CHAPTER II

NATIONALISM AND LOCALISM IN HISTORY LEGISLATION, 1860-1900

THE CURRICULUM

The Civil War marked a turning point in American history. Forces undreamed of before 1860 conspired to change the whole tenor of American life. From isolated rural communities of simple tastes and unexploited resources, the United States emerged into a growing urbanization of multifarious activities. Prior to 1860 there had been little change from the days of George Washington, when nine-tenths of the people had been engaged in agriculture; by 1890, however, the population had so shifted that more than one-third dwelt in towns of over two thousand inhabitants.

These vast and far-reaching changes were brought about by an expansion

## particularly in the fields of transportation, agriculture, and

manufacturing. Steam, electricity, progress in invention, the growth of an immigrant population, and the opening of new lands to settlement, all served as contributing factors. It was a period characterized by a strong national sentiment. The theory of state rights had been settled forever by the victory of the Union in 1865, and a realization of the great opportunities of America bore the fruit of patriotic fervor. Nationalism expressed itself in the nationalization of industry, in the organization of national labor units, in the nationalization of the financial resources of the country, and in a deepened interest in the public school system. It led inevitably to a new appreciation of the distinctive contributions of local communities to the new national spirit, and was, in a sense, responsible for a strong reaction toward deep-seated local interests in the ’nineties.

These vast changes necessitated new aims and purposes in education. The preceding period had witnessed the educational system transformed from an instrument of the church into one of the state. By 1860 the theory of tax-supported schools had become established, and most states provided at least elementary instruction. By 1880, legal and legislative objections to the establishment of high schools had succumbed to the conviction that education was essential in the new social and industrial order. 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.[27] Now in the form of United States history it was received with widespread approval. A gradual extension of the requirements grew out of the spirit of the times, and to American history was added the study of the constitution of the nation and of the state, as well as the study of state history. Twenty-three states, during the four decades following 1860, placed upon their statute books laws requiring the teaching of history in the public schools. Over one-fourth of these commonwealths lay below the Mason and Dixon line, the states of the Middle and Far West becoming the most active after 1880.

In 1862, Vermont, in a law dealing with “the instruction of the young,” prescribed history and the constitution of the United States, and special instruction in “the geography, and history, constitution and principles of government of the state of Vermont” as a part of the school curriculum.[28] A later law extended the social studies curriculum, for towns of twenty-five hundred inhabitants, to embrace political economy, general history, and civil government in the high school course.[29] The nearby state of Connecticut included in her law, regarding the branches to be taught in her schools, the subject of “history,” later specifying “United States history.”[30]

During the early years of the period Southern legislatures were

## particularly active, both in the border states and in the Confederacy.

In each case the legislation was responsive to the nationalistic tendencies of the time; and, in the states of the Confederacy, the study of national history and of the federal constitution were for the first time required by law.[31] Such statutes, sometimes enacted before the restoration of home rule and under the influence of Reconstruction agencies, sought, through the public schools, to overcome the intensified sectionalism of the post-war South. Laws making it a duty of the teacher to inculcate a proper attitude toward “the laws and government of the country” had much the same purpose as those requiring specifically the study of United States history and government. Thus a law of the first legislative assembly of West Virginia, passed December 10, 1863, made it the duty of all public school teachers “to inculcate the duties of piety, morality and respect for the laws and government of their country.” All teachers and boards of education were expressly “charged with the duty of providing that moral training for the youth of this state which shall contribute to securing good behavior and virtuous conduct, and to furnishing the state with exemplary citizens.” In 1874, a statute designed for the primary schools of the state prescribed the teaching of the common school subjects including geography and history.[32]

Similar enactments were passed by Missouri and Maryland in 1865. In Missouri, it was provided that “all teachers, when employed shall be required to instruct their pupils in the fundamental principles of the Government of the United States and of the State of Missouri, and the duties of loyal citizens thereto.”[33] Maryland, in 1865, made it a duty of her teachers to train their pupils in piety and justice, loyalty and sacred regard for truth, and in love of country; and to lead them into a clear understanding of the virtues which were the basis upon which was founded a republican constitution; “to preserve the blessings of liberty, promote temporal happiness and advance the greatness of the American Nation.”[34] The study of United States history was likewise required, followed in 1868 by the subject of government, both federal and state. It was not until a few years later that state history was added to the prescribed list.[35]

Among the first of the states of the Confederacy to enact laws requiring the teaching of United States history were Arkansas, South Carolina and Mississippi.[36] Passed during the period of carpet-bag control, their statutes show plainly the effects of reconstruction influences. The Arkansas law of 1868 and South Carolina’s law of 1870 prescribed not only the study of national history but also required a knowledge of the principles of the federal and state constitutions. In 1881, North Carolina enacted a statute for the teaching of both national and state history, and Tennessee, in 1873, accorded a place to United States history among the subjects required in her schools.[37] It was not until later that the Alabama _Code_ records similar action by the legislature of that state in prescribing instruction in “the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Alabama” for “all pupils in all schools and colleges supported, in whole or in part, by public money, or under state control.”[38]

