Motion Pictures in
History Teaching
A Study of the Chronicles of America Photoplays
as an Aid in Seventh Grade
Instruction
By
Daniel C. Knowlton
and
J.
Warren Tilton
Published for the
Department of Education, Yale University
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN CONNECTICUT
From the collection of the
mn
o Prelingera
JJibrary
p
San Francisco, California
2006
Motion Pictures in History Teaching
An ox-drawn tumbril passes through the gates of the stockade,
on its
way to the nearby fields.
(From "Jamestown," one of The Chronicles of America Photoplays}
Motion Pictures in
History Teaching
A Study of the
Chronicles of America Photoplays as an Aid in
Seventh Grade Instruction
by
Daniel C. Knowlton, Ph.D.
and
J. Warren Tilton, Ph.D.
Published for the
Department of Education, Yale University
by the
Yale University Press
1929
Copyright 1929 by Yale University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Acknowledgment.
i
^HANKS are due to Dr. William H. Martin, Principal of
the Troup Junior High School of New Haven and to the
six teachers of the social studies for the effective cooperation
which made possible an experiment of this character; to the authorities
of Yale University Press for their generous support of the
undertaking; and to Professor Frank E. Spaulding, Chairman of
the Department of Education, Yale University, for friendly criticism
and counsel as the work progressed. Whatever success has attended
these efforts to evaluate the historical motion picture is due
in no small measure to their keen interest in the project and to their
painstaking efforts.
D. C. K.
J. W. T.
Contents.
List of Illustrations xi
Part I. Description of the Experiment.
Section
I. Description of the Photoplays Used I
II. Plan of the Experiment Outlined 7
III. Measurement of Enrichment: the Knowlton Tests 10
IV. Measurement of Standardized Progress: the Van
Wagenen Scale 21
V. Measurement of Interest 23
VI. Calendar 29
VII. Experimental Control 31
Part II. Results.
VIII. Comparison of the Gains Made by Experimental and
Control Groups on the Knowlton Tests 41
IX. Evaluation of the Excess Experimental Group Gain
on the Knowlton Tests in Terms of the Intellect It
Would Have Required To Achieve It 48
X. Gains Made by Experimental and Control Groups on
the Van Wagenen Scale 52
XI. The Effect of the Photoplays upon Retention 57
XII. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups as
to
(a) Participation in Classroom Discussion
(b) Expression of Interest
(c) Voluntary Reading 65
XIII. Analysis of the Contribution of the Photoplays 74
XIV. Summary Statement of Results and Conclusions 87
APPENDIX
I. Knowlton Tests 94
viii Contents
II. Readings Used in Measuring the Effect of the Photoplays
upon the Amount of Voluntary Reading of History
117
III. Books Used in Preparing the Set of Readings 167
IV. Information Supplied in the Control Classes Because
It Was in the Photoplays, but Not in the Textbooks 169
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF REFERENCES 183
Tables.
I. Concepts Which the Various Sections of the Knowlton
Tests Were Designed To Measure 15
II. Percentages of Test Items
(a) Checked as Not Worth Teaching
(b) Failed by Five or More of Ten Teachers
(c) Both Checked and Failed 18
III. Reliability Coefficients for Some of the Measures
Obtained with the Knowlton Tests 19
IV. Gains Made by Each Section on Each of the Five
Knowlton Tests 42
V. Comparison of Gains on the Separate Knowlton
Tests 43
VI. Comparison of Combined Knowlton Test Gains 44
VII. The Effect of Reductions of Differences in Mental
Age, Educational Age, Intelligence Quotient,
and Educational Quotient upon Differences in
Gains 45
VIII. Comparison of Gains on the Knowlton Tests for
Individually Matched Groups 46
IX. Initial Scores and Gains Made by the Experimental
Group and the Higher-Ability Control Group 49
X. The M.A., E.A., I.Q., and E.Q. Handicaps Overcome
by the Experimental Group in Equaling the
Gain Made by the Control Group on the Five
Knowlton Tests Combined 50
XI. Gains Made by Each Section on the Van Wagenen
American History Scales, Information Scale C-2 53
XII. Comparison of Experimental Group f-i-j-1 and
Control Group B-E-K-N and of the Gains Made
by These Groups on the Van Wagenen Scale C 2 53
XIII. Dates of Testing 58
XIV. Comparison of Points Gained, Lost, and Retained
on the Separate Tests 58
x Tables
XV. Per Cent of Gain Retained for Each Test, and
Related Factors 60
XVI. Per Cent of Gain Retained According to the Kind
of Knowledge 6 1
XVII. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups
as to the Number of Pupil Participations per Section
per Period, for Each Instructional Unit and
for the Five Units Combined 66
XVIII. Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups
in Number of Voluntary Readings in the Classroom
under Controlled Conditions 73
XIX. Comparison of Gains and Retentions on the Knowlton
Tests Regrouped as Tests of Time, Place, Person,
and Relation 75
XX. Ranking (within Each Teacher's Influence) of the
Contribution of the Photoplays to the Teaching of
Time, Place, Person, and Relation 75
XXI. Ranking (within Each Knowlton Test) of the
Contribution of the Photoplays to the Teaching of
Time, Place, Person, and Relation 76
XXII. Data for the Determination of the Extent to
Which the Contribution of the Photoplays Depends
upon
(a) Nature of Knowledge Measured
(b) Extent to Which the Knowledge Is Worth
Teaching
(c) Extent to Which Teachers Have This
Knowledge 7 8
XXIII. The Relation of the Contribution of the Photoplays
to
(a) Nature of Knowledge Measured
(b) Extent to Which the Knowledge Is Worth
Teaching
(c) Extent to Which Teachers Have This
Knowledge 8 1
Illustrations.
An ox-drawn tumbril passes through the gates of the stockade
frontispiece
French traders offer gifts to the Indians, 1753 2
General Wolfe gives instruction to his aide Captain Hervey
Smith 4
The surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown 6
Captain Miles Standish and Captain Jones of the Mayflower
34
Thomas Morton, appearing before Archbishop Laud and
the Commission, prefers charges against the Puritans 36
Pocahontas and John Rolfe, after their wedding in the
Jamestown church 102
Messengers from England arrive with orders from Sir
Ferdinando Gorges 1 1 6
The Pilgrims assemble in the cabin of the "Mayflower" in
November, 1620 120
Director-General Peter Stuyvesant in New Amsterdam 136
George Washington in command of Virginia troops
marching against the French 148
The British and the French on the Plains of Abraham 152
The Minute Men of Lexington 158
Congress assembled in Independence Hall, June 7, 1776 168
Washington and his generals hold a council of war at New
Windsor headquarters 180
Governor Hamilton and his men salute George Rogers
Clark at Fort Sackville 182
PART I
Description of the Experiment.
SECTION I
Description of the Photoplays Used.
THE
photoplays used are known as the Yale Chronicles
of America Photoplays. They are historical
dramas setting forth a number of important developments
in American History very much as the playwright
unfolds his plot by dialogue, change of scene, and
action. The length of the photoplays, three reels, is fixed by
school practice which makes it almost imperative that the
story be unfolded, if it is to be presented in its
entirety,
within a period of from forty to forty-five minutes. Accuracy
of portrayal is vouched for by specialists in the phases
of history portrayed. The dramatic structure of the photoplays
has been carefully supervised by Prof. George Pierce
Baker of the Drama Department of Yale University. Of the
fifteen photoplays already produced, ten were used in the
experiment. These ten may be briefly described, as follows:
JAMESTOWN: A faithful impression of the Jamestown
settlement in 1612 under the stern rule of Sir Thomas Dale.
The daily life of the colonists. The ever present menace of
the Indians whose hostility is
aggravated in part by Spanish
intrigue. The capture of Pocahontas, her marriage to John
Rolfe and the end of Powhatan's war of extermination, factors
contributing to the successful establishment of the first
permanent English settlement in America.
THE PILGRIMS: The struggle for religious freedom
2 Description of Experiment
as typified by the story of the Pilgrims. Starting with the
experiences of the Separatists at Scrooby, England, their
migration to Holland during 1607-8. Twelve years later,
the departure of the devoted band for America. The voyage
of the Mayflower. The landing on Plymouth Rock. Hardships
and suffering during the first winter. The refusal of
the Pilgrims to return to England and other incidents revealing
their faith and devotion to the ideal of freedom in
religious thought and expression.
THE PURITANS: The economic background of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. Life in early New England,
1630, contrasted with the court of Charles I. The political
moves behind Thomas Morton's effort to discredit the Puritans
in England and to bring about the revocation of their
Charter. The rise of political dissension at home, including
the departure of Roger Williams. The capable leadership
of Governor Winthrop successfully bringing the colony
through this dual crisis in its affairs.
PETER STUYVESANT: A summary of the outstanding
events from 1653 to 1664 which reveals how Dutch
New Amsterdam became English New York. Life in the
picturesque Dutch colony under the stern rule of Stuyvesant.
The attitude of England toward Dutch colonial ambitions
on the Hudson. The decision, strengthened by reports of
Englishmen on Long Island, to send a fleet against New
Amsterdam. The growing restlessness of Stuyvesanťs citizens
under his autocratic administration. The arrival of the
English fleet. Preparations for battle. The bloodless surrender
of New Amsterdam by Stuyvesant after standing out
against his counselors and citizens to the last moment.
THE GATEWAY TO THE WEST: Suggesting the
beginning in 1753 of the bitter conflict for the vast wilder-
In 1753 French traders on a tributary of the Ohio River offer
gifts to the Indians to keep their good will during the
inevitable conflict with the English.
(From "The Gateway to the West," one of The Chronicles of America Photoplays}
Photoplays Used 3
ness west of the Alleghanies, between France, working
south from Canada, and England, pressing westward from
her seaboard colonies. Presenting, also, a charming picture
of life in Old Virginia. In detail, the experiences of young
Col. George Washington, sent by Governor Dinwiddie to
protest the French occupation of the Ohio Valley. Washington
receives a curt refusal. A successful skirmish brings down
upon his small force a large body of French reinforcements.
He retreats but is forced to stand at "Fort Necessity." To
save his command, he surrenders j
a significant defeat since
it
opened the eyes of Englanďs ministers to the seriousness
of the French menace in America.
WOLFE AND MONTCALM: The bitter struggle between
France and England in America, culminating in the
battle of the Plains of Abraham and the fall of Quebec in
1759. The acute situation in world politics which prompted
William Pitt to send an army overseas under command of
Gen. James Wolfe. The situation in New France with General
Montcalm hampered by the jealousy of Vaudreuil, Governor-General.
The military strategy of Wolfe. His attack
on Quebec. Montcalm's desperate defense. The clash on the
Plains of Abraham. The occupation of Quebec and the arrival
of the English fleet the following spring.
THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTION: Depicting the
most significant incidents of the decade 1765-75 and
through these interpreting the state of mind of the people
as the movement for independence gained impetus. In detail,
re-creating scenes incident to the Stamp Act and the
stand against "Taxation without Representation." Also recreating
the "Boston Massacre," the "Boston Tea Party,"
the Salem Assembly, the rides of Paul Revere and William
Dawes, Jr., the sharp military clashes at Lexington Green
4 Description of Experiment
and Concord Bridge, and the retreat of the British. In short,
the most notable events preceding the actual outbreak of the
War of Independence.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: An
account of the efforts of a small group of patriots to bring
about a unanimous vote in favor of independence which reveals
the three outstanding attitudes of public opinion in
1776, as represented by Tories, Conservatives, and those in
favor of absolute independence. The influence of pamphleteers,
typified by Thomas Paine and his "Common Sense,"
the unofficial gatherings of delegates, the concern of John
Adams, Franklin, and others as to the attitude of France,
the proceedings of the Second Continental Congress culminating
in the famous session of July 2, 1776, when a unanimous
resolution for independence was secured. The formal
adoption of the Declaration on July 4, and the subsequent
excitement.
YORKTOWN: The progress of the War of Independence
between January and October, 1781. The hardships
and sufferings of the American troops. The problems facing
General Washington due to discouragement and mutiny.
The international aspects of the campaign of 1781 and the
aid rendered by French leaders. Washington's march south.
The arrival of the French fleet in the Chesapeake. The successful
outwitting of Clinton and Cornwallis. The battle of
Yorktown and the subsequent surrender of Cornwallis.
VINCENNES: The struggle for supremacy along the
frontier when the American colonies were fighting for independence
in the east. Hamilton, British Governor-General
of the Northwest, occupies Vincennes to curb the influence of
westward-spreading pioneers. George Rogers Clark, to rid
the country both of Hamilton and of his Indian allies,
General Wolfe, commander of the British forces, gives instructions
to his aide Captain Hervey Smith, on the eve of the
attack on Quebec.
(From "Wolfe and Montcalm," one of The Chronicles of America Photoplays}
Photoplays Used 5
strikes out from Kentucky and reaches Kaskaskia before cold
weather in 1779. Hamilton, protected by a seemingly impenetrable
wilderness, feels secure until spring. Grasping his
opportunity, Clark presses on across the "Drowned Lands"
in the face of tremendous hardships and captures Vincennes,
breaking the influence of the British over the Indians and
winning for the Republic the vast territory from which later
were formed the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
and Wisconsin.
Photoplays of this type have not heretofore been experimentally
evaluated. Of the films used in the study directed
by Freeman,
1
only five could be classified as historical motion
pictures, and four of these were in the field of economic
history. All of them were quite different from the photoplays
used in this experiment. The most comprehensive motion
picture in the experiment described by Freeman was
"French Explorations in North America," produced by the
Society for Visual Education. The footage was 734 feet, less
than one reel. Only 13 per cent of this included motion pictures.
Fifty-six per cent consisted of animated cartoons and
maps. The story element was entirely lacking.
The contributions to history teaching which have been
predicted for the Yale Chronicles of America Photoplays
are, in descending order of frequency of mention in sixtyeight
sources:
1. The creation of interest,
2. The production of a more vivid imagery and more lasting im-
pressions,
3. The modification or creation of attitudes and ideals,
4. The enrichment of history teaching.
1
F. N. Freeman, editor, Visual Education: A Comparative Study of Motion
Pictures and Other Methods of Instruction (Chicago, Illinois: University
of Chicago Press, 1924).
6 Description of Experiment
Probably this order is not so much an indication of relative
educational importance as it is of the effect which the photoplays
had upon the makers of these predictions. This is
borne out by the fact that in the same sources the qualities of
the photoplays most frequently mentioned are: first, dramatic
interest 5 second, reality j third, historical fidelity; and
fourth, beauty.
The surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. General Washington
indicates that Cornwallis' sword, presented by General O'Hara,
shall be received by General Lincoln, an officer of equal rank.
(From "Yorktown," on? of The Chronicles of America Photo-plays}
SECTION II
Plan of Experiment.
THE purpose of this experiment was to measure the contribution
of the photoplays to enrichment, retention, and the
creation of interest. These are the first, second, and fourth
kinds of predicted contributions mentioned in the preceding
paragraph. The third, effect upon attitudes, is included only
in so far as it is covered in manifestations of interest.
Briefly stated, the plan of procedure was as follows:
1. To measure the extent to which the photoplays contributed
enrichment by
(A) Devising tests
1
with which to measure in a full and
worth-while way the results achieved in those instructional
units in which the photoplays were used.
(B) Giving these tests before and after instruction.
2. To determine whether the enrichment, if found, was
secured at the expense of normal progress in the prescribed
course of study by
(A) Giving a standardized test at the beginning and end
of the experiment.
3. To analyze the enrichment contributed, if found, by
(A) Separating the Knowlton Tests into four parts as fol-
lows:
(a) Questions calling for knowledge of time,
(b) Questions calling for knowledge of historical geography,
(c) Questions calling for knowledge of persons,
(d) Questions calling for knowledge of the interaction of
events, or causal relationships, or interrelationships other
than time.
1 These tests were devised by D. C. Knowlton, and will be referred to as the
Knowlton Tests.
8 Description of Experiment
(B) Comparing the four kinds of contributions.
4. To measure the contribution of the photoplays to retention
by
(A) Giving the Knowlton Tests a third time.
5. To measure the contribution of the photoplays to the
creation of interest by
(A) Having observers keep detailed records of pupil participation
in classroom discussion.
(B) Having the pupils rank history among their other
subjects of study.
(C) Getting records of history read outside the classroom.
(D) Measuring the amount of voluntary reading under
controlled classroom conditions.
This plan was carried out in the seventh grade of the
Troup Junior High School of New Haven, Connecticut.
The grade was composed of 521 pupils, divided into fifteen
sections of approximately thirty-five pupils each. The pupils
had been sectioned, within the limitations of administrative
necessity, on the basis of Otis Classification Test quotients
and teachers' judgments. The fifteen sections were designated
by letters in alphabetical order from A, the highest,
to O, the lowest. The fifteen sections were taught by six
teachers, A, F, and K by one, B and L by another, C and
H by a third, D, I, and N by a fourth, E, J, and O by a
fifth, and G and M by a sixth. For the whole grade the
median mental age was twelve years and eleven months, and
the median intelligence quotient was 105. For reasons stated
later, sections f-h-i-j-1-m were chosen to constitute the experimental
group and B-C-G-K-N-O were chosen to constitute
the control group. Small letters will be used in referring
to experimental sections, and capital letters in referring to
control sections.
Plan Outlined 9
All photoplays were projected in the regular social studies
classrooms. They were projected from the rear upon a
Trans-lux or Daylo screen by a portable machine carrying
standard width non-inflammable film. A lens of short focal
length was used with the throw varying from four and a
half to six feet, and producing an image of approximately
sixteen by twenty-four inches. The machine was operated by
an experienced operator. As the pictures were projected, the
titles were read by the teacher.
The plan of the experiment, and the method of procedure,
are described in more detail in the following five sec-
tions.
SECTION III
The Measurement of Enrichment the Knowlton
Tests.
IT is of far more importance to measure the power of the
photoplays to enrich teaching which is
already good than it
is to measure their contribution to poor teaching. It is also
more difficult. The latter is
entirely a problem of measurement
5
the former involves a definition of good history
teaching, and the securing of such teaching in addition to the
problem of measuring results.
In an attempt to define more precisely the goals of effective
teaching, cognizance was taken of the demand for a type
of instruction in history which carries with it the impress of
reality.
The essential task of the teacher of history was therefore
defined as that of conveying an impression of reality that the
men and women of the past actually existed, and that they
were very much like the people of our own day, but that
they moved about in a different environment and were affected
by different conditions.
There are at least three aspects of this vivid contact with
the subject which measure the reality impressed upon the
child. There is first of all a time sense to be inculcated, a
feeling for and appreciation of time, as all these human
situations are conditioned by it. Time relationships must be
taught, and various methods must be employed to impart
this feeling or appreciation. Learning lists of dates may be
absolutely meaningless in this connection. On the other hand
such lists of dates may be of value when the whole of which
Measuring Enrichment 1 1
they are a part begins to be apprehended. Again, environmental
or spatial relationships, so far as they concern humankind,
constitute another important aspect of the instruction.
These are often referred to as historical geography but
under this designation they are often confused with human
geography. We may speak of spatial relationships separately,
but the time element is
always present. It is more important
to teach the changing influence upon mankind of changing
environmental conditions through the centuries than it is to
teach the influence of conditions at a given time. This is
something more than a matter of locational geography. Finally,
there is the human element itself, the interaction of
personalities, in both a time and a place setting. To state it
somewhat differently, there are series of changes taking
place in which the human factor is
constantly being involved.
To appreciate this interaction the pupil must sense the dramatic
character of the past, and the play of human passions
and human emotions, which is the essentially human, living
aspect of this interplay of personalities.
An attempt was made to develop teaching which would
accomplish the objectives defined above. During the year
preceding the experiment procedures were tried out and the
results closely observed, in order that the new instrument
might be used in a more or less approved teaching situation.
Stenographic reports of the lessons were made by competent
secretaries so that the type of reaction was recorded and the
apparent success or failure of that particular method was a
matter of record as well as of observation.
From November i, 1927, to the end of the school year in
June, 1928, D. C. Knowlton planned and directed the history
teaching of the seventh grade. At the outset, a series of
conferences was held with the six history teachers, and a
1 2 Description of Experiment
schedule of lessons was planned which was faithfully followed
throughout the remainder of the school year.
The following five instructional units indicate the nature
of the history taught during the experiment from February
to June, inclusive:
Unit I: Settlement, 1600-1660; the English move westward (15
lessons).
Lesson I. The incentives for moving: trade and religion. (A
series of pictures of happenings, 16001660.)
Lesson II. The religious incentive versus the trade.
Lessons III-IV. The first religious colony. (Film, The Pil-
grims.)
Lesson V. More religious migrations and the reasons; the
Puritans move. England in 162960.
Lesson VI. The Puritans in England, 1629-60.
Lesson VII. The Puritans in America: their first ten years.
(Film, The Puritans.)
Lessons VIII-IX. Later years in America; making New England
Puritan.
Lessons X-XV. Other colonies established within the period.
Unit II: Life in Europe versus life in America (d lessons).
Lessons I II. Problems recognized: the Indians, nature, living
together.
Lessons III-IV. Jamestown as a concrete illustration of the
nature of the problems and how they were met. (Film,
Jamestown. )
Lessons V-VI. Experiences in other colonies.
Unit III :
England extends her domains and ousts the Dutch (6
lessons).
Lesson I. Rival European nations elbowing each other, 1660-
1760.
Lesson II. Happenings in England responsible, 1660-89.
Lesson III. One result: the new southern colonies.
Lesson IV. Another result: the Quaker colony.
Measuring Enrichment 1
3
Lesson V. The undesirable Dutch neighbor.
Lesson VI. The entire seaboard from Maine to Florida becomes
English. (Film, Peter Stuyvesant.)
Unit IV: Ambitious kings and conflict (73 lessons).
Lessons I II. A great king.
Lessons III IV. Extension of the great king's dominions.
Lessons V VII. Renewal of struggle : Frederick the Great and
European and colonial conditions responsible.
Lesson VIII. The conflict in America, 1756-63. Its beginnings.
(Film, Gateway to West.)
Lessons IX XI. World-wide character of conflict and its continuation
in America.
Lesson XII. Getting a decision. (Film, Wolfe and Mont-
calm.)
Lesson XIII: The outcome.
Unit V: The American Revolution (16 lessons). .
Lesson I. Added territory and the consequences.
Lesson II. An approaching storm.
Lessons III V. A divided England and a divided America.
(Film, Eve of Revolution.)
Lessons VI VIII. Separation and war. (Film, Declaration of
Independence.)
Lessons IX-XII. The war game and how it was won. (Film,
Yorktown.)
Lessons XIII-XVI. A tale of daring and adventure, and the
gains of the war. (Film, Vincennes.)
Although the teaching was supervised, the teachers were
not restricted. They were at liberty to make such use of pictures
and maps as might commend themselves, provided
they used such materials in control and experimental sections
alike. Two textbooks had normally been used in these
classes: Gordy, History of the United States, and Beard and
Bagley, History of the American People. These were supplemented
for both groups by a manuscript textbook in
14 Description of Experiment
mimeographed form and without illustrations, covering the
period which was being studied. The principal of the school,
who knew the manuscript was in preparation, had expressed
a desire to use it because of its
larger emphasis upon the
European background, and also because of the contacts which
it made with the geography. The course planned for the
seventh grade represented a combination of history and
geography. No special textbook was used for the geography.
One social studies period a week was used for the consideration
of current events, leaving four to be divided between
the history and the geography. The history received the
greater emphasis.
An approach to the problem of measurement was made
during the year preceding the experiment. The written work
and the stenographic records of the oral work of the history
classes were carefully studied as an aid in determining the
form and content of suitable tests.
Five objective tests
1
were constructed, one for each of the
instructional units listed above. The first test covered nine
of the fifteen lessons of Unit I and the fourth covered nine
of the thirteen lessons of Unit IV. The other three covered
all of the lessons of their respective units. Taking them in
order, the tests measured the results of 9, 6, 6, 9, and 16
lessons. The number of photoplays used in the five units
were 2, i, i, 2, and 4. The fractional parts of the experimental
teaching which were spent in the showing of the
photoplays were therefore in the five units, 2/9, 1/6, 1/6,
2/9, and 4/16. The average is one-fifth, but this is
high
since the showing of a photoplay occupied but forty-five of
the fifty-five minutes in a period. The corrected average is
approximately one-sixth. In other words, the five tests were
1
See Appendix I for copies of the tests, and the testing instructions used.
Measuring Enrichment 1
5
designed to show how much a period of instruction was enriched
by using photoplays one-sixth or 17 per cent of the
time.
These five tests were designed to measure the ability of
the pupil to deal intelligently with certain concepts, namely:
(a) of time, (b) of place, (c) of person, and (d) of the interaction
of events and of the interplay of forces. For the
sake of economy this last has been designated as knowledge
of relations other than time, or briefly as relational. The distribution
of emphasis may be readily seen in Table I.
Table I
Concepts Which the Various Sections of the Knowlton Tests Were
Designed To Measure.
Instruc- Sections of the
tional tests designed to measure concepts of
Test Unit Time Place Person Relation
Pilgrims and Puritans I I, II IV, V, VI VIII, IX III, VII
Life in the Colonies II II I, III, V IV
Peter Stuyvesant III III VI I, II IV, V
French and English IV I II III, V IV
Revolution V I, II, III IV VI V, VII
Total number of sections 89 78
Many history teachers may think that no objective test is
adequate to measure history teaching in a worth-while way.
For instance, Krey,
2
describing the use of objective tests in
the University of Minnesota, writes as follows:
We have an uneasy feeling that in using these objective tests, most
of the thinking has been done by the instructors, leaving to the student
merely the task of supplying a few bits of information involved
2
A. C. Krey, "What Does the New-Type Examination Measure in History?"
The Historical Outlook, XIX (April, 1928), No. 4, pp. 159-162.
1 6 Description of Experiment
in that thinking. Most of our staff are old fashioned enough to believe
that they have discharged their responsibility for the thinking in
guiding the daily work of the course and that at examination time it
is the studenťs turn to show how well he can think with the materials
of the course. In other words, they feel that they want to test
the studenťs ability to "think," whatever that may mean.
But Thorndike
3
found that he could tell which individuals
possessed this "ability to think" about as well by finding out
how much they had to think with as he could by requiring
them to think while taking a test. We are not unaware of
the uses of tests as teaching devices and would agree with
Krey that the instructor should have done his thinking before
the time of testing, but we would maintain that the students
as well as the instructor should have done most of
their thinking before that time. If a test reliably furnishes
true information of pupils' ability to think (and this may be
answered statistically), then for strictly measuring purposes
it is
good, whether thinking is done while taking the test or
not.
However, even though our present purpose in testing is
strictly to measure and not to teach while testing, the tests
do require thinking on the part of the pupils tested, while
they are taking the tests.
Assuming that the tests are not inadequate because of their
objective form, is the content of such a nature as to measure
enrichment of a worth-while sort, or are the tests made up
of questions of petty detail such as can only be answered by
seeing the photoplays? It has already been stated that each
test was designed to measure a full unit of instruction, and
the knowledge called for was thought to be worth acquiring.
3
E. L. Thorndike, The Measurement of Intelligence (New York : Teachers
College Bureau of Publications, 1926).
Measuring Enrichment 1
7
The extent to which the knowledge called for was worth
acquiring was checked as follows: Five competent judges
4
were asked to read through the tests and to check those questions
calling for knowledge which in their judgment was not
worth acquiring in the junior high school. There were 395
questions
5
in the five tests. The number of these questions
checked varied for the five judges from seven to thirty-one.
Altogether, sixty-one different questions were checked. One
was checked by all five judges ;
nine were checked by three j
four by two; and forty-seven by one only. In the opinion of
three of the judges, 385, or 96 per cent, of the 395 questions,
call for worth-while knowledge.
As a check on the extent to which the questions asked for
a knowledge peculiar to the pictures, ten history teachers
were given the tests. They were grade, junior, and senior
high school teachers, selected entirely upon the basis of
their willingness to take the tests and their not having seen
the photoplays. Seventy-four per cent of the questions were
answered correctly by six or more of the teachers.
Only four questions, i
per cent of the total number,
called for a knowledge not possessed by a majority of the
teachers tested, and were pronounced not worth acquiring by
a majority of the judges. In other words, the criteria used
revealed only a small percentage of "poor" test questions.
They are distributed among the tests as shown in Table
II. Results will be based upon the use of all of the 395 ques-
4
i. Miss Mary Hardin, Social Studies Department, New Haven State Normal
School.
2. Mr. Tyler Kepner, Supervisor of Social Studies, Brookline, Mass.,
Public Schools.
3. Prof. Bessie L. Pierce, Department of History, University of Iowa.
4. Mr. E. B. Smith, State Department of Education, Albany, N. Y.
5. Prof. Fremont Worth, Peabody Teachers College, Nashville, Tenn.
5
Each scorable item is called a question.
1 8 Description of Experiment
tions. They are only slightly affected by the presence of the
"poor" questions, and that in a way to minimize the contribution
of the photoplays, not to enhance it. That is, it will
be shown in Section XIII that when the contribution of the
photoplays is
computed from the use of only the most frequently
known and most worth-while questions, the contribution
is
higher than with all questions included. In view
of this fact, the tests are to be criticized, if at all, for not
measuring the full contribution of the photoplays to worthwhile
teaching.
Table II
Percentages of Test Items
(a) Checked by One or More of the Judges as Not Worth Teach-
ing*
(b) Failed by Five or More of Ten Teachers,
(c) Both Checked and Failed.
Failed Both
Checked as not by five or more checked
Tests worth teaching of ten teachers and failed
Pilgrims and Puritans 24 29 8
Life in the Colonies 6 18 2
Peter Stuyvesant 19 31 5
French and English 7 30 6
Revolution 20 23 9
The reliability of the judgments was not computed because
so few items were checked by the five judges, but it
was computed for the percentages of teachers answering an
item correctly. The ten teachers were divided into two
groups of five each. The number of one group answering an
item correctly was correlated with the number in the other
group answering the same item correctly. The correlation
was .83. This means a reliability of .91 for the measures ob-
Measuring Enrichment 1
9
tained from all ten teachers, and establishes confidence in
the criterion used.
Table III
Reliability Coefficients for Some of the Measures Obtained with the
Knowlton Tests.
Half <with half For the whole test
Initial score on
Pilgrims and Puritans .32 .49
Life in the Colonies .42 .59
Peter Stuyvesant .26 .41
French and English .16 .28
Revolution .32 .49
All tests combined .85 .92
All tests combined .57 .73
All tests combined .63 .77
Reliability coefficients for some of the measures obtained
by the use of the tests are given in Table III. The reliabilities
of the second and third testing were probably higher.
2O Description of Experiment
The pupils knew more and guesswork played a smaller part
in their answering. The tests had to be given without preliminary
use and improvement, but they proved to be well
adapted to the seventh grade, as shown by the fact that
there were no undistributed scores on either testing. They
gave total measures of learning and of retention which were
more than sufficiently reliable for group comparison.
Testing was done before and after each instructional unit,
instead of before and after the whole experimental period,
for two reasons: first, to permit an evaluation of the result in
terms of the consistency in the five measurements in case the
difference was not statistically reliable j
and second, which
was more important, to measure learning apart from for-
getting.
The effect of the photoplays upon forgetting or retention
was measured by repeating all five of the Knowlton Tests
during the first few days of school in September, 1928.
The same tests were used for all three testings. Practice
effect was not determined, because all uses of the test scores
involved comparisons of gains or retentions to which practice
effect may be assumed to have contributed equally.
Teachers were not shown the tests until after they were used
for the second testing, in order to
prevent the teachers from
teaching for the tests.
SECTION IV
The Measurement of Standardized Progress the
Van Wagenen American History Information
Scale C-2.
FOR two reasons, it seemed advisable to measure the progress
made during the experiment with a standardized test:
first, to determine whether or not "normal" progress was
made during the experimental period j and, second, to determine
whether or not the photoplays' contribution, if found,
was made at the expense of "normal" progress.
