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New England Primer
The New England Primer was the first textbook ever printed in America and was used to teach reading and Bible lessons in our schools until the twentieth century. In fact, many of the Founding Fathers and their children learned to read from The New England Primer. This pocket-size edition is an historical reprint of the 1777 version used in many schools during the Founding Era. A great resource for homeschoolers or for use in any classroom.
88 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1991
18 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
About the author
David Barton
292 books264 followersDavid Barton is the Founder and President of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that presents America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious and constitutional heritage.
WallBuilders is a name taken from the Old Testament writings of Nehemiah, who led a grassroots movement to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore its strength and honor. In the same way, WallBuilders seeks to energize the grassroots today to become involved in strengthening their communities, states, and nation.
David is the author of numerous best-selling books, with the subjects being drawn largely from his massive library of tens of thousands of original writings from the Founding Era. He also addresses well over 400 groups each year.
His exhaustive research has rendered him an expert in historical and constitutional issues and he serves as a consultant to state and federal legislators, has participated in several cases at the Supreme Court, was involved in the development of the History/Social Studies standards for states such as Texas and California, and has helped produce history textbooks now used in schools across the nation.
WallBuilders is a name taken from the Old Testament writings of Nehemiah, who led a grassroots movement to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore its strength and honor. In the same way, WallBuilders seeks to energize the grassroots today to become involved in strengthening their communities, states, and nation.
David is the author of numerous best-selling books, with the subjects being drawn largely from his massive library of tens of thousands of original writings from the Founding Era. He also addresses well over 400 groups each year.
His exhaustive research has rendered him an expert in historical and constitutional issues and he serves as a consultant to state and federal legislators, has participated in several cases at the Supreme Court, was involved in the development of the History/Social Studies standards for states such as Texas and California, and has helped produce history textbooks now used in schools across the nation.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 22, 2019
First sentence: HOW glorious is our heavenly King, Who reigns above tha Sky! How shall a Child presume to sing His dreadful Majesty!
Premise/plot: This is essentially the first textbook specifically written/published for the American colonies. The book was published before 1777--by almost a century--but earlier copies than the 1777 edition are rare. I found no online sources for earlier editions. Benjamin Harris published it in America--Boston, I believe; he had published a textbook or primer entitled The Protestant Tutor in England before fleeing to America in 1686.
My thoughts: It would be easy for most modern readers to dismiss this one completely as outdated religious propaganda. But what is a Christian to make of The New England primer?
One section of this one reminded me of my own instruction in reading--for better or worse. They have separated out vowels and consonants into "easy syllables."
Ab, eb, ib, ob, ub
ac, ec, ic, oc, uc
ad, ed, id, od, ud
af, ef, if, of, uf
ag, eg, ig, og, ug
aj, ej, ij, oj, uj
etc....
ba, be, bi, bo, bu
ca, ce, ci, co, cu
da, de, di, do, du
fa, fe, fi, fo, fuc
ga, ge, gi, go, gu
ha, he, hi, ho, hu
I can't honestly say that I learned to LOVE reading based on this system of sounding out letters. First learning to "blend" two letters into one sound...but I did learn to read.
Some of the words in the "words of one syllable, two syllables, three syllables, four syllables, etc." are interesting. You'd never really think about children needing HOW to read them. Words such as argument, damnify, abominable, abomination, mortification, etc.
Some of the alphabet poems are better than others. I do like "In Adams's fall/ We sinned all."
One section pairs the alphabet with bible verses. This again is very similar to my own instruction. Though not the exact same pairings--but the general idea.
It does include the Lord's Prayer and The Creed. Surely these are still relevant for believers of all age to be familiar with.
The Verses for Children...I found lines here and there which I liked.
He gave me life, and gives me breath,
And he can save my soul from death,
By JESUS CHRIST my only Lord,
According to his holy word.
He clothes my back and makes me warm:
He saves my flesh and bones from harm.
He gives me bread and milk and meat
And all I have that's good to eat.