Among the border states, Kentucky, as well as West Virginia, called for the teaching of history, to which was added the study of civil government after “July 1, 1889.”[39]

Florida reverted to a form of the morality laws for the promotion of citizenship through the public schools. In 1881, she directed and authorized each teacher “to labor faithfully and earnestly for the advancement of pupils in their studies, deportment and morals, and to embrace every opportunity to inculcate by precept and example, the principles of truth, honesty, patriotism, and the practice of every Christian virtue; to require the pupils to observe personal cleanliness, neatness, order, promptness, and gentility of manners, to avoid vulgarity and profanity, and to cultivate in them habits of industry and economy, a regard for the rights and feelings of others, and their own responsibilities and duties as citizens.”[40] In 1889 there was added another duty to the list enumerated above: that of “reading at least once a month the Declaration of Rights as set forth by the constitution of the state of Florida.”[41]

The states of the Middle West also desired to inculcate patriotism in the youth of that section and to emphasize the accomplishments of America. In a series of laws, beginning in 1861, Minnesota prescribed the study of the “history of the United States.”[42] In 1878, she sought to carry out the desire for an exemplary citizenry in “An Act to introduce Moral and Social Science in the Public Schools of the State,” in which was reëchoed the sentiment of the morality laws of a former time.[43]

By 1876, Wisconsin had allied herself with those endorsing the study of government, by prescribing that “the constitution of the United States and of this state shall be taught in every district school.”[44] By later laws the study of United States history and civil government was required.[45]

Among the subjects prescribed in Indiana and Missouri was United States history, the latter state directing that elementary school pupils before entering the high school must have completed the subject.[46] South Dakota, in 1895, made United States history a requirement of her common school curriculum,[47] and North Dakota by a series of laws sanctioned both United States history and civil government.[48] Before statehood had been achieved, the territory of Dakota had prescribed, in 1883, that “the highest standard of morals shall be taught, and industry, truthfulness, integrity, and self-respect inculcated, obedience to law enjoined, and the aims of an upright and useful life cultivated.”[49] The same purpose was evident in North Dakota’s law of 1890 and that of South Dakota of 1893, which provided for “moral instruction tending to impress upon the minds of pupils the importance of truthfulness, temperance, purity, public spirit, patriotism, and respect for honest labor, obedience to parents and due deference for old age, shall be given by each teacher in the public schools.”[50]

The states of the Far West were likewise active. They followed in the wake of the older states by prescribing, in most cases, the teaching of United States history, and in some instances the study of government. In addition, they reverted to the type of law found at an early time in the Eastern states, which required a teacher to instruct in the principles of a free government “to train them [the pupils] up to a true comprehension of the rights, duties, and dignity of American citizenship.” Both types of law are found in the legislation of Washington,[51] Montana,[52] California,[53] and Arizona.[54] Nevada and New Mexico allied themselves with the movement to teach United States history in the public schools.[55]

Utah also prescribed United States history as a part of the school curriculum and included in another law an admonition for instruction in patriotism.[56] This statute is a good example of the evolutionary stage through which most states passed in the making of laws, and shows the tendency of the newer states to revert to the old type of laws in the early period of statehood. In Idaho no content subject was prescribed by law, but the teacher was held responsible for inculcating the “principles of morality, truth, justice, and patriotism.”[57]

The place of history in the school curriculum was thus thoroughly established by law at the close of the nineteenth century. United States history was required in more statutes than any other field of history, although, in some instances, political economy and general history found a place in the high school program. Frequently added to the requirement of national history, was the study of civil government, both federal and state, and occasionally local or state history.

During the period one-third of the legislatures enacting social study laws prescribed the teaching of the federal constitution. A knowledge of the state constitution was required in Maryland, South Carolina, Alabama, Missouri, and Arkansas; and North Carolina and Maryland, besides Vermont, prescribed the teaching of state history. The emphasis placed upon a knowledge of state institutions was but the reaction from the intense nationalism of the years immediately following the Civil War. It was especially evident toward the close of the century and during the early years following 1900. Indeed, from 1880 to 1900 local pride evinced a quickened consciousness in the organization of such groups as the Sons of Veterans in 1881, the United Confederate Veterans and the Sons of the American Revolution in 1889, the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1890, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1896. In literature, writers like Cable, Eggleston, Harte and Stockton glorified the characteristics peculiar to their localities; and laws relating to the public school curriculum reflected precisely the same temper.[58]

Educational and learned societies likewise bore testimony to the interest in the study of history. In 1876, a committee of the National Education Association recommended United States history for the elementary school and a study of “universal history and the Constitution of the United States for high schools.”[59] In 1892, the Committee of Ten was created by the same organization to consider “programs of the secondary schools in the United States and ... the requirements for admission to college.”[60] Eight years of history were asked by this committee, four for the high school and four for the elementary.[61] In 1896, the Committee of Seven of the American Historical Association was appointed, and in 1899 recommended a four years’ course in history.[62] During this time colleges also extended their entrance credits to include more history, which, with the committee reports, aided much in increasing the offerings in the public school curriculum. These activities are an indication of the place that history was coming to hold in the education of the young. They are added proof of the attention which the public was giving to the social studies in a period in which twenty-five states passed laws to include them in a required course of study.[63]

CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS

During the decade of the ’sixties laws regarding the certification of teachers were passed by New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Maryland, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, and California. “History” was a requirement of New Hampshire, Minnesota and Maryland,[64] and “United States history” received mention in the laws of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, and California.[65] To the requirement of United States history, California added that of the “Constitution and Government of the United States,” which was further amplified by a requirement for the teaching of the constitution of California, in an amendment of 1874.

