- Historic Sites History As A Cure December 1956 | Volume 8,
Issue 1 Not long ago two teen-age boys in New York City got into
trouble with the law. The police laid hands on them as juvenile
delinquents, and in due course the boys appeared in court. Judge
J. Randall Creel, of Magistrates’ Court, faced the tough problem
that confronts jurists in such cases: should he send the boys
off to jail forthwith, or should he see whether they might not
be able to straighten themselves out? He decided on the latter
course, and in looking for a means of rehabilitation he selected
an unusual instrument: American history. He gave these high
school youngsters a historical research job to do. They should
forthwith (he told them) make a study of the Battle of Long
Island—an important struggle in the Revolutionary War, in which
General Washington’s army narrowly escaped destruction when the
British commander, General Howe, landed an overpowering force on
Long Island late in August of 1776. They would find, he
suggested, that utt