The History and Influence of The

The History and Influence of the

Manual Arts Movement

Thomas Garni

TED 502 – Dr. Waite

State University College at Oswego

Introduction

The Manual Arts Movement came about just as the 1800’s ended and the 1900’s started. It continued until

the late 1940’s. The world was in a state of great change. Wars raged on, including World War I and II. The

Industrial Revolution brought many advancements and problems. Cities were starting to become electrified and

grew rapidly as many left the farm to work in the factories. In these years, the United States saw the peak in

immigration into the country. Wright Brothers start the age of power airplane flights just as Ford develops mass

production. Einstein introduces his Theory of Relativity. The start of the first commercial radio station is followed

by Lindbergh and The Spirit of St. Louis. Penicillin was discovered as the first antibiotic. The catastrophic crash of

the stock market leads to the Great Depression. The world saw the beginning of the atomic age and the new marvels

of electronics -TV and the first digital computer ENIAC. This paper will look at what was in place before Manual

Arts started, the social forces that shaped it, and the people behind those forces. Also, it will explore the major

players in the actual movement and what they did for it. It brought significant change to the educational system.

History

To understand the role that the Manual Arts Movement played in the larger scheme of things, we must first

look at what was in place. As mentioned earlier, the industrial revolution was causing a great change to life both in

the United States and Europe. The economic base that was once totally focused in agriculture was now being

based on industrial needs and demands. People were moving from the farm to the big city or to the land of

opportunity (the United States) to better themselves. This including the start of full fledged mass production,

like Ford, started the problem of skilled labor. In the old agricultural system, skills in farming were passed down

from generation to generation by working with family. The support trades such as the blacksmiths used

apprenticeships to pass the trade on to the future. The problem was that these methods of training were one on one

and took years (generally four to seven years) to complete. The industrial needs for labor, even semiskilled, could

never be met using theses previous methods.

The Manual Training Movement was the first step to answer these needs. This movement looked at general

education to supply the training needed. It was believed that hand tool skills were to be taught along with the other

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existing curriculum. The development of this Russian system to train Government Engineers was established by

Victor Della Voss. Della Voss’s system was first used in 1868 to obtain this goal. Pesesky and Waite (2003, pg

56-57) quote Vaughn and Mayson this way to explain the method way:

… to give scientific tool instruction by a series of exercises that

involved in a systematic and sequential way the fundamental tool

tool processes. Della Voss conceived that the way to do this was

to analyze the tools, the processes, the crafts, trades, and materials

into their elements and to arrange the elements in methodical

courses of instruction.

The Russian system dealt only with the materials of woods and metals. A student in woodworking would be

given three years of instruction in joinery before he was allowed to advance to three years of cabinet-making. Della

Voss showcased this form of training at the Centennial Exposition in 1877. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT)President John D. Runkle, upon seeing this at the Exposition, realized it’s potential. He adapted it and used it

as a base for the School of Mechanic Arts of MIT (a pre-engineering preparatory school). Dr. Calvin M.

Woodward used the system as a base for a high school called the St. Louis Manual Training School. He saw this

system as a way to benefit the total student by given the student skills to deal with people, places, and things. He

believed that Manual Training should be part of general education because it is interdependent of the other subjects.

By the addition of mechanical drawing, he believed that it benefited industry. In the United States, a student

received the lesson while receiving hands on training.

Influences

The gains made by this new mass production meant that the middle and lower class of people’s lives

improved. Machines output increase productivity greatly. In turn, prices dropped and these two classes now could

afford items once reserved for the rich and elite. Not all gains were for the good. This new life style had a down

side to it .The human side of the industrial revolution meant woman and children along with men worked long hours

in poor and unsafe conditions. The idea of pollution and its increasing effects on the population were not considered.

Something else was being loss as well, the craftsman and his workmanship. Products that were being mass-produced

lost that special quality of uniqueness if not also just quality itself. These concerns lead to the start of an influence

that is known as the Arts and Crafts Movement.

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Arts and Crafts Movement

The Arts and Crafts Movement started toward the latter part of the 19th century in England. The educated

thinkers of the times believed that good design was directly related to the good society. The worker should not face

the working conditions of the factories, but be able to take pride in their craftsmanship. John Ruskin is one the

leaders in this cause. Born and educated in England, he is best known for his work on architecture and its social

and historical implications. He writes about both society and the individual craftsman’s self worth. His studies are

“rebelling against the aesthetically numbing and socially debasing effects of the Industrial Revolution”(anc.gray-

cells.com). He holds the craftsman as being equal to the educated person and is quoted as follows: (anc.gray-

cells.com)

“We are always in these days endeavoring to separate the two; we

want one man to be always thinking, and another to be always

working, as we call one a gentleman, and the other an operative;

whereas the workman ought often to be thinking, and the thinker

often to be working, and both should be gentleman, in the best sense.”

