UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 Development 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Free Public High School 
 
 IN ILLINOIS TO 1860 
 
 PAUL E. BELTING 
 
 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of 
 
 Doctor Philosophy, in the Faculty of Philosophy, 
 
 Columbia University 
 
 1919 
 
 Published by 
 
 ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 
 
 Springfield 
 
 1919
 
 ScHNEPP & Barnes, Printers 
 
 Springfield, III. 
 
 1920. 
 
 22747—100
 
 * LA 
 3^UI 
 
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 
 
 The author is under obligations to Dr. Paul Monroe for 
 suggesting the subject investigated and the interpretation of 
 facts as well as a critical reading of the manuscript ; to Dr. W. 
 H. Kilpatrick for helpful suggestions ; to Dr. M. R. Trabue for 
 a careful reading of the entire manuscript ; to Dr. I. L. Kandel 
 for helpful criticism; and to his wife for assistance in the 
 preparation of the material. 
 
 The author is especially indebted to the county clerks of 
 the older Illinois counties for permitting the use of old 
 records; to the New York Public Library for the use of doc- 
 umentary material ; to the Mercantile Library in St. Louis for 
 the use of the J. M. Peck collection of newspapers; to Mrs. 
 Jessie Palmer Weber and her assistants of the Illinois State 
 Historical Library for kindness and courtesy shown in making 
 available all the resources of the State Historical Library; and 
 to the Illinois Historical Society for the publication of the 
 dissertation. 
 
 P. E. B. 
 
 .57
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL IN 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 Pakt I — The Academy. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I. Historical Background — 
 
 Migration and Settlement; the Northwest Ordi- 
 nances ' ' 
 
 II. Early Education in Illinois — 
 
 Individual and Isolated Attempts to Establish 
 
 Schools 1^ 
 
 III. Administrative Organization and Support. 27 
 
 IV. Religious Influence — 
 
 Catholic; Baptist; Methodist; Presbyterian; 
 Congregational ^I 
 
 V. Some Internal Features — 
 
 Admission; Tuition; Subjects of Study; Ex- 
 aminations ^' . 
 
 VI. Manual Labor Aspect — 
 
 Origin; Philosophy; Examples; Later Influence 77 
 
 Part II — The Common School. 
 
 VIL The Apprenticeship System- 
 Features; Indenture Records; Relation to 
 Slavery "^ 
 
 VIII. The Free School Law of 1825— 
 
 Pro-slavery Struggle; Provisions; Authorship; 
 Influence of Jefferson ; Free School Districts ; 
 Annullment— Support of Common Schools 
 Af ter^/ards "^
 
 CONTENTS— Concluded. 
 
 CHAPTEK. PAGE. 
 
 IX, The Movement of 1835— 108 
 
 Political Platforms; Survey of the State; Me- 
 morials; Proposal for Normal Schools — Teach- 
 ers — Wages. 
 
 X. Some Agencies that Aided in the Development 
 
 and Establishment of the Common School — . . 120 
 
 Leaders; Literary Agencies; Institutions; Con- 
 ventions. 
 
 XI. The Free School Law of 1855— 141 
 
 Defeat of Free Schools in the Constitutional Con- 
 vention; Provisions; Attitude Toward Free 
 Schools. 
 
 X I I. The Beginnings and the Characteristics of the 
 
 Free Public High School by 1860— 155 
 
 Gradation; Reorganization of Acadamies; High 
 Schools Subjects of Study; Admission to High 
 School ; Taxation ; Public School Boards. 
 
 Xm. The Establishment of the Free Public High 
 
 School— 174 
 
 Township High Schools; School Districts Under 
 Special Charter; School Districts Established 
 by General Law Legal Decisions. 
 
 XIV. A Summary of Some Earlier Influences Affecting 
 
 Later Development and Practice 187 
 
 XV. Summary and Conclusion 195
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Historical. Background. 
 
 Migration and Settlement. 
 
 Illinois was first organized as a county of the State of 
 Virginia in 1778. The legislature of the mother state gave 
 the territory the name of Illinois, appointed John Todd the 
 first lieutenant governor to take charge of its civil and mili- 
 tary affairs but ceded the territory to the confederation in 
 1784. In 1809, Illinois was organized as a separate territory 
 with Ninian Edwards, Chief Justice of Kentucky, the 
 governor, appointed by President Madison. This office Mr. 
 Edwards held until he was elected to the United States Senate 
 in 1818, at which time Illinois became a state populated by 
 emigrants from the older states. 
 
 Migration from the eastern to the western states has 
 usually followed the parallels of latitude. Illinois is an ex- 
 cellent example of such a tendency. The State is about four 
 hundred miles in length, and the parallels which bound it on 
 the north and south include between them the Atlantic States 
 from New Hampshire to North Carolina. Northern Illinois, 
 therefore, was settled by people from Massachusetts and 
 other New England and eastern states, while southern Illinois 
 got its population from Virginia and the South. 
 
 The southern half of the state with the river and timber 
 areas was settled first. The pioneer hunter was driven farther 
 inland by a second class, the small farmer, who, in turn, had 
 to advance before the large land-owner whose purpose was to 
 cultivate the land, build a home for a big family, and become a 
 permanent resident of the country. 
 
 From Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia came the more 
 enlightened class of southerners, among whom were such lead- 
 ers as Reynolds, Edwards and Coles. These men 
 possessed great political wisdom and legal talent often rising 
 to positions of importance and prominence in the State and
 
 8 
 
 Nation. Their followers were keen, intelligent men, botli 
 progressive and conservative at the same time. All classes, 
 however, were kind and hospitable to stranger and friend 
 alike, but once aroused, they were "bitter, vindictive and 
 passionate opponents in business or politics. Strong in their 
 conviction and prejudices, persistent in the maintenance of 
 existing ideals and institutions, they were the champions of 
 justice, equity and freedom of speech and action."^ 
 
 The ''poor whites," so called, came from the Carolinas 
 and Georgia. They were usually ignorant, obstinate, and 
 shiftless.- To gain their desires, many times dishonest and 
 unscrupulous means were used. Wages were low and times 
 were hard so that in the bitter struggle to earn a livelihood, 
 ruthless measures were often adopted, without regard for 
 principle. Some of them therefore, constituted one of the 
 elements in the lawless gangs that harrassed places in the 
 wealthier districts of frontier society. 
 
 Until 1830, Illinois was almost entirely settled by men 
 from the South who brought with them their political ideals, 
 laws, manners, customs and traditions. It was southern law 
 that formed the model for the territorial code. They were the 
 ones who made the constitution of 1818. Slavery was a south- 
 ern institution which the convention of 1824 tried to adopt. 
 The first free school law which was passed was southern in 
 origin but it was also the South which caused its revocation. 
 
 Instead of a gradual settlement by classes as had been 
 in the south, the hunter, the small hold-farmer, and the large 
 land-owner, men of all classes came rapidly to every part of 
 the State, and especially to the north after 1830. With steam 
 navigation came the merchant, the farmer, the artisan, the 
 preacher and schoolmaster, each equipped to contribute his 
 share in creating a new civilization immediately in the new 
 country. Dwellings, business houses, factories, churches and 
 schools were erected at the same time. Danger from Indian 
 Wars was over, the prairie land needed no clearing, hence 
 the only requisite before wealth could come as the result of 
 industry, was the means of transportation to furnish a market 
 for products. 
 
 'Harris, Negro Servitude in Illinois, p. 16. 
 *Bog-gess, Settlement of Illinois, p. 123.
 
 9 
 
 The Causes for Migration. 
 
 At least two reasons induced people to migrate to Illinois. 
 The first were general, influences that affected tlie whole 
 country. The second were local, influences that afl'ected 
 special regions. 
 
 Many of the American people have shown a restless and 
 migratory spirit.^ Ever have they been dissatisfied with 
 existing conditions which they thought could be improved in 
 a country where farms were cheap and land was fertile. With 
 reasonable labor a better living, at least, could be made. 
 
 Business men had in several instances failed at home. 
 The wilderness West offered a place of refuge for them. 
 Farm laborers w^ith low wages had learned how to farm. The 
 western lands presented an opportunity for some of them to 
 make a better living. Comparative land values were influen- 
 tial. Large tracts of land could be had in the West cheaper 
 than small farms in the East. 
 
 After 1820, western lands sold for $1.25 per acre in plots 
 as small as 80 acres, both of which were decided inducements 
 for western settlement. The Foote Resolution in the House 
 in 1829 was an inquiry which sought to find out whether the 
 sale of public lands so rapidly w^as advisable because the 
 laborers in the East were going West, thus taking them from 
 infant industry which ought to be protected. Even Henry 
 Clay, in 1834, reported unfavorably the advisability of ced- 
 ing public land to the state in which it lay because the older 
 states would lose by migration much of their population and 
 wealth in land rewards offered by the new states. 
 
 Moreover, the new settlers painted glowing pictures of 
 the western pioneer. The latter sent letters and circulars to 
 the East showing the wonderful advantages in the new 
 Utopia. Restless and dissatisfied easteners began to feel that 
 the day when all w^estern land was taken up was at hand. 
 Speculators sent exaggerated reports of rapidly growing 
 cities. Plots of new towns were shown in the East, unsold 
 lots were offered at high prices. Newspapers showed the 
 advantages the West held for the laborers and small farmers 
 with little capital. * Soon products from the West would 
 under-sell home produce in its own market. 
 
 'Abstract of seventh census, 1850, p. 15, showed that nearly 23% of the white 
 inhabitants of the United States at that time had migrated from the state in which 
 they were born. 
 
 • Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, March 24. 1846.
 
 10 
 
 Competition among the eastern states for improvements 
 to benefit their cities gave easy communication to the West. 
 Frequently inhabitants along the routes of travel were stim- 
 ulated to move. Many of those along the canals who 
 remained were undersold in their own markets by the west- 
 erner. Either they had to sell and go West or reduce their 
 standard of living. 
 
 When the water routes, the Erie Canal, the Great Lakes 
 and the Ohio River, were navigated by the steamboat, incon- 
 veniences were reduced and the cost of transportation was 
 within reach of the poorest. An important factor in the 
 rapid settlement of the West, therefore, was steam naviga- 
 tion: ''Of all the elements of prosperity of the West, of all 
 the causes of its rapid increase in population, its growth in 
 wealth, resources and the improvement of its immense com- 
 merce and gigantic energies, the most efficient has been the 
 navigation by steam." * 
 
 Lastly, speculation in western land from 1834 to 1840 was 
 one element in the period of financial depression the country 
 over. Sometimes eastern speculators, believing fortunes 
 were to be had in western land, bought lots at high prices, 
 though these were still under water or in the woods. Laborers 
 were also involved in the depression. Combinations and 
 unions were formed by laborers in some of the principal indus- 
 tries.^ High wages were demanded to meet the higher prices 
 which were 85 per cent higher in October, 1836, than in April, 
 1834.® Strikes resulted from the refusal to grant higher wages 
 with a ten-hour day, and several of the principal cities had 
 labor troubles from 1834 to 1837.'' Employers could not meet 
 the laborers' demands. The hours were reduced, then wages, 
 but prices remained high. The New York Era, September 5, 
 1837, says, "we can state on the best authority that in the 
 eastern states nine-tenths of the factories have been stopped 
 and the same proportion of men, women and children thro\VTi 
 out of employment." Riots occurred, but the most noticeable 
 result was that the "army of the unemployed went West to 
 
 ♦Memorial of People of Cincinnati, 1844, p. 28. 
 
 * Ship carpenters, painters, masons, tailors, shoemakers, factory hands, harness 
 makers. 
 
 •Yale Review, v. 1, p, 94. 
 
 ' Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford, Washington, Trenton, Cincinnati, Louisville, 
 St. Louis, Natchez.
 
 11 
 
 take up the heritage of the poor man, cheap lands in a new 
 
 '''^'''^of the local causes for migration, curiosity drove many 
 of the New Englanders up the rivers of their own states m tiie 
 easier times and later, the desires for better land sent ni^ny 
 of their descendants across the mountams to Michigan, Wis- 
 consin and Illinois. The soil of New Eng and was no match 
 for the fertile plains of the West. A number of the younger 
 men desiring a higher standard of living went West. Fin- 
 Sly New England increased rapidly as an mdustnal section 
 from 1840 to 1850. Wages were good and Pi'i«^%^,^[^^, ^^\f^' 
 but the foreign immigrant who began to come at that time 
 made economic and social conditions more unbearable to the 
 iTerican laborer. Large numbers of the latter -J^Jf ^o 
 escape, if possible, the increased limitations P aced on life^ 
 
 Extremely hard times were experienced m the Middle 
 States^ from 1834 to 1840, as the result of high prices low 
 wages, and the closing of factories. Taxes were high at the 
 Tame time especially among the farmers m New York, due to 
 r onSrIictL of the Erie Canal. The margin of profit was 
 partly erased by the competition of western farmers Mor- 
 over pio^^^^^^^ was being concentrated in the hands of large 
 land-owners, which made rents higher than the cost of land 
 in Illinois. 
 
 One of the greatest causes in sending the southern 
 emigrant North was slavery. Free labor m the bouth 
 received 12i/. cents per day in 1832 f hence the white man was 
 unable to compete with black labor. Cotton, which took much 
 of the substance from the soil, was continually demanding 
 new land. Moreover a growing slave population crowded out 
 the small land owners and the landless. 
 
 Moreover some of the southern states had a complaint 
 against the tariff legislation of 1824 and 1828. Because of it 
 he said that merchants were ruined, laborers were out ot 
 work, grass was growing in the streets, houses were tailing, 
 the price of real estate was low, rents were ^nothing, tields 
 were abandoned and interest rates were high.'" 
 
 8 Yale Review, v. 1. p. 99. quoted by fooley p. 335. 
 
 .:fe''„Te'i°e'ir.?^rS?,lTI,i.,T-80'wtfc'h wa. the be.i„„,„. of ,h. 
 nullification disputes.
 
 12 
 
 Finally, Ohio and Indiana, states that had been members 
 of the Union for a generation or more, sent settlers to eastern 
 Illinois from 1840 to 1860 because there was not enough good 
 land to divide with the sons in the family who desired to 
 establish homes of their own. These youths moved West to 
 the rich plains of Illinois where they were content to stop to 
 make their fortune.^^ 
 
 Economically, the settlement of Illinois has been char- 
 acterized, therefore, as an attempt chiefly on the part of the 
 American farmer and laborer to widen the market and raise 
 the standard of living by taking advantage of the free western 
 lands. 
 
 Railroads and lake traffic made Northern Illinois feel it- 
 self a part of the North Atlantic States. Wagon roads and 
 river routes created the same feeling in Southern Illinois for 
 the South. Consequently, the institutions in the two sections 
 closely resembled, in origin, those with which the settlers 
 were acquainted in their home states. Northern Illinois devel- 
 oped the free, common school system ; Southern Illinois clung 
 to the academy and select school. Secondary education in the 
 North, like the East, began to become democratic ; in the Soutli 
 it was aristocratic. Sectionalism, then, from the transporta- 
 tion period on, changed from East and West to North and 
 South. 
 
 The Northwest Ordinances. 
 The ordinances of 1785 and 1787, besides being instru- 
 ments of government, constituted the first charters of the pub- 
 lic school system of the United States.^" The former reserved 
 the sixteenth section of every township of public land, "for 
 the maintenance of public schools within the toA\Tiship. ' ' The 
 third article of the latter said that "religion," morality and 
 knowledge being necessary to good government and the happi- 
 ness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall for- 
 ever be encouraged. ' ' 
 
 "Niles Register, v. 52, p. 114. Some names of towns in the prairie district 
 of eastern Illinois are like the same in Indiana and Ohio. Earlier prairie settlers 
 frequently gave Ohio and Indiana as the state of their birth. 
 
 " After the cession of Virginia's claims to the northwestern territory was 
 executed various plans of government were drawn up the next three year.s. July 
 11, 1787, a committee of which Nathan Dane of Massachusetts was chairman, 
 reported a plan of government for the territory northwest of the Ohio River. A 
 slavery clause was added and the bill became a law July 13, 1787. Congress 
 accepted the mode of government in 1789.
 
 13 
 
 April 18, 1818, Congress offered to Illinois for acceptance 
 or rejection. 
 
 "1. That section mimbered sixteen in every township, 
 and when such section has been sold, or otherwise disposed of, 
 other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, 
 shall be granted to the state for the use of the inhabitants of 
 such township for the use of schools." 
 
 2. ' ' That all salt springs within such state and the lands 
 reserved for the use of the same shall be granted to the said 
 state, and the same to be used under such terms and conditions 
 and regulations as the legislature of said state shall direct; 
 provided the legislature shall never sell nor lease the same for 
 a longer period than ten years at any one time." 
 
 3. ''That five per cent of the net proceeds of the lands 
 lying within such state, and which shall be sold by congress 
 from and after the first day of January, one thousand eight 
 hundred and nineteen, after deducting all expenses incident 
 to the same, shall be reserved for the purposes f ollowmg, viz : 
 Two-fifths to be distributed under the direction of congress 
 in making roads leading to the state; the residue to be ap- 
 propriated by the legislature of the state for the encourage- 
 ment of learning, of which one-sixth part shall be exclusively 
 bestowed on a college or university. ' ' 
 
 4. "That thirty-six sections or one entire township, 
 which shall be designated by the President of the United 
 States, together with the one reserved for that purpose, shall 
 be reserved for the use of a seminary of learning, and vested 
 in the legislature of the said state, to be appropriated solely 
 to the use of such seminary by the said legislature." '' 
 
 These provisions laid down by congress were accepted by 
 Illinois, August 26, 1818, in a convention assembled at Kas- 
 kaskia. 
 
 The first three sections of the compact were carried out 
 and a resolution, "that a select committee be appointed to 
 draft a memorial to the President of the United States, 
 requesting him to designate 36 sections of land in the State 
 of Illinois, to be reserved for the use of a Seminary of Learn- 
 ing in said state, in pursuance of the fourth article of the 
 
 23 Constitution of Illinois, 1818, p. 22.
 
 14 
 
 compact between the United States and the state of Illinois," 
 was sent to the President in 1822. * 
 
 Although land grants were made on the basis of town- 
 ships or subdivisions of them, local government was managed 
 by a county commissioners' court of three which resembled 
 that of Virginia except that the Dlinois commissioners in 
 each county were elected at large by the people. "The com- 
 missioners had a narrow range of discretionary power; but 
 there was no power given to communities to control local 
 affairs or to enact by-laws in promotion of neighborhood 
 interests." ^* 
 
 However, there was the germ in these congressional 
 grants of land for school purposes, capable of becoming a 
 highly organized township system under proper conditions. 
 Deeds to land were given by the authority of the township. 
 The government of the United States had set aside for the 
 people of every township a section of land, the proceeds from 
 which were to constitute a permanent township school fund. 
 The State, moreover, made the township a body corporate 
 and politic for school purposes, and gave the inhabitants of 
 each township the right to maintain free schools near the 
 middle of the nineteenth century. But the first school dis- 
 tricts of the state followed boundaries that were laid out to 
 meet the needs of a locality rather than following the lines of 
 the surveyed township. The first attempts for the education 
 of the children of Illinois are illustrated in the following 
 chapter. 
 
 * The President authorized Gov. Coles to select the 36 sections. The latter 
 reported to the legislature, Dec. 4, 1826, that he had chosen 26, and would soon 
 designate the other 10 sections. 
 
 "Illinois Intelligencer, Sat., Dec. 14, 1822.
 
 15 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Early Education in Illinois. 
 
 Frontier settlements in the United States generally have 
 had two classes of people: the one, made up of the strong, 
 the honest and the adventurous; the other, made up of the 
 weak, the shiftless and the vicious. The former were always 
 desirous of providing those opportunities for their children 
 which the parents had missed themselves; the latter were 
 the parasites who tried to exist with the least possible ex- 
 ertion. Nowhere does this contrast stand out so sharply, as 
 it does in relation to education. In the absence of established 
 school systems, individual leaders provided what education 
 they could for the youth. Very often the parasitic, itinerant 
 individuals thought that teaching was the easiest means of 
 existence. Accordingly, bombastic speeches and alluring 
 advertisements were made by the soldier-of -fortune teachers 
 to attract tuition pupils to their high-sounding, fashionable 
 schools. A made to order education could be given to any 
 child so ^ long as the tuition was paid. Quick of growth, 
 popular in name, entertaining in methods of teaching, these 
 institutions preyed on the frontier communities. 
 
 Nevertheless, the indomitable, thoroughly honest, intelli- 
 gent and far-sighted missionary preachers and political lead- 
 ers planned to start aright a system of education. It is true 
 that their ideal, usually, was the academy, an institution in 
 practice, primarily, for the education of leaders. But in 
 theory, at least, its advantages should be such that the ideal 
 government created by the constitution could be maintained 
 by educating every child. From 1806, when the Vincennes 
 Academy was established, to the time when the free public 
 high school was established, the great argument advanced for 
 the education of the people was that the government of the 
 people, for the people, and by the people might not perish
 
 16 
 
 from the earth. Had free government in Illinois depended 
 on free educational provisions and opportunities for the 
 common man in the early period, it most surely would have 
 perished. Either leaders like Coles and Peck were educated 
 in the states from whence they came, or a few academies 
 in the centers of population in the frontier districts instruct- 
 ed such leaders as Rejoiolds and Bateman. On the whole, the 
 educational system of Illinois, from 1800 to 1835, was con- 
 ducted on a purely individualistic basis. 
 
 Among the earliest plans for education in Illinois was 
 that presented to the English King and Council in a petition 
 by Leyman, a leader of a colony, to settle on the Mississippi 
 about 1765. He says, ^'Another step I would propose to be 
 taken which must have great effect towards Accomplishing 
 the design, is that of a Colledge, or Publick School, to be 
 Established in some proper place in that Country, and em- 
 powered to give honorary degrees, in Order to instruct the 
 Children of the English, French and Indians, and amongst 
 the honorary Arts, the Art of Agriculture, or Laws of Vege- 
 tation should be taught and on Account of their knowledge 
 and Skill in that as well as in other Arts, they should receive 
 Honorary Degrees, and have a sufficient tract of Land appro- 
 priated to the use of the Colledge, and the pupils kept to 
 work on the Land a certain number of Hours every day, which 
 would instruct them in the Theory of Agriculture, and enure 
 them to Labour at the same time and if it once toucht their 
 ambition would soon Eradicate from their Minds, the Preju- 
 dice the Indians who generally have imbibed, that it is dis- 
 respectable for their Men to Work, which at present is an 
 impediment to their Industry. And Occasions there leading 
 in the Intervals of their Hunting, Lazy, Indolent and Un- 
 healthy Lives, and if this plan should Flatter the Ambition of 
 the Indians, so as to meet with their Approbation, I think it 
 promises the best Effects : for what cannot be done by Force 
 of Infant Education when you have a fair Chance for it, by 
 obtaining the Free Consent both of the Parent and Child, or 
 what reformation is to be despaired of, when Clothed, Lodged 
 and Fed, alike according to the English Fashion, but in the 
 Cheapest manner, which may likewise have a happy Effect on 
 the Nations from whence they respectively come. Several
 
 17 
 
 things Encourage me to believe that such an Attempt, would 
 be attended with Success over and above the Great Force 
 there is in Infant Education Amongst all Mankind. ' ' ^ 
 
 However, ''the opportunity of these pioneers to educate 
 their children was extremely small. If the mother could 
 read, while the father was in the corn field, or with rifle upon 
 the range, she would barricade the door to keep off the 
 Indians, gather her little ones around her and by the light 
 that came in from the crevices in the roof and sides of the 
 cabin, she would teach them the rudiments of spelling from 
 the fragments of some old book. After schools were taught, 
 the price of a rough and antiquated copy of Dilworth's spell- 
 ing-book was one dollar, and that dollar equal in value to five 
 now. ' ' 
 
 "The first school ever taught for the American settlers, 
 was by Samuel Seely in 1783. Francis Clark, an intemper- 
 ate man came next. This was near Bellefontaine, in 1785. 
 After this an inoffensive Irishman by the name of Halfpenny, 
 was employed by the people for several quarters. Spelling, 
 reading, writing and the elements of arithmetic, were all the 
 branches attempted to be taught, and these in a very imper- 
 fect manner." 
 
 "Following him the late pious and eccentric John 
 Clark, a preacher of the gospel, taught the youth of these 
 settlements gratuitously. He was a good scholar, of Scotch 
 descent and education, and initiated the young men of that 
 day, not only in the rudiments of an English education, but 
 in several instances in mathematics, natural philosophy and 
 the Latin language. ' '^ 
 
 Governor Reynolds said that "in the county of Randolph 
 there was not a single school, or school-house in 1800, except 
 John Doyle, a soldier of the Revolution under General Clark, 
 might have taught a few children in Kaskaskia at or after 
 this period." 
 
 "In the settlement of New Design, an Irishman, not well 
 qualified, called Halfpenny, at this period instructed some 
 pupils. This school was the only one amongst the Americans 
 at this early day. In the American Bottom, perhaps a school 
 
 » 111. Hist. Coll. V. 2. The New Regime, 1765-1767, p. 272. 
 ^ Peck, J. M., Annals of the West, p. 707.
 
 18 
 
 might have existed, but not long at a time. Under the guid- 
 ance of the Clergy in the French villages at rare intervals, 
 schools were established, but their numbers and efficacy were 
 limited. ' '^ 
 
 The scarcity of schools, the opportunity for instruction, 
 the dearth of books, and the ambition of some youths, who 
 later were the pioneer leaders, were depicted by Governor 
 Reynolds in these words: "Before any common school was 
 established in the settlement, where my father resided, I 
 mounted a ho.rse nearly every evening during the winter, and 
 rode about a mile and a half to the residence of James 
 Hughes, to study under his guidance the arithmetic. Mr. 
 Hughes, although he was raised in the backwoods, and was 
 filled with fun and frolic, was a man of strong mind, and a 
 benevolent heart. He took great pleasure in teaching me 
 arithmetic, and during this winter I studied the most im- 
 portant principles contained in the treatise." 
 
 "We had not the least idea when a school would be 
 established in the neighborhood; and I was advancing in 
 years; so that it was a matter of necessity to study with Mr. 
 Hughes." 
 
 "This was the first step I took towards an education, 
 since we immigrated to Illinois. I attended to my ordinary 
 business on the farm during the day, and in the evenings 
 after the stock was fed I studied arithmetic with Mr. Hughes. 
 In a few years after, schools were established in most of the 
 colonies." 
 
 "In the New Design Robert Lemen, an aged and respect- 
 able pioneer of Illinois, taught a school. Others were opened 
 in Goshen Settlement, and other colonies." 
 
 "About the year 1805, a small school was formed in the 
 settlement, where my father resided. I was a scholar at 
 this humble institution during part of the winters, and the 
 wet days, we could not work on the farm, for one or two years 
 while we remained in the settlement. At times the school 
 w^as not kept up for want of teachers. The scarcity of school 
 books was also a great inconvenience to the scholar. ' ' 
 
 "As soon as I commenced the study of arithmetic with 
 Mr. Hughes, I commenced also an ambition and a small en- 
 
 ' Reynolds, My Own Times, p. 37.
 
 19 
 
 thusiasm for education generally. This disposition induced 
 me to study and read almost every book I could obtain. It 
 must be recollected at that day in Illinois, not a man in the 
 country, professional or otherwise, had any collection of 
 books that could acquire the name of a library. There were 
 some books scattered through the country but they were not 
 j)lentiful. Although my father was a reading man, and pos- 
 sessed of a strong mind, yet as far as I recollect, he brought 
 with him to the country no books, except the Bible. Many of 
 the immigrants acted in the same manner as to books. ' ' 
 
 ''One exception I remember was: That John Fulton, 
 who, settled in the vicinity of my father, brought with him 
 Eollin's Ancient History. My father loaned it, and I read it 
 day and night at the times I spared from labor. This was 
 the first history I had ever seen, and it gave me a new field 
 of mental existence. ' ' 
 
 ' ' I made arrangement with my father to go all one winter 
 to school. I had raised a colt he gave me, and I gave it to a 
 man to work in my place on the farm, while I attended 
 school. ' ' 
 
 "At this school I studied reading, writing and arith- 
 metic. I revised my studies of arithmetic I had commenced 
 with Mr. Hughes. It was my energy and ambition more, 
 I presume, than my capacity: But I learned rapidly — so my 
 teachers always reported. ' ' 
 
 ''At that day, neither grammar, geography, nor books of 
 science ever appeared in schools. And no branch of mathe- 
 matics was taught except arithmetic. The custom of the day 
 was also to study the lesson aloud. Each one in the school 
 read out at the top of his voice if it suited the convenience of 
 the scholar. This unenviable habit is changed at this day." 
 
 ' ' My father purchased a few books, and among them was 
 a treatise on geography. This was a good work in four vol- 
 umes, and presented a tolerably good geography of the in- 
 habited globe. In this work was also contained a sketch of 
 astronomy, and particularly, the solar system. This study 
 surprised and astounded me. It was incomprehensible to me 
 how it was possible, that the knowledge of the heavenly bodies 
 could be obtained. I reflected on this science with all my 
 humble abilities, and became well instructed on it, so far as
 
 20 
 
 that short sketch afforded me the means. My father under- 
 stood the general principles of astronomy tolerably well, 
 and instructed me considerably in addition to the treatise 
 mentioned above. "^ 
 
 About the time Illinois was admitted as a state in the 
 Union, educational conditions and opportunities were scarce- 
 ly better than those which Reynolds described. An article 
 in the Illinois Intelligencer, September 5, 1816, says that ''at 
 least one-third of the schools were really a public nuisance, 
 and did the people more harm than good ; another third about 
 balanced the account, by doing about as much harm as good, 
 and perhaps one-third were advantageous to the community 
 in various degrees. 
 
 An example of the schools in Kaskaskia appears in the 
 same paper, January 1, 1818, entitled "To the Patrons of 
 Literature." J. Cheek "Informs the friends and guardians 
 of erudition that he has opened a school in the town of Kas- 
 kaskia, for the instruction of youth, in the different depart- 
 ments of English Literature. He will extend the sphere of 
 instruction so as to include the following sciences, viz : Read- 
 ing, Writing, Orthography, Arithmetic, English Grammar, 
 Geography, History, Rhetorick, Composition, Elocution, etc. 
 He flatters himself that from his attention to the morals and 
 scientifick avocations of his pupils, he will share no incon- 
 siderable portion of the patronage of the judicious and dis- 
 cerning people." 
 
 "Mr. Cross respectfully informs his fellow citizens of 
 Kaskaskia, and its vicinage, that he intends, should sufficient 
 patronage be afforded, to open a School in this town, for the 
 instruction of youth, in Orthography, Orthoepy, Reading, 
 Writing, English Grammar, Arithmetic and Elocution. 
 
 "Scholars who have graduated in these branches of 
 tuition, will be instructed in the rudiments of History, Geogra- 
 phy, Natural Philosophy and Mathematics. ' ' 
 
 "Mr. C. will endeavor to instill in the minds of his 
 scholars the vital importance of sound moral principle, and 
 correct manners, which he will elucidate, by a regular course 
 of lectures every Saturday. As soon as he can produce the 
 necessary appendages, his school will be Lancasterian. No 
 
 * Reynolds, My Own Times, p. 92.
 
 21 
 
 advance payment will be required, but a punctual compliance 
 with the terms of subscription, at the expiration of each 
 quarter is confidently calculated upon."^ 
 
 Eev. Timothy Flint, a contemporary missionary in 
 Missouri and Illinois, perhaps justly characterizes such 
 teachers and schools in the following manner: "I have been 
 amused in reading puffing advertisements in the newspapers. 
 A little subscription school, in which half of the pupils are 
 abecedarians, is a college. One is a Lancasterian school, or 
 a school of instruction mutuelle. There is the Pestalozzi 
 establishment, with its appropriate emblazoning. There is 
 the Agricultural school, the Missionary school, the Grammar 
 school, the new way to make a wit of a dunce in six lessons, 
 and all the mechanical ways of inoculating children with 
 learning, that they may not endure the pain of getting it in 
 the old and natural wa}^ I would not have you smile exclu- 
 sively at the people of the West. This ridiculous species of 
 swindling is making as much progress in your country as 
 here. The misfortune is, that these vile pretentions finally 
 induce people to believe that there is a royal road to learn- 
 ing. The old beaten track, marked out by the only sure guide, 
 experience, is forsaken. The parents are flattered, deceived, 
 and swindled. Puffing pretenders take the place of the 
 modest men of science, who scorn to compete with him in 
 these vile arts. The children have their brains distended 
 with the ''east wind," and grow up at once empty and con- 
 tented." 
 
 "These founders of new schools, for the most part, ad- 
 vertise themselves from London, Paris, Philadelphia, New 
 York, Boston, and all have performed exploits, in the regions 
 whence they came, and bring the latest improvements with 
 them. And to what they can do, and what they will do, the 
 object is to lay on the colouring thick and threefold. A re- 
 spectable man wishes to establish himself in a school in these 
 regions. He consults a friend, who knows the meridian of 
 the country. The advice is, Call your school by some new 
 and imposing name. Let it be understood, that you have 
 a new w^ay of instructing children, by which they can learn 
 twice as much, in half the time, as by the old ways. Throw 
 
 'Illinois Intelligencer, January 6. 1819.
 
 22 
 
 off all modesty. Move the water, and get in while it is mov- 
 ing. In short, depend upon the gullibility of the people. A 
 school, modeled on this advice, was instituted in St. Louis, 
 while I was there, with a very imposing name. The masters 
 — professors, I should say — propose to teach most of the 
 languages, and all the sciences. Hebrew, they would com- 
 municate in twelve lessons : Latin and Greek, with a propor- 
 tionate promptness. These men, who were to teach all this, 
 themselves, had read Erasmus with a translation, and knew 
 the Greek alphabet, and in their public discourses, for they 
 were ministers, sometimes dealt very abusively with the 
 'king's English.' "* 
 
 More definite undertakings than those described above 
 for secondary education in this early period, were Belleville 
 Academy and the preparatory department of Vincennes 
 University. 
 
 Governor Reynolds says: ''In the school near my 
 father's the teacher was unable to instruct any of his 
 students in the higher branches of mathematics, or the 
 sciences, and I made arrangements with the consent of my 
 father, that I should attend, during the winter of 1806 and 
 1807, a good school, taught by a competent teacher. This 
 school was situated a few miles east of the present city of 
 Belleville on the land of the present Mr. Schreader. I have 
 often examined, with deep feeling, the tumult of earth where 
 this school once stood. I revere and respect the site with 
 the same feeling as the Jews in ancient times did the city of 
 Jerusalem." 
 
 "At this seminary, I studied land surveying and naviga- 
 tion. I attended also, reading, spelling and writing. I be- 
 came well conversant in the general principles of mathe- 
 matics, and particularly in the science of land surveying. 
 My compass and mathematical books, I retain to this day. I 
 studied various branches of mathematics, and the sciences, 
 until I calculated an almanac, but it was never printed. At 
 that day, I never saw a printing office. At this school where 
 I learned surveying, I studied also bookkeeping, of which I 
 thought very little — my writing in this study improved my 
 penmanship, but I think not very much my knowledge."* 
 
 • Flint, Recollections of the Last Ten Tears, p. 185. 
 •Reynolds, My Own Times, p. 94.
 
 23 
 
 The earliest chartered academy serving the territory of 
 Illinois was the preparatory department of Vincennes Uni- 
 versity. March 26, 1804, four years after the organization 
 of the Indiana territory, of which Illinois was a part until 
 1809, the federal government reserved one entire township 
 "to be located by the Secretary of the Treasury for the use 
 of a Seminary of Learning. ' ' ' Secretary Gallatin selected 
 a township in Gibson County, the chief city of w^hich was 
 Vinconnes. Thereupon, the first territorial assembly, Novem- 
 ber 29, 1806, passed "An Act to incorporate a University 
 in Indiana territory." This enactment bears the signatures 
 of Jesse B. Thomas, Speaker of the House of Representa- 
 tives, and P. Menard, President, pro-tem, of the Legislative 
 Council, both Illinois men whose names were written large in 
 the government of the state. 
 
 The philosophy underlying the conception of this act 
 is well stated in the preamble: 
 
 "Whereas, the independence, happiness and energy of 
 every republic depends (under the influence of the destinies 
 of Heaven) upon the wisdom, virtue, talents and energy of 
 its citizens and rulers, 
 
 "And, whereas, science, literature and the liberal arts 
 contribute m an eminent degree to improve those qualities 
 and acquirements, 
 
 "And, whereas, learning hath ever been found the ablest 
 advocate of genuine liberty, the best supporter of rational 
 religion and the source of the onlj^ solid and imperishable 
 glory which nations can acquire." 
 
 "And, fore as much as Literature and Philosophy furnish 
 the most useful and pleasing occupations, improving and 
 varying the enio^onents of prosperitj^, affording relief under 
 the pressure of misfortunes, and hope and consolation in the 
 hours of death," 
 
 "And considering that in a Commonwealth Avhere the 
 humblest citizens may be elected to the highest office, and 
 where the Heaven-born prerogative of the right to elect, 
 and to reject, is retained and secured to the citizens, the 
 knowledge which is requisite for a magistrate and elector 
 should be widely diffused : Be it therefore enacted, etc.^ 
 
 'Hist. Sketch of Ind. Uni.. 1820-1904, p. 1. 
 8 State Supt. Report, 18S5, p. 105.
 
 24 
 
 The board of trustees was organized December 6, 1806, 
 with William Henry Harrison, President; fmids were raised 
 by gifts, lotteries and the sale of part of the congressional 
 grant; a bricl: building was erected and a preparatory de- 
 partment started. However, it is doubtful whether this 
 academy amounted to much, because Indiana, itself, failed to 
 recognize the school when statehood was obtained in 1816. 
 Besides the Illinois territorial legislature said nothing about 
 education during the nine years of its existence, 1809-1818. 
 
 The educational practices of this period were concerned 
 mostly mth ' ' class ' ' schools. The aristocratic tendencies of the 
 Revolutionary days had not yet disappeared. Though some 
 primary education was given, the dominant idea w^as still that 
 of the old Latin grammar school and its successor, the 
 academy. Private instruction usually had the ''dead" lan- 
 guages and other secondary subjects in the curriculum. The 
 equipment, however, in books and apparatus, was severely 
 lacking, though schoolmasters tried to be abreast of the 
 times, at least in the names given to their schools. The 
 teachers, who were usually the proprietors, were in too many 
 instances romantic free-lances with the soldier-of-fortune 
 attitude. Their language, as- that of the day, was bombastic 
 and oratorical in style. However, the intellectual leaders 
 of the day realized the swindling game of the quack instruct- 
 ors, and made definite attempts to establish a system of edu- 
 cation among the mass of the people as the buhvark of liberty 
 in a republican governnient. 
 
 '"The dire poverty of the settlers, the hardships of fron- 
 tier life, the long Indian wars, the pittance which the lands 
 yielded even when used for school purposes, were all so many 
 hindrances," to the establishment of a system of education.^ 
 
 "But in spite of the prejudices and illiteracy of many 
 of our early citizens, they were by no means an unthinking 
 people; their minds were stimulated by the necessity of in- 
 vention imposed upon them by their peculiar circumstances; 
 by political discussions in which they were interested from 
 one election to another ; by moral questions that were debated 
 among them; and, above all, by the religious discourses to 
 which they often listened, and the controversies between the 
 
 •McMaster. Hist, of the People of the U. S., v. 5, p. 370.
 
 25 
 
 adherents of different sects, in which almost everybody 
 sympathized with one party or another.'"" 
 
 In the words of the eminent governor, Mr. Coles, ''there 
 is no subject claiming the attention of the legislature of more 
 vital importance to the welfare of the state and its future 
 greatness and respectability, than the provision which should 
 be made for the education of the rising and succeeding gene- 
 rations. Intelligence and virtue are the main pillars in the 
 temple of liberty. A government founded on the sovereignty 
 of the people, and resting on, and controlled by them cannot 
 be respectable, or even long endure, unless they are enlight- 
 ened. To preserve and hand down to a continuous line of 
 generations, that liberty which was obtained by the valor and 
 virtue of our forefathers, we must make provision for the 
 moral and intellectual improvement of those who are to fol- 
 low us, and who are to inherit and have the disposal of the 
 inestimable boon of self government,"'^ 
 
 In conclusion, one must say that the education of the 
 early period was wholly individualistic with little realization 
 of the theoretical plans. A British traveller, in 1765, peti- 
 tioned the King for the right to establish a school in the 
 valley of the Mississippi in order to teach the English, French 
 and Indians, the useful arts of knowledge. The little instruc- 
 tion that was given was usually through the efforts of some- 
 one in the community who had had educational advantages 
 in the older states. Frequently, a missionary preacher open- 
 ed up a Latin grammar school in his own house, or an 
 academy was established where a knowledge of the languages, 
 philosophy and some practical subjects was kept alive. 
 Itinerant teachers appeared in the villages and purported to 
 bring from the Eastern and European centers of culture the 
 newest and most approved methods of teaching. In reality, 
 thej^ were without character, knowledge, or means of sup- 
 port. To keep the ideal of democracy alive, and to perpetuate 
 free institutions, the territorial legislature established an 
 academy at Vincennes, 1806, which they hoped to have sup- 
 ported from the proceeds of the liberal land grants made by 
 the national government. The career of this institution 
 
 "Patterson, Early Society in So. III., Ferg-. Hist. Ser., v. 14, p. 124. 
 " Coles Message to the Legislature, Sen. Jr., 1824, p. 19.
 
 "26 
 
 ended in failure because it was planted in a wilderness where 
 protection from Indians, clearing the land, and earning a 
 living, were the prime considerations of the emigrants. But 
 Illinois legislatures continued to encourage education by en- 
 acting legislation favorable to the academy, which is the 
 subject of the next chapter.
 
 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Administrative Organization and Support. 
 
 The academy arose as an institution partly to meet the 
 demands of a constantly growing republican society. While 
 it was a school under the control of either public or private 
 incorporation of trustees, it was recognized throughout the 
 country in theory, as a semi-public institution. Most of the 
 eastern, southern and middle states recogTiized its public 
 function by assisting in its foundation and support. Public 
 lands, as in Georgia, by the act of 1783, was one of the bases 
 of endowment, while New York, in 1813, established a literary 
 fund the income from which was distributed to the academies, 
 
 Illinois, likewise, recognized the public function of the 
 academies by giving legislative sanction to groups of indi- 
 viduals to establish such schools. The poor should always 
 be taken care of; boys and girls of all classes should be 
 educated free when the funds of the local institutions per- 
 mitted ; religious freedom was insisted upon ; occasionally, the 
 trustees were elected by the public at large, and the legisla- 
 ture regarded its own action, public. Moreover, the state 
 allowed and sanctioned, in some instances, the use of the 
 income from the school lands for the support of academies; 
 distributed to the academies their share of the common school 
 fund, and allowed communities to tax themselves for the 
 support of such institutions. 
 
 In fact, the academy was permitted to do almost any- 
 thing. The legislature assumed no continuous policy in the 
 charters that it granted. The powers, duties and organization 
 were left to the will of the incorporators generally. The 
 laissez faire policy of the government followed the conscious 
 democratic ideal of individual liberty after chartering the 
 institution. The administrators had particular purposes in 
 view which they wanted executed. Girls who had had little
 
 28 
 
 opportunity in the colonial Latin grammar schools of the 
 East were here admitted on almost equal terms. Boys were 
 educated in separate institutions or with the girls in the same 
 institution. Intellectual, moral or physical aims were empha- 
 sized as the educational ideal according to the bias of the 
 organizers. The whole country, however, was agreed that 
 the academy should supply teachers for the common schools, 
 so that it was in reality the forerunner of the normal schools. 
 A closer examination of the administrative organization, pur- 
 poses, and the financial support of the academy, follows: 
 
 From 1818 to 1848, the legislature of Illinois granted 
 charters to 125 educational corporations by special act, rather 
 than by general law. Although a corporation law was en- 
 acted in 1848, the general assembly continued to charter 
 schools by special legislation until the adoption of the con- 
 stitution of 1870, which forbade specific laws for corporations 
 of learning except those under the control of the state. ^ 
 
 The first general assembly chartered Belleville, Madison 
 and Washington Academies, the first and last of which were 
 soon in operation. The semi-public character of the char- 
 tered and some of the private academies was shown in these 
 ways: 
 
 1. A group of the community imdertook to educate its 
 youth: "Whereas several inhabitants of the town of Ed- 
 wardsville and county of Madison, have entered into arrange- 
 ments, to build, by subscription amongst themselves, an 
 academy for the education of youth ; and Avhereas so laudable 
 and useful an undertaking is deserving of legislative sanc- 
 tion, therefore, be it enacted * * *"" 
 
 2. The trustees of Belleville, Madison and Washington 
 , Academies were trustees of the towns in which the academies 
 
 were located. In fact, suffrage was defined in these charters, 
 and those who voted for town trustees elected academic trus- 
 tees." 
 
 3. Many of the charters carried provision for the free 
 education of the poor, and a few, for the free education of 
 the Indian: "And, whereas, the establishment of an institu- 
 tion of this kind in the neighborhood of the aboriginees of 
 
 * Harker, III. Ed. Cor. under Special Charter. 
 
 * Session Laws, I. Sess., p. 48.
 
 29 
 
 the country may tend to the gradual civilization of the rising 
 generation, and, if properly conducted, be of essential service 
 to themselves, and contribute greatly to the cause of human- 
 ity and brotherly love, which all men ought to bear to each 
 other, of whatever colour, and tend also to preserve that 
 friendship and harmony which ought to exist between the 
 government and the Indians. Be it, therefore, enacted, and 
 it is hereby enjoined on the said Trustees to use their utmost 
 endeavors to induce the said aboriginees to send their chil- 
 dren to the university for education, who, when sent, shall 
 be maintained, clothed and educated at the expense of the 
 said institution."- Also, ''The trustees shall be enjoined to 
 cause the children of the poor people, in the said county, to 
 be instructed gratis."- Even, it was contemplated, when the 
 funds of the institution should permit that all the youth were 
 to be instructed free, "in all or any of the branches of educa- 
 tion which they may require. "" 
 
 4. In other than academies for female education, it was 
 provided that girls as well as boys were to be educated, when 
 sufficient money was at hand: "That it shall be the duty of 
 the trustees, as soon as the funds of the academy will admit 
 of it, to establish an institution for the education of females ; 
 and to make such by-laws and ordinances for the government 
 thereof, as they shall deem proper and necessary."® 
 
 5. In practically every charter that was granted, religi- 
 ous freedom was recognized as a public duty. "No prefer- 
 ence shall be given, nor any discrimination be made in the 
 choice of trustees, professors, teachers or students, on account 
 of religious sentiments ; nor shall the trustees, professors, or 
 teachers, at any time make by-laws, or ordinances, or regu- 
 lations, that may in any wise interfere with, or in any man- 
 ner, control the right of conscience or the free exercise of 
 religious worship."* 
 
 6. Public election of the trustees in several of the char- 
 tered academies was required; "And, be it further enacted, 
 that all free white male inhabitants of the age of twenty-one 
 years who have resided for six months immediately preced- 
 
 " Session Laws, I. Sess., p. 48. 
 'State Supt. Report, 1885, p. 105. 
 
 ♦In 1841, the legislature repealed the clause of the law which had forbidden 
 the establishment of theological departments in Academies and Colleges.
 