From 1870 to 1880 there was little departure from the subjects required in the preceding period, “history” being considered essential in Idaho by a law of 1870, by Arkansas, in 1873 and in 1875, and by West Virginia in 1874 and in 1879 for primary school certificates.[66] In Texas, Washington, Kansas, Colorado, and Delaware, the law specified United States history, and in Oregon, modern history.[67] Besides history being required in the statute of Arkansas, an applicant for a state certificate was required to have a knowledge of the constitution of the state and nation, an innovation in the required list of subjects.[68] In Wisconsin, the law pertaining to the certification of teachers was revised in 1879 for the express purpose of examining persons in the federal and state constitutions, and was carried over in the statutes of the next thirty years.[69]

In the decade following 1880, New York, Michigan, the Dakotas, Alabama, Arizona, Ohio, and Montana joined the states which had prescribed certification requirements in the previous decade.[70] Upon the statute books of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, California, and Washington were continued laws previously enacted.[71] To her requirement of United States history, Colorado prescribed a knowledge of the federal constitution.[72] Civil government, as well as United States history, was required for licensing in New York, Ohio, Michigan, the Dakotas, Alabama, Montana, and Arizona. In Idaho, by a law of 1884, territorial certificates could be secured only by those showing proficiency not only in United States history, but in general history, political economy, and civil government as well.[73] Oregon also extended her requirements beyond those commonly found, to include modern history.[74]

From 1890 to 1900 only four states passed laws of this character for the first time. All other legislation of the period was enacted by states which had previously prescribed the subjects prerequisite for a teacher’s license. In those commonwealths where there had been statutes enacted, the list of required subjects was frequently extended to include political economy.

Florida, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming, in prescribing that their teachers must show a satisfactory knowledge of United States history, followed the usual practice, although acting for the first time. To this requirement was added also that of a knowledge of civil government, a common prerequisite whose popularity had been established in the ’eighties.[75] Florida, however, for the third and second grade certificates did not require a knowledge of civil government, reserving that only for the first grade and state licenses. For the latter, a knowledge of general history was required by the law of 1893.[76] Wyoming required not only United States history and civil government, but for a first grade certificate added political economy.[77]

From 1890 to 1900 Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Mississippi, Texas, Idaho, Washington, Utah, California, and Wyoming required proficiency in United States history and civil government for some grade of teacher’s license.[78]

In 1891, Alabama added to the requirement of United States history for a first grade license, the constitution of the state of Alabama and of the United States, thereby conforming to the popular tendency.[79] A knowledge of state history was required in Pennsylvania, Mississippi, South Dakota and Texas; and Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Minnesota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming required general history for the higher grade of certification.[80] Political economy became a prerequisite for a professional state certificate in Minnesota by the laws of 1893, in Iowa in 1896, and in Wyoming in 1899 for a first grade license.[81]

United States history only was required in Utah for county certificates of the grammar and primary grades, in Kansas for the second and third grade certificates, in Indiana for common school licenses, and in Arkansas for county certificates.[82]

During the period from 1860 to 1900 thirty-six states enacted laws relating to the certification of teachers. Of this number, only six states had passed laws prior to 1860.[83] In all states a knowledge of United States history was a prerequisite for licensing throughout the period, and, in most cases, civil government was required.[84]

TEACHERS’ QUALIFICATIONS: OATHS OF LOYALTY

The fear of an apostacy on the part of the teaching craft led legislatures in this period to impose other than scholastic requirements upon those who would teach in the public schools. These regulations, indicating a distrust of the loyalty of teachers, have required oaths of allegiance from all who would qualify as teachers.

Legislation of this character was originally an outgrowth of the Civil War, the first laws being passed in 1862.[85] And it is not strange that the border state Kentucky was a pioneer in statutes of this character. Here the law was made to apply to all school commissioners, examiners of teachers for the common schools, and school trustees and teachers elected to teach in the common schools, all presidents, professors and teachers in colleges, and high schools incorporated by legislative enactment. It pledged loyalty to the Union and denounced the tenets of the Confederacy.

