Part I.; and from Erasmus and the “Letters of Obscure Men” in Part

II. Part II. is preceded by a short account of the Renaissance in Germany. Robinson’s “Readings,” Vol I., contains much that is helpful, particularly in contrasting the culture of the Middle Ages with that of the Renaissance. In this connection should be noted Chapter xix, on the “Culture of the Middle Ages,” with its subdivisions on “Mediæval Natural Science,” “Historical Knowledge in the Middle Ages,” “Abelard and the Universities,” “Supremacy of Aristotle in the Mediæval Universities,” “Scholasticism,” and “Roger Bacon and the Beginning of Modern Experimental Science.” Chapter xxii contains extracts illustrating the Renaissance in Italy, with subdivisions on the Italian despots (quoting from Machiavelli), “Humanism,” and the “Artists of the Renaissance.” Ogg devotes one of his concluding chapters (xxvi) to the “Beginnings of the Italian Renaissance,” in which he quotes from Dante and Petrarch.

Questions.

The following questions, gleaned from various sources, may serve the teacher as a guide in presenting some phases of the movement.

In what respects were the Crusades responsible for the Renaissance?

What is meant by the “revival of learning,” and through what agencies was it brought about?

Trace the causes leading to the Renaissance and name four persons prominent in art or literature during this period.

Set forth the limitations and the value of scholasticism and the meaning and results of the revival of learning.

What contributions to the Renaissance movement were made by Italy, Germany and England respectively?

State the part taken in promoting the Renaissance by Copernicus, Petrarch, Raphael and Erasmus.

State some of the effects of the Renaissance as they appear (a) in government; (b) in literature and art; (c) in industries.

Show a relation between the Renaissance and (a) the fall of Constantinople (1453); (b) the invention of printing; (c) the discovery of America; (d) the Protestant revolt.

Discuss the accuracy of the following statements, mentioning the facts upon which you base your conclusion:

a. The fall of Constantinople did not cause the Renaissance, but it did give a great impetus to it.

b. Without the Renaissance the Reformation would not have occurred.

FOOTNOTES:

[2] Lodge. Close of the Middle Ages, pp. 518, 519.

[3] November number, History Teacher’s Magazine.

[4] The Italics are mine.--Editor. On this same point see also Adams, Civilisation during the Middle Ages, pp. 371-374. The quotation is from Symonds, A Short History of the Renaissance in Italy, p. 3.

[5] Cunningham, Western Civilisation, Vol. II., p. 130.

[6] In the Rucellai Chapel of Santa Maria Novella Florence.

Ancient History in the Secondary School

WILLIAM FAIRLEY, Ph.D., Editor.

THE GLORY AND THE RUIN OF GREECE.

With the work of the present month we come to a period of Greek history marked by the extreme of contrast. We are to study the crowning glories of Greece in the realm of mind, and her downfall on the side of political strength and success. Both facts should be emphasized. This section is specially well fitted for topical study. A series of such topics may well be as follows:

1. Map of Attica and the Athenian Empire at its widest. Plan of Athens. Pictures of Athens. Side topic: the sources of the wealth of Athens. (Mines, taxes, tribute).

2. Athenian public life. Intense devotion of citizen to state affairs. Opportunity for every citizen to hold office.

3. Social, industrial and private life. Aspasia, as throwing a side light on position of woman.

4. Greek art--sculpture, architecture, painting.

5. Greek drama: its development and power.

6. Greek philosophy. The attempt to read the problems of life. Special reference to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

7. Athenian democracy under Pericles. The Constitution.

8. The career of Pericles: born leader of a democracy.

9. The Peloponnesian War.

10. Military and naval affairs. Athenian naval supremacy. The Theban phalanx.

11. Spartan and Theban control. Military rule of conquered sections.

12. Greek political failure.

Here is a good month’s work; and one which will test the teacher. Remark has already been made in this series of articles on the surpassing debt of modern civilization to Greek thought. The present is the opportunity for the pupil to grasp the extent of this debt. The value of such grasp will depend on the teacher. It is easy to imagine the dullness of mere text-book work here. The student may be led through such a period, and have no more impression left on him than he would by learning the boundaries of our forty-six States. On the other hand, he may be so impressed by the marvellous activities of the Greek mind as to be able always hereafter to understand why literature makes so multitudinous references to this petty people.

Minimize the Study of War.

The better text-books are admirable in their restraint in dealing with such topics as the Peloponnesian War. One fine book gives only six pages to it, and omits all trivial details. Another good book gives only about eight pages. This is as it should be. That war, and the later attempts at control by Thebes are to be taken, not as studies of heroic endeavor, but as melancholy examples of human foolishness. The bitter costs and heavy losses of war can find no more striking illustration than in the period of the great struggle for control in Greece. These were essentially civil wars from our point of view. It is true there was no political unity in Greece, save of the fleeting federations; but for all that the wars of the fifth century and the first half of the fourth were wars among peoples who should have been brothers. Historians tell us that there are no “lessons” to be drawn from past occurrences. But, spite of that dictum, the political fate of Greece points plainly to the evils of unnecessary war. Some wars are unavoidable race conflicts; others center about the struggle for freedom from tyranny; others come from the clash of older and newer ideas. But fratricidal war, such as the internal conflicts of Greece, is only horrible. The recent ebullition of temper between England and Germany, peoples of the same stock, is an illustration of the sort of thing that the Greek example may well warn against.

The Periclean Democracy.

It is a relief to turn away from war and its evils to the living interests of peaceful life. The young student will come across many references in his later reading to Athenian democracy. That democracy reached its flowering under Pericles. In the outline of topics given at the beginning of this article, number 7 calls for a period devoted to the study of this democracy. How shall such a lesson be taught?

In a preceding article it was suggested that the pupils make an outline of the older Athenian constitutions. This outline may well be supplemented first of all by one of the various assemblies, courts and offices of the Periclean time. But that is only the bones of the study. The lesson might proceed by a series of comparisons with modern conditions. First of all, What did an Athenian mean by “democracy,” and what do we mean? The answer to this question will show the mighty advance of the modern idea over the best of the older world. The growth of the power of the popular assembly as over against that of the senate and Areopagus should be pointed out. And its modern counterpart in the growing distrust of legislatures and the demand for the referendum may be used to illustrate the same tendency among us.

The degree of intelligence among the Athenians who constituted the assembly must be noted. Probably so able a body of citizens would be hard to match in a modern state of a thousand times the size of Athens. But was this excellence, founded on slave labor, and the idea that the worth of the true citizen is measured by his political activity too dearly bought?

The long control of Pericles, “the leader of the people,” illustrates finely the fact that the great man is sure to assert himself and to be used by his fellow citizens under whatever system of government, and whether he holds office or not. On the other hand, the theoretic division of executive responsibility, rising from distrust of one-man power, was a weakness. States must use and trust their great men, putting heavy responsibilities on them.

