1770-1890

This country was founded on religious freedom. To some that freedom meant freedom from the dominant religion of Europe and free to indoctrinate the people of this country to the ‘right’ or their religion, which was protestant. The public school system was set up by Protestants so naturally this is the religion promoted by the schools. Texts books had catholic and Irish slurs within them. Many other forms of discrimination existed also. Blacks were not allowed to have an education; if they did attain it then they were punished severely. At first women were allowed only a few years of education. A movement changed that fact and the new popular opinion was that women were especially suited to be teachers. Only single women were allowed to be teachers. Once a teacher got married she would have to give up her career to take care of her family. The first person to suggest free public schooling was Thomas Jefferson. He believed that since our country is a democracy the masses needed education in order to effectively choose their leaders. He put forth a bill for each child to receive 3 years of free public school education paid for by tax payers. At this time the countries had just finished fighting a war and were heavily taxed already in order to pay that debt off. They were not interested in paying for anything extra. Another major leader in education was Horace Mann who championed what were called common schools. Common schools were free of charge to the students and their families. He also standardized schools with such items as chairs with backs, blackboards, and a curriculum. Eventually free public education was available to those families that could provide their children transportation to school and who could spare them from the family farm or other means of employment. Out west each town could apply to be recognized only when they had a formal school house, a teacher, and could fund it. Each state included in their constitution guidelines about free public education for their citizens before it the state was granted statehood.

On one hand I’m not surprised that free public education was not available to everyone at the beginning of our country. Many people held deep seated racism, others held on tightly to their money, and still others felt education was for the elite and a privilege not afforded to common people. On the other hand in my mind education is completely bonded to my idea of what is American. To be American is to be able to gain status, wealth, and privilege through hard work, knowledge, and a little luck. Education has always been a critical part of that ascent. It just seems funny that it was not always the case