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Links of Interest:
(1825-1829) Son of 2nd President, John Adams "Elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1827, Mann, a brilliant orator, soon became the spokesperson for the
common school movement. He led a campaign to
organize the schools in Massachusetts into a state system and to establish a state board of education." "Until the 1820s or 1830s, the only really free education was that provided by the charity schools, or in certain other schools if the parents were willing to declare themselves paupers.
Often local or county taxes levied on specific activities, for example, liquor licenses or marriage fees, provided partial support for the schools, but the remainder of the expenses were
charged to the parents in the form of a rate bill. The rate bill was, in effect, a tuition fee based on the number of children in the family attending school. Even though the fee
might be small, poor parents often could not afford it, so their children either did not attend school or took turns attending... In 1827, Massachusetts became the first state to abolish the rate
bill. Other states soon followed these examples and by constitutional or legislative enactment adopted the concept of public support for public school
open to all children. But it was not until 1871 that the last state (New Jersey) abolished the rate bill, making the schools truly free."
Mr. Henry, the first American who trapped upon the head-waters of the Columbia river in 1808, and General Ashley of Missouri "established a post on the banks of the Yellowstone River in 1822" and pushed a band of trappers across the Rocky Mountains by 1823. "In 1825 a footing was secured, and a complete system of trapping (was) organized beyond the mountains" (Irving 30). Source: Irving, Washington. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville. G.P. Putnam and Son, New York, 1868. Originally published in 1837. |