Contrast may well be drawn between a court at Athens and one in any part of the United States. Here will be opportunity for finding out how little the average youth really knows about our jury system.

Greek Drama.

Another topical lesson suggested is number 5, on the Greek drama. The growth of drama from the old chorus may be traced with its addition of an actor--then two actors--then three. The names of the chief dramatists, Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, should be linked with our Shakespeare and Molière, (What American playwrights fit worthily in such a class?) The difference between tragedy and comedy can be shown, tracing the etymology of the two words as given in any standard dictionary. Set the pupils to discussing the difference between a good play and a bad one. Why do these few old Greek plays live, and their characters become commonplaces of literature, with the characters of Goethe and Shakespeare? What characters of modern plays are likely or worthy to live? And at some time in the all-too-short period there might be short illustrative readings from a translation--Browning, or Shelley. Only by some such enlivening method will our charges ever get any grasp on the fact that Greek drama was epoch-making in its importance. We might well compare the open-air theater of Greece with our modern play-house; and also the different spirit in which the Greek took his drama.

Greek Art.

Again attention is to be focused on the fact that the Greeks were leaders and masters in art. And the surpassing wonder is that when the rest of the world had been satisfied with winged bulls and sphinxes and grotesquely conventional forms of men these people arrived in a century or two at a perfection which is the delight and the despair of the world. Their supremacy in carving the human figure in marble needs to be connected with their devoted attention to the development of the living form by athletic exercise. In our larger schools will be found casts, perhaps, at any rate, pictures, of the best pieces of Greek art. Their restraint, their simplicity may be dwelt on. In the country where the one lone teacher, not an expert, either in history or art, has not even a “pallid bust of Pallas,” he or she can at least make use of the illustrations in the text-book. Above all, let us try not to let this period be one of dull memorizing of names. It needs interpreting to the young folks so that they may see the wonder of it all, and the controlling influence it has exercised on the ages since.

The Lesson in Philosophy.

That same lone teacher just referred to may feel that it is absurd to ask for a lesson on philosophy with children. But, is it not true that in childhood some of us have been more curious about the problems of existence than we have since had time or taste to be? So if we cannot read to the boys and girls passages from the Phædo or the Apology, we can stir our pupils to a sense of the pressing nature of the problems which the Greeks first (save the Hebrews) strove rationally to solve. They asked and tried to find rational answers to such questions as, What is the relation of mind to matter? What is God? What is man? Does man die as the beast dies? And to these questions the men of this period found not unworthy answers. So in every field of human thought we find them pioneers and teachers of the world.

English History in the Secondary School

C. B. NEWTON, Editor.

IV. VARIOUS PHASES OF THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES.

A Prologue on Mannerisms.

One of the best-known professors in Princeton Theological Seminary, some years ago, was locally famous for his curious mannerisms. It was said that at certain crises in his lectures he would put his watch in his mouth, to the huge delight of his class. But one is a great teacher in spite of one’s mannerisms, not because of them, and with most of us peculiarities in the class-room greatly detract from and handicap our usefulness as teachers. I am moved to a friendly word of warning at this point because we are approaching the time of year when subtle and imperceptible class-room peculiarities are apt to creep upon us unawares. The first freshness of the year’s work has worn off, “the daily round, the common task” is perhaps beginning to tell on us. Little ruts of expression, little oddities of speech or manner begin to creep upon us unawares. Only eternal vigilance--vigilance tempered, however, with humor and a due sense of proportion--will save us from the danger of establishing some unhappy mannerism which _may_ grow into a beam in comparison with some of the motes we see in our pupils’ eyes!

I remember having this brought home to me very forcibly, some years ago, when I had an unusual opportunity of seeing myself as others saw me in the class-room. A lad with an unusual gift of caricature, took off several teachers at an informal evening gathering. After recognizing, with considerable amusement, clever take-offs of several of my colleagues, I suddenly recognized, with equal amusement, myself! In a flash I recognized an unnecessary trick of speech into which I had fallen, hitherto all unconsciously. There were other mannerisms, apparently harmless, but I saw in an instant how useless and objectionable the trick of speech was; and I inwardly blessed the boy for revealing it to me. I have never once used it since. More than this, I was put on my guard, and I have since caught myself at some seedling idiosyncrasy, which I was able to weed out before it took root.

It may be that some teachers are immune from this danger, but I believe it is a real one with most of us, and--“let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall!”

As to the Fourteenth Century.

In addition to the great conflict which occupies an important position on the stage of the fourteenth century, there are several important and interesting phases of this period which have much to do with the development of the English nation. The growth of trade, the development of national spirit, and, above all, the breaking up of villeinage and the social and religious unrest of the last half of the century are all signs of the times well worth noting. So far as I know there is no illuminating fiction to help the laggard imagination to picture the days of Wat Tyler, John Ball and John Wyclif. But there is Langland’s “Piers the Plowman’s Dream,” there are Chaucer’s vivid word pictures of the life of his day, and there is much about the life and work of Wyclif. On this last subject the quotation in Beard’s “Introduction,” pp. 221-230, is very full, but contains too much detail for the average school boy or girl. Green, pp. 235-244, contains much that may be used in notes. The close connection between Lollardry and the prevailing social unrest is well brought out by Green.

Care must be taken, however, not to attribute the root of this social unrest to the religious teachings of Wyclif. Undoubtedly the shortage of laborers produced by the great plague, and the unsettled political conditions of the time were more important factors in the breaking up of villeinage and the shifting of the lower strata of society than the preaching of the Lollards. The causes of the peasant revolt and of the upheaval of ancient custom are discussed very lucidly by Green, pp. 244-255 and pp. 255-260.

The points to be emphasized, it seems to me, are the great facts of the overturning of the old system of employing labor, and the fact of the brief Protestant movement. The former was a permanent change, wrought by the currents which move slowly, but mightily, in the history of every nation; the latter was the blazing up of a light that was to die back into darkness, that was only a forerunner of the Reformation of the future. The emancipation of the serfs has no parallel in any modern emancipation of slaves. It was not brought about _by_ acts of parliament, but rather _in spite of them_. The old system was outworn and was sloughed off amid the throes of natural development. Feudalism, like Charles II, was an “unconscionable time a-dying,” but, like Charles, too, it died a natural, not a violent, death.

One other phase of the fourteenth century not to be forgotten is the beginning of the English language in anything like its modern form, and the beginning of English literature with Chaucer. Out of the conflict between French and Anglo-Saxon which set in with the Norman Conquest there at last emerged, two hundred years later, the new English language, with its Teutonic foundations and its Latin-Gallic adornments. From this time on the English language, ever growing, but always English, is the general language of England.

The Fifteenth Century.

