A History of the United States for Catholic Schools

and serve more loyally the chosen country of God. For this is the land whose borders Ericson and Columbus first touched; whose Great Lakes were discovered and made known by Champlain; whose broad Mississippi Valley and fertile western plains were first traversed by intrepid and self-sacrificing men, such as Father Hennepin, Du Lhut, Joliet, Father Marquette, and La Salle-Catholics, every one of them. Furthermore, it is the land whose virgin soil was hallowed by the blood of the Catholic missionaries; in whose council halls rang the voices of eloquent Catholic statesmen; and on whose battlefields fearless Catholic soldiers bled, and quiet Sisters of Charity served.

We may not build a shrine at every spot consecrated by the glorious deeds of our unlaureled Catholic heroes and heroines who have helped to make our history, but we may set up these shrines in the hearts of the young. Here we may hope to build a temple in the inner sanctuary, in which the Blessed Mother, the Patroness of the Republic of Washington and Lincoln, may be honored with devotion undying. To Mary Immaculate this modest work is humbly dedicated.

In the preparation of this book, the authors have had assistance from so many persons that it would be quite impracticable in this restricted space to mention them all. Special thanks are due to the Jesuit Fathers of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and St. Louis, Missouri; as also to other scholarly members of the Catholic clergy who have read and re-read the manuscript and offered numerous valuable suggestions. Miss Mary E. Tobin, Principal of the Marquette School, Chicago, Illinois, among others, has read critically the proofs and has rendered important service in preparing this work for publication.

TO THE TEACHER

Each chapter in this book contains a unit of closely associated facts. The teacher may well read and discuss each entire unit with his class before assigning any part of it for study, even though this reading may take more than one recitation period.

Only those dates should be memorized which serve to associate important facts more closely. Dates, however, are to the student what milestones are to the traveler, and they should not be neglected. In the "Chronological Review" at the end of each period, important dates are listed.

Use maps daily when discussing voyages, explorations, settlements, etc. Trace routes and locate settlements on the map. It may serve well to quote Carlyle here, who says that chronology and geography are "the two great lamps of history."

In the teaching of the different periods, or epochs, into which the history is divided, the following points should be made clear to pupils:

1. Be sure that the pupils appreciate the proper setting of United States history, before they begin to study it in detail. They should know the threefold chronological divisions of world history-Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. They should also understand the difference between Sacred history and Profane, or Secular history;

2. Acquaint the pupil thoroughly with the important events of the period of Colonization, since our later history and the Constitution can be understood only in the light of our pioneer history. Note:

(a) how Christianity, though represented by conflicting

creeds, existed in each colony, and how the Catholic Church, like the mustard seed of the Gospel, has flourished and grown, as it were, into a mighty tree;

(b) how the emigration from many different nations has given us that remarkable sobriety, thrift, and progressiveness for which our country is characterized. Call attention to the fact that the original traits can still be distinguished in the manners and customs of the direct descendants of the pioneer colonizers, who inhabit certain localities, (Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts);

(c) how the early assemblies and other institutions of selfgovernment in the colonies eventually developed into our present republican government vested in three departments;

(d) that the origin of our present Constitution may be traced back to the principles which were set out in the Mayflower compact of the Pilgrims, the charter of Lord Baltimore, Penn's Great Law, and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut;

(e) how our present public school system had its origin in the educational zeal of the northern colony builders, and how our cherished parochial schools grew from humble beginnings into the splendid system which now labors so zealously for the spiritual and intellectual welfare of our country.