BURKE AARON HINSDALE
BY HAROLD E. DAVIS, HIRAM COLLEGE
Burke Aaron Hinsdale came of pioneer
stock. For
generations his ancestors had been
pioneers. If his
pioneering was of a different sort, it
was nevertheless
pioneering. Gifted with a rugged
constitution, he had
an unbounded capacity for work and
tireless energy
which kept his pen busy through an
eventful life, as the
bibliography of his published works
shows. A voracious
mind and a certain independence of judgment--
a
pioneer quality--enabled him to turn
his attention to
widely varied subjects with great ease.
He could and
did write with insight on theological,
historical, polit-
ical, literary, biographical and
educational subjects.
While it is true that eventually he
found his true field
in education and that most of his later
writing was done
in that field, his work in other lines
is creditable and his
interest in those fields was kept up as
evidenced by occa-
sional writing.
The Cyclopedia of Education says
of him:
American professor of education and
educational writer;
educated at Eclectic Institute
(afterwards Hiram Col-
lege). Engaged in work of ministry for
several years. President
of Hiram College, 1870-1882.
Superintendent of the Cleveland
Schools, 1882-1886. Professor of Science
and Art of Teaching in
the University of Michigan, 1888-1900.1
Three places are associated with
significant periods
in his life, as the article shows. They
are Hiram, Cleve-
1 Paul Monroe, Cyclopedia of
Education, New York, 1912. Article,
"Hinsdale, Burke Aaron."
Vol. XLI--16. (241)
242 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications land and Ann Arbor. The years preceding the Hiram period may be taken conveniently as a fourth. These four periods furnish us an outline of the man's life, to which we shall add a fifth, a preliminary glance at the line of ancestors that preceded the boy Burke Aaron. |
|
THE HINSDALES The earliest ancestor of the Hinsdales in America was the "Puritan yeoman," Robert Hinsdell, or Deacon Robert as he was called, one of the founders of the church in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1638. The records |
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 243
show that Deacon Robert became a
freeman of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony the following
year and a few
years later a member of the Artillery
Company.2
Robert Hinsdell's wife (Ann Woodward)
had dif-
ficulty making the public confession
required of all
church-members. The old record relates
how
The wife of our brother Hinsdell being
fearful and not able
to speak in publike, but fainting away
ther, coming to church in
private gave good satisfaction which
being publickly testified and
declared and she confirming the same
relation to be so, was re-
ceived.3
Robert Hinsdell had the land hunger
which called
the pioneer on and on into the
wilderness. He moved
first to Medfield, and then to Hadley,
Massachusetts.
Here he spent several years, and the
timid Ann having
died he married Elizabeth Hawks, widow
of John
Hawks. This marriage did not prove very
satisfactory,
for on March 30, 1674, Robert and
Elizabeth Hinsdell
were haled before the court (the county
court of Hamp-
shire County3a) for refusing
to live together as man and
wife. Elizabeth refused to answer and
apparently got
off clear. Robert said he "did it
as being her head and
having the rule of her in the Pointe
and that he did it
for her correction of her disorder
towards him." The
court decided he had "broken the
Perfect rule of divine
law, Mal. 2:16; Matt. 19: 6; and 1
Peter 3:7 and the
2 Hinsdale Genealogy, p. 62.
3 Adams, C. F. Jr., Three Episodes in
Massachusetts History, Boston,
1892. 3rd ed. 2 v. II, p. 753.
3a History of Connecticut Valley, Massachusetts, vol. I, pp.
163-164.
Hampshire County at that time included
the present Franklin County in
which Deerfield is located. A county
court was established in Hampshire
county in 1660.
244 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
law of the Colony in the intent if not
in the letter in the
first living asunder." He was
ordered to be "whipped
ten stripes on the naked body" and
fined.4
In 1671 Robert Hinsdell purchased some
land farther
up the Connecticut valley, at
Deerfield. Sometime be-
tween that date and 1673 he and his
sons established
themselves at Deerfield. He lived in
the famous "Yale"
house and his sons Barnabas and Samuel
lived nearby.
He was living here when King Philip's
war broke out.
In the course of the war, Robert and
his three oldest
sons, Barnabas, John and Samuel were
killed, probably
in an ambush at Muddy (or
"Bloody") Creek, while
with a party carrying supplies from
Deerfield to
Hadley.5
Barnabas Hinsdale, son of the Barnabas
killed in
King Philip's war, went southward to
Hartford, Con-
necticut, there to take as his wife one
Martha Smith.
Of the nine children, products of this
fruitful union,
Jacob, the third, became one of the
first settlers of Har-
winton, Conn., on lands inherited from
his father. He
received a captain's commission in the
French and In-
dian War and was elected to various
town offices. Jacob
married Hanna Seymour, and history
repeated itself,
for the third of the nine children,
again named Jacob,
settled first at Harwinton, but moved
about 1771 to
Canaan, Connecticut. The Hinsdale men
were rugged
4 Hinsdale Genealogy, pp.
60-61. Massachusetts Archives, vol.
LXVIII, p. 3, contains Russel's
"List of Men Slain in the County of
Hampshire." Robert Hinsdall, Samuel
Hinsdall, Barnabas Hinsdall and
John Hinsdall are listed among the
teamsters killed in the engagement at
Muddy Creek.
5 G. M. Bodge, Soldiers in King Philip's
War, p. 137. S. C. Derby,
"Burke Aaron Hinsdale," Old
Northwest Genealogical Quarterly, IV
(1901), pp. 109-117.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 245
and hardy--with the sturdy physique one
expects to find
in men who fought the Indians, the
wilderness and the
British. Albert Hinsdale, the father of
Burke Aaron,
tells of attending the funeral of his
grandfather Jacob
at Canaan, in 1812. He says,
"There were present six
of his sons, all large men."6
Elisha, the second of the
sons of Jacob and Mary (Brace)
Hinsdale, was born
in Harwinton, Connecticut, in 1761. At
the age of 16,
he enlisted in the Continental army,
where he spent three
years, including the winter at Valley
Forge. Leaving
the army, he tried the jeweler's trade.
When his shop
burned down, he joined with his brother
Abel in start-
ing an axe- and scythe-making shop at
Torrington, Con-
necticut. He represented Torrington in
the State Legis-
lature in 1805-6. In 1816 he sold his
lands in Torring-
ton to his brother, acquired land in
the Western Reserve,
a part of which was a bounty for
service in the Revolu-
tionary War, and moved there with his
family. Elisha
was the pioneer of the Hinsdale family
in the Western
Reserve. His son Albert, who was seven
years old at
the time, has left us an account of the
trip:7
We started from Torrington,
(Connecticut) to New Connec-
ticut, the 4th of October, 1816. . . .
Our team was two stout
yoke of oxen..
When we started there were folks enough
there to make a
little funeral. I started with a good
deal of resolution, on foot,
and came so most of the way, sleeping at
night between Julius and
Sherman on top of the wagon. We crossed
the North River at
Albany, in a horse-boat; we saw there
one of the first steamboats
that played on American waters start
from her dock in New York.
We crossed the Genesee on a boat
propelled by a rope and the
Cayuga lake on an open bridge
half a mile long. At the same
6 Albert
Hinsdale, Chronicle of the Hinsdale Family, Cleveland, 1883,
p. 12.
7 Ibid. pp. 13-15.
246 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
time there were on the bridge several
road-wagons, one drawn by
a team of nine horses; these wagons then
did the business that is
now done (1880?) by the Erie Canal and
the New York Central
Railroad. We came through the village of
Buffalo which had not
recovered from the effects of the
British raid and fire. We were
one whole day in crossing the
Cattaraugus Four-mile woods. As
we came up the lake--the road ran much
of the way on the beach,
in driving round one point of rocks the
water was so high that it
washed away our tar-bucket, which hung
to the hind axle-tree.
We arrived in Braceville, Trumbull
County, December 2, having
been eight weeks on the road and where
we staid over winter.
The Western Reserve was a pioneer
community. It
was the only part of Northern Ohio very
much settled
at the time. Elisha and his family
settled at Norton.
Life was hard. Albert Hinsdale tells of
these first years:
We did not live very well for the first
two years, but we
always had something to eat. ... We soon
had a good
cow. Jointed corn and milk did pretty
well for supper, but I
never liked potatoes and milk. For fruit
we had mandrakes,
pumpkins and crab-apples. Before winter
(1817) our house was
chinked and daubed; we had a good
puncheon floor overhead, a
stick chimney from the floor up, planed
doors and glass windows
--(the glass brought from
Connecticut) . .
. I worked
summers and went to school winters until
I was 18 years old,
when I thought I had learning enough; .
