PREFACE
Many excellent textbooks are already available for the teaching of civics. Why should another be added to the number? Wherein does this book differ from the rest? What are its outstanding features?
The Plan. This book covers a wider range than most texts. It includes not only a survey of governmental framework and functions, but many topics which are ordinarily spoken of as questions in economics, sociology, and international relations. The propriety of including such topics scarcely requires a defensive argument nowadays, for the old lines of demarcation in the social sciences are rapidly breaking down. The problems of our complex modern civilization pay no heed to technical boundaries. They are the joint product of political, social, and economic forces. No one can get a grasp of them if he lets his mind run on a single track. A well-organized course in civics, or in the problems of democracy, should acquaint the student with the great institutions, relations, and principles which dominate the life of the community. To accomplish this end it should carry him as far afield as need be.
The Method. Nevertheless, the main theme of this book is American government. No matter what the topic under discussion, the authors have tried to link it up with the drift and purposes of governmental action and policy. This intimate and continuous connection between public problems and public policy is the central concept of the book; it is the thread which holds the various chapters together. There are many winding roads in the broad domain of the social sciences, but sooner or later they all lead through the realm of government.
The authors have not tried to discuss every possible phase of their subject. Questions of outstanding importance have been given the right of way; minor matters have been relegated to the footnotes or omitted altogether. Those who desire enlightenment upon the odds and ends of government or economics can get it from an encyclopedia. The primary aim has been to get the facts hitched up to principles, and to set the principles in their right perspective. For this reason considerable space has been given to problems which, although international in their scope, are of profound importance to the people of the United States.
The Arrangement. No two textbook writers seem able to agree as to the proper order in which material should be arranged. But the sequence of the chapters is not, after all, a matter of much importance. No one feels under any obligation to finish the Book of Deuteronomy before beginning to read the Acts of the Apostles. The teacher who prefers to start with the civic activities rather than with the organization of government should have no hesitation in doing so. In this book, at any rate, each of the larger divisions of the subject is treated independently, and does not depend upon the others. Some schools devote a half year to civics, and a half year to economics. Material adapted to such an arrangement can be obtained by a slight transposition of the chapters.[[1]]
The Supplementary Material. More than a hundred pages are devoted to lists of general references, group problems, short studies, questions, and topics for debate. It is not anticipated, of course, that any teacher can find time to use them all; but the endeavor has been made to afford ample variety for selection. Among the general references are included not only a few of the most authoritative and most recent publications, but also some elementary books which can ordinarily be found in the smaller school and public libraries. The group problems are intended to be of special service to those teachers who use the “project method” of instruction; but in any event the practice of setting groups of pupils to work upon problems of a comprehensive character is a good one for every teacher to pursue at times. Some of these group problems are “projects” in the strict sense of the term; others are merely research topics of an elementary sort. Some involve field work; some do not. The questions are not designed to be tests of memory, but to provide a basis for socialized recitations, to provoke discussion, and to encourage among the pupils the habit of forming their own opinions. The numerous and varied topics for debate have been inserted with the idea of lending encouragement to one of the most effective methods of promoting interest in public problems.
The Point of View. In dealing with controverted questions, of which there are a great many in the field of civics, the authors have tried to hold the scales justly, and to give both sides a fair hearing. It may be that they have not in all cases succeeded; if so, they can only plead the unconscious partisanship to which all human flesh is heir. In any event these chapters have been written with a sincere desire to promote a more intelligent citizenship, with an abiding faith in the merits of American government, and with the conviction that the people of the United States will prove abundantly capable of solving their manifold problems by the traditional process of reconciling liberty with law.
The Illustrations. Apart from a number of diagrams, the illustrative material has been drawn from the masterpieces of American mural art. They symbolize what is best in our civilization; they may serve to give pupils a passing acquaintance with a few creative works of enduring value; and they have some artistic merit, which most textbook illustrations have not. For the selection of these illustrations and for the explanatory legends which accompany them, I am indebted to my wife.
A Word of Acknowledgment. To Mr. Ozanne this book owes a large part of whatever value it may possess. He has had a great deal to do with the arrangement of materials and the methods of presentation. Every page has had his repeated scrutiny. It is to me a great pleasure to have had, in this work, the close co-operation of one who possesses not only a mastery of the subject but a rare proficiency in classroom methods.
WILLIAM BENNETT MUNRO.
Harvard University,
February 22, 1922.