 30 
 
 ing the election within the following limit shall be, and 
 
 hereby authorized to elect seven trustees on the forenoon of 
 the day appointed for the election of members to the next 
 general assembly of this state, and on such election day for- 
 ever thereafter."* 
 
 7. The legislature, itself, specifically stated that it re- 
 garded such charters as public acts: "Be it, further enacted, 
 that this act shall be deemed to be a public act, and as such 
 shall be construed benignly and favorably, in all courts and 
 places for every beneficial purpose therein mentioned."* 
 
 Ordinarily, the preambles of the charters, or the charters 
 themselves, or constitutions of school societies, explained the 
 purpose for which the organizations were made. 
 
 1. The most usual statement of the purpose of these 
 associations was that, "the dissemination of useful knowl- 
 edge should be the only object contemplated."* 
 
 2. The preamble of the • Jacksonville Academy stated 
 that the high, intellectual and moral culture of women was 
 its object: "Whereas, the vast importance and urgent neces- 
 sity of extending the blessings of Education to all classes of 
 American Citizens are felt and acknowledged by all enlight- 
 ened patriots and Christians; and, whereas, the power of 
 female influence over the intellectual and moral character of 
 the community must ever be too great for any or all other 
 causes entirely to counteract. Commencing as it does with 
 the first dawn of infant intelligence and forming perhaps 
 the most important and certainly, the most desirable part of 
 that character, before any other cause can begin to act upon 
 it, and accompanying it through all the subsequent stages 
 of its development; considering, too, that in the present im- 
 portant crisis of our beloved Republic, no one effort ought to 
 be withheld which can tend to give permanency to its founda- 
 tions, the intelligence and virtue of the people; therefore. 
 Resolved, that an academy ought to be immediately estab- 
 lished in this state, to be devoted exclusively to female edu- 
 cation; and that Jacksonville, in Morgan county, is, in our 
 opinion, a situation highly favorable for the successful oper- 
 ation of such an institution."^ 
 
 * Session Laws, T. Sess., p. 48. 
 
 'Session Laws, 1834-5, State Rep. 1867, p. 264.
 
 31 
 
 3. The Bloomington Female Seminary, intended to pro- 
 mote the general interests of education, "and to qualify 
 young females for the honorable and useful discharge of the 
 various duties of life.'"* 
 
 4. Some of the academies had a normal school depart- 
 ment for the education of teachers. '*A department is at- 
 tached to this school for the instruction of teachers."^ 
 
 5. The Hillsboro Academy was an example of an institu- 
 tion that existed for the education of both boys and girls: 
 ''The design of the institution is to accommodate those of 
 either sex who may wish to pursue a systematic and thorough 
 course in Education, in the various English branches or in 
 the languages."* 
 
 6. The Eushville High School Association declared: 
 "The sole object of this corporation shall be for the promo- 
 tion of science and literature, and the general interest of 
 Education, and its corporate powers shall be similar to those 
 conferred upon other corporate bodies for the advancement 
 of education."^ 
 
 7. A distinctly moral purpose was given as the reason 
 for establishing some academies. Monticello Seminary was 
 founded on the principle that education should have refer- 
 ence to man's relation to God, Christ, and the future world, 
 in accordance with the Christian religion.^ 
 
 8. The physical education of the students was one pur- 
 pose for which some schools were established, but there is no 
 evidence that physical education as we now understand the 
 meaning of that term was given. 
 
 9. The trustees of the Monroe Academy were library 
 trustees, whose additional duty was to circulate books among 
 the people of the community: "That there shall be estab- 
 lished in the said county, a public library, to be called the 
 Monroe Circulating Library, and that the trustees of the said 
 academy shall be the directors of the said library society, 
 who shall have power to make such rules and regulations for 
 the government of the same, as they shall deem proper."^" 
 
 'Session Laws, 1835-6. 
 ' Sangamo Jr., Oct. 21, 1837. 
 sSangamo Jr., Oct. 21. 1837. 
 •Session Laws, 1844-5, p. 311. 
 "Session Laws, 1827.
 
 32 
 
 10. Several academies were established as manual labor 
 schools, of which more will be said later. 
 
 11. Finally, some school associations were formed for 
 the education of all of the children of the locality — "all," 
 meaning the children of the common people." 
 
 One of the most interesting and unusual ways of electing 
 the seven trustees for each of the first three academies is 
 defined in the following manner: "Be it farther enacted by 
 the authority aforesaid, That the several persons herein be- 
 fore named, to wit: Benjamin Stephenson, Joseph Bowers, 
 Robert Latham, John Todd, Joseph Conway, Abraham 
 Prickett, and Theopholis W. Smith, be and they are hereby 
 appointed trustees in the town of Edwardsville in the afore- 
 said county of Madison to continue in office until the election 
 of their successors as herein after provided." The time for 
 the election is stated in the act, notification of which was 
 posted in public places, the election district is defined, and 
 the qualifications for suffrage are given.^^ 
 
 Danville Academy, a public joint stock company, ap- 
 pointed twenty-seven commissioners from the five surround- 
 ing counties to solicit and receive stock. When $1,500 had 
 been collected, the commissioners were to call an election in 
 three weeks, notice of which was to be posted in six of the 
 most public places in the county, of the time of holding the 
 election for trustees. The election was held at the court 
 house in Danville between the hours of twelve and six p. m. 
 of the day determined upon. Moreover, the commissioners 
 were appointed to act as judges of the election. Subsequent 
 elections were to be held annually, the first Monday in Oc- 
 tober. Those who had the privilege of voting for trustees 
 were stockholders who had paid on, or before the said elec- 
 tion day, five dollars on each share subscribed and the re- 
 mainder, within six months. ^^ 
 
 The church was represented on the board of trustees of 
 many academies: "The trustees of this institution shall con- 
 sist of nine, who shall be elected as follows : one-third of the 
 whole number by the Presbyterian Church N. S. of Rushville, 
 one-third by the stockholders, and the* remaining by the 
 
 " Sangamo Jr., June 5, 1845. 
 "Session Laws, I. Sess., 1819, p. 48. 
 13 Session Laws, 1836-37.
 
 33 
 
 patrons of the school for the time being, and they shall hold 
 their office for the time of three years.'"* 
 
 Moreover, this method for the perpetual succession of 
 policy was provided: the trustees were to hold ''their office 
 for the term of three years, except from the first election, 
 when one-third of the number shall be elected for three years, 
 one-third for the term of two years, and the remaining for 
 the term of one year, and any year thereafter, one-third of 
 the whole number shall be elected for the term of three years, 
 at such a time and in such a manner as may be prescribed by 
 the by-laws of the institution.'"* 
 
 Town trustees, ministers of religion, county school com- 
 missioners and stockholders were members of the board of 
 trustees; the term of office, manner of election, and number 
 varied to suit the ideas of the incorporators rather than fol- 
 lowing, or having a fixed policy of administrative organi- 
 zation. 
 
 The powers and duties of the trustees of the academies 
 covered a wide range. They called special meetings to trans- 
 act the business of the academy; made contracts for the re- 
 pairing and erection of buildings; passed by-laws and ordi- 
 nances for the conduct and govermnent of the school; filled 
 vacancies in their own body; elected a principal and teach- 
 ers; determined salaries; removed officers for misconduct; 
 appointed committees of their own number; received money 
 subscribed for the institution, and appointed their own treas- 
 urer, secretary, stewards, managers and other necessary 
 officers. 
 
 ''The chairman of the board shall have power to call 
 special meetings, giving five days previous notice thereof, a 
 majority at any stated, adjourned or special meeting, shall 
 form a board of quorum, and a majority of them shall be 
 capable of doing and transacting all the business and con- 
 cerns of the said academy, and particularly of entering into 
 contracts for erecting and repairing any building or build- 
 ings necessary for the said institutions, of making and enact- 
 ing by-laws and ordinances for the government of the said 
 academy and not contrary to the constitution and laws of the 
 United States, or of this state; of filling vacancies in the 
 
 "Session Laws, 1844-5, p. 311.
 
 34 
 
 board of trustees occasioned by death, resignation or removal 
 out of the state; of electing and appointing the principal 
 professors and teachers of said academy; of agreeing with 
 them for their salaries, and of removing them for misconduct, 
 or breach of the laws of the institution; of appointing com- 
 mittees of their own body to carry into execution all and 
 every resolution of the board; of appointing a chairman, 
 treasurer and secretary, out of their own number; and stew- 
 ards, managers, and other customary officers for the taking 
 care of the estate, and management of the concerns of the 
 institution." 
 
 The trustees of the chartered academies, after 1830, were 
 specifically made bodies politic and corporate, "with power 
 to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, to acquire, hold 
 and convey property, real and personal, to have and to use a 
 common seal, to alter the same at pleasure, to make laws for 
 its regulation provided they are not inconsistent with the 
 laws of the United States and this state. ' '^^ 
 
 Some restrictions of power placed upon trustees were 
 that they should "hold the property of the said institution 
 for the purpose of female education, and not as a stock for 
 individual benefit of themselves, or of any contribution to the 
 endowment of the same; and no particular religious faith 
 shall be required of those who become trustees or students 
 of the institution."^*^ 
 
 Sometimes the trustees regulated and prescribed the 
 course of study; fixed the rate of tuition; purchased books 
 and regulated the conduct of pupils: "The trustees of said 
 high school association shall have authority from time to 
 time to prescribe and regulate the course of studies to be 
 pursued in said high school, and in the preparatory depart- 
 ment thereof; to fix the rate of tuition, to make rules for the 
 general management of the affairs of the said high school, 
 and for the regulation of the conduct of the students, and to 
 add, as the ability of the said corporation shall increase, and 
 the interest of the community shall require, additional de- 
 partments, for the study of all or any of the solid, useful and 
 
 " Session Laws, I. Sess., p. 48. 
 "Session Laws, 1834-1835, Sec. 1.
 
 35 
 
 profitable branches of classical, mathematical and philo- 
 sophical literature.'"' 
 
 Financial Support. 
 
 School lands, very early, were the basis of any state sup- 
 port that was given to the academies. An act approved Jan- 
 uary 27, 1821, by the state, gave the trustees of Belleville 
 Academy the ''power and authority to lease out, upon such 
 terms and conditions as to them shall seem meet, for any 
 time not exceeding ten years, section number sixteen, in town- 
 ship number one, north of range number eight, west of the 
 third meridian, reserved for the use of schools, for the benefit 
 of the inhabitants of said township." 
 
 ''Be it further enacted, That the trustees of Belleville 
 Academy shall and may appropriate one-half of the net pro- 
 ceeds of the annual profits accruing from the rents of said 
 sixteenth section, to the use and benefit of said academy, and 
 shall reserve the other half of said rents and profit, to and 
 for the use of schools in the north half of said township, to 
 be paid over and applied in such manner as shall be pointed 
 out by law." 
 
 "Be it further enacted. That there shall be a meeting of 
 the male inhabitants above the age of twenty-one years, re- 
 siding in the north half of said township, at Belleville, on the 
 first Monday in April next; which meeting shall take into 
 consideration the propriety of permitting the trustees of 
 Belleville Academy to apply the whole of the rents and profit 
 to the said Academy, and should said meeting consent, the 
 whole of the rents and profits of said section shall be applied 
 to the use of said Academy for such term of time as said 
 meeting shall agree to."^^ 
 
 The state at other times authorized the use of some of 
 the money of the township fund for the establishment of a 
 school: "The inhabitants of township five south, range six 
 east, of the third principal meridian, upon being incorpor- 
 ated as required by law for school purposes, be and they are . 
 hereby authorized to use the sum of two hundred dollars of 
 the interest accruing from said township fund, to the erec- 
 
 " Session Laws, 1844-1845. Sec. 3, p. 311. 
 " Session Laws, 1821, p. 34.
 
 36 
 
 tion of a frame or brick schoolhouso in tLe town of McLeans- 
 boro in said township.'"^ 
 
 Another example of aid given by the state is that in 
 which "the school commissioners of Jeiferson County be au- 
 thorized and required to receive the said schedule of the 
 school taught in the Mount Vernon Academy in the year 1840, 
 and duly certified by the trustees and teachers thereof, and 
 apportioned thereon its distributive share of interest of the 
 school fund due for 1842, according to the schedules filed for 
 distribution in January, 1843; provided that all schedules in 
 said county, regularly certified for that year, and notified to 
 rhe said commissioner before he actually made the apportion- 
 ment of interest of that year, shall be paid in like manner. ' ' ^° 
 
 Furthermore, the state authorized money to be paid to 
 some academies: ''The school commissioner of Coles county 
 is hereby authorized and required to pay to the order of the 
 president and trustees of the Charleston Seminary two hun- 
 dred dollars per year, out of the distributive share of the 
 state fund, for the purpose of education, to the county of 
 Coles; and the said trustees are hereby authorized to expend 
 said money in such manner as they may think proper for the 
 use and benefit of said seminary. "^^ 
 
 It was the common practice for academies to receive 
 their distributive share out of the township school fund for 
 maintaining a common school. The act of 1835 distributed 
 the interest from the state school fund to counties in propor- 
 tion to the number of inhabitants under twenty-one years of 
 age. "Nor shall this act be so construed so as to prevent said 
 school from receiving its just proportion from the township 
 and state fund, as other schools do; and said trustees shall 
 perform the same duties in regard to said school, for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining their proportion of said school fund, as is 
 or may be required of trustees of schools in other town- 
 ships."" 
 
 The law relative to the Winchester male and female pre- 
 paratory and common school said that "nothing in this act 
 shall be so construed as to prevent either of the above 
 
 "Session Laws, 1837. p. 16. 
 2» Session Laws, 1842-3, p. 6. 
 "Session Laws, 1839-40, p. 131. 
 »2 Session Laws, 1839-40, p. 56.
 
 37 
 
 named institutions from receiving their proper proportions 
 of money appropriated by law for common school pur- 
 poses.""^ 
 
 Even organizations like mechanics' unions received their 
 share of the state school fund for keeping a common school. 
 The Springfield Mechanics' Union, "on the establishment of 
 their common school, shall receive from the school commis- 
 sioner of the county the same amount of money, in the same 
 proportion, and apply the same to such tuition, in the same 
 manner as other common schools are kept and paid."-* The 
 school established by this act immediately was opened under 
 the name of the Springfield City Schools. 
 
 It was also the custom for private academies, unchar- 
 tered, to receive state aid. An academy in Peoria, in 1840, 
 says this about its funds: "This is not a chartered institu- 
 tion, nor aided by any public funds, except that it shares the 
 public school fund together with the common schools of the 
 town."'^ 
 
 The state virtually aided academies by a general law of 
 1842, which exempted from taxation ten acres of land owned 
 by any literary institution; and for colleges and academies 
 exempted a hundred sixty acres, if actually used as its loca- 
 tion and domain, with all buildings, libraries, and appa- 
 ratus."* 
 
 The idea of taxing the people of the community for sup- 
 porting an academy is found in some of the charters: "The 
 trustees of the town of Winchester may levy and collect a tax 
 not exceeding one per centum on all taxable property in said 
 town, to be applied to purposes of education, as said trustees 
 shall from time to time direct : Provided, That before any tax 
 can be levied as aforesaid, and on application of twelve citi- 
 zens of the town, the trustees shall cause an election to be 
 held, where each inhabitant residing within the incorporate 
 limits of said town, may have the privilege of voting for or 
 against a tax, and if a majority of two-thirds of the votes 
 given at said election shall be in favor of a tax, then and in 
 that case the trustees may levy a tax and in no other."" 
 
 »« Session Laws, 1841, p. 290, Sec. 6. 
 " Session Laws, 1839-40, p. 74. Sec. 2. 
 "Peoria Directory, 1844, p. 115. 
 "State Supt. Report, 1883-4, p. 116. 
 "Session Laws. 1841, p. 290, Sec. 7. 
 
 20015'/'
 
 38 
 
 The original proprietors of the town of Payson were far- 
 sighted enough to make provision at a future time for the 
 establishment of an academy by using twenty per cent of the 
 proceeds from the sale of lots in that town for that purpose : 
 *'The original proprietors of the town of Payson, in their 
 proposal for the sale of town lots, stipulated twenty per cent 
 of the amount of sales of town lots should be appropriated 
 toward the establishment of a Seminary of Learning from 
 which fund, now accrued, amounts to $1,300."^^ 
 
 Individuals, themselves, aided secondary education by 
 endowments. The founder and benefactor of Monticello Semi- 
 nary set aside $10,000 for that purpose, as early as 1834. 
 The building was iDegun in 1836 and opened for pupils in 
 1838.'^ 
 
 A few public-spirited men bequeathed money for the 
 erection and establishment of academies. Silas Hamilton left 
 $4,000 for the creation of the Hamilton Primary School to 
 educate the children of his friends and neighbors.^" 
 
 Tuition was one of the factors in the support of educa- 
 tion. The Sangamo Journal, April 21, 1838, stated that 
 '' academies and colleges are founded by private enterprise, 
 and supported by individual liberality and munificence. 
 Those who seek these institutions must necessarily pay in 
 proportion to the benefit received.'"^ 
 
 Occasionally, academies were public joint-stock com- 
 panies, so that the money necessary for the founding of 
 schools was raised by the sale of stock, worth from ten to 
 twenty-five dollars a share, allowing the share holders free 
 tuition for every share held, and with the privilege of voting 
 on the policies of the institution: "The said academy, when 
 erected and in operation, shall at all times be open for use 
 and the privilege of every white person, within the United 
 States, who may wish to be instructed by the instructors or 
 instructresses, employed by the trustees thereof; Provided, 
 Said free white person will comply with the laws, and pay 
 the sum affixed by the said trustees, for the instruction of 
 students attending the same; Provided nevertheless, that 
 
 '» Session Laws, 1841, Sec. 7. 
 =• State Supt. Report, 1867-8 ; p. 267. 
 »"> Session Laws, 1839-40, Preamble. 
 « Sangamo Jr., April 21, 1838.
 
 39 
 
 each and every stockholder in said institution shall be en- 
 titled to the admission of one jn^pil in the same for each and 
 every share he or she may legally hold therein. On payment 
 of ten dollars to the treasurer of the institution every free 
 white person shall be considered a stockholder."^^ 
 
 The stock of the Eushville High School Association 
 "shall consist of shares of twenty-five dollars each, to be 
 subscribed for in the manner that the commissioners herein 
 after named, or the trustees when elected shall direct, and 
 shall be deemed personal property, and shall be transferable 
 on the books of said corporation in such manner as the board 
 of trustees may prescribe; the capital stock shall not exceed 
 ten thousand dollars, and its funds, rents and privileges shall 
 be used only for the purposes of education herein declared. "^^ 
 
 Every charter placed a limitation on the amount of prop- 
 erty to be held. This varied from the one hundred thousand 
 acres of land allowed to Vincennes University, to twelve acres 
 of land allowed the Jacksonville Female Academy. But very 
 few cases have been found where more than a thousand acres 
 of land was allowed to chartered academies. The legislature 
 that granted the Jacksonville charter had this to say relative 
 to the property to be held by the academy: "The lands within 
 the bounds of this State, held in perpetuity by this charter, 
 shall not exceed twelve acres, held at any one time; and if 
 donations in land shall be made at any time to said corpora- 
 tion, the same may be received and held in trust by said board 
 of trustees, and shall be sold within three years from the 
 date of such donation for the benefit of said institution; in 
 failure whereof, the land so given shall revert to the donor 
 or grantor of the same and the said board of trustees shall in 
 no case lease or rent out any land so held in trust as afore- 
 said.'"* 
 
 The amount allowed to Eushville High School Associa- 
 tion was a little larger; "The lands, tenements, and heredita- 
 ments, to be held in perpetuity by virtue of this act by said 
 corporation, shall not exceed three hundred and twenty 
 acres.^' 
 
 " Session Laws. 
 
 2=1 Session Laws, 1844-45, p. 311. 
 
 "Session Laws. 1834-5. 
 
 « Session Laws, 1S44-45, p. 311.
 
 40 
 
 The chartered academies were quasi-public institutions 
 because, (a) a group in the community undertook to educate 
 its youth; (b) the trustees were frequently elected by the 
 public; (c) the j)oor children of the Indians were educated 
 gratis; (d) all youth were to be educated free when the funds 
 of the academy were sufficient; (e) religious freedom was 
 recognized as a public necessity; (f ) the legislature regarded 
 the charter a public act. 
 
 The purposes for which academies were established were 
 (a) to disseminate useful knowledge; (b) to give women high 
 intellectual and moral culture; (c) to fit youth for the various 
 duties of life; (d) to prepare teachers for the common 
 schools; (e) to promote science and literature; (f) to safe- 
 guard and develop the physical body; (g) to circulate books 
 among the people; (h) to inaugurate a system of manual 
 labor with literary education; (i) to educate the children of 
 the "people". 
 
 The trustees, varying in number in the different acad- 
 emies, were elected or appointed, with powers that were 
 usually conferred on bodies corporate and politic, though no 
 fixed rule was adoptd in that respect. The administrative 
 organization was fixed to suit the will of the individual in- 
 corporators, with few exceptions. 
 
 Financially, academies were benefited by the sale or rent 
 of school lands, when that was deemed advisable; were occa- 
 sionally aided in establishment by the funds of the township 
 in which they were located; were usually given their share 
 of the school fund for keeping a common school; were prom- 
 ised a state subsidy; were to receive local taxes if the people 
 of the community wished to vote them ; were endowed by gifts 
 directly, or received money by wills; were supported by tui- 
 tion, and had a fund created by the sale of stock divided into 
 a stipulated number of shares. Religious organizations used 
 one or several of the means above suggested in the support 
 they gave academic education. The next chapter, therefore, 
 is a consideration of the religious influence on education.
 
 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Religious Influence. 
 
 In spite of the academic legislation provided by the 
 state, little machinery existed for the administration, organ- 
 ization, and supervision of education outside of the church. 
 In colonial days, a close relation existed between the church 
 and the school, and that intimacy continued to about the 
 middle of the nineteenth century. It was but natural that 
 the minister should direct and supervise instruction because 
 he was well educated, entirely qualified, and had sufficient 
 leisure time. The aim of education, the subject matter, and 
 teacher certification, all, had a religious tone. 
 
 The grammar school had grown up under the religious 
 denominations in the colonies. But there came a time of re- 
 ligious revival, about 1740, in England and her colonies, 
 when the established mode of worship was questioned. New 
 denominations could only perpetuate their religious beliefs 
 by establishing schools. Likew^ise, there was a revival in 
 education so that new institutions were necessary, in educa- 
 tion as well as in religion, to meet the new ideals, one expres- 
 sion of which was the academy. The connection of the 
 church with the academy was somewhat different than its re- 
 lation to the Latin grammar school. No longer was a religi- 
 ous test required of the teachers, no longer was religion the 
 primary subject of study, but the churches still kept a large 
 part of the control and organization of the academy in their 
 hands. There was no other body yet developed that could 
 assume the responsibility. 
 
 The Catholics, the Baptists, the Methodists, the Presby- 
 terians, and the Congregationalists sent missionaries to Illi- 
 nois who established schools as well as preached the gospel. 
 One of the chief institutions established by the pioneer
 
 42 
 
 preachers, with the exception of the Catholics/ was the acad- 
 emy, because the missionaries came to Illinois at the time of 
 the academy period. Home organizations sent representa- 
 tives to the new West to establish branches, convert the 
 Indian and the pioneer, and to educate the children of the 
 forest and of the newcomers. How conscientious and faith- 
 ful those talented missionaries were, is evidenced by the in- 
 dividual schools that they established and maintained, fre- 
 quently at their own expense. They paved the way for the 
 later tides of emigration, the latter making it possible to 
 maintain a local system of academic education. The frontier 
 was not free from jealousies for the hospitable southerner 
 hated the shrewdness of the Yankee. Religious disputes 
 naturally arose between the former and the latter, traces of 
 which are found in the struggle for and maintenance of the 
 academies. Although the Yankee left his mark on those insti- 
 tutions, he forsook them for the common school. A closer 
 survey of the religious educational influence, therefore, is 
 relevant. 
 
 The French Jesuits exerted the earliest religious and 
 educational influence in the territory that is now the state 
 of Illinois. Rev. J. M. Peck had this to say of Kaskaskia 
 under French rule : * ' In olden time, Kaskaskia was to Illinois 
 what Paris is at this day to France. Both were, at their 
 respective days, the great emporiums of fashion, gayety, and 
 I must say, happiness also. In the year 1721, the Jesuits 
 erected a monastery and college in Kaskaskia, and a few 
 years after it was chartered by the French government."^ 
 
 Kaskaskia, in 1796, though mostly French in population, 
 but under English control, had degenerated to such an extent 
 that Austin Ville said the Jesuit college in that city was then 
 in ruins, although the city and the college were very flourish- 
 ing under the French government.^ 
 
 However, the Catholics maintained, from time to time, in 
 the French settlement of Kaskaskia, a convent for the edu- 
 cation of young ladies. In 1828, this school is spoken of as 
 
 * The Catholics had a college at Kaskaskia in the early part of the 18th 
 century, but it fell into disuse at the end of the French period. In the early part 
 of the 19th century a similar institution was revived in the same town, but that 
 was not typical of Catholic activity in other parts of the state until, about the close 
 of our period. 
 
 * Powers, History of Springfield, p. 6, quotes Peck. 
 »Doc. Am. Hist. Rev., April, 1900, p. 538.
 
 43 
 
 being at the zenith of its influence for the people of the West, 
 and was deservedly very popular. 
 
 The leaven of the whole educational movement in the be- 
 ginnings of Illinois was the work of the Protestant preachers 
 and missionaries. According to Rev. J. M. Peck, a Baptist 
 minister, his denomination had these missionary preachers in 
 the state: Josiah Dodge, 1784; James Lemen, 1784; David 
 Badgley and Joseph Chance, who organized the first church 
 in 1796; John Clark, 1797, and W. Jones, 1806. By 1807, five 
 Baptist churches had formed an association. 
 
 Governor Reynolds mentioned these Methodist mission- 
 ary ministers: Joseph Lillard, 1793; Hosea Riggs, 1796; Ben- 
 jamin Young, 1804; T. Harrison, 1804; J. Oglesby, 1805; C. 
 R. Matheny, 1806; Jesse Walker, 1806; Bishop McKendree, 
 1807; Peter Cartwright, 1824. By 1815, four Methodist- 
 Episcopal circuits had been established. 
 
 As was stated in the discussion of early education in 
 Illinois, James Lemen, a Baptist preacher, opened one of the 
 first schools. Father John Clark was a conspicuous and 
 efficient character in the pulpit and the schools. He taught 
 many of the rising generation of that day the general prin- 
 ciples of education.* 
 
 Smith and Mills, in their missionary tour of the West, 
 showed that preachers would be welcomed to keep schools. 
 '' Governor Edwards assured us, that a preacher of popular 
 talents would receive a salary of $1,000 per annum, for 
 preaching a part of the time, and instructing a small school. ' '^ 
 
 The constitution of the Foreign Missionary Society of 
 the Valley of the Mississippi gave one of its objects to be the 
 promotion, "by all suitable means, within the Valley of the 
 Mississippi, the missionary spirit in theological seminaries, 
 colleges, academies, and the community."® 
 
 The legislature of the state, in 1821, passed an act to 
 encourage learning in White county, making the township 
 trustees and church trustees coordinate bodies in conducting 
 a school for the township: "Whereas, there is a society of 
 Christians, called Cumberland Presbyterians, who have 
 erected a meeting house for public worship on the sixteenth 
 
 ••Reynolds, My Own Times, p. 194. 
 
 »Rep. Miss. Tour, by Mills and Smith, p. 17. 
 
 • First Annual Rep. Foreign Miss. Soc, p. 4.
 
 44 
 
 section in township five south, of range eight east, of the third 
 principal meridian, in this state, and whereas, the said house 
 may serve to have the gospel preached therein, and likewise 
 may be used for a schoolhouse for the township. Therefore, 
 
 * ' Sec. I. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illi- 
 nois, represented in the General Assembly, that two or more 
 of the county commissioneers of White county are hereby 
 authorized and required to lease five acres of land of said 
 section sixteen, in township five south, range eight east, in- 
 cluding said meeting house and burial ground, to the trus- 
 tees of the township for ninety-nine years, for the use of said 
 society of Cumberland Presbyterians, and for the use of 
 schools of said township." 
 
 * ' Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, that the said school which 
 may be taught in said house shall be under the direction of 
 the trustees of the township and said society of Cumberland 
 Presbyterians. There shall never be given any preference to 
 one sect of people over another in said school, but at all 
 times, the said society of Cumberland Presbyterians shall be 
 entitled to hold divine service in said house during said 
 lease. "^ 
 
 Perhaps one of the most influential men in the religious, 
 social, and the educational life of the people of early Illinois, 
 was John Mason Peck. He was born at South Farms, Conn., 
 in 1787, and received his education in the common schools 
 and the academy of his town. He studied science, literature 
 and medicine in Philadelphia. The year 1818 found him 
 teaching school in St. Louis. Settling in Illinois soon after, 
 he preached and taught school. January 1, 1827, he invited 
 all those favorable to the establishment of a college or semi- 
 nary to meet at his home, in Rock Spring, St. Clair county, 
 which was situated on the principal stage route to Vinconnes, 
 seventeen miles east of St. Louis. 
 
 Peck was engaged a year in raising funds for the insti- 
 tution to be established. He and his hired men cut the timber 
 and built the school. Five hundred dollars and twenty-five 
 acres of land were contributed by Peck himself. Nine trus- 
 tees were appointed and one hundred shares of stock at ten 
 
 'Session Laws, 1821. p. 153.
 
 45 
 
 dollars a share were to be sold to support the two depart- 
 ments to be established.* 
 
 Eock Spring Theological and High School was the name 
 given to this institution. ''The general plan of study is ac- 
 commodated to the circumstances of the preachers of the 
 gospel, and to the wants of the country. Ministers, who 
 have families, and those who are somewhat advanced in life, 
 may attend the Institution as may suit their convenience. It 
 is established on liberal principles, though under the par- 
 ticular control of the Baptist denomination."" 
 
 "The second department is to be a scientific and literary 
 institution for the accommodation of any class of students of 
 approved character, and it is to be conducted on the prin- 
 ciples of a High School. A professor of mathematics and 
 natural philosophy, who shall be the principal of the High 
 School Department, and direct the studies in languages," is 
 to be appointed. ^'^ 
 
 Joshua Bradley, holding an A. B. degree. Brown college, 
 was the first president, and John Russell was principal of the 
 high school. This department was conducted upon the plan 
 of an academy "with modern improvements in education; and 
 admitting students without distinction of age or previous 
 study. "^^ 
 
 The first annual report said that there were about sixty 
 scholars. "An unusually large proportion of the scholars 
 have attended to writing, arithmetic, grammar, and geog- 
 raphy. Five young gentlemen have mastered the difficulties 
 of algebra, one of whom is now studying geometry. Three 
 students are pursuing the study of Latin. "^^ 
 
 Other denominations in this early period and, in fact, 
 until after the Civil War, conducted religious-public schools 
 of a similar nature. Three Methodist ministers, Wm. Beau- 
 champ, Thomas Hinde, and Wm. McDowell, founded the town 
 of Mt. Carmel in 1817 in order "to build a city on liberal and 
 advantageous principles and to constitute funds for the estab- 
 lishment of seminaries of learning and for religious pur- 
 
 « Quart. Reg. Am. Ed. Soc, Nov., 1830, v. 4, p. 354. 
 
 •Quart. Reg. Am. Ed. Soc, Nov., 1830, v. 4, p. 354 and 111 Int., Mch. 24, 1827. 
 
 "111. Int.. Mch. 24, 1827. 
 
 " Peck, Guide for Immigrants, p. 248. 
 
 " Illinois Intelligencer, May 16, 1829.
 
 46 
 
 poses. '"^ The articles of association for the city of Mt. 
 Carmel provided for the division of the town site into a num- 
 ber of lots, one-fourth of which were called ' ' public donation 
 lots * * *appropriated to the use of schools and religious 
 purposes.'"* The money realized from the sale of the public 
 donation lots constituted a fund from which one-third was to 
 be used for a male academy, one-third for a female academy, 
 and the remaining one-third for religious purposes. Accord- 
 ingly, a school was opened by Beauchamp, in 1819, and a 
 charter was granted by the legislature in 1825. Mt. Carmel 
 was early a center of Methodist influence in the southern 
 part of the state. Religious conferences were held in the 
 town, out of which originated the movement which resulted 
 in the founding of McKendreean College.* 
 
 The New England influence was accentuated by the Con- 
 gregational and Presbyterian preachers and missionaries 
 from that district. ''Mr. Wylie was the first Presbyterian 
 clergyman, who settled permanently, in Illinois. This gentle- 
 man was at the head of the seminary of learning in Randolph 
 county, as well as attending to his clerical duties.'"^ 
 
 Rev. J. M. Ellis went to Illinois about 1820, and recog- 
 nizing the need for schools, he began to advocate a seminary. 
 Money was raised and Ellis appealed to an eastern mission- 
 ary society for help. This appeal fell into the hands of a 
 member of the Yale class of 1828. Being interested in home 
 missions, this graduate interested others of his class in the 
 formation of the Illinois Association with the following 
 pledge : 
 
 "Believing in the entire alienation of the heart from 
 God, in the necessity of the influence of the Holy Spirit for 
 its renovation, and that these influences are not to be expected 
 without the use of means; deeply impressed also with the 
 destitute condition of the western section of our country, and 
 the urgent claims of its inhabitants upon the benevolence 
 of the East, and in view of the fearful crisis which is evi- 
 dently approaching, and which we believe can only be averted 
 by speedy and energetic measures on the part of the friends 
 
 "Boggess, Settlement of Illinois, p. 198, in Chi. Hist. Soc. Col., v. 5. 
 
 " Ibid. 
 
 * The early name of McKendree college. 
 
 "Reynolds, My Own Times, p. 199.
 
 47 
 
 of religion and literaturo in the older state; and believing 
 that evangelical religion and literature must go hand in hand 
 to the successful accomplishment of this desired end, we, 
 the undersigned, express our readiness to go to the state of 
 Illinois for the purpose of establishing a seminary of learn- 
 ing such as shall be best adapted to the exigencies of that 
 country, a part of us to ,engage in instruction in the seminary, 
 the others, to occupy, as preachers, important stations in 
 the surrounding country: provided the undertaking be de- 
 cided practicable and the location approved: and provided 
 also, the providence of God permits us to engage in it. 
 
 Theron Baldwin, 
 John F. Brooks, 
 Mason Grosvenor, 
 Elisha Jenney, 
 William Kirby, 
 J. M. Sturtevant, 
 Asa Turner, 
 Theological Department, Yale College, February 21, 1829." '" 
 One member of this group, Lemuel Foster, was sent as a 
 missionary to Illinois. He drove overland with his bride 
 and was ordained at Jacksonville, in 1832. He preached and 
 his wife taught school in a log cabin, A little later, they 
 had an academy with two school rooms on the first floor and 
 a church above. 
 
 The founder of Monticello Seminary had distinctly a 
 religious conception in mind. This is his account: "One 
 morning, while lying in bed, somewhat indisposed, my wife 
 came into the room, and as she went out, made some remark. 
 One of our little children that had just begun to lisp a few- 
 words, caught the remark, and while playing by itself on the 
 floor, repeated it over and over a great many times. This led 
 me to reflect on the powerful effect of a mother's example on 
 the minds, manners, and habits of her off-spring, and no less 
 powerful influence that females have over society at large. 
 Hence the great necessity of their being qualified for those 
 important and responsible situations, in this life, which God, 
 in His infinite wisdom has assigned them * * * . And being 
 desirous to act the part of a faithful steward of what God 
 
 " sturtevant. Autobiography, p. 139.
 
 48 
 
 had placed in my possession, I resolved to devote so much of 
 it as would erect a building, to be devoted to the moral, intel- 
 lectual and domestic improvement of females, particularly 
 those whose means were limited."" 
 
 A religious motive impelled the founding of many of 
 the academies and higher institutions of learning in Illinois 
 up to the middle of the nineteenth century. The same spirit 
 which sent missionaries and preachers from the older states 
 to look after the religious welfare of the people on the frontier 
 was prominent in the foresight for and care of the educa- 
 tional institutions. Thus the Yale movement was not only 
 an educational conception but a religious undertaking as well. 
 About the time, though, that the New England band went 
 to Jacksonville, the abolitionists, headed by William Lloyd 
 Garrison, were stirring the country into a bitter rage of 
 sectionalism. Illinois was plunged into the strife of sectional 
 hatred so that the New England group — from the home 
 states which had produced and supported Garrison — were 
 looked upon, at least, with suspicion. They sought to allay 
 and assuage that feeling by cooperating with the older de- 
 nominations in the state and by trying to find southern or 
 western professors for some of the college departments. 
 
 Another obstacle, however, was encountered when the 
 New England Presbyterian — Congregational denominations 
 first tried to obtain a charter for Illinois College from the 
 legislature which was still southern. The law makers were 
 afraid of the sectarian influence which might result. Judge 
 Hall put the case thus : ' ' In several instances, acts of incor- 
 poration for seminaries of learning, and for religious asso- 
 ciations, have been refused by the legislature ; and one insti- 
 tution of learning has been incorporated, with an expressed 
 provision, that no theological department shall ever be at- 
 tached to it. This is another indication of public sentiment 
 in this state, or at least of the policy of the legislature. 
 There seems to be a great dread among law givers, of re- 
 ligious domination, and of sectarian influence. Bills for acts 
 to incorporate religious societies, for the single purpose of 
 enabling them to hold a few acres of ground for their meet- 
 ing house and graveyard have been more than once intro- 
 
 " state Supt. Rept., 1867-8, p. 266.
 
 49 
 
 duced and rejected. No college, or other institution of learn- 
 ing, in which any one religious sect is known to have a pre- 
 dominant influence, has ever yet received a charter in thi& 
 state; nor will any such institution ever be incorporated 
 there unless public sentiment shall undergo radical 
 change." ^^ 
 
 Judge Hall then argued for the right and necessity of 
 religious denominations instructing their children: "If 
 religious denominations think proper to educate their own 
 children in their own tenets, they have a clear right to do so. 
 It is enough for those who object to the exertion of sectarian 
 influence upon the young mind, to withhold their support 
 from institutions which they disapprove. The granting of 
 a charter to a literary institution, confers upon it no moral 
 power, stamps no authority upon the tenets of the persons' 
 who control it, nor affects in the slightest degree, any of the 
 rights of conscience. It merely gives to such an institution 
 facilities for the transaction of its financial concerns, and 
 for the safe-keeping of funds bestowed upon it by the benevo- 
 lent, for public and beneficial purposes." 
 
 "In a country, where religious opinions are perfectly 
 unshackled, and men may believe and worship as they please^ 
 it seems to be unfair, that they should not be allowed every 
 facility for educating their children according to the dic- 
 tates of their own judgment; and we doubt, whether it is 
 not a violation of the spirit at least, of our free institutions, 
 to refuse to a religious society, the ordinary facilities of 
 law, for the protection of its property, the management of 
 its concerns, and the dissemination of its opinions. The 
 truth is, that the best colleges in the United States are 
 sectarian; each of them is under the direct patronage and 
 influence of a religious sect. No college, from which such 
 influence has been excluded, by expressed prohibition, has 
 been successful. The reason of this seems to be that the 
 business of education falls naturally into the hands of the 
 clergy. It comes legitimately Avithin the sphere of their 
 duties. They are fitted for it by the nature of their studies 
 and pursuits; while liberally educated men, in other profes- 
 sions, could only become qualified for the business of tuition 
 
 "Hall, Sketches of the West, 1835, v. 2, p. 206.
 
 50 
 
 by the sacrifice of their other avocations. Those avocations are 
 too lucrative and honorable to be abandoned by men of 
 talents, for the humble and precarious calling of teacher or 
 professor."^* 
 
 The new democracy, moreover, feared that there was on 
 foot a plan to unite the church and state to establish an 
 aristocratic clergy, and to destroy the liberties of the people. 
 Consequently, when Alton, Illinois and McKendreean Col- 
 leges and several academies petitioned the legislature from 
 1830 to 1835, for articles of inoorporation, charters were 
 refused. The educational convention of common schools at 
 Vandalia, in 1833, with numerous petitions by friends of the 
 colleges and academies, caused the Committee on Petitions 
 to make this report to the legislature: "In view of your 
 committee, three questions here arise upon the settlement 
 of which the whole matter will turn. ' ' ^^ 
 
 ''1. Are institutions of this character really needed in 
 this state? 
 
 2. Is it important to their success that the trustees who 
 manage them should become bodies corporate? 
 
 3. Can corporate powers be granted with safety to the 
 public interest?" '° 
 
 With regard to the first question, the committee found 
 that higher institutions were necessary to furnish teachers 
 for the common schools. The latter are unable to exist with- 
 out the former. Therefore, it should be the policy to charter 
 academic institutions. The other argument, relative to the 
 first question, stated that higher institutions were necessary 
 to provide scientific men. They instanced such men as Sir 
 Humphry Davy and Eli Whitney. "The engineer, for in- 
 stance, upon whom we must depend, to survey, and at every 
 step of their progress direct in the construction of our canals 
 and railroads, must be acquainted with algebra, geometry, 
 trigonometry, etc. * * * . ^e must have institutions which 
 shall be the depositories of science — liberally endowed — and 
 furnished with apparatus, libraries, and able and learned 
 men as instructors * * * who shall write our school books 
 
 "Hall, Sketches from the West, 1835, v. 2, p. 206. 
 "Senate and House Reports, 1834-5, p. 337. 
 *» Senate and House Reports, 1834-5, p. 337.
 
 51 
 
 and histories, and become our authors of imperishable 
 fame?"" 
 
 The argument relative to question two, is a legal dis- 
 cussion which does not concern us. 
 
 The Committee on Petitions adopted, in part, the 
 memorial of the trustees of Illinois College, in the report 
 to the legislature relative to question, three. 
 
 **We would state that it can be done without the least 
 hazard to the interests of the communit^^ One of the most 
 distinguished jurists and civilians in our country, in an ar- 
 gument before the Supreme Court of the United States, has 
 stated that the uniform testimony of experience, both in our 
 own and other countries, is, that such literary corporations 
 are, in an eminent degree, safe, and highly conducive to the 
 public good, and that, as a uniform fact, they have not been 
 perverted from their original purpose in improper ends. And 
 so far as we know, no fact is recorded which proves the danger 
 of any such perversion. Not only do facts prove the safety 
 of such literary corporation, but the nature of the case also 
 shows that they are exposed to fewer influences which may 
 lead to perversion, than almost any other class of corpo- 
 rations. They depend almost entirely on public sentiment 
 for their patronage and support, and therefore cannot, with 
 impunity, disregard the known interests and wishes of the 
 community. On the other hand, they are under the influence 
 of every possible motive to regulate all their measures so as 
 to bear the test of public scrutiny, and to correspond with 
 the known expression of public will.""^ 
 
 The committee went on to say that these reasons were 
 decisive; that literary corporations had been tried in other 
 states and found safe, and ''now, why should that which is 
 so safe in these states be dangerous in Illinois'?" 
 
 "If, then, as we trust has been abundantly shown, col- 
 leges are so much needed in our State, and the public interest 
 would be as really injured by neglecting to foster them as 
 by refusing to cherish common schools, and if corporate 
 powers are so essential to their permanent prosperity and 
 usefulness, and these powers can be granted with entire 
 safety to the public interest, what course does sound policy 
 
 "Senate and House Reports, 1834-5, p. 337.
 
 52 
 
 dictate? It would seem to be as clear as the sun in the 
 heavens. Shall we hesitate to pursue it I By your own acts 
 we have decided that it is inexpedient to create these institu- 
 tions by legislative enactment, and endow them from the 
 public resources. But are we prepared to say that none shall 
 exist within our bounds, when they are the pride of surromid- 
 ing states? Shall Illinois, with its unrivaled location, beauty, 
 fertility and natural resources, which prepare it to stand 
 preeminent in the confederacy, expose herself to the denunci- 
 ations of all her sister states, by refusing to foster literary 
 institution?" ^^ 
 
 The educational committee expressed its attitude toward 
 the petitioners for literary institutions by these questions-. 
 "Are not these different boards of trustees composed of our 
 fellow citizens, and are they not worthy citizens? Have 
 they done anything to forfeit public confidence? Have we 
 evidence that any other associations could do the work bet- 
 ter? Shall we single out any body of men, so long as they 
 show themselves worthy of public confidence, and are engaged 
 in promoting the public good, and deny them those powers 
 and privileges which any association of our fellow citizens 
 might justly ask at our hands? Why then, we repeat, not 
 grant the prayer of these petitions? Shall they meet with a 
 cold repulse? Shall their generous ardor in this noble work 
 be thus suppressed? Are we ready to say to any body of 
 our fellow citizens who have exhibited such a spirit of enter- 
 prise, and labored with so commendable a zeal, and met with 
 so much success, w^e will not sustain you?" '^ 
 
 The committee said that the petitioners had these claims 
 on the legislature for its support. "They commenced their 
 operations in the infancy of our State, when the means of 
 education were exceedingly limited, and the schools of every 
 description were few and far between. They do not simply 
 prepare to educate those who shall hereafter come upon the 
 stage, but the present generation also. The cry now is from 
 all parts of the State — educate the present generation. The 
 petitioners are ready to vociferate the same loud and long. 
 This is the very thing that they propose to aid in accomplish- 
 
 « Senate and House Reports, 1834-5, p. 337. 
 "Senate and House Reports, 1834-5, p. 337.
 
 53 
 
 ing. They come to us and point to the present state of edu- 
 cation in Illinois, and simply ask us to afford them such facili- 
 ties as will enable them to prosecute this noble work with- 
 out embarrassment. Shall we then withhold from them that 
 countenance and support which they ask? It would seem that 
 none could be more deserving of encouragement than the 
 pioneers in the cause of education. In the opinion of your 
 committee, the petitioners are richly entitled to the confidence 
 of their fellow-citizens, and the support of ourselves as a 
 legislature. ' ' '* 
 
 Thereu]:>on, the legislature granted charters to Alton 
 College, Illinois College, McKendreean College, Jonesbor- 
 ough College and the Jacksonville Female Academy, in 1835. 
 The charters of these institutions are practically all the same. 
 The model upon which they were made was the bill for a char- 
 ter for Illinois College, which bill was prepared by the mis- 
 sionaries and their associates. The group was made up of 
 Edward Beecher, Julian M. Sturtevant, Truman M. Post, 
 Theron Baldwin, William Kirby, Samuel Adams, John 
 Adams, Elisha Jenney, Asa Turner, Jonathan B. Turner, 
 John F. Brooks, Samuel D. Lockwood and J. M. Ellis. 
 
 These men were the founders of Illinois College and 
 the Female Academy at Jacksonville, in 1829 and 1830. The 
 legislature was petitioned by these institutions for charters 
 almost immediately. J. M. Sturtevant, in his sketch of 
 Theron Baldwin, said that the latter 's arguments for charters 
 for these institutions, before the Senate Educational Com- 
 mission, were so able that the committee adopted them as 
 their own in reporting the bill favorably. 
 
 The assumption that the Jacksonville group of men were 
 familiar with the charter of Yale College is probably true. 
 
 1. The Yale charter of 1701, amended in 1723, ''provides 
 that the number of said trustees be not under seven nor above 
 Eleven." -^ The Jacksonville charters named eleven trustees. 
 
