“I believe in the existence of a great, immortal, immutable principle of natural law...which proves the absolute right to an education of every human being that comes into the world; and which, of course, proves the correlative duty of every government to see that the means of that education are provided for all....
Massachusetts is parental in her government. More and more, as year after year rolls by, she seeks to substitute prevention for remedy, and rewards for penalties. She strives to make industry the antidote to poverty, and to counterwork the progress of vice and crime by the diffusion of knowledge and the culture of virtuous principles.”
Mann, Horace. "Horace Mann, 1846 to the Massachusetts Legislature." Unveiling History. January 1, 1846. Accessed January 11, 2015. http://unveilinghistory.org/wp-content/lessons/2013/donohue/B_document-set.pdf.
These two brief paragraphs were written by Horace Mann. Horace Mann is referred to as the Father of the Common School. He started his career by working as a lawyer and a legislator, but he was soon elected to be the secretary for the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837. He wanted every child to be able to receive a basic education that was funded with taxes. Horace Mann wrote these paragraphs to argue his ideas about creating the Common School to the Massachusetts Legislature in 1848. This source is very trustworthy because it was written by Horace Mann himself. When Horace Mann was growing up in Massachusetts schools usually consisted of one room where children of many different ages were educated. Most schools were also private, which prevented many children from attending. This document shows how passionate Horace Mann was about creating schools which everyone could attend. This document is limited because it does not display the opinions of other people in the Legislature and community. This does give a good picture of the education reforms, but it lacks background information and exact dates. Horace Mann wants to create the Common School, a place where all children can be educated at the expense of taxpayers. He believes that these schools would create a brighter future for Massachusetts children. Horace Mann argues that everyone has a right to an education, and that industry isn’t the answer to creating a better future for the children and ultimately Massachusetts. Horace is trying to convince the reader that the Common School concept is a good idea.
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