A Measuring Rod by Mildred L. Rutherford, 1919
Collections in the Classroom
Grade Level
High, Middle
Time Period
1900-1950: Early 20th Century
Theme
Jim Crow, The Lost Cause Myth
Resource Type
Primary Source
Download Collections in the Classroom: A Measuring Rod by Mildred L. Rutherford (pdf)
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
- How do we decide what gets taught in school?
- How do we choose what to believe?
CONTEXT
United Daughters of the Confederacy historian, Mildred L. Rutherford wrote A Measuring Rod in 1919 as a way to spread the Lost Cause ideology through textbooks in schools. She developed guidelines for school committees and Boards of Education to use to ensure that they were teaching what the U.D.C. considered the correct history about the American Civil War and about the South’s role in particular. Rutherford published lists of books that were approved and ones that were condemned. These guidelines influenced what was being taught to students for decades and used education as a means to spread the Lost Cause myth.
