U.S. Public Education1776-1826

Chapter 3The Educational Reality:

Pluribus

Pluribus still the dominate reality

Very little movement toward common schools between1776-1826

Early 1800’s saw momentum for education channeled throughnew state governments

Schools often intertwined with private, philanthropic, or religious efforts

Often aimed at the poor or the under-privelidged

Competing Claims on Education

Movement toward National Identity

Education seen as a way to instill a national identity and sense ofpluralistic “we” in midst of all the diversity and self-interest from vast immigration

New school books written to aggrandize the U.S. and its newworld status after the Revolution

New books in geography, math, and history written following NoahWebster’s reading, spelling, and grammar books

Schools, both public and private, were to promote spirit ofnationalism but diversity from immigration caused conflict between public vs. private schools

Economic Modernization

Class distinction and religious diversity contributed to conflictbetween public and private schools

Economic modernization drew factories to the cities

This brought new workers, mostly laboring poor, to the cities

Many under-privileged children of the factory workers roamedstreets of NY, Philly, and Boston, creating mixed feelings of fear,contempt, pity among the more well-to-do folk

Educational solutions ranged from charity schools backed by religious societies to philanthropic schools aided by public fundsto public schools under government control

Political Modernization

U.S. was developing a modern political system as well as themodern economic system just discussed

Jeffersonian Republications, formed in the late 1790’s, created a recognizable competitive political party to Federalists

Political competition brought increased suffrage among white males, by changing previously restrictive property requirements,thus involving many more people in the political process

1770-1790’s Jeffersonian’s pushed for public schools

Federalists pushed for private, religious, and charity schools

The two party political system , through partisanship and self-interest, created gridlock regarding any forward movement tocommon schools

Concept of “public good” waned as private enterprise, namely business people seeking advantage, dominated the politicians

U.S. government was weak, and not able to coordinate the pluralisms veering off in all directions at this time

Thus little movement toward common schools

Religious Revival

Weak federal government led to growth in social infrastructurewith various groups organizing themselves to get things done,i.e. religious, political, cultural, philanthropic, professional

Religious organizations were most influential in education

Second Great Awakening was a vast expansion of religiousinfluence in the country, led by Protestant ministers trying to regainauthority diverted from them to the “Patriot” cause during theRevolution

Sparked a sense of mission that sent preachers to remote parts ofthe country as well as to the cities, prompted churches to establishcharity schools and colleges and sparked first U.S. missionary

Religion more influential than republicanism

This affirmed the belief that morality and religion were major focusand goals of all education , both public and private

Predominate view was that all children should be grounded in Protestant fundamentals, i.e. The Bible.

Textbooks should reflect biblical lessons as basic to good conduct and good citizenship

Interdenominational (Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist) Protestantism was the rule in public schools until mid-1800’s

efforts to Asia and Africa

Religious revival slowed growth of public schools, in Pa., NY, andVa. religious interests were slow to accept idea of public shoolsunder state auspices

Slavery and Anti-Slavery Movements

Slavery was an immoral affront to the Revolutionary idealsof civil liberty and civic equality

It contradicted the idea of religious equality and was a traditional and anti-modern custom

It divided a nation that had recently fought a war for a free, equal, and just society.

1770’s-1780’s saw increase in anti-slavery sentiment in bothNorth and South, to bring into practice Revolutionary ideals and preachings of both secular and religious leaders

Federal government was ambiguous on slavery

Declaration of Independence did not condemn it per se asJefferson had wanted

Federal Government outlawed slavery in Northwest Territoriesyet allowed slave owners to recover escaped slaves

This ambiguity by federal government let the issue devolve to the states, where division between North and South occurred

Since public education was, by definition, a matter of state policyand regulation, these decisions and divisions seriously affectedpublic education of both blacks and whites

