476 EDUCATION OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE. fed, and grown to fledging, and flying, and conquest; that first altar from which rises incense that brings down celestial benedictions up on nations. Into all American homes were introduced the implements and the elements of comfort, of health, of enjoyment. Domestic Commerce.-Out from these first startings came DOMESTIC COMMERCE, which has always preponderated as ten to one over foreign. Neighbor exchanged with neighbor his surplus to supply his lack; community with community, and State with State; for, from the beginning, freedom of domestic commerce was American law. Neither the traveller, the merchant, nor the vendor cared to ask, nor did he mind the knowing when he passed the frontier of a State; the national constitution had guaranteed the same rights to all citizens in all the States, for it was intended to be one country for one people. The flat boatman, who had loaded his craft in the upper waters of the Ohio, would have no questions asked him till his rude boat, borne on the bosom of an expanding river, had made a voyage of two thousand miles before it reached its market. There was freedom of port entry from the farthest village of Maine, along all the coast round to the mouth of the Mississippi. The explorer along the waters of the northern frontier found entry at every harbor, through to distant Mackinaw, and our inland adventurers, following the roads opened by Boone to the Mississippi, and Lewis and Clark to distant Oregon, were all free to roam and rove where they liked-all under the protection of a flag which, although it was sustained by a people hardly so numerous as one of the provinces of ancient Rome, swayed a country vaster than that of the Cæsars :—a territory, too, of virgin and not exhausted soil; of fresh and not of degenerated and subjugated races. Education of the whole People.-Beyond all this, next to personal liberty, with the sacredness of its guarantees, EDUCATION was held to be the first great duty of the state, and hence provision was made on a broader scale than ever was known before for the intellectual illumination of the great body of the people. The State to Educate all its People.-The grandest feature in the structure of social life in America, was the point from which the founders of our institutions started, viz., the duty of the state to educate all its people. When they proclaimed this idea, it had all the freshness, and culminated in all the splendor of a new Evangel to the neglected multitude. No nation had ever before thought of elevating the whole mass of its people into an intellectual life. They were not supposed to participate in any of the duties of citizenship, except to obey the law, and contribute by their services, and, if need be, oy their lives, to sustaining the state. They were not partners in the business of carrying on civil government, and no thought was bestowed upon qualify. ing them for duties they never would assume. The nearest approach to a plan of universal education had been with the Jews, who were required by the Mosaic law to instruct their children in the institutes of their fathers; but PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY OF GENERAL EDUCATION. 477 that instruction was limited to a formal repetition of the maxims of the Levitical code, beyond whose range there was no inculcation of freedom of thought or action. The more completely they were indoctrinated into that system, the more exclusive and narrow they became. But with us, in laying the foundations of broad and great institutions, the cardinal maxim of the general education of the whole people was a new and vital proclamation. Provision was made by every community in the establishment of every colony, and in the organization of every state. This system was not indeed completely carried out in all cases, but it lay at the basis of all civil institutions and they, more or less completely, accomplished the objects intended. It has been handed down to us, growing more and more sacred as an obligation as time went by, and it has expanded as we have advanced into new magnitude and beneficence. If it did not rear for us such institutions of learning as could rival the old universities of Europe, it was a matter of no regard, since popular education was of infinitely more consequence to vast communities than excellence of attainment among the favored few. Time has vindicated the wisdom of this system; for with the exception of some of the higher departments of learning, and the more abstruse and recondite fields of investigation, some of our colleges have proved themselves equal to as thorough scholarship as the older institutions of Europe; while a vastly larger proportion of our people have risen to a commendable grade of learning than can be found in any other country. Brutish ignorance, which characterizes most of