There is little in England’s story during the fifteenth century which is memorable or striking. The brief glories of Agincourt, to be sure, inflated the national pride, but whatever the splendors of Henry V’s reign, they were swallowed up in the gloom and disaster of the following decades--the loss of French possessions, the helplessness of the crown, the turbulence of the nobles, the cruel strife of the Roses, the selfish reign of Edward IV, and the monstrosity of Richard III. No new light in literature or religion, no really great name in statecraft appears--nothing until the end of the century, when the first rays of the renaissance were beginning to lighten the horizon, to relieve the dullness and darkness of this profitless century. It has always seemed to me the proverbial dark hour before the dawn.

The Wars of the Roses.

In spite of their inglorious and useless character, the Wars of the Roses have, undoubtedly, considerable historical significance. The comparative situation of the crown and of the nobility before and after this strife is very striking. In the forties we find the king financially and politically weak, the barons wealthy from the spoils of France, strong in their armed retainers, and unbridled in their turbulence and arrogance. In the eighties all this is changed; the king is supreme, the baronage at his mercy. The change is easy to account for--the contrast in character between Henry VI and Henry VII accounts in part for it; but the bloody struggle which decimated the ranks and exhausted the resources of the nobility was evidently the main cause of their humiliation.

As to the Wars of the Roses themselves, I think many text-books lack clarity in bringing out the fact that rather than a straggling war there was a distinct _series_ of conflicts, which makes this peculiar civil strife not _a war_, but literally _the Wars_ of the Roses. Some such outline as follows is of practical use in bringing out this fact in the class-room:

First--Beginning of the wars, 1455. First battle of St. Albans, Richard of York triumphant. Armed truce of five years.

Second--Outbreak brought on by intrigues of Queen Margaret, 1460-1461; battles of Northampton, Wakefield (only Lancastrian success; Richard killed), second St. Albans, and Towton. Triumph of the new Duke of York, Richard’s son, Edward, now crowned Edward IV.

Third--After nearly decade of peace, revolt headed by Warwick. Brief restoration of throne to poor Henry VI; battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. Return of Edward IV.

Fourth--Final struggle, victory of Henry Tudor, 1485, Bosworth Field.

Such an outline brings out plainly the intermissions in the wars, and the happenings during these considerable stretches of time (much longer than the periods of fighting) can be filled in very easily.

Foundations of the Tudor Absolutism.

In the opening chapter of James Gairdner’s “Henry the Seventh” (Macmillan), the author gives a brief and interesting account of the early life of Henry VII which brings out both the uses of adversity which moulded his character, and the pedigree which, if heredity means anything, must have been one of the causes of the Tudor personality.

The facts that Henry’s grandmother, Katharine, widow of Henry V, was a French princess, that his grandfather was a Welsh knight, and that his mother was lineally descended through John of Gaunt from Edward III are both interesting in themselves and of importance in connection with his claims to the throne. Finally his marriage with Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, was of vast importance in helping to end the long feud and to establish beyond all question the royal supremacy of subsequent kings.

The structure of the Tudor absolutism, then, so carefully reared by Henry VII, had two very substantial foundations, first in the king’s own position by heredity, marriage and character; second, in the demoralization of the barons. On those foundations the new king began building after 1485 according to methods of his own, or by means already invented. By shrewd economy and rather unregal thrift; by the heavy fines for which the Court of the Star Chamber was so useful; by following Edward IV’s illustrious example in levying benevolences, with the expert help of Cardinal Morton; by politic relations at home and abroad, Henry built financial power and made himself master of the barons.

General Notes.

The pathetic figure of Henry VI, such a contrast to his immediate successors, is portrayed with simplicity and charm, pp. 296-297 of Cheyney’s “Readings.” Speaking of Henry VI naturally suggests the close of the Hundred Years’ War, and tempts me to refer again to Joan of Arc. There is a particularly sympathetic and charming account of her in the November (1909) “St. Nicholas”--an account which more than one “grown up” must have read with delight.

It is well to make clearer than most text-books do just what “benevolences” were. This may be done by making them concrete rather than by definition. The extract from Fabyan’s “Chronicle” in the “Readings,” pp. 300-301, does this excellently. For concreteness, too, Henry VII’s diary quoted at some length in the “Readings” gives an intimate view of Henry, one would hardly expect of a mere account book. It contains a quaint mingling of expenditures of state and the smallest items, from £12,000 “for the king’s wars,” to 2s. “to a woman for a rede rosae.”

The beginnings of printing, and especially the pioneer work of Caxton, are not only of immense interest as an invention, but of immense importance as one of the great mediums of spreading abroad the new ideas which were about to flood Europe. Green, as usual, is very full of interesting information, the gist of which is useful for notes on this subject, pp. 295-299.

History in the Grades

ARMAND J. GERSON, Editor.

THE JAY TREATY. A TYPE LESSON.

Since treaties, unlike explorers and land-claims, are not peculiar to any one period of our history, the selection of a particular treaty for our type-lesson presents more difficulty than we met in the case of our earlier lessons on Columbus and the Spanish claim. At first glance the mere matter of priority in time might seem to decide the question for us. Why not take the first treaty that comes into our story and use it as the topic of our treaty lesson?

To this basis of selection there are two serious objections. In the first place, treaties find their way into our history narrative at an early stage of the child’s mental development, at a time, that is to say, when he is neither best fitted for, nor most interested in, the constitutional points involved in a real understanding of the making of a treaty. The study of the treaties that closed the inter-colonial wars, for example, would constitute an unwarranted interruption of the narrative which at that time should be occupying the pupil’s whole attention.

A still graver objection, however, to the use of any of these early treaties for our type-lesson lies in the fact that they are in no sense typical. While they, of course, concerned the colonists very directly, they were nevertheless treaties between foreign nations; our country was not a party to them. Neither can we consider as typical the early treaties into which we entered in the first days of our national existence,--that with France in 1778, and that with England in 1783. Both of these were negotiated under authority of a constitution widely different from that which prescribes the treaty-making process in our nation to-day.

Our treaty with England in 1794 was the first important treaty (important, that is, from the point of view of our elementary course of study) to which the American nation in the present significance of that term was a party. It answers admirably the purpose of a type-lesson. Here are to be found all the important elements necessary for the proper grasp of later treaties. Moreover, the history work in most of our elementary schools is so graded that pupils come to the study of the post-Revolutionary period with sufficient maturity of mind to grasp and to enjoy the international and constitutional questions around which the story of the Jay Treaty develops.

The topic of our type-lesson having been selected, the mode of presentation next demands the teacher’s attention. We must keep clearly in mind that our purpose is the development of a type-idea, a regulating concept which will help in the firm and instant comprehension of later treaties when they shall find their way into our story. It becomes necessary, therefore, to select with great care and present with special emphasis those elements which have most real and far-reaching significance. The following questions may help us in our selection: What should the pupil’s notion of a treaty include when he leaves the elementary school? How much of this desired understanding can be developed by means of our lesson on the Jay Treaty? In a word, what are the type-elements of our lesson?

