The author has derived much assistance from the many admirable works upon the same subject, now before the country. But he has not hesitated to adopt a treatment different from theirs when it has been deemed advisable. He submits his work to a discriminating public, with the hope that he has not labored in vain in a field in which so many have wrought.
ALEX. L. PETERMAN.
A FEW WORDS TO TEACHERS.
1. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY.--Every school should teach, and every child should study, the principles of our government, in order:
1. That by knowing his country better he may learn to love it more. The first duty of the school is to teach its pupils to love "God, home, and native land."
2. That the child may learn that there is such a thing as just authority; that obedience to it is right and manly; that we must learn to govern by first learning to obey.
3. That he may know his rights as a citizen, and, "knowing, dare maintain;" that he may also know his duties as a citizen, and, knowing, may perform them intelligently and honestly.
4. That he may understand the sacredness of the right of suffrage, and aid in securing honest elections and honest discharge of official duties.
5. That he may better understand the history of his country, for the history of the United States is largely the history of our political institutions.
2. ORAL INSTRUCTION.--There is no child in your school too young to learn something of geography, of history, and of civil government.