History+of+Early+American+Education

__The United States in the Period of Early American Education (1776-1830)__
In 1776, The United States had a population of 2.5 million people, living primarily along the Atlantic coast. Daniel Boone had just established a trail through the Cumberland Gap and, now that the war was over, settlers were ready to take the risk and move west. In communities on the east coast, the value of literacy was embedded in the culture. The new Americans carried that cultural view with them; therefore, schools on the new frontier resembled those on the colonial frontier. They were dominated by Christian thinking, focused on literacy and moral growth, and taught by parents or a local adult (often the minister) in a small setting.

[Source: Stephen Mihm, Ph.D. (2008), "Travel on the Early Frontier", Presentation at //Expanding Frontiers// Lecture]
 * Westward Movement 1770-1820**
 * = [[image:Westward_Movement_1.png width="195" height="208" align="center" caption="Areas Settled by 1790"]] ||= [[image:Westward_Movement_2.png width="199" height="210" align="center" caption="Areas Settled by 1820"]] ||=  ||

In colonial times, boys whose families had wealth were the most likely to receive an education, and this thinking carried over into the post-Revolutionary War era. It was not free, nor was it required, legally or as a minimum standard for employment. The great majority of Americans were farmers, where on-the-job training was the norm. Others learned the skills needed for a specific trade by working as an apprentice for several years. Apprenticeship constituted education for many young men. For example, Ben Franklin committed to seven years as a printer's apprentice. Still, the literacy rate in the colonies was estimated to be greater than 70%, with higher rates in New England than in the southern colonies, according to Farley Grubb of the University of Delaware. Boys and girls were taught to read by their literate parents and, in some communities, boys and girls attended schools that were closely related to or a part of the local church. For the United States, a country governed by people who believed in self destiny, literacy continued to be a valued part of the culture.

A well-developed synopsis of education in Colonial America can be read at: []

Farley Grubb's work, including a wealth of colonial statistics about income, population and literacy rates can be read at: []

**Philosophy of Education**
The philosophy of education in 1776 and into the 19th century was based on the common belief that moral values must be instilled in youth. This philosophy laid the foundation for education in America from the earliest schools in the New England colonies. Schools were seen as the method by which children would be taught to read the Bible and its precepts. With the Enlightenment in Europe setting up the debate between Reason and Faith, the common moral philosophy was beginning to be challenged. Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson both saw the value in including rational arguments and scientific exploration in education. In 1787, the Northwest Ordinance reaffirmed that education should focus on religion and morality but, for the first time, it also mentioned the value of knowledge in education. It would be decades, however, before the community classroom experienced the argument about whether to teach faith and the classics or Reason, scientific thinking, and modern languages.