THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION.
The Revolution had both a bad and a good effect upon education. The war bankrupted not only the central government, but many of the state governments. The British fleet had destroyed colonial commerce; its blockade had brought industry to a standstill and thousands were reduced to poverty. In hard times educa tion is generally one of the human activities that is first to suffer. Moreover, other obstacles to the development of a national system of free schools existed. (1) One was the practice of granting public moneys to private schools. This practice was general throughout the colonies but can be best illustrated in connection with the academy movement. The decadence of the town school and of the Latin grammar school in New England due to the growth of the dis trict school was much hastened by the poverty resulting from the Revolution. But the well to-do classes would not let their children go without secondary instruction and the policy was inaugurated of establishing private second ary schools called academies. Though these academies were private corporations, through the influence of their supporters they were usually able to secure subsidies of public moneys either from the State government or the towns. They performed a splendid service, for they were generally well organized and administered, were responsive to the needs of their con stituents and introduced modern subjects like English literature and science. But they were pay schools and hence not open to the children of the masses; they withdrew the attention of the influential people from public education, just when it was most needed; and they created vested interests which were often opposed to public interests. When one considers that by 1840 Massachusetts alone had 50 such private academies subsidized with public funds and that the movement had spread throughout the coun try, one can realize the extent to which they were a hindrance to the growth of public secondary schools. (2) A second obstacle to the development of a system of free public schoold was the existence of sectarian religious jeal ousy. Nearly all the sects opposed a movement which would prevent the teaching of their own peculiar form of religion and which would also render valueless the school property which they had accumulated. (3) A third obstacle was the prevalence of the idea of public education as pauper education. The idea that free schools were only for the poor prevailed generally throughout the country south of New England. (4) Another obstacle was the claim that the public school was based upon an undemocratic principle, that it was unjust to compel people without children to pay for a service from which they received no benefit, or to compel parents who sent their children to private schools to pay for the education of other people's children. This view explains the
permissive legislation of the early decades of the 19th century by which local areas were per mitted to decide how much support they would give to public schools. For example, in 1831 an act was passed by the legislature of Indiana which permitted the voters of school districts into which the counties were divided to decide the amount of local tax to be levied for the sup port of public schools. But the act contained the proviso °no person should be liable for taxation who does not or does not wish to participate in the benefits of the school f But if there existed numerous obstacles to the development of a system of free public education, there developed counter movements stimulating its development. (1) The principles of liberty and equality for which the Revolution was fought combined with the growth of a new political and social order to develop a be lief in the need of universal education to realize those principles and that order. With the opening up of the West there developed a con dition of society in which social influence, reli gious affiliation and wealth counted for much less than in the East. (2) Moreover, the Fed eral government, even before the adoption of the Constitution, adopted a policy the influence of which in the devolopment of American edu cation cannot be overestimated. The northern territory which had been ceded to the Federal government by the various States claiming parts of it and from which the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin were carved, was organized tinder the famous Ordinance of 1787. In accordance with the provisions of that act the entire territory was divided into townships six miles square, and of the 36 sections into which each town was subdivided, section 16 was reserved for the support of public schools. Moreover, two whole townships were reserved for the support of a State university. This admirable policy was continued in all the ter ritory secured by the United States through pur chase or conquest. (3) The introduction from England of Lancaster's system of monitorial teaching whereby one teacher with the assist ance of older pupils (monitors) could instruct hundreds of children was one of the greatest stimuli to the establishment of public school systems, because its cheapness was influential in securing appropriations from legislatures for the establishment of public schools. (4) The infant school movement and the Sunday school movement were also steps in the direction of accustoming people to think of education for all. Though, as the result of the interplay of these opposing influences, education was everywhere becoming less aristocratic and sectarian and more democratic and secular, the advent of a public school system came only as the result of a great awakening.