As things now stand <br />the criticism advanced <br />no teacher of history will deny this <br />we have omitted <br />all descriptions of battles <br />the time-honored stories of exploration <br />and the biographies of heroes are left out <br /> <br />First, there is the primary book <br />civil war <br /> <br />No youth called upon to serve <br /> <br />so useful <br />in arousing <br />the interest of the immature <br />upon negative features <br />upon constructive features <br />this condition of affairs <br />time-honored stories <br /> <br />the addition of forty or fifty thousand words <br /> <br />the historians assume <br /> <br />more facts, more dates, more words <br /> <br />In this condition of affairs <br />our first contribution is one of omission <br /> <br />pupils know little or nothing <br />about Columbus <br />Cortes, Magellan, or <br />Captain John Smith <br /> <br />it is useless to tell the same stories <br />It is worse than useless <br />it is an offense against <br />those subjects <br />that are demonstrated to be <br />progressive <br />in character <br /> <br />In the field of military <br />teachers of history are mere novices <br /> <br />The dramatic scene <br />seems out of place <br />on the very threshold <br />of life's <br />serious responsibilities <br /> <br />we find our justification <br />in American history <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />©MMVIII Derek R. Audette<br /><br />Derek R. Audette<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/history-of-the-unites-states-preface/
