
 the strong support of all the Western tribes of 
 Indians. Clark had not attacked Vincennes on his 
 way down the Ohio, because he feared it would be 
 too strong for him. 
 
 Clark now set himself to the task of overcoming 
 these difficulties. 
 
 Everything depended upon his having a brave lit- 
 tle army of trained backwoodsmen with which to 
 fight if necessary. He had four excellent captains 
 and he now persuaded one hundred of his men, by 
 gifts and promises, to stay with him eight months 
 longer. The others, about fifty in number, he 
 allowed to return to their homes. The French now 
 learned from Clark that he was about to return to 
 the falls of the Ohio and leave Kaskaskia to the 
 British. This frightened the French, so that they 
 begged him to stay. He finally, and with apparent 
 reluctance, decided to remain, but required strong 
 promises of support from the French, and enlisted a 
 large number of young Frenchmen in his army and 
 distributed them among his well-trained backwoods- 
 men. He then drilled this new army daily, till they 
 became thoroughly trained. In this way he kept 
 his army as numerous and strong as at first. 
 
 The British still held a strong fort at Vincennes
 
 94 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 on the Wabash. Clark now wished to capture this 
 place, but did not know how strong it was, nor how 
 many British soldiers defended it. The people liv- 
 ing in the village near the Vincennes fort were also 
 French. 
 
 Clark now told the French at Kaskaskia that he 
 was about to march with his little army to destroy 
 the fort and village at Vincennes, because they 
 belonged to and were friendly to the English. But 
 the French at Kaskaskia, who had friends and kins- 
 men at Vincennes, begged him not to do so. For if 
 he would wait, two of their best men, with other 
 Frenchmen, would go to Vincennes and persuade 
 the French people of the village to desert the Eng- 
 lish. Clark agreed to this and the two men, with 
 Gibault, the priest, and others, set out in a boat for 
 Vincennes. When they arrived they found only a 
 few English soldiers at the fort, and soon persuaded 
 the French inhabitants to join Clark. They also 
 went to the fort and compelled the men to pull down 
 the English, and to put up the American flag. As 
 soon as this news reached Clark he appointed Cap- 
 tain Helm, one of his best men, and a few French 
 volunteers to go to take possession of the fort and 
 hold it. 
 
 The Indians along the Wabash were so much 
 astonished at the sudden change that they began to 
 think of joining Clark. Tabac was an Indian chief 
 living on the river below Vincennes. Because his
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 95 
 
 tribe controlled the mouth of the river, he was called 
 "The Door of the Wabash." Clark sent word to 
 him to join the British or the Americans as he 
 pleased. After thinking it over a few days, Tabac 
 decided to join the " Long Knives " as he called the 
 Kentuckians. After this the other tribes along the 
 Wabash and around Vincennes were pacified by 
 Helm and Clark. 
 
 Clark now took upon himself the greater task of 
 dealing with the huge horde of savages, representing 
 every tribe between the Great Lakes and the Missis- 
 sippi, who had come to Illinois, some from a distance 
 of five hundred miles. They wished to learn just 
 what had happened and to hear for themselves all 
 that the " Long Knives " had to say. They gathered 
 to meet him at Cahokia (north of Kaskaskia), chiefs 
 and warriors of every grade, Ottawas, Chippewas, 
 Pottawottomies, Sacs and Foxes, and other tribes. 
 The straggling streets of the little town were 
 thronged with hundreds of dark-browed, sullen- 
 looking savages. They strutted to and fro in their 
 dirty finery, or lounged about the houses, inquisitive 
 and insolent, hardly concealing their thirst for 
 bloodshed and plunder. 
 
 Fortunately, Clark knew exactly how to treat 
 them. He was always on his guard, while seem- 
 ingly very cool and confident. But on the third 
 night a crowd of reckless warriors tried to force a 
 way into the house where he was lodging, and to
 
 96 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 carry him off as a prisoner. Clark had been suspi- 
 cious of their purpose and was on the lookout. His 
 guards were at hand and promptly seized the sav- 
 ages. The townspeople also took the alarm, and 
 were in arms in a couple of minutes in favor of 
 Clark. He instantly ordered the French militia to 
 put the captives, both chiefs and warriors, in irons. 
 His boldness was completely successful. The crest- 
 fallen prisoners humbly begged his pardon and said 
 they were only trying to see whether the French 
 were really the friends of Clark. They then desired 
 to be released. Up to this time Clark had treated 
 the Indians with great kindness, but he now refused 
 to grant their request, and treated them with scorn 
 and indifference, even when the chiefs of the other 
 tribes asked him to let them go free. While the 
 whole town was in confusion, Clark seemed wholly 
 undisturbed, and did not even shift his lodgings to 
 the fort for safety. But he secretly filled a large 
 room next to his own with armed men, and the 
 guards were kept ready for instant action. To make 
 his pretended indifference more complete, he assem- 
 bled a company of ladies and gentlemen who danced 
 nearly the whole night. The savages were much 
 perplexed, and held several councils among them- 
 selves during the night. 
 
 " Next morning Clark called all the tribes to a 
 grand council. He then released the captive chiefs, 
 that he might speak to them in the presence of their
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 97 
 
 friends and allies. After all the ceremonies of 
 Indian etiquette had been finished, Clark stood up in 
 the ring of squatted warriors, while his riflemen, in 
 travel-worn hunting-shirts, clustered behind him. 
 Taking the bloody war belt of wampum, he handed 
 it to the chiefs whom he had taken captive, telling 
 the assembled tribes that he cared neither for their 
 treachery nor enmity. He had a right to put them 
 to death, but instead of this he would escort them 
 outside the town, and after three days begin war 
 upon them. Pointing to the war belt, he challenged 
 them to see which could make it the more bloody. 
 Now that he had finished talking to them he wished 
 them to depart at once." All the Indian chiefs, 
 including the prisoners, replied in turn that they 
 wished for peace and were sorry that they had ever 
 sided against him. 
 
 " Clark then rose again and told them that he 
 came not as a counsellor, but as a warrior ; not beg- 
 ging for peace, but carrying in his right hand, peace, 
 in his left hand, war. To those who were friendly 
 he would be a friend, but if they chose war, he would 
 call from the thirteen council fires (thirteen colonies), 
 warriors so numerous that they would darken the land. 
 At the end of his speech he offered them the two 
 belts of war and peace. They eagerly took the peace 
 belt. But Clark declined to smoke the calumet 
 (peace pipe) or to release all his prisoners, and in- 
 sisted that two of them should be put to death.
 
 98 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The Indians even consented to this, and two of 
 their young men were surrendered to him. Advanc- 
 ing they sat down before him on the floor, covering 
 their heads with blankets to receive the tomahawk. 
 Then Clark at the last granted them full pardon 
 and peace, and forgave the young men their doom. 
 The next day after a peace council there was a feast, 
 and the friendship of the Indians was fully won. 
 Clark ever after had great influence with them. 
 They admired his personal prowess, his oratory, his 
 address as a treaty maker, and the skill with which 
 he led his troops. Long afterwards, when the 
 United States authorities were trying to make trea- 
 ties with the Indians, it was noticed that the latter 
 never would speak to any other white general while 
 Clark was present." 
 
 Clark had now settled his affairs with the Indians, 
 but a still greater difficulty awaited him. General 
 Hamilton, the English commander at Detroit, knew 
 well how small Clark's army was. He was a man of 
 great energy, and immediately began to prepare an 
 expedition to recapture Vincennes and drive Clark 
 out of Illinois. French spies and agents were sent 
 out by the English at Detroit, to stir up the Indians 
 in Illinois, Indiana, and the northwest. Hamilton 
 himself was to command the main army against Vin- 
 cennes. "Throughout September every soul in 
 Detroit was busy from morning till night mending 
 boats, baking biscuits, packing provisions in kegs
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 99 
 
 and bags, collecting artillery stores, and in every 
 way preparing for the expedition. Fifteen large 
 boats were procured, each able to carry from one 
 thousand to three thousand pounds. These were to 
 be loaded with ammunition, food, clothing, tents, and 
 especially with presents for the Indians. Cattle and 
 wheels were sent ahead to the most important portages 
 on the route. A six-pound gun was also forwarded." 
 Before starting, feasts were given to the Indian 
 tribes, at which oxen were roasted whole (barbecue), 
 while Hamilton and the chiefs of the French sang 
 the war song in solemn council, and received the 
 pledges of armed assistance and support from the 
 savages. 
 
 On October 7 the expedition left Detroit. Hamil- 
 ton started with 177 whites (British regulars, Cana- 
 dian French, and Detroit militia) and 60 Indians. 
 About 260 Indians joined him on the way, so that 
 upon reaching Vincennes his army was 500 strong. 
 In sailing the boats across Lake Erie to reach the 
 mouth of the Maumee River, they were overtaken by 
 darkness and a strong gale and were almost swamped. 
 The waters of the Maumee were low and the boats 
 were poled slowly up against the current, reaching 
 the portage, where there was an Indian village, Octo- 
 ber 24. Here a nine-miles portage was made to one 
 of the sources of the Wabash. This stream was so 
 low that the boats could not have gone down it, had 
 it not been for the beaver dam, four miles below
 
 100 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 the landing place, which backed up the current 
 " A passage was cut through the beaver dam to 
 let the boats through. The traders and Indians 
 thoroughly appreciated the help given them at this 
 difficult point by the beavers (for Hamilton was fol- 
 lowing the regular route of traders, hunters, and 
 war parties), and none of the beavers of this dam 
 were killed or molested. They were left to repair 
 the dam, which they always speedily did whenever 
 it was damaged." 
 
 The Wabash was shallow in many places, and 
 swampy in others. Frost set in and the ice cut the 
 men as they hauled the boats over the shoals. The 
 boats often needed to be beached and calked, while 
 both whites and Indians had to help carry the loads 
 round the shallow places. At every Indian village 
 it was necessary to stop, hold a conference, and give 
 presents. At one of these villages the Wabash chiefs, 
 who had made peace with Clark, came and joined 
 Hamilton. Some of Helm's scouts from Fort Vin- 
 cennes were also captured. War parties were sent out 
 to surround Vincennes and to cut off any messengers 
 that might be sent to Clark or to Kentucky. When 
 Hamilton finally reached Vincennes, all the French 
 deserted Clark and joined the English, so that Helm 
 was left with only two or three Americans, and they 
 were forced to surrender. 
 
 Hamilton's spies now brought him word that 
 Clark had but 1 10 men in Illinois, while Hamilton
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK IOI 
 
 had 500. Had he pushed forward at once to attack 
 Clark, he might have captured his force. He did 
 not fear that Clark, with such a small body of men, 
 would try to recapture Vincennes. He allowed the 
 Indians to scatter to their homes for the winter and 
 the Detroit militia to return to Detroit. Eighty or 
 ninety white soldiers were kept at the fort, and about 
 as many Indians. In the spring he expected to begin 
 the war again on a large scale with a thousand men, 
 and with light cannon with which to batter down the 
 stockades. He expected not only to defeat Clark 
 in Illinois, but to drive the Americans out of 
 Kentucky. 
 
 Clark, on the other hand, could expect no reen- 
 forcements from Kentucky or Virginia, nor any 
 further aid from the French in Illinois. In the 
 spring Hamilton was certain to have an army so 
 strong that he could not resist it. For a long time 
 Clark could not get exact information of what had 
 happened at Vincennes, nor of the condition of 
 things there. But at last news came from a French 
 friend of Clark who had been at Vincennes. He 
 was a trader, named Vigo, from St. Louis. Hav- 
 ing gone to Vincennes, he was at first imprisoned by 
 Hamilton, but afterwards was released and returned 
 to tell Clark the news. He said there were eighty 
 white men, besides Indians, with Hamilton in the 
 fort, with three pieces of cannon and swivels. There 
 was also at the fort plenty of ammunition and pro- 
 
 -
 
 102 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 visions. It was now the last of January, and earl} 
 in the spring other British soldiers, from Canada, 
 besides 1000 Indians, would join Hamilton. Clark at 
 once decided to march with his 170 men and 
 attack Vincennes before spring opened. He first, 
 however, sent out a large row-galley with small 
 cannon and 40 men. It was to go up the Ohio 
 and Wabash and be ready to assist the soldiers 
 who were to march across southern Illinois by 
 land. 
 
 With this 170 Kentuckians and French he set out 
 from Kaskaskia, on the seventh day of February. 
 The route by which they had to go was 240 miles in 
 length. It lay through a beautiful and well-watered 
 country of groves and prairies, but at that season the 
 march was one of hardships and fatigue. There were 
 no roads, no houses for shelter. There were no paths 
 through the prairies and swamps, no bridges over 
 swollen streams. The weather had grown mild so 
 that at first there was no suffering from the cold, 
 but it rained, and the melting ice caused great 
 freshets, and all the lowlands and meadows were 
 flooded. " Clark's great object was to keep his 
 troops in good spirits. Of course he and his officers 
 shared every hardship and led in every labor. He 
 encouraged the men to hunt game and to feast on 
 it like the Indian, each company in turn inviting the 
 other to the smoking and plentiful banquet. One 
 day they saw a great herd of buffaloes and killed
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 103 
 
 many. They had no tents, but at nightfall they 
 kindled large camp-fires and spent the evening mer- 
 rily around the piles of blazing logs, in hunter fash- 
 ion, feasting on beans, ham, and buffalo hump, elk 
 saddle, venison haunch, and the breast of the wild 
 turkey, some singing of the chase and of war, others 
 dancing after the manner of the French trappers 
 and wood-runners. Thus they marched hard but 
 gleefully and in good spirits until, after a week, they 
 came to the drowned lands of the Little Wabash. 
 The channels of its two branches were a league 
 apart, but the flood was so high that they now 
 formed one great river five miles wide, the overflow 
 of water being three feet deep in the shallowest part 
 of the plains between, and alongside the main chan- 
 nels. Clark instantly started to build a pirogue, or 
 boat, out of the trunk of a large tree. Then cross- 
 ing over the first channel, he put up a scaffold upon 
 the edge of the flooded plain. He ferried his men 
 over and brought the baggage across and placed it 
 upon the scaffold ; then he swam the pack-horses 
 over, loaded them as they stood in the water 
 beside the scaffold, and marched his men on." 
 They crossed the second channel in the same 
 manner. 
 
 The next day they came to a branch of the Wabash 
 which was so flooded that they could not cross. 
 Having found a dry place to camp, they waited till 
 morning and marched down to where this branch
 
 104 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 joined the Wabash. They were now ten miles from 
 Vincennes, seven of them being the valley of the 
 Wabash, covered to a depth of three or more feet 
 with water. They were entirely out of provisions, 
 and the boat was not expected for several days. Four 
 men were sent out to see if they could not find boats 
 opposite Vincennes, but they could not get to the 
 Wabash. Rafts were then made and four other men 
 were sent to search for boats, but they found nothing, 
 after wading in the water all day and night. One 
 little boat was found by another party, and two men 
 were sent with it to search for the big boat that was 
 coming up the river. For two days now, the men 
 had been working hard, with nothing to eat, and the 
 Frenchmen began to talk of going home. To keep 
 the men busy, Clark set them to work making canoes 
 on the bank. At noon they saw a party of French- 
 men from Vincennes coming down the river in a boat, 
 and called to them. They came ashore, told Clark 
 that Hamilton knew nothing of the little army, and 
 that the French people at the village were friendly to 
 Clark. They said, also, there were two canoes adrift 
 on the river above. One of these Clark secured. 
 This day one of the men killed a deer and brought it 
 in, and this gave a bite to eat for each of the 
 170 men. 
 
 They now had boats enough to ferry the army 
 across the main channel, and they did so the next day, 
 and the men walked three miles through the water,
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 1 05 
 
 in places up to their necks. It rained all day and 
 they camped on a little hill that night without food. 
 The next day they marched three miles further on 
 through the water with nothing to eat. That night 
 the weather turned cold and the wet clothing of the 
 men froze on them. The next morning the men were 
 nearly tired out. There were still four miles of 
 water to wade through, breast deep. Clark encour- 
 aged his men to follow and plunged first into the 
 water. It was covered with a thin ice, but the men 
 gave a shout and followed him. " Clark's tact and 
 resource were never more remarkably displayed than 
 here. As he had managed the Indians, so now he 
 knew just how to manage the Creoles. He laughed 
 at the hardships ; he played the buffoon, blacking his 
 face and breaking in upon the disconsolate crowd 
 with horse-play. Mounting ' a little antic drummer,' a 
 valuable ally with his pranks in the strait, on the 
 shoulders of a tall sergeant, the sergeant dashed 
 ahead into depths where the little fellow would have 
 found no bottom. Meantime the drum rattled on 
 merrily, and Clark, striking up a song or a cheer, 
 plunged after, making light of everything. But be- 
 hind the forced lightness there was a stern hand. 
 Twenty-five picked men formed a rear-guard with 
 orders to slay any one that faltered." 
 
 At last they reached the edge of the woods where 
 they thought the water stopped, but the dry land 
 was further on. Some of the men gave out, too weak
 
 106 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 to walk. The canoes ran back and forth and helped 
 the weak to reach land. As they touched the solid 
 ground many fell down, hardly able to stand any 
 longer. But the day was bright, fire was kindled in 
 the woods, their clothes were dried, and, luckier still, 
 some squaws and children came along in a boat with 
 a quarter of a buffalo, some corn, tallow, and kettles. 
 These were captured, and " after eating some broth " 
 the men felt better. Warmed, dried, and refreshed, 
 they began to jest over the hardships they had just 
 passed through. 
 
 But the fort and the village were not yet captured, 
 and Clark's little army was so small that if his ene- 
 mies knew how few soldiers he had, it would be hard 
 to capture the place. Clark decided first to seize the 
 French village near the fort, and to make the people 
 think his army much larger than it really was. In 
 the afternoon he captured a Frenchman who was out 
 shooting ducks. This man was sent back to the 
 French village with word that Clark with his army 
 was about to storm the place, and for all the people 
 in the village to keep quiet unless they wished to be 
 severely punished. " As the army advanced among 
 trees and over ridges, a shrewd ruse made the num- 
 ber appear larger than it really was. The little flags, 
 given the French recruits at Kaskaskia when they 
 enlisted, were paraded as ensigns of companies ; the 
 ranks marched and countermarched so as to be 
 counted three or four times over; while Clark and
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 107 
 
 his captains, mounted on horses they had seized, 
 galloped hither and thither as if ordering a vast 
 array." Hamilton knew nothing of Clark's army till 
 the village was taken and the Kentuckians began to 
 fire on the fort. 
 
 Clark threw up an intrenchment across the road in 
 front of the main gate of the fort, and that night the 
 British in the fort and the Americans in the town 
 kept up a constant firing of guns without doing much 
 damage. In the morning, early, Clark demanded the 
 surrender of the fort, but Hamilton refused. While 
 they were waiting for an answer, Clark's men cooked 
 and ate their breakfast, the first complete meal they 
 had had for several days. Then the firing began 
 again. The fort was surrounded on all sides, and not 
 a man could show his face or hand without great 
 danger. The Americans were fine riflemen, and 
 could hit a silver dollar at a distance of one hundred 
 yards. They kept behind houses, earthworks, and 
 logs near the fort, and kept up such a constant firing 
 of guns that several British soldiers were killed. 
 The British could not use their cannon because, 
 every time a port-hole opened, bullets flew into it 
 too fast. 
 
 In the morning Clark sent a summons to Hamilton 
 to surrender, suggesting that in case he had to storm 
 the fort, he would treat those captured as murderers. 
 Hamilton replied that British soldiers would do noth- 
 ing dishonorable. The attack upon the fort was then
 
 108 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 hotly renewed. In the afternoon, Hamilton raised a 
 flag of truce, and later met, at the church in the vil- 
 lage, Colonel Clark, who upbraided him for his cruelty 
 in sending out the savage Indians to massacre men, 
 women, and children. While Clark and Hamilton 
 were warmly disputing at the church, a scalping party 
 of Indians, which had been sent out by Hamilton 
 against Kentucky, returned to Vincennes with their 
 plunder and scalps. They were captured by Clark's 
 men, brought up in sight of the fort, and nine of them 
 were killed and their bodies thrown into the river. 
 Clark finally drew up conditions which Hamilton 
 accepted, and the next morning the British flag was 
 hauled down and the fort with its arms and supplies 
 turned over to Clark. The British marched out as 
 prisoners of war. Hamilton and his officers were 
 sent to Virginia as prisoners. The name of the fort 
 was changed to Patrick Henry. 
 
 Having heard that a relief force with supplies was 
 coming down the Wabash from Detroit, Clark sent 
 Captain Helm with more than fifty men to meet them. 
 He succeeded in capturing the whole party of more 
 than forty men, and $50,000 worth of supplies, which 
 were distributed as prize-money among the men. 
 
 The Indian tribes of Illinois and Indiana now came 
 to Clark and made peace. From this time on Vin- 
 cennes and Kaskaskia remained in the hands of the 
 Americans. In the peace of Paris, which closed 
 the Revolutionary War, the English acknowledged
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 109 
 
 the right of the thirteen colonies to the great North- 
 west which Clark had captured. 
 
 In 1779 Clark returned and settled at the Falls of 
 the Ohio. He received a vote of thanks from Vir- 
 ginia, and enjoyed an immense respect and popularity 
 among the pioneers, French, and western Indians. 
 
 Method of Treatment 
 
 In this story of Clark's conquest of the Northwest 
 we will attempt to illustrate the chief phases of 
 method in the oral treatment of history stories. 
 
 At the very beginning of the story the purpose of 
 Clark in his great undertaking is clearly brought out, 
 and this gives unity to all the later details of the 
 narrative. 
 
 The following outline is suggested as an example 
 of such a clearly defined series of topics as we have 
 recommended : 
 
 1. The aim of Clark. 
 
 2. The warfare with the English and the Indians 
 
 and the situation in Kentucky. 
 
 3. Clark's journey to Virginia and its results. 
 
 4. Recruiting the army along the upper Ohio. 
 
 5. The trip down the Ohio from the Falls to the 
 
 mouth of the Tennessee. 
 
 6. Secret march through southern Illinois and cap- 
 
 ture of Kaskaskia. 
 
 7. His kind treatment of the French.
 
 IIO SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 8. The many and serious difficulties surrounding 
 
 Clark. 
 
 9. How he renewed and strengthened his army. 
 
 10. The capture of Vincennes. 
 
 11. Clark's treatment of the Indians at Cahokia. 
 
 12. Hamilton's preparations at Detroit. 
 
 13. Hamilton's journey up the Maumee and down 
 
 the Wabash. 
 
 14. Clark's difficult situation and his plan to meet it. 
 
 15. The march across southern Illinois in February. 
 
 1 6. Crossing the flooded Wabash. 
 
 17. Clark's approach and capture of the French 
 
 village. 
 
 1 8. The attack upon the fort and its surrender. 
 
 19. Results of the capture of Vincennes and Kas- 
 
 kaskia. 
 
 20. Comparisons between this and other stories. 
 
 Such a distinct outline as this may serve as a basis 
 for a thorough handling of the story in the class- 
 room. At the close of the presentation of each topic 
 such a brief phrase or title can be placed upon the 
 blackboard, and as the class advances through the 
 story, a complete, simple outline of the chief steps is 
 kept clearly in mind. Such an outline of each story 
 should be put by the children into their note-books. 
 
 The importance of good wall maps, and especially 
 of blackboard sketches made at first by the teacher, 
 is very great. In setting forth the aim of Clark in 

 
 THE STORY OF CLARK III 
 
 the first topic of this story, the teacher, in two min 
 utes, can draw a large sketch on the blackboard, 
 including the Ohio River, a part of the Alleghany 
 Mountains, and the Northwest, including Kaskaskia, 
 Vincennes, and Detroit, which will make the whole sit- 
 uation at the beginning of the story very clear. A 
 wall map may then be used to show the relation in 
 which this blackboard sketch stands to the whole coun- 
 try at that time. The children should also be encour- 
 aged, in reproducing the story, to draw a similar sketch 
 on the blackboard, and to locate the places. Later, in 
 several parts of the story, special blackboard sketches 
 made by the teacher, while presenting and discuss- 
 ing the lesson, are necessary. For example, Clark's 
 descent of the river from Brownsville to the Falls ; 
 the trip from the Falls to the mouth of the Tennes- 
 see, and the secret march across southern Illinois to 
 surprise Kaskaskia. Later, Hamilton's expedition 
 from Detroit to Vincennes, along the Wabash, and 
 Clark's march across southern Illinois, in February, 
 against Vincennes. The route of every one of these 
 journeys should be made unmistakably clear by a black- 
 board sketch, and the children may be easily encour- 
 aged to make similar drawings in their own work. 
 
 The Solution of Problems 
 
 The story of Clark furnishes a large number of 
 excellent problems to stimulate the thought of chil- 
 dren. We will indicate a few of these. After form-
 
 112 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 ing his purpose, Clark's one great need was an army. 
 How is he to secure it ? This question may set the 
 children to thinking along the same lines upon which 
 Clark had to exercise his wits. But before this 
 problem is set for the children they must understand 
 the conditions which surrounded the Kentuckians ; 
 the warlike raids of the British and the Indians in 
 Kentucky ; the location of the forts ; the situation of 
 Kentucky, separated from Virginia by the broad and 
 difficult mountains. Children can do but little think- 
 ing here without a clear grasp of the geographical 
 situation. With these things in mind they may be 
 asked : How can Clark raise an army ? They may 
 answer : He will ask the Kentuckians to join him. 
 But are the Kentuckians willing to desert their homes 
 on a long march into distant regions, leaving their 
 families at the mercy of the Indians ? How are the 
 men to be paid for their months of absence from the 
 home, among dangers, marches, and battles ? Ken- 
 tucky at this time belonged to Virginia. Perhaps 
 Virginia might help them. In what ways might 
 Virginia be of service to Clark in raising an army ? 
 Such questions lead up to Clark's journey to Virginia 
 and its results. 
 
 Another interesting problem for Clark at Pittsburg 
 is this : What sort of an outfit for his army must be 
 provided before leaving Pittsburg ? This will bring 
 up the matter of boats, provisions, clothing, tools and 
 firearms, ammunition, presents for the Indians, medi-
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 113 
 
 cines and other things which would be needed in their 
 months' travelling and campaigning through these 
 new countries. Such a question may lead the chil- 
 dren to do some close and serious thinking along the 
 same lines upon which Clark was compelled to show 
 his forethought and good sense. 
 
 When Clark had reached the mouth of the Ten- 
 nessee River with his little army, it was necessary for 
 him to solve a difficult problem, namely, how to cap- 
 ture a strongly fortified place containing a well- 
 drilled army two or three times as large as his own. 
 Instead of telling the children just what he did, it 
 may be better to ask them what it were best to do 
 under the circumstances, and to spend perhaps five 
 minutes in considering proposed plans. This will 
 lead to a much sharper grasp of the plan which 
 Clark adopted and of its advantages. 
 
 After Clark had captured Kaskaskia, and by kind 
 treatment had won the friendship of the French, he 
 found himself beset with the most serious difficulties. 
 Each one of these is a problem demanding solution. 
 
 First, the term of service of his soldiers was about 
 up and the men wished to return home, but without 
 a strong army Clark could do nothing at all. How 
 could he manage to hold his little army together and 
 strengthen it? What promises could he offer the 
 men to encourage them to stay with him ? Could he 
 get help from any other source ? Possibly the 
 French might help him. What about the Indians?
 
 I 14 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Could he expect any other help from Kentucky or 
 Virginia ? Then follows the account of what he 
 actually did. 
 
 An equally serious problem is expressed by the 
 question, How should he manage the Indians ? 
 They were growing bold and defiant. They were 
 very numerous and had little respect for Clark and 
 his small army. How can he command their respect 
 and secure their aid against the English ? These 
 questions lead to one of the most interesting scenes 
 in the story, Clark in council with the Indian 
 chiefs. The boldness, shrewdness, and self-command 
 with which Clark solved this problem and brought 
 the Indian chiefs to the point when they begged for 
 peace and friendship is one of the most remarkable 
 acts in American history, and children can appreci- 
 ate its meaning. Some famous pictures have been 
 painted to illustrate this scene. 
 
 Clark's devices for securing the surrender of Vin- 
 cennes are a good illustration of his skill in manage- 
 ment. 
 
 Clark's chief problem in the latter part of the 
 story is how to defeat Hamilton. Hamilton, on the 
 other hand, has the problem of how to circumvent 
 Clark, and it will be interesting to inquire how each 
 will strive to get the advantage of the other. Clark, 
 however, is very remarkable both for the shrewdness 
 of his plans and for the desperate boldness with 
 which he executes them. When finally Clark
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 1 15 
 
 received news through Vigo of the condition of 
 affairs at Vincennes, what plan is it best for him to 
 adopt? What are his chances for capturing Vin- 
 cennes before spring opens ? What difficulties will 
 have to be met? Then follows the march across 
 southern Illinois to Vincennes. As the little army, 
 destitute of food, is struggling across the flooded low 
 lands of the Wabash, how will Clark keep up the 
 spirits of his men ? They are in the most desperate 
 condition of hunger and cold. How will he encour- 
 age the weak and helpless and faint-hearted ? 
 
 As Clark approaches the French village how can 
 he make the French in the village and the English 
 in the fort think that he has a very strong army ? 
 
 These are a few of the interesting and important 
 problems which Clark had to solve and in which 
 children will be greatly interested. In most cases 
 they should be allowed the privilege of working out 
 these problems in whole or in part. It will give 
 them a much keener appreciation of the story, of its 
 hardships and bold exploits. It will give the chil- 
 dren a chance to think and reason upon subjects 
 within the range of their capacity and interest, and 
 of estimating better Clark's character. 
 
 The comparison of Clark's exploits with those of 
 other leaders in American history may also serve as 
 an illustration of the advantages of such compari- 
 sons. The story of the early life of Washington, of 
 this series of pioneer tales, includes an account of
 
 Il6 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Braddock's expedition against Fort Duquesne. Le\ 
 Clark's expedition be compared with Braddock's. 
 Braddock was supplied at great expense with a 
 strong, well-equipped army of British regulars, with 
 all the guns, ammunition, and stores of a complete 
 baggage-train. Clark had first to gather up a very 
 small army, and his supplies were of the most meagre 
 sort, no uniforms, no cannon, no baggage train, and at 
 first no discipline. Braddock moved slowly because 
 he had to build a road for his army, wagons, and 
 train. Clark moved swiftly, stopping to build no 
 roads. The Indian and French scouts boasted that 
 they observed daily from the mountain-sides the slow 
 movements of Braddock's army, and were near his 
 camp every night. They finally set a trap into 
 which his whole army fell and was almost massacred 
 by a much inferior force. Clark, on the other hand, 
 moved so swiftly and secretly that he was inside the 
 fort at Kaskaskia before his enemies knew that he 
 had an army or was marching against them. The 
 commander of Kaskaskia was captured in bed. 
 Clark lost scarcely a man, while Braddock lost his 
 army and his own life. Braddock fought against 
 forces much inferior to his own in number and 
 strength, and lost everything. Clark's enemies were 
 much superior to his army in numbers and equip- 
 ment, and yet he was completely victorious and lost 
 scarcely a man. What was the chief cause of this 
 striking difference ?
 
 THE STORY OF CLARK 117 
 
 A comparison of Cortes' expedition against Mexico 
 with Clark's undertaking has some striking points 
 of resemblance which children may discover later 
 when they study the story of Cort6s. CorteV bold- 
 ness in marching with a small army against a rich 
 empire is like that of Clark. In the management of 
 the Indian tribes so as to secure the aid of the power- 
 ful tribe of the Tlascalans, Cortes showed a shrewd- 
 ness like that of Clark. Which of these leaders had 
 greater difficulties to surmount? Cortes had vast 
 numbers of enemies to deal with, but Clark not only 
 had against him superior numbers, but the western 
 Indian tribes were excellent fighters, and the English 
 troops were quite equal in training and courage to his 
 own men. 
 
 Which of these men was engaged in the more des- 
 perate adventures ? The retreat of the Spaniards 
 from the city of Mexico was a fearful struggle, such 
 as Clark did not have to encounter ; but if Clark had 
 not been the most fearless of men he would certainly 
 have been scalped with all his men by the Indians, 
 while the hardships of Clark's men in crossing the 
 drowned valley of the Wabash have scarcely been 
 equalled. Which of these men was the more skilful 
 in recruiting his army? In this respect they were 
 very much alike and were both successful. 
 