. . I could read,
write and cipher.
Elisha became an esteemed member of his
com-
munity, in spite of or on account of
his scant "larnin'."
He served many years as Justice of
Peace. Albert Hins-
dale, the author of the narrative
quoted at such length,
was the second son of Elisha and was
the father of
Burke Aaron. He had come with his
father from Con-
necticut as a boy of seven and had
grown up at the
Norton homestead. His son describes him
as of frame
"never heavy, but strong and
sinewy"; an excellent ob-
server of men and things. He had keen
insight into
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 247
character, a cool temper and a
"power of analysis and
description, quaint and
picturesque." He was a "good
converser" and expressed
"views of men and things
freely." He arrived at "ready
and keen judgments."
He was one of the first in his
community to take up the
new agricultural journals and one of
the first to exhibit
taste in farming and in fitting up his
home.8
We have a description of Burke Aaron's
mother,
from the pen of her husband. She was
large, with a
well-developed figure. She had a strong
and vigorous
constitution, but was of a
"nervous type." She was en-
ergetic, industrious, frugal, and
orderly in her habits--
a good housekeeper. "She was
possessed of good judg-
ment, very ready to make up her mind,
which was not
easily turned, and very apt to carry
out her purposes."9
She, too, was of Connecticut stock,
although born in
Akron, so the New England Yankee
inheritance was
from both sides.
Burke Aaron, the second of five
children of this en-
ergetic, industrious couple was the
eldest son. He was
called Burke after the famous
Englishman, friend of
the colonists. He was born at
Wadsworth, March 31,
1837. He grew up in the toil and
struggle of a pioneer
household but in a region of improving
conditions and
enlarged outlook. The decades of the
'forties and 'fifties
saw rapid strides in the development of
transportation
in Ohio. Through the Western Reserve
ran the Ohio
Canal, (Cleveland to Portsmouth) and
Pennsylvania-
Ohio Canal (Akron to Pittsburgh). The
first railroads
were being built. Northern Ohio
reflected these changes
8 Supplement to Chronicles of
Hinsdale Family, p. 22.
9 Chronicles of Hinsdale Family, p. 24.
248
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
in its economic organization and life.
New and com-
modious farm-houses gave proof of the
farmer's first
taste of prosperity.
EARLY YEARS
In this environment the boy Burke grew
up. He was
a bright and studious boy in the
district school. Among
his early teachers were Mr. Cynes King
of Medina,
Ohio; Mr. Lafayette Waffle and Mrs. M.
(Weeks)
Henry of Akron, who "taught him
his letters in the old
way."10 The change in conditions
is reflected in the
fact that Burke instead of going on to
the new frontier,
found it possible to pioneer in the
field of education.
Leaving the family farm at Wadsworth
when 16 years
of age, he entered the newly
established Western Re-
serve Eclectic Institute, at
Hiram. He had already
developed habits of study, and shown a
preference for
history and philosophy.
The academy of that day furnished
rather meagre
intellectual fare judged according to
our standards to-
day. But the classics were there and
the active mind
of young Hinsdale found plenty to do.
For eleven years
he stayed at the Institute as student
and teacher, leaving
at irregular intervals to work on the
farm or teach a
district school. It was here and at
this time that he
formed that friendship with James A.
Garfield, so influ-
ential on his life. From 1853 to 1860
his name appears
each year in the catalog of the
Institute as a student.
His teaching at this time is important
because of his
later career. His first teaching was
done in a district
school in Franklin, Summit County. This
was in the
10 Derby, op. cit.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 249
autumn of 1855 and the following
winter. During three
succeeding winters he taught in other
places in that part
of Ohio. Later, after leaving Hiram, he
taught for a
year, with the aid of his wife, at a
"select school" at
Sharon, Medina County. The year
following, with the
help of his sister Louise, he taught a
similar school at
Solon, Cuyahoga County.
So between the ages of sixteen and
twenty-three, he
studied, worked on the farm and taught.
This was a
formative period and a successful one,
too, for at the
end of his student days he was retained
at the Institute
as an assistant teacher. Two years
later (1862) he
became a full-fledged teacher in the
English Depart-
ment. During most of the Civil War he
stayed at this
post. He left the Institution in 1864,
not to return
until two years after it became Hiram
College. This
latter change in which Garfield's
influence was so promi-
nent took place in 1867 and in 1869
brought Hinsdale
back to Hiram.11
The intervening years he spent
preaching. He was
pastor of the Church of the Disciples
of Christ at Solon,
Ohio, and later of the Franklin Circle
Church of the
same denomination in Cleveland.
In 1862 he had married Mary Turner of
Cleveland,
a schoolmate at the Institute. They had
much in com-
mon for both were intellectually
inclined. Likewise both
of them found the exacting social
duties of pastor and
pastor's wife a little trying at times.
There was a cer-
tain coldness about Hinsdale which was
at times a han-
dicap, especially in dealing with
strangers. His many
11 Catalogs of Western Reserve Eclectic Institute and Hiram College
1853-1864: 1869.
250
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
friends say that this coldness was only
a superficial
one--that beneath it lay a genial
warmth and friendli-
ness. Where Hinsdale's true interest
lay was shown
at this time by his accepting the
position of associate
editor of The Christian Standard, religious
periodical
published in Cleveland at that time, to
which he con-
tributed a large number of carefully
prepared book re-
views, largely historical and literary.
The opening of
the short-lived Alliance College at
Alliance in 1868 pro-
vided him his opportunity for more
congenial work. He
accepted the chair of History,
Political Economy and
Governmental Science. The following
year the call of
his old school brought him to what was
now Hiram
College, as Professor of Philosophy,
English Literature
and Political Science.12 July
1, 1870, he was elected
"permanent President of Hiram
College."13 The quaint
terminology of the minutes of the
Trustees' meeting
gives some idea of the precarious
tenure of previous
heads of the Institution.
PRESIDENT OF HIRAM COLLEGE, 1870-1882
Hinsdale was thirty-three years old
when he became
President of Hiram College. He was a
big man physi-
cally--six feet tall, deep-chested,
with a sturdy frame.
He had the appearance of strength and
endurance. In
later years a tendency to be stooped
became more ap-
parent. His hair and beard at this time
were dark
brown, later they became gray. The
features of his
face were regular and pleasant. He had
twinkling gray
12 "Biographical
sketch in Hinsdale & Demmon," History of the Uni-
versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1906, pp. 278-280.
13 F. M. Green, History of Hiram
College, Cleveland, 1901, p. 209.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 251
eyes which often had a strained look
from too much
study. A tendency to be detached and
absorbed in
thought was noticeable. He was blunt
and brusque in
expression with almost excessive
frankness. Strangers
often thought him cold. He was not a
person with
whom one took liberties.
His educational qualifications were not
such as one
would look for in a college president
today. He had
no college degree. His formal education
had all been
received at the Eclectic Institute. His
own active intel-
lect and habits of study went far to
remedy the defi-
ciency. While still at Hiram, he had
developed the
practice of writing articles, at first
for newspapers. His
teaching and preaching had led him, as
teachers and
preachers unfortunately are not always
led, into habits
of careful and profound study. He had
continued writ-
ing on various subjects. Probably no
one but a preacher
would have been selected for the
position of head of a
church college at that time. It was
fortunate that in
Hinsdale the profession of preacher had
been united
with the cultivation of thorough
scholarship in spite of
the limitations of his formal
education.
Inherited qualities and tendencies
found ample ex-
pression. His tireless industry, brusque
frankness, love
of books, ready, correct judgment,
independence of
thinking, impatience with
"fads" and "fools," his deep
religious nature--all these are due as
much to his an-
cestry, perhaps, as to his environment
and his own in-
tellectual vigor.14
Three years before Hinsdale became
president of
14 Derby, op. cit., pp. 116-117;
E. J. Benton in article for Dictionary of
American Biography (not yet published).
252 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
the College, the change had been made
from an insti-
tution of academic grade to one of
collegiate rank. The
change had been one in name only. The
college con-
tinued to enroll most of its students
in the lower grades
and the students doing regular
collegiate work were few
in number. There is nothing unique
about this situation.
Many American colleges have gone
through the same
period of change. The evolution of a
frontier college
is slow and painful. With no library,
poor equip-
ment, scanty funds, no tradition of
scholarship, poorly
equipped teachers, students with poor
training and un-
promising backgrounds, the prospect was
a dreary one.
The major problems any college
executive must face are
three: endowment, faculty, and
students. Hinsdale was
confronted with these three
problems--each one aggra-
vated almost to the point of
hopelessness, in a struggling
back-woods college.
