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The Massachusetts Law of 1642
This law was one of the first laws to be passed regarding education during colonial times. It allowed selectmen to periodically visit local homes to see if and how the parents or masters of the home were providing for the children's education, which made education a public responsibility. It was one of many groundbreaking laws passed in favor of education. This event was important for paving the way public education becoming mainstream in the U.S -
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was a key figure in American education. He helped pass the bill creating the Massachusetts State Board of Education (MSBE). He was the first secretary of the MSBE and used that title to promote state-regulated public education to bring equal, and free education to children. Horace Mann was an important figure because it paved the way for every American state to also create state-regulated esucation and have free public education be the norm in American towns. -
First public high schools
The first public high schools were created in Boston during 1821, named The English High School. Its main goal was to give young men an education for private and public life (Not requiring college). It taught reading, writing, grammar, science, math, history, and logic. This event is important because it started a trend for more towns in America to begin creating public high schools to further education for more children in the U.S -
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington was an activist for the education of African Americans. He founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama and advocated for African American education while being sure not to offend whites from it. His ultimate goal was the complete equal opportunity for African American children as white children had. The life of Booker Washinton is important in American Education because he started pushing for equal education for African American children. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This landmark case in the U.S Supreme Court put an end to segregation in public schools. The judges ruled that "separate but equal" were "inherently unequal". This legally made segregation in schools illegal. This was important in the history of American education because it helped remove a huge barrier for children of non-white origins to be given the same education as white children. Although we are not there yet today, this case out us a few steps closer to achieving that goal.
