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In the book of Jeremiah the Lord is exhorting his people to “ask for the old paths” and “walk therein.” The people of the United States of America would do well to “ask for the old paths” and return to our nation's educational foundations. An important yet little known fact about public school education in our country is that the primary purpose for establishing schools in America was to teach everyone to be able to read and understand the Holy Bible. Our first college, Harvard, in its original rules charged “every student” “to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.” and that “Every one shall so exercise himselfe in reading the Scriptures twice a day,”(A History of Harvard University, Benjamin Peirce, 1833, Appendix, p. 5). In fact, of the first one-hundred and eight colleges in America, one-hundred and six were founded by and for the Christian faith. “In founding Harvard, Yale, and other American colleges, the propagation of Christianity as a leading purpose of higher, as well as of popular education, was avowed by their founders, and by all provisions and grants of government.”(The Bible in Schools, W. W. Everts, 1870, p. 9). In 1647 the American Colony of Connecticut along with the Colony of Massachusetts passed the Old Deluder Satan Law to prevent the abuse of power over an illiterate population ignorant of the true scriptures. The Connecticut code of 1650 stated:
It being one cheife project of that old deluder, Sathan, to keepe men from the knowledge of the scriptures, as in former times, keeping them in an unknowne tongue [Latin], so in these latter times, by perswading them from the use of tongues [languages], so that at least, the true sence and meaning of the originall might bee clouded with false glosses of saint seeming deceivers; and that learning may not bee buried in the grave of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our indeavors;
It is therefore ordered by this courte and authority thereof, That every towneshipp within this jurissdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty howshoulders, shall then forthwith appointe one within theire towne, to teach all such children, as shall resorte to him, to write and read (The Code of 1650, 1822, pp. 92,93).
The following books were used extensively in America's public schools throughout the United States. These books contained numerous scriptures from the Holy Bible and many references to God, Jesus Christ, sin and salvation. These public school textbooks plainly show that generation after generation of American children were educated in Biblical morals and the Christian religion was at the foundation of their learning. Other early school books with Biblical Christian contents were also used in America from the 1600's well into the 1900's, a period of more than 300 years. Read these early public school textbooks and you will have a better understanding of why the America of today is so morally corrupt compared to the America of the first Christian European settlers of the 1600's (settlers who's Christian beliefs influenced America's education system for nearly 300 years).
While it is true that neither the United States of America nor any other nation was ever a Christian nation, we were a nation of Christians in that the majority of our citizens professed to being Christians. A quick perusal of nearly any of our early public school textbooks will reveal the fact that the God of the Holy Bible, the Judeo/Christian God, and the Christian religion was a major influence in forming the moral religious Character of our nation. The 1803 edition of The New Instructor, Section VII, under the heading, “Directions respecting the Use of Capital Letters”, states:
It is, however, very proper to begin with a capital,...
3. The appellations of the Deity ; as, "God, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Supreme Being, the Lord, Providence, the Messiah, the Holy Spirit." (The New Instructor, 1803, pp. 131,132).
Note the absence of any reference to a Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, or Roman god or goddess, and the absence of any reference to Buddha, Krishna, Allah, or any other pagan divinity. Who then was this "Deity", "God", "Almighty", "Lord", "Supreme Being" alluded to in this public school textbook? Pages 40-41 and 188 says,
Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy fathers, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever. (The New Instructor, 1803, pp. 40-41)
Humanity is, therefore, the characteristic of Christianity ; it is the badge and ornament of its professors ; it is the particular and frequent command of our Saviour, "As ye would that others should do unto you, even so do ye unto them." (The New Instructor, 1803, p. 188).
Note that this public school textbook did not refer to the Lord Jesus Christ as “a” Savior, but as “our Saviour”. In the 1796 American edition of Dilworth's Spelling-Book under the heading “Forms of Prayer for the Use of Schools,” we read:
OUR Father, which art in heaven; hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen. (Dilworth's Spelling-Book, Thomas Dilworth, 1796).
The 1811 edition of The American Preceptor under the heading “A Short Address To Parents,” reads:
5... "Give your hearts wholly to the Lord who made you." Lay the foundation of your lives here, on the firm ground of Christian faith; and build upon it whatever is just and good, worthy and noble, till the structure be complete in moral beauty.
