A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES BY HENRY ELDRIDGE BOURNE AND ELBERT JAY BENTON PROFESSORS OF HISTORY IN WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO BY BOURNE AND BENTON INTRODUCTORY AMERICAN HISTORY Presents the course recommended for the sixth grade by the HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES Gives prominence to the life and industries of the people, D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY D. C. HEATH & COMPANY IE7 PREFACE THIS textbook is based on the plan of study recommended for the seventh and eighth grades by the Committee of Eight of the American Historical Association. The work for the sixth grade has been given in a shorter book, entitled Introductory American History. About two-thirds of that book concern the beginnings in Great Britain and Europe of the civilization which the people of the United States share with other peoples of European race. The remainder contains descriptions of the discoveries and early settlements of America, principally in the sixteenth century. This volume for the upper grades opens with a chapter which repeats briefly the story of early discovery and settlement. The chapter may be used as a review in those schools which use the Introductory American History. Teachers who do not use that book will find in the chapter the essential facts of the period. American history is so rich and varied that the most serious question which confronts the authors of a textbook is that of selection and emphasis. If space is to be found for adequate treatment of the most characteristic features of our national development, especially of those within the comprehension of the pupil of the seventh or eighth grade, certain phases of the political and military history of the country must be reserved for later study. The two great facts which the authors have emphasized in order to give unity to their treatment are (1) the migration of people from many different nations to America, and (2) the westward movement in America. Another fact emphasized is the effort of the settlers to reproduce in this country the ways of living to which they were accustomed at home. Their success in organizing civilized life over so vast an area in three or four centuries has been a work the magnitude of which may well awaken the interest of every pupil. The geographical setting of American history has been kept constantly in mind. The pupil should be made to realize the importance of geographical facts in the development of civilization and especially in the history of the United States. He has been studying geography for several years and should discover that his work 376608 is of immediate utility in the study of a kindred subject. Certain great movements, like the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, cannot be understood without an appreciation of their geographical setting. Geography and chronology have been called "the two eyes of history," but date lists are often emphasized far more than geographical conditions. In the Civil War the geographical features of Virginia and of the Mississippi Valley were determining factors, and were always noted by the leaders. It is obvious that such facts must form the basis of the class-room study of the war. What is true of that war is equally true of other movements. The teacher will note the emphasis upon geographical facts in chapter iii, Exploring the Mississippi Valley; chapter viii, Dutch and English Rivalries; chapter x, The French Rivals, as well as in the chapters on the wars. In selecting the characteristic incidents which should be described the authors have again kept in mind the experience of the pupil. Only the simpler features of political institutions and controversies have been touched, while special attention has been given to occupations, industry, trade, manners, and customs. The European background, that is, the history of Great Britain and Europe, has been explained whenever it furnishes a key to an understanding of events in America which were the direct outgrowth of events in the Old World. The point of view is American and the amount of European history included is necessarily small. The teacher can readily supplement what is contained in the text. The appendix gives a summary of the principal political events, with the names of Presidents and Vice-Presidents, and of defeated candidates for the Presidency, the dates of the admission of states, with their area and population. Tables of statistics are included, showing the rapid growth of the states and the development of industry and trade. The bibliographical lists at the close contain references which the teachers may use in guiding the reading of the pupils. A much longer list might have been given, but care has been exercised to make the list serviceable. The authors wish to express their thanks to those who have aided them with helpful criticisms. |