When I am sick, he if he please,
Can make me well and give me ease:
He gives me sleep and quiet rest,
Whereby my body is refresh'd
The Lord is good and kind to me,
And very thankful I must be:
I must obey and love and fear him,
By faith in Christ I must draw near him.
Now I lay me down to take my sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
It does include a list of proper names of men and women to "teach children to spell their own..." I can't say many of these are common these days. I wonder how many Xenophon's there were among the Puritans? Mehitable does make the list for women.
One section focuses on the martyr John ROGERS and the advice he gave his children in the days before his death.
It does include the WESTMINSTER shorter catechism. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Westminster Catechism. It is AWESOME. There are 107 questions in this catechism.
Quest. WHAT is the chief end of man ?
Ans. Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him ?
A. The word of God which is contained in the scriptures of the old and new testament is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify God and enjoy him.
Q. 3. What do the scriptures principally teach ?
A. The scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requireth of man.
I am all for teaching catechisms to children--to believers--of all ages. Though I did not discover them until I was an adult.
The next section is "Spiritual Milk for American Babes" by John Cotton.
Q. WHAT hath God done for you ?
A. God hath made me, he keepeth me, and he can save me.
Q. Are you then born a sinner ?
A. I was conceived in sin, & born in iniquity.
Q. What is your birth sin ?
A. Adam's sin imputed to me, and a corrupt nature dwelling in me.
Q. What is your corrupt nature ?
A. My corrupt nature is empty of grace, bent unto sin, only unto sin, and that continually.
Q. What is sin ?
A. Sin is a transgression of the law.
Q. What is faith ?
A. Faith is the grace of the Spirit, whereby I deny myself, and believe on Christ for righteousness and salvation.
Q. What is prayer ?
A. It is calling upon God in the name of Christ by the help of the Holy Ghost, according to the will of God.
Q. What is repentance ?
A. Repentance is a grace of the Spirit, whereby I loath my sins, and myself for them and confess them before the Lord, and mourn after Christ for the pardon of them, and for grace to serve him in newness of life.
I honestly don't know what to make of the rhyming dialogue between Christ, Youth and Devil. I'm stumped.
It ends with further advice to children on how to live.
Overall, there were elements that I liked--namely the catechisms and creeds--and elements that perhaps weren't as timeless.
Premise/plot: This is essentially the first textbook specifically written/published for the American colonies. The book was published before 1777--by almost a century--but earlier copies than the 1777 edition are rare. I found no online sources for earlier editions. Benjamin Harris published it in America--Boston, I believe; he had published a textbook or primer entitled The Protestant Tutor in England before fleeing to America in 1686.
My thoughts: It would be easy for most modern readers to dismiss this one completely as outdated religious propaganda. But what is a Christian to make of The New England primer?
One section of this one reminded me of my own instruction in reading--for better or worse. They have separated out vowels and consonants into "easy syllables."
Ab, eb, ib, ob, ub
ac, ec, ic, oc, uc
ad, ed, id, od, ud
af, ef, if, of, uf
ag, eg, ig, og, ug
aj, ej, ij, oj, uj
etc....
ba, be, bi, bo, bu
ca, ce, ci, co, cu
da, de, di, do, du
fa, fe, fi, fo, fuc
ga, ge, gi, go, gu
ha, he, hi, ho, hu
I can't honestly say that I learned to LOVE reading based on this system of sounding out letters. First learning to "blend" two letters into one sound...but I did learn to read.
Some of the words in the "words of one syllable, two syllables, three syllables, four syllables, etc." are interesting. You'd never really think about children needing HOW to read them. Words such as argument, damnify, abominable, abomination, mortification, etc.
Some of the alphabet poems are better than others. I do like "In Adams's fall/ We sinned all."
One section pairs the alphabet with bible verses. This again is very similar to my own instruction. Though not the exact same pairings--but the general idea.
It does include the Lord's Prayer and The Creed. Surely these are still relevant for believers of all age to be familiar with.
