National Board Calls for Co-operation of Teachers The National Board for Historical Service has appointed four committees-on ancient history, medieval and modern history, English history, and American history-to prepare material to aid the history teachers of the country in adjusting their courses next year to the changed interests of their pupils and the new conditions which the war imposes upon us all. To serve the time without yielding to it, to boldly confront new facts without losing our historical point of view, will require all our wisdom and all our talent. The Board earnestly hopes that the teachers of the country will give it their assistance. It requests that they send to it their own suggestions of how the war will and should affect history teaching; their observations of how it is affecting their pupils; and concrete illustrations of the attempts they may have made to meet the situation in their own classes. All such material will be handed by the Board to the appropriate committee. Reports from The Historical Field Number 14 of the Proceedings of the Association of History Teachers of the Middle States and Maryland has been distributed to members of the Association. The papers contained in the report are those presented at the fourteenth annual meeting held at Columbia University, New York City, April 28 and 29, 1916; and the joint meeting with the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Middle States and Maryland, held in Baltimore, December 2, 1916. The general topics presented in the papers are "What Profits Result from the Study of History?" "A Fuller Recognition of Latin-America in History Teaching," "The Teaching of Current History, Civics and Economics." The report contains a full account of these two meetings, together with the officers and committees of the Association, and a full list of members, and it is to be noted that the list contains 285 members. "The Mississippi Valley Historical Review" for April, 1917, contains the proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association for the year 1915-16. The number gives the Constitution of the Association; the officers for 1915-16, and the officers and committee for 1916-17. A description of the ninth annual meeting of the Association is furnished by Prof. Beverly W. Bond, Jr. Reports of the officers and committees are given, together with the principal papers presented at the April meeting of 1916, with the exception of such papers as have been printed in previous numbers of the " Mississippi Valley Historical Re view" or in other publications. A revised edition of "A Syllabus of United States History, 1492-1916," prepared by Professors H. C. Hockett and A. M. Schlesinger, of Ohio State University, has appeared. The syllabus contains nearly one hundred pages. The organization of topics and principal references are to Bassett's 'Short History of the United States," but under each topic there are also references to other texts, to larger works on American history, and to material for topical readings. THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. The following resolution was adopted at the meeting of the Association held in Chicago, April 26-28: The Mississippi Valley Historical Association in session in Chicago at its tenth annual meeting, April 26, 1917, urges that means be taken by the government of the United States to facilitate the sound historical instruction of the people of the United States to the end that a correct public opinion with full knowledge of the facts that have made for our democracy and freedom in the past may stand stubbornly in our struggle for the maintenance of these principles in the future. At the business meeting Professor St. George L. Sioussat was chosen president, and Mrs. Clarence S. Paine, of Lincoln, Neb., was chosen secretary-treasurer. The Executive Committee was instructed to consider the invitation from St. Paul to hold the next annual meeting of the Association at that place. NATIONAL BOARD ORGANIZED. Resolutions adopted at Washington, April 29, 1917, for the establishment of a National Board for Historical Service: As an emergency measure, to serve until action by the American Historical Association, the undersigned, meeting in Washington upon invitation by the Carnegie Institution of Washington through its Department of Historical Research, have adopted the following resolutions: Resolved: I. That there be formed a National Board for Historical Service. II. That the headquarters of the Board shall be in Washington, D. C. III. That the purposes of the National Board for Historical Service shall be: a. To facilitate the co-ordination and development of historical activities in the United States in such a way as to aid the Federal and the State governments through direct personal service or through affiliation with their various branches. b. To aid in supplying the public with trustworthy information of historical or similar