The Reading Wars in Retrospect: Uncovering the Ideologies that Changed American Schools (A Series)

INTRODUCTION:

I’m happy to be able to see the Reading Wars in hindsight. I remember the battles over the question of how we should teach our children to read, and I remember seeing the great discouragement of reading experts like Rudolf Flesch, Samuel Blumenfeld, Samuel Orton and others. There was no doubt in their minds that phonics is the only way for reading to be taught successfully, yet they were unable to convince a populous groomed for alternative ways of teaching. Finally, the scientific observation of brains, in the process of reading, brought a verdict to the century-old question about which method was best, and phonics is the winner.

We are now in a new frontier – a frontier where children are learning to read again. It is no longer the time to argue over methods. Science won. So, let’s just teach reading. The closing of the era of illiteracy in America, however, requires a historical account of where we got it wrong. Even if it is only a brief account.

Part One: Edward Bellamy & Looking Backward: 2000-1887

Bellamy, according to educational reformist John Dewey, “was imbued with a religious faith in the democratic ideal.”

Edward Bellamy was an advocate for social change, and in his novel, Looking Backward, he imagined a world of equality, with a superior level of education for all. The educational reformist, John Dewey, used Bellamy’s arguments in the revamping of the American education system. In reality, however, even though Dewey successfully launched Bellamy’s sociological ideas, the two men differed greatly in what they said about reading. Bellamy considered the goals of reading instruction. Dewey considered the methods. This blog post will review Bellamy’s book and the ideas it set forth.

The Book: In the year 1888 a Science-Fiction-style Utopian Romance (Bellamy, 1888) was published in Boston. It used a clever plot, like that of Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, to sell controversial ideologies.

The Storyline: The novel’s protagonist, Julian West, begins his first-person story during a time of labor wars. West was in an unfortunate position, forced upon him by striking laborers. He was awaiting the completion of the construction of his home, which would become his residency once he was married to his fiancé Edith Bartlett. The date of his upcoming marriage was continually postponed by the cancellation of building contracts.

On the night of May 30, 1887, after returning home from an afternoon with his fiancé, West was unable to fall asleep for the second night in a row. As was his habit, when facing insomnia, he requested the services of Doctor Pillsbury, a mesmerist who put him to sleep. He was awakened in the year 2000 by Doctor Leete and his beautiful daughter Edith.

At the end of the novel, West discovered that Edith Leete, with whom he had fallen in love, was the granddaughter of his nineteenth-century fiancé.

Ulterior motives: Under the surface of West’s story, we find the true intentions of the novel. These are discovered in a series of conversations between West and the Doctor who woke him from his trance.

Doctor Leete teaches West about the evolution of society during the time of West’s 113-year trance, and he and Edith provide tours of Boston which demonstrate the new social order.

Within two years of the book’s publication, sales had reached the 200,000 mark (Mott, 1947). The ideas presented in the book inspired social and political reformers, and they consequently led to the formation of Nationalist Clubs and Bellamy Societies.

Nearly five decades after the publishing of Looking Backward, the educational reformist John Dewey wrote a glowing appreciation of Bellamy’s work (Dewey, 1934). He lauded the author's ability to indict the injustices of the nineteenth century economic system. Bellamy, according to Dewey, “was imbued with a religious faith in the democratic ideal.”

Bellamy excited the populous, and Dewey grabbed hold on the opportunity.

My next installment of this series will explain the differences between the educational ideologies of these two men, and the irony they entail.

Coming next: Part Two: Bellamy’s Expectations about Reading Content, Dewey’s Plan for Reading Instruction, and how they contradicted each other

Please sign up for our newsletter at Alpha-Phonics.com to continue reading my series:

The Reading Wars:

Uncovering the Ideologies that Changed American Schools

References & Links to Original Sources

Bellamy, E. (1888). Looking backward: 2000–1887. Ticknor and Company. Retrieved online February 8, 2026.

Blumenfeld, S. L. (2023). The New Illiterates (Revisited) (M. R. Dawson & D. L. Ryan, Eds.). The New Paradigm Company. (Original work published 1973). Retrieved online February 8, 2026.

Dawson, M. R. (2023). Dyslexia No More: Saved by the ABC’s. The New Paradigm Company. Retrieved online February 8, 2026.

Dewey, J. (1934). "Great American Prophet." Common Sense, 3(4), 6-7. Retrieved online February 8, 2026.

Mott, F. L. (1947). Golden Multitudes: The Story of Best Sellers in the United States. Macmillan. Retrieved online February 8, 2026.

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