Common+School+Period

America in the Common School Period (1830-1860)
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 * [[image:Population_1850.jpg width="330" height="233"]] ||  || In 1830, there were almost 13 million people in America. By 1853, through acquisition by peaceful or military means, the United States owned all the land between its contiguous borders. Immigrants and native-born Americans were rapidly emigrating west to claim the land as their own. As in the Early American period, communities were unsettled. Like settlements in pre-revolutionary America, schooling was a function of the expertise and beliefs found within the community. The Second Great Awakening was taking place in America, especially in the areas west of the Appalachian mountains. As a result, moral growth continued to be a focus of daily life, along with a strong sense of responsibility to the new democracy. By 1860, the population in the United States was 31.44 million, having doubled in less than 30 years. ||
 * = The United States in 1853

=__The Common School Movement__=

Philosophy
The goal of the Common School was to provide a tuition-free, universal education for all students. Elementary age students would practice reading, writing, and arithmetic while fostering a common sense of American identity. It was envisioned as a method by which students of all backgrounds could be integrated into one community. Additionally, it was intended to teach children to become good citizens, capable of functioning and leading in a democracy. Horace Mann saw it as the great social equalizer, an institution that would provide individuals in the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder with the skills they need to move ahead. Funding for the schools would be obtained through taxation. Common Schools were designed to provide basic education and skills that would make an individual employable. Therefore, the classics were typically subordinate to skills like bookkeeping. Source: [|http://www.america.gov/media/pdf/books/historians-on-america.pdf] (Article pages 22-36)

Legislation
In 1852, Massachusetts passed the first compulsory attendance law. Children aged 8-14 were required to go to school for at least three months out of the year. If a child did not attend and was unable to meet the alternate requirements, his/her parents would be fined. Source: [|http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/compulso.html]

Horace Mann-The Father of American Education

 * Horace Mann grew up in Franklin, Massachusetts. He loved reading and was able to borrow books from the town library, which supplemented what he was learning in school. He graduated from Brown University in 1816 and studied law. In 1827, he was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature. In 1837, he was appointed to the newly created Massachusetts State Board of Education. In his many years there, he was instrumental in the authorization of "Normal Schools" (schools for training teachers), 50 high schools in his state, and a school year that lasted a minimum of six months. Prior to his leadership, some children only attended school for a few weeks.

Mann argued for a school system supported by the rich to benefit poor children. He effectively convinced the wealthy that it was their civic duty to financially support education for all. He also argued that an educated populace would benefits everyone, because individuals who were educated would vote and behave intelligently. He proposed a school board with governing power, so that those who were paying for the education system would have a voice in how the schools would be run. He published the //Common School Journal,// a compilation of the records of his work toward a free and universal education for all. Horace Mann built the foundation for the American education system that exists today. || media type="youtube" key="pAnTmplQ_tw" width="291" height="239" align="right" ||


 * The Common School Journal 1838**

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Financing Education
Along with the Common School Movement came the legislation to tax property owners to provide funds for the schools. Those who did not believe in either universal education and/or free education balked at paying taxes for schools. Some communities tried other options and/or supplements, including this school in Ohio.

Educational Lottery Ticket for the Promotion of Education in Ohio
In 1838, to support education, Alton Ohio offered a lottery to support education. The winner won money or a prize. The remaining funds were used for educational purposes.  Source: h[|ttp://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/rbpe:@field%28DOCID+@lit%28rbpe01500400%29%29]