 2. The objects stated in the two sets of charters are 
 similar: "Wherein Youth may be instructed in the Arts 
 and Sciences who through the blessing of Almighty God may 
 be fitted for Publick employment in Church and Civil 
 
 ** Senate and House Reports, 1834-5, p, 337. 
 "Yale Uni. Cat.. 1913-14, p. €3.
 
 54 
 
 State. "-^ The Jacksonville charters stated that the ''object 
 of said corporations shall be the promotion of the general 
 interest of education, and to qualify youn.^ men to engage in 
 the several employments and professions of society, and to 
 discharge honoralDly and usefully the various duties of 
 Ufe."^^ 
 
 3. The corporate powers of the Yale charter of 1745, said, 
 "Thomas Clap, etc., shall be an Incorporate Society or Body 
 Corporate and Politic and shall hereafter be called and 
 known by the name of the President and Fellows of Yale 
 College in New Haven, and that by the same name they and 
 their Successors shall and may have perpetual Succession, 
 and shall and may be Persons in the Law capable to plead and 
 be impleaded, defend and be fended, and answer and be 
 answered unto; and also to have, take, possess, acquire, 
 purchase, or otherwise receive Lands, Tenements, Heredita- 
 ments, Goods, Chattels, or other Estates * * * to grant, de- 
 mise, lease, use, manage or improve for the Good and benefit 
 of the said college."" 
 
 The corporate powers of Illinois College were: "To 
 have perpetual succession, to make contracts, to sue, and be 
 sued, implead and be impleaded, to grant and receive by its 
 corporate name, and to do all the other acts as natural per- 
 sons may; to accept, acquire, purchase or sell property, real, 
 personal and mixed, in all lawful ways ; to use, employ, man- 
 age, and dispose of all such property, and all money belong- 
 ing to said corporation, in such manner as shall seem to the 
 trustees best adapted to promote the objects of afore- 
 mentioned." " 
 
 4. The Yale corporation "shall and may hereafter have 
 a common Seal * * * and this same Seal to alter, break, and 
 make new as they think fit."'^ Illinois College was "to 
 have a common seal, and to alter or change the same. ' ' " 
 
 5. The Yale charter gave the trustees power "to make 
 * * * all such wholesome and reasonable Laws, Rules and 
 Ordinances, not repugnant to the Laws of England, nor the 
 Laws of this Colony. ' ' -^ The Jacksonville charter gave the 
 trustees p ower "to make such by-laws for its regulation 
 
 ^^Tale Univ. Cat.. 1913-14, p. 63. 
 
 =« Session Laws, 1835-45; Session Laws 1835, p. 177. 
 "Session Laws 1835-45; Session Laws 1835, p. 177. 
 "Tale Uni. Cat., 1913-14, p. 63.
 
 55 
 
 as are not inconsistent with the constitution and the laws 
 of the United States or this State." "' 
 
 6. The President in Yale College ''shall have power to 
 give and confer all such Honors, Degrees or Licenses as are 
 usually given in Colleges or Universities, upon such as they 
 shall think worthy thereof."-' The trustees of institutions 
 granting degrees had the power ''to confer on such persons 
 as may be considered worthy, such academical or honorary 
 degrees as are usually conferred by similar institutions."" 
 
 7. The charter of 1701 provided that the trustees could 
 "have, accept, acquire, purchase or otherwise lawfully enter 
 any Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments to the use of School, 
 not exceeding the value of five hundred Pounds per Ann."-^ 
 All literary charters granted in Illinois after 1830, limited the 
 amount of property held. "The lands, tenements, heredita- 
 ments, to be held in perpetuity, in virtue of this act * * * 
 shall not exceed six hundred and forty acres." ^° 
 
 8. The act of 1792 made lay members eligible to the 
 board of trustees of Yale College. The purpose was probably 
 to release, somewhat, the religious restrictions. The incor- 
 porators of many colleges and academies of Illinois tried to 
 have a theological department established, but for a long 
 time, that clause was kept out of the charters. 
 
 Finally, the general tone and spirit, as well as many of 
 the provisions, in the Illinois charters were similar to those 
 of Yale. 
 
 Keligious denominations, consisting of Catholics, Bap- 
 tists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists had 
 missionaries in Illinois near the beginning of the nineteenth 
 century. The purpose of the churches in sending missionary 
 preachers to the West was educational as well as religious. 
 Schools, usually academies, because they were the representa- 
 tive educational institutions of the period, were opened in 
 the more populated localities, largely through the efforts of 
 pioneer preachers. The culmination of the movement found 
 expression in the establishment of Alton, McKendreean and 
 Jacksonville Colleges, for the purpose of educating ministers, 
 and giving others a liberal education. In the class struggle 
 between the Yankee and the southerner, it was urged by the 
 
 »Tale Unl. Cat., 1913-14, p. 63. 
 
 »" Session Laws, 1835-45; Session Laws 1835, p. 177.
 
 56 
 
 latter that the former wanted to unite Church and State. 
 The legislature, chiefly southern, in 1830, refused for three 
 years to grant a charter to Illinois College. By the combina- 
 tion of the Congregationalists and Presbyterians, represent- 
 ing Illinois College, the Baptists, Alton, and the Methodists, 
 McKendreean, charters were granted to these institutions. 
 After that, academies were established by charters similar 
 to the college charters, the latter resembling, closely somewhat 
 the Yale charters of 1701 and 1745. 
 
 The foregoing chapters have dealt with external con- 
 siderations; the following discussion is an examination of 
 some of the internal features of the academy.
 
 57 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SOME INTERNAL FEATURES. 
 
 Entrance Requirements. 
 
 Standardization in administrative organization, entrance 
 requirements, tuition charges, subjects of study and methods 
 of teaching, is a slow process even in relatively developed 
 communities. Only a high degree of social action selects the 
 ideal. On the contrary, frontier life provides in its educa- 
 tional system those features which suit the ideas, tastes or 
 prejudices of extreme individualism. Consequently, the Illi- 
 nois academies, individually, determined their own rules of 
 procedure. 
 
 Age and mental attainment, the most common standards 
 of admission in our present educational system, were used, 
 but by no means generally, as entrance requirements to the 
 academies in Illinois. Sex, no longer an exclusive require- 
 ment, as had been in the colonial Latin grammar school, was 
 only an occasional condition of entrance. The academy, 
 therefore, was the first institution to grant higher educa- 
 tional privileges to women. The statement that only a limited 
 number of pupils could be accepted was probably more for 
 the purpose of advertising an exclusive institution than as a 
 condition for admission. Tuition payment, in practice, was 
 probably the most rigid of any of the entrance rules. 
 
 In general, anyone who paid the tuition charges, was 
 admitted as a member of an academy. Some statements 
 made by academic managers in newspapers and directories 
 throw light on the entrance requirements : In 1830, there was 
 a female department, attached to the Vandalia high school, 
 under a young lady, ''who teaches girls of any age, and boys 
 under six.'" Moreover, ''pupils may be entered at any time, 
 and will be charged only for the time of entering to the end 
 
 »Int., Oct. 23, 1830.
 
 58 
 
 of the quarter in session."- Again, "children of every age 
 are admitted, from those in the alphabet, and upwards 
 through the whole circle of sciences, so far as they are taught 
 in any academy."^ In the Hillsboro Academy, "the admis- 
 sion of pupils is restricted to no limitation of age or attain- 
 ment."* The Edgar County Academy said, "Pupils of both 
 sexes and all ages are admitted."^ In the School for Young 
 Ladies, in Springfield, the unique statement was made that 
 "none will be received under six years of age, unless they 
 are already members of the school or have a place engaged 
 in it."'' The Canton Academy accepted, "youth of both sexes, 
 not only as being convenient, but because it is believed that 
 under proper regulations, they will exert a happy influence, 
 in correcting the morals and refining the manners of each 
 other. "^ The Academy and Common School of Chicago ad- 
 mitted, in evening classes, "young men who are obliged to 
 pursue some other occupation during the day."^ Finally, 
 some academies had room for only a limited number of stu- 
 dents. When that number was reached, no others were ad- 
 mitted.^ 
 
 From these excerpts, it should be noticed, that no stand- 
 ard of scholarship was required as a condition of entrance. 
 
 Tuition. 
 
 One ideal of democracy w^as to provide education in the 
 chartered academies which should be free to all, the ones 
 able to pay, as well as the ones unable to pay. In particular, 
 the charters of Madison, Washington and Belleville acad- 
 emies carried a provision for the free education of youth 
 when the funds of the institutions would admit that practice. 
 Unfortunately, in the minds of the managers, the funds were 
 never sufficient. Whether the academies were endowed in 
 money or in land, or whether they received their share of the 
 distributive school fund for maintaining a common school, 
 fees were always charged. Dues were placed on instruction, 
 
 « Sang. Jr., June 5, 1845. 
 "Peoria Directory, 1844, p. 102. 
 «Sang. Jr., May 13, 1842. 
 ^TPr. Farm, v. 8, p. 71. 
 "Sang. Jr., Apr 4, 183.'5. 
 ' Sang. Jr., May 21, 1836. 
 8Ec. Jr., Ed., Nov. 15, 1851. 
 •Sang. Jr., Nov. 7, 1835.
 
 59 
 
 sometimes by subjects, sometimes by departments, sometimes 
 by M'hat we may call a curricula basis, and sometimes a fixed 
 amount for all work alike. The biggest fee, however, was 
 charged for living accommodations. If academies drew 
 pupils from regions other than the immediate locality, room, 
 board and washing were -necessary because transportation 
 facilities were poor, roads were bad, streams had to be forded 
 and dangerous forests crossed. Inaccessibility combined with 
 charges for instruction made the academy a select institu- 
 tion, in practice, rather than a means by which the mass of 
 the children could be educated. 
 
 Tuition was almost as varied as the academies were 
 numerous. However, several classifications of the ways in 
 which it was charged follow: 
 
 1. Tuition was placed on subjects: 
 
 Per quarter. 
 
 Grammar $ 4.00 
 
 Advanced English 5.00 
 
 Higher branches 6.00 
 
 Piano 8.50 
 
 Piano and singing 12.00 
 
 Beading 2.50 
 
 "Writing, reading, arithmetic 3.00 
 
 Geometry 3.50 
 
 Geography 3.50 
 
 Higher mathematics 4.00 
 
 Latin, French, Greek 4.00 
 
 10 
 
 2. Tuition was charged by departments: 
 
 Per quarter. 
 
 Preparatory department $ 5.50 
 
 Junior department 8.50 
 
 Second Junior department 10.50 
 
 Senior department 12.50 
 
 Male department Higher than 
 
 Female department for females" 
 
 "Sang. Jr., May 29, 1840. 
 
 Int. Oct. 23, 1830. 
 "Sang. Jr., Sept. 25, 1835. 
 
 Int. Oct. 23, 1830.
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 60 
 
 3. Tuition was charged on what might be called a cur- 
 riculum basis: 
 
 Per session 
 
 Common branches $ 2.50'^ 
 
 Higher branches In proportion'' 
 
 Philosophy, history, arithmetic, geography, 
 grammar, reading, spelling 2.50 
 
 Eeading, English grammar, geography, arith- 
 metic, penmanship, bookkeeping, and other 
 ordinary branches of English education. . . . 6.00 
 
 History, moral and natural philosophy, astron- 
 omy, rhetoric, composition, declamation, 
 chemistry, botany, algebra, and the higher 
 branches of mathematics, Latin, Greek, 
 French, Belles Lettres, ornamental needle- 
 work, drawing, painting, vocal and instru- 
 mental music 10.00'* 
 
 Canton Academy had a similar curriculum tuition : 
 
 Per quarter. 
 
 Orthography, reading, writing $ 2.50 
 
 English grammar, mental and written arith- 
 metic, English composition, ancient and 
 modern geography, the use of maps and 
 globes, and history 3.00 
 
 Algebra, geometry, bookkeeping, natural phi- 
 losophy, surveying, chemistry, intellectual 
 and moral philosophy, political economy, 
 astronomy, natural theology, and the Latin 
 
 and Greek classics 4.00'^ 
 
 In the Springfield city schools, tuition was as follows: 
 
 Per quarter. 
 
 Spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, geog- 
 raphy, English grammar, and composition. .$ 2.00 
 
 History of the United States, general history, 
 
 chemistry, and natural philosophy 3.00 
 
 Geometry, algebra, and the intellectual and 
 moral sciences 4.00 
 
 " Sang. Jr., Jan. 10, 1835. 
 " Peoria Directory, 1844. p. 102. 
 "Sang. Jr., Oct. 21, 1837. 
 "Sang. Jr.. May 21, 1836.
 
 61 
 
 "The school fund will not be deducted from the above 
 prices.'"^ 
 
 4. Tuition charges, many times, were stated as being a 
 certain amount for any or all subjects. In the Springfield 
 Academy, it was $7.50 per session, payable in advance.^^ In 
 the Springfield High School, the terms were $200 per annum, 
 $50 payable at the commencement of each session. Day 
 scholars paid $55, half of which was payable in advance." 
 Illinois College Academy made a single tuition charge of 
 $20.'" 
 
 Often tuition charges included several items of expense. 
 Tremont Academy required $95 per year, which included 
 tuition, board and washing.^" In Monticello Female Academy, 
 "the expenses will be for the Summer Term of sixteen weeks, 
 for board, tuition, and incidental expenses, $44, of which $25 
 will be required in advance. ' '"^ St. Mary 's, in Chicago, charged 
 for board and tuition, $150 per annum, and $75 for half 
 boarders, both of which were payable half-yearly in ad- 
 vance.^^ 
 
 Frequently, board was particularly mentioned. "Good 
 accommodations for boarding can be obtained in respectable 
 families at reasonable prices.""^ The principal can accom- 
 modate six or eight pupils with board and lodging, price two 
 dollars a week."'* "Boarding can be had convenient and 
 cheap in the neighborhood for males. I will receive at my 
 house, the females, exclusively, at one dollar per week, if paid 
 in advance or at the commencement of the session, or one 
 dollar and twenty-five cents at the close of the session."-^ 
 "Board may be had in the village, at from $1.50 to $2 per 
 week."^'' The Belleville trustees said, "boarding in the best 
 houses in town may be had at $50 per annum. In the country, 
 very convenient to town, boarding may be considerably 
 
 "Sang. Jr., June 5, 1845. 
 "Sang. Jr., Oct. 9, 1840. 
 "Sang. Jr.. Oct. 21, 1837. 
 "111. Col. Cat., 1851-2. 
 2»Sang. Jr., Apr. 17, 1840. 
 ="Sang. Jr., Mch. 28, 1844. 
 "Ec. Jr. Ed., Nov. 15, 1851. 
 "Sang. Jr., Oct. 21, 1837. 
 "Peoria Dir., 1844, p. 102. 
 =^Sang. Jr., Jan. 10, 1835. 
 '•Sang. Jr., May 21, 1836.
 
 62 
 
 lower. '^" In Hillsboro, '^good board may be had in respect- 
 able families from $1.50 to $2 per week."'" 
 
 Board sometimes carried with it room also. In the 
 Monticello Female Academy, "the teacher and pupils will 
 board in his family (his residence is within a few rods of the 
 building), the pupils will be under the immediate domestic 
 care of Mrs. Corey (wife of the principal of the Preparatory 
 Department), and receive every attention requisite to the 
 health, morals and manners. They will also be constantly 
 under the eye of the teacher, not only in the school room, but 
 in the boarding house, whose influence will be united with 
 that of Mr. and Mrs. Corey in controlling and regulating 
 their habits. "^^ 
 
 Also, "bedding, except a bedstead and straw mattress, is 
 to be furnished by the young ladies themselves, w^ho will be 
 taught and required to take care of their room."-^ The ad- 
 vertisement of the Springfield High School stated that "the 
 pupils from abroad will be received in the family of the prin- 
 cipals, where they will meet with kindness, and receive those 
 material attentions so necessary to youth in the absence of 
 parents. Pupils are expected to furnish their own beds and 
 bedding (bedsteads excepted) and to have their clothing dis- 
 tinctly and permanently marked.'"" 
 
 Tuition charges were made occasionally for curious 
 things. "Every student is charged for stationery, fuel, 
 sweeping, etc. — one dollar in the winter and fifty cents in the 
 summer time.'"^ "Each scholar attending the school may 
 furnish — cords of wood for which he or she shall be credited . 
 — dollars per cord,'"^ 
 
 Illinois College catalogue, 1851, made the following state- 
 ment for the annual academic expenses exclusive of vacation : 
 
 Tuition $20.00 Wood $ 2.50 
 
 Eoom rent 10.00 Board and washing. 
 
 Ordinary repairs, 2.50 average 60.00 
 
 Library 2.50 Board, per week, 50c to 1.50 
 
 "Spectator, Feb. 1, 1825. 
 28 Sang. Jr., May 13, 1842. 
 »Sang. Jr., Mch. 28, 1844. 
 »» Sang. Jr., Oct. 21, 1837. 
 "Sang. Jr., May 29. 1840. 
 »2Pr. Fr., 1846, p. 53.
 
 63 
 
 The Peoria Academy accepted many things for tuition. 
 It made tliis statement relative to charges: "Terms of tui- 
 tion, for twelve weeks, $4. If a pupil is under ten years, and 
 pays in advance, $3. Almost any kind of property is re- 
 ceived for tuition at a reasonable price, provided arrange- 
 ments be made at the commencement of the quarter, and pay- 
 ment be made at the time and in the manner proposed. But 
 if no arrangements be made, or if payment be delayed till 
 after the expiration of the quarter, cash will be expected. A 
 careful account is kept of all school funds received, and 
 the same is accredited to the parents or guardian of the 
 children. ' ' ^^ 
 
 Sometimes minute directions .were given for the stu- 
 dent's welfare. "Students coming from a distance, should 
 have guardians appointed either in this city, or in Ne^v York, 
 Detroit, St. Louis, or Galena, who will be responsible for the 
 regular payment of bills when due. Board and tuition per 
 annum. $150, payable half-yearly in advance. Washing, 
 mending, and attendance in sickness, are extra charges. 
 
 Washing, per annum, $18. Mending, Doctor's fees, $3. 
 
 Medicine will be charged at druggists' prices." 
 
 "German, Spanish and Italian languages, each $15 per 
 annum. Books, stationery, etc., will be furnished at the cur- 
 rent prices, or may be procured by parents or guardians. 
 Each student must be provided with two summer and two 
 winter suits. He should also have, at least, six shirts, six 
 pairs of stockings, six towels, six pocket handkerchiefs, three 
 pairs of shoes or boots, a hat, a cloak or overcoat, a silver 
 spoon, and a silver drinking cup — all marked with his name. ' ' 
 
 "No advance will be made by the institution for articles 
 of clothing except the amount expected to be thus expended 
 is previously deposited with the treasurer. Pocket money 
 should also be deposited in the hands of the treasurer to be 
 given to the students as prudence may suggest."^* 
 
 The School Year. 
 
 There was no fixed school year, as we now know it, from 
 September to June. School started when, and lasted as long 
 as the individual directors saw fit. "There are two sessions 
 
 33 Peoria Dir., 1844, p. 102. 
 "111. Reg., 1847, p. 20.
 
 64 
 
 in a year, of twenty-four weeks each: the one to commence 
 the first Monday in January, the other the first Monday in 
 July. The schools are kept six hours or more each day for 
 five days a week.'"^ In Canton Academy, ''the first term 
 will commence on the third Monday of April. ' '^^ An English 
 school in Springfield began its first quarter March 13th." 
 Peoria Institute had "four terms, of eleven weeks each, with 
 a six weeks' vacation. The next term commenced the first 
 Monday in May, 1851.'"* The Young Ladies School at 
 Springfield began "the first term of the second year * * * 
 April 13th. "^^ The Springfield Academy had sessions of 
 twenty weeks. The first session "will commence the 15th of 
 November, instant."" 
 
 Subjects of Study. 
 Previous to the beginning of the nineteenth century, 
 Latin, Greek and Arithmetic were the only subjects required 
 for admission to college. Geography was added in 1807, by 
 some of the eastern colleges, English grammar in 1819, alge- 
 bra in 1820, geometry in 1844, and ancient history in 1847.*^ 
 The Latin grammar schools had served distinctly as college 
 preparatory institutions, while the academies continued to 
 enrich their subjects of study by adding material from the 
 college field or by taking subjects outside of it. English, his- 
 tory, science, and modern languages for the first time became 
 significant. English composition and declamation, not unlike 
 the present high school aim in these subjects, emphasized the 
 development of correct usage in speech and writing, as well 
 as the enjoyment of the masterpieces of the language. His- 
 tory received an ever-increasing emphasis because of the 
 desire to praise and perpetuate free institutions. Physical 
 geography, physics, chemistry, botany and astronomy were 
 becoming popular for the first time, iDecause of their specu- 
 lative rather than their utilitarian value. The useful sub- 
 jects were continually mentioned and taught. The academy, 
 therefore, while serving the college, was an institution with 
 other objects in view. 
 
 »5 Peoria Dir., 1844, p. 102. 
 
 88 Sang. Jr., May 21, 1836. 
 
 3' Sang. Jr., Mch. 25, 1837. 
 
 8« Peoria Dir., 1850, p. 155. 
 
 =» Sang. Jr., April 4, 1835. 
 
 ■""Sang. Jr., Nov. 7, 1835. 
 
 " Brown, Making of Our Middle Schools, p. 231.
 
 65 
 
 The academies and seminaries offered at least five dis- 
 tinct curricula. But some academies emphasized one curri- 
 culum, perhaps, more than another. 
 
 1. In the preparatory department of Monticello Acad- 
 emy, *'it is designed that this Department shall be equal in 
 every respect to the best female academies in the country. 
 With the facilities which the seminary can furnish in obtain- 
 ing teachers of known qualifications * * * it is believed 
 that it will not be difficult to carry out the design. Those who 
 intend to pursue the higher branches in the seminary, will 
 find it greatly to their advantage to attend this school, as 
 books, course of study, and mode of teaching will be specially 
 adapted to preparing them to enter favorably on the semi- 
 nary course * * * The trustees have erected a commodi- 
 ous building on the seminary grounds, in which they intend 
 to open a Preparatory school, for the benefit of Misses, under 
 14 years of age, and those who are not otherwise qualified to 
 enter the seminary. "*- 
 
 Farmington Academy stated that it had Latin and Greek, 
 with other courses, as were necessary 'Ho enter the higher 
 classes in the colleges of the state."" Illinois College Acad- 
 emy outlined in its early catalogues courses which were in- 
 tended for college entrance. The college authorities consoled 
 the public with the statement that, if the pupils did not go to 
 college, they were prepared an>^vay for life." 
 
 2, Very early, it was recognized that one function of edu- 
 cation was to prepare men for the ministry. The theological 
 department of Rock Spring Seminary was founded on that 
 assumption. ''The general plan of study is accommodated 
 to the circumstances of the preacher of the gospel * * *^ 
 Ministers, who have families, and those who are somewhat 
 advanced in life, may attend the institution, as may suit their 
 convenience * * *. As soon as circumstances will allow, 
 a regular classical and theological education will be pur- 
 sued."*^ Even some of the academies, such as the Cherry 
 Grove Academy, had a provision in the charter which stated 
 that one object was to afford facilities for the education of 
 
 ^2Sang. Jr., Mch. 28, 1844. 
 «Sang. Jr., May 1, 1839. 
 "111. Col. Cat., 1849. 
 «Am. Ed. Soc, Nov. 1830.
 
 66 
 
 candidates for the ministry of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church/^ 
 
 3. The academy was regarded as the training school of 
 the common school teacher. The Springfield High School had 
 ''a department attached for the instruction of teachers."" 
 The Chicago Female Seminary said, "A teachers' depart- 
 ment is connected with the Seminary."*^ Hillsboro Academy 
 advertised that ''special attention was paid to those wishing 
 to qualify themselves to become teachers of the common 
 schools of the state."*'' Another institution pointed out that 
 "one feature of the school is worthy of notice. Particular 
 attention is given to that kind of instruction calculated to 
 prepare the student for the practical business of teaching." ^^ 
 
 4. Nothing is specifically stated in the charters, consti- 
 tutions, or advertisements of the academies that they pre- 
 pared men for law and medicine, as well as for teaching or 
 college, but often, the object of the institution Avas such that 
 it intended to train leaders for the state and society. Among 
 the professions of that day, the ministry was the only one 
 that could most justly claim the name. But the lawyer and 
 the doctor often studied the languages and social sciences in 
 the academies before "reading" law or medicine. 
 
 5. Although a great deal was said about the practical 
 pursuits of society, democracy had not yet been worked out. 
 It was only in the process of formation. The academies were 
 essentially themselves "class" schools, and were denomi- 
 nated, many times "select" institutions. Following through 
 the advertisements in the newspapers, one can read between 
 the lines that an appeal was being made to the cultured. 
 From that class, usually, the academy received its support in 
 donations and tuition. Hence, those subjects were taught for 
 which there was a demand. Some pupils were incapable and 
 unable to travel the rocky road of Hebrew, Greek, Latin, 
 mathematics and philosophy. The object of this institution 
 was to give young ladies a practical education * * * and 
 to ' ' cultivate the manners and form correct habits. " ^^ In the 
 
 •"' Sess. Laws. 1844-45. 
 "Sang. Jr., Oct. 21, 1837. 
 «Chi. Dir., 1843, p. 13. 
 <»Sang. Jr., May 13. 1842. 
 ""Ec. Jr. Ed.. Nov. 15, 1851. 
 "Chi. Dir., 1843, p. 13.
 
 67 
 
 New Girls School, piano, guitar, ornamental needlework, 
 English, French and Spanish were the subjects of study. 
 Another advertised drawing, painting, vocal music, instru- 
 mental music, piano, guitar and organ, as subjects of study." 
 At this point, a classification of the subjects taught in 
 the academies will be made. Again, it is necessary to state 
 that no academy taught all the subjects in the list, but that 
 most of them taught the languages and the common branches. 
 
 1. Common branches: The Alphabet, Reading, Orthog- 
 raphy, Penmanship, English Grammar, Composition, Decla- 
 mation, Arithmetic, Bookkeeping, and Geography. 
 
 2. Languages: (a) Latin — Grammar, Caesar, Sallust, 
 Cicero, Virgil, Horace and Tacitus, (b) Grammar — fables, 
 exercises. New Testament, and classics, (c) Hebrew — gram- 
 mar, exercises and Old Testament, (d) French — grammar, 
 fables, and classics, (e) Spanish — grammar, classics, (f) 
 Italian is mentioned once. It may have been Latin. 
 
 3. Sciences: Geography — ancient and modern, physical 
 and celestial; Chemistry, Astronomy, Natural Philosophy, 
 Botany, Mineralogy, Geology, Physiology, Hygiene, Medicine 
 and Natural Science. 
 
 4. Mathematics: Arithmetic — higher, written and men- 
 tal ; Algebra, Trigonometry — plane and spherical ; Geometry, 
 Mensuration, Surveying, and Navigation. 
 
 5. Philosophy : Ethics, Logic and Intellectual Philosophy. 
 
 6. Social Sciences: History — English, United States, 
 Greek, Rome, French, General; Mythology and Economics. 
 
 7. Religion: Pentateuch, Harmony of the Gospels, Evi- 
 dences of Christianity, Natural Theology, and Christian The- 
 ology. 
 
 8. English: Grammar, Rhetoric, Belles Lettres, Elocu- 
 tion, English Literature, Poetry and Criticism. 
 
 9. Accomplishments: Drawing, Painting, Mezzotinto 
 Painting, Vocal and Instrumental Music, Piano, Guitar, 
 Organ and Ornamental Needlework. 
 
 10. Manual Labor. 
 
 To make the above classification applicable, the program 
 of studies of the Springfield High School and the Springfield 
 
 »='Sang. Jr., Oct. 20. 1838. 
 State Supt. Report, 1867-8, p. 270.
 
 68 
 
 Academy are next quoted : * ' The Departments of study will 
 be six: 
 
 First — The English, including Orthography, Reading, 
 Penmanship, Arithmetic, Bookkeeping, , Geography, History, 
 English Grammar, Composition and Elocution. 
 
 Second — The Latin and Greek Languages. 
 
 Third — Mathematics, including Algebra, Geometry, 
 Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, Mensuration, Surveying 
 and Navigation. 
 
 Fourth — The French and Spanish Languages. 
 
 Fifth — Natural Science, including Natural Philosophy, 
 Astronomy, Chemistry, Botany, Mineralogy and Geology. 
 
 Sixth — Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, Rhetoric and 
 Criticism.^^ 
 
 The Springfield Academy advertised this course of study : 
 
 English — Reading, Orthography, Penmanship, Grannnar, 
 Murray's Composition, Declamation, Olney's Ancient Geog- 
 raphy, Woodbridges' and Willards' Geography, History, 
 Rhetoric, Astronomy, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and 
 Bookkeeping. 
 
 Classical — Latin Grammar — Liber Primmer, Jacob's 
 Latin Reader, Caesar, Sallust, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Taci- 
 tus. Greek Grammar, Greek Exercises, Greek Reader and 
 the New Testament. 
 
 Mathematical — Arithmetic, Algebra, Plane Trigonome- 
 try, Mensuration, Surveying, and Navigation. 
 
 French — Grammar, Fables, Telemaque, L 'Historic de 
 Charles XII. 
 
 ''The course of study has been selected with particular 
 reference to the formation of practical as well as theoretical 
 scholars, and proceeds on the settled conviction that thorough 
 scholarship will be the result. And in the prosecution of it 
 the pupils will be required by regular recitations and fre- 
 quent examinations to develop a critical and particular 
 knowledge of the several studies they may pursue ; and so far 
 as may be show their practical utility."^* 
 
 The languages held the center of the circle of studies in 
 all of the instruction in the academies before 1830, and much 
 of it after that time. Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, a knowledge 
 
 "Sang. Jr.. Oct. 21, 1837. 
 »<Sang. Jr., Nov. 7, 1835,
 
 69 
 
 of which was the mark of culture, persisted in American edu- 
 cation for a long time and came from the old Latin Grammar 
 School ; but the academy brought into existence, as fringes at 
 first, subjects of study that were practical at the time. A 
 great amount of space and time was spent in advertising the 
 utilitarian program of studies by the proprietors of the 
 academies. But the owners, many times, preachers, had re- 
 ceived the Latin Grammar type of education. It was but 
 natural for them to project the ancient languages as the core 
 of academic subject matter. 
 
 More than Latin was needed in a new country. An ob- 
 jection to languages, written in 1831, showed the trend away 
 from the domination and influences of the Latin Grammar 
 School. ''The study of languages, when it is made the com- 
 mencement or even the prominent part of a course of educa- 
 tion, exercises no faculty but that of memory. If we are told 
 that the books that are used in teaching the dead languages 
 are full of wisdom and poetry, full of original thought, and 
 rich conception, I answer that these are valueless, and vapid, 
 and pernicious, to the mind that cannot estimate their real 
 worth. The ancient classics are full of illustrations drawn 
 from the great volume of nature. Those words are all con- 
 fined, to the highest and most imaginative department of 
 human thought — to history, poetry, eloquence and philosophy 
 — subjects requiring the most abstract reflection, the most 
 mature judgment, the most cultivated taste ; and it is just as 
 ridiculous to carry the mind of a child by a sudden transition 
 from the works of Peter Parley to those of Virgil, Demos- 
 thenes, and Homer, as it would be to elevate the same child 
 by a single step from the nursery to the senate. ' '^^ 
 
 The same writer then gave several reasons why science 
 should be introduced as a subject of study. First, science 
 has been and is free from local, religious, and political squab- 
 bles. Second, science teaches individuals to deliberate rather 
 than memorize. Third, science has an inestimable social 
 value. Fourth, language made the schools venerate the past. 
 Language consists of written records, books are necessary, 
 strenuous effort is demanded, but science can be seen on 
 every hand. It affords pleasure and interest and disciplines 
 
 "Hall, 111., Mont. Mag., 1831, p. 316.
 
 70 
 
 the mind. Fifth, language gives words without any meaning 
 which is intellectual dyspepsia, but science furnishes the mind 
 with real ideas. Sixth, through science alone, can the proper 
 development of the country take place. Witness the silly 
 arguments against the Illinois-Michigan Canal, which were, 
 that the water from the lake would wash all the state away 
 were an outlet once made. 
 
 In the words of Judge Hall, the necessity for teaching 
 natural sciences was that ''these efforts ought not be limited 
 to knowledge of any one kind. All that can aid man, in gain- 
 ing the highest point of mental elevation, is desirable. In a 
 republican country, whose institutions are continually tend- 
 ing to democracy; where every change and revolution tends 
 to obliterate unnecessary distinctions, to distribute power 
 among the great mass of the community, and to mingle the 
 elements of society together, it is especially necessary that 
 the views of all our citizens should be enlarged and well bal- 
 anced. But particularly ought those departments of science 
 to be cultivated, which are best adapted for general diffusion, 
 which correspond with the genius of our free institutions, 
 and are calculated to develop the resources and increase the 
 strength of the country. "^^ 
 
 Of the sciences to be taught, ''the natural sciences, or 
 those derived from accurate examination of the laws and 
 properties of the material world, hold a conspicuous place, 
 and it is the object of this article to recommend a more gen- 
 eral cultivation of this department of knowledge."" Astron- 
 omy, botany, chemistry, mineralogy and geology were recom- 
 mended and defined as subjects that should have a place in 
 academic instruction. 
 
 These subjects had not been introduced because there had 
 been no demand for science. The leaders of education should 
 know what science had revealed. "Commencing at the time 
 when the frail bark crept timidly along the shore, and all the 
 maritime enterprises were confined to the margin of the sea, 
 he arrives at the period when the invention of the mariner's 
 compass enabled the bold navigator to venture fearlessly 
 upon the broad ocean, and visit distant lands, until then un- 
 known to the civilized world. He sees the rude bark swelling 
 
 "Hall, 111., Mont. Mag:., 1831, p. 316. 
 "Hall, 111. Mont. Mag., 1831, p. 316.
 
 71 
 
 into the majestic ship, armed with the powerful engines of 
 war, manned with hundreds of human beings, freighted with 
 rich products of foreig-n climates. He beholds here, how the 
 most simple contrivances, resulting from an accurate study 
 of nature, and an ingenious combination of mechanic powers, 
 have affected the intercourse of the world, advanced the 
 progress of civilization, increased the comforts, and stimu- 
 lated the industr}^ of life. He has also carried his investiga- 
 tions below the surface of the deep, and examined the struc- 
 ture and modes of existence of myriads of animals who live 
 secluded from the human eye. He has traced the mighty 
 Leviathan to the profound caverns of the deep, and has 
 watched the changing colours of the expiring dolphin; and 
 if he has not seen the lovely Mermaid singing on the rock, or 
 the car of Neptune rolling among the billows, he has discov- 
 ered forms as beautiful, and combinations as wonderful in 
 fact as those that are imagined in fable. He has inspected 
 the curious shell, the rich coral, the priceless pearl; by the 
 aid of science he has discovered beneath the waters a world 
 as splendid and as beautiful as the earth itself. "^^ 
 
 ''And lastly, the sciences are important from their direct 
 influence upon the practical duties of life. In all discussions 
 of a system of public instruction, it is to be recollected that 
 we are a republican people, that we are the sovereign rulers 
 of a mighty empire, that our children are the heirs apparent 
 of the supreme political power, and that the lovely forms by 
 which we are surrounded, are the mothers, the sisters and the 
 daughters of patriots, and republican rulers. There is no 
 useful art which does not depend for its success upon the 
 principles of these sciences. Every culinary process involves 
 the chemical operation, every mechanic art is founded upon 
 the laws of natural philosophy — even agriculture, the great 
 business which sustains the majority of our people, the most 
 primitive and simple of all arts, cannot be conducted with 
 advantage without some knowledge of this kind, and has been 
 greatly indebted to the whole circle of natural sciences. But 
 especially ought we cultivate everything wliich may tend to 
 give simplicity, energy and manliness to individual character, 
 and to cherish industry, economy, and enterprise as national 
 
 Hall, 111. Mo. Mag., v. 1, p. 316.
 
 72 
 
 virtues. In this country, no man is respected for mere ac- 
 complishments, no man can become distinguished by mere 
 scholastic learning. But a still further effort is needed; and 
 the friends of the diffusion of knowledge should never cease 
 their exertions until the word usefulness has been inscribed 
 in legible characters upon every literary institution of the 
 country, and until a prominent place shall be given to the 
 development of physical truth in every system of 
 instruction. ' ' ^^ 
 
 Examinations. 
 
 Another of the few sources that showed the internal 
 workings of the academies w^as the system of examinations 
 held and the addresses given at the end of the term. A com- 
 mittee, appointed by the board of trustees or the proprietors 
 of the academies to examine the instruction, usually consisted 
 of ministers. The pupils performed for the examiners in 
 special exercises, prepared for the occasion, in the presence 
 of parents and friends, of which the following is a typical 
 description : 
 
 ''And first in order, the examination of the school comes; 
 and here permit me to say that if they acquitted themselves 
 on the last examination in a masterly manner, in answering 
 too low, on this — they ran to the opposite end of the magnet 
 in speaking too loud, tried by their previous standard. Not- 
 withstanding the crowding and the excessive heat of the day, 
 which brought into play a brilliant array of fans, every 
 scholar could be heard with distinctness by those within; and 
 in a few instances, those out of doors could hear quite plainly. 
 We saw sufficient to be satisfied that many of them acquitted 
 themselves with credit and promptness and apparent thor- 
 oughness; we say apparent, because it is a glorious fact in 
 many instances with teachers, that a studied effort is made 
 for weeks for this occasion on particular points, rules and 
 illustrations, to make a class shine well before an audience." 
 
 "The reading of the Intelligencer, a manuscript paper 
 published by the young gentlemen of the school, occupied one 
 hour. An article on the origin of steam boats came, which 
 abounded in all kinds of styles save an original one ; historical 
 essays, if sententious, should be so linked as to blend the in- 
 
 "Hall, 111. Mo. Mag., v. 1, p. 316.
 
 73 
 
 structive with the interesting. John Bull and Uncle Sam 
 showed that the writer flourished a nervous quill, and some- 
 times became so nervous as to lose sight of the truth. He 
 ought to hear Dr. Vinton lecture on exaggeration, and after 
 that, compose in lucid intervals. A dream started amid 
 glorious constellations on its dreamland mission. 'Ye stars, 
 how he did soar.' School days brought to many a mind the 
 happy hours of youth. 'Prayer' lacked unity. 'The Bible' 
 was the most logical piece read and showed a disciplined 
 mind. 'The identity philosophy' was touched on lightly, and 
 the theory carried out very well. The mystic Swedenborg 
 could not have taken a plainer position as far as the writer 
 went out. Man was adapted to infinity and nature repeated 
 him in all conditions of animal and vegetable life. It was the 
 doctrine of Plato in new dress, and furnished for the occasion, 
 but we sincerely believe the author was ignorant of the 
 ground we walked across." 
 
 "The Paine and Voltaire school received a withering 
 rebuke. 'Looking for Items,' was a brief editorial about the 
 world in miniature. 'Our Paper,' published by the young 
 ladies, occupied thirty minutes. It was read in a very low 
 tone, and several pieces could not be heard at all; not even 
 the subject was announced audible. This was bad, it ought 
 not to be so loud, but readers should be selected for public 
 reading. ' ' 
 
 " 'Our School Days,' 'Mourners.' 'Books,' 'Home,' 
 'Mischiefmakers,' 'Words,' were brief but good. 'Twilight 
 Thoughts ' was stolen goods and publicly appropriated. ' Close 
 of School ' was a very touching piece. We think, ^\dthout giv- 
 ing a prejudiced opinion, that the young gentlemen's paper 
 was the best. The young ladies will try again before they 
 deserve the palm of honor. "^" 
 
 Besides this kind of examination, the committee of ex- 
 aminers heard classes and individuals recite Latin grammar, 
 Latin translation, mathematics, philosophy, and other ordi- 
 nary subjects of study. Their judgment of the school was 
 based on the ability of the pupils to recite from memory 
 formal exercises. 
 
 But the public examinations were justified by the acad- 
 emy beca use, (a) the community had its interest awakened 
 
 "Sang. Jr.. July 2, 1858.
 
 74 
 
 in schools and education; (b) pupils were stimulated to better 
 scholarship; (c) studies were reviewed when necessary. A 
 writer in the Illinois Teacher stated the current conception 
 thus : ' ' But public examinations have great advantage attend- 
 ing them. They awaken a more general interest in the com- 
 munity at large on the subject of schools and education. They 
 furnish an occasion for many good things to be said in the 
 presence of parent and pupil. They stimulate the scholar 
 to great-er exertion and more accurate scholarship. Further- 
 more, these public examinations have generally been made 
 the occasion to review the studies pursued by the joupils dur- 
 ing the year. Nothing can be more useful than this. Review- 
 ing studies carefully is the best way to make them thoroughly 
 understood. It is true this can be done without any such 
 public examination ; but it will be more likely to be done, and 
 better done, with it."^^ 
 
 The public examination was an occasion, moreover, for 
 an address by the principal to the parents and the pupils on 
 the worth of education. Occasionally, the virtues of learning 
 were stated in very modern terms: 
 
 1. Education had a commercial value : ' ' If there were no 
 other considerations to prompt you to a faithful improvement 
 of your privileges and time, the results in your favor, in 
 dollars and cents, should be considered sufficient to spring 
 and keep alive all of your energies, to prepare, for your 
 entrance upon the business transactions of life, by obtaining 
 the necessary literary qualiJfications. ""^ 
 
 2. Mental satisfaction justified the efforts required to 
 obtain an education: ''Mental satisfaction alone may be con- 
 sidered infinitely more forcible, and contains enough in it to 
 warrant all your efforts. The mind in an entire uncultivated 
 state can have but few enjoyments, but when enlightened, 
 vast fields of pleasure open before it. Truth is its proper ele- 
 ment, and as the various order of beings derive most of en- 
 joyment in the element suited to their natures, so the mind 
 has most of enjoyment when in the possession or pursuits 
 of truth." 
 
 ''To separate truth and error — to detect the rock on 
 which your bark of fortune might split — to be satisfied that 
 
 <" Illinois Teacher, v. 1, p. 83. 
 
 •2 Trotter, W. D., Prin. Salem Acad, in San. Jr., 1858.
 
 75 
 
 your business, when transacted, is done correctly — to know 
 what man is, and what he has done on earth — to become ac- 
 quainted with the physical structure of the globe on which 
 he dwells — the different orders of being which live and move 
 through its expanse of waters, or inhabit appropriate divi- 
 sions on its surface, and to discover the harmony of all 
 nature's operations, as well as her wonderful power to ac- 
 complish the beneficient purposes of the Great Creator, in 
 contributing to the preservation and happiness of all animal 
 existence — are some of the few purposes of mental enjoy- 
 ment."*^^ 
 
 3. The foundation of a republican government rested 
 upon education, but enough has been said already on that 
 subject. 
 
 4. Social relationships required educated leaders: ''But 
 in the cultivation of the mind, materials are gathered from 
 social intercourse with our fellow creatures; and as society 
 is delightful and necessary to us all, there is an obligation 
 resting upon every youth, apart from numerous inducements 
 to carry with him into the w^orld a large stock of information 
 as he can conmiand * * *. Young Gentlemen ! Who of you 
 will step forward and add your name to the list of bene- 
 factors of the human race? Do you emulate the fame of the 
 truly great ? This is the way. Do you aspire to leave a trace 
 upon the earth, which the touch of time will not mar, an ex- 
 panding field for effort, not for ourselves alone, but to 
 bring good mentally, socially, politically and religiously to 
 others." 
 
 This chapter has shown that the standards for admission 
 to academies in Illinois were singly and individually de- 
 termined; that tuition fees were charged in all conceivable 
 ways by subjects, by departments, by curricula, and by fixed 
 sums for all subjects ; that other items of cost were included 
 in pupil's expenses, chief of which were those for living 
 accommodations ; that tuition charges, coupled with inaccessi- 
 bility, made the academy practically a select institution open 
 only to those who could afford it. 
 
 Moreover, the length of the school year, the division 
 of the year, and the length of the school day were in no sense 
 
 "Trotter, W. D., Prin. Salem Acad, in San Jr., 1858.
 
 76 
 
 uniform throughout the state. However, nearly every 
 academy did retain the Latin grammar school curriculum as 
 a center around which other subjects were added to pre- 
 pare students for the useful and professional positions in 
 life. Besides the ancient languages, philosophy and arith- 
 metic, modern languages, more mathematical subjects, some 
 social sciences, natural and physical sciences, cultural and 
 artistic subjects, and manual labor were introduced into the 
 academic program. Formal examinations were conducted by 
 a committee of the prominent men of the community, usually 
 ministers, at the close of each term in order to pass judgment 
 upon the efficiency of instruction. Once in a while, the mode 
 of teaching was such as to indicate to the pupil some of the 
 social values of education. The utilitarian aspect of the 
 academy is well explained by the philosophy underljang the 
 manual labor feature.
 
 77 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Manual Labor Aspect. 
 
 To the professions, the Latin granunar school and 
 the early academy had ministered, but the great mass 
 of the common children in frontier and semi frontier 
 districts were unable to rise from their common station 
 in life if education were the prerequisite. Although the acad- 
 emy may be said to have represented liberalism, and although 
 it was a frontier institution, it was essentially, highly 
 selective. The middle and upper classes, only, could take 
 advantage of academic education. To remedy the situation, 
 the idea arose of establishing manual labor academies in 
 strategic positions where pupils could earn a part of their 
 expenses, where the common child could have the privilege 
 of going to school, where habits of industry, morality and in- 
 dependence would be taught, and where a literary education, 
 comparable to that given in the usual academy, could be ob- 
 tained. 
 
 Generally speaking, the manual labor movement began 
 in the United States about 1825, chiefly through the European 
 influence of the students of Fellenberg in Switzerland. 
 Connecticut organized manual labor schools in 1819, Maine 
 in 1821, Massachusetts in 1824, New York in 1827, and New 
 Jersey in 1830. Besides, an attempt was made to establish 
 that feature in the already existing literary institutions. 
 Little success was obtained in the older, more firmly estab- 
 lished and conservative schools. But the first seminaries 
 and colleges were just growing up in the West where new and 
 radical features were more likely to be adopted. Also, the 
 West was the center from which most of the tracts and teach- 
 ings of the principal leaders, Neef and Maclure were dis- 
 tributed. Provided with an abundance of cheap land, upon 
 which agricultural and some mechanical pursuits could be
 
 78 
 
 carried on, it was very easy for all academies and colleges 
 in the new states to incorporate that attractive and so-called 
 democratic principle. 
 
 In the eastern states, the feature was shortlived. By 
 1840, practically all talk of the manual labor idea had ceased, 
 but the West continued the plan to the close of the national 
 period. After the ideas of Maclure and Neef had subsided, 
 J. B. Turner, of Illinois College, where the system was in 
 operation for a few years, somewhat changed the arguments 
 to those that should favor institutions from the common 
 schools through the university for the education of the labor- 
 ing people. His life was spent in continual service to that 
 ideal until congress passed the Land Grrant Act for the estab- 
 lishment of Agriculture and Mechanical Colleges, and Illinois 
 chartered the Industrial University. Thus, the manual labor 
 idea in Illinois had served as a basis for the more liberal 
 education of all the people, not only for the professions, but 
 for all classes. The final realization of many of the aims of 
 the original advocates of manual labor came with the intro- 
 duction of manual training in the high schools, about 1877. 
 A closer examination of the philosophy and examples of the 
 establishment of the so-called Fellenberg movement, may not 
 be out of place. 
 
 Fellenberg introduced and established the first system 
 of utilitarian education in the canton of Berne, Switzerland. 
 Experiment began with fifteen or twenty poor boys whom 
 he taught while they worked on the farm or in the shop. 
 The poor school was attached to a rich school, where noble 
 youths were instructed. The latter school gave him consider- 
 able reputation and a great deal of popularity so that the 
 number in the former was increased to about one hundred. 
 