A follower of John Ruskin was another Englishmen named William Morris. Morris, being well educated for

the times, was concerned with the effects caused by the Industrial Revolution. He was greatly concerned with the

greater separations between the classes of people due to lost skills causing unemployment that lead to poverty.

Morris’s reputation as a very vocal politician, businessman, and preservationist has lead many to label him as the

founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement both in England and the United States.

The Arts and Crafts Movement in both England and America were based upon the same beliefs, those being

design, creativity, and skill of the craftsman. The execution of those beliefs differs greatly between the two. The

British movement focus on the medieval themes and gothic style being done only by craftsmen. The down side to

this is that it drove the cost very high, limiting the movement to the upper class. The American Movement on the

other hand, drew on the material used (example the grain of the wood). The movement included the theory of using

machines to lower the cost but allowed the craftsman do the assembly and finishing process. You the consumer

receives a product that is affordable but of high quality.

The Sloyd Movement

The Sloyd Movement started from a need to supplement income during the long Scandinavian winters. Many

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people developed home skills to make tools or crafts for future personal use or out right sale. The profits made from

these goods were used to purchase the next years planting. Uno Cygneaus, considered the father of educative

handicraft, believed that if a student learned about the world of work they could in turn take that knowledge and

adapt it and use it in their own work. His work generated the curriculum for both students and future teachers of

Sloyd, facilities layout, and even the products to be produced. Another person who is an important player in this

movement is Otto Salomon. Salomon opened a number of vocational schools for both boys and girls. He later

concentrated the Naas School that trained future teachers. He is credited as the main figure in the educational Sloyd

movement which was the use of practical projects in manual training.

Both the Arts and Crafts Movement and the Sloyd Movement played a huge part in shaping the future of

education in the United States. Manual Training had its weak points. The students never saw the big picture until

very late in their educational careers . The items they produced were to build skills, be graded, and then tossed

away. The student never was allowed to personalize the design or processes. The goal of Manual Training was to

teach the skill of tool use only. The Arts and Crafts Movement created a return to the craftsman’s ability. Not

only to build, but also to design and personalize the work. Sloyd’s influence changed the focus from the process of

building a project to the student and the project. The student is the craftsman, handling design, and

construction producing an outcome that has value to himself and others. By using the best pieces of all of these

movements, including Manual Training, a new movement was born, The Manual Arts Movement.

Charles A. Bennett

The Manual Arts Movement took a great step forward with the publishing of the book by Charles. A. Bennett

called The Manual Arts. Bennett’s work looked at the total package with all points of views covered. He felt the

public could like an item but can’t appreciate it until they tried to produce the item themselves. If they had this

experience, they had a personal base to use to judge the quality of the item. Without this appreciation, it is easy to

mislead an ignorant public. He realizes that there are problems caused by the speed in which new advances are

coming and how they are intertwined in life itself. He writes the following about as an example (Bennett 1917

pg.14-15):

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“If one tries to enumerate the changes in the metal industries

alone that have followed the application of electricity in the

telegraph, the telephone, the electric light, and electric motors

he sees how endless is the undertaking. A very important result

of this development in the industries is the need of men with a

wider knowledge of the materials and processes of industry and

the principles upon which the processes and the materials rest.

This knowledge is not being handed down from father to son to

any great extent, nor from master to apprentice, partly because the

factory system does not easily lend itself to education, and partly

because the knowledge needed is so new that even the masters

themselves find it difficult to keep up with the development. But

this need for a wider knowledge of the principles and processes

of industry is not confined to the workers in these producing industries.

Every man who would intelligently use the modern conveniences

of his own home, or the labor-saving devices and conveniences

of business life, must know something of the materials and

principles of industry; and if he is to judge the quality of the thing he

purchases or uses, he must know something of the process that

produced it.”

Bennett undertook the task to classify, organize, and layout a plan for the teaching of Manual Arts to cover

all the aspects of this complicated subject matter. His work includes needs assessment, justification, development of

appreciation, the selection and organization of subject matter, vocational verses general educational ends, and

methods of teaching including not only the positive, but also the negative sides to each. Bennett’s major contribution

to the educational world was the classification of subject matter. His theory state that there are five areas that needed

to be covered to create a base of greater appreciation, these being (Bennett, 1917, pg. 44):

a)the graphic arts – drawing and picture making

b)the mechanic arts – woodworking and metalworking

c)the plastic arts – modeling and pottery

d)the textile arts – weaving, braiding, sewing ,and garment making

e)the booking arts – paper and cardboard work, lettering , bookbinding

and leather tooling

“Not one of these five subdivisions of manual arts can be omitted from

the course without correspondingly limiting the possibilities for the

development of appreciation.”