In his report to the Board of Trustees
in 1872, Hins-
dale said: "There are probably few
members of the
Board who appreciate the difficulty of
building up a
college in Hiram. Our state is thickly
strewn with
colleges and the number is constantly
increasing. Graded
schools are springing up in every
village; and young
men well qualified to teach them go out
from our own
halls to receive better salaries than
we pay our pro-
fessors. The place is small,
inconvenient of access, not
a cheap place to live in, destitute of
social attractions
and with many inconveniences. We are
rowing against
wind and tide. Under the circumstances,
nothing can
keep up the reputation of the
Institution but good in-
struction and wise management."15
15 Quoted in History of Hiram College, pp. 238-239.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 253
As an educator with sound views,
Hinsdale saw that
the most important thing was to build
up a faculty
which would gain for the institution
recognition as a
college. The funds at his disposal were
pitifully inade-
quate. There was practically no
endowment except the
buildings. The income of the college
came mainly from
the student tuition. The average annual
budget of the
college during his administration of
twelve years was
not above seven thousand dollars. The
President re-
ceived an annual appropriation from the
Board for this
amount. From this he must pay all the
salaries and
expenses; whatever remained he received
for himself
and it was usually little enough.
Obviously the only
solution to the problem of assembling a
faculty under
such conditions was to secure bright
young men. Men
of established position could not be
brought to such a
hazardous undertaking. This Hinsdale
set out to do.
How successful he was is shown by the
fact that five
of the young men he brought to the
College continued
to give a lifetime of service and
constituted the nucleus
of the faculty down to very recent
years.16 In addition,
Isaac N. Demmon, who had been his
colleague at Alli-
ance College, followed him to Hiram,
and then preceded
him to the University of Michigan.
The results of President Hinsdale's
effort to put the
newly established college on a solid
basis academically
is seen in its admission in 1876, to
"The Association of
Ohio Colleges," also newly formed.
It was one of fif-
teen institutions in the State
conforming to the stand-
16 The reference is to Professors
Pierson, Bancroft, Wakefield, Colton
and Peckham.
254 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ards set up by the Association.17 He
was less successful
in building up a student body. The
college enrollment
declined during the years of his
direction. No improve-
ment was shown in this respect until
1880. However,
a closer examination of the statistics
shows that the
losses were in the preparatory
department while the col-
lege department showed an increase. In
general his
work at Hiram corresponded to what
might have been
expected of one of his personality. His
main attention
was given to the academic and
educational side of the
college's work. Here he accomplished
notable results,
results which have left a lasting
impression on the col-
lege. He was fitted, neither by
interest nor by tempera-
ment, for the work of promoting the
growth of an in-
stitution. His own judgment of his work
is found in a
statement in his report to the College
Trustees in 1879:
"I have done my best to make good
scholars at Hiram;
to make good men and women of our
pupils; and to give
the College standing abroad."18
In certain respects he exerted a
lasting influence on
the college. He set for the faculty a
high standard of
honest intellectual work, both in the
class room and in
the field of literary effort. His
published writings dur-
ing this period, while concerned at
first with Biblical
subjects, indicate a growing interest
in educational sub-
jects. His first book, The
Genuineness and Authenticity
of the Gospels, was published in 1872. In 1878 followed
The Jewish Christian Church and in 1879 Ecclesiastical
Tradition. In 1880 he prepared the Republican Text
17 History of Hiram College, p. 178; Proceedings of Association of
Ohio Colleges.
18 History of Hiram College, p. 244.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 255
Book for the Campaign in 1880. In 1881 he published
President Garfield and Education. His last year at
Hiram was spent largely in editing
Garfield's works.
A pamphlet in 1877, under the title Our
Common School
Education, represents his first well-considered statement
of the whole problem of education.
Representing in the
main a criticism of the teaching of the
fundamental sub-
jects in the elementary school, it
involved him in a con-
troversy with the Superintendent of the
Cleveland
schools which attracted considerable
attention.
These intellectual activities were
paralleled by his
teaching activities. His course of
lectures on teaching
was one of the earliest attempts in an
American college
to introduce courses in education.19
His insistence upon
the value of class room discussion as
opposed to the lec-
ture method has likewise left a lasting
mark on the edu-
cational practices of the Hiram
faculty. Professor
James B. Angell said of his work as a
teacher in the
University of Michigan: "He
delighted to engage in
discussions with his classes and he was
skillful in so
directing them as to stimulate thought
and to lead to
broader and clearer views. Not
infrequently when the
members of the class had expressed
conflicting opinions
and were looking for a final decision
from him, he would
pass without a remark to the next topic
in the lesson,
knowing that, the interest of his
students having been
aroused, they would yet wrestle with
the question for
a time much to their own profit."20
The stimulus given, under his
direction, to the studies
19 Paul Monroe, Cyclopedia of
Education, New York, 1912. Article
on. "Education, Academic study
of."
20 J. B. Angell et al, "B.
A. Hinsdale," Educational Review, XXI
(1901), p. 185 ff.
256 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of history and political science marked
the beginning of
an emphasis of the social studies in
the curriculum of
the institution, wholly in line with
educational develop-
ments of the times and noticeable to
this day in the work
of the college.21 Summing up
his work there, the his-
torian of Hiram College says:
Though he did not reach the measure of
success he desired
in bringing the Institution out of the
swaddling bands of the old
Academy and clothing it with the real
garments of a College,
yet he succeeded in laying foundations,
the strength of which is
felt to this day.22
CLEVELAND 1882-1886
Hinsdale launched himself into the
field of public
education with his pamphlet Our
Common School Edu-
cation, which was a revision of a lecture before the
North Eastern Ohio Teachers Association
in 1877. It
was essentially an attack on the
teaching of the common
branches in the elementary school.
Aaron Grove, super-
intendent of the Denver, Colorado,
schools, wrote, "Dr.
Hinsdale's pen was fierce and positive
in denunciation
of the Common schools of the country as
then con-
ducted."23
The part that the "new
methods" play in the current theories
of education is something wonderful.
Whatever else he may or may
not have, each teacher has his kit of
"methods." Sometimes, when
he sees the emphasis placed on mere
machinery, one is tempted to
ask whether school-houses, furniture,
apparatus, books and
processes will not be so perfected by
and by as to make education
wholly mechanical and to dispense with
the wise teacher and
eager pupil altogether. How we
commiserate our fathers and
mothers, as well as remote ancestors,
who lived and died before
the "improvements" in
education were made.24
21 History of Hiram College, p. 178.
22 Ibid, p. 245.
23 Educational Review, XXI,
(1901), pp. 185-199.
24 Our Common School Education, Cleveland, 1877, p. 11.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 257
The argument that the recent growth in
educational
facilities, teaching staff, and
expenditures for education
represents real progress in education
"rests on the mere
husk of education and does not touch
its kernel." The
real question is whether the quality of
our education is
improving. This question he boldly asks
and roundly
denies any improvement. The result of
entrance exami-
nations at West Point during the
preceding forty years,
he said, showed conclusively that there
had been a posi-
tive decline in educational results, so
far as the common
branches were concerned. The average
period of at-
tendance in the public schools of
Cleveland was five
years at this time. Hence he urged,
"the great work
of the public schools is and must
continue to be, to teach
the elementary branches."25 The graded system is "ex-
ceedingly rigid and inelastic," it
sacrifices the brightest
students to the standards of the dull
and mediocre. But
it is probably inevitable if we are to
have common
schools at all. The problem is to
reduce the evils of
the graded system to a minimum. Part of
the trouble
lies in adding too many new subjects to
the lower grades.
"I strike no blows at the higher
grades. All I say is,
the studies of the lower grades must
not be chosen from
a high school point of view."26 The
tendency to sub-
stitute women for men as teachers has
gone too far.
Pupils should come in contact with
teachers of both
sexes. The trouble is that the life
infused by Horace
Mann into the school system lingers on
in merely a fossil
state. New vigor in the school system
can come only
through attention to the quality of
teachers and their
25 Ibid, p. 35.
26 Ibid.
Vol. XLI--17.
258
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
training and to the quality of
instruction generally in
the schools.
The pamphlet, Our Common School
Education,
which he republished with some
alterations and addi-
tions a year later, was Hinsdale's best
statement of the
problem of the public schools prior to
his leaving Hiram
College. It was by all odds his best known
statement
at the time he left the college
presidency to become super-
intendent of the Cleveland schools. He
was now to have
a good opportunity to see first-hand
the problems he had
analyzed in the seclusion of college
halls, and to try the
practicability of the projects of
reform he had advo-
cated. He had had no practical
experience with city
schools. His teaching before he became
a college teacher
had been confined to rural and village
schools. He had
lived in a city only a short time. He
undertook "to do
that which many since have tried,
namely, to administer
the school affairs of a great city with
the details of which
he had never in his life had
opportunity of becoming
familiar."27
The previous superintendent, Andrew J.
