Crown in face of the efforts made by the discontented New England colonies to get their support in the coming revolution against Great Britain.  The success of the Act was shown in 1775, when the invasion by the revolutionists failed.  The war of the Revolution was ended by treaty in 1783, and Canada received as settlers, principally in Upper Canada, the United Empire Loyalists, whose ideas of government were so different from those of the Lower Canadians that the separation of Upper and Lower Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791 became necessary.  These dates, so close together, emphasize the rapidity with which events moved in that period, as well as the sequence of cause and effect.  We think also of the dates of Cartier’s voyages, 1534, 1535, and 1541, merely to raise the question as to why so much time elapsed between the second and third voyages.  When these points are properly seen, the events are kept in place by their relation of cause and effect, and the dates lose their value.  Moreover, the relations thus discovered will do most toward fixing these dates in the memory.  It should be understood, therefore, that dates are only a means to an end, not an end in themselves.

It is important also to know the dates of certain events when we are studying the history of several countries, in order that we may consider together those events that are contemporary.

There are, of course, some dates that should be remembered because of the importance of the events connected with them, for example:  1066, 1215, 1492, 1603, 1688, 1759, 1776, 1789, 1841, 1867.

In the Junior Forms, because the pupils are still lacking in the “historical sense,” little emphasis need be put on the giving of dates.  A few of the most important may be given in Form II, but it is very questionable if they have any significance to the pupils at this early stage.

CHAPTER IV

SPECIAL TOPICS

CURRENT EVENTS

The study of history should not end with what is contained in text-books, for the making of history never ceases.  The study of current events will be found to be a very valuable element in history teaching.  Teachers and pupils who are interested in the events of to-day are much more likely to be interested in the events of the past.  A knowledge of current events will arouse curiosity in what led up to them, will suggest a motive for studying the past, and will often supply concrete examples for both history and civics.  In fact, the teaching of civics may be based almost entirely on current events. (See Civics, p. 52 et seq.) The influence of a knowledge of current events on the study of history is very plainly seen to-day in the earnest and widespread effort to discover the causes of the war that is devastating Europe at the present time.  History becomes real when pupils understand that what is happening now has its roots