6. The world, into which your children are entering, lies in wait for them with variety of temptations. Unfavorable sentiments of religion will soon be suggested to them, and all the snares of luxury, false honor and interest, spread in their way, which, with most of their rank, are too successful, and to many, fatal.
7. Happy the few, who in any part of life become sensible of their errors, and with painful resolution tread back the wrong steps which they have taken!
8. But happiest of men is he, who by an even course of right conduct, from the first, as far as human frailty permits, hath at once avoided the miseries of sin, the sorrows of repentance, and the difficulties of virtue; who not only can think of his present state with composure, but reflect on his past behaviour with thankful approbation; and look forward with unmixed joy to that important future hour, when he shall appear before God, and humbly offer to him a whole life spent in his service. (The American Preceptor, 1811, p. 224).
And under the heading, “A Serious Address From A Preceptor To His Scholars”, of the same 1811 edition reads:
5... The principal purpose of my frequent addresses is to promote the knowledge and the practice of the Christian religion; and in the performance of this purpose, I shall of necessity be led to recommend the purest system of morality. Ethics, improved and exalted by the Christian religion, become the guides to real wisdom and solid happiness, to which they could never attain when taught only in the schools of heathen philosophy.
6. In the religious part of your education, it is not expected that you should be engaged in the profound disquisitions of theology. The plain doctrines of the religion which you have been taught to profess must be explained to you; but the principal business is to open your hearts for the reception of those sentiments and precepts, which conduce to the direction of your actions in the employment and engagements of your subsequent life.
7. In the first place, I must then remind you of the necessity of reading the Scriptures; that is, of drinking the sacred waters at the fountain.
9. If you read the Old Testament with a taste for its beauties, you will accomplish two important purposes at the same time. You will acquire a knowledge of the Holy Bible, which is your duty; and you will improve your taste and judgment, which is your business as students in the course of a polite education.
13. It will however be proper that you should at an early age familiarize to your mind the language of the Scriptures, in all their parts, though you should not be able fully to comprehend them. You will thus treasure up many useful passages in your memory, which, on many occasions in the course of your lives, may be useful.
14. A very early acquaintance with the words of the Old and New Testament, even before any adequate ideas of their meaning have been obtained, has been found useful in subsequent life to the professed divine.
18. Make it a rule, never to be violated, to pray night and morning. It is indeed true that in this, and other schools, it is usual to begin and end the exercises of the day with prayer; but I am sorry to say, that this is often considered as a mere formality. You will pay attention to this duty, and you will also repeat other prayers at lying down on your pillow, and rising from it. (The American Preceptor, 1811, pp. 225, 226, 227).
The 1822 edition of The American Spelling Book For The Use of Schools In The United States, under the heading, “Lessons of easy words, to teach children to read, and to know their duty.”, reads:
NO man may put off the law of God: My joy is in his law all the day. O may I not go in the way of sin!... All men go out of the way. Who can say he has no sin?... The way of man is ill.... See not my sin, and let me not go to the pit. Rest in the Lord, and mind his word.... This life is not long; but the life to come has no end.... No man can say that he has done no ill. For all men have gone out of the way. There is none that doth good; no not one.... He who came to save us, will wash us from all sin; I will be glad in his name. A good boy will do all that is just; he will flee from vice; he will do good, and walk in the way of life. Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world; for they are sin. (The American Spelling Book, Noah Webster, 1822, pp. 43,44,45).
The 1842 edition of The Elementary Spelling Book stated:
Matrimony was instituted by God. – The devil is the great adversary of man. – All persons should wear a decent dress. – We are apt to live forgetful of our continual dependence on the will of God. – God governs the world in infinite wisdom; the Bible teaches us that it is our duty to worship him. It is a solemn thing to die and appear before God. – ‘If sinners entice thee, consent thou not,’ but withdraw from their company. – The chewing of tobacco is a useless custom. – Confess your sins and forsake them. – The wicked transgress the laws of God. – Liquors that intoxicate are to be avoided as poison. – Before you rise in the morning or retire at night, give thanks to God for his mercies, and implore the continuance of his protection. (The Elementary Spelling Book, 1842, pp. 52,58,66,69,72,74,76,77,79).
