THE STUDY OF UTERAT‘JRE IN AMERHCAN ACADEMES AND HIGH SCHOOLS, ISM-1,880 EBiS-sertaticn for the Degree of Ph. D. MECHIGAN STATE UNEVERSITY RUTH RUSHTON STOKES 2975 i“ if“ This is to certify that the : thesis entitled ; "The Study of Literature t In American Academies and High Schools, t , 1820—1880. " ,§ ’f *- as presented by I" Ruth Rushton Stokes has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for PhoD. degree in English I? F) Nut)!— Major professJ 0-7639 307““? P239 ABSTRACT THE STUDY OF LITERATURE IN AMERICAN ACADEMIES AND HIGH SCHOOLS, 1820-1880 By Ruth Rushton Stokes Between 1820 and 1880 the American secondary school system was established, and the great literature of the American romantic period was written. During this time, however, the secondary school ignored the study of literature, except as an exercise in grammar, rhetoric, or elocution. The only literature students read was that included in the advanced (fourth, fifth and sixth) books of reader series. These readers contained adult literature from both popular and elite writers, and were the basis for the formation of literary tastes and attitudes. The advanced reader was made up of short works and literary ex- cerpts of British and American literature, as well as other non-liter- ary writings. MOst included an elocutionary emphasis, while after 1860 compilers added biographical and critical notes on the authors included. Although between 1820 and 1865 compilers included many pop- ular contemporary works of literature in the readers, by the end of the war a literary canon had developed. In the postwar period compilers, educational journal writers, and others with literary and business interests proposed that the destruc- tive and disordering forces caused by industrialization, urbanization, Ruth Rushton Stokes and immigration could be weakened if schools taught cultural values and attitudes. Literature seemed an appropriate vehicle for teaching cul- ture. However, compilers found contemporary works of realism to be unsuitable, and instead chose to retain the carefully selected roman- tic works and the selections from the New England poets, which cele? brated a more peaceful, pastoral society and emphasized values such as honesty, hard work, thrift, and respect for authority. The literary selections of the fifties and early sixties continued to be reprinted until the 18805, and then frequently appeared in college entrance re- quirements. The following authors appeared in more than half of the ninety-one readers examined: Irving, Bryant, Longfellow, Webster, Shakespeare, Hemans, Willis, Everett, Campbell, Sigourney, Scott and Byron. Not only did a standard group of authors develop, but a number of common themes and topics became established in readers, such as reli- gion, death, morality, nationalism, the American Indian, danger and adventure, science and technology, and the romantic themes of time, mutability, and eternity. The growth of literary study was hampered by the lack of teachers trained to analyze and appreciate literature, Furthermore, literature seemed to lack a structure which many early educators felt was neces- sary to exercise the mental faculties of the learner--and which was essential for an untrained teacher. Although literature gained en- trance to the curriculum by adopting a structure and methodology such as grammar, rhetoric, word study or literary history, and maintained its function as an ethical and cultural force, the readers remained the Ruth Rushton Stokes only texts containing substantial selections of literature. After 1874, however, when Harvard became the first university to institute an en- trance requirement in literature (although it was to be used as a topic for composition), whole works of literature began to supplant the readers in newly created "English" and literature classes. While the teaching of literature at the secondary level was hamr pered by poorly trained teachers and prevalent educational theories and methodologies which emphasized memorization, recitation, and rote learning, the readers helped establish literature as a legitimate, use- ful subject in the curriculum from its almost total neglect in 1820, to its inclusion in most secondary programs by 1880. Only fourteen years after Harvard instituted its entrance requirement, the prestigious Committee of Ten, which drew educators from across the country to discuss the secondary curriculum, recommended English as the only sub- ject which should be included in all four years of a student's program. The tradition of the use of readers at every grade level may have been an influencial precedent. THE STUDY OF LITERATURE IN AMERICAN ACADEMIES AND HIGH SCHOOLS, 1820-1880 By Ruth Rushton Stokes A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of English 1975 © Copyright by RUTH RUSHTON STOKES 1975 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank Dr. Stephen N. Judy for his careful reading of my dissertation and for his valuable and pertinent suggestions. I am grateful to Dr. Russel B. Nye for his guidance in the selection and development of this study, which was begun in Professor Nye's Popular Culture seminar. I would like to thank Dr. Linda Wagner for her helpful editorial advice and for serving on my committee. To my other committee member, Dr. C. David Mead, I owe a great deal of my knowledge and appreciation of nineteenth century American literature. I am also very grateful to Dr. James H. Pickering for his assis- tance and support throughout my graduate program. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 1. AMERICAN SECONDARY EDUCATION AND THE STATE OF LITERARY STUDY, 1820-1880 0 O O I O O O I O O O O O O O O 0 II. SECULARIZATION AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LITERATURE IN THE ADVANCED READER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. CHARACTERISTICS AND ASSESSMENT OF THE ADVANCED READER. IV. PEDAGOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V. POPULAR THEMES AND TOPICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI. LITERARY THEORIES AND TRADITIONS IN THE READERS . . . VII. INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS: THEIR WORKS AND REPUTATIONS . . . VIII. THE STATE OF THE STUDY OF LITERATURE IN 1880 . . . . . APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIBLIOGRAPIIIY O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 iii Page iv 10 51 78 99 124 175 192 243 251 261 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Percentage of Literature and Types of Literature . . . . . 251 2. Distribution by Decade of Selected Works and Topics . . . . 252 3. Frequency and Number of Selections by Individual Authors. . 253 4. Frequency of All Selections and Authors . . . . . . . . . . 255 iv INTRODUCTION The American secondary school system, comprised of both the esta- blished academies and the newly created public high school, was de- veloped between 1820 and 1880. At the same time, the great literature of the American romantic movement was written. Paradoxically, however, educators ignored almost completely the study of literature until 1874, when Harvard University was the first to establish a college entrance requirement which called for the reading of literary works. During most of the century, most literature which students read-- besides that used for grammatical and rhetorical exercises and language study or the brief examples included in some literary histories--was contained in textbook series in reading. While these early reading books, or readers, were an outgrowth of sectarian religious primers, by 1820 their contents had become secularized, and compilers began to in- clude literature and nonfiction selections. The early readers had been single textbooks containing excerpts and short works of literary and nonliterary materials. By midcentury, however, most compilers were pub- lishing graded reader series containing five or six numbers, in which the first three books contained pedagogical material and children's lit- erature to teach and give practice in the skill of reading, while the upper three readers contained selections from adult literature. Much of the literature in the advanced readers is similar to that found in the traditional eleventh and twelfth grade British and Ameri- can literature anthology of the 19508. While many readers contained a pedagogical framework which stressed the study of grammar, rhetoric, or philology, the major emphasis in the readers was on developing the art of oral reading, or elocution. The advanced readers were used both in the academy and the high school, not only in classes designated as "reading," but also in many history of literature and elocution classes, and in the few literature classes which were offered. While the literature contained in the advanced reader was not studied in a contemporary literary sense, it represents the only liter- ature which a large number of young Americans systematically read, studied, memorized, and declaimed. A study of the advanced readers in- dicates not only which authors and works were read by almost all Ameri- cans who received an education beyond the elementary level, but also how students were taught to define literature and to regard its func- tions and uses. A statement from an 1872 reader preface accurately indicates the place of the advanced reader in a student's literary experience: In sections of the country where supplementary reading is not provided [until the late seventies, this included most high schools and academies, both urban and rural], and where easy access to libraries cannot be had, the pupil will con his reader as his one fountain of supply, retaining through life distinct remembrances of it as his introduction to the world of letters, In cities the reading-book is rather the gauge by which to measure the quality of the flood of literature to which he is exposed.1 Not only did reader series achieve sales figures which placed them among the consistent "best sellers" of the period, but by midcentury they had attained a remarkable degree of standardization and similarity in form and content. Despite the popularity of various series in dif- ferent geographical areas, the literature read by high school and aca- demy students throughout the country was very similar. While the advanced reader is one of the most important documents in the study of popular nineteenth century literary tastes and atti- tudes, it has been the subject of little literary research. Although a number of studies describe and categorize the popular literature and the widespread literary attitudes of nineteenth century America, these works almost completely ignore textbooks. Most works on the teaching of English in the last century, such as Arthur Applebee's Tradition and Reform in the Teaching of English: A History? are written by educators who are interested in theory and pedagogy rather than literature, or by social scientists interested in how the content of schoolbooks illum- inates the cultural history of a period. Representatives of this type include Richard D. Mosier, Makinglthe American Mind: Social and Moral Ideas in the McGuffey Readers3and Ruth Miller Elson, Guardians of Tradition: American Schoolbooks of the Nineteenth Century.4 Studies of readers themselves frequently have focused on methods of teaching reading5 or on religious and moral attitudes.6 Two disser- tations in the field of education, however, have been especially help- ful in this study. Vincent Davis's "The Literature of the Advanced School Readers in the U.S.: 1785-1900"7 is valuable for its statis- tical information concerning the space devoted to various topics and types of literature, as well as when compilers began to include the works of various authors. Davis does not deal with literary theories or attitudes, however, and his definition of literature is so broad that much of the potential value of his dissertation for purposes of the present study is lost. A more recent dissertation by Peter Witt, "The Beginning of the Teaching of Vernacular Literature in the Second- ary Schools of Massachusetts,"8 is especially valuable for the large amount of unpublished primary material it contains, such as school re- ports and catalogs and the letters and personal accounts of nineteenth century educators and students, as well as for its analysis of early New England educational journals, Witt, however, spends only three pages on a single advanced reader, despite the fact that readers were used in literature classes, as their subtitles indicate. He reports instead on history of literature texts, which frequently contained no literature, or included primarily historical, biographical, and criti- cal essays. While geographically limited, however, his study does examine the educational and literary theory and pedagogy of an area which frequently set a model for the rest of the nation to follow. While using supplementary information from the types of sources mentioned above, the present study focuses on the advanced readers ' themselves. It explores the literature and the pedagogical apparatus included in them, and describes the way popular literary tastes and attitudes were formed. By examining the literature with which many Americans were familiar, this study hopes to explain the popular re- sponse to the romantic movement, to the New England and American liter- ary renaissance, to the "feminine fifties," to the schoolroom poets, and to the Victorian age and the rise of realism. 1820 marks the approximate date of the end of religious domination of education and of textbook writing. A year later the first American high school, Boston's English High, was established. Two early series --those of Lindley Murray and Caleb Binghame-continued to be popular throughout the twenties. The American First Class Book (1823),however, which was the first in the Pierpont series and which emphasized Amer- ican writings and literature, marked the beginning of major nineteenth century reader series. These series became highly standardized by the late 18403, and remained almost unchanged for the next forty years, despite the cultural impact of the Civil War. The study terminates in 1880, when separate literature Classes using anthologies and full length literary works entered English programs in response to college entrance requirements. The major revision of the McGuffey reader series in 1879 represented a last retrenchment against the beginnings of the movement toward literature anthologies and vernacular classics. In the same year the first group of college representatives met to con- sider the establishment of uniform entrance requirements in literature. Chapter I discusses the growth of secondary education, prevalent educational theories, and the various aspects of English included in the curriculum. A major study by John E. Stout, The Development of High School Curricula in the North Central States from 1860-19189 provides much of the data for identifying the components of English programs, while Witt's study and Emit D. Grizzell's book Origin and Development of the High School in New England before 186510 contain statistics for New England secondary programs. A discussion of atti- tudes toward literature is drawn primarily from the prefaces to and selections in advanced readers themselves, as well as from educational journal articles. Two studies, a specialized report by Edna Hays11 and a more general investigation by Edwin C. Broome,12 are helpful in their examination of the nature and impact of college entrance re- quirements on the secondary school English program. This chapter also examines the emphasis upon literature as a vehicle for dissemi- nating culture in the post Civil War era, as well as differences in the literary training of men and women. Chapters 11 and III examine the secularization of the readers, the characteristics of advanced readers and reader series throughout the period, and the assessment of readers by educational journal writers. Chapter IV is based on the prefaces and pedagogical apparatus of the advanced readers and on articles from educational journals. Throughout most of the country during much of the century teachers were poorly trained, and the reader was typically the sole instrument of instruc- tion. It is probable that most teachers followed the format of the readers and the instructions contained in them rather than adapting the reader material to some other plan. This chapter examines the ped- agogical principles on which the readers are based and explores the influence which teaching methods and aims, especially the influence of elocution, had on the selection of literature. The fifth chapter is devoted to the major topics and themes found in the literary selections. These include the romantic themes of death, the "melancholy Indian," nature, time, mutability and eternity; the constantly recurring subjects of secularized religion, morality and conduct; themes of literary nationalism, patriotism, and democracy; the exalted character of oratory and the orator; and the aesthetic- moralistic concepts of art, beauty and literature. Literary traditions embodied in the readers are examined in Chapter VI. The literature selections reveal the persistence of neo- classical writings well into the century, along with the fairly rapid inclusion of romantic writers like Bryant, Campbell, and Byron. Up until the Civil War, compilers were responsive to popular literary attitudes, and included much of the literature popularized in maga- zines and gift books, as well as works by major authors like Hawthorne, Shakespeare, and Milton, During the period, of course, many major authors like Irving, Longfellow, Whittier, and Cooper also had ex- tensive popular reputations. In the social and economic unrest fol- lowing the war, however, compilers and educators began to emphasize the value of literature as a means of conveying cultural values and behavior to the lower classes. Since the contemporary literature of realism did not present the cultural ideal, compilers kept reprinting the works of the romantics and New England poets which had entered the readers as contemporary popular literature before the war. The final chapter (VII) examines more closely the literature in— cluded in the readers. The contributions of forty-seven British and American authors of four basic categories are analyzed. In the first group are major literary figures such as Shakespeare, Irving and Scott, whose works appear frequently in the readers; the second includes writers who are judged to be minor by contemporary standards, who may or may not have had major literary stature during the nineteenth cen- tury, and who appear frequently in readers such as Hemans, Willis and Jane Taylor; authors whom the twentieth century recognizes as superior but whom the nineteenth may or may not have fully appreciated, and who appear in few readers, such as Charles Brockden Brown and Thoreau, com- prise a third group; while the remaining writers include those not recognized primarily as literary authors, such as orators, clergy, statesmen and historians, but whose speeches, essays and poems are frequently included in advanced readers. In addition to examining the body of writings from each contributor to the group, Chapter VII in- cludes a summary of the biographical-critical sketches of each author which were included in a number of the readers studied. The appendix includes tables which indicate the frequency and distribution of both specific popular selections and of the work of each of the forty-seven writers included in Chapter VII during the sixty years of the study. NOTES-—INTRODUCTION lIn Lewis B. Monroe, The Fifth Reader (Philadelphia: Cowperwait and Company, 1871). 2(Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1974). 3(New York: King's Crown Press, 1947). 4(Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1964). 5Studies on reading include: R. R. Reader, The Historical Devel- ggpment of School Readers and Reading (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1900), and Nila Banton Smith, American Reading Instruction (Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 1965). 6Studies on religion and morality include: Madison L. Perkins, "The Historical Development of the Moral Element in American School Readers," Diss. Univ. of Chicago 1921; Adolph Tingelstad, "The Religious Element in American School Readers to 1830," Diss. Univ. of Chicago 1925; and Harold C. Warren, "Changing Conceptions in the Reli- gious Element in Early American School Readers," Diss. Univ. of Pittsburgh 1951. 7Diss. Univ. of Chicago 1934. 8Diss. Harvard Univ. 1968. 9Supplementary Educational Monographs vol. 3 no. 3 (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1921). 10(New York: Macmillan, 1923). 11College Entrance Requirements in English: Their Effects on the High Schools, Contributions to Education no. 675 (New York: Teachers College, Columbia Univ., 1936). 12A Historical and Critical Discussion of College Admission Re- quirements, Contributions to Philosophy, Psychology and Education, nos. 3-4 (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1903). CHAPTER I AMERICAN SECONDARY EDUCATION AND THE STATE OF LITERARY STUDY, 1820-1880 Until the 18705 the only literature taught in most secondary school English programs was used as an exercise or model in the study of grammar, rhetoric, elocution, or composition.1 By 1880, however, a substantial number of schools, influenced by Harvard's inclusion of literature in its 1874 entrance examination, were teaching literature as a study in its own right, according to John L. Stout.2 Vernacular literature was neglected at both the secondary and college level during most of the century for a number of reasons. Edwin Broome writes that ”educated men evidently proceeded on the theory that a requisite facility in the use of the vernacular would come, somehow or other, from experience, general reading, or, best of all, from the translation of a sufficient quantity of Latin and Creek."3 The study of classical language and literature was also so time-consuming that there seemed to be little Opportunity for reading literature in the vernacular. An early academy catalog states, for example, that students "shall also be taught to read the best English 10 11 authors in prose and poetry, in such portions of their time as shall least interfere with their other studies."4 Since most students throughout the period came from upper class or professional families and had a sufficient mastery of spoken standard English, the study of Latin and Creek was an obvious next step. Vernacular literature also seemed to lack the structure and discipline which was necessary to exercise and strengthen the mental faculties of the learner. By the mid-18603, however, literature began to receive strong advocacy from the upper classes, who believed that it could be used to restrain dangerous tendencies in American society caused by industrialization and urbanization. By adopting a Latinate grammar, vernacular literature also succeeded in acquiring an internal structure and various sets of rules, so that by serving both to disci- pline the mind and guide the heart, it gained entrance to the curriculum through courses in grammar, rhetoric, and reading. The emphasis on the study of classical language and literature was closely related to the prevalent pedagogical theory of mental discipline which "held that the purpose of education was to exercise and train the mental faculties, in particular the faculties of 'memory' and 'reason.'"5 Even after Herbert and others had diScredited the concept of faculty psychology on which the theory of formal discipline was based, "it was held intact by the colleges and superimposed upon the preparatory schools for nearly a century more."6 According to faculty psychology, a subject was valuable only partially because of its content, or the facts which it contained. Even more important was its potential for exercising the mind, which, like a muscle, was strengthened through use. The ideal subject contained a body of facts 12 and a set of rules for organizing them. Thus the vocabulary and rules of syntax of the Latin and Greek languages, along with the cultural value of classical literature, insured the place of the classics, in preparatory curricula at least, throughout the century. An account by the headmaster of Boston's Latin Grammar School illustrates the importance given to mental discipline: It is not what a boy learns at school that makes the man, but how he learns it. All the knowledge that a faithful student acquires before arriving at manhood is as nothing compared with the intellectual strength he has gained and the ability he has of taking hold of any work that may present itself and doing it. If the acquisition of knowledge were the chief object in education, very useful as an acquaintance with the dead languages is, indispen- sable in fact to the man of letters, one might with propriety doubt the expediency of spending so large a portion of youth and early manhood in the study. But the earnest, laborious student of language develops a power which no other training could possibly give him, and in comparison with which all his acquisitions of mere knowledge sink into utter insignificance.7 Two reader excerpts illustrate quite clearly the mind-as-muscle paradigm. A selection in Town's Fourth Reader (1848) entitled "Mental Discipline" states that the mind is "continually improved by exercise and use." While "many seem to feel as if it were not safe to put forth all their powers at one effort," the author argues that the mind is not "like the bones and muscles of the horse," which easily become tired. Instead, "you may call upon your mind today for its highest efforts, and stretch it to the utmost in your power, and you have done yourself a kindness. . . . Tomorrow you may do it again; and each time it will answer more readily to your calls."8 The "Directions to Teachers" in another reader (24.) state that in order to read a piece of litera- ture aloud correctly, the student must study it closely "to comprehend the intended meaning of the writer; also every degree and shade of thought, sentiment, and feeling. This will call for such a degree of 13 intellectual effort as cannot fail to develop and strengthen the mental powers." While it was assumed that the mind had faculties other than reason and memory, such as imagination, taste and will, many early educators believed that imagination and taste were to be developed only at the college level, after years of exercise and strengthening in the academy or Latin grammar school. The 1825 inauguration speech of President Philip Lindsley of Nashville University contains the following statement, for example: . . . the classics must be studied--and studied until the mind be richly imbued with their beauties, and the taste refined by their influence. At school the first steps only are taken . . . while at college, the pupil advances from mere verbal and grammatical and metrical attainments, to those interior, more subtle, and more intellectual stores. . . . The drugery of drilling boys in the elements . . . belongs to the schoolmaster. To the classical professor pertains the higher province of philosophy and criti— cism--not, indeed to the neglect of the minutest principles of grammar and prosody--but . . . inspired with the genius of the poets, orators, historians, and philosophers . . . he will make their study the delight of his pupils.9 In vernacular literature this tradition of delight and appreciation seldom appeared at either the secondary or college level until late in the century. Not only did Latin and Greek maintain an aura of prestige throughout the period studied, but they continued to be admission requirements of many colleges, especially in New England. Classical language and literature were considered to be the bases of modern language and literature early in the century. An article in the January 1869 issue of The Massachusetts Teacher concerning high school curricula states, "the value of the Classics as a source of mental discipline when rightly studied needs no argument. . . . Banish the 14 Classics from our schools and colleges, and the next generation will fail to appreciate much of our best literature."10 To study vernacular literature without first having a thorough knowledge of the "original" classic literature on which it was supposed that the vernacular classics were based seemed to many early educators a waste of time. In both secondary schools and colleges vernacular literature frequently was studied only in extracurricular literary societies. G. R. Carpenter writes that as late as 1903 there was still debate as to whether vernacular literature could serve as well as the classics in providing mental discipline. He outlines four main argu- ments used in the nineteenth century to support the study of Greek and Latin, or of Latin alone: 1. The study of a richly inflected synthetic language is highly valuable as a mental discipline. 2. The study of Greek and Latin is valuable in that it introduces the student to two great literatures (outside of Hebrew) of great antiquity, thus training his taste and giving him aesthetic standards that are both elevated and permanent. 3. It is likewise valuable in that it gives him a knowledge of the Craeco-Roman civilization, thus furnishing him the key to an understanding of the modern world. 4. Practice in translation, and especially in translation from a highly inflected synthetic language into a modern language, gives excellent training in the mother-tongue. Despite these arguments, however, some educators after 1850 began to advocate the study of vernacular literature on the secondary level. Some were concerned that American literature would not flourish if students did not study major British and American literary works. Others advocated the study of American literature on patriotic grounds. Many also argued, however, that a study of vernacular litera- ture would increase students' appreciation of Latin and Greek 15 literature. Few were willing to discard totally classical study, although many recommended reapportioning student's time between the vernacular and the classical. An 1868 article in The Massachusetts Teacher concedes that American literature has not surpassed either classical or British literature, as some literary nationalists suggest. However, the author rejects the claim of Charles W. Eliot (who was to help in establishing literature as a college entrance requirement in composition as president of Harvard, and who compiled a series of literary readers late in the century) that the future of American literature depended on the study of Creek in the schools. The author counters, This view of the case disregards the influence of the growth of a genuine literature of those schools in which Creek is not now, and probably never will be generally studied,--our High and Grammar schools,--and raises the question, whence is our literature to spring? From the native soil, or from a foreign strand? From the high general culture of the people, or the higher special culture of a classic?1 The author argues that America will never have a great national literature unless the young have an acquaintance with and a taste for great English literature. He writes, "to lay the foundation on which to raise a superstructure of cultivated society--society that can appreciate literature as an Art--nothing can supersede or rival English literature." The Romans, he points out, deve10ped a great national literature only after they ceased to imitate the Greeks. At the end of the essay the author stresses that large schools tend to make the educational process mechanical and standardized. Through teaching American literature, he writes, the teacher can prevent "the attenuating, soul-destroying process of mere intellectual discipline." His pupils may become "at least . . . men and women, cultivated, 16 according to the measure of their years, by an acquaintance with the best thoughts, and, what is more, the best feelings of the great ones of our kith and kin . . . [these students] are of those who are to form that cultivated society in which, if ever, literature, as an art, will find a place in America."13 In an 1872 Massachusetts Teacher article Francis Underwood writes that he is "a strenuous advocate of classical education," but he believes that students should be prepared to appreciate classical literature by reading vernacular literature. Milton is preparation for Virgil and Dante, for example, while "when the vast world of Shakespeare's thought has been opened before his vision, he [the student] will see more clearly what is immortal in the Iliad and the Odyssey." Besides, Underwood insists, English literature contains unique human qualities which the classics lack. He writes, We take great pains to make classical students appreciate the simple majesty of Homer, the elegance of Virgil, the sublimity of the Greek tragedians, and the vigor and brilliancy of Horace. But the body of English literature, as it exists, contains more of grandeur and beauty, more of pathos and wit, more of humor (a quality in some respects peculiar to our race), more of fervid oratory, and more of noble history, than the stores of the classic languages combined.14 Grammar was the first English subject to enter the curriculum on a widespread basis, and it was the first to be included in a college entrance examination, by Princeton in 1819.15 Grammar frequently con- sisted of study and memorization of prescriptive rules. Parsing--that is, providing a grammatical description of the words and syntax of a passage--was a popular form of mental discipline. A favorite item on examinations was the correction of selections containing errors in grammar, mechanics, or usage. Grammar was traditionally taught in the 17 first year of a secondary program.16 A number of readers included sections on grammatical rules and exercises. The reading selections served, with the addition of questions, as grammatical exercises. Rhetoric was the second English subject to be studied--and was sometimes included in each year of a secondary program.17 Applebee points out that while the grammarians "were concerned with syntax and morphology, the rhetoricians placed their emphasis on 'expression,' both written and oral. . . . Diction, style, figurative language, the 'flowers' of rhetoric" were their concern.18He adds that "throughout ' and 'criticism' the nineteenth century, 'rhetoric,' 'analysis, usually indicated much the same course of study, in which a literary text would be critically examined to insure that it conformed with the prescriptive rules of grammar and rhetoric, all in the ultimate service of the student's own speaking and writing skills."19 Separate literary works (often Latinate classics like Paradise Lost or Pope's Essaygon Man) were used for both grammatical and rhetori- cal exercise. While readers contained some work on grammar and a little rhetoric, their most frequent and extensive alliance was with oratory, the oral branch of rhetoric. More than two-thirds of the advanced readers studied contain oratorical prefaces. Professor Russel Nye points out that during the late eighteenth centruy an elocutionary group of rhetoricians broke away from the classical school represented by men like Hugh Blair, whose Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1773) were widely used in American colleges and secondary schools well into the nineteeth century. The elocutionary school felt that too much attention was given to the content and organization of the material to be spoken, and too little to its delivery. Twenty-five 1.; notv - ...~ ‘3) u. I! .4 I}; :f T . P‘ 5 18 "elocutionary" rhetoric texts were in circulation in England and America by 1810, and nine American elocutionary rhetorics appeared between 1785 and 1827.20 It was reasonable for reader compilers to incorporate elocution into their readers, because to most nineteenth century Americans, the term "reading" meant oral reading. Not only did the elocutionary definitions and rules provide reading with a structure for organizing the mental faculties, but oral reading and speaking were universally recognized as useful and necessary arts for both the preparatory and non-preparatory student. Even women, who were barred from public speaking by reasons of prOpriety, were expected to be able to read aloud and converse in an accomplished fashion. The importance of oral reading was first recognized by college entrance committees in 1865, when Harvard announced that it would examine applicants in "reading English aloud."21 Typically the fifth or sixth reader in a series was designated as an elocutionary reader, and up to half of its contents were devoted to elocutionary rules, with the reading selections used as exercises. In addition to elocution, many reader compilers also began to include biographical and historical notes with the literary selections. This was a response to the popularity of histories of literature at the secondary level. History of literature texts had been used early in the century in classical studies, such as John Dunlap's History of Roman Literature (1923), and collections of classical literature, such as his Latin Anthology (1838), composed of English verse translations, 22 were common. Two forces brought about the popularity of histories of English and American literature. First, histories contained a number 19 of facts, such as names, dates, titles, and characteristics of subject matter and style, which could be used to exercise the mental faculties of students. In addition, the moral character of writers themselves, as well as the elevation of their works, was considered important. A book containing biographies of p0pular writers like Bryant and Long- fellow provided students with models of conduct. The first history of literature to be widely used in American secondary schools was Thomas Budd Shaw's Outlines of English Literature, published in England in 1846. His original work, which was "very scholarly and represented a thorough treatment of English writers by chronological periods,"23 was intended for college use. Shaw's text was nevertheless adopted by many high schools, as were the editions of 1867, revised by William Smith with a fifty-five page sketch of American literature by Henry T. Tuckerman, and the 1875 edition by Truman J. Backus, Professor of English Literature at Vassar. While these books contained only a few lines of literature, Charles D. Cleveland's pOpular Compendium of English Literature (1847) contained, according to the author, "biographical sketches of the authors, selec- tions from their works, with notes, explanatory, illustrative, and "24 direction to the best editions and to various criticisms. The first significant American literary history was John S. Hart's A Manual of American Literature (1872), which contained biographies and occasional 25 excerpts of over five hundred American writers. In many secondary schools, however, advanced readers were used in place of literary texts.26 Parker and Watson's National Fifth Reader (1857), for example, contains not only elocutionary material, > I 4 n l o r , R- 'V as l'» but "Biographical Sketches" and "Copious Notes,‘ Use of Students in English and American Literature." appears 20 and is "Adapted to the Mention of the use of readers in high schools and academies in reports of the following schools: Year Course (if given) Reader School 1827 Reading Pierpont's First Boston's Girls' Class Book High School (proposed)27 1824, --— American School Reader Brattleboroé Vt. 1828 Porter's Rhetorical High School 8 Reader 1846 --— Young Ladies' Class Worchester, Mass. Book _Female High School29 1850 Reading Mandeville's Fourth Middleton, Conn., Reader (junior year) High School30 Reading Mandeville's Fifth Reader (middle year) 1850 --- Town's Reader Burlington, Vt. High Schoo131 1851 Reading Town's Fourth Book Dexter, Me. High School32 1859- English Literature Sargent's Fourth and Windsor, Vt. 1860 Fifth Readers High School33 Class-Book of Prose And Poetry 1863 Literary Dept., Town's Fourth Reader New Hampton Preparatory (first and second Institute, terms) Fairfax, Vt.3 Town and Holbrook's Fifth Reader (third and fourth terms) 1869 Grade II English Fourth Reader Watertown, Wisc. (junior year) High School5 Department 21 There were a number of attempts to establish the study of literature itself, without the framework of grammar, rhetoric, or history, in the secondary curriculum. At Boston English high school, for example, Shaw's Lectures in English Literature was introduced in 1865 for use in the third year. In 1869 it was agreed that the course in English literature needed to become more systematic and extended. A year later the school committee urged their teachers "to give more attention to the study of English as a means of self—expression and cautioned them not to require an author to be 'read hurriedly, nor be committed to memory by the pupils, till they are led by a careful and critical study to see his beauties and appreciate his excellence."36 In 1857 secondary students at Lawrence, Massachusetts were reading Scott, Goldsmith, Longfellow, Bryant, Milton, and Shakespeare-- although the report does not state if they were being used for grammar and language exercises.37 The Committee on Higher English of Chicago's Board of Education suggested in 1868 that longer works like Hamlet or The Deserted Village be used instead of a compendium of literature. No action was taken on their prOposal, however, and no major changes were made in the English program until 1884.38 In the non-preparatory curriculum there was no clearly articu- lated demand which dictated a unified, standardized English program. It was clear that the study of literature by itself was not acceptable in most schools. For example, the first (1847) edition of an anthology by Truman Rickard and Hiram Orcutt (principal of the North Granville, N.Y. Female Seminary) contained only four one-page tables on classifi- cation, inflection and analysis of words, and parsing of sentences. 'rhe rest consisted of literature without historical or biographical 22 material. The 1847 preface stated that "the exercises will now be found well adapted to all classes of grammarians in our common schools and academies; and that they afford a sufficient variety of construc- tion, to illustrate all the principles and pecularities of the English language." Four years later, however, a "Revised and Enlarged" Class Book of Prose and Poetry (33.) appeared. Clearly the four pages of gram- matical apparatus had not been enough. Charles Carpenter points out that the rules and exercises were "a blind that was several times resorted to in connection with nineteenth century textbooks for which the time was not ripe. . . . The time would soon be at hand when a literature text could be put forward as just that, but even when the last printings of the Rickard and Orcutt book were issued that era had not yet arrived."39 A notice in the revised edition indicates both the low level of teacher preparation and the heavy emphasis on grammar: . . . there will be found an addition of twenty-four pages of important matter. It was designed that the Tables should be used in the analysis of sentences. But very few teachers, however, have used them at all, obviously for the reason that they were not understood. It has been the leading object, therefore, in pre- paring this enlarged edition, to arrange the principles of Syntax and Analysis in a systematic form, and to illustrate them fully by examples, so that both teachers and scholars may use the book understandingly. . . . The compilers again submit their book to teachers, believing that it will prove of invaluable aid in the study of Grammar, if used in accordance with the design. The fact that teachers did not use the book for purely literary Study is also indicated by the recommendations contained on the 'reverse of the title page. Excerpts are printed below: 23 B. Greenleaf, Principal of Bradford Teacher's Seminary.--The extracts . . . in connection with the Tables of Parsing, make it very valuable as a textbook. I think such a work has long been needed in our academies and high schools. I have introduced it into my seminary, believing the work superior to any other for parsing, that I have examined. C. S. Richards, Principal, Kimball Union Academy, Meridian, New Hampshire.--I have examined . . . the 'Selections' [an earlier version of the Class Book containing only poetry] designed as a textbook for etymological and analytic parsing. D. B. Tower (author of Gradual Lessons in Grammar).--I have examined with interest a little volume of Selections, to be used as a textbook in schools, for exercises in the analysis of language. The extracts are from standard writers, and offer a variety of examples to illustrate all the principles of grammar. In addition, in the catalog of Gould's Classical and English Academy (1856), the book is referred to as Rickard and Orcutt's Parsing Book.4O Variations in the terminology of secondary courses of study make it difficult to assess the precise nature of secondary course offerings in literature. The following table is taken from Stout's study on the development of high school curricula in the north central states. The figures represent the percentages of school examined which included the various English subjects in their curricula. For each period the schools are not always identical. 1861- 1866- 1871- 1876- 1865 1870 1875 1880 Reading 30 35 5 10 English Literature 30 65 90 70 American Literature -- 10 10 15 Literature 5 -- -- -- Elocution 5 10 10 5 41 History of English Literature 5 5 5 10 24 An article entitled, "Digest of Rules and Regulations of Public Schools in Cities," published by Henry Barnard in 1869 contains these statistics concerning English subjects in the curricula of thirty public high schools from all parts of the country. Total number of schools 30 English Synonyms 5 Spelling 6 Reading 14 Declamation 18 English Literature 21 English Grammar 24 Rhetoric 2842 Carpenter concludes that the lack of uniformity in terminology and the practice of breaking the subject into many parts retarded the development of strong English programs. He writes, Nothing has so impeded the prOper develOpment of a thorough secon- dary course in English as the traditional system of breaking up the subject into a considerable number of smaller divisions, the mutual relationship of which is far from obvious. The old secondary curriculum included elocution, oratory, grammar, composition, rhetoric, the study of certain works of literature, the history of English literature, versification,—-not to mention "word study," "bad English," and perhaps other matters. 3 The study of literature was also affected by the type of school and curriculum in which it was taught. The Latin grammar school served during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to prepare boys, most of whom were to become ministers, for the few existing American col— leges. The late eighteenth century marked the growth of the academy-- a local, privately supported secondary school. Unlike the Latin grammar school, however, it was not a training school for ministers. As Theodore Sizer points out in his study The Age of the Academies, "it was not godless, to be sure, but while charged with the moral 25 instruction of its students, it was clearly an institution designed essentially to serve the needs of this world."44 While the academy courses were non-classical, they were not, in a real sense, practical. The only vocational subject was the training of teachers, and courses in "carpentry, ironwork, applied agriculture and related areas appeared only occasionally. . . . The academic fate was that which lent itself to being written down, memorized, and recited.”5 The public high school, first established in Boston in 1821, was to become the primary secondary school by the end of the century. In 1855 Henry Barnard located 6,185 academies enrolling a total of 263,096 pupils, and his figures are probably conservative.46 The number of high schools in 1860 was approximately 300, although over one hundred of these were located in Massachusettsfl7 Their rapid growth following the Civil War is attributed to the fact that the academy was essentially a rural, or small town institution, while the high school was adapted to urban areas. In 1889-1890 there were 2,526 public high schools with total enrollments of 202,963, and 1,632 private secondary schools enrolling 94,931 students in all.l'8 Both academies and high schools frequently incorporated two courses of study: a "classical" course or curriculum, which emphasized Latin, Greek, and mathematics, and was intended to prepare students for college; and a so-called "English" course, which was usually a terminal course for girls and for boys who did not anticipate further educational training. The term "English," however, did not mean necessarily that English subjects were taught, and its use to denote the study of vernacular language and literature did not become wide- spread until after 1880. 26 The concept of a practical, useful secondary education had been proposed by Benjamin Franklin as early as 1749. The academy studies represented, as Sizer points out, "a break from the medieval curriculum of the Latin [grammar] school."['9 While the academy offered a wide variety of subjects, the high school was an upward extension of the common school, and tended to offer advanced work in primary subjects such as English, mathematics, and history, with the addition of Latin.50 High schools became well established in the north central states by 1860,51 with 80 percent offering both prepara- tory and English programs. Despite the large numbers of academies at mid-century, college attendance was comparatively small. Sizer points out that by Barnard's 1850 count, fully nine times as many people attended academies as went to college.52 In fact, in some areas colleges and academies competed for the same students. Well past the middle of the century, in some states, there continued to be an overlap between the academy and the college. Sizer explains that "the academy offered a more flexible and useful course of study and . . . most fledgling colleges were taking 53 students as young and as untutored as were the academies." In urban areas the growth of the high school was frequently related to the concern of the gentry and the upper class and the upper middle class entrepreneurs over the threat posed by an undisciplined mass of uneducated lower class and immigrant persons. Educators per- ceived one of their primary functions to be that of training students to control their passions. The Boston School Committee in 1857-58 thought the function of the schools to be: 27 taking children at random from a great city, undisciplined, uninstructed, often with inveterate forwardness and obstinacy and with the inherited stupidity of centuries of ignorant ancestors; forming them from animals into intellectual beings, and . . . from intellectual beings into spiritual beings; giving to many their first appreciation of what is wise, what is true, what is lovely and what is pure.54 Thus, although the demands of colleges dictated the classical curriculum, the English, non-preparatory curriculum was formulated in order to discipline and acculturate the masses. In his book The Irony of Early School Reform Michael Katz points out that the lower classes showed little interest in the extension of public secondary education. They frequently voted against the establishment of high schools. More- over, Katz concludes, in mid-century Massachusetts, high schools generally were "minority institutions probably attended mainly by middle class children."55 In the minds of the gentry educators and reformers, however, the schools would reestablish a new sense of order to counteract the disintegrating effects of urbanization, industrialization and immi- gration. George Bountwell, third secretary of the Boston Board of Education, stressed the "employee" virtues which he believed the education should provide in a description of the ideal school, which "inculcates habits of regularity, punctuality, constancy and industry in the pursuits of business; through literature and the sciences in their elements . . . it leads the pupil toward the fountain of life and wisdom; and by moral and religious instruction daily given, some preparation is made for the duties and temptations of the world."56 Bountwell's successor on the Board of Education, Joseph White, empha- sized the gentry hope that the lower classes would adOpt the values and 28 manners of the middle class through the institute of the public high school. He writes: The children of the rich and the poor, of the honored and the unknown, meet together on common ground. Their pursuits, their aims and aspirations are one. No distinctions find place, but such as talent and industry and good conduct create. Applebee points out that reading books had long been part of an ethical tradition, as evidenced by the catechism and prayers included in typical seventeenth and eighteenth century primers. While readers became secularized during the first quarter of the century, they main- tained an ethical function throughout the period studied. The gentry broadened this ethical function of literature to include a whole range of cultural attitudes and values. Changing educational theories about the nature of the learner also began to favor methods and materials which enticed or gently led the student, rather than threatening or preaching. While overtly moralistic stories continued in the lower readers, in the advanced readers the didactic moralism of the early period faded, to be replaced by imaginative literature embodying cultural values. The importance of culture in establishing a new social order was articulated clearly in Matthew Arnold's Culture and Anarchy (1867). Applebee points out that Arnold was an inspector of schools as well as a poet and critic, and "it was from this vantage point that he recog- nized that public education, if it were given culture as a primary goal, could emerge as the new unifying and civilizing agent.58 In the United States the urban high school and the study of literature as a vehicle for culture developed concurrently. 29 To educators and others, the greatest necessity for cultural training was in the non-preparatory curriculum, where, presumably, the lower class and immigrant students were enrolled. Lull points out that "the nonrpreparatory branches were introduced by the academies and later by the high schools for practical, cultural, and civic purposes, without so much regard to their disciplinary values."59 While New England's greater industrialization and urbanization, its large number of recent immigrants, and its well established educa- tional system were atypical of other areas of the country, New England nevertheless made a unique contribution to the secondary school study of literature, and provided models for secondary schools throughout the country. First, a number of reader compilers were from New Eng- land.60 Boston and New York.were centers of textbook production, and the fact that educational systems were established early in New England also meant that the early educational journals developed there. Not only was Boston the major literary center, but the contemporary American literature which was included in the readers came almost exclusively from New England writers. As Applebee points out, For the definitions of the culture to be transmitted through its schools, America looked to New England, in particular to Boston. It was a reassuring culture that could be found there during the late nineteenth century, a mid-Victorian culture which avoided such problems as civil war and industrialization by turning to a pastoral, detached literature.61 That much of the literature being written in New England should conform to the views of the gentry was not coincidental. In 132 Decline of American Gentility, Stow Persons describes the alliance between the gentry elite and the writer in the later half of the nineteenth century: 30 For all practical purposes, gentility was now divorced from privilege and power and affiliated with the literacy, artistic, and educational elites. It became the principal function of gentility in the nineteenth century to furnish the social identity for those engaged in high cultural activity. . . . The exchange of privilege for learning and creativity altered the gentleman's character. His growing sense of cultural responsibility strengthened the qualities of earnestness and sobriety, which in turn caused him to identify himself more closely with the religious and educational leaders. 