Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-05-28
TIE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
FOUNDED Nv 1871 BY A PRINTER
or WORCESTERSHIRE.


How Robert Raikes Was Led 70 Organ
ixe the First Sunday school-why the
Scheme Attracted General Attention.
Historical Items OF fntoress.
Sunday schools were founded about tho
close Of the year 1881 by Robert Railes.
printer IN Worcestershire Business lead.
ing him into the suburbs OF the town
inhabited by the lowest class OF people. no
was surprised by seeing multitudes Of
miserably ragged children, who made the
Sabbath day carnival Of noise and riot,
In which cursing and swearing had large
part.
To check this proclamation of the Lords
day he engaged four women. teachers of
week day schools. to instruct such chill
dren as he should send them on the Sunday
In reading and the church catechism, for
which they wero TO receive one shilling
each.
A visible Improvement being effected In
o short time, both In the manners and
morals of the children. Mr. Raikes' scheme
attracted general attention Her majesty
Queen Charlotte admitted him to an audi
ence. and expressed high appreciation Of
his plan Numerous schools formed on
the same model sprang up In the principal
towns. and society. under high patron
age, was formed In London In 1888 for the
establishment and support Of Sunday
schools throughout the kingdom. This
was the first stage Of the Sunday school.
oRATUITOUs INSTRUCTION.
A great impediment to prosperity was
the expense of hiring the teachers 1t is
not certain who first conceived the idea Of
gratuitous instruction, but this In time
came about, and the result was that by tho
year 1900 teaching In the Sunday school
was almost universally without remunerA-
tion.
In 1903 the Sunday School union was
formed. which, by It's numerous publica-
tions. agents and branch societies In the
different parts of the kingdom. exercised
wide influence The Institute of the
Church of England. which operated In q
like manner, Is Of similar date.
Scotland boasts of Sunday schools as
early as 1789 But Il was not till 1880.
when the Society for Promoting Religi-
GUS knowledge among the Poor was
FORMED. that they were publicly recog-
nized. nor until 1907, when the first Free
Sunday School society was organized.
that free Sunday schools became general
At first these met with considerable Cd.
position from portions Of the ecclesiasti-
cal court. but this soon vanished, and
Sunday school unions existed In most OF
the large towns
Sunday schools I'm Irelands had been In a
measure anticipated in County Down In
ITO. but the system pursued by Mr.
Raikes was not adopted till labout. 1885,
since which date its system, has been
similar to that of England
In Ireland the Sunday School, society
was established In 1900
The Roman Catholics, In the United
Kingdom at least. have humorous Sunday
schools.
THE FIRST IN AMERICA
The First Day or Sunday School society,
formed in Philadelphia In 1891, is the first
permanent Sunday school organization In
the United States Of which there is trust
worthy record Itwas composed Of members
OF different denominations. including the
Society of Friends It's constitution ro-
quired that reading and writing from Che
Bible and such other religious and moral
books as the society approved should fur
nish the course of instruction The New
York Sunday School union was organizedin
1916. the Philadelphia, Sunday and Adult
School union one yearflater. These three
societies recornized the nnfon If dfffaronf
denominations. and led to the organization
of the American Sunday School union at
Philadelphia In 1924 The object Of this
union was to concentrate the efforts Of
Sunday school societies In different sec
tions Of the United States,s and to start
schools wherever there were children
found in sufficienthumbers toattend them.
It naturally came about that as new
states were settled and the variousdenom-
nations were strengthened. increased
attention was given by each to its own
Sunday schools, and denominationa1 unions
TO promote these were formed AS years
passed. the question book wage added to
the original recitation. and atglength in a
great degree superseded It. Later on
came lesson helps. texts. maps. black
board exercises, ETC. Inthe essrlier schools
reward tickets were given, andiwhen these
had sufficiently accumulatedNthey were
exchanged for books. This stimulated
the production Of works of u character
suitable to young minds, aud from this
has been developed the Sunday school
library