ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES. EDITED BY CHARLES A. COULOMB, PH.D. British Museum, Etc. Editor HISTORY TEACHER'S MAGAZINE: Can you inform me upon what conditions readers are admitted to the British Museum and the Public Record Office?-E. P. D. Answer:-Historians often find it desirable or necessary to consult the manuscript material which is preserved in the British Museum and in the Public Record Office, in London. It may be useful therefore to know under what conditions readers from the United States are permitted to use these collections. Both the British Museum and the Record Office have a long list of rules concerning the handling of manuscripts; the number of volumes or documents that may be called for at one time, etc. The most important of these rules, however, are those governing admittance. In the case of the Museum it is required that "Persons desiring to be admitted to the Reading-Room must apply in writing to the Director, specifying their profession or business, their place of abode, and the particular purpose for which they seek admission." Every such application must be made two days at least before admission is required, and must be accompanied by a written recommendation from a householder (whose address can be identified from the ordinary sources of reference, and who must also be a person of recognized position), with full signature and address, stated to be given on personal knowledge of the applicant, and certifying that he or she will make proper use of the Reading-Room.* Readers were formerly admitted to the Record Office with practically no formalities. By a recent change in the rules, however, it is now necessary for citizens of other countries than Great Britain to be recommended by their respective Embassies to the British Foreign Office, which, on the receipt of such recommendation, will communicate with the authorities of the Record Office requesting that a reader's card be issued to the applicant. The recommendation of the American Embassy is not dependent merely on a personal identification. The Embassy must not only be satisfied that the applicant is the person he claims to be, but also that he is a proper person to be recommended to the British Foreign Office for such privilege to be granted to him. It may be suggested, therefore, that any one who purposes going abroad to work in the Record Office should first inquire of the American Embassy concerning the form of credential that will satisfy them in this respect. They are not hypercritical, but if one's stay in England is a short one, it may be quite impossible to obtain even the *The trustees cannot accept the recommendations of hotel keepers or of boarding-house or lodging-house keepers in favor of their lodgers. simplest credentials from home in time to be of any service. It may be added that records dated prior to 1800 may be consulted gratis. In order to consult records of a later date, it is necessary to pay a fee varying with the number of documents or volumes called for. Confederate Flag. Editor HISTORY TEACHER'S MAGAZINE: Why did the Confederate States flag have thirteen stars in it?-A. D. S. Answer: On February 9, 1861, the Provisional Congress of the Confederacy ap pointed a committee of one from each State to take into consideration the adoption of a flag and a seal. The committee made a long report on March 4, 1861, which ended by recommending that the flag consist of a red field with a white space extending horizontally through the center and equal in width to one-third the width of the flag. The red space above and below was to be the same width as the white; the union was to be a blue square extending down through the white space and stopping at the lower red space. In the center of the union was a circle of stars equal in number to the States of the Confederacy. On February 14, 1862, it was agreed to leave the adoption of a flag to the permanent government. While no final action was taken on this report, the design was unofficially adopted, and became the so-called "Stars and Bars." On the organization of the permanent government, the Confederate House and Senate provided on February 24 and 25, 1862, for a "Joint Committee on Flag and Seal." This committee reported, on April 19, 1862, the following design for a flag: a red field charged with a white saltire, having in the center a sun in its glory on an azure shield, the rays of the sun corresponding to the number of States in the Confederacy. Journal House of Representatives, C. S. A., 1st Congress, 1st Session, April 19, 1862; Journal Senate, C. S. A., 1st Congress, 1st Session, April 19, 1862. At the next session on September 5, 1862, the resolutions and reports were referred back to the joint committee by both House and Senate.