A Van Wagenen Scale was used because of its
high rat-
ing
1
and reliability. The P.E. of a scale score, according to
the manual of directions, is 2.1 points or about one-third of
a normal year's progress.
Progress was determined by using the same scale before
the experimental teaching began and again at the end of the
year. Practice effect was determined by giving the test on
successive days to a class of thirty-five pupils. On the second
day, the following announcement was made:
"This is the same test you took yesterday. You did well
yesterday, but pupils can nearly always make higher scores
by taking a test the second time, so we are giving the test
again to see how much better you do today than you did
yesterday. Try to answer each question."
The average scores were as follows: on the first day, 79.4,
on the second day, 80.3. The practice effect for this group
was therefore approximately one point.
1
T. L. Kelley, The Interpretation of Educational Measurements (Yonkers,
N. Y.: World Book Co., 1927), p. 266.
22 Description of Experiment
The correlation between scores on the successive days was
+.88.
It was originally planned to start the experiment earlier
with a smaller number of sections. When in December it was
found possible to include the whole grade, some testing had
been done in such a way as to render some of the sections
useless so far as comparisons with the Van Wagenen Scale
were concerned. Consequently but nine of the fifteen sections
were tested in addition to the section in which practice effect
was determined. B, E, f, j, K, and 1 were tested on December
5, 1927, D, i,
and N on January 26, 1928, and all nine
again on June 18, 1928.
SECTION V
The Measurement of Interest.
To discover any evidences of interest in the form of pupil
participations attributable to the use of the photoplays, eight
classes were selected for close observation over the period
covered by the experiment. These were A, f, and K, taught
by Teacher No. 15 B and 1, by Teacher No. 25 and E, j,
and O, by Teacher No. 5. It will be noted that f, j,
and 1 are
film divisions. These eight were selected to fit the convenience
of the observers.
Three trained observers, including one of the writers,
made a series of records of pupil participation in these
classes. The seating plan of the class was used as a record
blank as shown in Fig. I. In the left margin the observer recorded
the number of hands raised in answer to the questions
asked by the teacher, and in the right margin he recorded the
number raised when the showing of hands indicated a desire
on the part of the pupils to follow up still further the line
taken by the questioning. These records were designated,
respectively, on the form as "Direct Question" and "Further
Interest." Every time a pupil answered a question an R
was placed in the square corresponding to his seat. Careful
note was also made of the questions asked by individual
pupils and these were indicated in the squares by A's. Remarks
voluntarily contributed, whether pertinent to the particular
topic under consideration or resulting from an interest
in what was being done in the group, were indicated by
either V or a C. C was used if the remark represented a contribution
from outside the classroom, as a clipping, or some
reference to a book in history which the pupil had read and
Description of Experiment
Figure I.
Direct
Question
8
7
8
4
9
12
3
5
8
5
8
9
7
7
4
10
10
2
3
10
9
6
8
6
8
3
7
9
No. = 28
Tot. = 195
Av. = 7.0
Further
Interest
3
2
5
4
8
5
4
4
5
2
4
2
3
3
3
4
3
2
I
2
2
6
2
4
3
2
4
2
4
4
3
No. = 31
Tot. = 105
Av. = 3.4
V=27
C=i 3
A= 8
P. P. =
Measuring Interest 25
which he wished to mention, or some experience which he
had had, as visiting some historic site, or the recounting of
something which a member of his family had told him.
Other voluntary remarks, i.e., those not reflecting outside
interest, were recorded with a V. Every pupil remark was
called an R, V, C, or A so that the sum of the R's, V's, C's,
and A's equaled the number of pupil participations.
In getting measures of pupil participation in classroom
discussion, the observers counted the number of pupils raising
their hands to answer the teacher's question until the
rank of eight sections in this respect by half of their records
agreed with the rank by the other half except for a reversal
in the seventh and eighth positions. This means a coefficient
of reliability (by the rank difference method) of .99 for
their total measures. By the same method, the reliability of
class measures of hand showings which were not directly
teacher-initiated was .94. These measures being adequate for
the comparison of single sections are still more so for several
sections combined.
Pupil scores for number of participations, (a) when called
on, (b) when permitted to take part, (c) to contribute from
outside sources, and (d) to ask questions, were obtained with
reliabilities on the whole measures of .85, .95, .63, and .80,
respectively. The lowest of these coefficients is
quite high
enough for the purposes of group comparison.
To see whether the pupils who were shown the photoplays
enjoyed history more than the other pupils did, all
were asked to rank their subjects of study in the order of
their preference. The principal secured the ranking in June.
In September the home-room teachers asked for the same
information as a check on reliability. The form used is shown
in Fig. II.
26 Description of Experiment
The reliability or consistency with which history was
ranked among the other subjects was found by plotting the
rank assigned history by a given pupil in June against the
rank assigned history by the same pupil in September. The
correlation between ranks is +.57, and the predicted reliability
coefficient for the combined ranks is +.73.
Figure II.
Name. . . Division. .
These are seven of the subjects you are studying.
ENGLISH
CURRENT EVENTS
MATHEMATICS
HISTORY
MUSIC
PENMANSHIP
PHYSICAL TRAINING
Pick out the one you like best and write it below on line I. Then pick
out the one you like next best and write it on line 2, and so on down the
list. No. 7 will be the one you like least, and No. 6 next to the least.
The school librarian was asked to keep a record of the
reading of history by the seventh grade pupils during their
library periods (books were not taken out). The record was
kept conscientiously, but there were not enough entries to
permit a computation of reliability.
When it was found that a reliable measure was not forth-
Measuring Interest 27
coming from the librarian's record, the English teachers
were asked to get from all seventh grade sections a list of
reading done during the half year of the experiment. The
length of these lists reflected the different influences of the
English teachers and unfortunately these unequal influences
affected the control and experimental groups unequally.
However, a measure of voluntary reading was obtained in
the classrooms under carefully controlled conditions. Each
of the five units of instruction was followed by a twenty-fiveminute
reading period. Eight readings of from 350 to 400
words each, were prepared in mimeographed form for each
unit. These were brought together from a variety of sources.
1
They either represented information which was not conveyed
by the film or by the textbook or which set forth the
facts in a somewhat different fashion from that with which
the pupils were already familiar. Every effort was made not
to duplicate ground already covered and to select passages
which could be organized as distinct reading units more or
less complete in themselves. In some cases the extracts were
carefully edited to avoid some of the language difficulties
involved. Each reading selection was followed by four questions
which could be answered by a word or two, and which
would serve to reveal more or less clearly the fact that the
selection had, or had not, been carefully read.
The teacher casually announced that some supplementary
history reading material had been provided, but that it would
not count toward school marks and that there was no reason
for reading it unless pupils wanted to. Pupils had been told
the day before that if they wished to bring in any work to do
or any books to read they were free to do so. In other words,
1
See Appendix II for the complete set of readings used, and the list of
sources from which they were taken.
2 8 Description of Experiment
the attempt was made to create a situation in which the selection
of these readings would be on a strictly voluntary basis.
Every effort was made to remove the exercise from the category
of something done to please the teacher. Pupils read a
paper, signed their names, with the material before them
answered four easy questions on what they had read, returned
the paper, and took another if
they wished. They
were credited with reading those papers on which two or
more of the answers were correct. This method of scoring
need not have been used, however, for there were very few
papers with less than two correct answers on them.
The incentive was not strong enough to give a normal distribution
of scores. There was a disproportionate number of
low scores. The material was ample, however, for no pupil
read all that was provided. The scores therefore afforded a
satisfactory comparison of groups, for each group read without
limitation of material ;
the only limitation was that of
inclination. That inclination was subject, of course, to the
varying demands of other school subjects. The comparison,
however, of six sections with six sections on five occasions
tends to minimize such uncontrollable factors.
Altogether the readings represented about sixteen thousand
words or the equivalent of a book of forty pages. The
reliability coefficient for the number of pages read per pupil
is .73.
SECTION VI
Calendar.
THE character and order of the principal teaching and testing
events in the period of the experiment were as follows:
Mon., Dec. 5. Van Wagenen Information Scale C 2 to sections
B, E, f, j, K, and 1.
Thurs., Jan. 26. Van Wagenen Information Scale C 2 to sections
D, i, and N.
Unit I: Settlement 16001660; the English move westward.
Tues., Jan. 31. Test One1
(two lessons).
2
Mon., Feb. 6. Film, The Pilgrims (three lessons).
Tues., Feb. 14. Film, The Puritans (two lessons).
Mon., Feb. 20. Test One repeated.
Tues., Feb. 21. Voluntary reading.
Unit II: Life in Europe vs. life in America.
Tues., Mar. 6. Test Two (two lessons).
Mon., Mar. 12. Film, Jamestown (three lessons).
Mon., Mar. 19. Test Two repeated.
Tues., Mar. 20. Voluntary reading.
Unit III :
England extends her domain and ousts the Dutch.
Wed., Mar. 21. Test Three (five lessons).
Mon., Apr. 2. Film, Peter Stuyvesant.
Tues., Apr. 3. Test Three repeated.
Wed., Apr. 4. Voluntary reading.
1
Test One covered all of the content of Unit I, Test Two covered all of
the content of Unit II, etc.
2
The parentheses should be read as follows : Between the giving of Test
One on Tues., Jan. 31, and the showing of the Pilgrims on Mon., Feb. 6, two
days were devoted to the teaching of Unit I; between the showing of the
Pilgrims and the showing of the Puritans three days were devoted to further
teaching of Unit I, etc. Days not accounted for were Fridays, devoted to a
discussion of Current Events, or holidays.
30 Description of Experiment
Unit IV: Ambitious kings and conflict.
Mon., Apr. 23. Test Four (three lessons).
Mon., Apr. 30. Film, The Gateway to the West (three les-
sons).
Mon., May 7. Film, Wolfe and Montcalm (one lesson).
Wed., May 9. Test Four repeated.
Thurs., May 10. Voluntary reading.
Unit V: The American Revolution.
Mon., May 14. Test Five (three lessons).
Mon., May 21. Film, The Eve of the Revolution (three les-
sons).
Tues., May 29. Film, The Declaration of Independence (two
lessons).
Mon., June 4. Film, Yorktown (three lessons).
Mon., June n. Film, Vincennes (one lesson).
Wed., June 13. Test Five repeated.
Thurs., June 14. Voluntary reading.
Mon., June 18. Van Wagenen Information Scale C 2 to the nine
sections listed above.
Fri., Sept. 7. Tests One and Two repeated for retention.
Mon., Sept. 10. Tests Three to Five repeated for retention.
SECTION VII
Experimental Control.
THE experiment was conducted under unusually good experimental
conditions. Since all study was directed and supervised
in the classroom, the time spent in study was within
the teacher's control. The principal of the school was more
than cooperative. He contributed to the direction of the experiment
in an interested and intelligent manner. His attitude
was reflected in that of his staff, both teaching and clerical.
Experimental work had been conducted in the school
before and the teachers knew the necessity for control. They
exercised it
carefully and conscientiously.
In the case of two teachers, the extent to which they were
consistent in their teaching from section to section was measured.
Alongside of each of the 395 questions in the test,
record was made of the number of pupils who learned to
answer it correctly in the course of the experimental instruction.
This is a good measure of the extent to which the same
things were taught in different sections. Control sections D
and N were taught by one teacher, and control sections E
and O were taught by another teacher. The measures for D
and O and for E and N were combined. The coefficient
of correlation between the combined measures is .76 and for
all six teachers it
may be estimated to be .91. If many pupils
learned to answer a certain question in one section, then
many learned it in the other control section taught by the
same teacher. From the number of pupils in one section who
learned to answer a certain question there could be predicted,
with a probable error of two pupils, the number who would
3 2 Description of Experiment
learn to answer the same question in another section taught
by the same teacher.
Care was exercised to control all factors so that only the
experimental factor should differentiate the work in the experimental
from that in the control group. With the exception
of the exercises involved in that factor, whatever was
done in one section was done in all sections taught by the
same teacher. One observer, for instance, did all the observing
in the sections taught by the same teacher, and if an observer
was present in one of a teacher's sections he was present
in the others also. On those occasions when history time
was lost in one section, as an offset, an equal amount of time
was used for other purposes in the other sections taught by
that teacher. No particular effort was made to keep conditions
constant from one teacher to another, for all comparisons
involve control and experimental groups upon which
each teacher had an equal influence. The course of study pursued
by the experimental pupils differed from that of the
control pupils in only one respect, viz., that it included the
use of the photoplay in addition to the textbooks and such
other classroom equipment as was common to all seventh
grade social studies classes.
On the day the experimental pupils saw a photoplay the
control pupils were supplied with supplementary pages embodying
the information which was found in the photoplay,
but which was not to be found in either Gordy or Beard and
Bagley. These pages followed rather closely the organization
of the material as found in Gordy and page references
were made to the same topics in that text. These supplementary
pages were not left in the hands of the pupils from one
period to the next, which was in accord with the practice of
Control 3 3
the school, the teacher acting as custodian of the textbooks
and distributing them as they were needed. All the work was
done in the classroom. There were no home assignments,
and books were not taken from the room.
The following selections were used in connection with the
teaching of the Pilgrims and the Puritans.
1
The control
group used this information in addition to the information
to be found in their textbooks, while the experimental group
was seeing the two films.
The Pilgrims and Puritans in Massachusetts and
Connecticut.
GORDY, page 53
2
James I Tries To Make the Puritans and Separatists Conform to
the Church of England, page 54.
WILLIAM
BREWSTER, the able leader of the pious little flock
of Scrooby Separatists, said, "Pomp and ritual and earthly
show are not needed to worship him who was born in a stable the
simple book of His Word is the only test of religious truth."
The Separatists used to hold their meetings in Brewster's home
but, inspired by the action of Church and State, their neighbors tried
to break up these meetings. One of the Separatists was an impetuous
youth named William Bradford who resented this treatment. The
action of the neighbors enraged him, and on one occasion when the
disturbance was so great that the High Sheriff of Nottingham was
drawn to the scene, Bradford said to him, "Why do you shake the
stave of the law in the face of peaceable folk? It is the graceless
blasphemers who interfere with us that you should rebuke." The
Sheriff warned the Separatists that they must conform to the rules
of the Church or suffer the consequences, and in the bitter year that
1
For supplementary material used in connection with the other units see
Appendix III.
2
Page references are in each case to Gordy's discussion of the topics which
this material supplements.
34 Description of Experiment
followed, persecution by both Church and State bore heavily upon
the little group at Scrooby.
The Pilgrims Sail to America Where They Can Have a Free Government
and Their Own Religion, page 54.
A meeting was held in the Manor House at Scrooby, and plans
were made for escaping to Holland. The dangers and difficulties
that lay ahead of them proved too much for a few of their number
and, at Brewster's suggestion, they withdrew from the meeting.
During 1607-8 the Scrooby Separatists escaped to Holland,
where at last were gathered more than one hundred men, women,
and children.
The Hardship of the Voyage and Winter Test Their Endurance,
page 55The
Mayflowery only eighty-six feet long, carried 102 passengers
besides its crew.
During the first winter, it was necessary to level all the graves
immediately, so that the watchful Indians might not learn how pestilence
was weakening the colony.
By spring only six boys and twenty men were left who were able
to bear arms.
The crew of the Mayflower, who at first had laughed and jeered
at the Pilgrims, were stricken with pestilence, and were so impressed
with the kind care given them that they did not want to
leave the Pilgrims behind in such a bleak country. In spite of the
pleadings of Captain Christopher Jones and the crew, none of the
Pilgrims went back when the Mayflower sailed in the spring.
Friendly Relations Are Established with the Indians, page 57.
Samoset, an Indian who had met Englishmen before, visited the
colony asking for food and clothing. The kindly Pilgrims fed him
and gave him a cloak. Miles Standish showed him the cannon on
the hill and told him to tell his people about it, but the Pilgrims
thought he would remember the lesson of love longer than he would
remember the lesson of fear.
Captain Miles Standish informs Captain Jones of the Mayflower
that the Pilgrims intend to remain in Plymouth, despite the
harrowing experiences of the first winter.
(From "The Pilgrims," one of The Chronicles of America Phot-onlays)
Control 3 5
The Pilgrims and Puritans in Massachusetts and
Connecticut.
GORDY, page 53
About i y
ooo Puritansy
Led by Winthroj>y Sail for America, page 59.
Ar
Merrymount, near Charlestown, a lawless trading post flourished.
Thomas Morton was the master of Merrymount. The
Puritans decided to abolish the settlement because they did not approve
of Morton's methods of getting the Indians drunk and cheating
them in trade. Morton was captured and banished to England.
The Puritans feared that Morton might make trouble for them
in England. Sir Richard Saltonstall, Governor Winthrop's best
friend, returned to England and promised to do what he could for
the Puritan cause.
In England, the King appointed a Commission to investigate the
Puritan Charter. The Puritans had many bitter enemies in England.
One of them was Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the founder of Maine.
The Charter of the Puritans was the only thing that kept him from
becoming governor-general of all New England, and he tried to
prove that his claim to the land preceded that of the Puritans. Archbishop
Laud/ who presided over the Commission, was also a bitter
enemy of the Puritans. He decided that the Puritans had violated
the conditions of their Charter, and demanded its immediate surrender.
The Puritans refused to give it
up and expected that England
would use force to secure it but before this could be done, conditions
at home grew so serious that England was not able to send
money, ships, or soldiers to America to secure the Charter.
Harry Vane, the son of a powerful nobleman in England, came
over to the colony and so won the respect of the people that they
elected him governor to succeed Winthrop. However, the people
were not satisfied with his rule, principally because he became interested
in the religious teachings of Anne Hutchinson, one of the
dissenters in the colony. Consequently, at the next election, Winthrop
was again elected governor. Soon after this, Vane returned to
England.
36 Description of Experiment
Roger Williams, Driven from Massachusetts, Establishes Religious
Freedom in Rhode Island, page 63.
The Puritan magistrates decided to drive Williams from the
colony. Governor Winthrop was a good friend of Roger Williams,
and when he heard of this plan, he sent a letter to Williams, warning
him.
The first of these selections, it will be noted, contains two
bits of quoted conversation.
Brewster comments: "Pomp and ritual and earthly show
are not needed to worship him who was born in a stable
the simple book of His Word is the only test of religious
truth." Young Bradford retorts to the Sheriff, "Why do you
shake the stave of the law in the face of peaceable folk? It is
the graceless blasphemers who interfere with us that you
should rebuke." The quotations are taken from the photoplay.
On account of their form, quite foreign to the usual
historical text, such dramatic statements may be assumed to
give to the control group a certain element of the photoplay.
On this account it
might be thought that they should not be
included. In all such cases of doubt, however, as to what
ought to be included and placed in the hands of the control
group, the decision was in favor of including the doubtful
material.
A copy of the following statement was given to each of
the cooperating teachers:
To the Teachers Who are Taking Part in the Photoplay
Experiment:
THE
aim of the experiment is to get precise knowledge as to
the value of the films as a teaching device. Our success depends
in a large measure upon the extent to which your sections get
the same treatment from now to the end of the experiment. Prob-
Thomas Morton, appearing before Archbishop Laud and the
Commission, prefers charges against the Puritans.
(From "The Puritans," one of The CJironicles of America Photoplays}
Control 37
ably it will be better for you not to know what our tests cover so
that you will not unconsciously shape your teaching to meet the
tests. You can't help the fact that the same plan never works out in
two sections in exactly the same way, but you can present the same
facts with the same emphasis and use the same methods with the exception
that in one section you use the films and in the other you do
not. We hope you will plan to use the films as intelligently as you
use the texts and other teaching devices. We will gladly show the
films to you before you use them in the class, so that you may be prepared
to use them to greater advantage. You will be supplied for
each film with a list of the facts contained therein so that you may
be sure to teach the same facts in both sections.
We shall undertake to compare your sections also as to the interest
which they show. One way in which we shall attempt to do this is
by providing mimeographed reading selections to be read or not by
pupils just as they please, during twenty-five minutes set aside for
the purpose. The day before this is done you should make this announcement:
"We shall use only twenty-five minutes of tomorrow's
period for our history lesson so bring with you some work you want
to do or a book to read for the rest of the period."
The next day, when the time comes, announce in a casual manner,
"Professor Knowlton has provided you with several copies of
articles on , ,
etc. (Read the eight titles.) He is
willing that you should read as many as you care to during the next
twenty-five minutes, provided you take the test which comes at the
end of each one. This isn't a part of your history lesson and gives
no extra credit. There is no reason for reading them unless you
want to."
This attempt to compare sections will prove worthless if every
pupil makes use of this supplementary reading material, so you can
see why it is advisable to make this announcement in a casual manner.
We are hoping that the pupils will not read them because they
think you or anyone else wants them to.
Reading material will be provided in like manner after each
teaching unit. Many pupils will read them at first for the novelty,
but as the experiment gets under way we shall probably find that the
plan will furnish a worth-while basis of comparison. It is important
3 8 Description of Experiment
to make the announcement in the same way in both or all three of
your classes.
The grouping of the pupils into homogeneous ability sections,
all different, afforded a good opportunity to evaluate
the photoplays in terms of the ability handicaps which they
enabled the experimental group to overcome. On the other
hand, this plan of homogeneous grouping made it
necessary
to match control and experimental groups as a whole, without
matching within each teacher's influence. This method is
inferior to matching by individuals, other things being equal.
The objection to the method of matching used lies in the
possibility of a teacher being a better bright section teacher
than she is a dull section teacher, or vice versa. The mental
ages of four control sections taught by two of the teachers are
such as to permit a determination of the extent to which that
factor invalidates comparison in the case of these two teachers.
D and N are bright and dull sections taught by one teacher j
E and O are bright and dull sections taught by another
teacher. The average of 300 measures of gain for sections D
and O is 1 1.8 .5. The average of 297 measures for sections
E and N is 11.2^.5. The difference is .6.J. Being less
than its probable error, the difference is a statistically insignificant
one. But suppose it does reflect a tendency, say, for
the teacher of D and N to do relatively better work in the
brighter section. There seems to be no reason for doubting
that such differences in gains between groups supposedly
alike would be minimized in a comparison of groups taught
by six teachers instead of two. Even if there were a preponderant
tendency for the six teachers to be better teachers of
high-ability sections than of low, or a reverse tendency, the
difference shown above would still be less in our comparisons
of the whole group, for the experimental sections were
Control 39
selected so as to permit the control group to be made up in
three cases of higher-ability sections and in three cases of
lower-ability sections.
A still more convincing test was made of the method of
group matching used. Seventy-four pupils in the experimental
group were paired with seventy-four pupils in the control
group. In the case of each pair the mental age was equal
and both pupils were taught by the same teacher. The comparison
showed a slightly larger experimental group excess
than was found in the main comparison.
For all comparisons the experimental group was so selected
as to be slightly less able than the control group. In
the experimental group selected, the average mental age was
lower and the group included a smaller percentage of boys.
This makes for some error in the results but gives greater
certainty as to their nature. It was considered necessary to
consider the proportionality of sexes because Vostrovsky,
3
Eaton,
4
and others have found evidence of boys reading
more history than is read by girls, and Van Wagenen
5
reports
higher norms for boys. In view of these facts, boys may
be expected to learn more history, other things being equal.
In the groups used for our comparisons, the percentages of
boys were in the three major comparisons: of control group,
48 per cent boys, of experimental group, 465 of control
group, 48, and of experimental group, 475 of control group,
49 and of experimental group, 40.
3
Clara Vostrovsky, "A Study of Children's Tastes in Reading," Pedagogical
Seminary, VI, 523-535.
4
H. Eaton, "What High School Pupils Like To Read," Education, XLIII,
204209.
6
M. J. Van Wagenen, "Van Wagenen American History Scales" (revised
edition), Manual of Directions. Teachers College Bulletin, i5th series, No. 4,
Oct. 20, 1923. Teachers College, New York City.
40 Description of Experiment
The slight inequality between control and experimental
groups secured on the basis of mental age and sex was confirmed
by the yearly school marks in English and mathematics.
These marks were two-thirds class marks and onethird
test, and based upon the work done during the year of
the experiment. The passing mark was 60. The experimental
group average was 71 and the control group average was 75.
PART II
Results.
SECTION VIII
Comparison of the Gains Made by Experimental and
Control Groups on the Knowlton Tests.
THE
gains made by each section on each of the five
tests are shown in Table IV. Under teachers I and
5 the experimental sections made outstanding
gains, gaining consistently more than did the higher-ability
control sections taught by the same teachers. In the other experimental
sections, the contribution of the photoplay was
clearly not of this magnitude.
A comparison of the sum of the gains for all the experimental
sections, f, h, i, j, 1, and m, and the sum of such gains
for all of the control sections, A, B, C, D, E, G, K, N, and
O, favors the experimental group for three tests out of five,
and by a very small difference, on the five tests together.
There are, however, three objections to this comparison. The
first
objection is, that for teachers I, 4, and 5 there are two
control sections to one experimental section, while for teachers
2, 3, and 6 this is not the case. This condition does not
keep the teacher element constant. The second objection is,
that the groups are not equal in ability. The control group
median Mental Age exceeds the experimental group median
by i
year and 8 months. The groups need to be more nearly
equal to permit precise determination of the experimental
factor. The third is, that the initial score of the experimental
group is in each case lower than that for the control group.
42 Results of Experiment
This fact discounts the excess gain of the experimental group
because of the correlations
1
of -.22, -.29, -.28, -.26, and
.36 between the initial scores and the gains made on the
different tests.
Table IV
Gains Made by Each Section on Each of the Five Knowlton Tests.
Leaving sections A, D, and E out of the control group
meets the first
objection and partially reduces the differences
in Mental Age and in initial score. In the resulting control
group three sections are of higher ability than the corresponding
experimental section and three are lower. But the
B-C-G-K-N-O combination still exceeds the f-h-i-j-1-m
group in ability. Leaving out B and 1 (the pair taught by the
same teacher and differing most in Mental Age) meets the
three objections fairly well. The facts for the resulting con-
1
Computed on the nine control sections only, to free the result from the experimental
factor.
Enrichment 43
trol and experimental groups, C-G-K-N-O and f-h-i-j-m
are shown in Table V. Even though the differences in the
groups on the separate tests handicap the experimental group
more than they favor it, the gains are all in its favor. On the
whole, a small difference in Mental Age handicapped the experimental
group and a small difference in initial score favored
it.
Table V
Comparison of Gams on the Separate Knowlton Tests.
(In the column "Differences in the group" differences are called when
they handicap the experimental group, and -f- when they favor it.)
Differences
C-G-K-N-O f-h-i-j-m in grou-p in gain
(Md. = median
Av. "= average
N. = number of cases)
44 Results of Experiment
As a check on the comparisons of Table V a comparison
was made of the gains on the five tests combined. In this
comparison it was not necessary to consider initial score, as
the correlation between combined initial scores and combined
gains is +.02 .05. Sections B and 1 were left in their respective
groups in this comparison so that the result would be
more fully representative, and the groups were made more
nearly equal in mental age as described below.
The smallest number of pupils in any section to take all
tests was 17, so all sections were reduced to 17 in order to
equalize the groups and each teacher's contribution (in pupils)
to the whole group. The cases omitted were those which
contributed most toward a reduction of the ability differences
between the experimental and control groups, namely those
with highest Mental and Educational Ages in the control
sections and those with the lowest ones in the experimental
sections. The groups are now composed of 6 sections of 17
pupils each. Each of the 6 teachers taught 17 of the 102
control pupils and 17 of the 102 experimental pupils.
The average intelligence test scores and average gains are
shown in Table VI.
Table VI
Comparison of Combined Knowlton Test Gains.
M.A. E.A.
Nature of group in mos. in mos. I.Q. E.Q. Gain
Control 1 7 pupils from
each of sections
B-C-G-K-N-O 139.3 H54 99-3 101.8 52.5=1=1.6
Experi- 1 7 pupils from
mental each of sections
f-h-i-j-1-m 133-5 142.2 96.3 101.8 6o.8=t2.5
Differences 5.8 3.2 3.0 O +8.33.l
Enrichment 45
The 8.3 difference in gain, a 16 per cent excess over the control
gain, is a minimum statement of the result of the experiment,
for it should be noted that the experimental group
made this greater gain in spite of a handicap of 5.8 months
of Mental Age, 3.2 months of Educational Age, and 3 points
of Intelligence Quotient.
Table VII
The Effect of Reductions of Differences In Mental Agey
Educational
Age, Intelligence Quotient, and Educational
Quotient upon Differences in Gains.
Experimental Group Handicaps
Diff. Diff.
inM.A. inE.A. Diff. Diff.
Groups compared in mos. in mos. in I.Q. in E.Q.
Control of 132 pupils
Experimental of 1 29 pupils 11.9 9.1 8.3 6.3
Control of 102 pupils
Experimental of 1 02 pupils 5.8 3.2 3.0 O
Excess
experimental
group gain
4.9
8.3
Reductions of handicaps 6.1 5.9 5.3 6-3 34
Increase effected
If the 5.8 months mental age handicap were reduced to
o, the other three differences would favor the experimental
group. This may be taken as a condition for a maximum representation
of the excess gain of the experimental group,
corresponding to the facts of Table VI as a minimum. As abasis
for estimating this maximum it has been shown in Table
VII to what extent reductions in handicaps increased the excess
gain made by the experimental group. Assuming that
further reduction would affect the differences in gain in proportion
to the reduction shown in Table VII, the elimination
of the remaining handicap of 5.8 months of Mental Age
would increase the experimental group's excess by 5.8/6.1 of
46 Results of Experiment
3.4 or by 3.2. This amount added to 8.3 gives 11.5, an excess
of 22 per cent. The average of these minimum and maximum
interpretations of Table VI is a difference in gain of
9.9 points or a difference of 19 per cent.
This result is in very close agreement with the 2.0 excess
shown in Table V, because this 2.0 excess was the average
difference for the tests taken separately, and needs to be
multiplied by 5, the number of tests, to permit comparison
with the difference in total gains. One shows an excess gain
on the part of the experimental group of 9.9, the other
shows one of 10.0. Both comparisons show that the experimental
group made a 1 9 per cent greater gain.
Table VIII
Comparison of Gains on the Knowlton Tests for Individually
Matched Groups.
Averages with equal weighting 9.5 12.0 126
To check the method of matching used, a third comparison
was made using individual matching. Seventy-four
pupils in the experimental group were matched with seventyfour
in the control group. The matching was as close as the
reliability of a mental age will permit. The mental ages of
the experimental pupils were more like the mental ages of
Enrichment 47
the control pupils with whom they were matched than they
would be like their own on another test.
For these pairs of pupils, only complete pairs of measurements
were used. That is, if an experimental pupil was absent
from a test, then the record from that test made by his
mate in the control group was discarded. The results are as
in Table VIII for the six teacher groups. The number of
measurements is not adequate for precise determination, i.e.,
the sampling error is
large for each teacher group. But judging
from Tables IV and VIII, the net contribution of the
photoplays varied widely from teacher to teacher.
This comparison of individually matched groups indicates
that 19 per cent is a conservative measure of the photoplay's
contribution. The 19 per cent is based upon a difference
which in Table V is 6.7 times its probable error and in Table
VI is at least 2.7 times its
probable error.
2
This means that
the chances are not more than 3 in 100 that it is not a true
difference.
2
P.E. of a difference between two means has been computed as equal to
SECTION IX
Evaluation of the Excess Experimental Group Gain
on the Knowlton Tests in Terms of the Intellect It
Would Have Required To Achieve It.