 In which case were the results more important, the 
 conquest of Mexico by Corte"s, or the conquest of the 
 Northwest by Clark ? Which of these countries now
 
 Il8 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 has the greater wealth and population, the northwest- 
 ern states captured by Clark, or Mexico ? Compare 
 their chief cities in importance. If the English had 
 held the Ohio Valley at the close of the Revolution- 
 ary War, how large would the United States be now, 
 perhaps f 
 
 After dealing with Wolfe's capture of Quebec, it 
 may be well to compare the results of the conquest 
 of Canada by the English and Americans with the 
 later conquest of the Northwest by Clark. In fact, 
 Clark's success was the next great step in preparing 
 the way for the growth of the American nation. 
 There are several other important events of American 
 history which may be brought into fruitful comparison 
 with Clark's enterprise. Anthony Wayne's capture 
 of Stony Point, and his later expedition against the 
 Indians of Ohio and Indiana and the battle of Fallen 
 Timber may be compared to advantage with the cam- 
 paign of Clark. 
 
 In his personal deeds there are some striking 
 points of resemblance between him and La Salle in 
 council with the Indians, also Champlain and Fron- 
 tenac in their dealings with the Iroquois. 
 
 It is well then to keep the children alert in the 
 direction of comparing men and events. It teaches 
 them to bring their previous studies into constant 
 review, to discover interesting resemblances and con- 
 trasts, and to bring into a closer relationship events 
 which teach the same lesson.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 
 
 THAT part of American history which is proposed 
 for treatment in sixth grade includes the early settle- 
 ments, the growth of the colonies r and the French 
 and Indian wars up_to the outbreak of the Revolu- 
 tion. Children at this age are not philosophers, nor 
 are they interested in abstract questions of govern- 
 ment and social order, but in all the lively, pictur- 
 esque^ and adventurous phases of life. 
 
 This period, as a whole, is well adapted in its 
 materials to instruct children because it is so simple 
 and primitive in all its surroundings, occupations, 
 social amusements, and politics. Even in the later 
 period there are no large cities. By far the greater 
 part of the people lived on farms or scattered estates. 
 Modes of travel by boat or on horseback, methods of 
 government and trade, were of a rude character, 
 adapted to the simplest necessities. 
 
 But in contrast with the two preceding years, we 
 now take up the chronological, consecutive develop- 
 ment of the colonies, including in one movement the 
 varied and complex elements of progress. Pupils 
 
 "9
 
 120 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 begin to trace the causes and results of historica*. 
 events. This brings us to the consideration of one 
 of the most difficult problems in teaching and even 
 in writing history, namely, how to carry along simul- 
 taneously the main threads of historical action and to 
 maintain a comprehensive grasp of the complex 
 forces at work. In nearly all of our text-books we 
 have brief summaries or comprehensive statements 
 giving an epitome of leading events in each period ; 
 but it is a miscellaneous and incoherent body of facts 
 which is thus collected. It is not suitable material of 
 instruction for children. 
 
 In Spencer's " Aims and Practice of Teaching " 
 Prof. J. E. Lloyd, while discussing the methods of 
 teaching in history, says : 
 
 "1 take the epitome method first, as the most 
 widely prevalent, at any rate in secondary schools, 
 and undoubtedly the worst. It consists in placing in 
 the hands of the pupil one of those cunningly de- 
 vised summaries of all English history, thickly sea- 
 soned with dates and tables, in which an amazing 
 amount of information is compressed within the nar- 
 rowest limits, and then expecting the hapless youth 
 or maiden to commit assigned portions to memory. 
 I well remember the surprise which a pupil of mine, 
 newly arrived at college from a school where this 
 was the plan, expressed on getting, in a history exam- 
 ination paper, questions which involved a certain 
 amount of thinking ; ' I thought,' was the naive
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 121 
 
 remark, ' we should have been asked to write out a 
 reign.' Indeed, I have a lively recollection of the 
 compendium to which I devoted many hours of my 
 own school days, the most compendious and syste- 
 matic of its kind, a history with all the life crushed 
 out of it. Such books resemble nothing so much 
 as the pemmican of American hunters they are 
 exceedingly compact, but at the same time a highly 
 unpalatable form of intellectual sustenance. No one 
 who has followed me in the account I have tried to 
 give of the function of history will need to be told 
 that the epitome system is radically vicious. There 
 is a well-known maxim in education 'the concise 
 is the opposite of the elementary,' and in no field of 
 study is this truer than in history. The compiler 
 who rigidly strips his narrative of all ornamental and / 
 illustrative detail may suppose he is giving the pupil 
 the very pith and marrow of history : he is, in fact, 
 robbing the story not only of all its interest, but of 
 all its value. For history is only worth studying in 
 so far as it vivifies the past, lights up the dim spaces 
 of the bygone world and fills them with figures which 
 move and feel and live. That Henry VIII was six 
 times wedded is of small importance to us, even 
 though we know the names and the parentage of the 
 ladies : what is vital is that we should have a clear 
 conception what manner of man he was." 
 
 If such a system of epitomizing and thus squeez- 
 ing the life out of history is to be rejected in second-
 
 132 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 ary schools, still more does it deserve to be utterly 
 excluded fror; the more elementary classes of the 
 common school. Instead of such an epitome we are 
 in pressing need of a carefully selected series of 
 suitable topics for children for a Course of Study in 
 history. In the chapter on the Course of Study we 
 have attempted to make such a selection. Such 
 topics when once chosen should receive a full, fruit- 
 ful, and instructive treatment. 
 
 In studying the colonial period of American his- 
 tory in sixth grade 3 as outlined in the course of study, 
 it is a question whether we are not entering upon 
 some subjects too difficult for sixth-grade pupils. 
 The charters granted by European states, the 
 royal prerogatives; the taxing power of Parlia- 
 ment, navigation laws, the gradual growth of rep- 
 resentative governing bodies in the colonies and 
 the religious disputes will seem to many too diffi- 
 cult for children of this grade. Against these 
 objections we may place the following consider- 
 ations : 
 
 I. In the earliest settlement of colonies we have 
 the simplest possible economic, social, and govern- 
 mental conditions. The origins of no European 
 state can be traced back to such simple, well-known 
 conditions as those of Plymouth, Jamestown, and 
 other colonies. Life was rude and plain, and every- 
 thing sprang from the simplest beginnings. Even 
 the religious life, inherited through centuries from
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 123 
 
 Europe, was simple and direct in its manifestations 
 and results. 
 
 2. The beginnings of government and the simple 
 transition from pure democracy to a representative 
 system can be seen as nowhere else. The powerful 
 tendency toward self-government through colonial 
 assemblies, and in opposition to the tyranny of royal 
 governors, can be easily understood. 
 
 3. The spirit and occupations of the people in 
 fishing, agriculture, lumbering, and ship-building are 
 such as children can understand. 
 
 4. The dramatic incidents of Indian war and reli- 
 gious persecution present no special difficulty. 
 
 5. Colonial history should be treated largely as a 
 series of colonial biographies. Interest should centre 
 in such men as William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, 
 Miles Standish, John Winthrop, Roger Williams, 
 Eliot, Davenport, Andros, Berkeley, Bacon, Wash- 
 ington, Montcalm, and others. A few leading biog- 
 raphies in each colony treated with interesting 
 fulness will serve as strong types to bring out the 
 aims and character of the people. 
 
 6. During the colonial period we are collecting 
 data in matters of government and social history, 
 whose general and deeper meaning will be better 
 seen when we come to survey the causes of the 
 Revolution in the seventh grade. When we reach 
 this point, about the middle of the seventh grade, we 
 can well afford to go back and trace up in succession
 
 124 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 the steps in the development of free government in 
 the colonies. This will be preceded also in the 
 seventh grade by a study of the Puritan revolution 
 in England. 
 
 The big units in the colonial period should be 
 selected with much care and each should be pre- 
 sented in a large, comprehensive, and luminous de- 
 scription. We purpose a full, rich treatment of each 
 of the four principal colonies, thus finding plenty of 
 time for descriptions and biographical detail. A 
 strong, Macaulay-like description of a few striking 
 episodes in the leading colonies will produce a much 
 keener interest and a stronger insight into our early 
 history than the foolish effort to stretch our drag-net 
 over all the colonies and gather in every important 
 event. We must experience the lives and struggles 
 of the colonists in the midst of sickness, danger, and 
 rough hardship, in the severe straits of famine and 
 Indian outrage, or governmental restraint and cruelty, 
 so as to feel as they felt, and to appreciate their im- 
 pulses and surroundings. As each settlement grows 
 into the proportions of a state, and its population 
 spreads over a larger territory, with increasing com- 
 plexity of interests, the careful selection of a few 
 prominent topics requires still greater wisdom and 
 leads to the most important results in teaching. 
 
 In the fourth and fifth grade biographies have 
 formed the natural units of instruction, and in the 
 sixth grade also some of these biographies should be
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 125 
 
 given a very prominent place. Other large topics 
 are furnished by the life of the common people, such 
 as the family customs, the religious habits, and their 
 system of labor. The plan of government as it 
 developed itself in each colony is always an impor- 
 tant topic. A few of the chief campaigns, especially 
 of the French and Indian War, may be selected as 
 units of study. 
 
 First in regard to the use of the biographies. The 
 lives of John Winthrop in Boston, of Roger Williams 
 and William Penn, are worthy of a descriptive treat- 
 ment as a means of graphic and almost dramatic pres- 
 entation of colonial happenings. The spirit of these 
 men, and of the colonies which they led, can never 
 be understood by children from short, condensed 
 sketches. It is the full account of the deeds, pur- 
 poses, and trials which can make history real. Later 
 on, the lives of Sir Henry Vane, Cotton Mather, 
 Governor Berkeley, Sir Edmund Andros, and Benja- 
 min Franklin deserve the same sort of narrative and 
 descriptive account. 
 
 A somewhat complete story of the life of Benjamin 
 Franklin may accompany the latter part of this 
 epoch. Much of his autobiography would serve 
 this purpose. As a public man, and in his personal 
 affairs even, his life is of importance to Pennsylvania 
 and Massachusetts and, as a colonial agent, to nearly 
 all the colonies. As a statesman he was wide awake 
 to public interests and led the way to a closer union
 
 126 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 of all the colonies. He was deeply interested in 
 practical schemes for improving the conditions of 
 life, inventing stoves and street lamps, encouraging 
 schools and the popular spread of knowledge. He 
 was plain, temperate, and frugal in his style of living, 
 and in very many respects the story of his life is suit- 
 able for children to study His plain sense and 
 humor, his economy and simplicity, his energy and 
 public spirit are excellent, and arouse children to self- 
 improvement and knowledge. Many parts of his 
 autobiography may be read by sixth-grade children 
 and discussed by the teacher in the class. Passages 
 also from " Poor Richard's Almanac " are quaint and 
 noteworthy. His own descriptions of journeys, 
 friends and acquaintances, both in the colonies and 
 in England, and his modes of self-improvement are 
 of great educative value. 
 
 Other representative leaders in colonial history 
 may furnish a spirited introduction to the vigorous 
 young life of these early American communities. 
 Children of this grade are not yet old enough to 
 understand or interest themselves much in the devel- 
 opment of purely political and social organiza- 
 tions. It is well to keep to the shady, inviting bio- 
 graphical walks where personal actions and interests 
 serve to illustrate the life of communities. It is 
 safer to let the panorama of history unroll itself 
 in a few great typical persons, with occasional 
 strong glimpses of the underlying forces which
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 12? 
 
 are formulating themselves into the institutions of 
 freedom. 
 
 In working up to a clear view of the political and 
 other ideas that were hammered out into consistency 
 and strength during the colonial period, we should 
 keep in sight a strong foreground of dramatic inci- 
 dent and of biographical detail. These furnish the 
 concrete materials behind which children can detect 
 and trace up the moving causes. It is easier to 
 approach large political and social affairs through the 
 lives of individuals than to generalize about institu- 
 tions and modes of life. The lives of such men as 
 Bradford, Standish, Stuyvesant, Oglethorpe, King 
 Philip, Otis, Frontenac, Sir William Johnson, Wolfe, 
 and Montcalm stand out clearly at important crises 
 and exemplify the chief influences at work. 
 
 Leading Topics from the Life of the Common People 
 
 Back of the lives of conspicuous leaders such as 
 we have mentioned is the life and struggle of the 
 common people. In some if not in all the colonies 
 the vigorous, independent folk-life was more power- 
 ful in determining the course of events than the 
 work of their strongest leaders. Especially in the 
 English colonies was this influence of the stout yeo- 
 manry manifest. The French and Spanish had 
 leaders of a marvellous personal force and energy, 
 but the rank and file were not of the nation-building
 
 128 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 material as compared with the English. In the his- 
 tory of the early settlements the strength of charac- 
 ter of the common man is strongly in evidence. As 
 they put themselves to building houses in the wilder- 
 ness, in like manner they raised the framework of 
 states and governments. They had a rude struggle 
 to find a footing in the simple industries of lumber- 
 ing, farming, and fishing along the New England 
 coast or in the tide-water region of Virginia. 
 
 Moreover, this life of the common folk presents 
 striking phases which are interesting to children. 
 We may mention their houses and home life, their 
 fireside industries, the gathering of the family about 
 the great fireplaces, their sober lives and family 
 worship, their antique furniture and dress, and even 
 their efforts at Puritan amusements. Their meeting- 
 houses and long sermons in cold churches, their 
 rigorous Sunday supervision of boys, and their love 
 of theology will always stand forth as remarkable 
 traits of character. They were Puritans, even to the 
 extent of persecution and outlawry of those who did 
 not agree with them. 
 
 Other large topics rooted in the life of the com- 
 mon people are the different systems of labor in the 
 colonies, including the indentured servants, slavery 
 and the patroon system, the contrasted modes of 
 farming, north and south, the aristocracies of New 
 England and Virginia, the toilsome modes of travel 
 by water and on land, the backwoods trapping, hunt-
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY I2g 
 
 ing, and scouting, the adventurous fishing and whal- 
 ing voyages, the transactions of town meetings and 
 colonial assemblies. Children should come into 
 hand-to-hand, close quarters with these people by 
 means of fine descriptions, personal narratives, his- 
 torical pictures, and eye-witness testimonies, such as 
 are now furnished abundantly in the best source 
 materials. 
 
 In describing the people in the different colonies 
 there is discovered a picturesque variety in manner 
 of life, as based upon great differences in language, 
 religion, and fatherland. The races which settled 
 America were of many strongly contrasted types. 
 The mirth-loving French are very sharply contrasted 
 with the sober New England Puritans. The Dutch 
 greatly disliked the shrewd, inquisitive Yankees. 
 The Quakers were a remarkably peculiar people, and 
 the gentry of the southern colonies had different tastes 
 and sentiments from all the others. The Swedes, 
 the Scotch and Irish, and the Germans formed also 
 strong contingents, with very pronounced peculiari- 
 ties, in several different colonies. The Indians and 
 negroes added a still more marked contrast to the 
 classes named above. 
 
 Incidentally, the countries of Europe, Africa, and 
 America, from which these different races sprung, 
 are brought into interesting review. The variety of 
 races, creeds, and nationalities among the early set- 
 tlers of America gives an astonishing diversity to
 
 I3O SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 early American history, for at that time each of these 
 diverse classes retained its peculiarities unmodified 
 by the others. In the treatment of each colonial 
 type a very interesting and vivid picture of racial 
 character and customs, very attractive to children, 
 may be drawn, and later on the comparing and con- 
 trasting of these classes with one another will prove 
 a lively and intelligent source of interest. We have 
 hardly been accustomed to enter deeply enough into 
 these matters in our school work to get the rich and 
 instructive lessons which they contain for the young. 
 The failure of our epitomized history text-books to 
 bring out these striking race diversities, these pictu- 
 resque peculiarities of different peoples in the early 
 colonies, shows clearly how they have failed to grasp 
 the significant power of the concrete side of history 
 instruction. Some writers have claimed that the 
 exclusive use of American history in our common 
 schools would make children narrow and provincial. 
 While we believe that our own histories should be 
 much enriched by that of European countries, we 
 still hold that these early narratives contain such a 
 variety of strong provincialisms that it amounts 
 almost to a cosmopolitan breadth. But in order to 
 understand these lessons, children must be allowed to 
 form brightly colored concrete pictures of the pecul- 
 iar modes of life found in the different colonies. 
 
 We have already discussed the importance of 
 biography, which is also an excellent means of bring-
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 131 
 
 ing out many details of private life among the people. 
 McMaster, and other historians, have set up as their 
 paramount aim this vivid description of life among the 
 people. By passages from such books, teachers and 
 children may refresh their imaginations with full and 
 adequate descriptions of the activities, amusements, 
 holidays, and family life of the masses. 
 
 A special means of giving greater intensity and 
 insight into historical events is the source material. 
 This comes directly from eye-witnesses and contem- 
 poraries of the events described. Of late it has been 
 carefully collected and brought within the reach of 
 teachers and school libraries. It is certainly a very 
 select means of reviving the history of our fathers 
 and giving it a substantial reality. It is now gener- 
 ally admitted that these quaint and picturesque de- 
 scriptions by eye-witnesses are incomparably strong in 
 their power to revive the past. Hart says : " As a 
 record, sources are the basis of history, but not mere 
 raw material like the herbaria of the botanist, or the 
 chemicals of a laboratory, stuffs to be destroyed in 
 discovering their nature; as utterances of men living 
 when they were made, they have in them the breath 
 of human life ; history is the biology of human con- 
 duct. Nobody can settle any historical question 
 without an appeal to the sources, or without taking 
 into account the character of the actors in history." 
 Hart's four volumes of carefully selected and 
 arranged sources, touching every important period
 
 132 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and topic of our history, give the most striking and 
 overwhelming proofs of the value of these source 
 materials in vivifying the past. By way of illustra- 
 tion a few sentences will be given from Vol. II, p. 65, 
 " Pennsylvania, the Poor Man's Paradise." " I must 
 say, even the Present Encouragements are very great 
 and inviting, for Poor People (both Men and Women) 
 of all kinds, can here get three times the Wages for 
 their Labour they can in England or Wales. 
 
 " I shall instance in a few, which may serve ; nay, 
 and will hold in all the rest. The first was a Black- 
 Smith, (my next Neighbour) who himself and one 
 Negro Man he had, got Fifty Shillings in one Day, 
 by working up a Hundred Pound Weight of Iron, 
 which at Six Pence per Pound (and that is the com- 
 mon Price in that Country) amounts to that Summ. 
 
 " Before I end this Paragraph, I shall add another 
 Reason why Womens Wages are so exorbitant ; they 
 are not yet very numerous, which makes them stand 
 upon high Terms for their several Services, in 
 Sempstering, Washing, Spinning, Knitting, Sewing, 
 and all the other parts of their Imployments ; for 
 they have for Spinning either Worsted or Linen, 
 Two Shillings a Pound, and commonly for Knitting a 
 very Course pair of Yarn Stockings, they have half 
 a Crown a pair ; moreover they are usually Marry'd 
 before they are Twenty Years of Age, and when once 
 in that Noose, are for the most part a little uneasie, 
 and make their Husbands so too, till they procure
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 133 
 
 them a Maid Servant to bear the burden of the 
 Work, as also in some measure to wait on them 
 too." 
 
 These source materials are short and simple, very 
 amusing and entertaining to the children, and provide 
 just those brilliant side-lights which no text-book or 
 single author can supply. Hart says again : " But 
 there are two sides to history, the outward events in 
 their succession, with which secondary historians 
 alone can deal, and the inner spirit which is revealed 
 only by the sources. If we could not know both 
 things it would be better to know how Mary Dyer 
 justified herself for being a Quakeress, than how her 
 trial was carried on. The source, therefore, throws an 
 inner light upon events ; secondary writers may go 
 over them, collate them, compare them, sometimes 
 supplement them, but can never supersede them. 
 
 " As for entertainment the narratives of discovery 
 are the Arabian Nights of history for their marvels 
 and adventures." 
 
 Source materials are not designed to make chil- 
 dren scientific investigators and critics of sources, like 
 a post-graduate in a University seminary. They 
 may, however, accustom a child to consult books 
 and authorities outside of his text. The four volumes 
 of source material mentioned above consist of simple, 
 short selections which both teacher and pupils can 
 use without any loss of time upon irrelevant ma- 
 terial.
 
 134 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The Chronological and Causal Sequence 
 
 In following out the story of a colony like Penn- 
 sylvania or Virginia a child may discover a steady 
 growth ; causes which he understands move on to 
 definite results. The early conditions in the colonies 
 are so simple, so concretely manifest, that he can see 
 the inevitableness of certain results, such as the 
 peculiar mode of plantation life in Virginia, or the 
 small farms, lumbering, and fisheries of New Eng- 
 land. Nothing is able to stir up more enthusiasm in 
 a class and to throw the children more upon their 
 own thinking power than a rich supply of suitable 
 facts from which they may search out the causes and 
 results of important events. By limiting our study 
 to a very few of the salient topics in colonial history 
 it is possible to go deeper into those ground-con- 
 nections between the facts. An event like the Al- 
 bany Congress of 1754 can be fully described, its 
 many-sided relations to the colonies and to England 
 examined, and Franklin's wisdom in his plan of 
 union brought to light. The intelligent tracing out 
 of these relations ties up the facts in such a firm 
 association that a clear understanding and a retentive 
 remembrance are assured. As examples worthy of 
 such cause-and-effect study we may mention the navi- 
 gation acts and commercial restrictions upon the 
 trade of the colonists, the position and influence of
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 135 
 
 the Five Nations in New York, Bacon's Rebellion in 
 Virginia, and the final defeat of the French in 1760. 
 Not many topics can be handled in such a richly 
 instructive manner. As in agriculture, the more in- 
 tense the cultivation, the less extensive is the area 
 cultivated. There is a wide difference between 
 merely naming causes and assuming the impor- 
 tance of events on the one side, and tracing up 
 causes and finding out why events are important 
 on the other. 
 
 The work of the sixth grade is essentially to ob- 
 serve the growth of small and weak settlements into 
 strong and vigorous commonwealths with waxing 
 commercial, economic, and political interests. Espe- 
 cially has it been customary to emphasize the politi- 
 cal history of these colonies. But government is an 
 abstract subject for children in the sixth grade, and 
 to be of interest and value to them it must be dealt 
 with in a very practical and illustrative manner. In 
 New England, beginning with the Pilgrims at Plym- 
 outh, it is easy to see how a purely democratic rule 
 in the town meeting was natural and appropriate in 
 providing for the affairs of common interest. Later, 
 as the settlements spread out over the adjacent 
 country, a representative body of men was naturally 
 selected to consult on public questions, and finally 
 the General Court of Massachusetts was the inevi- 
 table outgrowth of this representative system. As 
 this popular self-government, expressing the will of
 
 136 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 the people, grew up gradually out of the conditions 
 of life it acquired a powerful hold on the people's 
 affections. In fact, it was part of their life and the 
 very safeguard of their rights. The more their 
 royal governors antagonized this direct product of 
 the people's will, the more the affections of the latter 
 were set upon it. State sovereignty was the strong- 
 est political idea. It is well for the children to feel 
 keenly the attachment of the Puritan for his New 
 England life, town meeting, church, and legislature. 
 It is well to measure his confidence in his own local 
 government and the causes for it. 
 
 The independent, self-reliant spirit of the Ameri- 
 cans in the northern, middle, and southern colonies 
 should be seen in its unvarnished strength as prom- 
 inently brought out in the dealings with royal gov- 
 ernors, with kings and parliaments, as well as in the 
 laborious and dangerous work of exploration, settle- 
 ment, and Indian conflict. So simple is the environ- 
 ment of the early colonies that sixth-grade children, 
 we think, in approaching the subject on the line of 
 concrete illustration, can appreciate the temper of the 
 people, and follow with interest their methods of self- 
 government and the educative process by which they 
 gradually trained themselves toward freedom and 
 independence. The acts and characters of royal 
 governors are closely examined, as showing wisdom 
 and prudence or tyranny and selfishness. The pre- 
 rogatives assumed by royal governors and the rights
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 137 
 
 asserted by the people kept the two parties in almost 
 constant conflict, and gave a vigorous schooling in 
 practical politics. The persons involved and the 
 principles at stake in this struggle are in themselves 
 very interesting. Such study is an excellent training 
 for young Americans because of its direct moral 
 example and warning and as a preparation for the 
 exercise of political rights in later years. 
 
 In this connection it is of great value to draw illus- 
 trations familiar to the children from local, state, and 
 national politics of the present time. This is one of 
 the best modes of teaching practical civics. The city 
 or town council with examples of its law-making 
 power, the assessment and collection of local taxes, 
 the election of local officers, magistrates, and mem- 
 bers of the legislature, should be brought into com- 
 parison with similar acts in colonial life. 
 
 As the leading colonies are studied, one after 
 another, the comparison of the political life, strug- 
 gles, and constitutions of the one under discussion 
 with those previously studied is valuable because it 
 leads to striking discoveries and conclusions. The 
 pronounced differences between royal, charter, and 
 proprietary control are noticeable. But in spite of 
 the striking differences in the form of government, 
 in race, religion, industrial and social life, it is found 
 that the colonies developed curiously similar tenden- 
 cies toward independent self-government. Every- 
 where they showed the same self-reliance, the same
 
 138 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 sturdy, manly independence, and the same opposition 
 to the encroachments of authority. 
 
 The study of four or five leading colonies, one 
 after another, furnishes an uncommonly good test 
 of the plan of reviews by comparison. Each of these 
 colonies had for many years a distinct, independent 
 development. Each was surrounded by a wild wil- 
 derness, beset by savages, and each was under the 
 necessity of defending and maintaining itself by its 
 own self-reliant efforts. A comparison of the vicissi- 
 tudes through which the Virginia settlements passed, 
 with those of Massachusetts, would bring out a re- 
 markable number of striking incidents. At the same 
 time, the strong contrast in the labor system, religion, 
 form of local government, and social character of the 
 colonists lends a special interest and force to these 
 comparisons. Each time the history of a colony is 
 compared with another, a very thoughtful review is 
 made of the affairs of both. But each review of this 
 sort has more of new thought and acquisition than of 
 mere repetition of the facts learned. For purposes 
 of thorough mastery no better plan could be devised 
 than such comparative reviews. At the same time 
 the dead and formal repetition so often found in the 
 review work is reduced to a minimum. 
 
 Moreover, it is a first-class illustration of that in- 
 ductive method of teaching, now so much recom- 
 mended, by which the concrete individual illustrations 
 are steadily gathered, compared, and organized.
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 139 
 
 Every comparison of one colonial history with an- 
 other leads to more general conclusions than any 
 single history can supply, and by the time we have 
 passed over the history of the leading colonies by 
 successive comparisons, we have arrived at those 
 general conclusions which the history of the colonies 
 in America teaches. 
 
 Such a study also brings children into close touch 
 with the natural development of American ideas; for 
 as the colonies grew and came into closer touch and 
 association with one another, they were forced to 
 compare themselves with one another, unite their 
 interests and combine their forces along the line of 
 these very conclusions. The strength of the attach- 
 ment which each colony felt for its local institutions 
 and form of government was for many years a pow- 
 erful obstruction to a closer union of the colonies, 
 but a broader sympathy and allegiance was, by the 
 force of circumstances, more and more demanded of 
 them. Slowly and experimentally they discovered 
 the necessity, justice, and wisdom of inter-colonial 
 interest and helpfulness. The larger relations of the 
 colonies to the Indians, to the French, and to the gov- 
 ernment of England, lead up incessantly to the idea 
 of political life and patriotism in a broader sense. By 
 such comparisons and inductions as we have indicated, 
 it is easy to trace the growth of this sentiment through 
 the colonial period. 
 
 The natural robust expansion of the colonies made
 
 140 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 union a necessity, but at certain periods of relaxation 
 they seemed to grow sharply antagonistic to each 
 other. In all our later epochs these two forces, cen- 
 tripetal and centrifugal, have been formative in their 
 influence on our politics. Later on, our constitution 
 is found to be an instrument to put in balance these 
 two powerful tendencies of our history. 
 
 One effect of this scheme of comparisons between 
 colonies by which the striking points of resemblance 
 and difference are mastered is to make unnecessary 
 a second full treatment of the same topics. By this 
 plan each succeeding year leads on to new and later 
 historical fields. The customary school course in his- 
 tory has required the children to pass over the same 
 events several times, to review each year the same 
 epochs previously studied, enlarging upon them ac- 
 cording to the supposed capacity of the children. A 
 brief retrospect upon our course as thus far explained 
 shows the selection of a few topics each year which 
 the children can really appreciate. These are to be 
 enriched and vitalized with such concrete illustrations 
 as will make them thoroughly interesting and intelli- 
 gible. By frequent comparisons with similar topics 
 previously studied, more general conclusions involved 
 in this subject-matter are inductively worked out by 
 children and teacher. In the sixth grade we wish to 
 do our duty by the colonial period, so that the chil- 
 dren will not need to return a second time to a like 
 exhaustive study of the same topics, but may
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 141 
 
 pass on to new and important topics in our later 
 history. 
 
 There is also, in addition to the comparisons just 
 discussed, another important phase of review work 
 of the greatest value. Some of the topics later studied 
 in seventh and eighth grades have a striking resem- 
 blance to those treated in the sixth, and admit of the 
 most interesting and profitable comparisons. In fram- 
 ing the federal Constitution various examples fur- 
 nished by the earlier colonial governments became 
 the models for the division into executive, legislative, 
 and judicial departments. Some of the campaigns of 
 the Revolution are projected along the Hudson and 
 Lake Champlain, as in the French and Indian 
 wars. The critical period before the adoption of the 
 Constitution gives a striking exhibition of the weak- 
 nesses which grew out of the colonial conditions pre- 
 ceding the Revolution. This comparison of later 
 epochs in seventh and eighth grades with those previ- 
 ously studied in the sixth grade is seen to be valuable 
 in throwing a flood of light upon the meaning of 
 events, both earlier and later. 
 
 Of equal value is the tracing back of the causal 
 connection of events from our earlier to our later 
 history. Almost every important topic treated in 
 seventh and eighth grades can be understood only by 
 carefully reviewing the foundations of our history in 
 colonial times. Slavery struck its roots deep dur- 
 ing this early period, and when the Constitution was
 
 142 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 adopted found full recognition in that instrument 
 State sovereignty got such a powerful recognition in 
 our federal compact that it did not discover until 
 1 86 1 that it was not paramount. But we need not 
 multiply illustrations. The powerful causal sequence 
 which binds all of our later history to the earlier 
 should give to teachers, even in the common schools, 
 more than a hint as to the true method of teaching 
 our history. A child should be taught to grow up 
 with our history, and, by tracing back the chief 
 causes, keep in his mind the determining forces which 
 shape later events. But that our schools have not 
 done this is due to the prevalent conviction that his- 
 tory is merely a memorizing of chief events by reiter- 
 ation, not by thoughtful connection and sequence, not 
 by comparative reviews. 
 
 In all later studies children should be allowed to 
 trace back the causes, to return again and again to 
 these familiar fields of former study, and to pick up 
 the threads of connection between past and present. 
 They will thus get new light and sift out a stronger 
 meaning from old events. But the main work of each 
 year will be centred upon a new, a later theme. It is 
 well worth our effort to try to select for each grade 
 historical periods which the children can fairly under- 
 stand, and to lead them on each succeeding year into 
 a new and instructive field, somewhat more complex 
 but still within their reasonable grasp. 
 
 The question will again obtrude itself whether
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 143 
 
 children of the sixth grade are capable of the kind of 
 study by comparison and causal sequence which we 
 have supposed. It was suggested once before that 
 children are quite capable of reasoning when they 
 possess sufficient concrete knowledge and experi- 
 ence, and for this we have persistently provided by 
 gathering about each topic abundant material of fact, 
 illustration, biography, adventure, and everyday life. 
 In our usual modes of teaching we have hardly given 
 the children a fair chance to show what reasoning 
 power they possess. We have assumed rather that 
 they had little or nothing of this reasoning power, 
 but that their memories were quick and retentive 
 of the brief formulated statements and general con- 
 clusions of the text-books. To grasp the meaning 
 of these epitomized statements presupposes, however, 
 a much greater maturity of understanding in children 
 than we have asked, for it assumes their ability to 
 understand important conclusions and inferences 
 without the data upon which they are based. 
 
