Problems in American Democracy | Page 2

intelligently, he can only partially fulfill
the obligations of citizenship.
Throughout the text the aim has been to go directly to the heart of the
problem under consideration. The student is not burdened with a mass
of data which would prove confusing, and which would be out of date
before he is out of school. Instead, an effort has been made to outline,
first the essential nature of the problem, and second the fundamental
principles which affect its solution. Care has been taken to cultivate the
problem attitude, and to encourage the spirit of independent
investigation and open-minded judgment on the part of the student.
It goes without saying that the success of this book will depend largely
upon the use which the teacher makes of it. The text aims to supply the
basic facts and the fundamental principles involved in specific
problems, but the teacher must interpret many of those facts and
principles, and ought, in addition, to furnish illustrative material. The
book is not intended to be an encyclopedia, but rather a suggestive
guide.
The text covers the fundamentals of three distinct fields: economics,
sociology, and government. Sufficient reference and topic work is
offered to enable teachers to expand the text along particular lines.
Thus
Part II
might serve as a nucleus around which to build up a special course in
economics, while

Part III
would serve as a basis for a similar course in applied sociology, if for
some reason it were not feasible to take up other parts of the book.
Though the text is the result of the coöperative efforts of a considerable
number of specialists, its treatment of the problems of American life is
neither dogmatic nor arbitrary. The effort has been to treat all of our
problems sanely and hopefully, but at the same time to make it clear
that many of these questions are still unsettled and the best method of
disposing of them is yet hotly debated. This fact has strongly
influenced the manner in which the problems have been treated.

TOPICS AND READINGS
Following each chapter are suggestions for work to supplement the text.
These suggestions are of six kinds, and are intended to meet a variety
of needs.
A number of easy questions on the text is first supplied.
Following these is a number of required readings to supplement each
chapter of the text. The student may be asked to read a single chapter
from Williamson's _Readings in American Democracy_, collected and
arranged so as to furnish in compact form and in a single volume
supplementary material which otherwise the teacher would have to find
in a number of separate books. In case the use of the Readings is not
feasible, some or all of the alternative required readings may be
available.
The required readings are followed by a number of questions thereon.
Questions on the material contained in Williamson's Readings in
American Democracy will be found at the end of each chapter in that
volume; questions on the required readings cited as alternative to this
volume will be found at the end of each chapter in the text.
Topic work is provided in two groups. Topics in the first group form a
link between the text and the everyday experience of the student on the
one hand, and between the activities of the student's local community
and national problems on the other. The student is called upon, for
example, to investigate the attitude of the local press toward
controversial questions, or to examine the administration of local
charitable relief. Topic work of this sort not only quickens the interest
of the student, but it encourages original investigation and independent
thought. It lets the student know what is going on in his community,
and it informs individuals and institutions beyond the school that this
agency is beginning to connect with the problems of the municipality,
state, and nation. This sort of topic work also allows the student to test
the accuracy of the text, and to interpret local conditions in the light of
broad, national tendencies.
The second group of topics contains material for report work. In the
case of practically all of these topics, the student is referred specifically
to books and other publications.
Beginning with
Chapter XVIII

of the text, the topics are followed by a series of questions for
classroom discussion. Some of these may be turned into classroom
debates. Others allow the student to challenge statements in the text. A
few of these questions have never been satisfactorily answered by
anyone, yet the student must face them in the world outside the school,
and it cannot be time wasted to understand their content now.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the preparation of this text the author has received valuable
assistance from a number of sources. Though such assistance in no