IN the previous section, the experimental group was compared
with a control group like it in all respects except the
experimental factor. In this section the experimental group
will be compared with a control group of greater ability. If,
among the control sections a group may be found making the
same gain as that made by the experimental group, then it
may be inferred that the contribution of the photoplays was
equivalent to the difference in ability between the control
and experimental groups. It seems quite as permissible to infer
this as to conclude in the previous section that the greater
gain made by the experimental group is a measure of the
contribution of the photoplay. The only new question involved
is whether the intelligence test scores are valid measures
of ability to learn. The correlations of +.62 between
mental ages and the total initial scores and of +.26 between
mental ages and total gains answer that question. They show
that the pupils learned or made gains in a somewhat direct
proportion to their mental ages.
The problem is then to find an experimental group, and a
control group of greater ability taught by the same teachers
and making the same gain. Sections A-B-C-D-E-G form a
satisfactory control group in so far as teachers and ability of
pupils are concerned. It would be a fortunate accident if the
gains were equal. The facts are as in Table IX.
Importance 49
Table IX
Initial Scores and Gains Made by the Experimental Group and the
Higher-Ability Control Group.
Experimental Group Higher-Control Group
A-B-C-D-E-G
A<v. Gain
15.0
4.4
10.8
12.3
18.3
Averages for all tests 32.0 11.7 36.1 12.2
The gains of the experimental group are not on the average
equal to those of the control group. If they were, as in
the case of the "Life in the Colonies" and "Peter Stuyvesant"
tests, differences in initial scores would complicate comparison.
Total scores and total gains will therefore be used
as in the previous section to facilitate comparison.
Because the A-B-C-D-E-G gains shown in Table IX
were larger than the f-h-i-j-l-m gains, A was replaced by K,
the less intelligent control section taught by the same teacher.
The gain of the resulting group, B-C-D-E-G-K was found
to be near enough equal to the gain of the experimental
group. The control sections were then all reduced in size to
17 pupils each, to correspond to the experimental group of
1 02, described in the previous section. When a pupil needed
to be omitted from a section, that one was omitted whose
Mental and Educational Ages were highest. The 102 remaining
pupils made an average total gain of 60.8. This
gain equals, to the nearest tenth, the gain of the experimental
group of 1 02. The average intelligence test scores of the
50 Results of Experiment
two groups are compared in Table X to show the differences
or handicaps which the experimental group overcame, presumably
through the use of the photoplays.
Table X
The Mental Agey
Educational Agey Intelligence Quotient and
Educational Quotient Handicaps Overcome by the Experimental
Group in Equaling the Gain Made by the Control
Group on the Five Knowlton Tests Combined.
Control Experimental
Group Group Differences or
Averages Averages Handicaps
Scores compared N=io2 N=io2 Overcome
Total Gain 60.8 60.8
M.A. (in mos.) 149.1 + 1.2 133.5 + 1.0 15.6 + 1.6
E.A. (in mos.) 156.6 + 1.3 142.2+ .9 14.4+1.6
I.Q. 108.4+1.1 96.3 + 1.0 12.1 + 1.5
E.Q. 113.1 + 1.1 101.8 + .8 11.3 + 1.4
The size of these handicaps gives more meaning to the
greater experimental group gain which was shown in the preceding
section. Instead of saying merely that the experimental
group made a 1 9 per cent greater gain, it
may now be said
that in doing so, they learned as if
they were 1 6 months more
mentally mature, or 14 months more advanced in school 5
or
that they learned as if
they were brighter by 12 points of Intelligence
Quotient, or by 1 1
points of Educational Quotient.
This comparison of quotients is in either case equivalent to
saying that the experimental group, with a degree of brightness
which places them in the middle third of a group of unselected
children, nevertheless learned as much as if
they
were in the upper third. Comparison of the averages of the
intelligence and educational quotients is
equivalent to saying
Importance 5 1
that with second quartile ability, the experimental group
gained as if
they had had fourth quartile ability. The amount
by which the experimental group exceeded the gain of the
control group is therefore an appreciable one.
SECTION X
Gains Made by the Experimental and Control Groups
on the Van Wagenen Scale.
MAY the reported enrichment be interpreted as an enrichment
of good teaching as it is usually measured? The Van
Wagenen Information Scale C-2 was given at the beginning
and end of the experiment to nine of the fifteen sections.
The nine were fairly representative of the whole grade in
that, of the six omitted sections, two were bright, two average,
and two dull. The nine sections made an average gain
of 14.4 points as shown in Table XI. Allowing for the experimental
factor and for the practice effect of one point,
this improvement made in six months is
equal to the improvement
normally made in both the sixth and seventh
grades in the Minnesota cities from which the norms were
obtained. The period covered by the experiment was therefore
one of unusual progress as measured by this standardized
scale.
Another question which the use of the Van Wagenen
Scale was designed to answer is not so easily answered, "Was
the enrichment made at the expense of progress as measured
on this scale?"
The section j gain exceeds that of section E as it did in all
Knowlton test gains. Lacking a measure of the A section
gain, we cannot tell whether section f would have exceeded
A or not.
In Table XII, f-i-j-1
as a group is
compared with B-EK-N,
the control group nearest like it in ability. Since the
experimental group is
handicapped by 9 months of Mental
Progress 53
Age and favored in initial score by only .9 of a point, the
comparison indicates a greater gain on the part of the experimental
group.
Table XI
Gains Made by Each Section on the Van Wagenen American
History Scalesy Information Scale (72.
Teacher Section Gain
2 B
4 D
5 E
i f
4 i
5 j
1 K
2 1
4 N
Average
13.8
12.6
1 8.0
16.1
9-3
25.4
15.4
8.3
10.9
14.4
Table XII
Comparison of Experimental Group f-i-j-l and Control Group
B-E-K-N and of the Gains Made by These Groups on the
Van Wagenen Scale C2.
Differences
in group in gain
( is a handicapy
+ is an advantage)
Md.M.A. in mos. 141 132 9.0
Initial score 55.1 54.2 +0.9
Gain 14.5 14.8 +-3
At its face value the excess gain of the experimental
group is one of 2 per cent. It might be much higher with
equated groups. But the exact relation for these groups of
four sections each, if found, would not be comparable to the
19 per cent found for all experimental sections. The only
54 Results of Experiment
way in which a per cent comparable to the 19 per cent
Knowlton tests excess can be obtained is
by proportion. It is
necessary therefore to compare Van Wagenen scale and
Knowlton test results for small groups and to assume that
the relation found would be true of the whole groups.
For comparison with the 2 per cent shown above, the corresponding
per cent on the total Knowlton test gains was determined
from the data in Table IV. The f-i-j-1 gain is 71.2
and the B-E-K-N gain is 55.4. The excess is one of 29 per
cent. Judging from a comparison of these percentages, the
fact that they had seen the photoplays helped the pupils to
gain on the Van Wagenen scale about 2/29 of the extent to
which it
helped them to learn what was measured by the
Knowlton tests.
Omitting sections B and 1 leaves an experimental group,
f-i-j,
with an average Mental Age only three months higher
than that of the control group, E-K-N. Their gains are respectively
16.9 and 14.8. The excess in this case is 12 per
cent. The corresponding Knowlton test excess is 42 per cent j
the relation between the two percentages is 2/7.
A more exact comparison was made using experimental
and control groups of 44 pupils each. These 44 are all of the
experimental pupils who could be matched closely with control
pupils in initial Van Wagenen scores, and who took both
initial and final of all the Knowlton tests. The matching was
done to insure equality of initial scores. It was necessary because
of a negative correlation of -.33 between initial score
and gain. Matching initial scores was not necessary in comparing
total Knowlton test gains.
On the Knowlton tests, the average experimental gain is
65.7 to the controľs 56.6. The excess of 9.1 points is 16 per
cent. On the Van Wagenen scale the average experimental
Progress 55
gain is 15.8 to the controľs 15.4. The excess of .4 is 3 per
cent. In this case the experimental group's excess Van Wagenen
scale gain is 3/16 of its excess on the Knowlton tests.
The smallness of these ratios of excess gain to control
group gain cannot be attributed to the smallness of the gain
made on the Van Wagenen scale. The gain made by the nine
sections tested was a large one, as already pointed out in this
section. To take 3/16 as a fair determination of the relation
between the contributions of the photoplays as measured by
the two tests, is to assume the proportionality of gains on
different kinds of tests. Probably this is a safe assumption.
The ratio of excess gain to control-group gain is
probably
to a very large extent independent of the size of the gains.
But without making this assumption, it
may be shown that
the advantage afforded by the photoplays toward learning
the Van Wagenen test material was less than it was toward
learning the Knowlton test material. Of the 44 pairs of
pupils last compared, 10 were from sections F and K. Of
these 10 pairs, the experimental pupils in section F were the
more intelligent. Omitting these cases from the comparison,
leaves groups of 34 each with an increased Mental Age
handicap for the experimental group. This handicap was
overcome in making Knowlton test gains but not overcome
as measured by the Van Wagenen scale. The gains were: on
the Knowlton tests, Experimental, 64.15 Control, 55.45
and on the Van Wagenen scale, Experimental, 14.95 and
Control, 1 6. 2.
Three-sixteenths is in close agreement with the average of
the first two determinations of this ratio, i.e., of 2/7 and of
2/29. In lieu of a Probable Error, 2/7 and 2/29 may be
taken as limiting values, and all these ratios used in estimating
the advantage of the photoplays to the six experi-
56 Results of Experiment
mental sections for whom the 19 per cent advantage was
representative. Two twenty-ninths, 3/16, and 2/7 of 19 per
cent are respectively i, 4, and 5 per cent. Taking 4 as the
best estimate j thinking of the Knowlton tests as measuring
progress in an enriched course of study j
and thinking of the
Van Wagenen scale as measuring progress in the learning of
the bare facts of history, it
may be said that the photoplays
contributed five times as much to the former as to the latter
form of progress.
In itself, an excess of 4 per cent is not of great importance.
It means that while the control group does a year's
work of 40 weeks, the experimental group does 41.6 weeks'
work. Or it means that with the aid of the photoplays, a
year's work of 40 weeks is done in 38.5 weeks.
It is of importance to note, however, that the enrichment
reported in Section VIII and evaluated in Section IX was
not achieved at the expense of "normal" progress. On the
contrary, it was accompanied by a slight increase in "normal"
progress, and this increase was effected in spite of the fact
that the progress of the control group which served as a basis
of comparison was itself far above "normal."
SECTION XI
The Effect of the Photoplays upon Retention.
RETENTION was measured over intervals varying from approximately
three to seven months as may be seen from the
dates of testing shown in Table XIII.
Corresponding to the comparison of gains in Table V,
Table XIV shows the number of points gained, lost, and retained
by groups C-G-K-N-O and f-h-i-j-m. The groups
compared in Table XIV are the same as those compared in
Table V, subject only to a 13 per cent loss due to the changes
in a group from one year to the next.
The experimental group learned more, forgot more, and
remembered more. It is the usual finding for those who
learn more to remember more even though they forget
more. De Weerdt,
1
for instance, found this to be true of the
gains, losses, and retentions in seven functions. Brooks and
Bassett,
2
measuring retention of American History in the
Junior High School, found that "the pupils who know most
at the end of the semester tend to forget a little more than
those who know less, but they still know the most."
Differences in overlearning probably explain this. The
things that both the bright and the dull learn are those
which are much talked about or drilled on. Some of the
1
E. H. de Weerdt, "The Permanence of Improvement of Fifth-Grade
School Children in Certain Mental Functions," Journal of Educational Research,
XVI (Sept., 1927), 127-131.
2
F. D. Brooks and S. J. Bassett, "The Retention of American History in the
Junior High School," Journal of Educational Research, XVIII (Oct., 1928),
195202.
58 Results of Experiment
things which only the bright learn are learned from occasional
remarks, casual explanations, etc., which are adequate
to produce their effect upon immediate recall, but not after
a long interval. Overlearning is
necessary for retention.
In the same way, the experimental group may have
learned some things from seeing the photoplays which
lasted only long enough to register on the tests taken immediately
after the period of instruction. There was no
re-view of the photoplays, either in toto or with still pictures.
The advantages of overlearning and of review were therefore
in favor of retention by the control group.
Table XIII
Dates of Testing.
Before After Fall
Test Instruction Instruction Retest
Pilgrims and Puritans Jan. 3 1 Feb. 20 Sept. 7
Life in the Colonies Mar. 6 Mar. 1
9 Sept. 7
Peter Stuyvesant Mar. 21 Apr. 3 Sept. 10
French and English Apr. 16 May 9 Sept. 10
Revolution May 14 June 13 Sept. 10
Table XIV
Comparison of Points Gained, Lost, and Retained on the
Separate Tests.
Tests Gained Lost Retained
C group E group C group E group C group E group
Pilgrims and Puritans 13.5 14.1 3.8 5.2 9.7 8.9
Life in the Colonies 4.6 7.0 2.5 4.9 2.1 2.1
Peter Stuyvesant 10.1 12.6 4.9 6.7 5.2 5.9
French and English 10.1 10.6 6.3 6.4 3.8 4.2
Revolution 15.3 19.1 9.8 12.1 5.5 7.0
Total 53.6 63.4 27.3 35.3 26.3 28.1
Retention 59
The Revolution unit is the only unit which permits a fair
comparison of the two methods as to their value for retention
(amount retained divided by amount learned). Following
this unit of teaching, the element of review was held constant,
for this unit was followed immediately by the summer
vacation, and the retest was given before teaching began in
the fall.
For this unit the amount retained by the experimental
group was in absolute units greater than the amount retained
by the control group, and in per cent of learning retained,
either equal to or greater than the per cent of learning retained
by the control group. The difference in retained gain
on this test is 1.5=^.9. The chances are 87 in 100 that the difference
is a true difference. On this test the experimental
group learned 25 per cent more than the control group did
and retained 27 per cent more than the control group
retained.
Such statements cannot be made of each of the units
measured nor of the combined results. Of the total learning
the control group retained 49 per cent, the experimental
E gain C gain
group but 44. And where - =
1 8 per cent,
C gain
the corresponding per cent for retention is 7. However, conclusions
as to the contribution of the photoplays to retention
should not be based upon these figures without further analysis,
for reasons stated in the following paragraphs.
For the first half of the experiment the control and experimental
group gains were 28.2 and 33.7, and for the second
half, the gains were 25.4 and 29.7, respectively. The corresponding
retentions were 17.0 and 16.9 for the first half, and
9.3 and 1 1. 2 for the second half. This means that of what
60 Results of Experiment
they learned early, the control group remembered 60 per
cent, and the experimental group remembered 50 per cent,
but of what they learned late in the term the control group
remembered 37 per cent, and the experimental group 38 per
cent. In other words, both experimental and control groups
remembered more from the early teaching than from the
late.
This result in no sense contradicts, nor is it contradicted
by, the usual curve of forgetting. To be sure, it sounds contradictory
to say that more is remembered over the longer
interval. But the intervals differ in other respects than in
time. They differ in opportunity for review, planned and
incidental. The situation should be described as follows: of
two measurements of retention, one over a period of seven
months with opportunity for review during the first four
months, and one over a period of three months with no opportunity
for review, the first is the greater. In fact, the results
secured in this experiment are almost in exact order
for the five units, as shown in columns i and 2 of Table XV.
Table XV
Per Cent of Gain Retained fctr Each Testy
and Related Factors.
Per cent
of quesControl
Experimental tions which Per cent
Group Group are time E gain-C gain
Tests per cent R/G per cent R/G questions ga}n
Pilgrims and Puritans 72 63 17 8
Life in the Colonies 46 30 30 48
Peter Stuyvesant 51 47 9 28
French and English 38 40 7 5
Revolution 36 37 35 25
Retention 6 1
Table XVI
Per Cent of Gain Retained According to the Kind of Knowledge.
Taken from Data in Table XIX in the Section on Analysis.
Control Group Experimental Group
Time 46 40
Place 38 37
Person 67 66
Relation 68 72
Combined 50 49
Worcester
8
found results like this when he measured the
permanence of learning in algebra. He used Forms A-I,
A-II, and B-I of the Douglas algebra tests, on February 9,
March 29, and May 17 respectively, and retested with the
same tests on December 20 and 21 of the same year. A-I
and A-II measure command of the processes taught early in
the term and B-I measures command of those taught late in
the term. Scores from his first testing are measures of gain
and scores from his December testing are measures of retention,
since zero scores, or practically zero scores, might have
been expected at the beginning of the teaching of algebra.
The amount retained was over 80 per cent of the amount
learned in the case of the A tests, and was but 35 per cent on
the B test. "It seems, then, that the amount of forgetting on
this test was immensely more than on the others, even
though the time between the tests was less."
Promising extensive investigation along the same line,
Worcester notes "that other studies in algebra, as well as
those in plane geometry, home economics, and biology are
showing the same trends as the one here reported."
Differences in overlearning and differences in opportunity
for review may well explain the differences in per
8
D. A. Worcester, "The Permanence of Learning in High School Subjects
Algebra," Journal Educational Psychology, XIX (May, 1928), 343-345.
6 2 Results of Experiment
cent remembered of the early and late teaching. They may
also explain the fact that the experimental group remembered
as much of the late teaching as the control group did,
but less of the early teaching.
There is, however, another factor to be considered. When
the tests were regrouped into four tests, one of time knowledge,
one of place, one of persons, and one of interrelationship,
the per cent of learning which is retained is for the control
group on the time test, 46 per cent, for the experimental
group, 40 per cent 5
on the other three tests combined, it is
for the control group 50 per cent, for the experimental
group, 51 per cent. The per cents for the four kinds of
knowledge are shown in Table XVI.
It has been indicated how a decreased opportunity for review
could explain the gradually better showing of the experimental
group. But when comparison is made of the per
cent of each test which is
composed of time questions with
the per cent R/G for the control and experimental group as
listed in Table XV, it can be readily seen that variation in
the per cent of time questions may be responsible for the
variation in the showing made by the experimental group.
The experimental group made an especially poor showing on
the retention of "Life in the Colonies" material, and it will
be noted that a larger per cent of this material was time
material.
On the other hand, this especially poor showing is explainable
on the basis of possible-differences in overlearning.
In the fourth column of the same table (Table XV) are the
per cents which indicate the contribution of the photoplay.
Alongside of the especially poor showing in retention is the
largest contribution. In other words, from that unit the
greatest relative loss might be expected.
Retention 63
One of these explanations need not be accepted to the exclusion
of the other. Both may be responsible for the results
found. In any event, what was true of a part of the test material
has been unduly reflected in the per cent which the Experimental
minus the Control Retention is of the Control
Retention. For tests 2 to 5, the per cent computed in the
same fashion is 1 6 per cent instead of the 7 per cent obtained
for tests i to 5. A determination for another purpose (described
in the section on analysis) shows a 17 per cent
E C gain E C Retention
and
a 1 6 per cent . Twelve per
C gain C Retention
cent, an average of the two determinations, is a more representative
measure of the contribution of the photoplays to
retention in general.
It is from this second determination, to be described later,
that the per cents of gain retained which are listed in Table
XVI were computed. The experimental group per cent R/G
is seen to be less than, equal to, or greater than the control
group per cent R/G, according to the kind of knowledge
being measured. The forgetting of when conditions existed,
or when events happened, or in what order they happened,
was evidently the chief cause of the inferior showing of the
experimental group.
Summarizing j
retention was measured in two ways, first
as gain minus loss, and second, as the per cent which that
value is of the gain. By the first method, the experimental
group retained more, though they also lost more. The experimental
group retained approximately 12 per cent more
knowledge than was retained by the control group. By the
second method, of the amount learned during the first half
of the experiment, the percentage retained by the experi-
64 Results of Experiment
mental group was less, of that learned during the second half
of the experiment it was as much as or more than that of the
control group. Of the learning during the first half of the
experiment, the control group retained 60 per cent, the experimental
group 50 per cent; of the learning of the second
half of the experiment, the control group retained 36 per
cent, the experimental group 37 per cent. Therefore, it
may
be said of the experimental and control groups, that of what
they learned, they remembered practically the same fractional
part, when opportunity for review was equal. In the
experimental group there was no provision for re-view either
of a whole photoplay or of any part of one. When, in the
control group, the normal amount of review took place, the
experimental group retained a smaller fractional part of
what it learned. From the more restricted groups used for
the analysis of the gain described in a later section, measures
of retention indicate that this smaller fractional part was
probably due almost solely to the forgetting of knowledge of
time.
It should be noted here, that no evidence has been presented
which would justify one in thinking that the outstanding
value of the photoplay lies in its contribution to retention.
Teachers need to realize that pupils do not see
everything in a picture, and that single impressions will not
last. The net result, for a given pupil, is of necessity, fragmentary,
as is the case in all teaching, and needs to be completed
and reviewed and re-viewed. There is no magic in
pictures transcending the laws of learning.
SECTION XII
Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups as
to Participation in Classroom Discussion, Expression
of Interest, and Voluntary Reading.
THESE measures of pupil participation were obtained in only
three of the six experimental sections, f, j,
and 1. The control
group with which this experimental group is
compared is
composed of sections B, K, and O taught by the same teachers.
The average mental age of the control group is six
months higher than that of the experimental group.
The results are shown in Table XVII. Pupil participations
which followed a teacher's question, stated or implied,
were designated by "R"s. Those which were not so initiated
were recorded as "V"s since they were more voluntary and
probably showed more interest. When the participation consisted
of asking a question it was recorded as an "A," and if
it contributed to the discussion, some information obtained
outside the classroom from reading or other sources, it was
recorded as a "C."
The number of pupil participations averaged 77.4 per section
per period for the control group and 85.4 for the experimental
group. This difference, 8.o2.2, being 3.6 times its
probable error, is 99 chances out of 100, a true difference.
The differences in the case of the R's, V's, C's, and A's have
larger errors, but more dependence may be placed in the
"R" and "V" combined differences than the probable error
justifies because of the fact that they are found in the same
direction in four of the five instructional units.
66 Results of Experiment
Table XVII
Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups as to the Number
of Pupil Participations per Section per Period, for Each Instructional
Unit and for the Five Units Combined.
Instructional Units.
C group
Totals 83
Group Differences
90
R
V
A
C
80
3.32.o
4-72.o
3 -5
83 854
Totals 8.0 2. 2
A greater total number of pupil participations may mean
either more participations per pupil, or more pupils participating,
or both. In the present case it is both. In the control
group 62 per cent were responsible for the "R"s but in the
experimental group 65 per cent recited. The difference expressed
in the percentages is 2^4 times its
probable error,
and is found 5 times out of 5. For those pupils actually reciting
as defined for "R," the average number of "R"s per
pupil per day is 2.0 for the control group and 2.1 for the
experimental group. It is safe to say that the difference
would not be significant in terms of its
probable error but the
Interest 67
experimental group average exceeded the control group
average in four of the five units in which it was compared.
The volunteered participations were made by 37 per cent
of the control group and 41 per cent of the experimental
group. The difference expressed in these percentages is 2.6
times its
probable error. The "V"s per pupil per day average
2.2 for the control group and 2.3 for the experimental
group, and the difference favored the experimental group in
four of the five comparisons.
Sixty-six per cent of the control group asked questions,
and 69 per cent of the experimental group. For the whole
period of observation (40 days) the average number of
questions asked, among those asking them, was for the control
group 6.9 and for the experimental 7.1.
Thirty-four per cent of the control group contributed as
defined for "C," and 39 per cent of the experimental group.
In the comparison of average number of "C"s per pupil for
the whole period, for those pupils actually contributing, we
find the only comparison of totals favoring the control
group. The average for the control group is 4.0 and the
average for the experimental group is 2.6.
On those occasions when hands were raised as a result of a
teacher's question, the number of hands raised in the control
group was on the average 8.4. In the experimental group the
average was 9.1. The difference .J.i though small is seven
times its
probable error. When hands were raised on other
occasions, i.e., not directly as a result of a teacher's question,
the control group average was 5.3 and the experimental
group average was 6.1. The difference is
eight times its
probable error. For both of these measurements the difference
favored the experimental group in all five of the units
of the experiment.
68 Results of Experiment
For each of the measures reported, the precaution was
taken of finding out what effect a difference in ability had
upon it. Without an exception it was found that of two control
groups taught by the same teachers the more able or
brighter group made the higher score. This finding is
supported
by McCullough
1
in that he found that bright children
recite more often. The excess scores made by the experimental
group were therefore made not because of a six months
lower mental age but in spite of it.
The comparisons reported do not include records of the
extent of pupil participation on the days the photoplays were
shown. The ten or fifteen minutes following the showing
was, however, a period of keen interest and active questioning.
On the other hand, the records were by no means confined
to days immediately following showings. To have so
confined them would have made quite a different report, for
there was a sharp lowering of the extent to which the photoplays
contributed to pupil participation as the interval increased.
The contribution dropped from 25 per cent on the
first day following a showing to 16 per cent on the second
day, but even during the fourth week after a showing there
was still some evidence of the influence of the photoplays.
During the eight days of observation from one to two weeks
after a showing, the experimental group participations were
1 06 per cent of those of the control group. During the five
days of observation from two to four weeks after a showing
the number of experimental group participations was 105
per cent of the number of control group participations.
It should not be lost sight of that some of the differences
reported are of little significance in the classroom. To have
1
A. N. McCullough, "The Opportunities of Pupils to Participate in the
Teacher's Time," Elementary School Journal, XXVIII (Mar., 1928), 538-
543-
Interest 69
nine pupils ready to answer instead of eight is the least noticeable
difference a teacher could have, and the same may
be said of having six pupils wanting to say something instead
of having five.
On the other hand, the differences are appreciable when
combined ;
that is, if all four kinds of pupil participation are
combined and the differences for a 4O-week school year are
computed, the average number of participations per pupil in
the experimental sections is 484, while in the control sections
it is
only 438. This comparison shows for a 35-pupil
experimental section 1,610 more pupil participations per
year than for a control section. This is a 10 per cent excess
and is
equivalent to adding twenty extra days to a school year
in so far as pupil participation is concerned.
The volunteered participations which were recorded separately
as evidence of more interest than the rest, constituted
only about one-third of the total number of participations.
But for a year, the averages indicate 940 more of these volunteered
remarks in an experimental section than in a control
section. This is a 1 7 per cent excess and is
equivalent to adding
thirty-four extra days to a school year so far as voluntary
pupil participation in classroom discussion is concerned.
Some of the differences found are of very little significance,
but so far as their direction is concerned they warrant
the following statements. In the experimental group,
(a) more recitations were made at the request of the
teacher 5
(b) a larger percentage of the class recited;
(c) those reciting, did so more often j
(d) on these occasions more hands were raised;
(e) more remarks were volunteered by the pupils not
directly as a result of a teacher's question, i.e., upon
yo Results of Experiment
those occasions when their own desire to participate
more evidently prompted them;
(f) a larger percentage of the group so volunteered ;
(g) those volunteering did so more often;
(h) on these occasions more hands were raised for permission
to participate j
(i) more questions were asked j
(j) a larger percentage of the group asked questions ;
(k) those who asked questions did so more often j
(1) fewer contributions came in from outside j
(m) a larger percentage of the group made such contributions
$
(n) those contributing, did so less often.
As indicated, some of these differences are appreciable and
some are insignificant. Together, they constitute an appreciable
and statistically significant difference between the experimental
and control groups in the amount of pupil participation
in classroom discussion.
The average ranking of history among six other subjects
which the pupils were studying was approximately equal for
the experimental and control groups. The difference in group
averages of rankings showed a greater liking for history on
the part of the experimental group by a slight difference
(.46=^.23), but it was due to a tendency on the part of the
duller pupils to rank history higher among the six other subjects
ranked. The difference in average rank between control
and experimental groups was reversed in the case of an experimental
group superior to the control group in ability.
To one who has observed these classes, this result is not so
surprising as it
might seem. The photoplays were shown in
the classroom, in a school rather than in a "movie" atmosphere.
There was no more exuberance among the pupils see-
Interest 7 1
ing the pictures than among control pupils during an enthusiastic
recitation period. In fact, it is doubtful that the
pupils enjoyed seeing the photoplays any more than they
enjoyed intensive periods of class discussion. And there were
many such periods, probably more enthusiastically participated
in because of the presence of an observer. Perhaps
photoplays can cause pupils to enjoy their history more, only
when it is otherwise not enjoyable. Certainly that was not
the case in this experiment. The pupils in the control sections
expressed themselves in their rankings as liking history
almost as much as they liked physical training, which was
the best liked subject. At any rate, there is no evidence in
the rankings that the photoplays caused pupils to like history
better.
The measures of voluntary reading are of three kinds:
the school librarian's record of the reading of history during
library periods, lists of the term's readings made by the pupils
for their English teachers, and the number of supplementary
readings read in a section of a class period in which
pupils were free to read or to do something else according
to their preferences.
The records of school library reading of history were
scattered. What there were, favored the control group, there
being a record of approximately 27 hours for the six control
sections and 23 hours for the six experimental sections. The
entries were not extensive enough to permit a computation
of reliability.
The pupils' lists of history they had read were not obtained
in a sufficiently standardized way to make the totals
comparable. Lists in some sections were evidently much more
complete than in others. The English teacher's influence was
not constant in the experimental and control groups as was
72 Results of Experiment
the history teacher's influence, for two sections taught by the
same history teacher were not invariably taught by the same
English teacher. The control group total was 514 compared
to the experimental group total of 199. The truest comparison
with this data is
probably a comparison of the percentage
of the total list which is
history. This comparison favors the
control group. The listed readings of the control group were
12 per cent history and those of the experimental group
were 10 per cent history. The probable error of the difference
is i
per cent. If the photoplays were responsible for
any additional outside reading they were not responsible,
according to the results stated in this and the preceding paragraph,
for enough to offset the slightly greater ability of the
control group.
The comparison of voluntary reading in the classroom
under controlled conditions is shown in Table XVIII. The
difference, which favors the experimental group, is
highly
significant statistically. It seems a small matter, but the difference
is a 40 per cent difference and must be multiplied by
35, the average number of pupils per section, to show what
it means for a section. Fifty-four per cent of experimental
group pupils did the reading for their group, and 41 per
cent of the control group pupils did the reading for that
group. For just those pupils who did the reading the averages
are, for the control group 18.7 and for the experimental
group 19.5. Probable errors have not been computed for
these last two comparisons, but they are supported by all
five, and three out of five comparisons respectively.
The amount of voluntary reading and the average for
those reading may be expected to be higher for a brighter
group, judging from comparisons in all five of the instructional
units. The percentage of the group reading may also
Interest 73
be expected to be larger in the brighter group judging from
four of the five units. The excess scores of the experimental
group, where found, are therefore in spite of, and not because
of, the inequality of groups in ability.
Table XVIII
Comparison of Experimental and Control Groups in Number of
Voluntary Readings in the Classroom under Controlled
Conditions.
Control Group Experimental Group
Instructional Units Av. per pupil A<v. per pupil
I Pilgrims and Puritans 1.3 1.8
II Life in the Colonies 1.6 2.6
III Peter Stuyvesant 1.9 2.6
IV French and English 1.8 1.8
V Revolution i.i 2.0
Totals 7.7 10.8
Difference 3.1 .6
SECTION XIII
Analysis of the Contribution of the Photoplays.
IN order to determine to some extent how the photoplays
made the contribution described in previous sections, the
Knowlton tests were regrouped into four tests: one of time
knowledge, when conditions existed, or when events happened,
or in what order they happened j
one of place or
geography ;
one testing knowledge of historical persons j
and
the fourth a test of knowledge of causal relations or of the
interaction of events. This meant discarding the record of
each pupil who was absent on the occasion of any one of the
ten testings. In order to compare retention with learning it
meant a further reduction in number of cases due to the
summer's loss. The resulting groups of pupils for whom all
eleven testings were available proved to be less equal in
ability than the original groups. It was necessary to work
with experimental sections f-i-j-m and control sections
G-K-N-O to get groups closely equal in Mental Age. This
left 6 1 in the control group and 72 in the experimental
group. The teacher factor was kept constant as in all other
comparisons.
The results obtained are presented in Table XIX. The
contribution toward the teaching of time is a negative one,
i.e., the experimental group learned less than the control
group by 10 per cent. The former group, however, learned
19 per cent more geography, 23 per cent more about historical
persons, and 35 per cent more about the interaction of
events.
