Differing Editions, Differing Ideas
The Great Awakening reignited the colonies with a new religious fervor from the 1720s through the 1740s and the primer changed accordingly. Instead of “The Cat doth play/And after slay,” children were learning that “Christ crucify’d/For sinners dy’d.” The wrathful God portrayed in the earliest primers became more loving, and education itself became more secularized and there was less emphasis on sin and punishment. Where there was once fire offered as punishment there was in one 1790 edition, the threat of treats being taken away and the idea of literacy was now offered as a path to financial security. The idea of eternal salvation was still there but its voice was less strident. A 1819 version extolled the virtue of play:
“Tis youth’s delight/to fly their kite.”
Other adaptations included The Lord’s Prayer, The Apostles’ Creed, The Ten Commandments, and Milk for Babes, written by the Colonialist John Cotton.
Despite criticism for portraying children as corrupted by sin, The New England Primer made an enormous impact on morality in North America. Sadly, despite its popularity, less than 1500 copies of the book remain today. The earliest known copy still in existence was published in 1727, and because there are so few surviving texts. likely due to constant use, this indicates the book was indeed very popular. It’s also an indication of how the text’s principles influenced American values during this time. The primer was used well into the 19th century before losing its popularity.
But this text which influenced so many lives is also remarkable in another way. Because numerous editions of this work were published, those that still exist serve as a window into the changing philosophies used to educate children. While The New England Primer was slim, its impact on how children learned to think was huge. With childhood mortality rates so high, and terrifying diseases like smallpox, whooping-cough, and others that could wreak havoc on a child’s body both physically and mentally, undoubtedly the primer was a comfort that made the idea of death less frightening. It normalized death and put it in contexts that kids could relate to.
It certainly gives you something to think about the next time you peruse the children’s book section at the local bookstore.
Where do we get this Stuff? Here are our sources.
17th Century Children Learned to Read With Lessons On Death, Hell, And Salvation, The Vintage News
The New England Primer, Encyclopaedia Britannica
How The Old Deluder Satan Act Made Sure Puritan Children Got Educated, The New England Historical Society
Once Upon A Time: A Brief History Of Children’s Literature, The Conversation
The Origins of Children’s Literature, The British Museum
About Harvard, Harvard University
A Token For Children, The British Library