the nations of Europe, which have prided themselves on their institutions of high learning, has been utterly unknown in this country; and as a consequence we have been exempt from that social degradation which has characterized such large classes of the European populations. The glory of this practical philosophy of general education has not only been displayed in the familiarity of the masses with the elementary principles of knowledge, but by the establishment of colleges and higher schools, which have ripened during late years into ample ranges of science. Classical education has never been neglected in American schools; but within our im mediate time there has been displayed a growing appreciation of science, and the establishments which have recently been founded for such specific purposes, have already brought a much larger body of young men into the study of the natural sciences than could be found in any other land; while the higher education of females is entirely an American idea. This will appear when we come to speak of those new aspects of education which will so soon command our attention. It is therefore chiefly, as we remarked in the Opening, in the elevation of men, in giving a new value to human life for the masses of the people, that we have achieved our best work, since if we had solved no higher prob lems than in the pure mechanics of life, in which we have outstripped the world, we should have lived in vain. If man had gained no new worth on this continent, it might just as well have been left unwaked from its dreamless sleep of ages. 478 ONE LANGUAGE FOR A GREAT PEOPLE. It is, therefore, by a higher standard than the mere accumulation of wealth, and the bettering of the physical condition of men, that we should be judged in the progress of this history. I think I shall be able to show that our greatest achievements have been in those fields of social, intellectual, and moral culture which had hitherto commanded so little attention among the statesmen and philosophers of the world. One Language for a great People.-Coincident with the application of this philosophy of civil life, came another thing, which was to secure a progress almost unknown in this Babel world of confused tongues-this continent was to have one language. The man had long been born whom Providence had chosen for the task. Just at the close of the Revolution, Noah Webster published an 'elementary book for facilitating the acquisition of our vernacular tongue, and for correcting a vicious pronunciation which prevailed extensively among the common people of this country.' These are his words: Soon after the publication of that work-I believe in the following yearthat learned and respectable scholar, the Rev. Dr. Goodrich of Durham, one of the trustees of Yale College, suggested to me the propriety and expedi ency of my compiling a Dictionary which should complete a system for the instruction of the citizens of this country in the language. At that time I could not indulge the thought, much less the hope of undertaking such a work, as I was neither qualified by research, nor had I the means of support during the execution of a work, had I been disposed to undertake it. For many years therefore, though I considered such a work very desirable, yet it appeared to me impracticable, as I was under the necessity of devoting my time to other occupations for obtaining subsistence.' But that work was begun before the close of Washington's first administration, and in 1806, a Compendious Dictionary was published. I have often thought that the importance of this event could not only never be exaggerated, but that it was impossible even for the men of our times, living threequarters of a century later, to comprehend the greatness of that event. It seems worth the while to stop a few moments here at the fountain-head of this stream of intellectual life which has poured its inspirations down through the century, and whose life-giving waters are to bathe all the lands of the earth. I need not use the language of the future—this is being done already. I need not conceal here what I think. I shall be able, chiefly through the aid of my learned friend John A. Weisse, M.D., of New York, who is about bringing before the world the fruit of life-long investigations, to show with almost the certainty of a mathematical demonstration, that the English language, condensed and adjusted by philosophical phonetic law, is to be the language of the human race.' 1 The English Language and Literature. Analyzed by a new Method. English, the Youngest, most Elastic, and grammatically the Simplest Language. Its Origin and Progress philologically, historically, and numerically proved. Its Influence and Importance as a Means of Civilization. Its Extent and Destiny. By John A. Weisse, M.D. Extent, influence, and importance of the English language as a means of civilization: Statistics showing the political, social, intellectual, moral, and religious status of the populations governed by the English language. THE SCHOOLMASTER OF THE REPUBLIC. 