Analysis 75
Table XIX
Comparison of Gains and Retentions on the Knowlton Tests Regrouped
as Tests of Time, Place, Person, and Relation.
E-C
Average 14.9 17.5 2.6zti.i 7.4 8.6 i.2 16
Table XX
Ranking of Time, Place, Person, and Relation, within Each
Teacher's Influence, According to the Size of the Photoplay's
Contribution within These Fields of Historical
Knowledge.
Rank of i
represents the greatest contribution.
Pairs of sections taught by the same teacher
(Experimental section\
Time
Place
Person
Relation
76 Results of Experiment
Table XXI
Ranking, within Each Knowlton Test, of Time, Placey Person, and
Relationy According to the Size of the Photoplay's Contribution
within These Fields.
Rank of i represents the greatest contribution.
Knowlton Tests.
I
Time
Place
Person
Relation
The contributions of the photoplays to the retention of
time, place, person, and relation knowledge are approximately
in direct proportion and approximately equal to the
contributions to learning these concepts. Whatever determines
the relative size of the contributions to acquiring these
kinds of knowledge may be expected to contribute to their
retention in the same way.
The rank order of the contributions to the teaching of
time, place, person, and relation is in sufficient agreement
among the six teachers and five Knowlton tests (shown in
Tables XX and XXI) to suggest the statistical significance
of the order found in Table XIX.
Assuming that it is
statistically significant in this experiment,
of what general significance are these findings? Would
other investigations using these photoplays show similar results?
Or are the obtained results peculiar to the tests used?
Might it not be that the author in making his tests, has chosen
samplings of time, place, person, and relation questions
which in the order named are decreasingly representative of
the whole unit of instruction and increasingly favorable
1
No questions about persons included in this test.
Analysis 77
toward allowing the photoplays to register a contribution?
These same questions may be raised concerning the whole
contribution. In an earlier section the question was raised as
to the validity of the tests for measuring the contribution of
the photoplays, and it was stated that in the opinion of three
of five judges 96 per cent of the questions called for knowledge
worth acquiring in the junior high school, and that 74
per cent of these questions were answered by six or more of
the ten teachers who took the tests.
These criteria have been used as a basis on which to divide
the regrouped tests into worth while and not worth while,
and into parts according to teachers' knowledge.
The time, place, person, and relation questions were each
divided into eight subtests, composed as follows:
1. worth teaching and known by 10 of 10 teachers,
2. worth teaching and known by 9 of 10,
3. worth teaching and known by 8 of 10,
4. worth teaching and known by 7 of 10,
5. worth teaching and known by 6 of 10,
6. worth teaching and known by less than 6 of 10,
7. not worth teaching and known by 6 or more of 10,
8. not worth teaching and known by less than 6 of 10.
Some of these subtests were later combined, but the data
for each of the 32 subtests are reported in Table XXII.
These data were secured from the entire experimental group
consisting of sections f-h-i-j-1-m, and from B-C-G-K-N-O
of the control sections. The gains are expressed in terms of
the number of pupils learning to answer a given group of
questions, out of six sections averaging 3 1
pupils each. There
were normally 35 pupils per section, but on the average but
3 1 were present for both first and second testing.
OO **">
s NO
10 OO
ON
CO
OO *^
10 ON
VO 00
ON
NO
O
00
CO
ON ^
2
!
NO
N O
"tj- 10
ON \O I
WC^ \O M O ON
CO ON ~
8 2 8
o *8
5 5 bo oo t> 10 NO
\o
f-x. OO IO *
Qs I-H M ON
JS OyQ ^ f*
?
O HH ON 10
l^ vo "H*
l^ 00 Is* -*
HH O ON _
00 to
NO OO ON
O oo
^
B B~
<u a,
w o
Analysis 79
Table XXII should be read as follows: Of the 81 Time
Questions, twenty of those calling for knowledge worth
teaching were answered correctly by all of the ten teachers.
There were 356 more correct answers to these twenty questions
in the experimental group after the instruction than
before. In the control group there were 363 more correct
answers on the second test than on the first. Five lines down,
we find that 10 of the 81 time questions called for knowledge
worth teaching which was possessed by 5 or fewer of
the 10 teachers. In the experimental group there were fewer
correct answers to these ten questions than before, by 24. In
the control group there were 34 more correct answers than
on the initial test.
With these data it is
possible to determine the extent to
which the contribution of the photoplays to the learning of
the experimental group was independent of the worthwhileness
of the knowledge taught and was also independent
of the extent to which history teachers have that knowledge.
If the photoplays made their total contribution of 19 per
E gain C gain
cent,
- ,
very largely in teaching material
C gain
which the judges checked as not worth teaching, then the
value of the result of the experiment must be minimized to
that extent. But if the photoplays made their contribution
very largely in teaching material of which teachers are ignorant,
the contribution of the photoplays need not necessarily
be minimized. It is
quite conceivable that the photoplays can
teach some worth-while things which teachers do not know.
The groups B-C-G-K-N-O and f-h-i-j-1-m were used in
their entirety in spite of a ten months mental age handicap
on the part of the experimental group, since for our present
purpose reliability is more important than absolute
80 Results of Experiment
E gain C gain
value. But because the combined for these
Cgain
groups is 7 per cent instead of 19 per cent, this large difference
in mental age has been corrected by increasing all percentages
computed from the data in Table XXII by 12 per
cent, to prevent confusion in reading the results. This rough
correction cannot invalidate any comparison of results among
the subtests.
The resulting percentages are shown in Table XXIII.
Comparisons for material "worth teaching" and "not worth
teaching" may be made between the second and third row.
They may also be made separately within the categories
"known" or "not known" in rows 6 and 8 or in rows 7 and 9.
Likewise, "known" and "not known" may be compared as a
whole in rows 4 and 5 or separately within the categories
"worth teaching" or "not worth teaching" in rows 6 and 7
or rows 8 and 9. The last three rows differentiate the worth
teaching items according to the extent to which the questions
were correctly answered by the ten teachers. The "most frequently
known" questions are those failed by i or none, the
"less frequently known" questions were failed by either 2 or
3 of the iOj and the "least frequently known" were answered
incorrectly by 4 or more of the 10 teachers tested.
The per cents in the last column justify the following
answers to the questions which have been raised, subject only
to the limitations of the criteria employed. The 19 per cent
reported in section VIII is not a padded result due to the inclusion
of questions which one would have to see the photoplays
to answer, nor was it due to the inclusion of questions
on history not worth teaching. If the questions of this sort
which were in the tests had been omitted, the percentage advantage
afforded the experimental group by the photoplays
would have been greater than the 1 9 per cent reported.
Analysis 81
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8 2 Results of Experiment
Within the columns for "time," "place," "person," and
"relation," the table shows the effect of "knownness" quite
consistently (6 times out of 6 comparisons in 3 cases, and 5
out of 6 in the other), but the effect of "worth-whileness" is
not consistent. It looks as if its effect were so slight apart
from "knownness" that the errors and uncontrolled differences
in "knownness" have outweighed it.
After making the table, it was found that the "worth
teaching and known" were more commonly known than the
"not worth teaching and known" and that a similar but not
so large a difference existed between the "worth teaching
and unknown" and the "not worth teaching and unknown."
These differences resulted from the fact that there were
more teachers who knew what was worth teaching than there
were who knew what was not worth teaching. In other
words, there was a somewhat symmetrical distribution of
"knownness" among questions on knowledge "not worth
teaching" and a highly skewed distribution among the
"worth teaching" items.
But all cases of inconsistency involved results for such a
small number of questions that it seemed inadvisable to make
a more precise comparison. Without having done so, it seems
safe to conclude that apart from the extent to which knowledge
is common among history teachers, "worth-whileness"
had very little effect upon the size of the contribution of the
photoplays to the teaching of time, place, person, relation, or
to all combined.
The situation is
quite different for "knownness." The size
of the contribution varies appreciably with the extent to
which teachers commonly possess the knowledge in question.
The photoplays taught some worth-while information
about persons and places of which teachers are commonly
Analysis 8 3
ignorant. They made a greater contribution to teaching such
knowledge as is
frequently possessed by teachers, and their
contribution was greatest to the teaching of those things
about persons and places which teachers most frequently
know. This may be the result of either of two situations or of
both. The most commonly known persons and places may be
the ones best or most fully presented in the photoplays, or
they may be the persons and places which teachers fit into
their teaching. For place information, the variation in contribution
was slight, ranging in the table from 3 to 18 per
cent. For person information, the variation is
greater, rising
from 9 per cent to the teaching of material not commonly
known by teachers, up to a contribution of 72 per cent to the
teaching of knowledge possessed by 90 to 100 per cent of
the teachers tested.
The contribution to the teaching of time knowledge was
similar to the contributions to place and person teaching in
that the contribution varied directly with the extent to which
the knowledge is
commonly possessed by teachers. But where
the photoplays were of some use in teaching some things
about places and persons of which teachers are commonly
ignorant, they placed the experimental group at a disadvantage
in learning that worth-while knowledge of "When?"
or "in what order?" which teachers do not commonly possess.
Only in the case of the most commonly known time
knowledge did this disadvantage disappear.
This is not equivalent to saying that the photoplays taught
no knowledge of time. The contrary is
probably true. Probably
many questions could have been asked about historical
sequence to which the experimental group would have
learned the answers from the photoplays. But they would be
the smaller or more local, and in the seventh grade, less significant
time relationships.
84 Results of Experiment
The inferior showing made by the experimental group on
time questions may mean that only the most commonly
known time knowledge is well portrayed in the photoplays,
or it
may mean that the photoplays cannot teach worthwhile
time knowledge to seventh grade pupils unless the
teacher fits the events of the photoplays and the photoplays
as wholes into the proper time perspective. It might seem
that the experimental group's disadvantage could also be
attributed to its
missing some effective drill given the control
group. But the disadvantage is
greatest when the knowledge
being measured is least frequently possessed by history
teachers. And further, what is least frequently known, is
probably least likely to have been taught in the control
group. In other words, the disadvantage to the experimental
group was greatest on the material least likely to have been
taught to the control group. This suggests that the photoplays
produced confusion. To the extent that there was little
or no teaching in the control group, the photoplays could
put the experimental group to a disadvantage only in this
way. Whatever the explanation, teachers using the photoplays
will do well not to take for granted the teaching of
time by the photoplays. For that matter, the same may be
said with regard to any aspect of their contribution. However
great a contribution the photoplays can make, good teaching
can and should increase it.
The one division of historical knowledge, of the four
studied, to the teaching of which the photoplays made the
largest contribution, independent of the extent of the teachers'
knowledge, is that of organization, or causal relationship,
or the interaction of events. At the bottom of Table
XXIII, going from the most frequently known to the least
frequently known, it
may be noted that the contribution to
Analysis 85
the teaching of "relation" increases, while the contributions
to the teaching of "time," "place," and "person" decrease.
In other words, the photoplays were able to teach worthwhile
relationships which are not commonly known by history
teachers. But in the teaching of the most commonly
possessed knowledge "relation" yields first place to "per-
son."
The irregularity of change in the combined contribution,
from 23 up to 24, and then down to 13, is attributable to the
inverse relation, noted above, between the trend in the "relation"
column and that in the "time," "place," and "person"
columns.
In view of this inverse relationship it is
quite possible that
some of the differences between the rank orders in Tables
XX and XXI, and that in Table XIX, are significant. It is
only reasonable to suppose that the nature of the photoplays'
contribution varied with the teacher, according to her
interest and the relative emphasis placed by her upon time,
place, person, and relation. Probably the nature of the contribution
varied somewhat with the photoplay, and would
vary with the same photoplay according to the teaching
situation.
Reasons have been presented for thinking that the obtained
results are independent of the tests used. The experiment
was so conducted as to involve no special methods. The
teachers were free to use their own methods, subject only to
the experimental control. It is therefore safe to suppose that
the results of the use of these ten photoplays are of general
significance in the seventh grade.
If it had been found that the experimental group's excess
gain had been distributed equally among the time, place,
person, and relation portions of the tests, there would have
86 Results of Experiment
been little basis for deciding whether the group's greater interest
was a result or a cause of the greater gain. But since
the greater gain was of such a nature as to make it hard to
ascribe it to greater interest, the greater interest shown by
more reading and pupil participation may be attributed to
seeing the photoplays and having more to talk about. This
would in turn make for better learning and retention.
The material supplied for voluntary reading was so selected
that with a very few exceptions it could not have contributed
to the greater gain. Whatever the experimental
group learned, because of its
reading more than was read by
the control group, was an indirect contribution to knowledge
which was not measured.
SECTION XIV
Summary Statement of Results and Conclusions.
ON the Knowlton tests, designed to measure enrichment of
a worth-while sort, the experimental group gain exceeded
the control group gain by 19 per cent. The difference is 6.7
times its
probable error, when N equals the number of measurements,
and 2.7 times the probable error when N equals
the number of pupils measured.
In order to show what it means for the experimental
group to have learned 19 per cent more than the control
group, another control group was used of sufficiently greater
ability to permit it to make the same amount of gain as was
made by the experimental group. This control group was
found to be, on the average, over a year more mentally mature,
more than one grade further advanced so far as their
knowledge is concerned, and brighter than the experimental
group by an amount which would rank them 20 in 100 as
compared to a rank of about 60 for the experimental group.
The greater gain of the experimental group consisted of
learning about, in descending order, causal relationships,
persons, and places. The experimental group gained less of
worth-while time knowledge, but learned twice as many
worth-while causal relationships not frequently known by
history teachers.
This enrichment did not take place at the expense of
standardized progress as measured by the Van Wagenen
History Scale, Information C-2. In fact, the progress of the
experimental group, as measured by this scale, was slightly
greater than that made by the control group.
Experimenters in visual education have been criticized,
8 8 Results of Experiment
sometimes justly and sometimes unjustly, for using tests
which magnify the contributions of the aids being measured.
In order to check the tests used in this experiment in this
respect, they were appraised by expert judges and by history
teachers who had not seen the photoplays. Against these
criteria it was found that in so far as results above reported
are in error because the tests used asked for knowledge not
worth acquiring or not commonly possessed by history teachers,
they are in error by minimizing the contribution of the
photoplays.
Retention, over periods varying from three to seven
months, was measured in two ways which may be called relative
and absolute, relative being the per cent retained of what
was gained, and absolute being the retained gain or net gain
after forgetting.
The experimental group retained more, relatively, of
knowledge of relationships, to the learning of which the
photoplays also contributed most. Of person and place
knowledge, the experimental group retained relatively about
the same or a little less. Of time knowledge the experimental
group clearly retained relatively less. Of all combined
they also retained relatively less.
In the so-called absolute units, even though the experimental
group forgot more, they retained more of relation,
person, and place knowledge. Of time knowledge they retained
less. Of all combined they retained more. Compared
with the 1 9 per cent contribution on full gains, the contribution
based on net gains is about 1 2 per cent. The loss was due
chiefly to the forgetting of time knowledge.
There was no review of the teaching of the last experimental
unit because it was followed by the summer vacation.
This is the only unit for which the factor of review is con-
Summary and Conclusions 89
stant. For this unit the experimental group learned 25 per
cent more than the control group and retained 27 per cent
more than the control group retained. The difference in retained
gains in this case is 1.7 times its
probable error.
The control and experimental groups were compared as to
the reading of history in the school library and outside of
school, as to their liking for history as compared with their
liking for six other subjects studied, and as to information
contributed in class and obtained outside. In none of these
measures did the experimental group average exceed the
control group average.
However, as evidence of interest, more weight should be
attached to the findings in the classroom, since they were
obtained under controlled conditions. In the classroom discussion,
the experimental group participated more to the
extent of about 10 per cent and showed more desire to participate.
This was especially true of the more voluntary
participations. The difference upon which the 10 per cent is
based is 3.6 times its
probable error. The experimental group
also voluntarily read more supplementary history material,
their excess being about 40 per cent of the reading of the
control group. A larger per cent of the experimental group
contributed to the measures of both participation and reading
j
and for those contributing, the averages for the experimental
group were higher. The difference upon which the 40
per cent is based is 5.2 times its
probable error.
When one group voluntarily reads more history, and voluntarily
takes part in classroom discussion of history more
extensively than does another group, there is a real sense in
which the first group is more interested in history than the
second, even though this greater interest is not expressed in
the ranking of subjects. In this sense the experimental group
90 Results of Experiment
showed a greater interest in history than was shown by the
control group.
The conclusions of varying significance which may be
drawn respecting the contributions of the photoplays are as
follows:
1. The ten photoplays made a large contribution to the
teaching of an enriched course of study, increasing the pupils'
learning by about 1 9 per cent.
2. This contribution was of such a magnitude that average
children with the aid of the photoplays learned as much as
bright children did without them.
3. The photoplays, while providing this enrichment,
made a small contribution to completing the minimum essentials
in less time. The estimated saving in a forty-week
year was one and one-half weeks.
4. The photoplays were most effective in teaching a
knowledge of interrelationships involving the interaction of
events and of forces. They increased the pupils' learning of
this sort 35 per cent, or about twice as much as they increased
the gaining of all kinds of historic knowledge.
5. The next largest contribution was to the teaching of
historical personages. The increase of learning of this sort
attributable to the photoplays was 23 per cent.
6. The contribution to the teaching of historical geography
was 19 per cent.
7. The photoplays interfered with the teaching of time
relationships. They decreased by 10 per cent the learning of
such relationships.
8. The photoplays effectively taught a worth-while
knowledge of the interaction of events which is not frequently
possessed by history teachers.
9. In the part of the experiment in which there was no
Summary and Conclusions 9 1
review between teaching and retest for retention, the contribution
to retention was greater than, or at least equal to,
the contribution to learning. This was the contribution of
four photoplays to the teaching of the Revolution. The pupils
learned 25 per cent more by the use of the photoplays
and remembered 27 per cent more after three months.
10. In general, the contribution of the photoplays was
not as great to retention as to learning. The pupils learned
about 19 per cent more with the aid of the photoplays but
retained only about 12 per cent more.
11. This was due chiefly to the fact that the photoplays
interfered with the retention of time knowledge to about
twice the extent that they interfered with gaining it.
By seeing
the photoplays, pupils gained 10 per cent less of time
knowledge and retained 20 per cent less.
12. The contribution of the photoplays to the remembering
of historical geography was smaller than their contribution
to learning it.
Pupils learned 19 per cent more and remembered
14 per cent more.
13. The contribution to the retention of knowledge of
persons was also less than the contribution to the gaining of
it. With the aid of the photoplays pupils learned 23 per cent
more and remembered 21 per cent more.
14. The contribution to the retention of knowledge of
historical relationships other than those of time was greater
than the contribution to gaining this knowledge. Of such relationships,
pupils learned 35 per cent more, and remembered
43 per cent more.
15. The effect of the photoplays upon pupil participation
in classroom discussion was in detail as follows:
(a) more recitations were made at the request of the
teacher ;
(b) a larger percentage of the class recited ;
92 Results of Experiment
(c) those reciting did so more often 5
(d) on these occasions more hands were raised;
(e) more remarks were volunteered by the pupils not
directly as a result of a teacher's question, i.e., upon
those occasions when their own desire to participate
more evidently prompted them;
(f) a larger percentage of the group so volunteered;
(g) those volunteering did so more often;
(h) on these occasions more hands were raised for permission
to participate;
(i) more questions were asked;
(j) a larger percentage of the group asked questions;
(k) those who asked questions did so more often;
(1) fewer contributions came in as a result of outside in-
terest;
(m) a larger percentage of the group made such contribu-
tions;
(n) those contributing did so less often.
1 6. The increase in the total number of pupil participations
attributable to the use of the photoplays was 10 per
cent. This increase is
equivalent to forty-six more participations
in a year by each pupil, or about 1,600 more in a
thirty-five-pupil section.
1 7. Seeing the photoplays did not cause the pupils to rank
history appreciably higher among six other subjects studied.
1 8. It did not cause pupils to read more history in the
school library during the school library periods, judging
from the school librarian's record kept during the experi-
ment.
19. It did not cause them to read more history outside of
school, during the experimental period, judging from their
own lists, made from memory at the end of the experiment.
Summary and Conclusions 93
20. It did cause them to read voluntarily more supplementary
history material under controlled classroom condi-
tions:
(a) 40 per cent more reading was done;
(b) a larger percentage of the group chose to read;
(c) the average amount, for those reading, was larger.
The evaluation of these conclusions calls for a consideration
of:
(1) the probabilities of an obtained result having been
due to errors of sampling and of measurement j
(2) granting a real difference, the extent to which precision
of experimental control justifies
the interpretation of
group differences as the influence of the experimental factor,
and equality of results as lack of such influence 5
and
(3) assuming a real difference attributable to the experimental
factor, the educational significance of the fact.
The reader should also remember that the comparison
was not between poor oral instruction and an equal amount
of visual instruction, but between good oral instruction on
the one hand, and on the other, the same amount of instruction,
five-sixths oral and one-sixth visual.
The outstanding findings of the experiment are, in the
opinion of the writers:
(1) that the photoplays contributed materially to the
gaining and retention of worth-while knowledge, particularly
of knowledge of interrelationships, other than time 5
(2) that they produced more pupil participation in classroom
discussion 5
and
(3) that they caused the pupils who saw them to read
voluntarily more supplementary history reading material
under controlled classroom conditions.
APPENDIX I
The Knowlton Tests.
Pilgrims and Puritans.
Date
Name
Grade . . . Division
I
Underscore the correct word or words in the statements below:
1. The Pilgrims began their wanderings (at the time, before,
some time after) Jamestown was settled.
2. (The same, a different) King ruled the land.
3. The Pilgrims lived among strangers about (two years, ten
years, twenty years) and then decided to move once more.
4. The Pilgrims reached America (before, at the same time,
after) the Puritans did.
5. The Pilgrims set sail in (spring, summer, autumn) reaching
the New England coast in (spring, summer, autumn, winter).
6. The voyage was (as long as, shorter than, longer than) the
voyage of Columbus.
7. The Mayflower returned in (1621-1623-1625) leaving the
Pilgrims alone in the new world.
II
Check any of the following events which happened within the
first ten years of the history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony:
.... Settlement of Rhode Island by Roger Williams
.... Persecution of Quakers
. . . .New England Confederation
.... Banishment of Anne Hutchinson
King Philip's War
.... Settlement of Connecticut
Knowlton Tests 95
III
The colonists had many difficulties to overcome before they could
feel that their settlements were permanent. Some of these were
things happening within the colony itself; others came from the
outside. How would you classify the following difficulties which the
Pilgrims and Puritans had to overcome?
Place an I in front of those which you think were inside difficulties,
and an O in front of those which stood for things outside or
attacks from without:
. . . .Thomas Morton's trading post
.... Criticisms of Roger Williams
.... Archbishop Lauďs attempt to secure the Charter
. . . .Claims of Ferdinando Gorges to territory
.... Rule of Harry Vane
. . . .Disease
.... Divine Right idea of the King of England
. . . .Indians
. . .
.Teachings of Anne Hutchinson
IV
On the outline map above indicate by the number at the right the
location of the following places or countries connected with the
movements of the Pilgrims and Puritans.
96 Appendix
The country village where the story of the Pilgrims begins ( I
)
A foreign city where they lived when they started for
America (2)
The last town they saw before they reached the new world (3)
Where they first landed in the new world (4)
Where they actually settled (5)
The most important one of the early Puritan settlements (6)
Where Roger Williams lived before he was driven out of
the colony (7)
The bay where he made his settlement (8)
The rivers named in the Puritan charter which helped to
mark the northern and southern boundaries of their
grant (9)
The part of New England already granted by the King to
Ferdinando Gorges ( IO )
V
Opposite each of the numbers I to 10, write the name of the city
or locality which you have shown on the outline map.
i 6
2 7
3 8
4 9
5 10
VI
One thing which makes the story of the Pilgrims and Puritans so
interesting is the fact that while some things happen in England and
others take place in America, these happenings are often closely con-
nected.
Indicate by using the numbers in front of each item, just where
each of the events took place. Place in column headed "America"
those numbers corresponding to events which took place in America,
and in column headed "England" those which took place in Eng-
land.
(1) Destruction of Merrymount
(2) Banishment of Thomas Morton
(3) Signing of the Mayflower Compact
Knowlton Tests 97
(4) Sir Ferdinando Gorges appointed Governor-General of
New England
(5) Meeting of a Commission to get possession of Puritan
Charter
(6) Thomas Morton aids Sir Ferdinando Gorges
(7) Sir Harry Vane is chosen Governor of Massachusetts Bay
(8) Roger Williams questions the Massachusetts Bay Charter
(9) Order for return of Charter
(10) Anne Hutchinson stirs up trouble
( 1 1
) Order issued for banishing Roger Williams
(12) Religious meetings of Pilgrims broken up by government
officials
(13) Meeting of Pilgrims to make plans for leaving their native
land
America England
VII
Complete the following sentences by placing an (X) before the
statement which you think is correct:
1. Thomas Morton aided Sir Ferdinando Gorges because of
( ) the destruction of Merrymount
( ) the signing of the Mayflower Compact
( ) the order issued for banishing Roger Williams
2. The same authority which appointed Sir Ferdinando Gorges
Governor-General of New England
( ) issued the order for banishing Roger Williams
( ) chose Sir Harry Vane as Governor
( ) ordered the return of the Charter
98 Appendix
3. One reason why the Committee met to get possession of the
Puritan Charter was because
( ) Thomas Morton had been banished
( ) Sir Ferdinando Gorges was appointed GovernorGeneral
of New England
( ) Roger Williams questioned the Massachusetts Bay
Charter
VIII
Put T in front of the number if the sentence is true. Put F if
the sentence is false.
.... I. The crew of the Mayflower sympathized with the efforts
of the Pilgrims to form a settlement.
... .2. The Pilgrims were depending altogether on Miles Standish's
plans for protecting them against the Indians.
.... 3. The English neighbors of the Pilgrims were very friendly.
... .4. The main purpose of the Pilgrims was to find a place of
refuge where they could keep their faith.
... .5. The Pilgrims and their leaders were ready to return to
England after they had gone through their first New England
winter.
... .6. The Puritans had great confidence in their first governor,
John Winthrop.
... .7. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the English
Church, hated the Puritans and tried his best to ruin them.
.... 8. Roger Williams did not have a single friend in the Massachusetts
Bay Colony.
.... 9. The Puritans in America were anxious to have friends in
England who could take their part with the King.
... 10. Roger Williams did not wish to do anything to harm the
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
... II. Winthrop and the Puritan leaders were not worried over
Roger Williams' attacks on the Charter.
... 12. The Puritans were ready to surrender their charter when
asked to do so.
IX
Below you will find a list of words and phrases which might be
used to describe a Puritan or a Pilgrim. Will you place in front of
Knowlton Tests 99
each of those which seem to you to describe best a Puritan an O and
in front of those which seem to you to describe best a Pilgrim an X.
.... Peaceable .... Plain
.... Influential .... Refined
. . .
.Wealthy . . .
.Elegant (in dress or manner)
.... Poor (little money) .... Courtly
.... Educated .... With political ambitions
. . . .Aristocratic
Life in the Colonies.
Date
Name
Grade. . . Division
Below you will find a list of some of the things which you might
have expected to see had you visited one of the early English settlements
in America between 1600 and 1660.
Go through the list and put a V in front of those you might have
seen in Virginia. Then go through the list again and put an N in
front of those you might have seen in New England.
. . . .
( I
) A meetinghouse ....(13) A schoolhouse
.... (2) A post office .... (14) Soldiers on guard
....(3) A gallows ....(15) A mill
.... (4) A flag and flagpole . . . .
(16) Well-kept streets
....(5) Shops and stores ....(17) Stocks
....(6) A well ....(18) A common or green
.... (7) A pillory .... (19) A church
.... (8) A hospital .... (20) A hotel or tavern
.... (9) A drill ground .... (21) A market place
. . .
(10) Wagons . . . .
(22) Cannon for defense
. . .
( 1 1 ) A stockade .... (23) A blockhouse or fort
...(12) A public storehouse ....(24) Sheds for drying tobacco
i oo Appendix
II
What are some of the things you would have expected to see had
you entered the home of one of the colonists between 1607 and
1640?
Put an X in front of each one you would have expected to see.
.... Upholstered chairs .... Fireplace
.... Polished tables .... Tables of rough boards
. . .
.Spinning wheel . . . .Carved bedsteads
.... Beds of boughs and twigs .... Candlesticks
.... Implements for grinding grain .... Glass windows
. . . .Chests . . . .Wooden bowls
.... Metal goblets .... Rough benches
.... Glassware .... Rocking chairs
.... Andirons .... Framed pictures
. . . .Bric-a-brac (vases, ornaments, . . .
.Lamps
etc. ) .... Pine torches
.... Rugs .... Stools
.... Board floors .... Farming tools
. . . .Dried herbs . . . .Window curtains
. . . .Muskets
III
Fill in the missing word wherever there is a blank, or, if there is
a choice of two words, as in Nos. 4, 8, and 1 1, cross out the wrong
word or words.
1. At the time the Jamestown colony was settled the nearest
people of their own nationality lived in
2. Their nearest European neighbors in America were the
who lived in
3. Their nearest Indian neighbors lived in what is now the
state of
4. They had (trouble, no trouble) with the Indians.
5. At the time Plymouth was settled the nearest English neighbors
of the Pilgrims lived in
6. Their nearest European neighbors (not English) in America
were the . . who lived in .
Knowlton Tests i o i
7. Their nearest Indian neighbors lived in what is now the
state of
8. They had (trouble, no trouble) with the Indians.
9. At the time the Massachusetts Bay Colony was settled their
nearest English neighbors lived in
10. Their nearest Indian neighbors lived in what is now the
state of
11. They had (trouble, no trouble) with these Indians.
IV
The early colonists brought with them many of their English
customs and ways of doing things. Others they learned from the
Indians. Still other occupations and ways of doing things were the
result largely of the new country, its resources, and the natural conditions
which they faced.
Before each of the things named below place an E, an I, or a C
to indicate whether it was their English training (E), the Indians
(I), or the country (C) which was largely responsible for their doing
each of the things named or for the way they did them. The
first one is done for you as an illustration.
. ?. .
Dividing the land, because that is the way they divided land in
England.
.... Raising corn .... Cultivating tobacco
.... Building ships .... Spinning and weaving cloth
. . .
.Candle-making . . .
.Fur-trading
. . .
.Shoe-making . . .
.Fishing
.... Laying out the settlement .... Lumbering
.... Building houses
V
Underline the correct answers:
1. The early English settlements were (of medium size, small),
containing (a few, a large number) of houses.
2. The number of people in one of these settlements averaged
(200, 500, 100).
3. The number of women was (large, small) in comparison
with the number of men.
IO2 Appendix
4. The settlements were about the size of a (country village,
fair-sized town, small city).
5. The farms or fields were usually (outside, inside) the settle-
ment.
6. They owned (no, large numbers of, small numbers of)
cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and poultry.
7. They brought over (many, few) of their English customs.
8. Their dress (was like, was different from) that worn in
England.
9. The settlers (readily, with difficulty) accustomed themselves
to the new life.
10. Strict laws with death as a common punishment were in
force in (New England, Virginia).
11. The people managed their affairs in town meetings in (New
England, Virginia).
12. The colonists usually had short hair and wore broadbrimmed,
high-crowned hats with only a band for an ornament
in (New England, Virginia).
13. The colonists usually dressed in rich, gay clothing with
broad collars in (New England, Virginia).
14. The colonists were largely under the control of trading companies
and bodies of merchants in (New England, Virginia,
Maryland).
15. Charters guaranteed to all the colonists the rights of Englishmen
in (Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth, Connecticut,
Virginia, Maryland).
1 6. A colonist wrote that "Our men were destroyed with cruel
diseases, so they died sometimes two or three of a day." He
might have been describing conditions in (Jamestown, Plymouth,
Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, Maryland).