character through the various agencies of publication, through the preparation of reading-lists and bibliographies, through the collection of historical material, and through the giving of lectures and of systematic instruction, and in other ways. c. To aid, encourage and organize State, regional and local committees, as well as special committees for the furtherance of the above ends, and to co-operate with other agencies and organizations, especially in the general field of social studies. IV. That the Board shall be composed of at least nine members who shall select a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer from their own number, and that the said Board shall have power to add to its membership, to fill vacancies, to appoint advisory and associated members, to organize affiliated or subsidiary boards of committees, to receive and disburse moneys, and to perform such other acts as may be necessary for the accomplishment of the purposes herein stated. V. That the Board, until further action by itself in conformity with these resolutions, shall be composed of the following: Victor S. Clark, of Washington; Robert D. W. Connor, of Raleigh, N. C.; Carl Russell Fish, of Madison, Wis.; Charles D. Hazen, of New York City; Charles H. Hull, of Ithaca, N. Y.; Gaillard Hunt, of Washington; Waldo G. Leland, of Washington; James T. Shotwell, of New York City; Frederick J. Turner, of Cambridge, Mass. Adopted at Washington, D. C., April 29, 1917. Henry E. Bourne, Edmund C. Burnett, Victor S. Clark, George M. Dutcher, Guy S. Ford, Charles D. Hazen, Charles H. Hull, Gaillard Hunt, J. Franklin Jameson, H. Barrett Learned, Waldo G. Leland, Albert E. McKinley, Andrew C. McLaughlin, Thomas Walker Page, Frederic L. Paxson, James T. Shotwell, Frederick J. Turner. MIDDLE STATES ASSOCIATION. The fifteenth annual spring meeting of the Association of History Teachers of the Middle States and Maryland was held at Philadelphia on May 4 and 5. The program, as announced in the May number of the MAGAZINE, was carried out. There was a good attendance and much interest was shown in the topics presented. Professor Ames' paper on the teaching of patriotism is printed elsewhere in this number. The papers upon the character of the curriculum in history for vocational students presented by Dr. A. S. Beatman and Dr. J. Montgomery Gambrill, will appear in the HISTORY TEACHER'S MAGAZINE in the near future. A very pleasant reception and luncheon were furnished to the members of the Association by the authorities of Girard College. An opportunity was given to inspect the historic relics of the institution, to learn of the character of the foundation left by Stephen Girard, and to inspect the actual work of the institution in caring for 1,500 orphan boys. At the business meeting, the following officers were elected: President, Professor Marshall S. Brown, of New York University; vice-president, Miss Lida Lee Tall of Baltimore; secretary-treasurer, Professor Livingston Rowe Schuyler, of the College of the City of New York; additional members of the Council, Miss Lucy B. Hunter, of the National Cathedral School, Washington, D. C., and Mr. D. Montfort Melchior, of Girard College. Herbert Adams Gibbons' "The Monroe Doctrine for the World" (May "Century ") is a commentary on President Wilson's speech to the American Senate, January 22, 1917, of which the author not only approves himself, but of which he says men of the highest standing and authority in European countries think exactly as President Wilson thinks; "but with the single exception of Signor Giolitti, former premier of Italy, not a statesman who played a part in the diplomacy of the decade preceding the present war has the moral courage to approve President Wilson's conditions for a durable peace." History in Summer Schools, 1917 (Items received too late for insertion in the May MAGAZINE) BOSTON UNIVERSITY. Boston, Mass., July 2 to August 11, 1917. Professor F. M. Anderson, Dartmouth College; Professor S. L. Mims, Yale University; Professor A. H. Rice; Assistant Professor C. P. Huse. Europe Since 1815. Professor Anderson. The World War. Professor Anderson. Roman History: Teachers' Course. Professor Rice. Economic History of the United States. Assistant Professor Huse. Urbana, Ill., June 18 to August 10, 1917. Professor Albert H. Lybyer; Professor Paul C. Phillips, University of Montana. European History, 1648-1917. Professor Lybyer. The History of the United States Since the Reconstruction. Professor Phillips. The Ottoman Empire and the Near East Since 1683. The Balkan and Near Eastern Problems Since 1908. Professor Lybyer. Seminar in American History. Professor Phillips and others. Seminar in European History. Professor Lybyer. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY. (Revised Announcement.) Professor E. J. Benton, Western Reserve University; Associate Professor H. V. Canter, University of Illinois; Dr. Arthur C. Millspaugh, Whitman College; Dr. Frank R. Blake. American History, 1763-1795. Professor Benton. American History Since 1783. Professor Benton. European History from Charlemagne to the Eighteenth Century. Professor Benton. Roman History. Associate Professor Canter. 1 MIAMI UNIVERSITY. Oxford, O., June 11 to July 20, 1917. Professor D. C. Shilling, Monmouth College; Mr. C. T. Murchison. Modern Europe. American History, 1492-1750. American History, 1750-1800. American Political History, 1800-1850. American Political History, 1850-1917. American Government. UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. Professor Milton S. Cushman; Professor H. G. McGowan; Mr. R. L. Bedwell; Miss Nellie Keirn. History of Western Europe, 1500-1870. Professor Cush man. History of Modern Europe, 1815-1914. Professor Cush man. American History, 1828-1914. Professor Cushman. History and Geography of South America. Miss Keirn. United States History. For Teachers. Professor McGowan. Mississippi History. Mr. Bedwell. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA. Chapel Hill, N. C., June 12 to July 27, 1917. Professor Henry McGilbert Wagstaff; Professor Joseph Hamilton; Mr. Charles E. McIntosh, Superintendent of Schools, Hickory, N. C.; Mr. William W. Pierson. The History of England. Mr. McIntosh. The History of the United States. Mr. McIntosh. Modern Europe. Professor Wagstaff. Modern International Relations. Professor Hamilton. England During the Last One Hundred Years. Professor Wagstaff. UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH. BOOK REVIEWS EDITED BY PROFESSOR WAYLAND J. CHASE, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. SEYMOUR, CHARLES. The Diplomatic Background of the War, 1870-1914. New York: Yale University Press, 1916. Pp. xv, 311. $2.00, net. In his preface the author notes that, while many analyses of the diplomatic crisis of 1914 have been made since then, far less attention "has been given to the origin of the factors leading to that crisis." Dr. Seymour starts with the war of 1870, and shows how Bismarck worked to keep the German hegemony of Europe which the German victories had gained. Then he traces the growth of the Dual Alliance, and points out that Germany nevertheless kept her control of continental diplomacy. Chapters IV and V deal with the growth of German world policy and its underlying causes. Then the author traces the changes of British foreign policy from rivalry with France and Russia to friendship with them, and the resulting diplomatic incidents of 1905, 1908, and 1911, marking German efforts to recover the lost diplomatic ascendancy. The Near Eastern question and the Balkan wars are explained, and the final crisis of 1914 elucidated clearly and without prejudice. Dr. Seymour concludes that Germany and Austria-Hungary were playing for a great diplomatic victory that would restore their lost supremacy in the Balkans, that their leaders doubtless expected this could be won without war, that Austria weakened and showed willingness to negotiate further, when it became evident that Russia would not yield without a war, and that Germany then forced the issue by her ultimatum to Russia, and is therefore immediately responsible for the failure of negotiations to settle the disputes peaceably. This conclusion ELLIOT, HUGH. Herbert Spencer. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1917. Pp. 330. $2.00. Herbert Spencer's life extending from 1820 to 1903 comprehended much of the nineteenth century, and of its philosophic thought he was the chief exponent. What he wrote in this field, for half a century held the attention of all thinking people, and his text-book on psychology was the most important of the century. These achievements he accomplished without any acquaintance with the works of his predecessors in these fields, and with but scanty knowledge concerning those of his contemporaries. He established the science of sociology in England, was a leader in all branches of the so-called moral sciences and led the chief controversies on evolution and biology. He wrote his volume on education before he was forty, never having had more than three months' experience in teaching, never having married or had more than the minimum of association with children, and having practically no knowledge of what had been previously written on the subject. Yet "more than any other single text-book, it is the foundation of all the so-called modern ideas in education." Besides the superlative value of his books, inestimable was the service he rendered society through his insistent battling for liberty and for reason. As the author says, the lives of men of thought, unlike those of men of action, are barren of incident, for they live in their writings rather than in their acts. Accordingly, nine of the thirteen chapters are devoted to description and appraising of his writings. Mr. Elliott has interestingly and convincingly shown Spencer's warrant to a place among the Makers of the Nineteenth Century," and made a notable contribution to this series of biographies. 