The essential elements of the idea we are striving to develop through our type-lesson fall naturally under two heads:

1. The pupil should receive from the study of the Jay Treaty a clear notion of the treaty-making process as prescribed by the Constitution. He should further have some idea of the way in which the constitutional provision has worked out in practice.

2. The pupil should gain from the lesson a definite knowledge of the essential, significant, or typical parts of a treaty. This knowledge should include some idea of the general form and arrangement of the document.

Our type-lesson should be developed with the purpose of impressing these two type-elements.

A lesson, however, which concerned itself exclusively with type-elements would be a very dull and lifeless affair. In fact, the events which make up the greater part of the story of the Jay Treaty are by no means typical of treaties in general. It must be borne in mind, however, that to them attach a value and an interest of their own. Local color, objective reality, in a word, everything which makes history actual and living depends on the proper use of specific, characteristic, but not necessarily typical, details. The teacher’s task is to make such use of this auxiliary material as will bring into strong relief the type-elements. He must strive to effect a combination of the typical and the specific, the general and the particular, so that in the end he shall have developed in his pupil’s mind a consistent and complete type-idea, vivified and enriched by a wealth of local incident and illuminating detail. The introductory stage of the Jay Treaty lesson should consist of a brief review of our relations with Great Britain since the Revolutionary War. The treaty which closed that war, besides recognizing the independence of the United States, had placed both countries under certain definite mutual obligations. There is no real inconsistency in this reference to the treaty of 1783 before the full development of our type-lesson on the Jay Treaty. We are not assuming that the pupil has the sort of grasp which the type-lesson aims to secure; we are simply taking for granted his general understanding of a treaty as a formal agreement between nations, a simple enough notion and one which can hardly fail to have been developed incidentally in the earlier course of the work. To return, then, to our preparatory consideration of the treaty of 1783, it should be pointed out that certain articles of that treaty[7] had provided for the payment of debts contracted before the war, for the restitution of all confiscated Tory estates, and, on the other side, for the withdrawal of English troops from United States territory. These provisions had not been carried out. Hard feeling between the two countries was further aggravated by England’s serious interference with our commerce. Her vessels persisted in searching our ships and impressing our seamen. The limit of patient endurance seemed reached when in 1793 the English government ordered the seizure of all neutral vessels carrying provisions to French ports. What was to be done? Clearly either one of two things: resort to war or enter into a new agreement. The class is presumably familiar with the fact that in spite of the advocacy of an alliance with France by certain of our leaders and their insistence on a renewal of the war with England, our government had definitely decided on a policy of neutrality and peace. Since we were not to fight England, it remained to settle our difficulties by means of a new treaty.

How can our government make a treaty with a foreign nation? With this question we bring our pupils face to face with the first type-element in the Jay Treaty lesson. The class has not long since taken up the story of the making of our Constitution, and may be assumed to realize its significance as the “fundamental law.” What has the Constitution to say on the subject of treaty-making? The President “shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur.” The significance of this provision can easily be cleared up by a brief explanation of the organization of Congress, the chief general powers of that body, and the most important points of difference between the functions of the two houses.

We are now ready to resume consideration of the situation in 1794. Washington’s policy of peace necessitated definite negotiations with England. He accordingly looked about for an agent specially fitted to carry on the difficult task. He decided upon John Jay, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Washington’s choice was approved by the Senate, and Jay set sail for England as envoy extraordinary of the United States. It is important that the class should realize that this sending of a special ambassador is not necessarily typical of treaty-making. Washington might have used as his agent our regular minister to England. On the other hand, the negotiations might have taken place in Philadelphia, our Secretary of State taking up the matter with the English minister to this country. In other words, the selection of Jay is not a type-element, and must not be so regarded by our pupils.

The details of Jay’s negotiations in London should not be presented to an elementary class. They are of little value or interest for young pupils and have practically no bearing on the treaty-making process. Suffice it to say that Great Britain was represented by Lord Grenville (“His Majesty’s principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,” and son of the Grenville of pre-Revolutionary notoriety), and that Jay found it impossible to secure all the concessions he desired. On November 19, 1794, after five months of negotiation, the articles were signed by the two plenipotentiaries.

The class is now ready to give some time and attention to the treaty itself with a view to noting its typical or significant parts.[8] Attention should first be directed to the preamble, which, as typical of modern treaties, should receive considerable emphasis. It should be read at length (it is not very long), and the wording carefully noted. The preamble serves three purposes: (1) It names the contracting parties, (2) it specifies the object of the negotiations, and (3) it names the agents of both countries and indicates their mode of appointment.

The general arrangement of the document, that is to say, the division into articles taking up the special points covered by the treaty, should next be pointed out. The teacher might rapidly run through some of the chief topics considered, in the twenty-eight articles of the treaty. Finally, the formal dating and signing at the end of the document should receive passing notice.

The special provisions, in so far as they need be taken up in an elementary treatment of our topic, next call for attention. In no sense do these constitute a type-element. They should be given to the class in their simplest form and without any undue detail. The general statement that most of the difficulties between the two nations were adjusted by the treaty of 1794, but that nothing was settled on the disturbing question of impressment, comprises about all that we can expect an elementary pupil to retain concerning the special provisions of this treaty.

When, however, we come to the subsequent history of the treaty in the Senate, we reach a more essential part of the story. Ratification by the Senate has already been pointed out as part of the constitutional provision on treaty-making, and here we come upon our first typical instance of its application. The Senate was called into special session, and took up the matter of the treaty on June 8, 1795. The two-thirds vote is both interesting and important as typical of the treaty-making process. The teacher should impress it by reviewing the number of states in the Union at the time, the consequent membership of the Senate, and the vote necessary for the ratification of the treaty. It is well here to work with actual numbers so as to lend vividness to the presentation. The final ratification took place June 24, 1795.

The reservation in regard to Article XII, which the Senate refused to confirm, and the later struggle for an appropriation in the House obviously will find no place in an elementary lesson. They are in themselves far too complicated for the purpose of history teaching in the grades. Moreover, they are in no sense typical of treaties in general and would tend to confuse rather than clarify the notion we are seeking to develop.

Having taken the class through the process of treaty-making as exemplified in the Jay Treaty, and having developed an adequate notion of the nature of a treaty, it will be advisable for the teacher to formulate with his pupils an outline or synopsis of the most important points of the lesson. This type-lesson is different in character from the lessons we have previously considered on explorers and claims in that it does not typify an epoch. As before mentioned, treaties are not peculiar to any one period of our history. It is, therefore, of importance that the results of the lesson should be put into some concise, permanent form to which the pupil may easily refer when, now and again in the course of his history work, various treaties are under discussion. While the lesson as here outlined may seem to enter into an undue amount of detail, it is our thought that the effort expended will be more than repaid by the definiteness of the notion which we have developed and by the greater ease of comprehension with which our pupils will approach the treaties lying in wait for them later in the course.