 In the later part of the sixth-grade work, in dealing 
 with topics of general interest to all the colonies, such 
 as the Indian wars, the struggle of European powers 
 for supremacy in America, and the closer union 
 among the colonies themselves for meeting these 
 conditions, we have to do with larger enterprises 
 which point the way to those greater developments 
 which come thronging upon us in the seventh grade. 
 The story of the conflict between France and the
 
 144 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 English-Americans for control in North America is 
 the most dramatic phase of this period. The episode 
 of the great struggle between the French and the 
 Five Nations is preliminary to this, and of much value 
 as exhibiting the Indians at their greatest strength. 
 Children of the sixth grade can respond with a lively 
 intelligence to the campaigns of the last French and 
 Indian War. When Pitt finally assumed control, and 
 Wolfe and Montcalm enter upon that energetic 
 contest, we have an exhibition of high spirit and 
 enterprise on both sides in an inevitable contest 
 whose results determined the whole trend of our 
 later history. 
 
 All through the studies of the sixth grade the 
 intimate and close dependence of our history upon 
 that of England and other European lands advises 
 us of the necessity of better understanding the pur- 
 poses of those countries and the reasons for their 
 constant and controlling interference in American 
 affairs. It is necessary also to go a little deeper 
 into a review of the causes of emigration from those 
 countries, the religious persecutions and desire for 
 colonial empire which combined in settling America. 
 
 The close dependence of the early settlements and 
 of the later colonies upon royal grants and royal 
 authority make it advisable to trace back the causes 
 of settlement to Europe, and to get as definite notions 
 as possible of the peoples and countries from which 
 the colonists came. The study of the colonial period
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 145 
 
 should therefore to a considerable degree be a study 
 of England, Holland, Sweden, France, Scotland, and 
 Ireland, and of the political and religious conditions 
 in those countries, at least of those which led directly 
 to the emigrations. In our plan the seventh-grade 
 geography is devoted to the study of Europe. In 
 this work the character, occupations, and govern- 
 ments of European states will receive a still more 
 definite treatment. Thus geography and history 
 may work together. Incidentally we acquire in 
 these ways a considerable knowledge of European 
 courts, princes, and political policies, and also much 
 knowledge of the ideas, customs, and conditions of 
 the common people from whose midst the emigrants 
 came. 
 
 In studying the last great conflict between the 
 French and English for colonial empire, we have 
 an excellent opportunity to review broadly the whole 
 course of colonial settlement by these two nations, to 
 contrast the characters of the French and the English 
 in America, and to get a clearer understanding of the 
 quality of the English colonists as a whole. This is 
 a very good illustration to show how the long series 
 of historical facts summarize themselves in a single 
 event. In this connection let the teacher read 
 Burke's oration on Conciliation with the American 
 Colonies, which gives a remarkably lifelike picture 
 of the people in the thirteen states. 
 
 In the sixth grade children should begin to acquire
 
 146 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 ability in using books, in collecting and arranging 
 facts on a given topic. Certain books can be put 
 into their hands to be studied as texts, others are 
 rather to be used as references. The teacher in 
 assigning the lesson should give explicit directions 
 how to use books of reference. To assign historical 
 topics without definite instruction as to books and 
 particular parts of books required is a misuse of 
 children's time. It is very important to learn how 
 to use books, as well as to get their contents. The 
 discussion of previously assigned topics in the class 
 may be made of such a character as to bring the 
 various facts and judgments into proper relation. It 
 is here that causal connections should be seen, 
 the proper sequence worked out, and the relative 
 importance of events judged. There are also many 
 places in the sixth grade where the teacher, from a 
 fuller knowledge and a riper experience, can afford 
 to present a topic in clear and vivid form, closing 
 with a restatement of it from the children. 
 
 J. E. Lloyd says : " It is the business of the 
 teacher, by his vigorous and individual treatment 
 of the subject, to conquer that fatal tendency to 
 routine which is the ruin of history teaching. For 
 this reason I hold that he should open up each topic 
 himself, should introduce the pupil to it, pointing 
 out, first its salient features, and afterwards its 
 difficulties : the scholar should not be left to plough 
 what is for him virgin soil without assistance. Th*
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 147 
 
 inclination to mechanical work may be with advan- 
 tage corrected by teaching through the eye as well 
 as the ear : the blackboard should be brought into 
 constant requisition for illustrative diagrams : the 
 geography incident to the history lesson should be 
 elucidated with the aid of wall maps, both flat and 
 moulded to represent physical features : photo- 
 graphs, prints, coins, and archaeological relics from 
 the school museum should be brought into use. 
 
 " But, while much is required of the teacher, it is 
 equally necessary that the pupil should not be merely 
 receptive. The history lesson should not be, what 
 I have known the science lesson to be in some cases, 
 an entertainment kindly provided by the teacher, 
 which relieved the tedium of severer studies, and 
 only asked from the pupil that he should act as 
 spectator. There should be much questioning, the 
 power of making valid comparisons should be devel- 
 oped, and the scholar should be taught to give clear 
 and accurate expression to his opinions." 
 
 We are justified at this juncture in insisting upon 
 the teacher's deeper knowledge of the colonial 
 period. He should have read a number of books 
 which the children could not be expected to use. 
 The large secondary histories should be in part, at 
 least, familiar to him. The biographies of the 
 Statesmen's series, the Commonwealth series of 
 State histories, Parkman's narratives of the French 
 regime, John Fiske's books on colonial history, are
 
 148 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 exceedingly interesting and inspiring to a teacher. 
 They cannot all be read at once, but from time to 
 time, and in leisure hours, these intensely interesting 
 and valuable books will be found to greatly stimulate 
 a teacher without burdening him. The knowledge 
 thus acquired is, of course, a reserve fund to be 
 drawn upon, here and there, as occasion may re- 
 quire ; not a collective mass of learning with which 
 to flood the children and waste their time. 
 
 An examination of the American historical litera- 
 ture, prescribed in the reading of the sixth grade, 
 will show that the regular reading exercises may 
 contribute much to the enlargement and enrichment 
 of the history studies. " The Courtship of Miles 
 Standish," "Grandfather's Chair," "The Gentle 
 Boy," " Giles Corey," Hawthorne's " Biographical 
 Stories," "The Sketch Book," and the "Autobiog- 
 raphy of Franklin " deal directly with colonial life, 
 and several of the books of history story do the 
 same. This is one of the best illustrations we can 
 have of the powerful reinforcement of history 
 through classic readings. 
 
 The readings derived from other European coun- 
 tries give a still further enlargement to historical 
 knowledge. A very large proportion of the history 
 that comes to the children of the common school 
 must come to them through these supplementary 
 and voluntary readings. 
 
 The course of study in history can never be loaded
 
 SIXTH GRADE IN HISTORY 149 
 
 up with any very large amount of required work 
 along these historical lines. A few chief topics can 
 be treated in an interesting way, and the children 
 may be encouraged to use the school library and 
 to employ their own leisure hours at home in extend- 
 ing and enriching their knowledge of history and 
 literature. 
 
 Many of the finest literary products appropriate 
 to school children have, fortunately, this marked 
 historical interest and character, and the taste for 
 this kind of good reading should be the goal of 
 the teacher's efforts with many children. The 
 selections of historical literature in this course of 
 study form only a part of the great body of good 
 literature with which children should become ac- 
 quainted during their school years. 
 
 The chapters containing the Course of Study and 
 the List of Books arranged according to grades 
 should be consulted to see how abundant and 
 excellent are the historical and classical readings 
 which may directly supplement and strengthen the 
 classroom work. 
 
 Many children of good capacity and of a natural 
 turn toward this class of readings will find in them 
 a means of intellectual and social expansion and a 
 capital resource for leisure hours.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 
 
 AT the beginning of the seventh grade three large 
 topics of European history are treated. The first of 
 the three terms of the year can be profitably given to 
 these topics : The Reformation, the Puritan revolution 
 in England, and the French monarchy large and 
 difficult topics to deal with in the seventh grade. 
 
 In dealing with the Reformation there is danger 
 of awakening religious controversies. And yet the 
 Reformation has powerfully influenced the whole of 
 modern history, and especially those parts of it which 
 led to the settlement of America. The conflict be- 
 tween Luther and Rome, and later between Protes- 
 tant and Catholic nations, should be handled in an 
 unpartisan manner. The better purposes and ten- 
 dencies of both parties to the conflict should be 
 emphasized, and the weaknesses on both sides exposed 
 with a fair but charitable spirit. The main purpose 
 is to get an interesting view of a few men like Luther, 
 Leo X, Charles V, Loyola, Gustavus Adolphus, and 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 It is quite possible that in many schools the Refor- 
 150
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 151 
 
 mation cannot yet be treated as an historical topic, 
 in a fair-minded way, and will have to be omitted. 
 
 The Puritan development and revolution in Eng- 
 land produced such a profound and determining 
 influence in America that it needs to be understood 
 by Americans, more perhaps than any other part 
 of English history. It may be fairly questioned 
 whether seventh-grade children can grasp enough 
 of its real meaning to get out of it a culture value. 
 But, assuming that they can, it is a very interesting 
 problem to inquire how they can best approach it. 
 Usually it has been supposed that a few lessons 
 should be given to the Puritan revolution as a prepa- 
 ration and means of appreciating the great Puritan 
 exodus from England to America in the first half of 
 the seventeenth century; the chronological and causal 
 sequence which is usually followed in history would 
 also suggest this order. But it has been often ob-i 
 served by thinkers that the pedagogical order is the/ 
 reverse of the logical and causal. Instead of study- 
 ing English Puritanism as an approach to the better 
 understanding of American Puritanism, it may be 
 better to begin at home with a study of American 
 Puritans as a means of better understanding Eng- 
 lish Puritans. In fact, the pedagogical argument 
 is very strong in favor of the latter procedure. 
 American Puritanism is not only much nearer home 
 to an American child, being a very prominent part 
 of our own life and history, but it is very much
 
 I$2 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 simpler than English Puritanism. It is not difficult 
 for a child to understand the life of the Puritans in 
 the small settlements at Plymouth and Boston. In 
 England the surrounding conditions are tenfold more 
 complex. There are kings and lords and parliaments, 
 and all sorts of political, social, and religious con- 
 troversies. The striking traits of the Puritans stand 
 out in the New England settlements with an un- 
 mistakable clearness and simplicity dominating the 
 whole life. If a person wished to spell out the mean- 
 ing of Puritanism in England, he would find the alpha- 
 bet of it in New England. This alphabet the children 
 have learned in the sixth grade, and have traced out 
 further its results in colonial history with its spirit 
 of self-government in political and religious affairs. 
 With this concrete, and what might be called experi- 
 mental, knowledge of Puritanism in America on a 
 small scale, the child will be the better qualified to 
 interpret the men and forces at work during the 
 Puritan revolution in England. 
 
 The same thing is true with regard to the French. 
 In the study of French explorers, priests, and settlers 
 in Canada and along the Great Lakes, children have a 
 much better chance to understand French character 
 than they could have by studying French history in 
 France itself, with its complexities of government and 
 society. French life in America was simple and 
 unconstrained, and gave unmistakable proof of its 
 natural bent. After studying the French colonists
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 153 
 
 in America, therefore, we can the better appreciate 
 the French in their old home. 
 
 For the seventh grade we select in American 
 history the period from the close of the last French 
 and Indian War to the adoption of the Constitution. 
 The twenty-six years from 1763 to 1789 constitute 
 an epoch of surprising interest in American history. 
 Much time and attention have always been paid to 
 the Revolution, but we shall wish to give an equal 
 attention to a review of near and remoter causes 
 which led up to the Revolution, and to those swift- 
 following results which led on to the adoption of the 
 Constitution. 
 
 The proper treatment of this period, like that of all 
 other important periods of American history, cannot 
 be accomplished in a compendious text-book designed 
 to cover in one or in two years the whole history of 
 our country from the time of Columbus to the present. 
 Not even a narrative and biographical history, sup- 
 ported by good maps and pictures, though written 
 in the best style of a master, can accomplish this 
 result in one or two years. To produce the right 
 effect, American history should be distributed through 
 intermediate and grammar grades so that a child can 
 grow up with it. The purpose of this study is not 
 fulfilled by gaining a barren mastery of many facts. 
 The lessons of life taught by our history should be 
 keenly felt. The motives and impulses of men in 
 the midst of stirring struggles should be appreciated.
 
 154 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The limited period which we have selected for the 
 seventh grade has the elements of greatness in it, 
 a righteous cause and a mighty spirit of achievement, 
 leaders of such integrity, forethought, and spirit as 
 the world has scarcely seen excelled. Why should 
 we hurry children past these events as an express 
 train sweeps by mile-posts and stations. The pas- 
 sengers see the landscapes whirl by, and catch the 
 name of an occasional station. This is not history 
 nor education in any true sense. On the contrary, 
 we can afford to stop and live among the people of 
 a hundred and thirty years ago, till we know their 
 surroundings and catch their spirit. We should sit 
 down b^them at the fireside or in the camp, hear 
 them argue and plead in the courts or the legislature, 
 and travel with them on long distances over bad 
 roads. 
 
 In two ways we may gain time for the right study 
 of this epoch. First by limiting our attention during 
 a school year to such a brief period which, however, 
 is well suited to instruct and attract seventh-grade 
 pupils. Second, by selecting only a few of the more 
 important and typical phases and events of even this 
 short period for elaborate examination and detailed 
 study. The whole purpose is to get deep into the 
 understanding and spirit of our history rather than 
 to spread out superficially over its whole area. We 
 shall select a few of the chief movements and cam- 
 paigns of the Revolution, and enter into a full narra-
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVEN! H GRADE 155 
 
 rive of the events clustering around these centres. 
 The narrative should be enriched with the biographi- 
 cal facts and with the scenery which can throw these 
 pivotal events into a strong light. In the same way 
 two or three of the chief stages leading up to the 
 adoption of the Constitution will be travelled over. 
 By selecting a few central topics and by gathering 
 full descriptive materials upon them, we shall have 
 more fruitful results than by memorizing all the 
 important and many unimportant events. 
 
 Teachers are a little slow to recognize the advan- 
 tage of discussing a few important topics with an 
 interesting wealth of detail. John Fiske, in his 
 series of books on American history, has given to 
 teachers a brilliant illustration of the value of this 
 method. Fiske had a remarkable faculty for throw- 
 ing the few essential problems of history into prom- 
 inence, and for clothing them in the garment of 
 attractiveness and power. By focussing his illustra- 
 tions and descriptions upon a chosen few ideas and 
 events he gave them a powerful and attractive illumi- 
 nation. His two works on the American Revolution 
 (two volumes) and the " Critical Period of American 
 History" (the very period we are now discussing) 
 are models of this style of historical presentation. 
 They are not thick, cumbersome books, to frighten 
 a teacher with, but transparently simple and lumi- 
 nous, with interesting illustration of chief topics. 
 They are hardly the books for children of this grade,
 
 156 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and yet they are an armory from which the teachei 
 may equip himself with the fittest knowledge re- 
 sources of a skilful instructor. Fiske's text-book for 
 grammar grades is nowhere nearly so good, because 
 it is an attempt to condense American history for 
 children an impossible undertaking. 
 
 Another excellent book to open the eyes of teachers 
 to the value of the few essentials treated in a lively 
 manner, is Judson's " The Growth of the American 
 Nation." This is an attempt to leave out as many 
 of the so-called important facts of our history as pos- 
 sible, in order to get the really important events and 
 persons into striking profile before the eye. 
 
 Mace's excellent book, " Method in History," is a 
 searching inquiry into the dominant and essential 
 things in American history. It will surely lead the 
 teacher out of the chaos of particular and unorgan- 
 ized facts accumulated in text-books to those bold 
 headlands from which he can get, from time to time, 
 a broad and simple survey of the stream of history ; 
 as when one stands on the high projecting front of 
 Lookout Mountain, one may gain a picturesque and 
 sweeping survey of the course of the Tennessee 
 River, with its environing mountain ridges. 
 
 Let the teacher beware, however, of making Mace's 
 book a text for high school or Normal school stu- 
 dents. It is, in fact, a condensed body of generaliza- 
 tions, strong and nourishing meat for those already 
 possessing a large store of clear knowledge of Ameri-
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 157 
 
 can history, but sawdust and ashes to young people 
 innocent of the facts of history. 
 
 In order to bring out the point for which we are 
 contending, with unmistakable clearness, we will say 
 that the writer of a text-book in history for the com- 
 mon school, and also the teacher who uses it, needs 
 to be both a philosopher and a poet ; (i) philosopher 
 enough to sift out the few great centralizing ideas of 
 history; (2) poet enough to clothe each of these 
 ideas with the rich garniture of concrete imagery, 
 simple illustration, and human feeling ; what is com- 
 monly called the detail and coloring of the picture. 
 
 The first great topic for study consists in a re- 
 survey of the historical causes leading up to the 
 American Revolution. This furnishes an excellent 
 standpoint from which to view, first, the history of 
 the English colonies in America, and secondly, the 
 Puritan revolution in England which gave such a 
 powerful impulse to the colonization of America. 
 
 A few of the leading points we will pass in review. 
 The religious persecutions in Europe, which led to 
 the settlement of New England and the middle colo- 
 nies, developed in these emigrants a very powerful 
 spirit of freedom and independence. During the 
 early years of their settlement also they were left 
 alone to take care of themselves to such an extent 
 that they developed a pronounced democratic spirit 
 and a convincing experience in self-government. 
 The local governing bodies created by them levied
 
 158 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 taxes upon them and became more and more the 
 chief means of maintaining the popular rights. On 
 the other hand, their frequent quarrels with the royal 
 governors developed a successful resistance to obnox- 
 ious laws and rulers. Almost every one of the colo- 
 nies had experience of the conflict of their own 
 representatives with tyrannical governors. As the 
 colonies grew in importance and their commerce 
 became extensive, the trade restrictions imposed upon 
 them by England in the form of navigation laws 
 were vexatious and injurious. A vigorous system of 
 smuggling was carried on by the colonial sailors, 
 merchants, and shipowners, in their trade with the 
 West Indies and with other countries. In his speech 
 on conciliation with America, Burke gives a vivid 
 and enthusiastic description of the bold sailors and 
 sea captains engaged in the whale fisheries. 
 
 From the very beginning of the settlements the 
 spirit of self-reliance was cultivated in the most rigor- 
 ous fashion in defending themselves against the 
 severities of a harsh climate, and the hostility of 
 fierce tribes of Indians. Later on, during the various 
 French and Indian wars, they not only cultivated the 
 military spirit but discovered also the weak points 
 in British soldiers, and the inefficiency of British 
 generals. 
 
 The uniform attitude of the British government 
 toward America was shown in a desire to exploit the 
 colonies by turning their commerce and resources
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 159 
 
 into British trade and revenue. The general ten- 
 dency in America, on the contrary, was in the direc- 
 tion of a very bold and even reckless assertion of 
 liberty. The teacher who wishes to get a clear and 
 incisive survey of the situation in 1775, should read 
 Burke's "Conciliation with the Colonies." Burke 
 says : " In this character of the Americans, a love of 
 freedom is the predominating feature which marks 
 and distinguishes the whole; and as an ardent is 
 always a jealous affection, your colonies become sus- 
 picious, restive, and untractable whenever they see 
 the least attempt to wrest from them by force, or 
 shuffle from them by chicane, what they think the 
 only advantage worth living for. This fierce spirit 
 of liberty is stronger in the English colonies probably 
 than in any other people of the earth, and this from 
 a great variety of powerful causes ; which, to under- 
 stand the true temper of their minds and the direction 
 which this spirit takes, it will not be amiss to lay 
 open somewhat more largely." 
 
 The system of taxation imposed by England upon 
 the colonies, of which that on tea was a small rem- 
 nant, was quite sufficient to kindle this fierce spirit of 
 liberty into opposition. 
 
 At the beginning of the seventh grade our course 
 of study provides three topics from European history, 
 one of which, the Puritan revolution in England, 
 furnishes a good opportunity to review that period of 
 English history which has most powerfully influenced
 
 I6O SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 American history. Burke says : " The. colonies emi- 
 grated from you when this part of your character 
 (the spirit of freedom) was most predominant; and 
 they took this bias and direction the moment they 
 parted from your hands. They are therefore not 
 only devoted to liberty but liberty according to 
 English ideas and English principles." The period 
 referred to here by Burke is that of the Puritan revo- 
 lution in England. Charles I, in the effort to rule 
 his people and levy taxes without a Parliament, 
 brought on this desperate struggle with his people. 
 There is no doubt but that Charles was making a 
 direct assault upon the common rights of English- 
 men by taxing them without their consent, by im- 
 prisonment and death without trial, in fact by an 
 arbitrary determination to have his own way without 
 let or hindrance. But under the leadership of such 
 men as Pym and Hampden, and later of Cromwell, 
 this effect of royal tyranny brought on a war which 
 resulted in Charles's own overthrow and death, and 
 the Puritans under Cromwell triumphed. Undoubt- 
 edly England was fighting the great battle of the 
 world for free parliamentary government. It will be 
 of much interest to compare the points in contro- 
 versy with those which rose at the beginning of the 
 American Revolution. The latter was also brought 
 on by a conflict over taxation, and England claimed 
 the right to remove Americans to England for trial. 
 Judson, in "The Growth of the American Nation,"
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE i6l 
 
 says : " The colonists were willing, if the king should 
 ask them for aid, to appropriate liberally of their 
 resources for that purpose. But they declared that 
 Parliament had no legal right to tax them at all. 
 Taxation without representation was against the fun- 
 damental rights of Englishmen, and as they had no 
 representative in Parliament, it followed that the 
 only legal way to levy taxes was by act of the various 
 colonial legislatures. 
 
 " Franklin carried the argument further. He 
 showed that the colonies had all been established 
 in the royal domain under direct charter of the 
 crown, and in no case by act of Parliament. Hence, 
 he declared, the colonies were joined to England only 
 by the crown, as were Jersey, Guernsey, Ireland, and 
 Scotland before the union, and therefore the only 
 legal taxation was by the colonial legislatures on 
 request of the crown." 
 
 It has been frequently observed that Washington 
 and the patriots were simply continuing in America 
 the struggle for English rights which Hampden had 
 maintained in England. 
 
 In handling the Puritan revolution in England we 
 may also discuss the religious principles of the Puri- 
 tans during the Commonwealth, and compare them 
 with the Puritans of New England. It is interesting 
 also to observe that Virginia sided with the royalists, 
 partly because of the aristocratic class of English 
 gentry in Virginia, and partly because of the Episco-
 
 1 62 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 pal church tendencies of that colony. Moreover, the 
 general spirit of independence and liberty which 
 manifested itself so boldly in Cromwell's time has a 
 striking resemblance to the free spirit of the Ameri- 
 cans in the Revolution. 
 
 It will not be far out of the way to assert that in 
 the Revolution the Americans were fighting the 
 world's battle of freedom, and were simply continu- 
 ing in a more advanced stage the development of 
 the Puritan revolution in England. 
 
 If we find time in seventh grade to give an ac- 
 count of the Protestant Reformation in Europe, we 
 shall be able to go back one step further to the 
 fountain and source of religious and political free- 
 dom in modern times, to the life and work of 
 Luther. 
 
 In approaching the outbreak of the American 
 Revolution, the life of Samuel Adams furnishes an 
 extremely interesting and concrete example of the 
 spirit of American freedom at this time. He was 
 the head and front of every movement for resisting 
 the efforts of England to impose upon the colonies. 
 The teacher at least should read thoroughly Hos- 
 mer's " Life of Samuel Adams," which will enable 
 him to live over again that famous series of events 
 which led on to the break with England. It has 
 been said that Boston at this time was the most im- 
 portant city in the world, and that Samuel Adams 
 was far away the leading man in Boston. It is for-
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 163 
 
 tunate that we have at the entrance-way to the Rev- 
 olution such a stirring and instructive biography of a 
 man who was himself the chief agent in bringing on 
 the crisis. 
 
 In the Revolutionary War itself we desire to pick 
 out a few important events, campaigns, and biogra- 
 phies, for thorough and interesting study. 
 
 We have no desire to emphasize the bloody and 
 destructive work of war ; but if we study it at all, let 
 us get deep impressions, not mere scratches on the 
 memory. A few fundamental ideas brought out with 
 great distinctness and rooted in a groundwork of 
 well-organized and related facts will be very fruitful 
 in a child's thought and life. The tracing of causal 
 relations is vital to every lesson. The spirit, incen- 
 tive, and hardihood of the soldiery should be appre- 
 ciated; also the qualities of the leaders in camp or 
 in congress. 
 
 The reform called for in teaching American his- 
 tory is like that already adopted in physics and 
 chemistry for high schools. The old plan was to 
 spend a short term of three months on a systematic 
 outline of all the chief topics of chemistry or physics, 
 barely touching each one. The plan now used in 
 the best schools is to spend three or more terms 
 upon one of these studies, and build up experimen- 
 tally and inductively with plenty of illustrative ex- 
 amples a solid basis of real knowledge, without much 
 effort at scientific completeness in the whole subject.
 
 164 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 In history also we need to extend the instruction 
 over a much longer school period, and enrich it with 
 interesting illustrations ; we may make it more real 
 and tangible by tracing and combining causes and 
 by collecting a wealth of appropriate details. We 
 may select for this purpose important central topics 
 whose significance is seen by well-chosen compari- 
 son, and by tracing causal relations with the past. 
 
 Some such brief outline as the following may serve 
 to indicate the leading topics. The events about 
 Boston till the evacuation, the struggle for New 
 York, the Declaration of Independence, the retreat 
 through New Jersey, Burgoyne's invasion, Washing- 
 ton at Valley Forge, Cornwallis's campaign at the 
 South, the financial condition at the close of the war, 
 the life and character of Washington as shown dur- 
 ing the difficult trials of the Revolution. 
 
 We are again fortunate in having the life of Wash- 
 ington to serve as a centre of influence and interest 
 in treating the leading topics of the war. Scudder's 
 " Life of Washington," especially that part of it deal- 
 ing with the Revolution, may serve as an excellent 
 text-book for this period of history. Fiske's "War 
 of Independence " is also one of the best books on 
 this topic. Fiske-Irving's " Life of Washington " 
 is full of concrete and interesting matter. If the 
 teacher can secure a thoughtful study and reading of 
 such books during the year, and by means of choice 
 references and source materials, maps, and plans of
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 165 
 
 battles, can focus the attention upon the central 
 topics indicated, he will be able to produce serious 
 and absorbing thought upon these problems. The 
 biographies of Washington and Samuel Adams, 
 besides the strong personal interest which they 
 awaken, are valuable also because they represent so 
 well the two prominent colonies, Virginia and Massa- 
 chusetts, in the character of the Puritan and the Vir- 
 ginia gentleman. Samuel Adams, more than any one 
 else, led Massachusetts into and through this gigantic 
 struggle. Washington was first of all a Virginian in 
 heart and sympathy, but grew into the full stature of 
 an American patriot, who grasped the whole situation 
 and rose to a worthy leadership of the young nation. 
 One of the best examples of a large historical 
 topic which furnishes a simple unit of thought is 
 Burgoyne's invasion. A full and interesting treat- 
 ment of this single campaign would bring out in a 
 striking way the advantage of concentration of time 
 and effort upon such a topic. S. A. Drake's mono- 
 graph of 142 pages, upon this campaign, forms a 
 very good basis for such a study. Two or three 
 weeks spent upon this topic would unearth a great 
 body of intensely interesting material. The war 
 would become a sharp reality. The pride and the 
 high hopes of the British in setting out, the splen- 
 did pageant of an English army moving up Lake 
 Champlain, capturing Ticonderoga, with strong 
 hopes of pushing on successfully to New York:
 
 166 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 on the other hand, the rousing of the New York and 
 New England yeomanry, the presence and danger of 
 Indian allies, the splendid victory at Bennington, the 
 stratagems on the Mohawk, the great struggle at 
 Saratoga and its results all these elaborated into 
 their details and seen in their mutual relations, will 
 give a much deeper insight into the spirit of the 
 American people, the hopes of the British, and the 
 character of the Indians, than can ever be secured 
 from an outline history. Such a single campaign, 
 intimately studied, is worth more for patriotism, and 
 for knowledge of war in all its horrors, distresses, 
 and glories than a dozen campaigns epitomized and 
 memorized. 
 
 In discussing the financial condition at the close of 
 the Revolutionary War, a short biography of Robert 
 Morris, the financier of the Revolution, should be 
 given. A closer examination of this point will bring 
 out one of the most trying difficulties of the Revolu- 
 tionary conflict, that of supplying the army with 
 food, clothing, and pay. The worthlessness of paper 
 money, and the complete destruction of financial and 
 commercial credit cannot be better explained. 1 
 
 Benjamin Franklin's career in France during the 
 Revolutionary War is also very picturesque, interest- 
 ing, and important. Children should be already 
 familiar with the character of Franklin in colonial 
 
 1 See Sparks's " The Men who made the Nation." Sketch of Robert 
 Morris.
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 167 
 
 times, but his life in France, and the masterly per- 
 sonal qualities and diplomacy by which he gradually 
 aided in bringing the French government to side 
 with the Americans, constitute a very interesting 
 story. This narrative should be continued up to the 
 time of the negotiation of the treaty of peace, in 
 1783. Another biography of great interest to Amer- 
 icans is that of Lafayette ; his early life in France, his 
 enthusiasm for the American cause, his escape to this 
 country and service under Washington, his promi- 
 nence in the French Revolution, his imprisonment, 
 and final visit to this country, make up a very 
 romantic story. 
 
 We notice also that one of the European topics for 
 study in the seventh grade is Louis XIV and the 
 French monarchy, not a detailed study of that 
 difficult period of French history, but some account 
 of the extravagant ostentation, expensive wars, and 
 despotism of the French monarchy ; the aristocracy, 
 living in great luxury and splendor in Paris, and the 
 great masses of the people miserably poor. In their 
 previous studies of French people and explorers in 
 Canada, the children have acquired a considerable 
 insight into French character. It is certainly inter- 
 esting to trace the causes which led a despotic gov- 
 ernment like that of France to aid a free people like 
 the Americans in securing their independence. 
 
 The last great topic in seventh grade deals with 
 that part of our annals which Fiske has called the
 
 1 68 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 "critical period of American history," and which led 
 to the framing and adopting of the Constitution. No 
 more instructive period of our history can be found 
 than that which describes the rivalries which sprang 
 up between the thirteen states as soon as indepen- 
 dence was assured. The utter failure of the Articles 
 of Confederation to hold the colonists together, the 
 financial weakness and disgrace of the whole country, 
 and the tendencies toward disunion and anarchy, 
 help us to understand why thoughtful men and 
 patriots became more and more anxious to establish 
 some strong and stable form of government which 
 could command the obedience of all the colonies. 
 
 When, finally, the best representative men of the 
 whole country met in convention at Philadelphia, it 
 is very instructive to observe how many divergent 
 and contradictory opinions were brought together. 
 It may be said that in this convention all the most 
 powerful tendencies of American history, with their 
 roots deeply embedded in the past, were represented. 
 The discussions were so inharmonious, and even hos- 
 tile, that the best men for a long time despaired of 
 reaching any common agreement. When finally the 
 Constitution was worked out and accepted by a ma- 
 jority of the convention, it was found to consist of 
 a series of great compromises. 
 
 The study of the Constitutional Convention at Phil- 
 adelphia is the study of one of the most interesting 
 and important events of the world's history. To
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 169 
 
 what extent children in the seventh grade can com- 
 prehend this, depends partly upon the method of 
 treatment. One of the simplest ways of comprehend- 
 ing it is to study somewhat carefully a few of the 
 most influential men in the convention, and get the 
 strong individual point of view of each ; for example, 
 Madison, Hamilton, Washington, Franklin. 
 
 Another important phase of this study is its close 
 dependency upon the previous history of the country. 
 The experiences of the thirteen colonies with their 
 local governments and with the Articles of Confed- 
 eration had taught them many great lessons, and the 
 Constitution incorporates many of these features into 
 its own framework. 
 
