secure uniform divorce legislation. It was agreed that all
applicants for divorce should be bona fide residents of the
state in which the suit was filed, and that, to secure a decree



53 8 Problems of American Democracy

of absolute divorce, the applicant should reside two years
in the state. The Congress desired to see the number of
causes of divorce reduced and to standardize the whole
divorce question. It was thought that a decree dissolving
the marriage tie and permitting the remarriage of either
party should not become operative until after the lapse of
a reasonable time. The Wisconsin, Illinois, and Cali-
fornia rule of one year was recommended. It was also
recommended that each state collect and publish annually
statistics upon marriage and divorce. While uniform
divorce laws would be of great advantage, it must not be
imagined that mere uniformity of legislation would pre-
vent the increase of divorce, the causes of which are deep-
seated and complex.

The attitude of the Roman Catholic Church upon divorce
has already been mentioned. The Protestant churches
_ r , , have also been alarmed at the rapid increase of

Work of r

religious divorce, and at various meetings of the govern-

bodies. . , .

ing bodies of the different denominations action
has been taken upon the subject. Slight discrepancies
exist in the resolutions of the different bodies, but a con-
sistent effort has been made to lessen the number of causes
of divorce. Infidelity is usually regarded as the sole scrip-
tural ground for the granting of divorce. The indiscrim-
inate marriage of divorced people has also been condemned.
The desirability of uniform marriage and divorce laws is
apparent, but uniformity in administration is also needed.
Remedies: Not only a decrease in the number of causes for
Legal. absolute divorce, but also a legal prohibition of

the marriage of divorced people is often recommended.
This latter restriction, however, is regarded by some writers
as both dangerous and undesirable. Better, perhaps,



The Problem of the Modern Family 539

would be the recommendation of the National Congress on
Uniform Divorce Laws that a certain time must elapse
after the granting of divorce before the remarriage of either
party. This is sometimes done by a nisi or conditional
clause, which prevents the divorce from becoming operative
until after the lapse of a year or two. This condition
affords the possibility of a reconciliation, while it lessens
the likelihood of fraud or scandal. Some communities have
established special Courts of Domestic Relations. Under
this system, all applications for divorce first come before a
special tribunal, which carefully investigates the case in
order to determine whether, for the good of society, the
dissolution of the family tie is warranted. Reconciliation
is generally the aim of the court; but, unfortunately, it is
often too late to accomplish this end. Regarding all rem-
edies for divorce, it is well to remember that divorce itself
is merely the legalization of the disruption* of family life
which has already been accomplished. Real reform has its
roots in pre-marital conditions and in family life itself,
rather than in restrictions on divorce. Bad marriages are
essentially the cause of divorce. These include in the
words of Prof essor Howard "frivolous, mercenary, ignorant,
and physiologically vicious unions." Again, the various
causes resident in the environment which hinder a whole-
some family life should be carefully considered in any com-
prehensive attempt to solve the divorce problem.

In seeking to cure the divorce evil, the proper education
of the young is even more necessary than the legal remedies.
Education in its broadest sense is designed to

. . Educational.

fit the child for his proper place in society.

It is more than formal instruction in a course of study.

It should therefore emphasize the basic position of the



'540 Problems of American Democracy

family, the sanctity of the marriage relationship, and the
necessity for high family ideals. To do this the Church,
the school, and the home should cooperate, each having
the same aim but pursuing different methods. The
importance of the family, not only to the individuals con-
cerned but to society itself, should be emphasized. Atten-
tion must therefore be given not only to moral education,
but to careful training in the actual duties of the home.
From the standpoint of the family, the modern course in
domestic science is a most important factor in promoting
social welfare.

It would seem that the family, like other social institu-
tions, is in a process of transition. The economic bonds
which formerly held it together are weakening,
of adjust- while at the same time the patriarchal ideal of
family life is gradually disappearing. The
family of the future must depend largely upon mutual love,
consideration, and forbearance. It will therefore be
stronger and of a higher type. Again, the unfortunate
increase of divorce may be one indication of social progress,
which is always a costly process. Enlightenment illumi-
nates injustices and maladjustments. The older type of
family was more stable because it rested upon an authori-
tative basis. A more democratic type must be evolved in
harmony with the higher ethical standards of the age.
Of the monogamic family we need not despair. The single
pairing family will persist. After the process of adjust-
ment is completed, the ideal of life-long union will once
more triumph. The new type of family will be founded
upon the principle of mutual obligation. It will be demo-
cratic and the spirit of dominance and subordination will
disappear.



The Problem of the Modem Family 541

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1 . How and why may the family be regarded as the fundamental
social unit?

2. Distinguish between the primary and secondary functions of
the family. Explain each.

3. Do you think that the family is losing some of its secondary
functions? If so, to what other social institutions? Explain.

