MIDDLE WESTERN AGRICULTURAL HISTORY 327 



cultiiro chirinj^ the years 1825-1851.*" Wendell 11. Stephensoirs 

 edition of the papers of Thomas Aflleek will be similarly useful. 



It will also perhaps not be remiss to ejill attention to the sig- 

 nificance of the training given by the rural grade and high 

 schools. Oraiite*! that it is tlie function of education to develop 

 the indiviihuU so that he may serve the eonunon good as a ra- 

 tional and socialized being, it is pertinent to know the extent to 

 which the rural schools have played their part. One hears much 

 of the little red schoolhouse — usiuilly white in actuality — as 

 the foundation of this country's democracy, but that democracy 

 will be preserved and adapted to changing needs only in so far 

 as the educational system fulfills its purpose. Hence, the import- 

 ance of this topic. 



Except the general chapters on the Middle West in the per- 

 tinent volumes of the History of American Life series there is 

 little formal history of the rural home and community." The 

 farm house with its furnishings, conveniences, and surround- 

 ings; rural manners, customs, and morals; junusements and 

 entertainments such as games and sports, sociables and sur- 

 prise parties, and spelling, husking, and quilting bees; religious 

 ideas and practices — these and many similar topics offer ample 

 opportunity for those inclined towanl social history. The lack 

 of historical studies of rural health, including sanitary condi- 

 tions, home remedies, and the country doctor, may also be men- 

 tioned in this connection. 



The relation of the farmers to the political history of the 

 region and the nation is less obscure. The significance of their 

 part in the political revolution of 1860 is well known, and S. J. 

 Buck's Aprariati Crusade summarizes their relationship to the 

 protest movement during the remainder of the nineteenth cen- 

 tury. The same author's monograph on the Granger Movement 

 and that by John D. Hicks on the Populist Revolt are adequate. 

 Mention should also be made of the jiioneer work by F. E. Haynes 



'•Herbert A. KelUr, ed., Solon Bobinsun: Pxonerr and Agncvlturist ; Selrcted 

 WrUimita, Indiana HUtorieal CoUrctions (IndiamipolU), XXIXXII (1936), 2 toU. 



'•For a noteworUij lericii of articles, at-o Evadeiio A. Burria, *'Ke«ping IIou«e 

 on tho Miane«ota I-Vontier," Mtnnrgota Jlutlury, XIV (1933), 263 2H2 ; ui.. " t\on- 

 tier Kood," tbid., 378 392; ut., "Building the Frontier Home." ibtd., XV (1934), 

 43^S; aiid id., " Furoialiing tl>« Fruutter Home," i^wi., iHl 103. 



