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First Public Library
The first publicly supported library in the U.S. is established in Charles Town, South Carolina. Two years later, the General Assembly of South Carolina passes the first public library law. -
The Laboring and the Learned
Thomas Jefferson proposes a two-track educational system, with different tracks for "the laboring and the learned." -
Young Ladies Academy
The Young Ladies Academy opens in Philadelphia and becomes the first academy for girls in America. -
School for the Deaf
1817 - The Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons opens. It is the first permanent school for the deaf in the U.S. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc are the school's co-founders. In 1864, Thomas Gallaudet's son, Edward Miner Gallaudet, helps to start Gallaudet University, the first college specifically for deaf students. -
School for the Blind
The New England Asylum for the Blind, now the Perkins School for the Blind, opens in Massachusetts, becoming the first school in the U.S. for children with visual disabilities. -
Oldest Institution for Higher Education for African Americans
The African Institute (later called the Institute for Colored Youth) opens in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Now called Cheyney University, it the oldest institution of higher learning for African Americans. -
Department of Education
The Department of Education is created in order to help states establish effective school systems. -
School Transportation
All states have laws providing funds for transporting children to school. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is passed on April 9. Part of Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty," it provides federal funds to help low-income students, which results in the initiation of educational programs such as Title I and bilingual education. -
Teach for America
Teach for America is formed, reestablishing the idea of a National Teachers Corps.
