USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and Its Centennial Celebration, Volume II > Part 43
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The Chorus then rendered in an inspiring manner the " Halle- lujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah, and Rev. J. D. Irons. D.D., Professor of Hebrew in the Theological Seminary of the
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United Presbyterian Church at Xenia, Ohio, was introduced and delivered an address on "The Education of the Century."
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
While I have no place in my science, in my logic, or in my religious creed, for the rationalistic and modern theory of evolution, yet I am a modified evolutionist. Whatever idea we may entertain as to the origin of man, whether the Darwinian or the Biblical, our history, our observa- tion, and our experience unite in their testimony that every attainment acquired by him, be it religious, moral, intellectual, or social, has been reached by a desperate struggle, and has been maintained at the cost of stubborn defense. The pathway that marks man's progress from savagery and barbarism to the high table-lands of our present civiliza- tion has been a pathway of conflicts. As in ancient times city walls were sometimes scaled by the heroic soldiers climbing to victory upon the dead bodies of their fallen comrades, so to-day we enjoy the advan- tages of a civilization that has been reached through innumerable strug- gles and deaths. Every blessing of our civilization is the exponent of untold expenditure of energy and life. Consequently my address on the subject of education involves the history, and as well the prophecy, of intellectual expenditure and conflict.
To a large extent the idea prevails that general education is com- paratively a modern conception. It is no doubt true that in our own and other civilized countries, at the present time, the conception is of wider application, and that there is greater effort made to enforce it, than among former nations, but a careful study of the history of former civilizations, both Oriental and Occidental, reveals the fact that the education of the youth was held to be a matter of essential social and political importance. Recent explorations among the ruins of Nineveh, Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt have discovered inscriptions whose de- cipherment and interpretation have cast a flood of light upon the social and political conditions and institutions of these ancient monarchies.
These inscriptions are themselves the productions of a high education, and they tell us of schools, and teachers and scholars. At the present time discoveries are being made by Prof. Evans on the Island of Cyprus of inscriptions illustrative of this very point, and there is evidence that these antedate the Christian era by thirteen centuries. That Moses, the leader and law-giver of the Children of Israel, fifteen hundred years before the birth of Christ could have been learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians is no longer a historical impossibility, but is abundantly confirmed by recent archaeological discovery. It is still more evident that in ancient Greece and Rome the education of the youth was held to be a necessary basis of national well-being and prosperity. Plato taught that the mental cultivation of boys was far superior to physical accom- plishments, and Aristotle said that "Whoever meditates on the art of governing men will perceive that it depends upon the education of children." The Romans, though a martial people, were not neglectful
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of the education of the youth, especially the noble youth, and imperial academies and other schools existed for this purpose.
Another misconception that prevails among us is that we excel all other nations in our school facilities, and in our educational attainments. This idea is, perhaps, the outgrowth of a noble patriotism which sees our country as the best in the world. her people as the freest, and her in- stitutions as the most advanced. While we ought not to undervalue. nor fail to appreciate our attainments and our institutions, yet it is un- wise, and may prove disastrous to overrate them and to be blind to their defects. In value of educational equipment, in point of thorough- ness of scholarship, in keenness of intellectual discipline, in power of mental penetration, and in scope of scholarly investigation, we are in- ferior to more than one nation of Europe. But while we cannot boast of educational superiority to all other nations, we can boast of having made unparalleled progress within the last century.
To speak intelligently of the education of the past one hundred years it is necessary to consider somewhat the educational spirit of the early settlers. The countries from which the colonists came had begun to be inspired with a desire for education and were providing for its acquire- ment. In England, Germany, Holland, and Sweden the revival of art and literature had taken deep root, and the emigrants from these countries who landed on the shores of this continent were deeply imbued with the idea that the well-being of a people rested upon a foundation religious and educational. Consequently we find the English who settled in New England, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; the Swedes who secured homes on the banks of the Delaware; and the Hollanders who founded New Amsterdam, and established themselves along the Hudson taking immediate steps in the interests of general education.
These people on leaving their native shores brought with them the Christian minister and the schoolmaster that they might be indoctrinated in the Christian religion, and their children instructed in useful knowledge. As soon as they were established in their new homes, both private and public measures were taken to establish and support schools. To this end large land grants were made, laws were enacted, and contributions were given by the colonists themselves, and by individuals and churches in the mother countries.
The idea set forth by William Penn in his declaration well expressed the idea prevalent among the colonists. He said, "That which makes a good constitution must keep it, viz., men of wisdom and virtue, qualities that because they descend not with worldly inheritance must be care- fully propagated by virtuous education of youth, for which spare no cost, for by such parsimony all that is saved is lost." Another evidence of the value set upon the education of youth is seen in the fact that the people of New Amsterdam required the contracting parties in marriage to promise that they would bring their children up decently, according to their ability; to keep them at school; to let them learn reading, writing, and a good trade.