 Joseph Neef, associated with Fellenberg and acquainted 
 with his experiment, was induced to come to the United 
 States, by William Maclure, who travelled in Europe study- 
 ing educational movements. Neef began a school in Phila- 
 delphia, but later, about 1825, taught a school in New 
 Harmony, Indiana, where Maclure was sending out tracts 
 on the Pestalozzian and Fellenberg manner of instruction. 
 The manual labor feature of that system was planned for the 
 new country of the West.
 
 79 
 
 ''While travelling in Europe, having observed how 
 nearly some establishments in Switzerland were enabled to 
 educate, feed and clothe children, by the produce of their 
 own labor, in a country where land is one hundred times dear- 
 er than in this country, and labor one-sixth our price, the 
 idea suggested itself of the great facility of accomplishing 
 such a plan here. Circumstances beyond my control, have 
 hitherto prevented the trial; but conceiving my present situ- 
 ation favorable for such an experiment, I shall attempt it. 
 It is more than probable, by the old spelling and horn-book 
 system of five or six years' learning to read or write, and 
 eight or nine years on Latin or Greek, it would be impossible 
 to make children productive either to themselves or others. 
 The adoption of some system of education, limited to the 
 useful, omitting all the speculative and the ornamental, is 
 positively necessary to the success of such an undertaking." ' 
 
 The principle for the subjects of study in such a system 
 was based on this foundation: ''Mechanism, that injector 
 of mind into matter, for the use of man which substitutes 
 the ingenious organization of inert substances, in the place 
 of manual labor, furthers the progress of real civilization, 
 perhaps more than anything else. It is more than probable 
 that the knowledge of subduing matter to the use of man 
 ought to be the foundation of all useful civilization, and the 
 people who begin otherwise, begin at the wrong end. The 
 study of the simple mechanical powers, such as the lever, 
 screM% pulley, etc., progressing gradually toward the more 
 complicated calculation of wheel work and the application of 
 geometry to all kinds of mill work, the power of running 
 water and practical hydraulics, are all to be learned by care- 
 ful examination of the machines themselves. The simplest 
 machinery ought to be studied first, such as the most perfect 
 implements of husbandry, and of all the useful arts. The 
 more complicated, for manufactories, such as for spinning 
 and weaving cotton and wool, the construction of the most 
 improved steam engines, being more difficult ought to be 
 learned after the more simple ; but as all mechanism has been 
 contrived as our wants required, it must therefore be con- 
 sidered as all useful and necessary to the occupations of 
 
 ' Maclure. Opinions, 1819-31, v. 1, pp. 55-63.
 
 80 
 
 man, and must be learnt in the order of the occupations of 
 man, and must be learnt in the order of the utility * * * 
 and leaving to the last those inventions which are purely 
 ornamental or for the facilitating of luxury. Mechanism by 
 its nature, being removed from all delusions of fancy, caprice 
 or imagination, as well as its useful applications to most of 
 the occupations of man, ought to be the solid foundation on 
 which is built the future happiness and prosperity of man- 
 kind."' 
 
 Although natural philosophy was a subject of study in 
 the academies shortly after this w^riting, there is no evidence 
 to show that the principles of physics were developed from 
 the simple to the complex and made a useful part of local 
 industry and life. 
 
 The philosophy of the system of manual labor found 
 principally the following values favoring it: 
 
 1. The useful alone is valuable, for ''when we abandon 
 utility as the scale of value, we are adrift on the sea of 
 caprice, fancy and whim, without either rudder or com- 
 pass." ^ 
 
 2. Mental and physical work to be productive must be 
 conjoined. *'The Pestalozzian system has a great advantage 
 in all schools of industry, for it not only produces both 
 knowledge and property at the same time, but gives a habit 
 of working and thinking conjointly, which lasts during life, 
 and doubles their powers of production, while it alleviates 
 the fatigue of labor, by a more agreeable occupation of the 
 mind. The teaching by substance or their representations, 
 is much more correct and pleasant, than the dry and vague 
 description of the master ; and accompanying the lesson with 
 muscular exercise, is far more healthy than sitting two or 
 three hours on a stool in one position, when both body and 
 mind remain under very fatiguing restraint, injurious equally 
 to the powers and faculties, exhausting the attention with- 
 out which no lasting impression can be made either in adults 
 or children. ' ' * 
 
 3. Physical and mental labor conjoined were economical. 
 '*The care and economy taught by the Pestalozzian system, 
 
 * Maclure, Opinions, 1819-31, v. 1, pp. 55-63. 
 ' Maclure, Opinions, v. 1, p. 59. 
 
 * Maclure, Opinions, v. 1, p. 87.
 
 81 
 
 is one of its most permanent features. For the youngest 
 children are taught to keep their clothes carefully, to give 
 them wash and receive them agreeably to the list and to mend 
 them when worn and torn; the only way of preventing them 
 from destroying them through life. ' ' ^ 
 
 4. This system saved time in gaining (a) positive 
 know^ledge. ''By the acquisition of knowledge that can be 
 applied to all the occupations of life; and unchangeable 
 truths of properties of men and things, that surrounding 
 circumstances bring them in contact with, they save a great 
 deal of previous time by gaining as much information in a 
 month, as they would in a year by the old method." ^ 
 
 (b) This system saves time in learning a trade. "To 
 multiply and exaggerate the difficulties to be encountered 
 in teaching all the arts and sciences, would appear to be 
 one of the great objects of all masters and professors; it is 
 an egotism so perfectly consistent with the principle of all 
 commerce and trade, to buy cheap and sell dear, that it 
 ought to be expected; what else could induce a continuance 
 of the old system of retaining an apprentice seven years to- 
 learn to make a pair of shoes or sew a coat, keeping a poor 
 child five or six years, tormented with a spelling book? All 
 trades have an interest in enhancing the value of the articles 
 they deal in, and schoolmasters have no other way of in- 
 creasing their consequence, than by giving sparingly the 
 knowledge they possess, to their pupils; and retaining them 
 as long under their tutelage as possible, which both adds to 
 their consideration and purse. "^ 
 
 5. Work connected with school was superior to play. 
 "Children lose patience, their attention is fatigued, and their 
 good-will exhausted by being kept too long at mental exer- 
 cises, and their instinct suggests the necessity of keeping 
 up the equilibrium between the vital power or force expended 
 by muscular action, and the intellectual exertions; out of 
 which necessity originated the love of play and amusement, 
 through requiring harder labor than their scholastic studies, 
 such as crooked stick, hand and foot ball, cricket, etc., all 
 creating violent competition, and the useless ambition of 
 
 » Maclure, Opinions, v. 1, p. 91. 
 * Maclure, Opinions, v. 1, p. 95. 
 ' Maclure, Opinions, v. 1, p. 65.
 
 82 
 
 being preeminent in a struggle that tends to no utility, but 
 serves to strengthen and excite malevolent passions of ill- 
 will, envy and hatred, habituating them to the unsociable 
 feeling of gaining pleasure by others' loss, which is the im- 
 moral feature of all amusing contention and gambling. When 
 a little older, they follow the sports of men, fishing, shoot- 
 ing, horse-racing, cock-fighting, bull-bating, etc., all torment- 
 ing cruelties, finishing by blood and slaughter, strengthening 
 and augmenting brutal passions, which seem peculiarly 
 adapted to our species, from the Roman gladiators, dow^n to 
 the British boxers. It would be more rational to amuse 
 themselves with the trade of a butcher, because the plea of 
 necessity might excuse that cruelty, which cannot be ad- 
 vanced for such amusements. ■ It is more than probable 
 that all such pleasures and pastimes are the remains of 
 savage barbarity, kept up by the idle and tyrannical con- 
 sumers, imitated by the ignorant and foolish producers, and 
 perpetuated and enforced by long habit." 
 
 ''If pleasurable ideas can by habit and practice be 
 united with such mortifying exhibitions of human depravity, 
 where every result is annihilated the moment the action is 
 finished, how much more easy would it be for teachers to 
 impress on the tender minds of children the union of pleasur- 
 able ideas with the useful occupation of some mechanical 
 art."^ 
 
 The writer furnished the following example and argu- 
 ment of the value of labor compared with play. Labor 
 ''would furnish the necessary muscular exercise, so con- 
 ductive to health, while, at the same time, the gratification 
 would be prolonged by the permanent benefit obtained by 
 the utility of what is produced, and securing pecuniary in- 
 dependence in being capable of practicing a productive trade 
 in the case of necessity. The being taught to make shoes or 
 coats does not force the possessor of such knowledge to be 
 a shoemaker or a tailor, any more than learning mensuration 
 or navigation obliges him to become a surveyor or sailor. 
 Children ought to be trained and educated to suit the prob- 
 able situation, which circumstances of the next generation 
 may place them in. Even at the present time all our farmers 
 
 •Maclure, Opinions, v. 1, p. 147.
 
 83 
 
 and manufacturers, nine-tenths of our population, would be 
 very much benefited by possessing one or two mechanic arts, 
 suitable to their occupations."^ 
 
 6. The professions were* already full. In order to live 
 in the future one must work. ''Most of the professions, that 
 do not require manual labor, are overdone in all civilized 
 countries; and in this, it is probable in the next age, few 
 will be able to live comfortably, without the aid of manual 
 labor." ^" 
 
 7. Labor would restore equalit}^ and bring independence 
 and happiness, the absence of which has caused violence and 
 crime. Labor, ''would lay the foundation of a highl}^ useful 
 equality and independence ; and would continue to strengthen 
 through life, so as to raise them far above all vice and crime, 
 for the great and unnatural inequality of property, know- 
 ledge and power is perhaps the cause and origin of all force, 
 violence and crime, where civilization has made any progress. 
 AVe may perhaps be allowed to hope that the great radical, 
 moral reforms now begun, will secure the greatest happiness 
 to the greatest number, as the most important result for 
 abused humanity."" 
 
 However, the United States would be the easiest place 
 on earth to introduce a system of manual labor in its schools. 
 
 "This, of all the countries on earth, by moral, physical 
 and all other advantages, is most fit for feeding, clothing and 
 instructing children by their OAvn labor. The cheapness of 
 land and most raw materials that it produces, joined to the 
 excessive dearness of every species of labor, renders the 
 experiment almost certain of success, even though it had 
 failed in every other country." ^^ 
 
 The location should be healthy, "removed from swamps 
 or stagnant water, on or near canals, great roads or navi- 
 gable rivers, surrounded at least by two acres of land for 
 every child, as a productive farm from which they might 
 obtain wherewith to feed them. ' ' ^^ 
 
 The house should be "a parallelogram or square for 
 centralizing all the inhabitants, that the least time might 
 
 •Maclure, Opinions, v. 1. p. 147. 
 '0 Maclure, Opinions, v. 1, p. 71. 
 "Maclure, Opinion, v. 2, p. 202. 
 "Maclure, Opinion, v. 2, p. 88. 
 "Maclure, Opinion, 'v. 2, p. 135.
 
 84 
 
 be lost in changing place. A courtyard would occupy the 
 center, and all around the buildings would be gardens, both 
 for the convenience of culture and the collecting of fruit. ' ' ^^ 
 
 Finally, the cost for the foundation of a system of edu- 
 cation, combining theory and practice, would be moderate. 
 ** Useful and profitable labor are the only means to production, 
 which under judicious and economical management will sup- 
 port and maintain all the expenses of the establishment. The 
 first expenditure of arranging the locality and some outfits 
 at the commencement would be the only expense out of the 
 peoples' purse." 
 
 ''That children by their own labor can clothe, feed and 
 educate themselves, is completely proven in other countries, 
 and will be very soon in this, beyond a possibility of doubt ; 
 after which, it will be easy for the inhabitants to subscribe 
 and buy a farm; each lending a hand to erect buildings, and 
 begin the cultivation, which will secure a useful education 
 to their children, with food and clothing, when the manage- 
 ment of the whole will be under the direction of those who 
 are interested in the success and reap the benefiits of the 
 establishment. ' ' " 
 
 Besides the educational tracts that Maclure and his fol- 
 lowers published and distributed, the newspapers of the time 
 published articles in favor of the manual labor system. The 
 Illinois Intelligencer had this to say: ''In all our schools, 
 and especially in our higher seminaries, systematic exercise 
 ought to be introduced." (Eiding, walking, climbing, vaulting 
 are mentioned.) "They are better suited to the playful feel- 
 ings of children than to the chastened affections of riper 
 years." (Manual labor takes up the idle time, relieves the 
 children from mischief, gives money to the needy and exer- 
 cise to all.) "The regulation among the Jews was that every 
 child should be taught some useful trade, was founded in 
 wisdom and common sense. And what a salutary influence 
 would such an example of industry in those who are to move 
 in the higher walks of life, produce on the community. How 
 far it would go to render industry honorable, how much 
 useful information on the common occupations of life, would 
 be diffused by the learned through the lower classes of 
 
 " Maclure, Opinions, v. 1, p. 70.
 
 85 
 
 society. Such knowledge would be useful to every professional 
 man in future life, and especially to members of the gospel 
 in our new settlements, and to missionaries to the heathen. 
 Persons thus educated, if not successful in their profession, 
 would not be helpless. Such a system would enable those 
 who intend to devote their lives to agriculture, mechanical, 
 or manufacturing pursuits, to acquire an education, and then 
 to return to business with their habits unimpaired." ^^ 
 
 Convinced that a proper system of education should de- 
 velop the mental, moral and physical, the manual labor 
 system purported to unite all three aims in one. 
 
 The constitution of the Cumberland Presbyterian Synod, 
 published in the Illinois Intelligencer, November 11, 1825, 
 provided for manual labor in its academies : "The committee 
 acting as a board of trustees, shall appoint a skillful manager 
 to superintend the farming establishment, to erect cabins and 
 other buildings, and to take charge of the boarding establish- 
 ment : that every student shall be employed in manual labor 
 not less than two and 'Uot more than three hours per day; 
 and for this purpose the whole number of students shall be 
 divided into suitable classes. The superintendent of the farm 
 shall call on each class in rotation to perform their term of 
 daily labor, and shall be privileged to employ them at such 
 kind of labor, principally, agricultural, as may afford them 
 exercise and conduce to the interests of the institution: — 
 that so much of the produce of the farm as may be necessary 
 shall be appropriated to the use of the boarding establish- 
 ment." The constitution continued to speak of the aims 
 of manual labor, most of which have been indicated above. 
 
 Rock Spring Theological and High School contemplated 
 ''that each student shall labor some small portion of his time 
 for the purpose of preserving health, gaining useful know- 
 ledge in agriculture and domestic economy, and lessening 
 expense. It was Resolved, That a farm be connected with 
 the institution. ' ' ^® 
 
 The education of the Indian, as was to be expected, 
 followed similar lines. ''There are 98 Indian children — 58 
 boys — the rest girls. There are two male, and two women 
 teachers besides a man who oversees the work on the farm. 
 
 " 111. Int.. Oct. 30, 1830. 
 "111. Int. Mch. 24. 1827.
 
 86 
 
 Four mechanics are employed — six boys work with them — 
 learning the trade of carpenter, wheelright, blacksmith and 
 shoemaker. These children gradually learn fast and work 
 well; and both they and their parents are generally well 
 pleased with the school." ^^ 
 
 Provisions in the charters of a great number of acad- 
 emies and schools showed that manual labor was a common 
 idea of the times. The Chatham Manual Labor School 
 provided that ''the board of trustees shall have entire con- 
 trol of the system of manual labor, and shall determine the 
 proportion of labor of each student, and no student shall be 
 received as a regular member of the school, unless he submits 
 to the performance of such an amount of labor as is enjoined 
 by the trustees, and the trustees shall account to each student, 
 for such labor, which shall be appropriated to discharge his 
 expenses in said school. "^^ 
 
 Moreover, literary institutions as well as specific manual 
 labor schools, had a system of labor. Peck described the 
 operation of work at Illinois College thus: "There are also 
 upon the premises a farm, house, barn and workshop for 
 students to use to perform manual labor. The farm consists 
 of 300 acres of land, all under fence. The improvements and 
 stock on the farm are valued at several thousand dollars. 
 Students who choose are allowed to employ a portion of each 
 day in manual labor, either upon the farm or in the work 
 shop. Some individuals earn $150 each, during the year."^* 
 
 Niles Weekly Register, published in Baltimore, praised 
 the system in the West. "We are glad to hear that manual 
 labor colleges and schools in Indiana, the true and only sys- 
 tem of education for democracies, are in a flourishing con- 
 dition in that part of the country. We hope the sound sense 
 and good example of the Hoosiers will be in a few years from 
 this time adopted throughout the United States, and that the 
 ancient aristocratic prejudices of cloister learning, will be 
 dispelled before the light of modern truth and science which 
 is penetrating everywhere through the darkness of obsolete 
 usages, and preconceived error, deep-rooted for ages, but 
 now to be unlearned." ^"^ 
 
 " 2-3 An. Rep., M. B. Miss. Soc, p. 28. 
 "Sess. Laws, 1835-6, p. 169. 
 "Peck, Gazetteer, p. 69. 
 *• Niles Weekly Register, Aug. 1, 1840.
 
 87 
 
 The feature of manual labor continued a long time in 
 Illinois though at a later date, it was very much more specific 
 in its purpose. Whether it was the cause of the name given 
 to the University of Illinois, Illinois Industrial University, 
 it will be difficult to say, but the manual labor idea came to 
 play a large part in the establishment of a university for the 
 working people. 
 
 In advocating a peoples' university, a writer in the 
 Prairie Farmer, made use of the manual labor principle. 
 "What we want, to begin with, is simply a Manual Labor 
 School; we would call it a Farm School, because there is the 
 aroma of a House of Correction about the words, "Manual 
 Labor," that is suggestive of juvenile depravity, and of whole- 
 some restraint, and "hard labor for the term of three years," 
 as connected therewith. We want a plain Farm Scliool, for 
 the sons of farmers. Let them be sent to this school at any 
 age between eight and eighteen, as to an academy. Let their 
 education be conducted as is usual in academies, except that 
 more attention shall be paid to two branches, which will be 
 practically useful in their future progress." 
 
 "The great distinguishing feature of this establishment 
 should be a farm of about two hundred acres, where could 
 be kept stock of every description, fruit trees of all kinds, 
 etc. Here could be shown the advantages of scientific culti- 
 vation ; for unless it is advantageous, it is not needed. Here 
 should be tested our theories of manures, general and special ; 
 the various methods and modes of planting, and breedhig and 
 harvesting crops. And here should be solved that Sphinx- 
 riddle, "Does farming pay?" 
 
 'Here the young farmer should be taught all that in any 
 wise pertains to his future occupation. He should learn to 
 analyze soils, and crops ; so as to ascertain the wants of one, 
 and the possible deficiencies of the other. He should here 
 learn the use of implements, not only of his own trade, but 
 of those of the blacksmith and carpenter and wheelwright, 
 as well ; so that rainy days on his farm should never be lost 
 days, as is too often the case. He should learn to take care 
 of animals; to judge of their points; and to slaughter thom. 
 In fact, he should be here trained systematically, as he could 
 not be at home, in every branch of a farmers' profession." " 
 
 "Prairie Farmer, v. 12, p. 185.
 
 88 
 
 "The principle of labor to be recognized, and to be equal, 
 according to the physical ability of each pupil; but not to 
 be so constant or considerable as to interfere with a due 
 amount of study, and heartfelt recreation. The laboring more 
 for practical instruction of the pupil, than a matter of profit 
 to the institution, though it shall be so conducted as to insure 
 the most profit, consistent with the main aim of the instruc- 
 tion of pupils." 
 
 *'The institution to be open to all, on some basis of 
 representation and contribution, and instruction free. The 
 productive labor of each pupil to be credited to his boarding, 
 and incidental expenses. Nothing but the useful and prac- 
 tical to be taught and the dignity of labor and moral worth, 
 to take precedence of old custom, and barren learning. ' ' ^- 
 
 Before considering the common school a summary of 
 this chapter, and of the opportunities offered by the academy 
 is made. 
 
 The Fellenberg movement originated in Switzerland 
 about the beginning of the nineteenth century. Joseph Neef, 
 a pupil of and a teacher with Fellenberg, was induced by 
 AVilliam Maclure to come to the United States to inaugurate 
 this system. After some attempts in the East, Neef and 
 Maclure were found at New Harmony, Ind., in 1825, teach- 
 ing and distributing their ideas. The advantages claimed 
 for the new scheme were : 1. The useful alone was valuable ; 
 2. mental and physical work were valuable only when con- 
 joined; 3. mental and physical work were economical; 4. time 
 was saved in gaining positive knowledge, and in learning a 
 trade; 5. work, connected with manual labor, took the place 
 of useless and harmful play; 6. new opportunities were 
 opened up by which a living could be earned ; 7. above all, the 
 system was democratic because it brought equality, happi- 
 ness and independence to all; 8. the cost of theoretical and 
 practical education was moderate. 
 
 No less convinced were the newspapers, churches, mis- 
 sionary societies and educational leaders of Illinois of the 
 value of the plan of manual labor advocated by Maclure and 
 Neef. Accordingly, manual labor schools were established 
 and that feature was incorporated in several literary institu- 
 
 " Prairie Farmer, v. 12, p. 455.
 
 89 
 
 tions. That idea, more specific, more refined and more ex- 
 tended, was the basis upon which the Land Grant Act was 
 made, the Illinois Industrial University was chartered and 
 manual training in high schools was begun. 
 
 The academy in Illinois was a well established institu- 
 tion by 1850. Up to that time, there was practically no other 
 means in the state for obtaining a useful, cultural, or a 
 professional secondary education. But the academy was 
 limited in its clientele because communication was undevel- 
 oped, transportation by railroad was possible only between 
 the chief towns, and wagon roads, a greater part of the year, 
 were too muddy for convenient travel. Consequently, chart- 
 ered or private academic institutions had to be established 
 in toAvns where there was the possibility of having a local 
 student body. Of course, non-resident pupils were welcomed 
 but they came in no large numbers. From the sources of 
 student population, sufficient numbers to maintain a school 
 were frequently lacking, so that the academy had to close 
 its doors or sell to a more enterprising master. For example, 
 in the period from 1835 to 1840, Springfield had a succession 
 of eight or ten institutions, struggling for a year or so, and 
 then passing out of existence. In spite of the short life, 
 especially of the unchartered institutions, and several of 
 the chartered academies, the academic system was kept in 
 existence in the larger towns until the free school law of 1855 
 made it possible for the academies to have public support. 
 Usually in the North, the weaker institutions took advantage 
 of the law, but some of the stronger and well supported 
 academies that had less need for public financial aid, con- 
 tinued to serve the more select group of people. 
 
 It was evident, therefore, that many of the children of 
 the state were unable to attend academies. But the people 
 were too close to the traditions of the states from whence 
 they migrated not to make attempts to provide some of the 
 educational means that were used at home. Hence, the next 
 division will consider the common school system as distin- 
 guished from the academy, and will show how the upper part 
 of the former ordinarily developed into the free public high 
 school, and the means by which the latter was permitted to 
 become a free institution if it so desired.
 
 90 
 
 PART II. THE COMMON SCHOOL. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Apprenticeship System. 
 
 Tlie educational provision for the well-to-do classes has 
 been discussed in the chapters on the academies. The poor 
 people from early colonial days on, were apprenticed to 
 masters as indentured servants in order to learn a trade or 
 profession. Ordinarily, the term of service was seven years, 
 but the boys had to serve the master until they became twenty- 
 one years of age, and the girls, eighteen years of age. The 
 apprentice received no wage in the industry in which he 
 worked. His responsibility was to the master instead of to 
 the parent. But the master was required to furnish the ap- 
 prentice with clothing, food and a home, as well as to look 
 after his morals and to teach him the craft. 
 
 The master had to train the indentured servant in the 
 mystery of the craft so that the latter could become a self- 
 supporting individual. About the last half of the seven- 
 teenth century, a policy developed which required the master 
 also to teach the servant reading, writing, and arithmetic. 
 This applied to the principal industries and professions of 
 the time, namely, shipping, agriculture, household service, 
 commerce* teaching, law and medicine. The reading of law 
 and the reading of medicine in the offices of eminent local 
 la\^^^ers and physicians is but the survival of the apprentice- 
 ship system. 
 
 Moreover, the early laws required, quite frequently, that 
 the apprentice pay an enrollment and an exit fee. The 
 master had to acknowledge the indenture before a court of 
 record which made the contract a public affair. This public 
 enrollment was necessary to insure both parties to the con- 
 tract against the violation of the agreement. If either party 
 failed to live up to the terms of the contract, he was liable to 
 summons before the police power of the locality. The master
 
 91 
 
 could bo discharcced and the servant bound out to another. 
 The servant was liable to the penalty of a fine and the length- 
 ening of the term of service. 
 
 Indentured servants, early in colonial days, were mostly 
 white persons : debtors, soldiers of fortune, orphans and kid- 
 napped children, all from Europe, as well as poor people who 
 sold themselves to ship owners for passage to the new world. 
 Not until the eighteenth century did the negro indentured 
 class outnumber the whites. One of the prominent educa- 
 tional problems of that day was the instruction of all classes 
 of indentured servants. The southern colonies required 
 reading taught to the negro and the white, with writing and 
 arithmetic to the latter, in addition. 
 
 No"\t^ the eastern and southern states, bj^ 1818, had not 
 given up completely the master and servant means of edu- 
 catmg the children of the common man. But as has been 
 pointed out, Illinois had few eastern settlers until 1830. Con- 
 sequently, the apprenticeship system was established by law, 
 which was mainly southern, the principal features of which 
 were these: 
 
 1. Boys under twenty-one and girls under eighteen might 
 be apprenticed with or without the consent of the parent or 
 guardian. 
 
 2. The mother of illegitimate children should bind them 
 over to a master. 
 
 3. If the father was dead, a fugitive from justice or in- 
 capacitated, the mother had the right to apprentice his 
 children. 
 
 4. Poor children were bound to a master by the overseers 
 of the poor. 
 
 5. A copy of the indenture should be recorded with the 
 probate judge. 
 
 6. The probate judge, or two justices of the peace were 
 empowered to receive complaints of apprentices and summon 
 the master to appear in court. 
 
 7. A penalty was imposed on the apprentice for assault 
 on the master, or the violation of the terms of the contract. 
 
 8. The apprentice could not be removed from the state. 
 
 9. The master had to furnish the apprentice comfortable 
 board, lodging, washing, clothing and so much schooling as 
 shall be deemed right.
 
 92 
 
 10. ''That the master or mistress to whom such child 
 shall be bound, as aforesaid, shall cause such child to be 
 taught to read and write, and the ground rules of arithmetic, 
 and, shall give also unto such apprentices, a new Bible, and 
 two new suits of clothes, suitable to his or her condition at 
 the expiration of his or her term of service. Provided how- 
 ever, that when such apprentice is a negro or mulatto child, 
 it shall not be necessary to insert in said indenture that such 
 negro or mulatto shall be taught to write, or the knowledge 
 of arithmetic. ' ' ^ 
 
 11. If a guardian failed to educate his apprentice in 
 reading, writing and the ground rules of arithmetic, the pro- 
 bate judge was empowered to appoint another master, ''and 
 superintend the education of such minor or orphan. ' ' ^ 
 
 As late as 1840, indentures were still being made for 
 white children, an example of which follows: "This Inden- 
 ture made and entered into this 31st day of August, A. D., 
 1840, between James Thompson and George Thompson, 
 minors, of their own free will and consent, and by and with 
 the consent and approbation of William Thompson, their 
 father, of the county of Shelby and the State of Illinois of 
 the one part, and Daniel Golloher of the same county and the 
 State, of the other part witnessesth: that the same James 
 Thompson and George Thompson does by these presents 
 of their own free will and accord and by and with the consent 
 of William Thompson, their father, bind each of themselves 
 to the said Daniel Golloher as an apprentice to learn the art 
 of Farming, to dwell with and serve the said Daniel Golloher 
 from the day of the date hereof, until the 10th day of August, 
 1850, at which time the said James Thompson will be twenty- 
 one years old, And the said George Thompson until the 17th 
 day of September, A. D., 1851, at which time the said George 
 Thompson will be twenty-one years old, during all of which 
 time or term the said Apprentices their said Master will and 
 faithfully shall serve, his secrets to keep, and his lawful 
 commands everywhere at all times readily obey, they or 
 either of them shall do no damage to their said Master nor 
 knowingly suffer au}^ to be done by others, they or either of 
 them shall not waste the Goods of their said Master, nor lend 
 
 > Sess. Laws, 1826. 
 'Sess. Laws, 1830.
 
 93 
 
 them unlawfully to any. At cards, dice or any other unlawful 
 Game they shall not play, Matrimony either of them shall 
 not contract during their said term. Taverns, Ail-houses, and 
 places of Gaming they shall not frequent or resort from the 
 service of their said Master, either of them shall not absent 
 himself, but in all things and at all times they and each of them 
 shall demean and conduct themselves as good Apprentices — 
 words can't tell — during the whole term aforsesaid. And 
 the said Daniel Golloher on his part does hereby Covenant 
 and agree to furnish each of the said Apprentices good and 
 sufficient diet, clothing, lodging, and the other necessaries 
 convenient and useful for said Apprentices during the whole 
 term aforesaid, and also shall cause each of said Apprentices 
 to be taught to read and write, and the Ground rules of Arith- 
 metic, and shall also give unto each of the said Apprentices 
 a New Bible and two new Suits of Clothes suitable to their 
 condition at the expiration of their term of service, and also 
 Eighty Acres of Common Land for each fit for farming to be 
 as near as may be to timber and prairie or all timber and In 
 testimony whereof we have hereunto Set our hands and 
 Scale the day and year first written. 
 
 his 
 Attest Joseph Oliver James X Thompson Seal 
 
 mark 
 
 his 
 George X Thompson Seal 
 mark 
 
 his 
 William X Thompson Seal 
 mark 
 
 Daniel Golloher SeaP 
 
 As early as 1819, negro indentures were recorded at 
 Edwardsville. The following excerpt from one of those rec- 
 ords showed the personal and educational provision of the 
 contract: ''During all which term the said boys shall faith- 
 fully serve and obey all the lawful commands of their said 
 mistress. And on her part said Elizabeth doth bind and here- 
 by obligate herself, her heirs, etc., to teach or cause to be 
 
 3 Shelby County Probate Record. 1839-49, v. 1, p. 52.
 
 94 
 
 taught both said boys to read. Should their abilities enable 
 her to so do and also to provide and furnish them with good 
 wholesome food, clothing and lodging suitable for persons in 
 their condition. ' '* * 
 
 Slavery and colored indentures were closely related in 
 Illinois. The Intelligencer, August 12, 1818, advocated a sys- 
 tem of indenture with a term of service of forty years in 
 which the servants were to be instructed in religion and the 
 rudiments of education. ''The word 'servant' was used to 
 cover a multitude of sins. No matter under what name the 
 farmers held their negroes — whether as 'servants,' 'yellow 
 boys,' or 'colored girls' — the fact still remained that slavery 
 existed in the Territory of Illinois as completely as in any of 
 the Southern States. It was not limited to settlements and 
 towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Elvers, but was prac- 
 ticed all over the southern portion of what is now the State 
 of Illinois, and as far north as Sangamon county, which was 
 then just beginning to be settled.'"' 
 
 But Illinois was admitted as a free state. In the consti- 
 tutional convention, three classes of men existed — those for 
 slavery, those against slavery, and those who wished to com- 
 promise. The latter, being the larger, won. The constitution 
 was adopted and Illinois admitted on the ground that the 
 Ordinance of 1787, governing the Northwest Territory, did 
 not apply to negroes already held as slaves in Illinois at the 
 time when it was enacted. "The state was admitted, and the 
 right to retain negroes as indentured servants was recognized 
 and secured. '"^ 
 
 Slavery was tacitly recognized by the sixth article of the 
 Constitution of 1818 in the form of indentures for one year 
 with the right of renewal. "Neither slavery nor Involuntary 
 servitude shall hereafter be introduced into this state other- 
 wise than for the punishment of crimes whereof the party 
 shall have been duly convicted. Nor shall any male person 
 arrived at the age of twenty-one years, nor any female person 
 arrived at the age of eighteen years, be held to serve any 
 person as a servant under any indenture hereafter made, 
 
 • A Register of Papers Belonging to Free Persons of Color, Madison Co. 
 
 • The Illinois Census of 1835 showed 304 negro indentures. 
 
 • The Illinois Census of 1845 showed 226 negrro indentures. 
 » Harris, Negro Servitude in Illinois, p. 15. 
 
 •Harris, Negro Servitude in Illinois, p. 26.
 
 95 
 
 unless such person shall enter into such indenture while in a 
 state of perfect freedom, and on condition that a bona fide 
 consideration received or to be received for their service. 
 Nor shall an}^ indenture of any negro or mulatto hereafter 
 made and executed out of this state, or if made in this state, 
 where the term of service exceeds one year, be of the least 
 validity, except those given in the case of apprenticeship.'" 
 
 The education of the negro and the mulatto was bound 
 up with the system of indentures. The apprenticeship sys- 
 tem was, moreover, recognized by the state constitution. 
 
 Two forms of apprenticeship education have existed in 
 the United States. The colonial system depended on the per- 
 sonal relation between master and servant. The system since 
 the Civil War has had no personal or domestic element, being 
 a means by which entrance to some trades could be had. The 
 former had the advantage by which the apprentice could 
 learn a trade and all of its ramifications. Moreover, the ap- 
 prentice, living in the household of his master was considered 
 as one of the family, on the same social basis as the master 
 and eligible to marry his master's daughter, but the term of 
 service of seven years was so long that the apprentice spent 
 a lot of time in work not connected with his future trade. 
 That work, usually, was day labor on the farm, and the ap- 
 prentice was virtually a slave, so classed in some of the col- 
 onial laws. Naturally, it was hard to hold youth in America 
 to the apprenticeship system because they could run away to 
 the frontier, take up land for themselves and become inde- 
 pendent. Consequently, the system was limited to small 
 numbers of youth, either the poor who were public charges, 
 or the negroes who could not escape the yoke of servitude. 
 The latter was made a slave in the free state of Illinois by 
 the indentures, renewable at the expiration of one year. How- 
 ever, in all cases, the master was required to fulfill his obli- 
 gation in endeavoring to teach or causing to be taught, the 
 apprentice. 
 
 The academj^ provided education for the wealthy, the 
 indenture system provided for some of the public poor and 
 the negroes; the next discussion will consider the first at- 
 tempt for the free education of all the children of the state. 
 
 ' Constitution of 1818. Art. VI.
 
 96 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 The Free School Law of 1825. 
 
 Before discussing the results of slavery on the whole 
 educational system of Illinois, a brief statement of the 
 slavery struggle from 1818 to 1825, should be given. The 
 Illinois representatives in Congress voted against Missouri 
 entering as a slave state. The majority of the people of 
 Illinois were angry at that vote. The southern sympathizers 
 decided to retaliate. They began to organize a plot to call a 
 convention to change the constitution of the state to permit 
 slavery. The Spectator, published at Edwardsville, exposed 
 the undertaking, with the result that the plan for calling a 
 constitutional convention failed for the time being. In 1822, 
 senators, representatives, a governor and legislators were to 
 be elected. The anti-slavery men won the congressional elec- 
 tion and the governorship, but the pro-slavery men succeeded 
 in winning a majority of the seats in the state legislature. 
 Shameful proceedings were carried through the state legis- 
 lature and a resolution was passed for a constitutional con- 
 vention. Organizations were built up on both sides. The pro- 
 slavery men established a central organization at Vandalia 
 with committees in all the counties of the state. A secret 
 convention was held by the anti-slavery men, made up of 
 Rev. J. M. Peck, thirty other preachers and Grovernor Coles. 
 Pamphlets were distributed by the thousands to the people 
 of Illinois, through this organization. Birkbeck, the English 
 farmer of southern Illinois, wrote excellent articles against 
 slavery which were very effective. Coles bought the Intelli- 
 gencer, published at Vandalia, and had copies containing 
 much anti-slavery material sent to the old subscribers even 
 if they failed to pay their subscriptions. When the vote came 
 for a convention and slavery it was defeated. 
 
 The results of the victory, at least to the people of Illi- 
 nois, were very great. The question, whether Illinois should
 
 97 
 
 be a slave or a free state, was settled forever. A contest with: 
 the federal government over the question of changing the 
 constitution, through which Illinois entered the Union, to one 
 that would recognize slavery, was. prevented. Free jabor, the 
 energetic and progressive farmer with the merchant and 
 professional men from the East, developed the country other- 
 wise impossible with slavery tacitly recognized. Finally, 
 southern immigration with its institutions, was checked. The 
 easterner began to supplant the southerner. New ideas of 
 the rights of the children of the common man were brought 
 along. The New England common school began to be ad- 
 vocated. 
 
 However, a few leaders, such as General Duncan, Rev. 
 Peck and Governor Coles saw the tremendous importance 
 of the education of the children of the state, before many 
 New Englanders had arrived. These leaders believed that 
 slavery and ignorance were the twin relics of barbarism. The 
 surest way to save the state from the blight of slavery was 
 through enlightenment. The older people were, perhaps, 
 beyond the direct influence of schools, but the youth must be 
 taught the evils of slavery and ignorance, in free schools 
 provided by the state, in order to insure the future of the 
 state and the Republic. The preamble of the Free School 
 Law of 1825 was the classic statement of those ideals: 
 
 ''To enjoy our rights and liberties, we must understand 
 them; — their security and protection ought to be the first 
 object of a free people;— and it is a well established fact no 
 nation has ever continued long in the enjoyment of civil and 
 political freedom, which was not both virtuous and enlight- 
 ened; — and believing that advancement of literature always 
 has been, and ever will be the means of developing more fully 
 the rights of man;— that the mind of every citizen of every 
 republic, is the common property of society, and constitutes 
 the basis of its strength and happiness ;— it is considered the 
 peculiar duty of a free government, like ours, to encourage 
 and extend the improvement and cultivation of the intellect- 
 ual energies of the whole. Therefore,'" 
 
 The free school law of 1825 was unique in that, at that 
 time, there were only a few states in the East that had a free 
 
 »Sess. Laws, 1825, p. 121.
 
 98 
 
 school law. The essential features of the law provided that 
 a school system was to be established by law ; that the school 
 was to be free to all children between certain ages, and that 
 all expenses for the schools thus established should be met 
 by a general tax upon property : 
 
 "Sec. 1 — Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illi- 
 nois represented in the General Assembly, That there shall 
 be established a common school or schools in each of the 
 counties of this state, which shall be open and free to every 
 class of white citizens between the ages of five and twenty- 
 one years: Provided, That persons over the age of twenty- 
 one years, may be admitted into such schools, on such terms 
 as the trustees of the school may prescribe * * *." 
 
 ''Sec. 15 — Be it further enacted. That for the encourage- 
 ment and support of schools, respectively established within 
 this state, according to this act, there shall be appropriated, 
 for that purpose, two dollars out of every hundred thereafter 
 to be received in the treasury of this state ; also, five-sixths 
 of the interest arising from the school fund ; which shall be 
 divided annually between the different counties of this state, 
 in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in each 
 county, under the age of twenty-one years, after the next 
 census shall be taken; until which time no dividend shall 
 be taken. "- 
 
 _ Finally, school districts were to be incorporated by the 
 action of the county commissioners' courts, upon a petition of 
 a majority of the qualified voters of any settlement. The 
 voters in each district, by a majority of the votes, could levy 
 a tax not exceeding one-half per centum on property, and ap- 
 point trustees and other officers to manage the system. Since 
 the origin of the- bill is a disputed question in Illinois educa- 
 tion, an examination of the evidence is pertinent. The author, 
 ship of the free school law was generally attributed to General 
 Duncan, a member of the Senate from Madison county, after- 
 wards elected to Congress and the governorship of the state, 
 who introduced it in the upper branch of the legislature.^ 
 "Whether or not he was the author has been difficult to de- 
 termine. At least, he was its ardent supporter in and out of 
 the legislature, but he evaded the issue when asked by a 
 
 *Sess. Laws, 1825. pp. 121-25. 
 •Sen. Jr., 1824-25, p. 220.
 
 99 
 
 political opponent at home if he were not the author of the 
 free school system which taxed the rich for the benefit of the 
 poor. Duncan acknowledged that he had introduced the bill, 
 and had supported it with uncommon zeal, in the belief that 
 it would be found beneficial to the state, but he did not say 
 that he had formulated its principles." 
 
 Governor Coles was an enthusiastic advocate, if not the 
 author, of the bill. Coles was having a bitter personal and 
 political fight over slavery. Southern sympathizers sued him 
 for liberating the slaves that he had brought to Illinois from 
 Virginia. The basis for the damage claim was that other 
 slave owners would be influenced to do likewise. Coles was 
 burned in effigy in many towns of southern Illinois on account 
 of his powerful anti-slavery influence. Hence, it seems likely 
 that General Duncan, a long-time resident of the state as well 
 as a successful Indian fighter, was put forward to introduce 
 the bill with the least likelihood of opposition. 
 
 Moreover, Governor Coles was the type of man from 
 whom such a bill was most likely to eminate. He was a Vir- 
 ginian of the aristocracy, the secretary to James Madison, a 
 special ambassador to Russia, and personally acquainted with 
 the leading statesmen of his day. Several letters were ex- 
 changed between Coles and Jefferson, who were personal ac- 
 quaintances, on the subjects of slavery and education. To free 
 his slaves, Coles went to Illinois. But he also had m mmd 
 Jefferson's ideals of raising the lot of the common white man. 
 
 In Governor Coles' paper, just after the free school law 
 was passed, appeared a great deal of material on the subject 
 of free education. The purpose of those writings was evi- 
 dently in support of the establishment of an educational sys- 
 tem for the poor man. The first article worthy of notice was an 
 excerpt from the fourth annual report of the acting super- 
 intendent of the common schools in the state of New York. 
 It showed the legislature of that state how much money was 
 paid out of the state treasury, how much was raised from the 
 local school fund, and how much was raised by tax, all for the 
 common schools. How many children were being taught, and 
 how much money was being appropriated, showed the impor- 
 
 ^ Spectator, May 27, 1826.
 
 100 
 
 tance of the common school system and the wisdom and mag- 
 nanimity of the legislature.^ 
 
 That article was valuable data in showing the same prin- 
 ciples of support for public education in operation in New 
 York, the same principles having been established by the law 
 of 1825. 
 
 The next article, on the ignorance of the peasantry of 
 France, should be interpreted as showing the necessity for 
 free common education, before republican liberty and the 
 elective franchise could mean anything to the people of 
 Illinois. 
 
 ' ' The Peasantry of France are extremely ignorant. Whole 
 villages may be found, where not more than three or four can 
 read. Even in the immediate vicinity of Paris, and within the 
 echoes of the legislative debates, there are towns in which 
 not three newspapers are taken, and those not by persons who 
 actually belong to the people. The eloquent pleas for liberty 
 are of no effect, for they are not heard by the mass of the 
 nation. Hence no general political spirit exists, except when 
 the popularity of individuals is concerned, or as taxes of the 
 state affect private interest, and national attention can hardly 
 be directed to refined questions on the management of the 
 elections and the free expression of opinion. So great is the 
 popular ignorance, that the most liberal policies have even 
 advocated the very wide extension of the elective franchise, 
 believing it to be first necessary to educate the nation. ' "^ 
 
 Finally, a long third article was the statement of Thomas 
 Jefferson's plan for a system of education. Since it eminated 
 from "the greatest sage and most philanthropic statesman of 
 the age," so the introduction said, the plan was worthy of 
 consideration by the people of Illinois. 
 
 Judging from Coles' messages to the legislature, and his 
 publication of Jefferson's plan for the establishment of a 
 complete system of education through the university, it was 
 probable that Coles planned for a similar system in Illinois. 
 The first step was the creation of the free school system, 
 which, of course, was the common school. The supervisory 
 power of the primary schools should rest with the college, a 
 secondary institution with jurisdiction over a territory of 
 
 "Tntelligencer, March 4, 1825. 
 •Intelligencer, March 4, 1825.
 
 101 
 
 about eighty miles square. All of the colleges of the state 
 should be controlled by a single university, as the administra- 
 tive authority, and providing the highest scientific and 
 literary opportunities. Jefferson's ideas of a university were 
 similar to the French organization of higher education.* How- 
 ever, Jefferson argued for a free system of common schools, 
 the support of which was to come from those who were able 
 to pay a tax : 
 
 ''And will the wealthy individual have no retribution? 
 And what will this be? 1. The peopling his neighborhood 
 with honest, useful and enlightened citizens, understanding 
 their own rights and firm in their perpetuation ; 2. When his 
 own descendants became poor, which they generally do within 
 three generations, (no law of primogeniture now perpetuating 
 wealth in the same families) their children will be educated 
 by the then rich, and the little advance he now makes, while 
 rich himself will be repaid by the then rich, to his descendants 
 when they become poor, and thus give them a chance of rising 
 again. This is a solid consideration and should go down to 
 the bosom of every parent. This will be a seed sowed in fer- 
 tile ground. It is a provision for his family, looking to distant 
 times, and far beyond what he now has in hand for them. 
 Let every man count backward before he comes to the ancestor 
 who made the fortune he now holds ; most will be stopped at 
 the first generation, many at the second, a few will reach the 
 third, and not one in the state go beyond the fifth * * * 
 Where is the man whose heart is so cold as not to grow warm 
 at the recital of youths like these?" ^ 
 
 Only little evidence has come to light to show whether 
 any free school districts were ever established. Certainly, 
 there are no published records of the treasurer showing 
 that any money was appropriated out of the state funds for 
 the support of free schools in any district under the law of 
 1825. There might have been, however, quite a few districts 
 established for a short time, and then abandoned. Governor 
 Ford, in his history of Illinois, stated that the law worked 
 well and then contradicted himself by saying that there was 
 much opposition to it. The Sangamo Journal, February 9, 
 
 • The main difference is that Jefferson's ideas antedated the French ideas by 25 
 years. 
 
 'Intelligencer, March 11, 1825.
 
 102 
 
 1832, said that it was not known that society ever received 
 any benefits whatever from the plan adopted in 1825, which 
 was not approved by the people. A little later, the same paper 
 made a similar statement about this law: ''On the 15th of 
 January, 1825, an act was passed to provide for the estab- 
 lishment of free schools. This act was accompanied with a 
 very complaisant and graceful introduction, but the free 
 schools were to be sustained only by a tax levied upon the 
 district and disbursed by six or eight officers. The prac- 
 ticability of this plan, I think, has never been tested, and, I 
 would suppose, for very good reasons."* 
 
 Pushing the search for evidence further, one was induced 
 to investigate some of the very few surviving county commis- 
 sioner court records of that time. For the law provided that, 
 on petition of a majority of the legal voters of the county to 
 the above named court, a free school district should be laid 
 out, and a tax levied for the support of education in that dis- 
 trict. If such districts had been established, the record of 
 their creation would probably have been entered in the court 
 journal. 
 
 On examination, the court journal of Madison county for 
 1825, showed that five free school districts had been estab- 
 lished in the county. Also, the same record provided for the 
 taking of the census in the county as provided by the free 
 school law in order to determine the amount of appropriation 
 to be made by the state to Madison county. 
 
 The free districts established in Madison county were 
 Alton, Edwardsville, Ebeneezer, Silver Creek, and Wood 
 River. The record defined the boundaries of the districts 
 following the petitions of people in those districts. The court 
 orders of which the Alton district was an example, were put 
 in these words : "A petition this day filed for the purpose of 
 establishing free schools in pursuance of an act of the general 
 assembly, approved Jan. 15, 1825, it is therefore ordered that 
 a school district be established to be called and known by the 
 name of the Alton District containing the following limits, 
 viz. : To commence on the Mississippi River at the mouth of 
 Wood River and to run up the latter river, to where the sec- 
 tional line between fractional sections 18 and 19 in Town 5 
 
 •Sang. Jr., Dec. 14. 1833.
 