FOOTNOTES:

[7] Articles IV, V and VI, MacDonald’s “Select Documents,” pp. 19-20.

[8] The text of the treaty can be found in convenient form in MacDonald’s “Select Documents,” pp. 114-180.

Reports from the Historical Field

WALTER H. CUSHING, Editor.

HISTORY TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATIONS.

For the convenience of its readers and to stimulate the work of organization, THE MAGAZINE will print each month a list of the associations, with the names and addresses of the secretaries. The following list is admittedly incomplete. Will our readers help us fill in the gaps, and keep us informed of changes in the secretarial offices?

AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.--W. G. Leland, Carnegie Institution, Washington, D. C., secretary.

AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, PACIFIC COAST BRANCH.--J. N. Bowman, University of California, Berkeley, secretary.

CALIFORNIA.--Professor J. N. Bowman, Berkeley, secretary.

INDIANA.--Professor Harriet Palmer, Franklin, secretary.

MARYLAND.--Mr. Robert H. Wright, Baltimore, secretary.

MIDDLE STATES.--Professor Henry Johnson, Teachers’ College, New York City, secretary.

MISSISSIPPI.--Mr. H. M. Ivy, Flora, secretary.

MISSOURI.--Professor Eugene Fair, Kirksville, secretary.

NEBRASKA.--Professor C. N. Anderson, Kearney, president.

NEW ENGLAND.--Mr. W. H. Cushing, South Framingham, Mass., secretary.

NEW YORK (N. Y.) CONFERENCE.--L. R. Schuyler, City College, New York, secretary.

NORTH CENTRAL.--Mr. G. H. Gaston. Wendell Phillips High School, Chicago, secretary.

TRENTON (N. J.) CONFERENCE.--Sarah A. Dynes, State Normal School, secretary.

WISCONSIN.--Gertrude Hull, West Division High School, Milwaukee, chairman.

In Colorado, Professor James G. Willard is chairman of the Committee on Organization. In Louisiana, Professor Walter L. Fleming is most in touch with the movement. In North Dakota, Professor John M. Gillette, of the University of North Dakota, writes of steps taken to organize. The Washington teachers will organize at their next annual meeting.

WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION.

At the meeting of the Wisconsin State Teachers’ Association, held at Milwaukee on November 4, 5, 6, it was voted to organize a Wisconsin History Teachers’ Association, to meet at the same time and city as the State Teachers’ Association. The following committee was appointed to draw up a plan for the organization and to prepare the programme for the next meeting:

Miss Gertrude Hull, chairman, head of History Department, West Division High School, Milwaukee.

Professor George C. Sellery, professor of History, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Professor Carl E. Pray, History Department, State Normal School, Milwaukee.

Teachers of the State who are interested are invited to correspond with the chairman.

INDIANA ASSOCIATION.

The Indiana History Teachers’ Association meets annually, jointly with the Indiana Historical Society. The next meeting will be held at Indianapolis on April 29 and 30, 1910. The officers for the present year are as follows:

President, Harlow Lindley, professor of History, Earlham College.

Vice-president, J. Walter Dunn, Indianapolis.

Secretary-Treasurer, Miss Harriet Palmer, Franklin College, Franklin, Ind.

AIDS TO VISUALIZATION.

A feature of the coming meeting of the American Historical Association in New York will be an exhibit, at Teachers’ College, of special aids to visualization in the teaching of history. The exhibit will consist of casts, models, pictures, historical albums, visualization charts, maps, plans, and other similar material, and of such apparatus as the stereoscope, the ordinary lantern, the “reflectroscope,” the “microscope,” and the motion picture lantern. The interesting and inexpensive models found in Germany and the French and German charts and albums will have a prominent place. A few types of recent foreign text-books will also be included. In the main, only such aids as are now actually available for school use will be shown. The names of dealers and the cost of material will in each case be indicated. The aim of the exhibit is to answer as specifically as possible the questions usually asked by teachers who feel the need of greater emphasis upon this aspect of historical instruction.

NEW YORK SYLLABUS IN CIVICS.

A revision of the New York State Syllabus in Civics is under way, in charge of a committee consisting of Dr. William Fairley, of the High School of Commerce, Brooklyn; Superintendent Frank D. Boynton, of Ithaca, and Principal John L. Tildsley, of the De Witt Clinton High School.

RATINGS IN HISTORY.

The following figures are taken from the Secretary’s Report of the June, 1909, examinations of the College Entrance Board:

KEY: A: Number of Candidates B: % Ratings 90-100 C: % Ratings 75-89 D: % Ratings 60-74 E: % Ratings 50-59 F: % Ratings 40-49 G: % Ratings 0-39 H: % Ratings 40-100 I: % Ratings 50-100 J: % Ratings 60-100 ------------------------------------------------------------------- A B C D E F G H I J ------------------------------------------------------------------- HISTORY a. Ancient 784 0.4 7.5 33.1 12.0 17.8 29.2 41.0 53.0 70.8 b. Medieval & Modern 39 0.0 2.6 17.9 12.8 10.3 56.4 20.5 33.3 43.6 c. English 394 0.8 7.3 31.7 10.9 16.8 32.5 39.8 50.8 67.5 d. American 544 1.8 8.3 28.7 11.0 18.2 32.0 38.8 49.8 68.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1711 0.9 7.6 31.0 11.5 17.5 31.4 39.6 51.0 68.6 -------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of the New England History Teachers’ Association was held in Boston on Saturday, October 16, 1909, Professor W. B. Munro, of Harvard, presiding. The Massachusetts Historical Society again generously placed at the Association’s disposal Ellis Hall and its rich and interesting collections.

The subject of the morning session was “The Extent to Which Teachers Should Emphasize the Ethical Side in History Teaching.” The phase of the subject selected by Professor Henry Jones Ford, of Princeton University, was “Militarism and the Peace Movement.”

After adverting to Herbert Spencer’s dictum that an industrial society and militarism are incompatible, Professor Ford demonstrated the falsity of that statement by instancing the cases of Switzerland and of Germany, where the harmonious development of both types is in progress. In Great Britain there is a movement to promote military efficiency for the very purpose of promoting industrial efficiency. While many details of wars may with profit be omitted from our teaching, we cannot afford to ignore those great forces in the development of national life and character.

The Association was also fortunate in having present Professor Eduard Meyer, of the University of Berlin, who, in continuing the discussion, heartily-endorsed Professor Ford’s views, at the same time wondering how the question of eliminating the study of wars could ever have become so general in this country. We must not confound sentimentalism with ethics. The great responsibility laid on statesmen in a country of universal compulsory military service is a guarantee of no war except for good and unavoidable causes. The danger of war is less, he believed, than in a country with voluntary military service or in one with an army recruited from the lower orders of society. Germany’s militarism is a guarantee of peace, as was shown by her attitude last year in the acute stage of the Austro-Servian controversy.

