Association was organized in 1857 as the National Teachers' Association. It was. an extension of the State association idea to the country at large. To T. W. Valentine, president of the State Teachers' Association of New York, belongs the credit of initiating the movement. In conference with D. B. Hagar, of the Massachusetts Association, a call for a convention was agreed upon and prepared by the latter in 1856, in pursuance of which a small number of men gathered in Philadelphia 26 Aug. 1857. At this meeting the National Teachers' Association was founded with Zalmon Richards of Washington, D. C., as president. There were 43 members enrolled but 12 States and the District of Columbia were represented. At the Indianapolis meeting of 1866, the word was substituted for in the section defining eligibility for membership. Women were that admitted to full membership. Meetings were held annually in the different States and before 1870 all discussions were held before the whole Association as a body. In that year the department feature of the Association was introduced and the name changed to the National Education Association. Some of the departments had existed previously as independ ent associations. This was true of the depart ment of normal schools, formerly the American Normal School Association, and organized at Norwich, Conn., in August 1858 and of the department of superintendence, which was previously the National Association of School Superintendents, organized at Harrisburg, Pa., , in August 1865. Although the Association drew its membership from all parts of the country the attendance at its meetings was small, never reaching the 400 mark in the first quarter cen tury of its existence. The 1884 meeting was the turning point in the fortunes of the organiza tion. The financial difficulties had been ex tremely embarrassing. It had been impossible to print the addresses without contributions from liberally disposed members. The presi dent for that year, Thomas W. Bicknell, con ceived a plan of enlisting the interest of the railway people and the days of poverty were a matter of history. The enrolment reached
2,729. The Association was freed from debt and a permanent fund started. While the num ber varied widely in succeeding years, it has steadily increased, the most remarkable record being that at the Boston meeting of 1903, at which 34,983 members were enrolled.
The movement to secure a permanent mem bership was inaugurated at the Denver meet ing in 1895. The old scheme by which one could purchase a life membership for $20 and a life directorship for $100 was abolished. In its stead, the present plan of the payment of annual dues, whether in attendance at the meet ing or not, was adopted. In consequence the society now has a permanent membership of about 10,000 active, and a far greater number of associate members. Since 1898 a permanent secretary is employed by the board of trustees. He is chosen for a term of four years. Refer ence has been made to the special studies that have been conducted in an exhaustive way by committees composed of experts in the sub jects under consideration. They are among the most notable publications of the Association. The following reports, among others, have been widely circulated and have had no little influ ence in determining policies in the fields which they cover: of the Committee of Fifteen on 'Elementary Education' ; of the Committee of Ten on 'Secondary of the Committee of Twelve on 'Rural Schools' ; of the Com mittee on 'Salaries, Tenure of Office and Pen sions of Teachers,' on 'Taxation as Related to Public Education.' The permanent invested fund of the Association amounts at present to $188,500, yielding a net revenue of $7,178. The annual receipts in a recent year amounted to $42,529; the expenses, $37,158. Consult 'His tory of the National Education Association of the United States' (Washington, D. C.,1892) ; the 'Annual Report,' 'Proceedings,' etc., of the Association; the most important publications on pedagogy now in the United States; the 'Reports) of committees referred to above.