Rickoff,
had given the Cleveland schools a
national reputation,
but he left under the cloud of a
school-book scandal.28
The Cleveland school board was a large
one, with mem-
bers elected by districts on a
political basis. Patronage
was common and a school-book scandal
was not a new
occurrence. The German element on the
school board
was strong, as the names of the
presidents indicate:
Schneider (1882-84), Mahler (1884-85),
Schellentrager
27 Aaron Grove in Educational
Review XXI (1901), pp. 185-199.
28 S.
P. Orth, History of Cleveland, Cleveland, 1910. p. 531; Angell
et al, in Educational Review, loc. cit.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 259
(1885-87). Their influence in general
had been a whole-
some one. Among others, its results
were the great
emphasis on German instruction in the
public schools,
and the presence of many German
teachers. Cleveland
was growing rapidly in the decades
after the Civil War,
and the school population was
increasing by leaps and
bounds. Buildings were always
inadequate and in 1882
the Board was again faced with the
necessity of pro-
viding more school buildings. This was
the system
Hinsdale undertook to direct. The
burden of adminis-
trative work loomed large; the
opportunities for educa-
tional improvement were small indeed.29
Hinsdale, contrary to what might have
been expected
from his Our Common School Education
had no idea of
making radical changes. His idea of what his work
was to be is well told in his first
annual report:
The end of a school is the education of
the pupil--his growth
in knowledge, in mental power and in character . .
. . A
Board of Education, by motion and vote,
can directly determine
questions pertaining to buildings, books, and studies,
but only
indirectly can it determine what the abilities and
characters of
teachers shall be. . . . What I mean to say is that,
when a
school or a system of schools has been brought up to a
given
level, we must look for further improvement in the work
of the
teachers, rather than in the work of builders and
system-makers.30
Although the Board was confronted with
a serious
building problem31 Hinsdale
appears to have given his
chief attention to the inner, rather
than the external
affairs of the school. His annual
reports are carefully
considered studies of educational
problems and policies,
29 Cf. W. J. Akers, Cleveland Schools
in the Nineteenth Century,
Cleveland, 1901, Chapters X-XIV.
30 "Superintendent's Report"
in Report of Cleveland Schools, 1883; cf.
Akers, pp. 201-202.
31 Ibid, p. 203.
260
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
and as such attracted widespread
attention and com-
mendation. He began to assume a
position of promi-
nence in the National Education
Association. His writ-
ings and addresses began to appear in
their publications,
in those of the Bureau of Education and
in pedagogical
journals.
To Hinsdale's mind the quality of the
teachers was
the most important factor in any
school. Education was
essentially an individual affair, the
development of the
pupil under the direction and guidance
of the teacher.
To improve the quality of teaching, and
stimulate the
teachers, he began the publication of
the Cleveland
School Bulletin, monthly magazine devoted to teachers'
problems.32 He tried to
raise the standard of teachers
in other ways, such as providing
two-year tenure instead
of one year in many cases and providing
additional sal-
ary for superior teachers. On the other
side of the
problem--the pupil--efforts were also
made leading to
more individualism. A system of
semi-annual promo-
tions had been begun by the preceding
superintendent.
This was encouraged in his first Annual
Report, to ob-
viate one of the outstanding
inflexibilities of the graded
system.33 Six-weeks tests
were provided in the high
schools to stimulate regular daily work
and lessen the
importance attached to examinations.
The third An-
nual Report mentioned the introduction
of a plan where-
by pupils entering high school were
assigned certain
teachers, in whose rooms they prepared
their lessons,
and to whom they recited their three
main studies. They
were responsible for their conduct to
these same teach-
32 Derby, op. cit.
33 Report of Cleveland Public
Schools, 1883, p. 81.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 261
ers. This continued for part or all of
their first year.
"The time has come," wrote
Hinsdale, "to cease calling
high schools colleges and to cease
teaching high school
students as college students are
taught."34 In the lower
grades he introduced much more
supplementary reading
material to give wider practice in
reading. In this way
also he hoped to emphasize "the
civilizing and refining
studies" in the elementary school.35
Other innovations attempted were the
abolition of
corporal punishment and the
introduction of free text-
books. The first was accomplished
quickly and with
apparent success in 1885. The School
Board approved
of the plan of free textbooks, but the
common pleas
court enjoined their distribution.
An investigation of the so-called
"high school ques-
tion," ordered by Mr. Hinsdale,
did much to justify the
public maintenance of high schools by
showing that they
were not schools for the rich and
privileged as commonly
asserted. It was shown that by far the
majority of the
high school students came from families
of moderate
means, and many of them from working
class homes.
A large number in one high school
(about 7%) came
from the homes of unskilled laborers. A
great many
high school pupils, it was found, had
some out-of-school
employment.36
Growth of the school system was marked
under
Hinsdale's administration. Two
thorough-going inves-
tigations and surveys of the building
situation were
made and a program of building
undertaken for the
34 Ibid, 1885, p.
107.
35 Derby, op. cit.
36 Akers, op. cit., pp. 210,
212-214.
262
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
first time, under the new plan of using
borrowed capital.
The number of pupils registered in the
schools increased
21.6% and the average daily attendance
increased
26.2%. The number of pupils in primary
grades in-
creased 20%, in the grammar grades 25%
and in the
high school 40%. The greatest increase
came in the
number of high school graduates which
increased 82%
and in the number of graduates of the
training schools
which increased 74%.37 But
the Board of Education
was becoming dissatisfied with
Hinsdale, partly, it is
said, because of his refusal to meet
their demands of
patronage. In 1886 they refused to
reelect him. The
burden of administrative work was so
exacting and dis-
tasteful, work with a Board of
Education dominated by
politics and rife with patronage was so
difficult that
Hinsdale was ready to leave. Out of his
dismissal came
the law giving Cleveland a commission
school board in-
stead of a representative one. His own
justification
came when, a few years later, after his
establishment
at Ann Arbor, the Cleveland Board of
Education made
overtures to him to return. He had to
refuse, and he
modestly suppressed the incident, but
it could not fail
to be gratifying. There is a tradition
that Hinsdale
was not a good business man. That is
difficult to verify.
Certainly he was unfitted by
temperament for such a
position, and was only too well pleased
when two years
later the opportunity came to go to the
University of
Michigan. In his last report to the
Board he sums up
his work in the Cleveland schools thus:
". . . the course
that I adopted from the first:--to
visit the teachers and
the schools as often as possible, to
observe the organi-
37 Report of Cleveland Schools, 1886, p. 35.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 263
zation, the discipline, and the
instruction, to analyze
and compare the results, and then to
direct such changes
as seemed called for, remembering that
'time innovateth
greatly but quietly,' . . . I soon
discovered that what
the schools needed most was not
revolution in external
organization and system, but more
fruitful instruction,
a more elastic regimen, and a freer
spirit. . . . In this
path I have steadfastly sought to
tread."38
During the Cleveland period Hinsdale's
writing suf-
fered somewhat from the burden of
administrative
work. His annual reports were valuable
educational
documents and scattered contributions
were made to
various professional publications. But the only book
of significance, the volume Schools
and Studies was a
collection of addresses and papers from
the Hiram
period, which he published in 1884.
During the interim
between his resignation and going to
Ann Arbor he
produced what was to be his most
important historical
work, The Old North West, a book
which is still an
acceptable treatise of that phase of
American history.
While Hinsdale was in Cleveland, two of
his daugh-
ters, Ellen Clarinda and Mary Louise,
graduated from
Adelbert College in the same year
(1885). Both girls
and a third daughter, Mildred, followed
in their father's
footsteps--in teaching and writing.
ANN ARBOR--1900
The chair of Science and Art of
Teaching in the
University of Michigan was a pioneer
effort in that
direction. It fell vacant by the
resignation of its first.
occupant, Professor William H. Payne.
Hinsdale was
38 Fourth Annual Report, quoted in Akers, pp. 221-222.
264 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
elected to succeed him in February,
1888. The Report
of the Commissioner of Education for
1887-88 contains
notice of the appointment. Says the
report, "He comes
into the work with the advantage of
large experience
and established reputation."39
The view of a man with whom Hinsdale
was pro-
fessionally associated at this time
gives an interesting
estimate of him. Though written some
years later at
the time of Hinsdale's death, it gives
a just idea of the
impression made by him as a scholar at
this time.