Professor William MacDonald, of Brown University, taking up Professor Meyer’s question, how the movement against militarism has come about, suggested that it was owing in part to a movement to make things easy and agreeable, resulting, in the case of history teaching, in eliminating dates, memorizing, hard study of facts. Furthermore, the growth of emphasis on economic and social elements has tended to lessen the attention to political and military events. It is due, also, to a tendency to carry reform movements to extremes.

Still, there is a question of what shall be done with the ethical side of history. Professor MacDonald doubted the value of singling out any study and making it the basis of ethical instruction. In teaching civil government, for instance, for “good citizenship,” we may fail to teach civil government. How shall the teacher deal with cases of the “lie direct” in history, followed by highly beneficial results? Or characters who have violated the laws of personal morality and the results have apparently not been injurious to public welfare? These and similar questions the teacher would better leave untouched. History, except in advance work, does not afford a good field for ethical instruction as such.

The discussion was continued by Dr. Jessie M. Law, of Springfield, and Mr. J. C. S. Andrew, of Lynn, the last speaker strongly combatting the views of Professors Ford and Meyer.

The guest of the Association at the luncheon was Professor Albert Bushnell Hart, of Harvard University, who spoke of the educational systems of certain places which he had visited in his recent trip around the world, especially speaking of the northwestern United States, the Philippines and Japan.

The following officers for the ensuing year were chosen: President, Professor L. B. Evans, of Tufts College; vice-president, Professor Susan Kingsbury, of Simmons College; secretary, Mr. W. H. Cushing, of the high school, South Framingham, Mass. These, with Miss Margaret McGill, of the Newton High School; Miss Harriet Tuell, of the Somerville High School; Professor W. S. Ferguson, of Harvard University, and Mr. Arthur C. Boyden, of the Bridgewater Normal School, constitute the council.

The next meeting of the Association will be held on April 16, 1910. In all probability the meeting will be held outside of Boston, some place in New Hampshire being under consideration.

MODIFICATIONS IN THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF SEVEN RECOMMENDED BY THE N. E. ASSOCIATION.

In response to the request of the Committee of Five of the American Historical Association for recommendations of changes in the report of the Committee of Seven, the New England Association undertook a careful study of the situation in its section. Miss Blanche Evans Hazard was chairman of the committee, whose finding is ably summed up by Professor Kingsbury, of Simmons College, in a report of which the following are excerpts:--

“1. It seems to be the general opinion that a modification of the report of the Committee of Seven, making more definite recommendations as to the work to be accomplished in ancient history, is most desirable. Contrary to the spirit of the Committee of Seven, the college entrance board examinations have presupposed, and the teachers have attempted an intensified study of the entire field of ancient history down to the time of Charlemagne. That this field of ancient history should be curtailed at the beginning, that topics be selected to be given at the end, and that certain periods should be treated less thoroughly, are illustrations of solutions submitted.

“2. The question of a limitation of the course in medieval and modern history is practically answered by the statement that comparatively few of the schools do cover the entire field, and the printed report will reveal the changes actually made, some schools emphasizing medieval history, others modern or nineteenth century history. Furthermore, English history is often omitted altogether. It would seem desirable, therefore, that some more definite division and limitation of courses might be outlined than is now given in the report of the Committee of Seven.

“3. The appointment by this organization of a committee to prepare an outline for the study of American civil government in secondary schools shows that this association favors the separation of the study of American history and of American civil government, and this committee, therefore, submits to the national committee the printed pamphlet containing sample chapters of this outline, as evidence of the endeavor it is making to improve the instruction in this subject.

“4. The college entrance examinations seem to render the work of the secondary schools burdensome and to force two years’ work in ancient history upon college preparatory classes, the second year being given in the third or fourth year of the high school as a review or more intensified study of the subject, thus precluding the opportunity for work in any other field of history. But this hindrance should not be credited to the system of college entrance examinations. This association suggests that the difficulty is rather in the diversity of college entrance examination questions than in the fact that such an institution exists, and seems to favor uniform examinations and to approve a type of question which shall occupy middle ground between the character of the present Harvard entrance examinations and those of the College Entrance Examination Board.

“5. In general, the critics of the recommendations of the Committee of Seven complain of the length of the field covered, and to it attribute the apparent present failure of the teacher of history to impress upon the student a knowledge of fact, and do not feel that such a weakness is due to the emphasis placed by that report upon the value of generalized knowledge, but rather believe it has been of especial value in leading our teachers of history to develop power in our pupils.

“Two suggestions are made by this committee which may be considered constructive rather than critical. It is proposed that a modification of the work given in the second and third years of the high school might be made along the following lines: that the entire treatment of medieval and modern history to the close of the eighteenth century should be based on English history, at the same time developing such important medieval institutions as feudalism and the Church, but with English history in the foreground rather than, as heretofore, with continental history in the foreground; and that the third year should be devoted to a study of nineteenth century history with continental history in the foreground, English history being treated incidentally. Such a suggestion is made not as having the unanimous approval of the Association, nor of the majority of the members of the association, for such a ballot has been impossible, but is presented to the National Committee by a vote of the October meeting as worthy of its consideration.

“It is quite proper, and in fact to be expected, that the Association of New England History Teachers should raise the question of industrial history. Since the report of the Committee of Seven was drafted a new type of school, the industrial school, has come to the front, and is at the present moment being urged in Massachusetts and in New Jersey by State commissions, and is being favored also by city and State boards of education in various parts of the United States. The New England Association, therefore, raises the question as to what history should be given in such schools.”

DIRECTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK AS USED IN THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT OF MEREDITH COLLEGE, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA.

The purpose of these directions is to save time and strength from so many oral explanations--half of which are forgotten; to save the time and nerves of the teacher in correcting papers; and to help the English work, as it is assumed that correct technical form is largely a matter of habit, and when once acquired needs so little attention that the entire thought of the student may be given to the subject matter.

Each set of directions is mimeographed, and every student given a copy to keep in her history notebook.

To make them a success takes time and persistent effort for the first few weeks, but the results yield large dividends for the remainder of the year. While, if one is so fortunate as to have the same students for more than one year, the results are even greater.

MARY SHANNON SMITH.

Directions for Special College History Papers.

I. Make a bibliography of your subject on cards and arrange by authors alphabetically, indicating source and secondary material.

A. Make as complete a list of available material as possible before taking any notes.

B. Copy this later with annotations, leaving a line between each reference, and hand in with paper.

II. In taking notes keep in mind what you will use.

A. Follow directions for note-book work.

B. Put notes at the end of the paper.

III. Before writing, look over a copy of the “American Historical Review” for form.

IV. Make an outline of what you are to write, leaving a line between each large topic. Hand this in with completed paper.

V. In writing, try to know your subject so that you will be able to express yourself with ease.

VI. Be careful for margins and paragraphs. Write on one side of the sheet only.

VII. Leave the last four lines on each page for footnotes.

Note.--In writing footnotes, skip one line and use the last three. Make the references as definite as in note-book work. Number your footnotes from “1” on each new page.