“I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of Kentucky,” vowed the applicant, “and be true and faithful to the commonwealth as long as I remain a citizen thereof. That I recognize the binding obligations of the Constitution of the United States and the duty of every citizen to submit thereto as the supreme law of the land. That I will not give aid to the rebellion against the government of the United States, nor give aid to the so-called provisional government of Kentucky, either directly or indirectly, so long as I remain a citizen of or reside in Kentucky, and that this oath is taken by me without any mental reservation--so help me God.” This oath, given in writing, was kept at the county court office where the school was located, and a violation of the oath or false swearing upon conviction, led to the imposition of a penalty. Evasion of the law, too, was subject to punishment through a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars.[86] In 1889 it was made incumbent upon the county superintendent to administer such oaths.

Similar laws appeared on the statute books of West Virginia and Missouri, where, like Kentucky, these border states felt a pressing need for a loyal citizenry. On December 10, 1863, the former commonwealth declared that no applicant should be admitted to an examination for a teacher’s license unless the county superintendent had reasonable evidence that the candidate was not only “of good moral character and temperate habits,” but that he was “loyal to the government of the United States and of West Virginia.”[87] To buttress this law it was prescribed that all teachers should take the oath of loyalty required of all state officers. The latter regulation was operative after November 16, 1863, but no specific mention was made of teachers subscribing to such an oath until 1867. However, it seems probable that they, as well as state officers, affirmed their loyalty at the earliest period of statehood, since it is recorded that two teachers, J. B. Soloman and C. T. Wilson, in 1869, were exempted from subscribing to the oath prescribed in the act of 1863.

A statute, moreover, directly prescribed for teachers in 1867 the taking of the following oath: “I, A. A. B., do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of West Virginia, that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States, that I have voluntarily given no aid or comfort to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto, by countenancing, counseling or encouraging them in the same, that I have not sought, accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever under any authority in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion.”[88]

The cessation of armed hostilities between the North and the South induced Missouri to require an avowal of loyalty on the part of her teachers. On March 29, 1866, there was approved a law by which “all teachers before entering upon the discharge of their duties should take and subscribe to the oath of loyalty prescribed by the constitution.”[89]

Regarding the lessons of the War, Arkansas, in 1866, believed there should be no disagreement. Here not only did the applicant for a teacher’s certificate swear to support the constitution and laws of the United States and Arkansas, but he also promised that he would encourage all others to do likewise. “... I will never countenance or aid in the secession of this state from the United States,” the affirmant declared, and added his pledge “to inculcate in the minds of youth sentiments of patriotism and loyalty.”[90]

Oregon also required a pledge of her teachers by legislation in 1862. Before the county superintendent of schools, disloyalty to the state and nation must be forsworn by the applicant for a certificate, who promised “without any mental reservation or evasion whatever,” that he would “bear true allegiance and fidelity to the same against all enemies, foreign or domestic.”[91]

Dissentient opinions received scant courtesy in Rhode Island at the time of the Civil War although no law forbade them. However, a warning from the state commissioner of education to the general assembly at the January session of 1865 undoubtedly evoked the same response as the enactment of a law. Here, too, there was to be no tolerance for a passive loyalty. “The war tocsin has sounded,” the report declared, “our country is convulsed in mighty conflict, our friends are in the contesting field, their blood has been made to redden and fertilize the rebel soil.... Traitors and rebel sympathizers are _among us_, rendering every available assistance and using every means within their power to further the rebel cause and aid them in the accomplishment of their hellish design. Therefore, let us be on our guard, lest some of them unawares be ushered into our schools as teachers. For if the teacher be a traitor, his actions will correspond therewith, and by example, if not by precept, he will be sowing the seeds of rebellion in the susceptible hearts of our children. 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? _No, most assuredly, no._ Better by far remain as he is, his untutored mind wrapped up in ignorance, than to be thus guided and piloted by the vile traitor, only to be finally dashed against the rocks and engulfed in the waves of rebellion. But let our teachers be noble, loyal sons and daughters of America--those who, while instructing our little ones in the sciences that pertain to the secular concerns of life, will also teach them their obligations to their country, and at the same time will point them to that _never fading star_ by which their frail barks may be safely guided over life’s treacherous seas to the port of eternal rest, to gain that blood-washed throng who chant the praises of God and the Lamb from Mount Zion’s balmy top.”[92]

As a survival of the legislation regarding teachers’ qualifications, which had been brought about by the period of Reconstruction, were the statutes of Arizona of 1883 and 1885. By these laws it was made a duty of the superintendent of public instruction and the county superintendents of schools to administer oaths and affirmations of loyalty to teachers.[93]

CITIZENSHIP AS A QUALIFICATION FOR TEACHERS

Beginning in 1899 came legislation eliminating from the teaching profession those who were not American citizens. North Dakota was the pioneer in this movement in a statute prohibiting the issuance of certificates or permits to teach to persons not citizens of the United States, unless they had resided in the United States “for at least one year prior to the time of such applications or permit.”[94] The same year Idaho adopted a similar restriction, by forbidding the granting of certificates or the employment of any teacher in the public schools, “not a citizen of the United States.”[95] A decade later (1907) Nevada attempted to promote patriotism by requiring an oath of all public officials including teachers in schools and university professors. In this was affirmed the dominance of the national over the state government and an abjuration of duelling, a relic of frontier conditions.

