First published in 1837, this influential report laid the foundation for the modern American school system. Its recommendations for the establishment of free, mandatory education for all children, supported by state funding, helped to revolutionize education in the United States and set a model that was eventually adopted in many other countries. This edition includes the original text along with a new introduction that provides historical context and reflects on the ongoing relevance of the report's ideas. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from The Development of Free, Schools in the United States: As Illustrated By, Connecticut and Michigan The typical public school of the United States is a free school. It is free in that it charges no tuition fees to resident pupils. However, it is a matter of common knowledge that in an earlier period tuition was one of the means of school support. This was certainly true of all states east of the Mississippi River, except Maine and Wisconsin, and actually if not legally may have been true of them also. A few states west of the Mississippi used tuition as a means of school support. Striking examples are Iowa, California, and Texas. As one reviews the educational legislation of the different states, it becomes evident that in the period of 1840-1870 many laws were enacted having as their aim the attainment of schools free from tuition as a means of support. It is also evident that from an early period, children of the poor were not required to pay such fees. To make schools free meant to exempt all children from such charges, and to support the schools entirely by other means, largely by taxation upon property. Laws which aimed to secure this condition were enacted in certain states, as follows: Delaware, 1829; Pennsylvania, 1834, 1848, 1868; Louisiana, 1847; Indiana, 1852; Ohio, 1853; Texas, 1854; Iowa, 1858; West Virginia, 1863; Vermont, 1864; New York and California, 1867; Michigan, 1869; Connecticut, 1868-1870, and New Jersey, 1871. In some cases, the laws left the matter entirely to local option, as for example the law of 1834 in Pennsylvania. In others, no local choice was given. It is also probable that much of the earlier legislation of this type was largely unrealized in actual practice, but the later laws were backed by sufficient sentiment and finances to make the schools practically free. This development of free schools in the last century consisted not only of changes in the schools themselves, but also of changes in public opinion about the function, the organization, and the administration of the public school. Since our schools depend upon public opinion, the investigation of this evolution to ascertain its causes, tendencies, and results, may help us to understand better the present problems of education in our democracy. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.