Notwithstanding the great interest manifested by the colonists in
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education, and their earnest efforts to secure and perpetuate it, a careful survey of history reveals the fact that educational improvement had not kept pace with material prosperity and the increase of population, so that when the War of Independence began the average intelligence of the people was not so high as in the early days of the colonies.
During the war the interests of education were harshly dealt with. The young men had been called to the field, and the resources of the country were required for the support of the armies. The seven years of conflict had largely deprived the surviving soldier of his culture, and the children in the meantime had gone without education. No sooner, however, was the War of Independence over and the colonies made to feel themselves free and independent, than it was realized that the secure foundation and perpetuation of Democratic institutions must be imbeded in the wide and deep intelligence of the people. The colonies having been severed from a monarchical government, and their noble-hearted, pure minded leaders, as Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and their compeers, having it in mind to establish a government vested in a free people, were convinced that the permanency of the blessings they sought was wrapped up in the duty of education. Washington declared that "In proportion as the structure of government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion be enlightened." Jefferson sought for his native state the establishment of schools to give a thorough elementary, collegiate, and scientific education; and Adams, Hamilton, and scores of other patriotic men were imbued with the same spirit, and wrought for the accomplishment of the same great end. To this noble spirit, clear vision, and earnest, persistent endeavor of our forefathers, we owe in large measure our national success in the past, and the present permanency and blessings of our Republican institutions.
Grand, however, as the conception was, and necessary as it was for a corner-stone in the new political structure, it had to win its way against strenuous opposition. The common people, with rare exceptions, did not possess the clear vision of the leaders. Their attention and their energies were turned in other directions. Primeval forests had to be removed, the indigence resulting from the recent war had to be overcome, and the devastations of a ruthless enemy had to be repaired, and as a consequence the cause of education suffered many a defeat before the opposition met its Waterloo.
The progress of education within the century has been truly marvelous from whatever standpoint viewed. The sentiment of the people as a whole has undergone a radical change. Instead of opposition to taxation for educational purposes, there is liberal, we might say, extravagant expenditure. It is true, the material prosperity of the nation has made possible what was once impossible, but our material prosperity has no more than kept pace with the educational liberality of the people. As a consequence the rude cabin has been replaced by the well-lighted, well- ventilated, well-heated school-room. The slab seat without support for the back, and too high for the feet of children to reach the floor, has given place to the beautiful, adjustable desk, conducive at once to physical
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peril is the danger of its being overdone. Indeed it is a question worthy of serious consideration whether this systematic instruction so early be- gun and so rigidly pursued is not destructive of that individuality which is the essential quality of every personal character. It would be a de- plorable thing to clip the wings of genius with the shears of education.
The advance along the lines of public education has been paralleled by the progress of collegiate, scientific, and technical education. When the Declaration of Independence was signed eleven colleges are known to have existed and perhaps a dozen academies. When the century opened there were twenty-three colleges and thirty-seven academies. At the present we have nearly five hundred colleges and universities, with forty-seven thousand professors and instructors, and an army of one hundred and sixty thousand students. This enumeration does not include schools purely scientific and technical, nor forty-six Theological. seminaries, forty-four Law schools and one hundred thirty-six Medical colleges.
When the nineteenth century dawned the educational condition of western Pennsylvania was low indeed. The attention of the settlers was taken up largely with clearing away the forests, preparing the soil for tillage, improving house and home, and securing other com- forts of life. The material and physical demands of the frontier were too imperious to permit large attention to be given to the direct and specific cultivation of the intellect. It was not until the century was one third gone, that any permanent provision was made for securing general education. Let it not be supposed, however, that intellectual interests were entirely neglected by the men and women who were the pioneers of our present comforts and refinements. While many of them were largely destitute of the very rudiments of scholastic knowledge, they were possessed of a spirit of liberty and patriotism accompanied by large common sense acquired from their struggles, which led them to realize that permanent well-being and true prosperity were inseparably con- nected with intellectual and moral attainments. They were possessed with the axiomatic truth, unformulated and unexpressed, it may have been, which has been spoken by Dr. Lyman Beecher, "We must educate, we must educate, or we must perish by our own prosperity. "
Propelled by the impulse of this necessity, these noble, self-sacrificing progenitors of ours endeavored as they were able, to meet the demand and almost simultaneously with the cabin home arose the cabin school- house, where for six, eight, or twelve weeks in the year the youth of the forest and village home gathered as they could be spared from stern home duties, to acquire the rudiments of education. The learning thus acquired was very limited in its scope, and far from general in its dis- tribution. The young man or young woman who could read with fluency, write a fair hand, and calculate accounts was considered edu- cated, and these attainments added to that robustness of character which resulted from the industry and frugality inseparable from frontier life, produced men and women of sterling worth, persons as tenacious of principle as the fiber of the mighty oaks of their forests.