0n the other hand, the creative person, in availing him- self of the social role of the gentlman, was obliged to conform to the social and moral norms prescribed by the gentry code. . . . The gentleman became the apostle of culture in a world of democratic capitalistic mobility.62 Articles in three important nineteenth century journals serve to illustrate the pervasiveness of the theory that the acculturation of the masses was urgent, and that through the teaching of literature the public common and secondary schools could impose a new form of order, or even return to the pre-war, traditional controls. An article by Francis H. Underwood which appeared in the October 1872 Massachusetts Teacher emphasizes that literature is the source of culture, and culture is the lasting glory of a nation and an age. He writes, "success in arms and the acquisition of territory give temporary renown, but after the lapse of a few centuries, everything but the great thggghts of a people perishes." The literature of Spenser, Bacon, Shakespeare, and Milton, he points out, outshines the reputation of the monarchs and rulers who governed England during writers' lives. He predicts that "when the true perspective has been adjusted, ours will be known as the age of Emerson, Irving, and Hawthorne,--of Bryant, Longfellow, and Whittier,-—of Lowell and Holmes."63 As the Tables 2-4 show, Irving, Bryant, and Longfellow appear in the greatest number of readers studied. In the period 1860-1880 31 Hawthorne and Holmes appear in over half of the readers, while Emerson is included in more than a third of the readers. The statements which follow, however, are even more significant in their illumination of the popular attitude toward these poets: Who can doubt that in the next century people will say to their grandchildren, HI heard Emerson in my childhood. .l once saw the gracious smile of Longfellow. .1 have felt the electric stroke of Holmes's wit. Shall I ever forget Lowell's features, gleaming as though from inner light, when he recited the 'Ode to the ever sweet and shining memory of the sons of Harvard that died for their country'?64 It is clear, as the biographies of authors in the readers also illus- trate, that a writer's character was as important as the moral quality of the literature which he wrote. Underwood's statement that literature should not be used solely for grammatical or rhetorical purposes as a means of exercising students' mental powers is also significant. He writes, "while other studies are pursued mainly for discipline, litera- ture is at once a means and an end of culture."65 An 1878 article by Jonathan B. Harris in the popular Atlantic Monthly entitled "Certain Dangerous Tendencies in American Life" summarizes the fears of the gentry and the wealthy upper classes con- cerning the breakdown of traditional patterns of life and authority. Harris writes that after the Civil War, Americans were no longer exempt from the ills which they had become accustomed to associating with Europe--poverty, labor unrest, and reckless spending. It was clear that the authority and character of religion had weakened into a "decorous worldliness," and addressed itself to taste and aesthetic judgement rather than to duty and morality. Social position no longer depended on character, but rather on "the style of dress and house-furnishing." Harris emphasizes the responsibility of the gentry for establishing a 32 new cultural order. There are many people, he notes, who have rejected traditional religious and moral values but who nonetheless remain moral and intelligent. However, Their greatest defect seems to be that they feel too little respon- sibility for the moral culture of their children and those of their neighbors. . . . Their future course depends upon that of the cultivated classes. If there is within a few years a marked expan- sion of national culture and increase of its dynamic vitality, these people will do6guch to strengthen the better tendencies of the nation's life. The author deplores the tendency toward inaction of the "cul— ' while the "more ignorant and undeveloped" seem tured classes,’ committed to action. He describes a radical pro-labor movement in the country which actively opposes the cultural ideals of the upper classes. These people not only have subverted the educational system, but "the strongest tendencies and influences now operating among these people are leading them to a region and condition in which regard for the higher elements of the life of civilized man, for art, literature, and culture, is impossible."67 The author notes two defects in popular school education which contribute to this decline: education "usually leads to no interest in literature or acquaintance with it, nor to any sense of the value of history for modern men."68 The problem lies in the fact that "culture itself is not yet in this country vital and dynamic,"69 and the culti- vated classes are unwilling to become directly and personally involved in disseminating their beliefs. He writes, The people who believe in culture, in property, and in order, that is, in civilization, must establish the necessary agencies for the diffusion of a new culture. Capital must protect itself by organized activities for a new object,--the education of the people. Those who possess property, and those who value it as one of the great forces and supports of civilization, will be obliged to learn 33 that legislation, even if the laws are prOperly enforced, is not an adequate means for the protection of property and the regression of the disorderly and destructive elements in our society.7 Harris denies the theory of cultural or moral relativity, and insists that there is "an order which man did not make and cannot change."71 Among the solutions he advocates is the teaching of litera— ture. He writes, A change in the reading of the people is necessary, if we are to improve the national life. Men who could really teach English literature, and show people how to read and understand it, so as to receive culture from it, would be among the most valuable missionaries of the new order of things. If there are such men it would be profitable to employ them.72 Horace Scudder was "the most widely quoted American spokesman for an Arnoldian view of cultural education."73 As a member of the Cambridge, Massachusetts school committee, a chief editor for Houghton Mifflin, and later editor of the Atlantic Monthly, he was in an influ- ential position to advocate the transmission of American culture through the teaching of American literature. In an 1888 Atlantic article, Scudder traces the history of the study of literature in the public schools. He notes the strong influence of the Bible in the early schools, and writes that while its exclusive use prevented early stu- dents from exposure to "that literature of the spirit which finds a "74 that the Bible nevertheless response in the imagination and fancy, contains substantial literary variety and merit. Scudder laments that literature did not immediately become the content of the readers when use of the Bible as reading book was dis- continued. He criticizes the "refinement" of readers, which made them into mere textbooks-—with a "regard for intellectual gradation, a minute attention to all the apparatus for reading, the details of 34 pronunciation, of definition, of accent."7S He complains that the content of readers was often used to reinforce other subjects such as history or geography; that the readers were used as exercises for elo— cution or for treatises on ethics and patriotism; and that the literature used was fragmented. He describes the increased growth and mechanism of the public school system which has tended to standardize and mechanize education. He writes, "the avenues by which spiritual power finds entrance to the soul are more varied than our fathers supposed. . . . Nature is such an avenue."76 He also acknowledges that music and art are elevating, but they do not have "anything like the possibility of power to affect the spiritual nature of children which literature possesses."77 His canon of authors is familiar: Bryant, Emerson, Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, and "those other great ones, like Hawthorne, Irving, and Cooper, who associate with them in spiritual power."78 Scudder contrasts warriors and rulers as Underwood had done: "The nation may command armies and schools to rise from its soil, but it cannot call into life a poet. Yet when the poet comes, we hear his voice in the upper air, then we know that the nation he owns is worthy of the name."79 Scudder writes that contemporary American authors are valua- ble, but cannot supplant the "classic" authors like Bryant and Longfellow, who are "in the philosophic sense idols of the imagination, and by virtue of the divinity which thus hedges them their lightest words have a weight which is incommunicable by those spoken from the lips of men and women not yet elevated above the young by the affection and admiration of generations of readers."80 35 Scudder advocates an appreciative rather than a critical study of "our great authors," because only a "free, generous" use of them will secure "the full measure of spiritual light." His nationalism does not disparage or exclude British literature, as the patriotism of the early decades had, but he argues that "the youth must be a citizen of his own country before he can become naturalized in the world."81 The readers since midcentury had contained the American litera- ture which Scudder advocated, although in short pieces and excerpts. As James D. Hart points out in The Popular Book, Scudder's reverence for the New England poets reflects that of the gentry, of conservative institutions, and of the older generation. Hart writes: As the century moved on into its later decades the people's poets were still those established in the 'forties and fifties. By school and by parent they were carried over into the minds of younger generations of readers, who with rare exceptions, found no new favorites for themselves. New techniques in poetry divorced it from the common reader, who was busy with more "practi- cal" problems than those considered apprOpriate to poetry. As Bryant said near the end of his poetic career, ". . . The taste for it [poetry] is something old-fashioned, the march of the age is in another direction; mankind are occupied with politics, railroads and steamboats." . . . A tougher-minded era more concerned with mechanics than with nature, more interested in politics than religion, had less use for the poet. No longer was the poet the seer and interpreter.8 It was precisely this trend that Scudder and others were trying to reverse. While this cultural view of literature increased literary study within "English" curricula, the influence of colleges on preparatory programs remained strong. Until 1871, when the University of Michigan began to accept graduates of accredited secondary schools without examination, each college had administered its own entrance examination. Although many colleges deve10ped parallel courses of study leading to 36 Ph.B. or B.S. degrees which admitted students without full classical 83 training, classical and mathematical subjects continued to dominate secondary classical curricula. Lull describes the state of affairs in the late 18708, when Harvard offered examinations in two courses of study, one emphasizing more mathematics in place of some Latin and Greek requirements. Lull writes, Not only were preparatory students compelled to emphasize their studies according to the proportion of one of the two methods of examination . . . , but also to spend their entire secondary school period in pursuing the studies of one group or the other. So, practically, these requirements made up the main course in all the large high schools and the complete course of small high schools, which were preparatory schools for Harvard. Harvard's admission requirements were typical of those of other eastern colleges.84 English subjects played a small role in college entrance requirements. In 1870, for example, six major colleges and univer- sities examined students in five areas. The following chart lists the total number of subjects in which students were examined, and the number and type of English subjects: Total number Total number of examination of English Name of English subjects School subjects subjects 13 Yale 1 English Grammar l4 Cornell 1 English Grammar 17 Columbia 1 English Grammar l7 Univ. of Michigan 1 English Grammar l8 Harvard 1 Reading English 18 Princeton 4 English Grammar, Orthography, Punctuation, Short and simple composition85 37 Literature was included for the first time in the list of entrance examination subjects by Harvard in 1874. The catalog announced: Each candidate will be required to write a short English Composi- tion, correct in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and expression, the subject taken from such works of standard authors as shall be announced from time to time. The subject for 1874 will be taken from one of the following works: Shakespeare's Tempest, Julius Caesar, the Merchant of Venice; Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield; Scott's Ivanhoe, and Lay of the Last Minstrel.86 Although this requirement used literature as subject matter for demon- strating writing competence, the result was to establish literature firmly in both the classical and non-preparatory English curricula. The possibilities for the develOpment of literary training during the nineteenth century were severely limited by the lack of well- qualified literature teachers. Even at the secondary level there were no exclusively "English" teachers. Those who taught language and literature courses such as oratory, grammar, and rhetoric also fre- quently taught science or mathematics courses. The large number of both preparatory and non-preparatory courses offered by even very small secondary schools and academies intensified the problem of unqualified teachers. Lull quotes a Massachusetts high school inspector who in 1870 wrote, "I have not unfrequently found from forty to sixty and even more pupils pursuing the study of Greek, Latin, and French and all the 'ologies' and 'osophies' usually embraced in a high school course of study, and but a single person employed to teach them all."87 While early in the century academies offered courses in teacher training, the establishment of normal schools became one of Horace Mann's goals. The first normal school was established in Massachusetts 38 in 1838. A year later Henry Barnard held the first teacher's institute. Binder writes that these institutes "assembled pedagogues for periods ranging from a few days to several weeks to be inspired by eminent educationalists, instructed in the latest techniques, and informed of the most modern materials."88 Stout points out, however, that in normal schools (or in secondary schools which offered teacher preparation programs) the courses of study "were usually only one or two years in length, emphasizing the common branches and devoting some attention to pedagogy and less frequently to psychology. They recognized rather vaguely a demand for the training of teachers, although the attempt to meet the demand was meager and they revealed clearly that the purpose was to prepare for teachers' examinations rather than for the actual work of teaching."89 0f the twenty-four courses offered in a two-year normal course in a Jacksonville, Illinois normal program in 1869, only three were "English" subjects--Grammar, Spelling, and Reading.90 As late as 1903 G. R. Carpenter writes, taking the country up and down, certainly half our high school teachers of English have not had even college instruction in that subject, much less university instruction; have no special know— ledge of the history of our language and literature; and are incompetent, from any rational point of view, to give thorough instruction in their native tongue. Carpenter also complains of a lack of agreement among educators concerning the proper methods of teaching English: American educational periodicals contain numerous articles on special points connected with the teaching of English, and there are several books dealing with the subject as a whole; but these articles and treatises are almost without exception the result! merely of individual or local experience. Each expresses a different point of view, and has little in common with others. This is perhaps the case with articles on English in the secondary 39 schools, about which there were no signs of a common basis of agreement, in point of method or system, until the appearance of the much discussed report of the Committee of Ten in 1894.92 The lack of preparation and the numerous subjects each teacher was responsible for caused teachers to depend on the organization and methods included in schoolbooks. Sizer notes that the hard—pressed teachers "were saved only by the fact that virtually all courses were taught from a text; the teacher had merely to hear recitations."93 Binder suggests that the academies, which lacked the economic resources to hire large staffs well skilled in a number of fields could not have functioned without the development of a wide range of textbooks in a variety of fields. He writes, "the recent technical revolution in printing and book publishing played a considerable role in the academy movement."94 In his study of the New England high school, Grizzell reports that organizing the material of instruction into courses of instruction was "hardly thought of" before the end of the Civil war. He writes, "as a matter of fact the textbook supplied the need for a definite organization of the material in the subjects taught long after 1885."95 As the following chapter demonstrates, most readers contained a peda- gogical apparatus for the teacher to use. The remarks by compilers in a number of advanced reader prefaces also indicates that they were aware of the limitations of teachers. An 1846 reader contains the statement that the principles of reading and elocution "have been carefully deduced, and are so simplified as to be easily comprehended by the most ordinary teacher."(24.). An 1848 McGuffey Fourth Reader states, 40 By the questions, all the pupil knows, and sometimes more, will be put in requisition. This will not be unpleasant to those whose minds are sufficiently active and vigorous, to take delight in new efforts, and fresh acquisitions. It may even happen that some of the questions cannot be answered by the instructor. Still, there is nothing which an intelligent teacher of a "common school" might not be expected to learn, or easily acquire. Nothing is so well taught as what has been recently learned (26.). Even as late as 1872 a compiler realized that teachers may be deficient in the "analysis of the literaryicharacter . . . of the lessons"--an analysis which was aided through the use of notes on "the different kinds of composition, in both prose and poetry; the leading figures of speech; qualities of style, etc.’ The compiler writes that he believes "this feature of the work [the notes]--introduced in a very elementary way, and without at all interfering with the main design of the reading 1esson--will be of great value to the teacher, at least, in leading him to a more just appreciation of the character of the lessons, and to a better knowledge of the structure of the language" (76.). Certainly the low level of teacher training in general, and in the field of English particularly, inhibited the teaching of literature at the secondary level throughout much of the century. This deficiency, however, increases the importance of the reader itself and its pedagogical apparatus in determining the literary training and experience of nineteenth century Americans. An examination of literary training would not be complete without a discussion of the differences in the education of men and women. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the religious domination of the educational system caused girls to receive at least a rudimentary education, since Bible reading was a necessity for both sexes. Although girls were excluded from the preparatory Latin grammar 41 schools, a few coeducational or exclusively female academies were established in the late 17003. In the early nineteenth century, the daughters of the upper class received a secondary education to fit them for their social roles. As Witt points out, "one social requirement was an ability to make elegant conversation, and one approved subject of conversation was literature."96 While the "finishing" school for women survived, soon the middle class also became sufficiently affluent to send their daughters to school beyond the elementary level. The demand for a more practical education became evident. In addition, the aristocratic concept of a female education which consisted solely of instruction in subjects such as music, drawing, and other non-utilitarian arts became increasingly unpopular in a hardworking, democratic republic. A number of readers, for example, contain selections which criticize an ornamental education. Students read that "for a young woman to have been prOperly instructed in the management of a family, is far more essential to her than all the elegant arts on which so much time and expense are bestowed" (16.). Another selection states, daughters should, also, be thoroughly acquainted with the business and cares of a family. These are among the first objects of woman's creation; they ought to be made among the first branches of her education. She was made for a mother. They should learn neatness, economy, industry, and sobriety. These will constitute their ornaments. (8.) An article in Sanders Young_Ladies' Reader (1855) condemns the replacement of "housewifery" by "accomplishments" as the model of female education." A selection in the Young Ladies' Class Book (1831) expresses the fear that "to play, sing, dress, glide down the dance, 42 and get a husband is the lesson; not to be qualified to render his home quiet, well-ordered and happy," With an increasing emphasis on the nurture of the child, it became clear that the mother was the child's true first teacher, and that a child's character might well be molded before the child even reached school. Furthermore, women began to become teachers (an exten- sion of their maternal role) in great numbers. Catherine Beecher even recommended 97 that 31]; women enrolled in a secondary school take normal courses. In 1840, 61 percent of the public school teachers in Massachusetts were men, for example, while by 1865, this figure had dropped to 14 percent.98 The education of women was not dictated by the colleges, since the normal school was not considered to be "higher" education, and frequently was merely a course of study within the high school. Women, therefore, even if they planned to teach, did not take preparatory courses. Proper literary training was also considered to be especially crucial for women, because they were perceived to be the principal consumers of cheap, corrupting fiction. According to Persons, for example, "by the middle of the century, four—fifths of the hard-core reading public were women." 99 One reader contains an extract from an address delivered in 1858 at a meeting which was concerned with estab— lishing a Woman's Free Library in New York. The author, James T. Brady, summarizes his reasons for supporting the education of women: Women have been made teachers; they can be made teachers, or made to accomplish any thing for which intellect and education are required. But what if they cannot? Is it nothing to afford a poor girl the means of enlightening her mind, and elevating her character? Is it nothing to assist her in protecting herself from the corrupting influences of that cheap literature which teaches 43 her false views of society, of life, of ambition, and of des- tiny? (68.). Two other selections emphasize the importance of cultivating a moral literary taste. In a selection entitled "Conversation" the author emphasizes that knowledge, not merely an ornamental education, is necessary for true conversation. He adds "though it were denied that the acquisition of serious knowledge is of itself important to woman, still it prevents a taste for silly and pernicious works of imagination" (16.) An essay by Judge Story entitled "Female Educa- tion," however, teaches that the "refinement of literature adds luster to the devotion of piety. . . . There is not a rank of female society, however high, which does not now pay homage to literature, or that would not blush even at the suspicion of the ignorance, which, a half century ago, was neither uncommon nor discreditable" (25.). As Grizzell points out, "an important incentive to high school development throughout the period before the Civil war was the pro- vision of facilities for the higher instruction of girls."100 In an 1845 report Henry Barnard discusses the role of the high school in educating both sexes. He writes that such a course should give: to every young man a thorough English education, preparatory to the pursuits of agriculture, commerce, trade, manufactures, and the mechanical arts, and if desired, for college; and to every young woman, a well disciplined mind, high moral aims, and practi- cal views of her own duties, and those resources of health, thought, manners and conversation, which bless alike the highest and lowest stations in life.101 While boys and girls might attend the same school, it was assumed that both their mental capacities and their future roles were different. Even where girls studied Latin, for example, it generally 44 was not a college preparatory subject. The counterpart of the male debating society was the woman's literary society. A list of the literary subjects offered in female seminaries shows that literature was included in many of the programs for women. The course offerings of 162 female seminaries from 1742-1871 were examined. Of them the following subjects were offered, along with the number of times each subject appears. 119 Reading 43 Criticism 23 English Authors 16 English Literature 14 Analysis: English Authors and Poetry 13 History of American Literature 8 Belles Lettres 2 American Literature102 Most nineteenth century women with a secondary education had had significantly more literary training than the typical college- educated man. Furthermore, the literary training of women had concentrated less on the exercise of mental discipline through gram— matical or rhetorical analysis of literature, and more on appreciating the beauty of literary form and thought. Eventually this tradition was incorporated into the English programs for both sexes. 45 NOTES--CHAPTER I 1One of the first books on English teaching methods, published in 1903, contains the statement that "up to about 1876,...there was scarcely to be found, in the United States, any definite, well-organ- ized system of secondary instruction in the mother-tongue" (George R. Carpenter, Franklin T. Baker, and Fred N. Scott, The Teaching of English in the Elementaryyand the Secondary School, new ed. [New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1913], 188). Edna Hays concludes in her study that "English in the high schools before 1870 was a subject of little or no importance, irregularly scheduled, spasmodically and incidentally taught. No consensus of opinion existed regarding the content of the course, the length of time the study should be pursued, nor how or when it should be taught" (College Entrance Examinations in English, Contri- butions to Education, no. 675. [New York: Teachers College, Columbia Univ., 1936] 13-14). 2In The Development of High School Curricula in the North Central States from 1860-1918, Supplementary Educational Monographs vol. 3. no. 3 (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1921), p. 250. 3Edwin C. Broome, A Historical and Critical Discussion of College Admission Requirements, Contributions to Philosophy, Psychology and Education, nos. 3-4 (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1903), p. 57. 4Course of Study, Milton Academy, Milton, Mass., quoted in Peter Witt, "The Beginning of the Teaching of Vernacular Literature in the Secondary Schools of Massachusetts," Diss. Harvard Univ. 1968, p. 6. 5Arthur N. Applebee, Tradition and Reform in the Teaching of Eng- lish (Urbana, 111.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1974), pp. 5-6. 6Herbert G. Lull, Inherited Tendencies of Secondagy Instruction in the United States, University of California Publications in Educa- tion vol. 3, no.3 (April 1913). P. 196. 7"An Account of the School by Francis Gardner" in Report of the Boston School Committee 1867, in American Journal of Education 19, p. 491, quoted in Lull, p. 199. 8p. 130. Subsequent quotes from and references to readers in the study will be identified in the text by the number of the reader (see Bibliography) in parentheses following the reference, as (25.). 46 9Philip Lindsley, Works (1859), 53-4, quoted in Lull, p. 203. 10"What Branches Should be Included in an English Course of Study for the High School?" The Massachusetts Teacher 22 (Jan.l869), 42-3. 11G. Carpenter, p. 16. 12"English Literature in the Schools," The Massachusetts Teacher, 21(Jan. 1868), p. 2. 13 "English Literature," p. 11. 14Francis H. Underwood, "English Literature and Its Place in Popular Education," The Massachusetts Teacher, 25 (Oct. 1872), p. 419. 5Broome, p. 43. 16Stout, John E., The Development of High-School Curricula in the North Central States from 1860 to 1918, Supplementary Educational Mon- ographs, vol. 3, no. 3 (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1921), p. 56. l7Stout, p. 57. 18Applebee, p. 8. 19Applebee, p. 9. 20Russell B. Nye, Sociepy and Culture in America, 1830-1860, (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), pp. 140-41. 21Hays, p. 17. 22John Nietz, The Evolution of American Secondagy School Textbooks (Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle, 1966), p. 31. 23Nietz, Evolution, p. 35. 24Nietz, Evolution, p. 36. 25Nietz, Evolution, p. 39. Helen McDonnell Neel discusses liter- ary histories in "An Analysis of History of Literature Textbooks Used in American Secondary Schools Before 1900," Diss. Univ. of Pittsburgh 1954. 26While omitting advanced readers from his study of the growth of literature in nineteenth century Massachusetts schools, Witt notes that books such as Hilliard's Sixth Reader were often used in the lower grades of a high school and...were virtually literature texts" (Peter Witt, "The Beginnings of the Teaching of the Vernacular Literature in the Secondary Schools of Massachusetts," Diss. Harvard Univ. 1968, p. 208). 47 27Stout, p. 4 28Emit D. Grizzell, Origin and Development of the High School in New England Before 1865, (New York: Macmillan, 1923), p. 229. 29Grizzell, p. 290. 30Grizzell, p. 309. 31Grizzell, p. 236. 32Grizzell, p. 188. 33Grizze11, p. 234. 34"Course of Study," Thirty-Eighth Catalogue of the Officers and Students of the New Hampton Literary and Theological Institution, Fairfax, Vermont (Burlington: Free Press, 1863), p. 16. 35 Lull, p. 259. 36Hays, p. 3. 37Hays, p. 5. 38Hays, p. 9. 39 C. Carpenter, pp. 162-3. 40Quoted in Theodore Sizer, ed. The Age of the Academies (New York: Teachers College, Columbia Univ., 1964), p. 178. 42The American Journal of Education,l9 (1869), p. 463. 43G. Carpenter, p. 188. 44Sizer, p. 20. assizer, p. 31. 46Henry Barnard, American Journal of Education, 1 (1855), p. 368, quoted in Sizer, p. 12. 47Frederick M. Binder, The Age of the Common Schoolyy1830-l865 (New York: Wiley and Sons, 1974), p. 109. 48Elmer E. Brown, The Making of Our Middle Schools (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1902), p. 409. agsizer, p. 5. 48 SOSizer, pp. 9-10. 51 Stout, p. 249. 52Sizer, p. 13. 53Sizer, p. 18. 54Michael B. Katz, The Irony of Early School Reform (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1968), p. 120. 55Katz, p. 39. 56"Twenty-First Annual Report of the Massachusetts Board of Edu- cation together with the Twenty-First Annual Report of the Secretary of the Board," p. 66, quoted in Katz, p. 43. 57"Twenty-Eighth Annual Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education together with the Twenty-Eighth Annual Report of the Secre- tary of the Board,"pp. 83-4, quoted in Katz, p. 44. S8Applebee, p. 23. 59Lull, p. 218. 60With the exception of McGuffey, the compilers of the other'texts came from the East. Pierpont, Hilliard and Walker, for example, were from Boston, while Sanders and Town were from New York. 61Applebee, p. 23. 62Stow Persons, The Decline of American Gentiligy (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1973), p. 55. 63Underwood, pp. 413-14. 64Underwood, p. 413. 65Underwood, p. 413. 66 Jonathan B. Harris, "Certain Dangerous Tendencies in American Life," The Atlantic Monthly, 42, (Oct. 1878), p. 391. 67Harris, p. 393. 68Harris, p. 393. 69Harris, p. 398. 7OHarris, p. 399. 71Harris, p. 401. 72Harris, p. 401. 49 73Applebee, p. 24. 74Horace Scudder, "Literature in the Public Schools," Atlantic, 62 (Aug. 1888). P. 224. 7SScudder, p. 226. 76Scudder, p. 229. 77Scudder, p. 228. 78Scudder, p. 228. 79Scudder, p. 228. 80Scudder, p. 229. 818cudder, p. 229. 82James D. Hart, The Popular Book (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1963), p. 139. 83Broome , p. 77. 84Lu11, p. 220. 85Broome, p. 53. 6Broome, p. 58. 87Lu11, p. 188. 88Binder, p. 83. 89Stout, p. 50. 90Stout, p. 23. 916. Carpenter, p. 33. 920. Carpenter, pp. 34-5. 93Sizer, p. 29. 94Binder, p. 106. 95Grizzeu, p. 299. 96Witt, p. 38. 97Thomas Woody, A History of Woman's Education in the United States, (New York: The Science Press, 1929), 1:56-7. 50 98Katz, p. 12. 99Persons, p. 89. 100Grizzell, p. 124. 101Grizzell, p. 193. 02Woody, p. 563. CHAPTER II SECULARIZATION AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LITERATURE IN THE ADVANCED READER The religious domination of American education extended well into the nineteenth century. Until after the Revolution, schools often had been associated with a church, the clergy had approved the selec- tion of textbooks, and frequently were themselves teachers. Many immigrants brought textbooks with them, or imported them from Europe. These books were almost wholly religious in content, and in many cases the Bible itself was used as a reader. As late as 1831 the Annals of Education report that most children, when asked what they read in school, would respond, "'The English Reader'l; with perhaps the additional information, 'I read in that now and spell in the dictionary, but I used to read in the testament and spell in the spelling book.'"2 Elson points out that early in the century many spellers recommended the New Testament as a reader. After the Revolution, however, secularization of education, and of readers, began. Besides the constitutional separation of church and state, the rivalry among Protestant sects forced removal of religious tracts, hymns, prayers, and other religious material from readers. 51 52 Many states passed legislation prohibiting the inclusion of sectarian or doctrinare religious material in schoolbooks. The influence of non- religious EurOpean educators such as Pestalozzi, along with philosophical movements such as English deism4 helped to influence com- pilers to reduce drastically the amount of religious material they included. The professions of teaching and textbook writing also became secularized. Robinson concludes in his study that the "purely reli- gious" content of readers had disappeared by 1830, while Tingelstad writes that the period 1775-1825 was one of transition from religious to secular materials.5 As religion declined within the schools, other institutions assumed the function of religious education, such as the church- sponsored "Sunday school." By the 18403 the American Tract Society had assumed responsibility for the wide distribution of religious materials. Carl Bode notes in his study of pOpular culture that this organization, which produced three million tracts in 1840 and twelve million in 1855, was established in 1814 by Ebenezer Porter, a Massachusetts minister who also compiled readers (cf. 14.) and rhetorics.6 During this period of transition, compilers were sensitive to charges of both sectarianism and secularism. In the preface to the High School Reader (1832) Rev. J. Blake writes that in a community "like ours" there are: a great variety of tastes. . . . We have no umpire to originate canons, which reduce to a uniformity of sentiment, in literature and religion, such a discordant multitude as would be likely to manifest an interest in matters of this nature. . . . It is not proposed to vindicate one system of views, or denounce another. 53 In the Monitorial Reader (1839),7 Daniel Adams writes, "the influences will all be found on the side of virtue, morality, and, though last, not least, religion. Every thing sectarian is scrupulously avoided." Lyman Cobb also wants to avoid the sectarian, but not the religious. In his 1835 reader he writes, "nothing has been inserted which is sectarian, or in anywise calculated to offend the feelings of persons, of any denomination. Whenever religion is the topick, it is treated of in a serious manner, with an expression of its importance to man, without dictation to any one, in what particular manner he must worship, or what his creed must be" (12.). Many readers continued to include a number of Bible excerpts. An 1829 edition of The English Reader, for example, contains the statement that "the compiler has been solicitous to recommend to young persons, the perusal of the Sacred Scriptures, by interspersing through his work some of the most beautiful and interesting passages of those invaluable writings." In his 1831 Rhetorical Reader Ebenezer Porter writes that he had intended to include a "greater proportion of extracts from the Bible . . . both because it furnishes many of the best lessons for rhetorical reading; and because the book which, more than all others, is adapted to promote the sanctification and salva- tion of the young, has been too much neglected in all departments of education." The McGuffey series contained a higher percentage of religious material than other readers--as high as 30 percent in the 1837 and 1844 8 editions of the Fourth Reader, according to one researcher. In an 1853 edition of McGuffey's Newly Revised Rhetorical Guide two "testi- monials" emphasize that the religious content will offend no 54 denomination. The Rev. Dr. Biggs, President of Woodward College, writes about the readers that "while they are admirably adapted for instilling into the mind of the pupil pure religious principles, the author has happily avoided the introduction of any sectarian matter." Rev. Lyman Beecher adds, "they are excellent for educational purposes-- their religion is unsectarian, true religion-—their morality the morality of the Gospel. I commend this series to the Christian, the Teacher, and the Philanthropist." Given these endorsements, McGuffey includes not only essays on religion such as Channing's "Religion the ' and religious poetry such as Bryant's "God's only Basis of Society,’ First Temples," but Bible lessons like "Death of Absalom" and "Christ and the Blind Man." In the preface he states: From no source has the author drawn more capiously than from the Sacred Scriptures. For this certainly be apprehends no censure. In a Christian country, that man is to be pitied, who, at this day, can honestly object to imbuing the minds of youth with the language and the spirit of the word of God. Those who advocated literature as a means of acculturation sometimes favored a return to use of the Bible in schools. An 1870 editorial in The Massachusetts Teacher regrets that Catholics, Jews, and "unbelievers" demand the exclusion of the Bible from the public schools. He reminds his readers that "the founders of the common school system were men who believed in the Bible and loved it. . . . To the Bible itself it [the common school] owes its origin." The editorial ends with the statement that Bible reading in the schools would not be sectarian, but rather would emphasize "universal brotherhood." The author attempts to answer objections by stating, The child of the Jew may sometimes hear what he has been taught to regard as false; but he hears also the matchless songs of praise of the inspired psalmist, the wise sayings of his wisest king, and 55 the sublime utterances of ancient prophets. . . . The children of "theists" and "positivists" will sometimes hear "gross supersti- tions," but they will also hear the fiery eloquence of Paul, the loving words of John, the tender and winning tones of the Great Teacher drawing lessons from bird and flower, teaching by parable and life, bidding them seek those things which are pure and true, and live for God and man.9 Textbook compilers, however, realized that a return to Biblical and overtly religious selections would hurt their sales, especially in urban areas, where there were significant non-Protestant populations. The preface to an 1875 reader published in New York, for example, states, "the lessons of this reader are . . . of an unusually high moral and religious character; yet great care has been taken to omit every sentiment that might be offensive to the religious or political views of any citizen. The rights of all in our common schools have been carefully respected" (81.). As religious selections declined in readers, they were not immediately replaced by literary selections. Even though the early texts of Murray, such as his English Reader (1799) were popular and widely reprinted through midcentury, many compilers did not follow Murray's lead in using literature for reading selections. The English Reader consisted of selections in prose (divided into categories of narrative, didactic, argumentative, descriptive, pathetic, dialogue, public speeches, and miscellaneous pieces), and the work of various poets--among them Addison, Milton, Young, Cowper, Gray, and Pope. Although the two other compilers who had large sales before 1830-- Caleb Bingham and John Pierpont—-both included British and American literature in their readers, some other compilers chose more "useful" subjects to include in their series. 56 As Ruth Elson points out in her study, nineteenth century text- books reflect an orientation toward practical, applied knowledge rather than theoretical studies. She writes that, "the primary intellectual value embodied in nineteenth century American schoolbooks is that the only important knowledge is that which is 'useful.' The word 'knowledge' is so often preceded by the word 'useful' that it is clear that only such knowledge is approved and that it is the only kind of knowledge that a sound education provides."10 This emphasis on "useful knowledge" resulted in a number of specialized readers early in the century which included little or no literature. In 1824 Daniel Adams published the Agricultural Reader, with lessons on planting and domestic economy. The Historical Reader, by Rev. J. Blake, appeared in 1822, and was reprinted in many editions. In 1848 Swan published a forerunner to the "supplementary" texts of the 18908, entitled The Instructive Reader; or a Course of Reading in Natural Histopy, Science and Literature. It was designed for the upper grades, and taught mostly science. Swan defended it by arguing, "Many children are compelled, from various causes, to leave school before completing, or hardly ll commencing, a regular course of instruction upon these subjects." Others were written specifically for girls, such as The Young Ladies Class Book (1831), by Ebenezer Bailey, and Sanders' Young Ladies' Reader (1855), but these readers contained a greater percentage of literature than general readers. The most ambitious and radical specialized readers were the seven books of Marcius Willson, published in 1860. This series concentrated on the sciences, such as zoology and chemistry, along with miscellaneous areas such as sacred history and geometry. 57 Literary pieces were included which corresponded to the scientific area studied. In the preface to The Fifth Reader of the School and Family Series (1861) Willson explains, What better reading lesson could be given than the numerous poetical extracts which are used to illustrate the lessons in BOTANY, where we find such gems as . . . Emerson's "Rhodora," . . . and Longfellow's tribute to "The Drifting Seaweed"? . . . And where can be found better reading exercises to illustrate and give interest to PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY . . . [than] . . . Coleridge's "Valley of Chamouni" . . . [or] Byron's descriptions of "the Ocean" . . . ? It is only when the subjects to which they refer are understood that such pieces are duly appreciated. Willson's readers were only moderately successful, however, and literature was eventually to become the undisputed content of advanced readers, while the sciences obtained their own texts and classes. Willson did modify his readers such that an 1872 edition of The Fifth Reader of the United States Series contains 264 pages of general literary material. But, the preface states: "For the purpose of ren- dering it possible for some general knowledge of the INSECT WORLD to be acquired in all schools which use a Reader of the present grade, the last forty-eight pages of the work are devoted to a brief exposition of this subject." Other series included non-literary material in a less organized manner, while still others also used notes to supply factual data. Sander's School Reader; Fifth Book (1859) contains a preface statement that the literary selections are enhanced, by throwing in timely Notes, Definitions and Suggestions, designed to give force and interest to the lessons, by explaining such matters as are likely to be misunderstood, or altogether unknown by the generality of pupils. In this way, moreover, is imparted a large amount of information, historical, geographical, biographical, and miscellaneous. 58 Even writers who advocated literary study sometimes saw the learning of facts as a legitimate end of literary study. An 1881 journal article entitled "Teaching English" states that English embodies "the richest, purest literature in the world," and that earnest study of this literature "will bring the highest reward in useful knowledge, moral training, and intellectual power."12 Literature had to compete with "useful" subjects such as science, history, geography, and agriculture, although many were argu- ing that compared to the study of classical literature, English and American literature were practical subjects. To succeed in being considered the appropriate subject for teaching reading and elocution, it was necessary to show a corresponding usefulness in exercising and strengthening the mental powers and in teaching the same kinds of moral virtues which the religious selections included in the early readers had taught. The structure provided by grammar, elocution, rhetoric, and literary history enabled students to use literature as an exercise in mental discipline, but imaginative literature was still a morally questionable subject. Compilers chose to interpret the term "literature" very broadly. As late as 1873, for example, a reader enumerated the kinds of writers whose works were thought to be apprOpriate to readers and which were frequently classified as "literature." The compiler wrote in the preface that the selections are "the choicest productions of the most eminent English and American authors, lawyers, orators, statesmen, and divines" (78.). 59 While frequently emphasizing that their readers contain "elegant" literature, compilers eschewed the term "fiction." In the American Preceptor (1821) Caleb Bingham states that, "convinced of the impropriety of instilling false notions into the minds of children, the author has not given place to romantic fiction. . . . Tales of love have not gained admission." In the preface to The Select Reader (1836) Oliver Angell writes that he has "not admitted, to any extent, the captivating tales of fiction, however well written. These, though they may interest, are by no means the most profitable reading for those just entering the threshold of maturity." A Quaker committee in New Jersey in 1845 objected to the "inclusion of fiction" in readers,13 and as late as 1857 a reader contained the statement that "pieces which contain some valuable thought or inculcate some noble and virtuous sentiment, if written in an easy and attractive style, will be no less interesting to the young mind, and will be read a second and a Ehigd time with far more pleasure and profit, than those which consist of mere story or fiction, or sickly sentimentalism" (49.). Not only were students capable of being led astray, but fiction was also a dangerous trap for teachers, especially if they were women. An 1849 Massachusetts Teacher article entitled "Fictitious Reading an Injury to Teachers" warns that a "young lady who expects to teach, should pause and reflect before she indulges a fondness for the reading of Romance."14 The author fears, as did Horace Mann, that the reader's response to fictional situations will affect her ability to cope with real ones. For example, the teacher who has read of Jane Eyre's school teaching and her subsequent reunion with Rochester will find, upon entering her own classroom, that "disgust and disappointment 60 will speak out in every feature." The author then posed a question: "A novel-reading Christian teacher,-—Is there one such?" The real source of worry, the author revealed, was the inundations of "yellow "15 The teacher of covered literature of every variety of pretension. "immortal minds" had to stand steadfastly against this flood, not indulge in it herself. To some, it was not merely the reading of fiction alone which was dangerous--but the reading of gny book. A number of reader selec- tions emphasize the possibility of being corrupted by an evil book to the extent that a tainted book seems to take on a life of its own. An essay in one reader warns, "in the choice of books, be as careful as you would be in the choice of companions, and touch no book that you would not wish to be seen reading" (83.). Another selection warns, let nothing tempt you to read a bad book, of any kind. It is better not to read at all, than to read bad books. A bad book, it is truly said, is the worst of thieves; it robs us of time, money, and principles"(32.). In one reader an excess of reading itself, regardless of subject, was said to be unhealthy. The author states that "a man may as well expect to grow stronger by always eating, as wiser by always reading. Too much overcharges nature, and turns more into disease than nourishment" (38.). To others, however, the capacity to read was a divine gift which helped man to improve himself and gain salvation. A selection entitled "Advantages of Reading" contends, It is the glory of man, that the creator has made him capable of endless improvement in knowledge, virtue and happiness. . . . Among these means [of improvement] books hold a prominent place. They are indeed our principal instructors, and perhaps do more in 61 the formation of our intellectual and moral habits, than all other means combined (18.). The author then points out that some books have "a positively pernic- ious tendency," and recommends to the young reader history, especially American; biography; natural science, which reveals "the beauty, order and harmony, which characterize the works of God"; and the Bible itself. A number of people advocated both general reading and the reading of literature in particular as producing moral and intellectual benefits. They continued to support the teaching of literature in the schools. They suggested that if literature could capture the mind and heart so completely as to defile "the imagination with what is loath- some," and to shock "the heart with what is monstrous" (18.), then it followed that if properly taught, literature might have the Opposite effect. Fiction which was true in spirit and philosophy (although it might contain imaginary characters and events) and could, they argued, produce goodness and virtue. An article entitled "Reciprocal Influence of Literature and Morals" denounces the "seducing refinement" of accomplished writers like Moore and Byron who are able through the powers of fancy and taste to "blend associations in the mind, which disguise the original nature ' and thus corrupt the heart. It continues, however, of moral qualities,’ "although I have illustrated the moral influence of literature, principally from its mischiefs, yet it is obvious, if what I said be just, it may be rendered no less powerful, as a means of good"(18.). In an essay by Henry Rogers, the ability of literature both to 62 ennoble and to corrupt is illustrated by a description of the counten- ance of a solitary reader poring over his favorite author, now knitting his brow over a difficult argument, and deriving at once discipline and knowledge by the effort; now relaxing into smiles and pathos; and, in either case, the subject of emotions which not only constitute the mood of the moment, but, in their measure, cooperate to the formation of those habits which issue in character and conduct; now yielding up some fond illusion to the force of truth, and anon betrayed into another by the force of sophistry; now rebuked for some vice or folly, and binding himself with renewed vows to the service of virtue; and now sympathizing with the too faithful delineation of vicious passions and depraved pleasures, and strengthening by one more rivet the dominion of evil over the souli (60.) The fact that Biblical parables are in a sense "fictitious" helped fiction to gain respectability. The following quote from Catherine M. Sedgwick's Means and Ends appears in an 1856 article in The American Journal of Education: Every well educated young person who has leisure for reading, should be well versed in English literature. . . . In the wide department of fictitious writing, let your consciences restrain and direct your inclination, and rectify your taste. . . . When our Saviour employed fiction in the parables of the prodigal son, and of the good Samaritan, it was, no doubt, to give to an impor- tant truth, a form that should be universally interesting and touching. Few will object to your reading such fictitious writing as do good to your hearts; and while you have such as Sir Walter Scott's, and Miss Edgeworth's, you have no excuse for reading the profligate and romantic novels of the last century, or the no less profligate and far more insidious romances of the present day (16.). An article by George B. Emerson, himself a reader compiler, makes the same point in an 1852 Massachusetts Teacher article: Let us not be afraid of fiction, in prose or rhyme. From the earliest times, fiction has been one of the chosen vehicles of the highest instruction; and our Saviour himself has, in his parables, consecrated it to instruction in divine things. A good novel or romance is one of the best relaxations possible for the over-worked brain. What more delightful than the amiable extrava— gences and exaggerations of Dickens, with his true pathos and sympathy, and warm love of human nature, and his protest against Oppression in every form, . . . What more restorative than to forget ourselves and all our troubles, while transported to the 63 scene of the tournament at Ashby de la Zouche, or the conflict of heroes by the Diamond of the Desert. Only let us take care not to degrade the imagination, which should be the handmaiden of pure and ennobling thoughts and, by reading the vile trash which comes to us from over the water, make her the panderer of brutalizing appetite. The faculties of taste and imagination came to be viewed in the same light as other mental powers, which could be strengthened through exercise. While they did not express their ideas with the refinement of the postwar educators who called for the teaching of literature as a vehicle for culture, early compilers were certain that their reading exercises, even those which contained imaginative literature, could also be exercises in virtue. Murray's English Reader, for example, was intended to "inculcate some of the most important principles of piety and virtue." Reader compilers wrote that courses in reading were perhaps the most important ones in inculcating morality. For example, Cobb's Sequel (1832) emphasizes "the influence of school exercises in the formation of young minds is very great, and perhaps that influence does not operate with more force in any department of education than through the medium of lessons for exercise in reading." Compilers did not feel that morals were relative or tentative-~they were, instead, obvious and easily stated. Daniel Adams's Monitorial Reader (1839) contains "a series of exercises relating to what concerns the practical matters of Life--truth, integrity, honesty, industry, temperance, forethought, frugality, [and] patient endurance of adversity. . . ." If the schools were to teach a commonly agreed upon set of Virtues, then the teacher became a moral as well as an intellectual 64 guide. S. G. Goodrich writes in the preface to his Fourth School Reader (1846) that: the importance of moral culture, as a part of school education, is beginning to be felt. Virtue is now considered as a profession, in which we should all be established and perfected by early appren- ticeship; so that, at mature years, we may become expert journeyman, and at last successful master workmen. If this volume should go into the hands of teachers, I could wish that they might especially use it as an instrument of moral instruction. Charles Sanders states the prevalent attitude succinctly in an 1859 preface: "every course of reading is, in an important sense, a course of instruction in taste and morals" (52.). Throughout the period studied, compilers made it clear that morality was a primary consideration and literary excellence a secondary one (although most agreed that by definition great literature embodied moral truths). An 1848 McGuffey reader contains the following statements in an advertisement for the Rhetorical Guide: "Perhaps a collection of more brilliant and sterling gems of literature does not exist. . . . Mere literary merit, however, has by no means been con- sidered sufficient to entitle any article to a place in its pages. Adaptedness to use, as a rhetorical exercise, and purity of moral tendency, have been deemed no less necessary." It is only after planting the "precious seeds of virtue" and supplying the "means of moral culture," to further "enrich the mind with useful knowledge, [and] make it familiar with noble sentiments and elegant diction," Sanders writes, that his New School Reader (1860) "brings the pupil in communion with many of those master spirits that have, by their works, most adorned and elevated English Literature." The preface to Sanders' Young Ladies' Reader (1855) states that in "the selection of matter . . . the first and highest duty . . . was to secure in each 65 piece the best possible moral tendency." Webb's Model Fourth Reader (1876) is "more than a mere Reader. It is designed to help train and mold the children into intelligent, earnest, noble men and women." The necessity for training the heart as well as the head hindered the application of a purely esthetic standard to the litera- ture included in readers. Moral education was considered to be a more important function of the schools than intellectual instruction. Lyman Cobb, for example, writes in the preface to the New North American Reader (1844) that Believing that, simply to teach children to read or enunciate correctly, by which the intellect only is improved, is of very small importance in comparison with the inculcation of moral principles, the author has taken great pains to select such pieces as will have a tendency to improve the heart as well as the head; for, the youth of our country cannot enjoy the blessings of our free institutions or aid in perpetuating them, unless they are morally as well as intellectually educated. In a selection entitled "The Vanity and Glory of Literature" the author is confident in the moral progress of the present age, pointing out that when the world approximates to that state of religious and moral elevation which Christianity warrants us to anticipate,-—many a production which a licentious age has pardoned for its genius will be thrown aside in spite of it. In that day, if genius rebelliously refuse, as it assuredly will not,--for the highest genius has not even hitherto refused,-- to consecrate itself to goodness, the world will rather turn to the humblest productions which are instinct with virtue, than to the fairest works of genius when polluted by vice. In a word, the long idolatry of intellect which has enslaved the world will be broken; and that world will perceive that, bright as genius may be, virtue is brighter still. In the preface to his First Class Reader (1832) B. D. Emerson writes that literature must not only be well-written, but must contain either "useful knowledge" or virtuous thought: 66 Purity of sentiment, blended with that which may inform the under- standing, while at the same time it interests the heart, is indispensable. The fascinations of melody and rhythm, "the sounding period and the well turned line," are often to be resisted, in order to comply with the rigid construction of this rule. In a word, each extract should contain some useful truth, either of a moral or scientific nature; something of more importance than the mere amusement of a passing hour. To many, there was no sure connection between intellect and virtue. For example, George Hilliard (a man of letters and a reader compiler himself), wrote in a reader selection that he was well aware that there is no inevitable connection between intel- lectual cultivation, on the one hand, and individual virtue or social well-being, on the other. "The tree of knowledge is not the tree of life." . . . But it is no overstatement to say, that, other things being equal, the man who has the greatest amount of intellectual resources is in the least danger from inferior temptations,-- if for no other reason, because he has fewer idle moments. . The same question is explored in an article in The Massachusetts Teacher of 1860 entitled, "Has Purely Intellectual Culture a Tendency to Promote Good Morals?"l8 'The author concludes that intellectual growth complements moral growth, but cannot be relied upon alone to produce morality. This emphasis on the heart over the head was also compatible with the elocutionary aspect of most readers. In Russell's Yogpg Ladies' Elocutionary Reader (1845) Heman's poem "Flowers, The Gift of Divine Benignity" has the following note: "When the 'Reader' is used in classes, the teacher will render a valuable assistance to the pupils, by questioning them on the nature of the emotion which characterizes every sentence successfully. The emotion is, universally, the kgy to the reading, in every particular; and, to become fully Egagg of the emotion, is the first step towards true style in elocution." Tower and Walker note, "we are not wholly made up of intellect. . . . In many 67 cases, the end of speaking is, not to make us believe, but to make us feel. In such cases, it is the heart, and not the head, which is to be addressed" (24.). The person who cannot respond emotionally to a piece of writing or to a speech is scorned. One reader selection states, "he who can read without rapture [an eloquent passage] may have merit as a reasoner, but must resign all pretensions to taste and sensibility" (12.)