The 1857 edition of The Elementary Spelling Book stated:
Let all your words be sincere, and never deceive. – Never practice deceit, for this is sinful. – A mediator is a third person who interposes to adjust a dispute between parties at variance. Christ is the mediator between an offended God and offending man. (The Elementary Spelling Book, pp. 80,82).
Note that all of these books were American public school textbooks for children. The following quotes are from the 1908 edition of The Elementary Spelling Book:
The Holy Bible is the book of God. (The Elementary Spelling Book, 1908, p. 26).
Legislation is the enacting of laws, and a legislator is one who makes laws.
God is the divine legislator. He proclaimed his ten commandments, from mount Sinai.
In free governments, the people choose their legislators.
We have legislators for each state, who make laws for the state where they live. The town in which they meet to legislate, is called the seat of government. These legislators, when they are assembled to make laws, are called the legislature.
The people should choose their best and wisest men for their legislators.
lt is the duty of every good man, to inspect the moral conduct of the man who is offered as a legislator at our yearly elections. If the people wish for good laws, they may have them, by electing good men.
The legislative councils of the United States should feel their dependence on the will of a free and virtuous people.
Our farmers, mechanics and merchants, compose the strength of our nation. Let them be wise and virtuous, and watchful of their liberties. (The Elementary Spelling Book, 1908, pp. 98,99).
Unfortunately, many of our nation's citizens began to neglect their Christian duties and became un-watchful of their elected and appointed representatives and leaders, and certain subtitle elements in our society began to weave webs of deceit in order to subvert our free and independent nation. Slowly and methodically our nation's public school textbooks were infected with secular and pagan philosophies and spurious Christian doctrines which would eventually result in the total moral collapse of our public education system. For a better understanding of the causes and effects of this subversion of our government see God and America (Many people have been led to believe that America's Founding Fathers were pro-slavery. However, documented evidence reveals otherwise: Click Here for the Proof). It may well be that our nation will never be fully restored to it's former glory, as “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (Psa. 9:17). Nevertheless, we should not let our hearts be troubled or afraid, and we should never forget our nation's true history, but resolve to do what is right in the face of adversity “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life” (John 14:27; Phil. 2:15,16).
As we can see, the spirit of liberty permeated American society; and the Judeo/Christian foundations of our nation helped to spark and maintain these fires of liberty in the hearts and minds of our people. Generations of American children were taught the fundamentals of life from public school textbooks whose pages contained copious amounts of scriptures from the Holy Bible. The books most used in pursuing the studies were the New England Primer (first published circa 1690), Dixon's The English Instructor (first published in 1728), Dillworth's A New Guide to the English Tongue (first published in 1740), and Webster's American Spelling Book (first published in 1789), which were considered the standard. The New Testament was extensively used as a reading book; and the Protestant Tutor for Children (first published in 1685, the predecessor of the New England Primer), Grammatical Institute of the English Language (first published in 1783), American Preceptor (first published in 1794), Columbian orator (first published in 1799), and The English Reader (first published in 1800), also occupied places among the acknowledged textbooks of the public schools. Millions of copies and dozens of editions of these textbooks were printed and used for centuries to teach generation after generation of American children. In fact, more copies of Noah Webster's spelling book, commonly known as the "blue-back speller", have been sold than any other book except the Bible. More than eighty million copies of Webster's spelling book had been sold previous to 1880, and in 1900 it was selling at the rate of hundreds of thousands annually, being the most generally used of all school text-books (Early Schools & School-books of New England, 1904, p. 32). This is the true documented history of public school education in the United States of America. Don't let the so called 'historians' of today deceive you with their revisions of American history.
DESTINY OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
(Published in The Guardian of Liberty – January 1923)
In the early life of the first English colonies in the present territory of the United States public education was provided for all children. As the settlers penetrated the forests, scaled the mountains, poured into the Mississippi basin and swept across the continent, public schools were everywhere established and sustained.Children of the hardy pioneers were gathered into the rural schools and molded into intelligent, upright and homogeneous citizenship. The spirit of the nation was fashioned in the democratic atmosphere of that invigorating school life. There boys and girls received the inspiration to mount the ladder of achievement to its topmost round and render true and lasting service to their country and the world.
