Bessie Louise Pierce

“ The real and only question at issue is whether their histories contain material to which reasonable and proper objection may be made. It goes without saying that no historian has ever succeeded in writing a book which met satisfactorily every point of view, nor does any history place an equal amount of emphasis upon all the topics which it discusses. One history may deal mainly with the social and economic growth of a nation; another with its military or naval exploits; another may dwell at length upon the personal achievements of its great figures; another upon its political development. ”

“ How do we stand today in the eyes of the world? We are esteemed ‘ignorant, illiterate, cruel, semi-barbarous, a race sunken in brutality and vice, a race of slave drivers who disrupted the Union in order to perpetuate human slavery and who as a people have contributed nothing to the advancement of mankind.’” [493]
Among the textbooks designated by Miss Rutherford for special criticism were Davidson’s History of the United States, Montgomery’s Beginner’s American History, and Muzzey’s An American History. ”

“ The Effect of the World War on Laws for Teaching History THE CURRICULUM
When the Fathers of New England adopted the famous laws of 1642 and 1647, they acted on the belief that by the school the character of the nation can be moulded. Throughout nearly three centuries of development the confidence of the American people in the regenerating power of the public school has grown. They have come to hold high faith in education as an effective tool for the conservation and promotion of national well-being. ”

“ According to a statement of The New York Times, in the inquiry to determine their fitness to teach, the teachers declared they had been asked such questions as the following: “Should not a teacher inculcate instinctive obedience to supervisors, no matter what the acts of the superior officers may be? What is your opinion of the Bolsheviki? Do you believe in revolution? Are teachers qualified to criticise superiors? Do you believe in internationalism? Do you think a teacher ought to impose his views on pupils? Is there not a presumption that whatever is, is right? ”

“ In our own heroes and history our nation has been exceptionally blessed. They have proved unfailing sources of pride and inspiration that have prompted us as a people to stanch character, high endeavor, noble achievements and unparalleled progress. ”

“ I believe that we Americans have the best government that has ever been created—the freest and the most just for all the people—and that it is my duty to uphold and defend this Government at all times. ”

“ The Anglo-Saxon tradition is a pure myth. To verify it is like looking at midnight in a dark cellar for a black cat that isn’t there.” Nor did he believe “the Anglo-Saxon impulse ... in the least responsible for the progress of the United States. It had nothing to do with the Spanish in Florida; the Huguenots in Virginia; the Swedes in Delaware and New Jersey; the Dutch in New York and Pennsylvania, and the Celts in Maryland and Pennsylvania.” ”

“ With a keen appreciation of the possibilities of this plastic period of child life, authors of textbooks in history and the other social studies, obedient to the spirit of their times, have exalted and condemned as the prevailing temper has dictated.
History for the sake of propaganda is not a unique possession of any one country. It has been employed in the name of “patriotism” by many nations. Livy extolled Rome, Green exalted England, Bancroft eulogized the exploits of the founders of America, and Treitschke and Nietzsche pictured the glories of an imperialist régime in Germany. ”

“ Adams a surety that “the patriot need fear no danger to the ideals and inspiration to be derived from an ever more painstaking scrutiny of the history of the colonies and of the nation. The historian who most loves truth is most likely to love his country.” ”

“ But how is it that the United States, a country far from democratic (and daily proving itself to be such) and England, the imperial and selfish (and we exclude all [Pg 118] minor participants) undertake to slam democracy upon a nation whether it likes it or not? What unparalleled audacity to attempt to force 70,000,000 people to adopt a certain kind of government. If we mean their benefit, then the Germans surely know what they want and need us not.... ”

“ It is, therefore, my duty, as a good American citizen, to help form public opinion in the community in which I live in order that all citizens may hold intelligent, just, and humane views on governmental questions and endeavor to have such views embodied in our laws. ”

“ The latter eighteenth century captured the vision of a people fired with patriotism and service to the state, and then by a citizenry trained to “preserve and perfect a republican constitution.” The occasion of a diverse and scattered electorate caused by the democratic awakening of the Jacksonian era compelled acceptance of the theory that it was a duty of the state to provide education for all. After the Civil War, a renewed faith in nationality and a realization of the economic and social demands of the time left their imprint upon the public school curriculum. ”

