[due T-108.99, 330 HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY GIFT OF GINN AND COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. FIELD'S GR. SCH. HIST. W. P. 2 PREFACE LONG experience in public school work has afforded the author ample opportunity for appreciation of the needs of children and teachers in our academies and common schools, and the GRAMMAR SCHOOL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES has been prepared with special reference to those needs. To write a history free from sectional prejudice, brief and accurate in statement, though always attractive and interesting, and yet so simple in style as to be readily within the comprehension of the children who are to use it, has been the constant aim in its preparation. Only leading facts have been presented; but the effort has been to give these in such a way as to make a clear picture in the mind of the pupil, and to keep the thread of the story unbroken by needless details. Cause and effect are carefully traced, showing how each event is the result of preceding incidents, becoming in turn an active cause in the chain of following events. After an account of the early discoveries, the history of each of the English colonies to the beginning of the Revolution is concisely given. Then follows a description of the chief actions and results of that war, including an account of the condition of the country at its close and of the events which led to the adoption of the Federal Constitution. The development of the new government, and the rapid expansion of its territory, are described through successive presidential administrations. The steps leading to secession are carefully traced through the sectional controversies prior to the civil war, in order that the principles by which the men of the South were actuated may be clearly understood. The war between the states is treated in a brief and impartial manner. The closing period contains an account of the development of the South and West, of our wonderful advancement in invention, and of our progress in literature and art. Progress in education, and in social and domestic life, is traced from one period to another. This breaks the monotony of the history of war and politics, by bringing before us scenes in the home life and school life of long ago - in striking contrast with the domestic and educational machinery of to-day. Sketches of the lives of the Presidents and other prominent men, explanatory statements, and interesting facts intended to cultivate a taste for historical research and the study of biography, are added in notes. The arrangement into chapter, section, and paragraph has been carefully made, and the paragraph headings in heavy type will assist the teacher in topical recitations. The dates are placed in the margin, and only those of the most important events are introduced into the text. The pronunciation of every difficult proper name is given the first time it occurs, and a brief explanation follows each new term. Questions for Study at the close of each chapter, and Topics for Review after the different eras, are intended to awaken the mental activity and interest of the pupil, and to help him to think for himself. The answers to some are not to be found directly in the book; but none of the questions require extended research, and they will give practice in outside study. Much benefit may be derived from collateral reading, by which deeper insight into the subject and a wider range of information are acquired. A short, but suggestive, list for the use of pupils is added at the close of each period, and one carefully selected for the use of teachers is found at the close of the last period. The author's thanks and acknowledgments are tendered to Professor Henry A. White of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, and to Professor John R. Ficklen of Tulane University, New Orleans, for their valuable assistance in reading and criticising the manuscript. The statements of the number of men engaged in the various battles of the late war have been taken from the "Official Records of the Rebellion," as far as they have been issued; also from the reports of General Walter H. Taylor, adjutant general of the Army of Northern Virginia, as published in his book, "Four Years with Lee." ATLANTA, GEORGIA. |