Horace Mann (4 May 1796-2 August 1859), prolific writer and persuasive spokesman for educational reform, is known today as the father of the American public school system. He grew up in a hard-working farm family in Franklin, Massachusetts. A small legacy from his father enabled Mann to attend Brown University. He entered as a sophomore, was graduated at the head of his class in 1819, and interrupted his study of law to return to Brown as a tutor.

Mann began to practice law in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1823, and within a few years became the local representative to the state legislature. After the death of Charlotte Messer, to whom he had been married for less than two years, Mann moved to Boston in 1833. Elected to the state senate in 1834 as a Whig, he served as president in 1836 and 1837. During his decade in the state legislature, Mann was active in many humanitarian reforms...