4. Is the permanent monogamic family an old social institution?
Discuss from the life of primitive peoples.

5. Compare the family life of early and later Roman history.

6. Discuss the institution of marriage in the Middle Ages.

7. Explain the sacramental theory of marriage.

8. Show how marriage came to be regarded as a civil contract.

9. Name some proposed reforms regarding our marriage laws.

10. Show the rapid increase of divorce in the United States.

1 1 . Compare the increase of divorce with the increase of population.

12. Compare the divorce rate with the marriage rate.

13. How does our divorce rate compare with that of Europe?

14. Show the geographical distribution of divorce in America.

15. Compare the urban and rural rates. Give reasons for the
difference.

16. Show the influence upon the divorce rate of race, nativity,
and religious belief.

17. What are the most important legal grounds of divorce?
Discuss their general significance to the student.

18. Outline the causes of the increase of divorce.

19. How does the opening of numerous occupations to women
affect the divorce rate and why?

20. Show the role played by higher standards and increased cost of
living.

21. Discuss the effect of the popularization of law and education
on divorce.

22. How has the moral and religious sentiment in regard to
marriage altered?

23. Discuss the proposed legal remedies for the divorce problem
and their limitations.

24. Explain the fundamental cure for the divorce evil.



542 Problems of American Democracy

25. Show how the increase of divorce presents a problem of social
adjustment.

26. Explain both the pessimistic and the optimistic sides of the
phenomenon of increased divorce.

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT

1. Various forms of family life and marriage relationships.

2. The position of women in ancient Athens and Rome.

3. The cost of social progress.

4. City life and divorce.

5. The problem of desertion.

6. Migration for divorce.

7. The remarriage of divorced people.

8. Effects of the Industrial Revolution on home and family life.

9. The divorce laws of your state.

10. The rise of individualism and its relation to divorce.

REFERENCES

Adler, F. Marriage and Divorce.

Ell wood, C. A. Sociology and Modern Social Problems. Chapter VIII.

Goodsell, W. The Family as a Social and Educational Institution.

Howard, G. E. History of Matrimonial Institutions.

Lichtenberger, J. P. Divorce — A Study in Social Causation.

Reports on Marriage and Divorce. U. S. Census, iqoq.

Ross, E. A. Principles of Sociology.

Westermarck, E. History of Human Marriage.

Willcox, W. F. The Divorce Problem: a Study in Statistics.



CHAPTER XXXIX

Public Education in a Democracy

T. The development of national school systems
i. In Europe
2. In the United States:

a. Its growth

b. Its administration

II. The broadening of the curriculum
i. The scientific movement:

a. In general

b. In education

c. In methods

2. The sociological tendency

3. Vocational training:

a. Industrial education:

(1) In Europe

(2) In America

b. Commercial schools

c. Agricultural schools
III. Recent tendencies

1. Social activities

2. Home and School Movement

3. Other educational agencies

4. Educational readjustment

5. The social ideal

Education is the bulwark of civilization. It is the
fundamental basis of democracy. Through it society
secures the discipline and training needed for its progressive
development. In no other way can the social inheritance

543



544 Problems of American Democracy

of a people be transformed into sound national character.
For this reason it is the duty of the State to provide a
system of education which will insure the realization of
national ideals, as well as the attainment of economic ends.
The Development of National School Systems.
Until recent years, schools were regarded as private
ventures and a man's education was a matter of

In Europe.

concern only to himself and his parents. There
were no national school systems at public expense. The
pioneers of public education were found in various philan-
thropic institutions, such as the charity schools of England.
The great progress of democracy in the last century had
its effect upon education, which has now come to be
regarded as a civic necessity. The former aristocracy of
learning is a thing of the past. The masses, whom the
past regarded as mere "hewers of wood and drawers of
water," are no longer content to remain in ignorance. The
old medieval monarch may have wished merely a loyal
peasantry, but modern democratic nations cannot continue
to exist without educated citizenship. Thus, during the
last century and a half, the leading nations of Europe
have developed state systems of education. Prussia was
one of the first to organize a scheme of universal education
and to make the system compulsory. This was accom-
plished by the benevolent despot, Frederick the Great.
A national system of education had its beginnings in
France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods.
Louis Philippe, upon the advice of his minister Guizot,
organized a scheme of elementary education whereby each
commune was required to establish a primary school.
Under the present Third Republic, elementary education
has been made free to all and compulsory. The seculari-



Public Education in a Democracy 545

zation of the school system from church control has also
gradually taken place. The administration of schools in
France is highly centralized under a Minister of Education.
A national system of education was late in appearing in
England, because the established Anglican Church main-
tained a strong grip on educational institutions. In 1870,
however, an important law was passed establishing elemen-
tary schools supported by government grants. Compulsory
school laws have also been passed.