 So far as the children have really understood 
 American history, thus far they will find that the 
 Constitution is a sort of epitome or summing up of 
 the political history of America. The Philadelphia 
 convention offers, therefore, one of the most ad- 
 vantageous mountain peaks, where we can stop and 
 look back over the whole previous history of the 
 country and see the point toward which all leading 
 events have tended. Not that children can take a 
 deep or broad philosophical view of our history. But 
 they can see in the men of the convention the repre- 
 sentatives of state sovereignty, and of federal unity, 
 the double representative system, by states and by 
 popular franchise, the division into state and national 
 prerogatives, the double judicial system, the recog
 
 170 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 nition of slavery and the slave power, and the pres- 
 ence of a strong central executive. 
 
 The opportunity which the study of the Philadel- 
 phia convention offers for a purposeful review of pre- 
 vious American history, furnishes one of the best 
 illustrations of the proper plan of review, namely, 
 not mere shallow and formal repetition of facts pre- 
 viously memorized, but an examination of facts 
 studied before as great causal influences which are 
 focussed at a later important juncture in history, 
 where their true character as historical forces is dis- 
 cerned. Let children find the previous history of 
 the country as registered in the Constitution. 
 
 The final ratification of the Constitution by the peo- 
 ple of the states, not, however, without memorable 
 struggles, as in New York and Massachusetts, made 
 this great instrument the act of the American people. 
 
 The effort to grasp the meaning of this great 
 period of history (1763-1789) by selecting a few sali- 
 ent topics for a somewhat exhaustive study is based 
 upon the conviction that these apparently complex 
 materials of history admit of great simplification. 
 Two reasons may be assigned for our belief in this 
 inherent underlying simplicity in historical events. 
 First, the leading topics set up for full study are 
 types, and secondly, the dominant causal idea that 
 lies wrapped up in a series of great events is found 
 to interpret and unify many minor causes which are 
 often mistaken for distinct and separate influences.
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 171 
 
 First, as to types. The colonists themselves were 
 extremely shrewd in detecting the typical character 
 of events. The little tax on tea was nothing in it- 
 self, but it was a perfect type of all taxes levied 
 unjustly by Parliament. In this bagatelle they per- 
 ceived the whole import and purpose of the Tory 
 government and party in England. 
 
 On the other hand, the British government was 
 not mistaken in regarding Samuel Adams and John 
 Hancock as signal types of all the Massachusetts 
 rebels, and if they could once lay hands on them, they 
 would give some examples of punishment which every 
 British subject would perfectly understand. In fact, / 
 Adams was such a perfect representative of the New 
 England spirit of this time, that his biography gives 
 the very essence of the whole struggle against Eng- 
 land. 
 
 In the same way, Burgoyne's campaign, being so 
 typical in character, may serve as the chief military 
 campaign of the war. John Paul Jones is also the 
 one naval hero whose exploits may serve to illustrate 
 the vigor of our sea-fighters. 
 
 In Washington the best elements of the American 
 character were so concentrated and almost idealized 
 that Americans have always contemplated with pleas- 
 ure the reflection of the nation's purpose in his per- 
 sonality. 
 
 Second, as to causes. In nearly all the large units 
 of study it is interesting to sift out the fundamental
 
 172 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 cause, as, for example, in the causes of the Revolu 
 tion, chief of all is the assumption by Parliament of 
 the right to tax the colonies. In the deliberations of 
 the Federal Convention the absolute necessity for es- 
 tablishing a government with sovereign power is the 
 preeminent cause. 
 
 Professor Mace illustrates this point, the unity of 
 causes, in discussing the causes of the decline of the 
 Confederation. 1 
 
 " i. The Confederation had no executive or judicial 
 
 department. 
 
 " 2. Congress could not raise an army. 
 " 3. No power of direct or indirect taxation was given 
 
 to the Confederation. 
 
 " 4. Congress had no control over domestic commerce. 
 " 5. Congress could not enforce treaties with other 
 
 nations. 
 " 6. The Confederation operated on states and not on 
 
 individuals. 
 " 7. The Articles of Confederation recognized the 
 
 sovereignty of the state. 
 " 8. Voting in Congress was by states. 
 " 9. The people owed allegiance to the state only. 
 
 " The general or fundamental cause may be found, 
 and the others may be interpreted with reference to 
 it The careful comparison and contrast of the 
 causes listed above will show that the first eight are 
 
 1 " Method in History," Mace, p. 30.
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 1/3 
 
 closely related to the ninth cause. By common con- 
 sent, when the colonists transferred their allegiance 
 from England, they gave it on all domestic concerns 
 primarily to their respective colonial governments. 
 The Continental Congress recognized this relation in 
 creating the Confederation by making the states, in 
 the main, sovereign. Wherever primary allegiance 
 is placed, there sovereignty will reside. This shows 
 that allegiance conditions sovereignty, and that cause 
 seven is the result of cause nine." 
 
 A further comparison of each of the causes as- 
 signed with cause nine, leads to the same result. A 
 single cause is discovered, by reflection, to be at the 
 bottom of what is usually described as a variety of 
 causes. 
 
 Not only does the effort to discover types and 
 fundamental causes by comparing events greatly sim- 
 plify the complex data of history, but this process 
 disciplines the mind to self-activity and to inductive 
 methods of reasoning. 
 
 To put these separate facts before the children and 
 allow them to discover the fundamental unity in the 
 type or in the deeper cause is a superior form of 
 instruction. The two best results of education are 
 thus achieved at the same time, a simple organization 
 of knowledge and the best mental discipline. 
 
 It will doubtless be claimed by some that the course 
 which we have here prescribed is wholly beyond the 
 range of seventh-grade pupils. It should be remem-
 
 1/4 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 bered, however, that these very topics are usually 
 handled now in the seventh and eighth grades in 
 about one-quarter of the time which it is proposed 
 in our plan to give to them. By dealing with all 
 these subjects concretely, biographically, and by 
 comparative review of similar facts previously stud- 
 ied, by illustrations from the present workings of 
 our laws and Constitution, and by giving sufficient 
 time in each large topic for suitable descriptive and 
 illustrative detail, the more important phases of these 
 great American topics can be well understood by 
 grammar grades. 
 
 Children in the seventh grade are well able to get 
 a full profit from the use of such source material as 
 is furnished by Hart's " Source Book of American 
 History." There is nothing difficult or complicated 
 in the use of this source-book. The extracts are 
 usually brief and simple, bearing directly on topics 
 treated in the standard text-books, and neither teacher 
 nor pupil need waste any time in finding the appro- 
 priate matter. The teacher should be definite and 
 exact in assigning the references. Half a dozen or 
 less copies of the source-book in the library will 
 answer the needs of a dozen pupils. 1 
 
 Hart says source materials " are to act as adjuncts 
 to historical narrative, by illustrating it and making it 
 vivid ; as by analyzing a few flowers the young stu- 
 
 1 Hart's "American History told by Contemporaries," in four volumes, 
 is extremely valuable as reference material for the study of sources.
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 175 
 
 dent of botany learns some plant structure, and 
 accepts the rest from the text-book, so the student of 
 history, by intimate acquaintance with a few writers 
 of contemporary books, finds his reading in secondary 
 works easier to understand. 
 
 " The use of sources enforces on the mind what 
 ought to be familiar to any pupil in history : that the 
 text-book grows out of such material, directly or at 
 second hand ; and that the knowledge of the writer 
 of history goes no farther than the sum of his sources. 
 On the Revolution, for instance, the pupil must real- 
 ize that the books quote only a few out of hundreds 
 of sources, and that generalization from narrow bases 
 is dangerous. 
 
 " Sources may very well furnish sufficient types of 
 oft-repeated experience : for instance, from the text- 
 book the pupil gets the impression of the number of 
 voyages of discovery, and of the cross-relations of 
 the Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, Dutch, 
 and Swedes in the New World during two centuries. 
 But the general aim and results of those voyages are 
 well enough set forth in the seventeen pages of 
 Chapter I [of the 'Source Book'], which includes 
 one Spanish voyage and one Spanish land exploration, 
 two English sea-voyages and one land exploration, and 
 one French exploration. Since it is a common expe- 
 rience that the illustration fixes the principle in mind, 
 and not the principle the illustration, it is fair to ex- 
 pect that these illustrative voyages will serve to make
 
 I/O SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 vivid the consecutive narrative of explorations in 
 general." 
 
 Hinsdale illustrates well the value of such sources. 
 " Some years ago I read with deep interest the sec- 
 tion of an ill-put-together town history, entitled ' The 
 American Revolution.' The town was Torrington, 
 Conn. Here were quotations from the town records, 
 muster rolls of the militia companies, orders for 
 drafts, requisitions for supplies, reports from the 
 seat of war, lists of killed and wounded, etc., inter- 
 spersed with some incident, anecdote, or personal 
 characterization. Following the tax-gatherer on his 
 rounds ; reading the frequent calls for soldiers and 
 orders for the militia to turn out ; observing the 
 women at their heavy tasks, spinning wool and weav- 
 ing flax, making blankets and tents for the army, and 
 often gathering the crops or making the maple sugar ; 
 scanning the hard bill of domestic fare, breakfast 
 without tea and dinner without salt I formed a 
 more realistic view than before of the times that 
 tried men's souls." 1 
 
 Mace sums up this argument with illustrations as 
 follows : 
 
 " The superiority of this sort of material in the 
 process of interpretation may be understood from 
 the following considerations: i. The facts thus pre- 
 sented are first-hand unorganized, and the student 
 is left to contend with a real problem with no ready- 
 
 1 " How to Study and Teach History," Hinsdale, p. 34.
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 177 
 
 made solution at hand; he must work without the 
 author's aid. Without discussing the educational 
 value of this sort of work, it is apparent at a glance 
 that a wide difference separates the direct study of 
 the Mayflower Compact from the study of a school 
 text's statements about this document. 2. This 
 direct study brings immediate contact with the source 
 of truth concerning the content of the Compact. 
 It is possible that texts have been written, whose 
 authors did not have first-hand access to the material 
 of history, but have written from another's interpre- 
 tation of that material. But what of it? Simply 
 this : the student of such a text will be still farther 
 removed from the real source of truth, and like the 
 author, not knowing all the concrete facts, or not 
 knowing them exactly as they were, may make 
 erroneous interpretations. 3. Even if the facts 
 obtained in the above way are correctly interpreted, 
 there is yet something lacking in the effect produced, 
 which can only be supplied by applying the process 
 of interpretation to original material. In no other 
 way, in the study of historical material, may the 
 student get deep and realistic conceptions of the 
 life he studies ideas and passions, motives and 
 prejudices, and all those subtle influences that go to 
 make up concrete public sentiment. Take the ex- 
 amples of interpretation given above : how much 
 more easily and correctly could the student put the 
 right content into the events connected with founding
 
 i;8 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Jamestown if he could read the motives of king and 
 company in the charters granted, and could add to 
 these the opinions of the settlers. Even the writings 
 of John Smith, with all their exaggerations, would 
 give meaning and reality to these events, such as 
 could come in no other way. Again, how can the 
 student get most easily and fully into the minds and 
 hearts of the colonial merchants, the motives and 
 passions that swayed them when organizing the 
 non-importation associations ? Evidently by reading 
 the addresses sent to king and Parliament and to 
 the colonial legislatures ; by reading the resolutions 
 of town meetings in pledging support ; by studying 
 the correspondence between the associations of dif- 
 ferent towns, and by following the newspaper and 
 pamphlet war that arose over these organizations 
 and their work. Likewise with the struggle over 
 state sovereignty, or any other phase of thought 
 which the student tries to reach through events. 
 Depth of impression and richness of content will 
 always come from this sort of face-to-face contact 
 with a people." J 
 
 No part of our history shows a closer or more 
 many-sided relation of the best literary works to 
 historical events than the seventh-grade material. 
 Many of the most familiar ballads, orations, and 
 poems of American literature deal with Revolu- 
 tionary persons and scenes. We should bring the 
 
 1 " Method in Hiitory," Mace, p. 44.
 
 HISTORY IN THE SEVENTH GRADE 1/9 
 
 history of this epoch into hand-and-glove companion- 
 ship with the best American literature of the period 
 In the reading lessons, which are parallel with the 
 history in the seventh grade, we should read " Paul 
 Revere's Ride," "Song of Marion's Men," "Under the 
 Old Elm," " Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill," 
 Webster's Orations at Bunker Hill, Warren's Address, 
 Declaration of Independence, Speech of John Adams 
 (Webster), Burke's Speech on the American War, 
 Washington's Letters, Farewell Address, etc. ; " The 
 Green Mountain Boys," "A Ballad of the Boston 
 Tea Party," "Lexington," "Old Ticonderoga," 
 Everett's Oration on Washington, etc. The strong, 
 true spirit of the Revolutionary patriots nowhere finds 
 better expression than in the graphic word of the poet, 
 which leaves a lasting impress upon young minds. It 
 is the spirit of our best American history that we wish 
 to see live again in the hearts and convictions of the 
 young. In literature this spirit finds the culmina- 
 tion of its influence and the living and lasting form 
 which it creates for itself. History and literature, 
 therefore, should travel together, and reenforce each 
 other's teaching. Reading lessons in historical mas 
 terpieces will be strongly helped by previous histori- 
 cal studies, and the ideas gained in history will find 
 themselves intensified and reenforced by the energy 
 and imagery of poet and orator. Our aim is no less 
 than to unite the influences of American literature 
 and history in setting into prominence those persona]
 
 ISO SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and national ideals which are the richest heritage 
 of American culture. History furnishes the plain, 
 crude material which literature works up into a 
 finer fabric. The biography, history, literature, and 
 geography of our native land are studies powerful 
 to stimulate our youth. On this broad, geographical 
 theatre, men of high purpose and strong wills have 
 met the great problems of history and politics, and 
 have solved them with such wisdom and energy that 
 the world has resounded with their names and deeds. 
 Within the last fifty years have risen in our land also 
 half a dozen poets who have interpreted the lessons 
 of our past history, and the hopes and responsi- 
 bilities of our future with such measured strength 
 and kindling imagery, that every generous youth 
 must feel the spell and awake to the enthusiasm of 
 patriotism. These rich sources of culture and char- 
 acter in our own American history and literature 
 have been but meagrely used in the common schools. 
 They possess untold power to impress the best ideals 
 of country and of home upon the young.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 f 
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 
 
 THE topics assigned to European history in the 
 first term of the eighth grade will be interesting 
 and instructive to eighth-year pupils, if handled 
 orally. The previous studies in the geography, his- 
 tory, and literature of Europe will prepare the way 
 for a better understanding. We have no single text- 
 book that would cover this ground, and long and 
 difficult readings should not be required of the chil- 
 dren. Large maps of Europe and of the world will 
 be constantly needed, and these topics will furnish 
 a fine opportunity for a review of the geography of 
 Europe and of the world. 
 
 Nothing approaching a deeper historical study of 
 these topics can be made, and yet an important sig- 
 nificant idea in each case can be worked out. 
 
 In studying American history since the adoption 
 of the Constitution, eighth-grade pupils will meet 
 some problems too difficult for them to solve. The 
 web of our history becomes more complex and in- 
 tricate. Eighth-grade pupils are from thirteen to 
 fifteen years of age, and not yet capable of deep 
 
 181
 
 1 82 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and comprehensive thought on social and political 
 affairs. But many of them are completing their 
 education for citizenship, in the common schools, 
 and in making our national history an important 
 culture and character study through the several 
 years of the intermediate and grammar grades, we 
 must decide what topics of our later history are 
 calculated to arouse the thought and interest of the 
 eighth-grade pupils. 
 
 The American topics assigned to the eighth grade 
 involve greater difficulties than the history work of 
 any other year of the common school. As we ap- 
 proach the more recent topics of our history, the 
 "large and complex scale of events increases, and 
 besides, many of these topics are still in the region 
 of controversy and have not fallen into the clear 
 perspective of history. Not a few of the best 
 teachers have avoided the teaching of nineteenth- 
 century history because of this complexity and un- 
 settled aspect of recent politics. On the other hand, 
 one of the chief purposes of history and school 
 studies generally is to bring the children somewhere 
 near to our modern problems and into sympathy 
 with present social and economic life. 
 
 During the four years preceding, the children 
 should have been drawing deep and inspiriting les- 
 sons from the biography and history of our earlier 
 epochs. They have become interested in the repre- 
 sentative leaders and in the growth of the country
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 183 
 
 and of its interests. The spirit of patriotism has 
 already become a conscious impulse, setting up at- 
 tractive ideals to be attained by individuals and by 
 society. This love of country and deep concern for 
 its institutions should grow slowly and steadily, hav- 
 ing its roots fed from the rich, concrete, personal 
 materials of history as detailed in biography, and in 
 the dramatic episodes of political life. It is futile 
 to expect such fruitful results except as they spring 
 naturally out of a rich soil well cultivated. The 
 short, hothouse methods of quickly appropriating 
 the condensed results of our history in a single 
 term's or year's course are thoroughly artificial and 
 unnatural. 
 
 The expansion of our country under the Constitu- 
 tion until it had covered the better half of a conti- 
 nent with Anglo-Saxon ideas of government, school, 
 and social order, is the theme of this year's study. 
 The gigantic growth and progress of the nation in 
 all essential elements of greatness will become a 
 source of interest and pride. The forces which have 
 threatened to check and mar this progress need to 
 be seen in their hurtful and destructive influence. 
 A few of the larger influences which have wrought 
 such marvellous results in the last hundred years may 
 be plainly seen and understood by eighth-grade chil- 
 dren. The more intricate problems of legislation, 
 finance, tariff, taxation, and political maneuvering 
 and compromise may be let alone. We suggest the
 
 1 84 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 following list of topics upon which to focus the chief 
 attention : 
 
 ffa Organization of the government and of the 
 finances. 
 
 Growth in territory. 
 
 Internal improvement. 
 
 History and extension of slavery. 
 
 Leading inventions and inventors. 
 
 Immigration. 
 
 The rise and influence of political parties. 
 
 The three departments of our government 
 
 Our system of revenue. 
 
 Two leading campaigns of the Civil War. 
 
 Civil service reform. 
 
 Our plan of work in this grade will be similar to 
 that in sixth and seventh grades, namely, to choose 
 a few important centres of study, to collect about 
 each of them a body of graphic illustrative materials, 
 to trace the causal relations between these centres 
 and other important subjects, and to make all the 
 study more vivid and realistic. This more elaborate 
 study of a few important topics allows also a wider 
 use of references, and cultivates an acquaintance with 
 other than text-books and the method of using them. 
 Most historical subjects have certain dramatic and 
 picturesque phases in which the men or forces at 
 work are brought out in more striking relief. Such 
 was Webster's appearance in the senate in the second 
 speech on Foot's resolution; so the sending of the
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 1 8$ 
 
 first telegraphic message ; the completion of the first 
 Pacific railway ; Lincoln at Gettysburg, Grant and 
 Lee at Appomattox. It is well to dwell upon these 
 scenes till they stand out in distinctive coloring. 
 
 Most of the large topics selected for the eighth- 
 grade history have a continuous, chronological, and 
 causal sequence extending, in some cases, through 
 the whole constitutional period, and much more. 
 The growth of slavery until it culminated in the Civil 
 War and reconstruction, is an illustration of this long- 
 continued sequence of causally related facts. During 
 the eighth grade the chief stages in the slavery con- 
 flict should be worked out, and the whole movement 
 surveyed as a unit. Not only so, but an excellent 
 review of slavery during colonial and Revolutionary 
 times may be made so as to secure a broad survey of 
 this whole question from the earliest times to the 
 present. Such a topic as this, worked out in its 
 relations to other leading events, can teach even to 
 children the lesson of cause and effect in history. A 
 second topic which has a continuous development 
 through this whole period and reaches back into 
 colonial times is the growth of territory. The series 
 of problems raised in succession by the steady expan- 
 sion of population westward is very closely connected 
 with the greatest affairs in our history. The con- 
 quest of the northwest territory by Clark during 
 the Revolution was soon followed by the acquisition 
 of Louisiana and Florida. The war with Mexico
 
 1 86 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 resulted in the conquest and purchase of still larger 
 tracts westward. By the purchase of Alaska and the 
 recent acquisitions of the Spanish-American War, we 
 have completed a series of great steps expressing the 
 forward movement of the American people. We 
 should study and compare, one with another, these 
 various additions of territory gained by purchase or 
 by conquest, and pass judgment in a fair-minded way 
 upon the motives which led to these acquisitions. In 
 order to understand this whole topic more perfectly, 
 we should compare the later additions with our orig- 
 inal territory in regard to size, population, and re- 
 sources. Closely connected with this enlargement of 
 territory is the steady admission of new states into 
 the Union, by which a constant change and enlarge- 
 ment of the Union has been effected. 
 
 The other large topics of this school year, such as 
 immigration, the rise and growth of political parties, 
 the civil service reform, the laying out of great traffic 
 routes and internal improvements contain this long- 
 continued causal sequence. Children are able to 
 follow out such a causal connection of events if the 
 topics are treated with sufficient fulness, and if time 
 is taken for proper comparisons and reviews of 
 earlier stages in the series of events. 
 
 In the seventh grade we discussed somewhat at 
 length the advantage of selecting a few of these 
 great topics for elaborate treatment. A few large 
 units of thought, centres of historic interest, have
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 187 
 
 great power to organize a multitude of facts and 
 throw them, like an army of soldiers, into ranks and 
 files. Professor George S. Morris gave an excellent 
 philosophical statement of the value of such wholes 
 in historical instruction. 
 
 " The first impression that the world of history 
 produces in the mind of the learner is that of an 
 indefinite multitude of different events. One event 
 is not another. Each is a separate fact. Each has 
 its separate place in space or time, or both. Each is 
 what the others are not. . . . But, to stop short with 
 this cognizance of the multitude of facts in their sep- 
 aration and difference, not to see them in the unity 
 of their relations, is not to learn the lesson of history. 
 The mind thus simply filled, or crammed, is not 
 instructed. Its sight is superficial ; it is not insight. 
 And the world of history, thus viewed, is not com- 
 prehended as an orderly world. It is not a ' rounded 
 world ' and ' fair to see.' It puts intelligence to con- 
 fusion. It is, indeed, my masters, ' a mad World ' ! 
 
 " History is not simply (multifarious) events. It is 
 the logic of events. Historic intelligence is not 
 merely information respecting events. It is the com- 
 prehension of their logic. 
 
 " Philosophy may be fitly described as the science 
 of wholes. In the last resort it is the science of the 
 whole, as such, or of the one universal drama of exist- 
 ence in the midst of which man is placed, and in 
 which he actively participates. Now, history, accord-
 
 1 88 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 ing to the familiar aphorism, is ' philosophy teaching 
 by example.' Not the 'example,' taken by itself as 
 an isolated fact, is history. Thus taken, it is only a 
 brute fact divested of relations, and offering neither 
 attraction nor support to intelligence. History is 
 the example, plus that which it exemplifies. It is 
 the example, plus its teaching. It is the ' fact ' seen 
 in the relations which alone render it comprehensible. 
 It is the fact seen as part or member of an organic 
 whole, and, consequently, as exemplifying in its place 
 and measure the law, idea, or life of the whole. It is, 
 in short, the fact seen as the illustration and phenom- 
 enal incarnation of a universal and livingly operative 
 reason, Logos, or logic, which, interior to the fact, is 
 the ground of its reality, and, transcending the par- 
 ticular fact, connects it with all other facts, and so is 
 the ground of its intelligibility. History, taken in its 
 broadest sense, is the object-lesson of philosophy. It 
 is the subject-matter of philosophy's demonstrations. 
 It is the test of the correctness of her conclusions. 
 And true ' history,' in the narrower or more common 
 sense of this word, is nothing if not philosophical. 
 
 " Every successful teacher of history, even with 
 the youngest pupils, teaches in something of the 
 philosophical spirit, and with a method more or less 
 philosophical. He does not, indeed, neglect to insist 
 on the acquisition, by patient mnemonic exercise, of 
 exact information regarding particular facts ; but he 
 manages, at the same time, to engage the learner's
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 189 
 
 imagination for the perception of groups of facts 
 viewed as wholes, and having, as such wholes, to 
 some degree, a specific character, coloring, or signifi- 
 cance. He makes the pupil exercise with himself 
 the artistic faculty of inward picturing. With imma- 
 ture students this is all that is possible, and it is 
 enough." J 
 
 It is necessary for the teacher to single out these 
 natural wholes in history, these centres of grouping 
 and picturing, these rally ing-points of thought from 
 which causal influences can be traced out, and larger 
 comparisons be instituted. 
 
 The system of careful reviews of previous periods 
 of history by means of systematic comparisons of 
 later events with those previously studied may be 
 admirably illustrated in the work of the eighth grade. 
 In fact, the great multitude and variety of facts 
 somewhat carefully studied in all the earlier grades 
 furnishes an excellent basis of comparisons with 
 most of the topics of the eighth year. For example, 
 later modes of travel by steamboat, railroad, electric 
 cars, and automobiles may be compared with the 
 slow and difficult travel of colonial times on horse- 
 back over bad roads, often with no bridges across the 
 streams. In the great period of steamboat naviga- 
 tion on the rivers and lakes, it is profitable to com- 
 pare such journeys with the early canoe voyages of 
 the Indians and wood-rangers, and later with travels 
 
 1 " Method of Teaching and Studying History" (Hall), pp. 150-151.
 
 190 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 by rail. The emigration of different nationalities 
 from Europe to this country, since the adoption of 
 the Constitution, may be compared in numbers and 
 quality with that before the Revolution. The chief 
 battles of the Civil War may be compared with those 
 of the Revolution, and of the war with Mexico. In 
 studying the paper money and the financial situation 
 during the Civil War, it is well to look back upon 
 similar facts during the Revolution. Great inventions 
 may be studied and compared with one another in 
 their effects upon the country, such as the locomotive 
 engine, the cotton gin, the steamboat, and the electric 
 telegraph. As already noted, the successive acquisi- 
 tions of territory may be compared with one another. 
 The statesmen of later periods may be compared 
 with one another and with those of an earlier period. 
 Such comparisons also lead to comprehensive views. 
 By comparison, for example, we shall find that 
 Franklin, John Adams, Hamilton, Washington, Web- 
 ster, and Lincoln were strong and positive represen- 
 tatives of the federal idea in government, that is, of a 
 strong, central power which is able to control and 
 unify the states. A similar series of comparisons 
 will bring out the fact that Samuel Adams, Patrick 
 Henry, Jefferson, Calhoun, and Jefferson Davis were 
 distrustful of a central government and disposed to 
 emphasize the idea of state sovereignty. If children 
 gain sufficient knowledge of these men in the course 
 of history instruction to draw these conclusions as the
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 19 1 
 
 natural results of comparisons, which they themselves 
 make, the instruction will be of a superior quality 
 We are disposed to think that the difficulty lies not 
 in the inability of children to draw inferences, but 
 first in the failure to get at the significant facts in the 
 lives of these men, and second in the neglect of the 
 method of comparison. 
 
 There is scarcely an important topic of nineteenth- 
 century history which does not admit of these fruit- 
 ful comparisons with our earlier history. To keep 
 the children thoughtful in seeing resemblances and 
 contrasts between the earlier and later events is the 
 best method of thoughtful review. It leads gradually 
 to the classification of events according to their char- 
 acter and real worth, and to the formation of great 
 series and groups of related topics. The most valua- 
 ble inferences are drawn from such study. 
 
 The value of such comparisons has been affirmed 
 in the most convincing way by some of the best 
 teachers of history. W. C. Collar says : " To point 
 out relations, to contrast and compare times, institu- 
 tions, events, men, is one of the most delightful and 
 most useful parts of the teacher's work. To encour- 
 age pupils to discover likenesses and differences is to 
 promote thinking, to enlarge the mental horizon, to 
 induce a habit of mind of inestimable value. Take, 
 for example, the fundamental laws of the Hebrews, 
 the Greeks, and the Romans; their constitutions, 
 which embodied and expressed their most striking
 
 IQ2 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and distinctive national characteristics. It would be 
 easy to show, how on the one hand the Mosaic con- 
 stitution, the Decalogue, aimed to make men moral 
 and religious ; while on the other the Greek and 
 Roman constitutions sought to form men into soldiers, 
 and to make them into members of a body politic. 
 Hence the importance of private conduct under the 
 one and its relative unimportance under the other, 
 with all the far-reaching consequences that fol- 
 lowed. In the study of Greek history a compari- 
 son of the two rival states, Athens and Sparta, in 
 spirit and policy, and the tracing of the immediate 
 and remote effects on themselves and all Hellas, will 
 not only impart increased interest, by bringing into 
 clearer relief the essential characteristics, the heroism, 
 the selfishness, the hardihood, the cruelty, the narrow- 
 ness of the one, and the intelligence, love of knowl- 
 edge and beauty, but also, alas ! the sensuality, levity, 
 and weakness of the other ; but it will suggest many 
 an important lesson, and will be an excellent prepara- 
 tion for the reading of modern history with a more 
 intelligent observation and reflection. 
 
 " If, then, comparison, conscious or unconscious, is a 
 necessary condition of knowledge, is one in danger of 
 pressing the comparative method of historical study 
 too far? Explicit comparisons at every step are not 
 necessary, and the strict limitations of time must not 
 be forgotten. I have never failed to awaken interest 
 by such comparisons, whether in the study of ancient
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 193 
 
 or modern history, even when the basis of knowledge 
 on the part of pupils was the slenderest. But a strik- 
 ing parallelism pointed out here and there will be 
 enough to give direction to the thoughts in reading 
 history, to lead pupils, as has already been observed, 
 to see and follow out analogies themselves, to bring 
 home to the consciousness what is far away, and to 
 recognize in what appears new and strange what is 
 known or even familiar. Let me illustrate : 
 
 "Suppose the topic for a lesson has been the Sicilian 
 Expedition. There is hardly to be found a more thrill- 
 ing narrative than that by the great Greek historian, 
 and the reading of some pages from Thucydides may 
 well occupy a half-hour. A class will hardly find in 
 their course in ancient history so conspicuous an ex- 
 ample of the utter disastrous failure of an important 
 undertaking through the irresolution and incapacity 
 of a leader. Let the teacher now tell the story of the 
 Peninsular Campaign of McClellan in our late Re- 
 bellion, to illustrate how history is repeated in events 
 and in the characters of men. Nicias was a man of 
 upright character and respectable talents, but as a 
 general cautious to timidity, and in a pinch incapable 
 of coming to a decision. He was one of those men 
 who are always thought to be sure to do great things 
 without its being possible to tell what inspires such 
 confidence. He had the resources of the state at his 
 back, and to support him the unflinching determina- 
 tion of his countrymen to win. He was ably seconded
 
 194 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 by his subordinates, and he almost achieved a great 
 success. But at the last moment victory slipped 
 from his grasp, and the hopeless ruin of all his plans 
 quickly followed. Such, at least in the opinion of 
 many, was McClellan, and so ended disastrously his 
 strategy of the spade. As the elder Nicias barely 
 missed capturing Syracuse, so did the modern Nicias 
 all but take Richmond." l 
 
 Herbert B. Adams says : " It would be a fine thing 
 for American students, if, in studying special topics 
 in the history of their own country, they would occa- 
 sionally compare the phases of historic truth here 
 discovered with similar phases of discovery else- 
 where; if, for example, the colonial beginnings of 
 North America should be compared with Aryan mi- 
 grations westward into Greece and Italy, or again 
 with the colonial systems of Greece and of the Roman 
 Empire, or of the English Empire to-day, which is 
 continuing in South Africa and Australia and in 
 Manitoba the same old spirit of enterprise which 
 colonized the Atlantic seaboard of North America. 
 It would interest young minds to have parallels drawn 
 between English colonies, Grecian commonwealths, 
 Roman provinces, the United Cantons of Switzerland, 
 and the United States of Holland. To be sure, these 
 various topics would require considerable study on 
 the part of the teacher and pupil, but the fathers of 
 the American Constitution, Madison, Hamilton, and 
 
 1 " Method of Teaching and Studying History " (Hall), pp. 84-87.
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 195 
 
 others, went over such ground in preparing the plat- 
 form of our present federal government. 
 
