Geography books were among the most commonly owned schoolbooks of the 19th century. Jedediah Morse published the first American geography in 1784. By the time Jesse Olney (1798-1822) wrote A Practical System of Modern Geography, these books were being written for increasingly younger students. The question and answer format, or catechism, that Smith used was common. Scholars learned by rote, memorizing the answer to each question exactly as it appeared in the book. Like other geography books being published by the 1820s, A Practical System emphasized the economic and political superiority of the new United States.
Olney, Jesse. A Practical System of Modern Geography. 1828. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/g-geog-1263/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.