 103 
 
 North, in Eange 9 West of the third principle meridian inter- 
 sects it ; thence East on the said sectional line to the sectional 
 line between sections 16 and 17 of Town aforesaid; thence 
 North on said line to the North boundary of said Town; 
 thence West on said boundary line to the Mississippi River, 
 and thence down said river to the place of beginning. Ordered 
 by County Commissioner Court at Edwardsville." ' 
 
 The creation of those school districts, however, does not 
 prove that schools were actually in operation in these dis- 
 tricts and the establishment of free schools in them, should be 
 had for all the older counties, but only a very few records 
 have been preserved. The attitude of the people of the coun- 
 ties on public laws and questions of the day was expressed 
 and registered in the court proceedings. Petitions and opin- 
 ions of opposition on nearly every subject imaginable were 
 inserted in the county record'^s. Evidently, at least in Madison 
 county, there was little opposition to the law of 1825 because 
 not one objection to it was raised in these records. 
 
 Moreover, the newspapers published at Edwardsville had 
 practically no opposition to the creation of free school dis- 
 tricts and the law of 1825. At about the same time, as the 
 establishing of the free school district, a parent expressed the 
 hope that schools would soon be in operation: "It has be- 
 come fashionable of late to declaim on the advantages of 
 education. Every one who wishes to be thought a patriot, a 
 good citizen, or a man of sense, talks loudly of the importance 
 of a system of general education, as a grand means of perpetu- 
 ating our civil liberties, and improving our moral condition." 
 
 "Now, I have no disposition to check the ardor of these 
 patriotic orators and writers ; only, I wish it may not end in 
 declamation. Our children will gain but little useful knowl- 
 edge from most eloquent harangues in favor of schools if 
 there be no schools established. It were a thousand piUes 
 that so many fine productions should be lost to posterity; 
 that the authors should receive none of that posthumous re- 
 ward, the applause and gratitude if succeeding generations 
 could not read them.'"" The writer continued to say that 
 the tax was not sufficient to provide all the advantages de- 
 sired for a free education. 
 
 •Madison Co. Court Rec. 1825, June Term, p. 152. 
 "Spectator, July 30, 1825.
 
 104 
 
 Another writer in the same paper expressed a favorable, 
 though somewhat different point of view : ' ' That we consider 
 the late law of our state on the subject of education, on the 
 whole, adapted to our wants ; and, we must add, honorable to 
 the head and heart of its author." "We have some objections 
 to its details, and so we might, possibly to the details of any 
 plan.'"^ 
 
 Again, a writer in the Spectator, found the law a means 
 of getting the proper kind of teachers, the right kind of in- 
 spection for schools, longer terms, less expense and a means 
 by which, through experience, the people could tell whether 
 the law was satisfactory: ''By the aid of the School Fund, 
 arising from the sale of land, with the trifling tax on prop- 
 erty, and voluntary contributions, we could offer better in- 
 ducements to competent teachers, who might thereby be in- 
 duced to devote their time and talent to the arduous task." 
 
 "Schools established under the provision of the law 
 would be subject to inspection of a body of men selected by 
 the people of each district, whose duty it would be to watch 
 over both pupils and teacher, and know the progress of the 
 school in learning. They would be permanent, and liable to 
 fewer and shorter vacations — so discouraging and injurious 
 to children." 
 
 "The expense to individuals would eventually, if not 
 at first, be considerably less than the present loose and in- 
 efficacious method, and would gradually diminish as the 
 school increases. Lastly, the plan, if adopted, would be 
 tested. The citizens would then be able to judge from exper- 
 ience, and either amend or lay it aside, as they should find 
 it advisable. "^- 
 
 Evidently the experience obtained was disastrous to the 
 free school idea because the legislature (in 1827) amended 
 the law of 1825 so that one could be taxed only by his own 
 consent for the support of schools: 
 
 "Sec. 3 — The legal voters of any school district, at their 
 regular meetings, shall have power in their discretion, to 
 cause either the whole or one-half of the sum required, to 
 support a school in such a district, to be raised by taxation. 
 And if only one-half be raised by taxation, the remainder 
 
 "Spectator, Sept. 10. 182.'i. 
 "Spectator, Sept. 10, 1825.
 
 105 
 
 may be required to be paid by the parents, master, and 
 guardian, in proportion to the number of pupils which each 
 of them shall send to school." 
 
 ''Sec. 4 — No person shall hereafter be taxed for the 
 support of any free school in this state, unless by his or her 
 own free will and consent, first had and obtained, in writing. 
 And any person so agreeing and consenting, shall be taxed 
 in the manner prescribed in the act to which this is an 
 amendment. ' "^ 
 
 However, Peck stated that, "many good primary schools 
 now exist without a legislative sanction, and where three or 
 four of the leading families unite, and exert their influence 
 in favor of the measure, it is not difQcult to have a good 
 school."" 
 
 Pro\dsion existed by law, nevertheless, through which 
 the people of a locality could organize themselves into school 
 districts and might tax themselves by consent, but they could 
 receive no share of the public funds under the control of the 
 state because the two per cent clause of the law of 1825 had 
 been repealed in 1829. Upon petition from the inhabitants 
 of a township, the sixteenth section could be sold, the pro- 
 ceeds funded, the interest from which could be used for the 
 maintenance of the common school. "To some extent, the 
 people have availed themselves of this provision and receive 
 the interest of the fund."^^ 
 
 The distributive share of the common school fund was 
 never sufficient to maintain common schools in any county 
 without the supplementation of tuition fees. When a teacher 
 desired employment, he drew up articles of agreement by 
 which the term of service was stated, usually for not more 
 than three months, and the rate of tuition for each pupil. If 
 a large enough number of subscribers was received to meet 
 the expected compensation, school was started; if not, the 
 teacher went to other school districts to make similar experi- 
 ments until a satisfactory list of prospective pupils was ob- 
 tained. The following is a typical contract: 
 
 "Articles of agreement, draAvn this 25th of May, 1833, 
 between Allen Parlier, of the county of Washington and the 
 
 "Sess. Laws, 1826-7, p. 364. 
 "Peck, Gazetteer, p. 83 
 " Ibid.
 
 106 
 
 State of Illinois, of the one part, and we, the undersigned, of 
 said county and State, witnesseth, that the said Parlier binds 
 himself to teach a school of spelling, reading, writing and the 
 foregoing rules of arithmetic for the term of three months 
 for $2 per scholar, per quarter; said Parlier further binds 
 himself to keep good order in said school, will teach five days 
 in each week, all due school hours, and w^ll make up lost 
 time, except muster days, and will set up with twenty 
 scholars, the subscribers to furnish a comfortable house, with 
 all convenience appertaining thereto, the school to com- 
 mence as soon as the house is fixed. N. B. — Wheat, pork, 
 hogs, beeswax, tallow, deer skins, wool and young cattle, all 
 of which will be taken at the market price delivered at my 
 house, at the expiration of said school, day and date above 
 written. 
 
 Subscribers' names. Allen Parlier."^** 
 
 It was the exception rather than the rule, that districts 
 and towns voted to tax themselves for the support of elemen- 
 tary education during the time between the annullment of 
 the law of 1825 and the passage of the free school law in 
 !!855. Tuition remained the practice to the latter date. The 
 Prairie Farmer, in 1852, said that it was customary to employ 
 male teachers in the winter and females in the summer. 
 * 'Males' get two dollars per scholar, females, one dollar and 
 a half per week.'"^ In the settlement of an estate, recorded 
 in the probate documents of Shelby county for 1844, a charge 
 of $22.50 was allowed for the schooling of three children for 
 three years at the rate of $2.50 each, per year.^^ 
 
 Another record contained this evidence on the same 
 question: ''On this 10th day of January, 1848, came Patrena 
 Earp guardian for the heirs of Josiah Porthman dec. and 
 made following settlement to wdt — credit for the year 1844 
 for schooling, $16.00. Credit for the year 1845 for schooling, 
 $2.50 each— $7.50. Credit for the year 1846 for schooling, 
 $1.50 each— $4.50. Credit for the year 1847 at $2 each— 
 
 To insure the permanence of free institutions in Illinois, 
 enlightenment of the youth of the state was thought neces- 
 
 " state Supt. Rep.. 1883-4. p. 104. 
 "Prairie Farmer, April 12, 18.52. p. 17.5. 
 "Shelby County Probate Rec. 1839-1849, p. 152.
 
 107 
 
 sary by means of a system of free common schools. The law 
 of 1825 provided that a school system should be established, 
 that the schools should be free to all children, and that the 
 schools thus established should be supported by two per cent 
 of all the yearly revenues due the state and by a local, general 
 property tax. Governor Coles was probably the author of 
 the law rather than Senator Duncan and drew his ideas for 
 a complete system of education of primary, secondary and 
 university instruction from Thomas Jefferson's scheme, with 
 which Coles was thoroughly familiar. The first concern was 
 with primary instruction which the law of 1825 made possi- 
 ble. Five free school districts were created in Madison 
 county within a few months after the passage of the bill. No 
 complaint, however, was made against the law in the Ed- 
 wardsville paper, or in the county court, but other counties 
 must have been opposed to free schools, because the legisla- 
 ture repealed the public tax feature two years later and the 
 two per cent clause in 1829. From this time to the passage 
 of the free school law of 1855, common schools were sup- 
 ported largely by tuition paid by the parents.* 
 
 The friends of the common school and the educational 
 leaders in the state began immediately to try to put it on a 
 firm basis; an educational survey of the state was made, 
 which resulted in a memorial to the legislature and an ad- 
 dress to the people for the creation of free common schools 
 and the establishment of county seminaries for the training 
 of teachers. These features are developed in the next 
 chapter. 
 
 * The following section of the school law of 1845 shows that tuition charges 
 were legal : "Provided, that the expenses of such fuel and furniture as aforesaid 
 shall be apportioned among the scholars according to the number of days taught, 
 and collected with tuition fees from the parents or guardians of such children. 
 Sess. Laws, 1845, p. 65, Sec. 61.
 
 108 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Movement of 1835. 
 
 The efforts for the inauguration of a common school sys- 
 tem in the State did not die out with the virtual repeal of the 
 school law of 1825. Political speakers, the State over, in their 
 campaign for election, never failed to mention their ideas 
 upon the education of the people. Col. Ewing, Speaker of the 
 lower house of the legislature, and Abraham Lincoln were ex- 
 amples of campaigners who addressed their constituents on 
 the value of education as the means of perpetuating free in- 
 stitutions. 
 
 The former said: ''This is a subject, however, of more 
 vital importance to society than any other. Its utility can 
 not be properly estimated, without going too elaborately into 
 its discussion. But there is a spirit abroad in many portions 
 of this Union, whose purpose is devoted to the general educa- 
 tion of the youth of the country, and the establishment of a 
 system of schools, which will insure this grand purpose 
 through all future time. The honest man, and the friend of 
 his country, are looking to a system of schools and colleges 
 for the general diffusion of knowledge as the only remedy for 
 many existing evils in the body politic. I know no measure 
 of its importance. It affords the surest guaranty against the 
 arts of the ambitious, and the madness of party. Either in- 
 telligence must be generally diffused, or all we hold dear must 
 be exposed to shipwreck for the mistakes of misguided judg- 
 ment, or the deleterious influence of maddening and factious 
 declamation of reckless demagogues, who live in popular 
 commotion, and whose object is personal aggrandizement."^ 
 
 The latter said: ''Fellow Citizens: Having become a 
 candidate for the honorable office of one of your Representa- 
 tives in the next General Assembly of this State, in accord- 
 ance with an established custom and the principles of true 
 
 1 111. Mag., V. 1, p. 383.
 
 109 
 
 republicanism, it becomes my duty to make known to you — 
 the people whom I propose to represent — my sentiments with 
 regard to local affairs. * * * '<Upon the subject of edu- 
 cation, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respect- 
 ing it, I can only say that I view it as the most important sub- 
 ject which we as a people can be engaged in. That every man 
 may receive at least a moderate education, and thereby be 
 enabled to read the histories of his own and other countries, 
 by which he may duly appreciate the value of our free insti- 
 tutions, appears to be an object of vital importance, even on 
 this account alone, to say nothing of the advantages and 
 satisfaction to be derived from all being able to read the 
 scriptures and other works, both of a religious and moral na- 
 ture, for themselves. For my part I desire to see the time 
 when education, and by its means, morality, sobriety, enter- 
 prise and industry, shall become much more general than at 
 present, and should be gratified to have it in my power to 
 contribute something, to the advancement of any measure 
 which might have a tendency to accelerate the happy 
 period."^ 
 
 Indeed, the necessity for the education of the children of 
 the State was pressing. Immigrants were coming by the 
 thousands; the eyes of the East were turned toward the West. 
 Should the State grow up in lawless barbarism, due to ignor- 
 ance, or should it become enlightened through the schools? 
 All were agreed that a common school education was needed, 
 but how to get a system for that purpose was unsettled. 
 Judge Hall summed up the situation thus : ' ' Common schools 
 have increased a little in number, though not much perhaps 
 in character. The defect exists altogether in the want of 
 some general system. Education is decidedly popular, and 
 all classes were willing to contribute to the introduction and 
 support of schools. But how to obtain the desired object, is a 
 question upon which there is as yet no settled opinion. ' '^ 
 
 Hall concluded by saying that a local, individual school 
 system was practically valueless. A state system should re- 
 place it. "A common school may enlighten to some extent a 
 little neighborhood; but in order to disseminate intelligence 
 throughout the whole mass of people, to elevate national 
 
 2 Sang. Jr.. March 15, 1832. A Lincoln, 
 sill. Month. Mag., Dec. 1831, p. 102.
 
 110 
 
 character, and to develop the mental resources of the whole 
 country, there must be a union of action among the friends of 
 education. Our politicians must become deeply imbued with 
 a sense of the importance of the subject; and our professional, 
 literary, and scientific men must come out from the retire- 
 ment of their closets, and the enthralments of their private 
 avocations and labor for the public. The subject needs to be 
 stripped of many theories that disfigure it, or give it a 
 shadowy existence in the eyes of practical men; and to have 
 its realities presented in their naked truth, and vigor, and 
 beauty. The clouds of prejudice, which envelope it, ought to 
 be dispelled, prejudices which relate to forms, to systems, to 
 men, and to sects, and not as we sincerely believe, to subject 
 matter. Every rational man desires knowledge, and wishes 
 to see his children elevated in the scale of human beings. The 
 objections are to means, the agents, and the manner of in. 
 struction. ' '* 
 
 The education of the children of Illinois was, moreover, 
 a national affair. Mr. Gatewood, who championed the bill of 
 1835, in his address to the senate, said that the scepter that 
 ruled the country would pass from the East to the valley of 
 the Mississippi. Therefore, the education of the children was 
 primary. 
 
 ''The time is not far distant, and many, who are now 
 active upon the stage, may yet live to see the day, when a 
 majority of the people comprising these United States will 
 reside in the Valley of the Mississippi. The scepter must 
 soon pass over the AUeghanies, never again to return. The 
 North, the East, and the South must soon, in a political point 
 of view, be tributary to the "West. The Land of the Puritans, 
 the Empire State, the Old Dominion, and all, with their an- 
 cient institutions, their laurels, their heroes and their states- 
 men, big as they are with the praises of other days, must in a 
 short time do homage to the great Valley of the Mississippi. 
 The liberties of all America must be committed to the people 
 of this valley for safe-keeping and preservation. The pre- 
 servation of these liberties must depend upon the virtue and 
 intelligence of the people of the West; must depend upon the 
 very children, one-third of whom, are now destitute of the 
 
 *I11. Month. Mag., v. 1, p. 273.
 
 Ill 
 
 means of instruction and growing up in ignorance. * * * 
 The subject of education in the West then must be — it is a 
 subject of deep and anxious solicitude. ' '^ 
 
 The time was ripe for the statesmen of the day to make 
 plans for the creation by law of a common school system, ac- 
 ceptable to the people. Judge Hall, the foremost literary 
 writer of the State, was invited to address the people in Van- 
 dalia on the subject of education. This opportunity was seized 
 to organize, in 1833, ''The Illinois Institute of Education," 
 the purpose of which, as stated in the constitution of the so- 
 ciety, ''shall be the advancement of education in Illinois, 
 especially in the common schools." 
 
 After re-affirming the belief in the value of education as 
 the savior of republican institutions, the association decided 
 on three lines of action: 
 
 "1. Information can be obtained from every county in 
 the State of the numbers and condition of primary schools, 
 the time for which they are taught in a year, the average 
 number of scholars that attend, the branches taught, the 
 books received, and the mode of instruction pursued, the cost 
 for each school, or even for each scholar, the probable number 
 of children who ought to receive aid from public funds, and 
 many other particulars relative to the present condition of 
 the primary schools of this State. ' ' 
 
 "2. Correspondence with public institutions and in- 
 dividuals in other states would furnish legislative documents 
 relative to school statistics, plans of operation, application of 
 public funds, qualifications of teachers, and the branches 
 taught in different parts of the country, the various results of 
 public and private munificence, and many other facts." 
 
 ' ' 3. Through the channels of the press, and by public ad- 
 dresses, information may be thro\vn before the public. ' '^ 
 
 The literature of the time carried this notice and these 
 questions relative to the first plan of the association in which 
 a survey of the primary educational status of the State was 
 to be made: 
 
 "Friends of education, teachers and preachers of the 
 gospel throughout the State are requested to correspond with 
 
 ^ Sen. Rep. on Educ, Doc. No. 8, p. 8. 
 estate Supt. Rep., 1885-6, p, 110.
 
 112 
 
 John Russell, Esq., Postmaster, Bluff dale, Greene County, and 
 to furnish such information as may be in their power on the 
 topics involved in the following questions. The information 
 of ladies as well as gentlemen is requested. And gentlemen 
 out of the State are solicited to furnish the Institute with 
 such facts and documents as may be needed, to be addressed 
 to J. M. Peck, Postmaster, Rock Spring, St. Clair County. 
 
 1. What kind of a schoolhouse have you? 2. How many 
 months in a year is school taught? 3. What is the cost of 
 your school per annum, including pay of teacher, books, fuel, 
 and repairs of schoolhouse? 4. What is the cost per scholar? 
 5. How many different scholars attend? 6. What is the aver- 
 age number of scholars? 7. How many children need aid 
 from public funds. 8. How many schools in the county? 
 9. What branches are taught in your schools? 10. What 
 books are used in spelling? In reading? In arithmetic? In 
 geography? In grammar? 11. Are the elements of natural 
 history taught? 12. Does your teacher lecture the scholars 
 on the branches of science? 13. Does he ask questions on 
 every reading lesson? 14. How many adults in your settle- 
 ment who cannot read? 15. Have you a public library, and 
 if so, how large, and under what regulations? 16. Could not 
 a small library of useful books be had for the use of your 
 school, and loaned to the scholars as rewards for proficiency 
 in study, and good behavior? 17. Would you like to have a 
 good teacher permanently settled with you, and would the 
 school support him? 18. How would a circuit teacher do who 
 should conduct four or five schools, visiting them once a week 
 as teachers of singing do, and lecturing and explaining the 
 branches taught? 19. What measures, in your opinion, or 
 those of the people around you should the State adopt in rela- 
 tion to school funds? 20. Can you get up meetings of the 
 people on court day, or any other convenient time, on the sub- 
 ject of education? 21. Will any gentleman make public ad- 
 dresses, or deliver lectures to the people on the subject of 
 education and schools ? 22. What proportions of the families 
 take newspapers, or any other periodical?'" 
 
 The information contained in these questions became the 
 subject matter for the second meeting of the Illinois Institute, 
 
 'State Supt. Rep., 1885-6, p. 111.
 
 113 
 
 convened in December, 1834, at Vandalia, at the same time 
 and place as the General Assembly. The deliberations of the 
 educational convention were formulated in an address to the 
 people of Illinois, and in a memorial to the legislature. 
 
 ^'A well devised system of primary schools will secure to 
 their families increased prosperity and happiness to their 
 country, wealth, glory and freedom."^ The means of provid- 
 ing common free education were stated in three ways: 
 1. Massachusetts had a policy of taxation exclusively; 2. Con- 
 necticut had the interest from a vested fund; 3. New York 
 had the combination of the first and second plan — a tax and 
 the interest on a vested fund. These three plans were con- 
 cretely described and the position of Illinois in comparison 
 was found most favorable, the New York plan being recom- 
 mended. 
 
 But the whole heart of the system to be established, said 
 the address, rested on the teacher who must be trained in 
 special schools. ''One of the great defects in the common 
 schools of New England and New York is the incompetency 
 of their teachers. * * * A child under competent instruc- 
 tion will acquire as much learning in three years, as is com- 
 monly attained in six under existing teaching, and hence, it is 
 the interest of the people to employ skillful instructors. 
 Would you trust the shoeing of your horse to any but a smith f 
 You would not. Then we pray you by your parental affec- 
 tions, to pause, before you commit the education of your in- 
 fant and immortal children, into the hands of men, ignorant 
 of the laws of physics, and totally unused in the operation of 
 the human intellect. If the blacksmith should learn his trade,, 
 surely the school teacher should study his profession."^ 
 
 The Institute recommended to the legislature, in accord- 
 ance with those ideas, the following principles to be estab- 
 lished by law: 1. The citizens of a community shall elect 
 their trustees and teacher and a majority of the citizens of a 
 district may petition the county commissioner's court to lay 
 off a school district. 2. ''The teacher shall be required to 
 keep a schedule, exhibiting the names and number of scholars, 
 and the number of days that they respectively attend school. 
 
 » state Supt. Rep.. 1885-6, p. 117. 
 •State Supt. Rep., 1885-6, p. 119.
 
 114 
 
 and that all the funds distributed by the laws of the State for 
 payment of teachers' wages, be apportioned according to the 
 whole number of days which all the children shall have at- 
 tended school, as shall appear from a copy of said schedule 
 made out and sworn to by the teacher, and approved by the 
 trustees of the school.'"*' 
 
 3. The interest of the college and seminaiy fund should 
 be loaned to the common school fund, but preserving the in- 
 tegrity of the former for future use. The interests of the 
 State shall be better served by sectional seminaries rather 
 than by one central institution. 
 
 4. The distribution of the interest from the school fund 
 shall be made by the county school commissioner of each 
 county on the basis of population, according to the last 
 census. 
 
 5. The distributive share of each county shall be used for 
 the payment of teachers' salaries. 
 
 6. ' ' The State shall contribute an annual sum to the sup- 
 port of at least one respectable academy in each county, when 
 the people thereof shall have first put the same into actual 
 operation. ' '^^ 
 
 7. ''Before any part of the money in the hands of the 
 school commissioner be distributed by him for the support of 
 the teacher, though citizens wishing to derive the benefits 
 from it shall first erect and furnish a substantial and com- 
 fortable schoolhouse, agree to supply the same with necessary 
 fuel, and engage to pay at least one-half of the wages of the 
 teacher, and "shall have a school taught at least three 
 months." ^^ 
 
 The result of the recommendations of the State Teacher's 
 Association was the proposal of a system of education, made 
 in the Senate, Feb. 5, 1835, for a uniform system of common 
 schools and county seminaries throughout the State. 
 
 The bill of 1835 had some very interesting and unique 
 features, among which, were those that related to the creation 
 of county seminaries. Those institutions were to be organ- 
 ized as public joint stock companies which have been de- 
 scribed in Chapter III. After three months of operation, the 
 
 "State Supt. Rep. 1885-6, p. 121. 
 "Ibid, p. 121,
 
 115 
 
 State was required to pay annually to each seminary the sum 
 of two hundred dollars. In turn, the State required those who 
 expected to teach to sign a contract with the trustees of the 
 seminary to teach in the county twice as long as the term re- 
 quired for qualification. Moreover, the commissioner of the 
 seminary fund was authorized to pay to the trustees of these 
 academies, the tuition of all persons who were qualifying 
 themselves to teach. 
 
 Like the law of 1825, this bill made common schools free 
 to all white children. As the law of 1825 was repealed, so the 
 unusual provision for taxation in the bill of 1835 was de- 
 feated. The State was unready to assume the burden of edu- 
 cating its children and training its teachers free. 
 
 New York was still paying tuition for the education of 
 its common school children. Pennsylvania passed a free 
 school law in 1834-5, which caused a great deal of opposition 
 in the legislature and in the State. Ohio and Indiana were 
 struggling along with no common school system provided. 
 The entire country still had some vestiges of the colonial sys- 
 tem of apprenticeship education. 
 
 It is true, that nearly twenty-five years passed before the 
 establishment of a normal school in Illinois. However, in 
 1835, scarcely a teacher training institution existed in the 
 whole country. One of the new educational doctrines of the 
 day was the professional training of teachers. Men like 
 Stowe, who had gone to Europe to study the Prussian school 
 system, advocated teacher training. If the older states were 
 unready to establish normal schools, even as private ventures, 
 Illinois should not be censured for failing to adopt that part 
 of the bill providing fpr the establishment of county semi- 
 naries. Those institutions would, in all probability, have 
 been doomed to failure. 
 
 The academies already organized, both public and pri- 
 vate, did the best they could to educate teachers for the com- 
 mon schools. It is unlikely, however, that any academic in- 
 stitution provided more than a narrow scholastic education 
 for prospective teachers, although the charters of some insti- 
 tutions stated that the qualification of teachers was one of 
 their objects. The published programs of studies showed no 
 professional subjects in the academic curricula. A thorough
 
 116 
 
 preparation in reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic, with 
 an attempted mastery of the classic languages, was consid- 
 ered sufficient preparation for those who were to teach in the 
 primary schools. 
 
 In fact, nearly anyone with a little training in the elemen- 
 tary subjects was thought capable of teaching. Here and 
 there was an occasional objection by some fairly capable 
 judge to the work of teachers in the common schools. Thus a 
 writer in the Warsaw Signal believed that some teachers 
 were careless, indolent, ignorant and without the least desire 
 to find out what was expected of them. "Teachers are frail 
 mortals, as well as the rest of us; and some of them, I may 
 say with truth, a little more frail than their employers. I 
 conceive it to be one of the worst evils of our system, that it 
 has a tendency to make teachers careless, and indolent; and 
 it has been operating so long, that many of them do not seem 
 to care whether they do their duty or not; and any number 
 of them in my opinion, do not even go to the trouble of in- 
 quiring what their duty is. I only make these remarks that 
 they may do good, if so be where there is good to be done, 
 that whosoever the shoe pinches may wear it.'"^ 
 
 An extremely severe, and probably just indictment of the 
 common school teacher of the State was that given by one of 
 its educational leaders. The first common school journal of 
 Illinois, published in 1837, had but one year's existence be- 
 cause the teachers were unable to understand its methods and 
 because of the little interest in primary education. "We 
 apprehend there is not sufficient intelligence among the mass 
 of teachers in the State to appreciate the merits of such a 
 work, nor interest enough taken by parents in the success of 
 common schools, or in the education of their children, to in- 
 duce them to extend, at the present time, an adequate support 
 to the enterprise.'"^ 
 
 From our point of view, we could expect little of teachers 
 because little was expected of them by the people. A circuit 
 teacher was surely less efficient than a circuit preacher. Oc- 
 casionally, a circuit teacher had as many as three schools to 
 teach, as well as supply the books. However, that method 
 
 1= Warsaw Signal, Feb. 2, 1842. 
 "111. Hist. Col., V. 6, p. 63.
 
 117 
 
 /had its adherents who stated the advantages in no uncertain 
 terms. *' First. Two neighborhoods, unable to support a 
 school separately, can, by uniting with each other, enjoy all 
 the benefits of a common country school. ' ' 
 
 ''Second. One teacher can, on this plan accommodate 
 two settlements at the same time ; and this is no small advan- 
 tage when good teachers are so few and far between." 
 
 ' ' Third. By reducing the cost of tuition nearly one-half, 
 poor people who have large families can give them such an 
 education as will fit them for occupying a respectable station 
 in society." 
 
 ''Fourth. Those whose children are large enough to be 
 of service to them either on the farm or in the house, can, on 
 this plan, have them at home nearly half the time, employed 
 in useful occupations, and acquiring steady and industrious 
 habits, without which the health of the body, as Avell as the 
 health of the mind, is destroyed."^* 
 
 Another picture of the teacher and the school, as well as 
 the community, emphasized the lack of schools, the meager 
 education provided, the insecurity of tenure and pay, and 
 consequently, unqualified teachers. "During the early history 
 of Illinois, schools were almost unknown in some neighbor- 
 hoods, and in the most favored districts, they were kept up 
 solely by subscription, and only in the winter season, each 
 subscriber agreeing to pay for one or more scholars, or stipu- 
 lating to pay for his children pro rata for the number of days 
 they should be in attendance. The teacher usually drew up 
 articles of agreement, which stipulated that the school should 
 commence when a specified number of scholars should be sub- 
 scribed, at the rate of $2, $2.50, or $3 per scholar for the quar- 
 ter. In these written articles, he bound himself to teach spell- 
 ing, reading, writing, and arithmetic, as far as the double rule 
 of three. Occasionally, a teacher would venture to include 
 English grammar. But in the earlier years of my youth, I 
 knew of no teacher who attempted to give instruction in 
 grammar or geography. And such branches of history, nat- 
 ural philosophy, or astronomy, were not thought of. Many 
 parents were unwilling that their children should study arith- 
 metic, contending that it was quite unnecessary for farmers, 
 
 "State Supt. Rep., 1885-6, p. 114.
 
 118 
 
 and what was the use of grammar to a person who could talk 
 so as to be understood by everybody?'"^ 
 
 With scarce and inefficient schools, with little or no legal 
 requirements for certification, and with no adequate pro- 
 vision for the training of teachers, went low salaries. Some- 
 times the teacher was to ''board round," or live with the 
 patrons, in turn. Tuition for each pupil was charged, varying 
 in amount from district to district, but it was used chiefly to 
 pay the teacher. Once in a while, a widow was exempted 
 from her share of the payment of the teacher's wages beyond 
 her part of the common school fund. The law of 1825 made it 
 legal for a teacher to receive produce instead of money.^" 
 
 Between 1844 and 1846, the highest wage for men ranged 
 from $17 to $30 per month; the lowest, from $6 to $12, the 
 average being about $15 ; the highest wage for women ranged 
 from $9 to $17.56 per month, the lowest, from $3 to $6, the 
 average being about $10." No statement was made as to 
 whether these wages were exclusive or inclusive of board and 
 lodging. In some instances, it is known, when this calcula- 
 tion was made by the ex-officio State Superintendent, that 
 teachers paid their own board and lodging, in others, they 
 did not. 
 
 Illinois, at any rate, ranked among the highest states in 
 the payment of teachers' salaries if the statistics of Horace 
 Mann in the Prairie Farmer in 1848 were reliable : ' ' Salaries 
 of teachers per month exclusive of board and room: 
 
 Maine $15.40, males, $ 4.80, females 
 
 New Hampshire 13.50, '' 5.65, 
 
 Vermont 12.00, " 4.75, 
 
 New York 14.96, " 6.69, 
 
 Pennsylvania 17.02, '' 10.09, 
 
 Ohio 15.42, '' 8.73, 
 
 Indiana 12.00, *' 6.00, 
 
 Massachusetts 24.51, " 8.07, 
 
 In spite of the continuous reaffirmation, by political can- 
 didates for office, of the value of common school education, 
 the legislature passed few laws very far in advance of the 
 
 « Patterson, Early Soc. in So. 111., in Fer. Hist. Ser., No. 14, p. 121. 
 " See Contract of Allen Parlier in Chap, VIII, 
 "Senate and House Rep., 1846, p. 185. 
 "Prairie Farmer. 1848, v. 8. p. 222.
 
 119 
 
 general level of intelligence of the people in the State. How- 
 ever, attention was focused on desirable laws though they 
 were to be enacted in the future, by the indefatigable labor of 
 the State Educational Association. The men of that body, at 
 once and clearly, saw the necessity for trained teachers to 
 conduct the schools. But the people were not to blame for 
 failing to see the value of an entirely new educational doc- 
 trine, new, even to the older states, when scarcely any system 
 of common schools was in operation. The low salaries, the in- 
 efficient teachers, and the inadequate schools, were partly the 
 product of a frontier civilization, but also the result of the 
 low educational conditions in the states from which they 
 emigrated.
 
 J 20 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 So7ne Agencies that Aided in the Development and the Estab- 
 ment of the Common School. 
 
 The common school system of Illinois, when the perma- 
 nent free school law was passed, in 1855, was the product of 
 more than a quarter of a century of development. In consid- 
 ering farther the internal evolution of the system itself, let 
 us examine the means by which the people of the State were 
 taught to accept the principle that the State should educate 
 its children. In general, democracy was just beginning to 
 grow, and becoming conscious of its power. Humanitarian 
 ideals, doing something for the other man's children, were for 
 the first time, a national characteristic. Though the period 
 from 1830 to 1865 was marked by many abuses in educational 
 practice, the mass of the people were learning for the first 
 time the advantages of a universal system of free common 
 schools. Illinois had many agencies which contributed to the 
 growth of that ideal. 
 
 Usually, in a frontier community, moral and educational 
 values are first determined, by the championship of individual 
 leaders. More settled life develops group leadership, not 
 separate from, but existing along with prominent leaders, and 
 institutions emerge with their own ends in view. Through the 
 influence of educational leaders, the writings of newspapers 
 and magazines, the work of institutions such as the Sunday 
 schools and public libraries, and educational conventions, the 
 development of the free school was hastened. Our next con- 
 sideration, therefore, is a study of the part taken by these 
 agencies. 
 
 Educational Leaders. 
 
 Governors of the State of Illinois, in the period we are 
 considering, from first to last, took the lead in calling the at- 
 tention of the general assembly to the necessity for, and the 
 needs of the common schools. Governor Bond, the first in
 
 121 
 
 office after the State was admitted into the Union, in 1818, 
 recommended that towTiship trustees lease the school lands, 
 using the rent for educational purposes. Besides, a certain per 
 centum of the sales of all public lands should be reserved for 
 the use of schools, both of which incomes would be sufficiently 
 large to educate the children of the state to the remotest per- 
 iod of time. ^ 
 
 We have described the activity of Grovernor Coles relative 
 to the question of slavery and the free school law of 1825. 
 With the many other recommendations to the legislature, Gov- 
 ernor Coles spoke of the proper preservation of the public 
 lands in the State as a means for the education of future gen- 
 erations. "But, from the present super-abundance of lands, 
 these will not be productive of much revenue for many years 
 to come ; they should, however, be strictly husbanded as a rich 
 source from which to supply future generations with the 
 means of education." (Now followed his suggestions which 
 resulted in the free school law of 1825). ''In the meantime, 
 would it not be wise to make legal provision to assist in the 
 support of local schools'?" ^ 
 
 Whether or not Coles or Duncan wrote the law of 1825, 
 both men were champions of the common schools. The latter, 
 in following Coles as chief executive, continued to advise the 
 legislature of the value of common schools, of the necessity 
 for the adoption of some scheme of government support for 
 education, and of the wisdom in preserving the now small fund 
 for future use. ''As every country is prosperous and re- 
 spected in proportion to the virtue and intelligence of its 
 inhabitants, the subject of education will doubtless again 
 form an important part of your deliberations. It becomes us 
 to use every exertion in our power to instruct those who are 
 immediately dependent upon us, and least to those who come 
 after us the rich revenues to be derived from land, canals, 
 and other improvements ; to form a permanent fund to carry 
 out any plan you may adopt for the purposes of education. 
 A government like ours carried on by the will of the people, 
 should be careful to use all the means in its power to en- 
 lighten the minds of those who are destined to exercise so 
 important a trust. This and every consideration comiected 
 
 »Niles Weekly Reg-ister, v. 15, p. 192. 
 'Sen. Jr., 1824-5, p. 19.
 
 122 
 
 with the virtue, elevation and happiness of man, and the char- 
 acter and prosperity of our State, and of our common country 
 calls upon you to establish some permanent system of com- 
 mon schools by which an education may be placed within the 
 power, nay, if possible secured to every child in the State." ' 
 
 The governors above mentioned exemplified the part 
 taken by the chief executives in support of education. We 
 shall speak in another connection of those who assisted the 
 passage of the free school law of 1855. But no less influential 
 in moulding the common schools of the national period were 
 the preachers, writers, lawyers and the professional classes 
 generally. 
 
 Were one to select the man whose efforts were the great- 
 est for the moral and educational uplift of the people, it 
 would 1)e Rev. J. M. Peck. The organization of the Rock 
 Spring Seminary was but one of his many-sided activities. 
 Sunday schools, through which the com.mon children and 
 many of the older people learned to read and write Avere first 
 developed by this missionary preacher. Peck was found at 
 every important gathering, legislative, agricultural, religious 
 and educational, urging the creation of a system of schools 
 for the common people. Through him, a public meeting, as- 
 sembled in the state house at Vandalia to hear an address 
 by Judge Hall on education, became the nucleus of the first 
 state teachers' association. He was acquainted with the best 
 in the New England schools, and knew how to impart that 
 knowledge to others, either in his horseback rides over the 
 State with backwoodsmen, or in legislative halls with gover- 
 nors and political leaders. In him, the common man's chil- 
 dren, as well as the children of the elite, had a lifelong friend. 
 The passage of the first permanent free school law in the 
 State was a fitting tribute to him, who had spent more than 
 a quarter of a century for the cause of education in the State 
 of Illinois. 
 
 The New England and eastern settlers in Illinois were 
 distinguished by their championship of the cause of free com- 
 mon school education. Jonathan B. Turner, a teacher in 
 Illinois College, spent the prime of his life, 1834-55, for the 
 cause of the education of the common people, although he is 
 
 =■8611. Jr., 1834-5.
 
 123 
 
 better known for bis service in the advocation of and the 
 establishment of the University of Illinois. Conventions were 
 organized, addresses were made, and letters and pamphlets 
 were written by Turner, advocating the establishment of the 
 common school by co-operation, and the unity of the educa- 
 tional forces of the State. A letter to his fiancee showed that 
 he went about the State w^orking for the common school : 
 
 ''Soon after writing my last, I determined to spend my 
 vacation in looking into the state of common schools in Illi- 
 nois. I have been absent about seven weeks, have passed 
 through some dozen or fifteen counties and delivered public 
 addresses in all the county seats and principal villages." 
 
 "The result is that in all the counties I have visited, and 
 many others to which I have written, they have resolved to 
 call county meetings and elect delegates to the State Con- 
 vention to be held at Vandalia next December to discuss the 
 subject of common schools, and lay the subject before the 
 people and Legislature. My success has been better than I 
 expected, and I hope great good will result." * 
 
 Another statement represented some of the things that 
 Turner said in his addresses to the people on the subject of 
 common schools: "While others are still contesting the 
 boundaries of human freedom and adjusting the restraints 
 of human depravity, we would give unlimited scope to the 
 one by exterminating the other from the face of the earth. 
 AVith these ends in view, it devolves on us to augment the 
 facilities, the resources and the completion of knowledge, until 
 a royal road shall be paved from the threshold of every cabin 
 in the land to the open doors and waiting honors of our most 
 magnificent temples of science. If by council, concert, and co- 
 operation, we concentrate our energies and husband our re- 
 sources to the utmost, who can over-estimate the final result? 
 But if we fling the experience of the past and the advantages 
 of the present to the winds, and each for himself resolves in 
 his own solitary career of experiment and effort, — beleaguer- 
 ing and jading the public mind, and exhausting the public 
 resources with our own isolated and selfish schemes — what a 
 fearful retribution awaits both of us and those who are to 
 come after us." ° 
 
 * Life of Jonathan Baldwin Turner, p. 70. 
 •Ibid. p. 72.
 
 124 
 
 The whole group of Illinois College men and their as- 
 sociates — Edward Beecher, Julian M. Sturtevant, Truman 
 M. Post, Theron Baldwin, William Kirby, Samuel Adams, 
 Elisha Jenney, Asa Turner, John F. Brooks, Samuel D. Lock- 
 wood, J. M. Ellis, Albert Hale and William Brown — were de- 
 voted advocates of the common school. The welfare of the 
 State and the happiness of the people depended not only on 
 the advancement of education, but these men also saw that 
 the cause of higher learning was destined to be founded on a 
 common public school system. 
 
 Notices of the work done in the advancement of educa- 
 tion by some of these men appeared in the newspapers of that 
 day: "At the commencement in Jacksonville, Aug. 21, 1833, 
 an address on Common Schools, by Rev. Theron Baldwin." 
 ''Thursday evening, Nov. 13, 1834, an address in Spring-jSeld 
 by Prof. J. B. Turner, Subject: Common Schools." "Lec- 
 ture on Education by Rev. Mr. Baldwin at Mt. Carmel, 
 Wabash County, August, 1836." "A lecture by Prof. Stur- 
 tevant in Springfield, 1843, in behalf of- a State Superintend- 
 ent. Lecture repeated before the legislature the next night." 
 "The annual commencement of Jacksonville College Sept. 21, 
 1836. N. B. — A convention of teachers will be held on the 
 afternoon of the preceding day to concert measures for the 
 cause of education in this state. "^ 
 
 Judge Hall, the foremost literary writer of the State up 
 to the time of his removal to Cincinnati, in 1833, advocated 
 public education in his addresses and writings. Theron 
 Baldwin, with other Illinois College men, took up the cause 
 of education in their editorship of the Common School Advo- 
 cate. John S. Wright of Chicago, built a common school in 
 1835 in Chicago, at his own expense; edited the Prairie 
 Farmer, a journal devoted to agriculture, mechanic arts, and 
 common schools, and took an active part in the creation of 
 educational laws. Charles E. Hovey, the first editor of the 
 Illinois Teacher, the president of the State Teachers' As- 
 sociation, principal of the public schools of Peoria, and head 
 of the Normal School established in 1857, performed a dis- 
 tinguished service in organizing and uniting the teachers of 
 the State in the cause of free public schools. 
 
 •State Supt. Report, 1885-6, p. 128.
 
 125 
 
 Besides the editors just mentioned, the missionary cir- 
 cuit riders and state religious agents seldom failed to lend 
 their influence for the enlightenment of the children of the 
 State. Lemuel Foster, appointed in 1832 as a missionary to 
 Illinois, built an academy in Jacksonville and one in Bloom- 
 ington where common, as well as academic instruction was 
 given; established Sunday schools in the surrounding country 
 and interviewed his constituents for the purpose of gaining 
 their support for public instruction. John F. Brooks, sent 
 to St. Clair county, opened one of the first teachers' semi- 
 naries in Waverley, in 1837, directed the Springfield Academy 
 in 1840, and acted as principal of the public schools in the 
 same city. Other typical religious leaders were Eomulus 
 Barnes, Flavel Bascom, Aratus Kent, Peter Cartwright and 
 Hubbel Loomis. 
 
 The work of the state superintendents and legislators in 
 securing laws for the organization of free schools should not 
 be overlooked. Mr. Gatewood was named in the last chapter 
 and an extract of his address was given to show what he, as 
 chairman of the Senate Educational Committee, thought were 
 the reasons for developing common schools. S. W. Moulton, 
 to whom the free school bill was entrusted, in the legislature 
 in 1854, spent several years after the passage of the law in 
 writing articles and giving addresses on the justification of 
 taxation for the support of schools, and the manner in which 
 the distribution of revenue for school purposes should take 
 place. N. W. Edwards spent much time in gathering statis- 
 tics to show the condition of the schools of the State. As 
 superintendent, he visited every county and gave addresses 
 urging the creation of free schools. Moreover, the legislature 
 required that he prepare a bill for the reorganization of the 
 entire school system. A state agqnt was appointed by the 
 State Teachers' Association to travel over the State in the 
 interest of free schools. His first report indicated the nature 
 of his work : 
 
 He visited twenty-one schools and delivered sixteen eve- 
 ning addresses the first month. ''At Hennepin, I found a new 
 and beautiful edifice, erected at a cost of seven thousand dol- 
 lars, for a private school, and labored, not without hope of 
 success, to induce the people to obtain it and establish therein
 
 126 
 
 a graded free school. At Kewanee, it was attempted to show 
 that the true interests of Wethersfield and Kewanee, adja- 
 cent districts, would be promoted by purchasing the semi- 
 nary building located midway between them, and organizing 
 in it a Central High School. The stock-holders proposed to 
 give the six thousand dollars already expended, if the two 
 districts would assume the indebtedness — two thousand dol- 
 lars. The proposition was well received, and has since been 
 adopted. They will soon rejoice in the possession of a first 
 class High School, free to all whose attainments entitle them 
 to admission." "^ 
 
 Men of national prominence in other states were also in- 
 fluential in the development of the school system of Illinois. 
 The ideas of Jefferson were foremost in the law of 1825. De- 
 Witt Clinton was a leader, in the state of New York, in crea- 
 ting a common school system. But his addresses appeared in 
 the Illinois papers, of which the following is a typical extract : 
 ' ' The great bulwark of a republican government, is the culti- 
 vation of education; for the right of suffrage cannot be ex- 
 ercised in a salutary manner without intelligence. Ten years 
 of a child's life, from five to fifteen, may be spent in a common 
 school, and ought this immense portion of time to be absorbed 
 in learning what can be acquired in a short period? Perhaps 
 one-fourth of our population is annually instructed in our 
 common schools, and ought the minds and the morals of the 
 rising, and perhaps the destinies of all future generations, 
 to be entrusted to the guardianship of incompetence? The 
 scale of instruction must be elevated ; the standard of educa- 
 tion ought to be raised. Small and suitable collections of 
 books and maps attached to our common schools, and periodi- 
 cal examinations to test the proficiency of scholars, and the 
 merits of the teachers, are worthy of attention. When it is 
 understood that objects of this description enter into the for- 
 mation of our characters, control our destinies through life, 
 protect the freedom and advance the glory of our country; 
 and that this is the appropriate soil of liberty and education, 
 that it be our pride, as it is our duty to spare no exertions, 
 and to shrink from no expense, in the promotion of a cause 
 consecrated by religion, and enjoined by patriotism." " 
 
 *I11. Teach., v. 5. p. 90. 
 •Sang. Jr., Jan. 10, 1835.
 
 127 
 
 Horace Mann's and Henry Barnard's reports dealing 
 with the organization and establishment of a common school 
 system, also were quoted in Illinois publications. Moreover, 
 Mr. Barnard was on the program at two different common 
 school conventions where he discussed the internal features 
 of free schools.^ 
 
 Any classification of some of the representative leaders 
 is impossible because their interests were so many sided. An 
 Hlinois College founder like Baldwin was a missionary, who 
 established Sunday schools, a preacher who advocated the 
 cause of education before the legislature, and the principal of 
 Monticello Seminary wherein some teachers were trained for 
 the common schools. Moreover, he was an editor of one of the 
 literary agencies for the promotion of education in the West. 
 
 Literary Agencies. 
 
 Only a little of the literary material of the period to 1850 
 has been preserved. In that which has survived, the subject 
 of education continually appears. Many of the newspapers 
 spread information about the schools of the State, inserted 
 addresses from men like Governor Clinton, Horace Mann and 
 Henry Barnard on education, summarized the reports of state 
 superintendents of public instruction in such states as New 
 York and Connecticut, and recommended the adoption of cer- 
 tain principles for the improvement of education in Illinois. 
 As the creators of public opinion, and the means by which the 
 knowledge of school practices was disseminated, many of the 
 new^spapers were preeminent. 
 