There the foundations were laid in science and literature and art and industry and statecraft. Pupils in those schools drank deeply from the Bible and from textbooks uncensored by alien propagandists the imperishable lessons of moral and spiritual integrity. So was the national character established on a superb and enduring basis.
As virgin resources and boundless possibilities drew into the West a growing tide of enterprising settlers, rural neighborhoods and villages were quickly transformed into great municipalities. In consequence city graded school systems were developed with peerless equipment and facilities from the kindergarten to the high school.
To meet the demand for teachers of the highest professional training and efficiency, normal schools and teachers' colleges were established by the States and their number and equipment was increased to keep pace with the growing demand.
Able and scholarly superintendents were employed to direct the city school systems and advance them to the highest possible degree of efficiency, while State and county supervisors rendered like service to the village and rural schools.
By the middle of the last century the admirable public school system and the expanding problems of a great and versatile nation accentuated the demand for higher education on a broad and liberal scale. Beginning with Harvard, William and Mary's and Yale, endowed colleges and universities had occupied the field of higher learning from the early colonial days. But the field had widened so rapidly as to require State institutions to supply its demands.
Immigration that poured into our country shortly before the Civil War from Ireland and other Roman Catholic lands was hostile to public education. It marked the beginning of the campaign that has continued three-fourths of a century to discredit and break down the public schools and supplant them with schools chartered by the papal throne and operated like those of Mexico and South America.
The Civil War diverted public attention from Roman Catholic maneuvers against our public schools. Under cover of that diversion the hierarchy projected its own rival system in every part of the country and boldly demanded public funds for its maintenance. That demand is urgently pressed in Roman Catholic lands and is generally conceded.
Not content to develop on our soil a rival system chartered by the Pontifical throne and teaching the papal doctrine of divine right to rule, emissaries of Rome lost no opportunity to emasculate and discredit the public schools. To that end the Bible was everywhere removed from courses of study and its reading in the school room was prohibited.
Textbooks were then censored and every fact of history discreditable to the papal despotism was thoroughly expunged. From the school readers all selections from the Scriptures and those lessons designed to inculcate moral virtues and to extol the heroism of American patriots and of the martyrs of the Reformation were systematically excluded.
Objection was made to the singing of sacred and patriotic hymns in the morning exercises. So was the spirit of America and of Christian civilization that has made America glorious banished from the public schools. A visit to the schools by any citizen of mature years or comparison of textbooks now in use in reading and history classes with those in use a generation ago will demonstrate the changes wrought by hostile Roman Catholic power.
By covert manipulation Roman politicians have wormed their way into boards of education and city and rural school superintendencies and there used their official power to remove the most worthy and efficient teachers and fill their places with an appalling number of Roman Catholics bound by the canon law which outlaws public schools and forbids children of Roman families to attend them.
Having thus debauched and devastated the public schools to the limit of her power, Rome is using the controlled press and her own three hundred periodicals to discredit them with charges of irreligion and inefficiency. Her malicious aspersions deserve the condemnation of all good citizens.
The Papacy hates public education. Its law denies the right of civil government to educate the people. There is no education where Rome has enough power to dominate the government. Public schools are distinctively Protestant institutions. They are not found in any Roman Catholic land except in the form of a miserable counterfeit depraved by Bishops of Rome who reign in the midst of illiteracy all but universal.
The school issue in this country has reached its crisis. We are at the parting of the ways. We must decide whether American children shall be educated in American schools or in the alien schools of Rome. Millions of unassimilated aliens crowded into our cities and millions more that are coming to our shores every decade necessitate a speedy and final decision.
In spite of their emasculation at papal hands while the nation slept, our public schools possess marvelous efficiency and unbounded potentialities. Purged of Roman poison and restored to their pristine virility and power, they will quickly Americanize the alien Roman Catholic hordes in our cities, exalt in the public conscience the majesty of law and prove a mighty factor in the solution of the grave problems confronting the nation.
To that end the childhood and youth of the Republic must be educated in those schools. The textbooks and teachers must be imbued with the highest ideals of civic duty and patriotism. The schools themselves must breathe the loftiest spirit of the nation and its homes and churches. They must typify the choicest fruit of Christian civilization.