105 



group themselves according to their nationality. Hence they 

 need to be Americanized as soon as possible. The Irish, Ger- 

 man, French, Scandinavians and Spaniards must not desire to 

 constitute themselves a nation in the nation, but these immi- 

 grants must themselves be the American nation and make their 

 boast of it. What is the instrument of this marvellous trans- 

 formation ? What institution has so infused the American 

 blood into these thousands of colonists, who have hardly had 

 time to forget Europe ? It is the public school, and its useful- 

 ness in this direction alone justifies its cost. Suppose that 

 instead of these public institutions, the new immigrants could 

 find only private schools, all would be changed. Each would 

 follow his own ideas and customs, each group would constitute 

 itself apart, perpetuating its language, traditions, creed, its 

 ancient national spirit and also its own prejudices. Instead of 

 accustoming the child to a healthful contact with conflicting 

 opinions, the school would be a confessional, the distinction of 

 rich and poor, of the child that pays and the charity pupil 

 would perpetuate and pronounce itself. It is a capital fact for 

 America, thanks to daily contact in the public schools, that 

 the antipathy of the white to the colored child has begun to 

 yield. And the United States without this fusion of races, 

 without unity of language, without the equality of social 

 classes, without the mutual tolerance of all the sects, above all, 

 without the ardent love of their new country and its institu- 

 tions, would that be the United States at all ? All that this 

 country has become and is now, is literally due to the public 

 school. 



In proportion as a nation advances, the dangers which the 

 school is to avert go on increasing. For this reason they 

 redouble their efforts and liberality for schools. As the native 

 population does not increase as fast as the foreign or mixed 

 population, the time may come when the American element, 

 the native Yankee^ will be in the minority. Hence the United 

 States omit no measure fitted to imbue the new population 

 with the American spirit and so assimilate them that they shall 

 seize and make the national traditions their own. 



The Profession of Teaching in the United States. — In France a 

 person enters the career of teaching with the view of creating 



