Most of the academies, too, which proved such a hindrance to the development of public secondary education, gradually died or were merged in the public system Growth of high schools, superintendents, as high schools. By means of state aid, it has been possible since 1903 for the smallest towns to afford a high school training for their children at public expense. Supervision has also become universal during the past quarter century. Springfield first introduced a superintendent of schools in 1841, Gloucester in 1850, Boston in 1851, and the other cities much later, but since 1888, through increasing state aid and the combination of smaller towns into a district superintendency, expert supervision has become possible everywhere, and during and teacher training. the last decade it has been compulsory. The normal schools, which have now increased to ten, have brought about a striking improvement in teaching. It is practically impossible at present for an untrained teacher to secure a position in the elementary schools of Massachusetts, and, through a system of examinations and investigations, teachers of exceptional ability have, since 1896, been granted an extra weekly allowance by the state. Since the middle of the century, the state board has been permitted to appoint a number of agents, to assist in inspecting and improving the schools, especially in the smaller towns and rural districts.
Similar development in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and other New England states.
The course of development since the awakening has been very similar in the other New England states. The successors of Barnard in the central administration both in Rhode Island and Connecticut have been skilled and earnest educators, and, while their reports lacked his literary touch, they were of rather more practical character. Until 1856, Connecticut made no attempt to return from the parish to the town organization. Even then, as well as later, legislation on the subject was ‘permissive,’ and not until the twentieth century was the ‘school society,’ or district system, given up in half of the towns. In Rhode Island, even after Barnard’s reforms, almost one-third of the districts did not own their school buildings, owing to the survival of the method in use when the schools were private, but this condition has gradually been remedied. Likewise, the number of towns levying sufficient local taxes to secure a share in the state apportionment rapidly grew, and the state appropriation itself doubled and quadrupled within a generation. In Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, owing to insufficient wealth, infertility of soil, and sparseness of population, effective public education has been reached only by slow and cautious steps. But even these states have gradually centralized their educational administration through the abolition of the district system and the creation at various times of a state superintendent, a state commissioner, or a state board and secretary. This reorganization has been followed by increased state school funds and appropriations, more systematic statistics and reports from the schools, and great advances in universalizing and improving all stages of public education.
Influence of the Awakening upon the Middle States.—Although this awakened sentiment for education and progress in the common school has been most patent and spectacular in New England, it has not been peculiar Increased enthusiasm for public education in Middle states. to that part of the country. Nearly all of the other states seem to have felt the influence of the awakening. In close conjunction with the ‘revival’ in New England, the movement appeared in New York, especially the western part, and was more or less evident in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. But because of its cosmopolitanism and the need of fusing so many different political, religious, and industrial traditions, the older parts of New York, where the school system had until the awakening been rather in advance of other states, did not progress as rapidly in the development of public education as Massachusetts and Connecticut. It had, however, by the time of the Civil War, succeeded in working over its heterogeneous people into a unified civilization and in causing their children to be educated together for a common citizenship.
The most distinct advances during this period of final New York’s advances in normal training, supervision, and school funds. organization have been in the establishment of state normal schools, instead of subsidizing academies to train teachers, in the administration and supervision of the system, and in the methods of state support of education. The first state normal school was opened at Albany in 1844, and this pioneer institution has eventually been followed by ten others. In 1854 the state superintendency had once more been separated from the secretaryship of state, with which it had been combined for thirty-five years ([p. 259]). In 1856 local supervision was established through the appointment of school commissioners for the cities and villages. In the same year, a three-quarters of a mill tax was placed upon the property valuation of the state, and during the next dozen years many improvements were made in the disbursing and accounting of public funds. At length, in 1867, the long fight that had been made for entirely free education was successful. Until then nearly fifty thousand children had been deprived of all education, because their parents were too proud to secure payment of their tuition fees by confessing themselves paupers. It was during this era of progress, too, that New York City was, in 1842, allowed to place the direction of its schools in Board of education in New York City. the hands of a board of education, elected by the people, instead of giving over the city’s share of the state funds to a quasi-public society, controlled by a close corporation. For eleven years, however, the Public School Society refused to give up its work, but by 1853 it decided to disband and merge its buildings and funds with those of the city school system (see p. 261).