66 66 This volume is a reprint of a portion of Professor Hazen's volume on Modern European History." The maps of the larger work have been retained, but the illustrations and reading references have been omitted. The book is printed in large type, on heavy paper, with a wide margin, and is attractively bound. It is a war product, being intended for those who, living in an age like our own, caught in the grip of a world war, whose issues, however incalculable, will inevitably be profound," would benefit from the "instruction to be gained from the study of a similar crisis in the destinies of humanity a century ago." This "most dramatic and impressive chapter of modern history," as Professor Hazen describes it, is most attractively written and should appeal to the audience for 'which it was prepared. It is one of the best sketches of the period in English. The second part dealing with Napoleon seems to me better than the first part on the Revolution, but, then, Napoleon gives a unity to the second period that can hardly be created for the first even by the most skilful organization. The University of Nebraska. FRED MORROW FLING. MOSES, BELLE. Paul Revere, the Torchbearer of the Revolution. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1916. Pp. 270. $1.35. BARNES, JAMES. The Hero of Stony Point, Anthony Wayne. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1916. Pp. 210. $1.35. These books belong to the same series, and are both calculated to hold the interest of boys and girls. They make no pretension of erudition, and merely recall the wellknown facts of their heroes' lives, supplemented by such detail as the space allows. This is sufficient to make lively, interesting stories and to set forth enough of the activities of both heroes to show that they filled much larger places in Revolutionary history than can be learned from the regulation text-book statements about them. Every boy ought to know that Paul Revere engaged in other occupations than that of engraver, and that he took many other important rides besides the famous one. He should know also that Anthony Wayne served his country in other campaigns than the ones against Stony Point and the Western Indians. The author of Paul Revere's life is too anxious to make him a hero upon every occasion. Consequently, the style is somewhat strained, and there are too many assumptions introduced by "we may conjecture," "probably," and one may imagine," where accurate knowledge is lacking. Needless to say, all doubts are resolved in favor of Revere. One's faith in the author's ability to handle serious historical material is decidedly shaken by the following The story of Anthony Wayne is told in a more natural and restrained style. This hero, unlike that of the companion volume, has some faults. The book brings out admirably the qualities and services of Wayne that make the sobriquet "Mad Anthony inappropriate. It displays the seamy side of Revolutionary politics and gives details that show clearly the manner of warfare in those times. ALBERT H. SANFORD. State Normal School, La Crosse, Wis. A New York: The Macmillan $1.50. KREHBIEL, EDWARD. Nationalism, War and Society: study of nationalism and its concomitant, war, in their relation to civilization and of the fundamentals and the With an introducprogress of the opposition to war. tion by Norman Angell. Co., 1916. Pp. xxxv, 276. The scope of this work is indicated by its titles. Its purpose is to give a handbook of information and philosophy to the student of the conflict between the conservatives, who believe that nothing can be which has not already been, and therefore have no hope that war may be eliminated from the world, on the one hand; and on the other, the liberals, who, finding that man has gradually in the last fifty thousand years risen higher and higher above the animals, believe that yet another step is possible, and that reason may replace brute force in all human relations. The work takes the form of a syllabus; but the sentences and paragraphs which are subjoined to the topics dispose the reader to wonder why the author did not write it into a book. The work is admirably done and the bibliographical references are ample and carefully selected. No student of the subject it treats can afford to be without it, and we are all to-day students of the subject. EDGAR DAWSON. Hunter College of the City of New York. ROBINSON, C. E. The Days of Alkibiades. New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1916. Pp. xxiv, 301. $1.50. For secondary schools the Assistant Master of Winchester College has written a series of sketches of public and private Greek life at the close of the fifth century B. C. He had hoped-the preface tells us-" to reproduce, truly and with fair completeness, the habits of an Athenian gentleman, how he dressed, ate, and spent his day, how