The article analyzes aspects of civility at the dawn of the Brazilian Republic, looking in particular at two school textbooks: História do Brasil ensinada pela biografia de seus heróis (History of Brazil taught by the biographies of its heroes) by Silvio Romero (1890) and A História de São Paulo pela biografia de seus nomes mais notáveis (A History of São Paulo according to the biographies of its most notable names) (1895), published by Tancredo Amaral. On the one hand, the nuances of Magistra Historia Vitae present in these objects of material culture are looked at. Second, I highlight the extent to which these history books were punctuated by disagreements about education or civic instruction, the affirmation of regional civism, as well as being the site of conflicts between the protagonists of São Paulo republicanism.
civism; schoolbooks; Republican Brazil