Connecticut outlawed slave trade 1771, and Rhode Island 1774

1780 Pennsylvania abolished slavery within its borders

1788 New Jersey required slave owners to teach slaves to read

1799 New York enacted gradual abolition act

1830 legal slavery all but wiped out in the North

Social discrimination and prejudice toward Negroes remained

But the new laws went a long way toward reflecting the Revolutionary ideals of liberty and equality to blacks & whites

The Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, guaranteeing due process

and equal protection under the law evolved from these early state laws

Stipulations of the Fourteenth Amendment were applied to publiceducation in 1954 by the Supreme Court

Legislative Steps toward Public Education

Mass., Conn., and NY led the way in modernizing education in anincreasingly urbanized society

Southern states, while having lots of plans, focused efforts on charityeducation for the poor or higher education for the well-to-do

Consensus was that private or voluntary efforts were not going to be sufficient to educate growing number of poor in cities

Growing movement toward public control and public support (money)

Numerous independent schools, i.e. charity schools, religious schools,academies, and proprietary schools, began to receive public funds,or lose their private character and transform themselves into publicinstitutions.

Even so, the quality, performance, and length of schooling remained very diverse

Educational pluribus still reigned, but a little less certainly

Massachusetts1780’s Revolutionary war coming to a close, Colonial tradition of public schooling in Ma. faced severe test, money was scarce and many towns did not open their public schools

To comply with legislative edict to promote education, Ma. charteredsome private academies and supported Harvard College

1789 passed law that all towns of 50 householders hire an elementaryteacher to teach the “3 R’s” and “decent behavior” 6 months a year

100 household towns required elementary school 12 months a year

200 household towns to provide a grammar school teacher for English,Latin, and Greek

All teachers needed college education and certificate of qualification ofgood morals from a religiously established minister or selectman

Law allowed towns to divide into smaller districts to receive tax funds

Elementary teachers needed certificates of good morals

All teachers had to be U.S. citizens

Assumption was that all teacher would be of Protestant Christianbelief and stress those ideals in the schools

Boston passed its own city laws, in addition to the state law,requiring grammar schools to accommodate boys and girls age7-14 and be located in convenient parts of the city (the start of neighborhood schools?)

Required school committee be elected by ballot and members mustvisit schools, examine students and generally supervise operations

Public control of schools was thus established

1800 Ma. gave local districts power to levy taxes to support publicSchools

1817 gave them full corporate power to run schools

Opponents felt the charity and church schools could accommodate thepoor, but studies showed the students were not learning well

Public school proponents eventually won out over private schoolsupporters and established a public school board

Neighborhood schools appealed to many , not just for conveniencebut as means to improve neighborhoods

1826-27 Ma. legislature passed new laws electing special school

committes, required support of public schools by taxes, establishedreligious neutrality in curriculum and text books, deprived the clergyof supervisory or visiting powers, but asked them to join selectmenand committee members in urging attendance at the public schools

Connecticut1796 law provided mixed means of public school support from localtaxes to special fees, and proceeds from some sale of public land

Rhode Island passed first common school law in 1800

New York State1795-1820 NY moved from almost non-existent school system to onerivaling Ma.

1784 created University of the State of New York to build a unifiedschool system from elementary to college level

1812 comprehensive school law enacted provided for state matchingfunds to districts who raised their own monies

Districts responsible for maintenance and repair of schools

NY was first state to really develop a centralized school organization

Created first state office of Supt. Of Common Schools, tasked with preparing improvement plans, overseeing school funds, and reportingstatus of entire system to legislature

1830-1850 all Northern and some Southern states adopted samepractice

PennsylvaniaSlow in moving from a pluralist and charitable approach to a public and govenmental approach

Benjamin Rush proposed a voucher system for use of public taxfunds by some religious communities to adopt “alternatives” tocommon school system

By 1790’s he was promoting free education for the poor, in 1802Pa. legislature passed law supplying public funds for free educationfor the poor

Next 20 years saw much forward movement in Pa. toward truly public schools, and in 1828 Pa. Society for Promotion of Public Schools was formed

Southern StatesPublic participation in education was focused on pauper and charity Schools