Bennett’s above classifications were not to stand alone, you must include the theory of construction and the

economics of its application to industries. Also, there must be a study of the materials employed, the source of

supply, methods of refining , etc. The student gets the theory and the practice – the science and the art – together.

Each corresponds to the other (Bennett, 1917, pg. 42).: He includes that this must be based on the educational value

not the expense. The manual arts training requires equal time to the general education courses because it is so much

a part of the general educational process. The subjects being taught are current and are part of the community in

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which this educational experience is being given. For all the great advancements that Bennett’s work gave the

educational system, he is consider “The Father of Manual Arts.”

The Manual Arts Movement

The curriculum for any manual arts course was addressed in three areas. The first was the Practical, the

second was the Technical Information, and the third was the Educational Guidance. The three were to be thought

together to build a complete package of understanding. If one is to look at a typical curriculum for the area of

woodworking, it may look like this (Friese, 1926, pg. 389-392). See attached appendix for example.

Conclusion

The Manual Arts Movement became the method to answer the educational problems caused by the Industrial

Revolution. This plan included the method to cover all the influences of the time and had a way to update itself. It

accepted industry as a partner but was student and community driven. It is this writer’s opinion that Manual Arts

formed the base for what is now known as Industrial Arts or Technology Education. Both subjects are closely

related. The major differences are due to subject growth and development, not teaching methods.

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Appendix

The Practical

Woodworking 1 (Six Weeks)

A. Squaring Stock

1 Sawing

a rip

b crosscut

B. Chamfering

C. Rounding Stock

D. Chiseling

1 Straight

2 Gouge

E. Gluing

1 Preparation of hot glue

2 Getting joints ready to glue

G. Assembling

H. Preparing articles for finishing

I. Finishing

J. Applying hardware

K. Repair work

L. care of tools

Woodworking II (Eighteen Weeks)

1. Shop sketching

a Construction

b Design

2. Squaring stock

a Sawing

1 Rip

2 Crosscut

b Planing

c Use of a the square

d Gaging

1. Chamfering
2. Rounding stock
3. Chiseling

a Straight

b Gouge

1. Boring
2. Molding and matching

a Universal plane

1. Gluing

1. Preparation of hot glue
2. Getting joints ready to glue

1. Butt, dowel and matched

1. Upholstering
2. Weaving

1. Caning
2. Fiber cord

1. Carving

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1. Finishing

1. Preparation of the article
2. Conditions necessary for good finishing
3. Filler
4. Stain
5. Fuming
6. Paint
7. Varnish
8. Wax
9. Shellac
10. Rubbing
11. Refinishing

1. Carpentry
2. Pattern-making
3. Application of hardware
4. Machines

1. Circular saw

1. Rip
2. Crosscut
3. Dado
4. Miter
5. Grooving

1. Band saw
2. Lathe

1. Face plate
2. Spindle
3. Chuck

1. Planer
2. Jointer

1. Roughing out a joint
2. Beveling
3. Tapering

This is a complete list of practical work. Not all the students will get instruction and hands-on in all areas but will be exposed to them to get a general understanding by watching other students.

The Technical Information would cover:

1. Common woods and their uses
2. Tree study
3. Lumbering
4. Drying and seasoning
5. Glue and gluing
6. Finishing
7. Veneering
8. Carving

The Educational Guidance would include but not limited to the following:

1. Importance of Physical Laws in Woodworking
2. Importance of Arithmetic in Woodworking
3. Importance of Chemistry in Woodworking

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Bibliography

Bennett, Charles A. (1917). The Manual Arts. Peoria, Illinois: The Manual Arts Press

Cornell.Edu.: (n.d.).Art, Design, and Visual Thinking – The Arts and Crafts Movement.Retrieved October 9, 2003, from http;//char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artcraft/artcraft.htm

Friese, John F. (1926). Exploring the Manual Arts. New York & London: The Century Company

Gray Cells Technologies. (n.d.). ,Arts and Crafts Movement- John Ruskin Retrieved October 9, 2003, from

Imagine (n.d.). The Sloyd Movement . Retrieved October 8, 2003, from

Pesesky, Waite (2003). Technology Education in American Schools. Unpublished: State University of New York

College at Oswego

Row, Robert Keable (1909). The Educational Meaning of Manual Arts and Industries.Chicago: Row, Peterson and

Company

The Student Handbook (1984). The Southwestern Company

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