17. "Many were the assaults and ambuscades of the savages" in
(Jamestown, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut,
Maryland).
1 8. "They came to that misery that some starved and died with
cold and hunger" in (Jamestown, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Bay, Connecticut, Maryland).
Pocahontas and John Rolfe, after their wedding in the Jamestown
church, surrounded by admiring colonists.
{From "Jamestown," one of The CJironicles of America Photoplays}
Knowlton Tests i o 3
Peter Stuyvesant.
Date
Name
Grade Division
I
Below are eight sentences about persons who were more or less
closely connected with the story of how New Netherland became
English. Complete the sentences by selecting from the list of adjectives
the one which you thing best describes the attitude of each, and
write the number corresponding to the adjective in the blank space
provided.
1. The King of England was ....
2. Peter Stuyvesant was ....
3. The members of the Dutch West India Company were ....
4. The English settlers of New Amsterdam were ....
5. The Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam were ....
6. The London merchants were ....
7. The members of the court of Charles II were ....
8. The brother of the English King was ....
List of Adjectives to choose from
1. ambitious 9. short-sighted (that is, not looking ahead
2. obstinate into the future)
3. easily influenced 10. dissatisfied (or discontented)
4. tyrannical n. enterprising
5. liberty-loving 12. far-sighted
6. peace-loving 13. indifferent
7. easy-going 14. slightly interested
8. contented 15. keenly interested
II
Below are eight sentences to be completed, and under them are
ten things these people might have said. Complete the sentences by
selecting the best saying for each one. You need not copy the saying,
just write its number in the blank space.
1
04 Appendix
1. The King of England ....
2. Peter Stuyvesant ....
3. The members of the Dutch West India Company ....
4. The English settlers of New Amsterdam ....
5. The Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam ....
6. The London merchants ....
7. The members of the court of Charles II ....
8. The brother of the English King ....
Sayings
1. Freedom is not to be found under the flag of the Dutch West
India Company.
2. The people manage their own affairs in the English colonies.
3. The people do not need to know what is going on.
4. We are simply doing our duty and acting as our conscience
tells us.
5. The people are not competent to manage their own affairs.
6. Business comes first.
7. Trade follows the flag.
8. English trade is seriously threatened.
9. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with our pleasure.
10. We are ready to do anything within our power.
Ill
Underline the correct word or words in each of the statements
below.
New Amsterdam was founded (before, about the same time,
after) the English had made their first permanent settlement. It had
been founded about (40, 20, 10) years when it was taken by the
English. (James I, Charles I, Charles II) was then ruling England.
By this time (3, 6, 8) of the thirteen English colonies had been
founded. Within the next (25, 50, 70) years after its surrender
the other colonies were founded. Peter Stuyvesant had been its ruler
for almost (5, 10, 20) years when it was taken over by the English.
New Sweden was added to New Netherland (before, during
the time, after) he was governor.
Knowlton Tests 1
05
IV
For the statements (a) to (e) below, some true causes are given
and some false ones. Mark each one T for true and F for False.
(a) The English King planned to take New Netherland because
( )
the Navigation Acts failed to check smuggling
( ) Holland was at war with England
( ) the control of the Atlantic seacoast depended upon the
control of the Hudson
( ) the Dutch were people belonging to a different
church
(b) The settlers of New Amsterdam in 1664 were ready for a
change of rulers because
( ) trade was not good enough
( ) the Stuart kings believed in divine right
( ) Peter Stuyvesant closely supervised the affairs of the
colony
( ) the control of the West India Company was too
strict
(c) Peter Stuyvesant finally handed over the colony to the English
because
( ) the English fleet defeated the Dutch fleet
( ) the people of the colony objected to fighting
( ) the Dutch West India Company ordered him to do so
( ) the people of the colony spoke so many languages
(d) The possession of New Netherland was important to the English
because
( ) they desired the control of the Hudson River
( ) they desired the control of the fur trade
( ) they wished to enforce the Navigation Acts
( ) they feared the attacks of the Indians
( ) they had an interest in trade
( ) they had established colonies themselves
(e) The possession of New Netherland was important to the Dutch
because
( ) they desired the control of the Hudson River
( ) they desired the control of the fur trade
106 Appendix
( ) they wished to enforce the Navigation Acts
( ) they feared the attacks of the Indians
( ) they had an interest in trade
( ) they had established colonies themselves
V
Some of the things which an English visitor to a Dutch settlement
might have noticed are listed below. Make an X in front of
those which he would have recognized as decidedly "Dutch."
.... A blockhouse or fort .... Rooms with sanded floors
.... Taverns and drinking places .... Rooms with beamed ceilings
.... Flocks of geese .... Skating parties
.... Pigs roaming the streets .... Women working on em....
Poultry and chickens broidery frames
.... Children spinning .... Well-kept yards and flower
.... Wagons drawn by horses beds
. . . .
Hourglasses in use as clocks .... Fireplaces with andirons
.... Carts drawn by dogs .... A village common or green
. . . .Windmills
VI
Note that the map shows that part of the Atlantic coast which extends
from Maine to Florida.
(a) Draw a solid line (like this ) along that part of the Atlantic
coast already settled by the English when New Netherland
was attacked.
(c)
1
Using the numbers below, I to 8, locate on the map
1. The river which marked the eastern boundary of the land
claimed by the Dutch.
2. The river which marked the southern boundary of New
Netherland when captured by the English.
3. The river on which the Dutch made the most of their set-
tlements.
4. The most important Dutch settlement.
5. The nearest territory to the New England settlements
which was held by the Dutch at the time of its capture.
1
As the test was used, item (b) ,
because of an error in copying, was an
exact duplicate of (a), and was therefore omitted.
io8 Appendix
6, 7, 8. Three English colonies formed from New Nether-
land,
(d) Complete the following sentences:
1. The river located in No. I was
2. The river located in No. 2 was
3. The river located in No. 3 was
4. The settlement in No. 4 was
5. The nearest Dutch territory in No. 5 was
6. The three colonies in Nos. 6,7,8 were , ,
The Struggle Between the French and English for
North America.
Date
Name
Grade . . . Division . ,
Underline the correct word or words in each of the statements
below:
Quebec was settled in 1608. About (fifty years, one hundred
years, one hundred and fifty years) after this the French by building
forts were threatening the advance of the English westward
across the Alleghanies. It was about (ten, five, three) years before
the final battle that the English government realized how serious the
situation was and sent help. Braddock's defeat took place (before,
after) they had been aroused to the danger. It was about (ten, five,
three) years after Washington's return from his mission warning
the French, that the treaty of peace was signed settling the question
of the English mastery of North America.
II
Fill in the missing words, one word in a blank:
When the final struggle opened for the possession of North
America the French obtained the land bounded on the East by
Knowlton Tests 1
09
and on the west by The English had settlements
as far north as the present state of and as far
south as the present state of The French first entered
North America by way of the river and gradually made
their way inland building forts along the river, the
,
and the river. Finally they followed
the tributaries of the river to their sources, threatening
the English settlements in what are now the states of
and Their principal fort here was Fort
and this was located on land claimed by the colony of
It was at the junction of the river and the
river. Their principal strongholds in Canada were
and The defeat of the French left the English
in possession of North America from the Atlantic Ocean on
the east to the on the west. When the war
opened the continent of North America was divided between
nations and when it closed it was divided between
nations.
Ill
Put a cross before the adjectives which best describe the French
in America at that time.
.... I. Protestant ... .8. Self-confident
... .2. Catholic ... .9. Generous
... .3. Loyal subjects of the ... 10. Quick of speech and acKing
tion
... .4. Liberty-loving . . . II. Venturesome
... .5. Slow ... 12. Cautious
... .6. Friendly with Indians . . .
13. Over-bearing
... .7. Ready to take orders ... 14. Tolerant
from their superiors
IV
Put T in front of the number of the sentence if the sentence is
true. Put F if the sentence is false.
.... I.
England would probably not have won had it not been for
the work of the Navy.
no Appendix
... .2. The English Government cooperated with the colonies
throughout the struggle for North America.
.... 3. The French Government was not interested in New France
nor its fate.
... .4. There was everywhere in New France a fine spirit of cooperation
shown between people in charge of affairs.
....5. There were colonists in America who were thoroughly
alive to the dangers from the French.
... .6. The final success of England was due primarily to the action
of the government and to the aid which it sent.
... .7. Wolfe was a much finer type of man than Montcalm.
... .8. After Quebec was taken the situation was still critical.
.... 9. When the French began to plant forts in their neighborhood
the English colonists sought to avoid war with them.
. . . IO. Even though he was defeated Washington was commended
for his part in the campaign against the French.
V
Below are some qualities which were shown by the leading men
in the struggle between France and England. Answer the questions
by selecting from the list below the qualities which you think best
describe the men, and write the numbers corresponding to them in
the blank spaces provided.
I. What three qualities did Washington best illustrate? ....
2. What three qualities did Pitt best illustrate? ....
3. What three qualities did Montcalm best illustrate?
4. What three qualities did Wolfe best illustrate? .
5. What two qualities did Dinwiddie best illustrate?
Knowlton Tests 1 1 1
6. What two qualities did the Canadian governor, Vaudreuil,
best illustrate? .
List of Qualities to choose from
1. Resourcefulness 7. Sense of responsibility
2. Energy 8. Strong sense of duty
3. Anxiety 9. Daring
4. Self-confidence 10. Consideration for others
5. Spirit of self-sacrifice n. Lack of cooperation
6. Vision of future, or foresight 12. Determination
The Revolution.
Date
Name
Grade . . . Division
I
Some of the events which stirred up trouble between England and
the colonies and finally led to war, took place before General Gage
was placed in charge of the government of Massachusetts in 1774.
Others took place afterward. In the column headed A or B below,
place a B for the events which took place before Gage was placed
in charge, and an A for those events which took place after he was
placed in charge.
Order A or B
.... I. The Boston Massacre ....
.... 2. The Stamp Act ....
.... 3. The Election of Delegates to a Continental
Congress ....
... .4. The Boston Tea Party ....
... .5. The attempt to capture Adams and Hancock ....
.... 6. Changing the capital and seat of government
of Massachusetts
1 1 2 Appendix
....7. The destruction of supplies gathered by the
Americans ....
.... 8. The Quartering Act ....
II
The events listed above are not in the right order. Arrange them
in the order in which they happened by writing, in the column
headed Order in No. I, number I before the one which happened
first, number 2 before the one which happened second, etc.
Ill
Underline the correct word or words in each of the statements
below.
It was about (ten, five, three) years after the first of the grievances
between England and her colonies which followed the conquest
of New France, that they actually went to war to settle their
differences.
Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense" was published (before,
after) Lexington was fought. This was (five years before,
two years before, the same year that) the Declaration of Independence
was signed.
The following events had already taken place when the Declaration
of Independence was signed: (Bunker Hill, hiring of Hessians,
quartering of soldiers, battle of Trenton, Burgoyne's surrender,
Arnolďs treason).
George Rogers Clark's conquest of the Northwest Territory was
(before, after) the Battle of Saratoga. After Saratoga the scene of
the principal fighting between the English and Americans was in
(New England, the Middle colonies, the Southern colonies).
Benedict Arnolďs treason was (some time before, just before,
just after) the Yorktown campaign had begun.
IV
Fill in the missing words, one word in a blank:
George Rogers Clark was acting for the governor of
when he set out to drive the English from the Northwest Territory.
When he set out, the most western settlement which this
colony had planted was in what is now the state of He
Knowlton Tests 1 1
3
set out from He first captured
He moved from here through a flooded country to The
British governor of the Northwest Territory had his headquarters
at The territory which George Rogers Clark won from
the English included the present five states of , ,
Washington and his army had to cross the colonies of
, , ,
and ,
in order to join
the other American forces before Yorktown.
Because of the opposition in Massachusetts the English government
removed the capital and seat of government from
to
The first battle of the Revolution was fought at The
last important battle was fought at
The Declaration of Independence was signed at
The attempt to capture Hancock and Adams was at
The French established their headquarters in America at
in the colony of
Sir Henry Clinton directed the movements of the British armies
from his headquarters in
V
Put T in front of the number of the sentence if the sentence is
true. Put F if the sentence is false.
.... I. The soldiers in Boston were entirely to blame for the Boston
Massacre.
.... 2. There was a great deal of opposition in connection with
the election of delegates to the Continental Congress at
Philadelphia.
.... 3. The colonists were united in their desire for a war with
England.
... .4. Many of the people of Boston cooperated with Gage and
his soldiers and helped them all they could.
... .5. It was the poor people, not the rich nor well-to-do who
were opposed to England and caused the Revolution.
... .6. When it came to declaring their independence from England,
the American people were united.
1 1
4 Appendix
....7. The Declaration of Independence could not have been
passed if one colony had voted against it.
.... 8. Soldiers fighting on the American side not only deserted,
but often refused to obey their officers.
.... 9. The British army had plenty of money to get what they
wanted, while the Americans had little.
. . . 10. The war was practically won fully two years before the
final struggle at Yorktown.
... II. The success of Cornwallis depended largely upon the cooperation
of Sir Henry Clinton.
. . .12. The French rendered effective aid to the American army
as soon as the Treaty of Alliance was signed.
... 13. The war was decided on land without the use of a fleet.
... 14. Governor Hamilton was too much of a gentleman to have
been guilty of the charges brought against him that he encouraged
his Indian allies to scalp wounded Americans.
VI
Below are given the names of six men who were prominent characters
in the Revolutionary War, and under them are six sentences
which describe them. After each sentence write the name of the
man who best fits the description.
1. Samuel Adams 4. Thomas Paine
2. John Hancock 5. John Dickinson
3. Benjamin Franklin 6. George Rogers Clark
I. When the news of the battle of Bunker Hill came, and the
Continental Congress wanted to draw up a paper justifying
their rebellion, he was opposed to any strong statement.
2. A wealthy merchant, apparently fond of dress and willing to
sacrifice his business for his beliefs.
3. A man who was writing and talking to persuade his fellows
that they would be better off if altogether free from England.
Knowlton Tests 115
4. A man who was willing to take chances; a natural leader of
his fellow men.
5. A man whose chief desire was to be a leader of men; successful
in making others do as he wanted them to.
6. A rather jolly old man who usually was trying to smooth
things over and to get people to agree with each other.
VII
Below are several reasons which a man of 1776 might have given
for being either a Whig or a Tory. Mark with a W all those which
he might have given for being a Whig. Mark with a T those which
he might have given for being a Tory.
.... I. Because of interference with his trade.
... .2. Because of his admiration and respect for the British form
of government.
... .3. Because of the possibility of being freed from debt.
.... 4. Because of the possibility of his losing his property.
... .5. Because of his fear of war and love of peace.
... .6. Because of the acts of injustice of the English government.
... .7. Because of the protection offered by the British govern-
ment.
.... 8. Because he was an officeholder in the colonies.
.... 9. Because he belonged to the working class.
Instructions for Testing.
PASS papers, and read the following directions:
"Write your name, grade and section, and the date, on the first
page, and write your name on each of the other pages."
(For the first testing)
"Professor Knowlton made this test to find out what you know
1 1 6 Appendix
about (read title), and I want you to read every question
carefully and answer as many as you can."
(For the second testing)
"The test today is to find out how much you have learned about
(read title), and I want you to read every question carefully
and answer as many as you can."
(For both first and second testing)
"The test is divided into parts and the directions are on the paper
for each part. Read the directions carefully and ask no questions,
unless you can't read the print or don't understand the directions."
"If you work steadily you'll have time to try every question."
Collect papers as they are finished.
Messengers from England arrive in the colony with orders from
Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the royal Governor General of
New England.
(From "The Puritans," one of The Chronicles of America Photoplays}
APPENDIX II
Selections for Voluntary Reading.
Morton's Story of How the Puritans Came To Attack
His Settlement.
THE inhabitants of Pasonagessit (old name of the settlement
which they were having changed to Merrymount) did devise among
themselves to have it
performed in a solemn manner with revels
and merriment after the old English custom; prepared to set up a
Maypole upon the festival day of Philip and Jacob; and therefore
brewed a barrel of excellent beer and provided a case of bottles to
be spent, with other good cheer, for all comers of that day. And because
they would have it in a complete form, they had prepared a
song fitting to the time and the present occasion. And upon Mayday
they brought the Maypole to the place appointed, with drums, guns,
and pistols, and other fitting instruments, for that purpose; and
there erected it with the help of savages, that came thither for that
purpose to see the manner of our revels. A goodly pine tree of eighty
feet long was reared up, with a pair of buck's horns nailed on, somewhat
near unto the top of it; where it stood as a fair mark for directions;
how to find out the way to mine Host of Ma-re Mount.
And because it should more fully appear to what end it was
placed there, they had a poem made, which was fixed to the Maypole,
to show the new name confirmed upon that plantation; which
although it were made according to the occurrence of the time, it
puzzled the Separatists most pitifully to explain it. The setting up
of this Maypole was a lamentable spectacle to the precise Separatists
that lived at New Plymouth. They termed it an idol; yea, they
called it the calf of Horeb; and stood at defiance with the place,
threatening to make a woeful mount and not a merry mount.
There was likewise a merry song made which was sung with a
chorus, every man bearing his part; which they performed in a
dance, hand in hand about the Maypole, while one of the company
1 1 8 Appendix
sang and filled out the good liquor. One verse of the song ran like
this:
"Make green garlands, bring bottles out;
And fill sweet nectar, freely about,
Uncover thy head and fear no harm,
For here's good liquor to keep it warm."
This harmless mirth was much disapproved of by the precise
Separatists . . . and from that time they sought occasion against
my honest Host of Ma-re Mount to overthrow his undertakings and
to destroy his plantation quite and clean.
1. Upon what day did the inhabitants of Pasonagessit plan a
festival?
2. What did they put near the top of the pole?
3. What was the new name of the plantation?
4. Who disapproved of the merrymaking?
The Voyage of the Mayflower.
FINALLY, 102 persons with their belongings crowded into the Mayflower,
and on September 16, 1620, the Pilgrims for the third time
bade farewell to their friends on the shores, as Captain Jones assured
them that they would not return again.
During the first half of the journey the vessel only encountered
the prevailing westerlies. Every day at sea life was about the same.
In the forward part of the boat were the poultry, goats, and swine
that had to be fed. The crew and passengers did not have an opportunity
to cook much food. You can understand that a frying pan,
held over a bed of charcoal in a box of sand, was inadequate to supply
the necessary food conducive to good health. Consequently uncooked
food, lack of balanced meals and fresh fruit, and insufficient
exercise produced numerous disorders that could not be corrected
during the long voyage.
In midocean the tempestuous waves tossed the vessel in such a
manner that one of the main beams in the center of the ship
cracked, and the peerless captain believed at one time that it
might
Voluntary Readings 1 1
9
be necessary to return again. The crew and the leaders among the
passengers held a conference at which it was agreed to repair the
break. Very fortunately one of the band possessed a large iron screw
that he had brought with him from Holland. The crew managed to
raise the main beam with jacks and to force the screw in the dislocated
timber. Needless to say there was great rejoicing when the
fractured timber was repaired.
One morning the captain peered into the distance and noticed the
black heads of thunderclouds. Soon a terrific storm broke, the rain
coming down in torrents accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning.
When the storm reached the zenith of its fury, John Howland,
a sturdy passenger, was washed overboard by the violent waves.
But just before this accident the coil of the topsail halyards was
swept over the deck of the vessel and trailed in the water, and very
fortunately John Howland caught a firm grip on the coil and hung
on until the storm abated. Then he was brought to the deck with a
boat hook. As a result of this experience he was quite ill for a long
time, but according to records he was the last of the Pilgrim company
to die.
1. Who was Captain of the Mayflower?
2. What was the matter with their food?
3. With what did they repair the broken beam?
4. What was it that kept John Howland from being lost at sea?
The First Thanksgiving.
GOVERNOR BRADFORD was so satisfied with the first harvest that he
desired to set apart a day for special thanksgiving. To provide additional
meat for the feast the governor instructed four hunters to kill
wild fowl for the occasion. These men hunted incessantly until they
procured enough birds to supply the entire colony for a week. Inasmuch
as the rich harvest was due to the help of the friendly Indians,
the colonists decided to extend a cordial invitation to Massasoit and
his braves to take part in the feast attending the first Thanksgiving.
I2O Appendix
"Pleasantly rose the sun the next morning over the little village"
of Plymouth where the first Thanksgiving was to be held. For this
time of year the November morning was remarkably fresh and
beautiful. Underneath the oaks and chestnuts stood the long tables,
loaded with good things in preparation for the celebration of the
successful harvest.
In the distance could be seen Massasoit with his ninety companions
moving slowly among the saplings. Foremost marched the great
sachem, conducting his men in single file to this remarkable Thanksgiving
feast. The king wore fur of beaver about his loins, moccasins
of deer skin on his feet, and peacock feathers in his hair. Aside
from being oiled, his face was painted a bright red, while a string
of bone beads, which encircled his neck, distinguished him as chief.
In the rear of the file were Indians who bore venison, wild turkey,
and corn.
As the Indians approached, a four-pounder on an adjacent hilltop
saluted the invited guests and formally opened the festivities of
the day. Following this salute the Pilgrims formed lines, three
abreast, and marched solemnly behind Elder Brewster, who wore a
long camlet coat and carried his Bible. The party proceeded to the
log meeting house, where the Thanksgiving services were held.
At the conclusion of the exercises the Pilgrims and Indians took
their places at the long table that was spread with roast turkey, baked
clams, broiled fish, boiled squash, pumpkin pie, and roast venison.
After dinner the Pilgrims, in order to entertain their visitors, played
numerous games, but the Indians did not seem to enjoy these sports,
so amused themselves by singing, howling, dancing, and playing
their own Indian games.
The Thanksgiving festival continued for three days, and has been
repeated regularly each year for more than a century.
1. Why did the colonists invite the Indians?
2. What three things did the Indians bring with them?
3. After saluting the Indians, what did the colonists do next?
4. Did the Indians play games with the Pilgrims?
In the cabin of the "Mayflower" in November, 1620, the Pilgrims
assemble and draft the Compact, the basis of government
in the New World.
(From "The Pilgrims," one of The Chronicles of America
Voluntary Readings 1 2 1
Roger Williams Describes His Flight and the
Founding of Providence.
IN 1670 Roger Williams wrote a letter to a friend and told him
some of his adventures, saying:
"When I was unkindly and unchristianly, as I believe, driven
from my house and land and wife and children (in the midst of
New England winter, about 35 years past) at Salem, that ever honored
Governor Mr. Winthrop privately wrote to me to steer my
course to Narragansett Bay and Indians for many high and heavenly
and public ends, encouraging me from the freeness of the land from
any English claims or patents. I took his prudent motion as an hint
and voice from God and waving all other thoughts and motions, I
steered my course from Salem (though in winter snow which I feel
yet) unto these parts, wherein I may say Peniely that is, I have seen
the face of God." Here he was evidently thinking of the story of
how Jacob wrestled with the angel, as described in the Old Testament.
When the struggle was over Jacob called the place Peniel,
saying, "I have seen the face of God."
"I first pitched, and began to build and plant at Secunk, now
Rehoboth" (he is apparently still thinking of the wanderings of the
Jews and the names of their old cities), "but I received a letter from
my ancient friend Mr. Winslow, then Governor of Plymouth, professing
his own and others' love and respect to me, yet lovingly advising
me, since I was fallen into the edge of their bounds and they
were loath to displease the Bay, to remove but to the other side of
the water, and then he said I had the country free before me and
might be as free as themselves and we should be loving neighbors
together. These were the joint understandings of these two eminently
wise and Christian governors and others, in their day, together
with their counsel and advice as to the freedom and vacancy of this
place, which in this respect and many other providences of the most
holy and only wise, I called Providence"
1. Where did Governor Winthrop advise Roger Williams to go?
2. What time of year was it when he went?
122 Appendix
3. Why didn't he stay at Rehoboth?
4. How much farther did he have to go from Rehoboth to be on
free land? .
How Sir Harry Vane Happened To Come to America.
HARRY'S father was a very famous man at court. He had been
knighted by the King when he was only twenty-two. The King had
so much confidence in him that he had made him treasurer of the
young Prince Charles. When Charles came to the throne, Harry
Vane naturally received a great many honors at the King's hand. He
represented England at the court of the King of Denmark, and also
at the court of the great King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.
Little Harry might be said to have been born with a golden spoon
in his mouth. He went to one of the best boys' schools and to Oxford
University. He left college when he was a boy of nineteen and
was sent by his father to serve the English ambassador at Vienna.
When he returned his father's friends expected that he would become
a prominent man at the King's court, but his father was
surprised to find that the young man had already "turned Puritan."
He did all he could to try to persuade his son to give up his beliefs,
but all in vain. There is a story that his father left him alone purposely
in a room one day where he was certain to come in close contact
with the King, hoping that the young man would be very much
taken by the dignity and grace of King Charles I. The young man,
however, hid himself behind the curtains. The King, entering and
seeing the curtains move, poked with his cane to see who was there,
until Harry was forced to make his appearance and left the room in
considerable confusion.
Young Harry now took a resolution not at all strange under the
circumstances. Fixed as he was in his views, there was no career for
him in England. How irksome life would be in the presence of his
disappointed father, of the King whom he had avoided, and the
Church of England officers whom he had defied! Of roaming on
the continent he had had enough. Why not try New England? It
was almost like leaving the planet to go there, but he was at the age
Voluntary Readings 1 2 3
when distance and difficulty do not appall. Harry Vane set his face
westward. His father remonstrated, but it is said the King interfered
to remove obstacles. When he was just twenty-three, a correspondent
of Sir Thomas Wentworth writes: "Sir Henry Vane's eldest
son hath left his father, his mother, his country and that fortune
which his father would have left him, and is, for conscience' sake,
gone into New England, there to lead the rest of his days."
I. Harry's father represented England at what two courts?
2. How old was Harry when he left college?
3. When Harry returned from Vienna what was there about him
that surprised his father?
4. Where did Harry go when he was twenty-three years old?
The Pilgrims' First Meeting with Indians.
ON Wednesday, December 1 6, the party set out in a westerly direction
and sailed in their shallop along an unknown shore, studded
with wave-worn and wind-worn bowlders. The spray from the icy
waters "froze on their clothes and made them many times like coats
of iron."
As they approached the irregular shore line, they perceived a
dozen or more Indians standing around a large fish. When the
Indians saw the strange craft, they disappeared in the forest. The
bay was so shallow that it was necessary to wade through the cold
water in order to reach the shore. At this place, within the shadow
of a wooded slope, they set up their camp for the night. The chilly
December blasts, the smoke from the Indian encampments on the
hillside, and the stormy clouds of a New England winter did not
dampen their ardor and enthusiasm. Early the next morning they
searched the rocky shore where they noticed the Indians the day before.
To their great surprise they discovered a dead grampus which
the savages had been cutting up for food. The grampus is about onehalf
the size of a Greenland whale, or about 20 to 30 feet in
length. The Pilgrims named this place "Grampus Bay," now known
as Eastham.
124 Appendix
They spent another night in the open. Upon awaking the next
morning, little did the Pilgrims think they would have a genuine
skirmish with the Indians. Breathlessly the sentinels rushed into
camp, shouting: "Indians! Indians!" Before the men seized their
guns, a shower of arrows greeted them. It was Captain Miles
Standish who, with his clumsy flintlock musket, returned the fire.
Then in unison the others sent bullets from their matchlocks. The
Indians, afraid of the unaccustomed noises, darted into the evergreens,
yelling and howling.
Fortunately, as a result of this attack from the foe, the brave men
were uninjured. An examination of the arrows strewn about the encampment
showed that some were headed with brass, a few with
harts' horns, and others with eagles' claws. The company remarked
about the brass and wondered at the absence of flint arrowheads that
the Indians were supposed to use. It did not take Captain Standish
and his warriors long to embark from the scene of battle. As they
climbed into the shallop from the icy water, the Pilgrims glanced
back at the scene of excitement and named it "The First En1.
When the Indians first saw the Pilgrims what did they do?
2. Why did the Pilgrims have to wade ashore?
3. Did the Indians attack the Pilgrims in the night?
4. Did the Pilgrims stay where they had landed another night?
William Bradford Describes the Difficulties in
Escaping to Holland.
THE next spring they made another attempt to get over (to Holland),
with a Dutchman who was by appointment to take them in
between Grimsby and Hull, where there was a large common a
good way distant from any town. The women and children, with
the goods, were sent to the place in a small bark which they had
Voluntary Readings 125
hired for that end; and the men were to meet them by land. But it
so fell out, that they were there a day before the ship came, and the
sea being rough, and the women very sick, prevailed with the seamen
to put into a creek hard by, where they lay on ground at low
water. The next morning the ship came, but they were fast, and
could not stir till about noon. In the meantime, the ship master,
perceiving how the matter was, sent his boat to be getting the men
aboard whom he saw ready, walking about the shore. But after the
first boat full was got aboard, and she was ready to go for more, the
master espied a great company, both horse and foot, with bills and
guns and other weapons; for the country was raised to take them.
The Dutchman seeing that, swore his country's oath, "sacremente,"
and having the wind fair, weighed his anchor, hoisted sails, and
away. But the poor men which were aboard were in great distress
for their wives and children, which they saw thus to be taken, and
were left destitute of their help; and themselves also, not having a
cloth to shift them with, more than they had on their backs, and
some scarce a penny about them, all they had being aboard the bark.
It drew tears from their eyes, and anything they had they would
have given to have been ashore again; but all in vain, there was no
remedy, they were thus sadly parted. The men on the ship endured
a fearful storm at sea, but in the end reached their desired haven.
The men on shore managed to escape. But pitiful it was to see the
case of the poor women in this distress; what weeping and crying on
every side, some for their husbands that were carried away; others
not knowing what should become of them and their little ones.
. . . After they had been conveyed from one constable to another,
their captors were glad to be rid of them upon any terms. . . . But
in the end they all reached Holland.
I. How were the women and children sent to the place from
which they were to embark for Holland?
2. How did the 'men go?
3. Why did the ship sail before all were on?
4. Were these men and women finally successful in reaching
Holland? .
126 Appendix
How the Pilgrims Left Their Amsterdam Homes and
Went to Leyden.
THE Pilgrims loaded their boats in one of the small waterways of
the city of Amsterdam. The little flotilla was freighted with household
goods and crowded with plainly and soberly dressed English
people, conspicuous among whom was the dignified John Robinson.
In clerical garb, wearing a cap which looked like a watermelon cut
in half, with perhaps a little band of lace around the bottom, and
wearing also a ruff around his neck, he was easily recognized.
Brewster, a man in middle life, and Bradford, a young man of
nineteen, were also prominent. The women and children enjoyed
the outing in the lovely springtime as they passed through the garden
region of Europe, where even at that early time the tulips were gorgeous
and the other cultivated flowers magnificent. The country
looked like a great checkerboard of green and white, for there were
acres of linen bleaching on the grass, where the skilful bleachers,
handling their wooden shovels as sprinklers, made Haarlem linen
famous throughout the world.
The journey was along the Haarlem Canal until they got into
the Haarlem Meer or lake. With the fields so green, the mild-eyed
cows grazing everywhere, the birds in immense numbers flitting
about, it was an enjoyable trip both to the parents and children.
Everywhere the great flat landscape was dominated by the church
spire. In the distance on their left were the shining waters of the
Zuyder Zee. On the right rose the great sand hills or dunes which
form Hollanďs wall of defense against the ocean. After these had
been left far behind, probably late in the afternoon, they came in
sight of the turreted gates and walls of Leyden, gay with the
orange, white, and blue flag of the republic, and they saw the great
church of St. Peter, under the shadow of which was to be their
home.