1785 Georgia established a state university modeled after NY’s,

establishing an academic senate at the school to oversee a completesystem of organized education, with the legislature having final say inany actions taken

All officers of the institution required to be Christians (Protestants),

However, the U of Ga. did not start to function until 1800 and by thenthe idea of a state school system got lost

Public funds continued to be directed toward higher education for the few and lower education for the poor

1810 Virginia legislature established a literary fund for the encourage-ment of learning, funded by fines, penalties, and forfeitures, but thenext year fund was limited to education of the poor in each county

1828 districts could use funds for education of all white children

State school funds established in SC in 1811, Maryland in 1813, NJIn 1816, and Delaware in 1817

Education for Blacks: The Major Blind Spot

Post Revolutionary period gave little consideration for education ofblack freemen or slaves between 1790-1810

Revolutionary fervor and anti-slavery sentiment had waned

Negros went to separate schools or had no schools at all

NY permitted local districts to segregate Negro pupils, Pa. and Ohioauthorized local districts to provide separate schools if at least 20Negro pupils taken care of, and New England regularly assignedNegros to separate schools

1787 Negroes asked Mass. legislature for separate funds to establishblack school system, feeling discriminated against in the publicschools,... the legislature refused

1798 they demanded a separate system, which was established

Separate schools for blacks were widespread in the North, with ideaof common school coming to the forefront as abolition movementgrew

No such movement in the South

SC and Ga. passed laws in 1740 and 1770 making it illegal to teach a slave to read, although some slaves learned to read, mostly through teachings of white women and white children

Blacks established a few schools in some areas, taught by otherBlacks or sympathetic religious groups (Quakers)

By 1800 regression set in and not much improvement in the educational opportunities for blacks until Reconstruction

Jefferson’s DilemmaJefferson, a leading proponent of liberty, equality, and publiceducation, did not apply those principles to slaves, blacks, orIndians

He never campaigned for abolition, nor seek equal rights to education for slaves or freedmen, and he never freed his ownSlaves

Public education was caught in the struggle between differentgroups with different ideals

Jeffersonian Republicans were for the common people and commoneducation , but only as long as those people were white

They were for state control of education, but proponents of statesrights to control slavery and prohibit black education

Federalists were for abolition of slavery and a strong federal govern-ment, and for public education of the poor, but more concerned with favoritism for the elite and private enterprise, which usually excluded the common good

Two points of agreement between the two factions:

Both believed in some kind of public education over privateEducation

Both agreed that that if any sort of education was to be providedfor blacks and whites in public or in private schools, that educationshould be provided separately

History of Education Chapter 3 summary

Pluribus still dominant reality

Early 1800’s saw momentum for free public schools channeled through new state laws

Schools were to promote nationalism but diversity from massive immigration caused conflict

New two party political system formed in late 1790’s, created gridlock on common schools progress because of partisanship and self-interest

summary cont.

Religion (mostly Protestantism) very influential in schools

Modernization-Urbanization brought more people to cities for jobs

This created problem with their children, either running loose or working in the factories---child labor

Early school laws designed to get children out of factories and into schools

New State Laws1789 Mass. passed laws establishing elementary school systems and qualification requirements for teachers

1798 established separate school system for Blacks

1784 NY created University of State of NY to build unified school system from elementary level to college

1812 NY established matching funds system of funding for districts

created first state office of Superintendant of Common Schools

1810 Virginia established literary fund for schools for the poor

both sides believed any schools provided for Blacks and Whites should be separate

1784 NY created University of State of NY to build unified school system from elementary level to college

1812 NY established matching funds system of funding for districts

created first state office of Superintendant of Common Schools

1810 Virginia established literary fund for schools for the poor

both sides believed any schools provided for Blacks and Whites should be separate

1784 NY created University of State of NY to build unified school system from elementary level to college

1812 NY established matching funds system of funding for districts

created first state office of Superintendant of Common Schools

1810 Virginia established literary fund for schools for the poor

both sides believed any schools provided for Blacks and Whites should be separate