Our own early educational policy varied in the different
colonies. The aristocratic ideal reflected itself in the
famous dictum of Governor Berkeley of Virginia
condemning free schools. In New England, on united

States *

the other hand, the school house, like the Its gro ' wth
meeting house, was conspicuous in every town-
ship. As early as 1647, Massachusetts required each
town of fifty families to support an elementary school;
and each town of a hundred families, a grammar school —
an institution similar to the secondary school of to-day.
That the fathers of our nation realized the importance of
higher education was witnessed by the founding of such
colleges as Harvard, and William and Mary. The early
part of the nineteenth century saw the rapid extension of
the common school system throughout the United States.
The "little red school house" dotted the western wilder-
ness, so rapidly developed by our hardy pioneers. The
public high school, a characteristic American educational
institution, arose to take the place of the older Latin gram-
mar schools and the private academies. Normal schools
were also established for the training of teachers. Not only
has the number of students in such institutions increased,
but educational standards have risen.
JJ



546 Problems of American Democracy

There is as yet no centralized administration of schools
in the United States, for each state has its own independent
Its adminis- system. These state systems, however, do not
tration. vary so widely as might be expected. Every

state has a well-organized plan of elementary education,
and a more or less well-developed secondary or high school
system, providing instruction for three or four additional
years. Many commonwealths have large and well-
endowed state universities, so that free education from
kindergarten to college is within the reach of all their
citizens. Our American democracy, with its fundamental
principle of the separation of Church and State, has
regarded education as the bulwark of free institutions.
Unlike Europe, religious or sectarian schools have not been
incorporated into our public educational system. Another
difference between the school systems of Europe and those
of America lies in our own refusal to recognize class dis-
tinctions. In Germany, for example, there are separate
schools for those who expect to prepare for the universities
and for those who must leave school as soon as possible.
The needed differentiation in preparation takes place in
the elementary schools. In the United States, on the con-
trary, it is deferred to as late a date as possible. There is
practically one educational ladder for all classes. The
system of separate schools for different groups may be more
efficient in producing differentiated results, but it is dis-
tasteful to the ideals of American democracy.

The Broadening of the Curriculum. — The scientific
experiments of Roger Bacon gleamed like a bright star in
the dark sky of medieval ignorance and superstition.
The various prophecies of his brilliant imagination have
since become facts of every day experience. With the



Public Education in a Democracy 547

Renaissance began the dawn of a new era in physical
science. The theory of Copernicus shattered the older
astronomical ideas, while Galileo, peering through
his crude telescope, dared to assert that it was scientific
not the sun but the earth which revolved. ™ ovement:

In general.

Scientific investigation not only continued, but
geographical discoveries widened the field of knowledge.
The movement gradually progressed until it culminated,
in the nineteenth century, in the development of the
biological sciences. This field was brilliantly investigated
under Darwin, Huxley, and Spencer. The scientific move-
ment also reflected itself in a practical manner in a great
series of mechanical inventions. The steam engine, for
example, revolutionized land and water transportation, as
well as the methods of manufacturing. Modern life has
been transformed by the application of steam and elec-
tricity to industry. As in the days of the Renaissance, the
human intellect has been reborn.

The scientific movement not only affected industry, but
also education. Through its influence the content of lib-
eral education began to expand, and numerous ineduca-
new studies clamored for admission into the Um '
curriculum. In his essay upon education, Herbert Spencer
threw down the gauntlet to conservatives and boldly asked
the question, "What knowledge is of most worth?" After
discussing various aims, he answers this question by declar-
ing that education should be a practical preparation for
life. "How to live? — that is the essential question for
us." In his enumeration of the studies conducive to that
end, the sciences take a commanding position. The
so-called cultural subjects are not entirely eliminated, but
are relegated to the leisure time of life and, therefore, of



548 Problems of American Democracy

education. Thomas Huxley also advocated the value of
the sciences in comparison with the traditional study of
the classics. Not only is a knowledge of science valuable,
but the training in scientific method- is most important.
Thus, science in one form or another has found its way
into an assured place in the curriculum, not only of the
secondary schools, but also of the elementary schools.
Physics and chemistry are taught in the high schools, in
addition to mathematics and the classics. In the ele-
mentary schools, geography, physiology, and nature study
find a place beside the "three R's." Meanwhile, courses
in the modern sciences had already found their way into
the colleges and universities. Great scientific and tech-
nical schools have been founded for instruction in engi-
neering, chemistry, and industry.