 " But my special plea is for the application of the 
 comparative method to the use of historical literature. 
 Students should learn to view history in different 
 lights and from various standpoints. Instead of rely- 
 ing passively upon the ipse dixit of the schoolmaster, 
 or of the schoolbook, or of some one historian, pupils 
 should learn to judge for themselves by comparing 
 evidence. Of course some discretion should be exer- 
 cised by the teacher in the case of young pupils ; 
 but even children are attracted by different versions 
 of the same tale or legend, and catch at new points 
 of interest with all the eagerness of original investi- 
 gators. The scattered elements of fact or tradition 
 should be brought together as children piece together 
 the scattered blocks of a map. The criterion of all 
 truth, as well as of all art, is fitness. Comparison of 
 different accounts of the same historic event would 
 no more injure boys and girls than would a compara- 
 tive study of the four Gospels. On the contrary, such 
 comparisons strengthen the judgment, and give it 
 greater independence and stability. In teaching his- 
 tory, altogether too much stress has been laid, in 
 many of our schools, upon mere form of verbal ex- 
 pression in the text-book, as though historic truth 
 consisted in the repetition of what some author had 
 said. It would be far better for the student to read 
 the same story in several different forms, and then to
 
 IQ0 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 give his own version. The latter process would be 
 an independent historical view based upon a variety 
 of evidence. The memorizing of ' words, words,' 
 prevents the assimilation of facts, and clogs the 
 mental processes of reflection and private judg- 
 ment." s 
 
 In discussing the teaching of history stories in the 
 fourth and fifth grades we illustrated, in various ways, 
 the advantage of solving historical problems which 
 arose in the stories. The opportunity for problem- 
 solving is given on a much larger scale in the later 
 history. When Hamilton, for example, took charge 
 of the Treasury Department at the beginning of the 
 first administration of Washington, he had before 
 him the problem of restoring the credit and of es- 
 tablishing a sound financial system for the new gov- 
 ernment just starting out on its great career. The 
 debts accumulated by the colonies during the Revolu- 
 tion were to be provided for, a revenue secured to 
 the new government by a system of duties and taxes, 
 and a banking system brought into existence which 
 could satisfy the needs of the government and of the 
 people. It seems possible for children to understand 
 the main difficulties which confronted Hamilton and 
 the measures which he took to meet them. Another 
 great problem was that which met Lincoln as he 
 assumed the office of President in 1861. It is advis- 
 able to take a survey of the difficulties and perplexities 
 
 1 " Method of Teaching and Studying History " (Hall), pp. 137-138.
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 197 
 
 which presented themselves to him, and then to get 
 a clear grasp of the one simple idea as the goal toward 
 which all his efforts were exerted, the maintenance 
 of the union between the states. Every difficulty 
 which he overcame was a step toward the preserva- 
 tion of the union. From this point of view it is 
 interesting to see how he worked out his problem. 
 In a somewhat similar way Grant, in his military 
 career, worked a series of war problems. Some of 
 these can be understood. The story of his invest- 
 ment and capture of Vicksburg was a problem which 
 he worked out with dogged determination. The 
 Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill 
 were attempts at the solution of a great problem ; but 
 Lincoln, in his debates with Douglas in 1858, grap- 
 pled with the fundamental conditions of this problem 
 in such a way as to lead to the most overwhelming 
 results. 
 
 Of course historical problems become more com- 
 plex as we come near to the present, and some of 
 them are too difficult for children to comprehend ex- 
 cept in their simple and more obvious phases. Such, 
 for example, is our tariff controversy, our system of 
 revenue, the gold standard, and the changes in the 
 platforms of political parties. But in the solution of 
 problems such as children can understand, there is 
 opportunity for a very useful sort of mental disci- 
 pline, namely, the cultivation of a well-balanced, fair- 
 minded judgment in estimating historical questions
 
 198 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 In historical problems we may compare the pros and 
 cons, the arguments on both sides of the question. 
 In discussing the Civil War, for example, children 
 should be taught to think the situation fairly and 
 completely on both sides, the reasons which were 
 convincing to the South that they were in the right, 
 and likewise those of the North. It is only in this 
 way that the irrepressible nature of the conflict can 
 be understood. 
 
 In the eighth grade it is expected that children's 
 ideas on civics and civil government will be cleared 
 up so that they may get correct notions of our gov- 
 ernmental machinery. In the seventh-grade work 
 we suggested that this could best be accomplished 
 in connection with the history of the framing of the 
 Constitution. Since the beginning of Washington's 
 administration, in 1789, all of our political history 
 may be regarded as a commentary on the Constitu- 
 tion. At that time the whole machinery of the gov- 
 ernment was put into operation, and since then we 
 have been testing its practical working powers. Up 
 to 1789 our history gave us a great series of acts of 
 constructive statesmanship, culminating in the Con- 
 stitution. We noted in seventh grade that nearly 
 the whole of early American history is focussed in 
 the Constitution. 
 
 The last hundred years and more since the adop- 
 tion of the Constitution has furnished a series of 
 great practical tests of the strength and flexibility of
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 199 
 
 the Constitution to meet and satisfy the demands of 
 such a growing country as ours. It may be said that 
 nearly every important controversy in our history 
 since 1789 is a question in regard to the meaning of 
 the Constitution, what the Constitution allows or pro- 
 hibits. The Emancipation Proclamation of Lincoln 
 was declared by his opponents to be unconstitutional. 
 Long before the war one party claimed that a state 
 had the right under the Constitution to secede ; this 
 the other party denied. The question of internal 
 improvements was a question as to the power of 
 Congress under the Constitution. At the present 
 time the power of Congress to regulate the trusts is 
 disputed in the same way. The history, therefore, 
 of the United States consists of a series of illustra- 
 tions of the meaning and intent of the Constitution, 
 as determined by the greatest events in our history. 
 If children are to be taught by concrete examples, 
 the study of our history is by all odds the best means 
 of understanding civics. The Committee of Seven 
 says : l " We do not think that this preparation is sat- 
 isfactorily acquired merely through the study of civil 
 government, which, strictly construed, has to do only 
 with existing institutions. The pupil should see the 
 growth of the institutions which surround him; he 
 should see the work of men; he should study the 
 living, concrete facts of the past ; he should know of 
 
 1 Report of the Committee of Seven. "The Study of History in 
 Schools," pp. 18, 19.
 
 200 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 the nations that have risen and fallen ; he should 
 see tyranny, vulgarity, greed, benevolence, patriotism, 
 self-sacrifice, brought out in the lives and works of 
 men. So strongly has this very thought taken hold 
 of writers of civil government, that they no longer 
 content themselves with a description of the govern- 
 ment as it is, but describe at considerable length the 
 origin and development of the institutions of which 
 they speak." 
 
 There seems to be no means of rendering historical 
 ideas so potent, so effective and contagious in their 
 influence upon young people as biography. We are 
 all hero-worshippers, and children more than adults. 
 In eighth grade also it will reward us to select three 
 of the best typical biographies and base a large share 
 of the year's work upon their study. We suggest 
 the three following biographies: 
 
 John Quincy Adams. 
 
 Daniel Webster. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 The public life of John Quincy Adams almost 
 covers the first fifty years of the constitutional 
 period, and, while he is identified with all the impor- 
 tant problems of those times, his leadership of the 
 antislavery forces during the last seventeen years 
 in Congress brings him close to the great struggle 
 which culminated in 1861. Daniel Webster stands 
 out as the chief defender of the Constitution and 
 expounder of our form of government. His early
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 2OI 
 
 life is of much interest, and his speeches may be 
 much read in seventh and eighth grades, and in the 
 high school. Lincoln was the untried citizen, who, 
 being placed at the head of national interests at the 
 moment of supreme weakness and danger, calmly 
 and patiently met the situation in the spirit of 
 wisdom and patriotism, and the country was saved. 
 These men will be closely studied and their positions 
 on public questions compared with those of other 
 leaders. There are also several other biographies 
 which should be looked into as far as time will 
 permit. Hamilton, Jefferson, Calhoun, Clay, Fulton, 
 Field, Morse, Garrison, Stephens, and Sumner. 
 American history is surely not lacking in culture 
 materials if we will only select the best and use it 
 well. 
 
 In view of the remarkable inventions and applica- 
 tions of modern science in the last hundred years, it 
 is appropriate that the biographies of some of the 
 inventors should be studied and the practical effect 
 of these inventions upon commerce, industry, and 
 the comforts of life explained. In a new and rapidly 
 developing country such as ours the effects of scien- 
 tific invention have been more quickly and power- 
 fully felt than in other slower-moving countries. So 
 great have been the changes wrought by the applica- 
 tion of science to life that the achievements of our 
 country in this direction have largely monopolized 
 the energies of our people, so that political and gov-
 
 
 2O2 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 ernmental affairs have almost taken a second place. 
 Certain it is that to understand our present society 
 in even a few of its leading aspects we must gain 
 insight into the historical forces which have come 
 down to us out of the past, and into those applica- 
 tions of natural science which have worked their way 
 into every corner and crevice of our lives. 
 
 A thoughtful teacher in eighth-grade history will 
 make frequent use of local politics and familiar 
 neighborhood experiences in illustrating difficult 
 topics. In connection with banking a careful study 
 of a local national bank, number of directors, capital 
 required, the national banking act under which it 
 operates, and its service to the community, as well as 
 profit to the stockholders, will throw new light upon 
 some very difficult questions in history. In this case 
 the teacher needs to make a practical study of the 
 subject, talk with the bank officers, read the banking 
 act, and become acquainted with the actual sources 
 of profit in the banking business. Herbert B. Adams 
 says : " From a variety of considerations, the writer 
 is persuaded that one of the best introductions to 
 history that can be given in American high schools, 
 and even in those of lower grade, is through a study 
 of the community in which the school is placed. 
 History, like charity, begins at home. The best 
 American citizens are those who mind home affairs 
 and local interests. ' That man's the best cosmopo- 
 lite who loves his native country best.' The best
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 203 
 
 students of universal history are those who know 
 some one country or some one subject well. The 
 family, the hamlet, the neighborhood, the community, 
 the parish, the village, town, city, county, and state 
 are historically the ways by which men have 
 approached national and international life. It is a 
 preliminary study of the geography of Frankfort-on- 
 the-Main that led Carl Ritter to study the physical 
 structure of Europe and Asia, and thus to establish 
 the new science of comparative geography. He 
 says, 'Whoever has wandered through the valleys 
 and woods, and over the hills and mountains of his 
 own state, will be the one capable of following a 
 Herodotus in his wanderings over the globe.' 
 
 " If young Americans are to appreciate their reli- 
 gious and political inheritance, they must learn its 
 intrinsic worth. They must be taught to appreciate 
 the common and lowly things around them. They 
 should grow up with as profound respect for town 
 and parish meetings as for the state legislature, not 
 to speak of the Houses of Congress. They should 
 recognize the majesty of the law even in the parish 
 constable as well as in the high sheriff of the county. 
 They should look on selectmen as the head men of 
 the town, the survival of the old English reeve and 
 four best men of the parish. They should be taught 
 to see in the town common or village green a sur- 
 vival of that primitive institution of land-community 
 upon which town and state are based. They should
 
 204 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 be taught the meaning of town and family names; 
 how the word ' town ' means, primarily, a place 
 hedged in for purposes of defence ; how the picket- 
 fences around home and house-lot are but a survival 
 of the primitive town idea; how home, hamlet, and 
 town live on together in a name like Hampton, or 
 Home-town. They should investigate the most ordi- 
 nary things, for these are often the most archaic. 
 For example, there is the village pound, which Sir 
 Henry Maine says is one of the most ancient institu- 
 tions, 'older than the king's bench, and probably 
 older than the kingdom.' There, too, are the field- 
 drivers (still known in New England), the ancient 
 town herdsmen, village shepherds, and village swine- 
 herds (once common in this country), who serve to 
 connect our historic life with the earliest pastoral 
 beginnings of mankind." 1 
 
 Richard T. Ely says : " The writer has indeed 
 found it possible to entertain a schoolroom full of 
 boys, varying in age from five to sixteen, with a dis- 
 course on two definitions of capital, one taken 
 from a celebrated writer, and the other from an 
 obscure pamphlet on socialism by a radical reformer. 
 As the school was in the country, illustrations were 
 taken from farm life, such as corn-planting and 
 harvesting, and from the outdoor sports of the boys, 
 such as trapping for rabbits. Some common, familiar 
 
 1 Pedagogical Library, Ed. by G. Stanley Hall. Vol. I, " Methods of 
 Teaching History," pp. 125, 128, and 129.
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 205 
 
 fact was kept constantly in the foreground, and thus 
 the attention of the youngest lad was held. 
 
 " Perhaps money is as good a subject as any for 
 an opening lecture to bright boys and girls, and the 
 writer would recommend a course of procedure some- 
 what like this : Take into the classroom the different 
 kinds of money in use in the United States, both 
 paper and coin, and ask questions about them, and 
 talk about them. Show the class a greenback and 
 a national bank-note, and ask them to tell you the 
 difference. After they have all failed, as they prob- 
 ably will, ask some one to read what is engraved on 
 the notes, after which the difference may be further 
 elucidated. Silver and gold certificates may be dis- 
 cussed, and the distinction made clear between the bul- 
 lion and face value of the five-cent piece, etc. Other 
 talks, interesting and familiar, about alloys, the ex- 
 tent to which pennies and small coins are legal 
 tender, the character of the trade-dollar, etc., will 
 occupy several hours, and delight the class. The 
 origin of money is a topic which will instruct and 
 entertain the scholars for an hour. Various kinds 
 of money should be mentioned ; and it is possible 
 you may find examples of curious kinds of money in 
 some hill town not very remote, e.g., eggs, and you 
 are very likely to find several kinds of money in use 
 among the boys and girls, e.g., pins. In one board- 
 ing-school, near Baltimore, bits of butter, served the 
 boys at meals in quantities less than they desired,
 
 206 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 passed as money, and quite an extensive use of bills 
 and orders, ' negotiable instruments,' was established. 
 
 " Taxes can be studied in the town or village. The 
 pupils can learn from their fathers what the taxes 
 are, how they are assessed and collected, and what 
 part of the revenues is used for village purposes, 
 what part for schools, what part for the county, and 
 what part for the state. In any village it cannot 
 be difficult to induce one of the assessors to explain 
 before the class in political economy the principles 
 upon which he does his work. All the pupils can 
 then write essays about taxation in the said place, 
 and perhaps one of them will be able to write a 
 financial history of the town." 1 
 
 One of the questions which is sure to command 
 the thoughtful attention of the teachers in eighth- 
 grade history, is, what use to make of books. We 
 may sum it up briefly as follows : A good text-book 
 containing an outline of the chief facts should furnish 
 the general framework for the reception of fuller 
 materials from other sources. A good text-book is 
 invaluable as a guide through the labyrinth of his- 
 torical wanderings, but teachers must be on guard 
 not to be enslaved to the narrow limits of thought in 
 even the best text-book. In speaking of history 
 instruction in the German Gymnasium with boys 
 about twelve years of age, C. K. Adams says : " The 
 
 1 Pedagogical Library, Ed. by G. Stanley Hall. VoL I, " Methodi ol 
 Teaching History," pp. 63, 64, and 66.
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 207 
 
 system keeps clearly in view the fact that the pupil 
 is not yet ready for that development which results 
 from hard study. It never ceases to remember that 
 at least three-fourths of all the time spent by a boy 
 of twelve in trying to learn a hard lesson out of a 
 book is time thrown away. Perhaps one-fourth of the 
 time is devoted to more or less desperate and con- 
 scientious effort ; but the large remaining portion 
 is dawdled away in thinking of the last game of ball 
 and longing for the next game of tag." 
 
 In the assignment of the lesson the teacher should 
 pave the way for a more intelligent and interesting 
 study of the book. W. C. Collar says : " First read 
 over the lesson assigned for the next day, or portions 
 of it, with the class; indicate briefly what is of 
 greater and what of less importance ; make such ex- 
 planations as are needful for an intelligent compre- 
 hension of the text, and indicate what dates should 
 be committed to memory." 
 
 There is also need of a few books which give a 
 complete discussion to important topics. A small 
 number of select biographies belongs also to this 
 group. For reference books the source materials, 
 such as those furnished in Hart's "American His- 
 tory told by Contemporaries," and a few of the histori- 
 cal readers, can be used. The larger histories can be 
 consulted upon special topics in the libraries. The 
 great forensic orations of Clay, Webster, Sumner, 
 and Benton may serve as excellent reading matter
 
 208 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 for some children in each class. In the assignment 
 of reference readings, however, a small amount of 
 definite reading, carefully chosen, should be assigned 
 as a part of the required work, while the range of 
 optional readings for those who have time and abil- 
 ity should be quite extensive. 
 
 Every teacher must settle the question how many 
 dates to require of the children. It is admitted that 
 chronology offers a necessary framework within 
 which to arrange the materials of history. The im- 
 portant question is, To what extent does the mem- 
 orizing of dates serve to give a firmer grasp and a 
 clearer understanding of essential ideas in history ? 
 It seems to me that a very small number of dates 
 will answer every purpose. The schoolmaster and 
 the programme-maker are generally disposed to multi- 
 ply chronological tables. The following statement by 
 J. E. Lloyd, of Wales, seems to strike the golden 
 mean. " I cannot say that I attach much importance 
 myself to the storing of the memory even with dates 
 and genealogical tables. No doubt it is convenient 
 to the historian to have such matters at his fingers' 
 ends, but the power of getting them up by heart is 
 something very different from the aptitude for his- 
 tory, and the energies devoted to the task might in 
 most cases, I think, be more profitably employed in 
 other directions. A few leading dates, which serve 
 to articulate the field of study, may be learnt with 
 advantage, but even here I am inclined to believe
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 2OQ 
 
 that more may be done by means of chronological 
 charts, in which each century occupies an equal 
 space, than by simple tables of dates." 1 
 
 W. C. Collar says : " A word may be here most 
 conveniently said on the subject of chronology. A 
 few dates should be well fixed in the memory ; they 
 should be carefully selected by the teacher, and 
 some explanation given of their significance. But ' a 
 few,' you will say, is a little indefinite. Of course, 
 opinions will differ as to the number of indispen- 
 sable dates in any history, though there might be a 
 general assent to the principle of requiring the pupil 
 to commit as few as possible. Of the 250 dates 
 given in Smith's ' Smaller History of Greece,' I in- 
 sist on fifteen, and I think the number might be re- 
 duced to ten. But if learners are properly taught, 
 they will, of course, be able to determine a great many 
 dates approximately. For example, a boy who has 
 clearly understood the cause, purpose, and results of 
 the Confederacy of Delos could not possibly place it 
 in a time far wrong, with reference to great events 
 before and after it ; and a single important date in 
 the century well remembered would enable him to 
 fix very nearly its absolute time." 2 
 
 In discussing the work of previous grades we have 
 
 1 Frederick Spencer, Ed. " Chapters on the Aims and Practice of 
 Teaching," p. 150. 
 
 2 Pedagogical Library, Ed. by G. Stanley Hall. VoL I, Methods 
 of Teaching History," pp. 8l, 82. 
 
 P
 
 210 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 dealt at length with the qualifications of teachers. 
 In the eighth grade the history teacher should be- 
 come, as far as circumstances permit, an expert in 
 historical knowledge, well acquainted with the most 
 helpful and stimulating books and versatile in method. 
 This matter is well summed up in the Report of the 
 Committee of Seven, as follows : " The first requisite 
 for good teaching is knowledge. The teacher's duty 
 is not simply to see that the pupils have learned a 
 given amount, or that they understand the lesson, as 
 one uses the word ' understand ' when speaking of a 
 demonstration in geometry or an experiment in 
 physics. His task is to bring out the real meaning 
 and import of what is learned by adding illustrations, 
 showing causes, and suggesting results, to select the 
 important and to pass over the unimportant, to em- 
 phasize essentials, and to enlarge upon significant 
 facts and ideas. A person with a meagre informa- 
 tion cannot have a wide outlook ; he cannot see the 
 relative importance of things unless he actually 
 knows them in their relations. 
 
 " But knowledge of facts alone is not enough. In 
 historical work pupils and teacher are constantly 
 engaged in using books. These books the teacher 
 must know ; he must know the periods which they 
 cover, their methods of treatment, their trustworthi- 
 ness, their attractiveness, their general utility for the 
 purposes of young students. He must have skill in 
 handling books and in gleaning from them the infor-
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 211 
 
 mation which he is seeking, because it is just this 
 skill which he is trying to give to his pupils. No one 
 would seriously think of putting in charge of a class 
 in manual training a person who had himself never 
 shoved a plane or measured a board. To turn over a 
 class in history to be instructed by a person who is not 
 acquainted with the tools of the trade and has had no 
 practice in manipulating them, is an equal absurdity. 
 " A successful teacher must have more than mere 
 accurate information and professional knowledge. 
 He needs to have a living sympathy with the tale 
 which he tells. He must know how to bring out the 
 dramatic aspects of his story. He must know how 
 to awaken the interest and attention of his pupils, 
 who will always be alert and eager if they feel that 
 they are learning of the actual struggles and con- 
 flicts of men who had like passions with ourselves. 
 Though stores of dates and names must be at the 
 teacher's command, these are not enough. He must 
 have had his own imagination fired and his enthusiasm 
 kindled; he must know the sources of historical 
 knowledge and the springs of historical inspiration ; 
 he must know the literature of history and be able to 
 direct his pupils to stirring passages in the great his- 
 torical masters ; he must know how to illumine and 
 brighten the page by readings from literature and 
 by illustrations from art." * 
 
 1 Report of the Committee of Seven, " The Study of History in 
 Schools," pp. 115, 116.
 
 212 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The eighth-grade teacher has occasion frequently 
 to use historical maps. The westward movement of 
 the frontier; the admission of new states into the 
 Union, especially in connection with the extension of 
 slavery ; the great overland routes across the conti- 
 nent, both before and since the railroads ; the distri- 
 bution of races in North America ; the gradual 
 extinction of the Indian title ; the geographical 
 aspect of political parties ; the location of large trade 
 routes and commercial centres ; the outlining of mili- 
 tary campaigns ; the successive additions of terri- 
 tory; and many other topics in eighth grade can 
 be clearly grasped only by a varied and liberal use of 
 maps. 
 
 In many cases blackboard sketches and diagrams 
 made by both teacher and pupils are needed. In 
 the plans of battles and campaigns and in blocking 
 out statistical comparisons, the use of the blackboard 
 is most helpful. Outline maps such as those pub- 
 lished by D. C. Heath & Co., Rand, McNally & Co., 
 and those of the United States Geological Survey 
 can be used by the pupils in working out boundaries 
 of new territories, populations, physiographic regions, 
 trade routes, the sectional character of elections, 
 political parties, etc. 
 
 Well-selected and appropriate pictures are also of 
 great value in giving definiteness and vividness to 
 historical ideas. Illustrations, pictures, and maps 
 are always useful, even to mature students, in giving
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 213 
 
 reality and clearness to historical life. The Commit- 
 tee of Seven enforces this point as follows : " Besides 
 the sources which have come down to us in written 
 form and are reproduced upon the printed page, 
 there is another important class of historical materi- 
 als which is of great assistance in giving reality to 
 the past, namely, actual, concrete remains, such as 
 exist in the form of old buildings, monuments, and 
 the contents of museums. Many schools have direct 
 access to interesting survivals of this sort, while the 
 various processes of pictorial reproduction have 
 placed abundant stores of such material within reach 
 of every teacher. The excellent illustrations of 
 many recent text-books may be supplemented by 
 special albums, such as are used in French and Ger- 
 man schools, and by the school's own collection of 
 engravings and photographs cut from magazines or 
 procured from dealers. Some schools have also pro- 
 vided sets of lantern slides. Of course in order to 
 entitle such illustrations to serious use and to the 
 rank of historical sources they must be real pic- 
 tures, actual reproductions of buildings, statues, 
 contemporary portraits, views of places, etc., and 
 not inventions of modern artists. It is easy to make 
 too much of illustrations, and thus reduce history 
 to a series of dissolving views ; but many excellent 
 teachers have found the judicious use of pictures 
 helpful in the extreme, not merely in arousing inter- 
 est in the picturesque aspects of the subject, but in
 
 214 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 cultivating the historical imagination and in giving 
 definiteness and vividness to the pupil's general 
 ideas of the past. An appeal to the eye is of great 
 assistance in bringing out the characteristic differ- 
 ences between past and present, and thus in check- 
 ing that tendency to project the present into the past 
 which is one of the most serious obstacles to sound 
 views of history. The chief danger in the use of 
 pictorial material lies in giving too much of it instead 
 of dwelling at length on a few carefully chosen 
 examples." 1 
 
 Having outlined the course of study in the com- 
 mon school through the eighth grade, we may con- 
 clude the discussion by surveying again the general 
 question of selecting the topics and laying out the 
 history course on the basis of concentric circles. 
 This plan purposes to run over the general course 
 of our history about three times in the grades below 
 the high school, each succeeding review purport- 
 ing to give a broader and deeper knowledge of the 
 chief events and ideas. 
 
 In its favor it has the well-established practice 
 of some of the best schools in this country and in 
 Europe. Indeed, it is claimed that in Germany this 
 plan has been followed with such entire success in 
 the best schools of the world that it is the only one 
 worth serious consideration. Psychology and child- 
 
 1 Report of the Committee of Seven, " The Study of History in 
 Schools," pp. 108, 109.
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 215 
 
 nature have also been identified with this scheme as 
 if they had been born and bred together. But we 
 should not be surprised by this coincidence, for any 
 one who has a scheme can generally find in psychol- 
 ogy friendly shelter and protection. In fact, we 
 shall be found later defending our own scheme on 
 psychological grounds. 
 
 The opportunity for frequent review of important 
 topics and for that thoroughness to which the school- 
 master is at least theoretically espoused, gives this 
 theory a very strong practical hold. The drill- 
 master has a special fondness for this kind of a 
 scheme, and we confess to a strong leaning toward 
 this weakness of the schoolmaster. This plan of the 
 concentric circles, with its well-arranged review sys- 
 tem, has so long held the right of way in schools, and 
 with the theorizers too, that its opponents will not 
 easily turn the schoolmasters and their flocks into a 
 new path. 
 
 But we will at least take a glimpse of the other 
 side of the question. 
 
 To educate children through history is to do some- 
 thing more than to fix facts in mind by repetition. 
 If the materials are properly selected for each grade, 
 so that children can appreciate them and feel their 
 meaning, there is a sense in which they relive his- 
 tory. Now, to get historical ideas into a child's life 
 is much more significant than to get facts into his 
 memory. It is a matter of wisdom to select for each
 
 2l6 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 grade what the children can thoroughly appreciate 
 and assimilate. Such knowledge has a much more 
 wholesome effect both upon the intellect and upon 
 the heart, than knowledge that must be dinned into 
 his mind by later repetitions before he gets it fixed. 
 The reason, perhaps, why this repeated memory 
 cram of the concentric circles, this more or less me- 
 chanical reiteration by successive reviews is deemed 
 necessary, is that the facts never have been properly 
 assimilated, and a forcing process of reviews is the 
 only thing that can pound them into the memory. 
 The failure to select history materials suitable to the 
 true life and spirit of children compels the teacher 
 to resort to a system of routine drills to make up the 
 deficiency. The schoolmaster prides himself upon 
 his rigorous review drills, he ought to be ashamed 
 of himself for making them necessary. 
 
 The materials used in each grade should be such 
 as the children can master and assimilate as they go 
 along. It thus enters as a daily nutrient into their 
 lives, building up and strengthening character and 
 disposition. It is a crude and thoughtless method to 
 lay out a long period of history and say, let the 
 children run over this once and pick up what they 
 can, let them go over it a second time and gather 
 a little more, and the third time the same. Such a 
 plan goes at the problem blindly, dodging the chief 
 pedagogical problems, such as the nature and fitness 
 of different historical materials and the adaptation of
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 2 17 
 
 those selected to the marked stages and changes in 
 childhood and youth. 
 
 The use of biographies in the first series of the 
 concentric circles is by no means a solution of these 
 difficulties. To run over the whole of European and 
 American history in brief biographies as a primary 
 course, shows no pedagogical discrimination. Biog- 
 raphies differ as much in their nature and content, 
 in their simplicity or difficulty, as do other kinds of 
 historical material. To put such widely different 
 biographies as those of Leonidas, Pericles, Horatius, 
 Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Arminius, Frederick the 
 Great, Bismarck, Richelieu, Alfred, Cromwell, Glad- 
 stone, Bruce, Gustavus Adolphus, John Smith, and 
 Robert Lee into one series for children in fourth and 
 fifth years, is an astonishing piece of pedagogical 
 freakishness. They do not belong together at all. 
 Horatius and Alfred and John Smith would well 
 consort together as similar in quality and simplicity. 
 But Pericles and Frederick the Great and Bismarck 
 and Gladstone are totally different in their spirit and 
 content, and belong to a wholly different era both in 
 history and child life, if, indeed, they belong to child- 
 life at all. Why historians should ignore these stu- 
 pendous differences and dump such heterogeneous 
 and ill-assorted materials into one period of child- 
 hood is incomprehensible. It is quite clear that we 
 need choice biographies in every year of school life, 
 and even in high school and college. But nothing
 
 218 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 needs to be selected with greater care than the biogra- 
 phies suitable to children and youth in the successive 
 periods of school life. To put Boone in with Glad- 
 stone is as incongruous as putting primary children 
 into high school classes. We need the enlivening 
 and vivifying influence of appropriate biographies 
 in each year of school life, as a means of illustrating 
 and typifying the predominant ideas of different 
 epochs. 
 
 The theory of the culture of epochs, that is, of 
 the correspondence between race-growth and child- 
 growth, whatever it may be worth, does not support 
 the idea of the concentric circles. A given culture 
 epoch has been often repeated in history, but not in 
 the same individual or nationality. As children grow 
 they are expected to grow out of one age into another. 
 Just to the extent to which a child really lives and 
 experiences a period of history, he should outgrow it 
 and never be compelled to become immersed in it 
 again. It will reecho in his later experience, but the 
 man should never become a boy again in the full 
 sense. 
 
 The assumption that the experience of Germany on 
 this point is conclusive proves too much. The most 
 respectable progressive school in Germany, that of 
 Herbart and his disciples, has long since abandoned 
 the idea of concentric circles in history, has for years 
 laid out a school course and followed a wholly differ- 
 ent principle, and has given the most vigorous reasons
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 2 19 
 
 for doing so. The traditional course of the German 
 classical gymnasium is the one always cited as an 
 example of the concentric circles. Of all the courses 
 in the world this is the one perhaps least adapted to 
 the common schools of America. For ten years, 
 from the age of eight to eighteen, the boys in a Ger- 
 man gymnasium are kept solidly at work upon the 
 original Latin and Greek classics. The common 
 schools of this country have absolutely nothing of 
 this, and it is difficult to see why a history course 
 based upon that of the German gymnasium should 
 be foisted upon the children of this country. Even 
 our high schools which prepare for college have 
 abandoned the course of the German classical gym- 
 nasium, and for our common school, which has wholly 
 abandoned the classical languages, and the course of 
 study based upon them, it is an anachronism to re- 
 quire the whole history of Europe, and even of the 
 world, as a preface to American history in the seventh 
 and eighth grades. The real difficulty with such a 
 course is that it is made out almost wholly from the 
 historian's view of the chronological and causal con- 
 nection of events, and with almost no regard for 
 modern ideas of child-development, that is, of the 
 motives and activities which predominate in the 
 period of childhood up to the age of fourteen. 
 
 The points of defence of the course of study in 
 history offered in this book (as against the plan of 
 concentric circles) may be briefly put as follows :
 
 22O SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 1. The intention is to select in each grade only 
 those topics which a child at that age can thoroughly 
 appreciate, enjoy, and assimilate, in short, experi- 
 ence, and thus receive the essence of its educative 
 influence. 
 
 2. Each of these topics should be a centre for the 
 organization of a considerable body of knowledge, 
 and a type which will bring it into fruitful comparison 
 with earlier and later topics. 
 
