Problems of American democracy

Front matter

Google to make the world's books discoverable online.

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books

Foreword

The highest ideal jpf our* schooli^'ifiifto produce good citizens. Good citizenship-';ea^;;fbr^'^,.uzid^ of the great problems which a deni6(fra^y 'suw as ours must face. The good citizen does not expect to be an expert at solving every problem ; but he at least may know that certain important problems exist and he may establish sound principles on which to base his thinking with reference to them.

The last opportunity that miUions of our citizens will ever have to consider some of these problems in a formal way is in the secondary school. Here education for the many ceases. And even for the smaller number who go to college it is well that at the age when they begin to form positive opinions a definite opportunity should be afforded to consider the great questions of society, industry, and government. And so we have in many schools, and shall have in many more, a course known as Problems of Democracy.

Such a course should consider not only the problems of government, though these may well be looked upon as connecting links by which to bind together all the interests of the American citizen, but also the great questions of social and industrial relationships which are in every way as vital as any questions of government. Indeed, government exists because we have social and economic problems which cannot be solved without its aid.

Each question that is treated here is considered a real problem. The effort is made, first, to state conditions as they are ; second, to discover, without going too deeply into pure history, the reasons for these conditions ; third, to decide what ought to be done about them. While mathematically exact conclusions can seldom be reached, at least the

habit can be established of reasoning about these problems

...

lU iv Foreword

and determining the principles which must govern their solution. They should be approached, too, in a hopeful frame of mind. Pessimists do not solve problems such as these.

Many of the topics which form the basis of these ''Problems" will have been considered by the pupil before, in the work which he will have had along the line of Civics in the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades, but at that time he cannot have gone very deeply into them. The emphasis in those classes must be upon his individual relationship with the communities of which he is a member rather than upon the principles underlying the great questions of whose existence he may then learn. His later course in the "Problems of Democracy" will then not be mere repetition, but will lead to the possession of a wider outlook upon the problems which the pupils have studied and to the forming of sound principles which may be the basis of fair and intelligent opinion. Surely there cannot be in 'the making of good citizens any undertaking more unportant than this.

The author has tried to write with impartiality. He knows he has written ''with malice toward none." If statements of supposed fact are inaccurate, he hopes to be corrected. If readers differ with occasional inferences or conclusions, he trusts he may be favored with the tolerance that bespeaks and is perhaps deserved by good will and honesty of intention. "They seldom make us think with whom we never disagree."

R. O. Hughes

PlTTBBUBGH

SUGGESTIONS

This book will furnish sufficient text material for a full year's work. For classes which can have only a half year, selection can be made from the full list of problems, omitting those which may have been treated in some other course or may be relatively less important than the rest for a particular class or community. It will be well to avoid mere skimming over the surface of these matters. It is better that a pupil should know that such problems exist than not to know anything about them ; but it is still better for him to have some specific understanding about as many as possible of the questions that are brought up in the course.

The order of topics is not of fundamental importance, and if a teacher prefers to follow some other order than that of the text no serious difficulty will be found. Some may prefer to begin with the problems of government. Others may feel that the interest of their classes will be most easily aroused by starting their work with the study of an industrial or economic question. Some may find it advisable to stir up the pupil's interest by taking a distinctly local problem as a starting i>oint, such as, " The cost of living in oi^r community," or "Our facilities for transportation," or "Moral problems in our town," and by proceeding from that to more general principles that underlie the fields of social and political science and economics.

There is no need to treat the course as a formal introduction: to these three sciences. It will be that, even if it is not so announced, and an attempt at unnecessary formality in this study is likely to detract from its interest and profit. At the same time the author believes that many problems can best be approached from the general viewpoint, with the local or individual application following, rather than to pursue them all from the viewpoint of local or individual interest.

At the close of the discussion of each problem in this text appears a list of reference readings which bear directly upon that problem. As far as possible, use should be made of these readings, as well as of any other trustworthy sources of information that are available. The author has tried to select for reference such books as were written either with the high school pupil particularly in mind or in such a style or manner as to be within his interest and ready comprevi Suggestions

hendon. Most college text-books do not suit the average high school pupil. Individual students whose ability is above the aver-' age can be made familiar with books of that character. But to assign them for the use of the whole class is unwise.

In Appendix B appears a complete list, with the names of the publishers, of all books referred to in the suggested reference readings. Those most commonly mentioned can be secured by nearly every class. Sometimes two or three copies of each of such books may constitute a practical reference library which for many classes will serve all necessary purposes.

The World Almanac or some similar book of facts is both cheap and indispensable. Full use should be made of government reports and bulletins, state reference hand books, and illustrative or advertising literature issued by private firms or individuals. Curlent magazines such as The Literary Digest, The Independent, Current History, and The Outlook, should be constantly employed for up-to-date information. The Survey is loaded with thoughtprovoking articles. Those who have followed the lesson outlines prepared by Dr. Joseph K. Hart, which appeared in that magazine a year or two ago, will recognize the source of some of the questions used in this text.

With each problem is also suggested a list of special topics which may form a basis for project study on the part of individual pupils or even of the class as a whole if there is time. Interspersed in the text are numerous questions which may arouse class discussion or may themselves serve as a starting point for individual or class project work. Let the class programs be varied. Sometimes a three-minute talk by a pupil may open a class discussion. Sometimes a formal debate provokes interest and gives practice in speaking before an audience. At least once a term each pupil should prepare a report or thesis that will require some intensive study and full reference reading. It is not a bad idea to let members of the class conduct class programs occasionally. The more actual experience they get in doing things under proper guidance, the more valuable will be the returns to them and the more useful will be the course in training for citizenship.