Cardinal Principles Report

Background

The influx of millions of immigrants into the United States, beginning in 1890, contributed to the push for the CPR. These immigrants, the majority of whom hailed from southern and eastern Europe (8,141,967 compared with 3,553,527 from northern and western Europe between 1891 and 1910) were regarded as “undesirable” in some quarters in the nation. Indeed, organizations such as the Immigration Restriction League were founded to combat the problems associated with unrestricted immigration. The country, its way of life and its character, were deemed threatened by these recent arrivals.

Some felt that little could be done with the adults. There was hope, however, in assimilating their children into the American mainstream. The public schools were looked to as the filtering agent to accomplish this assimilation and make the immigrant children into “good Americans.” The public schools were to eradicate foreign attachments and implant American values in these youngsters, in the process often severing the ties between parent and child.

Because many of these young came from the working class, it was assumed that they needed a “practical” curriculum. As the period of compulsory attendance was extended, high school enrollment grew rapidly. As the nation became increasingly embroiled in World War I, the “Americanization” task of the public schools was viewed as critical. Some, espousing the social efficiency movement to the fullest, called for the establishment of vocational schools, separate from the public school structure, to be operated by an independent authority. They believed that the existing curriculum of the high school was hopelessly too academic, and not a fitting place for the children of the working class, especially those of recent immigrants. Others, however, opposed the creation of separate vocational schools, especially on the grounds that it was “undemocratic” and not in keeping with the American way of life.

This was the social and educational atmosphere out of which the CPR emerged. Founded at the summer meeting of the NEA in 1913, the CRSE consisted of 26 members, 16 of whom were committee chairs and 10 were members-at-large. Clarence Kingsley, who had taught in college but was a secondary school professional, was its chair. The 26 members hailed from a wide background in education, unlike the Committee of Ten, a majority of whose members were from the college ranks. This changed composition of membership reflected the altered condition of American secondary education that had taken place in a few decades. Not only were some committees, such as modern languages, chaired by a high school person, there were new subject committees such as household arts. Additionally, the membership of various committees reflected the high school emphasis; for example, English had had three times as many high school representatives and pedagogues as it did college professors of English.

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