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Mace's Primary History: Stories of Heroism by William H. Mace - $40 (GREEN)
Mayfair Road near Rt 619
condition:
good
size / dimensions:
7 3/4" x 6 3/4" x 1"
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by William H. Mace
Published by Rand McNally & Company, New York, 1915
404 pages
Illustrated by Homer W. Colby portraits by Jacques Reich and P. R. Audibert
Hardcover Bound in brown cloth-covered boards decorated with black, stamped graphics on front cover featuring a viking ship.
An early 20th century American history text, written for primary school students, fourth through sixth grade, by Syracuse University Professor of History, Mace. Mace teaches American history from discovery and colonization of North & South America to the Spanish-American War telling the stories of the political and military leaders of the U.S. through these periods, using the records and accounts of the time, many now debunked or changed through modern scholarship. The book is an example of history taught in U.S. grade schools until late in the 20th century.
This book gives a simple and interesting story of American history by means of biographies, grouped according to periods. The purpose of the author has been "to bring before the mind of the pupils a series of great historical characters. These men do interesting things from the beginning to the end of life. Because their deeds are concrete and physical, they are easily pictured in imagination." The biographies are unusually well selected to give various types of heroism, emphasizing the services rendered to the country by overcoming great obstacles in its industrial development as well as by fighting its battles.
The author has wisely taken advantage of the charm always attached to biography. Children are not attracted by a brief, summarized treatment of events. It is the dramatic personal story that arouses interest. This is a principle well understood by teachers but rarely followed by writers of textbooks.
Professor Mace has not only written entertaining stories of the great men who made the nation but has also related these stories in such a way as to give a connected study of our history. Better still, each character is presented with some background or social environment which brings the child nearer to the understanding of historical problems than the mere story. However, the book covers too much ground to be entirely successful. The child's imagination cannot picture the social situation in any period without more detailed statements. For this reason it is doubtful if any one-volume textbook covering the whole of American history can ever be satisfactory. At least, such a textbook should be used in connection with supplementary reading offering fuller treatment of social life.
The style of this book is so vivid, simple, and clear that children of the fourth and fifth grades read it easily and enjoy it thoroughly. It is well illustrated with both pictures and maps.