Essential Facts
- Education varied widely by region, gender, and class.
- Formal schooling expanded after the Revolutionary War, with new institutions created.
- Female education was supported to shape future generations.
- Apprenticeships provided practical skills to boys.
- Mutual improvement societies promoted civic education outside formal institutions.
- The Northwest Ordinance (1787) set aside land for schools in the Northwest Territory.
- College education shifted toward science and mathematics.
Significance
Education in the New Nation is an important topic in American History because changing attitudes toward public education and women helped increase literacy in the United States. This eventually spread to all Americans, helping to fulfill the ideals in the Declaration of Independence.
The Transformation of Education in Early America
Education during this New Nation Era varied widely, as there was no shared public school system. Following the American Revolutionary War, education was linked to citizenship, and new institutions of learning were established.
- Children and adults were educated in different places, with experiences varying by region, gender, and class.
- There was no standardized experience shared by all children of a certain age.
Education in Colonial America
During the Colonial Era, the home was the main place for education. However, education was focused on skills that were necessary for subsistence and survival, such as hunting, planting fields and gardens, cooking, and raising children. Religious education was also important, especially in New England, as was learning to read and write.
- Boys and girls learned skills for running a home or farm, along with basic moral and literacy education.
- Parents often provided education using texts like the Bible and religious tracts.
- The Bible was often the only book many families owned.
- In New England, literacy had special importance due to Calvinist beliefs that everyone should read the Bible individually.
- Literacy rates for boys and girls in New England were much higher than anywhere else in the British world.
Education through Apprenticeships
- Colonial homes often included nonfamily members, and some received education there.
- In cities, master craftsmen (artisans) took on apprentices at young ages.
- Families often sent their boys to work as apprentices so they could learn productive skills.
- Apprentices lived with their masters, who usually provided them with general education and education in a specific trade.
Benjamin Franklin — Started working as an apprentice for his brother, James, when he was 12 years old. James Franklin was a printer who founded the New England Courant, the second newspaper in America. Under the terms of his apprenticeship, Benjamin would not earn wages until he was 21. However, he ran away and traveled to England. After he returned to America, he bought The Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729, which was published twice a week. By 1732, Franklin published the first Poor Richard’s Almanack.
Churches as Educational Institutions in Colonial America
Churches were viewed as institutions of higher learning because ministers were often the most educated people in the community. Ministers provided moral guidance to people in their communities during sermons and in daily life.
- Most New England Colonies (Congregational Church) and Southern Colonies (Anglican Church) had an established church with mandatory attendance and support.
- In the Middle Colonies, religious diversity prevented a single established church.
Ministers were seen as central to public education, even on the Western Frontier, where not all settlers belonged to established churches due to the lack of infrastructure and the prioritization of survival and safety.
Formal Academic Training in Colonial America
A small number of students received formal academic training, and nine colleges were established in Colonial America.
- Colleges primarily trained ministers, teaching the Bible, Latin, and philosophy.
- Colleges served children of elite families but also accepted promising students from middle-class backgrounds.
- A full course of study was rare, and most students did not finish.
- Many students used college as a step toward legal apprenticeships.
No law schools existed; college graduates trained under established lawyers. If someone wanted to attend law school, they typically went to England, where they attended Middle Temple. This included:
- John Dickinson (1732–1808) — Founding Father and the “Penman of the Revolution.”
- John Rutledge (1739–1800) — Second Chief Justice of the United States and first Governor of South Carolina.
- Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746–1825) — Founding Father, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, a Signer of the Constitution, and a delegate to France during the XYZ Affair. Older brother of Thomas Pinckney.
- Edward Rutledge (1749–1800) — Founding Father, a delegate to the Continental Congress, and a Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- Thomas Pinckney (1750–1828) — Governor of South Carolina and Ambassador to Great Britain. Negotiated the Treaty of San Lorenzo with Spain in 1795.
- John Laurens (1754–1782) — Fought during the American Revolutionary War. Supported allowing slaves to join the American war effort in return for their freedom.
The Nine Colonial Colleges
The Nine Colonial Colleges were founded between 1636 and 1769 and still exist today.
- 1636 — Harvard College (Harvard University), in Massachusetts.
- 1693 — College of William & Mary, in Virginia.
- 1701 — Collegiate School (Yale University), in Connecticut.
- 1746 — College of New Jersey (Princeton University), in New Jersey.
- 1754 — King’s College (Columbia University), New York.
- 1755 — College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania), Pennsylvania.
- 1764 — College of Rhode Island (Brown University), Rhode Island.
- 1766 — Queen’s College (Rutgers University), New Jersey.
- 1969 — Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.
Education after the American Revolution
The leaders of the American Revolution believed education was essential for preserving liberty and teaching the ideals found in the Declaration of Independence, and several States passed laws requiring mandatory schooling.
- Thomas Jefferson advocated for a state-supported schooling system.
- His proposal for a comprehensive school system in Virginia was rejected.