“ Most of the modern histories have been written by scholars inspired by the scientific spirit and, therefore, no more tender with myths about history than a modern bacteriologist with myths about disease.... A true American history need not rob us of the story of Paul Revere or the reverence for George Washington, but it will teach that personal anecdotes are not the life of a nation, that great men as well as mean men flourish in every generation.... ”

“ The individual as a virtuous, polite, and exemplary force in the community became the objective of the lawmaker. Closely allied with this conviction was a faith in education as an instrument for teaching patriotism and for training in the fundamentals of government. Thus, in 1732, New York justified the establishment of her schools on the [Pg 4] ground that “good Learning is not only a very great Accomplishment but the properest Means to Attain Knowledge, Improve the Mind, Morality and good Manners and to make Men better, wiser and more useful to their Country as well as to themselves.” ”

“ Great events occasion diverse opinions, and it is not strange that the World War and its aftermath often tempted public school teachers to enter the area of controversial issues. Thus the question of whether the teacher should be permitted free and open expression of opinion became a point of contention between the upholders and opponents of unrestricted speech. It became a matter of considerable concern whether the teacher be allowed to sow the seed of an idea alien to that held by the child’s parents, or, perhaps, in disagreement with that of the school’s administrators. ”

“ The tendency to emphasize a study of the Constitution has no better illustration than in the laws of New Hampshire, where, in 1901, it was made compulsory for every high school to give “reasonable instruction in the constitution of the United States and in the constitution of New Hampshire.” ”

“ So long as men and women teach their children to revere the memory of patriot heroes, so long as the peaceful present honors and emulates the example of the war-worn past, there need be no fear that the dead have died in vain, or that ‘a government of the people, by the people, for the people,’ will perish from the earth. ”

“ During 1921 and 1922 the Knights of Columbus, acting through an Historical Commission, promoted a movement for original studies in American history by offering prizes for original research. The purpose of the society was “to encourage investigation into the origins and achievements and the problems of the United States, to interpret and perpetuate the American impulse, the impulse of the patriots who founded and who through their successors, have preserved the Republic; to promote American solidarity; and to exalt the American ideal.” ”

“ Propagandist history, however, is not merely an instrument of the ultra-nationalist. By the pacifist it may be employed to depict with a vivid gruesomeness the horrors of war; by it the militarist may demonstrate the advantages of preparedness; the racially conscious may narrate, in their history, achievements of their heroes to the exclusion or derogation of those of other groups; the religious enthusiasts may commend the contributions of their sect to the neglect of others; and economic and social organizations may seek to serve their particular purposes. ”

“ The inclusion in American history textbooks of statements designed to show that American constitutional practices had their source in English institutions caused Mr. Miller to criticize not only Barnes, O’Hara, McLaughlin and Van Tyne, against whom he had other grievances, but also David Saville Muzzey and Willis Mason West. “Such is not American history,” he declared, “it is British propaganda,” for even an Englishman, Gladstone, has said, “The American Constitution is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.” ”

“ Indeed, it has been said that an analogous situation exists in the United States, and a well-known writer recently declared that, through the study of American history, “Americans are taught to hate Britishers, ... and not only descendants of the men who made the Revolution, but every newly arrived immigrant child imbibes the hatred of Great Britain of today from the patriotic ceremonies of the public schools.” ”

“ Teaching that democracy and democratic institutions are crude and inefficient?”
In turn, the Commissioner of the Public Schools pointed out that “while a few teachers have not fully recognized their civic obligations in giving instruction, or have failed to realize the relation of public education to loyal citizenship, or have been remiss in upholding American ideals, the ardent patriotism of the many and their larger activities as noted by the committee of inquiry attest the civic loyalty of our teachers in our schools.” ”

“ History is becoming, if it has not already reached that stage, a medium of propaganda. That became evident in the world war, when European histories were combed for evidence of the innate barbarity of the German people. It was more evident in the efforts to arouse the American people to the point of intervention and actual warfare to free Ireland. It is now emphasized through the efforts of the Confederate Veterans to impose upon the children of the south their own interpretation of the Civil War, regardless of accuracy or the effect upon the nation. ”

