Most Rev. Philip J. Furlong - The Old World and America

The Old World and America

Rev. Philip J. Furlong, Ph.D.

Nihil Obstat: Arthur J. Scanlan, S.T.D.
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur: Patrick Cardinal Hayes
Archbishop of New York
August 2, 1937

Originally published by William H. Sadlier, Inc., New York, New York. Edition IM & L.

Copyright 1937 by Philip J. Furlong.

Copyright 1984 by TAN Books

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 82-51247

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
www.TANBooks.com

1984

SIGNING THE MAGNA CARTA

Archbishop Langton and the English Barons force King John to sign this document which is the basis of English and American rights and liberties.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This text, although based upon the author's "Old World and American History," is really a new book. The changes in content and in organization from the earlier book were dictated by classroom experience.

To the many teachers who contributed ideas for this text, the author is profoundly grateful. In a most real sense this book is theirs. The author is indebted to his colleague, Dr. Joseph Moody, for reading the manuscript and to Mr. Frank X. Sadlier and F. Sadlier Dinger for their help in preparing the book for publication. Mr. Brendan Byrne provided the teaching material. Wherever the book may have failed the blame must rest entirely with the author.

P.J.F.

CONTENTS

AIM

To understand that everything in the present comes from the past. To realize that the earliest peoples knew how to do things that are useful to us in our daily lives.

T O BLESS yourself you make the Sign of the Cross. The Sign of the Cross is a reminder of the most important facts in history, that Jesus Christ was born for us, lived and died for us, and rose from the dead the third day after His death. These all important events occurred nineteen centuries ago in the Old World. From this you can understand why it is quite necessary to study about the Old World and American History.

Unit I

Part 1: THE FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORY

Everything in your life is connected with the past. The prayers that you say, the knowledge that you learn in school, the style of your clothes, and the sort of food that you eat, all are related in some way with the past.

THE UNITED STATES FROM MANY NATIONS. The motto of the United States is "E Pluribus Unum." These three Latin words mean "one from many." There is a good reason for having this motto, for our great country is one nation made up of many states. But this motto might also tell us that our country is "one from many" nations. There are many things that prove this. Notice the names of the shopkeepers on the windows along the streets in your town. Look through the telephone book and see the different kinds of names there. These names may be seen: Italian, German, Irish, English, Polish and French. They are now the names of Americans.

Why are there such differences among American names? This is because America has drawn her population from the various European countries. Each of these countries in the Old World has had a share in the making of our wonderful nation.

THE DISTANT PAST. The influence of the Old World on America goes back many years. When people began to come to America, they brought with them much that was known in their own country. Thus the English settlers brought to America among other things certain important ideas about government and the law. The Spaniards introduced their religion. They also introduced their art and architecture and their way of farming. The European nations were many centuries learning the things that their early explorers and colonists brought to our shores.

One From Many

People from over all the world have given themselves to America. They brought with them from their native lands gifts of useful knowledge.

B.C. AND A.D. You will often see on the cornerstone of an important building something like this, "A.D. 1900." That means that the building was put up in the year 1900. The letters A.D. stand for the Latin words "Anno Domini" which mean "In the year of Our Lord." Whenever you see "A.D." linked with a date, it means that the event happened so many years after Our Lord's birth. The meaning of "B.C." you can guess. These letters in connection with a date tell us that the event took place "before Christ."

A.D. and B.C.

Count the years backward for "B.C."
Count the years forward for "A.D."

THE FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORY. Those who study history carefully will learn that the many wonderful things we enjoy come from the past in some way. For example, the radio, by which we are able to hear a concert given hundreds of miles away, is an invention of recent times. But the invention of the radio was possible only because of the knowledge the scientists of the past had given us concerning electricity and the air.

THE PAST THE TEACHER OF THE PRESENT. The present learns from the past somewhat in the manner in which a family might become wealthy after many, many years. Think of a man years ago working hard and saving a small fortune. He hands this on to his son who in turn labors very hard, saving money. This man in turn gives to his son the fortune he received from his father plus what he had earned himself. Suppose this went on for two hundred years. At the end of that time the fortune would be large. But it is large only because each generation added to what it had received, and passed along the increased fortune. So it is with civilization.

Each century receives the benefit of much that the earlier centuries have done, it adds something of its own, and gives the enlarged treasure to the next century. However, there are times when nations lose or waste the gifts of preceding ages just as a person might waste the fortune handed down to him. You have heard of such a case in the story of the Prodigal Son. Although some nations have been wasteful of their inheritance, people in general have made use of the intelligence God has given them. Consequently, we of today owe a great debt to those who have gone before us.

PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY. We hope to learn something about the contributors to our country's greatness. We shall find that our study will lead us over all Europe and through many centuries. Is it not remarkable that the motto of the United States should be in Latin? Latin is no longer the language of any country. It was, however, the language of a great and powerful nation two thousand years ago. After all these years we go back to that country for words to tell the world about ourselves. Our country is great not only because she has received much from the past but particularly because she has used well what the past has given her. In this book we shall learn something about what the Old World has done for America.

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