 The ideas attributed to Judge Hall, the first newspaper 
 editor in the State, have come from the volumes of the Illinois 
 Monthly Magazine, published at Vandalia, 1827 to 1830. That 
 publication might well be called the first school journal of the 
 State. Among other articles were those on the need for scien- 
 tific instruction as opposed to an all-language curriculum; 
 arguments for the creation of a state system of free common 
 education; recommendations for the use of new and better 
 text-books, and survej^s of the educational means in existence. 
 This magazine was too far in advance of the literary ability 
 of the people on the frontier; hence it was necessary for the 
 editor to remove to Cincinnati in the early thirties where the 
 publication was continued. 
 
 •state Supt. Rep., 1885-6, p. 152.
 
 128 
 
 However, in 1837, appeared the Common School Advo- 
 cate, a monthly journal, printed at Jacksonville. A group of 
 editors, probably Illinois College teachers, carried on the 
 publication for a year without pay. Even the short existence 
 of the paper, only twelve months, advanced the common school 
 cause. The contents of the Advocate are indicated by the 
 first editorial suggesting topics for contribution. 
 
 ''Objects of education — different grades of it, and the 
 kind adapted to this age. Teaching made a profession — 
 benefits of it. Best method of teaching geography, arithmetic, 
 grammar, reading, writing, etc. Common schools — their im- 
 portance, etc. Necessity of well qualified teachers. Teach- 
 ers' seminaries. Government and discipline of a school. 
 School books. Common school libraries and apparatus. 
 Duties of parents, teachers and trustees. Location and struc- 
 ture of school houses. Systems of education in our own and 
 other countries. Importance of universal education under 
 free governments. Accounts of educational associations and 
 conventions, or of particular schools. Facts respecting the 
 state of education, particularly in Illinois. The system best 
 adapted to our circumstances. Moral and religious education 
 in schools. Connection between i.gnorance and crime — be- 
 tween intelligence and national prosperity. ' "° 
 
 But the most influential school journal, until the appear- 
 ance of the Illinois Teacher, in 1854, was the Prairie Farmer, 
 issued as the Union Agriculturist from 1841 to 1843. The title 
 page, among other things, said it was a journal dedicated to 
 the cause of the common schools in Illinois. Without its 
 record, the story of the struggle for free education in the 
 period from 1841 to 1854, would be almost impossible of re- 
 production. Such articles as these were discussed in its 
 pages : the need for a normal school ; the necessity for trained 
 teachers; the criminal negligence in not providing decent 
 common school buildings ; reports of the ex-officio state super- 
 intendent of common schools; proceedings of educational con- 
 ventions, both state and county; arguments against select 
 schools and private academies; the reasons for free schools; 
 the subjects taught in the free schools; reports of the New 
 England and New York common schools; advantages of a 
 State superintendent; gradation as a means of improvement 
 
 »• state Supt. Report, 1885-6, p. 133.
 
 129 
 
 in the educational system; desirable school legislation, and 
 school statistics. 
 
 The cause of the farmer was the cause of the common 
 school. The readers of the Prairie Farmer, besides learning 
 about agriculture and mechanic arts, were bemg educated m 
 the cause of free schools, so that the passage and adoption ot 
 the free school law of 1855 was possible. Moreover, this 
 ioumal had the unique distinction and advantage of reaching 
 the patrons of the schools rather than being a journal read by 
 the teachers only. • . 
 
 Last, but by no means least, was the Illinois leacher, 
 founded in the interests of education, in 1854. Estabhshed 
 about a year before the passage of the first permanent tree 
 school law, this journal became a means, primarily, ot helping 
 develop the free schools. Methods of teaching the subjects m 
 the curriculum were discussed in each number from year to 
 year. Educational news in the way of promotions, increases 
 in salary, and the employment and marriage of teachers ap- 
 peared. The proceedings of educational conventions; digests 
 of school law ; controversies over which section of the State 
 was more enlightened— "Egypt," or the North; reasons for 
 gradation with the explanation of its meaning; reports trom 
 the State agent travelling in the interests of the establishment 
 of free schools; notices of the creation of high schools and 
 suggested curricula for them were a few of the many subjects 
 
 treated. 
 
 The teachers, especially, were made conscious of many of 
 the problems raised by the beginning of free schools. Also, 
 were the teachers benefited by the experiences of others 
 through the medium of the first relatively permanent protes- 
 sional journal. The support of the Illinois Teacher by the 
 profession itself signified, for the first time, a unity of action 
 and a group consciousness of the teachers themselves. With 
 that power back of the free schools, progress became possible. 
 Institutions Whose Objects Indirectly Aided Common School 
 
 Education. 
 
 Prominent among the organizations for the aid of the 
 common schools, was the Ladies' Association for the Educa- 
 tion of Females, established at Jacksonville, Oct. 4. 18^^, tne 
 principal object of which shall be to encourage and assist
 
 130 
 
 young ladies to qualify themselves for teaching, and aid in 
 supporting teachers in those places where they cannot other- 
 wise be sustained.'"^ 
 
 ''The plan was liberal and simple. The principle object 
 was to educate teachers, but no pledges were exacted; no at- 
 tempt to decide where or how the individual could be most 
 useful. The great object was to instruct and elevate the hu- 
 man mind for its own sake, and in the belief that a mind right- 
 ly educated will not fail to enlighten others'"^ 
 
 The fifth annual report of this association advertised 
 schools where prospective teachers could receive training. 
 Such were in Fulton, Morgan, Greene, Madison, Macoupin, 
 Bond, Pike, Putnam, Knox, McLean and LaSalle counties. 
 Moreover, auxiliary associations had been formed in Chicago, 
 Ottawa, Farmington, Peoria, Springfield, Alton, Upper Alton, 
 Rushville, Carlinville, Galena, Griggsville, Quincy, Fairfield, 
 Hadley, Warsaw, Carlyle, Augusta, Knoxville, Bloomington, 
 Jacksonville, Carrollton, Manchester, Canton, Waverly, Win- 
 chester, Jerseyville, Beardstown, and Joliet.^- 
 
 The power of the association is seen in that twelve hun- 
 dred young women were assisted in receiving an education, 
 many of whom became teachers in the common schools, with 
 $25,091.35 expended for that purpose. The Illinois Teacher 
 described the work, purposes and aims of the organization 
 thus: ''With none of the pomp and e'clat which herald the 
 movements of other institutions, it has gone steadily on in its 
 benign mission" * * * educating young ladies, "who 
 else must have been forever denied the blessings of liberal 
 culture, have been sent forth to be angels of mercy and joy to 
 many hearts and homes, in this and other lands. This is not 
 the language of mere eulogy ; we have watched the progress of 
 this society from its foundation; we know the ladies who are 
 and have been its officers and friends; we know its struggles 
 and labors, and we know its fruits. We cannot better express 
 our opinion of its history and character than in the touching 
 and eloquent words of one of its founders : ' ' 
 
 "Silent, catholic, economical and persevering; it has been 
 so Christ-like in its labors that the world has never known 
 and could not stop to read its history. Its anniversaries have 
 
 '* 5th An. Rep Lad. Assoc. 
 " 5th An. Rep Lad. Assoc.
 
 131 
 
 been simple exponents of an institution partaking so little of 
 the spirit of the world. No noise, or parade, but a plain state- 
 ment of its labor, expenditures, and successes. Its history is 
 written in the heart of many a missionary, toiling in obscure 
 indigence; it is written, too, in the heart of the orphan and 
 the poor, who by timely aid have been able to break the fet- 
 ters by which poverty held back their aspirations for knowl- 
 edge; it will be read in the ages to come, in the light of 
 heaven." ^^ 
 
 This association mainly educated poor girls, many of 
 whom found their way as teachers into the common schools. 
 A better class of teachers was thus provided than would have 
 been without the work of this association. 
 
 Workingmen's organizations, in the absence of common 
 schools, provided education for the youth of their districts. 
 Even the Mechanics' Union of Springfield advertised that its 
 school was the free public school of the city. These asso- 
 ciations helped focus the attention of the people on the need 
 for, and the absence of, a free school system. Newspapers 
 commented upon the worthy purposes of the workmen, and 
 advertised, in the news sections of the paper, the rates of 
 tuition, the curricula and the objects. One association stated 
 its aims in these words : 
 
 ' ' The Springfield Mechanics ' Union is established for the 
 creation of a common school, and a public library, and for the 
 promotion of literature, science, and the mechanic arts;"^* 
 Other purposes were stated but they are not related to the 
 subject of education. Similarly, the Mechanics' Union of 
 Chicago said that its object was to diffuse knowledge and in- 
 formation throughout the mechanic classes, to found lec- 
 tures on natural, mechanical and chemical philosophy, and 
 other scientific subjects ; to create a library and a museum for 
 the benefit of others, and to establish schools for the benefit of 
 their children. 
 
 The movement for the education of the children of the 
 working men was general in the period from 1830 to 1865. 
 Common schools were established in the principal cities 
 throughout the East and the middle West. Many of the Me- 
 chanics In stitutes in the older cities today, owq their origin to 
 
 "111. Teach., v. 4, p. 286. 
 " Sess. Laws, 1839-40, p. 74.
 
 132 
 
 this period in which labor organizations established schools 
 in the absence of a free common school system. Through that 
 experience, the public was gradually learning the value of, 
 and how free schools should be established. 
 
 General education, by whatever means, had a decisive in- 
 fluence in making it possible for the creation of universal free 
 education. The emancipation of the mind of men and women 
 from ignorance gave them the taste for the education that 
 ought to be provided for their children. Another means, 
 therefore, by which older people were educated was the public 
 library. These, indeed, assisted the establishment of a com- 
 mon school system by showing the merits of education. 
 
 Public libraries were formed as joint stock companies in 
 several towns. The county commissioners' record of Edwards 
 county, 1815 to 1832, had the names of twelve stockholders 
 who subscribed 97 of the 300 shares for the creation of a 
 public library ; whereupon the contract was let to John Robin- 
 son for the erection of a library building to cost $1,800. 
 
 This building was used for public meetings, a house of 
 worship and a library. ''A good market house, and a public 
 library is at the end, in which a kind of Unitarian worship is 
 held on Sunday, when a sermon and church service, purified, 
 is read by any one who pleases. The books are donations 
 from the Flower family, and their friends in England."^' 
 ' ' They have a library, and much attention appears to be paid 
 to the cultivation of the mind as well as the soil.'"^ 
 
 Edwardsville made a similarly early start in the founda- 
 tion of a library by buying books from Boston. "It will, no 
 doubt, be gratifying to the proprietors of this institution to 
 know that the books lately ordered from Boston have arrived. 
 Those subscribers, who are in arrears, it is hoped, will come 
 forward and by paying up, entitle themselves and others to 
 use one of the best collections of books in the country. "^^ The 
 catalogue of books, which were considered the masterpieces 
 of literature, appeared in the same issue of the Spectator as 
 the above quotation. 
 
 The session laws have several of the articles of incor- 
 poration of public library associations in them. Other un- 
 
 " Faux Jr.. p. 253. Thwaites, v. 1. 
 "Niles Reg., v. 19, p. 368. 
 "Spec. Aug. 7, 1819.
 
 133 
 
 incorporated organizations were also formed, both of which 
 served as a means of public enlightenment. Usually, the 
 membership fee was low enough for all to join, perhaps one 
 dollar a year, and the people were requested to make use of 
 the books. 
 
 ''The trustees of the Warsaw Library Association take 
 pleasure in informing the stockholders of the institution 
 that they have procured the railroad office for their use, and 
 that they are fitting up in connection with it a Eeading Room, 
 which will be open in a few days, well supplied with news- 
 papers. The room will be open each day (Sunday excepted) 
 after the hour of five o'clock, P. M., at which time stock- 
 holders wishing to receive or exchange books, will be waited 
 upon by the librarian for that purpose. Ladies and gentle- 
 men of the village, and strangers sojourning among us, are 
 respectfully invited to use it. ' ' ^^ 
 
 A second means of promoting the general intelligence 
 were the academies. More direct connection between the 
 semi-public seminaries and the common schools existed than 
 at first might be suspected. The principals and teachers of 
 many of the former institutions were leaders in the educa- 
 tional thought of the State. Those men and women held their 
 positions because of their ability, and the trust placed in them 
 by the public. Active in the councils of the state, and county 
 associations, those men took every occasion to promote free 
 education. Indeed, they appeared before the general as- 
 sembly in the interests of the common schools, as well as in 
 the interests of the academies. Finally, they were intelligent 
 and generous enough to believe that the hope of higher learn- 
 ing lay in the creation of a free school system. 
 
 Moreover, l3oth public and private academies provided 
 much of the common school education of the time. In the 
 charters of the former, a stipulation usually was made which 
 required or provided that the academies conduct common 
 schools. The following quotation is an example of the re- 
 lationship between the academy and the common school: 
 "Sec. 9. There shall also be attached to the said academy, 
 a department in which shall be taught branches that are 
 usually taught in the common schools of the district in which 
 
 "Warsaw SigTial. May 26, 1841.
 
 134 
 
 said academy may be situated ; and the said trustees of said 
 academy, shall receive from the school commissioner of the 
 county, the same amount of money in the same proportion, 
 and apply the same to such tuition in the same manner as 
 other common schools are paid and kept ; Provided, that the 
 teachers or instructors, of said department shall be selected 
 by the trustees and under the control of the by-laws of said 
 corporation. ' ' ^® 
 
 But the share of the common school fund that the acad- 
 emies received for maintaining a common school was not suf- 
 ficient to pay the expenses of a very long term. The result 
 was that the academies charged their common school pupils 
 tuition at a little lower rate than was received for the higher 
 branches, or reduced the tuition of all subjects by the amount 
 that they expected to receive from the school fund, or kept 
 the rate of tuition as high as possible, even when they re- 
 ceived their share of public money, because there was no 
 authority that required a standard rate of tuition. 
 
 Nevertheless, the proposed school bill of 1835 was an 
 attempt by which one academy in each county of the State 
 should be so regulated and supported as to be a direct benefit 
 to the common school. Tuition for the graduates of the acad- 
 emy who were to be teachers in the common school, Avas to 
 be paid by the State. At any rate, the academy and the com- 
 mon school were brought into a closer relation by some of the 
 students of the former becoming teachers in the latter. The 
 two institutions were again brought together, for the pur- 
 pose of advancing the interests of the common schools, in the 
 series of educational conventions that were held between 
 1833 and 1855. Before discussing the conventions, however, 
 a study of the work of the Sunday schools follows : 
 
 The Sunday school was very prominent in raising the 
 level of general intelligence throughout the State. It had its 
 origin in Europe, in the Weslej^an revival, beginning in 1738, 
 and the humanitarian philosophy that just preceded the 
 French Eevolution. In England, the purpose was primarily 
 concerned with the education of poor children, but independ- 
 ent of the church. On the other hand, in the United States, 
 the first Sunday school, organized at Philadelphia in 1791, 
 
 " Sess. Laws, 1841, p. 7.
 
 135 
 
 was established for the purpose of giving secular and relig- 
 ious instruction. It was the accepted province of the church 
 to give religious education, and the connection between the 
 common school and the church had been so close that the 
 Sunday school developed as a church institution. On the 
 secular side, the Sunday school provided rudimentary educa- 
 tion for the lower classes in the older states, while all classes 
 in the frontier western communities received the benefits of 
 that well organized body. 
 
 After 1831, the Massachusetts Sunday School Union be- 
 came a parent of smaller organizations in Illinois, while the 
 Illinois State Sunday School Union, composed of members of 
 the principal religious denominations in the State, organized 
 branches in nearly every county and smaller auxiliary 
 branches, both, through the help of state agents, intelligent 
 and devoted citizens, resident clergy and circuit missionaries. 
 
 Eev. Theron Baldwin gave this account as an example of 
 his work in establishing Sunday schools : 
 
 "The Sabbath School, — to establish which was among my 
 first efforts here, commenced about the first of February with 
 a good degree of interest * * * It numbers a little more 
 than one-hundred. The library books have been read, and 
 these in connection mth the exercises of the school have evi- 
 dently done much already towards creating a thirst for 
 knowledge on the part of the scholars. Of the one-hundred 
 five who have entered the school, only thirty-seven could read. 
 I have made particular efforts in the Sabbath School, from a 
 firm conviction that the minister of Christ can spend a part 
 of his energies, at least, in no other wav to so great advan- 
 tage."'" 
 
 The following is an account of how Sunday schools were 
 established: **It is often difficult to start a Sabbath school, 
 there is so much ignorant prejudice and opposition. I have 
 a way which does well, when many good efforts of another 
 sort are lost. In my visiting about, I look out some house in 
 the settlement where I intend to form a school, — and one can 
 generally be obtained in one way or another — and then with- 
 out giving a word of notice, for that would awaken and com- 
 bine opposition, I fill my saddle-bags wdth books begging 
 
 "Home Miss., v. 2, p. 59.
 
 13G 
 
 what I can, buying what I cannot beg, (for it is against the 
 rules of the S. S. Union to give books before a school is 
 formed) get on my horse and ride around with them to each 
 family in the settlement, talk over with them the whole matter 
 of the Sabbath School, and its benefits, persuading the 
 parents, showing my books and interesting the children, 
 giving to each, on the condition of their attending school, such 
 a book as would be needed in it, at the same time telling them 
 where and when we would begin to meet. In this way, the 
 careless and prejudiced, who would not stir a step to hear 
 ever so many addresses on Sabbath Schools, become deeply 
 interested." ^^ 
 
 Sunday schools were established as early, at least as 
 1821, for the settlers of Lebanon formed themselves into 
 a society and built a house where a seminary, library, a de- 
 bating club and a Sunday school were conducted. About a 
 decade later the records show how extensively the system was 
 established in every section. Peck estimated that 375 Sunday 
 schools with 2000 teachers, 17,000 pupils and 2000 volumes in 
 their libraries, were in existence in Illinois.^" 
 
 Usually, two sessions were held on Sunday, in the morn- 
 ing and in the afternoon, where reading, writing and some 
 very simple arithmetic were taught. The Bible, religious 
 hjnnns and religious tracts were the principal texts. The 
 youth, and occasionally their elders, were taught by the best 
 educated men and women of the district and the local or cir- 
 cuit preacher opened or closed each session with an address 
 to all. 
 
 These institutions made communities in several districts 
 realize their educational deprivation which surrounded them 
 with the result that in some instances, the Sunday school was 
 continued as a permanent week-day school. Thus the in- 
 habitants of Rushville first founded schools on Sunday, and 
 then, ' 'formed themselves into a School Association, for the 
 purpose of keeping in operation a permanent school, to be 
 taught by a competent instructor; of good moral and tem- 
 porate habits." ^^ 
 
 "Home Miss., vol. 2, p. 59. 
 " Peck, Gaz., p. 89. 
 '^Home Miss., v. 2, p. 194.
 
 137 
 
 In considering the literary agencies m Illinois, Judge 
 Hall characterized the value of the Sunday schools m this 
 manner- ''We view these efforts with unmmgled pleasure. 
 Apart from the important religious bearing of the Sunday 
 School system, we consider it the most powerful engine, that 
 this creative age has produced, for diffusion of knowledge. Its 
 adaptation to the wants of a new country is peculiar, it 
 brings instruction within the reach of thousands who have not 
 the means of procuring it through ordinary channels; dis- 
 seminates education free of expense; scatters books far and 
 wide over the country; creates a taste for reading, and habits 
 of inquiry among the young; and by its social character exer- 
 cises a most happy effect, in promotmg kmd feelmgs, and 
 cordial intercourse in society.'"* 
 
 Educational Conventions. 
 The Vandalia conventions of 1833 and 1834 have been 
 sufficiently discussed in the last chapter. . ^J^^f '/^j^^«^ 
 meetings were the first of a large number m the State and 
 counties to 1855. They created enthusiasm for the common 
 schools; they brought the leaders and friends of education 
 together, and made harmonious and concentrated ettort 
 
 "Dossible 
 
 The constitution of the Illinois State Education Society, 
 organized at Springfield, Dec. 28, 1840, was an illustration 
 of the purpose for which teachers' associations were 
 founded- ''The friends of education assembled m bprmg- 
 field believing that the perpetuity of our free institutions, 
 and our political, social and moral well being, depend mainly 
 on the general diffusion of knowledge among people ; and that 
 the wants of our rapidly increasing population strongly de- 
 mands such an improvement in our common school system 
 as will place the benefits of education withm the reach ot 
 everv citizen * * * Its object shall be to promote, by all 
 laudable means, the diffusion of knowledge in regard to edu- 
 cation; and, especially, to endeavor to render the system ot 
 common schools throughout the State as perfect as possi- 
 ble. "^^ 
 
 «I11. Mo. Maer.. v. 2. d. 103. 
 »Sate Supt. Rep., 1885-6, p. 136.
 
 138 
 
 From 1841 to the constitutional convention of 1847, much 
 material was published on the creation of a State Superin- 
 tendent of common schools. Petitions were circulated at the 
 instance of educational associations, while editors of news- 
 papers and journals urged their readers to sign. As a sample 
 of the memorials sent to the legislature by teachers' organiza- 
 tions asking for the establishment of a superintendent of 
 common schools, let us examine the one sent in 1841. 
 
 ''Let a superintendent of common schools Be appointed — 
 a man of talents, and yet a laborious and self-denying man; 
 one who would go into all the dark corners, as well as the 
 bright spots of the State, and labor day in and day out for the 
 improvement of our common Schools. Such a man would be 
 a great use, not only in awakening the public to the import- 
 ance of education, but by collecting facts for the information 
 of your honorable body and the peoj)le. He would associate 
 with all classes of the community, from the cabin to the man- 
 sion — from the humble teacher of the humblest school to the 
 most learned professor — and advise you of their feelings 
 and views. He would note the practical operation of the 
 system, and suggest for your consideration wherein it might 
 be improved. He would (a matter of no mean moment to the 
 success of the common school education) do much towards 
 bringing about a steady and uniform administration of the 
 law. 
 
 "Your memorialists would also suggest that, as a matter 
 of economy, a man of established virtue — of much experi- 
 ence ; one w^ho is familiar with the habits and feelings of our 
 people; a man whose mind is well disciplined — should be 
 placed at the head of this department. The interests involved 
 are so various, so momentous, that the best mind in the State 
 should be set to watch over them. Should the right sort of a 
 man be selected and paid out of the general school fund, he 
 will save to the general and to^\mship jpunds, by looking after 
 their interests (aside from all other benefits resulting from 
 his labors), a sum at least equal to his salary. 
 
 "Your memorialists would also suggest, that if any re- 
 gard is due to the experience and example of other states, 
 who have found a superintendent necessary to the success of 
 their efforts in behalf of common school education, you are
 
 139 
 
 strongly urged thereby to appoint a superintendent of the 
 State of Illinois."-*' , 
 
 The legislature, however, passed no law creating the 
 superintendent of common schools. But the Peoria convention 
 of 1844 took up the question again with the result that the 
 Secretary of State was made ex-officio state superintendent 
 of common schools. 
 
 A whole reorganization of the school system was de- 
 manded from the legislature by the Peoria meeting. Discus- 
 sions and reports were made on the subjects of a board of 
 education; a board of county superintendents; district trus- 
 tees; school districts; town superintendents; the school fund; 
 gradation, and taxation. 
 
 On the last point, the memorialists argued at great length 
 to overcome the hostility of the legislature and the people 
 they represented, to taxation. Even if schools should be 
 supported by taxation, the State was deeply in debt and times 
 were hard because the effects of the panic of 1837 had not 
 passed. But the objection to a tax for the education of other 
 people's children was natural. The following paragraphs 
 illustrated the attitude of the Peoria convention : 
 
 ''We come now to consider finally, the one great requisite 
 of the proposed plan — taxation. Each of the other parts is 
 considered essential, yet they are but the machinery to work 
 this result. We come out frankly and boldly, and acknow- 
 ledge the whole system, every effort is intended only as a 
 means of allurement to draw the people into the grasp of this 
 most awful monster — a school tax." 
 
 ''But start not back in alarm. After all he may not be 
 so terrible as some have perhaps imagined. Used with skill 
 and judgment, and no other power can accomplish what he 
 will; no other can work such changes in your common schools, 
 and it is in vain that we attempt to dispense with his services. 
 All experience throughout the Union is in favor of his em- 
 ployment. We do not, however, propose coercing any to 
 employ him, who prefer to let him alone. All we ask is to 
 give those permission to use him who are so inclined; and 
 others when they witness his subordination, and power to 
 
 *• state Supt. Rep., 1885-6, p. 136.
 
 140 
 
 work for the cause of education, will doubtless desire them- 
 selves to try his services" 
 
 'Our position is that taxation for the support of schools 
 is wise and just, that it is in fact the only method by which 
 the deficiency for defraying the expenses of popular educa- 
 tion beyond that supplied by the public funds can be equalized 
 amongst those who should pay it." 
 
 The schools of the State, by the law of 1845, were per- 
 mitted to receive a tax for their support provided it was 
 levied by a vote of two-thirds majority in any district. The 
 amount of tax, however, that could be levied in any way was 
 not to exceed fifteen cents on the one hundred dollars. 
 
 Four agencies by which the common school was aided in 
 its development, and in its establishment as a free public in- 
 stitution have been discussed. (1) Prominent educational lead- 
 ers were: most of the governors, who were nobly assisted by 
 the untiring labors of Peck; the Illinois College men; such 
 editors as Judge Hall, John S. Wright, Charles E. Hovey; the 
 missionary circuit riders and resident ministers; state super- 
 intendents; legislators; state agents; and a few nationally 
 prominent men of other states in the persons of Jefferson, 
 Clinton, Mann and Barnard. (2) Many of the newspapers of 
 the State, the Illinois Monthly Magazine, the Common School 
 Advocate, the Prairie Farmer, and the Illinois Teacher were 
 the literary means devoted to the interests of the common 
 schools. (3) Institutions that increased the general intelligence 
 of the people and created a desire for better educational op- 
 portunities were, the Ladies' Aid Association for the Educa- 
 tion of Females; workingmen's organizations, public libraries, 
 Sunday schools and academies. (4) Enthusiasm, harmony, 
 and cooperation among the friends of the common school in 
 the cause of general enlightenment, were developed by educa- 
 tional conventions. An ex-officio state superintendent of com- 
 mon schools was created in the person of the Secretaiy of 
 State upon the recommendation of the Peoria Convention. 
 But the legislature only conceded the right to levy taxes for 
 the support of schools when a two-thirds majority of the peo- 
 ple of any district so decided. The next chapter shall show 
 how the common schools were made free, and shall indicate 
 what the attitude was toward them.
 
 141 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Free School Law of 1855. 
 
 The friends of education were not satisfied witli halfway 
 measures. If districts were allowed to decide whether a tax 
 should be voted for the support of schools, there would be few 
 free schools. As a result, agitation was continued by educa- 
 tional associations for the appointment of a state superin- 
 tendent of common schools, separate from the Secretary of 
 State, and a compulsory ad valorem property tax. Accord- 
 ingly, the Chicago school convention in 1846, resolved, among 
 other things, to make a survey of the State in order to de- 
 termine the qualifications of teachers in the service of com- 
 mon schools, the condition of schoolhouses, what amount of 
 money was raised in each district for the support of schools, 
 what was the attitude of the people toward general property 
 tax, and what sum was paid for tuition by subscription.^ 
 
 The Springfield Teachers' Association in the same year 
 took a little different course. They resolved ' ' that a commit- 
 tee of five be appointed to report to the convention a plan for 
 the organization of a State Education Society."^ That so- 
 ciety was immediately organized, and began to create aux- 
 iliaries in the counties of the State for the purpose of aiding 
 common schools. 
 
 The discussions by members of all the conventions, since 
 the first in 1833, had finally awakened the public to the need 
 of a more adequate school system. The people had seen the 
 necessity for the revision of the state constitution and had as- 
 sembled in a constitutional convention in Springfield in 1847. 
 The fundamental law of the State ought to recognize the all- 
 important subject of a system of education. Accordingly, 
 the convention appointed a large representative committee 
 
 1 Prairie Farmer, v. 6, p. 351. 
 » Ibid., V. 7, p. 73.
 
 142 
 
 to consider the subject. To them, petitions were pouring in, 
 chiefly from the newer counties of the North and West, settled 
 by Easterners. Kepresented in the list, were Livingston, 
 Madison, Cass, DuPage, DeKalb, McLean, Knox, Fulton, 
 Peoria, Mason, Brown, Winnebago, Carroll, Crawford, Eock 
 Island, Marshall, Whiteside, Stephenson, Pike, McHenry, 
 St. Clair, and Sangamon counties. 
 
 It was but natural, therefore, that a resolution was intro- 
 duced in the constitutional convention for the creation of a 
 state superintendent of common schools: *' Believing that 
 important measures are necessary to advance the cause of 
 education, the basis of our republican form of government, 
 and to elevate the moral standard of common schools, the 
 only source from which most of our youth derive their educa- 
 tion; therefore. Resolved, That an article be ingrafted into our 
 state constitution creating the office of state superintendent 
 of common schools, who shall be elected by the people and 
 hold his office for the term of four years, and until his suc- 
 cessor is elected and qualified, and receive the salary of $ 
 
 whose duty it shall be to have the general superintendence of 
 common schools in this state, and report the conditions of 
 the same in a manner and as often as may be required by 
 law."^ 
 
 Next, a resolution was passed by the convention which 
 provided for the support of schools by taxation and a super- 
 intendent to make the system effective: ''Resolved, That the 
 committee on education be instructed to consider and report 
 as to the propriety of a constitutional provision for the 
 security of the college, seminary, and common school funds 
 from conversion or destruction by the legislature. Also, for 
 the establishment of a system of common schools as well, by 
 taxation combined with state funds, afford the means of edu- 
 cation to every child in the state, and the appointment of a 
 state superintendent, with an adequate salary, to give effect 
 to such system. ' ' * 
 
 Whereupon, the educational committee of the constitu- 
 tional convention introduced a bill, which passed the first 
 reading, and which should become a part of the . organic law 
 of the State. By this, the legislature should create a free, uni- 
 
 sjr. Const. Conv.. p. 31. 
 ♦Ibid., p. 78.
 
 143 
 
 versal system of common schools, at tlie head of which should 
 be a state superintendent, appointed by the governor for a 
 term of two years. 
 
 ''Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly 
 to provide for a system of common schools, which shall be as 
 nearly uniform as may be throui>-hout the State, and such 
 common schools shall be equally free to all the children in the 
 State, and no sectarian instruction shall be permitted in any 
 of them. " ^ 
 
 ''Sec. 4. The superintendency of public instruction in 
 this State shall be vested in an officer to be styled 'the super- 
 intendent of common schools,' and such county and local 
 superintendents as may be established by law. ' ' ^ 
 
 "Sec. 5. At the first session of the General Assembly 
 after the adoption of this constitution and biennially there- 
 after, it shall be the duty of the governor, by and with the 
 advice and consent of the senate (a majority of all members 
 elected thereto concurring therein), to appoint a superin- 
 tendent of common schools, who shall hold his office for the 
 term of two years and shall perform such duties and receive 
 such salary as the General Assembly shall prescribe." ° 
 
 After so much discussion in the constitutional convention 
 of the establishment of a free school system with its proper 
 officers, the constitution of 1847 is singularly silent on educa- 
 tional provisions. 
 
 Nevertheless, the common school leaders in the State 
 kept right on trying "to erect upon a permanent basis a 
 plain, practical system of Free Common Schools. The great 
 fundamental principle of this action should be, that our 
 schools be free to every child (native or adopted) in Illinois, 
 free as the genial showers and sunshine of heaven. ' '^ 
 
 The State Educational Society authorized the publication 
 of a magazine, the Illinois Teacher, devoted to the cause of 
 common schools and resolved, "That the property of the State 
 should be taxed to educate the children of the State. "^ 
 
 The same attitude toward taxation was shown by some 
 of the educational associations of the northern and western 
 
 ° Jr. Const. Conv., p. 352. 
 
 « Jr. Const- Conv., p. 352. 
 
 ' State Supt. Rep., 1885-86. p. 166. 
 
 * Prairie Farmer, v. 8, p. 81.
 
 144 
 
 counties, a typical resolution from which is this: ''Resolved, 
 That Common Schools should be free to all, both black and 
 white, and bein^ thus free and accessible to the poor as well 
 as the rich, neither rich nor poor should be allowed to de- 
 prive their children of the means of a Good Common School 
 Education."^ 
 
 Of course, the common, though true and sincere, argu- 
 ments advanced, were that free institutions could only suc- 
 ceed by free schools. "That the whole people, without dis- 
 tinction of age, sex, or condition, shall have unrestrained 
 access to the fountains of public instruction, in order that 
 our free institutions may be transmitted to posterity in unde- 
 cayed magnificence. ' ' ^" 
 
 Infrequently a moral persuasion for the necessity of 
 educating the children said, "it is the duty of the State to 
 educate every child in it. There could not be a more rational, 
 patriotic or benevolent expenditure of wealth than in the 
 holy cause of education, and thus the moral improvement of 
 our population. ^^ 
 
 Governor French, who had been ex-officio state superin- 
 tendent, asked the legislature to repeal all school laws and 
 start anew with a simple system of education supported by 
 tax on property, and made free to all children alike. "I desire 
 to see a system by which every child, whatever its condition 
 or parentage, may have an opportunity to obtain an education 
 equal with the most affluent of our state — such as will fit 
 them for any grade or condition of life. ' ' ^- 
 
 Governor Matteson, following Governor French in 
 office, made a somewhat similar statement: "Intelli- 
 gence gives to the country happiness at home and re- 
 spect abroad * * *. Why not open its portals wide and 
 make its benefits universal? * * * I now repeat that 
 the laws in relation to schools be repealed, and that in 
 the place of them a simple law be passed — by which a 
 general system of schools shall be established, and main- 
 tained entirely by levies (so far as the school fund shall 
 be insufficient) upon property open and free to every child 
 within the borders of the state. This recommendation con- 
 
 • Prairie Farmer, vol. 8, p. 335. 
 
 "Ibid., p. 221. 
 
 " Sang-amo Jr., July 20, 1847. 
 
 " Sen. and House Rep., 1853, p. 8,
 
 145 
 
 templates a system of instruction of a character sufficiently 
 elevated to fit every child for every rank and station in 
 
 life ' ' '^ 
 
 The legislature though unready to inaugurate those 
 ideas into laws immediately, did create a separate department 
 of public instruction. With a capable man as state superin- 
 tendent, it was thought that the cause of the common schools 
 would be advanced most rapidly. A brighter day for educa- 
 tion was at hand. Governor Matteson, in 1854, appointed Nm- 
 ian W. Edwards, son of the first territorial governor ot Illi- 
 nois and a man who had held the office of attorney general and 
 been a member of the state legislature for sLxteen years, the 
 first state superintendent.^^*^ Mr. Edwards was charged with 
 the duty of reporting "a bill to the next regular session ot 
 the General Assembly, for a system of free school education 
 throughout the State, and the manner for the support ot 
 which system to be provided for by a uniform ad valorem 
 tax upon property, to be assessed and collected as other state 
 and county revenue is assessed and collected." '* 
 
 Mr. Edwards, complying with the request of the legisla- 
 ture, reported a thoroughly comprehensive bill with the rea- 
 sons' for its passage. The bill provided for the election and 
 duties of the state superintendent ; the election and duties of 
 school commissioners; the election, duties and powers of 
 towmship boards of education; judgments and executions 
 against school boards; the examination, quahfication and 
 duties of teachers; school libraries; township and county 
 school funds ; common school funds, and additional taxes for 
 the support of schools. 
 
 The legislature accepted the bill but made some modihca- 
 tions by keeping the district system, which had been excluded, 
 and by'imposing a state tax for education. The tax amounted 
 to two mills on the dollar, and was added in the distribution 
 to other funds which, made up the common school fund 
 ''The common school fund of this state shall consist of such 
 sums as will be produced by an annual lev\^ and assessment 
 of tw^o mills upon each dollar's valuation of all taxable pro- 
 
 " Prairie Farmer, 1854, p. 102. . « ^. o,.r^^^^^^^T,HoTlt 
 
 "a The legislature enacted a law creating a. separate office of Superintendent 
 
 of common schools in 1854. It made it the immediate duty of the governor 
 
 to fill the office until the November election of 1855 
 "State Supt. Rep., 1885-86. p. 190.
 
 146 
 
 perty in the state, and there is hereby levied and assessed 
 annually, in addition to the revenue for state purposes, the 
 said two mills upon each dollar's valuation of all the taxable 
 propert}^ in the state, to be collected and paid as other revenue 
 is collected and paid", etc.^^ 
 
 In the next place, the law of 1855 made it mandatory that 
 the trustees of both to^^^lships and local districts should le^^ 
 a tax to supplement the distributable fund of the State. At 
 least one free school in every district should be established 
 and kept in operation six months out of each year. In addi- 
 tion, "for the purpose of erecting schoolhouses, or purchas- 
 ing schoolhouse sites, or for the repairing and improving the 
 same, for procuring furniture, fuel and district libraries, the 
 board of education of any district shall be authorized to have 
 levied and collected a tax annuallv on all property in their 
 district. "^« ^ _ ■ _ 
 
 It seemed that there was some misunderstanding, inten- 
 tional or otherw^ise, over the purposes for which a tax could 
 be levied. Hence the law of 1859 restated that provision 
 more specifically. "For the purpose of establishing and 
 supporting free schools for six months, and defraying all 
 expenses of the same, of every description; for the purpose 
 of repairing and improving schoolhouses; of procuring fur- 
 niture, fuel, libraries and apparatus, and for all other neces- 
 sary incidental expenses, the directors of each district shall 
 be authorized to levy a tax, annually, upon all the taxable 
 property of the district. They may also appropriate to the 
 purchase of libraries and apparatus, any surplus funds, after 
 all necessary school expenses are paid." " 
 
 Since there was a fund to be distributed to the common 
 schools by the state, provision was made in the law to base 
 two-thirds of the distribution on the number of white children 
 in each county between five and twenty-one years of age, and 
 one-third on the number of to^vnships or parts of to\^^lships 
 in each county. "On the first Monday in June, in each and 
 every year, next after taking the census of the state, the 
 auditor of public accounts shall, under the supervision of the 
 commissioners of the school fund of the state, ascertain the 
 
 "Sess. Laws, 1855, Sec. 67, p. 77. 
 "Sess. Laws, 1S55. Sec. 71, p. 78. 
 " ni. Teach., v. 5, p. 3 of Circular of State Supt.
 
 147 
 
 number of white children in each county in the state, under 
 twenty-one years of age, and shall thereupon make a dividend 
 to each county of two-thirds the sum from the tax levied and 
 collected; and the interest due on the school, seminary and 
 college fund, in proportion to the number of white children 
 in each county under the age aforesaid, and of the remaining 
 one-third, in proportion to the number of townships and parts 
 of townships in each county. ' ' ^^ 
 
 Finally, the money due the to^^mships should be distri- 
 buted ' ' in proportion to the number of days certified on such 
 schedules respectively to have been taught since the last 
 regular return day fixed by the act or trustees for the return 
 of schedules." ^^ 
 
 The greatest objections to the free school law, which 
 taxed property for the support of education, were obviated 
 by the method of distributing the state school fund. The more 
 thickly populated sections benefited by the distribution on 
 the number of children under twenty-one years of age. The 
 sparser districts were helped by the distribution on the num- 
 ber of townships or fractions thereof per county. Moreover, 
 the richer sections, which might also have the greatest num- 
 ber of minors, paid the biggest share of the tax. Cook county 
 paid out $65,150.31, and received $29, 185.02, while William- 
 son county paid out $1,737.04, and received $4,917.25.""=^ It is 
 easily seen, therefore, that the state tax distribution method 
 was a powerful argaiment that carried in poorer sections 
 where other reasons failed. The principle of distributing 
 state money, collected from the richer sections, to help poorer 
 districts was first used after 1855. 
 
 The Attitude to the Free Schools. 
 
 Quite frequently the attitude to the common schools be- 
 came one of defense for, or objection to the private 
 academies and select schools. Occasionally, the semi-public 
 academies were included in the condemnation. The struggle 
 concerned itself, therefore, for the supremacy of one system 
 of education over another. Should leaders in society, and 
 they alone from the wealthy people, be educated by the acad- 
 
 i«Sess. Laws, 1855, Sec. 69, p. 78. 
 '9 Ibid., Sec. 36, p. 61. 
 
 "« Sangamon county paid out $2-3,440.75, and received .?12,412.82. See Audi- 
 tor's Report for 1855-6. p. 35-6.
 
 148 
 
 emies, thus leaving the poor people to shift for themselves? 
 Or, should the State adopt a system of free education espe- 
 cially favorable to the common man? It did adopt such a 
 system in 1855, with the result that its friends began to sing 
 its praises. The virtues usually found were superior in the 
 common schools, inferior in the academies. 
 
 First and pre-eminent, were the arguments from demo- 
 cracy. The children of the rich and the poor, the high and the 
 low, were all on the same level in the common schools. Ee- 
 wards and punishments, success and failure came as a result 
 of individual merit rather than distinction from wealth and 
 parentage. In the light of our republican institutions, pri- 
 vate schools were a failure. ''They were the nurseries of 
 aristocracy ; not the aristocracy which despises the poor man 
 because he is poor — which calls men of moderate means, small 
 fisted farmers, greasy mechanics, and filthy operators, unfit 
 to associate wdth well-bred gentlemen, and says free society 
 is a failure, which threatens the overthrow of republicanism, 
 and is hard upon our free schools : " ^^ 
 
 Private schools, pushed to their logical conclusions, 
 would divide the American people into classes entirely con- 
 trary to our traditions. Not only would the rich and poor 
 be separated, but "there must be schools to represent particu- 
 lar nationalities and particular forms of belief. And this 
 would perpetuate national peculiarities, and embitter reli- 
 gious prejudices and beget a clannish spirit, and divide society 
 more and more into parties estranged and hostile to each 
 other, when every effort should be bound together by friendly 
 intercourse in universal sjonpathj^ and concord. And I know 
 of no minor agency to affect this than a well devised and well 
 sustained system of common public schools. ' ' ^^ 
 
 In the common schools "and the humbler w^alks of life, 
 where talent is oftenest found, the gifted and good — educate 
 and qualify themselves for the responsible positions in 
 life."'' 
 
 Common schools, universally established, would enable 
 parents, "to educate their children at home, where they can 
 counsel with the teacher in the formation of the child 's char- 
 
 a»Ill. Teach., v. 4, p. 78. 
 "Ibid., p. 87. 
 «Ibid., p. 79.
 
 149 
 
 acter, and where they can detect and check those tendencies 
 to evil to which most children are prone." -^ 
 
 Besides, private schools and academies were located 
 where they were least needed. ''The private school system 
 will never plant schools where they are needed to meet the 
 wants of the entire community. Hence some, nay, many 
 would under it be excluded from all school privileges by loca- 
 tion. Teachers will of course choose to establish schools only 
 in dense and wealthy communities, where good compensation 
 will be assured to them, and the poorer and more sparsely 
 settled sections of the country will be left altogether unsup- 
 plied."'-' 
 
 Even though academies were rightly located, ''they are 
 too expensive for general use. Teachers must live; and pri- 
 vate schools must charge a rate of tuition per scholar which 
 will support the teacher or teachers, and afford a superior 
 income sufficient to pay rent for buildings and fixtures, and 
 this will make education much more expensive to scholars 
 than when the property is taxed to support the schools of 
 the district. And especially does this private school system 
 press heavily upon those in the community who are rich only 
 in mouths to be filled, backs and feet to be covered, and bills 
 to be paid. Multitudes of children must remain untaught if 
 only this system be in operation among us." '^ 
 
 Finally, the private school teacher sacrificed efficiency 
 for popularity with pupils, which meant popularity with the 
 parents. Some thought that popularity was incompatible 
 with the proper handling of pupils, because the only concern 
 of the teacher should be to know and do his duty. Wealth 
 ought not make any difference in the children's school privi- 
 leges. But common school pupils paid only thirty dollars, 
 where academic pupils paid ninety dollars for instruction. 
 
 However, it was recognized that the academy had some 
 advantages. (1) "The teachers in the private schools, as a 
 class, are superior in natural endowments and scientific at- 
 tainments to the teachers in the public schools. They must 
 be so to sustain themselves. No private school with inferior 
 teachers at its head ever had more than an ephemeral exist- 
 ence; while nine-tenths of the public schools, taking the coun- 
 ts m. Teach., p. 80. 
 s^Ibid., p. 87. 
 »Ibld., p. 86.
 
 150 
 
 try through, are supplied with teachers of an inferior grade, 
 unfit to be trusted with the molding of immortal minds. ' ' *'' 
 (2) The equipment and apparatus was far superior in the 
 academies. (3) The academies had a more enriched curri- 
 culum while public school education was "confined to the 
 intellect at the expense of manners, morals, and the organic 
 structure. Better no education, than such education. It only 
 tends to make rogues."" 
 
 It is evident therefore, that the State was divided into 
 two groups, the one favoring public schools, the other acad- 
 emies. The south, generally, wanted to be left alone with 
 its original class system of education. On the other hand, the 
 north wanted to impose its common school system on all alike, 
 the State over. The attitude of the two sections can be clearly 
 obtained by studying the literature of each of the two groups. 
 Many times the south was bitterly opposed to the common 
 school, while the north eulogized it. 
 
 "We have got to hating everything with the prefix free, 
 from free negroes up and do\\Ti through the whole catalogues 
 — free farms, free labor, free society, free will, free thinking, 
 free children, and free schools — all belonging to the same 
 brood of damnable isms ; but the worst of all these abomina- 
 tions is the modern system of free schools. We abominate 
 the system because the schools are free.""^ 
 
 The other attitude follows : ' ' We dedicate it to freedom ; 
 to humanity ; to advancing civilization of the ages ; to an 
 ever onward, ever upward, and ever glorious career of con- 
 joined knowledge and industry, science and art, justice and 
 humanity. In a word, we dedicate it to the human race, to 
 Christ, and to God, to the truth they enjoin, the beneficence 
 they inspire, and the glory they impart ; and should any ever 
 in the future attempt to divert or hinder it from these great 
 ends, this glorious career, we this day pray that their hands 
 and their tongues may become palsied and powerless ; that its 
 beams and rafters may cry out against them, and its very 
 bricks and stones confront and repel them; and that, ever 
 guarding its own vestal fire within, it may throw far abroad 
 the radiance of its own light — resplendent and beneficient to 
 
 "111. Teach., v. 4, p. 77. 
 " Ibid. 
 =»Ibid., p. 79.
 
 151 
 
 all on earth — accepted and blessed by all in Heaven; and 
 that from age to age the zephyrs may still waft the sweet 
 music of its love over the green grass where its founders rest 
 as successive generations of youthful voices arises to call 
 them the blessed of the Lord."^^ 
 
 Ex-Gov. Reynolds, at this time, Avrote a little book urging 
 the people of the south to accept the free school law. The 
 repeal of the Missouri Compromise through the Dred Scot 
 Decision, and the birth of the Republican party kindled anew 
 the sectional feeling. So it is doubtful whether his book had 
 a wide circulation and much influence in the interests of free 
 education in the southern part of the State. 
 
 S. W. Moulton, who managed the free school law in the 
 legislature, spoke of it, about the time Reynolds wrote his 
 book, as having aroused the people from apathy because their 
 interest lay where their money was spent. The property tax 
 led, therefore, to suggestions and improvements in the law 
 that could not be foreseen until experience was obtained by 
 practice. 
 
 Since there were two extreme beliefs over the free school 
 bill depicted, and since it appears that the opposition was 
 connected with slavery, and in justice to both the North and 
 the South, it would be in order to state from the evidence 
 which we have Avhat each section contributed and what its 
 attitude has been to education. 
 