- Despite various forms of opposition, literature did become the accepted content of readers. According to a study by Vincent Davis (see Table l), the percentage of "literary material," broadly inter— preted in advanced readers, increased from 47.5 percent between 1821 and 1830 to 66.7 percent by the last decade of the present study, 19 1871-1880. The vast majority of compilers and educators realized that they could not prevent students from reading literature, especially as advances in printing made fiction in the form of books, magazines, and newspapers readily available. The task of the schools then became the training and develop- ment of the faculty of taste, so that students would be able to discriminate for themselves between evil and virtuous writing. For example, an 1847 reader contains a selection on "What Young Ladies Should Read," by Lydia Sigourney, which states: works of imagination usually predominate in the libraries of young ladies. To condemn them in a mass, as has been sometimes done, is hardly just. Some of them are the productions of the finest minds, and abound with the purest sentiments. Yet, dis- crimination, with regard to them, is exceedingly important, and such discrimination as a novice cannot exercise. The young should therefore ask guidance of an experienced and cultivated mind, and devote to this class of reading, only a moderate portion of time, as to a recreation (25.). 68 An 1851 article in The Massachusetts Teacher states that reciting poetry improves literary taste: "if one must read works of fiction, the author writes, "it is no small favor to be able to appreciate the difference between the pages of Sir Walter Scott and the common trash of these day8.JK) An 1872 article in the same journal consists of the "Last words of a course of lectures to the older classes of the Boston Girls' High School and Normal School." The author emphasizes that good literary taste requires effort to acquire: "it is just as much by training and study that you learn to appreciate and distinguish good from bad in Literature as that you learn Arith- metic and Geometry." She continues, "I want you to be able, when you see a copy of verses in the newspaper, to tell whether it is beautiful poetry or silly trash; and to be able to prefer for your reading the manly or womanly thought of a good magazine, to the silly nonsense of a journal of the fashions." Imaginative literature could also serve a moral Purpose if it was written in a "pure" style. A prevalent nineteenth century associationist psychology attitude held that there was a relationship between good writing (purity of diction, tone, etc.) and good (i.e., pure, elevated) thinking. An essay in the Journal of the Proceedipgs of the National Educational Association for 1870 states, for example, that "purity of language expresses and aids clearness of thought: vulgarity, profanity, coarseness, carelessness in language deepen the characteristics they express."22 A8 Judy points out, this reverses the notion that grammar is a result of reasoning, and suggests "that grammar is an 'aid' to correct'thinking."23 This idea led compilers to state that their readers contained, "the best specimens of style, 69 to insure interest in the subjects, to impart valuable information, and, especially, to exert a decided and healthy moral and religious influence" (63.). Although separate works of fiction were often banned, readers which contained excerpts from these same works frequently were permit- ted. Witt reports that Master Stickney of the Boylston Grammar School of Boston was fired for reading The Merchant of Venice to his students, even though Pierpont's First-Class Book, which was used in reading classes, contained many excerpts from Shakespeare?" As late as 1854, the library at Phillips Academy contained no Dickens, Cooper, or Scott.25 Out of thirteen readers published during the previous decade, however, three contained selections by Dickens and Cooper, and six by Scott. Although the book list of the district school libraries proposed by the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1840 contained no fiction or poetry, 26 the readers used in Massachusetts schools much earlier in the century contained both these genres. Apparently a book entitled "Reader" was not scrutinized as closely as one called "fiction" or "literature" would have been. Proponents of the study of literature for both cultural and purely literary reasons became more vocal after 1850, especially in educational journals. While readers increasingly emphasized the literary qualities of their selections, a relatively early reader, Tower's North American First Class Reader (1848) articulates clearly and at length the argument for including literature. That purely literary study, however, is not yet acceptable is indicated by the fact that these remarks appear under "Principles of Elocution.‘ Tower writes: 70 But what use can a teacher of high accomplishments, of deep and earnest purpose, make of a book containing selections recommended on the ground that they are adapted to the capacity of the child; selections from silly story-books, from periodicals and pamphlets abounding in a plentiful lack of thought, from annuals filled with the unstudied productions on an everyday feeling, and effusions of an empty mind? . . . . . . it cannot be denied that the selections in many reading books used in our schools are such as will dwarf and stultify the child . . . . . . instead of laying before him what is bad in taste, loose in style, faulty in construction, and wanting in sense . . . why not at once introduce him to the best specimens of English litera- ture. . . . . . . as will act on the mind of the reader, and cause the reader's mind to act upon itself; as will exercise the feelings, the fancy, the affections, the intelligence anew on each perusal, and at the same time will no more weary contemplation than the most beautiful and sublime scenes of the universe will tire the sight? While Tower's book does contain many selections of literary merit, it also includes a fifty-six page elocutionary preface, and six pages on "prefixes and postfixes." Through the end of the period studied, no compiler stated that the study of literature was his sole or central aim. A number of reader compilers added biographical notes to their selections, however, in order to compete with histories of literature, although they main- tained their emphasis on oral reading. For example, Parker and Watson's National Fifth Reader (1857) contains not only instruction and exercises in reading and declamation, but also notes in its subtitle that it is "adapted to the use of students in English and American Literature." The preface goes on to explain that the book contains the "choicest gems" of the works of "many authors, ancient and modern, . . . on both sides of the Atlantic." While the book fulfills the traditional functions of a reader--to "inform the understanding, improve the taste, and cultivate the heart," it also contains "biographical, historical, 71 classical, orthoepical, and miscellaneous" notes to render it a book of reference. Its function as a literary history is indicated by the statement that for students "who have not leisure to peruse voluminous memoirs of distinguished men," the compilers have introduced: concise Biographical Sketches of authors from whose works extracts have been selected, and of persons whose names occur in the Reading Exercises. These sketches, presenting a clear and distinct outline of the life, and producing a clear and distinct impression of the character, furnish an amount of useful . . . information rarely surpassed by memoirs of greater extent and pretensions. Lists of the names of authors, both alphabetical and chronological, have also been introduced, thus rendering this a convenient textbook for students in English and American Literature. Sanders' Rhetorical Reader (1862) is subtitled, "with notes and sketches, literary and biographical, forming together a brief, though comprehensive course of instruction in English Literature." Its pre- face contains the similar statement that "the book is, indeed, a sort of History of Literature. Here . . . will be found . . . numerous original sketches of literary character." Other textbook compilers apparently realized that the market for advanced readers was still much greater than that for literary his- tories. While they note the literary excellence of their selections, they continue to emphasize their function as (oral) reading books. For example, Richard Edwards writes that while many of the selections of his Analytical Fifth Reader (1867) are "marked by high excellence as literary productions," his aim is not "to present a compendium of English literature," but rather "to teach young persons to appreciate and to read good English." The preface to Monroe's Sixth Reader (1872) is equally clear: . . the primary purpose of a reading-book is to teach the art of reading. It is not intended to be a cyclopedia of facts, 8 book of history or of science, nor even a perfect compendium 72 of literature. Its selections must be such as are adapted for school drill . . . but a small proportion of scientific or even purely literary works . . . afford anything suitable for this purpose." Monroe goes on to explain that the function of the literature in the book is to aid in oral and written expression, to provide models of style, and to supply "gems of thought and sentiment." These selections aid in forming the character of the student. He adds that if students who master the Sixth Reader "desire to make a further or more systematic study of English literature, such a compilation as Underwood's Handbook will be found excellent for that purpose." Hilliard and Sprague also stress that the aim of their Franklin Sixth Reader and Speaker (1874) is to be a "good reading-book," while they will make students familiar with "some of the treasures of English and American literature as far as to do so is consistent with their one great aim." Sheldon's Fifth Reader (1875) notes in its preface that "the object of a Reading-Book is to aid in teaching children to read" (by which they mean, of course, 2531 reading, since they point out the lesson "afford variety in style and delivery"). Nevertheless they emphasize that the selections are from "the most celebrated authors" and are "the best models of excellence in point of literary merit, and, as far as possible, such selections as impart valuable instruction." Even some readers which are clearly literary anthologies main- tain that they are reading books. Cathcart's Literary Reader (1874) is an extreme example. In form it is an anthology of British and American literature, complete with biographical and literary sketches and a dictionary of authors. Although its format reflects the traditional 73 practice of excerpting, the reader does contain some longer pieces, such as a seven-page passage from Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Nevertheless, Cathcart writes, The compiler of this work has not designed to make a compendium of English Literature, but to provide the means of acquiring a fair knowledge of that literature, for those who may not be able to procure a regular course Of study on the subject . . . the book is intended to fill the place usually occupied by the "Sixth" or "Advanced" Reader. . . . this work is primarily intended for the use of schools, as a textbook by the use of which the learner may acquire, simul- taneously, proficiency in reading, and no inconsiderable familiarity with what may be called the headlands of English literature. He goes on to discuss the place of literature in the general curriculum: In the ordinary catalogue of common-school studies literature, practically, holds but a humble place: its value to the mass of scholars has been under-estimated, and it has been esteemed a branch of knowledge really useful only to the few who aspire to a "liberal education." Public sentiment has fortunately undergone a change touching this matter, within a few years. Cathcart affirms the traditional values of literature: it forms charac- ter, it is an expression of national character, and it teaches history. Wetson's Indgpendent Sixth Reader (1877) also contains a high percentage of literary selections, and similarly points out that While the main aim is to present elocution, "both as a science and as an art," and to serve as a companion to grammar, rhetoric and English composition texts, it also "shall give to the great mass of students, who do not aspire to belles-lettres, a love for the pure, beautiful, and invigorating elements in literature, which, while elevating the soul, promote healthful mental growth." In two of the McGuffey advanced readers revised in 1879 there is the acknowledgment that "comparatively few pupils have the Opportunity of making a separate study of English and American literature" (90.). The revised readers, however, contain biographical notes "hardly of less value than the 74 lessons themselves" which "supply information usually obtained only by the separate study of . . . literature" (91.). The compilers, then, realize that a great many more students are enrolled in reading courses than in history of literature courses. By the introduction of biographical and historical notes, however, many compilers succeeded in having their readers adopted in both reading and literary history courses. The moralizing of compilers in reader prefaces and the emphasis upon virtue in a majority of selections may seem excessive to the twentieth century observer. If compilers had not continued the ethical traditions established in the early religious readers, however, non- literary subjects might have supplanted literature as the accepted content of readers. If they subordinated literary excellence to moral standards, it was because the public was not ready to accept the esthetic study of literature as a valid classroom subject. Educators believed that the study of literature could teach practical skills such as good speaking and writing and the correct use of grammar and rhetoric. Compilers realized that unless they could prove literature to be practical, their readers would not sell. This traditional view of literature as an ethical and useful study con- tinued throughout the century. Later compilers and educators emphasized culture instead of morality, but they believed as strongly as the early clergy-compilers that literature could elevate the morality and conduct of its readers. To the postwar businessman, literature which would teach his employees such virtues as honest, hard work and obedience and which would "refine and cultivate" the literary 75 sensibilities of his own children (and give them the badge of cultural respectibility associated with literature) was extremely "useful." NOTES--CHAPTER II 1Lindley Murray's English Reader was published in 1799, with a Seguel in 1801 and an Introduction in 1805. It was the most popular reader of the early decades, and continued its dominance in some areas until midcentury. 2Quoted in R. R. Reeder, The Historical Development of School Readers and Methods of Teaching Reading (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1900), 144. 3Ruth Miller Elson, Guardians of Tradition (Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1964), p. 41. 4R. R. Robinson, Two Centuries of Change in the Content of School Readers (Nashville: George Peabody College for Teachers, 1930), p. 15. 5Oscar A. Tingelstad, "The Religious Element in American School Readers," Diss. Univ. of Chicago 1913, quoted in Vincent Davis, "The Literature of the Advanced School Readers in the U.S.: 1785-1900," Diss. Univ. of Chicago 1934, p. 28. 6Carl Bode, The Anatomy of American Popular Culture; 1840-1861 (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1959), p. 133 7Statements made in the reader prefaces are acknowledged by the reader number immediately following the reference, as (16.), since the prefaces consistently appear on unnumbered pages immediately following the title page. 8Raymond G. Hughes, "An Analysis of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth McGuffey Readers," Diss Univ. Of Pittsburgh 1943, quoted in John Nietz, 01d Textbooks (Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1961), p. 54. 9"The Bible and the Public Schools," The Massachusetts Teacher,22 (March 1870), 104. 10Elson, p. 222. 11William D. Swan, The Instructive Reader (1848), in John Nietz, Old Textbooks (Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1962), p. 86. 12 A. B. Stark, "Teaching English," Education 1 (May 1881), 492. 76 77 13Robinson, p. 31. 14"Fictitious Reading an Injury to Teachers," The Massachusetts Teacher, 2 (1849), 248. 15"Fictitious Reading," p. 250. 16T. H. Vail, ed., "Hints on Reading," American Journal of Education, 2 (Aug. 1856), 329. 17George B. Emerson, "Address Before the Late Teachers' Institu- tion, Boston," The Massachusetts Teacher, 5 (1860), 370-74. l8"Has Purely Intellectual Culture a Tendency to Promote Good Morals?" The Massachusetts Teacher, 13 (1860), 370-74. 19Davis, pp. 149-54. 20"Recitation of Poetry," The Massachusetts Teacher, 4 (Jan. 1851), 134. 21A. W. P., "English Literature," The Massachusetts Teacher, 25 (Dec. 1872), 503. 22Stephen N. Judy, "The Teaching of English Composition in Amer- ican Secondary Schools, 1850-1893," Diss.Northwestern Univ. 1967," p. 117. 23Judy, p. 117. 2"Peter Witt, "The Beginnings of the Teaching of Vernacular Lit- erature in the Secondary Schools of Massachusetts," Diss. Harvard Univ. 1968, pp. 32-3. 25Witt, p. 19. 26Witt, p. 20. CHAPTER III CHARACTERISTICS AND ASSESSMENT OF THE ADVANCED READER Since the majority Of nineteenth century teachers had minimal preparation and were responsible for a large number of various subjects and students, they relied heavily on the textbook for both the content and structure of their courses. The uniformity which advanced readers achieved and maintained after midcentury indicates that most teachers and parents found their format acceptable. After the end of the war, however, a number of writers in educational journals began to criticize the standard features of the advanced readers. In his study of the teaching of English composition during the latter half of the nineteenth century, Professor Stephen Judy discusses the differing perspectives of journal writers and textbook compilers. He points out that although journal articles were written by school superintendents, principals, and teachers, "it is clear that with few exceptions, these writers were not representative of most of the people in the schools. They seem to represent, as do the journal writers of any period, a sort of educational elite; they are 'the 78 79 informed,' the advanced guard, who, through private study and reading, work well ahead of accepted educational practice."1 During the eighties and nineties many of these educational innovators published literary readers or anthologies containing com- plete literary selections which were treated as literature, not as elocutionary or grammatical exercises. Horace Scudder, for example, published American Prose, a textbook containing an introduction and notes with selections from Hawthorne, Irving, Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, Thoreau, and Emerson, which was highly praised in a review article by William Dean Howells.2 In 1895 Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard and an advocate of literature teaching, compiled a set of readers called the Heart of Oak series in which even the lower numbers were made up of literature. By 1888 Scudder felt free to criticize almost every aspect of the readers--brevity of selections, excerpting, and adapting. He condemned the use of reading selections as exercises in elocution or grammar or as vehicles for knowledge, ethics, and patriotism. He disapproved their lack of literary standards, and recommended that schools turn away from "that cheap, commonplace, fragmentary American literature of our school textbooks, which has so long done disservice, to that inspiriting, noble, luminous, and large-hearted American literature which waits admission at the doors of our school houses."3 Most of the reader compilers during the century, however, adopted a less progressive, more imitative policy. As Judy again points out, one might suppose that the texts would represent the same group of educators [as the journals did], the writers presumably adopting new ideas and techniques and transmitting them to the school. To 80 an extent this seems to have been true. . . . But more often than not, textbook writers appear to have looked toward their predeces- sors, to older textbooks, rather than the journals, and in contrast to the journals, the textbooks seem highly conservative. The example of the failure of two literary texts, Rickard and Orcutt's Class-Book and Hilliard's Reader (to be discussed later in the chapter), was enough to convince most compilers to ignore the call for the teaching of literature as literature. To appreciate the contrasting attitudes of journal writers and compilers, one must recognize the difference between nineteenth century readers and contemporary high school anthologies. To the modern examiner, the most striking feature of the advanced readers is their short excerpts or selections which usually consist of no more than two to three pages, or 500 to 1500 words. When a longer piece occasionally is included, it is broken into two or three parts. While poetry was the dominant literary form of the period, even longer poems were abbreviated, and a popular feature of many readers was a thematic selection of "Elegant Extracts"--often a few lines or a stanza from a number of poems. Short prose selections were more difficult to obtain. B. D. Emerson states the problem he faces in the preface to The Second-Class Reader (1833). He writes that selections "whose style is at the same time easy, perspicuous and unaffected . . . are not abundant even at the present day. . . . it is difficult to find . . . passages complete in themselves, and sufficiently short to be introduced into a reading book." Typically selections were taken from longer prose works--the introduction of an essay, the exordium of a speech, a paragraph of description from a sketch, or a scene from a play. Short works, such 81 as Irving's "The Wife" or "The Broken Heart," from The Sketch Book, were sometimes printed in full, while in other readers only a few paragraphs were used. There are many reasons for this brevity. First, since many lessons were to present one simple, didactic moral or message, or to illustrate a single point of elocution, grammar, or style, only a brief passage was necessary. Each selection was intended as a daily lesson, and had to be short enough for students to memorize it. The excerpts may also have been intended to imitate the length of chapters of the Bible, or to avoid the appearance of a novel. The brevity of selections was consistent with prevalent educational methods of breaking a subject such as grammar into its smallest parts, and dealing with each part separately. The overwhelming consideration, however, seems to have been the suitability of selections for oral reading and declaiming. In The Rhetorical Reader (1835) Porter writes that "for the purpose of improvement in elocution, a piece of four or five minutes, is better than one of fifteen." In the Progressive Fourth Reader (1856) Osgood states that exercises in articulation need occupy no more than three to four minutes. An 1856 article in the American Journal of Education lists a number of questions to be asked as a "Mode of Ascertaining Conditions of a School." Under the "Reading" heading one of the questions asks, "Is the portion assigned of such moderate length as to allow of its being read three or four times at each lesson?"5 Apparently nineteenth century reader compilers, accustomed to the sentences or brief paragraphs used in rhetorics or grammar books, did not consider literary selections of one or two pages to be 82 excessively brief. Emerson writes in his Second Class Reader (1832), for example, "it has been the aim of the compilers to give every lesson a degree of unity and completeness; so that it might be rather a whole, than a fragment. Mere detached sentences, the understanding of which presupposes an acquaintance with their preceding and subsequent connections, have been studiously rejected." In his reader Emerson uses selections of 500 to 1000 words. The impact of journal articles calling for the study Of longer, entire literary works may have been felt during the seventies, as some compilers began to include longer selections. The elocutionary style also seems to have changed. The preface to Watson's Independent Sixth Rggdgg (1877), for example, contains the statement, "believing that the essentiality of a good reading, either in prose or verse, calls for a profound and enduring, as well as brilliant or vivid effect--a result never secured by undue brevity--specia1 efforts have been made to present selections of suitable length." In most instances, compilers did not indicate that selections were excerpts from longer works. Frequently stanzas from a poem were omitted without an indication of ellipsis. Porter, for example, notes in his prefade that, "to attain brevity in each Exercise, the connexion of the writer has sometimes been broken by omissions longer or shorter, without notice; the mention of which fact in this manner, I hope may be sufficient, without further apology" (14.). A number of other compilers follow the same practice. In Town's Fourth Reader (1848) the following stanza was omitted from the middle of Bryant's "Thanatopsis": 83 And, lost each human trace, surrendering up Thine individual being, shalt thou go TO mix for ever with the elements, To be a brother to the insensible rock And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain Turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould. Perhaps the compiler felt that this was too graphic a description of bodily decay, or an excess of pantheism-—or he may simply have con- sidered it to be redundant. Compilers assigned their own titles to excerpts, so that the same selections frequently have different titles from one reader to another. A work such as "Thanatopsis," for example, was also entitled "Love of Nature," and "A Vision of Death." Occasionally the author's name was omitted, even from selections of prominent writers like Franklin.6 Writers in educational journals were extremely critical of the use of fragments and excerpts. An 1854 essay in The Massachusetts Teacher criticizes the brevity of reader selections, pointing out that, "they do not interest the scholar in eminent writers; how can the young more than others be expected to be interested in men of whom they see so little?" The author states that the readers' main virtue is in presenting a variety of styles, but only at "a fearful cost." He points out that "most persons get . . . all their knowledge of English literature from their school Reader," and recommends instead Cleveland's Compendium. Better yet, he writes, would be the use of entire, unmutilated works of genius."7 The same complaint is expressed in an 1868 article. The author states: I do not believe in "extracts" or "specimens," except where Early English is being studied more for the words than the thoughts. In different schools the matter may present itself under different 84 aspects; but at many middle class schools there must always be a great number of boys who may get no idea of literature or of the meaning of "a book" at home, and it therefore seems necessary that they should have the opportunity of acquiring that idea in school. Even in the lowest classes I should prefer to use a book that should contain tales or poems complete in themselves, however short. Underwood's 1872 Massachusetts Teacher essay terms reader selections "a kind of literary ppgp." The author recommends the use of entire literary works in order to "inspire a love of nature, impart useful knowledge, and cultivate a taste for literature."9 An article two years later insists that full length works of Shakespeare, not simply extracts, should be used, although the author does not intend "to disparage reading-books and compendiums. They are useful in their way, and even necessary."10 In an 1875 Atlantic article Horce Scudder criticizes both readers and histories of literature, which simply teach the opinions of others concerning literature, and a few names and dates, and "bring the young student face to face with a bit from this writer and a bit from that, and give him the faintest possible aid toward becoming really en rapport with the author himself."11 Compilers frequently rewrote selections to omit indelicate or morally questionable passages, to decrease the reading difficulty of selections, or simply to make them shorter. Goodrich takes for granted the practice of adapting. He writes in his Fourth Reader (1839), "in preparing the work the author has used a liberty accorded in such cases." J. F. Bumstead states in his 1843 reader that, "credit is given, in the tables of contents, in all cases where the origin of the pieces could be ascertained. It should be understood, however, that the greater part of them have been revised and rewritten, and so 85 altered as would, in the View of the compiler, better adapt them to the purpose for which these volumes are intended." Goodrich defends adapting on the grounds that it makes the excerpts complete. He writes, It will be observed that the pieces in the volume are not mere fragments, but each article is complete in itself, and needs no addition to be understood. In order to carry out this idea, as well as to accomplish other objects, many articles have been altered and adapted, from various works, and some have been written for the occasion, by the author. The book is, therefore, not a mere collection of unadapted extracts. It may also be stated, that there are few pieces in the book to be found in other readers; and in no instance has a line been copied from any schoolbook in common use (17.). An 1866 McGuffey reader states that "considerable liberty has been taken with the articles selected, in order to adapt them to the especial purpose for which they are here designed. Much change and remodeling have been necessary. The lessons are therefore credited as taken 'from' the author named" (64.). The preface to Watson's Independent Sixth Reader (1877) explains that the text contains "chiefly new" selections from "most reliable sources, many of them with such important and original Adaptations as retain the gist of the matter, and . . . bring them within the prescribed limits." The 1879 revision of the McGuffey series, however, reflects the growing trend toward literary appreciation. The preface to The Sixth Eclectic Reader states, "close scrutiny revealed the fact that many popular selections, common to several series of Readers, had been largely adapted, but in MCGUFFEY'S REVISED READERS, wherever it was possible to do so, the selections have been compared, and made to conform strictly with the originals as they appear in the latest editions authorized by the several writers." 86 While the very early American school readers published during the latter decades of the eighteenth and the first decades of the nine- teenth century varied greatly in form and content from each other, when the major series were established in the thirties and forties, a high degree of conformity had been achieved. Charles Carpenter notes that, with "minor differences in quality of material selected, in the manner of presentation [or] in points of elocution, . . . readers during the first half of the century became fixed in over-all form."12 R. R. Reeder writes of the "dreary sameness" of the series produced during the 18508, and points out that "from 1860 to 1880 but little change took place in the character of school readers."13 Textbook compilers frequently pointed out their reprintings of popular selections, and used the same material over and over. An examination of Table 2 shows that thirty-five selections appeared in ten or more of the ninety-one readers studied. In the preface to McGuffey's Newly Revised Rhetorical Guide (1853), the compiler states he "has not aimed at originality, but . . . to combine and present . the valuable features of many popular books on . . . Elocution and Rhetorical reading. . . . No change has been made in the matter or arrangement of the reading lessons." A statement in Osgood's Pro- gressive Fifth Reader (1858) reflects a prevalent attitude: In making the selections for this Reader, an effort has been made to obtain new pieces; and accordingly many extracts have been taken from the literary productions of the present times; but good pieces have not been excluded because they are Old. The master- pieces of English literature never grow old; and without them a book of this kind would not be considered complete. In the preface to The Sixth Reader (1863) Hilliard admits he has taken "several pieces which have long been familiar to all persons 87 acquainted with English literature, and which may to some extent be pronounced hackneyed; such as Collins' 'Ode to the Passions,’ and I ? Gray's 'Elegy." He argues that their 'permanent popularity" is due to their "intrinsic merit," and they should not be displayed by new selections ' 'now commended by the gloss of novelty," but which will not wear so well. Hilliard also acknowledges having included several selections first printed in Pierpont's American Class Book. He con- cludes by stating that several teachers have made known to him their "express wishes" that "selections should be retained which have so long borne the sharp test of daily use." Eleven years later Hilliard reprinted the same paragraphs in the preface to The Franklin Fifth Reader and Speaker (1871), only condensing the language and substi- tuting Cowper's ”Slavery" for Collins' Ode." Frequent changes in the content of the readers apparently upset book selection committees, which did not want to require new readers when the Old ones were still intact. A notice in a revised edition of The National Fifth Reader (1866) states: In order to correct misapprehension as to the Revised Editions of Parker & Watson's National Third, Fourth and Fifth Readers, we take this method of announcing that they are NOT ENTIRELY NEW BOOKS, but simply the Old Editions with some unimportant changes in matter and illustration. The two Editions can easily be used in the same Classes by means of the indices provided. The McGuffey series in particular repeatedly reprinted the same selections, sometimes in two or three readers in the same series. The preface to McGuffey's Fourth Reader in 1879, when the series was revised, states, "new articles have been substituted for the old ones only where the advantage was manifest." By late in the century some pieces had become standard in almost every advanced text. An 1875 88 reader states, "some standard selections have been retained, simply because no reader of this grade can be considered complete without them. A reader which should be limited in the range of its selections to such as had not been previously used, would exclude the finest specimens in the English language" (81.). All the readers contain a wide variety of selections, including poetry, fiction, essays, letters, speeches, sketches, and nonfiction. Compilers consider this variety necessary to maintain student interest. In his Young Ladies' Reader (1855), for example, Sanders writes that "after the first and highest duty, which was to secure in each piece the best possible moral tendency, that which came next in order of importance, was . . . a judicious combination of all varieties of style, subject, and diction." The lack of any coherent grouping of selections according to theme, genre, style, or subject matter was particularly disturbing to many of the pro-literary educators and writers. Most of the compilers, however, felt that variety of genre and content would prevent monotony. Although Murray's reader selections were grouped into sections of poetry and prose by type (narrative, didactic, descriptive, dialogue, etc.), the second American reader compiler, Caleb Bingham, made the following statement in the preface to The Columbian Orator (1797): "as no advantage could arise from a methodological arrangement, the "14 Author has preferred variety to system. In Other readers, this randomness is also noted and praised. In Cobb's Sequel (1832), the compiler writes, "believing, that no advantage could possible arise from a methodical arrangement of the lessons, he has preferred 89 variety to system, so that the reader will have a number of subjects for for each week's reading." Variety is considered necessary to maintain interest, as Sanders writes in an 1842 preface to The School Reader: The monotonous method of reading, so often acquired in consequence of perusing successive lessons which present one uniform style, such as historical and the like, has led to the adOption in the present work of that variety, which is calculated to prevent the acquisition of such a sameness, and afford the greater pleasure to the reader. Almost all textbooks group selections at random, occasionally putting two or three lessons about the same topic together. A typical grouping of titles is" "There's No Such Word as Fail," "Cochineal," "Manufacture of Paper," "Searching for Happiness," "The Condor," "Give Me Back My Husband," and "The Ocean" (34.). The table of con-, tents of some readers is divided according to prose and poetry, and sometimes authors are designated as American or European, but the text itself is not organized. The only carefully arranged series is Willson's set of scien- tific readers. Willson groups selections by topic, such as "Natural Philosophy" or "Physical Geography." He writes that literary selections are "far more interesting and instructive when they are used to illus- trate, and are themselves illustrated by, important facts and principles in science than when they appear in miscellaneous collections merely as 'Orient pearls at random strung'" (55.). Willson's readers do, however, achieve the absurdity of placing Longfellow's "Hiawatha's Canoe" under "The Elm, Willow and Birch Families," and Tennyson's "The Brook" under "Hydraulics." The Parker series claims in its prefaces that "a strict classification has been preserved with regard to the nature of the 90 subjects," and groups of four or five selections do pertain to general topics, such as "Spring" or "War." A more serious interest appears near the end of the period, as in the preface to The American Educa— tional Fifth Reader (1873), which states, pieces having a general relation to the same subject have been carefully grouped together, so as to avoid the incoherent and fragmentary character so common in reading-books of this kind. The abrupt transition from one subject to another has thus, in a major way, been relieved; and a means afforded of fostering logical continuity of thought,--one of the most important objects of early mental training. The grouping of selections resembles to only a slight degree the arrangement of contemporary thematic literature texts, however. While there is evidence of grading in the lower reader numbers, most advanced series contain few references to difficulty levels, and incorporate adult material almost exclusively. Sargent's Fourth Reader (1855) contains the statement that the compiler has endeavored "to graduate the exercises carefully to the taste and comprehension of those for whom the work is designed . . . without falling below a just literary standard," and Parker and Watson (1863) "reject such pieces as, from the nature of their subjects, would not be understood by the pupils for whom the book has been prepared." These comments are, however, atypical in advanced readers. Another distinctive feature of most advanced readers after 1840 was the oratorical or elocutionary preface. Readers which did not contain an elaborate grammatical system usually contained a set of elocutionary rules. Three fourths of the books examined contained these prefaces, while the reading selections are to be used for practice. Although there were separate oratory textbooks, usually referred to as 91 "speakers, the fifth or sixth reader of a graded series was often termed an "elocutionary reader,’ and also served this purpose. These prefaces, which sometimes made up nearly half the readers' contents,15 contained rules, examples, and exercises in such skills as pronuncia- tion, articulation, accent, inflection, emphasis, modulation, rhetorical pause, etc. That "reading" was assumed to be synonymous with "oral reading" is revealed by such statements as "the principal difficulty, in teaching the art of reading, lies in conveying to the pupil a clear idea of tone, modulation, and inflection of the voice" (30.). Only one of the readers even mentions silent reading, and that is to point out that while silent reading can be used "to acquire knowledge" and "to assist the memory to attain this," it is through reading aloud that one communicates knowledge to others (12.). While Applebee writes that "silent reading did not become important until the 19208,"16 the teaching of elocution appears to be declining by the late 18808. Nietz states that "beginning with Webster's first book and until the 18908 most readers were written with the aim to develop effective oral reading."17 The importance of elocution is illustrated by the failure of a text which attempted to ignore elocution. In 1855 Hilliard wrote A First Class Reader, with "biographical and critical notices of the authors." Contrary to many other advanced readers, he claimed this to be "exclusively a reading book. Pieces suitable for declamation have ' In fact it was been inserted only incidentally and occasionally.‘ really an anthology of literary pieces rather than a Speaker." Like Rickard and Orcutt's Class-Book, Hilliard's text was not successful. 92 Nietz points out, "apparently Hilliard's influence upon literary silent reading rather than on the rhetorical was too revolutionary for the period; so in 1863 he published the Fifth Reader to replace the Second Class Reader. In it he devoted sixty pages to letter-sound exercises and elocution."l8 Elocution was considered a science as well as an art, with fairly standardized rules. For example, the compilers of the Progres- sive Fourth Reader (1857) responded to critics of the increasingly elaborate and complex systems of elocution in this way: The authors are aware that some persons would altogether discard from our reading-books any formal statement of rules of elocution, and leave it to teachers to give the necessary instruction orally and by example. And some teachers, it may be, require no study of those rules when furnished. But would they do so with regard to text-books on Arithmetic, or Geometry, or Grammar? We presume not. Why, then, should the art of reading, which is governed by prin- ciples and rules as fixed and as easy of application as those of any other art or science, be expected to be acquired without the knowledge of its elementary principles and rules? In the judgment of the authors, it is to be ascribed mainly to the neglect of proper instruction in this matter, that so few good readers are to be found in our common schools, and even in higher seminaries. Sargent, who was best known for his elocutionary texts, points out the difference between the content of a speaker and a reader. He writes, Exercises of a purely declamatory character should be sparingly introduced into . . . [readers], as they are not favorable to the formation of that style of delivery in reading which is most appropriate, while the habit of giving a level tone to pieces requiring the animation and action of declamatory delivery may spoil the speaker without accomplishing the reader. Still, as the mode in which an oratorical passage should be Egpg may differ from that in which it should be declaimed, an adequate number of exercises to illustrate this difference have been introduced (38.). In most readers, however, the distinction between elocution or declamation and oral reading is not made. In his Fourth Reader (1848), for example, Town states that reading and speaking are the same process: 93 A mistaken Opinion quite generally prevails that only compositions of a particular character, selected from public speeches, are suitable for declamation. Reading and speaking are identical. Therefore, whatever is suitable for the one, is equally so for the other. The student who only practices in declaiming poetical and oratorical compositions, can never become properly a SPEAKER. He will be wanting in practice in other styles of composition, as narrative, descriptive, didactic, and the like, which he may be called upon to speak. Besides, the use of poetry and speeches exclusively for declamation, creates a scholastic and pompous manner of speaking, which is as exceptionable as it is ridiculous. The popularity of selections from the speeches of orators such as Webster and Everett illustrate that readers contain a large amount of declamatory rather than purely literary material. Many readers contain material chosen specifically for its suitability for elocution, as the following prefaces indicate. Russell's Young Ladies' Elocution- ary Reader (1845) states: The selection of pieces has been regulated by a regard to their fitness for reading aloud,-—a test which, though inapplicable to many productions of the highest intellectual excellence, becomes indispensable, as the standard of a collection of reading lessons. A textbook of English literature, may justly contain passages of a character too abstract, or of a beauty too spiritual, for even the most skillful utterance; but, in a reading book, the preference is necessarily given to matter adapted to the cultiva- tion of a vivid and effective elocution. Town's Fifth or Elocutionagy Reader (1856) contains "select pieces for reading and declamation from the most approved authors. . . . It embraces specimens of the eloquence of the pulpit, the lecture-room, the legislative hall, the bar, the stage, and the battle-field, appropriately interspersed with the narrative, descriptive, humorous, and colloquial styles in prose, with interesting and instructive selections of various styles and measures in vers." Parker and Watson's National Fifth Reader (1866), which aimed to be "a complete and sufficient work for advanced classes in Reading, Elocution, and English and American Literature" states that "the collection of 94 Reading Lessons has been greatly improved by judicious omissions, and the substitution of new dialogues, ballads, dramatic lyrics, and other rhetorical pieces that are more varied and inspiring and better adapted to elocutionary readings, both public and private. Even the Willson series, which in the 18608 has been devoted to science, by 1870 also included "the principles of Rhetoric, Criticism, Eloquence, and Oratory, as applicable to both prose and poetry, and as illus- trated by the best models of English composition." Elocution was an important subject for both sexes. Bailey's Young Ladies' Class Book (1831) reprints an article from the Np££p_ American Review, which states, "we had rather have a child, even of the other sex, return to us from school a first-rate reader, than a first- rate performer on the piano-forte." In his Rhetorical Reader (1835) Porter indicates the different reasons for the elocutionary training of men and women: Every intelligent father, who would have his son or daughter qualified to hold a respectable rank in well-bred society, will regard it as among the very first of polite accomplishments, that they should be able to read well. But beyond this, the talent may be applied to many important purposes of business, or rational entertainment, and of religious duty. Of the multitudes who are not called to speak in public, including the whole of one sex, and all but comparatively a few of the other, there is no one to whom the ability to read in a graceful and impressive manner, may not be of great value. Sanders' Young Ladies' Reader (1855) also emphasizes the need for women to be able to speak well. The preface states that the compiler hopes the book may serve, "to aid in developing and training the powers of the voice,-—in securing the charms of a graceful and effective delivery --in instilling noble and elevated sentiments,--in imparting a taste for those refined pleasures that grow out of a just appreciation of 95 what is sublime and beautiful in thought, chaste and elegant in expression,-—that it may, in fine, prove a worthy auxiliary in that sort of educational discipline that makes THE TRUE LADY." Elocution was rejected during the latter part of the period by journal writers who were interested in the study of literature itself. An 1869 article in The Massachusetts Teacher by Elbridge Smith urges that the traditional "skills" long used as a justification for reading literature be used instead as aids in the goal of true literary appreciation. He writes, "grammar, analysis, prosody, geography, elocution, history, etc., must be used just as we would use sidelights, skylights or footlights, in giving the best effect to a painting or a piece of statuary."19 Francis Underwood writes that "one of the grave errors in our system is in the persistent reading and re-reading of books that are intended mainly for exercises in elocution,"20 because these books contain a number of selections from mediocre authors. In an article which surveys the teaching of litera- ture in the nineteenth century, Horace Scudder criticizes reader compilers who "lost their sense of literature as a fine art, and looked upon it only as an exercise in elocution and the vehicle for knowledge, or, at the highest, for ethics and patriotic sentiment. They lost also their apprehension of the power of great literature in the wholes, and made their books collections of fragments."21 While the philosophy of the journal writers eventually was to prevail at the end of the century, the characteristics of the advanced reader which they found objectionable cannot be attributed simply to the conservatism of the compilers. The literary texts of Rickard and Orcutt and of Hilliard had demonstrated that a literature text designed 96 for silent reading and literary appreciation would not sell. A pedagogy which emphasized memorization and oral reading of short works with grammatical exercises and recitations made sense in class- rooms which contained teachers with almost no training in literature and a large number of students of varying ages and reading levels. The few secondary schools with graded classes of students and trained teachers used the literary histories or the most advanced annotated readers. NOTES--CHAPTER III 1Stephen N. Judy, "The Teaching of English Composition in Ameri- can Secondary Schools, 1850-1893," Diss. Northwestern Univ. 1967, p.4. 2William Dean Howells, "Literature for the Schools," Atlantic, 46 (July 1880), 135-36. 3Horace Scudder, "Literature in the Public Schools," Atlantic, 62 (Aug. 1888), 229. 4Judy, p. 4. 5"Mode of Ascertaining Conditions of a School," American Journal of Education, Supplement to Vol. 1, (1856), 652. 6In compiling statistics for individual works, the contents of each selection were checked. Where there was a substantial overlap in the content of two selections, and where they were identical, they have been counted as the same piece. When titles differ, the one most fre- quently used, or in some cases the author's rather than the compiler's title, has been used. Totals for individual works include the printing of both the entire work and the abbreviated form of the work. 7"School Readers," The Massachusetts Teacher, 7 (May 1854), 203- 8B. A. Abbott, "The Teaching of English," The Massachusetts Teacher, 21 (Aug. 1868), 277. 9Francis H. Underwood, "English Literature, and Its Place in Popular Education," The Massachusetts Teacher, 25 (Oct. 1873), 417. 10"Shakespeare in Schools," The Massachusetts Teacher, 27 (Feb. 1874), 54-5. 11Horace Scudder, "Education," Atlantic, 35 (June 1875), 763. 12Charles Carpenter, Histony of American School Books (Philadel- phia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1963), p. 63. 13R. R. Reeder, The Historical Development of School Readers and Methods of Teaching Reading (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1900), p. 155. 97 98 14Caleb Bingham, The Columbian Orator, 4th ed., (Boston, C. Bing- ham, 1802), p. i. 15Town's Fifth or Elocutionary Reader (1855), for example, con- tains 254 pages of elocutionary principles and exercises, and 249 pages of literary selections. 16Arthur N. Applebee, Tradition and Reform in the Teaching of English (Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, 1974), p. 16, note 14. 17John Nietz, Old Textbooks (Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1961), p. 92. 18Nietz, p. 92. 19Elbridge Smith, "When and How Shall the English Language be Studied in the High School?" The Massachusetts Teacher 22, (March 1869), 77. ' 0Francis H. Underwood, "English Literature and Its Place in Pop- ular Education," The Massachusetts Teacher, 25 (Oct. 1873), 410. 21Scudder, "Literature," p. 227. CHAPTER IV PEDAGOGY To determine the actual nature of instruction in literature it is necessary to examine not only the professed goals of educators, but also their instructional methods. This is especially important during the nineteenth century, when pedagogy frequently seemed to hinder or even to contradict many stated educational aims, and pedagogical philosophies and practices dictated the form, content, and organization of most textbooks, including the advanced readers. Instead of choosing selections for their literary merit and adapting pedagogy to fit the literature, compilers chose selections to satisfy a rigid and limited methodology which consisted primarily of memorization and recitation. The low level of teacher preparation and the large number of students of various ages and educational experiences which each teacher was responsible for limited severely the types of methods which were possible in most nineteenth century English classrooms. Although the early readers such as Murray's texts contained no teaching aids, the emphasis on grammar and elocution in the curriculum and the necessity for a structure both to aid the teacher and to exercise the mental faculties of the pupil influenced most compilers 99 100 of graded series to include rules and exercises. Almost all readers contained prefaces stating the general goals of the compilers, while their methodology was implicit in the structure and mode of presenta- tion of the exercises, or was summarized in "Notes to Teachers" sections of the readers. While the few educational journals in existence before 1880 did publish occasional articles on pedagogy, it is doubtful that they had a significant impact on actual teaching practices. Even though Massachusetts was a center of educational reform, Witt points out that as late as 1890 "the tradition of rote learning and recitation hung on tenaciously, encouraged by an examination system imposed from above."1 Some of the early readers emphasized grammar primarily or exclusively. Cobb's North American Reader (1835), for example, con- tains not only elocutionary rules, but an explanation of punctuation and notes on spelling and pronunciation. Teachers are advised that students must be able to spell and pronounce every word in a reading lesson individually before reading the selection. Angell's Select Reader (1836) contains a series of "Exercises in Grammar, Style, Spelling, Definitions, Verbal Distinctions, & c. &c." which consists of couplets, the first line containing an error such as lack of subject- verb agreement. The second line is a corrected version of the first. This practice of using passages containing grammatical errors for correction was also a frequent feature of examinations. In 1882, for example, Harvard lengthened its entrance examination in English by a half hour to include specially written specimens of bad English for the 101 student to correct.2 Angell also includes a twenty-four page section on "words differently spelled, but pronounced alike." Compilers believed that the study of grammar would increase students' understanding of a selection and improve their reading and speaking of it. Witt also notes that "teachers with a classical training taught English literature analogously, with an inevitable emphasis on language skills."3 The same methodology used to translate a foreign language, then, was applied to the vernacular even though students had a functional knowledge of English grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. A 1848 McGuffey preface states that the teacher's atten- tion is directed to the grammatical questions, which form "a very important and valuable feature of the work. . . . the study of grammar and that of reading may be united, with decided advantage to both" (26.). It contains questions such as the following on Bryant's "Death of the Flowers": "Parse 'to call' in the 4th stanza. Parse 'twinkle' in the same. (It has 'waters' for its nominative.) Name all the adjectives in the lst stanza, and compare each. Which verbs in the last stanza are in the potential mood? Which are the adjectives in the same stanza, and what does each one qualify? What does the word adjective mean?" Mandeville's Course for Reading (1849) illustrates the extreme to which some compilers carried grammatical instruction, although in his preface Mandeville insists that his purpose is not "making grammarians, but readers." He first introduces the different letters of the alphabet and their sounds, syllables, and parts of speech. "The second part contains, a classification and description of all the sentences or formulas of thought, in every degree of expansion, to be 102 found in the English language." Mandeville suggests that students learn to identify and describe all the classes of sentences. He writes, Before reading, or after having read a sentence, the pupil should be told to name and define the sentence: to say whether it is declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory; and whether simple or compound; and if compound, whether close, compact, or loose: if close, whether it has a series of members at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end: if compact, the same, and also whether it is a compact of the first, second, or third form; stating the correlative words: if loose, whether it is perfect or imperfect; continually defining, and, in short, giving in each case, and at every successive step, all the information communicated in the first and second part. Despite the difficulty of Mandeville's text--which contained a set of rules substantially different from all the other advanced readers and which most teachers probably did not understand--Nietz reports that the reader went through "several editions."A Perhaps Mandeville's claim that his reader would save parents and school districts both time and money because of its efficiency caused its popularity. Although a similar sentiment is implied in some other readers, Mandeville appeals to economic interests in a more direct way than other compilers. He writes, "the adoption of this method will supersede the present wasteful practice of frequently changing or renewing books, by which parents are taxed without reason and against reason, some fifteen or twenty dollars or more for every child they educate: making an aggregate of loss to the state annually, of many thousands of dollars. A scientific method of instruction removes the usual motives for changing books; and by facilitating the process of learning to read, and thus abridging the period of study, it renders a renewal of the same books, where ordinary care is taken for their preservation, unnecessary." 