-Journal House of Representa. tives, C. S. A., 1st Congress, 1st Session, September 5, 1862. At the third session, on April 22, 1863, a new bill was reported from the joint committee, and, after many amendments, the design for the flag was established as follows: the field to be white; - the length of the flag to be double the width; the union (now used as a battle flag) to be a square of two-thirds the width of the flag, having the ground red, thereon a saltire of blue, bordered with white and emblazoned with mullets or five-pointed stars corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States. Journal House of Representatives, C. S. A., 1st Congress, 3rd Session, May 1, 1863. The Senate accepted certain House amendments to the bill and it was finally passed by both houses and signed by the President of the Confederacy on May 1, 1863. Journal Senate, C. S. A., 1st Congress, 3rd Session, May 1, 1863. Until this date there had been apparently no official flag of the Confederacy. The flag named as the battle-flag was the South Carolina flag, the single star which had been in the center of the cross was reduced in size, and three new stars were placed on each arm, making thirteen in all. The two extra stars represented Kentucky and Missouri. These two States never technically seceded, but delegates from them were in the provisional congress of the Confederate States, and also in all the sessions of the First (permanent) Congress, at the third session of which the official flag was adopted. This flag did not, however, prove satisfactory for the Second Congress again took up the question, and passed a bill providing for a new flag. The design of this flag is not set forth in the journal. The bill was signed by President Davis on March 4, 1865. Kentucky and Missouri each had a Senator present at each session of this Congress, and Kentucky sent mem'bers of the House of Representatives, so that if any flag was made in accordance with the last bill there would still have been thirteen represented States to have been recognized in its design. Macmillan Books An Outline for the Study of American Civil Government Prepared by the Committee of the New England History Teachers' Association. Pupils' Edition. 12mo. Paper boards. xiv+192 pages. 50 cents net. Teachers' Edition. 12mo. Cloth. xxviii+192 pages. 60 cents net. An outline for the Study of American Civil Government with special reference to Training for Citizenship. For use in Secondary Schools. Prepared for the New England History Teachers' Association by its Committee: Ray Greene Huling, Sc.D.; the late Wilson Ryder Butler; Lawrence Boyd Evans, Ph.D.; John Haynes, Ph.D.; William Bennett Munro, Ph.D., LL.B. Mackenzie's Voyages. 2 vols. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE'S account of his travels from Montreal to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans. Lewis and Clark's Expedition. 3 vols. With an account of the Louisiana Purchase by JOHN BACH MCMASTER. Colden's Five Indian Nations. 2 vols. CADWALLADER COLDEN, Surveyor-General of the Colony of New York, written from intimate knowledge of the Iriquois. Harmon's Journal. By DANIEL WILLIAM HARMON, partner of the Northwest Company in 1800. Butler's Wild Northland. GENERAL SIR WM. FRANCIS BUTLER'S story of his sledge journey across North America in 1872-73. $1.00 net per vol. 5 vols., $4.50. 10 vols., $8.00. Set, 17 vols., $12.00 Single volumes of books, comprising more than one volume not sold separately The A. S. Barnes Company 11 East 24th Street NEW YORK 3003 G Volume II. Magazine PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBER, 1910. $1.00 a year 15 cents a copy ΤΟ THE Delaware Pilots. W E took the Pleafure, fome Days fince, of kindly admonishing you to do your Duty; if per- We have now to add, that Matters ripen faft here, and that much is expected from thofe Lads who meet with P. S. We expect you will furnish yourselves with Copies of the foregoing and following Letter, Now, as your Cargo, on your Arrival here, will most affuredly bring you into hot water; and as you are perhaps a Stranger to thefe Parts, we have concluded to advise you of the prefent Situation of Affairs in Philadelphia that, taking Time by the Forelock, you may stop fhort in your dangerous Errand....fecure your Ship against the Rafts of combustible Matter which may be fet on Fire, and turned loofe against her, and more than all this, that you may preferve your own Perfon, from the Pitch and Feathers that are prepared for you. In the first Place, we must