Who Is My Neighbor? And Why Does He Need Me?, Textbook

What We Believe #3

by John Hay, David Webb

This third book in the What We Believe series encourages kids to develop a Christlike servant attitude.

Genres: Faith

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838 – July 1, 1905) was an American statesman & official, lawyer and writer; his career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was United States Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Hay was also an author and biographer, and wrote poetry and other literature throughout much of his life.

John Hay was born on October 8, 1838, in Salem, Indiana, but spent most of his youth in Warsaw, Illinois. The third son of Dr. Charles Hay and Helen Leonard, Hay moved to Illinois when he was 13 years old to study at an academy in Pittsfield. There, he met John Nicolay, with whom he would later work as a private secretary for President Abraham Lincoln. A year later, in 1852, Hay left for Springfield College. After completing his early education, he was accepted into Brown University, his grandfather's alma mater.

While studying at Brown, Hay developed a strong interest in literature, particularly poetry. He became actively involved in Providence’s literary community, which included Nora Perry and Sarah Helen Whitman, who had been engaged to Edgar Allan Poe. Upon graduating from Brown, Hay was named "class poet," but he left school before receiving his diploma at the university's official commencement ceremony. After graduation, he returned home to Warsaw, Illinois, where he studied law and worked for his uncle, Milton Hay's law office.

The law office where Hay worked was next door to Abraham Lincoln's law office and, as a result of their close proximity, Hay and the future president became acquaintances. Lincoln was elected president of the United States in 1861 and he chose John Nicolay, Hay's childhood classmate, as his secretary. Nicolay subsequently recommended Hay for the position of private secretary to the president. Hay was offered the position, and served in the Lincoln White House from 1861 to 1865.

He went on to serve as the U.S. secretary of state for both William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Arguably his greatest influences were negotiating the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty and promoting an "Open Door" policy in China.

Hay continued to write throughout his life. His literary work includes Pike County Ballads and Other Pieces, a book of poems; the novel The Bread-Winners; and Abraham Lincoln: A History, a historical non-fiction book co-written by John Nicolay.

Hay died on July 1, 1905, in Newbury, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed this series by Apologia. I was drawn to the foundations and strong theology it would center our homeschool around. We have completed 3 of the 4 volumes. However, I was incredibly disappointed in the choice of the civil war tale that wove through this volume. (Each volume illustrates the theological points through a different narrative woven through the volume) It shares dangerous reverence for “the great” Robert E. Lee (who actually committed treason against his country) and perpetuates lies that the civil war was inevitable after the election of Lincoln and his outspoken posture of not allowing the states to govern themselves (he was against slavery and certain states didn’t want their property taken away). While, in the story, the white family has freed their slaves, it paints the picture of loyalty that a slave family would have stayed willingly and served their former masters. It was all pretty sickening to me to read. (I previewed it before deciding there was no way I was going to pass this ‘rosy,’ false depiction of the civil war onto my kids)

I believe you can use this volume while excluding the completely unnecessary narrative and war general bios, which depart from supporting the theology of the book anyway.

[Amy Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are good solid truths presented here, but the writing style can be repetitive and dry. Each chapter begins with a fictional story, and the fiction is not the type that will last. My kids got really tired of them. Overall, the book is good. We didn't follow their "Make Note" suggestions much, but instead filled out little booklets from Knowledge Quest. We will not be purchasing the final book in the series. This information was pretty basic for my kids and wasn’t presented in a good enough writing style to make us press on more than we already have. When your kids tell you they would rather just read the Bible, I think that’s the ultimate sign you should stop.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a love hate relationship with Apologia books. The chapters/lessons are very long so I end up chopping them up to make them work for our family. There are several section to each chapter. A story, a fictional (but accurate) bible story, and application. My feelings are a mixed on "moralistic" books. Most of the time I don't like books in that genre and I tend to avoid those books. I do really like their Biblical fiction, however and their applications are good too.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used this as our main Bible spine for our homeschool year. It is the third in the series we have used. For the most part, I liked the book. Of course there's always going to be parts that you disagree on but that's where we can open up our Bibles and have family discussion time. So, we will move into the last book in the series.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just another fabulous book in the series!

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one a little less than the previous two. The ongoing immigration and Civil War stories were better than much of the writing in the earlier books, but the main content felt drier and, in some cases, more obvious. It was still worthwhile, but disappointing.