479 Noah Webster-The Schoolmaster of our Republic.-It seems to be one of the laws of Providence, that the founders of States shall never divide their glory with those who come after them. Moses, Solon, and Lycurgus; Romulus, Alfred, and Washington have left none to dispute their fame. So is it with the Fathers of Learning. The name of Cadmus inspires to-day the same veneration that was felt for him by Plato. No dramatic Poet will dream of usurping the throne of Shakespeare-no future Astronomer will lay The English-speaking populations understand the science of Government better than any other nation, as may be realized by the following table: ITEMS. EARTH'S STATISTICS. SHARE OF THE POPULATION RULED BY Thus earth's area is 51,590,000 square miles, and its population 1,377,000,000. Of this total population the English language rules 273,617,832 souls (about onefifth), and 12,125,948 square miles (one-quarter) of earth's land. This land and its dwellers are scattered from the North Pole to the Equator, and thence to the South Pole. It abounds in the most multifarious mineral and agi.cultural resources from gold and diamond to iron and coal, from wheat to millet, from the sturdy oak to the fragrant cinnamon tree. Its occupants cultivate and manufacture the most varied articles, which they ship, carry, sell, and exchange all over the globe. The English language controls the highways and by-ways of trade. It is spoken by all races from the Esquimaux, Caucasian, Malayan, Hindoo, and American Indian to the Hottentot. It commands most of the world's mechanical skill, consequently most of its manufactures and commerce, and most of its political, intellectual, social, moral, and religious influence. The sun sets daily on other leading languages, but it never sets on the English-speaking populations. While the speakers of other leading languages are plunged in darkness and sleep, speakers of English are wide awake and busily at work in another hemisphere. In every country of the globe are English-speaking missionaries, trying to advance Christianity, and with it their lan 12, 125,948 square miles (4). 9,943,727 tons (nearly). Almost entirely controlled by the 1,160,930,000 dollars (over ). 2,711,620,000 dollars (over). 2,466,647,000 dollars (nearly). 1,761,875,000 letters (over). (6 letters per soul.) 84,918,215 Bibles and Testaments (over ). guage, civilization, and progress. To govern, guard, and protect this vast domain every soul ruled by the English language paid but $4.25 per annual tax, and the total population furnished only one soldier per 650 souls in 1873; whereas every soul ruled by the Russian language paid $4.50, and the total population furnished one soldier in 107 souls; every soul in the Fatherland paid $6.30, and the total population furnished one soldier per 102 souls; every soul in Italy paid $11, and the total population furnished one soldier per 80 souls; every soul in the United States paid $10, and the total population furnished but one soldier in 1,199 souls; every soul in Japan paid $4.50, and the total population furnished one soldier per 289 souls. Hence even governinent is less onerous under Englishspeaking than any other rule. In the imports of 1873 the share of the Englishspeaking populations was about one-third, while their share of the exports was nearly one-half. This conclusively shows that they command nearly one-half of the world's gold and silver; yet their population is but one-fifth of earth's inhabitants, and their area but one-quarter of earth's land. Of the 273 millions ruled by the English idiom only about 80 millions speak English. As far as can be surmised from prehistoric indications and historic data. 480 ENGLISH TO BE THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. a profane hand on the crown of Copernicus. The world looks for no other Iliad-there will be no second Dante. Daniel Webster, has interpreted the Constitution, and Noah Webster left us a Standard of the English Language which will guide all successive ages. The pen is the only sceptre which is never broken. The only real The Maker of Words is In this domain he has no rival. master is he who controls the thoughts of men. master of the thinker, who only uses them. 28. Now notice the conclusive evidence of a higher intellectual development among the English-speaking populations :-The World's Postal Service, from 1868 to 1871, inclusive, shows 3,468,227,000 letters mailed and carried. Of these billions and millions of letters, 1,761,875,000 (over one-half) were written, mailed, and read by the English-speaking populations. Can there be a surer sign of individual and national progress,'reading and writing being the primary requisites and key to knowledge?' no language has