st not be forgotten,
however, by the student of American history that a study of the
European background is an essential part of it.

From its very newness the history of the United States may seem less
fascinating than that of the older countries, and, indeed, it is true
that the glamour of romance that gathers around the stories of royal
dynasties, orders of nobility, and ancient castles is wanting in
American history. But there is much to compensate for this. The coming
of the early settlers, often because of oppression in their native
land, their long struggle with the forest and with the wild men and
wild beasts of the forest, the gradual conquest of the soil, the
founding of cities, the transplanting of European institutions and
their development under new environment--the successful revolt against
political oppression and the fearless grappling with the problem of
self-government when nearly all governments in the world were
monarchical--these and many other phases of American history furnish
a most fascinating story as a mere story.

=To the college student American history must be presented as evidence
of the success of democracy=

But to the student of politics and history the most unique and
interesting thing, perhaps, in American history lies in the fact that
the United States is the first great country in the world's history in
which the federal system has been successful--if we assume that our
experimental period has passed. Perhaps the greatest of all
governmental problems is just this: How to strike the right balance
between these opposing tendencies--liberty and union, democracy and
nationality--so that the people may enjoy the benefits of both. The
United States has, no doubt, come nearer than any other country to
solving this problem, and the fact greatly enhances the interest in
our history. This is a question of political science rather than of
history, it is true, but the history of any country and its government
are inseparably bound together.

=Utilitarian value=

In the regular college curriculum there should be, in my opinion, two
courses in American history.

=Organization of courses and methods of teaching=

_Course I_--about 3 hours for one academic year (6 semester-hours) in
the freshman or sophomore year, covering the whole story of the United
States. About one third of the year's work should cover the Colonial
and Revolutionary periods. Of the remaining two thirds of the year I