Conservative Values: Patriotism

Patriotic songs were common at McGuffey Society meetings and celebrations. The "Star Spangled Banner," "My Country 'Tis of Thee," and "America the Beautiful" were regulars. When McGuffeyites celebrated the Readers, they also celebrated the country that they believed the Readers created.

• In a 1942 letter to members of the Oxford McGuffey Society, Harvey Minnich spoke of the upcoming gathering: "The ample illustrations of the patriotic spirit in the McGuffey Readers will blend well with the temper of the serious hour in our nations history. May the day be fine and every heart be filled with enthusiasm for the McGuffey principles which laid the foundation of our beloved Republic and the great democracy for which it stands." (1)
  
• At the 1934 memorial dedication McGuffey's granddaughter, Katherine Stewart, said, "Within those covers I find expressed a spirit of patriotism, love of country, perhaps devotion is a better word. The spirit of that day and for many to follow was, what can I do for my country? Contrast that with the long wail we hear from East and West today - what can I persuade Uncle Sam to do for me? ...I have been hoping through the weary years which have been upon us that some great soul would send out a call for the rebirth of a true spirit of patriotism." (2)
  
• Mark Sullivan wrote the following to be read at the 1934 memorial dedication at McGuffey's birthplace: "Besides being a tribute of affection and respect, the marker dedicated here today in commemoration of William McGuffey, is a call to the patriotism of the people of our country. It directs the thoughts of our citizens to a man who, both as an individual and as a preceptor to the youth of America, personified the things in our national life which have given us the place of proud leadership America holds in the march of civilization... if we should all turn back for a glimpse at McGuffey's life; and if, above all, we were to read again the selections containing the accumulated wisdom of the ages which McGuffey put into his Readers - if that should happen, America would meet the problems of today with greater wisdom and a firmer faith." (3)