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History of Beaver County
I give acomment education as chowe who would que the time
sas, and the Western Gifversity. at Firstburg in rare.
When sor State adopted ber forse perummene Concicatin in riga that
ols throughout the Sesce in such manner that the poor may be taucht gratis." Not totil nearly half a century had elapsed did the Legislature of our State succeed in carrying out this wine provision of the Constitution by legal enactment. In the meantime there was repeated legislation "to provide for the education of the prox coss gratis." but nothing was done for the in- Struction cá the masses.
On the first day of April, 1834, the first Act of the Assembly of Pena- Avanis estataishing free schools was perued and approved by the Governor, By this Act provision was made for the election of School Directors and the assessment and levying of a school tax, and school inspection. To the enforcement of this Act there was much opposition. Many persons themselves uneducated, and not realizing the importance of education, were opposed. Some of the more wealthy objected to being taxed for the education of the children of others, and some on aristo- cratic, or religious grounds deplored the commingling of all classes and creeds, as would be necessary in public schools.
In many places meetings were held to remonstrate, and to urge the repeal of the law. In these meetings a sentiment favorable to the enforcement of the law usually prevailed, and oftentimes the opposition was emphatically denounced. In the late history of Beaver County, this ringing resolution is reported as having been passed at a meeting in South Beaver township in the winter of 1835, viz .. "We view with sentiments of abhorrence and disgust the efforts of those opposed to a system of general education; and consider their attempts at subversion as a con- »piracy against our social interests, a disgrace to patriotism, and an outrage om suffering humanity; equally opposed to sound morals and the dietaton of the Christian religion."
In spite of the opposition manifested, vigorous efforts were immedi- atrly taken throughout this county to carry into effect the provisions of the statute. Within nine months from the passage of the law steps had been taken to assess and levy a tax, and the court had appointed In- spectors in each township to put the system into operation.
F'rom that time to the present our people have made a steady advance along every line of education, so that to-day the efficiency of our schools is equal to the best, and the interests of the people in the cause is deep and strong. No better evidence of the educational spirit of our people in the years pant can be found, than the large number of professional men who
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have gone out from our schools, most of whom have been an honor to their profession, and many of whom have risen to positions of eminence, and have borne a reputation for excellence beyond their county and State. But this is not all, the high intelligence of the men and women of the farm, the factory, and the multiplied forms of business, unites its testi- mony to that of the professions, witnessing to the fidelity of the people of Beaver County to the cause of general education.
As we are assembled here to-day what do we not owe to the cause of education? Our free government is its child. In her life's blood flow the red corpuscles of intelligence by which she has warded off disease, and assimilated to herself that which gives endurance and strength. The unparalleled progress we have made in mechanics, in the arts, and in the sciences, would not have been made had our people neglected general education. The inspiration of genius, and the deftness of technical skill which characterizes the Yankee nation, owe their existence to the diffu- sion of intelligence. The victory in Manila Bay was not the victory of America over Spain, nor the triumph of courage over cowardice, but the triumph of intelligence over ignorance. Spain scored her defeat by fostering illiteracy, America won her victory when she established general education.
Previous to the year 1867, England prided herself on her technical skill. At the World's Fair, in 1851, out of one hundred branches of manu- facture, she led in ninety. Sixteen years later, at the World's Fair again, out of the same one hundred divisions, she led in only ten. Humiliated and ashamed, she sought to discover the cause, and found the difference was occasioned by the establishment of technical schools by Austria, France, Prussia, and Switzerland. To remedy the evil, Parliament ap- pointed a commission to secure the establishment of technical schools. This commission in endeavoring to carry out its instructions, made another discovery, which was that a system of technical education was impossible until a system of common schools had been established from which to draw technical students. The result was the common school Act of 1870. What the claims of manhood had not forced Parliament to grant was wrung from it by commercial necessity. On the contrary, in our own land the heeded claims of manhood have ministered to our national prosperity
The true value of education to the individual, to society, and to the nation, consists in something more than mere qualification for life's activities. It inspires and urges on to higher and nobler things, and at the same time it restrains and directs. It is possessed of an inspiration and a conservation that promotes harmonious progress.
