Prior to 1830 no state seemed less committed to the common-school idea than Pennsylvania. Separate schooling along religious and class lines stood entrenched throughout the state. In 1834 state senator Thaddeus Stevens successfully steered through the legislature an act to fund a general system of public education. The reaction from religious bodies and rural areas was fierce, and in 1835 a repeal seemed imminent. It was on this occasion that Stevens delivered what became a famous speech in defense of public education, one that was reprinted throughout the nation and earned him the nickname "Father of Pennsylvania's Schools."In part Stevens declared:

If an elective Republic is to endure for any length of time, every elector must have sufficient information not only to accumulate wealth and take care of his pecuniary concerns, but to direct wisely the legislature, the ambassadors, and the Executive of the...