he talked and what he thought, the scenes he saw and the places he visited." This gentleman who was always in the thick of it is the freakish and fascinating Alkibiades. With him we wander through Athens visiting an Attic farm, gymnasium and the market-place. We attend & dinner-party, a wedding, the theatre, the assembly, a jury trial. a funeral and the great festival of Athena. We are safe witnesses of a land and sea battle. Leaving the Piræus we go to Delphi, Eleusis, Olympia, Sparta, and finally to the Hellespont where Alkibiades ended his life. Besides knowing the classic writers and the most recent works about them, the author has become, through travel, intimately familiar with the latest archaeological discoveries, the geography and the life of modern Greece. He is also gifted with an imagination that turns out fresh, vivid pictures keeping the proofs of learning so far in the back ground that only scholars may detect them. Yet every detail is documented." There are no marginal references, and only two footnotes, one on the theatre, and the one on the arrangement of oars in a trireme where a somewhat novel explanation is given. The translation of Greek public life into terms of English public life may not always be a help to American pupils. There are some sixteen pictures to illustrate the text. The foreword by Professor C. W. Oman, though covering only four pages, is one of the assets of the book, and a notable one for the teacher. CHAPMAN, CHARLES EDWARD. The Founding of Spanish The careful appreciation of Dr. Chapman's work, appearing in the January number of "The American Historical Review," renders unnecessary the critical appraisal which such an important volume would otherwise demand. We may limit our attention, therefore, to the aim of the work, the material upon which it is founded, and the method according to which the results are presented. As Professor Henry Morse Stephens explains in the introduction (pp. xix-xxxii), this is an effort both to meet the local demand for researches in California history, and to make a contribution to the general history of civilization. It was owing to the interest evinced by Californians in the early history of the Pacific Coast that the Native Sons of the Golden West offered a subsidy of $3,000 a year for traveling fellowships, thus making possible the neces sary research of Dr. Chapman among the archives of Spain. The historical collections of Hubert Howe Bancroft, now located at the University of California, are also the result of the same spirit. With such opportunities at hand, in a field comparatively little worked, there is no wonder that not only this present study but others along similar lines are making their appearance. That the study of this period of California history leads to a broader conception of its importance from the point of view of Spanish civilization hardly needs to be emphasized, especially after the appearance of "The Pacific Ocean in History; the Papers and Addresses Presented at the Panama-Pacific Historical Congress." The peculiar arrangement of the text is due to the desire to present the story in extenso; thus each chapter opens with a summary of from one to three pages in length explaining the nature of the contents of that chapter. Then comes the narrative minutely following the accounts of the documents. There are some excellent appendices and full bibliographical notes. Stanford University. HENRY L. CANNON. "National Independence and Internationalism,” by Bertrand Russell, a study of the matters in which the interests of nations are supposed to clash; “Japan and the United States," by K. K. Kawakami, a frank statement of the causes of the estrangement between Japan and the United States; "Nicaragua and the United States," by Cyrus F. Wicker, charge d'affaire at Nicaragua, rather a criticism of our policy toward the smaller republics, and Catherine Breshkovsky's "Letters from Siberia," make the May issue of the "Atlantic" of especial interest to historians. Prepare for the School Year, 1917-1918 T HE HISTORY TEACHER will have greater opportunity for service during the coming year than ever before in the life of our nation. Not only will there be abundant cccasion for enlightenment upon the history of Europe and the principles of American government and institutions, but also there will be great need of trained historical minds to combat vague rumors, hasty generalizations and dangerous innovations. The History Teacher's Magazine will aim, during the War, to encourage all proper activities of history teachers. It will welcome suggestions as to how far the war should influence history teaching. It will co-operate with the National Board for Historical Service in presenting monthly a series of topics for each of the fields of secondary school history. If you are interested in the War and in History Teaching, you cannot afford to be without "The History Teacher's Magazine" next year. |