GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD 



2416 



GENET 



authoress, poetess or editress. It is just by 

 freeing itself from distinctions of this char- 

 acter, based on Latin grammar, that English 

 has developed into the wonderfully clear, com- 

 pact and forceful instrument for expressing 

 thought that is our heritage to-day. See 

 GRAMMAR. L.M.B. 



GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD, an organi- 

 zation chartered by Congress in 1903 to pro- 

 mote education in the United States. The 

 board was created to assist in the distribution 

 of large benevolences for educational purposes, 

 especially those contributed by Mr. John D. 

 Rockefeller. Through this organization assist- 

 ance is given to schools of all grades, from the 

 common school to the university, without dis- 

 tinction of race, sex or creed. It has been 

 especially helpful in promoting education in 

 the Southern states, though its activities extend 

 to all parts of the country. The board con- 

 trols about $34,000,000, the income from which 

 is expended for educational purposes. 



GENERALIZATION, jen er ali za' shun, the 

 conclusion reached concerning the characteris- 

 tics of a class of objects, by observing the 

 qualities of several individuals of the class. A 

 generalization is reached by inductive reason- 

 ing, that is, by observing particulars and draw-- 

 ing a general conclusion based upon these (see 

 INDUCTIVE METHOD). For example, when sim- 

 ilar traits are seen in many persons of the 

 same nationality, the generalization is made 

 that these characteristics belong to all people 

 of that nationality. When it is observed that 

 heat is transmitted more readily by iron, cop- 

 per, steel and other metals than by wood, 

 glass, rubber, etc., the generalization or con- 

 clusion reached is that metals are the best con- 

 ductors. The term generalization is applied to 

 the act of drawing the conclusion, as well as to 

 the result of the process. 



GENESEE, jen e see', RIVER, a beautiful 

 stream flowing through Pennsylvania and New 

 York, whose name, which is of Indian origin, 

 means shining valley. It rises in the northern 

 part of Pennsylvania, in Potter County, and 

 follows a northward course into New York, 

 entering Lake Ontario seven miles north of 

 Rochester, and about 140 miles from its source. 

 Just before the river reaches the broad and 

 fertile valley at Mount Morris, New York, it 

 cuts its way through a deep, narrow gorge 

 whose perpendicular cliffs rise in some places 

 350 feet high ; within this chasm it plunges 

 over three cascades, one of which, Portage 

 Falls, is 110 feet high. At the city of Roches- 



ter, where the river is crossed by the Erie 

 Canal, it forms three waterfalls which afford 

 excellent water power. Lake vessels can navi- 

 gate the Genesee for five miles of its course. 



GENESIS, jen' e sis, which means origina- 

 tion or coming into being, is best known as 

 applied to the first book of the Bible. In this 

 book the story of the creation of the world is 

 told, and the story of formation of the chosen 

 nation of God, the Israelites. After the ap- 

 pearance of sin in the world and the subse- 

 quent separation of good from evil, the Flood 

 was sent to punish the wicked. Then the 

 history of the world began again with Noah 

 and his family as the only survivors. Many 

 years after, God called Abraham to become 

 the father of the chosen people of Israel, and , 

 the wonderful growth of his nation is told in 

 the remainder of the book. When the crops 

 failed one year and the people were suffering, 

 Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, who- had 

 become leader of the nation, led all the people 

 into Egypt, where his son Joseph had become 

 the prime minister. At the close of the book 

 both Jacob and Joseph die, leaving the people 

 still in Egypt. It is a wonderful story of the 

 primitive growth of a nation, and the splendid 

 story of Joseph is one of the most striking 

 tales ever written. 



GENET, zhe neh', EDMOND CHARLES EDOUARD 

 (1765-1834), popularly referred to in American 

 history as "Citizen Genet," was a French diplo- 

 mat who created the first international crisis 

 which confronted the young American republic. 

 After being attached to the embassies at Berlin 

 and Vienna (1779-1780) he succeeded his father 

 as chief of the bureau of correspondence in 

 the French Department of Foreign Affairs. In 

 1792 he became minister to the United States, 

 at the time of the French Revolution. He was 

 enthusiastically received upon his arrival at 

 Charleston, S. C., as a representative of a peo- 

 ple striving for liberty; his reception was the 

 heartier because Americans had not forgotten 

 France's contribution to the success of the 

 Revolutionary War. 



Despite President Washington's proclama- 

 tion of neutrality Genet endeavored to in- 

 fluence public opinion to side with France. He 

 proceeded to arm and equip privateers and 

 raise recruits in American ports, clearly leading 

 the United States to violate its neutrality be- 

 tween France and England. This, with his 

 many imprudent criticisms of the government, 

 compelled Washington to demand his recall in 

 1794. Fearing the dangers of the Revolution, 



