Compiled by educator William Holmes McGuffey, the McGuffey Readers helped to standardize English language usage in the United States and not only reflected the moral values of the country in the 19th century but also shaped them.

The Readers were destined to educate five generations of Americans, spanning the 1830s to the 1920s, generations that would know their author as "the schoolmaster of the nation." Interestingly, with nearly 130 million copies published since the first edition appeared in 1836, McGuffey's Readers are still in print ( ...

As Westerhoff (1978) described the first edition, “McGuffey's Readers assume that all true knowledge of God is dependent upon 'God's book,' the Bible” (p. 76). McGuffey saw religion as integral to education and put religious readings into his texts.

The first Reader taught reading by using the phonics method, the identification of letters and their arrangement into words, and aided with slate work. The second Reader was used once students could read. It helped them to understand the meaning of sentences, while providing vivid stories which children could remember.