 The academy was supported alike by both sections, it 
 having been first introduced by the South because southerners 
 settled Illinois first. Though it operated in both sections for 
 the education of leaders, the children of the poor were to be 
 educated gratis, and a common school department for the 
 "public" was usually attached. Manual labor was adopted 
 principally to make it economically possible for the less 
 wealthy to receive an education. 
 
 The apprentice laws were of southern origin, and the 
 indentures were usually those of negroes or mulattoes. The 
 explanation of the introduction of the apprenticeship system 
 by the way of the South instead of the North lies in the fact 
 that the northerner did not come until only the vestiges of 
 indentures remained in the older eastern states; while the 
 
 »I11. Teach., v. 4, p. 185.
 
 152 
 
 »■ 
 
 southern immigration took place at an earlier time wlien the 
 apprenticeship system was a little more common. 
 
 To the South should be attributed the enactment of the 
 first free school law in 1825. The poor and ignorant for 
 whom it was especially designed to benefit objected because 
 they did not understand its benefits and could not pay the 
 necessary tax for the support of schools. The South was 
 wholly to blame for the repeal of the law. 
 
 Again, the South forged to the front in the proposed leg- 
 islation for free schools, and county normal schools which 
 were to be supported as the academies were in Kentucky and 
 Virginia, but these plans were finally rejected by a legislature 
 whose majority consisted of representatives from the older 
 southern counties in Illinois. 
 
 The adoption of the recortimendation of the representa- 
 tive leaders from both sections for a state superintendent of 
 common schools failed, but the office was vested ex-officio in 
 that of the Secretary of State. This was probably patterned 
 after the Pennsylvania type.^" 
 
 However, the resolutions, recommendations and petitions 
 for a separate state superintendent came almost exclusively 
 from the newer counties of the northern and western sections 
 which were settled by New Englanders and easterners. ^^ 
 
 The growth of the question of taxation is illustrative of 
 the attitude of northern and southern Illinois toward free 
 schools. The legislature, besides granting the right of taxa- 
 tion for school purposes in a few city charters, passed a gen- 
 eral law in 1845 which allowed communities to levy a pro- 
 perty tax by a two-thirds majority vote for school purposes. 
 The taxing clause was changed in 1848 to a majority vote. 
 
 The first report, issued in 1849, which dealt with an ad 
 valorem property tax for schools, showed that $29,947.46 was 
 voluntarily levied by the people. Thirty of the counties levy- 
 ing such tax were in the northern part of the State, while six 
 were in the southern part. In 1852, $51,101.14 were likewise 
 voluntarily levied by forty-three counties, thirty-six of which 
 were northern and seven southern. Of the twentv-six coun- 
 
 «" Assembly Reports, 1844, p. 103. 
 
 ** Assembly Reports, 1S46, 1849, 1851, 1853. Jr. Const. Con., 1847.
 
 153 
 
 ties that did not le\"y a tax, eighteen were southern and eight 
 northern counties.^" 
 
 In the senate, the free school bill of 1855 passed by a vote 
 of 20 to 3, and in the house, 47 to 14. An analysis of the vote 
 relative to the section from which the representatives came 
 shows that most of the opposition was in the southern tier 
 of counties stretching to the east and southeast of St. Louis 
 across the State. 
 
 Q^herefore, it is evident that the opposition to the idea 
 of free education came from the old southern portion of the 
 State. This probably was not due to the fact that these people 
 were southern in origin for such leaders as Coles, Duncan and 
 Edwards, always champions of free schools, migrated to Illi- 
 nois from the South; but rather the opposition finds its ex- 
 planation in the fact that the southern districts were econ- 
 omically much less able to support free schools than the fer- 
 tile and commercial northern sections. 
 
 Before discussing the beginnings and characteristics of 
 the high school, a summary of the free school law of 1855 fol- 
 lovv^s. The constitutional convention of 1847 accepted the 
 first reading of a bill which provided for a free system of 
 public schools, and a state superintendent to give the pro- 
 posal effect, but the convention omitted all mention of free 
 schools in the final draft of the constitution. However, the 
 leaders, associations and editors continued to agitate the 
 same question until the legislature authorized the separation 
 of the Department of State and the schools. It also author- 
 ized the appointment of a state superintendent and required 
 that he prepare a bill for the reorganization of a school 
 system, which bill was adopted in 1855. A state tax of two 
 mills was levied on every dollar of property and the income 
 added to the annual distribution of the common school fund; 
 a local tax was levied by the trustees of both township and 
 district to help maintain at least one free school in every 
 district for six months in the year. The state common school 
 fund was distributed in such a manner that two-thirds was 
 given to the county on the basis of the number of white chil- 
 dren between the ages of five and twenty-one years, and the 
 remaining one-third on the basis of the number of townships, 
 
 *= Assembly Reports, 1849, p. 116; 1853, p. 149.
 
 154 
 
 or parts of townships in each county. The money due the 
 townships was to be distributed in proportion to the number 
 of days of school that were actually taught. 
 
 The method of distribution of the state school fund, 
 which benefited the poorer sections as well as the richer dis- 
 tricts was a powerful argument in favor of free schools. 
 They were democratic; they were the means by which chil- 
 dren could be educated at home ; they were located where they 
 were needed ; they were inexpensive. On the other hand, the 
 successful academies had superior teachers; they were better 
 equipped; they had more extensive subjects of study. Thus 
 two sharply defined groups existed in the State; the one 
 favored the common school, the other favored the academy. 
 At one extreme, the free school was placed in a class with 
 free negroes ; at the other, it was eulogized. How the common 
 school supplied some of the secondary education of the time 
 follows.
 
 155 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 The Beginnings and Characteristics of the Free Public High 
 
 School of 1860. 
 
 The high school as a separate institution was not usually 
 so designated, and thought of, until quite a while after the 
 passage of the free school law of 1855. The academy had 
 long been the means of secondary education, but the common 
 school had even before 1850 begun to usurp the province of 
 the former institution. The academy was the chief means of 
 providing education for the aristocracy of society. The 
 common people had no way to gain similar advantages for 
 their children. The academy was open to them, but tuition 
 charges, the cost of sending children to live away from home 
 combined with the inaccessibility of the academy, kept the 
 common children at home. But the working men were imbued 
 with high ideals. Their children must have advantages pro- 
 vided that the parents missed. The common school was the 
 only way open. That humble institution struggled along until 
 we see it occupying the center of the stage of political and 
 educational thought. Though it was called the common 
 school, by 1860 it came to mean both the elementary school 
 and the high school. **The high school and the common school 
 are part of the same system. The one is the head, the other 
 the heart. One is the branches, the other the root. ' ' ^ 
 
 One of the chief ways by which the high school came to 
 be the upper part of the common school system was through 
 gradation. The very first mention of that idea, applied to 
 the common schools, was the suggestion of that subject in an 
 article for contribution to the Common School Advocate, in 
 1837. A year later, the Sangamo Journal printed an article 
 on the system of schools in the State in which gradation was 
 suggested. 
 
 >I11. Teach., v. 8, p. 49.
 
 156 
 
 *'In addition to the primary schools * * * we must have 
 academies or high schools and colleges. The first finishing 
 the education of many of its students whose means will not 
 permit them to pursue it farther, and only the more thorough- 
 ly preparing others to enter the second, where alone their 
 scholastic pursuits can be closed." ^ 
 
 The Prairie Farmer in 1844 advocated the establishment 
 of a school system with three departments, because it depre- 
 cated the growing influence of the academies. ''And what 
 shall be the remedy? We do not expect a community justly 
 appreciating education, and desirous of affording to their 
 children the means of procuring the higher branches, will 
 rest passive with inferior schools, neither would we desire 
 any such lowering of the standard of education. But instead 
 of creating independent select schools, we would have a plan 
 something after this sort adopted. In the first place, the 
 district should be large, and as the school increased, instead 
 of dividing districts, sending large and small children to the 
 same school, the school should be divided, classifying the 
 scholars according to their progress. Where the number of 
 scholars would admit of it, there should be at least tbree 
 grades of schools. For the small children, say under ten 
 years of age, female teachers should be employed, and the 
 schools should be as numerous as possible, to facilitate attend- 
 ance. For the next grade, the instruction and number of 
 schools should depend upon circumstances. For the highest 
 grade, there should be but one school within a circuit of at 
 least three miles diameter, no matter how thickly settled the 
 to^^Ti if under ten or fifteen thousand inhabitants, and gen- 
 erally there should be but one such school to a township, and 
 occasionally but one in a county. ' ' ^ 
 
 Next, educational conventions discussed the merits of 
 gradation and advocated the adoption of such a scheme in 
 their resolutions. "Resolved, That it be earnestly recom- 
 mended to school officers to establish such a classification 
 of studies and gradation of schools as will prevent the great 
 waste of time, effort, and money, to which our schools are now 
 subject; and that experience proves the feasibility and profit 
 of the following system of gradation : ' ' 
 
 «San. Jr.. Apr. 21, 1838. 
 •State Supt. Rep., 1885, p. 160.
 
 157 
 
 First. Primary schools, in wliich as many of the young- 
 est pupils shall be taught in the full rudiments of education 
 as one female teacher can instruct. ' ' 
 
 'Second. Grammar schools, both male and female, in 
 which the elementary and common English studies shall be 
 pursued, viz. — Geography, Written Arithmetic, Grammar, 
 Reading, Spelling, and Writing; the number of these schools 
 being smaller and the number of pupils larger than the lower 
 grade". 
 
 "Third. One high school for each large town or city, 
 in which the higher English branches and Languages shall be 
 taught; the pupils to be admitted by examination from the 
 Grammar schools, and those of Grammar schools in the same 
 manner from the Primary schools." * 
 
 From the above typical citations, the first scheme of 
 gradation included three departments, namely, primary, 
 grammar, and high. Now, a territorial basis was also neces- 
 sary. More primary than grammar schools should be estab- 
 lished, and one higher department serving for many of the 
 others. To carry out that idea, the policy of joining districts 
 grew up, and the name, union, or union graded schools, be- 
 came somewhat common. 
 
 The idea of establishing union districts by law was slow 
 in developing. The law of 1825 provided that there should 
 be at least fifteen families in a school district, but the amend- 
 ment of 1827 said that there must be at least eighteen children 
 going to school or subscribed, and the amendment in 1829 
 made the size of a district a purely voluntary affair. The 
 legislature, in 1841, provided for the appointment of township 
 trustees who were to establish districts within the to^vnship 
 as suited the convenience and wishes of the people ; as many 
 schools could be kept in a district as the people desired. Six 
 years later an additional amendment provided, ''that dis- 
 tricts may be altered at any time by said trustees to suit the 
 wishes of a majority of the inhabitants in the districts inter- 
 ested,"^ and that children might be transferred from one dist- 
 rict to another. By 1853, the practice of creating union dist- 
 ricts had grown considerably so that the legislature occa- 
 sionally legalized the action of some directors : 
 
 * Prairie Farmer, v. 8, p. 273. 
 
 » Sess. Laws, 1847, p. 130, sec. 46.
 
 158 
 
 *'Sec. 3. Said district shall be called Union School Dist- 
 rict, and shall have, enjoy, possess and exercise all rights, 
 powers, privileges, advantages and immunities of other school 
 districts, shall be entitled to its equal and joint proportions 
 of the school funds, and shall be organized, regulated, con- 
 trolled and governed by the laws of the state now in force, 
 or that may be hereafter passed."" 
 
 The free school law, two years later, provided for the 
 establishment of union districts: "Whenever it may be 
 desirable to establish a school composed of pupils, residents 
 of two or more districts, or two or more to^vnships, 
 it shall be the duty of the respective boards of 
 Education of each of such townships to transfer such 
 number of the pupils residing in such toAvnships 
 as the boards may deem proper to the school so established 
 in the township in which the school house is or may be 
 located; but the enumeration of scholars shall be taken in 
 each of such toAvnships as if no such transfer had been made ; 
 and such school funds of the respective townships in which 
 the pupils composing such school shall reside, and from which 
 they shall have been transferred ; and the board of that town- 
 ship in which the school house where such school is located 
 shall have the control and management of such school ; and the 
 boards of each of such townships so connected for school pur- 
 poses shall each pay its respective share of the entire ex- 
 penses of every kind incurred in the establishment and sup- 
 port of such school, to be computed in proportion to the num- 
 ber of pupils residing in each of such to^\^lships composing 
 such school; and each board of the towmships from which 
 pupils are transferred shall draw an order on its township 
 treasurer, signed by its president, in favor of the towTiship 
 treasurer whose board shall have the control and management 
 of such school, as the case may be, for the amount of its share 
 of the entire expenses aforesaid of such school, and the board 
 of the township having control and management as aforesaid 
 of such school shall pay out of its treasury the whole amount 
 required for the establishment and maintenance of such 
 schools, in the manner as provided in this act for the 
 establishment and maintenance of other schools; Provided, 
 
 •Sess. Laws, 1853, p. 186.
 
 159 
 
 however, by agreement of the several boards interested 
 therein, said school may be placed under the control and 
 management of such persons as may be determined by a 
 majority of said boards. ' ' ^ 
 
 The Illinois Teacher gave the reason for the name, union 
 schools, thus: ''They are called Union Schools because they 
 afford all the advantages of a well conducted common or 
 select school and academy for gentlemen, and the seminary 
 for ladies; they are called graded because the pupils are 
 classified according to their attainments; in such, the scholar 
 may commence with the alphabet and pass from one grade to 
 another, until prepared to engage in the common pursuits 
 of life, or enter any college or university. ' ' ^ 
 
 Therefore, it is quite evident that the high school was a 
 part of the union graded system. Moreover, it was essential 
 to the union graded schools to have a high school as the cap- 
 stone. ''Our Union Graded Schools have demonstrated to 
 the most skeptical that by adopting this plan they can have 
 schools, apparatus and libraries, equal, if not superior, to 
 our private institutions, with but a small additional expense 
 to the present system. We look upon the establishment of the 
 Union Graded, or Central High School to be essential to the 
 free school system."^ 
 
 The scheme of gradation was advocated somewhat vigor- 
 ously over the State because its advocates believed that it was 
 economical; that it was a stimulus to exertion on the part 
 of the pupil ; that classification could be made on merit ; that 
 the school system would become a selective agent; that a 
 broader range of studies was possible ; that school work could 
 be made continuous ; that more expert teaching was possible ; 
 and that better organization and administration resulted.'"' 
 
 From the above advantages of gradation, as were pointed 
 out in educational thought, the framers of educational legis- 
 lation were induced to make provision for graded schools in 
 the bill of 1854. Towmship boards "shall have power to estab- 
 lish schools of different grades, to assign such number of 
 scholars to such schools as they may think best, and to control 
 
 ^ Sess. Laws, 1855, p. 61, sec. 37. 
 «I11. Teach., v. I, p. 257. 
 •Ibid. V. 4, p. 6. 
 
 »» These arguments are greatly expanded In the Illinois Teacher, Volume 
 4, page 90.
 
 160 
 
 and regulate the admission of scholars to schools of the higher 
 and different grades, and if on account of great distance or 
 difficulty of access to the schools in any township, or on ac- 
 count of the scholar being too far advanced to prosecute his 
 studies in any school in his township, any of the pupils could 
 be more conveniently accommodiited in any other schools, 
 academies or colleges in this State, the board of education 
 shall have the power to make an arrangement by which such 
 pupils may be instructed in the most convenient school, acad- 
 emy or college in tliis state, and tlie expense of such instruc- 
 tion shall be paid out of the public funds, as may be agreed 
 upon by the board of education." ^*' 
 
 The high school developed as a part of the common school 
 system when the common schools became graded into pri- 
 mary, grammar and higher departments. It is true that the 
 gradation of each of the departments took place next, but we 
 are only concerned now with the last department. The acad- 
 emy may be said to have represented the upper part of the 
 common school system in an ungraded form, with some en- 
 richment of the curriculum. With the great power of the 
 State behind the free common schools, the private schools 
 and academies could not compete. Many of the private in- 
 stitutions accordingly, asked the state superintendent how 
 they could be changed into high or union graded schools 
 under the present law. By the law of 1855, as amended in 
 1857 and 1859, two methods were open : 
 
 1. The directors of all the districts that wanted to unite 
 should determine the number of scholars to attend the new- 
 school, should erect, rent or purchase a building and should 
 levy a tax on each district in proportion to the number of 
 pupils therefrom. The academy buildings might be so 
 selected, and the directors in the district where the school was 
 to be located should have its control and management. 
 
 2. All district directors might elect three trustees to be 
 
 styled, directors of union district No. , in township 
 
 No. . The union directors should have power to lew a 
 
 tax on all property of the union district. Pupils should be 
 admitted from outside the union district under such rules as 
 the trustees should see fit to establish. 
 
 state Supt. Rep., 1854, p. 30.
 
 161 
 
 The difference in the two methods lay in the fact that, in 
 the first, the tax was to be levied on each district in propor- 
 tion to the number of pupils therefrom and the care of the 
 school rested in the hands of the directors where the school 
 was located. By the second plan, the directors were the trus- 
 tees of the entire union district with the power to levy taxes 
 on all of the property in the union district. Finally, the school 
 was under the control of the directors representing the whole 
 district. 
 
 By these provisions, private institutions could become 
 public. "Whether they did or not must be proved by investiga- 
 tion, although the state superintendent said, "that nearly 
 two-thirds of all the private Academies and Seminaries that 
 existed in the state have thrown up their organizations and 
 reorganized under the Common School law."" 
 A list of Illinois High Schools in Existence at the Beginning 
 
 of the Civil War. 
 
 The ordinary conception is that few free high schools 
 were in existence in the United States before the Civil War. 
 But investigations in Massachusetts, Ohio and Illinois have 
 shown that an unexpected number were in operation. Cer- 
 tainly those institutions were not our present day high schools 
 any more than early Harvard and Yale were the universities 
 we know today. The characteristics of the high schools 
 in Illinois before the Civil War were clearly enough marked 
 out to warrant the use of the term — high school. 
 
 Then, we shall give a few examples to shoAV how we have 
 concluded that the free high schools were established as given 
 in the table below. First, let us take Chicago. The legis- 
 lature, March 1, 1839, gave the cit}^ council power to tax for 
 schools. 
 
 ''Sec. 3. The Common Council of the City of Chicago 
 shall have power to raise all sufficient sums of money, by 
 taxing the real and personal estates in said city, for the 
 following purposes, to wit : To build school houses ; to estab- 
 lish, support and maintain common and public schools, and 
 to supply the inadequacy of the school fund for the payment 
 of teachers; to purchase or lease a site or sites for school 
 houses; to erect, hire or purchase buildings suitable for said 
 
 " As an example of reorganization, see the special act allowing Crystal 
 Lake Academy to reorganize. Sess. Laws, 1857, p. 1223.
 
 162 
 
 school houses; to keep in repair and furnish the same witli 
 necessary fixtures and furniture whenever they may deem it 
 expedient; and the taxes for that purpose shall be assessed 
 and collected in the same manner that other city taxes are or 
 may be." ^- 
 
 Therefore, a free high school could have been estab- 
 lished in Chicago. About 1840, the schools of the city were 
 reorganized and the board of inspectors in their annual re- 
 port said ''Had we the means, the establishment of a High 
 School, with two good teachers, into which might be placed 
 a hundred of the best instructed scholars from different 
 schools, would remedy this increasing evil." ^^ 
 
 The school committee, in 1844, advocated a high school 
 for advanced pupils. "The lower story to be divided into 
 two rooms, one for small boys and another for small girls, 
 the upper room to be so divided as to give necessary recita- 
 tion rooms for a High School, so that one Principal Teacher 
 and two or three assistants shall be able to conduct the sev- 
 eral schools, and thus give it a High School in which may be 
 placed the more advanced scholars." ^* 
 
 Again, in 1846, the inspectors called the attention of the 
 common council to the need of "at least one school where the 
 ordinary academic studies may be taught." ^^ 
 
 The school committee, the next year, in its report said, 
 "In reference to a High School, they are of the opinion that 
 there are insuperable objections to the establishment of such 
 a school, independent of the inability of the city at the present 
 time to build one." ^^ 
 
 However, a special committee reported a plan to the city 
 council for the establishment of a high school, and gave the 
 reasons why the city should have such an institution. There 
 upon, Dec. 11, 1854, the city council "Ordered, That the 
 Committee on Schools be directed to prepare an ordinance 
 for the establishment of a High School in connection with our 
 Public School System." 
 
 "Ordered, That said Committee recommend a site for 
 said School, and that the Superintendent of Public Schools 
 
 "Sess. Laws, 1838-39, p. 215. 
 "Chi. School Rep., 1879, p. 48. 
 "Chi. School Rep., 1879, p. 48. 
 ^ Ibid. 
 " Ibid.
 
 163 
 
 be requested to furnish an outline plan of a building for the 
 accommodation of said school." ^^ 
 
 Jan. 23, 1855, the common council passed an ordinance 
 establishing a high school, which institution was opened in a 
 building erected for it, Oct. 1856. 
 
 Next take Virginia. The law of 1845 made provision for 
 the levying of taxes in any district where two-thirds of the 
 voters decided to tax themselves for schools. This village 
 took advantage of the law and a year later had a high school 
 department in operation as appears from this quotation: 
 "We have a common school of grades in Virginia, commenced 
 in July, conducted by two teachers, in separate departments, 
 with eighty scholars, in which a thorough course of instruc- 
 tion in the English branches of Education, in Mathematics, 
 in Latin, Greek, and French Languages, and in the orna- 
 mental branches, are ably taught. We have a third depart- 
 ment in the same building, liberally granted by the county 
 commissioners' court for a nominal amount approved by the 
 people, which will be fitted for use when the number of 
 scholars justifies the employment of additional teachers * * * 
 This school district and Beardstown * * * voted in May last 
 the highest rate of taxation under the law. ' ' ^^ 
 
 Similarly, a union school, with a high school department 
 was in operation in Rockton in 1851: "In the afternoon of 
 the same day, we visited the Rockton Union School, under the 
 Superintendence of Mr. Seely Perry, * * * In this school 
 are realized more fully than in any other district in the county 
 the advantages of a division of labor. There were about 160 
 pupils in the school, embracing classes in all stages of prog- 
 ress, from the alphabet up to the highest branches of classical 
 and natural science taught in our best academies." ^^ 
 
 Finally, communications, and the reports of the state 
 agent who travelled for the establishment of free schools, 
 showed that high schools were opened, many relatively per- 
 manent, and some whose existence ended with the decay of 
 the villages from economic conditions. The following table, 
 perhaps, has omitted some high schools that were in existence, 
 
 " Chi. School Rep. 1879, p. 50. 
 ^* Prairie Farmer, v. 6, p. 86. 
 »Ibid.. V. 11, p. 160.
 
 164 
 
 but it shows that the free high school had a good start by 
 1860. 
 
 Alton 1859 
 
 Atlanta 1859 
 
 Belleville I860 
 
 Belvidere 1857 
 
 Bloomington 1856 
 
 New Boston 1860 
 
 Brimiield 1860 
 
 Canton 1862 
 
 Chester 1856 
 
 Chicago 1856 
 
 Decatur 1856-62 
 
 Dwight I860 
 
 DLxon 1857 
 
 Eden 1856 
 
 East Elgin 1856 
 
 East Pawpaw 1856 
 
 Franklin Grove 1856 
 
 Freeport About 1851 
 
 Fulton City 1860 
 
 Galena, Male High 
 
 School and Female 
 
 High School 1857 
 
 Galva 1859 
 
 Geneseo 1852-59 
 
 Galesburg, but 
 
 charged tuition 
 
 for several years. .1859-60 
 Homer Seminary, 
 
 changed to free 
 
 school 1858 
 
 Jacksonville, West. . .1851 
 Jerseyville, mostly 
 
 free 1853 
 
 Joliet 1858 
 
 Kewanee 1859 
 
 Lacon 1858 
 
 LeRoy 1856 
 
 Lockport 1856 
 
 Lee Union Center . . . 1859 
 
 Lyndon 1847 
 
 Mount Vernon Acad- 
 emy, changed to 
 
 free school 1856 
 
 Nashville Academy, 
 changed to free 
 
 school 1858 
 
 Ottawa 1857 
 
 Paris 1856-66 
 
 Sparta 1856 
 
 Peoria 1856 
 
 Plainfield 1856 
 
 Princeton 1857-66 
 
 Prairieville 1858 
 
 Urbana Seminary, 
 changed to free 
 
 school 1856-58 
 
 Quincy 1856 
 
 Rockford 1862 
 
 Eock Island 1858 
 
 Rockton 1851 
 
 Springfield 1858 
 
 Vandalia 1858 
 
 Virginia 1846 
 
 Warsaw 1858 
 
 Washington, T a 2; e - 
 
 well Co 1858 
 
 Waukegan 1856 
 
 Wethersfield 1859 
 
 Subjects of Study. 
 
 Since the common school included a high school depart- 
 ment in numerous instances, it is to be expected that second-
 
 165 
 
 ary subjects of study existed along with elementary subjects. 
 Either high school subjects were contemplated, or they were 
 being taught in some common schools before the permanent 
 free school law was passed. The county superintendent of 
 Stark county hoped to have the common schools so perfected, 
 *'as to be able to teach, in the most approved manner, all that 
 our children need to learn in order to fit them for the ordi- 
 nary avocations of life. They not only need to know how 
 to read and write and cipher, but to have some knowledge of 
 History, Natural and Mental Philosophy, Political Economy, 
 Chemistry, Physiology, Geology and Meteorology. All these 
 may be profitably taught in our common schools." "" 
 
 However, in those communities where the toA\Ti charter 
 had given the common council the right to impose a tax for the 
 support of schools, or in those places where the people were 
 willing by a two-thirds and then later a majority vote to tax 
 themselves for education, or where the schools were graded, 
 there, subjects of an advanced nature were taught. Chicago 
 common schools in 1847, were teaching, besides such sub- 
 jects as reading, writing and arithmetic, Townes' Intellec- 
 tual Algebra, Baley's Algebra, Preston's District School 
 Book-keeping, Physiology, Gales' PhUosophy and bray s 
 Chemistry. ' ' ^^ 
 
 In the Eockton Union School, subjects were taught "from 
 the alphabet up to the highest branches of classical and natu- 
 ral sciences taught in our best academies."-' In Virginia, 
 111., the common schools were graded so that m the upper 
 division there was a "thorough course of instruction m the 
 English branches of education; in mathematics; m Latin, 
 Greek, and French Languages, and in the ornamental 
 branches.'"' A union school at Freeport taught, besides the 
 common branches, mathematics, natural and moral sciences, 
 French, Greek and Latin.'^ At Carrollton, German, French, 
 Latin, Greek and Spanish, in addition to the common 
 branches, were taught in the common schools." The county 
 superintendent of Peoria county reported that chemistry, 
 
 20 Prairie Farmer, v. 12, p. 236. 
 
 " Prairie Farmer, v. 7, p. 372. 
 
 M Prairie Farmer, v. II. 1851, p. 160. 
 
 *2 Prairie Farmer, v. 6, 1846, p. 86. 
 
 « State Supt. Report. 1851, p. 230. 
 
 » House Reports, 1853, p. 179.
 
 166 
 
 algebra, physiology, ancient and United States history, and 
 philosophy were taught in the common schools."** Will 
 county included in the program for the common schools, as- 
 tronomy, algebra, physiology, chemistry and philosophy.^^ 
 Moreover, subjects of secondary character were taught in 
 some of the common schools in the counties of 
 Champaign, Greene, Johnson, Jefferson, Marion, Pike, 
 Saline, Stark, Lake and Woodford according to the 
 reports of the county superintendents of those coun- 
 ties for 1851.^^ Morgan county had a union graded 
 school at Jacksonville wherein departments of study 
 were included as far as those of college grade.^^ Jerseyville 
 had a high school, mostly free, as a part of the common school 
 system in which teachers were prepared for elementary in- 
 struction.^" In Knox county, a union district building was 
 constructed in which ^'the plan to be pursued is to select a 
 principal capable of teaching all the branches usually taught 
 in a high school, with sufficient assistance to accomodate the 
 whole district. ' ' ^^ 
 
 The Prairie Farmer found that some of the common 
 schools were teaching mental and written arithmetic, drawing, 
 writing, spelling, mathematical, physical, civil and political 
 geography, astronomy, English grammar, United States his- 
 tory, physiology,, natural and mental philosophy, algebra, 
 geometry, economics and the ornamental branches.^" 
 
 The subjects in the common schools were not so extensive 
 in scope as those taught in the academies, but they were quite 
 similar. One reason for the likeness was that the common 
 man took his cue from the classes above him. It was the 
 fashion for, say, *' Ornamental Branches", to be taught to the 
 children of the working people. While the parents' oppor- 
 tunities had been limited, the study of Latin and Greek, as in 
 the academies, would make their children cultured. When 
 they were arguing for the common school, the leaders thus 
 retained part of the philosophy of the academy in the curri- 
 cula of the '^people's college." The other reason was that 
 
 *» House Reports, 1R!il. app. of Supt.. Report. 
 "House Reports. IS.")!, app. of Supt. Report. 
 =" House Reports, 1851. app. of Supt. Report. 
 =» House Reports 1853, p, 163. 
 »» House Reports 1853, p, 163. 
 "House Reports, 1849, p. 113. 
 "Prairie Farmer, v. 10, 1850, p. 11.
 
 167 
 
 the academies supplied many of the common teachers for the 
 eonmion schools. The teachers naturally taught those sub- 
 jects which they studied in the academies. 
 
 At the time of the passage of the free school laAv, which 
 gave a decided impetus to the formation of high schools, the 
 educational literature had quite a little about the kind of sub- 
 ject matter, and its organization, that should be adopted by 
 the high school. The Illinois Teacher printed the program 
 of studies which appears in the list below for the guidance 
 of school men. Chicago began its central high school in 
 1856 with a two year curriculum for prospective teachers, 
 a three year English curriculum and a four year English 
 classical curriculum. Schools reorganizing under the free 
 school law also were advised to stud}^ the Chicago curricula 
 for suggestions. However, it is quite probable that most of 
 the common schools enlarged their curricula gradually rather 
 than creating others, de novo. The academies, reorganized 
 by the law of 1855, probably continued the subjects that they 
 had taught. At any rate, the core of the curricula that were 
 suggested continued to urge the languages, mathematics, and 
 philosophy, which were the intellectual studies of the academy, 
 as appears from the following programs of study: 
 
 FiKST Yeae. 
 
 First Term — Latin, or English Analysis; Algebra, Elocu- 
 tion and Orthography. 
 
 Second Term — Latin, or English Analysis, Algebra, History. 
 
 Third Term — Latin, or Elements of Physiology; Arithmetic; 
 History. 
 
 Second Year. 
 First Term — Latin, or Rhetoric; Geometry; History or 
 Greek. 
 
 Second Term — Latin, or Rhetoric ; Geometry ; History or 
 Greek. 
 
 Third Term — Latin, or Bookkeeping; Algebra; Botany, or 
 Greek. 
 
 Third Year. 
 
 First Term — Latin, or Natural History; Physical Geog- 
 raphy; Trigonometry, or Greek
 
 168 
 
 Second Term— Latin, or Surveying, etc. ; Physiology ; Natural 
 
 Philosophy, or Greek. 
 Third Term — Latin, or Evidence of Christianity; Eeview of 
 
 Arithmetic, etc.; Astronomy, or Greek. 
 
 Fourth Year. 
 
 First Term — Mental Philosophy, or Latin; Rhetoric; 
 Chemistry, or Greek. 
 
 Second Term — Mental Philosophy, or Latin; Civil Govern- 
 ment ; Geology, or Greek. 
 
 Third Term — Moral Philosophy, or Latin ; Review of Arith- 
 metic, etc. ; Logic, or Greek. 
 
 It will be seen that there are in reality three courses 
 marked out in this report. The first is the General Course 
 which the main body of the school may be supposed to pursue. 
 It is that given in the scheme omitting the alternative 
 branches. The second, is the course preparatory to College. 
 It is the same as the General course for the first year ; but in 
 the second and third years, substitutes Greek, and in the 
 fourth, Latin and Greek. It may be called the Collegiate 
 course. The third is for those who prefer not to study Latin. 
 It differs from the General Course by substituting other 
 studies in the place of Latin for the first three years. It is 
 the Imperfect Course. As sounder notions of Education be- 
 come prevalent, this course will become less popular and the 
 General Course more so. ' ' ^^ 
 
 The normal training curriculum of the Chicago High 
 School consisted of a review of the common branches, physical 
 geography, general history, ancient geography, algebra, book- 
 keeping, botany, astronomy, physiology, natural philosophy, 
 chemistry, geolog}^ rhetoric, political science, mental philoso- 
 phy, moral science, etymology, English literature, reading, 
 drawing, music, recitations and the theory and practice of 
 teaching. 
 
 The English course consisted of a review of the common 
 branches, physical geography, general history, ancient geog- 
 raphy, algebra, legendre, arithmetic, plane and spherical 
 trigonometry, mensuration, surveying, navigation, book- 
 
 '»ni. Teacher, v. 4. p. 400.
 
 169 
 
 keeping, botany, astronomy, natural philosophy, chemistry, 
 geology, rhetoric, logic, economics, political science, mental 
 philosophy, moral science, etymology, English literature, 
 reading, drawing, music, German, French. 
 
 The English classical curriculum added to the English 
 curriculum, Latin, grammar and prose, Caesar, Cicero, Virgil 
 and Greek.^* 
 
 None of the high schools over the State had such an ex- 
 tensive program as the two above indicated. Peoria gave 
 the following as the subjects taught in her high school in 1856: 
 
 ''First Class — Spelling in connection with etymology; 
 read and define from the Fifth Reader ; Arithmetic completed 
 and reviewed; English Grammar." 
 
 "Second Class — Mathematical and Physical Geography; 
 Latin begun; Algebra; Bookkeeping; Spelling weekly," 
 
 "Third Class — Geometry and Trigonometry; Latin con- 
 tinued Natural Philosophy ; Drawing ; Spelling weekly. ' ' 
 
 "Fourth Class — Chemistry; Latin continued; Rhetoric 
 and Logic; Mental and Moral Philosophy; Reading and Elocu- 
 tion; Spelling weekly. "^^ 
 
 Greek was to be added if enough pupils, planning to go 
 to college, warranted the formation of a class. 
 
 Springfield had practically the same program. The first 
 class was preparatory, and the other three classes offered 
 Latin, Greek, mathematics, English, history and science.^*' 
 
 Galesburg had three grades in the high school which 
 were designated as A, B, C. All of the common branches were 
 taught and in addition, mathematics as high as algebra, 
 science in the form of natural philosophy, three classes in 
 Latin, physical geography and rhetoric, composed of essays, 
 declamations and composition.^^ 
 
 Finally, the programs of some of the reorganized acad- 
 emies included such subjects as Latin, Greek, French, geom- 
 etry, plane and spherical trigonometry, chemistry, philosophy 
 and the common branches in preparation for the more ad- 
 vanced work. 
 
 From a study of the upper part of the common schools 
 that were being graded, it must be concluded that some sub- 
 
 8^ Chicago Report, v. 3. 1856. p. 28. 
 
 '5 Illinois Teacher, v. 2. 1856. p. 340. 
 
 «« Springfield Report, 1866, p. 26. 
 
 •' Steele, History of the Galesburg Public Schools.
 
 170 
 
 jects of a secondary nature were generally taught about the 
 time of the enactment of the free school law. Moreover, it 
 was customary to include a review of some of the common 
 branches as the preliminary or preparatory work in the 
 higher department. Therefore, the boundary between prim- 
 ary and secondary education was loosely draA\Ti for a period 
 of about two decades, 1855-1875. 
 
 What the jjrovince of each was had to be determined in 
 actual practice. The high school as well as the elementary 
 school was becoming an institution whose advantages were 
 open to all the people. The primary schools no longer existed 
 exclusively for the public and secondarj^ education no longer 
 was maintained exclusively as a privilege of the upper classes. 
 The change to a vertical from a parallel system of education 
 entailed no definite number of years in the length of the com- 
 mon school system. No conclusive evidence has been found 
 that the early free public high schools in Illinois had a four- 
 year program. In fact, that length of time for secondary 
 education was not used as a basis for the classification of high 
 schools in the State until about 1880. 
 
 Farthermore, the number of years in the grades was 
 equally late of determination. The first mention of gradation 
 in Illinois was in 1837, and the names, primary, intermediate 
 and grammar designated departments which are still quite 
 common. These departments began to be graded in the more 
 progressive communities of the State by 1855, but there was 
 little thought that a year's work in the elementary school 
 should constitute one grade. Some schools had ten grades 
 with the tenth grade the beginning class, and the first grade 
 the most advanced grade of the elementary school, but the 
 length of the elementary school was about six years until 
 1875. About that time the plan of making the first grade the 
 first year of elementary school work and the adoption of eight 
 years of eight grades was begun. Some schools added a year 
 to the elementary grades to prepare for the high school ex- 
 amination. The year so added was called the seventh grade. 
 Other schools took the common branches or preparatory 
 work out of the high school and added it to the elementary 
 school. A few high schools retained what is now the eighth 
 grade and made a longer high school period. Therefore the
 
 171 
 
 length in years of the elementary schools and many of the 
 high schools in Illinois is the result of a generation or more 
 of development, 1850 to 1880, rather than the adoption, be- 
 tween 1840 and 1850, of the plan of the eight year highly or- 
 ganized volkschule of Prussia as Dr. Judd claims. 
 
 High School Entrance Requirements. 
 
 The academy, as has been shown in chapter four, ad- 
 mitted almost anyone who was able and willing to pay for in- 
 struction; the common school, from necessity, received part 
 of its support in tuition charges before the free school law 
 was passed. Neither were the equipment and the length of 
 the term, nor the quality of instruction comparable to that 
 which was given in the academy until advantages had been 
 gained by the common school in public support, and in the 
 classification and gradation of its pupils. One result of grad- 
 ing the common school, was the imposition of standards that 
 determined when a pupil finished one department and was 
 ready to enter another. In other words, entrance require- 
 ments were imposed which consisted of a combination of age 
 and the completion of certain more or less formal work which 
 had been set as a requirement of a particular department. 
 Entrance to the primary school was usually based on age, 
 while it was expected that one had completed the grammar 
 school, or its equivalent, before entering the high school. 
 
 At least twenty-six of the high schools — practically all of 
 them growing out of the common school — listed above 
 required that pupils entering the high school pass an ex- 
 amination as a condition of entrance. In other words, en- 
 trance requirements were characteristic of the free public 
 high school by 1860. 
 
 Taxation. 
 
 It has been shown that the school law of 1825 provided 
 for local taxes and the distribution of two per cent of the 
 yearly State revenues for the maintenance of free schools. 
 The legislature repealed the local tax in 1827, and the State 
 tax in 1829. The tax feature of the bills of 1835 and 1841 
 were annulled, but the legislature in 1845 gave any district 
 the right to levy taxes by a two-thirds majority vote. Also, 
 some cities were given special charters in which the right to
 
 172 
 
 tax the people for tlie support of schools was granted. More- 
 over, the same authority legalized the action of some school 
 directors who had levied a tax for the maintenance of free 
 schools at the instance of the people of the district. The final 
 step was taken by the law of 1855, which made it mandatory 
 to tax the people for the support of the schools. ^''' 
 
 Since the high school had gro\^^l up as a part of the com- 
 mon school in its process of gradation, or had been created by 
 the city councils as a part of the public school system for the 
 given city, or had been an academy that reorganized under 
 the free school law, a second distinguishing characteristic was 
 that it was publicly supported. 
 
 Public School Boards. 
 
 For a considerable time before the passage of the free 
 school law, towTiships were incorporated for educational pur- 
 poses under the control of elected trustees, and districts with- 
 in the townships were established to suit the convenience of 
 the people, and were administered by directors who were 
 elected for that pui*pose. The law of 1855 added the third 
 step which made it possible to have directors of the districts 
 that were to unite, appoint a board, to control the newly 
 created union district. The interpretation by the State Super- 
 intendent of the law of 1857, w^hich was a restatement of some 
 of the disputed sections of the law of 1855, made the board 
 for the union district representative of the whole district. 
 Finally, the legislature, in 1865, restated the union district 
 clauses of the previous school laws, obviously to eliminate the 
 troublesome questions of jurisdiction that had arisen in 
 practice. 
 
 ''A majority of the directors of each of two or more dis- 
 tricts may consolidate said districts and appoint three di- 
 rectors for the union district so formed, who shall be styled. 
 ''Directors of Union District No. ..., Township No. ...," 
 who shall have all the powers conferred by law upon other 
 school directors. The proceedings of the act of consolidation 
 shall be signed by a majority of each of the concurring boards 
 of directors, and delivered to the trustees of the proper town- 
 
 ""The State tax for 1856 was $60fi,809.51; for 1866, $750,000. The local 
 tax for 1856 was $341,964; for 1866, $2,078,335. Common school fund 1856, was 
 $3,005,937.
 
 173 
 
 ship, and shall be evidence of such consolidation, and upon 
 receiving a copy of proceedings, it shall be the duty of the 
 trustees to change the map of the township in accordance 
 therewith, and file the same with the clerk of the county 
 court. The separate boards of directors shall then be dis- 
 solved and the union directors shall draw lots for their re- 
 spective terms of office and be thereafter elected as provided 
 in the forty-second section of the act."^* 
 
 A free public high school not only was an institution that 
 was supported by taxation, and that imposed entrance re- 
 quirements which were based on elementary education, but it 
 was an institution that was controlled by a board of directors 
 who were elected by the people. 
 
 The concluding paragraphs summarize the chapter. 
 Public boards of education administered the high school and 
 the common school as part of the same system, even though 
 the former developed from the latter in the process of grada- 
 tion and unionization. Schools were first graded into primary, 
 •grammar and high departments, and later, each department 
 was graded. More primary than grammar, and more gram- 
 mar than higher departments were necessary; hence the 
 policy of creating union districts developed in which one in- 
 stitution received the pupils from several districts. 
 
 Private institutions reorganized under the free school 
 law and received the benefits of public support. The resolu- 
 tions adopted by city councils, the reports of the State Super- 
 intendent and the State Agent, and newspaper articles showed 
 that about fifty high schools were in operation in Illinois by 
 1860. 
 
 The subjects of study that were taught in some of the 
 common schools were secondary as well as elementary, but a 
 distinct attempt was made to introduce curricula for the use 
 of the high school that had many of the features of the more 
 formal subjects of the academy. However, pupils were gen- 
 erally admitted to the high school only upon the completion 
 of, and the formal examination in certain elementary sub- 
 jects. The school itself was controlled and supported by the 
 public. 
 
 »«Sess. Laws, 1865, p. 117.
 
 174 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 I The Establishment of the Free Public High School. 
 
 The present high school system in the State of Illinois 
 has developed solely neither from the township nor the inde- 
 pendent district system, but rather it is the product of the 
 growth of the township idea, of the evolution of union dis- 
 tricts under special charter, and of the development of dis- 
 tricts under general law. The purpose of this chapter, there- 
 fore, is to consider these three phases in a general way. 
 
 Toivnship High Schools. 
 
 People of the central west have been familiar with the 
 Northwest Ordinances which made land grants for school 
 purposes on the basis of townships or subdivisions of them. 
 In 1841, the legislature had gone so far as to allow the in- 
 habitants of a township to become incorporated for the estab- 
 lishment of public schools. By the same act, township trus- 
 tees were to be elected whose duty it was to district the terri- 
 tory to suit the wishes and convenience of the people in any 
 neighborhood. However, many of the districts so established 
 were too small to support all grades of the common school. 
 Some localities had overcome that difficulty, by about 1850, 
 by joining districts. Others advocated the outright adoption 
 of a township basis for school organization. 
 
 Supt. Edwards prepared the free school bill after that 
 plan, but the legislature decided to cling to the mongrel dis- 
 trict-township combination. However, some attempts were 
 almost immediately made, in 1857, to adopt a large territory 
 as the basis for the organization of a high school: 
 
 * ' The inhabitants of said townships shall have the power 
 to unite together for school purposes, and select the site or 
 sites for school houses, and to use their surplus funds for the 
 creation of a suitable building for a high school for the use
 
 175 
 
 of both of said townships. They may purchase suitable li- 
 braries and apparatus; and employ suitable teachers for such 
 school or schools; they may arrange among themselves in 
 respect to the number of children sent, and money furnished 
 by each township.'" 
 
 The above quotation is the earliest piece of legislation 
 that has been found for the creation of a township high 
 school. It should be noted that the high school thus to be 
 established was so ordered by a special charter rather than a 
 creation of the free school law. Also, a few years later, the 
 inhabitants of Princeton took the customary recourse of spe- 
 cial charter organization: 
 
 "All territory now included within the boundaries of the 
 township of Princeton, in the county of Bureau * * *, 
 together Avith such territory as hereafter may be added 
 thereto, be and is hereby established a common high school 
 district, to be known as the Princeton High School District." - 
 
 The period for special charter legislation, however, ended 
 about 1870 and the legislature incorporated the township high 
 school plan in the general school law of 1872. Under the pro- 
 visions of that law which has been amended from time to 
 time as necessity seemed to require, seventy-one township 
 high school districts are now in existence. 
 
 Only two districts were organized by a law of 1905 which 
 was enacted with the expectation that more elastic provisions 
 for township high schools had thus been created. In 1911, a 
 law w^s passed w^hich sought to make the establishment of 
 community high schools possible. Since the Supreme Court 
 declared the last law unconstitutional, in 1916, after one hun- 
 dred ninety-one schools had been organized by its provisions, 
 the legislature enacted the law of 1917 which contains some 
 of the most prominent features of the legal foundation for 
 secondary education in Illinois today. 
 
 By the provisions of the five above named distinctive 
 toAvnship laws, a variety of high school districts were legal 
 and have been established: 
 
 1. About half of the township districts in Illinois at the 
 present time follow the lines of the congressional township. 
 
 1 Sess. Laws, 1857. p. 1136. 
 
 2 Sess. Laws. 1867, v. 3, p. 18.
 
 176 
 
 2. Two or more adjoining townships could establish a 
 high school. 
 
 3. Two or more adjoining districts were permitted to 
 have a township high school organization. 
 
 4. Parts of adjoining townships were allowed to organize 
 for township high schools. 
 
 5. The remainder of a township not included in a town- 
 ship high school district could form a township high school. 
 
 6. A school district with a population of at least two 
 thousand might organize in township form. 
 
 7. A city with not less than one thousand or more than 
 a hundred thousand inhabitants could use the township basis 
 for school purposes. 
 
 8. If a township were divided by a navigable stream and 
 there were a political town on each side, both in the same 
 township, each to\^m could organize as a separate township 
 high school district. 
 
 9. The inhabitants of any contiguous and compact terri- 
 tory, whether in the same or different townsliips, might estab- 
 lish a township high school. 
 
 10. The law of 1917 includes the whole State as high 
 school territory, either in the form of districts already main- 
 taining high schools, or non-high school districts which must 
 pay the tuition of their pupils in districts that do support 
 high schools. 
 
 From these indicated territorial bases for the establish- 
 ment of township high schools, it is at once evident that the 
 surveyed congressional township is by no means the sole 
 factor in the size of the high school districts. About half of 
 the districts are determined by township lines; some follow 
 the practice provided for in the laws of 1841, which permitted 
 townships or fractional townships to form one school district ; 
 others follow the old method of uniting districts which began 
 to be legally recognized about 1850; still others are similar 
 to the general law of 1872, which permitted the city board of 
 education to be elected when the population of the district 
 reached two thousand. Finally, the distinctive new features 
 have obliterated formal boundary lines so that the basal dis- 
 trict is that of a community which is able to maintain an 
 efficient school.
 
