PREFACE Ir is of the first importance that every American should have a thorough knowledge of the constitutional, the political, and the industrial development of the United States; and this applies especially to the period since the beginning of the movement which led to the separation from the British Empire and the formation of a republican government under the Constitution. It is impossible, however, to understand the history of this later period without a knowledge of the political and constitutional history of colonial times, for our institutions are mainly developed out of colonial institutions. It is also impossible to comprehend the territorial development of the United States without some acquaintance with the period of discovery and exploration. Furthermore, the history of no modern nation has been more profoundly affected by its environment than has the development of the American people; so that at knowledge of the physical advantages and disadvantages of the scene of its activity is indispensable. These considerations have determined the form and proportions of this book of the six hundred pages of text four hundred and fifty deal with the period since 1760, and, of these, three hundred and fifty relate the history of the nation since 1783. On the other hand, the narrative is preceded by an Introduction describing the Land and its Resources. The elucidation of these important problems has made it necessary to omit much interesting historical material ;details of military history, descriptions of colonial life, anecdotes of the heroes of colonial and revolutionary days, accounts of the institutions and manners of the aborigines, and the narrative of the ineffectual struggling of the Red Man against the superior race. These omissions have been made with the greater confidence because these topics are adequately treated in the excellent grammar-school histories with which the users of this book are expected to be familiar. Moreover, the writer of the present work believes that the topics which form the body of this book have hitherto received far too little attention in our High and Normal schools. The great successes of the American people have been won in the fields of peace, not in those of war. The men who have given the United States its foremost place among the nations of the world are its statesmen and its leaders in politics, its inventors and its captains of industry, its masters of literature, of science, and of education. The Civil War, however, is so important in our political and constitutional history, its teachings are so vital to our prosperity, and the patriotism of the men who saved the Union so deserving of remembrance, that it has seemed best to give a few details of the stupendous conflict. With this exception the information given in this book relates mainly to the victories of peace. History, and above all American history, should not be studied only or chiefly for the information it conveys. No subject lends itself better to the disciplining of the mind, especially to the development of the critical faculties. Recognizing this fact, the Associations of Colleges and Preparatory Schools have advocated the adoption of better methods of teaching this important subject; and a few of our leading colleges have already changed their requirements for admission to encourage the use of better methods, while other colleges will doubtless make similar demands in the near future. This volume is therefore equipped with an apparatus of topics, references, and suggestive questions which will enable the teacher to comply with the requirements of the new system. The "Committee of Ten" of the National Educational Association advocates the introduction of history in two places in the school programme: one of them being the last year in the High School. The serious study of Ameri can history more fitly follows than precedes that of other countries, and belongs to the maturer years of school life. The present work is primarily designed, therefore, for the use of students in their last year in the High School; but the book can be adapted to the needs of lower grades by the omission of the more difficult topics, or it can be used in Normal Schools and in Colleges by the addition of more collateral reading, map work, note-book work, and written work of one sort or another. At the beginning of each chapter is a list of "Books for Consultation." In these lists the "General Readings" are selected from books which should be in every school library, or, at all events, in every town library; and the passages selected contain usually a more detailed account of topics treated in this text-book. Under the heading "Special Accounts" are enumerated larger works suitable for topical work in High Schools and for collateral reading by teachers; they are well fitted for collateral reading by students in Normal Schools and in Colleges, and the more difficult works, and those which for one reason or another are more suitable for mature students and for teachers, are marked with an asterisk. In the paragraphs on "Sources" care has been taken to refer only to available books; teachers whose classes have access to large public libraries can easily find other references through the sections of the Guide to American History, which are noted under “Bibliography." Specific references to the more important and accessible of these works are given on the margins of the pages of the text. Finally, under the heading of "Illustrative Material" are grouped some of the larger and more authoritative books, works of fiction, poems, and ballads. It is believed that these lists with the marginal references, and Suggestive Questions and Topics, will furnish abundant material for the teaching of American history under modern methods, while at the same time they are not so numerous as to oppress the teacher and the student. The maps have been made from the author's sketches, |