tell you, that the Pennsylvanians are, to a Man, paffionately fond of Freedom; That they fincerely believe, no Power on the Face of the Earth has a Right to tax them without their Published monthly, except July and August, by McKinley Publishing Co., Philadelphia, Pa. Copyright, 1910, McKinley Publishing Co. Entered as second-class matter, October 26, 1909, at the Post-office at Philadelphia, Pa., under Act of March 3, 1879. Supplement History Texts Outlines and Studies By FLORENCE E. LEADBETTER, Teacher of History in the Outlines and Studies to Accompany Myers's "Ancient History" 35 cents; with 16 pages of outline maps, 40 cents. Outlines and Studies to Accompany Myers's General History" 35 cents; with 16 pages of outline maps, 40 cents. Outlines and Studies to Accompany Myers's "Mediaeval and Modern History" 35 cents; with 16 pages of outline maps, 40 cents. THESE manuals were prepared for the purpose of training high-school students of history to work independently and with a definite aim. The topical outlines follow the order of Myers's histories, but may be used in connection with any textbook covering the same periods. They help the student to think logically and to appreciate the relations of cause and effect. The "Studies" add interest to individual study and class discussion. The outline maps will greatly increase the usefulness of the series. An Outline of English History By NORMAN MACLAREN TRENHOLME, Professor of History and of the Teaching of History in the University of Missouri. 50 cents. THIS topical outline is especially arranged for the convenience of schools using Cheyney's "Short History of England as a textbook. The book is admirably adapted for either short or long courses in English history, and with its clear analysis of leading movements and suggestive review questions, should be a welcome aid in the teaching of the subject. JUST PUBLISHED Guerber's Story of Old France A 65 cents NEW historical reader for the upper grammar grades, which may also be used as a textbook in history. It gives the story of France from the earliest times down to the death of Louis XIV, laying special stress upon the many interesting and picturesque episodes in which the pericd abounds, as they are presented in literature and art. The book is supplied with suitable maps, and with many illustrations, largely from photographs of famous paintings, statues and buildings, regarding which useful data are given. The style is vivid and attractive, and the work is sure to hold the pupil's attention and to give him a good knowledge of French history. You will favor advertisers and publishers by mentioning this magazine in answering advertisements. The History Teacher's Magazine Managing Editor, ALBERT E. MCKINLEY, PH.D. ASSOCIATE EDITORS PROF. ARTHUR C. HOWLAND, University of Pennsylvania. DEPARTMENTAL EDITORS History and Civics in Secondary Schools: ARTHUR M. WOLFSON, Ph.D., DeWitt Clinton High School, New York. DANIEL C. KNOWLTON, Ph.D., Barringer High School, Newark, N. J. WILLIAM FAIRLEY, Ph.D., Commercial High School, Brooklyn, N. Y. C. B. NEWTON, Lawrenceville School. New Jersey. ALBERT H. SANFORD, State Normal School, La Cross, Wis. Current History: JOHN HAYNES., Ph.D., Dorchester High School, Boston. Reports from the Historical Field: WALTER H. CUSHING, Secretary New England History Teachers' Association, South Framingham, Mass. History in the Grades: ARMAND J. GERSON, Ph.D., Robert Morris Public School, Philadelphia. SARAH A. DYNES. State Normal School, Trenton, N. J. LIDA LEE TALL, Supervisor of Grammar Grades, Balto., Md. Answers to Inquiries: CHARLES A. COULOMB, Ph.D. CORRESPONDING EDITORS. HENRY JOHNSON, Teachers' College. Columbia Univ., N. Y. H. W. EDWARDS, High School, Oakland, Cal. E. BRUCE FORREST, London, England. JAMES F. WILLARD, University of Colorado, Boulder, Col. Volume II. Number 4. PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBER, 1910. What Is History?* BY PROFESSOR EDWARD P. CHEYNEY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. What is history? Let us go to the Father of History and ask him. Herodotus introduces his work by saying, "This is a publication of the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, in order that the actions of men may not be effaced by time, nor the great and wondrous deeds displayed both by Greeks and barbarians deprived of renown, and why the Greeks and barbarians waged war on one another." His object, that is to say, is to recount the actions of men and the causes of them. It is true that the actions which he is to recount are only the great actions, and the men whose deeds are thought worthy of notice are only the