One other effect of the scientific movement in education
must be mentioned. When the scientific method of obser-
vation and experimentation was directed toward

In methods. , .

education itself, great changes took place in the
method of teaching and in school administration. Many
accepted methods were found, in the light of scientific tests,
to represent merely traditional ideas. With the develop-
ment of psychology, education became a science as well as
a practical art. The popular cry for efficiency has been
echoed from industry to education. The old-fashioned
schoolmaster and the " little red school house" of our par-
ents are passing into history. Changes are taking place
so rapidly as to be bewildering. The "fad" evil is com-
mon to periods of transition, and mere radicalism must not
be interpreted as progress. However, the new problems
of a new age always require educational readjustment.
In conclusion, we may state that the scientific movement



Public Education in a Democracy 549

of the nineteenth century has been characterized by a great
increase in the content of education, by the addition of
the natural sciences, and also by great changes in methods
and in school administration.

The sociological movement in education grew out of the
scientific. It answers the question "What knowledge is of
most worth?" by emphasizing the importance
of that knowledge which fits the individual to The

• . . sociological

meet the needs of his social and economic tendency,
environment. The aim is social rather than
individual. Upon its theoretical side, it would add to the
curriculum the social as well as the natural sciences. Thus,
in higher education the social sciences have taken a most
important place in the curriculum. Economics has found
its way down into the secondary schools, and civics into
the elementary schools. Sociology itself, in the form of a
study of concrete social problems, is now being incorporated
into the high school curriculum. On its practical side, the
sociological view of education adds to the curriculum
vocational training for those pupils who must soon join
the ranks of wage earners. This ideal of education aims
to prepare the individual for his economic and social
environment by means of industrial education, com-
mercial training, or agricultural instruction.

One of the most conspicuous educational movements of
to-day is the development of vocational training. This
may take three forms: (1) industrial, (2) com- vocational
mercial, and (3) agricultural. Under the older training:
system of industry, the' individual passed
through the stage of apprenticeship, wherein he was
taught by the master of the shop all phases of his future
occupation. Following the Industrial Revolution and the



550 Problems of American Democracy

development of the factory system, this method of "learning
a trade" gradually declined. At present, the work of a
factory employee is generally limited to a single process,
and only occasionally does the employer attempt to
broaden the knowledge of the workers. Hence the school,
an outside agency, has been called upon to meet the
demands of industrial education. Many states of Europe
have had training of this sort for half a century. In
Germany, continuation schools have been successful. A
continuation school is so called because in it education is
continued after the pupil discontinues regular school ses-
sions. The employee is permitted by his employer to
return to school a certain number of hours each week.
Many localities have made such attendance compulsory for
all apprentices up to the age of eighteen and have required
the employers to grant them time for such study. Not
only is training provided for the lower grades of artisans,
but instruction is given to foremen, superintendents, and
technical clerks.

Industrial education in our own country appeared later
than in Europe. Real skill and technical knowledge were
needed, under the stress of international competition, for
industrial supremacy. The earliest industrial schools in
America were founded by private philanthropy or as a
result of individual experiment. In the twentieth century,
however, they appeared as an integral part of the public
school system. Trade schools have been established in
numerous cities, while continuation classes have sometimes
been inaugurated in connection with compulsory education
laws. Thus, the recent law of Pennsylvania requires
partial school attendance for employees between fourteen
and sixteen years of age. Manual training courses had



Public Education in a Democracy 551

already been established in secondary schools and have
even appeared lately in the more elementary grades.
The purpose of manual training instruction, as distinguished
from that of trade schools, is to offer the student general
industrial training rather than to prepare him for any
particular occupation.

Vocational training has not been altogether industrial.
With the great expansion of commerce, as well as of
manufacturing, came the demand for a thorough commercial
preparation for a business career. Only of schools -
recent years, in the United States, has this phase of educa-
tion come to be regarded as a function of our public school
system, which, throughout the greater part of the nine-
teenth century, stressed the purely traditional side of
education. At the present time, however, commercial
courses have won a recognized place in our scheme of
public education. In England, in spite of her dominating
position in the markets of the world, commercial education
has been but a recent development. In our own country,
the early history of commercial education was the usual
story of private enterprise fulfilling a public need. Indeed,
at the present time, business schools and other such private
institutions number about one-half of all students of com-
mercial education. Finally, the insistent demand for a
modern type of education won the recognition of public
school authorities. Since the opening of the present
century, great progress in this type of education has been
made. Commercial courses, as well as the manual training,
have been added to the older and more purely academic
high school curriculum. By recognizing the divergent
needs of the various students who attend American public
high schools, secondary education is no longer exclusively



552 Problems of American Democracy

a merely traditional preparation for a classical college
career. In fact, the universities themselves have long since
recognized the need of practical education. Not only
their splendid engineering schools, but also their widely
attended courses in finance and commerce, bear eloquent
witness to the great educational adjustments made by our
American universities.

Another aspect of vocational education is the agricul-
tural. In 1862, Congress appropriated lands in every