As they drew nearer Leyden they turned aside from the lake into
narrower and smaller bits of water until they came to the Rhine
which flows through and incloses Leyden. At the Canal Gate they
were challenged by the guard who finding their papers were all
right, admitted them. They then went on to take up quarters which
Voluntary Readings 127
they had probably already selected in the northwestern part of the
city. Some of their number who had already found employment
there were present to welcome the newcomers. Leyden was a manufacturing
center for all kinds of woven goods; and next to finding
peace and quiet to serve God, the idea of these Pilgrims on their
second journey was to get work, that they might have food and the
comforts of life.
1. Name three men who were conspicuous among the Pilgrims.
2. How did they travel from Amsterdam to Leyden?
3. How did the guard at the gate know that they had a right to
enter the city of Leyden?
4. Next to finding peace and quiet to serve God, what did they
want in Leyden?
How Indentured Servants Were Treated.
THE number of bond-servants, even in New England, seems to
have been large, and the supply was much greater in the wheat and
tobacco countries. In 1670 Virginia had 6,000 English servants,
while there were yet but 2,ooo negroes. As the servants were freed
in four years, this number represented a very large importation.
The treatment of servants was as various as the character of the
masters. At first, while the country was new and the population
sparse, there was a sort of good-fellowship between the faithful
servant and his master's family, and there were not wanting those
who granted many indulgences to their bondmen.
But even in 1629 De Vries, the Dutch traveler, saw English men
and women staked and lost at cards, and he bluntly told the Virginians
that he had "never seen such work in Turk or Barbarian."
And when there had been brought over a multitude of "kids," as
they were called, the decline in the average character of the servants
and the incoming of negro slaves rendered the bondman's lot
less tolerable, especially when the cultivation of a staple required
large gangs of convicts and other immigrants of desperate fortunes
and reckless temper.
128 Appendix
It was an age of flogging; criminals, soldiers, sailors, pupils,
children, and now and then even wives, were thought the better for
a whipping. One ought hardly to be surprised, therefore, at the
numerous and cruel whippings of English servants, women as well
as men, who were whipped naked with hickory rods and washed
with brine; the punishment continuing sometimes at intervals for
hours, or being renewed day after day. There were also in use, by
masters and overseers, thumbscrews, sweatings, and other such
deviľs devices. The food allowed was sometimes a scant diet of
Indian meal. The sick servant was neglected lest the doctor's charge
should exceed the value of his remaining service; and one thrifty
master required a servant, sick of a mortal disease, to dig his own
grave in advance, in order to save the other men's time.
1. Copy the sentence which means that some servants were
treated well and some poorly
2. Did the Dutch traveler, De Vries, praise the Virginians for
the way they treated their servants?
3. Who else were whipped besides servants?
4. Were English servants treated cruelly or just the negroes?
The Worst Indian Massacre in Virginia.
THE year 1622 was long remembered in Virginia on account of the
terrible massacre of settlers by the Indians. An Indian called "Jack
of the Feather" killed a settler by the name of Morgan as the two
were on their way to a village to do some trading. The Indian returned
to the settler's house, where he found two of his servants
who asked for their master. Jack said that he was dead. They suspected
that the Indian had killed him, and so shot him. The chief of
the tribe made great threats of revenge. As time passed the settlers
thought he had forgotten all about it, but such was not the case.
Here is the account of what happened as one of the settlers tells it.
"On the Friday morning that fatal day, being the two and twentieth
of March, as also in the evening before, as at other times they
Voluntary Readings 129
came unarmed into our houses, with deer, turkeys, fish, fruits, and
other provisions to sell us; yea in some places sat down at breakfast
with our people, whom immediately with their own tools they slew
most barbarously, not sparing either age or sex, man, woman, or
child; so sudden in their execution, that few or none discerned the
weapon or blow that brought them to destruction. In which manner
also they slew many of our people at several works in the fields,
well knowing in what places and quarters each of our men were, in
regard of their familiarity with us: and by this means fell that fatal
morning under the bloody and barbarous hands of that perfidious
and inhumane people, three hundred forty-seven men, women, and
children; mostly by their own weapons; and not being content with
their lives, they fell again upon the dead bodies, making as well as
they could a fresh murder, defraying, dragging, and mangling their
dead carcasses into many pieces, and carrying some parts away in
derision, with base and brutish triumph.
"Neither yet did these beasts spare those amongst the rest well
known to them, from whom they had daily received many benefits;
but spitefully also massacred them without any remorse or pity."
1. What did Morgan's servants suspect Jack of the Feather of
doing?
2. What did they do to him?
3. Did the settlers think that the Indians had forgotten all about
it?
4. How many settlers did the Indians kill?
Personal Possessions of an Early Settler.
WHEN a man died in those early days it was customary, as it is
today, to make a list of the things he owned. Those lists, which are
still to be found in some of the old records, give us a pretty good
idea of the kind of life these people led. The value which is placed
upon these things is also interesting, showing how well-to-do they
really were. A shilling (s) in those days would be worth about
twenty-five cents, and a pound () about five dollars.
Christopher Pearson, who died in 1698, left two feather beds,
130 Appendix
four blankets, two bolsters, two pillows, a curtain and valance, in
all worth 7; a pair of sheets, some old table linen, valued at 1 8s;
plates and other pewter worth i i8s; an old warming pan and
other brass articles placed at 6s; wooden ware at 4.13.6 comprising
three chairs and one table, a couch, four old chests, a cask, two
ten-gallon rundlets, a cheese press, a box of drawers, an old table,
three pails, a spinning wheel with cards, two sifting trays, a corn
barrel, three bedsteads, four sieves and a funnel; ironware worth
2.1.0 including three pots, two pot rocks, a pestle, a frying pan, a
looking glass; three cows appraised at 6.5.0, a yearling at los, a
colt at 2 sterling. The entire estate was valued at 25.19.6
(about one hundred and twenty-nine dollars and eighty-one cents).
John Splitimber, who died in 1677, was possessed of one feather
bed, one bolster, one red rug, one pillow, two blankets, one turned
bedstead, one old mattress, eight cows, six calves, one bull, four
mares, thirty-five hogs, two horses, a long gun and a short gun,
fifty-six pounds of old pewter, one old flock bed, one old rug, a
long table and form, three chests, an old couch, two old boxes, two
iron pots, two small brass kettles, one pair of steelyards, spitfire
shovel and tongs, two smoothing irons, two old weed hoes, two old
axes, a few carpenter's tools, one iron pestle, a saddle and bridle, a
frying pan, a butter pat, a jar, a looking glass, two milk pans, one
tablecloth, nine spoons, a churnhand, a Bible.
1. What do the lists of what a man owned give us a good idea
of?
2. What was their shilling worth in our money?
3. What was Christopher Pearson's estate valued at in our
money ?
4. What kinds of animals did John Splitimber own?
Life on a Large, Well-to-do Virginia Plantation.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL MATTHEWS was a well-to-do planter. One who
lived at the time described his plantation and the life there as fol-
lows:
Voluntary Readings 131
"He hath a fine house and all things answerable to it; he sows
yearly store of hemp and flax and causes it to be spun; he keeps
weavers, and hath a tan-house, causes leather to be dressed, hath
eight shoemakers employed in their trade, hath forty negro servants,
brings them up to trades in his house. He yearly sows abundance of
wheat, barley, and so forth. The wheat he selleth at four shillings
the bushel, kills store of beeves, and sells them to victual the ships
when they come thither; hath abundance of kine, a brave dairy,
swine great store, and poultry."
His example of trying to carry on some manufacturing on his
plantation was followed by other planters in later times. One of
them employed on his farm "two house carpenters, a ship carpenter,
a glazier, two tailors, a gardener, a blacksmith, two brickmakers and
two sailors, all indentured servants. Attempts were made to train the
negro slaves to various trades, but they proved to be 'none of the
aptest or nicest.'
'
Thus the large plantation was a little community to itself, bustling
with activity and depending upon its own exertions for many
of the necessities of life. One might see at work, in addition to the
field hands, carpenters, coopers, sawyers, blacksmiths, tanners, curriers,
shoemakers, spinners, weavers, and distillers. The woods furnished
plank for the erection of outhouses and charcoal for the
blacksmith; the cattle supplied skins for the tanners and shoemakers;
the sheep gave wool and the fields cotton and flax for the
weavers; the orchard produced the fruit used by the distillers. The
coopers made the hogsheads in which the tobacco was shipped, and
the casks for wine and cider. The blacksmith repaired plows, harrows,
chains, and hinges; the shoemaker made shoes for the negro
slaves, the spinners and weavers the cloth for their clothes.
1. What two things does it
say that Captain Matthews sold?
2. Did other planters follow Captain Matthews' example?
3. Did these planters have to go to the store for many things?
4. Where did the shoemaker get his leather?
1
3 2 Appendix
Naming Children in Colonial Days.
PARENTS searched for names of deep significance, for names appropriate
to conditions, for those of profound influence presumably
on the chilďs life. Glory to God and zealous ambition for the
chilďs future were equally influential in deciding selection.
Rev. Richard Buck, one of the early parsons in Virginia, in days
of deep depression named his first child Mara. This text indicates
the reason for his choice: "Call me Mara for the Almighty hath
dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord hath
brought me home empty." His second child was christened Gershom;
for Moses' wife "bare him a son and called his name Gershom,
for, he said, I have been in a strange land." Eber, the Hebrew
Patriarch, called his son Peleg, "for his days were divided." Mr.
Buck celebrated the Pelegglngy
or dividing of Virginia into legislative
districts in connection with the establishment of the House of
Burgesses, by naming his third child Peleg. Many names have a
pathos and sadness which can be felt down through the centuries.
Dame Dinely, widow of a doctor or barber-surgeon who had died
in the snow while striving to visit a distant patient, named her poor
babe Fathergone. A little Goodman child, born after the death of
her father, was sadly but trustingly named Abiel, meaning God is
my father.
In the old Ropes Bible in Salem is
given the reason for an unusual
name which often appears in that family; it is Seeth. One of
the family was supposed to be dead, having disappeared. On his sudden
reappearance a pious Ropes exclaimed in joy, "The Lord seeth
not as man seeth, and my child shall be named Seeth."
Abigail, meaning father's joy, was frequently given, and Hannah,
meaning grace; the history of these two Hebrew women made
their names honored of New England Puritans. Zurishaddai, which
meant The Almighty is my rock, was bestowed on more than one
boy. Comfort, Deliverance, Temperance, Peace, Hope, Patience,
Charity, Faith, Love, Submit, Endurance, Silence, Joy, Rejoice,
Hoped For, and similar names indicative of a trait of character, a
virtue or an aspiration of goodness, were common. The children of
Roger Clapp were named Experience, Waitstill, Preserved, Hopestill,
Wait, Thanks, Desire, Unite, and Supply.
Voluntary Readings 1
3 3
With the exception of Puritanical names, double Christian names
were very rare until after the Revolution.
1. What did Rev. Richard Buck name his first daughter?
2. Why did Dame Dinely name her baby Fathergone?
3. What did the name Hannah mean?
4. What did the name Zurishaddai mean?
Attending Church in Colonial Times, as Told by a
Boston Colonist.
"EVERY Sabbath or Lorďs Day they come together at Boston by
ringing of a bell, about nine of the clock or before. The Pastor begins
with solemn prayer, continuing about a quarter of an hour.
The Teacher then readeth and expounded! (or explained) a chapter.
Then a Psalm is sung, whichever one the ruling Elder dictates.
After that the Pastor preacheth a Sermon, and sometimes extempore
exhorts (that is, urges them to lead good lives). Then the Teacher
continues with a prayer and a blessing.
"About two in the afternoon they repair to the meeting-house
again; and the Pastor begins, as before noon, and a Psalm being
sung, the Teacher makes a Sermon. He was wont, when I came
first, to read and expound a Chapter also before his Sermon in the
afternoon. After and before his Sermon he prayed. After that followeth
Baptism, if there be any, which is done by either Pastor or
Teacher, in the Deacon's seat, the most eminent place in the Church,
next under the Elder's seat. The Pastor most commonly makes a
speech or exhortation to the Church and parents concerning Baptism,
and then prayeth before and after. It is done by washing or
sprinkling. One of the parents being of the church, the child may be
baptized.
"Which ended, follows the contribution, one of the Deacons
saying, 'Brethren, of the congregation, now there is time left for
contribution, wherefore as God hath prospered you, so freely offer.'
134 Appendix
Upon some extraordinary occasions, as building and repairing of
Churches and meeting-houses or other necessities, the Ministers press
a liberal contribution, with effectual exhortations out of Scripture.
The Magistrates and chief gentlemen first, and then the Elders, and
all the congregation of men, and most of them that are not of the
Church, all single persons, widows, and women in the absence of
their husbands come up one after another one way, and bring their
offerings to the Deacon at his seat, and put it into a box of wood
for the purpose, if it be money or papers; if it be anything else, they
set it or lay it down before the deacons, and so pass another way to
their seats again."
1. At what time did the church bell ring in the morning?
2. Did they go to church again in the afternoon?
3. Who baptized the children?
4. Who received the offerings and contribution?
The Arrangement of a New England House.
THE larger part of the best of the early houses of New England
were probably much like the first permanent homestead of the Gallups.
The high-placed and deep-seated windows were scant in number,
heavily barred, and narrow. It was only the wealthy who at this
time could afford the luxury of glass. Oiled paper was the usual substitute.
To exclude the cold were heavy and close wooden shutters
both outside and inside. During the coldest weather it must have
been necessary to depend for light, even in the daytime, upon open
fires, pine knots, and candles, for at least the first decade or two in
each new settlement.
In the center of the house rose the great stone chimney, with
wide-throated fireplaces opening into three large rooms on the first
story and into four upon the second story. The unplastered and
paintless ceilings were low, but higher than was usual, for John
Gallup is said to have stood six feet four inches in his gray knit
hose, and had to bow his stately head to enter any doorway save his
own.
Voluntary Readings 1
3 5
The second story on the two longer sides projected considerably
beyond the lower. In view of the constant danger from Indians, it
is probable that this house was intended to be used as a fortress in
case of necessity, and this projection may have been made for the
sake of affording a coign of vantage to its inmates if attacked by
savages.
The third story was but a big garret with windows in each end.
Beneath all were deep cellars for the storage of winter supplies, and
for the manufacture and ripening of home-brewed beer, made after
recipes brought from the mother country. At first, cider had no place
in those cellars, but after the orchards had grown, there was found
room for the barrels of hard cider which were made from them,
and which finally quite displaced the heavier and perhaps more
wholesome, certainly less stimulating, beer. In the cellars were also
kept, even from the first, the casks of metheglin, made from the
plentiful honey of the wild bee, which in the autumn filled the place
with the sound of its working like the swarming of armies of bees.
In the broad and high-peaked garret were set the heavy looms at
which, during all the long summer days, either men or women, as
the case might be, were diligently weaving the coarse stuff which
must serve young and old, master and man, mistress and maid, for
all the rougher occasions of pioneer life.
1. What was often used as a substitute for glass windows?
2. In what part of the house was the stone chimney usually
located?
3. What two words tell whether the ceilings were plastered or
painted?
4. In what part of the house were the looms?
How the Housewives Prepared for Winter.
THE making of a portion of the autumn's crop of apples into dried
apples, apple sauce, and apple butter for winter was preceded in
136 Appendix
many country homes by an apple paring. The cheerful kitchen of a
farmhouse was set with an array of empty pans, tubs, baskets; of
sharp knives and heaped-up barrels of apples. A circle of laughing
faces completed the scene, and the barrels of apples were quickly
emptied by the many skilful hands. The apples intended for drying
were strung on linen thread and hung on the kitchen and attic
rafters. The following day the stout crane in the open fireplace was
hung with brass kettles which were filled with the pared apples,
sweet and sour in proper proportions, the sour at the bottom since
they required more time to cook. If quinces could be had, they were
added to give flavor, and molasses, or boiled-down pungent "apple
molasses," was added for sweetening. As there was danger that the
sauce would burn over the roaring logs, many housewives placed
clean straw at the bottom of the kettle to keep the apples from the
fiercest heat. Days were spent in preparing the winter's stock of
apple sauce, but when done and placed in barrels in the cellar, it was
always ready for use, and when slightly frozen was a keen relish.
Apple butter was made of the pared apples boiled down with cider.
The housewives pickled samphire, fennel, purple cabbage, nasturtium
buds, green walnuts, lemons, radish pods, barberries, elder
buds, parsley, mushrooms, asparagus, and many kinds of fish and
fruit. They candied fruits and nuts, made many marmalades and
jellies, and a vast number of fruit wines and cordials.
Perhaps the busiest month of the year was November, called
"killing time." When the chosen day arrived, oxen, cows, and swine
which had been fattened for the winter's stock were slaughtered
early in the morning, that the meat might be hard and cold before
being put in the pickle. Sausages, rolliches, and headcheese were
made, lard tried out, and tallow saved.
1. In what rooms did they string apples for drying?
2. Could they prepare the winter's stock of apple sauce in a day?
3. In what month was "killing time"? .
4. Why did they kill early in the morning?
In New Amsterdam Director-General Peter Stuyvesant gives
way to fury as the Councilors urge him to accept the English
terms for surrendering the Colony of New Netherlands.
(From "Peter Stuyvesant," one of T/ie Chronicles of America Photoplays)
Voluntary Readings 1
37
A Dutch Home.
THE houses were built with long sloping roofs, and, if possible, on
a hillside so that the front stoop was approached by a few steps, but
the kitchen door at the back of the house was always flush with the
ground. It was wide and high and was built in this way to allow
of a horse being driven in every morning hauling, by means of a
long iron chain, a huge block log, which made the foundation of
the fire that was never allowed to die out entirely. Everyone went
in and out of the kitchen door, except on occasions of ceremony.
The front parlor was a sacred apartment that was kept tightly
closed except on gala days, and woe to the mouse or the "kackerlack"
(cockroach) that entered it. On the opposite side of the hall,
that always ran from the front to the rear of the house, was the
family sitting room. The bedrooms were large and filled with ponderous
mahogany bureaus and four-post bedstead under which was
an "een slaapbauck op rollen" or trundle-bed, which was pulled out
at night and into which was tucked from two to four children. The
lower classes used great boxes with boarded bottoms for beds, which
were filled with sacks of hay, corn silk, or dried leaves. A great
brass warming pan usually hung on the walls.
The children of the first settlers were well trained in household
duties, as was needful in a place where there were few servants, and
each woman undertook much of her own housework. The boys were
made to carry water from the well or run errands to the woodhouse,
the smokehouse, and the brine barrel in the cellar. The girls
had their daily "stint" inside the house, and as there was always "a
stretch" on the loom, an idler was often set to "do a yard" as a
punishment. Every maiden, whatever her station in life, was thoroughly
instructed in the details of housekeeping, and she was not
considered eligible for matrimony until she could show her "kos"
full of linen, spun and woven by herself, and daintily marked with
her initials in cross-stitch.
1. What was hauled into the kitchen every morning?
2. Where was the trundle-bed kept during the day?
1
3 8 Appendix
3. Did the boys and the girls have to help with the work?
4. In what way was every maiden thoroughly instructed?
How the Dutch Told People by Their Dress.
EACH official had his distinctive costume. Laborers wore a dress
that did not impede them in their work. They never wore long
coats those were reserved for the upper classes; but every workman
and craftsman donned long leather aprons both in the house
and on the street. One corner of it was invariably tucked under the
belt when the wearer was not working, but otherwise it fell nearly
to his feet. The leather was often dyed red with the bark of chestnut
or oak tree.
The peasantry pushed their hair straight back, and covered it with
a close-fitting cap. The usual dress was a "short gown and petticoat"
and it was the pride of the thrifty housewife to have spun
and woven the stuff for these skirts herself. They were generally
of linsey-woolsey of the natural grey color, but were sometimes
dyed blue with a mixture of red-maple bark and copperas, or the
stuff was colored red with alder bark. These dyes had been taught to
the Dutch women by the squaws. By these distinctive dresses each
class could be distinguished. Even the crafts could be noted, and the
married women were recognized at a glance from the maidens.
From the side of the matron always hung a chatelaine, sometimes
of gold and handsomely ornamented, but more frequently of brass
with steel chains, from which dangled keys, scissors, pin cushions,
and a tiny case called a housewife (and pronounced hussuf ) containing
thimble, needles, and bodkin. The church book, with corners
and clasps of gold and silver, also hung by long chains to match,
from the chatelaine or girdle.
When the good people put on their best clothes they could be very
fine, and the stuffs of which they were made were of the handsomest
and richest materials. The coats of the men were of velvet, silk,
or satin, trimmed with handsome lace, diamond buckles, and sometimes
with rare furs. Around their throats were wrapped yards of
Voluntary Readings 1
3 9
fine muslin trimmed with lace, which were called "steinwicks" after
the gallant soldier of that name; and the ladies were by no means
behind their husbands in the richness of their apparel.
1. What classes of people wore long coats?
2. What kind of an apron did the workmen wear?
3. Was the dress of the married women different from that of
the single women?
4. Did the Dutch wear plain clothes all the time?
How the Dutch Children Amused Themselves.
IF ever young people lived happy lives and had especially good times
on extra occasions, the Dutch boys and girls in both Old and New
Netherlands certainly did. Holland is the land of Santa Glaus and
dyed Easter eggs. Besides the patron sainťs day of December 6,
there were Christmas, New Year's Day, Twelfth Night, Easter,
Pinxter, Thanksgiving Day, Kermis, and school holidays and feast
days coming pretty steadily along throughout the year.
Games with ball, bat, stilts, hoop, top, sling, swing, bow and
arrow, sleds and skates, drums and trumpets; tennis, golf, cricket,
and forty other ways of having a good time, besides the easy things
for girls and the more or less athletic sports for boys are pictured as
part of the young people's life.
Holland is the land of skates and sleighs. Children and young
people hardly learn to skate; they begin it
naturally and keep it up
all their lives. Whether for fun and in parties, or to go to the market,
to church, to weddings or funerals, they move by rapid transit
on steel. A pair of skates is a passport to comradeship. No need of
music or a band! With rhythm in every motion, parties of young
folks in everyday clothes glide over the ice, motored from within.
Every habit and each trick known on Holland canals or ponds was
reproduced on the Mohawk and the Hudson.
Then there was the ice-yacht or sailboat on runners, sometimes
reduced for swiftness to a long plank with crosspieces for seats and
with skate irons. Equipped with mast, canvas, and some cordage it
1
40 Appendix
seemed to race with the wind itself. On the ice, lady or lass sat in a
hand sleigh, while husband or swain pushed as he skated. Newburghon-the-Hudson
and Albany and the hills of Dorp were famous for
coasting, and the North River for ice-yachts.
When we look at our vocabulary and read of "sleigh," "sled,"
"skate," "ice-yacht," "stove," we realize how much we owe the
Dutch in the way of winter fun and comforts. They brought these
things with them from their old homes, and put them in use at once.
1. Did the Dutch boys and girls have holidays?
2. Did they have plenty of games to play?
3. On what two rivers in New Netherland did the Dutch have
their ice sports?
4. Did they coast on the hills as well as on the ice?
The Fate of Henry Hudson.
IT was a Sunday morning. The captain and crew of the Discovery
had spent the winter in Hudson Bay. Very little food was left for
the homeward voyage, and though each man had his share, it was
rumored that Hudson was keeping some of it back. All through the
winter and spring a mutinous spirit had been growing.
When Hudson went on deck in the morning he was seized from
behind and his arms were pinioned. "What does this mean?" he
asked. "You will know when you are in the shallop" was the reply.
During the night a dastardly plot had been hatched. Pricket says
that Greene and the other conspirators had come to him while he
was in his bunk and had told him what was afoot. He protested but
was told roughly that if he tried to interfere he would share the
captain's fate. The plot was to seize the ship and turn Hudson adrift
in the shallop along with his son, the sick men, who would be only
a burden to the mutineers, and one or two others whom the mutineers
disliked and mistrusted.
Only one of the men whom the mutineers invited to join them
refused to fall in with their heartless plans. Philip Staffe, the carpenter,
who despite his quarrel with Hudson at the beginning of the
Voluntary Readings 141
winter had been of a cheerful spirit and good courage throughout
all the dangers and hardships of the voyage, upbraided Greene and
the other plotters to their faces and said that rather than be a party
to their scheme he would throw in his lot with the captain. And so
he did. He got of them a gun and powder and shot, and some pikes,
an iron pot, with some meal and other things.
Then the mutineers sailed out of the ice, the shallop being fast
to the stern of the ship. When about clear of the ice, they cut the
shallop from the stern of their ship and sailed away. They came to
an island and anchored. Here they lay that night and the best part
of the next day, in all of which time they did not see the shallop,
nor did they ever see it again.
1. Was the Discovery well provisioned for the homeward voyage?
*
2. Who was captain of the Discovery?
3. How many men refused to join the mutineers?
4.. Did the mutineers leave Hudson on shore? .
The Beginnings of New York City.
PETER MINUIT, the first civil governor of New Netherland, received
his commission six days before Christmas, 1625. He began
at once to equip himself for his great work of transforming trading
stations into agricultural communities. He found out all he could
about the soil and climate of New Netherland. Then he selected
carefully seeds, live stock, farmers' tools, food plants, and other
useful vegetables. He sailed from Amsterdam December 19 and
after many delays from contrary winds and other causes, he sighted
Sandy Hook on May 4.
Minuiťs first official act was to call together the Indian chiefs
and purchase of them the island named Manhattan, for what was
to them the very generous sum of 60 guilders, or 24 dollars. In
modern values, this would be about 300 dollars. As expressed in
trinkets, mirrors, hatchets, tools, and clothing stuffs, it must have
seemed like a mountain of wealth to the Indians. The place of sale
142 Appendix
may have been the Bowling Green, then the heart of the hamlet of
New Amsterdam.
A fort must be built for defense, as the ships of any nation could
easily enter the river from the sea, a fact which made New Amsterdam
from the very first a cosmopolitan place, filled with visitors and
sailors speaking many languages. One of the Dutch army engineers,
who then had no superiors in the world, laid out and began building
an earthwork with four bastions, named Fort Amsterdam after the
home city.
If Governor Minuit had been allowed to continue the development
of New Netherland according to his own ideas, its story might
have been one of nearly continuous peace and prosperity. He wisely
distributed among white men the seeds and grafts which caused gardens
to grow and orchards to spring up. He inaugurated the enterprise
of shipbuilding. He launched a magnificent ship, pierced for
thirty cannon, which was loaded and sent to Holland where it made
a sensation. His chief concern, next to securing the comfort and
safety of the colonists, was the fur trade, and many were the ships
loaded with peltries which he sent to Amsterdam. In 1630 the imports
amounted to 113,000 guilders, while exports, chiefly furs,
were 130,000 guilders, making a handsome profit to the Company.
1 . Was Peter Minuit interested in promoting agriculture ?
2. How much did he pay the Indians for Manhattan?
3. What was the name of the Fort they built?
4. What did they send to Amsterdam in ships?
What the Dutch Learned from the Indians.
THEY studied the habits of their wild neighbors and were not too
proud to learn from them their secrets of dyeing, preparing tobacco,
or planting maize. The time for this, according to the Indians, was
when the birch-tree leaf was the size of a mouse's ear. The savages
taught the settlers their fashion of pounding corn into "hominy,"
which was the Indian name for cracked corn. It was done by mak-
Voluntary Readings 143
ing a hole in the stump of a tree, or in a rock, into which the kernels
were thrown and then beaten with a heavy pestle. A round excavation
in a promontory overlooking Fairfield, Conn., is still called
Samp-Mortar Rock, samp being another name for ground corn ;
and
tradition declares that the spot was always resorted to, in the autumn,
by the squaws, for the purpose of pounding their corn, which was
done to a musical croon that kept time to the thud of the pestle.
The Indians were, at most times, freely admitted in small companies
within the "palisadoes" of the little burgh, and they brought
many commodities to barter. They were cunning weavers of baskets
that were waterproof, made of a species of dogbane, and could
make candles and soap of bayberries, or brushes from a block of
oak, which they ingeniously split into thousands of bristles.
The wild people were not pleasant companions, as they followed
a native custom of rubbing "oil of Fishes, Fat of Eagles, and Grease
of Rackoons" on their skin to keep it from blistering and repel the
attacks of gnats and mosquitoes. They seldom washed their bodies
or even their faces and hands, and in consequence the Dutch housewives,
who were neatness personified, thought they were irreclaimable
savages, and although invariably kind to them, did not encourage
them to take up their abode within the settlement except under
certain restraints.
The Indians taught the settlers to look for the great annual
flights of pigeons, which early in April always flew north to eat the
wild carrot. This flight invariably took place at dawn and never
after 10 o'clock in the morning. It was so heavy as to darken the
sun, and so low that stones, clubs, and like missiles were thrown at
the birds, which were slaughtered by thousands.
Almost every household had one or more of the wild men or
women hanging around the kitchen fire. They never made good
servants, but would do "chores" for the housewives, such as cutting
and piling the kindling wood, or lifting heavy kettles on the great
swinging cranes, in return for food and a lodging in the barn or
under the back stoop.
1. What did the Indians call their cracked corn? .
2. Name three things that the Indians could make.
1
44 Appendix
3. Were the Indians encouraged to live within the settlement?
4. Was it a common thing for the Dutch housewives to have
Indians do chores for them? .
Stuyvesanťs Doings after the Surrender.
AFTER the surrender of New Netherland the government of Holland
summoned Stuyvesant home to give an account of what had
happened. He arrived there in October, 1665, and presented to them
a written report. He had left everything, including his beloved wife,
to tell them "the true state of the case."
In this report he said that on his arrival many years before he
had "found the country stripped of inhabitants to such a degree that,
with the exception of the three English villages, there were not 50
farms and plantations on it, and the whole province could not muster
250, at most 300 men capable of bearing arms. The fortress of
New Amsterdam resembled a molehill rather than a fortress, without
gates, the walls and bastions trodden under foot by men and
cattle."
"Our powerful neighbors and enemies," he said, "found themselves
reinforced by four royal ships, crammed full with an extraordinary
amount of men and warlike stores. Our enemies throughout
the whole of Long Island, both from the east and from the villages
belonging to us united with them, hemmed us by water and by land,
and cut off all supplies. Powder and provisions failing, and no relief
nor reinforcement being expected, we were forced to come to terms
with the enemy, not through neglect of duty or cowardice, but because
of an absolute impossibility to defend the fort, much less the
city of New Amsterdam, and still less the country. On surrendering
to the enemy, not 90 bushels of breadstuff's, and much less of peas
and meat were remaining in store. This scarcity was caused by the
exportation of provisions to the island of Curagao in South America
about three weeks previous to the arrival of the frigates."
He went on to say, "A general discontent and unwillingness to
assist in defending the place had become manifest among the people.
Voluntary Readings 145
This was occasioned and caused in no small degree, first among the
people living out of the city, and next among the burghers, by the
sending of proclamations and open letters containing promises, in
the name of the King of England, to burgher and farmer, of free
and peaceable possession of their property, unobstructed trade and
navigation, not only to English dominions, but also to the Netherlands
with their own ships and people."
After he had made this report, Stuyvesant did not remain long in
Holland, but returned to his wife and family. He lived on his farm
called the Great Bouwery till his death in February, 1672.
1. Why did Stuyvesant go to Holland in 1665?
2. What did he say about the fortress of New Amsterdam?
3. Did he admit any neglect of duty or cowardice?
4. Were the Dutch people much concerned about defending New
Amsterdam against the English?
How the Dutch Made a Treaty with the Indians.
"TRADE was doing very badly in the colony" so in 1634 four
Dutchmen set out from Fort Orange for the Iroquois country to
see what they could do about it. This is the story of what happened
in one of the villages where they stopped:
"January 3 Some old men came to us and told us they wanted
to be our friends and they said we need not be afraid. And I replied
that we were not afraid. In the afternoon the council sat here
in all, twenty-four men and after considerable consulting for
a long while an old man approached me and laid his hand upon my
heart to feel it beat; and then he shouted that we really were not
afraid at all.
