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GRADE VII

THE UNITED STATES AND THE

WORLD1

BY FANNIE FERN ANDREWS

INTRODUCTION

LIBERTY'S LATEST DAUGHTER®

BAYARD TAYLOR

FORESEEN in the vision of sages,
Foretold when martyrs bled,
She was born of the longing ages,
By the truth of the noble dead
And the faith of the living, fed!
No blood in her lightest veins
Frets at remembered chains,

Nor shame of bondage has bowed her head.
In her form and features, still,
The unblenching Puritan will,
Cavalier honor, Huguenot grace,

The Quaker truth and sweetness,

And the strength of the danger-girdled race
Of Holland, blend in a proud completeness.
From the home of all, where her being began,
She took what she gave to man:

Justice that knew no station,

Belief as soul decreed,

The lists of books given under the various topics, both in this grade and in Grade VIII, are not intended to represent a complete bibliography. They are chiefly those used in the preparation of the work.

From Manual of Patriotism, published by the New York Board of Education.

Free air for aspiration,

Free force for independent deed.
She takes, but to give again,

As the sea returns the rivers in rain;
And gather the chosen of her seed

From the hunted of every crown and creed.
Her Germany dwells by a gentler Rhine;
Her Ireland sees the old sunburst shine;
Her France pursues some dream divine;
Her Norway keeps his mountain pine;
Her Italy waits by the western brine;
And, broad-based, under all

Is planted England's oaken-hearted mood,
As rich in fortitude

As e'er went world-ward from the island wall.
Fused by her candid light,

To one strong race all races here unite;
Tongues melt in hers; hereditary foemen

Forget their sword and slogan, kith and clan. "T was glory once to be a Roman;

She makes it glory now to be a man.

The object in this grade is to throw light on those elements of our civilization which can be traced back to ancient and medieval life; to point out the motives for discovery and colonization; and to show how all these seeds, taking root in American soil, developed the Republic of the United States. Our further aim is to emphasize that since the birth of the Union, its life has been intertwined with world movements; that, in fact, through the great streams of immigration, Europeans have played a large part in developing our resources and in moulding our national ideals. We have attempted to show also that with its historical background and unique mixture of peoples, the United States is peculiarly fitted

to take a leading part in world activity; that this is especially true in those movements of civilization which are guided by the principles of liberty and justice. World brotherhood is but the expansion of American faith. The realization of our ideals will keep pace with our conception of the special mission of the United States in the progress of civilization.

SEPTEMBER: OUR BEGINNINGS IN EUROPE

THE PILGRIM FATHERS1

JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY

Here, on this rock, and on this sterile soil,
Began the kingdom, not of kings, but men;
Began the making of the world again.

Here centuries sank, and from the hither brink,
A new world reached and raised an old world link,
When English hands, by wider vision taught,
Threw down the feudal bars the Normans brought
And here revived, in spite of sword and stake,
Their ancient freedom of the Wapentake.

Here struck the seed- the Pilgrims' roofless town,
Where equal rights and equal bonds were set;
Where all the people, equal-franchised, met;

Where doom was writ of privilege and crown;

Where human breath blew all the idols down;

Where crests were naught, where vulture flags were furled,

And common men began to own the world!

1 From Life and Complete Poems of John Boyle O'Reilly, edited by Mrs. John Boyle O'Reilly. Cassell & Co.

The topics for discussion suggested below are condensed from the sixth grade outline of the History Committee of the American School Peace League, which in turn is based on the outline prepared by the Committee of Eight for the same grade. The latter is also largely drawn upon in the selection and arrangement of topics, and the appended bibliography includes many of the books given in the Report of the Committee of Eight.

The treatment of this topic at this time not only carries out the logical sequence of our Course in Citizenship, but gives an opportunity for a brief review of the sixth grade history by those teachers who are working with the outline of the Committee of Eight. In any case, this treatment will prove a healthy background for the history work of the seventh and eighth grades.

Under this topic, the teacher has a rich opportunity to show what America started from. Children can understand something of the civilization which formed the background of our early discoverers, and will in consequence appreciate more intelligently the achievements of later generations. The impression can be vividly made that Americans started with many ways of living known to the Greeks, Romans, and the people of the Middle Ages.

Topics for discussion

1. What Americans started with.

When Columbus discovered America, the people of the world had learned to make houses, boats, bows, hatchets, ploughs, and spinning-wheels. They had also invented the alphabet. Before the Pilgrims came, the compass, gunpowder, and printing were

invented. How did the compass stimulate exploration? What use was made of gunpowder by the early settlers? How did the printing-press stimulate learning?

2. What the Greeks have taught us.

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Hero worship. Some of the heroes they tried to imitate; tell the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece. Siege of Troy. Wanderings of Ulysses.

Artistic skill. Athens, the most splendid of ancient Greek cities. Explain what the Acropolis was and what the Parthenon was used for. Greek art the standard to-day.

Respect for a perfect body. - The Greeks believed that a beautiful body indicated a beautiful soul. What were the Olympic games and what were the rewards of the victor? What are the modern Olympics?

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The principles of democracy. In the Athenian democracy, what great truth did the Greeks first teach the world? What did Pericles teach? For what do we remember Socrates?

Read:

Teachers' List:

Pericles, Evelyn Abbot. G. P. Putnam's Sons. Three Greek Children, Alfred J. Church. G. P. Putnam's Sons.

Children's List:

Stories of the Old World, Part 1, Alfred J. Church.
Ginn & Co.

Old Greek Stories, James Baldwin. American
Book Co.

The Story of the Greek People, Eva March Tappan.
Houghton Mifflin Co.

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