Dr. Hinsdale impresses persons meeting
him as a man of
unusual character and ability and as
possessing high ideals of
educational scholarship. He commenced
writing on questions re-
lating to the theory of education and
then confined himself more
especially to the educational history of
his country. . . . Pro-
fessor Hinsdale was one of those
systematic students who grow
rapidly in proficiency in their
specialty as time goes on, and his
later and latest writings may be justly
considered his best.40
There is a logical progression in the
development of
Hinsdale's career not always
discernible in a man's life.
From district school to academy, from
academy to the
church, from church to a
church-dominated college,
from college to city school system,
from city school sys-
tem to a chair of education in a
leading state university
may seem at first anything but a
logical development.
But Hinsdale lost nothing in going from
one position
to the other. To the ministry he
carried the idea of
teaching. To the college presidency he
brought the idea
of critical investigation of Biblical
literature and his-
tory, and an experience in schools of
lower grades
whence he derived ideas of the training
of teachers
39 p. 659.
40 Educational Review XXI (1901),
pp. 185-199.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 265
which he tried to apply at Hiram
College and in his
writing and speeches. The result was a
breadth of
view which led him to regard education
at all levels as
one integrated process and to apply a
searching criticism
to this process at every step.
Historical thinking was
always one of his outstanding
characteristics and it lent
a unity to his many and various
undertakings. Each
one was approached from a historical
point of view. To
the Cleveland schools he brought this
critical standard
of educational values and an idea of
the importance of
properly trained, capable teachers,
with a deep under-
standing of the significance of
individualism in educa-
tion, so often lost sight of by those
dealing with edu-
cation only in the mass. His conduct of
the Cleveland
schools was regulated and restrained by
the historical
point of view--"time innovateth
greatly but quietly."
From the Cleveland experience,
moreover, he derived
an understanding of the practical
problems of a great
educational system, which, mingled with
and tempered
by the other older elements of his
intellect, was to pro-
vide the basis of his thinking, his
teaching and his writ-
ing during the Ann Arbor days.
At Ann Arbor he found his true place.
His life
there was happy. As a teacher he was
successful and
well-liked. Free from the burden of
administrative
work which had so greatly circumscribed
his mental life,
he was enabled to produce many volumes
on different
subjects as well as to contribute to
periodicals and to
the work of various professional
organizations.41
His teaching illustrated well the
various elements in
41 Derby, op. cit., p.
114; History of University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, 1906, pp. 278-280.
266 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
his intellectual development. With his
interest in the
practical and theoretical problems of
education was com-
bined an almost equal interest in
history. While the
philosophical and practical aspects of
education were not
neglected, his instruction dwelt much
on the history of
educational movements. Treasured among his inti-
mate papers was the announcement of the
first course in
the history of American education to be
given at the
University of Michigan, taught by Mr.
Hinsdale.42
Among his most important contributions
were those in
this field. He published numerous
documents and arti-
cles on the subject. Among his papers
are materials
for several books projected but
uncompleted at his death
in 1900. They include a history of
education in the
United States, a history of education
in Ohio, a history
of the University of Michigan, partly
completed and
later finished by his colleague,
Professor Isaac N. Dem-
mon, and a book which would probably
have borne the
title, "Title-Deeds to the United
States." It was to be
a history of territorial growth.43
The historic-educational mind took a
little different
turn in the book How to Study and
Teach History.44 A
pioneer book in the field, its aim in
the words of the
author was "to state the uses of
history, to define . . .
its field, to present and illustrate
criteria for the choice
of facts, to emphasize the organization
of facts with ref-
erence to the three principles of
association, to indicate
sources of information, to describe the
qualifications of
the teacher, and, finally to illustrate
causation and the
42 Hinsdale
Papers, folio 7.
43 Hinsdale Papers, folios 18-25;
cf. Derby, p. 115.
"New York, 1894.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 267
grouping of facts by drawing the
outlines of some im-
portant chapters of American
history."45 The book is
as much a treatise on history as on
pedagogy, and as
interesting from one point of view as
from the other.
His most important contribution to the
field of edu-
cational theory was the Art of
Study, published just
before his death.46 In it is
found the essence of his
educational thinking. More refined,
more balanced, per-
haps more sophisticated than some of
his earlier state-
ments, in its fundamental idea--the
importance of indi-
vidualism in education--it is the same
thing he was
writing in Our Common School
Education in 1877.
Strictly speaking there is no such
thing as giving or impart-
ing knowledge. Everyone must make his
own knowledge, for
man is a knowledge-maker by nature. All
that one can do for
another, as a teacher for a pupil, is to
help to do this work. . . .
The pupil is to learn, the teacher is to
teach or help him learn;
both are active about the same thing,
but active in different
ways.47
A man whose whole professional life had
been guided by
such a sane and simple creed would not
be apt to fall
under the influence of what we call
educational fads.
We have the best testimony that
Hinsdale was "emi-
nently free" from such vagaries.48
From his experience in teaching
district schools, and
from his work in Cleveland he had come
to understand
some of the problems of the
organization of educational
systems. He was keenly interested in
the subject. One
important line this interest took was
the reorganization
of rural schools. He thought the
district system a
45 Ibid, p. 14; W. H. Maxwell in Educational
Review, loc. cit.
46 New York, 1900.
47 pp.
11-12.
48 Educational Review, loc. cit.
268
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
wasteful one and proposed instead
consolidation upon
a township or similar basis. On his
motion, in 1895,
the National Council of Education
appointed first a
committee to submit a plan for further
investigation of
the problem of rural schools, and upon
the report of
this committee, appointed a committee
of twelve, of
which Hinsdale was a member. He was
made chairman
of the sub-committee on school
maintenance and gave
much time and attention to his part of
the committee's
work, and to composing his report. His
argument in
favor of the consolidation of small
districts ran as fol-
lows: ". . . the great resource of
the public school is
and must continue to be, some
form or forms of public
taxation." Hence it is important
that the right units
of taxation be fixed. Whatever these
units may be,
whether state, county, town or city,
the inequalities of
taxation should be eliminated. They are
contrary to
the American principle that "the
property of the state
should educate the youth of the
state."49
Hinsdale's interest in education was
not confined to
American education. It had taken the
line of studying
the influence of European education
upon America. He
was interested also in a comparative
study of educational
systems. By correspondence and the aid of friends
traveling in Europe he gathered data
concerning Amer-
icans studying in German Universities.
In 1891 he se-
cured a leave of absence from the
University and spent
the year abroad. He used this trip to
make a careful
first-hand study of European school
systems. Out of
49 Report
is found in substance--Education Report 1896-97, 811 ff;
cf. Henry Sabin, "Dr. Hinsdale's
Work for Rural Schools," Educational
Review, XXI (1901).
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 269
it came the first account to be
published in the United
States of the Italian school system
under the new King-
dom.50
The mass of Hinsdale's writing was
great, as the
bibliography which follows shows. Three
other works
may be mentioned as of special
importance. In Teach-
ing the Language Arts,51 he developed an idea later to
be made much of by educators. He
described speech,
reading and composition as arts. The
chief thing in
teaching these arts, he said, is the
study of good models,
imitation and practice. Another book, Jesus as a
Teacher,52 shows the fusion of the older interest in Bib-
lical studies with the study of
pedagogy. In Horace
Mann and the Common School Revival
in the United
States,53 he was writing about what he justly appraised
as the most important educational
movement in the
United States, so far as the common
schools were con-
cerned. He described Mann in his
historical position
and relations, showing the forces
against which he
worked and the obstacles he had
overcome. It was an
important contribution to the history
of American edu-
cation.
Hinsdale never received an academic
degree in regu-
lar course. After he became President
of Hiram Col-
lege, he was awarded honorary A. M. degrees
by Beth-
any College and Williams College. In
later years, while
at Ann Arbor, he received an honorary
Ph.D. degree
50 Published in Report of the
Commissioner of Education, among the
Hinsdale papers are numerous notes on
these subjects.
51 New York, 1896.
52 St. Louis, 1895.
53 New York, 1898; W. H. Maxwell in Educational
Review, loc. cit.
270
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
from Ohio State University, and
honorary LL.D de-
grees from Ohio University and Hiram
College.54 This
fact in itself testifies to his
pioneering character. He
attained to solid scholarship largely
through his own
efforts and through self-directed
study.
Hinsdale's death came suddenly and
unexpectedly in
1900. He had attended the Hiram
Commencement in
June, for the celebration of the
College's fiftieth anni-
versary and had spoken there. His death
came Novem-
ber 29, at Atlanta, Georgia. He was
sixty-three years
old. The cause was undoubtedly
overwork. Naturally
rugged, he gave little consideration to
his health, lavish-
ing his energies prodigally on his
teaching, speaking and
especially on his voluminous writings.
