McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XXX · Part 4: Lessons XXV-XXXVI: Orators and soldiers
36. War (Charles Sumner)
Goal: Your student follows a powerful argument against war and identifies its main methods: vivid scenes and pointed questions.
You'll need
- The book, or the scan beside this guide
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
An author note on Sumner, then a passage describing a battle in all its cruelty and two ships meeting at sea as enemies, asking why nations settle quarrels this way.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
Before reading, find these words in the selection and look up any your student does not know: commingling, fiendish, wayfarers, established.
About the author
The book says Charles Sumner (1811-1874) was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard, was admitted to the bar in 1834 and lectured on law at Cambridge. His address "The True Grandeur of Nations" (1845) argued against war between nations. He served in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death.
Read it aloud
Your student reads the passage aloud. Lines to find:
The ground is soaked with their commingling blood.
Not as brothers, not as friends, not as wayfarers of the common ocean, do they come together; but as enemies.
Talk about it
SayWhat does Sumner describe on the battlefield? Which detail is hardest to forget?
SayHe calls war "the established method of determining justice between nations." Is he serious? What is his tone?
SayWhy does he describe two ships meeting at sea? What should they have been to each other?
SayDo you agree with Sumner? Can war ever be right?
Tell it back
Your student states Sumner's argument and his two main pictures.
Copywork and memory
Copy:
Not as brothers, not as friends, not as wayfarers of the common ocean, do they come together; but as enemies.
Write (optional)
Write a paragraph answering Sumner, either agreeing or disagreeing, with reasons.