great men. All the rest of mankind with all their doings are relegated to a dim and misty obscurity. Nevertheless, the main idea of Herodotus is clear. He does not want a good story to be lost and forgotten, therefore he will tell us what happened. He looks upon history simply as a tale of the doings of men. Other Greek and later historians have looked upon the matter differently. Thucydides says, "Perhaps the lack of wonderful stories in my work will make it less pleasing to my readers; but it will be enough for me if it proves to be useful to those who want to have a clear knowledge of the past, and thereby of that which, according to the course of human events, will happen again." According to Thucydides, therefore, history is not merely a narrative, it should be useful. Polybius, likewise, criticizing Herodotus, says, "It is not enough merely to describe the course of events, one must seek to understand the why and the wherefore of them, in order to draw instruction therefrom." A German historian of the seventeenth century says, "History is that which teaches the reader what things in life are useful and to be followed, or injurious and to be avoided." A modern English historian says, "History is a voice forever sounding across the centuries the law of right and wrong." That is to say, history, according to this view of the case, is meant to instruct. It should teach some lesson. The lesson may be a political one or a moral one or a religious one. is always history with a purpose,-its justification is ethical. Far and wide throug!. historical writing can be found this Sometimes it is consciously and strongly held. There is a work in eight volumes in the University Library with the title, "The History of England on Christian Principles." Sometimes it is less consciously and clearly acknowledged, and yet the historian none the less tells his story under its influence. Macaulay is a devotee of the Whig party and is teaching its doctrines when he is writing his history of the seventeenth century as much as when he is speaking of voting in Parliameat in the nineteenth. Froude uses his history of England to teach the evils of the Roman Catholic Church and to discredit Anglican clericalism, exactly as he uses any of his other forms of writing. But it The moral purpose of the historian often appears as a patriotic nurmose. Bancroft wrote his history in such a way that Americans should think well of their country, much as * This address was delivered before the Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania on Oct. 3, 1907, and subsequently printed in the Alumni Register for Nov., 1907. It is here reprinted by permission of Professor Cheyney and the authorities of the University.-EDITOR. $1.00 a year 15 cents a copy Gilbert Stuart painted Washington in such a way that Americans should feel universal admiration for the Father of his Country. Livy in writing the history of Rome is obviously trying to teach his readers devotion to it. This patriotic sentiment is not only the most familiar form of history with a moral purpose, but it has lent much spirit and interest to historical writing. Green's "History of the English People" is permeated by a gentle and sincere patriotism that conciliates his readers and casts a glamour over the whole of English History. Thiers's admiration for Napoleon and devotion to France have infused a fire into his "Consulate and Empire" that have led to their constant republication in France and other countries. Treitschke and Sybel have given a genuine popular defense for the modern Prussian state in their great histories of Germany in the nineteenth century. Patriotic history, when mixed with certain other ingredients, forms excellent poetry. Kipling makes his two English children standing on a Sussex hillside learn their history from the fairy Puck as he points out to them its visible marks around them. See you the dimpled track that runs, All hollow through the wheat? O that was where they hauled the guns That smote King Philip's fleet. See you our little mill that clacks, She has ground her corn and paid her tax See you our stilly woods of oak, And the dread ditch beside? O that was where the Saxons broke, On the day that Harold died. See you the windy levels spread O that was where the Northmen fled, See you our pastures wide and lone, O there was a City thronged and known, And see you, after rain, the trace O that was a Legion's camping-place, And see you marks that show and fade, Like shadows on the Downs? O they are the lines the Flint Men made, To guard their wondrous towns. Trackway and Camp and City lost, Old Wars, old Peace, old Arts that cease, |