SCHOOL 



5238 



SCHOOL 



the English. After this event but little atten- 

 tion was given to public education until after 

 the Revolutionary War. Schools were founded 

 by the Swedes in New Jersey and Delaware, 

 and the charter granted William Penn provided 

 for a system of education. This, however, was 

 not carried out until long after Penn's death. 

 The large plantations in the Southern colonies 

 made the establishing of public schools im- 

 practicable. Children of the planters were 

 taught in their homes by tutors or governesses. 

 Boys of wealthy families were usually sent to 

 England to complete their education. This 

 system was perpetuated, and but few public 

 schools were organized in the Southern States 

 until after the War of Secession. 



During the colonial period private schools, 

 taught by women as a means of support, were 

 to be found in the New England and other 

 colonies. To these the name of dame schools 

 or kitchen schools was often applied. No 

 women were employed as teachers in the public 

 schools. Occasionally girls were admitted to 

 the dame schools, but no provision for their 

 education was made in the public schools. 



Support. Previous to the Revolutionary 

 War the support of the public schools was 

 partly by taxation and partly by rates paid by 

 the parents whose children received instruction, 

 and the plan was continued for a long time 

 after the war. In all colonies the public schools 

 were considered charity institutions, but in 

 Massachusetts this view was not general. This 

 plan of support had a tendency to create class 

 distinctions, and it nearly defeated the purpose 

 for which the schools were organized. Those 

 unable to pay the rates regarded the public 

 provision for educating their children as an 

 evidence of their poverty. The wealthy 

 shunned the schools because they considered 

 them degrading. 



The resources of the country were so strained 

 by the Revolutionary War that, for a time, 

 taxation for the support of schools was light, 

 but as the states regained their prosperity pub- 

 lic education began to receive better support. 

 The first great impetus given to public educa- 

 tion by the national government is found in 

 the Ordinance of 1787 (which see). This con- 

 sisted in setting aside the sixteenth section of 

 land in every township for the support of public 

 schools. By this provision twenty-eight states 

 were able to accumulate a school fund which, 

 while lightening the burden of taxation, enabled 

 them to develop a highly efficient system of 

 schools. In 1848, when the survey of the Ore- 



gon country .was ordered, Congress ordered that 

 the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in every 

 township be reserved for the support of schools. 

 All states admitted since 1850 have been 

 granted two sections except West Virginia, 

 which was formed from Virginia. Arizona, New 

 Mexico and Utah were granted four sections to 

 the township. 



The total area of the grants for common 

 schools is about 81,064,000 acres, which equals 

 the combined areas of the states of Ohio, In- 

 diana and Illinois; the value of this land at 

 the government price olf $1.25 per acre would 



LAND GRANTS FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



be about $100,000,000. The actual value is, 

 however, much greater, for in those states in 

 which school lands are sold prices ranging from 

 $5 to 25 an acre are received. In states where 

 the lands are leased, the rental is based upon 

 a still higher valuation. To this fund all states 

 admitted to the Union since 1860 have added 

 five per cent of the net receipts from the sale 

 of all public lands within their respective bor- 

 ders. 



The original states and Kentucky had no 

 public lands, and these states petitioned Con- 

 gress for grants from the national domain. The 

 petitions were denied on the ground that such 

 grants would be an obstacle to the settlement 

 of the territory in which they were located. 

 In lieu of grants of public land in Jackson's 

 administration the surplus revenue in the 

 United States treasury, amounting to about 

 $28,000,000, was distributed among the states, 

 each state, receiving such a proportion of the 

 entire amount as its population bore to the 

 population of the United States. Some of these 

 states reserved their portion for the support of 

 common schools. 



The funds thus provided must necessarily be 

 increased by state and local taxation. The gen- 

 eral school fund, that derived from sources 

 described above and from a state tax, is appor- 



