Education in Early America
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"Having served the twelve-year sentence in government-controlled schools, most Americans view our present public school system as the measure of all things in education. Yet for two hundred years in American history, from the mid-1600s to the mid-1800s, public schools as we know them today were virtually non-existent, and the educational needs of America were met by the free market" (Peterson 33).
In this paper I will discuss three separate time periods that have occurred throughout the history of education in United States. These time periods include the colonial period, the early national period and the movement towards public schooling.
The Colonial Period
"Dr. Lawrence A. Cremin, distinguished scholar in the field of education, has said that during the colonial period the Bible was 'the single most important cultural influence in the lives of Anglo-Americans' " (Peterson 33). Although there were religious differences between the Northern, Middle Atlantic, and Southern colonies, they were all British colonies and religion was a primary force in the lives of all colonists. The lives of colonists were shaped around their religious beliefs, therefore importance they placed on education was based on religion as well. The first education law enacted in the colonies was in Massachusetts in 1642...