For some time I have believed we owed it to ourselves to have a more rational discussion of the role of Dewey's thought in American education. His thinking is too firmly embedded in our tradition for us to profit from attempts to hide his works with a shroud, or to exorcise his spirit with clichés. This is as foolish as reiterating his words endlessly as if on a Tibetan prayer wheel.

Textbooks have always held a peculiarly important position in public schools in the United States, hence their selection has been significant. In the early days of the Republic and long afterward the quality of the textbook was more likely to effect education of high quality than any other factor, including the often poorly educated teacher. The first part of this essay deals with the struggle in Florida for uniformity of textbooks, the second with the fight for diversified instructional materials. Sources for the data have been chiefly primary, including the minutes of the selected county school boards, the annual and biennial reports of the state superintendents of public instruction, the laws of the State, and the minutes of the State Courses of Study Committee, with supplementary use of secondary sources, such as publications of the Florida State Department of Education and the Florida Education Association.

No series of American textbooks enjoyed so long and popular circulation as the McGuffey Readers. Most of the many biographies and articles written about the McGuffeys and their Readers give most credit for this to the original authors. It is not the purpose of the writer to belittle the great contribution made by the McGuffeys, but an analysis of the facts needs to be made to obtain a true picture of the matter.