The Verses for Children...I found lines here and there which I liked.
He gave me life, and gives me breath,
And he can save my soul from death,
By JESUS CHRIST my only Lord,
According to his holy word.
He clothes my back and makes me warm:
He saves my flesh and bones from harm.
He gives me bread and milk and meat
And all I have that's good to eat.
When I am sick, he if he please,
Can make me well and give me ease:
He gives me sleep and quiet rest,
Whereby my body is refresh'd
The Lord is good and kind to me,
And very thankful I must be:
I must obey and love and fear him,
By faith in Christ I must draw near him.
Now I lay me down to take my sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
It does include a list of proper names of men and women to "teach children to spell their own..." I can't say many of these are common these days. I wonder how many Xenophon's there were among the Puritans? Mehitable does make the list for women.
One section focuses on the martyr John ROGERS and the advice he gave his children in the days before his death.
It does include the WESTMINSTER shorter catechism. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Westminster Catechism. It is AWESOME. There are 107 questions in this catechism.
Quest. WHAT is the chief end of man ?
Ans. Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him ?
A. The word of God which is contained in the scriptures of the old and new testament is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify God and enjoy him.
Q. 3. What do the scriptures principally teach ?
A. The scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requireth of man.
I am all for teaching catechisms to children--to believers--of all ages. Though I did not discover them until I was an adult.
The next section is "Spiritual Milk for American Babes" by John Cotton.
Q. WHAT hath God done for you ?
A. God hath made me, he keepeth me, and he can save me.
Q. Are you then born a sinner ?
A. I was conceived in sin, & born in iniquity.
Q. What is your birth sin ?
A. Adam's sin imputed to me, and a corrupt nature dwelling in me.
Q. What is your corrupt nature ?
A. My corrupt nature is empty of grace, bent unto sin, only unto sin, and that continually.
Q. What is sin ?
A. Sin is a transgression of the law.
Q. What is faith ?
A. Faith is the grace of the Spirit, whereby I deny myself, and believe on Christ for righteousness and salvation.
Q. What is prayer ?
A. It is calling upon God in the name of Christ by the help of the Holy Ghost, according to the will of God.
Q. What is repentance ?
A. Repentance is a grace of the Spirit, whereby I loath my sins, and myself for them and confess them before the Lord, and mourn after Christ for the pardon of them, and for grace to serve him in newness of life.
I honestly don't know what to make of the rhyming dialogue between Christ, Youth and Devil. I'm stumped.
It ends with further advice to children on how to live.
Overall, there were elements that I liked--namely the catechisms and creeds--and elements that perhaps weren't as timeless.
January 7, 2017
The New England Primer is a fascinating little document, being one of the earliest text books in the United States. It's difficult to evaluate it, as today it is nothing but a piece of religious propaganda readily discarded without a second thought. So one star? But still interesting to see what early colonial education was like and how we have progressed since.
July 22, 2011
Amazing to me that this was the equivalent of a first grade textbook in it's day. It gives me the sense that our educational system has devolved significantly in certain respects.
In first grade, I was barely scraping by with: 'See Sam run. Run Sam run.' These kids were learning vocabulary words like 'Edyfying, Formidably, Consolation, and Mortification. Oh how far the mighty have fallen. Considering it's only rival for best selling book during the 1700's was the Bible, I can't understand why I never heard a thing about this book until -after- I'd graduated from college.
It's a quick read, once you can get past the 's' sometimes looking like an 'f' (something to do with the original English font). And of course, adjust yourself to the sentence structuring of the day. For how little trouble it is to go through, it offers a lot of insight into the prevailing worldview during the time of our nation's founding.
In first grade, I was barely scraping by with: 'See Sam run. Run Sam run.' These kids were learning vocabulary words like 'Edyfying, Formidably, Consolation, and Mortification. Oh how far the mighty have fallen. Considering it's only rival for best selling book during the 1700's was the Bible, I can't understand why I never heard a thing about this book until -after- I'd graduated from college.
