Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-08-18
History in southern Schools.


Gus remarks about the feeling be-
tween the north and the south. /
have heard Grand Army men who
have travelled of late years in the
SOUTH say that, before going to Dixie,
they ha6 been advised to leave of
their little bronze buttons. for fear
/ of bad treatment there. But some OF
these men have been so proud or
their badge of honor that they would
run the risk of some lively preju-
dice rather than hide 1t; and SO they
have proudly worn the little emblem
wherever they went, thus telling ev
erybody of what manner of men they
were. Some of these old comrades
have told me that because of that
same bronze button they were treat
ed with kindest consideration; that
men who once wore the gray were
particularly friendly to them, calling
them comrades, and showing them
all manner of favors do not suppose
this to have been true in every case.
yet have never heard of any ones
being treated unkindly in the South
on account of his wearing a Grand
Army button.
But / overheard two old comrades
talking the other day, and they were
saying that "You may say what you
please, but the south's just as rebel
lious today as it ever was, and the
children there in school are being
taught that the south was right in
the secession movement; NAT jeff
Davis was a greater statesman and
better man taan Abraham Lincoln,
General Lee greater soldier than
Grant, and that the men in the south.
ern army could outright those of the
north"
4 do not suppose either of those
good comrades has ever been in the
south since the war, and 30 I think
that what they know CT conditions
there has come to then ar second
or third or tenth hand some of it,
perhaps, through Imagination the
nstions some men have % many
things depend very much upon their
temperameHt,-e especially of those
WHO are extreme
Bat I aad the pleasure a fewdays
ago Of talking with an intelligent
lady who is a teacher ilf large high
school in Texas. I xfass anxious to-
hear her talk. and so asked her sew
e.ai questions will leave out my
Interrogation points anai give the sIpa
stance of what she tcsal me- l did
not ask lisf her manner
Yes. am q teacher in a large
afgh swiioai fm the SOUTH Ia Texas
and I know rse southefners there,
FFetty weiF I am rserthern vge,
E1sig alril TIE only woman teaching
isF that school There are several
rortheru men who teacnr with nE,.
sTne' on them graduates from Yasse
Tie superintendent is a. southerneFs
lfave' for rry specially the teachlrgg
OF histUEw We have been using Mort
gsmery'ss UnFsed States history, the
same titHt Is used in many OF your
northern schools At ore time the,
SUPERINTENDENT expresseT little dis
satisfaction with the baUk because
tfaee autfsr: in his story of the civiii
war; i'm speaking of the northern,
troops and their movements, usesf!
three or four times the word Eve"
ans r. i'm spirit. he considered himself
one Of stien- This he did not We
well like, though he fund no faust,
with what the author said concern
ing those same troops But for adj
TINT tire books have not. been changeen
There was a little history book
caiied Our Country, gut into the
lands az the children of the lower
grades, for their reading, which ibid
Ret very well like. I thought that
book was written to please the south
For instance. in speaking of the life
and character of Abraham Lincoln,
''rfte author used the, space of only
IlaBvus Ralf page; while a page and
La BAH was given to- Jefferson Davis
HTho1gh | could fffyd no fault with
Rthe book as whole, in this matter
and few others like it, it did not
please ne. l showed the superfn-
Etendent The preference given to Da-
Wis and tola him the book was not
| fair. I am quite sure now that he
win not continue the use OF that
book in school during the coming
year
Il do not myself wish 10 use a
book there which favors either side,
think the yodng people should learn
the the story just as 1t ia, in fact.
I think they should read Inherent au-
thors on historical topics and then
learn to FORM an unbiased Judgment
of their own. Nothing can be gained
by prejudice on either side. You can
see that we can hardly teach the
boys eand girls down there that their
fathers and uncles and grandfathers
were rebels It is best for me t.
help them get large and liberia
view OF the differences between the
north aud south. rnat is better thar
being one-sided.
but. after an. ire books them
selves do not make so very much diff
\ ference in the teaching OF histo~v
sft is The living teacher that put:
ideas into the minds Of pupils Th5
fact that so many northern peopl,
90 .,n,rtoxaA ~ aAneh in the sor4fE