Interactive Timeline of the History of Education in the United States
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Jefferson Proposes a New Focus for Education
Between 1778 & 1819, Thomas Jefferson proposed that the state of Virginia provide a base-level of education for all of its citizens as a way of finding the "natural aristocracy" of the state through scholastic merit. Although the proposals failed 3 times, Jefferson's efforts promulgated the notion that an educated populace was essential to maintaining the ideals of democracy. -
The Blue-Backed Speller
MOST IMPORTANT In 1783, Noah Webster published his Elementary Spelling Book, commonly known as the Blue-Backed Speller. Hoping to inaugurate a new "National History" for his new nation, Webster injected his own views on English language learning into his work. These included the assertion that American English should stand separate from British English in terms of spelling & folklore. The book sold millions of copies & has remained in print in one form or another since 1783. -
The Western Female Institute
The Western Female Institute was founded in 1832 by Catherine Beecher in Cincinatti for the purpose of preparing young women to be teachers for children populating the American Frontier. Beecher's work was significant in that it not only provided the means of education for American families moving out west, but also changed attitudes towards teaching for the positive as a profession appropriate for respectable women. -
Horace Mann & the Crusade for Standardization
Appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Education in 1783, Horace Mann traveled from school district to school district within his purview inspecting schools & penning widely-read reports about them. He decried the poor physical condition of many of the buildings he saw, & called for standardized types of school supplies that would better meet the needs of the students. Many of his suggestions, such as more comfortable backed chairs, are taken for granted in American schools today. -
Philadelphia Bible Riots
In the wake of the efforts of Catholic Bishop John Hughes of New York, many Irish Catholics began to demand that they be given a portion of public school funds in order to organize Catholic-centered schools for their children. While these efforts largely failed, they did result in many changes being made to the partisanly Protestant textbooks then in use. Fearing the growth of Catholic & immigrant influence, nativists in Philadelphia burned down a Catholic church in May of 1843. -
Boston Petitions for an End to Segregation
In 1846 African American parents of Boston schoolchildren presented the school board with a petition calling for an end to segregation so that Black children could attend whichever public school was closest to their homes. Although an ordered investigation found two Black schools to be woefully inadequate, no changes were made & the petition was rejected. -
Sarah Roberts vs The City of Boston
MOST IMPORTANT In 1855 the legislature of Massachusetts abolished the segregation of public schools based on race. The case had begun in the wake of the failed petitions of Boston's African American community in the previous decade, & hinged upon the attempted enrollment of Sarah Roberts, a black student, in a white Boston school. The case remains significant as the it resulted in the first state-mandated end of school segregation in the US. -
John Dewey's "School & Society"
Published in 1899, John Dewey's "The School & Society" attacked what Dewey felt was an undue amount of focus in American schools upon the teacher, where it should be on the student. Dewey's ideas about training a teacher's attention upon the overall development of his or her students was widely read & influenced a generation of Progressive Reformers in American education. -
William Wirt & the Gary Plan
MOST IMPORTANT Upon being made superintendant of schools in the new factory town of Gary, Indiana in 1907, William Wirt sought to implement the progressivist philosophies of John Dewey. What resulted was a system of schooling which continues to influence our methods today. For example, secondary school was divided into separate classrooms in an effort to keep the students stimulated by new surroundings, subjects, & true-to-life curriculum. -
The Gary Plan Fails in New York
After the success of William Wirt's school system in Gary Indiana, Progressives in New York sought to implement the same types of procedures. The immigrant parents of many students took offense at what they felt was a public education intended only to perpetuate a lower-class of factory workers, however, & the plan was largely rejected in the state of New York. -
The End of Native-language Schools?
While school systems such as the Gary Plan focused on Americanizing immigrant schoolchildren, many immigrant communities were able to set up schools that taught their children in their parents' native languages & focused on the culture & history of their former homes. This was particularly prevalent among German immigrants, but after the involvement of the US in WWI, the schools were quickly closed down or outright banned & Americanization became the focus of almost all schools in the country. -
Brown v. the Board of Education
MOST IMPORTANT In 1954 the Supreme Court of the US declared that segregation within public schools was unconstitutional, striking down the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling which provided for segregation while citing the 1854 Massachusetts case of Sarah Roberts v. Boston. While the ruling took a decade to enforce throughout the country, it remains significant as the moment the highest authorities in America began throwing their weight behind desegregation in the nation's schools. -
Little Rock Crisis
Despite the 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board, many states in the South refused to comply with desegregation. In 1954 Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas called out his state's National Guard in order to keep African American students from enrolling in a Little Rock high school. President Dwight D. Eisenhower enforced the Supreme Court's ruling by sending federal troops to Little Rock, signaling an intent in Washington to see desegregation through. -
A Nation at Risk?
In 1983 President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation based on a report called A Nation at Risk. The report attacked American schools as having standards that were far too low to produce adults capable of competing in the changing world economy. Though many before & since have disputed the report, the results have been a greater focus on standardized testing for the sake of accountability, & new fields of study such as computer science. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
MOST IMPORTANT As the southern United States continued to resist desegregation into the 1960s, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed through Congress in order to speed them along. Signed by Lyndon Johnson as part of his War on Poverty campaign, the act gave the Federal Government the right to pull funding from schools which refused to integrate their students. The result was predictably fast integration in most areas, & the challenges & opportunities of integrated schools continue today.
