4.2: The Rise of Literacy and Public Education in the Young Republic
Changes in publishing and copyright relate to the ways that literacy rates rose during this period. Read this data-driven piece about the advances in the country's literacy rates during the American Renaissance.
The earliest public schools were established in the nineteenth century and were known as "common schools", a term coined by American educational reformer Horace Mann that refers to the aim of these schools to serve individuals of all social classes and religions. Read these sections to get a sense of how public education and learning got its start during this period.
In the 19th century, it became clear that the Native Americans would either face extermination or "civilization". In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, Americans built an all-encompassing system of Indian academies. These academies were largely funded by Congress and increasingly controlled from Washington. These schools were primarily residential, boarding institutes. Their goal was to instruct Indian children in white ways or to get rid of native tribal cultures. Attempts to educate the Indians were based on the ideals of assimilation or nothing at all. Policymakers never took into account that Native Americans had their own set of skills and intellect that they could bring to the table. In general, the system of mass education, not only for Native Americans but for other immigrants, has been based around deculturation and not integration. Many of these boarding schools used violence as a way of controlling Native children. Upon entrance to the schools, Native children were stripped of their tribal clothing, hairstyles, and anything they brought with them and were instructed not to speak their tribal languages. Richard Henry Pratt, founder of the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, is known for his philosophy "kill the Indian to save the man". Read this essay to learn more about the the founding of these types of schools and the their practices.