It's a quick read, once you can get past the 's' sometimes looking like an 'f' (something to do with the original English font). And of course, adjust yourself to the sentence structuring of the day. For how little trouble it is to go through, it offers a lot of insight into the prevailing worldview during the time of our nation's founding.
June 1, 2020
The *New-England Primer* was the most popular work used for catechesis and also for teaching elocution, grammar, and writing in the New England colonies (and subsequently states) in the 1770s. Its quintessentially Puritan with all the virtues and vices of that Protestant group.
September 15, 2017
It is amazing to think about the vast difference in education children received then as opposed to now. I believe children need to be taught soberly about God.
May 24, 2022
Perspective shifter that kids memorized a lot of this text
September 16, 2017
This was a fascinating read for me as an educator and a Catholic, and a dabbler in history and anthropology. As a teacher, I'm impressed with the rigor of the content. It was not an easy read in either content, sentence structure, or diction. It is impressive that kids can learn to read at this level, but just proves that kids can meet high standards if you expect them to.
As a Catholic school teacher, I have learned that Catholic schools in America came about because public schools taught religion that Catholics did not agree with. This book is at least 90% religious in content. I never realized that all text books were infused with religion. This book certainly is not in line with Catholic teachings and some is explicitly anti-Catholic (like the line "shun the whore of Rome.)
As a historic text, it was fascinating to read the book that so many in American used - including the founding fathers. It is very clear how our Puritan roots extended beyond just the early settlers.
As a Catholic school teacher, I have learned that Catholic schools in America came about because public schools taught religion that Catholics did not agree with. This book is at least 90% religious in content. I never realized that all text books were infused with religion. This book certainly is not in line with Catholic teachings and some is explicitly anti-Catholic (like the line "shun the whore of Rome.)
As a historic text, it was fascinating to read the book that so many in American used - including the founding fathers. It is very clear how our Puritan roots extended beyond just the early settlers.
September 30, 2022
Between the dark ages, when we were without books or education, and our current age of politics, federal governments and man’s propaganda, children and adults both learned the most valuable lessons of kindness, self control and concern for the afterlife from the Holy Bible.
This little 1st grade manual for life stands now as an example of how a child’s immature mind can easily grasp deep concepts of natural Godly world order as given by Yahweh/Jesus to all who would/will listen. This book trained thousands of great men and women who went on to give us the structures of a great civilization based on the Commandments of controlling our problematic natures. Without those lessons we are lost and bound to be no better than the animals, concerned only for our own comfort and desires. Jesus Christ gave us this chance to become holy in the eyes of God, an incredible gift that rightly should bring anyone to their knees in humble thankfulness.
This little 1st grade manual for life stands now as an example of how a child’s immature mind can easily grasp deep concepts of natural Godly world order as given by Yahweh/Jesus to all who would/will listen. This book trained thousands of great men and women who went on to give us the structures of a great civilization based on the Commandments of controlling our problematic natures. Without those lessons we are lost and bound to be no better than the animals, concerned only for our own comfort and desires. Jesus Christ gave us this chance to become holy in the eyes of God, an incredible gift that rightly should bring anyone to their knees in humble thankfulness.
March 21, 2008
I used to have a rather worn copy of this book in my library. Alas, most of that library is gone now, and this book with it :(
September 28, 2009
Thought provoking... we have strayed far from excellence in education.
December 30, 2009
Wow has your Education has changed
August 24, 2012
My first e-book! And the source of the children's prayer "Now I lay me down to sleep."
I'll have to read this again, since I may have been a bit distracted by the format.
I'll have to read this again, since I may have been a bit distracted by the format.
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August 16, 2024The book that taught America to read. What more can you say?
January 15, 2022
It's crazy to see how far education has come since the colonies- short fascinating read.
September 8, 2012
Early primer generally used till just after turn of 20th century.
July 14, 2013
Should be required reading for children of all ages!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews