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Animals, natural history Digital Collection
Sunday school teachers dedicated a good deal of their time discussing with students the world around them. In this section one will find three types of texts, those providing more or less straightforward information about animals and plants or natural wonders (e.g. Child's Own Book of Natural History), those offering lessons of moral conduct with respect to animals and the natural world (e.g. Kindness to Animals: or, The Sin of Cruelty Exposed and Rebuked), and those that combine the two (e.g. Talks with Amy Dudley; or, What Makes Me Grow?). The first type tended to rely on facts and illustration, the other types on scripture and precept.
Some of these texts are striking for their relevance to present-day matters. Discussions of cruelty to animals will resonate with contemporary readers though these arguments rest on scripture rather than concepts of rights, which are more frequently used today. These arguments for kindness to animals also resonate with the benevolent disciplinary philosophy associated with Sunday school. Sunday schools prohibited corporal punishment; "kindness alone," and persuasion were said to be sufficient to instruct children. This policy of sparing the rod, fostered a spiritual and social "disciplinary intimacy," as Richard Brodhead has called it, associated with Christian nurture (see Introduction). This relationship is reflected in arguments for being kind to animals. In Kindness to Animals, for example, we are informed that most human cruelty toward animals stems from a misconception that animals must be "frightened into obedience," using corporal punishment as a deterrent. The author contends that correction can be made through kindness and reward. This is precisely the mode of instruction for children and reflected the new child psychology of the antebellum era.
While one would best look elsewhere for popular debates about evolution one will find that advances in natural science are of explicit concern in these books. Most authors go out of their way to reconcile scientific understanding of the universe with knowledge of God. For example, in What is a Star? there is a dialogue discussing the astronomical discoveries of Sir John Hershel. "Dear Mamma," the boy exclaims, "if all these stars are worlds like are own earth and other planet how much God must have to take care of!"
"The discoveries made by the telescopes in these boundless regions, my dear, are well suited to exalt our notions of God's wondrous power."
Other works attempt to reconcile theories of the physical body with man's spiritual nature and provide unusual commentary on such subjects as phrenology, and nervous sympathy. In general, these works seek to ascribe a moral content to nature to man's physical conditions.
Stephen Rachman, Department of English, Michigan State University
Thumbnail Image | Title | Publisher | Author | Call Number | Description | Available Format(s) |
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Child's Book of Water Birds
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New York: Leavitt & Allen, 1855
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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Child's Own Book of Natural History
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Worcester: Hervey & Co., 18--?
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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Kindness to Animals: or, The Sin of Cruelty Exposed and Rebuked
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Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1845
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Elizabeth, Charlotte
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unknown or unavailable
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Man, in his Physical, Intellectual, Social, and Moral Relations
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Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union; London: Religious Tract Society; 1847
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Newnham, W.
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unknown or unavailable
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Nature's Wonders: or, God's Care over All His Works
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Philadelphia: Presbyterian Publication Committee, 185-?
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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Precious Stones
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New York: Lane & Scott, for the Sunday-School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1848
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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Rambles After Land Shells
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Boston: American Tract Society, 1863
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Parker, Helen Fitch
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unknown or unavailable
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Richard and Rover
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New York: Lane & Tippett for the Sunday-School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1846
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Elizabeth, Charlotte
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unknown or unavailable
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Talks with Amy Dudley; or, What Makes Me Grow?
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New York: Carlton & Lanahan; Cincinnati: Hitchcock & Walden; Sunday School Department, 18--?
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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The Bee-Hive
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New York: American Tract Society, 18--?
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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The Carrier-Pigeon
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New York: American Tract Society, 18--?
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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The Casket for Boys and Girls
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Concord, N.H.: Merriam & Merrill, 1854
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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The Elephant and Other Beasts
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Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 18--?
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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The Hive and Its Wonders
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Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1851
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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The Mighty Deep
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New York: Lane & Scott, 1852
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Tocque, Philip
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unknown or unavailable
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The Telescope and Microscope
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Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union; Religious Tract Society, 1851?
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Dick, Rev. Thomas
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unknown or unavailable
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What is a Star
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New York: American Tract Society, 18--?
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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Wolves and Foxes
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New York: Sunday-School Union, 1866
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Ranger, Robin
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unknown or unavailable
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Wonders of Nature
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London, Edinburgh, and New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1857
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Author Unknown
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unknown or unavailable
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