Like so many
of his ancestors, his life was one of
unending labor. For
that life he paid the price of an early
death. He lies
buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, at Ann
Arbor.
54 History of Hiram College, 216.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 271
HINSDALE BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. GENERAL REFERENCES
Adams, Charles F., Jr., Three
Episodes in Massachusetts History,
Boston, 1893.
Adams, Henry C., "Education at the
University of Michigan,"
Forum, 14:123.
Akers, William J., Cleveland Schools
in the Nineteenth Century,
Cleveland, 19O1.
Andrews, Herbert C., Hinsdale
Genealogy, Lombard, Illinois,
1906. (Descendants of Robert Hinsdale of Dedham, Med-
field, Hadley and Deerfield).
Annals of Winchester, Connecticut, Bloomfield, New Jersey, 1878.
(Extracts about Hinsdale family).
Bodge, George M., Soldiers in King
Philip's War, Leominster,
Massachusetts, 1896.
Brown, Elmer E., "Certification of
College and University Grad-
uates as Teachers in the Public
Schools," School Review,
1899, 7:331-374.
Dawson, Samuel E., "Voyages of the
Cabots," Royal Society of
Canada Transactions, 1897, 3:139-268. Maps, Illustrations.
Green, Francis M., Hiram College and
Western Reserve Eclectic
Institute, Fifty Years of History,
1850-1900, Cleveland, 1901.
Ohio Teachers Association, Centennial
History of Education in
Ohio, Cleveland, 1876.
(Orth, Samuel P., History of
Cleveland, Cleveland, 1910.
Catalogs, Western Reserve Eclectic Institute and Hiram College,
1853-1864; 1869-1882.
II. WRITING ABOUT HINSDALE
American Historical Association Report,
1889, 277-279. Con-
tains bibliography.
Angell, James B. et al, "B.
A. Hinsdale," Educational Review,
1901-'21; 185-199. Bibliography, 197-199.
Derby, Samuel C.; Coy, E. W. Harris, W.
T. et al., "Biograph-
ical Sketch of Professor Burke Aaron
Hinsdale," Report of
the Commissioner
of Education, 1900-'01, 2454-2459.
Also
in Andrews, Hinsdale Genealogy.
272 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Derby, Samuel C., "Burke Aaron
Hinsdale," Old Northwest
Genealogical Quarterly, 1901, 4: 109-117. Reprinted as
pamphlet, Columbus, 1901. Also in Hinsdale
Genealogy.
Education Report, 1887-'88, 659. Notice of Hinsdale's going to
University of Michigan.
Educational Review, February,
1901, 184-199. A Symposium.
Angell, James B., "B. A.
Hinsdale."
Colton, George H., "Dr. Hinsdale at
Hiram College."
Reveley, Ellen G., "Dr. Hinsdale as
Superintendent of
Schools at Cleveland."
Grove, Aaron, "Dr. Hinsdale in the
National Educational
Association."
Maxwell, William H., "Dr.
Hinsdale's Contribution to Edu-
cational Literature."
Harris, William T., "Dr. Hinsdale's
Influence in American
Education."
Bibliography of Hinsdale's books and
contributions to
periodicals and reports to various
associations.
Hinsdale, Albert, Chronicles of the
Hinsdale Family, Cleveland,
1883. Reprinted in Hinsdale
Genealogy.
Hinsdale Genealogy, edited by Alfred L. Holman, Lombard, Ill.,
1906.
Inlander, January 1901, Literary
Magazine by Students of Michi-
gan University. "Burke Aaron
Hinsdale, The Man and his
Work." A Symposium.
Demmon, I. N., "Sketch of
Life."
Newington, W. H. C., "As President
of Hiram College."
Spaulding, V. M., "His Work at the
University of Michi-
gan."
Harris, W. T., "A Great
Educator."
Pattengill, Henry R., "As an
Institute Worker."
Coy, E. W., "As a Literary
Man."
McLaughlin, A. C., "As an
Historian."
Garrison, J. H., "As a Religious
Writer."
Brown, F. F., "As a Critic and
Reviewer."
Monroe, Paul, Cyclopedia of
Education, New York, 1912. Ar-
ticle "Hinsdale, Burke Aaron."
Also Article "Education,
Academic Study."
Mowry, W. A., "Hinsdale on Studies
in Science, Art, (and) His-
tory." School Review, 1896,
4: 560.
National Cyclopedia of American
Biography, New York, 1906-
'09. Article "Hinsdale, Burke
Aaron."
Sabin, Henry, "Dr. Hinsdale's Work
for Rural Schools," Educa-
tional Review, 19O1-'21; 307-309.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 273
Tillinghast, W. H., "Hinsdale's
How to Study and Teach His-
tory," Nation, 59: 20I.
The Dictionary of American Biography (volume now in press)
contains a biographical article on
Hinsdale by Elbert J. Ben-
ton.
III. BOOKS BY HINSDALE
American Government, National and
State, New York, 1895.
Art of Study, New York, 1900.
Ecclesiastical Tradition; Its Origin
and Early Growth, Its Place
in the Churches and Its Value. Cincinnati, 1879.
Garfield, James A., Works, edited
by Hinsdale. Boston, 1882.
Genuineness and Authenticity of the
Gospels. Cincinnati, 1872.
History and Civil Government of Iowa,
H. H. Seeley and L. W.
Parrish; and Government of the United
States, Hinsdale.
Chicago, New York, 1891.
History and Civil Government of Maine
. . . and the Gov-
ernment of the United States, Stetson, William Wallace and
Hinsdale, Chicago, New York, 1898.
History and Civil Government of
Minnesota, Niles, Sanford, and
Government of the United States, Hinsdale. Chicago, New
York, 1897.
History and Civil Government of Ohio,
Hinsdale, B. A. and
Hinsdale, M. L., Chicago, 1896.
History and Civil Government of
Pennsylvania and Government
of the United States, Hinsdale, B. A. and Hinsdale, Mary L.
Chicago, 1899.
History and Civil Government of South
Dakota . . . and
Government of the United States, Smith, George M.; Young,
Clark M.; Hinsdale, Chicago, New York,
1898.
History of the University of
Michigan. Ann Arbor, 1906. Edited
by Isaac N. Demmon.
Horace Mann and the Common School
Revival in the United
States, New York, 1898.
How to Teach and Study History, New York, 1894. (Revised
edition, 1898, contains additional
matter and bibliographical
index.)
Jesus as a Teacher and the Making of
the New Testament, St.
Louis, 1895.
Jewish-Christian Church, Cincinnati, 1878.
Old Northwest, New York, 1888. Revised edition, Boston, New
York, 1899.
President Garfield and Education, Hiram College Memorial. Bos-
ton, 1882.
Vol. XLI--18.
274 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Republican Text-book for the Campaign
of 1880. (A full history
of General James A. Garfield's public
life.) New York, 1880.
Schools and Studies, Boston, 1884.
Studies in Education, Chicago, 1896.
Teaching the Language-arts, Speech,
Reading and Composition,
New York, 1896.
Training for Citizenship, Chicago, 1897.
"Training of Teachers," Monographs
on Education in the United
States, Nicholas Murray Butler, editor, 1900.
IV. MAGAZINE ARTICLES, REPORTS, ETC.
American Historical Review, "C. Moore's Northwest Under
Three Flags" (Review), 1901, 6:
139.
Christian Evangelist
"Is War Justifiable Between
Christian Nations?" Novem-
ber 23, 1899, 481-482.
"The Recent Growth of American
Colleges," June 19, 1900,
904-905.
Christian Quarterly
"Downfall of Secular Papacy,"
1873, 5:23-52.
"Ecumenical Councils," 1869,
I: 491-508.
"Galileo and the Church,"
1869, I : 145-176.
"Infallibility Dogma," 1870, 2: 392-420.
"Rise and Establishment of the Papacy," 1870, 2: 229-243.
"Vatical Council and the Old
Catholics," 1872, 4: 498-527.
Christian Standard, Numerous book reviews.
Cleveland Public Schools, Annual
Reports of the Board of Edu-
cation, 1882-86. Contain the Superintendent's reports for
these years.
Forty-seventh annual report of the
Board of Education for
the school year ending August 31, 1883. Cleveland,
1884.
(Superintendent' report, 49-88).
Forty-eighth annual report of the
Board of Education for the
school year ending August 3I, 1884. Cleveland, 1885. (Su-
perintendent's report, 65-100).
