The McGuffey Readers: Selections from the 1879 Edition

by Elliott J. Gorn

The most influential books in the history of American education, The McGuffey Readers not only taught reading skills and classic literature but also imparted idealized middle class virtues to millions of schoolchildren. This anthology organizes more than eighty selections from all six volumes of the 1879 edition into twelve thematic chapters, making it possible for readers to examine the cultural assumptions that permeated middle America in the nineteenth century. A general introduction places the books in their historical context and provides background information on the life and career of their compiler, William Holmes McGuffey. Helpful editorial features include chapter introductions, a chronology, questions for consideration, a bibliography, illustrations from the 1879 edition, and an index.

202 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 1998

About the author

Elliott J. Gorn (Ph.D. Yale University, 1983, A.B. University of California, Berkeley, 1973) is the Joseph Gagliano Professor of American Urban History and has a distinguished record of scholarship, publication and excellence in teaching and student mentorship. His books and articles embrace multiple aspects of urban and American culture, particularly the history of various social groups in American cities since 1800. Gorn’s work is interdisciplinary and intersects with numerous other fields.

His four major books examine various aspects of urban life and city cultures in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century United States, including Dillinger’s Wild Ride: The Year That Made America’s Public Enemy Number One (Oxford University Press, 2009); Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America (Hill and Wang, 2001, Korean edition, 2003); A Brief History of American Sports, co-authored with Warren Goldstein (Hill and Wang, 1993; reissued University of Illinois Press, 2004); and The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America (Cornell University Press, 1986; 2nd edition, 2010, with a new bibliography and afterword).

Gorn has edited eight volumes, including Sports in Chicago (University of Illinois Press, 2008); The McGuffey Readers: Selections from the 1878 Edition, with an introduction (Bedford Books, 1998); Muhammad Ali, The Peoples' Champ (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995); and The Encyclopedia of American Social History, 3 volumes, co-edited with Peter Williams and Mary Cayton (Scribners, 1993), which was awarded the Dartmouth Certificate by the American Library Association. He has published and reprinted more than 50 articles, book chapters and reviews in a wide variety of scholarly journals, encyclopedias, edited collections and news magazines, including the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History, the Journal of American Studies, the Journal of Urban History, the Journal of Sport History, American Quarterly, the International Journal of Maritime History, Harper’s Magazine, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Mother Jones, Boom: A Journal of California, Le Monde Diplomatique Dissent On-Line, Slate, The Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune.

- taken from his staff profile, see "official website"

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading The McGuffey Readers, Selections from the 1879 Edition shook my world and also helped me make sense of some recent experiences. It wasn't the selections that shook me, but the introduction and analysis by Elliot Gorn on the history of education and the McGuffey Readers.

Apparently, the values I've held and the mores I've respected aren't values in and of themselves, but are merely white middle class Protestant values which have been evilly foisted on millions to oppress and stifle them into submission as work monkeys.

It's very true that many of the early McGuffey lessons are heavy handed and overly moralistic, teaching that lazy insolence in youth will have someone "joining a party of tramps before he was thirty years old". There's no surprise that McGuffey, a white professor and Protestant Minister would include white middle class Protestant values in his textbooks, while reflecting the current stereotypes and exclusions of his day for men, women, social classes, races, and religions. And I am very grateful to Mr. Gorn for his extensive and thoughtful analysis.

What is surprising is that the value of teaching kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, respect of others, helping others, preserving nature, being honest, and appreciating beauty are seen as somehow oppressing non-whites. This lesson was brought home to me by a recent art exhibit of scenes of Lake Tahoe. What begins as a display of beautiful old paintings that show nature's majesty, ends with modern art made to make the viewer realize that any appreciation of the beauty of the early works is to show one's ignorance of the fact that Native American lives were destroyed by whites coming to the area, Chinese railroad workers were killed in building the railroads, and Euro-American mankind's hand ruins everything it touches.

Yes. It's true that lives and cultures have been abused and destroyed. Yes. Their stories need to be told, and art is an effective storyteller. But there is a dangerous subtext I see creeping in...

Am I actually being told that non-whites don't value kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, respect of others, preserving nature, honesty, and beauty? No! I cannot accept that! Human values are human values.

It is true that our history and views need to be expanded to be more inclusive. It is true that we need to open our past, present, and future to the voices and experiences of a far greater swath of cultures. But simply assuming that the opposite stance is the correct and more respectful one is far off the mark. Famed Tahoe area basket-maker, DatSoLaLee, actually preferred to be called by her English name, Louisa Keyser. So the Washoe name that seems more respectful to us now isn't actually her preference, but the name used to increase sales by the Trading Post.

Keep what is good, broaden the definition of what is good to include values that hold true for multiple people, cultures, and societies, and teach what is good.

If going to an extreme opposite helps our society break the barriers that have led to oppression, then I am all for it. I can't deny that the white middle class Protestant doctrine doesn't have a core of insensitivity and bullishness that tramples others in its path. But I see my day and my values of Pollyanna goodness and gladness passing away. I hear my voice valuing beauty in art and nature being silenced. And it makes me very sad.