“I, ----, do solemnly swear,” declared the official, or teacher, “that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and the Constitution and Government of the State of Nevada against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith, allegiance and loyalty to the same, any state convention or legislature to the contrary notwithstanding; and further that I do this, with a full determination, pledge and purpose, without any mental reservation or evasion whatsoever. And I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have not fought a duel, nor sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel, nor been a second to either party, nor in any manner aided or assisted in such a duel, nor been knowingly the bearer of such challenge or acceptance, since the adoption of the Constitution of the State of Nevada, and that I will not be so engaged or concerned directly or indirectly in or about any such duel, during my continuance in office....”[96]

TEXTBOOK LEGISLATION

Substantially all legislation regarding history textbooks has developed since the Civil War, only three states passing statutes of this character before 1860.[97] This form of regulation falls, in general, into laws in which certain textbooks are named as suitable for use or are definitely prescribed, laws in which the subjects of the curriculum are enumerated by a statement concerning textbooks, enactments limiting the price of books, statutes by which books of a partisan or political bias are forbidden, and laws prescribing the character of the content for history textbooks, whose source is a sectional or partisan animus.

In 1862, the state of Vermont passed _An Act directing the Board of Education to select a Textbook of the Geography and History of Vermont_ which was to be used in all district schools of the state for a period of five years.[98] Ten years later Hall’s _Geography and History of Vermont_, which was then in use by sanction of the law, was continued as a textbook until 1878.[99] In Rhode Island, the report of the Superintendent of Public Education, in 1865, named the histories written by Berard and Goodrich as those commonly used in the public schools.[100] By legislative enactment, North Carolina in 1879, designated Moore’s _History of North Carolina_ for use in her public schools.[101]

Of the textbooks prescribed in West Virginia, Goodrich’s _Common School History_, Quackenbos’ _History of the United States_, and Holmes’ _History of the United States_ were named by laws in 1868 and 1873. Later the price of Myers’ _General History_, Montgomery’s _General History_ and Montgomery’s _Beginner’s American History_ were regulated by law.[102] In Virginia “the two works of John Esten Cooke, entitled respectively ‘Virginia: A History of Her People,’ and ‘Stories of the Old Dominion,’” were included in the list of textbooks selected.[103] In Indiana, in 1889, the state board of education was directed to choose a history equal to Thalheimer’s _History of the United States_,[104] and two years later it was enacted that the price of the textbook on the history of the United States should not exceed 65 cents a volume.[105]

Minnesota, Kansas, and Montana insisted that their histories be the equal of Barnes’ _School Histories_.[106] In Kansas the law also made it conditional that the civil government textbook be equal to Thummel’s _Government of the United States with the Kansas addendum_,[107] and that among the textbooks selected by the state commission should be included books on general history, history of Kansas and English history.[108] A Montana law also limited the price to be paid for books: Barnes’ _Brief History of the United States_, retail price $1.20; Barnes’ _Primary History of the United States_, retail price 70 cents; and Lovell’s _Civics for Young People_ (also a prescribed textbook), retail price 50 cents.[109] In South Dakota the maximum price for a textbook on the history of the United States was fixed at 80 cents by a law of 1891.[110]

The duty of choosing textbooks was delegated to various officials in the different states. Missouri directed, in 1897, that a state commission should select the textbooks in United States history and civil government.[111] Arkansas delegated the task of choosing a history of the United States to the state superintendent of public instruction,[112] as well as providing, in 1899, that there be included among the textbooks of the schools, the history and civil government of the state and nation.[113] In Idaho, the county superintendent selected the textbooks in “history,” and in California the duty devolved upon the state board of education.[114]

Among the branches of study in Texas and Alabama for which law prescribed that there should be a uniform series of books was United States history, and in Alabama was added the history and constitution of the state.[115]

The most common regulation regarding textbooks pertained to the prohibition of books showing partisan, political or sectarian bias.[116] In the South, particularly, were such laws enacted. In February, 1890, a joint resolution “in relation to histories to be taught in the public schools of Mississippi” passed the legislature of that state. It urged “the utmost care in the selection and introduction of school histories,” in order to eliminate those considered “biased, prejudiced and unfair,” or that suppressed a “full, free and candid presentation of questions upon which the American people” had been “honestly divided,” and in the maintenance of which they had acted “according to the promptings of courage and honor.”[117]

Precisely the same motive actuated the lawmakers of Alabama later in establishing county school boards to select uniform series of textbooks for the public schools. These boards were instructed to avoid “textbooks containing anything partisan, prejudicial or inimical to the interests of the people of the State” or which would “cast a reflection on their past history.”[118]

Endorsement of history books favorable to the South was the burden of a resolution of Georgia, in 1866, which commended the Southern University series of school textbooks under the auspices of the University of Virginia from the pens of Captain M. F. Maury, Gilmore Simms, Honorable Charles Gayarre, Judge B. F. Porter, Professors Le Compte, Holmes, Venable, Schele, Devere, because they expressed a “correct sentiment.”[119] This particularism became more evident toward the close of the period as Southern legislatures threw off the influence of carpet-bag domination.

Maryland’s legislation of 1868 and South Carolina’s of 1870 declared that “school books shall contain nothing of a sectarian or partisan character.”[120] Virginia as early as 1849 had subscribed to a similar statement,[121] and in 1872 both North Carolina and Georgia forbade the use of books in the public schools which might partake of a “political” or “sectional” bias.[122]

In Georgia, the county boards were not permitted “to introduce into the schools any textbook or miscellaneous book of a sectarian or sectional character.”[123] A South Carolina law, pertaining to the general duties of the state superintendent of education, accepted the phraseology common to many laws regarding textbooks in forbidding “partisan” books or instruction.[124]

## Partisan textbooks were also excluded from the schools of Alabama,

Kansas, Arizona, Washington, and California.[125] In Idaho and Montana legislation stipulated the rejection of all books which would propagate “political” doctrines, and in Texas it provided that nothing of a sectional or partisan character should be included in the uniform series of textbooks selected.[126] In Kentucky the county board of examiners was given the task of selecting a uniform series of textbooks for the county providing that the selection did not include any books of “an immoral, sectional or sectarian character.”[127] The territory of Dakota legislating regarding school libraries forbade not only books unsuited “to the cultivation of good character and good morals and manners,” but all “partisan political pamphlets and books.”[128]

The evolution of laws respecting textbooks in this period indicated the tendency toward a spirit of localism. The South seized upon another opportunity in her legislation for textbooks to prohibit the teaching of a Northern viewpoint; nine states of the Confederacy passed laws prohibiting the use of “partisan” histories in their schools. The border state of Kentucky also forbade “sectional” textbooks, whereas the West attempted to exclude “partisan, political books.”[129] The laws passed by the North during the period dealt largely with the naming of textbooks to be used in the public schools.

FOOTNOTES:

[27] _Cf._ Johnson, Henry, _Teaching of History in Elementary and Secondary Schools_ (New York, 1915), ch. v; Russell, W. F., _The Early Teaching of History in the Secondary Schools of New York and Massachusetts_ (Philadelphia, 1915). History was offered in states where there were not statutory requirements. The enumeration of these laws does not, moreover, indicate the amount of history studied.

[28] _General Statutes_ of Vermont, 1862, ch. 22, sec. 19, p. 151.

[29] _Ibid._, 1894, sec. 700, p. 189. Similar laws had been passed by Massachusetts in 1860. See page 7.

[30] _Laws_ of Connecticut, 1883, ch. LXXIV, p. 264. Laws of successive years carried on substantially the same requirements. In 1902 the law appeared with slight modifications, having been accepted in 1868, 1870, 1884, 1888, 1889, 1895, 1897, 1899. _General Statutes_ of Connecticut, 1902, ch. 131, par. 2130, p. 561, cites _Revision_, 1888, par. 2118, ch. 6; 1895, ch. 119; 1897, ch. 101; 1899, ch. 54.

[31] Virginia in 1849 had prescribed United States history. This state did not enact a law during this period.

[32] _Acts_ of West Virginia, 1863, ch. 137, 16, p. 250. Again _Acts_, 1866, ch. 74, 29, p. 62; and _Code_, 1868, ch. 45, 35, p. 300; _Acts_, 1873, ch. 123, 32, p. 403; _Acts_, 1881, p. 185; _Acts_, 1874, ch. 123, 11, p. 388; _ibid._, p. 173. This law was reënacted in 1881.

[33] _General Statutes_ of Missouri, 1864-65, sec. 4, p. 128. Approved February 10, 1865.

[34] _Laws_ of Maryland, 1865, ch. 5, sec. 4, p. 284.

[35] _Ibid._, ch. IV, sec. 2, p. 282; _ibid._, 1868, ch. VI, sec. 2, p. 754; _ibid._, 1870, ch. VII, sec. 3, p. 540; _ibid._, 1872, ch. 7, sec. 3, p. 638; _Revised Code_, 1879, art. XXVII, 39, Vol. I, p. 255.

[36] Virginia had passed such a law in 1849. See page 8. _Laws_ of South Carolina, 1870, sec. 24, p. 344; _Revised Statutes_, 1872, ch. XXXVIII, sec. 4, p. 246; _General Statutes_, 1881-1882, sec. 1004, p. 300. _Revised Statutes_, 1893, sec. 1058, Vol. I, p. 368, repeat the law. _Laws_ of Arkansas, 1868, sec. 65, p. 184; _Laws_, 1875, sec. 45, p. 68; again in _Acts_, 1913, sec. 62, p. 410. _Laws_ of Mississippi, 1873, ch. 1, sec. 23, p. 13.

[37] _Laws_ of North Carolina, 1881, ch. 200, sec. 38, p. 383. _Laws_ of Tennessee, 1873, ch. XXV, sec. 31, p. 46; _Laws_, 1879, ch. 187, sec. 31.

[38] _Code_ of Alabama, 1897, art. 3, 3456, 4, Vol. 1, p. 998; _ibid._, 1907, 1685, 4, Vol. 1, p. 741. The _Code_ of a decade later repeated the same statute indicating that it was still a law.

[39] _Laws_ of Kentucky, 1888, par. 6, Vol. 1, p. 157. _General Statutes_, 1873, p. 212. The latter refers to the law for history. For West Virginia see page 15.

[40] _Digest_ of Florida, 1822-1881, sec. 36, p. 910; _Revised Statutes_, 1892, sec. 253, p. 184; _Compiled Laws_, 1914, Vol. I, p. 139.

[41] _Acts_ of Florida, 1889, ch. 3872, sec. 31, p. 82. Approved June 8, 1889. A law pertaining to the teaching of citizenship had been passed in Florida on January 24, 1851, and is unique in its period. By this law, two seminaries of learning were established upon the east and west sides of the Suwanee River. The first purpose of these seminaries was to be the instruction of persons in “all the various branches that pertain to a good common school education; and next to give instruction in the mechanic arts, in husbandry and agricultural chemistry, in the fundamental laws, and in what regards the rights and duties of citizens.” _Acts_ of Florida, 1850-1861, ch. 337 (no. 26), p. 97; also _Digest_, 1822-1881 inclusive, ch. 178, sec. 1, p. 916; _Revised Statutes_, 1892, ch. V, par. 301, p. 192.

[42] _Laws_ of Minnesota, 1861, sec. 22, p. 60; 1862, sec. 29, p. 26; 1864, sec. 29, p. 23; 1873, sec. 64, p. 21. Successive laws do not necessarily mean reënactments, but other subjects have been added with the social studies remaining the same and reappearing in the laws.

[43] _General Statutes_ of Minnesota, 1881 (including _Statutes_, 1878), ch. 36, sec. 178, Vol. II; _General Statutes_, 1894, ch. 36 (Title 5), sec. 3889, sec. 3890, sec. 3891, p. 1053. The law provided “that all school officers in the state may introduce, as part of the daily exercises of each school in their jurisdiction, instruction in the elements of social and moral science, including industry, order, economy, punctuality, patience, self-denial, health, purity, temperance, cleanliness, honesty, truth, justice, politeness, peace, fidelity, philanthropy, patriotism, self-respect, hope, perseverance, cheerfulness, courage, self-reliance, gratitude, pity, mercy, kindness, conscience, reflection, and the will.” Further provisions suggested the mode for carrying out the law. “That it may be the duty of the teachers to give a short oral lesson every day upon one of the topics mentioned ..., and to require the pupils to furnish illustrations of the same upon the following morning.” If only one lesson were given and only one topic discussed daily by the teacher, a full calendar month would have been spent in the carrying out of this law.

[44] _Revised Statutes_ of Wisconsin, 1878, ch. 27, sec. 447, p. 173.

[45] _Laws_ of Wisconsin, 1887, ch. 79, p. 77; _ibid._, 1898, ch. 27, sec. 447, p. 363; _Statutes_, 1913, ch. 27, sec. 447, p. 258.

[46] _Revised Statutes_ of Indiana, 1881, 4497, p. 978; _Laws of Missouri_, 1895, p. 267; _Revised Statutes_, 1899, sec. 988, Vol. I, p. 2270; _ibid._, 1909, sec. 10852; _ibid._, 1919, sec. 11218. See page 15 for other Missouri laws.

[47] _Laws_ of South Dakota, 1895, sec. 13, p. 142.

[48] _Laws_ of North Dakota, 1895, ch. 56, p. 79; _ibid._, 1897, sec. 741, p. 108; 1905, sec. 750, p. 202; 1909, sec. 833, p. 302. Dakota Territory, _Compiled Laws_, 1887, sec. 1770, p. 395. This shows that United States history was required in the common schools, as early as 1883, _Session Laws_ of Dakota Territory, 1883, ch. 44, par. 83.

[49] _Revised Code_ of Dakota Territory, 1883, sec. 91, p. 585.

[50] _Laws_ of North Dakota, 1889-90, sec. 134, p. 211; _Revised Code_, 1895, sec. 754; _ibid._, 1909, sec. 889, p. 184; _ibid._, 1913, sec. 1389, Vol. I, p. 333. _Laws_ of South Dakota, 1893, sec. 6, p. 126; _ibid._, 1895, sec. 6, p. 138; _ibid._, 1901, sec. 6, p. 173; _Compiled Laws_, 1903, sec. 2358, p. 429; _ibid._, 1913, sec. 143, Vol. I, p. 591.

[51] _Code_ of Washington, 1881, sec. 3205, p. 558; _General Statutes_, 1890, ch. VIII, sec. 810, Vol. I, p. 300. Similar laws, _Laws_, 1890, sec. 45, p. 372; _Laws_, 1895, sec. 1, p. 8; _Laws_, 1897, sec. 65, p. 384; _Laws_, 1909, sec. 2, p. 262; also _Laws_, 1877, sec. 5, p. 274, for the law prescribing teaching of patriotism. Washington required United States history.