VIII. Use ruled paper and fasten all your work together with a brass fastener.

Directions for History Papers.

Preparatory Department.

I. Do not crowd the top of the page or begin to write before the first ruled line.

II. The first page should contain:--

A. The subject of the paper.

B. Books consulted.

1. These should be arranged alphabetically with a line between each reference giving:--

Author. Book. Pages read.

2. The student will need to read many more pages than she intends to write in order to get enough good material for the paper.

III. The second page should contain an outline of the paper, with important points in large topics and minor points in sub-topics.

A. Leave a line between each large topic.

B. Have each sub-topic indented and equally distant from the margin.

IV. Try to know your subject so that you will be able to express yourself with ease.

A. Write a brief paragraph of introduction.

B. Get your facts from books, but tell them in your own words.

C. Give most space to what is most important.

V. After writing your paper, add definite references in the margin to the sources from which you gained your material, giving author, title of book underlined, and pages cited.

Directions for History Note-Books.

I. All history students must use loose leaf note-books.

II. All notes in and out of class must be taken in ink. Do not take notes with pencil and then copy--it wastes time! The book is for use.

III. Outline your work.

A. Put the heading of each new chapter at the top of a fresh sheet and begin each distinct subject on a new page.

B. Leave a margin of an inch and a half, and indent each paragraph one inch more.

C. Leave a line between each large topic and allow several lines after each subject for note-taking in the class.

IV. Take most of your notes in “abstract” form. Take only important points in exact words, and then use quotation marks.

A. When taking “reading notes,” put in the margin author, title of book underlined, and pages cited.

B. When quoting from a compiled “source book” give the real author and work from which the extract is taken, then the “source book” and pages.

C. Every history student should be familiar with Perry’s “A Punctuation Primer, with Notes on the Preparation of Manuscript.” Am. Book Co. Thirty cents.

Note.--Pages 24-47 and 73-93 required.

Proportion of time to be spent in note-taking:--

Preparatory Courses, one-third of the time.

College Courses, one-half of the time.

Note.--This does not apply to specially-prepared history papers.

* * * * *

Translations and Reprints

Original source material for ancient, medieval and modern history in pamphlet or bound form. Pamphlets cost from 10 to 25 cents.

SYLLABUSES

H. V. AMES: American Colonial History. (Revised and enlarged edition, 1908) $1.00

D. C. MUNRO and G. SELLERY: Syllabus of Medieval History, 395 to 1500 (1909) $1.00

In two parts: Pt. I, by Prof. Munro, Syllabus of Medieval History, 395 to 1300. Pt. II, by Prof. Sellery, Syllabus of Later Medieval History, 1300 to 1500. Parts published separately.

W. E. LINGELBACH: Syllabus of the History of the Nineteenth Century. 60 cents

Combined Source Book of the Renaissance. M. WHITCOMB $1.50

State Documents on Federal Relations. H. V. AMES $1.75

Published by Department of History, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and by Longmans, Green & Co.

Correspondence

EDITOR HISTORY TEACHERS’ MAGAZINE.

Let me express the pleasure which at least one California teacher finds in the new HISTORY TEACHERS’ MAGAZINE. It certainly satisfies a long-felt need. In the October number I noticed the repeated statements of the lack of organization in history work, all of which is lamentably true; but I do believe we are improving here, due to the persistent and intelligent efforts of a wise and enthusiastic History Department in the University of California. Our school authorities are demanding trained history teachers, even though they have to handle some other subject.

Miss Elizabeth Briggs’s remarks regarding the weakness in geography and biography are, alas, the instructors’ fault, and I am sending you a couple of suggestions that I have found valuable in those lines, in case you have opportunity or inclination to pass them on. I have found that pupils become interested in these two “eyes of history.” They usually have a hazy memory of seemingly endless drill in grammar school, and consider geography as one of those childish things which they have put away, but when their attention is called to the geographical causes for location of cities, its influence on the development of a country, plans of campaigns, strategic boundaries, they grow interested, and enjoy indicating these things, as well as treaties and territorial growth on outline maps. I use a McKinley wall map for Roman history, and we “paint it red” as we progress in the study of the Roman conquests. The members of the class become enthusiastic, and are able to appreciate the growth of the great empire, with its military roads and administrative system.

Miss Mary North’s Ancient History Social reminded me of something that I have found good for arousing a class, and aiding in the biographical work,--the old-fashioned game of “Who Am I?” We send a pupil from the room, and the class chooses some person whom he is to represent. Then he is re-called, and from my seat behind the desk begins to quiz the class, up and down the rows, asking questions that must be answered by “Yes” or “No.” Sometimes they have to appeal to me for information, or consult books, but in the end they know considerably more than when they began. When given warning of the exercise, they study well. They enjoy it, and ever after seem to feel a personal friendship for the characters we have studied in this fashion. They develop quickly a wonderful capacity for finding leading questions.

Occasionally I try another scheme,--charades. This gives a wider range, as it may include places, persons, or events. Each pupil must be ready to explain the importance of that place, person, or events which he presents.

Minds worked quickly, originality was encouraged, and solid facts were assimilated. I have found that such things stimulate and interest, and give new life to a class, often attaining results that I could not get in any other way.

With best wishes for the cause, and for a great future for the new magazine,

Respectfully, LOU IRENE DEYO. Ventura, Cal., Oct. 30, 1909.

Editor HISTORY TEACHER’S MAGAZINE.

I wish to express my appreciation of the value of your new magazine. It is brimful of good things for Civics and History teachers, and I can hardly see how we got along without a magazine of our own for so long. I am glad you are devoting so much space to the problems of the elementary and secondary schools. Since they furnish the material for the colleges, it seems but just that they should receive the generous consideration you are giving them.

Will you please publish (1) the membership requirements, fees, etc., of the History Teachers’ Association of the Middle States; also (2) publishers and price of Cheyney’s “European Background of American History”?

Wishing your magazine abundant success,

Respectfully, M. E. C.

(1) Membership in the History Teachers’ Association of the Middle States and Maryland is open to any person teaching history in a school or college within the territory. The membership fee is one dollar a year. Members receive not only the reports of the Middle States Association, but also those of the New England and North Central Associations. Application for membership should be made to the secretary, Professor Henry Johnson, Teachers’ College, New York City.

(2) Cheyney’s “European Background” is the first volume of Hart’s “American Nation”; the volume retails for about two dollars.

Editor HISTORY TEACHER’S MAGAZINE.

THE HISTORY TEACHER’S MAGAZINE has given me new inspiration in my work in history, and I find it a great pleasure and help. Please give me the following information:

(1) Where to obtain Murray’s Classical Maps, (2) the American History Leaflets, (3) is there a book or series of leaflets giving sketches of early explorers and chief men in American history? H. B. N.