103 An 1856 article in the American Journal of Education emphasizes that "the rules of grammar are the only recognized usages of language" and that students should learn "parts of speech and rules of construc- tion, in connection with . . . reading lessons."5 In the upper readers, however, elocution replaced grammar as their main emphasis by 1860. Grammar apparently was also studied in separate classes using separate texts, although compilers continued to use grammatical analysis as a preparation for elocution. An advertisement for a McGuffey Reader illustrates how grammar and elocution are both emphasized: "Each lesson is preceded by a spelling and defining exercise, in which the parts of speech are denoted; also, by rules for reading. Questions are inserted on the subjects treated of, and common errors in pronunciation and enunciation are pointed out. Grammatical questions are also introduced, designed to ascertain the knowledge which the pupil has attained in this science" (36.). The fact that students learned to read by oral methods, along with the importance of elocutionary training to nineteenth century Americans, made the inclusion of elocutionary training in the upper readers almost inevitable. Borchers and Wagner point out that between 1825 and 1855 "the phonetic method of teaching reading [which] came into favor in the lower grades . . . may have accentuated the emphasis upon articulation in the upper grades."6 Although Horace Mann complained in his 1839 Secretary's Report that eleven-twelfths of the students who were taking reading in Massachusetts could not understand what they were reading,7 the stated goal of almost all the various rules and exercises in the readers was the achievement of an understanding of the selections. Readers 104 without elocutionary sections emphasized comprehension so that students would benefit from the useful knowledge or the moral teachings of the selections. Elocutionary readers stressed that a thorough understanding was essential for an apprOpriate delivery. A selection from Cobb's 1835 Reader illustrates the theory that appropriate delivery springs from a thorough understanding. The author states: "I myself have heard a blacksmith eloquent, when welding iron has been the theme; for what we know thoroughly, we can usually express clearly, since ideas will supply words, but words will not always supply ideas." Goodrich writes in his Fourth Reader (1839) "It is the idea of the author, that, in reading, a lesson should be to the pupil as a grist in the mill,-—it should be thoroughly understood and digested. . . . this should be done in respect to every reading lesson, so that the habit of reading with a full comprehension of everything read, should be established." He rejects the "common notion . . . that reading books are only to be run over as matters of sound, without respect to sense. . . . Reading is regarded as having for its chief object the gaining or communicating of ideas, and, as essential to its attainment, a complete understanding of what is read is deemed indispensable." McGuffey's Fourth Reader (1848) contains a similar statement, along with a method of achieving this goal: Many of these lessons require thought, and an extensive range of reading, in order to be appreciated, and before they can be compre— hended. Let the teacher then, as well as the pupils, study the lessons. Let him require, that the substance of what has been read, be continuously narrated by the pupils, without recurrence to the book. Let him direct that this be written down with no other appliances at hand than pen, ink, and paper. Let each pupil be so situated, that he can derive no assistance from his fellow pupil; and then let the narratives, both oral and written, be the subject of severe but candid criticism by the teacher and the other pupils as to the style, pronunciation, grammar, and penmanship. 105 Memorization and recitation (reciting prepared answers to questions previously asked) were methods used almost universally in readers, and in the schools generally. Despite the innovative, non- classical courses introduced in academy curricula, their methods remained archaic. Lull points out that at first instruction in all the modern (non—classical) branches "was strictly memoriter. . . . A great mass of stuff was memorized with little purpose in the selection; it was simply information."8 Memorization of elocutionary and grammatical rules was an accepted practice throughout the period. In the "Note to Teachers" of his North American Reader (1835) Cobb writes, "Every teacher is respectfully requested to require each of his pupils . . . to commit to memory the Rules for the right use of the "STOPS, OR POINTS, AND OTHER CHARACTERS USED IN WRITING AND PRINTING." In his 1877 reader Watson advised teachers to "require students to commit to memory and recite the important principles, definitions, and examples [of elocu- tion]." Throughout the latter half of the century educational journal writers criticized the practice of rule memorization. An 1869 Massachu- setts Teacher article advocates that language study be included in high school English courses. The author writes that the proper method is not, however, "the dry mechanical study of language, the only apparent aim of which is to crowd the memory with the greatest amount of gram- matical rules and technicalities, but that which shall give practical results in power of expression, and which shall enrich and cultivate the mind." 9 Another article the same year suggests that grammatical analysis be subordinated to more literary ends{0but advocates that students continue to memorize literary selections. The author writes 106 that "the cultivation of memory" is "a most important and most neglected part of education. Let it be stored to satiety . . . with the choicest treasures of our literature. With the memory thus stored, the inventive persons have the best models constantly at their disposal. The happiest efforts of superior talent and genius thus become the models of style and the seeds of thought."11 Memorization of reading selections, both for simple oral repetition and for elocutionary delivery, was a universal practice. Elbridge Smith write in the Annual Report of Cambridge High School for 1853 that the middle class had memorized over 1000 lines of Goldsmith, while the juniors had learned more than 1000 lines of Scott. "The tendency of this method of studying our best authors," Smith stated, "is to elevate the taste and to turn attention from base literature." Many compilers also provide questions at the end of selections for which students prepare answers which they memorized for recitation. Town and Holbrook advise in their Progressive Fourth Reader (1857), for example, "If, also, the answers to the questions appended to each lesson are learned and recited before the lesson is read, it will enable the scholar to read more understandingly, and add much to the interest of the exercise." Many of these questions deal with grammar or compre- hension, such as the following on Bryant's "The Death of the Flowers": To what season of the year do these lines refer? Why are they called melancholy days? How are the woods and leaves described? What is meant by the "eddying gust?" What birds are common at this season? What flowers are mentioned as having died one after the other? What is said about the squirrel, and the bees and the nuts? What is said of the south wind? Describe in your own language, the event referred to, in the last stanza. 107 It was also very common for compilers to emphasize the moral and religious message of selections by leading or rhetorical questions, such as the following on Sprague's "Lines on the Death of a Sister": What does the author mean by the word "Destroyer" in the first paragraph? Is it possible to feel that God is good even when he removes our dearest friends by death? In what ways is the good- ness of God often manifested in the hour of death? When Christian friends are parted by death, what is one of the greatest consola- tions of living? (44.). The questions to a selection from Canto IV of ”Childe Harold" in a McGuffey reader clearly are intended to transform the poem into a histroy and geography lesson: "What is meant by 'oak leviathans'? How is the ocean the image of eternity? Where is Trafalgar, and for what is it celebrated? Where was Assyria? Carthage? Where is Rome? Greece?" (63.). This practice was consistent with the emphasis on "useful knowledge." The third prominent pedagogical feature of many readers is the set of notes annexed to the reading lessons. These notes define words, give etymologies, identify the sources of classical or technical allusions and provide other information. Sargent's Fifth Reader (1858), for example, states "by acquainting himself with the origin of many words explained in the index, the reader will store his memory ‘with a number of prefixes and postfixes, a knowledge of which will Open to him the meaning of large classes of words to which they are the keys." An example of informational notes to "Lochiel's Warning," by Thomas Campbell, includes the phonetic spellings of the following words in the poem: "beware, prance, hoof—beaten, there, despair, merciless, laugh'st, bird, bearing, blast, cast, eyri, and beacons." Additional notes and definitions are added: 108 in this, as in most exquisite poems, modified elements frequently occur; and when correctly uttered, produce a most happy effect. See notes to the "Table of Oral Elements," p. 17. Culloden; a wide, moory ridge of Scotland, county of Inverness, in the parish of Croy, memorable for the total defeat of Prince Charles's army, on the 16th of April, 1746, by the royal troops under the Duke of Cumberland. Eyre; a place where birds of prey build their nests; the nest of a bird of prey. Beacons; affords light as a beacon, or signal-fire, or an eminence. Students were expected to memorize these notes as well as the reading. Watson recommends the following procedure in his Independent Sixth Reader (1977). Require a Preparation, before reading, which shall enable the student, without formal questions, to give, first the title of the piece; secondly, the words liable to mispronunciation in the reading and the notes; thirdly, all needful definitions, explana— tions, and biographical sketches, either immediately connected with the lesson, or found by reference to the Index to Notes; fourthly, a summary of the reading, in his own language; and fifthly, the moral, conclusion, or outcome. Direct his attention daily to the character of the composition--its grammatical construc- tion, rhetorical figures, logical arrangement, etc. Edwards notes that the teacher may supply additional information on the subjects of the selections --provided the pupils are required to remember and reproduce what is thus imparted" (69.). Most readers suggested a fairly elaborate preparation before students read selections aloud. The following is an example of the specific instructions given in one reader for Coleridge's "Mt. Blanc": [The following piece opens with the tones of sublimity and 2329 slightly aspirated "pectoral quality," "low notes," and "very slow movement." The tone of tranquility and admiration, succeeds, at "Yet like some sweet beguiling melody." At "Awake my soul," &c. the "expression" changes to increasing loudness and energy. At "Thou first and chief," &c. the tone of awe returns: at ”Wake 0h! wake," &c. the full tones of majesty and grandeur, are resumed. In the invocations which follow, the style of utterance varies with the feelings naturally connected with each class of objects in the apostrophes. The close of the piece is in the "sustained" style of a prolonged but solemn shout] (22.). 109 Students were required to prepare a similar description of passages to be read. For example, in his Rhetorical Reader (1835), Porter sug- gests that after a student studies the sentiment of a selection and enters the spirit of the author that he copy it and mark all the inflections, emphases, etc., and then read it rhetorically to the teacher. The teacher corrects the reading, and the pupil memorizes the piece and the correct method of reading. An 1856 reader suggests the following procedure: It is also recommended to students, after they have determined the general character of the language and style of the piece, the kind and structure of the sentences, and the emphatic words, inflections, transitions, tones of voice, etc., which the senti- ment requires in order to its most effective delivery, to designate the same with a pencil, in accordance with the notation of the First Part. Such an exercise cannot fail to awaken their minds to the importance of the subject, and, at the same time, to make them critical in the application of elocutionary principles, both in reading and speaking. This elaborate preparation continued to be a standard feature of readers throughout the period. While all the readers stressed that an understanding of literature was essential to elocution, a Massachusetts school inspector reported in 1880 that the major emphasis was on oral recitation, while the content of reading selections was neglected. In the readers which imitate literary histories, selections frequently have prefaces which include biographical sketches, the titles and dates of major works, and a brief summary of the subject matter, style, and reputation of the authors. Compilers often comment on the moral character of authors, although in some cases, notably that of Byron, a number of selections are included even though the author's personal life is censured. These sketches are sometimes 110 copied or modified from entries in literary encyclopedias such as Chamber's Cyclgpedia of English Literature. Student were expected to learn the information in these prefaces. Memorization and questioning were techniques reinforced by methods of examination. At the Boston Girls' High and Normal School a written examination for 1869-1870 contained two questions on character- istics of style for Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Bryant, and Whittier. Two questions involved matching titles and authors and two others required synopses of poems by Longfellow and Tennyson. The seventh called for a "short account" of Burns as a poet, while the last item was a description of Wordsworth's influence on English poetry."14 It is probably that in answering all these questions, students drew upon memorized information from literary histories or advanced readers. Almost all of the teaching aids or devices in the readers were concerned with elocution. Jonathan Barber's 1825 text, for example, contained an elaborate system of notation which Barber himself developed to aid students in making the correct pauses. Many others used a more conventional system to indicate proper pronunciation and delivery. Mandeville writes that "the student is not left . . . to infer the delivery wholly from the structure; I have introduced a train of signs . . . by which the more important movements of the voice are accurately and intelligibly represented" (29.). Monroe's series borrowed a prevalent feature from speakers--the use of diagrams which pictured the vocal organs. Readers such as Parker's Exercises in Rhetorical Reading (1849) contained pictures of the correct elocu— tionary posture and gestures for both sexes. 111 A number of later readers also refer to "Blackboard Diagrams," which present "in due order all the divisions of the [elocutionary] Treatise and their relations to each other" (86., 70.). Only Willson mentioned the "object lesson"--a popular peda— gogical system deve10ped by Pestalozzi which emphasized the mental processes of sensing. Students, especially those in the elementary grades, were encouraged to examine various objects, and to talk and write about the characteristics which they observed. Willson refers to this technique in his Fifth Reader (1861), pointing out that his scientific illustrations (on topics such as botany and ichthyology) aid in "object teaching." The standard American text on this method was Lessons on Objects, written by E. A. Sheldon of the Oswego Normal School. Although he compiled a series of readers, the Fifth Reader (1875), at least, contained no reference to his method. He was one of the first compilers, however, to include a number of illustrations in an advanced reader. A few of these, such as pictures of coral, are detailed drawings of objects. In his preface he refers to a teacher's "Manual" which explains "all terms and allusions that are not to be found in such ordinary books of reference as should be accessible in every good school," and which contains "a brief sketch of each promi- nent author represented in the book" (82.). McGuffey's Fourth Reader (1848) suggests a kind of "tracking" for students in elocution. In the "Suggestions to Teachers" he states, "Let all who read in a low voice, be put in one class; all who pronounce indistinctly, in another; and those who read too fast, in a third class, and let especial attention be paid to each of these faults." 112 Compilers disagreed on whether students should learn elocution through the strict application of rules or by imitation of the teacher's model, and on the extent to which elocutionary delivery should spring naturally from the unique combination of ideas in the particular selection. Even the early elocutionary prefaces emphasized that the rules were not arbitrary, but were based on a universal style of delivery (dictated by nature) for various types of thoughts and emotions. Tower and Walker write in the "Principles of Elocution" of their First Class Reader (1848) that excellence in elocution is to be attained only through the influence of sure and multiplied principles; principles that are universal; principles that are founded in nature; principles that are discovered by analyzing the frame of spirit in which the sentiment, whatever it be, was spoken or written, and by consequence the natural expressions of that frame of spirit. A particular and well-defined principle, then, becomes inseparably associated with each emotion, in every state of feeling, and in every condition of mind; and it is by a correct understanding and a skillful application of this, that the reader is able to give a true and vivid coloring to every shade of thought, and a just force of expression to the intended meaning of the writer. As late as 1877 a reader preface states that the first part of the text "exhibits in logical order, and with scientific precision, the Elocu— tionary Principles of recognized importance now employed by our ablest instructors" (86.). A number of compilers also emphasized that reading style should be natural. One stated that "the most renowned orator was never more eloquent than a little child" (34.), while a number of readers contained selections praising the untaught eloquence of the primitive American Indian. In his North American Reader (1835) Cobb writes, "That the cause of bad reading and speaking is not natural, will appear evident by considering, that there are few persons if any, who, in private 113 discourse, do not deliver their sentiments with propriety and force, whenever they speak in earnest. Here, then is an unerring standard fixed for reading and speaking justly and forcibly; which is, to adopt the same easy and natural mode to read and speak publickly, as we use in private conversation." Cobb views the lessons and rules which he includes as a kind of de-schooling by which students learn to connect their emotions with the gestures and delivery which they had intui- tively used as children. Richard Green Parker, an elocutionist, writes in the preface to his Rhetorical Reader (1849) that he "has thought it inexpedient to encumber its pages with rules, definitions, or explanatory details; because it has been fully proven that how simple soever a rule may be, the pupil will not readily apply it, unless particularly directed by the teacher; and if nature and analogy will direct him to a correct and rhetorical modulation, rules and definitions become superfluous." Nevertheless, Parker includes 125 pages of rules on topics such as loudness, distinctness, slowness, and pauses. Some compilers insisted that "the direction, 'follow nature,'—— 'read naturally, and with spirit,'-—amounts to nothing," because good reading is not "merely the instinctive execution of what is neither understood nor felt by the agent" (24.). While rules for oral reading continued to appear in advanced readers, these rules emphasized gesture and delivery less and less, concentrating on pronunciation, articula— tion, pauses, and inflections, without identifying the emotional characteristics of each part of the selection. While Sargent included sixty-four pages of elocutionary material, he writes that 114 Modes of delivery must inevitably vary with the susceptibility of the reader to imaginative impulses, and with the nature of his appreciation of what he reads. To prescribe rules for what in the nature of things, must be governed by the answering emotion of the moment and by a sympathizing intelligence, may continue to be attempted, but no positive system is likely to be the result. Language cannot be so labelled and marked that its delivery can be taught by any scheme of notation. Emotional eXpression cannot be gauged and regulated by any elocutionary law: and, though there has been no lack of lawgivers, their jurisdiction has never extended far enough to make them an acknowledged tribunal in the republic of letters and arts (41.). In 1875 Sheldon includes only a nine page appendix of "Elements of Spoken English" and a "Phonic Drill" in his Fifth Reader, writing that "very little space is given to the theory and science of reading, believing, as we do, that they are entirely out of place at this grade of instruction; that it is an unfortunate waste of time and effort to burden the pupils with rules and definitions, when the time is so valuable to them for actual practice in reading. The EEE of reading is that which should occupy their time and effort at the present. The science of reading will be fully discussed in the work on Elocu— tion." In his Model Fourth Reader (1876) Webb included only a few short selections on elocution, interspersed with the reading selections. He states in the preface, "Specific rules cannot make good readers. Expression is (or ought to be) the outward develOpment of internal emotion-—nature's methods of telling secrets. Rules may be useful as helps, but they cannot bind the earnest soul. Its pent-up fires will burst forth uncontrolled by them, seeking only to burn its own thoughts into the souls of others. Any conscious attempt to follow rules necessarily subordinates thought to form and weakens the effect. . . . A clear understanding of the matter to be read, a full apprecia- tion of the thoughts to be expressed, a strong, earnest desire that 115 the bearer should have a like appreciation of them, will naturally guide the voice and manner aright in giving the thoughts utterance." While the McGuffey readers revised in 1879 retained an oratori- cal preface, the Fifth Reader contains the statement that "the preliminary exercises have been retained, and are amply sufficient for drill in articulation, inflection, etc. The additional exercises on these subjects, formerly inserted, have been omitted to make room for other valuable features" (90.), such as informational and biographical notes. One researcher suggests that there were two major schools of elocutionary delivery during the period from 1800 to 1880. "The Objective School tended to foster the objective forms of delivery, Recitation, Declamation and Impersonation; and the Subjective Schools tended to foster the subjective forms, Demonstrative Oratory and Interpretative reading." He reports that "during most of the 19th century, especially in the latter half, . . . the objective forms of delivery were favored by the great majority of speech educators."15 While this may have been true of speakers, it is clear that reader compilers concentrated less on prescriptive methods of delivery, and tended toward less formal methods of interpretative readings during the latter decades of the period studied. The speeches and orations popular in the early readers were replaced by literary selections, and the emphasis on learning elocutionary rules and terminology lessened. There is also evidence in the readers that as standards of education improved and as the study of whole literary works was introduced, the fifth and sixth readers began to be used in the upper classes of common schools, where oral reading received more 116 emphasis than elocution. Elocution was also divorced from "reading" or "literature" classes at the secondary level, and was treated as a separate subject with a separate text. A few of the later readers contain notes and questions of a more literary nature than most of the early readers' pedagogical apparatus. The following questions on an excerpt from "Snowbound" in Edward's Analytic Fifth Reader (1867) which includes an analysis of nine of the literary selections, illustrate how elocution sometimes incorporated a literary emphasis. Is this selection prose, or poetry? How do they differ from each other? [There are two kinds of difference, one of thought, and one of form. Thoughts that are beautiful, and those that appeal to the imagination, are poetical: thoughts that are con- cerned about simple matters-of-fact are prosaic. Much that is prose in form is highly poetical in thought, because it is beautiful or imaginative. To show the difference in form, let the teacher read, correctly and naturally, a few lines of prose, and let the pupil, not the teacher, observe and point out the difference. One will be measured off to the ear; the other will not.] What is blank verse? rhyme? Which is illustrated in this selection? Is this piece didactic, descriptive, humorous, joyous, grave, or pathetic? How many of these characteristics belong to it? Show the differences between the different parts of the piece in this respect. With what kind of tones ought the different parts to be read? Even more unusual is the literary criticism and explanation inter— spersed by Harris and Rickoff between selections in their Fifth Reader (1878). In their questions on an excerpt from Walden, they ask: For Preparation.-—I. Walden Pond, near the village of Concord, Mass. See Thoreau's "Battle of the Ants" (VII.), and "Ascent of Mount Ktaadn" (XLIV.). Have you read any of his books relating to the Maine woods, Cape Cod, or Canada? "Our river" (3) (Concord river). "Fit studies for Michael Angelo"-~who is referred to, and what are "fit studies"? (The artist attempts a sketch from nature, either for the sake of practice, or for use in a larger work; this is called a study.). . . . V. Why call the lake a "well" (1)? (Because of its depth) Does the author seem to you in earnest in his description of minute details? Do not these details seem trivial? (See LXXCII., notes.) 117 Are there not just as important details about every pond in the world? (The great interest in Walden Pond is due almost solely to Thoreau.) Concerning Thoreau's "Battle of the Ants" they write: V. The style of this piece is an imitation of the heroic style of Homer's "Illiad," and is properly a "mock-heroic." The descrip- tion of the affairs of the ants with the same elevated style that one would treat the affairs of men gives the effect of a "quiet humor." This is, in fact, often a characteristic of Thoreau's style. His "A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers" borrows its grandeur of style from Homer's "Odyssey" to describe the unromantic incidents of a ride in a small boat down a small, sluggish river, for a few miles. The intention of the author is twofold: half-seriously endowing the incidents of every-day life with epic dignity, in the belief that there is nothing mean and trivial to the poet and phiIOSOpher, and that it is the man that adds dignity to the occasion, and not the occasion that dignifies the man; half-satirically treating the human events alluded to as though they were non—heroic, and only fit to be applied to the events of animal life. 0f the readers examined, this type of literary questioning appeared only in the texts by Edwards and by Harris and Rickoff. Cathcart's reader includes notes but no questions. Not surprisingly, many journal articles of the period reflected a different pedagogy than most readers. A majority suggested that grammar, etymology, and other such studies be used only as a means of arriving at an understanding and appreciation of literature. "Let the " one writer suggested, "to receive his author's pupil be taught, writings somewhat as he would receive his author's person. He would not, in good society at least, begin by scanning the style of his dress. . . , but would rather seek at once to put himself into as close and agreeable communication with him as possible."16 An 1868 article states that the object of teaching English is not "the knowledge of words, or of the laws of words (except in a secondary degree); but, in the first place, the knowledge of thoughts and the 118 power of thinking, and, in the second place, the attainment of the idea of 'a book,’ as a work of art."17 The writer acknowledges that while "there will be little turning over dictionaries and very little use of grammar in preparing an English lesson," students instead "should be obliged to turn over, not Lexicons, but thoughts, and perpetually be compelled to ask themselves, 'Do I understand this?'" 18 He concludes by stating that "English may be undertaken so as to interest, stimulate and develop the student" by concentrating on thought rather than form. In a demonstration of a lesson on Shakespeare, however, he questions students on the etymology of words and the grammatical construction of passages as a means of ascertaining meaning, rather than emphasizing contextual clues. He also advocates an extremely close reading of the text, aided by the teacher's "easy" but incessant questioning. "Let our young [age eleven to fourteen] pupils read the whole of their play for the sake of the story" he writes. "ExPect them, if you like, to be able to tell you what they think of King Richard and of Bolingbroke, but do not let them prepare--do not let them imagine they can prepare-- more than fifty or sixty lines critically in the course of a school- term, so as to understand and explain the text thoroughly."19 Another author writing on the study of Shakespeare criticizes teachers who place their primary emphasis on grammar or philosophy, and recommends that "the aim be rather to study character, the develop- ment of the drama, the why and wherefore of the various situations, and, in short, the thought and purpose of the author. Let other aims be subordinated to this."20 He advocates some word study, but states that the "test of a pupil's knowledge of the meaning of a passage should be not so much his ability to explain it as his ability to read 119 it well." Pupils should enter into the character of the parts they read. This method will "inspire the pupils with a love of Shakespeare, and induce them, if possible, to make him a fireside companion after their school days are passed")-1 In an article entitled "Literature for Schools" William Dean Howells writes that reading books have alway incurred the danger "of deforming the delightfulness of literature by making it the subject of too much analysis and dissection.‘ He questions whether "people can be educated to make or to love good literature by the method of 22 instruction" which overemphasizes grammatical and stylistic analysis. An 1874 Massachusetts Teacher article suggests that students be assigned individual reading and prepare a kind of book report by selecting the important and exceptionally beautiful passages.23 The pedagogical tradition of memorizing literature selections remained strong both in the journals and the readers. An 1870 article, for example, recommended that students spend half their time memorizing literary excerpts, and divide the remainder between imitating literary models in composition and conversation and studying words and sentences.24A year earlier Charles W. Eliot suggested that a child should learn first not the classics, but English, "not through its formal grammar, but by reading aloud, by committing to memory choice bits, and by listening to a teacher's good commentary upon passages selected from standard authors on purpose to illustrate the capacities and varieties of the English sentence, the nature of its parts, the significance of the order of words, and the use of epithets."25 Despite the emphasis on understanding, which was the stated goal of both the reader compilers and the more progressive journal 120 writers, both groups throughout the period consistently doubted that students could apprehend the meaning and appreciate the values of literature by mere reading. Even those writers who advocated the use of entire, major works of literature were not comfortable with purely literary study. They continued to subscribe to the philosophy of mental discipline, and while their professed aims were to ascertain the thought of the literary work, their methodologies reflected the attitude that without the (supposedly secondary) emphases on grammar, rhetoric, philology, etymology, and elocution, there was really little of sub- stance which one could teach about literature. Even those who listed enjoyment or appreciation of literature as one of their goals believed that this enjoyment could not result from simply reading literature, but rather had to be earned through careful study. It was also clear that a moral appreciation of the sentiments of the literary piece continued to supersede, or at least received equal emphasis with, any aesthetic enjoyment. This attitude is clearly articulated in an article in the first volume of the journal Education, which appeared in 1881. The writer, a college president, criticizes the English teaching methods of Henry N. Hudson, a professor of Shakespeare at Boston University. The author states that Hudson would exclude all secondary or incidental purposes, and study literature simply as literature. The language of a play of Shakespeare must be studied only so far as the study may be help- ful in understanding the thought of the poet, and must never be used as a basis of lessons in grammar, analysis, philology, logic or rhetoric. He sneers at Shakespeare grammars and lexicons. Beyond the briefest definitions of hard words, and the shortest explanations of difficult passages, his notes and criticisms are all aesthetic,--discussions of the motives, the purposes, and the characters of the play. For the pupil there is no task-work, no unpleasant exercise; he is not even required to read over the 121 lesson of the day before coming to the class-room. He is left to bask in the sunshine of the poet's thought, and to grow by the unconscious absorption of "sweetness and light." Unconscious growth is certainly a good thing, an excellent good thing, and goes on in a degree in the minds of those who read only what pleases them; but growth in its healthiest forms may be hastened and promoted by conscious effort, by hard, persistent study, that may sometimes be a weariness to the flesh. Even in the study of literature the gods give always the richest gifts to those who labor for them. With most pupils under Prof. Hudson's system, the results will be not only unconscious and invisible, but unreal and non-existent. 26 Not only did the philosophy of mental discipline linger, but pedagogical methods and testing practices which emphasized the applica- tion of rules and the memorization of facts inevitably discouraged the complexity, ambiguity, and subjectivity of literary teaching which involved emotional and intellectual interaction between the individual student and the work of literature. Throughout the period studied the methodology of the reader compilers dictated the form and content of the literary selections they included. Despite the stated goals of understanding and appreciation, in most nineteenth century English classes the secondary aids to this understanding (grammatical analysis and word study) and the pedagogical methods (memorization and recita- tion) seemed to occupy the full attention of both teachers and students. NOTES-~CHAPTER IV lPeter Witt, "The Beginnings of the Teaching of Vernacular Liter- ature in the Secondary Schools of Massachusetts," Diss. Harvard Univ. 1968, p. 300. 2Edna Hays, College Entrance Requirements in English (New York: Teachers College, Columbia Univ., 1936), p. 19. 3Witt, p. 300. 4John Nietz, Old Textbooks (Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1961), p. 89. 5"Mode of Ascertaining Conditions of a School," American Journal of Education, Supplement to Vol. 1, (1856), 692. 6Gladys Borchess and Lillian Wagner, "Speech Education in Nine- teenth Century Schools, " in Karl R. Wallace, ed., History of Speech Education in America (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1954), p. 286. 7w1cc, p. 29. 8Herbert G. Lull, Inherited Tendencies of Secondary Instruction in the United States,Univ. of California Publications in Education, vol. 3, no. 3 (April 1913), p. 204. 9"What Branches Should be Included in an English Course of Study for the High School?" The Massachusetts Teacher, 22 (Jan. 1869), 44. 10Elbridge Smith, "When and How Shall the English Language Be Studied in the High School, " The Massachusetts Teacher, 22 (March 1869), 78-80. llSmith, p. 81. 12Quoted in Witt, p. 147. 13 Quoted in Witt, p. 29, 14Annual Report of the [Worchester, Mass. Girls' High and Normal] School Committee, 1870, p. 87, quoted in Witt, p. 180. 122 123 SMarceline Erickson, "Speech Training in the Common Schools, Academies and High Schools from 1875-1885," Diss. Univ. of Wisconsin 1949, p. 5. 16Smith, p. 80. 17E. A. Abbott, "The Teaching of English," The Massachusetts Teacher, 21 (Aug. 1868), 271. 18Abbott, p. 273. lgAbbott, p. 376. 20"Shakespeare in Schools," The Massachusetts Teacher, 27 (Feb. 1874), 57. 21 "Shakespeare in Schools," p. 58. 22William Dean Howells, "Literature for the Schools," Atlantic, 46 (July 1880), 134. 23A. F. Blaisdell, "Hints on Teaching English," The Massachusetts Teacher, 27 (March 1874), 93. 24"English Grammar," The Massachusetts Teacher, 23 (May 1870), 167. 25Charles W. Eliot, "The New Education: Its Organization," Atlantic Monthly, March 1869, p. 358. 26 p. 495. A. B. Stark, "Teaching English," Education, 1 (May 1881), CHAPTER V POPULAR THEMES AND TOPICS The conservative tradition in nineteenth century education is illustrated not only by the establishment of a literary canon of authors and specific works which developed during the thirty years previous to mid-century, and remained largely unchanged for the fol- lowing thirty years, but also by the establishment of a limited number of themes and topics which established a place in nearly every advanced reader studied. Not only did the same themes reappear, but the treatment of these themes did not vary. As social and economic conditions changed, compilers continued to reprint the same selections and to include the same themes rather than to select material which would acknowledge and interpret urbanization and industrialization in post Civil War American society. As Elson suggests in the title of her work on nineteenth century texts, the readers functioned throughout the period as "guardians of tradition." A number of themes which involved social values and behavior such as the proper attitude toward religion or death, patriotism, morality, and conduct were present in the earliest religious readers. The influence of romanticism encouraged selections which dealt with 124 125 time, mutability, eternity, and the American Indian. While they were also frequently imbued with moral or religious significance, American pride and curiosity concerning the New World, the frontier, the revolutionary and colonial past, and the applications of developing technology led to many selections concerning danger, adventure, and science. The emphasis on developing elocutionary skills was reflected in the frequency with which elocution was the topic of reader lessons. Although by 1820 reader compilers had removed sectarian religious material from school readers, religion continued to be an important topic throughout the period. Many readers printed a few Biblical selections in each reader, usually psalms or parables, but teachers were not to draw interpretations, because they might reflect a sectarian point of view. An 1850 Brooklyn law, for example, stated that the Holy Scriptures "without note or comment" were not prohibited from classrooms.l Adaptations of Biblical stories were also popular, although early in the century there was a "fairly widespread hostility to the use of Biblical story as literary material," despite "the general preference for didactic poetry."2 These adaptations were considered a violation of the Biblical injunction that nothing was to be added or taken away from the Bible. After Bryant and others suggested that Biblical figures were people like everyone else, about which authors could write so long as they did not contradict the statements in the Bible stories themselves, Biblical adaptations increased in readers. Selections from Airs of Palestine, a book of versified paraphrases of Biblical stories by John Pierpont, appeared 126 in early readers. A favorite selection by N. P. Willis was "David's Lament for Absolom" [10], appearing in ten readers.3 A McGuffey reader contains a selection by Grimke entitled "The Bible the Best of Classics." An introductory note defines the term "classic" as "a book written by an author of the first class." The ser lection does not praise the literary qualities of the Bible, (as some selections do, pointing out the beauty of the psalms). Rather it reminds students that the Bible was written by authority from heaven, ' and it contains truths which are "lovely and "in vision and prophecy,‘ spotless, sublime and holy." An interesting selection by Marsh in Town's Elocutionary Reader (1856) entitled "Influence of the Bible on Literature and Art" points out that the Bible was the Puritan "textbook of parental instruction." Early familiarity with it, Marsh writes, was responsible for "the great intellectual power of the English Puritans of the seventeenth century, and the remarkable metaphysical talent of many of their American descendants." Study of the scriptures "is the fittest preparation both for achieving and appreciating the highest triumphs of human genius . . . in the sublimest flights of poesy." Milton is praised as the greatest English poet, whose works "cannot be appreciated without a knowledge of the Bible." The studies by Elson and Mosier examine the conservative nature of religious sentiments in the readers, and demonstrate how religious values were broadened to include "the gOSpel of wealth, the doctrine of stewardship, and the ethic of thrift, industry, and hard labor."4 Many readers contain selections which emphasize that religion (a term used interchangeably with "Christianity") is the only 127 basis of society, that leading a Christian life is its own reward, that piety and prayer are essential to happiness and success, and that every human act is divinely observed and recorded. Contemporary clergy con- tributed extensively to the readers. Selections from W. E. Channing, appear in half the readers and include such essays as "The Consequences of Atheism" [5], printed in five readers, which states, "Erase all thought and fear of God . . . and . . . a sordid self—interest would supplant every other feeling, and men would become . . . what the theory of atheism declares him to be,-—a companion for brutes." Another selection states that "Religion is the cement of all virtue, and virtue is the moral cement of all society" (38.). Much of the literature which contains religious sentiment, however, embodies the transcendental romantic theme that God can be found through a communion with nature, or the doctrine that the order and beauty in nature is evidence of God. One selection entitled "Nature to the Eye of a Christian" states that although all people see the same natural objects, only the Christian is able "to see His spirit 'move in the breeze and blossom in the spring,' and to read, in the changes which occur in the material world, the varied expres— sion of eternal love" (40., p. 129). Davis's study shows that "God in Nature" was consistently the most frequent aspect of religion appearing in the readers, especially in the literary selections, and that it reached a peak in books published during the 18605. Other common religious themes were the majesty of, trust in, and care of God.5 Warren's study notes that "God was frequently referred to as the Creator of Nature, the universe, and of man,’ especially between 1830 and 1860.6 Elson writes that "with its passions subdued into 128 sentimentality, Romanticism, long after it had declined as a literary movement, was believed eminently suited to children's literature."7 Design in the physical world was considered evidence of God's perfect planning, and throughout the period manifestations of natural order were interpreted as proof of a divinely ordered creation. Bryant's "Thanatopsis" [23] was the single most popular expression of the God- in-Nature theme, appearing in more than one-fourth of the readers studied. It is followed by Coleridge's "Hymn to Mt. Blanc" [18], which includes the lines: Who, with living flowers Of loveliest blue, spread garlands at your feet?-- "God!" let the torrents, like a shout of nations, Answer; and let the ice-plains echo, "God!" Byron's "Apostrophe to the Ocean" [17] from Canto IV of Childe Harold tells readers that he loves "not man the less, but Nature more"-— because nature, often with a capitalized "N" in the readers--represents God. A number of poems reiterate this theme--Bryant's "God's First Temples" (which were the groves) [13]; "To a Waterfowl" [7]; Halleck's "Weehawken" [5]; Heman's "The Voice of Spring" [4]; and Moore's "The Turf Shall Be My Fragrant Shrine" [9]. Typical of a number of selec- tions by minor or anonymous writers is Willis's essay "Unwritten Music" [7], Which states the theme clearly: "There is unwritten music. . . . There is no sound of simple nature that is not music. It is all God's work, and so harmony." Caroline Bowles writes, ”There is a tongue in every leaf—-/ A voice in every rill," through which God speaks to man. Selections on the natural wonders of America were popular, and usually contained references to the Creator. In "Niagra" [6] Lydia 129 Sigourney tells the falls to "Flow on forever, in thy glorious robe," noting that the sight makes one feel "the dread presence of the Invisible." Beecher writes in "The Falls of Niagra" [1] that "There, amid thunderings, and in solitude and darkness, from age to age, Jehovah has proclaimed, I am the ALMIGHTY GOD." To another poet it seems as if God poured the falls "from his 'hollow hand,'/ And hung his bow upon thine awful front" (22.). Occasionally the transcendental idea of God in nature was represented in a harsh and threatening manner. A poem by Robert Pollock entitled "Nature's Teachings" ends Fear God, the thunders said; Fear God, the waves. Fear God, the lightning of the storm replied. Fear God, deep loudly answer'd back to deep (47.)- More frequently, the idea was sentimentalized, as in Charles Sprague's "Winged Worshippers" [6], which tells of a "gay, guiltless pair" of birds which flew into a church during worship services. A majority of the writings of Felicia Hemans, a pOpular British writer, and Lydia Sigourney, her somewhat later American counterpart, deal with senti- mental themes of prayer, trust in God, and the reunion of families after death. In "The Dying Boy" [1] Hemans, for example, writes that it must be sweet for children to give back their spirits to God while they are still young. In "Death of an Infant," the baby's expression is not marred by death, But there beamed a smile, So fixed, so holy, from that cherub brow, Death gazed, and left it there. He dared not steal The signet ring of Heaven. Sigourney frequently hints that the dead are really better off, as in "The Holy Dead" [2], where the dead dread no storms, nor weep nor 130 sigh, and that the holy dead "have done with woe," while "Dread visions mar our rest." She concludes that For spirits round the Eternal Throne How vain the tears we shed! They are the living, they alone, Whom thus we call the dead. Religion was a popular theme in selections intended for declama- tion, since the early compilers felt that their chief obligations in teaching oratory were to train ministers and to enable parents to read the scriptures to their children. William Wirt's description of "The Blind Preacher" [10] from his novel The British Spy was a pOpular selection. Wirt is reverent in his description of the oratorical power and religious commitment of the old man, who begins the sentence, "Socrates died like a philospher"--then, pausing, raising his other hand, pressing them both, clasped together, with warmth and energy, to his breast, lifting his "sightless balls" to heaven and pouring his whole soul into his tremendous voice--"but Jesus Christ--like a God!". . . If this description give you the impression, that this incomparable minister had any thing of shallow, theatrical trick in his manner, it does him great injustice. A number of religious poems make favorite declamation pieces, such as Thomas Campbell's "The Last Man" [10]. In it the poet dreams that he is the last man left on a desolate earth. His faith is not shaken, however, for the sun saw "the last of Adam's race/ The dark'ning universe defy/ to quench his immortality,/ Or shake his trust in God!" The poem makes an interesting contrast with Byron's "Darkness" [9], in which the poet dreams that the sun was extinguished, and the earth set afire. Even then the peOple warred, until all were decimated by famine and the sight of their mutual hideousness. At last "The world was voice," the tides stopped, the moon expired "And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need/ Of aid from them-~she was universe." 131 While Byron's poem was pOpular, especially in the fifties and sixties, its pessimistic fatalism was not frequently found in the readers. Much more typical of the majority of selections is Bryant's "A Dream" [3]. In it the poet has a "strange, wild dream" that nature grows old before his eyes. He acknowledges that men, too, will grow old, but they will open their eyes "in the morning beam" of heaven. Death was a frequent topic in the readers, but it was more often treated in a tone of sweet sadness than with anguish. Bode points out that during the two middle decades of the century the related themes of the death of loved ones and their life in Heaven were prominent in many aspects of American culture.8 Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" [20] is almost as pOpular as "Thanatopsis" [23]. Irving's widely reprinted "Sorrow for the Dead" [15] explains that grief may have an ennobling, almost pleasant impact on the bereaved: The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. . . . This wound we consider it a duty to keep open; this affliction we cherish and brood over in solitude. Where is the mother who would willingly forget the infant that perished like a blossom from her arms, though every recollection is a pang? . . . the child that would willingly forget the most tender of parents, though to remember be but to lament? . . . the love which survives the tomb is one of the noblest attri- butes of the soul. If it has its woes, it has likewise its delights . go to the grave of buried love, and meditate! There settle the account with thy conscience. . . . . console thy broken spirit, if thou canst, with these tender, yet futile tributes of regret; but take warning by the bitterness of this thy contrite affliction over the dead, and henceforth be more faithful and affectionate in the discharge of thy duties to the living. It was Poe who wrote that the death of a beautiful woman was the most fit subject for poetry, and "The Raven" [14] or "Annabel Lee" [3] appear in fifteen readers. The sweetness of a woman's death, 132 however, is most prominent in a poem by James G. Percival entitled "Consumption" [2]. He writes, There is a sweetness in woman's decay When the light of beauty is fading away . dearer the calm and quiet day, When the heaven-sick soul is stealing away. The attractivenss of a dying woman was not an uncommon literary theme at midcentury, however. Hart writes in his study The Papular Book that "Dumas's novel Camille and its pOpular dramatizations may have encour— aged the conception that a taint of tuberculosis moved men to erotic thoughts. At any event, the 'decline' was considered extranely attractive, but most generally it was associated with the sainted mother to whom passion is alien. Her refinement might make her a delicate female, but her morality made her also a genteel woman."9 The death of flowers is a frequent analogue to the death of women or children. Bryant mourns his sister's death in a poem printed in ten readers, which closes with the lines, And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief: Yet no unmeet it was that one, like that young friend of ours, So gentle and so beautiful, should perish with the flowers. In his "The Love of Flowers" [3] Henry Ward Beecher writes that the death of flowers teaches the resurrection of the soul, while in Long- fellow's "The Reaper and the Flowers," [5], the reaper is the angel Death. In Hemans's "The Voice of Spring" [4] the season comes over the earth and "dies," to go where "the loved who have left you dwell,/ And the flowers are not Death's." In "The Hour of Death" [3] she writes how the leaves have their time to fall, in the autumn, while death comes in all seasons. 