Antebellum America (Educational Reform) Essay Example
Antebellum America (Educational Reform)
During the Antebellum period, education was not a primary focus. Education was not all that important because everything seemed to be set in stone. The children of the wealthy would get the best possible education in private schools and academies, and would learn about business. This would prepare them for their inherited future. The children of the poor on the other hand would go to public schools which taught trade and industrial skills, which would prepare them to work in jobs at factories and such. However, educational reformers saw that in order for the country to succeed, the poor had to be taught, or democracy would not succeed. During the antebellum period, the north was in a very good position. They were manufacturing on a large scale and urbanizing. These two characteristics are they key role in educational reform. The south however was neither urbanized nor manufacturing. The south, which at the time was still heavily into slavery, could not be educationally reformed as well as the north because slavery was contradicting with the reform process. There were many reform struggles in the south, all due to slavery. The north was reforming nicely, with new schools being built, the wealthy paying higher taxes in order to educate the poor and such. The antebellum period gave birth too many education advocators. They fought for different people, but they shared one purpose, to provide education. For example, the most renowned education reformer was Horace Mann. As secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Mann fought for higher teacher qualifications, better pay, newer school buildings, and better curriculum. He believed that education was a child’s “natural right,” and that moral education should be the heart of the curriculum. Mann was firmly convinced that public education had the power to become a stabilizing as well as an equalizing force in American society. Educational reform during the
During the Antebellum period, education was not a primary focus. Education was not all that important because everything seemed to be set in stone. The children of the wealthy would get the best possible education in private schools and academies, and would learn about business. This would prepare them for their inherited future. The children of the poor on the other hand would go to public schools which taught trade and industrial skills, which would prepare them to work in jobs at factories and such. However, educational reformers saw that in order for the country to succeed, the poor had to be taught, or democracy would not succeed. During the antebellum period, the north was in a very good position. They were manufacturing on a large scale and urbanizing. These two characteristics are they key role in educational reform. The south however was neither urbanized nor manufacturing. The south, which at the time was still heavily into slavery, could not be educationally reformed as well as the north because slavery was contradicting with the reform process. There were many reform struggles in the south, all due to slavery. The north was reforming nicely, with new schools being built, the wealthy paying higher taxes in order to educate the poor and such. The antebellum period gave birth too many education advocators. They fought for different people, but they shared one purpose, to provide education. For example, the most renowned education reformer was Horace Mann. As secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Mann fought for higher teacher qualifications, better pay, newer school buildings, and better curriculum. He believed that education was a child’s “natural right,” and that moral education should be the heart of the curriculum. Mann was firmly convinced that public education had the power to become a stabilizing as well as an equalizing force in American society. Educational reform during the