ANS.--(1) Murray’s Classical Maps can be obtained from the Oxford University Press, American Branch, New York City; (2) The American History Leaflets are published by A. Lovell & Co., New York; (3) We know of no series of leaflets giving sketches of early explorers. There are, however, several books giving such sketches and among them are: Tappan, “American Hero Series”; Gordy, “American Leaders”; Southworth, “Builders of Our Country”; Bass, “Stories of Pioneer Life”; Sparks, “Men Who Have Made the Nation.”

* * * * *

Make Your Own Series

Of Historical Wall Maps for any period of history, or your own series of maps for commercial or political geography by using colored pencil, crayon, or water-colors, and the

McKinley Wall Outline Maps

The cost is merely nominal, and the teacher or pupil will benefit much by studying out in detail the significant facts from maps in atlases or text-books.

For =UNITED STATES HISTORY= there are maps of the country as a whole, of the Eastern Section, the Upper and Lower Mississippi Valley, the Pacific Coast, New England, the Middle Atlantic and the South Atlantic States, of North America and the World.

For =ENGLISH HISTORY= there are maps of England, the British Isles, France and England, Europe and the World.

For =ANCIENT HISTORY= there are maps of the Eastern World, Palestine, Greece, Italy, the Roman Empire, and Gaul.

For =EUROPEAN HISTORY= there are maps of Europe as a whole, the Mediterranean World, Central Europe, France, Italy, England, the British Isles, and of the several Continents for the study of European colonization.

For =GEOGRAPHY= there are maps of the world, of each of the Continents, and of many subdivisions of the Continents of Europe, Asia, and North America.

For =ECONOMICS, HISTORY, AND GEOGRAPHY=, there is the new cross-ruled Coördinate Paper for depicting lines of growth and development.

Price, 20 cents each

Postage extra, 10 cents for one map; 2 cents for each additional map.

Ten or more copies, 17 cents each; twenty-five or more copies, 15 cents each; carriage extra.

McKINLEY PUBLISHING CO.

5805 Germantown Avenue

PHILADELPHIA, PA.

* * * * *

AN IDEAL AND ITS ATTAINMENT

What the Editors of the Magazine Have Done and What They Hope to Do

=FOUR MONTHS OLD TO-DAY, DECEMBER FIRST=, is THE HISTORY TEACHER’S MAGAZINE. Not backed financially by any teachers’ organization, as are many pedagogical papers, it was planned and put forth upon their personal responsibility by a representative board of editors and by the publishers, acting upon the belief that the time was ripe for such a publication. They believed that the awakening consciousness of history teachers needed a national spokesman. They felt that the renaissance in history teaching, already showing itself in many schools, in a few books on methods, and in the activities of teachers’ associations, should be presented to a wider constituency. They believed that there was a vast amount of good experience in teaching which was not as fruitful as it should be, because it could not be brought to the attention of other teachers.

=HAS THE EVENT JUSTIFIED THIS BELIEF?= The subscribers to the paper have answered the question in no uncertain language. Extracts from a few congratulatory letters have been published in the last three numbers of the Magazine; many more have been received, which it has been impossible to print, or even to answer in all cases. The subscription lists of the Magazine have grown rapidly, until to-day the circulation of the paper is larger than that of educational magazines of many years’ standing. It is safe to say that no pedagogical paper has been received so warmly, and from the outset been supported so loyally as has THE HISTORY TEACHER’S MAGAZINE. Founded by private enterprise, with a prospect, said many advisers, of ultimate failure, its success to-day is assured.

=HAS THE PAPER BEEN AS GOOD AS IT SHOULD BE?= Of course not. Four months of labor has educated the editors more than their product has benefited the subscribers. They have seen their mistakes, they have found fields of usefulness which they did not know existed when their plans were first laid. It was not flattery, but a failure to appreciate the widening field of the Magazine, which led a friend to caution the editors about a recent number, saying “You have made it too good; you cannot maintain the standard you have established.” The reply was that we had not yet reached our ideal and that we had faith enough in the future to believe we could at least equal what had already been done. It may be said frankly, however, that whatever other defects the paper may have shown, it has not been padded; the articles printed have been pithy, practical presentations of the best thought of the profession.

=FUTURE NUMBERS OF THE PAPER= will contain articles of the same practical character, together with many additional features. It is hoped to make it the forum for the discussion of current professional problems. There will be round-table papers upon college and school questions. College subjects to be so treated will be: the best course for the freshman year; the place of American history in undergraduate work; a college course in current topics; seminar methods, etc. Among school questions there will be: the relation of the school to the college; changes in the report of the Committee of Seven; the effect of the report of the Committee of Eight upon the elementary schools; civics and current topics in the schools; entrance examinations, etc. Among articles of interest to all teachers of history will be papers upon the use of maps, of lantern slides, of syllabi, and of other aids to the visualization of history. Current events will be summarized; public documents reviewed and valued; history meetings chronicled, and new books criticized.

=A TEACHERS’ PAPER, FIRST OF ALL=, is our ideal. The editors want the advice and suggestions of their readers. The columns will be open at all times. Practical questions will be answered. It is hoped that teachers will see the opportunity of using the paper in many ways, not only in the purely professional field, but also as a clearing-house for personal wants. Even the advertising columns, with their reasonable rates, may be made the means of procuring desired books or magazines, of disposing of second-hand books and libraries, of procuring better positions, or of securing teachers for vacancies.

=WILL YOU HELP IN THIS WORK?= We cannot succeed without the coöperation of our readers. Will you tell, through our paper, your experiences for the benefit of others? Will you seek, through our questions and answers, the advice which others may give you? Will you send to the departmental editors news items relating to their several subjects, particularly announcements of and accounts of association meetings? Will you keep us informed of changes in the personnel in the schools and colleges, and give notice of competitive examinations for history positions? The paper is our paper in a legal sense only. It really belongs to the history teachers of the country, and it is for them to put it to the full test of usefulness and service.

=ARE YOUR FRIENDS SUBSCRIBING?= Do you know other teachers who would be benefited by the Magazine, or who would help in its work? Let us have their names and addresses and we shall be glad to send them sample copies.

Letters respecting the editorial policy of the Magazine, news items, articles for publication, etc., should be addressed to the respective department editors, or to the Managing Editor, care of McKinley Publishing Co., Philadelphia, Pa.

Letters relating to advertising, and to special subscription rates to agents, should be addressed to the Business Manager, History Teacher’s Magazine, Philadelphia, Pa.

ADVERTISING RATES VERY REASONABLE. LIBERAL INDUCEMENTS TO AGENTS.

* * * * *

Transcriber’s Notes:

Footnotes have been moved to the end of each article and relabeled consecutively through the document.

Advertisements have been moved to the end of the article where they appear in the original text.

Punctuation has been made consistent.

Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

The following change was made:

p. 88: In table, second digit in second entry from bottom in right-most column is unclear in the original text, and is assumed to be 8. (68.0)