133 The death of children is a frequent topic in the readers. Occasionally the child is an infant who dies in its mother's arms, and the poem deals with the same extreme of romanticism as does Percival's poem. The following appears in Emerson's Second Class Reader (1832), and is anonymously attributed to a magazine The World : "Its little toys are carefully laid aside as sacred mementos, to keep continually alive that thrilling anguish, which the dying struggle and the last sad look produced; and though grief, like a cancer worm, may be gnawing at her vitals, yet she finds a luxury in her tears, a sweetness in her sorrow, which none but a mother ever tasted." The death of a child was not popular only in readers, however. Bode writes that during the decades preceeding the Civil War, the death of the beloved was "the most sentimentalized of subjects," while "the dying child and the dying mother [were] often in everything from chromos and melodramas to ballads."10 He points out that Dickens "surpassed himself when he treated the favorite topic for pathos of the time: a dying child. The two most heart-rending examples in his work both appeared during the l8403"-—the deaths of Little Nell and of Paul Dombey.11 Dickens' death scenes are the most widely reprinted in the readers. Little Nell dies in eleven readers, while the deaths of Paul Dombey [6] and Henry the little scholar [3] also appear. In each case the death of the child teaches the adult sur— vivors to submit to the will of God, comforted by the knowledge that the child is with God, yet reminded of the frailty of humanity when faced with eternity. Little Nell's death is mentioned by Horace Mann in an essay which accuses fiction of inverting "the whole moral nature" by causing 134 readers "to find delight in tracing the fortunes of imaginary beings, while leaving in the midst of such actual sufferings as ought to dissolve the soul into a healing balm for their relief, without recognizing their existence." He points out that "there is a 'Little Nell' in the next street, or at the next door, of you all," and while this child suffers alone, "the Opulent and the educated, reclining on silken couches in splendid saloons, expend a barren sympathy over woes that never were felt."12 Little Nell's popularity, however, is emphasized not only by frequent reprintings, but by one of the few selections by Bret Harte, entitled "Dickens in Camp." The poem relates how the rough men around the campfire drop their cards to listen once again to the tear-provoking story of "Little Nell" (32,) What Bode describes as the "best known instance of a child's deathbed scene"13--that of Little Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin--appears in none of the readers. Sensitive to their southern and pro-slavery markets, none of the compilers studied included excerpts from Harriet Beecher Stowe's popular masterpiece. In many selections death is the occasion of a reaffirmation of faith. In Thomas Moore's "Perpetual Adoration" [9] the poet imagines himself dead and under the earth, yet writes There's nothing dark, below, above, But in its gloom I trace thy love; And meekly wait that moment when Thy touch shall turn all bright again. It is Longfellow, however, who most clearly articulates the belief in eternity. His "Psalm of Life" [16], which becomes increasingly popular throughout the period, assures that 135 Life is real! life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. His "Resignation" [2] tells his readers that "There is no flock, how- ever watched and tended/ But one dead lamb is there," and argues them to sanctify, not conceal, their grief through silence. After the Revolution textbook compilers shared with literary nationalists the belief that a uniquely American literature and culture should be developed. In the first reader written by an American, The Grammatical Institute,gPart Three, Webster included American selections such as Freneau's "Our General Washington," Warren's and Handcock's speeches on the Boston Massacre, and washington's "Farewell to the Army."14 In the prefaces of a number of readers published during the first twenty years of the study, compilers emphasized American writers. In the American Preceptor (1832) Bingham states that "in making selections for the following work, a preference has been given to the productions of American genius." John Pierpont announced in the preface to the American First Class Book (1823): This country has political institutions of its own, . . . which the men of succeeding generations must uphold. . . . It has a history of its own of which it need not be ashamed-~fathers, heroes and sages of its own, whose deeds and praises are being . . . sung by even the mighty "masters of the lay". . . . Our country both physically and morally has a character of its own. . . . Its mountains and prairies and lakes and rivers . . . were early made sacred by dangers and sacrifices and deaths of the devout and the daring; it does seem as if these were worthy of being held up as objects of interest to . . . young eyes . . . and worthy of being linked with all their sacred associations to the young affections which sooner or later must be bound to them, or they must cease to be what they are--the inheritance and abode of a free people. 136 The Pierpont readers not only emphasized American writings, but included a large amount of literature. They were praised in an 1827 article from the American Journal of Education, which said, "we have depended too much and too long upon Great Britain for elementary works in the different branches of education. It is a recommendation . . . that contributions are so freely drawn from statesmen, scholars, and poets of America, from Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Webster, Everett, Irving, Bryant, Percival, and many others."15 American textbook compilers, however, were striving not simply to assert an American culture, but to capture the reader market from Lindley Murray, (who, although born in Pennsylvania, had emigrated to England before beginning his series). Murray's readers were widely used throughout the first half of the century, until series incorpo- rating elaborate systems of pedagogy became more attractive}6 In his 1832 Sequel Cobb states, for example, that "he has great confidence in the favorable reception of this work, from the circumstance, that it will present to the American youth a selection of pieces, a portion of which is from American writers, none of this class being in the English Reader, the book most generally in use in the schools of this country." In a later reader Cobb points out that democracy would not be served by American youth reading British material, specifically that compiled by Murray. He writes, "The English Reader," the book most generally used in the schools of our country, does not contain a single piece or paragraph written by an American. Is this good policy? is it patriotism? Shall the children of this nation be compelled to read . . . none but the writings and speeches of men, whose views and feelings are in direct opposition to our institutions and our government? Certainly, pride for the literary reputation of our own country, if not patriotism and good policy, should dictate to us the propriety of inserting, in our school-books, specimens of our own 137 literature; and, it is certainly no disparagement to English reading books to state, that they are not adapted to American schools. This reader also contains documents such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence with, as the preface points out, "appropriate questions annexed, that the teacher may frequently examine the scholars, by way of testing their knowledge of these subjects, . . . which is of the highest importance to every citizen." Although compilers frequently satisfied demands for American material with non-literary selections such as historical pieces, orations and geographical descriptions, patriotism was also a means by which literature gained entrance to readers. As Russell Nye points out "the greatest factor in the rise of the American novel was its use as a vehicle for nationalism. Writers discovered how to exploit the American past and the American landscape. . . . the Indian, the forest, d."17 In an article entitled the sea, [and] American history and legen "Incitements to American Intellect," G. S. Hilliard writes that the American artist should find inspiration in American rather than European landscapes, and use American settings and situations to illus- trate American virtues (21.). This attitude encouraged the inclusion of selections from American writers like Cooper, Hawthorne, and a number of lesser known novelists. A note on Bryant in an 1863 reader states that his work contains "the most obvious and all the most retiring graces of our native landscapes, but nothing borrowed from books--nothing transplanted from a foreign soil" (60.). The prevalent attitude toward the development of American literature and culture is best summarized in an excerpt from George 138 Berkeley's "Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America" (41.) The Muse, disgusted at an age and clime Barren of every glorious theme In distant lands now waits a better time, In happy climes, where, The force of art by nature seems outdone, There shall be sung another golden age,-- Westward the course of empire takes its way. A selection by William Seward points out that this golden age in American has not come and gone. Although "the revolutionary age was truly a heroic one," he writes, America still continues its moral and material progress" (47.). A selection by T. S. Grimke appearing in at least three readers is entitled "Duty of Literary Men to Their Country." Grimke comes as a "patriot-scholar, to vindicate the rights and to plead the interests of the American Literature." Preservation of the Union is indispensable to American literature--otherwise it will take as its subjects, as EurOpean literature has,—-war, ruin, hatred, revenge, and ambition. He concludes, But, if we covet for our country the noblest, purest, loveliest literature the world has ever seen,--such a literature as shall honor God, and bless mankind; a literature, whose smiles might play upon an angel's face, . . .--then let us cling to the union of these States, with a patriot's love, with a scholar's enthusiasm, with a Christian's hope. . . . as the ornament of a free, educated, peaceful, Christian people, American Literature will find that the intellectual spirit is her very tree of life, and the Union her garden of paradise. Edward Everett writes in "Free Institutions Favorable to Literature" that "historians, poets, and orators do not flourish under despots, while the great classical literature of the Greeks "sprang 139 at once into life in a region not unlike our own New England,——iron- bound, sterile, and free," once democracy had been established. Even when demands for American literature were at their height, and compilers included adjectives like "American," "North American" and "Columbian" in their titles, British literature occupied a substantial portion of reader content. Attitudes toward British literature were also modified rather quickly, as the image of England in the American mind changed from that of despot to that of parent. As early as 1827, the same year as the Journal of Education article praising Pierpont's patriotism, an editorial in the North American Review condemns the "harsh" patriotism of the earlier readers and commends the new series. It states, The earlier books [Webster's Third Part, The Columbian Orator, and The American Preceptor] were made up principally of declamatory and passionate prose, and frequently solemn poetry. "The Conquest of Canaan," "The Vision of Columbus," and verse of like cast, contributed much to the poetical department. . . . The orations which commemorated the Boston Massacre, the Fourth of July, Shakespeare, Milton, and Pope filled a few pages. . . . The patriotism of the day had much influence in the choice from many of these writers. But it was a harsh, though then a commendable patriotism, and produced a style of eloquence, which was anything but good taste, and which it has been the labor of the succeeding years to get rid of as fast as possible. . . . Our later selections for school reading have been made from better sources and with better taste. They retain much that was the most valuable in the earlier, particularly extracts from the best of the older English poets, and have added much from the more recent authors of the same class.l8 In fact, British literature never disappeared from the readers, and soon compilers dropped references in their titles or prefaces to the nationality of the selections' authors, although in the table of contents they frequently distinguished between British and American authors by using a different type face for American and British writers. This distinction also became important for readers which imitated 140 literary histories. By 1849 Parker was praising Murray in the intro- duction to his Exercises in Rhetorical Reading. He writes, "One of the best selections of reading lessons which has been in use in the common schools of this country is that of Mr. Lindley Murray, called "The English Reader," . . . [which presents] the choicest gems of English literature, selected from the brightest stars of that galaxy familiarly known as the British classics." Perhaps the fact that Murray's texts had been popular, but no longer were economic competitors caused Parker to use Murray's name. An 1868 Massachusetts Teacher article expressed relief that a "competent judge" was not likely ever again to state that "the productions of American artists equal the best efforts of ancient or modern art; . . . that Daniel Webster surpassed Edmund Burke as a thinker, and rivalled Demosthenes as an orator; nor that Prescott 19 combined . . . all the excellences of Hume and Gibbon." The writer advocates the study of English rather than classical literature, but draws no distinction between British and American culture. During the latter decades, however, the proponents of literary study as a means of acculturation reasserted many of the early claims of literary nationalists. They insisted that American literature had fulfilled its promise, and that it inculcated uniquely American virtues and ways of thinking. Francis Underwood states, for example, that Our own literature must be considered as the best part of our history, and the just basis of our national pride. It may be said to have commenced within the memory of men now living; for the venerable Bryant is the earliest of our great poets, and Irving, Cooper, and Channing were the first of our classical prose writers. In less than fifty years we have produced works in all departments of human thought which the world will not let die, and which our mother country is becoming proud to own and adopt. Let us see to it that our youth are taught properly to appreciate these treasures, 141 and for that end, let us endeavor to appreciate them more fully ourselves. 20 Horace Scudder continued to emphasize the importance of American literature to American students throughout the century. In an 1888 article in Atlantic he writes that using American literature would not "breed a narrow and parochial Americanism," but would help students to appreciate foreign literature. He writes, "I am convinced that there is no surer way to introduce the best English literature into our schools than to give the place of honor to American literature. In the order of nature, the youth must be a citizen of his country before he can become naturalized in the world. We recognize this in our geography and history; we may wisely recognize it also in our ' 21 Reader compilers, however, remained committed to a selec- reading.‘ tion of both British and American literature, and an 1875 reader even stated in its preface that it contained "the works of the most celebrated authors in French, English, and American Literature" (82.). At midcentury, as American writers achieved a permanent place in the readers and the fires of literary nationalism cooled, the issue of preserving America's political union emerged in the readers. Davis's figures show that the indissolubility and necessity for the Union became important subjects as early as the thirties, reached a high point during the fifties and sixties, and continued in importance to the end of the period.22 The issue of the federal government versus the rights of the states was a sensitive one for reader compilers, whose series aspired to be national in scope and sales. Throughout the period most reader compilers were New Englanders, and most reader series originated in the northeast, with the exception of the 142 midwestern McGuffey texts. Compilers, however, avoided printing material which might offend a particular region, especially the south. Although there were occasional regional texts, such as the Wood series 23 of New York Readers and Hall's Western Readers, even these readers avoided sectionalism. The author of The Southern Reader (1839) states, for example, that "while the subjects treated in the majority of cases are of a Southern character, all sectional animosities, antagonisms or comparisons have been rigidly excluded, subjects drawn from Southern history, topography, ornithology, adventure, and social customs are illustrated and dwelt upon,local subjects are afforded, and l."24 There was almost no mention of slavery in America, for that is al example, although an 1823 edition of Murray's Introduction to the English Reader contains selections critical of black slavery in the British-dominated island of Jamaica (p. 68). Davis points out that the "blessings of physical liberty" rather than "the evils of slavery" were emphasized. 2 Although in 1861 an article in DeBow's Review 5 recommended establishing a series of Southern textbooks, the only large-scale effort during the period to establish southern readers occurred during the Civil War. "Confederate Series," usually mere imitations of series previously protected by c0pyright, were issued.26 One confederate reader states that there is a need for texts "wholly Southern in sentiment." The unnamed author, the only woman to compile a reader nOt intended specifically for females of the compilers studied, adds, 'Wfllile the ggng of the South are nobly battling for her political, a daughter thus makes an humble effort to keep open the path to literary ind ependence. " 27 143 Before the Civil War the Sanders series had included the largest number of selections on patriotism. An 1848 Fifth Reader (27.) for example, contained the following: "What is Patriotism?" Fisher Ames "Sequel to the Same," Sidney Smith "Patriotism," Walter Scott "The Union of the States," Edmund Randolph "The Constitution," William C. Bryant "Liberty and Union, One and Inseparable," Daniel Webster "American Independence," A. B. Street "The Evils of War," Henry Clay "Peace, the Policy of a Nation," John C. Calhoun "The True Honor of a Nation," W. R. Prince "An Appeal to the Patriotism of South Carolina," Andrew Jackson "Examples of American Patriotism," Edward Everett After the war few series included selections referring to it. Those which did refer to the war, such as Longfellow's "Killed at the Ford" [1], made no reference to the causes of the conflict or to the actual fighting. While in Longfellow's poem the allegiance of the soldier is indicated by a reference to his home "in the distant north," the central incident is the death of his mother at the very moment her son is killed. The dominant image is the poet's vision of the "fatal bullet" which "went speeding forth . . . Till it reached a heart that ceased to beat." An 1875 reader (82.) contains a poem entitled "The Blue and the Gray" which describes how flowers are placed on the graves of both, who together are "waiting the judgment day" (p. 175). Other selections emphasized the value of union for both the north and the south, opposed war on religious or moral grounds, or hoped for an end to war, as in Longfellow's "The Arsenal at Springfield" [2]. Again, the Sanders' series was atypical in its reference to the war in a Union Fifth Reader (1867) preface, which states that a large portion of the contents have been selected "from speeches and 144 writings of recent date, and which, of course, have never been used in any other reading-book. These lessons breathe forth the sentiments of loyalty, and tend to inspire the spirit of patriotism, and a deeper devotion to the cause of our republican institutions, and to the wel- fare of our whole country." While the book contains five selections which refer specifically to the Civil War, the same number refer to the Revolution, one deals with the Mexican War, and eight allude to liberty, freedom, and love of country generally. Hilliard adds a brief section on the Civil War to a Sixth Reader which bears a single copyright date of 1863 (60.). In this section he includes Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, with a biographical-historical note summarizing Lincoln's life and assassination, praising his character, and describing the defeat at Gettysburg. Hilliard also includes Thomas ' which concentrates on the Buchanan Read's poem "Sheridan's Ride,' courage and stamina of Sheridan, but does not deal with war issues. The last selection is an extract from Sumner's eulogy on Lincoln entitled "Washington and Lincoln Compared." While Sumner acknowledges that the two were different but equally great, Washington continues to be the overwhelming favorite of compilers throughout the period. Freedom was also a frequent theme in the readers, particularly between 1830 and 1860?8 Americans not only celebrated their own democracy, but saw themselves as the first in a series of nations which would throw off the fetters of the Old World. "When lowly Greece was battling against the Turk," one historian notes, "there were ten years of American enthusiasm for Greek liberty. Everyone from presidents on down, poets, orators, artists, song-writers, engravers, were busy with 2 celebrating the Cause." 9 Reader compilers were no exception. In 145 1835 Cobb printed an address by the Rev. S. E. Dwight on "Claims of ' which states, "What you give to Greece is to Greece upon America,‘ rescue a nation of Christians from extermination, to deliver the ancient churches, to overthrow the Mahometan imposture, to raise up a standard for the wandering tribe of Israel, and to gather in the harvest of the world" (12.). It was the poet, however, who captured the glory of the oppressed struggling and dying for liberty on the battlefield in selections which were especially suited for declamation. A poem entitled "Marco Bozzaris" [17], which praises a Greek patriot who died fighting for Greek freedom in 1823, makes up one half the selections by the American poet Fitz—Greene Halleck. The readers contain twenty- eight selections by Byron on Greek independence, while Campbell's "Song of the Greeks, 1822" [6] was also pOpular. Three other Campbell battle pieces also celebrate freedom: "Lochiel's Warning" [l3] concerns the defeat of Prince Charles and his army, while Lochiel was content to "Look proudly to heaven from his death-bed of fame"; "Hohenlinden" [9], which commemorates a battle between the French and Austrians which Campbell himself witnessed; and "The Downfall of Poland" [16], in which the poet mourns the death of freedom when Kosciusko and Poland fell to the Russians in 1794. Scott's poem, "Patriotism" [10], beginning "Breathes there a man with a soul so dead," and Percival's "To the Eagle" [7] were both patriotic and good for declamation. Byron's "The Dying Gladiator" [5] reminds the reader of parallels between modern and ancient struggles for freedom, while "Waterloo" [10] describes the revelry of the ball the night before, and the terror of the first sounds of cannon fire. Tennyson's "Charge 146 of the Light Brigade" [11] was his most popular poem, and appeared in one-third of the readers published during the seventies. Even Hemans has a popular martial poem, although it does not deal directly with the battlefield. Her "Bernardo del Carpio" [9] tells of a Spanish warrior who gives up his castle stronghold to obtain the king's release of his father, only to find that the king sends his father's dead body astride his horse. The romantic idea of freedom is prevalent in many poems by Americans, and is frequently associated with natural surroundings. Bryant, inspired by the "old trees, tall oaks, and gnarled pines," writes in "The Antiquity of Freedom" [5] that Freedom is not a fair young girl, "as poets dream," but a bearded man "arm'd to the teeth," who has fought against tyranny before, and who becomes stronger with the years. The most p0pular historical themes embodying patriotism and the quest for freedom were the Revolution and the War of 1812. These topics were also important to American writers eager to establish a distant and romantic past in which to set their stories and tales. The suspicion of fiction early in the century influenced compilers to include selections on history and historical fiction. Scott's novels, for example, were popular and approved because even the soberest moralist felt that one learned both useful knowledge and moral lessons by reading about past events. Pierpont's poetic adaptation of "Warren's Address Before the Battle of Bunker Hill" [9], in which the men are exhorted to "Stand! the ground's your own, my braves!/ Will you give it up to slaves?" is pOpular. Bryant's "Song of Marion's Men" [4]; Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride [7]; Holmes's "Old Ironsides" [6]; 147 and Whittier's "Barbara Frietchie" [4] all remind students of the struggle for freedom from England. In his study of American society and culture from 1830 to 1860, Nye points out that American historians eagerly embraced the theory of historical progress which " showed that the past and present ages were preludes to better ones, and suggested that the creation of the United States was a step forward to that better world. America was not, therefore, the crest of a movement bound to decline; it was instead a new stage in an ever-upward succession of stages."3 "The Present Age" was a pOpular t0pic for writers and orators. In a selection which appeared in seven readers Channing wrote that the greatness of the age, as characterized by Washington and Franklin, might in time prove even greater still: "The glory of an age is often hidden from itself. . . . Perhaps there sleeps in his cradle some reformer, who is to move the church and the world; who is to open a new era in history; who is to fire the human soul with new hOpe and new daring." A number of selections, like Story's "Future of the Republic" [9], point out that American pOpular democracy is "the latest, and if we fail, probably the last experiment in self government. We have begun it under circumstances of the most auspicious nature. We are in the vigour of youth!" The future of the Republic, however, is assured not only by its institutions, but by the kind of honest, hardworking, God-fearing common man which Longfellow portrays in "The Village Blacksmith" [10]. While many Americans wrote pieces inSpired by the Pilgrim forefathers, the British poet Hemans achieved the right combination of the fervor of religious freedom set against the darkness and danger of "a stern 148 and rock-bound coast" in her "Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers" [8]. Sprague's "The Fathers of New England" [6] also emphasizes freedom, while Everett's "The Advantages of Adversity to Our Forefathers" [7] points out that persecution kept opportunists out of the Pilgrim ranks and hardships in the New World kept them strong and united. Pierpont's "The Pilgrim Fathers" [4] assures its readers that the strong spirit of America's founders has not fled. Americans were anxious to see how far they had come as a people, and Irving's "Primitive Tea Parties in New Netherlands" [12] showed how uncouth the colonists had been when the Dutch controlled New York. Bancroft's "Former and Present Condition of New York" [6] served a similar function. Other of his selections concern Revolutionary incidents, such as the Battles of Bunker Hill, Lexington, and Ticon- deroga. Many of Webster's printed speeches commemorate historical events, such as his speech at the "Dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument" [13], which assures that "the foundations of our national power still stand strong." The elocutionary emphasis of most readers resulted in the reprinting of a number of patriotic speeches and poems. Webster's speech ending with "liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable" is printed in sixteen readers, while "South Carolina and Massachusetts"--part of an 1829 debate between Webster and Hayne of South Carolina over the Union and patriotism-~was printed twenty times, most often in the sixties, but frequently also in the last two decades. Another popular Webster selection, the "Supposed Speech of John Adams in Favor of the Declaration of Independence" [14], begins "Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand, 149 and my heart, to this vote." The speeches of Edward Everett, a more literary orator, are popular. A typical selection is "Our National Banner" [2], about which he writes, "May it ever wave in honor, in unsullied glory and patriotic hope, on the dome of the capitol, on the country's stronghold, on the entered plain, on the wave-rocked t0p- mast." As compilers ceased to include religious selections in readers, they often replaced them with secular material that emphasized morality and conduct. Charles Carpenter points out that one reason for the success of the McGuffey series was its emphasis on ethical attitudes and behavior during "an age in which the 'Virtues' were highly and generally extolled."31 Selections emphasize that while wealth is at- tainable through virtue and effort, hard work is also its own reward, and that the poor should therefore be content. While a story by Horatio Alger appears in one of the later readers, selections from Pope con- cerning hierarcy and order were also widely reprinted. Although Emerson's "Self Reliance" appears only once, a number of selections teach the student that the best education is self education, that hard work is not only necessary but virtuous, and that adversity is to be welcomed. Channing writes that self culture is not "two a dream, but a "solemn duty." Within men, he writes, there are great principles--the self-seeking and the disinterested; and the most important part of self-culture is to depress the former and to exalt the latter, or to enthrone the sense of duty within us." His essay on "Books" [5] states that through reading one comes into contact with superior minds and that even the poor should sacrifice "almost any 150 luxury" for them. William Wirt's "No Excellence Without Labor" [6] counsels that "the education, moral and intellectual, of every indi— vidual, must be chiefly his own work," and not that of his teachers. A selection entitled "Importance of Mental Culture" (32., p. 358) warns that downward as well as upward mobility is possible if a person is careless or lazy: "Cultivated intelligence qualifies a man to rise from humble life to influence in the world," the author writes. "Men are constantly changing places in society. The descendents of honor- able parentage often sink to degradation, in spite of the advantages of birth." The most popular selection to advocate industry, however, is Jane Taylor's "The Discontented Pendulum" [3]. It tells of a pendulum on a farmer's clock which, on thinking of the number of strokes it must perform in a day, becomes overwhelmed, and stops. The dial, how- ever, tells the pendulum that while "you may Ehink of a million strokes in an instant, you are required to execute but one; . . . a moment will always be given you to swing in." Taylor supplies an interpretive moral in which the reader is reminded that "glory, honor, and immor— tality" are properly sought by the patient completion of the task at hand. In another popular Taylor selection, humility is shown superior to vanity through the "Contrasted Soliloquies" [8] of a vain girl and a humble girl. The humble girl (who is sometimes replaced by the figure of a "silver-headed sage") realizes that it is folly for man to "glory in his contract powers, or to value himself upon his imperfect acquisitions." Other selections teach that man should not strive for wealth, but rather for salvation. Sigourney writes that "True Riches" [2] 151 are faith and love of God, which make one heir to the kingdom of heaven. In "The Good Great Man" [3] Coleridge concludes that great men seldom inherit honor or wealth, and that their treasures are love, light and calm thoughts. One of Irving's most popular selections is "The Wife" [13], which praises "the fortitude with which women sustain the most overwhelming reverses of fortune." It relates how a couple are reduced to the poverty of a vine-covered cottage, yet are drawn even closer by their misfortunes because the wife is able to make their humble home cheerful and comfortable. Selections from Everett include "Man Made for Labor" [2] and "Knowledge Vs. Gold" [1], in which he advises men to choose knowledge. "On Pampering the Body at the Soul's Expense" [4] begins, "What sir, feed a child's body, and let his soul hunger! pamper his limbs, and starve his faculties!" While Everett does not advocate that children starve, he does warn men that they should reflect with awe when entering a school, where "mortal minds are training for eternity." In Gray's "Hymn to Adversity" [4] the poet writes that adversity's milder influences have taught him to empathize, love and forgive others, and to be a man. In "Decisive Integrity" [7] William Wirt writes, "The man who is so conscious of the rectitude of his intentions, as to be willing to open his bosom to the inspection of the world, is in possession of one of the strongest pillars of a decided character." The man who is conscious of guilt, however, is constantly dodging and "afraid of all around, and much more, of all above him." One of Webster's most popular excerpts, however, warns that the guilty man will betray him- self. In "Guilt Cannot Keep Its Own Secrets" [13], Webster comments on the trial of a murderer who is driven to suicide by his guilt, 152 concluding, "It must be confessed, it will be confessed, there is no refuge from confession but suicide, and suicide is confession." In selections such as Irving's "Birds of Spring" [4] students are urged against self indulgence. Irving writes, for example, that people should emulate the birds which do not migrate to the warm south to indulge themselves, but who choose instead, to "fly high." While almost every reader has an anti-drinking selection, some written by prominent writers like Pierpont, Channing, and Wirt, the most pOpular piece on temperance and a number of other human failings is a light, amusing sketch from Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales, entitled, "A Rill from the Town Pump" [12]. Through reflection and conversation the pump relates the evils of drink, telling a gouty gentleman, for example, to "Go draw the cork, [and] tip the decanter; but when your great toe shall set you a-roaring, it will be no affair of mine." The family was the center of morality, and the readers, especially series like McGuffey's, praise the home and the mother as its center. Sprague's "The Family Meeting" [6] expresses the common sentiment that the words, "We are all here,‘ spoken at a family gathering are "words of bliss." Many readers contain selections advocating respect for and obedience to parents, such as Channing's "Duties of Children to Parents" [4] and his "Advice to the Young" [3]. A number of selections directed toward girls and women urged them to assume their role as the moral center of their families and the moral leaders of society by learning to minister to the domestic and spiritual needs of their family. 153 Time, mutability, and eternity were pOpular themes in reader selections. On a spiritual level students were taught that all earthly things passed away, and permanence was to be found only in the after- life; practically they were warned that time ill—spent never could be recovered and would bring woe to the foolish. The clock was a favorite image, as in John Pierpont's "Passing Away" [8], which describes a clock with the figure of a little girl on the pendulum, who grows older and older before the viewer's eyes. Longfellow's "Old Clock on the Stairs" [12] reminds its viewers of eternity by its constant tick—took refrain, "For ever--never,/ Never--for ever!" In "Paul Flemming Resolves" [4] Longfellow warns that time, with "reckless hand," tears out "the leaves from the book of human life," and that only "firm resolve" enables a man "to record upon the leaves that still remain, a more noble history than the child's story, with which the book began." To Sigourney in "Advertisement for a Lost Day" [3] a day is a "gem of countless cost" for which she will be held accountable at "the dread inquiry." Another writer cautioned that if a person could not be con- tent with only moments, not years, of happiness then he should "take up with nothing earthly; set [his] affections on things above; there alone is 'no variableness of shadow of turning'" (12., p. 174). Long- fellow warns, "Let no one fondly dream again/ That Hope and all her shadowy train/ Will not decay." Another selection states, "We receive such repeated intimations of decay in the world through which we are passing,-—decline, and change, and loss, follow decline, and change, and loss, in such rapid succession,--that we can almost catch the sound of universal wasting, and hear the work of desolation." The 154 only evidence of stability is "the throne of God: change and decay have never reached that; the revolution of ages has never moved it." A favorite subject was also the futility of man's attempts to attain everlasting fame. In "The Uses of History" [3] Irving writes, "How vain, how fleeting, how uncertain are all those gaudy bubbles after which we are panting and toiling in this world of fair delusion!" Concerning "The Battlefield" [2], Hemans states that the flower of fame and glory "blossoms for a day, then quickly vanishes away.” To Moore in "There's Nothing True but Heaven" [1], "This world is all a fleeting show, while a poem by Willis calls "Ambition” [4] a "glorious cheat," since men go "stripped and naked to the grave." The corrupting process of time is also seen in the life of the individual, who loses his childlike innocence in growing to maturity. Sigourney's popular prose selection "I Have Seen an End to All Perfec- tion" [7] relates that beautiful children grow up to become ruined, or die young, or become irreligious and cruel. On seeing the evils of corruption in one of her own children, the poet writes, "And when I knew that this mind was once the teachable child that I had loved, the beautiful infant that I had gazed upon with delight, I said in my bitterness, 'I have seen an end to all perfection'; and I laid my mouth in the dust." While certainly not written from the viewpoint of an embittered mother, Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality" deals with the same process. The poem appears, at least in part, in seven readers,--an unusually high frequency for a fairly complex poem. A more typical popular favorite on the same theme is "The Barefoot Boy" [16] by Whittier, in which the poet wishes the child could appreciate the joy of childhood innocence "ere it passes." 155 Tennyson mourns that "the tender grace of a day that is dead/ Will never come back to me" in "Break, Break, Break" [5]. His more popular "Ring Out Wild Bells" [8] (Stanza CVI of "In Memoriam") is both a good declamation piece and an optimistic view of the changes which time brings,--"Ring out the darkness of the land,/ Ring in the Christ that is to be." His poem "The Brook" [9], however, emphasizes man's ephemeral aspect when contrasted with nature, as the brook repeats, "For men may come and men may go,/ But I go on forever." Selections concerning the American Indians represented a favorite romantic and authentically American subject. In a few of the early texts, however, the Indian was the subject of eyewitness narratives, or was attacked by the supporters of eradicationist government policies. In writing about literary traditions in the late eighteenth century, Leon Howard points out that the concept of the Indian was drawn "from evidence rather than from romantic dreams. According to the findings of Jefferson, for example, the Indian was eloquent, courageous, and family-oriented. Trader James Adair found Indians to treasure liberty and equality, while their achievements, according to the poet Barlow and the historian Samuel Williams, "included the establishment of a monarchy more happy and benevolent than any before recorded in the history of unchristianized mankind. In short, they found or thought they found through observation a savage almost as noble as any developed in the European literary tradition which may have had a brief vogue in Philadelphia society but which generally had little effect in eighteenth century America."32 156 In Criticism in America John P. Prichard writes that to Americans before 1820, the Indian was not a romantic character, since Indian raids and wars were still fresh in the memory of many living persons. Furthermore, "the settlers, especially in New England, had ruthlessly destroyed the aborigines, and Americans were even then grossly abusing them as an inferior race. It was embarrassing to glorify a people whom your ancestors had butchered and whom you were even then diapossessing."33 Some of the early readers contain the viewpoint of both the Indian fighter and the romantic. Angell's Select Reader (1836), for example, contains an account of an attempted Indian massacre. The author relates how his party avoided the ambush, and opened fire on the "perfidious savages, not one of whom escaped destruction by the snare into which their cowardly and blood-thirsty dispositions had led them" (p. 139). The selection, drawn from an account of the Revolu- tion, points out, however, that friendly Indians fought on the American side. In the same reader there is also a typical romantic selection by a "Miss Francis" concerning an old Indian, once the "Eagle of the Mohawks," who had returned to the consecrated grave of his wife to die. He finds that the huge oak he had planted has been destroyed by white farmers, and lies withering on the ground. His last words are "An Indian cannot die here in peace.‘ So saying, he broke his bowbstring, snapped his arrows, threw them on the burial- place of his fathers, and departed forever." A few selections are concerned with either supporting or denouncing government policies toward Indians. An article by a military officer which originally appeared in the Southern Review is reprinted 157 in the North American Reader (1835). The author denies the argument that "the Indians were the Aborigines of North America, and were scattered over its soil, they therefore, by the law of nature, were owners of it." He states that if people lived "only by hunting, fishing, and wild fruits, our globe would not be sufficient to maintain a tenth part of its present inhabitants. PeOple, then, have not deviated from the views of nature in confining the Indians to their narrow limits" (p. 442). In the same reader, however, there is a "Dialogue between Charles II and William Penn" from the Friend of Peace. The king warns Penn against the barbarism of the native "cannibals," but Penn assures him that they are "the fondest and kindest people in the world," who have been driven to revenge only by the aggression of white settlers. Penn states that he will buy the land from the Indians, even though he had already bought it from the king, since the king had no right to the land (pp. 387-89). To imply the mistreatment of Indians occurred in a remote past and was perpetrated by the British Empire was a prevalent explanation of the Indians' plight.34 A reader compiled at the end of the Civil war contains one of the few selections dealing with a contemporary instance of Indian oppression-- the forced march of the Cherokees, whose high degree of civilization is acknowledged by the author (64.). In only one reader is there any Optimism concerning the possi- bility for peaceful coexistence between Indians and whites, and that is in Murray's Sequel of 1824. The author writes that "there is a cheering prospect which is now opening in favor of the American Indians. . . . [who are] not only entitled to compassion, but to our 'active and liberal c00peration in the present happy measures, for 158 diffusing amongst them [are] the blessings of civil life, and the benign influence of Christianity" (p. 108). It seems likely that only an American living in EurOpe could have held such a viewpoint. To American writers searching for an indigenous American theme, the Indian seemed to be a logical choice, yet early in the century they lacked an appropriate form. The Gothic tale provided a vehicle for works incorporating the Indian, as in C. B. Brown's Egggg Huntly, whose panther scene appeared in five readers. An 1831 book notes that the Indians stand "as human monuments of Gothick grandeur, fearful and tremulous amid the revolutions of time" (8., p. 105). The narratives of Cooper and the metrical romances of Scott, however, provided the dominant models during the first half of the century. Orians notes an increased interest in the Indian after 1817 because of the colorful career of Tecumseh, the publishing of the Proceedings of the Treaty of Chicago negotiations, and a number of books on Indians and Indian legends.35 Nye points out that attention was focused on the Indian because of the ninety-four Indian removals and the treaties between 1829 and 1837, and the appearance of books by experts like Schoolcraft and Catlin, who portrayed Indians as'a "dying race."36 The concept of the Indian as a race which was doomed was appealing to writers for a number of reasons. The Byronic hero and the melancholy of Ossian could easily be applied to "Indian Chieftains lamenting the destiny of their race or, at the ruins of a cherished landmark, dolefully chanting of old wrongs and former griefs."37 Acceptance of the fact that the Indian race was doomed to extinction because of its natue enabled poets to sing of Indian virtues without criticizing the current government policies of eradication and removal. 159 In addition, they chose incidents from the past such as pre-Revolutionary campaigns, to avoid the topicality of newspaper verse and to fit the "neutral ground" which Hawthorne referred to. An 1836 reader deals with the death of Tecumseh twenty-three years earlier, for example, but does not condemn the Moravian massacre. Instead, the poet writes O ne'er may the nations again be cursed With conflict so dark and appalling!-- Gloom, silence and solitude rest on the spot Where the hopes of the red man perished; But the fame of the hero who fell shall not By the virtuous, cease to be cherished (15.). The idea that keeping the memory of the Indians alive through litera- ture is recompense for their decline occurs in other selections. Two reader selections point out the fallacy of the romantic view of the Indian. One essay entitled "Traits of Character" by Flint states that "It is preposterous to admire, as some pretend to do, the savage character in the abstract. Let us make every effort to convey pity, mercy, and immortal h0pe, to their rugged bosoms. Pastorals that sing savage independence and generosity, and gratitude and happiness in the green woods, may be Arcadian enough to those who never saw savages in their wigwams, nor felt the apprehension of their nocturnal and hostile yell. . . . Let our great effort be to tame and domesticate the Indians" (38., p. 300). Irving expresses a similar sentiment in "The Indians Among Themselves" [l], in which he states that Indians are gossips, not stoics, and mimics and buffoons rather than people of grandeur and dignity. "As far as I can judge," he writes, "the Indian of poetical fiction is like the shepherd of pastoral romance, a mere personification of imaginary attributes" (38., p. 383). Nevertheless, in other selections Irving represents 160 the Indian in the popular romantic way--he calls "the character and habits of the North American Indians. . . . wonderfully striking and sublime." His sensibilities run in narrower, but "steadier and deeper channels" than whites, while his noble nature has been corrupted by his contact with civilization" (12., p. 52). Of King Phillip Irving writes, with heroick qualities and bold achievements that would have graced a civilized warrior, and have rendered him the theme of the poet and the historian, he lived a wanderer and a fugi— tive in his native land, and went down, like a lonely bark, foundering amidst darkness and tempest; without a pitying eye to weep his fall, or a friendly hand to record his struggle (12.). It is this picture which prevails in the readers, although a harsh view reemerges in Cathcart's Literary Reader (1874). He includes a brief selection from Dickens entitled "The Noble Savage," in which Dickens calls a savage "a something highly desirable to be civilized off the face of the earth," who is "cruel, false, thievish, murderous; addicted more or less to grease, entrails, and beastly customs; a wild animal with the questionable gift of boasting; a conceited, tiresome, blood; thirsty, monotonous humbug" (p. 283). Cathcart also includes an excerpt from Bancroft on Indian massacres, which depicts the Indians as wantonly vicious and bloodthirsty. More typical is "The White Rose of Miami" (18., p. 58), which tells of a young white girl who prefers to remain with her Indian captors, whom she has come to love. The Indians are praised for their love of freedom and for their courage, as the Seminole chief who says, And I'll taunt ye with my latest breath, And fight ye till I die! I ne'er will ask ye quarter, And I ne'er will be your slave (24., 50.). 161 Heman's theme of death is easily articulated in "The Aged Indian's " who Lament" [2], the tale of a chief whose "noon of life is past, crouches "before the wintry blast" and dwells alone amidst his tribe. In "Indian Names" [4] Sigourney manages to incorporate Indian words like Ontario, Niagra, and Rappahonnock into her poem to show that "name although the noble and brave Indian is said to be extinct, its is on your waters; Ye may not wash it out." In 1855 the Indian as romantic literary subject reached its apotheosis in Hiawatha, when Longfellow became, according to Mott, "the greatest popular poet of America. The poem had an advance sale of four thousand, and sold ten thousand within a month and fifty thousand in five months." Although verses from Hiawatha appeared in ten readers, the most frequently compiled selection was an essay which embodied the "dying race" theory. Excerpts from Charles Sprague's "The Melancholy Fate of the North American Indians" appeared in fourteen readers. Sprague writes that Indians once lived nobly where whites now enjoy civiliza- tion. The Indians were fierce, but "when the tiger strife was over, here curled the smoke of peace"; the Indians "knew not the God of revelation, but the God of the universe he acknowleged in every thing aroun ." That the Indian race would die out is unfortunate, but is expressed in a metaphor taken from nature: "Across the ocean came a pilgrim bark, bearing the seeds of life and death. The former were sown for you; the latter sprang up in the path of the simple native." While Sprague does not discuss the larger reasons for the failure of coexistence or assimilation, the immediate causes are the triumph of art over nature, and education over ignorance. He accepts without [62 question the inevitable decay of Indian life when exposed to western civilization: The Indian of falcon glance, and lion bearing, the theme of the touching ballad, the hero of the pathetic tale, is gone! and his degraded offspring crawl upon the soil where he walked in majesty . . . They will live only in the songs and chronicles of their exterminators. Let these be faithful to their rude virtues as men, and pay due tribute to their unhappy fate as people. A second essay appeared less frequently but slightly earlier in the readers, and was written by Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story. In "Character and Decay of the North American Indian" [7], he acknow— ledges that Indians are unchristian but nevertheless admirable, possessing traits of "courage and fortitude, and sagacity and perser- verance, beyond most of the human race. . . . If they forgave not injury, neither did they forget kindness. If their vengeance was terrible, their fidelity and generosity were unconquerable also." Story is also convinced that "by a law of their nature, they seemed destined to a slow, but sure extinction." The Indians' fate is not a result of governmental policy, but rather a "moral cancer, which has eaten into their heart—cores; a plague, which the touch of the white man communicated; a poison, which betrayed them into a lingering ruin." Story is certain that extinction is inevitable, which makes the Indian a fit romantic subject, and contemporary government policy irrelevant. "They have passed the fatal stream. It shall never be repassed by them,--no, never. . . . there is for them still one remove farther, not distant, nor unseen. It is to the general burial-ground of their race." Aside from their "melancholy decay" one of the most fascinating aspects of Indian character for the nineteenth century American was the 163 supposed Indian gift of eloquence. As children of nature, leading a life of untutored simplicity their speech naturally attached itself to things, as Emerson said it should. One reader states, "At a time when barbarous nations elsewhere had lost their primitive purity, we find the American Indian the only true child of nature,--the best specimen of man in his native simplicityJ' An essay entitled "Indian Eloquence" states: Oratory seldom finds a more auspicious field. A wild people and region of thought, forbade feebleness; uncultivated, but with intel- ligence and sensibility, a purity of idea, chastity combined with energy or expression, ready fluency and imagery, now exquisitely delicate, now soaring to the sublime, all united to rival the efforts of any ancient or modern orator. What can be imagined more impressive than the warrior, rising in the council-room, to address those who bore the same sacred marks. . . . The dignified stature, the easy repose of the limbs, the graceful gesture. the dark, speaking eyes, excite equal admiration and expectation. We would anticipate eloquence from an Indian. He has . . . a mind which, like his body, has never been trammeled and mechanized by the formalities of society, and passions which, from the very outward restraint imposed upon them, burn more fiercely within. A number of Indian speeches are reprinted in the readers, especially in those concerned with oratory. Nineteen of the books examined contain "authentic" Indian speeches, and/or a "supposed" Indian speech written by statesman and orator Edward Everett. An 1863 reader contains a speech which Everett delivered, as governor of Massachusetts, to a delegation of the Sauk and Fox tribes who had come to Washington to negotiate a boundary matter. An explanatory notes that the speech "is a happy imitation of the peculiar style of oratory common to our North American Indians" (59.). The more popular speech, however, is reprinted in six readers throughout the period (in 1848, 1852, 1856, 1858, 1863, and 1873). This speech is what Everett 164 imagines the Indian King Phillip might have said, looking down on the settled countryside. In the speech Phillip explains how the Indian was defrauded of his land, and he pledges a fight to the death: the land is mine. I understand not these paper rights. I gave not my consent, when . . . these broad regions were pur— chased for a few bawbles, of my fathers. . . . How could my father sell that which the Great Spirit sent me into the world to live upon? . . . The Great Spirit has not made us to live together. There is poison in the white man's cup. . . . Shall I~go to the south, and dwell among the graves of the Pequots? Shall I wander to the west,--the fierce Mohawk--the man-eater--is my foe. Shall I fly to the east,--the great water is before me. . . . there is eternal war between me and thee. . . . thou shalt build, and I will burn,--till the white man or the Indian shall cease from the land. The speeches also include those of Logan [6], a friendly Mingo who upbraids whites for their mistreatment of Indians, while the Indian always extends his hospitality to whites. The speech of Black Hawk upon giving himself up in 1832 at Prairie Du Chien is printed in five readers. A note to this speech in Sander's Fifth Reader (1848) contains the only hint expressed in the readers that the speeches might not be authentic, although the note refers to content, and not to style. It states that "the following speech, which though it does not breathe the Christian spirit of forgiveness, yet bespeaks a nobleness which, under the circumstances, could hardly be expected from an untutored Indian." The consistent association of Indians with eloquence is illus— trated by a selection which is used for practicing "the Pause" in an 1846 reader: "Whether this may have been the case or not, I am too much a stranger to the interior transactions of this country to decide. But it seems to me that, were I as a president of the U--S--, I would glory in going to the Indians, throwing myself on my knees before them, and saying to them, 'Indians, friends, brothers, 0! forgive my 165 countrymen!'" (24., p. 63). Another selection by John Neal entitled The Tomahawk Submissive to Eloquence" (47., pp. 499—501) relates how a young man prevents Indians from killing him through the power of his oratory. A number of selections which deal with danger and adventure also serve a didactic function. Beecher's sermon on the loss of the ship "Arctic" [7], bound from Liverpool to New York in 1854, emphasizes the constant pressure of death in life. Beecher writes, The pilot stood at the wheel, and men saw him. Death sat upon the prow, and no eye beheld him. . . . Death was the pilot that steered the craft, and none knew it. . . . Down, down they sank, and the quick returning waters smoothed out every ripple, and left the sea as placid as before. In "Casabianca" [5] Hemans immortalizes "the boy [who] stood on the burning deck," and died obeying his father's order. Wordsworth celebrates "The Heroism of Grace Darling," [3], who bravely helped to rescue shipwrecked men. The most widely reprinted shipwreck story comes from "The Voyage" [13], one of the accounts in The Sketchbook in which Irving relates a sea captain's tale of a ship collision in the fog. Other selections deal with danger and adventure, narrow escapes, catastrophes, and wild animals seemingly for their excitement and interest to students. Charles Brockden Brown, for example, is represented by "Description of the Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadel- phia" [1] from Arthur Mervyn and "Encounter with a Panther" [5] from Edgar Huntly. Of the thirty-five Cooper selections, eight relate Leatherstocking's rescue of Elizabeth Temple from a panther, three describe how the ship Ariel is rescued from the shoals, and the 166 remainder cover battles, prairie fires, sea chases, bison stampedes and escapes. Seven of the eight Defoe selections are from Robinson Crusoe, while selections from Irving include "Capturing the Wild Horse" [4] and "The Stolen Rifle" [3], which tells how frontiersmen attempted to retrieve a rifle from the Indians. Some of the early readers contain realistic, eye witness accounts of the frontier wilderness and its native inhabitants. An 1821 edition of Bingham's American Preceptor, for example, includes an account of an English officer captured and later released by Indians during the French and Indian wars, and a long Indian captivity narrative written in its original simple and direct style, by Mrs. Jemima Howe, "Taken by the Indians, at Hinsdale, New—Hampshire, July 27, 1775." Tales of the discovery of America and accounts of the exploration of its interior were also popular. Stories of the western frontier did not appear, although descriptions of natural wonders such as "Yo Semite" began to replace selections on eastern landmarks such as Virginia's natural bridge. Within the pages of the advanced readers there was no sense of conflict between the romantic view of nature and the development of the technology which was industrializing and mechanizing the New Eden. In Cobb's North American Reader (1835) one writer states that the newly established, rude home in the wilderness is a "more agreeable picture" to him than the cultivated farm; "there is an inexpressible charm in the pastoral simplicity" of the new dwelling, he writes, "before pride and self-consequence have banished the repose of their Eden, and when you witness the first strugglings of social toil with the barren 167 luxuriance of nature" (12., p. 198). An 1857 reader contains a poem entitled "The Song of Steam," which hints at the potential which technology has for creating chaos and destruction. The steam engine notes that it can propel ships ,cross mountains, dig mines, and forge steel, but it warns: But harness me down with your iron bands; Be sure of your curb and rein! For I scorn the strength of your puny hands, As the tempest scorns a chain! (49.). In the majority of selections, however, nature is viewed as a resource to exploit, while scientific discoveries neither conflict with religious beliefs nor create social disorder, but rather furnish people with useful tools. In a selection which appears in two readers, Horace Greeley writes that the mastery of men over nature is "an inspiring truth." He praises the power and speed of the steam loco— motive, and asks, "What had Old Romance wherewith to match the every-day realities of the Nineteenth Century?" Since order within nature was evidence of the work of a divine creator, scientific tools like the microscope confirmed rather than brought into question religious beliefs. As one writer states, "we are raised by science to an understanding of the infinite wisdom and goodness which the Creator has displayed in all his works (38., p. 442). Henry ware writes in "Ursa Major" [7] that in the stars "The hand of God/ Has written legibly what man may know,—-THE GLORY OF THE MAKER." The possibility of life on other planets increases the poet's awe at the extent of divine power. Another writer states that "The order, harmony, and regularity in the revolutions of the heavenly bodies are proofs so incontestable of the existence of God, that an 168 eminent poet has well said, 'An undevout astronomer is mad'" (49., p. 845). The microscope reveals "those mosses and little plants which God has produced in such abundance" (24., p. 187) while Edward Everett found "The Discoveries of Geology Consistent with the Spirit of Religion" [2]. The most popular selections, however, deal with applied technology. Emerson's Second Class Reader (1832) contains a selection describing "The Steamboat on Trial," with an attached moral which com— pares the trial of the boat to the human trial on earth. "God wishes you," the author writes, to look within, to examine the complicated movements of your heart, to detect what is wrong, to modify what needs change, and to rectify every irregular motion" (9., p. 163). Story describes the launch of "Fulton's First Steamboat" [4], however, in more vivid and more secular terms. The telegraph was a favorite subject, perhaps because it touched the lives of all people immediately, as news could be instantly transmitted across the country or even across the ocean. A note to a poem entitled "The Magnetic Telegraph" in an 1848 reader states, "The following poetry was transmitted by the Magnetic Telegraph from Washington to Baltimore. Though this fact adds nothing to its beauty, yet it was a happy thought to select the wonderful invention of which it speaks, as the medium of communication" (27., p. 112). A poem entitled "The Electric Telegraph" [3] expresses the hope that this new invention will eradicate ignorance, and states a preferance for the "wonder-working wire" over the "Orphean lyre." Bryant marvels how messages travel over "The Magic Wire" [2] which lies under the sea, from one quiet room to another on the other side of the globe. He 169 sees in this "a new proof of the superiority of mind to matter, of the independent existence of the . . . spirit. . . . I infer the capacity of the spirit for a separate state of being, its indestructible essence and its noble destiny, and I thank the great discoverer whom we honor for this confirmation of my faith. Scientific selections are included not only in Willson's Series, but also in readers composed entirely of literature. Cathcart states in the preface to his Literary Reader (1874), that scientific writings are no longer "dry and almost repellent," but abound in "passages of marked beauty even when judged according to the standards of pure literature." The selections reflect standard themes, however, as in James Dwight Dana's "Knowledge of Nature," which concludes, "Nature is not now full of gloom and terror. . . . Although God still holds supreme control, and often makes man remember whence his strength, yet every agent [of nature] . . . is becoming a gentle and ready assistant . . . in the material progress of nations, as well as in their moral and intellectual advancement" (p. 306). Cathcart also fails to include any writings by Darwin or any selections which contradict the Biblical account of creation. Reader selections concerning elocution were not limited to Indian speeches. Only the writings of Longfellow, Bryant, and Irving appeared in more readers than did the speeches of Webster, while Everett's writings and orations ranked eighth in frequency of appear— ance. Excerpts from Webster's speech on "Liberty and Union" were included in sixteen of the readers studied, while his "Supposed Speech of John Adams" [14] defending the Declaration of Independence; "Crime 170 Its Own Detector" [13], in which a murderer confesses his guilt; and Webster's speech on the Bunker Hill monument [13], his greatest commemorative Speech, are all popular. For Webster, however, oratory was not a mere performance: its consequences were fatal. In a selection appearing in nine readers throughout the period he describes the "Nature of True Eloquence" [9] by maintaining that "high intellectual and moral endowments" and "strong passions," not "speech" or even "labor and learning,’ produce true eloquence, but that eloquence "must exist in the man, in the ' He continues, "the graces taught in subject, and in the occasion.’ the schools, the costly ornaments and studied contrivances of speech, shock and disgust me, When their own lives, and the fate of their wives, their children, and their country, hang on the decision of the hour." Oratory in the schools nonetheless continued to be taught-- although consistently the emphasis was on achieving an understanding of what was to be declaimed, and on a natural style. William Ware argues in "Industry Necessary to Form the Orator" [6] that the singer takes lessons and practices, while singing is merely a mechanical execution of a prearranged song. The extempore speaker, however, must be able to "invent as well as to utter, to carry on an operation of the mind as well as to produce sound." Ware compares the voice to an organ, which is capable of "various combinations of sound, and . . . full richness and delicacy of expression." Cicero and Demosthenes had great endowments, but they would have been wasted without practice. Even the religious instructor must practice if his words are to have "that holy 171 energy by which they are to convert the soul and purify man for heaven." A number of Americans are praised in the reader for their eloquence. William Wirt, a writer and lawyer famous for his defense of Blennerhasset in the Aaron Burr treason trial, contributed a number of selections on oratory. His description of Franklin's "Colloquial Powers" appeared in ten readers, while his description of the "Blind Preacher" [9] who is able to draw "groans, and sobs, and shrieks" from the congregation, who makes the writer understand "what Demosthenes ' and who has a slow, solemn, meant by laying such stress on delivery,‘ well-accentuated enunciation" and a "voice of affecting, trembling melancholy," is clearly laudatory. An article in an 1875 reader describes Webster's defense of the charter of Dartmouth College before the Supreme Court in 1818, in which the writer is taught by Webster's weeping that "the pathetic depends not merely on the words uttered, but still more on the estimate we put upon him who utters them" (82., p. 386). Even non—professional orators such as Hawthorne recount their experiences. In one of the later readers, however, there is an indication that the attitude of reverence toward elocution was declining. Sheldon's Fifth Reader (1875) contains a humorous account by Mark Twain entitled "My First Lecture" (p. 282). In it Twain decides to give a public lecture to raise some money. He plants three confederates in the audience to laugh at his jokes. Although an inadvertant signal turns his pathetic pieces into comedy when his confederates break into laughter, his lecture turns out to be a success. In earlier readers the practice of elocution would not have been so lightly regarded. NOTES--CHAPTER V 1R. R. Robinson, Two Centuries of Change in the Content of School Readers (Nashville: George Peabody College, 1930), p. 36, 2John Pritchard, Criticism in America (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1956), pp. 28-9). 3Figures in brackets [] following a selection indicate its total number of appearances in the ninety-one readers studied. 4Richard D. Mosier, Making the American Mind (New York: King's Crown Press, 1957), p 91. 5Vincent Davis, "The Literature of the Advanced School Readers in the U. S.: 1785-1900," Diss. Univ. of Chicago, 1934, pp. 139-40. 6John Nietz, Old Textbooks (Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1961), p. 54. 7Ruth Miller Elson, Guardians of Tradition (Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1964), p. 227. 8Carl Bode, The Anatomy of American ngular Culturg,y1840-l86l (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1959), p. xiv. 9John S. Hart, The Popular Book (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1963), p. 87. loBode, p. xv. llBode, p. 157. 12"What God Does, and What He Leaves for Man to Do, in the Work of Education," in Essays on Education, pp. 188-89, quoted in Peter Witt, "The Beginnings of the Teaching of Vernacular Literature in the Secon- dary Schools of Massachusetts," Diss. Harvard Univ. 1968, p. 16. 13 Bode, p. 186. 14Charles Carpenter, History of American School Books (Philadel- phia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1963). p. 59. 15Quoted in R. R. Reeder, The Historical Development of School Readers and Methods of Teaching Reading (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1900), p. 150. 172 173 16C. Carpenter, pp. 62-3. 17Russell B. Nye, Society and Culture in America, 1830-1860 (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), p. 91. 18Robinson, p. 30. 1 93. C., "English Literature in the Schools," The Massachusetts Teacher, 21 (Jan. 1868), 2-3. OFrancis Underwood, "English Literature, and Its Place in Popular Education," The Massachusetts Teacher, 25 (Oct. 1873), p. 419. 21Horace Scudder, "Literature in the Public Schools," Atlantic, 62 (Aug. 1888), p. 229. 22Davis, p. 138. 23C. Carpenter, p. 67. 24 , Quoted in Robinson, p. 24. 2 5Elson, pp. 7-8. 26Reeder, p. 158. 27The Dixie Speller and Reader, Designed for the Use of Schools by a Lady of Georgia (Macon: John W. Burke, 1863). 28Davis, pp. 138-9. 298. Harrison Orians, "The Rise of Romanticism," in Harry H. Clark, Transitions in American Literary History (Durham: Duke Univ. Press, 1953). p. 238. 30Nye, Culture, p, 104, 31C. Carpenter, pp. 85-6. 2Leon Howard, "The Late Eighteenth Century: An Age of Contra- dictions," in Clark, Transitions, pp. 78-9. 33Pritchard, p. 34. 34Elson, p. 75. 35Orians, pp. 212-13. 36Nye, Culture, p. 91. 37Orians, p. 215. 174 8 Frank Luther Mott, Golden Multitudes (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1947), p. 107. CHAPTER VI LITERARY THEORIES AND TRADITIONS IN THE READERS The attitude of compilers toward the selection of literature was, to use an adjective from the title of the famous McGuffey series, overwhelmingly eclectic. Although contemporary romantic writers were prominent as early as the 18205, when Pierpont became the first compiler to include selections from the rising romantic school of Irving and Bryant, and of Scott, Bryon and Campbell,1 there was also a considerable regard for the Augustans and neoclassicists. Brown notes that the academy movement early in the century was steeped in Americanism and Republicanism, and was responsive to the tone and ideals of the romantic movement. The generation of students educated during the second and third decades of the century "was brought up prepared to appreciate and take pride in the work of our early American writers. Probably the great majority of that constituency for which Bryant and Irving and Cooper and Simms and Willis wrote had their taste formed in the academies or felt only a little less directly the academy influence. And when the great group of New Englanders began to produce, a large part of their readers . . . had received an academy education."2 175 176 The postwar emphasis on literature as a vehicle for culture also encouraged the writings of the New England poets, who were favored by compilers for their personal as well as literary purity. The com- pilers avoided the extremes of European romanticism because they realized that while intuition and feeling were celebrated in the roman— tic mind as the source of ethical judgement, society had to be run rationally according to a fixed law. It was precisely the "romantic" passion, emotion, and perceived disorder of the Irish and southern European immigrants which seemed such a threat to the order and continu- ity of society. As Witt points out, the New England writers and critics "generally disapproved, in good Romantic fashion, of the set literary rules their fathers swore by, but not of their notions of social rules."3 The romanticism found in the readers generally was American in its optimism and spirit. The revolutionary aspect of reader selections concerned the war with England rather than a literary movement against neoclassicism. Romantic themes emphasized the growth of a young, vigorous nation bound by no restraints and with infinite capacity for improvement. The spirit was one of anticipation, not Byronic gloom, and of nationalism rather than a reaction against tradition. Within the readers there was no discussion of literary theorists or schools. Even in the biographical/critical notes there was no reference to the literary thought of the writers, nor were the characteristics of their writings defined in literary terms. Within the readers there was no sense of historical or national deveIOpment, since selections were randomly grouped, with the single exception of 177 Cathcart's Literary Reader (1875), which adopted the chronological organization of the literary histories. The few reading selections which concerned literature generally functioned as expanded notes, describing or analyzing the life and works of a single author, rather than discussing literary theories or analyzing a literary work. While the notes of compilers like Hilliard and Sanders indi— cate that they were not insensitive to literary history and analysis, the format of the readers and the demands of the classrooms in which readers were used make a comprehensive, esthetic study of literature almost impossible. The practice of memorization dictated the use of short, relatively simple selections, while the emphasis on elocution discouraged abstract or contemplative pieces whose meaning was not immediately obvious. For many contemporary American critics, as well as for most compilers, the major goal of literary study was the development of "taste," or "literary taste." Cobb writes in his North American Reader (1835) that "In making this selection, the author has been strictly rigid in selecting such pieces only, as shall have a direct tendency to lead the scholars in the paths of virtue and religion, as well as to improve their taste in reading. Such improvement he has h0ped to promote, by furnishing a book embracing selections of various character, written in a chaste and pure style, by eminent statesmen, pious divines, profound philosophers, and the most approved poets of this and other countries" (Cobb's italics). Sanders' School Reader, Fifth Book (1859) contains the statement: "Every course of instruction in reading is . . . a course of instruction in taste and in morals. 178 Hence, in order to the cultivation of delicacy and correctness of taste, it furnishes, for imitating, some of the finest models of style in every variety of composition; while it labors for the improvement of the moral nature, by carefully excluding everything unsound or unseemly in sentiment or diction." This concern for the moral effects of literature was shared by others. Prichard notes that for American critics during the first third of the century, "Taste was generally defined in the Addisonian sense; that is, as capacity to perceive the beauties of an author with pleasure and his deformities with dislike. It was commonly agreed that the popular American taste was not yet competent to judge, and that critics should carefully judge for it until it should ripen."4 He also points out that moralizing critics could interpret the principles of taste such that virtue came to mean "good taste in action."5 Tower and Walker include an essay in their First Class Reader (1848) by Hugh Blair, whose Lecture on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres was published in 1783 and was a popular text in American colleges and some secondary schools as late as midcentury. In the selection, entitled "The Cultivation of Taste," Blair recommends that the businessman or the professional man avoid the ennui and possibly corrupting tendencies of the idle moments of his day by developing a taste for polite literature. This development, he writes, occupies "a middle station between the pleasures of sense and those of pure intellect." Mere literary appreciation is not Blair's goal, but rather the promotion of virtue, since "a cultivated taste increases sensibility to all the tender and humane passions, . . . while it tends to weaken the more violent and fierce emotions." While he denies that "the improvement 179 of taste and that of virtue are the same, or that they may always be ' nevertheless "the exercise of expected to coexist in an equal degree,‘ taste is, in its native tendency, moral and purifying. From reading the most admired productions of genius, whether in poetry or prose, almost every one rises with some good impression left on his mind; and though these may not always be durable, they are at least to be ranked among the means of disposing the heart to virtue" (p. 123). The compilers include a note of agreement, adding that "Litera- ture, and a taste for the fine arts, fit us for acting in the social state with dignity and prOpriety, and furnish so much mental enjoyment that, in order to avoid ennui, no one need give his youth to dissipa- tion." They include another essay by Blair which points out that "taste consists in the power of judging; genius, in the power of executing." Genius is the higher power, and cannot only perceive, but also create, beauty (p. 119). An essay by Knox in one of the Sanders' Series readers (53.) agrees that "elegance, or delicacy of taste, is one of the first objects of classical discipline; and it is this fine quality which opens a new world to the scholar's view. . . . Elegance of taste has a connection with many virtues, and all of them virtues of the most amiable kind" (p. 22). While a logical response to the concern for the development of taste would have been to allow students to read literature indiscrimi— nately and to be drawn to good literature by its inherent virtue, educators assumed that bad literature was read outside the classroom, and students would best learn to discriminate by being taught and shown what was good. In rhetoric classes particularly students 180 memorized rules and terminology which described good writing; to exercise good taste was merely to apply these skills. The author of one rhetoric stated that as a result of learning rhetorical principles a student "is enabled at once, when reading the production of any author, to perceive the beauties of style and to classify and arrange them;-—in other words, acquires a good literary taste."6 While the rules and exercises in most readers deal with grammar and elocution rather than with style, the notes on authors did provide students with a description of the general literary faults and virtues of the authors, and the compilers' attitude toward developing literary taste reflected the same kind of mechanical, prescriptive process. The object of taste was the discernment of beauty, a quality which was frequently synonymous with virtue. Clark writes that the growing interest in Shakespeare during the first part of the century led critics "to an appreciation of the sublime largely denied them in the neoclassical age."7 He points out that Longfellow, Hawthorne, and Emerson, as well as Poe, emphasized "the primacy of the beautiful." As W. E. Channing illustrates in his essay "The Sense of Beauty" [9], which appears in nine readers, "The greatest truths are wronged if not linked with beauty." In nature "beauty is an all per- vading presence," but it is also found "in the elegant arts, and especially in literature!" In literature, however, as in nature, beauty is evidence of morality: "The best books have most beauty." An essay by Percival describes a kind of hierarchy in the development of taste, which ultimately leads to "the admiration and love of that Being, who is the author of all that is fair, sublime, and good, in 181 the creation." The lower objects through which taste is cultivated are the beauties of nature and of art (12., pp. 184-85). A selection by Channing on poetry appears in five readers and serves to illustrate the relationship between poetry, virtue, and beauty. Poetry seems to us the divinest of all arts; for it is the breathing or expression of that principle or sentiment, which is the deepest and sublimest in human nature. . . . poetry . . . is one of the greatest instruments of its refinement and exaltation. It lifts the mind above ordinary life, gives it a respite from depressing cares, and awakens the consciousness of its affinity with what is pure and noble. In its legitimate and highest efforts, it has the same ten- dency and aim with Christianity; that is, to spiritualize our nature. . . . Poetry has a natural alliance with our best affection. It delights in the beauty and sublimity of our outward nature and of the soul. . . . It reveals to us the loveliness of nature. Seven readers contain selections by Emerson on beauty. Five are from Nature, and state "The high and divine beauty which can be loved without effeminacy, is that which is found in combination with the human will, and never separate. Beauty is the mark God sets upon virtue." In another essay he writes, "Beauty is ever that divine thing the ancients esteemed it. . . . [In] poetry, the success [of achieving beauty] is not attained when it lulls and satisfies, but when it astonishes and fires us with new endeavors after the unattainable." Spencer notes that although in the first decades of the century nature was still regarded in the Augustan sense as the primary example or Order or Reason, "Nature came to signify increasingly for the American author that 'pure impulse' of the heart of which the unSOphis- ticated author in a simple society might have the most authentic experience."8 182 With the exception of Poe, major literary critics agreed that beauty could not exist separately, apart from morality. Nye points out that "while the artist might strive to find and express the ideal— beautiful, it was assumed that there could be no such beauty without morality."9 This ethical attitude was transferred to the poet, who was admired not merely for his literary powers. He was the representative artist who sought beauty, and the "aesthetic counterpart of the phiIOSOpher (who sought truth) and of the moralist, who sought virtue."10 Lyman Cobb, for example, puts poets on an equal basis with "eminent statesmen, pious divines, [and] profound philosophers" in the preface to his North American Reader (1835). In a selection entitled "The Poet" Horace B. Wallace writes, "The Poet's state and attributes are half divine. The breezes of gladness are the heralds of his approach; the glimpse of his coming is as the flash of the dawn. The hues of Conquest flush his brow: the anger of triumph is in his eyes. The secret of Creation is with him; the mystery of the Immortal is among his treasures. The doom of unending sovereignty is upon his nature" (51., pp. 540-43). The compiler G. S. Hilliard, a Boston Brahmin and friend of Longfellow, Holmes, and Lowell, explained the role of the poet in this way: The office of poetry is to idealize human life; to connect the objects of thought with those associations which embellish, dignify and exalt, and to keep out of sight, those which debase and deform; to extract from the common world, which lies at our feet, the elements of the romantic, the impassioned and imagina- tive; to arrest and condense the delicate Spirit of beauty which hovers over the earth, like an atmosphere, and to give shape, color, and movement to its airy essence. 183 It was the same function of suppressing vice and exalting virtue which Hilliard performed as the author of a reader series. Poetry was a frequent subject of reader poems. James G. Percival's "The Spirit of Poetry" [5] states that "The world is full of poetry-—the air/ IS living with its spirit. . . ." Poetry is not measured by external features--""Tis not the chime and flow of words that move/ In measured file and metrical array." Instead, true poetry breaks "Fresh from the fount of feeling, and is full/ Of all that passion, which . . . fired/ The holy prophet." Words are not even necessary for the poetic emotion; instead, it is "a mysterious feeling, which combines/ Man with the world around him," enabling him to "taste the high communion of his thoughts/ With all existence, in earth and heaven." Most of the compilers would agree, however, that poetry does not deal merely with feelings, but also with actions. Rev. F. W. Robertson's essay "The Power of Poetry in Battle" (74.) discusses the ability of the poetic imagination to turn a nearly worthless object-- "a bit of silk rag"--into a symbol for which men will die. His selec- tion also distinguishes between two aspects of the romantic idea of the poetic faculty: creation and reception. He writes, There is an element of poetry in us all. Whatever wakes up intense sensibilities, puts one for a moment into a poetic state-- if not the creative state in which we can make poetry, at least the receptive state in which we can feel poetry. Therefore, let no man think that, because he cannot appreciate the verse of Milton or Wordsworth, there is no poetry in his soul; let him be assured that there is something within him which may at any day awake, break through the crust of his selfishness, and redeem him from a low, mercenary, or sensual existence (p. 370). Such an attitude was a long way from the rhetorician's definition of taste as the ability to apply a set of rules to a poem. 184 Since poetry seemed to appeal primarily to the heart, the source of ethical judgements and the realm of emotion, poetry was presumed to have a unique appeal to women, whose natures were more susceptible to feelings than to reason, and whose role it was to serve as the moral guardians of society. In an article entitled "Influence of Poetry on Women" in Anna Russell's Young Ladies Elocutionary Reader (1845), a Mrs. Ellis writes that poetry is the essence of a woman's moral and spiritual nature. She deplores the tendency of the times to invest the material with a greater importance than the ideal. In a trans- cendental passage she remarks, "there are deep mysteries in the book of nature which all can feel, but none will ever understand, until the veil of mortality shall be withdrawn." In very practical language, however, she pardons men for their obsession with the material, apparently because they must provide for the "material and animal existence" of the race. However, she writes, . . . for woman there is no excuse,--for woman, whose whole life, from the cradle to the grave, is one of feeling, rather than of action. . . . For woman, who, in her inexhaustible sympathies, can live only in the existence of another, and whose very smiles and tears are not exclusively her own,—-for woman to cast away the love of poetry, is to pervert from their natural course the sweetest and loveliest tendencies of a truly feminine mind, to destroy the brightest charm which can adorn her intellectual character, . . . A woman without poetry, is like a landscape without sunshine. A woman without poetry! the idea is a paradox; for what single object has ever been found so fraught with poetical associations, as woman herself? "WOman, with her beauty, and grace, and gentle- ness, and fulness of feeling, and depth of affection, and her blushes of purity, and the tones and looks which only a mother's heart can inspire" (pp. 479-80). In "What Young Ladies Should Read" (25., p. 98) Sigourney concurs with Ellis that "The poets will naturally be favorites, in the library of an educated young lady. They refine sensibility, and convey 185 instruction. They are the friends of nature and knowledge, and quicken in the heart a taste for both." Poetry was also of great interest to elocutionists. In "Char- acter of primitive Poetry" Hilliard writes that "poetry is the oldest birth of the human mind." All early poetry "has the unstudied movement, the unconscious charm, of childhood" (24., pp. 201-202). A selection by J. D. Nourse expresses wonder that in "the earliest periods of civilization, in the robust and fervid youth of great nations, . . . Poetry, that divine melody of thought and words, is always the first language of the newly awakened intellect." While as the civilization advances the cold abstractions of science seem to dominate, "the poet, filled with the ideal, and with that infinite love which only the idea can inspire, becomes the unconscious prophet of deeper and mightier truths than the boasted deductions of science" (47., pp. 544-47.). It is this perceived primacy of poetry--the natural language which is tied with simplicity and emotion,--and the romantic view of the orator, who was joined with his audience in an "emotional union"12 which makes poetry a favorite for oral delivery. In an essay in the American Journal of Education elocutionist William Russell writes, Poetry, as the language of imagination and feeling, speaking to the heart, properly requires a mode of reading obviously quite different from that of the usual forms of plain didactic prose, addressed to the understanding merely. The word-pictures of the poet paint their imagery on the imagination; the intellect inter— prets their forms; the heart beats in response to the graphic delineation; and the voice gives expression to a correspondent melody of tone, while it utters the words of the verse. To read poetry aright, therefore implies the poet's inspiration, imparted to the soul and voice of the reader,—-an exalted state of imagina- tion, a sympathetic vividness of feeling, unconscious quickness and acuteness of intellectual conception, a plastic voice and expressive tone.13 186 This elocutionary emphasis on entering the mind of the poet in order to understand his writings corresponds to Emerson's view of the critic, who must share with the author the experience of creating the poem. It is doubtful, however, that this process was incorporated into the pedagogy of many nineteenth century English classrooms. A number of readers contain directions for reading verse. These instructions lent themselves conveniently to memorization of terminology, and gave teachers a set of skills to teach. In the introduction to his North American Reader (1835) Cobb includes a two-page section on reading verse, which counsels the student to adjust the pauses dictated by the verse to the sense of the poem, to avoid "every appearance of sing-song." As to blank verse, he writes, "we ought to read it so as to make every line sensible to the ear: for, what is the use of melody, or for what end has the poet composed in verse, if, in reading his lines, we suppress his numbers, by omitting the final pause, and degrade them, by our pronunciation, into mere prose?" In an 1842 preface Sanders states, "It must be borne in mind, that the occurrence of metrical accent, is far from being uniform, as it is often varied by the ggngg and established_p£onunciation." Salem Town's Grammar School Reader (1850) contains the following advice: Poetry should be read in such a manner as best to convey the meaning of the author, and all sing-song should be carefully avoided (p. 83). In reading poetry, care should be taken not to emphasize particles and words that rhyme, unless the sense requires it (p. 84). In reading blank-verse, even where the sense does not require it the pupil should make a slight pause at the end of each line (p. 86). 187 Around mid-century, however, figurative language and the class- ification of meter began to appear along with the usual elocutionary apparatus of instruction. Town's Fourth Reader (1848), for example, contains an explanation of iambic, trochaic and anapestic feet and instructions how to read metrical changes in words, such as contrac- tions. An essay in Sargent's First-Class Standard Reader (1854) discusses inversions and "irregular arrangements of words" in verse. It argues that verse cannot be read properly if the reader merely follows the rules. "If you do not yourself conceive the sentiments of the author," Sargent writes, "it is utterly impossible that you should give them expression. But, if you perfectly understand your author, you will know where to make the proper pauses, and lay the prOper emphases that the subject requires." The essay then discusses terms such as "stress, verse, couplet," " quatrain," "Caesura," and "ellipsis." Town's Fifth Reader (1855) examines poetry quite closely. In the preface Town states: Another, though a subordinate object, was to treat of poetry more fully than elocutionists have generally done, by giving the principles of its construction, the number of syllables con- stituting the different kinds of poetic feet, its various measures and forms, together with rules, and numerous examples and exer- cises for reading and scanning. And, as the use of figurative language is almost as common as household words among all classes of people, the author has thought it advisable also, to give a brief explanation of the changes in the use of words, from a literal to a figurative sense, illustrating the same by a few examples, and thus showing how much of our language abounds in a figurative mode of expressing ideas. This reader devotes a thirty-four page chapter to poetry, including the following topics: "Construction of Verse in Rhyme," "Construction of 188 II I! H H Blank Verse," "Harmonic Pauses, Metrical Accent, Metrical Changes," "Reading Poetry, and Rules,’ and "Lyric Poetry." An additional ten pages are devoted to "Figures of Speech": "Metonomy," "Synecdoche," "Simile," "Metaphor," "Allegory," "Hyperbole," "Vision" (or "Imagery," --used to mean that a past event is described in the present tense), ' and "Climax." Among the "Exercises "Personification," "Apostrophe,' Illustrating the Rules," eight pages demonstrate various types of meter. Although the reader is unusual in the amount of material devoted to elocutionary rules and exercises (containing 225 pages of instruction and 272 pages of reading lessons), the relatively heavy emphasis on poetic meter and language reflects a general interest. Even the Willson series found poetry to be sufficiently sci- entific so that an 1870 Sixth Reader noted in its preface: In the Fifth Reader we were careful to introduce reading lessons that contained numerous examples of the more prominent figures of speech and of thought, such as the Simile, Allegory, Personification, Apostrophe, etc., with such brief explanations of them, and of other principles of figurative language, as we thought adapted to pupils. . . . to prepare the way for the present more systematic elucidation of the whole subject. In the present work we have aimed to take up . . . the leading kinds of composi- tion as they are affected by figurative language. Hence, Narrative, Descriptive, and Didactic writings are briefly explained, . . . inasmuch as these three departments stand in the same rela- tion to all written languages that the four fundamental rules in Arithmetic hold to all Mathematics. Willson goes on to list basically the same figures of speech as Town had described. The prose selections included in readers vary widely, with a considerable portion devoted to informational essays on topics of geography, history, science, and other branches of "useful knowledge." Speeches were also popular not only for their form, but for their 189 frequently patriotic or historical content. Applebee points out that one manifestation of the analogy by which vernacular literature had adopted the grammar and methods of the study of classical literature was the pairing of classical and vernacular forms, such as the speeches of Cicero and Demosthenes with the orations of British and American orators like Burke and Webster.14 Although the didactic short story (written especially for children or adapted for their use) was pOpular in lower readers, entire short stories appeared infrequently in upper readers. They were too long for single lessons, and to the compilers the sketch was a more suitable form. Irving's Sketchbook was perfectly adapted for readers, and compilers drew heavily from it and its imitations. Despite the high regard expressed in reader notes for Hawthorne's romances and the popularity of brief, morally acceptable stories like "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" and "The Ambitious Guest" in twentieth- century high school anthologies, the overwhelming reader favorite was the sketch-like narrative, "A Rill from the Town Pump." Up to midcentury compilers drew many sketches and essays from contemporary periodicals such as Casket, Blackwood's Magazine, Monthly Anthology, and The North American Review. Evidence of the continued popularity of the essay after the war is found in the college entrance lists, which include Irving's Sketch Book in 1878; Macaulay's "Essay on Addison" and Addison's Sir Roger de Coverley Papers in 1879; and Johnson's Six Chief Lives of the Poets and Carlyle's "Essay on 15 Johnson" in 1880. NOTES--CHAPTER VI 1 G. R. Carpenter, Franklin T. Baker and Fred N. Scott, The Teach- ing of English in the Elementary and the Secondary School, new ed. (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1913), p. 43. 2Elmer E. Brown, The Making of Our Middle Schools (New York: Long- mans, Green and Co., 1903), p. 247. 3Peter Witt, "The Beginnings of the Teaching of Vernacular Liter- ature in the Secondary Schools of Massachusetts," Diss. Harvard Univ. 1968, p. 86. 4John Pritchard, Criticism in America (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1956), p. 24. 5Pritchard, p. 24. 6Samuel P. Newman, "A Practical Method of Teaching Rhetoric," Egg Introductorygpiscourse and Lectures, The American Institute of In- struction, 1830 (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, Little and Wilkens, 1831), quoted in Witt, p. 45. 7Harry H. Clark, "Changing Attitudes in Early American Literary Criticism: 1800-1840," in Floyd Stovall, ed., The Development of Amer- ican Literary Criticism (Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1955). p. 36. 8Benjamin T. Spencer, The Quest for Nationality (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1957), p. 71. 9Russell B. Nye, Society and Culture in America (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), p. 83. 10 Nye, Culture, p. 80. 11The Relation of the Poet to His Age (Boston: Little and Brown, 1843). p. 4, quoted in Witt, p. 78. 12Nye, Culture, p. 142. l3William Russell,"Education-—The Cultivation of Expressive Facul- ties," American Journal of Education, 9 (July 1857), p. 329. 190 191 l"Arthur N. Applebee, Tradition and Reform in the Teaching of English (Urbana, 111.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1974), p. 35. 15Applebee, pp. 275-7. CHAPTER VII INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS: THEIR WORKS AND REPUTATION Although biographical notes on authors did not become a common feature of readers until the growth of interest in literary history during the 18503, the second edition of Murray's Seguel con- tained an appendix of brief biographical sketches. While the stated reasons for the biographies were to acquaint students with literary history, to give students who did not take advanced study a knowledge of standard authors, and to aid in the development of literary taste, they also functioned to provide students with models of acceptable behavior. Murray writes that his intention is "not only to gratify the young reader's curiosity, respecting the authors of the pieces he has perused; but also to present to him such facts and sentiments as are peculiarly instructive and interesting, and calculated to make durable impressions" (3.). In an 1862 preface, Sanders writes that the sketches are intended to awaken the interest of the students, and to inculcate certain virtues such as hard work, which in the case of COWper "imparts a finish which no time can wear off." The notes on Cowper also show how wit and humor may be allied with pure sentiment 192 193 and refined language, while comments on Bunyan and Milton, Sanders writes, show how obstacles challenge rather than hinder genius (56.). The emphasis on the biography and morality of writers was not confined to textbooks. Prichard writes that during the beginnings (1800-1837) of criticism in America, "the public expected poetry to teach; too many of the reviewers were clergymen, teachers, or lawyers for the moral end of poetry to be disallowed. They were, however, less rigid than has frequently been believed. Many . . . divorced moral from aesthetic judgment. They consistently rated Byron's poetry higher than today while condemning his moral tone far more severely."1 This concern with morality, however, was not limited to the early years, but was a strong force throughout the period studied. An 1851 Harper's article, for example, insisted that the poet's gift entailed the responsibility of living a correspondingly elevated moral life.2 The increasing popularity and availability of fiction to women and children inspired many critics to intensify the moralistic aspect of their judgements. To the compilers, the pressure to present only the purest writings of the most elevated writers was intense. Murray, for example, notes that some of the authors included in his Sequel "have had unguarded moments, in which they have written what is not proper to come under the notice of youth." He makes it clear that "he must not therefore be understood as recommending every production of all the poets who have contributed to his selection" (3.). The notes and occasional essays on literary figures also offer a brief description and criticism of the author's works. This chapter examines the biographical/critical notes and the body of writings for 194 the major British and American authors and the pOpular minor and non— literary writers included in the readers. Standard British writers such as Shakespeare and Milton, the neoclassicists and Augustans, and Gray and Goldsmith were included in the earliest readers, and continued to appear throughout the period. Shakespeare was the most reprinted non—American author, with his works appearing in two-thirds of the readers. He stands first in the number of selections per reader, with an average of 4.6 excerpts. The popu- larity of his pieces for declamation and the frequent practice of including very short scenes account for this high percentage. Carpenter points out that Pierpont was the first to include excerpts from Shakespeare in his First Class Book (1823), which contained selections from Julius Caesar, Macbeth, King John, and Hamlet.3 Mott agrees that School readers also did much to bring Shakespeare home to the people, and to make some of the passages from his plays almost as familiar as verses from the Bible. The shrewd McGuffey, though he would never mention the names of the plays from which he took his extracts, caused many a schoolboy to declaim Anthony's oration over Caesar, Hamlet's soliloquy, Cardinal Wolsey's reflections on fame in Henry VIII. The elocution books . . . taught the youth of their time to recite Shakespeare. In the readers studied, Hamlet's "Soliloquy" [17] was most popular, followed by "Anthony's Address to the People on the Death of Caesar" [l3]; "Brutus's Address over Caesar's Dead Body" [8]; "A Sister's Pleading for the Life of a Brother" from Measurefor Measure [7]; Hamlet's Advice to the Players" [6]; and various excerpts from the history plays. A "Sketch of Shakespeare" by Samuel Johnson which is included in Sanders' Union Sixth Reader (1862) summarizes the attitude toward Shakespeare held by most compilers. Johnson writes that 195 Shakespeare is "the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life" (p. 134). It was this universality which was praised in readers, and his writings were taken as models for behavior. Johnson writes that the characters in Shakespeare are individuals, yet they also represent the species confronted with universal situations. "It is from this wide extension of design that so much instruction is derived. It is this which fills the plays of Shakespeare with practical axioms and domestic wisdom. . . from his works may be collected a system of civil and economic prudence" (p. 134). It is not only the form and style of Shakespeare's writings which make them eminently declaimable, but Johnson notes that Shakes- peare's dialogue "is often so evidently determined by the incident which produced it . . . that it seems scarcely to claim the merit of fiction, but to have been gleaned by diligent selection out of common conversation, and common occurences" (p. 135). Despite the fact that many of the central figures of Shakespearean drama are kings and princes, Johnson writes that "Shakespeare has no heroes; his scenes are occupied only by men, who act and Speak as the reader thinks he should have spoken or acted on the same occasion" (p. 136). This attitude was eagerly adopted by democratic critics and educators who admired Shakespeare but were concerned about teaching literature which contained references to nobility and privileged classes. Although Shakespeare's writings were fiction (or based on historical incidents) and were dramatic (while there still lingered a suspicion of public theater), Johnson points out that reading Shakespeare will uplift rather than corrupt. The fact that his drama 196 is "the mirror of life" provides an antidote to the reader whose mind has been confused by the extremes of fantastic fiction. Johnson states that "he who has mazed his imagination, in following the phantoms which other writers raise up before him, may here be cured of his delirious ecstacies, by reading human sentiments in human language, by scenes from which a hermit may estimate the transactions of the world, and a confessor predict the progress of the passions" (p. 136). Since compilers could select short scenes rather than using whole plays, it was easy to avoid the questionable language and sexual allusions which as late as 1870 were being deleted or rewritten by Henry N. Hudson in his school editions of Shakespeare.5 Excerpts from Julius Caesar could be used to inculcate patriotism, and Portia's speech on "Mercy" [7] from The Merchant of Venicg taught morality, while "Hamlet's Advice to the Players" [6] was an obvious choice for elocu- tionary readers. Reading whole works of Shakespeare was often considered quite different from reading selected excerpts, as Master Stickney found when he was fired for reading a part of The Merchant of Venice aloud to his class at the Boylston Grammar School in 1828.6 Shakespeare continued to be a favorite both in American readers and on the American stage, however, and when colleges established lists of works required for entrance, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, Coriolanus, As You Like It, Richard II, A.Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, and Much Ado About Nothing all appeared on the lists between 1874 and 1880.7 While many compilers assume that notes to Shakespeare are unnecessary, he is referred to as "the greatest dramatic writer of any age" (38.), and "one of the greatest of all poets" (47.). Three 197 compilers quote Francis Jeffrey's statement that Shakespeare "is more full of wisdom and ridicule and sagacity than all the moralists and satirists that ever existed" (33., 47., 79). Hilliard directs students to the writings of Hallam, Hazlitt, Johnson, Schlegel, and Coleridge for a full appreciation of the dramatist. The two lessons of Shakes— peare's life and writings are, he writes, its denial of "the Byronic notion that great genius and great unhappiness invariably go together" and its proof that "the highest poetical genius is not inconsistent with practical and successful business habits" (60.). Shakespeare and Milton are frequently mentioned together as "the foremost of English poets" (38.). In an essay on "Books" [5], for example, Channing writes, "If the Sacred writers will enter and take up their abode under my roof,--if Milton will cross my threshold to sing to me of Paradise, and Shakespeare to Open to me the worlds of imagination and the workings of the human heart, and Franklin to enrich me with his practical wisdom,--I shall not pine for intellectual companionship; and I may become a cultivated man." In the "Introduc- tion" to the "Principles of Elocution" of their First Class Reader (1848) Tower and Walker write that the ability to "breathe life through the language; to give coloring and force to the thoughts; to present . . . to the eye the lofty descriptions of Milton; to unfold to the understanding . . . the characters and passions [of] . . . Shakespeare . . . is an acquisition of priceless value" (28.). The high moral character of Milton's writings is paralleled by his "spotless" charac- ter. Although he bore "with cheerfulness the burdens of blindness, poverty, and neglect, the compiler criticizes "a certain severity of temper, and perhaps a somewhat impatient and intolerant spirit" (60.). 198 Clark notes that "the great American vogue of Milton, as part of our early Puritan heritage, encouraged acceptance of his well—known idea that whoever would write a great poem must first make his own life a true poem and achieve virtue, a theory of the organic relation of literary creation and creator which encouraged biographical criticism.8 Two readers print excerpts from Macaulay on Milton in which both his writings and character are praised (47., 56). The reader selections are taken almost exclusively from Paradise Lost, with the "Morning Hymn of Adam and Eve" [15] most pOpular. Others deal with "On His Blindness" and Sampson Agonistes.. Addison and Pope were popular partly because selections from their works also were appearing in composition and rhetoric texts. Hart notes that dramas by Addison as well as Shakespeare were being performed in Philadelphia and New York in 1750. At Valley Forge, he reports, "washington raised the morale of his trOOpS with a perfor- mance of C359, Addison's dramatization of the stand for liberty against the tyranny of a Caesar."9 Excerpts from this play are reprinted most often, appearing in twenty readers [20], while his other selections deal with religion, morality, and history. Murray's Sequel (1824) states that "The Spectator" stands "at the head of all publications of a similar kind. . . . these papers discuss the smaller morals and the decencies of life, elegance and justness of taste." While acknowledging his prose style, Murray criticizes his lack of "vivid force and sublime conception," or "fine polish and dazzling brilliance" (3.). Sargent includes a brief sketch by Macaulay of Addison's death, which illustrated "how a Christian can die!" (38.). Another note states that his mastery of "the higher tones" of thought 199 and composition proved him superior to Steele and his contemporaries (47.). Sanders includes an essay on Addison from the New American Cyc10pedia which criticizes his verse but praises "the graces of his prose--the absence of exaggeration--the clear, easy, yet refined style--the moral purpose--the social charm, and the delicate humor of his essays" (56.). The writer, however, notes that "the taste of our day is for a more intense school, a more dashing rhetoric and deeper insight, although he is still a pre-eminent model." Criticism is more harsh in Cathcart's 1875 note, which states that although his name is synonymous with rhetorical elegance, his style "cannot safely be taken as a model of a writer of the present day: it is too cold and elaborate, and conveys an idea of formality which is not in harmony with the spirit of our time." Cathcart goes on to note his periodical contributions, which are some of the "finest specimens of English workmanship," and recommends that he not be neglected. Although selections by POpe appear in over 40 percent of the readers, his popularity begins to wane during the 18608, partly because the emphasis in the readers shifts from grammar to elocution. Hart writes that forty-five American editions of his Essgy on Man appeared between 1747 and 1799, and that "Schoolmasters used Pope's verses to teach grammar and morality at . . . the same time.10 A selection by Samuel Johnson praises POpe for his diligence, compares Pope's poetry to "a velvet lawn, shaved by the scythe, and levelled by the roller," and states that "every other writer since Milton must give place to POpe" (47., 56.). "The Dying Christian to His Soul" [10] and "Order of Nature" [6] are the most pOpular excerpts, with other selections for his Essay on Criticism and his translation of the 200 Iliad. The compilers seem to have no strong reaction to his lack of belief in progress, as did many Americans, nor do they object to the artificiality of his style, and keep reprinting selections even after he declines in American favor during the 18303. If Defoe had not written Robinson Crusoe, which is the subject of seven of his eight selections, he would probably not have been included in readers. The popularity of the book among children as well as adults frequently relegated it to the lower readers, however. In an Appleton reader notes on the selections draw students' attention to the "old-fashioned" expressions which Defoe uses (87.). Excerpts from "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" [19] represent more than 70 percent of Gray's selections, with "Ode to Adversity" [l4] accounting for all but four of the rest. The poem was a favorite in America, and was a model for Freneau and other lesser writers, whose imitations also appear in the readers. Parker and Watson note that the ' and that his verse flows elegy is "one of the most popular poems,’ "from an intense, though not fertile imagination, inSpired by the most delicate poetic feeling, and elaborated into exquisite terseness of diction" (47.). Goldsmith was considerably more popular than Gray, for although his "Deserted Village" [15] appeared less frequently than Gray's "Elegy,' other selections like "Happiness of Temper" [5] and "The Grotto of Antiparos" [4] appeared often. One note is devoted almost entirely to Goldsmith's early dissipation, and to an account of the way he paid his debts by compiling schoolbooks (47.). Another contains a brief admiring quote by Irving which emphasizes the amiability and mellow humor of Goldsmith's works, which make his readers "happier and 201 better men" (60.). Cathcart also stresses the friendliness and sweetness of Gray's works, and marvels at his versatility as a writer (79.). Of American prose writers, Irving was by far the most pOpular, appearing in three-quarters of the readers. Over 40 percent of Irving's selections are from The Sketch Book, the most popular being "Sorrow for the Dead" [15] taken from "Rural Funerals," and excerpts from "The Wife" [11], "The Voyage," [l3], and "The Broken-Hearted Woman" [9]. Twenty selections are from Irving's biography of Columbus, while the rest deal with American history and geography and descriptions of Spain. Editorial notes praise him as a "living American author of distinction . . . [and] one of the best and most popular of modern authors in America and England" (46.). He is considered to have more "grace and polish than Franklin" (47., 66., 87.), while his "rich and original humor [is] not mawkish or morbid" (60.). An article from the New American Cyclopedia in one reader emphasizes the 'symmetry and just prOportion of his works," which seem constructed with "ease and carelessness, but really with great labor and art." Irving "seems less to have composed tales and histories than to have written himself. His personality is always apparent" (56.). Other compilers also emphasize that "no American author has been so generally and heartily loved" (79.), and that "the sternest critic could not deal harshly with an author who showed himself to be so gentle and kindly a man" (60.). Irving is popular in the readers because he gives the authority of time to American literature, because his life is exemplary, and because his work is easily excerpted. Few 202 of his pieces are adapted, and compilers find little which they must censor. Irving's most outstanding qualities, Bode points out, were "his remarkably winning blend of sentiment and humor."11 Charles Brockden Brown's works are represented by an excerpt on the yellow fever epidemic [1] and Edgar Huntly's "Scene with a Panther" [5]. The only note concerning him states that he was "the first American who chose literature as a profession." He seemed cut off from the world, and possessed "more genius than talent, and more imagination than fancy." His style, however, "indicated a singular sincerity and depth of feeling," while Wieland gained for Brown "his enduring repu- tation" (47.). Compilers apparently did not consider Brown's weird stories to be suitable, and they reflect the general critical dis— approval of Gothicism. After Irving, Cooper is the most popular major American fiction writer, although his selections appear in less than a third of the readers after 1830. His selections concentrate primarily on adventure and the frontier, and most often are from the Leatherstocking Tales. Elizabeth Temple's "Escape from a Panther" [7] is most popular. Cooper is praised as "one of the greatest writers of romantic fiction which our age has produced" (47., 66., 87), his works being remarkable for their delineation of Indian character and their description of naval scenes" (46.). Sanders includes an essay by Rufus Griswold which emphasizes the "astonishing reality" of Cooper's characters, and his "profoundly phiIOSOphical" studies of "the influences of situation upon human character" (56.). Cathcart devotes most of his note to a discussion of Cooper's reputation and character. He assigns him a "high" place, giving him "the benefit of the consideration that he was a pioneer in 203 a specialty of authorship, before his time hardly approached by American writers, and which for many years he occupied and honored without a rival" (79.). Despite the decline of COOper's pOpularity in the for- ties, his selections continue in the readers because many compilers used his adventurous excerpts as a means of appealing to student interest. While Hawthorne is praised in reader notes as a master of romance, his most widely reprinted piece is "A Rill from the Town Pump" [12], in which the pump recounts a brief history of New England through a description of the people who drank at the spring where it now stands. The temperance message of the piece probably accounts for its pOpularity. The only excerpts from his novels are a brief passage from The Blithedale Romance and the scene from The Scarlet Letter in which Pearl plays on the beach and adorns herself with flowers. Hawthorne is highly praised, as an author whose "literary reputation is internatiOnal" (69.) and as one who holds "first place among American writers of romance" (73.). Another note tells how Hawthorne struggled "in poverty and obscurity," eventually to achieve "extended popularity. . . . Most of his stories have a weird and ghostly charac- ter; and yet, mingled with this, are constant indications of the most genial and kindly nature" (68.). The compiler chose to print, however, the non-weird, non-ghostly "Rill." Sanders emphasizes Hawthorne's concern with morality, writing that he is not only "conceded to be a writer of exquisite grace and finish," but his work is "abounding in kindly humor and ever exercising the healthiest moral influence" (56.). Other compilers, however, object to Hawthorne's darker side. One writes that Hawthorne possessed a 204 peculiarly original genius and no writer of our time was less indebted to the words and thoughts of other men than he. . . . [It is] proof of no common genius to have found elements of romantic interest in a soil generally deemed unpro- pitious to its growth. His popularity is great, but probably would be greater were it not for the frequent intrusion into his pages of dark and sad visions, which fascinate but do not charm (80.). The Scarlet Letter is called "one of his most original and powerful productions" (80.). While giving a more contemporary estimate of Hawthorne, Cathcart nevertheless emphasizes his character. He writes, As a romanticist, he stands alone and unapproached. His psycho— logical insight was simply marvelous, and gave a distinguishing and inimitable character to all his writings. The dark side of things especially attracted him; he dwelt broodingly and with the devotion of an enthusiast upon abnormal manifestations of human nature, and delighted in delineating the intricacies of human passion. Yet to those who knew him intimately he was eminently lovable; and in his writings one can catch glimpses of moods of genuine sunny humor. His style is remarkable for its purity and gracefulness. The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables are generally esteemed his best works (79.). Emerson's most pOpular prose selections are "Beauty" [7], from Nature, and "Napoleon" [3] from Representative Men, while "Each and All" [3] is his most reprinted poem. His writings consistently appear in a quarter of the readers throughout the period. He is characterized as "an able lecturer, a most distinguished essayist, and an eminent poet . . . an original and independent thinker" (47., 66.). Another compiler emphasizes that, while once a minister, Emerson had become "independent of the control of set regulations of religious worship" (87.). A number of compilers point out the difficulty of understanding Emerson's terse and compressed style. One writes that Emerson had "peculiar and original genius," but "no system in his thoughts, and his ideas are not connected by any law of logical sequence. . . . As a lecturer he finds great favor with thoughtful and cultivated audiences, 205 but the common mind can hardly follow his sudden changes and abrupt transitions" (80.). Sanders quotes a more perceptive but unnamed critic, who writes that Emerson as a writer is distinguished by a singular union of poetic imagina— tion with practical acuteness. His vision takes a wide sweep of the realms of the ideal; but he is no less firm and penetrating in the sphere of facts. His common sense shrewdness is vivified by a pervasive wit. He seldom indulges in the expression of sentiment, and, in his nature, emotion seems to be less the product of the heart than of the brain. His style is in the nicest harmony with the character of his thought. It is condensed almost to abruptness. His merits, as a writer, consist rather in the choice of words than in the connection of sentences. But the great characteristic of his intellect is the perception and sentiment of beauty (56.). An Appleton reader (1878) also notes both the difficulty and the value of poems like "Each and All": "The poems of Emerson are so elevated in their tone, and are so far removed from the jingle of rhyme and rhythm, and express such subtleties of thought, that a beginner makes very little 'rhyme or reason' out of them. They belong to the class of literature called 'oracles.’ Like the hymns of the Veda . . . they belong to a serene height, and will grow more and more in honor" (88.). Cathcart notes that Emerson's "impression on the mind of his time has been deep and lasting; he has founded a school of philoSOphy and a literary style which are called Emersonian; and though he has failed to win a numerous following, be has done much towards molding the ethical opinions of New England, and, in a less degree of the whole country" (79.). Cathcart points out the importance of Nature in establishing his philosophical leadership, and alludes to Emerson's international reputation. He adds, however, "his style can hardly be recommended as a model, though it possesses many striking beauties. 206 In order thoroughly to appreciate it, one must be in such full sympathy with the writer's spirit as it is the privilege of few to attain" (79.). The high status which Emerson achieves in the compilers' notes is not reflected in a large reprinting of his selections. Although selected passages from his writings could have supported the pOpular God-in-nature philosophy, they were seldom included. Despite the fact that his writings yielded aphorisms easily, compilers ignored them. Although his fame as a lecturer was acknowledged in notes, only one compiler includes a selection on "Eloquence" [1]. Perhaps his early break with the church still upset some later compilers, or they con- sidered his works too difficult for high school students. Hart notes that when Emerson's first volume of poems appeared in 1847, Emerson "was not yet regarded as a respectable radical; many years passed before his writings were thought fit for school and library editions."12 Emerson's interpretation of "Self Reliance" [1] may have been too far removed from the prevalent textbook phiIOSOphy of hard work as the road to material success. Whatever the reason, Emerson ranked well behind such minor but popular writers like Halleck, Pierpont, and Sprague. Emerson did not appear on the college entrance lists until 1885, with his "Essay on Eloquence." "The American Scholar," the only other Emerson selection on the nineteenth century lists, appeared in 1893.13 Thoreau was all but ignored by compilers, with selections appearing in only four late readers. The Appleton Fifth Reader (1878) is the only one to contain more than one entry,--"Building the House," a description of the pond, and "Battle of the Ants" (which also appeared in an 1875 reader) from Walden, and two selections from The 207 Maine Woods. He is not the subject of compilers' notes, and is ignored by Cathcart. Twain appears in four readers, with selections on Athens and Milan (71.), on EurOpean guides (75.), on eloquence (82.), and a humorous excerpt from Roqghing It about "Coyotes" (88.). A selection by Howells entitled "A Hot Day in New York" appears in an 1879 McGuffey (91.). Despite his popular South Sea and adventure tales, Melville is not included in any of the readers studied. Bryant, who established himself as the great popular American poet during the first three decades of the century, appeared second only to Irving in frequency. On the average compilers included over two selections by Bryant in three-fourths of the readers studied. While the New England poets became more popular after 1840 in the public mind, Bryant continued to appear in nearly the same number of texts as Longfellow, although with slightly fewer selections per reader. In a way that Emerson and Thoreau did not, Bryant was able to find a spiritual meaning in even the smallest aspect of nature and express this significance in short, flowing verses which the common nineteenth century reader could easily understand. "Thanatopsis" [23] and "God's First Temples" [13] were models of this sentiment, but there were many others, such as "To a Waterfowl" [7], "Song of the Stars" [7], and "To the Evening Wind" [4]. Nature is not only a source of comfort, but it is a symbol of freedom, strength, and beauty. Its yearly regeneration is proof of an afterlife, while its beauty is evidence of a beneficent deity. Bryant is widely praised for the "exquisite beauty and elevated character of his poetry . . . [and] also 208 as the able editor of the New York Eveninngost" (40.). His appeal to all segments of society is noted--"He has passages of profound reflec— tion for the philosopher, and others of such simple beauty as to please the most illiterate . . . [He is] the poet of nature. . . . every thing in his verse belongs to America" (47., 66., 87.), with "nothing transplanted from a foreign soil" (46., 60). Other compilers also praise his use of American materials and pronounce him "among the very first" American poets (68., 71., 72., 80.). His "dignity of sentiment and lofty tone" are acknowledged by all compilers. Cathcart notes that "Mr. Bryant is distinctively a student and interpreter of Nature; all her aspects and voices are familiar to him, and are reproduced in his poetry with a solemn and ennobling beauty which has never been attained by any other American poet. In many respects his verse resembles Wordsworth's; but its spirit is less introspective, and appeals more directly to the common understanding" (79.). Between 1850 and 1880 Longfellow's poems and occasionally his prose appeared in more readers than any other writer. He was eminently suited to the readers because he incorporated lofty thoughts in poetry which was popular, easily comprehended, and well-crafted. He wrote more successfully than any other poet about the familiar themes of death and the afterlife, dedication to principles, the passage of time, and the joys and comforts of the simple life close to nature. He also interpreted the nation's past, and assured Americans during the Civil War that life did have purpose and meaning, and that a new Union could be created which would be stronger than ever. Longfellow favorites are "A Psalm of Life" [16], selections from "Hiawatha" [10], "The Village Blacksmith" [10],"Old Clock on the 209 Stairs" [12], "The Launching of the Ship" [9], "Excelsior" [8], and "Paul Revere's Ride" [7]. An 1857 reader compiler calls him "one of the most distinguished living poets in America" (46.), while "Hiawatha" is said to have "met with a popularity, both in Europe and America, not surpassed by any poem of the present century. . . . The moral purity and earnest humanity portrayed in his verse, excite the sympathy and reach the heart of the public" (47., 66., 87.). Other compilers note "his readers become friends" (60., 80.), "his reputation as a writer is well-known" (64.), "he ranks very high among modern poets" (71.), and he is "the most popular of American poets, almost universally read in England" (73.). A selection from the New American Cyclopedia (56.) notes Longfellow's acquaintance with EurOpean society and his reputation as a translator and critic. The writer, however, touches upon the essential cause of Longfellow's popularity, which Professor Nye describes as "his consummate ability to draw meanings from common things" and his "genius for unwinding complexities."14 The essay states, "Mr. Longfellow combines, in a rare degree, the sentiment of the artist, with the practical instincts of the man of the world. His thoughts are uniformly lucid and transparent, and never clouded by fanciful speculations" (56.). Longfellow does not enter the college lists, however, until Evangeline is required in 1890.15 Whittier does not gain popularity in the readers until after 1862. His reputation as an abolitionist may have prevented compilers from including his writings before the outbreak of the war. During the late sixties and seventies, however, the emphasis on American (primarily New England) culture and the nostalgia of compilers and educators for the simple rural past of their childhood influenced them to include 210 such favorites as "The Barefoot Boy" [6], excerpts from "Snowbound" [6], and a poem praising a bountiful harvest entitled "Corn Song" [6]. "Maud Muller" [5], a ballad of unhappy love, and a poem about the heroism of an aged woman who stood between Stonewall Jackson and the Union flag entitled "Barbara Frietchie" [4] are also popular. Whittier's works are highly praised for "earnestness of tone, high moral purpose, and energy of expression" (71.). Although Cathcart is the first to directly state that Whittier was an "active and efficient contributor" to "the literature of the antislavery struggle, from its beginning to its end" (79.), other compilers alluded to him as a "sincere and fear- less reformer" (60., 77.), and an "advocate of universal freedom" (73.) who protested against "every form of oppression" (68.). Compilers point out faults in his poems, such as a tendency to subordinate his poetry to his "ever-gushing philanthrophy" (68.). Cathcart criticizes a lack of elegance in his style which "is sometimes marred by positive faults; but these are more than balanced by the vigor of his lyrics and the intensity of his didactic passages" (79.). Holmes is less pOpular than Whittier, but compilers also praise his writings and include selections from his works more frequently in the latter decades of the study. His patriotic "Old Ironsides" [6] is a favorite, while most of his other selections are gently humorous accounts of human failings like "The Wonderful One-Horse Shay" [5] and "The Last Leaf" [3]. Other selections deal with elocution and the joys of rural life. Compilers note the "purity, finish, and grace" of his style, also termed "brilliant, sparkling and terse" (60., 80.). Most mention the comic aspect of his verse, which they term "wild wit and rich humor" (60., 80.), "genial sentiment" (66.), or even "rare 211 and racy" (56.). The "sad and the Sportive [are] blended in the most inimitable manner . . . tears and laughter mingling" (68.). He is termed "among the most pOpular of American writers" (68.), as well as "a popular lecturer and prose writer" (71.). Cathcart calls him "one ' while his humorous of the wittiest and wisest of American writers,‘ poems have been "elevated to the rank of classics" (79.). Branch notes that Poe's "The Raven" was the one poem of the period which was greeted more enthusiastically than "Evangeline."l6 It appeared in fourteen of the sixty-one readers printed after 1850. Poe's other reprinted selections were "The Bells" [8] and "Annabel Lee" [3]. Only one reader, which was printed in 1878, included an excerpt from his stories--"The House of Usher," with its accompanying poem "The Haunted Palace." Along with Byron, Poe represents an instance of an artist whose personal character was consistently attacked, yet whose writings appeared in nearly a third of the readers between 1850 and 1880. Compilers note his weaknesses, yet they also acknowledge his brilliance, even though the selections they include are intended primarily for declamation rather than for literary study. Poe is described as "an American poet of great power and beauty. . . . his poems are few, but they exhibit a high order of talent" (46., 68.). Another compiler writes, "in poetry, as in prose, he was eminently successful in the metaphysical treatment of the passions. He had a great deal of imagination and fancy, and his mind was highly analytical. His poems are constructed with wonderful ingenuity, and finished with consummate art (47., 66., 87.), even though the author engaged in "excesses" and "dissipation." Charles Sanders includes a note that Poe's life was "reckless and unhappy, and his habits dissipated and 212 intemperate." His genius, however, was "marked and original," and his prose tales "elaborated with great rhetorical skill, and show inventive but wild and morbid fancy." While acknowledging Poe's "extraordinary intellectual powers," he considers Poe to have been "without natural affection or sense of duty; and these defects of character are percep- tible in his writings" (53., 60.). In a note to "The Raven" Sanders points out, "the student will scarcely fail to notice, in the subject, the characteristic gloom of his topics, while in the execution he will see, at once, the rare capabilities of the English language and the rarer skill of this singular genius in developing them" (56.). Cathcart also applies biographical criticism to Poe's works, writing that his life "suggests . . . that the most brilliant intellectual gifts are a curse rather than a blessing, if unaccompanied by a vigonous directing and controlling moral sense." Cathcart reaffirms the traditional reader lesson that moral growth properly precedes intellectual develop— ment. Nevertheless, he recognizes Poe's genius not only as a poet, but as a critic and writer of tales (79.). John Webb includes "The Raven" in his Fifth Reader (1835), but accompanies it with a poem which illustrates that in real life, peOple have hope and faith. The companion selection is entitled, "The Dove," and a note explains that "The following lines were composed by Miss Townsend, of Philadelphia, after hearing EDGAR POE'S 'Raven' read. Her own situation of blindness and entire helplessness is most touch- ingly alluded to, and the contrast in the spirit of the two poems is very striking." The poem opens with the poet experiencing pain and anguish, her "HOpe, faith, and patience nearly lost." A pure white dove quietly enters at her window, and perches beside a picture of two 213 beautiful babes, now in Paradise. When She asks the bird "Why comes not comfort from above?" the dove answers, "God is Love," and the poet's heart is lightened. The poem ends with the following stanza. "Thanks, heavenly messenger," I cried, "Remain that picture still beside; Surrounded by the light of truth, Companion meet for sinless youth; Thou blessed type of Love and Peace, My hope and faith thou'lst still increase-— Be ever near me, gentle dove, I know, I feel, that 'God is love!'" (p. 156) While the poem was not reprinted in other readers examined--perhaps because the parallel images, meter and rhyme were perceived to be more humorous than pathetic-—it is clearly in the tradition of Sigourney and Hemans, who were far more successful than Poe in reaching and sustaining a popular audience. Whitman is not included in any of the readers of the study, despite the popularity of his declaimable "Oh Captain! My Captain!" in twentieth century literature anthologies. Lowell appears in only a few readers, such as Cathcart's, which contains the note that Lowell is, perhaps, "the most scholarly of American writers." His Fable for Critics "smacked of acerbity and arrogance, and strikingly exemplified one of his characteristics,--an almost finical fastidiousness, which has always prevented him from becoming a pOpular writer" (79.). Scott and Dickens were the only major British novelists to appear frequently in the readers. Scott was included earlier and. maintained his ascendancy in the 18503. Dickens surpassed him in the number of readers in which he appeared, although not in the total number of selections, in the 18603 and 18703. While Scott's most 214 popular selections are poetry-—"Patriotism" [10], "Lochinvar" [11], and "Fitz James and Rhoderick Dhu" [9], many selections from Ivanhoe and from historical writings also appear. Scott, highly praised for both his poetry and fiction, is called "one of the ablest and most extensive writers" (47.), the originator of the "Historical Novel" (54.), and "one of the best writers of fiction that ever lived" (73.). Both his popular regard and his "noble nature" are acknowledged--his novels enjoy "immense popularity" (60., 80.), and "exerted a lasting influence on literature," while he is "an upright and honorable man" (68.). An essay by Archibald Alison discusses the virtues which Ameri— cans found so admirable in Scott. Alison writes that no other writer had so thoroughly understood the human heart since Shakespeare. Scott ' and his works gives the impression not of "romance, but real life,' find "a responsive echo in every human heart . . . from the North Cape to Cape Horn." Besides his skill in characterization, Scott is "powerful in the pathetic, admirable in dialogue, [and] unmatched in description, [especially] . . . of scenery." Americans admired and imitated his ability to combine "historical accuracy and romantic ' while always remaining adventure with the interest of tragic events,‘ "true to the cause of virtue" (56.). Both Hilliard and Cathcart praise Scott's successful attempts to pay off his debts with the earnings from his writings (60., 79.). Ivanhoe, The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Waverley, Marmion, Kenilworth, The Lady of the Lake, Guy Mannering, and_guentin Durward appear on the college entrance lists between 1874 and 1880, with six more novels added before the close of the century.17 215 Dickens' popular selections involve the death of children-- Nell [11], Paul Dombey [6], and Henry [3]; or humorous excerpts from Pickwick [11] and A Christmas Carol [6]. Historical selections include "The History of Prince Arthur" [3] and "The Battle of Hastings" [2]. Compilers note Dickens' "uniform success" (47.) and call him "the most popular novelist of the day" (69.) or "perhaps the most popular writer of the day" (35.) or even "perhaps the most famous living English writer" (60.). They emphasize his ability to people literature with "a crowd of living and moving characters" (47.) "as distinct and real as any in history" (87.). While Parker and Watson praise the reforming effects of Dickens' excellent "delineation of humble life" (68.), a note in a Hilliard reader acknowledges his impact on social reform, but complains that "he takes us a little too much into scenes of low life, and obtrudes his evil and hateful characters upOn us more than we could wish" (60.). Hilliard concedes, however, that Dickens "excels in scenes which paint sickness and death, especially of the lovely and young" (60., 72.). His literary techniques are not always praised, as in an 1862 Sanders note, which states that "in spite of certain defects prominent enough to artistic eyes, his sway over the reader [is] perfectly absolute" (56.). Cathcart stresses Dickens' pOpularity and humor, but concludes that "Dickens' books have little moral depth or weight." He praises Dickens' service "in the work of social and legal reform," but emphasizes Dickens' ingratitude in his harsh writings about America (79.). College examiners added A Tale of Two Cities to their entrance list in 1880, and David C0pperfield in 18 1893. 216 Byron is the most popular major nineteenth century poet in the readers, appearing in over half of the books studied. There are also more selections about him than about any other writer. More than a fifth of the readers contain one or more notes or selections which are critical of Byron's moral character. These references are not confined to a single series, but include readers by nine different compilers. General articles on literature and morality express regret that Byron's genius was not used to advance morality (15.) and fear that the beauty of his poetry will seduce young minds into evil (22.). A poem by Robert Pollock which appears in four readers traces Byron's life and career from his childhood, which was filled with ease because of his high birth, through his privileged wanderings that "took him where he wished." His poetic genius and his skill in composing images of nature which capture the fancy and imagination are acknowledged. However, he exercised no moral judgement over what he wrote: All thoughts, all maxims, sacred and profane; All creeds; all seasons, Time, Eternity; All that was hated, and all that was dear; All that was hoped, and all that was feared by man, He tossed about, as tempest, withered leaves, Then smiling looked down upon the wreck he made. Byron's soul remains "dark, sullen, [and] proud," despite the reverence given him by nations and critics, many of whom "called his evil good." Yet Byron dies, according to Pollock, "of wretchedness." Pollock's final insult is to pity Byron: "Poor man!--/ Ashamed to ask, and yet he needed help." Two readers print an article by Francis Jeffrey which charges that Byron's writings "have a tendency to destroy all belief in the reality of virtue--and to make all enthusiasm and constancy of affection 217 ridiculous." What makes Byron so dangerous is that he does not destroy belief in "religion, love, patriotism, valor, devotion, con— stancy [and] ambition" by "direct maxims and examples, . . . [but] by the constant exhibition of the most profligate heartlessness in the persons who had been transiently represented as actuated by the purest and most exalted emotions." Such a practice normally would "revolt" rather than "seduce," but Byron's gift for creating "those sweet and lofty illusions" enables him to disguise his actions so that the reader is led from all traditional values, and left without faith in goodness or respect for virtue. Two essays by Macaulay account for Byron's instability by the alternating praise and ridicule he received from his mother as a child and from his readers as an author, but conclude that much of his poetry "can only perish with the English language" (72.), and that he was "the most celebrated Englishman of the nine— teenth century" (56.). While acknowledging Byron's "intellectual power and poetic talent of the highest order" (46.), "perhaps never surpassed (64.), most compilers express disgust at Byron's private life and the immor- ality of much of his poetry. One writes that his "entire want of moral and religious principles will consign him to an oblivion, redeemed only by a few brilliant and untainted gems like . . . 'The Prisoner of Chillon'" (46.). Others write of the "moral depravity" (72.) some of his poems exhibit, of his "morbid misanthropy" and the "pernicious" (68.) influence of his writings, which sometimes minister "to evil passions" (80.) and which teach that "the unhappiness of men is just in prOportion to their intellectual superiority" (80.). Sanders accurately assesses the situation by stating that Byron's life was 218 "distinguished by a series of poetical productions which have been more admired and more condemned than those, perhaps, of any other writer, whether living or dead" (56.). Although in choosing selections compilers claimed to look for morality and suitability to pedagogical purposes first, before consid- ering literary merit, they nevertheless included more selections from Byron than from any of the popular clergymen-writers Channing, Beecher, and Pierpont, or from such established and distinguished writers as Milton or Franklin. The compilers, both by excerpting and adapting, would have had no trouble avoiding any of Byron's questionable writings, yet they frequently include the fatalistic "Darkness" [10], which represents a dream of the universe in which mankind and the world were destroyed and darkness reigned supreme-ewith no awakening to a reaffirmation of faith in God. "ApostrOphe to the Ocean" [16] is widely reprinted because the ocean reflects "the Almighty's form," which, presumably, allows the poet to experience contact with the divinity by being able to "mingle with the universe and feel/ What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal." Twenty—eight of his selec- tions deal with Greek freedom, and his death on the battlefield may have been taken as a sufficiently heroic sacrifice for compilers to include his writings, although they do not mention the circumstances of his death in the notes. Other common pieces are "Waterloo" [10], and good declaiming poetry like "The Destruction of Sennacherib's Host" [6] and "The Dying Gladiator" [6]. "The Prisoner of Chillon" appeared on the 1879 college list. Selections from Coleridge appeared in more than a third of the readers, but often only a single poem, the "Morning Hymn to Mt. Blanc" 219 [18] was chosen. Only a few excerpts are from his important works such as "The Ancient Mariner" [2], "Kubla Khan" [1] or "Christabel" [1]. None of his critical theory appears, although compilers acknow— ledge his superior "metaphysical and critical powers" (47., 66., 77., 87.), and call him "a profound thinker" (68.), "one of the most remarkable men of his time, . . . and a critic of unrivalled excellence" (60., 80). His personal life is criticized, however, and many of his poems are termed "unfinished" because "he was deeply tinged with that incapacity of acting, which forms the characteristic of the German intellect" (56.). Compilers note that he suffered from the "use of opium, first taken in illness, and afterwards used habitually" (47., 66., 71., 87.), and from "indolence and want of will" (68.). Another writes, "he could see the right, but not always go to it; he could see the wrong, but not always go from it" (60., 80.). Osgood notes, how- ever, that "he wrote several prose works, which are distinguished for purity of diction, profound thought, and sound Christian morality" (50., 78.). Shelley's selections appear in only nineteen readers, and only once in fourteen of these. They include "Night, and a Field of Battle" [5], which contrasts the still night with the bloody battle of day, "To a Skylark" [6] and "The Cloud" [4]. He is praised as a poet of "admirable genius," with a talent for description, yet the suicide of his first wife subjected him to "much misrepresentation" (47.). In the small number of readers in which he appears, he is most popular during the 18503. Cathcart does not include his works. Hart writes that 220 Shelley "had no popular following, for [his] ideas, subject matter, and even [his] verse forms were too extreme for the public."19 Wordsworth is characterized as "the greatest of metaphysical poets, and one of the most blameless of men" (47., 66., 87.), with selections appearing consistently in more than a third of the readers throughout the period. "Intimations of Immortality" [7], "Lucy" [5], "Goody Blake and Harry Gill" [5], "Grace Darling" [4] and "The Solitary Reaper" [4] are popular, along with other poems about children and love of nature. A critical note acknowledges that "The Excursion" has "hardly an equal in our language" (47., 66., 87.). Another compiler writes that "the grand characteristics of his poetry are his extreme sensibility to the changing phenomena of nature, and his accurate descriptions of them" (68.), while a later note states that Wordsworth "is famed for deep thought, but sometimes wrote childish and whimsical pieces" (87.). An 1845 reader article on the "Sublimity of Wordsworth" praises his ability to show how the "most disgusting of all earthly ' and to demon- objects" is linked to "the great harmonies of nature,‘ strate "the union of all orders of animated being, and the universal workings of the Spirit that lives and breathes in them all" (22.). An essay by H. T. Tuckerman entitled "Influence of Wordsworth on Poetical Taste" praises the poet's practice of using "the clear and natural in diction," his standard of "truth and simplicity," and his advocacy of ' and "a pleasure not obtained from "a wisdom not born of books,‘ society," but from nature (33.). Sanders includes an essay which criticizes Wordsworth's lack of strong passion, his unrealistic characterization, his tediousness of 221 detail, and his "bare and meagre style," which contains "even phrases tainted with mean associations." Nevertheless, Wordsworth's influence on poetry has been beneficial, the author writes, because "he has turned the public taste from pompous inanity to the study of man and nature; he has banished the false and exaggerated style of character and emotion which even the genius of Byron stOOped to imitate; and he has enlisted the sensibilities and sympathies of his intellectual brethren in favor of the most expansive and kindly philanthropy" (56.). Perhaps the fairest estimate is given in an 1863 Hilliard Reader: Wordsworth's popularity has never been of that comprehensive kind which Scott and Byron possessed. . . . He is often cold, languid, and prosaic. He is deficient in the power of presenting pictures. He often attempts to give poetical interest to themes which lie entirely out of the domain of poetry. He has no humor, and no sense of the ludicrous; and many of his poems are obnoxious to the attack of ridicule. But on the other hand, there are very great and enduring excellences. Among these are most careful precision and accuracy of diction, a minute acquaintance and deep sympathy with nature, power and tenderness in the expression of the domestic affections, a philosophical insight into the workings of the human soul, lofty dignity of sentiment, and in his best passages, a serene, imagi— native grandeur akin to that of Milton (60.). Cathcart writes that Wordsworth's poetry has received "a more candid and accurate estimate," and the poet holds "an enviable rank among English poets of the nineteenth century" (79.). Wordsworth's simpler poems appear frequently in the lower readers, and this may have prompted compilers to include them in the advanced readers as well. Tennyson's selections do not appear with any regularity until the mid-18503, but during the subsequent decades he rivals Bryant and Irving in pOpularity. Many of his poems, such as "Charge of the Light Brigade" [11], "Ring Out, Wild Bells" [9], "Bugle Song" [8] and "Lady 222 Clare" [6] are selected for their suitability as oral reading pieces. Compilers note that "'In Memoriam' requires careful study, and reflec- tion on the reader's own inmost being, . . . [that] 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' is one of the most spirited and effective poems" and "The Idylls" exhibit "vigor, exquisite utterance, and varied interest" (47., 66., 87). Tennyson is considered "among the first of modern "universally recognized" poets" (46.), a poet whose preeminence is (70.) and "a rare and fine genius. . . . [who is] fully appreciated by those with poetic faculty [but] more valued by women than men, by young men than old" (60., 80). Compilers chose a substantial amount of literature from minor literary figures whose reputations were based on popular and frequently transient successes. They also respected men and women who were not scholars or writers by profession, but who combined a career such as banking, business or motherhood with the writing of moralistic, imitative, or occasional verse or biographies or essays. Toward these writers compilers extended relaxed literary standards, and chose instead works which expressed the correct sentiments, were clear and easy to understand, or which reflected the daily concerns of the middle class. Frequently compilers selected works which had proven their popularity in magazines, annuals, and gift books. The compilers, however, were able to distinguish between a major artist like Hawthorne and a minor novelist and biographer like William Wirt. Nye writes, for example, that "The nineteenth century reader who was moved by Lydia Sigourney knew quite well that he was not reading Milton."20 In notes to these minor and non-literary figures compilers 223 frequently omit an estimate of the writer's literary merits, and remark instead on the life and character of the writer or on the content of the selection. In other cases faults are pointed out. Often the reader selections of a minor writer come from a single work which embodies a familiar idea or image in a way which many peOple find uniquely moving or interesting, such as "The Raven" or Halleck's "Marco Bozzaris." The authors in the following section may have enjoyed considerably higher literary reputations with their con- temporaries than with today's critics, but in most cases by 1880 reader notes point out a decline in their standing, or compilers simply cease to include their writings. Felicia Hemans, an extremely popular British poet writing between 1812 and 1834, rivals Longfellow and surpasses Byron, Tennyson, and all the New England poets in the decades between 1850 and 1870. Her most printed poem is "Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers" [8], but the titles of the majority of her selections reveal her major themes of the faith in God which must accompany death, happy anticipation at the thought of reunion with loved ones in heaven, the superiority of maternal affection to other types of love, and a desire for freedom and love of country. Her popular poems are "Bernardo del Carpio" [6], about a man who loses an esteemed father; a lament for the lost at sea who will arise on judgement day called "Treasures of the Deep" [5]; "Hour of Prayer" [5]; and "Casabianca" [5], better known as "the boy stood on the burning deck." Compilers praise her "purity of sentiment and gentle pathos" (47., 66.) and the "great and thoughtful" [73.], "tender" (64.) beauty of her language, as well as her "able, modest, and exemplary" (47., 66.) character. Her works are considered "a 224 perfect embodiment of woman's soul" (56.). A reader excerpt from Chamber's Cyclgpedia states, Though highly popular and in many respects excellent, we do not think much of the poetry of Mrs. Hemans will descend to posterity. . . Some of her shorter pieces and her lyrical productions are touching and beautiful in both sentiment and expression. Her versification is always melodious; but there is an oppressive sameness in her longer poems, which fatigues the reader. . . . the effect is only that of a mass of glittering images and polished words, a graceful melancholy, and feminine tenderness, but no strong or permanent impression (28.). In 1867 a compiler notes that her poems are "less popular now [that] they're read continuously, having been collected, than when serially published. The melancholy becomes monotonous from page to page" (60.). An American writer frequently compared with Hemans because of her similar treatment of themes, Lydia Sigourney is popular because her verses teach clear, simple lessons. Although her writing career became established later than Hemans' height of success, Sigourney's popularity in the readers began at the same time, during the 18303, when compilers were still concerned with locating sufficient American materials. In the readers, however, Hemans' verse outlasts that of Sigourney, whose works appear in fewer than a fifth of the readers during the 18703. Her recurring pieces are religious selections--"I Have Seen an End to All Perfection" [7], and "Niagra" [6]. There are few favorite selections because of a similarity in theme, diction, and imagery among all her poems. For example, "Burial of the Young" [1], "The Dying Boy" [1], "A Hebrew Tale" [2], "Dying Father and his Daughter" [1], "The Intemperate Husband" [2], and "The Foster Child" [2] all concern the death of family members, usually children. A number of selections from her Letters to Young Ladies counsel that women should 225 be educated to enhance their roles as wives and mothers. One compiler writes that "her rare and highly cultivated intellect, her fine sensi- bilities, and her noble heart have enabled her . . . to plead successfully the cause of humanity and religion" (47., 66.). The Sanders' Rhetorical Reader (1862), usually a leader in criticism, avoids an assessment other than to note that her "fifty or more volumes . . attest her claims to deserved distinction" and that she "has richly earned the praise of having ministered gracefully and successfully to the well-being and well-doing of her fellow-creatures" (56.). The Scotch poet Thomas Campbell is very popular for his spirited, strongly cadenced poems of battle and freedom, such as "The Downfall of Poland" [16], "Lochiel's Warning" [13], "Hohenlinden" [9], "The Last Man" [10] and "Song of the Greeks" [4]. As one compiler wrote, "These are matchless poems,--with a ring and power that stir the blood, and at the same time a magic of expression which fastens the words forever to the memory" (60.). Hart writes that Campbell's "declamatory love of liberty and his romantic descriptions of nature pleased those who admired Byron, and his high moral tone delighted those whom Byron shocked. . . . N. P. Willis [remarked that] 'The school-boys have him by heart.'"21 His verse was characterized by "fine taste, gorgeous imagery, and perfect polish" (46.), "glowing, bold and powerful" (47., 66.) conception, and "melodious" diction (68.). One compiler calls his "Pleasures of Hope" the "finest didactic poem" in English (47., 66.), while another complains that it "moves languidly" and has "a want of truth in the costume and probability of events" (60., 80.). 226 Campbell reaches his height of popularity in the readers during the 18503, although he is well represented throughout the period, and his fame warrants the compiler's statement that "his poems are so well known, so popular [and] so duly appreciated" that describing them is unnecessary (56.). Branch notes that Campbell was most popular during the second decade of the century,22 which is an indication of a lag of approximately ten years between general popularity and significant inclusion in the readers. This period seems typical for many popular minor writers not only before compilers begin to include their works, but also as the amount of time in which they continue to include writers' works after their popularity wanes. The most pOpular selections of James Gates Percival, who "wrote "23 are "To the on a variety of subjects, almost invariably melancholy Eagle" [7], a patriotic piece' and "To Seneca Lake" [6] and "The28pirit of Poetry" [5], standard romantic poems. His expertise in science, geology, botany and philology was recognized, as well as his poetic powers (especially imagination and fancy), in many readers (46., 47., 56., 66., 73.). However, "he shrunk from the labor of thoroughly revising his writings, and giving them the polished excellence that can only be obtained by a slow and laborious process" (36., 47.) Half of the selections of Fitz-Greene Halleck is composed of "Marco Bozzaris" [17], a popular declamation poem on Greek indepen- dence. "Twilight" [6] and "Weehawken" [5] are romantic pieces, the latter similar to Wordsworth's "Intimations" ode. He is said to "rank high" (64.) by one compiler, while another writes that his poetry is "characterized by its music and perfection of versification, and its vigor and healthy sentiment" (47., 66). In 1871 a compiler 227 however, tersely notes that Halleck was "one of the earliest American writers, and very popular in his day" (73.) Thomas Moore, an Irish poet much influenced by Byron, was popular for poems dealing with religious faith like "The Turf Shall be My Fragrant Shrine" [9] and "God Seen in All Things" [5]. His famous "The Last Rose of Summer [3] and "0ft in the Stilly Night" [4], which mourns the passing of time, were popularly sold as songs. His longer works are "exquisite for grace of diction, . . . beauty, and . . . pathos" (47., 66.), and are "rich and melodious in composition, and full of beautiful imagery" (68.). One compiler, however, critizes Moore's poetry because it "cloys the mind with its excess of imagery and luxurious sweetness of its versification" (60.). An 1845 reader selection critizes Moore's "seducing refinement" and "voluptous sensibility," (22.), while Sanders notes that some of Moore's early works were "deficient in moral purity" (62.). An essay by Chambers criticizes Moore's excessive description and decoration, and his lack of "simplicity and genuine passion" (56.). Jane Taylor, a British writer, was popular for her "instructive books for children" (68.). Frequently printed selections like "Con- trasted Soliloquies" [8] and "The Discontented Pendulum" [13] counsel industry and humility. Her moralistic stories have charm and wit despite their didactic qualities, as illustrated by Hilliard's note that "her writings are excellent in their tone and spirit, and possess much literary merit" (60.). Sanders states that she "wrote well, and . . . has left to the young a rich legacy of mingled entertainment and instruction" (56.). Taylor appeared in a third of the advanced readers studied, and maintained her popularity throughout the period. \ 228 Anna Barbauld was also a popular British writer of children's books, such as her Hymns in Prose for Children. "Address to the Deity" [5] was a request for faith, while in "Immortality" [3] the regeneration of nature parallels man's eventual resurrection. Other typical titles are "Folly of Inconsistent Expectations" [1] and "The Superior Worldly Advantages of Illiterate Men, No Ground for Com- plaint" [2]. Mandeville, himself a clergyman, refers to Mrs. Barbauld, the daughter and wife of a minister, as "one of the most distinguished writers of her age" (45.). By the 18703, however, her writings have disappeared from most readers. Nathaniel P. Willis was a popular journalist, poet, editor, and dramatist who wrote in a great variety of styles and forms--"criticism, travel sketches, essays, plays, novels, light and serious verse."24 In the readers he is "best known through his exquisitely poetical description of Scripture scenes" (46.) such as "David's Lament for Absolom" [10]. "Unwritten Music" [7] expressed a romantic attitude toward nature, while "Parrahasius" [8] told of a painter who tortures an old slave to death to serve as a model for Prometheus. Although compilers praise his periodical writings (87.), his "airy, . . graceful" (60.) and "felicitous style, and warm and exuberant fancy, and ready and sparkling wit" (47., 66., 87.), after his death in 1867 he quickly loses his place in the readers. Cathcart includes two selections by Willis, although he notes that "while the bulk of his writings is of a somewhat ephemeral character, he was sometimes moved by a loftier ambition, and produced matter of more substantial value" (79.). 229 Eight of Harriet Beecher Stowe's twelve selections are children's stories. Many compilers note, however, that she has written Uncle Tom's Cabin (43., 72., 73.), which had "a wider circulation than any other work of fiction in the English language. She is one of the most popular and successful of living writers" (71.). Cathcart writes that Uncle Tom's Cabin "must be regarded as the most remarkable book of the century, its subject and its popularity being considered." He concludes, however, that it was Stowe's timely subject and not her skill which led to the book's fame, and he expresses gratification that she now lives in the South and "exhibits a more accurate knowledge of that section." Uncle Tom's Cabin contains "grave ' and "all her compo- faults, errors of fact and literary infelicities,‘ sitions . . . are disfigured by literary blemishes" (79.), Cathcart concludes. Brete Harte appears in five readers during the 18703, although only two deal with his popular western stories. Watson notes that he is "widely known for character poems and sketches of California life," (74.), while Cathcart judges his best work to be The Luck of Roaring Camp, and praises his ability to combine humor and pathos (79.). The most popular non—literary writers included in the readers are the orator-statesmen Daniel Webster and Edward Everett. An average of more than three and a third Webster speeches appear in sixty-one readers. Most frequent are "Liberty and Union" [16], "Patriotism and Eloquence of John Adams" [14], "Crime Its Own Detector" [13], "South Carolina and Massachusetts" [11], "The Nature of True Eloquence" [9] and "Purpose of the Bunker Hill Monument" [13]. The other 230 60 percent of the selections cover similar topics—-patriotism, indepen- dence, relations with Europe, and lives of great Americans. It is not merely the popularity of oratory which caused Webster to rank fourth in the number of readers which included his writings, behind his countrymen Irving, Bryant, and Longfellow, but surpassing even Shakespeare. As Hilliard notes, "for the last twenty-five years of his life, Mr. Webster's biography is identified with the history of his country" (60.). His speeches were popular before mid-century, when they addressed issues of the day, such as preservation of the union and the establishment of American institutions; after Webster's death his eloquences served to remind students of their duties to the country, of the importance of patriotism, and of the glorious past and the lessons of the revolution. Although his style of oratory had become unfashionable by the end of the Civil War, and elocution began to decline in importance in the readers during the seventies, Webster's pOpularity remained constant throughout the period. In an 1857 reader Everett writes that Webster understood better than anyone "the secret sympathy of nature and art." His most promi— nent personal trait was "his social disposition, his loving heart" (47.). An essay by E. P. Whipple identifies another reason for Webster's popularity: "He has done what no national poet has yet succeeded in doing,--associated his own great genius with all in our country's history and scenery which makes us rejoice that we are Americans" (56.). In aeulogy on Webster, Lewis Gaylor Clark writes that no American since Washington had so occupied "the thoughts, and molded the minds, of men" (69.). Webster was called "one of the greatest, if not the greatest of American orators, jurists and 231 statesmen" (47., 87.), with a "strong, simple and dignified" style of speaking which was "vehement when necessary" (60., 80.). Even Cathcart includes three short pieces, stating that although Webster's writings are fragmentary, they "deservedly rank among the best specimens of our literature" (79.). Edward Everett was almost as popular as Webster in the readers, with selections appearing in nearly 60 percent of the texts. "Advan- tages of Adversity to Our Forefathers" [7] and "Supposed Indian Speech" [6] are his most popular works. The t0pics of his writings are similar to Webster's--emigration, freedom, the progress of science, the necessity for good relations with England, optimism concerning America's political future, the necessity of public education, and even a similar piece on "The Good of the Bunker Hill Monument" [7]. He was praised as "one of the most eminent of American scholars and rhetori- cians" (49.) and as a "highly distinguished statesman, orator, and scholar" (72.), who wrote with a "rich and glowing style . . . under the inspiration of a generous and comprehensive patriotism." His "brilliant natural powers through life were trained and aided by those habits of vigorous industry which are falsely supposed by many to be found only in connection with dullness and mediocrity" (60.). William Wirt was a famous nineteenth'century lawyer who defended Blennerhasset in the Aaron Burr treason trial. His selections appear in one more reader than Wordsworth's. An excerpt from his defense is found in seven readers. His most popular selection, "The Blind Preacher" [9] from The British Spy, "Eloquence and Humor of Patrick Henry" [6] and "Colloquial Powers of Franklin" [10] all stress the value of elocution— ary skills. "No Excellence Without Labor" [5] and "Decisive Integrity" 232 [7] emphasize morality and industry. He is characterized as "an able American lawyer and miscellaneous writer with a reputation for 'fervid eloquence'" (47.). Another mentions the dissipation of his early life, although he became a writer of "great pathos and beauty" (46.). An 1863 reader note criticizes his style as being "rich and flowing, but marked by an excess of ornament, which was in unison with the taste of the times" (60.). A later reader praises his biography of Patrick Henry (68.). The writings of Joseph Story, a lawyer and Supreme Court justice from 1811 to 1845, appear in 30 percent of the readers. Popular selec- tions are his "Character and Decay of the North American Indians" [7], "The Future of the Republic" [9], "Fulton and His First Steam Boat" [4], and "Education of Females" [4], in which he advocates the educa- tion of women, because it has been shown not to result in "masculine boldness or restless independence." Compilers write that he was "eminent as a judge, a juridical writer, and a teacher of law" (72.) and an "accomplished scholar" (56.). They do not emphasize any particular literary or elocutionary skill in their comments, and there seems to be no compelling reason for including his writings except for their topicality and his reputation as a judge. Charles Sprague, a successful American banker as well as a minor poet, nonetheless exceeded WOrdsworth, Holmes, and Franklin in popularity in the readers. His fame rose when he became the honorary poet of the Harvard Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1829, and he wrote many occasional verses, odes, and sentimental, mournful pieces. His essay on "The Melancholy Fate of the Indians" is most popular, followed by "The Family Meeting" [6], "The Winged Worshippers" [6], and "The 233 Power of Art" [5]. The latter two are religious selections. An ode to Shakespeare, while printed in only three readers, is called "one of the most vigorous and exquisite lyrics in the English language" (47., 66.). Another compiler writes that he is "best known as the author of an ode on Shakespeare, 'The Winged Worshippers,‘ and other poems" (73.). Sprague's successful banking career excited the admiration of Hilliard, who writes, "Mr. Sprague presents an encouraging example of the union of practical business habits with the tastes of a scholar and the sensibility of a poet. He was for many years cashier of a bank, and performed his prosaic duties with as much attentiveness and skill as if he had never written a line of verse" (60., 80.). Despite the secularization of education, clergymen continued to contribute many selections to readers. William Ellery Channing's writings appear in nearly half the readers, although his most popular selections, "The Exalted Character of Poetry [5], "The Sense of Beauty" [9], and "Books" are primarily concerned with the intellect and literature rather than religious thought. His other selections teach that religion is the only basis for society; that men and America can improve; that education, industry, and faith in God are necessary to happiness; and that children owiaobedience to parents. A compiler's note praises Channing's writings for "literary elegance, directness, and moral energy" (47.). Hilliard places moral considerations above both literary and elocutionary merit, noting that "Channing's style is admirably suited for the exposition of moral and spiritual truth. . . even its diffuseness, which is its obvious literary defect, is no disadvantage in this aspect." While as a speaker Channing "may not have produced the greatest effect upon those who heard him for the 234 first time, but all who were accustomed to his teachings recognized in him the elements of highest eloquence" (60.). Selections by John Pierpont, a Unitarian clergyman, poet, and businessman (who compiled an early series of readers in the 18205 which stressed Amcrican literature), appear in thirty-four of the ninety-one readers studied. While he was an ardent prohibitionist and abolitionist, his favorite textbook selections are "Warren's Address" [9], a rendering in verse of the exhortation to the soliders at Bunker Hill; "Passing Away" [8], a poem about aging and the swift passage of time; "Whittling—-A Yankee Portrait" [5], which describes a small, boy's ingenuity; and "Napoleon at Rest" [5]. He was also a favorite occasional poet, and although these "Commemorating . . ." and "Dedicating . . ." verses do not appear in the readers, their popularity probably influenced compilers to include his other works. One compiler notes that "he has written in almost every meter, and many of his poems are remarkably elevated, spirited and melodious" (71., 73.). He is mentioned as a reformer (71., 73.) and is identified with aboli- tionism (72.), but only one of his crusading selections, "Temperance Song," appears. Henry ward Beecher was popular not only as a minister and writer, but as the most eminent speaker among the clergy. His favorite works are "The Loss of the Arctic" [7], a sermon on the sinking of a ship; "The Love of Flowers" [4], an essay pointing out that even the ' whose death and poor can have this "finest gift of Providence,‘ rebirth intimate immortality; and the patriotic poem "Our Honored Dead" [4]. Many compilers take excerpts from Life Thoughts, a volume which covers topics like education, friendship, industry, Christian living, 235 and the family. Parker and Watson write that he is a famed speaker on both religious matters and "topics of the day, usually lecturing about eighty times a year. . . . [he] avoids doctrinal topics. He preaches the truth of to-day applied to the temptations, the errors, and the wants of today" (47., 66.). His style is "rich, glowing and exuberant," while he enjoys "unrivalled popularity" as a lecturer (60., 80). Monroe writes that although Beecher was a "dull boy, and gave no promise of future eminence . . . he now wields a greater influence than any other clergyman" (73.). Edwards mentions his abolitionist sentiment-"He has always taken the liveliest interest in political affairs, having freely spoken and written against slavery and other political evils" (68.), but includes none of these writings in his reader. Cathcart notes that Beecher is the most eminent "pulpit orator" of his day, and praises his homiletic style (79.). Rev. Henry Ware, Jr., contributed selections from his popular inspirational work On the Formation of the Christian Character, and from The Life of the Savior, written for children. "Ursa Major" [7] is a poetic argument for the presence of a creator. Other favorites are "Industry Necessary to Form the Orator" [6]; "Seasons of Prayer" [5], which counsels that "a life of prayer is a life of heaven"; and "Lines to a Child, on a Voyage to France to See his Father" [4], in which Hare compares the earthly journey to the way in which the soul finds, through the trackless space, its course to the heavenly father. One compiler notes that Ware's writings are "executed with scholarly taste and ability" (56.), while Hilliard states that his 236 poems "show poetical powers of no common order" (60., 80). By the 18708, however, he appears in only a single reader. 