Forty-ninth annual report of the
Board of Education for the
school year ending August 31, 1885. Cleveland, 1886. (Su-
perintendent's report, 75-147).
Fiftieth annual report of the Board
of Education for the
school year ending August 31, 1886. Cleveland,
1887. (Su-
perintendent's report, second part of
volume, 1-96).
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 275
The Dial, Chicago
"American Education," 1900, 28: 352-356.
"American and European Secondary
Schools Compared,"
1895-6, 20: 195.
"City School Systems," 1898,
25: 251.
"Contributions to Quaker
History," 1900, 28: 11-14.
"Democracy Out of Joint," 1900, 28: 113-116.
"Where our Schools Fail Most,"
1900, 28: 141-144.
"Education in the United
States," 1899-1900, 28: 141.
"Education in 1880-1900,"
1899-1900, 28: 352.
"Education in 1900," 1900, 29: 43.
"Rashdall's Universities"
(Review), 1895-'96, 20: 67.
"Recent School Legislation for
Cities," 1898-'99, 28: 107.
Education
"Books for Teachers," 10: 627.
"Constant in Education,"
1884-'85, 5: 205-213. Reprinted
from Addresses and Proceedings of the
National Education
Association.
"Education in the State
Constitutions," 10: 91, 168.
"Garfield and Education,"
(with portrait) 2: 217.
"Payne on Proceeding from the Known
to the Unknown,"
7: 597.
Education Journal of Virginia
"Examinations," 1884, 15:
177-181.
Educational Review
"American School Superintendent,
The," 1893, 7: 42.
"Dogma of Formal Discipline,"
1894, 8: I28. Reprinted
from Addresses and Proceedings of the
National Education
Association.
"Study of Education at the
University of Michigan," 1893,
6: 443.
"Study of Education in American
Colleges and Universities,"
1900, 19: 105-120.
"System of Payment by
Results," 1892, 4: 105.
Home and School
"The Law of Mental Exercise,"
1899?,
1:118-119.
Independent
"Investigation of Rural
Schools," 1896, 48: 9-10.
"Revenues of Oxford," 1895,
August I.
"Teacher's Preparation," 1891,
43: 2-3.
276 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Independent School Journal
"Economy in College Work,"
1889, 34: 337.
"Some Conditions of Successful
Teaching," 1889, 34: 408.
Intelligence
"Educational Problems in
England," Feb. 15, 1892, S. No.
132.
"President Eliot on Popular
Education," Feb. 15, 1893, 12.
(A paper read before the philosophical
society and the po-
litical science association of the
University of Michigan, and
before the principals' association of
the City of Chicago.)
Reprinted as pamphlet.
"Qualifications of the Teacher of
History," 1893, 12: 34.
International Educational Series
"Teaching the language-arts,
speech, reading, composition,"
1896, 34: 205.
Contains bibliography.
Journal of Education
"Defect in our school system,"
1899, 49.
Magazine of Western History
"American Historical
Association," 1885-'86, 3: 194-196.
"Bounding the Original United
States," 1885, 2: 401-423.
"Geography and Early American
History," 1885-'86, 3:
433-436.
"Legislation on the Compensation of
Members of Congress,"
1887, 5: 583-602 and 1887, 6: 128-141.
"National Capitol," 1888, 7:
392-399 and 530-537.
"Rev. Dr. Robbins on the Western
Reserve," 1889, 10: 353-
360.
"Some Features of the Old
South," 1886-'87, 5: 1-17.
Michigan School Moderator
"Historical Geography," 1892, 13: 170.
Michigan Political Science Association, Publications.
"The Real Monroe Doctrine,"
1895.
Addresses and Proceedings of the
National Education Association
1884. "The Constant in
Education," Reprinted in Educa-
tion.
"Powers and Duties of School
Officers and Teach-
ers."
1887. "General Influence and
Results of Opening the North-
west Territory."
1888. "The Business Side of City
School Systems."
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 277
1889. "Cultural Value of History of
Education."
"Pedagogical Chairs in
Universities."
1890. "Supplementary Report on City
School Systems."
Also in Chicago Herald (July 8,
1890.)
1891. "Teacher's Academical and
Professional Prepara-
tion."
1894. "Dogma of Formal
Discipline," Reprinted in Educa-
cational Review, also as pamphlet.
1895. "History Teaching in
Schools."
"Laws of Mental Congruence and
Energy Applied to
some Pedagogical Problems." (Report
of committee
on pedagogics).
I896. "Some Sociological Factors in
Rural Education in the
United States."
1897. "Need of Enhanced Material
Support for the Rural
Schools."
1898. "Is it possible and desirable
to form a Federation of
colleges and universities in the United
States similar
to the Association of American Medical
Colleges?"
Nation, The
Miscellaneous writings and reviews.
National Teacher
"Health in the Public
Schools," 5: 1-13. Reprinted in Ohio
Educational Monthly.
New England Journal of Education
"Industrial Education," 1883,
5: 211-213.
New York Teachers Quarterly
"Induction and Deduction in
Education," 1898, 2: 1-9.
Ohio Archaeological
and Historical Quarterly
"First Circumnavigation of the
Earth," 1887, I : 146-149.
"History of Popular Education on
the Western Reserve,"
1896, 6: 35-58.
"Right of Discovery," 1888, 2:
349-379.
"Sale of the Western Reserve,"
1889, 2: 475-487.
"Three important Documents relating
to Western Land Ces-
sions," 1889, 2: 276-288.
"Western Land Policy of the British
Government from 1763-
1775," i888, I: 207-220.
Ohio Educational Monthly
"Health in the Public
Schools," 16: 1-13. Reprinted in
National Teacher.
278 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
"Mission of the Public
School," 1883, 32: 326-343. Re-
printed in Schools and Studies.
"Moral Training in Public
Schools," 1885, 34: 291-298.
"A Chapter of Ohio School
History," 1888, 291 555.
"Overpressure in the Schools,"
1887, 28: 586.
"Some Neglected Branches of
Education," 1881, 22: 33-37.
"The Teachers' Institute,"
1889, 38: 241.
"Township and District
Systems," 1889, 38: 289.
Portage County Democrat, (Ravenna (Ohio) Weekly)
"The Great Rebellion in its
Incipient Stages," Jan. 8, 1862
to Mar. 26, 1862, published anonymously.
"The Great Rebellion in its
Intermediate Stages," June 25,
1862 to Oct. 15, 1862, at irregular intervals.
These two series of articles are
Hinsdale's earliest published
work.
Report of Commissioner of Education
1886-7. "Education--a Man of more
Account than his
Trade," 187-188.
1888-9. A discussion of the political
theory on which the
district organization is founded;
weaknesses in ap-
plying this system to education. 642-643.
1889-90. "Scholarship in
Teaching," 1178.
1892-3. "Documents illustrative of
American educational
history," edited, 1225-1414.
Education in Wyoming Valley, Quoted.
Topics on educational history of the
United States,
mentioned. 1226.
1893-4. "Public Instruction in
Italy," 325-383.
"History of the Old
Northwest," 725.
1896-7. "Committee on Rural
Schools," 811.
1897-8. "Notes on the History of
Foreign Influence upon
Education in the United States,"
591-629.
1898-9. "The Western Literary
Institute and College of
Professional Teachers."
School Bulletin
"Plea for Breadth," 1883-4, 10: 119.
School Journal
"Dr. Rickoff's Work," April
29, 1899, 489. (Probably by
Hinsdale).
School Review
"Diploma System of Admission to the
University of Michi-
gan," 1896, 4: 301-307.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 279
"Discussion of Entrance
Requirements in History and Re-
port of the Committee on College
Requirements," 1896,
4: 438-442.
"Making of Courses of Study,"
1898, 6: 606-614.
"Tripartite Division of
Education," 1896, 4: 512-522.
Science
"Overpressure in Schools,"
1887, 1O: 177.
The Teacher
"Education in Switzerland,"
(June, 1892).
"Twenty years of Public Schools in
Rome" (December,
1891).
Various articles for newspapers of which
it is almost im-
possible to get a record. Clippings of
some of them are among
the Hinsdale papers in the Hiram College
Library.
V. PAMPHLETS
Austin, Harmon, Mr. and Mrs., Golden
Wedding Anniversary.
The Austin Home. Remarks by Prof. B. A. Hinsdale, Janu-
ary, 1893.
Business Side of City School Systems.
Reprinted from Studies
in Education, New York, 1896.
Cleveland Public Schools. Discussion of educational questions;
(I) teaching English Grammar, (2) will
training, (3) prov-
ince of the science of education
(Excerpts from annual re-
port to Board of Education).