"After that six more members of the council came and they presented
me with a coat made of beaver skin and they told me they
gave it to me because I came here and ought to be very tired, and
also because I had been marching through the snow. And when I
took the coat they shouted three times, 'Netho, Netho, NethoP
1
46 Appendix
which means, 'That is very well !
'
And directly after that they laid
five pieces of beaver skins on my feet, at the same time requesting
me that in the future they should receive four hands of seawan and
four handbreadths of cloth for every big beaver skin. They said,
'We have to go so far with our skins; and very often when we
come to your places we do not find any cloth or seawan or axes or
kettles, or not enough for all of us, and then we have much trouble
for nothing, and have to go back over a great distance, carrying our
goods back again.'
"After we sat for a considerable time, an old man came to us and
translated what they had said in the other language and told us that
we did not answer yet whether or not they were to have four hands
of seawan for their skins. I told him that we had not the power to
promise that, but that we should report about it to the chief at the
Manhatans, who was our commander, and that I would give them a
definite answer in the spring, and come myself to their land.
"Then they said to me, 'Welsmachkoo.' You must not lie, and
must surely come to us in the spring, and report to us about it all.
And if you will give us four hands of seawan we will not sell our
skins to anyone but you.' After that they gave me five beaver
skins, and shouted as hard as they could, 'Netho, Netho, Netho!'
And then, that everything should be firmly binding they called or
sang something in Indian language which meant that I could go in
all the places they mentioned they said the names of all the castles
freely and everywhere. I should be provided with a house and a
fire and wood and everything I needed; and if I wanted to go to
the Frenchmen they would guide me there and back; and they made
a present of another beaver skin to me. Today we ate bear meat that
we were invited to."
1. Did the Indians receive the four Dutchmen in a friendly
manner?
2. How many hands of seawan did the Indians want for a big
beaver skin?
3. Did the Dutchmen promise to give the Indians what they
asked?
4. When did the spokesman for the Dutchmen say he would
come again?
Voluntary Readings 147
What the Exiled Acadians Were Really Like.
THE Acadians were a simple and very ignorant peasant folk, industrious
and frugal till evil days came to discourage them; living apart
from the world, with little of that spirit of adventure which an easy
access to the vast fur-bearing interior had developed in their Canadian
relatives; having few wants, and those of the rudest; fishing a
little and hunting in the winter, but chiefly employed in cultivating
the meadows along the River Annapolis, or rich marshes reclaimed
by dikes from the tides of the Bay of Fundy.
The British Government left them entirely free of taxation.
They made clothing of flax and wool of their own raising, hats of
similar materials, and shoes or moccasins of moose and seal skin.
They bred cattle, sheep, hogs, and horses in abundance; and the
valley of the Annapolis, then as now, was known for the profusion
and excellence of its apples. For drink, they made cider or brewed
spruce beer. French officials describe their dwellings as wretched
wooden boxes without ornaments or conveniences, and scarcely supplied
with the most necessary furniture. Two or more families
often occupied the same house; and their way of life, though simple
and virtuous, was by no means remarkable for cleanliness. Such as
it was, contentment reigned among them.
This humble society had its disturbing elements, for the Acadians,
like the Canadians, were a quarrelsome race. Neighbors often quarreled
about their boundaries. There was a bountiful share of jealousy,
gossip, and back-biting to relieve the monotony of their lives.
Every village had its cure, the guide, counselor, and ruler of his
flock. He was their true government; to him they gave a frank and
full allegiance, and dared not disobey him if they would. He taught
them to be true to their wives and constant at confession and mass,
to stand fast for the Church and King Louis, and to resist heresy
and King George.
1. What was the chief occupation of the Acadians?
2. For what crop was the valley of the Annapolis known?
3. According to French officials, what were their houses like?
4. Who was the leader of the village?
148 Appendix
Washington's Adventures in the Ohio Country
in 1753IN
the middle of November, Washington struck into the wilderness
with Christopher Gist as a guide, Van Braam, a Dutchman, as interpreter,
Davison, a trader, and four woodsmen as servants. They
went to the forks of the Ohio, and then down the river to Logstown.
There Washington had various parleys with the Indians; and
then, after various delays, continued his journey towards Fort Le
Boeuf, accompanied by the friendly chief called the Half-King and
by three of his tribesmen. For several days they followed the
traders' path, pelted with unceasing rain and snow. Through
marshes and swamps, forests choked with snow, and drenched with
rain, they toiled on till the wooden walls of Fort Le Boeuf appeared
at last. Here Washington delivered to the French commander
Dinwiddie's letter.
The French commander took three days to frame the answer.
Then Washington set out on his return trip. He found the horses so
weak that he left them and their drivers in charge of Van Braam
and pushed forward on foot, accompanied by Gist alone. Each was
wrapped to the throat in an Indian "matchcoat" with a gun in his
hand and a pack at his back. Passing an old Indian hamlet called
Murdering Town, they had an adventure which threatened to make
good the name. A French Indian, whom they met in the forest,
fired at them, pretending that his gun had gone off by chance. They
caught him, and Gist would have killed him; but Washington interposed
and they let him go. Then, to escape pursuit from his tribesmen,
they walked all night and all the next day. This brought them
to the banks of the Alleghany. They hoped to have found it dead
frozen; but it was alive and turbulent, filled with ice sweeping
down the current. They made a raft, shoved out into the stream,
and were soon caught helplessly in the drifting ice. Washington,
pushing hard with his setting pole, was jerked into the freezing
river; but caught a log of the raft and dragged himself out. By no
efforts could they reach the farther bank, or regain that which they
had left; but they were driven against an island, where they landed
and left the raft to its fate. The night was excessively cold, and
George Washington, newly commissioned Lieutenant Colonel, in
command of Virginia troops marching against the French
on the Ohio, April, 1753.
(From "The Gateway to the West," one of The Chronicles of America Photoplays}
Voluntary Readings 149
Gisťs feet and hands were badly frostbitten. In the morning, the ice
had set and the river was a solid floor. They crossed it, and succeeded
in reaching the house of the trader Fraser, on the Monongahela.
It was the middle of January when Washington arrived at
Williamsburg and made his report to Dinwiddie.
1. Where was the French commander to whom Washington
wanted to deliver a letter?
2. Who wrote the letter?
3. Why was it hard to cross the Alleghany River?
4. How long did it take Washington to go and return?
Madeleine at Bay.
IN 1689 th6 Iroquois had wiped out the little settlement of Lachine.
The French therefore in this part of Canada about Montreal were
constantly fearful of another such tragedy. The little forts and
settlements along the St. Lawrence and opposite the Iroquois country
were naturally constantly threatened by an Indian attack.
One brooding day in October, when Captain de Vercheres was
on duty at Quebec, and his wife obliged to be in Montreal, his tiny
fort at Vercheres was garrisoned by three men, two boys, and one
girl. The eldest man was over eighty. The Vercheres boys were ten
and twelve; their sister, Madeleine, fourteen. Suddenly from the
crimson forest came a burst of musketry. Then, through the smoke,
came fifty yelling Iroquois. Madeleine instantly ran in and barred
the gate, put on a soldier's hat, took up her musket, armed both her
brothers, and saw that they and all three men were properly posted
at once. As quickly, she fired the single cannon both to make the
Iroquois think the fort well defended and to warn any habitants
near by. Presently a family appeared at the river landing, between
which and the fort there was a fire zone of a hundred yards. Madeleine
ran out and shepherded these people in, the Iroquois not venturing
to break cover under that cannon's mouth.
150 Appendix
For a whole week the dauntless Madeleine kept the murderous
savages at bay. The word "Alľs well !
"
was duly shouted round the
little fort, just as if it held a real garrison. Half the defenders were
always on the watch; and no Iroquois could show himself without
drawing fire. On the sixth day the news reached Montreal; and on
the seventh Lieutenant de la Monnerie arrived with forty men.
Madeleine, then not on actual guard, was dozing, with her musket
on her knees, when her sentry challenged "Qui vive?" "French:
la Monnerie and forty men." Madeleine was all alert, and ready
with the regulation word: "Advance one, and give the countersign
!
"
When Monnerie complied she at once saluted saying, "Sir, I
hand over my command to you." Then, after he and she had made
grand rounds together, and he had found everything in perfect
order, she again saluted and asked the proper question in the proper
way: "Sir, can you now relieve the guard? We've been on duty for
a week."
I. How old was Madeleine at the time of the attack described?
2. How many people were in the fort?
3. How long did they have to wait for help?
4. What were the Indians afraid of?
The Attack on Deerfield in the Winter of 1704.
DEERFIELD kept early hours, and it is likely that by 9 o'clock all
were in their beds. There was a patrol inside the palisades, but there
was little discipline among these soldiers; the watchers grew careless
as the frosty night went on; and it is said that toward morning
they, like the villagers, betook themselves to their beds.
The French commander and his men, savage with hunger, lay
shivering under the pines till about two hours before dawn; then,
leaving their packs and their snowshoes behind, they moved cautiously
toward their prey. No alarm was given until they had
mounted the palisade and dropped silently into the unconscious
village. Then with one accord they screeched the war whoop, and
Voluntary Readings 1
5 1
assailed the doors of the houses with axes and hatchets. The hideous
din startled the minister, Williams, from his sleep. Half-awakened,
he sprang out of bed, and saw a crowd of savages bursting through
the shattered door. Amid the screams of his terrified children, three
of the party seized him and bound him fast; for they came well
provided with cords, since prisoners had a market value. Nevertheless
in the first fury of their attack they dragged to a door and murdered
two of the children and a negro woman who was probably
their nurse.
Meanwhile the Indians and their allies burst into most of the
houses, killed such of the men as resisted, butchered some of the
women and children, and seized and bound the rest. Some of the
villagers escaped in the confusion. The sun was scarcely an hour
high when the miserable drove of captives was conducted across
the river to the foot of a mountain or high hill. Williams and his
family were soon compelled to follow, and his house was set on
fire. As they led him off he saw that other houses within the palisade
were burning, and that all were in the power of the enemy except
that of his neighbor Stebbins, where the gallant defenders still
kept their assailants at bay. Having collected all their prisoners, the
main body of the French and Indians began to withdraw toward
the pine forest where they had left their packs. Several parties still
lingered in the village, firing on the Stebbins house, killing cattle,
hogs, and sheep, and gathering such plunder as the place afforded.
1. Were the soldiers on guard very watchful?
2. At what time of day did the French attack?
3. Were women and children killed?
4. Were all the men either killed or taken prisoners?
The Beginning of Wolfe's Career as a Soldier.
JAMES WOLFE and his brother were delicate, sensitive lads, needing
and receiving the watchful care of their tall, dark-haired mother,
left much alone as is the common lot of a soldier's wife. One seems
to see the slender, alert, eager-faced children scampering through
152 Appendix
the house, frolicking in the garden with the dogs, playing hide-andseek
in the coach house and stables, fishing for minnows in the brook
or sailing a miniature fleet of ships upon its waters. Again, seated
in the hall, they are receiving instruction at their mother's knee; or,
gathered in the evening about the great fireplace, are listening, openeyed
and open-mouthed to the stout, grim Colonel, their father,
while he tells them stories of his campaigns with Marlborough and
Prince Eugene.
To a school in Westerham, kept by a teacher named Lawrence,
the Wolfe boys were sent, in common with other gentlemen's sons.
Here James formed one boyish friendship which was to last through
his life. Together he and his friend roamed the Kentish countryside
on horseback or with their dogs; fought mimic battles, solved
problems in strategy and participated in deadly ambushes.
A few days before James's fifteenth birthday, the school having
broken up for the Christmas holidays, James had ridden over to
Westerham for a few days under his frienďs roof. One morning
the sound of the post horn was heard at the gates, and a few moments
later the squire (the father of his friend) was seen coming
along the graveled path, in his hand a large official packet addressed
to "James Wolfe, Esq." The lads ran to meet him, and James
quickly tore open seal and envelope, disclosing a commission signed
by King George II and countersigned by Lord Harrington, appointing
him second lieutenant in his father's regiment of marines.
It was dated, "St. James's, Nov. 3rd, 1741." One can see the two
lads locked in an embrace, and the honest squire shaking his guesťs
hand, roundly congratulating him on the commencement of a career.
Beneath the tall trees where this incident occurred stands a
monument on which one may read:
"Here first was Wolfe with martial ardour fired,
Here first with glory's brightest flame inspired;
This spot so sacred will for ever claim
A proud alliance with its hero's name."
1. What title had Wolfe's father?
2. Where did Wolfe go to school?
3. How old was he when he received a commission?
4. To whose regiment was he appointed?
On the Plains of Abraham the British under Wolfe and the French
under Montcalm come face to face brave men, well matched,
fighting for their countries' future in a distant land. (It is
interesting to note the close formation, point-blank
style of fighting used in those days.)
{From "Wolfe and Montcalm," one of The Chronicles of America Photoplays}
Voluntary Readings 1
5 3
The Boyhood of Montcalm.
MONTCALM was born in the south of France, at the Chateau of
Candiac, near Nimes, on the 2Qth of February, 1712. At the age of
six he was placed in charge of a man named Dumas, who ruled his
pupil stiffly; and before the age of fifteen, gave him a good knowledge
of Latin, Greek, and history. Young Montcalm had a taste for
books, continued his reading in such intervals of leisure as camps and
garrisons afforded, and cherished to the end of his life the ambition
of becoming a member of the French Academy (a group of learned
men). Yet, with all his liking for study, he sometimes revolted
against the sway of his teacher, who wrote letters of complaint to
his father.
The main difficulty was to make him write a good hand, a
point in which he failed to the day of his death. So hard was he to
get along with at times, that his master despaired. "M. de Montcalm,"
Dumas informs the father, "has great need of docility, industry,
and willingness to take advice."
The pupil wrote to his father his own ideas of what his aims
should be. "First, to be an honorable man, of good morals, brave,
and a Christian. Secondly, to read in moderation; to know as much
Greek and Latin as most men of the world; also the four rules of
arithmetic, and something of history, geography, and French and
Latin literature, as well as to have a taste for the arts and sciences.
Thirdly, and above all, to be obedient, docile, and very submissive
to your orders and those of my dear mother; and also to defer to
the advice of M. Dumas. Fourthly, to fence and ride as well as my
small abilities will permit."
At fifteen he joined the army as ensign in the regiment of Hainaut.
Two years after, his father bought him a captaincy, and he
was first under fire at the siege of Philipsbourg. His father died in
1735 (when he was but 23), and left him heir to a considerable
landed estate, much embarrassed by debt.
1. Name three things which Montcalm had a good knowledge of
before he was 15
2. Was Montcalm ambitious to be a scholar?
3. How old was Montcalm when he joined the army?
4. How old was he when he became a captain?
1
54 Appendix
How Washington Looked at the Time of the French
and Indian War.
THE earliest known description of Washington was written in
1760 by his companion-in-arms and friend George Mercer, who attempted
a "portraiture" in the following words: "He may be described
as being as straight as an Indian, measuring six feet two
inches in his stockings, and weighing 175 pounds when he took his
seat in the House of Burgesses in 1759. His frame is padded with
well-developed muscles, indicating great strength. His bones and
joints are large, as are his feet and hands. He is wide shouldered,
but has not a deep or round chest; is neat waisted, but is broad
across the hips, and has rather long legs and arms. His head is well
shaped though not large, but is gracefully poised on a superb neck.
A large and straight rather than prominent nose; blue-gray eyes,
keen and penetrating, which are widely separated and overhung by a
heavy brow. His face is long rather than broad, with high round
cheek bones, and terminates in a good firm chin. He has a clear
though rather a colorless pale skin, which burns with the sun. A
pleasing, benevolent though a commanding countenance, dark brown
hair, which he wears in a cue. His mouth is large and generally
firmly closed, but which from time to time discloses some defective
teeth. His features are regular and placid, with all the muscles of
his face under perfect control, though flexible and expressive of deep
feeling when moved by emotion. In conversation he looks you full
in the face, is deliberate, deferential and engaging. His voice is
agreeable rather than strong. His demeanor at all times composed
and dignified. His movements and gestures are graceful, his walk
majestic, and he is a splendid horseman."
Writing to his London tailor for clothes in 1763, Washington
directed him to "take measure of a gentleman who wears wellmade
clothes of the following size: to wit, 6 feet high and proportionably
made if anything rather slender than thick, for a person
of that height, with pretty long arms and thighs. You will take
care to make the breeches longer than those you sent me last, and I
would have you keep the measure of the clothes you now make, by
you, and if any alteration is required in my next it shall be pointed
Voluntary Readings 155
out." About this time, too, he ordered "6 pairs Man's riding Gloves
rather large than the middle size" . . . and several dozen pairs
of stockings, "to be long, and tolerably large."
I.
According to the above description, how tall was Washington?
2. What did he weigh?
3. What kind of a horseman did his friend call him?
4. Where did Washington have his clothes made?
Champlain's Account of How He and Two Companions
Helped the Hurons Fight the Iroquois.
ON the 2Qth of July (1609) we met the Iroquois at 10 o'clock at
night at the end of a cape that projects into the lake on the west
side, and they were coming to war. Both parties encamped for the
night, after agreeing to wait until daybreak to fight. After plenty
of singing, dancing, and parleying with one another, daylight came.
After arming ourselves with light armor, my two companions and
I each took an arquebuse and went ashore. I saw the Iroquois come
out of their barricade, nearly 200 men, strong and robust to look
at, coming slowly towards us with a dignity and assurance that
pleased me very much.
As soon as we were ashore the Hurons began to run about 200
paces towards their enemy, who were standing firmly and had not
yet noticed my companions, who went into the wood with some savages.
The Hurons began to call me with loud cries; and, to give me
a passageway, they divided into two parts and put me at their head,
where I marched about twenty paces in front of them until I was
thirty paces from the enemy. They at once saw me and halted, looking
at me, and I at them. When I saw them making a move to
shoot at us, I rested my arquebuse against my cheek and aimed directly
at one of the three chiefs. With the same shot two of them
fell to the ground, and one of their companions, who was wounded
and afterwards died. I put four balls into my arquebuse. When the
156 Appendix
Hurons saw this shot so favorable for them, they began to make
cries so loud that one could not have heard it thunder. Meanwhile
the arrows did not fail to fly from both sides. The Iroquois were
much astonished that two men had been so quickly killed, although
they were provided with armor woven from cotton thread and from
wood, proof against their arrows. This alarmed them greatly. As I
was loading again, one of my companions fired a shot from the
woods, which astonished them again to such a degree that, seeing
their chiefs dead, they lost courage, took to flight and abandoned
the field and their fort, fleeing into the depths of the woods. Pursuing
them thither I killed some more of them. Our savages also
killed several of them and took ten or twelve prisoners. The rest
escaped with the wounded. There were fifteen or sixteen of our
men wounded by arrow shots, who were soon healed. This place,
where the charge was made, I named Lake Champlain.
1. What did Champlain call his gunP
2. About how many Iroquois Indians were there?
3. Who fired the first shot?
4. Where did the fight take place?
The Condition of the American Army at the Time
Washington Took Command.
THE army was, as Washington himself said, "a mixed multitude."
There was every variety of dress. Old uniforms, treasured from the
days of the last French wars, had been dug out. A military coat or
a cocked hat was the only semblance of uniform possessed by some
officers. Rank was often indicated by ribbons of different colors
tied on the arm. Lads from the farms had come in their usual dress;
a good many of these were hunters from the frontier wearing the
buckskin of the deer they had slain.
The volunteers varied greatly in age. There were bearded veterans
of sixty and a sprinkling of lads of sixteen. An observer
laughed at the boys and the "great great grandfathers" who
marched side by side in the army before Boston. Occasionally a
black face was seen in the ranks.
Voluntary Readings 157
One of Washington's tasks was to reduce the difference in years
and especially to secure men who could shoot. In the first enthusiasm
of 1775 so many men volunteered in Virginia that a selection was
made on the basis of accuracy in shooting. The men fired at a range
of one hundred and fifty yards at an outline of a man's nose in
chalk on a board. Each man had a single shot, and the first men shot
the nose entirely away.
Undoubtedly there was the finest material among the men lounging
about their quarters at Cambridge in fashion so unmilitary. In
physique they were larger than the British soldier, a result due to
abundant food and free life in the open air from childhood. Most
of the men supplied their own uniform and rifles, and much barter
went on in the hours after drilling. The men made and sold shoes,
clothes, and even arms. They were accustomed to farm life and
good at digging and throwing up entrenchments. The colonial mode
of waging war was not, however, that of Europe. To the regular
soldier of the time even earth entrenchments seemed a sign of cowardice.
The brave man would come out in the open to face his foe.
1. How could you tell officers from privates?
2. What was the age of the youngest and oldest mentioned?
3. How did they select men in Virginia?
4. Who supplied most of the rifles?
New York's Tea Party.
ON April 21, 1774, the citizens received the following invitation:
"To the Public: The sense of the city, relative to the landing
of the East India Company's tea being signified to Captain Lockyer
by the committee, nevertheless, it is the desire of a number of the
citizens that at his departure from hence he should see, with his own
eyes, their detestation of the measures pursued by the Ministry and
the India Company to enslave this country. This will be declared
158 Appendix
by the convention, and the people at his departure from this city
which will be on next Saturday morning at 9 o'clock, when no doubt
every friend to this country will attend. The bells will give the
notice about an hour before he embarks from Murray's Wharf.
This is what happened, as told by someone who was present:
"About 4 P.M. the ship came to the wharf when she was boarded
by a number of the citizens. Captain Chambers was interrogated
relative to his having the tea on board, but he still denied it. He was
then told that it was in vain to deny it, for as there was good proof
of its being on board, it would be found, as there were committees
appointed to open every package, and that he had better be
open and candid about it; and demanded the cocket for the tea;
upon which he confessed it was on board and delivered the cocket.
The owners and the committee immediately met at Mr. Francis's
where Captain Chambers was ordered to attend. Upon examining
him who was the shipper and the owner of the tea, he declared that
he was the sole owner of it. After the most mature deliberation, it
was determined to communicate the whole state of the matter to the
people, who were convened near the ship; which was accordingly
done. The Mohawks were prepared to do their duty at a proper
hour; but the body of the people were so impatient that before it
arrived, a number of them entered the ship about 8 P.M., took out
the tea, which was at hand, broke the cases, and started their contents
into the river, without doing any damage to the ship or cargo.
Several persons of reputation were placed below to keep tally, and
about the companion to prevent ill-disposed persons from going below
the deck.
"At ten o'clock the people all dispersed in good order, but in great
wrath against the Captain; and it was not without some risk of his
life that he escaped."
1. Who was invited to New York's Tea Party?
2. What did Captain Chambers deny?
3. Who owned the tea?
4. Was the affair conducted in an orderly or disorderly manner?
The Minute Men of Lexington gather quickly as the drum
sounds the alarm.
(From "The Eve of the Revolution," one of The Chronicles of America P/tofoplays)
Voluntary Readings 159
Mr. Temple's Buttons and the Declaration of
Independence.
THE Tories spread a story of how the Americans came to declare
their independence from Great Britain. It was about the great coat,
or overcoat we should call it, of a gentleman who came to America
from England.
It tells how a certain Mr. Temple, brother of Mr. John Temple,
who was introduced as Consul General from Great Britain, landed
from a British ship on our shores wearing a great coat conspicuously
adorned with many beautiful brass buttons. Mr. Temple, though he
came on a British mail packet, was regarded with suspicion by
British agents in America such as Governor Tryon. He was thoroughly
searched upon his arrival for evidences of an intention hostile
to the King. He was allowed to land after the search had revealed
nothing, even though the search was directed by such faithful
servants of his Majesty as Governor Tryon, "who has as many eyes
as Argus," Tryon's secretary, and General Skinner, Attorney General
of New Jersey.
Then, according to the Tories, as soon as Mr. Temple had passed
this inquisition, he hastened to leading representatives of America,
winked, pointed to his buttons, called the Americans aside and then
pried the buttons apart and brought forth a series of letters from
Englishmen of note saying many nice things about the Americans
and expressing many earnest wishes for their success in the contest
with the King and his ministry, and telling them to stick it out a
while longer until America's friends in England could upset Parliament
and come to their aid.
Then, as the story continues, the delegates in Congress and all the
statesmen became inspired by this promise of help from the old
country and right away concluded that they should declare their
freedom from the shackles of an old-world monarch. The strangest
thing about it was that none of our statesmen knew the first thing
about Mr. Temple's magic buttons, and that not the least reference
to them appears in the utterances of our distinguished citizens who
were proposing a separation from Great Britain.
160 Appendix
1. Who is mentioned as a British agent in America?
2. How many people searched Mr. Temple?
3. According to the Tories, where did Mr. Temple have letters
concealed?
4. Did American statesmen speak of having received these letters?
.
The Experience of a British Officer's Wife under
Fire at Saratoga.
WE were obliged to descend into the cellar, where I laid myself in
a corner near the door. My children put their heads upon my knees.
An abominable smell, the cries of the children, and my anguish of
mind, did not permit me to close my eyes during the whole night.
Eleven cannon balls passed through the house, and made a tremendous
noise. A poor soldier who was about to have a leg amputated,
lost the other by one of these balls. All his comrades ran away
at that moment, and when they returned, they found him in one
corner of the room in the agonies of death.
I was myself in deepest distress, not so much on account of my
own dangers as of those to which my husband was exposed. He
however frequently sent me messages inquiring after my health.
Major Harnage's wife, a Mrs. Reyhell, the wife of a Lieutenant,
the wife of the commissary and myself were the only officers' wives
at present with the army.
We sat together, deploring our situation, when somebody entered.
All my companions exchanged looks of deep sorrow, whispering at
the same time to one another. I immediately suspected that my husband
had been killed. I shrieked aloud, but was immediately told
that nothing had happened to my husband. I was given to understand
by a sidelong glance that the Lieutenant had been killed.
The danger in which my husband was, kept me constantly in the
most unpleasant state of mind. I was the only one who had not lost
her husband, or whose husband had not been wounded, and I asked
myself very often, "Is so much happiness reserved for me alone?"
This reflection was the more natural, as he was day and night in
Voluntary Readings 1 6 1
the very jaws of death. He never passed a whole night in his tent,
but sat by the watchfires. This alone, considering the coldness and
dampness of the ground might have been enough to kill him.
The want of water continued to distress us, and we were very
glad to find a soldier's wife so courageous as to fetch some water
from the river. This was an occupation from which the boldest
might have shrunk, as the Americans shot everyone who approached
it.
They told us afterwards that they spared her on account of her
sex. At last the capitulation was talked of, and a cessation of hostilities
took place.
1 . How many officers' wives were there ?
2. Where did they stay during the fighting?
3. When someone entered, what did the officer's wife think?
4. What trouble did they have to get water?
The Frenchmen and the Frogs.
WHEN the first French squadron arrived at Boston, the whole town,
most of whom had never seen a Frenchman, ran to the wharves to
catch a peep at the gaunt, half-starved crews. How much were my
good townsmen astonished when they beheld plump, portly officers
and strong, vigorous sailors!
Mr. Nathaniel Tracy, who lived in a beautiful villa at Cambridge,
made a feast for the admiral and his officers. Everything was
furnished that could be had in the country to ornament and give
variety to the entertainment. Two large tureens of soup were placed
at the ends of the table. The admiral sat on the right of Tracy and
Monsieur de ĽEtombe on the left. ĽEtombe was consul of
France, resident at Boston. Tracy filled a plate with soup, which
went to the admiral and the next was handed to the consul. As soon
as ĽEtombe put his spoon into the plate he fished up a large frog,
just as green and perfect as if he had hopped from the pond into the
tureen.
Not knowing at first what it was, he seized it
by one of its hind
162 Appendix
legs, and, holding it up in view of the whole company, discovered
that it was a full-grown frog. As soon as he had thoroughly inspected
it, and made himself sure of the matter, he exclaimed,
"Good Heavens! A frog!" then, turning to the gentleman next to
him, gave him the frog.
He received it and passed it around the table. Thus the poor
creature made the tour from hand to hand until it reached the admiral.
The company, convulsed with laughter, examined the soup
plates as the servants brought them, and in each was to be found a
frog. The uproar was universal. Meantime Tracy kept his ladle going,
wondering what his outlandish guests meant by such extravagant
merriment. "Whaťs the matter?" he asked, and raising his
head, surveyed the frogs dangling by a leg in all directions. "Why
don't they eat them?" he exclaimed. "If they knew the confounded
trouble I had to catch them in order to treat them to a dish of their
own country, they would find that with me, at least, it was no joking
matter." He had caused all the swamps of Cambridge to be
searched in order to furnish them with a generous supply of what he
believed to be in France a standing national dish.
1. Who entertained the French officers?
2. Did the Americans know the French people well?
3. What were the French officers given to eat at the feast?
4. Why did the American host have this food prepared for
them?
Washington's March from New York to Yorktown.
THE French marched on the right at the rate of about fifteen miles
a day. The country was beautiful and the roads were good. Autumn
had come and the air was bracing. The peaches hung on the trees.
The Dutch farmers who four years earlier had been plaintive about
the pillage by the Hessians now seemed prosperous enough and
brought abundance of provisions for the army. They had just gathered
their harvest. The armies passed through Princeton with its fine
Voluntary Readings 163
college numbering as many as fifty students; then on to Trenton
and across the Delaware to Philadelphia which the vanguard reached
on the 3rd of September.
There were gala scenes in Philadelphia. Twenty thousand people
attended a review of the French army. To one of the French officers
the city seemed "immense" with its seventy-two streets "all in
a straight line." The shops appeared to be equal to those of Paris and
there were pretty women well dressed in the French fashion. Luzerne,
the French Minister, gave a great banquet on the evening of
the 5th of September. Eighty guests took their places at table, and
as they sat down good news arrived. As yet few knew the destination
of the army but now Luzerne read momentous tidings and the
secret was out. Twenty-eight French ships had arrived in Chesapeake
Bay; an army of three thousand men had already disembarked
and was in touch with the army of Lafayette. Washington
and Rochambeau were bound for Yorktown to attack Cornwallis.
Great was the joy; in the streets the soldiers and the people shouted
and sang, and humorists, mounted on chairs, delivered in advance
mock funeral orations on Cornwallis.
Half the Americans and some of the French embarked at Elkton
at the head of Chesapeake Bay, and the rest continued on foot.
There was need of haste and the troops marched to Baltimore at the
rate of twenty miles a day over roads often bad, and across rivers
sometimes unbridged. At Baltimore further regiments were taken
on board transports, and most of them made the final stages of the
journey by water.
Washington left the army at Elkton and rode with Rochambeau,
making sixty miles a day. Mount Vernon lay on the way, and here
Washington paused for two or three days. It was the first time he
had seen it since he set out on May 4, 1775, to attend the Continental
Congress. Now he pressed on to join Lafayette. By the end
of the month an army of sixteen thousand men, of whom about half
were French, was besieging Cornwallis with seven thousand men at
Yorktown.
1. How many miles a day did they march at first?
2. After they left Philadelphia how many miles a day did they
march ? .
1
64 Appendix
3. How many miles a day did Washington ride?
4. What had happened in Chesapeake Bay to give joy to the
soldiers and people of Philadelphia?
A Visit of Washington to His Mother after an
Absence of Seven Years.
LATE in 1781, on the return of the combined armies from Yorktown,
the mother of Washington was permitted again to see and
embrace her illustrious son, the first time in almost seven years. As
soon as he had dismounted, in the midst of a numerous and brilliant
suite, after reaching Fredericksburg, he sent to tell her of his arrival,
and to know when it would be her pleasure to receive him.
Alone and on foot, the general in chief of the combined armies of
France and America, the deliverer of his country, the hero of the
age, repaired to pay his humble duty to her whom he venerated as
the author of his being.
She was alone, her aged hands employed in the works of domestic
industry, when the good news was announced, and it was further
told that the victor-chief was in waiting at the threshold. She bid
him welcome by a warm embrace and by the well-remembered and
endearing name of George the familiar name of his childhood;
she inquired as to his health, remarked the lines which mighty cares
and many toils had made in his manly countenance, spoke much of
old times and old friends, but of his glory not one word.