0f the many historical writings in the readers, those by George Bancroft are the most popular. Reprinted selections include "The Former and Present Condition of New York" [7], "The Battle of Lexington" [4], "Pre—eminence of American Institutions" [2], and "Capture of Ticonderoga" [3]. Compilers note that Bancroft's History of America is "eminently American, in the best sense of that word as used in regard to literature. It is the most accurate and philoSOphical account that has yet been given . . . and, though the style is not altogether free from affectation, contains parts . . . among the most splendid in all historical literature" (47., 66.). Willson calls the History "one of the noblest monuments of American literature (71.). Hilliard, however, notes that Bancroft's style is "somewhat abrupt in its transitions, and rather wanting in simplicity," and that some find him guilty of excessive speculation (60.). According to Cathcart, Bancroft's style is "eminently scholarly, yet not pedantic, brilliant, yet not flashy, in narrative animated and picturesque, and in philo- sophical passages massive and majestic" (79.). Benjamin Franklin was among the first American writers included in American readers such as Bingham's Columbian Orator, first printed in 1797. Franklin also wrote the introduction to one of the earliest "literature" texts, Joseph Cruikshank's Miscellanies, Moral and 25 Instructive, in Prose and Verse (1793). His popular childhood reminiscence, "The Whistle" [6], appears in the earliest reader in the study, Bingham's American Preceptor (1821), and in one of the latest, Appleton's Fourth Reader (1878). Other favorites are "Turning the 237 Grindstone" [4], "Paper" [3], which compares types of people and types of paper; "Franklin and the Gout" [5]; and "Entrance into Philadelphia" [3]. He was characterized as "an eminent American philOSOpher and statesman" (87.). Another compiler notes his newspaper, almanac, and scientific experiments. Hilliard adds that Franklin "wrote on a variety of questions, and his writings, including his letters, are in a delightful style, instructive from their sound sense, and attractive from their playful humor and warm benevolence of feeling" (72.). The popularity of biographical criticism was not limited to reader compilers. One of the varieties of American organic criticism considered a virtuous creator necessary for a virtuous creation. Even the progressive educators who advocated the use of whole literary works rather than fragments suggested that the biographies of authors be taught at the same time as their works. Francis Underwood, who condemned the use of literature as an object of grammatical analysis and held the radical idea that the study of vernacular literature was valuable or perhaps even necessary preparation for the study of the ancient classics, urged that a teacher "fill out the narrow outline of the biography" of the author which an English class was studying. The teacher should then "illustrate and refine upon the critical estimates, giving his own views, and stimulating students to examine for themselves, and to form habits of independent judgement."26 While compilers viewed with disfavor the personal lives of a number of writers, particularly the British romantic poets, they nevertheless included the works of these writers. Conversely, the compilers acknowledged the literary faults of minor writers such as 238 Campbell, Hemans, Percival, Moore and Willis. From these writers they selected particular works which did not contain the literary faults mentioned in the notes, or they subordinated literary merit to other concerns. Many works were included because they effectively taught morality or useful knowledge, they were suited to elocution, or they embodied an appropriate subject such as beauty or history. In other words, compilers chose selections from accomplished writers with tarnished reputations and from mediocre writers whose works fulfilled an important but non-literary need. Most popular, of course, were major writers with good personal reputations and a pOpular following, such as Bryant and Wordsworth. As a note on Thomas Moore points out, contriteness on the part of erring authors was welcomed. Sanders notes that some of Moore's early writings were "deficient in moral purity. But of these, it ought to be said to his credit, he was afterwards deeply ashamed" (56.). Along with the biographical notes, there were some sound literary judgements expressed in the readers. Many also had the virtue of balance, such as the notes which Hilliard includes in his Sixth Reader on Wordsworth. While Hilliard mentions the poet's occasional prosaic language, he praises Wordsworth's careful and accurate diction; he cannot present pictures, but he has a profound acquaintance with nature; and he has no sense of humor, but he has deep insight into the human soul. There was general but not absolute agreement among compilers concerning the works of various authors. During the 18605, for example, Parker and Edwards praise the imagery and sweetness of Moore's poetry, . while Sanders and Hilliard criticize his excessive refinement and 239 sensibility, and censure his lack of purity. Opinions also changed between 1860 and 1880 as critics and compilers began to see less merit in the airy fancy and sparkling wit of the productions of N. P. Willis, which seemed "ephemeral" to one compiler. The reputation of Words- worth, however, rose, with Cathcart noting that the poet's writings had received "a more candid and accurate estimate." Compilers were frequently faced with the dilemma of wanting to include the works of an esteemed writer, especially an American, but being able to find few suitable works. Compilers highly praised Emerson and Hawthorne, for example, yet typically included only a single selection from each. Compilers also chose the lesser-known or inferior works of major writers, because the important or well- known work was too long, too complex, or too morally ambiguous to be used in the readers. Therefore, Coleridge was represented by "Hymn to Mt. Blanc" rather than Biographia Literaria; Hawthorne by "A Rill from the Town Pump" instead of The Marble Faun; Tennyson by "Charge of the Light Brigade" but not by Idyls of the King; and Poe by "The Raven" instead of "The Fall of the House of Usher." In general compilers were guided by the popular rather than the elite response in choosing selections. From major authors they excerpted pieces which were closest in form and content to popular works. Cooper's and C. B. Brown's "Escape from a Panther" pieces, for example, were simple accounts of adventure, and had little to do with the reputation of either writer. Longfellow's "Psalm of Life" was far from his best poem, but it was certainly among his most popular. It is also significant that all the writers who appeared in more than half the readers--Irving, Bryant, Longfellow, Webster, Shakespeare, 240 Hemans, Willis, Campbell, and Sigourney--had outstanding popular repu- tations. While writers like Bryant were occasionally praised for their use of American materials in the notes, there was no special treatment of American authors. Despite the similarity in the work of Hemans and Sigourney, for example, compilers continued to favor the British writer. They also praised Americans like Emerson and Longfellow for establishing international reputations. One unusual aspect of the reader notes was the attitude of admiration toward a writer who maintained a "practical" career, such as the banker Charles Sprague. There is an implied criticism in some notes on Wordsworth, for example, for his leisure and lack of hardship. Cathcart notes that Wordsworth was "the favorite of fortune, having inherited a comfortable estate, . . . holding a lucrative office under government," and receiving the Poet Laureate pension of three hundred pounds. Sanders writes that "poetry was almost the sole business of his life" (56.), as if he should have been engaged in some other. Such statements, however, were consistent with the aim of compilers, which was not to train scholars and philosophers, but rather to produce hard—working, honest, patriotic American citizens. NOTES--CHAPTER VII 1John Pritchard, Criticism in America (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1956), p. 27. 2Pritchard, p. 101. 3Charles Carpenter, History of American School Books (Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1963), p. 71. 4Frank Luther Mott, Golden Multitudes (New York: R. R. Bowker, 1947). p. 58. 5Peter Witt, "The Beginnings of the Teaching of Vernacular Litera- ture in the Secondary Schools of Massachusetts," Diss. Harvard Univ. 1968, pp. 278-9). 6Witt, p. 33. 7Edna Hays, College Entrance Requirements in English, Contribu- tions to Education, no. 675 (New York: Teachers College, Columbia Univ., 1936), pp. 133-4. 8Harry H. Clark, "Changing Attitudes in Early American Literary Criticism: 1800-1840," in Floyd Stovall, ed., The Development of Amer- ican Literary Criticism (Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1955), p. 72. 9John D. Hart, The Popular Book (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1963), p. 29. 10Hart, p. 27. 11Carl Bode, The Anatomy of American Popular Culture, 1840—1861 (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1959), p. 203. 12Hart, p. 136. l3Hays, pp. 134-5. l4Russell B. Nye, Society and Culture in America, 1830-1860 (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), p. 121. lsHays, p. 135. 241 242 16E. Douglas Branch, The Sentimental Years, 1836-1860 (New York: Appleton-Century, 1934), p. 134. l7Hays, p. 133. l8Hays, p. 133-5. 19Hart, p. 71. 20Russell B. Nye, The Unembarassed Muse (New York: Dial, 1970), 21Hart, pp. 71-2. 22Branch, p. 106. 23Nye, Muse, p. 98. 24Nye, Muse, p. 109. 25C. Carpenter, p. 160. 6Francis Underwood, "English Literature, and Its Place in Popular Education," The Massachusetts Teacher, 25 (Oct. 1873), p. 418. CHAPTER VIII THE STATE OF THE STUDY OF LITERATURE IN 1880 Although by 1880 there were journal articles calling for the teaching of whole literary works by methods which emphasized enjoyment, appreciation, and unstructured discussion, the tradition of rote learning and recitation prevailed. It was encouraged by both high school examinations and college entrance tests which required simple recall of information and the application of rules. Most teachers viewed literature as a useful model to use in the instruction of writing and speaking, or as a cultural reservoir of biographical, historical, and literary data for students to learn. The tradition of appreciation, however, was maintained in the extracurricular clubs and societies and in courses intended for women, and was eventually to be incorporated into classroom instruction in literature. Elocution was the only established segment of the English curriculum which stressed a thorough understanding of literature and a personal emotional and intellectual response to it. While elocutionary prefaces emphasized comprehension and a sympathy with the author's feeling, however, in practice the elaborate sets or rules and systems 243 244 of elocutionary notation probably reduced most oral readings to an adherence to a certain style, such as the martial, pathetic, or grave, and to an emphasis on prescribed gestures and methods of speaking. Students also relied on the teachers' model, rather than on their own reading and reaction to a selection. Postwar educators attempted to use literature to implant cul- tural values in the minds and hearts of middle and lower class students, thereby averting the social chaos which seemed an eminent threat as the controls of family, church and community weakened. Relatively few working class children entered the public school system, however, or remained long enough to be exposed to literature.1 Further, since educators found almost no contemporary literature which would serve to discipline and inspire the students, they retained the romantic and New England literature which had entered the readers in the 18405 and 18505. The romanticism in the readers contained little that was rebellious, and its darker side—-as represented by Hawthorne's brooding on evil and man's isolation and sin--wa5 carefully excluded. The New England poetry which compilers selected ignored the urbanization and industrialization which was destroying or luring people from the peaceful farms and villages which the poets idealized. At a time when the factory system and the unrestrained control of big business over almost every aspect of society seemed to endanger the very existence of individual freedom and democracy, compilers continued to emphasize the virtues of thrift, hard work, religious faith, and the renewing power of beauty and nature through such standard works as "The Village Blacksmith" and "Thanatopsis." The literature of the reader 245 continued to celebrate the expansion of science and technology as means to material progress and prosperity, while at the same time including selections which emphasized traditional spiritual values and agrarian life styles. Instead of functioning as a vital, dynamic force in the lives of students-~a means of interpreting their present experience and offering guidance and direction for the future--the literature taught in the readers became a reflection of the values of the traditional, conservative elite. Concerning the literary criticism of the genteel decades, Robert P. Falk writes: "The battle lines gradually formed in the periodicals of the 18705 between the progressive spirits whose watchwords were 'science' and 'reality' and the traditionalists who deplored the trend toward literalism and actuality and sought a neo- romantic idea of ethics and broad universal truths in which the artist was free to explore the world of imagination and romance."2 The inher- ent conservatism both of the educational system and of their own backgrounds inevitably allied compilers with the latter group. The failure of compilers to include contemporary works of realism and naturalism is not surprising, when such an important literary and cultural leader as William Dean Howells was urging writers and the reading public to concern themselves with the "smiling aspects" of life. Within the schools the emphasis on presenting the best works of the best writers inevitably mean the purist works of the purist writers. To train a student toward a cultural ideal meant not to present things as they were (certainly not to stress the degrading aspects of life, as the realists seemed to be doing), but rather to inspire students with a picture of the way life should be, even though 246 this ideal was embodied in terms of the unrecoverable, idealized past of prewar agrarian America. Therefore, with the concurrence of the literary and educational elite and the tacit consent of business and the upper classes, compilers continued to present to students Irving's calm view of sorrow and death, Bryant's poems about the presence of God in nature, the inspirational and soothing verse of Longfellow and Tennyson, the pathos and humor of Dickens, the romanticized history of Scott, and the political and historical speeches of Webster and Everett advocating patriotism, duty, and respect for institutions. In few classrooms during the 18705 were such popular contemporary writers as Whitman, Twain, Howells, George Eliot, or Hardy being read. The college entrance examinations during the last quarter of the century had an impact on the total secondary English program far out of proportion to the number of students who actually attended college. They further preserved and perpetuated the literature which the compilers had established, emphasizing the works of Shakespeare, Scott, Irving and Milton. A list of the works used in more than 25 percent of the high schools of the North Central states between 1886 and 1900 reveals an even closer adherence to the literary canon estab- lished by the advanced readers. The list is arranged in descending order of frequency. 1. The Merchant of Venice 2. Julius Caesar 3. "First Bunker Hill Oration" 4. The Sketch Book, "Evangeline," "The Vision of Sir Launfal" 5. "Snowbound" 6. Macbeth 7. "The Lady of the Lake" 8. Hamlet 9. "The Deserted Village" 3 10. Gray's "Elegy," "ThanatOpsis," As You Like It 247 After 1880 the advanced readers changed significantly. The last major revision of the McGuffey series took place in 1879, and their traditional format, along with McGuffey's reputation, sustained the series in rural areas of the country, well into the twentieth century. As more carefully graded elementary schools and larger, permanent secondary school systems evolved in urban areas, most compilers modified the form which the advanced readers had maintained since mid- century. Some compilers chose to simplify their series and to actually teaching reading instead of literature, literary history, and elocution so that the fourth, fifth, and sixth readers would be used in the corresponding elementary grades. During the 18805 they substituted selections from children's magazines and from children's books by authors like Hans Christian Andersen and Louisa May Alcott for the standard selections. Others, like Cathcart, chose to lengthen their selections and biographical/critical notes, discontinue their emphasis on elocution, and produce "literary" readers to compete with the literary histories and annotated classics being used in the growing number of secondary literature and English classes. This trend is illustrated by a recommendation in the 1894 Report of the Committee of Ten, which stated that "at the beginning of the seventh school—year the reading book may be discarded, and the pupil should henceforth read litera- ture."4 From an examination of the advanced readers it is clear that the literary training of most native~born nineteenth century Americans who attended school beyond the elementary level was at best limited and fragmentary. During the first forty years of the period studied, 248 however, students read a large amount of material from the leading popular minor and major authors of the day. While this literature was subjected to grammatical analysis and elocutionary recitation, it did reflect relatively current literary tastes and topics of interest. The content of the selections reflected a wide variety of contemporary concerns, and although compilers were committed to ' a number of the inculcating moral values and "useful knowledge,’ selections are of high interest and literary merit. During the latter decades, from 1860 to 1880, the emphasis shifted from grammar and political, historical, and martial oratory to literary history and the oral reading of poetry. The literary selec- tions lost much of their topicality and interest for students. Compilers emphasized the cultural value of literature, yet through their continued use of the popular authors of the prewar decades, this literature had little relationship to the culture or the social and economic conditions existing outside the classroom. For the student as well as the typical educated adult during the last quarter of the century, literary culture became a badge of respectability rather than a vital expression and interpretation of the American experience. The readers did serve, however, to introduce the study of literature into the secondary curriculum during the years between 1820, when it was totally absent, and 1880, when courses in literature and the study of whole literary works were well established in a majority of secondary school curricula. Fourteen years later English was the only subject which the prestigious Committee of Ten recommended that every student should take during each of the four years of his high school program.5 This committment was due, in part, to the use of the 249 advanced reader, which had helped to convince educators and the general public that the study of literature could discipline the mind, inculcate morality, provide enjoyment and useful knowledge, and convey a cultural heritage. NOTES--CHAPTER VIII 1In 1890, for example, there were only 200,000 pupils attending high schools in America (Arthur Applebee, Tradition and Reform in the Teaching of Egglish [Urbana, Ill.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1974], p. 46). 2Robert P. Falk, "The Literary Criticism of the Genteel Decades: 1870-1900," in Floyd Stovall, ed., The Development of American Literary Criticism (Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1955), p. 117. 3John E. Stout, The Development of High School Curricula in the North Central States from 1860 to 1918 (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1921), pp. 137-40. 4Report of the Committee of Ten on Secondary School Studies, with the Reports of the Conferences Arranged by the Committee (New York: American Book Co. for the National Education Association, p. 21, quoted in Witt, p. 34. 5Report, pp. 46-7, Quoted in Witt, p. 33. 250 APPENDIX 251 Table 1. Percentage of Literature and Types of Literature 1821~ 1831- 1841- 1851- 1861- 1871- 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 Percentage of "literary" material (by item) in the advanced readers studied 47.5 41.4 60.0 56.0 66.7 66.7 Types of Literature "Superior and Highly Respectable" 55.0 53.0 59.4 57.0 61.0 65.0 "Mediocre and Inferior" 41.2 44.2 38.1 38.0 36.3 31.6 "Foreign" 3.8 2.8 2.4 5.0 2.7 3.4 These statistics were taken from Vincent Davis, "The Literature of the Advanced School Readers in the U.S.: 1785-1900" (Diss. University of Chicago, 1943, pp. 83, 149-54). To determine the categories "Superior and Highly Respectable" and "Mediocre and Inferior," Davis consulted five encyclopedias of literature and thirteen college literature anthologies published during the first third of the century. Writers who appeared frequently were termed "Superior and Highly Respectable," while those appearing infrequently were listed as "Mediocre and Inferior." Repre— sentatives of the first group include most "Major" figures of this study, along with "Minor" figures like Halleck and Percival. Davis includes in the latter group writers like Story, Pierpont, and Beecher. Davis also interprets "literature" broadly to include not only poetry, fiction and essays, but also biblical, historical and scientific writings. 252 Table 2 Distribution by Decade of Selected Works and Topics ox -o~ as ox o~ ax 01 F) q- In \D I\ «I «I «I a: a: «I a: FI FI FI PI "I PI .4 I I I I I I .< c: c: c: c: c> c: {-4 N m a: a: a: a: a: a: ['4 H H H H H H Number of Readers 91 5 12 13 22 18 21 Readers containing Indian speeches l9 1 2 4 6 5 1 Addison,"Immortality of the Soul" 8 1 2 3 1 l Bryant,"Thanatopsis" 23 3 3 6 5 6 Bryon, "Apostrophe to the Ocean" 16 l 2 1 2 4 6 Campbell, "Downfall of Poland" 16 1 2 2 5 3 3 Colerdige, "Hymn to Mt. Blanc" 18 1 2 8 3 4 Emerson, "Beauty" 7 2 4 1 Goldsmith, "The Deserted Village"(excerpts) 15 l l 2 5 1 5 Hawthorne, "A Rill from the Town Pump" 12 1 1 3 2 5 Irving, "Sorrow for the Dead" 15. 3 6 3 3 Longfellow, "A Psalm of Life" 16 2 4 4 6 Milton, "Morning Hymn" 15 l 2 2 4 3 3 Webster, "Liberty and Union" 16 1 1 6 5 3 253 Table 3. Frequency and Number of Selections by Individual Authors. Total Number Writer Percent Average Most Popular Number Readers Readers Number Entry Entries With With Entries per Entries Entries Reader 182 69 Irving 76 2.6 "Sorrow for the Dead" [15] 188 68 Bryant 75 2.8 "Thanatopsis" [23] 167 64 Longfellow 70 2.6 "Psalm of Life" [16] 184 61 Webster 67 3.0 "Liberty and Union" [16] 276 60 Shakespeare 66 4.6 "Hamlet's Soliloquy" [17] 146 59 Hemans 65 2.5 "Bernardo Del Carpio" [9] 94 54 Willis 59 1.7 "Death of Absolom" [10] 123 53 Everett 58 2.3 "Advantages of Adversity" [7] 124 52 Campbell 57 2.4 "Downfall of Poland" [16] 109 51 Sigourney 56 2.1 "End to Perfection" [7] 134 49 Scott 54 2.7 "Lochinvar" [11] 134 48 Byron 53 2.8 "To the Ocean" [16] 101 45 Addison 49 2.2 "Immortality of Soul" [8] 68 44 Channing, W.E. 48 1.5 "Sense of Beauty" [9] 87 42 Dickens 46 2.1 "Death of Little Nell" [11] 74 41 Tennyson 45 1.8 "The Light Brigade" [11] 9O 40 Milton 44 2.3 "Morning Hymn" [15] 86 40 Percival, W.G. 44 2.2 "Spirit of Poetry" [5] 78 4O Whittier 44 2.0 "Barefoot Boy" [6] 75 39 Pope 43 1.9 "Dying Christian" [10] 73 39 Goldsmith 43 1.9 "Deserted Village" [15] 69 38 Sprague 42 1.8 "The Indians" [14] 58 38 Wirt 42 1.5 "Eloquence of Franklin" [10] 69 37 Wordsworth 41 1.9 "Intimations Ode" [7] 77 34 Beecher, H.W. 37 2.3 "Loss of the Arctic" [7] 67 34 Holmes 37 2.0 "Old Ironsides" [7] 47 34 Pierpont 37 1.4 "Warren's Address" [9] 68 33 Moore, T. 36 2.1 "Perpetual Adoration" [9] 50 33 Franklin 36 1.5 "The Whistle" [6] 49 33 Coleridge 36 1.5 "Hymn to Mt. Blanc" [18] 55 32 Taylor, J. 35 1.7 "Discontented Pendulum" [13] 40 30 Bancroft 33 1.3 "New York Now and Then" [6] 35 28 Halleck 31 1.3 "Marco Bozarris" [7] 45 27 Story 30 1.7 "Future of the Republic" [9] 46 26 Barbauld 29 1.8 "Address to the Deity" [5] Table 3 (cont'd.). 254 Total Number Entries 35 34 26 27 30 29 27 12 @030 Number Writer Readers With Entries 25 Cooper 23 Hawthorne 23 Gray 22 Emerson 19 Shelley 19 Ware 18 Poe 11 Stowe 6 Brown, C.B. 5 Harte, Bret 5 Defoe 4 Thoreau Percent Readers With Entries 27 24 25 24 21 21 20 12 UTUIV Average Most Popular Number Entry Entries per Reader 1.4 "Escape from a Panther" [7] 1.5 "The Town Pump" [12] 1.1 "Elegy" [19] 1.2 "Beauty" [7] 1.6 "To a Skylark" [6] 1.5 "Ursa Major" [7] 1.5 "The Raven" [14] 1.1 "Little Edward" [3] 1.0 "Scene with a Panther" [7] 1.6 --- 1.6 Scenes from Robinson Crusoe [4] "Battle of the Ants" [2] N O 255 HOMO m.N HOsO N .H.~.m.H.N HHOO.s .s.m.H.H.m.H ONO N.m Hmmv H aHaNAMOQOM Howa OanafiaanAn HNNH—aNnHamOHquO Homfl OHONONON HNNH—VHOHOHAW HWNH .H.N.H.~.m NH .N.0.0.H.N.m OH .H.O.H.H.H.N OH .~.s.m.m OH O.m.q.O O * ucmshm OO OOH HOH HOHO HOH HOO AHO H H HOV H.H.H m AHO H H HHV H H .O.O.:20HO O O AOHO HHOO N.N H.O.H.H.H HOOO .s.m.m.H.N.~ HOBO HHHO HONO AHO HHOL HHHO .O.N.H.~.q OH .O.H.H.OH.N OH ~.O.N.N.H m O.H.H.H s HOV H.H N O.HmOummO Om Ha HOHO AOHO HOMO HBO H HHOO AOHO H HOm_ Hmml AOHO HOOO HOV .H.H N H.H.H.m.m.H O .H.H.H.H.H.H H .H.H.N.m m HHOQ.H.N m .H.m.O m OHOmOHMO ON Os AOHO H.H.H.m Hmsl HONOHQHO ~.H.H.H Hmsl HOV HHsO HONO .H.N.H.N.H O HOV HIH.H.N O .m.H.H.H.N.H OH ~.H.H.H q HOOH.H.H m “wouucmm Om Os AHNO HHHO HOHO.~.O Hmml AONO H.W.N.N HOm_ N.H.H.N.H.H Hmnl O.N.H.N HNOO HOHO HOOOAOHOOH HOOO .H.H.H.N.m s .N.N.H.N.m.m OH .H.0.0.H.N.H NH .H.H.O.H O .H.O.H.N O .H.O.H O somHOO< ms HOH O O O O O O O O O O O O O < Amumommu NNV Amuwomou m v Amumomwu NNV Amnmommu MHV Amuoomou NHV Amuoommu mv " OHOHIOHOH OOOHIOOOH OOOHIOOOH OQOHIOOOH OOOHIOOOH ONOHIONOH _ wnaououum .oomumv was» :a omnmonnm Honusm onu uwnu mommUHo5H Aav xmwuoumm c< mum manuow may .mw>ma an xosum was on .AV mononucmuma 5H .momooo was ca powwow sumo 5H Honuam ago On mnowuooaom mo Hones: onu moumowwcw o seaHoo .H_ mumxumun 5H mnmommm oumoow umsu How mummmnm xuoa m.uo:usw mcu SOHsa 5H mumomou mo owmusoouom .mumommm xnoa m.Ho:u:m osu nuwns 5H oomomv comm 5H muovmou mo Hogan: onu muamwonnou u aesaoo .Hmmnnm Hozunm voumoaosfl mnu an msoauowamm Jeans ca mumomou mo nomads Houou onu mouNOHosH m GEDHOU .uonusm on» an muovmou Ham 5O meowuooaom mo Hones: Hanan mnu muaomoumon ¢ :EDHoo muosu=< cam macauomaom HH< mo zuamsvmnm .qoafia (cond't.) Table 4. . Q MMN H NH O a a n a an. a a. A mm In HH 5 .5 O O OJ «4 a > ‘13 U U U U Q Q LL] (:1 00 N Q m In W N N C") \‘1‘ Ln \T m N \T N Ln \‘1‘ \‘f a) 0‘ U" (D l\ l\ m m N \D Q m (I) N N H H H (con'td.) Table 4. 257 “A O Q I“. r-iw A A Hun-4 5.4 no Q a. .A an an on .. NV r—II—IH V v—i Fir-'4 NW r-iN NHm MCDNNM A - awn . an .H In“ an asp-q Ann (I) r-‘I HHH H H NN HV HHNHF‘IHMO‘IVONmA C‘J—l as «do a a a. . on. “gum. Anny—l I\OJ HQ (fir-1H H m HH mr-i NHVHHH\’HHNMN\D (D'U on son . a ..~.. .0. «canon nav v-(N Hm HHHAH HAHNWI—{H HNNNHQMNMNWMQ q) a. nqam a .w AOH oa .mannnqna-nnn éh NH MMHVH NVNI—IV’NN MNNv—‘I—IHMWMHV‘QM [x mN r—1 1—1 r—1 r—I F! r-\ r—u r—1 .fi v-‘IN ooo owl-HQQOUNQHN mm MN ONO cocoon V HQ HQ N H NHL!" Q H0 H0 (“NO H |——l I—l by I—l I—l L—l I—l H A A «A n o. A no. \9 m H QI-IUWN \DN H MN A V a a “Am «A an a mu m H r-i A H H HNVMH the N H”) my a a \‘f a u. an CAN an n noA \DQJ H H V N HA NNI-lmv l—lln N (“N“) CD'U a a 0. am “an. on «A0061 H“! H H N H HV HMHNN NH NNMQV 60) a A a a a game. 0AA nr—l In H H NAr—i HA v-lH mHv-‘IHQ NQC mVMI-IQ \D a am a A“) no no... nnq a ma. C2“) N HVI—t HV v-lv-l MMNHM NQV HHHMQ H V :—1 l—I l—‘ 0—1 1—1 F! r—: fl F'" moo onmnmoo CDQ 00‘ 0‘0 NR 7‘wa N m H N Q H00 “'3 HQ NH“ 0 I—4 u—4 |_: 0—! I—IA I—l l—JA |_a H“ .A.. A aaN a ohm a an. HQHN H H H (“DWI-HM (“I-{Q H mm“) 0.1-4 0. a 0A a onv. av :- an. A HVHH N N H [\HNDN C'TMH 0‘! NNH u) a an a AH n nun-\A an nAon. O‘H r—IHMI—I H H% H NHNHl-n InNN "HI-l F4 ma) anon/x“ . a anfiay—I gun “a...“ (0'5 NHNMHH NW N HMMHV HNW \D HmNa Hm nunAN n an a an a no A an. (50 NNNHVHAHH HA HQNNN HH MHHNWV L; nun. af\ .4 a“ sauna nan manna a (‘IHHNHHVHH HV QNHNN NQQ HHHNI—‘N N r—iN F! H l—1 r-I r—v r—I l—I v—w V ommcx \DNQH \ON NR 000 [\N NWOH HQr-‘ll-n N Q N r-‘ll\ 0" HR HWNO‘ b—d H hi hi |—| I—l H h—l flI—l I—l —T ,’\ l\ A A a A. naN a “‘0 U) Q A H A MN mmm f‘l QI-i O\H A 0 N n N nnfin an»! AA IV \‘fOJ N N V u-i v \‘I'ONHA Q’Qm HONH 0"U V a a A no.3 am nan AH on Hm :4 HA H NA '4 v—dN lnv NQN HVHN Id) a «O\ a «\D A an a non a an 3H v—I NV P4 r-lv H HHNNH (“MI-'4 NmmH (00') H F1 F1 r—1 r—-| r—1 l—‘l F1 0—! HH NmQI—i lenoo Nl-n ONO QI—C Hln \O\DI\Q V r-1 «1 H m v-I l\ m HOD Q In hJ s-a |_a h—l I... |_l u—a n-a I—o Q A r—i A r--( N A N a) a m a . nmN A 0A. H 0‘“ 1n V H HA A QNN Hm Nr—l G mg) a o. n’\ N nav ROOM a H co'u HAM HAHV V NNH co JNA nA H!!! of!) A 0Q A ...+ an- 9.me <5 3 Fl A: wax/cqrq a: o~~+~4¥ oawwr1wwwax/ xx m F! F! H r—1 r—v l—! F! 0-1 r-w MN QMNN QMI-AN H“) ”N O") QMMW Hr-f m H M Q Q Hw m N v I—l h—a I—l u—J t—J I—l |._4 I—l 1“ QA A N m N 0“” v cup—i n M NH 0-! an r—lA a (DO) I a “Q 4! ”I‘d! H'U F4 Q HV %l\ é“, HV OJ NH r—u 1—1 r--I F—l CO NOQO MC MD Hm Q CD 0 \0 y 5.4 I—l |—l 3 .5 OJ 0 I: U I: H '14 -H .2 H H H E U o m (I) 00 t: a) x m a) co .d c‘. a) r: o H—l c: 'U >~. ---4 u u m E -.-a u co m .4 m .4 H 3 a H > H a H O H m N «3 OJ 0 H 2 0 Fla (.5 U :1: :1: 111 D: .7: H p—l m 0‘ m 00 In N 0‘ <3 0‘ O \‘l’ m m N N N Lfi M \D Q \0 O m \0 In (0 Q \0 I“ N O r\ In N N m m Q \0 CO 0‘ \D v—l P4 H 258 H«~O HOHO HOV H HONO ~.«.H.~.H HHOHHOHO H.H.m.H Hn«_ HOHO H‘m HO«O H.H HNOO .H.H.H.H.H O .H.«.~.H.H.~ HH .~.H.H.Hm«.w OH .H.~.m.H O .H.H.O n * oswmnam WOO OO H« «.H.~.H.m.~ HONO H.« HOHOH.H HOHO ANNO H.H.H.H HHOO.H.N.H.O.O.~ HNOO .m.~.H.H HHHO .H.m.m HOOO H«O H.H.H.H « .O.«.H.H.H.O.N HH .m.m.N.m.m.~ OH .H.«.«.~ OH .H.~.m O « OOOOOOOHO Hm OOH HOHO HHHH HOHO H HHOO HOH“ HOV HONH HOON.H.H.H « HOOH.m.H m Hm.H.H.~.H.~ N ANOH.H N H.H.H m OmHHuOO OH On Omxw HOOOO.H.O.O ANOO N H.m.OH. H.O HOMO O .m.mH.m.OH HNOO .N.0.0.NH.N H~O_.~.~.~.H.O.N HOHO+H .O.H.N HHH_HOHO ~.H HOOO HO«O mummOm .mH,Hm.m.«H OH .O.«.~.O.O.H OH .O.~.OH.NH.H OH.H.H.N.«.H OH .~.H.~.~ O HHOO.« N -mmem OO OHN NOmO«.«.m H««H‘H.~ .H.H.H.~.N HNOO H«OOH.H.H.« HOOO.O.O.~.O.H.H H«OO HOHO m.H HO«_ HHO m H~«O HONO .«.O.«.N.~ OH .H.«.«.H.«.H OH .O.NMO.W.H.O «H .m.H.H.H O .H.H.H.H m HHO H H OOOOO o« «OH ON O.H HOHO H«N_ HOHO H.H H««H.H.O.H.H.H.~ H«OO HOHO H HOMO HOV HOMO HOV HOOO H.H.~.H.m m .m.H.H.H.m.m O .~.«.N.N.N.H «H .«.H.m.H m H.~.N.H « m.N.H m OOOO Om mu HOV H HON. HONO HHHO N HHOH 1~.H.m.H.H O HHON.H.H.H.N m .H.~.O.H.H.H n * ww‘ wom OH ON HHHO H.~.H HOO HOHON.H.H.H HOOO HOV m HHOH HOV H HOO +OO Ham .m.H.H.H.H O .H.H.N.H.~.H OH .H.H.H.H.H.H n .H.H.H.H m H.H.m.« « * OOOOHOHO «m H« HwNO NqH HONO H«HO HmHOH.H.H.H HOOO.~.H.O.H.~.H H«O_ HHHO N HOMO H.H.m HOOO HONO HMO H.H.H n .H.H.H.m.~.m OH .~.H.«.H.m.H «H .H.m.N.m m .~.«.«.O H AOOO H HO>HOO¢O O« OO HOV H«~ ANNO N.H.H OOO HOHO ~.H.~ HOOO H«HH O Own HOV Hmm_ H.H.H.«.H m H.H.N.N.0.0.m OH .H.~.~.H.O.H O .H.N.H.H n N.H.H.N « uuooz mm OO O O O O O O O O O O O O O Amuwwmmu NNV Amumvmmu va Amumvmmummv Amumvmwu MHV Amumvmwu may Amumcmwu my OHOH-OHOH OOOHnoomH OmOHIOOOH O«OH-O«OH OOOHuomOH ONOHIONOH A H.O.u:ouv .« «Hana 259 HOOO H H«HO HHOO .«.O.H.H.N HOHO « ~.H.H.H.H HO«O .H.0.0.H.H.H HOOO .«.O.H.H.O HONO .H.O.H.O HOOO HOO H HOOH .H.~.O.H.O OH .O.H.H.H.N.N «H .HOO.O.H.~ OH .O.H.~.O O .O.~.O « O OHHHO «O «O .HO«O . O.O.H.O.O HONO .O.~.H.O.O.O HHOO O.O.O.O.O.H H50. A O H.O HOOO HOO HOOO HOHO ‘ .H.«.0.0.«.H OH .H.H.0.0.H.O OH .0.0.H.H O H.H.H O HOOH.H O OOHOOOO3_ O« OO HH O OOO O.H _ O.H.O.H.O HOOO .O.H.O.N.O HOOO H«HO~.O .H.H.H.«.O HHOO H.«.O.O. H HOOO .O.H.O.N.O HOOO O.H.O.O HOOO .H.«.H HOOO .0.0.H.0.0H OH..0.0.0.0.H.O OH .OO.H.H.H.H OH .O.O.O.H O .O.H.H O O OOOOOOO HO «OH _HO O HOHO H HOOO HOHO HOO HHOO HOV HOOO HHO H H .O.N.H.H.N.H O H«OH.H.H.H « 0.0.0.H « H.O.O O mum: OH ON ~H«HO HO H5O O.H.H O HHO H H O OOOOOOO « O HOOO H.H.O.H “ONO O _ .H.H.H.H.0.0 HOOO.H.0.0.0.0.0 HOOO HOHO «.H.H HH«O HOV HOOO .O.O.O.H.H.O OH .H.H.H.H.O.O OH .O.H.H.H.H.H O H.H.H O OOOOOOOO HO «O HOHO 0 . . . HOHOAOHO H.O.H.H HOOO HHHO HOOO HHHO O.H HO«_ O.H.H HOOO HOV H H H « .H.H.H.O.H.H OH H.H.H.O.O.~ O .H.H.O.« O .«.H.H O HOHOOO NO OO HOV H HON. HHH HO O _ HO O .H.~.H.H.H O HOOH.H O HOV H.H. O HHO H H OsoOO HH OH HOV H HOOO HOOO HOHO O.H.H HH«O HNHO O HOOO AOO HOOO .H.H.~.H.H O HOOH.O.H.H « .0.0.H.H.H.H O .0.0.0.0 O H.0.0 O OOoOO OO O« O O O O O O O O O O O O Amumwmmu NNV _ Amuoummu may Amuwwmwu NNV Amumvmwn MHV Amumwmwu NOV Amuwvmwu mv OOOHIOOOH _ OOOHIOOOH OOOHIOOOH O«OH.O«OH OOOH-OOOH. OOOHJOOOH H.O.OOOOO ..« OHOOO 260 . OOHO H.«.H.H.H HOOO OOHO HOOOO«OOO.O.H.H OH«O OOO H OOO. O«O HOOO HO«_ .H.H.O.H.O.H HH H.~.N.H.H.«.O O .0.0.0.0.H O .H.O.H.H O H.~.H O OOOH.H O Ouuoamuuoz OO OO OHO ~«w OOO H HOOO OHHO O O««O O«HO H.H HHOO OOHO H.H H«OO.H.H.O.H HOOO .H.H.H.H.H.O O .H.H.H.O.H.H.H O .O.H.O.O.O O .0.0.H.O.H O .H.H.H O OOH; OO OO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Amumvmmu NNV Amumwmmu va Amumvmmu NNV Amumvmmu MHV Amuwwmmu NOV wumwmmu mv OOOHaOOOH OOOHOOOOH OOOHIOOOH O«OH-O«OH OOOHuOOOH OOOHnomOH O.OO.OOOO ..« mHOOO BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY I. LIST OF READERS EXAMINED, BY DECADE 1820-1829 1. Bingham, Caleb. The American Perceptor Improved: Being:A New Selection of Lessons for Reading and Speaking. Designed for the Use of Schools. Sixty Fourth (Fourth Improved) Edition. Boston: C. Bingham, 1821. 2. Murray, Lindley. Introduction to the English Reader: or, A Sel- ection of Pieces,pin Prose and Poetry; Calculated to improve the Younger Classes of Learners in Reading; and to Imbue Their Minds with the Love of Virtue; To Which are Added, Rules and Observations for Assisting_Children to Read with Proprie_y. To which, by the aid of a Key, is scrupulously applied, Mr. Walker's Pronunciation of the Classical Proper Names, and of numerous other words, difficult to pronounce; with an Appen- dix, consisting of world selected from the reading lessons, with definitions, by Israel Alger. Boston: Loncoln and Edmands, 1823. 3. Murray, Lindley. Sequel to The English Reader: of,iElegant Se- lections in Prose and Poetry. Designed to Improve the Highest Class of Learners in Reading;g to Establish a Taste for Just and Accurate Composition; and to Promote the Interests of Piety and Virtue. Philadelphia: 8. Probasco, 1824. 4. Barber, Jonathan. Exercises in Reading and Recitation, Reduced to the System of Notation, as Egplained in his Lectures on the Science and Practice of Elocution. York, Pa.: Jonathan Barber and Calvin Mason, 1825. 5. Murray, Lindley. The English Reader; of Pieces in Prose and Verse, from the Best Writers; Designed to Assist Young Persons to Read with Prgpriety and Effect; Improve their Language and Sentiments; and to Inculcate the Most Important Principles of Piety_and Virtue. With a Few Preliminary Observations on the Principles of Good Reading. New York: George Long, 1829. 261 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 262 1830-1839 Bailey, Ebenezer. The Young Ladies' Class Book; A Selection of Lessons for Reading,_in Prose and Verse. Nineteenth Stereo- type Ed. Boston: Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln, 1838, c1831. Blake, Rev. J. L. The High School Reader, Designed for A First Class Book. Consisting of Extracts in Prose and Poetry. Boston: William Hyde and Co., 1832. Cobb, Lyman. Cobb's Sequel to the Juvenile Readers; Cgmprisingra Selection of Lessons in Prose and Poetry, from Highly Esteemed American and English Writers. Designed for the Use of Higher Classes in Schools and Academies; and to Impress the Minds of Youth with Sentiments of Virtue and Religion. Havana, N.Y.: Henry W. Ritter, 1832. Emerson, Benjamin D. The Second Class Reader: Designed for the Use of the Middle Class of Schools in the U.S. Claremont, New Hampshire: Claremont Mfg. Co., 1832. The First-Class Reader. A Selection for Exercises in Reading From Standard British and American Authors, in Prose and Verse. For the Use of Schools in the United States. Windsor, Vermont: Ide and Goddard, 1834, c1833. Angell, Oliver. The Union, Number Five. Containipg Lessons for Reading and Spelling, With Exercises in Mental Arithmetic, Abbreviations, Definitions, & c. Beingrthe Fifth of a Series of Spelling and Reading Books, in Six Numbers. Philadelphia: W. Marshall and Co., 1835. Cobb. Lyman. The North American Reader; Containing a Great Vari- ety_of Pieces in Prose and Poetry, from Veryrflighly Esteemed American and English Writers; also, Observations on Good Reading; The Declaration of Indgpendence; The Constitution of the United States; Political Definitions; Variable Orthography;r Concise Principles of Pronunciation; Rules for the Division of Words; and the Rules for ,Spelling the Plurals of Nouns, Participlesr Present Tense, and the Preterite of Verbs, and the Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Adié ectives. Designed for the Use of the Highest Classes in Schools and Academies. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1835. Phinney, Henry, and Elihu Phinney. The Columbian Reader. 1835. Porter, Ebenezer. The Rhetorical Reader: Consisting of Instru- tions for Regulating the Voice with a Rhetorical Notation, Illustrating Inflection, Emphasis, and Modulation;, and a Course of Rhetorical Exercises. Desigped for the Use of Aca- demies and High-Schools. Two Hundred and Twentieth Edition, with an Appendix. New York: Mark H. Newman, 1835. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 263 Angell, Oliver. The Select Reader, or Union No. 6. Designed for the Higher Classes in Academies and Schools; Being_the Sixth of a series of Common-School Classics. Revised Stereotype Edition. Philadelphia: Butler and Williams, 1844, c1836. Adams, Daniel. The Monitorial Reader, Designed for the Use of Academies and Schools,, and as a Monitor to Youth, Holding Up to Their View Models Whereby to Form Their Own Characters. Concord, New Hampshire: Roby, Kimball & Merrill, 1841, c1839. Goodrich, Samuel C. The Fourth Reader for the Use of Schools. Boston: Otis, Broaders, and Co., 1839. 1840-1849 Sanders, Charles W. The School Reader,,Fourth Book. Containing Instructions in the Elementary Principles of Reading, and Selected Lessons from the Most Elegant Writers. For the Use of Academies and the Higher Classes in Common and Select Schools. New York: Mark H. Newman & Co., 1848, c1842. Bumstead, J. F. Third Reading-Book. Boston: William D. Ticknor & Co., 1844, c1843. Cobb, Lyman. Cobb's New North American Reader, or Fifth Reading Book: Containing,a Great Variety of Interesting, Historical, Moral, and Instructive Reading Lessons in Prose and Poetry, from Highly Esteemed American and English Writers; In Which All the Words in the First Reading Lesson, Not Contained in Any Reading Lesson in the Juvenile Readers or in the Sequel, and Are All New Words in Each Subsequent Reading Lesson Throughé out the Book, Are Placed Before It, as a Spelling Lesson, With the Division, Pronunciation, Accentuation, Both Primary and Secondary Accent, and Definition Noted, and the Part of Speech Designated. Designed for the Use of the Highest Classes in Schools and Academies and to Impress the Minds of Youth with Sentiments of Virtue and Religion. Also, Rules and Obser- vations on the Principles of Good Reading. Cincinnati: B. Davenport, 1851 c1844. Goldsbury, John. The American Common-School Reader and Speaker: Being a Selection of Pieces in Prose and Verse, with Rules for Reading and Speaking. Nineth—ninth thousand. Improved Edition. Boston: Tappan and Whittlemore, 1844. Russell, William. The Young Ladies' Elocutionary Reader: Con- taining A Selection of Reading Lessons, by Anna U. Russell; With Introductory Rules and Exercises in Elocution, Adapted to Female Readers. Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1846, c1845. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 264 Goodrich, Sanuel G. The Fourth School Reader. Revised Comprehen- sive Series. Louisville, Kentucky: Morton and Griswold, 1846. Tower, David B. and Cornelius Walker. Tower's Fifth Reader: North American Second Class Reader; the Fifth Book of Tower's Series for Common Schools; Developing Principles of Elocution, Practically Illustrated by Elementary Exercises, With Reading Lessons, in Which References are Made to These Principles. Designed to follow "The Gradual Reader." Thirteenth Edition. New York: Daniel Burgess and Co., 1853, c1846. Town, Salem. The Fourth Reader; or Exercises in Reading and Speaking, Designed for the Higher Classes in Our Public and i Private Schools. Revised edition. Portland, Maine: Sanborn & Carter, 1848. McGuffey, William H. McGuffey's Newly Revised Eclectic Fourth Reader, Containing_Elegant Extracts,,in Prose and Poetry. 1—1—- — 5 With Rules for Reading, and Exercises in Articulation,,Defining, * etc. Revised and Improved. Cincinnati: Winthrop B. Smith & Co., 1848. Sanders, Charles W. and Joshua C. The School Reader. Fifth Book. Designed as a Sequel to Sanders' Fourth Reader. Part First, Containing Full Instructions in the Rhetorical Principles of Reading or Speaking, Illustrated by Numerous Examples. Part Second, Consisting of Elegant Extracts in Prose and Poetry from Various Eloquent Writers, Accompanied with Notes, Explanatory of Such Historical or Classical Allusions, as the Several Lessons Contain. For the Use of Academies and the Highest Classes in Common and Select Schools. Chicago: 8. C. Griggs & Co., Rev. ed. 1848. Tower, David B. and Cornelius Walker. North American First Class Reader: The Fifth Book of Tower's Series for Common Schools; in Which the Higher Principles of Elocution are Explained and Illustrated_§y Appropriate Exercises. New York: Cady and Burgess, 1853, c1848. Mandeville, Henry. A Course of Reading for Common Schools and the Lower Classes of Academies, on the Plan of the Author's "Elements of Reading and Oratory." New edition, Revised and Corrected. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1851, c1849. Parker, Richard G. Exercises in Rhetorical Reading: With a Series of Introductory Lessons, Particularly Designed to Familiarize Readers with the Pauses and Other Marks in General Use, and Lead Them to the Practice of Modulation and Inflection of the Voice. Fifth Edition. New York: Barnes & Co., 1850, c1849. 31. 32 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 265 1850-1859 Swan, William D. The YoungrLadies' Reader: Containing Rules, Observations, and Exercises on Articulation,,Pauses, Inflec- tions,,and Emphasis; Also, Exercises in Reading, in Prose and Poetry. Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait, & Co., 1851, c1850. Town, Salem. The Grammar School Reader: Containing the Essential Principles of Elocution and a Series of Exercises in Reading. Portland, Main: Sanborn and Carter, 1854, c1850. Rickard, Truman, and Hiram Orcutt. Class Book of Prose and Poetry: Consisting of Selections from the Best English and American Authors. Revised and Enlarged. Boston: Robert S. Davis, 1851. Denman, J. S. Fourth Reading Book, Containing a Variety of Original and Well Selected Lessons in Prose and Poetry. Designed for Advanced Classes in Public and Private Schools. Fifth Edition. New York: Pratt, Woodford & Co., 1852. Sargent, Epes. The Standard Reader. Philadelphia: Charles Desil- ver, 1859, c1852. McGuffey, William H. McGuffey's Newly Revised Rhetorical Guide; or Fifth Reader of the Eclectic Series. Containing Elegant Extracts in Prose and Poetry: with Cgpious Rules and Rhetor- ical Exercises. Revised and Improved. Cincinnati: Sargent Wilson, & Hinkle, 1853 Webb, John R. Webb's Normal Reader. No. 5. Comprising Instruc- tion in Elocution and Reading,_Copiously Illustrated by Ex- tracts from the Best Authors. For the Use of Academies, Public and Private Schools. New York: Sheldon, Lamport & Blakeman, 1856, c1853). Sargent, Epes. The Standard Fifth Reader. For Public and Private Schools. 46th thousand. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Co., 1855. Osgood, Lucius. Osgood's Progressive Third Reader. Embracing Progressive Lessons in Reading, Spelling, & Defining. Pitts- burgh: A. H. English & Co., 1855. Sanders, Charles W. Sanders' Young Ladies Reader: Embracing a Comprehensive Course of Instruction in the Principles of Rhetorical Reading; With a Choice Collection of Exercises in Reading, Both in Prose and Poetry. For the Use of the Higher Female Seminaries, as also, the Higher Classes in Female Schools Generally. New York: Ivison & Phinney, 1858, c1855. Sargent, Epes. The Standard Fourth Reader for Public and Private Schools. Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Company, 1857, c1855. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 266 Lovell, John E. Lovell's Progressive Reader, No. 4. New Haven: Durrie and Peck, 1857, c1856. Mandeville, Henry. The Fifth Reader, for Common Schools and Academies. New York: Appleton and Co., 1856. Osgood, Lucius. Osgood's Progressive Fourth Reader. Pittsburgh: A. H. English & Co., 1856. Town, Salem and Nelson Holbrook. The Progressive Fifth or Elocu- tionary Reader;, in which the Principles of Elocution are Illustrated by ReadingrExercises. Boston: Sanborn, Carter, Bazin and Co., 1856. McGuffey, William Holmes. McGuffey's New High School Reader: For Advanced Classes. Cincinnati: W. B. Smith and Co., 1857. Parker, Richard G. and J. Madison Watson. The National Fifth Reader: Containing a Treatise on Elocution: Exercises in Reading and Declamation; with Biographical Skethces,_and Copious Notes. Adapted to the Use of Students in English and American Literature. New York: Barnes and Burr, 1863, c1857. Parker, Richard G. and J. Madison Watson. The National Third Reader. New York: A. S. Barnes and Co., 1857. Town, Salem and Nelson Holbrook. The Progressive Fourth Reader. Boston: Sanborn, Carter, Bazin and Co., 1857. Osgood, Lucius. Osgood's Progressive Fifth Reader. Pittsburgh: A. H. English & Co., 1858. Hows, John W. S. The Ladies' Reader. Philadelphia: E. H. Butler and Co., 1860, c1859. Sanders, Charles W. The School Reader, Fifth Book. Revised and Enlarged. New York: Ivison, Phinney, and Co., 1862, c1859. 1860-1869 Sanders, Charles. The New School Reader, Fourth Book. New York: Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman & Co., 1867, c1860. Willson, Marcius. The Fourth Reader of the School and Famiiy Series. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1860. The Fifth Reader of the School and Famiiy Series. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1861. Sanders, Charles W. Sanders' Rhetorical or Union Sixth Reader. New York: Ivison, Blakeman, and Taylor, 1873, c1862. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 267 Hilliard, George S. The Intermediate Reader. New Series. Phil- adelphia: Eldredge and Brother, 1863). The Fourth Reader. Boston: Brewer and Tileston, 1863. The Fifth Reader for the Use of Public and Private Schools. Philadelphia: Eldredge and Brother, 1863. The Sixth Reader. Chicago: W. B. Keen and Co., 1863. Parker, Richard G. and J. Madison Watson. The National Fourth Reader. New York: Barnes & Co., 1873, c1863. Sanders, Charles W. Sanders' Union Fourth Reader. New York: Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor and Co., 1873, c1863. McGuffey, William H. McGuffey's New Fifth Eclectic Reader. Cin- 5 cinnati: Wilson, Hinkle & Co., 1866. . McGuffey's New Sixth Eclectic Reader. Cin- cinnati, Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co., 1866 Parker, Richard G. and J. Madison Watson. The National Third Reader. New York: A. S. Barnes and Co., 1873, c1866. . The National Fifth Reader: Containing a Complete and Practical Treatise on Elocution; Select and Classified Exercises in Reading and Declamation; With Bio- grnphical Sketches, and Copious Notes: Adapted to the Use of Students in Literature. Revised edition. New York: A.S. Barnes and Co., 1866, . The National Fourth Reader. Revised edition. New York: A. S. Barnes and Co., 1868, c1866. Edward, Ridhard. Analytical Fifth Reader. Chicago: Geo. Sher- wood & Co., 1867. Sanders, Charles W. Sanders' Union Fifth Reader. New York: Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman, & Co., 1868, c1867. Watson, J. Madison. Independent Fifth Reader. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co., 1872, c1868. 1870-1879 Willson, Marcius. Willson's Intermediate Fifth Reader on the Original Plan of the School and Famiiy Series. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1870. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 268 Hilliard, George S. The Franklin Fifth Reader. Boston: Brewer and Tileston, 1876, c1871. Monroe, Lewis B. The Fifth Reader. Philadelphia: Cowperwait & Co., 1871. The Sixth Reader. Philadelphia: Cowperwait & Co., 1872. Osgood, Lucius. Osgood's American Fifth Reader for Schools and Families. Pittsburgh: A. H. English and Co., 1872. Willson, Marcius. The Fifth Reader of the United States Series. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1872. The American Educational Readers. Fifth Reader. Arranged and Graded for the Use of Schools. New York: Ivison, Blakeman and Taylor, 1873. Osgood, Lucius. Osgood's American Sixth Reader. Pittsburgh: A. H. English & Co., 1873. Cathcart, George R. The Literary Reader. New York: Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor and Co., 1878, c1874. Hilliard, George S. and Homer B. Sprague. The Franklin Sixth Reader and Speaker. Boston: Brewer and Teleston, 1875, c1874. Harvey, T. W. The Graded-School Fifth Reader. New York: Wilson Hinkle and C0,, 1875. Sheldon, E. A. The Fifth Reader. New York: Scribner, Armstrong, and Company, 1875. Gilmour, Richard, Rt. Rev. The Fifth Reader of the Catholic Na- tional Series. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1876. Watson, J. Madison. Independent Fourth Reader. A. S. Barnes & Co., 1876. Webb, J. Russell. Model Fourth Reader. Chicago: Georgr Sherwood & Co., 1876. Watson, J. Madison. Independent Sixth Reader. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co., c 1871, c1878. Harris, William T., Andrew J. Rickoff and Mark Bailey. The Fourth Reader; New York: Appleton and Co., 1888, c1878. The Fifth Reader. New York: Aplleton and Co., 1888, c1878. 269 89. McGuffey, William H. McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader. Revised edition. New York: American Book Co., 1879, rpt. 1920. 90. . McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader. Revised edition. New York: American Book Co., 1879, rpt. 1920. 91. . McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader. Revised edition. New York: American Book Co., 1879, rpt. 1920. II. NINETEENTH CENTURY EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL ARTICLES A.W.P., "English Literature.’ 1872), 500-504. The Massachusetts Teacher, 25 (Dec. Abbott, E. A. "The Teaching of English." The Massachusetts Teacher, 21 (Aug. 1868), 271-280. Barnard, Henry. "Digest of Rules and Regulations of Public Schools in Cities." American Journal of Education, 19 (1869), 417-576. "The Bible and the Public Schools." The Massachusetts Teacher, 22 (March 1870), 102-104. Blaisdell, A. F. "Helps in English Literature." The Massachusetts Teacher, 27 (May 1874), 212-13. . "Hints on Teaching English Literature." The Massa- chusetts Teacher, 27 (March 1874), 91-4. . "Hints on Teaching Shakespeare.’ The Massachusetts Teacher, 27 (June 1874), 237-40. Eliot, Charles W. "The New Education: Its Organization." Atlantic Monthly, March 1869, pp. 358-366. Emerson, George B. "Address Before the Late Teachers' Institution, Boston." The Massachusetts Teacher, 5 (Jan. 1852), 246-52. "English Grammar." The Massachusetts Teacher, 23 (May 1870), 164-68. "Fictitious Reading an Injury to Teachers: A Prize Essay Read at the Meeting of the Essex County Teachers' Association, April, 1849." The Massachusetts Teacher, 2 (Aug. 1849), 248-53. Harris, Jonathan Baxter. "Certain Dangerous Tendencise in American Life." Atlantic Monthly, 42 (Oct. 1878), 385-402. 270 "Has Purely Intellectual Culture a Tendency to Promote Good Morals?" The Massachusetts Teacher, 13 (1860), 370-74. Howells, William Dean. "Literature for the Schools." Atlantic, 46 (July 1880), 134-36. M. "English Literature in High Schools." The Massachusetts Teacher, 16 (Jan. 1863), 116-20. "Mode of Ascertaining Conditions of a School." American Journal of Education, Supplement to Volume I, 1856, 686-96. "Recitation of Poetry." The Massachusetts Teacher, 2 (Jan. 1851), 133-34. Russell, William. "Education--The Cultivation of Expressive Facul- ties." American Journal of Education, 3 (July 1857), 326-30. S.C. "English Literature in the Schools." The Massachusetts Teacher, 21 (Jan. 1868), 1-11. "School Readers." The Massachusetts Teacher, 7 (1854), 202-3. Scudder, Horace E. "Education." Atlantic 35, (June 1875), 758-64. "Literature in the Public Schools." Atlantic, 62 (Aug. 1888), 223-31. "Shakespeare in Schools," The Massachusetts Teacher, 27 (Feb. 1874), 54-58. Smith, Elbridge. "When and How Shall the English Language Be Studied in the High School?" The Massachusetts Teacher, 22 (March 1869), 77-83. Stark, A. B. "Teaching English." Education, 1 (May 1881), 492-98. "To What Extent Should School Lessons be Committed to Memory?" The Massachusetts Teacher, (Jan. 1868), 162-66. Underwood, Francis. H. "English Literature, and Its Place in Popular Education." The Massachusetts Teacher, 25 (Oct. 1873), 412-19. Vail, T. H. "Hints on Reading," American Journal of Education, 2 (Aug. 1856), 245-56. "What Branches Should be Included in An English Course of Study for the High School" The Massachusetts Teacher, 22 (Jan. 1869), 41- 45. 271 III. SECONDARY SOURCES Arthur N. Applebee. Tradition and Reform in the Teaching of Engiish: A History. Urbana, 111.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1974. Binder, Frederick. The Age of the Common School, 1830-1865. New York: Wiley and Sons, 1974. Bode, Carl. The Anatomyrof American Popular Culture, 1840-1861. Berkeley: University of Californai Press, 1959. Borchess, Gladys and Lillian Wagner. "Speech Education in Nineteenth Century Schools." In Karl Wallace. ed. History of Speech Education in America. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1954, pp. 277-300. Branch, Douglas. The Sentimental Years, 1830-1860. New York: Apple- ton-Century, 1934. Broome, Edwin C. A Historical and Critical Discussion of College En- trance Requirements. Contirbutions to Philosophy, Psychology, and Education, no. 3-4. New York: Columbia University Press, 1903. Brown, Elmer E. The Making of Our Middle Schools: An Account of the Development of Secondary Education in the United States. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1903. Carpenter, Charles. History of American School Books. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1963. Carpenter, George R. Franklin T. Baker, and Fred N. Scott. The Teaching of English in the Elementary and Secondary School. New ed. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1913. Clark, Harry H. "Changing Attitudes in Early American Literary Criticism: 1800-1840." In Floyd Stovall, ed. The Develnp- ment of American Literary Criticism. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1955. "Course of Study, Thirty-Eighth Catalogue of the Officers and Students of the New Hampton Literary and Theological Institution, Fairfax, Vermont." Burlington: Free Press, 1863. Davis, Vincent. "The Literature of the Advanced School Reader in the U. S.: 1785-1900." Diss. University of Chicago, 1934. Elson, Ruth Miller. Guardians of Tradition: American Schoolbooks of the Nineteenth Century. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1964. 272 Erickson, Marceline. "Speech Training in the Common Schools, Academies and High Schools from 1785-1885 as Revealed by a Study of the Books Used in the Schools.’ Diss. University of Wisconsin, 1949. Falk, Robert P. "The Literary Criticism of the Genteel Decades: 1870- 1900." In Floyd Stovall, ed. The Development of American Literary Criticism. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1955. Grizzell, Emit D. Origin and Development of the High School in New England Before 1865. New York: Macmillan, 1923. Hart, James D. The Popular Book. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963. Hays, Edna. College Requirements in English: Their Effects on the Schools. Contirbutions to Education, no. 6-5. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1936. Howard, Leon. "The Late Eighteenth Century: An Age of Contradictions." In Harry H. Clark. Transitions in American Literary History. Durham: Duke University Press, 1953, pp. 51-89. Judy, Stephen N. "The Teaching of English Composition in American Secondary Schools, 1850-1893." Diss. Northwestern University, 1967. Katz, Michael. The Irony of Early School Reform: Educational Innova- tion in Mid-Nineteenth Century Massachusetts. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968. Lull, Gerbert G. Inherited Tendencies of Secondary Instruction in the United States. University of California Publications in Education vol. 3, no. 3 (April 1913), pp. 155-281 Mosier, Richard D. Making the American Mind: Social and Moral Ideas in the McGuffey Readers (New York: King's Crown Press, 1947). Mott, Frank Luther. Golden Multitudes: The Story of Best Sellers in the United States. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1947. Nietz, John. The Evolution of American Secondary School Textbooks. Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle, 1966. Old Textbooks. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1961. Nye, Russell B. Sociery and Culture in America, 1830-1860. New York: Harper and Row, 1974. 273 Nye, Russell B. The Unembarassed Muse: The Popular Arts in America. New York: Dial, 1970. Orians, G. Harrison. "The Rise of Romanticism" In Harry H. Clark. Transitions in American Literary History. Durham: Duke University Press, 1953, pp. 163-244. Persons, Stow. The Decline of American Gentility. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973. Pritchard, John. Criticism in America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1956. Reeder, Rudolph R. The Historical Development of School Readers and of Methods in Teaching Reading. New York: Macmillan Co., 1900. Robinson, R. R. Two Centuries of Change in the Content of School Readers. Nashville: George Peabody College for Teachers, 1930. Sizer, Theodore, ed. The Age of the Academies New York: Teachers College Press, 1964. Spencer, Benjamin T. The Qnest for Nationality: An American Literary Campaign. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1957. Stout, John E. The Development of High School Curricula in the North Central States from 1860 to 1918. Supplementary Educational Monographs, vol. 3, no. 3. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1921. Stovall, Floyd, ed. The Development of American Literary Criticism. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1955. Witt, Peter. "The Beginnings of the Teaching of Vernacular Literature in the Secondary Schools of Massachusetts. Diss. Harvard University, 1968. Woody, Thomas. A History of Women's Education in the U. S. New York: Science Press, 1929. r.