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The early beginnings of education in America had a rough start and was a far cry from what education has become today.
Before the Declaration of Independence
Education in America began in the 1600s. The first settlers found themselves in the New England Colonies, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Most of these settlers were Puritans and Congregationalists; therefore, education was geared more toward religious reasons. Since beliefs were homogeneous overall, very few people objected to the arrangement. At this time, most people were accepting of this sort of educational system. Keep in mind, that this was long before the Declaration of Independence.
A diversity of people from various countries and different faiths led to the eventual weakening of this religious school system. Soon, people were refusing to learn solely in English. They opposed how the clergy was forcing their religious views into public education.
After the Declaration of Independence
Public schools were yet to be firmly established. After the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson created a plan to make education available for each American citizen. He created an ideal game plan that would send every citizen to school; offer financial support for underprivileged, yet talented students to be sent to university; and a certain type of school structure with four different levels.
Though Thomas Jefferson’s plan was created with hopes of soon materializing, it would actually take many more decades before a public educational system would dominate the country. By the Middle of the 18th century, private schools became the norm. Until 1840, receiving an education was only available for the wealthy. The reason is because many wealthy students received schooling at private schools. Since private schools were not Federally funded, parents had to uphold their part and pay a certain amount to enroll their child into a private school.