Meantime, in the village of Fredericksburg, all was joy and
revelry; the town was crowded with the officers of the French and
American armies, and with gentlemen for many miles around, who
hastened to welcome the conquerors of Cornwallis. The citizens got
up a splendid ball, to which the matron was specially invited. She
observed, that although her dancing days were pretty well over, she
should feel happy in contributing to the general festivity, and consented
to attend.
The foreign officers were anxious to see the mother of their chief.
They had heard indistinct rumors touching her remarkable life and
Voluntary Readings 165
character, but forming their judgments from European examples,
they were prepared to expect in the mother that glitter and show
which would have been attached to the parents of the great in the
countries of the old world. Now were they surprised, when leaning
on the arm of her son, she entered the room, dressed in the very
plain, yet becoming garb worn by the Virginia lady of the old time.
Her address always dignified and imposing, was courteous, though
reserved. She received the complimentary attentions which were paid
to her without evincing the slightest elevation, and at an early hour,
wishing the company much enjoyment of their pleasures, observed
that it was high time for old folks to be in bed, and retired, leaning
as before on the arm of her son.
1. Where did Washington's mother live?
2. When he visited her, what did she talk most about?
3. How did the citizens entertain Washington and his officers?
4. Who are mentioned as being anxious to see Washington's
mother? ,
The News of Burgoyne's Surrender.
ON a certain Sunday of late October in 1777 the people of Sharon,
Connecticut, had gathered in the meeting house for the morning
service. On this day both prayers and hymns seemed prophetic.
When the text was announced, "Watchman, what of the night?
The watchman saith, The morning cometh," its last three words
rang out with such a clarion tone that all present felt that this was
to be "a field day with the Parson." Today his flock thought him inspired
as with faithful stroke he drew the picture of an oppressed
people struggling for liberty against fearful odds. Tears ran unrestrained
down his cheeks, until some of the older members began
to wonder "what Parson could be thinking of, to discourage the
people so?" Then suddenly his tone changed. "Our weakness," he
said, "is the Lorďs opportunity. He has permitted our humiliation
that our sins might be punished and that He might show us that He
1 66 Appendix
is mighty to save. He has promised to succor those who look to Him
for help, and He is faithful who has promised." Then, kindling as
with prophetic fire, his face glowing, his form dilating and quivering
with feeling, he triumphantly exclaimed:
"Behold! the morning now cometh. I see its beams already gilding
the mountain tops. Its brightness is already bursting over the
land." He closed his Bible and stood with uplifted hand, while a
silence fell alike upon the preacher and his hearers. Then, during
the solemn hush which preceded the benediction, could be heard
from afar the hasty clatter of a horseman dashing into the village
from the north. Faces turn toward the doors, but not a whisper
breaks the hush. All know that the sacred stillness of a New England
Sabbath would not be thus broken without good reason. The
eager horseman makes directly for the church. Hope is triumphant
over fear, but with hope is mingled terror, and anxious eyes blaze
out from pale faces as the rider, springing from his horse, enters
the church, his spurs clanking along the uncarpeted floor and up the
pulpit stairs.
The parson, his face flushing with the joy of a hope fulfilled,
read only the three words, "Burgoyne has surrendered," and then
burst into honorable tears. The next moment, calmed and solemn,
he said, "Let us thank God for this great mercy." And moved by a
common impulse, the whole congregation rose to the Puritan posture
of prayer the erect posture of the Ironsides, who prayed and
fought and kept their powder dry; and stern and self-contained as
they were, they thought it no shame to shed tears of thankfulness.
I. To whom did the horseman give his message to read?
2. On what date did this news reach Sharon, Conn.? .
3. Was the parson preaching hope or discouragement? ,
4. Did the rider come from north, south, east, or west?
APPENDIX III
Books Used in Preparing the Set of Readings.
The American Revolution in New York: Its political, social, and
economic significance. University of the State of New York,
Division of Archives and History, Albany, 1926.
Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation, 1606-1646.
William T. Davis, editor. (In Original Narratives of Early
American History, J. Franklin Jameson, editor.) New York,
1923.
Champlain, Samuel de. Voyages and explorations (16041616)
narrated by himself. A. N. Bourne, translator. 2 vols. Vol. I
(The Trail Makers Series). New York, 1906.
Crawford, Mary C. Social Life in Old New England. Boston,
1914.
Earle, Alice M. Child Life in Colonial Days. New York and London,
1922.
Earle, Alice M. Home Life in Colonial Days. New York and London,
1922.
Ford, Paul L. The True George Washington. Philadelphia, 1896.
Forman, S. E., editor. Side Lights on Our Social and Economic History.
New York and London, 1928.
Griffis, William E. The Pilgrims in Their Three Homes, England,
Holland, America. Boston and New York, 1898.
Griffis, William E. The Story of New Netherland, the Dutch in
America. Boston and New York, 1909.
Harrison, James A. George Washington, Patriot, Soldier, Statesman,
First President of the United States. New York, 1906.
Hart, A. B., editor. American History told by Contemporaries,
Vol. I. New York and London, 1897-1901.
Hart, A. B., editor. Camps and Firesides of the Revolution.
(Source Readers in History) No. 2. New York and London,
1916.
Hosmer, James K. The Life of Young Sir Harry Vane, Governor
1 68 Appendix
of Massachusetts Bay and Leader of the Long Parliament. London,
1888.
Keltic, John S., and Gilmour, Samuel C. North America. (Adventures
of Exploration, Book VI.) London.
Narratives of Early Virginia, 1606-1625. L. G. Tyler, editor. (In
Original Narratives of Early American History, J. Franklin
Jameson, editor.) New York, 1907.
Narratives of New Netherland, 16091664. J. Franklin Jameson,
editor. (In Original Narratives of Early American History.
J. Franklin Jameson, editor.) New York, 1909.
The Pageant of America, Vol. I. Adventurers in the Wilderness.
Edited by Clark Wissler, Constance L. Skinner and William
Wood. New Haven, Toronto, London, 1925.
Parkman, Francis. A Half-Century of Conflict, Vol. I. Boston,
1905.
Parkman, Francis. Wolfe and Montcalm, Vol. I. Boston, 1899.
Rawson, Jonathan. 1776: A Day-by-Day Story. New York, 1927.
Smith, Helen E. Colonial Days and Ways; as Gathered from
Family Papers. New York (0.1900).
Thomson, Jay E. The Land of the Pilgrims, Silent Reading and
the Poem, The Courtship of Miles Standish. Boston, New York,
1925.
Van Rensselaer, May King (Mrs. John King). The Goede Vrouw
of Mana-ha-ta at Home and in Society. New York (0.1898).
Wertenbaker, Thomas J. The First Americans, 16071690. (History
of American Life. A. M. Schlesinger and D. R. Fox, editors.)
Vol. II. New York, 1927.
Willson, Beckles. The Life and Letters of James Wolfe. London,
1909.
Wrong, George M. Washington and His Comrades in Arms; a
Chronicle of the War of Independence. (The Chronicles of
America Series. Allen Johnson, editor), Vol. 12. New Haven,
Toronto, London, 1921.
On June 7, 1776, Congress assembled in Independence Hall
to vote on a resolution for independence.
(From "The Declaration of Independence," one of The Chronicles of
America Photo-plays}
APPENDIX IV
Information Supplied in the Control Classes
Because It Was in the Photoplays, but
Not in the Textbooks.
The Pilgrims and Puritans in Massachusetts and
Connecticut.
(The Pilgrims and the Puritans)
GORDY, page 53
1
James I Tries To Make the Puritans and Separatists Conform to the
Church of England) page 54.
William Brewster, the able leader of the pious little flock of
Scrooby Separatists, said, "Pomp and ritual and earthly show are not
needed to worship him who was born in a stable the simple book of
His Word is the only test of religious truth."
The Separatists used to hold their meetings in Brewster's home
but, inspired by the action of Church and State, their neighbors
tried to break up these meetings. One of the Separatists was an impetuous
youth named William Bradford who resented this treatment.
The action of the neighbors enraged him, and on one occasion
when the disturbance was so great that the High Sheriff of
Nottingham was drawn to the scene, Bradford said to him, "Why
do you shake the stave of the law in the face of peaceable folk? It
is the graceless blasphemers who interfere with us that you should
rebuke." The Sheriff warned the Separatists that they must conform
to the rules of the Church or suffer the consequences, and in
the bitter years that followed, persecution by both Church and State
bore heavily upon the little group at Scrooby.
1
Page references are in each case to Gordy's discussion of the topic which
this material supplements.
1
70 Appendix
The Pilgrims Sail to America Where They Can Have a Free Government
and Their Own Religion, page 54.
A meeting was held in the Manor House at Scrooby, and plans
were made for escaping to Holland. The dangers and difficulties
that lay ahead of them proved too much for a few of their number
and, at Brewster's suggestion, they withdrew from the meeting.
During 1607-1608 the Scrooby Separatists escaped to Holland,
where at last were gathered more than one hundred men, women,
and children.
The Hardships of the Voyage and Winter, Test Their Endurance,
page 55The
Mayflower, only 86 feet long, carried 102 passengers beside
its crew.
During the first winter, it was necessary to level all the graves
immediately, so that the watchful Indians might not learn how pestilence
was weakening the colony.
By spring only six boys and twenty men were left who were able
to bear arms.
The crew of the Mayflower, who at first had laughed and jeered
at the Pilgrims, were stricken with pestilence, and were so impressed
with the kind care given them that they did not want to leave
the Pilgrims behind in such a bleak country. In spite of the pleadings
of Captain Christopher Jones and the crew, none of the Pilgrims
went back when the Mayflower sailed in the spring.
Friendly Relations are Established with the Indians, page 57.
Samoset, an Indian who had met Englishmen before, visited the
colony asking for food and clothing. The kindly Pilgrims fed him
and gave him a cloak. Miles Standish showed him the cannon on the
hill and told him to tell his people about it, but the Pilgrims thought
he would remember the lesson of love longer than he would remember
the lesson of fear.
Control Material 1
7 1
The Pilgrims and Puritans in Massachusetts and
Connecticut.
GORDY, page 53
About lyOOO Puritansy
Led by Winthro-p, Sail for America^ page 59.
At Merrymount, near Charlestown, a lawless trading post flourished.
Thomas Morton was the master of Merrymount. The Puritans
decided to abolish the settlement because they did not approve
of Morton's methods of getting the Indians drunk and cheating
them in trade. Morton was captured and banished to England.
The Puritans feared that Morton might make trouble for them
in England. Sir Richard Saltonstall, Governor Winthrop's best
friend, returned to England and promised to do what he could for
the Puritan cause.
In England, the King appointed a Commission to investigate the
Puritan Charter. The Puritans had many bitter enemies in England.
One of them was Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the founder of Maine.
The Charter of the Puritans was the only thing that kept him from
becoming Governor General of all New England, and he tried to
prove that his claim to the land preceded that of the Puritans. Archbishop
Laud, who presided over the Commission, was also a bitter
enemy of the Puritans. He decided that the Puritans had violated
the conditions of their Charter, and demanded its immediate surrender.
The Puritans refused to give it up and expected that England
would use force to secure it but before this could be done, conditions
at home grew so serious that England was not able to send
money, ships, or soldiers to America to secure the Charter.
Harry Vane, the son of a powerful nobleman in England, came
over to the colony and so won the respect of the people that they
elected him Governor to succeed Winthrop. However, the people
were not satisfied with his rule, principally because he became interested
in the religious teachings of Anne Hutchinson, one of the
dissenters in the colony. Consequently, at the next election, Winthrop
was again elected Governor. Soon after this, Vane returned to
England.
172 Appendix
Roger Williams, Driven from Massachusetts) Establishes Religious
Freedom in Rhode Island, page 63.
The Puritan magistrates decided to drive Williams from the
colony. Governor Winthrop was a good friend of Roger Williams,
and when he heard of this plan, he sent a letter to Williams, warning
him.
The English in Virginia and Maryland.
(Jamestown)
GORDY, page 40
Two Large Merchant Companies Receive a Charter to Colonize
America, page 40.
The London Company sent its first settlers in three small ships
the Susan Constant, the GGodspeed, and the Discovery.
Dale Establishes Individual Ownership, page 43.
Powhatan, a chieftain of the great Algonquin race, whose dominion
extended over many loosely linked tribes, was a dangerous
neighbor of Jamestown. He sent men as traders to the settlement to
find out whether it was weak enough to be attacked. The fields of
the settlers were outside the stockade, and while the men were working
there the Indians would attack them and kill them. The Indians
were encouraged to do this by the Spanish people in Florida who
were anxious to get rid of the English in Virginia. Finally Pocahontas,
the daughter of Powhatan, was taken prisoner by the English.
Governor Dale persuaded John Rolfe, one of the colonists, to
marry Pocahontas. He hoped that this would be a means of keeping
peace with the Indians.
Governor Dale's laws were very strict. He realized that the fate
of the colony hung by a thread. A man who had cheated an Indian
who traded corn had to stand in the pillory for twenty-four hours.
A man who killed a chicken without permission was sentenced to
death.
Don Diego Molina had allowed himself to be captured so that he
could report on the strength of Jamestown to his monarch in Spain.
He used to smuggle messages through to the Spanish in Florida, telling
them how the strict laws were causing discontent in the colony.
Control Material 173
The London Company talked of giving up the colony, but Dale
persuaded them to keep it up. He wrote in a letter:
"I have seen the best countries of Europe. Put them all
together and Virginia will equal them if only it be inhabited
with good people."
The Dutch in New York.
(Peter Stuyvesant)
GORDY, page 71
New Netherland Becomes One of the English Coloniesy 1664,
Gordy, p. 75.
Peter Stuyvesant ruled the people of New Netherland with an
iron hand. When they protested against his rule he wrote a letter
saying, "We derive our authority from God and Company, not
from a few ignorant subjects, and we alone can call them together."
Mrs. Stuyvesant and the Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, the minister
of New Amsterdam, tried to persuade Stuyvesant to treat the people
more gently.
The people of the Dutch colony were industrious. Even the little
girls were not idle, but helped with the spinning. Almost all of the
houses had tulip gardens. There were plenty of games in the colony.
The boys used to go skating, and the men played a game called
"kolf" which was somewhat like our golf.
A great many English colonists lived at Gravesend on Long
Island under Dutch rule. These Englishmen objected to the tyranny
of Peter Stuyvesant and wished that the colony might be self-governing
as was the case of the English colonies in America. Some of
the Englishmen went back to England and pleaded with King
Charles to send a fleet to capture the Dutch colony. They took with
them some samples of furs from the colony in order to show the
King the wealth of New Amsterdam.
The palace of King Charles II in England was very beautiful.
Rare tapestries hung on the walls, and the rooms were filled with
richly carved furniture. The palace was surrounded by gardens,
where beds of flowers bloomed beside fountains, and where paths
lined with high hedges led the way to marble benches reflected in
1
74 Appendix
deep pools. In these gardens the members of Charles' court used to
gather to play battledore and shuttlecock, and to drink the new drink
from India tea.
New Amsterdam had ignored Stuyvesanťs plea for a better defense.
The men played kolf instead of mending the palisades which
were supposed to protect the settlement. Stuyvesant had organized a
"Burgher Corps" an organization of men who were supposed to be
prepared to defend the colony. However, the men refused to take
this duty very seriously and did not attend the drills regularly.
There was scarcely enough powder in the settlement for three cannon.
New Amsterdam was not, therefore, prepared to offer a
strong defense when the English fleet appeared. Nevertheless,
Stuyvesant refused to accept the English terms of surrender, and
prepared to defend the settlement. Just as he was about to give the
signal to fire on the English ships a petition was handed to him
asking him to surrender and not to sacrifice the lives of the people.
His own son's name headed the list. When Stuyvesant saw this, he
consented to surrender.
The French and English in America.
(The Gateway to the West)
GORDY, Chapter V
The Ohio Company Comes in Conflict with the French, page 9 1 .
^n *753 Englanďs affairs were in the hands of an indifferent
Prime Minister the Duke of Newcastle. Governor Dinwiddie of
Virginia sent him a warning concerning the French invasion of the
Ohio country. The Duke of Newcastle replied to this warning by
giving Virginia permission to expel the French. One of his assistanťs
an able, energetic young statesman named William Pitt
realized the danger in America and urged that England send guns
and men to help the colonists, but this was not done.
Washington Is Sent on Important Mission to the French Forts,
page 92.
When Governor Dinwiddie received permission from England
to expel the French he looked about for the man to send as mes-
Control Material 175
senger. His choice was Major George Washington the young master
of Mount Vernon who was leading the life of a typical country
gentleman of that day.
When Washington went to Fort Le Boeuf he was accompanied
by a guide named Christopher Gist, and an interpreter named Van
Braam.
Fighting Begins at Great Meadowsy page 93.
When the French refused to leave and it was certain that force
would be used, it was suggested that Washington be given the title
of Colonel and be put in full command of Virginia's expedition
against the French. Washington refused, on account of his youth
and inexperience. He went on the expedition as Lieutenant Colonel
under Colonel Fry.
Colonel Fry remained at Wilľs Creek while Washington went
on with a small advance party. The French at Fort Duquesne
learned of this and sent troops under Ensign Jumonville. Christopher
Gist brought news to Washington that the French were approaching
and he advanced to meet them. An Indian named HalfKing
told Washington where the French were hiding. On May 28,
1754, Washington surprised the French, killing Jumonville and
wounding many of his men. Washington had difficulty in keeping
his Indian allies from scalping the wounded French. Jumonville's
brother DeVilliers at Fort Duquesne promised to punish "this Washington,
the murderer of my brother, and drive his barbaric English
from the King's domain."
Washington learned of the death of Colonel Fry at Wilľs Creek.
This meant that he was in command of the expedition.
Washington returned to Virginia after abandoning the campaign
against the French. He knew that he had done the right thing but he
was afraid that the Governor would not understand. He said to Dinwiddie,
"I was forced to abandon the campaign. I am sorry." Dinwiddie
replied, "Sorry? What have you done to be sorry for? Don't
you see that now war has come? Out of the war will come a peace
which will give us a wonderful country across the Ohio. Thousands
will go through the 'Gateway to the West.'
'
176 Appendix
Wolfe and Montcalm.
(Photoplay, Wolfe and Montcalm)
William Pitt Saves the Cause of England, page 96.
In England, William Pitt and Lord Anson, Chief of the Admiralty,
talked over the necessity of strengthening Englanďs Navy.
They decided that their first task was to free the American colonies
from every trace of the French menace. Pitt said, "Britain's sword
must cut out new boundaries, Admiral ! You are its hilt Saunders,
with his Canadian fleet, the blade and General Wolfe, the
point!"
Wolfe Wins a Brilliant Victory at Quebecy page 96.
On board the British frigate Sutherland on September 12, 1759,
the Doctor was worried over Wolfe's condition. Wolfe said he
knew that the Doctor had done everything possible for him and
that he would be content with only twenty-four hours more of life.
Montcalm warned Vaudreuil, the Governor-General of Canada,
that the English were preparing for a new attack, but Vaudreuil
refused to believe him and assured him that the English were going
to retreat. Montcalm warned Vaudreuil that the danger point lay
where the convoys from Montreal landed the Foulon, at the base
of the cliffs of Quebec and asked for an entire regiment to guard
it. Montcalm did not trust Captain Verger who was guarding the
Foulon, but Vaudreuil refused to remove him or to send reinforce-
ments.
Wolfe had the British ships keep up a constant bombardment
while he made his plans to get his 1,700 picked men up the cliffs.
He had an idea that he would never return alive, and he left directions
concerning what should be done with his possessions. He wrote
a farewell letter to his mother.
The Commandant at Quebec sent word to Governor Vaudreuil
that "a handful of mad Englishmen have landed at the Foulon."
Vaudreuil said, "Don't send for Montcalm. I can handle the matter
later with my Canadians." Then he went on with his break-
fast.
After Quebec was captured it was necessary to withdraw the
British fleet from the St. Lawrence because of the approach of win-
Control Material 177
ter. Pitt realized that the English army was shut in at Quebec and
that as soon as spring came the French would send troops from
Montreal and attack them. He knew that victory depended upon
which side could get the first fleet up the river in the spring. All
through the winter the English army suffered terribly from disease
and cold. By spring only half of the 8,000 men could bear arms.
The French had surrounded Quebec and the English were unable
to get out. Both sides were waiting for their fleets. The English
fleet was the first to arrive. The French immediately retreated to
Montreal where they made their last stand. Vaudreuil was finally
compelled to surrender to the English.
The American Revolution.
(The Eve of the Revolution)
How the Colonists Resist the Stamf Act, Gordy, page 126.
August 14, 1765 Effigies of Andrew Oliver, the Stamp Collector,
and Lord Bute, late Prime Minister of England, were
hanged in Boston. Bute was represented by a large boot. Among
those present were John Hancock, one of the richest of Boston's
younger merchants, and Samuel Adams, whom the Royal Governor
Hutchinson called "The Great Incendiary, in whose hands all other
men are puppets." As they watched the hanging, Adams said, "It
will take more than this to teach the King that America will not
submit to injustice," and Hancock replied, "If they insist on this
Stamp Act, I will sell my stock in trade and close my warehouse
doors,"
The British Soldiers, Sent To Enforce Revenue Lawsy
Fire on Citizens
of Boston-(ijjo) y page 131.
The small boys of Boston, imitating their elders, taunted the
British soldiers on guard by calling them "Lobster-backs!" Goaded
by these taunts one of the soldiers struck one of the boys. Seeing
this, three other boys ran and rang the bell to arouse the citizens.
The boy who was struck pointed to one of the soldiers saying,
"There he is the man who tried to kill me !
"
As the crowd pressed
closer, the calmer members begged the soldiers not to fire. One of
the soldiers said, "If they touch me, I fire!"
The meeting of protest was held in the South Meeting House.
Two of the soldiers were later convicted of manslaughter.
178 Appendix
Samuel Adams Presides at a Meeting of Protest Which Ends in the
<(
Boston Tea Party" (1773), page 133.
Sam Adams, watching the Boston Tea Party, said, "These
'Indians' are resolved to see how tea mixes with salt water."
Tea worth eighteen thousand pounds was emptied into the har-
bor.
When the "Indians" saw a man trying to fill his own pockets
with tea, they threw him overboard.
King George removed the seat of Government from Boston to
Salem.
The Colonies Unite in Sympathy with Massachusetts and Call the
Continental Congress (1774), page 135.
In 1774 the Assembly met at Salem to consider cooperation with
other colonies to resist oppression from overseas. John Hancock presided
over the meeting. The door was locked to prevent the Tories
from leaving, so that there would be a quorum to do business.
Adams said to some of his friends that he had been promised the
last vote necessary for a majority in favor of appointing delegates
to the proposed Continental Congress. He told the doorkeeper that
the door was not to be opened until he gave him permission to open
it. The motion was made that five members of the Assembly be appointed
as delegates to the Continental Congress to be held in Philadelphia
in September. Unable to stop the debate or prevent the election
of the delegates, the Tory members resolved to leave the
meeting. Adams said, "That door will not be opened until the business
of the meeting is finished." One of the Tories pretended to be
ill.
Pretending that he needed air, he opened a window, jumped out
and ran to the Governor's headquarters which had been established
in Salem for the session of the Assembly. Upon hearing of the meeting
Gage said, "Curse that trickster Adams! He is responsible for
nine-tenths of the trouble in this province." Gage had an order
drawn up for dissolving the Assembly. The messenger went to the
meeting and shouted through the closed door, "Open !
Open, in the
King's name! I bring orders from General Gage to dissolve this
assembly. Anything it may do will be illegal." Adams answered,
"That door will not be opened till all the business of this meeting is
finished." They elected Sam Adams and four other delegates to the
Control Material 179
proposed Congress in Philadelphia and voted relief for the people in
Boston, and assessed the people for necessary expenses.
The "Embattled Farmers" Resist the British at Lexington and Concord
and Drive Them Back to Bostony page 138.
General Gage ordered Colonel Smith, Major Pitcairn, and Earl
Percy to head the British troops to capture Hancock and Adams and
destroy stores at Concord.
Hancock and Adams were staying at the Parson Clark House in
Lexington.
Lexington was eleven miles from Boston. The people there had
sent the following word: "We shall be ready to sacrifice everything
dear in life, yea, even life itself, in support of the common cause."
The Minutemen at Lexington were under the command of Captain
John Parker. General Pitcairn, the English commander,
shouted, "Lay down your arms and disperse, ye damned rebels."
The British under Lieutenant Colonel Smith were in Concord
by seven o'clock, April 19. Detachments marched to the north and
south bridges in search of military stores. At the north bridge the
colonial soldiers under Captain Buttrick attacked a British regiment.
The colonial troops advanced steadily. After waiting vainly
for expected reinforcements, the British wavered and began to
break. British reinforcements under Percy at last reached Lexington,
and here the exhausted British troops were received in a hollow
square and protected by their comrades.
(The Declaration of Independence)
The Declaration of Independencey
a Remarkable Historical Document,
Is Adopted July 4, 1776, Gordy, page 144.
John Dickinson of Pennsylvania was the leader of those who still
clung to the hope of a reconciliation with England.
Rutledge was the leader of the South Carolina delegation.
In the middle colonies, many favored reconciliation because they
feared the loss of their property.
The south had not yet felt the scourge of war.
See Beard and Bagley, page 149, and Gordy, pages 155-156, for
France's attitude toward the colonies at this time.
See also Gordy, page 146, for the Tory situation.
180 Appendix
The people were divided into three groups royalists, moderates,
and rebels.
On June 8, 1776, Lee offered his Resolutions in Congress, but it
was impossible to secure the approval of everyone, and voting was
postponed (textbook gives date as June 7).
Few delegates slept during the hot night of the first of July. The
meeting to vote on Independence was held the next day, July 2,
1776.
Two of the Pennsylvania delegates who did not feel Independence
wise Dickinson and Morris stayed away when the voting
took place in order that Pennsylvania might vote Aye.
Delaware's third delegate Caesar Rodney, whose vote was necessary
to secure her vote for independence was away at his home.
A messenger was sent to fetch him and by riding all night he arrived
just in time to cast his vote.
South Carolina's delegates were instructed to join in such measures
as would best promote the interests of all. They looked upon
these instructions as broad enough to allow them to vote for inde-
pendence.
The New York delegation was not authorized to vote on Independence,
but since all the other colonies voted Aye, the vote was
considered unanimous.
There were two Charles Carrolls in Maryland, so Carroll signed
his name as Charles Carroll of Carrollton, in order that there might
be no mistake. He was one of the richest men in the country, and
therefore stood to lose more than most by signing.
As Hancock signed the Declaration he said, "John Bull won't
need his spectacles to read that name !
"
The Declaration of Independence was made known to the people
on July 8.
(Yorktown)
The Surrender of Cornwallis, Gordy, page 170.
Early in 1781, Washington at New Windsor, New York, considered
his problems. He realized that the military situation was desperate.
The enemy held New York and Charleston, and controlled
the sea. They could outflank the American forces at will. Washing-
Washington and his generals hold a council of war at the New
Windsor headquarters of the American commander in chief.
(From "Yorktown," one of The Chronicles of America Photoplays)
Control Material 1 8 1
ton realized that nothing could be done without the French fleet
which was at Brest, three thousand miles away.
At Brest, Count de.Grasse, Chief Admiral of France, impatiently
awaited his sailing orders, realizing that if he could cut the
British lines of communication the war would end.
In the spring of 1781, Cornwallis moved north into Virginia.
He dispatched General Tarleton to capture Governor Jefferson and
the Assembly of Virginia. John Jouett, who guessed that Tarleton
meant to capture the Assembly at Charlottesville, rode to spread the
alarm. His ride saved the Assembly, but the situation had already
driven Thomas Jefferson to beg Washington for aid.
Washington realized that everything depended upon the French
fleet. If he went south before the fleet cut the communication between
the northern and southern British armies, he would be caught
between them and crushed.
Rochambeau joined Washington in New York, bringing the news
that the French fleet was approaching America.
Clinton at his headquarters in New York was informed that some
movement was on foot among the American forces, and that the
French fleet was approaching. He refused to credit these rumors.
When he finally awoke to the danger and sent the British fleet to
combat the French fleet, it was too late. The British fleet, greatly
outnumbered, was defeated in the battle of the Chesapeake on September
5, 1781.
Warfare of the Border.
(Vincennes)
The British Continue the War by Aid of the lndlansy Gordy, page
159.
Hamilton, the British Governor, held a parley near Detroit with
friendly Chippewa chiefs. Hamilton was told that if he let loose
these devils upon the rebels, the whole country would rise to drive
him out, but his idea was that a great war was being fought against
King George, and that the British needed the Indian allies to harass
the enemy. He instructed the Indians that there was to be no war
against women and children, but the Indians failed to heed these
instructions.
1 82 Appendix
With Less than Two Hundred Men, Clark Wins a Vast Region
for the Future Nation, Gordy, page 162.
George Rogers Clark told Patrick Henry, the Governor of Virginia,
that he could drive the British out of the Northwest if Virginia
would stand the cost of recruiting. Patrick Henry promised to
ask the Assembly to grant the necessary money.
From its base at Fort Pitt, Clark's expedition proceeded to Kaskaskia
which it occupied without a fight. There, in an old Jesuit
Mission House, Clark held a conference with his officers. Francis
Vigo, a Spanish trader who had been released by the British as a
non-combatant, told Clark that the trails to Vincennes were deep
under water. Clark decided to undertake the trip, and overruled the
objections of his officers that it could not be done.
Hamilton at Vincennes decided not to attack Kaskaskia until
spring, and, therefore, permitted his Indians to go home with the
promise that they would return in the spring. Captain Leonard
Helm, an American officer captured by the British, joked with
Hamilton about the possibility of capturing Clark.
Dawn of February 23, 1779, found Clark and his men facing
Horseshoe Plain five miles of flooded forest beyond which lay
Vincennes. They reached Vincennes that evening and decided to
attack at once. The half-frozen Virginians strode into the village
so unexpectedly that the French people of the village could not believe
what they saw. Hamilton and Helm were playing a game of
cards when they heard the first shots. Hamilton declared it was
drunken Indians on a spree, but Helm was firmly convinced that it
was Clark.
Clark and Hamilton met for a parley in the little church at Vincennes.
Clark insisted that Hamilton was not entitled to the usual
military courtesies of honorable surrender and that he must surrender
without terms. Hamilton asserted that his men would rather
die fighting than surrender without the honors of war. Terms were
finally arranged on February 25, 1779.
From the vast territory from which the British were expelled by
Clark, came five great states Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin,
and Michigan.
Governor Hamilton and his men salute George Rogers Clark
and his forces at the gates of Fort Sackville.
(From "Vincennes," one of The Chronicles of America Photoplays)
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MOTION PICTURES IN
HISTORY TEACHING
By
Daniel C. Knowlton
and
J. Warren Til ton
Visual education, in all its forms, is
commanding more and
more attention from leaders in primary and secondary education.
Motion pictures in particular have found a definite place
in many school systems and are being used with increasing success
and effectiveness each year. It therefore seemed wise to
members of the Department of Education at Yale University
to make a careful study of the value of motion pictures in teaching.
It was decided to conduct the test in the field of American
History at the Junior High School level and to use ten of the
Chronicles of America Photoplays. Each experimental class was
planned to extend over a period of six months. The purpose of
the experiment was to determine, if
possible, how much added
interest motion pictures created, how much they contributed to
the learning of fundamentals, how much they enriched the
course and to what extent they helped the students to retain
what they had learned. The progress of each experimental
group using the motion pictures was compared with a control
group which did not have the pictures but which was taught by
the same teachers and with the same methods. To assure accuracy
each pupil in each of the experimental and control groups
was tested five times during the experiment. The results which
are given in this volume form an interesting and accurate
contribution to the study of visual education.
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN CONNECTICUT