EXCELSIOR SERIES OF CATHOLIC SCHOOL-BOOKS. SADLIER'S EXCELSIOR STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR SCHOOLS. BY THE AUTHOR OF SADLIER'S ELEMENTARY HISTORY. NEW YORK: WILLIAM H. SADLIER. PREFACE. HE principal motive which induced the preparation THE of the present volume, was to provide for American youth, (so far, at least, as could be done in so small a compass), a correct narrative of our country's history. If it be true, as has been remarked by a celebrated modern we that European history has long been a vast "conspiracy against truth," it is equally certain that American history, or, at least, text-books on the subject, have also been in league against truth. It is simply wonderful how the part enacted by Catholics on our soil, from the days of Columbus to the present time, has been persistently and coolly ignored by writers of textbooks; so that, from this very silence, a child of even ordinary intellect could not fail to infer that Catholicity has done little, or nothing, for our country; whereas, the reverse is singularly and emphatically the case. Catholics have been here from the earliest dawn; and, as was pithily observed by Archbishop Hughes, "Neither the first page, nor the last page, nor the middle 66 page of our history would have been where or what it is without them." The discovery, exploration, and, to some extent, the colonization of our country were undertaken by Catholics, with Catholic aims, and with Catholic aid. The only systematic and successful attempts to civilize and Christianize the Indians were made by Catholic missionaries, than whose lives and deaths few records of the human race will be found more sublime. Before the fire of the trapper's gun struck down his woodland game, before the edge of the exile's axe had caught a ray of western sunshine, a mild and steady light is perceptible in the primitive forest; and by its friendly aid we discover the Indian kneeling before the pine-tree cross, while the Black-robe pours on his humbled head the waters of regeneration." Lastly, the independence of the United States was, in a great degree, secured by Catholic blood, talent, and treasure. If our country's history be truly told, Catholicity must be met, willingly or unwillingly, at every step. A second motive was the desire to give to our schools, a text-book at once brief, clear, and interesting; one which would make the story of our country's growth what it ought to be, to young and old, singularly attractive. The "dryness" of United States History, is, at present, proverbial with teacher and pupil. This ought not so to be; for, certainly, there is richness enough of material to make it otherwise. Nevertheless, such an accumulation of statistics and data of various kinds is presented in the majority of school-books on the subject, as to make the youthful learner shrink in dismay from the mass he is expected to commit to memory. Moreover, the absence in such works, of a clear and well-defined plan, and the unnecessarily intricate interweaving of times, and places, and events, make it almost impossible for the pupil to gain anything like a definite outline of our history as a whole. Only the student already familiar with the subject could derive any benefit therefrom. In the present volume, these objections have been avoided, the plan pursued being essentially the same as that of the "Excelsior Elementary History," a plan which, for its almost mathematical clearness and simplicity, has received the highest commendations. According to Horace, and his idea is endorsed by all intelligent educators," the teacher to be successful, must blend the useful with the agreeable." Hence, the charms of poetry, anecdote, and brief but well-selected quotations from standard authors, together with the finest maps and choicest illustrations, have here been brought into service, to lend fascination to the study. How far the ends proposed have been attained, the work of the class-room, the experience of teacher and pupil, must prove. This is the true, the only crucial and final test. 1 |