ever been so widely diffused. Who yoke is easy, and our burden is light! Matt. xi. then can, who will doubt, that a language with such a choice vocabulary, such vast resources, and such an enterprising population, is destined to become, at no distant period, the universal language on earth? Circumnavigate the globe, go from pole to pole, and the English tongue will hail you on every ocean and sea, greet you on every island, welcome you in every haven, accompany you along Morse's wires above and under water with lightning speed. Even around the sources of the White Nile and among the jungles of Central Africa, it echoes from the lips of Baker and Livingstone. On this tour you meet the ancient Ophir, the famous El Dorado, and a southern continent as large as Europe, governed by the English idiom. The English-speaking populations had their Numa and Egeria in Ethelbert and Bertha, A.D. 570; their Solon in Alfred the Great; their Junius Brutus in Cromwell ; their Cincinnatus in Washington; their Homer and Hesiod in Chaucer and Milton; their Sophocles in Shakespeare; their Aristotle in Bacon and Newton; their Herodotus, etc., in Hume, Prescott, Gibbon, etc.; their Hippocrates and Galen in Sydenham and Harvey; their Archimedes in Watt, Franklin, Faraday, and Morse; their Demosthenes and Cicero in Pitt and Webster; their Hanno and Nearchus in Cook, Drake, and Anson; their Pytheas in Sır John Franklin and Dr. Kane: their Sappho and Corinna in Aphra Behn, Lady Montagu, Mrs. Browning; their Marco Polo in Sir John Mandeville; their Hipparchus in Herschel; their Virgil, etc., in Dryden, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Longfellow, Bryant, etc.; their Semiramis in Elizabeth, and now their Dido in the gentle, but firm Victoria, who rules over 234,762,593 souls, dwelling in 44,142,651 houses. Let us not forget that, where Greek and Latin had, in any branch of literature and science, one eminent author, the English idiom has ten. Hence Tyre and Sidon, Greece, Carthage, and Rome must go in the shade when compared with the countries ruled by the English language, comprising the British Empire, United States, Liberia, and Sarawak. England and the United States should ever go hand in hand-for England and America at war should make the angels weep, and cause Hope, Liberty, and Justice to hide their faces. Both countries have been expanding the English language-England by sending colonies to all parts of the globe-America by receiving, anglicizing, and assimilating emigrants from all nations-thus England acting as the bee hive of the English-speaking populations, America as their magnet. With their vast domains, England and America can say to the masses of Europe and Asia: Come unto us, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and we will give you rest. Our The King of the Fiji Islands ceded his realm to Great Britain, September 30, 1874. Soon the Navigator Islands will join their destiny with that of the Eng lish-speaking populations, and to-day Dec. 2, 1874, comes the news by cable that the territory between Cape Colony and Natal has been annexed to the Engglish-speaking world. The New Zealanders, who but but yesterday were cannibals, numbering about 120,000, over an area of 95,000 square miles, are being rapidly christianized under English rule. The Sandwich Islanders are being educated in their own and in the English language. Of the four newspapers they issue, two are native and two English. Ham's progeny in Ashantee must cast their lot with the Englishspeaking populations, and affiliate with the Liberians, who are Hamites, christianized in America. Let us not omit the Icelanders, who, since their Millennial Celebration, August 2d, 1874, have sent a petition to His Excellency President Grant, to negotiate terms for a settlement in Alaska. Thus the dwellers of the Arctic and Antarctic regions, as well as those of torrid Africa, are casting their fate with the English-speaking populations, and hastening the day of a Universal language. England and America can afford to look quietly at the jealousies and wars in Europe, while races of all climes increase their domain, and while everything points to a speedy advance of civilization in the southern hemisphere, whose serene sky, bright constellations, atmospheric conditions, telluric formation and soil are ready for higher intellectual development. Starting with a superior language and literature, and without mediæval prejudices and drawbacks, Oceanica may soon rival the mother-country. Africa is attracting the world's attention. England and America have done much, and may yet do more for the untutored children of Ham. The Græco-Latin races of EuropeFrance, Italy, and Spain-will gladly aid the progress of Africa, where the fabled Gardens of the Hesperides may yet be realized by the enterprise, daring, and liberality of such men as Baker, Livingstone, Stanley, and Bennett. |