Colonial+Period+Overview

** (1600s-1700s) **  **The Earliest Beginnings** 
 * Educational History of America’s Colonial Period **

 Much of America’s formal educational system is European-based in structure and style. Of all the early European influences on North America, the English had the greatest impact upon education as many of the earliest attempts to educate were based essentially on the English model. Colonial American education varied regionally as well as on other factors such as socio-economic status, gender, and race. The New England colonies, the mid-Atlantic/Chesapeake colonies, and the Southern colonies each had some type of education in place, but education was not compulsory, nor were schools united into any type of formal districts or systems like in America today.

Originally, early educational structures followed an arrangement that allowed those from the working classes to receive limited instruction (basic reading and writing, and to learn basic arithmetic) and of course, this was combined with religious instruction. Those who were wealthy were given the opportunity to study more than the simple basics and commonly attended Latin grammar or secondary schools where they learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and where they studied the classics in preparation for a college education.



Education was most important in the New England colonies as the very first public schools in the colonies originated there. In 1647, Massachuetts passed a law requiring all towns with 50 or more families to hire a teacher to instruct their children in how to read and write. Commonly known as the

 **Old Deluder Satan Act**, the law stated, that ultimately parents were responsible to ensure that their child received an education. Interestingly, if the parents or masters (in cases involving apprentices) fell behind in their responsibility and the children did not meet the basic criteria, it became be the government's right to take the child from the home or the apprenticeship and place him or her somewhere where he or she would receive ample instruction. All children, (servants as well) had to be able to demonstrate competency in reading and writing as outlined by the governing officials. The idea behind this, once again, was that if all citizens could understand the written language on some basic level, all citizens would be able to abide by the governing laws of the church and the land and keep "Satan" and his evil forces at bay. ==

Additional obligations were extended to the families as parents were expected to contribute to the local school either in the form of money, firewood, or other goods. Most schools were the typical one-room schoolhouse, on land that was generally donated. Most schools only had one textbook, the "New England Primer”, which was used to teach the alphabet, syllables, and in addition to prayer, stronger religious lessons.

Outside of New England there was essentially no public education in the colonies until much later. There were some religious schools in existence. Regionally, wealthy individuals generally hired live-in tutors for their children. In 1636, Harvard University was founded as a place to train ministers. It was the only college in the colonies for about fifty years, until the College of William and Mary was founded in Virginia to be followed by other institutions of higher learning as time progressed.

__**For more Information:**__ Click the link below for direct access to primary sources that influenced early Colonial America [|Essential Primary Source Documents]