 3. Thoroughness in knowledge is provided for 
 
 (a) by a full, descriptive, and interesting treatment of 
 each topic the first time it is taken up, tracing out its 
 significant relations, and focussing the facts in such a 
 way as to show up its real meaning and importance. 
 The complete mastery of the topic, as tested by 
 reproductions by the pupils, is possible because the 
 subject is within the range of their understanding ; 
 
 (b) by frequent comparisons of later topics with simi- 
 lar or contrasted topics treated earlier in the course. 
 Many illustrations of these reviews by comparison 
 have been given in all grades ; (c ) by reaching back 
 constantly into earlier history, previously studied, for 
 the causes and explanations of later developments. 
 This involves, in a more direct way, the excellent 
 results which are supposed to come from the review 
 system of the concentric circles; because it brings 
 the review of topics into immediate relation to later 
 events needing such explanation ; (</) the concentra- 
 tion of many of the reading lessons upon the master-
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY 221 
 
 pieces of historical literature throws an intense side- 
 light upon history. In many cases the impressions 
 are more powerful and lasting than those of history 
 itself. This brings about a striking review of histori- 
 cal events from new standpoints. In a similar way 
 geography lessons, if properly selected and treated, 
 are constantly throwing a new light upon history; 
 (<?) the collateral readings from source-books, histori- 
 cal readers, large histories, historical novels and litera- 
 ture, such as the teacher should encourage children 
 to read, will deepen the impressions of great events 
 and ideas in history.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE CORRELATION OF HISTORY WITH OTHER STUDIES 
 
 IT is easy to see that history is bound up with 
 other studies in a variety of close connections. 
 Sometimes history throws much light on geography 
 or literature, or the latter studies contribute valuable 
 aid to history. 
 
 When once the important and even vital connection 
 between history and other studies is clearly seen, 
 there is real difficulty in drawing accurately the 
 line of separation between them. For example, 
 geography and history are so closely bound together 
 that in teaching either one of them the other must 
 be considered. If we had no such independent 
 study as geography, the geographical knowledge 
 necessary to the understanding of a good course in 
 history would give us a tolerably complete acquaint- 
 ance with political geography. If history and geog- 
 raphy were studied together, as indicated in the 
 following passage from Carlyle, children might gain 
 almost as much geographical knowledge as they do 
 at present, without the independent study of geog- 
 raphy. Carlyle says : " History is evidently the 
 
 222
 
 CORRELATION WITH OTHER STUDIES 223 
 
 grand subject a student will take to. Never read any 
 such book without a map beside you; endeavor to seek 
 out every place the author names, and get a clear 
 idea of the ground you are on ; without this you can 
 never understand him, much less remember him." 
 
 W. C. Collar says, " Historical instruction without 
 the constant accompaniment of geography has no 
 solid foundation, is all in the air." 
 
 Hinsdale says : " The earth is most interesting 
 when considered in relation to its human uses. 
 Geography provides man his sphere of life, and 
 then finds its highest interest, not in its deserts or 
 crags, its glaciers or caflons, but in its human 
 elements. Political geography is nothing but a 
 form of applied history." 1 
 
 Miss Salmon says : " The dependence of history 
 upon the physical character of a country is evident 
 when it is seen to what extent these conditions have 
 determined those on which history is based. The 
 beginnings of nations have been influenced by the 
 existence of broad, fertile valleys, while very high or 
 very broad mountain chains have, outside of America, 
 decided national frontiers. The necessity for indi- 
 vidual protection determined the sights of the hill for- 
 tress-towns of ancient Greece and of mediaeval Italy, 
 as protection again has led to the choice of sites 
 partly encircled by water, as Durham, Venice, Bern, 
 and Constantinople ; or for strength, as the towns 
 
 1 "How to Study and Teach History" (Hinsdale).
 
 224 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 of Grenoble and Belfort ; commercial reasons have 
 placed towns at the junction of two rivers, as Mainz, 
 Coblenz, and Lyons, or near the mouths of rivers, 
 as Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Havre. Trade 
 routes, military operations, terms of treaties, have 
 all been conditioned by geographical features." l 
 
 Not only the careful study of maps and historical 
 charts for the fixing of the geographical stage of 
 action is necessary, but the free sketching of maps 
 on the blackboard by both teacher and pupil is the 
 best means of giving clearness and perfect compre- 
 hension. This kind of geography is, if anything, 
 better than political geography studied by itself, 
 because it is an application of geographical knowl- 
 edge to human necessities and a discovery of the 
 reasons for the facts. 
 
 Hinsdale says further : " There are still other 
 reasons for emphasizing geography in connection 
 with history. Historical events that are not located 
 by the pupil are neither understood nor remembered. 
 History that is read without due attention to its 
 theatre is too much like an imaginary account of 
 similar transactions in the moon." 
 
 And again : " Careful study of a good map is the 
 next best thing to visiting a historical locality in per- 
 son. To a certain extent geography and history are 
 but one study ; and the effort now made in schools 
 to study them in close connection is worthy of all 
 
 1 " Some Principles in the Teaching of History."
 
 CORRELATION WITH OTHER STUDIES 225 
 
 praise. Thus the memory is wholly dependent upon 
 the associating activities of the mind. Without 
 them nothing could be retained and nothing could 
 be learned. Besides, contiguity of space is one of 
 the most powerful of these activities. In view of 
 these facts we need not enlarge upon the importance 
 of the place-element in history." 
 
 On the other hand, history contributes to a vital 
 interest in geography. It would hardly be an ex- 
 travagant statement to say that the places of greatest 
 geographical interest in the world are those that have 
 been made memorable by historical events, such as 
 Bunker Hill, Marathon, Gettysburg, the city of 
 Athens, of Jerusalem, of London, of Boston, etc. 
 What interest should we have in the geography of 
 Scotland apart from its historical literature ? What 
 a glow of interest is thrown around the geography 
 of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River by the 
 canoe voyages of La Salle, Hennepin, Marquette, 
 and Joliet ! Starved Rock is the most interesting 
 geographical feature in Illinois. In New York 
 State, the Hudson, Lake Champlain, and the central 
 lake region have a hundred lively historical associa- 
 tions. On this point Hinsdale says : " Men toil and 
 suffer to visit countries and places having little liv- 
 ing interest. The Holy Places attract pilgrims 
 because they have been made holy by devoted and 
 self-denying lives. Moses is greater than Mount 
 Sinai, Abraham than Palestine, Jesus than the Lake 
 
 Q
 
 226 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 of Galilee. It is very true that back of the event 
 He causes, thoughts, feelings, and activities ; but 
 there is a certain tendency to look for them, and 
 also the event itself, in the locality." 
 
 The yoking together of history and geography in 
 the same lesson in history need not produce any 
 confusion of mind as to which is history and which 
 is geography. The lesson is primarily a history 
 lesson, and the standpoint from which the geographi- 
 cal facts are viewed is historical. So long as the con- 
 trolling historical idea of the lesson is kept clearly in 
 mind, it makes no difference how many tributary 
 geographical facts are drawn into the treatment. 
 
 In a geographical lesson, likewise, historical facts 
 may be drawn in so long as they contribute to the 
 better understanding of the chief geographical topic. 
 Confusion arises only when the teacher is unable to 
 keep a controlling idea or standpoint clearly in mind, 
 but instead, shifts back and forth between history and 
 geography. 
 
 History and literature are not less closely bound 
 together and merged into one than history and geog- 
 raphy. Many of the best products of historical 
 literature are among the best sources of history. The 
 Homeric poems are not historical in the strict modern 
 sense, and yet no one would be disposed to deny the 
 overwhelming influence which they exerted upon the 
 strictly historical period of Greek life. It seems un- 
 questionable also that we have in Homer the best
 
 CORRELATION WITH OTHER STUDIES 22J 
 
 descriptions of early Greek customs and ideas evei 
 given to the world. The early ballads of European 
 countries are historical in a similar degree, and are 
 extremely pleasing to children. W. C. Collar says : 
 " But for awakening the sympathies and moving the 
 imagination of children, I attach greater importance 
 to the aid to be derived from imaginative literature, 
 particularly poetry. Poetry gives life and reality to 
 history. History describes, poetry paints; and this 
 is often true of poetry that ranks neither in the first 
 nor in the second order. For years I have found it 
 very useful to have Macaulay's ' Lays of Ancient 
 Rome ' read in connection with the mythical part of 
 Roman history. There is nothing like the magic 
 charm, whether of sublimity or pathos, that poetry 
 lends to historical events, persons, and places. Who 
 can read Milman's magnificent ode on the Israelites 
 crossing the Red Sea without a consciousness, if he 
 reflects upon it, of a fresh and more vivid realization 
 of a scene familiar to his imagination from childhood ? 
 How Scott's beautiful hymn, sung by Rebecca in 
 ' Ivanhoe,' makes us see, as the Scripture narrative 
 never did, the slow onward toiling of the Israelites 
 through the rocky fastnesses and over the sandy 
 deserts of Arabia, guided by the pillar of cloud by 
 day and the pillar of fire by night ! " 1 
 
 Nearly all the great epic poems, such as the 
 
 " Methods of Teaching and Studying History " (Hall>
 
 228 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 "jEneid," the " Iliad," and "Odyssey," the story oi 
 Siegfried, the Arthurian legends and tales of chivalry, 
 have a distinct historical side, no matter how mythical 
 they may appear. 
 
 Some of the longer poems most commonly used in 
 the schools, such as " Marmion," " The Lady of the 
 Lake," " Courtship of Miles Standish," and " Evange- 
 line," and a few of the plays of Shakespeare, such as 
 "Julius Caesar" and "Henry VIII," are still more 
 explicitly historical. This poetical material is exten- 
 sively used in the regular reading exercises and gives 
 greater intensity and vividness to historical events. 
 The orations of the great speakers of the world, such 
 as those of Webster, Burke, Cicero, and Demosthenes, 
 are wholly historical, and are among the most interest- 
 ing and powerful expressions of historical scenes. 
 Quite a number of these are used in the grammar 
 and high schools. Again, historical novels, such as 
 Scott's " The Talisman," Thackeray's " The Vir- 
 ginians," and Cooper's "The Spy," are very signifi- 
 cant in their bearings on history. Even many of the 
 most famous essays, as those of Macaulay, Carlyle, 
 Motley, Emerson, Lowell, and Schurz, are discus- 
 sions of purely historical biographies or events. 
 Many of the best prose stories used in the grades 
 are historical, such as Hawthorne's " Grandfather's 
 Chair," Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather," Haw- 
 thorne's " Biographical Stories," some of Lamb's 
 " Tales of Shakespeare," Plutarch's " Lives," etc.
 
 CORRELATION WITH OTHER STUDIES 229 
 
 It is possible in this way barely to suggest the 
 numerous and vital relations between history on 
 the one side, and readings from good literature on 
 the other. 
 
 In all the preceding chapters which discuss the 
 value of historical materials in the grades from the 
 fourth through the eighth, we have* given scores 
 of illustrations of this close connection between 
 history and literature. While each study maintains 
 its separateness, the powerful side-lights thrown 
 upon history by literature and reading exercises are 
 such as to greatly reenforce and even to vitalize 
 the lessons of history. Our American literature 
 abounds in the most striking illustrations of the 
 poetic illumination of historical events. The Bible 
 is the great standard illustration of the mingling of 
 the historical and poetic elements, and for this reason, 
 in large part, the Bible has had a marvellous influence 
 upon the world. In a similar way it would not be 
 difficult to make up a bible of American history and 
 literature, and our course of study should contain 
 just this. 
 
 The common schools can greatly improve their 
 course of study and much increase the educative 
 influence of history and literature by a systematic 
 plan of emphasizing these relations between the three 
 studies, history, geography, and reading. 
 
 In the course of study to which one chapter of this 
 volume is given we may see an effort to run the lines
 
 230 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 of history, geography, and literature parallel. This 
 parallelism may be observed in the following points : 
 In the earliest historical and geographical studies, 
 the home neighborhood is taken first, and from this 
 point as a radiating centre both geography and 
 history are traced outward to the surrounding states 
 and to America as a whole ; afterwards to Europe 
 and other continents. In the fourth and fifth grades 
 the stories of the pioneers of America and of the 
 ocean explorers deal with precisely the same geograph- 
 ical regions which are studied in the geography of 
 the same grades. There is not an important river 
 valley or mountain region in the United States which 
 is not made interesting to children by one or more 
 of the famous pioneer stories, while British America, 
 Mexico, and the West Indies are not behind in the 
 fame of early explorers. This makes the geography 
 and history of North America the basis of study for 
 two full years in the intermediate grades. This plan 
 of running the two studies parallel introduces scores 
 of interesting and instructive relationships between 
 them. Almost every lesson in history is a lesson in 
 geography in North America, and scarcely a topic in 
 geography can be handled without involving impor- 
 tant facts in history. In the reading lessons many of 
 the choicest American poems, ballads, and stories, 
 having a strong historical and geographical setting, 
 are also studied, such as Irving's " Rip Van Winkle," 
 "Sleepy Hollow," and " Dolph Heiliger"; "The
 
 CORRELATION WITH OTHER STUDIES 231 
 
 Great Stone Face," " Hiawatha," " Sheridan's Ride," 
 " Evangeline," " The Oregon Trail," Franklin's 
 Autobiography, Schurz's " Essay on Lincoln," Whit- 
 tier's " Songs of Labor," " Cobbler Keezar's Vision," 
 "The Merrimack," "Mabel Martin," and "Snow- 
 Bound," and many others. It is difficult to see why 
 any objection should be made to such a correlation 
 of studies, while the advantages springing from it are 
 of the highest value. 
 
 We now pass on to the geography of Europe. For 
 three or four years previous to this many of the most 
 interesting stories of European history and literature 
 have been studied and geographically located, 
 such as David, King Alfred, Tell, Bruce, Wallace, 
 many of the Greek and Roman stories, Siegfried, 
 Roland, Hannibal, Caesar, etc. The great explorers, 
 Columbus, Hudson, Magellan, John Smith, Raleigh, 
 and others have been studied in their European 
 surroundings, and have thus created greater interest 
 in those countries. According to our course of study 
 in the first part of sixth grade we take the stories 
 of the Persian wars in Greece, and of the conflict 
 between Rome and Carthage. These historical stories 
 throw a charm around the Mediterranean countries 
 which deepens the effect of the old myths and gives 
 a strong foothold for the later geography of southern 
 Europe. 
 
 During the sixth year we continue the history of 
 the colonial settlements in North America made by
 
 232 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 the English, Dutch, French, Scotch, Swedes, an& 
 Germans, and have frequent occasion to visit the 
 countries of Europe from which these emigrants 
 came. It is easy to see that Europe becomes a very 
 important centre for geographical, historical, and 
 literary study, and that the natural and vital connec- 
 tions between the three studies are so numerous as 
 not only to produce a lively interest in all of them, 
 but each study becomes a means of constantly 
 reviewing and interpreting the facts of the other two. 
 In the eighth grade the geography of other coun- 
 tries, such as Asia, Africa, South America, the great 
 oceans and the world-whole are studied somewhat in 
 detail. The centre toward which all these topics 
 point is Europe. The chief thread of connection is 
 the historical fact that for the last four centuries the 
 leading European countries have been engaged in 
 exploring and subjugating the whole world from 
 Europe as a centre. The first great exploring 
 voyages were followed by large emigrations of Span- 
 iards, English, Dutch, Portuguese, and French, which 
 have, little by little, put the less civilized nations 
 under contribution to Europe. This may at least be 
 regarded as one of the strong threads of geographical 
 connection between Europe and the rest of the 
 world. The great traffic routes to North and South 
 America and to Asia by way of the Cape of Good 
 Hope and the Mediterranean, are the product of this 
 historical development of geography.
 
 CORRELATION WITH OTHER STUDIES 233 
 
 Throughout the work of the seventh and eighth 
 grades the natural connections between geography 
 and history are kept up. In these grades the litera- 
 ture of Europe, which is partly historical in character, 
 especially that of England, finds recognition in a full 
 treatment of many of the best English classics, such 
 as the " Merchant of Venice," Plutarch's " Lives," 
 "Vicar of Wakefield," "Tom Brown's School Days," 
 "Julius Caesar," "Roger de Coverley," "Lady of 
 the Lake," "The Deserted Village," Macaulay's 
 "Historical Essays," Motley's "Peter the Great," 
 Dickens's " Tale of Two Cities," and a large number 
 of other poems and historical stories. 
 
 It may be seen from this discussion of the corre- 
 lation between geography, history, and literature that 
 the United States and Europe become the converg- 
 ing centres of study in these three great branches of 
 knowledge in the common schools. It is not deemed 
 that this is an artificial scheme of correlation, but 
 rather a natural arrangement of studies according to 
 their fitness to arouse the intellectual and moral 
 activities of children, and to equip them with a body 
 of knowledge well organized, which will qualify them 
 for life. At every point in the selection of these 
 materials it is necessary to abide by those funda- 
 mental, pedagogical principles which will secure to 
 the children the best development of their own 
 powers and character and at the same time their 
 equipment for life in the modern world.
 
 234 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The correlation of history with natural science has 
 as yet attracted but little attention. It is apparent 
 at a glance that the progress of the world has been 
 largely due to scientific discovery. Little effort has 
 been made to bring the course in history into any 
 close contact with topics in natural science discussed 
 in the regular school lessons. There are a few prom- 
 inent cases, such as the invention and use of gun- 
 powder, the mariner's compass, the steam-engine, the 
 screw-propeller, the telegraph, the cotton-gin, the 
 power-loom, the safety-lamp, the electric light, vac- 
 cination, the monitor, etc., in which an invention has 
 a pronounced effect upon history and human affairs. 
 To what extent such topics as these may be taught 
 in the regular science lessons parallel with history 
 so as to show the historical importance of inventions 
 remains for the course in science to determine. 
 
 One of the admitted aims of the common school 
 course is to give a child close practical acquaintance 
 with modern life. This includes both the historical 
 institutions brought down from the past which are 
 so influential upon our present life and the great body 
 of scientific knowledge, invention, and discovery, 
 which has come to play such a controlling part in all 
 modern industry and comfort. The course of study 
 should certainly lead a child to a better understanding 
 of these scientific forces in our society. In geog- 
 raphy, in which we deal extensively with all forms 
 of industrial life, many of the chief topics of natural
 
 CORRELATION WITH OTHER STUDIES 235 
 
 science are directly touched upon. But a closer 
 examination of the content of history will bring out 
 a great many important connections between history 
 and natural science. Even the pioneer stories are 
 not lacking in this valuable sort of correlation. North 
 America, under the eyes of the explorers, was one 
 vast region of nature's wonder works. Rivers, moun- 
 tains, forests, wild animals and natural products of 
 all sorts reveal those forms and phenomena of nature 
 which children of that age are most inclined to study. 
 But in addition to this the inventions of men, such 
 as the compass, the thermometer, barometer, and 
 firearms, glass, steel instruments, the art of writing, 
 fire-water, mirrors, etc., are employed upon their ex- 
 ploring expeditions. Several of the exploring parties 
 were sent out for purely scientific purposes. 
 
 Another source of scientific interest of recognized 
 importance is the biographies of distinguished invent- 
 ors and scientific men. Men like Davie, Stephenson, 
 Fulton, Whitney, Morse, and Edison furnish instruc- 
 tive biographies for young people, and at the same 
 time introduce them to interesting topics in natural 
 science. Many of the most important applications 
 of natural science in the shape of inventions and 
 discoveries historically significant in the history of 
 our country are simple enough to be understood, and 
 the great changes which this sort of progress has 
 made can be appreciated. 
 
 In connection with history, geography, and natural
 
 236 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 science, there has been opened up of late a very im- 
 portant field of constructive effort on the part of 
 children which is destined in a short time to work 
 out great improvements in education. We have al- 
 ready discussed the value of manual training and 
 constructive work in connection with history and 
 literature in building houses and forts, in making 
 furniture and tools, and in shaping other simple prod- 
 ucts of pioneer or primitive society, including such 
 things as making a loom, weaving cloth, tanning 
 leather, constructing boats, huts, etc. But in addi- 
 tion to these forms of making and doing, history and 
 geography together lead us deeply into industrial life 
 of all sorts, with its machines and processes, such as 
 mill-wheels, saws, lathes, augers, drill machines, metal 
 work of all kinds, and the reduction of raw material 
 many of which the children may illustrate and work 
 out in a crude way. In geography also many of the 
 inventions based upon natural science find their im- 
 mediate use. The experiments involved in natural 
 science study require also a use of materials, tools, 
 and instruments closely akin to the work of manual 
 training. The vital relationship of all these differ- 
 ent studies with one another when clearly seen and 
 worked out is destined to give a unity and consist- 
 ency to all our efforts in different studies, which 
 they at present greatly lack. 
 
 It may be said in conclusion on the subject of cor- 
 relation that all the important studies, such as his-
 
 CORRELATION WITH OTHER STUDIES 237 
 
 tory, reading, geography, science, and manual training, 
 have a strong and increasing tendency to culminate 
 in the forms of fine art as we find them in music, 
 painting, sculpture, ceramics, woven fabrics, archi- 
 tecture, and literature. For example, music as applied 
 to singing of classic, patriotic, and religious songs, 
 greatly intensifies and strengthens the educative 
 effect. Many of the best historical paintings, as 
 the landing of Columbus, his reception by Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella, and others have a distinct edu- 
 cative value in connection with history. Most of 
 the best works of modern sculpture in this country 
 deal with historical topics, and some of the famous 
 buildings in America, and especially in Europe, have 
 both an historical and architectural importance. Cer- 
 tainly the leading forms of architecture can be made 
 familiar to children in connection both with history 
 and geography. The more our teachers accustom 
 themselves to discover and appreciate these numer- 
 ous relationships between studies, the greater intelli- 
 gence and rationality they will find in all studies. 
 But one of the things most needed at first is a course 
 of study in which the various branches of knowledge 
 are selected and arranged with a definite regard for 
 the interesting and appropriate correlations which 
 are known to exist between the studies.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 
 
 THE following Course of Study in History, based 
 on the ideas discussed in this book, is designed for 
 classes from the third through the eighth grade of the 
 common school. If this course seems too elaborate 
 for some schools, and needs to be improved by the 
 omission of some topics, it may still serve as a sub- 
 stantial basis for the course as a whole. 
 
 There are a number of problems to be solved in 
 working out such a course of study. 
 
 After the aim has been fixed and the general 
 theory for the best selection of materials established, 
 we must decide the relative importance of American 
 and European history in the common school ; the 
 relation of the history to the reading lessons, litera- 
 ture, and geography in the corresponding grades ; 
 and finally the basis for the selection of leading 
 topics for each year. 
 
 This chapter will outline the course, not only in 
 
 history, but also in the related historical and classical 
 
 238
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 23$ 
 
 readings, and in geography, so as to show in a 
 simple form the interrelations of history, reading, 
 and geography. 
 
 In this course of study American history is made 
 the chief basis and backbone of history instruction 
 for each grade from the fourth year on. The reasons 
 for this, previously discussed, are briefly summarized 
 as follows : 
 
 1. American history, beginning with the simplest 
 conditions of early exploration and settlement, ad- 
 vances by regular steps in a process of growth to our 
 present complex conditions of political and social and 
 industrial life. In a relatively short period most of 
 the important stages of national growth are well 
 illustrated in our own history. 
 
 2. The chief epochs and crises of our history are 
 extremely instructive and interesting to children. 
 
 3. The excellent biographies of the leading charac- 
 ters of American history are of a superior quality, 
 and have great educational value for children and 
 youth. 
 
 4. The best parts of European history of educative 
 value for children can be placed side by side with the 
 corresponding and appropriate parts of American 
 history. 
 
 5. A general chronological outline of the world's 
 history is out of the question for the common school. 
 A wholly wrong viewpoint for judging the course in 
 history in the common school is furnished by a world-
 
 240 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 chronology and by the course of study in the classical 
 gymnasium, which is often cited. 
 
 6. History in our common school should begin 
 with America and end with America, with such 
 incorporation of European history as will give the 
 necessary breadth and variety of culture. The par- 
 allel reading lessons based on European classics and 
 history stories will supplement the history studies 
 with those best parts of European culture which chil- 
 dren are capable of appropriating. 
 
 7. Our present course of study and the whole ten- 
 dency of American schools, show that American his- 
 tory must be the chief staple of our history course. 
 On the other hand, the increasing use of European 
 classics and historical tales in our schools shows our 
 appreciation for the best elements of European cul- 
 ture. There is not the slightest disposition in this 
 course to limit our history to a narrow Americanism. 
 
 European History. Its Place in the Common School 
 and its Relation to American History 
 
 I. The fairy tales, folklore, and mythologies of 
 European countries are, in this course, not regarded 
 as a part of the history proper, but as belonging 
 rather to the oral work in literature of the first three 
 years of school. These stories and myths constitute 
 a very important part of the educative materials of 
 primary grades, and are indispensable both in them-
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 241 
 
 selves and as a preliminary to history. They are 
 sufficiently important to be regarded as a distinct 
 body of educative material. Their separate and 
 growing importance in primary grades is shown in 
 many ways. 
 
 2. A few important topics of European history 
 are selected for full treatment in each grade from the 
 fourth year on. They may precede or follow the 
 American stories in the same grade. They are not 
 mere supplements to American history, but important 
 culture products for separate treatment. 
 
 3. The selection of these topics is based, not upon 
 chronology, but upon the quality of the story, its 
 spirit and setting, and its fitness to educate children 
 of the given age. European history offers the widest 
 choice from the simple to the complex, from the 
 worthless to the most valuable, from savagery and 
 barbarism to the highest culture state reached by 
 Athens, Paris, or London. It is an incomparable 
 error to dump all this into a child's mind in chrono- 
 logical order in the grades. 
 
 4. Many biographies and events in European 
 history have a close kinship with similar topics in 
 American history. These should be brought side by 
 side in the same grade. If they breathe the same 
 spirit, teach the same lesson under different condi- 
 tions, they will double its educative effect. It is well 
 to compare Columbus's explorations to the west with 
 those of De Gama to the east. Champlain, La Salle,
 
 242 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and George Rogers Clark were men of the same 
 heroic temper and endurance as David and Corio- 
 lanus and King Alfred. 
 
 5. The real educative influence of European his- 
 tory can be secured to children by such a careful 
 selection of those episodes best adapted to their 
 interest and understanding and to their social 
 needs. 
 
 6. American topics should be traced back to their 
 sources in European history and European topics 
 followed to their results in America. The books and 
 maps by which this can be done are now much more 
 available than formerly. 
 
 Selection of a Few Leading Topics 
 
 In the course here offered a very few prominent 
 standard topics of American history are selected for 
 each grade. This plan excludes the heaping up of 
 miscellaneous facts for memory work as well as the 
 tedious chronological series for the early years. 
 
 1. Each one of these topics should fit the age, 
 understanding, and interest of children. Often the 
 activities, games, drawings, and constructions incident 
 to such history stories are the natural reactions of the 
 children upon the material and show an important 
 phase of its pedagogical fitness. 
 
 2. Each topic should contain a vital core which 
 gives it a real educative significance. It should
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 243 
 
 plant in a child's mind a living germ capable of 
 strong and beneficent growth. 
 
 3. Such a topic may be a biography, an event, a 
 campaign, an invention, or the growth of an idea. 
 
 4. Each one of these topics should be worked out 
 as a complete unit of thought, interesting in itself 
 and in the associated facts, and provoking inquiry 
 by a close succession of connected facts, giving a 
 rational sense and movement. 
 
 5. Biographical stories furnish a large number of 
 such topics and constitute, especially in the early 
 years of history study, the choicest and most educa- 
 tive historical material. 
 
 6. American history is probably the richest in 
 choice biographical stories of any country in the 
 world, and, as much of this material comes from the 
 earlier, simple stages of our pioneer life, it is espe- 
 cially appropriate to children. 
 
 7. Such biographical and other topics are, of 
 course, leading types and become centres for the 
 organization of historical material. They simplify 
 history by focussing it in a few leading characters, 
 events, or ideas. Such important central topics also 
 form an excellent basis for comparison and review, 
 biography being compared with biography, event 
 with event, etc., the children being led constantly 
 to look backward over their previous studies for 
 comparisons.
 
 244 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The Reinforcement of History through Choice Read- 
 ings from American and European Literature 
 
 Great is the value of American and European liter- 
 ature as a reinforcement to the history instruction. 
 In the regular reading work of the schools, from the 
 third grade upward, there is a large amount and 
 variety of classic reading matter which is now used 
 in the schools poems, biographies, ballads, narra- 
 tive history, novel, essay, and epic story, such as 
 " Marmion," " Courtship of Miles Standish," " Hora- 
 tius at the Bridge," "Paul Revere's Ride," Scott's 
 " Tales of a Grandfather," " Ivanhoe," Hawthorne's 
 " Grandfather's Chair," etc. In order to show the 
 value of this literary material used in reading lessons 
 as a supplement to history a list of the parallel 
 classic reading now available, and much of it 
 now in common use, is shown in each grade: 
 (i) the American selections, and (2) the European 
 selections. 
 
 In judging the importance of this connection be- 
 tween history and reading the following considera- 
 tions should be kept in mind : 
 
 I. Much of the best literature of America and 
 Europe is historical in character and content, and, 
 so far as it enters into the reading course, should be 
 brought into the closest relation to the correspond- 
 ing history topics. No forced correlation should be 
 sought, but what is natural and rational
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 245 
 
 2. In selecting the best literary products, suited 
 for reading lessons, without any thought of teaching 
 history, we have been wont to choose many poems 
 and stories which give a remarkably full and clear 
 description to great historical events and persons. 
 
 3. Often a masterpiece of literature is, for chil- 
 dren, a most suggestive treatment of a topic in 
 history, e. g., Southey's "Battle of Blenheim," 
 Holmes's "Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill," 
 Plutarch's "Alexander the Great," Shakespeare's 
 "Julius Caesar," etc. 
 
 4. The course of study should take advantage of 
 this very intimate relation between history and read- 
 ing lessons, and thus cause the reading lessons to 
 contribute greatly to the force and completeness of 
 history-study. History seldom takes the time for 
 such an intense and realistic treatment of a history 
 topic as is given, for example, in " Marmion " of the 
 battle of Flodden field and its attendant events. Lit- 
 erature has thus a way of deepening and ingraining 
 the lessons of history, which is beyond anything 
 which history itself can do. 
 
 5. A careful examination of this course of history 
 as related to the reading will show that the history 
 and reading lessons, to a considerable degree, are 
 laid out on parallel lines. The simple reason for 
 this is the fact that an event or story in history which 
 thoroughly interests a child will interest him still 
 more if put in a simple literary form which he can
 
 246 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 understand ; e.g., " Paul Revere's Ride," " Barbara 
 Frietchie," " The Battle of Ivry," etc. In the nature 
 of the case, when the history and reading touch 
 the same or kindred topics, they should walk close 
 together. 
 
 6. Besides the English classics of a historical 
 character used in regular reading lessons the supple- 
 mentary books in literature and history read by 
 children at home or in the school library may still 
 further broaden and deepen their historical knowl- 
 edge. Fully half of the historical readings indicated 
 in this course of study are of this supplementary 
 character. Most children have plenty of time at 
 home for this kind of reading, and the school should 
 give it a wise direction and stimulus. The appended 
 lists show how excellent and abundant are the books 
 adapted to each grade of school. 
 
 7. In most cases the masterpieces of literature of 
 an historical character are handled in reading lessons 
 a year or two later than the corresponding history 
 topics in history. Several reasons may be assigned 
 for this : (a) The difficulty of the language and liter- 
 ary form ; e.g., " Lady of the Lake," " Evangeline," 
 Webster's "Speech on Bunker Hill," Plutarch's 
 " Lives," Franklin's Autobiography, and others. 
 (6) The artistic quality in a fine piece of literature 
 does not at first appeal to a child, (c) A masterpiece 
 of literature has often a greater depth and maturity 
 of thought regarding an historical event and requires
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 247 
 
 a more advanced age in the pupil, (d) The poem or 
 drama often needs the foregoing history as a basis 
 for its understanding. Such a poem is often a splen- 
 did retrospect and vital summing up of earlier his- 
 torical studies ; e.g., Lowell's " Under the Old Elm," 
 Webster's orations. It serves the student as a noble 
 review of earlier studies, and draws lessons not seen 
 at first. 
 
 On the other hand, many of the best poems and 
 stories are so simple and graphic that they can be 
 used as reading lessons in the same grade in which 
 the corresponding history topics are treated ; e.g., 
 " Courtship of Miles Standish," " Paul Revere's 
 Ride," "Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill," 
 Hawthorne's " Grandfather's Chair," and others. 
 