“ Yet the American Federation of Labor expressly denied a desire to have their point of view “stressed to the exclusion of all others.” They wanted merely “an emphasis commensurate with its significance.” Nor did they wish “public education to be influenced by partisan bodies of any kind.” For they esteemed “the persons most competent to judge in detail what should be taught and how it should be taught ... those who are themselves engaged in the educational profession.” ”

“ The great mass of public school teachers were conscious of the censorious eye fixed upon them and realized that “the wise man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the foolish pass on and are punished.” Diligent search in public records and through personal inquiry reveals few occasions where actual charges of disloyalty were lodged against teachers in the public schools. Indeed, the superintendents of public instruction in thirty-two states report that from 1917 to 1924 no accusations involving the loyalty of teachers were brought to the attention of their offices. ”

“ The opening of the twentieth century witnessed the expansion of the “citizenship aim” to include training for efficient participation in a complex social and industrial life. Since then, many traditional subjects of the previous period have been superseded by those tending to give point to the new aims in education; and of the traditional subjects retained many have been refashioned to fit a new and present-day point of view.
This wider horizon has tended to encourage to a greater degree than hitherto the introduction of many social studies, including economics, sociology and foreign history. ”

“ In commenting upon the charge that school histories were being edited by British propagandists, the Bulletin pointed out that “the public school is the fountain head of future citizenship. History teaching is the chief source of patriotic spirit and purpose.... A nation’s history is to its own people an essential force for national pride, morale and solidarity.” ”

“ The only persons who say exactly what they think every minute of the day are babies and fools.... There is reason in all things, and on general principles a person may say in this country anything he pleases, provided what he says is not libelous or slanderous, or contrary to the public morals; and provided that he does not advocate the overthrow of the government by force. In this country where we have a government, not of men but of laws, it is not reasonable that anyone should preach the overthrow of the government by force. ”

“ Should the pure minds of our little ones be poisoned with the damnable principles of rebellion, or be led astray by the pernicious examples of rebel sympathizers? Shall the hand already stained with the blood of the murdered father, be employed to guide his orphan child?—the hand that applied the lighted torch, and made the orphan a homeless wanderer, shall that be the hand to trace the chart by which his little bark is to be guided to its destined haven? ”

“ The desire to instil a knowledge of American institutions has led to much legislation for the education of the foreign element in our population. Some states have attempted to eliminate illiteracy by evening classes for adults, by continuation schools and like means. In all cases, the teaching of the English language has been a primary purpose, as well as training in a knowledge of American institutions. However, not all Americanization laws have definitely stated the purpose of training in citizenship, and therefore do not come properly into this discussion. ”

“ Miller does prove by all his toil is quite different, namely, the undenied fact that our recent textbooks dealing with the early days of the Republic have been compiled by men whose purpose, so far as they had a purpose in addition to that of supplying accurate information, has been to promote friendship between Great Britain and the United States rather than to perpetuate their ancient animosities. That is a crime in Mr. Miller’s eyes, for he holds and avows the strange belief that school histories should be different for the children of different countries.... ”

“ Since ours is “a government of laws and not of men,” and since an orderly government can exist only through laws justly administered and impartially enforced, I declare it to be my duty as a good citizen to serve as a juror whenever summoned, and to use my influence in every proper way to the end that lawyers, judges and jurors so conduct the administration of justice as to entitle the law and the courts to popular approval and support. ”

“ There came to be an abiding faith in the power of education to regenerate society. The “knowledge aim” of the preceding decades was followed by the desire for a citizenship trained to active participation in the society of which it was the warp and woof. As a result, those subjects in the curriculum tending to promote patriotism and good citizenship received the sanction of the educator.
Although history had been found to some extent in the school curriculum before the Civil War, there had been no general acceptance of it as a required study. ”

“ The list of fundamental principles of The American Legion History given above states our ideas of the matter which should be presented and the method of its presentation.
With regard to subjects that may be internationally controversial, such as the American Revolution, it should be borne in mind that a good majority of the colonists supported the Revolution and had firm faith in the rectitude of their conduct and that almost all of our people have since believed that they were right, and we do not believe that it is in the interest of good citizenship to have that faith called in question. ”