PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD 



r "T*he AMERICAN WAY series has been planned to serve the 

 JL needs of pupils and teachers who are seeking vital subject" 

 matter for their work in the social studies. In order to clarify 

 the abstractions of civics and at the same time bring out more 

 strongly than ever the significance of citizenship, the volumes of 

 this series offer separate units of content, organised around insti 

 tutions or trends which are characteristic of life in a democracy. 

 Thus it is hoped, by starting from the concrete and familiar 

 things of the pupil's everyday experience, to insure a more in 

 telligent approach toward an understanding of today's problems. 

 Our present task is to adjust our institutions to a changing 

 society and economy. Living in a democracy, we gain our salva 

 tion the hard way, by trial and error. Through excess of energy 

 or sheer independence of spirit we have despoiled the resources 

 that were our natural inheritance, and now must struggle to 

 restore them or to conserve what is left. Having developed a 

 technology which is the marvel of the world, we must teach our 

 selves and our children the knack of accident prevention in order 

 to escape the physical consequences. In our pursuit of happi 

 ness we have utilized that technology to create untold wealth, 

 only to produce widespread social insecurity in place of the 

 anticipated prosperity for all. Because our schools are our great 

 est public trust, we have too often made them battlefields for 

 conflicting interests and proving grounds for wasteful experi 

 ments. Because our press is free, we ha^e used it heedlessly for 

 the dissemination of propaganda and counter'propaganda. And 

 yet, toilsome though constructive effort may be, we would not 

 for anything change the procedure, for this is our way the 

 American way. In struggling toward more satisfactory answers 



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