 177 
 
 At any rate, the larger district for township organization 
 has made it possible to supply the financial resources req- 
 uisite to the education of the children of the district more 
 adequately than can be done in smaller districts. Not only is 
 the unit of taxation larger, but the township has the legal 
 right to levy the full rate of taxation for secondary education 
 which is allowed in other districts for both elementary and 
 secondary education. Thus twice the amount of money can 
 be raised in the same unit for high schools under the town- 
 ship organization, as can be raised in the same unit for 
 secondary education under district organization. 
 
 Therefore, to^\mship high school organizations should be 
 superior because they are able to pay higher salaries which 
 command better qualified teachers, and because they can 
 furnish superior equipment in buildings and grounds. The 
 secondary educational opportunities for the children are 
 thereby increased. But a disadvantage has arisen because of 
 the separation and the lack of articulation between the ele- 
 mentary and the secondary schools under to^vnship organiza- 
 tion. A closer unification among all the schools of the town- 
 ship was contemplated by the organizers and advocates of 
 the township idea about the time when the charters were 
 given to school districts.^'' 
 
 School Districts Under Special Charter. 
 
 It has been shown that a great many academies were 
 chartered by special and separate acts of the Illinois legisla- 
 ture even in spite of the general corporation laws that were 
 on the statute books at the same time, A similar practice has 
 prevailed in relation to the common schools. When villages 
 were incorporated some provisions were made for the estab- 
 lishment of education, and occasionally special charters were 
 granted for the creation of certain school territory in and 
 near the town itself. 
 
 The boundaries of school districts from 1850 to 1870 were 
 almost continually changing, sometimes because better educa- 
 tional opportunities could be provided, at other times, be- 
 cause quarrels ensued over such questions as the levying of 
 
 ^a Mr. Edwards gave a thorough exposition of the arguments for township 
 organization in 1855. Mr. Bateman and other leaders have since restated Mr. 
 Edwards' arguments.
 
 178 
 
 taxes, the employment of teachers, and the location and con- 
 struction of buildings. One outgrowt^i in the change of dis- 
 trict lines was the recognition of some of the united territory 
 by the legislature. Some of the special charters thus granted 
 conferred powers on the new districts that were in opposition 
 to the free school laws. In several cases, the right to ascer- 
 tain the qualities of common school teachers and certificate 
 them was taken from the county superintendent, a power con- 
 ferred on him by general law, and bestowed on the board of 
 education for the new district."^ Moreover, the law of 1859 
 stated that no teacher should be paid out of the State funds 
 unless he received a certificate from the county superintend- 
 ent. However, the special legislation granted the districts 
 with charters the right to receive their share of the school 
 money. 
 
 According to Supt. Etter, "in many of these districts 
 there is not even an examination as to the qualifications re- 
 quired, and persons are employed to teach without authority, 
 and in direct violation of the plain provisions of school law".^ 
 He continued to say that several refused to return school 
 statistics in the proper m'anner or even at all. 
 
 Although some districts tried and did evade the free 
 school principle under special charter which granted the 
 board the right to fix the rate of tuition in public schools,^" 
 nevertheless all of them had a larger district than was com- 
 mon and many of them provided and carried into execution 
 the plans for free schools of all grades. Besides, the free 
 education of all the youth from six to twenty-one was to be 
 provided in higher as well as primary schools whose length 
 of term was quite above the average of the six months re- 
 quired by the law of 1855. Among some of the very early 
 high schools of the State were those districts with special 
 charters. For instance, Springfield, Galesburg, Lacon and 
 Lee Union Center had high schools established before 1860. 
 Finally, the board under special charter was given the au- 
 thority to levy a tax on the whole district, but the rate of 
 taxation was limited by the terms of the charter. 
 
 2*> See Decatur. Charleston. Kickapoo and Paris special charters. 
 » State Supt. Report. 1875, p. 141. 
 '" See Galesburg charter.
 
 179 
 
 Since most of these districts under special charters, given 
 about the Civil War period, have materially changed m 
 economic and social conditions, the annulment or the amend- 
 ment of the charters, to meet the demands of present day 
 secondary education would be advantageous. For instance, 
 the maximum tax rate of one per cent on the district may be 
 no longer justifiable. Some of the cities with old charters 
 have cast them aside in order to make more modern organiza- 
 tions, but in 1906, thirty-seven districts still remained. 
 School Districts Established hy General Law. 
 The free school law of 1855 gave a decided impetus to the 
 development of common schools that were in operation at the 
 time of its passage, and made it possible to create new in- 
 stitutions that were free, either directly as common schools 
 or indirectly by the reorganization of academies and select 
 
 ^'^'It is highly gratif^dng to be able to state that, while 
 a considerable number of these institutions are still m opera- 
 tion in various portions of the State, two-thirds of those m 
 existence two years since have given place to the i'ublic 
 Schools or been themselves transformed into Union Graded 
 Schools; under the law * * * Scarcely two years have 
 elapsed since the Free School System went into operation in 
 this State, and in that brief period it ha^ nearly swept the 
 entire field of the thousands of Private Schools which then 
 
 ^""'^The number of union graded schools that were reported 
 for 1862 was 402, but it was unreasonable to expect that all 
 of that number were thoroughly graded on the basis ot 
 scholarship and attainment so that each of them had a higher 
 department of a secondary nature. ' ' That very many of them 
 are organized and conducted on the true basis, is certain, as 
 I know from personal observation. We have gracJed schools 
 which in their principles of instruction, are not surpassed 
 bv those of any other state within my knowledge. buperm- 
 tendent Bateman continued by saying that many schools 
 adopted the title of union graded schools that were unworthy 
 of the name. 
 
 ' * state Supt. Report, 1857-8, p. 16. 
 "State Supt. Report, 1861-2, p. 21.
 
 180 
 
 The terms, cominon school, graded school, or -union 
 graded schools, were used by State Superintendents in their 
 reports from 1855 to 1867 without making any distinction 
 between elementary and high schools. At the latter date, 
 Mr. Bateman stated ''that one or more advanced schools, or 
 high schools or departments, have been established in nearly 
 every county of the State ".*^ The number of public high 
 schools reported for 1869-70 was 108, around which figure 
 the variation was slight for a period of ten years or so, be- 
 cause the standards for classification and the conception of 
 what a high school ought to be were continually changing : 
 
 "The report of high schools for 1880 shows apparently 
 a smaller number than in 1878; but the difference is due to 
 the fact that I asked that only those schools should be classed 
 as high schools which had a regular course of high school 
 study of three or four years' duration — a course that was 
 actually taught to the pupils in the school. As a result of this 
 request, one county that in 1878 reported seven high schools, 
 in 1880 reported none; another county changed from twelve 
 to three; another, from seven to two." ^ 
 
 At this point it will be valuable to look at the district 
 system which had grown to be very pernicious by 1870. The 
 previous laws allowed the to^mship trustees to district the 
 territory although the inhabitants in the township had a 
 permissive voice in fixing boundaries. At one extreme were 
 the trustees, at the other, the district directors with no author- 
 ity in determining the size of the district. Frequently one 
 set of trustees would make large districts so that all grades 
 of a common school could be supported. A succeeding board, 
 some member of which living in the large district was wealthy 
 and had no children, would cut the district in two and ruin the 
 higher schools. In the continually changing districts, terri- 
 tory of all sizes was included from those that were large to 
 those that were so small that a single family had a whole 
 district all to itself.^ 
 
 The law of 1872 took away the right of township trustees 
 to district the territory at will and gave the district directors 
 the independent right to consolidate districts in contiguous 
 
 8 state Supt. Report, 1867,1868, p. 127. 
 'State Supt. Report, 1879. 1880, p. 92. 
 •State Supt. Report, 1865, 1866. p. 81.
 
 181 
 
 territory. Moreover, the general assembly recognized the 
 necessity for other provisions for secondary education than 
 those made for township high schools and districts with 
 special charters by incorporating in the law of 1872 the sec- 
 tions w^hich gave a community the right to elect an indepen- 
 dent board when the population numbered two thousand. The 
 board was expressly given the power to provide free schools 
 of all grades for at least six months in such a district. 
 
 From 1872 on to about 1890, it was quite common to have 
 superintendents report that districts in their towns had con- 
 solidated and one central high school established for the en- 
 tire district. Also, about the same time, high schools began 
 to be established in districts under the control of district 
 directors. These institutions were not as well established 
 nor as thorough as the high schools established under town- 
 ship organization or under union districts with special char- 
 ters, or in cities or villages with boards of education. The 
 legality of high schools in all of these districts is considered 
 next. 
 
 Legal Decisions. 
 
 Free public high schools may be said to have been firmly 
 established in Illinois when the Supreme Court affirmed the 
 constitutionality of certain sections of the school law that re- 
 ferred to high schools, either directly or by implication: 
 * ' The legislature of the State has the power to enact any and 
 all laws proper for the government and wellfare of the people 
 of the State not prohibited by the constitution of the United 
 States, or of this State. "^ 
 
 Now the constitution of the State of Illinois, adopted in 
 1870, gave the legislature the right to provide for a system 
 of free common schools: ''The General Assembly shall pro- 
 vide a thorough and efficient system of free schools, whereby 
 all the children of this State may receive a good common 
 school education. ' ' ^^ 
 
 But in the case of Richards vs. Raymond it was main- 
 tained that a tax could not be collected for the support of a 
 township high school because such a school was outside of 
 the meaning of the term, free common school. In that de- 
 
 • Richards vs. Ravmond, Supreme Court Rep., v. 92. 111. p. 612. 
 *« Constitution of 111.. 1870, Art. 7. Sec. 1.
 
 182 
 
 cision, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Ap- 
 pellate Court in the following clear and decisive manner : 
 
 'A school of this character is certainly a free school, 
 within the meaning of the constitution. That free schools 
 may be graded and classified so that scholars that may be 
 more advanced in their studies may not be hindered or de- 
 layed in the progress of their studies by others, would seem 
 to be within the spirit of the constitution, that contemplates 
 the creation of a thorough and efficient system of free schools. 
 That one may be denominated a high school and another in 
 the same township a district school, cannot affect the question 
 in the least." 
 
 'But the argument is that the school established is not a 
 common school or a school where the children of the State 
 may receive a good common school education, and hence in- 
 hibited by the constitution. No definition of a common school 
 is given or specified in the constitution, nor does that in- 
 strument declare what course of studies shall constitute a 
 common school education. How can it be said that a high 
 school is prohibited by the constitution and not included 
 within the definition of a common school? The phrase, a 
 common school education, is not easily defined. One might 
 say that a student instructed in reading, writing, geography, 
 English grammar and arithmetic, had received a common 
 school education; while another who had more enlarged 
 notions on the subject might insist that history, natural phi- 
 losophy and algebra should be included. It would thus be 
 almost impossible to find two persons who avouIcI in all re- 
 spects agree in regard to what constituted a common school 
 education." 
 
 ''Indeed, it is a part of the history of the State, when 
 the constitution was framed, that there was a great want of 
 uniformity in the course of study prescribed and taught in the 
 common schools of the State. In the larger and more Avealthy 
 counties, the free schools were well graded and the course 
 of instruction of a high order, while in the thinly settled and 
 poorer counties the old district system was still retained and 
 the course of instruction prescribed was of a low 
 order." * * * 
 
 "But * * * while the constitution has not defined what 
 good common school education is, and has failed to prescribe
 
 183 
 
 a limit it is no part of the duty of the courts of the State to 
 declare * * * what particular branches of study shall con- 
 stitute a common school education. That may be, and doubt- 
 less is, a proper question for the determination of the legis- 
 lature, and as a law has been enacted by it which does not 
 appear to violate the constitution, it is not the province of the 
 courts to interfere." * * * 
 
 "If the law^ was constitutional, then the levy and col- 
 lection * * * of a tax to maintain the school was proper, 
 although the course of study prescribed was different from 
 that contemplated by law." " 
 
 In considering the law relative to the course of study in 
 the common school, one section of the law of 1845 gives the 
 course of study a secondaiy scope: *'No school shall derive 
 any benefit from the public or town fund unless the text- 
 books used in said schools shall be in the English language: 
 Provided, that this section may not apply to those who may 
 desire to study any foreign language in said school for the 
 purpose of learning the same."^^ 
 
 The amendment to the school law in 1865 farther en- 
 larged the right to teach secondary subjects in the common 
 schooL After listing elementary subjects, the law said, ''that 
 nothing herein contained shall prevent the teaching in com- 
 mon schools, of other and higher branches than those enu- 
 merated in this section, "^^ 
 
 In the case of Rulison vs. Post, the Supreme Court de- 
 cided that the phrase, "other and higher branches", was 
 within the jurisdiction of the common school directors: "We 
 are, therefore, clearly of the opinion that the General As- 
 sembly has invested school directors with the power to com- 
 pel the teaching of other and higher branches than those enu- 
 merated, to those willing to receive instruction therein, but 
 has left it purely optional with parents and guardians 
 whether the children under their charge shall study such 
 branches."^* 
 
 In another decision, the same judicial body said that in 
 determining the subjects to be taught in the common school, 
 
 " Sess. Laws, 1845, p. 64. Sec. 58. 
 
 "Sess. Laws. 1S4.5, p. 64. Sec. 58. 
 
 "Ibid. 1865. p. 121, Sec. 18. 
 
 "Rulison vs. Post, Stiprenie Court Rep., v. 79. p. 567
 
 184 
 
 the school directors thereby had the constitutional right to 
 determine what subjects constituted other and higher 
 branches. To the court it was clear that the subjects taught 
 in the high school must be founded upon and more advanced 
 than the subjects that were taught in the elementary school; 
 otherwise, the high school defeated the purpose for which it 
 was created. ''Here, then, in the powers of common school 
 directors, is the power to decide what branches of study shall 
 be taught in the high school, what text-books shall be used, 
 and to prescribe necessary rules and regulations for the man- 
 agement and government of the school.'"^ 
 
 Finally, the Supreme Court decided that it was constitu- 
 tional for the officers of cities to levy taxes for the support of 
 common schools under the provision of the general law. ^''' 
 
 Thus, the court decided that the constitution recognized a 
 graded school as a free common school. A high school then, 
 as the upper part of the graded school, which had been rec- 
 ognized more or less since 1855, was within the spirit of the 
 constitution. Moreover, what constituted a good common 
 school education would be determined from the practice of 
 communities: the wealthier supporting elementary and higher 
 schools, the poorer, only the primary schools. Since all 
 grades of the common school were in existence at the time of 
 the adoption of the constitution which made the establishment 
 of a good common school system mandatory on the legislature, 
 the assembly acted within its rights in allowing localities to 
 levy a tax for the support of high schools. 
 
 Older laws gave a legal basis for the subjects of study in 
 high schools. The latter must teach subjects more advanced 
 than the elementary schools else it defeated the purpose of its 
 creation. Although many other litigations have occurred as to 
 the legality of the high school, these decisions may be said 
 to have given that institution its first judicial standing in Illi- 
 nois as a part of the free common school system. 
 
 Not only have these decisions affirmed the legality of the 
 high school as the upper part of the graded common school 
 system, but they have been at least one factor in the growth of 
 secondary education from about 1880 to 1900. The report of 
 
 "People vs. Martin Van Allen, Supreme Court Rep., 1877, p. 30'; 
 "Supreme Court Rep., v. 89, p. 297.
 
 185 
 
 the state superintendent for 1869-70 listed one hundred eight 
 high schools but did not classify them. About the same num- 
 ber were reported for 1880 but the number was doubled at the 
 end of the next decade and increased about thirty-three per 
 cent by 1900. The greatest early increase in high schools was 
 represented by those districts with special charters. The most 
 rapid development from 1880 to 1900 has taken place in cities 
 and villages Avith boards of education. The following table 
 shows that comparative growth in high schools since the legal 
 decisions that have been cited were made : 
 
 Years 1880 ' 1891 1900-02 
 
 Township high schools 6 9 21 
 
 Special charters 33 43 34 
 
 General law — board 47 137 ^1- 
 
 General law — directors 24 34 ^1 
 
 OOQ 17 
 
 OOO 
 
 Total 110 223 
 
 Likewise, the list of accredited high schools has rapidly 
 developed. In 1877, when the policy of accrediting began, six 
 high schools were so recognized; in 1900, there were two hun- 
 dred thirty such institutions. ^® 
 
 A summary of the establishment of the free public liigh 
 school shows that it developed from township organizations, 
 districts under special charter, and general school laws. The 
 earliest legislation for township organization for high school 
 purposes was enacted in 1857. Princeton followed m 18bb, 
 and the school law of 1872 contained the township plan. The 
 township laws of 1905, 1911 and 1917 were enacted for the 
 purpose of making township high schools easier of establish- 
 ment. By the provisions of these distinctive acts, a variety 
 of high school districts have been legalized and established. 
 A somewhat superior organization in comparison ^Ylth the 
 ordinary district has been possible through the township 
 plan wliich began when the policy for granting special char- 
 ters for union school districts was common. 
 
 Following the precedent of granting charters to acad- 
 emies by special enactments, the legislature, to 1870, in spe- 
 
 " state Supt. Reports.. 1879-80. 1891-92. 1900-02. 
 " State Supt. Report.s. 1900, p. 78.
 
 186 
 
 cial acts sanctioned the creation of certain independent school 
 districts which, in spite of the occasional violation of the gen- 
 eral school law, established high schools comparatively early. 
 Since many of the districts with special charters have materi- 
 ally changed in social and economic conditions, the amend- 
 ment or annulment of these charters would be beneficial. 
 
 The law of 1855 hastened the creation of common schools, 
 but made it possible for private institutions to become public. 
 In the more advanced, thickly populated, and Avealthier com- 
 munities, the upper part of the union graded schools con- 
 stituted the high school, although the latter term was not used 
 denotatively by State Superintendents until 1867, when about 
 one hundred institutions were reported. The number of high 
 schools that were reported increased very sloAvly for a decade 
 because the standards of what was, or should be, high schools 
 were rapidly changing.'. However, general provision was 
 made, in 1872, for the creation of an independent board, when 
 the population of a community reached tAvo thousand, with 
 the power to levy a tax on property to support free schools 
 of all grades. 
 
 The free public high school may be said to have been 
 established in Illinois when the Supreme Court decided that 
 certain sections of the laws of 1872 and 1874, which referred 
 to the common and high schools, were constitutional. A 
 township high school was a free school, it was a part of the 
 common school, and a tax for its support Avas constitutional 
 in the judgment of the highest court. Directors were within 
 the limits of the law in requiring and determining what con- 
 stituted "other and higher branches". Moreover, taxes that 
 were levied in cities for the support of common schools were 
 legal, but no litigation over the high schools was found, where 
 the system had been established under special charter.
 
 187 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A Summary of Some Earlier Influences Affecting Later 
 Development and Practice. 
 
 The earliest attempts to establish schools in lUmois were 
 wholly individualistic; even the policy of the State to the 
 middle of the nineteenth century was that of laissez faire. 
 Generally, provisions of various kinds were made for acad- 
 emic and common education, but the carrying into effect of 
 most of these provisions was left almost entirely to individual 
 will and caprice. Democracy was conceived as a plan of 
 action whereby each person did as he pleased. 
 
 In contrast to that attitude, socialization is more nearly 
 characteristic of the present plan for secondary education. 
 The State has developed a definite policy of making that edu- 
 cation possible for all the youth, since the whole State has 
 been made high school territory, either in the form of non- 
 high school districts that are required to pay the cost of a four- 
 year secondary education, in high school areas, or districts 
 that maintain acceptable institutions. Moreover, territorial 
 limits, instead of following certain surveyed or customary 
 lines, are conceived in terms of a community that has suffi- 
 cient assessable property, and enough prospective pupils to 
 support an efficient high school. Illinois is pre-eminent in the 
 advance that the community high schools are making. But 
 the State will have taken another important step W'hen it 
 requires that all the children who can profit from secondary 
 education are in school. Then will the democratic ideal of 
 equality of opportunity begin to function more truly. 
 
 As the State has developed organizing and administrative 
 functions, the position of the church in relation to public 
 education has changed. The colonial Latin grammar school 
 was a sectarian institution, but the academy divorced the 
 church from the denominational aspect, so that, while the
 
 188 
 
 latter was founded in many instances by the church, its pupils 
 were freed from subscribing to any creed, mode of worship, 
 or religious test. Thus the academy was the transition in- 
 stitution between the denominational colonial Latin grammar 
 school and the secularized public school. From the discussion 
 of the academy in Part I, both the religious and semi-public 
 aspects in the founding, management, and support of the 
 academy have appeared. When the State in its development 
 had reached the point of public support of education, the 
 cardinal principle of the complete separation of the church 
 and the State was essential. 
 
 A necessary feature of free public education is that the 
 wealth of the State shall pay for the education of the children 
 of the State. The academy, of course, was supported by the 
 sale or rents of public land, interest from the common school 
 fund, endowments, and tuition. The public domain in Illinois 
 lias practically disappeared but the common schools today 
 receive their share of a fund that was created in part by the 
 conditions laid down by Congress for the admission of Illinois 
 in the Union. Although subsequent provisions have been 
 made for the increase of the fund, Illinois, as most other 
 states has not sho"VMi that she really believes in providing the 
 greatest opportunity for her children, because the rate of 
 state taxation has remained practically the same since the 
 enactment of the free school law of 1855. Of course the value 
 of property has constantly increased but probably at a less 
 proportion than the growth of the needs of the school. Be- 
 cause a two mills state tax was levied in 1855 on property, is 
 no justification for the same rate and method of taxation in 
 1919. 
 
 Property in land as a basis for taxation was more equit- 
 able when land was easily obtainable by all. Real estate was an 
 acceptable index of wealth, but to use that as the principal 
 method of taxation today, exempts large quantities of wealth 
 in other forms. No logical reason exists to place an increas- 
 ing burden on the rural districts. For that reason, if for no 
 other, a legislature controlled by agricultural interests strives 
 to prevent the increase in taxation. 
 
 More progressive kinds of taxation, such as that levied 
 in proportion to one's ability to pay, would make it possible
 
 189 
 
 to raise enough money so that no maximum rate for either 
 state or locality need be written in the law. Hence a larger 
 local fund could be raised for educational purposes, and more 
 state money would be available for distribution. 
 
 Illinois still cherishes the out-worn principle of distribut- 
 ing funds according to the school population. The law of 
 1855 inaugurated a policy of so distributing the state tax and 
 common school fund that the less able communities would be 
 aided by those who were more able to pay, but it was repealed 
 because the rate of assessment was so unequal in each dis- 
 trict, and the wealthier sections wanted their state school tax 
 returned to their own districts for their own schools. It is 
 entirely conceivable that certain sections in some parts of 
 southern Illinois have found it impossible to provide both 
 elementary and secondary education at all equal to that which 
 has been provided in the central and northern districts of 
 the State. The latter territory should be taxed by the State 
 and the money so distributed that the children of the former 
 will have a more equitable. opportunity. 
 
 The abolition of individual tuition payment for non- 
 resident pupils in high school areas as provided by the law of 
 1917 is a partial equalizing of opportunity for secondary edu- 
 cation. The academy and the common school usually received 
 fees before the free school of 1855 made taxation mandatory 
 for the support of the latter and pemiitted the former to re- 
 organize as a public institution. Even then, there were in- 
 stances in which tuition was charged for secondary education. 
 Galesburg received a special charter in 1859 which allowed 
 the city council to fix the rate of tuition. For a few years 
 charges were made, so it was said, not to unnecessarily com- 
 pete with the college academy in town. 
 
 At least any school district was permitted to charge tui- 
 tion for non-resident pupils. Such cities as Springfield, 
 Peoria and Jacksonville made tuition charges for non-resident 
 pupils as soon as the free school law was in operation. Until 
 recently, pupils who lived outside of a school district paid 
 their o^ti tuition in other districts unless their own district 
 consented to pay the rate demanded by the board where the 
 pupil w^as attending school. Legal residence rather than the 
 ownership of property was necessary to entitle one to free tui-
 
 190 
 
 tion, although children that were apprenticed could claim free 
 tuition in the district in which the man to whom they were ap- 
 prenticed lived. 
 
 In 1913, a law was enacted that provided for the payment 
 of the tuition of high school pupils by the district in which the 
 pupil lived to the district where the pupil attended high 
 school. That law was superceded two years later by a law 
 which allowed the tuition to be paid out of the distributable 
 fund by the county superintendent before the money was ap- 
 portioned to the county. Finally, the law of 1917 required 
 that the non-high school territory of the State shall pay the 
 tuition of their pupils to the district where a high school is 
 maintained. So far as the State as a whole is concerned, indi- 
 vidual tuition payment has been entirely abolished. 
 
 Many of the ideas in relation to education that have been 
 conceived at an earlier date have taken a long time to realize 
 in practice. The manual labor aspect of the academies pur- 
 ported to make education economically possible, as well as to 
 give the pupils an intelligent understanding of agriculture 
 and industry so that they could perform these pursuits more 
 advantageously in later life. But it was not until 1877 that 
 much the same arguments began to be cited in favor of man- 
 ual training in high schools. The educational leaders divided 
 on the question as to whether manual training ought to be a 
 cultural or a vocational subject of study. At the present time, 
 all degrees of these two ideas are mingled but the mixture is 
 clarifying somewhat in that the junior high school is taking 
 the ground that it should provide an opportunity for a large 
 range of vocational subject matter in order that the pupil may 
 better understand the constitution of social life; while the 
 senior high school is maintaining that it should provide voca- 
 tional training along the line for which the pupil is fitted 
 mentally and socially. Some of the high schools in Illinois are 
 beginning to realize these two conceptions. 
 
 Other schools have progressed only a little beyond the 
 conceptions underlying the aim of secondary education in the 
 earlier periods. The colonial Latin grammar school existed 
 in order to give the ministerial class advanced education in 
 preparation for college. The academy was partly a protest 
 against that idea so that the lawyer, for instance, found an op-
 
 191 
 
 portunity for the study of his profession. However the acad- 
 emy ministered to the wants and needs of the upper middle 
 and wealthier people in Illinois. The common school system 
 was a demand by the people for equal rights in education. It 
 found its aims and wants similar, hence it must furnish the 
 same advantages to the public. Therefore, in the earlier years 
 of the high school, programs were copied from the academy. 
 The languages, mathematics, some science and history formed 
 the center of the curricula which were designated as classical, 
 general, English and English classical. The subject matter 
 offered in the high school programs emphasized the idea of 
 formal discipline but a justification for the same material in 
 the high schools now must be based on a different psychology. 
 The examinations in many of the high schools have sho^\^l 
 also little development from formalism. In fact, the method 
 of examination in numerous academies and some of the older 
 high schools had some of the advantages that the present high 
 school examinations have lost. It is true that part of the ex- 
 amination was rigorous, but there was the frequent oppor- 
 tunity for the patrons to come in contact with the work of the 
 school. A stimulus was given to the pupils, while the parents 
 learned the needs of the school. Many of the examination 
 days were occasions for social gatherings which are fre- 
 quently omitted now. The parents met at the picnic dinner 
 and mingled in a friendly way such as the social center move- 
 ment is trying to advance. The high school must be a func- 
 tional institution in the community where it exists, or like the 
 grammar school and the academy, it will be superceded by an 
 institution more in consonance with the life about it. 
 
 The academy was unable to reach all of the people, and 
 as a class institution it had to give way to a school for the 
 people. It had, however, a distinct relationship to the com- 
 mon school in preparing teachers, and the normal school is its 
 successor in that respect. A bill of 1835 attempted to set up a 
 state system of county normal academies for the preparation 
 of teachers for the common schools. Some academies were in- 
 stituted, advertised, and designated as places where pros- 
 pective teachers could be trained. One of the arguments in 
 favor of the union graded school was that it prepared teachers 
 for the lower departments. County superintendents and
 
 192 
 
 teachers' conventions urged the formation of higher schools 
 for teachers. The State created the first normal school in 1857 
 and others since, as well as making it legal, in 1869, for the 
 establishment of county normal schools. 
 
 But the high schools seem never to have lost the idea. 
 Chicago created a department in the high school in 1856 for 
 the instraction of teachers. That course continued in the same 
 institution for several years and then was separated and en- 
 larged into the Chicago Normal School. Little evidence ex- 
 ists that the movement found more than a scholastic encour- 
 agement in the high schools over the State until the last two 
 decades. One was supposed to be well qualified to teach the 
 common branches if he had the additional training of the high 
 school. Township high schools have recently taken a real in- 
 terest in preparing rural teachers. Those institutions are 
 better able to assume the function of preparing rural teachers 
 than the city high schools whose problems are different. 
 Therefore, the State might subsidize teacher training courses 
 in certain designated to^vnship high schools in order to en- 
 courage and develop this movement that has begun to func- 
 tion more satisfactorily for the country districts. 
 
 A reorganization, however, is needed for the county edu- 
 cational department. When Illinois was admitted as a State, 
 the type of local government adopted was that of a county 
 commissioners' court elected at large. One of the commission- 
 ers had the important function of supervising the public land 
 of the county, as school commissioner, therefore, his func- 
 tions consisted of little else. The office of county superintend- 
 ent grew out of the commissioner office. In spite of the sug- 
 gestions that the county superintendent supervise the rural 
 schools, that officer's functions have remained inspectoral and 
 clerical. 
 
 A county board should be elected to represent the people, 
 but which has the duty to select a county chief executive offi- 
 cer whose business it would be to administer the schools of 
 the county as the city superintendent manages those of the 
 city. Instead of the county being supreme in itself, as many 
 of the Illinois counties are, it should become a unit in the edu- 
 cational administration of the whole State. 
 
 While some superior men have held the office of State 
 Superintendent of Public Instruction, and while the duties
 
 193 
 
 and importance of that office have increased, the same method 
 of election occurs as was established by the law of 1855. Po- 
 litical election has little educational significance, and political 
 prejudices and ideals can be satisfied in the election of the 
 governor who should use his appointive power to select a state 
 board of education. The most important business of the state 
 board would be to appoint a chief executive officer without 
 regard to residence, party, religion, race or sex. This officer 
 should fill the highest educational position in the State not ex- 
 cepting the presidency of the state university. Among the as- 
 sistants that the state superintendent appointed should be one 
 whose concern would be chiefly with secondary education. 
 The entire State, with the county as the educational adminis- 
 trative unit, could then be developed according to its needs 
 and the interests of any locality. 
 
 With the creation of state and county supervisory units^ 
 it would be possible to achieve and advance the aims of the 
 educational institutes that began in the early history of the 
 common school. In the more progressive places, by 1850, in- 
 stitutes were held that had a genuine educational significance 
 because superior institute leaders conducted local and state 
 conventions as schools, rather than as social conventions 
 which are held today. Granted the value of the inspirational 
 institute, teachers of the elementaiy and secondary school 
 ought to be so organized in their conventions that they could 
 be graded and classified according to their needs. The morn- 
 ing sessions might be thus organized in classes which actually 
 recited. The conductor and teachers would have an oppor- 
 tunity to discuss their problems in common. The afternoon 
 should be spent in actual study of a problem for the meeting 
 the following morning. An institute so conducted for a week, 
 and the problems so studied, followed up for the year by the 
 state and county supervisors, would be a vital force in the ele- 
 mentary and secondary education of today. 
 
 Such a plan would involve a closer connection of the 
 school with the public libraries and a farther development of 
 the school libraries. Some of the earlier academies were to 
 perform the function of supplying books to the surrounding 
 public. A little later the State attempted to establish school 
 libraries but a recent survey has shown that the Illinois high
 
 194 
 
 schools, to say nothing of the elementary schools, are inade- 
 quately supplied with library facilities. It is true that stand- 
 ards for accrediting have required certain library equipment 
 but the development in supplying magazines, newspapers, 
 reference books and fiction for secondary education is just in 
 its beginning. 
 
 Also, as was suggested in the last chapter, the State has 
 just started on the course of disregarding district lines for a 
 more reasonable basis for the establishment of high school 
 centers. A brighter period is commencing for the sanctity of 
 tradition and custom are being called in question. The limi- 
 tation of secondary education to four years, the length of the 
 school year, part of the subject matter in the curricula, the 
 sharp break between the high and the elementary schools and 
 much of the school legislation are to be regarded as historical 
 accidents, rather than inviolable and sacred principles. 
 
 The history of the secondary institutions, the laws and 
 practices that surrounded the academy and the early high 
 school, give an intelligent conception of secondary education 
 in Illinois at the present time. Experience thus becomes an 
 intelligent guide for future action.
 
 195 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Swnmary and Conclusion. 
 Illinois is an excellent example of a miclwestem state that 
 was settled by people from the older states of the East and the 
 South for the purpose usually, of raising their economic status 
 bv taking advantage of the relatively free western land. When 
 the State was admitted as a member of the Union, the congres- 
 sional land grants, the basis of which was created by the 
 Northwest Ordinances, were accepted by the people for educa- 
 tional purposes. The earliest schools were individualistic and 
 sporadic attempts that were attended with meager success m 
 a hostile, wilderness country. More concentrated action oc- 
 curred when the legislature, beginning in 1818, adopted the 
 policy of granting special charters to groups of individuals 
 for the creation of semi-public academies. Some of the re- 
 quirements were to make it possible for the poor of the com- 
 munity to be educated at public expense; other provisions 
 looked forward to the time when all classes in the locality, in- 
 cluding the girls, should receive free tuition if the funds of the 
 institution permitted it. All charters required religious free 
 dom, but allowed the administrative board to perform any 
 other function that was not contrary to law. The purposes tor 
 which the academy was established, the form of administra- 
 tive organization, and the financial support varied. 
 
 The aims of the academy were to disseminate useful 
 knowledge; to give women high intellectual and moral cul- 
 ture; to fit vouth for the various duties of life; to prepare 
 teachers for the common schools; to promote science and lit- 
 erature; to develop a sound physical body; to act as libraries; 
 to establish a system of manual labor, and to educate the 
 children of the common man. The manner of election, the 
 number, and the term of the trustees followed no general mle, 
 although the powers conferred on them were usually those
 
 196 
 
 that were granted to bodies politic and corporate. The sup- 
 port came from the rent or the sale of school lands ; a share in 
 the common school fund; gifts; endowments; the sale of 
 shares of stock ; and, tuition. 
 
 Much of the machinery that existed for the administra- 
 tive organization and supervision of education was found in 
 the church. Missionary preachers opened academies in the 
 centers of population to educate the youth, as well as to pre- 
 pare ministers of the gospel. McKendreean, Alton, and Illi- 
 nois Colleges, respectively representing Methodist, Baptist, 
 and Presbyterian-Congregational efforts, united their 
 strength before the legislature granted them charters. Fol- 
 lowing the period of the legislature-church struggle, charters 
 were freely given to academies, but many of them were mod- 
 eled upon college charters which had shown the unmistakable 
 influence of New England and the Yale movement in Illinois. 
 
 The State went little farther than to grant charters to 
 groups of individuals for academic purposes, or to recognize 
 permissively any unchartered institution that kept within the 
 bounds of law. The results were that the standards for admis- 
 sion, tuition fees, the length of the school year, and the length 
 of the school day were in no sense uniform throughout the 
 State. However, the academy did retain the core of subjects 
 of the Latin grammar school, around which other subjects 
 were added to prepare students for useful and professional 
 positions in life. Besides the ancient languages and arith- 
 metic, modern languages, more mathematical subjects, some 
 social sciences, natural and physical sciences, philosophy, re- 
 ligion, cultural and artistic subjects, and manual labor, were 
 added. Formal examinations were conducted, at the close of 
 each term, by a local committee of prominent men, usually 
 ministers, to pass judgment on the efficiency of instruction. 
 Occasionally, a farsighted, liberal minded academic principal 
 indicated some of the social values of an education. 
 
 A utilitarian educational philosophy was introduced in 
 the West by the manual labor movement which maintained: 
 that only the useful in schools was valuable; that mental and 
 physical work were practicable only when they were united; 
 that conjoint mental and physical work were economical be- 
 cause time was saved in gaining knowledge and learning a
 
 197 
 
 trade; that manual labor connected with the schools was far 
 superior to harmful play; that new and better opportunities 
 were opened up through which a living could be made ; that 
 manual labor connected with scholastic pursuits, above all, 
 was democratic, and that the cost of theoretical and practical 
 education was within the reach of a larger number. The edi- 
 tors, churches, missionary societies, and the early educational 
 leaders were convinced of the value of the system that was ad- 
 vocated by Neef and Maclure. Consequently, manual labor 
 schools were created, and that feature was incorporated m 
 several of the literary institutions. Turner followed up the 
 idea, enlarged it and made it more specific in his plan for and 
 the advocacy of a system of education in which the common 
 man would have equal advantages with the professional 
 classes. Partly due to his efforts, the Morrill Land Grant Act 
 was passed by congress, and the Illinois Industrial University 
 was chartered. A decade later, the high schools began to in- 
 troduce some features of the manual labor idea in the system 
 of manual training. , ... 
 
 The academy was a well established institution m Illinois 
 by 1850. Before that date, scarcely any other means existed 
 in the State by which a useful, cultural, or professional sec- 
 ondaiy education could be obtained. In spite of ^ the pro- 
 nouncements that the academy was a frontier institution m 
 which all classes could mingle, it served only a limited number 
 of the population who lived near its doors and were able to 
 pay the price for instruction. Therefore, the next step m the 
 discussion is the role that the common school played m the 
 education of the children of the State. 
 
 At the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century, 
 the apprenticeship svstem of education was dying out m the 
 older states of the East and the South. However the emi- 
 grants from the latter had carried that custom to Illinois, ap- 
 prenticeship laws had been passed, and indenture agreements 
 were made with some white youth and negroes, but the system 
 was not as extensive as it had been in the colonial days be- 
 cause of the increasing opportunities for education, and tjie 
 growing sentiments of the humanitarian philosophy m tiie 
 rights of all individuals for freedom and equality. 
 
 To provide that liberty, and to insure the permanence ot 
 free institutions in Illinois, the education of the youth ot the
 
 1!)8 
 
 State by means of a system of free common schools, was 
 necessary. The law of 1825 provided that a school system 
 should be established, that the schools should be free to all 
 children, and that the schools thus created should be sup- 
 ported by two per cent of all the yearly state revenues, and by 
 a local general property tax. Governor Coles was probably 
 the author of the bill, rather than Senator Duncan, and drew 
 his ideas for a complete system of education consisting of 
 primary, secondary and university instruction from Jeffer- 
 son's plan, with which he was familiar. The first concern was 
 with primary instruction, which the law of 1825 made possi- 
 ble. Five free school districts were ordered established in 
 Madison county by the county commissioners within a few 
 months after the enactment of the law. No complaint was 
 made in the Edwardsville paper or in the county court, al- 
 though objection must have been marked in some of the other 
 counties because the legislature annuled the local tax clause, 
 in 1827, and the state two per cent section in 1829. From that 
 time, to 1855, common schools in general, were supported by 
 the parents of the children who attended the schools. 
 
 The efforts of the educational and political leaders of the 
 State were redoubled, after the annulment of the law of 1825, 
 in order to create a free common school system. An educa- 
 tional survey of Illinois, and the assembling of information 
 about educational progress of the eastern states, were the 
 bases on which a teacher association addressed the people of 
 the State and sent a memorial to the legislature on the subject 
 of common schools. The sections of the bill which provided 
 for free schools and the establishment of an academy in each 
 county for the training of teachers, were defeated. Some of 
 the academies did supply a scholastic education for the com- 
 mon school teacher, but there was no state supported normal 
 school until 1857. Little had been expected of the common 
 teacher in qualifications, little of value was returned in the 
 way of service, but the wages were equally as good as those 
 paid by the older eastern and New England States. 
 
 Four agencies through which the common school was 
 aided in its development and in its establishment as a free 
 public institution, were notable. 1. Prominent educational 
 leaders were: many of the governors; the Illinois College
 
 199 
 
 group; such editors as Judge Hall, John S. Wright, and 
 Charles E. Hovey; the missionary circuit riders, and resident 
 ministers; state superintendents; legislators; state agents, and 
 a few nationally prominent men in the persons of Jefferson, 
 Clinton, Mann and Barnard. 2. Many of the newspapers of the 
 State, The Illinois Monthly Magazine, The Common School 
 Advocate, The Prairie Farmer, and The Illinois Teacher, 
 were the literary means devoted to the cause of the common 
 school. 3. Some of the institutions that increased the general 
 intelligence of the people, and created a desire for better edu- 
 cational opportunities, were: The Ladies' Aid Association 
 for the Education of Females; working-men's organizations; 
 public libraries ; Sunday schools ; and academies. 4. Enthusi- 
 asm, harmony, and co-operation among the friends of the com- 
 mon school in the interest of enlightenment, were developed 
 by educational convention. 
 
 The legislature partly followed the advice of the Peoria 
 Teachers' Convention by creating a State Superintendent of 
 Common Schools in the person of the Secretary of State, and 
 allowing a tax to be levied for the support of common schools 
 in any district where two-thirds of the legal voters so decided. 
 The constitutional convention provided, in the first draft of 
 the constitution, for the levying of a tax for the maintenance 
 of free schools, and appointment of a separate Superintendent 
 of Common Schools, but the final draft of the constitution of 
 1847, was singularly silent on the subject of education. 
 
 The demands became so urgent that the governor, in 
 1854,^ appointed a state superintendent whom the legislature 
 charged with the duty of providing a bill for the reorganiza- 
 tion of the entire common school system. The bill was passed 
 in 1855. A state tax of two mills was levied on every dollar of 
 property and the income added to the common school fund ; a 
 local tax was levied by the trustees of both to^vnsllip and 
 district to help maintain at leas]; one free school in every dis- 
 trict for six months in the year. The state common school 
 fund was distributed in such a manner that two-thirds was 
 given to the county on the basis of the number of white chil- 
 dren between the ages of five and twenty-one years; the re- 
 maining one-third was distributed on the basis of the number 
 
 • See foot-note following- reference 13, Chapter XI.
 
 200 
 
 of townships, or parts of townships in each county. The 
 money due the townships was to be distributed in proportion 
 to the number of days of school that were actually taught. 
 
 The method of distribution of the state school fund, 
 which benefited the poorer sections, as well as the richer dis- 
 tricts, was a powerful argument in favor of free schools. Such 
 institutions were democratic; they were the means by which 
 children could be educated at home ; they were located where 
 they were needed, and they were inexpensive. Nevertheless, 
 the successful academy had superior teachers ; they were bet- 
 ter equipped, and they had more extensive subjects of study. 
 Thus two sharply defined groups existed in the State ; the one 
 favored the common school, the other favored the academy. 
 At one extreme, the free school was placed in a class with free 
 negroes ; at the other, it was eulogized. 
 
 The common school was passing through the process of 
 grading in the period under consideration so that it was being 
 divided into primary, grammar, and higher departments. 
 More of the first were needed, less of the second, and still 
 fewer of the last, to serve the educational requirements of a 
 community. To facilitate the process of grading, which pro- 
 vided better opportunities for the children, the practice of 
 joining districts developed in which a higher department 
 could ser^^e the entire union territory. The legislature recog- 
 nized the right of unionization in legalizing the action of 
 certain directors, who had joined their districts, even before 
 the free school law made a general provision for grading. 
 
 The high school, usually designated as a part of the 
 common school system, thus had one root of its origin in the 
 common school. Sometimes, the city council, as in Chicago, 
 created a high school as a part of the common school system, 
 but for a few years the highest part of the elementary schools, 
 overlapped the lowest part of the high school. Neither had 
 yet defined entirely its sphere of action. The other main root 
 of the high school was in the academy. The latter institutions 
 that were especially strong dominated the secondary field for 
 several years, even after the free school law was passed be- 
 cause they were already in existence, because the conserva- 
 tives hated to forsake them for the conmaon schools, because 
 many people objected to paying a tax for the education of
 
 201 
 
 other children than their own, and because they were better 
 equipped with superior teachers, apparatus, buildings, and a 
 more suitable program of subjects. The weaker academies 
 were glad of the chance to reorganize as free schools because 
 the means of support was at hand. In the long run, however, 
 the academies failed to hold their OAvn \\dth the free public 
 high school which was under way before the Civil War. 
 
 A second proof that the common schools were providing 
 some secondary education is found in the examination of the 
 character of their subjects of study. What were usually 
 designated as elementary subjects were taught in the common 
 schools, but many instances existed where higher branches 
 received equal and even more emphasis. The explanation is 
 found in the fact that the academies supplied a great number 
 of common school teachers wiio naturally taught the subjects 
 that they had learned in the academy. Moreover, the common 
 school took the academy as its pattern; what was considered 
 the means of a cultural education in the latter, were equally 
 appropriate for the common man's children. Hence the free 
 public high school based much of its subject matter on the 
 academic program, which was the current secondary practice, 
 and which had a distinct philosophy underlying it. 
 
 By 1860 the common schools, as had been suggested in 
 the process of gradation, considered that some subject matter 
 was more difficult than other material. Before passing to a 
 higher department, the next lower one must have been com- 
 pleted. Hence the high school required the passing of more 
 or less formal examinations as a condition of entrance. 
 
 The law of 1825 which provided for free schools was re- 
 pealed a few years later; a second effort was made in 1835, 
 for free common schools. After several previous efforts, the 
 first relatively permanent free school law was passed in 1855 
 by which taxation was mandatory. The common school sys- 
 tem, with its upper part, the high school, was supported at 
 public expense. 
 
 For a considerable period of time before the passage of 
 the free school law, townships were incorporated for educa- 
 tional purposes under the control of elected trustees whose 
 duty it was to district the township to suit the wishes and 
 convenience of the people. The law of 1855, as amended in
 
 202 
 
 1857, 1859 and 1865, provided for the union of districts which 
 were to be under the control of a publicly elected board of 
 trustees. Since high schools were very likely to have been 
 created when districts united, the third distinguishing char- 
 acteristic of the free public high school was that it was con- 
 trolled by a public board. 
 
 However, several years elapsed before the high school 
 in Illinois had defined its sphere of action, and before it had 
 grown into the affections of the people. When the Supreme 
 Court decisions, between 1875 and 1879, had settled the con- 
 stitutionality of certain sections of the school law relative to 
 the common school and the high school, the latter institution 
 may be said to have been firmly established. The gap had 
 been bridged between secondary and common school educa- 
 tion. No longer was the academy the institution that pro- 
 vided the elementary and secondary education for the wealth- 
 ier people ; nor was the common school the institution of the 
 poor man alone. Instead of the continuation of the beginning 
 of a parallel system of class education, democracy in Illinois 
 had made a vertical system in which a ladder extended for all 
 from the primary grades to the university.
 
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 VITA 
 
 The author of this dissertatioti, Paul E. Belt.n-g, was born 
 at IlliopoHs. Sattgattton County, Illinois, on SeptenAer 5. 1886. 
 
 He received his early education in the pubhc ^'=^00 s of Ilh- 
 nois, graduating from the Mattoon. Illinois. H,gh School m 1907^ 
 He was a student in the Eastern Illinois State Normal School 
 ."Charleston, Illinois, and upon graduation in 1909 became the 
 principal of the Martinsville. Illinois, High School for one yea. 
 He was a student in the University of Ilhnots rom 1910 to 
 1912 from which institution he received the Bachelor of Arts 
 de-r^e in 1912. He was principal of the Globe. Arizona. H,gh 
 School in 1912-1913, and principal of the Oskaloosa, Iowa, H,gh 
 School from 1913 to 1917. He did graduate -"^ -">- ^^^^ 
 versitv of Illinois during the summer sessions ot 1912, 1916, and 
 1917 He was an assistairt in games at the Horace Mann School 
 
 or Bovs New York City, and a student in Teachers College, 
 Columbia University fro,/ 1917 to 1919 and received the Master 
 of Arts degree in 1918.
 
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