LB 3J3J Gop^i -2-. Class Book. 3531 U t c o f 3 <--, ptj Flag Exercises for the Schools of the Nation Department of the Interior Bureau of Education 1919 WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1919 i b ti v^^> FLAG EXERCISES should be observed in each school in the land each day. They should be used as a means of developing love and admiration for America by telling of the noble things done and the noble things said by Americans. All should know what America is, how large, how beautiful, how varied in its resources, how its territory has been gained and what its people have done. The Flag means all these things and by taking thought the Flag can be used to teach not only patriotism but geography, history, biography, art, literature, economics and politics. These exercises may be varied from day to day, but each day there should be — i. Flag salute. 2. Patriotic song. 3. Patriotic recitation. 4. Quotation for the week. ft ft I. Formation and Salute to Flag. (a) At three minutes to 9 o'clock the children assemble in front of the school, the classes forming a circle (or circles) about the flagpole or facing the building over which the vStars and Stripes are to float. The principal gives the order, "Attention!" or "Face!" The boys remove hats and the teachers and pupils watch the flag hoisted by two of the older boys. When it reaches the top of the flagpole, the principal gives the order, "Salute!" or three cheers may be given for the flag as it is being raised. n. of *. = PAGE TWO MAR -39:1915 At 9 o'clock the pupils march to their classrooms to the beating of a drum or to some march played by the pianist or school band. On reaching their classrooms, the children may stand by their seats and repeat in concert the following salutation : the American's creed. I believe in the United States of America, as a government of the people, by the people, for the people, whose just powers are derived from the con- sent of the governed; a democracy in a Republic; a perfect Union, one and inseparable, established upon those principles of freedom, equality, jus- tice, and humanity, for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and their fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies. (Note. — The flag is dipped while the children raise the right hand, fore- finger extended, and repeat the pledge. When they salute, the flag is raised to an upright position.) Or . (b) All the children to be drawn up in line before the school building. A boy and a girl, each holding a medium-sized American flag, stand one on the right and one on the left of the school steps; boy on the right and girl on the left. The flags should be held military style. The children at a given signal by the principal or teacher in charge file past the flags, saluting in correct military manner. The boys to the right and the girls to the left, entering and taking their positions in the school. The flag bearers enter, re- maining in that position during the salutation and the recita- tion of The American's Creed (above). The flag bearers place the flags in position at the head of the school. The boy and girl who carry the flags should be chosen from among the pupils for good conduct during the hours of school, Or (c) Pupils, attention ! at chord on piano or organ, or stroke of drum or bell. 87890°— 19 '• • PAGE THREE The teacher will call one of the pupils to come forward and stand at one side of desk while the teacher stands at the other. The pupil shall hold an American flag in military style. At second signal all children shall rise, stand erect, and salute the flag, concluding with the recitation of The American's Creed. ft ft II. Patriotic Songs. America. Star-Spangled Banner. Battle Hymn of the Republic. Yankee Doodle. Hail Columbia. Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean. My Own United States. Over There. Keep the Home Fires Burning. ft ft III. Suggested Recitations. FROM "MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY." By Edward Everett Hale. And for your country, boy, and for that flag, never dream a dream but of serving her, as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or who abuses you, never look at another flag; never let a night pass but you pray God to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men you have to do with, behind officers and governments, the people even, there is the country herself, your country, and that you belong to her, as you belong to your own mother. Stand by her, boy, as you would stand by your mother. PAGE FOUR LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG SPEECH. Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that Nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devo- tion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. — Abraham Lincoln. ft FROM PRESIDENT WILSON'S SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS. These are the things we shall stand for, whether in war or in peace: That all nations are equally interested in the peace of the world and in the political stability of free peoples and equally responsible for their maintenance. That the essential principle of peace is the actual equality of nations in all matters of right or privilege. That peace can not securely or justly rest upon an armed balance of power. That governments derive all their just powers from the consent of the governed and that no other powers should be supported by the common thought, purpose, or power of the family of nations. That the seas should be equally free and safe for the use of all peoples, under rules set up by common agreement and consent, and that, so far as practicable, they should be accessible to all upon equal terms. That national armaments should be limited to the necessities of national order and domestic safety. — Woodrow Wilson. PAGE FIVE THE FLAG SPEAKS. I am whatever you make me, nothing more. I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a people may become. I am all that you hope to be and have courage to try for. I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and ennobling hope. I am the day's work of the weakest man, and the largest dream of the most daring. I am the Constitution and the courts, statutes and the statute makers, soldier and dreadnaught, drayman and street sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk. I am the battle of yesterday, and the mistake of to-morrow. I am the mystery of the men who do without knowing why. I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned purpose of resolution. I am no more than what you believe me to be and I am all that you believe I can be. I am what you make me, nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes this Nation. My stars and my stripes are your dream and your labors. They are bright with cheer, brilliant with courage, firm with faith, because you have made them so out of your hearts. For you are the makers of the flag and it is well that you glory in the making. — Franklin K. Lane. \ THE NEW CRUSADE. Life is a trifle; Honor is all ; Shoulder the rifle; Answer the call. " A Nation of traders"! We'll show what we are, Freedom 's crusaders Who war against war. Battle is tragic ; Battle shall cease; Ours is the magic Mission of Peace. Gladly we barter Gold of our youth For Liberty's charter Blood-sealed in truth. "A Nation of traders"! We'll show what we are, Freedom 's crusaders Who war against war. Sons of the granite, Strong be our stroke, Making this planet Safe for the folk. Life is but passion, Sunshine on dew. Forward to fashion The old world anew! "A Nation of traders"! We'll show what we are, Freedom 's crusaders Who war against war. — Katherine Lee Bates. PAGE SIX THE SERVICE FLAG. Dear little flag in the window there, Hung with a tear and a woman's prayer; Child of Old Glory, born with a star — ■ Oh, what a wonderful flag you are. Blue is your star in its field of white , Dipped in the red that was born of fight; Born of the blood that our forebears shed To raise your mother, The Flag o'erhead. And now you've come, in this frenzied day, To speak from a window— to speak and say: ! I am the voice of a soldier-son Gone to be gone till the victory's won. ' I am the flag of The Service, sir, The flag of his mother — I speak for her Who stands by my window and waits and fears, But hides from the others her unwept tears. ' I am the flag of the wives who wait For the safe return of a martial mate, A mate gone forth where the war god thrives To save from sacrifice other men's wives. ' I am the flag of the sweethearts true ; The often unthought of — the sisters, too. I am the flag of a mother's son, And won't come down till the victory's won. " Dear little flag in the window there, Hung with a tear and a woman's prayer; Child of Old Glory, born with a star — Oh, what a wonderful flag you are. — William Herschell, in the Indianapolis News. PAGE SEVEN IV. Quotation for the Week. On each Monday morning a new text should be introduced in a brief talk by the teacher, written on the board, and during the week repeated by the pupils each day. The union of hearts, the union of hands, and the flag of our Union for- ever. — G. P. Morris. One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation evermore. — Holmes. Our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. — Abraham Lincoln. Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable. — Daniel Webster. Let our object be our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country. — Daniel Webster. You can not, my lords, you can not conquer America. — Wm. Pitt, Earl of Chatham. I call upon yonder stars which shine above to bear witness that Liberty can never die. — Victor Hugo. We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. — Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence). Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may soon pass away. — Abraham Lincoln. I know not what course others may take; but, as for me, give me liberty or give me death. — Patrick Henry. Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, " This is my own, my native land!' * Whose heart hath ne 'er within him burned As home his footsteps he hath turned, When wandering on a foreign strand ? — Sir Walter Scott. Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof. — Inscription on Liberty Bell. A man's country is not a certain area of land, but a principle, and patriot- ism is loyalty to that principle. — George William Curtis. PAGE EIGHT With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind up the Nation's wound; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and orphans; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. — Abraham Lincoln. Be just and fear not; let the ends thou aim'st at, be thy country's, thy God's and truth's. — Shakespeare. We regret being unable, on this occasion, to follow the counsel of our masters, the French, but the American flag has been forced to retire. This is unendurable and none of our soldiers would understand not being asked . to do whatever is necessary to repair a situation which is humiliating to us and unacceptable to our country's honor. We are going to counter- attack. — An American general in the second Battle of the Marne, igi8. ft ft Weekly Exercises. Each week at least one hour should be devoted to essays, recitations, a talk by the teacher, or other special exercises on what America is, what America has done, what America hopes to be. This may best be done generally by making the sug- gestion turn round some person or event in our national life; some patriotic anniversary or the birthday of some distin- guished American or some recent action of our Government. ft ft Patriotic Anniversary Dates. Date. Subject. February 12 Lincoln. February 22 Washington. March 4 President's Day — Inaugural Day. April 6 World's War — America's entrance into the Great War. May 30 Memorial Day. June 14 Flag Day. July 4 Declaration of Independence. September, first Monday Labor Day. October 12 , Discovery of America. November, first Tuesday after first Monday Election Day. PAGE NINE Birthdays. Among other days which may be celebrated are the birthdays of the great inventors of the country, our painters and sculptors, our men of letters, our scientists and explorers. For America is more than a land of political independence and freedom — it is a land in which men have been raised who have contributed richly to the world's thought, knowledge, and ideals; men who have added to the beauty of life as well as its material comfort and its physical wealth. (No names of those still living are in- cluded nor is this list intended to be exhaustive.) NOVELISTS. April 3, Edward Everett Hale; April 10, Lew Wallace; June 3, Henry James; July 4, Nathaniel Hawthorne; August 2, F. Marion Crawford; September 15, James Fenimore Cooper; December 16, Mary Hartwell Catherwood. HISTORIANS. March 30, John Fiske; April 15, John Lothrop Motley; May 4, William Hickling Prescott; May 5, George Bancroft; September 16, Francis Parkman; December 10, Edward Eggleston. POETS. January 19, Edgar Allen Poe; February 22, James Russell Lowell; February 27, Henry Wads worth Longfellow; May 26, Ralph Waldo Emerson; May 27, Julia Ward Howe; May 31, Walt Whitman; June 2, John Godfrey Saxe; August 20, Oliver Wendell Holmes; September 2, Eugene Field; October 6, James Whitcomb Riley; December 12, John Greenleaf Whittier. PAINTERS. January 5, George Inness; February 24, Winslow Homer; July 10, James Abbott McNeal Whistler; November 25, Henry vSargent. SCULPTORS. March 1, Augustus Saint-Gaudens; October 4, Frederic Remington. PAGE TEN STATESMEN. January u, Alexander Hamilton; January 17, Benjamin Franklin; January 18, Daniel Webster; January 29, William McKinley; January 31, James G. Blaine; February 12, Abraham Lincoln; February 22, George Washington; March 2, Carl Schurz; March 18, Grover Cleveland; March 18, John C. Calhoun; April 2, Thomas Jefferson; April 12, Henry Clay; April 27, Ulysses S. Grant; April 28, James Monroe; July 1 1, John Adams; September 24, John Marshall; November 19, James A. Garfield. INVENTORS. April 27, Morse, the telegraph; July 9, Howe, the sewing machine; July 31, Ericsson, the Monitor; December 8, Whitney, the cotton gin; June 21, McCormick, the reaper. NATURALISTS. May 4, John James Audubon; May 28, Louis Agassiz; July 12, Henry David Thoreau; August 14, Ernest Seton -Thompson ; April 21, John Muir. FOREIGN BORN. January 11, Alexander Hamilton; January 12, John Singer Sargent; January 29, Albert Gallatin; March 1, Augustus Saint- Gaudens; March 2, Carl Schurz; May 28, Louis Agassiz; July 31, John Ericsson; October 6, Marie Joseph Lafayette; November 15, Frederick William Steuben; November 16, Franz Sigel; September 16, James J. Hill. MUSICIANS. January 8, Lowell Mason; March 10, Dudley Buck; July 4, Samuel Foster; November 24, Ethelbert Nevin. EXPLORERS. January 1, John C. Fremont, California; March 24, John Wesley Powell, Colorado; April 13, Simon Kenton, Ohio; June 10, Henry Morton Stanley, South Africa; August 1, William Clarke, Northwest Columbia River; August 17, Davy Crockett, Texas; August 18, Meriwether Lewis, Northwest Columbia River; November 2, Daniel Boone, Kentucky; April 21, John Muir, Northwest "Muir Glacier." PAGE ELEVEN