[52] _Revised Statutes_ of Montana, 1879, sec. 1119, p. 646, prescribed United States history. _Laws_ of Montana, 1871-72, p. 630; _Revised Statutes_, 1879, sec. 1128, p. 648; again on statute books, _Laws_, 1874, sec. 41, p. 132; _Compiled Statutes_, 1887, sec. 1900, p. 1187; _Revised Code_, 1907 (see act of March 11, 1895); _Laws_, 1913, ch. VI, 802, pt. 4, p. 245, for prescribing teaching of patriotism. This law was carried by Montana on her statute books for fifty years. In Washington it passed through a similar experience, being found in the _Code_ of 1910. See Remington and Ballinger’s _Code_, 1910, sec. 4550, Vol. II, p. 490.

[53] _Statutes_ of California, 1863-4, sec. 6, p. 211; _ibid._, 1865-6, sec. 55, p. 398; _Codes and Statutes of California_, 1885, sec. 1665, Vol. I, p. 290; _ibid._, 1905, sec. 1874, 2, Vol. I, p. 451. Same law (1885) on statute books in 1905. _Code_, 1905, 1665, Vol. I, p. 391. Civil government was added, 1889. _Laws_ of California, 1891, 1665, p. 161; again in _Laws_, 1893, p. 254; _Laws_ of California, 1903, 1874, 2, p. 195; _Codes_, 1905, 1665, Vol. I, p. 391; _Laws_, 1907, p. 947. The laws respecting the teaching of patriotism and training for citizenship are found in _Statutes_ of California, 1865-86, sec. 70, p. 400; _Codes and Statutes_, 1885, sec. 1702, Vol. I, p. 293; _Codes and Statutes_, 1905, sec. 1701, Vol. I, p. 420.

[54] _Laws_ of Arizona, 1883, sec. 59, p. 49; _Laws_, 1885, p. 157; _Revised Statutes_, 1887, p. 284; _Revised Laws of the Territory of Arizona_, 1901, 2214, sec. 85, p. 602. The study of United States history required. _Revised Statutes_ of Arizona, 1887, 1566 (sec. 94), p. 285; _Laws_, 1885, p. 160; _Revised Laws of Territory_, 1901, 2243 (sec. 113), p. 608. The law prescribed that a teacher instruct in the principles of “morality, truth, justice, and patriotism ... to train them [pupils] up to a true comprehension of the rights, duties, and dignity of American citizenship.”

[55] _Statutes of Nevada_, 1864-5, sec. 42, p. 424. Also _General Statutes_, 1861-1885, 1330, sec. 42, p. 384. This last would indicate the inclusion of the law in the statutes to 1885. _Compiled Laws of Nevada_, 1861-1900, 1346, sec. 4. _Compiled Laws of New Mexico_, 1884, sec. 1101, p. 548; _ibid._, 1897, sec. 1529, p. 425.

[56] Utah’s law regarding the teaching of patriotism came under a statute regarding “Prohibited Doctrines. Moral Instruction.” It prescribed that “no atheistic, infidel, sectarian, religious, or denominational doctrine shall be taught in any of the district schools of this state. Moral instruction tending to impress on the minds of the pupils the importance of good manners, truthfulness, temperance, purity, patriotism, and industry, shall be given, ... and all such schools shall be free from sectarian control.” The law prescribing the study of United States history is found in _Laws_ of Utah, 1896, p. 486; _ibid._, 1897, p. 131. _Revised Statutes_, 1898, p. 441; _Compiled Laws_, 1907, sec. 1848, p. 704.

[57] _Laws_ of Idaho, 1884, sec. 34, p. 193; _Revised Statutes_, 1887, ch. VII, sec. 687, p. 134; _Laws_, 1899, sec. 48, p. 97; _Political Code_, 1901, ch. XL, sec. 1067, Vol. I, p. 329; _Compiled Statutes_, 1919, sec. 944, p. 269. This last citation would indicate the permanence of the law.

[58] This is especially evident in the legislation affecting textbooks in history. See page 36 _et seq._ A knowledge of state history was required for teacher certification in Pennsylvania, Mississippi, South Dakota, and Texas.

[59] Johnson, _op. cit._, p. 133.

[60] _Ibid._, p. 134.

[61] _Ibid._, pp. 134-135. 1st and 2d years, biography and mythology; 3d year, American history, the elements of civil government; 4th year, Greek and Roman history; 5th year (high school), French history; 6th year, English history; 7th year, American history; 8th year, a special period for intensive study and civil government.

[62] _Ibid._, p. 143. 1st year, Ancient history to 800 A.D., 814 A.D., or 843 A.D.; 2d year, Medieval and Modern European history; 3d year, English history, and 4th year, American history and civil government.

[63] This includes Massachusetts whose law was discussed in