 THIRD GRADE 
 HISTORY 
 
 Christmas celebration : The Christmas story, with 
 Christmas tree, pictures, etc. This is customary 
 with all the primary grades. The story is narrated 
 to younger children. Poems of Christmas time for 
 recitation and song. These exercises do not partake 
 so much of the character of instruction as of enter- 
 tainment and joyful festivity. 
 
 Thanksgiving celebration: History of early Thanks- 
 giving days. Poems and stories. By means of pic- 
 tures and stories something of early New England 
 life is given.
 
 248 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Washington celebration : Stories of Washington. 
 A full treatment of the early life of Washington is 
 not expected, but an acquaintance with the more 
 interesting stories and surroundings of his childhood. 
 Other national characters treated in a similar way. 
 
 Local history of the town or neighborhood : The 
 early settlers of the town and neighborhood. Stories 
 of the most prominent pioneers ; where they came 
 from. Early log-houses. Hardships. First school- 
 houses. Early roads and modes of travel. Family 
 history. Grandfather stories. 
 
 The family and neighborhood traditions are the 
 best beginnings of history, and an interest in them 
 should be regularly cultivated both in the home and 
 school. The grandfather stories give first notions of 
 chronology. 
 
 Indian life and relics : Stories of Indian life and 
 adventure in the early settlement of the neighbor- 
 hood and of the region of country adjacent. 
 
 Different nationalities in the community and where 
 they came from. 
 
 The geography of the third grade is expected to 
 deal with the hills, streams, valleys, products, and 
 occupations of the village and adjacent country. 
 Simple and primitive forms of industry are worked 
 out. 
 
 In literature the Greek and other myths are han- 
 dled orally by the teacher and told again by the 
 children.
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 249 
 
 FOURTH GRADE 
 HISTORY 
 
 Discoveries and Explorers 
 
 Pioneers of the home state and neighboring states. 
 The movement is gradually from home outward. 
 For example, New York State, as the home and start- 
 ing-point, may begin with the following stories : 
 
 Henry Hudson : Trip up the Hudson. Other 
 voyages. Meeting with the Indians. A map of the 
 world is needed and a good board sketch of the 
 Hudson, locating the places of special interest on 
 the trip of the "Half Moon." 
 
 The earliest Dutch settlers : Trading with the 
 Indians. The customs, buildings, and dress of the 
 Dutch. Give some account of their previous home 
 in Holland. A map and pictures are needed. 
 Drawings may be made by the children. Construc- 
 tions also of forts, palisades, Dutch houses, ovens, 
 and windmills are to be encouraged. The activities 
 of children in such efforts are easily set going, if 
 materials are furnished. 
 
 Champlain : Explorations. Expeditions against the 
 Iroquois. First settlements along the St. Lawrence. 
 First battle with the Indians on the shore of Lake 
 Champlain. Locate France on the map, and trace 
 the journey across the Atlantic. 
 
 The Five Nations : Their homes and customs. War- 
 like character and expeditions. The map of central
 
 250 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 New York should be drawn and the warlike raids of 
 these tribes into the neighboring regions indicated. 
 
 La Salle : In Canada. At Niagara. On the 
 Great Lakes. In Illinois and on the lower Missis- 
 sippi. His hardships, dangers, and resolution. 
 Tonty and Hennepin in relation to La Salle. Miles 
 Standish at Plymouth. The trials of the first few years. 
 
 In laying out the fourth year work for Massachu- 
 setts schools the story of the first settlement of 
 Plymouth and Boston would naturally come first, fol- 
 lowed by other pioneer stories of New England, and 
 the arrangement of the other stories of Hudson, etc., 
 would be somewhat modified. In planning the course 
 for Illinois schools, the stories of La Salle, Lincoln, 
 and others of the Mississippi Valley, would occupy 
 the first place, while the pioneer stories of more dis- 
 tant states would follow later. 
 
 Some schools may prefer to omit some of these 
 stories or to substitute others in their place. 
 
 Raleigh : Early life. His attempts at founding 
 colonies. 
 
 John Smith : Explorations. Experiences at James- 
 town. 
 
 Boone : Life in Kentucky. 
 
 Washington : Early life. 
 
 Lincoln : Early life to the age of twenty. 
 
 The American Pioneer History Stories, in three 
 volumes, contain most of the above stories and others 
 for use in the fourth and fifth grades.
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 2$ I 
 
 OTHER NATIONAL STORIES 
 
 Abraham : The chief scenes of his life. 
 
 Joseph : All the parts suitable for children. 
 
 David : His early life to the death of Saul. 
 
 These stories are well given in " Bible Stories in 
 Scripture Language." Use the map freely. Consult 
 chapter on List of Books. 
 
 Romulus : Founding of Rome. 
 
 Coriolanus : In the main according to Plutarch. 
 
 Cincinnatus : A short story. 
 
 The Roman stories are well given in several of the 
 supplementary story-books named in the lists. 
 
 Julius Caesar : Conquests in Gaul and England. 
 
 The Angles and Saxons : Their invasion of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 King Alfred : His war with the Danes and later 
 labors for his people. 
 
 All the above stories, both American and others, 
 are designed for oral treatment. 
 
 The English stories are given in the " Story of the 
 English," and in several other historical readers. It 
 is better to give a few of these stories in full and in- 
 teresting detail, with pictures, maps, and involving 
 constructive efforts by the children, than to multiply 
 short, scrappy stories.
 
 2$2 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 LITERATURE AND READING OP FOURTH GRADE. THE 
 FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE MUCH USED IN THE REGU- 
 LAR READING LESSONS 
 
 Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne) ; 
 Old Greek Folk Stories (Peabody); Greek Heroes 
 (Kingsley). These books are excellent for regular 
 school reading. Story of Ulysses and Tales of Troy, 
 both prose and poetic translations and narrative 
 stories. There are many renderings of the Greek 
 myths and stories suited to school use. Book of 
 Legends (Scudder). 
 
 Complete translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, by 
 Bryant, Palmer, and others, are now available for 
 teachers and pupils for school and home use. 
 
 Heroes of Asgard ; Norse Stories (Mabie); Stories 
 from the Old German (Pratt) ; Old Norse Stories 
 (Bradish); Siegfried (Burt). These stories of Norse 
 and German myths have been used for regular read- 
 ing exercises, or they may serve as supplementary 
 reading matter in school and home. 
 
 OTHER HISTORICAL AND LEGENDARY STORIES 
 
 Used in regular, supplementary, and home reading : 
 Old Testament Stories in Scripture Language the 
 essential parts of the Bible stories for school use; 
 Old Stories of the East (Baldwin) a free rendering 
 of the old Bible stories ; Boy's King Arthur (Lanier) ; 
 King Arthur and His Court (Frost); Stories of King
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 253 
 
 Arthur's Round Table Knights ; Tales of Spenser 
 stories of the Faerie Queene; Ballad Book. There 
 are several good ballad books giving the old English, 
 Scotch, and other European ballads. They are im- 
 portant products of the old folklore tradition and 
 early history. 
 
 All the above stories and other books of similar 
 character may be used partly for regular reading 
 exercises, but especially for supplementary reading, 
 for special occasions when the teacher reads to the 
 whole school, and for home use at the fireside. 
 
 HISTORY. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 
 
 American Life and Adventure (Eggleston) ; Stories 
 of Our Country (Johonnot). These books furnish 
 simple narratives of interesting scenes of American 
 life. Four Great Americans ; Pioneers of the Revo- 
 lution, stories of Boone, Robertson, and others ; 
 some of the American Pioneer History Stories. 
 Most of these American History Stories are simple 
 enough to be read by the children. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 Fifty Famous Stories Retold; Open Sesame, Vol. 
 I and II a collection of poems, ballads, etc.; The 
 Arabian Nights most famous of old stories ; Stories 
 of the Old World (Church) ; The Nurnburg Stove, 
 and other stories; Child Life in Prose and Verse 
 (Whittier>
 
 2$4 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 It is well for the children in the fourth grade to 
 begin to read for themselves the simpler stories of 
 America, and also kindred stories of adventure and 
 heroism from other countries, especially from Euro- 
 pean countries. The oral treatment of stories in this 
 grade is the best possible introduction to the proper 
 spirited appreciation of such narratives. 
 
 GEOGRAPHY 
 
 The geography of the fourth grade runs parallel 
 with the history. The Pioneer History stories require 
 a clear grasp of the natural or physical geography of 
 North America and the power of interpreting maps. 
 
 The geography of this year should contain a good 
 description of the interesting and striking physical 
 features of North America, its chief mountains, for- 
 ests, rivers, and zones of climate. Parallel with 
 these geographical topics each pioneer story neces- 
 sitates a special map to make clear the geographical 
 conditions of the story. 
 
 Many of the topics of home geography treated 
 in fourth grade trace out the origin of important 
 products to various parts of North America and of 
 the world, as tropical fruits, tea and coffee, cotton 
 and silk goods, fine china and porcelain, etc. 
 
 The advantage of this close parallelism of history 
 and geography is found in the very great interest 
 which good stories lend to localities, and in the 
 mutual help which these studies render to each
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 255 
 
 other in explaining and fixing better the facts of 
 both geography and history. Each study reviews, 
 reenforces, and intensifies the facts taught by the 
 other. The value of each study in its relation to 
 life is also better seen. 
 
 FIFTH GRADE 
 EUROPEAN EXPLORERS IN AMERICA 
 
 Columbus : His great purpose and its results. 
 
 The Cabots : A short story. 
 
 Magellan : First voyage around the world. 
 
 Cortes : The conquest of Mexico. Indians of 
 Mexico. 
 
 De Soto : His wanderings in the Southern states. 
 
 Coronado : Explorations in the southwest. 
 
 Drake: His buccaneering voyage against the 
 Spaniards. 
 
 Western Stories 
 
 George Rogers Clark. 
 
 Lewis and Clark : Journey up the Missouri. 
 
 Fremont : Two expeditions among the Rocky 
 Mountains. 
 
 To California in 1849 to the gold regions. 
 
 Powell's descent of the Colorado. 
 
 These stories deal with two groups of the great- 
 est explorers on sea and land. They were men of 
 great energy, high purpose, and unyielding deter- 
 mination. Their deeds are not always praiseworthy,
 
 2$6 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 but they are striking types of the men of their time, 
 and in the main men of noble character. 
 
 HISTORY, EUROPEAN 
 
 Spanish and Portuguese Stories 
 
 Isabella of Spain. 
 
 Christians and Moors in Spain : Conquest of 
 Granada. Irving's stories furnish some good mate- 
 rial for the teacher. 
 
 Prince Henry and De Gama : Exploration of the 
 coast of Africa. The efforts of the Portuguese to 
 find an eastern route to India and the results should 
 be compared with Columbus's and Spain's efforts 
 toward the west. 
 
 English History 
 
 William the Conqueror : Conquest of England. 
 
 Richard I : His crusades. His knightly adventures. 
 
 John and the Great Charter. 
 
 Elizabeth : In connection with Raleigh and Drake. 
 Story of the Armada. 
 
 There are several excellent books covering these 
 topics, as The Story of the English, Child's History 
 of England, etc. 
 
 Scotch History 
 
 William Wallace and Robert Bruce. 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather (Scott) and several other 
 books give these famous stories in good form for 
 schools, but somewhat difficult.
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 257 
 
 READING 
 
 Partly for regular school work and partly for home 
 reading. 
 
 I. American 
 
 Hiawatha (Longfellow) much used as a regular 
 reader; American Explorers (Higginson) much 
 original material ; Heroes of the Middle West (Cath- 
 erwood) ; Discovery of the Old Northwest (Baldwin) ; 
 Colonial Children (Hart) source material; Source 
 Book of American History (Hart) excellent ; Ameri- 
 can Historical Tales (Morris) ; Children's Life of 
 Abraham Lincoln (Putnam). Children should be 
 encouraged at school and home to read and enjoy 
 this class of books. 
 
 II. English and Scotch 
 
 Tales of Chivalry (Rolfe) ; Tales from English 
 History (Rolfe) prose and verse. Heroic ballads, 
 especially English and Scotch. 
 
 Robin Hood(Pyle) first-class stories ; Tales from 
 Scottish History (Rolfe) ; Story of the English (Guer- 
 ber) earlier parts. 
 
 STORIES OF OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 
 
 Reading and Literature 
 
 Lays of Ancient Rome (Macaulay); Jason's Quest 
 (Lowell) Story of the Golden Fleece ; Ten Boys on 
 the Road from Long Ago partly English stories ;
 
 2$8 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Stories from Herodotus Croesus, Cyrus, and others ; 
 Story of the Greeks (Guerber) the earlier parts; 
 Story of Roland (Baldwin) age of Charlemagne; 
 Ulysses among the Phaeacians (Bryant) simple 
 poetic form ; the Odyssey of Homer (Palmer) poetic 
 prose rendering ; Book of Golden Deeds many 
 short stories. 
 
 Most of these are famous world-stories which are 
 not only interesting to children, but of culture value 
 as part of the race thought and experience. In the 
 regular lessons in history and reading only a part of 
 this historical and literary matter can be treated. 
 But the leisure hours of children in school and at 
 home cannot be better employed than in this reading, 
 which expands the mind beyond the narrow range of 
 school lessons. The geographical theatre of these 
 stories should be clearly understood as a basis for 
 clear knowledge. 
 
 Two years are thus given to the pioneer period of 
 American history, dealing with the life, difficulties, 
 and surroundings of the explorers and very earliest 
 settlers. Chronology is of but little importance, 
 although a few leading dates can be fixed. The 
 great thing is to produce a strong impression by a 
 complete, animated, and realistic protraiture of a lead- 
 ing character or events in which he figured. The pio- 
 neer period of American history lasted, however, from 
 1492 to 1850, or even later, and one of our historians 
 has called attention to the fact that the most marked
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 259 
 
 and characteristic traits of American character have 
 been found usually upon the frontier. As indicated 
 in the course, parallel to these American stories runs 
 a series of European history stories, somewhat similar 
 in tone and general simplicity of life. 
 
 With these statements in mind, it will be possible 
 to see the relation of this entire course of history 
 study to the parallel course in geography. 
 
 The fourth, fifth, and sixth grade geography deals 
 chiefly with the United States and North America, 
 thus running parallel to much of the history of the 
 same grades. 
 
 In the seventh grade the geography of Europe is 
 mainly studied. It will be observed that the sixth- 
 grade history has had much to do with Europe, both 
 directly, as in the Persian and Punic wars, and in- 
 directly in the relations of colonial settlement and 
 development to European states, wars, etc. Besides 
 this, the myths, history stories, and literature of 
 European countries have been much used in the 
 fourth and fifth grades, where the geographical loca- 
 tions of many of them have been fixed, as in the case 
 of Ulysses in the Mediterranean, Siegfried on the 
 Rhine, Horatius at Rome, Alfred in England, Isabella 
 in Spain, and many others.
 
 20O SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 SIXTH GRADE 
 HISTORY 
 
 European History 
 
 The Persian wars : Contact of Persia with Greece. 
 
 Darius and Xerxes : Marathon and Plataea. 
 
 The battle of Salamis : The leading characters also. 
 
 The Punic wars : Rome against Carthage. Han- 
 nibal and Fabius. Regulus. 
 
 The Scipios : The courage and perseverance of the 
 Romans. 
 
 Colonial History of America 
 
 Virginia: James I, Bacon, Washington. Develop- 
 ment of representative government. RoyaJ govern- 
 ors. Emphasis upon the English side of the history. 
 The picture of colonial life among the Virginia cava- 
 liers should be clear. 
 
 New York : Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch rule. 
 History of the colony under royal governors. The 
 relations with the Indians and other neighbors. 
 
 Pennsylvania: William Penn, Benjamin Franklin 
 The Quakers and Germans and Scotch-Irish. The 
 people and the governors. Plans for the larger 
 union of the colonies. 
 
 Massachusetts: Settlement of Plymouth and Bos- 
 ton. Winthrop. Growth of the representative sys- 
 tem. The Indian wars. Royal governors, charters, 
 and popular assemblies. The religious controversies 
 and persecutions.
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 261 
 
 THE EUROPEAN WARS AS RELATED TO AMERICA 
 
 The last French and Indian War. Braddock's 
 expedition. The last great struggle between the 
 English and the French. Pitt in England. Mont- 
 calm and Wolfe. Pontiac's conspiracy. Condition 
 of affairs at the close of the struggle. Character 
 of French and English and their relations to the 
 Indians. 
 
 RELATED READING AND LITERATURE (AMERICAN) 
 
 Miles Standish (Longfellow); Grandfather's Chair 
 (Hawthorne); The Gentle Boy (Hawthorne); Giles 
 Corey (Longfellow) ; Mabel Martin (Whittier) ; Snow- 
 Bound, Among the Hills (Whittier); Tales of the 
 White Hills (Hawthorne); The Sketch Book (Irv- 
 ing); Source Book of American History (Hart); 
 Biographical Stories (Hawthorne); Our Country in 
 Prose and Verse; Pilgrims and Puritans (Moore); 
 Conquest of the Old Northwest (Baldwin); The 
 Building of the Ship (Longfellow); Autobiography 
 of Franklin ; Seven American Classics ; The Con- 
 quest of Mexico (Prescott); Children's Stories of 
 American Literature (Wright). 
 
 READINGS FROM ENGLISH LITERATURE 
 
 The Coming of Arthur and the Passing of Arthur 
 (Tennyson); Lay of the Last Minstrel (Scott); 
 Choice English Lyrics ; Child's History of England 
 (Dickens); Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb); Stories
 
 262 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 from Waverley (Scott); Stories from Old English 
 Poetry (Richardson); Stories from English History 
 (Church), 2 vols. ; English Historical Tales (Morris); 
 Source Book of English History (Kendall); History 
 of England (Macaulay) Introduction. 
 
 EUROPEAN READINGS 
 
 Ten Great Events partly English ; Froissart 
 (Lanier's); William Tell (Schiller); Iliad (Bryant) 
 poetic translation ; Don Quixote a simple adap- 
 tation. 
 
 SEVENTH GRADE 
 THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY AND EUROPE 
 
 Leo X, Luther, Charles V, Henry VIII, Loyola, 
 Gustavus Adolphus. Contest of Protestants and 
 Catholics. 
 
 THE PURITAN REVOLUTION IN ENGLAND 
 
 Charles I and Parliament; Straff ord. Hampden, 
 Pym, Cromwell, Milton. William of Orange and 
 the Protestant succession. Wesley and the Non- 
 conformists. 
 
 LOUIS XIV AND THE FRENCH MONARCHY 
 
 French royalty and aristocracy. The tyranny of 
 the upper classes over the poor. Lafayette, his 
 early life and connection with America. 
 
 In the previous grades the character of the French 
 has been studied in a much simpler form in Canada.
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 263 
 
 Their customs, religion, and warlike qualities were 
 seen in La Salle, Frontenac, Champlain, Marquette, 
 the Jesuits, and others. The stories of Champlain, 
 La Salle, and the French wars have dealt also with 
 the schemes of the French government and with the 
 French monarchs and statesmen. 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Causes of the Revolution. Trace back the causes 
 in the history of the colonies and of England. The 
 life of Samuel Adams as a Puritan leader. Opening 
 events of the war about Boston. The capture of 
 New York and the battles near New York. Wash- 
 ington's retreat through New Jersey. Burgoyne's 
 invasion and its results. Valley Forge and the 
 sufferings of the army. Sea-fights Paul Jones and 
 others. War in the South Charleston, Savannah. 
 Cornwallis's campaigns and surrender at Yorktown. 
 Life of Washington, Franklin, Paul Jones, John 
 Adams, Morris. The state of money matters at 
 the close of the war. The growing hostility between 
 the states. Congress and its power under the Articles 
 of Confederation. The Philadelphia Convention : its 
 struggles and leading men. The Constitution before 
 the people ; ratification. The life of James Madison 
 in connection with the Constitution. 
 
 The great biographies should be very prominent, 
 as Life of Washington (Scudder) and Samuel Adams 
 (Hosmer).
 
 264 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 RELATED READING AND LITERATURE 
 
 Evangeline (Longfellow) French life and earlier 
 history ; Poems of Emerson (" Lexington," "Boston," 
 and other poems); Webster's Bunker Hill, and 
 Adams and Jefferson strongly historical; Grand- 
 mother's Story of Bunker Hill (Holmes); Camps 
 and Firesides of the Revolution ; Boys of '76 (Coffin) 
 good home reading, illustrated ; American War 
 Ballads and Lyrics the earlier parts; Paul Revere's 
 Ride (Longfellow); From Colony to Commonwealth 
 (Moore); Life of Washington (Scudder) the best 
 for children; Source Book of American History 
 (Hart) Revolution and Confederation; Washing- 
 ton's Rules of Conduct, and other papers ; Poor 
 Richard's Almanac (Franklin) ; Speech on the 
 Landing of the Pilgrims (Webster); Last of the 
 Mohicans (Cooper) ; Stories of American Literature 
 (Wright) ; biographies : Twelve Naval Captains 
 (Sewell), first part; Washington and His Country 
 (Fiske-Irving); Life of Samuel de Champlain (Sedg- 
 wick); Life of John Paul Jones (Hapgood); Life of 
 Benjamin Franklin (Moore). 
 
 RELATED ENGLISH LITERATURE 
 
 Some of these books, like those in the previous 
 list of American books, may be used in the regular 
 reading work. 
 
 History of England (Macaulay) the part on the 
 Puritan revolution ; Tom Brown's School Days
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 265 
 
 (Hughes) English school life; Christmas Carol 
 (Dickens); Tales of a Grandfather (Scott) Wal- 
 lace and Bruce; Shakespeare's Tragedies (Lamb) 
 Historical plays ; Vicar of Wakefield (Goldsmith) 
 English life; Cotter's Saturday Night (Burns) 
 Scottish home life ; Source Book of English History 
 (Kendall); Story of the English (Guerber) use the 
 parts needed. 
 
 OTHER LITERATURE OF EUROPE 
 
 The Two Great Retreats (Grote) retreat of the 
 ten thousand; Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare) 
 Italy ; Plutarch's Lives Greek and Roman leaders ; 
 Life of Peter the Great (Motley) interesting and 
 clear; Natural History of Selbourne (White); Sto- 
 ries from the Classic Literature of Many Nations 
 (Palmer); Stories of the Alhambra (Irving) Spain 
 and the Moors; The Letters of Chesterfield to his 
 Son. William TelL 
 
 EIGHTH GRADE 
 
 EUROPEAN HISTORY 
 
 Julius Caesar and Augustus. The Roman Empire. 
 The great period of Rome. 
 
 The French Revolution and Napoleon. Compari- 
 son with the American Revolution. 
 
 England's conquest of India. Clive and Hastings. 
 
 The English in Africa. Livingstone and Stanley. 
 The struggle for Africa in recent years.
 
 266 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Revolt of the Spanish-American provinces. 
 
 The Greek war of independence. Turkey. Decay 
 of Turkish power. 
 
 The union of the north German states. Bismarck 
 and King William. 
 
 The union of Italian states. Cavour and Victor 
 Emanuel. 
 
 Queen Victoria's reign. Bright, Gladstone. The 
 English empire at present 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORY UNDER THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 Hamilton and the finances; the banking system. 
 Early division into parties ; origin and growth of 
 parties. Growth in territory, illustrated by simple 
 maps. War of 1812; the right of impressment. 
 Internal improvements ; commercial routes westward. 
 Immigration its character and effects. Jackson 
 and the spoils system. Inventions their influence 
 upon the progress of the country. Growth of slav- 
 ery; the chief steps in its development. The 
 Mexican War its motives and results. Discovery 
 of gold in California; continental railroads. The 
 doctrine of state rights; southern leaders. Plan 
 of the Civil War; a few chief campaigns. Our 
 system of revenue ; the national debt. The three 
 departments of government ; a system of checks. 
 Civil-service reform ; review of the spoils system. 
 
 Biographies : Hamilton, John Quincy Adams,
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN HISTORY 26? 
 
 Daniel Webster, Lincoln, Horace Greeley, Whittier, 
 Garrison, Whitney, Morse, Peter Cooper. 
 
 REGULAR READING LESSONS AND AMERICAN LITERA- 
 TURE 
 
 Masterpieces of American Literature (Scudder); 
 Nature Pictures by American Poets; Speech on 
 Washington (Webster) ; Washington's Farewell Ad- 
 dress ; Tales of a Wayside Inn (Longfellow); Poems 
 of American Patriotism ; Hymns and Patriotic Songs ; 
 Fortune of the Republic and American Scholar 
 (Emerson); Schurz's Abraham Lincoln and other 
 selected pieces; Lincoln's Inaugurals, and other 
 speeches. My Hunt after the Captain (Holmes); 
 Biglow Papers selections (Lowell); Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin (Stowe) ; Speech in Reply to Hayne, or, The 
 Great Debate (Webster) ; Burke on Conciliation with 
 the American Colonies; Oregon Trail (Parkman) 
 pictures of western life; Source Book of American 
 History (Hart) latter part; The House of Seven 
 Gables (Hawthorne); Story of the Great Republic 
 (Guerber) latter part ; American Writers of To-day 
 (Vedder); The Pilot (Cooper); Twelve Naval Cap- 
 tains (Sewell). Great Words of Great Americans. 
 
 READINGS FROM ENGLISH LITERATURE 
 
 Masterpieces of English Literature : Roger de 
 Coverley (Addison) English pictures; Lady of the 
 Lake and Marmion (Scott); The Deserted Village
 
 268 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 and Traveller (Goldsmith); Ivanhoe, The Abbot, and 
 Rob Roy (Scott) ; Essay on Samuel Johnson (Macau- 
 lay); Source Book of English History (Kendall); 
 Tale of Two Cities (Dickens). Seven British 
 Classics. 
 
 OTHER EUROPEAN LITERATURE 
 
 Julius Caesar (Shakespeare) closely related to 
 the history; Peasant and Prince (Martineau); The 
 Judgment of Socrates (Plato) ; Story of the Romans 
 (Guerber) latter parts ; The Boy's Browning 
 " Pied Piper " and other poems ; Plutarch's Lives 
 historical biographies ; Don Quixote (Cervantes) ; 
 Two Great Retreats retreat of Napoleon from 
 Moscow; The Talisman and Quentin Durward 
 (Scott) ; Jean Valjean ; Motley's Peter the Great and 
 The Siege of Leyden.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 
 
 OUT of the great number of books on American 
 and European history, it is needful that a careful 
 selection be made of a few most suitable for use in 
 the grades. 
 
 In pursuance of the plan and course of study laid 
 out in the preceding chapters, a few select books have 
 been chosen for each grade. 
 
 In each grade three groups of books are given. 
 
 1. Those books which may serve as a text-book 
 basis for more careful study. In fourth and fifth 
 grades the first list contains the stories to be treated 
 orally by the teacher. 
 
 2. A list of supplementary reading and source 
 material, biography and story, which children may be 
 encouraged to use at school and home. This will 
 open up the library to children, and teach them how 
 to make use of books, sources, etc. 
 
 3. A list of a few important books for teach- 
 ers, including some of the secondary histories, the 
 stronger biographies and fuller source materials, doc- 
 
 269
 
 2/0 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 uments, etc. Such a book as Channing and Hart's 
 Guide to the Study of American History is of great 
 value to teachers in directing their reading and study. 
 
 Several books of this character, with good, brief 
 bibliographies, and a few books on the pedagogics 
 of history are included. 
 
 The large, complete histories, such as Schouler's 
 McMaster's, Bancroft's, and others, are named at 
 the end of the list. 
 
 The entire list of books is designed to be definite 
 for each grade, and to strike the middle line between 
 too much and too little.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 
 
 FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 
 
 I. Books of American pioneer stories and a few European 
 stories which furnish material suitable for oral treatment by the 
 teacher. A few books of select poems and sources will also be 
 of service to teachers. 
 
 Pioneers on Land and Sea. (McMurry.) The Macmillan Co. 
 
 This contains the stories of Hudson, Champlain, John Smith, 
 Raleigh, early life of Washington, Columbus, Magellan, Corte's, 
 and early New England. 
 
 Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley. (McMurry.) The Macmillan 
 
 Co. 
 
 This has the stories of La Salle, Joliet and Marquette, Henne- 
 pin, Boone, Robertson, Sevier, George Rogers Clark, Lincoln, 
 and De Soto. 
 
 Pioneers of the Rocky Mountains and the West. (McMurry.) 
 The Macmillan Co. 
 
 The stories of Lewis and Clark, Fremont's two expeditions, 
 Parkman among the Indians, the Sioux massacre, the trip to 
 California in '49, and Powell's descent of the Colorado. 
 
 The three books above named contain stories for use in both 
 fourth and fifth grades. The order in which they are used de- 
 pends upon the location of the home, in the East or West. It is 
 recommended that the ocean pioneers, Columbus, Magellan, etc., 
 be taken in the latter part of the fifth grade. 
 
 Pilgrims and Puritans. (Moore.) Ginn & Co. 
 
 The best account for our purpose of the early settlement of 
 Plymouth and Boston. This reaches also into colonial history. 
 
 271
 
 272 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Heroes of the Middle West. (Catherwood.) Ginn & Co. 
 
 Excellent stories of the early French explorers along the Lakes 
 and the Mississippi. 
 
 The Discovery of the Old Northwest. (Baldwin.) American 
 
 Book Co. 
 Good stories of the French explorers. 
 
 The Conquest of the Old Northwest. (Baldwin.) American 
 
 Book Co. 
 Stories of the contest for the Ohio Valley and the Northwest. 
 
 A Book of American Explorers. (Higginson.) Longmans, 
 
 Green & Co. 
 
 These are instructive stories of the early explorers and settlers 
 in America, containing much source material. 
 
 Our Country in Poem and Prose. (Persons.) American Book 
 
 Co. 
 Excellent selections. 
 
 Samuel de Champlain. (Sedgwick.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 One hundred and twenty-six pages. A good, brief account of 
 Champlain's life. 
 
 George Rogers Clark. (Turner.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 A lively narrative of Clark's exploits. 
 
 Lewis and Clark. (Lighton.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 The three above-mentioned books are good, brief biographies 
 of value and interest to teachers as giving a fuller and more com- 
 prehensive treatment than the previous stories. 
 
 Source Book of American History. (Hart.) The Macmillan Co. 
 The earlier parts on explorations and early settlement. 
 
 Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. (Putnam.) A. C. McClurg 
 &Co. 
 
 Stories from English History. (Church.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Earlier and later tales of England. 
 
 History of England. (Cooke.) D. Appleton & Co.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 273 
 
 England's Story. (Tappan.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Instructive and well illustrated. 
 
 Four American Explorers. (Kingsley.) Werner School Book 
 Co. 
 
 How our Grandfathers Lived. Source Reader. (Hart.) The 
 Macmillan Co. 
 
 Old South Leaflets. Sources. D. C. Heath & Co. 
 American History Leaflets. (Hart and Channing.) Lovell. 
 
 Stories from the Bible. (Church.) The Macmillan Co. 
 First Series. The early Bible stories in good form. 
 
 Source Book of English History. (Kendall.) The Macmillan 
 
 Co. 
 A few selections from the first part. 
 
 2. Books of simple, historical narrative which may be read by 
 children in the fourth or fifth grades. 
 
 Stories of American Life and Adventure. (Eggleston.) Ameri- 
 can Book Co. 
 Simple and interesting stories. 
 
 Stories of Colonial Children. (Pratt.) Educational Publishing 
 
 Co. 
 Very simple stories of early Massachusetts. 
 
 Colonial Life in New Hampshire. (Fassett.) Ginn & Co. 
 An interesting description of early pioneer struggles. 
 
 Colonial Children. (Hart.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Very simple source reader in early American history. 
 
 Pioneers of the Revolution. Public School Publishing Co. 
 Simple stories of Boone, and others. 
 
 Stories of the Badger State. (Thwaites.) American Book Co. 
 Stories of Maine. (Swett.) American Book Co. 
 
 A First Book in American History. (Eggleston.) American 
 Book Co. 
 
 T
 
 274 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Wigwam Stories. (Judd.) Ginn & Co. 
 Primitive Indian legends and customs. 
 
 American Indians. (Starr.) D. C. Heath & Co. 
 One of the best books on Indian life. 
 
