Part 7

Few teachers will deny that too little time is spent in giving the student a general view of the whole subject, either in its entirety or in its various phases. The text has been studied by chapters or by months or by movements. The history as a whole has never been seen. By the time the student has reached the "Aldrich Currency Plan" in American history he has forgotten all about the experiments with the first United States Bank. He could no more outline the financial history of the United States as given in his text than he could outline the industrial or political history of the American people. And yet he has studied the facts given in his textbook; he has supplemented the text by his work in the library, and in the recitation; he has done everything that may reasonably be expected of him, except to assemble his historical information and review it as a whole.

If the student in American history is asked to go to the board at intervals and write an outline for the work covered on such topics as the following, he will come much nearer understanding the progress of our people:--

1. History of the tariff.

2. Political parties and principles for which they stood.

3. Things that crystallized Northern sentiment against slavery.

4. Reasons for the unification of the South.

5. Diplomatic relations of the United States.

6. Additions of territory.

7. Financial legislation.

8. Growth of humanitarian spirit.

There will easily be sufficient topics so that each member of the class will have a different one. They can all work at the board, simultaneously. The amount of time used for exercises of this sort need not be great, and the value received is incalculable.

If the teacher wishes to review briefly on the military, diplomatic, social, political, or economic history of the people the class have been studying, it is no difficult matter to arrange a set of questions, the occasional review in which will clinch in the student's mind what otherwise would surely be forgotten. Such questions as the following on the financial history of the United States are each answerable with a few words and will serve as an illustration of the method which may be employed in reviewing any other phase of history:--

1. By what means was trade accomplished before the use of money?

2. What are the functions of money?

3. What determines the amount of money needed in a country?

4. What has been used for money at various periods of our history?

5. What is meant by doing business on credit?

6. What is cheap money?

7. What is Gresham's Law?

8. What is the effect of large issues of paper money on prices?

9. What is the effect of large issues of paper money on wages?

10. Why does the wage-earner suffer?

11. At what periods in American history have large issues of paper money been emitted?

12. What were the objects of the first United States Bank?

13. Did the bank accomplish them?

14. Why was it not rechartered?

15. When was the second United States Bank chartered?

16. Why?