Famous Men Series

Why study history through its famous men? Haaren and Poland answer in their preface:

“The study of history, like the study of a landscape, should begin with the most conspicuous features. Not until these have been fixed in memory will the lesser features fall into their appropriate places and assume their right proportions. In order to attract and hold the child’s attention, each conspicuous feature of history presented to him should have an individual for its center. The child sees himself as this individual. It is not Romulus or Hercules or Caesar or Alexander that the child has in mind when he reads, but himself, acting under the prescribed conditions. Prominent educators, appreciating these truths, have long recognized the value of biography as a preparation for the study of history and have given it an important place in their scheme of studies.”