An extensive survey was made of personal papers, textbooks, periodicals, and other printed material from the last decades of the nineteenth century to the early years of the twentieth, when the kindergarten movement rose and declined, to answer several questions concerning American Froebelians' cognizance of the influence of Comenius on Friedrich Froebel. Were founders and supporters of the American kindergarten aware of the writings of Comenius? Did they recognize similarities between his philosophy and that of Frobel? Did Americans leading the Kindergarten Crusade know that Froebel had been influenced by Comenius? If so, did they then acknowledge the indebtedness of the nineteenth century father of the kindergarten to the work of the seventeenth century Moravian scholar? How did their recognition of the relationship between the two systems, or their avoidance of this recognition, affect the kindergarten movement? Findings indicated that the American Froebelians could have been aware of the "central core of thought" which was shared by Comenius and Froebel. It is concluded that an educational system based upon one individual and dependent upon didactic materials, becomes vulnerable, static, and cannot adapt to new challenges and unique problems. Use of the historical approach to integrate new theories into a central core of thought can provide an integraton of systems to stand the test of time. (RH)