Available in our online store

The New England Primer was the first textbook ever printed in America and was used to teach reading and Bible lessons in our schools until the twentieth century. This is a reprint of the original 1777 version used by many of the Founding Fathers to teach their own children. Hardcover. 86 pp.

The New England Primer is a great example of early American education. Introduced in the Boston public schools in 1690, for the next two centuries The New England Primer was a required textbook from which every first grader learned grammar and spelling.

The 1900 reprint described the impact of the book by stating, “The New England Primer was one of the greatest books ever published. ...[I]t reflected in a marvelous way the spirit of the age that produced it, and contributed, perhaps more than any other book except the Bible, to the molding of those sturdy generations that gave to America its liberty and its institutions.”

The New England Primer taught first graders the alphabet in several ways. For the letter “A”, the young students learned, “In Adam’s Fall, We sinned all.” For the letter “C”, the students recited the following: “Christ crucified, For sinners died.” Students were later asked, “Who was the first man?”, and “Who was the first woman?” Students were also asked, “Who is Jesus Christ?”, to which the response is stated, “the Son of God.”