Pennsylvania was slower than New York in showing the effects of the educational awakening, but the leaven was at work. While a number of progressive governors and other statesmen continually recommended the development of public education, and the ‘Pennsylvania Society for the Promotion of Common Schools’ had been organized, the towering leader in this movement was Thomas H. Burrowes. As secretary of state and ex officio superintendent of schools (1836-1838), as a public speaker and educational journalist (1838-1860), and as state superintendent (1860-1862), he constantly urged a complete system of public education, the establishment of normal schools, a separate state department of education, and the organization of state and county Pennsylvania abolished permissive feature of its school law, supervision. In 1849 the ‘permissive’ feature of the law of 1834 was abolished, and the two hundred districts that had thus far refused to establish public schools were forced to do so under the new provisions. In 1854 a revised school law was passed, which, after twenty years, now made the state system of education complete. It established in the secretary of state’s office a deputy superintendent of schools, who had virtually a separate department, and provided for county superintendents. Three years later the state educational department became made state educational system complete, and provided system of normal schools. absolutely independent under the care of a superintendent, and provision was made for a system of normal schools. These institutions were to be established at first by private enterprise and without state subsidy. By 1877 there were ten in operation, largely maintained by the state. Three others have since been added, and the state has begun to take over into its own hands the entire support and control of them all.
Educational progress in New Jersey also took some Advances in New Jersey rapid, when once started. time to get under way, but when the reforms once started, they continued until an excellent system of common schools had been inaugurated. In 1838 the limitation of state funds to the education of the poor was removed, and the apportionment of the income from them was thereafter applied only to public schools. Since 1848, when a state superintendency was established, the development has been more rapid. County supervision has been introduced, state normal schools have been established at Trenton and Upper Montclair, and appropriations have been greatly increased. In 1911 a state commissioner of education with an efficient corps of deputies was provided. Delaware, on the other hand, failed to live up to the possibilities under her early ‘permissive’ laws. Even the organization of ‘the friends of common school education’ showed itself very conservative, and would not advocate the creation of a state superintendency or the establishment of state normal schools. In Delaware slower, but now making progress. fact, Delaware did not organize a complete state system until after the war. Even then, while a state board and state superintendency were established in 1875, there were no county superintendents, and when county supervision was introduced in 1888, the state superintendency was abolished. It was not reëstablished until 1912, but since then the state system has made evident progress.
Public Education in the West.—The budding of a common school system, which had just begun to appear in the new commonwealths of the Northwest before 1840, rapidly unfolded into full blossom during this educational springtime. Through this awakening the common In Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, opponents of public education overcome, and state system established. school advocates in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois were greatly aided in their struggle to overcome the opposition of settlers from the states not committed to public education (see p. 272), and they were favored to some extent by accessions of emigrants from the home of the public school movement. During the decade just preceding the middle of the century, there was a decided elevation of public sentiment going on. Under the leadership of Samuel Lewis and Samuel Galloway in Ohio, Caleb Mills in Indiana, and Ninian W. Edwards in Illinois, the friends of public education had marshalled themselves for battle. Reports and memorials were constantly presented to the legislatures of these states, and public addresses in behalf of common schools were frequent in most large communities. A group of devoted schoolmen appeared, who were as successful in lobbying for good legislation as they were with institutes and public lectures. While reactions occasionally happened, like that in Ohio between 1840 and 1845, when the state superintendency was temporarily abolished, public education gradually came to be regarded as something more than merely free education for the poor, and public school funds were no longer granted as a subsidy to private institutions. After a quarter century of ‘permissive’ laws, local taxation and free common schools were fully realized in all three states early in the fifties. The contest, of course, was not ended, as reactionary elements, with selfish, local, and sectarian interests, still remained, but their contentions have never again been more than partially successful. New features of the common schools, such as efficient teachers for the rural districts, county supervision, state normal training, and free higher education in state universities, have gradually rendered the state systems more consistent and complete.
Michigan early provided for schools, and soon developed high and normal schools.
In Michigan, on the other hand, where there was not such a mixture of population, and a complete sympathy with the common school idea appeared, there was almost unhampered progress from the beginning of statehood. Under the first constitution (1837), there was provision made for a permanent school fund and for a local tax in every district, although the schools were partly maintained until 1869 by ‘rate bills’ collected from the pupils. In accordance with the grant of two townships of land by Congress in 1826 for a university, the first legislature of the new state established the University of Michigan ([Fig. 42]), and its doors were open to students in 1841. It soon became the most prominent of the state universities. There was also provided a system of ‘branches’ of the university, whereby a liberal grant was made for an academy in any county that would furnish suitable buildings and a sum equal to the appropriation from the state. As this proved a dissipation of the university funds, it was gradually stopped, and between 1852 and 1860 ‘union’ and high schools were rapidly developed to supply the means of fitting for the university. In 1850 a state normal school was founded, and four others have since been added.