selected topics has been rejected, partly because familiar and accessible, but chiefly for lack of space. The author has in hand a volume of choice matter accumulated in the preparation of this work, which he may possibly publish at no distant day. The manual is designed primarily for the public schools, to be used in the upper grammar grades, following a course in United States history. It ought not to be a difficult task for a bright boy or girl of fourteen or fifteen years of age, to commit to memory the catechetical portion; which form, memorized and understood, will mold the thinking and reading of subsequent life, and be forceful in the formation of character. It is adapted for use in private schools, in families, in reading circles, and while prepared especially for the young, it is no primer for babes, but presents a view of the essential features of our Republic found nowhere else in the same compass. It is unique, and may be studied profitably by any person, native or foreign born, who wishes to know the significance of the flag, and to understand the privileges and responsibilities of American citizenship. Patriotism, to be fruitful, must be intelligent: it must comprehend the content of love of country, must know the full significance of the words "privilege" and "responsibility" as applied to citizenship. How shall one love liberty, who does not understand the meaning of the word? How shall he become enthusiastic over the free schools, who knows nothing of their purpose and their work? Why should he be willing to die for the flag, who knows nothing of its history or its significance? Why should he guard the ballot box with his life, who does not comprehend its sacredness? In a republic, especially, the common welfare depends upon the character and action of the individuals who make up the community, particularly upon the voters, who are the sovereigns that hold its destiny in their hands. If the masses are selfish, vicious, or simply indifferent to the public welfare, it must necessarily suffer; but if the people are patriotic, and use their vast powers to promote the highest good of the state, the republic will prosper. Liberty, to endure, must be enshrined in the hearts of the people. Patriotism bears its most abundant harvest, not when it animates a few great souls, but when it is widely diffused among the masses of the people; not when it is confined to the senate chamber and the battlefield, but when it pervades the family, the church, and the school, like an atmosphere, carrying health, vigor, and happiness to all, and stimulating all to good works. A flag should float from every schoolhouse, and the doctrines, not the cant, of patriotism, should everywhere be the language of the people. Patriotism, although a natural impulse, needs to be cultivated: untrained, it may be but a sickly plant, or worse, a noxious weed; cultivated, it becomes a luxuriant and fruitful vine. The work of training this virtue should begin in childhood; the American public school should be the nursery of American patriotism. The vast outlay by the states of money for the schools, aggregating about one hundred and fifty millions of dollars annually, can be defended only on the ground of its public necessity and utility, its promotion of the public weal. Patriotism is the source of public good, and hence should be the prime object of public school training. At no period in our national history has there been a more urgent need of practical training in patriotism than at present. The tide of patriotic fervor that carried us triumphantly through the costly struggle for the preservation of the Union has spent its force: a new generation has appeared upon the stage of action; millions of foreigners have come to make their home with us, who know little or nothing about our institutions, and whose natural patriotism inclines their hearts to the old country; even their children own a divided allegiance until taught to love America. To train these millions of new citizens to appreciate the meaning of patriotism is a duty and a privilege. "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." The book is the outgrowth of more than thirty years of public participation in military, educational, and civil affairs, and of careful study of the great living questions of the day. The author has had the help of many sagacious friends and wise critics, has given it his best thought, and hopes that he has contributed something of value to the stability of the Republic. He now commits it to the ordeal of use, realizing the force of Aristotle's quaint suggestion that "it is not the cook but the guest who judges the banquet." NEW YORK, 1895. T. J. M. The selections from Emerson, Lowell, Whittier, Holmes, Longfellow, Fiske, and Bryant are used by permission of and arrangement with Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin and Company and Messrs. D. Appleton and Company. |