While the mind of man is finite, and there are realms beyond his powers yet there is no known limit to the penetration of his powers within the scope of their action. Hitherto every step taken by intellectual effort has only opened up the way for another advance, and at the same time has quickened the desire for further knowledge, and sharpened the power of penetration. This truth is abundantly established by the history of human attainment. Pursue the line of any mental operation that
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bos engaged the mind of man. be it physical or metyphy. i. l. a sabe 10 no bordedeod that is forbidden territory to him to 3 desire and courage to pas forward. God is infmite, and mani yet we know if no limitation to his ability to follow after b's Gate Kepler. after having made a great astronomical dicovery cadsinud, "Great God. 1 but think thr thoughts after thee." Hemight bureatt-a every thought discovered adly leads the way to other for fus antis discovery. Franklin was warding aber the thought of God while Shing Mis lite amidst the mocro donds and be found it in the dlectric gok faut Inoped from the door key famened to his kite string. Home meditating ao things asesdy koown was stimulated to reach out, and be found She doctric telegraph. Others mociving inspiration from fhe success of their predecessors have reached out still further. and have given us fhe tilt- one, the graphopone, and the doctric Ight and moter. Ha a milennium ago Gutenberg conocived the idea of printing wich mon ble type, aod tamus opened up the fed, and gave an inquindion to indtilocto 1 development and success that is as marvelous as a miracle. would fall to tell of the mechanical, scientific, and other di have transformed this old earth into a new planet, and into a new game A few years ago Wendell Fluss was defining is lecture on the "Lost Arts," in which be maintained that the ancients were able to do things of which the moderns have lost the art. What he maid is true, but from the facts thus presented we are not to infor that man bed reached a limit beyond which he could not go, or a height he could not maintain. The truth to dis is that unless there is continual intellectual cultivation, there follows intellectual degeneration, and that this drags down with it every attainment made. It is true in more ways then Beecher meant that "We must educate, or we must perich." How- ever, a lost art does not necessarily imply a loss of ability. A lost art may only signify an art not needed. We hear it said, "Man, to-day, could not build the Pyramids." The fact is he does not need the Pyramids. We are centuries past the day when the dead body of a monarch must be entombed in a mountain of granite masonry. The Pyramids do not show us what we cannot do, but are the silent witnesses of what man can do, they illustrate the power of an idea.
True education is not only inspiring, it is conservative. Throughout the universe, material and immaterial, there are two operating energies. In mechanical motion we speak of them as the centrifugal and centripetal, the propelling and the regulative; in the mental realm as the progressive and conservative. One of these is a vagrant, it flies from its center never to return, the other seeks its center never to depart. One is the ex- plosive power of dynamite, the other the molecular attraction of the inert mass. The operation of one alone results in wreck and ruin, the opera- tion of the other, in stagnation and death. When these powers act in co-ordination, there is produced harmonious movement, onward and upward toward that which is highest and best. In our solar system, as the consequence of this co-ordination, we have the axial and elliptical motions, giving us day and night, summer and winter, spring and autumn.
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In political government too much liberalism gives us France with her oft recurring revolutions, too much conservatism gives us China with the stagnation of her ancestral worship. With these powers harmoniously united we have on one side the Atlantic, England with her constitutional monarchy, guaranteeing protection and large liberty to all her children, and on the other, the United States with her federal government afford- ing a more complete political freedom than can be found elsewhere among the nations.
What the centripetal force is to the stellar universe, and a strong central government is in a land of liberty, such is the conservative force of education in the intellectual and social world. Education, while it quickens the powers of the man and stimulates him to action, also gives him the wisdom by which he is enabled to see results, and thus guard against disastrous consequences. It is in the very nature of education to be law abiding. The mind is developed according to the laws of its constitution. It gathers knowledge by observing the relation of things and reasoning concerning them. A lawless education is a contradiction in terms. It is true that many an educated man is lawless, using his educated powers to promote his deeds of violence. But it is not the education of the man that is lawless, neither is it his education that has made him lawless. He is so in spite of his education. We sometimes speak of a man's being educated in crime, meaning that by his environ- ment and practice he has become skilled in crime, but this is in no true sense an education. In the true sense, education is the harmonious development of the entire man along the lines of his highest well-being. Mentally, it secures the cultivation of his intellect, his affections, and his will. In morals it quickens his conscience by teaching him to love the right and to pursue it, and to hate the evil and to avoid it.
Such an inspiring, conservative education our country has given her sons and daughters. And that which has already been done, we trust is a true earnest of what shall yet be done. Since wide intelligence is the true basis of a free country, America must perpetuate her educational institu- tions, or be riven asunder by the disruptive force of red-handed anarchy.
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