Education in the 1800's

In the early 1800’s education in America grew and developed rapidly, largely because of the works of three very important men: Noah Webster, William McGuffey, and Horace Mann.   These three men were catalysts for the growth of education throughout the nineteenth century, and without them the large strides America took during this time would not have occurred.   These great men all shared one goal: to educate the youth of America as well as possible.   This was no small task, however, because the educational system in place was disorganized and had several large problems that had to be overcome.

The task of correcting the many problems that faced education in the early 1800’s required the genius of many men to correct.   Perhaps the largest problem facing early American schools was the lack of training undergone by the teachers of the time.   Teachers were often untrained and unprepared, acting more as babysitters and less as instructors.   Schoolhouses also posed a problem; many were small and overcrowded, with no desks and little to no teaching materials (www.nd.edu).   One very large problem noticed particularly by Noah Webster was the fact that all the textbooks originated from England.   America was still feeling a need for separation from England at this time, and teaching the American youth with English materials was not helping in the strive for true independence (www.ctstateu.com).   These problems with the educational system proved to be difficult to correct, and some of them are still faced by boards of education even today.

The man with the greatest influence on modern language and spelling is Noah Webster.   Webster found fault in the use of English textbooks in American schools, so he wrote his own, fully American textbook.   Grammatical Institute of the English Language was the first textbook written specifically for Americans, and it was very influential with students across the country.   The book was such a success that it was used in...