OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Preceded by a Narrative OF THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF NORTH AMERICA AND OF THE EVENTS WHICH LED TO THE INDEPENDENCE OF FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES BY HORACE E. SCUDDER WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHED BY J. H. BUTLER BOSTON WILLIAM WARE AND CO. PREFACE. I Ir has seemed to me that the most desirable qualities in a textbook history of the United States or, for that matter, in any history are clearness, reasonableness, and attractiveness. have tried to use terms which have only one meaning, to avoid involved sentences, and to state facts with precision. It is impossible in such a book to introduce no words which have not before come into the reading of an ordinary pupil; but tables of definition and pronunciation, at the head of each chapter, provide for the understanding of all novel words in the chapter. The maps, in like manner, are kept free from confusing detail; and while they accompany and explain the text, they form a basis for that geographic treatment of history which is essential to a clear understanding of the physical conditions of human society. I have tried also to avoid the error which makes history only a succession of unrelated facts. There is a logic in events which it is the business of historians to unfold, and it has been my chief thought to show the growth of our national life. The analyses which interrupt the narrative are designed to aid in a logical interpretation of the facts; but the secret of success in any history must lie in the power of the author to conceive the development of life, and to discover the critical passages, the transition periods, the great epochs. I hope I have helped young people to understand the movements which I see from the time when America was first disclosed to the eyes of Europe 924230 down to the present day. I will not here attempt to justify the divisions of our history which I have made, for if my narrative has not done it, nothing which I could say in a preface would make it clearer; but I wish to emphasize my sense of the importance to American children of connecting the history of their country with the changes which have been taking place in Europe during the period of our growth, changes of the utmost consequence in the development of our own national life, an understanding of which is essential to an intelligent reading of American history. Therefore I have never lost sight of the fact that down to the close of the last war with England, America faced the Atlantic; and any one who would read her history aright must often take his stand upon the European shore. Finally, I have tried to make this book attractive. I believe with all my heart in the attractiveness of historical study, and I have sought to make my own interest in our history pass into my narrative; but the restrictions of such a book forbid that full illustration from biography, local history, and descriptions of manners and customs, which one naturally desires to use in teaching the subject. The omission is partly supplied by the suggestions of illustrative reading which will be found in the Appendix; but I leave my task with a weighty conviction that the most which a text-book maker can do is to furnish a clear outline for a wise teacher to fill with details. I have written in the thought that our country is a land which was reserved until the new birth of Europe; that it was peopled by men and women who crossed the seas in faith; that its foundations have been laid deep in a divine order; that the nation has been trusted with liberty. A trust carries with it grave duties; the enlargement of liberty and justice is in the victory of the people over the forces of evil. So I bid Godspeed to all teachers of those who are to receive the trust of citizenship. CAMBRIDGE, MASS., August, 1884. H. E. S. |