The American Revolution created a republic that in theory placed sovereignty in the people rather than an elite, which in England was composed largely of a hereditary aristocracy and landed gentry. Republics, theorists stated, depended upon the wisdom and virtue of an educated populace. As early as the 1780s the founders of the United States argued that public education was essential for the prosperity and survival of the new nation. Thomas Jefferson in particular believed Americans should consider mounting a "crusade against ignorance." Jefferson was the first American leader to suggest creating a system of free schools that would be publicly tax-supported. However, Jefferson's plans for publicly funded universal education did not take root until the 1830s.

Education in the Early Nineteenth Century

Throughout much of the nineteenth century, many American children—regardless of race, class, or gender—did not attend school because they had to work or...