SOME EXPERIMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES CONDUCTED DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY UTILIZING PHONETIC ALPHABETS AS TRANSITIONAL MEDIA FOR INITIAL READING INSTRUCTION WERE SURVEYED TO PROVIDE A HISTORY OF THIS ASPECT OF EDUCATION. THE ACTUAL CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING EACH OF THE MAJOR USES OF SUCH TRANSITIONAL MEDIA ARE CONSIDERED IN DETAIL. THE MATERIAL PRESENTED IN BASED ON AN EXTENSIVE SEARCH OF PRIMARY SOURCES. SOME OF THE EXPERIMENTS WERE PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED IN THE BACKGROUND LITERATURE OF PHONETIC TEACHING METHODS. A CYCLE OF INNOVATION, USE, AND DISCONTINUANCE IS POSTULATED AS A MEANS OF STRUCTURING THE HISTORICAL FACTS. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE PRACTICES REPORTED AND PRESENT EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY ARE NOTED. REFERENCES ARE GIVEN. (AUTHOR/MC)