- The Confederation Congress approved Jefferson’s draft of the Northwest Ordinance (1787), requiring land in the Northwest Territory to be set aside for schools.
- Private academies were established nationwide, including the Young Ladies’ Academy in Philadelphia.
A state-supported public school system started to emerge after 1812. This was supported by district schools, which were often funded by tuition or subscriptions and taught students basic reading, arithmetic, and writing.
- Teachers were poorly trained, and discipline was strict.
- School attendance was better in winter when children were not needed at home for work.
Practical Knowledge and Informal Education
While the leaders of the American Revolution sought to educate the masses, many areas of the nation were still undeveloped. People lived more comfortably than they did in the 17th Century, but many children still needed practical skills necessary for survival and protection. Because of this, education extended beyond formal schooling to practical knowledge.
- U.S. leaders emphasized practical learning over traditional subjects like Latin.
- Rejecting formal European knowledge was considered patriotic.
- American citizens needed useful knowledge for everyday life, unlike European aristocrats.
Idleness was viewed as a source of vice, especially in New England, leading to the establishment of agricultural and mechanical societies. These societies sought to engage people in learning related to their work, such as science for artisans and farmers, and included:
- New York Society for Promoting Arts (1766)
- South Carolina Agricultural Society (1784)
- Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture (1785)
- New York Society for Agriculture, Arts, and Manufactures (1792)
- Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture (1796)
The American Philosophical Society, which was established in 1743, was also involved in publishing articles on agriculture.
Education for Women in the Early Republic
John Adams understood the value of women in American society and said, “…it is by the female world, that the greatest and best characters among men are formed.” Like many of his counterparts, including Benjamin Rush, Adams believed the ideals of the American Revolution — Liberty, Democracy, and Republicanism — would be taught to the next generation of Americans, starting at home, by their mothers.
- Women, as mothers, were seen as vital in shaping the character of future generations, a concept known as “Republican Motherhood.”
- Female education focused on preparing women to serve the needs of men and society.
- Women, though not citizens, played a public role as moral teachers, responsible for protecting property and raising virtuous children.
Academies for women were established during the Early Republic, including:
- Salem College (1772) in North Carolina.
- Young Ladies’ Academy of Philadelphia (1787) in Pennsylvania.
- Bradford Academy (1803) in Massachusetts.
- Elizabeth Female Academy (1818) in Mississippi.
- Clinton Female Seminary (1821) in Georgia.
See Marriage and Family in the New Nation for more on the changing roles and responsibilities of women.
College Education Expands
Following the American Revolutionary War, the United States slowly became a more stable nation, and colleges shifted focus from training ministers to broader subjects, including science and mathematics.
- Classical languages remained central to college education.
- The American Revolution led to an increased focus on developing leaders with republican virtue.
- 15 more colleges were established before 1800, allowing more students from diverse backgrounds to attend.
- Increased competition for students lowered educational standards, sometimes leading to student disruptions and riots.
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward was a landmark Supreme Court case that was decided in 1819.
- In 1816, New Hampshire tried to take control of Dartmouth College and convert it from a private institution to a public institution.
- The trustees of the college sued the New Hampshire legislature.
- Daniel Webster represented the trustees, while William H. Woodward represented New Hampshire.
- The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled that the State had violated the college’s original charter, which was issued in 1769 by King George II.
- The Court ruled that the State could not invalidate a contract, which was established in another landmark decision, Fletcher v. Peck (1810), related to the Yazoo Land Scandal.
- The ruling strengthened the Constitution’s authority over contracts and limited the ability of States to interfere with them.
American Textbooks
The first widely used textbook in America was the New-England Primer, which was published in 1690 and written by Benjamin Harris, who moved from England to Boston. As America matured, scholars came to the forefront and published American textbooks.
Noah Webster (1758–1843) — Known as the “Father of American Scholarship and Education,” he published textbooks for American students and An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828).
Jedediah Morse (1761–1820) — He published a popular book on geography that was used in schools and contributed to Dobson’s Encyclopedia, the first encyclopedia published in America after the American Revolutionary War. He was the father of Samuel Morse, who helped invent the telegraph.
Mutual Improvement Societies in Early America
Education also occurred outside schools in informal groups called “mutual improvement societies.”
- These societies focused on civic education in the republic.
- Members gathered to hear lectures or present their own work.
- Members took control of their own education, operating outside established schools and churches.
Leather Apron Club — An organization founded by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1727. Also known as the “Junto.” This group contributed to establishing the Libary Company of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
APUSH
Education in the New Nation is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:
Unit 3: 1754–1800
- 3.4 — Philosophical Foundations of the American Revolution
- 3.5 — The American Revolution
- 3.6 — The Influence of Revolutionary Ideals
- 3.10 — Shaping a New Republic
- 3.11 — Developing an American Identity
American Pageant Notes
- Chapter 8 — America Secedes from the Empire (1775–1783)
- Chapter 15 — The Ferment of Reform and Culture (1790–1860)
