19th Century Public Schooling

A Uniformity of Purpose19th Century Public SchoolingReviewFrom 1620 to ca. 1820, schooling had beenLocalVariedPrivately supportedWidespreadPurpose:Universal literacyFor getting on in the worldFor reading the Bible; i.e., getting on the next worldReviewReason for this commitment to elementary schooling:Colonists were EnglishColonists were Protestant(Results would have been very different if the successful, culture-defining colonists had been Spanish Catholics)ReviewThis background is important to keep actively in mindEnglishProtestantCommitted to schooling for universal literacyVery important that all these things are in place as big decisions are made in the 1st half of the 19th CenturyHistorical BackgroundThe time between 1754 and ca. 1820 was a time of UpheavalDisruptionConfusionSurvival

Historical Background1754-1765The French and Indian War1765-1776Conflict with Parliament over questions of governance1776-1783Revolution1783-1789Articles of Confederation1789-1790Constitution1790-1800First presidential administrations, conflict with France1800Hotly disputed election1803Louisiana PurchaseHistorical Background1804-1806Lewis and Clark expedition1812-1814War with England1817Panic1824Disputed election1828Election of Andrew JacksonHistorical BackgroundThe period up until about 1830 was dominated by war, internal political conflict, and questions of survivalBy around 1830, Americans had enough peace and security to start thinking about what it meant to be an American.This is manifested in politics, philosophy, theology, art, music, and literatureWashington Irving: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is published in 1820Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) personifies a new democratic man in politicsHistorical BackgroundNoah Webster publishes the American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828Ralph Waldo Emerson publishes The American Scholar in 1837Henry David Thoreau moves to Walden Pond in 1845Highlights of what is becoming a uniquely American way of seeing, thinking, and acting Historical BackgroundTwo examples of self-conscious American-ness:What then is the American, this new man?...He is an American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. He has become an American by being received in the broad lap of our great Alma Mater. Here individuals of all races are melted into a new race of man, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world. Americans are the western pilgrims. (from "Letter III," 1782) Hector St. Jean CrevocoeurHistorical BackgroundWe will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds.Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American ScholarHistorical BackgroundIn politics, the result was a commitment to democracy. This was not inevitableWe should not take it for grantedIt was grounded in a belief in the ability of common man to make choices for himself and for the polityHistorically, this was not only peculiar, it was uniqueThere was no model to follow; we had to make it upWe had to walk on our own feet; work with our own hands; and speak our own minds. Historical BackgroundThis commitment to democracy would have far-reaching consequences; important to keep actively in mindJust as one example, we are committed to the comprehensive high school, because we believe that it is the democratic approach to secondary schooling; no other developed nation does it this waySo we have two defining phenomena occurring during the period, 1820-1860:The development of a self-consciously American wayThe commitment to democracy as an essential component of the American wayAmerican Schooling in the 1st Half of the 19th CenturyThe question about democracy is always, Can the ordinary person make wise choices for himself and for the polity, or will he succumb to naked self-interest or be seduced by demagogues?Even as late as the late 18th Century, most people would have picked the second possibility as being much more likelyDemocracy was derided by most as mobocracyThe shift came in this way: The ordinary person is not currently capable of making wise decisions but can become so through education.American Schooling in the 1st Half of the 19th CenturyEducation, then, became a public good.Remember the two reasons for widespread schooling in the colonies: getting on in the world and getting in to the next; both are private goodsNow the purpose of schooling has shifted to the creation of a democratic polityWhat is necessary?Reading, writing, and figuringBut also much moreAmerican Schooling in the 1st Half of the 19th CenturyFirst, schooling had to becomeUniversally available, andWell doneGood schoolhousesGood textbooksWell-prepared teachersCarefully developed curriculaAnd the key to all this was public fundingDuring this period, all states commit to using tax revenue to fund schoolsSchooling had been a private enterprise in the colonies but was now public schoolingAmerican Schooling in the 1st Half of the 19th CenturyPurposes beyond readin, ritin, and rithmeticA commitment to the principles of republican democracyVirtueBalanced governmentlibertyA commitment to Protestant ChristianityMoral training would produce virtuous, well-behaved citizensDisciplineSacrificesimplicityA commitment to capitalismAmerican Schooling in the 1st Half of the 19th CenturyNotice two things:First, that these reformers saw the role of the school as one of formation (not as fostering development)Second, that they believed whole-heartedly that the proper formation meant convincing students of the superiority ofProtestant Christianity in religionRepublican democracy in politicsCapitalism in economicsAmerican Schooling in the 1st Half of the 19th CenturySchools were meant to effect a revolutionary change in how people were involved in politicsThe history of the world had been one of control from the topThe obvious thing to do would have been to adopt some version of thisAmericans chose the democratic experimentThey believed that a proper education could raise all persons to the point where they could participate wisely in the democratic polityAmerican Schooling in the 1st Half of the 19th CenturyBut only if the schools were committed to forming young people in ways that were consistent with the preservation and extension of the democratic wayThey believed that this meantUniversal schoolingPublicly fundedAimed at achieving public purposesInculcation of virtue so that the free citizen would act to preserve orderInculcation of self-reliance so that all would take responsibility for their own livesAmerican Schooling in the 1st Half of the 19th CenturyThis meant teachingRepublican democracyProtestant ChristianityCapitalismIn the common schoolOpen to allWell-fundedWith well-prepared teachersWith well-developed curriculaWhere one learned to be an American