Conspectus of American Revolution. Cleveland school bulletin,
1885.
Country School, n. p., n. d.
Culture Value of History of
Education. Paper read before Na-
tional Education Association at
Nashville, July, 1889.
Delphic Literary Society, The
Reunion, 1875.
Discovery of America. Commemoration address in University
Hall, October 21, 1892. Ann
Arbor, 1892.
Dogma of Formal Discipline, Asbury Park, N. J., July 1894.
Education in the State Constitutions,
n. p., n. d.
Eliza Ballou Garfield, Mother of
James A. Garfield. Addresses
made at her burial. Cleveland, 1888.
Establishment of the First Southern Boundary of the
United
States. Washington, 1894.
Eclectic Institute; an address Delivered at the Jubilee
'of Hiram
College, June 22, 1900. Ann Arbor,
1900.
Geography and Early American History,
n. 1p., n. d.
280 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Health in the Public Schools. Paper read before Northeastern
Ohio Teachers' Association. Cleveland,
1874.
Hiram College. Prepared for
Centennial History of Educa-
tion in Ohio,. Cleveland, 1876. (Appeared in greatly con-
densed form, rewritten by editors, in
Ohio Teachers' Asso-
ciation, History of Education in the
State of Ohio).
Hiram College and Her Pupils. Address to graduating class,
June 21, 1877.
History of Popular Education on the
Western Reserve. Address
delivered in series of educational
conferences. Cleveland,
1896.
History of the Disciples in Hiram,
Portage County, Ohio. Dis-
course delivered to church March 26,
1876. Cleveland, 1876.
In Memoriam, Mrs. R. N. Woods. Ann Arbor, 1892.
Language Question in Switzerland, n. p., n. d.
Life and Character of James A.
Garfield. New York, 1880.
Life, Character and Public Services
of James A. Garfield. Ad-
dress delivered in Orange, Ohio. June
19, 1880. Cleveland,
1880.
Memoir of Louisa Hinsdale, a
Brother's Tribute. Cleveland,
1877.
Memorial Address. Life, work and character of R. R. Sloan, de-
livered to the Ohio Christian Missionary
Society; Mt. Ver-
non, May 21, 1878. Cleveland, 1878.
On Academical Degrees. Reprint. University Record, University
of Michigan.
Ordinance of 1787; Origin, Features
and Results. Akron, 1877.
Our Common School Education, With a
Digression on the College
Course. Read before Northeastern Ohio Teachers' Associa-
tion; Cleveland, December 9, 1876.
Cleveland, 1877.
Our Common Schools. A fuller statement of the views set forth
in the pamphlet preceding and reference
to the reply of Su-
perintendent A. J. Rickoff. Cleveland,
1878.
Papers on School Issues of the Day. Syracuse, 1889
Rickoff, Andrew Jackson, Past and
Present of Our Common
School Education. (Reply to Hinsdale). Cleveland, 1877.
Pedagogical Chairs in Colleges and
Universities, n. p., n. d.
Pedagogical View of Some New
Testament Sermons. Reprinted
from Religious Thought at the
University of Michigan. n.
p., n. d.
Political Dualism in American
History. In Home Study Review,
n. p., n. d.
President Eliot on Popular Education.
Reprinted from Intelli-
gence.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 281
President Eliot on Public School
Problems. Address given at
Michigan State Teachers' Association,
December, 1885; Con-
necticut State Teachers' Association,
November 1886. Cleve-
land, 1886
President Hayes' Southern Policy. Address given in Hiram,
September 25, 1877.
President James Abram Garfield.
Remarks at Hiram College
memorial service, First Presbyterian
Church, Cleveland.
Cleveland, 1881.
Real Monroe Doctrine, 1895. Reprint from Michigan Political
Science Association Publications.
Right of Discovery. Columbus,
1889. Reprint from Ohio
Archaological and Historical
Quarterly.
Science of Education. Abstract of paper read before Cleveland
Pedagogical Society. February 16, 1886.
Spirit and Ideals of the University
of Michigan. 1896. Reprint
from Educational Review.
Study of Language. n. p., n. d.
Suggestions to University Students
Preparing to Teach, n. p.,
n. d.
Supplement to the Report of the
Superintendent of Instruction of
the Public Schools of Cleveland,
Ohio. For the school year
of 1883-4. (I) Moral training in the public schools, (2)
Study and methods of study, (3) Public
and public schools.
(4) Socrates and his method. Cleveland,
1885.
Arbella Mason Rudolph, Her Ancestry, Life and Character,
Cleveland, 1879.
Theoretical, Critical and Practical
Courses in Teaching given at
the University of Michigan. Terms
defined and relations
stated. Notes of preliminary lectures.
n. p., n. d.
Topics in the Educational History of
the United States. Ann Ar-
bor. n. d.
Vice-Presidency. Reprint from Magazine of Western History,
n. p., n. d.
Note:
The Hinsdale pamphlets are to be found for the
most part in the library of the Western Reserve
Historical Society
in Cleveland.
VI. HINSDALE PAPERS IN HIRAM COLLEGE
LIBRARY.
(Numbers refer to folios)
1. Biographical sketch of Garfield.
2. "Education as Affected by
Christianity."
282 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
"Development of Christian
Education."
3. "Illustration of Causation in
History Drawn from the His-
tory of the United States."
5. "Educational Tendencies Since
the Revival of Letters."
6. "Outline of a Course of Five
Lectures on Teaching History
to be Delivered at Glens Falls, N. Y.,
July, 1891.
7. "Tallmadge, Ohio."
"Academic Pioneer and Western
Academical Institute."
Notes on history of education.
Lectures on history of education in the
United States.
8. Course of lectures on School
Supervision.
9. Notes on History of Education, Greece
to Rome.
10. Students in Collegiate Departments of Certain
Colleges,
1880-98.
American Students in German
Universities.
John Q. Adams, letter to Hinsdale, July 22, 1892.
11. "Over the Luther
Ground."
12. "Roman Education."
I3. "Forces Behind Modern Popular
Education."
14. Lecture notes, largely educational.
15. "School Systems and
Funds."
Miscellaneous notes.
16. Educational notes.
"Kinds of Teaching" (outline).
17. "Northwest Territory."
Letter: C. D. Hine to Hinsdale, April 29, 1885.
18. "Louisiana and Florida."
19. "From
Texas to Alaska."
20. "Discovery and Division of
North America."
21. "Independent
America."
22. "First
Circumnavigation of the Earth."
23. "Struggle of England and France
for Dominion in North
America."
"Spanish, English and French
Discoveries."
"Geographical Relations of the
Three Groups of Colonies."
25. "First Efforts of the United
States at Territorial Expan-
sion.
26. Speech supporting Garfield's
candidacy. Defence of Re-
publican record.
Letter: Garfield to Hinsdale, December
15, 1879. Garfield
on tariff.
27. Letters to Hinsdale from G. F. W.
Mark, Isaac N. Demmon,
Nathan Young, W. T. Moore, Nicholas
Murray Butler,
Rossiter Johnson, T. J. Burrill, Baily
Sutton Dean, others.
Class-room lectures on educational
subjects.
Burke Aaron Hinsdale 283
28. "Education for and Growth of Citizenship."
"Association of Ideas."
Letters.
29. "Chinese Education."
"Jewish Schools."
"Education Among the Hebrews."
'Principal Features of Oriental
Character and Life that Have
Influenced Education."
31.
"Science and Art of Teaching."
"Mental Power as Specific and
Generic."
"End of Education."
Notes.
32. Letters.
Notes.
35. Notes on University of Michigan
law school.
"Spanish-American Geography."
"Webster's Second Speech in Reply
to Hayne."
'"Review of Eggleston's Life of
John Patterson."
Notes on early American History.
"Memorandum Concerning the
Establishment and History
of Libraries at Hiram College."
37. Letters.
38. Notes on conquest of Canada.
Letters.
Material relating to Garfield from which
Hinsdale wrote books on
Garfield containing many speeches of
Garfield not available
elsewhere. Collected and bound in one
volume in Hiram
College Library.
"Teacher in Literature" (proof
sheets), bound in Hiram College
Library.
Note: Hinsdale's library was given to
the Western Reserve
Historical Society where most of his own
pamphlets and books
may be found. His private papers are in
the Hiram College
Library.
The Garfield-Hinsdale correspondence,
especially the New
Year's letters exchanged by the two men,
is a valuable source for
the political history of Garfield's
time, as well as for the biogra-
phies of the two men. The letters from
Hinsdale are largely
among the Garfield papers recently
placed in the Library of Con-
gress. The letters from Garfield to
Hinsdale are in the possession
of the Hinsdale family.