 Stories of our Country. (Johonnot.) American Book Co. 
 Children's Stories of American Progress. (Wright.) Scribner's. 
 Four Great Americans. (Baldwin.) Werner School Book Co. 
 Stories of Ohio (Howells.) American Book Co. 
 Stories of Georgia. (Harris.) American Book Co. 
 
 American Leaders and Heroes. (Gordy.) Scribner's. 
 Instructive, entertaining, and well illustrated. 
 
 Explorers and Travelers. (Greely.) Scribner's. 
 
 The Young Puritans of Old Hadley. (Smith.) Roberts Bros. 
 
 Four True Stories of Life and Adventure. (Smith.) W. 
 Beverly Harrison. 
 
 Hero Tales of American History. (Roosevelt and Lodge.) The 
 Century Co. 
 
 A Primary History of the United States. (McMaster.) American 
 Book Co. Illustrated. 
 
 Pacific History Stories. Tales of discovery of the Pacific slope. 
 Ainsworth & Co. 
 
 First Steps in the History of Our Country. (Mowry.) Silver, 
 Burdett & Co. 
 
 The Boys of Greenway Court. (Butterworth.) D. Appleton & 
 Co. 
 
 Short Stories from English History. (Blaisdell.) Ginn & Co. 
 Easy narrative. 
 
 Stories of the Olden Time. (Johonnot.) American Book Co. 
 Myths, legends, and historical tales. Somewhat difficult.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 275 
 
 Fifty Famous Stories Retold. (Baldwin.) American Book Co. 
 The City of the Seven Hills. (Harding.) Silver, Burdett & Co. 
 
 The Story of the Romans. (Guerber.) American Book Co. 
 Somewhat difficult in language. 
 
 Stories of Old France. (Pitman.) American Book Co. 
 Old Stories of the East. (Baldwin.) American Book Co. 
 Grandfather's Chair. (Hawthorne.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 3. Valuable references for teachers, including some of the abler 
 and fuller historical works. 
 
 The Discovery of America. 2 Vols. (Fiske.) Houghton, 
 Mifflin & Co. 
 
 The Beginnings of New England. (Fiske.) Houghton, Mifflin 
 &Co. 
 
 Old Virginia and her Neighbors. (Fiske.) Houghton, Mifflin 
 &Co. 
 
 The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America. (Fiske.) Hough- 
 ton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Very interesting and instructive books for teachers. 
 
 Pioneers of France in the New World. (Parkman.) 
 
 La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West. (Parkman.) 
 
 These books, published by Little, Brown & Co., are the best 
 teachers 1 books of early American history. 
 
 The California and Oregon Trail. (Parkman.) Little, Brown 
 &Co. 
 
 American History told by Contemporaries. (Hart.) Vol. I. 
 
 The Macmillan Co. 
 
 A very choice collection of source materials, well-arranged and 
 easy of use. 
 
 Boys' Heroes. (Hale.) Lothrop. 
 
 Historical Tales, French. (Morris.) J. B. Lippincott.
 
 376 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The Winning of the West. (Roosevelt.) Putnam. 
 
 The best material for the early history of the Ohio Valley. 
 
 A Short History of the Mississippi Valley. (Hosmer.) Hough- 
 ton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Excellent, but somewhat brief. 
 
 Life of Christopher Columbus. (Lamartine.) Hough ton, 
 Mifflin & Co. 
 
 The Conquest of Mexico. (Prescott.) Maynard, Merrill & Co. 
 An abridgment. 
 
 The Making of New England. (Drake.) Scribner's. 
 
 The Making of the Ohio Valley States. (Drake.) Scribner's. 
 
 The Making of the Great West. (Drake.) Scribner's. 
 
 These books are excellent narratives of early conditions. Well 
 illustrated. 
 
 Larger History. (Higginson.) Harper Brothers. 
 
 Sir Francis Drake. (Winsor.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co, 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. (Edwards.) 
 
 Columbus. (Adams.) Dodd, Mead & Co. 
 
 An Historical Geography of the United States. (MacCoun.) 
 
 Silver, Burdett & Co. 
 Simple maps with historical notes and explanations. 
 
 Westward Ho! (Kingsley.) The Macmillan Co. 
 History of England. (Buckley.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Alfred the Great. (Hughes.) The Macmillan Co. 
 
 The Story of the Christians and Moors of Spain. (Yonge.) 
 The Macmillan Co. 
 
 Stories of Croesus, Cyrus, and Babylon, from Herodotus. 
 (Church.) Maynard, Merrill & Co.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 277 
 
 Ten Boys on the Road from Long Ago. (Andrews.) Ginn & 
 Co. 
 
 A Short History of Medieval Europe. (Thatcher.) Scribner's. 
 
 The Story of Tonty. (Catherwood.) A. C. McClurg. 
 
 Alice of Old Vincennes. (Thompson.) The Bowen-Merrill Co. 
 
 Students' History of the United States. (Channing.) The 
 
 Macmillan Co. 
 An excellent guide for teachers. Good reference lists. 
 
 Guide to the Study of American History. (Channing and Hart.) 
 
 Ginn & Co. 
 A most complete and satisfactory book for teachers. 
 
 The Teaching of History and Civics. (Bourne.) Longmans, 
 
 Green & Co. 
 A complete pedagogical treatise on history. 
 
 SIXTH GRADE 
 
 I. Text-books for children's use. 
 
 A special children's text-book on the colonial period has not 
 been prepared, but a number of books deal somewhat fully with 
 this period. A few of these are named, as follows : 
 History of the United States. (Fiske.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 One hundred and eighty pages devoted to the period before the 
 Revolution. The language may be somewhat difficult for 
 children. This book may serve well as an outline, which can 
 be filled in by teacher and children from other sources. 
 
 Several of the primary histories have simple, mostly biographi- 
 cal narratives of this early period, as a History of the United 
 States (Gordy), Scribner's, the New Era History, published by 
 Eaton & Co., Story of the Great Republic (Guerber), American 
 Book Co., Our Country's Story (Tappan), Houghton, Mifflin & 
 Co., and a Short History of the United States (Scudder), Sheldon 
 & Co. They are usually well illustrated with maps and quaint 
 pictures.
 
 2/8 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 A good book for use in connection with one of the above, used 
 as a text, is Higginson's A Larger History of the United States 
 of America to the Close of Jackson's Administration, Chapters 
 I to VIII. Well illustrated. 
 
 Colonial Children. (Hart.) Source Readers in American His- 
 tory, No. I. The Macmillan Co. 
 Excellent. The very best select material for children. 
 
 The story of the Persian wars in Greece and of the Punic wars 
 between Rome and Carthage are well told in a number of the 
 histories for young people ; for example : The Story of the Greeks 
 (Guerber), and The Story of the Romans (Guerber), American 
 Book Co. ; The City of the Seven Hills (Harding), Scott, Fores- 
 man & Co. ; History of Rome for Beginners (Shuckburgh), The 
 Macmillan Co. ; Greeks and Persians (Cox), Scribner's ; Rome 
 and Carthage (Smith), Scribner's. 
 
 2. Books of reference on colonial history for children. 
 Pilgrims and Puritans. (Moore.) Ginn & Co. 
 From Colony to Commonwealth. (Moore.) Ginn & Co. 
 
 Source Book of American History. (Hart.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Chapters I to VIII. Well adapted for the use of children. 
 
 The Making of New England. (Drake.) Scribner's. 
 
 The Making of Virginia and the Middle Colonies. (Drake.) 
 Scribner's. 
 
 The Making of the Great West. (Drake.) Scribner's. 
 These three volumes supply good supplementary reading. 
 
 The Border Wars of New England. (Drake.) Scribner's. 
 
 Life of George Washington. (Scudder.) Houghton, Mifflin & 
 
 Co. 
 
 Chapters I to XII give the best account for children of Wash- 
 ington's life up to the Revolution. 
 
 Grandfather's Chair. (Hawthorne.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 The best stories of colonial life in Hawthorne's interesting style.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 279 
 
 Colonial Days in Old New York. (Earle.) Scribner's. 
 Fine description of Dutch life and customs. 
 
 Colonial Days and Ways. (H. E. Smith.) The Century Co. 
 
 The Gentle Boy and Other Tales. (Hawthorne.) Houghton 
 Mifflin & Co. 
 
 Colonial Pioneers. (Parton.) Maynard, Merrill & Co. 
 
 History of Plymouth Plantation. (Bradford.) Maynard, Mer- 
 rill & Co. 
 
 Colonial Massachusetts. (Dawes.) Silver, Burdett & Co. 
 Good stories. Well illustrated. 
 
 Roger Williams. (Straus.) The Century Co. 
 
 Child Life in Colonial Days. (Earle.) Illustrated. The Mao 
 millan Co. 
 
 Stories of the Old Bay State. (Brooks.) American Book Co. 
 American History Stories. (Dodge.) Lee & Shepard. 
 Historic Boston. (Hale.) D. Appleton & Co. 
 
 The Autobiography of Franklin. The Macmillan Co., American 
 
 Book Co., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Ginn & Co. 
 Parts of this interesting narrative of colonial life can be selected 
 by the teacher for reference reading, or class use. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin. (More.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 A short, interesting biography of Franklin. 
 
 William Penn. (Hodges.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 This supplies some excellent descriptions of Penn's work. 
 
 Colonial Life in New Hampshire. (Fassett.) Ginn & Co. 
 American Indians. (Starr.) D. C. Heath & Co. 
 
 The Conquest of the Northwest. (Baldwin.) American Book Co. 
 Clear and well narrated. 
 
 Historical Geography of the United States. (MacCoun.) 
 A small book with good series of historical maps, notes, etc.
 
 280 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Biographical Stories. (Hawthorne.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 The Courtship of Miles Standish. (Longfellow.) Houghton, 
 Mifflin & Co. 
 
 Westward Ho ! (Kingsley.) The Macmillan Co. 
 
 The Conquest of Mexico. (Prescott.) Maynard, Merrill & Co. 
 Abridged. 
 
 Ten Great Events in History. (Johonnot.) American Book Co. 
 Tales from Scottish History. (Rolfe.) American Book Co. 
 Tales from English History. (Rolfe.) American Book Co. 
 
 Ten Boys on the Road from Long Ago. (Andrews.) Ginn & 
 Co. 
 
 3. Important reference books for teachers. 
 
 The Colonies. 1492-1750. (Thwaites.) Longmans, Green & 
 Co. 
 
 Home Life in Colonial Days. (Earle.) Illustrated. The Mac- 
 millan Co. 
 
 An excellent treatment of this period with descriptive list of 
 best books for the teacher's use. 
 
 Customs and Fashions of Old New England. (Earle.) Scrib- 
 ner's. 
 
 Half Hours with American History. Vol. I. J. B. Lippincott. 
 
 Colonial America. J. B. Lippincott. 
 Excellent material on special topics. 
 
 A Student's History of the United States. (Channing.) The 
 
 Macmillan Co. 
 
 A book designed for high schools, but of the greatest value to 
 teachers. A somewhat full treatment of the colonial period, 
 pp. 1-150. Excellent maps and book references. 
 
 Guide to the Study of American History. (Channing and Hart.) 
 Ginn & Co.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 28 1 
 
 American History told by Contemporaries. Vols. I and II. 
 
 Full and well-selected source material for the colonial period. 
 Excellent books for the school library. 
 
 The Beginnings of New England. (Fiske.) 
 
 Old Virginia and her Neighbors. (Fiske.) 2 Vols. 
 
 The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America. (Fiske.) 2 Vols. 
 All published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. These five volumes 
 have great interest and value. 
 
 The Making of New England. (Drake.) Scribner's. 
 Very instructive on colonial life. 
 
 Virginia and the Middle Colonies. (Drake.) Scribner'i. 
 Excellent detail. 
 
 Pioneers of New France. (Parkman.) 
 Montcalm and Wolfe. (Parkman.) 
 
 Conspiracy of Pontiac. (Parkman.) 
 All published by Little, Brown & Co. 
 
 Costumes of Colonial Times. (Earle.) Scribner'a, 
 Miles Standish. (Abbott.) Dodd, Mead & Co. 
 
 Colonial Era. (Fisher.) Scribner's. 
 
 This is the most complete treatment of the colonial period in a 
 single volume. 
 
 English Colonies. (Lodge.) Harper Brothers. 
 
 American History Leaflets. (Hart and Channing.) Lovell & Co. 
 
 Old South Leaflets. D. C. Heath & Co. 
 
 European Colonies. (Payne.) The Macmillan Co. 
 
 The Seats of the Mighty. (Parker.) D. Appleton & Co. 
 An historical novel. Story of Quebec. 
 
 Side Glimpses from the Colonial Meeting-house. (Bliu.) 
 Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
 
 282 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 A Short History of the Mississippi Valley. (Hosmer.) Hough- 
 ton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 Short History of the English People. (Green.) The Macmillan 
 Co. 
 
 Life of Hannibal. (Arnold.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Stories from English History. (Church.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Method in History. (Mace.) Ginn & Co. 
 
 How to study and teach History. (Hinsdale.) D. Appleton 
 &Co. 
 
 SEVENTH GRADE 
 I. Books for careful reading and study by the children. 
 
 History of the United States. (Fiske.) Houghton, Mifflin & 
 
 Co. 
 
 This furnishes merely a good outline to be filled in from fuller 
 sources. Condensed and somewhat difficult. Any one of several 
 other text-books will serve as well as Fiske's. 
 
 The War of Independence. (Fiske.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 A full and interesting account of the causes leading up to the 
 war, and of the chief campaigns. This book can receive a careful 
 study. 
 
 Washington and his Country. (Fiske-Irving.) Ginn & Co. 
 
 This book furnishes excellent collateral reading and study of 
 special topics. It is largely biographical and interesting. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin. (More.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Chapters V and VI. A brief account of Franklin in France. 
 
 Source Book of American History. (Hart.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Chapters IX and X. 
 
 Paul Jones. (Hapgood.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 A biography of the chief naval hero of the Revolution. 
 
 Camps and Firesides of the Revolution. (Hart.) The Mac- 
 millan Co. 
 An excellent source reader. Simple.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 283 
 
 American History told by Contemporaries. (Hart.) Vol. II. 
 
 The best and simplest source material. This book should be 
 in the school library for constant reference. Part also of Vol. III. 
 
 England's Story. (Tappan.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 This contains, for reference, a good, brief account of the Eng- 
 lish Puritan revolution, as well as an outline history of England. 
 
 History of England. (Macaulay.) Maynard, Merrill & Co. 
 Chapter I. The part on the Puritan revolution. 
 
 2. Further books of reference and supplementary reading for 
 children. 
 
 The Men who made the Nation. (Sparks.) The Macmillan Co. 
 First half of the book. Somewhat difficult in language. 
 
 Life of Washington. (Scudder.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 An excellent biography for children. 
 
 Burgoyne's Invasion. (Drake.) Lee & Shepard. 
 An interesting monograph on this expedition. 
 
 Stories of Georgia. (Harris.) American Book Co. 
 
 Grandfather's Chair. (Hawthorne.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Part III. Good stories in Hawthorne's fine style. 
 
 Poems of American Patriotism. Scribner's. 
 The earlier selections in the book. 
 
 Boys of '76. (Coffin.) Harper Brothers. Illustrated. 
 
 Heroes of the Revolution. (Parton.) Maynard, Merrill & Co. 
 An interesting pamphlet. 
 
 Side Lights on American History. (Elson.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Vol. I. An excellent treatment of special topics. 
 
 Our Country in Poem and Prose. (Persons.) American Book 
 
 Co. 
 Patriotic and choice selections. 
 
 The Young American. (Judson.) Maynard, Merrill & Co.
 
 284 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 The Century Book of the American Revolution. (Brooks.) 
 The Century Co. 
 
 Stories of Old France. (Pitman.) American Book Co. 
 An introduction to French history. 
 
 Larger History. (Higginson.) Harper Brothers. 
 A complete and interesting history of the United States to 1837 
 
 Alexander Hamilton. (Conant.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 A brief biography, simple and instructive. 
 
 Stories from English History. (Church.) The Macmillan Co. 
 A standard book of children's history stories. 
 
 The Story of the English. (Guerber.) American Book Co. 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather. (Scott.) Ginn & Co. 
 Stories of Wallace, Bruce, Douglas, etc. 
 
 Bunker Hill, Adams, and Jefferson. (Webster.) Houghton, 
 
 Mifflin & Co. 
 Somewhat difficult, but worth the effort of serious study. 
 
 Source Book of English History. (Kendall.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Excellent material. 
 
 An Historical Geography. (MacCoun.) Silver, Burdett & Co. 
 3. Choice books for teachers' use. 
 
 Formation of the Union. (Hart.) Longmans, Green & Co 
 Excellent, with choice references. 
 
 A Student's History of the United States. (Channing.) The 
 
 Macmillan Co- 
 Guide to the Study of American History. (Channing and Hart.) 
 
 Ginn & Co. 
 The best guide for teachers. 
 
 The French War and the Revolution. (Sloane.) Scribner's. 
 A full treatment of this period in one volume. 
 
 The Growth of the American Nation. (Judson.) The Mac- 
 millan Co.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 285 
 
 An excellent survey of American history for teachers. Inter- 
 esting. 
 
 The United States of America. (Channing.) 1765-1865. The 
 
 Macmillan Co. 
 A somewhat complete historical survey of this period. 
 
 The Story of the Revolution. (Lodge.) Scribner's. 
 Two large volumes. Finely illustrated. 
 
 Half Hours with American History. Vol. II. J. B. Lippincott. 
 
 The Life of Samuel Adams. (Hosmer.) Houghton, Mifflin 
 
 &Co. 
 Most excellent as introductory to the Revolution. 
 
 The American Revolution. (Fiske.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 2 Vols. 
 Complete and valuable. 
 
 The Critical Period of American History. (Fiske.) Houghton, 
 
 Mifflin & Co. 
 Of great value, and remarkably interesting. 
 
 Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. The Macmillan 
 Co., Ginn & Co., Silver, Burdett & Co., Houghton, Mifflin & 
 Co., American Book Co. 
 A great piece of literature, and very instructive. 
 
 George Washington. (Lodge.) 2 Vols. Statesmen Series. 
 
 Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 An excellent and full biography. 
 
 American History Leaflets. (Hart and Channing.) Lovell & Co. 
 Thirty numbers. Best sources. 
 
 Old South Leaflets. D. C. Heath & Co. 
 Excellent source material. 
 
 Orations on Washington and Landing of the Pilgrims. (Web- 
 ster.) American Book Co. 
 
 History of England. (Buckley.) The Macmillan Co.
 
 286 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Life of Oliver Cromwell. (Lamartine.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 One small volume. 
 
 Life of Martin Luther. (Bunsen.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 A short biography. 
 
 The Era of Protestant Revolution. (Seebohm.) Scribner's. 
 
 Europe in the Sixteenth Century. (Johnson.) Rivington. 
 The period of the Reformation. 
 
 Brave Little Holland. (Griffis.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 A General History of Europe. (Thatcher and Schwill.) Scrib- 
 ner's. 
 
 The Puritan Revolution. (Gardner.) Longmans, Green & Co. 
 
 Student's History of England. (Gardner.) Longmans, Green 
 &Co. 
 
 Short History of the English People. (Green.) The Macmillan 
 
 Co. J 
 
 The Teaching of History and Civics. (Bourne.) Longmans, 
 
 Green & Co. 
 Valuable for teachers. 
 
 EIGHTH GRADE 
 I. Books for children's study. 
 
 One good text-book of American history, such as History of 
 the United States. (Fiske.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. This 
 book is somewhat difficult in parts, and needs to be illustrated 
 and enlarged from source material, history readers, biographies, 
 and larger histories as follows : 
 
 Formation of the Union. (Hart.) Longmans, Green & Co. 
 
 Chapters VII to XII. A clear treatment of topics up to 1829. 
 This book is designed for older students, but in connection with 
 other fuller materials may serve also for eighth-grade pupils. 
 
 Side Lights on American History. (Elson.) 2 Vols. The 
 
 Macmillan Co. 
 These two volumes furnish an excellent supplement to the text-
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 287 
 
 book. A few important topics are handled with descriptive ful- 
 ness, so as to furnish clear and interesting pictures. The second 
 volume deals with the period of the Civil War and the later history. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton. (Conant.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 A good, brief account of Hamilton's part in making and launch- 
 ing the government. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. (Schurz.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 A brief, masterly essay on Lincoln's life and character. 
 
 Source Book of American History. (Hart.) The Macmillan 
 Co. 
 
 Historical Geography of the United States. (MacCoun.) Sil- 
 ver, Burdett & Co. 
 
 History of England for Beginners. (Buckley.) The Macmillan 
 
 Co. 
 The latter part. 
 
 The History of Colonization. (Morris.) 2 Vols. The Mac- 
 millan Co. 
 
 England's Story. (Tappan.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 The latter part of the book is a good, brief statement of English 
 and European history in the last hundred years. 
 
 The Story of Caesar. (Clarke.) American Book Co. 
 
 Stories from English History. (Church.) The Macmillan Co. 
 
 2. Children's supplementary books for reading and reference. 
 
 The Growth of the American Nation. (Judson.) The Mac- 
 millan Co. 
 An interesting and vigorous treatment of leading topics. 
 
 American History told by Contemporaries. (Hart.) The Mac- 
 millan Co. 
 
 Vols. Ill and IV. An excellent collection of source materials, 
 well arranged for easy reference. Very valuable for school library. 
 
 Children's Stories of American Progress. (Wright.) Scribner's 
 Very simple narratives on special topics.
 
 288 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Children's Life of Lincoln. (Putnam.) A. C. McClurg. 
 A simple story of Lincoln's life. 
 
 The Making of the Ohio Valley States. (Drake.) Scribner's. 
 
 The Men who made the Nation. (Sparks.) The Macmillan Co. 
 The second half of the book. It is chiefly biographical. 
 
 Old South Leaflets. D. C. Heath & Co. 
 
 Several of these important papers belong to this period. 
 
 A Larger History of the United States of America to the close 
 of Jackson's Administration. (Higginson.) Harper 
 Brothers. 
 
 Peter Cooper. (Raymond.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Poems of American Patriotism. (Matthews.) Scribner's. 
 Words of Lincoln. Maynard, Merrill & Co. 
 Twelve Naval Captains. (Sewall.) Scribner's. 
 
 Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors. (Barnes.) The Macmillan 
 
 Co. 
 American History Studies. (Caldwell.) Ainsworth & Co. 
 
 Girls Who Became Famous. (Bolton.) T. Y. Crowell & Co. 
 Four American Inventors. (Perry.) Werner School Book Co. 
 The Gettysburg Speech. (Lincoln.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Boys of '6 1. (Coffin.) Harper Brothers. 
 
 Four American Naval Heroes. (Beebe ) Werner School Book 
 Co. 
 
 My Hunt after the Captain. (Holmes.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Julius Caesar. (Liddell.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 Life of Nelson. (Southey.) Ginn & Co., American Book Co., 
 The Macmillan Co. 
 
 The Great Debate. (Hayne-Webster.) Houghton, Mifflin & 
 
 Co. 
 Somewhat difficult, but of great value.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 289 
 
 The Two Great Retreats. (Grote-Segur.) Ginn & Co. 
 Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. 
 
 History of Rome for Beginners. (Shuckburgh.) The Macmillan 
 Co. 
 
 Explorers and Travelers. (Greely.) Scribner's. 
 
 3. Books for teachers. 
 
 Student's History of the United States. (Channing.) The 
 
 Macmillan Co. 
 Excellent. 
 
 Guide to the Study of American History. (Channing and Hart.) 
 Ginn & Co. 
 
 Nature and Man in America. (Shaler.) Scribner's. 
 The Making of the Nation. (Walker.) Scribner's. 
 Thomas Jefferson. (Morse.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 Alexander Hamilton. (Lodge.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 John Quincy Adams. (Morse.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 Daniel Webster. (Lodge.) Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 These four biographies belong to the American Statesmen 
 Series. 
 
 Civil Government. (Macy.) Ginn & Co. 
 
 The Last Quarter Century in the United States. (Andrews.) 
 2 Vols. Scribner's. 
 
 American Territorial Development. (Caldwell.) Ainsworth & 
 Co. 
 
 Half Hours with American History. Vol. II. J. B. Lippincott. 
 
 The United States of America. (Channing.) 1765-1865. The 
 
 Macmillan Co. 
 An excellent survey. 
 
 The Middle Period. (Burgess.) Scribner's.
 
 290 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 Division and Reunion. (Wilson.) 1829-1889. Longmans, 
 Green & Co. 
 
 American History Leaflets. 30 numbers. (Hart and Charming.) 
 Lovell & Co. 
 
 Bird's-eye View of our Civil War. (Dodge.) Houghton, Mif- 
 tlin & Co. 
 
 The Civil War and the Constitution. (Burgess.) 2 Vols. 
 Scribner's. 
 
 The Fortune of the Republic. (Emerson.) Houghton, Mifflin 
 &Co. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. (Morse.) 2 Vols. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
 Europe in the Nineteenth Century. (Judson.) Scribner's. 
 A good survey of important later events in Europe. 
 
 History of Modern Europe. (Schwill.) Scribner's. 
 Excellent for the teacher's use. 
 
 Shorter History of England. (Green.) The Macmillan Co. 
 
 Source Book of English History. (Kendall.) The Macmillan 
 Co. 
 
 General History of Europe. (Thatcher and Schwill.) Scribner's. 
 European Colonies. (Payne.) The Macmillan Co. 
 
 History of the Colonization of Africa. (Johnston.) University 
 Press. 
 
 Essay on Lord Clive. (Macaulay.) The Macmillan Co. 
 Essay on Warren Hastings. (Macaulay.) The Macmillan Co. 
 
 Report of the Committee of Seven. The Macmillan Co. 
 An excellent discussion of the history problem. 
 
 Methods of teaching and studying History. (Edited by Hall.) 
 D. C. Heath & Co. 
 
 Counsel on the Reading of Books. (Introduction by Van Dyke.) 
 Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 29 1 
 
 The teaching of History and Civics. (Bourne.) Longmans, 
 Green & Co. 
 
 How to study and teach History. (Hinsdale.) D. Appleton 
 &Co. 
 
 Method in History. (Mace.) Ginn & Co. 
 
 McMaster's History of the People of the United States. 5 Vols. 
 D. Appleton & Co. 
 
 History of the United States. 6 Vols. Schouler. 
 
 Narrative and Critical History of America. 8 Vols. (Justin 
 Winsor.) Illustrated. Houghton, Mi til in & Co. 
 
 Printed in the United States of America.
 
 METHODS IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 
 
 A Series of Educational Books in Two Groups covering the General 
 
 Principles of Method and Its Special Applications to th 
 
 Common School 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES A. McMURRY, PhJX 
 
 Northern Illinois State Normal School, DeKalb, Ittuuit 
 
 WITH 
 F. M. McMURRY 
 
 AS JOINT AUTHOR FOR METHOD OF RECITATION 
 
 I. BOOKS OP GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION 
 
 The three books in this group deal with the fundamental, con- 
 prehensive principles of Education for the school as a whole, 
 and include both instruction and management. 
 
 11 BOOKS OP SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL 
 
 STUDIES. Each school study is treated in a separate book, 
 and the selection and arrangement of material, and the method 
 of instruction appropriate to that study throughout its course, 
 sre fully discussed. Illustrative lessons and extensive lists of 
 books of special value as helps to teachers and schools are 
 included. 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE. NEW YORK 
 
 BOSTON CHICAGO ATLANTA SAW FRANCISCO 
 
 o* Boylston St. 978-388 Wabash Are. Empire Build "g 3x0-?** Sansome St 
 
 I
 
 GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION 
 THE ELEMENTS OF GENERAL METHOD 
 
 BASED ON THE IDEAS OF HERBART 
 By CHARLES A. McMURRY 
 
 New edition, revised and enlarged. Cloth. 12mo. 881 pp 
 OO cents postage 1O cents 
 
 This volume discusses fully the controlling principles of our progres- 
 sive modern education, such as The Aim of Education ; The Materials 
 and Sources of Moral Training ; The Relative Value of Studies in the 
 School Course ; The Nature and Value of Interest as a Vital Element 
 in Instruction ; The Correlation of Studies ; Inductive and Deductive 
 Processes as Fundamental to All Thinking ; Apperception, its Close 
 and Constant Application to the Process of Learning ; The Will, its 
 Training and Function and its Close Relation to Other Forms of 
 Mental Action. 
 
 The book closes with an account of Herbart and his disciples in 
 Germany, and a summary of their pronounced ideas and influence 
 upon education. 
 
 THE METHOD OF THE RECITATION 
 
 New edition, revised and enlarged 
 
 By CHARLES A. McMURRY and FRANK M. McMURRY 
 
 Cloth. 12mo. 339 pp. 9O cents postage 1O cent* 
 
 This book, as a whole, is designed to simplify, organize, and illustrate 
 the chief principles of class-room method in elementary schools. A few 
 important fundamental principles are carefully worked out as a basis. 
 The essential steps, in the acquisition of knowledge in all studies, are 
 worked out and applied to different branches. The developing method 
 of instruction so much used in the oral treatment of lessons is worked 
 ont, and the method of careful and suitable questioning discussed. 
 
 Two chapters are given, consisting of Illustrative Lessons selected 
 from the different studies and worked out in full, as examples of a right 
 method. In these examples, and also in the discussions, the applica- 
 tion of the principles of apperception, interest, induction, and deduc- 
 tion to class-room work are shown. The peculiar application of these 
 various pnnciples to different studies is carefully discussed. 
 
 SCHOOL AND CLASS MANAGEMENT In Preparation
 
 SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL STUDIES 
 
 SPECIAL flETHOD IN THE READING OF COM- 
 PLETE ENGLISH CLASSICS IN THE 
 COMMON SCHOOLS 
 
 By CHARLES A. McMURRY 
 Cloth. 12mo. 254 pp. 75 cents, postage 9 cents 
 
 This discusses in a comprehensive way the regular reading lessons, 
 the choice of stories, poems, and longer masterpieces, adapted to the 
 needs of the various grades from the fourth to the eighth school year 
 inclusive ; the value for school use of the best literature, including 
 complete masterpieces, both long and short ; method in reading ; and 
 principles of class-room work. A descriptive list of more than four 
 hundred books forms the last chapter. The list has been carefully 
 made, and is designed to assist teachers and superintendents in select* 
 ing suitable reading material for the successive grades. 
 
 SPECIAL nETHOD IN PRIHARY READING AND 
 ORAL WORK IN STORY TELLING 
 
 By CHARLES A. McMURRY 
 Cloth. 12mo. 75 cents postage 8 cents 
 
 The relation of oral story work to early exercises in primary reading 
 is explained at length. A full discussion of oral methods in primary 
 grades and a detailed account of primary exercises in reading are given. 
 The use of games for incidental reading is also fully discussed and 
 illustrated. 
 
 SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY 
 
 By CHARLES A. McMURRY 
 
 NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION 
 
 This book contains a course of study in history with a full discus- 
 lion of methods of treating topics. The value, selection, and arrange- 
 ment of historical materials for each grade are discussed, and illustrative 
 lessons given. The relation of history to geography, literature, and 
 other studies is treated, and lists of books suitable for each year are 
 supplied. 
 
 3
 
 SPECIAL METHOD IN GEOGRAPHY 
 
 By CHARLES A. McMURRT 
 NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION 
 
 The entire course of study is laid out after a careful selection o{ 
 topics. Methods of class instruction are fully discussed, and illustra- 
 tions are given OT geograpical topics treated in detail. The close 
 relation of geography to other studies is shown, and the best lists of 
 books supplied. 
 
 SPECIAL flETHOD IN NATURAL SCIENCE 
 
 By CHARLES A. McMURRT 
 
 NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION 
 
 The history of science teaching in elementary schools is given. The 
 basis for selecting the topics for a course of study, and the method of 
 class instruction suitable to object study, experimentation, etc., are fully 
 discussed. The book contains, also, a carefully selected list of the 
 best books for the use of teachers and pupils. 
 
 A COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE EIGHT GRADES 
 OF THE COMMON SCHOOL 
 
 IN PREPARATION 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
 
 BOSTON CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 100 Boyliton St ^78-388 Wabash Are. EmpireBuild'g 319 335 S*nome 8t 
 
 4
 
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