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In 1791, Thomas Jefferson created a plan to develop the United States’ educational system. This educational concept foreshadowed what our country’s educational system has become today.
Jefferson believed that the educational system should be under the government’s control. He planned for the system to be free of any religious biases and available to all other people no matter what their status was in society. This was a stark contrast to the educational system that existed prior to the Declaration of Independence. In the 1600′s the first settlers, Puritans and Congregationalists, had previously established a system that was geared toward their own personal religious beliefs. Jefferson set out to change the past by paving the way for a better future.
The other people who agreed with Jefferson’s plan included Robert Coram, Benjamin Rush, George Washington and Noah Webster.
Though Jefferson had created this educational plan, the public educational system still remained ambiguous due to political upheavals, vast waves of immigration and economic changes. Private schools would dominate in the middle 18th century. This meant that the only kids who had the privilege to attend school were the ones who came from wealthy families. Their parents would easily pay for their tuition.
It would take some time for Jefferson’s idea to take manifest and take form, but it eventually happened centuries later. It’s fascinating to observe what the country has undergone to get there. It seems as if America’s changing social views effected the educational system. The educational system has dealt with social matters that include segregation and gender discrimination. Though the American educational system is not perfect, it’s important that the country look to what it once was and appreciate what it has become today. The educational system has grown to reflect the dominant social views of Americans over the years.
